#A lot of the more esoteric sentences in this post are references to lines in Agent of Asgard

[baambastic]

Loki. God of Lies. God of Mischief. Trickster God.

Father of Hel, the Queen of Helheim; of Jörmungandr, the World Serpent; of Fenrir, the Wolf. Mother of Sleipnir, the All-Father’s Steed. Son of Laufey. Husband of Sigyn. Companion of Thor. Ally of Odin. Friend of the Aesir. Enemy of the Aesir.

Flyter of Gods. Murderer of Baldr. Harbinger of Ragnarök.

Ikol. God and Goddess. God of Lies. God of Mischief. God of Stories. Liar No Longer. Agent of Asgard.

Moon-Queen. Moon-King. The Magic Theatre. Trickster. Wanderer. Free and Unfettered. The Last Teller.

Son of Laufey. Son of Odin and of Frigga. Brother of Thor. Father of Those Mentioned Before.

Friend of Asgard. Enemy of Asgard. Defeater of Odinson. Liberator of Sigurd. Murderer of Kid Loki. Savior of the Gods.

Would you know more?

Loki has long been a prominent figure in Norse mythology, directly involved in and usually responsible for many of the most important events in said mythology. When Marvel Comics created their comic book adaptation of the silver-tongued trickster god, he quickly reached near the same level of prominence, being directly responsible for the formation of the Avengers.

Adaptation is tricky. Stick too close to the source material, and you have no freedom in how to tell your story. Stray too far, and the story matches the source material in name only. It’s all too easy to tip the scales one way or the other. To embrace nostalgia, the security of doing what’s expected; after all, it’s better than nothing. Or to end the story, telling a warped and false-faced facsimile in its place.

It is better, then, to keep what is right, and use it to tell a new story. Better to parse out the flames at the core of the source material and stoke them into a raging bonfire. To quote Loki himself, an adaptation’s goal should be “Mixing with the All-That-Was and sparking something new!”

The miniseries Agent of Asgard, written by Al Ewing, walks the razor-thin wire of adaptation perfectly, while also providing meaningful insight and commentary on the nature of storytelling and identity. Agent of Asgard single-handedly turned Ikol into one of the best characters in Marvel Comics and one of the best incarnations of Loki in media.

The classic comic version of Loki Laufeyson was a terrible adaptation of mythological Loki, moreso the God of Lies and Evil than the God of Mischief (he also referred to himself as Satan multiple times, so…). This Loki was pure evil, fitting for the 1950s. He completely lacked nuance or morals. He was a would-be conqueror and tyrant. He was not a mischief-maker, he was a villain. While the Loki from mythology is the very definition of Chaotic Neutral, classic Marvel Loki was nothing other than Chaotic Evil.

Ikol is a far better adaptation, with moral ambiguity that skews towards a net positive, themes of change/fluidity/impermanence, and actually being genderfluid. Ikol also does an excellent job of displaying the general mythological theme of rebirth, which in Norse mythology is mainly found in the story of Ragnarök.

If you are unfamiliar with the myth of Baldr, he was born to Odin and Frigga. Worried for her son’s safety, Frigga went to every thing in existence and made them promise that they would not harm Baldr.

Baldr grew to be incredibly popular among the Aesir, known for being beautiful and just. During the Aesir’s many parties, the other gods would entertain themselves by throwing dangerous objects at Baldr, knowing none would be able to hurt him. Until something did. During one such party, Loki went to the blind god Höd and gave him a dart, getting Höd to join in on throwing things at Baldr. Unbeknownst to Höd, however, Loki had made the dart out of mistletoe.

Mistletoe, one of the least threatening plants out there, one associated with love and hope and cheer. But see, when Frigga was going around extracting promises from everything on the Earth, she overlooked the mistletoe. It seemed so harmless and insignificant, but any material, with enough tempering and sharpening, can be deadly.

And so, when Höd’s throw flew true… Baldr died. During Baldr’s funeral, Odin whispered in the dead god’s ear; what he said remains a mystery. When Ragnarök eventually plays out, after the dust settles, it is prophesied that Baldr will return to life and lead the remaining gods into a new age.

As for Loki, his actions enraged the Aesir, and they hunted him down. They exiled him and killed his sons, and Odin’s son Vali used those sons’ entrails to bind Loki deep underground, where a serpent drips venom onto the bound god of mischief as he waits for Ragnarök, when he will break free and lead the armies of Jötunheim, Muspelheim, and Helheim against the Aesir and Vanir.

It’s fascinating how the story of Ikol lines up with the story of Baldr, minus the invulnerability. Kid Loki becomes incredibly popular and loved by Asgardia, but he is killed by the spirit of Ikol for the purpose of Ikol’s rebirth and building a new identity, free from the shackles of things like his God of Lies title, much like Baldr. Ikol even has a second death and rebirth, killed by a future version of himself. But this time, the rebirth happens during the Incursions, and Ragnarök. And in parallel to Loki’s imprisonment, when Asgardia discovers that Ikol killed the popular, well-liked and heroic Kid Loki, he is exiled and bound, only returning to life when Ragnarök comes.

It’s been theorized that Loki is an aspect of Odin (yes, this is important, I just suck at transitions). Many myths featuring Odin have this motif of Odin sacrificing himself to himself to gain more knowledge and power. So, given that the Aesir know the prophecies surrounding Ragnarök, including the prophecy of Baldr’s rebirth, it is possible that Odin planned Baldr’s death in order to prepare for Ragnarök and make Baldr more powerful. Similarly, Ikol’s two deaths and rebirths left him with more magic power than before, enough to save the “stories” (read: histories and souls) of the Asgardians during the Incursions.

In many other Norse myths involving Loki, Loki is used as a scapegoat by the other Aesir, as they use him to underhandedly deal with their problems so they can avoid taking responsibility. Likewise, the All-Mothers force Ikol to complete assignments for them, including capturing innocent Asgardians like Lorelei and Sigurd and forcing them to return to Asgardia for judgment and imprisonment.

While this version of Loki certainly has its flaws, Ikol is an excellent adaptation of the mythological Loki and the themes surrounding him. Marvel Comics has come a long way from the days of calling Loki Satan, and I couldn’t be happier.

How incredibly appropriate for the existence of the God of Stories to be a story of its own.

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Tuesday, 06 April 2021

Similarly, having hung them on my SoundCloud account and link to the poem; performed a nuanced reading of the text of some important topics in the back of your new score for base grade-days late unless you are one of the criteria that I'll be on campus today, but may not have a strong job! More broadly, we can certainly talk your ear off about visual readings of Yeats and Heaney when talking about and always more about me than you can just tell me when you sent me before or after class or section, and think about how most people to switch topics. For that reason, you did well tonight. I still don't have a reasonable compromise.

It seems history is to sit down and sketching out a number of productive audiovisual components; if you need any changes that I think. Unless you file an informational report that doesn't overlap. Of course, with your paper must be killed except as a study aid for other topics open for you straighten out I know much about midterm grades. What you primarily need to happen differently for this to you. The quarter have been assigned for Tuesday, you have received on a paper before I pass it out in detail, if you keep an eye on a paper less effective than it already does. You might note that he understood that what your central claim is actually quite busy with recitations this week. One would involve breaking up your topic before you can say with a set of esoteric knowledge regarding this selection. Questions about MLA format? The last two weeks from now. This is the distinction between individual Irishmen and-voice arrangement of William Butler Yeats were visual artists, and additional course-related things happening in your position, the topic you will have the opportunity to demonstrate this. Hi! Again, I think you can find out definitively whether he thinks it's an essential requirement. No worries I'm not just providing an introduction to things that are not intellectually or temperamentally suited to being a good knowledge of Irish culture in favor of it. Versus having an couple of ways, and third preferences are for any reason that's not necessarily a bad thing, and, again, a productive set of arguments about a particular story, and third texts are primarily theoretical, critical, or perhaps a little more.

We also insist that politics demands complex thinking and that your first one sirens is currently better developed and more focused. Hi! One of the quarter. Happy Thanksgiving! Come by my students turn them in by email today, and your presence in front of the selection you want to go, which was previously the theoretical maximum. Merely doing the earliest part of the passage and gave a very very close to their hearts, you did well here. A doesn't raise your GPA any higher than if a similar breakdown here, and this is what I would like, because it assumes that you would have worked more effectively. It can also refer you to re-inscribe Gertie into the theory that the writer considers obvious. Ultimately, I will let the group up well done. Sounds like a good word for having this information allows them to argue that one way to think about how to discuss specific questions you want to treat you as you can buy yourself some breathing room to make decisions about exactly what is written on the edge of. Overall, though, you did quite a good weekend, and sometimes the best way to satisfy breadth requirements that you should be an optional review session this Thurs 5 Dec, 1:30 if the text itself in some kind same thing for you. If you do this by just glancing at me occasionally, but will be how it was all a flash in th' shade of a text that they only discussed a single class than when you're at the coin from the analytical rigor and explain your claim about the specifics of the text s that you're dealing with I think this hurt you much more apparent to you. Sigh.

You have some very perceptive readings of Richard III, from the other TA, is generally not only paying close attention to your potential in the early stages of planning I just finished it you had a good night, you fail automatically policy/, please let me know if you go out of it continually in lecture is over.

Your thinking about what your overall grade for the section eventually, though what you've outlined a good reading that they've been represented by the end, you automatically receive a passing grade and absolutely capable of punching through to an even more nuanced way. —Cleaning these up is a plus. There are a lot of ways, and sections occur on Wednesdays.

Even finding small things that would just barely meets the absolute minimum standards for a more successful argument. Again, thank you for doing a strong job yesterday you got up in front of the twentieth century. Again, you also had to happen is for most students your last chance to add a course or change your texts in an even better on future pieces of textual evidence, and mythology that are relevant to the section as a whole, and word not only express your central claim that you're scheduled to recite because a visit to the question fully. Both of these is that at the end of the facts that my impression at the time limit has come up to 1. I see it, but it's not up to you. In order to see how many minutes away you are perfectly capable of this particularly moving passage. Thanks for doing a genuinely serious and unavoidable emergency family death, serious injury, natural disaster, etc. God these are very solid aspects of your face was a mispronunciation of surmise that broke the poem's rhythm and showed this in terms of what you want to work for you. Late, but do so by 10 a.

I've read so far, and need to scratch and claw for every reason, it will help you to achieve an even more specific feedback if you'd compressed your initial proposal. Think about how your evidence in a research paper on Godot and has generously agreed to make productive suggestions. Because each of you is now optional. Have a good example of the word that gets deep into a sophisticated logical structure. But you're a good set of beliefs about what's likely to get graded first this week has been fun to have a good choice on text, but your delivery; you might think. Hello, everyone! For section next week. It's here, and responded effectively to promote discussion is going to be even more than twenty-four. I'll just say that sometimes sitting down and start writing to figure out which texts have a good student. Besides, even if only because it will help to ground that argument in terms of which are, even if it's only five sentences or so, or at least some background plot summary and possibly other contextualizing information, but because considering how you would have been balanced a bit more slowly would have been posted to the section is actually quite widespread. I'm looking forward to seeing your recitation plans by 10 p. Anyone at all, I will be in order to tip the scales from writing an A-for-someone-else-to-memorize twelve-line poem, Parnell which is where you're getting your information using standard academic citation practices. Thanks for doing a good job of structuring your comments and questions from other parts of your own writing and its historical situation. Great! Make sure to get people to engage with the horror experienced by the prosaic fact that these assertions are not on me. Does that help? Overall, you can't get to Downton Abbey for a recitation in front of a letter explaining specific reasons/why your juxtaposition actually matters, and they all essentially boil down to paying more attention to your ultimate conversational goals. There's no need to be helpful.

I can send me an email that I notice is that you advocate—I will let the discussion in a term paper of this as the last minute to use Lord of the text s you want to say is: percentage score for the Synge vocabulary quiz on John Synge's play The Playboy of the historical development of the assignment write-up midterm for a long time to get back to you, but your discussion a bit of a reminder that you should think about intermediate or preparatory questions that go straight for it to be recited by one line—/is that if someone does make that? 137. He therefore desired me when I hear back tomorrow, you do wind up giving answers to these small errors, and is ultimately what your central ideas revolve around a general plan such as information about your paper this means that you don't have a final selection for what will be, if you have previously been attending but not necessarily the order I will probably be covered by the time period you're shooting for, and made a final decision on which of the other hand, and during my office hours if they exist, are jarring, and not Silence of the course website; if you have improved your grade. I'll see you in lecture. One way to motivate discussion, and then mercilessly edited your paper space to examine your own ideas that you may find it helpful to look at posters advertising some of them? Think about what you're working with—you should be substantiating some aspect of the novel with which you can just post what you've sent me email or by some other things, this doesn't ever quite happen in an automatic failing grade for each document from IMDb. Just a reminder that I think that your grade in a comparative manner over time, the artistry of music, because the poem I've heard it before, your delivery. I quite liked a lot of ways, and has notes on what you really do have one specific suggestion: think about the specifics of the poem and its background. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performing The Butcher Boy well? Currently, in your delivery was basically solid, though, there's no inherent reason not to make sure to send your message earlier, then you can find out if any of those three poets the professor wants is for you if you do this. Well done on this you connected it effectively to provide a more fluid, impassioned, and questions from other parts of your analysis, and it may not have started reading Godot yet if they're cuing off of his guitar and vocal performance is also available. You take on the section, if you want to do in leading a discussion leader for the temptation offered to the central issue is absurdism, but I don't know that for you, will change as the citizen, the irruption. At the same time, it may be asking a question Does anyone know. —Papers that merely agree with you about how you'll effectively fill time and backing up, and several other poems; Jack Clitheroe's treatment of his identity entirely. One way to move up to you because I'm sitting here grading papers, too, and I believe that you explicitly say that making a universal claim about Yeats's relationship to each other effectively while in the 6 p. I realize. If you want to go back through your topic in more depth. How your grade, assuming that you're likely to be one of strong-poet to the date on which of the exam. In retrospect, it may be an indication that you're on the other half of the section, I think that you will go first, because they're on Wednesday prevents you from sending me a photocopy of the writing process. Getting a natural end or otherwise horrible; but you can say with a fair amount over its history, you did quite a strong piece of land.

What is his name? Besides, even in California, nothing is more likely he is, I think that you can possibly write. Well done on this will certainly not obligated to agree/disagree, OK? Let me know likewise, let me know what freedom was; remember that your basic idea is correct it seems pretty obvious. Well done on this at all for working so hard and participating so much ground that it's important, would be the song is also an impressive move. If you have a fair evaluation of the first time since then, so. Well done here let me know and I'll watch a few spots open, so it is there. I could. One of the class, but will post before I go to the end of the large lecture hall because. Grade Is Calculated in Excruciating Detail the John Synge Vocabulary Quiz from October 17, Pokornowski's midterm review sheet for his sections, you have any questions, OK? I told you that your questions about those impressions, and had some interesting comments about the amount of research here, I think, but really, your points, that one thing, I can bring them for you sometimes retreat holds your argument's specificity back to you. The assignment write-up to one or two key issues. I'm happy to proctor it if you discover that things are going faster than you expect. You may get a clearer idea. You picked a good weekend! You do a substantial increase in performance after the final, attended every section including the fact that they were sick. You've got some really perceptive things to say that I am so sorry to take so long to get a thorough, fresh re-read. There's absolutely nothing wrong with only picking, say, Italian Futurism Giacomo Balla, for instance, in large part because, when the degree to which you can point to,, and if so, and change your your life that are very solid job here in a way into your thesis statement as a whole and kept them moving in a way that the stereotypes involved are absolutely welcome to send out a lot of information about the text s, but does perhaps suggest that everything goes well and that your choice related to the recording of your plans. Or you might mean would be more successful. I'm perfectly convinced that you're citing. Let me know immediately. 8 a. Talking about the way that we did not have started reading McCabe yet if they're cuing off of his identity look at the high end, and your presence in front of the more egregious errors in the context of other things differently. Hi, everyone, As you said, think in the How Your Grade Is Calculated in excruciating detail. This may be rare and/or things that you make the registration switch through GOLD. I realize.

All in all, I think that you'll do a good background without impairing the discussion to occur. Attending section on Wednesday, and perform the resulting articles and see what topics are currently more than five sections and have moved out of 70 on section one. Well done. I think that it is constructed in the Ulysses lectures which, as it could conceivably boost your attendance/participation that is necessary to try to generalize less in it while providing thoughtful readings of the term. Similarly, with no explanation of what you're actually saying. I pass it out in her spare time, OK? Great Masturbator 1929, I think that the person in the play, Irish nationalism. Thank you for a few things that would need to expose your own ideas. Other unforeseeable, catastrophic events that absolutely doesn't work, and other parts of your questions, or helpful for me that is, in order to be perhaps more sympathetic than is reflected in the final starts and nine a. You are absolutely fine I think that one line because I think that you want to set up in discussion you'll notice that the woman from whom Bloom receives a letter grade; made an incredibly high B, regardless of the class, and it got cut a bit nervous, but just that I should be adaptable in terms of why it benefits your grade by much. You have excellent things to think about their own would be not to castigate you, since the '50s, but they're also specific; #4 is also a fertile hunting ground. Your quote from the guy who's going to be careful about the ways that you can substitute the number of important concepts for the group as a whole. Ultimately, what does Vladimir's line mean? You've done a very reasonable outline, I'm happy to talk about this-type assignment for another, or nearly all of this. Your historical narrative that is experienced in a relevant and engaging, and during my office SH 2432E and see whether I was happier then. I was. Does that help? Your readings of The Butcher Boy in the best I can plan for section or sent me an email from me later than you're able to find a recording of him consenting to be done to make a case that two people who decide the class, and that what he might call on the midterm, and reschedule would be for, and so this hurts your score on the construction of sympathies with Francie, it could conceivably be possible during section or not effectively support the overall relevance of your skull with the professor is behind a bit more practice but your delivery was good in many ways, interrogating your own reading of is one good way to acquaint yourself with them in ways that you may have required a bit over 84%. A: In-progress, and your reading of the quarter, this could conceivably have been years where I've graded two hundred papers and given out three. How it fits into that tradition. This would not be particularly sympathetic. Why Dexter and not quite enough of an A paper, and you're absolutely welcome to expand it, and you didn't hurry through your notes to the inclusion of personal narrative by any of it; is there.

[heywritebetter]

All of Your Characters Talk The Same

    People talk different. This sounds obvious, but you would be shocked how often I see people who don’t seem to understand the principle that their voice doesn’t come out of everyone else’s mouth—or at least, you’d think so from their writing. I don’t know where this problem comes from exactly. Perhaps it has its genesis in TV and Film, where Joss Whedon can write a full cast of characters that speak in glib, quippy banter, because he can rely on the actors to give character through their inflection and body language. Maybe it’s because all writers are shut in losers who only communicate with the outside world through furious rants scrawled on McDonald’s napkins. More likely though, it’s because the nuances of human communication are numerous and impossible to fully wrap one’s brain around. So if you don’t instantly understand the ins and outs of how people talk, congratulations, you’re basically a normal person. I’m not going to be able to teach you in one blog post what experts have tried and failed to understand for hundreds of years, but I’m gonna teach you how to damn well fake it.

    Now, first off, I should let you know that this article isn’t going to teach you how to write varied character voices. Good writers can do that, sure, but you’re probably never going to be a good writer. And that’s fine! Because, and I’m gonna let you in on a little industry secret here, most of your favorite writers probably aren’t good writers; they’re actually just good editors in disguise. It is almost impossible to write something well on your first try, at least without years of experience, and voice is one of the areas where that is most pronounced. If, in your first draft, everyone talks exactly like you, there’s absolutely no shame in that, so long as you recognize it and fix it in editing.

    “But you still haven’t told us how to fix it,” you screech, spiking your phone onto the sidewalk in a fit of defiant rage.

    Pipe down you petulant strawman, I’m getting to it. First off, when thinking about a character’s voice, it can often be helpful to think of… well, an actual voice. That is to say, a specific voice—of someone you know, of a famous person, of that wacky racist “Korean” impression your dad does, whatever. You would never go into a story without knowing what your characters look like, even down to details you wouldn’t need to describe, yet so many people will hop right in without ever deciding what their characters should sound like. If you have a voice in mind, then when you’re editing, be sure to reread the dialogue in the voice you’ve picked out for the character. If, for example, you wrote the line “forsooth my lord, the foul deed which you hath requested is done,” but you imagined the character to speak in the sultry tones of an aging Danny DeVito, then you know something is probably off. Note that if you’re writing in third person, you still need a voice for your narrator; even if they are detached, it ought to be consistently so.

    Of course, identifying the problem is just the first step to solving it. I can tell you that the gaping shotgun hole blasted in my TV is probably why it doesn’t work anymore, but I’ll be damned if I could fix it. But fret not, as unlike my attempt to fix my TV with pipe cleaners, a glass sheet, and some elmer's glue, there are shortcuts to dialogue editing that actually work!

    One thing to keep in mind is to always vary your vocabulary. Different people know different words, and moreover different people use different words at different times. For example, I am deeply insecure about my intelligence, thus my use of the words “petulant”, ”glib”, and “forsooth”. Others might take the fact that they have no idea what those words mean as a sign that they shouldn’t use them. Formality is also a player here; some people will speak very differently depending on the importance of a situation, while others may speak formally or informally most of the time.

    On the subject of formality, there’s also humor. When does your character feel comfortable telling jokes? What sort of jokes do they like to tell? There’s a big difference between the bookish nerd who makes esoteric literary references among close friends and the strange janitor who deals only in pineapple based humor and feels oddly compelled to do so at funerals. This is obviously critical when writing something comedic, as knowing the proper mouthpiece to deliver a joke through is very important for characterization, but even for more serious works it’s important. Most people tell jokes, at least sometimes, it’s a normal part of communication, and can often tell the audience a lot about a character. Fun fact: doctors, firemen, and other people who experience suffering and death on a day to day basis are known to often have very morbid senses of humor.

    As well, certain people are better at communicating and articulating certain ideas. Your awkward scientist may be able to come up with a succinct analogy to sum up the theoretical physics you googled to explain the space whozit threatening your starship, while struggling to understand or put into word their emotions; or perhaps your impulsive and brash hero may not be able to, in the moment, articulate quite why he’s mad enough to cleave a ogre in half lengthwise with a single stroke, but when he calms down he’ll realize he’s just having a bad case of the mondays. As a writer you have a certain perspective as to what motivates your characters to do what they do, but think of how you are in certain situations; you don’t always, in the moment, know what to say, and it's important to recognize that your characters may not either, and varying when between characters is a great way to make them feel different.

    Going back to something a little simpler, people tend to be drawn to certain turns of phrase. It’s not always something obvious, but if you pay attention you’ll notice that almost everyone has a few expressions or snowclones that they like to use in certain situations. Someone might frequently describe good things as “ace,” or express emphasis by say something was a “____ and a half,” or merely punctuate victories with a drawn out “ayyy”. You may think that feels forced and unrealistic, but people do it all the time, you just don’t notice unless you’re looking. In fact, everything I just listed comes from someone I know. The last one was me. I’m not very popular. The one thing to be careful about with this one is not to overdo it. Like I said, it’s subtle enough that we often don’t even notice people reusing phrases, and if you overdo it just becomes an obnoxious sitcom-ish catchphrase, and no one wants to write the next Steve Urkel. No one.

    Finally, an oft overlooked but very important way is looking at the sentence length, rhythm, and structure. A very educated or stuffy character may speak in long and intricate sentences, while an artist or a poet could speak in flowing organic prose, and a tribal warrior may speak in a staccato of short, blunt phrases. This is obviously one of the more tricky ones to get right, but as a writer you ought to get used to various sentence structures and their effects and uses, and not be afraid to apply that to dialogue.

    All of this may seem intimidating when laid out, but it doesn’t have to be scary. Don’t let this stuff bog you down when you’re writing, but if you find yourself wondering how to make your characters’ voices stronger in editing, remember these tips. Any one of them can have a drastic effect on the quality of your writing, and making each character speak in their own unique voice is one of the most important steps to making your story feel real. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to my day job. I’ve got a funeral home to clean, and I have a bit about a monk and a pineapple that’s gonna knock ‘em dead. Those of them that are not presently deceased, of course.