Two-point Perspective Of A Tausug Stilt House On Water

I don't know if you can answer this one, but basically, I know what needs to happen in my story and I know where it's going but it's like I can't get it there or don't have the ideas to get it there, if that makes sense? For example, I'm writing a short story and for this particular scene, these two characters need going to kiss to get the story going, but the dialogue and scene feels so flat or it's like I have no ideas to get from point A to point B.

Trouble Getting from Point A to Point B

You may think you know what needs to happen in your story, and you may think you know where your story is going, but knowing random things that have to happen and a general ending aren't usually enough to make a story unfold. For some writers it is, but not for most of us.

There are some key things a story needs in order for you to fill in those moments...

1) Motivation and Goal - every story is about someone who wants something trying to get that thing, so the first thing you need to figure out about your story is what your character wants, why they want it, and the steps they need to take in order to get it.

2) Internal Conflict - Your character's history, experiences, and current situation all play a role in who they and what they need. What does your character want to change about themselves or their situation?

3) Antagonistic Force - When you're trying to reach a goal, there's almost always an antagonistic force creating obstacles you must overcome. If you're training to run a marathon, those obstacles are probably created by the limitations based on your current level of fitness. If you're trying to survive a gladiator-style fight, the antagonistic force is whoever/whatever put you in that situation and on a smaller scale, whoever/whatever you need to fight to survive.

4) Stakes - Stakes are the things that matter most to your character. These are the reasons your character is motivated in the first place, the reason they want to pursue their goal. Stakes are the best thing that could happen if your character succeeds, and the worst thing that could happen if they fail. What's the worst that can happen?

Sometimes, when you're trying to reach a goal, the stakes are raised. This could be a natural raising of the stakes, like a smoldering volcano showing sudden signs that it's about to blow and threaten the character's family in the village below. It could be an intentional raising of the stakes, like the villain kidnapping your character's significant other, forcing your character choose between slaying the villain's dragon that's terrorizing the village, or saving their loved one.

Your character's goal tells us where the story is going. Your character's motivation tells us why the character wants to get there. Their internal conflict tells us why they want what they want, and why they do the things they do. The antagonistic force tells us who or what they're up against and what obstacles they'll have to overcome on their way to reaching their goal. Stakes tell us how things can get increasingly worse/increasingly more tense.

When you know all of these things about your story, you start to understand the individual things that need to happen, like the moment when your character finds out their loved one was kidnapped, or the moment when the smoldering volcano starts to rumble. When you know the individual things that have to happen, you can build scenes around them. When you know what your characters want, why they want it, what internal conflict drives their choices, and what's standing in their way, you understand what your characters would need to talk about in each scene.

Have a look at the following posts for more help:

Guide: How to Turn Ideas into a Story Guide: Filling in the Story Between Known Events Guide: How to Outline a Plot Basic Story Structure How to Move a Story Forward

Good luck with your story! ♥

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gods the soft LongJun moments in S2 E5 is just… good shit good shit

Oh!! I never knew, thank you for adding this, I really appreciate it!

Philippine gods & goddesses.

Introducing you Philippine mythology! I didn't include them all though! Maybe I'll continue it in future blogs?

Bathala

— Bathala reigns supreme in the heavens, though his beginnings were not necessarily so set.

— The head honcho of the gods in the Tagalog myths.

— The god is known to have married a mortal woman, and from her sprang three of his powerful offspring: Apolaki (God of War and Guardian of the Sun), Mayari (Goddess of the Moon), and Tala (Goddess of the Stars).

Mayari and Apolaki

— Apolaki and Mayari both fought over the Earth’s dominion.

— The sun god wanted to be the sole ruler, but the goddess of the moon wanted an equal share.

— This resulted in a ferocious battle. Apolaki took one of his sister's eyes, but regretted it, and conceded.

— He then ruled the earth with Mayari, only they would rule at different times.

— In the day, it was Apolaki’s moment, and at night, Mayari shone in the sky (though her luminescence is dimmer, due to the loss of one eye).

Hanan

— According to some myths, Hanan is the daughter of Bathala. The goddess has Mayari and Tala as her sisters.

— Hanan is the goddess of morning, dawn, child birth, and new beginnings.

— It is said that she is the deity most important when people enter a new age or a new phase in their life.

Tala

— Daughter of Bathala.

— Ruler of the stars.

The Marias

— Maria Cacao, Maria Makiling, and Maria Sinukuan are mountain goddesses (or fairies) with their own separate jurisdictions.

— The most famous of the three, Maria Makiling, is the guardian of Mount Makiling, located in Laguna.

— Maria Cacao watches over Mount Lantoy in Cebu, and it is said that her domain houses the Cacao plants, a useful ingredient in most Filipino chocolate delicacies.

— Lastly, Maria Sinukuan holds dominion over Mount Arayat in Pampanga. There, she is said to bring forth bountiful harvests from the mountain’s fruit trees.

Dian Masalanta

— Diyan Masalanta is the tagalog goddess of love, conception, and childbirth, and the protector of lovers. 

mythology family ♥︎ hanan for @gisabarrovv​

in tagalog mythology, hanan is the goddess of morning, dawn, child birth and new beginnings. she is one of the three demigod daughters of bathalang, the creator of the universe. hanan is the sister of mayari (goddess of the moon), and tala (goddess of the stars).

Tarot Gen Cards - A conspiracy theory and Hcs

Well, I was re-re-re-reading some chapters of manga (I can't help it, sorry) and I'd noticed one thing about Gen' cards.

But first, when and who made one of the most powerful trick of this cute mentalist?

Let's start straight (or not, in this case?).

↘️⬇️↙️

In chapter 70, paper (and the possibility to make sheets to draw and write on them) is acquired by the Science team. So I don't think Gen' cards already existed before this chapter because they made by paper with a touch of plastic (I supposed because the paper it was more easy to draw something on but only paper isn't enough).

In chapter 82, Gen remembered Senkuu' words about the entertainment (so like his own magic show) and how they will come back. I wanted to include it because from chapters 70-81, Senkuu and all of them in general had zero (0) chills to make something of frivolous like cards. So when Gen' cards could be made? Maybe after this chapter?

In chapter 84, finally we could see one of the cards: the Joker + Gen explained one of his psychological tricks.

Had you noticed? The Joker had a sort of title.

Uncertainty Principle.

It wasn't a psychological or magical concept but a scientific one. The Uncertainty Principle was also known as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Google-chan was trying to explain to me what it was but it wasn't important for this post, so let's forget about what it was but not that it was a scientific concept.

Also the double faced joker here had the same scar of Gen.

Cute.

🌻

In chapter 88, we could more of his cards. On the cards were written Tarot Gen Card (and they hadn't the pattern motive that they had in few chapters before).

At first I thought that there was something strange but Wikipedia-chan explained that even cards like these that Gen used could be called like this. For Tarot Cards I did mean another type...

Btw, in this chapter we also saw another card. 3 of hearts that had a title as well.

Theory of Evolution.

This one is an another scientific concept like that for the joker's card. It's a reference to theory of evolution made by Charles Darwin, of course.

So here we go with my theories:

1) Gen made these cards by himself

I mean, he needed them and finally he had all materials to use. Tarot Gen Cards are useful for good (little show that he could make as it was shown in a small photo in this panel from chapter 99)

or "evil" magic tricks (when it was to make his and Senkuu's interests went well). This could be valid because on cards there was Gen's name (normally on something made by Senkuu there was always his name).

2) Gen asked to Senkuu to make these cards

Gen was very lazy. He needed cards and he asked them to Senkuu for the same reasons that I'd said above. Also Senkuu maybe could draw (we didn't know nothing about Gen's other skills) or they asked to the little child from the Village to draw a few illustrations on cards lol

3) Senkuu made them for Gen as a gift (after all, Gen has made for him the telescope)

Yes, same reasons above but there was more. Senkuu didn't express his feelings and he preferred to do something concrete for who he loved and cared about. So he made cards with Gen's name but call them with scientific concepts also to teached them to Gen.

The scene that I've pictured in my mind is like this:

"A mentalist like you have to have cards with him... So here we go. Use them for Science Kingdom's Sake."

"Have you given to me a present, Senkuu-chan~? For what? I'm not complaining."

"It's not a present, it's for your mentalist job. Use them for tricking who wants to trick us."

"Wait... Why has every card a different scientific principle on it?"

"Because you can study them now."

"Have I to study here too? Tewwible!"

And I've done, let me know what do you think, if you mind or if you want me to focus on something else about SenGen or Dr. Stone story 🃏

Reblog if you call the wind by whistling.

I had the habit of whistling the call of birds when the wind is saturated. It’s not like I believe in it, but oftentimes, I suddenly feel the wind coming after one set of call. I learned it from the elders, and I’m still seeing some youth do it.

One time, I was with a non-local friend (he’s Filipino, just very westernized) and we were walking under the harsh sun with no wind. I whistled, and a gush of wind came. He asked why did I do that, to which I answered while the wind brushed my hair, “I’m calling the wind.” with such a serious voice I might be a diety. Later on I realized he doesn’t know about our force of habit, and since I didn’t want to be seen as crazy, I said, “FORGET ABOUT THAT! IT WAS A FORCE OF HABIT AROUND HERE.”

So yeah, we whistle for the wind. The only being in the universe you can whistle for.

So it has been discussed that Dark Academia is quite Eurocentric and a bit (if not so much) elitistic. If you like it, it's alright, though.

If you, my Filipino mutuals, felt that Dark Academia is pretentious, maybe (just maybe) it's because we cannot really relate to it while its western practices cannot awake our connection to its roots. For us, it is just "aesthetics" and will never be a "way of life".

Personally, I like the dark hues of dark academia, but I'm a lover of Filipino culture eh.

I would like to gather your thoughts about the Dark or Light Academia aesthetics and lifestyle in Filipino cultural settings. I'm sure I can find many Filipinos here who have ventured more into reconnecting with the indigenous academic culture than I have.

Let's start! (lol haba ng intro ko, eto lang pala 'yon)

Share any media, books, movies, objects, study materials pertaining to the following categories: my examples, without pictures because I'm uncreative.

Book Reco: any myth book, tbh

Poets to read: Andres Bonifacio (for those who don't know, this boi made a poem about Sidapa)

Writing Instruments: Bamboo and ink

Classical Musical instruments: Talaandug (alam nyo yung bamboo flute ni Agilus sa Mulawin, yun 'yon)

Must study: Baybayin

Study Table snacks: Puto pao

Coffee and Tea Reco: Barako, tanglad tea, lavender tea, turnate tea, and Sampaguita tea, all of which are grown in south east asia and can be found in shopee/lazada.

Philosophy and ethics: I'm blank on this one. Sadly, I only know Nietzschean and Confucian.

Objects that should adorn your study table: sari manok, because I'm basic and edgy.

Objects that should adorn your wall: T'boli weaving, Fernando Amorsolo works, random wooden stick you found in the wild

Objects that should adorn your book shelf: clay pot, random wooden stick you found in the wild

Garments: red saya (I have 3! Who cares about heat death!)

All I can give are basics and general, I'm that surface level. Please share your knowledge to celebrate Filipino Academia aesthetics/life style.

((edit: ah, the problem of study aesthetics is the consumerism that comes with it. So a reminder, don't feel forced to buy anything. We're just vibing. And if you can buy things, go local as much as you can.))

Moments of Erens bond with Annie

Reading all 19 days chapters in two days, I actually got to understand the plot a bit better. At first I didn’t understand why Old Xian was giving us less and less zhanyi content, I used to think it was because they were the characters she started the story with, so she needed more time to make us appreciate the other two boys (Mo Guan Shan and He Tian). Then I understood that there seemed to be less strips focused on Zhan Zheng Xi and Jian Yi only because I didn’t see much of a progress in their relationship, while tianshan were constantly growing.

Well, of course they were.

My otp in this manhua is zhanyi and I think that’s clear to everyone read my previous posts, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy tianshan’s dynamics. Still, the reason why I just absolutely adore zhanyi is that they alreayd have a solid bond. They communicate, they talk about their feelings, they are open with each other, they are comfortable with each other’s touch. Zhan Zheng Xi is often compared to Mo Guan Shan in terms of couples members, but he shows love and affection toward Jian Yi in almost every strip. He cuddles him, he doesn’t mind Jian Yi sleeping over him, he hugs him, he smiles often when they are together and he says things like “I want to get stronger so that I can protect you”, which is a proper declaration of love. Honestly it’s not like they need anything else to be an actual couple rather than just come in terms with their feelings. Jian Yi may seem fine with the fact that he’s gay but may I remember you the scene where he asked Zhan Zheng Xi if he was to be considered abnormal? Or all of the times he clearly showed to think that being gay was something shameful, something his friends and Xixi himself would have probably found weird and absurd. At the same time Zhan Zheng Xi is the one who told him that no, he was not abnormal, the one who hugged him when he was crying for the shame he felt after kissing him, the one who asked him straight (lol) if he liked him, if it was that kind of like. Zhan Zheng Xi seems fine with the idea of homosexuality, insofar as a fourteen year old Chinese guy can be. What he has not come in terms with are his own feelings. When he talks to Xiao Hui, he asks her “Must there be only like and dislike in human emotions?”. I’m not sure what he meant, but I personally think that he hasn’t understood what loving someone means and all the ways you can love a person: he loves his little sister and his parents, he loves his friends and he loves Jian Yi. All these relationships are different, but how can you say which one is romantic love? How is it different? Maybe because you want to have sex with that special someone? He may be asexual (he probably is? I don’t know). So what? When and why do his feelings toward Jian become different from the one he feels toward his family and friends?

So the point now is for them to understand their selves and each other completely. It’s a slow process, especially if we consider the one-year-gap when Jian Yi got kidnapped.

He Tian and Mo GuanShan are a different story. Of course Mo Guan Shan is not ready to admit to himself he’s attracted to guys (or at least to He Tian), but that is not the main problem at all. Their relationship didn’t start as a relationship, it started as a gross blackmailing in which the victim got at least payed for his service. I’m sorry to say this, but if I didn’t I would be disrespecting all the people who have been in a toxic and violent relationship and are now reading this. I know that He Tian cares for Mo Guan Shan and fell in love with him as the time passed, he even apologised for his attitude, but their dynamics are still far from heatlhy. They came to trust each other, Mo even managed to confide in him and finding his presence something reassuring and He Tian showed us he would do anything for him and to protect him. I also understand that for someone who grew up the way He Tian did it is not easy to become a saint all at once, just like that. Mo Guan Shan isn’t a saint either by the way. We can’t just ignore He Tian’s creepy background (besides, he still lives a pretty savage family situation). He changed if we consider how he used to behave in the earlier times but I still would not recommend a long-term romantic relationship with someone like that. At the same time I know that if sometimes he pushes way too much is also because he knows that Mo doesn’t always mean everything he says and does. He proved to care about him and to have a huge crush on him and even to feel attraction to him, but he still would deny everything at any time.

So of course the later strips are more focused on the two of them: they are the ones who need to grow up the most.