willthesolace

[willthesolace]

bro im playing dual destinies for the first time and it was so fun to play as phoenix again but. my god it felt strange to have an unconditional hype woman at my side (athena cykes) instead of a rude teenager (maya fey)

[willthesolace]

Kiss me

[willthesolace]

you know you're good at your job when every single person tells you "thank god you're back"

[willthesolace]

there are two competing sects on this website - one that uses the word "spicy" to mean "neurodivergent" and one that uses the word "spicy" to mean "sexual content." i do not like either of them

[willthesolace]

hi again adwd fandom, how are we?

[willthesolace]

Just in time for Valentine’s Day... 💔 

Ready to break up with Google?

So are we!

We’ve rounded up a bunch of privacy-centric alternatives for everything Google.

Check out the full list over on the blog!

- The Ellipsus Team xo

[willthesolace]

Don't Mess Up Your Character Introduction

Your characters only get one introduction, and from that very first moment, readers will form their opinions and impressions of that character. Once they have, it’s incredibly hard to change their minds, so you have to make sure that you make the right first impression.

In my last novel (currently querying right now!) I had a beta reader come back to me to say that he really didn’t like my female protagonist. However, in his notes on the actual manuscript, there were several parts he highlighted because he was very sympathetic to her—so why didn’t those parts sway him? It was because they came too little, too late. He’d already formed his thoughts on the protagonist as a person.

I heard recently that Finding Nemo’s flashback that the movie opens with was initially later in the film to explain why Marlin was such an overprotective parent, but test audiences really hated him, and by then, all the tragedy in the world wouldn’t convince them otherwise. Instead, Disney moved the flashback to the beginning so that we started the movie sympathetic to him, and were able to overlook or understand his more annoying/frustrating traits.

I’m saying that right out of the gate, if we’re meant to root for them, you need to show us why. If we’re meant to hate them, you also need to show us why. Don’t hold onto your cards, don’t keep secrets too late, because once we form an opinion on someone, it’s difficult to change.

When that opinion does need to change (such as when you’re pulling off a villain redemption arc), it typically takes the entire story and genuine character growth to do.

See my post here on why we root for a character.

[willthesolace]

realised yesterday just how often hozier actually used to sing about being not quite alive, not feeling like a person, about loving someone in a way that defies death and made him more alive, about suffering death for love. it's like he was constantly being buried underground and unearthed by love, over and over, which, while romantic in a way, is also incredibly sad. but i think it's interesting how his latest album (literally called 'unreal unearth') takes this idea and makes it its central theme. that's what this album is, one man's descent into the underworld. except, crucially, he makes it to the other side, and ends the album saying the darkness will come again, but this time he is "never going back [to hell] again." it feels like such a full-circle moment considering the rest of his discography and i'm so very excited to see what comes after this

[willthesolace]

I keep seeing people asking why the Gamemakers didn’t simply edit out the scene with the berries or Rue’s death scene since they edited a bunch of stuff out of Haymitch’s Games. And I keep seeing this described as an inconsistency or a plot hole or a retcon. But there’s actually a clear explanation.

Katniss’s big moments in the 74th Games can all be viewed in two ways by the audience. Her rebellion is much more subtle than Haymitch’s and so it doesn’t occur to the Gamemakers to take it off the television until it is already too late. Because they don’t think of it as rebellion at all. And yet to the oppressed people in the districts, the rebellious undercurrents are much more obvious.

This is actually explained multiple times in the original trilogy. Katniss’s stunt with the berries can be viewed as just a silly teenage girl not wanting to live without her boyfriend. And this is how most people in the Capitol view it. But the people in the districts view it as an act of defiance against the Capitol, denying them their victor unless she can bring her ally with her. Which essentially breaks the Games — there’s only supposed to be one victor.

Snow even gives Katniss a good long while to convince all of Panem and not just the Capitol that she really is that lovestruck girl. But she doesn’t manage to do this, of course.

Haymitch, on the other hand, starts his time in the Capitol off by laying a dead girl at Snow’s feet during the tribute parade in order to make Snow “own” it. He does a ton of openly rebellious things and because he’s so obvious about it, almost none of those things end up on television.

People keep saying that this book is less subtle than the original trilogy and it is like … yeah. That’s intentional. I can understand why some readers might prefer more subtlety, but it’s not an example of bad or rushed writing. The writing is accomplishing precisely what it needs to accomplish.

[willthesolace]

sometimes when my mom gets drunk she goes into Liberated Women Mode, and one time she was real tipsy and while talking about her friend’s divorce, she very earnestly told me and my sister (both adults) that regardless of preference or relationship, she hoped we would both reach a point in our lives where we were having really good sex with really good people. and my sister said, “i do that now except the good people part” and i said, “sex is real?” and my mom didn’t love either of those answers

[willthesolace]

guys..... I'm re-entering my klance era...... and I redrew this old comic to start us off <3

more thoughts under the cut ⬇️

april fools

jesus christ can you imagine 🚬

I had fun redrawing this though! cool to see the improvement 🤭

[willthesolace]

Botw is such an interesting take on post apocalypse, because it isn't really dystopian. It is a wound healed over, a world that has forgotten the end of itself, and in that, has begun anew. Grandparents whisper their nightmares into the wind, and smile at their kin. The garrisons that remain are sodden ashes in the dirt, a burial ground, and the most fertile soil for miles. You do not know the past that your body remembers. You do not know the voices that linger, and yet you follow. You follow, because the world has forgotten you, and you have nothing that is yours to remember.

[willthesolace]

Stop allowing the devil to beat you up over your past. If you have repented then it is under the blood of Jesus....leave it there. The devil wants you to live with guilt and shame but the blood of Jesus covers your guilt and shame so walk in the peace of knowing you really are forgiven and free.

[willthesolace]

(5.1 spoilers) the mastermind behind the sabzeruz festivities

[willthesolace]

Teyvat's "Most Down Bad" Award Goes to Alhaitham for a Second Year Running

Seeing everyone making fun of Alhaitham for his "stalkerish" tendencies in this event is funny, because I feel like a lot of people missed that "Be literally everywhere Kaveh is" has been Alhaitham's MO from the day Kaveh appeared in the game.

From only grabbing his house keys after Kaveh returned from the desert (he couldn't have had both sets of keys at the end of the Archon Quest unless he went home and got Kaveh's copy) to ditching conversations to get back to his house only after Kaveh came home, to showing up without any warning or explanation in Kaveh's hangout with some ridiculous excuse about hearing his voice through noise-cancelling headphones... Refusing to offer any help in the Temple of Silence story quest other than staying in the library with Kaveh...

Since when does Alhaitham willingly cover anyone else's duties?

But this trend of "Be everywhere Kaveh is" didn't start when they were adults. It was already in place when they were still Akademiya students--and it's a trend that didn't end even when they had their fight.

Even when they weren't speaking, Alhaitham dogged Kaveh's every step through published responses to Kaveh's research articles in academic journals. He insisted on keeping a line of communication between himself and Kaveh open, even if the only way to do that was through very public ideological clashes. Pulling Kaveh's pigtails to get his attention lolol. It's implied that, for at least the few years between their fight and Kaveh moving in, this was the only communication between them--Alhaitham's refusal to allow their connection to entirely fade away. (And the fact that this is revealed in Kaveh's character stories--through his precious journal that records the moments of his life that had the most impact on him--shows just how deeply he values the fact that Alhaitham didn't give up.)

Another relevant side note: Alhaitham never asked Kaveh to give up his half of their house. Knowing half of it belonged to Kaveh, knowing that Kaveh may one day want to reclaim his part of it, knowing that it was listed as theirs, Alhaitham moved into the house and made zero effort to change its ownership. He was completely fine with living in "his and Kaveh's house." The stories suggest it was only months later (or even longer) that Kaveh even noticed he had the house, and he transferred away ownership of his portion without Alhaitham ever asking him (or even seemingly wanting him) to do so.

Please, let that sink in. Alhaitham actively left his grandmother's (presumably comfortable) house to move into "his and Kaveh's house," with no apparent explanation for why, and after doing so, he made no attempt to change that "his and Kaveh's" label. He moved into the house with no promise that Kaveh wouldn't show up on the doorstep the very next day and move in too. It almost feels like another deliberate provocation--I've moved into our house, are you going to come stop me? LBR, if Alhaitham had had his way, Kaveh would have been living there with him from Day 1...

There's also the fact that Kaveh literally can't write on a single message board anywhere in the entire nation of Sumeru without Alhaitham hunting his messages down and responding to them (which absolutely no one else does, by the way).

"NUH-UH!" "UH-HUH." "NUH-UH!"

Alhaitham's own character stories tell us explicitly that one of Alhaitham's defining character traits is "He is never where you need him to be," yet somehow...

Shot, and chaser:

Any time Kaveh is in the slightest bit of need or danger or just wants Alhaitham near, Alhaitham is "coincidentally" exactly where Kaveh needs him to be, whenever Kaveh needs him to be there.

Alhaitham didn't just "happen" to run into Kaveh in Port Ormos, an entirely different city from where he was supposed to be working. He didn't just "happen" to read the same terrible book as Kaveh when we know he otherwise would not waste a moment of his time on poorly-written literature...

He didn't just "happen" to appear when Kaveh was upset and needed a distraction in the House of Daena during Kaveh's hangout. He didn't just "happen" to be sitting around waiting when Kaveh needed answers after the Archon Quest. He didn't just "happen" to find Kaveh's academic publications and every single message board posting and respond to them at length and in public.

Which is exactly what Kaveh's mother told Kaveh he needed.

What level of down bad is "Abusing your powers as an Akademiya employee to keep tabs on your crush's library loans"? Just asking for a friend.

The only person for whom Alhaitham just "happens" to be available is Kaveh, over and over and over again--because he is very deliberately making himself a constant presence in Kaveh's life.

(Like, out of all things, I think people really underestimate the devs deliberately paralleling the romantic relationship between Kaveh's mother and father with Kaveh and Alhaitham's relationship. If you want to point to one thing that says "These two characters are intentionally queer-coded," it doesn't get any more obvious than this.)

Alhaitham, are you not embarrassed to be this transparent??? 🫣

[willthesolace]

I think Alhaitham's views on gods and his dynamic with Nahida in particular is probably one of the most underrated comedic elements to come out of Sumeru.

This guy put together an entire crack squad and master plan to rescue a god while being the Genshin equivalent of an atheist. "Yes, obviously archons exist. But so do sharks. Both of those beings have their place in the ecosystem, and if I had to pick one to piss off--"

Like, does he believe in the dendro archon? Yes. But is he going to listen if she denies his paid vacation request? Absolutely not.

Bro is selected by name to come discuss important matters with his nation's deity in her sanctuary, and he's just like, "Oh, I ran into Nilou there once. That was cool."

Raised to the highest possible position available in his nation's government by the deliberate selection of his god? Resigns.

We know that Nahida still calls on Alhaitham when Sumeru is in need of defending from nefarious parties, and sends him out with Wanderer to kick ass and take names. Now that they've forgotten Rukkhadevata and the Akademiya's ploy to imprison Nahida has been foiled, most of the people of Sumeru would be floored by the honor of being called upon personally to aid the great dendro archon. Staggered by the fact that the lord of wisdom herself finds them worthy! But Alhaitham? He just goes home. Kaveh asks him what he was up to all day. "Hm. Nothing of note."

Everyone else, upon receiving the recognition of a god: My life has been changed forever. I will be telling my great grandchildren of the day I received such a blessing!

But for Alhaitham? It was Tuesday.

Criminally underrated comedic potential. CRIMINAL.