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fruitsofhell · 4 months

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Goofy ah Forgotten Land essay incoming:

It took me till like a week ago to realize that KATFL writes Elfilis and Forgo as being the same characters and I don't know how to feel about that. I feel Forgo is more interesting as it's own being the way Elfilin is from 'Lis, because I like the idea of them both being these smaller figments of the past self reduced to childish forms representing absolutes of the original. But at the same time, what made me realize that this isn't the game's intention is when I was going to say something about how hollow Elfilis is as a character in comparison to Forgo.

So really, you either make Forgo and Elfilis effectively one character and Elfilin another, negating Forgo of its own identity as a pathetic pitiable beast so that Elfilis continues to have a presence - or you make all three of them seperate characters, and Elfilis loses what they gain as a character from Forgo's motivations.

Elfilis has not a single defined motive for why it attacked the people of the Forgotten Land very much unlike other Kirby villains who can atleast say something like, "power/gain (Magolor), vanity/power (Sectonia), greed (Haltmann), or vengeance (Hyness)". Elfilis and Forgo are often described as invasive species, but what that entails isn't obvious because all we know about 'Lis' evil intentions is from Forgo. But Forgo has its own motivations that exist outside of Elfilis' original wishes - that being its captivity in Lab Discovera, which is very strong on its own.

It adds a very engaging sense of darkness to the legacy of the Forgotten Land, and makes you pity and understand its raw animosity as much as you wish to defend the world from it. The fact that Elfilis was a violent invader rather than just some other alien adds little to its motive, but does add thematic garnish to the idea of how alien life has approached the Forgotten Land. But at the same time, Forgo's captivity is such a strong motivator it really could have stood on its own and still been effective as an alien antithesis to Kirby... Though I admit not as much as what Elfilis is.

Probably to most people that have been reading straight from the games intentions, the former sounds more appealing than the latter. But, probably due to my own stubbornness and bias I really really do love them being 3 seperate entities even at the expense of depth for Elfilis. Because one of my favorite reoccurring themes in this series is vain idealization of the past fucking villains over.

I like this in Taranza's devotion to a Sectonia that no longer exists, Susie to a father that has long since been lost in his own mad schemes to find her, and Hyness obsessing over a very flawed understanding of his cult's past. And I USED TO LIKE the idea that Magolor's obsession with the crown was him, as a *Halcandran* glorifying Halcandra's past relics, but CANT HAVE THAT ANYMORE.

If the Kirby writers don't got me anymore, I guess I'll got myself. I like the idea of Forgo being as seperate from Elfilis as 'Lin is, but while Elfilin is all of their originals innocence, purity, and hope, Forgo is its raw anger and vengefulness. Visually taking Elfilis's soft/mammalian and alien/insectoid motifs respectively, but both distinctly being immature and incomplete states. Elfilis was not just that anger nor just that hope (wherever it came from), and is only the culmination of those two sides, it's a symbol of a self the two can never be on their own - one that Forgo idealizes and one Elfilin avoids.

For the sake of the ending where Elfilin reclaims the last bit of Forgo/Elfilis that is willing to go on, I prefer the mutuality of Forgo and Elfilin moving on together, rather than Elfilin just accepting Elfilis if that makes ANY sense. I just like the way Forgo and Elfilin parallel eachother more than he does with 'Lis? I like the narrative of healing that acknowledges that Forgo and Elfilin are both lost and grieving children, rather than Elfilin abandoned Elfilis who then became Forgo. Like the latter feels oddly possessive and unbalanced.

And as I said in line with past series themes, I kinda like the idea that whatever the fuck Elfilis had going on is irrelevant, just as seeing the faces of the people of the Forgotten Land is irrelevant - all that is relevant is what was left behind. I like the idea that Elfilis cannot really speak for itself anymore as a character the way the people of the Forgotten Land can only speak through their ruins and audio recordings. And as those people left behind a legacy of reclaimed wonder and terrible cruelty, in response, Elfilis left behind one of innocent hope and unbridled anger. I'd prefer to try and piece together what those two opposing visions say of their predecessor than just assume one speaks for them in its entirely I s'pose...

#kirby #kirby and the forgotten land #katfl #fecto forgo #fecto elfilis #elfilin #shut the heck up #media analysis #this may sound kooky cause i REALLY font engage with fanon when it comes to katfl #and as you can see i had my own strong biased takeaways from the story #elfilin is near comfort character levels so this is vert important to me...#and katfl near comfort game lol #i think another way to put is... is that i expected and want character consistency with the visual consistency #if elfilis is the two together i dont expect the two perfectly parallel halves to have one just be the old one in personality #i expect that like their designs they are incomplete aspects #tag talking

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rude-harmonixer · 1 year

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I was originally going to write on Twitter but character limits are too much of a bother so here I am. This will probably be very messy but I'm dealing with media that probably 10 people are familiar with, so... Whatever!

I've recently found this site: https://nervetower.neocities.org/analysis.html

It has a bunch of translations and essays on the game Baroque, originally released on the Sega Saturn.

This specific bit of info has made me OBSESSED with thinking about the game.

Sure the game was literally written in burst of inspiration by drawing tarot cards because the writers had a deadline and writer's block at the same time, and the protagonist being canonically trans was only in a draft for the prequel material, but the game is surprisingly consistent with its themes and the symbolism can still be read through a trans lens.

And because it's not confirmed and ambiguous, the protagonist can be read through multiple gender povs.

But like, why is this such a big deal? Well, Baroque and its prequel material just so happens to have one of the most incredible anti-bigotry narratives I've ever seen in a game. Specifically anti-ableism and anti-eugenics, among probably some questioning of organized religion and how corporations use it to further alienate the public into a cycle of oppression towards marginalized people. etc.

The protagonist is mass produced and manipulated by the Archangel to "purify" whatever he deems should be "purified", using guilt (the Christians/Catholics favorite thing) to do so as the protagonist is made to not remember anything besides their immense guilt over something.

For the game to progress the protag must regain their memories and find out they're a copy of who knows how many other copies, a human made into a product basically, made to feel special because they won't be distorted by their desperate delusions to escape a world destroyed by corporate greed like all the rest and have the power to "purify" things, when in reality they're just emotionally and genetically manipulated into being that.

A perfect pawn.

Now where is the trans symbolism? Well, aside from how little bodily autonomy the protagonist has, here's where things really get interesting:

In Baroque, God is presented as a woman. Before the Great Heat (aka apocalypse), God's Sense Spheres (her omnipresence, transferring data like the world is a body) assured that no great distortion would come to the reality humanity lived in, God would feel pain and know there was a wound to heal. Then the Archangel, who's really just some scientist, started fucking with the population's mental health on purpose because he wanted to kill God and create his own perfect little world. That's the short summary anyway.

At one point, with a lot of brainwashing using God's screams of pain, he created the Order of Malkuth to help him. But later the members woke up from the brainwashing and organized a desperate attempt to stop the Archangel: they would fuse Koriel number 12 (presented as a boy) with God so she could communicate in data that humans could understand. What they didn't expect however is that Koriel 12 had their own problems, and with Archangel interrupting the fusion, those problems were very amplified.

Koriel 12's guilt over being alive and God's suffering made shit hit the fan for good with the Great Heat.

And that's how the protagonist becomes mute and receives the power of God and anim- I mean, "purification".

The game begins and despite Koriel and God being now two parts of the same being, the Archangel tells Koriel to go to the bottom of the Nerve Tower, where the "Mad God" is basically imprisoned, and "purify" her with a rifle (with ammo made from the embodiment of her pain hormones).

The Archangel is literally making Koriel kill a part of themselves that's already literally buried deep into a mind tower that goes down instead of up but still has the image of a tower instead of a hole. He's basically forcing Koriel to bury the closet with them inside it because the closet isn't enough apparently.

Koriel also can't speak for themselves anymore but their thoughts can be read by the Horned Woman, which she just says out loud without explaining anything and unless you're thinking about it you won't even recognize those are "your" thoughts being spoken by another person.

Jumping ahead, when Koriel gets to the bottom of the tower, you can either do what the Archangel tells you or can just walk towards God and unite with her.

When you do this after some dying and finding out, you'll receive the true ending, in which it is made clear that while it is in a state at which it's harming everyone, the "distortion" is actually the natural way of the world, everyone needs to cope at least a little to survive, the Archangel's eugenicist campaign was the greater problem here, not the people "distorted" into representations of their suffering and coping mechanisms by his actions.

This is primarily focused on ableism and particularly the stigma around mental health.

With a trans reading, it forms a bridge so it can also just mean bigotry in general too.

Why? Well, since the 70s or something, trans people basically have to be diagnosed with a disorder to be granted legal access to transition, that's even truer for Japan, which literally puts it on paper as a disorder. And overall, transphobia and ableism go very hand in hand.

This game is now the closest I've come across to finding a game that's secretly about trans people too like The Matrix.

And this has greatly developed the brain worms 👍

#baroque game #my gaming ramblings #if you're insane enough please try the game #not the ps2 or wii versions tho they're terrible and even if you don't care about most changes you'll most likely care about-#it more than doubling the amount of floors from the psx version which already was bigger than the original and like #please don't do that to yourself the game is already not that fun don't subject yourself to those versions #spoilers i guess but really who even cares #it's not like the surprise really does anything in-game really #you'd just be very confused playing it 100% blind trust me #also there's a whole lot I didn't talk about this is just an incoherent rambling which some might decipher maybe #if you've read all this you're very based and I'm so sorry ahsbsjenzbx

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lil-miss · 5 months

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Azi’s Zim is Disabled Essay

So there are a lot of different interpretations about Zim being defective that exist. There are a lot of interpretations about what it means to be defective in the first place. I would like to propose that being defective, not only relates to neurodivergence and “non-desirable” behavior (anything that goes against the Irken regime) but also certain physical disabilities, in specific chronic illnesses.

I would like to draw a line here because I firmly believe that the Irken Empire would not give a shit about limb differences. They are technologically advanced (even if their technology is mostly stolen from other species) so, to them, it would be entirely cosmetic and one could simply get cybernetics. However, a problem with the body’s systems cannot be as easily addressed. Thus, Irkens with conditions, like these would be considered defective. Due to their condition, they cannot contribute in the same way as others if they can contribute at all. They would be considered a liability. That’s right, the space fascists are probably also eugenicists (shocking no one). I mean seriously, that’s pretty easy to see. They literally genetically engineer their own people to near perfection.

The only way for a genetic issue like this to happen with the way smeets are made would be because of some kind of cloning error. Anyone reading this probably knows that a popular headcanon about Zim is that he is the product of some kind of cloning error. This is a headcanon that I agree with. So, if Zim is the product of a cloning error what saying that he doesn’t have some kind of invisible disability like a chronic illness.

Putting the lore side, when you look at the Irken Empire, as a satirical representation of America, its greed, its disregard for citizens, and its imperialism, having Zim be disabled makes thematic sense. Zim is actively disregarded by and pushed out of Irken society, many people tend to interpret this as Zim being autistic or another neurodivergent parallel, which I agree with. However, why not take this a step further, why not make a Zim physically disabled?

The closest thing within fandom spaces that I’ve seen to interpreting Zim as disabled, is making Zim autistic or deaf/hard of hearing. However, when this is written it usually has little to no bearing on the plot of whatever is being written. It is almost always a superficial detail of some kind like the occasional mention of Zim having a hard time hearing something, not understanding subtext, or wearing a hearing aid.

I don’t think this is a problem within the Invader Zim fandom; I am well aware that there is just not much fic about disabled characters in which they are actively discussed as being disabled or their disability is important to the plot in some way. I am not blaming anyone for this issue, it’s just the fact that not many people write disabled characters. I think this problem mostly comes from the fact that people are scared of messing it up. Quick message: if you think that you have a good writing idea that involves a disabled character, make sure you do your research, but fucking write it! Even if they aren’t anywhere close to implied to being disabled in canon. What is the point of fanfiction if not to give fans the space to interpret the character however they please?

Apologies for the tangent but it was important. I’m going to shift the topic a bit, onto examining a symptom of chronic illness that I see in Zim within the canon. Specifically, I think that it explains one of the main inconsistencies in Zim’s character.

Many people including myself have noticed the fact that Zim is simultaneously very smart, but also very incompetent at times. This seems to be a contradiction because someone as smart as he is shown to be, logically, shouldn’t be making some of the mistakes that he does within the canon. And I have a plausible solution to this: brain fog. Brain fog is an overarching name for a collection of symptoms that includes an inability to focus and concentrate, confusion, unusually inhibited logic skills, feeling disoriented, as well as trouble remembering and comprehending information. If Zim was intermittently experiencing these symptoms, the inconsistency of him being simultaneously a genius and on many occasions almost completely incompetent would be explained. Brain fog is a symptom of a lot of different things, personally, I interpret it as chronic pain and immunodeficiency for my Zim headcanons and my AU.

Being able to deep dive into Fem Zim’s experience with her disability as she continues her story is important to me. Describing her chronic pain is important to me. Not having a fix for her condition is important to me. Having a character that is not just disabled, but who talks about their disability, has prose dedicated to their symptoms, and has it as an important part of their character building and development is something that I do not see. Let alone anyone with a similar condition to me. Zim is that character for me, whether it’s me going into specifics about Fem Zim’s symptoms within my own AU, or me as a kid, first getting into Invader Zim, and seeing so much of myself in Zim as a character.

You can interpret Zim however you want, I’m not telling you what to do. But I would like to point out that this is an entirely underutilized interpretation that in a fandom that has existed for over 20 years know I do not know of any other genuine instance of.

My only explanation for that is that y'all are cowards. /j

#I'm sorry if this sounds aggressive at all #I've been told that my writing style in essays can come off as aggressive because I speak confidently when writing persuasively #and I guess that's intimidating.#I'm also tired #if this is what I’m going to write like in college than the professors at UPenn better get fucking ready #homestead homestuck housewife #galaxy girls iz #invader zim au #invader zim fanfiction #invader zim #invader zim zim #fem zim #character analysis #text analysis

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scarlett-vixen · 2 years

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good morning kat!! i would love to read how u view and write the brothers / dateables <33

Ahhhhhh thank you! I was probably going to do it anyway but I’m so glad you sent this <3 OKAY! So some of these are probably similar to how others see/write them but I feel like I have a slightly different feel for a few of them. I really just wanted to do this so my followers could kind of get an idea for my writing before they get whiplash or something aksjaj ALSO I’m only to lesson 35 so if you read some of this and go “kat they literally covered that in the game” I’m sorry but I’m stuck way behind.

LUCIFER - The Overworked DILF

So I think we can all agree that this man is severely overworked and is in desperate need of some dick/pussy and probably worries about things he shouldn’t. I hate the idea that Lucifer doesn’t like/doesn’t care about his brothers!! “He’s always rude to them” “He never lets them have fun” yes I know but you have to remember he’s Avatar of Pride. I feel like Luci isn’t an ass just to be one, it’s his Sin that makes him come across that way! He’s the prideful oldest brother, in real world conditions he would be the oldest sibling who graduated Valedictorian and went off to an Ivy League school and your parents constantly brag about. These kids normally are the most stressed people alive, they do it because they feel like it’s expected of them not because they think they’re better than everyone else. Lucifer acts like a jerk sometimes because his Sin forces him to basically. I also think once Luci becomes comfortable with you, that tends to fade away, he’s less strict on his brothers, he’s a little more open about his feelings, he might even start complimenting them more often. Lucifer loves his brothers and I feel like he would sacrifice a lot to make them (and you) happy.

💖 MAMMON - The Loverboy 💖

I could write a ten page essay on Mammon…actually I could probably do one for half the brothers. ANYWAY My biggest peeve is how the game (and some fans) make him just “the stupid greedy brother” you can not convince me Mammon would ever steal from MC, you just can’t. “But he likes to sell things for money” yes, but you know greed doesn’t solely refer to money? I see Mammon as the touch starved demon who falls head over heels for you, he would do anything for you, you ask and it’s done, no hesitation. This boy is so smitten with you it’s unbelievable, he truly is a simp, look the word up in the dictionary and it’s just his name next to it. Why?? Because after he develops feelings for you he becomes greedy for your love and attention, he doesn’t care about your money or possessions he just wants your affection. If you don’t love him? It hurts but it’s okay he just wants a friend who treats him nicely. WHILE ON THAT TOPIC I DO NOT BELIEVE THE BROTHERS ARE THAT MEAN/CRUEL TOWARDS HIM. I think they tease him but I also believe they respect him. I feel like Mammon is actually very smart, he just doesn’t apply himself at RAD because he has better things to do like stare at you all day. I write Mammon as a very loyal friend/lover. I also write him as clingy/needy because he is, he wants to be with you because you show him so much kindness he can’t get enough.

LEVIATHAN - The Shy Boy

*gently slaps his shoulder* This bad boy can fit so much anxiety in him! I relate very hard to Levi and his socially awkward ass so I understand his tendency to lock himself away. I think once he warms up to you and you guys become friends he’s more willing to leave his room and even the house. I think you would somewhat become a security blanket for him, in the sense that he’s only comfortable going to a big social outing if you also go, he doesn’t have to be directly next to you but he at least needs you in his line of sight to feel better. I think Levi has of course had a few friends here and there, be it online only or maybe another socially awkward demon at RAD, but I think you would be his first true friend. He would open up to you about literally everything, he would text you about every new anime releasing, he would ask you to come game with him/watch a new show constantly. I guess I agree with a lot of his in game personality but I also think he becomes attached to you, I think you help him come out of his shell without him even realizing it, you give him confidence to just be himself and not be as envious of others.

SATAN - The Hopeless Romantic

As someone who struggled with their own anger issues when they were younger, I have many strong feelings about Satan and I do not vibe with the “cold and closed off angry brother” idea. I see him as someone who works hard to keep his anger in check because he doesn’t want to harm/push away the ones he loves. I think he still has those moments that he does lose control but they’re few and far between, I think you would be a major source of comfort for him. He’s quick to spot the similarities between the two of you and wants to form a close bond but also fears hurting you, if you take the first step to get to know him more then he’s all in. He wants to learn more about the human world and is willing to teach you whatever you would like about the Devildom, together you can learn about the Celestial Realm and what it holds. This boy is 100% a hopeless romantic though, when he catches feelings for you he is immediately trying to sweep you off your feet in every aspect BUT he wants everything to be perfect, straight out of a romance novel perfect. Also I’m very biased, I also love and adore animals so I fully support cat lover Satan however I think that Satan loves all animals, cats are just his favorite.

ASMODEUS - The Hypeman

I see Asmo as so much more than “the gay bestie who likes to gossip” like I’ve seen a few fans strip him down to. While I 100% think Asmo is always down to gossip with you I also picture Asmo as the ultimate therapist friend/hypeman. He’ll listen to your problems and give you advice, if you have a crush on one of his brothers he is immediately trying to set you up. He knows how to play the game (because he invented it basically) so he gives you tips on how to make them fall for you. I also see people just leave him as “the sex crazed brother” and yes, I think Asmo would give you some of the most mind blowing sex but again, I see more than that. Most people see Lust and immediately associate it with sex, lust is just an intense desire for something but not specifically sex. I see Asmo as someone who, after years of sexual lust, meets you and starts to lust after a sincere friendship/bond. He’s full of his own insecurities and wants someone he can be open with and share those feelings, I think Asmo would actually be willing to tell you about his insecurities once the two of you formed a stronger bond. I also see Asmo as a total drama queen, the first to know any “secret” and the first to run to you with info on his brothers.

BEELZEBUB- The Gentle Giant

The fact that the game made his personality “food” makes me so mad. Beel is 10000% friend shaped and just wants the best for his family. I see him as a big bear honestly, he’s very sweet and innocent but if you piss him off he will destroy you. I don’t think he would be afraid to body check a bitch into a wall for insulting one of his brothers, I see him as extremely protective over them all, not just his twin. This is my own personal opinion but I think Beel would give the best hugs :( <3 I also think he would be an amazing listener. Since he’s up late at night, due to hunger or insomnia, you can always talk to him when you’re having trouble sleeping. If you ever need to just vent to someone but aren’t really looking for advice, Beel is the one, he listens and he has his own thoughts on the matter but he knows you really just need to talk it out. Just…big boy…big sweet boy💖

BELPHEGOR - The Brat

OOOOOHHHH LET ME TELL YOU! So, in regards to lesson 16 if you want my thoughts on that hot ass mess go read Vicious (not a shameless plug just gives you a better idea on how I feel about that situation). With that being said (and if you’ve read the fic) I think Belphie would have a loooot of guilt for what he did. I think he would feel like shit once he realized how much you mean to his brothers, I think he would feel completely ashamed and would do whatever it took to make it up to you.. He wants to be close to you, he wants to be friends, he wants to have your attention as much as his brothers do. I think the fact that you took the time to set him free would hit him hard, after spending so much time alone he wants to be involved in things but has major guilt for what he did. I think if you ignored him for a while and forced him to see how much his brothers love and adore you, how they would do anything to make you happy, he would cave and beg for forgiveness(in private of course). If you eventually let him get close to you he’s going to act out when he doesn’t get his way and will be the ultimate brat, he’ll pout when you spend too much time with one of the others, he’ll lay in your lap anytime he sees you sitting on the couch, he’ll hold onto the back of your shirt when you guys go out in a group so he can stay close to you. I think he’s 100% a brat but also has tremendous guilt for what he did.

SOLOMON - The Smartass

Okay so you know the classic “little boys will pull the pigtails of the girl they have a crush on” that’s Solomon. Regardless of your gender he’s going to pick on you and he’s going to tease you. The man has been alive for thousands of years, he has met so many other humans but you’re different, he wants to get to know you more. I think Solomon might be a little out of touch with current human culture/ways of life but if you try to introduce him to it he completely adapts to it. I think he would be so thrilled to have another human around, the two of you would become best buds and just say the most random shit and bust out laughing. Introduce him to memes and he immediately starts making his own about the Devildom and they’re hilarious, show him old Vines (exposing my age lmao) and the man is wheezing. I think he’s also a sarcastic little shit, he likes to push buttons and see if you push back, I think he gently bullies his friends. Being an ancient wizard can be lonely so I think you restore a little bit of his humanity and give him a little piece of his childish behavior back.

SIMEON - The Sweetheart

Sweet baby angel help 🥺 I see Simeon as very respectful and innocent BUT he also wants to join the fun. I think if you and Solomon were goofing around he would ask to join, he wants to understand the jokes, he wants to play the dumb card games, he wants to be more involved!! I think Simeon would also be a great listener and would also try to give the best advice. I DO NOT THINK HE WOULD TRY TO FORCE RELIGION DOWN YOUR THROAT I one time saw someone say that Simeon would try to make you “see the light of God” or whatever and just…no, I don’t feel that. I think Simeon would be very respectful of your choices in all aspects of life, just because he’s an angel doesn’t mean he can’t be friends with people who don’t follow his God. To each their own obviously but that’s not how I’ll write him, I don’t think he would bring up religion at all unless you specifically asked him.

LUKE - The #1 Little Bro

LUUUUUUKKKEE Best little angel!!!!! I see Luke as that younger sibling who is SO impressed and in awe of everything you do! He thinks you make everything look easy, he tries to mimic the way you do things, he tells all his friends about you! I think, while at first he may be upset about it, Luke would fully support you if you dated one of the brothers. He would love for you to date Simeon but as long as you’re happy that’s all that matters! He would go to you for advice on how to do things and if you tell him you’re also bad at the thing he’s just like “oh well then it must be impossible because you can do ANYTHING, so I don’t care about it” he just thinks you’re so cool and amazing even if you don’t think that about yourself. <3

✨Bonus✨

I don’t write for these two quite yet because I’m still getting a feel for them but thought I would include them💖

Diavolo- The Golden Retriever

Before I get slaughtered let me explain: Everything I’ve seen so far in game of Diavolo is a guy who has no real cares and wants to hangout with his friends doing literally anything, he does not care as long as he is involved. Obviously I know he has more going on being a prince and all but like I said I’m not that far in game. My current interpretation of him is: super happy Prince who desperately wants to be a normal guy for just one day and see what it’s like to not have the entire Realm in your shoulders.

Barbatos - The Mystery

Barbatos (I say this lovingly) you bitch… LET ME LOVE AND UNDERSTAND YOU I hate that we get such little screen time with him because ??? He seems to have some dope powers, also he basically raised Dia so this man has seen some shit and I wanna hear stories about what he has experienced!!!! All I know of him so far is: Loyal Butler and Afraid of Rats. I want moooooreeee I want to write for him so baaaddd.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me lucifer #obey me beelzebub #obey me leviathan #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #obey me asmo #obey me belphie #obey me solomon #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #the void responds

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mhaynoot · 9 months

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if yjh is regression, mandala’s guardian is reincarnation and jhy is also meant to be seen as part of this ‘protagonist trio’, wouldn’t she be ‘returnee’?

she went to the demon realm; she came back from the demon realm. when kdj returned from the altered 1863rd worldline he also became a returnee, and the first thing he had to do was communicate with his companions that he’s returned through a star-stream enforced communication barrier.

that situation was far more artificial, but i think some comparisons can be made on a thematic level too! when a person leaves the world as you perceive and understand it, and then they return, inevitably changed…. it’s already a struggle writing on that wall the first time, but it’s easier still when you’ve never done it before. but now you have to continue writing after some absence, so how do you reconcile those changes? being changed by a world that is not familiar to you, only to return and find that the world you came from has become unfamiliar as well…

lee sookyung was not the person kdj once knew, the same way biyoo was not yjh’s 41st sys, the same way epilogue!hsy and epilogue!yjh were not [incarnation] kim dokja’s companions when they had to graffiti on the fourth wall to help him out.

the same way 1864!jhy was no longer wos!jhy who kdj requested into existence too, isn’t it?

the answer to all of these, when it comes down to it… is to keep writing on the wall :’) over and over until your message reaches them. mayhaps that’s the gist of being a returnee, in the end.

(and that’s my COMPLETED essay to this 👍👍👍 also, i was very flustered when i saw your response to my previous anon ask with the ‘wos characters each embody a message for kdj!’ i’m very glad you liked the suggestion though :’D)

ANON ANON HI YOU'RE BACK OMG HI *TWIRLS HAIR*

*slaps hand against thigh* fuck you're right she is returnee holy crap i forgot about that whole concept also isn't it neat that she's a returnee and kdj's white coat is the standard returnee uniform and isn't it neat that jang hayoung is the character that kdj was most directly involved in creating and his unending guilt in that ahahahaha like look at this dumb fool:

"Jang Hayoung, who was born into this world because of my greed, lived a life unrelated to me."

god i love him so much, he cares so deeply for all his kids in his fucked up little way.

okay okay so kdj is someone who kinda puts others into genres and classification. this person is the heroine, this person's genre is different, this is realism. it's a part of his coping mechanism and dissociation ala the fourth wall which made him very resigned to his own tragedy and unhappiness for a long time which is why he doesn't really cope well with changes. but through the course of the novel, he is forced to not only acknowledge but also understand change and it is particularly important in the industrial arc where he meets jang hayoung.

this is the basis of their wall writing talk as an extension of his revelation that adult or child, everybody changes. and he is horribly confused by it. confused by what he should do when the world and people around him changes constantly but there is this wall, this impossible wall that doesn't allow anyone to ever truly understand or know each other as we all change again and again as a natural occurance of living.

and jang hayoung, the returnee, his child, the one who he brought into this world more than any other, she points out straight away what he and every reader needs to do:

"Everyone has a wall and communication is impossible… that's obvious." I couldn't believe the friendly Jang Hayoung thought so. It was a bit surprising. Then Jang Hayoung continued, "However, we still have to talk. Even if there is a huge wall, there is a person behind that wall."

talk. we have to try and try again. always. even in the face of vast wall we keep between ourselves, continue to reach out.

Even if we can't reach each other, even if we can't meet each other, we should continue to pound away on each other's walls.

I think an important point is that it isn't about your messaging reaching the other person. because no matter how hard or how much we want it to, sometimes the message can never be sent, can never unchange the past, can never undo things. sometimes no matter how desperately we continue to write on the wall, that doesn't mean it will ever be read by the other person but that doesn't mean the act in itself is useless. because:

"It is just important that you left it." "The other party won't know so why?" "At least the wall has changed." I was speechless for a moment. Jang Hayoung spoke in a resolute voice. "Then one day, someone might read it."

because at the very least the wall has been changed. and you have returned differently. at least you have grown ever more couragous and strong. grown and returned with the strength to continue to live.

#orv spoiler #orv analysis #also yknow who else is a returnee?#the entire kimcom after 1865th turn!!!#ooooOooOoOOoo #long post #also so fycking sorry that this took so long to reply to #as you can see i went a little crazy with the analysis whoops #thank you so much for sending me this #its so beautiful i'm going to cry

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a-shape-changer-in-winter · 1 year

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The Price of Tenderness

[..]

Where does this tenderness come from? And what will I do with it? Young stranger, poet, wandering through town, you and your eyelashes—longer than anyone's.

- Marina Tsvetaeva

The older I get, the more fascinated and attracted I become to emotions like sweetness, which have no place in the pantheon of apprised and social concerns yet are vital to me. Tenderness is the opposite to greed, vanity, and masculinity - and I don't get on with lust for power or attention. I'm far more intrigued by sensitivity, weakness, fear, and anxiety because, like Alain de Botton, I believe that behind our masks, at the end of the day, that's what we are. That's where we want to be - but most of us are stalled by old patterns and muscle memory with our phones that prevent us from practicing genuine attention and the gift of stillness. My therapist refers to these roadblocks as "secondary satisfactions." Sometimes I can over-correct and turn my phone on DnD for days at a time, which can, regardless of my intention - feel like neglect when I take the better part of a week to respond to a text message.

Galway Kinnell said, "The secret title of every good poem might be 'Tenderness.'" It's a difficult entry point, but awe and gentleness are the touchstones of the work I hold most dear. Natalie Diaz calls her hands "the gates of tenderness," so when I read a poem by her - when I have one of her books in her hands - she’s asking me to open my gates. It's simple to "love art," 'but it's much harder to love what the artist asks us to love - whether that's a neglected part of ourselves or another. When we bear the unbearable, our concept of self is altered, and poetry helps us both mourn and embrace that shift. Writing is embedded in the essence of personal recovery —when I write a poem or essay that succeeds, I am not the same person I was before I wrote it. Sometimes this transformation is subtle, and sometimes it's big. Some poems I've written have changed how I look in the mirror in the morning. A lot of it is involved with bearing the unbearable. It changes and creates a different you. You keep pangs of who you are, but something essential changes, and we are enlarged. When we talk about being enlarged and transformed and enriched, it can sound like it's all exemplary, but of course, you must be brought to your knees again and again for that. I think of difficult life experiences as a softening, throwing us down - sometimes painfully - over and over enough that our edges are smoothed.

I know David argued with the Chisel. I know he said, "make me softer / when those tourists come looking for a hero - I want the rain to puddle in my pores."

When someone asks me why I love poetry, there are countless answers, but most of them surround poetry's capacity to bear witness to the world and its sorrows - as they are. All art holds this tension between elegy and ode, between our sorrows, despairs, and sufferings, and the praise, wonder, and awe we feel. W.H. Auden said that "every poem is rooted in imaginative awe." And imaginative awe is really hard to practice! Especially if we're stuck holding a painful emotion like shame, grief, or hopelessness. We're not meant to hold those emotions for extended periods, and we're certainly not meant to carry them alone. Paul Sheperad wrote: "The grief and sense of loss, which we often interpret as a failure in our personality, is actually a feeling of emptiness where a beautiful and strange otherness should have been encountered." Like Tsvetaeva - I want to know about that otherness. I want to find the source! But I also wonder if the gift of [secular or mystic] grace lies with trusting that even though we are [often] denied gentleness and understanding, we can still extend them to others. Perhaps there comes a point where we no longer need to know where that well of light inside us comes from, only our calling to rise with it

All art tries to make meaning out of chaos somehow—to take the mess of this un-reconstructed life and find patterns. When we go through an immense crisis or terrible loss - it's easy to get lost scouring the wreckage. We can't move on when we keep going back and asking the same questions. The gift of life is it's a mystery and an exploration. I'm asking myself, what is this all about? Whatever I'm looking at—whether it's a small thing that piqued my interest or a big part of my life's journey. I'm looking at it and trying to discover something I didn't know before. That's when sorrow and grief can become windows. You've gotta let the light in - but you also need to air out your soul. Zora Neale Hurston said, "There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you." We must descend into the dark yet continually try to climb out of it. In “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” Blake said we have to go to heaven for form and to hell for energy and marry the two. There is vitality in that move vs. the kind of anemia in popular New Age spirituality. There's not much blood in it. It lacks what in Spanish is sometimes called duende: the erotic, dialectic energy that makes things shimmer. Blake knew that much of that energy was removed from our lives and relegated to hell. So we have to go into the shadows and bring it back out. Our hyper-positive tendencies want us to do a spiritual bypass around the mess of it all, but it's in that mess that we are most human.

Ascent and descent should vitalize each other: when we polarize them, we end up weighing and pitting experiences and emotions against each other. We praise success and despise failure. We value strength and devalue weakness. But then, every time we encounter defeat, inadequacy, or loss, we're at war with ourselves, and that's a bitter fight. Sometimes I'll apologize in therapy for "going backward" as if forward was the only acceptable direction. But the psyche moves every which way. It's our job to follow its lead and be curious and willing about where it is taking us. As Stafford writes:

There's a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn't change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can't get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old. Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding. You don't ever let go of the thread.

Whether our "thread" is a question, an invitation, or an awareness of what matters most-it always takes us home to ourselves, to our belonging in this world, to the inexplicable love that holds & keeps us. These days, I have become aware that I can hold & follow my thread in various places - washing dishes, buying groceries, sitting in the parking lot while listening to the new 1975 single, in solitude or with others, in the city or the forest. Mostly, I admit, the key to following my thread is to put my hand on my chest to breathe and remind myself that if we're lucky, our threads can be intertwined. Rushing makes me lose awareness of the threads we hold. So, as the week begins, I want to consider together: How do we keep and follow the threads that bind and guide us?

Like Murakami: We're both looking at the same moon, in the same world. We're connected to reality by the same line. All I have to do is quietly draw it towards me.

I’m holding that thread. I love you. I’m listening.

#blog

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i-wear-the-cheese · 8 months

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Okay so I just saw a tumblr post from February getting aggy about books which are marketing using phraseology like 'queer polyam disabled vampires' and then saying 'but what are the themes? Why should I read it?' And look, I didn't want to drop a huge essay on OPs post but like, here it is, here is a thesis on why you should read a book about queer polyam disabled vampires, or what the other options are instead of throwing this entire marketing technique in the bin.

From the outset, so you know I've put some thought into the matter, I'm going to admit I have a masters degree in critical and creative writing, then worked in a bookshop, then went into publishing, and then got engaged to an author (who I will be marrying). So pretty much all levels of book marketing are things I've looked at professionally and academically. Okay credentials established, here is why I think that's not only okay but actively good as a marketing method AND totally necessary:

Genre is a key feature for selling books. When one says "I'm into cozy crime", they needn't say "I'm into books which have themes of subterfuge , greed, and death; frequently featuring small towns and family drama but ultimately in a setting or narrative style that makes the reader feel safe and provides catharsis". That whole long thing has been handled by Genre. In the above example, vampire is the genre! This means that themes of lust, dominance, power, and taboo are implied or even expected. This is true of Dracula, The Vampire Diaries, Carmilla, and Twilight. Vampire novel fans know what to expect from their genre. This alone means you can recommend a book just on "vampire novel" but it also means if you wanted to market a book containing none of these themes you might say "not your average vampire novel" to deliberately let them know that's being subverted.

Marketing is a battle against attention spans. When you're reviewing a book or talking to a friend about why they should read something, you absolutely should go into more depth and detail and certainly anyone looking at it critically should go further still. But "what are the themes" is a question we've all been taught academically but which holds generally little use on its own. The majority of readers don't respond well to "this book deals with the complexity of familial relationships in a cult setting and with regards to long term polyamory". Now that may have been the exact style of sentence original OP wanted and I personally love those sorts of descriptions when I'm getting into the nitty gritty, but I don't need or expect them from book marketing when I know marketing copy writers (often the authors themselves) have to be brief in a wide range of modern marketing formats. Scroll culture basically means if you can't catch someone in the first half second you've lost them.

The main issue I think that the original OP of that post was getting at was the sense that 'queer disabled polyam' was tokenism and was using those minority groups to sell books. This is a multi faceted bit so hold tight. From the outset: everything a marketing person says will be to sell a thing. They're not going to say 'it's got disabled characters but they're a bit shit so don't read it'. Let's not ever pretend that honestly and sincerity are the goal here. That being said it still isn't by tokenism and that's because of the actual definition of tokenism. Tokenism is a concept which arose during the mid 20th century in the civil rights movement and pertained specifically to parading around one or two examples of a minority person being included in a group to show apparent societal progress without affecting the genuine underlying issues or making things better for all. So tokenism applies to things like Disney claiming 7 separate times that their first gay character was in a show or film, because the purpose of that was to market media for which the main focus was NOT the gay characters. But if someone tells me that a vampire novel is about a 'queer disabled polyam' it is a fairly safe assumption from the language use alone that the MAIN character is queer, and disabled, and involved in polyamorous relationships. Main characters are not tokenism, they are representation.

So why does representation rather than tokenism make it an acceptable marketing method? Because that is precisely how you reach the audience who need it! People who are craving literature which makes them feel seen, and reaches the place within their own identity that mass media tends to conveniently ignore will absolutely be looking out for those sorts of buzzwords. So many people fish about for years and years of their lives for a little blip of representation that it really isn't fair to ask them to have to wade through the initial description of the themes of the novel when they are searching for the single book in 10,000 which will have a disabled lesbian as the protagonist. Representation is not an indicator of quality, but quality is subjective anyway and I personally think I'm really picky about book quality but you can bet your arse I have read books which were recommended on such pithy lines as 'Arthurian legend but in space in the future and wlw' because I love books set in space and I love retellings and I love queer shit. But the next stage is to go 'oh that has a load of things I love in it, I should see if it fits my vibe'. Check out some reviews, or read the first chapter, or ask for some opinions, or just take a fucking chance on a book that ticks some of your boxes. OR (and here is the most important bit) ignore it, and accept that sometimes advertising and marketing is NOT targeted at you and if you aren't in those demographics or you are both that's not what you base your reading choice on, you weren't the target audience for the marketing.

In conclusion, there are a fuck ton of reasons this is a perfectly acceptable and even highly useful method of marketing a book and individual preference shouldn't put authors and copy writers of using it. Fin

#bookblr #publishing #book marketing #book blogging #critical writing

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artofapeach · 1 year

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Do you think all the characters sound the same for having some curses in their dialogue?

...

Okay. I need to go to my computer for this. Hang on.

...

There we go.

Alright, so I dunno if you were looking for a whole funking essay, but if you weren't, then you shouldn't have asked me, Momo Marie, certified story and dialogue nerd with a degree in English and a master in Writing Papers in 12 Hours or Less

Disclaimer: I'm gonna use a lot of sarcasm because it's funny but it is NOT at all meant to be hostile towards you anon. This is a totally innocent question and I'm actually excited to answer it :)

First, I need more specification on what you mean by "all characters sound the same for having some curses in their dialogue"?

I'm gonna assume you're talking about Helluva and Hazbin, I figured that part, but what do you mean by some curses in their dialogue? Are you asking if they talk the same because they all curse period? Because if so, easy answer! No. :)

More detailed answer!

Cursing itself is SO FUCKING VERSATILE. I actually kinda have a fascination with it (much to my mom's chagrin). It's like a whole nother language itself! And the way people use language tells SO much of their character.

Let's compare some characters cursing each other out, shall we?

In Spring Broken, when Blitz first sees Verosika, one thing he says is: "I'm surprised they let your fat ass out of rehab, I can see you're still a drunken WHORE clutching onto that Beelzejuice like its the last cock in Hell!"

Blitz is VERY colorful with his language. He knows how to adjust it so that he can properly insult whoever he's talking to. Verosika's a succubus and an alcoholic, so he personalizes the insults to fit her specifically. We've seen in the pilot that Blitz has NO QUALMS with using slurs, and while the show (thankfully) avoids using the more harmful slurs, he still mixes them in to hit right where it hurts. Blitz compares Verosika to a whore, not for other demons or humans, but for alcohol, she needs drink more than she needs cock.

This isn't the only time Blitz does this! In Loo Loo Land, Blitz argues with Robo Fizz: "Bitch, I make more money killing people than you do being a cheap ass robo ripoff of an OVERRATED, SELL-OUT JESTER!!"

Again, Blitz is crafting his language to fuck this robot in a way that it's all pain and no pleasure! First off, he's comparing money and, with Robo Fizz being in Greed and owned by Mammon, it's reasonable to think he might be sensitive to that. Plus, Blitz calls him a cheap ass ripoff, saying that Robo Fizz is nothing but a copy—and not even a good one at that.

Then he gets all heated in the last part, likely directing it more to the real Fizz than Robo Fizz, but this isn't a Blitzfizz essay, so I will refrain from that for now.

But honestly! The way Blitz curses very much reminds me of another character in another piece of media with such creative insults!

Karkat from Homestuck

They're both very creative with their language and can't just say "Fuck you!" They have to say more. And even here, they're different. Karkat crafts his like poetry trying to be as vulgar as he can and cramming in language until the swear jar explodes. While with Blitz, though we know he curses a lot, less is more! He focuses more on the traits of the person he's insulting!

Let's move on to another character—Moxxie!

In The Harvest Moon Festival, when Moxxie finds the angelic gun, this happens:

Moxxie: Oh my crumbs!...How-how in the fuck did he get one of these?

Striker: Why don't you ask me, little dude?

Moxxie: Shit! Why do you have this...M-Mister?

Moxxie is soooooo different when it comes to his language. Most of the time, he uses safer replacements for them (which I still consider language in how they're used, but language you can use around kids :D). He says "Oh my crumbs!" or he might go "Heavens!" But he still uses the big boys too—going "How the fuck?" as he was genuinely confused and flabbergasted that Striker had such a weapon. Then, when Striker was revealed to be behind him, Moxxie gets spooked and goes "Shit!"

Moxxie isn't a crafter when it comes to his language. It's purely for surprise, frustration, anger, strong emotions rather than hitting where it hurts. The only time he curses in the pilot is when he goes: "ARE YOU FUCKING TAPING US RIGHT NOW?" because he's that shocked and pissed that Blitz is interrupting them on such an intimate moment. Language is less of an art with Moxxie and more of a way to quickly express himself when he's got them negative feelings.

Now my personal fave: Charlie~

In the pilot, when she's deciding to accept Alastor's help for the hotel, she says: "So, Al, you're sketchy as fuck and you clearly see what I'm trying to do here as a joke. But I don't!"

*deep breath* god I love her so much

Charlie's a fucking princess, okay? A princess of HELL. She's nice and sweet and tries to do right by everyone, but she knows how to lay down the fucking law. She tells Al straight up that she doesn't trust him, but she doesn't mind him helping as long as he stays in his lane. And you can tell she's serious because she's cursing. Throughout the pilot, she only uses language when she feels like she absolutely has to: To put Katie Killjoy in her place ("How's it feel that I got your pen, bitch?"), to quote her dad ("You don't take shit from other demons!") and here! She generally tries to be careful with her words and express herself in other ways, but also knows that sometimes, there's only one thing a demon will actually listen to. She's not afraid to drop a well placed F-bomb if needed.

Kinda similar to David from Camp Camp!

David is a camp counselor who's a goody two shoes, super positive, sweetheart who just once to do right and have the kids love camp as much as he did! Except most of the kids hate it, especially the main character Max, and don't understand his positivity. Until, in the season one finale, when David finally tells him why he does it: "Because some fucking has to."

This is (as far as I'm aware) the only time David curses, so the fact that he's willing to not only curse but also do it in front of a ten-year-old tells you that he's 100% serious.

This, folks, is what we call a precision F-word—one of my fave kinds of F-words :)

When you're so used to someone talking and not cursing, and then you finally hear them go "Fuck", you're first thought is to be like "Oh shit, they're serious!"

Charlie doesn't do this quite to the same extent as David, but she curses WAAAAAAAAAAY less than, like, 99% of the Hellaverse characters, leading to when she does really having more of a punch.

I could go on! I could go into how Millie and Loona use their language! How Verosika insults! The whole scene with Angel Dust and his...customer(?) where the guy calls Angel a slut and Angel's like "Oh, honey, you can do better than that"

But we'd be here forever and I haven't eaten today :)

Overall moral of the story: Just because characters use curse words and slurs doesn't mean they're talking the same! Just like with all other art, words are a tool and they way you use it tells you a ton about someone's character, and this is especially true for curse words.

#long post #helluva boss #hazbin hotel #vivziepop #analysis #essay #hey an ask #not art #would yall believe me if i said i didn't mean to go into this much detail? www;#i meant to just grab some quotes and point out their differences #but i had to go and get secondary sources and everything #because being normal is overrated right?#:)

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buffintruder · 2 years

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for the wip ask meme Greed sub vs dub (*all chanting* fight! fight! fight!) and/or DNG au bc i tried googling that one to see if it was anything i knew and apparently it's a type of image file lol

Greed sub vs dub:

So basically at one point i noticed that Greed's dialogue in English vs Japanese is VERY different and I started writing an essay about it. I'm not going to post an excerpt because it's boring, but tldr is that Greed in Japanese is a) less sexual b) more admiring of others (or is more explicit about it) c) cares more openly about people and is cared about in turn.

The biggest example I can see is when Greed is trying to stop people from fighting during the Promised Day. For the same bit of dialogue here is what he says in each version.

Dub: Let’s go! We’ll need anyone who can still fight

Sub: At this point, we should leave behind anyone who can’t fight anymore

DNG au:

This stands for Devil's Nest Gang au haha, not a common acronym as far as i know

This is basically an au where the Xingese squad don't go to Amestris but things still turn out fine for both of them. Ling becomes heir anyway, except then he speaks up against the Emperor and is forced to flee the country (sort of Zuko style) and ends up working for the Devil's Nest Gang (who have not been killed by Bradley in this au)

Excerpt under the cut:

“How does a country even lose their prince?” Greed laughed from the next table over. Ling froze, his attention fully on his new boss. “They misplace him or what?”

“Newspaper doesn’t say,” Roa said with a shrug. “I’m guessing they’d know by now if it was a ransom situation, and makes no sense to capture a prince when you could kill him otherwise. So maybe he ran away?”

Ling had, though that was not the full story. Fled for his life would be a more apt description.

“Who’d run away from being emperor?” Greed asked.

“I thought you were over your whole ‘becoming ruler of the world’ thing,” Martel called from the hallway as she passed by.

“I’m Greed, I want everything!” Greed said.

Judging by how Martel rolled her eyes and Roa snorted, Ling had a feeling that this was something Greed insisted on often. Was Greed a name he had chosen for himself then, some point of pride? It seemed like an odd name to choose, but then again, Ling had only learned the more formal end of Amestrian culture. Xingese gangsters often took intimidating names or were given them by others, and Amestrians likely did the same, though Ling couldn’t say he was particularly frightened or awed by the concept of greed.

“And hey,” Greed continued. “You’re telling me that if your shitty dad was about to take over the world, you wouldn’t be at least a little tempted to take it all from him.”

That certainly sounded like there was a story behind that. It was also rather uncomfortably relatable. Perhaps Ling’s father hadn’t set his sights on the whole world, but he did rule a quite significant chunk of it, and Ling had done his best to take it all for himself. Look where that had gotten him.

“I wouldn’t,” Roa said, his tone flat but amused. “Ruling the world sounds like a big pain. Way too much work.”

Greed sighed loudly. “This is why I’m the leader. The rest of you have no ambition.” He turned around behind him. “Hey, Yao, tell me you have more drive than the rest of these here.”

Ling was too well trained to jump at the sound of his name, but he did look up a little faster than was perhaps entirely natural. The last thing he wanted was to get involved in this conversation, to draw any lines between himself and this missing prince. Still, at least the conversation had moved somewhat away from that.

“I’d steal my shitty dad’s power if I could,” Ling said with a grin. “Though that might be because I hate my dad more than because I want the power.”

“Hear, hear!” Greed said.

“You don’t want to rule the world any more?” Ling asked, curious. Power was the driving force of most gangs, he had assumed.

“I mean I wouldn’t pass it up if it was offered,” Greed said.

“Not exactly going out of your way to get it either?”

“Nah.” Greed waved a hand vaguely. “I’d spend all my time trying to get more, and what’s the point of wanting possessions if you don’t get to enjoy what you have? I’m living my life in hedonistic glory.”

“Makes sense,” Ling said, and he could sort of see what Greed was saying. He had studied history enough to know the fallings of those who overreached themselves, how the greatest of conquerers often had their empire fall apart a generation or two down the line. Ling had never wanted to expand the borders of Xing, only to control what already existed within it. He had never been one to let limits stop him, but even so, it seemed like protecting his clan and trying to improve the Xingese system of governance was already more than enough for one man.

But ruling had never been about enjoyment, only duty, perhaps even destiny. Putting it in terms of desire like this felt strange to him.

“Plus they’d have to want to be mine,” Greed said, which felt even more nonsensical than anything else he had said.

“You say all that about seizing the opportunity to rule if you got the chance,” Roa said. Ling had almost forgotten that he was part of this conversation. “But you ran away from home too.”

“Ruling the world means nothing if you’re doing it under someone else’s thumb,” Greed snapped.

Roa shrugged. “Well, maybe that prince’s reasoning isn’t as incomprehensible to you as you might think.”

#my writing

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corkcitylibraries · 2 years

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Book Review | The Game: A Journey Into The Heart of Sport - Tadhg Coakley

By Jordan McCarthy

‘‘For me, the lack of words in sport is not a drawback. There are many types of language and communication and there are no words in much of the music of Max Richter, Ennio Morricone or Miles Davis. But it does occur to me that in writing about sport that I am a translator or interpreter of sorts. What I’m articulating is not my own, I’m taking the art and trying to find the right words to describe it. I’m okay with that. It’s an honourable role and if I can do it correctly, I will bring the unwritten profundity of sport back from a place beyond words, to a place where we all can hear its story.’’ - an extract from The Game by Tadhg Coakley.

Cork writer, former Cork hurler and Mallow United footballer, and ex-librarian, Tadhg Coakley has produced an absolute masterpiece in the shape of The Game: A Journey Into The Heart Of Sport, his latest publication, which is published by Merrion Press.

A book which is part-memoir, it features a collection of beautifully-written sports essays which will widely appeal to sports lovers and non-sports folk alike. The essays vary in topic from Tadhg’s own playing career, to his experiences as a fan who regularly consumes multiple different sports.

Among the things that initially strike you from reading this book – alongside the fact that the author is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s finest sports-writers – is that Tadhg had a remarkable career as a player, even if his playing days ended somewhat prematurely.

Tadhg won multiple Fitzgibbon Cups when hurling with UCC and he claimed an All-Ireland Minor Hurling medal with Cork. He hurled in some epic championship tussles for his hometown club, Mallow, and played Munster Senior League soccer with Mallow United. There was even an appearance against Cork City in Turner’s Cross, as Tadhg has subsequently learned!

There was lots of success in those playing days, though that is only part of the story. The Game is about so much more than trophies, medals, or classic matches.

For instance, Tadhg recalls in detail the scars he accumulated over the years. He explains how a pivotal player in a tightly-knit sports team can still feel like an outsider after the final whistle is blown in a match, or when time is called at a training session.

The book is a celebration of sport in many parts, examining the importance of sport in our daily lives. But it does also underline the darker side that exists in sport around the world, with Tadhg writing honestly about the major problems that continue to be seen in world sport. He addresses face-on the many issues that plague our favourite sports; greed, corruption, sexism, homophobia, nationalism and toxic masculinity. Overall, The Game is a true masterpiece. From the opening sequence of Tadhg writing about playing his own game of kicking a ball around his house as a young kid on the Cork Road in Mallow, through to the poetic conclusion of his memories of those days, it is sure to prove a timeless classic for those who delve into its majestic pages. It reminds the reader why we love sport, why we need sport and why we continue to consume it even when it continues to harbour doubts within us. Don’t be surprised if this proves to be the best sports book of 2022.

#corkcitylibraries #bookreview #tadhgcoakley

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writing-with-olive · 3 years

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How to write essays fast

I've been writing a lot of papers, so that's what's on my mind.

So this mostly applies to your standard 5-paragraph paper, though it's fairly straightforward to adapt it to longer (or sometimes shorter) assignments.

One of the main things to note is that essays are VERY formulaic, so knowing the formula and being able to write down your ideas in a way that fit into the formula is probably the number one way to get stuff done fast. Because of that, most of what I’m covering is breaking down the formulas so they’re more accessable.

Also this got very long. If there’s anything you want me to expand on just let me know in the comments or send me an ask/DM and I’ll make another post that goes more in-depth about it.

Structure (I hate this step, so I’ve figured out how to do it very fast becuase it’s still important)

The first thing to consider is prewriting and structure. To start, there are two major paper structures I usually consider. The first goes

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Main point #3

Conclusion

This is good if you have a lot to say on the topic, or if it's something closer to a summary essay where there's not really an opposing side. In something where there are distinct sides, (or if you have less to say to support your own side), you may want something that looks like

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Why the other side is wrong

Conclusion

The "why the other side is wrong" side is involves thinking through the MOST credible arguments the other side might make, and methodically breaking them down to show how they don't work. The stronger the argument you choose, the more effective this is.

Since I personally hate prewriting with a passion, I usually do this step very fast and end up with an outline that looks like

Intro [insert thesis statement]

P1: [three word summary]

P2: [three word summary]

P3: [three word summary]

Conclusion

(thesis statement, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion tips are all below the cut)

Usually, this is enough so when I look at my outline, I can see what I'm trying to focus on for each paragraph - and do so without straying from my main point.

For the prewriting, the main things to do are identify with basic structure of the two will serve your purposes better, and write a thesis statement that solidly supports your argument.

Thesis Statement

There are so many guides about creating thesis statements that are powerful, but I'm just going to quickly go over how to be fast about it.

The first thing to know is that a thesis statement is usually a complex sentence: it's your entire essay distilled down to a single line. The general formula I follow goes something like this:

"In their [media type] [name of specific piece], [creator's full name] explored/demonstrated/other verb [theme you're going to be arguing about] demonstrated/using/as evidenced/as shown by [example 1], [example 2], and [optional example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“In his short film Job at Place, David Davidson explored the manifestations of human stupidity through the absurdity of the main character’s home, school, and office.”

Or, if you're writing a historical piece, it might look something like this:

"In [place/time period], [thing you're arguing was happening]: they had to/the conditions were such that/other thing to set up a list [example 1], [example 2], and [example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“During the Tusken Invasion of 32nd century Tatooine, it was the lives of the children that were most affected, from their social development and connections with others to more personal struggles they didn’t yet have the tools to overcome.”

The examples you give are going to correlate to your paragraphs - example 1 is for body paragraph 1, and so on.

Introduction

I like to think of the introduction as a funnel that gets more and more specific.

First, write a broad statement that touches on whatever theme you’re referencing.

Job at Place is about human stupidity, so something like “while great minds have flourished throughout the ages, so have the not-so-great.”

Tatooine is about war, and about child development, so something like “children’s development has always been impacted by the state of the world around them.” or “war has many effects, many of which impact those not directly involved with the conflict.”

The idea is that it’s a broad statement that can almost be looked at like a universal truth.

Next, you’re going to go deeper - two sentences that narrow down the time and place you’re talking about specifically, and how that time and place fit into your universal statement.

The fourth sentence gets even more specific - introducing how the thesis sentence fits into your first three sentences.

Then the last line is your thesis statements.

Body Paragraphs

Your three main body paragraphs all follow the same formula. (I’ll get to the “why the other side is wrong” paragraph in a minute)

The first sentence you’re going to want is a topic sentence. For this, you’re going to want to look at the example you gave in your thesis statement that corresponds to this paragraph, and see how it relates to your central claim.

If we’re going with the Job at Place example from above, for the second paragraph, you might open with a line like:

“A striking characteristic of Davidson’s short film was the abnormality of the main character’s school, used to showcase exactly what happens when poor decisions get taken too far.”

Everything within the paragraph will then back up the claim you’re making in the topic sentence (which in turn is backing up your thesis).

For each paragraph, you’re probably going to want about three pieces of evidence, either in the form of direct quotes (plucking words directly from the source) or paraphrased quotes (summarizing what happened in your own words). The quote should be used to directly support your argument.

After each piece of evidence, you’re going to want about... twoish lines of analysis (this number can change as you need it to, but two lines is something solid to fall back to).

While analysis can take all kinds of forms, one pattern you can use if you’re stuck is

evidence sentence

what it means

how that meaning ties back into your main point

Following this pattern, a piece of analysis of Job at Place might look like:

“One of the first images of the private school is that it’s a tall spire with creaking stairs and loose floorboards. Despite this, the principal has eight personal cars parked outside on full display. While the first glimpse of the school might indicate that there is little money to care for the structural integrity, the notion is directly negated by the principal’s actions. By using these two images, Davidson demonstrates what can happen to the youth when those in power let greed carry them away.”

After you write your analysis, include some kind of transition phrase, and go onto the next piece of evidence.

The last line of your paragraph is going to transition into the next paragraph while also summing up the main point of what you talked about in the current one. (This line can also get moved down and tacked onto the beginning of the next paragraph, before the topic sentence, but I have found it tends to look less cohesive that way).

You might choose something like:

“While the school was a disaster in its own right, it wasn’t the only example of human folly.”

If you’re writing a “this is why the other side is wrong” you’re going to want to think about the MOST compelling arguments the other side could make. Take the top one (or two), and figure out ways to crack them apart using evidence from your source material.

In this case, your topic sentence might start off with something like

“While opponents might say [insert compelling counterargument], their reasoning breaks down when one takes into account the evidence.”

At this point, you’re going to follow the same formula as above. The main thing to keep in mind is that for the duration of this paragraph, your point is that the other side’s claim of X is wrong.

Conclusion!

If you know what you’re doing, this is actually the easiest part.

(wait, what??????)

The thing is, you NEVER want to introduce new ideas into your conclusion. Instead, you’re summarizing your main points.

The formula I follow per sentence is:

Thesis statement but reworded (you can change the sentence structure too)

Topic sentence for paragraph 2 or 3, but reworded (I’ll explain why you shouldn’t do the sentence for P1 in just a sec)

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 3 but reworded

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 2 but reworded

Wow sentence or question (i’ll get to this too)

The idea for the middle three sentences is you don’t want them to read as repetitive, so you’re going to mix up the order so it doesn’t match the order of the rest of the essay. This will help to keep it fresh.

The wow sentence is basically the last impression you get to make. I find it’s usually a good idea to go just a tad dramatic (it sounds dumb, but it has never failed me). If I can’t think of anything, a declarative statement on whatever major theme was being discussed throughout the essay usually does the trick.

Examples:

All of this shows that in the absence of friendships and platonic love, humanity will falter.

Fiction may seem far fetched now, but if the world falls into those same mistakes, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes a reality.

Art has existed for as long as humans have populated the earth; it’s not going away any time soon.

A lesson everyone must understand is the most powerful weapon isn’t anything physical or tangeable: it’s the ideas that exist in the minds of those who care.

(I told you they were going to be dramatic) A way I look at it is if you can’t imagine dropping the mic on the last line, it needs to be stronger (yes I found that plagiarized with not even a whisper of credit on Pinterest, but it works).

If you wrote a SOLID essay, consider ending with a question aimed at the reader (this will push your essay in the direction of either the positive or negative extreme: a strong essay will become stronger, a weak essay will become weaker). Questions can be a call to action or rhetorical as a means to drive home your final point. Becuase they��re more nuanced to the content of the essay, I don’t really have great examples to give you though (sorry).

Hopefully this is useful to at least some of you - good luck!

++++

Tagging:@candlemouse

If you want to be added to or removed from any of my taglists (found pinned to the top of my blog) just let me know :)

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minteyeddevil · 3 years

Text

Cute/soft (hopefully) moments in the House of Lamentation (A collection by a certain human)

(contains slight spoilers for season 1)

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- Lucifer cares about his family, that was a universal truth everyone in the Devildom knows but a very select few remember. Unknown to showing his affections for his brothers and friends in a noticable manners in front of others, to many, he was a man that rarely admits to anything that showed weakness.

There was one occasion, however that could've challenged this view greatly.

You were on the way to find Lucifer, perhasp it was a matter that regarded the student council, or it was just a matter of wanting to see him.

Regardless, after a myriad of questions to his brothers on his whereabouts, you found yourself in the Underground Tomb.

From there, you found the eldest in front of the tomb of his sister, as Cerberus lied by his feet as one hand lovingly ran through one of the dog's head, while the other held a brush that gently combed the large creature's fur. You'd hear him recalling stories of the happenings of the House in the past week, and you could almost hear the smile on his face as he added his own commentary of the tales of the human and the brothers that he claimed to give him a headache at times.

It was only when he was concluding the final story did he finally turn to you, a gentle smile on his face, the expression of one who was, at the moment, free of the burdens of life.

An expression that you might recognise, whether in the past or the near future, when he was alone with you.

"You've been standing there for quite awhile haven't you? Come here, there is plenty of space beside me to rest. Besides, I don't think I've properly introduced you to Lilith after all this while."

From there, every week of the same day at the same hour, you would find the embodiment of Pride in the Underground Tomb. Sometimes, he'd have his documents, and other times there would be a cup of tea or coffee by his side, and eventually, there would be two.

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- Being the offical avatar of Greed, and the unoffical avatar of lying about his feelings, to say Mammon is an expert on contradicting his words with his actions would be an understatement. As entertaining these moments are for many, it would be those times when he'd be completely bare with his feelings that made everything all the more sweeter.

It started off with an accident, where certain shiny bottles for a school project, where you were partnered with the Avatar of Greed himself, were stolen from your room. And as you approached your groupmate's room to interrogate him about his role in this theft, you heard a crash and the sound of multiple glasses crashing on the floor.

As you hurriedly reached out your hand to open the door, you heard a resounding "Don't!" from the room inside. "It's a mess in 'ere, and there's glass everywhere, you'll hurt 'erself!" . A lound shuffling could be heard from the room as the the door quickly swung itself open, revealing a drenching, frowning demon.

His normally fluffy white hair was now dishevelled and dripping with a mixture of shimmering pink and green liquid along with his normally white nightshirt and black pants. His eyes narrowed and a frown was deepening on his features, until he came face to face with you.

It took a few seconds too long as the cogs in his brain whirled and recognition of the proximity of the two of you was finally shown on his face by the widening of his eyes and the reddening of his face.

"I-I can explain! Ya see, I saw the instructions on the potions and it was really dangerous if ya did it wrong! So I just wanted to make sure ya didn't get hurt if this thing literally blew up in your fac-"

He quickly clammed his mouth shut, and if it weren't for that outburst you'd think it was impossible for his eyes to grow any wider, or his face any redder, as if horrified by his own honesty.

It took awhile of explaining to his brothers, and even longer of persuading Lucifer to not punish him, but it was finally verified that Mammon was hit by a truth-telling potion because of the little incident, and it would take awhile for it to either completely wear-off, or for the brothers to conjure a potion to cure him.

From there, Mammon started to cling to you even more than before, whether it'd be out of fear for expressing his true affections for his brothers and being teased by them, or it was an apology for messing up the project, it wasn't clear to many.

However, it was during those moments when you two were alone in either of your rooms, that he'd turn red, and refuse to meet your eyes as he buried his head further into the curve of your neck mumbling barely loud enough for you to hear.

One day, however, when he thinks you're asleep beside him, he finally whispers as he stares at you and sleepily ghosts the back of his hand over your cheek.

"I-I'm really glad ya came 'ere ya know? Every second we spend like this makes me wish we could stay like this forever, no need to worry about pesky brothers stealing you away, or about the troubles we'll have outside....I..." He trails off, yawning as his eyes drift to a close as sleep consumes him. "...love...you..."

Maybe one day he'll be brave enough to say it without the help of a potion. Maybe, that day he'll be able to say it when he knows you're awake. Maybe...just maybe...in that moment, he already has.

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- In his karaoke nights alone, Leviathan would sometimes dance with his body pillows or sing to his figurines like a concert, and very rarely, it'd be a combination of both.

He'd pretend he's in the world of his characters and interacting with them, imaging himself as the hero with his companions on all sorts of adventures.

One time he was singing an upbeat song with so much flair, there was dancing and laughter when he realised he messed up a little, but he didn't mind. He was in the midst of a build-up to the chorus when there was a knock on the door.

Unfortunately, he was so sucked into his world that he didn't hear it nor did he see the crack of the opening of the door. It was too late when he spun around to deliver the final note to grand finale, the energy that flowed through him came crashing to a sudden halt when he saw the face of a certain human he'd made a pact with not too long ago.

"U-Uwah!!! H-how long have you been there?! Haven't you heard of knocking?! You have?! Then why didn't you knock harder?!!!!!"

That incident felt such a long time ago, the screams of that night were but a distant memory. With everytime you caught him singing you gradually saw him hiding his red-face less and less. Eventually, he'd be humming melodies as he leaned into you whenever you'd be together, hoping each time that you'd join him.

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A/N: Hi there, so I've been on your blog for awhile, and I wanted to make up some hcs for you :) (Although they became more of short oneshots than anything else jhsdsakjhd-) I know they aren't much, and I'm not the best at comforting people irl, but I really hope that these could help a little. Especially since your headcanons in the past and now have helped me through some tough periods of my life this year, and I wanna try to give back as well.

I wasn't very confident in my ability to use nino or cade for this, so I made this with a more neutral reader in mind. And I hope my writing skills aren't too rusty, it's been a long while since I wrote something that wasn't an essay ^^''.

But enough of me, I really do hope that in the midst of this frustrating and scary period (not in the good way), that everything gets better.

---

These were absolutley amazing, I love them so much and I appreciate you sharing them with me!!! Your writing skills are incredibly, I definitely look up to them here! Again thank you for sharing these, they helped so much and made me smile! <3

#obey me related #lucifer #mammon #leviathan #submission

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roastedsoup · 2 years

Text

theres this very good song about evil x by this guy gideon on youtube (if you havent heard it yet here) and it has these very good lyrics about how jeff the minion is controlling things so i analyzed them in this mega big essay i hope you all enjoy it >:)

The song “Evil X” by Gideon is written in two distinct ways; with two almost opposite meanings. One side tells the story that is at first the easiest to hear, the story of Evil X tricking the Hermits into exploiting them, a new method of his ultimate goal of destroying the server. The other meaning, hidden between the lines—almost literally in the final chorus—is the story of Evil X not being in control of his actions and instead working out the plans of the greedy Jeff the Minion.

While there are many lines showing this double-meaning writing, the most easy to notice is the chorus, arguably one of the most important elements of the song. The entire chorus is matter-of-fact chorus details Evil X’s—or rather, Jeff the Minion’s—plot to destroy the server. The first line goes: “So when the server’s up in flames, you’ll know who to thank,” then, “Oh, isn’t it obvious?” This, at first glance, shows Evil X’s secret evil plan. He is pretending to be nice and having turned over a new leaf only to show that he has won and the server has been decimated, they will know who to thank for the destruction—him. If you look at the other implied meaning, you get an entirely different story. “So when the server’s up in flames, you’ll know who to thank,” Evil X knows that once he is forced to complete Jeff’s schemes and Jeff regains his power, everyone will see Jeff as the true culprit, they’ll know who to thank for it, and they’ll see, far too late, that it isn’t Evil X. During the final chorus, there are echos after each line, accentuating them but showing a different perspective. After “So when the server’s up in flames”, the echo repeats “Server’s up in flames.” This echo can be easily read as Evil X’s true voice while the main chorus lines are Jeff, or rather, Evil X being manipulated. Another possibility for why the main chorus sounds more like Jeff is the line during the bridge, “Why can’t you hear? He’s listening.”, implying that Evil X cannot just reveal Jeff’s plans. This echo repeats “Server’s up in flames” because that’s all that matters, no need for extra words because the server is in danger and Evil X is warning us, not because he wishes to save the server but because he knows how much worse Jeff is and what he can do. The next echo comes after “You’ll know who to thank”, except it is slightly different. The echo says “You’ll know who to thank,” accentuating “who”, obviously on purpose. Evil X is taking the line, originally meaning that he himself is to blame for it, and rather further pushing the truth that it isn’t him, and it might be too late. The last echo is the most striking, at least in my opinion, and shows a second side to this alternate story. The original line is “Isn’t it obvious?”, while the echo says “Tell me it’s obvious.” This shows that Evil X is not only trying to warn us, he is desperate. He’s been dropping hints for us, and we need to listen. He is pleading with us, hoping we understand the method. Tell me it’s obvious that Jeff is behind it all. Tell me it’s obvious that we are all in danger and you heard the warning. Tell me it’s obvious that it’s not too late.

While the main chorus holds most of this tragic duality, Evil X’s desperation can be seen in other parts as well, most importantly the bridge. The bridge begins with Evil X telling his plans—Jeff’s plans—in the most blatant way possible: “ In this economy I’ve introduced a currency, a true trial of trust and greed.” This is what Jeff wants: greed. It’s what after this that shows Evil X more, however: “A shadow’s following. Why can’t you hear? He’s listening. He twists my words behind the scenes.” This is showing that Evil X fears Jeff the Minion. Jeff has a power over even him, Jeff could do terrible things if he got his hands on it. Evil X cannot warn us outright, telling us that he is listening. “He twists my words behind the scenes” confirms that the chorus isn’t genuine, at least on the surface. Evil X is desperate to warn us, the whole song being a facade to appeal to Jeff, sounding like his evil plans, but between the lines are fear, desperation and a bitter hope that Evil X knows we heard him.

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft 8 #hermitcraft season 8 #hc 8 #hc season 8 #evil xisuma #hc evil xisuma #hc evil x #evil x #hc xisuma #jeff the minion

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ktheist · 3 years

Text

muses. familiar!cat-shifter!yoongi x witch!reader

83.“My friends get so annoyed by how much I talk sometimes.”

“i thought witches don’t have friends.” yoongi scratches his arm, opening the fridge and checking out what little sustenance you have in it.

not much.

“and i thought familiars are supposed to indulge in their masters needs and wants,” hands on your hips you look at him with knitted brows and a pout.

but exactly five heartbeats later, you hear your phone buzzing and you’re hurrying to grab your bag, “i’ll be back!”

a second after the door closes shut, your head pops back in, the sulking pout now gone and in its place, the most brilliant smile and brightest twinkle in your eyes, “let’s have chicken for dinner! i left the money on the counter so you can order it and we can eat together.”

and then you’re gone.

min yoongi grumbles, eyes burning holes in the fifty dollar note lying on the white countertop.

‘did she think i’m broke or something?’

well, yoongi was quite literally homeless and living on tree branches in the deepest part of south korea’s reserves. but he was only living there because his last witch died from greed.

take over the world. become queen of every species on earth.

that sort of greed.

but you?

this 20-something year old pays - well, the humans like to call it tuition fee - to be a slave to an education that isn’t even beneficial to witches.

huh.

yoongi feels sorry for your bodiless ancestors who got burned at the stakes. if they had graves, they would be turning in them but they don’t because they took the risk to learn and practice witchcraft even if it was forbidden in their times.

now you’ve got all the reasons to learn - humans got so stupid that they stopped believing in anything besides logic - but you’re using him to predict what’s going to come out in your tests.

“ugh, my tailbone’s about to liquidize from having to sit in that exam hall for five freaking hours.” mina grumbles, stretching her arms over her head.

“okay, but why the fuck do we have to write a 10 page essay on why plato think our end goal is happiness?” soyeon’s scrunches her nose, as if physically cringing at the remembrance of it.

“isn’t that like, a statement? weren’t we supposed to talk about rousseau?” nayeon’s brows knit together in utter confusion.

“shit.” you’d expect soyeon to be cursing but it’s mina.

after a series of mina freaking out and the rest of you trying to calm her down by saying whatever possible answer they discussed could very well be wrong because nobody recalled hearing the professor mention who this rousseau scholar-guy.

except you.

and it wasn’t the professor who mentioned it.

it was the grumpy shapeshifting cat you’ve taken in who also happens to have futuristic premonitions.

almost as if they could hear your thoughts, soyeon turns to you, “we should’ve trusted ___’s instincts.”

technically, you were doing some reading on rousseau’s natural law theory when the girls sneaked up on you and scared your literal soul out of your body. they were surprised that you were even studying so you passingly mentioned having a strong, unquestionable feeling that he’s going to make an appearance in finals.

“you girls should’ve listened to me,” you cheekily proclaim, hands on your hips and chin tilted so high up, you can almost see the sun.

“oh great finals goddess, please tell us what you think will come out for criminal procedures,” mina gets on her knees without a care in the world and starts praying for you.

it wasn’t hard to stroke your ego and your friends know that better than anyone. so you tell them what they want to know on a pretense of ‘just predictions! don’t put all your eggs in one basket. i might be wrong!’

“yoongi, i’m home,” you singsong, swinging the door open only to have your shoulders sag at the lack of a certain black haired grump who would usually be sleeping on the couch and grumble for you to ‘shut up, i’m taking a nap.’

“huh, he’s not here.” you kick off your shoes and pad over to your room only to have your heart flutter at the sight of a cat snugly curled up in your bed.

“yoongi!” you squeal, dropping your bag and books on the floor before bounding over to the bed and gathering the slumbering feline in your arms.

the cat’s golden slits seem to appear on guard until they soften at the sight of you. he yawns widely as he stretches in your arms.

“i’m home, yoongi.” this time, your voice is barely above whisper, hand scratching his furry body as you lay on your bed, staring at the ceiling.

“you were right about rousseau and now my friends think i have some sixth sense,” you prattle on while the weight on your chest starts curling himself up - you have no strand of doubt that if you just looked down, the black feline will be snoring away as if he doesn’t have a single ounce of care for your story-telling.

not that yoongi’s ever showed an interest in your life besides the magic that you happen to bottle up and exploded the day he was walking around in seoul out of boredom.

you’re not sure when you fell asleep, but you wake up to the sound of ‘here’s your chicken’ and a ‘thanks’ before the door clicks shut.

“was that the chicken?” groggy but hungry, you march over the kitchen where yoongi - now in his human form - is taking out the boxes with your favorite swicy chicken restaurant symbol from the plastic bag.

“with the way you were snoring, i didn’t think i should order dinner at all,” he says nonchalantly.

“i-i don’t snore!” you almost scream, cheeks heating up.

“uh-huh,” there it is again, the nonchalant tone that almost drives you up the wall. then he turns to face you, index finger tapping the corner of his mouth, “you’ve got some drool there.”

almost as if possessed by a chaotic spirit, you trudge to the bathroom, slamming the door behind you in your haste. your reflection stares back at you with bed hair pointing everywhere and alarmed, round eyes as you wipe the corner of your mouth with the back of your hand only to notice nothing there. you repeat the motion once again and true enough, not a smidge of drool is present.

“that lying-!” you huff, marching back to the kitchen with one objective in mind.

“lying isn’t very nice, yoongi,” you say, barely putting a lid on the boiling anger.

“being too trustful isn’t very witch-like either.” he counters, a swicy chicken in hand and bright red sauce in the corner of his mouth.

“i curse you into a monkey!” you scream, index finger pointed in his direction.

but instead of the black haired familiar morphing and turning into the animal you cursed him into, he continues eating without even batting an eye.

“what- but-” you look at your hand and then back at him, “i cursed you!”

“you can’t curse your own familiar.” he finally says halfway into your quarter-ish life crisis, “now sit down and eat before your stomach starts grumbling too.”

you huff in bashful frustration. face too hot to even look at yoongi in eye but you’re too hungry to throw another fit.

believe it or not, this is just one of your routine in your daily life - him teasing you, completely nonchalantly and you getting worked up over it and end up making a fool out of yourself.

in a few hours, you’ll end up forgetting it ever happens and end up cuddling the cat that’s curled up on your pillow. you’ve just finished revising another topic of your next exam.

the next time you wake up, it’s to grown sized male snuggling into your chest, his arm slung over your back and your leg wedged between his. there’s not so much as a hair’s breadth between you.

“y-yoongi,” you stammer out, unable to think properly.

but when the aforementioned man simply groans and nuzzles his face in between your boobs, your cheeks hit up and your hand ends up swinging in the air before it hits its target.

his cheek.

now he sports a red handprint on his porcelain skin as he goes around, making coffee for himself while you diligently study at your desk. it’s some time in the afternoon that a furry ball leaps into your lap and kneads your thighs with his little paws before curling into a ball.

“aren’t you so cute?” your heart flutters at the adorable little fur ball, hand scratching the underside of his neck and giggling at how he’s purring in appreciation.

you end up dropping your apple pencil and shutting off your ipad. carrying the clingy furball in your arms, you plop down your bed.

“ugh, my back feels like it’s gonna crumble off like biscuit crumbs,” you lament, not caring if the sentence makes no sense.

but before you can think of any other sentence that makes no absolute sense, you feel the weight on your stomach shift, the furball you were caressing now turning into a lump of skull with actual human hair as it holds itself up and places its forehead on yours.

“how is it that you willingly take me to bed when i’m a cat and slap me in the face like i’m some pervert when i’m my human form?” this time, you know he’s teasing you because he’s smirking like he’s amused.

“it’s different because you were a cat!” you thank merlin that your voice comes out strong and certain.

“i’m still me no matter what form i take though,” his hand is warm on your thigh. his breath fans your skin, “still a man.”

“it’s different,” you know you sound meek compared to when you started out.

but your face is hot and your heart is palpitating inside your chest. all of a sudden you feel too shy to even look at him. so you cast your gaze to the side. relief floods your system when he lifts his head from yours. but it’s short-lived. teeth bite on the delicate skin of your neck. not enough to hurt but enough to incite a surprised yelp from you.

and a swing of your hand.

that’s how yoongi ends up with another red handprint on his other cheek. the first one is barely disappearing.

and you, with a hickey on your neck that you don’t know what to explain to your friends tomorrow when you meet them for the exam.

but one good thing comes out of it. after the slap, a rope materializes and wraps itself around yoongi. it’s pure magic and not even he can undo it.

“stop teasing me,” you start, sitting on the chair with your legs crossed.

“start treating me like i’m a man even in my cat form and i’ll consider that,” he counters.

at that, you lift an eyebrow, all of a sudden feeling a rush of confidence, “start acting like a man in your human form then.”

that’s when yoongi looks at you like you’ve challenged his essence. his existence.

“untie me and i’ll show you what a man is, master,” he challenges back.

it’s the word ‘master’ that gets your stomach fluttering with butterflies.

“you have two heads but you’re using the useless one to interpret what ‘a man’ means?” eyebrows rising to the ceiling, you pretend to be surprised.

“you’re a witch but you don’t even know how to use a spell,” he shrugs, reverted to his nonchalant self.

and that’s what irks you the most. how he acts like it has nothing to do with him but rubs your lacking in your face.

“lay down.” you order and his body is sent flying backwards, barely missing the wall in his abrupt descent.

yoongi groans, gathering himself once again.

“see, i know you can’t go against my words,” you say, triumphant.

“how did you find out?” he strains his neck, trying to look at you now that he’s laying down.

“the way you always did what i asked and last night, you ordered the chicken anyway even though i was sleeping and i could’ve slept through the entire night.” those were suspicions - you only confirmed it when you gave him the direct order.

“fine, you win,” he announces, barely caring about the argument.

“good.” you nod, mentally willing the rope to untie itself. but nothing happens.

you try again.

and again.

“can i please be released?” yoongi finally says after one too many mental tries.

“uh, wait,” you push yourself off the chair and tread over to manually undo the knot that keeps the rope tightly wrapped around yoongi.

“you can’t do it with magic?” comes the million dollar question.

you sigh, dejected, “i think i need to be angry - or feel strongly about something to get my magic to work.”

that’s what happened when yoongi met you. overstressed and barely focusing on your surroundings, you ended up getting run over someone who was on a bike. everything just kept going wrong. you ended up bawling your eyes out on the sidewalk - the man who ran over you started panicking thinking he broke a bone.

“i’m cool now though.” you shrug, easily dismissing the dejection and whatever that upset you before.

the rope comes undone and yoongi shimmies himself out. but before you can do anything, his hand shoots out, wrapping around your wrist and pulling you down until your knee digs into the mattress in between his legs, your faces too close. if he’d just tilt his head, his lips would easily brush yours.

“yoongi,” you warn but he shushes you.

“try getting the rope to move with magic,” he instructs, voice uncharacteristically soft and soothing.

you take a deep breath, eyes trained on the rope lying around him whilst trying to ignore the millimeter distance between your faces.

you move your index finger and the rope lifts itself up. you motion to the left with your finger and the rope gradually slithers through the air in the direction you’re pointing.

“it’s working,” you almost squeal, beaming.

and in your excitement, you seek yoongi’s gaze, only to see the rope crashing against the ground in your periphery.

“good,” a smile plays on his lips.

all of a sudden, you’re out of breath, the perpetrator also being the cause of the rush of blood to your face.

thanks.

the words doesn’t really get passed your lips because his feel feather-light but his fingertips on your cheek is calloused but grounding. that’s how you know this isn’t just some dream.

then he pulls all of you down. the sudden shift of motion illicit a gasp out of you. but the shock stricken state is short lived. you find yourself breathing in his musky woody scent.

he leans down, kissing the delicate spot on your neck that makes your heart wretch inside your chest.

“yoongi, maybe we should take it slow and practice some other time?” you suggest and he chuckles, the sound ringing in your ear like a blissful melody.

“i’m not doing this for a practice run,” he confesses ever so casually, “i took on the form of a cat because you told me about the one you have back home. but you got too familiar with it that you forgot about me.”

he licks your flesh like a cat would. it’s supposed to be an innocent, cat-like gesture but something about the way his male body is hovering over you makes the fibers in your system go on panic mode. you wish the bed would open up and swallow you whole but you’re not powerful enough for that.

yet.

“i’m upset,” he sulkily says and sinks his teeth into your skin.

the fading redness on his left cheek where you first slap him is rosier than ever after your third slap landing on that one.

“when are you gonna let me go?” his voice echoes in the silence.

you turn around to see the man sitting cross-legged on your bed with his hands on his sides, the rope tightly wrapped around him. after he bit you, the rope ended shooting up and around him, as if it had a mind of its own and sought to protect you by disabling your neck-biting familiar.

oh, you sport similar hickey on the other side of your neck now too.

“hmm,” you tilt your head in contemplation, “after my last exam?”

“that’s like, in a week,” he grunts, “how am i gonna bathe? and eat?”

“you have two heads, yoongi. figure it out.” you shrug and turn back to your books and ipad.

note. this was requested by an anonymous as part of my drabble game.

#bts scenarios #yoongi scenarios #bts fanfic #yoongi fanfic #yoongi fic #bts fic #yoongi x you #yoongi x reader #bts x reader #bts x you #bts smut #yoongi smut #bts fluff #yoongi fluff #drabble game 1 #excerpt from a fic i'll never write

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ackermanshoe · 3 years

Text

( applies to anyone who fits the shoe and you know who it is )

People will praise aot for having strong female leads like Mikasa and I was one of them too. She was the only constent woman amidst all men in the series. But what doesn't make sense is the fact that these people are the very same ones that would go and hate on historia for being "weak". Also calling her names for being pregnant and fitting the Eurocentric beauty standard with blonde hair and blue eyes, really shows how misogynistic people are 🤩. Comparing women with different backgrounds and different stories to validate your argument for you ships with a fucking man 🤨 really, do better.

Mikasa is physically strong there is no denying that but she is emotionally dependent on Eren, she needed consent reality check from Levi to have some kind of development in the last arc of s3 so really that is her weakness.im still mad about her not having any development except with Levi's help throughout all these arcs ( but even then if you consider 139 it will all be washed away) Mikasa is portrayed to be someone who is barely functional without Eren 🤦‍♀️. But on her good side she is a caring character with through abilities so she was the protector for them until Levi showed up then they both protected everyone side by side.

Please if I could write an essay on the things I love about Mikasa, it'd be too long so don't assume I hate Mikasa at all but this post is going to be focusing on historia.

Historia may not be the strongest solider but she's had emotional growth away from Ymir, being neglected by her mother, her sister leaving her and now Eren... She has seen this movie before, over and over again. So she is able to get up from the ground, she isn't emotionally dependent on Eren, the difference between her and mika is the very fact that Historia is able to love someone without caging them in. She and Mikasa both are too familiar with people leaving them & the pain from it and yet Mikasa keeps making the mistake whereas historia with Eren has moments rather than excpection. After everything she's been through she decided to have the child ( for whatever reason ) because obviously she is going to be a better parent than her own, that is developing that is being strong.

So you see these two were never meant to be pitted against each other but compliment each other. What Mikasa has historia does not and what historia has Mikasa doesn't. Often time people will forget that mikasa being physically strong isn't the only thing about her character, her character development died because she couldn't let go of Eren, still emotionally attached to him. Historia has proper send of to her "old self" which should have been done for mikasa as well but 🥴

Historia had a chance with moving on from Ymir thorough Eren because he understood her...to me feels like em as a ship should've d worded a long time ago with ymihisu, Mikasa did get that chance with someone to move on from Eren, Levi. She did have development to her character through him and I'm grateful for that but, it felt like I have been holding my breath saying "Mikasa is getting over Eren, she's almost there, she is going to do it" and suddenly only one chapter remained,, this moment I'd been waiting all these time was finally going to come in the last chapter,,, but guess what? didn't happen after all. at the end of the day, 139 not only invalidates all of these character build up but just screams that obsession should be glorified as romance because fuck understanding and development, 😍🖐️ why have healthy relationship showcased as love when you can just have toxicity and abuse of love being the centre point of the story, am I right?

Anyway with all that said and done, I don't trust anyone who slanders either of these women for a man like Eren. If I were to blame him for being the root of all trouble I'd say for 138 chapters not only did he lead historia on, making the readers believe he actually cared for her but also neglected Mikasa and made her feel like a pain in the ass 🤧 but I'm not saying that because Eren was simply a victim of kodansha's greed, they all were.

#rivamika #ereshisu

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