#i think my hoes are symbolism and imagery

[salemoleander]

Descended on by horde of zombies, killed, flew back with my newly-constructed emergency kit, died AGAIN to my own sword

This is what I get for naming it that, I guess

[perexcri]

for the writing ask: 1, 13, 19, 40 :)))

AHHH hello Lark!! :D

i just answered #1 here!! i would add more but. i honestly have no more to say lol

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

oooh i just answered this one here too, but i have some more i can add!!

for difficult subject matters to write, i also have a very hard time writing about illness. this is again because of personal/family matters, but yeah. i'm not sure i could even do a sick fic (except for like one idea i have, but it's far removed enough from the usual context for me to be able to handle it)

easy to write? in a weird way, apocalypse/end of the world scenarios! this is partially because of the part of the country i grew up in and how the end of the world is something that is often talked about with glee, so there's already just this desensitization to it. but i also just like how,,,symbolic the end of the world can be? like not necessarily The End, but sometimes, the end of the world can be just having a bad day, right? i like the flexibility of the term and how it can be explored

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

ooooh ok, i think i have a fun one for how this started!

so in another ask a while ago, i had mentioned i'd started writing stories particularly after a difficult time my family went through. so now i'll talk about poetry!

i started writing poetry because of a church camp. no seriously. it was a kids camp between my 5th and 6th grade years of school, and the theme was the arts, so me and all of my schoolmates went to this camp, and all of us had gotten super into manga and drawing in that style the previous school year, so all of us had signed up for the visual arts section of the camp, of course. well basically every single one of my schoolmates who attended the camp got into that one except for me! i ended up in the poetry and cooking section despite not wanting to bother with either, and i was lowkey miserable! i remember feeling crushed because i didn't get to do drawing for that week, but also because i wasn't gonna be with any of my friends, and as an incredibly shy person, that was absolutely distressing

but as i started working on the poetry stuff, i actually (begrudgingly) came to like it? my final piece for the camp was an acrostic which was Not Good by any means, but i was like 11, and i'd never written poetry before, so why would it be good, right? anyways, after that i started exploring poetry more as a way for me to get my emotions out, and i even competed in poetry in this art competition my church's denomination runs at the national level, and i submitted a few poems to students journals when i was in high school. i haven't done much with it since, but i still write it and try to make time with it when i need to get my feelings out (i even went to the beach to write one today!) so...yeah. funny how things happen, right?

speaking of poetry...

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

you served me well with your sappho poem, so i tried my best to find one from my favorite poetry collection book i've had since my freshman year of high school :'D i just liked the imagery of this one and how relaxing it is, so i hope you enjoy it, too!

"Let Evening Come" by Jane Kenyon

Let the light of late afternoon

shine through chinks in the barn, moving   

up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing   

as a woman takes up her needles   

and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned   

in long grass. Let the stars appear

and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.   

Let the wind die down. Let the shed   

go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop   

in the oats, to air in the lung   

let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don’t   

be afraid. God does not leave us   

comfortless, so let evening come.

thanks for the ask my friend!! i hope you are doing well :] 💜

[afro-elf]

Can you elaborate on antisemitism within Dracula and such? I love vampires in media but I can’t continue to enjoy them if I feel they are blatantly antisemetic.

disclaimer! i am not a jewish person, i just have a ba in english and have written and read about vampires a lot, specifically i’ve written and read about dracula like four times in my academic career because every time i read that book i find something new to talk about. if you want actual answers about antisemitism you need to ask a (willing! do not use marginalized people as google) jewish person, they are the experts on their own persecution and i have merely read books and watched documentaries and spoken to people about it

i’m not gonna tell you to cut vampires cold turkey because that doesn’t feel especially nuanced and vampires are their own genre with a variety of lore, tropes, visuals, and what-not to choose from and i think it would be disrespectful to any jewish creators who have created vampire media (what we do in the shadows) to say “throw the whole thing out!”. just like how i would never tell you to completely stop consuming cosmic horror because the architect of the genre had worms for brains since there’s like a huge movement of writers of color and/or jewish writers and/or irish writers taking worms for brains’s ideas and making them good and not shitty. everyone knows i’m a slut for vampires, right? what’s not to love? however, the complicated thing about horror is that it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. most monsters are never just monsters but representations of something else whether it be a fear, a concept, or a people group. monsters, in the hands of the white horror “masters” often just meant anyone who wasn’t a straight white man, and in dracula that’s especially emphasized

in my thesis project which was mostly on jordan peele’s masterpiece get out, i asserted that the vampire, because it’s an idea that has existed in some form in cultures scattered throughout history, can represent different things at different times. just as zombies or cannibalistic monsters can represent everything from lust to capitalism to the poor, vampires can represent everything from lust to capitalism to the jewish people. vampires, in the hands of the antisemite, are especially violent symbols because often vampires are seen feeding off of innocent white women clothed in white living in civilized white western cities and towns or innocent white children clothed in white living in civilized white western cities and towns and well.... that’s blood libel

this is, like, a broad oversimplification of my own months of research and analysis work but stoker specifically ran right into antisemitism with the portion about dracula coming from transylvania to britain to kill a bunch of white hoes and “spread the vampire curse” when quite a few of the immigrants to britain at the time from that region were jewish folk fleeing pogroms. stoker also has it so that when she’s turned, sweet innocent white queen lucy’s hair turns dark and her eyes look like the devil’s and also there’s the fact that christian imagery repels dracula like there’s a lot to unpack here but basically what you need to know is that while stoker gave the vampire genre a lot to work with, so much of the imagery in his novel is, um, gross at best  and built from victorian racial science and fear of the other and the fact that it became the standard for what we know as the modern vampire is uncomfortable but necessary to recognize so that we can figure out what to do about it

basically, we have to ask ourselves re: monsters, what is this text emphasizing about this monster? what makes this monster monstrous exactly? it’s what you have to ask about king kong and evil aliens with “dreads” and the hillbilly cannibal trope like you have to ask “WHY is this scary?”. you might not like the answer most days, but that’s okay because if you’re a writer like me you can attempt to re-wire these monsters to be powerful, subversive, and respectful to those who have historically been disrespected by horror. like it is possible to create a vampire that isn’t an antisemitic stereotype but it takes a lot of research, honest questions, hard work, and research

[aleng-neng]

Thank you for the tag @lelephantsnail !

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨

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There is a theme for most of these and it is songs that would be a perfect soundtrack for a WinTeam AMV. Most of these have water, ocean, rain, storm, and drowning imagery.

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1. Aquaman by Walk The Moon

"Just keep holding on, holding on to me,

Under, under the troubled surface of the sea"

Walk the Moon wrote this about Win helping Team with his nightmares.

"Head first, into the water

And so it hits me—I guess we could breathe all along

One breath after another

All I know is I wanna be here with you from now on"

WinTeam smiling, delighted by each other, in love, and being each other's breathing room and resting place. Uhhh I'm weeping.

Extra: Avalanche by Walk The Moon is a DeanPharm song.

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2. Ambon by Barbie Almabis (Tran. Light Rain)

"How do you make a storm stop

When all you want is light rain?"

(Trans. mine)

On the surface level, it makes me think of PhayuRain because of the storm/rain imagery.

The storm and rain are the symbols of the strength of the affection the lovers have for one another. One of them has fallen deeper (a raging storm) in contrast to the supposedly more casual and temporary liking the other one has (just a light rain).

It's a WinTeam song for me because, in my interpretation of them, there is uncertainty on how strong and how much do they actually feel for each other. With both of them thinking they're the storm 😭

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3. Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish

That one WinTeam AMV set to this song has been replayed too many times to count.

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4. Beside by Louis Thanawin

This song is a bop. This has nothing to do with WinTeam but everything to do with the fact that there is no NeoLouis project lined up next year. After, they put me on my knees with KanThua? Ouch. Give me some time, then I'll get right on celebrating Neo's incoming hoe era.

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5. Gunjou by Yoasobi

Just a little energizer song to give me the boost I need to open my laptop and type one (1) word.

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Tagging @wherelanguage-ends @litalover @quiettalker14 @sunhangsang @pranfying @lgbtedit @nia26 @bisexualbard @fiftyshots

[muggycuphead]

weird flex but ok i guess pt.23

22

War… Hold up, do we really need a warning for this one? Dunno, but however, watch out for slightly disturbing and kinda…disgusting imagery, trypophobic patterns, as well as ‘necrotic’ (and dark themed) designs I made while having funky fever bc o h m y g o d do I get a little crazier every new quarantine day (and at this point it’s coming to be an usual thing for me, big sad). However, most are made no other than for the sole sake of satire, so y’know, no need to get your underwear in a twist

Friday Night Funkin’ BoyFriend’s Hood – AU fanconcept sketches [XX]

EDIT 16/11/2023: Updated the drawing with a rescanned, more clean version

1.- Miss Luzbell

Daddy Dearest’s ex-wife in BF’sH, as well as Stephano and Bruce’s biological mother

If y’all couldn’t tell my burning passion for making strange, very detailed character designs, this shall b enough to convince you about it

She’s supposed to be a goth gospel singer by the way…and she’s a gargoyle

Her design, however, was real fun to make, especially her moon scythe (just noticed afterwards that I snuck a low-key Zardy reference, woo)

2.- Bruce

Stephano’s brother, and GF’s half-brother

And when I say ‘obscure’, I’m not saying he’s the edgiest of all characters (after his mom of course), but that he’s the least lore-wise appearing character; technically I just did his design out of spite lol

However, unlike his mild brother, he has no ill feelings against GF; heck, he himself knows their mother was the one that peaced out with no care and just left them at their luck with their dad…he still messes around with GF every so and then though.

3.- Shape!BoyFriend/Major B (BlueFriend) and Shape!Lil B/Minor B (Light BlueFriend)

Funny rhythm game mashup go bzzz

Beyond this point all I did was filler stuff…just for fun c:

Used the symbol on BF’s jacket for this one, both for the big and the small boi

Light BluF do be looking cute tho

4.- Shape!Stephano (Octephano)

Close to me but the Godfather walked in

Way to say Stephano’s design was indirectly/slightly inspired in my AU fandesign of Cube, don’tcha think-

5.- Shape!GirlFriend/High G (PinkFriend) and Shape!Miss G/Low G (Light PinkFriend)

Demon hoe and demon child

Before you ask, I went with my fancanon for this one (pink shapes can be with paradise shapes as long as they’re ‘purified’ with any light-source magic –aka triangles), hence why she’s wearing a triangle –BluF also has one by the way, basically it’s his mic

6.- Shape!Pico (HexaPico)

go pico ye ye

Idk what colour he’d be exactly, maybe a mix between orange and green (orange being the predominant color since y’know)

Also his hands can shapeshift into guns as long as he has the weapons’ config stored in his database (in this case, his right arm being the assault rifle, and the left one being his uzi)

7.- Nostalgic BoyFriend

Sad boi

Basically happening after the GF-got-stolen event

8.- Simplified Style! Stephano

This is a FNF ‘artstyle’ concept I though of not too long that’s basically like combining but bad with Minus and taking away all color paletes, having the lineart to be the only colorful part of the sprite (mostly being the color of the icon the character has)

Also, finally got to draw his revolver thing, even if it was low-key

9.- Heart thing…?

Was meant to be Stephano’s signature symbol or something, but I don’t know at this point

10.- Simplified Style! BoyFriend

Back at it again with the simplifications

And yeah in my interpretation, simplify!BF has a transparent cap, don’t ask

11.- Blood Moon

Random sketch

Looks like a fusion between Whore of Babylon and Spirit of the Night (TBOI) but that might be just me

12.- Shape!Arzeus (TriArzeus)

Inverted triangle bad

I can’t help but think that, in order to possess Broddy, he would have had to do it blixer style (headstab)

24

[woeisme-iamwoe]

an absolutely massive Haikyuu!! fic rec pt. 1

I went through my entire ao3 history because I’m insane, AND here’s my favorites. (There’s not a lot of aus because I’m not a huge fan of them, and there’s no sad endings. I’m a hopeless romantic leave me alone. There is angst though! Lots) 

Beginning with SakuAtsu (I’m a hoe for Atsumu): 

Hide and seek, by badreputation (10k. E. canonverse) 

It sure is a good thing Atsumu doesn't have a latex allergy 

It’s just a fleeting infatuation. As long as he pushes through it he’ll manage. So what if nowadays there isn’t a night where he doesn’t dream of Sakusa pinning him down on his own bed, in the shower or make Atsumu go down on his knees in the hallway? Those are just pesky details.

Some Memories, We May Keep, by mika60 (31k. T. canonverse) 

This is canon, fight me on it. 

The missing panels, the missing games, the missing moments.

The them we never saw.

*Now complete! :)*

 every action has an equal and opposite reaction, by akanemnida (10k. T. canonverse) 

Miya Atsumu gets a modeling contract with Calvin Klein, which sets Kiyoomi's heart in motion.

(Or: Sakusa Kiyoomi realizes that the rules governing the universe are absolute rubbish at explaining matters of the heart.)

 Ass-fingering as a prelude to relations of the emotional kind: a case study, by neverwere (2k. E. canonverse) 

Fucking hilarious, the imagery is absolutely hilarious. 

"Marry me, he thinks, as he comes around Sakusa's fingers and all over himself.

This. This is exactly why you don't let strangers or very attractive teammates finger you out of the blue.

Everyone knows that the ass is the shortest way to the heart."

Or

When it comes to sex, Atsumu has rules. Guidelines! SOPs! He swears they work, they've always worked.

Until they don't.

 parallax error: angle of inclination, by min_mintobe (10k. T. canonverse)

But now there's the one person Atsumu'd promised himself never to touch. His eyes leave Atsumu breathless with guilt at seventeen, and he spends the next six years safe in the satisfaction of making things right.

Feelings, of the physical kind, and one kiss.

ft. competitive spirit, childishness, and late night conversations.

Atsumu POV.

 autumn ends, but we remain, by wolfsbvne (5k. T. canonverse)

Author says in their ending notes that they're not an ‘author’, but methinks they should write more and pursue that career path because this was wonderful.  

atsumu stares at his ceiling at 2am. he stares until he can make out designs in his popcorn ceiling. a cat there, an onigiri here, and then something that suspiciously looks like a mop of hair, triangle eyebrows, and oh those two bumps are moles right above what atsumu just mapped out as an eye.

(or, atsumu is in kind of in love. sakusa is maybe in like.)

I left a taste in your mouth, by emso (26k. E. bodyguard au)

Because obviously 

Sakusa fixes him with a vague expression of something like distaste. There's a scathing edge to his tone when he speaks. "Contrary to what you seem to believe, not everyone who meets you is instantly dying to get into your pants, Miya."

"Lucky I don't really care right now what 'everyone' wants to do, then." Atsumu swivels his mug around on the tabletop a few times, and then brings it to his mouth to drain the last few dregs of his latte. Over the rim of his mug, he adds casually, "Just you."

Whoa hey Bodyguard Omi, I think Spoiled Rich Kid Tsumu might possibly have a teensy crush on you. 

 How do you know you're in love?, by spiritscript (12k. T. canonverse)

Pure art

“So, how did you know you were in love? How did it feel?” Atsumu felt nervous asking this, a slight wiggling in the pit of his stomach, unable to look at the man beside him who rolled his shoulders in an attempt to reset his posture. “I mean, you didn’t resonate with what I said, so, what is love to you Omi-kun?”

Atsumu thinks he must be in love with Hinata Shouyou and so asks the best person he knows to help him understand his feelings

 san'yo expressway, 6:17 pm, by yamabota (13k. T. canonverse)

Of violent forethoughts, and handheld car vacuums. 

Atsumu tilts his head to watch a slice of orange light bend over the impassive planes of Sakusa’s face. He is absolutely, ruthlessly beautiful. It makes Atsumu want to punch something—put his foot through the windshield—scream, maybe.

Kiss him again, maybe.

They have 344 kilometers to figure this one out. 

Different Kinds of Dysfunctional, by DeathBelle (Series, 5 works. T-E. Canonverse)

Honestly, I think this one is kind of famous amongst Sakuatsu readers but I can’t not include it. If I recall correctly, this is the fic that got me into Sakuastu, so thanks, DeathBelle. The characters are portrayed really well (i.e. Sakusa is disgusted and confused, and Atsumu is a little shit). You’ve got a good balance between conversations and descriptive thoughts and all-in-all it’s just a really good read. 

 Atsumu said into the heavy silence, “You can’t say you’ve never thought about it.”

"Thought about what?" said Sakusa.

Atsumu smiled to himself, smug. "You know."

"No, I don't."

"You know. Of course you’ve thought about it. There’s no reason to be ashamed, Omi-kun. I’m a real catch.”

Sakusa was appalled. "You're disgusting."

"You flatter me. I'm not judging you. I can't lie and say I haven't thought about it, too."

Sakusa shifted, slowly, to peer over his shoulder. He wasn’t scowling, but his expression was unreadable. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Atsumu wasn't joking, and he was about to get more than he bargained for.

i'll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands), by liliapocalypse (7k words. T. canonverse):

Oh, god. This one was so cute. Super fluffy. Loved the metaphors and symbolism. Sometimes you just can’t say things out loud. 

When a bad injury shocks the whole V. League, Sakusa finds himself paired with Atsumu for more rigorous assisted stretches before every training. Atsumu then finds himself writing random letters on Sakusa’s skin to soothe the spiker, forcing Sakusa to reevaluate how his touch aversion became an irresistible yearning for more, and how the boy with the annoying hair somehow brought that hunger to life.

Or, the fic where Atsumu mindlessly writes a confession on Sakusa’s back when he thought Sakusa wasn't paying attention. Sakusa always did.

 mortality is found is the flesh of your sins, by novrik (10k. M. canonverse)

This is literally my favorite fic of all time. Not just of Sakuatsu, not even of the Haikyuu fandom. Ever. Favorite fic ever. Listen, I’m an atheist, but this fic took me on a religious experience that I haven't come down from yet. The symbolism had me actually shivering, and I had to put my phone down quite a few times. Just, oh wow, just read it. I’d like to share my favorite line; ‘And if Sakusa is Eve, if he takes a bite, what then? Perhaps, he is a little afraid of the knowledge he will gain’. My god, author, if you ever see this, this is not only a plea for you to continue writing, but also an offer of marriage. Your hand, author?

 dickhead one, sakusa kiyoomi. dickhead two, miya atsumu. neither understand how to communicate.

Pray tell, why are you drawn to him?

Are you drawn to him in the way he looks beautiful even when crying?

When his eyes are red, shiny tears streaking down, lips quivering, is he beautiful?

 sakuatsu domesticity simulator, by pseudoanalytics (75 words. T. canonverse)

75 words because it's actually a digital art simulator. An interactive fic! How frickin’ cool is that? The art is so beautiful and I love the plotline and ugh, just everything. Please read, or watch, or click around, yes. Good. 

Update: artist created another interactive fic and of course it is wonderful. SunaOsa this time! https://newttxt.itch.io/cheesecake honestly just check out @newttxt their work is amazing and I love everything they do. 

a vaguely interactive mixture of fic, art, and html, where you too can experience the inherent romance of a big fat jerk and a too-blunt jerk attempting intimacy

***

(this is the result of letting the sakuatsu brainworms really get to you...)

 Pas De Deux, by hatsuna (19k words. T. Ballet/college au)

There's just something about prim, proper ballet Sakusa and human-benign-tumor Atsumu that makes my heart burst. Seriously gorgeous writing style, loved every second. By the same author who wrote ‘liminal spaces’ (which is also just perfect) so that should give you a good idea of the style. 

The mystery athlete gives Kiyoomi a once over in the mirror. “Yer pretty tall,” he observes. The twang of an accent rasps low in his throat. His brazen eyes drift to Kiyoomi’s legs, and something like exhilaration glints gold in his gaze. “Good quads, too. Ya ever played volleyball?”

 Ah. So it’s volleyball.

“I’m a dancer. Ballet and contemporary, mostly.”

 the affective presence of our black and white reruns, by kozumess (19k. E. canonverse)

Beautiful, classic misunderstandings, my heart actually physically ached at that one scene (you’ll know the scene when you come to it). Kiyoomi is so refreshingly relaxed(? Is that the right word to use? We all know Omi never truly relaxes). 

but the want, it's always there, constant like the static playing on every television channel, present even when the station disconnects.

 cut the conversation, just open your mouth, by meeksoo (E. 16k. canonverse)

Absolutely filthy...BUT WITH FEELINGS! Completely nails the Sakuatsu dynamic, and protective ‘Tsumu? Love it. 

Sakusa opens the door. He always does.

 They’re teammates first, barely even friends. But they hook up on the regular and it works. It’s simple, easy. But then a fan gets too close, Sakusa reacts, and Atsumu is swept up in how quickly things can get complicated.

__

As Atsumu palms himself over his briefs, still feeling off, he realizes it’s because he still wants it. Him. Sakusa. Even after already having him earlier.

He should probably feel self-conscious, mildly ashamed even, that he’s panting ‘Omi Omi’ into the dark beneath the steady thrum of the AC unit when Sakusa’s right down the hall, probably good for it if Atsumu ended up back at his door. Instead, he lays there, writhing and sweaty, alone in his hotel room bed thinking about Sakusa and touching himself.

Afterward, as cum begins to cool on his chest, Atsumu really can’t help but face the fact that things may be getting complicated.

 the hands that beckon me to come, by Ellieb3an (4k. E. canonverse)

So hot, what the fuck! 

The toss, the run, the spike-serve at the end of it all—Sakusa sees it happen in perfect clarity as if time has slowed and his vision narrows to the center where just Miya exists, all powerful muscle and extraordinary skill and that air of confidence.

Sakusa isn’t one of the best receivers in the league for no reason, so his body moves on muscle memory, forearms absorbing the sting of the hit. It’s not enough. But his eyes are still on Miya—on the way his shorts ride up his muscular thighs as he lands, on the bead of sweat dripping down his forehead, on the clench of his fist thrust into the air—when the ball ricochets out of bounds.

***

Atsumu stays late at practices to work on his new third serve, even when his frustration with it starts throwing off the rest of his game. Sakusa notices and starts hanging back to secretly watch him from the gym doors. He’s fascinated with Atsumu's determination... and more than a little turned on by it, too.

 you're the flame i use (when it gets dark), by starkartifices (55k. M. canonverse. Ongoing)

Everything is the same except the Sakusas are super rich. 

“Oh, if you want dear, you could bring a plus one. Though, I doubt you have a partner yet.”

“I do actually.”

“What was that, dear?”

"I do have a partner, I mean."

alt title: crazy rich sakusas 

 the inherent romance of classical conditioning (or; the fine art of emotional recognition), by pseudoanalytics (13k. E. canonverse)

Ah, yes. A Pavloved sex life. A Pavloved LOVE life?? 

It's stupid. Atsumu isn't a romantic, no matter how many times he's imagined laying Sakusa out and finally really touching him.

So there's no explanation for why Atsumu is constantly stuck thinking about brushing his fingertips against the meat of Sakusa's palms or the prominent tendons in his freaky wrists.

There's no explanation for why doing dishes sets off a warm burn in his ribcage, or why when he smells disinfectant he inhales like he's walking past a bakery.

Yer doin' this to me, he thinks furiously, as Sakusa derails his thoughts with kisses that come more and more frequently now. Yer conditionin' me, and I can't stop it.

 flutterbird (a collection of sakuatsu oneshots), by wordstruck (5 works. T-E. canonverse)

Works 1-3, I think follow a linear story, whereas the last two don't. 

All sakuatsu works are just the angstiest, most miscommunication filled pieces of absolute gold and this one is no exception. Wow. These men are assholes and they bring out the worst in each other, but I’ll be damned if they’re not soulmates. 

Collection of SakuAtsu fics. Several fics are loosely set in the same storyverse. Not necessarily directly connected and can all be read as standalones.

[muertawrites]

Aphrodite Kallipygos (Zuko x Plus Size Reader) [Modern AU]

Summary: Zuko takes up an art class as part of his therapy and ends up falling in love with a woman who’s a work of art in her own right.

Word Count: 3,500

Disclaimer: There’s a scene in this fic where a couple of thin girls engage in some rude behavior and are criticized in a few none-too-kind words. I want to make it very clear that this scene does not reflect my views of thin people or body positivity - these characters are meant to be a metaphor for greater culture and its strict, unrealistic views of what women should look like. 

Author’s Note: I hate rom coms but after writing this fic it dawned on me that I would be excellent at writing them. Also, this one goes out to all my art hoes out there. I geek out pretty hard about art history in this one. 

Speaking of which, I reference real-world cultures within the structure of the Avatar universe in this one as well. Something I like to do when I zone out is think about which actual countries would belong to which bending nations; my heritage is primarily from the British Isles, and what with liths like Stonehenge and the hella castles hanging around out there, I think we’d be earth benders - same with cultures like the ancient Egyptians and the Pueblos. I also love the idea of Pacific Islanders who can bend both water and lava, and Incan air benders, and I really wish the idea of global cultures as benders were explored more in the Avatar universe. 

Have I mentioned that I’m a massive fucking nerd?

~ Muerta

Zuko never considered himself much of a creative. When he thought about it, he realized that that part of his life had never really been explored; his father always pushed him to focus solely on his bending and combat skills, never allowing even the consideration of other practices or hobbies. As much as Zuko was passionate about the martial arts he'd mastered, he also came to learn that he never had a choice in being passionate about anything else. 

“I think you should take an art class,” his therapist suggested. “It would be a good outlet for you, and one that isn't directly influenced by your family.” 

“I don't think I've ever drawn anything, though,” Zuko admitted. “I wouldn't be any good.” 

“It's not about being good,” his therapist explained, “it's about exploring things that weren't available to you in your youth, freedom of expression. Consider it - there's a shop in this neighborhood that offers classes.” 

She handed him a business card adorned with an array of different art styles, from delicate watercolors to bright, bold cartoons; it read, “classes for everything” in a cheerful, clearface font.

Zuko shrugged and pocketed the card. A week later, he was enrolled in a basic studio art course. 

He arrived for his first class embarrassingly early, passing under the bell of the shop’s front door twenty minutes before it was scheduled to begin. 

The building that housed the shop looked to be older than the rest of the neighborhood around it; the storefront was tiny, with crowded shelves lining each wall and tables and racks wound throughout the center of the space, creating a maze that led to the checkout counter. The room’s ceilings were high, supported by beams in a dark stained wood that matched the floor below. Paper mache sculptures and handmade lanterns hung from the rafters, and the simple, antique plaster walls were decorated with paintings and sketches, likely given by the shop’s clientele. From somewhere in the back, a radio sang folk music, accompanied by the hum of an electric fan. 

Zuko wandered through the labyrinthine merchandise displays until he reached the register, where he was met with the single most beautiful sight he may have ever laid eyes on. 

You stood behind the counter, leaned over a textbook with a pencil in hand, tapping it back and forth over the pages; you bit your lip in concentration, a few strands of your hair falling loose from the messy knot atop your head and over your cheeks, though you were too focused on your reading to care. An apron bearing the shop’s logo was tied around your waist, emphasizing your body's dramatic curves. 

To Zuko, you were gorgeous. He couldn't place what exactly about you allured him; all he knew was that his pulse had quickened to a near dangerous pace. 

You looked up at him when you noticed you were no longer alone, flashing him a kind, somewhat distracted smile. He nodded curtly, too nervous to do anything but stare. 

“Can I help you?” you greeted him politely. 

He cleared his throat, his voice coming out a pitch higher than normal as he spoke. 

“I'm here for the art class,” he told you. 

You smirked a little, peering down to check the time on your phone. 

“It's a little early,” you said. “I was just about to start setting up. You could help me if you want? So you're not so bored while you wait?” 

“Yeah,” Zuko mumbled, “yeah, sure.” 

You grinned, waving him behind the counter and through a door to the back room. To his surprise, what he expected to be a minuscule stockroom turned out to be a space larger than the actual shop, lined on one wall with massive warehouse windows that poured late afternoon sunlight into the room. Metal shelves and boxes lay haphazardly about, mixed in with a scattering of easels, pottery spinners, canvases, and other art supplies. You directed your guest to a stack of chairs in the corner, instructing him to line them in a half circle in an empty portion of the room while you placed the easels. 

“So, do you have a name?” you asked, attempting to make conversation that could drown out the repetitive radio drone. 

“Zuko,” he introduced himself. 

You stopped what you were doing, fixing him with an awed, slightly amused gape. 

“Firelord Zuko?” you wondered. 

He blushed, nodding. 

“Oh spirits, I'm sorry I didn't bow!” you exclaimed, dropping into a low curtsy. The gesture was mixed with equal parts mirth and genuine respect; Zuko was unsure how to respond, his heart flickering as he watched you. 

“I heard you were living somewhere in the city,” you continued after making your own introduction, setting an easel in front of each chair he positioned. “Not into the whole royalty thing?” 

Zuko shrugged. He focused on his work, too nervous to look you in the eye. 

“Just weird going back there,” he told you. “I don't really want taxpayer money going to making sure I live above my means.” 

You leaned against the last chair he set down, smiling warmly at him. 

“That's very respectable,” you responded. “Thank you. Y’know, as someone who pays taxes.” 

Zuko chuckled softly as you handed him a bin of art supplies, instructing him to set one of each item at every station. He did as he was told, stealing glances at you whenever he was sure you weren’t looking. 

“So, uh… do you own this place?” he asked, fumbling over his words. 

“Oh, no, this is my professor’s shop,” you replied. “I just work here part time.” 

“You’re a student?” 

You shook your head. 

“Nope. Graduated last year. I work days at the history museum downtown. I also give art history classes here, and help out with the ones Professor Cong teaches.” 

“Oh.” 

Zuko paused, unsure of what else to say. 

“... They teach a different type of history just for art?” he asked after a moment. 

You laughed, covering your mouth to muffle the sound and apologizing, giving him a little nod as you collected yourself. 

“Yes. Some people even get whole degrees in it,” you giggled. “Not that it’s a useful field to learn anything about.” 

Zuko shrugged, trying to shake off the embarrassment of sounding stupid in front of such a cute girl; little did he know, you found the question beyond endearing. 

“It sounds important,” he contested. “I’ve been meeting historians from all over the world to correct all the propaganda from the past hundred years. It never occurred to me that I would need different historians for art.” 

You smiled at him, meeting him where he stood and handing him one of the sketch pads from your bin. His cheeks pinkened, his eyes darting away from yours as he took it and mumbled a “thank you”. 

“I like you, Firelord Zuko,” you decided aloud. “My classes are on Wednesdays. You can come if you want - free of charge.” 

Zuko nodded, swallowing heavily as he met your gaze once again. 

“Thank you,” he replied. “I appreciate it.” 

You laughed a little bit, taking his now empty bin and returning both to their place on a nearby shelf. The shop’s bell rang from beyond the threshold and you went back to the front counter, telling Zuko to take a spot wherever he liked. He sat in the front row; wherever he thought he could be closest to you. 

For the next five weeks, Zuko attended not only his studio art class, but your art history class, showing up early to each lesson so he could spend time alone with you. Despite the fact that you invited him to sit in, he paid the fee for the second course, not wanting you to go without the extra pay for your work - he found a doodle of a turtle duck on his seat the next time he showed up, the fuzzy little penciled duckling telling him he was a terrible listener, but thanking him anyway (with a heart scribbled in beside the words). 

With your guidance, Zuko learned that there was much more to art than just vibrant colors and pretty decoration. Everything in art, it turned out, had significance, each piece and work holding insight into the people and cultures who created it; you spoke passionately about the art of the Egyptians, who used specific shapes and colors in their imagery to tell stories beyond the written word, about the mysteries of prehistoric structures that revealed how early humanity was much more sophisticated and interconnected than considered at a glance, about the symbols that translated and influenced across centuries to shape how each nation, each culture, portrayed themselves into the modern world. He found himself hanging on every word, falling even more deeply enamored with you with each moment he spent with you. 

It didn’t take you long - what with the easy, pleasant conversations you shared before classes - to discover that Zuko lived relatively close to you, only two stops away on the local metro. Knowing this, you often saw each other on the days you weren't at the shop, meeting at the station between each of your respective neighborhoods and having coffee or dinner in one of its many cafes, talking about anything and everything and managing to pass several hours together in what seemed like the blink of an eye. You loved being with Zuko, finding the more you did it, the less you wanted your rendezvous to end; you thought about him all the time, getting all kinds of giddy whenever he crossed your mind. 

On one of your extracurricular excursions, you and Zuko wandered around the local high street, marveling at the different streetside vendors and dreamily window shopping behind the glass of the upscale boutiques, doing little more than enjoying each other’s company. It was a hot day, and along your way, Zuko stopped at a coffee stand to get you each something cold to drink. 

A pretty young woman in line in front of you eyed you up and down, her gaze flicking from between you and Zuko with disgust. She jabbed her slim, graceful elbow into her equally as flawless friend’s side, whispering something in the other woman’s ear as they both glared at you, sniggering cruelly behind flat stomachs and angular, willowy frames. 

You sneered at them, making a point of hooking your arm within Zuko’s and pressing your much wider hip against his, the poison of the encounter sinking into your skin and infecting your thoughts. Zuko noticed your change in demeanor immediately, steering you away from the scene as soon as your drinks were served. 

“You okay?” he asked, still holding tight to your arm. 

“Fine,” you quipped, biting back tears. “Just a couple of pretty bitches proving how fucking hideous they are on the inside.” 

“Wait, seriously?” 

Zuko halted, pulling you to the side of the street and out of the way of traffic. He lay a hand on your shoulder, the firm, able grasp of his palm somehow making you feel even worse. 

“Someone would really make fun of you?” he wondered, outraged and incredulous. “Why?” 

You shook your head, smiling defeatedly as your lower lip quivered. 

“People have made fun of me since I was a kid, Zu,” you told him, speaking as if he should’ve just assumed it. “I’m fat. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed.” 

“So?” Zuko replied. You were so shocked, you physically leaned away from him, raising your eyebrows. “Yeah, you’re fat. That doesn’t mean you’re not pretty. I… I think you’re really pretty. Gorgeous, even. You’re beautiful.” 

You blinked at him, taken aback. He gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze, his eyes never once leaving yours. 

“... Did I break you?” he tried after a moment, sounding concerned that it was a genuine possibility. 

You laughed, shaking your head in feverish disbelief, attempting to clear the confusion that fogged your battered brain. 

“No, I just… Nobody’s ever called me pretty and fat before.” 

Zuko shrugged. 

“Both are true,” he told you. “I like your body. You look like one of those Greek sculptures. Of the goddesses.” 

You stared at him, searching his eyes for any sign of dishonesty or patronization; all you found looking back at you was the clumsily genuine man you were quickly falling in love with. 

“... Have I ever told you about Aphrodite Kallipygos?” you asked. 

Zuko shook his head, as confused as you had been a few seconds ago. 

“She’s a statue of Venus,” you explained. “She’s got her dress raised up over her backside, and when they found her originally, she didn’t have her head; the guy who restored her sculpted it so that she was looking back at herself, admiring her body. There’s even a whole folktale about a pair of brothers who fell in love with two women because they had, like, beautifully fat asses and the town built a temple dedicated to Venus and her butt. The name literally translates to ‘Aphrodite of the Beautiful Buttocks’.” 

Zuko chuckled, raising the hand at your shoulder to cup your cheek. 

“See?” he said. “Men have worshiped thick, juicy butts since the dawn of time!” 

You laughed, your cheeks turning bright red as you buried your face in your hands, leaning forward to rest your forehead on his chest and further hide yourself. 

“Zuko, oh my god,” you breathed. “Promise me you’ll never say that out loud in a public setting ever again, please. You’re the fucking Firelord for Tui’s sake.” 

Zuko chuckled, wrapping an arm around your waist and hugging you tightly. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled, still grinning. “Made you feel better, though.” 

You pulled away from him, affectionately punching him in the shoulder. He laughed, gasping at you in mock reproach before pressing a finger into your side, shocking you with a burst of static electricity; you cackled as you jumped away, sticking your tongue out at him. 

Zuko felt a rush of lightheadedness as he watched you, savoring the sound of your laugh and the radiance of your smile. It was then he realized he was in love with you. 

The next studio art class focused on model drawing - more specifically, a nude model. Zuko, having been raised in what was arguably the most reserved family in the world, was nervous about the idea of having to sit in front of a stranger for an hour, not only staring at their naked body, but immortalizing it in graphite on a page. 

He was mortified when he arrived at the class and found you sitting in the corner, wrapped in nothing but a silk dressing gown. 

As you climbed the platform you were meant to model on, your limbs rattled. You began to question your sanity, wondering what you thought you were doing offering to pose for the class, what kind of statement you thought it would make. You faced enough judgement from others about your weight with your clothes on - what the hell did you think they would do when you stood before them completely naked, every bump and crevice on full display for them to gawk at and criticize?

You glanced to the side at Professor Cong, seeking some sort of assurance or comfort from him; he, being the seasoned professional in his mid-sixties that he was, sat reclined in a chair in his Hawaiian shirt and flip flops, scrolling totally undisturbed through Pinterest on his phone. Honestly, you expected no less - his obtuse reactions in the face of the awkward and uncomfortable were basically a superpower. 

Taking a deep breath, you untied the knot holding your dressing gown together and let it fall, slipping gracefully from your shoulders and to the floor. You assumed a comfortable, classic pose, purposely facing yourself away from the man whose eyes you could feel searing into your back. 

Zuko’s breath hitched as he watched you undress. Though he only saw the full of your body for a moment, he was captivated. The swell of your breasts and curve of your stomach sent him into a dizzy spell, his mouth going dry and his skin heating with a noticeable flush. The rolls of your back, the ripples and divots along your thighs and rump, the stripes etched into your skin like the veins through a granite block, he drank in every part of you, moulding every detail with a focused hand as he sketched. He made note every scar and beauty mark. Once or twice, his mind drifted towards the salacious, imagining how your body would feel beneath his, soft and supple, releasing exalted breaths and enraptured moans, your nails dragging down his back as he drove you closer and closer to infinity… 

He inhaled sharply, snapping himself back to his work. You were Venus, Minerva, Diana - a goddess among men. He would gladly spend the rest of his life worshiping you. 

The moment the class ended, you gathered your dressing gown and made a beeline for the employee bathroom, getting back into your clothes as quickly as you could physically manage. The experience of nude modeling wasn’t nearly as harrowing as you expected it to be; you actually found it kind of freeing, being able to show yourself to a room full of other people and come out of it unscathed, in fact feeling quite beautiful - what had you nervous was the fact that you’d have to face Zuko immediately after the fact, seeing as you took the train home together after classes. His was the only opinion you cared about, and you wanted nothing more than to convince yourself that he hadn’t judged you as harshly as the self-hatred brainwashed into you made you believe. 

When you emerged from the bathroom, Professor Cong stood in front of one of the empty easels in the back, smirking at the drawing the student had left there. 

“Your boyfriend left you his piece,” he teased. 

You blushed, glaring at him as you approached and snatched the sketch from his hands. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you tried in vain to defend yourself. 

Professor Cong just chuckled. 

“I’ll believe that when I see evidence to the contrary,” he replied. 

You looked down at the paper in your hand and felt the breath drain from your lungs, your heart and stomach soaring into your throat. 

Zuko had drawn you in the image of Venus, your body draped in gossamer fabric and your head turned over your shoulder, eyes cast downward and lips slightly parted in a blissful, ethereal expression. In the corner of the page, he’d written “Aphrodite Kallipygos” in his sweeping handsome script, beneath which was his signature and the date. You’d never once seen yourself look so beautiful, let alone in the eyes of someone you loved so fiercely. 

You swallowed hard, rolling the drawing and securing it with a hair tie from your bag before exiting the shop through the back, knowing Zuko would be in the alley waiting for you. 

“Hey,” he greeted you when you appeared through the storeroom door. “Are you okay? You looked really ner-” 

You interrupted him by throwing your arms around his neck, slamming your lips into his in a desirous kiss. It took him less than a second to recover himself from the shock of the action and curl his arms around your waist, pressing his body against yours and lifting you every so slightly off the ground, kissing you just as hard as you kissed him. When you parted, you were breathless, your cheeks fiery red and your lips swollen the color of vermilion. Zuko smiled at you, one side of his mouth curling up slightly higher than the other. 

“So you liked it?” he asked. 

You laughed, nodding. 

“Zuko, I loved it,” you gasped. “I love you. I think I loved you as soon as I met you but that sort of thing is really cliche and stupid to admit.” 

Zuko chuckled, raising his hand to your cheek and kissing you again, his lips soft and tender this time around. You sighed happily into his mouth, closing your eyes and losing yourself in the feeling of his body sharing the same space as yours. 

“I think I loved you the moment I met you, too,” Zuko confessed, his nose grazing against yours as he pulled away. “But you’re right. That sort of thing is really stupid and cliche.” 

You giggled, tugging gently on the collar of his jacket. 

“Come on,” you prompted him. “Let’s go back to my apartment. You’ve already seen me naked; we need to make it even.” 

Zuko laughed, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and leading you out of the alley, his side pressed firmly against yours. 

“Fair,” he agreed. “But if you want me to pose for any art, you’ll have to sign some paperwork. I’m still Firelord, you know.” 

📚 table of contents 📚

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[fortunamuta]

Devilman Crybaby

So I just started Devilman Crybaby and I honestly was not expecting this, but I mean I had never heard what it was about either. Anyway Akira had me so shook I was like this sweet baby so precious so pure, and the frickin’ Ryo ruined that. Also at first I was trying to understand what the vibes where between them, because it felt like love was in the air idrk. 

What ‘m now realizing is that this show is sooo much deeper than I thought it would be. There is alot of symbolism and imagery going on, and I feel like i’m being played to not see certain things (does that make since, idk how to explain it)

Also I got to the episode where My King of Spoken Word is introduced (I think it’s Miuta) But he really did the dang thang with that rap for Miko (I lowkey teared up a little when she revealed her name was Miki too). So at the moment I’m at the part where My King of Spoken Word and Miko are at the Black Sabbath Party. And I’m internally crying because I know whatever is about to happen is going to be fucked up.

Wait and I forgot to mention that whole part where Akira and his parents, the little memory where he’s running and it actually symbolizes him trying to catch up to his parents had me sobbing like they really gutted you in the feelies. And then when Akira’s mom was like she had not heard from his dad, and I was like damn welp I know how this is going to end up. WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO MORBIDLY CORRECT, and what sucks is most of the time I’m siding with frickin’ Ryo about what to do and I’m realizing just how heartless I am. I need to read the bible or something. Anyway back on point, yeah a bitch definitely cried, and I cried hard. Then I was chanting RYO GIVE THAT MF A HUG HOE and like that didn’t happen so I’m sitting here looking stupid, but also Ryo highkey fake for putting Akira in this situation but then again I have a feeling homeboy would have died had he not upgraded (baby let me upgrade ya upgrade ya). Yeah so, I’m going to finish putting myself through visual and psychological trauma. 

damn I forgot... bIG boOBs

[inyoursheets]

what inspired the warm water title? very curious, because I love the title and I’ve wanted to ask for a while! 💖

oh! thank you for asking! i can talk about warm water for days! wish i had the same energy with actually writing it lol 

ok im a wordy person and apparently can’t answer a simple question -- i just started rambling about symbolism im using in this fic so let me put it below the cut

anyways!!!!

warm water is named after a BANKS song with the same title!

the lyrics i think i may love you / if you give me some time / maybe you’ll love me too open the first chapter

and it’s something that i thought relates to how beth feels at the beginning of the story, hoping rio will one day love her. the same way she loves him.

that said, there’s a reason chapter 14 is named after the lyrics i could never make you love me from SEVDALIZA’s song Hero bc i dont think you can MAKE someone love you

that’s kind of a... ok i dont think it’s a theme im exploring all that much with this fic but it’s just something i think about sometimes

anyway back to the actual title

warm water almost got a different name -- i changed the title at the last minute

im so very glad i did bc ive been messing with water-related imagery in the fic and it’s really helped me tether the story? just for myself?

it’s been really fun and helpful for me to use water as a metaphor or... symbol or literary device (or whatever the term is idek) for the relationship between beth and rio in this fic

using water to indicate their changing relationship and the blurry boundaries between friendship and something more

so i kept using water as a reminder of how they...stick to each other i guess?

ive also used anything relating to doors and windows to indicate the transition in the relationship between beth and rio

it just helps indicate closeness and distance between the two -- and the ever-present possibility of something more

ive given a few examples of how ive used doors/windows here! but there’s more references in the chapters ive pubished since then, like in chapter 8 the tiny bathroom window cracked open and in chapter 14, where bedroom door is gaping wide, bc hey, things are finally happening

but a slightly less on-the-nose way ive tried to show how beth and rio and their feelings for each other are always there, always sticking to them, is water

most explicitly (which i completely forgot about and wasn’t intentional) is in the first chapter with the leaking heart metaphor

but other occasions include chapter 8 at tequila night, which may be my favorite use of water in this fic

chapter 8 is a very moist chapter in general but im pretty fond of what i did at the end of the chapter

Shaking her hands in an attempt to dry them, she turns around, looking for the towel dispenser, only to find it empty.

first we get beth in the bathroom trying to process tequila night with aria, trying to dry her hands -- and trying to rid herself of her feelings for rio

She tries to dry her hands on her jeans—can’t, because they’re still wet from the rain, but she barely registers it, eyes glued to big hands  wrapped around a body that’s not hers.

she tries but she can’t. not only is the towel dispenser empty, her jeans are still soaked from the previous rain. even if something external to her (a towel dispenser, or, say......thanh) would be there, the rain has been pouring all night, her whole body is still soaked. paper towels doesn’t stand a chance against years of loving someone.

When she makes it to Thanh’s apartment, she lets him towel her dry, before falling asleep in his crisp, white sheets.

annnnd we close the chapter with thanh drying her. coincidence? i think not. bc i deliberately made that happen.

anyways there’s also chapter 12, post-kiss, right after beth says it was a mistake

She looks at the floor. Notices there’s a spill of water—probably Rio’s doing, watering the plant that sits on their makeshift side table, the books they never read. Feels his eyes on her. Doesn’t know what would greet her, should she find the guts to look.

yes! water can spill like your messy feelings for your best friend! you fools!

like i said it’s mostly been useful for myself to idk keep track of where they’re at emotionally

but you’ll find a lot of references to water in this fic

basically im a hoe for water 

i was pretty surprised to find how useful it was for me to have one or two symbols to keep coming back to. idk if it’s something that people notice when reading the fic. but it was very helpful for me!

in conclusion im very glad i ended up switching titles right before i shared the first chapter! it just ties together the watery imagery of the fic pretty nicely, i think

thank you for asking!!!!! anonymously (or not) ask me any question you’d like to know about me

[dandaelions]

ngda act 2 thoughts

thank you mr. lee taemin for this post-interview de-stressing session

1) Idea: it’s unexpected. it’s weird. it’s unsettling. and yet somehow it works. the beginning of the song had me thinking it was going somewhere and then that beat dropped and I was just sitting there like o_o literally nothing about this song makes sense from a musical perspective but hey that’s what we’re all here for right?? the mv...hoo boy...idk where to even begin there’s so many layers of symbolism and imagery going on it’s insane like can we talk about how he’s on a staircase-bridge during the actual bridge of the song like that’s insane bro!! and the choreo popped OFF! the duality concept and the empty chorus and the bass drops all really reminded me of exo’s obsession, except taemin makes this wholly his own. can’t wait for the live stages!

2) Heaven: ohh here we go again with that sultry hispanic guitar! not a huge fan of the heeea-aaeaeaea-ven chorus but when then the church choir comes in?? oh SNAP. the bass line, the snapping, the female “ah” during the chorus, the electric guitar riffs - I’m getting major lana del rey vibes from this one! also this was one of the tracks Taemin contributed to and I just wanna say WHAT THE FUCK I mean “play little girl do it like that” UM SIR???? “I bet you like that, just give it to me, give it to me baby” right ok I don’t think I need to look up lyric translations for this one I’ve seen enough...that being said this is definitely going on my tae-pop playlist we love a hoe anthem

3) Impressionable: oh this SLAPS his light breathy vocals layered over the jittery staccato trap beats with that playful music box melody and that distorted “imPRESSIONalbe” and that high note in the bridge?? this is simply immaculate. I think my fav song on the album!!

4) Be Your Enemy: hmm musically I was a little bored but the production is very tight and crisp so I will give that to them. Wendy’s vocals during the bridge are very sweet and refreshing and I wish she was integrated a little bit more into the song like Seulgi was in Heart Stop. 

5) Think of You: a perfectly fine and pleasant song.  not a huge fan of the melody tbh, but this was written entirely by Taemin so I’ll be sure to check out some reliable translations!

6) Exclusive: LOVE LOVE LOVE this song I’m so here for those cyberpunk futuristic vibes but after listening to the japanese version for so long the korean just sounds weird so I’ll stick to the japanese one! This song sounds a little out-of-place on this album, whereas it fit in perfectly with the atmosphere of Famous, so I wonder what the motivation was to include it here.

7) Pansy: wow I really hope we get an acoustic live stage of this because the stripped back instrumentals really help Taemin’s voice shine here! another song written by Taemin so I will be checking out translations when they are out! ugh idk I’m not a fan of the ascending “am I, am I, am I” chorus but the rest of the song is very beautiful and calming to listen to

8) I Think It’s Love: an emotional ballad that I think I will like more once I understand the lyrics but unfortunately this one isn’t for me it seems :/

9) Identity: oh that intro is GORGEOUS. the way it crescendos into that sweeping, grandiose section during the middle really makes me picture this as like a movie soundtrack! “base to ace”...I wonder what he means by that. maybe a commentary about the trajectory of his career? the sudden transition back down to that quiet outro really brings the song back full circle and it’s a perfect way to close out the album!

overall: there are definitely some gems here that I’m really into! there were things that I really liked and some things that I didn’t but overall a solid album. you know, there will come a time when he won’t be able to dance anymore, but when that day comes it certainly won’t be the end of his career because someone who is capable of making songs and singing like this is going to stick around for a long time! he’s worked so hard to make it to this point and he has definitely proved to everyone that he’s in this for the long haul, and I really appreciate his dedication to his style and artistry!! I mean who’s doing it like him seriously??

[luisgarcia21]

Narrative Theory

In this entry, the critical questions I am exploring are: How symbols used in graphics can make a change in people’s behavior? How can this type of symbols make a collective change? What assumptions of a narrative can be taken out of graphics and short texts like this one? What are the reasons that shocking symbols can have an impact on people? How effective can graphs, symbols and narrative be when trying to make a change?

To explore these critical questions, I examined a Pinterest post by Behance as my rhetorical artifact, reading ‘’There is no planet B. Act now. Earth day, April 22. ‘’ with a picture of the planet earth in the shape of a lighting candle that is halfway melted.

The feature of the post that the rhetor does is a strategy based in the tone seeking an impact in the audience through fear, having a behavioral change through implementing fear on them through language elements. A key fact is the use of a comparison to a non-existence ‘’planet B’’ which causes the audience to think what we would do if global warming ending our planet, assuming that our whole human race will disappear. The fear will be the one that will motivate the audience to act and start improving their actions towards a safer planet. The text goes very well with the image which creates fear in a more graphic way, using a metaphor of our planet as a candle. The metaphor depicts the idea that if we do noy change our actions, our inly planet will collapse due to global warming, just like when we light a candle. The creator intentions were definitely a change and action, that is why he uses very well both his narrative and his imagery towards a sense of fear. The audience will make the right assumptions as the metaphor is clear and the reference to a second planet is very obvious non-existent. The respond of the audience should be by aiming their ethical side, as we need change but that change starts with every single person that sees the post.

Behance is a Pinterest verified account that promotes creative work. They share messages of change and improvement in trending topics through their art. They often want to open people’s minds with a rhetoric that involves art and metaphors, hoping for a change and action.

Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) explain that narratives are the representation of at least two real or fictive events of situations in a time sequence. The artifact just shows a candle in an earth shape and a short text, but the author makes it a narrative using a metaphor that leads the audience to interpret the narrative. In this case we have an earth days post with a text of taking care of the planet because it is our only home and then we have a sequence of a fictive event in the form of metaphor, which is the earth and live as we know it ending due to global warming.

As it was stated earlier, when we apply the concepts to the artifact,  the way the author chose a tone of fear to reach out to the audience as that way they would be more engaged.  As Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) stated ‘’Narratives are interesting and enjoyable, even when they are about painful events.’’  The reason of this is because people try to avoid these type of narratives as they get easily engaged due to the fact of trying to avoid the pain. ‘’Stories develop imagination and provide new perspectives, while enlightening an educating listener’’ (Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch, 2012). As the post wills to achieve, educate their listeners about global warming being real and unstoppable unless a serious change is made and through the tone, they create engagement and educate listeners.

This narrative might be unproductive and cause no change at all, because even though we know a change is needed and it pushes us to take some actions because we do not want top end like the metaphor, but the post does not give any sort of explanations on what we are doing wrong, what to change or any sort of further information on things we can do to not end like that. So, the will of action might be present but not the actions itself because these are not specifically shown or known by the audience. However, I do feel like awakes a mindset that we are not doing well and the consequences of not starting to do something can be devastated. They do a great job to celebrate the Earths day by show hoe important it is and how a replacement does not exist, so our only way out is to start cha gong our habits for the health of our only home, the planet earth.

It still contributes to a narrative that has been becoming stronger throughout the years, because many people became aware that the change is necessary, and everyone needs to act right now. SO even though the post does not add any further information, the narrative of global warming should be already well known and that makes the issue better and the steps to take further actions should not be even explained as we are talking about a well-known narrative.

One of the narrative evident in The SAGE Handbook of Persuasion by Helena Bilandzic and Rick Busselle in the chapter 13, Narrative Persuasion is how narrative is most commonly considered in opposition to argumentation. This separation began since Aristotle’s distinction of pathos and ethos. The difference of narrative and persuasion has been seen in the differences of audiences and their form of processing the information, nevertheless the combination of this is possible, as in our artifact we can see a narrative that contains persuasive information and purpose as well. These two are not mutually exclusive and the truth is that in basic human communication we often find a combination of these two elements (narrative and persuasion). In the Book the SAGE Handbook of persuasion we can see that the narrative persuasive communication has been associated with better comprehension and it has been incorporated to advertising, entertainment and health communication. The book also explains hoe narrative in light of persuasion are effective as it enlightens the personal and emotional understandings of events.  The book also states how fear have a strong appeal in narratives in light of persuasion as it usually offers some type of victim and that moves the audience, bringing beliefs or actions to the audience.

When analyzing the book, we can realize how this type of post is something that we are seeing more often nowadays, of a narrative with lights of persuasion and how it is used often in ads and health communication, using images and a strong rhetoric. We can also realize that these types of post are indeed linked to comprehensions and action as they want to show you your destiny and that makes the audience understand the post better as it is shown in a more personal level. Another key fact from the reading is the fact that fear has been shown to be effective when it comes to involve the audience and, make them react to a specific topic. This happens as they see themselves in that situation in a future and act accordingly what is asked in order to avoid the situation driven by the fear.

In summary, the way the artifact is made, its narrative and persuasion does have an effect in the audience, and these are shown to be remarkably effective considering the audiences emotions that drive change.  Fear is a key concept when we analyze the artifact and its effects on people as they mentally put themselves in that tragic situation and makes them seek for change. The narrative created a future assumption that the audience was not supposed to feel comfortable with and affect them psychological as it is an urge to start working all together towards the health of our planet. The post is also remarkable as it unites concepts of advertising with health communication with a specific tone of fear and future narrative, making it unique and effective overall as the narrative they use is common and well-known.

Works Cited

Behance. (n.d.). Pinterest . Retrieved from Earth day: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/332984966168344662/

Bilandzic, H., & Buselle, R. (2013). Narrative Pesuasion . In J. P. Dillard, & L. Shen, The SAGE Handbook of Persuasion: Developments in Theory and Practice (pp. 200-205).

Palczewski, C. H., Ice, R., Fritch, J. (n.d.). Narratives. (2012)

[ao3feed-frerard]

Is it true I bear the mark of Cain?

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2zdLHU6

by Patron-Saint (freddieseyeliner)

"You think if I went to church more, God would hate me less?" Frank ran his thumb over the crucifix hanging from his necklace as he held the phone to his ear.

"No, but I think if you had less anal sex, God would like you more."

Words: 4869, Chapters: 1/5, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Blood from Hell in my veins

Fandoms: My Chemical Romance

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Gerard Way, Frank Iero, Mikey Way, Ray Toro

Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way

Additional Tags: look I'm a hoe for three things: found family trope- vampires- and unemployed punks with tattoos, this fic has all three, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Vampires, Vampire Gerard Way, bff ray toro and frank iero, mikey likes to stir the pot, frank likes to smoke pot, yes this is based on the misfits song thnx for asking, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Guilt, Alternate Universe - Vampire

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2zdLHU6

[daesungindistress]

Why are you like this? I remember the times you used to be a Daesung page and now you post all day about how much you hate SR.We all get it. You hate him. Bravo. I'll give you a medal too. But where is Daesung in all this? When did your big hate for SR become bigger than any love you have for Dae? And if you don't believe me, just compare your posts of SR against your posts of Daesung. It's really disappointing as a Daesung fan that works her a$$ off for him to watch you. 😒 I'm D's hoes leader.

I know you. You’re the one who joked about it taking a scandal for me to talk about Daesung again. That would have been funnier if there’d been any truth to it.

Because really, I don’t know how you’re scrolling through my blog and somehow missing all these posts about Daesung? I do talk a great deal about Seungri lately, mainly because I continue to receive messages about him from my followers (many of which I never get around to btw). I post occasionally about the other members too, of course, but this blog is still and always will be dedicated to and in celebration of Daesung. In fact, quite a few of my posts that discuss Seungri are as much about Daesung as they are about Seungri. Because even with Seungri gone, the DaeRi dynamic has always been and probably always will be fascinating to me.

My love for Dae… some posts in which I drag Seungri I do out of love for Daesung – for example, my D-Day concert DVD screencaps and the discussion posts that followed. I’ve always thought that something went wrong between the two of them that day, and that Daesung deserved better than to have his concert crashed like that. By someone who wouldn’t even leave when asked to repeatedly.

Continuing on… this is a bit unexciting as far as explanations go, but it doesn’t help that the VIP fandom on Tumblr is practically comatose right now, so there isn’t much Dae content to go around. That will change when BB become active again.

“What about Igija Festival?” you might be ready to ask. Yeah, this is getting a bit technical now, but I don’t much like crossposting from other social media platforms, and most new content these days appears on Twitter and Instagram. Embedding posts from Twitter to Tumblr just plain doesn’t work, and I’m wary of embedding vids from Instagram because I’ve been burned by accounts suddenly going private and losing access to said videos too many times. And I always feel kind of gross downloading and reposting. So I spend my time here answering asks and reblogging what meager scraps of Daesung content come my way. Again, it’s a dry spell, one I hope we’ll reach the end of soon.

As for your question, “Why are you like this?” I know what you’re really getting at: my “hate” for Seungri. Do you want the truth? Okay. It’s not even about Seungri anymore, not really. It’s you.

Well, not you specifically, but the subset of this fandom that you belong to. The fans still calling for his return to BB. The fans determined to drag what’s left of BB’s name and reputation through the mud right alongside his – even though Seungri left precisely to prevent that very thing from happening. Why do this to the four cherished members we have left? Why, when he shut the door on any future he might have in the industry? Why, after the four warned him so many times? After they made it known over and over again that he would likely one day leave them? Why is it so hard to accept that he finally did it? Because the way it ended was so tangled and twisted?

Perhaps worst of all are the fans who see signs in everything, messages that only exist inside their heads. I’ve seen actual diagnosed delusion that developed by reading too deeply into what was believed to be symbolic imagery in social media posts. In a good friend of mine. I was there, I watched it grow, I tried to steer her out of it (and failed; she was eventually hospitalized). I have no patience for it. It’s not cute, it’s not funny, it’s downright alarming and it’s not doing a single one of you an ounce of good.

I want to ignore it, and I do try. But then someone puts it in front of me, or I get bored and meander around Twitter and accidentally wander into a Seungri-positive space where people are somehow still sobbing over OT5 – after six months of this – and whoops, I’m riled up all over again. You guys piss me off, that’s it, that’s all. Is that a personal problem? Yeah, probably. But every time I see someone pushing their Seungri-isn’t-gone agenda, I’m here countering it, pushing back like a reflex with one of my own and reminding everyone I can reach that actually, yeah, he is.

It’s a vicious cycle. And it’s exhausting. Believe me, I am so ready to get Seungri out of my head. But it needs to be a group effort. If you guys stopped talking about him, so would I. If Big Bang were to come back tomorrow and neglected to mention him, so would I.

Realistically though, the fandom is never going to stop mentioning him, not completely, and I don’t think BB will pretend he never existed either. He’s a part of our past, even if a painful one. As for my posts about him, I expect they’ll taper off when the others are in front of us again, giving us something fresh and interesting and positive to talk about for a change… and when this matter is finally settled once and for all. Since for some of you, SR announcing his own retirement wasn’t enough. It’s been a rough year in so many ways. Just counting down the days…

[surge42-blog]

Do What Thou Wilt: A sermon by Ab-Soul

Ab-Soul's Do What Thou Wilt album is perhaps one of his most controversial offerings. Soul having called it a love story and female appreciation album, it baffles many listeners when they listen to the album because it seems as if Soulo is throwing too many concepts all over the place.....or is he? After a random listening of the album I picked up a something out of nowhere. EVANGELISM The album starts out aggressive as it kicks off with RAW(backwards). Soul starts out by evangelizing listeners as the Carson native raps "another Baptism by Pastor Black Lip". What is he evangelizing them from? Well it's answer in hook which goes "we don't wanna hear that whack shit no more",which could be directed towards his contemporaries who rap about money,hoes,clothes,drugs dealing, and glorifying the gang life. The "battlemongers"(haters) called him a reject as he puts considering how much negativity he's gained from his previous album "These Days...",but Soul doesn't allow this to deter him. Then comes the most notorious part of the sing,which is a jab at Jay Electronica who was featured with Kendrick over the controversial Control track. It should be noted that there has been tension between Kenny and Jay after the chain of events set off by Lamar's verse. Ab protests that "it hurts when an O.G who was supposed to be a G.O.D is standing next to King Kunta(Lamar) feeling like Tobi",he means that it saddens him to see a respected artist as Electronica shows signs of having an inferiority complex for a song verse that was not really supposed to have bothered him...or anyone for that matter. This song is called RAW(backwards) which is WAR,not physical but rather a war of words,Soul's preachings are a weapon to fight against the problem he is yet to elaborate on. "Cause we don't die, we just multiply,divide and conquer": Ab-Soul's fan base or rather converts keep growing despite any hindrances (These Days...). He warns listeners that "the truth is scary" and that they must brace themselves for his teachings and making the listener anxious. "Wicked as Aleister Crowley" is a line Soul has used time and time again...not to be misinterpreted by any means,he is comparing himself to Crowley because Soul has cult following of fans similar to how Crowley had a cult following of converts. The next song Braille comes in with a wonderful Bas feature. But why Braille? Braille is a writing system used by the blind in place of normal alphabets,it is an unusual alphabet system for the normal seeing person which makes sense as I continue to explain. The song begins with the hook "Try saying something new,ain't nothing new to say, everything been did each and every which way" in reference to the wack shit that Soul spoke of: the repetitive songs about money,fame,women etc. But he continues "you ain't never seen it done like this" meaning Soul is about to bring something new to the masses,something out of the ordinary kinda like making non-blind people read Braille..am I right? The song doesn't seem all that 'new' as you listening to it,Soul uses a generic flow,and raps about the same things he just called wack("we went from Pentos to Benzos" along with the braggadocio that ccomes with hip-hop), although he does keep his witty lines accompanied by Bas' killer verse. This song seems more like a parody of today's music really...until the end of course. The beat becomes distorted and Ab raps "What the tongue can't taste,what the eyes can't see,what the ears can't hear",it's about his subject matter of the album,stating to the evangelized listener that it makes no sense or better yet,it is unfathomable. Huey Knew THEN begins to play its sinister instrumental. This song is about the financial prosperity of the black man as Soul begins with a rendition of The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air theme. Will Smith on the show portrays a young man from his low income lifestyle in Philadelphia moving to a neighborhood of wealth. Soul raps "I gotta shoot a fuckin' free throw to make my point". A longstanding stereotype about the black man is that the only way a black man can make it out of poverty is through basketball. Now onto Huey, the man who the song is named after. He was a civil rights activist fighting for the equality of the black man in order give him a chance to prosper but the system has been designed to keep the black man from achieving: the guns and drugs prevalent in black neighborhoods which lead to gang wars and the likes. Black out is used as a metaphor for death,black out being a minor sleeping state which is considered the cousin of Death which is in turn reaffirmed by the reference of the pale white horse. Telling white lies refers to the underhandedband shady dealings of gangbanging which also leads to the demise of the black man. "White lives matter when I black out" means white people become the topic of discussion in the death of a black man(such as the case of Trayvon Martin). Soul talks about "looking for shortcut to be an icon" but later says he's only doing it for the money,but not in a condescending way,he means he's doing it to make a living for himself as a black man with limited opportunity. And then the line "your 16 is pint sized to me" is referring to the rappers he addresses in RAW(backwards) and Braille meaning that their raps are meaningless to him,and furthermore lack true meaning to him. In the first three songs of the album Soul directs our attention away from these unnamed rappers and directs us towards him instead. This is the evangelism phase of the album. But wait...there's more. Huey was part of the Vanguard and it is a known fact that women were not allowed to join in. This sets the stage for the next song. THE SERMON Now that Ab-Soul has converted you and baptized you into his religion, he begins his sermon to the new and old converts(fans). He begins his song Threatening Nature with "this time around we're taking atheists to church,serving serpents with sermons with curse words". He talks to not only the nonbelievers of God but also the sinners using his profanity filled raps. Soul says his heart pumps the same blood as Jehovah's son or rather Joseph meaning Jesus. White people have long used religion to paint other races as inferior,but this statement by Soul challenges such a notion firstly because Jesus was a human like anyone else and on top of that he wasn't even white to begin with,this is continuing the theme of racial equality from the previous track. He challenges (threatens) the norm(nature) that he is white. Soul then switches the focus from race to something else...gender. He says "coming with lies to tell fairies(women) out of nowhere to help my selfish desires(sex)",Soul talks about how he deceived women into sleeping with him. "My life is about the vices(sin)" no explanation needed. Then he opens the first book of the bible and takes us to the garden if Eden. He talks about Adam,"If Eve never ate that apple he'd be mad sad",apple in this sense refers to Adam's sexual organs(the forbidden fruit),"and would've never pulled the leaves off of Eve and seen all that ass like a true man",Soul details how men use women as sex objects by using the example of himself and Adam and he says its "10 times harder fighting temptation". Men are tempted to feed their primal urges to have sex with women,but he is by no means defending men. Soul criticizes men by telling them that they bow down to pray to a man they don't understand (God) and get on one knee to propose to women(getting married without understanding the true meaning or purpose of marriage). Oh I love this part,"in grade school I learned about HIStory but what about HER story,did anybody ask?". In history women are not represented as much as they should and thus are overlooked in most cases. If it's not about the founding FATHERS,JFK,the first man on the moon, Martin Luther King,or Obama then it's rarely about women. "Tryna flower Queen Elizabeth",in a male run world it seems that in most cases the female power(Queen Elizabeth) is always shut down and dismantled(deflower). Soul says Genesis is the genealogy of Isis. With all that is going on around the world I can bet all my money that we all thought about the terrorist group ISIS...you know I'm right. But I think Soul is referring to the Egyptian goddess worshipped as the ideal MOTHER and WIFE. Isis is held in high regard and using her to symbolize Eve says a lot. "The chicken came before the egg"...uhm,hold that thought for now I'll explain that later. Soul goes back to HIStory when he talks about his ancestors picking cotton to their liberation from slavery today(Huey Knew) but we were so focussed on everything else that we forgot about speaking out on sexism because "the black man could vote before the women could". We sing hymns in church but what about the hers Soul asks with his witty wordplay. "Hilary Clinton tryna get ahead in the senate",Hilary was so close to making history as America's first female president the most powerful spot in the world,something that seemed like a dream at first but the fact that she didn't become president proves Soul's point even more on how the female power is always shut down. Soul says "getting head and I'm sinning"(female sex object theme). Men don't want to see a woman in power,they rather they cook,clean,pleasure them in bed...such a travesty don't you think? TESTIMONY OF THE PRIEST In mid-sermon, Ab-Soul takes a moment to talk about his sins as a man. The beginning of his testimony starts with Womanogany. In the song Soulo uses the imagery of Aphrodite (goddess of love,beauty,pleasure,and procreation) and her son Eros (god of desire,erotic love, attraction,and affection) and how they play tug of war with him. Aphrodite symbolizes genuine love while Eros symbolizes lust and thus Soul struggles between forming a genuine relationship with a woman and sleeping with a woman just for the sake of sleeping with her. This theme echoes throughout the hook that goes "I LIKE girls that's in LOVE with me". Soul manipulates women's attraction to him to please his sexual desires and confirms this when he says "gave her morning wood and rolled my wood in the morning" (one night stand). ScHoolboy Q's part on the hook "From the womb to the tomb nigga,keep that womb in that tomb nigga" is about some of the women aborting their babies(from the womb to the tomb) after Soul defiled them. A SINNER'S PRAYER The testimony continues as Soul details his calls for God's favor (an invocation) in the next song. Soul has been womanogamous(slept with so many women) and worries that his behavior might harm him as he symbolizes pussy as destructive and dangerous (Sexually Transmitted Infections). "That's why the wealthy need welfare",many affluent(wealthy) men have used their money for sexual favors and like Soul they fear for their health. In the hook Soul raps "He is I and I am Him" meaning he is a God...or rather God the Son(Jesus), symbolism he used heavily in "These Days...",and he also raps "I pray to Lord my soul's a G,if I O.D before I awake,I pray I ressurect on the third day". If you look closely at that line Ab is spelling out the word GOD,and also with the ressurection part he is praying it the Lord that he reaches a state of godliness and righteousness before he dies. Soul continues comparing himself to Jesus as people talk about him at barbershops and white kids wanting his autograph, his fame is spreading just like that of Christ, and like Christ he too is challenging the norms of his time. This prayer to God as I said is for Soul to be righteous and flee his sinful nature(sex). But like any recovering sinner he stumbles too as he says "Come suck Jesus'(Ab-Soul's) penis on Venus (desire)" going back to treating women as objects of sexual fulfilment. This is also relates to how women would want to satisfy Jesus in anyway they can(story of Mary Magdalene),the only difference her is that unlike Jesus who didn't seek sexual pleasure, Soul did. The Crowley and Jesus references go hand in hand because they also thought Jesus was spreading an evil doctrine although he was trying to enlighten people. Soul talks about "faith without the 'h' ",it is fait(fate) which is destiny...our destiny to go to "where the arc of the covenant is still" (Heaven). FELLOW SINNERS We move on from the struggling Ab-Soul and focus on his peers on Wifey vs. WiFi. This song is about Soul's friend,Riley. On verse 1 Riley gets arrested for possession of drugsdrugs and we hear the cell doors close on him. The hook is Riley reprimanding his girl(Wifey) for complain about missing her calls when he has to deal with matters of doing time in prison. In verse two Riley complains to Soul about his(Riley's) mother always arguing to him(most likely about his mistakes which lead him into prison), and calls her devil which Soul reacts to by telling Riley to "chill" and Riley continues to insult his mother(misogyny theme) by correlating the word "MOM" to it's corresponding numbers on the dial pad (666). Then we move on to Riley on the inside of prison,portrayed by BR3. This details Riley's survival on the inside of prison and somehow making many to send to his mother. He asks "why did I have to lose the case?" and continues "I feel like Biggie when he lost faith". Riley's life has been controlled by the system because of the life he chose(drug dealing,banging,etc). He has lost faith in having a better future and lost faith in God (although he reaped what he sowed). His life has spiraled and to top things off he suspects his girl is having sexual relations with other men. Riley chose the thug life which is about the masculinity that comes with street cred,and machismo which is evident in his disrespect of his mother and girlfriend. There's a Boondocks reference here. Huey the older brother is the activist fighting for civil rights of black men and Riley the younger brother is the one with an affinity for the thug life. But even with this difference they share one thing in common....they forget about the women. Riley aught to repent from his sinful ways like Soul but he doesn't. IT'S A SINNER'S WORLD Riley is saddened that he had to lose his case. But some sinners were luckier than Riley who are able to elude the clutches of prison. They are better off because they don't allow the system to send them off to every black man's perceived destiny (prison) so they beat the case like runaway slaves fleeing from their oppressors. But they're oblivious to the fact that their actions contribute to the control system. Straight Crooked sheds more light on the situation on people like Riley. "A prisoner's best asset is his liability (lie ability)",the criminals who beat their cases in the court room lied their way out of their situations and misleading the law enforcement (don't snitch). Ab calls the government a Muppet show or rather a joke of a system which is used to keep the black man from succeeding. Huey tries to break this system to give the black man equal opportunity to financially prosper but in failing to do so people like Riley resort to criminal activity to try and financial prosperity. All the efforts seem to be in vain. DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER Portishead In The Morning begins with Soul reviving his Jesus reference by calling himself a demigod (half human half god). Soul tells us he's "the brightest silver lining" and urges the converts at the service to not "make me take my light back". This sentence relates to one of Soul's lines "You can have all my shine I'll give you the light" as in the phrase "shed light"(knowledge/information). Like Jesus he tries to spread a message and urges listeners to withhold this knowledge which has been withheld from them by the system (forbidden knowledge). He asks congregants if they view him as man carrying a message(prophet) or think this is just Soul using a gimmick for financial gain(profit). They acknowledge his intellect but they tell him to dumb it down to gain greater appeal from the masses. Ab-Soul tests the male listeners in his sermon by asking a trick question: "Do you really wanna go to Heaven? Ain't no bitches mentioned". There are no female figures mentioned to be in heaven, all Angels that have been mentioned have been male, God is male,cherubs have various body parts with the head of a man. Soul paints a picture of divine sausage fest but the question is used to test the hearts of men, would they rather go to heaven or go to hell to fornicate as much as they want to. He references his song from Control System "Bohemian Grove" which is about the club of the same name which rejected women from joining, which it has been criticized for being misogynistic. In a way Soul's question is also sarcastic because he knows women are allowed in heaven(I ain't sexist,I'm inviting sisters too) so why doesn't the Grove do the same? Soul grabs the attention of atheists when he says the devil is a creation and not a creator and quotes the scientific law "energy is not created nor destroyed". God is energy because he is the uncreated creator. He uses science to prove the existence of God to the atheist converts. Describing the devil in an opposite way makes him less powerful and godlike and making him more inferior (Soul is not a satanist guys remember that). Soul ends with "God gotta be a thot". Let me explain, this song comes after two songs about sinners and criminals who have no problem in disrespecting women so this is where Soul addresses the misogynists in the room because God gave birth to Adam, thus making him a lifegiver meaning God is a female in that sense so by disrespecting the females you're nalso disrespecting God too. THOT is a term of disrespect for women so therefore if men call women thots(that.hoe.over.there) then you're pretty much calling God a that too....I hope you understood what I meant in that explanation. So when Soulo talks about the blood from your brain and beat rushing elsewhere (penis) and can't think and can't run(function) which is pretty much how men are when they are around these so called thots,they get horny and let their instincts drive them without thinking about what is it they are doing(which is defiling women),so this is Soul sort of asking you "you defile women,do you want to defile God too now?"(obviously the answer from the congregants at Soul's funeral should be no). Soul is teaching them a harsh lesson here to respect women. THE TRUTH IS SCARY Ab-Soul pretty much dropped a bombshell in the previous track which made way for the scary truth he spoke of earlier in the album which is God's A Girl...but it's more of a question from the congregants "Reverend are you really saying God's A Girl?". Some might think Soul contradicts himself,"you shit on us for calling women thots but you call them bitches",but Soul has stated in an interview with Soul that nowadays the term "bitch" is more of a term of endearment, kinda how men calk each other dawgs(dogs) so the female equivalent would be bitch. God's A Girl? is a second testimony by Soul. He starts by saying "you got me crying with a hard dick,I love you so much that I hate this shit",Ab trying to keep to his promise to refrain from his sexual urges says he cares about women that he hates the fact he has this urges in the first place, but then Soul reverts to sin when he says "come have sex with Jesus(Ab-Soul)" and "do your job" followed by a woman moaning during sex. He now uses women as sex objects again and being misogynistic again by telling the woman to do her job(sex). He thought he learned from his mistakes on Womanogamy but failed as he gives in to temptation. He shows the men he addressed in the previous song that "I too am not perfect so don't feel too ashamed when you also slip up". Soul raps "all I got is Goddess,I'm a heroine addict"......Soul becomes womanogamous again. The song pauses as Soul has a conversation and in the background we hear SZA's chorus on God's Reign...you do the math. In the second part of song,Soulo fell off way hard as he talks about going to rehab and the possibility that he might relapse(Soul's repentance and return to sin). He winds up acting like the rappers he addressed in RAW(backwards) as Soul raps about the "wack shit" too such as indulging in alcohol with peers,trying live recklessly like a rock star, getting fellatio in an expensive car and bragging about having more money than certain individuals. Towards the end Soulo contemplates his actions. "On the mountain top about to cry cause it gets so lonely up here",like any rise to fame it gets lonely at the top,he has the money but not the happiness. "Is anyone out there? Can anybody hear me?" is where he references his song from Longterm 2 of the same name where he raps about selling his soul and "Am I the next Shakur or an attention whore"...this is what Soul became,"I could save you with quotes"...this is what Soul needs to be again. This is the point of the song where he gets sense knocked into him and he realizes how much he's fallen and scrutinizes the world around him which is the "generation of complacency (self satisfaction)",the same world he became a part of for a moment. Soul vows to better himself to do the right thing when he puts his "right hand in the Bible with you". In his testimonies he has just revealed to us his demons and vows to try his best to change for the better and to leave his life of self satisfaction and misogyny. Now Jesus (Ab-Soul) goes back to his mission of trying to teach listeners. He raps "my ancestors came on a mother ship so I had to take it farther(father)". A child is born of the mother and lives under the rules and guidance of the father,Soul's ancestor(Adam) came on a mother ship(given birth by God) and lived under the rules of his father(also God). The song title is a question of whether God is a girl or not but the way Soulo puts it he is saying "Yes,God is a girl....but...he's also a man,so he's both" meaning God is equally male and female. This is a powerful revelation from Soul because what this teaches us is that even by divine law men and women are equal(the whole point of feminism). TAKE THE TRUTH AND EAT IT And Now You Know the scary truth Soul was hinting at in the beginning,the theory that the chicken(mother) came before the egg(child). At this point Soul knowing that this is a lot for you take in tells you to "try to relax". This track serves as a revision as Soul rreprises the line "I'm just a youngin' Del Amo"(Huey Knew),"cups with ices"(alcohol from God's A Girl?). Soul talks about being "miseducated, misled,misinterpreted, misunderstood, mistaken,misjudged" and a misfit causing mischieve. Majority of these words pretty much mean "I had things all wrong" and noting the "mis-" prefixes Soul is saying not only did he have women all wrong but also that he was doing them wrong. When he said "all you feminists should be on my dick for this shit" he meant they aught to be Stans (dickriders) for coming with a such a powerful and elaborate means of promoting feminism. Soul says he would change out the 'y' in mystery with an 'i' meaning that he is now figuring out women and what they want...which is to be treated as equals. He references the Bohemian Grove song intro. Thus reminding us of the objective of gender equality. Soul alludes to his conception in the womb as he talks about meiosis and mitosis (cell division) and floating through a body of water(sperm swimming in uterus) and says "And you know why I love my momma so much" is because his mother gave him life(God's A Girl) which hints the hook of the next song. At the end of the song Soul takes a misogynistic pledge which is basically a summary of his old self and also clarifying to the male listeners on what constitutes to misogyny. THE PAIN OF THE PRESENT D.R.U.G.S is a call for help from Soul. Soul talks about his personal and emotional issues and the pain he tries to take away with drugs. Mac sings "I can't help myself I think I need some help" but the only help present to Ab is his drugs which have become his crutches. Towards the end he says "Aderall Admiral give Danny credit",Aderall Admiral is a song by Danny Brown about the drug Aderall. It should be noted that at one point in time Danny went onto Twitter to vent about his internal pain telling people that he doesn't do drugs because it's cool,he does drugs becausenhe has problems in his life and Danny has hinted at suicidal tendencies on his song "30". Soul referencing Danny in such a way tells us that behind the calm shades lies a broken man as we see in the album cover. He openly asks us his "brethren" to alleviate his pain. Ab-Soul has been using the Jesus symbolism throughout the album,so this moment on D.R.U.G.S is reminiscent of Jesus crying during prayer asking God to free him from the suffering he'll endure during his trial and crucifixion. This is the moment in the Bible where Jesus shows that he too is human with fear and pain. Soul is human too with problems like anyone else even though he keeps his composure in the public eye. In the music video for this song Soul calls to check up on his mom(God) and says he'll be coming home soon. But in Soul's background we can see Jerusalem as he says he's coming home(Heaven). This means souls will be crucified for our sins(album art of These Days...) and ascend to heaven. Don't Ruin Us God Said is lyrical reference to Lupe Fiasco's song "They.Ressurect.Over.New" which Soul is featured on. This means Soul will die and rise again (his song Stigmata) into something new and transformed....or rather reincarnated(which is the theme of T.R.O.N) this could also be hinting at Andy Weir's short story called The Egg where God says we are all one entity living out different incarnations of ourselves also giving a secondary meaning to Ab-Soul's line "he is I and I am him,they ain't me and I ain't them" meaning we are all different incarnations but we are one. This theme of unity ties in with the feministic theme of the album of male and female equality or in spirit science terms: unity of male energy(logic and analytical thinking) and female energy (creativity and abstract thought),unity of yin and yang to find peace and thus reach nirvana, a place of no suffering. This is the penultimate conclusion of Tetsuo & Youth which life,death,reincarnation("proceed to the next level") and finally Nirvana. Tetsuo & Youth is the game and Do What Thou Wilt is our instruction manual to get us to nirvana. TRIBUTE TO THE DEAD Evil Genius is a memorial service of Alori Joh(Ab's deceased girlfriend). He gathers longtime Alori Joh collaborator and friend Javonté for the ceremony. Soul first talks about himself as the misunderstood "evil" genius although his motives are good and talks about how Alori would help Soul as a partner in crime and calls her an evil genius too because she understood Ab and his motives. In the hook Soul references the song "Let You Shine" by Alori which he referenced on "The Book Of Soul' too,plus he even samples the song on Evil Genius but the song is distorted and gives it a ghostly feel. The last time Alori was heard was on Section.80 and Control System and so this is like Alori's ghost ressurecting and Teedra Moses' voice which is eerily similar to Joh's indeed makes it seem like she is rising from the grave. On D.R.U.G.S,Soul has a void in his heart which only Joh would've been able to fill and thus Soul realizes even more how alone he is and starts to break down. A BISHOP'S TEARS On Lonely Soul reiterates how much he is misunderstood as he baffles people like the Baphomet. The Baphomet anatomy is all over the place and is confusing and misunderstood by onlookers but in the madness there is meaning,kinda like Soul's lyricism,but the only person who understood Soul is dead and gone and he feels out of place. He sulks in this song telling people to "Leave me (a)lone". He goes back to his crutch,drugs[lavender(purple kush) and pastel green(chronic)]. When he is asked "What happens after Control System?" he replies "the system controls me". The loss of Alori hit Soul so hard and it heavily accounts for his reckless nature in his testimonies stated above and how the depression he felt made him even more vulnerable to the system and sinning. He says "a coward killed my brother Georgiano and his momma"(the thug life/Riley). The loved ones around him are dying and adds on to his depression. The only person who could help was Alori. Soul is the male energy which is destructive in the absence of the female energy (Alori),emphasizing the importance of a woman in a man's life. Soul is the Black Lip Pastor and Alori was his priestess. Alori made "The Love Religion",an album full of live songs dedicated to Soul. In the absence of the priestess,The Black Lip Pastor now takes over The Love Religion and is about to minister to us what the law of this religion is....."Love is the law,love the only law" as SZA sings. Soul gains his composure at this point of the sermon. Ab revisits the past and in a way "The Law" can be seen as a bonus track for "The Love Religion". He talks about getting money to feed his female(Alori). "We are divided to restore the balance" and remember the song by Alori "Happy Medium ft. Ab-Soul" where the couple is engaged in argument(divided) and they make up after Soul says "You know I'm tryna make your family my in-laws". The song is nicely completed by Rhapsody as she says "we took him(men) to heaven where those golds and arcs are at" as a cherry on top to what Soul has been saying throughout the album in the importance of women in the lives of men and reaffirming that male energy cannot function without female energy. THE END OF THE SERMON YMF is Soul rapping up the sermon. The hook basically means that Soul is a sinner like everyone else and in a way states that we need love to get through life. Love for each other not only as blacks and whites,natives and foreigners, but also as men and women. "Another portions of the big picture that you'll leave out of the portrait that you will paint for me",Soul is the portrait,and the woman in his life is destined to finish the portrait and finally make Soul to be whole. God is love God is peace God is a man God is a girl Women are the missing piece of men needed to bring peace into their lives and as such should be treated with respect. Soul is a Young Mind Fuck who is misunderstood, waiting for a woman who'll understand him so Soul can be at peace in this lifetime and reach a state of Nirvana. At the end of the song God in His female personification brings light into this surround by darkness. I'm not sure if I'm 100% correct but one thing is for certain.... DWTW will go down in history as one of Soul's most powerful albums.

[blue-opossum]

Total Freedom in Lucid Dreaming

        Morning of September 19, 2017. Tuesday.

        In the first part of my dream, in the first non-lucid segment, I am in a typical scenario where I am in a bookstore (or what is firstly perceived as one) and looking at various comic books and graphic novels. This goes on for a long time as I gather a stack together to keep. The books are unfamiliar, thus new to me, though some are implied to be older (as far back as the 1970s).

        At this stage, the personified preconscious is present as a younger unfamiliar male. Curiously, he is painting, as if there was also an art studio here. It is not much bigger than A4 size and lying on the table that I am sitting at eventually. It seems to be a landscape with flowers in the foreground.

        I tell him how I had painted, with a paint-by-number kit when I was a boy, two skulls. I explain how they were two singular portraits of skeletal pirates, shown from about the chest up. (This is based on a real-life event and thus atypically, is a real memory.) He said he had never heard of them. "Oh, they were quite popular," I reply. I then go on to describe how my older brother Earl had started a very large paint-by-number of the Mona Lisa, but had never finished. (This was also a real event, from the early 1970s.)

        Eventually, I decide to walk out of what now seems like a second-hand store. I have a stack of graphic novels and comic books at least a foot high. However, it seems confused with the free bookstore, where (in real life) there is no one present other than the patrons and one is trusted to trade books of equal value on their own. A cashier, an older unfamiliar female, stops me by asking what I am doing. She is at a counter to my right. Apparently, I have to pay for the books, possibly a lot of money, which I do not have on me, which I tell her. I also protest in that I tell her I had left food on a previous visit. It does not seem to matter to her. I still apparently have to pay for these books now.

        I take out my wallet and the contents of my right pants pocket and see that I have only coins, which I place on the counter, which has now suddenly shifted to the opposite side of the room and farther back from the entrance of the store - a subliminally willed (non-lucid dream control) attempt at reinduction, that is, I had consciously but subliminally willed the counter back from my dream's implied exit point as well as shifting it from the right to the left, as right is more typical of waking symbolism orientation. (The checkout of a store symbolizes a specific level of emergent consciousness as a common liminal space end marker in my dreams, fully understood as such since I was very young. This does not mean every dream ends shortly after a checkout is rendered, but it does indicate a precursor to an expected shift in consciousness, not necessarily full wakefulness, though that is often the case).

        The preconscious factors had transmuted from the artist (which symbolizes potential lucidity, though my non-lucid dream self does not realize this) to the elderly female cashier, though an unfamiliar male with a beard joins her on her right (the same orientation Zsuzsanna and I are presently sleeping in). The other male looks at my coins. Three of them are unusual in that they are mostly featureless other than having an embossed circle on them. "These are tally-hoes," he says. This seems to mean that they may not be coins for buying something but possibly for use with public transport, or perhaps of little value. (Of course, "Tally-ho", here an absentminded association with tallying up the total price as in "tally whole cost", is here also a codeword for the waking transition analogous as the dream self hunting for the fox, which represents the precursor to coalescence back into conscious self identity and critical thinking skills or cleverness which the dream self does not typically possess.)

        From here, my mode of non-lucid dream control increments. I decide to leave the store with the books anyway, by teleporting and phasing through the entrance door without opening it (another form of subliminal reinduction, that is, even though I do not know I am dreaming, I deliberately manipulate it, a very common state of in-dream awareness for me).

        Still, they are heavy to carry, but I do not mind that much. It seems to be late at night. I notice that the moon is of an unusual appearance as a number of unusual clouds encircle it. The moon imagery is within the blue sky even though the rest of the sky is dark. Understanding that this image of the nighttime sky is absurd, I now become fully lucid and I decide to actively change and sustain my dream.

        The first act I perform is to joyfully throw my books onto the ground, as there is no sense in carrying them (or to be weighed down by them) in the dream state. I feel physically lighter and very happy to realize I am dreaming due to lifelong understanding of taking full conscious self advantage of this state. I enter apex lucidity and decide to create a park and have a sustained and augmented sexual encounter with Zsuzsanna. After this, I will it again. Parts of my body are "buzzing" with pleasure and our climaxes are extended (probably due to the Tetris effect from so many real-life events). However, I eventually shift into a different form of lucidity, where my dream is so realistic, that my dream self starts to question if my real physical body is somehow walking around (which of course is a ridiculous thought, but this has happened in past lucid dreams of a higher and sustained form), so I decide to initiate waking to find that I (that is, my sleeping physical body) had not moved at all. Still, there is something about the bliss, freedom, and even perceived safety of apex lucidity that is hard to describe.