#ways to write assignment

[pangur-and-grim]

alright, I’m annoyed with the class that I’m taking. it’s about writing novels, and I thought it would have cool stuff about balancing your narrative and developing themes etc, but instead she spent the first class talking about how every book fits into the Hero’s Journey (the monomyth template). and I was somewhat of a contrarian, and said “can you give us examples of books that don’t fit into this template?” and she said “no. because all books fit.”

but I dunno man, I just finished reading this Korean book where the plot is just the character having a string of hookups and reflecting on them without changing in any way. I don’t know if it’s possible to contort that into the Hero’s Journey.

[hugecount]

Effective Ways To Write Your Assignment And Score Maximum | HugeCount

Inception: Assignments are an essential component of the educational process as they provide students with a chance to show that they have developed a deep understanding of the course material of a particular subject and have polished their research and critical thinking skills. As a good assignment necessitates thorough organization, preparation, and research, you can follow some efficient strategies to compose your assignment and get the best grade possible. Recognize the objective Read the assignment instructions carefully and comprehend them before beginning to write. Be mindful of the particular specifications, including word count, formatting, and citation style. Ask your teacher […]

Source: https://hugecount.com/education/effective-ways-to-write-your-assignment-and-score-maximum/

[blueskittlesart]

cinderella adaptation for my comics history class :)

[diamondvic]

Sometimes I just think about how absolutely TERRIFIED V is of Cyn vs just the solver in general. Her behavior in specifically episode 8 when Cyn is around is SOOO interesting.

V uses her knife hands unnecessarily through the whole show - she uses them just as much as, if not more than, her normal hands. It's probably a mix of show and a genuine defensive habit she's picked up by the time the show actually starts.

Even during episode 8, when she's being emotionally vulnerable to what she believes is N, the knives are out. She's probably tense, both from the fight AND from the emotional weight of spilling these secrets she's kept for ages.

And yet, when faced with Cyn, who she KNOWS is a threat... she retreats the knives, placatingly, and IMMEDIATELY begins pleading. This is V, who has never hesitated to resort to violence before. And it's not the solver itself she's scared of, its CYN. There's a brief moment in episode 3 where, when Uzi's solver activates, V startles and pulls her gun on her. In episode 4, when Uzi is possessed by the solver, V is clearly rattled, but she still has no problem taking action against and fighting Uzi. In these instances, she WAS afraid, but not enough to not be able to take action. But here? Her confidence completely falters. Her first instinct is to make herself as small as possible and try to reiterate that she can still do whatever Cyn wants of her (and she most definetly gets this behavior from having to serve the Elliotts on Earth, and from being disposed of even before that.. do a good enough job, or you can easily be thrown out. Something something, she's never been free, and at least being gleeful about murder means she's ok with it, so therefore she's not being forced!!! Any way to get autonomy back. But that's a side tangent in itself).

When Cyn nearly eats N's heart, V is in no way being prevented from trying to reach him. Sure, J is there, but V is clearly not afraid of J, having just fought her. But faced with the drone she worked so hard to keep safe being at risk, who she'd clearly done so much for... She freezes. Because this is CYN. And Cyn RELISHES mocking her fear, like she KNOWS V won't make a move to stop her.

And even down to what she would have surely thought was when she and N would definetly die, when she is STILL technically free to get up and fly away, she freezes. It's all she can manage is to vainly try to defend herself and keep N's core sheltered. She's too terrified to even move but she's still trying to keep him safe to the end.. (side note, if you pay attention to them once Uzi shows up, you can see she's still covering him with her sword while he's out of commission, which is very cute. Presumably she stays with him while he regenerates, which is why they show up late to the fight)

V is just soo interesting. She tries sooo so much to be cool under pressure and unbothered, but Cyn's presence is enough to stop her completely. Very fun and very revealing dichotomy to her character, and seeing how she effects V makes Cyn much more personally threatening than her just being an entity employing some vague cosmic power manages to do

[grunklebongrip]

If you’re writing college age Fiddauthor and you get secondhand embarrassment, you’re doing it right

[airenyah]

Episode 6: FadelStyle vs. Beginnings and Endings

In the past one and a half-ish weeks we've discussed at length just how good the last scene at the diner is and how Style drawing tears on Fadel at the rock concert was foreshadowing to Fadel ending the episode crying real tears. What I haven't seen discussed yet, however, is how that ending scene is actually a counterpart to Fadel and Style's conversation after the rock concert. And I think that makes the scene in the diner even more poignant. And it also makes the scene at the rock pub even more painful as well. Because they are basically the same scenes, just flipped. And I desperately need to talk about it or else I'll explode.

Part 1: "Tonight I am very happy"

In this scene Style knows something that Fadel doesn't: This will most likely be their last chance to be happy together like this. Tomorrow Fadel will go on his mission where the police will be waiting and then Fadel will be taken away from him.

But Style already loves Fadel, he is already worried about him and he really does not want to lose him. So he keeps trying to subtly talk Fadel into staying home from the mission and spilling the beans about the mission so he can explicitly ask Fadel not to go. But Fadel keeps his mouth shut. And as happy as Style is together with Fadel this evening, he is also very upset. He doesn't want the night to end, but there's no way around it. For Style this is a goodbye.

And for Fadel? Fadel went from I'll tell her this will be your last job to Ruerat is the last jerk we have to kill. After that, we can live however we want. Even in this episode, right before he goes to the concert with Style, Fadel tells Bison "Once we're done with Ruerat, I'll talk to Mother again", when Bison says it's time for them to quit. Fadel is on the same page as Bison now. Ruerat is their last victim and after that Fadel wants out. For Fadel, this is the last night where he's still stuck in his hitman life, but once he is done with his mission the weight will be off his shoulders and he can finally truly be with Style. For Fadel this is the opposite of a goodbye.

In the words of my mother: For Style, when the night is over life will end. For Fadel, when the night is over life will begin. Style is ending something and Fadel wants to begin something.

And another thing my mom pointed out is how they're standing in front of a pink sky:

And at what time of the day is the sky pink? Either at dawn or at dusk. The beginning of the day or the end of the day. And for Fadel this scene is only the beginning of the day while for Style this scene is the end of the day.

Part 2: "I think I already love you"

In this scene Fadel knows something that Style doesn't: Style has played him, has made him lower his protective walls, has made him fall for him only to turn around and betray him.

Style told Fadel he hoped that Fadel wouldn't get any more scars and yet here Style is, stabbing Fadel right in the heart and jeopardizing his life. Here Style is, bursting Fadel's bubble that he's finally started daring to dream about, a dream of a future where he wasn't lonely, a future where he was happy and himself with someone, Style, by his side. But Style is a danger to him. Style can't stay. As happy as Fadel has been together with Style, he needs to let go of him. For Fadel this is a goodbye.

And for Style? He has just spent a full week worrying sick about Fadel after his mission went wrong and went completely MIA. Style has likely (definitely) spent a week checking the restaurant every single day for any sign of Fadel's return, not giving up hope of seeing him again. And then Fadel is back. Style is overjoyed. The heavy metal concert wasn't their last day together, Fadel is pulling through on his promise to have many more nights like that with each other. The concert may have been the end of the day, but now against all odds a new day has come. For Style this is the opposite of a goodbye.

And so we're left with the exact opposite situation from what we had at the concert: Fadel is ending something and Style wants to begin something.

Conclusion

These two scenes go together, they're flipped parallels of each other.

At the concert, Style is internally saying goodbye to Fadel because he thinks their relationship will be over when Fadel gets arrested at the mission and the police take him away. At the diner, Fadel is internally saying goodbye to Style because he thinks their relationship is over now that he "knows" that none of it was real on Style's part since in reality he was working with said police.

At the concert Fadel is truly happy, because once his mission is over he'll talk to mother and when he's managed to convince her that him and Bison will be out, then Fadel can go and start a new life, a new future with Style. At the diner, Style is overjoyed because he thought he was about to lose Fadel, but Fadel has come back and now Style gets a second chance at a future with Fadel.

At the concert, Fadel is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Style ("What's wrong? You act like we're not going to see each other again."), but he has absolutely no idea that Style is in the process of bidding him farewell. At the diner, Style is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Fadel ("You were just calling me out for being affectionate. Now you wanna be romantic?"), but he has absolutely no idea that Fadel is in the process of bidding him farewell.

It's brilliant writing, really. And both scenes were flawlessly performed by both boys.

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part One

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tragedy, Circumstance, Choice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

[lapdogchase]

literally dont ever write in present tense not even one single time you will be fucking up tenses for the rest of your life

[ki1ldeer]

Going for a painterly thing… it’s kinda fun idk

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Y’all i ain’t even TOUCHED my pen since this new round of classes started up ya boi is going through it

[plusultraetc]

happy WIP Wednesday, Mera is mentally updating his resume as we speak

[xxplastic-cubexx]

picking up whiskey and beer from the liquor store and god everything reminds me of them

[astrum99]

Do you think bugs fall in love?

Their small bodies host even tinier brains. Built to crawl through soil and rocks bigger than itself. Running on a simple software bouncing between eat, sleep, fight, flight, and copulate.

V1 is smarter than a bug. It must be. It’s a war machine, so it must be. Its programming is complex enough to fry several motherboards; the internals are heated from constant, unrelenting processing needs. If it updates its optical data intake to any greater degree than these rough, messy polygons, it’d surely perish from the overwhelming information.

V1 is built to kill first, survive second. To be fair, survival would ensure more killing, so it’d be more effective. Moving through the battlefield, culling lives, drawing blood. Perfectly aligned with its programmed objectives, then.

Gabriel is smarter than a bug. He must be. He’s an angel, so he must be. He’s one of the best soldiers in the heavenly realm. Armour and swords glistened with pride and justice. He sees all. He judges all. His loyalty and perfect track record have earned him a high rank within the order. Leaving behind the creaturely "it". His light burns hot and bright within his constitution.

Gabriel is built as a messenger of the Father, then a judge of Hell. To be fair, the role of a judge was assigned to him by the council, so he supposes that his placement can be summed up as the bearer of the divine authority to bring right to all other creatures. Perfectly aligned, then.

Bugs… Well, they’re the same. I suppose. Small beings. Running pre-programmed orders derived from centuries of evolution: eat, sleep, fight, flight, and copulate. No role. No responsibilities.

Bugs are built naturally and fully, unlike humankind; but formed and ready to go within seconds from their births, like machines and angels.

So. Do they live?

When the machine and the angel escape their chains, do they see themselves in bugs?

Bugs are born to live, temporarily, fleetingly, yet live nonetheless. Do they, then, deserve to live, freeing and meaninglessly. No role. No responsibilities.

So. Do bugs love?

Do they learn that they can go beyond their basic structures? Do they see their own reflection in each other’s compound eyes? Do they recognize each other’s bodies, scents, heat? Do they feel the desire for closeness?

To flutter wings like a dance of waltz. To brush antennae like butterfly kisses. To greet and caress and lie next to each other near their death.

To move through the sky in battle, in passion. To clash swords and fists and bullets. To greet and caress and lie next to each other near their death.

The same cells in the same blood coursing beneath the same suit of exoskeletons.

Machine, angel, bug. Boiled down to the barest essence of existence; crisp simplicity.

To live, to love.

[rustyisacowboy]

brusty breakup arc will always get to me because even when brock gets back with doc in season 6, you can tell things arent the same anymore. brock doesnt care. he is trying so desperately to care but he cant anymore. doc really fucked it with not ever doing anything for brock, and between ORB and The family that slays together stays together part 2 brock had enough of not being taken seriously and he just never came back from that

[stjernec]

This Sebagni fanfiction in my brain is going so crazy. If only you guys could read my thoughts and I didn't have to put it down on paper.

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

storytime which my figs know about but whatever (and thanks to my beloved boundin for being all worired abotu me. sorry.)

so i had an assignment due yesterday. a care plan worth 15% of my grade for a double credit point unit. anwyay. i didn't touch it, for various reasons up to and including what i'm currently calling situational depression, and planned to get an extension.

fun fact: apparently you can't get extensions day-of, at least for that assignment.

i found this out at about 11am, due 8pm, having not even looked at assignment before then.

so of course i kind of panicked. just a little bit. and opened it up real quick. shifted to desk. put on the kettle and started digging around my music library.

there's this song i like, carpenters of course, "don't be afraid". i cycled through a few other songs before i got to that one, none of them helping me get into the zone.

(anyway i listened to "don't be afraid" on loop 108 times yesterday afternoon, putting it as the top number of plays on my music app, finally surpassing a particular movement of a beethoven sonata (13 second mvt) that has reigned as king for a couple of years. then towards the end, flagging, i switched to a combo of "road ode" and "a song for you (reprise)", because those two songs have to go together musically.)

i was already feeling awful physically because most of my intake the previous day had been cheese, so wheeee dairy and almost-diarrhea as well as reasonably severe stomach pain. stress was making me dissociate a bit as well.

so. caffeine time.

keep working. more caffeine time.

keep working. more caffeine, an unmeasured amount of sugar, and another couple of spoonfuls of coffee because why not. because of a mysterious headache (likely caused by a combination of too much coffee, no food, and dairy the previous day), took ibuprofen.

keep working. more coffee. more headache. more ibuprofen.

at that point i was entirely detached from my body, experiencing symptoms of a caffeine overdose and potentially ibuprofen overdose too (didn't exceed the maximum for ibuprofen in a day, but in that short a time yes, and certainly caffeine), and saying all the stuff that worried boundin. still working on the assignment though while feeling unreal to a complete degree, not just partial, and noting symptoms as an intellectual exercise. was not present in my body at all. oh, did i mention i hadn't eaten that day? i was also experiencing violent nausea.

keep working. song still on loop. headache reducing. time passed and the reaction i was experiencing began to fade. brother gave me chocolate at some point near the end.

completed and submitted assignment about five minutes before i had to go out for the evening. somehow not at all shaky but i could feel all my skin and was inclined towards giggling.

arrived at friends' house. mentor asked how my day had been. i began laughing, explained what my day had been doing, and ended up giggling helplessly. she looked Concerned++ as i hilariously recounted my accidental overdoses x2 and that i hadn't eaten anything except chocolate, sugar, caffeine and ibuprofen that day. i made many jokes throughout the meal but mostly restrained myself overall - i was self-aware enough to know how abnormally i was acting, but it was so hard to avoid these things. inclined to laughter the whole evening, though after eating actual food that didn't contain sugar it did settle a little. later in the evening i impulse-agreed to a thing saturday i didn't want to go to, noted the concerning level of impulsivity and restrained myself from agreeing to anything else.

was offered, and enthusiastically consumed, a quantity of cold roast potatoes, which definitely helped as well.

arrived home less inclined towards giggling, but still violently nauseous; managed to avoid throwing up by the barest of margins. practically inhaled bread and ham, which i found too sweet because it was housed in the same fridge as bananas; found peanut butter for the last slice of bread, which helped. still feeling very ill but suspected i needed it given all the everything - i think this was the right call.

went to bed, yoinked ransom, cuddled him forcibly and eventually managed to sleep, still feeling rather quite hyper.

this morning i am still slightly hyper and mildly unwell but fatigue is balancing the tendency towards impulsivity. am not going to consume either caffeine or ibuprofen today unless something drastic changes or something, and a hard ban on both refined sugar and dairy until i feel more normal again.

bit of a rollercoaster.