#great notes and descriptions of certain important aspects out here :]

[hollowed-theory-hall]

How do the astrological magical watches work?

We see Dumbledore use a watch like this:

Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, “Hagrid’s late. I suppose it was he who told you I’d be here, by the way?”

(PS, Ch1)

Dumbledore pulled a watch with twelve hands from his pocket and glanced at it, “half an hour of my time tonight, in which I think we shall be more than able to cover the important points of what has happened here...

(OotP, Ch36)

And both Ron and Harry received these planetary watches for their 17th birthday:

“Seriously good haul this year!” he announced, holding up a heavy gold watch with odd symbols around the edge and tiny moving stars instead of hands. “See what Mum and Dad got me? Blimey, I think I’ll come of age next year too. . . .”

(HBP, Ch18)

Harry sat down, took the square parcel she had indicated, and unwrapped it. Inside was a watch very like the one Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given Ron for his seventeenth; it was gold, with stars circling around the face instead of hands. “It’s traditional to give a wizard a watch when he comes of age.” said Mrs. Weasley, watching him anxiously from beside the corner. “I’m afraid that one isn’t new like Ron’s, it was actually my brother Fabian’s and he wasn’t terribly careful with his possessions, it’s a bit dented on the back, but-”

(DH, Ch7)

He looked down at the battered gold watch he had received on his seventeenth birthday. Nearly half of the hour allotted by Voldemort for his surrender had elapsed. He stood up.

(DH, Ch34)

So, I want to talk about the social view of these watches, how they work, and how they are actually used (as such, this post is filled with headcanons):

Now, let's start with the division into twelve and the mentions of little planets/stars. This makes me think of astrological charts. There are 12 zodiac signs and 12 houses where different planets can fall in different positions on the 12 houses zodiacs on a birth chart:

(This is just a random example. The outer rim has the zodiac signs, the middle rim has the planets in their position/angle in the sky at the time of birth, the inner rim is divided into the 12 houses, which are also aspects of the planets' positions)

But we know what he can read on it is time, as in, the hour and not someone's supposed personality (I don't believe in astrology, but I have read two books on the subject out of curiosity) (and there are 12 numbers on a watch). Also, his watch has twelve hands and moving stars. So let's start with how a watch like that could work.

How do you read this watch?

The first important fact I want to note here is that while Harry seems unable to read Dumbledore's astrological watch in one of the above quotes when he sees it in passing, he seems able to read his own with no issue and with no one teaching him how to read it (that we see). Same goes for Ron. So whatever is going on here, it's easy to figure out on your own by looking at it for a few minutes with the knowledge of how to read a regular watch and everything you know from Astronomy class.

So, I started listing things that fit the above descriptions that the average wizard would like to have in his watch, plus, it needs to, at first glance, look like a whimsical mess. So, allow me to introduce you to my concept design for The Everything Watch:

(The design can vary, and the hands are colored like that so that I could refer to them easily)

As you can see, the planets, houses, and signs are marked here as well, like in a birth chart. The watch shows the planets as they are positioned at the moment in your location — this is relevant information due to certain potions/ingredients requiring certain planetary movements in their brewing/harvesting process.

The small green hands (all 3) are the regular watch hands that show the hours/minutes/seconds. The numbers 1-12 used for the watch also (more or less. the 12 is positioned right) mark the astrology houses' positions for the stars.

The small red hands are a compass; the lighter points north, the darker south.

The small swiggly orange hand is the direction of the wind.

The small, dark blue hand points at the moon phase (you could add more moon phases between the main ones I added). This is also relevant for potion making and certain rituals (like becoming an Animagus). Plus, I'm sure Remus uses it a lot.

The yellow hand is the sun's position in the sky during the day (the yellow-orange portion of the circle it points at) and the moon's position in the sky at night (the blue portion of the circle).

The light pink hand points at the month. It is positioned to the right date along the month, but that would be hard to read and therefore:

The darker pink/purple hand points at the day in the month on the outermost circle. So, together the two hands give the date. (Like the month hand, this one does move across the day accordingly. In the middle of the day it'll be at the center of the area, right after midnight, it'll be at the very beginning, etc.)

The darker turquoise hand points only at the bottom half of that circle (with the blue and red sections) and marks temperature.

The other turquoise hand points only at the top half and denotes whether conditions (as we know, some spells, like the Animagi ritual, require a lightning storm). The colors denote the different conditions from left to right: sunny, partially cloudy, overcast, light rain, rain, heavy rain, lightning storm, light snow, snow, heavy snow, fog, very windy, hurricane/disaster level storm.

Now, what do these watches mean?

As in, why is it traditional to gift such watches to wizards (not witches, just wizards, this is a gendered thing and there's more evidence for it brought up later): "It’s traditional to give a wizard a watch when he comes of age." But why? What does it mean? Why did this tradition start, and to what purpose?

And, if we expand our search a little, we see other adult wizards carry large gold pocket watches (which, I'd assume, is this kind of watch):

Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

(PoA, Ch21)

Harry’s hands and feet were freezing. Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch. [...] “Must be nearly time,” said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again.

(GoF, Ch6)

In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch

(GoF, Ch7)

The plan, as Harry has told you, is a simple one,” said Dedalus, pulling an immense pocket watch out of his waistcoat and examining it.

(DH, Ch3)

So, as always with HP, I went to history.

Until the early 20th century, pocket watches were very common for men and considered the manly watch options, while wristwatches were considered feminine and were favored by women. We actually see this divide in the WW, with adult wizards carrying pocket watches as mentioned above, while witches and young wizards use wristwatches:

“Look at the time,” Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. 

(GoF, Ch5)

Harry took off his watch, which he was only wearing out of habit, as it didn’t work anymore, and stuffed it into his pocket.

(GoF, Ch28)

Ron looked at his watch.

(PoA, Ch6)

“Nearly six,” said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gates.

(GoF, Ch15)

Additionally, in the 18th century (when wizards broke away from muggles), it was customary to gift men practical gifts, often ones that would serve them on the traditional Grand Tour:

When Albus and I left Hogwarts we intended to take the then-traditional tour of the world together, visiting and observing foreign wizards, before pursuing our separate careers.

(DH, Ch2)

Now approaching his eighteenth birthday, Dumbledore left Hogwarts in a blaze of glory—Head Boy, Prefect, Winner of the Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting, British Youth Representative to the Wizengamot, Gold Medal-Winner for Ground-Breaking Contribution to the International Alchemical Conference in Cairo. Dumbledore intended, next, to take a Grand Tour with Elphias

(DH, Ch18)

(This was a practice in irl muggle 18th and 19th century England. That after a man of higher social standing came of age, it was common for them to travel the world to show they can and how worldly they are. Then they would come back to England more mature and experienced to settle into a job and marriage)

Something like the above watch would be useful for finding your way around and practical to potions work and other magical endeavors. So, it seems a fitting gift to mark a young wizard stepping into adulthood.

Pocket watches, when they started becoming popular, were a sign of status and wealth; it's what a gentleman would wear. And I think, in the wizarding world, it's the same. I'm not the first to note this, but the Weasleys seem like the English trope of an aristocratic family that fell on hard times and has no money, but they have their name — and in the case of HP, their pure blood. The Prewetts (Muriel, in particular) act like they come from money. Both Arthur and Molly's inability to manage their funds properly is also the kind of behaviour you see from people who are used to having money, so they don't know how to budget. Someone who grew up in poverty would often keep some money for emergencies, in general would know how to budget it, and not spend all the prize money they get on a lavish trip to Egypt all at once.

So, I think this pocket watch is a tradition that started in the 18th century, and was meant to symbolise a wizard reaching adulthood and mark him as an academic and wealthy wizard (who probably studied the two optional NEWT years). The watch is a large and golden pocket watch — it is definitely a status thing as well as a coming-of-age thing, and I don't think all wizards have this sort of watch. Though nowadays, most of them probably do. Still I'm going to bet Mundungus doesn't (if he did, he would've sold it).

Is there a witch version?

The question here is whether there is a traditional coming-of-age gift for witches like the watch? I didn't find any mentioned in the books, but my guess would be yes. Just, not a watch.

If I had to come up with one, I'd say it would be some piece of Jellary (a common gift for coming-of-age for women in the 18th century). My headcanon is that they are often gifted lockets or brooches, which is why Merope was given Slytherin's locket by her father. It would be traditional to get a locket, and he didn't have the money to buy her a new one, but Marvolo likes to act like he still has the status he doesn't — which is why he would insist on the traditional gift. Umbridge also wears it proudly as a common sign of status others would be familiar with:

“That’s—that’s pretty, Dolores,” she said, pointing at the pendant gleaming in the ruffled folds of Umbridge’s blouse. “What?” snapped Umbridge, glancing down. “Oh yes—an old family heirloom,” she said, patting the locket lying on her large bosom. “The S stands for Selwyn. . . . I am related to the Selwyns. . . . Indeed, there are few pure blood families to whom I am not related. . . .

(DH, Ch13)

So, it makes sense to me. But it is a headcanon.

I also assume a witch's coming-of-age gift would have some enchantments to it, but this is where everyone can sort of come up with their own practical charms that would fit a locket or brooch.

I sort of expect women to receive their gift a year earlier, at 16. Men, even back in the 18th century, were seen as "full-age" after women. "Full-age" and "Adult" are not the same term, and even back then, different ages made you legally eligible for different things. But the term of when someone is "full-age" (when they were treated as full adults proper and not "young adults" or in any transitionary age) for men was 21 or even 25 or later (depending on the year/location), and usually 17 or 18 for women. So, I assume witches would get their traditional coming-of-age gift a year earlier when they become legal for marriage (mentioned it in my headcanon post).

[astrologymeetpsychology]

Aries Rising - 1st house

Aries Rising and all the signs through the houses, all the way through to Pisces in 12th. I’ll give a description and some words and habits that are common with this house/sign combination. I’ll note any specifics to planet placements. If you have any questions please feel free to drop an ask. Also tell me if you’d prefer me to finish Aries or do the first 4 houses in the other signs first.

Apologies for any incorrect grammar - this took me a long time to write. :)

Aries Rising / Aries in 1st

Aries Rising is in its natural placement in the 1st house. On the surface, Aries Risings come across confident, independent and self assured. It must be said however that deep down many Aries Rising natives are quite insecure and uncertain deep down.

They like to put across a persona of having complete control of their surroundings and interactions. Truth is, Aries Risings often feel they are a bit out of sync with others.

Because Aries is in the house of public opinion and appearance, how they come across is incredibly important to them. Many take great effort to look presentable and remain calm and measured to those they have just met.

Likes company, picky to please, assertive, determined, put together, amicable, debater, opinionated, results driven, independent

☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️

When Aries in 1st is in the Sun, it can’t make this native a lot more like a typical Aries Sun. The main difference being that Aries Ascendants are often a lot less independent and self assured as their Sun counterparts. But when the first in Aries is here, you’ll likely get a much more traditional Aries vibe.

If the Sun is conjunct the Ascendant then this person likely have a very prominent presence. How the Ascendant and Sun are aspected will often indicate. Whether this presence is more calming, authoritative or mysterious for example.

Hard headed, independent, bold, devils advocate, high strung, adventurous, passionate, hard to ignore, well known

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙

When Aries Moon is in the 1st this person will not be able to hide what they feel. A poker face is not something they are capable of doing, as their faces are often very expressive as Aries rules the face. These people may very well feel whatever emotion they are feeling very intensely. These people may good thing that most with this placement do is consider themselves and their emotional well being. Depending on the aspects being made, this can either be a very positive thing where they can assert their needs and have sufficient boundaries but it also could manifest as a somewhat selfish outlook, failing to notice how others feel in a given situation.

When Mercury is in the first you’ll often have a person who won’t shy away from a good discussion or debate. Devils Advocate could be their nickname because they are inclined to always learn about all different angles of an argument, whilst usually maintaining their own opinion. Sometimes these people can be a bit stubborn and try to convince others of where they are going wrong. It can be said though how this person comes across also can relate to aspects in hand. With Venus in close aspect, diplomacy will come easier to them than a Mars tight aspect (especially if the Venus is in a Trine or Sextile).

Expressive, dramatic, sentimental, what you see is what you get, determined, fierce, genuine, self absorbed, impressive, tenacious

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Venus in 1st will likely be quite perfectionistic, because they are highly sensitive to how they look. Being seen as proper, attractive and friendly makes a big part of what they focus their energy on in social situations. It’s very common for these natives to try to keep up to date with fashion and be very particular on the clothing colours they wear. Certain topics will interest them and they’ll be very proud of the knowledge they have obtained. It’s not uncommon for these people to have musical, beauty or acting skills as they are very good at using their physical body to express creativity. If the Moon is in a positive aspect, you can expect this creative ability to be amplified. Neptune too closely aspecting can also indicate a great creative flair.

In friendships, they can sometimes seem a little self absorbed because they will often talk about their interests and opinions. This however is not because they are not interested, they just have very quick thoughts that they share without thinking.

They are often happy to organise meet up with friends, because they love to bring people together. If the Sun is closely aspected, don’t be surprised if they like to be the host because they love to receive praise for a job well done.

Aesthetic, creative, dynamic, efficient, boastful, gregarious, musical, notable, outspoken, prideful, romantic, sanctimonious

🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴

Mars in 1st feels very happy here. This person likely has no qualms about saying what they think, when it means a lot to them. This is not to say they argue a lot like some stereotypes may try to convey - they simply feel passionate about certain things and don’t hold back.

When you have someone who has Mars in 1st, you’ll know if you’ve annoyed them. On the positive side, you know that they will always try their best to be open with you about their impressions of you and intentions. Mars here does not want mind games or small talk, it wants truth and action.

Because Mars refuses to be stifled here and often these people have some kind of physical outlet. It’s not necessarily sport but it could be hiking, walking or animals for example. They often have a lot of mental energy, especially if they also have a prominent Mercury or a close aspect to Mercury.

Stubborn, energetic, quick witted, ambitious, assertive, combative, straightforward, brash, honest

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

These people are at their best when they are being proactive, independent and free spirited. Often these people want to make a big difference in the world and refuse to be held back. Many people aren’t cut out for public scrutiny, but you’re more than happy to take that risk to achieve what others before them have not.

They aren’t always confident they’ll get there but by having faith in their own ability, there is little they cannot achieve. Just because they have self belief does not mean they are arrogant or even appreciate being in a position of authority but they’ll find a cause they believe in and they will embrace hardship to gain results.

If a positive aspect to Satuen is made, they may find that indeed leadership is a calling they may follow or a career that involves a lot of self control. Less harmonious aspects however may result in power struggles with superiors or an inability for self discipline due to excess energy or difficulty with focus.

Lucky in finance, entrepreneurial, hard working, dedicated, active work, pleasure in enacting change, driven to success,

🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵

Saturn in the 1st in Aries may well have an opposing problem to Jupiter. On one hand they are energetic, driven and bold but on the other, they feel a need to stop and take caution. When this happens, indecisiveness and a propensity to anxiety can be manifested. What Saturn touches can being limitations and restrictions and here taking spontaneous action is usually what is restricted.

This is not to say that Saturn Aries in 1st house makes for a person who takes no action. On the contrary, they need to take action! However, a more deliberated and precise action is asked for which makes these people great at playing the long game and considering every outcome.

If Uranus aspects, this may result is regret over taken spontaneous action. It could equally manifest as taking unusual but efficient approaches to important questions or projects.

disciplined, cautious, astute, methodical, ingenious, meticulous, nuanced, prudent

🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢

Uranus is always a fascinating placement to look at, because it highlights uniqueness, change and the unconventional. In the 1st house and with Aries, you may well flit from project to project or idea to idea. This does not mean that this person is haphazard and lacking effort - it merely means that they may lose interest after a short period of time without change as both Aries and Uranus do not appreciate stagnation.

These people likely like to change their appearance from time to time. It may be subtle like changing outfit styles or they may dye their hair a marvelous colour. Whatever the case, they are doing this to prevent boredom and spice up their own lives. On the whole, others opinions don’t bother them too much.

If Moon or Venus makes a close connection, sensitivity to the changing moods and interests of others may be present, especially if Ascendant is holding a similar aspect. These people may notice the subtle changes in others around them and this may be an asset to them, because it makes them incredibly observant.

Observant, haphazard, eccentric, out there, enigmatic, open minded, adaptable, impulsive

🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣

As Neptune will not be here for most, I will be looking at the 1st house though touching on Aries traits also. If your Neptune is here, we will expect you to have very intense hunches you cannot ignore. Neptune holds creativity, spiritualism and the unknown. You’ll rarely find someone with this placement who does not have strong convictions. When they feel something they feel it and will refuse to question this intuition, which makes them often quick acting in a crisis.

This also makes this person incredibly protective and dedicated. They will protect their loved ones to the death and will fight injustice with all they have got. They don’t mind putting their head over the parapet because they believe in treating others with dignity.

If you have Pluto and Moon aspects, psychic abilities that arose from a young age are pretty common. These abilitis are often emotion triggered and sporadic, but they can be trained to work in your favour over time.

Protective, strong willed, intuitive, human lie detector, charismatic, defender, principled

⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️

As Aries will not be in Pluto for a long time, we look to Pluto in the 1st house. Here Pluto has a natural ability to grow and start again; where most fear to take that step, 1st house Plutonian seem to do this without even thinking. Not only are they exceptional at transforming themselves, but they are also an amazing catalyst for manifestation and healing in others.

Here whether in Scorpio or Sagittarius, Pluto has a zest for life and a curiosity. It looks at what is happening around them and what their place and influence is within this realm. They do not shy away from the difficult questions but instead embrace the chance to grow at any opportunity.

Closely aspecting Venus / Lilith / Eros / Juno can indicate a healing influence from relationships where they find a strength and drive from their loved ones and/or become the major turning point for the healing of others.

deep, transformative, nurturing, psychic, emotional vampire, catalyst, adaptable, changeable

▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️

Some notes on some major asteroids and what this indicates:

Chiron: this may indicate a person who struggles expressing their true authentic self. This may be because they had their views and personality openly critiqued in the past or that they themselves do not know who they truly are. A big lesson in their lives may be to take themselves apart from others and their expectations and instead learn about who you are within yourself.

Lilith: expect someone who is inspirational and self assured. Arrogance does not always come hand in hand, though it certainly can. Power is found in having a noticeable presence and sense of appeal. Many Lilith here are very particular on how they look.

Ceres: Desire to nurture is strong, but the lesson is to also learn to allow yourself to be nurtured - both by yourself and by others.

Juno: Independence and autonomy are high priority in a relationship. You look for a partner whom you both add to each others lives, whilst also having your own interests and friends.

Note: some of these are just first house, due to long orbit times.

[existentials0phism]

Book Review - Perfume and Pain [Anna Dorn]

Good evening lovely people!!

As always, I feel an itch to write, and cant seem to place that energy to anything productive (school included, work in progress) but I enjoyed writing the last one so much I want to throw this out here!

First and Foremost, I'd HIGHLY recommend reading the review by Danika Ellis on 'The Lesbrary' website. As a lesbian always searching for solid lesbian media, this website is an incredible find.

The book itself surrounds a theme reminiscent of Lesbian Pulp novels from the 1950's. That being advertised in the description was enough to make me incredibly interested, as these are (as referenced in the book) important and reclaimed pieces of representation for the sapphic community, but spark conversation as being written by mainly men, for the male gaze (think of lesbian porn, really). However, the author is a queer woman, and the main character is an older, jaded, and incredibly problematic lesbian author living in LA. There's something enticing about complex and messy characters, but I will admit there was something difficult to digest about a main character who was so unlikable. Another example of the author possibly putting too much of themselves into their character (Danika puts this more eloquently than me).

The character, Astrid Dahl, gives the reader a clear first impression: she's difficult and annoying. Her 'hot takes' and opinions which stirred up so much controversy were frankly not all that realistic; this 'woke queer-person' stereotype that permeates a relatively small and out of touch group of people is nothing compared to the rampant homophobia throughout the rest of the world. (she offends a few people on twitter, oh no!) I struggle with modern jargon in books even where it's completely valid, but the word "cancelled" upon viewing it made me roll my eyes. Her fundamentally 'subversive' character seemed to fit into an easy mold; a white lesbian who called herself a 'female faggot', wealthy, and in love with herself and the vapid, bitchy characters you'd find in LA. She is who we are stuck with for the whole book, and while the author makes it clear that her behaviour is selfish and self-destructive, certain quotes and lines make you want to take a deep breath in and find a novel with a less insufferable protagonist.

But, to the author's credit, it was a fun read. Yes, Astrid is unlikable, but her life is like a trashy reality TV. She gets involved with horrible women; the entire plot following her spur of the moment romance with love interest Ivy was like eating popcorn in front of a screen; grabbing one moment after the other and taking it in wide eyed. Great drama. I found that the toxic navigation of queer relationships was the best aspect of this book; it was easier seeing Astrid lean into her established character: rude, uncomprimising, and fucking crazy. Drug fueled weekends, arguing with everyone she knows, talking shit, spiraling downwards, driving while drinking. The plot made it easy to tear through; like an airport book, you want digestible trash and lesbians deserve their own version of that!

I don't regret reading it, it was fun and light (although that might not have been the author's intention), which is what you need sometimes. Astrid's character development makes sense and the ending was ultimately satisfying, which included her reconnection with neighbor and love interest Penelope (that I will note was a great aspect of the book; she was likable to the reader and all other characters except the main one, funnily enough). For a book based around Lesbian pulp, I do personally feel like there could've been a bit of added spice. The sex scenes were solid, but brief, and you'd hope a book like this would have that caveat of erotica that would make it a fun, vacation read. But that factor by no means diminishes the book itself.

If you're a queer woman and can be amused by character that contradicts your opinions in a way which can be grating, by all means enjoy the mess and drama! If you feel a little more strongly about certain social dynamics and are active in discourse in the queer community, I might put this one down, no use getting riled up over a book when there are plenty of better queer novels out there!

ranking: 5.5/10

[hayatheauthor]

How To Hook Your Readers With Your Chapter’s Starting & Ending

The two most crucial components of a chapter are its beginning and end. The start of your chapter determines your reader’s first impression of the next stage of your book, and also helps hook them in. The ending, on the other hand, determines whether or not they will keep on reading your book and keeps them wanting more. 

A bad start or end to a chapter can potentially ruin your reader’s immersion and leave a bad impression. Want to know how to effectively start and end a chapter? Here are some tips to get you started. 

How To Start A Chapter 

The first paragraph is possibly the most important aspect of any chapter. This is the bit that hooks your reader in and convinces them to stay for the next few pages even if it’s getting late and they need to head to bed. 

Writing a good start to your chapter might feel easy enough—you just need to hook your readers, right? But there are certain techniques an author needs to keep in mind when writing a new chapter. 

How To Write A Hook 

When trying to hook your readers in here are some pointers you need to keep in mind: 

Give them some sort of action in the first paragraph. 

Write a one-liner that creates surprise, intrigue or excitement. You can add the context and description in the next few paragraphs, but the first paragraph is to ensure your readers are hooked and want to continue reading your book. 

Make them think this is an ‘important chapter’. 

To an author, chapters can’t be divided into important or unimportant because every scene is there for a reason. However, a reader who doesn’t know your book as well as you do can easily segregate scenes as boring and important. 

If a reader thinks that the next few pages are going to be a boring filler chapter they’re probably going to set down your book and come back later. This is why it’s important to show them why this chapter is important. What’s going to happen in the next few pages? Why is this situation important or significant to the plot? How does it make the story move forward? Consider the answer to some of these questions when you write your chapter’s hook. 

How To End A Chapter 

If the start of your hooks your reader in, then the end is what makes them turn to the next page. A chapter’s ending needs to provide your readers with some sense of closure while also giving them a reason to read more. This can sound complicated, but it’s easy to accomplish once you know what you’re doing. 

How To Establish Closure 

Think back to the last book you read. The chapters probably didn’t conclude with a concrete note that could be paired with a cursive the end but they certainly established some sort of closure to help wrap up the scene. 

When you write a chapter, you probably do it with a certain motive in mind. Authors often think something along the lines of ‘this chapter is supposed to accomplish this and that’ when planning a chapter, and once this is accomplished they end the chapter and move on to the next stage of their story. 

You don’t necessarily need to tie up all the loose ends and give your readers a concrete ending, but you do need to give them some sort of conclusion. 

The protagonist went back to their homeland and reached their family home safely. The antagonist snuck into the protagonist’s office and found the documents they were looking for. Give your readers some sort of ending, but also show them something to look forward to.

Following the previous examples, maybe the protagonist falls asleep knowing this is very likely the last moment of peace they will have for the rest of the week. Maybe the antagonist sneaks out with the documents, knowing they will use this to get the protagonist in trouble.

Cliffhangers 

Cliffhangers are a great way to end a chapter—they give your readers a motive to read more while also wrapping up the current scene. However, when used too frequently, cliffhangers can get boring and lose that special touch. 

So, how many cliffhangers are too many cliffhangers? 

When ending a chapter with a cliffhanger, you should first consider whether or not this actually qualifies as a cliffhanger. This might come as a surprise to some, but there is a big difference between a cliffhanger and breaking a scene into two in order to create some semblance of surprise. 

Here are some examples to help: 

A good cliffhanger: Your protagonist is ready to head to bed and nearly falls asleep, but suddenly feels uneasy. It’s then that they realise something is watching them. Or rather, someone. Except, the only problem is, they are almost certain they locked their room door and closed the curtains. So how could anyone be in their room?

A bad cliffhanger: Your protagonist is ready to head to bed and nearly falls asleep, but suddenly feels uneasy. It’s then that they realise something is watching them. Or rather, someone. It’s then that they sit up in bed and turn on the lamp on their bedside table, only to see…

The first example is an actual cliffhanger. It gives your readers a situation, builds up the stakes, and ends with a (figurative or literal) question. The second one starts the same way, but it ends by cutting a scene off halfway. That is an example of a redundant cliffhanger that an author is likely to use too many times for no reason. 

Starting Or Ending The Chapter Based On The Setting

As mentioned at the start, it’s important to know how to write a chapter’s starting or ending based on the setting and mood. 

Small factors such as word choice, pacing, the length of your sentences, etc. heavily impact the mood of your chapter. A chapter that jumps straight into a fight scene can’t start the same way as a chapter where the main character wakes up from a coma. 

The first step to writing a good beginning to your chapter is figuring out the tone you are aiming for. Do you want to sound urgent, fast-paced and make your readers feel tense? Do you want to create a calm and comfortable environment to make your readers feel as safe as your protagonist? 

Once you know your tone, you should customise your writing style to curate the perfect experience for your readers. You can read some of my previous blog posts to learn more about how to do this. 

I hope this blog on how to hook your readers with your chapter’s starting & ending will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper, and follow my blog for new blog updates every Monday and Thursday.  

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Haya’s book blog where I post writing and marketing tools for authors every Monday and Thursday. 

Want to learn more about me and my writing journey? Visit my social media pages under the handle @hayatheauthor where I post content about my WIP The Traitor’s Throne and life as a teenage author. 

Copyright © 2022 Haya Sameer, you are not allowed to repost, translate, recreate or redistribute my blog posts or content without prior permission

[cinnamonest]

Yandere Profile - Gorou

Warnings: DARK CONTENT, contains n///sfw, explicitly fem reader, noncon, violence/somewhat detailed description of a murder, dog mating stuff (knots, breeding/impreg, etc), pregnancy mentions in the appropriate section, ovulation mentions, yandere, mentions of biological traits as indicating sex, also Kokomi/the resistance an awful enabler here lmao

Note that I went with the idea of a resistance soldier darling for this one too!

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Severity Scale

Intelligence/Perceptiveness: 4.5 Brutality: 6 Physical capability: 6 Mental/emotional instability: 2 Restrictiveness: 4 Sexual sadism: 3-6 (varies on circumstances) Stubbornness: 6

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

Highly obvious in terms of a crush. If nothing else, he literally cannot control the tail and ears, it's involuntary. The moment you enter a room, his fluffy tail swishes back and forth rapidly, his ears perk up straight. His eyes lights up, his whole posture straightens up, he talks rapidly with an excited tone, gets fidgety and bouncy, shifting his weight back and forth on each leg while talking. Soldiers tend to snicker and stifle laughs watching him talk to darling, truly looking like an excited puppy bounding with energy. He's also completely unaware of it, he thinks he's doing a rather good job of making his voice sound neutral so as not to give away his excitement, but doesn't realize his tail is moving back and forth at the speed of light.

One very important aspect of Gorou is that he's a progressive yandere -- that is, he starts off fairly normal, the tendencies go under the radar, but he gets much, much worse as time goes on. These types of yanderes are the ones a darling is often highly susceptible to, because the slow decline makes it that much harder to catch. At first, you can blow things off as just a misunderstanding, a one-time occurrence, something you're just being paranoid about or overreacting to. And when it gets worse for these types, a darling tells themselves it must just be a bad mood or a recent negative occurrence in their life, after all, this is unlike them, not their usual behavior... and once it's past the point of no return, it's too late to escape, and often times a great deal of damage is already done or beyond the point of being able to prevent.

See, there's a delicate balance going on in his head... quite simply put, a conflict between "human brain" and "dog brain." Most of the time, the former is more "in control," so to speak, with only the occasional mannerism thrown in here or there like his body language via ears and tail, or something as simple as his aversion to onions. But his mannerisms, his speech, his social relations with others, his logical reasoning, his sense of self and capacity for self-control, all of those are dictated by his "human brain." We know he has some embarrassment over involuntary tail-wagging, and the same often applies to other things he's doing subconsciously without realizing, or things that accidentally cause people to stare at him. His human cognition is in control of his awareness and thoughts, so to speak.

But... that can be changed. Certain circumstances can cause a sort of shift, much like humans may act erratically on primal instincts or revert to child-like behaviors under intense stress or panic. Similarly, his brain tends to shift under moments of high adrenaline, such as the heat of battle, or intense emotions. This applies to positive emotions too; when he's extremely excited he gets jittery, stamping all around and tail swishing. If he's content while resting, he rolls over on his back (and yes he will gladly accept belly scratches, please give, if you start doing so, he'll get so lost in the euphoria that he forgets to be embarrassed until he snaps out of it).

However, it also applies to negative emotions. As mentioned, the heat of battle draws out a sort of aggression in him that would otherwise be uncharacteristic to his agreeable, amiable nature. And if he gets angry, jealous, possessive, that can, much like battle-induced excitement, draw out that same intense aggression... and, if the perceived threat or source of negative emotion persists, can turn to violence. To be honest, (and as addressed below), if it weren't for that aspect, he might not even turn to yandere tendencies at all.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

He doesn't really have much means to do so. Sure, he has status and respect among his troops, but that doesn't mean he can just flat-out commit a crime and they'd do nothing... at first, at least. He could never abandon his duties, but he has nowhere to keep you. He couldn't keep an eye on you when he needs to go out on patrols and the like, whereas if you're freely roaming, he can keep a better eye on you that way. Thus, he settles for following you around every waking moment, somehow always managing to (literally) sniff you out and pop up with a smile no matter how hard you're trying to avoid him. He sticks by your side, that's how he can protect you best! (Insert obligatory 'guard dog' pun here.)

Of course, he does ask, but this only earns a bizarre look of confusion from superiors... his protective instincts see it as so normal and logical to keep you locked away that he doesn't get why his appeal is rejected! Or why they're looking at him like that... Nonetheless, he has no choice but to begrudgingly accept the 'no.'

But, once again, this could change. See, it's remarkable, really, how easily people can be convinced to look the other way, to tolerate things, have their sense of what's right and wrong warped by the phenomenon of authority dictation and groupthink. Human socialization is quite the powerful force. If a person in a position of authority tells people to believe something, even if it goes against commonly accepted morality, the sense of authority itself can often cause people to question their standings and either silently accept something, or even see it differently. This is then accelerated by seeing others around them either supporting or seemingly supporting this new position, and thus, the effect spreads.

It's not that Kokomi supports such a thing, per se, but his way of dealing with rivals (as to be discussed below) is not exactly ideal, and she realizes very quickly how it has a ripple effect of negativity, creating high tension that just isn't good for anyone involved. He reaches a point where, if he's aggressive enough and causing enough problems, she feels she has to do something to resolve the situation.

And, well, when strategizing, sometimes you have to... consider the greater good. The whole, rather than the individual, is what must be prioritized. So if, say, one little person happens to go missing and be written off as a casualty, for the sake of communal harmony... well, that's fair, isn't it? It's only the logical solution. Better than trying to tell him no and to leave you alone, since he is so uncharacteristically aggressive regarding you and she doesn't know how to handle that. Thus, if you won't listen to a little bit of convincing on her end, she'll simply tell Gorou that you know what? He was right, you should maybe be kept tucked away where you're safe, as he's pleaded many times. He's rather quick to take her up on that offer, most likely quite literally dragging you off by force, talking over any protests with words of reassurance.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

Escaping is not too difficult -- these guards can rather easily be bribed, and sometimes when they're shorthanded, you might accidentally be left without guards at all, and Gorou is busy enough that you'll have plenty of time where he's absent. Although, of course, he does come speeding back to you as soon as he's done... he still has responsibilities, though, of course.

The challenge is staying escaped. And that is undoubtedly something that you'd question from the get-go -- could he sniff me out? -- but once you decide to take your chances, you quickly find the answer is yes, and with impeccable accuracy and speed, too. He can make a direct beeline for you in a matter of minutes, no matter how many loops or turns you take in an attempt to throw the scent off. Consequently, the only real way to try and get around that is to do exactly what one would attempt to do when trying to escape actual search dogs, wading through water... the problem then is that he's far smarter than a dog, and can thus make out where your footprints emerge on the opposite side of whatever body of water you've waded through, so that doesn't really help much either.

The only way you might be able to manage it is if you have a very significant time advantage and can get away hours before he even notices you missing, and not many such opportunities are going to present themselves. Otherwise, he's faster than you could ever hope to be, and he will find you, one way or another.

He doesn't... get why you'd try to run. He's already convinced himself, by that point, that you love him, so he assumes you must have gotten distracted (he gets it, he does that too sometimes, a couple of the soldiers like to tell this embarrassing story about this one time there was a squirrel and.... well, anyway), or maybe you just don't get that it's dangerous outside and that you have to stay where he can be certain of your safety. Or maybe you just want attention, or something. There's a million reasons he can think of that have nothing to do with you wanting to leave him, so he chooses to believe those, and, well, you realize it will be much better for you if you go along with what the delusion. He insists you can't go out like that again... if you want to go on a walk, just tell him! He loves walks! You can go together... where he can keep a good eye on you.

The first time, it's just that verbal warning, a slap on the wrist more or less. But if the offense is repeated, of course, he has to get more serious about it, gets more upset and frustrated about your foolishness, and eventually has to restrain you more firmly. Complain all you want, but this is your own fault, he says. He doesn't like doing it to you, either, but the cuffs stay on until you can learn to listen to him. After a few weeks, you can have the privilege of freely roaming your little room back.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

He is rather gullible. He's honest and good-natured to a fault, to a point that, when dealing with someone who is not one of the enemy, he often forgets that unlike with himself, it's all too common for others to lie or deceive. And this naivete persists despite how many times it's come back to bite him regarding all sorts of people who take advantage of it, it's just his immutable personality to be trusting of, and think positively of the intentions of, those people he likes.

That too is something you can take advantage of --  he's... he can be a bit slow to catch on, meaning that, for some strategies, you might be able to get away with fooling him the same way multiple times before he finally learns from it and catches himself falling for it before he's actually fallen for it. This is particularly true of any gestures of kindness or playfulness veiling different intentions, such as making him food that's poisoned, initiating a game or activity to distract him while you run, etc etc. Eventually, he will start realizing it sooner, catching onto what you're doing just in time and telling you you won't fool him this time with a sad grumble.

...But even then, if it's been a while since the last time you pulled that trick, he may let his guard down, and after a few months when you try it again, he may have forgotten his caution and fall for it all over again.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

Basically, the primary thing you'll be denied is interactions with others. It's the protective instincts kicking in -- everyone is an enemy. Not just to your safety, but also to his, ah, mateship, or so his brain tells him. He makes sure to butt in on any conversations you have, hovers over you at all times to ensure you never exchange a word with anyone that he's not fully present to witness. It's rather obnoxious. Also, even if he doesn't realize it, he tends to glare, which scares off your conversational partners.

But he does try his absolute best to get you things you like. Any sort of hobby or activity you want. Of course, this especially is true if it aligns with his own desires, such as taking walks or just running around outside. If you want (read: please, he wants), he'll even engage in slightly childish things for someone of his position, like playing tag or something, anything that means he can run around in the outdoors. But if you want to stay inside, that's fine too. You can nap if you want, he would like that too. If you have a book or something you want, he'll go to any length to procure it for you.

Also, for the time that you're still an active soldier of the resistance, he actually gets you special privileges. Well, you're probably tired, so you don't have to run all those extra laps like everyone else... you're delicate. You can have two portions of food. You don't have to wake up at the same early wake-up call like everyone else. He insists you take it easy. After all, it's not like you'll be fighting anyway, since that's something he can get you out of as well.

...No, you won't be fighting. He was being nice by offering, but was not expecting you to insist on doing so anyway... you don't understand. You can't be fighting. You'll get hurt! ...What do you mean you don't mind? Oh... you joined the resistance because you were willing to sacrifice yourself and all that... well, don't worry. You can do plenty of good without fighting. To be honest, in your time there, he might try to redirect you to the medical division. Safer there, he says. More your speed. Because if you're fighting, well, he's going to be keeping an eye out for you at all times, which will consequently significantly affect his own battle prowess, and they can't afford that.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

There isn't a lot to say here, despite the necessarily enforced rigid standards he has to apply to his soldiers, he doesn't really have anything specific he'd hold a darling to, especially when he's already slacking on applying the normal rules to you. After all, rules are just so that soldiers act in the proper way, but... there is no "proper way" for a beloved to act, is there? Sure, there's ways he'd like you to act, but, there's several problems with that. One, trying to force it would probably make you mad, and he doesn't want that... and two, it wouldn't be "real." He'd feel sad knowing you were only acting a certain way because you felt forced... he wants it to be real.

So, he'll just try to encourage certain things. If you do something that makes him happy, he goes overboard on expressing happiness and thanks, hoping it will serve as positive reinforcement. If you do something that upsets him, well... he'll try to express that too. He thinks so good of darling in the beginning, so he thinks surely you wouldn't do something that makes him upset... right?

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Much like his affections, you'll know his jealousy immediately by outward signs he can't hold back. His ears fall flat against his head, his body (and tail) tend to stiffen up. He tries his best to maintain politeness, even to someone he doesn't like... but sometimes, before he even realizes he's doing it, you can hear a low rumbling in his throat. It's a little bit embarrassing, to be honest, both for you and him. He tries to monopolize your time and attention, and makes sure you never talk to others without his presence.

But it gets worse. His mind has already solidified on the notion of you as a mate. To be protected and cherished. It feels strange, uneasy, uncomfortable, to watch you interact with others... but at first, he tells himself he needs to get a grip. Of course you need to interact with others... that's only fair.

But then, someone comes along who likes you. Likes you the same way he does. He can tell. The body language and tone of voice, the way they look at you, the way they glare at him. It makes him feel this twisting feeling in his gut, a burning sensation in his chest. And it makes him... feel twitchy. His hands curl into fists. He clenches his jaw. Flattens his ears back. It gnaws at his mind day in and day out, it's all he can think about, the resentment turns to hatred. An emotion he's not really used to feeling, given his general pleasant nature and fondness for everyone. It's an awful feeling. He can't sit still. His body won't let him rest until he does something.

Normally, he wouldn't kill someone, nor resort to violence... he would frown upon such a thing. But it's not exactly within his control. For his sake, let's hope it doesn't happen publicly... although it might. Still, it's best if the opportunity presents itself when he's alone. Or, rather, he's likely to just get up out of bed one night and go confront them. His body is on autopilot, not thinking about what he's doing, merely moving. Even if he doesn't know where they stay, he can locate them by their horrible smell that he's come to hate, that makes him gag.

And when he sees their face... his eyes trail down to their neck. A predator's instinct. That spot that is so vulnerable, that pulsates with vitality, that would be so easy to pin them to the ground, open his mouth, lock his jaw around that soft, fragile tissue... the taste of blood and high-pitched squeals only send him spiraling further into predator instincts, further away from any logical thought or reason, only the instinct to bite and rip and tear until there's nothing left but a mess so gory, the soldiers later draw straws or use some other determiner method to decide who has to clean it up.

He doesn't stick around. You'll never know exactly what his reaction was when he finally snapped out of it. Did he feel justified, or was he crushed with guilt? Who can say. Either way, he didn't bother hiding it, must have run off rather quickly. By the time morning comes around, when the entire encampment awakens to the sound of someone screaming and all the resulting chaos, he's nowhere to be found. He disappears for about a day. No one sees him leave, no one sees him return.

Thus, it's rather obvious. Even if not for his absence, it doesn't take a genius to figure out, considering his hatred for the person was so evident. But... he's a valuable asset to the resistance. Kokomi realizes that, and other higher-ups realize that. In the end... they actually look the other way. This was... an oversight, the result of not dealing with the problem sooner.

That problem being you. You're the factor that changed him and made him like this, and while they've been lenient until now, this is most likely the point where he's given the go-ahead to keep you restrained as he wants. They realize that they can't make him lose his attachment to you, but that as long as you remain free, this will likely happen again, so... it's for the greater good.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

For you, it's pretty difficult. He's so desperate to please you that most of the time, he's trying to suck up to you more than anything, and will feel guilty if you're mad. And, of course, it's just part of his natural disposition, he's a very easygoing person who is pleasant and agreeable, very easy to get along with, very open to compromise, very open to criticism... it's kind of just who he is. So, on his own, he's not a person that can be made angry very easily.

That being said, he can get frustrated. Particularly if he feels like he's being ignored, be it in the sense that he's not getting adequate attention as well as in the sense that you're ignoring his wishes or advice. Even then, it's just mild frustration, and he may sound a bit huffy or blunt, but even then, it's not outwardly a big difference.

Other people, though, can make him mad out of sheer protectiveness and defensiveness. It's another one of those innate instincts, telling him he needs to get mad, needs to snarl at someone, needs to be aggressive... but thankfully that, too, is temporary, it's a momentary defense designed as a protection mechanism. On those occasions, he tends to feel bad afterwards.... even if deep down he thinks he was somewhat justified, they did come too close after all! Still, he does feel guilty for causing a scene or snapping at anyone.

Of course, as mentioned above, if he truly gets so angry it turns to fury and hatred... at that point, he loses control of himself, and becomes highly unpredictable... but you can guarantee the result will be violent.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

Above. He's definitely, absolutely, completely and entirely the worshipper type. Once he develops emotional attachments, he can't help but view darling as the best person ever who can do no wrong and is perfect in every conceivable way... that sort of thing. And, yes, like everything else, it is most likely partially tied to the dog nature thing, with their tendency to idolize their humans, but even without that, he's just the type of person who automatically pedestalizes the one he loves.

To be honest, the soldiers are kinda sick of hearing about you. They avoid mentioning your name, because they know if they do, they're in for the full 3 hour speech on darling and everything from your birthday and favorite food and background and talents (how did he get that information?? You're certain you never told him half those things...) and how no one has ever ever ever been prettier or nicer than darling and... yeah. The full presentation. If it were an option, he'd give it as an attendance-mandatory, full-length speech presentation to the masses as a whole without a hint of shame.

Unfortunately, his comrades don't generally share his enthusiasm, which kind of hurts, confuses him as to how they don't want to hear every single detail of your person. If he were to stop and think about it rationally, he would realize he's obviously annoying people and that others aren't going to be as attached to you, but his brain simply cannot slow down and have that rationality when it comes to you.

At the same time though, if someone for some reason does share his enthusiasm, he finds himself hesitating. Wait. Why is this person so happy to hear about you?? Do they like you too? Suddenly his manic and excited monologue drops off, his tail stops wagging, ears flatten to his head, smile drops, and he's done a complete 180, starts questioning them as to their intentions, surely they don't think they could ever be as close to you or even come close to liking you as much as he does! And does this... make them a threat? What is the nature of their fondness for you? Are they going to take your time and attention? It's such a quick transition, it gives the other poor person whiplash as they try to defend themselves.

He also, notably, sees you as above everyone else. This is yet another motivator for consistent aggression towards anything perceived as a slight against you by anyone else. It leads to some rather embarrassing public confrontations.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

Honestly, his heart is fairly fragile. His soul is crushed by rejection. He's just so happy and enthusiastic about how much he loves you! You not returning that feeling is hard to comprehend... he doesn't make you as happy as you make him... that's a tough reality to accept. The first time he experiences rejection, he's so hurt that he avoids you for a while. Still watching from a distance, of course, but he doesn't know how to face you... and he sulks pretty badly, to the point that he even neglects responsibilities in favor of staying curled up in his bed and wallowing. In the end, it takes having some soldiers come more or less give him a pep talk and encouragement for him to get back to normal... unfortunately, the only thing that can soothe his sadness, perk his ears up again, is the notion that you'll come around with time.

That lifts his spirits! Do they really think so, he asks? Maybe there's still a chance? The very thought brings him back to his normal, responsible self, and soon he's back to training and organizing and everything else he normally does with full attention and competency. Thankfully, his emotions tend to be pretty easily swayed like that, he can easily be made happy with just the idea of something he wants coming true.

He sees it as just not having put in enough effort, that's all. He'll just keep trying. And he does. He gets you gifts, spends as much time with you as he can (not even considering that you might find it annoying), protects you (read: scares everyone else off so you can only talk to him), and compliments you (read: pedestalizes and idolizes you out loud to a point it's creepy and uncomfortable). But that doesn't seem to work very well... still, it's simply not in his nature to give up.

In the end, he just... convinces himself you do return the feeling. After all he's done, there's no way you wouldn't. You haven't pushed him away (you've tried doing so politely and subtly, he just doesn't get it), and you don't avoid him (you do, he's just so easily able to sniff his way to you within minutes that it doesn't seem like it). You just aren't very outwardly affectionate, don't express affection in an obvious way. That's all.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

If he were entirely human, he might be one of the mildest yanderes you could have, if even one at all.

But alas, he is not. Ultimately what drives his nature -- his intense jealousy, violent proclivities, stubbornness, possessiveness, hyperactive sex drive... all of that revolves around the canine part of his brain. His inherent nature as a person is incredibly forthright and amiable. He's honest, selfless, pure-hearted... everything you could want in a person. And to be fair, a lot of that friendliness and transparency of personhood is also a part of the canine nature, but it's the good side of that nature that is compatible with human interaction.

But dogs are still animals, and no matter how friendly they may be, they still have honed instincts and traits inherited from their non-domesticated ancestors... and Gorou is not really different in that regard. Even the friendliest, sweetest dogs can have a sudden turn of character when fighting over food... or mates. And their temperament will change in the blink of an eye when they do, from the sweet-faced soft dog to snarling and biting within an instant if needed. Similarly, much like what Kokomi mentions in her voice line about him, he can sort of lose control if he gets too heated. Instinct clouding his judgement and reasoning.

Gorou has never really been in a situation where this aspect of his person comes out so transparently either -- they only witness it on the battlefield, where it's expected, but it comes as a shock to many who know him to witness him get snappy outside of that setting, given that he's normally so pleasant and agreeable.

However, the fact that his yandere nature stems from his instincts, also means he can't be helped or reasoned with, or essentially, can't be stopped. Other yanderes may be able to be reasoned with, and if their possessiveness or sadism or jealousy stems from mental issues or complexes, dealing with the core of their issues, while likely not "curing" them entirely, may help them to calm down or lower the intensity of their tendencies significantly. Because their actions are, more or less, natural human feelings like jealousy or love that have been blown out of proportion by some anomaly or issue.

However, for Gorou, it is quite literally hardwired into his brain. It isn't that his nature has been exaggerated... it is his nature, at least one half of it. There is nothing that can be dealt with, no amount of therapy or convincing that could "fix" it, because it is his natural, default state, factory settings, so to speak... and that makes him that much more stubborn. Nothing you do can change him. You may at one point try to delve into his psychology to try and find something you can address, but there's just... nothing. No major complexes or traumas, no paranoias, no issues... it's just his nature.

But of course, as most of this is already addressed, there is some other important things to note, the first of which may or may not stem from canine nature, or may just be on its own from how diligent and talented he is... he does not know his own strength, athletic capacity, or roughness. At all.

As in, he will inevitably accidentally hurt you. He often finds himself accidentally getting too rough with trainees too, during sparring matches and the like. He always apologizes, didn't mean to knock them down so hard, he didn't mean to snap their wrist, he didn't mean to knock a tooth out. He feels bad about it, he really does. The others have kinda come to accept it.

For you, this means that when he grabs you by the arm because you're trying to walk away, and he pulls you back... whoops, didn't mean to sling you through the air and send you flying backwards into the wall like that. His grip slipped, that's all. He also didn't mean to tackle you so hard... but you were running away! Why would you do that? He didn't mean to throw you so hard, he didn't mean to sling you up over his shoulder so roughly, he didn't mean to nearly break your ribs when he gives you a hug. He apologizes again and again... it never seems to get better, though.

And one more thing... he will get jealous of an actual dog, when one happens to show up. Oh, the way you squeal in excitement, the way you pat its head and scratch its belly, you talk to it in that cooing voice, lean in and give it so many kisses... the universe is cruel and unfair. He will sulk about it the rest of the day.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

He's already high-drive to begin with, but he also has a bit of a reactive sexuality; that is, the more he likes the person emotionally, the more perverse and horny he becomes. The more he notices your scent and your appearance, the more of you he takes in, the more he reflects on just how much he likes your face and voice and the jittery, tingly feeling it gives him.

He's also very outwardly affectionate. It's a combination of the obvious influence, but also just how he is, he's a warm and friendly person, and so it makes sense that he loves being curled up with you, loves hugs, loves just sitting leaning shoulder-to-shoulder. His personal favorite, though, is sitting on the ground or in a chair or the like with you in front of him, so he can sprawl his legs on the outside of yours, with your back to his front, and let him wrap his arms around you, hugging you from behind. That is, of course, unless it makes him hard... which it will. Then it's an awkward attempt to maneuver himself in such a way that he can still hug you from the back without letting you feel the stiffness, which leads to some uncomfortable positioning, poor thing.

Speaking of which, the slightest of touches will put him hard as a diamond within moments. He's very touch-sensitive. It doesn't matter if it's nowhere near the organ in question, you can rub his ears, hug him, scratch his back or belly, anything will produce the same result. This also goes for visuals. An inch of bare skin, or just the outline of your shape, is enough to do the same. Or your smell. Or your voice. Just... expect him to be at full mast in your presence in general.

Unfortunately, masturbation doesn't quite scratch the itch for him in the way it does for people. It doesn't relieve him to nearly the same degree. His brain and body know the difference, his body is telling him to breed, not jerk off. Especially with your presence, the need begins to amount higher and higher, he begins to become more distracted, as if lost in thought, which isn't exactly great for someone in his position. He thinks about it all the time. It starts to consume his mind. He needs to stuff himself inside you, you have no idea. It's going to drive him insane if he can't, he thinks... and he may be right about that.

It's also basically the instinctive way he expresses affection. He is definitely in the touch category as far as a love language goes, both in the wholesome nuzzling sense and the sexual sense. He loves you. And it's because he loves you that he wants this so bad. The more he thinks about how much he loves you, the happier he feels, and the more his cock twitches. Just your presence makes him happy... and horny. Sure, he can do other things for you too, but it's just how he naturally processes his affection. Love is stored in the balls.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

It's not that he doesn't care. It's not that he doesn't love you, or respect you and your wishes... at least, part of him wants to respect you. He hates feeling like he'd hurt you. You just don't understand. It's overwhelming. It's like his body moves on it's own, like he can think of nothing else but pinning your down and mounting you. Nature doesn't exactly care. Animals don't have the complexities of the laws and consideration of others like human society does. So while his human brain wants to take it slow and wouldn't dare do anything you don't want... the other half can't hear anything but his body and brain screaming at him to breed you.

It most likely ends up occurring when he just cannot take any more. You push him over the edge, likely approaching him late at night during an ovulation cycle, which he can smell (as discussed more below). His body feels like it's on fire. He can't hear anything you're saying. He can feel his heart pounding. You're alone. It's just the two of you in this room, you called him in here to relay some information to him. And how could you be so cruel as to come so close, forcing him to breathe in that scent, then deny him his archon-given right to stuff his cock into you?

That's the logic his doggie brain uses, at least, for cutting you off mid-sentence, physically picking you up and throwing you face down on your bed. You're still reeling and confused when he climbs up onto the mattress behind you, practically ripping your clothes off just to get sheathed inside as quickly as possible. It happens so fast it's hard to process, it's all too overwhelming and he doesn't know how to go slow, grabbing your hips and pounding away without a single thought in his head of anything else. It doesn't last too long, either, and after a few minutes of panting and gasping, waiting for the knot to shrink, he falls onto the bed... and you would think he'd come to his senses and regain a sense of clarity, right?

Well, you'd be wrong. Mating you for the first time is sort of the snapping point for him into full delusion. His brain won't let him think anything less than the ideal. If he had to face the reality of it, what he's done... the guilt would eat him alive. He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

So, his mind tells him that it's all okay now. You accepted him, you took him so well (he was far too zoned out to hear your begging and telling him it hurt), so that must mean you love him. So when you're laying there, shivering with a blank stare, unsure of what to do, he just smiles and pulls you close into a firm embrace. You can see the way there's a lump under the blanket behind him going up and down with each tail wag.  He tells you he's happy, he loves you so much. He squeezes you so tight you feel like you're going to snap in two.

...And when you don't respond, the squeezing gets tighter, tighter, and in a sudden burst of panic, still dazed and confused, you repeat the words back to him, a quick slurred sentence you barely process. At least it makes the hug not feel like he's about to crush your ribcage.

He falls asleep very quickly after that, but his grip around you is like iron. You're left to stare up at the ceiling, trying to process what has happened, but when you start thinking of what to do from here... you feel your stomach sink as you find yourself questioning if anyone would believe you, and if they did, what would be done? They might even intentionally sweep it under the rug, try and get you to stay quiet...

You soon find out you won't even have the opportunity. From that point forward, he clings to you every waking moment that he can, provided you're not already in the stage where you're essentially imprisoned, which is even worse, since by that point you know they're all against you, and no one will help you. And even if you're not there yet, you'll progress to that soon.

And from then on, trying to convince him to stop or to let you leave, get him to leave you alone, is just met with instant aggression. It's actually quite frightening, he just does the same thing as always... that 'hug of death', as you come to deem it, the tight embrace that squeezes you tighter and tighter until you go quiet... if not from realizing you're digging yourself into a hole, then from the complete lack of oxygen after it reaches a certain point, or even passing out. Once he lets go, he just... seems to act like he didn't hear you. As if nothing is wrong. His mind pushes away any notion of anything else, and that's the way it will stay. You're happy with him... and you love being relentlessly bred every few hours, too.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

Breeding/Knotting

Yes. He has a dog cock. With a more blunt tip than a human's, and more noticeably, a thick, prominent knot. To stay nice and snug inside you, of course. So that you don't... accidentally pull yourself off. It gets stuck inside you so you can't pull it out... not until after he cums inside. So, uh, that whole begging him not to cum inside you isn't really his choice, either.

But he wouldn't dare use any form of protection beforehand, either. It just doesn't compute in his head. It makes no sense, his brain is left empty and blank trying to reason why in the world he would fight against the instincts screaming at him to bury his seed as deep inside of you as physically possible. Even in a moment of clarity or sympathy where he considers it, it's as if his brain and body revolt against the idea. No, he has to cum inside... although he does like seeing it on the rare occasion just a bit drips out.

And the reason that's a rare occasion is because the knot takes about five minutes for the swell to go down, to make sure the cum doesn't spill. There's a LOT of it too, enough to create a bit of distension even, and it's so much and so thick you can feel it inside of you. It... feels gross, to be honest, but he's so happy, holding you close and nuzzling against you, you don't want to ruin his happiness (be it out of genuine pity or just for your own sake). If doggy-style, he'll just kinda flop to the side, taking you down in the process, spooning you and holding you close until the knot goes down, or if missionary/riding, he'll lean forward (and push you onto your back, if riding) and flop on top of you. He's... kinda heavy, too, but once again, you know better than to say anything, and thankfully it doesn't last too long.

And finally, the knot goes down enough to pull it out, but there's still the shape in the middle when he pulls it out, as it takes a really long time to go down all the way. The thing is, it makes the most godawful, wet popping noise when he pulls the knotted part out. Makes your skin crawl. Ugh.

Oral Fixation

Primarily a giver. Honestly, it's only a sexual thing part of the time, it also just tastes good. He could just lay there for hours doing the same thing, lazily lapping it up... well, if he had to be slow about it, otherwise he gets over-excited and more aggressive about it, digging his fingers into your hips, rutting into the mattress below. His excitement tends to get the better of him.

Honestly, though, it can be frustrating, because the rapid speed at which he licks and laps means it's not a very firm force, which can make it difficult to reach a climax. So frequently you're right on the edge, but the light touch just isn't quite enough, and when he's in that headspace, he's pretty much zoned out to anything you say. But if you grab him by the ears and hair and tug him closer, he'll kinda get the message... if, of course, your hands are free, which they likely won't be.

Also, if you're on your back and he's on his stomach, his tail wags as he does it from the excitement. In a more consensual session, it's kinda cute, but when it's less so, it just feels mocking.

Scent Kink

Fun fact: do you know why dogs will so often come up to a new person and sniff them all over? That's because of apocrine glands, which both of our species possess, that carry a lot of information about us. Dogs can sniff out things like the sex and general age and mood of a person, but also even ovulation and pregnancy. In particular, male dogs are known to be rather intrusive and pushy in regards to getting close enough to determine ovulation... the ability to mate. And yes, they can tell in humans too, not just other dogs. If the scent matches up, that's basically their brain telling them to go ahead and mount!

And Gorou's sense of smell is rather good. Granted, he likes the smell of you in general, both in the "you smell like flowers and sunshine" way where he likes to smell your neck, hair, etc, and general scent, but also in the "let me bury my face between your legs and ascend to heaven" way. It is actually somewhat bothersome at first, especially for a self-conscious darling, that he's always wanting to stuff his face with your cunt every time you get behind closed doors, but you quickly realize he truly likes it, so it should be fine, right...?

However, especially prior to an established relationship (or "relationship"), you'll notice on some days more than others, he seems to stiffen when you come close, his pupils visibly dilate, he shifts around where he's sitting and his thighs squeeze together. His breathing is heavy and labored, and even though you're talking, he doesn't seem to be listening, staring straight at you with wide eyes and a pink tinge to his face. Of course, you have no way of even thinking as to how it might correlate to your reproductive cycles, you're just stuck wondering if he's sick or something... and why he's looking at you like that.

Life is so unfair. Real dogs mate everywhere and it's 'just nature,' but when he wants to mount you in the middle of the makeshift-mess-hall camp where everyone is eating, it's 'public indecency' and 'sexually aggressive.' Hmph.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

He has strong instincts to breed, it's just one of those things his brain is programmed to desire more than the average human. He's not necessarily going to bring it up, he doesn't really consciously think about it, it's more of just an ever-present subconscious urge. But as aforementioned, he can't not raw you, it's just what his brain tells him to do! And can you really blame him for that?

Unfortunately, his biology works so that you will inevitably have at the very least 3 or 4 at a time... if not 5... or 6. Which might sound utterly horrifying, but don't worry! Or so he says. He... can't think of anything that would really calm you down, but... he's really happy about it! So hopefully he can make you happy too, he just tries to share his aura of enthusiasm and hopes it's contagious.  If you actually do panic or have a nervous breakdown over it, he feels bad, but he tries to comfort you to the best of his ability... reassuring you that everything will be alright, he'll make sure you have the best of help throughout, and he'll be a great father, just you wait and see... but of course, not breeding you is out of the question.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

He bites. And he's got some rather sharp teeth, too. It's not a planned, intentional thing, it's just the instinct when he's angry. Normally, he has at least the self control to remember it hurts and refrains from biting into your flesh when you're just mating as usual, but if he's mad, he will instinctively sink his teeth into your shoulders and neck, leaving you with tons of little red indent circles all over when he's done. It's primarily to hold you still, seeing as he's also thrusting into you with slamming force, which sends your body lurching forward with each snap of his hips. Not to mention you're squirming, clawing at the ground and trying to crawl forward and away from him... to be fair, you can't pull yourself off the knot anyway, but keeping his canines sunk into your jugular helps.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

Tiddies. Big or small, doesn't matter, he just likes seeing them and resting his head on them. Besides, he associates them with puppies and milk and all those other signs of breeding. Not to mention, he really really likes just holding things in his mouth sometimes, and sucking on them is a preferred option for that.

Also, it's not exactly a body part per se, but darling's scent. He finds it comforting, relaxing... and arousing, depending on which parts of you he's closer to... but nonetheless. He could, and will, just rest his head on your chest or your lap for hours, taking long deep breaths, inhaling the essence of "you" and everything he associates with it. It's a great way for him to relieve stress or nervousness.

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[maddiviner]

Could studyblogging jumpstart your personal grimoire?

A witch should be a lifelong learner. To practice effective magic, you must grow in new directions at a constant pace. A witch should approach magic with a sense of devotion to their own growth.

I’ve practiced magic and divination for two decades now. The most solid advice I can give? Start journaling. Start keeping a notebook. Start studying.

Witches who keep a notebook record their research and ideas about the Craft. This helps them build a wide repository of knowledge, right there when they need it.

The format and content of my notebooks changed a lot over the years. But they all helped me become the witch I am today. I devoted the bulk of these notebooks to my journey in magic, techniques to try, and lessons learned.

There are few people who haven’t studied. In school, we pore over geometry and classic literature in hot pursuit of elusive high marks. We spent time learning about our interests. Whether that’s witchcraft, philosophy, or astronomy, notes are helpful.

Everyone learns in a different fashion. Still, studying and learning about the world remains with us from our first breath, to the last. My Craft took leaps forward when this dawned on me. I’d always enjoyed school. I realized that I could apply the same study techniques to witchcraft and the occult. 

What’s studyblogging?!

As a regular user of both Tumblr and Instagram, I soon came across the studyblogging trend. 

Caitlyn Tiffany of The Verge describes the studyblogging phenomenon as “a beautiful, stressful wonderland.” An apt description! But what is a studyblog? 

Studyblogging hashtags like #studyblr and #studygram  are popular (on Tumblr and Instagram, respectively).  

For someone just coming across the phenomenon, though? It can be difficult to penetrate this strange world. Expect calligraphic chaos, a plethora of highlighters, and fine-tuned aesthetics. 

Studyblogging focuses on the quest for knowledge. In practice, studyblogs share tips and handwritten notes on various subjects. Studybloggers encourage each other to be the best learners they can be. 

The photos of notes, assignments, and other tasks make up the bulk of the phenomenon. Studyblogs often feature photos of elaborate calligraphy and heavy illustration in note form.

Expect to see self-made diagrams of mitochondria. Essay outlines on postcolonial theory with nigh-perfect bubble lettering. Vast, illustrated mind-maps of Shakespearean themes. It's a big community, and there's room for a lot. Room for witches? I think so!

Studyblogging for Witches

In witchcraft, our grimoires function much like a non-magical student's study notes. The content, and some of the form, may differ, but the principles are the same.

The quest for an aesthetically-pleasing grimoire stymies many a beginner (and not-so-beginner) witch. The wise remind us that our grimoires needn’t be complex. Functionality is more important than aesthetics in most cases. 

That said, there is something worthwhile about keeping a grimoire that suits you. A  grimoire can speak to your soul, both by way of aesthetic appeal and your own abilities. For some of us, this might mean a lavishly-illustrated tome. Others might find minimalist styles more resonating. It varies.

The truth is that yes, your grimoire needn’t look a certain way or be perfect. Still, a level of aesthetic appeal can help with information retention. It can also boost your magical productivity. Humans respond in an intuitive fashion to that which they consider beautiful.

Aesthetics can help to put you into a liminal state. Liminality can be a powerful tool in self-improvement. This, in turn, is useful not only for normal studying, but also for the Craft itself. 

If you see art as part of your life path, you might find that approaching your grimoire as a work of art helpful. Part of this means realizing that it won’t be perfect, but also always striving to learn and grow.

Studyblogging, as a community, showcases a lot of excellent notebook and journal-keeping techniques. Studybloggers often provide tutorials and guides to effective learning methods. 

This is, of course, all while celebrating the joy of learning itself. Traditional studying methods can apply to magical topics. I have found that the techniques of the studyblogger can help with keeping a useful grimoire.

Ask your intuition if studyblogging is right for you!

Will studyblogging help you? For some students, lurking or keeping a studyblog inspires and motivates them. It also increases accountability. By posting their goals and progress, studybloggers have an impetus to progress. 

In a way, it’s a bit like livestreaming a video game - it makes the experience more challenging, and also more exciting. The difference, of course, is that, in this case, your game is learning!

And the notes? Many find the calligraphy, fancy scripts, and illustration soothing. It can be a way of making otherwise impenetrable subjects more captivating.

Without a doubt, aesthetic presentation improves information retention for some people. Humans have a positive response to beautiful imagery. 

Some folks find the gorgeous landscape of studygram and studyblr overwhelming and anxiety-inducing. Gorgeous calligraphy notes, after all, aren't easy for most people. 

For some, posting about your studies on a blog might only increase worry. We're all different, and studyblog techniques are hardly universal in form.

You should use your intuition to decide whether to dip into this community. Ask yourself whether an audience will help your quest for deeper knowledge. 

Will you feel empowered, or nervous about it? If you struggle with comparing yourself to others, you might find studyblogging discouraging. 

I myself am somewhat of a perfectionist. For me, though, the artistic aspects of note taking and information illustration soothe me. Studyblogging suits me, but will it help you?

You should tailor your learning experience to your own strengths. If that means studyblogging won’t help you, be honest with yourself and don’t chase the anxiety of it all. Find another method of learning. 

Browse some existing studyblogs - I recommend EmmaStudies and StudyQuill. Ask yourself how it makes you feel. Do the images and writing seems inspirational? 

Would you enjoy sharing your work with the world? Studyblogging might become an ally on your magical path!

Taking the Plunge

So, how do you start a studyblog? How do you get involved in the community?

The most popular studyblogging platforms are Instagram and Tumblr. Instagram lends itself to posting tons of pictures and very short-form posts. Tumblr favors longer prose. 

When I started studyblogging, I created both a studyblr and a studygram. I recommend starting a new account on the site of your preference for studyblogging.  

Follow some existing studybloggers as a way of introducing yourself to the community! Also, follow the hashtags #studyblr and #studygram, to start.

What to study?

Studyblogging features students focused on all kinds of topics. I’ve been studyblogging for over a year. In case you’re wondering, it's rare for someone to complain about my witchy take on studyblogging. 

You’ll find the studyblogging community very welcoming in most cases. But what will you study? I always recommend witches focus on only one or two things they’d most like to learn at a time.

Studyblogging lends itself well to in-depth topical research. This can mean learning the signs and language of astrology or the basics of gemstone magic.

Topics like shadow work or personal Tarot readings might be a bit too personal to blog about. Those might be better suited to normal, private journaling rather than a blog. My own studyblogging tends to focus on my writing preparation, astrology, and Tarot. 

Though I’ve been reading for over twenty years, there is always something new to learn about Tarot. Astrology, like Tarot, is a lifelong discipline. Though I’ve only recently made my first steps into it, there is much to learn. My writing, especially the book I’m working on, has its own notebook.

Possible topics include, but are in no way limited to:

Crystals and gemstones

Astrology

Spellcraft

Mythology and legends

Magical history

Energy work techniques

Seasonal and Lunar cycles

Herbology

Tarot, Lenormand, or oracle deck divination!

It is important to choose topics that interest you in a personal way. At the same time, try not to get distracted. Witchcraft includes many paths of study. Try not to jump from topic to topic - finish what you start!

Supplies

If you’re in school, you may already have a lot of the tools necessary for studying. If not, you can get them for an affordable price in most cases.

Paper matters!  You'll want a notebook or loose leaf binder paper. For hardbound notebooks, you can’t go wrong with a Leuchtturm 1917.  That popular notebook boasts dot grid paper, includes page numbers and a place for an index. 

Seeking something more aesthetic? Check out the Paperblanks series from Peter Pauper Press. You might also like the notebooks you can order from Citrus Bookbindery. For me, a binder (I use A5 size) works best, because I can add and remove pages as necessary. 

You can find some great guides out there about organizing grimoires. Much of that advice applies here. Your notebooks will soon fill the role of a grimoire.  They will contain your notes, research, and more.

It is usually best to have one notebook (or binder) for each subject you’re studying. As you move forward, you’ll have a collection of grimoire notebooks on different topics.

You’ll also need pens or pencils. Really, you only need one. If you feel like getting fancy, you can get multicolored fineliners. I prefer Sakura Micron pens. They use waterproof micropigments that don't bleed when you highlight over your writing.

Highlighters are fun! These add color to your notes and help emphasize the important things. If you want nice highlighters, I recommend Mildliners. Any highlighters will do, though - choose colors that appeal to you. I recommend several different colors, because that allows you to color-code your notes.

Plan!

Plan out, at least in a rough fashion, how you’d like to organize your  notes. This can be rather freeform, or complex, depending on your preference. 

When I began my astrology journey, I knew what sections I would include in my stars grimoire. I also created a rough map of the path I’d take in my research. 

I began with the simple Zodiac signs. I then moved forward through the planets, houses, aspects and transits. My organization, loose though it was, benefited from my use of a binder which allowed me to add and remove pages. 

No matter the notebook, it is important to have, somewhere, a rough idea of where you’re going.

You will also find it important to set attainable, realistic, and measurable goals. For me, this was things like memorizing the astrological house system. I set the goal of reading my astrology textbooks completely and summarizing them. This kind of goal leads to personal accountability.

I also created a set of astrological flashcards for my Tarot-related work. It can be motivational to post your goals on your studyblog in some form. Then, you can provide your followers with regular updates on your progress.

Start posting!

Once you feel ready, go ahead and introduce yourself to the studyblogging community! An introductory post, explaining who you are, your goals, and methods, will help others get to know you. 

I recommend tagging your posts with studyblogging hashtags (mentioned above). Also include some witchcraft-related tags! This will help you connect with other witches who might be helpful on your journey.

Don’t be shy when it comes to posting photographs (taken with a phone or other camera) of your notes! You might not feel that your notes are as neat or pretty as other bloggers. Regardless, they’re unique and might resonate with others!

If you’re taking notes about a very personal topic, like shadow work, you might want to forgo the pictures. Some bloggers obfuscate or blur potentially sensitive parts of their notes. You’ll likely find nothing but encouragement for sharing your research topics, though!

Some studybloggers will also photograph their study space. Some of us even use photos of fun things like their breakfast or pets to illustrate their updates. If pictures don’t suit you, post regular bits about your life and your progress towards your goals. 

Get to know other bloggers! This is important, whether they’re witches or from the studyblogging community. Both can be helpful! 

Watch or read some of the tutorials you’ll find in the studyblogging community. These focus on things like calligraphy, organization, and memory techniques. 

While your notes needn’t have fancy headings, calligraphy can be fun to learn. I don’t currently use calligraphy in my notes, but am learning it on the side, so to speak. 

I find it relaxing, and you might enjoy it too. If not, don't feel bad - not everyone uses fancy handwriting, and that's okay!

Moving Forward

If, after a few weeks, you find yourself really vibing with studyblogging, stick with it! Most witches would agree that there’s no real wrong way to be a witch. To me, though, there are wrong (and right) ways for you yourself to learn and grow in your craft. 

You need to find what works for you, what adheres to your soul and keeps you connected. If studyblogging ends up helping you, and I hope it will, keep going! 

After a while you might find yourself ready to move onto another topic. We all end up “graduating” forward onto other subjects. You’ll quickly find that your grimoires will be an invaluable record. 

They will contain not just your gathered information, but also your intuition, insight, and more. Cherish your notebooks - they will come to reflect your essence!

[blind-alchemists]

Meta-Analysis of the Rift Mage Specialization

I said in February I was going to do it, and it only took me seven months to follow through!

Anyway. Analyzing game-play elements for narratives purposes has become somewhat of a hobby of mine ever since I really got into GameLit. Then, I started "fangs" and felt that my fight scenes were boring, so I build ability trees reminiscent of DA:I's for my OCs. You know, as you do. During that process, though, the lack of banter acknowledging several choices struck me as odd. Especially regarding specializations. Especially when it comes to Solas'.

We’ll be taking a look at (in order)

1. Description

2. Codex Entry

3. Skills

a. in comparison to DA: II’s Primal & Force Mage

4. Specialization Dialogue with Solas

5. Conclusion

Disclaimer: I talk a lot (this post might have about 2.5k). And, I promise you, you'll be tired of seeing 'the Fade this' and 'the Veil that' at the end of it.

Description

“These mages draw upon the force of the Fade, either pulling matter from the Fade to attack or twisting the Veil itself into a weapon to stagger or crush their enemies.”

[source – DA wiki; bolding mine]

So, lore-wise, mages do ‘draw upon the Fade’. Sure. But do they ‘pull matter from the Fade’? Absolutely not.

Physical things and the Fade rarely mix well. Plus – this is mainly my theory – the way magic is utilized (the 'drawing upon the Fade part') requires it to pass through the Veil. Magic being a form of energy, and thus not physical, does not constitute to ‘pulling matter from the Fade’.

That's the first thing other mages (read: Dorian, Vivienne, possible the Inquisitor) should (or could) have referenced in banter/dialogue.

The rest of the sentence ('twisting the Veil into a weapon') is also highly interesting, since there is little known about the Veil. Nobody knows how it works. And, thus, nobody should be capable enough to manipulate it consistently enough to use it as a weapon. But considering it's Solas who gets this specialization - well. He knows the Veil well enough, don't you think? (Which is why I think Rift Mage should have been Solas' personal, individual specialization like Fenris' Lyrium Ghost, but I just really like personalized skill trees in general.)

However, having answered that question, connecting magic so closely to the very thing can be described as a “magical vibration that repels the Fade”, I'm curious about how it would work. Since, you know, mages are inevitably tied to the Fade. Wouldn't the Veil repel a try to manipulate it by a mage? Is using mana the same thing as drawing energy from the Fade? If so, it would be straight-up impossible to actually use such a method for any ordinary mage (read: not Solas). If mana can be used without the Fade, it would be possible, but is such a thing feasible? Can you switch between spells and Veil quickly enough without horrific consequences such as possibly tearing yourself apart?

Very interesting topic. Would love to go into it more, but at that point, I'd become subjective, so let's end it here.

To summarize: Rift mages do things (physically pulling things from the Fade plus using the Veil) normal mages don't do. There is also a chance, logically speaking, that no one else but Solas (or mage!Inquisitor) can accomplish such a feat without dying a horrific death.

Codex Entry

From "Power Bleeds: Harness the Flow." Your Trainer's words make one passage stand out:

There are no tomes dedicated to this manipulation. There has been no time for academics, only the practical—and not in a manner that mitigates risk. Power in a raw form has found an outlet, both visible and in ways that only we of arcane proclivity can sense. The risk is great.

An account:

From this page forward, these are the notes of Thelric. They began as the work of my mentor Julion, and I will continue in the research she began, as she cannot, because she is dead. The rift we were examining did not react well to her last investigation. We believed ourselves prepared for demonic manifestation. We were not prepared for how the energies we expected would be encountered. Well-versed in the forces that magic can produce, my senior was surprised by an alteration, a deviance. That which previously had to be coaxed is now a flood that must be staunched. The same amount in different intensity, quick to expose fault in the way it is accessed. She drew too much, expecting resistance. There was none, and her form suffered the brunt. Tread carefully in studies of new matters, for I cannot unsee the end of her.

Scattered symbols and sketches follow.

[source – DA wiki; bolding mine]

Apparently DA:I has a thing for hiding the true horror in Codex Entries and off-hand comments.

Here, we learn one key fact: The school of Rift Magic is relatively new ('no tomes dedicated to this manipulation'). I think it's safe to assume the possibility - and thus research concerning it - emerged around the time the Breach appeared. So it's new, people have no idea what they're doing, but it somehow works. A little like the whole time magic thing, funnily. (That brings me back to a lot of questions I have about the Veil: Just how powerful is it? Just how deeply is it intervened with Thedas?)

Reading further, the entry seems to (only) stress how dangerous Rift Magic is. Who would have thought! No, really, it's a fair point to empaphize. I'm not certain the Trainer and his previous teacher (or anyone else but Solas) know what kind of role the Veil plays in this, and so of course experiments are going to get ugly. The Veil holds a much greater importance than the people of Thedas realize.

And, in a very similar vein: The people of Thedas don't know much about directly interacting with the Fade through, say, a rift, which poses another risk. The wiki entry establishes two things in particular that are relevant here: Using spells (in the Fade itself) has unpredictable results, and one can draw unprecedented power from it while sleeping.

The codex entry cited above proves that. A rift is a direct connection to the Fade, and thus unpredictable ('She drew too much, expecting resistance. There was none') and that power is too much to handle ('her form suffered the brunt').

My theory is that, while a certain flunction is natural to the Fade, the Veil also plays a role here. Which I'm not sure. But it has one.

Personally, I wouldn't be sure the risks of a horrific death outweigh the benefits of power, but let's look more in depth at that!

Skills

Which brings me to the abilities themselves.

The first two you can choose from are Veilstrike and Stonefist. (Which I think should have had their names changed but, oh, well.)

Veilstrike: “You recreate your own fist from the essence of the Fade and smash nearby foes to the ground.” (Upgrades being Punched Down and Wounded Veil, but they don’t have anything interesting for this analysis. Note the names, though.)

Curious here is the 'recreate [...] from the essence of the Fade' part here. On first glance, it sounds like a rather ordinary spell, right? But it's not. That's just the 'hiding in plain sight for the first playthrough' aspect of Solas' character.

Mages do shape their spells with energy from the Fade (as far as my assumptions go). Maybe they can also recreate something. I'll give them that much. But the essence of the Fade - the inherit, unchanging nature of it - can't be manipulated by them. I think that's specifically a trait only Dreamers can have. (More evidence for my 'Rift Mage should have been Solas' personalized, individual specialization' hc!)

There is an argument to be made if this already constitutes for 'pulling matter from the Fade', but this isn't even the funkiest part yet.

Stonefist: “You summon a boulder from the Fade and smash it into your target, sending them flying.” (Upgrades being Shatterstone and Unblockable Force.)

'Summon a boulder from the Fade', you know, as in, bring physical matter from the Fade to the other side of the Veil. A thing that is pretty much unheard of. Remembers what happens to spirits when they pass violently through the Veil? There is an entire game dealing with that. (I mean, stones won't hopefully turn into demons, but my point is that bringing things through, usually, is not a wise idea.

Another thing someone could have commented on.

Passives: Restorative Veil, Encircling Veil, Smothering Veil, Twisting Veil.

Unfortunately, neither of these descriptions give me much, but they all have the ‘Veil’ component in their name, so that’s interesting.

Upon closer inspection, the Veil can function in a variety of ways: speeding up mana recovery, further weakening enemies, boosting your own damage. (Veilstrike being an example of a means of attack.)

Now, my question here would be: Do over mages notice changes in the Veil? Do they feel it shift and bend? If not, well, that's one thing. if they do, even subconsciously, I'd want banter. (I want a lot of banter, though. Just generally speaking.)

Pull of the Abyss: “You create a tiny rift that pulls enemies toward a central point.” (Upgrades being Shaken Veil and Devouring Veil.)

I can live with never hearing anything about everything else. Sure. But this one? This damned skill? You're telling me I read that the first time I played the game, nodded, and that was it?

'You can create a tiny rift-' I'm sorry, do you what now? After a good a couple of hours of learning just how bad rifts are?

And the upgrade names. Shaken Veil, Devouring Veil - is there anything this thing can't do, except for becoming more and more horrifying and giving me bad vibes ofr whatever DA4 will do with it?

Firestorm: “You summon flaming meteors, raining fire down upon enemies all over the area for the next several seconds. This ability consumes and is powered by focus.”

This one is ... honestly, I don't like it being here. It's an AOE skill, which does fit in with the rest, but it's fire and it seems rather randomly assigned compared to other focus abilities with a more personal note (Haste, Rampagne, Cloak of Shadows, Mark of the Rift).

Doesn't give a lot here to analyze, except that raining down flaming meteors is the level of (global) destruction I can see happening in the future if Solas isn't stopped. So. That's fun.

(It's the ultimate skill in the Fire/Ice tree in DA:II, or at least the ability there has the same name.)

DA: II Comparison

Nearing the end, I'll take a brief look at the Force Mage specialization from DA:II and the Primal base skill tree for mages. Both have some interesting similarities.

First, Primal.

Stonefist: “The mage hurls a stone projectile that strikes with massive force.”

It's only the name and the effect, honestly, but it is curious to see it in a skill tree that focuses exclusively on the elements earth and lightning. (Because Pride demons also use electricity ... yeah, yeah. I'm reading too much into this.)

Petrify: “The mage entombs an enemy in stone, leaving the foe temporarily unable to move. However, the target becomes more resistant to damage for the duration of the spell.”

This has nothing to do with Rift Mage, but in light of Trespasser, I'll just leave it here for your consideration. Petrifying people is neither new nor exclusive to Evanruis.

Now, onto Force Mage.

Fist of the Maker: “The mage slams enemies into the ground with incredible power, against which armor is no protection.”

The effect sounds like Stonefist (Primal) and Veilstrike.

Pull of the Abyss: “The mage conjures a maelstrom of energy that draws enemies to its center while slowing them to a crawl.”

This one is similar to the Rift Mage skill with the same name, so it might have served as an inspiration (or base).

Overall, though: nothing much to say here. Maybe I could talk more about Rift Mage being focused on crowd control, but that is probably for game-play balance. I could connect that to Solas' character and analyze every little thing to death. I'm not doing it, though.

Specialization Dialogue

Solas: You have begun practicing new magical forms. Interesting. You seem to be drawing upon the raw substance of the Fade, likely using your mark as a catalyst. I use similar techniques, although it took me years to learn that. Why did you choose such an esoteric area of study?

Inquisitor: (if chosen) I hoped that studying such magic would me help better understand the Fade.

Solas: While our fight affords little time for formal study, the wise can better themselves even in the midst of battle. Perhaps especially then. I hope your new studies serve you well.

[source]

Let’s go through this slowly.

‘You seem to be drawing upon the raw substance of the Fade-’ Alright, we’ve talked about that. Makes sense he’d comment on it. ‘likely using your mark as a catalyst’ Sorry? The Inquisitor is doing what? I’m not saying it’s not possible, I’m just saying it might not be an overly smart idea to use the Anchor in that way. Because it’s attached to the Inquisitor’s arm. And because the Inquisitor knows what happens if it snaps out of control. So, purposefully doing something that might cause you agonizing pain? Mh. Yeah. No, thanks.

Also. The 'drawing upon the raw substance of the Fade' part makes me think that the Anchor does give the Inquisitor Dreamer-like abilities. Forcefully, and possibly difficult to control, and the Inquisitor might not be aware of it, but. That would be an interesting aspect to explore.

‘I use similar techniques, although it took me years to learn that’. Well. Yeah. Mostly a sound response, except I’m not really sure it's true. Why does he say years? Because he didn’t go right to sleep after creating the Veil, or because he studied such methods theoretically beforehand? I doubt he refers to the time Inquisition spans, because it’s not that long, cannocially, (isn't it like ... a year? I forget what the devs said), but … I don’t know. It doesn't sit right with me. Solas never truly outright lies, so there is probably some merit in it.

‘Why did you choose such an esoteric area of study?’ That’s … an interesting way to ask. Sure, there is a very small group who has this specialized knowledge, but it feels a little like deflection.

The rest of the conversation doesn’t give much for me to analyze.

Conclusion

TL;DR: There should have been banter. Or Rift Mage should have been a personalized, individual specialization.

Pull of the Abyss is the funkiest skill in the entire game, from a meta-perspective, because tearing a hole into the Veil is the opposite of what the Inquisitor is trying to do.

There are also many more questions than answer to take away from this regarding the Veil and the Fade and how Solas manages not to blow his cover, but I believe there are theories about at least the two former points out there.

I thank you very much for bearing with me for this long!

[mybg3notebook]

The Party Scene

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536 (Early access). As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in June 2021.

In these “scene posts” I will explore the scene of the title looking for the information in the dialogues. What I will be looking for is how much Gale “lies”, how much lore is provided, and any extra detail that may be of our interest to highlight. At the end of these posts there are summary points for those who don't want to read the whole post.

Additional disclaimers about meta-knowledge and interpretations in this (post) while disclaimers about Context in this (one).

The party scene, I personally think, needs plenty of polishing. The fact that many characters can have a "jealous" behaviour towards Tav no matter their approval looks suspicious to me. Gale's case is even weirder because if Tav did not romanced him at all, Gale will still share those judgemental comments that seem to come from jealousy, as well as strange dialogue options about “being a bad loser” when the context is not romantic at all. This would make some sense—to a certain extent—if Tav romanced him, but if Tav locked him as a friend, it has no purpose. Especially if Tav explores the option of suggesting him to spend the night together, which ends with Gale rejecting the situation because "they are just good companions" after such display of incoherent jealousy coming from a char who values privacy (and therefore would not meddle into Tav's personal affairs). It seems to contradict his character and therefore, it makes me suspect that the whole party scene is just very raw and unpolished in general. 

As I said, the party interaction is very confusing since it doesn't follow the relationship context created by Tav, and in Gale's case looks inconsistent with his char as well, inviting a strong misinterpretations of his character (this is probably a consequence of the decision of making Gale part of EA in the last moment). So this scene analysis may be a bit messy since the scenes are messy too (hence this post's length. I'm sorry). 

Whether Gale was locked into friendship or romance, Gale drops his famous line: 

As they say in Waterdeep: In wine there is truth. That's usually followed by: In water there is good sense. Good sense will have to wait till the morrow.

A great warning line from a narrative point of view: he is basically saying that what will be shared that day under the effect of wine is true, but it certainly won't be "good sense".

In a friendship path, he would not want to waste Tav's time any longer, and will bid them a good night while promising a bed-story the next day. In that case, the wine line could be interpreted as the final decision of a confession that will happen the next day: Gale has finally reached a degree of trust in Tav that gives him enough courage to finally speak about the details of the "orb" (and I emphasise details because in broader aspect, he already shared what's most important: the "orb" in his chest is a dangerous thing. If Tav assisted with his death protocol, this is undeniable by now, unless Tav allowed him to keep his privacy). 

In a romantic path, this wine line could be interpreted as the decision of inviting Tav to share a night, and explaining the details in the morning, the “good sense”. After the wine phrase, we have other piece of prose in which Gale describes a book that it's a bit more than a sexual book:

Gale: Allow me to make the following proposition: there is a book that circulates in Amn, detailing the first thousand nights of a newly-wed king and queen. They turned everything they did into an art. The art of conversation. The art of taste, time honoured and newly acquired. The art of the body. The exploration and acceptance of the self and the other. The art of the night itself. I say we take a page from their book. 

Considering that Gale is not only a verbose char, but also a poet and a scholar, the enumeration of the concepts in the description of the book speaks a lot in my opinion. Gale is not inviting Tav to a night of sex (let's remember he never uses that word in EA) but to a deeper degree of "intimacy", as he calls it. There is a lot more involved in what he asks for: confessions in the art of conversation, pleasures in the art of the body, and, hopefully, acceptance. For Gale, acceptance is a big deal: it’s not by chance that he left it last in the enumeration, summarising the whole concepts with the "art of the night". Gale is truly eager to access these concepts, and in doing so, I personally believe he shows a fair level of naivety on this matter. It seems (especially later with his unpolished arguments in the morning) he felt he needed this level of intimacy—of acceptance first—so he could speak the details openly. He wants to have this night before any confession because he thinks that it would allow him to acquire something that would prevent the abandonment that he viscerally fears: acceptance.

Any of the options taken by Tav keeps showing his eagerness. He wants this to happen in whatever terms Tav desires: as a brand new experience (“blank slates on blank sheets”) or with the promise of commitment (writing the prequel of a newly-wed couple). Or if Tav romanced Gale and then chose to spend the night with another companion, Gale will still insist in sleeping together, showing he was open for Tav to have casual sex as long as the "commitment" part would be established with him. This is reinforced by the fact that, if Tav never shared the Weave with Gale, there is no way to sleep with him: Gale is not a character for one-stand nights. He craves for deep connection, for commitment, in whatever fashion he can get it. Mystra taught him not to ask about exclusivity after all.

Gale is so desperate to have this deep connection that if Tav doubts about spending the night with him, he will drop a line which can trigger an alarm in the player:

Tav: I'm not sure you're the one I want. Gale: That's because you've yet to find out what you're missing. Doubt is a spoilsport. Cast it aside.

Gale, the scholar, the one who kept encouraging Tav to doubt and to think critically about everything, suggests to dismiss doubts. Once more we see he needs this to happen. Some players interpret this as manipulation as well. I personally think this also says something else in Gale: since the dev's notes show no second intentions in the only two scenes where dev's notes existed, and instead, they display how much fear Gale has for a second abandonment, Gale is showing here his inexperience with relationships as well as a constant fear for abandonment.

Gale is looking for commitment, for something that can last longer than Mystra's affair did: he wants something solid, but his inexperience in this field made him "acquire" knowledge of how things should work via romanticized means such as books and poetry. In his mind, the acceptance he needs can only be acquired due to the "art of the night", very well detailed in this book he describes. 

It's true that, all this part, if we completely ignore the narrative weight that the book has for a book-based character such as Gale, can be interpreted as Gale manipulating Tav to have sex alone; desperate to obtain it, doing everything in order to get it. We can also see the description of the book as a “bait”, as some people do. It's a valid interpretation, especially for a Tav who respected Gale's privacy during the Loss Scene and the protocol, so that Tav has no information with which to connect the dots. But I personally find it an over-magnification to see him as a "mastermind of manipulation". The few dev's notes we have about Gale seem to confirm that nothing shadier than his “orb” despair and his fear for abandonment are going on. These fears are constantly echoing in his mind, and they are, as I said in other posts, the main reasons why he becomes emotional and prone to make mistakes. 

Is this action manipulative? It can be seen as “withholding information” by any Tav who didn't push him to explain, otherwise, all the information in a general way has been offered already and there is no withholding at all. Is Gale a manipulative character? In EA we don't see a pattern of that behaviour to qualify him as such. He has been quite honest, explaining in all scenes what he can say and what he cannot, drawing his boundaries clean and clear. We saw him struggling with the explanation of what he lost. The few Dev's notes reinforce mainly his fear for abandonment, lacking any manipulative behaviour behind his actions. His pattern, in my opinion, is that he tends to make mistakes in his emotional state, which is mostly triggered by the “orb” and the concept of “abandonment”. Not so much with Mystra per ser. He seems to be nostalgic but more aware of what loving a God causes (his regret is explicit during the conversation of Karsus). He is quite done with "her love as a lover", but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to be forgiven nor he doesn't love her as the essence of Magic itself. More details in the post of "Mystra and her Chosen ones".

After the party, Tav can have a romantic conversation before the sex “intimacy” or can reject the chance. What seems incoherent in this part is when Tav is not in the mood for sex, and Gale simply cuts off the situation. He is a character who craves connection and intimacy, and pretty much like Wyll, he needs a bond before stepping into romance. To waste a night of celebration that could be used to share any other level of intimacy (let's say, talking? The man clearly LOVES to talk) seems strange. If this reaction is truly meant to be in the game, it would seem that he certainly was more desperate for sex than what all the previous scenes hinted, but in that case it would have done little sense to leave the tale of the wizard for the next night. Gale already knew Tav did not want to have sex, so no point in delaying the explanation of the details. I personally suspect these incoherences are a consequence of Gale being added into EA at the last moment, making him more “shadier” than he is meant to be. 

To justify my opinion that this seems to be an unpolished scene: if Gale is not romanced, and conditions are given, Lae'Zel will spend the night with him, talking. Why would Gale prefer to share a night of talks with a companion with whom he had not the Weave connection before, but he won't do it with a Tav who shared it? I see some incongruence here, probably as the result of being added into the EA in a rush. His scenes are less polished and much more messier than the other companions' (certainly not more than Wyll, though) and his bugs and triggering priority show it. 

This part is also seen as "coercive" by some players:

Tav: I’m sorry, but I actually don’t think I can do this. I’m just not in the mood. Gale: Not even a simple kiss would change your mind? Tav: No, it wouldn’t.

Tav: Maybe a kiss was enough Gale: Are you sure? One kiss is like one chord in an entire symphony. It begs for more.

Gale: (disapproval) What a pity. One should never be afraid to live life to the fullest. Before we part.. I know there are many things about me that remain shrouded in mystery. You’ve been very patient with me, and I appreciate that. You’ve brought me back from the grey shores of death. You know of my condition, and you know about my unfortunate efforts to win Mystra’s favour, but those are but the broad strokes. The time has come to paint you the true picture. So come find me another night, yes? No kisses, just words. (Leaves)

Asking seems to be coercive for some people just because there is a disapproval. I personally separate very clearly what Tav sees and receives as information from the NPCs and what I, the player, do. Tav should react to what they see, but the player is having a “meta-knowledge” of the situation with the info of the narrator and the approval system. The player knows Gale is disappointed in not having intimacy now, and he expresses it. Then he behaves completely natural, and continues talking (of course) about what he will explain about in the following morning (I don't understand what impedes him to say it in that moment: is it the wine? He fears his charisma checks are at a disadvantage due to the wine? Is it just a reflection of the rush in which he was added to the game? We will see in the full release. To me it looks inconsistent.)

Anyways. The scene continues in the early morning or simply the next night depending on what option Tav picked. Here, Gale presents the details of the revelation: “It is a story full of answers long overdue. It is a story of a man who fell in love with a goddess.”

Tav: You're really about to tell me about another lover? What's wrong with you? Gale :I couldn’t do it before. I couldn’t ruin the chance for us to happen. You were there. How could I say no to you? Dev's notes: Gale revealed he was in love with Mystra. He tells this the morning after. Understandably, the player can react negatively to his timing. He tries to explain himself. 

This line clearly shows that there was an intention in hiding the relationship he had with Mystra, which it's an “answer long overdue” (is it?). Now, some players consider this the proof of Gale's manipulations; the greatest betrayal, because people are entitled to know all the details of their partner's past before sleeping with them. Other players consider that it's in poor taste to disclose this exactly the morning after sharing the night with Gale. And I agree. However, I see a scene with a lot of over-magnifications and making things more problematic than they truly are. In my opinion, “the chance for us to happen” is deeply linked to the book of Amn for all the reasons explained before. It's not by chance that this book has such a weight in the scene. Gale also shows with this line that he has no experience nor idea how relationships develop. 

I also think that Gale fails so much in delivering decent lines in this scene because, 1) this is a very unpolished text in EA, or 2) this is very on purpose, emphasising that Gale is ready to speak about the two topics that turn him into an emotional disaster and his word choices could be attributed to as someone failing many charisma checks. Maybe that's the intention.

If Tav considers this the greatest of the betrayals they can tell him to leave and Gale will not resist the rejection, leaving the party immediately and facing one of his biggest fears: Abandonment. And once more, the abandonment as a consequence of his own mistake. The irony of this path. 

If Tav allows him to explain, Gale will accept any "judgement after telling his story". This is something very related to Gale's approvals: to have a complete grasp of a situation, you need to have all the evidence, hear all the details of the event, before drawing a conclusion. And curiously, no matter what aggressive option Tav picks, Gale gives no disapproval unless he is forced to leave the party. So, after some dramatic reaction, Gale will try to proceed with the telling.

Tav: It’s clear as day you are talking about yourself, you know Gale: I know, but a bit of narrative distance will make it all so much easier in the telling. Indulge me.

From here, Gale gives Tav another courtesy gesture: to pick the version in which this will be explained. He clarifies that the long version, more pompous and verbose and in third person, is the one he would prefer due to the distance. Since the first meeting on the road, or the stew scene, passing through the Loss Scene, we see this pattern again: Gale, the character who always has a lot of things to speak about, has also topics that are difficult to explain and needs to use narrative tricks to do it. Not by chance he is a reserved person: those topics he can't talk about are always personal. 

Long version

Gale: Once upon a time, not quite that long ago, there lived a wizard in a tower. The wizard was what one might call a prodigy, who from an early age could not only control the Weave, but compose it, like a musician or a poet. Such was his skill that it earned him the attention of the mother of magic herself. The Lady Of Mysteries, Mystra.

Tav: What did Mystra’s attention feel like? Gale: Love.  Dev's Notes: nostalgic, regretful, bitter, sad, lost romance–all with a bit of hesitation on the front of the line. Tav :He sounds like a very talented individual Gale: He was. Even though it was in Mystra’s affections that his true power lay. Tav: Teacher’s pet, was he? Gale: He fancied himself much more than that. He fancied himself favoured above all others. 

These three options give interesting additional information: Gale was convinced that Mystra's attention was love, because he was young and naive. He is now very aware that his talent meant little, because the true power he had was in Mystra's affections, meaning in being a loved Chosen one. He fancied himself unique, as a Chosen would do. 

Gale: Perhaps it was not quite love, Dev's Notes: A little embarrassed Gale: but you see, the wizard was but a very young man. It was most certainly love to him. Mystra showed him the secrets behind the veils. The gossamer veils first, draped across the Weave. The delicate veils next, draped across her body. ‘Chosen One’ she whispered, as she slipped them off completely.

This is another fragment with interesting, yet disturbing lines: Gale now, as a narrator, questions if that past feeling was Love. He has matured his sentiments for Mystra, they are less "teenager-like". He is convinced that in the past it was love to him, implying that now he has doubts (concept reinforced once more by the end of the scene). The disturbing line is the definition of "very young man", which I will talk about in the post of "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1", section: "Grooming". 

Tav: The veils draped across the Weave? Gale: Indeed. What most wizards perceive is but the ripple of the Weave’s surface. Untold wonders lie beyond. I enjoyed them for a while, as we enjoyed each other.

Once more, in these details, the narrative reinforces how intense is the connection of Mystra with a Chosen one. Again, this is lore information. Chosen ones have a deep connection with Mystra/the Weave/Magic, which is unique. More on this matter can be read in the post about "Mystra and her Chosen ones".

Gale: One day all too soon, the whispers stopped. The goddess spurned the mortal. The veils were drawn once more, and the wizard was left behind heartbroken.

Tav: Poor wizard Gale: Poor wizard. Silly wizard too, for he wouldn’t take no for an answer Tav: What happened next? // I hate to say it, but he really could have seen this coming Gale: He was blinded by love. Good stories are rife with lovers’ follies after all. Tav: Perhaps she, like you, had other lovers she didn’t tell him about. Gale : She might well have had, but that didn’t stop the wizard from trying to reclaim her affections.

Gale: Like so many of the heartbroken, he did something infinitely foolish. One has to think big if one seeks to win back a goddess. So the wizard thought big. [Here he explains all about Karsus who] sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed but not quite, and his entire empire – Netheril – came crashing down around him as he turned to stone. The magic unleashed that day was phenomenal, rolling like the prime chaos that outdated creation. A fragment of it was caught and sealed away in a book. No ordinary book, mind you; a tome of gateways that contained within it a bubble of Astral Plane. It was a fragment of primal Weave locked out of time – locked away from Mystra herself. ‘What if’, the silly wizard thought. ‘What if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the Goddess?”

Another part of the scene that keeps giving us a lot of information: Gale is very aware now how silly he was in his youth (at this point, one can almost remember his words during Arabella's quest: she is not innocent but that doesn't mean she is guilty) and his past young self was unable to take a no as an answer (which apparently Gale learnt very well when before this revelation or after, Tav can reject him and he simply leaves the party without putting much resistance, despite knowing that Tav only has a fragment of the big picture). The other answer reinforces his blindness by this strange concept that Gale thought it was love, and pretty much uses the word Folly for describing or making an analogy with his past, which again, it's not a casual word: Folly is a formal way to say stupidity and it's also a word that Gale uses to compare his mistake with Karsus' folly. As an extra, the last answer seems to explain very much what he does when Tav romanced him and then slept with another companion. Details of this in the post "Gale Hypotheses- Part 2", section: "Proposition to Cheat".

Short version: 

This version is shorter and more into the point without an excess of dramatic details that may end up annoying Tav more than making the process of comprehension better. The short version makes much more clear where Gale is standing: the facts are presented without his typical pattern of embellishing the story.

Gale: […] I am what one might call a wizard prodigy, who from an early age could not only control the Weave, but compose it like a virtuoso. Such was my skill that it earned me the attention of Mystra herself. I soon fell in love with her, and she returned my affections. […] Before long Mystra tired of me. What was I, after all, but a mortal plaything in sacred hands? You have to realise I was heartbroken. I was a young man, she was my first love. I thought it would last forever. 

This part reinforces once more that he is very aware that a relationship with a goddess was very unbalanced, that Mystra was his first love, he was a young man, and he thought it would last forever. 

For completion's sake, the goblin version has a different introduction:

Gale: Let's just get this over with. No doubt you've guessed by now there was something rather special about my relationship with the goddess Mystra. The thing is, we were lovers once. I am what one might call a wizard prodigy [...follows the same speech of the short version]

Three versions converge in the kneeling. The scene in this point has a different narrative value; a proud character as he is, who has a deep regret for his mistake with the “orb” (he says it explicitly in the "Loss Scene" post) kneels before Tav to humbly show the traumatic experience by placing their hand on his heart, where the “orb” resides:

Gale: Here. Place your hand over my heart. Let me show you Narrator: You feel the tadpole quiver as you realise Gale is letting you in. Into the dark. You see through Gale’s eyes, staring down the corridors of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. It’s teeth, it’s claws, it’s unstoppable as it digs through you and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever hungry…

This scene speaks of opennesses in all senses, honest and without any interest of pretence: Gale is showing his greatest regret, the lowest of the lowest he reached, the despair that it inspires. For once, he is not talking, he is showing it (because the experience is the one that makes him speechless and its memory seems to cause him great pain too due to the facial gesticulation). And what Tav sees shows again that Gale has nothing extra to hide: this has been the same exact information that Tav could extract from him in earlier opportunities with successful tadpole intrusions. So, if Tav never reveals that they saw this in Gale during the stew scene, Tav will realise that Gale kept his promise: he was reserved for a while, trusting slowly in Tav, to finally open up and show that he was going to explain the “why” much more later, because it's truly difficult for Gale to speak about.

1-Yank your hand away Gale: Terrifying isn’t it? And that is only the beginning 3-Tav: Gods – why show me this? Gale: I’m sorry, but I had to. After all, that is only the beginning 4-Tav: I slept with a monster. Gale: I didn’t sleep with a monster despite the tadpole in your head. We are none of us monsters. We are merely hatcheries for monstrous things. So we fight them.

This is one of the most ominous information Gale gives us, in my opinion: The experience of how the “Black Weave” rushed into his body is grotesque and painful, and it's meant to cause despair. But that was only the beginning: Gale is everyday dealing with that feeling, but on a bigger scale as its hunger increases with each passing day. The descriptions of his emotions during the artefact scenes adds more despair and anxiety to it. Gale is living in the worst mental state that a person can, but he manages it thanks to his wizard training and the Weave he consumes (he is still alive thanks to Magic, of all things). This shows the mental power of a wizard in DnD. And if you read the post about "Well-known Characters" section: "Elminster", Gale could have been inspired in him since I can see this level of endured torture similar to the one that Elminster was exposed to when he was kidnapped and dragged to the Hells. 

Gale: This Netherese taint.. this orb, for lack of a better word, is balled up inside my chest. And it needs to be fed. As long as it absorbs Weave it remains stable – to an extent. The moment it becomes unstable, however..[...] It will erupt. I don’t know the exact magnitude of the eruption, but given my studies of Netherese magic, I’d say even a fragment as small as the one I carry…. It’d level a city the size of Waterdeep. Dev's Notes: He admits he’s a walking disaster waiting to happen. This is said very seriously. The truth is finally out and he has no idea how the player will react to such monstrous news.” 

Tav: I should godsdamned kill you Gale: Perhaps that is what I deserve, but you deserve no such thing. To kill me is to unleash the orb. I understand your anger, I do […]

Here is where we know that Gale calls it “orb”, but it's not an orb. For more details, read the post about the "Orb". Tav already knew since the Stew scene that Gale could cause a catastrophe without artefacts. In this scene we just get some extra details about it. 

Gale: It is my truth, finally revealed. It is this folly that led Mystra to abandon me completely. I can only hope you won’t abandon me as well. After all we’ve been through.. (After the night we spent together). Surely we can brave even this side by side. Dev's notes: Solemn. Full of yearning his news will not lead to him being abandoned by the player.

And there, Gale's “truth” is “revealed” (not truly, it is only more detailed in the information): We know that the Weave he consumes from the artefacts keeps this condition stable (something we already knew since the Stew Scene) and it will erupt if it doesn't consume artefacts (which is something we knew since the Stew Scene too). So the revelation scene is not so much of a revelation. The whole scene has a writing with a lot of weight in “shocking” revelations and “dramatic” reactions when the context provided shows that there is little to be shocked about, in my opinion. If anything, this whole scene needs serious polishing.

Then it follows the “coercive” part according to some players, which again... it's only Gale hoping this situation doesn't end in a second abandonment. The concept that the “intimacy” of the shared night gives more reasons to stay by his side seems pretty naïve, but maybe that was the intention (thus my suspicion that Gale has no experience at all in relationships, only what he learnt from romantic books). What it's clear is that after the detailed explanation, Gale is desperate to avoid a second abandonment, yet he knows it's unavoidable. This can be seen when Tav doesn't forgive his betrayal (?) of not saying anything about Mystra or the "orb" (he did in the Stew and following scenes, but this context is not acknowledged here), and Gale simply accepts it, showing that Mystra's experience made him learn to accept a no, leaving the party forever (in EA). 

Tav: No. This is too large a betrayal. Gale: I see. I am sorry. I am sorry that it had to come to this. All that’s left to say is farewell. Dev's Notes: A slight hesitation, hurt but understanding. He makes a polite little bow, then we see him walk away.

Really, I don't understand what happened with this scene because it's either ignoring any annoyance that the situation can cause on a Tav who didn't push Gale to talk, or it offers an over-reaction when all the information has been shared already, at least in a very generalised way during the Stew Scene. A Tav who doesn't push Gale to speak will have no more details than the ones provided during the Stew Scene at this point in the game, but one who pushed Gale will basically have the whole story covered. The Rpg-options we get here are so white-and-black, and not even coherent with the context, no wonder so many players turned Gale into a “mastermind in manipulation”. This scene is very unpolished in my opinion.

Tav: Gale, are you still in love with Mystra? Gale: I’ll be honest with you; I don’t know. She is my muse still, the embodiment of magic, but the embodiment of love? Only if we ever meet again will I know

Here we have once more confirmation that Gale questions what kind of love he has for Mystra. Considering all the context he gave us previously, it seems that his love for his Goddess as a devotee will never cease, but romantic love is a big question for him. He has given Tav all the hints to make them suspect that Gale probably never knew romantic love outside his experience with Mystra or what he could read in books.

Tav: What would permanently rid you of the orb? Gale: The orb was kept safe and inert in a pocket of Astral Plane, suspended in time. If I can somehow manage to expel it from my body while in the Astral Plane, it will be rendered inert again. Alternatively, I could learn to control it’s chaotic magic, that is; to succeed where I failed before. But without Mystra’s favour, I don’t see how that may come to pass. Of course there could be different answers as well. Faerûn brims with more magic than any one wizard could fathom, let alone comprehend. Who knows what outlandish solutions may yet present themselves?

The last bits of information are more interesting: Gale thought of two possible solutions to solve his “orb”problem. One is to expel the object out of his body in the Astral Plane where time doesn't exist so its hunger or ticking mechanism stops, so the magic will remain inert. The other option is to control Netherese magic. He informed Tav that he already tried this option, so it's clear that Gale's intention when obtaining this book was to master this strange piece of Weave and give the secrets of that control to Mystra. But he failed.

Summary of the post:

There is an important emphasis in acceptance: only through acceptance Gale can open up to share the details of his mistake. He wants to have this night before any confession because he wants to acquire this acceptance that, in his mind, would prevent the abandonment he viscerally fears.

In all the scenes there are many hints suggesting Gale is very inexperienced in relationships: the acceptance he needs can only be acquired due to the "art of the night'', which is one of the main points in this book. His notions related to relationships seem to have been acquired via romanticised means: books and poetry. He may believe that intimacy guarantees acceptance.

Gale “reveals” his truth: he was a Chosen of Mystra, he was Mystra's lover, and the “orb” problem was a mistake he made to earn Mystra's attention. All this information is now detailed here when it had been shared already. There is little “revelation” in it.

Gale's actions can be interpreted as manipulative for a Tav who respects his privacy and has little information about the “orb”. But hardly the pattern extends to his behaviour. His need for acceptance makes him make bad decisions.

A Tav who pushed Gale to speak in previous scenes finds little new information in this one: they will have a more detailed picture of the situation and they will know that Gale and Mystra were lovers.

Gale is very aware that Mystra's love was not exactly love, but it felt like that when he was young. He also knows that the true power of a Chosen is related to being loved by her. He is also aware that a relationship with a goddess is a very unbalanced one. He states that Mystra was his first love, the affair happened when he was a (very) young man, and he thought it would last forever. 

Potent narrative image: Gale, a proud character with great confidence, kneels before Tav to humbly show the traumatic experience by placing his hand on his heart, where the “orb”resides.

In general, the whole tone of the scene jumps constantly in my opinion. Tav's options are not toned to the general atmosphere of the scene: or they ignore completely the value of what Gale says, or over-react magnifying information as if it were the first time Gale says it, when a lot of it was shared during the Stew Scene and following scenes. It feels like a very unpolished scene, probably as the result of Gale being a companion added to the EA in a rush.

The Dev's notes explain the whole situation as: 

Dev's notes: synopsis: The principal portion of this dialog consists of two main parts: a romantic night intro that leads to a fade to black and implied intimacy, and a section in which Gale tells you his true story in either of two ways (chosen by the player). These are the ‘story’ variant in third person, and the slimmed down ‘story-light’ version in first person. It is the story of how he fell in love with the goddess Mystra, was spurned by her after a brief affair, and how he got himself into big trouble when trying to win her back. The dialog was originally meant to contain only the above, but for recording and cinematic purposes, the story sections of it are also used in a variety of other ways, that is to say, the dialog also contains an intro section in which the scene begins with no romantic intent. In specific cases though, Gale will still try his luck, which you’ll see in the repeat of some lines of an earlier dialog. 

This shows that, so far, the intention was always to make Gale explain the “true story” in this scene, which was the one we were told. I think that expecting more secrets would water down this intention here. In any case, the future secrets, if there are some left, may be secret even for Gale himself.

This post was written in June 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index

[tiz-chan]

SnK characters and their arcana if they were in a Persona game:

note: the descriptions come from Labyrinthos Academy. Some traits are upright readings, whereas others are reverse. I just tried to pick whichever traits I thought matched best. 

Eren: The Chariot

Determination

Ambition

Willpower

Aggression

Obstacles 

The Chariot tarot card is all about overcoming challenges and gaining victory through maintaining control of your surroundings. This perfect control and confidence allows the charioteer to emerge victorious in any situation. The use of strength and willpower are critical in ensuring that you overcome the obstacles that lie in your path. The Chariot's message comes to make you stronger as you strive to achieve your goals.

Mikasa: The Lovers

Love

Unity

Choices

Detachment

Indecision

The primary meaning within the Lovers is harmony, attractiveness, and perfection in a relationship. The trust and the unity that the lovers have gives each of them confidence and strength, empowering the other. The bond that they have created is very strong. A more personal Lovers meaning that can apply to individuals is the development of your own personal belief systems, regardless of what are the societal norms. This is one of the times when you figure out what you are going to stand for, and what your philosophy in life will truly be. You must start making up your mind about what you find important and unimportant in your life. You should be as true to yourself as you can be, so you will be genuine and authentic to the people who are around you.

Armin: The Magician

Desire

Resourcefulness

Concentration

Cunning

Manipulation

When you get the Magician in your reading, it might mean that it's time to tap into your full potential without hesitation. It might be in your new job, new business venture, a new love or something else. It shows that the time to take action is now and any signs of holding back would mean missing the opportunity of becoming the best version of yourself. Certain choices will have to be made and these can bring great changes to come. Harness some of the Magician's power to make the world that you desire most.

Historia: The Empress

Sensuality

Nurturing

Creativity

Insecurity

Negligence

The Empress shows us how deeply we are embedded to our femininity. Femininity could be associated with fertility, expression, creativity and nurturing among many other aspects. It therefore calls you to connect with beauty and bring happiness to your life. Understand yourself and get in touch with your sensuality so that you can attract life circumstances to bring happiness and joy. She is a signal that be kind to yourself, to take care of yourself. The Empress is also a strong indication of pregnancy and motherhood.

Jean: Death

Transformations

Transition

Letting go

Repeating negative patterns

Fear of change

The Death card signals that one major phase in your life is ending, and a new one is going to start. You just need to close one door, so the new one will open. The past needs to be placed behind you, so you can focus your energy on what is ahead of you.

Reiner: The Moon

Complexity

Secrets

Confusion

Deception

Anxiety

the Moon card can symbolize your imagination is taking the best of you. In the dark of the night, you are taking a path that you are unsure of, for there could be danger lurking in its depths. You are the crawfish embarking on the path in the card. The moon's light can bring you clarity and understanding and you should allow your intuition to guide you through this darkness.

Bertholdt: The Tower

Destruction

Trauma

Sudden Change

Upheaval

Chaos

The Tower represents change in the most radical and momentous sense. It is for this reason that the card itself visually looks so unnerving. But it doesn't necessarily have to be truly frightening or ominous. Because at the heart of this card, its message is foundational, groundbreaking change. The kind of event that the Tower card marks does not have to be something terrible, like a disaster or a great loss.  Change itself is a normal part of life that one has to embrace. But it can sometimes strike fear, for it means that we must abandon the truths that we have known prior to this event. The old ways are no longer useful, and you must find another set of beliefs, values and processes to take their place.

Annie: The Hermit

Contemplation

Solitude

Self-reflection

Rejection

Loneliness

You are currently contemplating that you need to be alone. Never be afraid to take this chance to reflect, as it could help you clear your mind of all the clutter that comes with everyday life. The Hermit may also refer to your effort in taking action that is authentic and aligned with your true self. You are perhaps searching your inner soul for guidance on what is right, and where your next steps are to be.

Levi: Justice

Honesty

Integrity

Consequences

Fairness

Cause and Effect

The decisions that you make now have long-term effects in all things, both for yourself and others. There will always come a time where you will be judged. The Justice tarot card appearing in a reading signals that a judgment will be made fairly and accordingly. The decisions that you have made in the past will be carefully weighed with fairness.

Hanji: The Sun

Success

Optimism

Confidence

Excessive Enthusiasm

Unrealistic Expectations

The Sun card represents success, abundance, and radiance. Like the sun itself, it gives strength and vitality to all those that are lucky enough to feel its rays. There is much joy and happiness that is coming to you. Because of your own personal fulfillment, you provide others with inspiration and joy as well. People are drawn to you because they are capable of seeing the warm and beautiful energy which you bring into their lives. You are also in a position in which you are capable of sharing your qualities as well as achievements with other people. You radiate love and affection towards those you care about the most.

Erwin: The Emperor

Authority

Control

Focus

Protection

Stubborn

It’s all about control when it comes to the Emperor, for this card means authority, regulation, organization and a fatherliness. The Emperor represents a strategic thinker who sets out plans that he must see through. He is a symbol of the masculine principle - the paternal figure in life that gives structure, creates rules and systems, and imparts knowledge. Where the Empress's desire for their kingdom is to create happiness, the emperor desires to foster honor and discipline. He guides with a firm hand, following the calling of the crown above all else. Though he is a ruler, he understands that to reign is also to serve - thus he acts rationally and according to what is for the greater good of the kingdom.

Ymir: The Hanged-Man

Sacrifice

Uncertainty 

Contemplation

Lack of direction

Waiting

The hanged man understands that his position is a sacrifice that he needed to make in order to progress forward - whether as repentance for past wrongdoings, or a calculated step backward to recalculate his path onward. This time he spends here will not be wasted, he does this as part of his progression forward. His upside down state can also symbolize the feeling of those that walk a spiritual path, for they see the world differently. Where there are others that do not understand the need to sacrifice, you see it differently. This is a natural course of action for you as you walk the path alone.

Marco: The Star

Hope

Inspiration

Positivity

Faith

Renewal

The Star brings hope, renewed power, and strength to carry on with life. It shows how abundantly blessed you are by the universe as evidenced by the various things around you. It may not be directly evident at the moment, for this card follows the trauma of the Tower card. Remember that you hold within you all that you need for your fulfillment - the only thing that you need is courage. For this, you have all reasons to rejoice. To see this card is a message to have faith, for the universe will bless you and bring forth all that you need.

Sasha: Strength

Courage

Confidence

Compassion

Inner-power 

Cowardice 

When you get the Strength card in an upright manner during your tarot reading, then it shows that you have inner strength and fortitude during moments of danger and distress. It shows that you have the ability to remain calm and strong even when your life is going through immense struggle. It also shows that you are a compassionate person and you always have time for other people even if it's at your own expense.

Connie: The Fool

Beginnings 

Adventure

Reckless

Naive

Distracted

To see the The Fool generally means a beginning of a new journey, one where you will be filled with optimism and freedom from the usual constraints in life. When we meet him, he approaches each day as an adventure, in an almost childish way. He believes that anything can happen in life and there are many opportunities that are lying out there, in the world, waiting to be explored and developed. He leads a simple life, having no worries, and does not seem troubled by the fact that he cannot tell what he will encounter ahead.

Zeke: The Devil

Oppression

Addiction

Obsession

Independence

Reclaiming control

Getting the devil card in your reading shows that you have feelings of entrapment, emptiness and lack of fulfillment in your life. It might also mean that you are a slave to materialism and opulence and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to shake off the feeling of wanting to indulge in luxurious living. Addiction to substances or material pleasures can also be the reason for your feelings of powerlessness and entrapment. In situations such as these, you may feel as though you are a slave, unable to control your impulses or willpower to direct yourself towards something other than the satisfaction of these desires.

[songtoyou]

Chapter 1: The Pope, The Rabbi, and The Gypsy

Tolerate It

Paring: Modern!Tommy Shelby x Original Female Character

Story Rating: R (No minors should read this fic).

Word Count: 1,795

Warnings: Talks of sexual content.

Description: Tommy Shelby is the owner and CEO of Shelby Company Limited. Starting out as a Bookmaker, Tommy had big ideas to expand his riches. In the past ten years, the company has grown rapidly to expand its business ventures from bars to producing alcohol, manufacturing motor vehicle parts, and exporting. One of the richest men in Great Britain, Tommy Shelby, has it all. Unfortunately, the death of his wife, Grace, left the multi-millionaire mogul alone and depressed. He needed someone to fulfill his needs and deepest darkest desires.

A/N: I was very pleased with the positive reaction to the prologue of this fic. I am glad that some of you are liking it. For this chapter, we learn a little more about the OC, and how she will meet Tommy. We also learn about the owners and some of Excelsior's clientele, the secret exclusive club in downtown London. Tommy looks for a new girl now that Lizzie is gone. 

Note: Italics represent the past or past conversations.

Feedback is wonderful. It is nice knowing if people actually like this fic. I do not permit my work to be posted on any other site without my permission.

Excelsior was an exclusive invite-only club located in downtown London. Members included high profile men from actors, musicians, politicians, and business moguls. The activities that occur at Excelsior were top secret. Members and workers at the club were bound by a non-disclosure agreement to ensure nothing was made public. Excelsior was merely a very high-end gentlemen's club to the unassuming public, but underneath, it allowed members to succumb to their deepest desires.

Owned and run by "Duchess" Izabella Petrovna and her niece, "Princess" Tatiana Petrovna, the club was steeped in excess and glamour. No suspecting individual would ever think to confuse the establishment as an underground sex club. While the Duchess ran the business side of the operations, the Princess recruited the women. There was a certain criterion that the Princess enforced when it came to employing. First, the women had to be between the ages of twenty-one to thirty-five. The women underwent an extensive background check, along with a psych evaluation. Many of the employees found it hilarious that the Duchess and Princess required a psych evaluation considering that they themselves were equally eccentric…or insane, to put it mildly. Birth control was a non-negotiable requirement the women had to abide by. The women at the club had to partake in monthly STD tests to ensure they were clean and healthy. 

While the Duchess and Princess were an oddball pairing, there was no denying that they cared for their girls and valued the work they did for the members. Their business endeavor allowed the Petrovna's to continue to live in luxuries that Russia no longer was able to provide. They paid well.

It was how Rose Turner provided a decent life for herself and her son, Louis. Rose had been working at the club for six years and in that time had garnered quite the clientele. However, it would be three men who would have a tumultuous impact on Rose's life. She referred to them as the Pope, the Rabbi, and the Gypsy. 

The Pope was Luca Changretta, an Italian man from New York. Luca was a prominent businessman whose family still resided in England. While Audrey Changretta was a former school teacher, her husband Vincent, and youngest son Angel, owned restaurants and bars from Manchester to Birmingham, to London. They also dabbled in the real estate business and owned numerous high rise apartment buildings. The Changretta family was viewed as a rival to the Shelby clan. Both have tried to partner on business ventures with no deal ever emerging. The two families did not trust one another. 

With Luca stationed over in the States, he would visit his family throughout the year during holidays, for birthdays, weddings, funerals, openings of new Changretta establishments. Time home also allowed for Luca to engage in his pleasures. His visits to Excelsior were always a big deal. Everything had to be perfect, according to Izabella. Tatiana assigned Rose to Luca. 

"You are his type, no," Tatiana would say. "He likes the way you look. That innocent and doe-eyed look. Hooker with a heart of gold, they say, right."

Rose did not question Tatiana. She read through Luca's file to find out more about her new client and what he liked. The man was noticeably big into role play, especially in a religious aspect. He loved playing the part of a holy man while Rose played the Catholic school girl or nun. It was how Luca got the nickname, "The Pope." The man thankfully always managed to be a gentleman. He respected the rules of the club and never went overboard. If Rose was uncomfortable with acting out a scene, she knew it was okay to voice her worries. Luca never tried to fight her or manipulate her into partaking in a scene. He respected Rose's boundaries. She was one of his favorites at the club. 

Alfie Solomons was nicknamed "The Rabbi" and another important client at Excelsior. He had his fill of women during his time at the club. So much so that the girls would talk openly with one another about his particular habits. For instance, Alfie never partook in actual intercourse with the women. Instead, he relied on toys such as dildos or vibrators to bring pleasure to his women. He would also make sure to wear black latex gloves while touching the women. Many assumed it was to keep himself clean and pure since he participated in activities that would be deemed excruciatingly unholy. Alfie made sure that Tatiana only gave him gentile women.

"No Jewish women, love. They are holy creatures and should be remained as such, okay," Alfie demanded.

When Rose saw Alfie for the first time, she was intimidated by his big stature. However, Alfie proved to be one of Rose's favorite clients. The man knew how to pleasure a woman. He always made scenes fun and intense. Some women would even fight over who got to be with Alfie on certain nights he was at the club. They all loved him. 

As the son of a Russian Jewish woman and working-class Londoner father, Alfie worked his way up in the world. It would be the distillery business where Alfie would make his fortunes. From rum and vodka to gin, beer, and cider, Solomons & Sons was the top distillery company in the United Kingdom. It did not take long for the Shelby family came knocking on Alfie's door to partner with on business endeavors. While Alfie would continue to remain skeptical about the Shelby family, he knew the business deal with them would be too good to pass up. He loved having a go at Tommy Shelby from time-to-time to see how far he could push the Birmingham lad. 

In fact, it was Alfie who told Tommy about Excelsior. 

"You go from whore to whore with no care in the world. It is like you got a death wish. Seriously, don't you ever worry about getting the clap? I'll tell ya what…let me talk with one of my associates about inviting you to join this club I frequent. It will have everything you ever wanted and more. Trust me," Alfie shared with Tommy at one of their business meetings two years ago. 

Tommy merely scoffed as he took a drag of his cigarette. "Trust you. Not likely, Alfie. As I recall, it was because of you that the deal with the Changrettas fell apart. Something about mentioning how my brother John got into a fight with Angel Changretta over a girl they both were seeing at the time."

With a shit-eating grin, Alfie replied, "I am a beacon of truth, eh."

"More like a pain in my ass," Tommy smirked. 

As promised, Alfie talked with Tatiana about inviting Tommy to the club. She was adamant about meeting with the self-made millionaire. The Princess wanted to make sure he was suitable to partake in her establishment. If Tatiana had the ability, she would have kept Tommy all to herself if she could. 

"None of those whores deserve you, Thomas," said Tatiana as she laid in bed next to him.

"No, they deserve better. Better than me, that is for sure. But…they are all I got. So, I need your help in finding the best one for me. One that I can take out in public if need be. One who can be presentable to society at certain functions I have to attend. That way, I can keep up the appearance of a family man who still grieves the loss of his wife while trying to move on with my life."

Lizzie Stark filled that position for two years before her sudden and unexpected departure at Excelsior. Now Tatiana had to find a new girl to assign for Tommy, which was no easy task with his certain expectations. The man was rather picky, to say the least. Perusing her girls' files, she realized that there was only one who could meet the requests of Tommy Shelby.

"Rose Turner," announced Tatiana and handed Tommy her file. "She has been with us for a couple of years. She is considered top-quality—good reviews from our top clients. As you can see, she is beautiful, no. She can be elegant if need be for your functions. Adventurous…flexible, if you know what I mean. She'd be perfect for you. What do you think?"

Tommy looked over Rose's file. Her birthdate indicated she was in her early thirties and from Blackpool, a seaside resort town on England's Irish Sea coast. It was England's very own Coney Island. Ada took Karl and Charlie there for a weekend getaway not long after Grace died to cheer up her nephew.

"How many men does she see regularly?" Tommy asked.

"Rose is considered top quality. Her clientele is small. She has no more than four regulars. One does not live here full-time. He only sees her when he visits family. The others…well, they are people from your circle of business partners."

"Is that so. Who would these men be?" Tommy inquired as he continued to look through Rose's file.

"I am not at liberty to tell you such vital information…"

"Well, Tatiana, let me take a guess. Could Alfie Solomons be one of Rose's clients? How about Darby Sabini? Is he on the list? Billy Kimber before his untimely departure on this Earth?" Tommy took a drag of his cigarette and tossed Rose's file on Tatiana's desk. "Set up a meeting for me with Rose. Not here, though. Tell her to meet me at The Savoy Hotel this Saturday night. Give her this as well," Tommy handed Tatiana an envelope she assumed had cash in it. "Tell her to buy something nice for the occasion. The two of us can talk over dinner, and if all goes well, we can end the night on a good note. Just know this Princess, if all goes well, then Rose becomes mine. Her other clients can fuck off for all I care. I am not one to share what is mine."

So here Rose was, at one of London's top boutiques picking out a dress for Saturday night. Tatiana explained the possible arrangement with Mr. Shelby, and if things went well, he would be Rose's main client. Meaning he would become Rose's only client. She had reservations about it until Tatiana shared how much Mr. Shelby was willing to pay. It was more money than Rose originally would make. Tatiana shared that Mr. Shelby would provide Rose a weekly allowance on top of her services' standard fees. The deal with too good to pass up. However, Tatiana was adamant to Rose that meeting Tommy first would be wise before agreeing to any deals. 

All Rose knew was that she had a date with The Gypsy. 

[scotianostra]

12th July 1834 saw the death in Hawaii of Botanist, David Douglas.

David Douglas was born in the village of Scone on June 25, 1799, just north of Perth he is much better known in the US state of Oregon, where their state tree “The Douglas Fir” is named after him Douglas was the son of stonemason John Douglas and Jean Drummond. He attended local schools, and by the time he was eleven, he was working as a gardener for local landowners, the Earl of Mansfield and Sir Robert Preston.

While working at the Botanical Garden in Glasgow, he became acquainted with the garden’s curator, Stewart Murray, and British botanist Sir William Jackson Hooker. Douglas attended Hooker’s lectures and had access to private libraries. Hooker later described him as a person of “great activity, singular abstemiousness, and energetic zeal.”

In 1823, on Hooker’s recommendation, the Royal Horticultural Society chose Douglas as a botanical collector. The Society intended to send Douglas to China, but arrangements fell through so he ended up going to eastern North America. In 1824, he found passage on a Hudson’s Bay Company vessel, the William and Ann, and arrived in Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River on April 7, 1825. Among his duties were keeping a journal of his activities and collecting seeds and plant specimens that might be useful as horticultural plants in England. Douglas visited North America four times, three times to the Pacific Northwest and California to look for plants, particularly fruit trees, forest trees, and oaks.

On his 1826 trip to present-day Oregon, Douglas took careful notes on the local vegetation as he traveled up the Willamette Valley. On September 30, he recorded one of the earliest descriptions of the Indian use of fire: “Most parts of the country burned; only on little patches in the valleys and on the flats near low hills that verdure is to be seen. Some of the natives tell me it is done for the purpose of urging the deer to frequent certain parts, to feed, which they leave unburned, and of course they are easily killed. Others say it is done in order that they might the better find wild honey and grasshoppers, which both serve as articles of winter food.“

In October, he traveled farther south to near present-day Roseburg on the Umpqua River, primarily to collect the cones of the sugar pine . On October 26, he described an encounter with a local man who led him to the “long-wished-for pines.” While shooting the cones out of a tall tree, which Douglas described as hanging at the tips of branches “like small sugar-loaves in a grocer’s shop,” he attracted several Natives who seemed “anything but friendly.” After a tense standoff, one man indicated that they wanted tobacco, and Douglas responded that he would oblige them if they brought him more cones. The men went in one direction, and Douglas with three cones and a twig went in another.

Douglas was interested in all aspects of the landscape, including animals. Those named in his honour range from the pigmy short-horned lizard  to the Douglas squirrel ( . He shipped a number of specimens home for examination by leading scientists. Some species, such as the mountain beaver  , were new to science. Douglas also reported seeing—and shooting—California condors on the Columbia River.

In 1827, Douglas traveled through the Northern Rockies and then to York Factory on Hudson Bay before returning to London. He worked on his collections until October 1829, when he again traveled to Fort Vancouver. He spent time on the California coast in 1831-1832, collecting plants and animals and making geographic observations. In 1832, on his return to the Columbia River, he made his first visit to the Hawaiian Islands. He explored the Fraser River district in 1833 and left the Northwest on October 18, 1833, for a return trip to the Hawaiian Islands and a planned return to London.

Douglas had been intrigued by Hawaii and wanted to continue collecting. Unable to get prompt transportation to England, he spent extra time in the islands. It was there, on July 12, 1834, that he met his end,apparently trampled by a bullock in a deep pit designed to capture cattle, although foul play has been suspected. Douglas introduced more than two hundred Pacific Northwest plants home, many of them important in our gardens today, including Oregon’s red-flowering currant.

At Scone Palace,  near Douglas’s birthplace, stands a magnificent Douglas-fir, grown from seed that he sent back from western North America in 1826. His introduction of Sitka spruce to Britain forms the basis of that country’s modern conifer forestry.

Douglas was a tireless botanist and natural historian whose name is honoured in more than eighty species of plants and animals. David Douglas High School in Portland is named for him, a peak in the Rockies as well as numerous plants, are also named after him.

Pics are of Douglas, his memorials at Scone, in Hawaii and Vancouver.��

Read more on his life and death here https://keolamagazine.com/then-now/the-mysterious-death-of-david-douglas/

[writer-k-pop]

Hello Counselor

지극히 정상이다. Absolutely normal.

Description: When on an episode featuring couples, you and Minghao get the opportunity to explain some of your thoughts on relationships. [Note: Hello Counselor was a Korean talk show that let viewers bring some concerns and problems and then those concerns/problems were discussed by a panel of set celebrities and guest idols/celebs. I don't 100% agree with the way this show was aired because it allowed for personal problems to be broadcasted on national TV but for this story I kind of needed it as a setting so.] Warnings: None Genre: Slight Angst, Celebrity!MinghaoxCelebrity!Reader Word Count: 1.3k

Seventeen Masterlist | Masterlists

We were about two-thirds of the way done with the taping of "Hello Counselor" and all was going smooth. Minghao and I were one of two couples asked to appear for this episode. The other couple being Luna and Jaehoon. Contrary to what the public believed, they were only together as a publicity stunt.

Think me awful to say that but they won't even share a dressing room when there's a shortage of rooms AND Luna and Jaehoon are flirting with anyone but each other as if their life depended on it. So it's pretty obvious in the celebrity circles that they aren't together for real. But they're high publicity so they're everywhere.

"Let's hear our next concern." MC Arin stated with a hand raised towards the screen behind her.

A video began playing and a female in her later teens introduced herself and her concern.

"Hello. My name is Song Jisoo." She said with a bow. "I have a boyfriend and we sometimes fight. Not a lot, just every once in a while. But whenever I try to talk to my parents about what goes on, they are constantly tell me to break up with him, that he doesn't love me cause we always fight, and that if we really loved each other, we wouldn't be fighting at all."

My lips pursed at the thought that a parent would really say those things to their daughter. Minghao noticed my slight upsetness and grabbed one of my hands in comfort.

"I don't think that's fair to say and I don't think they're exactly correct. I would just like some input on who's correct." She finished and the video blinked back to the logo screen.

"Wow, interesting topic, isn't it?" MC Dawon nodded and stroked his chin slightly.

"Very interesting." MC Seohyun agreed and then looked out into the audience, "Is Jisoo here today?"

From the right side of the audience, Jisoo raised a hand and a mic in the other, "I'm right here."

"First question," MC Arin said, "Are you still dating that boyfriend?"

Jisoo nodded, "I am."

"Ah, and how long have you been together?" MC Youngmin asked.

"We've been together for about a year." Jisoo answered which garnered a round of coos.

"And your parents are here too?" MC Youngmin questioned.

Jisoo nodded and gestured towards the older couple sitting two seats to Jisoo's right.

"Do you really believe that couples shouldn't fight if they really love each other?" MC Seohyun questioned the parents.

The father nodded quickly, "Of course, my wife and I have been married for 30 years and we have never fought once."

I gasped slightly. 30 years and not one fight? That seems a little impossible.

"I don't believe you." I commented before I could process what I was saying. "That's just not possible."

"That's what I think too." MC Arin agreed with me.

"It's true." The mother stated, "We haven't ever had a single fight."

"What about when you were dating, not married? Did you ever fight then?" I pressed.

The mother and father shared a glance and shook their heads.

"Nope." The father answered.

Leaning back in my chair, I stared dumbfounded at the parents. I had never met a couple who never fought.

"Okay, then let me ask the two couples we have here." MC Youngmin turns his attention to us. "Do you guys fight?"

Not thirty seconds had passed before Luna shook her head vigorously and Jaehoon responded with a strong "no."

I had to fight my facial expression at their terrible couple acting. Looking at Minghao, I found him looking back at me with a "why not?" expression. We had always been pretty open with the public about certain events or happenings in our relationship so there was no question to not answer honestly.

I turned back towards the MCs, hand intertwined with Minghao's.

"If we said we never fought, it'd be lie." I stated. "Sometimes we do fight, but we always make sure to talk later about what we were fighting about so we can work through the problem together."

"When we first started dating we definitely fought a lot more than we do now but that is just the process of getting to know each other and all that good stuff." Minghao continued.

"And you guys have been dating for a while, right?" MC Arin clarified.

Minghao and I both nodded, "We're coming up on a year and half soon." Minghao proudly smiles.

"How times do you think you've fought in that time?" MC Seohyun questioned.

"Mmm," I tilted my head to look up at the ceiling as I attempted to count our fights. "I'd say like 2 big fights and a few more bickerings."

Minghao nodded in agreement.

"Then can you really say that you belong together?" The father abruptly asked, shocking everyone in the studio.

"Excuse me?" Minghao was the first to speak before the MCs could collect themselves.

"That's quite a lot of fights." The father said in a tone bordering scolding.

I looked towards the daughter who was shaking her head in complete embarrassment. I knew then why she decided to sit a few chairs away from her parents.

"Actually, I think it's a healthy amount of fights." Minghao argued. I hadn't expected him to say anything so all I could do was watch and listen as he defended him and I. "Every couple is bound to fight because even though they may be your soulmate, their life style is bound to be different from yours. Which means adjusting needs to occur. And sometimes that adjusting creates a little too much friction which then leads to a fight. But the most important thing in any relationship," He turned to make eye contact with Jisoo, indicating that she needed to listen to these words, "is to make sure you resolve and talk about the fight. To make sure both parties are in an understanding and agreement."

Listening to him, I felt my heart bust so many coos that I was sure there was a visual representation, it'd be a puppy with the biggest puppy eyes known to man.

"And you should grow with each resolved issue." Minghao continues, "It's all about growing with your partner and that is a goal the both of you should strive for."

"Well, I didn't know Minghao was so philosophical." MC Arin threw out a light joke to disperse the tension radiating from the parents in the audience.

I quickly recollected myself from my state of awe, "He always has been, but usually only at home."

From my left, I heard Luna scoff every so silently under her breath. I ignored her and also turned towards JIsoo.

"I think you and your boyfriend are doing just fine." I told her, "Just remember that too many big fights is not good and that if the fights become about changing just one person and not compromising together, then it's not good."

Jisoo nodded with her lips tucked into an appreciative smile.  

I then addressed the parents who seemed to be sinking in their chairs at the seconds pass. "Though I also believe there are couples who don't fight. And that's fine. But it is not the only way to have a good relationship. So you shouldn't dictate your daughter's relationships just because she's trying to figure it out."

"And it's completely normal for couples to fight." MC Seohyeon emphasized again which I agreed with a nod.

"Absolutely normal." Minghao and I said at the same time, causing us to laugh at ourselves.

"Thank you." Jisoo said before giving the mic back to the staff member waiting in the aisle.

"You guys are really informative about this." MC Youngmin observed.

I nodded, "Minghao and I are pretty open about normalizing certain aspects of relationships."

"That's a great thing to hear." MC Arin nodded happily, "Shall we meet our next concern?" She moved onto the next segment with the ease of an experienced MC.

[thenightling]

Does The Frankenstein Monster have a soul?

    I have seen many strange blog posts and articles recently claiming that Mary Shelley’s creature in the Frankenstein novel does not have a soul.  I believe this does a disservice to Mary Shelley and the intention behind her story.       Before we proceed please note that this is written in the literary context of assuming that within the narrative humans definitely do have souls themselves.       First let is begin with the literal and possibly occult aspects of the Frankenstein Story.  Victor studied the works of Agrippa and Parcelsus in the novel.  Agrippa and Parcelsus were a self-proclaimed sorcerer and alchemist.  Victor was not studying hard science as we know it today, despite what you might see in some Frankenstein movies.   Victor was studying metaphysics and he was still a student when he brought his creature to life.  Many consider Frankenstein to be the first science fiction novel but without the actual description of how he brought his creature to life he could easily be the result of alchemy.   

   At no point does any character in the Frankenstein novel ever refer to The Creature as soulless.  Even Victor, who loathed his creation near the end, never described him as being without a soul. The closest thing to it is when he uses the term “mockery of a human soul” which indicates that what soul The Creature has he sees as an inhuman one.      

     An article from “The Conversationalist” argues that because the eyes are the gateway to the soul that this means The Creature is soulless since his eyes are watery and yellow.  But it is not that The Creature lacks eyes at all. It is that his eyes are different from a human’s.  Watery eyes suggests sad, expressive and tragic.   Eyes are usually watery as a result of deep emotion.   I cannot understand why a description of something often used to convey profound emotion would be used to mean “soulless.”   

     A different Google Search result on the subject of “Does the Frankenstein Monster have a soul” is a teacher’s resource site that claims it would be a good exercise for the class to discuss “Ways in which it is portrayed that The Creature in Frankenstein has no soul.”  But this is, again, pure speculation, and not based on anything of the actual novel.   The essay directly under this described “exercise” talks about how The Creature would not have killed Victor’s loved ones if he had a soul and that a creature with a soul would feel remorse for his actions.

     There are two things wrong with this sample essay.  First, many humans have killed other humans and shown no remorse. That does not mean they do not have a soul.  It means there is something wrong with their conscience.   The second thing the matter with this assumption is at the end of the Frankenstein novel The Creature does show remorse.   He laments the pain and suffering he has caused.   His education had consisted of books that glorified revenge as something noble and righteous and justified such as the actions of both God and Lucifer in John Milton’s Paradise Lost.  And he only learned after the fact that revenge only helped to make him feel more isolated from humanity and actually served to bring him no peace or satisfaction and in fact only helped to make him feel worse than what he already felt.      

  Now onto potentially more subjective content.  

     The Creature, who is well-spoken and articulate in the novel, repeatedly talks about his own soul.   He becomes obsessed with the depictions of Adam and Lucifer in John Milton’s Paradise Lost and is actually a surprisingly spiritual figure. He talks about his own soul frequently and does not seem to have any doubt that he has one.  He also seems quite certain of the fact that he will have an afterlife.  The indication here is simple. If humans have immortal souls that can ascend than logically- as he is capable of the full range of human emotion and thought- so does he.  

     Mary Shelley, herself, has been quoted as calling The Creature a “Poor soul” and “wretched soul” or “a romantic soul” and as she is the author I do not think she chose those wordings lightly.   Note:  I cannot precisely source these quotes at this time but most of what I have written here can easily be found in both the 1818 and 1831 editions of the novel Frankenstein.     

      It is also important to consider that if The Creature was indeed “Soulless” this feels like it would diminish Victor’s accountability for abandoning him, and the world’s fault in rejecting him.  It dampens and potentially ruins the entire idea that you ought to pity The Creature and are supposed to sympathize with him despite the horrible things he has done.  To claim he is without a soul overly exonerates those who have wronged him and immediately dehumanizes him, making the portions of the novel where The Creature tells Victor his own sorrows and experiences practically pointless and creates a barrier between the reader and character.  The ability to sympathize with him is dramatically reduced and I feel this would undermine Mary Shelley’s intentions by dehumanizing him further than Victor already did, and almost justifying mistreatment toward him.            

      It’s an odd thing to me, to see so many comments, articles, and blogs talking about him not having a soul.  I think people forget that in 1818 the soul was usually depicted as a person’s spirit, consciousness that could live on after-death, the part of you that thinks and feels.   Your very awareness.  In the nineteenth century if you could feel emotion and think it was considered a given fact that you have a soul because “You are a soul, you have a body.”   

     It seems that the modern “interpretation” of The Frankenstein Monster being soulless mostly comes from not quite understanding what the nineteenth century described the soul as in most literature.  This wasn’t the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer where the soul and conscience are easily confused and interchangeable.  

    It’s peculiar to me that a low budget schlock film like “I, Frankenstein” can explore The Frankenstein Creature’s soul and conscience with more respect for the source material and Mary Shelley than some so-called academics.  Kevin Grevioux is a very underrated writer and his film deserved a better budget and care than what it received.  This is why I like that low budget and cheesy little film.  

     In any event, if you are trying to figure out if The Frankenstein Monster has a soul or not I think it is safe to assume that at least the novel’s author and the character, himself, believed that yes, he does have a soul.   And I hope whoever was trying to figure this out heeds this post before the righteous rantings on the Google results from those whom I suspect might not have actually read the novel or may not have wanted to feel compassion toward The Creature.

___________________

Further note:  Lots of people mistakenly think Frankenstein’s main moral is not to play in God’s domain.  

I do not have patience for those with the assumption that the moral of the novel was "Don't play God." That's the 1931 film, not the novel. The themes of the novel included parental responsibility, the need to forgive, the futility of revenge, and judging by appearance.There are literary professors who have assumed the film was accurate in the novel's moral but thankfully most people who read the book know better. The Creature began benign and gentle and only went evil after several instances of mistreatment.  A third of the novel is there just to tell is this.  If simply creating him was Victor's sin then that diminishes Victor's accountability for how he treated him.  It's also why I don't like film versions where The Creature has an "abnormal brain."  It overly justifies the mistreatment of him and exonerates his creator.   If simply creating him was Victor's sin than we would not have been repeatedly told he would have remained Good if he had not been mistreated. Victor's sin wasn't creating him but how he treated him after he was created.  The "I shouldn't have played God thing"  was the 1931 film, not the novel.  Victor, himself, acts as if merely creating him was his sin but The Creature, and (at times) even Victor admitted that The Creature was once benign and gentle, until the cruelties of others got to him. Finally, "Modern Prometheus." PROMETHEUS! Why do so many people think Prometheus was some sinner who was righteously punished? Does no one know Greek mythology anymore? Prometheus was a Titan and the creator of the human race. In short, he was God. Zeus and the new Gods coveted light. The fire Prometheus stole represented knowledge and the power to invent. He gave humans (his own creatures) this and it pissed off Zeus. He severely punished Prometheus but it was unjust and in later myths he was freed. The great centaur who invented medicine even gave up his immortality as payment to keep Zeus from trying to return Prometheus to his punishment.  Mary Shelley's own husband, Percy Shelley, wrote Prometheus Unbound.

[anncanta]

Hierogamy: Dracula BBC and the myth about Kora-Persephone

Today I would like to talk about the mythological drama in the series Dracula and some of its aspects, without which, it seems to me, the perception of this text will remain incomplete, and the understanding will not be as deep as it deserves.

But first, perhaps, it is worth saying a few words about why it seems to me that it is so significant to consider the mythological drama in a work of fiction in general and in Dracula in particular. Isn't it enough just to look or read, perceiving the text as it is, and not going into the study of some complex deep layers? Sometimes it's enough. But more often – no, it isn't. The answer to the question of why so lies in the very nature of a story and the art of storytelling.

The mythological drama is never fully developed in the text at the formal level, although there is where it precisely can be seen. This seems to be a contradiction just at first glance: the drama (in its original ancient Greek meaning) is a kind of ‘deep development’ underlying all events and scenes. It is like a labyrinth, a skeleton, a matrix on which the rest is built and grows.

That is, why is it important to look ‘from here’? For the same reason that it was important for Jonathan Harker in the film to find a map: in order, firstly, to understand how the castle is arranged (and therefore Dracula himself), to relate himself to it in a certain way – and to get out of its boundaries, that is, to include the castle in a wider context, which will allow the character to find freedom.

Finding freedom, in this case, should be understood quite literally – as going beyond the limits of restrictions and, as Dracula and Jonathan each correctly note in their own way, – a look from above.

This view has many advantages, but the main thing is the ability to perceive what was seen in its integrity.

Because in a good story, ‘how’ is always ‘about what’, so if you don't understand ‘how’ or ‘for what’, or even ‘what it was’ in general, most likely you haven't read the text, and it remained for you something like a set of colored spots on the wall, beautiful or annoying, but – as researchers of the brain and psyche never tire of reminding, – in the absence of a ‘key’ such thing does not exist as the story itself.

It is not at all necessary, by the way, should be a mythological or psychological, archetypal, or fairy-tale ‘key’. Or all at once. At one stage or another in life, each viewer and reader needs their own set of the ‘keys’ or a specific one. First of all, it is the literal sense of the story at the plot level. But without a ‘key’ at all – there is no text. At least because the text itself, as a phenomenon consisting of – whether linguistic, pictorial, or auditory – signs, is a key – to our ability to imagine things that do not exist ‘in reality’, and to ideas, images, and meanings.

But back to the text.

In Dracula, the mythological drama is present at all levels, and there are no parts, ideas, or interactions between characters in any moment of the film where it would not be important in one way or another.

We will not consider all aspects in which the mythological context directly manifested itself, as it will take too much time. Let's see just one – the one that is the main motive of the film and somehow creates the main plot collision, and with it – the metaphor and essence of the story itself.

And this is the motive of hierogamy.

Hierogamy as a concept can be considered in two aspects. The first is mythological, in which it represents the name, description, and modeling in the ritual a sacred marriage (from the Greek ιερός γάμος, Latin hieros gamos) of the god and goddess, and the second is alchemical (archetypal), denoting the combination of male and female principles in the process of creating a philosopher's stone.

Hierogamy in one way or another includes a sexual context, in the sense that it puts at the center of the event and experiences ‘connection’ and ‘dissolution of boundaries’ to create a single one that will be greater than the sum of its parts.

In Dracula, both of these aspects are present and can be recognized from the very first minutes.

We will not go into details, just list a few examples.

The most obvious and conspicuous is Dracula's castle as the fruit of love between Petruvio and his wife (whose portraits hang side by side on one of the floors and, as we learn later, are the ‘entrance’ to the mystery of the castle and its structure, and at the same time – the ‘exit’ to the outside world), Jonathan as the bride of Dracula, thanks to the interaction with which the Count is able to leave his ‘prison without locks’, the connection of Mina and the remnants of Jonathan on the verge of space separated by the sacred bread, allowing Dracula to penetrate inside and give rise to a new interaction of the male and female, and so on.

But the fun begins to happen in the second episode.

Given as a prototype, a form and a plot configuration, the mythological drama of hierogamy has so far been satisfied with literal images of heroes and disclosure at the level of the plot. It was difficult to suspect something more in it than a direct (allegorical) depiction of mental and emotional processes. But in the second episode, a new layer appears in this story. Or rather, it stops hiding.

It's so simple, so obvious and so cheeky frank that when you watch it for the first time, you miss it in an attempt to follow the plot. And only by the end of the episode you do guess that you should follow something else.

Yes, we do not yet know – and we have nowhere to find out – that the action of the prologue of the second episode takes place on the same ship, which will become the stage for the internal and external drama, but the style and images, the very structure of the situation, gradually suggest what will be discussed here.

And it will be the drama of Kora-Persephone.

Let me briefly recall the content of the underlying ancient Greek myth about Kora, Hades, and Demeter.

The daughter of the goddess of fertility Demeter, Kora, attracted the attention of the ruler of the underworld, the god Hades, and he kidnapped her, taking her to him, to the lands of the dead. There Kora spent some time, communicating quite closely with Hades, after which she begged him to let her go to the ‘upper world’ for a while so that she could see her mother, whom she was terribly longing for. Hades fulfilled Kora's request, but on the condition that she would return, and gave the girl several pomegranate seeds for the journey. During her stay in the kingdom of Hades, Kora refused to eat anything, so by the time she received the gift she was very hungry, and therefore, soon after she found herself on earth, she ate the seeds. And since the pomegranate is the fruit of Hades and the symbol of marriage, this made her return to Hades a must. Meanwhile, in the ‘upper world’ fields and plants ceased to bear fruit, and eternal winter came, as Kora's mother, Demeter, mad with grief and longing for her daughter, turned away from people and nature. Zeus found a solution to the problem. He decreed that Persephone (that was the name of the goddess who had ceased to be a girl) should spend six months on Olympus, that is, with her mother, and six months – in the kingdom of Hades, now her husband.

Thus, the myth, on the one hand, describes in the language of an archaic worldview the logic of the changing seasons (Persephone on Olympus – Demeter rejoices, spring and summer come on earth, Persephone in the kingdom of Hades – Demeter suffers, autumn and winter come on earth), and from the other, represents the mystery cycle of successive transformations of a girl into a woman and the unification of male and female in sacred marriage.

Let's see how this mystery cycle unfolds in the film – on a formal and substantive level.

The ship on which Dracula sails to England is called Demeter. In the center of the plot of the episode are the abduction of a virgin (a nun is by definition a virgin, if not physically, then symbolically) and the interaction of the hero with her on a ‘lower’, deep level. Lower, in the sense – detached from the everyday, visible to everyone, taking place in the light of universal attention and perception.

The hero who kidnapped the virgin (by the way, we have no doubt that he kidnapped her, from the very beginning – just do not know how exactly it happened; and therefore our desire to follow them closely is so intense) does not completely belong to the world of the living, although he does not belong to the world of the dead either. He seems to live on the border, not being part of either of these two realities. So that no one has any doubts about who he represents, let us recall that Hades was not always associated with death among the Greeks, and was never considered the master of hell and a synonym for death and destruction. He created a kingdom for himself, which he called by his name, in order to live away from everyone. And only later did he become the ruler of the world of the dead.

Obviously, the description of Dracula's life in the castle refers to the reality of Hades in the underworld, largely parodying it. Because, although Hades is the king of shadows, he is still a king, and his kingdom is real. Whereas Dracula lives, in fact, in a dump filled with bad memories and rotting broken dolls, locked in the boxes.

But Hades also kidnapped Persephone, not on great terms.

Both stories, the mythological one, and the story told in the film, lead us to the fact that the hero (the masculinity, the organizing principle) for completeness and development lacks a partner, another view of the same world, a beloved-opposite.

Dracula finds her at the gates of the convent and, according to the logic of the mythological drama, drags her to him. There is an interesting moment: hardly, having captured Agatha, Dracula went with her immediately to the ship. Most likely, he first brought her to his home, that is, to the castle, and only after that, when the time came, he sent her to Demeter. So, their interaction began in the castle, in the literal realm of the dead, and continued on a ship in the middle of the sea, in a transitional space, in a space of changes. This fully corresponds to the myth of the transformation of Hades, who has gone from voluntary loneliness to becoming a king in the world of the dead, where everything is indefinite, mobile, unsteady and although it does not change in the sense in which it happens on earth, it represents the idea of ​​change as it is.

Everything is possible in the space of changes, therefore, here the most important thing for the whole film takes place, and that will give the story an impulse to move forward and being resolved in the form, which we see in the third episode.

Let's turn now to Agatha's story.

On the ship, she travels in the role of Kora – at first, abducted and held in the ‘underworld’ and not realizing her position (Hades, let me remind you, having kidnapped Kora, did not immediately make her his wife, and she was sort of his guest – until the moment when she persuaded him to let her go to earth to see her mother), and then – in fact, the mistress of this very kingdom.

Why mistress? It is rather difficult to answer this question. But there are details in the text that give hints and, on close examination, leave no room for double interpretation.

The simplest and most obvious is the physical location of the characters in the frame. They are on an equal footing, both in the center, and although Agatha is shorter than Dracula, she is as ‘in her place’ as he is and feels just as confident.

The second is how they communicate. In addition to the fact that the dialogue, the beginning of which we see in the prologue of the episode, is quite friendly and mutual (no one hangs over anyone, does not threaten anyone, and does not try to pressure – for those who have forgotten what it looks like, there is the final conversation in the convent), Agatha's position is read from the phrases thrown by Dracula in passing, but very eloquent. Such as ‘You choose’ – in response to the question of who will play black and who will play white. And this is only the upper layer of interaction, there are more of them, and on each one, it is acutely felt that here Agatha is not a prisoner, but a partner.

You might say, – of course, this is all part of an insidious plan to keep Agatha in the dark, and no real courtesy (not to mention real respect and closeness) is out of the question. Dracula is just playing with his victim. But this is the essence of the story and what happens on Demeter, as well as in the space of the original drama. Hades kidnaps Persephone as something alien, beautiful, and unfamiliar, something that attracted his attention in the distant upper world and that, like a fruitful grain, fell into his dark hermetic kingdom and ignited the spark of life in it.

Hierogamy and everything that precedes it is a mutual process, otherwise it makes no sense.

But then a moment comes in the story, which in the mythological drama corresponds to the stage of the earth, empty due to the grief of Demeter and the despair of Kora, yearning for the upper world.

On the ship, which has lost most of the passengers and half of the crew, because of Dracula's appetite, tension grows, and in the same way, it grows inside Agatha, who despite her quite comfortable position, begins to realize that something is wrong here.

Internal and external tensions converge at one point – on both sides of the doors of cabin number nine. And when the doors open, the mythological drama comes to the surface.

Interestingly, the story here does not even try to hide what it really is – from a detective in Agatha Christie's style, turning into a mystery action. Moreover, it directly admits it – when Dracula invites passengers and crew members of the ship to cabin number nine and brings them to Agatha's bed, he opens the curtain.

But what is going to happen here?

Let's see what the situation is in terms of structure.

The hero, who for a long period of time keeps a woman abducted by him from the ‘upper’ world, alien to him, experiences the invasion of this very world and is forced to present this woman to those around him and somehow explain her presence in this place and their relationship. Let us recall that the relationship between Kora and Hades also remained ‘unnoticed’ for the time being, or rather, until the moment when its uncertainty began to create problems.

Let's forget for a while about the individual needs and questions of passengers and crew – the important thing here is that all the ‘inhabitants’ of the ship demand to explain what is happening and to open cabin number nine.

Demeter demands Kora to her. She does not agree to put up with the current situation and calls Hades to account.

What remains for the hero? He, as in the Greek myth, acts with cunning: in this case, in the film, he tells the story that the woman lying in (his) bed is a murderer, the terrible eater of people whom passengers and crew have been unsuccessfully looking for throughout travels.

Dracula is trying to explain Agatha's presence here and now, on this ship and in these circumstances – not only to deflect suspicions from himself, but also to structure the situation in which they find themselves – not so much because he wants it, but because that he has no other choice.

What happens on deck is a logical consequence of his decision. Brought to light Kora is no longer the same as before – having visited the kingdom of Hades and entered into a close relationship with him, she can no longer remain a girl and just a daughter of her mother. Her innocence is left in the arms of the lord of the underworld. And since he really does not intend to let her go, all that remains for him is to make their relationship ‘legal’.

The hanging scene, entirely built on the interaction of Agatha, Dracula, and the ‘choir’ consisting of the crew of the ship and passengers, looks like another erotic at the same time (after the first scene in the convent), in which Agatha again from above and again largely dictates conditions, – and as a kind of coronation scene.

But not only the one.

There are so many meanings in this scene, and they are so closely intertwined and interconnected, that in order to see them all, you should carefully examine it – slowly, gradually.

First, Agatha is placed on a barrel and a noose is thrown around her neck, intending to execute her.

It would seem, what does Hades' marriage to Persephone have to do with it?

According to ancient pagan beliefs, the remnants of which are also preserved in Christianity, the bride, who left her home and married the fiancé, was considered dying for her previous life and being born for a new one.

Not everyone on the ship agrees that an unfamiliar and barely breathing woman is indeed guilty of the murders on the Demeter, and a dispute erupts between the judges hungry for justice. Among others, the captain speaks out and says that the woman standing on the barrel is the wife of the mysterious Mr. Balaur, who paid generously for her transportation in cabin number nine, without attracting unnecessary attention.

The word ‘wife’ is important. Firstly, because Dracula (Hades) still knows more than Agatha (Kora), even if he did not fully formulate it for himself. And secondly, because in the mythological reality in which the characters undoubtedly are, words matter. Let us recall that events still take place in a transitional space in the midst of changing and constantly moving waters. In this reality, what is not uttered is not defined. What is not shown does not exist. (I don't think I need to explain to anyone that cabin number nine is Schrödinger's box.) Thus, the one who utters the word determines this reality.

In the noise that arose after the recognition of the captain, most of the spoken words are lost, but two of them are heard clearly and turn out to be the main ones. This is the word ‘bride’, declared as a negation, and ‘wife’ disputed by no one.

At the plot level, this is just a confusion, a skirmish of frightened and distrustful people, but at the symbolic level, everything is clear and logical.

First, the bride announced that she is not the one (‘I'm not Balaur's bride!’).

Second, another person declared publicly that she was the wife of Mr. Balaur. Who, in turn, is nothing more than a mask, a pseudonym for Dracula. This is not enough for marriage, you say. Yes, sure. At the plot level, no doubt. But the characters are in symbolic space. And here, in this space, it is important who utters these words.

The captain pronounces them – a person who, by his position, is the master on the ship, who has the right to judge and resolve disputes, the right to execute and pardon, and – to seal marriages.

But this is not enough either. There are almost no coincidences in such texts. It was not in vain that I mentioned that the word ‘wife’ was not disputed. A mythological drama is being played out before us, but it is being played out in a nineteenth-century setting. Therefore, for a legal marriage, another formula becomes significant.

‘And if there is anyone among us who knows the reason why this marriage should not be contracted, let's tell now or be silent forever.’

Then one final touch is missing to complete the ceremony.

The moment when Agatha asks who has the courage to knock over the barrel and hears Dracula's answer: ‘Me,’ on a metaphorical level, ‘closes’ the frame of the ritual action.

The fiancé approaches the bride and makes a movement to ‘end the game’ – literally to kill Agatha, and symbolically, to complete her transition from bride status to wife status. Here even blood is present as an attribute of the loss of virginity, even though, in this case, the bride has long since said goodbye to it. But we are talking about the symbolic aspect of what is happening.

Let's not forget, however, that the lord of the underworld kidnapped Kora-Persephone and involved her in marriage without her direct and informed consent (more on this later). Therefore, Agatha's actions, when she spits blood in Dracula's face, literally designed to reveal his vampire nature for everyone, symbolically signify the resistance of Kora-Persephone and the desire to escape from her husband. But some things, having started, are quite difficult to stop, so Dracula still knocks over the barrel. Having successfully landed surrounded by ‘guests’ at the wedding, Agatha survives. But on a symbolic level, her death was not the goal. The goal was to physically separate one part of her life from another. This is exactly what happened.

Thus, we can conclude that after the end of the second episode, we are no longer facing Kora, but Persephone – the queen of the underworld.

But, as in the myth, Persephone at this stage is still the point of intersection of the conflicts of several characters. This is Hades, who wants her to return to him from the upper world, Demeter, who does not think to retreat, and... Persephone, who needs to deal with herself and who she is now, and how she will continue to be.

At the mythological level, it is the conflict that will become central in the third episode.

In the myth, at the request of Persephone and Demeter, Hades released Persephone to the upper world, giving her (some sources say – forcing to eat, but this is unlikely since it does not correspond to the function of that types of objects in myths and fairy tales) several pomegranate seeds... It was because of this that Persephone, having eaten them already on earth, was forced to return back to the underworld.

Do you remember what happens in the third episode?

Zoe van Helsing (a doctor, who, by profession, every day deals with the reality of both the ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ worlds, and exists and works on their border) – who can be considered a kind of ‘earthly’ incarnation of Agatha, Persephone from ‘upper world’, meets Dracula, whom she did not think to meet. By her own admission, she never really believed that Dracula would be found. And Dracula, seeing that his ‘wife’ does not remember him and does not want to return, gives her his blood and offers to ‘read’ it – if Zoe guesses how to do it.

That is, you understand – he does not directly offer her to drink his blood. He only gives her what she wants. Just like in the myth.

Zoe is a researcher, and besides the fact that she may have hoped that Dracula's blood would somehow help her recover from a fatal disease, she probably really wanted to know the secret of vampire blood, as any real scientist, inquisitive and hungry for knowledge.

Now let's turn to myth again. Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds that Hades gave her because she was hungry because she refused food all the time she was with him.

By the way, these seeds originated from drops of Dionysus blood.

The connection of Dionysian ecstasy, wine, blood, intoxication, and the processes occurring at the level of the ‘lower world’ – the world of the corporeal and the unconscious, is spoken directly in the text several times, but I think there is no need to dwell on this here.

After that, it is not surprising that the symbolism of the field appears here, – in the middle of which Zoe finds herself after drinking Dracula's blood. If in the second episode Demeter was present as a ship, a womb, a mother, carrying the potential of the future and protecting her child, then in the third she appears before us as a fertile layer, a bed, giving Agatha-Zoe-Persephone her blessing and, thus, the opportunity to complete the transformation and become a full-fledged spouse of her husband, at the same time, keeping the connection with the mother on a new level.

All this allows the story to unfold in the finale in a mysterious – alchemical context.

The fact is that the cult of fertility, the cult of Kora-Persephone, presumably formed the basis of the Eleusinian mysteries, mythology, and philosophy of which greatly influenced the views of medieval Western European alchemists. From here comes the similarity and continuity of images, ideas, and descriptions of processes, a close, often inherited metaphor, and, in a certain sense, an underlying common myth.

As the screenwriters themselves remind in one of the interviews, Dracula is a story of resurrection. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that in the finale of the third episode and the entire film, the mythological motive of Kora-Persephone and the alchemical one – coniunctio oppositorum* – are combined in one hierogamy.

This is openly stated in the text as well. In one of the last scenes of the series, Dracula says, addressing everyone present at once, and indirectly to the viewer: ‘Journey's end. Lovers meeting.’ This is a literal description of the alchemical stage of the union of the masculine and feminine principles.

Therefore, in the final scene, he and Agatha are making love – at the level of the plot, this is due to the development of their relationship as individuals, as a man and a woman, but at the symbolic level this is because the opposites they represent have reached a state where they can merge to give the beginning of a new one.

It is important to remember here what the story is constantly showing visually: there is what is happening on the ‘outer’ plane and what is on the ‘inner’ plane. The space of the film is constantly divided into two levels-states: Dracula's castle and the monastery, the monastery and the area in front of the monastery gates; what is happening in Agatha's workshop and the same thing – recorded in Dracula's blood and played in Zoe's head, Dracula and Agatha, lying on the table in Dracula's apartment, and Dracula and Agatha together in a golden light.

Let me remind you again: a real myth, an archetypal drama, very rarely unfolds in front of the viewer or reader directly, told in literal, poster language. Most often they turn out to be ‘wrapped’, embedded in the shell of a legend, parable, or fairy tale. In this sense, nothing has changed since the time of the ancient Greeks. The basic narrative structures are the same. How, perhaps, we all remained the same. Therefore, stories like this work. Therefore, they are important.

And also – because they are all-conquering beautiful.

* Сoniunctio oppositorum (Latin) – the combination of opposites. One of the key stages of alchemical Work.

P. S. In conclusion, I would like to show a few symbolic images from alchemical treatises. I will not show the corresponding scenes from the film – I think you yourself will recognize them. The first two illustrations are prints from the Splendor Solis, the third – from the Rosarium philosophorum.

[prince-liest]

Do you have any writing advice to make words feel FULL, to give sentences life in a show don't tell way, not too many adjectives? Make it sound beautiful and expressive of feelings.

I keep getting writing advice asks, and every time I love it, because these require me to think about why I write things the way I do and why it’s effective. Prior to talking about it, I often wouldn’t be able to actually put a finger on it! Anyways, anon - I totally do! I’m sure this isn’t comprehensive, but here’s some of the thoughts I had on this subject:

"Show, don’t tell,” is a phrase that’s thrown around a lot in writing, and like with all writing advice, it’s something to be taken with a grain of salt. Telling can be super effective! But, when it comes to being deeply emotionally expressive, I think a bulk of that comes from “showing,” at least in my writing.

When I write about what characters feel, I try to focus on getting a physical, visceral description of what it is like to experience certain emotions. How would I describe that twisting nausea in the pit of my stomach that comes before checking my grade on an exam? Or sitting in front of a person that is important to me, trying to confess something about myself, and the utter paralyzing inability to cough the words up out of my throat? Or the sudden, energizing warmth that suffuses my limbs when I think about something a friend did, to the point where I grin into my pillow and kick at the mattress to get the energy out? I can call those things dread, or anxiety, or joy - but if I use those words, the reader will transpose their own experience upon them, often without a great deal of depth. If I instead tell the reader the sensations a character is experiencing, then the reader gets to share in that experience.

Metaphors are also a great tool for this! Especially ones that come from your personal reflection on what something feels like rather than a typical description of something. “There is a lump in his throat, big and heavy and impossible to voice his question past lest his voice crack apart,” is very nice, but doesn’t hit quite as hard as, “‘Why’ sits on his tongue like a hot coal, excruciating to spit out but equally agonizing to keep clenched between his teeth. He swallows it instead, and it blisters his throat on the way down.”  A metaphor is just another unique way of saying ‘this is what this experience is like,’ and you can load so much meaning into one if you connect it to multiple aspects of the scene (like the feelings, double meanings, significant imagery to a character or situation, etc). Finding new ways to describe things is something I love to do, and I always note it down for inspiration when I read a particularly beautiful description in another story...

... And sometimes, you can just ‘tell’ instead of showing! I like doing this strategically, and in direct contrast to previous ‘showing’! Since I write from a limited character perspective, the narration itself is in an indication of my POV character’s mental narrative. If I write several paragraphs of an escalating anxiety spiral that someone is desperately trying to wrestle under control, and then I cut a paragraph off mid-sentence to transition to a bare-bones intruction manual-esque description of nothing but the actions a character is performing... like, damn, doesn’t that tell you something, too? About that character’s breaking point, about how they’re dealing (or failing to deal) with their feelings? The fact that I stopped ‘showing’ is a way of showing, too. Priming readers and then letting them be the ones to lend weight to your words can be really powerful.

I hope that some of this helped you, anon! Playing with words is very fun, and I like to think of writing fully and colorfully as a way of painting an experience with words rather than just a visual scene. Also, adjectives are your friend! You just have to pick the right ones!

[animatedminds]

Pixar’s Soul: Review and Reaction

The first sentence I’ve always used to describe Pete Docter and Pixar’s Soul since watching it has nothing to do with the plot. It’s instead is a starstruck comment about the music: the movie begins with a cover of a Duke Ellington classic - Mercer Ellington’s “Things Ain’t What they Used to Be.” It ends with a jazz rendition of a classic from several decades later - but still quite a bit in our past - Curtis Mayfield’s soul classic “It’s Alright.” On a personal level, this would say way more about Soul that most other descriptions of it might to get me to watch it - were I not the kind of person who was absolutely intent on watching the movie day one regardless. Though I am myself a few generations after either of those artists were around, their music has been a part of my life since I was a kid and are essential on any playlist in my opinion. Curtis Mayfield’s music, especially, deserves all the love in the world, and hearing by surprise someone cover his work in a Disney movie made my entire day - and it would have, even if the film weren’t the meaningful ride it is.

But before we get into all that, lets also look at those songs. “Things Aren’t What They Used To Be” is played a la a teacher and a higher school band class: the students are learning and a bit difficult to listen to, while the music-loving teacher cringes at the front. But the choice of song tells us a lot. It’s a jazz standard: which means when it comes to jazz, it’s one of the essentials - a tune every band learns to play, and every jazz fan has heard before. The teacher is a jazzman - you can probably guess who - and the whole time he’s listening to the song you can hear him wanting to sit down and make it sound as perfectly as he hears it in his head. Remember that analogy. Heck, when you watch or rewatch the movie, remember the mindset Joe - because that’s who that teacher is, Joe Gardner, is in for that whole teaching scene in the first place: and remember how important the desire to make things perfect is to the greater story the movie is trying to tell.

“Things Aren’t The Way They Used To Be,” indeed. By the end, you have to wonder: isn’t that the point? Now the second song. “It’s All Right” is a smooth number for dancing to - not frenetic and wild dancing, but more a slow jam sort of vibe. BUt it’s the lyrics that are the most befitting the themes of the movie. Like several of Curtis Mayfield’s tunes “It’s All Right” is an ear worm of an R&B number that’s actually about being a peace with yourself. “You’ve got soul” - ha, I get it - “and everybody knows, that it’s all right.” Or, to quote instead my favorite verse of the song (I did say Mayfield was one of my favorites): “when you wake up early in the morning feeling sad like so many of us do, hum a little soul, make life your goal, and surely something’s gonna come to you.” This is before the spoilery part of the review, but they could not have picked a better song for the movie’s themes if they wrote it themselves.

Soul, after all, is ultimately a movie about how the things we do, the things we love, even the things that define us and should make us feel good in and of themselves, can become a shackle that prevents us from feeling the things that we adopt them to feel. Dreams - especially dreams deferred - can consume us rather than uplift us, and sometimes in pursuing them we may forget to live, and forget that others are living in this world and dreaming alongside us.

This, as you might be able to tell from the way I’ve described it, is a movie with a very strong, and most importantly very well related message that - as we’ve come to expect from Pixar’s output at this point - touches us in our jaded adult hearts. As a creative person with lofty dreams who has almost literally been where the protagonist is in this film - and as many in my generation also have gone through - it definitely feels like a film that was directed straight at the generation that first watched Toy Story as kids decades ago, and now feel somewhat unfulfilled as adults going into the world. Same as Inside Out (a movie specifically designed to make adults cry, in my opinion), the SparkShorts and arguably Onward (I definitely related to Bailey, some). So much like my review of Jingle Jangle, you have something of an idea where this review is going to go before the jump, but that’s okay. This movie did have ups and downs, but its just the kind of up Pixar is good at: they know they’re audience, and especially did for this gem. By the end, it can definitely make you feel as though you too can make it through, as long as you have a little Soul. However, it is not just the message, but the nuances and skill in which they relate that message (and they do come close to making decisions that could have ruined it, at times), which means it’s very difficult for me to put why this movie works into a review without SPOILERS. If you want to avoid SPOILERS, don’t hop over the pic and instead treat the above as your non-SPOILER review.

Soul is the story of one Joe Gardner, played by Jamie Foxx a brilliant early middle-aged pianist with lifelong dreams of becoming a jazz musician, who we first meet teaching part time band at a local high school. The inciting incident is an interesting choice: Joe gets a major offer - he can come on as a full time teacher, making his occupation a career! But Joe believes very much in the adage that “those who cannot do, teach” - in the sense that he wants to do. He cannot accept the position - over the advice of his mother - because that would mean giving up on his dream of being out there playing music for a living: a dream that has consumed him his entire life but which has given him nothing in return. Until now. While agonizing over the decision to take the position, Joe's life then gets a big twist: a former student of his, remembering him fondly years after they knew each other, has a hook for him to join the band of a famous jazz singer and saxophonist - played by Angela Basset (side note, here: jazz has long had a reputation for being something of a boys club, especially for certain instruments, and the choice to have the lead saxophonist and famous idol whose band Joe wants to join be a woman is a great choice that my entire jazz-loving and living family took note of). Joe is instantly elated - he rushes over and naturally aces the audition for the part in the band, and so is on cloud nine...

Until he dies. That’s when the plot really starts. Joe falls down a manhole like an astronomer in an aesop fable, and is now stuck on the slow escalator to The Great Beyond. Naturally, he’s not for that and tries to escape - pursued by overeager spiritual soul-accountant Terry - ending up in the Great Before instead, and leaving his body in a still-living coma (the implications that coma patients in general are people who are choosing not to die when they’re “supposed” to is something I’m sure the writers didn’t intend, so I’ll let it slide). There, Joe is pressganged into mentoring a pre-prepared soul for birth, helping them find their Spark for life - which Joe interprets as the one true purpose and dream they are meant to fulfill. Once he gets them their Spark, he will be able to steal a badge his mentee earns as fully fledged souls and . Luckily for his intended very morally suspect intent on spiritual larceny, he ends up with Soul #22 - and that’s #22 out of hundreds of billions - a soul who has simply never found a Spark despite having been in the Great Before for thousands of years. #22 doesn’t want to live, so she agrees to give him her patch when they’re done. But no mentor before has been able to inspire her (well, technically #22 is genderless, as she demonstrates in the story at Joe’s request, but she is voiced by Tina Fey), so how can Joe? When that proves to be too hard indeed, #22 instead decides to help Joe get back - mostly because she’s intrigued at why anyone would want to cling to life so badly - with the help of some mystics who astral project while in the Zone: where everyone goes when they’re fully immersed in what they do. This almost works, but at the last second everything goes awry: #22 gets mixed up with Joe when he returns, and so he doesn’t quite get back the way he wants to...

That’s enough plot summary for now. That’s all just the set-up anyway, for the choices in writing and concept that I’m about to talk about. As you might have been able to tell from that ominous last note, the middle chunk of Soul - almost right up until the climax, in fact - is actually a body-swap movie, a la Freaky Friday. #22 ends up in Joe’s body, so he has to get her to do the things he needs to get ready for his gig and get through the day while they wait for the mystic to bring a way to set everything right. And did I mention he’s in the body of a cat? Having been following the movie, this wasn’t entirely a surprise, but it was still not something I was entirely ready for coming in. I tend to shy away from that kind of story on a personal level, as body-swap narratives are nearly predominantly based on cringe moments and awkward misconceptions - and that sort of thing usually tends to make me want to leave the scene in question and get a cup of water until after the awkwardness passes. However, this isn’t really part of the review in the sense that I perceive that the movie being in that genre is a flaw - because ultimately that’s just an aspect of my personal taste. Rather, I use it to show just how strong a movie Soul was and how well its narrative choices resonated with its themes that ultimately while it did indeed partake in your typical body-swap narrative cringe moments - “look, the [redacted] in Joe’s body just ran into his boss / mom!” / “look, the [redacted] is having a bizarre conversation with Joe’s friends!” / etc - those moments actually add to the narrative rather than take you out of it. Joe as “friends,” as exemplified by the barber he goes to to get his hair ready for the gig when it inevitably gets ruined in a bout of hijinks (the barber being that extremely well-designed bearded character the internet went wild over). He goes to that barber all the time, talks with him constantly, and believes he knows him well. But it turns out that Joe’s so wrapped up in his wants and desires that he’s never even asked him about his life - he just assumed that the barber was like him, born to do that one thing he was good at. It takes #22′s innocent, slightly off-kilter and occasional philosophical questions about what the heck all this “life” stuff is about for Joe to learn that this person in his life didn’t even want to be where he ended up initially, he ended up there because that’s the way his life turned, but he loves it because it’s life and he appreciates the world he’s come to create around himself. Likewise, he runs into his mom, but while Joe has come to expect his mother to be dismissive of him and his dreams, it takes an accident with #22 for him to realize that he’s been so caught up in his desires and her in her preconceptions that neither of them have ever had a real talk about their relationship, nor given a chance to grow in each other’s eyes. You might notice a trend. One of Joe’s students - a brilliant trombonist - comes to tell him she’s quitting band, but she doesn’t really. She’s just insecure because the other students make fun of her. Joe knows this already - it’s become commonplace to him - so the doesn’t feel the need to do anything about it and instead focuses on his own needs. But #22 decides to talk to her on a whim, and this push and pull of insecurity but joy in what one is good at fascinates her, while it bores Joe. While - like any other New Yorker - public transit is a chore to Joe, the melting pot of people and music draws #22 in: best evidenced by the moment where Joe and #22 meet another great musician playing for tips in the subway. Joe, despite being capable of relating as a musician, just walks past him after appreciating the sound for a sec, while #22, entranced by the things people do, leaves something for him. The world is drab and lacking in vibrancy from Joe’s point of view, as evidenced by the very accurate grimy look of the high school he work at - but from #22′s seemingly jaded eyes seeing it for the first time, it’s full of wonder.

This actually creates an interesting character contrast on top of the one we already know: Joe is the idealist, and #22 is the cynic... right? Well, it turns out Joe doesn’t have much of an appreciation for the world around him - not intentionally, but still to a very strong degree - whereas #22 simply hasn’t had the chance to experience life yet and thus never knew what it was that made people want to be part of it. Life itself becomes her Spark, though neither of them realize it at the time. Lets just get the aesop out of the way now. Your dream is not your life: that’s what Soul wants to say. Things that compel you as a person may consume you, even embitter you, and prevent you from seeing the world around you for what it is. But that doesn’t make dreams a bad thing: people everywhere find that Spark from the dreams to keep moving forward - it’s just that it shouldn’t preclude living, nor should living preclude your dreams. Life is a delicate balance, and man is this movie serving up some complicated life lessons here. I immediately took this as a far more mature take on the message The Princess and the Frog stumbled somewhat through years ago (man, I’m turning out to be pretty hard on that movie in this blog). My biggest issue with PATF is that it tells us that Tiana should be less intent on her dream and find love instead, but doesn’t show us. It’s just characters chiding her for not settling down until the plot ultimately pushes a man in front of her and she realizes she should’ve been finding one all along. That’s a very harsh way of putting it, but it condenses what I’m trying to say: ultimately PATF pushes Tiana to realizations she doesn’t seem to need, whereas Soul has a similar message about life and does so by focusing on character development, about how the protagonist doesn’t have as firm a handle on his life as he thought, and thus brings us a take on the lesson that’s far less cut and dry.

If you’re a fan of The Incredibles, the comparison to Mr. Incredible is fairly easy. Joe, though well meaning and decent overall, is a very self-centered person who happens to be so for very sympathetic and relatable reasons. He just wants to do the thing he feels he was born to. He'll do anything to get back to life and do that thing, even for a single night. He’s consumed by this desire so much that he's oblivious to the people around him, unable to connect to the people he loves, and unable to find joy in anything but his dream. And man, as a young writer who knows in their heart of hearts they can do great things and feels pain at the idea of not doing so, that hits different let me tell you.

The lessons Joe learns from #22 even stick. It turns out that part of what caused Joe’s dream to fail all those time was because of that lack of connection with life. He never presented himself in a way that got people to take notice of him, he never pushed for that position he wanted even though people said no, he never made himself and his life so vibrant that he glowed in the eyes of others (and again, that hits different). That’s maybe the most simplistic message of the bunch, but as a person in the creative field it’s true that sometimes being the smartest person in the room isn’t enough: it’s making himself shine that ultimately clinches Joe the gig even after he almost lost it thanks to the day’s shenanigans.

But in the end, it doesn’t feel like he thought he would.

Remember when I said there are parts where the movie comes perilously close to kiboshing its message? That moment is one, it’s the one. Not that that moment is bad - far from it, it’s the best moment in the entire movie (and you can fight me on that if you want to). It’s because it’s the crossroads, the pin, the core of the entire film: depending on the choice they made after that point, that moment could have either been the best moment in the entire movie, or the moment that toppled everything.

The realization of Joe’s dream doesn’t feel like the explosion of confetti and catharsis that he expected. It was just another moment of his life, a great one, but it’s still just part of his life. So what does Joe do? Does he panic? Does he keep going until it feels good? Does he - as he would in a lesser movie trying to give a cookie cutter aesop - immediately quit and realize he should’ve been teaching all along? No, he does none of those things. He absorbs the moment. He realizes that at the end of the dream you’re still just living life, and that you have to appreciate that. Joe isn’t wrong for pursuit of his dream. He’s not wrong for believing that hopes and dreams make life so much more worthwhile. He’s wrong in thinking that those dreams are all that define us, and that their realization is all that makes people themselves worthwhile at all.

And in the end - though I may be getting a bit too referential for this - the unexamined life is just so much less fulfilling than the alternative.

And all that a message and a half! It hits different. It’s mature as all heck. It’s something people my age (especially in my generation), twice my age, half my age never learn. It’s a callsign that sometimes Pixar is still make movies for the people who were kids way back when Toy Story was released, and are now insecure adults wondering why the world isn’t as wonderful as they saw on the screen. It’s brilliant. I said before that Joe interprets the “Spark” to be one’s purpose in life. The one thing that makes them who they are, that they are on the planet to do. He is wrong, absolutely and utterly. And in that misconception, when #22 finally does get their Spark just from being on Earth and seeing what its life, he accuses them of leeching self-actualization over his own personal ambitions, fully believing that they didn’t find a “purpose" on her own, but just copied his. But the Spark, as it turns out, is just the joy of living, the thing that makes people want to live. It can come from a dream, or just from watching the beauty of the sun set over a leaf drifting in the wind. Only in understanding this can Joe finally understand what he’s been missing in life, only then can he reconcile with #22 and help her finally be born, only then can he walk into the world and know how he’s going to live it.

We never find out what Joe decides, whether he goes back to teaching, or continues with the band. The choice is open to him, but we never find out which one he takes - another choice that keeps the aesop from falling apart. The point of all of that wasn’t that Joe has to do one thing or another to be happy, it was that Joe needs to be happy and secure in himself before he chooses what his life should be. Either of those could make him happy. Neither of those could. But now he’s in a much better place to see it, and do what he can.

We also never find out what #22 is like when she (or he, etc) is born. The two of them never meet past the point where #22 goes to Earth. Their time together has passed, and #22′s life is now their own. And that’s a great choice either. I’ve seen the occasional person feel that the choice made in this paragraph or noted in the previous one made the story confusing, but they’re ultimately what make the story what it is. The answer isn’t the necessity of resolution, its the reaffirmation of the journey. It reminds me somewhat of Wreck-It Ralph (an example of the main Disney Studio delivering a complex aesop, rather Pixar delivering them all), where being a villain wasn’t Ralph’s problem - it was that he wasn’t happy doing the thing he loved. You have to live, from living you will learn, and from learning you will do. The sheer incredible execution of this message (as you may have guessed, it’s a fairly difficult one to relay adequately in a film narrative, and the movie goes non-traditional in conclusion to maintain it) would have made this film a recommend for me even if it wasn't also beautifully animated, very well acted, funny (there’s a Knicks joke that floored me), heartwarming and relatable. But it’s also all of those things, so I have to recommend it twice as much. It is, regrettably, another movie with a black lead where the lead spends most of it transfigured into a form that’s not a black person (a soul, and then a cat), and I’ve already seen some grumbling that instead for much of it a character explicitly coded as a white woman is in his body instead, but I perceive that as an issue that’s endemic to the industry than a fault in this movie specifically. Everyone does that, but this is the only movie I’ve seen where doing that is an essential part of how the narrative develops the characters (Joe has to not be himself in order to understand his life from an outside perspective, a la Scrooge as a ghost watching his own history), and so I don’t scorn the movie for it. I, however, would very much like Hollywood to start doing that less, and - hey - as a prospective writer that’s one of those things I plan to do my part to combat. This movie, however, gets a pass in my book in ways that the general usage of this concept does not. In short, you should see it. If you get the chance to see it right now, you should take it to feel good at the end of this incredibly insane year. If you don’t want to have to sign up for Disney+ to see it now, I get you and understand, but if you get a chance to see it later do not pass it up. It’s one of the few movies I’ve watched that are an instant buy when it becomes available on digital - and the last time a movie did that for me was BlacKKKlansman. Whatever you choose to do, do it well. Keep the spirit alive, always keep searching for the real you - because it’s not always easy to find, but it’s worth looking for - and always remember that you could always have a little soul.