#mataphors

[redconsumerism]

TO CONSUME IS (not) TO LOVE

cannibalism in romance novels

Cannibalism is like a parallax. For once it exists as a ‘philia’, characterized by the desire of eating another. And we find that it exists in the opposite spectrum, in the form of a ‘phobia’, which speaks of the fear of being eaten or partaking unknowingly or forcefully in the act of eating another. To vore is adjacent to love in most cases, both feared and desired. Because to love someone is (apparently) to want to consume them. 

Though cannibalism might seem like a barbaric and horrific concept, it is said to be one of the most intense demostrations of love that exist in both classic and contemporary literature. The gruesome gesture reminds the lecturer of the intensity of love and its lunacy. As Mercedes Abad stated in spanish newsletter ‘el tiempo’ on May 21st, 1995 ‘There is no doubt that love and sex are feasts where, to a greater or lesser extent, we all become anthropophagi who would surely find it quite difficult to answer the question of whether there is greater pleasure in phagocytosing the other or in being phagocytosed.’ Because Cannibalism as a metaphor for love in romance novels, as it is in our day to day, is more about the blind consumerism of it rather than the pureness of it. One example of blind consumerism of love would be in Salvador Dali's Autobiography, where it is mentioned how Gala cooked their pet rabbit because of how much they loved it, in front of the woman’s refusal to the idea of leaving the rabbit with the maids.

To love is to consume, but to consume is to devour and transform in reusable energy. Like a vampire would when consuming someone’s blood, so they can continue living at the other’s cause. You live off the love you take, but if you devour that love, the other cannot live. The truth is cannibalism has a double connotation, and consuming the other’s otherness is three dimensional. Which means it isn’t always about love, or the lack thereof, but more so about the act of possessing. Cannibalism isn’t only one of the greatest manifestations of tenderness (for many), but also the irrevocably selfishness of an individual blinded by desire - in front of the morbid contemplation of the lover giving themselves so the other can survive -. The amorous-sexual instincts that resurface from a deep sense of infatuation together with those of hunger - a basic instinct - that create an irrational longing, unite in cannibalism as an analogy for that which we wish to become one with. It leaves you to question if the love narrated is but an act of survival for starved people.

‘Love is only a prologue to two cannibals struggling to take a bite of each other.’ - La Oscuridad, Ignacio Ferrando Perez (2014.) Cannibalism is, then, the imposture of love, and the obscure craving of something bigger than yourself without any understanding of it. 

[brucethewannabebard]

Bad food and fast metaphors.

I find that my mind is getting weird with the way it relates the tragedy of us to the world around me. They say that heartbreak and love make poets of us all, but not necessarily a good poet it seems. Maybe my mind is just not creative enough, maybe even my imagination and creative drive is tired of my still being hung up on this after such a long time. Regardless of the reason, I find myself comparing our relationship, and us, to a couple of fast food chains now. Maybe I am just losing my mind.

See I was thinking about how I go to Culver's quite often now. Every time I go I think about how we never went together, despite there being one close by our house, because you assured me they sucked. I never questioned it, as at this point you were still playing the role of someone with similar tastes and values to me. The charade hadn't yet been dropped. So I trusted your assessment, despite never having been, and continued to rely on my old favorite: Steak N' Shake.

I would hit it all the time, you didn't mind since we always made sure to get you a shake when we went. Now I think of you as Steak N Shake, I saw you in the same way. You were both things from my past that I had a fondness for and saw as they used to be. I saw the restaurant as a quality place all things considered, a good burger, great fries, affordable. Really I saw it as comfort and dependable. It took a while before I really noted how much the chain had changed since I was a kid. My favorite menu items were slowly removed, the old school ketchup bottles and general aesthetic changed, they stopped using wait staff. Little by little the fun restaurant I went to with my family and friends for lunch on a day out turned into a generic overpriced and lazy fast food chain.

Similarly, you were not as I remembered you. Though much like SnS you put up the front of being so. The empathy I thought you had it turns out was false. The passion I assumed you had was actually just a picture of a fire propped up in the fireplace. The loyalty and honesty you valued back in high school when we met had both become traded commodities to you. I, of course, saw this all too late. So much like one of my favorite restaurants, one of my favorite people had lost its heart and value in favor of cheap imitations, thinking that the average consumer is an idiot and it is about what can be taken from them, not what you give in return.

So if you are steak N shake, and out relationship is the view I took of the restaurant, ignorant of its decline, where does Culver's fit in?

Well it is a place that still provides what it advertises. No, it isn't some high end classy place serving master class dining. But it is a place that give a quality product at a good size, and consistently delivers it for a reasonable price. So I guess Culver's is me. Sitting around, being something of surprising quality for its price tag, with a few items special to them that they take pride in doing well, and completely overlooked by you as a place that sucks. Not because I couldn't give exactly what I advertised and what you said you wanted from me, but because you have bad taste and are more concerned with taking than providing.

I don't mean to prop up Culver's, it is a fine enough place but it is still fast food. I am not sure if this metaphor makes it out to be better than it is, or if it just downplays my own value to keep with the theme. Maybe it is actually apt to compare myself to some run of the mill franchise. Maybe it is stupid of me to use a franchise at all given Culver's is very capable of making the same type of decisions as Steak N Shake. After all, it is still a franchise. Maybe I should compare myself to something more stead and less business focused. Too late now.

I still occasionally frequent steak N shake, accepting it for what it is now, realizing that its motives shouldn't have surprised me. It is a franchise and does what most franchises do. I made the mistake of assuming it was something else. So I can get my steak burger and remember the good times I spent there back in the day.

I still visit your memory. You are a liar, a user, and a cheater. That is who you are and what you do. I was a fool for thinking you wouldn't be that with me. So I sit down, and listen to our song. And I think of the illusion you kept up and pretend it was real for a time. I play it like an old movie, and enjoy the performance for what it is. Knowing it isn't what I once thought, and never can be what I believed it to be.

[fkapommel]

Harrow's end, from least to most certain

[penstealingghost]

My favorite pieces of characterization about Snow in Ballad

It is written in third person limited perspective instead of first person like the trilogy

He hates poetry and struggles to decipher it

[emlos]

sucks having to talk your brain down from having thoughts. i feel like i have coerce a scared animal into getting into its cage for its safety

[itwoodbeprefect]

🌹🌹🌹🌹(on 💧+ whiskers on 🐱🎶 for a few of your favorite things)

haha, a whole song! thank you. <3

for the whiskers on kittens, i will give you four separate sentences from a new favorite Secret Fic that came out of nowhere recently and is, well, mildly AU:

1.

When it comes in, staticky over the radio in the Torino, it initially sounds like another routine call – disturbance of the peace in the shape of a dragon on the roof.

2.

“That’s so sweet,” one of the assembled women coos, and Hutch really wishes this day were over already.

3.

“It’s better if she’s a little less gooey before we take her,” Starsky says, which is one of the most insane things Hutch has ever heard come out of his mouth.

4.

There, huddled in the abandoned nest and chewing toothlessly on his ruined handkerchief, sits their best hope at a murder witness.

[legendofthefireemblem]

I thought this would be a quick and easy drabble about bullfighting allusions and Prž being a lowkey masochist but I’m at 100 words, hinting at slash w Sepp, and barely any bull mataphors in sight :/

[stardusthuntress]

THE REFLECTIONS!!!

It appears that maniacally brilliant scientist, Imperial Tech, has just had a breakthrough on whatever super secret thingy he's been devising.

[payidaresque]

MAJOR TROP S2 FINALE SPOILERS BELOW (i'm too excited not to share my thought)

While some of the theories we made didn't prove to be true (honestly, i never believed they would) I LOVED THE FINALE SO MUCH. Cause i got everything i expected from it and more!!

Got an epic fight that didn't last 10 minutes but almost HALF OF THE EPISODE (THANK GOD)

he really didn't want to harm her at first, JUST as i expected here, he was just being defensive at first. And the rest just happened in the heat of battle (which of course doesn't justify everything sauron did but hey, what did u expect? he's evil after all)

And while i do believe he used his Halbrand form to manipulate her (again, very much expected knowing who he is), i also believe that what Sauron said here is true — the way he paused before saying it and the way he looked at her tells me that he was actually being sincere. what he would've gained from saying it, manipulation wise? Sauron is not stupid, surely he understands that Galadriel would not fall for it (and she didn't) which kinda brings me to a simple conclusion that he said it because he wanted to say it

also, this was both sexy and twisted of him omg????? totally Sauron move, i love it!! I did NOT expect that

as for "proving his love for her", i actually think he did, in his own way?

because he could end her right there and just take the ring (rip adar and brimby btw, you will be missed 😔), but he didn't? even more so, i believe that if Galadriel didn't attack him first there, he wouldn't attack her back. As fucked up as Sauron is, Galadriel is still on his mind

And goddamn it he meant what he said. And again, she knows who he is, she knows his tricks, so he wouldn't gain anything by saying it, which again means, that it is indeed his desire: not just to rule, but to rule with her. he'd make the whole world worship her (which, again, is basically his way of saying he loves her)

and again, why didn't he just kill her and take her ring? what was the need of standing and looking at her like that? why try to presuade her, when he has no problems with taking what he wants by force? the answer is: because she is Galadriel. Because they are connected to each other and he feels it with every fibre of his immortal being. His expression is not even angry her, or creepy, like a few minutes ago, he's just... gazing at her.

even more so, here

he actually got scared when she fell, he even tried to reach for her hand to stop her for falling (and before u say anything — no, i don't think it was because of the ring — he could retrieve it any other time from anyone else as no one else for him is a match for him but Galadriel — it's her he got scared for. I'm convinced of it)

As for the mataphorical "fall of Galadriel" — well i hoped for it, but i never believed it would actually happened because of how Galadriel is (Also, Brimby's monologue from 2x07 with her kinda killed all my hopes for it so). However, i think s3 has a lot to explore, so i'm leaving a little bit of hope there)

i have many other thougts i can't process right now and i might share them later, but overall, i think the episode was GREAT! Charlie and Morfydd did wonders once again, watching them on screen is such a treat. I love them both so much!! I also might make a separate post about Charlie's and Charles' Edwards scenes were phenomenal, and I will miss Brimby dearly because of Charles' breathtaking acting

To conclude: I, personally, is fed well enough for it to last for the upcooming 2 years. Oh, and also: l'oreal paris — because you're worth it. Oh, and one more thing: he used Halbrand form because he knows that Galadriel feels for him too, and her first reaction proved it (an ass move by the way).

[wolfram-but-art]

a love so pure you could call it violent

rb > likes <|:3

in reference to this song!!! (and also personal rp :3) vvvvv

i'm sorry to anyone and everyone who ships Engie and Medic together umm fsiegfysgye

also something something fighting and violence and manipulation being a sort of dance and also power imbalance with the leading partner being a mataphor for an abuser

[gayaest]

I had someone insisting that a character being disabled has to be a metaphor for something. They refused to accept that I drew a disabled character for no deep symbolic reason or that I knew a person with that disability and the character was loosely inspired by them. Nope, it was to be a mataphor.

Ugh! That’s really frustrating… some people are just… DISABLED! That’s just how life is!

Some people are born disabled, some people become disabled early in life, but in the end… everyone will end up disabled. The disability community is a huge community because it’s one of the only ones that everyone will eventually wind up in, one way or another.

It reminds me of how people will often see disability as a “moral” thing, like “you must’ve done something bad or wrong to cause this” which is just, not true. Disability has no moral ties, nobody /did/ anything to be disabled, they just simply are, and that’s a normal part of human life.

It also makes me think of how people use disability as a “gotcha���. Like, “i wish this bad person would become disabled because /they deserve it/“ because disability isn’t “deserved”. It’s just a way of life. People have a lot of rotten and ableist ways of thinking about disability and it’s definitely disappointing when you know they don’t see disabled people as human beings but rather “an inspiration” or “a metaphor”.

Some people are just Disabled!

[sochilll]

CHRIS CHAMBERS MY BELOVED

Chris Chambers from Stand by Me my fucking beloved. Who else is doing it like him? He’s a thief. He has a gun but he won’t use it. He loves his friends so much he gets distressed when they won’t make up with him after fights. He has dreams about not being able to save Teddy. He tried to give the milk money back. He was devastated by the fact that a teacher would take advantage of him. Everyone thinks he’s got no future and he’s a waste of space and he is still kind and loving and hopeful. He comforts his friends. He refuses to let Gordie waste his potential. He looked his best friend in the face and said, “Kids lose everything unless there’s someone there to look out for them. And if your parents are too fucked up to do it, then maybe I should.” He spent his whole life having people assume the worst of him, and he proved everyone wrong. Everyone thought he’d end up in a life of crime and he died trying to peacefully stop a violent conflict. I love him I love him I love him.

[angelshizuka]

A lot of people have pointed out this looks like a mataphor for Blitz being in an (emotional) cage.

I totally agree, but wanted to add to it. A cage is like a wall you can see through. Like, it's still something getting in the way, something you're stuck in or something you can't get inside of. But you can at least see what's going on at the other side.

I mean, Blitz's walls are slowly coming down and becoming more transparent, but all of it doesn't magically disappear overnight. If I making any sense...

[suiana]

"my beloved, if love was like canniballism i'd let you eat all of me until there was nothing left"

GIRL WHY DID THAT LINE KIND OF EAT??? YOU COOKED WITH THIS NGL...

canniballism as a mataphor for love ALWAYS devours

maybe i should write a canniballistic yan or canniballistic reader?

[cherubispunk]

NEPHILIM (series masterlist) - Jackson-era!Joel Miller x AFAB!Reader

summary: Joel Miller was something of a biblical figure to you. A small glimpse into the past of something archaic, untold, and harbouring on the dangerous. You liked to imagine him as one of the Nephilim. A son of god, offspring borne of a fallen angel and man. A giant of misunderstood nature. Who’s soul had been cast down on earth in punishment. His large hands had bloodshed on them, or so people had said. They whispered it quietly in the spaces between. The places he didn’t occupy often. But he was always on your mind…so there was no place for those whispers there.

a note from Lucy: biblical imagry, canibalism as a mataphor, animal imagry, joels stiff upper lip, mutual pining, two grown adults being bloody cowards!!! It's all fucking crack cocaine to me. So...enjoy two iditos in love. All parts are in chronological order.

playlist

NEPHILIM: BAMBI

w/c: 1563 | angst, fluff

summary: when does a human stop being regarded as a human…and, instead, seen as something different entirely?

Warnings: 18+ MDNI! no use of y/n but reader is referred to as ‘Bambi’, no physical description of reader apart from ‘long lashes’, brief descriptions of injury and blood, religious imagery, use of guns/ being taught to shoot, me not remembering how to shoot even though I was taught how to so there may be inaccuracies lolsies, Joel is a little bit of a dick but it’s only because he cares!

NEPHILIM

w/c: 2498 | angst, smut

summary: the disturbing comforts the disturbed.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI DARK CONTENT! no use of y/n, I tried to keep her body type as generic as possible but he might be slightly skinny coded so please let me know and I’ll change it in edits, reader is referred to as ‘Bambi’, verbally constipated Joel Miller, brief gore descriptions, heavy religious imagery and references to the bible, biblical lore, bombastic age gap!!! yahhhhh! (reader is in her 20’s/ Joel is in his late 50’s), smut, p in v sex, creampie, fingering, rough sex, possessive!joel, dom!joel/sub!reader dynamic, you know the drill with my writing, there’s probably some form of cannibalism as a metaphor, or brutal violence as a metaphor, religious imagery as a metaphor, etc. (aka, fancy word vomit)

NEPHILIM: THE FALLEN | POEM

wc: 2755 | angst, fluff?, smut

summary: fallen or damned? who's to tell when it's joel miller

Warnings: 18+ MDNI DARK CONTENT! no use of y/n, reader is referred to as ‘Bambi’, verbally constipated Joel Miller, brief gore descriptions, heavy religious imagery and references to the bible, biblical lore, yearning, idiots in love, angst angst angst!!!!!!, bombastic age gap!!! yahhhhh! (reader is in her 20’s/ Joel is in his late 50’s), smut, oral sex (m! receiving), rough oral sex, possessive!joel, dom!joel/sub!reader dynamic, you know the drill with my writing, there’s probably some form of cannibalism as a metaphor, or brutal violence as a metaphor, religious imagery as a metaphor, etc. (aka, fancy word vomit) - Lucy crying over a bloody google doc :)

[loafofryebread]

I was trying to think of a metaphor about being queer/lgbtq

I've talked to a lot of cishet people about being part of the lgbtq community and lots of them just Don't get it you know? (thats not to say all of them don't though!) So I was trying to think of some kind of mataphor for growing up being queer, especially in a community that is rather conservative and straight. This is only based on my personal experience and the experiences of other I know irl so it might not fit for everyone but I think it makes some sense.

Your whole life you have lived in a house. Inside that house there is fabric covering the walls. One day the fabric falls off, or you decide to take it off and underneath the walls are wooden.

At first you're excited but more time passes and you go to other peoples houses you notice they don't have wooden walls. Their houses all have plaster walls. Eventually you start to worry if they will think you weird for it, if there is something wrong with it. So you try and hide it when they come over.

Then one day the housing inspector comes. You show him the wooden walls and he tells you yes, there is something wrong. Houses aren't supposed to have wooden walls they're only supposed to be plaster. That you need to put the sheets back up, or better yet remove the walls and replace them entirely. But you cannot change the walls, they are a part of the house, essential to the foundation. Changing the walls would be to destroy the house entirely. So you cover the walls up with posters. You pin the sheets back over, hide them in a mess of colours and distractions. They do not want to be hidden though, it becomes a battle to hide them away from prying eyes.

But then one day you meet someone. And their house has wooden walls too. And someone else with stone walls. And all different kinds of people with different houses. You begin to realise that maybe it's ok for your house to be slightly different. It's still a house after all and a rather beautiful one at that.