#<- I mean this epically and poetically

[intravention]

my suspension of disbelief is suspended like mykola's (nikolai's) body in the new DoA color spread. he has such insane core strength! it's impressive enough being able to support all your body weight with a one handed bar hang, but he somehow manages to do that and position himself in a way that looks like he's casually sitting on air...? there's no visible tension in his body, he looks very relaxed... this guy is strong far beyond average, what the fuck. he has to be ripped underneath that outfit. think about the (delusional) implications here!

what is his workout routine. seriously. I want him to drop it.

for references:

this is how harukawa explains how he's holding himself up (image attached below for those who can't open the link):

and this is a video with a guy recording himself doing the bar hang with one hand for over 2 minutes. skip to around 7 minutes into the video, and you can see him try to adjust the rest of his body to a posture about halfway to the one in the color spread (albeit more realistic and nowhere as casual; this guy's grip slips and he falls shortly after).

[app1es0uce]

The ticking at the end of “Love In Paradise” is Athena using her power, but also represents that there is a time limit, and they're running out of it. 

[sapphopringles]

I made a song recently (I actually mostly worked on it at night) The lyrics used to be darker before I had to tone it down haha

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Poetic Genres

Whereas a poetic "form" defines the way a poem arranges sounds, rhythms, or its appearance on the page, a poetic "genre" is something like the poem's style. Many poetic genres have a long history, and new poems almost always seek to explore a new aspect of the traditional style and thus to redefine the genre in some way. The following list is a selection of the major genres of poetry.

allegory A narrative with two levels of meaning, one stated and one unstated.

aubade A song or poem greeting the sunrise, traditionally a lover's lament that the night's passion must come to an end.

ballad Broadly speaking, the ballad is a genre of folk poetry, usually an orally transmitted narrative song. The term "ballad" applies to several other kinds of poetry, including the English ballad stanza, which is a form often associated with the genre.

blason A Renaissance genre characterized by a short catalogue-style description, often of the female body.

cento A poem composed entirely of lines from other poems.

dirge A funeral song.

dramatic monologue This might be called a "closet soliloquy": a long poem spoken by a character who often unwittingly reveals his or her hidden desires and actions over the course of the poem. The "I" of the dramatic monologue is very distinct from the "I" of the poet's persona. Robert Browning was a master of this genre.

eclogue A short pastoral poem; Virgil's eclogues are one of the first examples of this genre.

ekphrasis Originally a description of any kind, "ekphrasis" is now almost exclusively applied to the poetic description of a work of art.

elegy This genre can be difficult to define, as there are specific types of elegiac poem as well as a general elegiac mood, but almost all elegies mourn, and seek consolation for, a loss of some kind: the most common form of elegy is a lyric commemorating the death of a loved one. Greek elegiac meter, which is one source of what we know as the elegy today, is not normally associated with loss and mourning.

epic A long narrative poem that catalogues and celebrates heroic or historic deeds and events, usually focusing on a single heroic individual.

epigram A brief and pithy aphoristic observation, often satirical.

epitaph A tombstone inscription. Several famous poems end with the poet writing his own. (See, for example, Thomas Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" or W.B. Yeats's "Under Ben Bulben.")

epithalamion A song or poem that celebrates a wedding.

fable A brief tale about talking animals or objects, usually having a moral or pedagogical point, which is sometimes explicitly stated at the end. Aesop and la Fontaine are perhaps the most famous fable-writers.

georgic The agricultural cousin of pastoral, a georgic is a poem that celebrates rustic labor.

hymn A song of praise.

invective A personal, often abusive, denunciation.

lament An expression of grief.

light verse Poetry that is mostly for fun: this can mean anything from nonsense verse to folk songs, but typically there is a comical element to light verse.

lyric This genre encompasses a large portion of the world's poetry; in general, lyrics are fairly brief poems that emphasize musical qualities.

masque Courtly drama characterized by elaborate costumes and dances, as well as audience participation.

occasional verse Poetry written with reference to a particular event.

ode A long, serious meditation on an elevated subject, an ode can take one of three forms.

paean A song of joy or triumph.

palinode A recantation or retraction, usually of an earlier poem.

panegyric Poem or song in praise of a particular individual or object.

parody A comic imitation.

pastoral Originally a poem that depicted an idealized singing competition between shepherds, "pastoral" has come to denote almost anything to do with a rural setting, although it also refers to several specific categories of the genre. Associated genres of varying synonymity are idyll, bucolic, eclogue, and georgic.

psalm A sacred song.

riddle A puzzling question that relies on allegory or wordplay for its answer. Riddles are often short, and often include an answer to the question posed, albeit an unsatisfying one. The riddle of the Sphinx, which Oedipus solved, is a particularly famous example: "what walks on four legs in the morning, two at midday, and three in the afternoon?"

romance An adventure tale, usually set in a mythical or remote locale. Verse forms of the romance include the  Spanish ballad and  medieval or chivalric romance.

satire Ridicule of some kind, usually passing moral judgment.

tragedy This genre originated in ancient Greek verse drama and received extended treatment in Aristotle's Poetics, which made the downfall of the main character one of the criteria for tragedy. The genre has since expanded to include almost anything pertaining to a downfall.

verse epistle A letter written in verse, usually taking as its subject either a philosophical or a romantic question.

If these writing notes helped with your poem/story, please tag me. Or leave a link in the replies. I'd love to read them!

[teambyler]

The most heartbreaking way Byler can culminate (and how I predict it will)

(pic from 80smayfieldz)

Just cry me with today, okay? :')

We all know that when Mike and Will confess their love it has to be EPIC. Like, extreme circumstances need to happen to make these gay boys in an 80s small town confess their love. It's the only way a romance with THIS much build-up over years should pay off.

Bylers need to watch this scene from the Season 1 finale of Agents of SHIELD (Warning: spoilery if you plan to watch this old show... and you will cry!) It's two LONG-TIME BEST FRIENDS but only one can make it out alive. A secretly loves B and has avoided confessing his love because he thinks it's unrequited. He finally admits it, to explain why he's making the ultimate sacrifice.

Now think of Mike and Will on a dangerous mission that is KEY to saving Hawkins. Maybe they're in the church that Noah and Finn are shooting a scene in. Will realizes only one of them can make it out alive, and decides it'll be Mike:

Mike: "There's got to be another way, that's RIDICULOUS! You can't do this, you're my best friend!" Will: "You're more than that, Mike (can't believe he said it, fights back tears) ... Now, PLEASE..."

This is my best prediction of how it'll go. WILL confessing to MIKE makes more sense writing-wise. Mike probably figures out the Painting Lie early in s5, but how he feels for Will remains a mystery. So how MIKE responds to a love confession is uncertain.

This is a season where the Duffers have hinted they'll highlight Will's courage. So he can finish his coming-out arc by telling the person he loves. The Duffers have said Will, always the protected one, the rescued one, will come into his own in s5. I think this means he gets to be the hero this time. It will be a poetic way for Will to finally thank Mike for everything he did for him in s1 and s2; it gives symmetry to their relationship. And it would be a heroic send-off for Will.

(And NO I don't think Will will die. We gays have already had our Reddie and Destiel tragedies. Will dying would go against how the Duffers have set this show up.)

What will Mike do, when confronted with losing Will forever?

We know how he felt once before...

Mike offers himself but there'd be no point; only Will can do this. There's no way they both make it out.

Does Mike tell Will he loves him? We know the boy struggles with saying how he feels.

Mike begs Will not to die. He can't lose him AGAIN. He couldn't live if he did. When Will doesn't believe it, MIKE KISSES HIM.

Actions, not words. ("I didn't say it." "You didn't have to.")

Mike insists on staying. Will tries to make him leave, but he refuses.

"You've always been an idiot, Mike." Will doesn't know to laugh or cry. He's sad... not about dying, but regrets all the years they lost not being together.

They kiss again and hold each other tightly... And we again hear Peter Gabriel, as the church walls fall and the world is about to end:

And we kissed as though nothing could fall And the shame The shame was on the other side And we can be heroes just for one day.

-teambyler

[khaire-traveler]

The Nine Muses

This is a very simple post about the Muses in hopes of explaining who they are, what their domains are, and some things they may be able to help with. This post isn't a deep dive by any means - just a simple introduction. Enjoy!

Who are the Muses?

The Muses, or Mousai, are goddesses of inspiration for various creative, scientific, and poetic endeavors. They were believed to also have knowledge of all things that have come to pass, remembering events with clarity that mortals could not hope to have. Their names are Kalliope, Kleio, Ourania, Thaleia, Melpomene, Polymnia, Erato, Euterpe, and Terpsikhore.

In total, there are nine Muses. The god Apollon was often believed to be the leader of the Muses, having a very close connection with them. The goddess Artemis was also paired with them.

Their origin and family varied depending on the source, but the most common notion was that Zeus and Mnemosyne are their parents and that they were born at the foot of Mount Olympus. Some other possible parents are Ouranos and Gaia, Zeus and Plousia, Pieros and Antiope, or even Apollon.

Poets of the past used to invoke the names of the Muses in hopes of gaining inspiration and the ability to gracefully convey their words. When a connection was drawn between them and Apollo, they were also known for their prophetic abilities as well, even being said to teach the art of prophecy.

What are each of their domains?

Kalliope - The eldest of the Muses, she is the goddess of eloquence and epic poetry. She is often considered the mother of Orpheus. She was depicted with a tablet, a scroll, or (later on) a lyre. Her name has been translated to mean "beautiful-voiced".

Kleio - Wise and intelligent, she is named the goddess of history. In art, she was often depicted with an open scroll or chest full of books. Her name was translated as "to make famous".

Ourania - Associated with the stars, she is the goddess of astronomy and astronomical writings. She has been depicted pointing at a celestial globe with a rod, but I wasn't able to find more information on her symbols. Her name means "heavenly one".

Thaleia - A goddess that helps bring joy to the world, she is the goddess of comedy and bucolic poetry. She was also considered to be the mother of the Korybantes (a group of seven demigods). She was often depicted with a comedy mask, a shepherd's staff, or a wreath of ivy. Her name has been translated as "festivity" or "blooming".

Melpomene - Holding a domain more somber than the Muse above, she is the goddess of tragedy. She was named the mother of the Sirens by Apollodorus. She was depicted with a tragedy mask, a sword, a wreath of ivy, or cothurnus boots. Her name likely means "to celebrate with song (and dance)".

Polymnia - With a name meaning "many hymns" or "many praises", it's no surprise that she's the goddess of religious hymns. She was often portrayed in a meditative pose.

Erato - A Muse that needs no introduction, she is the goddess of erotic poetry and mime. She was often portrayed with a lyre. Her name means "lovely" or "beloved".

Euterpe - Likely full of rhymes and reasons, she is the goddess of lyric poetry. She was often depicted with a double flute. Her name likely means "well pleasing" or "giver of much delight".

Terpsikhore - Filled with music, she is the goddess of choral song and dancing. She was often depicted with a lyre and plectrum. Her name has been translated to "delighting in dance".

Kalliope - Speaking presentations, writing essays, script reading, reading/writing informational posts/articles/etc., interpreting poetry, poetry writing/reading, sharing your own poetry, communicating clearly with others, important conversations, coping with conflicts, addressing conflicts, making peace with others.

What are some things they can help with specifically?

***These are merely suggestions.***

Kleio - History exams/tests, studying classics/history, delving into your own history, discovering family history, recalling past events, writing myth retellings or similar, identifying patterns of behavior, releasing the past, learning from the past, finding hope for the future.

Ourania - Studying the stars/space, story-telling, understanding the universe around us, memorizing constellations, finding peace in the night, finding hope in the darkness, creating goals for yourself, "reaching for the stars", holding onto your wishes, finding a sense of direction.

Thaleia - Creating your own joy, finding what makes you happy, performing stand-up comedy, writing any form of comedy, play-writing, healthy positivity, learning to laugh things off, releasing stress/burdens, moving forward, expressing your joy.

Melpomene - Coping with hardships, moving through difficult times, releasing the past, forgiving oneself, coping with past mistakes/regret, healing from difficult events, coping with the "downs" of life, play-writing, telling tragic tales, addressing difficult topics sensitively.

Polymnia - Writing devotional poetry/hymns/songs/etc., growing closer with religion/devotion, inspiration for offerings/devotional acts, coping with religious difficulties, finding comfort/joy in religion, connecting with the divine, religious/spiritual writings, connecting with your practice.

Erato - Love letters, confessing your feelings through writings/songs/etc., connecting with sexuality, writing/reading erotic stories, communicating sexual needs, establishing/discovering sexual boundaries, sex positivity (especially through literature), embracing your sexual interests.

Euterpe - Writing poetry, interpreting poetry, communicating one's emotions, romanticizing life, sharing poetry with others, devotional poetry, expressing one's feelings through writing, processing emotions, finding the "right word" for a piece you're writing.

Terpsikhore - Song-writing, learning to dance, expressing yourself through dance/song, connecting with music, processing feelings with musical aid, instrument playing, choral/instrumental performances, writing a musical, musical theater, finding your voice, embracing who you are, expressing yourself.

[chirpsythismorning]

I just realized that in s5, instead of a parallel to Mike breaking down with Hopper and just doing that again, I want one with Mike and Jonathan.

Something interesting about Jonathan is that he tends to be pretty quiet in situations where literally everyone is being critical of Mike, notably in the scene at Hopper’s canon when he blurts out that he loves El. That whole scene everyone is ganging up on him, most notably Nancy, but the whole time Jonathan is just staring at Mike, deep in thought…

We also know he witnessed A LOT in s4 in regards to Will and just the whole truth of the situation might be closer to him then we realize. Like for example, even though we didn’t see Mike’s expression in the van scene after the painting reveal, with it being blurred from our view, Jonathan on the other hand did see it. He also was there for that and the monologue at SB where he basically just used Will’s words to try to save El. And so what does Jonathan think about that?…

While I know the expectation for a lot of fans is that Jonathan like hates Mike bc of him hurting Will as of the last year or so on a couple notable occasions (now El too presumably), I think there is still something complex about their relationship that would make for a pretty epic television.

Not saying the scene couldn’t start out with some clashing and stuff, bc I mean after all the literal same thing happens with Hopper and Mike in s2. The scene starts confrontational and emotional only for Mike to start sobbing and literally fall into Hopper’s arms for comfort. Even in the following scene he chooses to stay close to Hopper’s side, like it’s clear his outburst had less to do with Hopper ‘lying’ and more to do with all of his bottled emotions coming to head in that moment. And in the company of a man that he looks up to, who is basically seeing him at his lowest.

And I think Jonathan and him having a moment like this, in their own way, maybe related to El again like the talk with Hopper, but I think it ending with it being about Will and Mike breaking down again, maybe thinking Jonathan hates him and then turning it on himself like no one hates me more than I hate myself for how I feel. Or just him basically getting emotional over a similar situation to s2, but us basically getting the Will side of it this time, which would essentially re-contextualize the s2 scene as well.

Another reason I think this scene would be incredible honestly, is because Finn very clearly looks up to Charlie, with him literally following him around on set and you can just tell they have a very close bond that would make for incredible chemistry on screen as Jonathan just like Hopper (arguably even more so), is in this male position of someone that Mike looks up to, who also knows sides of him that quite frankly no one does, it has the ability to be a really emotional and gratifying moment.

Maybe Jonathan is being a little bit curt with Mike and it leads to an argument of some sort. Though it ends with something along the lines of Mike just breaking down and Jonathan comforting him like I never hated you Mike and him just holding him and them talking about their true feelings about the situation.

Mike’s never gonna get that sort of deep and emotional bond with his father, so it feels almost poetic that he’d have these moments with the two men in Will’s life who’ve also had a huge impact on Mike’s life as well and who he will be tethered to forever as family bc of his relationship with Will.

I need it and I need it yesterday.

[thy-valhallen]

Batfam Voices as Instruments

Batfam voices as instruments bc i think of things very musically and it struck me others don't

Bruce: bass guitar. he's low and deep and when he speaks, you feel it in your eardrums, straight into your jaw. his words are like injections into your skull, feel intense and impossible to ignore-- but he has softer moments, too. quiet, gentle plucking of strings, the careful, slow strums of a man who plays only for the ears who will know what the notes will mean

Alfred: viola. slightly deeper than a violin, but mostly just warmer. a voice you hear and want to hum along to, a voice that sits in your ears before it sinks into your chest. it's gentle and sways with grace across strings and notes, it plays a harmony that supports and compliments, that is a steady through-line for everything that surrounds it

Dick: trumpet. brassy and loud and present and fuck do you KNOW when he's in the room. he's so bright and warm and MEANT to be heard. you hear him in your heart, every time he speaks, feel it deep in every vein like he's writing gospel into your DNA. and usually it's jazzy, it's excitement and riffs and improv and leaping off the page and doing cartwheels across a music staff-- but he's just as capable of whispersoft confessions of heartbreak and loss in D minor, can let loose a lament of all he's lost in an elegy of epic proportions

Barbara: harp. a challenging instrument to understand and play, and one she plays with ease. she is plucking strings with careful fingertips, strums across them all with a single hand. she's a melody that glides past your ears, a song that doesn't sink in-- if you're not paying attention to the hooks that latch into your brain. she is careful compositions and sweeping songs arranged for each audience with care. yet when she feels wrath, she shreds herself to make sure you feel it-- she takes scissors to her own strings to cut deeper than the song could alone

Jason: cello. deep and contemplative, with a sort of vibration that bites into your bones from the moment he opens his mouth. waxing poetic is his native tone, and it sounds like a bow dancing across strings and fingers traversing the frets like they were made for it, a soothing melody that could be a lullaby. when fury comes, the sound alone is so sharp where it's settled into your joints that you can't fight back; it's vicious strokes across the strings that shred the bow's hairs without care, wrath in every pull like it's a sword. he can settle into the orchestra or he can sweep them all offstage to stand alone against the conductor that dared to direct him

Cass: marimba. light and soft and so very deliberate. all those bars close together, and each hit with precision, because when Cass speaks, each sound and syllable is effort and choice and control. she is range and gentle dancing note to note and a sound that settles on your skin like a gentle rain, clinging and soft and so very present. to hear it is to hear if a storm could sing and serenaded the sky it calls home. she is echoing in an empty room until she fills it herself (i think of this specifically)

Tim: piano. it's all about the force put into it-- he can be the most careful, calculated guy in the room, playing with all the rigor and rigid professionalism of a NY Symphonic pianist. but the real Tim is the one who's fingers flutter playfully over the keys, who's voice cracks from laughter and sleep deprivation and stress, who trembles between octaves as his fingers tire but makes the leap anyway. he is clear ringing notes in a crowded room and rambling words like a glissando back and forth across the ivories, he is a song quiet enough to fall to the background but a complex and delicate tune if you care to listen

Steph: drum kit. she is all intensity and living in the moment and sharp impacts and a beat that never stops, never waits for the rest. she can get lost to the rest of the voices in a room, but you'll never shake that she's in your head, that her voice is there and present and presses against the base of your skull like it wants to worm straight in. she's rhythm and motion and changing things up just to do it; her voice hops from the snares to the bass to the snares and back to bass and never lets you think between notes, she's moving so fast, because it's all her, nothing she ever has to question, even if she makes you question with every slam on the cymbal

Damian: violin. he is careful in his every motion, ever meticulous with all he does; he lives in fear of being out of tune, of off-key notes for a long time, and so each one is practiced and known to the point of monotony. but over time, he thaws and the notes become more loose, more free-- he speaks less like his eyes are glued to the page, furiously tracking each note he'll play and more like the natural he is-- he becomes sharper in a different way than the rest of him, notes out of place that jut from the rest and it's okay that they do, a hum of songs that don't follow classic melodies and don't feel the need to. don't mistake it though-- his voice has always been as regal and pointed as the rest of him was raised to be, and his voice grabs both your ear and your eyes, dragging you to look at him, for him to be seen and noticed and given attention

Duke: saxophone. he is deep and rich and resonating. his voice is emotion and expression and honesty. his voice sits on your tongue because hearing him makes you want to speak, want to talk and chat and ramble with him, to reply to his melody with any harmony to match. he is a voice meant to be heard by many, who may not stand out in a room naturally but makes himself stand out by the passion in his voice. he is a slow, experimental hand that plays notes with hesitance until the rhythm hits him and suddenly, it's a melody of energy and power and a presence that he doesn't even know he has

[sailoryooons]

Lights | Episode 0 | jjk (m)

❀ Pairing: Idol!Jungkook x Producer! F. reader

❀ Summary: Meeting Jungkook was a chance of fate. A moment frozen in time, eyes meeting across a room full of lights. The more the two of you advance in your career, the more lost in the lights you become. What if you never find your way back?

❀ Word Count: 583

❀ Genre: Heavy angst, Idolverse, strangers to lovers, eventual smut

❀ Rating: 18+ Minors are strictly prohibited from engaging and reading this content. It contains explicit content and any minors discovered reading or engaging with this work will be blocked immediately. 

❀ Warnings: Nothing really in this chapter, vague references to being a kid growing up in a competitive environment, reader being a little poetic about her childhood.

❀ Published: September 28, 2023

❀ A/N: Hola, in honor of 3D I decided to post the prologue of this thing I have been working on while on hiatus as a cool project to inspire myself to write again. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I am writing this story as though it were sort of a ... famous person tells all. 98% of the story will be in the present tense and we read it as if it's happening, with small interludes of present-day where reader is reflecting on her life in an interview with Namjoon. I have no idea if I will stick with it, so please be patient and let me write this at whatever pace works best for me. And remember - there are going to be very dark parts of this series, and Jungkook and reader both are going to have very ugly moments. If that’s not your cup of tea and you do not like to see characters epically fail and sometimes reveal the ugly parts of themselves, this fic is not for you. 

❀ Disclaimer: All members of BTS are faces and name claims for this story. This is entirely a work of fiction and by no means is meant to be a projection, judgment, or representation of real-life people. Any scenarios or representations of the people and places mentioned in works are not representative of real-life scenarios. This series in no way attempts to paint a realistic depiction of idols, or the industry, or draw comparisons. None of the scenes or elements in this series in any way reflect how I perceive the music industry and do not represent any opinions as a whole. This is not intellectual commentary, it is just straight-up fiction. 

Series Masterlist | Masterlist | Ask | Lights Playlist | Tag Lists | Next Episode |

“In omnia paratus. Ready for anything,” you scoff, shaking your head. “Seems like a pretty big ideal for a teenager. You have to understand, we all felt that way. A bunch of kids working for the same dream, ready to push, shove, claw our way to it.” 

Namjoon adjusts his glasses and nods. His long legs are crossed at the ankle as he leans back in his seat, the perfect picture of poise. His glasses are low on his nose and he’s dressed in a warm cardigan today to fight off the chill of Autumn. 

“Was it really competitive?” he prompts, fingers laced together. “What was that like?”

“It’s hard to say. I viewed it through the lens of a kid at the time. I guess to me it would have felt like a game - be better than everyone else, get a reward.”

“And now, through the lens of an adult.”

You heave a sigh and blow out air. You're in the comfort of your home up in the hills, a fireplace crackling to your left. The production crew thankfully didn’t fuss with your living room too much. It was perfect the way it was, muted tones and lived in, not some minimal, sterile space like Seokjin might have or the maximalist terror of Taehyung’s estate. 

“Now,” you venture, slowly stringing the words together. “I think it was where I learned to take no prisoners and to do whatever I had to do to win. Being that close to your dream, and meeting the legends you want to imitate while living in constant fear it might be taken away… it creates a feral desire in you. Feeds the monster inside the kid that has just started to wake up.”

“Would you say that’s where the hardship began?”

You shake your head. “Not the kind that we’re here to talk about. It wasn’t like - I wasn’t a child star, you know? I was still relatively normal. It was school and working on dancing and singing and all of these things because I wanted to produce music and it was hard, but it wasn’t… It wasn't cruel. It wasn’t dark.” 

“When would you say is when it first really started to turn for you?” Namjoon asks, leaning forward a bit. “The first moment you can remember that you might have taken that first step towards everything.”

“In omnia paratus,” you murmur again. You think about that night, gaze unfocused. You no longer see Namjoon, but rather a shock of shaggy, black hair, doe eyes filled with promise, and an arm full of tattoos. “Ready for anything but Jungkook, apparently.” 

Namjoon raises his brows. “So the night you met Jungkook?”

“In nihil paratus. I was ready for nothing, least of all the likes of fucking Jeon. That was the first night my management ever asked me to do something extreme. So I did.” 

“Tell me about that night, then.” 

You remember it so well. You’re not sure how out of all the memories, this one seems so preserved. Crystal clear and sharp at the edges. You remember the tight, white shirt Jungkook was wearing, tucked into dark jeans paired with boots. His tattoos were stark against his shirt and his hair was wavy, a little damp with sweat. 

Jungkook had looked at you from across the event floor, an ocean swimming with swaying bodies and flashing lights, cryogenic fog hanging in the air. You’d just walked in, careful not to trip in your stilettos as you walked down the steps. Nervous. Near cracking under pressure.

And then you looked up, right at those round, dark eyes. 

In nihil paratus. You were ready for nothing. 

[adarkrainbow]

Do you know about Ludwig Bechstein? Well you should.

But do not worry: if you never heard of his name until now, it is perfectly normal. In a similar way to madame d'Aulnoy in France, Ludwig Bechstein was one of the great names and influential sources of the fairytale in Germany, but fell into complete obscurity due to being overshadowed in modern days by a contemporary (Charles Perrault for madame d'Aulnoy, the brothers Grimm for Bechstein).

Ludwig Bechstein was, just like the brothers Grimm, a German collector of fairytales (Märchen in German), and just like them he published an anthology of them. However, whereas the brothers Grimm started publishing their work in the early 1810s with re-editions later on, Bechstein published the first volume of his collection in 1845, and the second volume in 1856.

And here's the thing: Bechstein was MUCH, MUCH more well-known in Germany than the brothers Grimm, for the rest of the 19th century. While yes the brothers Grimm were a big success and a huge best-seller, Bechstein's fairytales were even more so. In fact his fairytales were THE de facto German fairytales of the 19th century - until the brothers Grimm's international celebrity (because their fairytales had crossed the Germanic frontiers into English and French-speaking countries, while Bechstein's had not) came back and made their own fairytales overshadow, and then completely eclipse/bury Bechstein's own fairytales.

Why is this important? Because Bechstein had in his collection several fairytales that overlapped with those of the Grimm: for example, as I will show above, both collections had an "Hansel and Gretel", and " Little Red Riding Hood". But while we know today the Grimm's version better, it was the Bechstein's version that the 19th century children knew about. And there is one big difference between the two sets of tales: while the brothers Grimm were obsessed with an "accuracy" of the stories (or what they believed was an "accuracy"), stitching stories together or writing them so as to create what felt like a traditional oral story as it would be told to you by a random German person, Bechstein allowed himself a more "literary approach". He never reached the level of an Andersen or a d'Aulnoy that would entirely rewrite a folk-tale into a long poetic epic... But he allowed himself to correct inaccuracies in the stories he collected, and to add personal details to make the story fit his tastes better, and to develop the dialogues into more than just nonsensical little rhymes, so while he kept short and simple stories like the Grimms, they definitively were more literary stories.

To give you two good examples of the differences, here are Bechstein's changes to the two stories I described above.

The main change within Little Red Riding Hood is Bechstein making the girl more intelligent and well-meaning than in the Grimms version, and the Wolf's deception even more devious. When the wolf tells the girl she could go pick up flowers and play outside of the path, like in the Grimm's tale, Bechstein's Riding Hood stops and asks roughly (not a quote I recap here): "Hey, mister Wolf, since you know so much about herbs and plants within this forest - do you know about any medicinal plant around, because if there is an herb that could heal my sick grandma, it would be super cool!". And the wolf jumps on the occassion, pretending he is a doctor - and he lists to her a whole set of flowers and herbs and berries she can pick up that would heal her grandmother... except all the plants he describes to her are poison, and the Wolf just mocks his intended victim. The joke also relies on the fact that all the plants he lists are named after wolves, with the beast convincing the girl it is because wolves are good and great things. (There's the wolf's-foot, the wolf's milk, the wolf's berries, the wolfswort - names which do correspond to real-like plants such as the spurge laurel or the aconit).

The ending is also slightly modified. The hunter is attracted to the grandma's house by hearing the unusually loud snoring of the wolf - he thinks something is wrong with the grand-mother, maybe she is dying, only to find the wolf in her place. He immediately grabs his rifle to kill it but then pause wondering "Hey, the little grandma is nowhere to be seen... and she was a scrawny woman... Better check if he did not eat her". And so he opens the wolf's belly (and the wolf is still asleep during all that, he really is a deep sleeper). When the humans decide to put stones in the wolf's belly, they explicitely reference in-universe the "Wolf and the seven goats" story, which gives them the idea. (Quite a fun and accurate detail since we know that the brothers Grimm attached the episode of the stone to the Little Red Riding Hood story by taking it from the "Wolf and the seven goats" one)

As for Hansel and Gretel, the witch is described differently from the Grimms (she is still a very, very old woman who has something wrong with her eyes, but she isn't red-eyed like the Grimm, rather she has "grass-green" rheumy eyes, and she has no cane or crutches, Bechstein rather insisting on her being a hunchback and havin a very, very large nose.) But the main difference occurs in the climax, which is very different from the Grimm.

The witch still tries to push Gretel in the oven, but she doesn't ask the girl to check if it is "hot enough". Rather she put bread in it to go with her Hansel-roast, and she asks the girl to check if the bread is brown yet. And Gretel is about to obey... when the snow-white bird that led them to the house reappears and warns her of an upcoming danger with human words. The girl immediately guesses the trick, and pushes the witch in the oven. Second big change: the "treasures" the children obtain are not the witch's, nor do they find it on their own. As they exit the house, the treasure literaly rains on them - because all the birds of the forest arrived and dropped the precious items on them while singing "For the crumbs of bread / Pearls an gems instead". As the children understand, the birds were grateful for what they believe was food offered to them (the bread crumbs) and reward the children with the treasure.

Oh yes and the mother (no stepmother here) doesn't die. Rather she and her husband are miserable in their house because they regret leaving their kids, so they are very happy when they return, and with the treasure they all are certain to never go hungry again. Happy end. (Because here the mother isn't a bad person like in the Grimm - she just really, REALLY was a desperate woman who didn't want to see her own children die before her eyes)

[gingermintpepper]

hi, i haven't read the iliad and the odyssey but want to - do u have a specific translation you recommend? the emily wilson one has been going around bc, y'know, first female translator of the iliad and odyssey into english, but i was wondering on if you had Thoughts

Hi anon! Sorry for the somewhat late response and I'm glad you trust me with recommendations! Full, disclosure, I am somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to translations of the source text of the Iliad + Odyssey combo wombo, which means I tend to prefer closeness in literal verbiage over interpretation of the poetic form of these epics - for that reason, my personal preferred versions of the Odyssey and Iliad both are Robert Fitzgerald's. Because both of these translations (and his Aeneid!) were done some 50+ years ago (63 for his original Odyssey tl, 50 flat for his Iliad and 40 for his Aeneid) the English itself can be a bit difficult to read and the syntax can get confusing in a lot of places, so despite my personal preferences, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking to experience the Iliad + Odyssey for the very first time.

For an absolute beginner, someone who has tried to read one or both of these epics but couldn't get into it or someone who has a lot of difficulty with concentrating on poetry or long, winding bits of prose, I fully and wholeheartedly recommend Wilson's translation! See, the genius of Emily Wilson's Iliad + Odyssey isn't that she's a woman who's translated these classics, it's that she's a poet who's adapted the greek traditional poetic form of dactylic hexameter into the english traditional poetic form of iambic pentameter. That alone goes a very very long way to making these poems feel more digestible and approachable - iambic pentameter is simply extremely comfortable and natural for native english speakers' brains and the general briskness of her verbiage helps a lot in getting through a lot of the problem books that people usually drop the Iliad or Odyssey in like Book 2 of the Iliad or Book 4 of the Odyssey. I think it's a wonderful starting point that allows people to familiarise themselves with the source text before deciding if they want to dig deeper - personally, researching Wilson's translation choices alone is a massive rabbit hole that is worth getting into LOL.

The happy medium between Fitzgerald's somewhat archaic but precise syntax and Wilson's comfortable meter but occasionally less detailled account is Robert Fagles' Iliad + Odyssey. Now, full disclosure, I detest how Fagles handles epithets in both of his versions, I think they're far too subtle which is something he himself has talked at length about in his translation notes, but for everything else - I'd consider his translations the most well rounded of english adaptations of this text in recent memory. They're accurate but written in plain English, they're descriptive and detailled without sacrificing a comfortable meter and, perhaps most importantly, they're very accessible for native english speaking audiences to approach and interact with. I've annotated my Fagles' volumes of these books to heaven and back because I'm deeply interested in a lot of the translation decisions made, but I also have to specifically compliment his ability to capture nuance in the characters' of these poems in a way I don't often see. He managed to adapt the ambivalence of ancient greek morality in a way I scarcely see and that probably has a hand in why I keep coming back to his translations.

Now, I know this wasn't much of a direct recommendation but as I do not know you personally, dear anon, I can't much make a direct recommendation to a version that would best appeal to your style of reading. Ideally, I'd recommend that you read and enjoy all three! But, presuming that you are a normal person, I suggest picking which one is most applicable for you. I hope this helps! 🥰

[mirageofadesert]

On a heartless path of his own: A character study of Tantai Jin from TTEOTM

aka: an excuse to talk about Tantai Jin, as well as Luo Yunxi's acting, excessively

For some reason all media in these posts were taken down due to acopy right claim. You can still see them on reddit!

Born into tragedy, living out someone else's script, destined to suffer all the hardships of humanity, only to rise above it all and ascend to godhood - Tantai Jin's journey is one of epic proportions. It's a story of struggling to control your own destiny, learning to love and grow, but ultimately sacrificing everything for the greater good. And while the story is larger than life, Luo Yunxi's excellent acting grounds it in humanity - drawing the audience into the tragedy that is the life and death of Tantai Jin, Ye Xiwu's husband.

The empowerment of embracing powerlessness

“Dignity? It means nothing to me. For me, personally, this bowl of rice matters more. I can’t survive without food. But I had had dignity would have died long ago.” (TTJ in E02)

As a devil's fetus, Tantai Jin is born without love strings and therefore without the ability to process emotions. This is exacerbated by the loveless and harsh conditions in which he grows up. Struggling to survive from an early age, Tantai Jin lacks any form of control or agency in his own life. The audience pities him, easily excusing his psychotic tendencies on the unfortunate circumstances of his life. And while this is true to an extent, in the context of Till The End Of The Moon's literary and poetic approach to storytelling, I would argue that he is also a "Kunstfigur" - a symbol of humanity, rather than the representation of a real person.

In this sense, Tantai Jin is a stylistic device to tell a story about humanity and fate. The term "Kunstfigur" comes from German literature and theater, and describes a character who stands at a certain distance from reality, i.e. reflects it in some way. Tantai Jin did not become evil, he was born with something evil. The people around him abused him, not just because it's human nature to do so, but because they noticed that there was something wrong with him, something unsettling. We see this best in his two maids who witnessed his birth and childhood. The actions of all these characters are not meant to be realistic, they are a comment on the reality of humanity. This is what makes Till The End Of The Moon such a compelling (and controversial) drama.

What makes Tantai Jin's suffering so special is that even when he reaches a new low, he never seems truly weak. There is so much emotion in his expression that even when he is deliberately schools his face to look indifferent, you can always see a hint of underlying emotion, often some kind of deviance, burning in his eyes.

Saving face, avoiding humiliation and embarrassment are powerful incentives for behavior. Pride or ego make us try to avoid these negative experiences. But what if these negative experiences determined our entire lives? Tantai Jin fears neither humiliation nor belittlement, only hunger and betrayal. He has not only become accustomed to them, he is unable to process them properly. More than that, he has understood how accepting humiliation can be empowering in itself. There is power in being seen as weak. There is power in making others think they have power over you. There is power in letting go of pride. There is power in not fighting back, in not giving others the satisfaction of seeing you struggle and suffer. And it's not just that he lacks the threads of love and doesn't understand human emotion. It's the way he accepts his fate that makes him feel powerful.

This is unique for a character in fiction. Such a role is usually reserved for the court jester or a concubine. Tantai Jin is neither. I think what makes these characters so different is also Luo Yunxi's subtle but excellent acting skills. He is able to portray weakness without ever feeling weak. His approach to acting allows him to express many complex emotions in every single scene. It's not just in his facial expressions, but also in the way he immerses himself in a character, studying it beforehand and pushing himself to his physical limits when necessary. I don't think many actors would be able to create such a convincing character as Tantai Jin.

This last scene is fascinating not only because of the excellent acting, which makes the special effects seem almost real because of the convincing way Luo Yunxi interacts with them. It's also interesting for other reasons: After Tantai Jin feels real (magical) power the first few times, it's implied that he will succumb to it, become hungry and greedy for more - but he never does. These episodes (e.g. the nightmare demon and the crow attack during the wedding) are meant to give the audience a glimpse of a possible future in which Tantai Jin becomes fully evil, which never materialises. When Tantai Jin comes to power, he's nothing like the Devil God.

He does feed excessively on demons, but this is either never shown on screen or presented as a necessity of war. He gains his throne not in a great battle, but through small acts of power rather than great ones - fending off rodents, sharing soup with the court officials, showing humility and wit with the scholars, and making positive changes to social policy so that his people don't have to suffer hunger and hardship as they once did. On the battlefield, Tantai Jin's power is great, and no opponent stands a chance against him. But being a king is not just about the power of one man - it's about the lives of the soldiers he leads, the lives of his people, the safety of his tribe and the happiness of the woman he loves.

Setting on a path of love

“The immortals say, body, heart, and mind are three different parts. When the three parts are unified, the internal elixir is formed. Empty thy heart to unite soul and character. Calm thy body to silent energy and mood. Steady thy mind then all three merge into one. Destroy your desire for romantic love, and then you can understand the universe and all lives. This is the one and only way of the Hearless Way. (LSS in E06)

At the beginning of the story, Tantai Jin is on the opposite path to the Heartless Way. He has no real desire for romantic love, until Li Susu as Ye Xiwu awakens those feelings. Moreover, her kindness takes root in his heart and begins to blossom. Quite literally, as you can see in the scene below:

Through Li Susu's acts of care and love, as well as her determination to protect his life, Tantai Jin slowly falls in love with her. Even without her, he was never cold-hearted. He was compassionate towards animals, never unnecessarily cruel - at least not on purpose or before he was pushed too far. So his newfound ability to process emotions and experience love is not limited to Li Susu/Ye Xiwu.

He shows it to his mother's tribe, in his negotiating skills with Ye Quingyu, in his relationships with Pianran and Nian Baiyu, and in his ability to lead a country. He is a natural leader and a good ruler. Tantai Jin proves to be tenacious and hardworking, loyal, intelligent and even dignified.

in certain mannerisms, or in the elaborate way Tantai Jin dresses now that he has access to proper clothing. Or in the way he personally leads his army, just as Mingye did. (Mingye's influence may be most visible when Tantai Jin becomes Cang Jiumin). It may even have influenced his views on Ye Bingchang. Most importantly, however, is his shared experience of the tragic but deep love between Mingye and Sangjiu. He slowly begins to face and accept his feelings for Ye Xiwu and tries to win her over - while still learning to process feelings of love, jealousy and rejection. His love for Ye Xiwu becomes obsessive and suffocating. His insecurity and jealousy become blinding to a degree that costs Xian Lin his life and Ye Xiwu her freedom.

The battle for Tantai Jin's heart has always been both emotional and magical, as the evil bone resides within it, leaving Li Susu no choice but to pierce it with nails manifested from the love the same heart felt for her.

After Ye Xiwu's death and sacrifice, Tantai Jin loses his mind in grief. His morbid obsession with Ye Xiwu leads him to hold onto her corpse, and later drives him to take his own life in an attempt to be reunited. After failing, Tantai Jin spends the next 500 years single-mindedly searching for his beloved's soul, experiencing excruciating pain on a daily basis. The tragedy of this event is that he is searching for the wrong soul. He still doesn't know when someone else took over Ye Xiwu's body, or what the flashback Ye Xiwu showed him in her last moment really means.

His love for Ye Xiwu has blinded him to everyone around him: His friends, his subordinates, and his people. He no longer cares about anything but his dead wife, not even his own life.

The Heartless Way

There is a misconception about the Heartless Way, especially among international audiences who lack cultural context. It's rooted in Buddhist and Daoist ideas that "heaven and earth are heartless" or "heaven and earth are not partial". What this means is that the Heartless Way is not devoid of emotion, it's quite the opposite: It is about overcoming personal attachments so that one can love and have deep compassion for every living being. It's about equality, not putting one life above another. The idea of the Way itself is probably linked to the concept of wuxin, which is achieved when a person's mind is free from thoughts of anger, fear or ego during combat or everyday life.

While it is Li Susu, who has decided to peruse this way in order to seal the evil bone within her body, I think Tantai Jin has, unbeknownst to him, set on the same path – and even if it’s just within the meta story-telling of the drama.

As Cang Jiumin, Tantai Jin’s love grows. At first, he is still focused on reviving his long death wife and therefore tries to stay in the Xiaoyao sect. However, his time there has subtle but far-reaching consequences. The first task, Cang Jiumin is entrusted with, is to help an old, blind woman trapped by her inability to accept the death of her only son. For this mission, he is given a sword by his master:

This sword is called South Branch. Forged by my Master when he was still alive. It was transformed from plum blossoms. It has the heart of spring and the soul of the frost. It carries no killing intent. If you see the world with kindness, you’ll have no obsession and see true freedom. I’ll give it to you as a witness. When you can awaken it, you can understand it. (E30, Master Zhao You to TTJ)

Tantai Jin witnesses how obsession, even when it's the all-consuming love of a mother, can destroy a person. The old women's story mirrors Tantai Jin's own inability to come to terms with Ye Xiu's death. He tells the women about his beloved wife and how she taught him to be a good person, something he is no longer sure he is. His need for Ye Xiwu was inherently selfish, and he never really thought about what she would have wanted. When the old women ask him if he would turn into an evil person to get his wife back, he briefly considers the possibility of using the power of the Devil God, but decides against it because it's not what Ye Xiwu would have wanted. In the end, Tantai Jin uses a lie to redeem the old woman. He, who never had a mother, embraces her as she dies in his arms. When he returns to his master, something has been set in motion: Tantai Jin lets go of his obsessive love for Ye Xiwu.

Most of the following scenes in the third arc, which are not directly related to the rebirth of the Devil God or Li Susu, are related to this theme. For example, the secret technique of the Xiaoyao sect, the Xiaoyao Swordplay, requires him to "follow and practise his heart". From this point on, Cang Jiumin gains power through diligent practice and kindness. Tantai Jin's ability to love begins to grow, soon encompassing his master and sect brothers. Another example is that the symbolism of food, which had always been a symbol of his relationship with Li Susu, is now used in relation to his sect brothers and master. Tantai Ji begins to care more and more about other people's lives, as shown when he tries to protect everyone in Jiang from Si Ying and Jing Mie (even a tyrant like Cen Mi).

When he transforms the Heart Guard Scale, he has a vision, an epiphany. He sees all the important people from his past living happily in another reality. I'm still not quite sure what it means. But in that moment he understands that he doesn't have to fear the power of the Devil God, that he is in control of his fate.

Having all the power, while having none

Tantai Jin started out with no power, control or agency over his life. He has gained all of this only to reach a point where none of it matters, none of it is enough. He is powerless against his destiny to become the Devil God, but that doesn't stop him. He goes from accepting his fate as a hostage prince to fighting fate itself.

He attempts to trick the Devil God and his minions before using the Xiaoyao Sect's Incarnation-Abandoning Array to trap and kill their army. This technique requires him to sacrifice his own life - and he is willing to do so:

So he gives in and surrenders to fate and the unimaginable powers of the Devil God he once feared. This leads him to face the echo/essence of the Ancient Devil God in a battle for dominance. It's here that he finally realises that he has always been surrounded by love and kindness. He acknowledges the love of his parents, his maids, his subordinates, his sect and his friends, and most of all, Li Susu. She taught him to love and to feel emotions, breaking through the darkness that was his life under the thumb of the Devil God. It is this realisation that leads him not only to fully embrace his fate, but also to ascend to godhood.

However, even with the power of the Devil God and his own godly powers, he is still powerless when it comes to the most important thing: stopping the activated All-in-Distress Way from destroying the three realms and the living beings within them. All his powers are pretty much useless. Tantai Jin has gone from being powerless to having all the power imaginable, and it's still not enough. There is only one way to save the world, and that is for Li Susu herself to ascend to godhood, kill him and thus destroy the All-in-Distress Way.

Therefore, Tantai Jin sees no choice but to free Li Susu from her romantic love for him, so that she can attain the Heartless Way. In doing so, he reinforces his own by embarking on a Heartless Way of his own. As previously quoted, "Heaven and Earth are heartless", and in this sense Tantai Jin is trying to be partial to her pain. And even though we know he's not, he's still trying to sacrifice his love and his remaining obsession for the sake of everyone, for the greater good. Not only does he have to destroy Li Susu's love for him, he has to kill his own by acting against his own desires. This is the heartless way.

In these scenes, the two newly ascended gods are in Tantai Jin's mind and heart. We have already seen these inner places symbolised by space and sky. It visualises how Tantai Jin has achieved inner peace, embraced by light and tranquillity.

I think that even as gods, Tantai Jin and Li Susu were still deeply in love, but they don't put each other above anyone else. In a final sacrifice, Tantai Jin rejects Li Susu's wish to be reincarnated together, destroying his immortal essence and thus himself for eternity (or so it seems).

In this post, I tried to approach Tantai Jin as a character in TTEOTM through two theme present in the story: The metaphor of the Heartless Way and motive of embracing power and powerlessness. Tantai Jin’s hero's story has led him from being without power and agency, a mere pawn of more powerful men and gods, to gain power and love before losing it. He was born without love, appearing heartless, only to gain the ability to feel emotion before having his heart broken (literally). Eventually, he gives up his worldly obsessions, emotions and ego, while developing a deep compassion for every living creature. In the end, his ultimate power lies in his sacrifice and his ability to love.

We have reached the end of this post. I warned you that it was going to be excessive… if you've made it this far, thank you for your time and patience! I hope I haven't made too many spelling mistakes! I originally wanted to highlight more of Luo Yunxi's acting, but I ran out of space. I think I will make a separate post about that.

I would like to thank my Twitter friend ~NPY~, with whom I have been discussing this show for weeks now, and who has helped me with many of these thoughts and ideas. Also a shout out to the reddit user who explained the misunderstanding of the "heartless" path!

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Hey Meat! Currently combing through Matt Clayton’s Hindu Mythology: A Captivating Guide to Hindu Myths, Hindu Gods, and Hindu Goddesses and I was wondering if you could give like a little introduction to the main concepts/gods/goddesses? I’m seeing many terms like “the Veedas” and “the Shastras” as I go through it and I’m picking up context clues and I could probably google them but I’d like to hear from actual people and especially those who know and care deeply about these Myths (like you <3). So… can you help me? /gen

Heyyy Neptune! First of all I apologize it took me so long to answer you dfnsfjfdjg forgive meeee

I love how ardently you're researching Hinduism. I haven't really read his book, but I'll help you with giving you an overview of it, so to speak.

Firstly lemme tell you about the Vedic knowledge system, which consists of:

Vedas

Vedangas

Upavedas

Vedas: These are the oldest known scriptures of Hinduism. The religion has four Vedas, namely the:

Rig Veda (RV): book of hymns to the deities.

Yajur Veda (YV): book of mantras and worship rituals

Sama Veda (SV): book of chanting songs

Atharva Veda (AV): book of procedures of everyday life

Each of them have four subdivisions:

Samhitas (mantras, hymns, prayers and benedictions)

Brahmanas (explanations and instructions on performing Vedic rituals)

Aranyakas (texts on the meaning and symbolisms of rituals and ceremonies basically). They were mainly composed by sages who meditated in the wilderness, hence the name of the texts (aranya means forest in Sanskrit).

Upanishads (texts on meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge)

Upasanas (additional). These are texts on worship.

Vedangas: These are the six auxiliary disciplines of Hinduism, and are heavily linked to the Vedas. They are:

Shiksha: Study of phonetics

Vyakarana: Study of grammar

Chhandas: Study of poetic metres and rhythm

Niruktas: Study of etymology

Jyotishya: Study of astrology and astronomy

Kalpa: Study of rituals and guide to ritual instructions

Upavedas: These are texts regarding certain fields of work like:

Ayur Veda: Study of medicine and life sciences

Gandharva Veda: Study of music, art and dance

Dhanur Veda: Study of archery and warfare

Arthashastra: Study of business and administration

Speaking of Shastras, they are kinda similar to Upavedas, and deal with certain fields of knowledge, like we saw in the case of Arthashastra. There are many shastras:

Bhautikashastra - Study of physics

Rasashastra - Study of chemistry

Jivashastra - Study of biology

Vastushastra - Study of architectural science

Shilpashastra - Study of mechanical arts and sculpture

Nitishastra - Corpus on ethics and policies

Alamkarashastra - Study of rhetorics

Kavyashastra - Study of poetics

Sangitashastra - Study of music

Natyashastra - Study of theatre and dance

Yogashastra - contains instructions and teachings on yoga

Mokshashastra - contains instructions and teachings on moksha

Nyayashastra - contains instructions and teachings on justice, laws and judgement

Dharmashastra - contains instructions and teachings on dharma

Kamashastra - contains instructions and teachings on love, desire and pleasure.

And so on.

Then we have the Puranas, which are texts on various topics, usually legends and lores. A few examples are:

Brahma Purana

Vishnu Purana

Matsya Purana

Kalika Purana

Vamana Purana

Shiva Purana

Agni Purana

Bhagavata Purana

And so on. The latest Purana ever written was the Kalki Purana, which was around 400-600 years ago. It is believed that Ved Vyasa (the author* of the epic Mahabharata) composed all these Puranas as well. But many disagree.

*some believe Ved Vyas got Ganesh (the God of wisdom, success and remover of obstacles, and the son of Shiva) to write the Mahabharata for him. While some believe Ved Vyas wrote it himself.

Then we have the Sutras which are aphoristic (concise expression of a general truth/principle) texts. Some examples are:

Brahma Sutras

Yoga Sutras

Nyaya Sutras

Kama Sutra

and so on.

Then comes Itihasa (historical texts), which include the two major epics of Hinduism, namely:

Ramayana (composed by Valmiki)

Mahabharata (composed my Vyasa/Ganesh)

Read the epics I'll not spoil it for ya heehee

Now, for the Gods. Oh man there are so many, but not 33 crore (1 crore = 10 million), contrary to popular belief, but rather 33 types.

In the very beginning of the pantheon, the main Gods were:

Indra (god of thunder and rain and the King of Gods)

Agni (god of fire)

Mitra (god of friendship, sun, daylight)

Varuna (god of waters, oceans, night time)

Vayu (wind god)

Soma (wind god, also sometimes called the moon god)

Ushas (goddess of dawn)

Ashwins (twin solar gods of medicine and sons of Surya)

Surya (Sun god)

Rudra (another wind/storm god who later became another form of Shiva)

Vishnu (bro doesn't have any specific assigned field tbh)

And a few others like Brihaspati (Jupiter god), Pushan (solar god of meetings, marriages, roads and cattle), Savitr (god of speed and cosmos) and many others.

Now there was this supreme vague deity in the Vedas. It's not Brahman yet. They (for the lack of a better set of pronouns) appear later. But it is some kind of supernatural force that let to the creation of this universe, and was initially mostly referred to as Prajapati (sometimes it wasn't one being though, rather a group), from what I can infer. Some may even called em Purusha. In the link you'll also get the First Creation Myth of Hinduism.

There is also an agnostic section in the Rig Veda, known as the Nasadiya Sukta. In this specific section we know there's some form of a supreme deity, but it's very vague as to what it is.

Moving on, in around mid-Vedic period, Vishnu became heavily popular, and two new deities came into being, namely Brahma (who soon got the title of Prajapati) and Shiva (from Rudra because previously Rudra had an alternative name called Siva. So Ig that's where 'Shiva' stemmed from. But again not sure).

Vishnu and Shiva became extremely popular, to the point that they got an entire sect of people dedicated to each of em, hence Vaishnavism and Shaivism (respectively) were born. Vaishnavs heralded Vishnu to be the Supreme God, while Shaivites heralded Shiva to be the Supreme God. (Soon Harihar or Vishnu-Shiva sect also emerged where both the Gods were considered the same, and hence both were the Supreme Gods, or Supreme God, if we consider them one entity) But in the future we can see Vaishnavism took over the spotlight, and finally during the age of the epics, Sanatan Dharma was born, which eventually became synonymous with Hinduism, and now almost everyone considers Vishnu is the Supreme Lord (while many others consider it to be the Brahman, who Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are a part of).

Vishnu actually gained the most popularity from the two epics that I've mentioned, and the first one is almost entirely surrounded around his avatar, Ram (yes he has avatars now). His most popular avatars include Ram and Krishna, and the latter has an entire organization dedicated to him (ISKON or International Society for Krishna Consciousness), and this org considers THIS avatar as the Supreme Lord, and actually considers Vishnu as his avatar, not the other way around. Krishna also appears in the famous Bhagavad Gita, which is the prime philosophy book of guidelines for the Hindus today.

Buckle up, it's about to get more confusing cuz now Vishnu is our main character for a while (bro has HEAVILY influenced this religion atp there's no turning back for him now). His evolution is so interesting cuz who'd have thought in the Rig Vedic times that he'd grow up to be THIS popular TOT. Not Indra for sure xD.

Anyhoo so about Vishnu's avatars. He has ten main avatars that appear through the cycle of Hindu Yugas (eras):

Matsya: Big fishiee. Some paintings portray him as a merman tho.

Kurma: Giant tortoise go brrr.

Varaha: A boar-man :D. Pumba's gunna vibe with him fs.

Narasimha: Very angy lion-man. Will be besties with Sekhmet in a heartbeat i just know it.

Vamana: Cute "lil" dwarf (covered the universe in three steps)

Parshurama: Appears in the Mahabharata

Rama: Main character of Ramayana (hence the name), and is the younger brother of Balarama.

Krishna: One of the main characters of the Mahabharata

Balarama/Buddha (sources vary)

Kalki (future avatar)

Now Mohini is the female form of Vishnu. Whether or not she counts as an avatar is debated. She's the goddess of beauty and a seductress that lures bad guys (mostly Asuras) and then kills them, or atleast teaches them a lesson (but she also attracts the devas sometimes. Shiva for example). So yeah.

His wife is Lakshmi, who's the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity. She also has avatars btw.

Now the Second Creation Myth is pretty messy. Different sects have different takes on it. Usually it is considered that:

Brahma created the universe (or universes in case of the multiverse version).

Vishnu preserves the universe

Shiva destroys the universe

This process is considered cyclic and after the destruction Brahma creates a new universe, and it keeps repeating.

The origin of these three gods are also debated. Some say Brahma created Vishnu and Shiva, some say Vishnu created Brahma and Shiva, some say Lakshmi created Brahma, some say Shiva created Brahma and Vishnu. Some say Vishnu and Shiva are two of the Adityas (comprising of Indra, Agni, Mitra, Varuna, Surya etc.), and hence the children of Kashyap and Aditi.

Quick desc of Shiva is that he's the god of destruction, rebirth, time, benevolence etc. He also has avatars, plus a female form, called Shivani. His wife is Parvati, who ALSO has avatars, primarily Kali, Durya, Gauri etc. Sometimes Parvati and Lakshmi's avatars overlap. Sometimes, Vishnu and Parvati's avatars overlap (like Krishna-Kali).

He and his wife have two sons- Ganesha (god of wisdom, beginnings, remover of obstacles etc.), and Kartikeya/Murugun/Skanda (god of war). Who's the elder one is debated but usually Kartikeya is considered older.

Also Brahma's wife is Saraswati (goddess of wisdom, knowledge, music, flowing water, abundance etc.), who was born from him. Bro has faced some issues with falling for ppl (women) he has created actually lol, which is why he was cursed by Shiva and even lost one of his heads, hence ending up with four heads, when he initially had five. Check this site out as to why he was cancelled by Mahadev (another name of Shiva).

Now we have two Holy Trinities:

Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva (However, Vishnu and Shiva are way closer to Indra, while Brahma's kinda like the dad of the group, yk)

Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati

Then we have the Devas and the Asuras, who can be compared to the Aesir and Vanir, in a way. The Devas are usually the benevolent one, who attained the amrit (elixir), while the Asuras are usually the antagonists. But tbh, in my opinion, both of these groups are morally grey as fock.

Parents of Devas (Rishi/sage Kashyapa and Aditi)

Parents of Asuras (Rishi/sage Kashyapa and Diti)

Diti and Aditi and daughters of king Daksha (one of the Prajapatis). The reason the Asuras turned out the way they did was cuz Diti approached Kashyap at an unholy hour, to put it shortly. Sources say she was also jealous of how Aditi's kids turned out, which might be another factor to how her kids turned out in turn (lot of 'turn's we're getting ahah)

They are described well in the Samudra Manthan, from the Vishnu Purana. Have a look.

Now see, this stark contrast between the Devas and the Asuras didn't quite exist back in the earliest Rig-Vedic period. In fact, some of the most prominent Devas were referred to as Asuras in the Rig Veda, most famously Varuna, who was actually referred to as the leader of the Asuras/Asuryas. Other Devas who got referred to as Asuras include Indra, Agni, Mitra, and a few others. So I have a feeling the concept of the modern-day Asuras didn't quite exist back then.

Now for the concepts of Hinduism, like Moksha, Dharma etc., I think I'll refer to actual practising Hindus to explain it to you, since they'd be able to explain them in a much better way. They can also add to my explanations of things, or correct me if I explained anything wrong. So I'mma tag em.

@kaal-naagin @zeherili-ankhein @inc0rrectmyths @randomx123 @ssj2hindudude @blue-lotus333 (idk if you're a Hindu but you still know a lot so) and anyone else who wanna join.

[abduloki]

I said it before and I'll say it again, Daenerys Targaryen should've been the one to slay the Night King. There's nothing more epic and poetic than a Fire Queen slaying an Ice King, giving a whole new meaning to the Song of Ice and Fire.

Even though I've been a House Stark supporter since the beginning, I was still rooting for Daenerys to be the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, with the Stark serving her. It was when the Targaryen are gone that they name their own King.

House Stark have been loyal bannermen to the Targaryens for hundreds of years. Until the Mad King decided to burn their Lord, Rickard Stark alive and strangle his heir, Ned's older brother Brandon.

So I was disappointed that Game of Thrones ended with Daenerys becoming a Mad Queen instead of having the story coming full circle to the way it was in the old days, with a Targaryen on the throne.

[foone]

So it's no secret that I'm a big fan of The Decemberists. They're probably my favorite band. I could easily name 10 songs that I consider to be some of the best music ever made. But The Mariner's Revenge Song, off Picaresque (2005), is the song that will be remembered in a hundred years after all their other songs have faded from the radio, even the oldies channels. It's their Bohemian Rhapsody.

It has everything!

Revenge!

Pirates!

Whaling!

Biblical allusions!

Orphans!

Dashing young men who seduce rich widows and ruin their fortune, driving them mad!

"It took me fifteen years to swallow all my tears"

Violation of confessional privacy!

Haunting accordion interludes!

Audience participation! (you have to scream like you're being swallowed by a whale)

Revenge destroying both the victim and the perpetrator!

Living just long enough to ensure they die alongside you in a horrible way!

Implied but not actually sung final chorus!

The entire song is a flashback!

It's a sea shanty for the ages but it's from the 2000s!

The word "roustabout". Do you even know what it means? It doesn't matter! It sounds great!

The Victorian Novel Disease! (tuberculosis)

The final words of a dying mother to her young child being an angry list of exactly how they should find the rake and kill him, slowly and painfully. The ones that echo in their head for the next 15+ years.

Ambiguously supernatural! Is the narrator's mother a vengeful ghost, following them around for decades, repeating her mantra and ensuring the whale happens and that both they and the rake survive? Maybe!

Is the whale supernatural? Yeah, real whales can't swallow people, but that's normal for mythological fiction. Also, the sky goes black. Poetic license, or is this a supernatural occurrence? Is the whale the dead mother? Who knows!

Nearly nine minutes of epic folk rocking!

"Find him, bind him / Tie him to a pole and break his fingers to splinters / Drag him to a hole / Until he wakes up naked / Clawing at the ceiling of his grave!"

LISTEN TO IT!

[physalian]

What No One Tells You About Writing 8— “Anyone can write a book”

Yes. But actually no. I say “writing is easy” in that it doesn’t take a degree and textbook learning to understand. You can get an English or lit degree if you want, but writing is incredibly subjective. It’s not even like an art degree that has you study different mediums and historical styles. “Writing is easy” in that it’s about feeling, and instinct, and a little bit of common sense. Anyone can do it in that it doesn’t take financial investment to start. Steal a tchotchke pen and paper from a hotel room—you’ve got all the tools you need. I have a communications degree and 9 years of experience, and I'm about to publish my first supernatural fantasy novel.

Writing is not easy, however, if any of the following applies to you:

You want to make enough money to do this full time

You want to appeal to mass audiences

You want to be a NYT bestseller**** or get an adaptation

You want to be regarded as the best of your generation and fill bookstore shelves

1. It takes a healthy dose of self-awareness and a reality check

 I beta’d for an author who thought that he was comparable to GRRM, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, because both have adult themes in their book and if GRRM can do it, why can’t he? The sheer vastness of the divide between ASOIAF and this awful, awful manuscript wasn’t worth putting into words for the amount I was being paid, though I tried.

Yes, you can write whatever you want. Yes, you can write to please yourself and stroke your ego. You can write the hammiest wish-fulfillment author insert that you desire. But you can’t expect anyone else to want to read or pay money for it. It’s great to have confidence as an author and envision your success, but starting right off the bat with “everyone will love this book because I’m really smart and I love this book” is only going to leave you bitter and penniless.

2. You might be an expert in your given field, doesn’t automatically make you an expert at storycrafting

I really, truly want the above godawful toe wart of a human (who tried to justify pedophilia in his book with the Israel-Palestine conflict) to stop featuring in my writing advice, but I know he’s not the only person out there who thinks like this. You might have a doctorate in engineering, medicine, political science, chemistry, physics, history, paleontology—any field you want. That does not mean you can successfully translate your expertise into a well-crafted and compelling narrative. It means you can write a college textbook lecturing your readers for 300 pages. Heck, if you can't explain what you do like I'm 5 years old, then you're not an expert in your field.

Elements of good storytelling include well-rounded characters, solid pacing, compelling themes and motifs, an engaging main conflict and character arcs and edge-of-your-seat action, romance, debates, and arguments. It’s so much more than “I’m going to write a textbook, but have my character tell it to you, and everyone will love it”.

They won’t.

3. “I’m gonna be a millionaire like JKR”

The frustrating thing about making money writing is that at the end of the day, you are still selling a product. Which means that it doesn’t matter how amazing you think it is, if it’s not what sells. The Fifty Shades series is hardly a poetic epic with deep, meaningful characters and themes, but it sold. It got adaptations. Why? Because it was a product people wanted and its writing style appeals to mass audiences who aren’t entertained by fluffy, antiquated prose. I hated the Divergent books. They soullessly and shamelessly fed off the success of Hunger Games. But they sold because “teen dystopia HP houses” was what audiences craved and what Hollywood was pushing to make movies out of.

Personally I don’t have any nostalgia for Harry Potter and I both wish I did so I could have one more beloved series and fandom to participate in, but also am glad I don’t because of JKR. HP is chock full of plot holes and “fuck it we’ll do it live” worldbuilding and so many concepts that look cool on paper until you really start thinking about it.

JKR didn’t make a million dollars because she wrote the greatest fantasy series. JKR made a million dollars because she wrote a book that sells every goddamn piece of lore for $15.99 or more and collects on all those sweet, sweet royalties. She understood that she’s selling a product, not just a story, selling everything from Slytherin ties and wizarding robes to golden snitches, sorting hats, wands, chocolate frogs, and every other prop seen in the movies.

You sure can chase trends and I’m sure Divergent is somebody’s favorite book and you can hock chocolate frogs. Everyone’s writing goals are different.

4. “But GRRM did it” (or, adhering to genre expectations)

Circling back to this one. Once again, you can write whatever you want, no one is stopping you. However, books are products and if what’s in the summary and on the cover isn’t what’s on the pages, you’re going to upset and annoy your readers. For example, if I slap a chiseled six-pack of man meat on my book cover with flowy calligraphy for the title that reads something like Sex and Pink Champagne and my summary is all about how protagonist girl gets the adonis of her dreams, you’re not going to be happy if, 200 pages in, the plot detours and Mr. Sexy fucks off to sell NFTs.

It doesn’t meet genre expectations.

GoT kicks off with incest and child defenestration. It tells you *exactly* what you’re getting into immediately. You can subvert plot expectations all you want. You can subvert tropes and archetypes and throw in all kinds of twists and turns. But if you’re writing a YA novel and 100 pages in after campfire songs and the power of friendship, Protagonist gets assaulted in a 7-11 parking lot because you wanted to be ~edgy~ you’re going to piss off your readers.

Take Mulan for example. It has a dramatic tonal shift so powerful, the musical stops being a musical because it’s traumatized. Mulan doesn’t drop in the grizzled and horrifying wasteland of a battlefield with thousands of dead soldiers in an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It’s already a war movie, the possibility is already there.

If you want to write adult content, then write a book for audiences who are prepared for and want to read adult content. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.

5. “Okay but it’s not entertaining”

Your first job as an author is to entertain (your second is to do it responsibly imo). There’s millions of books out there—why should someone read yours? Whether that’s entertainment through a feel-good romance or a gut-wrenching tragedy, you need to keep convincing your readers to stay invested in the story, otherwise they can and will put it down to read something else. No one is obligated to read your book to the end.

So, yeah your protagonist might have all the elements of your own personal tragedies and it sure is meaningful to you, but the way you wrote it is incredibly boring and no one will care. It might be the most brilliant heist plot ever conceived, but you focused on all the wrong elements, the pacing is whack, and your protagonist is annoying, so no one will read it.

Very few individual elements can be good enough to carry the entire manuscript and the likelihood of an author being really good at one thing and awful at the rest is slim. Readers can quit a book over the most arbitrary reasons. Do you want to die on a hill of “I’m not changing my annoying protagonist, I’m right and they will see”? They won’t. The arguments authors get into with me over how I hated their protagonist or I told them which parts were boring and dragged because I “didn’t understand the story” are pointless. If it’s boring or confusing or annoying, no one will read it.

6. First Drafts are drafts for a reason

Actually writing is less than half the time and effort spent on getting a book to publication. Probably less than a quarter. The rest of that time is spent editing and rewriting. Some first drafts will be better than others, not arguing that, but your first run through your story has a non-zero chance of needing revisions, even for something as small as typos and punctuation.

You have to edit for pacing and tonal shifts, erroneous details and entire scenes, character inconsistencies and goals. You have to make sure your conversations flow believably, that you hit every talking point that scene requires. You have to make sure your character’s motivations don’t create plot holes and that they’re always on track like a real person and not a creation of your imagination. You have to make sure your action scenes and sex scenes are legible and as thrilling for a reader as they are for you. You have to make sure your worldbuilding is consistent and logical and easy to understand.

Some people outline heavily before starting page one. Some people have a sticky note of “beginning middle end” and run off that. Some have whole folders of different documents to keep track of all their elements. Everyone’s writing process is different, but it is a process, not a one-and-done. It requires revisions, seeking feedback, implementing that feedback, and more revisions until it’s as good as it can be.

Yes, you need to edit. No, you’re not the writing god who penned perfection on your first try. Maybe a piece of your story is perfect on the first draft, but not the whole thing from start to finish. It’s okay that your story isn’t what you thought it would be when you started, and it’s no failing of you as a writer to need edits or even massive changes. It happens to everyone.

7. “Writing is easy, thus it’s not a real job”

Really the notion that creatives are lesser than corporate business people solving problems that their business created. But specifically for writing, the idea that it’s just putting words on a page, thus it’s easy and anyone can do it, so it’s not impressive or deserving of praise and you really need a real job (you probably will because writing doesn’t make much money for most people, but that’s just how it shakes out).

I know ENNS won’t appeal to everyone. I know there will be people who hate my characters, who don’t understand them or don’t agree with their philosophies or find my writing trite and too lean and not ~immersive~. I know there’ll be homophobes out there who won’t even read it but hear about it and make assumptions and will leave me crap reviews. I know it’s not the greatest supernatural fantasy novel ever written.

I’m not in it to make money or get a movie deal and see my merch all over the shelves and get my own theme park. I write so that even one reader might see themselves in my characters and know they’re not alone. So that even one reader has one of my characters as their favorite and that character motivates them to do the Thing or keep moving forward or be brave enough to finally do whatever they’ve been too afraid to attempt before. I want to help people, even if at the end of the day, my writing only helps myself.

Yes I need supplemental income (who doesn’t these days). It’s the way of the world. But I’m doing what I love in my free time and it is a real job because it takes work, and it might not have monetary value but its value to me is priceless.