#it has to come from people who haven’t read the novel because????

[atlas-plugged]

I haven’t read Atlas since 2005, so I’m stoked to passively ingest snarky commentary.

It always seemed to me that the people around me who were most in love with this book often particularly love the idea that other people should love them regardless of how they treat other people. Like, being a dick, or just not having very good social skills, shouldn’t tarnish the adulation due to Smart People TM, (my super cringe teenage self included) who should run the world.

I’m super curious if this matches your observations.

So I'll tell you about the two people who I most vividly remember loved Atlas Shrugged when I was working at the coffee shop and they saw me reading it.

One person was a young latina woman who had worked her way through college and law school and who had passed the bar a year before and was working overwhelming hours at a law firm where she was getting significant raises on a regular basis. The job was difficult, and she always seemed on the verge of burnout, but she was very firmly entrenched in the idea that hard work paid off and liked the book because it was about people who were brilliant and rich and worked hard anyway and they came out on top in the end.

The other person who loved it was a middle-aged man who worked taking bets at the racetrack and who was a literal, actual VOCAL member of the John Birch Society. He was notable for two habits: he never tipped, and while he never bought his own pack of cigarettes he would also never, ever allow you to *give* him cigarettes, so he would 'bum' smokes from me and pay me a quarter each (this was when a pack cost about five dollars, so that was just about what a cigarette cost). He liked the book because he thought the world was full of moochers (he's the only person I've ever spoken to who would regularly refer to people that way in conversation) and the book was a story where the moochers got what was coming to them for once.

These were VERY different people who took pretty different messages from the book for very different reasons.

I think the central fantasy of Atlas Shrugged is that it is full of characters who are loved and valued for the thing that they most value about themselves. It is a book that is not just about a meritocracy, it is about a Meritopia. It is about people who get the things they want because they are the best at what they do. This is CENTRAL to the story.

The reason I used the term "Matryoshka of Cuckoldry" to describe the relationships is because of this meritocratic point of view. Eddie loves Dagny but is not jealous of the fact that she wants Francisco because Francisco is a better man than Eddie. Francisco wants Dagny, but understands her passion for Hank because Hank is a good man who is currently part of her world in a way that Francisco can't be. Hank *sends her a letter* letting her know that he's okay with her leaving him for Galt because he meets Galt and understands why Dagny can't love Hank anymore once she has met the pinnacle of humanity. Then both of her exes help her rescue her current lover because he is a better man than them.

The Fountainhead has a much more literal cucking thing going on with Dominique marrying and fucking two men who she thinks are much worse than Roark, sullying herself with their lust until Roark chooses to stop sullying himself by operating in a world that doesn't value him the way that she does.

What is the same in both of these novels, and what I think you are pointing at in your ask, is that the horrible characters are loved for the things that they love about themselves, and all of their unloveable traits don't matter.

That is the fantasy that people are getting from Atlas Shrugged, and that's why you might find some real assholes out there "Looking for their Dagny/Galt" (a literal phrase I have seen on Libertarian dating sites!).

And you know what, I can be sympathetic to that.

I was raised to value intellect over everything else. Academic achievement, high test scores, acceptance to a good college, and being smarter and more knowledgeable than all my peers was what I was taught was more important than being kind, or being polite, or making friends, or taking care of my mental health.

That meant that I really, really, really wanted people to love me for how smart I was.

And, well. The thing about that is, I ended up loving and being loved by people who didn't care if I was cruel or selfish, and who didn't mind being cruel or selfish to me.

I'm still kind of an asshole. And since I started dating my spouse within three months of when I first read Atlas Shrugged, it's not a surprise that he doesn't care much if I'm nice to people and is, himself, kind of an asshole (though, notably, he is not an asshole with me and part of me getting better has been both of us learning to draw boundaries on how we are willing to be treated by one another).

But oh my god, I'm never an asshole like I am when I'm around my dad. I'm never as much of a snob as I am when he brings it out in me. I'm never as mean as I am when I'm talking to him. And I've never stopped hearing from my dad that I'm too smart to be doing the job that I'm doing, that I'm too smart to be going back to school for a different degree, that I should be getting a PhD and focusing on one field because that's what I'm best at and the rest of the world should recognize it. I know that's what my dad loves about me more than anything else he loves about me. He thinks I'm smarter than him, and he thinks that's awesome, and he thinks that everything I do that is not about harnessing raw intelligence into an academic career is a waste of my mind and time.

So there is a part of me that deeply identifies with these characters whose best trait is their efficiency, who never bother to be nice because it would slow them down in the process of being perfect. I desperately understand the fantasy of someone saying "you are the best in the world at this one specific thing and I find that so sexy that I don't care about your lack of work/life balance, offputting personality, and total lack of skills unrelated to your area of interest."

(Of note: another part of this fantasy in the novel is that skill in one area translates to skill in others. There's a philosopher who is also an incredible short order cook; there's a banker who is also a brilliant tobacco grower; there's a railroad executive who is also an expert maid because Ayn Rand is so fucking kinky she doesn't know what to do with herself)

That's just, you know, a shitty way to live and means you treat people like crap and sometimes that takes a little while to understand that and figure out how to be less of an asshole.

Also: part of the fantasy is that you actually ARE good enough at any one thing that that's what someone will love you for. Most of us aren't! And that's a good thing actually, because people should love you for more than one aspect of yourself!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: one of the most important things that I've ever come across for my mental health is this image:

[ETA: the image is a print by Nicole Manganelli of Radical Emprints and you can get one here.]

I saw it on Tumblr some time in 2013 or thereabouts and instantly recoiled from it. I was angry about it. It was *WRONG.* At that point, in my mind, ALL that you are were worth was your productivity. That was literally all that you had to offer to the world, and literally all that people could love you for.

That's the Atlas Shrugged mindset. That's what the people who are fans of the book are carrying around in their heads. That's why they think it doesn't matter if they're an asshole, so long as they're rich enough, or work hard enough, or are the best at enough things, or have enough to make up for the fact that they aren't anything outside of their productivity.

But the picture wasn't wrong, I was wrong.

Anyway, I've done a lot of therapy about it and that's the best answer I've come up with.

[coraniaid]

It’s always very odd to me when I read criticism of A Song Of Ice And Fire online (by which I mainly mean: on Tumblr) which takes for granted that this is some sort of obsessively dark and edgy and mean-spirited fantasy, because ... that's not what the series is actually like at all?  

I mean, yes, some awful (and graphically described) stuff happens in these books, but this is at heart a deeply optimistic and almost embarrassingly romantic story, full of a very obvious sympathy and tenderness for the unhappy and the hurt and the powerless.  The weird gritty-for-the-sake-of-it books that the series's detractors describe wouldn't have recurring POV characters like Sansa Stark or Tyrion Lannister or Davos Seaworth or Samwell Tarly or Brienne of Tarth.  They certainly wouldn't obviously empathize with and respect these characters to the extent the actual books do.  They wouldn't be so obsessive about the importance of hope and kindness and understanding in an otherwise uncaring world.  Whenever the text suggests the world isn't fair or kind there's always an unspoken "but it should be,and I wish it was". You are clearly not meant to think that characters like Roose Bolton or Twyin Lannister are being held up as role models to emulate!

I mean, maybe the TV show is more like that -- I gave up on the show after only a couple of seasons, it was a terrible adaptation of the source material, even before the final season that everyone apparently hated -- but so much of the open disdain for ASOIAF I come across on here reads like the people writing the posts haven't even read a single one of the books. Yes, the popularity of ASOIAF inspired a lot of "dark" fantasy novels that actually are bleakly nihilistic and seem to revel in their characters meeting pointlessly sad and violent ends, but Martin's books are just not like that.

Yes, lots of the world-building for ASOIAF is patently ridiculous, and yes, key parts of the plot are just cribbed from the War of the Roses (or, rather, from historical novels like Sharon Penman's The Sunne in Splendour)  and yes, Martin has said some very stupid things in interviews while busy not writing the series.  And no, I'm not sure I could actually bring myself to recommend the books to anyone who's not read them before (especially when it's so unlikely that the series will ever be finished, let alone in a satisfying way).  I haven’t reread them myself in years.

But honestly, back when I was a quietly miserable teenager these books really meant a lot to me, in part because they are the opposite of the caricature often discussed online.  Yes, they acknowledged that sometimes the world was awful and unbearable.  It is!  But they also suggested that it was still important to try to be fair and kind and to appreciate the moments when things were better.  They are books about trying to do the right thing even when it’s so hard as to seem impossible and nobody else will even know that you tried, written in a way that takes for granted that “the right thing” is also the just and the optimistic and the quietly heroic thing; that doing the right thing when you afraid is more praiseworthy than never being afraid at all. And it is baffling to me how often I see people talking about them now who don't actually seem to have ever even skimmed them but are still vocally passionate in their hatred of something that, as they describe it, simply doesn't exist.

[hanasnx]

can you share some of thosr anakin-related-content-you-consumed on ur anakin fixation era cz im fixating on anakin aswell rn and i want to study him!! please, idk where to start 🙇🏻‍♀️

supercut of star wars I - III reddit link with instructions to receive them via google docs

i've seen both tpm and aotc supercuts but i have yet to finish the rots supercut because of it being so long. there are also deleted scenes on youtube that were not included in the supercuts linked here:

star wars episodes I and II extended edition - unused deleted scenes youtube video

revenge of the sith 4 hour supercut - unused deleted scenes youtube video

if you cannot get a hold of the supercuts for some reason, no sweat. the same channel listed in the above links has a bunch of videos on their channel of all "restored deleted scenes" that you can watch individually. of course, that is without the "siege of mandalore" that's included in the rots supercut. but that's just the bits you would see from season 7 of the clone wars spliced in, so you wouldn't be missing anything.

star wars: episode I - the phantom menace

if you cannot get a hold of the supercuts for whatever reason, start here. one of my favorite star wars movies. features young anakin, about nine years old, and how comes to live with the jedi, how he meets padme, and where he comes from.

star wars: episode II - attack of the clones

we follow older anakin, about nineteen years old, where he reunites with padme and they fall in love. the cracks of the dark side's influences are beginning to show.

star wars: clone wars

this is the mini-series released in 2003-2005 to depict anakin's journy throughout the beginning of the clone wars to prepare audiences for star wars: revenge of the sith coming out in 2005. it has since been de-canonized and replaced with the clone series that comes out in 2008. it is still worth the watch. anakin's voice actor is supremely talented and sounds a lot like hayden christensen. albiet he is dramatic, as it is a kid's show, i still very much enjoy his characterization. it's actually pretty funny too, it did get me to laugh a couple times. chapter 24-25 i believe is where anakin undergoes a sort of spiritual awakening, and the ending always makes me cry.

star wars: the clone wars movie

it was honestly boring to me, but i still watched it for much needed context on the show.

star wars: the clone wars

as i’ve said before, i don’t really care for tcw!anakin, but this was still a fun and enjoyable watch. it wasn’t completely worthless to me, i did learn some more things about anakin that applied to hayden’s rendition.

unreleased star wars: the clone wars arc - crystal crisis on utapau (full) youtube video

i didn’t finish it but from what i’ve seen so far it’s pretty funny.

anakin & obi-wan | let my people go youtube video edit

one of my favorite edits to one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies. i think about it a lot, especially during the “this was my home.” lyric. hammering in the betrayal of brothers that grew up alongside one another, and if you resonate with that song and movie it provides another layer of context. it’s deliciously painful. when anakin’s side of “you who i called brother,” cuts through and interrupts the melody, impatient to speak about his perspective using ramses’ narrative to do it, it’s acutely accurate to anakin’s character in my eyes.

clone wars: battle of the heroes - a star wars fan animation youtube video

i haven’t seen this yet but i’ve been waiting to enjoy it to its fullest. the creator worked very hard on it for a long time, so it’s worth the link.

star wars episode III: revenge of the sith novel by matthew stover

i have not read this, but i’ve seen hundreds of excerpts over the course of this hyperfixation on tumblr. it’s widely accepted even though it’s decanonized, and offers insight into anakin’s head that you can’t access with just watching the movie. i thoroughly enjoy and reblog the excerpts i come across, but since i’m not a reader i haven’t picked it up to complete it myself.

star wars: episode III - revenge of the sith

the third installment in the prequel series, and where shit goes down. twenty-three year old anakin grapples with his desires overcoming his sense of obligations, warping his own ideals to fit into selfish purposes. you see how he betrays the republic, his wife, his brother, and himself, all for power.

star wars episode III revenge of the sith (xbox) no commentary walkthrough full game [1080p60fps] youtube video

i haven’t gotten to watch this yet but i’d like to soon, i’ve seen bits and pieces and i believe there are alternate endings that prove interesting. if you like gameplay movies i think you should give it a shot, but if not, go ahead and skip this one.

star wars: episode III - revenge of the sith - making the game youtube video

it’s short and sweet. about hayden’s view of the character anakin and how he acts in combat.

star wars: tales of the jedi

s1e5 where we receive insight as to how anakin trains his padawan.

vader: complete canon comic series 1-25 in chronological order youtube video

i loved this so much. so many good moments that i ate the fuck up. we follow vader in his first year of becoming the sith lord, grappling with identity, past, and recognition. we also get insight into the very sensitive time of jedi eradication, i learned a lot. my favorite parts are when vader has to fight without a saber against clones, make his own red saber by retrieving one from a surviving jedi, and the arc that includes jocasta nu.

star wars the force unleashed- full game walkthrough gameplay no commentary youtube video

star wars the force unleashed 2 - full game walkthrough gameplay no commentary youtube video

both of these i've been meaning to watch, but i haven't been in the mood. i figured i'd link them in case you were interested in more gameplay movies.

star wars rebels

i didn't finish this, but i did watch a lot of the vader content and the scarce anakin content. i'll watch anything that mentions him tbh.

star wars jedi: fallen order - full game - no commentary youtube video

i played this game and loved it. the ending is the money shot tbh.

star wars: obi-wan kenobi

this was probably the first sw show i watched after i got back into darth vader in august 2022. reawakened a lot for me, i really enjoyed vader's part in this story. reva is also one of my favorites, and i thought her being a mirror image to anakin in this situation was clever, i thought her backstory was unique and refreshing. but what really shines for me is vader's contribution as both an extension of the emperor and a vessel for his own selfish desires. there are parts where i can see he's more machine than man. there are also some anakin parts as well! which i didn't enjoy as much, funnily enough.

rogue one: a star wars story

i haven't seen this one in years, but i do remember darth vader's appearances being both funny and badass.

star wars: episode IV - a new hope

star wars: episode V - the empire strikes back

it took me a long time to come around on this one. now it's one of my favorites. especially because we start to get the first glimpses within the original trilogy of vader's humanity, and his ability to demonstrate faint loyalty to his blood.

star wars: episode VI - return of the jedi

fave sw movie tbh since childhood. you can't get better than the ending. vader's sacrifice is everything to me.

lego star wars: the skywalker saga

i had played this game back in may 2022 when i visited my sister. she and i used to play lego games together when we were kids, and one of my first video games ever was lego star wars: the video game from 2005 which she introduced me to. it holds a special place in my heart, and i really liked playing skywalker saga even though at this point i hadn't cared about star wars in years. when i got back home i couldn't stop thinking about the saga game so i bought it myself, and then played it so obsessively i didn't do anything else. it got me back in the mood for darth vader so i watched obi-wan kenobi, and one thing leads to another now here i am with a smut blog about anakin skywalker's entire life and his every iteration. i loved the game, i think you should play it even though it's just lego versions of everything, it's still really fun.

star wars: ahsoka

you see him in this and the cinematography is breathtaking at times, but i didn't care for it. i only cared about the glimpses of anakin/vader's appearances even if they didn't contribute anything to the story for me.

anakin skywalker vs palpatine full fight scene (hd) - star wars episode IX [alternative ending] youtube video

this is a fan edit! i think about it a lot even though i haven't seen the sequels.

the life of anakin skywalker: darth vader (star wars) youtube video

i haven't finished this, but from what i've seen it's taught me things even i didn't know. i really appreciated the facts that aren't even on wookiepedia.

any books on it i've only seen the excerpts here on tumblr, i haven't read any because i'm not a big reader but i've seen some great posts that i reblog. so don't sleep on the books/comics

great ask

[writingwithcolor]

Representing African-American Woman, Biracial, “fierce and strong” and hair questions

Anonymous asked:

I’m changing a character in a novel I’m editing to be a fierce, strong African American woman living with an anthropologist father and lawyer mother (I picture the mom like Jessica in suites). I also feel like being bi-racial in the south makes her a little conflicted. She sometimes wants to just “be white” to make things easier, but is so very proud to be African-American and bi-racial. She is also lesbian and a future love interest of the other main character However, I am white- so I have questions!! Here are 3 scenes I need help with:

1. Leigh is putting conditioner in her hair and hears the doorbell. She puts her hair in a silk hairwrap (is that ok to call it that?) after the other characters leave, she works on the computer and falls asleep. When she wakes up its 2:30. I was going to have her undo her hairwrap and run her fingers through her hair… but I know African American hair can’t be brushed, would running her fingers through it (even damp) ruin her hair? 

2. her and the other lesbian “anne” are getting ready at a hotel for an important event and Leigh comes out of the bathroom in a beautiful dress and an “afro blow out” (I have the photo of hair names saved from this group- just not looking at it as I type and will use the correct hair name in novel). When she comes out of the bathroom Anne sees her and is taken completely aback by her beauty. Her reaction makes Leigh uncomfortable and she asks if she should {straighten/presss} her hair. Which action is the correct word there? …to which Anne tells her no, she loves her natural hair because it’s who she is.

3. Later in the book, they are going to be heading to an archeological dig in the desert and I thought about giving Leigh “braids” with “coloured extensions/weave” .. is “tightly woven braids with (haven’t chosen colour yet)” appropriate? What should I say instead? This will also prompt a convo between the two main characters where Anne asks Leigh why she changes her hair so much. Leighs response will be “{As an African American} my hair is a large expression of who I am. Much like the clothes we wear for different moods or events, I change my hair to reflect what I am feeling or just as an outward expression of who I am” .. should I put the African American part in? I feel that hair is an expression to most people, but I know it is a huge part of African American culture and I want to get it right

Thanks in advance for advice!! This is a book I have always wanted to write, but it also became a book about “underdogs”. I really wanted to make a book with queer representation. I also realized I wanted to have an African American as there isn’t much representation for them either. I really want to show her as a fierce, smart woman (who of course struggles with the brevity of being “mixed race”) that isn’t a gangster, rapper, or the typical things we see in the media. I really want queer and/or African American young women to read my novel (eventually) and feel like it describes them well. Not in a stereotypical way they usually are portrayed. Anyways.. Sorry for the ramble, but thanks in advance for all the help!!

First of all, I want to address your use of “Strong.” It is not the compliment you may think it is and Black women do not always accept it well, particularly from non-Black people. Being forced to be strong, aka the Strong Black Woman, is not an ideal condition. So portraying Black women as such without nuance is not welcome representation.  

“I also feel like being bi-racial in the south makes her a little conflicted. She sometimes wants to just 'be white' to make things easier, but is so very proud to be African-American and bi-racial.”

Be aware that not every mixed race person has an identity struggle. But in a world where she faces racism, it could be realistic, a desire to "just be white.” As a visibly Black woman, though, she’ll always be seen as Black, and never just white, even if she’s mixed race or even lighter-complexioned. It’s part of the whole “one drop” perspective.

Now, to your specific questions.

Black hair questions - are these the right terms?

Leigh is putting conditioner in her hair and hears the doorbell. She puts her hair in a silk hairwrap (is that ok to call it that?) 

1.)

It’s hard to answer if this sounds realistic without knowing what products Leigh is using in this situation.

Is Leigh using a leave in conditioner or a conditioner hair masque? The former is what you’d use to style and add moisture to hair. It’s fine to leave that in and go about your day. The latter is something you would wash out after use. 

Also, I wonder if you’re referring to a silk hair bonnet or scarf in your description of a silk wrap? She likely wouldn’t put on a bonnet or silk scarf if she had a mask in that she was going to wash out. If she did, she’d need to clean it to get the product off of it. 

For comparison, imagine you put a hat onto your head when you still had shampoo in it. Wouldn’t that be strange and messy? 

Now, there are hair wraps and shower caps used for conditioning hair. The material is made for being washed out or disposed of after use.

“I was going to have her undo her hairwrap and run her fingers through her hair… but I know African American hair can’t be brushed, would running her fingers through it (even damp) ruin her hair?”

Yikes. Who said our hair cannot be brushed? One has to be more careful and curly/coily hair may not use the same brushes as straight-haired folks, but we can and still do brush and comb our hair. Popular brushes are boar brushes (although I find these too “rough” on my fine coils) and detangling brushes.

And there is no one shared “African American hair type.” Please look into the range of hair styles belonging to Black women, mixed or no. From thick and course, fine and soft, straight and/or straightened. 

And, again I’m not sure what kind of conditioner was left in her hair. If this was a wash-out hair conditioner, and her hair was fully covered, it’ll likely still be damp. Some leave those on for hours, although the directions usually say 20-30 minutes is enough.

Long story short, her hair isn’t going to just be destroyed from running her hands through them, even if it’s really curly or coily. Hands don’t ease through certain curls in the same way it does straight, but you can roll over or around curls to avoid tangling and snagging, particularly if you carefully follow the flow of the curl itself. I am idly finger-combing a coil of my hair as I write this!

See also Black Hair Couple Interactions: Boyfriend Playing with his Black Girlfriend’s Hair

2.)

“Leigh comes out of the bathroom in a beautiful dress and an ‘afro blow out’" …her reaction makes Leigh uncomfortable and she asks if she should {straighten/presss} her hair. Which action is the correct word there?”   

You seem to be using the right terms. Blow out (you wouldn’t need to add "Afro”) and straightened are fine to use. I wouldn’t imagine her saying “should I press it?” To a white woman, though. 

I don’t have your photo references, but Google should’ve produced the correct results. Blow outs add volume to afro hair. Depending on how its done, heat level, etc. it can make hair look like a bigger fro, or make it straighter and stretched out. The more heat and time devoted to styling, generally the straighter you can get the hair.

3. 

“Is 'tightly woven braids with (haven’t chosen colour yet)' appropriate? … ;{As an African American} my hair is a large expression of who I am.; should I put the African American part in?”

While I’d leave out referring to the hair as extensions or weave, saying "tightly woven braids” is a fine description! 

And honestly, I'd suggest leaving out the As an African American portion. Coming from a non-Black voice, it may be taken as speaking for Black people. Also, not all Black people may agree with that statement. Hair has important cultural aspects for many, absolutely! So i’m not saying it’s wrong, but its best to Keep her statement individual, her own perspective, not a statement about the whole race. Again, coming from a non-Black voice, especially.

Characterization

“I really want to show her as a fierce, smart woman (who of course struggles with the brevity of being ”“mixed race”“) that isn’t a gangster, rapper, or the typical things we see in the media. I really want queer and/or African American young women to read my novel (eventually) and feel like it describes them well. Not in a stereotypical way they usually are portrayed. Anyways.. Sorry for the ramble, but thanks in advance for all the help!!”

I do think you need to do a lot more research on Black women, stereotypes, hair, and being a mixed race Black woman before writing this story. Our blog is a general resource, though just the start.

I appreciate your efforts to tell a story that isn’t built on stereotypes or the typical portrayals of Black people. Now, mind that some people may fit “stereotypes” but they are not stereotypes - they’re people.

Another thing - her being mixed race. While it’s fine to portray a mixed race character, and your intentions seem good, some writers choose this route because it’s “easier” and anchoring the Black character to whiteness (or even anyone other than Black) makes them more palatable. I only ask, if you had the intentions of representing Black women, why not write a non-Mixed race Black woman?

After evaluating your characters and the language used, you would benefit from a beta-reader, Black + queer or otherwise, reading your story before publication. They’ll be able to help you “get it right” and note any areas that cause pause or need correction.

I hope this was helpful!

~Mod Colette

[autumnmobile12]

The Vampires in Castlevania

Vlad III Dracula Ţepeș (Impaler) was a real person.  He was a Wallachian voivode who was born sometime between 1429 and 1431, and he died in 1476.  The exact manner of his death has been lost to history, but the common belief is he was beheaded in battle and his head was sent to Sultan Mehmed II in Constantinople as proof of his death.

As for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, some historians are starting to doubt the prince was the actual inspiration for the famous vampire.  One of the reasons for this is Stoker was a very thorough note-taker, but none of his notes for writing Dracula mention Vlad III or any of his lifetime achievements/atrocities.  So it’s possible Stoker only chose the name ‘Dracula’ because he knew it translated as ‘son of the Devil.’  Further reading - Dracula: Sense and Nonsense by Elizabeth Miller.

Carmilla is the name of a lady vampire in the novella Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu, a story that is actually older than Stoker’s novel.  It features a lesbian relationship between Carmilla and the protagonist, Laura, and was written as a criticism of the Victorian view of women, specifically repressed sexuality.

Varney also comes from a book.  Varney the Vampire or The Feast of Blood was a penny dreadful written by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest.  (I haven’t read this one all the way through, but there is a scene where Varney is struggling to get over a garden wall, and I think that’s hilarious.  Not exactly apex predator material.)

Varney:  You think you have me stymied, don’t you.

Trevor:  No, I think a garden wall has you stymied.

Lenore is the name of a German poem written by Gottfried August Bürger.  It’s about a woman named Lenore who curses God because her beloved did not come back from war, so Death kidnaps her to reunite them, effectively condemning her soul for eternity.  It’s not about a vampire, but the poem has had a hand in influencing vampire literature.

Anyway, does anyone else really want to see Lenore cheering Trevor on in the last battle?  Or stealing the knife and ending Death herself.  Cause I do now.

The closest thing to a vampire in Viking folklore is the draugr, although this creature is more of a restless ghost than what we think of as a vampire.  They haunt the graves of the dead and guard the treasures they acquired in life by driving humans insane, drinking their blood, eating their flesh, and other nasty things.

Side note:  I’m really curious as to what led Godbrand to becoming a vampire.  Immortality didn’t really play a huge factor in Old Norse culture since the Vikings believed a glorious death in battle was the one and only way to go to Valhalla.  Other deaths that were deemed shameful or unworthy landed you in Helheim, which I really need to address further in a separate post.

Japan also doesn’t have an exact vampire equivalent, but they do have some yokai spirits that have vampire-like characteristics, including but not limited to:

Nukekubi:  A flying head that detaches from its human body at night and attacks people to drink their blood.

Rokurokubi:  A similar creature to nukekubi except the head doesn’t detach but rather travels from the body via an elongated neck.

Nure-Onna:  The ‘drenched woman’ is a large serpent with the head of a woman that drinks blood.

Personally, I would have loved to see Cho’s head fly off to attack someone simply to see Sypha, Alucard, and Trevor briefly panic.

[mana-jjk]

BEATS VIOLENTLY ON THE SITE

i think toge was so happy to have the first-years join them 🥺 after yuuta left, i think he feels a little empty not being able to take care of him. so when the first years join they might not fill that void but they definitely act as a bandaid I PROMISE YOU

megumi likes to say that the only upperclassman he can openly respect is yuuta, but i think he has a soft spot for toge. he’s silly, and sometimes megumi has to do that emo kid thing where he forces himself not to smile because that would be losing the war. but more than anything, i think toge is one of the few that actively shields the first-years and tries to protect them. he tore his throat to shreds trying to protect megumi from hanami, but he also immediately stepped in when todo was giving him shit. and the fact that megumi is fluent in his safe words and understands him so well tells me that he’s known him for a long time so i just think !! little kid megumi practicing sign language by himself and then acting like he’s known it forever and it’s just by chance really ! but toge knows <\3

we haven’t gotten much yuuji and toge interactions but i INSIST they are cooking buddies who delight trying new recipes together. everyone else? incapable in the kitchen. yuuji and toge? certified chefs that have repeatedly talked shared recipes and methods together. i also think yuuji reminds toge of yuuta if yuuta was somewhat mentally stable, could sleep for more than 30 minutes, and wasn’t the shyest boy you’ve ever seen. knowing what it feels like to be a danger to your loved ones is so awful but it’s something they can share. plus toge cares so much about not letting yuuji know about his arm it makes me so ☹️ he’s so caretaker coded it physically hurts. but yuuji also sees him as so reliable, just like yuuta in his first year. i can imagine sometimes he sounds just like him when he’s gushing and praising toge during training that it almost feels like he’s there. toge is also a good source of physical contact. the other first-years ‘tolerate’ him (they love him but can’t show it) and maki would sooner kick him. panda is tolerant but it’s like hugging a stand-up mascot. so toge who ruffles their hair, bumps their shoulders together, and gives them gentle high-fives is like a balm over an open wound.

nobara… do not get me started here i swear to god they are so bestie coded and i died reading the light novel. i think they get so excited about fashion together because everyone else is boring and they make maki and yuuta come to dress them up, clap over their fits, and carry their bags. nobara always says that toge can do better than eyebags, but inwardly she’s just happy to see him happy and secretly looks up to yuuta too. she cares so much about toge’s opinion and he hypes her up and looks after her self-esteem. she felt so guilty getting toge hurt but he didn’t even hesitate !! she also started off not understanding a thing he said but ended up understanding him so well that everyone was surprised 🥺 and it always tears me apart that he stopped her from killing that guy so she wouldn’t have to live with it. especially with little hints from canon that suggest he’s either hurt or killed someone before. maki is 100% her favorite person ever because they’re girlfriends and they kiss, but toge is a close second because they’re besties. they gossip together and are on speed dial and watch crappy reality shows. toge is one of the first people she was vulnerable with and i think he reminds her a lot of saori and it GUTS ME.

then yuuta comes back and after spending so much time thinking about him as a first-year and then taking care of the other first-years, toge expects everything to go back to how it was. except it doesn’t, because yuuta is not only bigger now but he’s stronger too. he comes back, a head and a half taller and it’s a struggle to convince him that no toge doesn’t need to be taken care of that’s his job ?? toge stumbles and suddenly yuuta’s hand is on his arm, toge cooks dinner and yuuta already put his plate on the table and washed the dishes, toge takes a hit for him and not even a breath later he’s being carried like he weighs nothing. and it’s hard to deny him and it’s hard to push away because no one has ever treated him that gently before. like he wasn’t dangerous, like he was something precious. he still has the first-years to take care of, and yuuta was still the same pathetic boy in a lot of aspects. but when he was awake with phantom pains and nightmares, yuuta was there to soothe the worst of it and remind him that there was still a future for him, that he was worthy of being cared for, worthy of living, worthy of being happy.

y’all i have so many thoughts it HURTS someone ask me something before i explode

[dduane]

i have two questions, and i hope you answer them.

1. do you think writing is a skill or a talent? perhaps a mix of both?

2. do you think that someone can be a good writer in their second language? i’m not a native english speaker, but i find comfort in writing in english. i assume it’s because i feel less ashamed, so i can be more honest. — but i’ll never be able to write like a native english speaker. (i know there are many examples of authors who wrote in their second language, but the ones that i know of either grew up with an excellent language education, or lived in different countries growing up. i’ve learned english on my own and i haven’t lived in another country, so i’m scared.)

thanks and sending love! 💕

Hi there!

About your first question: I think it's definitely a mixture of skill and talent, and of the two, I think the skillset is more important.

If we're defining "talent" as an apparently natural aptitude—something that comes seemingly out of nowhere, without being taught—then, as far as writing goes, talent is hardly likely to be all-encompassing. A writer might find they have, let's say, a gift for describing emotion, or an aptitude for strong novel structure, or unusual strength in visual imagery. And while all of those are useful, we're left with the question, "Okay, but what about everything else?" Because much more is needed.

The "everything else" is where the skill comes in. A good writer's skillset gets built up gradually over time, with much practice: from your reading, from things you discover while you're writing, from advice from other writers. And when your talent's suddenly nowhere to be found (which does happen from time to time...), your well-honed skills will be what get you through your writing day. In fact I think you could safely say that skill will get you through times of no talent far better than talent will get you through times of no skill. Talent may be bone... but skill is the muscle.

As for question 2): Absolutely, I think people can write well in their second language. Certainly writers like Nabokov and Kerouac have to give us all hope. (I also really like Samuel Beckett's response to someone who who asked him why he wanted to write a novel in another language—in his case, French. He said it came out of "a need to be ill-equipped.") :)

I wouldn't be an expert, but I think that someone setting out to write in English when it's not their mother tongue is going to have the advantage of seeing things about English that native English-speakers won't, or even can't. We're fish living in a particular flavor of water, and unconscious of what that flavor is until we've tried some others.

To make the choice not only to speak another language, but to write in it, is definitely going to be scary, so I'd say being a little unnerved is a healthy response. That twinge of fear is illustrative of the difference between courage and foolhardiness. So I think you should do what courageous people do: feel the fear, and then go on and do it anyway. (And may all good luck go with you on the journey!) :)

Anyway: hope this has helped! And thanks for asking.

[its-gettin-weird]

"Both Lye of Gourmet, Roy of Bizarre Eating! Know absolu~tely nothing! From one to the next, thoughtlessly unbridledly eating messily like a bunch of idiots...... For our sake, who are locked up here and don't have the freedom to choose? Don't make us laugh, hopeless siblings ~tsu!"

I literally had no idea what to do for the gluttony trio, but I did know that I wanted them to have matching outfits because (I assume) they’re triplets and I thought it would be cute :) I made their outfits similar to Rui’s in canon outfit, with some elements of the three great demon beasts that each of them respectively represent (their ‘animals’ are also represented in their soul gems!) . Where Lye’s shawl comes together looks like a whale’s tail + the whale on his back, Rui’s bunnies on her socks, and Roy’s scarf being like a snake and his weapon being like snake fangs. Their weapons are a variation on the traditional witch cult dagger that Lye typically uses, but each of them have different kinds of knives: Lye has a corner tang wrist knife (because in his canon outfit his knives are tied to his hands), Roy has a pika knife meant to resemble snake fangs, and Rui has a push dagger that looks the most like the witch cult daggers. I gave them color schemes based on their eyes, so I decided to make Roy more yellow-green because of how his eyes are depicted in the light novel as yellow and green. I also made Rui’s skin tone slightly darker to make her look a bit more like her brothers but still standing out / kind of different.

The authority from a wish doc says that Rui’s wish is ‘to become happy’ and ‘to go outside’, but doesn’t really expand on what the boys’ wishes would be, and Rui’s whole situation with being stuck in the Corridor of Memories so she wouldn’t have a physical soul gem is confusing to navigate in this au, especially since I haven’t read the novels yet. So for now what I’m going to say is that the boys wished to be able to make Rui happy by getting her other people’s memories according to their own philosophies (Lye quality, Roy quantity), and the wish Rui would make would be to go outside and that’s how she would get into the physical world like she does in the novels. I still think that she would have her ‘authority’ though because of her brothers’ wishes and would still be able to possess them.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: foresthearts! @kiaramori has 11 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and 7 of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @kiaramori:

Suspended Bridges

Consensual Catfishing

Just Because You've Done It Before Doesn't Mean You'll Do It Better

In My Head (I See a Supercut of Us)

finding a cozy place in you

I read her first Steddie fic (Suspended Bridges) as it was updating and I fell in love!! The world building and plot in that fic, compared with the writing make it absolutely irresistible. I've been reading all of her fics since then and there have been no misses! Every single one is incredible. Can't recommend them enough ❤️❤️ -- anonymous

Below the cut, foresthearts answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I heard that a lot of times when people ship things, it’s a character they project onto with a character they’re attracted to. I find that I feel both things towards Steddie: I can somewhat project onto both of them to a degree, and then I also find them both pretty attractive. So it’s the best of both worlds (lol). I also think that both Steve and Eddie are at this really cool point in their life. After high school there’s a lot of self-discovery. Finding your own independence, figuring out who you are, deconstructing the messages you were raised with, finding your path…I think that’s a really cool time to write about.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

One of my favorite tropes for this pairing is Kas!Eddie. I really like fics where Eddie is a vampire, they’re great. Another favorite trope with these two is idiots-to-lovers. I love the way both these guys can be dumbasses for different reasons.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I think miscommunication (in a playful way, not so much an angsty way) is a favorite for me. Especially oblivious!Steve. Anything I can do to maneuver Steve into a slutty little outfit and have Eddie thirsting over him, I love it. Especially when Steve has no clue Eddie is thirsting over him. I think I have that in almost every single fic I write.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I have so many, it’s hard to list just one. “Sub-culture” by palmviolet was the first Steddie fic I read, so it has a special place in my heart. I’d also say “Rock of Ages” by BoudicaMuse and “You’re Divine” by OonionChiver. One I’m reading currently is called “House of Pain” by mynameis152. It features Steve and Eddie in a group home, and I really like the exploration of both of their characters.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I have a fic I’ve half-written with Merman!Eddie and Grad Student in Marine Biology!Steve (extremely loosely based off the chinese novel Desharow Merman). I think that’s one I’d love to explore in more depth.

What is your writing process like?

My process usually starts with daydreaming up a certain scene. Then, I’ll kind of expand it from there. Sometimes, I’ll take notes or write short outlines at night to get my thoughts down. Then, I’ll usually write a first draft. Something that’s pretty stream-of-consciousness. I don’t worry about it sounding good. Then I’ll delete most of my first draft and start over with a second, keeping only the parts I like the most.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I’m not sure if other people do this, but I think a quirk of mine is how much I’ve come to enjoy rewriting things. It’s not unusual for me to write half a chapter, delete the whole thing, and then start over again. I find that I typically like the second draft a lot better than the first. When I was younger, it was such a struggle to delete things and start over. It felt like I was erasing all my hard work. But now, I just see it as part of the process.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

This is a funny question for me because my favorite way to do things was definitely how I did Suspended Bridges. I had about 80% of the plot written before I posted anything, and as I posted each chapter, I could comfortably go back and edit each chapter/add foreshadowing/add substance to the fic before posting it. But I haven’t done it that way since then; now I pretty much post things as I write them.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I think I’m most proud of Suspended Bridges, partially because it’s the longest fic I’ve ever written, so I’m pretty proud of the work that went into it. I also am pretty proud of Just Because You’ve Done it Before, Doesn’t Mean You’ll Do It Better. It’s my most recent one, and I can feel myself growing as a writer as I write it.

How did you get the idea for Suspended Bridges?

Suspended Bridges is really an amalgamation of a lot of different pieces of inspiration. I think at the time, there weren’t a ton of omegaverse fics out for the pairing. I had a lot of omegaverse headcanons for the characters and how they would fit into an alternate season four. Since there weren’t a lot of fics out at the time, I figured if I wanted something that was so specific (canon divergence, Steve being a secret omega, life-saving mating bonds, etc) then I was going to have to write it myself.

When writing Suspended Bridges, what was something you didn’t expect?

I’d have to say 1. the writing process, and 2. the reception. Firstly, it was a really unique fic for me in that it was so easy to write. It felt like the words just flowed out of me. I wrote the first 60,000 words of it largely on my phone while on vacation. I just couldn’t stop writing. It was more than I’d ever written in one sitting before. Secondly, I was not expecting the reception it got at all. It is far and away the most popular thing I’d ever written, and I was so floored at the amazingly kind comments people wrote and the way it was able to resonate with so many people.

What inspired Just Because You've Done It Before Doesn't Mean You'll Do It Better?

I really like Time Travel Fix-Its, they’re one of my favorite types of fics. I watched this clip where a comedian was talking about how if he went back in time, he’d be effectively useless. And I thought to myself, “what would it be like to have someone go back in time and kind of mess things up even more?” which is what inspired this fic. Steve’s back in season 1, trying to change the past so that things can go better…but it’s a harder job than he expects. There’s a lot that he doesn’t know, and his assumptions about the world can often cloud his judgment.

What was your favorite part to write from Consensual Catfishing?

I think my favorite part was just all the little internet references. Consensual Catfishing was really fun to write because it was a bit of a love letter to my own fandom experiences. My favorite part might’ve been in chapter 1 when we see the clip of the 1DxY/N fic parody. I was laughing pretty hard as I wrote that. I also just liked all the little clips of Hellfire’s DnD podcast. I really enjoyed writing their friendship.

How do/did you feel writing In My Head (I See a Supercut of Us)?

Uh…horny? Haha Supercut was one of the most explicit fics I’d written and so sometimes I would kind of post it while blushing bright red haha. It was fun, though. I think comedy is a bit of a niche for me. I really like to write stuff that makes me laugh, and Supercut was definitely that. Steve’s first fantasy he gets dragged into cracks me up every time.

What was the most difficult part of writing finding a cozy place in you?

I think the hardest part was just making it short. I suck at writing one-shots, I typically like leaning into the conflict of the story and making some elaborate worldbuilding. But this one I wanted to be soft and sweet, to feel a bit like curling up on the sofa with a warm cup of tea. It was a different vibe than I usually write, so it definitely stretched me.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I think one of my favorite scenes is in Suspended Bridges, when I rewrote the fight against Vecna. There were a lot of powerful moments: Max, Dustin and El all standing up to Vecna at various moments, Steve playing Dustin’s song to stop his possession….then the life-saving bond right after that. That was definitely a highlight for me.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Right now I’m mainly looking at my current projects, rather than any future ones. If there’s one I’d promote, it would be “Just Because You’ve Done it Before, Doesn’t Mean You’ll Do It Better” It’s an omegaverse time-travel fic, where a gruff alpha Steve goes back into his season 1 (unpresented) body. He wants to change the past, save Barb, and get Nancy back, but there’s a lot he doesn’t know. And things get pretty off the rails when he presents as an omega in the new timeline.

Thank you to our author, foresthearts, and our anonymous nominator! See more of @kiaramori works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[shitpostingperidot]

Kamala Khan’s bookshelves

Kamala’s room in The Marvels is an absolute treasure trove of little details to zoom in on, and I’ve identified so many books on her shelves!

Shelf 1, top to bottom:

1. Landmark Experiments in Twentieth Century Physics by George L. Trigg

College-level book about experiments that helped us learn about x-rays, lasers, isotopes, superconductors, and all kinds of other things I don’t understand. Meant to be more practical than theoretical since it talks about the actual methodologies of these experiments. Could be for school, or for Kamala and Bruno to run their own tests of Kamala’s powers. The first of many books in the Khan house that come from Dover Publications.

2. Space Time Matter by Hermann Weyl

“An esoteric initiation into space time physics” -Amazon reviewer. I’m gonna be real, I don’t understand half the words in this book description, but apparently it’s famous for introducing gauge theory, which was later reborn as phase transformations in quantum theory. I can see this being something Kamala reads to try and understand the bangle transporting her to the Partition. Also from Dover.

3. A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong

A graphic novel about a high school girl’s basketball team learning to work together despite their many differences and conflicts. Also it has a gorgeous color palette. Seems fairly self explanatory why it’s in this movie. I’ll definitely be borrowing this from my library! Like my friend Kamala recommended a book to me herself.

4. The Good Immigrant anthology edited by Nikesh Shukla

21 essays from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in the UK about their experiences. It was crowdfunded initially, extremely critically acclaimed, and has gotten spinoffs and sequels. Riz Ahmed, who is British Pakistani, is one contributor, and a fun fact is that Rish Shah (Kamran from Ms. Marvel) worked with Riz Ahmed in an Oscar winning short called The Long Goodbye. Also, the editor, Nikesh Shukla, is currently writing the Spider-Man India comics series!

5. Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam

A coming-of-age story about 3 young adults with complicated family, friend, and romantic relationships between them. They have to travel from Brooklyn to Bangladesh together one summer and thereby discover a lot about themselves. I haven’t read it, but there seems to be a ton of complex representation of LGBTQ, POC, immigrant, and Muslim characters. I wonder how much the three main characters can be compared with our three characters with complex relationships in The Marvels, and I wonder which character Kamala most relates to!

6. I can’t tell! The font is bugging the hell out of me because theoretically, with that amount of contrast, I should be able to read a word when I get two inches from the TV and mess with the settings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

7. I also can’t tell, but I’m being easier on myself because the title is written in white on a yellow background. It’s not the only book I know off the top of my head with this color scheme (Yellowface by RF Kuang) because the title is definitely multiple words. Help!

Shelf 2, right to left:

1. One Night that Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt

A YA romance where, through a convoluted series of events, a teenager must face all of her insecurities in one night. I can see Kamala devouring this as brain candy after wrestling with those advanced science books, or using it as fic inspiration!

2. Can’t tell, but love the color scheme!

This next one is a weird one, because I am 100% sure of what book it is, but I cannot find a picture of a matching edition.

3. Wizard at Large by Terry Brooks

It’s definitely, without a doubt, this book (where a character and a magical medallion are accidentally transported to Earth from another realm and switches places with an evil genie). Like those are the words on the spine and the plot of the book is an obvious choice for this movie. The fonts match on the audiobook, the ebook, and the next two books in the series. But try as I might, I cannot find any proof on the internet that the physical book that appears in Kamala’s room, that uses those two fonts and that spine formatting, exists. This is haunting me…

4. (On the other side of the box) It’s not The Twilight Saga Eclipse, but I definitely thought it was before I could watch in high definition. I think it’s a journal or sketchbook of Kamala’s; there are a bunch scattered throughout the room.

Shelf 3:

I’ve only identified the bottom book, which is Einstein’s Theory of Relativity by Max Born (Dover Publications). The third one up is HAUNTING me, it looks SO identifiable and yet!

Living Room Side Table:

1. Amateur Astronomer’s Handbook by JB Sidgwick (from Dover Publications)

2. Cosmology by Hermann Bondi (also Dover)

Both of these seem less difficult than the science books in Kamala’s room, but reviewers note that it helps to know calculus when reading Cosmology. Idk which member of the Khan family is reading these, but I love their family’s connection to the stars 💫

Tbh I’m having so much fun doing this! And I really wish we got to see Monica’s living space so I can analyze her books 😭

[hearts4jean]

𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚♡

- jean - confess - modern au -

╭──────────── · · ୨୧ · ·────────────╮

We all know this mf would be such a nervous wreck when it comes to anything to do with you (pre-dating and sometimes during-dating) regardless of what it is. Internally, he gets so giddy at any mention of you and attempts to play it off, cannot do the same for the life of him when you’re around. He is described to be well-spoken by others but that reputation goes down the drain when in your presence. Day-to-day interactions are one thing, but actually confessing feelings and pouring his heart out of how he really feels? Yeah, no. He’d be the type to have a crush and absolutely do nothing about it because he’s afraid to come off as weird and being thought of like: “Wow, I didn’t expect him to feel this way,” and has a huge fear of rejection. He just prefers to keep it to himself and remained unjudged by you and everyone else and continue what he has with you. He does this until he is no longer be able to keep up the act because quite frankly, everyone knows.

Everyone knows that he likes you. He’s too obvious and so easy to read, everyone would think. You would have your suspicions but choose to remain oblivious and you feel like it’s just your desires talking. What a dream it would be for THEE Jean Kirstein to fancy you. It gets so obvious that even he is self-aware about it and asks Marco and Connie of all people for advice. Neither would’ve ever been in any romantic predicament. Reiner would’ve but Jean would probably rather get love advice from a romance novel fanatic who romanticises toxic relationships over Reiner if you want to put it like that.

Connie would purposely give dumb suggestions but some ideas do spark other ideas in Jean’s mind which is the reason why Jean still hasn’t screamed at him to stop suggesting dumb romance tropes like serenading you with singing and playing a guitar. Marco as expected gives amazing advice. Alongside this, he assists Jean in gaining confidence to face you and tell you how he feels.

After that, he is able to build up the courage to ask if you’d like to spend the day with him, this would be on a weekend and you two haven’t really seen each other outside of school other than on the bus home and different occasions where you see each other at supermarkets with your parents (closest thing you have gotten to interacting are subtle waves and mouthing greetings as you didn’t want your parents suspecting you of anything. Jean’s mum would already know about you before meeting you, and thinks you seem lovely based off what Jean has said about you to her and how much he talks about you without trying to sound insane.)

The layout of the day was Marco’s suggestion. Jean takes you to various places that do not deem to be romantic, but allow him to have fun with you and eases his thoughts on the fact that he has decided to finally pour his heart out to you. The activities consist of going to an arcade and spending every cent to win at every claw machine, visit an art museum assuming you both have some sort of intriguement in art, and ending the day with a stroll at the park and small picnic, after that, he intends to confess his love then.

On the Saturday morning, you have been waiting for him to show up to pick you up to take you out on this day “filled with fun and surprises” as Connie described the day before, emphasising on ‘surprises’, you get ready for the day extremely early in fear of him finding you still in your bed-wear attire and waiting for you to get ready. Thankfully, he does eventually show up in somewhat formal attire? Not like a whole suit but like maybe a white button up paired with a long coat and scarf which he will probably eventually take off cuz yk how the weather is. Bouquet of your fave flowers in hand, which counts as the first flowers you would have received from him (first of many).

He also would’ve done his hair similar to how it is in high school caste since Connie talked him into it because he would look cool like those “fancy vogue models”. He doesn’t realise that it looks a little silly until he is facing you and attempts to fix it into his normal hairstyle, but you stop him from doing that by grabbing his wrist and insist he still looks great. He is still unsure about it and seems very fiddly with his appearance during the day as he wanted to look his best for you.

But yeah, you go to the arcade first where Jean just wins you a bunch of sanrio plushies from claw machines like he was not stopping until you had every character alongside some “accidental” duplicates. He would be sooo good at claw machines as he has dedicated his pocket mooney to them as a child like you know how ppl display trophies and medals in their rooms, he would do that but with plushies which explains why he doesn’t let anyone into his room other than Marco (and you eventually).

Next is the art museum. He is such an art nerd, he would’ve been to this gallery before so he’d know all about the pieces on display. Who needs a tour guide when you have a Jean? He’d just ramble on about them to you from how they were displayed, what techniques were used with the mediums and how they’re taken care of until he realises that he’s talking too much and constantly apologises. Of course you don’t mind hearing him ramble, you also find it cute when he tries apologising for something so simple. I feel that he would be too used to interacting with Connie and Sasha and he cant talk for too long as they both have short-attention spans. He also explains to you how he has longed for one of his pieces to be displayed in this very gallery or at least some part of an exhibition/collection.

Next is the stroll at the park. The two of you walk around the lake, talking about school, random goals, Connie and Sasha, just a whole bunch of things with no pauses. Both of you do eventually get tired and decide to set up the picnic under a tree (aot reference i just realised that after typing lolzies) where you guys end up making flower crowns out of the bouquet he has give you alongside some smaller ones surrounding the two of you. You tell him that this whole picnic setup reminds you of a children’s tea party in which you both laugh at and results in you both talking in posh accents for a little.

As the days climax edges closer, you two are now just silently sitting next to each other with you both trying to catch glimpses of each other really quickly. Jean knew it was time. But when he goes too peak, that pre-written love confession memorised in his mind all disappears and is just stammering all of a sudden. You kind of know what he wants to say and you suggest to him that he shouldn’t look directly at you as that would make him more nervous and just to pay his attention to the lake in front of you two as the gentle waters would calm him down; and you would try to not look at him and not make any expression. This helps him gets his words and obv you accept his feelings and uh yeah hoorah u and jean are together now

╰──────────── · · ୨୧ · · ──────────── ╯

[saaraofthesand]

Verlaine and N are Fucking Liars and Chuuya is NOT a Clone

So, it has come to my attention that there is a whole hoard of people who’ve read Storm Bringer or heard from people who’ve read it who think Chuuya is a clone. But he’s not.

For those who haven’t read Storm Bringer: Please do. I’ll do my best to contextualize stuff, but I’m not sure how it’ll turn out.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Exhibit A: The Photo of Chuuya as a Child

At the beginning of the novel, the Flags give Chuuya a photo of him at age five (along with a bunch of other documents). It’s a gift so they can put Chuuya’s mind at rest about him being human.

Later, Verlaine says the photo is fake, but guys, Verlaine is obviously lying. He offers no evidence other than saying that the Flags are trying to manipulate Chuuya. He’s saying this because he wants Chuuya to leave the mafia and come with him. He believes that if Chuuya doesn’t think he’s human, he won’t have a reason to stay. I don’t think Verlaine actually knows whether or not Chuuya is human.

When they go to N’s laboratory, Chuuya recognizes N as the man standing next to him in the picture, which, in my opinion, actually proves that the picture is real. It just suggests that the government had their eyes on Chuuya for Project Arahabaki from the beginning.

Exhibit B: N and Chuuya’s Clone

When Chuuya meets N in the lab, N takes him to a room with a glass tank. The glass isn’t black the liquid inside it is, and when the liquid is drained, it reveals… Chuuya. A second Chuuya.

N tells Chuuya that this is the original Chuuya Nakahara, and that Chuuya (OUR Chuuya) is his clone.

*Clears throat* this… is total bullshit.

Remember that N was specifically trying to break Chuuya emotionally and force Arahabaki out of him. It’s also why he tortured him.

He had guessed that Chuuya would be invested in whether or not he was a born-and-bred human. And he weaponized that against him.

N did nothing but lie the entire novel. He lied to Verlaine about knowing about The Secret of Gentle Forest, he lied about his own autonomy in conducting the experiments, he lied the second we met him by saying that he was Chuuya’s father. He had everything to gain by lying to Chuuya.

Exhibit C: Chuuya’s Parents

I rarely see this brought up, but we actually see Chuuya’s parents at the end of the novel.

Chuuya’s father is, you guessed it, some kind of doctor and is ex-military. Don’t forget that N was working for the Japanese government when he experimented on Chuuya. N was probably a colleague of Chuuya’s father and that’s why he’s in a photo with five-year-old Chuuya.

His parents think their son is dead.

Exhibit D: The Pencil Lead Scar

In the SB epilogue, it’s mentioned that Chuuya has a scar he doesn’t remember getting. One on the base of his right wrist.

In the backstory about his parents, it’s explained that when Chuuya’s parents’ son was in school, he got in a fight with another student. The other student stabbed him with a pencil, resulting in a scar on the base of his right wrist.

Mori explains to Chuuya that pencil lead will stay in the body for years. I can attest to this (I have a pencil scar on my foot from when I was 8).

This implies that Chuuya (OUR Chuuya) is not the clone, and really is this couple’s son. Asagiri took the time to point this detail out because he wanted us to have an answer to the question of Chuuya’s humanity.

In conclusion:

Now whether Chuuya is or is not a clone isn’t the point of his arc in Storm Bringer. It’s about him learning that it doesn’t matter if he’s a clone or not. I just don’t like that people are running around not actually understanding what they just read.

[lutiaslayton]

Random update on the transcription of the Eternal Diva novel, aka probably the one that most people don't even care about that much to begin with

(though you should, I haven't translated it yet but I spotted a few words here and there that caught my attention such as Luke mentioning Misthallery multiple times. Also there is in the introduction a novel-exclusive scene with Janice in it, just fyi.)

To those who didn't know, most of my free time as of lately has been put into the transcription/translation website I have dedicated to the Japan-exclusive Layton content that we never got to see, and more specifically I have been transcribing the Eternal Diva novel. Because yes, now you know, Eternal Diva was adapted into a novel and none of us non-Japanese fans got to read it. And boy this novel is going to drive me insane because I have been working on it for literal weeks by now.

In terms of progress, I have reached the part of the story in which Puzzle 004 is about to start, aka right after the end of the "Layton McGuffinned a helicopter that thinks it's a grasshopper" part. I have transcribed up to page 119 (+ the ending is already transcribed and translated because past me felt like it), and there are now 74 blank pages left for me to fill. And then the translation will come, too. I am totally looking forward to it. Can you feel the enthusiasm in my exciting punctuation.

This is the shortest novel of the list (200 pages if I count the blank ones), and this is the only novel that has furigana everywhere (aka the only one of the four I can actually read somewhat properly). Yippeeeee

Anyway if you want to take a look even though only the beginning and the end are translated for the time being:

You can take a looksie right here!

The reason why I'm going through the entire transcription first and that the full translation will only come afterwards is because, at least in my opinion if I were to view this as a reader instead of as the person uploading the content, this means that you guys get to know the story faster than if I progressed through both the transcription and translation at the same time.

After all, let's see it like this: sure, you can't read Japanese, and for the most part, neither can I. But since it's been transcribed, it means that you can easily copy-paste the Japanese text into DeepL, or Google Translate, or any translator of your choice. Sure, it's more work for you and if you are of the lazy kind you will still have to wait the same amount of time regardless (not saying it in a derogatory way), but at least it gives the choice for the ones who want the whole story to get it somewhat faster.

I don't speak Japanese, and I am not translating things as I go, so I have only a vague understanding of what is going on in the novel (and obviously, the fact that I know the plot of the movie is a huge help). But I can already tell you this much:

We get the lyrics for the ending's song, obviously. This is part of what has been translated so far.

The whole novel is not divided into chapters, but rather into smaller scenes/sections (however you want to call it). Some are narrated by Luke, some others are narrated by Janice (and/or Melina, I guess it depends on the context). Just like the three main novels you may be slightly more familiar with, the narration is in first person.

Since the only narrators who showed up so far are Luke and Janice/Melina, I don't think the scenes from Emmy's POV will be included (aka the one in which she questions Nina's parents, the one in which she is with Schrader, and the one in which she finds and rescues Grosky in the middle of the ocean). Perhaps they are going to appear later in the novel, but I highly doubt it for a number of reasons (number of pages in each section, and titles of said sections).

The novel starts with an exclusive scene under the POV of Janice. It takes place three years after the case, and she is just finished singing for the last rehearsal before the opera she will play in the day after — it is The Eternal Kingdom, which she has not sung in three years, and the next day will be the second time ever this opera will be sung in a theatre with a public. Of course, no eternal life game planned this time. Janice also gets a letter of encouragement from Whistler, which is pretty sweet.

Unless I missed it and it somehow happens in the part I did not yet translate, the intro of the movie in which Luke and Layton solve the case where Don Paolo decided to mess with the bells of Big Ben is not at all mentioned in the novel. Luke in the novel doesn't give the introduction-narration speech that he does in the movie, we jump straight into the scene in which he is shown in Layton's office pretending to be pointing at culprits (and we get a fun little scene showing what led up to him doing it). Go read it, it is translated, and I do not want to spoil for you the opportunity to read Luke being a dork all over again.

We switch to the flashback telling the actual events, and this is the part that has no translation yet. I won't give many details as a result since I don't know the things for sure myself, but as I said earlier, I saw a few words that I recognised here and there: notably, Luke mentions Misthallery on at least two occasions. If memory serves, one of them is when Grosky shows up to "arrest" the puppet, and I think Luke went on a small tangent to give a small summary of the events of Last Specter (aka how he met Grosky), and also mentions Descole (though he does not give his name, since I'm pretty sure that he didn't hear the words "My name is Jean Descole" at the time, and only learned that precisely upon meeting him again in ED). On another time he mentions it, from what I vaguely understood he may be making a reference to Naiya, Janice/Melina's friend who can be found in Misthallery and who is also a singer (she's the NPC who is meant to represent the singer of Paxmaveiti, just like Yuming is meant to represent the singer of Mysterious Flower in Miracle Mask). Pretty inconsequential, but it's always fun to have continuity nods and references to the actual plot of other stories.

Finally, back to three years later, we get an epilogue narrated by Luke which is the exact same scene as the movie: Layton and Luke are listening to Janice's opera, and at some point Janice shows up to say hi. Luke also mentions what happened to the rest of the participants after the case throughout those three years; most are just what we see from the credits, but the novel still gives a few more details in some cases:

By the time of the original trilogy, Amelia is studying abroad at a foreign university, and she recently sent a letter to Layton and Luke, saying that she is grateful even after three years.

Luke is friends with Nina, who comes by at Gressenheller every now and then, and he even considers her a rival of sorts due to Nina having a good memory and studying well. (also what the heck Luke why are you talking about getting to college and how you're worried that she may be admitted to college before you do, you're THIRTEEN)

Celia Raidley and Pierre Starbuck got married "just the other day" (yes, the ship is now officially confirmed beyond just the one image from the movie credits) and the tabloids are going wild over it.

Luke is reading Annie Dretche's latest mystery novel, and he can't put it down. Annie apparently told him that she has been writing faster so that Bargland (the guy who said he did not have much time left due to an illness) can read them at the hospital. Seems like "six months" turned into three years after all, good for him!

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now, I hope you enjoyed the rambling. I hope this will reach some fans of the movie who would be excited to get a few more details!

[kanansdume]

Hello! Your pro-Jedi posts are so precious in mostly anti-Jedi rhetoric circulating around fandom and canon (sadly). So I wanted to ask: have you read a novel Ashoka by E.K.Johnson? If you haven’t, I hope you don’t mind some spoilers and a small rant.

I didn’t expect a lot while getting to it, but it still rubbed me wrong. Cannot remember specifically, but the general idea was ‘The Jedi were so trapped in the past and dogmatic, so they’re partially to blame for their downfall’. After reading lots of Jedi-defending meta, it just hurts.

One moment I remember most, though. After Ahsoka and Bail Organa save population of a small planet, occupied by the Empire, Bail calls her a Jedi.

Ahsoka: I’m no Jedi.

Bail: But you act like one.

And I’m just: yes! Yes, you do act like a Jedi! You meditate the Jedi way, you think the Jedi way – how come you’re not a Jedi? Only because you weren’t knighted? Meta-speaking, Kanan, Ezra and Luke also weren’t fully trained by the community, but they still are Jedi. Especially in a non-Jedi Imperial world. And non-Force-sensitive population in-universe won’t see the difference between a fully-trained Jedi Knight and an almost fully-trained Jedi Padawan – they’re still ‘Jedi’ to them.

I felt like this novel enforces the current idea that Ahsoka is better that ‘those stupid old dogmatic Jedi of the Prequels’. Sorry for the rant and thanks for reading.

Thank-you, I'm glad you've liked what I've managed to contribute to the pro Jedi fandom!

As for the Ahsoka novel, I haven't read it (but I don't mind spoilers since I don't ever plan to). I read like the first two thirds of Queen's Peril and then got bored and then I started hearing some pretty nasty things about E.K. Johnston and have refused to ever pick it back up again or ever read another of her books. So I'm not at all shocked that she's part of the Jedi critical crowd. It's even LESS shocking that it came out within the Ahsoka novel, just given the way Ahsoka as a character has been going for YEARS. It sounds like it's handling the issue in the same basic way a lot of people have done, nothing unique there.

If I'm willing to try to re-interpret the "I'm no Jedi" stuff into a more pro Jedi version, Ahsoka doesn't see herself as a Jedi because, unlike all of those other characters, Ahsoka LEFT the Order before it was destroyed and before she officially completed her training and never rejoined it. Kanan never left it at all, it was just destroyed around him (the same is true for Cal Kestis from the Jedi games). And he does TECHNICALLY get Knighted by Yoda during Rebels and takes on a Padawan, hallmarks of a Jedi Knight. Ezra and Luke never had an Order to join to begin with, so their willingness to identify themselves as Jedi isn't dependent on having officially joined the right organization so much as it is about having learned from someone else who identifies as a Jedi and being told their training is complete. Both Ezra and Luke kind-of reach that point with Kanan and Yoda, so they never question their identity as Jedi.

Ahsoka is in the VERY unique position of having not been a Jedi OFFICIALLY when the Order was destroyed, which leaves her in slightly more limbo than most others. She HAD the ability to rejoin it before it was destroyed, she just didn't, and now she has to kind-of move away from the idea of needing to be a part of the Order before she can call herself a real Jedi. She also never has a master tell her she's done with training. In both Kanan and Cal's cases, their masters died to protect them and so someone else (Yoda and Cere) has to step in to finish the job. For Ahsoka, her master is STILL ALIVE, he's just now a Sith and is trying to kill her. Nobody steps in to try to finish the job he started with Ahsoka (nor does Ahsoka really ever seem that open to it). This ALSO leaves her in a little bit of limbo in a way nobody else is.

So I'm generally willing to sort-of re-interpret her choosing not to identify as a Jedi within this context to make it less about feeling like she's better than all the other Jedi and more that she feels STUCK in how to get back to that identity in a way nobody else is. Just because she still meditates and tries to help people doesn't make her officially a Jedi when she intentionally left the Order for a reason. She chose to stop being a Jedi for a reason. In the Prequels Era, just being a kind Force sensitive person didn't make you a Jedi, so it works for me that Ahsoka would insist that she ISN'T one for a while, even when she looks a lot like one to an outside perspective. I could even see a more Jedi positive narrative taking the fact that she still acts and thinks like a Jedi in an interesting direction for her.

It's easier to utilize that interpretation in Rebels where Ahsoka is GENERALLY more positive about the Jedi and, despite not really identifying as one herself, she seems fine with getting lumped in as a Jedi along with Kanan and Ezra. She intentionally seeks Kanan and Ezra out for "Jedi stuff" once or twice during season 2. She ONLY brings out the "I'm no Jedi" line when Anakin throws the Jedi (and the fact that she'd left the Order) in her face during their confrontation before he's explicitly revealed to be Anakin (which means Ahsoka can still pretend he's NOT Anakin and be angry that this is the person who KILLED Anakin instead). She seems like she might be on the path towards becoming a Jedi again by following these two people who are slightly further ahead on that path than she is (and then she sees Anakin as Vader and she gets blown right off of that path all over again apparently). Ahsoka isn't the main character of Rebels and the entire narrative is about Ezra and Kanan coming together as teacher and student to become true Jedi by learning compassion and selflessness via sacrifice. Ahsoka can't overshadow or outshine the two main characters by making her seem BETTER than the two characters who are explicitly learning to become Jedi by emulating Prequels Jedi, which is helping her.

It's HARDER to utilize this interpretation within something like, say, the Ahsoka show, where it's absolutely clear that its take on the Jedi is NEGATIVE. Sabine calls herself a Jedi, other people call her a Jedi, but Ahsoka explicitly states that she doesn't want Sabine to be a Jedi AT ALL and never identifies as one herself. She calls the Jedi failures and implies that it's because they were elitist. She and Sabine constantly refuse to abide by Huyang's standard Jedi protocols and seem to see them as useless and old-fashioned. There isn't a SINGLE thing about the Jedi that is represented as positive in this show, which makes it decidedly difficult to pretend that Ahsoka is refusing to identify as a Jedi simply because she's in a particular emotional limbo about it that she needs to work out. Instead, Ahsoka refuses to identify as a Jedi because she associates being a Jedi with being an elitist asshole apparently and might only start reclaiming the title when she decides that she can sort-of... be a new kind of Jedi that's better than the old ones (not unlike what Baylan claims to be doing with Shin). It's DECIDEDLY anti Jedi in tone and I'm generally unwilling to try to rework the entire fucked up narrative of the show to try to pretend that it isn't. The Ahsoka show is an explicitly anti Jedi narrative and that's just... the facts of the matter. It sucks, but it's true. It's not worth me putting in any more work than that.

I haven't read the Ahsoka novel, so I don't know whether its tone is closer to Rebels or the Ahsoka show. If it feels to you closer to how the Ahsoka show landed, my advice would be to just purge it from your canon. That's the nice thing about Star Wars, you can pick and choose what's canon to you and what isn't. If it doesn't work for you, you can straight up pretend it doesn't exist. As far as I'm concerned, the Ahsoka show never happened. It's stupid and doesn't deserve to be considered within my canon. If, however, it feels closer to how Rebels ended up, my advice is to see if you can find some way to re-interpret some of the more Jedi critical pieces or just pretend THOSE parts don't exist and separate it out from the parts you DO enjoy.

[arthurdrakoni]

Flatland is an underrated classic that imagines life in a 2-D world. This is my review.

You’ll get a lot of answers when you ask when speculative fiction was born. Some will tell you that it began with Hugo Gernsback and the pulps. Others will say that it goes as far back as mythology and folklore. Personally, I go with those who say that it began with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, though I don’t discount earlier works such as Gulliver’s Travels or The Tempest. I say all of this because I’m taking us back to the 19th Century for today’s review. We’re going to review the classic novel Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott.

Imagine, if you will, a sheet of paper that is infinitely large and stretching to all sides. Now imagine that on this sheet of paper there are a series of geometric shapes, but instead of staying in place these shapes move about and have complex social lives. Welcome to Flatland, a world of only two dimensions. There is width and length, but there is no height or depth.

The book follows A. Square who is…well, he’s literally a two-dimensional square. He acts as our guide to the realm of Flatland and relates to use the ways of his countrymen and their doings. There are two main events that serve to completely change A. Square’s world view. The first is his contact with Lineland, a world of only one dimension, and the second is meeting a figure known as Lord Sphere. Lord Sphere claims to come from a strange world of three dimensions called Spaceland.

The book goes into great detail about how life works in a world with only two dimensions. For example, it is customary to meet someone by feeling them in order to determine their shape. It’s also considered polite to give directions to the way north when meeting a traveler on the road. Societal rank and job are determined by the number of sides that one has, with circles being at the top of things. Each successive generation gains an additional side, except for the low ranking isosceles triangles, though there are exceptions. Women, being incredibly sharp and pointy lines, have restrictions placed on them so that they can avoid constantly killing people by accident. We also learn much of the history of Flatland, such as why colors have been banned by the upper classes. There is some pretty great world building in this novel.

That having been said the fact the citizens of Flatland are all living geometric shapes does limit the amount of exploration that can go into their biology and physics. A. Square does hint at future explanations, but he decides that it will take up too much time and bore the reader. Or to put it another way, if you wonder how they eat and breathe and other science facts…well, I’m sure you all know the words to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme song. You’ll also notice that Flatland society bares more than a passing resemblance to the society of Victorian Britain. This is intentional, as Abbott intended for Flatland to be just as much a satire as a compelling story. For example, the class system of Flatland is rather absurd when given further scrutiny, but Abbott was making about about how the British class system was absurd and ultimately rather arbitrary.

Since it was written in 1884 Flatland has long since fallen into the Public Domain. As such, many other writer have tried their hand at tackling the subject matter Flatland is built upon. Usually they will focus on one particular aspect while ignoring the others. Admittedly I haven’t read any of these books, but of the ones I’ve heard of thanks to TV Tropes I’d say Planiverse sounds the most promising. It attempts to look at how biology, chemistry, physics and culture would function in a realistic 2-D world.

Have you read Flatland? If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-flatland-by-edwin-abbot.html?m=1

[streettealee]

Some thoughts

Morpheus is kind. I know a lot of folks say he isn’t or he is but only to those who matter, but... hear me out: he’s the personification of dreaming. He’s literally king of The Dreaming. And we see time and time again how kind he is. And how powerful.

I remember watching about the first half of the season - or, say, the very first few episodes - and thinking “wow, maybe some of these characters are right, dreams do seem pretty useless.” That’s where I realised, at first, the kindness. The kindness of a pleasant dream while you die in your sleep to ease a horrible suffering. The sort that perhaps not many understand. But it is still a kindness in the only way Morpheus can do. I thought he was still sort of weak then, but kind. He could do this for people. Give them peace and temporary joys.

Morpheus genuinely seems to mourn Lyta’s loss, as much as she and her accidental involvement in The Dreaming due to the vortex damaged his realm. Now, I haven’t read the comics or graphic novels, so I don’t know anything beyond Netflix’s first season so far. It is with regret that he has to send back the ghost of Lyta’s husband and tell her she could not come to The Dreaming pursuing a life in it anymore. In the moment, it feels horrible, but he lets her keep the baby, I think, as one last favour. The idea that he was cruel in stating the baby belonged to him because it was conceived in The Dreaming and that he would come for it (unknown when) is fair, and maybe it would be perceived as a twisted sort of kindness. And unless I’m mistaken, he did not specify when he would take the child. He may yet either change his mind or retrieve this child much later down the track after a full life (you can argue with me on this as I’m not entirely sure about any background lore or if I’m forgetting something from the episodes). But I consider this another demonstration of the kindness that he is allowed to show, that follows the rules of dreams.

As an aside, I think that’s pretty incredible, the way the writers were able to convey the subtlety of Dream’s power. There are rules, of course, that the Endless seem to follow, but also limitations for each of their purposes (Death can only deal in death, Dream only with dreams, Desire with desire, and so on). This has all probably been said before, I didn’t dig deep enough yet, but I still wanted to express my admiration and awe over all this.

Anyway, back to subtleties and power and small acts of kindness. It wasn’t until Morpheus, Dream, was facing down Lucifer Morningstar in Hell that I really understood his power. At first, I was very afraid for him, because I also did not see how Dream could win out against all that Hell represents, no matter if Dream also includes nightmares. (Honestly, the episode title ‘A Hope In Hell’ should have been a dead giveaway for me, but hush, I was thinking of a song by that title instead at the time.) Of course, there was Matthew’s kind of cheesy line that “dreams don’t fucking die”, and then Morpheus’ winning move against Lucifer was “hope” which is very much the essence of dreams that I really understood the level of his power. Hope is what persists, as is famously known to do so with teeth bare and knuckles bloody, and maybe it was simple but it really hit me then. There is a lot that can be done to crush hope, but look to yourself: even in the most hopeless points of your life, there are dreams. A dream of something better, something different, something else, something full of revenge maybe, something that is beautiful and soul-saving - whatever it is, I believe, there will always be that. There will always be a hope in hell. And I know I’m just spelling out the whole idea behind that episode, but the simple power of hope, and the kindness of dreams giving that hope to you - the kindness of Dream himself - is pretty fucking powerful.

Perhaps Morpheus was not always this way. We hear from many characters that he has changed since his containment. We hear often, too, that he is selfish. But there is so much commentary from others about who he is, what he’s like, his true ugly self and yet... all I see is kindness. The kindness, perhaps, that these otherworldly only know how to do. They do not know of human acts of kindness as they do not have the luxury of being human. But they understand a sort of mercy. And gentleness. We see many struggling to understand over the course of the show that the Endless only exist because of humans, and we see Morpheus learn this, and that is perhaps where he finds this deep respect that fosters his kinder side.

Nightmares are awful. But Dream removes those too for those who do not deserve the torture of them in the show. If I recall correctly, he does at one point address nightmares as being challenges that dreamers have to face to overcome their fears, and it is in that way he is trying to do them a favour. For he also works in revelations too, to aid in a dreamer’s understanding. But when a nightmare is focused on a trauma or horrible event, we see Morpheus provide comfort where he can and, in some cases, remove these nightmares. We can also see him alter people’s entire perspectives too, through various means, and again, I am just amazed at this subtle power. He does not have to use thunder and lightning like some god, he does not have to hold a knife to anyone’s neck, he does not have to speak very loud at all or deliver threats of dismemberment. No, he works in smaller ways. And I absolutely love that.

Look, I’ve only done one watch through over the course of three days. There’s probably a ton I’m missing and this is just the very on-the-nose, tip of the iceberg sort of thing. There’s probably stuff I’m forgetting, background things I don’t know, and overall, this is probably just a very basic look at obvious key themes. Whatever. The point of this was to express my excitement and enthusiasm for this new discovery I’ve made. I think this show is brilliant in so many ways. Morpheus is a fascinating character. I have a feeling him and this story will be on my mind for a while.