#Visualization Using Tableau

[zora28]

Data Visualization Using Tableau,Using Tableau To Visualize Data,Visualization Using Tableau,Tableau For Beginners Data Visualisation,How To Visualize Data Using Tableau,Data Visualization Using Tableau Tutorial,Tableau Visualisation,Data Visualisation With Tableau

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Whether you’re a business owner, a data enthusiast, or just curious about how big brands like Netflix and Tesla use BI to gain a competitive edge, this video is a must-watch. Learn how Business Intelligence tools like Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and SAP BusinessObjects are being used to make smarter decisions, predict customer behavior, and streamline operations.

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[tableauecoursetips]

How to Visualize Data Using Tableau: A Beginner-Friendly Guide for 2025

In today’s digital age, businesses, analysts, and professionals rely heavily on data to make smart decisions. But raw data can be overwhelming and hard to understand without the right tools. That’s where Tableau comes in. Whether you're just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, mastering data visualization with Tableau course can help you uncover patterns, share insights, and tell compelling stories with data.

This guide will show you how to visualize data using Tableau in a clear, practical way. You’ll learn how to get started, create dashboards, choose the right chart types, and avoid common mistakes—all while keeping the experience intuitive and enjoyable.

What is Tableau and Why Is It So Popular?

Tableau is a leading data visualization and business intelligence platform that allows users to connect, explore, and visualize data without needing advanced programming knowledge. Its drag-and-drop interface and real-time analytics capabilities make it one of the most accessible and powerful tools in the data world.

People from all industries—from finance to marketing to healthcare—use Tableau to turn complex datasets into interactive visuals. You can connect Tableau to various sources like Excel, Google Sheets, SQL databases, or cloud storage services and build customized dashboards that make data easy to understand and act upon.

Why Choose Tableau for Data Visualization?

Tableau stands out in the crowded field of data tools for several reasons. Its intuitive design lets users focus on insights rather than coding. Its flexibility allows for deep analysis across different data types and platforms. And its interactive features make dashboards more engaging for users and decision-makers alike.

For instance, imagine you’re tracking customer engagement over time. With Tableau, you can easily pull data from your CRM, highlight trends using a line graph, add filters to drill down by region or product, and instantly share the results with your team—all without writing a single line of code.

Getting Started: Installing and Setting Up Tableau

To begin, head over to theTableau website and download either Tableau Public (free) or Tableau Desktop (a more advanced paid version with a trial option). Once installed, open the software and familiarize yourself with the interface.

You’ll notice a clean, drag-and-drop workspace and a navigation pane that lets you connect to data sources, create new worksheets, and build dashboards. Don’t worry if it looks unfamiliar—Tableau is designed to be beginner-friendly, and you’ll get the hang of it quickly.

Connecting to Your Data Source

After launching Tableau, the first step is to connect your data. Click “Connect” on the start screen and select the file or database you want to use. This could be an Excel file, a CSV, Google Sheets, or a cloud database.

Once connected, Tableau will show a preview of your dataset. Check for formatting issues, rename any unclear column headers, and make sure the data types (such as dates or numbers) are correctly identified. If you’re working with a messy spreadsheet, Tableau’s built-in Data Interpreter can help clean it up for you.

Preparing Your Data Before Visualization

Clean, well-organized data is the foundation of any good visualization. Before jumping into charts, spend time reviewing and preparing your dataset. Remove duplicates, handle missing values, and create calculated fields if needed (for example, profit margins or growth rates).

It’s also helpful to categorize your data into dimensions (such as regions or product names) and measures (like sales or revenue). This distinction is key to using Tableau’s visual tools effectively and helps guide how you’ll tell your story through visuals.

Choosing the Right Visualization Type

Not all charts are created equal, and choosing the wrong one can make your data harder to understand. Tableau offers many types of visualizations, but it’s important to pick the one that best matches the question you’re trying to answer. Here are a few common examples:

Bar Charts: Great for comparing different categories.

Line Charts: Perfect for showing trends over time.

Pie Charts: Useful for displaying proportions, though best kept simple.

Heat Maps: Ideal for identifying intensity or density across areas.

Scatter Plots: Best for examining relationships between variables.

Let’s say you want to compare sales performance across regions over a year. A line chart with filters by region might work well. But if you want to visualize market share among different products, a pie chart might be more appropriate—though it’s generally best to use them sparingly.

Building Your First Visualization

Once your data is ready, it's time to build your first visual. Drag dimensions and measures into the “Rows” and “Columns” shelves. Tableau will automatically generate a visualization based on your selections. You can also use the “Show Me” panel for suggestions based on the data structure.

Add color, labels, and tooltips to highlight important details. Apply filters to focus on specific time periods or categories. As you experiment, you’ll see how quickly raw numbers can turn into a visual story that’s easy to understand and share.

Creating Interactive Dashboards That Tell a Story

Dashboards allow you to combine multiple visualizations into one interface. This is useful when you want to explore data from several angles or present a full picture to stakeholders.

To create a dashboard, click on “Dashboard” in the top menu and choose “New Dashboard.” Drag your worksheets onto the layout space. You can add filters, legends, and actions that let users click through different parts of the data.

This is where Tableau really shines. You can build dashboards that update in real-time, respond to user input, and even display differently depending on the device (desktop, tablet, mobile).

Tips for More Effective Tableau Visualizations

After getting the basics down, keep these tips in mind to make your visualizations more impactful:

Keep it simple: Avoid visual clutter. Use whitespace and limit the number of visuals per dashboard.

Use color with purpose: Reserve bold colors for highlights or outliers, and keep your color scheme consistent.

Label clearly: Make sure your audience doesn’t have to guess. Every axis, filter, or label should serve a purpose.

Focus on the story: Every dashboard should answer a question or support a decision. Structure your visuals to guide users from one insight to the next.

Publishing and Sharing Your Work

Once you’re happy with your dashboard, you can either save it locally or publish it online. Tableau Public lets you host dashboards for free, while Tableau Server and Tableau Online offer secure sharing options for teams and organizations.

You can share a direct link, embed dashboards on websites, or export them as PDFs. When sharing sensitive data, make sure to configure permissions properly to control who can view or edit the content.

Conclusion

Learning how to visualize data with Tableau isn’t just a technical skill—it’s a way to communicate more effectively in a world that’s driven by data. Whether you’re analyzing sales numbers, customer feedback, or website traffic, Tableau gives you the tools to transform that data into insights that matter.

[mecachrome]

📊 LANDOSCAR AO3 STATS (may 2025)

notes

sorry this literally took 2 weeks to write... unfortunately the data was retrieved april 28 and it is now may 12.

other work: i previously wrote a stats overview that covered landoscar's fic growth and breakout in 2023 :) i've kept some of the formatting and graphs that i showed there, while other things have been removed or refined because i felt they'd become redundant or unnecessary (aka they were basically just a reflection of fandom growth in general, and not unique or interesting to landoscar as a ship specifically).

methodology: i simply scraped the metadata for every fic in the landoscar tag (until april 28, 2025) and then imported it into google sheets to clean, with most visualizations done in tableau. again, all temporal data is by date updated (not posted) unless noted otherwise. this is because the date that appears on the parent view of the ao3 archives is the updated one, so it's the only feasible datapoint to collect for 3000+ fics.

content: this post does not mention any individual authors or concern itself with kudos, hits, comments, etc. i purely describe archive growth and overall analysis of metadata like word count and tagging metrics.

cleaning: after importing my data, i standardized ship spelling, removed extra "814" or "landoscar" tags, and merged all versions of one-sided, background, implied, past, mentioned etc. into a single "(side)" modifier. i also removed one fic entirely from the dataset because the "loscar" tag was being mistakenly wrangled as landoscar, but otherwise was not actually tagged as landoscar. i also removed extra commentary tags in the ships sets that did not pertain to any ships.

overall stats

before we get into any detailed distributions, let's first look at an overview of the archive as of 2025! in their 2-and-change years as teammates, landoscar have had over 3,409 fics written for them, good enough for 3rd overall in the f1 archives (behind lestappen and maxiel).

most landoscar fics are completed one-shots (although note that a one-shot could easily be 80k words—in fact they have about 30 single-chapter fics that are at least 50k words long), and they also benefit from a lot of first-tagged fic, which is to say 82.3% of landoscar-tagged fics have them as the first ship, implying that they aren't often used as a fleeting side pairing and artificially skewing perception of their popularity. in fact, over half of landoscar fics are PURELY tagged as landoscar (aka otp: true), with no other side pairings tagged at all.

this percentage has actually gone down a bit since 2023 (65.5%), which makes sense since more lando and oscar ships have become established and grown in popularity over the years, but it's also not a very big difference yet...

ship growth

of course, landoscar have grown at a frankly terrifying rate since 2023. remember this annotated graph i posted comparing their growth during the 2023 season to that of carlando and loscar, respectively their other biggest ship at the time? THIS IS HER NOW:

yes... that tiny squished down little rectangle... (wipes away stray tear) they grow up so fast. i also tried to annotate this graph to show other "big" landoscar moments in the timeline since, but i honestly struggled with this because they've just grown SO exponentially and consistently that i don't even feel like i can point to anything as a proper catalyst of production anymore. that is to say, i think landoscar are popular enough now that they have a large amount of dedicated fans/writers who will continuously work on certain drafts and stories regardless of what happens irl, so it's hard to point at certain events as inspiring a meaningful amount of work.

note also that this is all going by date updated, so it's not a true reflection of ~growth~ as a ficdom. thankfully ao3 does have a date_created filter that you can manually enter into the search, but because of this limitation i can't create graphs with the granularity and complexity that scraping an entire archive allows me. nevertheless, i picked a few big ships that landoscar have overtaken over the last 2 years and created this graph using actual date created metrics!!!

this is pretty self-explanatory of course but i think it's fun to look at... :) it's especially satisfying to see how many ships they casually crossed over before the end of 2024.

distributions

some quick graphs this time. rating distribution remains extremely similar to the 2023 graph, with explicit fic coming out on top at 28%:

last time i noted a skew in ratings between the overall f1 rpf tag and the landoscar tag (i.e. landoscar had a higher prevalence of e fic), but looking at it a second time i honestly believe this is more of a cultural shift in (f1? sports rpf? who knows) fandom at large and not specific to landoscar as a ship — filtering the f1 rpf tag to works updated from 2023 onward shows that explicit has since become the most popular rating in general, even when excluding landoscar-tagged fics. is it because fandom is getting more horny in general, or because the etiquette surrounding what constitutes t / m / e has changed, or because people are less afraid to post e fic publicly and no longer quarantine it to locked livejournal posts? or something else altogether? Well i don't know and this is a landoscar stats post so it doesn't matter but that could be something for another thought experiment. regardless because of that i feel like further graphs aren't really necessary 🤷‍♀️

onto word distribution:

still similar to last time, although i will note that there's a higher representation of longfic now!!! it might not seem like much, but i noted last year that 85% of landoscar fics were under 10k & 97% under 25k — these numbers are now 78% and 92% respectively, which adds up in the grand scheme of a much larger archive. you'll also notice that the prevalence of <1k fic has gone down as well.

for the fun of it here's the wc distribution but with a further rating breakdown; as previously discussed you're more likely to get G ratings in flashfic because there's less wordspace to Make The Porn Happen. of course there are nuances to this but that's just a broad overview

side ships

what other ships are landoscar shippers shipping these days??? a lot of these ships are familiar from last time, but there are two new entries in ham/ros and pia/sai overtaking nor/ric and gas/lec to enter the top 10. ships that include at least one of lando or oscar are highlighted in orange:

of course, i pulled other 814-adjacent ships, but unfortunately i've realized that a lot of them simply aren't that popular/prevalent (context: within the 814 tag specifically) so they didn't make the top 10... because of that, here's a graph with only ships that include lando or oscar and have a minimum of 10 works within the landoscar tag:

eta: other primarily includes oscar & lily and maxf & lando. lando doesn't really have that many popular pairings within landoscar shippers otherwise...

i had wanted to explore these ships further and look at their growth/do some more in depth breakdowns of their popularity, but atm they're simply not popular enough for me to really do anything here. maybe next year?!

that being said, i did make a table comparing the prevalence of side ships within the 814 tag to the global f1 archives, so as to contextualize the popularity of each ship (see 2023). as usually, maxiel is very underrepresented in the landoscar tag, with galex actually receiving quite a boost compared to before!

additional tags

so last time i only had about 400 fics to work with and i did some analysis on additional tags / essentially au tagging. however, the problem is that there are now 3000 fics in my set, and the limitations of web scraping means that i'm not privy to the tag wrangling that happens in Da Backend of ao3. basically i'm being given all the raw versions of these au tags, whereas on ao3 "a/b/o" and "alpha/beta/omega dynamics" and "au - alpha/beta/omega" and "alternate universe - a/b/o" are all being wrangled together. because it would take way too long for me to do all of this manually and i frankly just don't want to clean that many fics after already going through all the ship tags, i've decided to not do any au analysis because i don't think it would be an accurate reflection of the data...

that being said, i had one new little experiment! as landoscar get more and more competitive, i wanted to chart how ~angsty~ they've gotten as a ship on ao3. i wanted to make a cumulative graph that shows how the overall fluff % - angst % difference has shifted over time, but ummmm... tableau and i had a disagreement. so instead here is a graph of the MoM change in angst % (so basically what percentage of the fics updated in that month specifically were tagged angst?):

the overall number is still not very drastic at all and fluff still prevails over angst in the landoscar archive. to be clear, there are 33.2% fics tagged some variation of fluff and 21.4% fics tagged some variation of angst overall, so there's a fluff surplus of 11.8%. but there has definitely been a slight growth in angst metrics over the past few months!

—

i will leave this here for now... if there's anything specific that you're interested in lmk and i can whip it up!!! hehe ty for reading 🧡

[patchouii]

Some Hannibal & Will headcanons I have, just for fun:

. Hannibal has a sweet tooth. Usually he doesn’t allow himself to indulge in it, but every so often he’ll have a designated “cheat day” and make pastries and sweets. All of which somehow manage to utilize the versatility of his favorite secret ingredient, just for the wickedly ironic juxtaposition of it.

. Part of the reason Will likes fishing is because it’s an activity in a quiet, meditative environment that makes it easier for him to use his empathy to visualize the world around him as he wishes, sort of how he does with crime scenes. He started doing it while fishing with his dad, and he’d joke that Will would “go all glassy-eyed like the fish”.

. Will can use the excess of mirror neurons that give him his unique “empathy” abilities to mimic bird calls and even people’s voices really well, and he enjoys doing so. Sometimes he’ll say something stupid with Hannibal’s voice just to annoy him. Usually it’s something with a bad cannibal pun in it.

. Despite his criticisms of Will’s old aftershave, the reminder of their beginnings and how far they’ve come is too strong for Hannibal to resist. A bottle of it appears in the bathroom of wherever they’re staying for Will to use— it’s nostalgic, and it also lets him know where Will is if they’re separated in a crowd.

. Hannibal has an old scar where the back of his neck joins his shoulders. It has a faint chain-link pattern to it from abraded skin freezing to a metal chain and being pulled off thanks to the horrors of one fateful winter. Will never asks about flaying it off like he did with the Verger brand— he knows the answer.

. Will develops a phobia of deep water after the fall, his decision to take them over due to Dolarhyde’s camera still running for Jack to find and the adrenaline-and-euphoria l’appel du vide of the moment haunting him with nightmares. He refuses to let it rule him, swimming laps in their pool at night. Hannibal often joins him.

. Sometimes, instead of going right to sleep, reading, or having some fun before bed, they’ll lay on their backs side-by-side with their hands laced and delve into their minds together. Hannibal will close his eyes and enter his memory palace, Will often keeps his eyes open and unseeing and visualizes with his empathy.

. The actual first time Will kisses Hannibal is when he’s on Chiyoh’s boat on the Atlantic. He’s high on pain meds and roiling with emotion over Hannibal’s unconscious form beside him. It’s just a soft, weak brush of lips. In his feverish state, he hopes that Hannibal’s infection will spread to him so that he can’t leave him behind if he dies of it.

. The first kiss they really count happens when they’re both settled in Cuba, sitting on the porch of the little beach house Hannibal secured for them and watching the sunset, drinking iced hibiscus tea. Will only confesses much later that the red droplets on Hannibal’s lips reminded him of blood and he just leaned right in unconsciously.

. Even though they have to be careful with their kills post-fall, Hannibal makes sure to allow for one special kill every year. He sets up a tableau of a skinned man in the shape of a heart with flowers stabbed through the skin in a remote location and lets Will figure out how to find it by Valentine’s Day.

. Will lets Hannibal teach him how to do serial killing. It ends up sating his curiosity about the theories he’d had on the Ripper as well as further sating his dark urges, growing those appetites. The fact that Hannibal has his victims awake on the table sometimes is a point of contention, Will feels bad that the only part of him that feels bad is the part that mirrors the victims if he isn’t careful.

. Between Will’s empathy picking up on all the little details and emotional indicators and being able to copy them back and Hannibal’s analytical skills and expertise with conveying the image he wants through tone and body language alone, they can communicate wordlessly. They sometimes default to this, whether intentionally or not. It’s a little unnerving to watch.

. Will has a not-so-slight caffeine addiction after many years of drinking coffee to get out the door early from college to his cop years to Jack calling at ungodly hours. He won’t drink anything but instant microwave Folgers. Hannibal has tried to replace the coffee in the container but Will catches it every time.

[msbigredmachine]

New To This - Chapter 11

MASTERLIST

By the time she touched down in Pensacola, all Delilah wanted to do was sleep for the rest of the month. This past week had been exhausting, both emotionally and physically, and as she climbed into the Uber she ordered, she sincerely hoped it wouldn’t get worse when she arrived home and had to lay eyes on Andre for the first time in a week.

Judging from the layers of guilt that had been padding in her belly since she boarded the plane, ‘worse’ seemed more inevitable than anything.

Walking into the trailer park home she didn’t realize she would miss so much, a voicemail appeared in her notifications. Seeing it was from Josh, she quickly shook her head and rid herself of any of the numerous X-rated visuals her brain could resurrect. Putting him on speaker, she dragged herself and her suitcase toward her bedroom, his low teasing voice bringing a smile to her face even though the memory of him swirled in her gut like a ship in the middle of a storm.

"Hey, baby. About to get on the plane back to ATL. I had the best time with you this week. Uhh…miss you already, girl. Miss everything bout’chu, and I mean everything…Anyway, call me. Yeet! Mwah."

Dude actually blew a kiss. So cute. 

Pushing open the door to her bedroom, her heart leapt into her throat, her eyes wide at the tableau before her. The bed she shared with Andre was perfectly made, something she wasn't sure it ever had been since they moved into the house together. The expensive white satin sheets they’d unwisely splurged on one random day years ago and never used since then, draped the bed. On her side of the bed, a single red rose lay on her pillow along with a piece of notebook paper, folded with her name on it.

With numb legs, Delilah managed to lower herself to the mattress and took the note slowly from its place. Her fingers trembled as she unfolded the paper, which she realized he’d spritzed with his favorite cologne. To top it all off, one scan of his familiar scribble caused the tears to instantly fill her eyes.

My Dee-Dee girl,

You've been gone for six whole days and I think I went a little insane. I think this was the longest time we’ve ever been apart and it sucks ass. All week Khalid kept telling me that you’re all I talk about since you been gone and I didn't even realize it. I've missed you being home with me. I wondered if the tryout was everything you dreamed of and I really hope you had fun. I was gonna call you, but I didn't wanna mess up your flow. 

I know you’re home already and when I come back, we're gonna have a candid discussion about you probably getting called back by WWE. Something tells me you did and I can’t wait to hear all about it.

I love you.

Dre.

P.S. Did you see the video I sent you?

Reaching for her phone, she searched around for said video and her heart sank to discover he’d sent an email to her three nights ago. Her chest tightened further as she remembered exactly where she was – whom she was with – at that exact time. She tapped the video open and found Andre standing in front of the mirror in their bathroom. Then, he opened his mouth and began singing the first couple of lines from what she recognized as Justin Bieber’s ‘Ghost’, one of his favorite modern songs. 

As her fiancé’s melodic voice sounded around their bedroom, her arms dropped to her thighs helplessly with his note still in her hands. Her eyes looked to the ceiling and saw nothing thanks to the tears blurring her vision and spilling down her cheeks. This video, this letter, didn’t sound like the same old Andre. This was a repentant Andre. An Andre she didn’t expect at all. She had come home with metaphorical boxing gloves on, waiting to confront the guy who still couldn't understand why the woman he was marrying was pursuing such a wild, unattainable dream. She had come home ready to move on from him. She had almost convinced herself that it was his fault she had ended up in bed, multiple times, with another man.

That if I can't be close to you

I'll settle for the ghost of you

I miss you more than life

And if you can't be next to me

Your memory is ecstasy

I miss you more than life

I miss you more than life

Sobs wracked Delilah’s body as she curled into the fetal position on the bed, her watery eyes resting on the video playing of Andre’s handsome face, his eyes closed as he sang his heart out to her. 

She fucked up. She fucked up so bad.

And the guilt was going to eat her alive.

----------------------

Five hours after some much-needed sleep, Delilah stood at the kitchen counter picking at the bowl of chicken salad she had made for herself. She had been disappointed to wake up and realize that the unscrupulous decisions that she made in Orlando were not one bad dream. She had gone to the bathroom to freshen up and winced as she was instantly transported back to said bad decisions, her mind replaying the visual of herself bent over the sink, Josh pumping away behind her. Same reason she was standing by the counter and not sitting down, as the image of her back arched against the countertop with his face buried between her thighs materialized the second she laid eyes on the table. Ditto with the majority of the furniture around her house and the numerous positions she’d been twisted into on each one. Long story short, she would never look at any of them the same way again.

The front door swung open, causing Delilah's stomach to lurch once again. She wished she could run away, and that notion did not waver as Andre bumbled inside the house, his trusty backpack on his shoulder and a big relieved smile on his face. "My baby is back!" he exclaimed, slamming the door with his foot as he made his way over to her. When his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, she fought the urge to throw up on his flannel shirt.

"You're home early," she feigned a smile, crossing her arms defensively as she took refuge behind the counter once again.

If he noticed her strange behavior, Andre didn't let on. "I worked a lot of overtime this week when you were gone," he shrugged, grabbing her fork and stabbing it into her bowl of salad as he lowered himself down to the stool next to her. Even with his mouth full, his lips curled into that goofy little boy smile that always made her heart melt, and not for the first time, Delilah felt the bile rise to her throat.

"So how was it?" he asked her.

The simplest of questions, yet he might as well have asked her about quantum physics. How on earth was she meant to tell him that it was the greatest week of her life without telling him that she had cheated on him? How was she meant to admit that she hadn’t given him much thought because she was with another man? Could she bring herself to break his heart like that?

"It was good." Her answer was flat and curt, her gaze studying the countertop like it was the most fascinating thing in that moment.

Andre just laughed, his face still alight from the triumphant return of his fiancee. "That's it? Just good?" he asked. "So modest. C’mere." He stood and held his hand out. When Delilah took the invitation, he led her away from the kitchen, over to the couch and gathered her into his arms when they sat down. "Tell me. I wanna hear all about it."

So many times she had hoped for this, him finally showing an interest in the life she was pursuing. But instead, this abrupt personality turn of his was rubbing her the wrong way. His happy-little-camper attitude was grating on her nerves, and the guilt bubbling inside her was the reason.

"Why?" she demanded, the question spilling out before she could think it through.

Slightly taken aback by the question, Andre pushed on. "Why? Cuz you're my girl. Cuz I know how much you want this and I'm anxious to hear how it all went down."

Oh, he went down, alright, Delilah thought angrily. She understood that most of the rage she was feeling was directed at herself, but she couldn't help but what the hell had gotten into this man sitting before her. It was as if he knew he was on the verge of losing her, and now he was pulling out all of his famed charm to reel her back in. "Oh really? You care now? What changed?" she asked coldly, pushing out of his arms and crossing hers defensively over her chest.

The wounded look in his eyes made her heart sink. "Baby, I've been an asshole about this. I admit it," he said softly, taking her hand once more. "But I missed you so much, you have no idea."

"Oh riiiiight, I see. You didn’t have your fuck buddy for one week and now you’re all up in your feelings!" Delilah argued. She knew that she sounded bitter and wounded, but she couldn't help it. The emotions of the past week were rushing over her at such a dizzying pace and she wasn't coping well at all, struggling to find her footing on this rollercoaster that her life had suddenly become.

Andre, meanwhile, had had enough of Delilah’s antagonism. "Dee, what the fuck is going on?" he struggled not to raise his voice, scooting back on the couch a few inches. "I thought you wanted me to be more supportive!"

Delilah jumped to her feet. "I want you to be supportive because you believe in me, Andre! Because you're proud of me. Not because you got lonely!" Sometimes she wondered if he understood her at all, if he had heard anything she had said over the last several months.

But Andre was tired of this already. He had just admitted to being wrong and yet she was still berating him. "I can't win with you," he threw his arms out, standing to regain some sense of equilibrium. "What the fuck happened out there?"

"Nothing!" she answered, a bit too quickly.

“Well something happened!” Flinging his arm to the side, Andre was in fight mode. "Just days ago, you were talking about how I didn’t care about you, and now that I’m putting in some effort, you want me to just back off and drop the whole thing? What kinda bipolar bullshit is that?" They had been here too many times, all over this house, outside this house, arguing about anything and everything, specifically on one increasingly annoying subject.

"I want you to actually mean it!" Delilah lashed out, no longer able to contain her emotions. The tears threatened to fall again as she pleaded with him, arms extended helplessly. "I want you to come to one of my matches. Dre. Just one. I want you to see what I do, see why it's so fucking important to me!"

"How many times have I told you, wrestling ain’t my thing," he dismissed. "You don't like all the things I like, but you don't see me cryin’ and beggin’ you to like ‘em."

Crying and begging. He couldn’t even see that his nonchalance had forced her to confide in someone else, and she’d ended up doing much more than that with him. Maybe if he knew, maybe if she told him what his apathy had done to their relationship, his mind would finally, finally change. But she refused to feel guilty for following her dreams. She refused to settle. "I don't need you to be a fan of wrestling!" she argued, "I don’t give a flyin' fuck if you don’t know any of the moves or any of the wrestlers’ names!"

"Then what is this abou-" Andre interrupted.

"For fuck’s sake, Andre! I want you to be a fan of me!" she screamed, her voice breaking as she kicked their wooden coffee table across the tiny room, “I want you to know my name! I need you to support me, to care about my wrestling, dammit!”

An awkward silence fell over the room, punctuated by the heart-wrenching sounds of her sobs as the love of his life’s words sank into his soul. For nearly a year, he had watched her morph into someone he no longer recognized, and not liking what he saw, he distanced himself, hoping it would be out of her system in due time. But now it was clear that this wasn’t going away, and it was breaking both their hearts as what they had – what he thought they had – was starting to collapse before his very eyes. 

"You wrote me some letter and sang a song. Big deal!" she continued through her tears. "You're doing everything but taking an actual interest in watching me find myself, because that’s exactly what I’m doing, Andre, and you can't handle it." She shrugged, even more emotionally exhausted than she was before she returned home. "You laugh, and you joke, and you tease me about it. You laugh at me with your friends. You laugh with my mother." Letting out a sardonic laugh, she shook her head, relaxed her shoulders and met his eyes. If she was going to be honest, she was going to have to be completely honest. 

"You have never believed, not one time, that I could do this. You wanted me to fail just so your life wouldn't have to change. But I didn’t fail! They liked me out there! They want us to move to Orlando in three months so I can start training at the Performance Center. That’s another step closer to NXT, and from there, I could make it to the main roster. I went out there and I left it all in the ring and for the first time in my life I felt like I belonged somewhere and they agreed! The biggest wrestling company in the world wants me, Andre! It ain’t no dream no more and I’m sorry if that’s a problem for you."

Again, silence. Sniffling, she wiped her tears with her forearm and turned, walking toward the bedroom. She was done. And it had nothing to do with Josh, or with wrestling. She was just over it, and she was desperate to let off some steam because if she stayed this way she would most likely combust.

"Where are you going?" Andre asked, watching her change into her sneakers, which he noticed were brand new. Her suitcase was open and filled with more items than it had when she left. Things that, in real time, neither of them could quite afford. She wasn't lying. WWE were pulling out all the stops to bring her into their ranks.

Grabbing the keys to her motorcycle, Delilah responded, "To Tank’s gym. Need to work out." She was still a little tired, but she’d much rather be outside than stuck in this hellhole she was about to call her matrimonial home. She longed to talk to a certain someone but he was in faraway Atlanta and she really couldn’t keep running to him with her problems. Not anymore anyway. Not when he had become one of those problems.

Andre looked dumbfounded that she was leaving this unfinished. "We ain’t done talking, Delilah! You can’t just walk out on me!" 

With a bitter chuckle, she picked up her gym bag. "Damn right I can," she informed him, walking past him towards the bedroom exit. Just as she swung open the door, he grabbed her, his strong arm wrapped around her slender waist. Blushing as she glared hard at him, he cleared his throat. 

"A’ight. Gimme ten minutes to change. I'm coming with you," he said quietly, blushing harder when she raised an incredulous eyebrow. "I'm serious, baby. Let's take the truck. I wanna see you, see what you're all about."

--------------

THOUGHTS? Is Andre finally coming around?

🏷️: @wrestlingprincess80 @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41 @alyyaanna @squishyguishy @jstarr86 @murrylove @thewarlordsworld @mzv11 @cozyaliensuperstar7 @nayys-world @hunnidmilly @cyberdejos2 @papireigns-05 @niknakbucks92 @captainwithoutmakingitlove @sovereigngoth @aisharmi @kennedi0818 @alichesmi @thesamoanqueen @herwickedlittlesins @questionable-behaviour @tribalchiefreigns @2-muchsauce @thatbxtchsblog @raya-hunter01 @marchi36753 @lovelysuccess @christinabae @wooahmiri @thatonecarebear @tabletheofhead @rheaanddamianfan @vebner37 @hanley1577 @princessesareforsuckers @-naturally @joannasteez @bbygirlky18 @lilucey @theninthwonder @melaninsugababy @chocovibesonly @msbluehaz3 @scarlettnoir01 @heerah34 @empressdede @tbmotw @darkangelchronicles @visionarymode @marasdeathnote @aintnorainbows @meggylynnloves @femdisa @harlemblipster  @trc-punzel @afterdarkprincess @nbanenefrmdao @sassginaswanmills @purplehairgawdess @holisticcoach @girlwhogaf @royalkay23 @heyitsnajabrinee @stoner2k @reci1996 @catxo @iamimanim @lookmais @ts1mp0ne @lizzyd1ish @m3llowww @skyesthebomb @final1miya @kia1996 @randomuser0711 @yourtribalqueen @caramelcleopatraa @katymae12344 @that-one-anxious-mango @yana3sworld @ajenae @truefant4sy @thetribalqueen @bhjszsdxc @paigereeder @christinabae @justazzi @maknaehyucks @mindairy @headoftheetable @truefant4sy @mscarter213 @ariiaeltheedonn @sageispunk @xbriexx @shamaness11 @shantinextdoor @whatdoeseverybodywant

[fatecolossal]

TWIN PEAKS - the Red Room x the Glass Box Room: eerie, interdimensional portals of coffee, kissing, & comfy armchairs... The Sam-and-Tracey scenes of Parts 1 & 2 are evocative of a number of other elements of the show, none more so than TP's various Red Room scenes.

Tracey's black dress is redolent of RR-Laura's black dress, and the chalky, naked, humanlike figure that materializes in the Glass Box is shot in stances and at angles distinctly similar to those used by/for the white, naked sculptures in the Red Room...

Notably, in Part 2 one of the RR sculptures transforms into a doppelgänger of the Evolution of the Arm, a sinister figure whose gaping maw and wrathful lashing-out are similar to those of the Glass Box's "Experiment"... (Apologies for the gore in the image.)

Tracey carries coffee cups with a black-on-white "Z" figure drawn on them; likewise, her dress is later shown to feature a white-on-black "Z." Whatever else they may evoke, these zigzagging figures are visually like the iconic chevron zigzags of the Red Room's floor...

The side table in the Glass Box Room ["GBR"] has a small bonsai tree which, while (as fans have noted) evocative of the bonsai Windham Earle uses in Season 2, also is evocative of the Red Room's own tree, the Evolution of the Arm...

Like the Red Room, the Glass Box Room is a type of "waiting room," one likewise filled with "secrets." A picture of its primary secret, the Experiment, is viewed by Gordon et al in Part 3, its wraithlike figure floating over an oval much like the RR's oval owl cave ring...

When the Glass Box Room is visited by Cooper in P2, we get a shot of the reflection of his floating figure looming over the empty seating in the room, a tableau curiously similar in framing to the superimposition of the Angel floating over the empty RR chairs in FWWM...

One of the most intriguing aspects of Cooper's P2 visit to the GBR is that it means we get to watch a replay of Sam/Tracey scenes first seen in P1. A similar replay occurs in P18, this time of RR scenes first seen in P2. It all seems linked to the slipperiness of time in TP:TR...

"Someone is here," Gerard says; "No one is here," Tracey says. These opposing lines get at the ways the RR & GBR scenes are also set up in certain ways to be subtly opposite of one each other...

As always, more could be said about the subjects raised by the above posts—why the show is setting up these weird parallels, what we might make of the slippery, repetitive time elements of these scenes, etc. I'll likely post more on this parallel soon...

TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN - Part 1.

[youhideastar]

WujiWatch: CQL Rewatch Episode 29

Since this is my favorite episode, I’m making room for three topics in this one!

First, I often focus in these posts on moments when a rewatch shows me I’m remembering something wrong, and this episode has a big one: I am very guilty of thinking that Wei Wuxian, all by his genius self, brought Wen Ning back.

But is that true? This episode has the scene where Wen Ning returns to life/consciousness, following a pretty lengthy (by this show’s standards) battle with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. The thing that struck me about it this time is that, after Wei Wuxian has done all the talisman-ing he can do and stands back, Wen Ning still isn’t himself. That only happens after a big final burst of spiritual energy from Lan Wangji—after Lan Wangji has been pouring spiritual music into Wen Ning for quite some time, too. It’s hard not to wonder: could Wei Wuxian have taken that final step, brought Wen Ning back to himself, if Lan Wangji hadn’t helped? Is his ghostly path, on its own, enough to achieve these miraculous results? Or is it the combination of Wei Wuxian’s heretical cultivation and Lan Wangji’s orthodox cultivation that ultimately solves the puzzle?

Second, I know not everyone is on board with the idea of Wangxian as A-Yuan’s parents, even symbolically, and I respect that. But I think it’s a useful exercise to ask, re: the scene in and outside the Yiling Tea House, Why is A-Yuan there? You can easily imagine the scene unfolding basically the same way without him (Wei Wuxian runs into Lan Wangji; they chat over lunch and Wei Wuxian grieves the loss of his dream of his sister’s wedding). So what purpose does A-Yuan’s presence, specifically, serve?

I think it’s hard to escape the conclusion that A-Yuan’s presence is, in fact, intended to set up the idea of Wangxian as A-Yuan’s potential parents—from the onlookers calling Lan Wangji A-Yuan’s dad, to Wei Wuxian’s joke that A-Yuan is his son, to the visual tableau of the two adults eating lunch with A-Yuan sitting on Lan Wangji’s lap. Maybe it’s just my personal blind spot, but I’m having a hard time thinking of any other reason for those beats to exist. This is perhaps extra important to the drama writers because of censorship: giving two characters a shared kid is the perfect plausible-deniability signifier of couple-dom, since there’s nothing expressly romantic about it… but viewers are culturally accustomed to co-parents being romantic partners. That gives the writers a reason to really lean into the “Wangxian Dads” thing, above and beyond what might be in the novel. Whether that’s fair to Wen-popo and the other Wen Remnants is a worthwhile question—but I don’t think it's plausible to say that fans who also lean into the “Wangxian Dads” thing are imposing something on the characters that the writers didn’t intend.

Third and finally, it’s striking how comfortable Wen Qing is bantering with Wei Wuxian in front of Lan Wangji; she basically treats Wei Wuxian the same exact way she always does, even though she’s normally quite reserved in front of outsiders. (It also makes a very striking contrast with the way she treated Jiang Cheng when he visited the Burial Mounds in the previous episode.) It kind of breaks my heart – I watch that scene and can’t help thinking, “This is how it could be, this is what they could have had.” Which I think is the point of a lot of this episode.

[theersatzcowboy]

Tenebrae (1982)

Using his favorite medium (the giallo film) to snap back at his critics, visionary horror maestro Dario Argento doubles down on the bloody, psychosexual themes of his past work, insisting that he's an equal opportunity murderer and creating a self-referential, bright-red tableau of slasher film visuals set to an unforgettable synth score by Italian rock band Goblin.

Director: Dario Argento

Cinematographer: Luciano Tovoli

Starring: Anthony Franciosa, Christian Borromeo, John Saxon, Mirella D'Angelo, Veronica Lario, Ania Pieroni, Eva Robin's, and Daria Nicolodi.

[yuzukahibiscus]

Aspirations for Yuzuka Ray's First Concert after retiring from Takarazuka Revue

Yuzuka Ray graduated from the Takarazuka Revue in May this year, and she will be having her first concert “TABLEAU” after retirement. Departing from being an otokoyaku, Yuzuka Ray is liberated into the new world and we have great expectations for this concert, which will be overflowing with Yuzuka’s new charms. In the first part of the interview, we hear her thoughts for the concert and her methodology of polishing her dance, singing, and more. She also wonders what kind of worlds will open to her, as she seamlessly connects her Takarazuka experience to the future.

(Source from R Enter Media; photo archive → redirected to twitter thread)

Q. Everyone has been waiting for it, but we’re all surprised by how quickly you restarted.

YUZUKA RAY. Right (LOL). It was fast.

Q. And for you, did you feel it was very fast too…?

Y. Oh I do feel it yes, hahaha (LOL).

Q. Was there a reason why you quickly started on your next activities?

Y. Here is the time when I can say about this. I always think it’s special to have a concert, and I want to deliver a stage that everyone will enjoy.

Q. In your retirement conference, you said “I want to encounter a new me when I go out and leave (Takarazuka)”. Since the concert is about to begin, did you start encountering the new “you”?

Y. If it’s a new “me”, I wouldn’t say I felt a sharp change within me. Till now, I have always played as a Takarazuka otokoyaku, and without that experience, I wonder how I would be in my stage name (of Yuzuka Rei). I don’t want to lose something in order to become something new, rather I want to cherish what the (Takarazuka) Revue raised me for, and insert a new essence into this concert.

Q. Are the things you want to do based on your desires?

Y. I’ll let you know what I want to do next (later)!

Q. Is there something you can tell us about what you’re doing in the current stage?

Y. There is a corner where I’ll be looking back at the Takarazuka songs and singing the Takarazuka songs that are memorable to me. But I’m sure everyone will find it familiar when they hear it again, that it will make you want to move your body. From western music to Japanese music, there are various songs that will be in the setlist, so it’d be great if we deliver these scenes that will make you think “Wow! I wanted to see this!” or “Yuzuka-san can do that!? But that’s great!”

Q. While making the proposal for this concert, were there any themes or keypoints you considered?

Y. I insisted that I want to have many dance scenes. And also, I mentioned many of my requests and now we’re in the stage of thinking of how to create the balance for this concert, and there may still be room for change, but there’s definitely a lot of singing and dancing, and it will be a lot of fun. There are also surprising combinations – those that make you think “Yuzuka-san sang this…”

Q. We look forward to that! When thinking of the structure of this concert, what perspectives did you have in mind?

Y. The major framework was created by the director Kovayashi-san, but the choice of songs inside the concert was what I discussed with her a lot. I decided on songs I want to perform and asked her to include it in the concert.

Q. While we are already looking forward to the visual aspects of the concert, the main visual looks vivid.

Y. The poster is surprising, right? It has charismatic colours (LOL).

Exactly!

Y. There are vivid scenes, passionate scenes, with bouncy and energetic scenes and also contemporary scenes.

Q. This time in “TABLEAU”, Hoshikaze Madoka and Hana Yuuki will both be guests.

Y. I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to our performance together, but also what kind of talks we will have.

Q. We’re looking forward to the talks too!

Right (LOL). Looking forward to the kind of time we’ll be spending.

Are you going to have a duet dance with them both?

Y. Yes. We will be dancing duets, the guest corner is in the Takarazuka corner so we’ll be singing memorable Takarazuka songs too.

Q. We’d like to talk about your dancing and singing. To Yuzuka, we believe that dance is something like a language, an ambience to dance in the air, a tool of performance. So while we were thinking about what performances you would be choosing from RAKUTEN TV, we watched performances from when you were still an underclassman.

Y. You watched those?

Q. We watched “Nocturne – Memories of a Faraway Summer Day”.

Y. Wow~~~! Thank you (shy).

Q. Not at all. You were in your 6th year in “Nocturne”. When we watched it again, we were surprised that you could already showcase dancing like that, when you were just in your 6th year. Especially when you’re about to retire, those who watched your dance would agree that your dance captivates everyone. We’d like to hear from what kind of process you went through and how you’ll be connecting your past experiences for the future.

Y. From various encounters, I feel that I’m gradually accumulating what I’ve learnt. This goes for songs, for people, and for creating the ambience for the audience. And also, thinking of what I want to convey what reactions to expect… these are all lessons and stimulations I’ve acquired from these several  encounters.

Q. Would you say those encounters are when you receive the choreography?

Y. Yes. This is true for any choreography or any creative work, but oftentimes, I get to know more of the choreographer’s personality when I receive their choreography. Additionally, I can also feel that from various occasions, for example when I receive their words (of instruction), and when I observe how the teachers guide me when we have rehearsals or lessons. Because from those lessons and stimulations, I receive inspiration from learning the choreographers’ approach in things and how their tenderness helped them to create a certain choreography, or since the music sounded like that, they could create another style of choreography. When the interpretation of the choreography comes together, then (the dance) becomes entirely different. I found this very important as I continue to have more experiences. When the choreographer listens to the music, how do they create choreography based on certain notes? When the audience are watching the stage, what kind of colours or ambience do we want to create? Sceneries and stage performances are always perceived as “creations”, but even (when the environment) becomes hotter or colder, it causes certain things to emerge and evolve, so that’s how I want to approach the scenes as I have more experiences.

Q. In your daily life, are there times when you have this kind of essence?

Y. There are. And since everything in stage arts are included in calculation,  it is because of the blending of sounds, the choreography, the costumes, the lighting that a scene could be born, so every year I’ve been able to feel more strongly from these hints.

Q. That’s right. And when you work with new people, the power of this essence would become stronger too.

Y. Yes, yes. Much stronger…Er… My heart would beat so fast….and become very….nervous. I don’t want to miss out on anything, so I’d be really nervous, but that in turn also brings in the anticipation.

That’s right. When you performed “GRAND MIRAGE!” in your Tokyo performances, that was after you announced your retirement, and when we photographed how you danced, we felt sad about it, but at the same time we’re looking forward to the future when we see Yuzuka with other people.

Y. Really? I’m happy to know that.

Q. After Takarazuka, how do you think (your time there) would connect you to the future?

Y. The things I’ve received when I was in the Takarazuka Revue would become my treasures after all, so how should I as Yuzuka Ray cherish such treasures? How should I be aware that they become part of me? Furthermore, I wonder whether I can use this as an individuality or as an appealing point that shows my flexibility for my next work schedules. I devoted all my youth and was immensely focused (in Takarazuka), so what I’ve received in that time, the bonds and feelings I’ve received from the audience are all my life treasures. While staying grateful to that time, I’d think of why I do something, what can I do, or what do I want to do.

Q. Are you feeling excited right now? Or nervous?

Y. I'm not feeling as excited yet (laughs). I haven't even taken my first step yet, so I'm sure I'll have a lot of doubts and failures, but I want to make sure I can use them to move forward, and I hope that I can embark on a path that leads all who support Takarazuka, and everyone who’s seeing me for the first time to say, "You're doing a great job!" I want to become someone that people say, "You’re working on something interesting," "I want to work with you," or "I'm looking forward to what she could do next."

Q. I'm sure everyone feels that way already. Let me ask you about your singing. I think you'll be singing a lot in the concert. I felt that your expressions deepened even during your graduation performance. What do you think about singing as a form of expression?

Y. This is really embarrassing to say, but at first, I was someone who’s very reluctant to speak in front of people.

Q. So you mean not just singing, but also talking?

Y. I was not good at being in front of people. So, why am I doing this job? I was not very good at attracting attention or performing in front of people, so I took a long detour. But it was because I took a long detour that I had a lot of time. I'm sure that I gained something from those processes in my life. I want to continue to change more and more. I'm still in the middle of it all, and I like singing, so I want to continue researching, studying, and pursuing it.

Q. As a way of expressing yourself, is there any difference between singing and dancing?

Y. (Ponders for a while) Of course they are different, but I think they have a lot in common. In both, a sense of rhythm is very important. And in both, you express yourself by moving your muscles. It’s also the same to have an ability to listen to music, and depends on your comprehension and your analysis. However, dancing uses more muscles, how should I put it...? Larger? Singing is more delicate. Because the vocal cords are smaller. You don't just sing with your vocal cords, so of course you use various muscles all over your body, but when you say "use the strength of your stomach," the way you inert force into your stomach is different, even when you're using the same words, and I find that interesting.

Q. So you've theoretically analyzed the differences to perform (singing or dancing)! I thought you'd give me a somewhat intuitive answer, but it was actually very theoretical.

Y. Senses... senses... Senses are important, but I think you also need calculation, knowledge, and training. Without a form, your sensors won't be sharpened. Both are necessary. If a person is insensitive, they will not be able to reach people's hearts and will become the same as a machine, so this is absolutely important, but in order to express a person's way of life, what they feel, and how they perceive words, and to reach people's hearts, you need to know the correct route of expression for that to happen, and I think that unless you have meticulously accumulated these things, you cannot become someone with that kind of depth, someone that makes people want to know what you are saying and what you are thinking, so while sense is very important, I think technique is also important in order to convey that sense directly and effectively to the customer.

Q. Especially when we watch your revues, we’d think you’re so “artistic”.

Y. T-h-a-n-k  y-o-u (two hands clasped together).

Q. Your hands are so cute when you do that now (everyone laughs). Even watching and taking pictures only makes me feel like I’m in a meeting.

Y. Yes, I love meetings!

In the middle scene in shows on the silver bridge, all of you looked to the camera.

Because we know that you’d react to us too (LOL).

Q. I remember looking through the camera and watching you (LOL).

Y. Yes. I know you’ll react back to us, so it's a lot of fun, and I like meetings in general. I really like meetings that aren't set in stone, that aren't pre-planned, and that have a solid foundation.

Q. We’re looking forward if you could do such “meetings” one day. Is there anything you want to tell the audience?

Y. I’m looking forward to meeting the audience. In order to that, I’ve receiving much power to prepare for this concert, so please look forward to it.

Click here to read the second part of the interview~

[khajiit-reads]

So this isn't a reading but I wanted to ask for advice: I currently have 2 decks and both are the Fool's journey kind of decks, but either I'm kinda limited in how to read them or I should find another kind of deck to broaden the kind of messages I can decipher.

Do you have any recommendations for decks to look into? All I really prefer is nothing related to angels or potentially catholic related imagery.

Well met, internet traveler! You have opened a massive can of worms so this is gonna be a long one.

Oh gosh. Well, I'm more of an oracle deck reader. and the vast majority of my decks have no angelic imagery, I think the only one that does is Rumi Oracle (which makes me feel a bit bad I used Rumi for you before... whoopsies lol) which is based off of the Islamic scholar, poet, and Sufi mystic Rumi's writings (very interesting dude, my Islamic QPP got me this deck so it's the matching of two very distinct religions lol), and none with Catholic imagery.

SO! Your ask kind of implies you're not reading too well with tarot, so... let's get into my "standard" decks and oracle decks.

STANDARD DECKS -

LENORMAND AND/OR KIPPER

The main systems I recommend learning are Lenormand and Kipper. They're basically siblings, so if you can read one system, you can read the other system.

This system relies on card relation. It's not just Rider, Clover, and Ship -- It's Rider going into Clover going into Ship. It's them as a mesh of cards. (My reading style translated, for me, really well into this system because I'll already use three tarot cards to answer one question.)

The actual physical decks I suggest are:

Healing Light Lenormand by Christopher Butler

Fin de Siècle Kipper by Ciro Marchetti Adds a few extra cards to the traditional Kipper system which is really only a problem if you want to read Grand Tableaus.

The Siren's Song Lenormand and Kipper by Carrie Paris This set has both a Lenormand and a Kipper deck, with some added cards for picking between dog/cat, marriage cards (mlw, wlw, mlm), and extra significators depending on the deck. Each back of the card is marked with an L or K.

ORACLE DECKS -

Now this section I'm going to be a bit shorter, as oracles can be read in varying ways depending on the deck, and of course the reader. The tarot itself has a more clear reading style.

My only warning for some of these is they aren't great for visual reading. Most oracles are very simplistic imagery and require a guidebook to read. I'll denote the difference by just saying [guidebook] for guidebook reads, and [visual] for visual-possible reads.

As well, some decks do not have upright versus reversal meanings, if you want to read those with that, you have to figure something out yourself!

I focused exclusively on decks that are actually good for general call and answer, instead of specialized decks like encouragement and healing decks.

I focused on decks that have... minimal qualms from me and would actually be at the top of my suggestions, because otherwise I'm sitting here going over 56 decks. So this list is kind of short.

Between the Worlds by Monica Bodirsky [guidebook] # has upright vs reversed A "bone and curio" oracle deck. Uses imagery such as bones, buttons, doll parts, the works. Each card comes with a short story that helps illustrate the meaning, but also a clear paragraph or two about upright and reversed meanings.

Citadel Oracle by Fez Inkwright [mostly guidebook] # has upright vs reversed A DND archetype based deck. It is slightly easier read by those who already know fantasy archetype.

Magickal Botanical Oracle by Maxine Miller and Christopher Penczak [visual, if you know the symbology] # has upright vs reversed My only qualm here is the name having a K, so otherwise good. A shorter deck, 33 cards, but very versatile in the process.

Prism Oracle by Nicole Pivirotto [guidebook] # no upright vs reversed A color based oracle. If you're into color theory it's even better! But the keywords are pretty clear even if the art isn't.

Seasons of the Witch Series by Lorriane Anderson, Juliet Diaz with art by either Giada Rose or Tijana Lukovic [both work] # samhain has upright vs reversed, the rest don't A deck series, though you don't have to own all of them. The only deck I have qualms with is the Ostara oracle for falling into the "Easter and Ostara are related" problem, but the rest are high tier without really any complaints (but the Ostara Oracle is still good, just not quite my favorite).

Seed and Sickle Oracle by Fez Inkwright [guidebook] # no upright vs reversed; but does have two guidebooks A nature based deck that is all around good, no notes. One guidebook handles external things, one internal.

Urban Crow Oracle by MJ Cullinane [both work] # no upright vs reversed Uses crow behaviors to divine answers, essentially! It's a good, hefty deck of 54 cards.

Wild Mystic Oracle by Anastasia Catris [guidebook] # has upright vs reversed An animal-themed deck. Pulls on various cultures around the world to shape the meaning.

Witching Hour Oracle by Lorriane Anderson and Olivia Burki [both work] # no upright vs reversed One of my all-time favorites. Specifically made by the author during a time of magical/spiritual crisis.

WAIT, THIS DECK IS RANDOM.

Crystal Ball Pocket Oracle by Athene Noctua # no upright vs reversed A yes/no deck, good for those who can't use pendulums.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask! I run deck reviews under this tag, but I haven't actually done on in a hot minute. I might write some more some day soon, but we will have to see.

[micamicster]

ma'am the people want to hear your blocking thoughts it's not something i really paid attention to but then when you mentioned it I can see how that's part of what gives letterkenny it's letterkenny vibes? anyway THOUGHTS

omg SO. okay. I am not the best person to discuss this (i know very little about cinematography and the terms etc that should be used to talk about this) but i am happy to give my thoughts!

So the video that prompted this question is a great example of it,

Just the way that wayne, like, pops up from behind that wooden structure to say his line is hysterical. The screenshots don't do it justice

here are a couple more just from like, the first 2 episodes of the show.

Letterkenny tends to pose its cast in tableau, where everyone sits in the exact same position every time and their shots are very static--they have everyone run their dialogue/bit without much movement from the established positions. I think this is likely a product of this show starting out as an incredibly low budget youtube series that these guys were filming themselves. You would set up the camera to get everyone in the shot, do the scene, move the camera. But from the very beginning they're using these static shots as part of the humor of the series, by framing the characters in unexpected or unnatural ways. (A big favorite of the series is the shot that unexpectedly cuts off the character's face and tbh it cracks me up every time like look at these!)

Even early on, this sort of attention to detail added to the shows appeal. It's evolved over the seasons into its own visual language, that they've kept even as the show's budget increased.

I think it adds to the humor of the show, and it also helps establish the small town repetitiveness of it? Like every time they have a scene at the produce stand, the characters sit in their produce-stand-positions. It really drives home how they do the exact same things every day with the exact same people. The conversations vary, the setting is identical.

Now for an even more meta take on it, I think this stiff and unexpected framing/blocking is related to our stiff and unexpected protaganist. Wayne (jared keeso you're SO fucking funny) always stands the exact same way, he moves very abruptly from one specific pose to another, he always holds the telephone the exact same way, he has specific and repetitive motions he always does in the same order, he's our autistic king and he's the toughest guy in letterkenny! The framing and blocking mimic his body movements, making us view the whole show from his perspective, inside his world. It's so fun <3

look at that center framing wes anderson who?

[canmom]

thinking about Deus Ex Human Revolution because I stumbled over its soundtrack in my game OST folder.

it got good reviews in its day but with hindsight it's not really remembered as a great game to endure the way the first one did. there is stuff to praise - art direction for example - but equally, you can criticise plenty: the clumsy handling of the 'augments' theme, the shallow orientalism of the China chapters, the watering down of the immersive sim elements. the clumsy outsourced boss fights and the rubbish ending.

if it's remembered today it's mainly for the "i never asked for this" meme, and the 'Icarus' trailer.

watching it again in 2024, the soundtrack is doing a lot of the work of carrying this. most of the dialogue in this trailer is really corny cyberpunk-isms, and a lot of its visuals are blatant riffs on Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed and Blade Runner (though I'll credit that it has a great sense of mechanical design in its robots and stuff). but the opening visual motif - the Renaissance dissection tableau transitioning into the flight of Icarus - is just the right level of pretentious for a game like this. that, combined with the wordless vocals rising and falling around the synth line, does so much work to sell the idea of 'this is grand and important'.

cyberpunk has a pretty specific sound associated with it - the electronic sounds are obvious, but in some of the best remembered cases it relies on contrasting the human voice and old school percussion against those synths, typically in some unusual vocal style that is likely to be unfamiliar to viewers - most notably Indonesian gamelan in the Akira soundtrack, and Bulgarian choir in Oshii's Ghost in the Shell. the other major genre touchpoint, Blade Runner, does not generally use vocals in the same way, but still plays the synth off against percussion sounds. in the simplest terms, it's a contrast of 'natural' and 'unnatural' right? what humans were and what we're becoming.

here we're not importing quite such an unfamiliar sound, but we have a lot of long, held notes by a solo singer (either Ariel Engle or Andrea Revel going off Soundcloud, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the specific credit). it's not unrelated to what Emi Evans was doing with the 'chaos language' in NieR, and indeed to the sound that J'Nique Nicole would bring in the sequel there. I really like wordless vocals, the human voice is such a versatile instrument and brings so much texture.

against that the synth here is actually keeping things really simple. it's mostly just repeating phrases, often simply arpeggios. I haven't really learned enough to keep track of the chord movements here, I'm sure someone more well-versed in music theory could easily take them apart because I doubt it's doing anything overly complex. but it's in a minor key, it's gradually rising for the first half of the track, dropping a bit every so often so it can keep climbing for the most part... and then the final third introduces a second synth line with a slower descending motif - goddamn it's literally just the Icarus metaphor again isn't it, rising and then falling? but it's not too obvious with it, like it doesn't climb all the way back down.

against that the trailer plays a montage of General Cyberpunk Stuff, notably Adam killing people in sicknasty ways, robot limbs doing robot limb stuff, newscasters with interesting fashion sense, and protesters getting gunned down by cops. the weakest parts are the ones that refer to the game's plot and aren't just pure vibes tbh.

that trailer wrote a lot of cheques that the game couldn't really pay, but it is interesting to look back at it with a more analytic eye. it makes me wonder how to really get that human voice texture in music I make. I mean the obvious answer is 'learn to sing', and I'm working on that and making progress, but my voice is pretty testosteron'd and inevitably that limits my range. vocaloids are great but mostly for a different kind of sound. ah well, I'll figure it out. the erhu at least has a sound that's pretty close to the human voice, so maybe that can be the ingredient I need to get that Atmosphere(TM).

[emilyofmindelan]

I saw Pacific Northwest Ballet's Roméo et Juliette last night (the Maillot Ballet de Monte Carlo one) and it was a doozy, so I'm outlining all my thoughts here. Disclaimer: there will be spoilers, extensive discussion of symbolism, and overenthusiastic rambling herein. This is part one of three.

To begin, I want to explain the tone of the production. The program notes from the original read as follows:

"Jean-Christophe Maillot has taken formal inspiration from the episodic character of Prokofiev's score, structuring the action in a manner akin to cinematic narrative. This Romeo et Juliette highlights the dualities and ambiguities of adolescence. Torn between contradictory impulses, between tenderness and violence, fear and pride, the lovers are caught in a tragedy that exemplifies their youth and the extreme emotions and internal conflicts that characterize that time of life. (...) In evoking this fragile and volatile state of being, the [set] painter Ernest Pignon-Ernest created a decor marked by transparency and lightness: a play of simple forms that reveals an underlying complexity of meaning."

I'll use these three ideas to structure my thoughts about this production. First, I'll address the (meta)narrative of the story; next, the way that this production focuses on the contrast between youth and adulthood; and thirdly, the filmographic visuals and symbolism of this production and what makes them so effective.

Maillot takes some creative liberties with the characters and events of the story, as any good interpreter must do when translating from one medium to another. Most substantially, Maillot turns Friar Lawrence into the narrator of the tale. He is the first and last character we see, horrified and mourning. The Friar as a character then becomes a fascinating dichotomy between a player in the story, ignorant of the future like the rest, and a wretched prophet trying desperately to change the tide of destiny.

In his first moments onstage, his limbs stretch in sharp angles to become the hands of time, ticking steadily forward.

The beginning of it all (photo of Karel Cruz from a previous production)

He brings new meaning to the phrase "tortured by the narrative". His every action has the touch of agony upon it. Like in Hadestown (though this production preceded it by 20 years), our narrator is fond of the central young lovers. He wants them happy, though they are dead at both beginning and end. The Friar's interludes begin, generally, with the ticking of the clock and the freezing of time. He rushes around the stage, the sole person with the power of movement in the midst of a still tableau. Periodically, he tries to stop the violence, or to get someone's attention or move them elsewhere, or to stop the set from changing and time from marching on, but he never succeeds. The action continues without him, and all he can do is let time unfreeze. The Friar is as much at the mercy of destiny as anyone, if not moreso. He is both puppet and puppeteer.

For those lovers of symbolism, Friar's character is the most symbolically rich of them all. As a function of lying both within and without the narrative, he takes on many meanings throughout the ballet. His sober appearance references the suits of early filmmakers and conductors as he clasps his arms in a sort of “scene start” or conducts the action like a concertmaster. At other times, his doublet seems to call to mind Shakespeare himself— his two acolytes in flowing white roll around on the floor like the flipping pages of a book or unroll a long white prop piece like a manuscript.

Though he is something between a narrator, a prophet, and an instrument of destiny, he also becomes a personification of death. But he is reluctant to the last, his stoic pain unmissable. Often, his acolytes have to force his hands into the necessary work. This is a Death that is haunted by the many young lives he is forced to collect, like the fond narrator of The Book Thief. At times, he and his two acolytes also take on visual aspects of the trinity of fates- the spinner; the alotter; and the cutter, the inevitable, which is to say, death. Their three bodies form the ribbed wheel of a spindle. Their arms weave and interlock. Their hands cut a lifetime short.

As a natural symbol of church and Christ, he and his acolytes twist into the visual shape of a church, and he is frequently pulled up into the shape of a cross in the air. The messaging lies somewhere in the spectrum of “God is powerless to help you here” and “God wants this to happen and will accept no deviations,” in my opinion.

Left: Christopher d'Ariano, photo from opening night (my show) Right: Karel Cruz, footage from a previous production

There are some, I’m sure, who would prefer to focus directly on the tale of the young lovers without adornment. But the Friar provides a poignant outside point of view for the story. We find catharsis in this mirror of the audience’s own anger and grief in knowing every beat of the story before it ever begins. Cassandra’s powers were a curse for a reason; there is a special, personal kind of tragedy for the person who sees an oncoming disaster and is powerless to stop it. (Sound pertinent, anyone?)

Miles Pertl, the Friar in the secondary cast

In the most obvious moment of departure from the original script, the members of the houses attend a puppet show after the ball where our two lovers meet. With a black curtain held up, dancers wiggle around puppet heads that look like our main leads. At first, it’s all in-good-fun mockery of Romeo’s love for Juliet. But then the show continues. Tybalt goes for Benvolio. Mercutio gets in the way and goes down. Romeo strangles Tybalt, goes to Juliet. Kills himself. She, in turn, kills herself. The contrast between the silly style of puppet show and the reminder of the dark content that will follow brings to mind the cynicism of young generations who grow up with the belief that everything will crash down upon them. They might as well laugh and do their TikTok dances while the sky falls through no fault of their own. There is another message here as well: cautionary tales do no good if the people who need to hear refuse to listen. Romeo walks out when they mock him; he does not see the ending.

The middle portion of the puppet show in rehearsal

When the curtain finally falls, the puppet masters are revealed to be the Friar and his two acolytes, once again trying to tell the truth to anyone who will listen. Seeing this, I did wonder for a moment if it would all go differently. If the Friar and the company knew the ending, they could change the story and avert the fates of the dead. But it all played out as fated. After the Friar has given Juliet poison and Romeo has killed himself, the Friar creeps around the edge of a set piece to where the two lovers lie motionless. He sits down on the bed, barely looking at Romeo, who has been a dead man ever since the Friar first saw the future. When he reaches for Juliet’s hand to wake her up, he keeps his eyes elsewhere for her brief moments of joy before reality finds her. He creeps to a corner of the room and stares unwillingly at the wall while Juliet kills herself behind him. By the end, he has given up on changing anything. He just wants to play his required role so that it ends at last.

The Final Moment (Christopher d'Ariano)

Part II

Part III

[violivs]

NMTDaily: Project III - Life of the Party

- Ursula’s video description has some interesting info. She’s practicing filming a long scene in one shot, so building off what she’s learned in prior videos, and I’m proud of her! Go Urs! Future filmmaker/cinematographer of the universe!

- She also says, “I got a bit of background to the big argument Bea and Ben had” which proves that the scene we get here is not the whole fight. A bunch of the fight went un-filmed and we have to rely on Ben’s videos to know what went down. We also know that Ursula knows it was Ben under the cowl, so would she have told Bea? Maybe. I’m still not sure when Bea finds out that was Ben, but I do lean to it being after the fight was over or possibly Ben taking off his mask mid-fight to confront her. Interesting.

- Ursula enjoys making friends with the cat. This is Pedro’s house. That means Pedro (and John), Ben, and Bea all come from Cat Families. Just an interesting detail to note. Many adorable headcanons to draw from this: Bea liking to come to Ben’s after the Hero’s Birthday thing to be with Ben but also to visit with his cat because her own is in Australia with her parents; John potentially getting along with the Donaldson family cat and considering her his favorite family member; etc.

- Finally, Ursula tells us that Meg requested for her fight with Robbie to be put in the video to “show everyone what a dick that guy is”- setting up MegRobbie as a toxic on again/off again thing and Robbie as a cheating ass. Important for later when he shows us more bad behavior.

- This show and the international friends/acquaintances I made through it really helped show me how universal US American culture is in the world, against the world’s will. I’m reminded of that by the girl at the party dressed as the Statue of Liberty. In NZ/Aotearoa.

- Note that Claudio dressed as a cowboy because he saw Hero say in a video that she wanted someone to dress as a cowboy. Note also that his face is covered by a handkerchief- he’s hiding something. His jealousy and insecurity.

- Verges and Dogberry as a mouse and an elephant is funny since elephants are allegedly scared of mice.

- Pedro the Robot comes over to Hero and Bea and gestures in a way that tells us he’s saying “can we talk?” He’s about to tell Hero that Claudio likes her. But as he opens the chest compartment to show a red heart in his costume, Beatrice walks away. Visual foreshadowing of Pedro opening his heart to Beatrice and getting rejected. (Also a symbol of Pedro showing Claudio’s heart to Hero, and possibly of Claudio thinking the heart Pedro is giving Hero is Pedro’s.)

- I don’t think it’s a stretch to imagine that Bea and Hero end up hanging out together again at this party, and Pedro sticks to them like glue because of his crush on Bea. Therefore, John is able to point Claudio at the tableau of Pedro in Flirt Mode talking to both Dukes, and convince him that the one Pedro’s trying to flirt with is Hero. It’s actually Beatrice the whole time.

- We get a couple glimpses of Ben moving through the party, and he is always alone. Telling. He’s uncomfortable at parties even when not getting yelled at by Beatrice.

- We see Meg and Robbie kissing. This means he made out with her BEFORE openly trying to pick up another girl at the SAME PARTY. What an ass.

- Bea is socializing with non-named characters. Proud of her for putting herself out there as the new kid!

- We see John lurking in the hallway holding a skull. Is the skull supposed to mean he’s dressed as Hamlet? It seems like he wants to join in the party but feels uncomfortable. He’s also looking for Claudio, though.

- Ben and Bea effectively dancing together! Okay, they’re dancing next to each other, just let me have this, lol.

- Is there a significance to Balth dressing as a gorilla? Is he one of the apes Beatrice will lead down to hell before the Devil tells her “Get thee to Heaven”? (A line from the masquerade scene in Much Ado)

- Aww Balthazar talking to Claudio and trying to cheer him up is sweet

- Beatrice and Hero dancing together is also lovely (and Pedro hovering ineffectually next to them)

- Benedick dancing like a dork while the “he is just an arrogant guy” song plays in the background xD

- AND THEN on the line “he’s just lonely inside” it cuts to Pedro! Who is lonely inside because he has an unrequited crush AND because he’s in the closet. Look at him trying to fit snack foods through his robot mouth aww

- It cuts back to Claudio on “he really needs to swallow his pride”. Interesting. Then immediately pans over to Ben again, who’s mugging for the camera under his Batman mask.

- HERSULA!!!! Hero and Ursula dancing together and holding hands, my heart! They look so happy!

- Aw shit, we actually SEE Robbie cozying up with the girl in the nun costume, how did they not notice the camera?

- “I want respect, I want to feel like I’m the only one” “well there’s plenty of others out there” brutal. Robbie deserves that drink to the face.

- It’s Beatrice’s voice in the background saying “oh, sexy, nice, nice” and cheering Meg on for splashing Robbie with her drink. (I think she meant to say “sick, nice, nice” but it sounded like “sexy”, so.) We also see her looking on with the crowd at the beginning of this moment before the camera pans to Meg and Robbie. She’s very pro-revenge on shitty guys.

- Meg looks and sounds very satisfied to have publicly told Robbie off. I’m sad that she goes back to him so soon after this.

- Now that I think of it: does anybody know what Meg’s costume is supposed to be? The white shirt and tie and suspenders make me think it’s supposed to be “sexy private-school uniform girl”, which, Ew. Please respect yourself and other girls, Meg. I know you’ll get there.

- We now cut to the start of the Beadick argument scene. Beatrice starts by asking the girl next to her if she knows where Ben is, not realizing that Ben is sitting right next to them.

- Incidentally, that extra is a Candle Waster. Hi, Minnie Grace! Thanks for doing this cool NMTDaily thing for us! (The other Candle Wasters can also be seen as extras at the party.)

- Ben cuts in and asks, “Who’s Benedick?” He sees his chance to find out what Beatrice really thinks of him, and he takes it.

- In the play, you can technically play it as either Beatrice knowing she’s talking to Benedick the whole time, or Beatrice having no idea the person she’s talking to is Benedick. The comment section seems unsure of which tack the Candle Wasters and actors are taking here.

- It’s worth noting that Beatrice doesn’t even really look at Ben before launching into her tirade. She doesn’t seem to notice or care who she’s talking to at all. She just wants anyone who will listen to her talk about how she wishes Ben was here in an embarrassing costume she can make fun of.

- It’s interesting that she considers her own princess costume embarrassing (“there’s evidence online”). She assumes he’s going to see it online and make fun of her for it, and she’s mad that she can’t make fun of his costume right back, because he isn’t here.

- As the comment section says, Bea misses Ben. It’s fun for her to spar with him. She was looking forward to it.

- “What do you mean you don’t know Benedick, he’s the biggest dick in the world” Yes, she’s being mean. But she also can’t conceive of anyone NOT being hyperaware of the existence of Benedick Hobbes at literally all times. Because she is. Which is very cute.

- “He’d go as Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up.” Savage, Bea.

- “That was quite hurtful” in a tiny version of the Batman voice. Awww Ben my poor baby :(

- Lol, why is Meg just dancing alone in the corner in the background? The dance floor is in the other room!

- “I heard he’s made some pretty good vlogs… I heard his bird one was quite insightful and poignant!” Oh Ben.

- Beatrice goes on her tirade about how she doesn’t watch his videos specifically because of that video, and the scene cuts off.

- I posit that after Bea rants awhile about “who talks about bird killing?” and how bad the video is, Ben gets mad and takes off his cowl and says something like “no, really, what is your problem with me? Everyone else seems to like me just fine, so what did I ever do to you?” And that’s when Bea drops all that stuff we hear about in Ben’s videos about no one really liking him and the whole school laughing at him. And he fires back before storming off to sulk.

- I just find the scene more palatable if she doesn’t know it’s him she’s talking to for most of it, and then the meanest stuff she says is because she feels put on the spot, on the defensive. That’s my take.

- We see more shots of Hero and Pedro hanging out and dancing together, and we see Ben slipping into the bathroom and closing the door.

- Then, we actually SEE John and Claudio in the doorway, looking in the direction of Pedro and Hero, as John whispers in Claudio’s ear. Claudio pushes John out of his way and stalks off to join Ben at the sulking-in-the-bathroom party.

- Pedro unmasks himself as the robot for the camera. Then someone else takes the camera and we end on a shot of a sleepy Ursula and the Donaldson family cat. Awww!

- The last words on the costume party episode are the lyrics to the song playing in the background: “I know you.”

Comment section boogaloo:

- People pointing out that Bea misses Ben, and feeling sorry for Ben.

- Mention that a piece of Kiwiana, a soft drink called L&P, can be seen on the beverage and snack table. I wouldn’t have caught that, being American, so thank you commenter for teaching me a thing! (And for calling John being dressed as Hamlet!)

- Praise for the music, which I agree with. It’s fun, dancey, AND thematically relevant!

- Apparently the nun costume is from American Horror Story, and also a potential reference to Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure.

- Is the cat Tibbles?!?!

- “why do I get extreme Taika Waititi vibes from this” …it is possible that Taika Waititi is just the only other kiwi this person knows. But I haven’t seen all of Waititi’s projects, so I can’t say for sure he’s never done a party scene like this or a teen drama in general. Sorry if he has, commenter! (It is of course too bad there aren’t any Māori actors in an Aotearoa-based webseries like this, although I think there are some in Lolilo and later TCW projects.)

- Comment awards: The person who wrote “poetic cinema” with a time stamp link to the shot of Ben dancing near some of the girl extras while the song in the background goes “he is just an arrogant guy, thinks he can catch any girl’s eye”

- And there we have it! One masquerade, in the books!

💖🥭🦩

[johnconway]

I've decided to turn the tables on AI. It gives me the prompts, I paint the pictures. They are painted as quickly as I can. Sad to say, I'm still a little bit slower than most online generators. But perhaps if I get enough VC backing I can improve performance.

I used my local LLM, Zephyr 7b, which is a Mistral derivative (if you care about this stuff!). So, I asked it to give me prompts, and it gave me back these d33p artistic ideas:

"Amidst a field of wildflowers in full bloom stands a towering structure that seems to defy all laws of nature. Its angles are sharp and unforgiving, its surfaces gleaming and reflective like polished steel. Yet despite its futuristic appearance, this edifice is grounded by the very earth it stands upon; roots winding their way deep into the soil, inextricably linking man-made structure to natural landscape. This image represents the tension between progress and preservation, a call for us to find harmony where they meet, rather than let them stand as opposing forces."

-----

"As an artist envisioning a complex tableau, I seek to create a visual metaphor that speaks to the dual nature of human existence – our inner turmoil and external serenity. The scene is set at twilight, where the last rays of the sun meet the onset of night in a symphony of colors, blending the boundaries between day and night. At the center stands a colossal, ancient tree, its roots deeply entrenched in the earth, symbolizing our connection to nature and our foundational beliefs. The tree's branches stretch upwards and outwards, bifurcating into intricate patterns that mirror the complexity of human thoughts and emotions.

Half of the tree is lush and blooming, covered in verdant leaves and vibrant flowers, teeming with birds and wildlife, representing the vitality of life and the beauty of outward expressions. The other half, however, is starkly different, with gnarled branches, devoid of foliage, whispering of the silent struggles and the decay that lurks within. This dichotomy illustrates the contrasting aspects of our lives – the visible joy and the hidden sorrows.

Beneath the tree, a serene pond reflects this duality, not just as a mirror image, but with a surreal twist. The reflection shows the tree in full bloom on the barren side, and vice versa, suggesting that what we see on the surface is not always the reality.

The visual style for this image will be inspired by the Pointillism technique, where small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. This style will add an element of surprise and depth to the artwork, as the scene's full complexity and beauty will only be revealed upon closer inspection, symbolizing the idea that understanding and empathy require a closer look beyond the surface.

This artwork is an invitation to the viewer to contemplate the balance between our external persona and internal struggles, encouraging a deeper understanding of the human condition." -----

"In the center of a vast and barren desert landscape, there stands a lone figure cloaked in a long, flowing dress made entirely of shimmering gold fabric. This woman appears to be walking through the sandy expanse with ease, her every step leaving behind glittering footprints that twist and turn like winding rivers. Her hair is a cascade of purest silver, billowing gently in an unseen wind.

As she moves deeper into the desert, the woman begins to transform. Her skin takes on the same radiant quality as her dress, becoming infused with a brilliant golden glow that seems almost otherworldly. And atop her head, where once there was only silver hair, now rises a magnificent crown of swirling gold and silver filaments that shimmer and dance in the air like living fireworks.

This woman is a personification of hope and resilience, an embodiment of the human spirit that can weather even the most barren and desolate landscapes with grace and determination. Her dress is symbolic of her inner strength and her ability to transform adversity into something beautiful and valuable. The golden glow she emits represents the radiant light of hope that shines within us all, guiding our path through life's challenges no matter how harsh they may be. And as for the surprising visual style I mentioned earlier? Well...what if this woman isn't walking alone after all? As viewers follow her progress across the desert, we begin to notice tiny glimmers of light dancing just beneath the sand at her feet - and before long, it becomes clear that she is actually surrounded by a throng of shimmering golden fireflies that flit and flutter around her like living sparks. This unexpected twist adds an extra layer of meaning to the image, reminding us that even in our darkest moments, there is always hope and beauty to be found - if only we know where to look for it."

 I also put the prompt back in to DALL-E 3, which is the final image.