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blueink2k · 4 years ago

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Propaganda in Death Note and How It Played Into Light’s God Complex

[This is based on information from the anime, as I have yet to read the manga for myself. Caps from or references to the manga may be included to emphasize points or provide visuals, but the version of the plot I'm referring to is taken from the anime.]

Light Yagami does not pick up the Death Note knowing he’s going to use it to commit mass murder and become the God of his New World.

Actually, he does the opposite. He kills someone to test it as he’s under the impression it isn’t real, convinces himself it was a freak coincidence, and decides to try it out in a way that will provide a more concrete conclusion. When it does end up working he’s stunned, to say the least.

“I killed them both...I killed two men. Those were human lives. I-It won’t be overlooked. Besides, who am I to pass judgment on others?”

Light Yagami, the perfect, straight-A, model student, has just confirmed he killed two people using some strange supernatural notebook that just happened to fall into his hands. He’s always believed strongly in his morals. He’s been on course his whole life to join the police force like his father an deliver justice, and here he is, an indirect murderer.

So what does he do about it?

...He comes up with a reason to justify himself.

The people he killed were criminals. Mere scum who do nothing but rot and infect the world. Wouldn’t everyone be better off without them? It isn’t that he’s never considered this before, he has, albeit not to the same degree as taking their deaths into his own hands. But now that he has the power to do so, why shouldn’t he? He’s smart, he’s determined. He’s capable of it.

In fact, in his mind, he’s the only one who is.

He’s kind of right. He’s the top of his class, he comes out on top in national tests, he barely even has to try. Plus, he’s the only one that has a Death Note, and therefore the power to do this.

At this point in time, he doesn’t consider himself a god. He doesn’t want to rule the world, he just wants to change it. Something else important to note is that he doesn’t refer to himself as Kira or anything other than Light.

...That is, until...

Websites start popping up all over claiming that whoever this mass murderer is is named “Kira”, a god among men risen to punish criminals and save the world.

Two things to note here;

Apparently, “Kira” is returning, meaning there must have been some kind of previous belief in an entity that either did something similar to Light or had the same beliefs. There isn’t any other canon mention of a previous Kira, and this in and of itself is pretty vague, but given that there’s tons of religions in real life that have never had a big breakthrough, it’s reasonable to believe this could be something similar. That, or a creepypasta. Or a cult.

Light created this understanding that he had to be the one to change the world to cope with his murders. Actually - that might be the worst way to put it, since we know how strongly he feels about justice and being given an outlet to carry out this wish of world peace just enhanced this, but nonetheless... It’s impossible to assume he’s doing all of this without even a speck of guilt. Therefore, this is the first hint of appreciation or even just acknowledgement that what he’s doing is right.

Disregarding the first point (as interesting as I find it), this is really the first time Light is ever told what he’s doing is good. His own father - who he idolizes -considers Kira evil. His sister flat out says she hates him. Of course, this is all after Kira actually does become popular, but still, all he receives from that point on is disapproval from the people he cares the most about. The online love for Kira is all he has.

So, yeah, he probably internalizes it.

He thinks he’s doing the right thing. He thinks he’s giving others justice. He thinks he’s the only one who can do this. Others agreeing is only enhancing this. They’re the ones who call him God.

As the story progresses, Kira’s power and popularity grows. He gains direct news coverage, people begin sending him names of people to kill, his following grows. So much so, that when someone gets a Death Note and figures out that must be what he’s using, their immediate response is to find a way to contact him.

Cue Misa Amane and Sakura TV.

Sakura TV is a news program known for its unreliability. Demegawa, the director, even says he’s willing to make things up for publicity. And that’s when the Second Kira tapes arrive.

This, however, is only the first encounter with Sakura TV.

After this, the only direct involvement the police has with it is in the Yotsuba arc, when it’s used to lure out Higuchi. Otherwise the program promotes Kira all on its own, even going so far as to create Kira’s Kingdom - half a scam for viewers’ money, half a way to get more people to see Kira as God. And it works. He gains a following of people who believe he will create a new, better world, and will even give themselves up to help him.

An example of this following is when a mob of followers attacks the SPK under Kira’s orders. They’re so quick to join in, and are even willing to put their names and faces on TV in trust that Kira will not kill them.

All of this publicity sparks fear in the general public. People begin fearing that if they do something wrong Kira will kill them, causing crime rates to drop nearly 70% over Kira’s 6 year reign, as well as completely stopping wars.

Demegawa is eventually killed. Other news programs begin scrambling to claim the voice of Kira, topped by NHN, where we are reintroduced to Kiyomi Takada as Kira’s spokeswoman as well as one of his greatest supporters.

Light, as much as he hates Sakura TV and NHN’s depictions of Kira, uses them to his advantage as much as he can.

But really, imagine what this is all doing to him.

At the beginning, he struggled with grasping what he was doing as right. His sense of justice, righteousness, and perfectness shattered by a single notebook. But this is perfect, he figures that if he really wants to fix the world, this is one surefire way to do it. And yeah, his family hates Kira, but online he’s worshiped as God. We already know he has a pretty decent ego, and all of this is doing nothing but fueling it.

To top it all off, as he continues with his killings, his following grows. More and more people begin to support him, every single day there’s news stations upon news stations covering his story, some negative, some positive. People from all over express admiration towards him, even the President of the United States sides with him. He is literally worshiped as Kira, as God.

This all makes it sounds like his god complex starts later in the series, so to clarify; no, he does not pick up the book with plans to become God, but the second people start fueling his ego, the more twisted his ideals and motivations become. He’s the only one who can fix this rotten world. He holds the power of a god in his hands, he does what only a god can do, and everyone treats him accordingly. He is Kira, he is God.

Between websites, news programs, and his cult-like following, Light had enough attention to feed into his ego for a lifetime. He was perfect pre-Death Note. Smart, charming, set for success. There never was a time where he was particularly not narcissistic, it was just that he only felt this way inside of himself. The way he presented to others? A perfect, cool guy persona with an - in all honesty - annoying prickly jerk hiding inside. But no one ever knew this, he never let them know, and because he was always naturally successful it was more of an expectation he just met rather than surpassed, so he wasn’t consistently praised and this incredible self-esteem wasn’t propped up by anyone but himself.

To cycle back to the title of this rant-essay-analysis-whatever you’d like to call it, I want to share some examples about exactly why I even classify this news coverage and whatnot of Kira as propaganda.

Kira’s supporters cause a riot at SPK HQ under Kira’s orders and Demegawa’s direction.

Mikami providing his insight as to why he supports Kira on television, openly promoting Kira and encouraging others to join him.

Takada announces her new role as Kira’s spokesperson on NHN.

Mikami uses his power as Kira to kill members of Kira’s Kingdom, supposed followers of Kira who have been using his publicity to gain money and attention.

Most of this doesn’t exactly look like your standard propaganda posters or news story, but it does fit the overall criteria;

Information from a biased viewpoint used to promote/publicize a certain view (accepting Kira as God)

Shows exclusively positive views on Kira

Assigns Kira positive adjectives and makes him appear as good (God, savior, messenger from Hell), never considering or showing the bad

Presenting only positive statistics (Light does this in his monologue where he brings up the 70% crime rate drop, and given there’s no way he could have calculated this on his own he likely got it from one of these media sources. Not that it’s incorrect, per se, but he does fail to mention how many innocent people he’s killed in order to do this.)

Appeals to regular, everyday people by talking about how he’s doing this for the betterment of the whole world. People who are directly affected by crime are also likely positively impacted by this.

Initiates and spreads fear by explaining how Kira only attacks those who do wrong.

In the end, Light’s personal descent into his god complex, as well as his effects on the world can be attributed to many things, but it would be a crime to ignore just how big of a role news and other types of media played in this without his direct input. To think, if Light had won and overtaken the police like he was going to, he’d have absolutely no problem stepping into his shoes as God. Everyone else already set the stage, he just had to get there first.

This is my first Death Note analysis, so please excuse any errors, I just watched the anime for the first time and am doing my best to piece together all of the plot and especially Light’s deep characterization the best I can. If I ever read the manga or find something new, chances are this will be updated. But as for now, it’s finally finished after a week or so of procrastinating. Thank you for reading if you got this far! <3

#death note #light yagami #kira #analysis #anime analysis #rant #essay #hitoshi demegawa #do people even care enough about him to have a tag #💀#death note anime #teru mikami #kiyomi takada #yagami light #mikami teru #takada kiyomi #long post #meta

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lazyliars · 4 years ago

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/rp

DreamXD actually slots very nicely into a working theory I've had for about two or so months now, mainly centering around one question:

What happened to Dream?

Namely, why did Dream change, when exactly did it happen, and was it solely an internal change, or was there an external force at play, specifically a preternatural one?

I think with DreamXD, we might finally have an answer.

Or at least some clues to follow. DreamXD presents a shift in every single paradigm the Dream SMP has had. Like, I think most of it is just being so utterly blind-sided by George Lore Real, but part of it is the massive ramifications of an Actual God* being present in the storyline.

((*On the other resident god of the server, Foolish:

DreamXD is different than Foolish, in that his characterization is so dramatically inhuman - Foolish talks and acts like a (somewhat eccentric) person, and his powers are, as far as we know, limited in comparison to the creative-mode godhood that DreamXD occupies. And whether that is because Foolish is not a "full" god (having been referred to as a demigod) or simply because he's spent so much time around humans, we don't know, but we do know that either way, DreamXD is NOT that.

DreamXD's voice is marked by glitches and dramatic shifts in tone, he seems to lack control over the different aspects of his personality, like the more "Dream" part vs. the darker one that threatens to eat peoples souls. The "normal" part even displays confusion when George references things that the "darker" part said, implying that it may not be fully aware of itself.

TLDR: Foolish acts more human than DreamXD, who has a very eldritch personality.))

To get right to the point:

The Dream we knew before November 16th, and the Dream we know now are not the same. Something changed, and it changed for the worse.

Consider: Dream was always antagonistic to the L'manbergians - he was always imperious to them, and he was responsible for starting a number of fights between his faction and theirs, just as many if not more than they were.

But, he was also not... evil. He'd pick fights with Tommy, the disc wars were still a thing, but the gravity of the spats they had weren't dire. They were fun. They were... actually a game. He wasn't like the way he is now. While in hindsight we can look at these events and detect a serious undertone knowing what's to come, at the time they were far from it.

There is an argument to be made that he had the same tendencies as now, just not expressed as loudly, and while I believe it's a valid argument, I disagree that it's proof of Dream always being the way he is now.

Sapnap, Badboyhalo, Sam. They all remember Dream as their friend - they remember someone who was, maybe a little aggressive and a lot competitive, but not cruel. Not needlessly murderous. Not someone who steals sentimental items and lines the walls of a disgusting museum to use against them.

Dream cut them out. Sapnap was totally blindsided. Bad doesn't seem to fully believe it. Sam blamed himself for not realizing and tried to take the weight of that crime on his own shoulders by becoming the Warden.

There's also the competing theory that what happened to Dream was purely psychological - either the circumstances slowly isolating him from his friends driving him to the do things he's done, or a desire for control that started early and continued to fester until it overshadowed everything else, or any combination of both.

And those theories are still valid, they could still be the case, but I haven't been able to shake the idea that there is something deeper at play. I can't overstate how the exile arc and everything after it have been so inhumane, so cruel, and... not exactly out of character in the sense that I could never see Dream doing them, but in the sense that I could never see him doing them for no reason.

And there really doesn't seem to be one. Dream says himself, it's like a game. He sees people as toys, puppets. And there just doesn't seem to be an inciting incident that could explain how he made the leap from semi-authoritarian leader who, despite being a warmonger, does love his friends, to heartless murderer who wants to reduce everyone he knows to dolls.

There's... ways, he could get there, but nothing that we've seen makes sense. There is a missing piece, something that must have happened from his POV that we didn't get to see because he doesn't stream.

And DreamXD could be it. This godly entity that claims that it is "a part of [Dream]" but that it isn't him entirely. That seems to share the lack of understanding of humanity that Dream has been displaying like when he asks if resurrecting Tommy was “cool.” But that still loves George. He still, despite apparently not having the same history as Dream, desperately wants to be George's friend.

If I had to pinpoint the moment Dream changed, it would be the day that he revealed that he switched sides, and was going to be fighting against Pogtopia. He was paid for this betrayal in the Revive Book.

I mark this as the turning point in my theory because it is the first time Dream mentions his affinity for chaos in the context of hurting others. However, we also know that this likely wasn't the day he actually made the decision to betray - as he revealed that there was a traitor among the Pogtopians, a fact that he likely would have learned before this.

Now, I mark George's lore stream as the introduction of DreamXD proper, and I want that on the record because it isn't technically his first appearance on the server.

Most people will remember him from Techno's stream, where he logged on to break the End Portal in a panic. I doubt the character was properly written into the lore at that time, but it fits neatly with the rest of what we know about him - a guardian of the server, and the keeper of it's rules. No contradictions.

What less people might know, is that DreamXD has made an even earlier appearance, and it's this one where things begin to get... interesting.

Around roughly October of 2020, Tubbo and Fundy did some improv'd streams centering around Demon Hunting, or rather, "Dreamon" Hunting, and it's during the first of these two streams that DreamXD makes an appearance.

The bare bones of it was - Tubbo is an experienced "Dreamon Hunter" and teaches Fundy his ways. They find Dream, and realize that he has a Dreamon inside of him, which is basically an evil version of him. They attempt to exorcise the Dreamon from Dream via various shenanigans, and eventually, they do a ceremony to free Dream. However, they apparently botch it, and unleash the Dreamon within. After more shenanigans, one attempt to fix it utilizing Fundy and Dream's wedding appears to work, but then DreamXD logs on, flys around at Tubbo and Fundy threateningly, and they end stream on the idea that there are probably more Dreamons to hunt.

Now. There's a lot to unpack here. I'm not gonna go into the nitty gritty details in this post, but I do recommend watching the Dreamon streams, as they have A LOT of details that, if this is getting incorporated into the main story line, could be important - especially the focus on duality, having TWO versions of Dream, which end up being potentially separated from each other.

(Also, they're just really funny streams. Tubbo and Fundy are at PEAK chaos and Dream plays along with their inane bit perfectly, it's just good content.)

At the time of the Dreamon streams airing, they were explicitly non-canon. IIRC Tubbo and Fundy referred to them as taking place In an “alternate universe,” which makes sense considering they would have been on opposite sides at the time (Manburg and Pogtopia.)

However.

And this is where I show you my wall of red string and newspaper clippings.

My singular piece of evidence for this comes from one line DreamXD drops. He simply says: “At least you're not hunting me.”

The Dreamon streams take place around early October. Dream reveals his betrayal of Pogtopia around November 6th-7th. The timeline of the Dreamon streams would line up perfectly with the idea that there was a catalyzing event that put Dream on the proverbial path to hell.

I do not believe that they intended the Dreamon arc to be anything other than a side story at the time, but considering that DreamXD himself was barely canon until now, I don't think it's out of the question that they took a look back at a fan-favorite minor arc, saw an opportunity to co-opt it into the current story line, and potentially fill in some holes regarding Dream's characterization all in one move.

On the question of whether this would be a GOOD storytelling move?

The Dreamon theories were prevalent during the exile arc, and I've got to say, I was never a huge fan. The detachment of Dream's actions from his intentions, and by extension his morality, never sat right with me. It feels cheap to make him a victim and say “a Dreamon did it!” in regards to all of the horrible things that he's done. It strips his agency and makes everything that happened less impactful in my opinion, and I stand by that reading.

BUT. With DreamXD introduced, I feel like it's necessary to look at this from all angles. And with the way DreamXD was characterized in George's stream, I don't think it necessarily ruins Dream's character to say that an external force was involved with his descent into evil.

Namely, the idea that whatever happened to Dream was not really a “possession” so much as a gradual loss of humanity, could be an interesting way to look at this. It implies that Dream was always capable of his actions, but grants us understanding as to why he would actually perform them, and why he might have become isolated enough from his friends that they would let this happen.

The Dream we know now could be an expression of his “worst self” brought to the surface by a Dreamon/DreamXD/other. It also begs the question of what would happen if that force were to leave him, and how it might cause yet another shift in character, especially if it were to be portrayed as less of a switch being flipped, and more of a withdrawal, with a gradual process of realizing how far gone he was.

To close this out, I've been stewing on the idea that Dream hasn't entirely been himself since the climax of the Exile Arc.

I think this theory holds water, but it's also not waterproof... there are plenty of holes, and a lot of that comes from the fact that Dream doesn't stream. We're left in the dark when deciphering his character, and what might appear to be the key, could just as easily be revealed as a red herring, or even nothing at all.

Regardless of the validity of the Dreamon theory, I think that DreamXD is one of the most interesting developments we've had on the SMP in a long time, if simply because his arrival coincides with fucking George Lore Real. God. I still don't know how to deal with that.

I always appreciate people adding to the discussion by the way! Feel free to reblog with additions if you like or leave them in the replies.

And if a single one of you comes to my blog on THIS. THE DAY OF MY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING. And calls ME a c!Dream Apologist to MY FACE..... I will be v sad.

#Dream SMP #DreamXD #Dreamwastaken #c!Dream #georgenotfound #dream smp analysis #dream smp theory #lazytext

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sepialunaris · 4 years ago

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Theorizing Amelia and One's backstory based on implicit storytelling

Hmmm infinity train possibly not getting a continuation got me thinking more about Amelia and One-One's implicit story throughout the books. Since the train in Book 4 still works on One's "in a literal sense [the passengers] are numbers to him" and "if they dont sort their problems they'll die here" ideal and not post-Tulip "every passenger's wellbeing and progress is important," the state of the train prior to Ryan and Min is a big mystery, and what specifically happens after to Amelia and One One is another mystery.

I saw @suppuration 's post (which unfortunately can't link since, mobile) about how Book 1 of Infinity Train is about One One experiencing and learning to act as a denizen for Tulip, and while he was mindwiped it must have a big impact to how he does his role as the conductor now and before, when he was just one entity.

Long analysis ahead

One = Simon

Book 4 One reminds me of... Simon. Simon "but you are not a person" Laurent. One is colder and more aloof towards passengers, and seeing them as just "numbers," which is similar to Simon's views at nulls and lack of respect of agency. While he got amnesia and his experience with Tulip made One-One realize his inactiveness has also hindered the purpose of the train as well as a sense of guilt on things that were not his fault (Amelia's cars in the train), he does strive to change, but Amelia still remembers and internalizes what she knows One was in the past, hence she still refers to his old name and had to read his instruction card to remind herself of his new ideals.

Moreover, Book 4 shows Stewards being in charge in train maintenance in the past. Reddit AMA said that in the present the Stewards are almost all destroyed in the coup besides the one Amelia outfitted with weaponry and One One used as transport in Book 2. Book 3 saw One One using humans like Amelia for maintenance, which shows that he is more willing to give agency to the passengers rather than lock them up in place while the Stewards do their jobs. So unlike Simon, there is growth.

Amelia = Hazel, but not really

One conforming to rigid power structure and not really considering anyone's agency like Simon and Pre-Hazel Grace makes Amelia seem like Hazel in this metaphor, which is appropriate that she is her 'clone' or imaginary child. And like Amelia entered One's and life resulting in his mysterious split, Hazel entered Simon and Grace's lives to split them (even if One One dont go separate ways like them, and stayed together) after she experience a personal loss that they caused or 'denied to unreverse' (in Amelia's case). Hazel made them both the chance to question, rethink, and restart their ideals but Simon didn't take it, while Amelia at first tried to give constructive feedback to One before executing the coup and also fell into One's problem of not recognizing others' agencies by 1) throwing away One One and possibly removing his memory 2) forcibly taking away the support system for the passengers to navigate their problems like Ryan and Min-Gi thinking its giving them agency to "individuate" and be on their own, when in the case of Ryan and Min it just reiterated their trauma.

Also her contradictory way of thinking is why in the end Amelia's belief of the other passenger's agency ends up being fallible and destroyed as she becomes more violating and just altogether doesn't want passengers to leave their cars. And I'm highkey convinced that the reason the Ghoms exist (but not in Book 4) is that she created them to prevent people from moving around freely, as there is no therapeutic reason for them to exist (that said the hand monster exists, but it is only in 1 car while Ghoms are numerous and everywhere in the wasteland, so this monster may explain One's aloofness to their wellbeing even further). She does have Ghom orb and used it in Atticus, so its really reasonable to think so. Plus it would be a logical thing that would add up to her numbers a lot and make Samantha the Cat dread her, yet still not make her numbers reach the top like Simon after directly trying to murder his friend.

Amelia's Loss

Though we're not sure because of how little screentime we have of them in Book 4, I do think Ryan and Min-Gi's attempt of staying together is a big foil too for Amelia's experience of abandonment, loss, yearning for the past, and loneliness. Therefore the Steward's first appearance was to reonnect the boys to their past by giving back their stuff, despite Amelia saying that she did that to "individuate" them (this may be directed for all the passengers but in this book's context it is about Min and Ryan's commitment to each other), and the second appearance Amelia specifically says "[they] are on their own." By the lens of Ryan and Min, Amelia is portrayed as a force that desires to separate them, not in a malicious nor personal manner, but maybe a projection of her own trauma of codependency with Alrick and not wanting the same to befall to Ryan and Min (it may also be jealousy but she hasn't shown any displeasure of that sort so it seems more like bad faith analysis) and the pther passengers. And in the end she releases everyone in the train from their 'dependency' by decomissioning the Stewards. Her actions, especially the former does have understandable motives and she isn't intending to harm anyone, but it happens anyway because in the end she disrespects their agency and pulled the whole train from under the rug.

Amelia = Lake & others

And the story of agency is central in Book 2, and how Lake fights for their recognition as a person and getting off from the train, to the point they have to confront One-One about it. It was the first time One One's imperfection is shown and how even now his standards for denizens has gotten better but not the best. Though he does end up respecting their agency and puts thought to it too. And a minor detail is that he mentions Atticus too in Book 2, meaning that he remembers him personally due to his experience as a denizen instead of just an instrument like in Book 4 (eg: Denizens like Kez being frozen kept of the blue during Steward visits), and he appreciates Alan Dracula too. So he did grow, even if its not perfect and his cold tendency and lesser view on denizens is still there. Yet One and Amelia's ideals of hierarchal superiority and the concept that denizens are worth nothing bleeds down to the Apex, who follows Amelia's footsteps after she has decided to refuse her former ideal to "individuate" passengers (as she has already used her outfit when finding Grace and if we think Amelia made the Ghoms then yeah it tracks), as well as Grace and Simon's own coping mechanisms of dealing with traumatic abandonment and loneliness being parallels to Amelia, through manipulating others and intruding on people's agencies respectively.

However, what I find interesting is that, like Lake, Amelia also got to the engine room and got to ask for favors from him. While the context is not clear as well as her lack of companions, if we parallel it to Lake's story and also considering Amelia's fallible interest to humanize the passengers to One, something similar might've happened.

Her story parallels with Ryan too, that wants to subvert expectations within his life even recklessly so at times that ends up hurting people (just like how she took over the train and hurt One and the other passengers), yet he deals with life better even after abandonment by Min. She also parallels heavily with Morgan, who was dependent on Jeremy and tried to isolate herself from her friend, Kez. And the big thing that Amelia lacks in this scenario, unlike Lake and Ryan, is that as said before, the distinct lack of companions she has. No one like Jesse or Min-Gi to ground and provide her company besides her desire for Alrick to come back, and doesn't show interest in forging new relationships and instead focused on her own stuff, just like Morgan grieved when Jeremy was gone. Amelia was both isolated and isolated herself further when she couped the train, and in the end like Morgan she turns from a caring person to someone that revokes agency. Though Morgan, in the end does decide to grieve herself and opens a window for her to reconnect with Kez, unlike Amelia who lost that opportunity and fell further to the dark due to cruel circumstance and her own actions.

And as for the reason why One One was split is mysterious and currently unexplained, Idk if this is an appropriate idea to connect to, but I feel like there's a possibility that he could've split himself or gave himself amnesia, as a way for him to deal with self isolation and or trauma from betrayal. Maybe he was even inspired by seeing Ryan and Min's commitment to each other? But again it is farfetched to judge as something tracks as of now.

Soo... tl;dr what i think happened.

During this era One only interacts with the passengers by maintaining the trains through the Stewards, without consideration of their well being or agency, hence the hand monster/Docent exists

Amelia enters the train and fights her way into the engine room to meet One, possibly asking her stuff back too

One decides to receive input from Amelia, who intends to humanize the passengers to him by giving them back their stuff, while akso taking interest to cultivate independence on the other passengers to avoid codependency like her

Amelia falls back to her dependency and asks One to bring Alrick back, he refuses, and she hijacks the train

As a way to give them freedom, Amelia releases all the passengers the rules the train binds them to and destroys all the Stewards that acted as maintenance before

One is sent to the snow car for 33 years. He is either split or mindwiped by Amelia or he performs this action himself

Amelia's idealism wavers over time and she gets obsessed in find orbs to create Alrick. Becomes more militaristic and creates her Conductor persona, outfitted the last Steward with guns, and created the Ghoms with her cannon

In order to make sure no passengers try any funny stuff and let her focus on her quest, she uses the Ghoms to make sure they are within order, and prefers passengers to no longer leave their cars. She ultimately has no control over that though therefore she can only minimize the problem

Book 1 happens, Amelia is ousted and decides to work under One One as a human steward and to fix her mistakes to repent

Feel free to add on or critique things because I might've missed/misintrepreted a lot

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cosmicjoke · 3 years ago

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Okay, so on to chapter 3 of “No Regrets”!

I’ve got a few observations, so I’ll just delve in.

First thing, and once again, I found this a huge improvement over the visual novel, but we get more insight here into the reason Erwin was so intent on recruiting Levi. During the scene in which he’s arguing with the other squad leaders about letting a group of “criminals” into their organization, Erwin pushes back against the other scouts deriding Levi and his friends. I really loved Erwin’s line here, where he says “You’re right. These people had no training. They did not earn wings from us. They grew their own, out of necessity.” This shows us that Erwin has a grasp and an appreciation for the hardship Levi and his friends faced while growing up, while most of the other SC leaders and even regular recruits can only look down on them and see them as gutter trash. This shows Erwin’s own scope of vision, his ability to look past a person’s upbringing and background and not make judgments about them based on that. More telling still is his comment about how “those wings will play a part in revolutionizing this organization.”. He wanted Levi’s skills in particular because he knew having someone like Levi around, with exceptional ability, would shift the way they all fight Titans. He was, as always, looking for ways to increase the effectiveness of the SC, and was willing to do whatever he could, and through any means necessary, to ensure it.

The next thing that caught my attention is the glare Levi and Erwin share during the trio’s introduction to the rest of the soldiers. Erwin’s right in front of Levi, standing there, reminding him of his anger and humiliation no doubt, and I think that leads directly into and impacts the next scene, when Flagon shows them their sleeping arrangements. Levi’s already no doubt irritated by having to see Erwin again, and then Flagon makes his frankly deeply disparaging remark about Levi and his friends having spent their whole lives living in a trash heap, implying that they’re filthy gutter trash, and so surely are incapable of keeping themselves and their environment clean. Levi, understandably, reacts badly to this, and gets in Flagon’s face, asking him what he just said, before Furlan intervenes. When you consider the way Erwin already made Levi feel so humiliated and Levi’s subsequent anger at it, then having to see Erwin again not long before this scene, and hearing Flagon just callously make an accusation like that must have only infuriated Levi more. I think, once again, the manga is doing an infinitely better job of portraying the tension, then, that’s starting to form between Levi and Furlan. Furlan scolds Levi after Flagon leaves, almost talking down to him when he says “Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble?!”. Almost like he’s talking to some misbehaving little kid. Levi’s expression in the following panel says a lot, I think. Levi looks almost chastised, like he knows he’s upset Furlan, before he tries to explain himself, asking Furlan “Didn’t you hear how he talked about us? Like shit calling shit dirty.”. It’s really interesting what this says about the power dynamic in their relationship. Levi is ostensibly the leader of their group, but Furlan’s acting, in a lot of ways, like he’s the one in charge and he expects Levi to fall in line. Clearly, he’s not afraid of scolding Levi, or challenging him. All of Furlan’s insistence that they lay low and not do anything to draw attention to themselves must only be chaffing though at Levi’s already heated feelings about the kind of treatment they’re receiving, how they’re being talked down to, etc... It must be galling to him, to see Furlan not seeming to care that they’re all being so deeply disrespected. But he still continues to defer to Furlan, and agree to go along with his plan for now, though he makes his displeasure known by calling it a pain in the ass.

But seeing Erwin, and then being treated the way they were by Flagon, seems to have rekindled Levi’s desire to take his revenge, and he reminds Furlan that he’ll continue to go along with his plan, but that he’s still going to kill Erwin. Once again, we see Levi being pulled in two different directions. He’s giving priority to Furlan’s plans and wishes, but he’s still thinking about getting Erwin back. He’s annoyed that they weren’t assigned to Erwin’s squad, probably because it means it’s going to limit their contact, giving him less opportunities to kill him. Another line that I think signifies Lev’s annoyance at Furlan and how, well, dismissive he is of Levi’s own feelings, is after he tells them they have to clean the area around their beds before leaving for training, and in response to Isabel’s protests, he says “You wouldn’t want me to cause trouble, would you?”. He’s throwing Furlan’s words back in his face here, and it seems clear to me that Levi is frustrated and doesn’t appreciate the way Furlan’s been talking to him, or how little consideration for his own wishes he’s shown. There’s a lot of tension there.

Another really important scene is the one in the training yard, so I’ll got through it here.

Particularly when Isabel is talking to the Scout helping her with horse riding, and they get to talking about life in the Underground, and then Levi. What Isabel says, and the visual of the panel here, is particularly powerful. She says “It got so I thought I was gonna die. But life’s a little better since Levi saved me from that.”. And we see in the panel Levi lifting Isabels’ head up, obviously checking if she’s alive. There’s all these people, collapsed around her, and the fact that Levi is checking to see if she’s alive is interesting, because it makes me think this is something Levi would regularly do. That he would check to see if anyone was alive when he came across people collapsed in the streets. It’s probably not unusual to come across dead bodies in the Underground, and for someone like Levi, who’s lived there all his life, he’s no doubt seen plenty. The fact he checks Isabel shows a lack of callousness towards the sight, which is incredible, to not become uncaring or apathetic towards suffering, even when you’re surrounded by it your whole life. It’s a highly unusual quality to have, but of course, it makes perfect sense for Levi, who’s so full of compassion.

Nevertheless, it would have been simpler for him to just keep moving and ignore her, but instead he stopped, and when he discovered she was still alive, he took her in and gave her food and shelter and a home. She would have died otherwise. Levi had no obligation towards her, he had no, really good reason to do something so selfless, and yet, he did. And this truly is remarkable, especially when you consider the kind of cut throat world Levi grew up in, the kind of ruthless people he’d encountered, and even lived with, like Kenny, all his life.

Then there’s Furlan’s discussion with another soldier, and his story about Levi. The most interesting thing Furlan says here is how, after his own friends turned on him, he’s followed Levi ever since. And then he says “Though it might be problematic making him any kind of leader!”. It’s interesting what this reveals to us about Levi. People want to follow him because he’s so strong, but Levi himself has no desire for power, or control over others. People willingly attach themselves to him, because they think Levi can protect them, but Levi isn’t any kind of natural leader. So we know Levi was more or less forced into the role of leader by way of others seeking him out and assigning him that role. What’s interesting about this is how it, once again, reveals the kind of person Levi is. He could easily have rejected all of these people and abandoned them. One thing we know is that Levi didn’t need any help surviving on his own in the Underground. But instead Levi allows them to stay with him and willingly offers his help and protection, and though it’s probably more of a pain and a nuisance to him than anything else. It shows that Levi’s never been able to turn away from those seeking his help.

Which leads nicely into the next scene.

I’ve talked about this scene before, and how disappointed I was that they didn’t include it in the OVA. This also wasn’t included in the visual novel, which is, once more, just another way in which the manga is superior.

Flagon is once again criticizing Levi for holding his blades “wrong”, telling him he’s going to end up getting killed outside the walls. And then the training exercise begins, and we see one of the other soldiers trying to compete with Levi, and growing increasingly incensed and annoyed at Levi’s prowess. He thinks “These vagrants with no knowledge as soldiers...” and then “I trained half to death, and these criminals think they’re better?!”. What’s interesting is to see that while this soldier is fuming internally over Levi’s perceived slight of him, glaring at him angrily, Levi clearly hasn’t even taken notice of him. This isn’t a competition to Levi at all. He’s just there to do the exercises. He’s staring straight ahead, blank faced as always.

Now what happens next is once more hugely revealing as to Levi’s character. The infuriated soldier decides he’s not going to accept that Levi’s better than him, and so he intentionally pushes off of a tree and cuts Levi off mid-flight. What struck me about this is how incredibly dangerous it was. Levi’s going, presumably, full speed, through this obstacle course, and this dude, out of petty jealousy, cuts him off by flying right in front of and past him, forcing Levi to pull back and change direction. A stunt like this could have easily resulted in serious injury for Levi, or even death, if he weren’t as gifted as he is. To top it off, this soldier then brags about it, calling out to Levi “Don’t get left behind!”. Of course, his arrogance leads to immediate disaster, as the soldier that went through the course before lost one of their blades in the dummy Titan, and this dude’s flying towards it at top speed, with no way to stop himself or change direction in time. He’s about to be impaled by a blade. Considering the danger he’s just placed Levi in, then, it truly is a testament to Levi’s goodness, that he launches off the tree he’s stopped on, racing ahead and slicing the stray blade free before the other soldier can make contact, resulting in him harmlessly crashing into the pad, instead of dying. This really shows how Levi’s first instinct is always to help others. Even when others have just not only treated him badly, but even endangered his life. He doesn’t owe this soldier anything, and by all rights should be extremely pissed at him for his petty display before. But instead Levi just automatically reacts to his life being threatened by saving the man. He doesn’t even scold him afterward or express anger, just flies off and continues the course.

What makes this whole thing kind of sad is both the soldier’s and Flagon’s reaction to this. The soldier is still angry and upset over Levi’s superior ability, wondering how he can be so fast, not even sparring a thought of appreciation for him just saving his life. And then Flagon grudgingly admits to Levi’s fighting prowess, but continues to doubt him and his ability to stay disciplined. Even after saving one of his own men’s lives, he still continues to look down on Levi. That’s pretty messed up. Levi glares back at him after, as if to say “Who’s the one who’s going to get people killed out there?”. Levi saved a soldiers life, while Flagon could only sit and watch. It’s interesting too how this, tragically, foreshadows what’s to come though, with Levi not being able to save the people he cares the most about. But we’ll get into that when we get there.

Also, just gotta mention also the way Levi reacts to Isabel’s getting upset after he bonks her in the head and calls her stupid. He looks surprised when she starts crying, and it’s clear he didn’t mean to actually hurt her feelings, and it’s just really sweet, the way he rubs her head after. He obviously felt bad.

Okay, into chapter 4 next!

#attack on titan #No Regrets #Levi Ackerman #shingeki no kyojin #Furlan Church #isabel magnolia #Erwin Smith #snk analysis

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jeannereames · 4 years ago

Text

Writing Historical Fiction (Well)

From an anonymous ask:

"What advice would you give to someone who wants to write about Alexander?" Sorry I didn't clarify, I was thinking of writing a fictional novel (but do not plan to publish it, lol)

If you’re just writing for yourself with no plans to publish, you don’t have to worry about constraints like wordcount and publishability. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to sell mainstream historicals. Selling a genre historical is easier (historical fantasy, historical mystery, historical romance). But there’s a reason it took me 30 years to get Dancing with the Lion into print. Yes, some of that time I was actually writing it, but much more was devoted to finding a market for it, and notice that I did, finally, have to sell it as genre even though it isn’t really. (It was that or shelve it forever.)

Yet if you’re asking for my recommendations, I assume you want to write something that’s marginally readable. Ergo, what follows is general advice I’d give anybody writing historical fiction.

For historicals, one must keep track of two things simultaneously: telling a good story, and portraying history accurately enough. It’s possible to do one well, but the other quite badly.

First, let’s look at how to write a good story.

There are two very basic sorts of stories: the romance, and the novel. Notice it’s romance small /r/. A romance is an adventure story; in romances, the plot dominates and characters serve the plot. A novel is character-driven, so plot events serve character development. Dancing with the Lion is a novel.

Once you’ve decided which of those you’re writing, you have a better handle on how to write it. You also need to know where you’re going: what’s the end of the story? What are the major plot points? Writers who dive in with no road map tend to produce bloated books that require massive edits. That said, romances will almost always be faster paced, in part because “what’s happening” drives it. Whereas in novels, the impact of events on characters drives it. Exclusive readers of romances are rarely pleased by the pacing of novels. They’re too slow: “Nothing is happening!” Things are happening, but internally, not externally.

Yet pacing does matter. Never let a scene do one thing when it can do three.

You will want to pay attention to something called “scene and sequel.” A “scene” is an event and a “sequel” are the consequences. So let’s say (as in my current MIP [monster in progress]) you open with a fugitive from the city jail racing through the streets with guards following: he leaps the wall of a rich man’s house and ends up in the bedroom of a visiting prince. That’s the scene. The sequel is the fall-out. (House searched, prince hides fugitive, prince gets fugitive to tell him why he’s running.) Usually near the end of the sequel(s) to the first scene, you embed the hook to the next (a slave of the rich man has been found murdered outside the city walls). The next scene concerns recovering the body and what they discover (then fall-out from that). Etc., etc., etc.

That’s how stories progress. Or don’t progress, if the author can’t master scene-sequel patterns.

It also means—again—you need to know where you’re going. Outlines Are Your Friends. But yes, your plot can still take a sharp left-hand turn that surprises you…they almost always do.

When I sat down to write Dancing with the Lion, I knew three things:

1) I wanted to write about Alexander before he became king.

2) I wanted to explore his relationship with Hephaistion.

3) I especially wanted to consider how both became the men they’d did.

With those goals in mind, I could frame the story. Because I always intended Hephaistion to be as important as Alexander, the novel opens in his point-of-view to establish that. And because I didn’t want to deal with Alexander as king, the novel had to end before he became one. History itself gives a HUGE and obvious gift in the abrupt murder of Philip. Where to open was harder to decide, but as I wanted to explore the boys’ friendship and its impact on their maturation into men, I should logically begin with their meeting, and decided not to have them meet too young. From there, I spun out Hephaistion’s background, and his decision to run away from home to join the circus, er, I mean Pages. 😉

IMO, Alexander’s story is Too Big to do in a single novel, or you get an 800+ page monstrosity like Chris Cameron’s God of War. The author must decide on what piece of the story she wants to tell. (Or, like me, view it as a series.)

So that’s (in a nutshell) how you construct a story.

As for the historical side, there are three levels here:

1) What the world looks like (details).

2) The events that take place.

3) How people living in that world understand life, the universe, and everything.

Number two is probably the easiest. Numbers one and three require deeper research on all sorts of things. Sometimes historical novels spend all their time on number one and completely forget number three exists.

The past is a foreign country. Just as you wouldn’t (or at least shouldn’t) write a novel set in Japan (if you’re American) without learning something not only about the physical country but also the customs…same with stories set in the past.

This is why the Oliver Stone movie failed. He put modern people in a costume drama. He didn’t understand how ancient Macedonians (or Greeks or Persians) thought. So he committed crazy anachronisms like the oedipal complex between Alexander and Olympias. Freud may have named his theory after a Greek hero, but it’s largely a foreign idea to the Greek mind. (Whether it’s valid at all is a topic for another day).

The author has to let ancient people be properly ancient.

Problem: what do you do when they’re SO foreign they’re impossible to understand for modern readers—or their attitudes are outright offensive?

Well, if you don’t plan to get your story published, you don’t have to worry about that. Or not as much. But if you want to share it with others, you might still want to consider it.

There are two basic approaches:

1) Introduce your world through a “stranger” who enters it.

2) Spread out more “modern” views among various characters in the story, to give modern readers something familiar to hang onto.

The first of those is by far the most common. So in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, Claire Randall—quite literally a modern woman—introduces the modern reader to Jacobite Scotland. As she learns about her new world, so does the reader, and in Claire, the reader has a voice to express both their fascination and their horror of that world. In Judith Tarr’s Lord of the Two Lands, she uses Meriamon, an Egyptian priestess, to enter the Macedonian world of Alexander. Judy can then contrast Egyptian and Macedonian cultural values in order to explain them. Meriamon asks questions the reader wants answers to—or Niko (or Alexander) ask questions of her about Egypt.

The second choice (which is what I did in Dancing) is to identify cultural mores likely to offend modern readers: indifference to slavery, glorification of war and conquest, Greco-Macedonian attitudes towards women, and Greco-Macedonian attitudes towards sexuality. Then to assign one of the characters to voice a more modern view. Alexander gets to be a proto-feminist, and I gave points of view to two women. One of those women, I made a slave. Hephaistion gets to express a more modern view regarding the horrors of war. Sexuality was a bit tougher, but I used the boys’ atypical relationship—that the younger is the one of higher status—to illustrate Greco-Macedonian assumptions about what a male-male relationship should look like.

That approach presents more hurdles, but for my purposes, I preferred it.

I harp on this because it’s the biggest problem for historical fiction: not having historical characters! It wrecks what might otherwise be decent research into the details. No matter how much you look up what they ate, how they dressed, the way their houses were laid out…if you have them behaving anachronistically, it’s a bad historical. Or if you have circumstances that just wouldn’t occur.

Let me give an example. I’ve said before that, when I started writing the novel in December of 1988, Dancing always began with a run-away boy (Hephaistion). But in my initial version, he showed up in Pella incognito. The more I read about Macedonia, however, the more I realized that was virtually impossible. There just weren’t that many Hetairoi. He’d have been recognized, and probably sooner rather than later. So I went back to the drawing board and, instead of having him try to hide, he comes right out and says who he is, and that he wants to join the Pages. It might take away the “mystery,” but set up more interesting dynamics: would Philip let him stay? What would his father do? Etc.

That requires the author know enough about the culture to know what’s possible, probable, and impossible. It also requires the author to be willing to change original plans in order to reflect reality, not insist on doing ___ anyway.

A good example of jettisoning history in favor of “what I want to do!” can be found in David Gemmell’s Lion of Macedon. So many, many things wrong with that book, starting with his choice to make Parmenion a Spartan for no historical reason whatsoever—but (I assume?) because Spartans Are Sexy. Parmenion likely belonged to the royal house of Upper Macedonian Pelagonia. Although even if he didn’t, absolutely nothing suggests he wasn’t Macedonian, and quite a lot says he was. The whole duology (with included The Dark Prince) was essentially Blue Boltz ™ Epic Fantasy Does Greece. The fact he actually included a bibliography in back, and got weird, isolated details right only added insult to injury.

Yet Gemmell was a best-selling British fantasy novelist who knew pacing and how to spin a good yarn. For a reader with zero knowledge of Alexander, it would stack up as a predictable but tolerable fantasy set.

Remember that as an historical fiction author, your job is to practice the art of getting it right. If that isn’t important to you, please God, write something completely made up.

At the spectrum’s other end is Showing Notecards on Every Page. You’ve done ALL that hard research, and you’ll be damn sure the reader knows it!

Um, the reader doesn’t care. The reader wants to be transported to another world. How locals in that world shoed horses (or if they shoed horses at all) is irrelevant. It matters only if your main character’s a farrier. And even then, it matters only if said-farrier is having a conversation with someone else while shoeing a horse.

If people want all the little details of history, they’ll read a history book.

Now, how much detail is “too much” can vary from reader to reader, and often has something to do with the genre.

Regular readers of historical fiction are fans because they enjoy history. So they’ll expect proper world-building. But they don’t want the Dreaded Information Dump. Weave in details. The Dreaded Information Dump is a common beginning-author error across the board, but especially bad in certain genres, such as historicals, fantasy, and SF.

What’s an “information dump”? It’s where the author provides details the reader doesn’t need at that point in the story. What the character looks like, is wearing, their family background, what they had for breakfast….

As mentioned, details should be woven into the story organically. What your character had for breakfast matters only if, later, it’s giving him/her gas: “Damn those beans in my breakfast burrito!” Some details may be useful to set a scene and prevent characters from walking around, having conversations in a void, but again, a light touch.

Similarly, One scene, One head. We do NOT need to see everything from each character’s point of view. No, really. We don’t. And dear God, please don’t “head-hop” inside of scenes (unless you’re writing omniscient, but be sure you know what omniscient IS). Drives me BUGGY.

Anyway, back to the Notecard Showing Problem. As noted above, genre expectations and reader preferences often dictate what IS “too much detail.” Generally, historical Romance (the genre) and historical mysteries go lighter on detail than historical fantasy or plain historicals. That’s because the former two have genre conventions that work against it. Romances preference the love story front-and-center at all times, and mysteries have a mystery to unravel. E.g, they’re plot driven. By contrast, historical fantasies tolerate more world building because world building itself is a feature of fantasy (and science fiction too). And the appeal of mainstream or literary historicals IS the world building, so you get massive novels like Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth.

I’m blathering now, but hopefully this gives pointers not just about writing Alexander, but writing fiction period, and historical fiction in particular.

#historical fiction #writing #the writing life #writing how-to #Alexander the Great #Dancing with the Lion #ancient Greek fiction #scene and sequel #asks

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kairos-polaris · 4 years ago

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As almost everyone agrees Gabriel Agreste being Hawkmoth was too predictable and boring I decided to rewrite series with another villain. Alim Kubdel who we know as Alix'dad

I've discussed it with @bunathebunny (I changed some stuff) and here are some ideas:

• During an expedition to Egypt Alim finds drawings of Ladybug and Black cat. It picks up his interest. He saw something similar in Ancient Chinese scrolls. Jeane d'Arc is wearing a red shirt with black polka dots. His journey to finding miraculous starts

• As an archeologist he has an access to more resources than Gabriel Agreste. Like, archives and hidden stuff. He can also use expeditions as a cover story for his own search

• His search takes him to Badrinath, India. He spends some time as a tourist and visits Badrinath temple. He meets a young man there. He introduces himself as Jagan. They become fast friends

• One night Alim tells Jagan about his research. Jagan shared some secrets in return

• "You're right, my friend. Such jewels exist and they grant their wielder powers. They're a carefully guarded secret. It must have been hard to find even scraps of information."

• Alim agrees that was a hell to find the most basic information. He had to call in a lot of favours. "I don't understand how you know about it. What are you hiding?"

• Jagan chuckles. "Oh, I didn't have enough time to explain myself. Patience, my friend, patience. Those jewels are protected by the Order of Guardians of the Miraculouses. My grandfather was one of them, but they banished him and made him stay at one place until the end of his life. He told me stories about kwamii and their powers and I will tell you."

• They talk until the dawn and decide to continue this conversation later. Alim uses this time to think why he wants to find the Miraculouses and what happened to the Order. Jagan offhandedly mentioned that they died but didn't give any explanation.

• "Why do you want to find them, Jagan? I wanted to prove a point to myself. If they existed, we would know about them, right? While we don't know a lot of things about our past I'm inclined to believe that Earth would know its defenders. You agree with me, but don't give me proof so my curiosity isn't satisfied. That's why I'll do anything to find them. But what's your motivation?"

• Jagan is uncomfortable. He didn't expect Alim to turn the tables. He planned to ask this, not to be questioned. He grins internally and congratulates himself on finding an intelligent ally. It will be hard to manipulate him, but the satisfaction will be worth it.

• "If you combine Black cat and Ladybug you will become a god and will be granted a wish. A universe changing wish. Can you imagine how much good we could do? We could end world hunger! There will be no wars! Everyone would be equal, my friend. Isn't that a perfect world?". Jagan intentionally lets out negative impact of the wish. He doesn't tell his actual motive and lays a groundwork for his future manipulations.

• Alim isn't convinced. He is a Christian and was raised to believe there's only one God. The idea to become a god makes him uncomfortable, but the potential of helping humankind is too tempting.

• "I'll help you. But where should we start?"

"Mountain Kailash. My grandfather told the Temple was there. We can find something valuable there."

"It makes sense. Mountain Kailash is considered sacred in many religions. It's also forbidden to climb do how do you plan to do this?"

"Leave this to me."

• They didn't need to climb the Mountain. While shopping for everything needed to climb the mountain they visited a shop. While looking around they noticed a strange book and two pins. "We're lucky, my friend. We got more than we bargained for. This pin is a butterfly Miraculous, this one is a peacock. This book is written in a guardian language. Fortunately my grandfather wanted me to restore the Order and his good name, so he taught me their language."

• The second part of their journey started.

#mlb #mlb rewrite #hawkmoth #journey to find the Miraculouses #gabriel agreste #alim kubdel #another guardian

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notesfromtheheart · 4 years ago

Link

After a catastrophic event, your characters have to live in a new reality. What they must face depends on the world you create. There are a few things to consider when you plan your post-apocalyptic world if you want to use it as another source of conflict.

#Step 1: Pick an apocalypse

There are many types of apocalyptic events that can cause chaos and conflict for your survivors. You don’t always need to explain what happened because a post-apocalypse is about the effects rather than the event. However, the one you choose will have a direct impact on the landscape and your characters’ chances of survival. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the most popular ones.

Zombie

The threat in these stories is ongoing and relentless. The zombie plague spreads across the globe like a virus. Destruction is rapid and danger is everywhere. Survivors often stick together, hoping there is safety in numbers.

Nuclear

Because the landscape is so blighted and devoid of life, stories like these are about the characters’ internal struggles with issues such as loneliness, sanity and hope.

Technological uprising

Humanity is seen as a virus and something to be eradicated. These kinds of stories often focus on attempts to take back the world from a threat that is stronger, smarter, and more ruthless than the human survivors.

Alien invasion

Aliens take over our world and we can’t stop them from wiping out most of humanity. The remaining survivors usually work together to defeat the invaders. Spend time developing your aliens or they won’t seem like a credible threat.

Pandemic

This is similar to a zombie apocalypse except the threat is invisible and this causes a sense of paranoia. You don’t know who is infected until it’s too late. There is usually a race to find a cure from a ragtag group of survivors.

Climate change

This is a slow burn type of apocalypse. All the warning signs were there, but we ignored them. The survivors feel a sense of hopelessness because once it happens, there’s no turning back.

Breakdown in technology

This shows what happens when the technology we rely on so heavily stops working. Some writers use this as a foreshadowing that something even worse is on its way.

*There are other kinds of apocalypse such as natural disasters and comets, but they often focus on the actual event rather than what happens afterwards.

#Step 2: Create your world

Unlike many other kinds of stories, a post-apocalypse world isn’t just a backdrop for your characters, it’s a major source of conflict. This is also the part where you can think about theme because this will influence how your readers feel at the end of the book. Not all stories of this genre have happy endings, but they can teach us a little more about human nature.

Because it’s such a popular genre, you can find it in movies, novels, games, comics, and television shows. I’ve added links to a few of the most interesting and well-known ones.

1. Humans are overthrown

This could be after an alien invasion, robot uprising, or zombie pandemic. Humans have lost their place in the natural order of the world. There is a wide variety of landscapes in stories like these, depending on how recently the catastrophic event took place. They can range from almost total destruction to a clean and beautiful, perfect world. One of the most popular plots in this kind of story is the battle to reclaim what was lost.

Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

The Last of Us created by Naughty Dog

2. Anarchic landscape

This landscape is usually harsh with a lot of environmental damage and limited resources. Although it isn’t always stated, the assumption is that the world was affected by a nuclear war, catastrophic natural disaster, or dramatic climate change. In this type of post-apocalyptic world, there is no rule of law or a very limited one. The weak are vulnerable and at the mercy of aggressors. This is an excellent opportunity to create a solitary protagonist who has to decide whether to continue alone or link up with other survivors.

The Postman novel by David Brin

Mad Max Fury Road movie directed by George Miller

3. A new “Utopia”

This kind of post-apocalyptic world is divided by those who live in safety and those who are barely surviving. There’s usually some kind of barrier that protects people on the inside from the rest of the world. The insiders’ lifestyle is often at the expense of those that are on the outside. Once your protagonist realizes what’s going on, you can have them attempt to escape or destroy the elites’ world.

Wool novel by Hugh Howey

Snowpiercer graphic novel by Jacques Lob, Jean-Marc Rochette

4. The End of Everything

This landscape is bleak, and resources are almost nonexistent. Your characters are not trying to rebuild because it is hopeless. There are few other survivors and to be honest, it’s probably best to avoid them. Although this kind of world can seem depressing, it’s also an opportunity to write about human nature at its best and worst.

The Road novel by Cormac McCarthy

On the Beach novel by Nevil Shute

5. A Better Tomorrow

The apocalypse is over and the world is at the recovery stage, but it will not be straightforward. Humanity has survived (sometimes barely) and is ready to rebuild a better world. However, the characters will often be under attack from an aggressor who wants things to stay the way they are. This plot is useful when you want to finish a post-apocalyptic series because it’s an acceptable way to tie up loose ends and leave your readers feeling hopeful.

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPraub

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

6. Not over yet

Sometimes the event is still taking place. The main apocalypse happened, but there are still remnants of the initial threat. This could be a virus that hasn’t been completely cured, lurking zombies, killer plants, in fact, anything that needs to be eradicated. This is a good plotline if you want to create a series of books where the threat grows or mutates. And let’s not forget that there is always a threat from other survivors because sometimes it’s people who can be the real monsters.

World War Z by Max Brooks

12 Monkeys TV series created by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett

7. Weird World

Some kind of catastrophic event destroyed much of the world, leaving only remnants of an ancient civilization. The laws of physics and biology were altered, and this is now a magical and weird world. You can do almost anything with this kind of world, but you should have a thorough understanding of the fantasy genre. The Lord of the Rings is not strictly a post-apocalypse world, but it has a lot of elements that appear in this kind of story.

Swan Song novel by Robert McCammon

Adventure time animated TV series created by Pendleton Ward

Once you’ve picked the cause and the world it left behind, it’s time to plan the details for your post-apocalypse world. The longer-lasting effects will be something your characters have to adapt to, in order to survive. You can force your survivors into life and death situations depending on how harsh you want their environment to be, how limited the resources are, and how much competition there is for them.

#Step 3: Focus on the details

Once you’ve picked your apocalyptic event, you’ll need to start looking at the effects it has on your world and any survivors. This is when you should focus your attention on world-building. Don’t skip any details because they could become plot holes later on.

1. What are the effects on the environment?

Consider how to use the environment to cause conflict for your characters. Do you want your survivors to have their movements restricted by a lingering risk such as zombies or plague? Is your landscape going to have areas that are too toxic to enter? Has wildlife mutated and become a deadly threat?

2. How long after the event is your story set?

If the apocalypse happened recently, your characters will be unprepared and have to adapt quickly to survive. If generations have passed, the survivor’s descendants will know the dangers they have to face, but that doesn’t mean life is any easier.

3. How many survivors are there?

Do you want your characters to have regular or sporadic interactions with other people? If resources are limited, which they are in most stories, any survivors will be competing for them, and this can cause a lot of conflict for your characters.

4. Where do people live?

Do you want your survivors to travel across the landscape in search of refuge, or are they going to live in small communities? Are cities abandoned because they’re too dangerous or have the survivors built new ones? Are their descendants living behind the safety of high walls or even underground?

5. Is there a rule of law?

If the percentage of survivors is small, it’s unlikely there will be any kind of central government and nationwide rule of law. In many apocalypse stories, the army and police are among the first casualties. However, if your survivors have had time to adjust and create a new society, think about what rules they live by and if there is any kind of hierarchy they follow.

#Step 4: Have fun!

Now you can go wild. Throw in as much conflict as you want and force your characters to make some hard decisions. This kind of story is all about survival and growth. Some people will rise to the challenge while others will descend into the mire. It’s all up to you.

Conclusion

This is one of the most popular science fiction genres because of the amount of scope it offers to writers. The story can be one that offers hope for the survival of humanity, or it can be an exploration of the best and worst of human nature. Readers can follow initially weak characters as they grow and develop into people who can survive the harshest of environments.

#science fiction writing community #urban fantasy #writersofinstagram #young adult #zombie #writing advice #paranormal romance #editing services

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mikami · 5 years ago

Note

Could you give us an analysis about Light/Ryuk relationship (and its evolution) ?

I can! A bit belatedly, but still with pleasure! Ryuk and Light’s dynamic isn’t terribly formative for the duration of most the story, but it’s incredibly important to how the story starts and ends. Ryuk plays a huge part in Light becoming Kira in the first place, beyond merely providing the notebook for him.

First off, a lot of credit to the thoughts about the beginning of Ryuk and Light goes to casuistor - most of my Death Note thoughts are impacted by her to some degree, but this is really something that she helped me understand and that I would maybe never have seen quite so clearly without her.

That out of the way, here we go. Light and Ryuk from start to end.

The thing is, Light is initially very afraid of Ryuk - or not of Ryuk specifically, but of the entity owning the notebook. Fear of imminent death is what drives Light to the killings he does before Ryuk shows up. He wants to leave his mark on the world and he thinks he has very limited time to do so.

Then Ryuk appears and tells him that the notebook is his - and explains the bond between them. This both contains the explanation that there is neither heaven nor hell (hence the only way Light can give meaning to his life is while he’s alive) and… that Ryuk will, inevitably, be the one to kill Light.

That’s also worrisome information. Now having it confirmed that there is no cosmic meaning to life whatsoever, Light has an even more vested interest in staying alive and continuing to create meaning for himself. And now he knows one thing… staying alive means pleasing Ryuk.

His next two questions are pretty systematic in how they’re geared towards this goal:First he asks why Ryuk chose him. This is important because if he knows why Ryuk is interested in him, he can make sure to retain these aspects and keep Ryuk on his good side. But of course, Ryuk didn’t choose him.So then Light wants to know why Ryuk dropped the Death Note - obviously Ryuk must have some kind of goal and there’s no person more interested in serving that goal than Light who feels his entire life depends on it.

And he gets an explanation: Ryuk was bored.

That gives Light something to work off. Immediately, he hits into this.

He gives Ryuk something to relate to. An idea of them looking for the same thing. Now, ‘I was bored’ is not Light’s reason for mass murder. This statement of his gets taken at face value far too often. Light isn’t lying here, but it’s a gross oversimplification of the truth, for the sole purpose of resonating with Ryuk.

In reality, boredom factors into Light’s decisions in two ways: 1.) Testing the notebook was indeed an act of teenage boredom, but that’s not overtly significant. Being a kid who messes around is normal. 2.) Light’s overall ennui with the world. Light does parallel Ryuk here, even if with different nuance. The first page of the manga isn’t their shared internal monologue about a rotten world for nothing. Both of them hate that the world is unchanging and feel negatively about it. But here’s where the difference splits off: Ryuk craves excitement and fun, Light craves change. Fundamentally, Light’s issue with the world isn’t that it’s not entertaining, it is that everything done in the world feels futile because no lasting social change is achieved.

Light’s and Ryuk’s boredom are completely different in nature, but Light manages to combine them into one all-encompassing masterplan.

He will become the God of a New World.

For him, this is about breaking out of the cycle of futility. He’s had this plan before, but notably he never described in these grandiose terms. Those are for Ryuk, because what could be more fun and more entertaining than a mere human proclaiming to become a God? Light wants to make himself indispensable to Ryuk. Being fun is his life insurance.

And it’s working. They thus enter a mutually beneficial relationship where Ryuk grants Light the power for change and Light repays in entertainment.

And really, that works out for the majority of canon. Their relationship is fairly casual. Light explains his plans to Ryuk, even plays video games with him, and they just… kind of co-exist. Important here is just that Light learns to not take Ryuk too seriously. Between Ryuk’s casual personality and the fact that Ryuk is actually excessively bad at… knowing things… or relaying the information he does know in a timely fashion….. Light stops being afraid of him at all.

He’s so done. And while I cite this as a development, it occurs within like.. the first few chapters. Light’s not a very fearful guy and he very soon considers himself as having a good handle on Ryuk.

Ryuk is kind of impressed by it. It certainly helps equalize their dynamic. They’re mutually bickering roommates by then. Ryuk pokes fun at Light and Light does the same in return - it’s not friendship, because neither of them has any deeper concern, but from the outside it’s almost indistinguishable from it.

And hey, even the future killing is becoming a lighthearted footnote.

Ryuk also begins taking on a role in Light’s cognitive processes. If Light needs to convince himself of something, he tells it to Ryuk.

Even if Ryuk doesn’t give a shit.

And that all works out nice and dandy in the first arc! And when that one is over, Ryuk has become complacent and comfortable in his position of living with Light, so watching over Light as he changes the world further is fine to him.

“... you will witness the creation of a new world.”

But during the duration of the timeskip, their relationship cools down a lot. Light spends most of his time in the same room as the Task Force, unable to speak to Ryuk, and even outside of that, the two of them have far less banter. Light by then completely takes Ryuk for granted and puts literally no effort into entertaining him. While Ryuk doesn’t appear to mind this, as there are still interesting things happening, I think the timeskip period of comparative boredom somewhat contributes to his decision of killing Light when he does.

By the end, Light takes Ryuk for granted. So much that, in his despair, he even thinks to turn to Ryuk for help. And that’s his fatal mistake, really.

Because that is what gets Ryuk to understand, once and for all, that Light is over with. He’s always liked Light because he did things himself, with his own brainpower and his own skills of manipulation. A Light who would sink so low as to plead for help from Ryuk of all people.... Well.

And really, that’s just a perfect end for Light as a character. He’s grown complacent, he’s grown too secure. The being that he initially feared and tried to appease became a part of his daily life, that he never put much thought to. And in the end, this neglect is the final nail in his coffin.

You could even go so far as to say that Light started considering Ryuk too much as a pet. when in truth, he’s always been Ryuk’s pet. Ryuk’s got such a casual personality that it is easy to forget, but when it comes down to it, he’s only ever used Light without ever forming any sense of attachment to him.

So when Light became boring, he died. That was all there was.

#death note #light yagami #ryuk #thoughts #answers #luna thinks

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youthagainstrape · 5 years ago

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Porn:- An addiction needed to be stopped

Porn:- Porn is a short/long video or any printed thing, which has sensational aspects thing on it. Both men and women see porn. Nowadays youth is much connected to it. Porn is also a reason for rape cases. It is mistaken and when somebody sees it they then this is easy and everybody does the same but that’s defiantly not the case. Effect of Porn on Teenagers Depression and Loss of Interests: When a young person is being exposed to the challenges of life, they need to cope. Often, they are under-resourced to do so emotionally – partly because their brain is still forming, and teenagers usually encounter many challenges. Porn is a dopamine volcano that can boost a teen out of a funk. It is overwhelming and exciting to the brain, and it can quickly be associated with feeling better. Further, it is part of the nature of curiosity and exploration of sexuality – except that it is a lie that can consume them. Sadly, depression sets in when we become beholden to a shameful, secretive and brain chemistry-altering stimulus. Seeking this stimulus, keeping it hidden and managing nagging shame can consume a teen. Depression naturally lowers enjoyment in other things teens may have liked and made them more susceptible to return to porn. Video game addiction also functions in a similar manner and often co-occurs with pornography use. Lying, Stealing and Secrets: If a teen has increased the number of lies they tell and the secrets they hide, it is worth noting! People often assume these are natural actions of teenagers who are “finding their way.” This is true to some extent, yet if we take a step back, we can usually trust our internal sense of when this is growing into a problem. Further, if you have any money or cards stolen, passwords changed, the “password reset email” (when you didn’t activate it), etc., you shouldn’t blindly look the other way. Shame is the best friend of lying, stealing, and secrets. Don’t expect a quick or easy confession, and don’t press hard for one! This is more likely to make the teen go further into hiding. Extended Late Nights Yes, teens often stay up late, but if this falls into an unhealthy pattern, it is likely serving some purpose. It is important to teen can account for their actions and use of time. Debilitating Pursuit of Immediate Gratification: Again, this is common among teens, but it should be monitored. If your teen can’t move away from pleasure-seeking behavior, this either is causing them problems, or it will. A relentless search that negates the necessary tasks of growing up (school, chores, sleep, relationships, etc.) is a sign of something wrong. Technology Obsession: The previous point ties in with technology obsession. Teens with unfiltered and unmonitored access to internet-enabled devices are at great risk. Technology (including games) can quickly become addictive, and an inability to not use it is problematic. It is important to monitor the device history and downloads. You will quickly discover if inappropriate content is being accessed, or deleted or covered up (especially if history is consistently missing). You must get familiar with the technology your teens are using – including websites, apps, devices, etc. Truth of Porn:& Many people are mistaken by considering that what happens in the video that they have to do the same without any parameters. They just see the video they don’t go behind the scene. The truth is they do it for money and there is a whole industry of it. They sign a contract and then shoot the video according to it. They have their own thing and they follow. Role of Sex Education to stop Porn Sex Education is important now. Many of the teenagers don’t know what actually they are seeing because they are getting exposure to the world. In the meantime, if they don’t get the real guide or knowledge about it then it can be very harmful. Sex education is very vital to stop porn as the person who knows and has proper knowledge understands what is wrong and what is right. In addition, there are several things you should know about check out the blog on sex education on our platform. Ways to Stop Porn Addiction Key Points To Remember For Parents (Parental Guide): Start an ongoing, age-appropriate conversation about sex early. The child is more likely to be responsive and find you safe. Teach them. It is your responsibility as a parent. Place boundaries and safeguards. Explain to them as appropriate. Make space for hard conversations when you least want them – and when they most want them! Talk about sex and process your struggles with your partner. You need to know where you stand and have a strong starting place. Get expert help if you need it. Key Points For teens:- Take help of experts Understand the negative effect you can go through due to porn addiction you have to delete all the materials related to it Learn to control your trigger (feeling to see porn or do the activity) One thing is trying to cut down the times every day. (If you are watching porn 6 times a week then make it 3 then 1 then 0. Make a goal in small parts) Focus on doing other activities more so that you don’t get time to see. How To Approach Your Teenager Firstly, if you have evidence of pornography use, it is likely you don’t know the entire story. If you have evidence, the first thing to do is check that it didn’t come from someone else in the home – seriously. Then, bring the evidence to your teen at a time they are most likely to engage with you (if this is never, then make your best decision). You should non-judgmentally let them know what you found. Ask them about it, without venom, tears, accusation or anything else! Be calm and genuine. You need to be safe for them to move toward, and you need to deal with your own emotions, Don’t put that burden onto the teen. Wait on their response and gently bring it back around to the question if they sidetrack. Express how you care about them and want the best for them. Let them know what you think they might be feeling (shame, fear, anger) and acknowledge that you “get that” and it makes sense. Reassure them you aren’t judging them and are willing to walk with them in their experience. Listen, listen, listen if they are talking! When appropriate, move to explain the myth of pornography – that is normal that they would enjoy it, and that you disagree with their continued use of it and why. Your values should be communicated, as should the support you will give to your teen. The safer you become, the more they are likely to share. If you suspect something, follow the same steps as above. Start by initiating a conversation about porn from a sexually exploitative viewpoint (such as a sexualized billboard or ludicrous movie scene). Start with something like, “You know… as I saw X, it made me wonder about how all this over-sexualized stuff is impacting you?” Don’t be condescending, fake or make accusations. Do, however, get to a pornography discussion. They will more likely respect straight talk! Conclusion:-. The people who are in videos or in an industry they are not wrong. They are doing their work. However, the people who see it without knowing the real thing and do the wrong thing by inspiring seeing the video are wrong. Otherwise, Sunny Leone also does charity and many others have their family. Therefore, knowing the real part of it is important and not following it is better than doing the wrong thing. It can be harmful to society as well as to yourself.

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justfinishedreading · 5 years ago

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Remainder by Tom McCarthy

I read this book about two or three months ago, it’s the sort of book I can say is really good, in a literary sense, but ask me if I enjoyed it and my answer is definitely no. The blurb describes it as “a darkly comic meditation on memory, identity and history”. I take a less romantic view and say it’s a disturbing -and occasionally comic story- about white male privilege, the abuse of wealth and power, the danger of diminishment of responsibility, and the importance of post-trauma therapy.

Before the story commences, the protagonist has already suffered an accident; an object dropped from a flying plane and nearly killed him. Part of his brain was damaged, and he could no longer walk or move. He had to re-learn every basic physical movement from scratch, starting with the simple act of picking up a small object. The part of his brain dedicated to movement was gone and to learn moment anew meant psychologically rewiring his thought-process. He learnt about the mechanics of his muscles, his bones, every change that occurs to make possible that simple act of picking something up. Over and over again these mechanics had to be thought out before action could be taken. As a consequence, when we meet our protagonist all his actions are slow, every detail must be thought through. Repetition and routine are key.

The unnamed airline company has offered him eight and a half million pounds to settle the case out of court, under the condition that he never talks about this publicly or privately. He accepts. And this is where the story begins.

One day, our unnamed protagonist, remembers a particular memory. His memories were gone when he woke up hospitalized, but they’ve been coming back slowly and in random bits. He sees a crack in a bathroom wall and is instantly reminded of a similar crack in an unknown apartment. He remembers looking out of the window and seeing black cats walking on the roof of the building opposite, he remembers leaving the apartment and walking down the internal staircase, he remembers the smell of someone cooking liver and someone playing piano, and he remembers feeling happy, feeling himself, feeling real and at one with everything around him.

He is struck by this memory of feeling natural, because since his accident all his movements, all his actions, seem rehearsed, studied, or as he puts it “second-hand”. Instead of trying to find out where this apartment is, why he was there, and what was going on at that time that brought him a form of peace, he decides instead to recreate the memory; the building and the people, to “re-enact” the scene from his memory, over and over again. Ironically experiencing the feeling of that memory second-hand…

From the point of view of the audience it is quite tedious to read about the unfolding of this plan, to us it seems obvious that this is doomed to fail, that manufacturing a feeling is counter-productive to feeling authentic. For me, I just wanted the book to end, I have never wanted more for a book to just… please, please… END.

The protagonist spends a lot of money, time and effort in finding a correct-looking building, paying off everyone that lives there to move out, hiring contractors to strip down the interior, recreate the look and feel of his memory building (which includes, amongst many other things, the wearing and sanding down of materials to look aged), and hiring people to be live-in actors, 24/7 on call, repeating the same actions over and over again: frying liver, playing the piano, taking out the rubbish etc.

Now we might say yes these actions, this way of spending money seems utterly pointless, but if he feels comforted by these actions and he has the money and it is his to do with as he pleases, what is wrong with that? What does it matter if we don’t approve? These actions are deeply important to him.

Now this is where white male privilege comes in, and also the power that comes with wealth. Speaking as a woman from a working-class background, of emigrant parents, I could never make someone go through what he puts his employees through. Here’s an example; in his memory, there’s the smell of someone pan-frying liver. To recreate this smell, he and his team found that they have to put about fours pans on the go for the smell to drift from downstairs up to his new apartment. His employees would fry liver all day, every day, for months on end, even when he wasn’t in the building, he still wants that to take place. The constant frying of liver meant that the air vents were frequently clogging up with huge amounts of fat. Imagine living there? The smell of liver every single day, all day, how nauseating it must be for those people. We may say that money can make monsters out of anyone, but the sense of entitlement the protagonist feels, in so short a space of time, is astounding, and I argue that he had some existing feelings of entitlement to bounce off of.

Another example; he hired a middle-aged pianist to re-enact the pianist from his memory, the pianist would practice a music score on the piano, occasionally making mistakes (intentionally “accidently” making mistakes). He would repeat the problem passage, then continue practicing, again make mistakes, repeat problem passage, over and over again, every day, the same score of music, but with no intention of it ever being played in public, with no end goal except to fake practicing. Imagine what that would do to a person psychologically.

We are never told what these people feel, because the protagonist, who is also the narrator, simply does not care. Whenever someone questions his motives, the protagonist replies with just one word: “whatever”. He never takes the time to explain his thought-process, he has no need for social approval or connection. In this respect the novel is remarkable, characters with these traits are usually portrayed as psychopaths in thrillers and horror stories, so it’s interesting to see that character outside the cliché box. And make no mistakes about it he is a psychopath; the team recreate the memory of black cats walking on roofs by acquiring black cats and everyday pushing them out onto the roof. Unfortunately, the roof is unnatural and artificially made, there’s nowhere for the cats to go or escape, they end up slipping and falling off and dying on impact with the ground. The protagonist is aware of this and is unmoved.

Surprisingly the protagonist does start to experience some pleasure from these re-enactments, in fact he becomes addicted to them. But the ‘high’ he gets from the control and repetition lessens as time goes on, soon he seeks out new and more problematic scenarios to re-enact, more potentially dangerous ways to feel elated. I won’t spoil the rest of the book or discuss the ending except to mention that a lot of people who read Remainder get dazzled by the ending and the various interpretations of the “truth” of what happens. We know for a fact that the narrator is highly unreliable because he withholds information, changes details and, in one occasion at least, told a story that at the end he admits was completely made up. Some readers get excited about possibilities like is he perhaps still in a coma and is this all a weird dream? Is he actually dead and this is purgatory or hell? Sort of a Third Policeman type thing. Me, I take it at face value; I think the main structure of the story is true, certain details certainly were changed, and things exaggerated, the man is a liar for sure, and the end does not tell us the full ending of what happened, but the rest we can guess ourselves.

The final thing I want to talk about is relationships, the importance of social relationships and human connection. At the start of the story the protagonist has two friends; a man about the same age as him (late twenties / early thirties) and who is a bit of a douchebag (the protagonist tells us that before the accident he used to find his friend’s humour funny, I take that as proof that the protagonist was already a wanker before the accident). There’s also a long-distance female friend, who is visiting. Now these two are taken out of the picture quite quickly, the woman continues her travels, and the protagonist stops answering his mate’s calls. No family is ever mentioned, which is really weird considering he’s been recovering from serious injuries -unless the protagonist is an orphan, but even then surely he has more people in his life? We never find out. What this means is there is no one to hold him accountable for his actions, there is no one to call him out on his bullshit, everyone he is now in contact with is an employee.

The second most significant character, after the protagonist, is Nazrul Vyas. When the protagonist first sets out to make his replica building he has a very hard time getting people to understand what he wants. The organizational aspect of this project doesn’t faze him but it’s the endless questions posed by contractors that he finds irritating to deal with. His lawyer suggests a company that specializes in management for rich clients, they facilitate any requests a client may make. Think personal assistant but with a huge network of contacts, resources and personnel. That’s where “Naz” comes in, he’s intelligent and patient and quietly relishes a challenge, the bigger and more complex, the better. The protagonist often describes him as machine-like, alluring to him having a computer for a brain. Naz is our main hope of someone being able to reach the protagonist… but a character described a robot, with the sole aspiration of materializing a client’s dreams, does not inspire much optimism… Commentary on the evils of blindly following orders, ay?

So in conclusion, yes Remainder is an interesting book; it’s literally studied in modern literature courses… Pick it up if you want something more original and challenging than your average mass-market best-seller. But for me, I’m just happy it’s finally over.

Review by Book Hamster

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diveronarpg · 5 years ago

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Congratulations, PARKER! You’ve been accepted for the role of LAERTES. Admin Minnie: It’s absolutely not a secret that we’ve been waiting for Lawrence for a long time, and boy did you deliver. Your characterization was distinct, your voice was so clear and your plots — Parker, your plots had me so excited and literally vibrating in my seat to see it all unfold. And trust me, I just came back from a long day of meetings and hours of driving and a flight; it took a lot for me to feel energized this evening. The way you brought Lawrence to life was so vivid and unforgettable in your application, and I have no doubt you’re going to do the same on our dash. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Parker

Age | 19

Preferred Pronouns | He/him

Activity Level | So here’s the tea, right? I’m a college student who never learned how to set up a schedule that doesn’t suck and am highly involved in student government because I am poor and it pays for my housing and meals. So when it comes to the school year, I’m busy. I’m hella busy, so I’ll probably do replies on the weekends and at ungodly hours in the morning for the vast majority of the year. However, this semester is coming to a close and as long as I survive finals, I’ll have five weeks where I can be on every single day!

Timezone | Mountain Standard Time (MST)

How did you find the rp? | My cousin showed it to me during Thanksgiving, of all the wacky things! She’s big into RP and she knows how much I love Shakespeare, and she thought I’d like this group. I thought I’d try and enter her world and see if I also like RP’ing/actually writing consistently with a set goal in mind.

IN CHARACTER

Character | Laertes - Lawrence Alvise Vernon. I absolutely adore Kendrick Sampson as Lawrence, so no faceclaim changes from me!

What drew you to this character? | So, I have a gut feeling this is going to get pretty long, so please bear with me. I think the first part that attracted me to Lawrence was the character he’s based off of. Hamlet was the first Shakespeare play I read, liked, and understood (though not in that order I don’t think). It was really awesome to see a character from something that had such a huge impact on me and what I want to do with my life still open and available! And Laertes is so important to that original story, even if the tragic Danish boyfriends overshadow him in the general story and in the fandom. The OG story doesn’t function as a tragedy without Laertes and the emotional impact of that last act and a half is only tear-inducing, to me, if Laertes was there. The story just needs him there, you know? One of the reasons I picked him to apply with is because I hoped the same could be said about the story of Diverona and I wanted to play that kind of role in a group filled with characters I think are awesome.

But it isn’t all source material that lead me to pick Lawrence, oh no! Lawrence is, as his bio shows, driven by a near all-consuming need for approval. He’s willing to keep pushing towards and striving for goals that would be completely out of reach if it wasn’t for his absolute, burning need to prove that he is capable of meeting those goals and surpassing them. For Lawrence, he expects that one receives love only if its been earned. He was never told that he was enough on his own merit and so the idea that he, as a person, is worthy has never crossed his mind, which is an absolutely tragedy! However, it’s something I understand and looking at that aspect of his character, I felt I’d be able to do it justice because I deal with a very similar thing far too often for it to be healthy.

However, there was one part of the bio that convinced be Lawrence was the character I had to try and get into this group with. Lawrence is a genuinely good person that has had to push that goodness aside to become someone his father prefers and someone his father would give the underboss title too. He isn’t, as you stated, cruel, but he has learned that in order to advance, he has to step on people, he must control every little itsy thing, and he must, above all, be perfect. But! Despite all these lessons, he is still a good egg! A good bean! I really appreciated you all making sure that was evident in his bio and it was really the thing that convinced me to apply for him!

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

Plot One - Little Sister, You’re All That I Know: So, we’re starting off with the most important plot of all, said from the perspective of another older brother to a younger sister. From what I can tell, the Vernon siblings are both extraordinarily in love with people, but not because of any other reason than the fact that they’re people. Or, at least, they were, up until Lawrence got so angry at Verona for daring to kill his father that he single-handedly took up the pitchforks and torches to make those responsible for that death pay. In the meantime, he’s managed to completely smother and override his sister’s opinion and free will which is so incredibly not good, even if it is well-intentioned. I want Lawrence to learn to back off, to trust his sister, and to learn that as strong as he is alone, he’s much stronger with his sister at his back. I imagine the jumpstart for this would be Odessa doing something really awesome, maybe even saving Lawrence’s life. By proving in a very direct way that she would be able to look after herself, that would allow Lawrence to begin backing off, to release the reigns of control, and trusting her to take care of herself in a way their father never imagined. Unfortunately, Lawrence is stubborn. He won’t change unless someone else kickstarts that change by being extremely impressive. Which is… Not ideal but it is, however, the only way I see that change happening.

Plot Two - Throw Me in the Delorean and it Never Happened: The thing about anger is that it is all-consuming. The thing about vengeance is that it is blinding. And the thing is: when you’re running on both and only on both, you are going to make a mistake. Lawrence is so desperate to be perfect that realizing he made a mistake would be devastating. So you know what I want? I want him to make an absolutely disastrous mistake and I want him to kill the wrong person that he was convinced was involved in the plot to kill his father. Think of it as his own blind stabbing through a curtain without checking to see who was on the other side. I want it because there is nothing like realizing your oopsie resulted in the loss of someone that should have seen the next sunrise to shake the foundations of your conviction. It would be perfect as it would show Lawrence he isn’t infallible and he isn’t perfect, no matter how hard he tries to be Personally, I’d love if he makes a go at a Montague and is forced to also check is loyalty and conviction to the family he’s worked with since he was a little boy. This could easily evolve from him keeping an eye on someone and completely misinterpreting what they’ve been up to and acting rashly. I feel like his failure of judgement would leave the Montagues shaken and reeling and it would further destabilize the city, which is frankly a big yes please from me. I also want Lawrence to try and cover his failure up and fail miserably. That’s really just because I feel like it would be a very interesting character study to see how Lawrence deals with trying to hide the evidence of his imperfection and doesn’t have a lot to do with Verona as a city, but alas, I am just a humble writer too focused on the golden boy and recognize that aspect of this may not come to play at all.

Plot Three: The Beauty of a Broken Bust: In the biography, you wrote that “he was put on a pedestal so high that a fall might’ve shattered him”. That foundation he’s on isn’t the sturdiest of things at the moment, considering the person that made that base is now dead. So, I want him to shatter and break apart. I want the pieces that had made him up, the pieces that he has forced to make him up to go flying to who knows where, leaving Lawrence with nothing else to do but to rebuild himself entirely without his father’s influence. This would change his perspective on the war as well as his relationships with nearly every character in this RP. It would also force him to confront the actions and choices he made while trying to become someone his father would be proud of. I truly believe this is something he must eventually go through because the person he is trying to be for a dead man isn’t sustainable nor is it healthy! Something has got to change and that something is code for Lawrence. I can see this happening because of the death of his sister, a very personal betrayal from inside the Montague family, or from the plot I mentioned directly above. If Lawrence stays the way he is, however, he’s going to burn himself out before he can give the Vernon name any sort of justice and he has to accept that. The issue with this plot is that he’s so stubborn and this happening would require a push so strong I’m not entirely sure I want to see it. (That’s a lie, I absolutely do want to see it, but my internal dramatics insisted that I state it that way.)

Plot Four - Now Would You Kindly: Now, I know y’all said three plots and I hear you, but I have more ideas and I want to share them! The first of these extra ideas is that it is a truth universally acknowledged by Montagues, Capulets, and Vernons alike that Alvise was not a good man. Lawrence knows this, Roman knows this, the pigeons that litter the city know this. I want evidence of his wrongdoings to come swinging back and to slap Lawrence so hard that he’s forced to question if the footsteps of his father are ones worth following. Maybe it’s in the form of letters of blackmail or an investigation into how many innocent people he helped kill, but I want it to happen and I want the evidence to be so overwhelming it almost drowns Lawrence. He’s spent a very long time pushing down what he wants to be for what his father wants him to be and I want Lawrence to question if it’s really been worth it, if that kind of person has been worth the outrageous effort he’s put in to make it happen. And maybe that person isn’t someone Odessa wants to be related to, which is something I think would absolutely impact Lawrence’s decision. She is his last living blood relative, after all.

Plot Five - I’m the King of the Castle: In Lawrence’s mind, I have no doubt that he believes he should be the Montague underboss now that he is back in town. He has, after all, fought for it, cried for it, and killed for it. However! He is not the underboss and that has no doubt rubbed him the wrong way. So, I want him, in his crusade to avenge his father, to also do his best to prove how perfect he is for the underboss role. I want him to leap into impossible jobs and to push down his morals yet again and brush on a mask of cruelty because he wants it, he deserves it, and it his in his name and therefore his legacy that he has the blasted title of underboss! He needs to fight for it and I want that fight to be obvious and also just flat-out brutal to observe. I don’t know if I actually want him to get it, if I’m being completely honest. Him having the title also raises some issues about what he did to get there, issues I want to explore, however I feel that such a role would push Lawrence too far in one direction on that vague scale of morality and loyalty he currently exists on and I kinda want him to keep waffling on it for as long as possible. This could change however! Especially with plotting. And I recognize that, so I will say that the core of this plot is his fight for the role of underboss and less about what would happen if he got it.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yeah, I’m ok with that! It would really suck, especially given how the Vernon family has been absolutely just. Destroyed. Uprooted. Left unmoored and drifting in the wind like last week’s laundry. But that same instinct that tells me that killing Lawrence would a) sprinkle in some awesomeness that is the original source material in a very satisfying way and b) would upend Verona even more than its already been, giving and taking motivations from people and maybe driving the rest of the Montague family just absolutely over the deep-end, which I would pay actual, real-life money to see. The slow destruction of the Vernon family is the slow destruction of Verona herself which means there is some drama to be had in Lawrence’s death! And I do love drama.

IN DEPTH

In-Character Interview (I only did two, please let me know if you want more!):

“What has been your biggest mistake thus far?”

Lawrence swallowed, face kept carefully still to give nothing away. Answers sprung to the tip of his tongue, eager to leap forward like hounds released from their kennel, but opening that door would destroy a lot more than just Lawrence’s reputation. Indeed, the perfect tool should not have so many answers to that question, but perhaps, Lawrence mused, his time away had done something to his obedience.

He stalled for time by taking a sip of the drink he had been neglecting in the warm Italian air. It was now unpleasantly lukewarm as the golden heat of the day made its way into the glass but it was better than nothing. It was only as he took a small sip that an answer sprung to mind, one that was both truthful and good for the image he was attempting to maintain.

“I have to say it was leaving the city,” he commented, returning the glass to the table. “I… left for reasons I am proud of, especially because there’s nothing wrong with being educated in this world. But if I had stayed, I could have done something!” Lawrence’s fist hit the table, making the glass and girl across from him jump. The sudden burst of temper was gone as quickly as it had arrived as his hand opened and his shoulders relaxed. “If I had stayed, this all wouldn’t have happened and a great man would still be with us. But I didn’t and now my father is dead.” He shrugged, meeting the girl’s eyes and hoping she wouldn’t see the emotion carried in them. “If I had come back earlier, Verona would be a very different place.”

“What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?”

His jaw clenched so tightly, a particularly attentive listener could hear his teeth protest the treatment. Lawrence’s hand held the chair like it was the only thing keeping him from leaping across the room to punch the smugly smirking man in the nose. “Just because I’ve only recently returned,” he gritted out, “does not mean I have gone turncoat. There is nothing,” he spat out, “nothing in this city more justified or honorable.”

His body eased the tension that it had so rapidly adopted as he noticed the nervous twitches and aborted movements to concealed weapons that had begun filling the room. As he eased, the rest of the room did too. “But you’re wrong,” Lawrence continued quietly, though there was no mistaking the vehmance leaking from his mouth like poison. “This isn’t a war. This is justice long overdue and more than earned. To call it a war is to imply the Montagues are not fully in the right.”

Lawrence took a deep breath, exhaling some of the passion he had been speaking with not long before. “I wish it wasn’t the loss of my fath–” His voice cracked and Lawrence swallowed, once, before continuing. “Alvise that had caused it, but it is only makes this city all that more dangerous for the Capulets. Because now I am back in Verona and I am coming for every single one with Vernon blood on their hands.” Perhaps it was dramatic, but the ice-cold certainty that hung in Lawrence’s voice stole any humor from the proclamation.

In-Character Para Sample:

He was eight years old, holding a pistol in shaking hands barely large enough to operate the thing. A slowly expanding puddle of red licked at his new shoes, staining them from cream to what would, by tomorrow, be an ugly brown. The shoes were what Lawrence focused on, the shoes and their new color. Because if he didn’t, if he looked up, he’d see the man slumped against the wall like a marionette without strings. If he looked up, he’d see the evidence of his actions.

Larger hands took the gun from Lawrence, trying and failing to be gentle. He wasn’t large enough to stop Alvise, though he wouldn’t even if he could. If his father took the gun, he could also take the body and the unbearable weight of its existence. Lawrence knew his father could fix anything, make any problem go away, and so he let the gun go. Maybe his father would fix this too. The two said nothing to each other as large men quietly entered the room, cleaning it, restoring it under the watchful eye of a king of Verona. Lawrence kept his eyes on his shoes.

Before long, Lawrence had been bundled into a car. The gun and body were gone as were his shoes. The next morning, there would be a new pair of shoes, cream and pristine, sitting at the foot of his bed. They stayed there, untouched, until Lawrence outgrew them.

He was thirteen at a new school, all restless energy that danced under his skin because, for the first time in his life, he was allowed to play a sport. He chose football, of course, but the black and white ball came with strings he never anticipated. Fitness was never the problem, it was balancing practice with everything else. Which bruise came from cleats and which came from fists during sparring was never an easy distinction, but as he got better at the sport, he began to look more and more like a poster child for the American Child Services.

It was a lack of sleep that ultimately did him in, made him sloppy. Alvise pulled him aside one Sunday morning before the sun graced the tops of Verona’s rooftops and told him to choose, choose between the sport and his last name. It was presented as a choice freely given, but the look in Alvise’s eyes made it clear it was anything but.

Lawrence quit the football team the next day, despite thinking that if he just kept with it, he could have made the national team. Somewhere, in a shoebox in the back of a closet, are a barely-used pair of cleats.

He was sixteen, armored inside a jacket of patches and studs, the handmade messages stitched to the outside screaming his fury at the world. There was a funeral scheduled that afternoon and Lawrence wasn’t going to be able to make it. The jacket weighed heavy on his back as he cursed Verona and the Montague name for letting his friend, the only one not tied to his father’s world, die because of it anyway.

But Lawrence was needed elsewhere that afternoon, Alvise’s steady gaze still hanging heavy across his back though the man had left some time ago. That coffin was going to go into the ground and with it, the boy affectionately nicknamed “Ray” by the body in that coffin was going to be buried too. The patches that the two had spent so long on, the quiet acts of teenage rebellion and freedom would join the nickname, and Lawrence would once again become the son of Alvise.

No one among the Montague family was going to mourn the dead civilian from two weeks before. No one but Lawrence, and he screamed it from the rooftop. It was only when his throat ached and the fire inside him was less of an inferno that he left the roof and changed into a suit. Alvise needed him elsewhere, and he was never one to disappoint. Lawrence pretends he lost the jacket, even though he knows exactly which trunk it’s collecting dust in.

He was twenty-two when he took the role of captain, the final stepping stone before Alvise’s throne, it seemed. It struck him like a plank of wood across the face when he realized being a Vernon wasn’t enough. His soldiers would listen, and yes, they’d do what he’d ask, but they lacked the respect they gave his father. For the first time, he needed to be more than a Vernon and he rose to the challenge with relish.

He never learned to address them like his father, a man who had perfected the harsh bark that made every muscle in a body snap to immediate attention. That seemed to be a skill reserved exclusively for the man Lawrence knew he needed to become. He never perfected it, but he did learn how to get close enough to command respect and the focus of a room. Then the Vernon name dripped from those around him, praising him for how like his father he was. But that wasn’t enough anymore.

He was twenty-four when he left Verona, determined to outshine his father. It wasn’t enough to just be a Vernon, he had to be better than that. He doesn’t talk about that time with Veronans, the free laughter and the hours spent in a library, writing essays on things he only cared about because they were things to outdo his father. But even as Alvise hung like a ghost over his shoulder, he was still thousands of miles away. His weight that had hung over Lawrence was lifted, and it was only when it was gone he realized it had been there at all.

He would never say it, but his time out of Verona was possibly the happiest times he’d ever had.

He was twenty-eight when Lawrence got the phone call that his father was dead. He is twenty-eight still, but his hands still shake when he fires a gun. He is twenty-eight, and he sneers when someone on the national team fails to score a goal. He is twenty-eight, but anger towards the Montague family still overtakes him at times, clawing at his throat and heart, begging to be released. He is twenty-eight and he has still not learned how to deliver orders like Alvise. He is twenty-eight and despite it all, Lawrence Vernon is his father’s son. He carries a torch alongside his father’s name and even though he is not Alvise, he has never let him down and he has returned to Verona with a bag of clothes and the Vernon name. Wars have been fought with far less and Lawrence has been fighting every day of his life for his father. He just never thought he’d have to fight Verona.There was a time for goodness, but now is the time for success.

Extras:

This app was submitted through Lawrence’s mock blog, so feel free to peruse it!

#accepted #accepted: laertes

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doe-clotureofyellow · 6 years ago

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The Demonic Twin Blades; Scene 1

The Demonic Twin Blades short story

☼ Master Craftsman Langley ~In the Kingdom of Lucifenia, “Langley Smithy”~

The country had changed, and so change had also visited upon the scope of my work at the smithy.

When it came to the “Langley Smithy”, one could say that things had changed primarily in a good direction.

The settlement of the revolution certainly didn’t mean we would have peace. On the contrary, the chaos caused by the change in leadership had led to the birth of several new seeds of war.

Whether it was invasion from foreign countries, or further internal conflicts—that’s not for this mere blacksmith to know. But this prediction was something everyone could make. The fact that this smithy had been flourishing despite the fact that the war had ended was more proof of that than anything.

Frankly speaking, supplying weapons for the resistance had been an extremely dangerous gamble. If the revolution were to have failed, then it wouldn’t have been the princess beheaded in the town square, but rather the members of the resistance. Naturally, I was included among their number.

But it didn’t turn out that way, and high quality of the weapons that the resistance used had resulted in my becoming known to a great many people.

One such person was the great merchant, Keel Freezis. Thanks to his considerable financial assistance, the outlet for my smithy grew, and I gained in both equipment and workers.

…Though I’ll have to pay him back for all that over some long months and years, on the whole the benefits have been fairly large.

Now, there are three other smiths outside of myself in the smithy. Two of them are new hires, but both of them had originally worked for other blacksmiths before. They were fairly skilled for their youth. Our workload going up was no reason to let the quality of our goods go down, and as long as I had the two of them I didn’t think I had much to worry about there.

The other one—Nagisa Coulomb, the lone woman in the smithy, started working here around eleven years ago. I recall my Chartette loving the yet youthful girl Nagisa like a little sister when she first arrived.

Nagisa hardly swung her hammer like the other smiths. Her strong suite was the construction of weapons that used gunpowder. To an old man like me who could only make old-fashioned swords and shields, the weapons ideas that Nagisa came up with were extremely innovative and interesting, and in practice during management of the store Nagisa’s gunpowder rifles grew more heavily prioritized as the years went by.

…Only, she’d really dropped the ball when she’d come up with the plans for the “Gunpowder-filled iron glove”. It was something that allowed one to fire a glove like a weapon, and the prototype that she’d made for it was hardly practical.

Its power as a weapon certainly wasn’t bad. But thinking on it as a defensive garment, it was too dangerous to always have on you something that could potentially explode on impact. Its kickback when fired was so intense that only brawny men could really handle it well.

At some point that prototype had disappeared from the smithy. Nagisa had probably not wanted her failure to be exposed to the public, and so disposed of it without anyone knowing.

That was little more than a guess on my part.

She was always shy, and never said much.

--Not even who was the father of the baby that was inside her growing belly.

I realized that Nagisa was pregnant right after the revolution had ended. I hadn’t heard anything about her having a boyfriend, but I didn’t really have the right to judge her for being with child. At the time I had thought that if she’d found someone to marry, then that was good enough.

But according to the gossip of the other smiths...the child’s father was a man who was just passing through. And furthermore, he was the leader of a band of mercenaries, and died during the revolution.

In the end, the only thing I could do was ask Nagisa the truth, as the person running the smithy.

As expected she didn’t tell me anything concrete, but…she did plead to me, “I will raise the child by myself once they’re born. I have no doubts about this. So please, let me work here like I have until this point.”

I couldn’t do anything so heartless as to cast Nagisa out. Without much alternative I decided to pay heed to her request, but seeing how big her stomach has gotten she’d be on her last month soon. Naturally I’d have to give her time off before and after the birthing.

What should I do after the baby is born?—I consulted my wife on it, and she delightedly volunteered to help take care of the child.

“Our fool girl is all grown up and out of the country, so it’ll be perfect.”

And then after saying so, she laughed loudly.

Yes, our daughter—Chartette—had suddenly gone in a journey after the revolution, having been seized by some notion or another.

Personally I’d like for her to come home soon and start looking for a husband...but, well, maybe it’s always been a pipe dream to think that we could keep our wild girl cooped up in this tiny smithy.

Frankly speaking, I’m not that worried. I’ve heard tale of her efforts during the revolution, and she’s with Germaine besides, so she’ll be fine.

But....it was starting to look like it’d be a while before I’d be able to see any grandkids.

--Thinking on that, perhaps the situation with Nagisa’s child was perfect for his wife after all.

“Lucifenian women are all stubborn...Don’t you think so--Leonhart?” I murmured without thinking, facing the direction where the Lion Knight’s grave was.

My job of striking metal with my hammer had grown extremely rough lately.

It would probably be time to retire soon…While I swung my arm with such thoughts in my head, one of the other smiths across from me suddenly lifted their head and said, “…Looks like we’ve got a customer, boss.”

When I turned around, I saw a young man wearing garb that wasn’t often seen around here looking around at the smithy with great interest.

“~♪”

I didn’t know why, but he was cheerfully humming a little tune.

Even stranger, he was shouldering some kind of long thin case wrapped in cloth.

Though I had been in the middle of working, perhaps my ears have been getting worse from age that I didn’t notice all until I had it pointed out to me by someone else.

…The melody of the tune he was humming was familiar.

“Who’re you?”

I didn’t say that with any intention of intimidating him, but it seems the other man took it that way. He took a step back with an apologetic expression, and began to introduce himself.

“I beg your pardon. My name…is Mikhail Asayev. My profession is—”

“You a monk?”

“—Yes, exactly. That’s quite a good guess, considering I’m not wearing my robes.”

“You were humming a hymnal. So I figured that might be the case. –This is a smithy that specializes in weapons. If you want a rosary you’ll have to find some other shop.”

“Oh no no, that’s not it—I came here with a comission regarding weapons, nothing less. I was encouraged to come here by King Marlon.”

A referral from Kyle Marlon—that must mean that he was a fairly high-ranking monk.

In that case, I couldn’t very well dismiss him.

Mikhail laid the case he was carrying onto the floor, pulled off the cloth and opened the lid.

And there inside it—were two unrefined looking swords.

“These are ritual objects long held in Holy Levianta…the ‘Twin Swords of Levianta’,” Mikhail said, his left pupil abruptly rotating around once.

“These are ritual objects? –You’re putting me on. The Levin church making swords into ritual objects?”

“These are being held not by the church, but the country of Holy Levianta itself. Monks don’t carry swords. However, though this is a religious country, military might is necessary to protect the dignity of our country and religion. Think of this as a symbol of that.”

Spinning.

Mikhail’s left eye swiveled again.

--I couldn’t help but find the movement unnaturally awkward.

It probably wasn’t the eye he was born with. It looked fake, man-made.

“…So then, what is it with these swords?”

“Right. Among these twin swords, it is said that one represents ‘Creation’, and the other ‘Ending’. They originally belonged to the Li family in the distant past when Holy Levianta was called the Magic Kingdom, but they were taken outside the country shortly before the Leviantan Catastro—Ah, you don’t seem terribly interested in this sort of history. You have a very bored look on your face.”

“…”

“Well then let’s put a stop to that for now, and move on to the main topic of conversation. My commission—is for you to completely destroy these swords.”

“…Wha!?”

I didn’t understand what he was getting at.

Expressly going to the trouble to take swords to a smithy, not to hone them or hammer them back into shape…but to destroy them?

…No, hold on.

“I understand, I know what’s going on. You’re…trying to get the crime pinned on me. You want the swords destroyed for some reason. But if you destroyed ritual artifacts you would obviously be punished for it. So to keep that from happening you’re going to use another country’s blacksmith—”

“No no, it’s nothing with that kind of conspiracy to it,” Mikhail denied my assertion, waving his hands exaggeratedly. “I’ve obtained permission from the archbishop on this.”

So saying, he showed me a sheet of parchment.

--And sure enough, the gist of what was written on there was basically, “The perpetrator who carries out the destruction of the Twin Swords of Levianta will not be charged with any crime”. As soon as I saw the archbishop’s signature and the dragon symbol next to it, I could tell…it was not a false letter.

“So then…I really don’t get why. Why on earth would the archbishop himself want the ritual artifacts passed down in his country to be destroyed—”

“Mister Langley. Do you…know of the ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’?”

“…Only what rumor tells me. Just the legends spoken of among the other smiths here.”

--In this world there existed several weapons and tools wherein dwelled “Demons of Deadly Sin”, and no matter how skilled the craftsman, these could not be remade or destroyed.

Long before, a certain blacksmith was able to find a spoon that was one of the “Vessels of Deadly Sin”, and tried to reforge it into a fork. However, ultimately not only was he unable to carry that out, but he was possessed by the demon and driven to die in madness--that was the kind of thing they would talk about.

“You don’t mean…these twin swords are ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’?”

“Indeed…Though perhaps it’s a bit hard to believe up front. Thanks to that, the archbishop is greatly aggrieved at the fact that he sanctified items with a demon inside as ritual artifacts.

“So then just throw them away somewhere.”

“I can’t do that. If I did, and someone else were to find them, then there’s a chance misfortune would befall this person. I’ve already made this same request to blacksmiths throughout Holy Levianta, but none of them were able to destroy it.”

Cursed swords that held a demon inside, and couldn’t be broken—

My interest as a blacksmith was overcoming my terror.

I took one of the swords in hand and knocked it against the floor at several angles to test it out.

…Contrary to expectation, the sword easily snapped after several times of this.

It snapped quite neatly.

“Hey…It’s broken off.”

“You think so? And yet…by tomorrow I guarantee it’ll be remade like it was before.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Well then, you should see it yourself with your own eyes tomorrow. …You have seven days. That’s how long I’ll be staying in this country. I’ll come back on the morning of the third day, and if I’m able to confirm that the twin swords have been destroyed—” Mikhail swiveled his left eye, and showed me a bag full of gold coins. “—One million Ev. That is what I’ll pay you as your fee.”

“…That is an extremely large amount of gold.”

“It’s to compensate just for the risk you’re undertaking. After all is said and done, these swords have a demon in them after all. …If you feel any kind of danger or feel afraid and want to quit on the commission, then take the swords to the great Levin church. That’s where I’ll be staying. –Well then.”

Without waiting for a proper reply from me, Mikhail walked out from the entrance.

…So, what should I do?

For now, I tossed the snapped sword in my hand in the case. Next I scooped up the piece of blade that had broken off and similarly put it in the case.

I closed the case and set it in a corner of the smithy.

--The following morning. When I opened the case to check, just as Mikhail told me, the sword that should have still been snapped in half had returned to how it had been before.

I had the key to the smithy on my person, and never took it off, so there wasn’t any trace that some outside person had made their way inside. It didn’t also seem to me like any of the smiths were pulling a prank on me.

I thought to myself that this was quite an interesting article. I didn’t necessarily believe the nonsense that there was really a demon inside, but regardless I could tell this was a job that wouldn’t be quite so straightforward.

I didn’t have any real obligation to take it on, but if I could get all that money just for destroying some swords, I had no reason not to.

First, I properly examined the twin swords to come up with an opinion on them.

In ancient times, the Magic Kingdom that supposedly was destroyed by a catastrophe caused by a dragon was said in legends to have had a culture that was far, far more advanced than what we had now. Whether that was true or not, when it came to these swords they didn’t seem to be made by any particularly advanced technology at all. The metal used in them had a low purity, and there was no particular detailed decorations like as would be on a treasured sword.

I decided to have the other smiths help me, and smash them into pieces using a large steel hammer. Not just the body of the blades, but also the hilts and the guard, everything. I put the items that had been reduced to rubble into the case and left it be, but of course by the next day it was completely reformed again.

This time I tried melting it with heat. Thanks to the new model of furnace we had, it was comparatively simple to reduce the twin blades to masses of iron. But…by the next day, those too had returned to their original form as swords.

As expected the other smiths were creeped out, and though they had participated intending to get a cut of the reward, they soon wanted nothing to do with the twin blades. When they did, Nagisa who had seemed indifferent of it all up to then, suggested I try exploding it with gunpowder.

I couldn’t very well do that inside the smithy, so I decided to do it at a nearby riverbank. When I blew up the twin swords buried inside gunpowder, there was a great cheer from all the spectators watching. I took the pieces of the pulverized sword back to the smithy to see what would happen…but I couldn’t hope for much.

I decided to watch over the pieces of the sword through the night, by myself. It always reformed itself in the middle of the night. So then, I figured I would see this happen with my own eyes.

--Around two in the morning, a peculiar event happened.

It seemed to me that the moonlight that was coming in through the small window in the smithy suddenly grew brighter.

Right after I realized that, the scene before my eyes suddenly grew too dazzling to see...And then I lost consciousness.

--I realized that my body was sinking into the ocean.

I felt no difficulty at all from being unable to breath, so I quickly could tell that it was a dream.

An enormous fish with rainbow scales was swimming right in front of me.

“…Cease your pointless actions.”

It was a woman’s voice.

“You cannot destroy a ‘Vessel of Deadly Sin’. Even if you could—there’s no meaning in doing so.”

Was this fish the demon that dwelled in the twin swords?

When I asked her, the fish replied “Correct”, and then continued.

“You are quite lucky. I am a pacifist demon, and as such you are safe even now. If you were to have done such things on any other ‘Vessel of Deadly Sin’…You would have been cursed long before. However, I grow tired of playing around on this any further. And…none of you can protect me.”

“Protect you? Are you saying that someone is hunting you?”

“Yes. A ‘sorceress’ who is collecting ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’—I refuse to be used by the likes of a human being. Mikhail Asayev…Right now, in this period I should be able to deceive her with an ‘Inheritor’ like him. And that girl, Nagisa or something…I could perhaps wait for her child to grow up, but—”

Sorceress—did she mean Elluka Clockworker, one of the Three Heroes?

And…what was an “Inheritor”?

“…I won’t let you put a hand on Nagisa.”

“Then return the twin blades to Mikhail immediately. I think that would be the best thing for the both of us, hahaha—"

--And there, I woke up.

It was already dawn. Instead of moonlight, sunbeams were streaming in from the window.

And…as expected, the pieces of the blades were once more twin swords.

Had that just been a dream? Or was it a vision that the demon had shown me?

Either way, it would be impossible to destroy these twin swords through regular means.

I had to think of what I would do after this point.

I could just obediently give up and return the twin swords to Mikhail. I’d lose the opportunity to make a large amount of money, but this all happened by chance anyway. I had little need to be greedy about it.

But if these blades really did have demons in them…Could I really just leave them be? They probably wouldn’t cause any trouble if they were in Mikhail’s hands, him being a monk and all…but there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t get possessed by a demon.

The other route that I could think of—I could entrust it to the sorceress Elluka Clockworker. Someone like her might know some way to seal the demon inside.

But I’d heard that Elluka had left the country after the revolution started. I had no way to learn where she was. And she was a friend of the Levin archbishop in the first place. So then, maybe he had already contacted her for help and it hadn’t gone well, or else…maybe he’d had some reason not to.

Well, that wasn’t something I ought to participate in. At any rate, the idea of entrusting the twin swords to Elluka wasn’t realistic.

There’s also—No, I can’t do that. That’d be ridiculous.

A certain being came to my mind, but I instantly dismissed it.

--Spirits.

That was another story told of in the smithy.

That there were dependents of the great earth god Held that were said to live in the Millenium Tree Forest.

And that among those various spirits, there was supposedly one that could destroy and devour anything.

But then…Even if that being exists, I’m hardly likely to find it in just two or three days.

In the end, no other good ideas came to mind after that.

directory------next>>

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theyoungkleinwriter · 5 years ago

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Writing Blind#002: Character creation

In writing a novel one of the key challenges you’ll face is in the creation of characters. Now characters are a complex and often difficult aspect of writing that will never be perfectly done by any author. but that doesn't stop us from trying I suppose. As the primary driving force of almost every compelling narrative ever told there is an obvious need to make characters unique and interesting. Traditionally many stories did this by having the characters be more than human or special in some way. They had something that set them apart and made them unique; something that inspired readers and made them want to be better. Yet in recent years there has been a trend in character creation where characters have been made to appear flawed, or have something that makes them less like god figures to be idolised and more, well, human.

This detour from an older way acts as a sign of the changing times and how story telling has evolved, but that is a topic for another time. For now I’d like to put focus on key aspects of character creation that should help in understanding the how and why of it. To me the key aspects of character creation are; physicality and design, motivations and desires and impact on the narrative.

Beginning with the physicality and design of a character is always a good starting point (or so I've heard) as without it you are basically left with an obscure empty shell that leaves the readers baffled; I mean they need some sort of starting point to imagine the character. Fortunately readers are really clever people and don't need much in the way of a description to picture what a character looks like. Therefore there is a range of ways to present a description of a character ranging from minute details to the bare minimum. Personally I like to include key descriptors like the basics; hair, eyes etc, but then also provide something else that's a little more quirky and interesting and makes them more memorable. For instance my character Helena is described “to have a single brown curl of hair that never quite did as it was told”. This focus on the otherwise innocuous helps secure the character in the readers mind. Yet this goes beyond simple description as if you wish to tell the reader about a character you could use this opportunity to show it through using their description to reflect their personality, like fiery hair meaning a wild spirit. As people we like to notice and place symbolic significance to things and a characters description can be a brilliant way to achieve this. You can even show more about a character by not only displaying how they look but also the little ticks they have, or gestures or certain attributes in how they move. These are things that really help to secure a character in a readers mind as it makes them unique from others and adds to their personality; for instance mentioning every so often that a nervous character keeps tapping the table. But I'd advise caution and not to overuse this too much as you risk losing the key components of a character or distracting the reader too much from the story.

Following on from this, we then need to look at the characters motivations and desires. This one is brief and easy. Find out what motivates these characters in your world and why, then have their actions be centred around those core motivations. This can also serve for some really interesting character development as desires and motivations can change or to create some interesting internal conflict you can have a character actively do something against their expressed motivation. By clearly expressing what motivates a character you can create a stronger reader connection to them but also use it to make them more fallible and real. When writing a character’s motivation it is important that you remember than people are complicated but your characters are there to serve the purpose of the story you want to tell. Therefore don't risk falling into the trap of over complicating your characters; keep it clean, and keep it simple at first. Don't sprint before you can walk. More importantly however is that with writing, a lot of people focus on the motivations of their main characters alone. However I've found it much better to also write motivations for even the smallest characters, nothing too complex of course, but enough that when I write them I understand them so much more than I would have otherwise. This adds greater complexity and depth to your writing and is great in making the world feel more alive as in the real world even the smallest characters of our own lives will have their own motivations and this affects how they interact with us.

Finally I'd like to finish with the most significant part that links both story telling and character creation; what impact does the character have on the plot? All stories should be driven by something and more often than not that something is the characters. Now this is closely tied to motivation as a characters motivation usually helps to drive the plot forward; usually but not always. The plot can be driven by other factors but more importantly the focus on the narrative tends to be on how the characters interact with it. How does their actions contribute to the plot. Now this is more of a narrative aspect rather than creation aspect but it is important to have at least an idea of what a character will contribute to the story. You could spend half a page giving a detailed description of the coolest character ever, only for them to be side-lined as the comic relief. This is part of the problem with character creation, you need a clear vision of what the character is going to do for the story or otherwise there is no real point in them existing. Now that isn't to say treat everyone as if they are the main character and have each of them contribute equally to the plot. They could only serve to inspire the heroes journey or provide an exciting revelation. The key isn't in the scale of what they do but the simple fact that they contribute anything to the narrative arc. Consider this; take a look at a character and see if their inclusion in the story makes any actual differences. if the answer is no then either see if you can give them a reason to be in the story without derailing it or ( for the more bloodthirsty of us) cut them out completely. After all its these hard choices that helps to improve how we all write and how we work.

I think the last point helped highlight it best. Characters are difficult and complicated to create, particularly if your goal is to write a multi-layered and multi-faceted narrative. But there is an important factor at play, when writing a story you must remember that the purpose of telling a story is to provide a moral, message, entertainment etc. And thus your characters are meant to serve the purpose of that story. All well and good but the problem is readers are awfully clever people who are acutely aware of this fact. So when creating a character it is wise to remember that as detailed and real as you would like to make them you will never make them perfect. And that’s okay because there is no real, true perfection and always you can improve. Which is kind of good to know, otherwise there would be not point in creating fantastic characters that bring joy into the lives of many.

This is TheYoungKlein and I’m writing blind.

#writing blog #writing advice #writing #love of writing #character development #fiction

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keremulusoy · 5 years ago

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With her soft voice and a contemporary interpretation, Asena Akan is considered one of the important representators of jazz music. Since her early childhood, Asena Akan has always been a music enthusiast as she started her musical education at the age of 5 in violin section of Istanbul Municipal Conservatoire. She was also trained part-time in Opera Section of State Conservatoire of Istanbul University. Apart from her passion for music, Akan was also interested in human behaviour so she did her undergraduate and graduate studies in this area in Psychological Counselling Department at Istanbul University. Asena Akan who has been integrating the healing/transforming power of music with her life has been continuing her musical journey with the music band “İstanbul’dan (from Istanbul)” by doing jazz vocals, composing music and executing stage performances after releasing two albums named “İstanbul’un İzleri” (Traces of Istanbul) and “Golden Heart”

Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers? Who is Asena Akan? I have been describing myself as a person who is trying to make a sound since I was five. And I still miss who I was at that age and I feel the need of those natural sounds in my music workshops. My passion for music started when I started to repeat all the sounds at the age of five and my family was confused to whether to send me to a doctor or to a conservatory. I got training at the Violin Department of Istanbul Municipality Conservatory. The instructors there deemed the violin was fit for me but I could not get used to the violin no matter what I did. For five years, I have tried to get into the violin but it never happened. At heart, I liked the piano. I left the conservatory after having difficulties but I have not given up on music. Since I was a child, I have been on the watch for the bass and the drums when listening to music. I even love instrumental music. I bought a bass guitar fifteen years ago. Five years ago, I accelerated my communication with my instrument by saying, ‘I will play it now”. In short, I’m an Istanbul lover who was born and raised in Istanbul and who cannot part with music. Music, Istanbul and I complete each other.

BEING A SOUND

You decided to focus on your passion for music rather than your academic career. Yet, you organized a workshop named “Being a sound” which combines both of your experiences. Yes, all my works support each other. Because going to the different corners of Istanbul or visiting different places in Turkey are things that foster each other. Touching people, learning from their lives, exchanging ideas and emotions are very inspiring. Doing this through music is very nice, on the other hand, like I mentioned before, I organize workshops making use of what I have learned during my studies in psychological counselling. In the past, I organized some seminars and did one-on-one psychological counselling. I said to myself “Why am I not doing all these through music?” and now I organize music workshops, which are called “Being a Sound” where we focus on expressing ourselves, transforming emotions and on concepts such as creativity and inspiration with different groups. The development of the philosophy of “Being a Sound” is a whole another story. I think everyone is born into the world as a different instrument, and how you use these potentials makes you unique. That is why I put great importance on communication. The same thing goes for performing at a concert or a workshop. I have noticed this in every aspect of life. Are you angry? How does your mood reflect on your spouse, child, significant other, friends or other people? Making these contacts between the music and those processes in life strengthens the works. Since every individual is a different instrument, there are different workshops, no workshop is alike.

So, what kind of impact did Istanbul which you can’t stop talking about have in your music life? All my works are influenced by Istanbul. There are parts of the city I can identify myself with. I believe everyone is born with a golden heart. There may be some corruptions afterwards due to the experiences which I call “being out of tune”. We resist, change, learn and go on in one way or the other. We witness that Istanbul is also beaten and broken. Then suddenly you see Galata Tower from a corner, you hear the sound of the sea. This gives me joy in life. So actually, there is such a thing as “my Istanbul” because I am no stranger to the other side of Istanbul. I am a person who also has a history of being a psychological counsellor apart from being a musician. I majored in psychological counselling at the university and being an academician was my first profession. That is why my social works side is strong. So, Istanbul is not just limited to where I live. I visit many other places. With music and workshops I do, I can reach other places and people not only in Istanbul but throughout Turkey.

What can be done for the children to love and know Istanbul that we can barely protect? Have you thought about it? Children are very instructive. For those who want to learn, anything can be some kind of an Instruction tool. I have a daughter too, her name is Sofya. I have learned so much from Sofya. We have discovered many things together. We walked together to the places I enjoy in Istanbul and went exploring together. First, she adapted to me, my life, my walking. Then, she started picking the places we would go and I followed. At some point, we even thought: “Why are we not going to a mall?” because I wanted to introduce my daughter to the real Istanbul. Even if I had been born in a different city, I could have fallen in love with that city. The city phenomenon is a very different concept. There is an energy in which people come together and do things or miss each other in a cosmopolitan city like Istanbul. I am very much in love with Istanbul but it is not that hard for me to adapt myself to wherever I go. It is about exploration and the sense of wonder. We must teach our children the pleasure of discovering hidden values and preserving them, but of course, they should want it too.

“JAZZ IS A DEMOCRATIC MUSIC”

Back to your music career, what would you like to say about jazz? What impresses me the most about jazz is that it is a democratic music. It involves different sounds and colours. That every instrument expresses itself through role changes such as being a leader or being an accompanist accordingly. These impress me. I find it very similar to my philosophy in life. Since my childhood, I have been very sensitive about discrimination. Jazz is helping me find my way during this soul searching. There are lives I try to touch and I have shown this to them as a role model. Jazz is an incredible instructor for me. Singing is inspiring and keeps one young and dynamic. Being involved with music, in general, makes me experience those feelings. With music, we are at places both of learning and teaching. I am very happy that music is accompanying my life and I think it should accompany everyone in their lives in some way. My album Istanbul’un İzleri (Traces of Istanbul) is the apple of my eye. It was born after three years of work. Very valuable musicians contributed to this album. Golden Heart came together after English compositions were made. Afterwards, an EP called “Parçalar” where I interpreted some of the songs in this album in Turkish and a single called “Suya Yazdım” which I composed with mixed emotions were published. Nowadays we have a band called “Istanbul’dan” to which I enjoy belonging.

Asena Akan

İstanbul’dan müzik grubu

Grupta piyanoyu Ayca Daştan, davul ve perküsif enstrümanlarını Nihal Saruhanlı çalıyor. Vokalde ve basta ise Asena Akan hünerlerini sergiliyor.

How was the band “İstanbul’dan” born? The mastermind behind the “İstanbul’dan” in which we interpreted the folk songs of Anatolian culture in our language to understand and touch the lands we live on is Ayca Daştan. We had a musical collaboration with Ayca for many years. When she explained this beautiful project three or four years ago to me, I got involved. Folk song arrangements in the project are done by her. In the band, Ayca Daştan plays the piano and the lovely Nihal Saruhanlı who joined the band later plays the drums and the percussions. I do the vocals and play the bass. As in all other fields, it is necessary to spend a lot of time and effort to produce something good in music. We have worked on “Istanbul’dan” very seriously and in a very disciplined way. At first, we did not plan it to be a “women’s project” but it happened that way.

It’s a project where I enjoy being a musician. The sincerity of “Istanbul’dan” is what impresses me the most. We did not start off with the aim “We grew up here, we learned about Western music, let’s create something by mixing these two up.” It would not have affected me so much if we had. An organic process developed where emotions were heavily involved. At first, the stories of the folk songs affected us, then they got integrated with our own stories. We re-internalize folk songs with Ayça’s arrangements then we re-interpret them on the stage improvising, depending on our mood. That is what deems this project original for me. The album has been released recently. It is also on digital platforms. Our purpose is to bring music, its stories and the people of this period together and to present it with our energy and emotions. I have never felt the need to constantly “shine through” in music. Rather, I need to be a part of the democratic music where instruments rise and fall in harmony, where sometimes some instruments express themselves by becoming more prominent, where everyone’s voice and tone colour are respected and where everyone creates a dialog. There is a brave, curious and noteworthy audience in our country who wants to hear new things and is open to different voices. My first album “İstanbul’un İzleri” brought me together with these beautiful hearts although I didn’t do any promotional work.

We talked about the healing power of music, but music has also a uniting power. What would you like to say about the effect of music in this sense considering that people in the world are separated and cannot express their feelings clearly and uncensored? The concept of “IKIGAI”, which is the subject of a book I have read recently and is calledthe secret of Japanese long and happy life, questions “What is the purpose of your life that makes you get out of bed in the morning?” What motivates me to wake up is to make as many and different people, including me, benefit from the uniting and healing power of music. That is why I organize the workshops named “Being a Voice” I am also a part of the “We Care Association”, which develops products and services for children to achieve their fundamental rights. We developed a “Mother-Child Development Guidance Program” for mothers with children in penal institutions. Besides, we organize trainer training for employees. And we all benefit from the healing power of music together. It is important for somebody or some people that you make him/them understood and that you connect with him/them. Even the smallest things you do mean something for them and benefit them. But of all methods, I think music is the fastest, most direct and most effective. In fact, it provides a positive environment that also removes people with its non-judgmental and embracing nature. Music is a tool that has been used as a therapy method for the treatment of diseases for centuries with scientific and evidence-based principles. This is not something newly discovered, we just have to open ourselves up to it. As Sufi Inayat Khan expressed in a statement I like; “Music is the most effective means and the shortest way to integrate man with himself, then with other people, and then with the universe.”

NOTES

About Asena Akan Born in Istanbul, Asena Akan started her musical education at the age of five with classical violin at Istanbul Municipal Conservatory, then received part time training in the Opera Department at the Istanbul State Conservatory and graduated in 1998. Akan also plays bass guitar and continues her musical journey by doing jazz vocals, making musical compositions and stage performances.

Sunset Concerts The concert took place at sunset in the Istanbul Bookstore at Kadıköy Pier. I sang songs from my album İstanbu’un İzleri. It was a very enjoyable performance with the interactive participation of the audience. I was more than happy to have a public concert.

Albums: ‘İstanbul’un İzleri’ (2013) written and composed by her, released by Z/Kalan; ‘Golden Heart’(2016); ‘Parçalar’ (EP-2017); ‘Suya Yazdım’ (Single-2019)

Songs Performed By Them: Kerpiç Kerpiç Üstüne, Yağmur Yağar Taş Üstüne, Gelevera Deresi, Yemen Türküsü

İstanbul’dan Asena Akan: Vocal&bass Ayca Daştan: Piano Nihal Saruhanlı: Drum&percussions

It consists of three female musicians from Istanbul who interpret folk songs of Anatolian culture in their language to understand and touch the lands they live on. Improvisations, another important element that the band is nurtured of, create the artists’own stories. The concert, which is shaped by improvisations that transfer the loop between past, present, and future and is changing every time, turns into a new experience for those who love and know folk songs as well as first-time listeners.

The Progressive and Innovative Nature Of Jazz I do not believe in the viewpoint that jazz belongsto a certain culture and must be performed within a certain framework. On the contrary, I think that its nature operates in the cycle and balance of breaking the existing rules, building new ones, and then breaking them. More generally, I associate the progressive and innovative nature of jazz with the values of being a self-improving person. That is why I am confident that in Anatolia, which has been home to so many innovative and valuable musicians, there is an audience who will listen to new kinds of music and open their hearts to it.

By: Hatice Çetinlerden & Dilara Gülşah Azaplar Photos: Yağızkan Karahan *This article was published in the November-December issue of Marmara Life.

SOUND OF ISTANBUL With her soft voice and a contemporary interpretation, Asena Akan is considered one of the important representators of jazz music.

#asena #jazz #Music #sound #İstanbul

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