gonna yap for a second about my head canons for psychic ability in mgs
I think that low-level psychic ability is actually not uncommon. And by low-level I mean like. That guy who has a crazy intuition, the one who is always super in tune with the emotions of people around them, the one with a silver tongue, the one who sees shadows in their peripheral vision and dreams of the dead.
just. little quirks like that, all fall under low-level psychic ability.
things that may not affect their everyday lives, but are still present and strange to those who don't have those abilities (mind you, I don't think practiced manipulation/charisma falls under this category)
leading from this, I hc that Mantis cannot read Ocelot.
Because I think Ocelot has some type of psychic ability due to his father being the Sorrow.
He also can't read Cricket for the same reason, due to Cricket's weird ability to see things that people keep hidden, like he can suss out someone's true feelings about something and can see behind the veil of manipulation
my brain is becoming mush so like. if none of that makes sense I can try to explain better ough
the thing about Dimension20 is that I even love it when they do things that i don’t particularly like
this includes art styles, story beats, or even potentially the premise/execution of an entire season
because if they only did things i liked, that would almost certainly mean they were playing it safe, watering things down to be as palatable to as many people as possible
but when there’s something there that just isn’t for me?
they took a swing. they experimented. they did something new
and even if you set aside what might be a miss for me might be a grandslam for someone else, I’d so much rather they took swings and missed instead of bunting the whole game
and you might be wondering why i’m posting this right before FHJY comes out
right after reblogging an intro that “owns my whole heart”
you can’t really judge a season before it comes out
so this might age poorly
i’m not worried about Junior Year. I won’t be surprised if i love it a little more than is healthy
But I need to acknowledge that everything I’ve seen thus far is the kind of awesome that you only get from a whole group of people challenging themselves, taking risks, and honing their craft
So i just want to say that I love Dimension 20, not in spite of the things that missed for me or the weird bits, but because of them. Because they are part of a whole. And from what i can see, all the risks and stumbles so far are paying off beautifully
I’ve been thinking a lot about critique, especially in the context of the art school, and where it succeeds and where it fails the artist.
So much of the critique we are taught to give, expect, and receive happens when something is finished. You present a fully rendered piece of work in front of the classroom for judgment. You’ve been taught never to just say, I like it, It conveys its message, It’s lovely, because that’s not “actionable” feedback. And instead the piece is combed over for flaws, because pointing out a flaw is “actionable”.
But it’s not actually always very helpful, is it? It demoralizes the uncertain learner. And the piece is finished, so any critiques may never be applied. There is no guarantee in the modern conception of the art school that you ever work on another assignment that you can apply the critique. Did you learn anything, other than to be terrified of flaws? What was subjective and objective? Did you learn to hone your own critical eye to your own art, or simply to fear that you’re missing something?
I think, so often, of the students crying in the halls after, during critique. And of all the people who hate critiques. Critique is such a beautiful part of the art making process, but most of us do not understand how to apply it, when to apply it, why to apply it, or what it really is.
Critique of the final work is useful. I think in some ways, that critique is most valuable to the viewer, to understand what they’re looking at, why and how the art works or does not, to ask questions. All critique has its place. But critique during the process of making, that’s the most powerful critique as an artist. It’s also the critique the fewest people have access to. You have to be in the classroom or the confidence of an artist to be allowed into the incredibly intimate and vulnerable critique space. It’s this extreme show of trust. It’s this precious thing, opportunity, skill, that I think the art school squanders by prioritizing the end of project group critique.
Really, there is nothing more valuable than learning how to talk about your work unfinished, and, as an artist, learning how to ask questions about your work in progress. Not simply putting your work out there for judgment, but to ask questions about all the things you’re puzzling over. Learning to present the uncertainty, wondering where your piece is going to go next. You might forge this relationship with some trusted friends. People with taste, eyes, instinct you trust.
Maybe this post is just a love letter to the in progress critique. Maybe I want people to be free to just say, I like it, It conveys its message, It’s lovely, because sometimes you need to hear that before you really dig in. Maybe I want people to learn to critique positively, focusing on what is working now and trying to figure out together how to highlight that and improve on it to show off your strengths. I don’t know. I’m stewing in my thoughts. I’m sad for the students crying in the halls. But I’m in love with every person who I trust to critique my work, that gently mould the goopy raw bits of my heart I give them to pick at.
i was thinking about how mad day out is the band’s first big photoshoot since brian’s death. and it dawned on me.
the format--a full day photoshoot of several locations around town--is actually a call back to july 2, 1963. when dezo hoffman does a day in the life feature and takes photos of the band at 7 locations across london. those photos are used all over the world throughout the decade, so it was probably the most productive photoshoot they ever did. talk about time well spent.
the two day long shoots bear some vague similarities in location and posing choices: using gardens and streets as background and stopping by the photographer’s studio to get more formal shots. there’s even an echo of the sleepy john shots in john playing a drowned sailor at the pier.
but the largest difference is that the 1963 one was controlled, like 1963 demands from a band with one album on the charts. its normal everyday activities to introduce the boys and show how wholesome and relatable and in sync they are: sitting in a hotel room, waiting in the hotel lobby, walking down a street, visiting the tailor, eating ice cream. the jokes are kept to a minimum, the shots mostly serious and professional. they’re all in ties and proper suit shirts and pants. they still have something to prove. the most scandal is a striptease sign in the background of the rupert court shot. and maybe bananas if you’re uptight about sexy fruit (capitol records, im looking at you).
mad day out is their playground, and it’s a perfect representation of their 68 chaos. paul shows up in a pink suit and stands around looking out of place. john’s wearing all black with ruffles down his chest. ringo’s got yellow ruffles, and george has loud striped pants. they bunch together in front of a tinfoil wall with a wind machine on (perhaps the one idea that isn’t theirs and they hate it). john’s hair flies into paul’s face, and paul chomps down on it. john rubs his face on paul’s cheek, and a look of contentment crosses paul’s face. ringo wraps his arms around john in a mock couple pose, and paul suddenly looks plagued by the devil. paul awkwardly wraps himself in a pink flag, then unfurls it to hold it out in front of them for a shot but never brings himself to look at the camera. then there’s moto helmets and goggles and a bugle and ringo’s wearing a shoe on his head. at some point, they all wrap themselves in pink flags, and john rests his chin on paul’s shoulder.
they go to a theater and there’s a parrot because whimsy. the tensions still persist sans parrot with john and yoko retreating to one side of the room and paul and george in a heated conversation on the other. but at some point, they go wild over the costumes like the theater nerds they are. john goes for leather and shimmering fabrics. paul goes for animal print and loses his pants. paul bares his midriff. at some point they both end up rolling around on the ground for reasons unknown.
they go off to find karl marx’s tomb, but it’s sunday and the cemetery’s closed so they do a bit of mockery about local MP elections instead. climb up a wooden plank onto a hunk of concrete and act out a series of group hijinks, including a fistfight and possibly attempted murder. find a sign to disobey and smirk at the camera as they do it. drink water from a fountain and spit together on cue. become one with the plants in a garden because that’s what bugs do.
they make their way to a pier, where john lies like a supermodel in front of other three. john strips his shirt, so paul follows. john continues with his pants too and then thinks better of it. george steps in front of them to save the shoot from total derailment and john throws up his madman face. a still mostly shirtless j&p armwrestle, like they’re acting out glimpses of liverpool dock life. paul feels like wrapping himself in marine anchor chains. john poses like a dead sailor washed up on the pier, glasses cast aside. without missing a beat, george picks them up and throws them on.
at the end of the day, they end up at paul’s mediation dome. john uses martha as a pillow. paul stares up at the glass. george’s smile hits at the eyes.
most of these photographs sit in a drawer for decades.
Delta, the greek letter, is usually used to refer to change in math (d).
d x / d t = d v - the formula for velocity
it's also the name for the overarching symbol throughout both games, of an angelic circle over 3 triangles, which is usually associated with Prophecies.
The Undertale prophecy told that eventually, a huge change would occur to the monsters underground, freeing them.
The Deltarune prophecy is supposed to occur after a huge change has already happened, but tells how said change would be resolved later.
Sometimes I get incredibly sad about Big. Like, it's sad that he died for Porsche, it's sad that he died pining over Kinn, and it's sad that his loved was desperately unrequited. You know what's even worse?
How he gets left out of Kinn's life so intentionally.
We all joke about the ChanBig "ghost ship" and I'm writing this because someone mentioned how startled they were by how many of us there are, but... That's kind of all Big gets? Like aside from solving his unrequited love or pairing him with the traitorous Ken, he kind of has no one. Like yes, fine, he's assigned to Kim. However, Kim has him running errands and he's inevitably free during training with Porsche and is often on Kinn's detail.
He's also notably not invited to party with Kinn. Pete is, and we are led to believe that Pete is Kinn's guard at the time. Ken doesn't ever display a close relationship with the boss, so that makes more sense, but Big was Kinn's head bodyguard.
With him through Tawan.
Big—loyal, respectful, subservient Big—has the audacity to speak out against Porsche to Korn. To me that's about more than rank, it's about comfort and the level of deference he was probably given prior to Porsche. He is able to speak out again, later about Tawan.
...but Kinn brings Pete alone when they go to Yok's. Or at the very least allows him to go with Tankhun (you will never convince me he didn't check with Kinn just like Porsche did).
There's an argument to be made for meta decision making like Big being the traitor in the book. Big would have interuptted the budding affection between Kinn and Porsche. Big is sort of painted as a sourpuss party killer, so you could argue that too. That's what bodyguards are for though right? Is there anything wrong with one (cute) sour bodyguard not joining in the festivities? Outside of Meta, there's not a solid reason not to.
Except Kinn doesn't bring any bodyguards. He knows Pol, Arm, Porsche, and Pete will be there. We can assume Arm and Pol are very well trusted since they guard Tankhun and Kinn names Pete as one of his few trusted and Porsche is... Porsche and the reason they all showed up tonight.
And Kinn doesn't bring anyone else. More bodyguards should be better. More bodyguards should be safer. But it's not because there's a mole. And on some level. On some tiny, unvoiced level, Big is suspect. All of Ken's staff are except Porsche and Pete. Porsche is new but why Pete? What makes him special? It's not tenure, if behind the scenes are to be believed.
Yeah, Big and Ken are bullies, but this is the Mafia. Pete beats people. Porsche pantsed Ken, which is undeniably a bully move. Grey Morals y'know?
Anyway my point is that Big is horribly isolated. He was Kinn's head bodyguard which means he the boss and that might mean he has very few friends on his level. The one named 'friend' we see him with is Ken who apparently had no problem selling him and Kinn out and getting him shot. Kinn doesn't even fully trust him DESPITE his position (or because of?). Kim obviously ignores him at best and taunts him cruelly at worst and that's it. He has no one else.
Hi,, I hope I'm not bothering you with this and I'm sorry if my English isn't good, I hope you can understand my questions. I've been thinking about this for a while now and I tried to find information online but I found nothing.
MDZS is the first Chinese Novel I've read and I still haven't finished it yet,,but I've heard about rumors that said that MXTX is in jail, because she sold copies of her books. The rumor isn't true, however it made me wonder something,, I know China's censorship on lgbt related stuff is really heavy and that's why the donghua and drama adaptations of MDZS and other bl works are censored, but I didn't know that authors couldn't sell their novels.
So my question is,, how does MXTX earn money if she isn't allowed to sell her works? She has already finished 3 Danmei novels, and her works are really popular, they even have manhua, donghua or drama adaptations. The adaptations have earned quite a lot of money, but since she's an anonymous writer, does part of it even go to her?
To make the drama, the donghua and the manhua, producers had to ask her permission, I think. So, since the adaptations are doing well, she should get part of the profit, but how does it work? If the Chinese Government really is against lgbt themed works, shouldn't they have done something about her?
I really love her works and I hope that she earns something since she is the one that created all of them. Thanks for considering my question!!
Hi both of you and welcome to the cnovel fandom! Quick intro of the author, MXTX uses a pen name like many webnovel authors, it’s the abbreviation of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu which literally means “Ink Fragrance, Copper [Money] Stench” (墨香铜臭). Fun fact, it’s her mother who coined that name. MXTX wished to pursue a major in literature during university but her mother wanted her to graduate in economy instead while keeping writing on the side, that way she would have the fragrance of ink in one hand and the stench of money in the other.
We also know that she is fairly young, she wrote Scum Villain while she was a university student and she started working on the outline of MDZS in her final year. Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official’s Blessing) is the third book she completed and a fourth novel is/was in the works, its provisional title is “No rest for the death god” and is supposed to be a supernatural story taking place in a modern setting.
MXTX is one of the most popular webnovel authors on Jinjiang Literature City, the webnovel platform, but her popularity also comes with a great many detractors. You’ve heard some of the malicious rumours circulating in the English-speaking side of the fandom, it’s just a drop in the ocean compared to the outpouring of heated controversies in the Chinese side as the latter can have real-life consequences. There is a different nexus between the creator and the audience and the fandom culture is not the same either, it can be quite deleterious due to the tendency to report any content that one disagrees with.
Censorship in China is... ever-changing and nebulous. How severe it is depends on the medium. Nevertheless, gay literature (同志文学) does exist in China and it is distinct from danmei. I also want to nuance a bit the pervasive idea that anything lgbt is systematically and relentlessly censored in China. The reality is more complex than that and it would be dismissive of the hard-fought gains and visibility that Chinese lgbt activists have obtained these past two decades (some concrete examples: the work of the lgbt centre in Beijing or the pride festival in Shanghai). I don’t know if people are aware of this but lgbt dating apps are thriving in China, the most popular one, Blued, is also the largest lgbt social network worldwide. With that said, the official policy towards homosexuality is the three No’s: “no approval, no disapproval, no promotion”. A stance comparable to the “don’t ask, don’t tell”. It’s not explicit persecution but it manifests in the silencing of public discussion and the limiting media representation of homosexuality. In 2017, the top media regulator that oversaw radio, film and television issued guidelines banning a number of things, this included obscene and violent content, homosexuality, superstitious pseudoscience (such as reincarnation or spirit possession). On top of that, there is also an ongoing crackdown on online pornography that gets increasingly intense. And that concerns everyone on the internet, it’s astonishing the lengths netizens will go to in order to circumvent the censorship, new slang is developed to refer obliquely to banned words, fanfics are published in image format to prevent text recognition, etc... The censorship might be increasingly prevalent but netizens push back with their resourcefulness. Pushing back is also not without significant risk. Perhaps you have heard of the case of the danmei author that received a severe jail sentence? A few Western media picked up on that and criticised the ruling that was deemed homophobic. Chinese reactions tell a slightly different story, the author's crime was not writing danmei, she was in fact accused of making a profit by illegally producing and disseminating pornographic material. I’m not too keen on the details but it seems she printed the books herself and sold them online. To some Chinese observers, the ruling was not discriminatory because she did break the law. To others, it was absurd because this law dates from an era when internet barely existed and it would have been much more laborious to mass-produce and share porn at that time. There’s a bit of truth in all these points of views. It’s also not disingenuous to say that lgbt content is more likely to be targeted than het content even if the charges are not directly lgbt-related.
Usually contracted authors of webnovel platforms have a more secure status. They get a fee from the purchase of VIP chapters as well as tips from the readers. Other sources of revenue arise when webnovels get popular enough to get the opportunity to be published through official channels or when adaptation rights are sold (I assume that the author receives a share of that deal but perhaps does not get any further financial gain from the adaptation or its merch).
To support the author, I would suggest purchasing TGCF on Jinjiang (guide) or buying the physical versions of her three novels in Chinese (shop, change to English with top-right world icon), the special boxsets of MDZS and TGCF come with tons of goodies!
Hope I could be of service and that my tirade was mildly informative ^^'
