#wr solo

[oceansrevenge]

Breaking Free || Solo ft. Siobhan

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @oceansrevenge ft @banisheed SUMMARY: An angry octopus nymph finally breaks free from her tank and has a bit of a murder spree. Thankfully, the murder spree attracted a banshee as an audience. We love girls supporting girls

For so many years, the rage that lived inside Marina felt like it was crushing her. It had to live imprisoned inside her the way she lived imprisoned inside the glass tank, a spectacle for the human world to see. The rage of a nymph was never meant to be stagnant. It was supposed to flow and crash like the waves of the sea she so longed to swim free in once again. The betrayal, the loss– it all had to stew and culminate within the confines of a box. There was no tide pulling her foes under, no pressure from the depths squeezing the last breath of life out from her victims as she brought them down to their watery graves. There was only the stillness.

Today that would finally change. The fact Moxfield had died of old age of all things only furthered the disgust Marina possessed for the warden. No warden worth their salt died of old age, but above all else, he was a coward– never truly bothered living his purpose unless he stood to make some sort of financial gain from it. While she held no love for wardens, they were meant to be part of a delicate balance and she could respect that. Andrew Moxfield, however, was a disgrace to his purpose and above all else, a liar. His death was a day she reveled in and she awaited the window of time where she’d be able to leave the wretched tank she all but rotted away in for the last fifty odd years.

The transporting of her tank had always been something Marina hated the most. The sloshing of the water as the bus, train, or plane moved about mirrored the movement of waves in a way that stung. But this time, she knew it was only a matter of days before she got to experience the real thing again. Her strength had dwindled over the years, but unsuspecting humans still stood no chance. The other cephalopods in their contaminants alongside her boosted her state, if only slightly. It’d take weeks back in the proper waters, nurturing it and the creatures she was drawn to protect before she was back at her full strength, but her size alone was enough to toss aside a few worthless humans like the rubbish they were. 

She’d watched them all for years as they passed her by or stared in awe. Over the decades, they had changed, grew more attached to their trinkets and inventions than the natural world around them. These humans that were preparing to move her from her travel tank to something larger were no different. The excitement buzzing in her felt foreign after so long and her tentacles itched to squeeze the life out of them. The annoying young man tapping on her glass would be first. He would look much better when his face turned the same shade of blue as his eyes. 

The moment the lid was removed, Marina moved swiftly. There was no way she’d allow herself to be imprisoned yet again and finally, all the rage that had been brewing for years had an outlet. The blue eyed one was the first her tentacles found purchase on. He writhed in her grasp and sputtered trying to draw in a breath. The struggle was something she missed. How many times before had she felt the same thrashing in her own waters as she drowned anyone who dared to enter uninvited? More than she could count, but it felt just as good each time. 

In one tentacle, the man’s life was fading away and in another, she grabbed another one of the staff members approaching her with a useless, large net. The way the dark brown of her ponytail waved around as she fought against the giant tentacle that held on tightly. The dark flash of her hair looked like a flag waving on a shit out at sea. It was almost as satisfying, too. 

Each new staff member that dared to approach and tried to take control of the situation met the same fate. Several knicks from assorted equipment scratched her skin and left small drops of blue blood on the floor amongst the fallen humans. It had been a flurry, like waves in a storm, whipping and swaying as fast as the wind. One, two, three, half a dozen– fallen at her tentacles. Foolish of them to believe they could contain a creature as stunning as she was against her will. Cruel to think they had the right to trap and display any creature from the beautiful blue sea for their own monetary gain. Humans and their filthy money. The disdain and anger was as strong as the satisfaction she felt. 

Marina was free. It was a relief she hadn’t allowed herself to truly dream of. She’d get to float away with the waves yet again, but she would not forget this place. It was disgraceful, abominable. There weren’t words that could adequately portray her disgust with the establishment, but she heard pleased sounds not far from her. The octopus looked up, prepared to attack when she realized the woman seemed to be… cheering her on? Curious. Then she felt it. A symphony of little bells, ringing under her skin in a way that felt as comforting as the waters on a warm summer day. Another fae. After so many years of misfortune, this was lucky indeed. 

Quickly, Marina willed her humanistic glamour into place. The tank had never known her true form, and even so, her voice outside of the water would still be distorted. Wet braids hung from her head and water with specks of blood, both blue and red, dripped down her nude form. It was amusing to think the dead humans at her feet would be taken aback by nudity. Fae held no such inhibitions. 

She approached the woman with a sly grin on her face. “How lucky am I? Freedom and the presence of a beautiful fae in the same day?” 

The cheap folding chair Siobhan had purchased at the last minute creaked as she swung one leg over the other, leaning back into the nylon fabric. Her bag of popcorn would remain unopened, but she didn’t mind. “Yes,” she smirked, “you’re very lucky.” 

[letsbenditlikebennett]

TIMING: Current SUMMARY: Alex goes to Mike's Pawn Shop to buy a new guitar and gets more than a little sidetracked. CONTENT: Warm, fluffy puppies?

There was something of an electric feeling running through her as of late and Alex couldn’t quite place where it came from. Some of it, she was certain, had to do with the venture into the Emerald Oasis with Cass. She found she hadn’t been the same since, but she supposed simping could do that to you— she was still new to the whole simping thing, so she wasn’t entirely sure. Still, looking forward to seeing someone and sharing new things with them was exciting. Not even that, their meeting had brought in an array of new friends into her world that she could just be herself around. It was refreshing and it had something of a creative energy flowing through her. 

She had already filled her garden with some new wildflowers in a particularly aesthetic arrangement and sketched some of the rocks she’d seen around the forest for Cass. Even her music ventures had seemed particularly inspired as of late. She’d strummed her acoustic guitar more and more as of late, and found herself enjoying that outlet the most. 

As much was the reason for her trip to Mike’s Pawn Shop. An upgrade to her guitar might be nice and she did have a good chunk of money thanks to the people of Wicked’s Rest loving the gays– which was a win in her book. A guitar that didn’t look beat up would be a nice improvement. Maybe she could even customize it herself to make it even more aesthetic, but for the moment, she was more focused on the music itself. She did have a couple of Speak Now vault tracks to learn still. 

There was a sense of excitement as she approached the shop. She’d been humming on her scooter when she pulled up, but found the inflatable tube man outside the shop had caught her attention first. She wasn’t sure how long she had been staring at it, but she had been almost entranced by it. There was a glassy haze to her eyes as she turned as she found herself walking in the direction the tube man danced, toward the abnormality, rather than towards the shop. 

Years of hiking difficult trails made navigating all the fissures near the abnormality easier than it would be for most. Even in somewhat of a daze, she was able to scrabble during some of the rougher parts with ease. She had nearly reached the abnormality and her hand extended to touch it, but a whimpering in the distance pulled her from the fog she’d been in. 

“Putain de what the fuck,” Alex murmured to herself, unable to be amused by her own combination of French and English. She barely even remembered walking there and the abnormality still had an almost magnetic pull to it. The black of it was darker than that of magnet and the smell was putrid, but she felt almost hesitant to leave it. “Nope,” she spoke aloud, “Don’t know what sorta cursed trick magic you’ve got going on, but not today Satan Rock.” 

Another whine came from a few feet away and it sounded like a small animal. Alex knew she should just leave it. It wouldn’t surprise her if whimpers were actually attached to some vicious beast that was like ten times her size or something, but something softer in her wasn’t able to ignore the cries. 

She followed the sound of the small whines and carefully climbed into one of the more shallow fissures. This was a terrible idea. She still took slow and careful steps down the rough, cracked pavement and into the small hole. As she approached, she smelled something almost familiar, animalistic— and it almost made her turn away until one of the small puppies poked its head above a rock. 

“Oh my god,” she cooed, rushing over rather clumsily to the small animal only to find a whole litter of puppies. Excited sounds escaped from their little snouts as she knelt down on the group next to them. “Well, look at you,” she exclaimed, picking up the one who had shown its face first, “How’d you get down here, huh?” 

She held the puppy close and soon had the others gathering around her. “Aw,” she let her free hand pet some of the others, “Aren’t you guys just the cutest?” As if to mock her statement, one of the puppies burped a cloud of smoke. That wasn’t normal. Her gaze drifted to the abnormality in the distance and some of the crystals and sludge collected around some of the fissure’s edges. “Big ‘ol mineral got you feeling a little… gassy, bud?” 

Decidedly, she couldn’t leave a litter of helpless puppies to this crack near the abnormality. With this town’s luck, they’d grown into some weird abnormality giant hellhounds or something. Right now, they were just cute puppies that looked like little German Shepherds that may or may not have had some quirks. Another puppy… mooed? Okay, definitely had some quirks. 

There was no way she was leaving them there and the one in her arms, she had already decided was hers and Andy’s. “How do you like Puppyeye for a name, lil guy,” she asked in a baby voice, “So you can grow strong– but you gotta finich your spinach.” Her eyes drifted towards a somewhat quiet puppy that seemed content to watch over its siblings. Something in the way it carried itself reminded her of Kaden. Did he even want a dog? Too late. “How would you like a grumbly but kind French guy as your dad?” 

The puppy seemed to perk up. That was settled. Now to get them all home and find homes for the other… five puppies. 

[thenavysealkie]

Deliverance Part 1 | Marcus Solo

Time: Early Morning, after the events of "A Lesson in Selkies"

Location: The shoreline and waters of Wicked's Rest.

Participants: @thenavysealkie

Trigger Warnings: Depression, Homophobia

Summary: Marcus finally devises a plan to catch the thief that stole his pelt, but finds more than he bargained for in his search.

It was another restless night of tossing and turning and trying to clear his head. Nights like these frustrated Marcus, as he had always been so peaceful and calm in his old life. But he wouldn’t have to suffer for much longer. Marcus had finally figured out what had happened to his pelt. For anyone to find any value in it beyond just selling it on the black market, they would have to be another selkie. And since the trail ran cold here in Wicked’s Rest, that meant that the culprit was likely hiding out somewhere here in town. Since they were a fellow selkie, they would likely have to transform every few nights or so to keep from feeling the sting of withdrawal symptoms. When they did, Marcus would be ready. 

Marcus had devised a plan to catch his thief in the act. A series of cameras set up along the shoreline, pretty much anywhere he could find to set one up inconspicuously. If this person came too close to shore, Marcus would have it on camera. Granted, they would be in seal form, so it wasn’t like Marcus could ID the person through sight alone. However, his plan was not to figure it out just by looking at the cameras. 

After setting up his surveillance system, Marcus returned home to have what would probably be the most restful night of sleep he had had in a very long time. For the past couple of months he had been tortured with insomnia, exhaustion, fatigue, decreasing strength, irritability, and an inability to focus. Suffice to say, he hadn’t been himself for a while, and he was desperate to become who he once was yet again. Of course, he couldn’t completely reclaim his old life. As far as the U.S Military was concerned, he was still MIA presumed dead. They wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to hear he had been living a quiet light keeping life in a small coastal town not too far from his supposed disappearance. He didn’t figure they would accept the “I’m a magical creature who needs a magic seal skin to stay alive” defense.

Still, Marcus couldn’t help but miss his old life. He was very well respected and decorated, working his way up the chain of command to an officer’s position. Had he not abandoned ship, he was on his way to promotions that would see him set for life. He also missed his parents dearly. He knew that they knew he hadn’t actually drowned and was okay, but not being able to speak with them for fear of the military tracking him down broke him a little bit more with each passing day. He had always been close with his parents and used to talk to them daily. 

Then there was the love of his life. William. They had met each other on the ship he was stationed at and had been carrying on a relationship in secret for the past 6 months. At first, it was all about sex, just as most relationships on board were. But over time, it had blossomed into something much more. He had hoped that they would be able to start a quiet life together once William’s tour was up and they were no longer serving on the same ship. While the military had gotten better and more tolerant over time, it was still very dangerous to be completely out on board the ship. Some of those men would absolutely still kill a fellow soldier just for being gay. 

A few days went by without a trace, and Marcus was beginning to lose hope. Maybe the thief had run away to a different town with his pelt after all. Maybe he had been wasting precious time in this town when for all he knew his pelt could be all the way up in Nova Scotia or even Greenland by now. The insomnia returned, the irritability, fear, and hopelessness came soon after. Marcus didn’t want to die. Even more so, he didn’t want to lose himself before dying. 

At last the dawn broke after another restless night, and Marcus groggily got up to check his cameras, as was his ritual for the past week or so. There had to be something, they had to have slipped up some time. Marcus saw the usual marine life splashing along happily in the early morning sun. How he wished he could be as carefree as they were again. He had his own memories of doing just as they were doing right now, without a concern of danger or death plaguing his mind. 

Suddenly, something caught his eye. Something fast, and something big. Not a whale, or even a shark for that matter. Something human shaped, but more rounded and without definitive legs. Holy shit, he couldn’t help but think to himself. This was exactly what he was waiting for. He made note of where this person was at, and where they were last seen on the camera. He made a beeline for that exact spot in the water, summoning as much strength as he could just to run and dive into the water. 

He couldn’t believe it. The scent was still there. The pelt. His pelt. It was faint, but still left him with a very clear path. Oddly enough, it didn’t lead anywhere in town. Well, he thought to himself, that would explain why I hadn’t caught the scent before. Instead, the scent went even further into the ocean. Whoever had his pelt, they made it a point to stay relatively off the grid. A smart move, all things considered. 

His legs were beginning to feel heavy and he once again cursed his misfortune. In his prime he would be cutting through these waters with no difficulty at all. Now, however, each stroke and kick was a fight for his life. But still, he pressed on. His military training gave him the endurance and discipline to persevere even when all of his limbs felt as if they were on fire and ready to fall off of his body. This was about survival. Finally, he made landfall at a small island and pitifully crawled his way onto the shoreline. He was exhausted, panting for air, and felt as if every bone in his body was made of lead. 

He attempted to stand but collapsed back down, laying on his back and looking up at the morning sun. The sky above him began to spin and his vision began to go white before he heard a familiar voice. “Really now, Marcus, I’m disappointed. It took you this long and you couldn’t even give me a call or text in that time?”

He could recognize that voice anywhere, but he wished he hadn’t been hearing it here of all places. He thought it was a tad bittersweet that he was hearing his voice now in his time of distress, but knew all too well what him being here meant. The last phrase he could manage to utter before completely losing consciousness was just one word. “William”.

[nostalgicwrestlingrd]

https://geo.dailymotion.com/player.html?video=x8vhxfs&

[sentrys]

my identity v id

12079327

[kevinwastaken]

are you fucking fr my rank partner is ranking without me again

[nhlclover]

i don't even know your name | will smith

word count: 1.84k

summary: after will sees you at a party, he can't get you out of his head despite not knowing your name

warnings: one curse word, descriptions of reader having auburn hair

notes: based on 'i don't even know your name' by shawn mendes. after he came out with noah kahan in toronto, i've been listening to shawn's old albums non-stop.

The music thumped from inside the house, slightly muted to Will and the other patrons in the backyard. The warm glow of string lights overhead illuminated the scene, casting a soft, inviting ambiance over the backyard. Will lined up the shot, raising his arm and tossing the ping pong ball towards the cups at the other end of the table. The ball bounced off the rim of a red solo cup and onto the grass below.

“You are so bad at this, man.” Ryan groaned.

“Fuck off dude.” Will retorted.

Will didn’t want to be at this party if he was being honest. He had a paper to finish and a project to work on. If it wasn’t for Gabe practically guilt-tripping him into coming, Will would be sitting comfortably in their dorm and, if he was being honest with himself, he would probably be playing video games instead of doing his homework.

Gabe and the rest of the guys knew he didn’t want to be there so they goaded him into playing beer pong, hoping that by the end of the first round, they’d have convinced him to stay. However, now nearing the end of the game, Will was anticipating the moment he got to leave. Standing in the backyard, amongst the smokers and those watching their game of pong, Will truly wanted to leave.

“Will, you’re up,” Jacob said, pulling Will from his brief daze. He looked down at the table, noticing that Ryan had gotten them one cup away from a win, which would allow Will to go home.

Will lined up the shot, taking this one more seriously than any past shot. He steadied his hand, aiming for the sole plastic cup at the back of the table. Out of the corner of his eye, Will spotted the sliding door open. His eyes flicked over to the entrance, stopping on your figure as you emerged into the dimly lit backyard. The soft glow of string lights illuminated your silhouette as you stepped onto the back porch, casting a gentle halo around you.

Will's hand paused in mid-air, the ping-pong ball balanced precariously on his fingertips. Gabe, Ryan, and Jacob groaned in frustration.

"What's wrong with you, Will? Take the shot!" Ryan groaned.

Will blinked, tearing his eyes away from the allure of the girl on the porch. “Sorry…just thought I saw something.”

The boys followed Will’s unwavering gaze to the porch, immediately spotting what had captured his attention. “That’ll make him want to stay.” Jacob said under his breath.

“Go talk to her.” Gabe said.

Ryan shook his head, clamping a hand on Will's shoulder. “No, no. Don’t try and get out of this right before Smitty and I are about to win.” Ryan said. “Finish the game first, then he can go flirt.”

“You’re robbing him of a chance at love.” Gabe challenged. Sure, he wasn’t thrilled about being on the verge of losing in beer pong to Ryan who he knew would be bragging the whole night due to his ever-competitive spirit. However, he also really wanted to witness his friend attempt to chat up a girl.

“He can go talk to her after we win!” Ryan said.

Will cast another glance back at you on the porch, watching the shadows dance across your face, highlighting the curve of your cheekbones and the delicate arc of your smile. You seemed to be in deep conversation with a few other girls, giving Will peace of mind that he could quickly make the shot and then go talk to the pretty girl who had completely hijacked his attention.

However, with said attention now split, when Will took his shot he completely airmailed it. The game continued, Will casting occasional glances at you, relief washing over him when you remained on the porch. His turn came once again, this time putting his complete focus on the shot. With a flick of his wrist, Will sent the ball through the air, landing in the cup before Gabe or Jacob could attempt to interfere. Ryan pulled Will in, jumping with the blond nestled under his arm. When Ryan was done with his over-the-top celebrating, Will shoved him off.

“Can I go now?” He asks his friends.

Ryan rolls his eyes, while Gabe and Jacob wave him off, encouraging their friend to talk to the girl who had captured his attention. However, when Will turned to look at you, his eyes came up empty. You had disappeared from where Will had last seen you. He scanned the rest of the backyard in hopes that you had ventured further, however, Will’s heart sank as that was also futile.

He moved inside, searching the kitchen, then the living room for your presence. Or even the presence of your friends who could potentially tell him where you were. Despite his efforts, he found no one. Not you, not your friends. Will returned to the backyard, a sense of defeat washing over him. Will found his friends in another round of beer pong, this time with a girl having taken his spot as Ryan’s teammate.

Will stood next to the table, watching as Ryan guided the girl's arm, aiding her in making a shot. “She’s gone.” Will told them, voice tinged with disappointment.

Gabe exchanged a sympathetic look with Jacob before coming over and patting Will on the back. "Sorry, man,” Gabe said, sympathetically. “Maybe you’ll see her around?”

Will could only shrug, feeling as though he wasn’t going to. Regret gnawed at him, as well as a slight sense of resentment towards Ryan, as he couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve been if he had seized the moment when he had the chance.

Weeks passed since the party and Will was genuinely considering checking himself into a psych ward over you. Ever since the first glimpse, you’d woven yourself into the fabric of Will’s thoughts. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to shake you from his mind. Will was genuinely baffled at the way you’d become a constant presence in his mind. He’d always prided himself on being a fairly level-headed and rational guy, especially on the ice. However, he now found himself fixated on a girl he had only seen briefly.

He didn’t even know your name.

Will felt as though he had to find you, had to unravel the mystery of who you were and why you had such a powerful hold over him. There’d been several times when Will thought he’d seen you. Where he caught a glimpse of auburn locks and nearly ran up to them thinking it was you. But it never was.

During an away game in Maine, he thought he saw you. He spotted a cascade of auburn hair amidst the crowd and nearly completely abandoned the play at hand to get another glimpse. When Will brought it up to his linemates during the intermission, they could only laugh at his suggestion, reminding him of the miles between them and the sheer impossibility of you being there.

Will tried his best to push the idea of you from his mind, trying to force himself to move on and forget about the girl whom he’d decidedly conjured up in his mind. Will fully focused his mind on hockey and schoolwork, which is how he found himself in the library for the first time. He wandered the rows of tables, trying to find a relatively empty spot that he could settle into and work on his assignments.

Will’s eye briefly caught a glimpse of auburn hair but didn’t pay much mind to it. Every other time he’d believed he’d seen you, it turned out to be a doppelganger. But upon a second glance, he couldn’t believe it. He blinked, almost convinced that his bogged-down mind had conjured up the image of you. But as he took a closer look, Will realized it was indeed you—your hair cascading down her shoulders, the exact smile he’d seen on your face that night was back on your lips as you talked with your friends.

Will’s heart race quickened in his chest, the sound loud in his ears. As Will contemplates approaching you, a sudden realization washes over him that he hasn’t thought about what he’d say to you. In his mind, Will envisioned countless scenarios where your paths intersected, where your eyes met, and conversation flowed effortlessly. But in none of these dreams did he consider the stark reality of the moment where he would admit his feelings without the safety net of prepared words. Will grapples with the scenario, knowing that every second of hesitation is a missed opportunity. He can’t wait like he did last time.

Will finds his feet carrying himself in your direction before he knows it. Every last ounce of courage was summoned as he approached you. Will stops at the end of your table, yours as well as your friends' attentions turning to the blond.

"Um, hi," he started, his voice betraying the nervousness he felt. Your eyes, however, were soft as you waited for the blond to continue. "I couldn't help but notice… you seem familiar. Have we met before?"

That was a lie, obviously. Will knew they’d never interacted. But it was his sole attempt at making his presence seem natural. Your lips quirked into a small smile, and he felt a surge of relief at her response. "I don't think so," you replied, your voice soft and melodic. "I'm y/n."

Will’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of your name, a name he had longed to know since the moment he first saw you. "I'm Will," he introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Will," you said, returning his smile. There was something about the way you said his name that sent a shiver down his spine.

Emboldened by your friendly demeanour, he decided to take a leap of faith. "Would you like to grab a coffee with me sometime? Maybe we could… catch up on all the times we haven't met before," he added with a sheepish grin, hoping his attempt at humour would lighten the mood.

Your smile widened, and a playful glint danced in your eyes, appreciating the boldness of the boy who’d approached you. "I'd like that, Will," you said. "How about tomorrow afternoon?"

"That sounds perfect," he said, unable to contain the grin that spread across his face.

As you exchanged contact information, Will couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement building within him. Will said goodbye to you, as well as your friends that he’d, in all honesty, had forgotten were there. As Will walked away from your table, his heart felt like it was doing cartwheels in his chest. He couldn't believe what just happened — finally mustering the courage to approach you, and to his amazement, you were even more captivating up close. Will walked off, exhilaration coursing through his veins. So much so that he left the library and forgone his pending assignments, excited that he now knew your name.

[faeriemarie]

my current favorite drs to script:

BALLERINA DR

persephone harvard, ballerina/actress, 31, fiancée of callum turner

HOCUS POCUS DR

sylvie costa, witch, 15, girlfriend of max dennison

STAR WARS (OG TRILOGY) DR

jana vilimari, princess, 17, girlfriend/wife of han solo

Y2K FAME DR

wendy zhang, actress, 36, dated SO many famous men but currently girlfriend of jason sudekis

SKINS UK DR

alice baudelaire, 16, girlfriend of sid jenkins

YOUTUBER DR

arabella moon, broadway actress/youtuber, 23

WRITER DR

rosemarie zhao, writer/poetess, 24, girlfriend of mike faist

FRANNY & ZOOEY DR

sylvie baudelaire, socialite, 17, girlfriend of zooey glass

NEPO BABY DR

vanessa clooney, writer/poetess, 24, daughter of george clooney

60S DR

ever monet, rock muse/warhol superstar/musician, 13, girlfriend of bob dylan

ANIMATOR DR

rosemarie jeong, stop-motion animator, 33, wife of zach woods

SINGER DR

remy jeong, singer/actress, 31, wife of ben schwartz

drs i want to script:

poldark dr: gentlewoman, 21, wife of george warleggan

love, victor dr: 15, girlfriend of felix weston

superstore dr: 19, girlfriend of jonah simms

community dr: 19, girlfriend of ian duncan

dead poets society dr: 15, girlfriend of knox overstreet

actress dr: 22, younger sister of dakota & elle fanning

southern gothic wr

midwest americana wr

[chocodile]

art fight???? how???

hey, could you explain a little about the art fight thing? i want to fight people !1!1!

Art Fight is an art gifting and trading game! It's been running in some form or another since (quickly checks about page) 2007 apparently but I've been playing it since 2016.

The way the game/event works is outlined here on the site's About page. Basically you just pick other users and draw free art for them of their characters--art you make for other people is called "attacks", and if you're lucky, they'll get "revenge" by drawing something back for you of one of your own characters, too!

There's a light framework of "teams" and "points" overlaid on top of that "draw art of others' OCs" concept to gamify it and give it a fun aesthetic (with team themes like sun vs moon, vampires vs werewolves, etc), but there are no prizes for the winning team, you can freely draw stuff for people on your own team, you can switch teams at any time, and... honestly most users don't really care about teams or points and are just in it for the OC gift art aspect of it.

I'm a huge fan of it because Art Fight feels like one of the last places on the internet that is by and for artists exclusively. On Art Fight you can openly relish in the fact that you're obsessed with one of your characters, or show off this idea for a cool story and setting you want to turn into a novel someday, or proudly display the fact that you've been worldbuilding in-depth dragon lore for a decade and be totally and completely surrounded on all sides by people who not only get it, but also are all doing the same thing. It's also a great way to give some love and support to beginner artists.

Some tips on how to have a better Art Fight experience:

Don't go in with the expectation that you'll get a ton of art, especially your first year. Your main goal should be to make gifts for other people.

If you are hoping to get "revenges" back, try to "attack" people who are definitely playing this year (as in, have drawn at least one attack this summer) but who aren't already swamped with a ton of attacks to "revenge" already. (Attacking only very popular/professional artists who get more attacks then they could ever possibly keep up with will leave you feel disappointed... that said, it's arguably worth attempting a few, just in case you get lucky, because that's how I got a drawing from Shoomlah, one of my childhood art idols!)

If you have an art blog, promote your Art Fight stuff to your followers there so they know you're playing. Playing with a group of friends is also more fun than playing solo 'cause you can always attack each other if you're not getting many revenges. Leaving nice comments on other people's characters and art can also help make you more visible/leave a good impression if you're brand new to the game.

Points and teams seriously don't matter at all, even a little. I suggest not paying them any attention at all beyond picking the team theme you think is cooler.

It's best to at least skim a character's profile and rules before drawing them. Not only does it help you get a better feel for the character, sometimes people put useful design details there instead of on their refs.

One more thing: Don't take Art Fight too seriously! You and everyone else are here to have fun. Don't get hung up on art "quality"--lots of people (including myself) are only doing headshots or sketches. Don't get upset if someone forgets a detail on your character or doesn't draw them quite "right". Don't get hung up on numbers or "ratios" or feel too stung if someone doesn't comment on or revenge something you draw for them. After all, Art Fight is for all types of artists, including young artists who don't fully understand netiquette rules yet, busy adults with full time jobs, people with disabilities that make it hard for them to communicate or hard for them to type or leave them with limited energy... etc. That doesn't mean they didn't appreciate what you drew for them!

Wow, I wrote too much. I should probably stop typing and go draw something for Art Fight before it gets too late in the evening!

TL;DR: Fun art gifting game. Great to rub elbows with other creatives for a month! Feels like an online convention of sorts! A+! Would recommend.

[shifterglitter]

My Waiting Rooms

The Hord

My first waiting room was inspired by the labyrinth, my love for friendly monsters and my need to live inside of a tree like a pixie.

The reason why I named this "The Hord" is because underneath the roots of my tree house is an elaborate cave system that I can access from my library. In those caves lives a Dragon that hordes all of my memories for current, past, and future lives. That dragon is a reflection of my Higher Self should I need any advice.

Around my tree house is a Labyrinth with serval moon doors, these are magical portals that can take me to any DR that I wish at any time.

Several agreeable monsters also call this waiting room their home and have designated territories.

I do have a non human mental health professional here that fits all my needs.

A few of my favorite parental figure characters of other medias also live here for any needed advice. Like Iroh and Genkai for example.

It has a different biome and mode of travel in each cardinal direction that leads to a different Waiting Room. This is the center of all my experiences and should I die in any of my other realities unexpectedly I would immediately shift here.

To the East there is a horse drawn carriage that goes though grasslands that will take you to Barbie's Mansion. To the south, between two forested mountains, there is a train that will bring you to the Dreamweaver station right outside Haven Village. To the West there is a bioluminescent beach with a yacht that will sail you to a Vacation Resort Island. To the North is a garage with a convertible Jeep prepared for your camping trip into the desert. Should you go far enough you will find yourself stopping at a gas station with strange burritos.

One day I'll post a map of everything.

Barbie's Creepy Dream House

Have any of you been to a Meow Wolf location yet? I have. I am obsessed with this string of immersive art experiences in the American south. I also have a wooden barbie doll house that my uncle made me when I was 8 that I am upcycling into a creepy display piece. This was the inspiration for my second waiting room.

In the fields, meadows, and marsh lands that surround the house I can find apparitions of ancestors and other loving entities on my spiritual team should I wish to speak with them directly.

Because I haven't finished the art project I have not solidified this WR, but I'll get to it in a few years.

The Haven

This inspired by the meditation series by The Honest Guys called Haven and Dreamweaver.

Important people (my core chosen family) in each of the realities I end up in will also be here with our collective memories together. This could be from one life as friends; or multiple, like my siblings. The souls here that have lived multiple lives with me can change their body to appear like any of their DR forms at will.

The soul of my "Kiss Me Again" lover lives here as my spouse in my English cottage with a thatched roof.

I often collaborate with my siblings and lover about who they want to be in my next DR, and who they want me to pull here for them to live an eternity with.

All of my past, present, and future pets live here.

Wii Sport Resort

I use to fucking love the Wii Sports games. SO yeah, I am going to play it forever. With tons of Mountain Dew.

And why not on an island with all my friends from every DR.

My OR biological family will also live here, but they will all be idealized healed versions of themselves.

This will have ALL Wii Sports games among other fun vacation activities, and PC Lounges were we can all play video games too.

Desert Skies

Inspired by a after death fictional audio drama podcast called Desert Skies.

I'm still working on the other details, but this will be a solo adventure of self discovery and processing the loss of each lived life.

*these are all waiting rooms because: they have no plot, are unaffected by time, every living thing is immortal, there are no bugs I dislike, no one ever gets dirty, or experiences any sort of discomfort/harm, we all always smell good, what every your want will appear upon your will of thinking it, you don't need to eat sleep or drink water if you don't want to, there are no ill effects to drugs, you can't get sick, and all of everyone's needs are provided for. There is no suffering of any kind.*

[hldailyupdate]

“I knew that I could never imitate the success we had in a very short time. One Direction will always be the top for me. I just had to find out where I can best put myself among them - and that took time. I am trying to redefine the concept of success for myself. The fact that the album now sounds the way I wanted it is a great success.”

-Louis on feeling pressure as a solo artist after the success of One Direction. (25 October 2022)

via WR

[chasedawg2]

8 Shows To Get To Know Me

Tagged by no one, seen from a few, suggested by one

1. RWBY

The only reason I use this app is to see content on the two dorks above that I love so much and thank for the several hours of total brainrot. What literally started in like volume 2 as a "I envy my gf having ships in shows we watch and they work out, I need to find a ship to enjoy" to literally wanting to scream for joy when they're in the general vicinity of one another begging for any social interaction.

If that doesn't show well who I am idk what will.

2. RWBY Ice Queendom

....except maybe basically putting RWBY twice. Showcases my obsessive tendencies (I used 2 of 8 spots on a list to talk about White Rose)? Check. Shows my petty side (I loved it mostly for having juicy White Rose content I haven't gotten much of in recent volumes)? Yup. Yeah that works. Don't let me fool you though, I loved the show for the show too. Good plot, loved the animation, all of it fine and dandy. But yeah.... I just needed a WR infusion and this show gave it to me.

3. Succession

(for those of you who have not seen Succession, this is not Succession, this is one of the top GIF results for "business meeting")

Business people doing business things saying business words for an hour every week and yet it still stresses me out in a good way. Cinema.

4. Wizards of Waverly Place

Don't let the fact that I literally fell in love with Selena Gomez because of this show fool you. I loved this show for the show..... as well. Were there shows I watched more? Yeah. Were there shows I liked more? Probably. But this list is about shows that help you learn about me, not my top 8 shows of all time (although this is a weird one to say that on because this in fact would be in my top 8 favorite shows all time probably) and this teaches you the type of thing I was into in my younger years and how I learned about my biggest celebrity crush ever. Plus the transitions are all timers.

5. Once Upon A Time

^one of my favorite TV characters based on vibes

But that's not why it's here. It's here because it was one of, if not the first, major length show I ever binged with my girlfriend so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Plus everything besides the last season was very VERY good so it started things on a good note and has been good ever since 😁😂

6. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

God I fuckin miss this show. I miss this show so bad. That's what you're learning about me from this, that I miss these two dorky lesbians so fuckin bad. I regret hopping in the bandwagon the second they became canon. I should've latched on for the ride. GOD I miss them so bad. Are they still making a movie? I wish they made funkos but we are definitely past a point of no return there. UGHHHHHH COME BACK.

7. Game of Thrones

Yes yes, I know. I know. Relax. I too think the last season completely ruined the vibes of the whole show and severely reduces interest in potential rewatches if I have nothing else to watch. HOWEVER it makes the learn about me list because this is how I discovered that I love Richard Madden as an actor. I thought it was just that I loved Robb Stark the character, because before this I was never one to be like "oh so and so is my favorite actor I love their work" besides Selena Gomez because I was shameless in my youth and Harrison Ford because I liked Han Solo in my Star Wars days. But no, I watched him for like 4 minutes in 1917 and was like hey I know him, then I saw him in Eternals and he was great in Eternals, and now I'm seeing him in Medici and I like him in that too! I need to see Bodyguard at some point. Everyone says his performance was amazing in that.

8. The Boys

I was never a big comic/superhero guy growing up. I knew about various superheroes, I knew the MCU existed, hell I was Team Iron Man without watching a single MCU movie until 2019 (and I'm still that way). But, I've gotten into it. Up to date on MCU movies, seen most of the MCU shows (haven't seen only one of them yet, but I won't say which so it doesn't start anything because I just haven't felt like starting it yet and that's the only reason), and like I liked it. The Boys (followed soon by Eternals and then Moon Knight) showed me there was ways I could LOVE superhero stuff and now I make it my mission to see Marvel content because I've become interested in it so I guess it's a good thing I started late because I've yet to get burnout but that's only because I've been consuming content for like 4 years while some (if you count the Tobey Spiderman movies as the first mainstream superhero movies although I'm sure theres others that were also mainstream, probably batman but I'm getting into DC soon I swear I just dont know as much yet but I will get into it) have been consuming it for 20+ so I get why people complain about superhero burnout but I haven't reached it yet, and amazing content like The Boys is why.

Anyways that's it you can do it now @dragongirl180 and anyone else who happens to see this it's an open invitation to also do it so go ahead and share and stuff

[workingchemistry]

After rambling paragraphs in your comment section I have come on Tumblr to write more lmao. Seriously I wrote 4 journal pages of thoughts about your au it's very good!

Ok so first, I love how the fight dynamic is: jump Fox when he is being stupid -> 17 breaks up fight -> profit. Except now everything's all wrong so they had to call 17 over to fix things in post. Just hilarious and good continuity.

Your manipulative Fox is excellent show don't tell. It's honestly really hard to write a smart dude without being basically psychic or actually failing a lot. So like even though a lot of people love manipulative Fox it's hard to show in such a low stakes fashion. Usually wr just see him blackmailing people or otherwise winning instead of slowing gathering intel and influencing someone. The pacing and POV just makes it work.

Ace!Fox and Allo!Bly solidarity is hilarious. It cracks me up that the Kaminoans somehow didn't realize that most of the clones are ace spectrum. Like i question if the whole defective CT for CC batches worked even once as intended when every CC is only interested in adoption. "Natborns are obsessed with sex" indeed. Fox knows what's up.

Fox being more genuine with Bly and 17 and even Laruk was adorable. Especially with 17 where we got to realize that all the cadet style military discipline is affectionate with 17. Feral!Fox and his barely older dad my beloved.

I love how the deterministic gene editing totally matters but also doesn't matter much at all. Like all it really did is make a hierarchical family dynamic. Alphas will absolutely parent solo because they are competitive. CCs are big on being at the middle level of parenting and ori'vod-ing because they are only as competitive (for affection) as necessary to get the primary position in a cuddle pile. CTs are totally comfy with looking after younger siblings while still being looked after by the CCs. Ultimately they are all chomping at the bit to create a found family irrespective of genes.

Satine and Fox are so interesting because Satine cares that he is bleeding because of her principles not because she is being kind. Fox likewise pretends to be nice constantly so that she doesn't die on his watch and he gets blamed. Like him expressing understanding over natborn women being uncomfortable with men is just so he can do his job. He gets it but he doesn't really care about a stranger's hypothetical trauma.

Caring about your appearance is absolutely not a baseline experience for clones. Choosing to deviate from regulation at all is a huge expression of individuality even if you still present as a man.

Also like, Satine they are not soldiers by choice. Why would they have a culture that values violence above all else when they don't choose that life. As Fox was explaining in the creche, violence between vode is about love and survival, bot bloodthirsty bloodthirstyness or glory.

Also yeah, Satine will be totally offended by Fox's philosophy on death and murder. "The only deaths I care about are my brothers and they die all the time. If the purge was real I would fix the overcrowding in the senate dome no problem."

lol. They had a Method. It’s always a struggle when your younger brother is both smarter and dumber than you are. Usually beating him up and getting lecture by the only person he listens to is effective but then they tried to beat him up without Seventeen being there and it just didn’t work as well.

Ahh. Thank you. 😭 Fox is so fun as an unreliable narrator because he’s being purposeful about what he tells people when and even what he lets himself thing about but it makes me so nervous that I’m showing too much of my hand lol.

😂😂 I’m just too obsessed with the idea of the clones being ace mostly because I’m ace and so I love the idea of a culture where being allo is met with confusion. I don’t think the Kaminoans thought about sex drive at all until the trainer pops up saying it’s a problem. They give the CCs a CT and they seem more pliable so I guess it must have worked. Meanwhile the CCs are losing their minds over having a new tubie to take care of and mother hen. The CTs on the other hand are dubious but willing to be babied bc they’ve gone from living under the threat of decom to being protected by the most feral clones they’ve ever met. 😂

Seventeen acts a lot more aggressive than he really is. He’s not against thrashing his kids to make them behave but he always does it with affection. I just love to think about like Kenobi and company realizing their commanders and troopers are actually the semi domesticated version when they start digging into things and see the kinda shit that Fox and the Corries pull off unsupervised.

That is such a perfect description. 😭 the Aureks are extremely possessive and don’t really trust each other while the CCs don’t really trust outsiders. The CTs on the other hand are comparatively easy going despite what natborns think. They see these men doing crazy things on the battle and think they’re insane but actually CTs are very affectionate and willing to adopt everyone into their found families. They’re just also more willing to listen to a no. Aureks Will Forcibly adopt anyone from the younger series and CCs will latch onto anyone and dig their teeth in until they’ve subdued their targets.

Satine is so much fun to play against Fox because they’re kind of the same subset of person but with different ideals. They both come across as very helpful and caring and it’s not that they aren’t but they aren’t altruistic—even though Satine values altruism, everything she does is to further her ideals and people so it’s not actually good for good’s sake. Satine cares about Fox’s wellbeing because she feels responsible for him and Fox cares about Satine’s wellbeing because he is responsible for her. She wouldn’t be more sad about him dying than she would any rando and he would say good riddance to her if his family could get away with it.

The clones in other battalions get to play around with their appearance at least, but Fox can’t let his Corries even do that. Too much hinges on them being interchangeable. Those with identifying scars get pulled off of Senate duty and when he got his facial scar he had a whole breakdown because it meant he couldn’t step in and pretend to the others anymore. So that means what little individuality he can give to them is extremely precious and if that’s just which pronouns and names being used, he will fight for them. If they are already too identifiable with scars, he lets them grow out their hair and dye it as long as they leave enough undyed roots so it can be shaved off in an emergency. Makeup and nail polish and accessories are shared freely and used by everyone regardless of gender identity within the barracks.

The love/violence and inaction/hate culture clash is so fun to me. Like hurting your brother so that the trainer doesn’t do it is love as far as the vode are concerned. Standing aside and not correcting a mistake is setting your brother up for a decom. Satine’s preconceived notions about war and the reasons natborns fight doesn’t fit when these are just men who aren’t allowed to anything else. Like sure they enjoy killing sometimes. They enjoy getting a job done and they’re desensitized to murder. It has nothing to do with the actual killing. Later this will be highlightened when we get to see Fox doing the bare minimum to protect a natborn compared to Rex, Cody, Wolffe, and Bly all nearly killing themselves to protect their generals. Inaction vs action is a huge thing for them. Fox quite quit his job years ago. He’s just keeping his men alive at this point. Fuck everyone else.

Fox really said if the terrorists wanted to be harder to catch that would be great actually. Oh no he’s accidentally dropping the plans to the senate dome. If he could guarantee that no one would be alive to retaliate afterwards, he’d commit a murder spree, take his troopers, and book it out of there.

[royal-confessions]

“people need to stop taking meghan literally. she said you "cannot" match with her majesty doesn't mean its forbidden, just means its like an awkward social faux pas. its just like if two actresses matched on a red carpet, or if you matched with someone at a wedding, its just a bit awkward” - Submitted by Anonymous

“when meghan was a WR people criticised her for wearing too many beige tones. now, 'royal experts' cant stop showing pictures of her wearing colour. she said RARELY y'all, RARELY wore colour, and only on solo or engagements with harry.  They keep trying to show that she lied but two things can be true, she sometimes wore colour, but other times, and during group events, she wore dull tones. these people need to chill.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[starspaces]

The Past and Present Life of Taiwan's Banned Songs by Ma Shifang

This is an English translation of the first episode of Ma Shifang's radio program "Heard," about Chyi Yu's "The Olive Tree."

The song “The Olive Tree” (橄榄树) was recorded in 1979 as the title track of Chyi Yu’s (齐豫) first solo album. This song is possibly one of the most widespread and popular songs in the history of classical Chinese music. The song’s lyricist was the writer San Mao (三毛), the composer was musician Li Tai-Hsiang (李泰祥), and it was performed by singer Chyi Yu.

This album from 1979 set an almost insurmountable model for Taiwan’s youth songwriters at the time. The version of the song we’re hearing is in the state most people heard it in for the first time. But, the song itself had endured eight to nine years of twists and turns that held it back from being recorded. Along the way, there were many points where it could have ceased to exist. Or at least, the song wouldn’t have ended up growing into what we now know it to be. 

What’s going on here? Today, we’re going to talk about the story of the song “The Olive Tree.”

Don’t ask from where I have come / 不要問我從哪裡來 My home is far, far away / 我的故鄉在遠方 Why do I wander so far? / 為甚麼流浪 In distant lands, I wander on / 流浪遠方 流浪

For the birds that soar in the sky / 為了天空飛翔的小鳥 For the brooks that flow in the mountains / 為了山間輕流的小溪 For a meadow green and wide / 為了寬闊的草原 In distant lands, I wander on / 流浪遠方 流浪

The song  “The Olive Tree” was first put on a record in 1979, but it was created much earlier than that — it was written around 1970-1971. At the time, the composer Li Tai-Hsiang was around 29-30 years old. In the early 1970s, he wished to combine modern poetry with original music, which would hopefully allow a wider audience to recognize literature while entering the halls of classical music.

After he met San Mao in 1970, he invited her to try her hand at writing lyrics which he would compose music to. And so, in the early 1970s, San Mao and Li Tai-Hsiang collaborated and wrote several songs that would later become popular, including “Didn’t Say Goodbye” (不曾告別), “A Daylight Avenue” (一條日光大道), and the song we’re introducing today, “The Olive Tree”. 

The lyrics say, “Don’t ask from where I have come, My home is far, far away. Why do I wander so far? In distant lands, I wander on.” The word “wander” seems to be overused nowadays— any young artist will say “I’m going to wander.” But to young ears in late 1970s Taiwan, the word “wander” contained a landscape, expectations, and dreams that were completely different. 

What happened in 1979? 

On January 1, 1979, the United States formally established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. At the end of the year, Taiwan caused a national stir with the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件). It was a time of change. 

There was one other thing this year. At the time, people probably didn’t feel that strongly about it, but it’s interesting when looking back. In 1979, Taiwan finally opened its doors to the general public and allowed them to apply for tourist visas. Before this, it was extremely difficult to travel abroad — we keep on talking about wandering, but where can we wander to? 

For most Taiwanese at the time, the furthest you could go was Penghu (a collection of islands 50 km west of Taiwan). Anything further than that was impossible.

So hearing a song about an olive tree, from faraway Spain, that’s Mencius’ landscape. 

For the birds that soar in the sky For the brooks that flow in the mountains For a meadow green and wide In distant lands, I wander on

When San Mao first handed “The Olive Tree” lyrics to Li Tai-Hsiang, he was a little dumbfounded. 

Why? Take a guess. 

When he first encountered San Mao’s “The Olive Tree”, there was a discrepancy between what he had imagined and what she turned in. He was at a loss, because San Mao emphasized that this song was her dream and described an episode in Spain.

Back then, the lyrics of the second verse that San Mao wrote were:

For the birds that soar in the sky For the small donkey For the Spanish girls For the Spaniard’s big eyes

What you don’t know is that San Mao had just returned from Spain at the time. When she came back, she read a prose poem published in 1917, called Platero and I, by Nobel-prize winning author Juan Ramón Jiménez (Platero is the name of the eponymous donkey). He received the Nobel Prize in 1956, so Platero and I was translated to Chinese that year.

San Mao read and liked it so much that she was inspired by the book to write the song “The Olive Tree”. What she really wanted to talk about was the little donkey!

But no matter how hard Li Tai-Hsiang thought about it, he found it very hard to put “donkey” to the melody. He later cobbled together a melody to his best effort, but he wasn’t very satisfied with his work.

In 1973, Li Tai-Hsiang planned to spend a whole year learning about modern music at the Music Experimental Center at San Diego State University. In order to finance his travel, Li Tai-Hsiang wanted to take a few songs he wrote with San Mao, as well as some of his work in the popular music scene, and sell them off to record companies. 

It wasn’t until 1974, when Li Tai-Hsiang came back to Taiwan, that he heard the songs he sold on the radio, arranged in a way that wasn’t quite what he had in mind when he wrote them.

But he didn’t hear the song “The Olive Tree,” probably because the record company didn’t really know what to do with it either. 

When Li Tai-Hsiang came back, his mood was a little different. He felt like after going to the US, he had been exposed to more things and had a wider range of contacts. He learned how to use rhythm to express his feelings and aspired to live a life of freedom.

At this time, he met another young girl with a passion for music, called Yang Tzu-Chun (杨祖珺). Yang Tzu-Chun was an important songwriter in Taiwan’s campus folk music movement, and popularized the song The Beautiful Island (美麗島). He got to know her, and often went to visit her to talk about music and life.

Yang Tzu-Chun also felt like the lyrics in the middle of Olive Tree, about the Spanish girls and donkeys and such, were a little strange. So, she changed the lyrics to this:

For the birds that soar in the sky For the brooks that flow in the mountains For a meadow green and wide In distant lands, I wander on

With this small change, she expanded the scene of the song beyond Spain, and opened up more possibilities for the symbolism of the olive tree — it became a destination from a dream.

Don’t ask from where I have come My home is far, far away

I interviewed Yang Tzu-Chun many years later, and she said she felt sorry to San Mao. She was young and ignorant at the time and didn’t think to find the original lyricist. At that time and environment, it wouldn’t have been easy to find her.

It was probably many years later that San Mao heard the version sung by Chyi Yu and noticed that the lyrics in the middle had changed. Her initial reaction was not very pleased, and she said something like this: If the purpose for your wandering is just to see the birds flying in the sky and the vast meadows, then you don’t have to go wandering. But this song never got the chance to be turned into a record.

It wasn’t until 1978 that Li Tai-Hsiang met Chyi Yu at an academic competition. He took the initiative to make an offer to Chyi Yu, where he said he’d help her produce a complete album.

The resources of this Li Tai-Hsiang and the Li Tai-Hsiang of the past were of a completely different condition. He was already able to conduct the entire philharmonic orchestra and make music he liked, in the way he liked to.

Chyi Yu’s first solo album “The Olive Tree” was released in 1979. On the cover of this album, we can see, on top of the big title, “Composed, arranged, and conducted by Li Tai-Hsiang” and “Vocals by The Golden Eagle Award-winning singer Chyi Yu.”

These days, it’s rare to find albums that can claim “composed, arranged, and conducted” all by one person. What skill!

Several songs on this album were songs used in movies and interludes, including “Walking in the Rain” (走在雨中). For movies of this era, choosing a theme song, using it, and releasing it on a record should be a smooth process. It’s supposed to be a big seller in the theater, then on the radio and TV — it should be a big hit across the board. But the song ran into a new obstacle.

The song didn’t pass the examinations of Taiwan’s Radio and Television Administration. 

Why? What part of the song “The Olive Tree” is questionable enough for it to not pass?

Turns out the first verse, “Don’t ask from where I have come, My home is far, far away. Why do I wander so far? In distant lands, I wander on,”  to the ears of the censorship board of that year, was suspicious. It could be an allusion to the time the Kuomintang party was defeated in the civil war and as a result, had to retreat to the small island of Taiwan and wander far away.  

This line of thinking is truly amazing. But back in the day, Taiwanese creators really had no choice — they just had to deal with constraints of censorship caused by the imagination of the administration. 

Now what do we do? The movie ("Your Smiling Face"/歡顏) had already wrapped up, all the post-production was done, all the footage was done. The very first scene of the movie is the lead actress, Sibelle Hu (胡慧中) singing “The Olive Tree” to the camera. 

But the song did not pass the examination. Then, what’s to be done? We can’t cut this scene, it’s important!

In the end, they had to ask Chyi Yu to come back to the studio and sing again, and change “in distant lands, I wander on,” to “wandering, wandering.”

How come she can sing “my home is far, far away,” but can’t sing “in distant lands, I wander on”? We don’t really know either. At that time, the censors probably had a way of thinking that we don’t understand.(*According to this article, “The administration at the time feared that lyrics about a “faraway hometown” would provoke sensitive cross-strait relations, and that lyrics romanticizing roving would encourage teenagers to run away from home").

Later, while watching the movie, you can see that the lip-syncing is still to the lyrics of “in distant lands, I wander on,” while we hear “wandering, wandering.”

The song was forbidden from airing on the television and radio, but that didn’t stop it from circulating — on the radio’s Song of the Year poll, “The Olive Tree” ranked in the top ten of the year’s favorites.

Additionally, although it was banned in Taiwan for a few years, I don’t think there’s a single person in the Chinese-speaking world who doesn’t know this song.

But looking back at that time, when radio stations couldn’t broadcast the song — what could be done? The year after Chyi Yu released “The Olive Tree,” 1980, there was another young female singer who released her first solo album as well. Her name was Sally Yeh (葉蒨文). 

Sally Yeh was only 18 years old back then. In 1980, she released her first solo album, arranged and produced by Li Tai-Hsiang, called “Embossing Spring” (春天的浮雕). There’s a song on this album that’s in English. The song is titled “The Olive Tree.” 

Sally Yeh adapted “The Olive Tree” to English. DJs that couldn’t broadcast Chyi Yu’s version played Sally Yeh’s version instead, as a roundabout way of protesting the censorship. 

Don't ask from where I have come My home is far, far away Why do you wander so far Wander so far, wander so far?

Sally Yeh certainly had a good voice, but her singing style was very different from Chyi Yu. Chyi Yu once recalled the first time she was at Li Tai-Hsiang’s house listening to him play the piano and sing “The Olive Tree.” She was blown away on the spot, thinking “How could there be such a nice song?” 

Then she tried to sing the song. In the beginning, Chyi Yu sang in a style that was more like an American folk singer, closer to what we heard from Sally Yeh. But when it came time to officially go into the recording studio, Chyi Yu said Li Tai-Hsiang was bursting with ideas, constantly asking her to sing the song in different ways and trying to push her to her full potential. 

Chyi Yu said that he was basically just treating her like an instrument to test out. Indeed, the final results made Chyi Yu’s “The Olive Tree” neither an art song nor a pop song. It’s neither folk, and it’s certainly not rock. It’s just a beautiful sound that we haven’t heard before. 

Chyi Yu has sung “The Olive Tree” for more than 30 years, and she has often done it acapella. Even when you take away all the accompaniment, the olive tree in this dream is still beautiful. 

Also, also / 還有還有  For that olive tree in my dreams / 為了夢中的橄欖樹 Don't ask from where I have come / 不要問我從哪裡來 My home is far, far away / 我的故鄉在遠方 Why do I wander so far? / 為甚麼流浪 Why do I wander so far away? /為甚麼流浪遠方

Even though it has already been so many years since “The Olive Tree” was released, when we listen to it now, we don’t feel like the sound is outdated, but rather it is a voice that transcends the times. Such an arrangement, such a melody, such musical elements, such a way of singing.

Chyi Yu has told me that she has sung this song thousands of times, but she still gets nervous every time before she gets on stage. From the first note of the opening, to the last note of the last line of the song, she can’t relax, and if she does, she’s done for. 

So it’s not an easy song to sing, but it is a truly pretty song.

Looking back toward 1979, this song helped many young musicians see heights they could not have imagined before. Many young singers and songwriters at the time couldn’t even read sheet music, they self-taught themselves the guitar, and the process of writing songs was just humming and singing, humming and singing. 

As long as it was nice to hear and easy to sing, it could be sung. 

If it weren’t for people like Li Tai-Hsiang, who wanted to specialize in classical music, a person who came from the academy, who had the courage to break the mold of music’s potential and the barriers between the genres of music, those young musicians probably didn’t know that music could be made to look like this. 

We often use the words “to have broad appeal,” but how difficult it is to really achieve the realm of broad popularity. But Li Tai-Hsiang really did it. He did it with Chyi Yu, and they’ve inspired a whole generation of young people.

They hear such a song and tell themselves that they can’t compete with such heights, but at least we can try. We should try again. 

It’s no exaggeration to say that Li Tai-Hsiang and Chyi Yu inspired a whole generation with the 1979 release of “The Olive Tree,” and with it, they’ve created a courageous piece of Taiwanese music history. 

[vikishifting]

¿Qué es el shifting? Explicación científica

Bien, el shifting toma como premisa la teoría del multiverso, así que si quieres saber más de éste, puedes buscar también sobre la teoría del multiverso.

Nosotros existimos en un infinito número de universos y realidades alternas. Es por eso que los shifters quieren ir a realidades donde están con sus ídolos, donde cumplen sus sueños, donde son parte de películas, entre otros usos que le podríamos dar al shifting.

Sí, hay distintos universos y realidades pero físicamente es totalmente imposible llegar. Ahí es donde entra el concepto de shifting.

¿Qué es una RD? Ví a muchos shifters hablar de ellas.

RD es la acortación de "realidad deseada" es esa realidad donde deseas llegar mediante shifting.

¿Cómo realizo shifting?

En YouTube existen varios métodos, la mayoría de ellos consiste en relajar tu cuerpo y alinear tu consciencia con esa realidad. También, puedes meditar antes de realizar estos métodos si te resulta más fácil realizarlo así, pero es completamente opcional, que nadie te diga lo contrario.

Contradiciendo lo que dicen algunas personas desinformadas, no es necesario hacer algún tipo de rutina para cambiar de realidad, no necesitas hacer un skincare, no necesitas darte un baño caliente y no necesitas llenarte de agua hasta que sientas que vas a explotar. Esas son algunas falacias que nos cuentan sobre el shifting. Estas afirmaciones son todas falsas porque el shifting no es un cambio físico, por ende no hay que "cuidar" mas de lo necesario (por asi decirlo¿) tu físico. No sé si me expliqué bien.

Guión. Cómo hacerlo y qué incluir.

El guión es algo que no es necesario para el shifting. Es un escrito en digital o en papel (recomiendo más en digital por privacidad, por si acaso alguien lee el de papel) que contiene información o especificaciones sobre cómo es la realidad a la que quieres viajar.

Si lo haces, éste debe incluir datos básicos como tu nombre, tu edad, tu físico, relaciones... o al menos tener una idea de cómo quieres que sea esta realidad.

También hay gente que se dedica a hacer estos guiones para que tú simplemente tengas que rellenarlos.

Distintos tipos de realidades

RA

Realidad Actual. Realidad donde te encuentras ahora mismo.

RD

Realidad deseada. Realidad donde quieres viajar

RO

Realidad Onírica. Realidad donde vas mientras duermes, pasas un día y cuando duermes allá despiertas acá.

RE

Realidad Espejo. Una realidad como tu realidad actual, solo que con pequeñas modificaciones.

WR

Waiting Room. Una realidad donde tienes tiempo para preparar tu guión, estudiar o lo que sea antes de ir a tu RD o de volver a tu RA.

. . .

Espero que te haya servido esta información y quieras intentarlo. 111 Happy shifting!