I was having a moment of... Thank you for the art and just inspiration to write
I’m a little afraid to tag all the artists--I dunno I’m just paranoid to be a bother lol. Some of them it has been a long while since I reached out, but I still love and cherish the work I have commissioned from them so much. These are only little snips of the full pieces. I’ve went and dug out the links for each of them (thankfully most I have saved somewhere in the fic...But another day I think I’m going to update my fics with these snippets as ‘cover art’)
Lie in Lime - Art by sxnalien
Powerpuff girl fanfic (Buttercup x Butch , Buttercup x Brick)
Lie in Lime - Art by Lamonyo (link coming once posted/link to ch8)
Lie in Lime - Art by Racketballz (link coming once posted/link to ch7)
Lie in Lime - Art by Train (I had to -really- go digging for this link lol) (will reup a preview)
Checkmate - Art by hikariix
Bungou stray dogs fanfic (Dazai x Chuuya)
For my glory where do I stand - Art by Kyllu
Trollhunters/3Below/Wizards, Tales of Arcadia Fanfic (Elijah x Steve and then some lol)
A gift lost - Art by kyllu
Dragonball Z fanfic (Good ol’ vegebul)
The Sunshine and the Nightlight - Art by kyllu
Final Fantasy 15 (Noctis x Prompto ...and then some lol)
This was actually for a fic I never posted, I wrote it for a friend for Christmas and...well sad stuff happened at the time so I have never reread. BUT the art I got with it as part of the gift is still so stinking cute - Art by Kyllu
This doesn’t include all the OC’s I have had commissioned or pieces I’ve written to random works of fanart I’ve seen around.
Thank you so much to all the wonderful, wonderful artists out there who continue to inspire.
When I’m down in a funk I usually dip into savings to splurge a little and get a commission for something I’ve written.
I’m feeling that funk now but have to be mindful so I’m just cruising through my commission folder and boy I am in love and just wanted to draw attention to these amazing artists! (though my account is quiet humble lol)
genuinely wild to me when I go to someone's house and we watch TV or listen to music or something and there are ads. I haven't seen an ad in my home since 2005. what do you mean you haven't set up multiple layers of digital infrastructure to banish corporate messaging to oblivion before it manifests? listen, this is important. this is the 21st century version of carving sigils on the wall to deny entry to demons or wearing bells to ward off the Unseelie. come on give me your router admin password and I'll show you how to cast a protective spell of Get Thee Tae Fuck, Capital
Okay, here we go! I'm gonna try and put this in order from least to most technical knowledge required. I'm not responsible if you accidentally create SkyNet etc.
Level 1: browser extensions
This one is basically impossible to get wrong, or at least to get wrong badly enough that it causes any problems.
Get Firefox, or a Firefox fork like Waterfox. If you use a fork, make sure it's one that will let you use add-ons. On a PC, pretty much any Firefox fork will take add-ons, but on mobile devices, many don't. Iceraven is one that does.
Get the add-ons uBlock Origin, YouTube Sponsorblock (if you use YouTube), and FBCleaner (if you use Facebook).
uBlock Origin comes with a built-in list of filters to block ads and trackers, but you can add your own filters to block any specific element of a website you don't like. You know those goddamn floating frames on fandom.com sites that block half the screen? Now you can zap 'em.
Sponsorblock uses crowdsourced timestamps to automatically skip sponsor spots and self-promotion in YouTube videos. Never listen to anyone say "hit like and subscribe" or "Raid Shadow Legends" again.
FBCleaner hides all content from your feed except posts from people, groups, and pages you've actually chosen to follow.
Level 2: leaving enshittified services
The software that's become standard over the years in a lot of fields is steadily selling more of your data, showing you more ads, and pushing you to buy more expensive subscriptions. Time to tell them to get fucked.
Dump Adobe apps for Affinity or Krita. Drop Microsoft for LibreOffice. Change your default search engine from Google to DuckDuckGo or Qwant. Use OpenStreetMaps instead of Google or Apple Maps.
Level 3: network-level DNS fuckery
DNS, or Domain Name Service, is the thing that tells your computer where www.website.com is actually located. By hacking your network's DNS you can force it to tell your devices that ad-hosting domains don't exist at all. Some of the steps on this one can get pretty technical, but because you're doing all the difficult stuff on a dedicated device, you can't really fuck up anything that seriously.
Get yourself a Raspberry Pi (a cheap older one like a model 3B will work just fine for this purpose), and follow a guide like this one to get it set up running AdGuard Home. AdGuard, like uBlock, has built-in filter lists, but you can also add your own if there are specific domains you want to block.
Once it's up and running, you'll need to change the DNS settings on your router to point to your AdGuard service. This is different for every router but will always start with logging into the admin panel with a password printed on a little sticker somewhere on the router.
With that done, every time a device on your home network looks for ads.website.com, it'll get back a message that says "sorry, can't find it", so it won't be able to load any ads.
Level 4: Android-specific DNS fuckery
Because AdGuard runs on your home network, it can't block ads on your phone when you're away from home - and what's worse, your phone will sometimes remember the addresses it got when you were out and about, and ads will get past your AdGuard wall even when you're home.
To avoid this, get AdAway for DNS-based ad-blocking directly on your phone. The easy, but less seamless, way of using AdAway is the "local VPN mode", which doesn't require you to do any mucking about with your phone's operating system.
Level 5: automated media piracy
The best way to stop seeing ads on all your streaming services is to stop using streaming services. There are loads of ways to do this, but the best ones involve setting up what's called an "arr stack" (Google that for setup guides) along with nzbget and a usenet account. Most of the time you'll want to set this stuff up on a dedicated device - an old laptop gathering dust in the closet is a great option, or you can grab something used from a charity shop or a local electronics recycler.
The great thing about usenet is that unlike with torrents, you don't have to do any sharing from your computer, so you're in a lot less legal jeopardy - legally speaking, distributing pirated content is waaayyy more serious than accessing it. I pay about £3 a month for a secure, high-bandwidth usenet service.
Once you start getting your own collection of media on your own computer, use the open-source media library manager Jellyfin to browse and play things from basically any device.
Oh, and don't be a dick. Pirate all you want from big corporations, but please pay independent small-time creators for their work.
Level 6: fucking with Android
Android phones are a lot more locked-down than they used to be, but depending on the device you own you can still do a lot of messing around under the hood. Note that if you get something wrong while doing this, there is always the possibility that it will turn your device into a paperweight.
Before you buy a device, check where it sits on the Bootloader Unlock Wall of Shame. Once you've bought it, check the xda-developer forums for guides on how to unlock it and "root" it (gain admin access) with Magisk.
Once Magisk is installed, you can add modules to do all sorts of cool stuff, including using AdAway in "root mode" which makes it basically invisible.
You can also install YouTube ReVanced, which will do all the ad- and sponsor blocking stuff we took care of in your Windows browser a few paragraphs ago. Be careful: there are a lot of fake sites out there pretending they're associated with the ReVanced project which might be injecting malware into their downloads. This Reddit post has the official instructions and links.
Also, try out the modded version of Facebook from APKmoddone, which will block most of the same shit as the FBcleaner add-on from earlier. There's always a possibility that modified apps like this are doing something dodgy, but I've never had any issues with this one personally.
Level 7: fucking with Windows
This one is scary because it can seriously fuck up your shit if something goes wrong, but some really cool people have actually made it very simple to strip all the bloat, ads, and spyware out of Windows. The tool I use is ReviOS. Start reading at https://www.revi.cc/docs. Basically, you'll need to download a tool called AME Wizard and the ReviOS "playbook" that tells AME what to do. Read the documentation before you do any of this.
Level 8: switching to Linux
I'm not going to pretend this is an option for everyone. Half the software I use on a weekly basis isn't available on Linux. But if you can switch? Do it. These days, Ubuntu - one of the most popular flavours of Linux - is built with people switching from Windows in mind, and a lot of things will be pretty intuitive. It also has great documentation and a huge community you can go to for help if you're confused about stuff.
And that, friends, is a comprehensive approach to banishing the demons of capitalism from your home!
You don't even need a pihole for it anymore. You can throw "dns.adguard-dns.com" into your android phone under Network (or Connections) > Private DNS > Private DNS Provider Hostname in your Settings app. You can also set your router up to use it via the IPs:
94.140.14.14
94.140.14.15
Link to to source for that:
Create your ad-blocking DNS server that will protect your personal data, prevent tracking and allow you to control access to specific conten
That will depend on your router, just search "How to set up custom DNS for (router name & model)". You can usually find that info on a sticker on the router itself. The model name is often nonsense like CM1000.
For switching to Linux:
If you're worried about software not working, and the software isn't something with work-related requirements attached, you can usually find alternatives. Alternativeto.net is a good place to start with that.
AlternativeTo lets you find apps and software for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, Android Tablets, Web Apps, Online, Windows Tab
If you're a gamer, protondb.com will let you see how well your specific game runs on Linux. Ranks are from:
Borked - Does Not Work At All, or works so poorly that you cannot play the game at all
Bronze - Sort of works, but with glitches that don't exist on Windows that affect gameplay
Silver - Works, but requires tinkering, and has glitches that don't affect gameplay, or requires heavy tinkering to get running
Gold - Works, requires mild tinkering (usually just selecting another proton version from the drop down)
Platinum - Works out of the box
Native - Is made for Linux
Other common alternatives:
Spotify: I've heard good things about Tidal, but haven't personally used it (I use a cloud storage service and local files for music)
Google drive: Nextcloud. You can find free servers on their website
Google office: OnlyOffice has a desktop/mobile app, and most of the features
Gmail: Free providers aren't common, but disroot is one of them. They also offer quite a few services. Personally I use mailbox.org, but they do cost $36 a year minimum
Google search: Disroot has a searx instance, startpage.com exists, and you'd be surprised at how far you can get by setting your default search engine to Wikipedia. Marginalia's also good, but selective about what they index (mostly indieweb stuff)
I, admittedly, run almost everything through Emacs nowadays, so there may be better alternatives now.
(Directed generally) Also remember that in most cases the problems are Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. If you find a small project that isn't perfect, remember that those five companies are probably worse in every way imaginable. Look for an alternative, but for the love of whatever you hold dear, Google is *not* a better alternative.
What is a Deus ex Machina? Why is it "Bad" Writing?
What is a Deus ex Machina?
In writing, a deus ex machina happens when something (character, object, ability, event) suddenly resolves a seemingly unsolvable situation, usually at or near the climax. The "something" is unexpected or unlikely, coming out of nowhere.
The term deus ex machina is Latin and translates into "god from the machine." It references ancient Greek theater, where a god character would be lowered on a crane (machine), or raised through a trapdoor on a riser (machine), to resolve the story's problem. This pulls the story toward its conclusion.
Deus ex Machina Examples
Some examples of a deus ex machina include:
- A powerful, skilled minor character who abruptly shows up to save the protagonist by defeating the antagonist at the end.
- A protagonist suddenly finding a magical object that defeats the antagonist.
- An unexpected rainstorm that puts out a fire surrounding the heroes' homes.
- A character who abruptly reveals she's the sharpest shooter in the region, and she can make the unlikely, extremely difficult shot that will definitively thwart the antagonist.
- A pack of wolves charging into the clearing to take out the bad guy at just the right moment.
Why is a Deus ex Machina "Bad"?
The deus ex machina has been around since ancient times, and so have its critics. It is often considered a "cheap" or "bad" plot device that writers use when they've written themselves into a corner. It's rarely satisfying and often comes from lazy or ignorant writing. But the reasons it's a problem, run deeper. . . .
1. Strong Plots Work off Cause & Effect, not Coincidence
Because the deus ex machina comes out of nowhere, it's coincidental. And almost always, coincidence weakens plot. One of the differences between writing nonfiction and fiction, is that in real life, coincidences are tolerated, but in fiction, they typically are not. This is because (ironically), the audience expects fiction to work off (to some extent) probability, even as they don't always expect reality to.
If an unexpected rainstorm pours in and puts out a life-threatening fire in a historical account, the audience will be amazed.
If it happens in a novel, they will roll their eyes.
In fact, when it happens in real life, it can make the account feel more shocking and miraculous. What are the chances of that?! the audience wonders.
But when it happens in fiction, it can make the narrative feel cheap. What are the chances of that?! The audience groans.
This has led some writers to lament how difficult fiction is to create; the audience expects you to write with strong cause and effect--intertwining consequences that lead to a (somewhat) probable, yet unpredictable ending.
Admittedly, though, I hesitate to use the word "probable," because, on the other hand, audiences love it when the odds are stacked against the protagonist. Perhaps a better word to use is "possible" . . . but someone may use that as an excuse to say a deus ex machina works, because it's "possible." . . . I'll talk about all this more below--it relates to preparing the audience for what's possible. So, even though it's highly unlikely Frodo will get the Ring to Mount Doom, the audience believes it's a real possibility, because they are prepared for that outcome. (The storytelling tropes here also help form the audience's expectations.)
In contrast, a freak rainstorm that comes out of nowhere to put out a fire, seems so improbable--impossible--it ruins the audience's willing suspension of disbelief. They feel cheated or annoyed, not satisfied and entertained.
A strong plot isn't a series of random events (coincidences); it's a series of cause and effect--events that build on each other toward a (possible) climactic end.
This isn't to say, however, that coincidences are never tolerated in fiction. Typically, the earlier in the story they show up, the more they will be tolerated. The inciting incident can appear as a coincidence, but the climactic turning point cannot. The further you get into the story, the less coincidence there can be, and the more cause and effect should be in place.
This is in part because at the beginning of the story, the audience has fewer expectations in place--as a writer, you are still setting up (or "preparing") their expectations. They don't yet know the characters, "world," and situation. They don't yet have a strong, strict sense of cause and effect. They aren't deep enough in the narrative to predict possible (probable) outcomes yet.
Unless, of course, you are throwing in something so outlandish and improbable/impossible that it doesn't pass their "crap detector" test, and they can't willingly suspend their disbelief in the first place anyway.
The problem, of course, is that the deus ex machina (unlike the inciting incident) is not used to kick off problems, it's used to solve them.
2. Strong Plots Resolve Conflicts Based on Knowledge and Understanding
Internationally best-selling author Brandon Sanderson is known for his magic systems, for which he has developed three "laws."
Sanderson's first law of magic states: "An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic."
That's all fine and well, September, you may be thinking, but what does this have to do with the deus ex machina?
A lot.
As Sanderson realized later in his career, all of his magic system laws actually apply to storytelling in general.
So let's unpack this.
"An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic." What this means is that if you are using magic to solve a problem, the audience usually needs to understand that magic beforehand to buy into that resolution. The more they know and understand how the magic works, the more accepting they'll be of it solving major problems.
He goes on to explain that the less the audience understands how the magic works, the more it should be used to cause problems, not solve them.
So in It: Chapter One, the antagonist's abilities are largely used to cause horrific problems. We don't (yet) understand what this entity is, and it's causing conflict for the heroes.
But in Sanderson's Mistborn, the heroes are using magic to solve problems. Kelsier teaches Vin the ins and outs of the magic system, and she uses it to defeat the antagonist.
As always, this is more of a spectrum in writing, and there are variations and complex situations--I'm greatly oversimplifying these examples to lay down a basic understanding of the principle.
But these ideas apply to storytelling in general.
"An author's ability to solve conflicts with _____ is directly proportional to how well the reader understands ____."
In other words, the reader needs to know about and understand whatever solves the conflict, before it solves the conflict.
A deus ex machina usually breaks this rule, because a deus ex machina is unexpected, unlikely, and unforeseen.
An abrupt rainstorm putting out a life-threatening fire at the climax (read: solving the major problem), doesn't work in part because the audience didn't know about it. The storm came out of nowhere.
However, an abrupt rainstorm pouring down on an already sinking ship (read: adding to the problem) near the climax can work.
With that said, though, it's still usually best to not largely rely on coincidences, or rely on them exclusively, at the climax.
A coincidental inciting incident can often work, because it's typically introducing problems. It often is a problem the protagonist has to (eventually) address. Or, if the inciting incident is an opportunity, it often leads to problems (it might be an opportunity, with strings attached).
It's also worth observing, that the inciting incident is near the beginning of a structural unit, where coincidence is more tolerated, usually because it somehow leads to problems (read: conflict), while the climax (aka major turning point) happens near the end of the unit, and is used to resolve problems (conflict)).
3. Strong Plots Foreshadow Major Turns
A significant issue with the deus ex machina is that it is unforeseen. Even if it's "possible," the audience isn't prepared for the outcome, so it feels cheap. The plot device lacks proper foreshadowing.
I love K.M. Weiland's explanation of foreshadowing. She writes, "If we sift foreshadowing down to its simplest form, we could say it prepares readers for what will happen later."
Foreshadow = preparation.
It prepares the audience for what is possible.
It's "improbable" that Frodo will make it to Mount Doom, but foreshadowing helps prepare the audience for it as a possible outcome (with Sam's help).
Great foreshadowing doesn't blatantly give away the major turning point, it simply prepares the audience for it by letting them know an outcome is possible. It's not too predictable, but it's not too unforeseen.
A random, freak rainstorm that comes out of nowhere to put out a fire, isn't foreshadowed. So, it is less tolerated. It will feel more like the writer is just making it up on the spot to solve problems. It won't feel integrated. Even if a writer does come up with an idea on the spot while writing, they usually need to go back and add in foreshadowing. This will make the plot more satisfying and cohesive.
4. Strong Plots Utilize the Protagonist's Agency
Another major sin of the deus ex machina, is that it often steals the protagonist's agency. In my recent post on what a protagonist actually is, I mentioned that a true protagonist influences the direction, the outcome of the story. A true protagonist is a "problem-solver" (or I may even say "re-solves" problems, for better or worse).
What the protagonist says and does should turn the direction of the story.
In other words, almost always, the protagonist's choice should be contributing to the major turning points.
At the Council of Elrond, Frodo chooses to volunteer himself as the Ring-bearer, turning the direction of not only the scene, but the whole story itself.
In Star Wars, Luke chooses to rely on the Force and shut off technology to successfully shoot the Death Star, likewise turning the story.
And in The Hunger Games, Katniss chooses to risk suicide in an effort to save Peeta--again turning the story (and series).
The protagonist's choices should be contributing to every major turning point, and even many of the minor turning points, in the story. Their choices should lead to particular outcomes.
This is often critical to showcase at the climax, because this moment often completes the character arc and argues the theme.
Frodo chooses to keep the Ring, illustrating he has become corrupted by power. This speaks to his character arc and the theme (though of course, Lord of the Rings does have some variation, and Gollum choosing to attack Frodo and get the Ring, and Gollum dying in the lava, also cements his arc and contributes to theme).
Luke chooses to shut down tech and rely on the Force, illustrating he has put his trust in faith. This speaks to his character arc and the theme.
Katniss chooses to risk herself to save someone, illustrating she'll ultimately hold steadfast to her initial worldview--she won't sacrifice someone else to save herself. This speaks to her arc and the theme.
Often when a deus ex machina swoops in, it robs the protagonist and the story of this critical moment.
If someone from the Empire suddenly decided to go rogue and destroy the Death Star, Luke does not get to make his choice--the most crucial one that contributes to character arc, theme, and plot simultaneously. His agency at the climax doesn't really matter. This clearly weakens the story.
Fixing a Deus ex Machina
If you've written a deus ex machina, there is still hope. You can use these principles to help you fix it.
A deus ex machina is used to reach a desired outcome. So, work backward. You know the "effect," the outcome, you want, now think about what could "cause" it. What needs to be in place to get you there? Cause and effect > coincidence. And ideally, one of the "causes" will be what the protagonist chooses to do.
So, instead of having a pack of hungry wolves take out the antagonist coincidentally, consider what could cause the pack of wolves to find and target the antagonist. Perhaps the protagonist knows they are in the area, and she can do something to draw their attention. Or maybe she knows where they go, and finds a way to lure the antagonist there. Maybe she can find a place to hide, so they target him. Maybe she finds a way to put the scent of prey on the antagonist. The idea may need more work, depending on the story, but we've now created a sense of cause and effect and shown the protagonist exercising meaningful agency to bring it about.
We could also foreshadow the event by mentioning a wolf attack in the area earlier in the story, and by mentioning the wolves' resources are scarce, so they're starving. Maybe the protagonist knows and understands wolf packs (so by extension, so does the audience), so she knows just what to do with them.
By using these principles, we've already largely fixed a deus ex machina.
Let's look at some of my other examples.
The deus ex machina: A powerful, skilled minor character abruptly shows up to save the protagonist by defeating the antagonist at the end.
Possible fixes: The protagonist causes this situation, making the encounter happen--perhaps by arranging it beforehand, or realizing he can lead the antagonist toward that person, or by doing something else that indirectly (but clearly) leads to the event. Depending on the story, this may need to happen a bit earlier, so the audience forgets about it in the moment, but it nonetheless still has a clear bridge of cause and effect.
And ideally, this isn't a minor character that shows up out of nowhere, but a side or main character the audience has met before, and her skills were foreshadowed.
And it's best if the protagonist somehow deals the "deathblow" or paves the way to make that happen at the climactic moment. It's even better if the protagonist could somehow have this skill himself, but . . . that may not always work out. (And please keep in mind I'm talking about these things in general--obviously what you can do specifically, will depend on the framework of that story).
The deus ex machina: The protagonist suddenly finds a magical object that defeats the antagonist.
Possible fixes: Rather than having the surprise be the character suddenly discovering this object, have the protagonist actively searching for it, and have the fact it can defeat the antagonist be the surprise. Foreshadow that reveal, by indirectly alluding to the idea earlier. Have the protagonist put it together, and use the object against the antagonist. She knows how the magic works, so she realizes she can use it to defeat him. She connects the dots, given her background.
The deus ex machina: An unexpected rainstorm puts out a fire surrounding the heroes' homes.
Possible fixes: Foreshadow the rainstorm, early enough that the audience may forget about it. Don't use it to resolve all the problems. Have the characters' choices and efforts contribute more to the resolution. Perhaps, at minimum, they are able to slow the fire with hoses and buckets of water, so that it doesn't do severe damage, before the storm hits. They are able to hold it off (but it's becoming an increasing struggle). There is still tension and uncertainty, because we don't know if it will actually rain. But if they hadn't done what they did, certainly everything would have burned, before the storm ever arrived.
Or, you could change it, so that the storm doesn't save the day. The characters find a way to. 😉
Admittedly, some deus ex machinas are easier to fix than others. In some cases, you may just need to change the story more. Whatever the situation, though, let these principles be your guide:
- Put in more causes that lead to the effect
- Resolve problems based on knowledge and understanding
- Foreshadow the outcome
- Utilize the protagonist's agency
And as a note, the "knowledge" one and the "foreshadowing" one can often overlap.
Can a Deus ex Machina Ever Work?
Every rule in writing can be broken, but it should be broken for a good reason. It should typically be broken to make the story better, not worse. It shouldn't be broken out of ignorance or laziness. Almost always, a deus ex machina is not going to make a story better. However, that doesn't mean they don't ever show up in successful stories.
I will say, though, that when they do (arguably) show up in successful stories, the writers lessen the negative effects by trying to implement at least some of these principles (which is why I say "arguably").
For example, at the end of Jurassic Park, the T. rex suddenly shows up and takes out the raptors. Deus ex machina? Yes? Sort of? It is sudden and unexpected and resolves the major problem at the climax. But it lands . . . okay because we know there is a T. rex on the loose (and how and why it got loose), we already saw Alan and the kids deal with the T. rex, and we've been watching the characters actively deal with the raptors (exercising agency).
But if we never saw the T. rex prior and did not know about it, it would have landed horribly.
Does this deus ex machina make the story better?
The sudden appearance of the T. rex is a great callback, so I give it points for that. But theoretically, it would have been better if, after the initial surprise, Alan used what we'd learned about the T. rex to cause the rex and raptor encounter. He could have intentionally caused a great commotion to draw its attention, since rexes see based on movement.
However, as is, the story also gets away with it, because it's thematic. The main theme of Jurassic Park is that we can't control nature, and therefore need to respect it. The T. rex is one example of that (though it still would have been better if Alan had done more).
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark ends similarly. The villains open up the ark and die, while Indy is tied up. It resolves the major conflict, and it happens without Indy's contribution. While minor, Indy does still exercise a little bit of agency, by closing his eyes, and telling Marion to do the same. This also relates to the theme, which argues man shouldn't disturb the power of God, and Indy's (minor) character arc, which shows he's come to believe in the supernatural/God's power (to some degree), and respects it.
In contrast to these examples, we have Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which has a sort of deus ex machina, as well. Out of almost nowhere, Harry is able to burn Quirrell with his hands. The contrast is that Harry is exercising strong agency in the moment--as he is the one making this happen and chooses to burn Quirrell and defeat him--but the concept was not foreshadowed nor was the knowledge obtained, unlike those other examples.
We do get a clear explanation of it all in the falling action, which connects to Harry's backstory--and that is something we did learn about. But theoretically, the story would have been better, if this possibility had at least been subtly foreshadowed. It would also be more effective if it were related to something Harry did. Perhaps he could have further "unlocked" this love-driven magic during the school year, as he learned to love his friends.
Yet like the other examples, this one is still very thematic and, like Indy's, relates to Harry's character arc. Harry learns in the story that love is the most powerful force (i.e. magic) in the world (the theme).
You're more likely to get away with a deus ex machina, if it at least relates to the theme and/or character arc, in addition to minimizing its negative effects, like these examples did.
And I want to point out that all of these characters were very active and exercised a lot of meaningful agency, prior to these exact moments.
Finally, I want to note that you are more likely to get away with a deus ex machina in the falling action. However, this arguably means it's not solving the main conflict, but rather, tying up smaller, remaining ones--tying up loose ends. After the protagonist has defeated the antagonist, then he discovers a magical object to fix a remaining issue. This still isn't ideal, and I don't recommend aiming for it, but you are more likely to get away with it after the climax has happened.
In the end, while a deus ex machina is certainly not what anyone should be aspiring to, we see that if the rest of the story is great, and its negative effects are minimized, the audience is willing to overlook it.
Though it probably rarely makes a story better.
Need help with a deus ex machina or other story issue? You may want to check out my services at FawkesEditing.com.
Gotta tell you guys something wild in the Chinese fan sphere
So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.
So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.
And that is how this charity received over 1 million in donations in three days lol. Oh btw the “freedom of expression” side won by a landslide (960k to 40k)
idk who on earth could possibly need to hear this, but do NOT, under ANY circumstances, give out your SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER to ANY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
pet peeve is when you look up fashion references from a specific era and you keep getting modern day '[era]-inspired' fashion like NO i want authenticity damn it. i can see your 2020 photo quality and your 2020 hair and your 2020 makeup. youre not fooling me.
hello i'm a historical fashion researcher and i have a lot of experience looking up things! this is a very widely experienced irritation and you're definitely not alone in this, but i am here to share everything i know!
so, ways to get around this:
turn off AI results. they're literally nonsense to us
don't use pinterest because the sources/provenance is often hard to trace
a standard internet search can be okay, but museum collections are the top tier (list of collections below this list)
instead of broad terms like victorian, regency, tudor, renaissance etc. try using the decade you're looking for. if you're not sure of what decade it is but have a vague image in your head, look on the fashion history timeline and just jump around until you find it. but even changing to e.g. 19th century will give better results than victorian
including terms like womenswear/menswear, daywear, formal wear, evening wear, court dress should increase the value of your search too
including "fashion plates" in your search can give you a nice impression of the intended silhouettes of the era. some of these might be a little stylised but will show you what was considered in vogue
for pre-fashion plate eras or things like makeup and styling, you'll have to look at portraiture or manuscripts. these are harder to actually find what you're looking for, but searching museum collections and limiting results to specific date ranges will be your friend
when looking at art, do bear in mind sometimes artists would paint fabric extra flow-y to show off their skills. it might not have been exactly like that in terms of fabric weight or drape. so, a pinch of salt required!
if you find something on image search where the provenance is dubious, reverse image search and you might find a source! i've been able to trace random pinterest images to real sources, but this does take a lot of time and effort and is often not worth the headache
some online resources and museum collections:
fashion history timeline is an invaluable resource if you're trying to get a feel for everything and should be your first port of call. it'll also link to good examples
the met has a vast number of extant examples of clothing, as well as fashion plates
costume institute fashion plates is a subcollection of the met for fashion plates (1800s-1922)
v&a also has many extant garments, fashion plates, and incredible articles on clothing and aesthetics. read the details of the objects because they'll often reveal a lot about the piece
lacma is good for C19th-20th pieces
nypl digital collection for photographs
national portrait gallery or similar for portraiture, or literally any museum in your country that has historical art
national museums scotland can be useful situationally but might be oddly specific
stout style history is a great collection for finding image references for fat people wearing historical clothes. survival bias of a lot of museum pieces tends towards smaller clothing that couldn't be repurposed, but this aims to counter that. it's not sortable, but is still a really nice resource
wikimedia commons is surprisingly handy! and the images, if you should need to link/repost them, are public domain
auction websites sound like a funny one to recommend. some won't have mannequins and some will. just look up historical garment auctions and you'll find some!
anyway, i hope this has been a good place to start for anyone interested! there are probably some i've missed because there are so many museums across the world and i don't know about all of them or can't remember them. but these are the ones i've used the most! (my specialisation/jobs i've had to research for have only really been in western fashion, so my resources reflect that)
Wikipedia has a list of fashion museums. Unfortunately, the page itself is only available in German, but the introductory paragraph is very short and after that, it's organised by country, and then it's a simple list. If you click on a museum's article, the website is usually linked in the overview table.
