#metaphors of light burning out inner darkness

[red-akara]

"It's not a loop...it's a spiral."

A loop has no beginning or ending. You start off in one direction and will always return to where you were before.

A spiral may feel like a loop when you're in one. But it's only by viewing from a different perspective, do you realize how much progress you've made. And further more, the spiral has an end. And you get to decide where that happens.

[felassan]

ancient meta from the dawn of time and by that I mean pre-DA:I's release in 2014 [edited for brevity] [the Hermit card].

"The Inquisitor’s Edition of DA: Inquisition comes with a deck of 72 tarot cards, both major and minor arcana, with custom artwork Solas - The Hermit The Hermit, set against a barren landscape, leans on his staff and holds a lamp in front of him to light the way in the darkness. Let’s start with the obvious: Solas is literally a hermit. The card speaks of retreat, wandering, distance, reclusion, solitude and (when reversed) loneliness. In the story of the Tarot, the Hermit heads out at night, peering at and examining whatever takes his fancy. In the same way, Solas walks the Fade while asleep, finding brilliant unimaginable lights, only to smile in delight and move in for a closer look. The Hermit’s lantern illuminates animals that only come out at night, flowers that only open in moonlight or starlight - Solas sees things in the Fade that can only be found if you go in without fear, without preconceptions, your way illuminated by the knowledge. The Hermit wants the truth at all costs - Solas values freedom of thought above all else. In readings, the Hermit can symbolize a wise person with a philosophical attitude. The person may also be someone older, like the old man the Hermit is usually portrayed as. The person may be someone the querent meets who will give them the insight, tools or training needed to overcome an obstacle - someone who can shine a light on things that were previously mysterious or confusing. This comes from an interpretation of the Hermit: he has internalized the lessons of life to the point that he is the lesson. Now he returns from isolation to bestow boons on his fellow man and share the knowledge he has gained. Now he is like his lantern, illuminated from within by all that he is, capable of penetrating the darkness. He helps, acts as a mentor and offers wise counsel. In the knowledge he offers the Inquisitor, Solas embodies one of the meanings of the card - guidance. The Hermit is ruled by Virgo. if anyone is going to take a lantern into a dark place to see what’s going on, it’s a Virgo. Solas reflects key themes of the card such as going on a personal, solitary quest." </end 2014 rambling>

[emphasis added rn]

Light is a super common metaphor for knowledge, wisdom, insight and guidance. Cole says "He wants to give wisdom, not orders". The riddles in Lateral Thinker, in which we have to light a series of braziers with Veilfire torches, go:

"The Dread Wolf keeps its gaze on the one light that illuminates the way forward. // Where the Dread Wolf's gaze blazes, paths are brought to light. // When the Dread Wolf's gaze is bright, light burns in a ring of the dead. // One sees the hunter, one flees from it, one hunts it in turn, one outwits them all."

A lighthouse is a tower-like structure designed to emit light and act as a beacon. The Game Informer article calls Solas' Lighthouse a "towering" structure. this magical realm in the Fade is his lair, his inner sanctum, his home base; it reflects him (and his hermitty isolation). the article kind of likens it to visiting your friend's bedroom, it's not a showy place like Skyhold or a fortress, it's something realer and more intimate than that. you could read it as, Solas' personal home in the magical Fade is called a lighthouse because Solas, like the Hermit with his lantern or little flame in his hand, is like a lighthouse, a beacon in the dark - as if the "flaming Rook" emblem on the front of the 'red book' isn't just a fiery rook as in the chess piece or Tower card with Fen'Harel above it, but a tower-like structure, a lighthouse, and at its top blazes a bright fire, a beacon of light like those atop a lighthouse, where Solas himself resides, lighting the way.

[verysium]

PLEASE DO BLUE LOCK ICKS IM BEGGING🙏😭🌹

😏 coming right up anon. gonna channel my inner critic and not hold back on any of these.

RIN

brother complex. not much else to say except that he needs to get a life. not everything is about metaphorically crushing your older brother's dreams and brooding in the dark hate of retribution.

competitive but only because he is a desperate whore for external validation. ignores everyone but craves the attention of a sole person named sae itoshi. was defeated by isagi once and has never let go of it since. has a one-track mind that is impossible to derail. stubborn when he wants to be.

probably a virgin and will continue to be one until his late 30s.

has not known a single day of peace ever since sae ditched him for the popular girlies. as a result, he has developed a very concerning case of social awkwardness. his idea of a conversation involves a brick wall and thirty minutes of you staring at his resting bitch face. constantly looks like that one grumpy cat meme. judges you for your poor decisions but then gets aggressively defensive when you point out his own mistakes.

reeks of so much teen angst that even metallica can't save him. the problem is that he has nothing to back up his emo persona. his insults lack creativity and, unfortunately for him, phrases like "lukewarm" and "half-baked" and "hell" do not make his words carry more weight. uses the f-word but in the most embarrassing context that it makes you facepalm and internally cringe.

SAE

zero social awareness. this boy's head is empty. the lights are not on up there. there are no picture frames or furniture. the curtains are drawn, and there is not a sliver of clouds or sunshine. cannot read body language and does not know what a filter is.

the source of all of rin's stress. he is the original trauma projector, creator of generational cycles. not even subtle about it. "turns out i was wrong. i thought japan was incapable of ever giving birth to decent forwards." sir....with the way you worded that, you knew exactly what you were doing when you gave rin false hope.

swears but it's even worse than his brother. literally called his elders a "fatso and bob cut duo" and "insect turd." i mean....there is a line between what is considered a legitimate burn and what is a first grader making up insults in his coloring book.

has a horrible haircut and no fashion taste. i already talked about this previously, but it was so bad it deserved a second mention.

a freak but tries to justify it rationally. like what do you mean you can tell a person's athletic ability from their buttock size? just admit you have a kinky fetish already.

somewhat of a coward but i'm gonna give him some leniency due to his tragic child genius backstory. tbh he's just an eighteen-year-old boy who needs a goddamn break.

KAISER

alexa please play clown music. this man sets himself for failure and then wallows in self-pity when he actually fails. like what did you expect? you knew what was going to happen the moment you challenged isagi like that. it was most definitely your fault you got violently humbled.

has a borderline god complex (currently calls himself an emperor but has not evolved into a deity yet.) unfortunately, he does not stand on business. cue the dramatic meltdowns when he realizes there is an actual gap between his ability and his reputation. if you're going to lie, at least make it believable.

insecure and mentally unstable. he probably cuts and re-dyes his hair every single time shit happens. no wonder his locks get shorter every time.

lazy when it comes to anything that is not football and expects others to do it for him. demands princess treatment wherever he goes. unfortunately, not all of us have servants with no self-respect like ness.

"it is not enough that i should succeed, others should fail" type of person.

does not wear shoes and even if he does, it's sandals. put them grippers away.

NAGI

a literal sloth who has so much potential but uses none of it. has no intrinsic motivation of his own, so if he's going to do anything, it has to be you behind the wheel, making sure he gets put to work.

does not have a close relationship with his parents, and so he has no sense of community, holidays, or traditions. no fun at all if you want him to do things like christmas shopping or birthday celebrations.

rots in bed all day and then has to nerve to ask you to carry him around. your back better be strong because his 190 cm body is not going to be light.

not loyal (need i say more.)

REO

second male lead syndrome. also known as that one popular guy who's always picked last.

acts like a victim but then when you realistically tell him to how to change his situation he refuses to do so. you cannot ask for advice and then take none of it to heart. no wonder you're still not over your ex.

"i can fix him" mentality. no, you can't. you are a seventeen-year-old child, not a licensed therapist and nagi isn't even all that.

NESS

touch-starved to the point he will stay in a toxic and abusive relationship in order to gain some scrap of affection. just because you were the black sheep of your family does not mean you can lose all sense of personal dignity.

probably stalks all the people he hates. has a burn book like regina george from mean girls. cuts out and glues little pictures of kaiser all over his bedroom. doodles hearts all over it with glittery gel pen. isagi's face and name are scratched out of every team photo.

delusional and prone to mood swings. medicated but at this point, he is beyond saving.

ISAGI

a home wrecker. has ruined more relationships than he can count on ten fingers yet still manages to smile like he's some angelic saint.

solves jigsaw puzzles for a living (not very cool if you ask me.)

has some unresolved anger management issues. probably repressed all his negative feelings when he was younger, so it all comes out when he's on the field. unfortunately, his twilight-sparkle-friendship-is-magic agenda is not going to work if he keeps cussing out his teammates like that. but then again, he is the main character, so i guess his plot armor makes up for his pitfalls.

says that he's a good guy but then holds personal vendettas against rivals he doesn't like. boy was so ready to throw hands when #kaisagi was trending on the internet. but when you actually think about, he's similar to kaiser in more ways than he'd like to admit.

BAROU

has the worst case of high and mighty "holier-than-thou" attitude. isagi put his ego in check, but it still peeks out from time to time.

he was the ugliest baby when he was born. i am not going to hold back on the child barou slander because it is true. no, he was not a cute and lovable bundle of joy. he looked like a demonic gremlin.

he needs to take more risks in life and try cross-dressing. simply imagining him in a maid uniform will not suffice. it needs to be made into a reality.

with how nit-picky he is, i doubt people can realistically stay within a 1-meter radius around him. unless you are a clean freak yourself, his constant complaints will start to get annoying after a time. even if he does have good intentions, he needs to let people have a little breathing room sometimes. a messy room is not going to kill you.

BACHIRA

this boy's brain is smooth. no folds. no gray matter. no intelligence either. his pencil and eraser have been left untouched since day one. if he wasn't crazily good at football, he would be unemployed and homeless in the future. not even a mcdonald's wants him.

one of those people who will do the literal opposite of whatever you say. you want him to stop talking? well, now he's never going to shut up. you tell him not to step on a pile of dog shit? well, now he's going to walk right into it. you want him to quit running around and act normal? well, now it's his life's mission to make you as annoyed as possible. please pray for your hair follicles because at the end of the day, you're not going to have many left with how much he makes you want to tear your hair out.

has the cerebral capacity of a toddler. if he thinks monsters are real, he's going to think anything is real. super gullible when it comes to any form of scam, ploy, or trickery. the only way he would not be fooled is if he's also played the same prank before.

SHIDOU

a brazen pervert. says the most out-of-pocket things and refuses to apologize for them. sometimes it comes out a little too sleazy for your liking.

"to me a goal is fertilization! a shot is the seed and the goal is the egg!! and the birth of that joy i call an explosion!! my genes are gonna knock you up!" let us give ourselves a moment of silence to digest this quote. only shidou ryusei would come up with a sperm and egg metaphor to describe football. (i guess protection means nothing to him.)

has no empathy. if you dislike him or cannot keep up with him, you're a literal nobody in his books. no sportsmanship. no compassion. no self-awareness.

you cannot say "balls" to him in a serious tone without him misinterpreting it as something dirty. that alone should tell you enough. stay the hell away from him.

where do men get the audacity? right here. from this little bastard. he invented the term "shameless slut." boy was getting off during the u-20 arc and on live TV too. no wonder sae said he was disgusting.

and finally, he comes from a long line of cockroaches. he's even got the antennae to prove it.

i think this might have been a little excessive, but i have no regrets about it. you're welcome anon ♡

[couldtransitionsaveher]

EMIL SINCLAIR from LIMBUS COMPANY

JUSTIFICATION:

"The unhatched egg metaphors. The constant anxiety and insecurity. The Zwei ID art where she looks like a gay librarian. The scene in Hell's Chicken where Ryoshu's team is all women oh and Sinclair too. The cute little Faelantern dress... it is my belief that Sinclair will only reach full self-actualization once she realizes she's a girl. This goes for the Sinclair from Demian (1919) too but I don't know as much about that one." - Anonymous

"okay. where the hell do I start.

Sinclair (Limbus Company) is based directly off of Sinclair (Demian - this will come up in a minute), and is a largely withdrawn, melancholic "boy" whose associated imagery is an egg and breaking out of a shell (again - more in a minute), and characters comment sometimes that she seems like she has an inner turmoil/darkness to her. a couple of her outfits just straight up look like mid-transition fits. her appearance in the album art for the song used in her chapter (itself based on the painting described below) is one of the most #girl things imaginable Sinclair from the source text (Demian)

1. struggles with her parents' expectations for her, and her increasing betrayal of those expectations (leading to such lines as "-at times I didn't want the Prodigal Son to repent and be found again. But one didn't dare think this, much less say it out loud.")

2. becomes friends with Demian who, aside from representing a more nuanced take on the black/white logic of point 1, Sinclair regularly remarks how cool it is that Demian's face is kinda feminine

3. begins to view herself as destined to live between two worlds, the light and the dark, human and inhuman, and, interestingly, "man and woman in one flesh". for all this is treated as a fear it's also explicitly stated to be something she desires

4. stops and thinks one day in college "perhaps I am not like other men?"

5. sees some random pretty girl one day and decides the concept of that pretty girl must be the path to return to the world of light/salvation. she learns to paint just to paint this girl and doesn't get it perfectly accurate but is pleased nonetheless. she becomes obsessed with this painting and stares at it while falling asleep before eventually realizes that the painting actually resembles herself, not as she feels she is but "-what determined [her] life, it was [her] inner self, [her] fate ... what the woman [she] would love would look like if ever [she] were to love one. That's what [her] life and death would be like..." - she eventually burns the painting and eats the ashes, y'know normal "girl who hasn't realized it yet" behavior

6. throughout the entire book she has visions relating to and is tied to imagery of eggs and birds escaping their shells to take flight" - Anonymous

Reminder: Submissions are always open! Submit here!

Did you make your daily click today?

[books-bythe-bay]

I'm unsure if this will help anybody...

But I just wanted to share some of my favorite literary devices to pick apart in books!

Also!! Hello, I'm Alex! I'm 20 and I'm the owner of this little blog. My blog is a safe space for anybody and everybody who needs and/or wants one. I love to read, and I've been doing so voraciously since I could understand what exactly was going on!

In this post (and it is a longer post), I'll be going over different ways that authors/writers/poets/wordsmiths present the imagery and symbolism within their works; as well as a few examples!!

--------Start--------

Literary devices of:

Imagery and symbolism;

Metaphor:

A metaphor is a symbol used to tell a story where it’s a picture that really describes something else. For example:

“And the ships went out into the High Sea and passed into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the gray rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.” —J.R.R Tolklen, The Return of the King.

In literature, the sea is quite often used as a symbol of death, and with Frodo passing to another shore could be used as a symbol of him passing out of the world. So, this is very much a metaphor for death.

Simile:

A simile is similar to a metaphor, the only difference is that it uses the words “like,” or “as.” For example:

“O my Luve is like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve is like the melody

That’s sweetly played in tune.” —Robert Burns, A Red, Red Rose

It is making a deliberate comparison between two things.

Pathetic Fallacy:

This is another use of imagery. It can be slightly like a metaphor, but it is something much more specific. For example:

“By th’clock ‘tis day, / And yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp; is’t night’s predominance, or the day’s shame / That darkness does the face of the earth entomb / When living light should kiss it?” —William Shakespeare, Macbeth

“A cold wind was blowing from the North, and it made the trees rustle like living things.” — George R.R Martin, A Game of Thrones

Pathetic Fallacy is when the writer uses the natural world, as in the weather, the landscape to reflect the inner state of the characters in the story.

Allegory:

“The animals were happy as they had never conceived it possible to be. Every mouthful of food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was truly their own food, produced by themselves and for themselves, not to be doled out to them by a grudging master.” — George Orwell, Animal Farm, chapter 3.

This is the use of symbols and undertones to convey an idea and/or opinion of the writer.

Imagery:

Imagery is another literary device that sets the tone of what we’re reading. For example:

“But who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of the bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?” J.R.R Tolkien, The Return of the King.

The image that is depicted here not only describes the character/situation; but also sets the stage for an atmosphere of darkness, and the feeling of being without a choice, the feeling of being trapped, etc.

“I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats high o’er vales and hills,

When at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” — William Wordsworth, Daffodils.

This is another example of imagery, one that has us think of bright and sunny; maybe even relaxing scenery. This sets a very different tone from the previous quote.

Foreshadowing:

A literary device that is not only limited to books, as it can be in TV shows and movies as well. For example (in the literary context):

The horse brooch from Sommerville and Ross’ The Real Charlotte.

****SPOILER**** In this novel, one of the principal characters, Francy, is eventually killed in a riding accident at the end of the novel. But, throughout the novel there are symbols of horses doing her harm. For example, at one point in the novel she is pricked by a horseshoe brooch which causes her some pain—and so, these little incidents throughout the novel point to her eventual fit.

Also, George R.R Martin’s Game of Thrones is famous for the use of foreshadowing throughout the novels. A great example of the foreshadowing used in this book is the dead stag, which is being dismembered by Taiwan Lannister. Now a stag in the book A Song of Ice and Fire represents the Baratheon family and it is the sigil of the house of Baratheon. So, when we see Taiwan cutting up the stag, that foreshadows the fact that Taiwan’s house, the house of Lannister, will eventually destroy the house of Baratheon.

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Post Script: I'm very thankful that you've read this far, and if you have any questions at all please ask me!! I love answering questions, and I'll do my best to be as thorough as I can in my answer. Also, it has been a hot minute since I've read George R.R Martin’s Game of Thrones, so I apologize if I misspelled anyone's name/house!

[einsatzzz]

What colour does your love feel like?

tagged by @lixenn tagging @azaracyy, @yenosiria, @shiawase-rina, @cloudvaria, @social-muffin @melonchanverse (idk if ya'll alr did this)

Thank you for tagging me on this Lix! Answering this was so fun and the results are crazy accurate actually, I'm so surprised! I did it for Kurumi, Kana and Yui! The results are pretty long (+a few comments), so I'm putting it under here.

Kurumi: Bright Sunny Yellow

Sweet tasting popsicles, summer dresses and shielding your eyes from the sun. Your love is the excitement of something brewing, something growing. It's the almost childish bubbling giggles of something new, but with the potential to stay. It's wide smiles, blinding sunny light and warm bodies that gravitate to one another. It's the the softness, the willingness, the slight holding of breaths in a crucial "what if" moment. It's the impatience too. The bouncing on tiptoes to see further than your eyes can reach, the holding out for a future that never seems to come even though you're ready, you're so so so ready. It's the constant feeling of warm sand beneath your feet, holding out for the crashing waves. And still you wait, dry and impatient and with burnt soles of feet. Your love is sour candy, enjoying it as your nose scrunches up from the aftertaste of it. It's hands that grab and take hold, that reach and ask them to stay and hope and beg and wait. It's bubbling excitement sure, but it's also demanding, focused, driven. It's love like a plan, with a path and route and a clear destination. And you bounce on your tiptoes, and burning, waiting for the soothing water, the crashing waves, you hold onto the melting popsicle, you wait and wait and wait. It's tiring almost as much as it's lazer focused ambition, deeply rooted desire and the unrelenting hope that it will work, that it will come. And it does, I promise it does. The waves crash, the beach floods and the pain passes, the water cool and soothing and you can let yourself fall in, sinking, sinking. And it's good, it's perfect, what you were hoping and more, holding and embracing you and welcoming you into the stillness you always knew you were reaching for.

It's pretty lore accurate in both romantic and platonic aspects. The platonic aspect of it is more applicable to her childhood, when she yearns to feel more secure with her friendships. It's unintended, but the metaphors here parallels and fits so nicely with Kana's.

Kana: Dark Stormy Blue

Sinking ships, raging seas and tumultuous hearts, love isn't easy for you. It's a struggle, a constant inner fight of should I? Can I? Do I? Feelings are hard and they rumble inside you in a dissatisfied mess that begs to be let out. Your heart screams and cries inside you and you… You can't, you won't. You're scared. And love is scary, it's hard and sometimes it just doesn't work out. People leave, people hurt, people change their minds. And you and your cold stormy heart yearn for the calmness, for the distance, to be allowed and able to simply not feel. And yet, you do. It rages, it fights and storms inside you and you try to keep it down, keep it quiet, to feel pretending not to. It's the burn of childhood friends growing apart, of parents that aren't quite there, of relationships that burn out. So you snuff it down with water, cold and calming and blue, blue, blue. But being loved by you is blue too, just not in that way. It's the soothing, embracing feeling of floating, the moment when you sink down below the waves and become one with the water, with everything. It's the balance, the dramatic yet calming sound of waves that crash against a rocky shore. You're the good and the bad, the violence of the storm and the watery peace right after. You're the blue, blue feeling and loving you is watery tears, yelled confessions that no one will hear and burying your feelings in a deep watery grave never to be found out about. Your love is dark stormy blue, it's vast and deep and all encompassing, it's safety in the surface of danger, it's trusting the unruly abyss and yet I'd gladly risk drowning just to feel what it's like being loved by you.

In platonic terms, Kana is the wave and Kurumi is the person at the shore waiting for her to crash & soothe her pain. She may seem emotionless, but her love (if you earned it) is as vast as the ocean and as deep as the abyss (for better or for worse).

Yui: Deep Staining Red

Ripped out confessions, warm velvety whispers and a heart like an open wound. Your love flows out like dripping blood, beautiful, flawed and twisted. It's gut wrenching, the type of painfully dramatic feeling that makes you clutch your chest, picturing dramatic monologues about love and loving and big screen over the top scenes of sobbing into your pillow until you fall asleep. It rips out of you, clawing it's way up your throat more so than tumbling out. Sticky words that just need to be let out, feelings so big they don't fit inside you. Your love isn't easy, it's a true bloody mess, dripping and staining everything it touches in a desperate attempt to be seen, to be felt, to be loved back. And you, you love so hard, so deeply, so much for someone who carries all that pain. Atlas holding up the world, how are you? Is your love still flowing? Is your heart still open? Still pumping and bleeding and dripping with blood and tears? Still painting your beautiful pictures and writing your love letters in deeply personal red ink? Because I see them, I read them, I love them and you, you, you, you. Clench your chest, scream your love, cry it out. Spill your words of loving, keep your heart beating, keep your love coming and paint the entire world red with it. Make it in your image, keep going, it's okay. Maybe one day the whole world can be red and loved and beautiful just like you.

Note: His main color is actually gray, but since he has Lightning Flames, I'll use green as substitute for the highlights.

It has a similar feeling to Kurumi's but more bold in color (Yellow vs Red). Instead of waiting, he actively looks for them instead and makes himself seen, so he can be found. Keep going, it's okay, you'll find them.

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

I'm On Fire (JJ and The Pillars)

I jump into the ocean/to be part of the sea/and just when I felt the heat go/It’s a pool of gasoline...Now there's someone reaching for me/But I don't wanna burn their skin/so I sink into the darkness/But a light keeps shining in

"This is a pretty little known song, so the above lyrics are my interpretation (there doesn’t seem to be any kind of official lyrics online) it’s kinda taking “i’m on fire” in a literal sense and not a “i’m on a roll” sense. the singer feels like he’s destroying everything around him, and so he’s afraid to accept help (“i don’t wanna burn their skin”) but he still recognises his destructive nature needs to be stopped, seemingly at his own expense (“you gotta snuff me out”) and yes, i am going to blorbo-assign this. this is such a Cloud Strife song. i have been playing the ffvii remake and it’s just a perfect fit. he’s wandering around trying to find a place for himself. he feels like he only hurts people and causes destruction, because Shinra damages residential areas and blames it on his bombings. not mention he hurts Tifa when he hugs her. i also feel like this has good metaphors to other characters, since it references an angelic figure (Aerith) and the bridge (idk i’m not a musically gifted individual) seems to fit with Sephiroth appearing in flames and the iconic drum intro to his theme (“the drum, the drum / you’ll hear it before he comes”)"

Hypothesis (Penny Parker)

Screaming, knees to the floor/I ask for no more than freedom from my truth/Raised believing that I was born to feel lies and parse them in such youth/The perfect story of flesh mismatching soul (From such an early age)/And I was only a kid with no control (Seems I was made to crave)

"Ooooohhg the trans vibes!!!! And also while it has themes of religious trauma that I personally do not relate to, the line "struggling to silence the inner yell/ all because I fear a hell" goes really hard and makes me insane"

Hypothesis submitted by @they-thespian666

[sasorikigai]

“Can’t even get out of my grasp? Or is it because you secretly don’t want to?” (modern!)

IN LOVE AND WAR, EVERYTHING GOES || @kuroyrii || accepting

💥 || Perhaps their love is more like a chemical reaction, rearranging his brain, his guts, the blood in his veins. As they touch, their cold skin exposed in the elements, it burns to the touch. Being the killers they are, with capabilities to plunge the glinting silver blade where it hurts the most, where they can get the most blood as the poor unfortunate victim would look at them like a domesticated animal with their severed arteries. They know how to tear apart anyone's skin, see their spine exposed, as they poke and prod every little ridge to cause excruciating, unspeakable pain. They take joy in being an observer; treasuring the ability to take the complexities of the world and make it palpable to their unwilling participants. A simple recoil of the firearm would not bring satisfaction on one of those days, as Hanzo Hasashi yearns to become the paradoxical tenderness amidst the devouring viciousness, digging his mighty claws into their flesh, as if he was ravenously devastate what is his to begin with. Their flesh will shrivel, bones hollow, and lives dwindle to nothing. Even when the teeth of their world remain sharp, they become more resilient and sharper along with it.

And even when restlessness taps away at his exhausted bones, sending cold shivers down his spine and into his toes, how his heartbeat twirls and dances under the gentle spring, and yet - how it could feel like a slap in the face, as he would resent every melodious bird song that needled its way through his duvet tomb. How every resplendent blossom that he used to marble at his zenith would merely seem as if they were flaunting their fleeting life. How he wished to press them down into the newly-thawed earth with the toe of his boot, until the petals were torn and muddied by the dirty feeling of false justice settling like a blanket around his bones. But in the end, all of it would have been completely uninterrupted by the devastation in his life. When at first he found it to be mocking, he would find comfort in its steady force.

His memories are mere fragile dreams woven from near-inaudible whispers, and Hanzo no longer becomes torn apart by either the harsh light of reality or the ungraspable perfection of idealized dreams. In all, Sayuri Kobayashi has an inner beauty about a woman who believes in herself, who knows she is capable of anything that she puts her mind to. Equipped with such manifestation of a beauty in the strength and determination of a woman who follows her own path, who isn't thrown off by obstacles along the way. Her confidence comes from experiences; just as Harumi Hasashi had been a woman who can fall, pick herself up, and more on. "I believe I have already revealed my heart's content, haven't I?" For once, he doesn't have this gut-wrenching pain in his chest when he thinks of his bereaved wife. His head isn't racing with thoughts of her going a million miles a minute.

How metaphorical fire dances across Hanzo's solemn face as he feels his heart and soul burn. How he once thought he'd never get this far, but even as he felt as if he was going to be burned all to ash, he'd start all over again. Whether it had been a newfound love, or absolute unyielding devotion and trust towards his beloved. "You may be the sun that's governing and contributing to life, the air that I breath, bringing vitality and life forces, the water at my feet bringing my lost ship to shore, and the earth; strong and confident, a formidable mountain I could climb forevermore. And I hope to become the fire; sacred light inside you, a flame that will never die." How he yearns to show all of him; unhindered and unbidden, all of his light and dark, flaws and imperfections, grit and resilience through agony and despair that he won't ever hide. 💥 ||

[aksarabumilangit]

Dismantling the symbolic meaning in the 33rd selected work of Denny Ja: the wound continues to light up

Literature work often holds a deep symbolic meaning. This symbols can be interpreted in various ways, and through this paper, we will dismantle the symbolic meaning in the 33rd Denny JA selected work entitled Wounds Continue to Burning. Denny JA is an Indonesian writer known for his provocative and brave work. In this latest work, the wound continues to turn on, Denny JA presents a symbol of which plays an important role in describing human struggles in dealing with suffering and life.    Disclosure of the symbolsimbol in the wound continues to turn on:    1. API:  The symbol of fire represents anger, strength, and destruction. In the wound continued to light up, fire became the main symbol that symbolizes anger and dissatisfaction with injustice in society. Denny Ja uses fire to describe the struggle and spirit of resistance to a corrupt system.    2. Wounds:  The symbol of the wound represents the suffering and trauma faced by the main character in the story. In the wound continues to light up, the wound becomes a symbol of inner suffering that never goes out and continues to turn on. Denny Ja shows that this Lukaluka can be a force that encourages humans to rise and fight injustice.    3. Dark:  Dark symbols represent uncertainty, confusion, and fear. In the wound continues to light up, dark used to describe the difficulties and obstacles faced by the main character in finding a way out of a difficult state. Denny Ja stressed the importance of fighting fear and finding light in the dark.    The use of language style in the wound continues to turn on:    1. Metaphor:  Denny Ja uses many metaphors to describe the feelings and thoughts of the main character. This metaphor gives emotional depth to the story and allows the reader to feel the suffering experienced by the character.    2. Simile:  Simile is used by Denny Ja to compare something with others so that the reader’s understanding becomes clearer. This simile helps readers to better understand the concepts that are complex in the story.    3. IMAJI:  In the wound continued to turn on, Denny Ja used a strong image to describe the situation and feelings. Ilajiimaji strengthens the symbolic meaning contained in this work and gives a clear picture to the reader.        In the wound continued to light up, Denny Ja succeeded in dismantling a deep symbolic meaning through the use of strong symbols. Through symbols of fire, wounds, and darkness, Denny Ja described the struggle of humans in dealing with suffering and life. The style of language used, such as metaphors, similes, and images, gives emotional depth to the story and strengthening hidden symbolic meanings. This work not only entertains, but also gives a strong message about the importance of against injustice in society. Denny Ja again proved his expertise as a writer by presenting a story that inspired and aroused the enthusiasm of the reader. The wound continues to turn on is a literary work that should be appreciated and studied by literary lovers.

Check more: Dismantling the symbolic meaning in the 33rd Denny JA selected work: the wound continues to light up

[arisawati]

Understand the wound ignition in "Wounds Continue to Burning" by Denny JA 33

In the world of Indonesian literature, the work of Denny JA has been in the spotlight for a long time. One of his most famous works is "the wound continues to light up" the 33rd. This essay poem managed to arouse the feelings of his reader with a story full of emotions and conflict. In this article, we will understand the ignition of the wounds that occur in this extraordinary Denny Ja's work. First, we need to understand what is meant by "wound ignition". In the context of this essay poem, wound ignition refers to the emotional process experienced by the main character, who continues to revive his inner wounds. In this essay poem, the main character faces various conflicts and tragedies in his life which makes him trapped in the cycle of self -destruction. Denny JA uses a strong and deep writing style in describing the ignition of this wound. He is able to describe the emotional darkness felt by the main character through the use of the right and descriptive words. We can feel a deep sadness along with the main character, and it shows Denny JA's expertise in conveying emotions through his writings. One of the techniques used by Denny JA is the use of a strong visual picture. He described the lukaluka as a fire that continues to light up, which symbolizes destruction and destruction. Through the use of this metaphor, Denny JA succeeded in describing how the main character trapped in the wound cycle and destruction that never ended. Not only that, Denny JA also presents complex internal conflicts in this essay poem. The main character struggles with feelings of guilt, loss, and deep despair. He was trapped in a question about the meaning of life and how to continue life after suffering such a big injury. This internal conflict makes us as readers ponder and question the meaning of our own lives. In addition, Denny JA also uses effective writing techniques in building tensions in the story. He used Cliffhanger and a surprising plot twist to maintain the interest of the reader. Thus, we continue to be trapped in the story, want to know what will happen next, and how the main character will break away from the wound ignition cycle. Overall, "the wound continues to light up" the 33rd is an extraordinary literary work. This work is able to arouse the emotions of the reader by describing the ignition of wounds that are continuously felt by the main character. Denny JA managed to convey a deep message about internal conflict and the meaning of life through a story full of tension and emotions. In reading this essay poem, we are invited to reflect on our own lives and how we face the lukaluka that continues to light up in us. We can learn that even though we live a hard life, we must continue to fight and find a way out of the wound ignition cycle. In his conclusion, "the wound continues to light up" the 33rd is an extraordinary literary work that is able to arouse the feelings of the reader. Denny JA uses a strong writing style and effective technique in delivering stories full of emotions and conflicts. This essay poem teaches us about the struggle of life and how we can escape from the continuous wound ignition cycle. This work deserves recognition and becomes an important part of Indonesian literature.

Check more: Understanding the ignition of the wound in the "Wound Continue to Burning" by Denny JA 33

[syifablog2]

Understand the wound ignition in “Wounds Continue to Burning” by Denny Ja 33

In the world of Indonesian literature, the work of Denny Ja has been in the spotlight for a long time. One of his most famous works is “the wound continues to light up” the 33rd. This essay poem managed to arouse the feelings of his reader with a story full of emotions and conflict. In this article, we will understand the ignition of the wounds that occur in this extraordinary Denny JA’s work.    First, we need to understand what is meant by “wound ignition”. In the context of this essay poem, wound ignition refers to the emotional process experienced by the main character, who continues to revive his inner wounds. In this essay poem, the main character faces various conflicts and tragedies in his life which makes him trapped in the cycle of self -destruction.    Denny JA uses a strong and deep writing style in describing the ignition of this wound. He is able to describe the emotional darkness felt by the main character through the use of the right and descriptive words. We can feel a deep sadness along with the main character, and it shows Denny JA’s expertise in conveying emotions through his writings.    One of the techniques used by Denny Ja is the use of a strong visual picture. He described the lukaluka as a fire that continues to light up, which symbolizes destruction and destruction. Through the use of this metaphor, Denny Ja succeeded in describing how the main character trapped in the wound cycle and destruction that never ended.    Not only that, Denny Ja also presents complex internal conflicts in this essay poem. The main character struggles with feelings of guilt, loss, and deep despair. He was trapped in a question about the meaning of life and how to continue life after suffering such a big injury. This internal conflict makes us as readers ponder and question the meaning of our own lives.    In addition, Denny Ja also uses effective writing techniques in building tensions in the story. He used Cliffhanger and a surprising plot twist to maintain the interest of the reader. Thus, we continue to be trapped in the story, want to know what will happen next, and how the main character will break away from the wound ignition cycle.    Overall, “the wound continues to light up” the 33rd is an extraordinary literary work. This work is able to arouse the emotions of the reader by describing the ignition of wounds that are continuously felt by the main character. Denny Ja managed to convey a deep message about internal conflict and the meaning of life through a story full of tension and emotions.    In reading this essay poem, we are invited to reflect on our own lives and how we face the lukaluka that continues to light up in us. We can learn that even though we live a hard life, we must continue to fight and find a way out of the wound ignition cycle.    In his conclusion, “the wound continues to light up” the 33rd is an extraordinary literary work that is able to arouse the feelings of the reader. Denny Ja uses a strong writing style and effective technique in delivering stories full of emotions and conflicts. This essay poem teaches us about the struggle of life and how we can escape from the continuous wound ignition cycle. This work deserves recognition and becomes an important part of Indonesian literature.

Check more: Understanding the ignition of the wound in the “Wound Continue to Burning” by Denny JA 33

[protectmypeople]

Strong legs curved around his frame, drawing him further into her body. Yours. Mine. It resounded within the space, his red hues never leaving hers, entirely entranced by her aura. Devouring her was his every intention, to touch and consume life herself. Desire overwhelmed him as his fingers tightened across her pale skin, both hands splaying on her thighs digging in slightly as he felt her pull. A smirk slipped unto his lips, if the burning flame in his chest was of any consequence, he'd take her in every possible way for the next eon. One hand snaked up her waist, bunching the silky fabric along with it, exposing soft skin all the way up to her hip. "My mercy.." came his hushed whisper, breath ghosting across her lips as he leaned down. Magic, hot, touched at the goddess' chin pushing her head to the side, enough to expose the pale column of her throat. "I have none to offer." The threat meant little, as the goddess had him on his metaphorical knees. He would plead with the goddess to allow a mere morsel of her light to touch his sinful head. Bellamy leaned in, drinking in the intensity of her magic as he neared. Potent in nature, ability to flesh out the wonder of life within an instant, to cultivate it, while his merely smothered. Lips connected to her pale throat, the heat of the moment bursting across his skin, auras mixing in the atmosphere, pushing them towards one another after eons of being separate. Bellamy nipped, and sucked at her skin leaving a trail of red, shifting into purple as he continued his bombardment on her neck. The admission of surrender from the goddess was not taken lightly. To be at his mercy was to know danger. Their very eternal beings colluding with one another was enough to make the realms themselves burst at the seams, if they were not careful. Yet, he had never been a cautionary god. Lips traveled upward, breathing in her scent, marks, his marks left on her skin. He connected their lips once more, using his magic to strip the upper half of his traditional suit, leaving his chest bare before her. Hand traveled to her exposed breast, squeezing lightly as arousal plummeted into his gut. Bellamy drank in everything Daenerys had to offer, teeth nipping at her bottom lip, his magic inreasing in strength as he pinned her wrists with a bit more force to the wall behind her. Traveling downward, he lowered himself, lips kissing at her collarbone, down her sternum and eventually in between her thighs. Dark eyes flicked upwards to her, head leaning lightly against her inner thigh. "I will take you here, and now." Soft, slow deliberate kisses working his way in between her thighs. A garment obstructed his path, his finger immediately pushing it slowly to the side. Tongue immediately delving in to her core, velvet softness consumed him, as his fingers curled around her thighs, his tongue moving tantalizing slow across her clit. Eyes fluttering shut as he drank in her scent, creation at his very fingertips, death desperate to please. Pants tightening uncomfortably as he moaned against her. His magic grew in tenfold, pressing against her, suffocating the space with his desire for her. Perhaps not a mistake after all.

The fiery amusement that gleamed in his eyes made her magic dance in anticipation. She was playing with death himself, making her wonder if she has lost her mind tonight after the threats that dance between them for eons to their magics pressing and tasting one another. The two gods shared the same breaths as they stood nearly nose to nose as she stared into those beautiful hues of red, it made heat pool right to her core knowing what exactly danced behind them. The level of intimacy that came with two gods of the same coin were unmatched anywhere else, they could lay with a thousand gods in every realm and none would quite hold a candle to their opposite. It was when she felt the wave of his magic pressing against her skin that she could have buckled at her knees. YES YES YES! Her magic screamed as his caressed her body, invisible hands wrapped around her wrists, slowly at first before winding tightly enough that she nearly dropped the wine from her fingers. Daenerys took the moment between them to send the glass back to its stand as he gripped her waist, the act nearly causing the glass to fall with a wobble as she hastily got it to its destination as Bellamy overwhelmed her senses. The lust pooling between her legs was almost enough to make her clamp her thighs together as he pressed his nose to hers, hoving close but not close enough, barely a whisper of touch that she so desperately wanted. Needed, that she arched into his touch. Intent, calculated touches, taking everything in her to not claim his lips as he listed off her titles to her given by mortals. The air was filled with lust, knowing that sharing pleasure with a god was something that could cleave worlds and realms in two. A wicked spread across her lips that matched his, with every word that fell from them. There were no mistakes here tonight, not while their magic screamed for one another the way their bodies did, that they took longer than necessary to cross that line but when his lips met hers she couldn't help the soft eager moan that left her mouth as his hand grappled at her dress, slowly bunching the fabric between his fingers. More! Her magic cried for him, sending a begging wave to do his worst, climbing his body, exploring his exposed skin. More! Her own body screamed as he kissed her deeply before he pulled away to speak. An ancient curse left her lips as his fingers pressed into her precious flesh as she lifted both her legs and wrapped it around his waist taking no effort to lift herself with magic. A knowing grin tugged at her lips as she pulled their bodies impossibly close. "As my body is yours." Daenerys repeated back against his lips as she tightened her legs around his hims, begging for just the slightest friction against her skin. "Is this where you wish to take me?" Daenerys felt her magic flare as he pressed his body into hers, her wrists straining against the magic that held her hands against the wall, a phantom touch brushing against her bare breast. "For the first time in eons, Bringer of Death. I am at your mercy." @protectmypeople

[vesicelestial]

✧ PYROSOLINE ✧

Pyrosoline is a luxin that feels like an inner flame driving your lifeforce. The inner flame may have elements other than fire and related concepts such as femininity or kenosity, but the user's gender can be summarized as a flame burning within them.

Someone who is pyrosoline may find that most of their gender's elements can be traced to fire / related concepts, or are directly connected or related to them. They may also have other genders, but each gender they have other than pyrosoline is just another flame of the blaze. However, a pyrosoline person may also find only the metaphor of their gender being an inner flame driving their lifeforce accurate, and not relate to the concept of their gender being literally related to fire at all.

Pyrosoline can be combined with other gender terms such as pyrosolfem, pyrosolmasc, or kenopyrosoline. Pyrosoline itself is inherently luxine.

// Image ID: A flag with 7 horizontal stripes. From the center out, they are dark red and get progressively lighter. There is a diamond shape in the same dark red as the center flag in the middle of the flag, and within the diamond is an icon of a light red flame.

[etherealhighpriestess]

Pick a Pile: Message from Isis

Pay what you can readings - For you who want a personalized reading focused on your energy.

Take a deep breath and choose one of the options below according to your intuition 🧡✨🧡✨🧡

Pile 1 - High Priestess

Hello pile 1, you are guided to trust in the reveal, whether it seems preposterously magnificent and you have no idea how it could possibly all happen, or whether it seems not nearly grand enough as yet. In time, with your patience and willingness to trust in the unfoldment of your life, you will realize the inherent beauty, perfection and sublime loveliness of your life unfolding and that your purpose and destiny are truly exquisite. You will feel even more joy and peace and trust within you, growing into the serenity of the High Priestess who accepts all with a wisdom born of great insight and understanding. Rather than being passive, She is actively surrendered in absolute trust in higher wisdom. The high Priestess Lady Isis and your own Divine Soul are calling you to trust in the unfoldment of a mystery into revelation right now. Pay attention to sacred signs, dreams and intuitions right now as they are accurate and more prophetic than usual.

Pile 2 - Divine Sun Child

Hi pile 2, the blessings of the Sun Falcon, the Divine Sun Child, Horus, Son of Isis and Osiris, flow to you now. It is time to allow your life to flourish, without limits, to let your light burn bright and without veil, just like the mid-summer Sun burning without contest in the Egyptian desert. Blessings of the Sun Falcon herald the time when your Divine Legacy is being born. It is your time to burn bright. Horus, the Divine Sun Child of Isis and Osiris, was born out of impossible circumstances, through the great devotion of his mother, Isis, and Her loving determination to heal Her husband and bring him back to life, to eventually become King of Egypt, defeating dark forces that would seek to destroy him and all that he loved, with great triumph. It is a story of the Divine Hero of Egypt.

It is also a metaphor for our inner world. Our Divine Feminine must stay true to Her values of love, healing and the triumph of creativity over destruction born of fear and hate. She must never give up Her belief in Her ideals.

Pile 3 - Life Restored

Hey pile 3, spiritual resurrection is gifted to you now. Whatever part of you or your life you thought to be dead is being revived and will flourish back into life. Just as the Phoenix rises from the fire, transitioning from death into life, so too will you rise again, healed and renewed.

Life Restored brings messages that a trauma, ending, struggle or apparent defeat is not the end of the story for you now.

What may appear to be an ending can sometimes simply be the forces of Ancient Feminine Power flowing into new pathways, pulling energy away from old forms so that they can transition into new forms. This can take short or long periods of time. It could be over days or years, weeks, months, decades. It doesn't matter how long something appears to have been decaying, it will spring back into life at the right time. Just as the River Nile subtly adjusts its course over time, so too will the River of Light that flows through you, filling you with life force and Divine Energy, move with innate wisdom.

- Ethereal High Priestess

[bellamychevasym]

Bird. Curious sort of description. Even as aasimar her dark wings had been leathery, but she supposed he meant more metaphorically. A wounded bird, wings clipped to prevent her from flying. Cruel. Such cruelity seemed to follow through each of his words, not only insisting upon her greatest loss but of her sire's 'bad decision' of choosing her. The first could wound. The second was simply amusing.

The small shift to her expression as she heard it showed so, her pink lips rising on one side, only to fall back down. Not to mention the lack of reaction from her wolves that proceeded her own steps, each simply taking their place on the inner side of the door, one with is dark silken fur as stoic as Bella, while the other with it's coarse and mottled brown fur seemed to match Derya's energy, tense and ready.

"I think the wind might be catching your scent," Bella asserted as she stopped just behind them, her long black gown quite modest, covering her throat and the full length of her arms, over even her hands, and down legs so it dragged on the ground, even as it seemed to cling to her, though as she had walked into the light through the door it appeared to shift like she was covered with crawling spiders. In truth it had been embroidered with moon silk so that it reflected only when starlight touched it, the subtle movements of her person appearing like the embroidered spiders crawled across her. "Because I smell of success and irises," the woman responded, gaze unshifting in a way that no doubt seemed familiar.

Valentin's influence had swayed her in her infancy as a vampire, but even as a High Priestess before her express had been stoic unless emotion took hold of her. It was perhaps a look he had seen well before his arrival to the St John's estate in Destarin. When travelling through Withermore, within the forests. Certainly his own eyes seemed similar to a monster within the forest, one that devoured and her influence had never had much charge over. It left her curious, face shifting momentarily and one of her feet stepping forward between her wolves so she might get a better look at him.

Bella would never have begrudged any beast within the woods the chance to dine on any monster that had been in her company. Vampires were a kindness compared to the royals of Withermore.

"None of us fetch, however," she continued with soft brush of her long dark hair away from her shoulder, the backs of her fingers spreading the strands to waft her scent over him. She did smell of lilacs, and of grapefruit and cedar and...aldehyde. A synthetic. Valentin had made the scent she wore and Bella imagined if someone were close to Valentin they'd know he had.

"And to burn this place to the ground would take hours, by then the sun would have risen, and you would be dead with us," Bella countered, her eyes still curious observing him, trying to place a face she had never seen but eyes that had penetrated in the woods. If only she could feel his mind, but that was an ability lost when she was turned.

Her other foot joining the first, though none had stepped over the boundary of the building - none were so stupid. "That's if you don't get hungry."

Bella couldn't tell when he'd fed but she knew there would be someone around the estate that Valentin was using to either dine on himself or for experiments that she could slaughter to bring in out in him, to taunt his hunger until he conceded. Valentin could not go one day without a meal, she wondered how long the stranger in front of her might go, especially if he was so desperate for entrance.

"So, perhaps, to avoid a wasted evening, you might suggest a more convincing reason I should allow you entrance to the home of my paramour and myself." It was not on her to decide who could and could not see Valentin but she doubted her sire would allow entrance to someone Bella had deemed she did not want access to her, especially in light of all the deaths in Destarin as of late. "Surely you came for a purpose."

Love Nest, Funeral Pyre

(Starter with @bellamychevasym) Doran liked doors. They made people feel safe. As if wood and locks were anything more than hopeful gestures. He tapped once. Then twice. Then again, harder, because rhythm mattered and he was feeling theatrical. The wind howled behind him, and he imagined it as applause.

The door opened a crack.

“Miss Fishbait,” he crooned, lips stretching into something not quite a smile. “Still playing clerk to our favorite philosopher-leech.”

Derya. Still sharp. Still precise. Still giving him that disapproving schoolmistress look that made him want to track mud through her entire sterile little world.

“You’re not coming in,” she said.

No ‘hello’? No ‘you haven’t aged a day’? Rude.

He glanced at the threshold. Ancient rules, older than either of them. Even the curse hadn’t stripped those away. 

“No,” he said, with mock sorrow. “No, I’m not. But I will say it’s deeply offensive that after everything, you still remember the rules. Wound me, darling.”

“You don’t get to call me that.”

“And yet…”

“Valentin’s not here.”

He nearly laughed. She lied like someone who hated having to. Voice too clipped. Spine too stiff. Fingers twitching like she wanted to jab a needle through his eye socket and twist. Doran loved that she hated him. He loved that she didn’t pretend otherwise.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” he pouted, tongue clicking. “Because you only lie like that when you’re about to tranquilize something.”

Derya’s fingers were already twitching toward whatever cocktail she kept tucked in her belt.

“Oh, I know,” he cooed. “You’re terrifying. That’s why I like you.”

And he did. He really did. If he hadn’t been cursed to rot everything he touched, maybe he’d have tried turning her once. Just to see if she’d bite back.

His hand dipped into his coat. She tensed. Good.

“Relax,” Doran murmured, retrieving a dented silver flask, ancient and well-loved. “Not that kind of surprise.”

He uncorked it with his teeth. The whiskey reeked of old gods and older promises. He poured a line of it across the threshold, slow and deliberate, letting it soak the wood.

“Let me in,” he said mildly, watching the amber vanish into scent. “Or I turn this charming little love nest into a bonfire.”

From his inner pocket, Doran withdrew a single match. Running it across the doorframe with a hiss, a flame bloomed to life.

“If I can’t walk in,” he added, the light dancing in his too-wide eyes, “you’re coming out.”

He didn’t bluff. Not these days. He hadn’t lied since he lost the ability to taste regret.

Behind Derya, he heard the softest of sounds. The brush of footfall.

Not Valentin. Too light.

He didn’t need to look. But he did anyway.

And there she was.

Her.

Bellamy.

All softness and secrets and something new clinging to her like perfume. She hadn’t spoken, but she didn’t need to. The wolves came first—two of them, hulking and silver-eyed, flanking her with the unthinking grace of things born to protect. Doran’s gaze flicked to them, then back to her.

“Oh,” he said, grinning slow and wide. “Well, well. What do we have here?”

His gaze dragged over Bellamy. Head to toe, toe to heart.

“You must be her. The bird. Smells like Valentin’s blood and bad decisions. Gods, he went soft, didn’t he?”

He almost sounded amused. Almost. But beneath it was something hollow. He used to know what Valentin’s blood smelled like. He used to hear his voice in the dark. Now he only got echoes.

“And you brought puppies,” he added, smile curving into something wicked. “Adorable. Tell me. Do they fetch, or just maul?”

He turned the match slowly in his fingers. The flame danced.

“Be a dear,” he said, eyes still on the girl, “and fetch your alchemist. Or let me in and I’ll find him myself.”

[stillness-in-green]

Chapter Thoughts — Chapter 385: The Impulses of Youth

Lots of this-and-that and whatever this chapter.

O  Quibble: So where did all this Detnerat stuff even come from?  Hasn’t the AFO battle moved well away from the villa, which is both where the original raid happened (albeit over a month ago, so you’d think it would have seen at least some clean-up efforts, especially of weaponizable support goods) and where AFO’s army of jail breakers, feasibly equipped with some Detnerat stuff courtesy of Skeptic and the abandoned Detnerat facilities, were warped to?

O  Poor Machia.  :(  Shigaraki would never.  Also, I see his claws are still kinda fucked up from Mina’s acid, which gets us a bit closer to saying whether the damage is permanent, though not as close as we’d be if Machia had tunneled his way here on those frail claws.

O  AFO’s inner darkness is marginally interesting.  If it’s Shigaraki/ShigAFO’s influence as AFO supposes, that would suggest that Shigaraki hasn’t permanently rid himself of VFO, since it’s VFO that AFO has that mental connection to.  However, recall that the whole reason the heroes split up Shigaraki and AFO was to prevent AFO and VFO from utilizing their mental connection the way they did in Tartarus—if that distance[1] is still in effect, there shouldn’t be any influence from Shigaraki (or VFO or the Shigaraki/VFO conglomerate) because they aren’t close enough to sense each other.

It’s possible that AFO is just closing the distance, of course, but as an alternative explanation, consider the supposition I and others have done about AFO having quirk-based impulse-control problems.  He presumably would have learned to manage those as he got older, so perhaps they’re rearing up again as he de-ages, and he’s just mistakenly blaming them on ShigAFO because he doesn’t yet realize that Shigaraki’s iced VFO?

On the other hand, that would suggest a change in his mentality, which Eri’s quirk has not been previously shown to affect—presumably personality and memory are, like AFO’s stock of quirks, considered “external” to what her quirk affects (more on that shortly).

O  Regarding AFO wiping his opponents in a cut-away, there’s a big question here of why he didn’t just do that from the start, if he always could, but I do think that at least the enormous fuck-off laser he fires is reasonable to keep in the back pocket, because it very obviously thrashes the arm he uses to fire it.  Like, you can see the specks at the center of those rings of light punching straight through his shoulder and down the length of his arm, and when he actually discharges the shot, it obliterates his arm below the elbow completely.[2]

Not exactly the sort of thing that would be anyone’s first go-to, especially when a bunch of their other powers are tied to their arms and hands!

It’s also possibly notable that AFO cites his returning youth (and the dark urges associated with it) as being how he can tap into the deeper potential of his quirks.  I would say this is fairly silly and arbitrary, but it does strike me that one of the quirks AFO has is Ujiko’s Life Force, which Ujiko himself says “decreases vitality,” so it’s possible that burning off all those extra years is actually getting AFO some punch back just from shaking off some of Life Force’s accumulated sedentary qualities.  It reminds me, too, of Aizawa equating quirks with muscles that can be exercised and strengthened.  While we’ve seen a lot since then that throws doubt on the general applicability of that metaphor, we might suppose that the muscles of a younger man are going to be generally stronger than those of the old man AFO was well on his way to becoming.

O  I feel like I said it somewhere before and can't find it again, but you know what’s really dumb?  Blowing Shinsou’s surprise advantage on controlling Gigantomachia instead of AFO.  For real, I cannot imagine they couldn’t have set up some situation where Shinsou would have been able to provoke a response.  Just put him out there and have him ask about Aizawa’s dead bestie, or have him use Hawks’ voice, since Hawks has been so good at wheedling AFO into dawdling around delivering Evil Overlord monologues.  It’s a bit silly that AFO didn’t recognize Shinsou from the start—we know he watched the Sports Festival with Shigaraki—but man, if you want to talk about a risk worth taking, Shinsou getting control of AFO is a much smarter one than Shinsou delivering Machia straight into AFO’s hands.

O  Translation Quibble: Whichever character is the one that calls out to Mount Lady as she goes over—Mineta, Hawks, one of the other students—doesn’t address her as Mount Lady; they just call her Lady. No idea why this would need to be changed.

O  Translation Quibble: I noticed the severe discrepancy this week between the official release and the fan translation of Hawks’ line about AFO’s quirks and Rewind, and asked @codenamesazanka about it.  She looked into the response the Japanese fans were having to the chapter on Twitter, as seeing the J-fan consensus is usually a reliable way to see how an ambiguous line is being interpreted in its native language.  According to that response, then, none of the English translations have gotten it quite right,[3] but basically, Hawks is goading AFO how Rewind treats AFO’s stock of quirks as an external factor, so while it can heal AFO’s body, it won’t work any changes on damaged quirks.  Thus, AFO is stuck with the festering rubbish version of Fierce Wings, not the sick red angel wings version.  (Mind you, Hawks has been doing perfectly serviceable work with that damaged version, so it’s not like it would be entirely useless to AFO.)

I notice we’re still doing this thing where “quirks” are distinguished from “quirk factors,” and continue to wonder what that actually means for AFO and Shigaraki, and why AFO didn’t just give Shigaraki whatever he needs when they were spending weeks in a cave together.  See this post for more.

O  AFO can talk about carnage all he likes, but I know good and well that Horikoshi did not just kill off anybody here, probably not even Gigantomachia.  Sorry, Hori, I’m still burned out from the heart debacle.

O  The Mineta scene is great.  I love Mineta when he’s anxious about his classmates.  And directly attracting the Demon Lord’s attention for the sake of one of said classmates is about the best thing you could ask for to demonstrate how far Mineta’s come from his early wrestling with cowardice.  (Also, saying that taking Dark Shadow will just make AFO a chuunibyou is hilarious.  Sorry, Mineta; AFO is already a huge fucking chuunibyou; Dark Shadow could not possibly make him more of one than he became the moment he decided to devote his life to becoming an IRL Demon Lord.)

O  Nothing concrete to say about Hawks losing the wings for good—and I do think he did; check out all those nice clear shots of his back, with nothing visible except a bunch of burn scars courtesy of Dabi.  Honestly, I think it probably should have happened at Deika.  What has he actually done since then that truly required that Hawks specifically be flight-capable?  He caught Lady Nagant, yes, but Endeavor could have done that; it’s not like Overhaul was going to get far if Endeavor didn’t grab him right away.  He had the combo move with Jirou and Tokoyami, but breaking AFO’s helmet could just as easily have been Dark Shadow’s work.

Honestly, Hawks would have been much better served in terms of characterization to have had a crisis of faith about what he does with his life after Deika—ruined wings, ruined reputation, an ugly reveal about his heroic idol, the HPSC in shambles but definitely not down for the count, his mother gone again, his intern having some pressing questions about the whole matter of the murder accusation, and so on.  But the narrative being unwilling to actually push Hawks on anything is, tragically, not news, so of course he only loses his wings at the very end of the story, not a point at which it would have actually mattered.

O  It’s kind of bonkers that the mini-flashback panel of the Shiketsu kids turning up with news that the UA refugees never arrived is framed as a hopeful thing?  In that it’s what Hawks’ mind goes to when he’s thinking there’s still hope?  I guess it would explain why no one asked the Shiketsu students why the hell they didn’t investigate what happened to said refugees: the story meant us to assume that Shiketsu assumed the refugees never showed because they were just never in enough danger to bother leaving U.A. at all.  No mystery there; the fight at U.A. must be going off just as planned!

Of course, given that we know good and well that communication is going on between the groups,[4] there’s no reason Shiketsu shouldn’t have been notified that they had refugees being sent their way, which puts me right back to assuming incredible negligence being committed there.  And indeed, we know that there is indeed trouble brewing in the escape cubes, so I’m really entirely confused as to why Hawks flashed to news about the refugees never arriving as a Hope Spot.

That said, I’d actually be fairly shocked at this point if Horikoshi is letting Hawks be wrong about something based on faulty conclusions, so is there or is there not a twist coming there?  Whooooo knows.  I do know that if we don’t get anything other than Death Arms’ big noble run, that’s going to be a pretty big let-down for a plot we spent some not inconsiderable time (as rushed final arc plot points go, anyway) setting up.

O  I want to say Fuyumi looking after the remedial exam kids is a nice touch, but I also wonder where in god’s names their parents are, or even their own teacher.  I could see them hanging out with each other around the refugee area if they’re all from the same school district/neighborhood, but you’d think that once the evacuation to another school starts, they’d be sent back to stay with their families until the cube safely arrives.  So maybe it’s less a nice touch and more a would-be clever nod that actually opens up a lot of unintended questions (big shock).

O  The material with AFO’s mole is deeply underwhelming.  How exactly did Gunhead even spot that guy being shifty in a windowless underground enclosure in which all the lights have just gone off?  It ought to be pitch black in there, aside from the lights from personal electronic devices.  The spy dude has some kind of energy arcing between his thumbs, but his back is to Gunhead, so what distinguishes the glow from that energy from just another cellphone screen?

Also, I notice that Bowl Cut is continuing to be treated very unsympathetically by the narrative—that huge manic grin!—despite how thuddingly obvious his internal monologue is that he’s terrified of AFO and sees his very life as dependent on doing something, anything, that he can offer up to AFO as Services Rendered when this is all over.  I suppose it’s at least consistent with the bizarre cant on the adults treating Aoyama as a complete villain for the horrible crime of being a blackmailed teenager.

Bowl Cut aside, though, AFO is implied to have at least five, possibly more, moles at U.A., so stopping only the one who’s having the most obvious panic sweats about it is not exactly resolving the problem!

The people conspicuously framed as listening to the relayed orders from AFO, circa Chapter 342.

O  It’s nice to see one of these “heroes are, as a group, getting better” plot beats actually involve a hero who failed in Chapter 1’s Sludge Villain scene, but I persist in thinking that it’d land better if the action involved heroes taking on a problem they don’t immediately believe they can solve.  Just as you couldn’t hand-pick someone better than Mina to deal with the Sludge Villain, catching falling chunks of metal seems entirely within Death Arms’ skill set, so it’s not like he’s made some incredible evolution wherein he leaps to help even in a situation he doesn’t have an immediate solution for.

O  Color me incredibly curious how Stain is going to fit into all this, seeing as he’s stuck in Kamino, on the far eastern side of this multi-area conflict…is what I would have said before the official came out and it became more obvious that the blobby dark shape off to his left side is some kind of Green Goblin-esque glider.  On the other hand, it’s not a Green Goblin glider without Pumpkin Bombs, so fingers crossed that Stain’s is capable of launching exploding shuriken or something similarly characterful.  XD

----------------- FOOTNOTES -----------------

[1] Which the heroes magically deduced somehow.  They get a lot of this sort of thing, like the magic sensors the American jets were equipped with that let them tell that AFO’s quirks were being destroyed, or the whole business of sussing out the identities of 100K people in an underground army in a bit over three months.

[2] An excellent reason for whoever that quirk’s previous owner was to want to get rid of it!  If you don’t have rapid healing, that quirk is like walking around with a grenade embedded in your elbow.  You might survive the blood loss, if you get immediate medical care, but you sure as hell aren’t getting the arm back.

[3] Or if Caleb did, his localization is being especially obtuse and needlessly confusing this week.

[4] See e.g. the news about Dabi’s seeming defeat being radioed out to all parties, or Mount Lady being notified about AFO being on the move.