#text to speech comparison

[ctrinity]

ElevenLabs vs Murf AI vs PlayHT

Compare the top 3 AI voice generators of 2024: features, pricing, and quality. Find out whether ElevenLabs, Murf AI, or Play.HT is right for your projects. 🎙️ #AIVoiceGenerator #TextToSpeech #ElevenLabs #MurfAI #PlayHT #VoiceCloning #AIDubbing

🎤 Introduction ElevenLabs is a software company specializing in natural-sounding speech synthesis using deep learning. Founded in 2022, it has quickly become a prominent player in the AI voice generation field, attracting significant investment and developing a range of innovative products. Murf AI is a powerful AI voice generator that enables users to create realistic-sounding voiceovers for…

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Beginners Guide to Descriptive Sentences

Hi writers.

I’m Rin T, and in this post I’m excited to share with you a detailed guide on how to craft vivid descriptions and descriptive sentences for your writing. I’ve long believed that descriptive writing is the magic that turns ordinary text into an immersive experience. When done well, every sentence acts like a brushstroke that paints a scene in the reader’s mind.

──────────────────────────── Why Descriptive Writing Matters ────────────────────────────

I have seen how powerful descriptions can engage readers and establish a strong connection with the narrative. Descriptive writing is not simply about decorating your work; it is about building an atmosphere that transports your reader to a world. your world.

When you write descriptions, remember:

You are setting the tone.

You are building a world.

You are evoking emotions.

You are inviting your readers to experience your story with all their senses.

──────────────────────────── Step-by-Step: Crafting Vivid Descriptions ────────────────────────────

Below are my personal tips and tricks to help you build detailed and captivating descriptions:

Begin With the Senses

Description does not solely depend on what the eyes can see. Consider sound, smell, taste, and touch. For instance, instead of writing “The witch’s hut was eerie,” try elaborating: “The witch’s hut exuded an eerie aura. The creaking timber and distant echoes of whispering winds mingled with the pungent aroma of burnt sage and mysterious herbs.” In this way, you help the reader not only see the scene but also feel it.

Choose Precise and Evocative Language

Precision in language is vital. Replace generic adjectives with specific details to boost clarity and imagery. Rather than “The forest was dark,” consider: “The forest was a labyrinth of shadowed boughs and muted undergrowth, where the light barely touched the spindly branches, and every step unveiled whispers of ancient spells.” Specific details create tangible images that stay with readers.

Show, Don’t Just Tell

A common mistake is to “tell” the reader how to feel, rather than “showing” it through context and detail. Instead of writing “It was a spooky night,” immerse your reader: “Under a pallid crescent moon, the night unfurled like a canvas of foreboding whispers; broken branches and rustling leaves narrated the secrets of a long-forgotten curse.” By showing the elements, you invite the reader to experience the fear and mystery firsthand. (You don't need to be as dramatic as my examples, but this is simply for inspiration)

Use Figurative Language Thoughtfully

Metaphors, similes, and other figures of speech lend an artistic flair to your descriptions. When writing about a scene in a magical world, you might say: “Her eyes shone like twin beacons of moonlit silver, cutting through the gloom as if to part the veil of night itself.” Such comparisons evoke emotions and deepen the reader’s connection with the scene. However, be cautious not to overdo it; a little figurative language can go a long way.

Strike a Balance Between Details and Pacing

While elaborate descriptions are alluring, too many details can weigh down your narrative. Consider introducing the broader scene first and then focusing on key elements that define the mood. For instance, start with an overview: “The village lay nestled between ancient stone arches and mist-covered hills.” Then, zoom into details: “A solitary, ivy-clad tower sent spiraling tendrils of mist into the twilight, as if guarding secrets of a long-lost incantation.” This technique creates a rhythm, drawing readers in gradually.

──────────────────────────── Practical Exercises to Enhance Your Descriptive Writing ────────────────────────────

To help you practice these techniques, try the following exercises:

Sensory Detail Drill: Select a familiar scene from your fantasy world (for example, a witch’s secluded garden). Write a short paragraph focusing on each of the five senses. What do you taste as you bite into a magical fruit? What sounds resonate in the quiet of the enchanted night? This drill helps you to avoid flat descriptions and encourages you to integrate sensory experiences.

Revision and Refinement: Take a simple sentence like “The night was cold,” and transform it using the advice above. Rework it into something like, “The night was a canvas of shimmering frost and darkness, where every breath of the wind carried a hint of winter’s sorrow.” Compare the two, and notice how minor adjustments can dramatically heighten the mood.

Peer Review Sessions: Sharing your work can offer invaluable insights. Exchange your descriptions with fellow writers and ask for focused feedback, Does the description evoke the intended emotion? Does it deliver a clear image? Use these sessions as opportunities to improve and refine your craft.

──────────────────────────── Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them ────────────────────────────

Through my years of writing, I've learned that even the most passionate writers can stumble. Here are some pitfalls to watch out for:

Overloading With Adjectives: While it’s tempting to create elaborate descriptions, too many adjectives and adverbs can distract rather than enhance. Aim for clarity and purpose in every word. Instead of “a very dark, spooky, frightening forest filled with creepy sounds,” try “a forest shrouded in ominous silence, where every rustle hinted at unseen mysteries.”

Falling Into Clichés: Familiar images can sometimes render your work predictable. Try to avoid worn phrases. Instead of “as dark as night,” imagine “as impenetrable as the void that separates worlds.” Unique expressions capture attention and create lasting impressions.

Neglecting the Flow: Descriptions are vital, but the narrative must continue to drive forward. Check that your detailed passages serve to enhance the storyline rather than bog it down. Ask yourself: Does this description bring the reader closer to the action, or does it detract from the momentum of the narrative?

──────────────────────────── Advanced Techniques for the Aspiring Writer ────────────────────────────

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, consider these advanced methods to elevate your descriptions into artful prose:

Integrate Descriptions Seamlessly: Instead of isolating your descriptions, weave them into dialogue and action. For example, as a witch brews her potion, you might describe the bubbling cauldron and swirling mists as part of her incantation, not just as a standalone scene. “As she whispered the ancient words, the cauldron responded, its surface rippling like a dark mirror reflecting centuries of secrets.”

Reflect Character Perspectives: Let your characters’ emotions color the scene. If a character fears a looming threat, their perception will add a layer of tension to the environment. “I entered the dim corridor with trepidation, my heart pounding as the flickering torchlight revealed spectral figures dancing along the walls.” This technique makes the description both situational and personal.

Use Rhythm: The cadence of your sentences can mirror the pace of your narrative. In high-tension moments, short, abrupt sentences heighten the urgency. Conversely, in serene scenes, longer, flowing sentences can create a tranquil atmosphere. Experiment with sentence structure until you find a balance that suits both your style and the mood you wish to convey.

──────────────────────────── Final Thoughts and Encouragement ────────────────────────────

your narrative is your unique creation. you too will find your distinctive voice. I encourage you to keep experimenting with different techniques until your descriptions feel both natural and mesmerizing. Write freely, revise diligently, and most importantly, let your creative spirit shine through every line.

Thank you for joining me. I hope these tips can help you.

[sownsundew32905]

Here to do some obligatory nerd posting about the new ddvau chapter. Comparisons between rough and final comic panels!

Not much to talk about with Grian waking up. It’s fun to see just what details are kept in the rough sketches.

Still not much to note but since our new chapter I have my guard up on Martyn. The local listener and Grian seem to have some tension, but why? (this might’ve been talked about somewhere but I can’t remember).

The sillies :)

I assume Marty was just going to have a “…” speech bubble here, I’m curious as to why this was changed, anyone think they know why? Also sketch Gem had more prominent bangs.

Minor text change but not much change here. Love jimmies :D smile.

I adore Double Hearted and can’t wait to see where we are headed!

[sammywritesfics]

QH-Marriage Proposal.

Pairing: Quinn Hughes x Fem!Reader Word Count: 676 Warnings: None Request: "Can you write a story about Quinn buying and engagement ring and proposing to y/n? Also including how nervous he is. 🙏😍❤️ thank you!!" Requests are open!

--

Quinn had never been more nervous since he was drafted. He first knew he would propose when you took care of Luke after he got the stomach flu. Quinn had spent months searching for a ring, often texting his mom late at night in secret. It actually started a fight between you too once. 

You were dead convinced he was hiding something. You doubted he was cheating but he would sneak off halfway through dinner with his phone. Or spend late nights answering texts that you weren’t allowed to look at. 

One night Quinn came home with flowers and you bitterly replied, “Are those for your other girlfriend?”. Quinn furrowed his brows at a loss for words. “What?’ Was all that came out of his mouth. 

“late-night texting?” You sassed him. Quinn’s smile returned to his face. It was a goofy grin. “I’ve been asking my mom what the difference is between a princess cut and a pear ring..” Quinn said, setting the flowers on the counter as he reached for his back pocket. 

You stared at him completely shocked as he pulled out an engagement ring. “I’m not gonna propose immediately, I wanted it to be special..” Quinn said, putting it back in his flannel pocket. 

As your eyes watered, you wrapped your arms around him. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you…” you mumble into his arms. 

Since that night, you both talked about different things you wanted after marriage. But the most important thing is that you want it together. All the dumb little things didn’t matter in comparison after that. 

After that month, and the next you had almost forgotten it. You were at the lake house all week. Swimming with Jack, and playing games with Luke. Quinn loved how much you fit into his chaotic family. 

It was only when Ellen mentioned something about Quinn needing a ring polisher to you. That you knew it was gonna be this weekend. 

Quinn’s by the dock pacing as Jack and Luke try to calm him down. Quinn was rambling, “I’m gonna throw up, like actually throw up..”. Jack rolled his eyes, “You're not gonna throw up” he reassured, but neither he nor Luke could be certain at that moment. 

The only time they had seen him that nervous after the draft day, was when Luke broke their mom's fancy vase. And being the big brother, Quinn took the blame and paid for it. 

“She’s gonna say yes. All she ever talks about is you” Luke said casually as both his brothers snapped their heads to him. 

“You talk to her about it?” Quinn asked hopefully. Luke was a bit embarrassed as he sighed, running a hand over his mouth. “She once helped me sneak a girl out of the apartment. Since then she's been my sister” Luke said, watching as Jack burst into an uproar of questions. 

But when you walked out to see what the commotion was, Quinn had never been more certain in his life. Luke pulled Jack away so as to not ruin the perfect moment. Though any moment with Quinn was perfect for you. 

“I don’t have a great speech for this..” Quinn said, kneeling down on one knee. You immediately fell to match him before forcing yourself to stand up. He could see you were just as worried. 

“You can kneel if you want a pretty girl..” Quinn smiled, taking out the box from his shorts. He had even trimmed his hair for this. So you sat with him on the dock as the sun started to slowly descend. 

“I have wanted to marry you since you rubbed Luke's back for an hour as he threw up,” Quinn confessed to you. You couldn’t help but laugh at his words. 

“There’s no one I want to spend my life with. I can’t offer you much emotional support. Because sometimes I’m an idiot. But I'd love to be yours, even if I spend the rest of my life proving I deserve it.” It was short and sweet. 

You said yes, hugging him tightly as Quinn’s face flooded with relief. 

[43501]

The Relight movies aren't considered canon, really, since their events diverge so much from the anime/manga in full, but they have some interesting Mello/Near tidbits I want to revisit. (Skipping over L's "Monster" speech because plenty of ink has already been spilled on that.)

In the original story, Light finds out about Mello and Near when members of the task force dig into L's past and visit Wammy's House in person. They talk with Roger and are given Linda's sketches. In the Relight, nobody goes to England.

Light instead reads an article online praising Wammy's unique educational concepts and how this institution is producing child geniuses (most of the text is gibberish, but some fragments are legible). Mello and Near's academic accomplishments are acknowledged, but they're only depicted in illustration. Of course there's no mention of anything to do with L, but information about Wammy's House generally and some of its residents is freely available.

The scene of Mello meeting Near is so… amicable, compared to the original. Since Mikami/Takada are the ones who kill the SPK in the rewrite and not Mello, they all relent pretty much straight away when Near tells them to put down their guns. Mello has his scar, even though the whole mafia plot is cut and we don't see how he acquired it. Near mentions Mello bringing his attention to the fake rules. Mello never points his gun at Near. He just takes his photo back and tells Near "(he'll) be watching". Everything hanging over the interaction heavily implies that although they haven't exactly been working together, they have been exchanging information.

Close-up of Mello's face shows maybe his left eye is damaged (I went to lengths to see whether this was just supposed to be a glow from all the screens in the room - if so there would be other stills with a similar effect - but no, this shot is unique). I'm sure that's a subject that's come up in fanworks and discussion before, but I think this is the only time it's depicted in something canon. It's not the same frame as the original when he's looking at the back of the photograph Near returned to him, it's a new very similar one (similar shot from anime for comparison below).

[describe-things]

This post is made with speech to text because my hand hurts from typing so much today. Please forgive any typos or speech to text swapping similar sounding words.

If you would like to start writing your own image descriptions, feel free to ask any questions.

The main things to keep in mind is that they should begin with some variation of image description start or ID, and end with some variation of image description and, and ID or something like that. This distinguish the image description from the caption or anything else.

Image descriptions should not be written in italics, bold, all caps, or any colors. If text in the image is in all caps, write it in regular case, and simply note before or after it that it's in all caps.

Image descriptions should describe all images in the post, without skipping any. This includes images that are nothing but text.

Plain text image descriptions in the body of the post are more accessible than alt text alone, because many people who need image descriptions cannot use alt text, and Tumblr is known for its glitches, so the accessibility of the alt text all by itself varies widely over time.

It is more accessible to have the image descriptions indented than not, because this helps to visually separate the image description from the caption. Having brackets or parentheses at the end is also helpful for this. This allows people to easily distinguish between the caption and the image description if they need to.

If you are an artist, writing image descriptions for your art will give you full control over the image description, and will allow you to correctly identify details that others might miss. This gives you the opportunity to show which parts of your art hold meaning to you and are important to notice.

If you are describing real people who are unknown to you, unless it is specified within the post or you are already aware, please do not assign any gendered terms to them, or any " male presenting or female presenting" terms like that. This is completely unnecessary and leads to misgendering. It is best to simply describe visible facts about the people. Hair color, length, clothes and style, pose, expression, the light or darkness of their skin, things like that. Do not assume that someone is white simply because they have light skin.

Do not use image descriptions to lie to the audience in any way and do not use image descriptions to make jokes where the audience reading the image description is the butt of the joke.

As an example, if there is a very clearly fake screenshot, do not say that it is simply a screenshot, or if a photo is very blatantly photoshopped, do not say that it is simply a photo. Say an edited photo, a badly edited photo, a screenshot with editing, something like that to indicate the changes have been made and then what you are going to be describing is not the natural version.

As an example, you would say a crab photoshopped to be driving a car. Rather than a photo of a crab driving a car.

Unless you are transcribing a text within the image, do not use meme speak within image descriptions. Do not refer to dogs as doggos for example, unless it is to specify that the dog in the image is, within the image, labeled as a doggo. Do not describe someone walking downstairs as breasted bubbly downstairs, even if it is an actor humorously walking down the stairs to imitate that sentence. Describe the facts of the movements, and then you can make the comparison for clarity.

If someone adds an image description to your post whether this be an original post or a reblog that you have added an image to, it doesn't matter how many notes to post already has, please copy and paste that image description into the original post or your original reblog. If it is a new post that has only a few notes from friends, after you update the original, you can just ask your friends to delete the reblogs of the inaccessible version and reblog the new one. Most people who are good people and care about disabled people will happily do so.

Keep in mind that image descriptions are accessibility tools. Treat them as such.

Anyone can write image descriptions. You do not need any special qualifications or training. As long as you are willing to take constructive criticism if you make a mistake, an image description written by someone who's new to it and honestly doing their best with good intentions is better than no image description at all.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, so please feel free to add on more tips and advice.

[garbagepile]

Let me yap about Garroth's stutter for a second- this is sorta all over the place so sorry for that

So throughout mcd, Garroth has a little bit of a stutter that sometimes slips up when he's nervous.

Now stuttering is a speech impediment, not something that comes out of nowhere. But when nervous, it gets more frequent and notable.

One thing I like to point to is the side stories in the phase in-between mcd and mystreet.

What I want to point out here is how Garroth's nervousness shows, rather then being silent, he overexplains himself. And starts saying nonsense. His stutter is all over the place. And while his stutter is there in mcd, I can't find screenshots of his nerves being THIS obvious.

(Also what a guyfailure lol why did he suddenly start talking about cows. Garroth I know what you are (a fellow fan of cows))

Sorry for the bad picture quality but here is another screenshot of Garroth fumbling

Meaning that this might technically be an insight to mcd Garroth if he didn't try to be as serious and composed as he does in mcd? If more of his nerves would slip out?

This brings up something interesting, a sudden comparison I'd like to make. Despite them both being introverted and sorta 'stoic'. Aaron is notably much more silent then Garroth is. While Garroth is quite introverted in mcd, he still has walls of text when he speaks. He is still a yapper at heart. And so Garroth's awkwardness ends up with him overexplaining himself (or atleast for this to be his first instinct) whereas Aaron's awkwardness makes him go silent. Garroth actually starts suddenly speaking in caps sometimes out of nervousness while I'd like to imagine Aaron might start mumbling.

[cripplecharacters]

Sorry about this- My previous ask was probably not worded the best so I'm trying again even though it hasn't been answered yet. I realize you guys seem to be the most focused on solo writing instead of collaborative. Please publish this version instead of the one I made previously with similar questions.

I'm a text-based rper who wants to include a character with down syndrome in my stories.

In my usual practice for this hobby, I make character sheets: little summaries of things like my character's name, age, backstory, species, any skills or superpowers they might have, their general appearance, and the focus of this ask: Either a description of their voice, or a comparison of the character's voice to another fictional character's, or comparison to a real person's voice. (the last to are referred to as "voiceclaims" in my rp community.

What is the best way to describe the voice of a character with Down syndrome? Is there anything I should avoid in terms of descriptions or voiceclaims? Are there any suggestions or anything you guys would want to see in a voiceclaim aside from that the person I use actually have Down Syndrome?

Hey!

You already got the most important part of it, which is to make the voiceclaim be of a person who actually has DS.

Another thing would be to just treat the voiceclaim the same way as you would with any other character - don't settle on the first one you find just because they have Down syndrome. Try to find one that actually fits the character's background - accent, age, vibe, the same things you'd aim for an abled character's voiceclaim. If your character is supposed to be a middle-aged Russian woman, you probably wouldn't want to give her a voiceclaim from a 16-year-old British actress because it (probably) won't fit. Obviously there are limitations (there aren't as many options that you can choose from) but try to get as close as you can; even if people with DS have a lot of shared vocal characteristics, there's still variety.

This is a post on writing speech for character with intellectual disability and basically all of it will be relevant for characters with DS as well, since 99% of people with Down syndrome are also intellectually disabled (most of those who aren't have mosaic DS).

Characteristics that are more common in DS are ones like lower-pitched voice or monotonous tone, but not everyone will have them.

Some other things to consider is that stuttering is more common in people who have DS than in people who don't. Most people with Down syndrome are also hard of hearing and that can affect speech for some people, especially if they haven't had access to speech therapy. That's highly individualized, but might mean (for example) that they won't voice some sounds as much/at all since they can't hear them very well.

What would be most important in my opinion is to not use words such as "stupid" - not only is it insulting (obviously), but it doesn't really say much. Because what does it really mean? If it's supposed to mean that they stutter, say that they stutter. If they don't adjust the tone or loudness of their voice, say that instead. If they have a lisp, say that. And so on.

Try to also mention vocal characteristics that are unrelated to their DS, just like you would for other characters. What's their vocal range, how high is their voice, what is the general vibe, what's their accent, etc.

Hope this helps and happy World Down Syndrome Day :)

mod Sasza

[strawberrystepmom]

izuku x f!reader. reader is referred to as wife, he is referred to as husband, reader has a defined and briefly mentioned career. wife guy deku compilation indeed.

Hey, have you seen this?

Your screen lights up with a text message from one of your closest friends, another message with a link to a video following quickly after and you tilt your head to the side at your desk reading the title of the video.

“Deku Wife Guy Compilation”

It makes you chuckle to see these terms stitched together, something that would probably not make much sense to your blissfully offline-as-he-can-be husband, but you understand what it means and press the link to open the video. It takes a moment to load and you jiggle your foot impatiently as it does, abandoning what you were last working on to focus as he comes onto the rectangle screen.

“My wife is the best,” filters through your phone speakers as clear as day and you smile despite yourself, the familiar butterflies you get every time you look at him blooming beneath your ribs.

“First of all, I want to thank my wife.”

“My wife is the true savior in our household, she’s a doctor…”

“My beautiful ____, my wife, my heart.”

“None of this would be possible without my wife so please give her a hand.”

It’s a three minute video stitching together every time he has mentioned you in victory speeches and press interviews and the like and it makes you wonder what people could be saying. You’re no stranger to running into the stray hater online yet you scroll down to the comments section, eyes widening when you see it filled with nothing but admiration for the strong foundation of love your marriage is built upon.

iluvchargebolt: man, i hope i’m loved like this someday :’)

momospantyliner: The way his eyes light up when he says her name at 0:48…beautiful.

Allmightisalright07: Reminds me of how i used to talk about my wife when she was still with us. They are certainly soulmates.

In comparison to other comment sections you’ve scanned in the past, this one makes you feel very warm in comparison and you feel the need to look away after being perceived by so many people who don’t even know you. Izuku’s love is so evident for you even strangers see it from a mile away, they can hear it in the soft way his tongue caresses your name like he’s kissing you every time he says it.

You put your phone down and turn back to your work, letting the video play over the speaker just to hear his voice when your screen lights up again and vibrates on top of your desk. Another text from the same friend, another link.

There are 10 of these omg

Another link pops up on your screen in a blue bubble, this time to a playlist containing videos in the same fashion as the first. Deku Wifeguy Compilation 1-10. Giggling to yourself, you press play and let the playlist run, each video growing in length with the shortest at 3 minutes and the longest at just over 10, your eyes widening realizing that he loves you so much there are videos worth of him simply stating it over and over and over again.

The same compulsion that led you to check the comments section on the first video takes over and you decide to pause the playlist and read, scanning the comments for anything you could potentially use as fodder to be angry about later.

shotopleasereturnmycalls: damn��i really am single.

Redriotsarmpithair9680: Love like this is rare. So glad our beacon of hope has a safe place to land after he’s done keeping us safe <3

You don’t dare to go any further lest you do see something you won’t like, keeping the video paused and locking your phone to set it aside and reflect. It’s strange to live a life so public and private all at once, hiding some parts and sharing the others, but you’re grateful the most consistent thing about Izuku is that he has never wanted to do anything but shine his light on you, to make you the spotlight of his world and everything about him.

Abruptly you pick your phone up and slide the screen upward, the messages app filling your screen. You click out of the thread with your friend and into the one with Izuku and you type out three simple words, the ones that you feel all day every day.

You: I love you.

Miles away, he looks down at his phone screen and snaps a quick picture of himself grinning, scrunching his nose, freckles barely visible thanks to the low light and bad angle but it’s all him - silly and sweet and sincere. He sends it off with the three simple words he feels about you in return, all day every day.

Izuku: I love you too, my perfect wife.

[plrle]

1.1. camille desmoulins in the eyes of contemporaries: was he really THAT emotional?

i’m starting a series of posts dedicated to the subject of camille desmoulins’ portrayal in european dramas of xix-xx centuries. i’m going to post it rather irregularly, since i’m travelling right now, and because of artfight, but i’ll try nonetheless!

before we begin to analyse dramatic works that include the figure of camille desmoulins as one of the characters, let us consider how the personality of camille desmoulins was perceived during his lifetime, both by people who knew him personally, and by those who weren’t exactly friends with him but still had to encounter his texts and statements in the political space.

given that this paragraph is devoted to a review of the views of contemporaries, it is worth noting that many of the presented opinions are going to be highly subjective sometimes and may not reflect the real historical situation. propaganda is one of the most powerful tools in politics; often the statements of certain frev politicians may be backed not so much by their real opinion on desmoulins as by a desire to support or, on the contrary, to accuse desmoulins/the dantonists/club des cordeliers of something. and we’ll also investigate the impression camille made on his contemporaries and the image that was formed around him during his lifetime.

since i’m already posting on frevblr, i will omit describing his biography :D we all know at least some basic facts about desmoulins’ life. yet the semi-mythical stories surrounding camille's image begin as early as his adolescence. fleury tells of camille desmoulins' strange behaviour when he returned to guise on vacation in 1784. the guests who had gathered to dine with the young student, had heard that he became very emotional when the topic of conversation touched on republican ideas. one of the guests deliberately provoked desmoulins by denying all his theses, from which camille, angry, trembling and almost crying, got up from the table, threw a dinner-napkin on his head, jumped on the table and spoke at length about his principles. he really likes jumping on furniture to say his speeches, eh?

later on, when camille became a famous journalist, there are also stories of how emotional he might get in comparison to other people. according to joachim vilate, on hearing the sentence of the еribunal révolutionnaire to execute the brissotins, camille, although he himself had contributed to the decision, became extremely agitated and threw himself into the arms of vilate, crying out loud about how he is killing them all and how he wants to leave.

and, of course, then there’s this well-known speech by robespierre in jacobin club of 18 nivôse, when, discussing camille, robespierre called him “a child with good intentions, but who was led astray by bad company”.

then there are stories about his behaviour during the imprisonment, but, in my opinion, the emotional reactions of his in this case, if they were true, are quite valid - imagine being arrested and not knowing what will happen to your wife - death probably awaits her. needless to say, many people would probably cry in this situation.

so, the patrol tasked with arresting desmoulins and danton found the former in tears, though in a remarkably calm state of mind.

while imprisoned, camille wrote in his letters to lucile: "the thought of my solitude, the dreadful bars that separate me from you, overcame all my firmness of soul. i burst into tears, or rather I sobbed, crying out in my tomb. lucile! lucile! oh my dear lucile, where are you?". the original letter bears traces of his tears.

on his way to the scaffold, seized by rage and despair, laughing nervously and agitated, camille tried to tear the ropes and, tearing his shirt to shreds, addressed the crowd with a last appeal.

in conclusion of this post, the image of camille's personality was already formed during his lifetime: he appears as a charismatic journalist, gullible, overly influenced by emotions. his image wasn't always of a crybaby, though! marat spoke of him as a man whom ‘nature made so cheerful, so witty, so friendly’. if you read more about what marat wrote about and to desmoulins, if anything, he finds him funny and amusing.

many historical episodes documented by contemporaries show that camille was indeed characterised by sensitivity and emotionality - whether the episodes themselves were true or not.

stay tuned for the next 1.2 chapter, "the image of camille desmoulins in the context of conservative reaction and gender discourse"!

[writer-logbook]

favorite things to write about?

Hello 👋

I hope things are going well for you. Thanks for getting in touch ! 💖 (Take care, sweetling, in case you decide not to read the post, at least you hear it now lol. And don't hesitate to share what you like to write as well !)

I am a fan of writing descriptions. So… how about we make a blog entry about it ?

HOW TO... MAKE A GOOD DESCRIPTION

A good description of a space gets all five senses going. For example, if I'm describing a bedroom, I might talk about the furniture placement or the curtains (what I see), the sound the floorboards or tiles might make (what I hear), if the floor is cold (what I touch), or if the room smells musty or has a specific odor (what I smell). In this example, I don't have to worry about taste, lol. It's just like real life: when we walk into a room, our whole body is involved. However, if it serves the plot to emphasize one particular sense, just do it.

If we use metaphors or comparisons, they have to represent the character they follow. That means sticking to their level of world knowledge, vocabulary, and language use. If someone lives in the city and has never been to the countryside, they probably won't use comparisons specific to it. They might do so using phrases like "He thought that must be what wheat looked like." Using the verb "thought," which expresses an opinion, makes the uncertain comparison seem valid because it's presented as perceived rather than factual. Also, descriptions are rarely just factual. They got a lot of emotional depth. This appreciation can be explicit or implied (e.g., pathetic fallacy). And often, this comes through in the use of figures of speech, like comparisons, metaphors, and personifications.

Stick to what's essential. It's not so much about saving time, but more about being practical. Everything in your text has a purpose. Descriptions should do more than just let readers imagine what you're showing them; they should also explain why what they see is important. For example: If your main character (MC) walks down a hallway with photos but doesn't stop and look at them, don't go into detail about the photos. No one will care. BUT, if MC spends a lot of time in their bedroom, it might be interesting to show their "living space" to help the reader understand who MC is and why they stay in their room. This can help the reader connect with the character and understand the plot better. Gentle reminder: keep your story flowing. That doesn't mean it has to be a bunch of actions, but the general rhythm should stay the same. A descriptive moment, which is basically a "pause in the action" because of its reflective nature, has to serve a purpose and shouldn't be gratuitous.

Showing vs. Telling. I have mixed feelings about this approach to writing. It's personal and reflects MY own style, so I'm speaking from MY perspective. I like it when things have a name. I use "telling" a lot, but I use "showing" a lot too, as a process. For example, when I write about fear, I'll describe the states my character goes through and end with "he was afraid." Yeah, okay girl, we get it. If I've given a clear enough description beforehand, this shouldn't be an issue. But I've noticed that ending a passage with its name makes it more emphatic and cuts out any doubt. It's not anxiety, and it's not terror. It's fear—nothing else. This helps me create the effect I'm going for. My character basically goes through phases, analyzes them, and draws conclusions (but that's just because I write sci-fi lol).

CONCLUSION: All these tips should help you write descriptions that give an ATMOSPHERE to your text. The choice of words and narrative voice ensure that your prose is SOMETHING OTHER THAN a biology textbook (but no offense, i love biology ).

BONUS: Here's an example of one of the last descriptions I wrote (which I unfortunately had to translate...):

Auxanne complies. Her steps make the staircase boards creak. She no longer remembers which step to avoid to prevent making noise, so she presses a bit harder than necessary on each one to try to compose a new score of silence. She ignores the photos covering the walls, closes her eyes to the portraits of Julien embracing her in some of them. When she closes her bedroom door, the young girl can't tell if the sad squeak she hears is coming from the rusty hinges or from her single sob that was almost immediately stifled.

It hurts to be here. It's hard to return. But she says nothing, she cannot. So her eyes embrace the room in its entirety, taking in the patchwork on the bed, the stains on the curtains, the beanbag in the upper left corner. There's even still the jacket (too small now) that she left during her last visit five years ago. The only real change she notices is the bath towel placed on the bed and the dust that seems to have frozen on the window frame. Auxanne timidly advances into the room then drops her bags on the floor. Then she lets herself fall flat on the mattress, which gently sags under her weight.

Eyes fixed on the peeling paint on the ceiling, she can't help thinking about her brother and the unfathomable void he left in her young heart. She still doesn't grasp what happened, didn't see it coming. And in the middle of this child's bedroom drowned in memories, sheltered from the bustle of the hallway where footsteps scrape against the floorboards, Auxanne remembers how alone she has felt since Julien's suicide.

[hervygervy]

Also since I'm the resident pyrrhon autist I'm curious how his japanese dialogue handles humility with his arrogant personality and all. Particularly I've often wondered if the way he uses those terms switches or not at that bit around the beginning of his bossfight when he's briefly himself and trying to fight them back, like if he shows any "cracks" so to speak. I hope specific kinda translation comparison requests like this are okay

Thank you for your request! Let's talk about Pyrrhon :)

His boss fight has a really interesting difference in the Japanese version! I will talk about it at the end of this post because first I would like to talk about Pyrrhon more generally.

Normally I would like to include English voice files just for the sake of easily accessible comparison, but this website seeks to inhibit me and contain my hyperfixation and I am only able to attach so many voice files. Tragic. So because we have a lot of ground to cover, unfortunately, we'll just be working with Japanese voice files today. I'll try to reference the English version when I can. Once again, we'll be here a while, so read below the cutoff!

Some initial notes that might be of interest to you before we really dive in (it's a bunch of language stuff so bear with me!) Pyrrhon's called ラーズ (Raazu, but I'll render it as "Raaz" in my translations) in the Japanese version. I sincerely wish I could tell you what this is derived from but I honest to goodness have no idea. The English name meanwhile is obviously sourced from "pyro" as in fire and even perhaps figures like King Pyhrrus, which is where the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" comes from (a triumph which takes such a toll on the victor that it eventually leads to defeat).

In the Japanese version he consistently uses informal speech and masculine sentence ending particles. We don't have particles in English so it's difficult to explain, but the best way I can describe it is the way he ends his sentences give off a strong and gruff masculine vibe.

Despite this very apparent manner of speech, he uses 私 (watashi) to refer to himself. I point this out because unlike in English, there are dozens of first-person pronouns in Japanese and what you use, depending on the context, will say a lot about you as a person. 私 is like the "default" pronoun (as in like that's what you'd be taught to use in a class first thing). It's gender neutral and applicable for both casual and formal situations. I'd say it leans ever so slightly formal. In casual conversations, it sounds a little feminine. If a man is using it in a casual situation, it either sounds awkward, or like the speaker is trying to establish some distance between himself and the listener, thus coming across as a little cold and stiff.

Palutena also uses "watashi," but interestingly, in the game's subtitles, hers is always written out in hiragana like わたし while Pyrrhon's is always written in kanji like 私. It's the exact same word at the end of the day so I guess it's just a stylistic choice?

There are also a bunch of second-person pronouns in Japanese because of course there are. They're rarely used in actual conversation, however. It tends to come across as a bit rude, and using the other person's name instead of "you" is generally preferable. I've only ever really seen it in anime and manga or texts that address the "general you" as it's called. Pyrrhon uses キミ (kimi) to refer to others. The way キミ (or 君 as it's usually written) is perceived tends to vary from person to person it seems, it can either sound affectionate or it can sound like you're a bossy man addressing his subordinates since it's apparently historically associated with the masculine first-person pronoun 僕 (boku). Nowadays 僕 is more of the young boy's pronoun, though. Pit actually uses it.

With that out of the way, you know that Pyrrhon is meant to be a comic book superhero parody of sorts, so naturally, in the Japanese version, he uses a lot of English words/phrases in his speech. Here's the Japanese equivalent of his introduction as an example:

He uses a few English words here. The English script adapts this by instead giving him a lot of silly one-liners that you'd expect to hear in some Saturday morning cartoon. You could probably make the argument that this aspect of his character thus more effectively expressed in the English version. This interaction also plays out a little differently here in the Japanese version. Oh, but I guess I should translate:

Pyrrhon: No problem!

Palutena: Are you... the sun god, Raaz?

Pyrrhon: Yes!

Pit: The sun god, Raaz...?

Viridi: The self-proclaimed "emissary of the sun."

Pyrrhon: So you're all together, huh?

Palutena: Raaz, is there something you know about this enemy army?

Pyrrhon: Listen well! This here! Is the floating continental cluster of the Aurum!

Hades: The Aurum, huh?

Pyrrhon: This bit's important so I'll say it again! This is the floating continental cluster of the Aurum!

Viridi: Geez, that's enough.

Pyrrhon: In the book of Revelation of the Realm of Gods, chapter 84, verse 3: "Lured by destruction and heresy, they are born from nothing and appear to return to nothing. Those that swallow the heavens, earth, and sea--they are the Aurum. They travel across the galaxy!"

Viridi: Is there really such a legend?

Pyrrhon: To put it plainly, you could say the Aurum can swallow up the world at this rate! Let's work together! Come now, shoot these invaders from space!

Pit: Is it really alright to put our trust this guy?

Palutena: Well, his explanation matches the current state of affairs.

Viridi: Well, I suppose it's good to call this enemy army "the Aurum."

Pyrrhon pretty much sticks true to this style of speech throughout the rest of this section of the game. It's over the top and gruff and commanding you could say.

A few notes! Pyrrhon is referred to as a 太陽神 (taiyoushin) which means "sun god" I suppose, but if we break down the meanings for the individual kanji, it's "plump sunshine god" and I personally find that amusing. Okay, what's actually more interesting is Viridi states that he's a "self-proclaimed 太陽の使い" (taiyou no tsukai) or "messenger/envoy of the sun." I went with "emissary" for my translation since that's a common phrase in a lot of mythologies and it carries a similar sentiment. But either way, the use of 使い implies more something along the lines of "servant of the sun" which is curious. Personally I'm wondering if the purpose behind this wording is to draw a parallel to Pit who can be described as a 天の使い (ten no tsukai) or "angel," but I'll return to that thought later.

Another minor note is that Pyrrhon states that the Aurum are "破壊と破戒にいざなわれ" (hakai to hakai ni izanaware) and 破戒 (hakai) means like, breaking a religious commandment, so I went to translate it as "heresy" for simplicity's sake.

When Pyrrhon says "those that swallow the heavens, earth, and sea," he uses the word 者 (mono) to describe them. It means "person" which makes the Aurum sound a lot more humanlike. I still opted to use "those" because it still can be used as a determiner.

Lastly, this is just mildly interesting, instead of "the Book of Divine Prophecy," it's a mess of kanji that I attempted to decode as "the Revelation of the Realm of Gods." It's written as 神界黙示録 (shinkai mokushiroku). The last three kanji in this set, 黙示録 (mokushiroku), is actually the title of the book of Revelation. You know, like from the Bible. Neat, huh?

Since we don't have English voice files, I'll just point out the notable dialogue differences:

In English, Pyrrhon elaborates that the floating islands we encounter in chapter 15 are just one of the many bases the Aurum possess. In the Japanese, he doesn't really comment on this and instead just repeats the fact that we are indeed looking at the Aurum islands. Thanks, buddy.

In English, once Pyrrhon finishes explaining the supposed passage, he tells the others to "stow their fear" and that he'll essentially take care of everything on his own, or at least, that's the implication. In Japanese he immediately suggests everyone work together. Everyone seems a bit more receptive in Japanese whereas they're more hesitant in English, especially with Viridi saying "you know things are dire if that's the guy we're listening to."

Also, sometimes what he says is rendered using Roman letters in the subtitles:

His laughter is always rendered in Roman letters. In the Japanese text below, he says "shoot! Shoot!!" as in English "shoot," not Japanese "shoot" (撃つ/utsu). It's not quite the same as kablooey kablammy, huh...

I'm not quite done with chapter 15 yet. There's one curious dialogue difference at the end of the level. Here's the English line:

And the Japanese:

He says "it seems I won't be bored for a while!" Well, I'm glad he's having fun.

Much like how his comic book superhero persona is hammed up in the English version, I'd say his arrogance and haughtiness is intensified. He does a lot more talking down to the others in the English dialogue. Sure, he does speak informally in the Japanese version, but this is also a video game so, that's par for the course. Anime, manga, and video games don't often reflect how actual spoken Japanese goes. You could say it's like, super exaggerated Japanese. And it can often get pretty crude or informal. What I'm trying to say is, Japanese Pyrrhon's speech doesn't strike me as terribly unusual. He talks like any other brash anime character. None of the other characters seemed too unnerved by him compared to the English version, anyway.

As for chapter 16, Pyrrhon only appears for a brief moment to aggravate the boss. The interactions between the two versions are pretty much the same, so there's not much to talk about, but I will note this!

"You seem to be having trouble, Pit!" ...or "Pit-kun" in this case.

Most of the time he addresses Pit as "kun." This is a masculine honorific, usually used by men addressing their male subordinates or used to refer to good male friends (it's not wrong to use it for women, but the typical usage is for men). In English he says "looks like you could use a hand, little angel" which to me sounds kinda condescending but I'm sure the intention was to sound kinda affectionate in the "hey, we're buddies, right?" kinda way that the Japanese seems to convey. Or maybe I'm totally wrong and the English writers did want to make him sound more condescending.

In a previous post, I talked a little bit about how talking about giving things in Japanese is complicated. In particular, Viridi was using やる (yaru) when asking Palutena if she was giving Pit any kind of allowance (the Japanese equivalent of the "floor ice cream" bit). やる is used when talking about giving things to something of lower status, but in the context that the receiver is literally like a plant or an animal. Pyrrhon seems to have a little bit more respect than her!

"I shall lend you a hand!" Or "I shall assist you!" However you want to word it. Here he's using あげよう (ageyou) which the volitional conjugation of あげる (ageru). あげる is used when talking about giving something to someone of equal or lower status, but not in the animal or plant type of lower status. Hopefully that makes sense. Considering that he addresses Pit as "kun" and not in the sarcastic way like Hades does, I'm going to presume that Japanese Pyrrhon sees him on a relatively equal enough playing field. That's the impression I get anyway.

Alright! That was! A whole lot of yapping! And there is more to come because because we are so close to the moment you've been waiting for! We shall talk about chapter 17!! And then the boss fight!!!

When Pyrrhon and Pit encounter the Aurum brain, in the English version, Pyrrhon's lines are delivered in a pretty nonchalant fashion. In Japanese he maintains his energy and pep. Take a listen:

In English he says something like "do your thing, Pit! You know, your... shooting thing." Anyway, a translation for the voice clip!

Pit: This is... the Aurum brain?

Pyrrhon: Shoot at it, Pit! Shoot at it until your sacred treasure burns up!

No more "kun," huh? He's probably too fixated on that brain, anyway.

Oh, uh, any instance of 神器 (jingi) or "sacred treasure" in the Japanese version is replaced with "weapon" in the English version. I wonder if such phrasing is for the sake of keeping in line with franchise terminology, or perhaps directly referencing "weapons" would have run the team into trouble with the ratings board, CERO. If you care, the game has a CERO B rating in Japan, which means it's suitable for ages 12 and up. It's pretty much the equivalent of the ESRB E10+ rating, which is what the game got in the states. Supposedly, the beheading of the Hewdraw is what cemented the game's rating as B in Japan.

That's not relevant. Let's move onto when Pyrrhon assumes control over the Aurum troops!

Level Infinity Epic Super God Plus!! ...nah he didn't say that. It went something like this:

Pit: I-I'm saved! And Raaz?

Pyrrhon: Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Well done, Pit!

Pit: Raaz?!

Pyrrhon: Thanks to you, I've become this magnificent! I'm invincible! I'm invincible! I'm invincible! I'm invincible! I've obtained the strongest power!

Pit: What do you mean?

Pyrrhon: This is what I mean...!

"Kun" has returned! Anyway, I pointed out the one line change already.

How irritating that it's split up into two voice files. Continuing the conversation:

I shall continue the translation:

Pit: No way... Raaz?!

Pyrrhon: HAHAHAHAHAHA! The Aurum are now my hands and feet! The Aurum will embark reborn! I'll give you all a show!

Hades: Ho ho! This guy's interesting! What a discovery!

Viridi: I don't think this is a situation to be glad about.

Pit: Raaz, you rat! Tricking an angel! That's not okay!

Pyrrhon: With this vast power, I will challenge the gods!

A few notes: Pyrrhon uses やる (yaru) for "give" here! He's really on his high horse now.

Pit says "ラーズめ" and tacking め onto anything makes it derogatory. People can translate it in a number of ways, like "you scum" or "damn you" or "bastard" or what have you (I'm really not fond of swearing so I hope my friends don't read this and make a big deal about it). Pit's kinda talking in a childish way here so I opted for "rat," especially since that's what's used in the English version, haha. He uses いけない (ikenai) which is something one would use when describing something like socially unacceptable. Basically he's saying "you're not allowed to trick me!"

Lastly, when Pyrrhon says "challenge," he's using 挑戦 (chousen) which carries the implication of a defiant attitude. I felt that was important to mention!

The differences between the English and Japanese here are pretty minor. Pyrrhon emphasizes his newfound power a lot more in the English version, I'd say, with his whole "not even the combined power of the gods can stop me" bit. He also seems a bit more overtly haughty? (seems a bit more subtle in Japanese to me anyway). He blatantly brushes off Pit in English ("What?! I can't hear you over all this awesome!") but just kinda continues his spiel in Japanese.

We all know that Pyrrhon shows off his quirky new powers by blocking Palutena's extraction (or "jamming" it as he says in Japanese) and we're forced to fight on some dinky platforms. Thankfully we have dialogue to ease the pain. We always do, I guess. Such is the way of radio-style storying telling as it's called in gaming. One interaction always stood out to me. In English it goes like this:

Hades: Our little sun buddy must have a thing for you, Pit.

Viridi: Of course he does. Pit's the only one that loon considers an equal.

We can infer a lot from this... Pit and Pyrrhon are comparable in the sense that neither of them are really taken all that seriously by the gods. For Pit, we can easily see this by the way quite literally any other character treats him. Other characters are baffled to see that he can put up a fight or they simply don't want to admit that he's a genuine one man army. Palutena is probably the only character that will give him any credit, but even then, she isn't beyond toying with him or speaking for him. But I already addressed all that in a post replying to a comment.

Pyrrhon is also disregarded immediately, both in English and Japanese. His status as a god is always called into question (we the player never learn his true place in the divine hierarchy), other characters are quick to doubt him, and well, everyone only ends up following along with him because what other choice is there?

You get the point. Pyrrhon seeks the Aurum's power in order to finally get on the gods' level. To finally be taken seriously. That kind of thing. I was really surprised to learn that the interaction plays out a little differently in Japanese:

It goes something like this:

Pit: Alright! We made it out of the giant battleship!

Palutena: Enemies are approaching from all directions! Watch your surroundings well!

Hades: Did Sunny fall in love? You're very popular, eh?

Viridi: Of course he is. Because right now, as it stands, the only one who can oppose Aurum Raaz is Pit.

Quick note: Hades calls Pyrrhon "太陽ちゃん" (taiyou-chan) and ちゃん is an affectionate honorific, one you'd use for close friends or pets. Obviously he's using it sarcastically here. I employed some creative translation. The actual English script writers had to do the same thing, you know.

But yeah, I can't say the Japanese dialogue leaves as much room for character analysis, huh? It's more or less stating the obvious. The Underworld army isn't really participating here, and Viridi was unable to inhibit Pyrrhon with her last reset bomb. So yeah, Pit really is the only one left that can actually challenge Pyrrhon.

Well, I can go back to that point I brought up earlier. Pyrrhon was called the 太陽の使い or "messenger of the sun," and you can draw that kind of parallel to 天の使い or "heavenly messenger," or more simply, "angel." On that basis, I'd say perhaps you can draw a connection between the two. Maybe they were always meant to be compared in both versions. Or maybe I'm looking too deep into it.

Before we get to the boss fight, I just wish to point out that in the Japanese version, a standard centurion gets some speaking lines, whereas the English version only has a strongarm talking:

I guess I'll translate: "Captain! We came because we wanted to be useful to Lady Palutena."

Okay okay okay boss fight time!! In English, Pyrrhon starts talking in a robotic voice. In Japanese, it's a strained voice. Take a listen:

Translation as usual!

Palutena: Raaz is just up ahead!

Pyrrhon: Stooooop... turn baaaaaack...

Pit: Is Raaz like, acting completely strange or what?

Palutena: Perhaps it's because of the overflowing exaltation?

Oh, and the portraits are different! In English we immediately get a glimpse of Aurum Pyrrhon:

In Japanese, he's still using one of his standard portraits:

...the laughing one to be precise. Okay. But his speech is now rendered in katakana. To reiterate from a previous post, Japanese uses three writing systems all at once. Katakana, this angular text you see here, is mainly used to render foreign words into the Japanese sound system, but it can also be used for stylization purposes and whatnot. Here it's clearly meant to indicate that his words aren't fully his own...

After a loading screen we get to fight him! The boss intro in English has Pyrrhon spew out this binary code:

Supposedly it spells "kill" in ASCII binary. In Japanese it's a lot more "normal":

Pyrrhon: You've come... Pit...

Pit: Raaz! What in the world?!

He's still straining like before the loading screen. But where things get interesting is as he continues to try to talk:

Whoa! Pyrrhon! I can't hear you all over that TV static!

Yeah, so in order to understand what he's saying at all, you actually have to read the text. Cool, because that's what I've been doing anyway. My audio processing abilities are atrocious, after all. That and it's easier to look up words I don't know (which is a lot of them) in my dictionary when I can actually see what words they're using. So let's translate:

Pit: Raaz! Are you really controlling the Aurum? Or, are you being controlled by the Aurum?!

Pyrrhon: I... >cannot be controlled.

The top image is the text pertaining to Pyrrhon struggling to say "I" and the bottom image depicts when the static kicks in with "cannot be controlled" by using an > arrow.

The static speech is rendered in katakana. Alien speech is typically written that way in Japanese media to really emphasize their foreign status.

It's a bit eerie to listen to when it's just the audio, huh? Let's hear a bit more:

Pit: W-what was that?!

Palutena: As expected, you could say he succumbed to the power of the Aurum brain.

Pyrrhon: >Do not inhibit our mission. We will consume all.

Hades: They behave just like insects. Considering their strength, it's fine if they're low-grade, huh?

Palutena: Drawn to the torch of battle, they live only to consume everything. Calling them bees or locusts might not entirely be wrong.

Pyrrhon: >We will multiply. We will continue to increase.

Viridi: But every living thing is like this. Their desperate survival connects to their growth, and they influence each other, enabling for the cycle of life. However, these guys are troubling! Their power is too strong!

Palutena: That and they're an alien species, after all.

Pit: Won't they eat everything at this rate?!

Palutena: That's why you have to put an end to this, Pit!

It's pretty similar to the English. Minus the hungry moths. RIP hungry moths. And I guess in English Aurum Pyrrhon says "we will be all" rather than "we will consume all." Something like that.

Also, when the Aurum (static) speak, they use the pronoun ワ��ワレ (wareware) which is super old-fashioned and means "we." It supposedly has a strong emphasis on one's own existence. Fitting for the Aurum.

I'll share with ya one last static:

Yay, it's easy for me:

Pit: Return to space!

Pyrrhon: >Uuuoooooo

Eventually the static becomes calming to listen to.

Obviously I didn't hit every Pyrrhon moment, but these are all the notable differences I could find and interesting things I could point out! Aurum Pyrrhon is pretty different between both versions, huh? The whole static thing almost makes it seem all the more dire. To me anyway.

Thank you for bearing with me in this long post. I'll probably do more characterization posts next, so they'll probably be just as long as this one...

[piierogis]

Javert asks to get fired - extended cut

A word of explanation: Les Miséres is Victor Hugo's 1848 draft - a prototype version of Les Misérables. The followng are notes on its version of chapter 1.6.2 - How Jean may become Champ.

The full text (in French) is available here: https://chanvrerie.net/outtakes/madeleine-fr/

The Les Mis Letters server had a field day with it, so I'm posting the notes for the world to see :D especially since it's @valvertweek and this version is... you know.

The notes below were written by our beloved Yazhmog from the Les Mis Letters Discord server <3 so keep in mind that they might be subjective

Jean notices immediately how weird Javert seems and softly asks him what’s the matter

Javert calls himself an idiot (he says he has ”the hatred of an idiot” against Jean/Madeleine) & implies he stalked Madeleine (he talks about ”illegal surveillance”. It seems he’s mostly referring to snooping into Madeleine’s past here)

Jean has to take a paper to pretend to look over it as Javert gears up to explain, in order to keep his countenance because he Feels like he’s gonna need it. The paper is upside-down, which Javert doesn’t notice bc he doesn’t observe Madeleine like he did beforehand.

”J’espère que cette fois-ci j’aurai raison contre moi-même et que vous n’hésiterez pas à faire punir l’inspecteur Javert sur le rapport de l’inspecteur Javert.” = "I hope that this time I will prevail against myself and that you won’t hesitate to have inspector Javert punished on the word of inspector Javert"

Javert gives backstory on how he ended up guard in the bagne!!! he’s been noticed in his youth for his scrupulous work (? the french says service)  by M. Thierry ”captain of the kingdom’s chains” [no idea what that it. presumably an overseer of the bagne???] who, after a voyage or two, was satisfied of him and gave him his bagne post.

"J’ai rapporté de là des souvenirs, une espèce de feuille de signalement dans la tête. Que voulez-vous ? on peut faire des rencontres plus tard, et je croyais cela bon pour le service." I don’t get what Javert means here, if someone else wants to take a crack at it....

it seems Javert has a harder time admitting his ”fault” than in the finished book. he meanders a lot, is generally vaguer about where his suspicions came from and outright says ”how am i going to finish saying what i have to say?"

he mentions that  Madeleine is so honored in the kingdom that he (Javert) should be on his knees to talk to him.

When Javert finally says he suspected Madeleine of being the convict Jean Tréjean, the paper Jean’s holding starts trembling so much he has to lean on his elbow to stop his hands from shaking. Javert doesn’t notice.

Javert says he suspects that Jean stole from the bishop, but that the bishop covered it up by charity. He draws a parallel between that attitude of the bishop and Madeleine’s and says ”That bishop was a man like you” (as in, they’re alike)

at that, Jean slowly looks up at the ceiling with an indefinable expression. Javert still doesn’t notice and continues talking.

He says that Madeleine looks a little like Jean Tréjean and that he (Javert) is ”cross with it” [i’m having a hard time translating ”j’en suis fâché” with the right vibe]. Madeleine and Jean don’t have the same sound of voice though.

”que vous étiez passé dans la ville comme un champignon” wtf is that comparison Javert uses. ”that you went through town like a mushroom"????

Javert mentions rumors that no one has seen Madeleine’s passport (he specifically says ”the color” of his passport but idk if it’s supposed to be literal or the expression ”voir la couleur de” which would just emphasize that no one has caught even a glimpse of that passport).

he also mentions that Madeleine’s mourning was said to be for the bishop

Javert’s speech sounds a bit lower-class in that version than in the final one

Javert calls his assumptions ”mean and absurd”

when Javert offers his apology, Jean looks at him super deeply, ”as if trying to "rummage through Javert’s soul” and the narration emphasizes the role reversal: ”Now it was Madeleine who was scrutinizing Javert.”

The most mysterious sentence Javert has said in his speech is for Jean ”Now I know the truth, there’s no more mystery.". Jean finds that sentence ”strange and frightful”. But he stays silent.

Javert is unconsciously making little folds in the fabric covering the table. (in the finished LM, he fiddles with drying powder for ink instead)

Madeleine is waiting for Javert to speak again, but waiting ”with the facial expression of a man who’d wait and stay quiet as red-hot pincers chew his entrails and eat his stomach”

after a FEW MINUTES Javert asks if Madeleine has questions for him. Madeleine says no. Another silence, before Madeleine admits that he doesn’t quite understand [at that point, he doesn’t yet know why Javert’s suspicions stopped].

Javert then explains, and starts with saying how monstrous it would have been for a convict to ”desecrate” a magistrature. He literally says it’s worse than murder in his eyes. And he says that convicts ”never repent” even if they seem to (he warns Madeleine against them).

Javert would have found unmasking a convict mascarading as a magistrate a great service to society. He calls it an ambition that blinded him. He again calls his suspicions ”stupid”.

Jean is breathless [i’m not sure that’s quite the right word. It’s ”haletant” in french, as in taking big, only half-efficient gulps of air. he’s like. on the verge of a panic attack i’d say in this context] at that point

Javert bows to Jean. His eyes are wet and he almost seems like he’s going to go down on his knees.

He asks Jean fervently to ”punish him and forgive him”. He doesn’t want Jean to be angry with him. The narration says that ”Javert was almost eloquent” saying this.

They’re stuck into anxious silence a moment, Javert still in an imploring position. Each of them awaits a word from the other one.

Javert finally asks if Jean is cross with him. Jean tells him he’s waiting for him to finish. Javert tells him, seemingly a bit baffled, that he has finished. [he still hasnt explained why he dropped his suspicions]

Jean fiddles with the fire in the hearth (to give himself time) before asking again for confirmation. Javert insists that he’s finished.

Jean has managed to put on an expression of calm. He takes up his paper again, fakes quick rereading it, pretends under his teeth he’ll have to write to someone about a probably fake case, write something probably random on it before turning back to Javert. He asks him how he found out ”the truth”.

Javert apologizes, says he was so preoccupied with himself that those details didn’t seem useful because "you don’t need someone to prove to you that you’re not Jean Tréjean"

Jean fiddles with the fire again

Javert mentions that Madeleine might have met Champmathieu walking around in the countryside. His explanation is generally pretty close to the final version. Some differences: 1) He does mention though that kids stealing apples like that is nothing, but a man doing it is serious. 2) he qualifies Champmathieu of ”sly” when he denies Brevet’s accusation 3) he mention that Jean Tréjean is not an idiot when he supposedly lets ”Jean Mathieu” become ”Champmathieu". 4) He doesn’t say that he’s upset to have ”recognized” Jean in Champmathieu 5) he insists on the proof of everyone recognizing Jean in Champmathieu by saying ”Two plus two equals four"

Jean searches for the sincerity in Javert’s face and finds it, along with sadness.

Javert says that when he suspected Jean he was constantly in doubt and had a lot of bad nights because of it. In contrast, he’s certain that Champmathieu is Jean Tréjean.

Champmathieu ardently protests in this version

Javert has a funny phrase, saying ”the old rascal will be condemned, like I eat my soup”. He adds that the prosecutor is very good, and writes verses.

Javert’s sadness lifts as he talks about the chances of condemnation for Champmathieu.

Jean flips through his papers before pulling the same trick as in the final version to get the day of the trial.

Instead of insisting that he has to be fired, Javert says ”Monsieur le maire forgot that I am now nothing.”

Jean says he finds Javert serious and honest, and that he holds Javert in high esteem, especially for his rigorous self-denounciation.

Javert mentions he has made several secret reports to the Paris police headquarters. He wants to be brought to justice like Jean Tréjean (by having Madeleine fire him). He doesn’t want Madeline to treat him nicely, as he finds that Madeleine’s type of kindness disorganizes society.

Jean is taken by a temporary ”painful” and ”irresistible” sympathy towards Javert at his tone (that tone being very humble, proud, sad and convinced).

Javert doesn’t mutter to himself the line of him being only a mouchard now and adds a ”What is said is said. In 8 days, I’ll get fired or resign." before leaving.

[musicalmoritz]

I talk a lot about characters being exclusively gay or lesbian on here, so I wanted to switch things up for once and talk about some tbhk characters who are most likely bi

Starting off with the most obvious and undeniably most bi-coded character in tbhk (can we even call it coding anymore?? the subtext has become text), we have my boy Kou!! His main love interest is Mitsuba, and in addition to the other characters teasing Kou about his feelings, the two of them have gone on a date together. While it’s true Kou offhandedly said it’s “not a date” (outside of a speech bubble even), AidaIro would not have labeled it that way if they didn’t want people to interpret it as such. They’re also often drawn very romantically together and…c’mon, their story doesn’t make a lot of sense if they’re just friends (in comparison to other male friendships in tbhk like Hanako and Kou or Teru and Akane that DO make sense platonically)

Kou also had a huge crush on Nene for the majority of the manga, and may still like her (he no longer gets flustered when people suggest that he likes her so imo it’s up to interpretation whether or not his feelings have changed). His feelings for Mitsuba don’t discredit his feelings for Nene or vice versa, so it’s safe to assume this man swings both ways. He frequently blushes around Nene and, as aforementioned, used to get very flustered whenever someone teased him about his crush. I believe in the pilot of tbhk he also confessed to her

So as we’ve established, Kou checks off both bi boxes. But what about Nene herself?

Nene’s main love interest is Hanako, but other than that she’s shown to be very boy crazy. She swoons over every man she meets, and dedicates herself to her crushes even when she doesn’t really know them. The sky is blue, the sun rises in the morning, and Nene wants a boyfriend

…Or a girlfriend? If you can’t call what Nene felt towards Sakura a crush, then I don’t know what you would call it. She blushed around her, called her a babe, compared her to a doll, emphasized her beauty, and got so distracted spending time with her that she forgot to stay on guard. This is how Nene acts around all her crushes, dazed and a little stupid. I also think it says a lot that she still seemed awfully friendly with Hanako when he got turned into a girl in ASHK. At the very least I’d say Nene is bi-curious

I bet you can’t tell which Aoi this is about lol. I theoretically could call out Aoi but I feel like it would be slightly more of a reach with her so for now I’m sticking with Akane. His main love interest is Aoi- hell, his whole word is Aoi. He worships the ground she walks on, and their character development is reliant on one another. I fully believe Akane would feel the same way about Aoi if she were a man; it’s not about her gender, it’s about who she is as a person. But that’s only speculation so let’s look at the facts

In the Confession Tree chapter, Akane fell in love with and started dating Lemon. Now, this is purely up to interpretation, but I don’t think a love potion would have the power to change someone’s sexuality, at least not something like the Confession Tree. It’s perfectly fine to disagree with that statement, but my takeaway here was that Lemon and Akane would both be fine with dating men (I would’ve put Lemon on this list but I don’t think he’s shown any interest in women, I do hc him as pan tho)

And lastly, we have Natsuhiko, who would love Sakura regardless of their gender…and who apparently is fine with changing their own gender at the drop of a hat?? Does he have something he wants to tell us??

I could have included more characters, but I wanted to stay semi-realistic here. A lot of people also bring up Hanako flirting with Kou when he got turned into a girl, and I will say he acts very flirty with Kou in general, but I have a hard time deciphering whether they’re just joking the way friends do or if there’s some level of seriousness to it lol. I interpreted it as a friend thing but I’m open to hearing different opinions, I usually headcanon Hanako as bi anyway

I also mentioned Aoi but again, I can’t tell if the way she sometimes gets a little too close to Nene is just girls being girls or if it’s girls liking girls. And I don’t rly count Mei falling in love with her in HKOM as evidence because Aoi didn’t like her back, although it’s reasonable to assume they started dating since they were mentioned to hang out a lot after that. But Aoi/Aoi is still a thing in HKOM so…I don’t know. She could like both ofc (that’s kind of the whole point here) but I didn’t see enough of her liking Mei to come to a definitive conclusion. Aoi definitely gives me sapphic vibes but I didn’t feel like there was enough evidence to put her on the list so for now I’ll leave her as an honorable mention. Then there’s Teru’s weird thing with the Aois but I don’t think anyone can decipher what’s going on there

In conclusion, bi rights

[aq2003]

archive dive #3: romeo and juliet (2000)

i fucking loved this so so much. ohhhhh it was so good. i am fond of the baz luhrmann movie but my one gripe w it is the portrayal of the titular characters feels too boring and here it's like. i can't even joke david tennant and alex gilbreath are perfect for the roles and i'm obsessed. i feel like this production really nails the tone most of all; when i was reading the play again i found it kinda fucked up and dark, like while it was funny at times (like any shakespeare play is) it very much wasn't this light fantastical sweeping romance, even at the beginning before the deaths start happening...and it feels like michael boyd thought the same when approaching the story. it feels slightly unconventional but also the original felt like that to me too, if that makes sense. anyway i loved the music and choreography in this soooo much and the seperate curved walls symbolizing the two families is just [chefs kiss]. it's a great production all around and i'm forever jealous of the people who got to watch it live

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david wrote about it in his romeo essay of course but i love the choice to have romeo narrate the prologue in the middle of the big brawl between the families at the beginning. the fact that it's a romeo after his death looking back on the tragedy with a sense of resignation but also serenity like yessss yessssssss <- sicko. he was doomed from the start because of the world he lived in etc etc

you can feel the teenage angst dripping off romeo the minute he walks onto the stage (after the prologue during his actual first scene). his back is to the camera as benvolio hugs him but the angst is still so palpable. it's coming off of him in waves. just the way that he walks. so real

"in sadness, cousin, i do love...........................a woman" why did he pause like that. this is so funny. what is the implication here.

david plays romeo's self-dramatizing lovesickness perfectly but also this was the exact energy i expected he would also bring to berowne and he surprisingly did not! i will talk about this in the LLL post but i will leave this note here for now

i love alex's voice an inordinate amount and i think it is just a perfect fit for juliet. i think a big thing with juliet is that she sort of acts/imagines herself as much older than she actually is (bc that's how her family sees her too) and her having that kind of raspy, deeper voice lends itself well to that

mercutio is a really interesting bit of this production because it's the one element i feel like is the least faithful to the text (or at least, whatever my reading of the text is). he's very clearly jealous, and a lot of his lines poking fun at romeo's love life feel way less humorous than they were originally written to be. like of course this mercutio is witty and fun which goes for basically any good mercutio but he's also a bit vindictive here! he's cynical about love specifically because of romeo's rejection of him! it's not bad and it def feeds into the tone the production is going for but it is still very Different to me

like by comparison you look at harold perrineau's mercutio (bombastic and campy and fun with this undercurrent of past tragedy to him) or dt's audio drama mercutio (filled w a lust for life without the actual lust. he's just here for a good time) and adrian's mercutio just feels like a whole different character. he even gets aggressive with romeo and pins him down for half of the queen mab speech and it's like mercutio we can find you another twink for you to make heart eyes at it's okay.

i wonder if the familiarity between mercutio and romeo + that line reading on "i do love a woman" a while back implies that they had some kind of history together? is that why mercutio feels so possessive and jealous over romeo? much to think about

the whole stage changing color back to blue during the dance when juliet and romeo first lay eyes on each other. Oh baby

the curved line the capulets form as they hold hands and walk off the stage after the dance imitating the curve of the wall <33

i'm obsessed with how alex delivers the "you kiss by the book" line. it's so funny. i think in general juliet is so interesting because she's less sensitive and "romantic" than romeo is, like if he's this emotional misunderstood poet than she's more of a grounded realist and is almost surprised by how her feelings bloom out of her. in her head it's like she's aware of romeo's unimpressive aspects (like his cookie cutter pickup lines and his mediocre kissing) but she's still enchanted with him anyway because (to steal a line from doctor who) he's the first person she's met who is remotely like her

i love the song the chorus does at the start of act 2, originally i kind of imagined it being done in the same way as the prologue but it would not make as much sense for ghost romeo to come back in now that the story is rolling along lol

the balcony scene... ahhh the balcony scene. i love how romeo starts off with his back pressed against the wall representing the montagues and then when he works up the courage, makes his way over to the capulet wall where juliet is standing at the top of. symbolism!

juliet hitting her head on the wall to punctuate every word of "wherefore art thou romeo" a) is a great way of approaching the text without over-sentimentality + the baggage of "oh these are some of shakespeare's most famous lines" and b) makes the line a lot more easy to understand for a random audience member watching it (like how she's not asking "where" but "why" and is frustrated by the situation she's found herself in)

the two of them reaching for each other over the wall during the "i would i were thy bird" bit made me go "awww :("

mercutio pushing romeo away when he screams "a plague o' both your houses" (while letting himself get carried away by benvolio)... like Oh yeah it's not even actually about the montagues and the capulets at this point he is blaming romeo specifically and i'm positively sure romeo is looking at him with the sad_wet_david_tennant_eyes.gif

the way romeo's voice breaks when he says "but mercutio's soul is a little way above our heads" someone hug him please. oh my god?

3.3 was done so well and i am so [screams loudly] abt it. just in general i think this scene is VERY important to romeo's character, bc this is basically where you understand his turmoil and why he feels like he can't live in a world without juliet. he's traumatized by his friend's death and thinks his soulmate hates him forever and that his life is over. and you get the sense maybe he was always teetering on the edge of a cliff too. it needs to be given the right amount of weight, it can't shy away from this horrible meltdown he's having. and i think david really does it justice in his portrayal of it. the way he paces around in this uncomfortable and frantic way like he doesn't want to be in his own body n how he screams and lashes out and tries to claw at his skin. it is so heartbreaking thank u david i'm so fucked up now

and like the way that friar lawrence takes the dagger from romeo and goes on his whole spiel about how he needs to man up and stop crying and this just makes romeo start crying harder like oh my god. Ohhhhhhhh my god i actually need to be shot

somewhat delving into hc territory but i think romeo (dt's version especially) is very sensitive and seeks out love and affection wherever he can find it bc his parents were emotionally neglectful towards him (while friar lawrence was far more understanding and attentive by comparison, and generally much more of an actual father figure towards him). but even then friar lawrence has his moments of "stop having those stupid girly feelings romeo". i feel like juliet is the only person in the play who doesn't see romeo's emotions as unseemly or ridiculous

i was reading the prompt book alongside watching this and they changed juliet's line "love, lord, ay husband, friend" to "love, lord, my husband, friend" as if that line couldn't get more tragic. my husband. my friend. fuck!!

also. guys i need lord capulet DEAD and GONE. clean shot. ok anyways

one of, if not my favorite scene in the play is in 4.3 where juliet monologues about what could go wrong before drinking the sleeping potion. it's like... she has to be incredibly brave to even get by in her life, whether that be her relationship with romeo or her father threatening her or her accepting the potion from friar lawrence in the first place. her life is actively scary in a way that romeo's isn't and obeying her family would be so much easier but she still doesn't give in and stop fighting. bc her life is hers and she won't let her one choice she made for herself be taken away from her. but here all of that bravery falls away because she basically has to give up and surrender. she's just left with herself and a drink that will basically kill her and it's so genuinely fucking terrifying for her and it makes me want to eat rocks. she is just so young and scared and she has to look death in the face for a chance of freedom and it's so fucking sad because you know it's not going to work and she's doomed by the narrative

AND THE STAGE TURNS BLUE WHEN JULIET HALLUCINATES TYBALT'S GHOST. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. SHE'S SO TERRIFIED AND RIGHTFULLY SO. SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING COULD GO WRONG BUT SHE DOES IT ANYWAY. BUT WE KNOW SHE'S DEAD. SHE'S BEEN DEAD FROM THE BEGINNING.

anyway that scene was cut out in the baz luhrmann movie but it's here in this production which makes me very happy, as happy as i can be about this very upsetting scene where this young girl is finally overwhelmed by her fear of death

mentioning another thing david wrote about in his essay but romeo in act 5 isn't overindulgent and emotional anymore just determined and driven towards his end. but also actually watching it, for me it's just so so sad because it's like. you want that overemotional romeo back, the romeo that was coming up with love poetry on the spot or crying over being separated from juliet. at that point he still wanted to live for her but now it's like he's filled with this cold finality of "oh, i can only be together with her in death. and there is nothing i have left to do but to make that happen"

romeo's final speech to juliet. david tennant i'm in your walls

juliet's dying gasps/sobs as she sinks into the grave with romeo in her arms. alex gilbreath i'm in your walls

the light of the stage turning blue as the ghosts of juliet and romeo come out of the grave and exit the stage together as their parents agree to resolve the conflict between the families... (the only other times it turned blue were when ghost romeo came out to narrate the prologue, when romeo and juliet first meet each other, and right before juliet drinks the sleeping potion). i am sick

the music at the end of the play/during the curtain call is so melancholy and beautiful I AM SICK

such a good production. fuck

[mariacallous]

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) reintroduced a bill earlier this month that would broadly redefine what content can be classified as “obscenity” in an attempt to criminalize pornography, a move that’s drawn comparisons to the right-wing initiative Project 2025.

“Obscenity isn’t protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children,” Lee said in a May 8 release introducing the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act.

Lee’s bill has striking parallels to Project 2025, an initiative from the conservative Heritage Foundation that laid out policy blueprints for President Donald Trump’s second term. Despite Trump’s attempts to distance himself from Project 2025, he has placed key architects of the project into influential positions in the federal government.

In the 920-page playbook, the Heritage Foundation claimed pornography “has no claim to First Amendment protection” and should be outlawed, MSNBC reported.

“The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered,” text from Project 2025 reads.

Lee’s bill would broaden the legal definition of “obscenity,” which is not protected by the First Amendment, to any material that “appeals to the prurient interest” in nudity or sex, “depicts, describes or represents” sexual acts and “taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

Any content that lawmakers feel meets the criteria could be definedas obscenity, meaning its transmission across state lines, including on the internet, could be criminalized under federal law.

The bill’s definition of obscenity is “so broad” that it could apply to media like the HBO Max show “Game of Thrones,” Ricci Joy Levi, president of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, told Reason.

In an MSNBC op-ed, Jacob Mchangama and Ashken Kazaryan of the Vanderbilt University think tank The Future of Free Speech argued that the bill has implications that go way beyond pornography.

“It empowers the federal government to police speech based on subjective values,” they wrote. “When lawmakers try to enforce the beliefs of some Americans at the expense of others’ rights, they cross a constitutional line — and put the First Amendment at risk.”