#i looove essays and analysis

[moldsporr]

Ok so mutual Moldsporr here's the thing I was about to send a very excited ask telling you about the interesting things about Yomi's black eyes + variants scenes after compiling all of them (yes I rewatch all Yomi scenes and pay attention to his eyes in all of them. you know about my grind) but it's got way way way long and I had like multiple whole new epiphanies while in the middle of writing and it might even be a whole post by itself entirely. Perhaps tomorrow.... Or day after tomorrow....... Mutual Moldsporr is that cool is the chat interested in hearing me getting insane over Yomi Rain Code Eye Color I think we all should get insane over Yomi Rain Code Eye Color it is a fasvinating topic. Growling out...... But will be Back

HELL YESSSS. In full honesty I love your analysis and essays they're so great chat is PUMPED. Ive never really thought of yomis eye color so I'm curious to see what you've found !!! Waiting patiently :3 make sure you tag me mutual growling... also pace yourself do not tire yourself out too much you got this

[apuff]

i am such an english nerd that i VOLUNTARILY did the exact same thing as my honors english homework over the summer FOR FUN

@thankyouforthev3n0m

the cats of ulthar is pretty fun, it features bad thing happening to cats but it turns out pretty okay in the end (TRYING SO HARD NOT TO SPOIL)*

the nameless city is one of the best "spooky ancient society ahh" hpl type things that he wrote, it's pretty orientalist tho

2. the quest of iranon is cool*

3. the other gods is fun, like a lot of these i feel like they're supposed to be scary but i just find them to be fun and kinda campy? it's odd *

4. the music of erich zann (i forgor the spelling) is cool

5. sweet ermengarde is great because it's absolutely not horror or fantasy and it's just this weird spoof satire story

6. herbert west- already explained why it's good

7. the unnamable is weirdly meta and for that reason i find it to be refreshing

8. in the vault is just kinda crazy and i like how simple the premise is

9. cool air is just wack. somehow hpl is afraid of both spanish people and AIR CONDITIONING in this and for that reason it is funny

10. pickman's model is iconic and hilarious and pretty well executed (idk if i am SUPPOSED to find it funny but it's great )

11. the strange high house in the mist- kinda just weird and atmospheric *

12. the dream quest of unknown kadath, i think is almost the longest thing he wrote. it's kind of like an extremely long winded and vibes based stoner fantasy

(okay i looked this up and i couldn't find any actual definition of the phrase stoner fantasy but i just mean it's weirdly trippy and dreamy fantasy)

anyways it's pretty good if you lean into it

13. the colour out of space, i already explained why it's good

the alchemist and the tomb aren't that good since he wrote them when he was so young but they're kind of neat to hear anyway (actually the tomb just makes me sad but in sort of an interesting way)

*part of this thing called the dream cycle which is all set in this special stoner fantasy dream world and shares names and places and events

hpl recommendations OVERRR

[cervidame]

hey! i looove the way you write theo in genesis (that entire fic is GOLD) and was wondering if you had an analysis or any headcanons for theo's character?

(also, feel free to ignore this ask if i'm asking for too much 😅)

*cracks knuckles* In short: - The role of printer's apprentice sparks a lot of thought around the politics of the time and the process of wanting to raise awareness/give a voice to issues that don't normally get attention. - If he didn't inherit a barony, he'd publish & edit periodicals, probably publishing a novel after some time. - His lack of having a voice/vote as a working class man makes him relate to Eloise. - Theo would be sympathetic to first wave feminism and Chartism. - Staffordshire was at the heart of industrial revolution and thus suffered its worse effects, resulting in riots & strikes from the 1830s - 40s, making it the perfect stage for a fic focusing on these issues before they explode. - Theo "closes the door" on his emotions and walks away when he can't handle things. - Eloise is better at recognizing her emotions and communicating them because of her family. - is a coffee fiend OK hi anon so! Theo's role as a printer's apprentice is actually important. On completion, this can be a lucrative trade and many apprentices went on to make their own news pamphlets and politicals. You can imagine sort of political newsletters, Twitter threads, and newspaper opinion pieces and book reviews of the day as the equivalent to give a voice to various issues. They'd include some essays (I guess today we'd call them opinion pieces) from various people. A notable example has been mentioned in the fic - The Monthly Review - which started in 1749. Just from seeing how well read Theo is, the fact he appears to regularly attend assemblies, and from his work I've developed his character to be politically engaged and radical (for the time). Outside of Genesis, I imagine Theo's ambitions would be to be the editor of his own periodical in the style of The Monthly Review with a strong emphasis on politics.

Theo would be a strong sympathizer of the Chartism movement. This movement of the working class boomed from the 1830s. The charter included 6 things including giving all working men the right to vote. The system in England at the time focused on landowners then. It's not just the poverty of his (and others like him) in England that bothers him in the show. It's the lack of having a voice, which also makes him sympathetic to the women's movement and Eloise's plight is relatable in that sense, even if their backgrounds are very different. Chartism resulted in many riots including the Pottery Riots of 1842. In Burslem, near where I grew up, a young man (just 19) was shot dead by police during a strike march. In retaliation, the strikers burned down the house of the magistrate who'd ordered the police to shoot at the rioters. While my fic Genesis takes place before this movement boomed, issues had long since begun and Theo is well aware of them. He wants to help and use his voice for good. Theo buries his emotions. We see this in the last interaction of Theo & Eloise where he walks away and shuts the literal door in his workplace. My headcanon, and what we explore in Genesis, is what happens when that door starts to burst open. That's why little thoughts of Eloise creep through. You can't hold back your emotions forever. Eventually it bursts out. We also see this in how he's dealing with the news of being presented to the Queen and becoming the official heir to the Barony. Lock it away. Deal with it maybe later (or preferably never!!). This is why Eloise, who took the first step in stating her emotions to Theo (also because of their difference in station) is a good balance for him. I do think she's better at communication and has a better awareness of her feelings, helped by her interactions with Benedict who's very open and supportive! Vs Theo who I see as an orphan with a very limited support system. He hasn't developed this type of communication / emotional intelligence quite as much. Uhhhh I guess finally he loves coffee more than tea and probably liked going to coffee houses on occasion - actually more for the coffee than all the political discussions which he also loved.

[evil-robot-cat]

Fandom Ask: A, K, N, V

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed. My eternal obsession is Chaos/Reeve/Vincent from FF7. My other faves are Sidon/Link(+Yona now!) from BotW, Hua Cheng/Xie Lian and He Xuan/Shi Qinxuan from TGCF, and Luo Binghe/Shen Qingxiu from SVSS.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc? Thanks to Ever Crisis, I have thoroughly enjoyed Sephiroth's development. Watching him go from a broken lab rat to a youth starting to believe he can have friends and be his own person, and then… and then… AND THEN… It gives a much better understanding of why he does a lot of the things he does.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice). I WISH FORE MORE REEVINCE FANS. It's been my dream this whole long time - reevince art and fics (especially fics, I looove reading about them), reevince essays and analysis, reevince everything!

V - Which character do you relate to most? A complicated question, somehow. I can't really answer it.

[borreloadsavagedragon]

20 and 21 for Kaito!

kaito posting……… we know how this will go down

20. A Weird Headcanon

What a perfect question to submit so I can talk about the Tenjo Cousin concept that Sorrel has me hooked on 👁👁

So one of my all time favorite headcanons to write fic and conversation for is how Yusaku and Kaito are actually related, they’re cousins now, I said so

A lot of it traces back to similarities in their characters, in their interpersonal relationships and friend groups, but also the fact that Yusaku uses Photon Thrasher in a duel against the Hanoi before he uncovers the Cyberse pile deck left by Ai

Like out of every card you could have used, Photon Thrasher, from an archetype we have canon confirmation for being created by dimensional science…………. interesting pick! I’m NOT gonna focus on it!!! (lying)

I love just finding a way to make them work as a family dynamic, but I also just want to give Yusaku a strong blood relative to go with the strong found family he’s already made, I like to make these loners feel a bit less lonely

Galaxy also being one of the Zexal anime decks that has a Link monster is v cute

Also looove theorizing Kaito’s background and what could have been, like why does he have the same diamond pattern on his turtle neck that Rio does on her out of school wear, and in a related note why does he look so much like his dragon in both his hair design and the previously mentioned outfit, just all those little details and where they could have been going-

One fic I’ve been working super hard on in hopes to publish is a post-canon AU that’s a focus on reincarnation and the power of human spirit and it’s mostly a project to answer my own lingering questions on certain aspects of Zexal canon, it’s very GoT/HoTD inspired and takes some of the pre-established history with warring kings but add slightly more politics, extra battles, and also dragons, but told through memories during some post canon conflict that ties it all together, one day I’ll actually make a post about it but for right now it remains a brainchild with 3 outlines and a 10k+ lore outline

21. When do you think they were at their happiest?

Oh this is a good question

Ok so, preview for part of the analysis essay but-

It’s actually kind of sad because most of Kaito’s pictured happiness in BOTH spin-offs he appears in is all very past tense. Like, beside his general demeanor and the obvious instances, Kaito’s color palettes are a lot brighter in both the time he spends in the family cabin and in Haruto’s baby days in Zexal and in the Arc V High School tournament flashbacks, he’s also essentially never shown frowning anytime the shows recall him before current canon. The way they utilize color with Kaito’s regression into himself is brilliant, he’s the brightest thing in the hallway of Heartland Tower when Haruto is taken from him, he’s one of brightest things in the rain when Chris leaves, but water is going to darken the colors he’s wearing, another thing to really show that this moment is the last thing that pushed him into being Kaito who we recognize

I want to do more color analysis for him in canon too but that’s not the question fjdhdhsbdb

Despite that, I’d actually argue Kaito’s happiest in the end of Zexal(and Arc V but that’s a slightly different subject, end of the tunnel is similar!!), because he endured and arguably survived everything that came to break him, moon duel pending since the Code basically said lmao to that.

He allowed himself to open back up after being cast aside and was rewarded for it because not only did he make new everlasting bonds, but all of these people who left him and left a such a heavy mark on him came back to him. They not only came back, they’re brought back to him apologetically after acknowledging the things they did to him.

Kaito doesn’t get to do much in Zexal II mostly because the show got a little messy with bringing in more cast and having a few plot threads that actually needed to be wrapped up that had to take priority, but IMO he does arguably get one of the best ends in Zexal, Arc V is a weird second element that’ll get its own discussion piece one day

[tuiyla]

Hey! So I know you are a Kitty Wilde fan and she didn’t interest me much personally while I was watching the show. But your gorgeous gif sets grabbed my attention so I wanted to ask you if you could talk about the reasons you like her (if you haven’t yet already) because I want to know more about her now, if you want to talk about it of course no pressure <3

Ooooh thank you for the opportunity! I don't think I ever actually did a post that was just, here's why I love Kitty, so I'll gladly share some thoughts.

I have a really long character analysis in the works all about Kitty, her themes and her arc but at this point that's been a work in progress for an actual year and I feel like I should stop going on about it and finish it instead lol. I'm just noting this to say that I'll mention a few things about her character that I won't elaborate on right now but hopefully I can finish that at some point this century and really go in depth about what I mean.

So, Kitty. I think such a huge part, though not all of my fascination with her can be contributed to Becca Tobin and how she elevated this role that was supposed to be RM finally getting to have an irredeemably evil blonde cheerleader. She's written as such a vile person in the beginning and does arguably the most horrible thing in the show that I did start off hating her. I even said to my sister while we were watching season 4 for the first time, "wow she sucks so much." But even then I think Becca Tobin did her best trying to give some sort of depth to this intentionally one note character. I think the best proof we have, other than the whole ED storyline itself, that the creators didn't want Kitty to be more than pure evil is that they deleted what could have been a really poignant scene in Swan Song. Imagine thinking the stupid "lesbian blogger" jokes had more of a right to be in the final version than a much-needed scene between Kitty and Marley. I hate this show, anyway.

But then, whether because they saw what Becca could do with his character in this scene or some other reason, the writers decided to actually do something with this character. I think it’s understandable that for some she never quite redeems herself for the Marley mess, and in fact this initial run of Kitty’s character is probably the reason why it’s taking me so long to write her character analysis. It’s horrifying on a level that’s only second to IKAG imo. But as someone who did hate Kitty during the ED storyline, I did grow to care for her. She has a subtle but nice plot in the second half of season 4 about becoming a true part of the club, most notably in Guilty Pleasures after Brittany confronts her. She finally apologizes to Marley in Shooting Star. She shows vulnerability with Ryder and bonds with him after the shit he gets from Sam and Artie’s during their big flop moment. There’s the Wonder-ful plot with Artie, where Kitty helps someone just because she wants to. By the end of the season 4 she’s much more of a mean girl in the vein of Santana, so a bitch but with good qualities instead of being the evil incarnate she starts out as.

And you know, I do try to make the ED stuff make sense on a character level in my essay, but the truth is the writers didn’t care to make Kitty an actual character in the beginning. The immense charisma that Becca brings to the role, as well her skills as a true triple threat really help elevate Kitty into a real member of the club - best new dancer along with Jake, unique and amazing voice, acting chops on par with the best of the first gen kids. Like I say I think she starts becoming much more interesting in season 4 and then season 5 clearly knows better what to do with her. Some episodes, anyway, like the Beatles two-parter. I love Wildebrams, I love how we’re actually acknowledging Kitty’s struggle of balancing the Glee Club with the Cheerios.

And when she returns in season 6, I looove that we’re at least dealing a little bit with how she felt left behind, after how long it took for her to embrace Glee Club and how important it became. I also think she has fascinating themes of beauty and sexuality, questions of community, trust, all that. Her trauma as revealed in Lights Out is only ever mentioned in that episode but I think it recontextualizes a lot of her moments and all the little crumbs turn her into a fascinating character. I wouldn’t necessarily say “layered” or “well-written” because that would be crediting the writers and frankly, fuck them, but Kitty still ended up becoming a much more engaging character than she was initially intended to be.

I don’t know how good of a summary that was but, yeah. I find Kitty to be suuuper interesting, engaging to watch, and I am a sucker for characters who become more than what they were meant to be. I think she’s the true shining star of the later seasons and since finishing the show has become a top 4 character for me. Certainly top 3 in terms of who I could go on and on about haha. And that’s fitting because she’s basically a Quinntana love child and they’re my top 2 in this sense. I’d love to discuss her more if you or any others have particular storylines or moments of interest, or just any thoughts. I totally get if Kitty’s not your cup of tea, I just think there’s a lot of accidental greatness with her - accidental on the writers’ part, Becca Tobin deserves all the credit.

[asthedeathoflight]

I think the debate of "the curtains are just blue and I hated my high school English teacher" vs "if you think the curtains are just blue you're stupid and making the world worse" is missing the, I think, QUITE OBVIOUS point here. Which is that (American) public school English is by and large NOT TAUGHT WELL.

I fucking looove textual analysis and I laughed at and reblogged those "the curtains are just blue" memes, because they /had a point./

A lot of English classes are taught in a way that expects everyone to relate to and think about a story the same way. Even if you think deeply about a story, you might never come up with the answer they want because you're not coming at it from the same angle. And it can be SO frustrating when an essay prompt relies on an experience of a story you just /didn't have/.

Yes, it's annoying when people act like subtext isn't real and alternative readings are less "correct" than the obvious or accepted one. But a lot of them are coming from an experience of textual analysis that is synonymous with "your thoughts and opinions about this story are wrong and invalid, and you need to think about it my way and ONLY my way."

And before anyone goes to blame this on "bad" classes or teachers: my source for this post is having taken AP Literature. The teacher was amazing, the textbooks were a nightmare.

[nicomrade]

btw i REALLY appreciate ur essay cus while im good at analysis and criticism in my head and can still put my thoughts to paper im like sooo bad at knowing how to structure writing and i never rlly learned how to write an actual essay i failed english multiple times thru the years i was in school but you rlly summed up most of the thoughts ive had abt jigen in a coherent way and even elaborated on stuff i didnt think abt bcs i dont care abt twcfm enough to like do in depth analysis of it that doesnt have to do w why i think it sucks lol. but yeah keep up the good work ur jigen opinions r the best

OMG thank you so much.......... honestly i loooved literary analysis in hs its like the only part of school i actually enjoyed and it shows.. it takes me forever to actually be coherent though like that post was written over several months before it actually made sense and wasnt just. kinda mean for no reason but yeah like man ive seen twfcm ONCE i could not go that in depth about anything else in the series cause some of the eps just genuinely make me sick LOL but i watched that jiggy ep at least 7 times it just kinda hypnotized me... idk if i even LIKE it but its so dense and fascinating to me... jiggy....... BUT YEAH like seriously i appreciate all this so so much jess ill get to ur other asks in a bit theyre super interestin !!

[thatbanjobusiness]

Ok so i was stuck in a rut for music to listen to while working (working form home man...busy season just gets to ya quicker) and as a follower of this account i thought “lets try out bluegrass! Haddock says its cool, and ive heard a banjo before, see what that does” so i find a version of foggy mountain breakdown and about keeled over when steve martin was in it (Fun fact for the uninformed such as mysef, steve martin plays the banjo lol) and i’m like oh that was fun! So youtube took me to one of those hour long compilations of flatt and scruggs songs and i was like oh that was fun! So i’ve been interspersing some bluegrass into my work playlist (thank you much for the introduction!)

Now the real reason i’m sending this message is because i finally got around to watching a video of the supposed original 1949 recording of Foggy Mountain Breakdown and

DUDE.

WTF.

ITS GLORIOUS.

Earl Scruggs in his prime is absolutely wild, i see why you keep yacking about him, ITS AMAZING🤩🤩🤩 like just, the energy and just like, idk man its simultaneously relaxing and energizing. How does that even work?? I dont know lol but yeah, thanks for sharing this corner of the music world with us, its been fun😁 lol

Hgnghgngngngngh oh m;y gosh. Oh my gosh. I’m sorry for taking this long to respond, but I want to say, from Day One when I received your message, I was STOKED. Thanks for making my day! I took so long to respond because I was trying to make sure I DIDN’T write too long an essay of excited babbling in return (but at least I should start our conversation, so here we go!).

The original Foggy Mountain Breakdown is so freaktastically good and I would love to write an analysis on why every musical element combines to a perfect finish. For instance, one thing I find perfect about Foggy Mountain Breakdown’s 1949 recording is that this arrangement is like a tense duel: the bass driving forward with repeated notes to add drama, while the banjo and fiddle square off against each other, and the banjo wins the fight (great fiddling by Benny Sims here, of course, too, but the banjo won the fight). That banjo sparkles, man. I want to emphasize all the more that Earl Scruggs in his prime in the late 1940s and early 50s was playing bounds ahead of most others, so just imagine how that would’ve sounded in context where people weren’t used to hearing a three-string banjo like that at all! The fact that seventy years later, after everyone’s figured out tons more techniques for the banjo, after we’ve gotten hundreds of new skilled professional musicians and better recording equipment... we’re still blown away by THIS MUSIC... speaks to how timeless the music is and how alluring Earl’s banjo playing truly is.

Now. I looove what you said about “simultaneously relaxing and energizing.” I feel that too when I listen to Flatt & Scruggs! For the high majority of their repertoire! And for that matter that goes for many first generation bluegrass artists. The reason I draw to first gen is that I find it the perfect combination of down-home heart and technical skill.

They’re performing music with simple lyrics, basic chord progressions, and easy-to-sing-along-with melodies. It’s simple, homey, and familiar there: these are songs we might sing at church, or old folk song recitations, or are just good everyday man songs about everyday human things. So it makes the music relaxing. But at the same time, these are musicians who brought a heightened caliber of technical skill, improvisation, and intensity to the string band format. They understand drive. I forgot where it was I read this, but someone said first gen bluegrass performers didn’t have to do anything more than stand onstage with a serious face and play their music, because their music alone was enough to excite audiences. And there’s truth in that. The music isn’t so rhythmically complicated it takes a music degree or a heavy-concentrating arts lover to parse what’s being played... it’s not inaccessible like that. But it’s SKILLED. The music is improvised with gripping skill, speed, technicality, musicality, heart, and genuine homegrown talent. 

And ergo, hearing a man tear through his banjo at eleven notes per second while hitting every note with machine-gun precision, separating melody from background, and adding a whole ton of gripping melodic motion, can’t help but be exciting. For me, a band like Flatt & Scruggs, of which extraordinarily talented instrumentalists like Earl Scruggs, Josh Graves, Benny Martin, and Paul Warren existed, has that perfect match of “whoa” talent and comforting homeliness.

ANYWAY.

If you are still checking out Flatt & Scruggs intermittently as you go about your listening life, but you’re not sure what to hone in on, the first album by Flatt & Scruggs I’d throw at anyone would be Foggy Mountain Jamboree. There’s an extended edition of it released in 2005, I believe, that makes it even better. This album is Flatt & Scruggs from their mid-50s period, and it alternates between some of their best and most well-known instrumentals, with a variety of damn solid and memorable sung tunes, too. It is the perfect representation of what F&S is as a band. For people wanting just instrumental, Foggy Mountain Banjo from 1961 is a godsend album for banjo pickers.

As for my personal favorite period? I’ve got two. For recorded audio, Flatt & Scruggs’s vintage years are my favorite listens. All their Mercury Record releases are spectacular, their early Columbia stuff is GREAT. I listen to it constantly. But I have a huge heart for a specific band lineup that was consistent between the mid 50s to early 60s, I’ve seen a ton of videos of them (DON’T GET ME STARTED ON WHY I LOVE THE VIDEOS), and when I think of Flatt & Scruggs, I think of those six men. Those boys are my quintessential Foggy Mountain Boys. If you want to watch videos, seeing the black and white videos of them are going to be that period, and there’s a ton of personality and charm there because you can tell they all love each other and have a hoot playing with each other.

ANYWAY THAT IS ENOUGH BABBLING FOR NOW. Feel free to chat right back at me! I’ll be here, as you know. XD

[icharchivist]

@ttachibana​ replied to “tOP FIVE HUNTER X HUNTER CHARACTERS PLEEEEEASE. And why you love them?...”

it's a whole essay omg you're adorable

@mendokusais​ replied to “tOP FIVE HUNTER X HUNTER CHARACTERS PLEEEEEASE. And why you love them?...”

I had to stop reading about kurapika cause I started cryin

@killuabs​ replied to “tOP FIVE HUNTER X HUNTER CHARACTERS PLEEEEEASE. And why you love them?...”

Icha I looove listening to you analyze characters, gosh. Your Kurapika essays kill me. This is wonderful thank u so much for blessing me with this 💙

HELLO THIS IS I, YOUR FELLOW KURAPIKA LOVER

ajkhdsdlks thank you guys so much ;;; Ye I kinda. Went with an essay (but to be fair Alo asked me to do an essay so I didn’t stop :’D) (and it’s not adorable i’m in too deep with them I cry)

alkhdslkd in one way I’m sorry I made you cry mendo but on the other I’m really glad I managed to convey all the feelings I wanted to convey about Kurapika I love him so much I cried typing it.

and same so with Alo i’m. so glad you felt this way too. I love Kurapika so much it kills me and I’m so glad you liked this analysis. 

and thank you for saying that baout my characters analysis akjhdsds it makes me so happy that you enjoy my analysis ajkhdskjds thank you so much ;;;;;

Thanks guuuyys

(also reminder in case it wasn’t clear enough: I luv Kurapika. ur welcome)