liketwoswansinbalance - LikeTwoSwansInBalance
LikeTwoSwansInBalance

"You are dripping on my lovely new floor," said Rafal. Rhian blinked at the black stone tiles, grimy and thick with soot.

595 posts

Rafal Attempting To Use Slang In A Modern AU:

Rafal attempting to use slang in a Modern AU:

Rafal has joined the chat.

Rafal: I am insane. Unhinged. And mentally-ill. - RM

Agatha: Yes, that's true. What about it?

Rafal: I'm wicked.

Tedros: True again. Why are you stating the obvious?

Rafal: No, you misunderstand.Β I'm colloquially bragging like the youth do?

Agatha: Wut? Are you trying to say something we disagree on?

Rafal: Yes. I have a good argument too.

Rafal: Wait.

Rafal is typing.

Sophie has joined the chat.

Sophie: Apologies, darlings! I TOLD him not to go through my contacts! I've been trying to teach Rafal to keep up with the times asΒ of late. He means "sick," and "wicked" as in "wicked cool."

Tedros has left the chat.

Agatha: And you thought that would work?!!

Sophie: It was worth a try?

Rafal: How's this, my love? I'm DECEASED at the sight of these previous texts!

Sophie: ???

Rafal: πŸ’€πŸ’€πŸ’€πŸ’€

Sophie: What are you trying to SAY???

Rafal: Isn't it obvious? I'm LAUGHING at the princeling's idiocy.

Agatha: ...mood

Sophie: Oh. Slay.

Rafal: Whom?

Sophie: NO ONE. It means continue doing what you're doing because you're stylish and/or successful.

Sophie: He's right, you know, Aggie.

Agatha: Yeah... can't defend Tedros there.

Rafal: πŸ’€πŸ’€πŸ’€πŸ’€πŸ’€πŸ’€

Sophie: ...We're never going to get him to give it up, are we?

Agatha: Nope

Rafal: These pictographic symbols are great. πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›

Agatha: πŸ™„

Rafal: Look at my flock. Too bad there aren't any Stymph ones. πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›πŸ¦β€β¬›

Agatha: Ok, this is your problem now. Bye.

Agatha has left the chat.

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More Posts from Liketwoswansinbalance

Trial run prompt thing: Does anyone get what I mean (in the way that I'm describing it or similarly) or does this sound strange?

It's nice to see someone articulate this actually, hence the fact that is is a reblog, of course.

(The thoughts of substance are in the tags, this time.)

does anyone feel the layer of plexiglass between themselves and the rest of the world or is that just a me thing


Tags :
rafal maybe it just makes sense in my opinion as far as idk self-isolation goes? sometimes it could just be me projecting since this is kind of an overly particular one (and I'm biased) personal post not sure if I can describe it without sounding like I'm chronically indoors or unobservant (ok I sort of amβ€”depending on what people define as real nature intake) but this does make me think of a β€œparallel”/vaguely related feeling I've had that then results from the β€œplexiglass”/surreal everything-is-part-of-a-play feeling? like: oh real life is milling about out there... huh. this may not be the right descriptor but I'll try again to convey it: it's similar to when you get away from the flatness of the page or a screen of text and you go outside or look out the window and stare at the tree boughs above there's so much depth and dimension to the shadows and forms to marvel at but you weren't paying attention before or alternatively it's when you look up from something you're reading realize there's actual noise around you in a public place and it's like surfacing from being submerged underwater it's just... when you tune into life and you KNEW it was there before but did not register it at the time (since it was diluted) and y'know what? I'll tag this with interiority because it also happens to fit if we want to look at things in a more narrative way than reality allows EDIT: I forgot the canon β€œevidence:” Rafal watches the Nevers' torture without moving for days on end until he's interrupted.

SGE Characters as Literary Things

(Not all of these are actual literary or rhetorical devices; some are just writing techniques, forms, genres, mediums, etc.)

This is a bit abstract, so I’m curious about how subjective these might be. Does anyone agree or disagree? And feel free to make additions if you think I left anything out, or request another character that isn’t here.

Hopefully this makes (intuitive?) sense. As always, I'm willing to explain my thought process behind any of the things I've listed.

Also, anyone can treat this like a β€œTag Yourself” meme, if you want. Whose list do you most relate to, use, or encounter?

βΈ»

LANCELOT (I knowβ€”how odd that I’m starting with a minor character and not Rafal, but wait. There’s a method to my madness. Also, watch out for overlap!):

Metonymy, synecdoche (no, literally, to me, these are him.)

Zeugma

Analogy

Figures of speech

Slang, argot

Colloquialisms

Idioms

TEDROS:

Simile

Metaphor

Rhyming couplets

Rhyme schemes

Sonnets

Commercial fiction

Coming-of-age genre

Line enjambment

Overuse of commas

Cadence, prose speech

Waxing poetic, verse (not prose)

Alliteration

Kinesthetic imagery

Phallic imagery/sword sexual innuendos (sorry)

The chivalric romance genre

AGATHA:

Anaphora, repetition

Semicolon, periods

Line breaks

Terse, dry prose

Semantics (not syntax)

Elegy

Resonance

Consonance, alliteration

Pseudonym

Narrative parallels

Realism

Satire

SOPHIE:

Sophistry (yes, there is a word for it!)

Imagery

Italics, emphasis

Em dash

Aphrodisiac imagery

Unreliable narrator, bias

Rashomon effect

Syntax (not semantics)

Diction

Chiasmus (think: β€œFair is foul and foul is fair.”)

Rhetorical purpose

Provocation, calls to action

Voice, writing style

Rhetorical modes: pathos, logos, ethos

Metaphor

Hyperbole, exaggeration

Sensationalism, journalism

Surrealism

Verisimilitude

Egocentrism

Callbacks (but not foreshadowing or call-forwards)

Narrative parallels

Paralepsis, occultatio, apophasis, denial

Hypothetical dialogue

Monologue

JAPETH:

Sibilance

Lacuna

Villanelle (an obsessive, repetitive form of poetry)

Soliloquy

ARIC:

Sentence fragments

RHIAN (TCY):

Unreliable narrator

Setup, payoff

Chekhov’s gun

Epistolary novel

RHIAN (prequels):

Multiple povs

Perspective

Dramatic irony

Situational irony

Chiaroscuro (in imagery)

Endpapers

Frontispiece

Deckled edges

Narrative parallels

Foreshadowing

Call-forwards

Foil

Death of the author

RAFAL:

Omniscient narrator

Perspective

Surrealism

Etymology

Word families or 'linguistic ecosystems'

Latin

Verbal irony

Gallows humor

Narrative parallels

Call-forwards

Circular endings

Parallel sentences or balanced sentence structure

Narrative parallels

Foil

Juxtaposition

Authorial intent (β€œreturn of the author”)

HESTER:

Protagonist

Allusions

Gothic imagery

ANADIL:

Defamiliarization

Deuteragonist (second most important character in relation to the protagonist)

Psychic distance

Sterile prose

Forewords, prologues

Works cited pages

DOT:

Tone

Gustatory imagery

Tritagonist (third most important character in relation to the protagonist)

KIKO:

Sidekick

Falling action

Dedications, author's notes, epigraph, acknowledgements

Epitaph (Tristan)

BEATRIX:

Pacing

Rising Action

Climax

HORT:

Unrequited love

Falling resolution

Anticlimax

Malapropism

Innuendo

Asides

Brackets, parentheses

ClichΓ©

EVELYN SADER:

Synesthetic imagery

Villanelle

Foreshadowing

AUGUST SADER:

Stream of consciousness style

Imagery

Foreshadowing

Coming-of-age genre

Elegy

Omniscience

Rhetorical questions

Time skips, non-linear narratives

Epilogues

MARIALENA:

Diabolus ex machina

Malapropism

Malaphors, mixed metaphors

Slant rhyme

Caveat

Parentheses

Footnotes

MERLIN:

Deus ex machina

Iambic pentameter

Filler words

BETTINA:

Screenwriting

Shock value


Tags :

Everything and anything you've observed, even abstract thingsβ€”aside from the bird motif I already have an obvious tag forβ€”is fair game, if anyone wants to send in an ask. I’m curious to know your interpretations. (And I might give you a little spiel about the thing you send in, if anything ends up clicking in my head!)

if u pay attention there are themes and motifs on my blog


Tags :
ask

Round VIII of Excerpts from The One True School Master of Vault 41

I'm only dropping a few short snippets from the draft (currently at around 178 pagesβ€”I haven't been doing much with it lately since the last update) because they connect in a very incorrect, misleading way, which I find funny, even if I already know the context with the redacted parts. Sorry (or not sorry)! Things aren't what they appear to be, and that's all I can say for now.

βΈ»

[When I re-read this part, it occurred to me that I had possibly written an unintentional but legitimate burn.]

[...]

Rafal stared at her in the mask. β€œWhat are you wearing that for?”

β€œI-I felt strange, looking in the mirror. And well, the mask makes me feel less like you…”

[...]

βΈ»

Rafal had made up his mind. He would execute his plan, no matter the consequences.

[...]

βΈ»

[...] Sophie really was timely. Or perhaps, she was watching him [...] The thought almost made him laugh.

[...]

"Death to the School Master!" He raised a fist, and led them to class.

"DEATH TO THE SCHOOL MASTER!" They chanted in unison.

All according to plan.


Tags :

A Hypothetical TOTSMOV41Β Scene I've Talked Myself out of Writing

There's a scene in the draft of TOTSMOV41 in which Tedros punches Rafal in the face while wearing heavy, wide band, royal rings (I did a little sketch of the results here), and I'm soo tempted to have Rafal's first, instinctual thought be: how ineffective. And I could have him mock Tedros for the punch in such a condescending way that he'd just be asking to be punched again at that point. The subtext would drip with: look at me and what a fine target my perfect jawline would beβ€”

Rafal would beΒ evaluating the effectivenessΒ and the actual impactΒ of the punch, as if Tedros were one of his ineffectual Never students, thinking to himself that brass knuckles would've been better than mere rings. Should restock those in Evil's arsenal. Hmm... as if he weren't just punched in the face. Like, how non-reactive would that be?! It would not be immediate rage, but he would be operating on autopilot, due to all the other terrible things the narrative had subjected him to by that point, like he's blatantly apathetic.

The whole thing could be an absolutely scathing review of Tedros' punch, which he just finds pitiful, running through his mind, and besides, this pain is nothing in comparison to everything else that's happened to him as of late, so the pain doesn't even really register, at first, and he has a high pain tolerance anyway and he hasn't had a decent night's sleep in weeks, so what?

Thus, he just. Defaults to Evil professor mode. He's going on about the wind-up or the velocity of the act, and everyone's staring at him like he's grown a second head, and then, partway through, he realizes. He's instructing his sworn, mortal enemy. He's literally giving this young idiot pointers!

The idea strikes me as funny because it poses the question: what if Rafal were in teacher mode at the time? Alas, the whole thing is just so unlikely that I think I'll have to scrap the idea.

Unlessβ€”he's in a disoriented and dazed enough state for this type of thought process to occur, which could very well be true, considering the previous, slightly horrific things that happened to him. And yet, I think he's the type to always be alert, to land on his feet, to hit the ground running, etc., which again, wouldn't work too well for his character, unfortunately. And, well, there's probably enough humorΒ in that scene already (depending on how potential future readers will take it?) so nevermind.

I want to maintain the integrity of his characterization, but the comedy potential to be had here could be such fun to exploit (and he is sort of known for being under-responsive/unfazed)! So, instead of all this, which could potentially detrimentally slow down the pacing, Rafal will likely just get an awful, sardonic remark, as per usual. Ah well.

It could've been great otherwise, but this Rafal-lecturing-Tedros scene might not work for the greater purposes of the story. Rafal is probably too self-aware and not quite "absent-minded professor" enough, and thisΒ scene wouldn't have fit the tone, so that's why I'm scrapping the idea and posting it here instead. (If I can manage to have it both ways, with the sardonic comment and his lecture, I may put it in, but the current outline/draft as it is will likely not use this at all.)


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