#impact and efficiency

[claudiaromero]

5 Strategies for Busy Leaders and Business Owners to Maximise Impact and Efficiency

Boost your impact and efficiency with these 5 powerful strategies. Learn how to streamline processes, optimize performance, and achieve better results in less time. Source: https://claudia-romero.com/5-strategies-to-maximise-impact-and-efficiency/

[insertsomthinawesome]

Old Zhongli's from the end of 2023. I still think they're quite nice :) [No Romance Included]

[lyss-sketchbox]

Knave wrio full design 👍

[qualityrain]

failure4failure couple

[electric-plants]

cyno: i have to confess a crime i committed against you

alhaitham: okay…..

cyno: i used to pay panah to measure the stacks of paperwork you would get through because i thought your efficiency was hot

alhaitham: …..that’s not a crime

cyno: not officially, but it was wrong of me to go behind your back that way

alhaitham: you break into our house anytime you want to visit instead of knocking i’m hardly surprised or concerned over this

[bears-sillybasement]

Muehehe I finished this, take it. I needed to get used to the sensitivity level of my new phone so this helped me a lot MFMSMFM

@dawnbreak81 KFJSKK DRAWING PYRITE WAS REALLY FUN. Their vibe is peak fr

@maehwajuuuu-chu I COULDN'T DECIDE WHICH SIBILING TO DRAW SO I DID BOTH. I LOVE THEM BOTH.

@humblebeeowo I know you're not going to be active for a while, but I'll leave it here anyway :3 drawing quifrey is always a pleasure!!!!:

@ale-xakii MBCM I LOVED DRAWING THIS GIRLIE SM. SHE'S SO. SO. PRETTY. I wanted to make her in her mermaid form too but I got sleepy LMAO

@rainsleeper I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THE CLOTHES SHE USUALLY WEARS BUT IT WAS THE IMAGE I FOUND TVT i *LOVE* her hair. So. Much.

..oh and

Yeah now that's all

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part One

For Xiantober Day One: Genius… albeit stretching the prompt so it refers to MXTX and MDZS itself, but at the end of the day it’s still about WWX – so no harm done!

(Part Two | Part Three | Full version on AO3)

The narrative is a very active player in MDZS’ story. How it presents information, what it chooses to show and omit, often reflects important facets of its themes and characters – Nie Huaisang, for instance, is so good at hiding behind his mask that not even the narrative can hold him accountable; the present day’s storyline as a murder mystery and the slow reveal of information about the past both prompt the reader to think critically about the truth of events, when the importance of thinking critically is an important theme; and the dangers not thinking critically (and instead basing conclusions on rumours without much evidence) are shown by tricking unquestioning readers into the very same trap the cultivation world falls into, as the information given by the title, summary and in-universe rumours – which contradicts how we see actually Wei Wuxian act – turns out to be false.

But nowhere do I love this trait more than in its treatment of Wei Wuxian – and, more specifically, in its way of emphasising his agency. We’re not just told how much his active choices define his character, and we’re not just shown this in-universe through his personality, worldview and the events he causes. I’d argue that this aspect goes a step further, and shapes the structure of the out-of-universe narrative as well.

There are two main ways this happens: one, in how the aspects of Wei Wuxian’s life that are shown and hidden directly tell us what’s important about his character (which is good writing but isn’t necessarily tied to this shaping of the narrative), which is what we’ll explore today; and two, how what’s shown and hidden reflects what Wei Wuxian himself prefers to dwell on, resulting in the narrative respecting his own thoughts and feelings on matters (which very much is tied to it). We’ll explore this at a later date.

But as for now – let’s explore my favourite aspect of MDZS.

(Here, narrative agency will be considered the ability of a character to meaningfully influence their events and the story they’re in.)

Tragedy, Circumstance, Choice

If we simply look at Wei Wuxian’s backstory in a vacuum, it seems almost typically tragic. His  parents died in circumstances beyond his control, he was left alone as a child with nobody to care for him, he was forced to grow up fending for himself on the streets, he was faced with abuse when he finally was taken in… as with all typical woobies, everything simply happened to him, and none of it was good. It’s just another example of the lack of agency being used for sympathy points, right?

…Except there’s one problem with that idea. We don’t actually see any of this.

It would’ve been easy to start the flashbacks during these times. We’re telling the story of Wei Wuxian in (largely) chronological order, and these are likely important experiences for him! But instead of starting in his street days, or evenat the moment Jiang Fengmian took him in*, we start at the lectures in the Cloud Recesses. That’s not even something mentioned in, and therefore something that’s able to disprove, the rumours at the start of the novel. So why is this the case? 

Well, there are multiple reasons – the main one being that MDZS is also Lan Wangji’s (and Wangxian’s) story, and having the flashbacks open with their first meeting is very satisfying. But I want to focus on something else.

This period doesn’t have to be shown, because what happens to Wei Wuxian, especially out of his control, isn’t what’s important about his character.

We’re not even at Lotus Pier here, where Wei Wuxian certainly has more agency than he would’ve had as a young child, but where the harm caused by Madame Yu is still completely out of his control. Here, he has agency! Though there are consequences, he is free to act, and what happens to him is a result of those actions and not of circumstance. Yes, he gets punished more than others who also take those same actions (due to classism); yes, it’s not his choice to be picked on by Lan Qiren in class (yet look how he responds, twisting the situation to his advantage and ending up tricking Lan Qiren into letting him leave, which is what he wanted to do. He is not at all helpless here!); yes, these choices have been influenced by his learned mindset from Madame Yu that punishment is arbitrary and will happen anyway, so you may as well do what you want regardless. But there is cause-and-effect here. It’s not circumstantial tragedy.

Therefore, instead of our first impression of past!Wei Wuxian being that of an unfortunate woobie, it’s of someone who has the freedom, ability and will to choose and act (and that’s after these initial tragic events have taken place). This is compounded by the fact that before we see any of his backstory, we get a similar impression of him in the present day.

If the purpose of his tragic past was to earn him sympathy points, to make us pity him due to how much he was influenced by events out of his control, this would’ve been a terrible way of going about it… and it’s this that betrays the true reason for its existence. Because now, the flashbacks instead show us how little these tragedies define who he is! From the very start, Wei Wuxian isn’t someone defined by circumstances out of his control, but rather by who he is as a person and by what choices he makes in the present day (which is both a mindset in-universe, and a nice little out-of-universe detail that lines up! Because out-of-universe, this means he’s not defined by sympathy points from a backstory, but rather by his great character writing… aka, by who he is as a person and what choices he makes). And this refusal to be defined by tragedy is a conscious choice on his part, too – but we’ll explore that more later. 

The important thing is that this idea of Wei Wuxian isn’t because of what exists in his past, it’s because of what parts of his past are shown to us (as well as what he chooses to do, with agency, in the present). 

Now, if this relationship between what’s displayed and what’s omitted was just a one-time thing, I might’ve considered it a cool detail or a nice way to establish a character, but not something the narrative is actively focusing on. But it’s a pattern that continues throughout the flashbacks. What, arguably, are the two other most important times in Wei Wuxian’s life where he doesn’t have enough agency to meaningfully influence his circumstances? His three months in the Burial Mounds (before escaping – he managed to assume some control of the circumstances but not enough to substantially reduce his suffering in his time there), and his loss and death during the First Siege. And we’re not shown either of them! We skip to when Wei Wuxian has emerged from the Burial Mounds and is torturing the Wens, or we skip to the present day – both times he has agency once more, because, again, what he’s like without it doesn’t matter enough to be shown. 

Furthermore, I’d argue this does actually contrast the other tragic events we see in Wei Wuxian’s later life. Things do go horribly wrong, but it’s either due to choices he knows the consequences of (see: rescuing the Wen Remnants in the first place), or instances where he still has some ability to act in the situation and influence it within the limitations. If he’d had no ability to influence circumstances at Qiongqi path, he would have died in the ambush; if he’d been unable to do that at Nightless City, he would’ve died then, too (of course Lan Wangji helped him escape as well). The attention drawn to him losing control of his actions in both instances is very interesting, but intentional or not, it’s still his actions influencing the plot. And that influence happens to be detrimental. The very ability to act and influence, at a base level,  is not taken away (though, of course, that doesn’t make these events any less tragic).

So, so far, the narrative seems to be telling us that the ability to act and choose is key to Wei Wuxian’s character. And it’s doing it through omitting his moments without agency in favour of instead showing us his moments with it. 

Let’s see if this is echoed in the text itself before we go further – because even with this pattern, nothing would end up mattering if Wei Wuxian’s agency wasn’t actually that important to the story itself. But thankfully it is, and that first impression we get of Wei Wuxian in the Cloud Recesses turns out to very much be accurate! Though there are defining circumstances out of his control that occur, such as the massacre of Lotus Pier, the majority of the important events of his life are due to his own choices. He didn’t happen to be forced to cease traditional cultivation and solely use guidao, didn’t happen to lose his Golden Core in a fight with Wen Zhuliu or due to some force in the Burial Mounds, it was his own choice to give it and his spiritual powers away. He didn’t tragically happen to get targeted by the cultivation world, it was a result of him acting on his morals and protecting the Wen remnants (a choice which he was fully aware of the implications of). He isn’t a protagonist to whom things simply occur, and that activeness and agency is my favourite thing about him. 

That’s not to say that the times Wei Wuxian doesn’t have agency, or feels like he doesn’t have any, don’t exist at all, either – but they are rare enough to have attention directly drawn to them in his internal narration:

Or else what could he do? He could do nothing. He was powerless. Lotus Pier had been destroyed, both Jiang FengMian and Madam Yu were gone, and Jiang Cheng had disappeared as well. He was the only one left, alone, with not even a sword in his hands. He didn’t know anything, he couldn’t do anything! For the first time, he discovered how little his power was. In front of something as large as the QishanWen Sect, it was the same as a mantis trying to stop a chariot. - Chapter 59, EXR translation

(And even in this circumstance, note that he still does force himself to act – to carry on searching for Jiang Cheng, to place his faith in Wen Ning – and does accomplish his goal (albeit with the help of others)! So even in dire situations, he isn’t simply passive. This is actually also the case with his time in the Burial Mounds, almost certainly the First Siege, and even his days on the streets as well (Chapter 20: he did actively fight with dogs to get food despite their danger and his growing fear of them, rather than just waiting and hoping to somehow receive some more). He can’t influence or immediately influence his circumstances, but that doesn’t stop him from trying.)

Overall, although they do influence him, Wei Wuxian is very much who he is in spite of his circumstances, not because of them. We’re shown the importance of his agency both in-universe by the major impacts his choices have on himself and the plot, as well as by narrative presentation – important periods where he lacks the ability to meaningfully influence anything are often mentioned but not directly shown, which suggests that such moments and circumstances aren’t as important to understanding Wei Wuxian’s character as moments where he does have this agency are. And I’d argue this works very well. Depending on the version of the story you consume, you may end up having different interpretations as to how much circumstances were at play nearer the end of his life – but nobody comes out of MDZS thinking about Wei Wuxian, the poor bearer of yet another generically tragic backstory.

(Part Two | Part Three | Full version on AO3)

—

*We are shown this moment in more detail in Chapter 23… but even then, it’s through the framing of Wei Wuxian remembering Jiang Yanli’s narration, not through a flashback proper or even him remembering the experience itself!

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Could you keep a yeerk captive and forced to morph human or starve, then morph yeerk and learn everything it knows? Im suprised they didn't use the mind control possibilities of the yeerks morph more, tbh. It seems like a real game changer

I mean, the kids have these nagging little things called ethics. Wherein they don't kidnap, torture, enslave, and meat-puppet people. As Ax puts it in #47: they have to find a way to fight off the yeerks without becoming the yeerks.

[caffichai]

I'm brushing my teeth in the shower cos of u

1/3 Sarkaz mercenaries agree that this is the best strategy!

1/3 doesn't care either way, 1/3 hates it

[genshin-impact-updates]

"Genius Invokation TCG" The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm

〓Event Duration〓

Available throughout the entirety of Version 5.2

〓Event Rewards〓

〓Eligibility〓

Adventure Rank 32 or above

Complete Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

And complete the World Quest "Battlefield of Dice, Cats, and Cards"

〓Event Details〓

● After the event starts, Travelers can go to Prince at The Cat's Tail to select stages to challenge.

● This event includes 4 stages and each stage has its distinctive challenge rules.

● Defeat opponents within these stages to accrue score. Defeat as many opponents as possible within the Round limit to score more points.

● After completing the challenge, points will be obtained based on the number of opponents defeated. Achieving the required scores will allow Travelers to claim the corresponding rewards.

[thegreatyin]

i would say the scoundrel is the kind of guy to pull a warner bros and shelve fully completed projects just for the sake of tax writeoffs but that would be blatantly lying. the scoundrel is sooooooo impossibly invested in art and artistic expression and she is extremely driven about creative works and getting them out into the world in the best state they can be. she would NEVER so much as DREAM of doing such a thing. if you suggested it to him he would throw you off a bridge

[carlyraejepsans]

Do you enjoy underfell? I thought you disliked aus /genq

i don't dislike the concept of AUs itself, I'm just not a fan of like... the subculture that spawned around them in the UT fandom specifically and how it eventually took over almost all canon content (especially when it limits itself to the bros)

i like aus visually! i am an artist at heart after all. it's just that, if I'm going to care about them as stories and not just fun design ideas, my bar is uhh almost impossibly high the further you move from canon lolol.

[dandelion-wings]

As the Ordo Librarian, Lisa is responsible for many of the Ordo's secrets. Including the personal secrets of her friends among the Knights. But little as she wants to stir the pot, sometimes true wisdom is knowing when the knowledge one holds should best be deployed. (Or: five times Lisa didn't tell on her friends, and one time that she did.)

@canonical-transformation and @theabysscomeshome bullied me into this one via time travel (me re-reading an old conversation). Everything here is completely on them. :P

[electric-plants]

cyno: that’s alhaitham over there, i feel very normally towards him

cyrus: …o-kay? he seems very…put together i suppose

cyno: great so you agree he’d make a good match for me and approve of me marrying him

cyrus: what—

cyno: i’ll go propose right now, thank you for your blessing

cyrus: you’re….welcome??

[rapha-reads]

Rewatching The Doctor Falls because Twelfth versus Simm!Master and Missy, and Cyber!Bill and Nardole and Alit... This episode is magnificent.

Also the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the Master's regeneration timeline goes Simm then Dhawan and then Missy. And the one trapped in the Toymaker's golden tooth is either Missy or the one just after her. The Toymaker found Missy dying on the floor of that ship while spying on the Doctor and trapped her. It would explain why Dhawan!Master is so unhinged and feral, having gone through Simm!Master, and why Missy is so hell bent on redeeming herself and helping the Doctor, having gone through all the discoveries of the Timeless Child and seen the Doctor's pain and loneliness, and she herself having gone through that pain and sadness. It's how Missy says "it's time to stand with the Doctor" and Simm answers "no! Never!" - that's what Dhawan fights against his whole time - hating and loving the Doctor, ruining her but also detroying her... Missy knew where it was going, she just knew it would take some work.

Underrated friendship of the whole show: Bill and Nardole. "Bill's back", the sheer relief and joy in Nardole's voice when he says that... And then the pure HEARTBREAK on his face when Hazran shoots at Cyber!Bill and Bill says "I understand". It's just. They're pals your Honor.

One-episode only character that deserved much more screen time: Alit.

"Don't be sorry. You were being kind. Nothing wrong with being kind." - I tend to say that Eleventh is my Doctor but really it's Eleventh AND Twelfth. I adore Twelfth.

Bill Potts is the Best, pass it on. Also, Pearl's acting, can we talk about Pearl's acting? The way she moves like a Cyberman, even when she still perceives herself as a human? Robotic movements, rigid spine... I adore Bill Potts.

Eleventh and the Ponds 🤝🏼 Twelfth and Nardole and Bill > making me feel all the emotions and cry real tears and giving me ideas and thoughts. "Which one of is is stronger, Nardole?" - it's the way the Doctor, for all that he dismissed Nardole all series, actually respects and has a lot of consideration and affection for him. Shut up I'm crying, shut uuuuup. "I never will be able to find the words" - *curls up and sobs*

The Cybermen are so much more terrifying than the Daleks...

And then one of the best speech of the whole show. I've quoted it so many times already, but once more because it's seriously perfect:

"Winning? Is that what you think it's about? I'm not trying to win. I'm not doing this because I want to beat someone, or because I hate someone, or because I want to blame someone. It's not because it's fun and God knows it's not because it's easy! It's not even because it works, because it hardly ever does. I do what I do because it's right! Because it's decent. And above all, it's kind. It's just that. Just kind."

I swear, I heard that speech the first time and immediately incorporated it into my morals and values. Just be kind. Do the right thing, even when it hurts. Even when it's hard. Even if it's not going to work. Be kind and do the right thing. That's it. That's everything. "Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind."

"Without hope. Without witness. Without reward. Pity. No stars. I'd hoped there'd be stars."

"Where there's tears, there's hope."

"I've been through a lot since the last time we met. So I'll show you around." - Bill and Heather. Love them.

"I never want to change again! Never again! I can't keep on being somebody else. Wherever it is, I'm staying. No! I will not change." contrasted with Eleventh's "We all change, when you think about it. And that's good, as long as we remember all the people we used to be."