#control flow

[a-most-beloved-fool]

I really wish that more pre-reform/pre-surak fics leaned into cyberpunk instead of going for "shirtless men with spears". Like if I'm being honest, it feels like people sometimes turn vulcans into the "noble savage" trope. Which is, I cannot stress this enough, very weird. You're writing about spacemen and you're somehow managing to be racist against native people. And like. I don't think it's deliberate, and I'm aware that this conception of vulcans has been around for decades and that many people have just kind of picked it up by osmosis, but. Like. It's not great. It is, dare I say, a little bit problematic. It also isn't at all accurate to canon? People just made that up. Because Surak died in the 4th century, just about 2000 years before canon, and do you know what his cause of death was? Radiation poisoning. When they say, "vulcans were extremely violent pre-reform, and nearly wiped themselves out," they don't mean they were having tribal battles on the backs of sehlats or whatever. They mean they were having nuclear warfare.

[roddity]

Was Marble's name decided between Bumblebee and Breakdown long before she was born?

yes - maybe some time after bee decided to keep her.

*'marbles' also refers to the small bits of rubber that accumulate on the sides of the track during a race from tyre wear. you Do Not want to drive over them as they're slippery, so drivers try to avoid them.

it was more like a nickname and it ended up sticking. i don't imagine they'd be very good at naming haha

[mxtxfanatic]

The Most Un-Lan-Like Lan (Junior) vs. The Most Un-Lan-Like Lan (Married-In Senior)

Lan Jingyi is such an interesting character. He is very opinionated and often speaks his mind without considering how his words will come across. He is cowardly about the supernatural despite being a cultivator but brave against those in positions of power despite being a child, always willing to stand up for what he thinks is right. Lan Jingyi starts off the story with a low opinion of "Mo Xuanyu," usually acting rude, hostile, or dismissive:

When he turned his head, he saw the Lan juniors tailing him. “Children!” he shouted. Lan Jingyi said, “Who are you calling children? Don’t you know which clan we’re from? Just because you’ve washed your face, you get to act like our senior?”

—Chapt. 9: Pride IV, fanyiyi

Wei Wuxian went to the youngsters. “Am I seeing things right? Each of you is a disciple of a prominent clan. Haven’t your moms, dads, and uncles taught you that the dead can’t receive the paper money you’re burning? They’re dead, what do they need money for? They won’t be able to collect it. Plus, you’re burning the money right at someone’s door—“ Lan Jingyi waved his hand dismissively. “Move aside, move aside, you’re blocking the wind. The fire will burn out at this rate. Anyway, it’s not like you’ve ever died—how do you know whether the dead can collect the money?" ... Lan Jingyi knifed him in the heart again. “Even if you’ve been dead before and didn’t get any, it has to be because no one burned any for you.”

—Chapt. 42: Flora X, fanyiyi

It doesn't help that Wei Wuxian, playing into his "gay lunatic" persona, is intentionally trying to put everyone off:

Lan Jingyi said, “Why are you crying? You’re the one who said you like Hanguang Jun! Now he even brought you home. So what are you howling for?” Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows were wrinkled, his lips frowned, and his face was the perfect picture of misery.

—Chapt. 11: Elegance I, fanyiyi

Wei Wuxian took out the apple from the breakfast they had given him and offered it to the donkey. As expected, as soon as the animal bit in, it stopped braying, and began smacking its lips and crunching the fruit with its teeth instead. Wei Wuxian touched the back of its neck and thought about the jade passage tokens the juniors carried while pointing at the round, white rabbits covering the ground. “I’m really not allowed to cook them? So if I cooked them, I’d be chased off the mountain?” As though facing a major enemy, Lan Jingyi opened his arms and stepped in front of him immediately. “These are Hanguang Jun’s rabbits. We just help watch them once in a while. Don’t you dare cook them!”

...

“I can’t get up,” he said sincerely. “Uh, what’s happened to you now?” Lan Sizhui said. “What’s happened to me? Your clan’s Hanguang Jun ravished me!” Lan Jingyi piped up louder and fiercer. “If you keep spouting nonsense, we’re not going to let it go. Come out!”

—Chapt. 19: Sunshine I, fanyiyi

Yet despite all this, once Wei Wuxian sheds his "Mo Xuanyu" cover and begins to seriously lean into his mentorship role, Lan Jingyi becomes one of his most vocal followers amongst the juniors, seeing the man as both a steady pillar to rely on—on par with his idol, Hanguang-jun—and someone whose safety he is concerned with, so much so that he can even cast aside his fear of the supernatural to volunteer himself as bait in Wei Wuxian's stead:

Wei WuXian said to them, “When the second group of fierce corpses rushes in, I will lure them towards the Pool of Blood, and HanGuang-Jun will be in charge of slaying them. With this target here,” He patted himself, “They won’t bother you. Don’t be tempted by battle, just run.” For once, Lan SiZhui’s raised his voice, “No! We can’t do that. There’s no way!” Sect Leader OuYang had given up trying to hold his son still. OuYang ZiZhen, “Senior-Wei, we will slay the corpses too! I can slay a hundred more!” Meanwhile, Lan JingYi had already started to undress, “I’ll draw a flag on myself too!”

—Chapt. 81: Core Part 3, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

OuYang ZiZhen, “HanGuang-Jun, why did Senior-Wei collapse?” Lan WangJi, “Tired.” Lan JingYi was astonished, “I thought that Senior-Wei would never tire!”

—Chapt. 84: Core Part 6, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

Soon, he began again, “Speaking of it, why didn’t I see SiZhui and the squad this time back?” In the past, these juniors would’ve crowded around them and begun chirping all the way from the entrance of the mountain. Hearing him mention SiZhui and the juniors, Lan WangJi’s brows relaxed somewhat, “I can take you to see them.” After he led Wei WuXian to find Lan SiZhui, Lan JingYi, and the others, the juniors didn’t do anything apart from calling out in delight.

—Chapt. 114: Banquet Extra, exr

With such a fierce and impressionable personality, it's no wonder he's one of the few juniors whose name Wei Wuxian can remember 😂

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Ok, I think I have a pretty good idea of why a lot of Akechi's dialogue is... like that.

So, even before his confidant truly started, I noticed that he has a real knack for directing the flow of a conversation. This is very fitting for someone who is both a detective and skilled at interviews - when there is a topic and a goal, Akechi is in his element.

All this to say, he's actually kind of controlling when it comes to conversational flow. He probes for information, or turns the conversation around to a particular topic, usually the Phantom Thieves. He manages to take a few of Joker's dialogue options and spin them so they sound mildly incriminating in the context he's placed them in - the only way to truly get around this is to pick answers that feign indifference, and even then, that's more than a bit telling. He's clearly very good at this kind of thing.

But then, we get conversations where either Joker does something he didn't expect, or else he doesn't have a particular goal in mind - and the conversation stutters. In the first instance, Joker does something (a particularly egregious example is putting his glasses on him and fluffing his hair in rank 3) which both leaves him wrong-footed and no longer in perfect control of the situation. He just kind of... freezes, for awhile. It's hilarious. He has no idea how to respond.

He picks up control again in the phone call afterwards, having chosen to play into it, turning this "fooling the crowds" into a kind of game or secret between them. Nice save.

But in instances where there isn't an obvious topic and the goal is somewhat nebulous, for instance, that one Leblanc scene, it becomes pretty apparent that Akechi doesn't have the right "script" to go off of. Again, it's particularly notable in that scene, because I'm fairly sure he didn't have any specific reason to be at Leblanc, other than him looking for a quiet spot now that public opinion has turned on him. And because there isn't anything specific he's digging for, he kind of just ends up throwing things at the wall to see what will stick. Probing for any kind of recognizable reaction that he can jump on and work with, and that just doesn't really happen in this scene.

He references Sae, a woman in a respectable position, to Sojiro, but instead of that netting a welcome, it earns his ire, given Sae's recent actions against him. He then tries to greet Joker, his... rival? friend? enemy? person who at least seems to somewhat enjoy spending time with him? But Joker's responses are somewhat short, and Akechi practically wilts. He tries to commiserate by oversharing. He tries to involve Futaba and reaches out for the only topic of interest he can think of around "young people". He compliments the coffee. He compliments Joker. He tries to invoke that connection between them. None of it is really sticking, nor does it serve as a jumping off point for him to steer the conversation, or even really start one.

So, he basically just ends up having a one-sided chat with himself and then leaves. Hilarious. Also a little sad, if I'm being honest. It's really giving "guy with no friends who only knows how to speak to adults" energy. If there's no specific purpose to the exchange, or he is not in control of its direction, he seems to be kind of out of his depth. He succeeds only in being a little awkward and confusing, more than anything.

[bougiebutchbinch]

it's just soooo fun for me if Bruce veers 'subby bottom' with literally EVERYONE except the Joker, who taps into some wolf-part of his brain that means he HAS to pin this guy down and fuck him rough

meanwhile Jo 'I top from the bottom' Ker is a powerbottom all the way with like 99% of people and loves being in charge but for BATMAN????? He wants to be FORCED and FUCKED UP and SNUFFED (no like seriously he wants Batman to fuck him to death soooooo badly)

I think this should perplex and bewilder both of them (although Joker just shrugs and makes it his life's mission to die on Batman's dick with his hands around his throat)

[lilac-sweet]

A thing that never ceases to amaze me as a writer is how you can plan your whole plotline, chart out every character and their motivations, write yourself exhausted on world building, organize every chapter in bullet points, and yet when you sit down and actually start writing? Every sentence surprises you.

[feastingonchrist]

you guys it was maybe a month ago i was SOBBING to God, not once but twice that week because i was struggling terribly with my social skills and feeling so insecure and embarrassed. I felt like i lost all my progress i had made over the past few years. to now in the past weeks i have felt so much more confident while talking to people, even people at work i barely even know and multiple people have told me they can see my personality coming through/i'm like a new person. that has blown me away!!! He is literally bringing me to life. ALL I DID WAS BEGIN GOING TO CHURCH AND ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE BEEN POURED OUT UPON ME! i decided to try and not overthink how i'm coming across and what i'm going to say and it's released the pressure off of me. i've surrendered that to God to handle because i didn't want to deal with it anymore and He has been taking care of it so fast. my confidence has grown so much in the shortest amount of time ever in my life. like He really meets me in the darkest places and soon after begins to move and renews my mind and Spirit and attitude and perspective on things. He has been in the process of helping me move through fear as i walk into it but continues to deliver me out of it into a better place. He is helping me with my endurance and it's made me to trust in Him in deeper ways. i've begun delighting in Him with tenderness and am soaking in His peace and it's been grounding. like i've entered a new layer of peace with Him and my gosh it's so gentle and tangible and i just want to stay there forever in that Presence sometimes. my spiritual discipline isn't the greatest at times and He's getting me there (Psalm 23:1-2 moment.) But my goodness it's wild to have gone from believing in Christ but not putting my faith to action to now doing exactly that and i have just been receiving blessing after blessing - whether it's spiritual (seeing grace everywhere) or relational (just people loving me like Jesus or enjoying my job and adoring going to church and talking to people every week as i practice my social skills.) I say this all the time "idk why all of a sudden He's decided to start blessing me in these ways and what did i do to deserve it?" i know i did nothing and that He has always loved me right where i'm at but it's interesting as i follow the patterns of these past few months and i can't help but wonder if it's all because i have been taking steps of faith into the unknown and it's tested my trust in Him and endurance in those "dim mirrors" as Paul would say which has brought me into closer communion with Christ and i've been able to "see more clearly" and understand things on a deeper spiritual level. idk but ugh HE IS SO GOOD I AM CONSTANTLY TOUCHED AND HE IS JUST DOING GREAT THINGS WITHIN ME AND THE OTHERS AROUND ME. I wish i could talk ab these things without sounding repetitive but i swear He is doing these things and having me learn them/lessons over and over again to show me that i can trust Him and work things out of me to bring the new in. i really do love Him so much my gosh i really do. This is the best season of my entire walk with Him since i got saved in 2021 nearly 4 whole yrs ago and i am trying to soak it all in and even process it!!!! so i share all of this on here bc it's a lil diary for me, i love to share what He's doing for me to show others He can do it for anyone and i want to give hope to others with my testimonies. i have had so many of these recently and it's made me so joyful 🥹

[deiaiko]

#21 - Wall

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[laventadorn]

i am trying a thing where i just write stuff and don't worry too much about it. i tend to fiddle with something to death, which is one reason why i'm (checks calendar) 12 years and counting on a single story ahahaaaa. "everything has to sound Exactly Right!" says the little foreman of perfectionism in my head. can i fire that guy? or give him a different job?

[getouyuri]

something kinda random I wanna try taking a shot at is like… writing a bratty dom. idk how else to word it. but I wanna make cheerleader!reader like that in sexual situations…

[spikeyeels]

I'm back on my fancy footwork x princess shit anyway here how they met.

And close ups

Bonus headcanon: coaches show interest in one another by emulating each other's dances. (Ex: Leda coping the Traveler moving the observatory ceiling in Murder on the Dancefloor or Cygnus in In Your Eyes)

[silusvesuius]

some guys (crunchy)

not crunchy

[stagefoureddiediaz]

So I have been musing all night on a variety of things and one of those things is that Helena Diaz is going to have a stroke and it will be the thing that leads to her redemption!

Hear me out. I don’t think Helena deserves redemption for her behaviour, but ultimately she’s going to get it because that is what this show does with the parents of our mains. The reason they all get redemption is because the things they need redeeming for are aspects of their children’s journeys on the show - so they are mirrors and allegories for the things our mains need to figure out and work on about themselves.

I could write a whole meta about this concept but I don’t really have the capacity right now.

But I will talk about the Diaz’s. Ramon and his heart issues, his triple bypass, was all about Eddie’s own heart issues. Ramon got his redemption because Eddie was able to resolve at least a good chunk of his heart issues. The Ramon aspect isn’t yet fully resolved - we were shown improvements (Eddie talking to him via video call etc) but it’s flared back up again with Helena and Ramon coming to take Chris back to Texas.

So Ramon is the metaphor for Eddie’s heart.

Helena will get her redemption because she is a representation of Eddie’s head - of his mind and ultimately Eddie will figure out his mind and that will mean redemption for Helena.

And that is why I think her having a stroke is where we’re headed. A stroke is an interruption of blood flow to the brain and it can impact any aspect of a person - speech, mental capacity, mobility etc etc. It stems from the heart and the impact on a person can be massively reduced by early medical intervention - the earlier the intervention the better the chances of its effects being very limited.

If all things heart related were resolved and fixed, Ramon would’ve stood up for Eddie and pushed for Chris to only go to Texas for a few weeks at most, for Chris and Eddie to talk - to go to therapy etc together to resolve things. But he didn’t and that is the flow of blood from the heart to the brain being interrupted.

A stroke is the head being affected by the heart. Eddie having done some work on his heart allowed him to get to where he is, but he’s still not resolved all his heart issues - in much the same way that things are not There are still some aspects he needs to work on, and that is what is leading to

That is so representative of where Eddie is at in his journey - he is at this turning point - on his own and having to figure out who he is and who he wants to be. But the longer it takes him to figure that out the greater the chances of lasting and damaging impact.

If he doesn’t figure things out - he runs the risk of never being able to repair things with Chris. If he doesn’t resolve the Shannon and divorce etc aspect of things, he’s running the risk of never being able to embrace love and relationships etc.

He’s at the point where he can still intervene early - there will be some damage (there already is) but he can limit that damage and recover.

So yeah Helena stroke as a metaphor for Eddie sorting out all the mental stuff he needs to sort out and how it would play into the heart metaphor and Ramon as part of that is where I’m at!!

[carpethedamndiemdejavu]

[ratboyugly]

my death riders copium thought of the day is in hindsight i think i can rationalize yuta’s decision sunday to attack copeland/help mox as an actual (albeit very poorly placed) device in the story. his body language certainly implied he made a conscious decision on the fly and i think he, uh, knew copeland was going to lose at this point. he’s totally alone, copeland was the only glimmer of hope and shot he had to get out. if copeland didn’t take down mox, yuta would be in dire straits after what he did wednesday. he rebelled at least partially banking on the fact that copeland could protect him. so in that moment, yuta selfishly decided to make the move that would protect himself. just like he did with bryan, id argue, and in future moments like when the death riders attacked orange even after they threw him under the bus and used him as bait.

so i think he made the choice consciously, not totally regressing to blind loyalty in a total ridiculous backpedal, but i can’t put anything past the writing in this storyline lol. i also think if nothing else copeland planted a seed of doubt in his brain and we will really see him trying to build up resistance against mox in the future but… again. yknow

[maskofgabriel]

Warden of Time Ame