#so like we have to do illustrations based on a sentence

[royjamierot]

Roy and Jamie sharing a cold peach on their front steps on a hot summer day. (On the intimacy of sharing fruit)

this has been in my inbox foreverrr thank you for sending it because ive been thinking about it literally constantly. i wrote this and im so tired so im sorry if it's terrible hope you enjoy though!

Roy doesn't know how he ended up here, staring at Jamie, who's laughing with him on his front stoop. They had finished with practice, and grabbed some fruit from Roy's kitchen before walking outside to enjoy the weather as it cooled in the evening. They were talking about Jamie's stint on Lust Conquers All, and now Jamie is laughing at a comment Roy made about one of his costars.

"You know, people still come up to me to tell me they think me and Amy shoulda gotten married," Jamie and Roy both laugh at the absurdity. "I don't think I even have her number. I don't know her last name."

"The yoga mums always said that. They're always going on and on about how you and Amy just clicked. I never understood any of that shit, they told me it was- what is that dumb fucking-"

"Body science?" Jamie finishes for him smugly.

"Body science." Roy growls. "I don't understand what the fuck that means."

"Well, I'm fucking fit right?" Roy sees Jamie extend his arms in a questioning movement, and for a moment Roy doesn't realize Jamie is looking for a response. Roy glares at him. He doesn't answer seriously, too afraid of revealing something he shouldn't.

"You know what I think of your looks." Roy says, and Jamie laughs. It's a fucking lovely sight. Jamie's laugh is loud and unabashed, just like the man it belongs to. Roy feels his own lips lilt without his permission. Roy looks down at the soft peach in his hands, and murmurs something about Jamie's ugly hair. He doesn't mean it. He knows he doesn't.

"Everyone thinks I'm fit, you're just contrarian." Jamie nudges him, his eyebrows raised, and Roy looks back up at him. The sun catches his eyes and Roy notices flecks of yellow he's never seen before. He freezes slightly, something in Roy's body taken off guard. The skin of the peach is molded under the pressure of his hand tensing.

"Big word for a prat like you." Roy snipes back, hand relaxing, the marks from his grip left behind in the ripe fruit.

"Fuck off." Jamie says it offhandedly, without hesitation, and he fucking smiles too. Roy wonders when they got to the point that they both know he doesn't mean it.

"Anyways, body science. No matter what your dark-ages gecko brain tells you, I'm fit as fuck, and so was Amy. That's body science. Two fit people existing in the same room." Jamie illustrates his point with a nod at the end of his sentence, and a half serious look, like he's really educating Roy on something.

"That cannot be it." Roy almost laughs at the absurdity.

"Nah, it is mate. Isaac explained it to me." Jamie assures.

"I've heard Isaac talk about it and he did not fucking say that."

"Okay maybe that's my explanation of it, but that's what body science is on a show like Lust Conquers All. The whole show is based on body science."

"Do you mean sexual tension?"

"No, that's different, I have that with everyone." Jamie grins at him, and Roy rolls his eyes.

"You're a right twat." Roy says.

"You still have me around." Jamie tells him, like they're not sitting around hanging around even though their practice has been done for over an hour.

"I'm not sure why." He says it, but he does know why.

"Who would you take your anger out on every morning?"

"Some other dickhead who deserved it."

"Aw, don't say that, I thought we had something special." Jamie makes eyes at him that would look somehow more in place on a puppy, but also somehow fit Jamie.

Roy just looks at him, and shakes his head. Jamie takes a bite of his own peach, undented and orange and ripe.

He takes a big bite out of the side of the peach, and Roy watches him chew for a moment before he notices everything about Jamie and has to look away.

"Fuck, that's good." Jamie basically fucking moans and Roy isn't a strong enough man to not look back.

The juice of the peach drips down Jamie's well sculpted jaw as he takes another bite. It almost drips off entirely but instead falls on his jawline. Roy's fingers crave to reach out and wipe it off. They don't. Instead, he runs his fingers over the indents in his own fruit.

Jamie takes another bite, and notices Roy just watching him.

"This peach is fucking lush, you should have yours." Jamie advises through a mouthful. It does nothing to help the situation on his chin and his lips, suddenly shiny and sticky with the juice of the fruit. Roy can't find it within himself to look away, or to stop holding his own peach too tightly, damaging the skin ever so slightly.

It takes him aback, how much he notices the juice on his face.

Jamie hums after his bite is finished. Roy looks away when Jamie almost catches him staring. He looks down at the peach in his hand and the marks he's made in it. Holding it up to his lips, he takes a bit. His face scrunches. It's too soft, and slightly sour.

"Mine's no good. Overripe." He turns the peach over in his hands, the deep marks from little pressure making sense. The fruit is almost mush in his hands. He sets it on the concrete knowing he can't eat anymore.

"Shit. Try mine." Jamie holds his peach out, and Roy can't look at it. Why would he? Jamie is right here in front of him.

"I'm not eating your half eaten scraps."

"No, you don't get it, it's the best peach I've had in my life, you gotta try it." Jamie insists, shiny juice still coating his lips and chin. Roy wants to lick it off.

His brain goes fuzzy, the way it does when his body overrides his ever working mind, and does something stupid. There's one thought in his head, and it's Jamie.

"Okay." Roy murmurs. His hands move of their own accord, and one finds itself cupping Jamie's chin, pulling him closer to Roy. Jamie goes with his hand.

"Tell me to fuck off again. Tell me you don't want this." Roy tells Jamie, their breath mingling from their few inches of space, their noses almost bumping.

"I want this." Jamie says, and Roy is gone. He kisses Jamie like he's trying to consume him whole, trying to taste him. He bites Jamie's bottom lip like it's the fruit itself. Jamie smiles against him. It's so good he doesn't think the fruit could possibly be better. His thumb rubs Jamie's chin, and he pulls away. Jamie instinctively chases him, and Roy smiles.

Roy's thumb collects the dripping juice from Jamie's chin, and he tastes it.

"Mm. Good."

Jamie stares at him, shaky grin occupying his face, and he holds up the peach.

"Try it." Roy takes a bite, and it's good but he was right. It's not comparable to the taste of Jamie.

"Good. Not you though." He murmers though half lidded eyes, diving in for another kiss.

[nanabansama]

Hi I have two questions about chapter 108 do you think Amane never came to Tsukasa when he called out is because Amane was/is afraid of him when he all of a sudden changed when they were little !? And the second question is do you think we will hear Hanako and Tsukasa's backstory? do you think Hanako will become the true villian because he has done some evil things ?!

1. Do I think Amane is afraid of Tsukasa?

Hm... in a way, yes!

But I think we all need to remember that Amane and Tsukasa were very close when they were alive. It's been shown that they were able to get along perfectly fine, most times.

I know this is a joke comic, but look at how naturally they exist in the same space. They're back-to-back, just hanging out. There's not an ounce of fear in Amane here, just a bit of... I don't know, grumpiness? (He comes off somewhat resentful here IDK...)

So nothing about this behavior makes me think Amane is afraid of Tsukasa... in the way that someone might be afraid of a rampaging bear, anyway.

Rather, I think he's afraid of confronting Tsukasa in an emotional sense. Like he's afraid of his feelings for Tsukasa, and what they might do.

Less we forget he murdered him?

Based on what we learned in the recent chapter (that Tsukasa was trapped and Amane ignored his cries for help, which may or may not be related) I think it's reasonable to assume that Amane was just... too scared to confront his little brother after what he did to him.

So he just... tried to ignore it.

I think now is also a good time to bring up this illustration, something I love doing at any possible opportunity:

This is Amane's reflection in The Hell of Mirrors. It shows your worse fear. What we see in his mirror isn't just Tsukasa... it's Tsukasa's corpse.

Answering Tsukasa's calls after Amane murdered him is tantamount to suffering his greatest fear.

2. Do I think we will hear Amane and Tsukasa's backstory?

It might be wishful thinking on my part but I really think AidaIro couldn't resist showing it to us, lol. They have a thing for flashback sequences.

Lest we forget the time spent on Hakubo and Sumire's backstory alone...? (Sorry IDK why I like phrasing sentences like this so much recently.)

But yeah, I really think it's likely we will see more of their backstory. At least stuff leading up to the murder, anyway. We still haven't got a good canon explanation for why Amane murdered Tsukasa, or enough substantial tidbits to deduce it.

3. Do I think Hanako will be the true villain?

Umm... well, that's hard to say!

In my opinion, the "true villain" of Hanako is fate. Like how Yashiro is fated to die, and how Amane was going to die but Tsukasa sacrificed himself to save him...

But I could easily see Hanako making some hasty, hare-brained decisions at the end of the manga and trying to "fix things" by doing what no one in the manga actually wants to happen... (as he is prone to do...)

The God that Tsukasa sacrificed himself to is curious, though. I think it has "true villain" potential. We just don't know enough about it yet. So basically, we'll just have to wait and see.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Hope these answered your questions! Honestly, your guess is as good as mine on these...

[stephensmithuk]

The Sign of Four: In Quest of a Solution

You could find the back issues of most papers just by visiting a local library. Today, the British Newspaper Archive will, for a monthly subscription, allow you to look at a whole slew of vintage papers, including The Illustrated Police News for all your Victorian "true crime" reportage.

As mentioned before, a four-wheeler was a four-wheeled carriage with a driving seat on the top front and a luggage rack on the top; they costed more than the hansoms.

Doyle isn't very good with coming up with convincing Indian names, is he? Singh is the name used by a baptised male Sikh (Kaur is the female equivalent) i.e. a turban-wearing, dagger carrying one. Mahomet is a version of Mohammed.

The gas lights of London weren't hugely bright compared with modern street lights; you'd be able to find your way, but there's probably a decent chance you'd step in horse exhaust if you weren't careful.

The Lyceum Theatre, located on Wellington Street, dates back to 1765, but the current building is from 1834, rebuilt after a fire. It contains a balcony over the dress circle, a unique theatre.

GhostApple on Tumblr pointed out that Bram Stoker was the manager at that theatre at the time SIGN was released. The theatre at the time was run by Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, two of the biggest stars of their days, becoming Sir Henry and Dame Ellen later in life. Stoker based Dracula on Irving, but sadly Irving never actually played the Count on stage.

After a further rebuild, time as a ballroom, a demoliton threat and two closures, the Lyceum reopened in 1996 and is a Grade II* listed building, the second highest grade. Since 1999, it is the London home of The Lion King.

The normal garb of a coachman would be a top hat and a heavy double-breasted overcoat; they would be driving their vehicle in a vast array of weather conditions, sometimes on the same day as anyone who has lived in Britain can tell you.

The coach is going rather fast at this point, possibly dangerously so. The Offences against the Person Act 1861 created an offence of "causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving"; which could mean that if a horse-drawn vehicle hit another vehicle or a person, the driver could get up to two years in prison. The offence remains on the books, being used against horse-drawn carriage drivers (still a thing, particularly in the Traveller community), motorists when not on a road or public land and cyclists, as the Road Traffic Act 1988 is not available in these cases - it is a Crown Court-only offence. In 2017, a cyclist riding at speed in East London with no front brakes hit and killed a woman; the jury found him not guilty of manslaughter, but convicted him of this offence, with the result he got a 18-month sentence.

Tiger attacks were very common in British India; tigers are known to attack humans when feeling threatened (human encroachment on their territory is a big problem)), injuries prevent them from going after other prey or they mistake a human for something else, or if one is riding a bike, their chase instinct may kick in. 33,247 people were killed by tigers between 1876 and 1912. In 2022, the Indian government recorded 112 tiger-caused deaths, up from 59 in 2021. Some tigers have ended up killing over 100 people before being shot dead.

For those having a go at Watson for shooting at a tiger cub, we don't know how old or how big the tiger cub was. A newborn tiger maybe less than 10 pounds and look adorable, but a ten month male could easily be over 100 pounds and looks rather like a full-grown adult. Especially in the dark.

This said, humans are a good deal worse than tigers. The British cleared vast amounts of their habitat for the timber to build their railways. Hunting tigers for "sport" had been a common practice for the Indian nobility and the British ruling classes liked doing it just as much, bringing modern firearms along. Remember Dr. Sterndale from DEVI? There's a chance Watson might have gone hunting himself, sadly.

The tiger hunting got worse post-independence as improved air travel made it easier for game hunters to get to India. The Indian government banned tiger hunting in 1972 and the Bengal tiger population is slowly recovering. The size of reserves have not kept up with the population and so some tigers have gone into human areas for food, usually livestock but sometimes humans. If a tiger starts killing people and attempts to tranquilise it fail, then lethal force will be authorised. In 2022, T-104, a three-year-old dubbed the "man-eater of Champaran", killed nine people before he was shot dead by the police, who conducted their search riding elephants.

The "Surrey side" refers to the southern bank of the river, the other being the "Middlesex side" referring to the now defunct county. Those terms remain in use for the Boat Races; with the Middlesex side being on the right as the crews row upstream. The two "stations" have various advantages and disadvantages; Middlesex helps at the start end, Surrey in the middle.

Vauxhall Bridge was in rather a bad shape by this point and would be replaced in 1906, five years late due to various construction and design issues. The modern bridge is notable for having the very distinctive headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service next to its southern end.

"Hindoo" was a contemporary spelling of Hindu, today considered derogatory.

"Sahib" is the Indian equivalent of "sir" or "master"; "Mem-Sahib" is the female version. The Indians used it when speaking to white people (or about them, possibly sarcastically) and the British officers would use it with their Indian counterparts. It is less common now, but still widely used in the Indian Army and about people in positions of power.

"Khitmutgar" was a term for a male butler or underservant who would set the table for dinner etc.; during the Bengal Presidency, these would typically as opposed to Hindus.

[vintagevixyxol]

Another old language inscription from the “Dark rise” by C.S.Pacat

Just reflections of decoding

Disclaimer: this is not an analysis, but thinking of it. Although I have not found the key yet, I decide to share my reflections. And I am needed in someone`s fresh eye, because it seems as I just keep going over the same ground.

And remember: this is just a theory.

an origin inscription from paper books

The introduction

According to the latest information from Tumblr, the difference between inscriptions in different editions is just an error. My previous analysis might be based on a transliteration, and I`m really confused which version of book edition is the latest and the truest (ebook in English and paper books in my own language). Maybe this mess happens because my eBook copy is an early edition and paper books are the latest. In this post I`ll share some ideas of decoding remaining inscription, but without “result”.

Important notices: all translations in English from the book.

“I cannot return when I am called to fight So I will have a child” (chapter 2)

“Rassalon the First Lion” (chapter 10)

“He is coming.” (chapter 11)

“Enter only those who can” (chapter 15)

“The horn all seek and never find”. (chapter 15)

Ways of decoding

I made a scheme of my reflections and wrote every main steps, so let`s start from the left hand.

Level 1 — working with elements

First of all, I decided to select elements as I did it before. There are 38 ones in this inscription, if the method works right.

Then I started with a well-known algorithm: selecting same elements and finding new things. Nevertheless, the rules from previous work we can`t take in attention, because we have no enough information. Therefore, elements cannot be named as “letters”.

Selecting same elements:

Level 2

Step 1 — decoding with known letters from the last analysis

Now let`s try to decode using an alphabet, which I had already made.

As result, there is mess, because words from uncovered letters have no sense, and other letters are unknown. This chaos don`t match with phrases, which should be decoded. Therefore, this way is not as practical as I suggest. However, we found new elements! In this picture, they are with the alphabet from last post.

Step 2 — creating an alphabet/another thing from scratch, it`s possible

In this way, I do not compare English version with old languages patterns. Just thinking of how translations can fit in one puzzle.

How I noticed, there are 38 elements in this inscription, also it mentions every time, when characters read something in old language. The obvious way is just to try to compare them. For example, can the number of letters help?

I cannot return when I am called to fight So I will have a child — 50 letters

Rassalon the First Lion — 20 letters

He is coming — 10 letters

Enter only those who can — 20 letters

The horn all seek and never find — 26 letters

None of phrase fits in the inscription, and I put aside the simple transliteration for good.

The new idea came to me: what if does the illustration contain all sentences? So let`s count words. (please, correct, if I made mistakes!)

I cannot return when I am called to fight So I will have a child — 15

He is coming — 3

Rassalon the First Lion — 4

Enter only those who can — 5

The horn all seek and never find — 7

30 is the final sum — again the wrong way.

I found one curious thing, when I reviewed inscriptions in the text: all translations go hand in hand with the full inscription, excepting one case – “He is coming”. The cut beginning of the phrase is only there, so it might be the key.

Now I`m looking for the pattern and trying to develop this idea. At this moment, all ways, unfortunately, lead to a dead end. Nevertheless, I have some new thoughts:

Each element is a sentence or phase and in future we`ll see more.

Elements are as hieroglyphs or something like them.

There is another writing system.

Level 3 — right hand: something more linguistic

This field is the darkest than previous, but more interesting. If the old language is a language, the author might invent it, or it has roots from already existing languages. In my opinion, the second variant is the closer to the case, because books have historical context. But I don`t exclude the possibility that I`m wrong.

Why is historical context so important for decoding? Knowing the picture of the world (real or magical from book), we can guess where the origins come from, and it`ll be the first lead in the “investigation”. Later it can become an Ariadne`s clew. Also knowing details of old world culture, we can compare them with other real cultures and find new parts of puzzle.

I know that this is fantasy and lots of things are not connected with reality, but why are there several historical things? It`s unlikely to be accidentally added. As well, I have not strike into the subject as much as it should.

One interesting fact connects with history, but...

Janissaries

If I am not confusing anything, but “janissaries” is a special name, not just “adepts”, how they were adapted in my own language translation. Janissaries were regular infantry of the Ottoman Empire (1365 — 1826?). Perhaps, it doesn`t matter, but it haunts me. Some facts of them seem a bit familiar with janissaries from book, but I can`t say for sure that it`s true.

Is it just coincidence and am I digging in the wrong place?

Maybe some references were taken from other fantasy books. For example, old language reminds Elvish language from Lord of the Rings, how some people say.

BUT I`m not close with true linguistic, so I start to explore it. Hope, there will be answeres.

The conclusion

I`m really grateful to my sister again, she painted all illustrations for my articles.

This post is about everything and nothing at the same time. I need to systematize beginnings of ideas, hope, it`ll help to get the ball rolling. As well I`ll be grateful, if somebody take a fresh look on these thoughts, because, I think, there is obvious things, but I can`t find them. I`d like to discuss all of these topics and to find answers.

I`m thinking about this post for two weeks. I have doubts how useful is it… but a negative result is still a result, right? I`ll consider it as intermediate step, which will grow up with new flowers of the theory in future. And it shows that the work is going on.

Thanks for your attention!

I really appreciate your support for my last analysis! Thank you muchly!

See you soon.

P.S. If you decided to share my work, please, give credit to me.

[dolphin1812]

It’s notable that Champmathieu is referred to as a “creature” in the narration of this chapter, as we last saw this kind of language used to describe Cosette (after she was taken in by and neglected by the Thénardiers). It underscores how what Valjean most fears isn’t simply the harshness of being imprisoned once more; it’s having his humanity stripped away from him. We know that Champmathieu isn’t going to be treated kindly by anyone around him (based on Valjean’s past experiences and the language around him so far), but for even the narration to address him with dehumanizing language emphasizes the extent to which he is not viewed as human by anyone, perhaps even by himself (Valjean did protest at being treated worse than a dog, for instance, but he also has an incredibly low sense of self-worth; Cosette accepts eating with the dog and the cat). 

This passage is interesting as well:

“Everything was there; the apparatus was the same, the hour of the night, the faces of the judges, of soldiers, and of spectators; all were the same, only above the President’s head there hung a crucifix, something which the courts had lacked at the time of his condemnation: God had been absent when he had been judged.”

To some extent, this difference merely marks the time period, as Valjean was imprisoned soon after the French Revolution and that likely explains the lack of religious imagery in the courtroom, whereas now that the monarchy’s back, the crucifix is as well. At the same time, the statement feels deeply ironic. To say that “God was absent” when Valjean was judged feels accurate; he was condemned for a trivial crime to a long sentence that harmed him and his family far more than he could ever have been said to have harmed society. But is God really present now because of the crucifix? In some ways, this case is more “just” than the other one because Valjean is contemplating doing a good act (giving himself up to save another), but the case against either one of them remains a trivial matter. The crucifix, then, is performative. Divine justice is absent from the courtroom in both cases.

I also hate that Bamatabois has returned to be one of the jurors. It makes perfect sense (Tholomyès is a judge), but it’s still infuriating.

The descriptions of the language used by the lawyers are both comical and frustrating. The fact that they’re so over the top is hilarious (my personal favorite is calling concerts “musical solemnities”). However, that flowery language is also hard to follow, making the trial especially intimidating for those who are uneducated. There’s a good chance that Champmathieu himself hasn’t had much of an education, which might make figuring out what the lawyers are even saying about him a challenge in a way that harms his case (he can’t respond properly; he’s more stressed throughout the trial because he doesn’t follow 100% of what’s being said). Hugo even compares the words to a “flood,” illustrating the extent to which Champmathieu is overwhelmed by all of this. He can follow well enough to know that the prosecutor’s making an impressive case, but of course, that will only make him feel worse.

[morningstartranslation]

5 Reasons Why You Should Be Careful About Machine Translation

Machine translation (MT) usually refers to using algorithms and machine learning (ML) models to translate natural language text from one language to another without human intervention. The most common MT examples include but are not limited to Google Translate, Bing Microsoft Translator, Amazon Translate and DeepL.

With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT, many industries face unprecedented challenges, and the translation industry hasn't been spared. Taking efficiency and cost into consideration, more and more business clients tend to use machine translation to complete their projects.

However, is it always a wise choice? Here are 5 reasons why you should be careful about machine translation:

① Cultural Accuracy: Every culture possesses unique lexical terms, slang, and colloquialisms that machines haven't shown the capability to translate yet, inaccurate translations may lead to poor interpretation of your brand, vision, market position and business strategies.

② Human Touch: Human translation goes through a time-tested process of multiple editing and proofreading to ensure that the translation isn't only grammatically correct and readable, but always enhanced for the target audience. On the contrary, machine translation can only generate simple, toneless text, it's fast and budget-friendly, but it can never be intriguing.

③ Flexibility: Language is constantly evolving, one single term may have entirely different meanings in different contexts, let alone phrases, sentences or even longer paragraphs. MT tools can only generate translations based on the known corpus, they can't predict and correct specific grammatical and cultural errors like human do.

④ Layout: Good translation takes time, so does formatting/layout. When we assess the quality of translation, formatting/layout also palys an important part. Unfortunately, almost all MT tools can't handle this properly, they just ignore it or put some illustrative texts instead.

⑤ Confidentiality: As a responsible language service provider, we should never disclose customer information to any unauthorised third party. But as far as I am aware, some MT tools, especially ChatGPT, may collect and store different kinds of user input, which can be a great security risk for businesses.

In short, it's OK to use MT tools in less important content (i.e., content that does not require translation precision and extensive copywriting). But when it comes to business documents or audience-facing content, there is nothing can beat human translation.

Visit https://www.morningstartranslation.com/ to learn more.

[laineontheweb55]

William Blake - "The Fly"...The Romance of Acquired Freedom

Using my tool (Pinterst), I put in the first sentences of each part to William Blake's, "The Fly,":

"Little Fly"

"Am not I A fly like thee?"

"For I dance and drink & sing"

"If thought is life And strength and breath"

"Then am I A happy fly"

Before I selected images or even did my search through Pinterest, the poem captured my attention as it had signified a sense of freedom or embracing and accepting the result of a situation. Blake has the art illustration of a mother and children. It seems that the mother is trying to dance with the younger child while the other is playing with a racket and ball. I think the illustration in itself first can sense romanticizing within the chaos or letting go. As much of society romanticizes motherhood, even though it comes with many struggles daily. Though we can see here that in the chaos that is raising children, she is enjoying to some sense a one on one with one of her children, because the other is preoccupied.

There is also a sense of romanticizing through the color and posing. We discussed this on Thursday's course and how we might romanticize something based on the colors or the poses of the individuals in the image. If we look at the image closer the background is using warm tones some orange and yellow, even some light blue. With the painting it seems to show the sun or some sort of late afternoon, not a sunset but one to come soon. Many find this sky in a real life setting to produce an "aesthetically pleasing" feel; a calm feeling if you will.

As for the poses, the mother is hunched over, but not too far to where it could be seen as uncomfortable, but rather guiding their child into learning. This is something I feel is important to note too as I said my first vibe from Blake's poem was the sense of freedom, which you can't obtain a feeling of freedom until you observe and are open. The child could be seen as "being open" to learning and observing the mother rather than just being oblivious or not aware before. As for the child behind her, I saw it as the child has opened up and accepted change...independence. Although it might just be a racket and ball, they are doing it on their own and without the help of their mother, a taste of freedom without parental help. This draws back also to another sense of romanticizing, but in the view of watching your own child grow. Today we might see this in capturing their first steps or first sports game on tape, a picture of their first school concert, but the idea of watching your own offspring grow and becoming their own is something many don't realize they romanticize.

The gist I'm getting at with all these aspects I've noticed or drawn to goes back to the way we romanticize life events and situations...they draw back to freedom and the love we have for it. We want that freedom, we want to be loved, we want to be able to be seen as independent while also showing what we've done with our life. The same way that some people use their own reading to showcase that feeling. Blake is an example of showing the romanization of the emotions and reactions we have through change (the good, the bad, all of it).

So how does this get us to Pinterest?

After searching the phrases from “The Fly,” my tool was able to showcase Blake’s poem through quotes, art, vintage images, insects, and birds. The quotes highlighted the art of freedom often accepting and moving on, giving oneself advice to move on and you will receive that freedom and happiness. The art had warm tones of yellow and orange, and also included blue; similar to the background and art of his poem. The vintage images captured dancing and singing, or playing noticeable features we also see in the art of “The Fly.” The insects are butterflies not just flies here, took this as a sign of romanticism in change and acceptance. Once again, we can see freedom in said change as a caterpillar will form into a butterfly. Not only that, but birds were another noticeable thing. From flying somewhere out or guiding someone to swing, birds were very noticeable here. This could draw back to how we often romanticize birds or flying objects that go up with change and freedom. A bird flying in the air can be seen as not just an animal flying in the sky, but an independent creature who can just go on their own journey.

The structure of how this is set up too also reminds me of a vision board and aspirations, much like I said that Pinterest does in a previous post when creating a user’s algorithm. Or even a wall of posters and how one might tape these upon a wall or a surface to look at and reflect. Or they might put it up to be aesthetically pleasing in their hopes and wants or desires.

I feel like with this tool too, one might see Blake’s theme more through these images than actually reading the poem. And that’s because of its form and how society likes to showcase today. I take the example of Rupi Kaur’s book of poems, Milk and Honey. Kaur’s pages have been published and popularized not only because of the feminist matters in the words, but because her poems are more minimalist and easy to form the theme to. Though these pages are often posted up with twinkly lights in the background, a beverage or snack that looks “social-media worthy” or even a sunset in the backdrop. Kaur’s pieces are similar to Blake’s as both cover stories that can relate back to freedom or acceptance of situations, but both also show the way how aesthetic and romanticizing features can take their work to a wider audience. The same way the sky and color scheme might get a reader noticed to Blake’s work is similar to how a sunset or aesthetic environment behind the page of one of Kaur’s poems on Instagram is to scrollers. They romanticize pieces of the environment to attract the reader more or the viewer. In itself can also be an example of how we romanticize texts, sharing a quote or poem is an example of how one might do that. A situation could be challenging but posting a quote to romanticize that situation and the idea of change to result in freedom, very known to happen whether we’re talking on Blake’s pieces or others’.

Before I leave this post I also want to highlight something I found beyond my tool, but an important thing to also remember as we look into our findings this semester and that is how our environment is also influenced by this. Of course after these searches my algorithm is going to adapt on Pinterest, but beyond that takes you in to think a little differently or find similarities and connections around you too. For me I was listening to music while writing. While doing so, a song by Florence and the Machine had went in the shuffle. The song was “Shake It Out.” If you’ve never listened to the song, the story is actually about Florence herself getting over a hangover. However, it’s deeper theme is becoming aware of habits and wanting to change, essentially accepting what has happened and ready to move on…starting over and acquiring a newfound freedom. Such as Blake is trying to say in his poem, “The Fly.” So maybe it was a coincidence that the song had came on while I was making this post, but I think it’s also interesting how much it related to Blake’s theme and what it relates to in terms of freedom. I think also the fact it came in a musical form, can even be romanticized, the whole song is very aesthetically beautiful and that’s why it’s also easier to understand the story better that Florence is trying to say. So look for those connections too.

[dapperrokyuu]

RULER OF MY HEART (Studio LICO | Alien Stage: Round 5 Song) - English Translyrics

Hi! Alien Stage BANGER? Time to make lyrics! Not much to say other than Round 5 has Changed Me(TM) and the fact that Ruler of My Heart sounds so good doesnt help, lol. Now we can sing along with society's prince, Luka... *tosses him like a hacky sack in my mind* AND OUR LOVELY MIZI, UWAHHH-

As always, feel free to use, as long as you credit me! If anyone wants further thought process clarification for any lyrics, feel free to ask too! I have notes under the Read More to that end and some alternative lyrics as well! Have a wonderful day, fellas!

Translation Base: Captions in original video.

You can turn away from– You can even outburn– The light and sun, my star.

You’re the perfect subject, With the whole world within Those saddened eyes of yours.

My savior is such a beautiful soul… I don’t believe. You’re a liar. When our darkness starts to overlap each other, Let me take it all away…

Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart,

Your beauty is eternal.

Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart…

The walls are so endless… It’s a fall with no ground.

In a single moment, breaking down–

My sight comes to an end, My ears start to go deaf. Collapsing, my world.

My savior, such a beautiful lady…. Make me your god, I can give you everything. When our darkness starts to overlap each other, Let me take it all away…

Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart,

Your beauty is eternal.

Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart…

— Break —

Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart, Ruler, ruler of my heart…

Ruler, ruler of my heart Ruler, ruler of my heart Ruler, ruler of my heart…

---

NOTE 1: First stanza was the most awkward to make and probably still is the most awkward in general. But I couldnt think of an alternative thats without even more awkward sentence structure. And I think it works out in terms of Luka uncomfortably dogpiling Mizi with compliments, while also calling her “The light and sun, my star.”

NOTE 2: Sad vs. saddened has an odd difference in nuance in my mind but using a synonym for sad felt more jarring and excessive. Left it as is because it does get the point across, and maybe its just me overthinking it, lol.

NOTE 3: Ive considered changing “I don’t believe. You’re a liar.” to something like “Dont believe it,” or “Dont believe you,” but I try not to change lyrics that are already in English. I also think the awkwardness serves to portray Mizi’s state (of struggling to sing) in Round 5 very well and that there may be some intentional play on words of taking the “You” from “You’re” to finish the first phrase, so it works out.

NOTE 4: The original translation of “The endless walls / A fall with no ground” is actually pretty interesting to ponder about and I encourage others to do so about Luka’s character!

At first, I personally interpreted it as walls being obstacles to a goal, in which, no matter how much you overcome, there is another to face. And then the fall part is simpler to understand and just illustrates the hopelessness and despair of such a situation.

Thinking more, I considered joining the two lines and perceiving the walls' “endlessness” in terms of “height,” which would be why the fall would be perceive as "with no ground." Even if you were to overcome and stand at the top of such a wall (potentially referring to Luka’s position as a winner of Alien Stage), the situation is terrifying. And of course, falling from such a height (dying) is terrifying too. So this lyric could refer to how Luka views life as terrible either way (theres no winning) and/or that, despite his “advantageous position,” he’ll never be able to properly overcome his circumstances as a human pet.

Anyways! *kicks my feet* I translated the wall line as ambiguous to either interpretation because the ambiguity is likely the intention and I think theres value in all those takes.

ALTERNATIVE LYRICS (Line 9 and 27): “When our darkness overlaps onto each other” You have to pause on the “o” in “overlap,” which is a bit awkward. The current lyric works out well since the syllable that needs to be paused on is a single word (“starts”). This line rhythmically was probably the most difficult to tackle, haha.

ALTERNATIVE LYRICS (Line 14 and 32): “Your beauty is forever.” As someone who prefers not deviating from a translation as much as possible, to be frank, that just sounds bad, imo, lol. But if you prefer that option, go for it, I guess!

ALTERNATIVE LYRICS (Line 21 and 22): “I will lose all my sense / I will go blind and deaf” I enjoyed the first half implying that one’s losing their “mental” sense (mind), but felt that it deviated from original meaning too much.

If youve read this far, thank you for listening, haha! Again, have a wonderful day! c:

[best-non-english-word-torunament]

Round one: 些, xiē vs Bah

(poll at the end)

些, xiē (Mandarin Chinese)

Pronunciation depends on the dialect of Mandarin, but here are a few ways (chosen based on variation):

Beijing: [ɕiɛ⁵⁵] Jinan: [ɕiə²¹³] Nanjing: [sie²¹²]

Translation: Some, a few, a bit

Chinese is a Sino-Tibetan macrolanguage (a dialect continuum consisting of different varieties that are distinct languages based the criterium of mutual intelligibility, but commonly referred to as a single language) with around 1 350 300 000 speakers that consists of 16 recognised languages, often referred to as dialects. Out of these, Mandarin Chinese is the largest, as 70% of Chinese speakers have it as their native language. The Beijing dialect of Mandarin forms the basis of Standard Chinese, which is the national language and taught in schools all over China.

Motivation: It's just really fun to write

(stroke order taken from wiktionary by me to illustrate)

Note: The word was submitted as a Chinese word, not a Mandarin one. Words written with the same character and with the same meaning exist in different Chinese languages, but the submitted romanisation matches the Mandarin one.

Bah (Brazilian Portuguese)

[ˈba]

Translation: An interjection that can be used in any situation depending on tone. It's used in the southernmost state in Brazil and characterizes its accent. Bah comes from the word "barbaridade" (barbarity), used in older gaúcho slang as such:

Person A: (ridiculous, usually negative thing) and then those teenagers stole my sheep!

Person B: (agreeing/sympathetic with A) what a barbaridade!

Nowadays it lost it's meaning as a WORD word, being used in any context as an interjection like this:

A: and then those teenagers stole my sheep!

B: Baaah! (sympathetic with A)

(more examples given by the submitter at the end of the post)

Portuguese is an Indo-European language belonging to the Romance branch originating from Portugal. Due to colonialism it is the main and official language of Brazil, where 213 million of its 264 million speakers live. Brazilian Portuguese is considered a dialect of Portuguese as they are mutually intelligible.

Motivation: The heart of every gaúcho's vocabulary. bah is perfect. I use it in every five sentences and I'm not exaggerating. it's the best word bc without it I would die

Note: Gaúcho refers either to a native or inhabitant of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, or a cowboy of the South American Pampas according to Wiktionary. I assume the submitter is referring to the former meaning, but I liked the other too much to leave it out, also the meanings are probably linked.

More examples from the submitter of bah:

When seeing something impressive: bóóóó

When watching something you know isn't gonna end well, at the moment it goes badly (like a missed goal in soccer, someone parking badly or drunk people doing something stupid): buhiii (oof/ouch, meaning cringe)

Person A: If they apologized and you sorted this whole thing out, there isn't a reason to cut them off Person B: Yeah, but I found out they cheated on their last girlfriend... Person A: Bah. Yeah you’re right. (oh/shit/this face :/ , meaning that's stepping out of line, I tried to defend the subject but I can't deny your arguments)

Person A: Wanna go to the movies tonight? Person B: sure! -bahhh... I forgot I have some work to catch up on, I can't (ohhhh, meaning you remembered something, sad/apologetic tone)

Person A: They cancelled the concert! We're gonna have to wait for the next tour... Person B: Bahhhhhh I was so excited! (awww mannn/ughhh, meaning disappointment, frustration)

Person A: We’re finally gonna see The Concert From the Previous Example! Get your ticket ready so we can get in! Person B: Oh my god. I left it at home Person A: BA. (fuck)

[capybaraonabicycle]

For the art ask game, 3, 15 and 16?

Thank you for the ask!! I was so hoping someone would send one in :)

3. What artist do you wish people knew more about?

This is difficult because I am mostly aware of the standard artists you meet in art class - almost all of which are western men - and the most 'niche' of the ones I love would be like Georges Braques and Wassily Kandinsky and Umberto Boccioni and Edward Hopper and Canaletto and Ai Weiwei and Franz Marc - and I feel like for any one of those names I will have people at my throat for mentioning them in a sentence that includes the word 'niche'.

There are two that I can name though, that I don't know from art class and I believe they are at least somewhat niche:

There is Kent Monkman, a contemporary queer Cree artist who I was introduced to at uni. He uses a multitude of art forms (and you can check them out on his website) but I am most familiar with his paintings, especially the "Shame and Prejudice" exhibition that we looked at in class.

The exhibition features Monkman's genderqueer alter ego Miss Chief Testickle who tells Canadian history from her perspective and the paintings are, in my opinion, very clever and impactful. I analysed "The Subjugation of Truth" for class and there is a ton of subtle symbolism to drive the political message (painting in traditional settler style, putting the viewer into the position of the indigenous men, having the queen hover menacingly above it all) in the art work.

This is it:

Another really famous of the works is "Resurgence of the people" which references an old settler image with George Washington replaced by Miss Chief:

I'm not sure whether this one is the exact reference but it quotes some picture like this:

I really like Monkman's style and I think his images are very strong and often for the topic of indigenous history with settlers, the violence in them is palpable. Another impressive one would be "The Scream" :

Then I would like to mention the possibly most important artist of my childhood, Estonian-Swedish illustrator Ilon Wikland. She illustrated most of Astrid Lindgren's books and her style is just - so cozy and soft, I want to live in her art.

I feel like many people do know the books and her art, but few will know her name. So she counts :) (she's still alive btw, I had to look that up and was surprised)

15. Share a photo of your favorite contemporary artwork

I'm not sure I have one special favourite art work but this is something I saw at the documenta exhibition semi-recently and it really stuck with me. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to find the title, but I remember it was something similar to "deep belly breath".

(It's the blue one in the front)

It's a pretty big plastic, higher than I am tall and it is fluffy and blue and there is water in the middle. I love it mostly for looking like an alien being, but the fluffyness has a nice feel to it too (or rather 'a nice look', I obviously didn't touch it). Together with the title and the water and the dark fur on the inside, there is a sort of desperation and drowning feeling to it, softened by the fact you really want to hug it and climb into the water and be safe in your cocoon.

No idea whether any of this was intentional, but I had to stick with it for a good 10 min before being able to walk on (even though I was already tired) and I had to come back multiple times. I also had my aunt take a picture of me with the art and I am wearing a dw shirt so it's perfect :)

The work was made by someone from the art collective *foundationClass, an organisation based in Berlin who prepare students for art school. They made a bunch of cool, often political, art for the documenta

I have to say I am also particularly fond of the Möbiusship, though, that has been circulating on tumblr

16. What museum or gallery do you want to visit?

I really want to visit the Munch museum! He is one of my favourite artists and when I was in Oslo once, the museum was closed for renovation. But now it should have reopened, so I just need to get myself to Norway and reserve a full day for Munch :)

[ceterisparibus116]

Law question!

Is "what counts as reasonable" (as in how a reasonable person would act/reasonable doubt etc.) something that people in the legal world have different opinions how to interpreter? And could those disagreements lead to a case going to court instead of being solved without needing to go to court?

I just found it fascinating that a lot of things (right?) seem to depend on the reasonability of it. Which do makes sense that such a sentence needs to be there, but also doesn't it make the law - a very objective-presented thing - a bit open to... subjectivity?? But it's also really good because you do need to consider the circumstanses and context of things when rulings are done. Right?

I know nothing about law, but the implications of reasonabilty fascinates me and I want to know more!

(Also, I may or may not have started to ponder it because I tried to write a scene where Matt and Foggy is sleepdeprivied and studying for finals and I wanted them to talk about something law-adjacent...)

THIS IS MY FAVORITE ASK EVER BECAUSE YEAH.

Law is all "we're so smart and everything is defined and our arguments are so precise" and then "but what is a reasonable person?" absolutely smacks you in the face.

So the "reasonable person" standard (RPS) (which, fun fact, used to be the "reasonable man" standard and I'm thankful we've moved beyond that) is considered an objective standard, meaning that it doesn't matter if any specific person thinks or feels a certain way, based on their unique knowledge, feelings, experiences, etc. (that would be subjective). This mythical "reasonable person" who supposedly represents all of us is recognized to be a "legal fiction" (which is where, for legal purposes, we act like something is true even when we know it's probably not true).

This objective fact is one that must be determined by a fact-finder: aka a jury (unless a person waives their right to a jury trial, in which case the judge will be the sole fact-finder). So in reality, the "reasonable person" is whatever a jury of 6-12 think.

And yes, cases will absolutely go to court just because each side believes that the RPS will turn in their favor.

For example, the crime of stalking, in my state, has objective and subjective elements. The subjective element is that the victim feels alarm or annoyance. The objective element is that a "reasonable person" in the victim's situation would also feel alarm and annoyance.

So if a stalking case went to trial, the victim could take the stand and testify for hours about how truly alarmed or annoyed they felt, and maybe the jury would even believe: "Yep, this person was definitely alarmed/annoyed."

However, that's not enough for a conviction - the jury also has to believe, "A reasonable person who experienced what the victim experienced would also be alarmed/annoyed."

So the prosecution will argue to the jury why a reasonable person (read: the jury) would definitely feel alarmed/annoyed in those circumstances, whereas the defense will argue that...well...you can imagine how ugly those arguments can get, essentially saying that the victim is lying or crazy or overly emotional, etc.

All this raises some serious questions. What if the defendant is a male, and the victim is a female? Would a jury of women be more likely to imagine that a reasonable person would feel alarm from a male stalking them, yet perhaps men would feel that a reasonable person would not be alarmed by another man stalking them? We deliberately moved away from the "reasonable man" standard, but in cases like this, should the jury actually be instructed to ask, "What would a reasonable woman feel in this situation?"

(If you want to see a fascinating yet unofficial illustration of this, watch this youtuber's reaction to the movie Hush, and then read the older comments or watch his response video which highlights some of those comments. Admittedly, part of the youtuber's reaction is colored by him viewing the situation as purely fictional, but he also acknowledged that the movie failed to properly situate him in the protagonist's situation - in other words, the movie failed to help him see the objective reasonableness of the protagonist's subjective feelings and reactions.)

You can imagine other areas where this is discussed. Should the jury be asked in cases involving children about what a "reasonable person" would do, or what a "reasonable child" would do? Or in cases involving a Black defendant and police, should a jury ask what a "reasonable person" would feel or do in that situation, or should the jury ask what a "reasonable Black person" would feel or do in that situation? What if the jury in this case is all white?

And where do we stop? What traits are relevant or not? Even if we can all agree that gender and race should be factors in the RPS, should we also consider sexuality? Should we always consider sexuality, or only in certain cases? Should we consider religion? Should we consider mental illness? Should we consider everything a person might include in their tumblr bio?

And arguably, if you take that too far, you end up with a bunch of laws that are almost impossibly vague to interpret. Like, if I want to send a person a couple of notes, do I need to know all the possible traits of my would-be victim (their age, their race, their gender, their sexuality, their religion, their mental illnesses, etc.) to determine the likelihood that a reasonable person in their shoes would consider my behavior to be stalking?

Additionally, you risk opening the door to some scary prejudice. Like, if a hypothetical person is 18 years old, Black, trans, female, gay, and autistic...would the standard applied to her be different from a person who is 26, white, cis, male, straight, and neurotypical? Would these different standards really make things more fair? How would you safeguard against prejudice?

It gets very sticky. This is one (of many) reasons why I prefer criminal law. See, the RPS does pop up in criminal law, usually with crimes like assault and stalking; also with certain defenses, like self-defense, which requires that a defendant's actions in self-defense were objectively reasonable. However, most criminal charges don't involve the RPS.

For example: did you operate a motor vehicle? Were you intoxicated? Okay, you committed a DUI, case closed - the jury doesn't have to worry about reasonableness at all.

Anyway, the short answer is: you're absolutely right and you've hit on one of law's dirty secrets that, if scrutinized too closely, causes a lot of dominos start to fall. It's very fascinating, especially as we as society become increasingly aware of intersectionality and the ways that subjective experiences correlated with group identity (like race, gender, sexuality, religion, etc.) can influence a person's view of what is objective.

And yes, Matt and Foggy would absolutely debate this incessantly, either as part of their studies or to procrastinate from studying, and if you do in fact write this, please tag me in it so I can read it!

[tintinology]

Thomson and Thompson, Detectives: 12

(A story by Paul Kinnet, illustrated by Hergé)

This first failure did not discourage Thomson and Thompson. They returned to the farm to report to the farmer's wife and calm her fears.

“Let's see!” Thompson said. “What is the problem?”

“Finding the car the farmer was kidnapped in…”

“Very well… Since we can't find the car, let's try to find the farmer!”

“Great idea,” said Thomson. “How will we proceed? Let's see the Handbook… Chapter 17, page 82: Searching for missing persons. ‘When the detective is looking for a missing person, it is a good idea to pass on their photograph to the newspapers, and to ask anyone who has information about them to share it with the police. Another system consists of giving the photo to a dowser who, by swinging their pendulum over the document, can establish the location of the victim.’”

“Like Professor Calculus!” said Thompson. “What if we tried that?”

“We’ll need a photo of your husband,” Thomson said, turning to the woman.

“A photo, my good sir? There's only this one, on the wall... You're not going to take it from me?”

“No, no,” Thomson said, taking down the frame. “It’s for an experiment.”

He put the picture on the table.

“What about the pendulum?” Thompson asked.

“We're going to make one. Do you have yarn, Madam Farmer? There we go… That’s very good… a fork at the end… And here is our pendulum.”

Thomson proudly brandished the instrument and began to swing it over the picture.

(To be continued.)  

—

The next part of Thomson and Thompson, Detectives will be posted tomorrow by @personnage-neutre!

Previous - Next

(Translator’s note: Some of the words in the original text are missing, so I’ve had to complete the sentences based on the context.)

[withlovelunette]

Hi! I love your account and posts! I was wondering if you have any advice for me.. I recently picked up writing as a hobby and I really want to improve. So I've found that im good at writing slow scenes esp fluff / romantic scenes but when it comes to fast paced ones where a lot of action and dialogue is happening especially between more than two characters i find it very hard to make it flow naturally, how can i get better at this?

Hello there!! Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy it! :,) And also, glad to hear you've gotten into writing, welcome!

So scene pacing is one of those things that can take a long time to fully "perfect". Just from my own experience, I usually focus my first couple of drafts on just making sure I have everything I want to convey within the story, and usually fine tune the pacing later. I'm definitely on the same boat as you, where slow scenes tend to come more naturally to me and usually require less adjustments throughout my editing process, as opposed to my fast paced scenes. I don't typically write a lot of action heavy stories, but I've run into this problem a few times nonetheless, so while I don't think I have any sort of expertise on the subject, I've compiled a list of things I like to keep in mind; from one slow-paced scene lover to another :D

(Also; content warning for some writing involving violence! It's nothing too graphic, but I do compare some action writing that includes violence, so just a head's up!)

1. Sentence length variation!

This is probably the most common advice you'll find so I'm just gonna get this one out of the way right away. Basically, by lengthening your sentences, the reader is forced to pace their own reading, practically "slowing them down" so they can fully comprehend the sentence. For the opposite effect; Be short and concise. Don't drag out your sentences. No meandering.

I should point out that for this technique to actually be effective, you need to have variation (as shown in the paragraph above). When your character is analysing the situation, plotting, planning, etc. you'll want to use longer sentences, and then reserve the shorter ones for the action. This also helps to convey the urgency the character feels, since we generally tend to not think as thoroughly when we're under stress.

This technique can drastically alter the flow of conversations as well, which I've tried to illustrate with this very simplistic dialogue ^^;

Version 1

"Why are you home so late?" "It's not that late. I was just out with some friends," the boy breathes out, slipping his jacket off and draping it over his shoulder. "Which friends?" "Friends, mom," he answers with a groan. "Yeah, I have friends." "I don't like your tone."

Version 2

"Why are you home so late?" "It's not that late. I was just out with some friends," the boy breathes out, slipping his jacket off and draping it over his shoulder. His mother raises an eyebrow. "Which friends?" "Friends, mom," he answers with a groan, head tilted back. "Yeah, I have friends." A grimace etches itself into the woman's face, her features distorted and uncanny beneath the florescent lighting of the hallway. "I don't like your tone."

This might not be a perfect example, but my point is that the entire tone and flow of the dialogue can change based on how descriptive you decide to be. The first version is a lot more snappy, a quick back and forth between an angsty teen and a tired mother, while the second version indulges in the exchange way more, essentially dragging out the pacing of the dialogue as well, and building up to the mother's response.

2. Choosing the right verbs

When writing action, your focus should really be to choose good and effective verbs. The verb "pull" conveys more force than "tug", for example, even though they convey the same action. To haul or heave something has even more force behind it, or compare push vs shove.

I also find that certain words just "sound" more intense, because they have a certain sharpness to them. For example, slip, slick, plunge, snatch, split, etc. Compared to stumble, sleek, push, grab, fracture, etc. I think this is mainly a linguistic thing, since some words have harsher consonants, but it can be helpful to just pull up a thesaurus sometimes and see if there's a stronger verb that you can implement!

This is also a great way to avoid adverbs. I definitely think some people exaggerate whenever they say to never use adverbs, but in action, you should really try to cut down as much of your adverbs as possible. If you have a good verb, you usually don't need an adverb, and by cutting out adverbs, you're quickening the pace of the writing!

For example: "She stabbed the knife deeply into his stomach" vs "She thrust the knife into his stomach". The word "thrust" already conveys the strength and speed of the knife, so there's no reason to add "deeply", because it's kinda self explanatory that a knife "thrust" into someone's stomach would go in deep.

3. Focus on the senses.

Because you want to limit any descriptions of the character's thinking during the height of the action, a great way to still include description in your writing is to focus on the senses, and there's two primary reasons for this.

Firstly - when under stress, we don't necessarily have the time to thoroughly think about or dwell on our situation, and are instead too preoccupied with our senses. Thus, in limiting your descriptions to the senses, it helps convey that those descriptions are all very immediate and urgent.

Secondly - this is a great way to get insight into the character's mindset without meandering. For example, if a character tastes blood in their mouth and takes the time to thoroughly describe the taste, how it feels, and what their reaction to it is, then that naturally takes away some of the tension and urgency. However, if a character describes tasting blood and being hit with nausea, but doesn't dwell on it, not only does this convey the urgency (namely that the character doesn't have time to dwell on it), but also that the character is so preoccupied with the action that their bodily comforts must be sidelined for the time being.

You want to still be very brief with descriptions of the senses (at least during the height of action scenes), and you'll want to pick words that really convey what you want with as little space as possible. For example, describing a smell as a stench vs an aroma conveys two wildly different types of smell, even without me describing those smells. This isn't to say that you shouldn't ever go into any details at all, but if you're reading a draft and find that the action is dragging out too much, try cutting out descriptions and substituting them with stronger words.

4. Don't over-explain

I think writers sometimes get too caught up with trying to make an intense action choreography. I know they can be fun to imagine and to witness on-screen, but in writing, it can get very confusing very quickly. Just remember to be concise with what is where, who is doing what, where limbs/weapons are, etc. It's a lot better to have something that's simple yet comprehensible, as opposed to something complex and confusing. When writers begin to over-explain and complicate, that's usually where you'll find clunky sentences that mess up the flow of the action. Less is often more!

I actually really enjoy listening to Critical Role for this reason (the biggest DnD podcast/stream at the moment). Their action scenes are usually very precise and straightforward, and while I'd definitely embellish some of it when writing, it lays a good foundation! Highly recommend giving them a listen if you want examples of concise action scenes!

In terms of writing multiple characters in fast paced scenes; I really encourage you to either focus the writing on one character's experience/perception of the action (if the perspective you've chosen allows for it), or to split the gang up. Again, it doesn't matter how well paced your action is if it's confusing who is where and who's doing what, because that confusion contributes to slowing down the pacing! If you really insist on keeping multiple characters "on-screen" during a fast paced scene, you can convey some of that tension with minimal confusion by prioritising one character's perspective, because limiting the speed and amount of information is really the key to quickening the pacing, and by limiting the reader to only getting information through one character, you can better manage the flow of information as well!

– Outro

Sorry this took so long, I really appreciate the patience! Again, I don't think action scenes are really my strongest area, considering I don't write much action, but as someone who also struggles with writing action and pacing fast-paced scenes right, these are usually the things I look out for when troubleshooting pacing issues in my writing! I hope this managed to help you out a little bit, but if anything's unclear, just let me know and I'll try my best to clarify! ^^;

[compressednerve]

25 and 27 for the fic meme please 🙏

Thanks for the ask!!! :D Big rambling ahead <3

"25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)"

Most of my writing skill is fleeting based off how functional my brain is working that day, so I tend to go back and forth between hastily typed notes in Discord and attempts to flesh things out in google docs-- both of which I don't really love, but they're online and I can link the files easily to @parasitefun who's my creative partner and helps with my processes. I loathe the spellcheck/grammar function on docs! I used to write exclusively in notepad or OpenOffice back on my old computer but I find OpenOffice in general... lacking.

I wasn't taught to read or write in the uh... traditional way, so I usually have an exorbitantly difficult time with actually formulating sentences. So I guess using Clip Studio Paint is another program I use for writing, because I need to storyboard, assemble timelines of events, sketches of emotions... what have you. It helps me in "assembling" the information required for a plot, but usually I just end up scrapping the fic entirely and condensing it down to a comic or a few paragraphs attached to an illustration... for example, here's some sketches from a few weeks ago while I chip away at my millionth attempt at a chaptered longfic, this time now featuring Yung Northmoor!

Whether I complete this as an actualized comic or intermittent illustrations, or keep them as sketches for referencing certain vibes of the scene, is mostly up to luck if I even can keep the momentum up to carry the work to the finish line 😔 I am also extremely shy and precious about my WIPs most of the time, I feel like my sketches are very vulnerable... which is unfortunate because I finish maybe 15% of the pieces I start!!! This is due to CTE though, and thus for the most part cannot be helped at the moment. I think for 2024 a resolution I have is to try to hold myself to finishing at least one Large Project a month, cuz then at least I'll have 12! :D

Recently I ..........acquired.......... Scrivener which I hope will help with a lot of the messy notes and outlines become more organized. It's an old version of the program though, and I can't figure out how to make the text of the UI any larger which makes navigating the program itself a pain. It's also very informational dense. Which is. Difficult and maze-like for me to comprehend sometimes. Multiple times in the past few years I've bought corkboards, pushpins, notecards, and other utensils to try to help make physical note taking easier, but my arthritis makes my handwriting dogshit to a point where I can hardly read it myself... and we don't have the physical space for my pepe silva act XD Maybe some day, though!

"27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?"

I wish! I never really thought of doing anything special for finishing fics- most of the time if it's not painstakingly planned out like above process described, the only time I get anything finished is if I do it all in one single sprint... hence so many abandoned WIPs... It's hard to take something to the end when so much of my ability to even start it is based off random whims! I think I get the genuine ability to write, coherently and cohesively, maybe every few months. I'm inspired and writing fic in my head pretty much all the time as a part of my psychotic processing as filtering my distorted reality through the lens of characters and scenarios has been one of my main perceptions of the world from a young age due to childhood schizophrenia, but capturing it in actual words and sentences that other people can actually read is a whole other basket!

...So, I guess nothing really, other than a large sigh of relief and a feeling of release in having finally achieved what I was hoping to achieve, or at least, an approximation that's close enough to it that I'm satisfied. Maybe this is my sign to try to incentivize finishing things by setting up a reward if I can manage! :D

[quilleth]

WIP Wednesday Progress

Yes, i know it's Thursday. I wasn't feeling great yesterday though XD

Here's what I managed to get done from the results of last week's poll!

Here's what the results were: -write 1 sentence for Elisabeth and Jasper -Work on my recipe card(s) for at least 5 minutes -work on the drawing for Vanora and Faolan for at least 5 minutes -spend at least 5 minutes working on Vanora’s winter weather outfit -and play Our Life again

and the results below the cut!

Elisabeth and Jasper floriography prompt: larkspur, first time making someone laugh

"..Besides, I did try to point that out myself, but alas, he would not be moved."

MXTX food zine sketching

My phone will not focus on it at all, but the bit i worked on may have involved a decorative little paper airplane ;)

Vanora's winter outfit

My fashion illustration class was a long time ago and not a great experience either, so i don't really remember how you're supposed to draw chonky knit wear, but this is working well enough for me. Also, decided to make her belt more of a woven material (tried sketching it as rope/ cord but that looked bad) instead of something like leather to have ALL the textures! and a seashell shaped buckle. because i can. Is this what someone from the tropics would think of to wear in colder weather as opposed to my native to colder weather thinking what would be good? i'm not sure xD Once i get the base of this outfit done, though, she'll have two different coat options; a ruana that she probably would've picked up at some point, possibly before acquiring said chonky sweater, and an actual wool coat the bard in our party, Peach (played by @december-snow) picked out for her a few sessions ago when we learned we'd be travelling into some mountains and it's just about winter in game :3 I'll draw those as separate things, sort of like a paper doll situation.

Play Our Life again

I finished step one with my redo of Sylvie's file, since I got a new computer and started step 2! I'm trying to remember how i did things on my old computer, but I guess we'll see how it goes xD Saving the Runaway moment for last always feels appropriate for step one though...

I didn't manage to do more for the drawing for Vanora and Faolan this week, unfortunately. I looked at some reference things on pinterest, but didn't specifically work on the drawing, and they were some i already had saved. I have a few days of working from home, and a long weekend next weekend, so I hope to make some more progress on it then!

Since i've been a little under the weather lately, I'm skipping a poll this week, but will probably be back with a new one next week, to take advantage of my longer weekend next weekend ;)

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: Ground Truths

Everyone has their own ideas of what they’d want to introduce to another world or time; everything from pizza, chocolate and shampoo to water filtration, basic sanitation, and vaccination. All of those are good things. But there are a few smaller things in particular I’d introduce to a place and time that didn’t have them, that most isekai or time travel books never notice. Specifically, steel-ground grain, information about vitamin C, and punctuation marks.

Yes, those are in specific order.

Steel-ground grain is a very big deal. Very. Big. For as long as we’ve had agriculture, likely longer based on archaeological evidence, people have ground various grains between stones. Which, unfortunately, also grinds the stones together. Producing grit. That gets into said ground grains, and then into your mouth, abrading your teeth.

This is bad.

Seriously, there’s a good reason in the 1632 series a modern dentist is more respected than a modern doctor. Teeth aren’t just important for chewing; teeth make a difference in whether you live a long, reasonably healthy life, or a short, brutal one. Grit in ground grains wears away your enamel, exposing the pulp to the point people were often losing teeth before their thirties. Exposed pulp means infections, risk of heart attacks, stroke, etc., etc., augh.

Nomad herders were often considered stronger and healthier than farmers. So long as said nomads were mostly not living on grain, thus avoiding grit damage - yes, they would have been healthier.

...They often would also have been healthier because a lot of nomads live on dairy products from their flocks, which means more vitamin C on a regular basis.

Which brings me to the second thing I’d want to introduce: what vitamin C is, why it’s important for your body, and where you can get it from, wherever you end up. Most people know about scurvy affecting people on board ships. What many don’t know is that it often affects people with a bad diet on land. One historian estimated that most people in Elizabethan England suffered from scurvy every year.

This is bad for multiple reasons; again, starting with teeth. Your teeth aren’t straight out locked into your jaws, they’re held in by ligaments and connective tissue. Without enough vitamin C connective tissue deteriorates and there go your teeth... and a lot of muscle strength, and other needful things like proper digestion. Some people have connected a shortage of vitamin C to all kinds of things including cancer. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it’s well known that without enough your immune system is hampered, and that would make cancer more likely. Most other mammals can make their own vitamin C. Hominids can’t. Plan your characters’ diets accordingly!

The third thing, I’ve been using throughout this post, and you may not have even noticed. Punctuation marks.

Punctuation is important for two big, very big, reasons. First - it makes reading much, much easier. Chinese books through at least the Ming Dynasty had no punctuation, and part of reading was “dotting” - parsing through characters and trying to figure out where a sentence actually ended. We have examples of such dotted books today. Imagine trying to read a book of fiction, or worse a book of science, where you have to guess where an idea ends. Does that reaction specify mixing water with two grams of sodium, or two grams of sodium chloride? The difference is critical. And explosive.

Which illustrates the second reason: clarity in communicating an idea. If you want to build off someone else’s knowledge, especially in science and engineering, you want to know exactly what they were talking about. If you’re in a world that needs a scientific revolution, you’d better give them the tools to do good science!

So. Those are three little-mentioned things I thought of. What small but important things would you bring to an out of time scenario?