#the power of the heart/shape/course/etc. is REAL

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hey! Asking for some writing advice here.

How does one write a villain exactly. In a very simple world with no superpowers and stuff how do you give them motivation. How do you make them slowly descent into villainy. Somehow when the villain actually thinks they're doing the right thing until the very end?

Thx love

There are a few different questions here that I'm going to try to to unpick.

I'll start with a brief overview of the connections between protagonist + antagonist, just because recognising them can be really useful in shaping your own ideas. Then I'll dive into motivation. So.

Antagonist + Protagonist = CONFLICT

If you know your protagonist well, then you have all the ingredients you need to write a great villain/antagonist for them too. Here is why.

Your villain/antagonist is, at the most basic fundamental starting point, something that is between your protagonist and what the protagonist wants/needs. As a very simple example, if your protagonist wants to make sure that everyone is free, then your antagonist is going to in some way be involved with making sure they are not free. Once you know what your antagonist needs to do in a story, then it's a lot easier to pose the question to yourself of 'okay, why would someone do that?'

Villains often reflect an opposite or warped view of the values and motivations that your protagonist has. They mirror or foil your main character. So, your antagonist's motivation will often be either opposite to the protagonist (e.g, your protagonist is motivated by selflessness, so your antagonist is motivated by selfishness in some way) or they will be the same motivation or value gone twisted (e.g. we both have people we love who we would do anything to protect...it's the villains way of acting on that motivation that makes them the villain, not the motivation.)

Of course, you can not have your antagonist + protagonist connected in this way. This is often the case if the source of conflict in your story is not another actual character or if you have a more generic villain. Lots of great stories have generic villains. It typically just means the villain is not a focus. It might be, like, about the friendships made in the journey instead.

Motivations:

I find it helpful to think of all my characters having two motivations.

The external story-specific motivation. This is whatever the antagonist is trying to achieve in your particular story and where things like genre and superpowers etc come into play.

The internal motivation that is more universal. The internal motivation is, while still specific to the character, the driving emotions and values. With a villain, that is often hatred or fear or lust for power because they're villains, but as noted earlier it can be a twisted form of love, or a strong sense of an injustice committed against them. This shapes the external motivation (e.g. 'lust for power = I want the throne, 'fear' = I'm going to kill or belittle or control what scares me so I don't have to feel scared anymore', justice might equal revenge or gaining power to ensure that a wrong is corrected. ) It could also be a bias or a prejudice that they're raised on driving them, that they genuinely believe in. Lots of possibilities!

I think this is true of people as well. We have our foundational core beliefs and desires (to be loved, to succeed, to be accepted whatever) and then we have the things we try to get in the real world to meet those needs (whether they really will or not).

Either way, it's the second one that comes into play with the slow descent into villainy and the villain thinking that they're doing the right thing until the end. Because, initially, their heart genuinely is not in a villainous place. They may actually be doing the right thing at the start. And then bad things happen. They are changed by the journey. They are a protagonist gone tragic.

We all experience emotions that can drive us to behave poorly; the desire for revenge or recognition, to ensure that the people we care about are safe, to get money so that we can provide for ourselves and others etc. None of us are without prejudice or privilege. Those things do not make you a villain, but they can be an excellent starting place for one.

Think about times when you've messed up. A villain is often an exaggerated version of that. You start pushing your own boundaries because there is something you really want/need and, depending on how far you push that...do you feel like you can still go back? Or do you feel like you might as well finish it after everything. At what point do you breathe for air, look up at what you've done, and go shit.

That's the villain who realises way too late that they're the villain.

Final note: I've been using antagonist and villain pretty interchangeably here...but they have slightly different connotations. Your antagonist does not have to be a villain to be effective. They just have to be an obstacle to the protagonist. E.g. if two people are going for the same dream job or trying to win a competition, the other competitors are antagonists to a certain extent, but that doesn't mean they're villainous or bad people. Whether you have an outright villain will depend on your story.

I hope this helps!

Some going further questions to take with you.

Is your villain trying to stop your protagonist from reaching their goal? Or is your protagonist trying to stop the antagonist from reaching their goal?

How does the villain's external goal in the story reflect the inner need? Note. They are aware of their external goal. Most people are not aware of the inner goal in the same way.

Do you know what you want your stories themes to be? (This doesn't have to be complicated and it's fine if you don't, that's what editing is for). Your protagonist and antagonist often weigh in on these themes. For example, your antagonist might be a path the protagonist could have gone down, if they made a different choice or something happened differently in their past.

[jnnul]

THE GF NING DRABBLE WAS SOOOO CUTEEEEE !! okay okay this is slightly irrelevant but what about dating k 🥺 i think he'd be the sweetest everrrrr :( - hype boy anon

a/n: oh don't worry anon i'll talk about my husband (real) all day any day <33 word count: 889 words genres: fluff + nsfw content

so koga yudai is a THE pretty princess of the century

like i hate to break it to you

but he is the princess of the relationship

since he's usually the oldest/one of the oldest members of a team wherever he goes, he likes being doted on

he likes being the center of your universe

he likes when you have heart eyes for him, when you back hug him after a long day, when you declare your love for him, etc.

HOWEVER

it is simply in his nature to be a loverboy he can't help it

so as much as he loves princess treatment, he naturally takes care of you anyway in more subtle ways

like if you're the one who's initiating pda or hugging him when you guys are around people, he'll shy away a little more

but in confined spaces, he literally clings to you and WILL NOT let go

he's a closeted princess <3

but because of this, no one believes you when you say that he's clingier than you

because he loves when you fawn over him

but the second you guys get home, he's all over you

he really releases all of his babygirlism™️ when it's just the two of you (he can't be losing all of his carefully accumulated street cred that easily)

the KING of back hugs whenever he can

you could be just standing in any situation and suddenly, you're wrapped in koga yudai

genuinely any situation he can have his hands on you (in private), his hands will be there

as much as he does it because he loves you and he thinks you're the sexiest being to grace the earth

it's also because he can't make you his priority number 1 and the guilt eats him up

k's been working for his dreams for SO long and now that they're slowly finally coming to life, he always gives them priority

so last minute cancellations or having to plan time together weeks in advance is smth that you'd have to just be ok with

he also always encourages you to pursue your dreams tho

in his rare time off, he spends it with you and will literally bend over backwards to help his s/o continue to grow in whatever field they want to

you want to become a doctor? he will quiz you about whatever subject you have a test in text week. you want to become an engineer? he's sitting with you and providing massages as you try and figure out the question. you want to be a teacher? he patiently sits with you as you practice your lesson plans.

knows that he has a s/o that's very patient and puts up with a lot more from him (namely, his dramatics) than anyone else so spoils you rotten

of course in physical touch and sharing your passion for whatever you're interested in, but also gifts

he will buy anything and everything that reminds him of you in the slightest (anything pretty)

it's his way of coping when he spends a long time away from you

[NSFW CONTENT BELOW]

his other way of coping is phone sex 😭

k is a very visual person so he really needs to see you to get off

and i mean that literally

once you guys have sex for the first time (which would be so sweet because this boy just loves you so so much)

he genuinely cannot get off without you

needs you in some way, shape, or form to cum and while some people think it's weird, you think it's peak romance <3

is a switch but i think more dom leaning

he's more used to having more control, experience, power, etc. so he slips into the role pretty easily

he enjoys seeing you all drooly and fucked out for him so it works out

has an INCREDIBLE level of stamina

i mean it so literally that when you guys fuck after a long time of not seeing each other, it's all day and all night

like calling off of work the next day and everything

doesn't really like hurting you with words or pain

but he does like seeing you overwhelmed with pleasure

top 10 dick game out of everyone in kpop

but to get there, he will make you cum at least 2 times before he even sticks his dick inside

big dick energy

probably has to make you cum at least 2 times so that you're wet enough to fit him inside of you

will overwhelm you with pleasure whether you're the sub or dom tho

he can't help it :(

when he's subbing, he's like an overexcited puppy

and he can't help but fucking into you even after you tell him to stop

he just finds you so so so attractive and can't believe that you like him of all people

doesn't believe you in aftercare when you tell it was good

or that you're so happy you're with him in general

will just smile and clean you up gently in the shower

he only believes you truly love him when you're cuddled up next to him and even when you're dead asleep, you smile when you smell his perfume

after a long day at work

he's so sweet :( omg i want him so bad :(

[dykedvonte]

why do you hate Joshua Graham or Honest Hearts so much?

This DLC and character represents a bigger issue with fandom spaces I have but particularly fallout fandom in general.

Fallout tends to tackle a lot of topics controversial and not. The first two games it’s heavy cause they are the most satirical and direct with how anti-war, nationalism and etc… they are. 3 loses this as it’s very clear once you play or learn about all the games that Todd and a bunch of guys at Bethesda just liked the 50s post apocalyptic aesthetic and refuse to actually critique the ideals of the time period like the earlier titles.

New Vegas is the game that really gets back into it a degree it almost seems like it’s taking too much on. There are things done exceedingly well while other things are done horribly wrong . I’ve made posts about it before and plan to make a big series of posts (it’s a lot of writing) but my biggest gripe is with Honest Hearts and all the gross and white savior esque depictions it has of indigenous peoples. The entirety if FNV does not do the injustices faced by indigenous people correctly on any count. My two biggest complaints are with the Khans and the tribes in Zion but I’ll talk about the former on a different post.

Both characters of Daniel and Joshua are the most accurate depiction of white saviors I’ve seen and I hate how the DLC tries to justify and defend them. The DLC treats Joshua like this man who has repented for his past actions when he is just retracing his steps after his cruelty bit him in the ass. He was one of the worst parts of the Legion and it is all but explicitly stated that if you don’t force him to be non-violent he will turn the tribes of Zion into the legion 2.0. The Dead Horses and the Sorrows are horribly infantilized by both Daniel and Joshua who both use them for self serving purposes guised by religious duty. The White Legs are the horrible stereotype of violent and savage indigenous and I personally think a lot of their interlinking with Ulysses, his hair and Ulysses character in general are distasteful and very telling of how BIPOC or POC where involved.

But outside of the game it’s the weird obsession people have with these characters ideologies and trying to make them seem more interesting/philosophical than they are. Tumblr is an echo chamber and many fans of Fallout are not the people on this site. Many people are not educated in the issues these characters convey and how poorly they do or used these characters as a poor introduction for their takes. Contrary to what a lot of people believe in, fallout has a prediomeny white cis male fanbase. More importantly a large portion of the fanbase is white.

You can joke how FNV made you trans or see the numbers on post/fics or diverse headcanons but these are kiddy numbers compared to the millions that consume the franchise and aren’t in those more aware spaces or don’t engage in the spaces the same way someone like me does/has to. Their views shape a lot more than people realize and it’s exhausting to be in a space where people don’t correct the more subtle yet toxic aspects of it but also adopt them into some weird quirky view point on the characters or issues. Some people don’t realize and some people don’t care.

My main issue is just the idolizing of these sort of thing in this fandom space and people try to acts like a game like fallout whose tagline is “War never changes” and has never had a game not revolve around political or militaristic factions issues isn’t that deep or doesn’t relate to real issues. I think it’s mainly caused by how over powered you can become and how you can strong arm your way past these learning moments as majority of people who play this game do play it as a power fantasy where they can do so as they please (which of course, go ahead it’s fun) but never take in parallels or lessons in the story as if it was just another first person shooter.

Also like another personal gripe is Cazadores spawn like hell whenever I’m there and I have not found a mod that works to mod them out so I have to play Indigenous Racism the DLC while getting jumped by giant wasps WHILE helping Mormons. Like I cannot catch a break.

[teecupangel]

Hey Tee! I did an ask about this for The Witcher fandom a while ago now it popped in my head for AC and-

Studio Ghibli AUs. All the Studio Ghibli AUs!!! Which pairing do you think fits best with each movie?

I was wondering if you meant Desmond pairings or if you meant like… non-Desmond pairings but, fuck it, my default setting is that you meant Desmond pairing so here’s some Desmond pairings for you XD

(I will try to add a spin to it or something, we’ll see)

AltDes: Spirited Away

In this setup, we’ll change the parents to Shaun and Rebecca and the idea is Desmond and the two of them are on their way to their next mission. This one will not have any Animus BS in it but they’re still all Assassins.

The same setup as the beginning of Spirited Away but I kinda wanna make them into turkeys instead of pigs so we can have a reference to the Assassin Turkey XD

Anyway, Al Mualim would be the owner of the bathhouse that Desmond works with and Altaïr would be the mysterious employee whose name nobody knows. 

One of the main themes of this movie is losing one’s identity so we’ll have Desmond only be called 17. Every employee is only called by number and Altaïr would be called 1. The other main characters would take the other numbers (2 for Ezio, 3 for Ratonhnhaké:ton, etc) with Clay being 16 because he’s 16. 

Altaïr will be one of the employees helping Desmond but he’s the most distant of them. Maybe that would be the reason why Desmond would notice him because he can feel a familiar loneliness clinging onto Altaïr and he’d be ‘curious’ about it. Their budding closeness would be the reason why Altaïr would be the one to go ‘fuck all of this’ and leave his ‘post’ to help Desmond and Desmond would realize who Altaïr is because of the small details he could remember (and how Desmond had learned about the Assassins of old)

Anyway, it ends in a similar way as Spirited Away with Desmond realizing that all of the employees were Assassins and the bathhouse is meant to be a stop point between living and afterlife. Al Mualim used a POE he found using the Apple that was one of the failed solutions to the Solar Flare to create that pocket dimension and he’s been hoarding these Assassins as a way to have his own army (with defective memories that would make them easier to control) and the pocket dimension would pierce reality and revive them into the current timeline.

Everyone had been helping Desmond because they believe Desmond could still leave if he remembers he’s Desmond, not knowing that only meant that Desmond would pass to the afterlife and not actually return to his old life.

Desmond being Desmond fucked that up because his very existence and his belief that all of these people (employees + Al Mualim and the guests which are actually just passing ghosts that Al Muliam didn’t take) are real jumpstart the reality bending power of the POE but that also meant Desmond has become the singularity, not Al Mualim.

Then the twist would be the reason why the three got into the pocket dimension is because the car they used exploded thanks to a bomb that Lucy placed (orders from Vidic) and their mission had been to investigate Clay’s death.

So… either go for the afterlife peaceful life ending or the ending where the reality bending POE does success thanks to Desmond. 

EziDes: Honestly, I was thinking either Howl’s Moving Castle or Castle in the Sky but I decided to go with Howl’s Moving Castle instead

In this one, Desmond would be Howl so we can have AC Revelations!Ezio hahahaha

No, seriously.

Anyway, the witch is Juno (of course), Calcifer is Clay and Turnip Head would be Suleiman who does fall in love with Ezio but… yyeeaaahhh.

So, Desmond is cursed to not have a heart by Juno (and it’s shaped like the Apple of Eden and is Juno’s main ‘weapon’) and he can transform into a similar bird creature but this one is bathed in white and have gold lines all over (Ezio would realize the gold lines are very similar to the gold lines of the Apple) and he does transform to keep the two warring side in check even if it’s taking a toll on his body. The more toll it takes, the more golden lines appear on his body, all originating from the scar where his heart had been taken.

Clay tells Ezio he can free him from his curse but he wants to be freed first. This is all a big gamble because Clay knows the only way to free him from the life connection he has with Desmond is if Desmond regains his heart before Clay’s fire is completely snuffed out.

The ending is similar to Howl’s Moving Castle but Ezio would steal Juno’s Apple because he knows it’s connected to Desmond but don’t know how while Juno is punished by the king she ‘sided’ with. (Lorenzo, maybe?)

ConDes: Princess Mononoke

I’m going to be completely honest here, Princess Mononoke is my favorite Studio Ghibli film and I was tempted to make this the AltDes one but ConDes just fits soooo much more so, yeah, let’s start this.

Ratonhnhaké:ton would be our Ashitaka and he’d be ‘banished’ from his village because he was cursed after killing a demon before it could reach his village. His grandmother (the clan mother as well) tells him to go west where the demon (which they had realized was a corrupted boar god) had hailed from.

Along the way, he meets George Washington who suggests that maybe the Great Forest Spirit could cure him… if he was to find it anyway.

So Ratonhnhaké:ton reached Iron Town that is under the control of the Templar Order with Haytham Kenway as the leader (up to you if we’re keeping their familial relationship or not)

He also sees the town be attacked by wolves and a man in a hood and a mask that rides one of the wolves and attacks the townspeople as well. 

Okay, for this one, Desmond is obviously the San of this AU and his wolf brethren would be Altaïr and Ezio. 

Can we keep Gillian Anderson as Moro? No? Fine. Maria Auditore or Minerva gets the role of mama!wolf god. Take your pick.

Yeah, George Washington’s gonna steal that head. XD

Alright, so those are the main three done and here are some more Studio Ghibli AU ideas that I’m just throwing out there:

Fuck it. I want a Castle in the Sky one so here: Arno x Desmond with Laputa Castle in the Sky with Desmond being the mysterious man everyone wants to abduct and Arno helping him try to escape and also looking for the mythical Laputa that his father had been searching until his untimely demise.

My Neighbors the Yamada with the Kenway family. Either this is a sweet AU where nothing bad happened to them OR this is like the exact opposite of My Neighbors the Yamada and is just pure Kenway Family Drama all the way. Either way, the fic would be set in Desmond’s POV who is neighbors with the Kenways and it’s up to you if this is gonna be EdDes, HayDes or ConDes (or even JenDes)

Kiki Delivery Service with Desmond being Kiki, Clay as Jiji and Leonardo being that kid that is absolutely enraptured by how Desmond could use a broom to fly. The bakery is absolutely owned by the Auditores with Maria Auditore pregnant with Petruccio. (this can either be EziDes or LeoDes)

Only Yesterday AU where Jacob returns to his childhood rural town after a very bad breakup and tries to ‘repair’ his relationship with his sister that shattered after their father’s death. She’s married and has a child and her husband’s cousin, Desmond, is also a distant childhood friend. 

The Cat Returns would be so fun for Desmond and I kinda want it to be Eivor x Desmond with the Cat King being Odin. I don’t know why, it sorta kinda fits? Baron could even be Basim and Toto would be Hytham, why not?

I kinda wanna make a joke and say Graves of the Fireflies with the Frye twins but just remembering Graves of the Fireflies makes me wanna cry so no, we are not using Graves of the Firefly in this one unless the AU has Desmond save the kids. 

I gotta end it there because if I don’t, I’ll be stuck here thinking of AU ideas for every Studio Ghibli film I’ve watched and I’m pretty sure I watched almost all of them. God, I wanted to make a Nausicaa Valley of the Winds AU but all I can think of are the Templars using ancient weapons to control the world and Desmond being Nausicaa. That’s as far as I got.

[dasozelotvonnebenan]

6, 15, 25 for Aerana AND the OC(s) currently taking up a lot of space in your mind 👀

I have been thinking about the co-mmanders again, so I'll throw in those when relevant.

6. What combat situation are they better suited for? Can they handle a 1v1 fight or do they prefer to have someone always on their side? How do they deal with larger-scale combat and what's their role in it (frontlines/leading the charge, backline/support, as far from it as possible, etc)? What happens if they are ambushed or outnumbered? Is there any situation that stressed them particularly?

Aerana: Should not be in any combat situation. She gets sick at the sight of blood and can't control her magic at a sufficient strenght. She should be sitting somewhere indoors looking at a holographic projection of the area telling people where to go.

Commander Aluen: Best suited to fight against large groups on her own, simply because she is big and strong enough to take out multiple enemies in one swing. Her real heart is in tactics though, she stays out of fighting unless her strength is really needed.

Commander Wurmslayer: Right at home on the frontlines. Excellent teamwork, very aware of his surroundings and very quick to figure out how the people around him tend to move.

Commander Fenquin: Talented Duellist and as such best in single combat, though don't be surprised when he uses his shadow magic to punch much above his weight in group engagements.

Commander Posh: They consider themselves a scientist and wouldn't seek a fight ever, but of course working for the pact doesn't always give them the freedom to stay away from that. This is their enemies greatest boon, because Posh's portal magic enhanced marksmanship makes them probably the most dangerous of the commanders.

Commander Steelforge: Prefers to work in a group, magically enhancing their weaponry, or tending to the tanks and siege weaponry. Absolutely capable of making a stand on his own too though.

15. How powerful is their magic compared to their peers? How do they feel about it? Is it their limit?

Aerana: Excellent person to ask this about. This is a complicated topic. Aerana has trouble controlling the flow of magic. Even with strong foci she only dares use very weak magic, barely enough to hurt anyone. Anything more, and she simply lets loose at full power until she falls unconscious from exhaustion, often further hurting herself in the process.

Commander Fenquin: Not powerful, but extremely adept at utilising it to it's fullest potentional. A little shadowstepping goes a long way if you know how to integrate it into your fighting.

Commander Posh: Mesmer Collective level powers and the intellect to use them very efficiently.

Commander Steelforge: Averagely powerful, but implemented in an unusual way which makes it hard to compare.

25. Do they use a weapon or magic unique to them/that's not present in-game? If so, how does it work?

Aerana: Uses air magic as a welding tool.

Commander Aluen: Well she is a Vinetooth Prime shaped

Commander Wurmslayer: Still uses weapons while Wolf shaped

Commander Fenquin: Shadowsteps only work in shadows

Commander Posh: Dual Pistols that work kind of like mesmer rifle

Commander Steelforge: Elementalist magic enhanced engineer weapons.

[papabirdurskeks]

I'd like to know your opinion on a thought surrounding the precursors I had. A lot of people have speculated that unveiling has been retconned or is just witness propaganda, but I posit that unveiling is a Theodicy, an explanation as to why there is evil in the world when something as powerful as a god exists, [the traveler, the veil, paracausality at large]

This would also mean that, compared to a Christian framework, the terraformer at the beginning of entelechy [I've only just began reading] is something akin to a theological Satanist in the eyes of precursor society

To be honest, I am very much in the same boat with you when it comes to the thoughts surrounding Unveiling.

It feels to make more sense to view it as a probable religious text of sorts for whomever created the book than to just simply keep it in the dark as a lore drop of Character A and B interacting in full. And the more I look into it, the more it feels as such. At least, in my eyes it does. And that is pretty normal to have in a universe where lore and world building are as big as this. Little bits and pieces of an unknown culture/society may have written this text to again, as you said, explain the existence of evils and chaos in this universe as there is a means that there are blessings, miracles, etc. After all, the Traveler was always deemed as a sort of god and religious figure of sorts among various species in Destiny. What's to say that other things or entities similar to the Traveler could not be viewed in the same light? Sentient species, by heart, will always want a sort of logical explanation to the unknown, especially when an answer can't be proven or given scientifically or by any means that a truthful answer will make sense to them.

Plus, as mentioned before, if like a religious text and people within Precursor society having issue with what they say or read, it is akin to our society and how we hold religions in general too. The proposed terraformer could either be viewed in light more akin to an atheist or agnostic as opposed to a Satanist if making comparison to human society and its views on religion. But again, we get so little and few lore drops in between that it's really hard to make out exactly what is truly going on in full!

Sadly, people are very quick to jump to conclusions of it being one or the other, but they also tend to forget that some things WILL change in a story line over the course of ten years BUT Bungie does have a plan for a good chunk of their lore and what is connected here and there. And while I myself am still not 100% on what to really think of the whole thing, I like to leave it up to interpretation and make the best of what I can get out of it. And with recent lore drop from Bungie, it does pose a lot of interesting and probable information of Precursor society, though I do have a few knit picks here and there about some of its set up. But that's just me, haha.

Whatever the real reason is behind this lore book, I am sure there is much more than meets the eye. OR maybe it's not that deep and we are being fooled and blindsided by the surprise we may encounter later down the line? And that, to me, is what makes unraveling the lore of this universe so fascinating overall! You never quite know what might happen!

There still is a lot of time to wait between us and the Final Shape! Plus, whatever else happens after that we may get! It's all in the matter of patience.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me, anon! Always fun to think and chat on the possibilities of lore!

[scazrelet]

Art Theory: The Torso is a Clawfoot Bathtub

This is a bit of an experiment. This is a mirror of my most popular Ko-Fi post, now in full form here on Tumblr (though it does look better there with all the images properly sized and the text centered and etc etc). If it gets enough eyeballs I’ll mirror the other ones too. Now, without further ado...

Due to the popular demand of like... a couple people, I will be going over how THE HUMAN TORSO IS LIKE A CLAWFOOT BATHTUB. But first, a story. When I was still just a wee babby artist I would wander into the local library and pick up art books and be confronted with all of the in-depth anatomy images and feel a bit, well... overwhelmed.

And it's not as if I'm a dumb person or anything. It just never really made any real sense, not in a way that was meaningful to me. I struggled to retain it, unlike with other subjects, which of course confused me even more.

In hindsight I see now that it was like trying to memorize the parts of a car engine, how they all looked visually, where they were placed spatially (in 3D nonetheless), without knowing how a car operates or how all the parts work together in motion.

Which is a bit ridiculous. In any case, since I didn't have much interest in drawing western style comic superheros with musculature that looks like it's been vacuum sealed by their skin I spent a good amount of time just ignoring it and sneaking by, using a lot of shorthand and doing practices drawing from life. And, to be fair, I did learn a lot like that.

(Thanks for your contribution to the arts, Rob Liefield. I don't like feet either.)

Which brings us back to torsos. So when you look at a torso you can visually see there are features, like pecs and belly buttons, but their relationship to the internal structure is not immediately apparent.

(Me drawing in high school, probably.) So what ends up happening there is you just end up sort of... putting stuff where you best guess it kind of belongs. And sure, sometimes it's a really educated guess, and can be hella convincing. I tend to notice this most with collarbones. I can tell when an artists has learned largely through shorthand and idioms when their collarbones are just sort of floating around doing their own thing, basically acting as decoration on the chest without suggesting any greater purpose.

So what changed? And what does this have to do with bathtubs?

Well, I had a few paradigm shifts. To put it more simply, I realized I am a very conceptual and relational thinker. Anatomy never stuck with me because it never "clicked." So my success came from starting with big concepts and adding increasing levels of complication as I became ready for them. Pieces falling into place bit by bit.

Like a car, for instance, is a vehicle that runs on a series of explosions. Which is kind of badass. These explosions, in turn, are caused by pistons which rotate in time, which is kept going by... weird shaped gears and belts and pulleys... sparks... compression... well that's about it for my knowledge of engines.

*I have since been informed that it is the spark plugs that make the explosions and the explosions that power the movement of the pistons. I think it was clear by my diagram of a car that I am not well versed in automobiles. 

So what is the bathtub about? This is literally all I came here for.

Ok, ok... So the bathtub is a conceptual metaphor that helps an artist understand the structure of the torso. Cool. So, to break that down... It's easy to think of the body in terms of a column. A series of objects supported by the object below. That makes sense, right? At heart we are, essentially, the Michelin man.

(★ ☆ ☆) Except not at all. Unlike palm trees, pyramids, and economic class systems we are not, in fact, a series of parts dependent on the parts beneath them. And we knows this. I know this, you know this, we've all seen spooky skeletons before, but for some reason artists consistently fail to internalize it. The issue being that we are still just mammals, just mammals that walk around funny. And Mammals are basically flesh tents. But... less horrifying than that phrase suggests.

(Like this but skin.) Essentially your standard cat or dog is holding up its spine with its four legs and then its body is hanging from that support structure created by the spine. The body is not being held up from below by the legs. And that's a fairly crucial distinction as it turns out. The muscles of the legs connect to the spine(ish), and the ribcage hangs down from the spine, making a nice tidy sack to hold all the insides where they are supposed to be.

And humans? Well we're all evolved from previously four legged critters. 

(We're really just some jumped up fancy rats.) Which means we follow a very similar diagram - but with alterations to account for a bipedal stance.

WHICH BRINGS US TO BATHTUBS.

So, take this weird upright mammal and break it down into very basic blocks.

(I can draw better but I refuse.) Got some hips, a spine, a ribcage, just like a cat but vertical. So, again, all the focus is on supporting the spine, specifically. Which is why our arm muscles still largely connect to our back (except, like, your pecs which are literally contracting and yanking your arm bones forward which is metal AF).

So, like an umbrella designed in hell, we are actually bags of meat hanging from our spines. And that "decorative" collarbone? Literally holding up a ton of meat draped over it so we can continue to move our arms.

Which 🎉🎉🎉 BRINGS US TO THE BATHTUB🎉 🎉🎉

( F***in told you. ) It's not a perfect metaphor since usually the curtain rod is held up by other supports besides just the shower head (it's literally called a head this is such a great metaphor) but give me a little slack. The ribcage is like the curtain, held up by the spine of the showerhead, and the hip bones are the bowl of the bathtub, within which are lovingly nestled... all the intestines. And stuff. This metaphor helps an artist conceptualize the human structure, so they can start applying further degrees of knowledge, like muscles and motion and afsGkljSAKjhgfajhs hands.

But I specifically said a clawfoot bathtub you say pedantically? Well...

I didn't stutter. It is a CLAWFOOT BATHTUB. Specifically.

And not just for some reason like "oh because it has feet." (OK like maybe a little but not only, alright?) So let's talk about hips.

Now muscles work by contracting, something I passingly mentioned before (didn't think that would be on the test, did ya?) so to create motion the better generally contracts a muscle that has ends tied to two bones.

(Hips. You might already see where I'm going here.) That's why we don't resemble ball jointed dolls. Due to *insert complicated mechanical reason based on leverage, pulleys, walking, flexibility, and so on* we, again, aren't just objects stacked on top of each other like dishes.

(I only chose this image because it sounds like a band name.) So, as it turns out, rather than balls and sticks and vague underwear shapes, there is another pretty stellar way to consider the leg hip connection area.

Excuse my atrocious rendition of it here, but I assume you get the jist. Two turkey drumsticks tagged onto Lego Bionicle pegs jammed into a pair of hipster undies, with some amorphous fleshy bits spackled in there.

( I am very serious right now. ) So, I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but this shape very much resembles...

And that, my dear friends is why the human torso is a clawfoot tub. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enjoyed this post? Find more tutorials and drop me a tip on my Ko-Fi Want art help with something else? Critiques and reviews? Just to chat and share? Join my discord. Hate this? Day ruined? ME TOO B

[zmediaoutlet]

So um reading your latest and that throwaway line about Dean insisting it not be ~Cas~ but what really stuck with me was Sam being abs certain that Cas would do it and loves Dean. Made me really curious about where *your* canon (in the vein of wincest/gencest ofc) Cas is? I actually liked him in early seasons. Side note but it is so funny that Sam is always kind to Cas but abs resents anybody else like Benny, Crowley etc like all of these love your brother Sam what even?

happy wincest wednesday! (I'm counting this, lol.)

My canon Cas is pretty much the Cas I see in the show -- devoted to Sam and Dean, but let's be real, mostly to Dean, and who loves Dean in the way he knows best. But that doesn't mean that Dean reciprocates, at least not in the way Cas might forlornly hope.

I also really liked early seasons!Cas -- strange creature! actually alien in its feelings and thoughts! -- but I don't dislike him in the later seasons. Some of his plotlines... could use some work, and it was very obvious that he was being kept around for meta reasons as opposed to reasons that made more sense for the story. But! Characters can't help what their writers do. Setting all meta stuff and fandom wars and real world cringe aside, I was really fascinated by how Cas's characterization kept getting more human as a kind of... "liquid takes the shape of its container" story. And Cas was clearly fascinated by/devoted to/fond of Dean, and what do humans feel, when that's how their relationship with another person works? It makes total sense to me, really.

That said, and to repeat -- that doesn't mean Dean reciprocates. In this particular wincest world, and many others that are of the type that I write, I think Dean's intensely aware of masculine interest in him (much as he is with female interest), but with men there's an overlay of awareness of power dynamics and danger. There are a few moments in s4 and s5 where Dean's genuinely scared of Cas -- Cas is an angel! that's scary! -- but then when Cas transforms into their... kinda lame little friend, there's a switch that happens in how Dean treats him. It's not the respect of power -- it's not even really friendship, even though it takes the shape of camaraderie. Their relationship is really odd. It has its best chance, in s6 or so, but then of course Cas goes and ruins it -- and in a wincest world, and particular a world where Dean's ~queer, and particularly in a world where Dean's done sex work and knows what a certain kind of man wants from him: Cas has exactly zero chance. (If he even knew how to ask, in s6.)

As far as Sam: I think Sam also knows, more or less, that Cas has zero chance. Crisis of confidence in s8 aside (which was more about his own guilt than actual envy/jealousy), Sam knows that he is #1 in Dean Winchester's heart and always will be. Whether he'd put a physical element to Cas's feelings or not, I think he also sees that Cas is focused on Dean (I mean, the 'more profound bond' thing is true, even if it's been driven into the ground), and he knows that Dean finds that primarily weird, and with all that... he can afford to be kind. No sense treating someone badly when they're absolutely not a rival. Plus, he's actually better friends with Cas than Dean is, most of the time. With Benny or Crowley (or John, ahem), there's no friendship there, and Sam's still pretty sure that Dean won't pick them over him, but -- he doesn't do well when he thinks Dean's devotion might be split. Devotion to Cas... doesn't really enter into it. Sorry, Cas.

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Neuromarketing Unleashed: How Brain Science Shapes Ad Campaigns

Introduction

In the dynamic world of marketing, where creativity meets science, neuromarketing emerges as a powerful force. By blending principles from neuroscience, psychology, and marketing, neuromarketing dives deep into the intricate workings of the human brain. In this blog post, we’ll explore how brain science shapes advertising campaigns, with a spotlight on the fascinating field of neuromarketing.

Decoding Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing is a growing field that focuses on a particular set of strategies, which, in turn, helps us understand the consumer mind. Think of archaeologists who have sardown skills, digging up ancient ruins observationally to understand the written secrets of civilizations that existed in the past. Additionally, neuromarketers capitalize on sophisticated technologies to identify deep-seated ideas and emotions beneath the surface, and these are significant catalysts for the behavior of customers. That comes as this map, which is guiding marketers directly to the heart of decision-making, would not only allow them to address their message and products on a personalized level, but in fact, they would be able to give it a deeper connection with the individuals beyond the boundary of their awareness.

The Tools of Neuromarketing

To explore the neural pathways behind consumer choices, neuromarketers wield sophisticated tools:

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): Noteworthy is that it is a noninvasive method that registers real-time brain function by measuring the flow of blood. It shows which brain areas are observed when subjects are exposed to marketing stimuli.

Electroencephalography (EEG): EEG monitors electrical activity in the brain, thus offering researchers knowledge about emotional reactions as well as concentration levels. It plays a role in the process of marketers deciphering the fact of engagement from the content available.

Crafting Effective Neuromarketing Campaigns

1. Clarity and Simplicity

Neuromarketing emphasizes clarity. Keep your communication resources intelligible; refuse to flood the audience’s brain with information. For instance, the campaigns or apps Cbolged delivered condensed and meaningful messages in the shortest time.

2. Urgency and Emotion

Sense the urgency. Elevate your low-time offers or unique packages. We can make an appeal to the heartstrings, and our brain appreciates the emotional area. "Buy Now" and "Subscribe Today" CTAs are what can be called the "engagement model".

3. Visual Storytelling

Our brains are processing pictures much faster than average reading speeds. In order to deliver this virtual reality, the use of beautiful pictures and popular videos can create a remarkable impression. Their campaigns, which run on TV, digital online media, and videos, deliver one more feature, namely platitudes, which people latch on to and remember.

4. Personalization

Make sure your videos, images, and especially texts are edited in order to suit various user tastes. Neuro-marketing tries to find the parallel minds of these heterogeneous groups of people and the objective reactions of their brains. The campaign mailer has customized signature addresses for its recipients. Together with it, in particular, it increases retention.

Apppl Combine: Where Science Meets Creativity

Apppl Combine, a winner of many awards and offering accounts without limits, advises its clients to integrate neuromarketing into their campaigns using the tools provided. Apppl combine, which specializes in the business with 25 years or more experience. From the creation of vivid, informative, and high-impact content this company will offer, this fact gives you a competitive edge among other content-creating companies. Adding pictures, links, and vision banners doesn't only enhance the attractiveness of the platform; they also enable the user to choose the right course of action—for instance, make an appointment, read more, etc.—all of which translate into a higher conversion rate and engagement level.

Conclusion

Neuromarketing is the compass that guides us through the intricate neural pathways of consumer behavior. As Apppl Combine continues to blend science and creativity, it invites you to take action—explore, engage, and unlock the power of neuromarketing.

Explore the fascinating world of neuromarketing with Apppl Combine! Contact us to learn more.

[nickgerlich]

Proud As A Peacock

I love to use metaphors when I teach, because they are powerful word pictures that can often do far more than words themselves. For example, in my Consumer Behavior class, I always start off by telling students they have two suitcases and a backpack with them at all times.

Even if they aren’t going anywhere.

The puzzled looks on their faces give way to nods of understanding fairly quickly once I explain that this baggage is the stuff we tote along inside our heads, knowingly or unknowingly, every time we shop. I suppose you could extend the metaphor and say we take these items with us everywhere we go, even when we’re not shopping, which would be true. I’m more concerned with the buyer behavior, though.

Back to the luggage: The first suitcase is filled with sociological artifacts, things like culture, gender roles, norms, expectations, social sanctions, and so forth. Where we live, and where we were raised, shape us in ways we cannot begin to count.

The second suitcase is filled with psychographic constructs, like our personal beliefs, motives, attitudes, and so forth. These are intrinsic, whereas the first suitcase is extrinsic, and these, too, influence our buyer behavior. Are you a “Buy American” kind of person? That is an attitude that predisposes you to buy only American brand name vehicles, even though they may have more foreign content in them than a Toyota Camry made in Kentucky.

Lastly, the backpack contains all of our demographics, the things that are countable. Some of these things are immutable, like race, ethnicity, and our birth sex. Notice I danced around that last one carefully, because gender expression is another thing completely. Some of these factors change over time, such as our household composition (married, divorced, children, etc.) and age. We cannot turn back the hands of time (oooh….another fine metaphor!).

And it is age that is our topic du jour. “Finally,” they say. DrG was a real windbag this morning getting to his point, amirite?

Remember when Peacock streamed an NFL Playoff game a couple of weeks ago? Many folks lost their minds and complained loudly, but when the dust settled, viewership was noteworthy: more than 21 million watched the game on Peacock. But it is in the aftermath that even more important numbers were distilled: The median age of viewers was about 10 years younger than for similar NFL Playoff games.

If the NFL script writers—you know, those people the conspiracy theorists are still contending the whole thing was a charade meant to throw a presidential run—were aiming at a younger demo, they could not have done a better job. And I say “Job well done!” We all know how to reach them now. Forget linear TV. Streaming is the ticket.

Of course, there were other nuggets to be mined as well. There was significantly more out-of-home viewing, meaning that a lot more people watched the game at sports bars. And in terms of demographics, the distribution shifted to the left—meaning younger—significantly. In the 18-34 demo, viewership was up 67%, while in the overall 18-49 group, viewership was up 44%.

And then it turns dark. In the 50 and up group, viewership dropped like the temperature does here after a blue norther passes through. Last year the 50+ demo accounted for 60% of viewers, while this year it was only 46%.

Basically what the analysts discovered is that younger people are more likely to stream their TV, something we have seen play out with all the cord-cutting of the last decade. And older viewers, bless our hearts, are just grumpy traditionalists who don’t like change so much. Present company excluded, of course.

Which brings up an important question: In your quest to reach a younger demo, the folks who have lower numbers in their backpack of existence, do you start ignoring those who have higher numbers? I have had this discussion many times lately with my younger brother (I am 65, and he turns 60 in a couple of months). He is adamantly opposed to streaming, although he is fine with his YouTube TV and regional Bally Sports. He refuses to start shelling out money for Netflix, Max, Peacock, et al. And Amazon Prime’s Thursday night football? Forget about it. That’s a big no there also, because he doesn’t shop there, much less pay $139 a year to go Prime.

To each their own, I guess, but eventually self-imposed marginalization will leave you with very few choices. Furthermore, as much as we Boomers love to brag on ourselves and have enjoyed being societal darlings since 1946, we are slowly fading into the sunset. We’ll all be gone soon enough.

Thus, it looks like the NFL has set its sights on younger demos, the people who have many years ahead of them, and who have happily adopted the new way of consuming media. Sports and news, as I have said before, are about the only vestiges of linear television worth watching, and the streaming giants want in on it. Don’t believe me? In the past two weeks, Netflix has inked a deal with WWE, and the unlikely trio of Disney, Warner Bros, and Fox announced they are forming a super streaming sports app this fall.

I get it. Even though Boomers hold about 53% of the wealth in this country, we’re not spending it like younger folks spend their money. We may travel if we are healthy, but the best of our consuming days are behind us. Yes, we have money, but we’re holding.

I not only get it, but I am good with it. I have seen this phenomenon too many times in my own life, mostly while viewing people older than me simply refusing to change anymore. I realize that change is unsettling for some, and I suppose even I will reach an age at which I say, “I’ve had enough.” I hope that’s the day before I die, though.

As for Peacock and all the streamers rushing to offer sports, I say go for it. There’s no future in getting old, and you have to go where the customers are, baggage and all.

Dr “Take My Money” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[readingsbylibramc]

birth chart reading for @closingthoughts

hello! welcome to your reading. I’m gonna give you a quick overview of what I’m going to analyze about your natal chart. feel free to ask me anything if something isn’t clear, of course. you’ll find out your dominants’ influence on your persona, your physical appearance, impression on others and the way you approach the world; your ego, identity, the real you; your reactions, your desires, inner emotions; your way of expressing your feelings, your mind and ideas; your desires and approach to love; your energy tank, instincts and temperament; in-depth analysis of each house with their rulers and analysis of heavy aspects; love life + soulmates/karmic partners interpretation; your relationship with your friends; your family life; your approach to career and work in general + possible jobs suggestion; your style, fashion sense analysis; life purpose and past life description; basic transits’ analysis to describe your current mood and, last but not least, your secret skills, how to make the most out of your soul and manifest what you desire based on your birth chart.

🦋 chart shape, dominants

your chart is a splay shape, meaning that your planets are located randomly in different groups in your chart. people with this type of chart are usually very talented at different things. they can focus their attention on different matters, from family, to work, to love. everything is important for you, and you try to live your life to the fullest. you may be particularly talented at things that require action, it doesn’t matter whether it’s physical or mental. you may be very good at sports, dancing… or maybe you’re good at leading, you could easily be the boss at your work place. since you’re interested in so many things, you could easily be skilled at all of them to be honest. my advice would be to pick the hobby that is most important for you and care about it more than the others. that’s because people with this chart usually tend to do so many things that they may lack precision. it’s better to give all of yourself to what’s important for you.

your dominant planets are the sun, pluto and uranus. you are probably quite creative, or at least you have a passion for creative outlets; you may like music, reading, cooking, etc. you may be a trendsetter among your peers, or you may even become pretty well-known in your field. you're driven by a strong dose of ambition that makes you capable of achieving all of your goals.

your dominant sign is scorpio. you may have trust issues and be quite of a loner, yet once you commit to someone, you'll be in for a long ride. you are very deep, both mentally and emotionally. you may struggle with power control, as you may have the perception that people are trying to take advantage of you due to your insecurities. because of that, you may also get quite possessive and bossy.

your dominant element is fire. you have a warm heart, even though it may be covered by your confidence and independence. in fact, you always strive for the first place. people may be intimidated by your presence, as you're a serious competitor. thanks to this competitive nature of yours you may be very positive and optimistic, making you a good and supportive friend/partner.

🌎 ascendant in scorpio, 15° / 2nd decan ruled by pluto and neptune

your scorpio rising makes you quite pessimistic; you see the world as a place full of dangers and malice, hence it’s hard for you to trust people. this may be translated into fear; you’re either scared of other people, and hence you look more vulnerable, or maybe you’re the one who prefers to look intimidating to avoid problems. you can sense others’ emotions very well, so they have no secrets for you. you can perceive any single emotion in people just by looking in their eyes. while this is good, as you understand who’s best for you and you’re aware of the dangers you may face, scorpio risings tend to take advantage of this and be a little manipulative. this awareness of the world makes you look mysterious and secretive, as if you always know something more than others (and you probably do). pluto is also the planet of transformation, and you might experience a lot of rebirths throughout your life, both physically and emotionally. you might lose/have lost a big amount of weight, for example, which makes you look like a different person. or maybe, you like dying your hair of a different colour, giving you a different vibe. you wish you could be softer and show your inner emotions more easily, as scorpio is a water sign. the thing is, since it’s a fixed sign, it’s hard for you to be flexible and adapt to changes. when they happen, they’re usually out of your control as they’re literally life-changing. physically, I see you having a square face with high cheekbones. overall, your bones are very prominent and you’re naturally skinny. your eyes are extremely magnetic, and they could also be quite big and/or round. you might have either very pale skin, or just an olive skintone. sometimes, even a mix of both. your hair, eyebrows and lashes are very thick and dark too. you're at least of average height, and you could have something smaller on your face, like a small nose, eyes, lips etc. you may also have very thick hair.

scorpio rising square aquarius moon: you may have trouble understanding others’ real feelings for you. you may feel as if everyone hates you, like everyone is talking behind your back when it’s the opposite. you’re particularly sensitive about others’ view and opinion of you, you may get deeply hurt when people criticize you. you could have the tendency to act differently than you usually do, in order to preserve your feelings. this is obviously a toxic behaviour, that fills you up with your own stress and doubles it. due to that, you may become very moody and nervous, ending up hurting others yourself. or maybe, it’s the other way around; your feelings are so overwhelming that you can’t hide them, and that could put you in embarrassing, unpleasant situations. you may show all of your emotions on your face, ready to be read. the way to cope with this placement is finding someone similiar to you; someone who’s trust-worthy, and very sensitive and empathetic too. someone who’d never judge you for you think or say, and that would always help you becoming the best version of yourself. someone that understands you, without having to explain all of your behaviours and habits.

scorpio rising square leo venus: this aspect makes you more sociable and prone to interact with people. you’re also most probably very attractive, people are naturally drawn to you. the downside of this placement is that you may suffer from self-esteem issues, as you really care about others’ impression of you. maybe you’re a little bit clumsy too. it’s easy for you to gain popularity, but be careful as it’s not always good. popularity brings scandals too, so people you see in your everyday life could possibly start gossips around you. the good thing about this aspect is that you emanate loyalty, so you usually choose loyal and trust-worthy partners. this placement may also bring issues and problems in marriage with your future partner, even though I don’t think it’s your case. your venus is well-placed, so I don’t think there’ll be serious problems.

🌞 sun in virgo, 24° / 3rd decan ruled by mercury and venus

you probably have a reputation for always being calm and elegant, as you try to avoid conflicts as much as possible. you're very smart and insightful, and you strive for perfection; in a room, you always want to be the best, whether it's fashion-wise, or maybe at work or school. you're a perfectionist, you can't bear being #2. to be perfect, you don't bring others down, though. that's because you want to prove your power to yourself, not to others. it's like a way to increase you low self-esteem. in fact, it depends a lot on your achievements; if you don't meet your expectations, you start going through a hard time of insecurity and struggles. you find beauty in aesthetically-pleasant things, therefore you care a lot about hygiene and possibly about looks too. for example, your house probably looks very neat, and you chose your furniture wisely. you clean it everyday, you can't stand dust or any bad smells. you're also very organized, but you tend to base your life too much on a schedule. you love communicating. you're also very introspective, and you're fond of art and creativity in general. you're very critical, both of yourself and of others. you don't do it with malice, though, but you want to frequent people that try to be at their best all the time, just like you after all.

virgo sun square gemini mars: you’re extremely passionate about the things you love, you strive to be perfect at them, and your perfectionist virgo nature confirms this. this could make you quite competitive, as your virgo sun wants to succeed and be always right. I feel like you don’t really enjoy being in the spotlight; you’d rather avoid conflicts, or at least not be the center of them. yet, sometimes it’s hard for you not be aggressive. I don’t think it happens often, but you can be very blunt and rude if someone truly gets on your nerves. this, paired up with your uranus dominance, makes you sort of dramatic.

🌙 moon in aquarius, 24° / 3rd decan ruled by uranus and venus

with the moon in aquarius, you must be very unpredictable. you’re the type to change your mind often, probably because you’re constantly coming up with new thoughts and theories since you’re so intellectually active. you seem emotionally cold, and you may actually be like that. but maybe, you feel so much all at once that at one point you need to detach from reality to calm down, ignoring your feelings. even though you have trouble showing this side of you, you’re deeply quite sensitive. you’re very creative and intelligent, even though you may risk to waste this potential of yours; in fact, I’ve noticed that most aquarius moons tend to put their intelligence aside because they’re way too rebel to keep up with it. it’s such a shame. perhaps, in school you didn’t really push yourself to the max, or overall you don’t give all of yourself to things that are not of your interest. you’re only a perfectionist with things you care about, and this could make you waste some of your potential. this placement also makes you extremely spiritual. you may have some sort of psychic talent, or at least you’re just very intuitive. you’re interested in finding out the truth in the world, and you’re willing to dive deep to uncover it.

aquarius moon opposite leo venus: there are contrasting feelings in your relationships with others; after all, your leo venus wants to commit to someone and be loyal to them. on the other hand, your aquarius moon wants to be independent. you don't want to feel tied to someone, you still need your independence. those two desires of yours probably contrast each other, stressing you out. you want a calm, almost boring relationship, but with this placement you can't seem to have one. your feelings and self-esteem may depend a lot on your relationships, not only with your lovers, but also with your friends. if someone isn't loyal to you, you immediately start blaming yourself. in your life you may lack intimacy, and while it may make you feel better at first, based on the rest of your chart you actually need someone on your side. you can't do everything on your own. you need to find someone that projects your ideals of love. if you need a free-spirit, go look for one. it may take you a while, but if you learn all the lessons you need to learn from your breakups, you'll be able to live a peaceful life with your spouse.

🗣️ mercury in libra, 20° / 3rd decan ruled by venus and mercury

you're very diplomatic! you always try to be nice and gentle with your words, you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. your tone of voice is extremely soft, sometimes it could even be hard to understand what you say, as you could naturally have a low voice. you're extremely balanced, you have amazing problem-solving skills as you're able to see both sides of an argument. it's natural for you to understand what's right and what isn't, and most of the time you're actually right. when you're with someone you're not really close to, you could even be the accommodating type who allows others to speak over your voice, or maybe you let others speak first as a gesture of kindness. I feel like with your aquarius moon you have very strong opinions, and you're actually particularly proud of them. luckily, this placement makes you able to communicate them with diplomacy. you could often get angry if someone tries to prove you wrong, but aside from that, you try to be very elegant and formal when you speak. you're probably not fond of cursing, or at least you try to appear as mannered as possible with people you're not comfortable around. last but not least, you're such a charismatic, smooth talker that you come off as davery persuasive. you're able to trick people with your words, which appear very diplomatic and calm.

libra mercury conjunct scorpio uranus: you have a very distinctive way of thinking and speaking. you don't like being like others, you don't follow trends. you're probably the trendsetter, and you may find confidence and pride in your ideas and opinions. some may even define you weird, but you have very strong beliefs that could actually be helpful for the world. you're quite 'ahead' of others from this point of view, you're able to find beauty in things without being influenced by others. for example, you may follow a fashion trend before it gets viral. you are able to come up with very innovative ways of solving problems, you're extremely creative. you may even be the type to invent your own words, or perhaps you love learning and reading new words, you have a wide vocabulary. you're also probably interested in science and any darker or logical topic, you want to use your words and theories to change something in the world. you want to leave an impact, maybe even help others through your mind. you have a very witty sense of humor, you most likely speak fluent sarcasm and you're also very astute. I would say that the only problem with this placement is that you may come off as a know-it-all. you're proud of your intellect, you can't help but show it off, but obviously others may be jealous of you or feel attacked.

libra mercury square leo saturn: this placement gives you limitations and lessons regarding the way you think and talk. it may be that you’re too shy to approach others and to say what you think, so you just don’t try. otherwise, if you actually take action and try to overcome this problem, you could get into trouble. that’s probably caused by the fact that you don’t really pay attention to your words. you’re quite straight-forward, and due to your scorpio energy you always seem as if you’re up for a fight. you may be particularly pessimistic, or maybe you lack confidence in social interactions due to these problems, which could be possibly caused by your parents, or perhaps interfer in your relationship with your family. in fact, you may argue quite often with others, and misunderstandings are also common. this is something that gets naturally better with time, but in order for it to happen you need to take action. you may for example start speaking with others more at work, anything that allows you to challenge your mind and voice, in order to make you gain experiences and become a master at it. many celebrities, once they mastered this hard aspect, got loads of success. you can do that too, you just need to work on it.

libra mercury opposite aries jupiter: this placement emphasizes your intellect. your mind is so broad that you can come up with different theories and philosophies, making you a sort of genius. you're probably good at memorizing things, and you could even have a photographic memory. yet, with this aspect, you may have trouble being consistent with your ideas. you may overestimate your needs and thoughts; for example, you may promise yourself to get all As in maths, then you get tired and bored and you end up getting Cs. same goes for your handwriting, for example: you may start writing in the best way possible, then you get lazy and end up writing in a sloppy way just to take notes. you also overthink a lot, and that causes you self-esteem issues. on the other hand, you're very open-minded and objective, as you look at the big picture. you'd do very well as a journalist, for example, or perhaps also as a judge of any kind. you may also be naturally skilled at foreign languages, you can mimic accents pretty well. you're probably also very poetic and / or wise, you're like a teacher for your friends.

❤️ venus in leo, 25° / 3rd decan ruled by the sun and mars

with leo venus you're very picky, as you have high expectations for your future partner. you always try to be at your best state, and you want those who surround you to be perfect too. it's hard for you to fall for someone, as you take everything in consideration: personality, physical appearance, fashion sense... it may look like it is too much, but once you find the right one that truly satisfies your standards, you're in for a long ride. you'll want to travel, live your life in the best way possible with the person you love. you look at them as if they were the brighest star in the sky, and you want to be seen like this as well. you may even be a bit clingy, but your partner needs to be aware of that. they can't repress your need for affection. you see love as a way to revive your inner child, you feel younger when you're in love. even though you want someone fun and outgoing, you also need someone ambitious, hard-working and generally serious when it comes to committing. there's no room in your life for flaky people.

☄️ mars in gemini, 18° / 2nd decan ruled by mercury and venus

you’re driven by the sense of intelligence. your intellect is your greatest strenght, it’s your energy tank. you’re interested in a bunch of things, and hence you may have trouble staying focused on one thing at the time. you probably have tons of hobbies, and you may end up not being much precise since you have tons of things that you have and want to do. you can’t stand boredom, you need your day-to-day life to be exciting and, above all, offer you something new to learn and / or experience. you probably fancy being very active: you go out often, you workout, you may also be the type to love partying and things like that. you’re extremely witty and curious, and you want to live your life to the fullest. you may often change your style, your opinions, maybe even your personality, and that could make you seem confusing and / or unreliable.

🏡 houses

your 1st house is in scorpio. uranus is also sitting in this house. you fulfill your ego when you deal with intense situations that satify your needs. that is, you find strenght in getting out of your comfort-zone. even though you may be afraid of it. you’re an enigma: you know everything about others, but others know nothing about you. it’s your way to protect yourself from eventual enemies, as you’re prone to have a few of them throughout your life. with uranus in this house, you’re very electric and noticeable, you probably appear as someone quite edgy too. it’s hard for you to blend into society, and hence you may end up not having many close friends, especially during your early years. in fact, you may find yourself befriending people with your same interests, it’s very important for you. you may have frequent mood swings, and you could get nervous quite easily. you probably despise authority, in fact you’re quite reckless yourself, but in life you need to understand that it is often necessary for the world. you have big goals for your future, you may even want to be famous. they’re basically the centre of your life, it revolves around your goals and achievements. you’re naturally charismatic, you may have lots of friends or at least it’s easy for you to get known in your community. you may also be very attached to your friends, you could have a very long-lasting, almost family-like bond with them.

your 2nd house is in sagittarius. neptune is also placed there. you tend to overindulge in 2nd house matters, hence you may spend too much money, you could overeat, or even overestimate your own skills. maybe, you’re too confident, or perhaps it’s the opposite. that is, you underestimate your worth way too much. you could often experience sudden changes regarding money. since you spend so much, you may find yourself lacking money from time to time, therefore be careful to how you spend them. you may often find money around in your everyday life; for example, in front of your door lying on the ground. the best way for you to earn is working, and providing service to others in general. if you’re generous, people may thank you for that with material things.

your 3rd house is in capricorn. you enjoy listing and talking about your duties and goals. you’re the type to write down your tasks in your agenda, e.g. tidying up your room, feeding your plants etc. the problem with this placement is that you may struggle to take action, and procrastinate. or maybe, you could do the opposite and overwork yourself. no inbetween. also, when you were a child you probably started speaking later than other kids, or you speak so fast that you end up stuttering. your tone is calm and placid, while your voice sounds quite youthful, but still with a note of steadiness. you're funny, but your humor is more sarcasm-based. you're not intimidated easily; even when someone tries to argue with you, you don't back up from it. you may dive deep into your mind to find the right answer you to your problem. even if it takes you some time, you manage to find a solution.

your 4th house is in aquarius. your moon is also sitting in this house. when you were young, you probably didn’t feel at ease with yourself. you might have been the outcast, that one kid that stood out in the daycare. you probably didn’t have many friends either, but you weren’t that sad about it. you enjoyed playing, drawing and watching your favorite cartoons alone. you find emotional comfort and security in your home, in your parents and in just family in general. you used to be very attracted to arts when you were a kid, and you kept this love with you while growing up. maybe, you were the type of child to lie to your parents. withthe moon in this house, you probably feel comfortable and secure in your home enviroment. you can vent your worries to your family members. at first, you probably didn’t feel very close to your parents though. it’s a kind of affection and emotional security that you developed while growing up.

your 5th house is in pisces. you have a variety of talents and creativity, but that may possibly be covered from you at first. you’d do very well at stuff that involves art and drawing. in love, you’re attracted to artsy people; if they’re into art, singing, dancing etc. they’re your ideal of soulmate. you may be very fond of children, and you wish to have at least one in the future. also, since the ruler of your 5th house, neptune, is sitting in the 2nd house of money and finances, I feel like you may turn a hobby of yours into a job, or at least make some money out of it. or perhaps, you tend to educate yourself about economics as a hobby.

your 6th house is in aries. jupiter is also sitting in this house. you work hard to be the number #1 in what you care about, especially if your goals involve school, work, health etc. your days are usually quite busy, and you tend to overwork yourself. you find pleasure and energy in work, it's your way to feel free and independent, even it you may work under a boss. it's also where you put most of all your energy, you're very goal-oriented and you strive to be the best at whatever you do. you may also find a great job fast.

your 7th house is in taurus. in a marriage you seek security, both emotional and financial. you want a loyal partner that would never do anything to hurt you, and that has a wealthy job as well. intimacy and trust also matter a lot for you in a long-term relationship. you seek long-lasting relationships. you're very romantic, and this fixed influence gives you high standards for your partner, you stay back from players. you look for someone you can always count on, and that is willing to support you through thick and thin. it may take you a while to find someone worth to be your lover, but once you find them, you'll always be loyal to them as long as they're respectful. they're your most precious possession, hence you're very jealous and protective of them. if it becomes unhealthy for both you and your partner, it's surely an issue you have to solve, maybe together. you're also the type who likes to be spoiled by their lover, and wants to make lovely gifts as well. these gifts don't have to be expensive, even homemade things are fine. for example, you may melt at the thought of your significant other taking their time and do something exclusively for you, like baking a cake or writing a poem. little gestures that show you their love. in a potential partner, you also care about how they present themselves. I'm not necessarily talking about conventional beauty, but more on a self-care side. you like people who smell good, have a nice fashion sense and maybe people that are quite conceited too (obviously not to the point of narcissism).

your 8th house is in gemini. mars is also sitting in this house. you may frequently find yourself thinking about and studying occult/taboo topics, such as paranormal events, thrillers, tarots, astrology etc. you’re interested in finding out the truth, not only among your peers but in the whole world. you have a desire that all the malice that is hiding behind the government etc. gets exposed, even though you may be so interested in them that you could get used to it and end up overlooking them. mars in this house indicates that you’re an extremely goal-oriented person. you want to be the best at everything you do, not only to be better than others but also the best for yourself. you’re very astute, it’s impossible to trick you, and you always find a way to be in charge and get what you want. yet, you can get quite obsessed about your goals, that you could do extreme things to get what you want. in fact, people with this placement can even manipulate others, as they’re totally capable of doing that. people are naturally attracted to you, you have a way with words, and hence you’re always able to convince others into giving you what you want. but luckily, this doesn’t turn into manipulation, you probably don’t even realize this skill of yours, and hence you don’t use it to damage others. you are very persuasive, but you don't do it on purpose, you could actually be a little naive. when you get angry, you could actually get scary, though. your emotions are very intense, it’s hard to calm you down. you may be very sarcastic and aggressive with your words. you could hurt people, but you don’t do it on purpose. most of the time, you don’t even mean the things you say. you may also vent your anger with physical action, hence you could slam doors, punch or break things etc.

your 9th house is in cancer. someone close, important and intimate with you may teach you the biggest lessons in your life. you could also live abroad with your family, or become a teacher in a daycare/primary school. jupiter here indicates that you have a knack for philosophy, and you may be interested in foreign culture, music, fashion etc. with the ruler of the 9th house being in the 4th, you may live abroad with your family, or at least someone in your home environment can speak different languages. there may also be teachers in your family, and most of your values and philosophies were taught to you by your parents.

your 10th house is in leo. venus and saturn are also placed in this house. you want to be recognized and stand out. you may want to be a celebrity, or at least you want to be the one people look up to in your work place. you may be known for your successful career, maybe you may actually get popular easily. your identity revolves around finding a stable job and having a great income. also, this is a beneficial placement for people that want to be recognized/famous, as you naturally have the celebrity vibe and charisma to you. you're very ambitious and serious about your career and reputation. this placement may make it hard for you to achieve your goals at first, but it won't be a problem if you work hard. you might be a manager, a ceo, you probably cover an important role in your job/field. you may also work in a field related to the arts, such as fashion, cinema, music, or also in a hotel, in a restaurant... any place of amusement.

your 11th house is in virgo, with also your sun placed there. this placement, together with your heavy scorpio influence, makes you very picky with friends. you may frequent and feel happy with different people, but you only call friends a few of them. you also have friends with similiar ideals and approach to yours, hence it’s easy for you to get along as you see eye to eye. even though you may face some insecurities, you’re typically a strong-minded person. you strive for independence, as you focus your existence on your witty intellect. you have the ability to achieve great things, as your mind is literally revolutionary, even though you may struggle to make those projects concrete. you’re also quite stubborn, and you take particular pride about your ideals. you may feel offended when people disagree with you. or maybe, you don’t even say your opinions, because you could be aware of the weight of your words and you don’t want to hurt others, or you’re afraid of being judged. people may define you as cold, but you’re really not. you just struggle to look sweet like other signs, and your heavy scorpio energy doesn’t help either. you’re more detached, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have emotions.

your 12th house is in libra. pluto and mercury are also placed in this house. you find beauty in neptunian topics, such as astrology, spirituality, dreams, art etc. you may actually be quite skilled at things that involve beauty and aesthetics. you may also be afraid of being judged, especially for your interests and/or physical appearance. you probably lose yourself in your own thoughts very often, starting daydreaming instead of doing what you have to do. you’re very creative and artistic, and you’re also able to fully convey your emotions in your words, even though it may be perceived as confusing sometimes. that’s because not everyone is as empathetic as you are. on the other hand, you may have the tendency to lie, or just being confusing in any way. you may not always express what you want crystal clear, as you want to able to modify the story just in case you encounter some hardships. also, you never truly express your feelings, probably out of fear. probably, the way you elaborate your thoughts is also influenced by your family and the impact they had on you. you’re always vague, and you keep your private matters for yourself. you may have some escape tendencies to detach from reality; maybe, you use retail therapy as a coping mechanism. you could also oversleep, pray or maybe meditate to stop thinking about your worries for a while.

❤️ love life, soulmates

in love, you attract taurus, libra, pisces, sagittarius, aquarius, capricorn. your spouse probably has prominent leo/5th house placements, as well as some taurus/capricorn/2nd/10th house dominance too. you may meet them at work, they may be a colleague or even your boss; you may also meet them during a period of transition in your life, a time of violent changes. your children are probably going to have prominent pisces placements, or at least they’ll have pisces/water traits: they’ll be spiritual, calm, artistic and sleepy, yet they may also develop a rebel/emo attitude during their teenage years.

👶🏻 family life

your mother is probably a very caring person that knows how to stand up for herself when she has to, but she may struggle to do that. in fact, she looks very emotionally detached. she also has very strong beliefs that you inherited from her. your father is a bit softer and more romantic, he knows how to have fun and used to play a lot with you when you were a child. if you have siblings, they probably have prominent capricorn/aries/scorpio placements in their chart. you may fight a lot with them, and you may be quite possessive of each other. also, as I’ve already mentioned before, you and your family may live abroad, or least in a different city from your native one.

📊 career

you’re a very ambitious person, and hence I don’t see you being the type to scrap projects. especially with your saturn on the midheaven, you’re motivated to complete your works in order to show that you’re able to succeed, you want to be the best in what you do. I feel like the most suited career for you would be something that allows you to be in charge, to be your own boss as you know what’s best for you. you could also make a job out of an hobby of yours, maybe you could become a poet, a writer, an actress, a dancer, etc. you may also work in a field related to economics and finances, maybe in a bank. maybe, you may pair your economics skills to something more creative, for example you may work as a luxury manager, in marketing of arts, music, fashion, and so on.

👗 fashion sense, style analysis

keyword for your wardrobe: black. every leo venus loves black, it's probably my favorite love story. after all, it's such a versatile color! it can be both badass and classy, how can I blame you. you may also have a thing for anything that looks luxury and high quality; you probably enjoy wearing designer brands, especially in your belts and bags. you may also like wearing fitted clothes, even just simple skinny jeans or tight tops. aside from black, you could as well use white and bold colours like gold, hot pink etc. also, you may as well be into pastel colors, and you could like following fashion trends.

👁️ past life, life purpose

in your past life, the focus was on your relationships with others. maybe, you had troubles with self-esteem and identity in general and you used to depend on others. you had to work hard and finally understand how to build healthy relationships with others to fulfill your past life purpose. hence, this lifetime your focus will be yourself. even though at first you might feel quite insecure, this lifetime you're here to develop this matter. after all, saturn will give you many lessons in order to transform yourself and grow into a better person.

🤔 major transits analysis / december 23

saturn is currently touching your moon in a tight conjunction. this placement is definitely tricky, as the universe is basically testing your emotional strenght. you may be undergoing unpleasant situations that may bring you stress or even depression, perhaps in your family or home environment since this conjunction happens in the 4th house. as a result, you may start becoming more cold and careless, as a way of shielding yourself from pain. while this may be a painful and lonely time to endure, saturn is here to teach you lessons and help you grow up. your struggles now are going to be your strength in the future. perhaps, you might have always been quite solitary or reserved; saturn wants you to step out of your comfort-zone and be more sociable. this placement is teaching you not to be afraid of your feelings. embrace them, deal with them, and make sure to accept them, as you can't change them, you can just allow them to evolve into something favourable for you.

🧿 manifest what you want, secret skills

you’re very in contact with your spirituality, making you more sensitive to higher affirmations. you have the ability to visualize what you want. that’s the key to activate the loa: travel with your fantasy, and visualize what you desire. do you want a new car? imagine yourself doing road-trips on that car. a new phone? visualize yourself making calls with that phone. you can even literally create a story involving those topics and it will come true. you can also help yourself by writing and listening to your own affirmations, maybe covered up by some music. in this way, you'll develop a more optimistic mindset and you'll be able to attract more positivity in your life. you just have to believe in your power!

this is the end! thank you again for booking a reading, hope it resonated with you :)

- libramc xx

[mikauhso]

Quick bit from me abt TF animation. I’m not a 3d artist, but I wanted to say something as to why I feel like I enjoy ES as much as, if not more than Prime. With Prime, it kinda felt like if the Bayverse were to get the proper treatment. Characters, writing, plot, the whole shebang. Expertly crafted, the bots and animation was sublime. But if you look at the humans, they’re not badly done, they just feel a bit like CG characters, especially contrasted against the bayverse-esque designs of the robot cast. High contrast, glorious textures, etc. on the robots while the humans all seem to have relatively similar texturing all around. Jump to Earthspark and how they handle animation. The bots lean more towards cartoony designs with larger, blockier shapes and less detail, but in return they fit a lot more with the simplified designs of the humans in the show, especially because we’re nowhere near being able to render photo-real humans in the long term for a kids animated show. And to be clear. I love Prime, it’s been my favorite animated Transformers media since it came out. I wanted to highlight how well I feel Earthspark does in terms of building cohesion and unity between its humans and bots visually.

On a separate note, can I talk about what I feel like sets ES apart from any other piece of Transformers media? Atmosphere and lighting. During the course of the show, we constantly see the robots’ eyes and other light sources get lens flares. It may not seem like a big thing, but seeing how much power though light in the eyes of the cybertronians really makes it feel like they’re filled with an energy foreign to this world. Couple that with the gorgeous 2d effects (which, if you don’t like them. Good for you) and you’ve got yourself a stew cooking. But by far one of the biggest things for me is the atmosphere that the crew lays over the bigger bots. You can see them almost fade into being parts of the background during a dramatic scene, because that’s how big they are. The scale and cinematography of this show is one of its strongest points, and I hope they lean hard into it if they get more episodes.

ALSO. One last thing, but I adore how this show handles its conflicts and complexity. Each episode’s primary conflict feels real and grounded in a part of growing up. The rebelliousness, the realism of a parent wanting nothing but safety for their kid, the want to share what you feel is special with your children. All of that grounds this otherwise bonkers concept with heart and soul. And the overall plots, with the mid-length side plots of the Decepticon breakout and Mandroid, and the overall background plot of the morals of the Transformers and imprisoning people for looking different without a second thought, that’s something really cool. And the fact that they gave Megatron his fangs back, not only as a fighter but as a revolutionary, is something really special to me. The show handles this really well, I feel, and is very careful to show Optimus trying his best, but still having to make the call on what he feels is right versus how we see the younger generations, untouched by war, practicing their hand at putting their assumptions aside and showing empathy first. (Granted, Swindle is a piece of shit and i love him for it, but the same goes for how they acted with Megatron).

[executiveibex]

me a week ago: huh, i thought for sure es’ episode would be the season finale... must be something big going on in pickman’s episode...

me this evening: oh wow, this episode is two and a half hours long... something big is going on in pickman’s episode...

me now: .......... well! Something Big sure did Go On in pickman’s episode!

[pandapenguinnn]

MONKIE KID S3 SPECIAL SPOILERS BEWARE!!!

Mk is one of the most mysterious characters in this show, and eventho he my fav character, his mysterious lore scares me, ESPECALLY after his encounter with LBD./  Throughout the series, we’re given hints to every character’s origin. Every major plot-important character has a backstory or a HINT about their origin in some way, shape or form. (for example, Wukong, Macaque, Sandy, Pigsy, Tang, Mei, etc.) Mk mentions NOTHING about his origin, not even his own real name.  But we have been given NOTHING about Mk. We don't even truly know why he was able to lift and use the staff. (or, another side theory, he’s somehow related to Wukong.)  . . .

I have a theory (of course, you’re free to agree or disagree) that Mk and LBD are somehow connected. During the pilot special of season 1, when mk is near the staff, my sister @annoyed-galaxy​ points out that whispers could be heard saying “Monkey king’s staff” or something like that to mk, like coaxing him to pick it up. Like it was his destiny. You could say it was more to the viewer, or hell, even for dramatic effect. But seeing that LBD has whispering echoes around her, AND she manipulates alot of things behind the scenes, it isnt far-fetched.  Also, in certain episodes, Mk’s eyes flicker blue after meeting LBD. Though other characters have met her, and yes their eyes have turned blue. But only if they're being controlled by her or given her power. Mk has experienced neither, yet there are scenes where his eyes briefly flicker blue and he gets images of LBD in his head.  Not only that, out of everyone in the specials, she interacts with Mk the most. He always seemingly gets ‘hit’ with whispers and echos from her. Mk always subtly freaks out when he’s near her, and she speaks to him out of everyone. Even saying her final words to him. You’d think she’d have way more to say to Wukong, or hell, even Tang, who is OBVIOUSLY related to the great monk in some way, the same monk that sealed her away.  But no, she chose Mk. Out of all of them. Her final words to him sent a shiver down my spine. Its like she sees a portion of herself inside Mk. She sees Mk’s motives damn-near resemble hers. Its like she has a shard of herself in Mk, like how Mei has a piece of the Samadhi fire in her. She even says both of their paths, though have good and understandable intentions, have the same end: pain.  I think Mk and LBD are related somehow, connected. Mk’s calmness was also eerie during that final scene too. He stressed and panics so easily, and yet during this whole special, he was calm. Honestly, too calm imo. I feel like eventually Mk is gonna break, because through all he’s went through in the special, he kept hope. Usually, its admirable. But idk, his persona during these specials felt unsettling to see at some points. He sees this traumatic stuff happening, and yet he continues to keep it together. I feel like in season 4, at one point, Mk is gonna become something he isnt proud of at all, and might even have to make a choice that will change his view on everything. Or even unlock a new power only unique to him.  LBD was such an important villain, and it feels like she burrowed herself in the heart of Mk the most. This definitely isnt going to be the last time we see or hear about her. The next time we do, I worry its gonna be because of Mk.   Because honestly, Who is Mk? 

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SO SORRY FOR THE LONG THREAD, JUST WANTED TO GET THESE THOUGHTS OUT!! 

[proud-mama-joyce]

We’re Not in Hawkins Anymore

…says the tagline of one of the teasers we got prior to S4. To many viewers that grew up watching The Wizard of Oz (1939), that rings a bell…

Many, many movies were listed on the Video Store Fridays list from the writers as sources of influence for Season 4. But the selection of this tagline points to a deeper connection between Stranger Things and The Wizard of Oz, particularly for this season.

In addition to the tagline above, there are so many possible connections between the information that we have and what we can find in The Wizard of Oz. Let’s try to lay out some objective references we’ve seen first:

“Behind the curtain”: In The Wizard of Oz, as Dorothy and her friends are in an audience with the terrifying, disembodied Wizard, Dorothy’s dog Toto pulls back a curtain to reveal that the Wizard is actually a man using electronics and smoke effects to project his likeness above them. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” he says, in an attempt to keep their focus on the illusion. In Season 2, as Murray discusses the strategy to leak information about Barb’s death, he tells her that the average citizens of Hawkins are “not wired like me and you…They don’t spend their lives trying to get a look at what’s behind the curtain” (referring to understanding the truth of how “The Man”/the people in power operate).

Suzie has a Wizard of Oz poster in her bedroom when we meet her in S3.

Matthew Modine has referenced Dorothy in a tweet: (“It was always within Dorothy’s power to return home”):

David Harbour has tweeted on at least two occasions directly referencing The Wizard of Oz:

One is a quote from Dorothy from the book, as she talks about wanting to get back to Kansas and her Aunt Em (credit to @kaypeace21​ for originally blogging the post where I found the tweet):

Another connects the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” with the Rainbow Room at Hawkins Lab (credit to @strangertheory​ for blogging the post where I found this image):

There’s clearly more going on under the surface here with these references. What do we find if we dig a little deeper comparing these two stories?  

Magic, Real and Contrived

Magic in Oz

Within Dorothy’s reality in Oz, there are two main ways magic is shown:

Innate magical ability displayed by witches (Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West)

False magic that actually turns out to be cons and illusions (the “magic” performed by the Wizard of Oz himself, revealed to be nothing but smoke and mirrors when the curtain is lifted)

This also applies to magical items: Dorothy’s ruby slippers contain real magical properties within Oz (which is why the Wicked Witch of the West wants them), but the items given to the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion—a diploma, a heart-shaped pocket watch, and a medal of courage—are simply external representations of the qualities they already possess.

In The Wizard of Oz, the Wizard is a con man, an ordinary man who landed in Oz and took advantage of others’ assumptions that he was a wizard. The Wizard’s “magic” ultimately proves useless to Dorothy and her friends. Dorothy is able to return home without the Wizard, using the ruby slippers that she’s had for the whole journey combined with her better understanding of herself. (“You don’t need to be helped any longer,” Glinda says before she leaves. “You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.” But, she says, Dorothy “had to learn it for herself.”) Her friends, as mentioned, didn’t actually gain anything from the Wizard that they wanted (a brain, a heart, or courage); instead, they discovered they already had what they desired.

Magic in Stranger Things

In Stranger Things, there’s a similar dichotomy between types of “magic” that we see. Fantasy or supernatural magic features in the Dungeons and Dragons games and through the Mind Flayer’s possession, etc., and of course El (and Kali) have psychic powers. Which one is portrayed as more “real”? I actually find that to be a complicated question.

My sister recently watched Season 1 with me for the first time, and she made a relevant observation to this discussion. She likened El’s sensory deprivation tank at Hawkins Lab to a “Houdini tank,” referring to this:

Harry Houdini, pictured above in his “Chinese Water Torture Cell,” was a Hungarian-American stage magician who made a name for himself performing feats of escape. His escape from this type of water tank was one of his most popular stunts.

Here’s El’s sensory deprivation tank at the lab, for comparison:

Similar to Houdini, El was lowered in from the top and locked inside. El’s tank is round, but otherwise there are a lot of similarities here. She even has spectators as she’s lowered inside, like Houdini had audiences. Obviously, Houdini was not using actual magic to escape—so why is El being compared to an escape artist doing “magic” tricks? (Not convinced this is intentional? Although this escape feat was always called “The Chinese Water Torture Cell” or “The Water Torture Cell” in advertising for his shows, Houdini himself referred to it as “The Upside Down.” Where does El go in the water tank?)

And then we have Max’s dialogue from season two, when she asks about El’s status as a “mage” in the party:

So, we have two clear examples of El’s powers being compared to “magic tricks,” or not “real” magic. What does that mean about “real” magic in the show, fantasy or otherwise?

We see that antagonists like the Mind Flayer display powers that are never directly counteracted by psychic abilities. El isn’t able to remove the Mind Flayer from the possessed Will; instead, it has to be burned out of him while El physically blocks the Mind Flayer’s access to their world. In S3, she ultimately helps stop the Mind Flayer by making an emotional connection with Billy, not by using her psychic powers on the Mind Flayer itself. So although her powers are useful tools, they are not the solutions to the problems created by larger supernatural forces we see.

So if El has the “false magic” in this dichotomy, what is the good side to “real magic”? Based on what we’ve seen, it seems that a partial answer to this question is found in the self-sacrifice, love, and emotional bonds between characters (similar to how Dorothy’s “real magic” was learning about herself and her love for others). But there’s been speculation that there’s more to it than that. Many here on Tumblr (e.g., @kaypeace21​; see for instance this post) have speculated that Will may have more magic than meets the eye, and that El’s and Will’s powers (if they both have them) are being compared in this way. Recent promotional content for Season 4 seems to provide further hints in this direction. We’ve had multiple references to “Will the Wise” from official accounts, emphasizing his D&D moniker. Then there’s this, from the recent Season 1 recap video: https://proud-mama-joyce.tumblr.com/post/678587989485617152/definitely-so-excited-by-the-implications-here

So, are “real” and “false” magic being set up in Will and El, respectively, similarly to the “real” and “false” magic in The Wizard of Oz? I certainly think so—but we’ll revisit this conclusion after we look at some more Oz connections.

Blue Meets Yellow In the West: The Russian Transmission and Oz

Recently, many of us have been speculating about the implications of the use of color within Stranger Things. I’d like to focus on blue, yellow, and green for now. We’ve seen Will associated with yellow, Mike associated with blue, and green associated with El and Hawkins Lab. The color associations come in the form of costume choices, set paint colors, lighting design for shots, and footage coloring. For instance, Will’s bedrooms are yellow; Mike’s bedroom is blue; El’s room is green at Hopper’s cabin, the HNL teaser was presented with a green footage tone, etc. (See for example these posts: 1 2 for some more background on these observations--credit to @0aurelion-sol0​ and @super-nova5045​ for those two. I’ve tried to track down where else I originally saw these observations but it’s been difficult, so if you feel you were one of the first people to post about this and I’ve missed you, feel free to credit yourself in the tags/comments!)

Also recall the Russian transmission from Season 3:

“The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the West. A trip to China sounds nice, if you tread lightly.”

To my knowledge, @beepboop358​ appears to have been the original poster of the theory that the Russian transmission could be foreshadowing something for Season 4. The associations with Mike and Will in particular, as the “blue” and “yellow” color-correlates respectively, have led to speculation that Byler is involved in the meaning—and I agree this could be possible. However, I now have another reason to think there’s a deeper meaning here through a connection to The Wizard of Oz.

Colors have strong associations with characters and places within Oz, reflected in how often colors are used repeatedly in descriptions or names (e.g., Yellow Brick Road, Emerald City, etc.). L. Frank Baum, the author of the book the movie was based on, was particular and consistent with these choices, so the colors in the official map of Oz below are no accident:  

(Note: due to an error in a 1914 edition, many forms of this map online show the blue and yellow portions of this map on opposite sides. The above map reflects the original details consistent with the book, with the blue Munchkinland in the East and yellow Winkie Country in the West.)

As you can see, the Yellow Brick Road that Dorothy follows takes her from her landing place in the eastern blue Munchkin Country, west to the Emerald City in the center of the map. So, Blue meets Yellow in one sense in the form of the origin of the Yellow Brick Road in Munchkin Country, but this is in the East. But compared to where Dorothy starts, Blue meets Yellow in the West at Emerald City, in the center of the map. (!!!)

We’ve already noted how green is associated with Hawkins Lab and El. If we’re onto something with this map, let’s deconstruct what else it could mean:

Emerald City represents Hawkins Lab/government lab facilities. Thematically, this is consistent: it’s the site of “false magic” and the “man behind the curtain.”

“The man behind the curtain” (the Wizard) represents Brenner. This would make sense as he’s the one pulling the strings, but he’s not behind the supernatural forces within the show. See also the visual similarity—Brenner is often shown in green-lit shots at HNL, and his hairstyle and color are similar to the Wizard.

The “silver cat” in the Russian transmission represents Brenner, running the operation of illusions/mind control at Hawkins Lab. This could be a reference to the silver hair that we see above.

“The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the West” could imply that Mike and Will are going to be tied up with obstacles from the government/Brenner when Mike visits Will in California. Alternately, it could indicate a timeline for when El gets abducted, or their involvement in rescuing her.

“A trip to China sounds nice, if you tread lightly”? This line seems the most opaque when trying to speculate about the larger meaning of the transmission. If this map is indeed the key, what do we find?

That’s right, CHINA COUNTRY. Not only is it a place in Oz on this same map, but “china” here refers to the fact that the entire community and all its inhabitants are made of china (porcelain)—something easily breakable, on which you’d need to “tread lightly.” From the Oz fandom wiki: “The many homes, shops, farms, palaces and even china mansions and castles are all neatly scattered around or lined up to make porcelain streets and walkways along the china floor” (emphasis mine).

In this part of Dorothy’s story (which is not shown in the movie), she stops in China Country in order to visit Glinda the Good Witch after the Wizard of Oz fails to help her return to Kansas. While there, she learns that many inhabitants who suffer cracks and breaks in their porcelain need to be repaired, but are considered to be of lower status afterwards. The inhabitants are also confined to the area of China Country, outside of which they lose their ability to move and speak. (More details here: https://oz.fandom.com/wiki/China_Country)

What could this signify? It’s reminding me an awful lot of both Hawkins Lab’s subjects and the idea of a mental institution, where the people inside are confined to an area. But on the map, Emerald City already represents the Lab, and the “repairs” seem more analogous to treatment at a mental hospital than the experiments that Brenner was running. So – my conclusion is that “a trip to China” could refer to the part of our story involving Creel and Pennhurst, with our protagonists needing to “tread lightly” to avoid reopening old wounds for mentally unwell character(s) that have been shunned by society.

The only part of the transmission I haven’t discussed yet is “the week is long.” I don’t think the meaning of this can be directly inferred using the map, but now I think we have a basis for comparing it to Dorothy’s story. My interpretation is that it refers to a long period spent in an alternate place/reality, for one or multiple characters. In Oz, Dorothy felt like she was gone for much longer than she was unconscious (which seems to have been a few hours at the most)—in the movie, it appears to be days, while in the original book, it was over two months. While it’s true that Will was in the Upside Down for a hellish week, I think this is a clue about Season 4. We know that Hopper is imprisoned at the start of Season 4, and that El likely gets captured; this line could refer to their predicaments or those of additional characters as well.

Reality vs. Illusion: is Will the Key?

As discussed above, Dorothy’s journey takes place in an alternate reality. It is real internally, in the sense that she returns with a better understanding of herself and the value she places on her relationships. (She says when she returns, “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t go looking any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.”)

Other theorists here, including @kaypeace21​ and @strangertheory​, have suggested that Will’s experiences are interconnected with the larger events of the show. I highly suggest reading some of their posts to get a better idea of the extensive observations underlying these theories.

Here are a couple to start with in case you’re unfamiliar: 1   2 

Given the connections to The Wizard of Oz we’ve already noted, plus the alternate-reality aspect of the story, let’s see if there are specific connections to Will under the surface as well. Here are some things I’ve noted:

Similarities with both Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West: Glinda’s outfit and crown are covered in stars, and she has a star at the end of her wand. As we know, Will’s D&D outfit for Will the Wise is also covered in stars. The WWW is observed on one occasion to conjure and throw a fireball at the Scarecrow.

Red and Yellow: Will’s outfits on multiple occasions contain red and yellow in the same garment. This appears to mirror the intertwined Red and Yellow Brick Roads that we observe when Dorothy arrives in Oz:

Interesting—because this could actually be another connection to the two witches, too. On the Oz map above, Glinda’s territory is the southern red region (Quadling Country) while the WWW’s territory is the western yellow region (Winkie Country). Reinforcing these associations is the fact that in the original book, according to the Oz fandom wiki, “it is said the Wicked Witch lives in a yellow castle that is beautiful. Her home is described as consisting of long hallways carpeted with yellow velvet rugs, yellow silken draperies are placed at the castle windows and attractive yellow antiques and decor decorated nearly every room.”

Joyce’s reference to “clowns” and “my witch” in S1: When Joyce presents Will with the Poltergeist tickets in her flashback in S1, Will insists he isn’t scared of things he used to be. She asks, “Not even of clowns?...What about my witch?” A clown is one of the characters that Dorothy interacts most with in China Country (Glinda’s territory), while “my witch,” based on Winona’s delivery of that line, is highly reminiscent of the WWW (which would make sense, as she is the villain in a classic movie that Will has most likely watched). These connections are less solid, but could again point to a dual connection with both Glinda and the WWW.

Will has spent time in alternate realities/dimensions. He spent a week in the Upside Down, was possessed in Season 2, and in Season 3 still retains a connection to the Mind Flayer.

Will is an overtly queer-coded character. When thinking of Will, it’s easy to see how multiple interpretations of “over the rainbow” could apply to him—he is LGBT (most likely gay), has connections to alternate realities as noted, and his character development arc also seems centered around finding acceptance and believing in the love around him, similar to Dorothy.

To me, all of this suggests that Will may be intended to be compared to Oz as a whole, not to any specific character. And if that’s true, it could support the idea that Will’s reality underpins (or is somehow connected to) the supernatural elements in the story. Looking at it from another angle, all of the characters in Oz were based on real people that Dorothy knew, and all the events and character actions ultimately came from her own mind. While I’m not fully convinced that Will is creating the events of our story all on his own, there does seem to be an implied relationship here with Will’s perspective.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The iconic song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is just one item on a growing list of connections we’ve seen to rainbows in Stranger Things. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sings it wistfully after being told she should keep away from trouble. Her lyrics in the movie are:

Upon entering Oz, right after her line above about Kansas, she remarks, “We must be over the rainbow!” So, in the movie, we can take the phrase “over the rainbow” to mean “in Oz.” Dorothy is later revealed to have been dreaming while unconscious, so an alternate in-movie interpretation could be “in a dreamland.”

Aside from this song’s instantly memorable connection to the movie, David’s tweet previously mentioned makes it clear that these lyrics have an intended connection to Stranger Things. To recap some other places we’ve seen rainbows:

The “rainbow room” at Hawkins Lab where the children are seen

In connection with the previous point, Terry Ives’ word “rainbow” within the words she continues to repeat

Within the lyrics to “Neverending Story” that were sung in S3 (“…there upon a rainbow is / The answer to our neverending story…”)

Of course, as many on the Byler tag know, multiple instances of rainbows in shots with several characters, notably Mike (the rainbow behind Mike on the Muppet Movie poster in the recently-released still recalling the song “Rainbow Connection,” the rainbow plaque in the Wheeler’s basement, the rainbow-colored Apple logo behind Mike and Will in the Hawkins Middle AV room, Max’s bedsheets, Argyle’s bracelet in the California teaser, the Lucky Charms box that El looks at in S3 before looking for Billy, and many more).

“There’s No Place Like Home”: The Wizard of Oz and LGBT Symbolism

To expand on the above, The Wizard of Oz has long-held associations within the queer community. In fact, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” actually was reportedly the inspiration for the design of the Pride flag in 1978: https://flagmakers.co.uk/blog/history/the-history-of-the-pride-flag/

The fact that it inspired the flag, and that the association didn’t happen the other way around, points to queer viewers’ feelings that the story resonated with them. It’s a story about learning to find inner peace and acceptance, of re-framing the idea of “home” without ever really leaving. This has parallels to queer experiences of learning more about oneself and seeking the love and acceptance of friends and family. In that framing of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s ruby slippers are sometimes viewed as a powerful symbol of queer identity—their magic is discovered during the inner journey, and they become inseparable from the solution to finding a way back home (i.e., rediscovering love and happiness). Here’s one article I found discussing a queer-focused interpretation of the ruby slippers symbolism: https://blogs.brown.edu/amst-0191e-s01-2018-spring/2018/05/04/ruby-slippers/

Also related: queer associations with the Wizard of Oz, or later rainbows, became so well known within queer communities that it spawned a coded way of revealing non-heterosexual orientation. A “friend of Dorothy” became a term for someone who was not straight.

Knowing that The Wizard of Oz is directly referenced by Stranger Things, it’s reasonable to think that multiple meanings of rainbow symbolism are intended—LGBT associations exist with the source material, so rainbow depictions in Stranger Things are likely not only references to the psychic/consciousness-related elements of the show.

Altogether, then, we seem to have at least two major thematic associations with rainbows in Stranger Things:

Consciousness (psychic abilities, dreams, and memories)

LGBT symbolism

And with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as a direct reference, we might speculate that rainbows in Stranger Things may also associated with finding a place of acceptance; making a personal journey to better understand and appreciate loving relationships; or re-framing one’s reality by temporarily seeing it through a different lens (all based on its meaning within The Wizard of Oz story).

My main takeaways from this analysis

Will, through his associations with Oz as a whole including both witches in the story, seems to be implied to have “real magic” in some form. Whether that is fantasy-style magic, “power of love”-type magic, or both remains to be seen, although recent promotional hints such as his fiery D&D die may suggest that it’s both.

El’s powers may not be as innate as Will’s, if the associations between Hawkins Lab/Brenner and Emerald City/the Wizard of Oz (sites of “false magic”) are correct. If true, this would align with comparisons in the show between El and stage/performance magic, as well as with how her powers were used in season finales.

El may be in danger from Brenner around the same time that Mike visits California (“when blue meets yellow in the West”). Her vulnerability to danger may be related to a search to regain her powers, similar to how Dorothy followed the Yellow Brick Road in search of a magical solution.

Will and Mike may be clashing with the lab/government facilities this season, which seems likely if they need to attempt a rescue for El.

The rainbow imagery in Stranger Things is intended to have both LGBT symbolism AND a connection to alternate realities and/or subconscious influences.

The Russian transmission code is foreshadowing events of Season 4, which may be decoded through its comparison to The Wizard of Oz universe. The tagline “We’re Not in Hawkins Anymore” for S4 seems to support this direct connection.

 There are still many more questions and further details I want to explore related to The Wizard of Oz, so I will be making a Part 2 to this post. I’m very interested to know everyone’s thoughts!

[followdelight]

Unpopular opinion time: I actually kinda liked the KPTS ending for KimChay.  I genuinely found it to be a very hopeful open ending. (we’re gonna straight up ignore the ‘stage play’ ‘side story’ from the world tour, okay, bc wtf was that no)

Hear me out.  I know we’re all sad that Kim broke Chay’s heart.  That baby was so pure and seeing him sobbing was devastating.  But…… I actually think this heartbreak was crucial to making this relationship healthier in the long run.  (and not just bc it unearthed all the lies)

Both KinnPorsche and VegasPete get flack for being ‘unhealthy’ relationships.  But here’s a thing I don’t see people talking about enough: KimChay also was not a healthy relationship.  Putting aside the fact that Kim was lying to Chay the whole time – say they met and Kim was genuinely just a burgeoning singer who agreed to be his tutor etc. solely bc Chay was a huge fan it still would not have been healthy. The power imbalance was so skewed in Kim’s favor there was really no way to right it through the course of the show.  The way their relationship progressed, there was never a natural time/way to level the playing field.

I genuinely think that Chay finding out Kim lied and is a deeply imperfect human (and Kim basically doubling down on that by not admitting his feelings in the end) can do nothing but benefit them in the long run.  Assuming they’re able to recover from that deceit at all, but for the sake of argument I’m assuming eventually Kim will wear him down.  Bc now Chay can return to this relationship without having Kim up on the pedestal he’d placed him on.

No relationship is ever going to be equal when one of them had a SHRINE to the other before they even met.  Like, if this was real life it’d be a big ole red flagged YIKES.  If Chay were my little brother I’d be extremely concerned that Kim was only interested bc he got uncomplicated and complete adoration from Chay in exchange for (let’s be honest with ourselves) the bare minimum.  And I don’t think Kim wanted that, I think by the end he really did see Chay beyond ‘an adoring fan’ (because Chay is an absolute open book incapable of dissembling)... but I think most of his hesitation in returning Chay’s feelings came from his knowledge that Chay did not and could not see him because of everything Kim was hiding.  And you know how it goes when you start thinking it’s too late to reveal the truth.

But once Kim breaks Chay’s heart, the truth is revealed, and he begins to put in the work to win Chay back so he can prove that he wasn’t just using Chay (either for the ego boost or solely  for information), the scales start tipping in Chay’s direction.  Suddenly he has power in this relationship for the first time.  Bc ultimately, the shattering of Chay’s illusions is crucial to them rebuilding a healthier relationship.  Chay *has* to lose those rose colored glasses in order to see Kim clearly in all his imperfect, emotionally constipated, violent, and murderous glory, so he can decide if he really wants that man.  

I think Chay was *infatuated* with Kim, definitely, and that’s a kind of love.  But it’s not a sustainable love.  He loved an *idea* of Kim that he shaped around his adoration of WIK.  And now he has the chance to genuinely love KIM, the complicated and layered and imperfect man; if he wants to.  From here, any relationship they build will be on more equal footing.  Both of them seeing the truth in one another and loving each other for their complete selves.

And *that* is what I love about the BoC ending for KimChay.  I know it’s an ‘open’ ending, but I think as far as open endings go it’s very hopeful.  Kim sending Chay a video of him playing HIS song saying “look, we’re equals” and Chay not closing the door on communication?  So much hope there for a happy reconciliation in their future.