#(nor is this the introductory post

[ghelgheli]

i would actually like to hear more of your thoughts on whipping girl, whenever you feel ready enough to talk about it. i've only ever heard positive recommendations for it. i was thinking of reading it. i've read one or two introductory 101 texts on transmisogyny as well as some medium/substack posts, and always looking to read more as a tme person. ty!

thanks for asking! I'm gonna try to be concise because I'm stuck on my phone for the month, but here are my thoughts on whipping girl:

serano is at her strongest in the book in three areas: manifestations of transmisogyny in media (e.g. how trans caricatures pervade movies), the history of medical institutions developing a pathology of transsexuality (like the diagnostics of blanchard et al. or how trans people seeking healthcare were and continue to be forced into acting out prescribed expressions and manufacturing memories), and the construction of her own transition narrative (telling the reader what it was like for her to grow up desiring femininity in a way that confused her, the experience of crossdressing, the effects of hrt for her)

whenever she's just sticking to this, I think she effectively communicates a lot that the unaware reader could benefit from—even many trans women/transfems/tma people who are otherwise in tune with the history of medicalized transsexualism and our popular depictions could probably benefit from her own personal narrative, by nature of how variegated our experiences can be.

unfortunately I think the book fails at its primary—stated—goal, which is to theorize about transmisogyny. in the big picture this is a bifurcated failure:

on one branch of her argument, she remains committed to there being something biologically essential/innate about gender. this manifests thru multiple claims: that we have "innate inclinations" toward masculinity/femininity and "subconscious sex" rather than what I believe, which is that the latter are constructed categories imposed on different matrices of behaviour/expression/desire in different cultural contexts; that there is "definitely a biological component to gender" (close paraphrase) after a discussion of how she believes E and T tend to affect people (thus equivocating gender with dominant hormones!); that we have such a thing as "physical sex" which is the composition of our culturally decided "sex characteristics" (don't ask me how the dividing line is drawn) even as she says we should stop using "biological sex" as a term; that there is "no harm" in agreeing that "sex" is largely bimodal with some exceptions; that social constructionism is necessarily erasure of transsexual experiences in early childhood... altogether she is unwilling to relinquish arguments about the partial "innateness" of femininity/masculinity and gender. this is at tension with her admission on several occasions that these are neither culturally/geographically nor temporally stable concepts! but that doesn't seem to be a line she can follow thru on.

on another, intertwining branch, she engages in what I think is a deep and widespread mistake in the theorizing of transmisogyny: reducing it (mechanistically) to what she calls effemimania* or essentially anti-femininity. it is her stated thesis at the start that masculinity is universally preferred to femininity. she doesn't offer a definition of either term until one of the final chapters, where she defines them as the behaviours and expressions associated with a particular gender. but I think this reduction just misunderstands transmisogyny. it is even in tension with an observation she makes early on, that trans women are often punished for their perceived masculinity! but again, this is a thought she seems unable or unwilling to follow thru with.

my problem with the thesis is that masculinity and femininity do not float free of gender—it is not possible to speak of their valuation in the abstract. anyone who grew up as a masculine cis girl and never "grew out" of that "phase" can attest to the violence wrought upon expressions of masculinity from women. and this applies doubly so to the subjects of transmisogyny! not only are we punished for any perceived bleed-through of masculinity from our supposed "underlying male selves", those of us who are willingly masculine and thriving as mascs are punished for our failure to conform to the rules of the normative womanhood that is imposed on us (just as we are punished for any willing femininity as "false" and predatory upon cis womanhood—observe that transmisogyny is reactive degendering in every case!).

on both branches serano makes only perfunctory remarks about the intersections with race, class, and colonialism. "sex" as such was made to only be accessible to the "civilized", most of all the white european! for a racialized person and particularly a Black person navigating gender the waters are just not the same; the signifiers of sex neither available in the same way, nor granted the same medical legitimacy. what is the "physical sex" of someone who is de-sexed altogether? how can gender have a "biologically innate" component when its expressions between the bourgeoisie and the working class are at total odds with one another? this all goes for the masculine/feminine distinctions as well. what sense is there in the claim that we have innately masculine/feminine inclinations when globally (and transmisogyny has been made global!) what is feminine and masculine can be very nearly mirrored? nor is "masculinity is always considered superior to femininity" innocent of obviating race. transmisogynoir adds yet further degendering thru the coercive masculinization of someone as a Black woman—masculinization as punishment, again!

and as a final point, the account fails to be materialist. there is no attempt to place transmisogyny in its role as an instrument of political economy or, as jules gill-peterson might say, as a tool of statecraft. it is just a psychological response to the way the world is, as far as serano has anything to say about it. but how did the world become that way, and why?? serano's solution, the abolition of what she calls gender entitlement, is naive to the fact that gender entitlement is necessary to the maintenance of the capitalist state, which is structured thru patriarchy and built on colonialism. it is not possible to reskin this into something innocuous!

this is why I cannot recommend whipping girl as a work about transmisogyny except at the most shallow level. it could be a helpful critical read, but imo, it is just wrong about transmisogyny.

[4dbarbie-archive]

4dbarbie remix: You're dreaming from memory

4dkelly notes: This could be a good introductory pointer for those new to non-dualism. Probably my last remix for a while because they always start off as a fun or great idea that ends up taking way too much time and mental energy lol. Also I know it says 4dbarbie remix and it's because I extracted all the text from her posts but almost half of this adaptation post is made with direct or adapted excerpts from the book I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj as she often incorporated his words into her posts so it might be more accurate to call it a 4dbarbie and I Am That remix. I've marked extracts that are from the book with an asterisk (*). My highlight colour key: key concepts are in pink, action points in purple, really important points in red, my notes (which are minimal) in blue

There is nothing that exists. Only you do. 1 The only thing you know for sure is: 'here and now, I am'. Remove the 'here and now', the 'I am' remains, indisputable. The world exists in memory, memory comes into consciousness; consciousness exists in awareness and awareness is the reflection of the light on the waters of existence. 2*

The person is a very small thing. Actually it is a composite, it cannot be said to exist by itself. Unperceived, it is just not there. It is but the shadow of the mind, the sum total of memories. Pure being is reflected in the mirror of the mind, as knowing. What is known takes the shape of a person, based on memory and habit. It is but a shadow, or a projection of the knower onto the screen of the mind. 3*

You (Self) are projecting this very moment live. Nothing is happening to you, I mean literally. Nothing is out there. 4 Everything you see and experience is only a mental condition, a dream-like state, easy to dispel by questioning its reality. It's you imagining it as real and fighting it with all your might that keeps it alive. In this dream, you imagine yourself to be a process, to have a past and future, to have history. In fact, we have no history, we are not a process, we do not develop, nor decay. 5*

When you sleep at night, you think the world you're dreaming of is real. You wake up in the morning and you go on living in a different world, which you also think is real. But while you were in the first dream you had no memory of this world, did you? You come into the waking state and forget all about that dream (because you dismiss it as unreal & imagined so you have no reason to care once the experience is over). You're present in a second dream, and you deal with this one because now that's "what is real". But there is no difference between sleeping and waking, awareness is the background of both. You just think the waking state more real because you've dreamt it over and over and reinforced your belief. They're equally imaginary. 6

Each and every moment is projected on your consciousness but in reality, there is no link or cause between them. Memory gives the illusion of continuity and repetitiveness creates the idea of causality (e.g. I have blue eyes because I take after my mom). When things repeatedly happen together, we tend to see a causal link between them. It creates a mental habit, but a habit is not a necessity.* Drop it. You, now, even if recreated completely from memory and appearing the same, are still doing the creating/projecting live. It is all memory carried over into the now. You never move, your mind does. You don't arrive anywhere, you've always been there. You don't become, you already are. 1

Memory seems to being things to the present out of the past, but all that happens does happen in the present only. It is only in the now that phenomena manifest themselves. Thus, time and causality do not apply in reality. You are prior to the world, body and mind. You are the sphere in which they appear and disappear. You are the source of them all, the universal power by which the world with its bewildering diversity becomes manifest. 7*

You recreate the world every day from memory. There is no yesterday but your memory of it. There is no tomorrow but your thought of it. You are moving from now into now, and nothing has reality but in your mind. In deep sleep you are no one, no thing, you are not aware of being anything. You are just aware of being. There is no world, no one, not even 'yourself'. 8 In the absence of the mind, even the sense 'I am' dissolves. There is no 'I am' without the mind. All experience subsides with the mind. Without the mind, there can be no experiencer nor experience. 8*

Consciousness creates the mind which projects the world, built of memory and imagination.* You create a world, then you create an ego in it that is desiring some thing - look at it, you are doing that now. Stop the urge to create and recreate worlds of desires. 1 You don't have to live by memory. You can see the world as it is, a momentary appearance in consciousness. 7*

See all as a dream and stay out of it. While it lasts, the dream has temporary being. It is your own desire to hold on to it that creates the problem. Let go. Stop imagining that the dream is yours. 5*

Realize your true being, all else will follow and take care of itself. You will no longer feel the need to manifest or get things, because you see you are the one imagining the things. You already are, and if you want to observe yourself as 'something', you can. After you rid yourself of your belief that you are the ego, you no longer feel compelled in any direction whatsoever. You do not feel like you need to be the body you imagine you were born with (because you were never it in the first place), or watch Sandra's from afar. You’re free to do or not to do whatever you want; you are dreaming, and you know you are dreaming, there is nothing to fear or fight, because all is yours. The thing to do is to establish that permanently, for all time. Then you can play any part you so desire, and be totally unaffected by it. 3

Free from memory and expectation, you are fresh, innocent and wholehearted. Needing nothing, you are unafraid. Whom to be afraid of? There is no separation, we are not separate selves. There is only one Self, your Self. 1*

Become aware that the waking state is just a dream and life will forever be a breeze. 6 When the world is real, it is heavy. When the Self is real, the world is light. 3#

References

4dbarbie posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

* Text excerpts from I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj

# from Keys to The Ultimate Freedom by Lester Levenson

[sitp-recs]

hi liv! do you know of any draco-centered longish fics??? thanks! i just love him so much

Hi anon, definitely! Here are my favourites:

Heal Thyself by astolat (T, 47k)

"Are you going for the course?" Lovegood asked. "You have the NEWTs.”

“What course?” Draco said, then, “No, don’t be ridiculous,” when he realized she meant the notice pinned up on the board he’d been staring at: Applicants To The Introductory Mediwizard Course For The Coming Term Shall Present Themselves In The Chief Mediwizard’s Office By August 24th.

A Room Up There (And You In It) by @the-starryknight (T, 59k)

When Preservationist Draco Malfoy was assigned to work on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was excited to delve into the gorgeous Black family antiques. His excitement quickly ended when something in the House decided it did not like his presence one bit.

The Trouble with Wanting by waldorph (E, 60k)

Draco Malfoy is cleared of all charges; this is what happens next.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop (E, 70k)

It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always.

Among Ancient Pines by @graymatters (M, 74k)

Every day, Draco Malfoy tries. With every fiber of his being he tries. But he doesn’t much think about what he’s trying for. In his final term of Healer training, Draco is unfortunate enough to find himself on a plane, the only means of traveling to a small, magical town in rural Alaska.

Super Rich Kids by @thusspoketrish (E, 81k)

Draco Malfoy has become disillusioned by the glitz and glamour of the scandalous lives of the Post-Second Wizarding War Pureblood Elite. Enter: one existential crisis, one group of thieving cynical friends, and several terrible, terrible decisions.

A Thousand Beautiful Things by geoviki (M, 104k)

Draco Malfoy struggles with changed fortunes, shifted alliances, an ugly war, and an unusual spell, with the help of a concerned professor, an insightful house-elf, and an unexpected Gryffindor friend.

Nor All That Glisters by @sweet-s0rr0w (E, 110k)

Lonely and frustrated on house arrest, with no prospects for the future, Draco begins brewing Felix Felicis in an attempt to improve his lot. Just in the short term, of course. He isn’t a total idiot.

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

The arrival of Harry Potter’s children—snapped back in time, the children themselves guessed, twenty or so years—was the most interesting thing to happen at Hogwarts for years.

All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl (M, 114k)

Professor Malfoy's world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.

What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym (M, 131k)

Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.

Any Instrument by @dictacontrion (E, 131k)

Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

There Is Always the Moon by @firethesound (T, 159k)

Draco's life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it's simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he'd worked so hard to build, there's only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before. Now Draco has to believe that Potter will be able to do it one more time.

[pinkeoni]

The “Will Has Powers” Basics Post

I’ve realized recently that whenever I talk about Will having powers, I kind of just expect everyone to be on the same page as me, without really explaining much of what lead me to believe he has powers in the first place. I don't really have a good foundation to point to.

So that's what I want this post to be, not really too detailed but more of an introductory post. I'll explain the basics of my Will has powers theories, why I believe he has powers, and what kinds of powers I think he has. I'll be using evidence I've used in a lot of other posts while also keeping it simplistic and not trying to add anything too speculative or theoretical.

Evidence & Powers #1) Nancy's Dialogue and Time and Light Powers

I think one of the easiest pieces of evidence and my usual go-to is Nancy's dialogue in 4x07 when the teens are in the Upside Down. Nancy remarks that the Upside Down is stuck on the day that Will went missing, and then brings Will up again in regards to the lights. Both of her pieces of dialogue here implicates Will as the one who froze time and got the lights to work the way they do.

"The last entry is November 6, 1983. The day Will went missing. The day the gate opened."

"Will found a way. Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights."

(So I used to think it was "The day the gate opened. The day Will went missing." and not "The day Will went missing. The day the gate opened." but after rewatching the scene it is actually the former. My bad.)

Now obviously Nancy wouldn't know that Will is responsible nor do I think she has some kind of psychic intuition, but the writers would know and are writing her dialogue in a specific way that points toward Will in both instances. Bringing him up by name not one, not two but three times places emphasis on him specifically. I think that

El opening the gate had a part in this, but if it was her solely then I think Nancy's dialogue would read as "The last entry is November 6, 1983. The day El opened the gate." rather than trying to tie Will into it in the first place. Moreover, the gates that Vecna is opening with El's powers don't seem to be updating the Upside Down to modern times, Will is an important piece of the puzzle.

The light thing is something that I do think is solely Will, given that gate opening isn't brought up and Nancy brings Will up by name twice in the same line of dialogue.

The word "found" here is also interesting because it could have two meanings.

A) Will stumbled upon the lights ability

B) Will created the ability to communicate with lights

Had Nancy said "Will stumbled upon a way to talk to Joyce through the lights" it would suggest that the lights is a rule from the UD that has always been there. Nancy saying that Will created the ability to talk through lights wouldn't make sense for her to say because Nancy wouldn't have access to that information. "Found" is the perfect balance between the two— it makes sense given Nancy's access to information while allowing enough room to imply that Will had something to do with it.

Evidence & Powers #2) Will as an Artist and Creation Powers

If you created a tv character who had magic powers, but you couldn't reveal it until the final season, how do you pull it off without it feeling out of nowhere? How do you build up the reveal without completely giving it away.

Well, I would do it by attributing his powers with aspects of the character that has already been built up and that the audience has become familiar with.

It's established that Will is an artist from season one, and his art continues to be important to the plot it nearly every season.

In season one, Joyce is able to correctly identify that El is not because Will's drawings are much more advanced than El's stick figures.

In season two, Will uses drawings in order to help visualize his now memories and creates a map of the tunnels.

Not much in season three, but Will does use charcoal in one scene to demonstrate visually how the shadow particles work.

In season four, Will creates a painting for Mike that becomes an important moment in the season and sets in motion important events for the future (aka byler endgame)

I will admit that this piece of evidence by itself is not enough to convince an audience that Will has a supernatural link. Will is an artist -> Will has powers is a pretty far stretch. But I think that this combined with some of my other evidence could support what kind of powers I think he has, which I think is some from of creation ability. Will has powers because of xyz -> Will is also an artist -> Will has powers of creation is a better argument and what I'm trying to get at.

Without getting into all of the chunky theoretics here, I believe it's possible that Will may have the ability to create whole lifeforms and vast worlds, such as the Upside Down itself and the creatures inside.

Evidence & Powers #3) Will the Wise, Fire Powers & Prophetic Abilities

This goes along similarly with what I said about using Will's artistry to foreshadow his powers, or using another facet of Will's character to hint at powers without giving it away altogether. Although, I would say that this piece of evidence is probably a lot more obvious than the previous bullet.

"Will the Wise" is Will's Dungeon's & Dragons name, which comes up pretty frequently in the show. Will the Wise is confusingly labeled as both a wizard and a cleric, although both classes are magic-users within DnD.

Each member of the party has a DnD class and character, although Will's is the one that get's brought up the most. The name Will the Wise is referenced—

Episode one when Will is playing DnD

In a flashback later in season one

The episode title "Will the Wise" from season two

And in season three when we have our most obvious piece of powers foreshadowing, when Will dresses up in a Wizard costume

During this same scene, Will says that he has "seen into the future" which is why I suggest that he may have prophetic abilities. Vecna displays a similar ability when he shows Nancy the future in her vision.

It's also possible that Will may have some kind of fire abilities, based on one of Will the Wise's attacks being "fireball." (@reikunrei made a really great post recently proposing that Will's fire powers might extend to some of his other abilities rather than being purely a fire attack, but alas I cannot find it ((I am so sorry Wilbur)))

Evidence #4) Continued Connection With Vecna

Another reason why I suspect that Will may have powers comes from a series of questions:

Why is Will the first one taken to the Upside Down?

Why choose Will as the host of the Mind Flayer?

Why continue to have a connection with Will?

I think I could write-off the first two as incidental if the show didn't make it a point to continue this connection through seasons three and four, that along with Nancy's dialogue in season 4 discussed earlier. Could Will's disappearance have been a coincidence? Sure. Could Vecna have just needed Will to be a spy, and is completely disposable to him? It's possible. But if so, what is the narrative reasoning for maintaining this connection? Is it to just for the convenience of having Will as a beast sensor?

Something else that tips me off about Will's disappearance is the why it happens as well, which we aren't really told. We are told with Barb that the demogorgon is attracted to blood. Nancy and Jonathan later use this tactic to lure it to the house.

And yet with Will, we don't see any blood. In fact, they make a point to emphasize this when Hopper tells Joyce that there was no blood on his bike.

Evidence #5) Will's focus in season 5

Despite Will always being my favorite character and loving him so dearly, I didn't start seriously theorizing until I saw this tweet by Discussing Film, which came out shortly after vol. 2 was released.

I know that outside cast and crew comment shouldn’t be taken as gospel, as they have lied before for the sake of spoilers. Which is why I put this at the end, and why it’s not my only piece of evidence.

But still, it’s not like every comment is a lie, and even then, wouldn’t this be a wierd thing to lie about? And kinda cruel? Imagine saying “Oh, this gay character who hasn’t gotten a lot of screentime is going to be a focus.” only to say “Haha just kidding, he’s actually unimportant!” So I’m inclined to believe that they’re telling the truth.

So if this statement is true, then how could Will not have powers? How would you make a character the center of a show about the supernatural, if he has no tie to the supernatural at all?

[bfpnola]

I am not Palestinian nor am I Jewish. Be that as it may, I hate settler colonialism, even more so as a brown, bi, genderqueer ‘Afab’ person. I just wanted to say. 1) your post on the topic is more empathetic and insightful than I’ve seen a lot of people be about this over my entire life and I’ve asked questions of both sides, I tend to stay out of the fray cause I don’t feel it my place to speak over Palestinians and Jews (who are critical of Israel). But, do you have any advice for being a better ally to Palestinians and combating anti-semitism and anti Jewish racism in the everyday?

hey sweetheart! thank you for your commitment to the movement and your earnestness. i am not Palestinian or Jewish either, so i did what is always considered best: i asked those who are! that's exactly why our Advocacy Committee within BFP exists :)

from one of our Palestinian youth volunteers:

if you have the money to do so, donate to the cause! the unfortunate truth is that to gain access to various resources, things cost money. more specifically, donate to humanitarian aid funds you've done the research for and are sure are doing work on the ground. even better if you can donate directly to those being affected! this includes Palestinians on the ground but also within the diaspora who need self care items, especially for all the work they've been doing educating others. for example, this is an organization this member volunteers with and trusts:

and these are two amazon lists of Palestinian youth within the diaspora:

share posts by Palestinians! the big thing is really just getting the word out, sharing their perspective. Zionist propaganda is hard to penetrate so the least we can do is uplift their voices by sharing!

from one of our Jewish youth volunteers:

understand that not all Jewish people are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jewish. saying the two are equivalent is not only antisemitic but ignores the blatant statistics, like the growing number of anti-Zionist Jewish young adults in the united states for example, or the fact that the biggest supporters of israel are actually evangelicals.

to that same point, know that israel has been purposefully trying to conflate the two in order to then label anyone who does critique the state as automatically antisemitic. it is a tool.

additionally, be careful with the rhetoric you choose to spread & subscribe to (i.e., watch how they describe israel. do they refer to the people as Jews or Zionists? it can tell you a lot about how educated they are and their vague stance on the matter)

my own additions as a longstanding ally and friend of those involved:

learn your history! there is a clear attempt to distort the history of Palestine. learn what Palestine was like before israel's occupation. learn about the way pioneering Zionists openly called Zionism "colonialism" and didn't even try to hide it. learn about how discussions of the Zionist project were discussed roughly 80 years before the Holocaust ever happened. this does not mean that some Jews did not, in fact, move to Palestine in response to such a horrific event, but in the words of a Jewish mutual of mine, israel's rhetoric literally weaponizes Jewish trauma by conflating these two dates in history.

BDS movement! stands for boycott, divestment, and sanctions!

when possible, actually speak to people of Palestinian descent. like seriously. posts are great, but actually speaking to people who are knowledgeable in real time can be so helpful for getting your questions addressed, so long as you are respectful, of course. a great place to do this, not even to advertise, is actually our Discord server linked in our bio @bfpnola

know that language matters, as inconsequential as it may seem. in the words of my Palestinian, Kashmiri, and Artsakhi friends and/or mutuals, when speaking of occupations, we capitalize the occupied people's country (ex. Palestine) while not doing so for the occupier's (ex. israel) to delegitimize them.

learn about Hamas and its history/purpose. here are my notes on two podcast episodes let by Palestinians:

thank you for your ask! im sure i may think of other things later but these are my answers for now.

-- reaux (she/they)

[vs120shound]

Tiffany of France is a stewardess in diplomatic relations by trade! So there's times when smoking is completely impossible. But when she can steal away some moments, she has a Marlboro Red 100 or two!

VIDEO OF THE MONTH (HONORABLE MENTION) | No. 5 IN THE SERIES!

For April 2024

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ | Four-and-a-Half “Stars”

From vs120shound staff | ★★★★★ (L)

Dual-Media 21-Post, 139- Pack Ultra-Megapost!

TIFFANY MIGHT BE THE FIRST MODEL IN SSW HISTORY TO HAVE RESUMED HER HABIT FOR HER DEBUT VIDEO!

"It's the moment [smoking] to disconnect from the day. If I don't smoke, I don't disconnect!"

Tiffany started smoking cigarettes late in her teenage years while living in her native France. Fairly soon upon picking up the habit, she had established herself as a pack-a-day smoker of Marlboro Red 100s! Somewhere between the late-Spring and early-Summer of 2023, Tiffany decided to quit smoking, and she went several months successfully off cigarettes. The nicotine might have worked its way out of her bloodstream, but the idea of smoking, the pleasure from the habit never left Tiffany's essence, never departed her core, never was replaced with a new driving impetus for the day. She back-slid right into the habit again full-throttle. Though she did not articulate it in the video, Tiffany is thankful to be back in the ranks of being a cigarette smoker once more. She's a Marlboro 100s Gal! And it's going to stay that way for a spell . . .

Here is some of Tiffany's conversation with Fran in her solo video debut, shot only a few weeks after returning to smoking from a quit-smoking effort that lasted for a few months, ending by early-December 2023:

"From day to morning, I quit. . . . I wake up and said never again. . . . "And well . . . a few months ago . . . but then look . . . I started craving for smoking," Tiffany said. "And the first one feels so good." "What does it feel like when you smoke?" Fran asked Tiffany. Tiffany said, "Relief, peace. . . . It's the moment to disconnect from the day. If I don't smoke, I don't disconnect." "What do you feel in your body?" Fran asked Tiffany. Tiffany, said, "It's my moment."

This video ⏤ and nor did Tiffany ⏤ qualify for Video of The Month | Hall of Fame division consideration, not because Tiffany is not a Smoking Lovely in her late-20s to mid-30s ⏤ she is ⏤ not because she isn't seductive, cute and pretty with a distinctive look. Tiffany is super attractive and alluring. She is not Hall of Fame timber with only three videos of her out on the Internets and with not even five full months affiliated with the Greater SF World Community scene. She's a "newbie" to The Biz! Her name is not on the tip of the lips yet for many SF aficionados! Not yet at least. Let Tiffany gain some more traction, put on a few more SF miles (kilometers) and she could be a legitimate candidate for elevation into the next few stratospheres of the SF hierarchy. For now, she's just building her persona within SF. We wish her well but with her assets, Tiffany won't need much help to move along and progress! She'll move from VOTM | Honorable Mention division to VOTM | Hall of Fame division. Our Centerpiece video is a staff-produced compilation effort. The first part, more than the opening two-thirds of the video, is from Instagram@ciggietime10, downloaded on May 2, 2024; the last third of the video is the Smoking Sweeties (www.smokingsweeties.com) promotional video for her introductory post, Tiffany: Getting Back into Her Habit, downloaded into our archives/library/vault on December 16, 2023.

THE MEDIA!

Videoframes (Screen Captures) of Tiffany!

From vs120shound staff!

Videos on Our Network of Tiffany!

From vs120shound on January 14, 2024 . . .

From lostlighter23 on April 27, 2024 . . .

From lostlighter23 on January 16, 2024 (Tiffany in a group of five Smoking Honey's shooting pool!) . . .

[daresplaining]

Mattea Murdock, the Daredevil Drummer of Philly

In celebration of the forthcoming new Spider-Punk: Arms Race series (not to mention Hobie stealing scenes in "Across the Spider-Verse" last year), I wanted to finally write up my long-overdue overview post on Mattea Murdock! If you haven't read her introductory run yet, check it out here.

Mattea truly stands on her own in the wide canon of alternate universe DDs. She is a female Daredevil, she is Latina, and she somehow managed to escape Marvel's NYC gravity and base herself in Philadelphia, where she defends its citizens from violence and exploitation. Hobie and his self-styled Spider-Band encounter her in Spider-Punk (2022) #3, when they make a detour to fix the busted Spider-Van. They are all immediately-- and correctly-- impressed.

Mattea: "Yo, Kam!" Hobie: "Wait, you know each other?!" Kamala: "Duh! You think I wouldn't know the Daredevil Drummer of Philly?" Hobie: "You're a drummer too?" Mattea: "Best in town." Hobie: "Oh man, my friend Gwen is a pretty dope drummer too. I think y'all would definitely get along." Mattea: "Hope they're ready to get outplayed by a pretty, blind girl." Spider-Punk vol. 1 #3 by Cody Ziglar, Justin Mason, Jim Charalampidis, and Travis Lanham

I talked a little about her killer character/costume design when she was first introduced (I was a fool; of course she's blind), and my love for her look has only grown. It's badass, distinctive, and it slots her beautifully into Hobie's punk rock world while still evoking that trademark Daredevil image (red, sticks, pointy bits...). Her irises are red, which is a visual choice I enjoy in more heightened, fantastical DD stories/art styles, and I think it works for Mattea. Heck, I could even imagine them being colored contact lenses she's chosen to wear for the aesthetic. Also, one detail that wasn't in the previews is the fun little laughing devil face on the back of her jacket (I'm not punk rock enough to get the reference if it is one, but it reminds me of Darkdevil):

Of course, always a big priority for me is Daredevil's power-set, and Mattea provides a quick primer on her unique perspective, mostly focused on hearing and the radar sense:

Mattea: "What? You think just 'cause I'm a blind girl, I can't see? Echolocation, my abuelas used to call it. But it's more intimate. Instinctual. Can hear a kick drum from ten blocks away. Can see it too. If I think hard enough, I can even see what the garage it's being played in looks like." Hobie: "Yo, are you doing it right now?" Riri: "She's definitely doing it right now."

This is not my favorite description of Daredevil's powers, nor-- to be honest-- a particularly informative one. She can gather spatial information through walls...from ten blocks away? I also never love an overuse of visual language in any explanation of these powers, especially as it's implied that Mattea, like Matt, is completely blind. Surprisingly, no direct mention is made here of the hypersenses as a whole, beyond the reference to hearing a kick drum from ten blocks away. Even her hearing doesn't receive that much attention in the story overall, which feels like a missed opportunity for such a musical character. Her blindness, too, is pretty much irrelevant to the story, and never comes up again. But I do LOVE that she uses the term "echolocation", though is still very clearly the radar sense, in all its vague, undefined, semi-magic glory.

And visually? This is great. I'm always a fan of the cross-hatching visual, especially against a black background, and artist Justin Mason doesn't go too overboard on the detail, which is another preference of mine. And thematically, I love the ways in which Mattea's drummer identity is tied into her superheroics-- not just for laying a beatdown on bad guys, but also for channelling and enhancing her echolocation/radar sense. One of my favorite scenes in the comic is when she plays a drum solo on a roof edge to scope out the Kingpin's lair. I'm willing, in that moment, to ignore any gripes about radar sense irregularities out of respect for the coolness and thematic heft of the concept. I mean, this rocks:

Mattea: "Come on, show me the good stuff."

At the end of the day, though, this is not a Daredevil comic and Mattea is not the main character. Plus, it's only five issues long, and introduces a bunch of other new characters as well. There was only ever going to be room for the creative team to offer a cursory introduction, hopefully generating enough interest to prompt these characters to appear again in other comics. In that, I think they fully succeeded with Mattea; we get a cursory sense of her powers (or at least, enough to show that they're the normal DD set), her personality (delightfully cocky, playful, tough, fearless), a few hints of her backstory, and some truly kickass fight scenes. There's a bit of suspension of disbelief required to believe she can use drumsticks as a stand-in for billy clubs (unless her drumsticks are made of something really hefty-- and hey, maybe they are), but this is Spider-Punk. Hobie killed Norman Osborn with a guitar--twice. It's not about realism, it's about style.

Mattea: "Been waiting for this for a long time, Fisk. Real long time." Fisk: "I'm going to break you, li'l girl--AWGGH!" Mattea: "Big, strong man who sends out his band of wackos to push over people too weak to fight back." Fisk: "Wouldn't get too cocky, girlie...you're not the only one who's fast! I'm gonna hurt ya. A lot. Then I'm gonna kill ya. And I'm gonna love every second of it. You know, this is the same look you had when I had your old band clapped a few years back. I like it. Brings out your eyes--GAAAH!" Mattea: "There's something you need to understand about me, papi. I'm not the kinda girl who goes down without a fight."

I can't wait to see more of Mattea and learn more about her, her world, her friends, and her enemies. In particular, she seems to have a history (possibly romantic?) with this world's Kamala Khan, and I would love to see more of that relationship. While Mattea Murdock clearly has a lot in common with Matt Murdock, she also seems happy to be a team player, unlike Matt, and I really enjoy that. Though I guess it's not that surprising a distinction. After all, every drummer needs a band.

[overleftdown]

farleigh analysis part 2, because the first post wasn't enough. this is going to cover all scenes set at oxford university that i find significant to my understanding of the character (this ended up including pretty much every scene with farleigh in it). once again... buckle up.

[0:03:48] farleigh: oh, he's got the scarf. hey, cool jacket! and the tie?

starting off with a banger! this is farleigh's first line, his introduction as a character. this is how the viewers are intended to see farleigh, at least for this portion of the movie. this is what i'd consider an outer-circle perspective of farleigh, how the majority of his classmates understand him as a person. catty and casually rude. it's significant how surface-level and mild this introductory piece of dialogue is. farleigh is pointing out how hard oliver is trying to appear mature and scholarly, because farleigh is too nonchalant to try hard to fit in (haha).

[0:07:10] farleigh: i'm so sorry. got completely lost- hi, nice to meet you. so sorry. tutor: you're farleigh start, i take it. nice of you to join us, finally. you're not a, uh relation of frederica start, by any chance? farleigh: uh, shes my mother. tutor: no! i knew her when i was your age, when we were both here! when she was frederica catton, before she went to america. farleigh: no way! oh my god, i'll tell her! she's gunna be thrilled that i'm being tutored by one of her friends.

and again, an outer-circle perspective. here you can see the supposed influence of farleigh's family title. "when she was frederica catton," signifying the beginning of the end of frederica's social rappour. farleigh is a product of his mother's abandonment of everything the catton's stand for; wealth, coldness, heartlessness. however, from this perspective, the one we've been introduced with, farleigh is still hiding in the ghost of his mother, before she moved, before she had him.

[0:07:48] tutor: not sure we ever spoke. farleigh: ...oh.

HEHEHEHEHE. i giggled.

[0:08:48] oliver: so you're picking apart the style of my essay instead of the substance? that's kind of... farleigh: kind of what? oliver: lazy? farleigh: it's completely valid to debate the rhetoric of an essay. it's not what you argue, but how. tutor: great point. oliver: yeah, especially if you haven't read any of the poems.

i think this dialogue is incredibly fitting for farleigh's character. as in, it represents how farleigh interacts with people at oxford, with the cattons. picking apart the style rather than the substance, because it's not what you argue, but how. using that comparison, oliver pointing out that farleigh clearly didn't read the material is synonymous with farleigh being clueless to how and why the cattons truly tick. this makes farleigh's socializing hollow by nature. whereas oliver... he does his research. he learns how the cattons function, what motivates them, what their dynamics are. he doesn't play into style or rhetoric; he doesn't need to.

[0:13:11] felix: oh, there he is! oliver! ollie! oliver, come here, mate! yeah, come here. come here. what? come here!

farleigh's face visibly drops, and he sits up straight where he's sitting beside felix. he's not disgusted, nor offended. he looks anxious. a few seconds later, as felix says "this is my fucking hero, right here," farleigh is giving oliver the gnarliest look. he's fidgeting with his hands, and you can see him swallow. i think he looks a healthy blend of angry and exasperated. as it's made known later in the movie, felix has a notorious savior complex. farleigh knows exactly what's happening.

[0:14:00] (shots) you can see that, between the last timestamp and this one, farleigh has been displaced to the other side of the table. previously, every single sighting of felix has farleigh glued to his side. standing right next to him. farleigh on the opposite side of the table as felix is very indicative of the very real threat that oliver poses to farleigh's stability.

[0:14:10] farleigh: it's your round, man! oliver: i should go to bed. farleigh: wait, no no no. you can't snake your way out of a round. oliver: i'm not. farleigh: it... looks like you are.

the most important thing about this scene that i'd like to point out is that oliver would not have, and should not have, stayed for his round if it wasn't an intentional plan. the nature of "buying rounds" was made clear and is clear. he reasonably shouldn't have stayed and specifically left when it was his turn to pay. that's gnarly. that's generally just rude.

[0:14:30] felix: farleigh. farleigh: what? felix: just cut him a break, mate. farleigh: what? felix: that round's gunna cost a fucking fortune. farleigh: pub rules, felix.

yes, i understand that farleigh is being intentionally confrontational. but felix consistently falls flat when "combating" the judgmental attitude of his family and classmates. although he did exactly what oliver wanted him to do by paying for the round, he lacks a genuine purpose behind his verbal condemnations. felix wants to believe he is morally better than his family, the people he surrounds himself with. because of this, he lacks passion. farleigh surrounds himself with whoever felix surrounds himself with; he has become part of felix's background noise. he has become another steppingstone to felix's upward climb to righteousness. another blurring, booing voice, antagonizing the people felix protects and defends.

[0:16:09] felix: yeah, well you know farleigh basically grew up with us. oliver: i didn't know you and farleigh were cousins. felix: mmm, my aunt, farleigh's mum, ran away to america when she was 19 to escape the cold-hearted english. ciggie? oliver: eh, i don't smoke. farleigh: dear aunty fred married a lunatic who pissed everything she had up the wall and a fair chunk of dad's money, too, until he had to finally cut her off.

(oliver did know that farleigh and felix were cousins tbh what a liar, can't believe he would lie like that. unbelievable. truly criminal).

at 0:16:10, farleigh watches felix and oliver sitting with each other at a party. this is played behind felix's voice-over, as he tells oliver about farleigh's family history. i find that so emotionally impactful. jealousy is a hard emotion to read on someone's face, but almost always, farleigh just looks sad. i often see him glancing down; this can often mean disappointment, insecurity, deep thought. at 0:16:27, you can see him briefly scrunch his eyebrows together as he watches felix light oliver's cigarette. he looks confused, judgmental, or surprised. the only thing i can compare this to is taking a bite of food that you didn't expect to taste horrible.

i wish we got to see more of farleigh and his mother, or at least what their dynamic entails. we know he asks (begs) james and elsbeth to give frederica money. we know that frederica was either too kind or too weak to cope with her family. we know that she was well-loved at oxford, or at least had some admirers. i find it poetic, that frederica ran from the english, and now her son is running back in place of her. i also wonder about farleigh's dad. there's no mention of him, past this scene; but if he's no longer with frederica, why would she still be cut off by the cattons? are the cattons really that cold to her, or is frederica still married? curiosity, man. i'm about to start making stuff up on the spot.

[0:16:42] felix: well dad, you know, he felt so guilty about the whole thing that he decided that he would pay for all of farleigh's education. oliver: lucky farleigh. felix: oh, fat load of good that's done him. he's been expelled from almost every school in england for sucking off the teachers.

at 0:16:50, farleigh is shown with a woman on his lap. she's more adult than farleigh. i think it's relevant, considering the voiceover.

i think an important word in this dialogue is guilt; it's a strong motivator among the cattons. yet, it's an inconsistent one. because the cattons guilt is so external as opposed to internal, there is a threshold at which their guilt feels resolved. they just have to convince themselves that they are charitable and therefore good. there is no real understanding of love, and what comes with it. there is no intrinsic need to support their family, simply because they are family.

i don't know what to say about farleigh and his relationship with authority. clearly, he has an unhealthy attachment to transactional and exploitative relationships. how does that complex interact with his social life? his family life? to live surrounded by money and to surround your life around money creates a need to quantify everything. it means you're trying to understand what you're worth, and what your actions are worth. this can also be a testament of farleigh's character; is he just unwilling to put more effort into school? is he unable to compete with the schools that he's attending through money instead of merits? yes, james is paying for his education, but since when? how long has farleigh attended school in england, and what schools did farleigh attend in america? there's a large difference in education. i digress. i find this detail about farleigh significant and upsetting in a lot of ways, and it would be just as upsetting if he really did just prefer transactional sex over doing his homework.

[0:22:27] (oliver sees felix at the bar without him) and this is where farleigh regains his place next to felix. the framing of the shot specifically includes farleigh and felix, centered together on screen. oxford is the only period in this movie where you can truly consider oliver and farleigh mutual threats. this is the limbo, where both of their minuscule actions could change the course of their relationship with felix. oliver and farleigh are both intimately aware that only one of them can exist at felix's side, only one of them can be felix's accessory. oliver's motivation to be in this position is infatuation. he hates what felix represents and loves felix as an individual. is this the same for farleigh? how much is farleigh motivated by his love for his cousin? how far devolved is their relationship, since farleigh realized he needed to play a game just to be treated with compassion by his family?

[0:26:30] farleigh: oh, nice tux. oliver: thank you. farleigh: wow! it's a rental, right? oliver: yeah- farleigh: yeah. yeah, the sleeves are too long. always check the sleeves! but still, not bad. i mean, you're almost passing. oliver: for what? farleigh: i don't know! a real human boy.

he's so petty, it's hilarious. there's not much to say about the majority of this interaction, other than the fact that farleigh is overcompensating for his own social insecurities. to be expected. i like that last line, though. "you're almost passing for a real human boy." does that have anything to do with oliver's poverty? maybe it's just a jab at his fashion choices. i think it's also safe to say that farleigh finds something legitimately unsettling about oliver. or maybe he really is just prepared to give felix's new project a tough time. there are a few reasons for farleigh to go out of his way to make felix's friends uncomfortable or inconvenienced; almost all of them are petty. venetia does the same. elsbeth, who shares felix's habit of hosting people, seems thoroughly entertained by oliver.

farleigh's oxford era is hard to get a read on. he's truly just... rude. he's also scared. his dynamic during the school year with oliver is so compelling to me, because oliver is still in a place of deep instability. he almost lost felix halfway through the year; he needed a high card to win him back. farleigh doesn't play cards, though. that's one of the biggest differences between the two characters. for all their similarities, the only action against oliver that farleigh seems to have is being mean. oliver is driven by an obsessive ambition to control, interfere, dominate. during the school year farleigh is shown, repeatedly, that he just wants to get through it. he's coasting, truly. he slides right back into place next to felix when the spot opens up, and he stays in the background. again; all style, no substance. no research. the cattons were never a game, to farleigh. they were just an uphill battle. they were his family.

[oceanlipgloss]

MEPHISTOPHELES

introductory note: this post has been in my drafts for quite some time, slowly and objectively getting spoon-fed with important things I learn about Mephistopheles; and now that the newest lesson is out, I'm happy I decided to wait to put it up. It's going to be lengthy, but it's categorised with titles, so navigation should be fairly easy.

⭑⭑⭑´ˎ˗

To begin with, it's upsetting enough when someone is misunderstood and treated in an unjust manner as a result; but when there aren't even any attempts made to understand them, that's truly not tolerable. At all. Even if that someone is only a compound of pixels.

Besides the prejudice, such behaviour says something about its people and portrays how they may deal with individuals (similar to the characters they're hating on) in real life. This is something that's horribly common in fandoms, but it's in no way whatsoever acceptable or right.

It's also so strange how some characters are excused, accepted, tolerated and swooned over when/if they do similar/worse/horrid things, while others are blatantly blamed. So I ask: why the hypocrisy?

This is something forgotten by many: loving a character is a package that includes accepting their mistakes and shortcomings, but loving them neither means that they're perfect, nor makes a mistake they make acceptable just because they're the ones who made it. A mistake is a mistake, and a shortcoming is a shortcoming.

Mephistopheles is one of my all-time favourite characters, and my favourite in the franchise as well. I love him so, so much. However, that's just one reason as to why it hurts to see how misunderstood and disliked he is; the sheer hatred directed at his character and shallow understanding of his person are so unfair and, quite frankly, very ill-based.

He may behave like an arrogant, rude and traditional aristocrat most of the time, but numerous reasons and factors stand behind his behaviour and viewpoints (even though they aren't always entirely right).

But: he's mostly painted in negative tones, as it's normally ignored or forgotten how, in reality, he's sweet, awkward, honest and kind; his actions tend to go against the mean things or claims he might say, and reflect who he is on the inside instead.

More importantly, he's lonely and deeply hurt—rightfully and understandably so—that is an undeniable fact which he himself admitted.

THE HERITAGE

Numerous times throughout the story, Mephistopheles says that—for generation upon generation—his family has been serving the royal one, whether it be as knights or otherwise, and he, no different, was raised to do just that. He was born to do just that.

However, an additional objective was added to his agenda: he was not only to serve the demon king or prince, but also become the latter's friend.

Mephistopheles was, quite literally, brought up to be Diavolo's friend; and as he apparently seems to keep to himself and doesn't talk about any other friends or even acquaintances (so far), I suspect that means Diavolo is—was—his sole friend.

As per the royals' wishes, the two children grew up together—one became the heir to the throne, while the other became that heir's right hand man.

Again, Mephistopheles is not merely a member of the demonic aristocracy; the family he comes from is explicitly dedicated to serving and protecting the royal family, and it has been for thousands of centuries. It's very important to keep this in mind, because that ancient heritage most likely founded many of his viewpoints, beliefs, and opinions (like his thoughts on humans and fallen angels).

With such heritage comes the burden of a great responsibility, as well as immense pride and honor. So, by becoming Diavolo's right hand man, Mephistopheles was able to fulfill his role—and hence his destiny—as well as respect his family's golden heritage and treasure his honor.

However, when Lucifer—a newcomer, and a fallen angel nonetheless—came into the picture, everything took a drastic turn for Mephistopheles. He lost his (possibly only) friend. He lost his position. And since he was the first member of his family to be released from the duty of directly serving the royal family, there was an unexpected stutter in his own family's continuous heritage (of tending to the royals). This, in turn, hurt not only his feelings, but also wounded his pride and injured his honor (as well as his family's).

As such, what Mephistopheles is feeling doesn't just stem from something as simple as jealousy. On the contrary, Mephistopheles feels as though his honor and pride have been marred, his self-esteem and worth have gotten cracked, his family has been disgraced, and that's all because he was robbed of his position—meaning his very purpose in life—due to the prince's friendship with a stranger, a fallen angel.

His destiny to benefit the prince (which had been decided for him even before his birth) was broken right before his eyes, yet he could do nothing but watch from afar, because he was raised to follow the royal family's every command, accept their every whim and go through with their every desire. These proprieties are a law that flows in his blood and was carved into his very bones.

All he could do was try to prove himself, his skills and his very worth to Diavolo again and again and again.

THE MINDSET

As aforementioned: seeing as Mephistopheles descends from a family whose entire bloodline has been dedicated to the royal one, his mindset was formed by that family's old traditions; and he believes in those traditions, which is why, in his mind, a fallen angel and a demon are not equals.

Prior to Diavolo's reign, no Demon King had made any attempt to form friendly relations and harmony between the three realms. This means that, up until that point, angels and demons (as well as humans) still held on to their own beliefs, believed that each of them is superior to the other, had no interest in communication or so much as considering the other party's views, and still gave their own interests importance over those of others/humans (more so in the case of demons).

This animosity portrays itself clearly in Lucifer's severe reactions to Diavolo and his views on demons from back when he was still a seraph. Even the way other angels talked about demons shows a certain coldness. And the same goes for demons; they all viewed Lucifer and his brothers as fallen angels—absolutely unwelcome outcasts—and the shopkeepers of those were not even willing to let them into their stores; rather, they made a point to force and kick them out, like they did to Mammon.

This tension between the realms encouraged Diavolo to found RAD and put together the exchange program (even though at that point, he himself still believed humans were inferior in a sense).

Some demons, however, still clutched their traditional views close and were unwilling to let them go. Mephistopheles is one of those demons; he berates Lucifer and his brothers for being fallen angels, and looks down on MC for being a 'lowly' human. There's much more to his opinions than some people think (and nobility played its part in forming them), but behaving as he did, of course, was not quite the right thing to do.

Now, families such as the one Mephistopheles comes from are founded on particular, timeless traditions—traditions that Diavolo revolted against, if you will, and began to change through the exchange program by focusing on angel, demon and human interaction. This was hard for even lower-level demons to adjust to, so it must have been much, much harder for someone like Mephistopheles.

And considering his family's status, Mephistopheles has always lived in an atmosphere of political views and is always aware of all the 'national' news and occurences in the Devildom. All this made him patriotic, and that's a reason why he believes that the Devildom is for demons and demons alone, and yet another reason that feeds his scorn for Lucifer and his disdain for the avatar's brothers.

THE FALLEN ANGELS

Lucifer being a fallen angel is not the sole reason as to why Mephistopheles hates him.

Mephistopheles does not hate the brothers simply for their backgrounds or even just for being close to Diavolo, because there's also how he also considers them a threat to his homeland.

He thinks of them as lethal weapons. He blames them for the fear and anxiety hanging over the Devildom. He worries that his homeland would be destroyed due to their presence.

What happened to the brothers was hard, and it wasn't their fault that they had nowhere else to go, but in a way, he's right, because by giving the seven demons a home in the Devildom, Diavolo put the entire land at a risk much too grand, and the lives of his subjects at the mercy of the Celestial Realm.

THE PRINCE

When Diavolo met Lucifer, the celebrated seraph piqued his interest in such away that Lucifer almost became an obsession of his (not in a romantic context, but rather in a more 'exotic and interesting' one). Which is to say, Lucifer was not only a different species, but the most beautiful of that species, and to Diavolo he was a just that—a rare jewel, a dazzling novelty; with him came new experiences, too (i.e. talking to an angel for the first time ever).

Lucifer was one of the two greatest angels of the Celestial Realm, and Diavolo had lead a sheltered life, but no one had not heard about the prideful angel, and the demon prince was no exception. So, when the two finally met and conversed, Diavolo's interest skyrocketed and he wished for them to be friends.

What truly made friendship with Lucifer a necessity to Diavolo, though, was Lucifer's bold attitude and daring mannerisms. Mephistopheles had always treated Diavolo as a prince—formal and careful—but Lucifer treated him more like a friend.

Mephistopheles asks for permission before giving Diavolo his opinions, while Lucifer is not afraid to speak his mind—and that's what Diavolo wants: a fearless friend, not a reluctant advisor. And even when Mephistopheles voices his honest thoughts, Diavolo doesn't like what he hears, because his childhood friend becomes too intense as he clings to his beliefs and opposes affiliation with other species.

In the end, when Lucifer fell from grace, he and Diavolo came to spend a lot of time together, so much so that they became best friends; and as that friendship grew, Mephistopheles suddenly found himself being pushed out of Diavolo's circle—away from his childhood friend's side and away from his life, slowly but surely. That hurt him a lot and set alight within him hatred towards Lucifer, which is understandable; Lucifer had never meant to inflict pain on Mephistopheles, but he had indeed hurt him by 'taking' his rank and his friend—that's a fact. And, honestly, he sometimes does tend to needle him, which is really mean, but demons will be demons. I can appreciate the realism, at least.

Diavolo's mistake lies not in wanting to be friends with Lucifer, but in how he treated Mephistopheles as he formed that friendship. He began to spend little time with him and more time with Lucifer. He started to leave him out. He talked to him less and less. Eventually, it got to a point in which they only met up once in a blue moon (mentioned by Lucifer himself), and Mephistopheles either wouldn't even know about the latest occurences, or was the last to learn about them (even worse: sometimes he got to know thanks to humans, the outsiders).

The following statement(s) may be offensive to some, even though they've been shown or at least implied in both games so far; but if everything Mephistopheles was put through wasn't enough, Diavolo doesn't really seem to care much for Mephistopheles's constant efforts to display his skillset, or even respect his feelings whatsoever (i.e. inviting Lucifer and MC to join him and Mephistopheles for a dinner they were supposed to have together, even though he knows how Mephistopheles feels about Lucifer).

When one's childhood friend—who's most likely their only friend, too—treats them so heartlessly, pushes them away for the sake of someone new, and doesn't take their feelings into consideration, how are they not supposed to get severely hurt and upset?

THE EFFECTS

By orchestrating Mephistopheles's replacement, Diavolo delivered a huge blow not only to the latter's honor and pride, but also to his self-confidence.

Even if he usually boasts his bloodline and makes fun of Lucifer, deeming him unworthy, even if many think that he's pompous and suffers of no such thing as a mottled ego, the truth is, he probably does.

Why else would he ask Diavolo if he thinks Lucifer is better than he is? Why else is he always trying to prove himself to Diavolo and pounces at any chance he gets to do so? Why would he be happy once he got leeway to demonstrate his skills to the prince? Why would he force himself to work in journalism when he had no interest in the field if it were not to showcase his worth? It's not just about catering to the prince's wishes.

Of course, there is also the hint of a challenge towards Lucifer—the usual 'I'm better than you and I will prove it'—but that doesn't really compare to his other feelings.

He's lonely, and he really needs someone to talk to—someone who can listen to him and understand him without being insensitive or making a joke out of his thoughts, reactions and feelings. That shows in how, even when he had earlier avoided so much as greeting Solomon on the street, he immediately started pouring his heart out to him when the latter prodded him with an understanding statement.

He may constantly voice his objections and disapproval of Lucifer, but he could not truly object in the tangible sense. All he could do was try once and again to prove himself to Diavolo, in the hopes that the prince would see his talents and skills, perhaps choose him over Lucifer, and give him not his position as right hand man back, but rather his place as the trusted friend he can once again rely on.

THE NICE THINGS

Mephistopheles is genuine, sensitive and emotional. He doesn't beat around the bush. He just expresses how and what he's feeling—whether emotions born in the heat of the moment or lurking inside for quite some time—and if he doesn't talk about it, it shows in his silence and on his face. He's like Mammon that way; they both don't know how to lie or hide their true thoughts and feelings (even if they horribly want to). If they're upset, it shows. If they're happy, it shows. If they're hiding something, it shows.

He's innocent and soft-hearted. It's so easy for him to back down and waver if he's met with proper treatment (i.e. compensating him with a bottle of rare Demonus was enough to get his help), a certain reaction (i.e. MC giving him an upset look, so he found himself barely able to refuse dinner with Lucifer himself), or a cute situation (i.e. he was displeased when Raphael made him carry Luke, but all it took for him to melt was one look at Luke's sleeping face).

Despite his prestigious background (and the likely gatherings and meetings that come with it), he seems to be awkward. He would rather not greet someone he's merely acquainted with but doesn't know well even if they glimpsed one another on the street.

There's also how he loves his little brother so much. He always babies him and gets him presents, like sweets and clothes.

And what about how much he cares for Luke? What about how he was the only one who risked his life to save him? Even Luke, who always nitpicks the faults of demons, came to love and respect him for what he did. Doesn't that say something? In addition, he helps Luke whenever he can and gives him lots of encouragement, like when he complimented the quality of his desserts and told him that it always amazed him.

Also, he understands how MC feels about wanting to go back home and confronts Lucifer about it, coming to MC's defense as he did. While he may have warmed up to MC a little, the real reason for his actions lies in how he is willing to put his personal feelings aside to do the right thing and be fair and righteous.

He does things for others and helps them—saving them from possible injuries in the process—yet genuinely believes that it's something he doesn't need to be thanked for doing because he thinks 'anyone else would have done the same thing,' which is not true at all.

He doesn't let his personal feelings interfere with and stop him from doing the right thing (i.e. he first used to refer to MC as 'the lowly human exchange student' (original game), but when MC was about to tumble and fall, he came to the rescue and said it was not something he should be thanked for; and in the current game—and despite how he feels about humans and other races—he says that MC can go back to the Devildom whenever, so there's no need to worry about leaving. He doesn't adopt a 'I don't want non-demons to be here, so you should go home and never come back' attitude. Also, he played a huge part in encouraging the brothers to rescue Lucifer when he saw that they were plagued by fear and doubts).

He has no issue giving those he doesn't like credit (i.e. when he told the brothers that he had underestimated them).

Despite his viewpoints, Mephistopheles is not malicious. He never actively tries to inflict serious harm (i.e. unlike demons who treated the brothers cruelly and kicked them out of shops, he readily cooperates with his 'enemies' and the 'lowlives' when needed, like when he and MC solved one of the 666 Mysteries of RAD together).

His pet salamander constantly tries to burn the curtains, but he finds him so cute that he just can't stay angry with him.

He pours a whole pot of sugar into his teacup so he can sweeten his tea! Meaning, he has a sweet tooth, and that's so damn adorable.

He's a main maker/designer of the Prince Lucifer and Princess Diavolo stickers!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, the first thing I want from NTT once they give Mephistopheles his own intimacy bar is to let MC be there for him; to listen to him, talk to him, encourage him to enjoy his own life, away from Diavolo's shadow and wishes; to let him be kinder to himself, give him the chance to mend his confidence, and a wake-up call to realise that neither Diavolo nor anyone else determines his worth; help him out of his fixation on the fallen angel and the prince and the desire to prove himself worthy; see that he understands he's not a genie forced to grant whatever his Lord wishes for, that he can speak his mind without concern; make him realise that he wasn't born to live life for Diavolo, that he's not a puppet crafted to serve the prince. He's so much more than that. He's alive and breathing, and he deserves so much more than the dreary, painful life he's walking the path of.

⭑⭑⭑´ˎ˗

ending note: NTT, please, please, please add him already. Pretty please.

©𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨

[beauty-and-passion]

Tackling The Magnus Archives

I hope you’re satisfied, TMA fandom.

For a lot of time, I’ve seen this fandom everywhere: posts, fanarts, even more fanarts, people mentioning scary stuff and an overall positive reaction about this series.

At first, I didn’t pay it any attention. It seemed just like any other series, with nothing exceptional about it. But the more time passed, the more fanarts I saw, the more they got my interest. I still had no idea what the series was about, but it looked interesting. Maybe there was something I didn’t notice before.

So… why not give it a try?

Cool, what’s the plan?

From the moment I decided to give this series a try, I ran away from all spoilers. That means I am currently facing a series I have no idea what will be about. I know nothing about the plot, nor the characters.

Well, nothing except for a few things I accidentally learned before:

Jonathan Sims is the protagonist. I think?

There is a Michael somewhere

Also, a Martin doing stuff

There are a lot of names

And a library

I’ve also seen a spider lady

Someone explores a dungeon? Is there a dungeon in this story?

There is a homoerotic story too

I also recently found out there is a season 2 - or a related series? No idea what the plot is about, but we will find out along the road.

How?

I had two choices: to analyze every single episode (and die of old age because it would take an eternity) or listen to the whole series first, then write one/several posts analyzing it. But it would still take a lot of time and I will inevitably forget a lot of stuff or don’t cover things as well as they deserve.

So, I chose a third option: to tackle the series ten episodes at a time and write a post with my impressions about all of them. (a bit like I do for Eurovision, only for TMA). This way:

I’ll cover every episode

I will remember more stuff

I will post constantly, so you won’t have to wait forever for me to finish the whole thing first

It will be funnier and more entertaining

Is there something we should/shouldn’t do?

I want my impressions and comments to be as genuine as possible, but in order to do that, I shouldn’t know anything about what I will read.

That means I will actively avoid every little information about the series. It doesn’t matter if it’s about harmless or well-known info: I won’t read it, period.

So please, do not write me anything about this series. I will not read any ask regarding TMA. You can still ask me stuff and write comments, sure. And you can put spoilers if you want, but please: be kind and put a big warning before them. Do not spoil the fun.

What’s the timeline?

Asap: I will write a new post and add it to the main masterlist. This new post will seve as masterlist for TMA and include this introductory post, as well as all other reactions. So If you ever miss one of them, you will read all of them there.

In the next couple days: it will come out the first post with my reactions about chapters 1-10. I’m already working on it, so it should come out very soon.

I will try to keep up a consistent schedule, but can’t promise you anything. I am preparing two exams and my final thesis too, so it might take me some time to post. But I will end this series. By now, you know that when I start something, I finish it.

In conclusion

Thank you in advance to all the people who will follow me in this adventure. If you already know about TMA, you can have fun, by mocking me for my ignorance or wait for the moment I will face the real shit. If you don’t know about TMA, maybe you will find the inspiration to start it - or to do it with me. It’ll be fun! And even if the series ends up being bad, at least we can laugh together at how terrible it is.

See you very soon with the first post about chapters 1-10.

(How about a coffee? ☕)

_______________________________

TAGLIST:

@royalprinceroman @mudpuddlenl@allmycrushesaredead @aquatedia@whatishappeningrightnow  @effortiswhatmatters @bella-in-a-bag  @doydoune @forever-third-wheeling​ @payte @hypnossanders​  @idontreallyknow24​  @imcrushedbyarainbowoffical​ @patton-cake​  @hereissananxiousmess​  @purplebronzeandblue​  @cynicalandsarcastic​ ​@lost-in-thought-20​ @andtheyreonfire​ 

@riseofthewerewolf​ @rosesandlove44​​  @chewy-rubies @groaaaaan​ @arya-skywalker  @csi-baker-street-babes @queen-of-all-things-snuggly @reesiereads

@dracayd-universe​ @starlightnyx​ @stubbornness-and-spite​ @averykedavra @joyrose-fandomer @mihaela-tbg @igonnatalknothing

@thatoneloudowl  @grayson-22  @softangryfuckingdepressed @theotherella  @boopypastaissalty @nevenastark @varthandiveturinn @roses-bubbles @cuter-on-the-inside  @coldbookworm  @snixxxsmythe @charmingcritter  @analogical-mess @emphasis-on-the-oopsie @selfdestructivecat @yangwalkerao3 @the3rddenialist

[saotome-michi]

Another unpopular One Piece opinion:

Carrot and Yamato not sailing with the crew after Wano did not feel like a cop out to me. The two are clear parallels to Nekomamushi/Inuarashi and Oden, who were also part-time members of Roger's crew. Carrot clearly has her part to play as leader of the minks and Yamato as "Oden". Sure, maybe Oda could've done a better job of building that up and saying "goodbye for now" to these characters at the end of the arc, but "too much to do, not enough time" has been One Piece's MO since the time skip.

I guess that's all easy for me to say though, since imo neither Carrot nor Yamato felt like full-time strawhat member material. There's a certain template that all the strawhats mostly follow and it can be summed up in three steps:

1) They're shown to be a loner, the "black sheep" of their village (or whatever environment they're introduced in).

2) They're saved and/or inspired by Luffy.

3) They have meaningful interactions with the other strawhats before they officially join the crew.

All of the strawhats tick these three boxes, except for Jinbei, who was never shown to be a loner or the "black sheep" of Fishman Island. However, he is introduced as the only Warlord who is strongly against the War, as well as the only Warlord who's a fishman. Plus, he's the only fishman who agrees to give blood to a human. So, maybe he does tick that box.

(Oh there's also Robin, who doesn't have that many interactions with the other strawhats before she joins at the end of Alabasta.)

Now, let's look at Carrot.

Carrot is not portrayed as a loner or the "black sheep" of Zou. There is nothing really that makes her distinct from the other minks... perhaps her strong desire and daring to leave Zou and explore? But other Minks also expressed their desire to leave with the Strawhats and it doesn't seem like Carrot's wanderlust is seen as a bad thing by the community.

Carrot is not saved or inspired by Luffy. Yes, she likes and admires Luffy, but there is no particular moment where he saves her from her personal demons or inspires her to keep going, live, or to fight for him. He plays no pivotal role in her character growth, that's all Pedro.

The only box that Carrot ticks is that she has meaningful interactions with the other Strawhats throughout Whole Cake.

So 1 out of 3 for Carrot.

What about Yamato?

Loner? Sure, he's def the black sheep of Onigashima.

Saved or inspired by Luffy? This is an interesting one, because while Luffy does in effect save Yamato by taking off his handcuffs, it's not a scene with a lot of emotional weight to it. If anything, Yamato's savior and "light" was Ace. Yamato and Luffy only interact for a little bit before Yamato's assigned to Momo for the rest of the battle, so they don't really have much of an emotional connection either. Compare Luffy and Yamato's interactions during Wano to Luffy and any other strawhat's during their introductory arc and it's lacking. Yamato's desire to sail with Luffy feels more impersonal, because so much of it is tied to Yamato's background knowledge of Luffy, knowledge that he got from third party sources (Oden's logbook and Ace) than from Yamato's own interactions with Luffy. So while I understand why other people might tick the box, for me it's a no.

Meaningful interactions with the other strawhats before they join—a big NO. Yamato literally only meets the other strawhats after the battle is over. Sure he spends time with them post-battle, but we see very little of it.

So Yamato is also 1 out of 3.

I think from this comparison, we can see that neither Carrot nor Yamato really build up that special connection with Luffy that the other strawhats have, and that's why I'm perfectly fine with neither of them fully joining the crew. Personally, it would've felt odd if they had.

[sneakyboymerlin]

I’m tired of the escalation and growing frequency of this fandom trend where people believe that any unique loyalty that Merlin earns from, say, Gwaine or Lancelot, is somehow an offense to Arthur, or taking from him the loyalty and companionship he is ~entitled~ to. He is not actually entitled to anyone’s friendship because he might be “lonely” or jealous or what-have-you.

Posts like this also stress that Arthur would be put out by his knights choosing Merlin over him in the case of a magic reveal, which I find ridiculous since they’ve lowered the stakes from Arthur is committing a genocide against Merlin’s people down to… Arthur will be sad if their companions pick Merlin over him. Regardless, Merlin earned the friendship and loyalty of these people through his own kindness and understanding. Arthur is not entitled to the same just because it feels ~unfair~ that Merlin might have more friends.

More recently, I found a post that, intentionally or not, specifically downplays Gwaine’s friendship to Merlin in favor of casting his loyalty to Arthur as greater than it is in reality. I understand that it’s easy to see a post like that and, without knowing the proper context, conclude that it must be accurate, but most posts on here are working backwards through confirmation bias to prove a point, and therefore will disregard any context that does not fit the argument being made.

Because people believe that the king is entitled to an equal amount of love from Gwaine as his servant is (I wonder what subconscious bias that idea comes from…), they will look at the series through whichever lens fits their objective. But this is the crux of the argument: no one is entitled to anyone else’s feelings, in friendship or romance or sex or duty or any other relationship type.

In truth, Gwaine gains a begrudging respect for Arthur towards the climax of his introductory episode, not a friendship. While he considers Arthur to be a “brat,” he recognizes that Arthur does not apparently base a person’s worth on their background. By Gwaine’s standards, this makes him an exception among nobles.

Despite this, he does not become close with Arthur as far as canon proves, and he still explicitly regards Merlin above Arthur, both in words and in actions, consistently so even after he is knighted. Again, his sense of duty to Arthur does not automatically make them friends, nor does it necessarily conflict with his loyalty to Merlin. Most importantly, there is nothing wrong with Gwaine placing Merlin above Arthur.

Overall, Gwaine does have a sense of loyalty towards Arthur. Is he shown to actually be friends with him, though? In short, no. Although Gwaine already shows four episodes prior to the events of 3x08 that he is willing to die to defend Arthur based on his sense of morality, he explicitly does not consider Arthur a friend (to Merlin: “You’re the only friend I’ve got.”). Rather, he feels duty-bound because he believes that Arthur is decent (for a noble) and actually worthy of his title. In truth, Gwaine is closer to Gwen than he is to Arthur, despite their shaky start.

Arthur is someone who Gwaine has deemed good enough for his position as a leader, but it is Merlin who he is utmost loyal to. This is imperative to understanding Gwaine as a character, and it is ultimately an overarching motif that defines who he is—someone who defies classist expectations, who sticks to his own sense of right vs. wrong, and who is deeply loyal to those who he believes deserve that loyalty. But there is no such thing as “deserving” someone’s love. Gwaine offers that to Merlin freely, and it’s never a conscious choice to feel that way. Arthur cannot be “owed” the same. Gwaine feeling duty-bound to Arthur does not mean that they have the same emotional connection or depth between them that Merlin and Gwaine have. It doesn’t have to mean that.

Arthur is not entitled to Gwaine’s friendship or loyalty, and it would not make sense for Gwaine to place Arthur above Merlin to begin with, for all of the aforementioned reasons and more. If Gwaine chose Merlin over Arthur in the case of a magic reveal, this would not be “unfair” to Arthur, and it wouldn’t matter if it made Arthur feel “lonely,” because in this scenario, Gwaine is doing what he believes is right, rather than standing by Arthur based on a sense of duty—one that is dependent on his belief that Arthur judges people based on their actions instead of their birth circumstances. And if Gwaine was forced to choose between Merlin and Arthur, at the end of the day, the answer to that is fairly obvious:

[thelampisaflashlight]

Introductory Post Version... I dunno how many.

My name is Bunny/Lamp, and I'm an artist and occasional writer, who posts about the band Ghost, hiking, working retail, and really whatever pops to mind at the time.

I'm mostly here to vibe and shoot the breeze, and to have something to do after work that doesn't require me getting up off my butt.

My ask box is open, but I have anon off so I can more easily filter through the messages I receive. For the sake of my sanity, I am not currently taking writing/art requests, but when I am, I will make a separate post for that.

All in all, I'm a fairly laid back person, so if you send me an ask about non-fandom related things, that's perfectly fine by me!

Also, as a rule of thumb, I don't generally give people permission to repost my creations on other sites, nor do I post my fandom content elsewhere, so if you see it floating around places like Instagram or Twitter, then it wasn't put there by me personally.

-Lamp

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Hey there! I wanted to ask you, I’ve written Fanfictions since I was 12 Years Old, but I’ve never wrote a Prologue for them until recently I decided to write an actual book and I thought that a Prologue would help introduce slightly my story and what my book is about. Still, I unfortunately don’t know how to write a Prologue nor I know what makes a Prologue and a good one.

Your advices and posts always help me sort out things, because the way you explain is extremely helpful, which is why I wanted to ask for your thought and how to create a good Prologue.

Thank you lots in advance, your blog is the best thing I’ve stumbled upon 😭🙏🏻💕

Dear writerly friend,

First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your incredibly kind words. Your support and enthusiasm mean the world to me, and I'm truly honored to have you as part of this vibrant writing community. Thank you for entrusting me with your question about crafting a compelling prologue—it's a pleasure to help guide you through this creative process.

Understanding the Essence of a Prologue

The prologue is a crucial introductory element that sets the stage for your story. Think of it as the curtain raiser, designed to captivate your readers and provide a glimpse into the world they are about to explore.

What Makes a Good Prologue?

A good prologue effectively achieves several key elements:

1. Engaging Hook:

Begin with a captivating hook that draws readers in. Consider starting with an intriguing event, a mysterious character, or a thought-provoking scene that prompts curiosity.

2. Context and Setting the Stage:

Introduce the backstory or necessary context without overwhelming the reader. Set the scene and tone for the main story while offering hints of what's to come.

3. Foreshadowing and Intrigue:

Foreshadowing elements that tease the plot or hint at the conflict can add depth. Leave breadcrumbs that prompt questions and curiosity in the reader's mind.

Crafting Your Prologue: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Define the Purpose:

Clarify the specific role your prologue will play in introducing your story. Determine what essential information or atmosphere you want to establish.

2. Hook Your Readers:

Begin with an attention-grabbing scene, a compelling quote, or an intriguing statement that creates an instant connection with your audience.

3. Set the Scene:

Establish the setting, time frame, and introduce the characters or elements that will play a pivotal role in the main storyline.

4. Balance Revelation with Mystery:

Reveal enough information to pique interest but maintain a sense of mystery to encourage readers to venture further into the narrative.

5. Leave a Promise:

End your prologue with a promise—a hint of what's to come. Create a sense of anticipation and curiosity that compels readers to continue.

A World of Possibilities

In crafting a prologue, the canvas is yours to paint. Embrace the opportunity to enchant your audience, leaving them eager for more. Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all formula. It's about finding the balance that best suits your story.

Thank you once again for your unwavering support and trust in my guidance. I'm elated to be part of your writing journey. Feel free to reach out if you need more specific advice or have further questions.

Warmest regards and happy writing!

TheWriteAdviceForWriters Rin T.

Here's a detailed 20 step-list on how to write a prologue you can copy and follow through with. I guarantee a successful prologue with this numbered-list

20-step list on How to Write a Prologue

Understand the Purpose: Clarify the prologue's role in setting the stage for the main story. Determine whether it's essential to introduce backstory, create suspense, or set the tone.

Identify Key Elements: Determine the critical elements, characters, or events that the prologue should introduce without revealing too much.

Engage with an Attention-Grabbing Hook: Open with a captivating scene, an intriguing quote, or an action that immediately draws the reader in, compelling them to continue.

Set the Scene: Introduce the setting, time frame, and any significant elements crucial for understanding the main storyline.

Balance Information and Mystery: Reveal enough to create interest without revealing all the details. Maintain an air of mystery to encourage readers to delve deeper into the narrative.

Character Introduction: Introduce pivotal characters or elements that will play a significant role in the unfolding story, giving readers a glimpse of their importance.

Establish a Clear Connection: Connect the prologue to the main story by hinting at its relevance without directly revealing the entire plot.

Create a Promise: End the prologue with a teaser or a promise—a subtle hint that something compelling or intriguing is about to unfold in the subsequent chapters.

Foreshadow Subtly: Include subtle hints or foreshadowing elements that will resonate with the reader throughout the story, creating an air of anticipation.

Maintain Conciseness: Keep the prologue concise. Avoid overwhelming the reader with unnecessary details, ensuring every word serves a purpose.

Emotional Engagement: Infuse the prologue with emotion, making the reader feel connected or intrigued by the characters or events introduced.

Reflect the Narrative Style: Ensure the writing style in the prologue reflects the overall tone and style of the complete work, offering a preview of what's to come.

Evocative Descriptions: Employ vivid and evocative descriptions to paint a picture that engages the reader's imagination and emotions.

Pace and Flow: Craft the prologue with a rhythm that balances momentum and intrigue, propelling the reader forward into the story.

Revisit and Revise: After writing the prologue, revise it critically. Ensure it aligns with the overarching story and effectively accomplishes its purpose.

Seek Feedback: Share your prologue with trusted peers or beta readers for constructive feedback. Gather insights on its impact and effectiveness.

Read Other Prologues: Study and analyze prologues from published works in your genre, understanding how they introduce and set the tone for the story.

Create Intrigue, Not Confusion: Maintain clarity in the prologue while leaving room for intrigue. Aim to engage readers without overwhelming them with confusion.

Satisfying Closure: End the prologue in a way that feels like a satisfying pause or transition, enticing readers to proceed to the next chapters.

Editing and Refinement: After feedback and reflection, refine the prologue, edit for clarity, coherence, and overall impact, ensuring it aligns seamlessly with the rest of the narrative.

[suchine-toki]

Thoughts about Kyuubei

Kyuubei is a very interesting character. At first she’s introduced to us as a man (although the anime's ending spoils that she’s biologically a woman), but then we learn that her masculine behavior was an imposition from her family, and that she would’ve actually liked to do the things that girls typically do. Apparently, Sorachi's idea was to make her feminine at the end of her introductory arc, but he felt it wasn't right. This is how Kyuubei's journey with gender begins.

It has been said before, but it’s important to mention that Sorachi's approach to gender issues is strongly linked to the modern Japanese perception. Still, he tried to give depth to the character. Kyuubei sacrificed her eye to protect Tae, which caused the latter to feel guilty and want to please her by marrying her, but then they both realize that it was the wrong path and decide to continue with a healthier relationship, resuming their friendship. However, Kyuubei is in love with Tae.

It's a good start. Nevertheless, of the three characters in her love triangle, I feel that she was noticeably the least developed (I talked about Tae and Kondou previously), often feeling like a mere satellite character to Tae. Kyuubei is where she is and does what she does. Do we know what Kyuubei does in her free time when she's not with Tae? Train? And how much do we know about what she likes? Tae and train again? Do we know if she works?

Regarding the latter, it would make sense for her not to work because she’s part of an aristocratic samurai family. This is a very interesting point, except for the fact that it’s never used for anything in the series, when she could’ve been crucial on more than one occasion. Let’s remember that the duty of the Yagyuu family is to serve the Bakufu and the Shogun. She could’ve been involved in several political arcs, however, her connections were only used for her to take care of a little monkey once. And she couldn't even keep the monkey!

This would’ve also served to give more substance to her relationship with Kondou, beyond loving the same woman, and develop her relationship with Zura, beyond his envy for believing they’ve the same character traits. Because I feel like, instead of exploring her ideals, Kyuubei's character was limited to jokes about wanting a penis, being embarrassed to wear feminine clothing, or throwing away any man who touches her.

The most important development she has after her introduction is in Dekobokko (or gender bend) arc. Here Kyuubei declares that she’s neither a man nor a woman. However, later in Silver Soul arc, Sorachi decided to address the topic of gender once again, establishing that Kyuubei does, in fact, perceive herself as a woman (which is why I refer to her as she in this post). And while there's nothing wrong with exploring gender and you're certainly allowed to change your mind, it was a shame to lose one of the few non-binary characters in media.

[acourtoflight]

So this is kind of an introductory post to my page I guess, so you can stay away if you disagree with anything I have to say and NOT HARASS ME for having a harmless opinion.

- I’m an Elriel. I don’t like Elucien nor Gwynriel. And much less the fans, so if you’re one of them, block me, scroll, ignore me…idc but stay away.

- I’m very sarcastic so if that bothers you…you can block me for this too.

- I love Feysand and the Inner Circle. And no, I don’t hate Nesta.

- Elain and Azriel are my favorite characters, so if you don’t like them, don’t even bother with me.

- I complain a lot.

- I don’t care about Lucien, Eris, Tamlin & company.

- I’m rude to people who piss me off, if you act stupid I’m gonna treat you like you’re stupid.

- Don’t act all mighty in my inbox just because you’re anonymous, if you want to complain about something I said about your ship, go write in your diary about it, not to me.

- Sometimes (not very often) I make theory posts too.

That’s it! If you’ve been following me for a while you already know these things. I’m harmless anyway lol