themysterioussnake

[themysterioussnake]

Lol the worst bit is this is pretty much what canonically happened

Love the artwork as well

glacier before you keel over can you hire a therapist for the icewings

transcript:

glacier, speaking: on my deathbed, im naming the heir to the kingdom of ice as…

glacier, thinking: mink, literally a baby. pros- wont kill anyone. cons- doesnt know how to read.

crystal, war veteran. pros- the only option who is an adult. cons- the pressure will literally kill her and/or make her flee the kingdom of ice

icicle, war criminal. pros- ????. cons- in jail for 5 counts of attempted murder. will definitely cause an international incident.

snowfall, anxiety. pros- actually attended her politics lessons. cons- one bad day away from a paranoid nervous breakdown.

glacier, speaking: um, snowfall, i guess

[themysterioussnake]

Random rainwing in a tree :^) trying to work on environments more! I think this is a good start

[themysterioussnake]

This is so true. Despite all its flaws, WoF is still an incredible series and I don’t know where I would be without it. I’ve seen many people within the fandom criticize the series way too intensely, without even acknowledging the sheer amount of hard work and care Tui must have put in. I mean, can you write an entire 15 book novel series? I know I’ve been guilty of excessively pointing out the negative aspects of the series myself but I still believe the positive aspects more than balance it out. Tui is a really talented writer, and some of the fandom should appreciate that a bit more.

You know what puts me down? It feels like this fandom cares more about dragging Tui and her work through the dirt as much as possible so they can act like they're "superior" to her or "better" than her, and they do this by nitpicking as many flaws in her work as possible, even flaws that aren't actually present in her books to begin with. Thoughts on this?

The quick answer: Yeah, I completely agree.

The long answer: Buckle up because I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while actually and have some thoughts. Ultimately reading a book is like having a conversation, and everyone will experience it differently. What some people find annoying others may find charming, and what some may think of us a frustrating plot hole others may not notice or care.

I will start by saying that, indeed, this fandom loves to drag Tui, and I myself like to pick apart her books to see how things work or don’t work, but at the end of the day I have immense respect and admiration for her. Tui’s writing is extremely immersive, full of personality, and engaging. Wings of Fire is one of the few series I’ve read that fully engrossed me in the world and characters. 

When it comes to reading books, there is definitely a bias towards seeing the things that can go wrong. When things are done right, we don’t really notice, but Tui does a lot of things right. There are a lot of factors that go into making a good book/series and I’d like to point out some of the maybe lesser appreciated aspects of the WoF books. 

Emotional scenes and tension: Tui is supremely good at writing those heart wrenching scenes, as well as those endearing scenes that steal your heart. Perhaps I speak for myself, but I cannot think of any scene that came across as melodramatic or weak in the emotional sense. She does not hold her punches. There have been several emotional scenes in these books where I had to just stop reading and stare at a wall for ten minutes, many of them in the Darkstalker Legends book. Writing intense emotions in characters is hard enough, but Tui manages to make them compelling and believable. 

Characters: I think this is the main reason most people are in the fandom. We all have at least one little creature that lives in our heads rent free. In my opinion, Tui really put her whole ass into the Arc 2 characters, but in general, when Tui is writing from the perspective of any character, she’s does an amazing job of pulling you through their emotions and perspective... although due to the point below, sometimes the character development can kind of slip away from her. 

Plot: For better or worse, Tui puts the plot ahead of everything. This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, it’s just what Tui decided to focus on, and when she does, she does it extremely well. Keeping a story moving at a good pace, while keeping things interesting, is pretty much a necessity for any good story. While some books in the WoF series are stronger than others, Tui is able to keep the plot moving both within a single book and across each arc. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read, YA and adult fiction, that can’t even manage to do that. When I read WoF I was glued to the book. I’d have to force myself to slow down when reading because I’d finish them in a day if I could. The downside to this, as mentioned in the above point, is that sometimes the character development that happens in previous books is lost. 

Writing style: What can I say? Her descriptive language is amazing. She knows how to make the most basic scenes interesting with her writing. There are many times when reading that I wished to myself that I could write like that. I think some people might not completely agree with this point, as Tui loves to use all caps and a modern sounding language in a fantasy world, but I personally don’t really mind that, but I can understand that some may find it unappealing. 

Conflicts: In terms of writing, “conflict” is another one of those super important components. They can be internal or external, and whether you agree with how the narrative handles them or not, Tui writes conflicts that stick with the reader.  Tui also knows how to keep things surprising and unpredictable but in a well written way. Seriously, how many of us were floored when the Prophecy turned out to be fake? Or when we learned that it had been Gill that Tsunami killed? Or that Turtle had been the one to turn Anemone into an animus? That is some good drama and conflict!

                               Other factors

This section is mostly about other factors that I, personally, keep in mind when I think about the series as a whole.

Timeline and publishers: This woman was pumping out a book each year. That’s a wild pace. I have been trying to learn more about publishing contracts, the agreement between authors and the publishing company, and haven’t learned much other than each contract is unique. Some authors have more creative freedom than others as certain contracts allow the publishers to request changes to the text. The main goal of publishers is to sell the book and if they think the text has content that will negatively impact sales, they may have the power to ask for it to be changed. I have no idea what type of contract Tui has, or if there was a contractual deadline for each book, but it’s something that should be considered. I bring this point up because it may explain her priorities and why certain elements had to be set aside in favour of finishing the books rather than fleshing them out. For every published book there is probably another novel’s length of deleted scenes and paragraphs.

                                Conclusion

Ultimately Tui’s strengths can create imbalances in other areas. Her prioritizing of Plot can mean world-building and maintaining character development falls to the wayside. Also, perhaps the biggest issue that fandom notices is that Tui asks complicated questions in her books but then tries to give black and white answers when really, no direct answer should be given. In the first arc we get questions like Am I enough just as I am? Even if I’m not the smartest or bravest or strongest or fastest or biggest, can I change the world? In the other arcs we get questions like Is there such thing as pure good and pure evil? And when faced with someone who continues to make choices that hurt us and others, even if we love this person, at what point do we offer compassion and when do we draw the line?

This post isn’t intended to discuss whether or not Tui succeeded in answering these questions - I’ll leave that for others. What I do hope came across in this post is that Tui does indeed know what she’s doing and I hope that we can all take a moment to appreciate the things that made us love this series to begin with ❤️

[themysterioussnake]

You know what puts me down? It feels like this fandom cares more about dragging Tui and her work through the dirt as much as possible so they can act like they're "superior" to her or "better" than her, and they do this by nitpicking as many flaws in her work as possible, even flaws that aren't actually present in her books to begin with. Thoughts on this?

The quick answer: Yeah, I completely agree.

The long answer: Buckle up because I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while actually and have some thoughts. Ultimately reading a book is like having a conversation, and everyone will experience it differently. What some people find annoying others may find charming, and what some may think of us a frustrating plot hole others may not notice or care.

I will start by saying that, indeed, this fandom loves to drag Tui, and I myself like to pick apart her books to see how things work or don’t work, but at the end of the day I have immense respect and admiration for her. Tui’s writing is extremely immersive, full of personality, and engaging. Wings of Fire is one of the few series I’ve read that fully engrossed me in the world and characters. 

When it comes to reading books, there is definitely a bias towards seeing the things that can go wrong. When things are done right, we don’t really notice, but Tui does a lot of things right. There are a lot of factors that go into making a good book/series and I’d like to point out some of the maybe lesser appreciated aspects of the WoF books. 

Emotional scenes and tension: Tui is supremely good at writing those heart wrenching scenes, as well as those endearing scenes that steal your heart. Perhaps I speak for myself, but I cannot think of any scene that came across as melodramatic or weak in the emotional sense. She does not hold her punches. There have been several emotional scenes in these books where I had to just stop reading and stare at a wall for ten minutes, many of them in the Darkstalker Legends book. Writing intense emotions in characters is hard enough, but Tui manages to make them compelling and believable. 

Characters: I think this is the main reason most people are in the fandom. We all have at least one little creature that lives in our heads rent free. In my opinion, Tui really put her whole ass into the Arc 2 characters, but in general, when Tui is writing from the perspective of any character, she’s does an amazing job of pulling you through their emotions and perspective... although due to the point below, sometimes the character development can kind of slip away from her. 

Plot: For better or worse, Tui puts the plot ahead of everything. This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, it’s just what Tui decided to focus on, and when she does, she does it extremely well. Keeping a story moving at a good pace, while keeping things interesting, is pretty much a necessity for any good story. While some books in the WoF series are stronger than others, Tui is able to keep the plot moving both within a single book and across each arc. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read, YA and adult fiction, that can’t even manage to do that. When I read WoF I was glued to the book. I’d have to force myself to slow down when reading because I’d finish them in a day if I could. The downside to this, as mentioned in the above point, is that sometimes the character development that happens in previous books is lost. 

Writing style: What can I say? Her descriptive language is amazing. She knows how to make the most basic scenes interesting with her writing. There are many times when reading that I wished to myself that I could write like that. I think some people might not completely agree with this point, as Tui loves to use all caps and a modern sounding language in a fantasy world, but I personally don’t really mind that, but I can understand that some may find it unappealing. 

Conflicts: In terms of writing, “conflict” is another one of those super important components. They can be internal or external, and whether you agree with how the narrative handles them or not, Tui writes conflicts that stick with the reader.  Tui also knows how to keep things surprising and unpredictable but in a well written way. Seriously, how many of us were floored when the Prophecy turned out to be fake? Or when we learned that it had been Gill that Tsunami killed? Or that Turtle had been the one to turn Anemone into an animus? That is some good drama and conflict!

                               Other factors

This section is mostly about other factors that I, personally, keep in mind when I think about the series as a whole.

Timeline and publishers: This woman was pumping out a book each year. That’s a wild pace. I have been trying to learn more about publishing contracts, the agreement between authors and the publishing company, and haven’t learned much other than each contract is unique. Some authors have more creative freedom than others as certain contracts allow the publishers to request changes to the text. The main goal of publishers is to sell the book and if they think the text has content that will negatively impact sales, they may have the power to ask for it to be changed. I have no idea what type of contract Tui has, or if there was a contractual deadline for each book, but it’s something that should be considered. I bring this point up because it may explain her priorities and why certain elements had to be set aside in favour of finishing the books rather than fleshing them out. For every published book there is probably another novel’s length of deleted scenes and paragraphs.

                                Conclusion

Ultimately Tui’s strengths can create imbalances in other areas. Her prioritizing of Plot can mean world-building and maintaining character development falls to the wayside. Also, perhaps the biggest issue that fandom notices is that Tui asks complicated questions in her books but then tries to give black and white answers when really, no direct answer should be given. In the first arc we get questions like Am I enough just as I am? Even if I’m not the smartest or bravest or strongest or fastest or biggest, can I change the world? In the other arcs we get questions like Is there such thing as pure good and pure evil? And when faced with someone who continues to make choices that hurt us and others, even if we love this person, at what point do we offer compassion and when do we draw the line?

This post isn’t intended to discuss whether or not Tui succeeded in answering these questions - I’ll leave that for others. What I do hope came across in this post is that Tui does indeed know what she’s doing and I hope that we can all take a moment to appreciate the things that made us love this series to begin with ❤️

[themysterioussnake]

Super quick ref for eatwurmz ☁️🤍

[themysterioussnake]

Finally took a crack at working out the designs for these guys, they've been in my head for a while. They are frostscales brothers, which is like firescales but an IceWing version in my headworld! They grew up in a secluded corner of the 7th circle, abandoned after their mother saw their abnormalities. They kept themselves hidden and lived off of scraps, eventually journeying to the outskirts of the kingdom when they were teens. The two of them travel together quite a bit, never truly settling down, but they frequent Possibility and are interested in the newly constructed Sanctuary.

[themysterioussnake]

I totally agree. Magic in general is better imo when it is treated as a powerful, mysterious force not to be messed with, at least in my opinion. The kind of magic I personally like is the kind that is not fully understood, and therefore is seen as dangerous. Arc 2 tries to keep that concept for animus magic, but instead throws it all under the bus. The mystery and fear surrounding animus magic was gone completely, at least that’s how I see it.

Whenever I re-read arc 1 I always kinda miss the vibe animus magic had back then. I don't know how to properly put it into words, but it felt like animus magic had some sort of more elusive and unknowable presence. Like, Anemone had to train in order to hone her magic. There was emphasis on this wrongness that all enchanted objects had. It felt different. Like it had some sort of staying presence. Hell, the only other animus we see other than Anemone literally is turning himself to stone from the guilt he has over what he's done.

Then it's turned out that no you can literally do anything you want without consequence. Literally like as soon as you crawl out of that egg you can start doing whatever you want. I dunno about you, but that's really quite boring.

[themysterioussnake]

Thank god June is over, I can go back to only liking women now

I don’t jnow how tumblr work bear with me

[themysterioussnake]

I’m silly I’m silly I’m silly

[themysterioussnake]

I love Winter and Qibli’s interactions, they have such good banter

Restless Nights

Fandom: WoF

Characters: Qibli, Winter

CW: Mentions of night terrors, trauma, etc

Summary: Qibli's having troubles falling asleep, kept up by the Bad Thoughts again. Yet, through it all, he hears someone nearby shuffling through papers.

Word Count: 1.0k

A/N: Oh SHOOT it's almost the end of gay month- TAKE THIS!! I'm not typically a Qinter writer. I've ranted before about how I don't quite care for the main fandom interpretation and how I prefer Turtbli, but eh,,,sometimes you just gotta write it.

Qibli tossed and turned, unable to fall back asleep. It was one of those nights again. You know the type. The ones where you flip and flop from one side to the other without rest. The ones where you try counting sheep only to get distracted after the first hundred or so. The ones where unwanted thoughts and ideas pester you nonstop. You know they aren't true, but, hey, it's nighttime and everything's possible; including believing that everyone hates you and can't stand the persona you've built.

So, yeah. Great. Just terrific. Lovely night as always. Wouldn't be him if he didn't constantly worry that his closest friends despised him. He rolled over once more, dwelling away in his thoughts.

However, as he did so, the still darkness wavered for a moment. First, some rustling. Then, a tiny scraping sound. At last, light. Despite his eyelids blocking most of it out, he could see a tiny orange flare flickering away.

Obviously, he became curious. There was something happening right in front of him. He'd be an idiot to not at least look. That's what he's been taught to do since he crawled out of the egg: sleep with both eyes half-open just in case somebody's decided to put a hit on you.

He squinted. His eyes were adjusted to the pitch-black room that was his sleeping quarters. On the other side he saw something quite odd.

Winter was there. He was laying on his bed of embroidered cushions and silky blankets, several scrolls sprawled out. An inkwell rested nearby, which he dipped an icy blue claw into and began to write on one such scroll. A couple tall wax candles were dotted around him, their wicks just recently lit.

"What are you doing?..." Qibli asked, his voice hoarse and groggy.

Winter's head shot up. "Nothing!" he hissed, quickly grabbing the scrolls and shoving them under the pillows.

"Oh, nothing? I couldn't tell you were doing nothing. Sure looks like you were doing something, but I guess writing on scrollpaper at...moons above, what time is it right now?"

"Late," Winter said, "the moons are at their peak. Besides, what does it matter what I'm doing?"

"C'mon, don't be a pain in the tail here. I've...actually got a bit of a headache here," he half-lied.

The corners of Winter's mouth tightened as his eyebrows furrowed. "I see. I don't think sitting there and talking is really going to help with that though. It only makes you and I more stressed. Hows about you try- oh I don't know- going to bed?"

"No can do, frost-face," he lightly teased. "I can't really sleep right now."

"What? Why?"

"Just can't. It's one of those nights again."

A look of familiarity stretched across Winter's face. He let out an exhale. "Right. Of course. Sometimes I forget you get like that too."

"Even after our big talk like a month ago?"

"My mind wasn't concerned with you at all. I have other things to worry about."

"So you care more about 'doing nothing' than about me right now?"

"That's not what-" He took a small breath. "If you're looking for sympathy right now, you're not going to get it by teasing me."

"Sorry! You're just an easy target," Qibli snickered, but surely enough the guilt settled back in. "But... You know what, never mind. Sorry about that. Shouldn't've been a jerk like that."

Winter tilted his head. "Is it really that bad enough for you to admit that your wrong?"

"No, I just..." Qibli rubbed his face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing work."

"What kind of work?"

"Is it any of your business?"

"I just wanna know what it is. I kinda like hearing you talk. Gives me something else to listen to."

Winter stared blankly for a moment, eventually breaking the eye contact. "It's a personal project. It involves scavengers."

"Scavengers? You're still into them?"

"You thought I wasn't?" he scoffed. "I'll have you know that I'm planning something with the council in Sanctuary. A little plan that'll perhaps help in letting dragons come to realize that these aren't mindless pests." Winter's voice got more intense at the tail-end of that sentence.

"Didn't know you were that passionate about them. That's cool! Much better thing to like than...I dunno, nothing." He slipped out of his little alcove. "You mind if I sit next to you?"

"Uhh," he stammered. "I suppose. Just don't muddy up anything or I'll slit your throat."

"Heartwarming." Qibli plopped himself right next to him. "What sort of stuff are you planning? You've been gone from Jade Mountain for a while. I'd assume it's for something big."

"You could say as much. It's a program that'll go on for a couple months at a school we're building there. Animal studies and whatnot, but with a focus on scavengers and their society." Winter pulled out a scroll, his signature neat and dainty writing all over it to the point where there was more black ink than pale-brown paper. "I took a couple notes." He continued to pull out even more scrollpaper, all of which with similar amounts of writing.

"Three moons, that's a lot."

"Really? I don't think it even comes close to the amount I could jot down. Scavengers are brilliant when you get to them. You have to actually be around them and watch them as opposed to eating them like a savage beast."

"What do they like to do?" At this point, Qibli was pretty interested in what he had to say. Truth be told, he was never all that into scavengers. They were weird creatures, but he never gave them too much thought. However, listening to Winter talk so passionately about them was thrilling. It was entertaining to watch him ramble for once in his life about something he loved. Something he wholeheartedly loved. Not something he was told to love, like his tribe or whatnot. He was talking about a true passion.

It calmed him, listening to Winter speak. Everything felt much better around him. He'd never quite met a dragon before that was so easy to be around. Yes, he could be cold and distant at times, but there was nobody else who really got him. Who understood the words he said. Who knew what it was like when he finally admitted to wanting to put down this mask he puts up around others.

Winter was special to him. Winter made him happy.

[themysterioussnake]

The Downfall of EDM

So I’ve noticed that EDM (Electronic Dance Music) has kind of had a downfall, not in quality, but in popularity. I’m not sure if this is just me, but EDM songs released on major labels such as NCS and Monstercat and promoted on major promotion channels such as Arctic Empire seem to have been getting less and less YouTube views as well as SoundCloud and Spotify streams. I know time is a factor in total views but a decrease seems to be happening regardless. It also appears to be harder for new EDM artists to establish themselves due to many small, yet talented artists not seeming to grow much in popularity, if at all. Despite this seeming downfall in popularity, the quality of EDM songs production wise seems to be increasing considering both what is being put out there in general and what labels are accepting, though this could be because of better music technology now than back then. Anyways, anyone else noticing this pattern too? Or are you guys seeing something different happening? Share your thoughts with me if you want to, I’m curious to see others’ takes on this situation.

[themysterioussnake]

So.

My entire tumblr feed is filled with nothing but UFOs. I know this is a short low quality post but what I’m saying is true. Nothing but UFOs for the first 10 posts. The internet is one strange, but interesting nevertheless, place.

[themysterioussnake]

I don't understand how Tui looked at the concept of Peacemaker and thought it was even remotely close to a satisfying end to Darkstalker.

The part that annoys me the most is that there is NO build-up to this. No foreshadowing or anything. It came out of left field and was absolutely a cop-out because she had written herself into a corner. Who would've thunk that making a character with virtually no weaknesses would make it harder to kill off? It doesn't feel cathartic to have him turn into a dragonet. It feels cheap.

[themysterioussnake]

Look at my fan tribe, the Lushwings. They live in saltwater caves and can control plants. They are mostly blind and communicate through clicks, whistles, and flashes, kind of like the Seawings mixed with dolphins.

This is their queen, Queen Skua. She's a kind queen, but is tall for a Lushwing, 15 ft, and has rbf. Most of her subjects are scared of her because of that. She also doesn't speak much, that doesn't help.

Lushwings can come in several different color variants, from blue to green. A Lushwing's color is determined by how warm the biome its born in is, the colder the more blue, the warmer the more green. Lushwings can also be albino, like their princess Princess Krill.

On average most Lushwings are about 12 ft high, but can range from 8-15 ft tall. They also have two sets of wings with spurs on the ends that have paralyzing venom. That's all I have written so far, and obviously if anyone sees this they can ask questions, and if you want you can make your own!

[themysterioussnake]

Lyric music video for my track ‘Shadows’ off my upcoming album Artifact, which drops September 9th 2022. 

[themysterioussnake]

hi, i made a new song. single will be out on streaming soon.

♡( ╥ ‿ ╥ )

[themysterioussnake]

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom: Initial Thoughts (warning: spoilers for the beginning of the game)

So I just got Tears of The Kingdom and I’ve decided to share my initial thoughts on the game here. I’m less than 10 minutes into it but I’ve been really enjoying the game so far despite having never played any Zelda games in the past.

First of all, we have to talk about the graphics in this game. They are just insane. While I often find the graphics in 3D games to be quite generic and at times a touch cheesy (at least in those I’ve played or seen), TOTK is a huge exception. The game has its own distinct visual style, which is something that I really enjoy in a game. (Some other examples of games that also have this are Minecraft and Rain World). The style of graphics in TOTK is not only really unique and distinct, but super aesthetically pleasing as well. The animation is pretty smooth, both the character and enemy designs have been great so far, and I just love the detailed, anime-esque art style.

Another thing I like about TOTK is the lore so far, at least that of which has been shared. I’ve always loved the idea of lost, ancient civilizations filled with secrets both in media and in real life, which is exactly where the game starts. The strange smog, the ancient race of the Zonai and all the myths and legends surrounding them, I’m really curious to see how it all connects. I love some good lore and this game has delivered just that so far.

I can’t talk too much about the gameplay because it’s been mostly cutscenes, lore discovery, and overall setup up to the point I'm at (in short the game has been a very impressive walking simulator so far) but it does seem promising from the few glimpses I’ve got.

To sum things up, I’ve really enjoyed all of the short time I’ve played TOTK so far, because I’ve been liking the various aspects of the game that have been presented quite a lot. I’m looking forward to the rest of Tears of The Kingdom, and I really hope it will live up to my expectations. From my experience so far, TOTK even has the potential to become one of my favorite video games, ever. So, that’s it for now. Over and out. Later, nerds.