#its a good literary exploration tool

[st4rfckerz]

house sitter | anakin skywalker x reader

word count: 2.5k

warnings: MDNI 18+, kinda non con ???, somnophilia, groping, unprotected sex, creampie, infedelity, mild degradation, fingering, oral (f receiving), age gap (anakins in his 30s, reader is an adult), anakin's a pervert.

summary: you watch over the skywalker's home while they're out on a date.

a/n: this might be all over the place so i apologize BUT this is actually the idea i was talking about when i posted "i just woke up with the horniest fic idea."

house sitting was without a doubt the easiest job you'd ever had. all you had to do was lounge around in expensive homes and watch out for intrusions, which, for the record, hardly ever happen.

the famous skywalker family had employed you to watch over their house while they went on dates, visited other planets, etc. you had gotten to know the couple pretty well, especially anakin since he was always friendly with you and often times would spend time speaking to you, although it was never anything more than just light conversation for him.

you noticed that anakin had spent more time talking to you lately and was starting to become a little bit more attentive towards you, he had always been kind and friendly but you felt his friendliness had become more... intentional, but maybe you were just imagining things.

padmé called you to inform you that she and anakin were going out to dinner and would be gone for the majority of the evening.

you've just pulled up to the skywalkers' driveway, parked your car, and started approaching the stone walkway. after a few knocks, anakin finally opens the door with a small grin plastered across his face. he couldn't help but feel a certain thrill at the thought of having you around again.

"hey, glad you could make it." anakin greeted you at the door, his dark blue eyes took you in for a moment before he steps to the side to let you in. padmé approaches you while still putting in her earrings.

"thank you so much for watching the house while we're gone," she beams.  padmé's enthusiastic behavior always made you smile. 

"of course, padmé. your house is in good hands." you replied with a gentle smile. anakin caught your gaze and you couldn't help but notice the way he was looking at you. his eyes had an almost dreamy but slightly lustful gleam about them. you choose to ignore it and bring your attention back to padmé.

"we'll be back at around midnight." as anakin and padmé bid their farewells and depart for their much-anticipated date night, you find yourself standing alone in the grandeur of their house. the silence envelopes you, broken only by the soft hum of the air conditioning.

you take a moment to admire the opulence surrounding you, marveling at the elegant decor and lavish furnishings. the house was a reflection of anakin and padmé's status and influence, a testament to their power. as you explore the various rooms, you can't help but imagine the passionate moments that must have unfolded within these walls.

the master bedroom beckons to you with its inviting ambiance - a room that surely holds countless memories for anakin and padmé. you imagine them tangled in each other's arms, their bodies entwined, lost in a world of whispered promises and shared desires. a wicked thought creeps into your mind - a fantasy of being the one who arouses such passion in anakin.

shaking off the enticing daydream, you divert your attention to the rest of the house.

you stumble upon anakin's personal study. your interest is sparked because, although it was normally locked, it was slightly open. it was a room filled with ancient jedi texts and mechanical tools. it's here that his true nature is laid bare. the forceful fervor with which he delves into his studies mirrors the intensity with which he pursues everything else in his life. you can't help but be drawn to his passion, intrigued by the raw power that lies within him.

you come across a bookshelf filled with an assortment of literary gems. pulling out a weathered book, you settle into a plush armchair, relishing the tranquility. lost in your thoughts, you find yourself sinking into anakin's chair, surrounded by his aura.

you open the book slowly, the faint smell of aged paper wafting up to greet you. each word holds the potential to shape the very fabric of your understanding of the force.

as you begin to read, the words dance across the page, captivating your attention. the author's insights into the force captivate your imagination, revealing ancient practices and techniques that have long been forgotten. you find yourself engrossed in the descriptions of lightsaber combat, the delicate balance necessary to harness the power of the force, and the connection between the physical and spiritual realms.

lost in the world of the book, you almost forget the reason for your presence in this house. the vivid descriptions transport you to a realm where you are the jedi, wielding a lightsaber with grace and precision, matching anakin's own skills in the heat of battle. you imagine his presence beside you, his body pressed against yours, his lips brushing against your neck, leaving a trail of fiery kisses. your mind is left with the image, a luring invitation to give in to the craving.

a sense of guilt washes over you like a bitter tide. anakin is still married to padmé, having these thoughts feels wrong. thoughts of anakin, his intense gaze, and his tempting touch linger. anakin and padmé's love is palpable, their connection evident in every glance and tender gesture. you brush off your thoughts and pick up the book to divert your attention once more.

you make your way down to the living room, with the book in your hand, and you find a cozy spot on the plush couch. the room is dimly lit, casting a soft glow on the surroundings. settling into the cushions, you open the book, eager to immerse yourself in its pages.

as you continue to read the exciting stories within the book, a wave of drowsiness washes over you. the cozy atmosphere of the living room lulls you into a tranquil state.

your eyelids grow heavy, and you find yourself sinking deeper into the plush cushions of the couch. the words on the pages begin to blur, the lines fading into a hazy backdrop and before you know it, sleep claims you completely.

about an hour or so later, anakin arrives home unexpectedly. stepping through the door, an unexpected sight greets his eyes. there you are, sound asleep on the couch, his gaze drifts down to the book resting against your stomach.

"nosy girl." anakin mutters. his mouth curves into a sly smirk as a sinister thought starts to take shape. he sets the forgotten item aside, his attention now fixated on the curves of your body, the rise and fall of your chest with each breath. slowly, he approaches, his footsteps barely audible against the soft carpet.

with a gentle touch, he brushes a few strands of hair away from your face, his fingertips lingering on your skin for a brief moment. he contemplates waking you, but the feeling of his dick twitching from inside his pants leads him in a different direction.

you looked so peaceful, so perfect. anakin finds himself yearning for the sound of your voice, the touch of your skin against his, the taste of your lips.

anakin's hand reaches out tentatively. his fingers brush against your cheek, the touch soft and delicate. with each stroke of his fingertips, anakin's touch becomes bolder, his hand gradually sliding downward. his fingers trail lower, caressing the delicate curve of your collarbone before continuing their descent.

he runs his fingers over the top of your breasts, then reaches down to cup one, giving it a light squeeze. he groans slightly, feeling his growing erection press harder against the zipper of his pants.

anakin's hands began to slide up under your shirt, rubbing small circles over your hardening nipples. his fingers moved slowly along the soft skin of your stomach, grazing your hip bones before coming to rest at the waistband of your pants. he watched intently as your body responded to his touch, a soft sigh escaping your lips. with a confident yet tender touch, anakin begins to slowly slide your pants down your legs. his eyes devoured the sight of your panties.

a grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he noticed the adorable pattern of small flowers adorning the white fabric, adding an innocent touch to the moment.

"oh poor baby." he coos. his fingers skimmed lightly over the fabric that covered your core. feeling the dampness seeping through the fabric, anakin's eyes sparked with desire. unable to resist, he carefully slipped his hand beneath you, skillfully removing the delicate fabric and stashing them in his pocket without disturbing your peaceful slumber.

anakin marveled at the sight before him, the delicate folds of your wetness glistening in the dim light of the room. he couldn't help but be captivated by your beauty. the sight of you laid bare, vulnerable and inviting, sent a surge of anticipation through his veins.

with a gentle touch, he traced his fingers along your inner thighs, relishing in the softness of your skin. his gaze locked onto your core, his desire burning hotter with each passing second. he wanted nothing more than to taste you, to bring you pleasure in the most intimate way possible.

anakin lowered himself onto his knees, ensuring every movement he made was as silent and gentle as possible. he positioned himself between your legs, his eyes never leaving your pussy.

as he prepared himself to taste you, anakin carefully parted your folds. with a controlled release of his breath, he lowers his mouth onto your cunt, his tongue tracing a path along your folds. anakin moans lowly as he inserts a single finger inside of you, feeling how tight and warm you were.

anakin's movements were gentle yet purposeful, each lick and slow curl of his finger intended to bring you closer to the edge of pleasure. he was careful to maintain a rhythm that wouldn't wake you up.

as his tongue danced across your heated pussy, he couldn't help but be entranced by the way your body responded to his ministrations. the twitches and shudders, the soft moans that slipped past your lips—each one only fueled his own desire to give you more.

anakin pulls himself away from your drooling cunt once he feels that you're getting close.

"not yet baby, i wanna feel you cum on my cock." he whispers while pulling off his belt and shoving his boxers and pants all the way down to his ankles. his cock stands proudly, a small bead of precum dribbling down his shaft. anakin strokes himself a few times before carefully positioning himself between your legs and entering your pussy completely.

a moan escapes his lips as he firmly thrusts into you. he moved cautiously at first, savoring the exquisite tightness of your embrace as he began a slow rhythm, each thrust drawing him further into a frenzy of arousal.

anakin reveled in the feel of your cunt gripping him tightly, the way your walls massaged his length with each thrust. he was lost in the intoxicating sensation, focusing solely on the raw pleasure that consumed him.

you gasp loudly in shock, finally emerging from your sleep, and anakin hastily turns to face you.

"anak-" anakin's large hand abruptly covered your mouth, silencing your words before they could form completely. his intense gaze bore into your eyes, his face dangerously close to yours.

"finally awake now huh?" he teases, his voice laced with a hint of delighted amusement. he allowed himself a moment to revel in the fear that flared in your eyes, the allure of pushing boundaries and igniting forbidden desires too tempting to resist.

as he continued thrusting into your abused cunt, his motions grew more purposeful and commanding.

anakin's voice, dripping with authority, took on a more degrading tone. "my little bookworm couldn't help herself, hm? just had to go snooping around." he nods in the direction of his office.

"been thinking about this pussy ever since i hired you," he pants in between thrusts. "i've seen the way you look at me. eye fucking me every chance you get, right in front of my wife too? dirty, dirty girl." anakin chuckles, shaking his head.

as your bodies entwined, he deliberately increased the intensity of each thrust, the sound of skin slapping against skin bouncing off the walls.

anakin felt a mixture of ecstasy and need flood his senses as your core compressed around his length, causing his breath to get caught in his throat. the intensity of the moment fueled his own arousal, pushing him closer to the edge of his own climax.

"cum for me baby, i know you're close." his words sent a shiver of anticipation down your spine, fanning the flames of your arousal. anakin's hands gripped your body with an undeniable possessiveness, his body moving with an inescapable rhythm that drove you closer to the edge of release.

anakin's hand remained firmly covering your mouth, your moans muffled as you finally tip over the edge. he continued to thrust into you, his pace steady as he chased his own orgasm. anakin's body convulsed, his cock twitching deep within your pussy. you could feel his hot cum painting your insides. anakin's movements finally come to a stop before he pulls out of your sore cunt.

he swiftly pulled up his pants and underwear, his movements were tinged with a cold detachment. without a word, he threw your pants in your direction, his actions lacking the tenderness he had displayed moments before. the forceful gesture caught her off guard, leaving her momentarily stunned as she caught the garment.

"next time, we'll put that pretty mouth to good use." his hand gently cupped your cheek, giving it a few taps. his touch a mixture of possessiveness and affection.

with a last lingering look, he slowly made his way towards the door, leaving you behind, savoring the remnants of your passionate encounter. the room carried the heady scent of your intimacy, an echo of the fervent connection you and anakin had shared.

as you put your pants on, you see the book on the floor that you carried down from anakin's office. you close it after picking it up and place it on the coffee table in front of you. the weight of guilt bore down on you, tainting the air in the room with a mix of remorse and self-doubt. your head buried in your hands, you grappled with the conflicting feelings that threatened to overwhelm you.

the memory of your intimate connection replayed in your mind, it almost made you feel sick. a pang of empathy pierced through you. padmé flashed in your mind, her image haunting and filled you with concern.

you continued to house sit, carrying the weight of your guilt alongside your duties. in the midst of the forbidden desires that you and anakin shared, you sought solace in fulfilling your responsibilities, hoping that in time, the guilt would fade, and clarity would guide you towards a resolution.

[allamericanb-tch]

posting this at the risk of sounding like a pretentious loser

you can learn a lot about a society from its reading choices, and lately, i'm concerned with bookstagram / booktok. there appears to be two dominant genres capturing readers' attention: fantasy and crime / murder mysteries.

fantasy readers are huge consumers. the amazon / barnes and noble wet dream, spending every last dollar on the newest release of six part series. but fantasy novels have always been a regular story in disguise. when you strip away the magic of todays fantasy what are we left with?

today's fantasy stories tend to revolve around taboo themes, especially explicit content. essentially, a form of literary pornography.

unlike this new stuff, the essence of series like lord of the rings, the chronicles of narnia, and harry potter lies beyond their fantastical settings. they all delve into the timeless battle between light and dark, and retells the age old narrative of good versus evil, while exploring the nuances of power and the conquest of internal darkness. in each case, magic serves as a narrative tool rather than the central focus.

without passing judgment on the morality, the question is: what does this trend say about our collective priorities in relationships and the themes we find most compelling what is wrong with us? the parallels for crime / murder mysteries are apparent. the fascination with crime, murder, and serial killers raises questions about societal interests and individual takeaways.

as opposed to the timeless and profound themes explored in classic literature, these contemporary genres seem to focus on more immediate and shallow aspects of human experience. i wish our literary interests extended beyond mere escapism and momentary entertainment.

a truly good book is timeless, addressing deeper aspects of society, morality, economics, sociology, mortality, and spirituality.

[avelera]

The Author =/= The Narrator

In creative writing workshops, my teacher taught us not to say, "The author did this..."/"The author said that..." but to instead say, "The Narrator" when critiquing each other's works, for many reasons but in particular in order to avoid the author, as a person, being attacked personally for things that happened in their story.

This is an important distinction for many reasons:

The Narrator and The Author are not necessarily the same person. They do not necessarily share the same experience or view.

Thinking this way helps to decouple The Author as a person from the Narrator as a literary device or tool that is available to an author trying to achieve a specific goal with their work. For example, Vladimir Nabokov, the author of "Lolita" is not the same person as its narrator and main character, Humbert Humbert. Nabokov was, among other goals, trying to draw attention to the vile nature of Humbert's worldview, while Humbert is, among other goals, trying to exonerate his vile behavior. To confuse these two as the same person is a deep disservice to Nabokov.

That said, there are of course books and stories where the Narrator is not necessarily embodied or given voice as a character (for example, in a 3rd person omniscient rather than a 1st person narrated story) though it can still have a viewpoint and an agenda that is still separate from the authors, even if they're more closely aligned. For example, there is no named narrator in, "A Christmas Carol", but the narrator describes Scrooge thus, "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret and self contained and solitary as an oyster." From this, we can deduce that maybe, just maybe, the narrator doesn't like Scrooge very much. Now, the narrator likely shares much of their politics with Charles Dickens but again, and this is important, they are not the same person. Because "A Christmas Carol" is making other wider points and has other wider goals as a self-contained work that exists at a specific point in time that is not necessarily the same as Dickens as a person.

What I think is most important for people in places like Tumblr and Twitter to understand with the use of this distinction is that it is a system designed to allow both charity and deeper critical thought towards the author.

Authors can and should be able to write awful characters and depict awful narrators without everyone assuming they share those views, (e.g. Nabokov vs. Humbert). It also allows us to understand that authors, as living people, might change their views over time while a creative work is, by its nature, frozen in a certain place and time.

That said, by decoupling narrator from author, we can also understand a story more critically (not just negatively, I mean in the sense of literary critique) and ask questions like, "Why is the story being framed this way? What agenda is it pushing, if any? What are the views its expressing, if any? What does the narrator think is good, or bad and how does that impact the way the story is told to us?"

And most importantly, y'all have got to give writers a bit more credit for being able to use their craft to depict a view they don't necessarily share, to explore ideas that they're not necessarily promoting (and might even be deriding, such as Swift's "A Modest Proposal") and to allow the author to exist as a human being that may change, for better or even for worse!, from the views espoused by the narrator of their story.

I promise you, learning to decouple these two concepts will pay back dividends in being able to thoughtfully disseminate written works more critically and be less awful to real human beings.

[raayllum]

hi. i always see your analysis and theories in my dash and they're always so well thought and interesting and conecting a lot of things i personally would never think to conect but actually make so much sense when put like that

so hm, not to be weird online, but how does one learn to like interpret and understand what's going on on a piece of midia, yk, cause only consuming doesn't do it? Anyway

your edits are really nice

FIRST OFF this is soo nice omg thank you <333 also never worry about being weird online i'm always more unhinged, this is an unhinged space

which ironically is kind of the best way to get good at literary analysis tbh! I wrote a post about it here but that was more on how to organize thoughts / write meta > finding the things to write meta about (aka the "this feels gratuitous" draft is still in my drafts as we speak — might be time to clean it and some others up and post it).

In a lot of ways there tends to be like.... two main avenues for analysis? Which is an oversimplification but is making sense to me in the moment, and I'd specify the divide is

Treating characters like people (characterization, relationships) vs treating characters like tools (motifs, symbols, plot structure, dynamics).

Ideally, a narrative merges these two things so completely it's hard to separate, and I think TDP does an extaordinarily good job at it. I'll call this marriage Theme since its the main idea(s) of the Story/Narrative and everything should at its best be working together in service of the Theme if you want something cohesive.

I'll use Callum and Rayla as an example just cause I think they exemplify a Lot of how/why this all works and works as well as it does.

If I want to write about Callum and Rayla's internal psyches, i.e. where does Callum's temper or Rayla's gruffness come from? I'm going to look at them as people. They're going to have consistent triggers, responses, contradictory emotions or emotional reactions, etc. This is like the how you wrap a present, the colour and feel of the paper. Any character in a story can technically have any kind of personality, i.e. an assassin can be sweet and snarky (like Rayla) or stoic and rigid (Runaan). That's not all they are, of course, but the characters' personalities often times affect how and why we ship what we do, or have certain favourites, etc.

For example, Callum's primary Narrative Purpose is to be a human mage. He's there to explore the range of possibilities a human who wants/chases magic in the story can have, and we pretty closely follow his magical journey of feeling powerless, struggling and achieving primal magic, and guilt and desperation that drives him to dark magic. But absolutely none of this means that Callum needed to have a temper.

To see the way a character trait can be married to a motif (repeating symbol) let's look at Rayla. Rayla can be secretive — not telling people everything and being closed off about her emotions — and often leaves to try do things on her own, occasionally flat out disappearing. These are her personality traits (characterization), most of these psychological aspects come back to not feeling like she deserves help or not wanting to hurt people, thereby hurting her relationships. She's a person.

At the same time, these traits help us as the audience understand and grasp how the series treats the Moon and its arcanum. The Moon is a symbol, and it's all about changing faces, secrets, and illusions. We don't know whether the ideas for the Moon arcanum (which seem to be loosely taken from Tarot) or Rayla's personality came first, but it's clear that at some point they merged to reflect each other.

If I want to talk about Rayla as a person, I'll talk about how her personality/choices affect her relationships. If I want to talk about how she reflects her primal or how she choices affect the plot, I'll be talking more about structure. If I want to talk about how both of those things say, in a speculative meta about Callum connecting to the Moon arcanum as he understands Rayla (and himself) better, then I'd be talking about both simultaneously (theme).

But those are all like, examples of how you can break stuff down that you see. How do you go looking for stuff / know what to break down?

1) Pick a piece of media, ideally one you already feel very comfortable and familiar with. Book, show, whatever. This familiarity means you can focus less on the processing the plot and more about other elements of the story. Then watch or read the thing but try to pay attention to like, a few pre-chosen ideas or themes. It could be the theme of power, or — I'm thinking for something like ATLA - how the characters reflect their elements (Aang is evasive and avoidant, and air is light and breezy, etc).

For a TV show in particular, it can mean breaking things down scene by scene in an episode to see what the anchoring idea of it, i.e. 1x06 in TDP is all about Soren, Claudia, and Rayla keeping secrets. Soren and Claudia keep their secrets and isolate themselves, because isolationism in the series is usually Bad; Rayla shares her secret, because working through problems and letting people help you (being collaborative) is Good, etc. These messages are pretty consistent throughout the rest of the show as well.

If applicable, I'd recommend starting out with stories where you already know the ending and/or even better, the story itself is aware you know the ending from the beginning (i.e. in Titanic, you always know the ship is going to sink). This can help you pick up on dramatic irony (everyone emphasizing the ship won't sink) as well as setup (the movie making sure we know there's not enough boats, people making the boat go faster, the moment the ship hits the iceberg literally separating Jack and Rose from each other to set up what happens later, etc).

2) If you wanna learn how to analyze, to a certain degree you have to learn to shut down your feelings and biases. This doesn't mean that feelings can't affect how you analyze, or dictate what you want to analyze (I feel very positively towards TDP and therefore I want to deeply analyze it! same with Rayllum) but it does mean leaving "I want this thing so it has to happen" at the door — or vice versa.

The best example I can give is a hypothetical one. For example, it kind of doesn't matter if I — personally — think that Callum and Rayla have known each other that long to know each other well. (I don't, for the record, but bear with me.) In the Text of the Story, they know each other incredibly well, and more to the point, thematically, their senses of self are so incredibly intertwined that them affirming each other's senses of self is like... the only place we could be going. Rayla is "Rayla saves people," so by saving a possessed Callum she's saving herself, and if she goes to kill him, she's likewise metaphorically going to be killing herself (her own sense of identity), etc.

Or for a non-ship example, my real life feelings about monarchy don't matter. I don't like monarchy, I think most western monarchies are crap... and I'd be silly if I brought those feelings into TDP's discussion of monarchy, because they're using monarchy as a vessel to discuss things like power, responsibility, and growing up, particularly for Ezran and Janai (and how often do we see non-white monarchies in media anyway?). And if I want to engage with those themes, then I have to engage with TDP's discussion of monarchy.

It's kind of like how even if something in a story grosses you out or makes you uncomfortable, you have to be really damn sure that wasn't an Intentional writing choice on Purpose or a chance for self reflection before it's launched as a complaint.

Doing this kind of awareness and predictive work also means you'll get better at predicting where stories might be going and leaving ahead of time if something is going off the rails / not going your way (in a bad way).

3) Growing a list of common themes and symbols that stories tend to have. Birds = freedom, chains = entrapment and coercion, grief, identity (particularly in coming-of-age stories), etc. If you have a loose idea of what to look for, that means you can also start to look at the specifics of how stories use these themes/symbols. For example, Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet both feature a theme of love amongst forbidden lovers, but the first is a comedy (love conquers all, even if it makes people foolish) and the second is a tragedy (love is not always enough to conquer hate/violence/our worst impulses).

For example in TDP, although it was in the background in s1-s3, light and darkness has now become a very overt motif (repeated symbol) in both dialogue and imagery. Tracking what those things represent or how the show complicates their meaning (light isn't always good, etc) can help indicate where certain characters or plot beats are going.

This can also mean trying to notice consistent metaphors (i.e. dark magic is often consumed by the caster for spells / referenced with cannibalistic language; dark magic corruption is increasingly seen as spreading sickness/illness) and then being on the lookout for the next time(s) they show up. So much of media literacy / critical thinking is just being able to explain/figure out why you think what you think (with evidence) and it's always a skill that can be nurtured and improved

End of Blabbing

Very long winded but hopefully helpful, and always feel free to ask more questions and/or DM if you'd like! I always love talking about stuff like this and it's such a treat tbh <3

[vivididreams]

How Literature Expands Personal Thought Horizons 🌌✨

Literature is not just letters and ideas woven onto pages; it is a spirit that breathes between the lines. It is a journey into the depths, where we encounter ourselves as we've never encountered before, drowning in the ocean of words, only to be submerged in new visions. Reading is a ritual of introspection, where we don't just read, but discover our inner worlds and dive into their depths. Every book is a window into another world, but what sets literature apart is that it doesn't merely introduce us to different worlds; it reshapes our internal worlds.

Literature as a Mirror of the Soul 🪞

When we open a book, a mirror is placed before us, revealing our hidden faces. Literature is not only an external world we discover but a journey into our innermost selves. The characters we meet are not just fictional beings; they are shades of ourselves, reflecting our perceptions, tensions, and dreams. Have you ever thought that every hero in a story could be a part of you? Every word you read, every sentence that takes you further, is an invitation to deconstruct the self and reconstruct it.

Literature as a Gateway to Understanding Other Cultures 🌍

Literature is not just words written down; it is windows that open onto new cultures and horizons. When we read, we do not simply live in the place where the story is set; we immerse ourselves in the mindset that shapes that story. Novels born in different cultural environments invite us to go beyond the imaginary boundaries we construct in our minds. Literature opens doors to empathy and understanding, enhancing our ability to interact with the world in a more open way, seeing it through a broader lens.

Literature as a Liberation of Imagination ✨

It is said that the mind creates limits on what we can imagine, but literature shatters those limits and frees the imagination. Between the pages of a book, we do not live in reality; we live in a world where gravity merges with magic, and time bends with fantasy. Reading is a journey into a place without boundaries, where thoughts transform into creative energy, and where impossible ideas meet in one world. Writing is the expression of this breaking of convention, of turning thoughts into tangible human experiences.

Literature as a Tool for Philosophical Reflection 🧠

We must also note that literature is not just an entertainment tool; it is a playground for thinkers and philosophers. Between the pages, you find that you are not merely reading a story, but a thought that is forming and shaping. Literature gives us existential questions and encourages us to ponder life’s mysteries. How do we deal with love? What is the nature of the conflict between good and evil? What is the meaning of freedom? These questions are not posed in dry philosophical treatises but handed to us as dialogues between characters. Literature takes us back to the fundamental thoughts that shape our understanding of the world.

Literature and the Ability to Empathize 💞

In the literary world, we gain the ability to empathize with others in ways we have never done before. We live their sorrows, joys, victories, and defeats. Literature teaches us to put ourselves in the other person’s place, to understand, to see with different eyes. But deeper than that, we begin to understand ourselves through others. This shared journey makes us more human and gives us the awareness that what binds us together is greater than what divides us.

My Journey with Literature 📖

I remember a time when I read about a lost hero searching for his identity in a world full of challenges. At first, I felt as though I were seeing him from a distant horizon, far from my own world. But as the pages turned, I felt myself becoming part of that journey. Writing was a personal exploration, and every page added a new idea or opened a door I hadn’t noticed before. I realized then that literature doesn’t just speak about its characters; it speaks about our minds, about those endless human states.

In Conclusion 🌟

Literature is a bridge of ideas, carried by the mind to a broader horizon of understanding and contemplation. What books have you read? Did they bring any change to your thinking? Literature, in all its diversity and creativity, is the engine that propels personal thought, the tool that frees our minds from the prisons we build for ourselves. As we read, we not only learn about others but also about ourselves, because every book is an invitation to step outside our personal boundaries and into a space where ideas become vast and limitless.

[criphd]

"Just as historical research engages the archive of political documents, communiqués, speeches, and census records, this study delves into the archive of canonical European literature that would have been read by the writers and readers of the works under examination in this study. I then ask: What are the relationships between such texts and the texts under examination? Such an emphasis on intertextuality allows for an approach to dealing with the role of suicide in the East German literary imagination without ignoring the literariness of literary works.

While what follows is, in part, a history of suicide in GDR literature— a literary historical narrative that is deeply fascinating in its own right—I also have another motive in telling the story of suicide in East German literature: Through close readings of these fictional suicides, I wish to demonstrate the extent to which GDR literature can and should be read qua literature, as a body of literary texts that can fruitfully be approached with literary methodology. While Wolfgang Emmerich called for the use of literary methodology in dealing with GDR literature as early as 1992, and while scholars such as David Bathrick, Julia Hell, and Benjamin Robinson have successfully probed GDR literature using sophisticated and intelligent methodology, much work remains to be done in this area. Historical, political, and sociological approaches still seem to be the most intuitive ways of thinking about GDR literature for most people, scholars and laymen alike. There are several probable reasons for this: the fact that the German Democratic Republic was a historical anomaly for many reasons, the fact that cultural authorities in East Germany themselves tended to view literature in terms of a contrived and oversimplified realism, the assumption that East German writers’ primary motive was to convey information to the East German populace by way of the roman-à-clef, and the assumption on the part of many conservative Cold War warriors in the West that nothing good could come out of a communist country. Historicist approaches can be fruitful, but they often lack attention to literariness. In what follows, I set aside historical, political, and sociological reality temporarily and focus my attention on the literariness of works of East German literature involving suicide. Doing so shows that these texts are not merely simple exercises in literary realism, but that these fictional suicides engage other fictional suicides, thereby disrupting GDR literary heritage. In other words, these intertextual works about suicide are political, and they do interact with history, but not in any simple or straight-forward way, as Rohrwasser and Zimmermann imply. Again, the strength of the defiance involved in fictional suicides in the GDR—as with many defiant narratives in the GDR—derives largely from intertextuality. In a literary culture so heavily organized in terms of “kulturelles Erbe,” one in which the Lukácsian dichotomy of realism versus modernism was, on the surface, so pervasive, it should come as no surprise that subtle uses of intertextuality provided a weighty source of dissent. Through their relationship to both sanctioned and unsanctioned literary texts, these fictional suicides subverted the official literary heritage of the GDR.

In exploring such literary subversion, my methodological approach makes use of a broad and eclectic set of tools for exploring fictionality, literariness, and intertextuality. I should also state at the outset, however, that my approach is particularly indebted to the French structuralist and father of narratology, Gérard Genette, whose taxonomy of the relationships among texts is broadly called “transtextuality.” (From this point on, I shall use Genette’s broad term “transtextuality” or his more specific taxonomic terms for types of transtextuality, rather than the more generic term “intertextuality.”) Genette’s transtextuality expands Julia Kristeva’s concept of intertextuality to explicate relationships among texts beyond the scope of intertextuality. While Kristeva’s intertextuality correctly illustrates that the textual is always inherently intertextual, Genette’s transtextuality allows for the explanation of specific types of transformation in specific texts. Genette distinguishes among five different types of transtextual relationships:

“Kristevan” intertextuality (allusion, quotation, plagiarism)

paratextuality (matter attached to a text but not part of the text proper, such as: marginalia, dust jacket blurbs, epigraphs, and titles)

metatextuality (commentary)

hypertextuality (reworkings of texts) (which is further explained below)

architextuality (genre, structures)

[....]

By investigating the role suicide played in GDR literature, I have come to realize that these fictional suicides, rather than being mere historicist reflections of suicides in GDR society, transformed and disruptedthe official literary heritage and prescriptive literary values of that country. As such, the story of suicide in East German literature is not so much about real suicides. Instead, it is a story about the complexity and power of the literary imagination."

suicide in east german literature : fiction, rhetoric and the self-destruction of literary heritage by robert blankenship

[silvercap]

Do you have any tips for new writers?

Also is there a way to not get too caught up in engagement and stats? I'm kinda having this problem and it is taking the motivation out of things a bit 😭

That's a good question! This post got a little long, so I'm implementing a break lol

I don't exactly have specific rules, but I think my biggest tip for someone writing for the first time is to go easy on yourself and give yourself time to get better. I struggle a lot with perfectionism and the nasty habit of being harder on myself than anyone else ever will be, but it's important to acknowledge that we are our own worst critics and that improvement is only measurable by practicing through the early stuff. I encourage a lot of experimenting, especially when you're starting out--try new things and ways of writing and slowly collect the ones that work for you. I've taken plenty of classes on the logistics of writing and technical tips, but those aren't necessarily helpful for everyone to focus on when they're starting out. I think in first drafts and initial writing, it's better to write from whatever urge possesses you to do so and not get caught up in the technicalities. Those are often more helpful when editing, but it really depends on the way your brain works!

Over time, you'll start to build up a sense of flow and style and the general rhythm of writing engaging paragraphs, which brings me to my next point--reading. It's been said before, but I'll say it again: Reading is one of the best ways to develop a sense of rhythm and effective imagery/idiom/etc. I've also spent plenty of classes analyzing the effectiveness of (I forget the exact word) elements like metaphor or allegory or symbolism or anaphora or any other technical term you can think of that is commonly used to convey specific literary concepts. Reading, on its own, is a great tool for subconsciously noticing the flow of writing and getting a sense for it, but sometimes just taking notice of certain paragraphs that feel right to you or just hit in the right way can allow you to analyze them more deeply and find out what exactly it is about the words that works. Everyone has their own preferences! That might seem daunting, but often the best resources we as writers have is each other, and everyone is inspired by someone else at some point. I'm totally here to take asks and answer any questions I may have brought up because I'm rambling a little bit and like I said: technical aspects aren't necessarily helpful to focus on all at once, and I recommend trying one out at a time to see how it works for you. If that makes sense!

My biggest piece of advice is to have fun with it! Experiment. Put in that weird little thing you think nobody else will like, because often those are the best parts of writing. Do what you feel sounds right! Not to Wayne Gretzky you, but you can only get better or 'succeed' by trying it out and seeing where it takes you. We write because we have ideas we want to share or explore for ourselves, and trying to force yourself to write something you're not passionate about is rarely lucrative.

As for engagement and stats--now, that's a whole other beast. We all want to be noticed and appreciated and commented on, and it's hard sometimes to post a fic and have less engagement than you hoped, but I have a couple things I like to keep in mind for this. It's discouraging, for sure, but people on ao3 or similar sites don't always show their appreciation even if they read and liked your fic. The only way we can fix this as a collective community is to lead by example and comment/kudos/share the fics we read in the hopes that it will catch on and to spread the love to everyone else. I also find it helpful to think about the people who do leave kudos--even if there are only one or two of them--as not just random usernames, but actual living, breathing people who read your fic and enjoyed it. There's that post somewhere about ten likes not seeming like much in the scheme of social media and the influence that virality has had on the internet in recent years, but to have ten people standing in a room with you giving you a thumbs up? That's a lot of people. Even if you get very little engagement, that is not a reflection of you as a person or even necessarily your skill. I know that this can be draining, but the only way to try and build an audience is to post. Sometimes it takes a long time for fics to be noticed. Sometimes things fail. It's up to you how you want to take that, and I can't tell you any of this for certain. I just know from my personal experience that finding a community is only accomplishable by interacting and posting and sharing and existing, and often someone will come along when you don't expect it.

None of this is guaranteed. Hell, take everything I say with a critical eye and more than a few grains of salt, because this is only my experience and god am I still learning. These are things that help me, and I hope some of this is helpful to you, too! What I can tell you for certain is that I encourage you to write and pursue it as far as you want to, and even farther than that. It takes hard work. It can feel like nobody is listening. And ughhhhh the writer's block suuuuuucks. But, you're not alone in this. Anything you've felt is something another writer has felt before, and I think, at least, that there's comfort in knowing you're following in the footsteps of even the writers we consider to be great in both their success and flaws. Maybe I'm being a little lofty ahaha, but it comes down to whether or not you want to write. You can only decide how this goes, and it takes time to work through the barriers of both skill and the anxious fear of not being seen. I see you! And I'm here in the asks anytime you want :)

And even if you fail and give up--you're no less of a writer for it, because you tried, and I think that matters. The lovely thing about being alive and being writers is that we can change and grow, and there will always be a place for you among creators if you choose to join them, no matter how amateur you feel or how long you do it for.

[evelhak]

What are some series (any media) that aren't well known, but you enjoy, and would encourage other people to seek out?

I love this topic! Thank you for stopping me from aimless scrolling for another hour. It's always a little hard to determine what is well known but I'm just gonna have to go with my surroundings, so I'm gonna talk about some that I've never seen anyone mention on any social media.

Jean le Flambeur series by Hannu Rajaniemi

I feel like it should be quite well known, but maybe it's just not in the spaces I'm in or with people my age. But this is a very intricate and suspenseful sci-fi book trilogy by a Finnish author who writes in English. It begins with a thief trapped in a virtual prison. It's highly conceptual in the design of its world and the author is definitely not holding your hand explaining how everything works, but for me it was part of the charm and a wild and satisfying experience, it really sparked my imagination when I was attempting to visualize it all, and I didn't mind if I didn't understand everything because interpretation is the whole point of reading for me. The characters are also complex enough for a character driven taste. If you are looking for something that is highly stimulating for an abstract thinker, try it.

Syysmaa-sarja by Anu Holopainen

Sorry, this is just in Finnish... and the reason I never see anyone talking about it may just be that every Finnish fantasy nerd read it ten or more years ago like me. Although it would be nice seeing younger people find it now! It's a very overtly feminist fantasy series of 6 books, where people are divided into religions that worship a different tree. The mainstream worships oak which is very patriarchal, and the books focus on people (often women, queer or neurodivergent coded people) in very different and difficult life situations, who come in contact with a small group of rowan worshippers who are trying to create possibilities for a different kind of life and society. These were my favourite fantasy books as a teenager.

Lumikki Andersson series by Salla Simukka

These books have English translations, I don't know what quality, because I only read them in Finnish. But it's a YA "thriller" trilogy you should not read as thriller. It's a character driven modern Snow White with elements of thriller and mystery. Lumikki Andersson is not clear on everything that happened in her past, but she doesn't want to be a target so she has mastered the art of appearing insignificant and uninteresting in any given situation by impressive micro level acting and analysing people's every gesture. The main character is the point of this series and her internal world and observations are wonderfully written. If you like old mystery and gothic novels, if you read Sherlock Holmes for the character, if you love fairytales and satisfying analogies, you should read these poetic and insightful explorations on personality, trauma and survival.

Charity Bishop's books

These are speculative fiction books with a Christian twist, so proceed with caution if you need to. I got into them when I was studying theology and wrote my master's degree analysing different concepts of God in self-published Christian fiction. I am not religious and my interest in religion is psychological and anthropological and as such I often find fiction books written by religious people about religion interesting. In terms of literary merit, I've found these books to be the most enjoyable ones I've read in this genre, with well developed characters and plots where faith works as an organic part of the whole speculative element instead of the story just being a tool for preaching which is quite common in this genre.

I was going to do more than just books but I got tired now, so good night Tumblr. 💙 I'm always ready to give recommendations.

[ledarth]

Le Pretty Boy...

Samee Rostami

───────────────── ·  ·  · ♡

❝ Do good people never get tired of being so blandly moral ? What's an infringement to your own rules but a byway ? ❞

Age:: 21 years old.

Height:: 183 cm.

Born in Tangers, Morroco. He was raised there alongside his siblings until the age of 9, when his parents disappeared in circumstances that remain unclear. Afterwards he was taken in by his aunt who was the wife of a diplomat so they moved around a bit.

Polyglot:: Arabic (both darija and literary), English, French, Elementary Turkish and Urdu, and the most basic Korean.

Alignment:: Chaotic Neutral.

Sexuality:: Bisexual who values intellect most.

Hobbies:: He's learnt to play poker quite young, with his father and his friends, they'd sit on a small terrace with mint tea and never bet anything but cigarets. His dad also considered football his second religion, Zidane a god amongst men, so football, not only playing it but knowing the players and the surrounding culture naturally became a hobby of his that he kept on as an homage to his gone old man. He learnt cooking along with his younger sisters because his aunt believed it was just as instructive for a guy than for a girl and saw no reason for him not to learn how to make a good kefta. On his own, he developped his taste for cooking and got interested in other cultures. He particularly enjoy latkes and quiches.

Specie:: Varies on the verse.

Riordanverse: Magician of the Fourteenth Nome, Follower of Toth.

TVD/TO: Witch with a specialisation as a clairvoyant. Much like Alexis, vampires drinking his blood are able to see bits of his visions with clarity and drinking directly from him helps him better forecast/prophesies someone's future. He is also, of course, capable of casting spells and making potions.

The Sandman (tv series): He had an accident and got stuck in a coma. After wandering beyond his own reveries and spending some time at Fiddler's Green, he started to explore more of the Dreaming, ending up in its ruler's castle, fairly confused because he hadn't ran into anybody else yet. He'd thought he was alone for a while after leaving his own dream behind. (Dead Boy Detectives Extension: He wakes up ultimately, able to see ghosts. Charles and Edwin are both wary of him because of the Monty debacle but he's just not sure who he is anymore and would appreciate their help figuring it out. He's been recommended by a ghost after a chat about his time wandering around Morpheus' realm, and how it was all he remembered now.)

Person of Interest: His number came up, as diplomats and their family do get assigned social security numbers in the U.S.A. Why did his number come up? He is to be abducted by a group of mercenaries paid by Algerian ultranationalists following some declarations of his uncle that have been interpreted as supporting the self-determination of Kabylia.

To Be Added.

Personality:: At first glance, Samee is beautiful, an appearance that marks, all sharp and full features. He knows that, and that makes him cunning. Born with his eyes on the prize, his aim in life is to succeed. Now success can take different meanings throughout time, but he always is working in order to achieve a certain goal. He is crafty, meticulous really, when it comes down to do securing something for himself, thinking two steps ahead to ensure his success. As a result, he merely sees deceit as just another tool and poorly handles criticism. But he doesn't like to listen to people telling him how to improve himself. He'd rather reflect on it on his own than hear someone else point out what he did wrong for him. Interestingly though, he isn't materialistic. He has little interest for ostentatious displays of wealth that he mostly finds gaudy. He doesn't care about what people have, he cares about what they seek to obtain, what they're willing to fight for. Their aims, their purpose. Fundamentally optimistic, he likes to see the glass as half-full and is looking for a way to fill it to the brim. That makes him the successful social animal, able to draw in people and keep them entertained. It also makes him a passionate young man who believes in what he does and work tenaciously with the faith of someone who knows they will succeed if they try hard enough. Greatly helped by his retentive memory, his observation skills are impeccable. He excels at analyzing/cold reading people, easily able to understand what's driving them and what they expect from him. This perhaps makes him a little jaded, growing up surrounded by people who either wanted something from him/his family or had to play pretend for a living. Now he does the same, masks his intentions in indolent smiles and polite niceties. Though they are few people he holds close, Adil does love fiercely. Passionate in all things, his emotions are often heightened, himself being very eager to feel them fully, to relish in them, good or bad.

Backstory:: To Be Written.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

This is an Awfully Slim Book to Talk about Everything...

This book was a Christmas gift from my family a bunch of years ago, and to this day it's one of my favorite popular literary analysis books. The juxtaposition of this slim little tome and the big "EVERYTHING" in the title is enough of a visual tension to make you jump in. And I did. Voraciously. And repeatedly. And then when I started teaching and tutoring, this book was a huge help in that it was an unintimidating entry point into thinking about the Shakespearean corpus and its impacts on life. I even let one of my tutor students borrow this book, and I do NOT let people borrow my books. So let's talk How Shakespeare Changed Everything.

...do...do I...do I need to put a spoiler for Shakespeare here? I really hope I don't, but I guess SPOILERS BELOW THE BREAK?

I think the best way to do this is to just briefly go over each of the ten chapters of this book, because each one takes up and different topic and gives an overview of it.

The book's introduction introduces the conceit of the book and essentially reasserts that Shakespeare was the popular media of his day, before alluding to the power of popular media to change, well, basically everything. We also get just an amazing cross-section of some of the wilder ways people engage with the bard, including the Shakespeare Mas (google this or read the book, I promise you won't be disappointed). The introduction ends on this just incredible line: "All that strange power, all his world-shaking, reality-transforming impact begins from a simple but mysterious truth: His stories sound good to everybody." And honestly? I don't think I can disagree with that.

The Fortunes of the Moor

This phenomenal first chapter is a stunning overview of the performance history of Othello, and particularly highlights Paul Robeson and Ira Aldridge, two of the famous historical Black actors to play Othello. This chapter also speedruns the history of racism in American theatre, whether or not the play is racist, and the role of mixed-race sex in the play. This chapter is a fantastic introduction to both Othello and race in Shakespeare, and it grounds itself in performance history anecdotes that never fail to be fascinating.

Words, Words, Words

This chapter does not focus so much on a single play as it does on the words Shakespeare added to the English lexicon, and what the knock-on effects of those added words are. It also brings up two words that we just...straight up don't have definitions for: prenzie and scamels. This is a more linguistic-focused chapter, but it's still fun and has a ton of excellent examples of how to close read Shakespeare passages for linguistic purposes, and it's a fabulous teaching tool for that.

The Beast with Two Backs

Oh yeah. It's the sex chapter. Sex in Shakespeare is way more prevalent than school boards are aware of--as evidenced by the fact that not even the avid book banners in Florida in the year of our lord 2024 seem to have caught on to the fact that Shakespeare is transgressive AF and tried to ban him (as far as I know). This chapter explores how Shakespeare uses sex and sexuality, how people have tried to censor and liberate Shakespeare because of it, and author Stephen Marche asserts that, "If you've had sex without shame, sec for pleasure, for fun, for any reason other than procreation within marriage--Shakespeare, more than any other single figure, is responsible for the climate of permissiveness that made it possible." So I'm sorry if this is how you have to find out that Shakespeare is all about characters doing the sex at each other, but you cannot approach these plays without understanding that sex and sexuality are a huge part of the plays.

Flaming Youth

So strictly speaking, the word "adolescent" has been around since the Middle English period, and the OED cites the earliest instance of the word in 1440. That said, adolescence as we know it wasn't necessarily something that Shakespeare knew. That, of course, did not stop him from writing about teenagers. This chapter is all about teenagers, teen culture, and Shakespeare, and honestly this was the chapter that had my student asking me if he could borrow this book. If you are teaching teens and they're reluctant to see how Shakespeare relates to them, this is my recommendation for a short reading to change their minds.

All Honorable Men

In this chapter we focus back in on a specific play: Julius Caesar. This book predates the 2016, 2020, and 2024 US presidential elections, and this play and its relationship to US politics and presidents have been well trodden since, but this is still a solid look at how Shakespeare is inevitably tangled up in US politics and how we relate to them. We also get some super juicy details about John Wilkes Booth and his theatre career prior to the Sic Semper Tyrannis event. It also is a good entry point to how how Shakespeare uses (and abuses) political rhetoric in ways that are uncomfortable similar to modern politicians.

To Hold a Mirror Up to Nature

The moral of this chapter is to not use your fandom as an excuse to low-key commit ecological terrorism. *massively side-eyes Eugene Schiefflin*

Give Me My Robe, Put On My Crown

If "All Honorable Men" focused on US presidential politics, this chapter expands Shakespeare's political reach globally, showing how world leaders and politicians have used and appropriated Shakespeare for all sorts of purposes.

Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments

This is the English major chapter of this book. It does a beautiful job of beginning to contextualize Shakespeare's place in the western literary canon, and more than a few famous writers' relationships with him. It even gives a nod to Shakespeare's relationship with more modern popular culture (Shakespeare is best in the original Klingon, anyone?).

A King of Infinite Space

Previous chapters have been heavy and serious, which Shakespeare absolutely is. But that's not ALL Shakespeare is. This chapter focuses on the mundane and profane that is Shakespeare. It asserts that Shakespeare is anyone's who wants him, however they want him. And as a Shakespeare scholar who has herself been a bit of a snob in her younger years, this is an IMPORTANT reminder. Yes, Shakespeare is heady themes, tragedy, and important topics of discussion...but it's also three butt jokes in a trench coat that turns to the audience, farts, and immediately begins pelvic thrusting. A king of infinite space indeed...

To Be or Not to Be

This chapter explore Shakespeare, the man, the myth, the legend. Quite literally, because we don't really have all that much hard historical knowledge about Shakespeare, and his plays are such that trying to argue anything about the playwright from the plays is deeply problematic at least. There is also a really interesting discussion about the extant portraits of Shakespeare and which one Marche thinks might be the most accurate. This chapter is a wonderful reminder that Shakespeare is both man and myth, and the man and the myth have blurred and merged to become legend. (And this is why I straight refuse to play the author question game. It's not worth it.)

Overall, I adore this book. It's a great introduction to the breadth of the field of Shakespeare studies in a deeply accessible way. The writing and the tone are light, playful, and deeply entertaining. This is one of my FUN reads about Shakespeare, and I think that if high school or early college students want an accessible, fun way into the wider world of academic Shakespeare studies, they could do a lot worse than starting here.

[jasminewalkerauthor]

Trope chats: The chosen one trope

The Chosen One trope, a narrative device rooted in the hero's journey, has persisted throughout the annals of storytelling across various cultures and epochs. This trope chat explores the evolution of the Chosen One trope, examining its origins, tracing its journey through literary history, unraveling its contemporary appeal, and delving into the societal impact it exerts on both creators and consumers within the media world.

I. Origins and Historical Context:

The Chosen One trope finds its roots in ancient mythology and religious texts, where individuals are selected by fate or divine entities to fulfill extraordinary destinies. Heroes like King Arthur, Moses, and Jesus Christ embody early manifestations of the Chosen One archetype, imbued with a unique purpose and often tasked with saving their people or the world.

II. Literary Evolution:

The Chosen One trope has undergone a transformative evolution, adapting to changing cultural and societal landscapes. From classical epics to medieval romances, the trope evolved through the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, eventually finding a prominent place in 19th-century literature.

The Romantic era, with its emphasis on individualism and the sublime, fueled the rise of protagonists destined for greatness. Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Faust" exemplify the shift towards characters grappling with their destinies, foreshadowing the nuanced portrayal of Chosen Ones in later works.

III. Contemporary Appeal:

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Chosen One trope experienced a resurgence in popularity across various media, including literature, film, television, and video games. The trope's enduring appeal lies in its ability to tap into universal themes of self-discovery, empowerment, and the triumph of good over evil.

Personal Growth and Identity: Modern Chosen Ones often undergo profound personal growth, mirroring the struggles and triumphs of the individual's journey to self-discovery. This character arc resonates with audiences seeking narratives that explore identity, purpose, and the realization of untapped potential.

Escapism and Empowerment: The Chosen One trope provides a form of escapism, allowing audiences to vicariously experience a world where an ordinary individual can transcend their limitations and fulfill an extraordinary destiny. This theme of empowerment resonates particularly in a society where individuals seek inspiration and hope.

IV. Societal Impact:

The Chosen One trope's prevalence in popular media has contributed to shaping societal perspectives and expectations. While it offers a powerful narrative tool for conveying timeless themes, it also raises questions about individual agency, inclusivity, and the impact of deterministic storytelling on real-world attitudes.

Expectations and Aspirations: The ubiquity of the Chosen One trope may contribute to societal expectations, with individuals seeking to fulfill perceived destinies or waiting for a transformative moment in their lives. This phenomenon raises questions about the balance between personal agency and external influence.

Inclusivity and Representation: Critics argue that the Chosen One trope has historically favored certain archetypes, perpetuating stereotypes and limiting representation. However, contemporary storytellers are increasingly diversifying the trope, exploring narratives that challenge traditional conventions and broaden the spectrum of heroes.

The Chosen One trope, rooted in ancient mythologies and adapted over centuries, remains a potent narrative device that continues to captivate audiences. Its contemporary appeal reflects the timeless human fascination with destiny, self-discovery, and the triumph of the human spirit. As creators continue to weave narratives around chosen heroes, the impact on society and the media world invites ongoing exploration, prompting critical conversations about representation, agency, and the enduring power of storytelling in shaping collective imagination.

[rollercoasterwords]

I loved your post about "Necessarity" in the context of fiction, especially fanfiction cause I agree so much with it.

When people ask, if it was really necessary to kill one character, I always think YES obviously if the author wants this character dead, they have to kill them lol.

And as a reader, I may think about how it fits in the story arc, e.g. exploring grief, sacrifice, illness etc. but in the end it doesn't even matter really. The author's intent and what they wanted from their story matters and if they wanted one character dead, well this character has to die then, easy as that 💀

yup yup yup i think a lot of times when i see people say "x was unnecessary" in regards to fanfic it just shows a misunderstanding abt like. the point of fanfic. which usually becomes clear the moment u try 2 pry past "unnecessary" as a buzzword and start asking "unnecessary for what? unnecessary to accomplish what goal? unnecessary in what specific way?" etc etc

like w published fiction i think there can be more room to critique like....narrative tools + how they're employed, but fanfiction is simply a different ballgame. the primary purpose of it is to bring joy to its creator as a hobby, imo, so it's not meant to be measured + weighed against specific literary conventions to determine whether it's like. Good Art. (and the idea that we can objectively measure Good Art in the first place is a concept that i think we should question. highly recommend cj the x's video on 7 deadly art sins for those interested but i digress) xoxo

[physicsofimportant]

1. Computational dramaturgy language.

To gain a deeper understanding of the nature of quantum dramaturgy, it is crucial to familiarize oneself with several key concepts that serve as the foundation of contemporary science accepted within the scientific community. These concepts form the building blocks of our understanding.

Planck's constant.

Planck's constant is a fundamental constant that plays a vital role in quantum mechanics. It quantifies the energy carried by individual particles and establishes the scale for the granularity of the quantum world. Dramaturgy adheres to quantum laws just as rigorously as any other fundamental study. Although Planck's constant is not directly observed, its theoretical implications are integrated into our everyday lives. Dramaturgy unfolds in Planck's steps.

Speed of light constant.

The speed of light in a vacuum is a universal constant that serves as an absolute limit on the speed at which information or fermions can travel. Planck's time and the speed of light are constants and limitations that unite us as observers within the quantum realm. Understanding, researching, and conquering this realm is a formidable task that is best approached through dramaturgy. The speed of light is an essential component of Einstein's theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and computational dramaturgy. Just like any other form of information in this world, dramaturgy is quantized and propagates at the maximum speed of light. 

  The concept of entangled particles, which can seemingly “teleport” information faster than light, instantly across any distance, will be separately discussed further, as it constitutes a fundamental property of dramaturgy.

Atom of space.

The concept of the atom of space, introduced by Steven Wolfram and his computational physics, pertains to the fundamental building blocks of the fabric of spacetime. In the context of quantum dramaturgy, the atom of space represents the smallest indivisible unit of space, possessing unique properties and interactions, primarily of a dramaturgical nature. It’s true because if you didn’t care and  nothing literary cared about something else on fundamental quantum level, no interactions or perception of those interactions would occur. No dramaturgy – no anything. 

Multidimensional perception.

Computational Dramaturgy invites us to expand our understanding beyond the limitations of our familiar four-dimensional perception (3D space + time). It suggests the existence of additional dimensions that may profoundly influence and shape our reality. Dramaturgy provides us with an effective and mathematical means to experience these dimensions and comprehend their impact on our lives, even without a complete understanding of their other properties, except for the fact that they differ from the dimensions we are familiar with. While the exact nature of these dimensions remains elusive, we can perceive and classify their influence on observable reality. The relentless drive of evolution, the power of the sun, heat, and the captivating force of dramaturgy are truly awe-inspiring.

Out-of-the-box perspective on entities.

Computational dramaturgy challenges conventional perspectives on entities such as corporations, fan clubs, popular songs, money, or patriotism. It encourages us to explore their dynamic nature, their influence on our collective drama, and their interplay. Why is it that when examined individually, everyone appears to be a "good" person, yet on a larger scale, wars, pain, and suffering persist? Where does this stem from? Is there something higher than humans that makes real decisions? Dramaturgy holds the key, offering glimpses of multidimensional intrusion into our familiar four-dimensional understanding. It has personal motives and roles, it has tools in this world and it act right now. 

 Thus, most people believe there exists something greater than us, but its nature is bizarre and can only be examined and processed by our brains through the lens of computational dramaturgy.

Perception of time as entropy.

Quantum dramaturgy invites us to reconsider our perception of time as a linear progression. It explores the realms of non-linearity and multidimensionality, where the boundaries between past, present, and future become blurred. 

In the realm of computational dramaturgy, all that is required is Planck's Time, the speed of light, and the concept of entropy. Entropy serves as one of the most undeniable pieces of evidence of dramaturgy's existence in our reality, as it is a fundamental law intimately intertwined with the flow of time forward. Time predominantly moves in one direction, driven by entropy. Other formulas and laws can generally be reversible, remaining similar whether played forward or backward, but entropy represents the unfolding of the future. 

  Therefore, entropy (and the sense of time it creates) forms the basic foundation of our universal Turing machine, the computational universe. It establishes the reality's forward unfolding, processing an increasing number of entropy options, either accelerating or decelerating the flow of time. 

 Entropy allows us to surf the wave of "now," creating advantages, just as a conscious surfer rides a naturally occurring computational wave. However, the surfer cannot alter the amplitude of the waves, halt or create new waves. Their sole ability is to surf.

Hence, within the forthcoming pages, we challenge you to cast aside the conventional notion of time as we commonly perceive it and instead embrace the logic of quantum dramaturgy, where time operates in accordance with the principles of the quantum world itself. You will find out how your personal “timeless” dramaturgic potential can affect past & future. 

            1.7 Shift of human nature.

As we get into quantum dramaturgy, we confront the idea that human beings are not confined solely to the four-dimensional realm of space and time. Instead, we propose that humans transcend these limitations and exist at least as tentacles or eyes of higher entities that penetrate our reality, navigating and influencing dramaturgy across multiple dimensions, including the past and the future. 

To establish a foundational understanding of these concepts and their fundamental connection to dramaturgy, let's examine them more closely.

[robertantrimcalwellauthor]

The Intersection of Mental Health and Technology in Literature

In an era where technology intertwines with nearly every aspect of human life, literature is uniquely positioned to explore the profound implications of this relationship. One recent example of this exploration is Robert Antrim Calwell’s book, a thought-provoking narrative that delves into the emotional and ethical dimensions of mental health and advanced technology.

Calwell’s story revolves around a protagonist whose journey of self-discovery is complicated by a groundbreaking medical procedure—the surgical attachment of a "Robot Head" designed to preserve and manage memories. This blend of futuristic science and deeply human struggles invites readers to consider how technological innovations could redefine our understanding of identity, memory, and healing. The book does more than tell a story; it challenges us to examine the ways in which technology might alleviate or exacerbate the struggles associated with mental health.

At the heart of the narrative lies the question: can technology truly heal the mind without compromising the essence of the self? The protagonist’s emotional turmoil, intensified by the idea of transferring both good and bad memories into an artificial construct, mirrors real-world debates about the ethics of emerging mental health technologies. For instance, while tools like virtual reality therapies and AI-driven diagnostics offer groundbreaking potential, they also raise concerns about privacy, accessibility, and the risk of dehumanization.

What makes Calwell’s work particularly compelling is its portrayal of the protagonist’s internal battle. Through vivid storytelling, the book captures the tension between embracing a technological solution and holding onto the raw, imperfect nature of human experience. The protagonist’s fear of losing her individuality to the mechanical precision of a Robot Head reflects a universal anxiety about the growing role of technology in personal and emotional realms.

This literary exploration is both timely and urgent. Mental health remains a global challenge, with millions of people seeking support in a world often ill-equipped to provide it. As technology continues to advance, tools like brain-computer interfaces and AI-assisted counseling could bridge critical gaps in care. Yet, these innovations must be implemented with sensitivity to the human condition, acknowledging that emotional healing requires more than just technical precision—it demands empathy, understanding, and connection.

Calwell’s narrative doesn’t offer easy answers but instead invites readers to wrestle with these complexities. By framing mental health through the lens of technology, the story encourages a broader conversation about what it means to be human in an increasingly mechanized world. It underscores the importance of balance: leveraging technology to support mental health without losing sight of the deeply personal and spiritual aspects of healing.

In conclusion, Robert Antrim Calwell’s book serves as a poignant reminder of literature’s power to reflect and challenge societal trends. Through its nuanced depiction of mental health and technology, the story not only entertains but also provokes critical thought about the ethical and emotional implications of our tech-driven future. It is a narrative that resonates deeply, reminding us that even as we innovate, we must remain anchored to our humanity.

[freenewsreport]

Emma Beddington: A Journey of Wit, Writing, and Self-Discovery

Emma Beddington has mastered the art of transforming life’s twists and turns into compelling stories. As a renowned journalist, author, and keen observer of everyday life, she’s celebrated for her sharp wit and relatable writing. Whether tackling the complexities of modern family dynamics or navigating cultural quirks, Emma Beddington effortlessly blends humor and vulnerability in her work, making her narratives deeply engaging. Her authentic voice resonates with readers, offering a mix of laughter, honesty, and heartfelt moments. Emma Beddington’s unique ability to find beauty in the chaos of life has earned her a dedicated following, cementing her reputation as a literary talent to watch. Through her articles, memoirs, and blogs, she invites us into her world, encouraging readers to embrace life’s imperfections with grace and a good dose of humor.

Who Is Emma Beddington?

Emma Beddington is a British writer whose work often explores themes of identity, family, and the messy beauty of ordinary life. Her career spans journalism, blogging, and books, each reflecting her knack for observing the world with a mix of humor and honesty.

Early Beginnings

Emma’s love for words blossomed early, shaped by a childhood surrounded by books.

Her educational path led her to law, but her true calling lay elsewhere—a realization that came with time.

The Leap to Writing

Swapping legal briefs for a blank page, Emma embraced writing as her true passion. It wasn’t just a career shift but a profound change that allowed her to explore life in her voice.

The Charm of Emma’s Writing

Emma Beddington’s work resonates because it’s personal yet universal. She has a gift for capturing the hilarity and heartbreak of everyday moments.

Relatable Themes

Her writing often dives into:

Navigating modern family dynamics.

Adapting to cultural differences.

Finding humor in life’s hiccups.

Unfiltered Honesty

Readers are drawn to Emma because she doesn’t sugarcoat life’s challenges. Whether discussing motherhood or her personal battles, her candor is refreshing.

The Success of “We’ll Always Have Paris”

Emma’s memoir We’ll Always Have Paris is a testament to her storytelling prowess.

A Love Letter to France: The book chronicles her journey from dreaming of Parisian chic to the realities of living in France.

Laughter and Tears: Packed with amusing anecdotes, it also explores deeper emotions, like belonging and identity.

Critical Acclaim: Praised for its humor and insight, the memoir solidified Emma’s place in contemporary literature.

Emma’s Blog: A Digital Home for Her Wit

Before her memoir, Emma built her audience through her blog. It became a space where her voice could shine freely.

Why Blogs Matter

In an age of fleeting social media trends, blogs like Emma’s remind us of the enduring power of personal stories.

Challenges Along the Way

Behind every successful writer is a journey filled with obstacles. Emma Beddington’s path was no different.

Balancing Act: Like many writers, she juggled personal responsibilities and creative ambitions.

Rejection and Resilience: The publishing world isn’t always kind, but Emma’s perseverance paid off.

Lessons from Emma Beddington

What can we learn from Emma’s journey?

Embrace Change: Life’s unexpected detours can lead to incredible opportunities.

Find Your Voice: Authenticity is key—Emma’s writing is proof of that.

Laugh Through It: Humor can be a powerful tool for navigating challenges.

What’s Next for Emma?

Emma continues to inspire with her work. Whether through new articles, books, or social media musings, her voice remains a beacon for those seeking connection and laughter.

Conclusion

Emma Beddington’s story is a testament to the power of following your passion and embracing life’s imperfections. Her wit, warmth, and wisdom remind us that even in chaos, there’s beauty—and maybe a good laugh waiting to be found.

[wolf-tools]

Werewolf Book Club: Nightbitch

Happy (slightly belated) Wolf Moon! What better time for me to press a thick stack of vaguely incomprehensible thoughts into your hands (or paws) (or whatever appendage you choose to receive them with). Onward!

Back in October, the preview for Nightbitch starring Amy Adams showed up across my Instagram dashboard and I was enthralled.

I haven’t yet seen the movie (and will talk about it at length once I do)— but let’s get into the book, what it holds, and how it explores wolf tools.

Spoilers below—I don’t reveal the whole story, but I certainly touch on some things. I also do a pretty terrible job with a plot summary, so everything below the cut will make a whole lot more sense if you’ve read the book (or at least a summary). Good luck, have fun, read on:

1. What the Hell is Nightbitch about, actually?

Nightbitch is the story of a mother who finds herself turning into a dog. It’s the story of a neurotic, hypochondriac mother with a difficult child and a largely absent father, struggling to get by. It’s the story of a mother, struggling with her female identity, with leaving her career, with finding a meaningful connection to another woman. It’s a story with monster women, dogs that smell of strawberries, multi-level-marketing schemes, and a Lot of dead rabbits.

Does that make any sense? No? Wonderful. Now you understand Nightbitch.

Nightbitch is not a perfect book, and it is certainly not a book for everyone. It’s a bizarre piece of literary fiction, that can lean cerebral and overwhelming, but it is damn good at what it’s doing. And it’s a werewolf book that’s well worth our time to discuss.

[additional disclaimer: I did listen to Nightbitch as an audiobook. I wish I had scribed down lines, to provide you with some reciepts for everything I talk about below. Learning for next time.]

2. Nightbitch as a werewolf novel

Before we get to deep into the details, I want to establish that Nightbitch is a novel that does not explain itself. It takes deliberate strides to its own imprecision. Things happen, and our main character changes and grows and experiences her metamorphosis, but none of it—not what happens to her, or why, or How—ever gets explained.

I also want to establish that Yes, Nightbitch turns itno a dog. Yes, it is still a werewolf story. It is anything but a stereotypical werewolf story, but it still follows the narrative and can still be analyzed with Wolf Tools. (and what is a dog but a domestic wolf; what is a mother if not domestic?)

What you’ll see below is a description of how Nightbitch approaches each of the wolf tools, and a little commentary on the approach: what's effective, where we've seen this before, all that jazz.

the Moon:

Nighbitch’s transformation is by far my favorite piece of Yoder’s take on the werewolf. Especially in the beginning, Nightbitch (the mother) undergoes a slow, uncanny transformation, with symptoms that walk the line between medical nightmare and supernatural. Thick hair grows on the back of her neck, a cist full of hair appears at the small of her back (a tail?), her teeth sharpen strangely, she grows six sets of nipples. These early aspects of transformation are strange and terrifying and would absolutely be the sort of thing to send an exhausted hypochondriac into a state of hysteria. And they last weeks.

I've found it common enough for werewolf stories (especially modern literature and films) to more thoroughly explore the middle-stages of a transformation, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one at such a timescale.

But when she actually transforms fully into a dog— all that literary detail disappears. Nightbitch is nothing more than a sensory lens of the world around her. The transformation is lightning quick, dream-like, unelaborated upon and unexplained.

It’s a clever move on Yoder’s part, the drawn-out focus on every sign and symptom, followed by the absolute absence of detail to follow. In embracing the transformation, Nightbitch abandons fear and embraces instinct. Her incessant internal monologue shuts up, and we, the readers, listen to that Glorious Quiet alongside her.

What drives this transformation, and those that follow? Yoder never explicitly tells us. There are distinct emotional notes, a need to release, but the exact cause is entirely speculative.

The Beast:

When the entended metamorphosis ends and she embraces the change, she turns into a dog. At first glance, Nightbitch’s Beast seems simple enough.

But the book doesn’t stop there.

No, post first-transformation, Nightbitch begins to explore what means to be a Dog—not just in Body, but in spirit. It affects how she orders food, how she treats her baby, and ultimately shapes her final artistic moment of self-actualization as woman and dog, a powerful, wild thing.

While it’s not common, it isn’t unheard of for a Beast to reflect in behavior and thought more than in physical manifestation (we see this idea first manifest around the turn of the 20th century, and the dawn of Freudian psychology).

The Bite:

Once again, we don’t ever get a real answer for this. Neither does Nightbitch, so we’re all in the same boat.

Our best answer comes from “A Field Guide to Magical Women”, by one Wanda White (a professor from a long-defunct university with no trackable identity). This field guide covers a whole smorgasbord of different magical women (including but not limited to the delightful bird women of Peru).

For certain magical women, assuming their magical selves is something of a second puberty or a menopause, a natural transition stage into a second, unexplored life. There’s no rhyme or reason to it beyond that.

We meet Nightbitch in a difficult, stagnant position of life, and her transformation and assumption of the Dog as a piece of herself catalyzes and forces her from that stagnancy. But is it the stagnancy that invites the first transformation? That’s up to speculation. If I were to make my own assumption, I think the onset of the dog is a sort of epiphany, or magical psychotic break. The stress of an unsupported motherhood and her social isolation drives Nightbitch’s body to act on its own accord to get her to Move and Break the Pattern.

The Bane

Nightbitch doesn’t have a Bane, at least not in a meaningful way.

However, the narrative Yoder has crafted doesn’t need one.

Banes are useful in stories where the werewolf needs to be fought and defeated. They’re a literary McGuffin that finds use in horror, fantasy, thriller, stories where the monster’s death is necessary.

Nightbitch is a literature piece about a mother finding agency through the wild thing within. Her (Nightbitch’s) arc isn’t one of defeat and of death; it’s an arc of victory and growth.

Besides, our protagonist does enough to be her own worst enemy. There’s nothing a silver bullet could do that she couldn’t talk and obsess and Google herself into.

The World

Nightbitch exists in a (widely) Wolf-Unknowning, wolf-neutral world, meaning:

Most people don’t have the slightest clue that some women may turn into dogs upon reaching middle age

As such, there’s not much of a public opinion on such women

There is an implied knowledge by a niche few (Wanda White), who views magical women with academic respect and wonder.

At the end of Nightbitch, The Nightbitch brings her monsterhood into the world through a trippy, MLM(?) drug-induced act of performative art, thereby bringing the werewolf (dog woman) into the public sphere. Still, even then, there’s a public uncertainty to the nature of the monster. It’s difficult to draw the line between art and reality, between strange woman in a costume and genuine magic.

It’s a line that the entire book tows, one that it never resolves, and expanding that unknowing out of the narrator’s own mind and Into the wider public sphere almost illustrates Nightbitch’s own resolution into her own magic, which she, mastering her mystery, can now externalize.

This is also a Light building world, meaning that the world looks very much like it does for most people, wolf or no wolf (dog or no dog). The exterior world has not been tailored specifically for (or against) the existence of werewolves. (If you’re looking for a good example of a heavy-built world for contrast, see Mongrels by Steven Graham Jones—where everything, from French fries to pants, has a direct impact on the lives of werewolves)

In short, no one knows what the hell Nightbitch is, not even Nightbitch (but she still rocks it).

Tools Summary:

Yoder places a lot of narrative empasis on the Moon, more than any other Wolf Tool. The rest of the tools have their place (except Bane), but Yoder engages the Moon with a level of detail and focus that truly stands out.

Relative to other werewolf stories, it isn't that Yoder's Moon is That Much Stronger*, but more significantly, it's that the other Tools are dampened and blurred (but not simplified--no no, Yoder does not fall onto classic tropes). Blurring the other tools heightens the impact of Nightbitch's transformation, and it brings the reader much closer into Nightbitch's POV. She has no clue what's happening to her, or why, or what any of this means, but she can look at the changes in her body, and feel the shift in her mannerisms... and we, the readers, are stuck in the same, tiny, baby-vomit scented rowboat as her.

*what I mean by "not much stronger": it's super duper common in horror, especially horror films, to place emphasis on the physical aspects of transformation. The gory, bone-snapping, fur-sprouting special effects lend the werewolf most of its horror, and it's repulsion. It's also really easy to emphasize visual horror in visual media (film) (see: An American Werewolf in London's loooong transformation sequence)

Nightbitch, in placing its emphasis on that same lengthy transformation in the beginning, heightens the already present horror in motherhood (and more generally, womanhood). In suburban midwest america for a decently well-off mother, there's little scarier than the weird growth on your arm.

(or there's plenty scarier-- is your spouse having an affair? is your kid going to die if you look away for too long? are you ever going to regain the sense of freedom you had in youth? Will the other PTA moms accept you as one of their kith and kin? A weird growth is a much easier thing to be afraid of).

BUT!

(but!)

Once Nightbitch transforms, the script is flipped. She gains this feral ease, a strength and acceptance in her wildness, a faith in herself that she did not previously have... and would you guess? the lengthy, horror-style descriptions of her transformations disappear entirely.

Nightbitch becomes a Werewolf Protagonist, not just a Werewolf Victim. She takes her monsterhood--and her life into her own hands. When she transforms in this latter section of the book, it is described in action and motion - how she moves around the park, how she kills rabbits and sniffs around the homeless camp at night. There's very little in the way of sprouting claws and jutting jaws, very little of that material of fear, because Nightbitch Is No Longer Afraid.*

*she does have her lapses (see the dead cat).

All this rambling to say:

When Yoder emphasizes the details of the transformation, the book reads as horror, and you feel the horror.

When Yoder cuts the transformation details, the book steps out of horror and enters Nightbitch's mom literature arc of personal growth.

The Moon (or lack of clear moon) is not the only narrative element contributing to this, but this use of the Moon is a clever way to emphasize tone (and tonal shifts) in narrative.

Questions to mull on:

In what other ways could you manipulate or change the level of focus on the Moon mid-narrative to affect tone?

how might focus on Moon change with different POV?

What if Yoder had continued to emphasize a more visceral, gory transformation through the rest of the book? How would that change Nightbitch's character, and the overall tone of the story?

anyways, if you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you found it interesting.