#the name comes from the last name of the main character of the novel: Metamorphosis

[spicyicymeloncat]

Nightcord Kaito is actually my favourite virtual singer from project sekai. He’s so angry I love him. (I changed his hair to kinda resemble the character from the original Samsa mv)

[thesorcerersapprentice]

🌿  T H E    B I R T H D A Y   P A R T Y  🌿

It's Rupert Cromwell’s ninety-fifth birthday, and he’s throwing the party of a lifetime. The hors d’oeuvres are set, the guest list is red-carpet worthy, and the champagne is flowing, but what promises to be a fabulous evening among the rich and powerful soon turns into a nightmare with the arrival of an unexpected guest.

Genre: Psychological Drama/Horror. Length: Novel  POV: Third Person Limited, Past Tense. Setting: Contemporary Metropolis (NYC or London). Audience Rating: R for Mature Readers. Contains graphic depictions of violence, substance abuse, racism, homophobia, psychological and physical trauma, death, sexual content, and language some readers may find offensive. Status: Re-outlining.  Tag: #thebirthdayparty

🌿  C A S T

~ RUPERT  The Protagonist | 95/Cisgender Male ~ BEATRICE The Socialite | 80/Cisgender Female ~ ANGHARAD The Temporary Guest | 21/Cisgender Female (or nonbinary?) ~ PAUL The Actor | 65/Gender Unknown ~ MORE TO COME Various Guests | 

🌿  S T R U C T U R E 

The Birthday Party contains three overlapping narratives:

The story of a dinner party that goes hideously wrong. 

The main character’s semi-conscious account of the disintegration of their body/soul in its grave.

The main character’s metamorphosis into a mythical figure, the green man.

As the story progresses, the dominant narrative (1.) (and associated imagery) is substituted for (3.) (and related imagery). (2.) is how this substitution is made possible, and its imagery is present throughout. The transition from (1.) to (3.) is achieved over three main acts, which correspond to (and are named after) the three dinner courses to be served at the event. 

🌿 F O R M

The form of the writing itself must mimic Rupert’s Arc. ACT ONE should be the least poetic and employ the book's most extended, typical sentence structures. In this way, ACT ONE reflects the state of Rupert’s world at that point in time; conventional, coherent, and primarily logical. ACT THREE, on the other hand, should descend into pure poetry. 

🌿 T H E M E S   A N D   S Y M B O L S

The Birthday Party contains several overarching symbolic allusions:

The Last Supper: The story is reminiscent of the “Last Supper of Christ,” where Jesus is betrayed, executed, and finally resurrected. In much the same way, Rupert begins his tale at a celebratory dinner, passes through several unsavory trials at his guests' hands, faces his annihilation, and is ultimately transformed. Of course, in Rupert’s case, this transformation couldn’t be further from exultation.  ~ Author’s Note: I should probably preface this by saying that despite growing up among Catholics and protestants and never quite being able to shake myself free of the imagery I inherited from them, I am and have always been an atheist. I don’t believe this should restrict my writing.

The Green Man: “The Green Man is a decorative design with a human face. Leaves and stems twist around the features, usually originating from the mouth. He can leer, he can grin. Sometimes he looks as if he is screaming in pain. He usually looks down from a ceiling.” (Source) The Green Man, Rupert’s final form, symbolizes death and rebirth (at least in our modern lexicon). The book's final image is of an oak-man, a creature with a strawberry heart that inflates and deflates as it rhythmically ripens and decays, and with those rings on the back of butterfly wings for eyes.

In addition, I’ve included several minor symbols. These are supposed to act as tools for foreshadowing and intensifying the novel’s various thematic elements:

A Comet: The night of the dinner party coincides with the sighting of a comet, a great green light that blazes through the night sky before things fall apart (ACT ONE). Comets are portents of upheaval; they signal death, revolution, disaster, and sometimes (Christ) birth. 

The Egg: The menu for the evening will include an egg or poultry during at least one or perhaps all of the courses. In creation myths, the universe is hatched from an egg (incubated in an egg). Including both limits of the cycle (bird and egg) in the menu alludes to the cyclical nature of life and foreshadows Rupert’s transformation. 

The Round Table: The table at which Rupert and his guests will sit is round, like the legendary table at which King Arthur and his Knights would convene. The fact that the table has no head implies that all who sit there are equal. This is somewhat of a red herring. Rupert doesn’t believe anyone at the table is his equal. The shape is also reminiscent of an egg (see above).

Larger Themes:

The Birthday Party is an allegory for the divide between our grandparents’ generation and our own. It pits the hyper emphasis on individualism and environmental exploitation of the 20th century against the more community-orientated, climate-conscious focus of the 21st. Rupert, an archetypal representative of the former, is a man who has spent his life taking from others and from the world, with little to no thought given to the cost. His transformation into the green man, a hybrid between a human and a tree, condemns him to live in the world he has left behind, to suffer the consequences of his actions in a particularly vulnerable form. 

The transformation Rupert suffers is made possible by an act of consumption. The Birthday Party is a three-course meal. Rupert and his guests sit and eat, but Rupert is being consumed, literally (in his grave) and figuratively (in so much as his guests are consuming his celebrity.)

🌿 T A G L I S T : @the-finch-address @violetboy @winterninja-fr @fearofahumanplanet

[helenapsent]

Okay, I guess I'll just throw you some profiles of my novel characters... I still don't have the sprites ready, but I'll do them later (as soon as all my relatives get off my back, I guess)

Anyway, I'll start with one of them.

So, the 2nd main character in the story "Awaken God":

1) Name: Werner.

2) Last name: Richter.

3) Address: He/His.

4) Age: 28.

5) Gender: Male.

6) Orientation: Gay.

7) Voice: Dance My Darling - The Fairy Tale Has No Happy End

8) Birthday: 11/16/1218.

9) Zodiac sign: Scorpio.

10) Height: 6' 4" (quite small for his species)

11) Weight: 85 kg.

12) Blood type: IV

13) Race: Arachnids (spider-like people).

14) Character: Werner is a very good-natured and cheerful person, able to raise the spirits of those around him; he is quite responsive, can support the creature both in word and deed; at times he is very playful, due to which he starts flirting with almost everyone who appears in his sight; most often shows sympathy for children, loves to fumble with them; sometimes he is irascible and restless; occasionally shows aggression; always tries to be judicious and wise in relation to any matter.

15) Biography: From birth Werner lived on the border of Raspebertz with his parents and his grandfather Bernhard. When he was 5 years old, his parents went missing, at which point Bernhard decided to take over the upbringing of his grandson himself. Everything was going great as never before: the boy was growing and developing (both mentally and physically); in addition, he started growing spider's fangs on his palate, which caused the spider to drink the first potion he could find (it was "love") in order to somehow take away the pain in his mouth (of course, he succeeded, but, as they say, there's no smoke without fire: As he drank the entire vial of the love potion (which he absolutely should not have done), his body underwent a slight metamorphosis: three strands of hair (at his temples and across his head from forehead to occiput) turned purple-black, and his eyes only changed color to pink when he was in love/excited); soon made himself a small company consisting of an elf (Eley Gestalia), a demon (Acheron Infern), animal-like twin brothers (Tibo and Kibo Pomeran), and two human boys (Arthurro Wilhelm and Sarma Faber). They were all great with each other and liked to spend time in an abandoned, sooty shack, which was later converted into a "living base". In addition, they would sneak into jousting tournaments to watch the brave warriors fight one-on-one for the right to be considered the best of the royal knights and for the attention of a beautiful lady. Werner was struck by the superior swordsmanship of one of the fighters, a fame among all others and a nickname that every townsfolk knew. Ever since, the boy has been interested in martial arts and tried to emulate his idol, the "Black Knight". In addition, he began studying jewelry and at age 10 he got a job as an assistant to a local jeweler. He also discovered his talent as a dancer, so he began watching itinerant artists and taking dancing lessons from them. Soon after, Werner would meet the "Black Knight" (by chance) and have a little talk with him, after which the boy got into trouble: the "Black Knight" took advantage of his naivety to confide in him, took the poison from him and a few days later raped him, which sent Werner into a fever. Having barely recovered from what happened, the spiderwebby rethinks his relationship with the royal warrior, and so begins to treat the man with apprehension. So two years passed imperceptibly. During this time, Werner managed to learn how to look after babies, shoot a crossbow, make earrings brooches, develop his body sculpture to a good level and start giving demonstrations in the "World of Sweets" restaurant owned by his grandfather's friend, chef Igar Apsent. He also became close to the "Black Knight" again: he asked the younger Richter to come to his mansion and entertain him with his dancing; he also told him that the indecent gestures he had been making to Werner all this time were a direct expression of special attention and sympathy for him. And time went on and on. Spidey had turned 14, and he had grown noticeably taller and prettier. He thought everything All was well, but not until he learned that the "Black Knight" used it purely for personal purposes, and considered it nothing more than a toy for relaxation. From then on, Werner avoided the ruthless warrior and tried to stay out of his sight altogether. This went on for some time until the "Black Knight" was finally furious and decided to punish the boy properly: the man killed his parents in front of him and threatened that if he told anyone anything about their affair with him, he would end up dead as well. Scared to death, Werner ran away from the "Black Knight" far away (back home to his grandfather) and promised himself never to meet or exchange words with this awful man again, otherwise he would not escape a bad fate. Soon the little spider told his grandfather about what had happened, and the grandfather promised to protect him from all harm, no matter what. So slowly his life began to get better. Of course, he could not stop thinking about getting

revenge on the "Black Knight" for everything he had done to him, but he had no idea what to do, so he decided to postpone this move for later and develop himself. In the end he didn't have to wait long: the "Black Knight's" henchman, Sir Stuart, who was the exact opposite of him, gave the spider boy an idea by giving him a small poison vessel that looked like a locket for luck. Then Werner and his grandfather devised a plan of reprisal against the cruel warrior and, having carefully prepared and waited for the right moment, carried it out. Revenge was accomplished, everything ended well and the boy could finally begin to live in peace. A few more years passed. The elder Richter's health began to decline little by little, and Werner, fearing for his grandfather's life, decided to restore his strength with a healing potion. But since it had run out long ago, he had to make his way to the mall. He didn't have any money with him, so the little spider decided to sneak a potion from the counter, which he later paid for by cutting off his hand because it was illegal. So the boy had to return home with nothing. He was soon able to regenerate his arm (it was "grown back" with the help of the regeneration elixir), and at the place of the "stump" (in the wrist area) he got a peculiar mark similar to a tattoo of magical symbols, which covered his arm like a bracelet. Since then, the younger Richter promised himself that he would never act so recklessly again and would think carefully before doing anything. Soon his grandfather was gone and Werner had to learn to live on his own. At first it was quite difficult to get used to the new conditions but he soon adapted more or less and things got better. He gained the status of town minstrel, and also began to work as a house jeweler. In addition, he had to make periodic visits to Arthurro's castle, since he had recently become king and was in great need of his best friend's support at the moment. In addition, Werner began to take care of the neighbor's children, Helen and Leone, and experience with them many life-changing moments, such as realizing his place in the world, transition, the appearance of new "faces" in the family, rethinking his values, serious illness, the departure of a loved one and other "horrors". Everything was going quite smoothly, until one day Leon started to grow cursed flowers, mercilessly taking his vitality, and disappeared without a trace. Then Werner completely lost his taste for life and almost committed suicide. Fortunately, Helen prevented him from doing so and assured him that one day he would return. Two years had passed since then. During that time, many terrible things happened, some of which were the death of the missing boy's parents and the unfortunate duel of the cook girl. Richter never stopped hoping that his beloved child had found an antidote after all and was about to return home soon. Soon it did: little Leonid returned back to town, but as soon as he was about to return to his ordinary life, news of the events that had occurred in his absence reached him, and the boy instantly sank. Gradually Werner pulled the young guardsman out of his deep despair. He brought him to his senses and "set him on the right track," also promising that he would help him whenever he encountered great difficulties, to which Leone was unspeakably happy and grateful. This idyll lasted for several months, until one day Leonid brought an ancient book with ways to awaken the Dog of Paradise...

16) Likes: Leonid; young youths; teasing people; mushroom soup; sugarless bitter coffee; composing songs and entertaining people.

17) Dislikes: Lake eels; when they start harassing and touching without permission; pinking; stone statues; deliberate harm; off-handed insults.

18) Features: His tongue is 10.4 cm long; very good at crossbow shooting; can enchant others with his dancing and singing; can play the flute; knows several languages.

/Well, that's all :^)

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 15 of 26

Title: Tehanu (Earthsea Cycle #4) (1990)

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, Third-Person, Female Protagonist 

Rating: 8/10

Date Began: 6/24/2021

Date Finished: 6/30/2021

Decades after The Tombs of Atuan, Tenar decided to settle down and live an ordinary life on the shepherding Isle of Gont. Now a farmer’s widow, she adopts a disfigured and horrifically abused child, who she names Therru. When a giant dragon deposits a grief-stricken Ged at her doorstep, Tenar finds herself in a strange situation as she cares for her old friend and her adopted daughter. But threats from Therru’s past and a malevolent force on the island soon threaten Tenar’s small family. 

Despair speaks evenly, in a quiet voice.

Content warnings and spoilers below the cut.

Content warnings for the book: Violence and death. Mentioned murder. Severe child abuse. Descriptions of traumatic injury and disfigurement. Mentions of r*pe, including of children. Trauma, sexism, and ableism are explored in depth. 

Tehanu is a much different book than the trilogy that precedes it. Perhaps this is unsurprising, considering the 17-year gap between this book and The Farthest Shore. I’d describe the Earthsea series as “grounded fantasy”. While all of them take place in a magical world, the thesis of each book is universal; the fantasy always comes second. Tehanu takes this idea to an extreme. The story is about everyday life as a common woman in the Earthsea world, with fantasy barely factoring in. The pacing is intentionally slow and introspective, which is something I normally don’t like, but Le Guin is a consistent exception. 

Key characters from the previous books make an appearance. Obviously Tenar is the biggest return, absent since The Tombs of Atuan. The Tenar in this book is older and much more mature, having decided to live a simple life in spite of her adventures and accomplishments. Ged returns, but he’s a shell of his former self, as he mourns the loss of his magic and the man he used to be. Even King Lebannen (formerly Arren, the main character of The Farthest Shore) makes a brief appearance, and is quite a palate cleanser after the horrible men throughout the rest of the book.  

Probably my favorite aspect of the novel is the fact that these characters stand well on their own without magic to prop them up. Tenar explored the terrifying freedom she won in The Tombs of Atuan; got married, settled down, had kids — but still finds herself at a loss on what to do with her life after her husband dies. Ged is in a similar boat; he’s gone from an almost mythic character to an ordinary man, and like Tenar finds himself at a crossroads in life. Other characters embody this idea of transformation and uncertainty; Therru’s escaped her abusers and now has a loving mother, but what does the future hold for someone with her appearance? Stuff like that. 

The idea of metamorphosis and new beginnings is well-trodden. But what makes Tehanu interesting is Le Guin primarily examines this with the middle-aged characters. Tenar and Ged are legendary figures in the world of Earthsea, but life has taken them to an uncertain future. The thrust of the novel lies in finding a purpose and becoming someone new. I also like that Tenar/Ged is endgame; I got Vibes from The Tombs of Atuan, but neither character was in a position where it would work. Seeing them form a romantic relationship much later in life is touching and cute. But it’s not the reason that either of them grow as people; finding one’s purpose is something one has to do on their own. Their relationship only develops once both parties have done so.   

My main complaint about A Wizard of Earthsea, the first book, is the sexism inherent in the setting, which is never examined below the surface level. Perhaps Le Guin’s outlook changed, or perhaps the publishing environment did, because often Tehanu reads like a response to this criticism. The central theme of the book is misogyny, the patriarchy, and its debilitating effects on women. Le Guin examines everything from micro-aggressions (“common wisdom” that happens to paint women as inferior) to domestic issues (“women’s work” and how much that actually is) to outright sexual assault (both in threats and actual acts; it is heavily implied this is part of the abuse Therru endured). She even goes into how powerful women are only considered as such because a man gave them that power. 

While I appreciate the fact she addresses these issues in such a frank, blatant way, at times reading Tehanu felt like reading a basic feminism primer. These subjects are all things I’m familiar with, and I feel like anyone who’s studied key feminist ideas would be aware of them also. Maybe 1990 was different? Le Guin doesn’t add any insights to the bleak reality of patriarchy and sexism, which is a little disappointing compared to previous books. That being said, this book is aimed at young adults despite its dark subject matter. Tehanu could be the first exposure to these ideas that many children receive; looking at it that way, it makes sense that the analysis comes off as basic. 

I also found the book’s examination of gender to be very cishet-normative. That’s definitely not surprising, considering the book was published in 1990, but to a 2021 reader this hasn’t aged super well. There’s a lot of discussion about the relationships and differences between men and women--whether there are any or not, how magic differs between them, the ability to bear children, and so on. There’s a weird sexual component to this, like how wizards (who are exclusively men) have to remain celibate in order to… keep being wizards? But women who are witches don’t have to do that, and that’s an advantage women have? (There’s mentions of male witches too, iirc, but it’s not expanded upon— do they have to remain celibate? Who knows.). I found this whole bit pretty odd and unnecessary, although I realize a lot of my perspective on the matter comes from a modern view of sex and gender (and, y’know, being trans). Not all the gender takes in the book are bad, but they are limited. 

I found Le Guin’s exploration of trauma and ableism through Therru to be more interesting. There’s a lot of examination about how society treats Therru, a survivor of unspeakable abuse. Her trauma is visible due to severe burns along part of her body, leaving her with a missing eye and disfigured hand. Tenar spends much of the novel wondering what future Therru has; no matter how capable she is and how much she acts like any other little girl, strangers gawk at her, or assume she “deserved” what happened to her. Therru becomes happier and more independent over the course of the novel, but relapses into a traumatized state when she encounters one of her abusers. As a survivor, it’s heartbreaking and distressingly realistic. As much as I like Tenar, I almost wish the novel was from Therru’s perspective (other than the brief jump at the end), but I realize it would spoil the ending.  

I’m torn on the ending because, while I thought it was cool and had some interesting revelations, it’s a jarring tonal shift. As I mentioned, Tehanu is a slow novel with a heavy focus on everyday life, and the trials and tribulations both Tenar and Therru experience. There’s even a climactic event a few chapters before the end; the only thing left is a persistent loose thread from earlier in the novel. That subplot explodes to the forefront a bare chapter and a half before the end of the book, and a lot of action-y fantasy stuff happens. It doesn’t come out of nowhere; it’s set up throughout the novel, but it is sudden. 

That being said, I do like that the subplot with dragons vs humans is hinted at as early as The Tombs of Atuan. When Tenar tells the legend about the origin of dragons early in the story, my mind immediately went to that one room from the Labyrinth with the sad winged humanoids painted on its walls. I’m curious if there are hints elsewhere in the series. I also figured out Therru’s true name and how she relates to that subplot based on context clues. While it’s not a shocking twist, it is a satisfying one. Though parts of it gave me a “magical destiny” vibe which is counter to much of the series so far; I do wonder how the last two books will address this. (Also… did Le Guin imply Kalessin is Segoy? AKA God? What did she mean by this. So Ged literally like… hitched a ride from God, who promptly yeeted out of the story until the end? That’s kind of funny. Maybe I misinterpreted something.) 

I probably sound critical of this book, but I did genuinely enjoy it. It just didn’t speak to me the way the previous two did. The next book is a short story collection before the conclusion to the series, so we’ll see where it goes! Tehanu set some stuff up that I expect will be expanded upon in these volumes.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 6/20/21

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 12 | By Matoba | Yen Press – When you have a main couple as innocent and naive as this one, it’s going to take a lot of struggle to get them together. Indeed, even figuring out what love actually is is tough for Miss Beelzebub, much less that she’s in love with Mullin. And then, just as she’s ready to tell Mullin how she feels, he’s seized by self-hatred and doubt, thinking she’s far too high a station for him. This leads to her being depressed and avoiding him, which… repeat as needed. Thankfully, they do eventually manage to confess to each other. The series may not end with the wedding on the cover, but this is good enough. It was sickly sweet at times… but that’s why everyone read this series in the first place. – Sean Gaffney

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 4 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – While the series is based around the premise of a teenage girl and an elderly woman bonding over BL, it’s become apparent that this is Urara’s book. Which makes sense—she’s the one searching for a goal. The creation of the doujinshi is very much an up-and-down process, one which we see throughout this volume. It ends at “Comitia 128,” with our unlikely friends manning their own booth. Sadly, said booth—at least so far—has no actual buyers. Honestly, I would have hoped the sheer oddity of the pairing behind the table would have been a draw, but I suppose it’s hard to look beyond the tables. I think this ends with the next book, so it’s time to binge before the finale. – Sean Gaffney

Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry, Vol. 1 | By Kou Yatsuhashi | TOKYOPOP – This seems to be a classic case where I’m really intrigued by the ideas this brings to the table, but the execution is not as stellar. A young woman has it all—powerful magic, her isekai’d-from-Japan boyfriend, and a kingdom who loves her—then it’s all destroyed and she’s killed. When she wakes, she’s in the body of a noble far into her future. Magic is a sad shadow of its former self, and she herself is, essentially, a villainess. Most of the book, unfortunately, then sort of slips into standard shoujo romance, but I like the idea that she doesn’t HAVE any memories of her current self, and has to fake it and deal with everyone’s hatred. I might check out the second volume. – Sean Gaffney

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 12 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – It amazes me how this book can still be so funny even after all this time, and I credit this to its central premise, which is that everyone in it is a complete dumbass—but never all at the same time. It’s a comedy rule; there has to be someone to react. Sometimes it’s Sakura, despairing about a relay novel that gets out of hand. Sometimes it’s everyone else in the cast watching the continuing car crash that is Seo trying to get Wakamatsu to recognize her feelings. And sometimes it’s Hori and Kashima, where his confession turns out to be, perhaps appropriately, a giant excuse for drama. These kids are all terrible at life, and are all so endearing, I don’t know what I’ll ever do without them if this ever ends. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 13 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s good for you! Builds character! That’s what it feels like most of the first part of this volume feels like, as Shirayuki is off to the North, meaning she and Zen will be spending a long time apart. That said, it’s as much about their little group of five than it is about the couple, as it’s clear Shirayuki is going to miss Mitsuhide and Kiki just as much. And as for Obi… well, the love triangle that dares not state its name comes pretty close this time around. (It’s a well-known fact that a majority of the series’ fans, at least in the West, want her to hook up with Obi instead, so the plot twist is not surprising.) All this plus a long, unrelated short story to pad out the volume! Still great, though. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 5 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – A large chunk of this book focuses on Anya and her difficulties at school—not only is it an elite private school, but she’s a girl who spent her life as an orphan, experimented on and abused, and she’s lied to Loid about her age to seem older. So, needless to say, schoolwork is proving tough. Normally she can get by by using her powers (i.e. cheating), but that doesn’t work during the new moon—which matches with exams. It’s tense, but also leaves us plenty of choice hilarious bits. Elsewhere, Yor attempts to learn to cook, and we introduce a colleague of Loid’s who is obsessed with him and VERY upset she was not chosen to be his fake wife for this mission. Everyone should be reading this Eisner-nominated manga. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 11 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – One of the reasons that folks seem to be more tolerant of Takagi than they are of Nagatoro or Uzaki is that, for the most part, Nishikata enjoys hanging out with her, and while he finds the teasing frustrating, it’s not because she’s bullying him, it’s because he’s so competitive. Half the time Takagi doesn’t even need to tease him—he shoots himself in his own foot. Even when he literally ends up fanning her like a queen, it’s on him. And, once again, the fun comes from realizing they already ARE a couple, it’s just he can’t really admit that. The most interesting chapter has one of their friends briefly ponder using Nishikata as a fake boyfriend, but it doesn’t even last long enough for Takagi to ponder jealousy. – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 15 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical Comics – The back cover blurb for this volume says, “A hard-working middle-aged gay couple in Tokyo experience new challenges both at work and at home.” Really, that about sums it up. Kenji has taken over management of the beauty salon and must figure out how to delegate some of his new responsibilities so that he’s still able to have dinners at home with Shiro. Most of Shiro’s story is about his parents, who are considering selling their house and moving into a retirement home. In between, there is some shopping for ingredients, a lot of veggies getting chopped, many burbling pots, and incalculable TBSP of soy sauce. Oh, and also everyone tries not to eat too many carbs, which is extremely relatable. I’m particularly keen for the next volume, as Shiro will be meeting Kenji’s family for the first time. Good, as per usual. – Michelle Smith

By: Sean Gaffney

[zipegs]

i’ve been toying around with the idea of posting a fic rec list for a while, and finally decided that if i do, it might be nice to focus on newer and/or underrated fics in the fandom! some of my absolute favorites are on this list, and i highly suggest checking them out (and leaving the lovely authors some comments and kudos!)

this got pretty long, but it’s organized alphabetically by ship name (including gen) and then by length inside each ship!

blanky/little

Trysails by saltstreets  /  2k, t

“I know I can’t do much,” Blanky said, “but you can always talk to me. If you’re so inclined.”

A (very late!) offering for Tender Tuesday, "a friend in need".

okay!!!!!! okay!!!!! hear me out on this one!! this fic is wonderful. i’m a sucker for fics dealing with edward’s suffering during the worst of crozier’s captaincy, and this one is so good. blanky is so wonderful in this; i feel like his tender, kind side frequently gets overlooked in favor of his bigger, bolder attributes, and this fic truly delivers on everything i’ve been missing! it’s really gentle and sweet and i urge you to give it a read!!!!

bridglar

in the low lamplight by stelleri  /  338, g

It’s endless freezing rain outside, but the house is comfortably warm.

short and sweet! a really lovely little slice-of-life modern au

state of grace by aes3plex  /  860, m

He doesn’t mean to see it. He never does.

bridglar may be the most featured pairing, but this is told from irving’s pov and also contains irving/little and references to hickey/gibson. really sad, conflicted little peek into irving’s mind (and some nice, soft bridglar as well!)

passer iagoensis by greenery  /  3k, g

Night falls on the Beagle and Henry Peglar has just finished reading his very first novel.

Set in 1832.

this piece is so good!! it has some really beautiful (sad) foreshadowing of the franklin expedition, and is just... so soft, with some wonderful romantic tension!! and it’s funny! darwin and fitzroy are wonderful in this, and i’m always here for fic that deals with peglar learning to read (which this does!!!).

cracroft/crozier

the beggar’s opera by pyotr  /  990, e

for all of his usual anger and surliness it was almost fun to fluster francis, to rile him where he could not retaliate. sophia had spent all her life under the thumb of some man or another; she loved francis in part because she always had the upper hand.

sophia is my queen and that’s all i’ll say about that. seriously though, this piece is just... *chef’s kiss*

fitzconte

A Cheetah Never Changes His Spots by onstraysod  /  1.2k, m

Being the particular friend of James Fitzjames has its drawbacks, as Henry Le Vesconte learns during the expedition's first carnivale. But it also has its advantages, as Henry learns once the carnivale is over.

Written for Day 1 (A Special Disguise) of the 12 Days of Carnivale.

on beechey island, fitzjames reveals clio’s cheetah to the men. or... something like it! this piece is really a blast; fitzjames is in rare form, francis is glaring form the sidelines, and le vesconte is an absolute champ. and the ending is wonderfully witty and racy!

fitzier

wake me up, wake me up my darling by norvegiae  /  1.4k, g  /  mcd

James Fitzjames feels like a new man.

The old James Fitzjames lies on the cot in front of him, cradled by the man he wishes he could have had more time with.

set during 1.09, this fic is a really poignant, heartwrenching piece in which james comes to terms with the reality of his death, and of his life, as he watches francis grieve. very sad, and wonderfully written!

what the stars give us by WetSammyWinchester  /  1.7k, t  /  implied death

"They may know space, James, but you know what it means to truly fly."

70s scifi (space program!!!) au. really great translation of the terror; the mood in this is so good!!! and the little flashbacks are fantastic. it’s pretty sad, but it hurts in a good way.

fitzrossier

Take Your Turn, Take A Ride by courfairyac  /  7.5k, e

Francis agrees to accompany his friend to a masquerade, and stumbles onto something quite unexpected.

In short: Festivities! Voyeurism! James in a dress!

listen... fitzrossier is my new weakness, and this is a really fun, hot, canon-universe (pre-expedition) au.

gen

salvation by scribomania  /  250, t

The Concordia brings them survival, but not salvation.

featuring hodgson and little, and jopson. for a survival au, this little piece hurts!!! it’s so short, but it packs a punch. really, really good.

but no one remembers yet by disastermovie  / 885, t

“From the mutilated state of many of the corpses and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last resource—cannibalism—as a means of prolonging existence.”

—excerpt from Dr. John Rae’s report on the fate of the Franklin Expedition to the Secretary of the Admiralty (written from Repulse Bay on July 29, 1854)

sad little epilogue concerning sophia and lady jane dealing with their grief

the weary world rejoices by disastermovie  /  1.3k, t

Fitzjames goes to his first Christmas party after the survivors are rescued. It doesn't go well.

this!!!! fic!!! i can’t even do it justice, it’s just so good. the slow build of james’s panic, the caroling and gaiety as a backdrop... it’s just so painful in the best way. i’m incoherent; pls just read it,

la belle dame sans merci by drowninglovers  /  1.7k, g

Nobody is quite sure who the first one to start making her clothing is, but one day she scampers over the shoulders of the ABs as they line up for lunch wearing a tiny shirt to match her pants. It’s nothing special, no fancy detail, navy blue like most everything else they wear. Whoever made it must have cared a great deal, to make sure it fit her perfectly.

this is incredibly fun!!! just some good, wholesome fic about boys dressing up their favorite lady. 10000/10 would recommend.

Come Here, Fellow Servant by whipstitch  /  1.9k, t

The sea is dangerous, but so too is the open sky. And in that case, Cornelius determines, a friend is an unexpected boon.

okay, i made a rule that i wasn’t going to include wips on this rec list,  but i had to put this guy on here. it could be read as a stand-alone, actually, which is what i used to convince myself to include it. peglar realizes that hickey has no fucking idea what he’s doing, and tries to help him, kind, caring sweetheart that he is. this is a really, really nice little piece—i love everything about it.

lie alone by greenery  /  2k, g

He turns the page. And maybe this is it. Maybe writing a letter to young Tom Hartnell is reason enough to leave the berth.

really nice oneshot featuring two good boys (hodgson & hartnell) and their wholesome status as pen pals

the crooked kind by darrenjolras  /  2.3k, m  /  non-consensual voyeurism

“You and I, Jopson,” Hickey says, and Jopson startles at those words alone, turns an affronted gaze his way. Hickey bathes in the glacial blue of it. Like being thrown overboard. “You and I aren’t so different, you know.”

Based on that Hickey/Jopson scene. You know the one.

the terror bingo fill: court martial

not totally gen, but also not really hickey/jopson? twisted, but very much in character; hickey is his delightful self in this, and his verbal sparring with jopson is very well done and quite fun to read!

gibson/hickey

Touch Her Not Scornfully by skazka  /  2k, e

Stolen moments down below.

this fic is just... really fucking good!!! it’s a fantastic look at the very early days of gibson & hickey’s relationship, and an intriguing little venture into billy’s head.

goodsir/mcdonald

And That is How it Starts by Intrepid_Inkweaver  /  1.2k, g

It starts with a handshake and a warm smile at their introduction at Greenhithe.

a really sweet, lovely canon-divergent piece. written in 2nd person pov. these two are just such a good, wholesome pairing and this fic really does them justice!!

hartving

let loss reveal it by disastermovie  /  1.6k, t  /  mcd

Tom could never quite see himself taking a wife.

this shit fucking hurts!!!!!!! it’s a beautiful glimpse at irving & hartnell’s relationship, told through hartnell’s introspection, and is written really, really well. also did i mention that it fucking hurts???

Lookout Blues by ClockworkCourier  /  2.1k, g

John and Tom Hartnell talk about the future while they wait on a new shipment.

hello??? 1920s au??????? the world-building is so tangible in this, even in such a relatively short piece. it’s a really lovely little conversation between the brothers, and i absolutely loved their little discussion of irving.

we’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet by drowninglovers  /  6.3k, g

If this is to be the last time they interact (and it likely will), Tom wants it to be memorable.

survival au survival au!! tartnell runs into irving at john’s grave, and convinces him to stay with his family until new year’s. it’s kind of bittersweet, with some really great flashbacks (and discussions of said scenes!), and oh man is it soft!! just! really beautiful and tender, and the ending is just so cute!!!!!

hodgson/hickey

the chaos moves by itself by bluebacchus  /  1.3k, e  /  violence, mcd

Hodgson's mind cracks and the heavens flow in.

(Written for Day 7 of Halloween TerrorFest: A disquieting metamorphosis and posted separately because I don't want to taint my main post with borderline vore)

fair warning... this fic is fucked up, but in the best possible way! the religious imagery!!!! the philosophy!!!! just!! god.

hodgson/little

Allegro, B Flat Major by whalersandsailors  /  5.3k, g

George is freshly moved from his childhood home, ready to tackle the school year and his newfound independence all at once.

Too bad he's lonely, miserable, and homesick.

He turns to music when adulthood becomes unbearable, and when someone knocks at his door and leaves an anonymous note, George discovers another music lover not too far away.

have i mentioned i love george hodgson? because i love george hodgson. this fic is a beautiful modern au featuring our own georgie playing his way through his feelings (literally). the buildup to the reveal of george’s secret admirer is wonderful, and had me rooting for them from the start! really sweet, stunning fic for a pairing i’d never considered before!

joplittle

get out of the wind by Cicadaemon  /  1.6k, e

Edward Little is smitten with a certain bartender.

modern au. really lovely, wholesome, and happy; just what these boys deserve!

The Thylacine by Gigi_Sinclair  / 1.7k, t 

"Thylacines. That's what Sophia called them, all those years ago in Van Diemen's Land. Dogs with tiger stripes, cats with pouches. They stretch their jaws at him, as Francis struggles to sit. The movement makes his head spin. He pushes the discomfort aside. He has no time to entertain it; he must escape."

also features cracroft/crozier. this is a really clever, funny piece set during francis’s withdrawal; poor francis is a bit muddled in the throes of his fever, and gets caught up in a memory from van diemen’s land. i absolutely loved little and jopson’s reactions in this, and especially jopson and crozier’s conversation the next morning.

Prelude in D Major by scribomania  /  2.7k, t

Hodgson is very fond of the musical apparatus in Terror's great cabin; Edward is not.

For the Terror Bingo square "denial".

i’m a big big lover of terror lieutenant nonsense, and this fic absolutely delivers! just absolutely delightful.

When the Lights Go On Again by Gigi_Sinclair  /  4.1k, t

"Edward Little's ancestors were Naval officers, almost to a man. Nevertheless, from a young age, Edward's eyes turned to the sky rather than the sea.

He longed to fly, as high and as frequently as possible. In the Royal Air Force, he got his wish. He was happy there, thriving, rising in the ranks apace and doing what he always wanted to do. Then came the first of September, 1939."

wwii au. edward is a squadron leader in the royal air force, and jopson is a corporal working for group captain crozier. i’m weak for wwi and wwii aus to begin with, and this one is done beautifully. while it doesn’t hand-wave the trauma and heartbreak of war, it doesn’t hit you over the head with it either, and the result is a really soft, bittersweet, hopeful piece.

lozer

a lily for my love by whalersandsailors  /  3.7k, m

Solomon never thought that soul-signs were real, and the stories he heard about them made soulmates sound more like a prison sentence than any fairy tale romance. It is not until he finds a soul-sign on the skin of a very dear friend that he realizes their importance, as well as their undoing.

this piece is!!! beautiful!!! very poignant, and really had me feeling for solomon. i love what’s been done with the soulmark conceit—it’s not just a simple “we have soulmarks, we’re soulmates!!!’ au (which i’ll admit to enjoying too), but a really thoughtful take on the trope. the slow way tozer puzzles everything out is wonderful, and i love the glimpses we get into several of his friendships & relationships. 

morfin/weekes

to help you remember by whalersandsailors  /  1.2k, g

An anniversary, during which Weekes presents Morfin with a gift, and Morfin struggles to remember why.

do you ever just get clotheslined by a pairing you’d never even considered before? because that’s what this fic did to me

[nyxshadowhawk]

Nyx’s Complete List of Goth Names

Abaddon: From Greek, means "destruction" or "demon of the pit."

Acheron: The River of Woe in the Greek underworld.

Achlys: Greek primordial goddess of poison, misery, and sadness, personification of the death-mist.

Adonis: Means "lord" (as in Adonai). In Greek mythology, the most beautiful youth in the world, loved by both Persephone and Aphrodite. Died tragically.

Adrian/Adrienne: English, from Latin; means "from Hadria" (the Adriatic Sea). I've heard sources saying it means "dark one," but I haven't been able to confirm this. It's still a really cool, kind of gothy name. (Also the real name of Alucard from Castlevania.)

Ahriman: The Zoroastrian devil/evil god.

Akeldama: Means "field of blood," a place in Jerusalem associated with Judas.

Alastor: Greek, means "avenging spirit."

Alcmene: (Female) Means "might of the moon," Heracles' mother in mythology.

Alecto: One of the Erinyes (Furies), the goddesses of vengeance. Means "unceasing."

Altair: The brightest star in the constellation Aquila (the Eagle), from Arabic, meaning "the bird."

Amaranth: (Female) Greek; a mythical purple flower that never fades, a symbol of immortality.

Amethyst: A dark purple crystal, associated with wine and preventing drunkenness.

Andromeda: Greek, means "thinks like a man," the name of a princess in mythology, a constellation, and a galaxy.

Anubis: Jackal-headed Egyptian god of death and embalming.

Arcana: From Latin "hidden, secret" (literally "to shut in a chest"), refers to secrets or mysteries. Also refers to the groups of cards in a tarot deck (the major and minor arcana).

Arianrhod: Means "silver wheel," Welsh goddess of the moon, stars, and the flow of time.

Artemis/Diana: Greco-Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and virginity

Asmodeus: Means "wrath-demon," a Goetic demon appearing in a number of texts, representing luxury, sensuality, and lust. (Also Asmodai)

Asphodel: A white flower planted on graves, said to grow in the Greek underworld, and therefore heavily connected with death.

Astaroth: (Unisex) A demon in the Ars Goetia (from the Lesser Key of Solomon), described as a male demon and a Duke of Hell, but the name likely comes from the Phoenician goddess Astarte (or Ashtoreth), who is a version of Ishtar (Babylonian) and Inanna (Sumerian).

Astor: A French and German name from Occitan, meaning "goshawk." A goshawk is a bird of prey. I've read on naming sites that this name was originally a derogatory term for young men with hawk-like, predatory characteristics, but I haven't found anything to confirm this. This is the name of my alter-ego and one of the main protagonists of Shadowbook.

Astra/Astrid/Asteria: From Greek, "star." In Greek mythology, Asteria was a Titaness of astrology and prophecy, the mother of Hecate. An aster is also a star-shaped flower.

Atropos: The last of the Moirai (Fates), who cuts the thread at the end of life.

Autumn: The darkening part of the year, when everything is dying, and Halloween happens.

Azrael: The name of the Angel of Death, means "whom god helps." (Also Asriel)

Azazel: A Watcher's name, means "scapegoat." Taught humanity the arts of weaponry and cosmetics. Commonly associated with demons and evil.

Baphomet: A goat-headed, winged deity associated with Satanism; obscure etymology.

Bastet: Egyptian goddess of cats.

Belial: A Hebrew name meaning "worthless," a name of the devil or a demon.

Belladonna: Also called "deadly nightshade," an extremely poisonous plant that causes hallucinations and death.

Bellona: Roman goddess of war

Bezaliel: Means "shadow of God" or "damaged," a Watcher's name.

Blodeuwedd: Pronounced "bluh-DIE-weth," means "flower-face." A Welsh goddess who was turned into an owl.

Bram/Brom: Technically short for Abraham ("father of a multitude"), the author of Dracula, Abraham "Bram" Stoker.

Bran: Welsh, "raven." The name of Bran the Blessed, a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology.

Branwen: (Female) Welsh, means "white raven" or "fair raven."

Breksta: Lithuanian goddess of night, dreams, and twilight.

Caligo: Latin word for “mist,” “gloom,” and “darkness.” (Calignes is the plural, which could also work) (feminine)

Calypso: Greek, "she who conceals." The nymph who kept Odysseus imprisoned on her island.

Carmilla: A lesbian vampire from the gothic novel of the same name, predating Dracula. The name seems to have been invented by the author.

Cassius: Roman, "empty, hollow."

Ceridwen: Welsh enchantress or goddess who stirs the cauldron of poetic inspiration.

Cernunnos: Celtic forest god depicted as having a stag's antlers.

Chiroptera: Literally means "hand wing," the order of bats in taxonomy.

Circe: Means "circle." In Greek mythology, a sorceress who turned Odysseus' men into pigs (and later helped them).

Cora: From the Greek name Kore, meaning "maiden." A name for Persephone. (Also, Coraline.)

Cornix: A princess transformed into a crow by Athena in Ovid's Metamorphosis.

Corvus/Corax: Corvus corax is the scientific name of the common raven.

Crimson: Dark, rich red, the color of wine or blood. One of the Gothiest colors that isn't black. It's very easy for this to sound banal or cringey, especially if it's a character's given name, so use with caution. Scarlet works, too, if you want something easier to use as a given name.

Damian: From Greek, means "to tame," tends to be associated with demons or vampires, a bit cliche at this point.

Dantalion: A Goetic demon, the name is particularly cool.

Desdemona: A tragic character in Othello, comes from Greek and means "ill-fated." Can be shortened to "Mona."

Desmodus: The genus of common vampire bats. (D. rotundus)

Devana: Slavic version of Artemis/Diana, goddess of the hunt.

Dorian: The corrupt, depraved, nearly immortal and astonishingly beautiful protagonist from The Picture of Dorian Gray. (Turns out Oscar Wilde invented the name; it did not exist before the book was written.)

Dracul: Romanian, "devil" or "dragon." What really needs to be said?

Ebony: A very dark wood.

Echo: In Greek mythology, a nymph who was cursed so she would only repeat the names of others; died while pining after Narcissus.

Edgar: Anglo-Saxon, "rich spear." The name of the one and only Edgar Allen Poe (also, my cat).

Eidolon: A type of spirit or ghost in Greek liteature. Also a genus of bats.

Eirlys: Welsh, "snowflake."

Elatha: An Irish god, described as the "beautiful Miltonic prince of darkness with golden hair." Not sure what the source for that is, but cool!

Elvira: Spanish, means "foreign true," a stereotypical Goth name (and the name of the Mistress of the Dark!). Actually, I first ran across the name in reference to a vengeful ghost called Elvira Blood in New England folk legend. Spooky!

Empusa: A kind of Greek female demon (similar to Lamia) that served Hecate.

Endora: Comes from the Witch of Endor, a Biblical sorceress.

Endymion: In Greek mythology, a handsome shepherd whom Selene fell in love with. Zeus granted him eternal sleep so he would never age. Means "to dive, to enter."

Erebus: Greek primordial god and personification of darkness.

Esmeralda: Spanish name meaning "emerald." (Also, the heroine in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)

Ethelinda: Anglo-Saxon, means "little serpent."

Euryale: Greek, means "far-roming," the middle Gorgon sister.

Eurynomos: Greek chthonic spirit of corpses.

Eventide: It could work as a name.

Fenrir: A wolf demon in Norse mythology, the son of Loki.

Finvarra: Irish, King of the Fairies (and sometimes King of the Dead), a benevolent entity that ensures a good harvest and abundance.

Gabriel: The angel. Means "warrior of god." Gabrielle also works (and is the name of Lestat's mother).

Gehenna: A Hebrew name for Tartarus or Hell.

Golgotha: From Hebrew, "skull," the place where Jesus was crucified.

Grimm: The surname of two German brothers who recorded a classic collection of oral folklore and fairy tales, many of which are very... well, grim.

Habundia: A Celtic name for the queen of witches and night creatures, possibly another name for Nicnevan. Etymology uncertain.

Hades: The Lord of the Underworld in Greek mythology (also the name of the Underworld itself).

Hawthorn: A type of shrub steeped in folklore, associated with fairies and with Beltane (1st May).

Hecate: Greek goddess of witchcraft, magic, the occult, the moon, necromancy, the Underworld, and the crossroads. Means "worker from far off."

Hellebore: A type of evergreen flower, some species of which are poisonous. Believed to summon demons, also believed to cure madness.

Hemlock: A plant used to poison people.

Herne: "the Hunter," a ghost that haunts Windsor Forest (sometimes identified with The Horned God).

Hesperos/ia: The evening star.

Hypnos: The Greek god of sleep.

Iblis: Satan in Islamic lore.

Idris: Welsh, "ardent (passionate, fiery) lord."

Igor: Russian, "bow-warrior." Became famous as the name of Frankenstein's hunchbacked assistant, even though he doesn't exist in the book and his name in the original Universal film was Fritz.

Ingram: Swedish name meaning "Ing's raven."

Iolanthe: Greek, means "violet flower." (eye-oh-LAHN-thay)

Iseult/Isolde/Isolt: A tragic lover in Arthurian legend.

Jasmine: A type of flower, in this case referring to Cestrum nocturnum, or night-blooming jasmine.

Kali: Hindu goddess of destruction, name means "the black one."

Kasdaye: Means "hidden power," the name of a Watcher (another name for Tamiel). (Unisex)

Kiara/n: Gaelic, means "little black one."

Kimaris: A Goetic demon. (Male)

Kokabiel: Means "angel of the stars," a Watcher.

Lacrimae: Latin word for tears.

Lamia: A female demon in Greek folklore who devours children. The name of the witch in the film version of Stardust.

Lenore: A variant of Eleanor (also a good name), means "foreign," the lost love of the protagonist of "The Raven," also has her own poem.

Leshii: A Russian god of hunting, similar to Veles

Lethe: River of Forgetfulness in the Greek Underworld.

Leviathan: From Hebrew, "twisted in folds," a Biblical sea monster. Sometimes associated with Midgard's Serpent.

Libitina: A Roman goddess of corpses, funerals, and the dead.

Ligeia: Greek, the name of a Siren, also the subject of a Poe story of the same name.

Lilah: Comes from the Arabic Leila, meaning "night."

Lilith: Means "of the night" or "screech owl." In Hebrew mythology, Adam's first wife and the Queen of Demons. She refused to submit to Adam, so she left Eden and began screwing around with demons. Often considered a succubus or vampire, or a champion of feminism. A lilim is also a succubus or incubus.

Loki: Trickster god in Norse mythology with ambiguous morals.

Lorelei: German, means "murmuring rock," the name of a German Siren.

Lucius/Lucifer/Lucien: All mean "light" or "light-bringer," a name associated with Satan.

Lucy: From Dracula, also could be a shortening/feminization of Lucifer. (Still means "light.")

Luna: The Roman personification of the moon.

Lycoris: A Greek word that means "twilight," the name of an Asian red flower, associated with death and the underworld (much like Asphodel).

Maeve: Comes from Gaelic, means "the intoxicating one." Associated with the Fairy Queen Mab.

Makaria: Greek goddess of blessed death, a daughter of Hades and Persephone.

Mania: Etruscan/Roman goddess of the undead, ghosts, and underworld spirits, goddess of madness. Also a modern medical term referring to a specific mental illness.

Mara: A name steeped in darkness, referring to a nightmare spirit (nightmare), a (benevolent) goddess of death in Latvian mythology, a (male) demon in Buddhist mythology, and a Sanskrit word meaning "death."

Medea: In Greek mythology, the sorceress who helped Jason, but then went on a murderous rampage when he left her. Considered to be a priestess (or, rarely, daughter) of Hecate.

Megaera: One of the Erinyes (Furies), the goddesses of vengeance. Means "grudge."

Melanie: Greek, "black" or "dark."

Melantha: Greek, "dark flower."

Melinda/Mindy: English, "black serpent."

Melinoe: Greek goddess of ghosts, nightmares, and madness, a daughter of Hades and Persephone.

Mephistopheles: The name of the devil in the Faust legend, could be from Hebrew and mean "disperser of lies," or from Greek and mean "does not love the light."

Merle: (Unisex) from French, "blackbird."

Mina: From Dracula. Short for Wilhelmina, a German name meaning "will-helmet."

Morana/Marzanna: Slavic goddess of winter and death.

Morgan/Morgana: From Welsh, means "sea-circle," the name of Morgan le Fay, a sorceress in Arthurian Legend (who may be good or evil, depending on your interpretation).

Morpheus: The Greek god of dreams, the main protagonist of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. (Also, The Matrix.)

Morrigan: An Irish goddess of death, battle, and ravens, name means "great queen."

Morwenna: A Welsh name meaning "maiden." ("Morwanneg" is the name of the witch in Stardust.)

Nepenthe: A magical drug from the Odyssey that cures sorrow and causes forgetfulness.

Nephthys: Means "lady of the temple," the Egyptian goddess of the dead, mate of Seth and mother of Anubis.

Nergal: Mesopotamian god of death, war, and destruction.

Nicnevan: Queen of the Fairies in Scottish folklore. She is the Scottish version of Hecate.

Nightshade: A family of plants including tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, but also the notorious deadly nightshade.

Nisha/nt: A Hindi name meaning "night."

Nocturne: Self-explanatory. Refers to a night prayer, a musical composition evoking night, or a night scene in art.

Nyctala/Nyctea: Two obsolete genera of owls. Nyctala is the genus of Boreal owls before it was changed to Aegolius, and Nyctea was the genus of Snowy owls before it was changed to Bubo. Both probably mean or are related to "night."

Nyctalus: A genus of bats.

Nyctimene: A princess from Ovid's Metamorphoses who was so ashamed at having been molested by her father, she refused to show her face in daylight. Out of pity, Minerva (Athena) turned her into an owl. Also a genus of bats.

Nyx: A Greek primordial goddess and personification of the Night. (also Nox)

Oberon: From French, means "elf-ruler," the name of the Fairy King in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Referred to in one scene as the "king of shadows").

Obsidian: A shiny black volcanic stone.

Onyx: A type of banded stone, most famously black. (The word comes from the Greek for "fingernail.")

Ophelia: A tragic character in Hamlet, which probably comes from Greek and means "help."

Orcus: A Latin word for Hell, and a Roman god who punished the dead (possibly an epithet of Hades/Pluto).

Orion: A hunter in Greek mythology, and the famous constellation.

Orlok: The name of the ugly-looking vampire from Nosferatu.

Orpheus: Greek name, possibly comes from the word orphe, "darkness." The name of a demigod with an impossibly beautiful singing voice who attempted to rescue his love from the underworld, failed, and then died tragically.

Pan: Greek goat-horned god of nature, herds, and lust, induces "panic."

Pandora: Name means "all-gifted." In Greek mythology, the name of the first woman, who opened a box that unleashed evil upon the world.

Pandemonium: The capital city of Hell in Paradise Lost, name literally means "all demons."

Persephone: Greek Queen of the Underworld, wife of Hades, and goddess of springtime. You probably know her story. Her name might mean "thrasher of grain" (which would make sense for an agricultural goddess), but could also mean "slayer."

Phaenon: Means "shining" in Greek, refers to the planet Saturn (which has long been associated with darkness in mythology, being the furthest planet from the sun that is observable with the naked eye).

Pluto: Hades' Roman name, also the ninth planet, or what was the ninth planet.

Ransley: An English name meaning "raven's meadow."

Raven: This is by far the most cliche Goth name there is (I originally created this list to provide alternatives to the name “Raven”), but it’s classic, it’s simple, it’s unisex, and it’s undeniably Goth. 

Ravenna: Self-explanatory, also an Italian city.

Renwick: Scottish surname meaning "raven settlement."

Sable: A word referring to the color black.

Salome: From Hebrew shalom, "peace." The daughter of Herod and Herodias, unnamed in the Bible, who requested the head of John the Baptist and danced the Dance of the Seven Veils.

Samael: Means "venom of God," a vicious angel of death, the mate of Lilith. He is not technically a fallen angel, but a servant of God who does the dirty work.

Sekhmet: Egyptian goddess of war and destruction, with the head of a lioness. Her name means "power" or "might." Her epithets included "Mistress of Dread," "Lady of Slaughter," and "She Who Mauls." Ra had to stop her from killing people by getting her drunk on beer that was dyed to look like blood.

Selene: Greek personification of the moon. (Includes "Selena" and variants.")

Senka: Basque name meaning "shadow."

Seren: (Unisex) Welsh name meaning "star."

Seth: A name of Set or Sutekh, the Egyptian god of evil, chaos, and storms. He killed his brother Osiris and cut his body into pieces, and then was defeated by Horus. His head is that of an animal that looks kind of like an aardvark but is not an actual existing creature (at least not anymore). He was associated with the color red and the desert. His name possibly means "one who dazzles."

Shadow: Self-explanatory.

Silas: From Greek, means "from the forest." In The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, it's the name of a [spoiler]vampire.

Silver: The color of the moon, and it looks nice with black.

Sinistra: Technically, it's Latin for "left," but it obviously has "sinister" connotations.

Skiá: Greek word for "shadow" or "shade."

Skotos: Ancient Greek word for "darkness," especially the darkness of death or the netherworld, or obscurity.

Skuld: The last of the Norns (Fates), representing death. Means "debt."

Sombra: The Spanish word for "shadow."

Somnus: Roman name for Hypnos, sleep.

Spyridon: Greek name referring to wicker baskets, which implies wealth. Could also be connected to the Latin spiritus, which means breath or spirit. Usually shortened to Spyro.

Stella: The Latin word for "star."

Stheno: Greek, means "forceful." The eldest of the Gorgon sisters.

Styx: The River of Hate in the Greek Underworld, the most famous of its rivers. The souls of the dead are ferried across it by Charon, and the gods (foolishly, if you ask me, seeing as they always regret it) swear on the Styx to make unbreakable oaths. The word "Stygian" means "of the River Styx" and refers to something very dark or abyssal.

Summanus: Roman god of nocturnal thunder.

Sylvia​​​​​​/Sylvana: Latin, "from the forest."

Tanith: Phoenician, "serpent lady."

Tartarus: The deepest hell-pit of the Greek Underworld, where evildoers are punished.

Tempest: A wild storm, from the Latin for "time."

Thanatos: The Greek personification of Death.

Tiamat: Babylonian primordial dragon goddess.

Tisiphone: One of the Erinyes (Furies), the goddesses of vengeance. Means "murder-retribution."

Tristan: Welsh, "riot, tumult." (Although it sounds like the Latin tristis, which means "sad.") The name of Isolt's lover in Arthurian Legend, and the name of the protagonist in Stardust.

Valerian: Roman, means "strength" or "valiant," also the name of an herb.

Vega: (Unisex) Latin from Arabic, means "falling" or "swooping," a star in the constellation Lyra. It is one of the brightest stars in the entire sky.

Veles: Slavic horned god of cattle, forests, magic, and the underworld.

Veliona: Slavic goddess of death

Velvet: A fabric that most goths love to wear.

Vervain: An herb (verbena), meaning "sacred bough," considered a magical or holy herb in multiple cultures.

Vesperus: (or just Vesper), a Roman name meaning "evening." (Vespera for a girl)

Vespertilio: A genus of bats.

Victor: The first of the trio of gothy male "V" names, means "conqueror," as in "victory." Frankenstein's first name. (Victoria also works for a girl.)

Vincent: The second of the trio of gothy male "V" names, also meaning "conquering," from Latin.

Vivian: The Lady of the Lake in Arthurian legend. From French, means "lively."  (Another name for the Lady is Nimue, which is Welsh and may be related to the Greek word for "memory." She sealed Merlin in a tree.)

Vlad: The third of the trio of gothy male "V" names, the name of Vlad Tepes or "Vlad the Impaler," the real-life Romanian prince who inspired Count Dracula. It's Slavic and means "ruler."

Willow: A beautiful and mournful-looking tree.

Winter: The dark, cold season. Unisex!

Yvaine: Scottish, means "evening star," the name of the star in Stardust.

Zagreus: The name of a chthonic Greek god who was potentially a son of Hades and Persephone or Zeus and Persephone, considered in Orphic lore to be Dionysus before he was dismembered and reincarnated.

Zillah: Hebrew name meaning "shadow."

[tkeiralea]

In this series, we analyze the use of the Hero’s Journey framework in The Last Jedi to advance the story arcs of the main characters. Part One discusses how the Hero’s Journey models fit within the structure of a Star Wars movie trilogy, and examines Rey’s path in the film as an extended metamorphosis phase of her overall heroic journey. Part Two considers Finn’s development in the next stage of his story and the character archetypes in the film. Part Three assesses a character who is much farther along in his life’s journey, Luke Skywalker, and describes his later-stage Wizard’s Journey heroic cycle. That post also compares Luke’s final arc to two other Jedi Masters in today’s Star Wars storytelling, while another post offers a look at a possible Wizard’s Journey for Leia Organa, as well. In this post, we turn to the antagonist of the Sequel Trilogy.

Kylo Ren and the Villain’s Journey

One common aphorism in storytelling is that “the villain is the hero of his own story.” This makes sense, of course, because only the most cartoonish caricature of a moustache-twirling villain would, knowing full well it is wrong and unjustified, pursue evil simply out of some twisted sadistic pleasure in doing wrong and hurting others. Instead, antagonists have motivations just like protagonists do. They have goals, beliefs, and aspirations – and they pursue them because they are convinced in the rightness of their cause. The most compelling villains as characters are the ones whose motivations, despite their wrong-headedness, are internally coherent in leading to a meaningful objective. From the outside looking in, we may rightfully condemn the results they seek and the choices they make to get there, but we can understand the reasons behind what they do and why they do it.

From The Force Awakens alone, we heard only hints about the path that led the young Jedi apprentice Ben Solo to become the villainous Kylo Ren. With the novel Bloodline and the release of The Last Jedi, the shape of that trajectory has become considerably clearer, though many of its details remain untold, presumably saved for future storytelling. Just as Rey has undertaken a Hero’s Journey as the Force has awakened within her, so too Kylo Ren exists as the product of a Villain’s Journey that mirrors the same progression – except to produce the origin story of a villain rather than a hero.

Kylo Ren’s journey to villainy begins in an Ordinary World, though his is already a bit less ordinary than most. He is Ben Solo, the son of two Rebellion heroes; his mother is a prominent Senator in the New Republic. He is strong in the Force, befitting his family heritage, and begins to train as a Jedi with his uncle Luke Skywalker, another legendary hero of the Rebellion. From this background, we might think there is little reason to suspect this boy will become a villain – just as, from the perspective of the ordinary world, there would be no reason to think that a junk dealer’s slave, moisture farmer’s nephew, or shipwreck scavenger would become a hero.

As yet we do not know exactly when, but sometime early in his life Ben Solo becomes the target of grooming by Snoke. The analogy to Darth Sidious’ long-term manipulation of Anakin Skywalker seems clear; both young men likely did not realize that they were being exploited by an evil mastermind until the effects on their psyche had become far-reaching. This priming by Snoke as the villainous Mentor, surely innocuous for much of its span, leaves Ben vulnerable to a strong push toward darkness when the steps of his Villain’s Journey arrive.

The Call to Adventure occurs in Bloodline. Though we do not see any scenes from Ben’s point of view in the novel, Leia’s perspective as his mother makes the implications apparent. Ben will find out that Darth Vader is his grandfather not from his parents, but from news reports. He will feel a profound sense of betrayal at the revelation – and wonder what other secrets his family has been hiding from him. And at the moment of this discovery he is isolated from his family, traveling the galaxy with Luke, which leaves him especially vulnerable to further twisting by Snoke. Realizing that his parents and his uncle have been deceiving him for his entire life provides the spark that kindles the desire to turn against them, and everything they purport to stand for.

But the Call is never accepted right away, and this is true for Ben Solo, too. At least for a while, he carries on with a Refusal of the Call, continuing as a student at Luke’s training temple. The darkness is growing within him, but he has not yet committed to that path.

The fateful night at the training temple marks the Crossing of the Threshold. Luke tells Rey that he sensed that Snoke had already turned Ben’s heart, and reacted instinctively in drawing his saber to put a stop to the horror Ben could cause; Rey admonishes him that his failure was not an inability to prevent the darkness from infecting Ben, but in not recognizing that, despite the danger he posed, Ben had not yet made his choice. When he awakens to see his uncle standing over him, blade ignited, Ben Solo does make that choice. Ben defends himself against Luke – who speculates that Ben may have initially believed he had killed Luke that night – then massacres most of the Jedi students. Like Anakin Skywalker attacking Mace Windu and then executing Order 66 on Coruscant to become Darth Vader, the mass murder of innocent Jedi children marks Ben Solo crossing into his extraordinary world as a villain.

Again, the exact course of events in which Ben Solo swears allegiance to Snoke and the First Order, rises in its ranks to become a top lieutenant to the Supreme Leader, and takes the name Kylo Ren remains untold at this point. With a number of years between the temple massacre and Episode VII, no doubt his commitment to his Villain’s Journey is tested in that interval.

The Force Awakens showcases a Tests, Enemies, and Allies stage for Kylo Ren. An inverse of Leia sending Poe, Kylo is dispatched to Jakku by Snoke to retrieve the map for the First Order before Lor San Tekka can give it to the Resistance. When he realizes the map is already gone, Kylo orders the massacre of the villagers. He discovers that BB-8 has the map by reading Poe’s mind, but the First Order’s troopers are unable to capture the droid. Kylo’s tantrum upon learning the droid has escaped in a freighter with the traitorous FN-2187 and a girl – “What girl?” – reflects his knowledge that he has failed a test, and Snoke will not be pleased.

The spy report of BB-8’s presence on Takodana brings Kylo in pursuit, fresh off promising Snoke that he will not be seduced by the light if he encounters his father. Kylo chases the girl and the droid into the forest, seizing the girl first. Reading her mind, he realizes she has seen the map. Overconfident in his own abilities and under attack from the Resistance forces, he gives the order to forget the droid and departs with only the girl as his captive. Kylo believes he has successfully completed his mission, but soon finds out he is wrong.

At Starkiller Base, Kylo learns just how much he has underestimated Rey. The awakening that he and Snoke had sensed earlier was hers – and his attempt to extract the map from her mind instead results in her turning the tables on him, not only expelling him from her mind but also uncovering his deepest fear about his own power. While Kylo rushes off to tell Snoke about how strong she is, Rey uses the Force to mind-trick a stormtrooper and escape her cell.

On the other hand, Kylo passes the next test when his father confronts him inside the oscillator facility. Faced with the offer to come home, Kylo says, “I know what I have to do” – the same words he uses in The Last Jedi moments before killing Snoke, misinterpreted by the targeted listener in that situation, too – before murdering Han Solo. He earns a bowcaster bolt to the abdomen from Chewbacca for the dark deed, though his strength is shown by his ability to withstand the shot and remain standing, then stride onward, compared to the stormtroopers who are repeatedly flung into the air when hit by a shot from the Wookiee weapon. A short time later Snoke tells Hux that Kylo is ready to complete his training, affirming that Kylo has passed a crucial test in his Villain’s Journey.

Kylo’s track record takes another loss, though, in the snowy forest of Starkiller Base. He easily bests Finn, then seems headed toward overpowering Rey as well when his overconfidence again gets the best of him. Offering to teach Rey the ways of the Force only jogs her memory of the words from her kind and wise mentor figure, Maz Kanata, leading Rey to close her eyes and draw upon the light side of the Force for strength and guidance. Once again she turns the tables quickly, injuring Kylo twice before the chasm opens to separate them.

With The Last Jedi picking up right where The Force Awakens left off, the Tests phase of Kylo’s Villain’s Journey is still in progress. Snoke chastises him for the emotional turmoil that remains from killing his father and taunts him as a pale shadow of Vader’s greatness, a mere “child in a mask.” Soon Kylo faces the opportunity to kill his other parent when he senses Leia’s presence, but cannot bring himself to open fire on the bridge of the Raddus. Maybe Snoke is not as wrong as Kylo had wanted to let himself believe.

The Inmost Cave pushes the character to confront their most difficult emotional challenges, and often in the heart of the enemy’s fortress at the same time. For Kylo, the Force connection with Rey marks this point in his journey. Though at first he is bold and confident toward her, much of the edge wears off as they interact further. The process of leading her to see that his life is more complex, that his choices are not simply monstrous for their own sake, inevitably forces Kylo to confront the conflict within himself – not just the remainder of the light within him, but the loneliness and loss he suffers as the consequences of his own actions. When Rey senses the potential that remains inside him, to turn away from his Villain’s Journey and return to the light, she likely is not sensing deception but the reality of his turmoil. All of these conversations take place while Rey is on Ahch-To, the location of the first Jedi temple and the hidden exile of Luke Skywalker – which Kylo knows, because that was the purpose of his mission to retrieve the map in the first place. He speaks to her while she is ensconced in the heart of the ancient Jedi Order, the very thing Kylo has turned against.

During his Ordeal, though, Kylo does not make the choice Rey had hoped for. In the throne room aboard the Supremacy, Snoke confirms that Rey’s growing strength is a direct response to Kylo’s own, the light rising to meet the darkness. In that moment, Kylo is handed the opportunity that every dark side apprentice craves – to kill the master and assume power in his place. He knows full well how big the risk is. Earlier in the film, Snoke had flattened him to the floor with barely a flick of the wrist; the ease with which Snoke tosses around Rey suggests that he would have little difficulty doing the same with both Kylo and Rey teaming up against him. Even as Kylo prepares his move, Snoke is bragging about his skill at reading Kylo’s intentions. Rey might not be able to change the odds in combat against Snoke, but she provides just enough of a distraction to allow Kylo to trick him into misinterpreting what he senses as Kylo’s objective. And that small assistance is all Kylo needs to kill Snoke.

Kylo’s success in striking down his dark master is unprecedented in the cinematic Star Wars stories to date. Dooku never has the chance to move against Sidious, nor does Maul in The Phantom Menace. In The Clone Wars, Maul’s Shadow Collective is built as a power base to challenge Sidious, but their confrontation on Mandalore proves how overmatched Maul is. By the time of Star Wars Rebels, Maul is hiding on Malachor, hoping that its ancient Sith superweapon can offer one final chance to strike at his former master; when that fails at Vader’s hand, Maul is left with only one last gasp at vengeance toward his other hated adversary, Obi-Wan Kenobi. On the landing platform at Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith, fully human Vader declares to Obi-Wan that he will overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy himself. The more-machine-than-man Vader in the black suit, however, faces grimmer prospects for success at that endeavor, though comics and other ancillary stories have shown that he pursued angles for that possibility at various times over the following two decades. Vader’s offer to Luke at Bespin likely is genuine: their combined strength might change Vader’s odds considerably. Instead, though, Luke’s example inspires Anakin Skywalker to return, and though he does kill the Emperor, it is as a selfless Jedi sacrifice to save his son and the galaxy from the terror of the Sith.

In the Supremacy’s throne room, Kylo fulfills his promise to “finish what you started” – by anointing himself the new Supreme Leader. This is the Reward of his Villain’s Journey. He is not only committed to the dark path, but free to lead his own way along it.

But Kylo’s Villain’s Journey is not quite complete: the heroes who oppose him have not been defeated yet. The Road Back is the assault on the Resistance base at Crait, which Kylo leads from the command shuttle. After a brief distraction from the ski speeders and the Millennium Falcon, he gives the order for “no quarter, no prisoners” for the troopers about to enter the base.

Which brings Kylo to the Climax of his Villain’s Journey, in the form of a personal showdown with his former master Luke Skywalker. The man who revived the good in Vader, causing the weakness that ended his dark reign. The man who tried to kill Kylo in his sleep. Unlike his confrontations with his father and mother, Kylo has no hesitation when facing his uncle. When the massive cannon onslaught fails to kill him, Kylo attends to the deed personally. He mocks the idea of saving his soul or seeking forgiveness. He offers Luke nothing but violence. His repeated attempts to kill Luke confirm that Kylo is fully committed to the dark side and his selfish quest for power. His triumph on his Villain’s Journey will be complete when he finishes off Luke Skywalker once and for all.

Except that in Star Wars, the path of the dark side can never give you what you desire. The dark side can lead only to tragedy. Even small, temporary victories will only leave the dark sider craving more power and more victories. Nothing will ever be enough. Maul’s arc from The Phantom Menace to The Clone Wars to Star Wars Rebels is the object lesson in the price that the dark side extracts from those who wield it.

That is why the Denouement that Kylo seeks will not come. In his overconfidence and rage, Kylo misses the clues that Luke is not really there. He falls for the trap; the distraction succeeds and the Resistance escapes to fight another day. The base is empty, earning a meaningful side-eye glance from Hux – who, it should be noted, would have been perfectly willing to gun down the unconscious Kylo in the throne room before Kylo woke up, perhaps with an inkling from the Force, in the nick of time. The Falcon dice that represent Han Solo vanish in Kylo’s fingers, symbolizing everything he has lost at his own hand. And then Rey shuts the door of the Falcon, terminating their final Force connection and symbolizing her decision to take the opposing path to his.

At the end of The Last Jedi, Kylo has completed his cycle through the Villain’s Journey. Unlike the machinations of Darth Sidious or the domineering brutality of Darth Vader, Kylo Ren is his own type of villain. His showdown with Luke reinforces that Kylo has not mastered his emotions, particularly his outbursts of uncontrolled fury. His weaknesses are matched by strengths, though, particularly the position he now holds. As Supreme Leader of the First Order and the master of his dark side path, he stands as the antagonist to Rey and her journey to rebuild the Jedi Order and, in her alliance with Leia and Poe leading the Resistance, restore the New Republic.

For more on Kylo Ren and his Villain’s Journey in The Last Jedi, check out Tricia Barr’s feature article in Star Wars Insider #179, coming soon.

Related posts:

The Last Jedi and the Hero’s Journey – Part One: Rey

The Last Jedi and the Hero’s Journey – Part Two: Finn

The Last Jedi and the Hero’s Journey – Part Three: Luke Skywalker and the Wizard’s Journey

Leia Organa and the Wizard’s Journey in Leia At Risk Revisited: The Stakes After The Last Jedi

[miloswanders]

When I was a kid -- say, between the ages of 4 and 10 -- my mother would spend her Saturday afternoons ironing in the living room. Since she has always found this particular task to be extraordinarily tedious, she would pick a movie out of her rather large collection of VHS cassettes and keep it as background entertainment while she went about her chores. 

After a while, out of sheer curiosity, I would splay out on the sofa and watch whatever movie she had selected for the day, regardless of the rating. Since I was the one who, at 7 years old, had forced my mother to sit through Critters (carnivorous aliens terrorizing a rural American town... don’t even ask), she wasn’t too concerned about my young mind suffering any irreparable trauma at this point. 

Which brings me to the following: I’ve been feeling nostalgic, as of late, and have to find new ways to procrastinate doing all the things that I should be doing right now; thus, I’ve decided to present you with a List of Films That Were Meaningful During My Childhood, in no particular order.

Enjoy!

The Fly (1986). Of course, the first one has to be a horror film, and a great classic at that! The ambitious scientist, the tragic love story, the terrifying metamorphosis... I’m pretty sure I couldn’t shut up about it for the next week or so. 

Beetlejuice (1988). Another classic, which I am proud to say I personally selected from my mother’s collection. It’s been years since I last watched it, so I only remember bits and pieces of it, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t even remotely appropriate for a six-year-old. But! there were ghosts involved, and at the time that was the magic word to spark my interest.

In & Out (1997). This one was my introduction to LGBT media and themes. Being mostly satirical in its intent, it has to be taken with a grain of salt; but I’d laugh my head off every time we watched it, as my mother explained all the stereotypes they were making fun of. After the first viewing, I distinctly remember asking: “What does “lesbian” mean?”, and her answering: “Same as “gay”, but for women”. I thought it was a really cool word. 

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). This one... this one is special. I already knew Robin Williams from Jumanji, but, of all the roles he has played, this is the one that really stole my heart. My family was sort of falling apart when I first watched it, so it did a lot more than strike a chord -- it made me consider that maybe, just maybe, even if things were going to change drastically in my life, everything would work out all the same. A divorce didn’t have to be such a terrible ordeal, because there were a lot of different ways to remain committed to one another, and “family” didn’t mean the same thing to everyone. So, yeah... Thanks, Robin <3

American Beauty (1999). Picture this: it’s almost midnight, I’m bored out of my mind and should be going to sleep, but I’ve decided to stay up and see what’s on TV at this hour. I come across the first sequence of this film: girl speaking into the camera, creepy conversation with unseen interlocutor, then cut to the voiceover and the aerial view of the gloomy suburbs. My mother found me glued to the screen just as the “rose petals” scene was playing. She asked what I was watching, and I was like: “Uhm... American Beauty, I think it’s called”; she stared at the TV, verified her suspicion and went: “It’s late. I have the VHS, you can watch it tomorrow”. And I did. If anyone ever wonders how I got into the suburban-gothic genre, blame Kevin Spacey. 

The Color Purple (1985). The film that introduced me to Whoopi Goldberg. I had never heard of her before, and I remember repeating her name over and over to make sure I was saying it correctly. I doubt I’d even bothered to ask, let alone memorize the name of any actor before, but with her it was love at first sight. A few months later, I found a radio programme where the host would read “literary classics”, one or two chapters per episode; sure enough, Alice Walker’s novel was on their list. I listened to the whole thing. And, as I did, I guess I thought a lot about the word “lesbian”.

The Miracle Worker (1962). The autobiography of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. To this day, I cry at the end. Anne Bancroft was amazing. Also, possibly the first black-and-white movie I ever watched all the way through... and wanted to rewatch.  

The Elephant Man (1980). David Lynch’s debut film; it completely changed how I thought of “monsters”. It was a milestone in my growth as both human being and horror fan, precisely because there was nothing “scary” about Joseph Merrick, at all. It filled me with a sadness the depth of which I still find difficult to convey. Also... Anne Bancroft. Again. 

Divorzio all’italiana (1961). A film about infidelity, social hypocrisy and honor killings in Southern Italy. Not exactly kids material, but it’s not like anyone gave a damn. It’s the main reason why I laugh so hard and hysterically when people claim that misogyny concerns almost exclusively non-Western cultures. And by “laugh” I mean “scream into the void”. 

The House of the Spirits (1993). Saw the movie before I read the book. Five minutes in and I was enraptured. It may or may not have been the source of my fascination with magical realism and historical novels in general. I was missing out on a great deal of context, in order to fully understand the more “political” parts of the story, but over the years I did learn a thing or two thanks to Clara, Blanca and Alba. And yes, Clara was played by Meryl Streep, but I did not care to learn the actress’ name back then.

Stephen King’s IT (1990). Since I’ve started the list with the horror genre, why not have another one? The TV film that exacerbated my fear of clowns to near-pathological levels. It (both the film and the character) scared me so much that I could never bring myself to re-watch it. Instead, by the time I reached the 9th grade I’d gathered the courage to read the novel. “IT” and “Stand by Me” were my gateway into Stephen King’s fictional universe, although the former was branded so deeply into my subconscious that the mere mention of that damned clown used to give me chills. Surprisingly, I have recently convinced myself to watch short clips from the film, only to discover that I now like Pennywise as a character. I mean, that’s still Tim Curry beneath the makeup! 

The Exorcist (1973). Another classic. 9-year-old me was obsessed! I honestly don’t know how many times I re-watched it, but I can assure you they amounted to A LOT. I also tried to convince a dear friend of mine to watch it with me, once, but she freaked out halfway through, leaving me rather disappointed. 

So, there you have them: the highlights of my youth. 

And yes, before you ask, I did also watch cartoons like a normal kid. 

[abmcj3a-blog]

By Thesia May Molines

Television shows have always been my company ever since I started living in a dorm. I lost count on how many television series I have watched. I was hooked with its powerful seasons. It makes you thirst for more episodes leaving you sleepless nights wondering what might happen next. Unlike movies with one or two hours running time, its feels last only for a couple of hours. That alone for me is problematic. TV shows and how it presents itself on the media leaves me a lot of questions. From why do you end every episode with an unfinished scene and leave watchers something to ponder instead of finishing it and start another scene on the next episode. I mean, I get it. The production behind it wants people to get excited and stay tuned. Not wasting a single millisecond to earn. They’re too blinded with money they can’t see the mind fucking effect they caused people.

          That is one of the many reasons why I want to analyze a TV series. Pretty Little Liars in particular. This series is all about five girls whose lives have been played by numerous stalkers and bullies trying to kill them because of revenge. I think this will be a good case to critique considering the fact that it deals with people’s representation of their self to others and how that can manipulate other perspectives. It also shows the interconnection of the characters and how one little secret can damage their relationships and ruined their lives permanently.  

        This series will really blow your mind once everything is revealed. You will patiently go back to each scene and be amazed how you did not notice that whole idea in the first place. The whole show is misleading, pointing out different killers but at the end of the day it all comes down to the master mind. Uber A.. The successor of AD who is also the successor of A-.

        The whole TV series started when Alison Dilaurentis went missing. She is known for her undisputed image as the evil teenager who is always ready to ruin someone’s life whenever they got in her way. She is also the so called leader of a girl group with four more girls in it.

        Namely, Aria Montgomery a feisty girl with purple highlights who is having an affair with her English teacher. Spencer Hastings, A very clever girl who is having problems controlling her urge to steal other people’s boyfriends. Both girls were caught by Ali. Due to spencer’s pill addiction she was confined at the Radley Sanitarium. Next is Hannah Marin, Once a very fat girl who tried to imitate Allison, she was also caught by Ali stealing items from a shopping mall. Last but certainly the least is Emily Fields a low-key lesbian who kissed Alison trying so hard to hide her real identity because of her soldier dad.

       Now that I’m done introducing the main characters what did you notice? Well, each girl has her own secret to keep and protect and the only one who knows their secret aside from their selves is Alison Dilaurentis which means no matter how horrible Alison’s attitude is, they will always stand by her because if not, that means allowing her to expose everything she knows that might permanently ruin their lives. They are all ease with the thought that as long as they’re with Alison, Their secrets are all safe. Clearly, Alison is brainwashing them to do what she wants and forcing them to think that that they’re the one who should always rule.

        With that kind of idea planted on the girl’s minds they all have to act as if they’re all heartless and powerful. They have to pretend they don’t care what other people feels to maintain the hierarchy Alison made. The moment they allow their conscience to become visible, their image is going to fall apart and they will no longer be THE BEST.

       That is what got them into trouble; they allowed Alison’s belief to be their beliefs even though they know deep inside is way different. Not being able to speak up  is worse but choosing not to speak up and letting one person control the way you think and how you act is another thing.  

        Pretty Little Liars are not just about mean girls getting what they deserve for being mean. It’s explaining why they did what they did even if they have the choice to do it.

         Power and Mischievously smart mind are two different tricky aspects that when combined together, chaos and horrid mind controlling situations may occur.

        Why do you think A and Uber A was able to torture 4 girls for almost 7 years without getting caught? For me it’s because they both used other people’s emotional weakness to control them. They alter the understanding their accomplice have to gain their support in playing the lives of the 4 girls.

          It will take me hours and thousand more words if I mention every scene where characters are being force to accept the version of the truth that in favors the powerful. To wrap it all up, I think this movie series is not just about teenage drama, romance or murders it is explaining what happens when you willingly accept other’s truth and idea about something. You disregard your will to understand your capacity to stand firm to your beliefs that is based on the surroundings that you have.

SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS

                       We are currently living in an era where human beings are very much attached to technologies and social media. They are fund of the thought that technology is making our life more convenient than ever, is it? Or is it making our lives even worse than before.

                       Sharing, posting and tweeting are three different concepts with the same purpose. It is to share a part of yourself to everybody. It is to let them sneak a peek as to what kind of human being you are. It’s the new trend and everybody is dying to be somebody in everybody’s eyes they try to pretend to be someone else.

                       How sure are you that what you’re posting is the real you not you who tries to please everybody they forgot their own identity.

                       Twitter, is platform where you can share your thoughts, your ideas or just simply how you feel. They limit you with 140 characters to test how good you are at putting your emotions into words. Is it just it? 140 characters vs. 140 million thoughts juggling inside your mind? Here it is a constant battle of wittiness and substance. The more you make sense, the more you are likely to gain followers. And that is why twitter world is a place for psychologists’ wannabe. Users rant almost about anything, from traffic to heartache, from superficial things to emotional topics making all their thoughts vulnerable to the people who follow them.

          While the follower can read all your rants she can silently give comments or she will bravely reply to one your tweets and give you advice. She gives you advice and the moment you feel better, it is not only you who feels better. She also feels better about herself and automatically claims that “oh I’m good at giving advice and making sad people happy”. She continues to tweet like some sort of a psychologist and making one person happy gave her the license to claim that she is. I mean that’s alright if the intention is real but what if she is pushing all of those to come out because that is what pleases her followers. That is how her tweets gained so many favorites. That is not really her that is what she tries to become because of the fame and attention she have been receiving.

           If twitter is for words, Instagram is for photos. The best shot, the more followers. I have noticed that people are no longer going to places to have fun instead they put so much effort in taking pictures. The essence of enjoying the moment is no longer there because it was replaced with “we should capture this moment” their excuse? To relive it every time they see the picture. Actually you did not really enjoy that moment rather you i pose like you did.

      Furthermore, in this platform everybody tries to be a travel junkie. Showing off that they love adventure but like what I said earlier they don’t go there to have fun. They go there for the sake of Instagram and a couple of likes.

       Last but not the least is the bloody Facebook, a platform where there is a constant battle of opinion. Everybody tries to give a fuck about everything. Once they give comment about a certain topic they hold on to that opinion even though sometimes they are on the wrong side. They instantly become political analyst. They try to let people know they’re smart with their long posts about politics when in reality they just don’t care. And sometimes when you read their posts, it’s merely siding with what is right rather, they’re siding to what will benefit them even if they know it’s wrong.

         My whole point is, each social media site is asking for some qualities and from what I can see, social media is not the one who adjusts. It’s the person using it that is adjusting his/her identity to fit the standards the platform is asking.

        That’s problematic for me because if you own numerous accounts, these three in particular then you keep adjusting yourself depending on what you use. That might lead you to confusion as to who you really are. Your representation of self to the people should not be like a chameleon, camouflaging on every background. It should be like a bright bird standing out in a crowd because she knows who she really is.  

 PRINT ANALYSIS

  For print analysis I choose Eleanor and Park, A teen novel famous for breaking the stereotypical. The characters are not the usual type of leads you encounter. Park is an average guy, not a jock and certainly not famous. Eleanor is weird looking red head lady. She is also fat with a serious case of missing fashion sense. Very far from those ideal girls whose metamorphosis is the center of the story.

                  This novel is not just about romance and teen drama. From what I understood, it is about the differences of two couples but still manage to work things out.

                  The surroundings, the upbringings and how it affects a human and their choices are also being tackled in the story. The way you were raised will always reflect on your decisions and how you make them. The way you see things or how you understand them will always differ from others so you need to understand.

                    The readers in this novel, is encouraged to stay out of your comfort zone and do what you love. You should not succumb into sadness and let insecurity engulf you. They are being taught to always stay what you want to say and do what you want to do but that is not always applicable. Not because you read it in a book it doesn’t automatically mean it is right. You also have to consider your kind reality before you inject it with something fiction. Separating, reality from what you see, hear and read on books and social media is always applicable.

[rosiep66]

“LOVE AND WAR” (1984) Book Review

LOVE AND WAR (1984) Book Review I have stumbled across my share of "Best Civil War Novels" lists on the Internet. I have yet to come across a list that includes John Jakes' 1984 novel, "LOVE AND WAR". Back in the 1980s, Jakes created his second major literary series, a trilogy about two wealthy American families during a period of thirty years during the 19th century. The first novel, "NORTH AND SOUTH" (1982) focused on the experiences of the Hazards of Pennsylvania and the Mains of South Carolina between the years 1842 and 1861. "HEAVEN AND HELL" (1987), the third novel, is set between 1865 and 1877. But the second novel, "LOVE AND WAR" focused on the two families' experiences during the Civil War. The trilogy began when George Hazard, the son of a wealthy iron industrialist; and Orry Main, the son of a South Carolina rice planter; first met on their way to West Point in the late spring of 1842. The pair quickly became life-long friends, as they survived four years at the military academy, the Mexican-American War, and nearly a decade-and-a-half of political strife over the issue of slavery. Due to George and Orry's friendship, their two families became very close over the years. By the end of "NORTH AND SOUTH", George's younger brother Billy had married Orry's younger sister, Brett. Orry and the love his life, Madeline Fabray LaMotte, finally reconciled after years of clandestine meetings, when Madeline left her venal husband Justin Lamotte, after seventeen years of marriage. However, following the outbreak of the Civil War, the friendship and familial connection between the Hazards and the Mains became tested when the Civil War begins. "LOVE AND WAR" began two weeks after "NORTH AND SOUTH" ended - in late April 1861. By the beginning of "LOVE AND WAR", the two families consist of: The Hazards *George Hazard - one of the protagonists, who is a former Army officer and like his father, an iron industrialist *Constance Flynn Hazard - George's Irish-born wife and an abolitionist *Stanley Hazard - George's older brother, who left the iron trade to become a politician *Isobel Truscott Hazard - Stanley's shrewish and social-climbing wife *Virgilia Hazard - George's only sister and die-hard abolitionist *Billy Hazard - George's younger brother and Army officer *Brett Main Hazard - Orry's youngest sister and Bily's new bride The Mains *Orry Main - one of the protagonists, who is a former Army officer and like his father, a rice planter *Madeline Fabray LaMotte Main - Orry's wife and widow of Justin LaMotte *Cooper Main - Orry's older brother and owner of a shipping company *Ashton Main Huntoon - Orry's younger sister and die-hard secessionist *Charles Main - Orry's young cousin, who had resigned from the U.S. Army to join the Confederacy Army *Judith Stafford Main - Cooper's wife, who also happens to be an abolitionist *James Huntoon - Ashton's husband, who is also a secessionist and attorney *Clarissa Brett Main - Orry's ailing mother The novel not only featured the viewpoints of the Hazards and Mains, but also their friends, lovers, slaves and one Elkhannah Bent, an Ohio-born Army officer who had become an enemy of George and Orry during their years at West Point. Bent even became an enemy of Charles Main, when the two had served together on the Texas frontier in the late 1850s. the outbreak and chaos of war, along with Bent's determination to survive, failed to put a damper on his desire to strike back at George, Orry, Charles and the other members of the two families. I noticed that most of "LOVE AND WAR" focused on the Civil War's Eastern Theater. Aside from taking readers to the political offices, salons and the military hospitals of Washington D.C. and Union Army camps; the novel also explored the Union and Confederate home fronts in Lehigh Station, Pennsylvania - the Hazards' hometown; and the Mains' plantation, Mont Royal, in the South Carolina low country. Jakesk also explored various historical and violent incidents on the homefront through his characters - especially the Southern bread riot that broke out in 1862 Richmond, and the 1863 New York City draft riots. Although both George and Orry become military officers again after thirteen-to-fourteen years as civilians, their wartime experiences as military bureaucrats prove to be sources of great frustration for both of them. Stanley Hazard's role as a political aide with the War Department gave readers a look into the politics of wartime Washington D.C. Readers learn about politics in wartime Richmond via the eyes of Ashton Main Huntoon, who also happened to be a politician's wife. Through Virgilia Hazard, readers not only discover what countless number of women - including a future famous author - experienced as a wartime nurse. Cooper Main joined the Confederate's Navy Department at the beginning of the war and through him, readers learned about the Confederates' efforts to construct new warships in Great Britain's shipyards. Through characters like Charles Main and Billy Hazard, readers explored the horrors of Civil War combat and prison camps in Maryland, Pennsylvania and especially Northern Virginia. Only through the Elkhannah Bent character were readers able to experience the war's Western theater via the Battle of Shiloh and Union occupied New Orleans. If I must be honest, I am rather surprised that Jakes' trilogy, especially "LOVE AND WAR", became major bestsellers. From the recent comments and reviews I have read on the Internet, I came away with the feeling that many found "LOVE AND WAR" difficult to read. In fact, many readers have complained that the novel featured too many characters. I found this complaint rather odd, considering that novels with several major characters have been the norm during the 20th century. And when did the number of characters suddenly became a detriment to a good novel? Following my recent reading of "LOVE AND WAR", I must admit that I find this opinion hard to accept. And then there is the matter of the novel's content. I have discovered that a good number of critics seem unwilling to accept Jakes' mixture of historical drama and melodrama. And so, I found myself scratching my head at another criticism. Melodrama and history in a novel? These two elements have been the norm in many historical dramas - including the still highly rated "GONE WITH THE WIND" and the "POLDARK" series. When did the mixture of history and melodrama become unacceptable? When it comes to the mixture of history and melodrama, I believe John Jakes has proven to be one of the few novelists who did it best. In "LOVE AND WAR", I thought he did an excellent job in conveying both the personal and historic experiences of his major characters - especially during a highly charged period in American history like the Civil War. Not only did the author explore his characters' desires, loves, fears, personal tragedy and ambition; he did so while exploring the historical background of the novel's setting. I just realized that aside from a handful of history books and documentaries, I managed to learn a great deal about the United States' Antebellum period, the Civil War and the post-war era from the NORTH AND SOUTH Trilogy, due to Jakes' meticulous research and skillful writing. And about human nature. Four of the most interesting aspects of "LOVE AND WAR" proved to be the wartime experiences of Billy Hazard, Brett Main Hazard, a former slave named Jane and Charles Main. Being an Army engineer, Billy Hazard did not participate in any battles, although he did witness a good deal of danger. Billy started out the novel as an Army officer loyal to the Union cause, but lacking any sympathy toward abolition or African-Americans - unlike Virgilia, Constance or George. Despite spending the first half of the war maintaining this attitude, it took capture by Confederate forces and a harrowing period as a prisoner of war inside Libby Prison for Billy to even understand what it means to be treated cruelly, let alone be under the complete control of another. And it took his experiences with black troops during the war's last year to make him view them more than just subhuman, children or victims. Ironically, his wife, Brett Main Hazard, went through a similar metamorphosis on the home front. Being the daughter and later, the sister of a South Carolina planter, Brett had difficulty adjusting to life in the North and the resentment of the Hazards' neighbors. Throughout the novel, Brett's encounter with several people during the war forced her to question her own priviledged Southern upbring through a series of stages. First, she helped her impoverished sister-in-law, the hardcore abolitionist Virgilia Hazard, regain some kind of physical attraction. George and Constance Hazard's sponsorship of a local orphanage for Southern black children displaced by the war led Brett to develop compassion for them - something she had failed to do with her family's slaves back at Mont Royal. The orphanage also led to a surprising friendship with the orphanage's founder, a New England-born black man named Arthur Scipio Brown. Another interesting character proved to be a young African-American woman named Jane, who found herself living at Mont Royal during the war. Jane was never owned by the Mains. She was introduced as a recently emancipated slave, who was accompanying her aunt, an elderly free black woman named Aunt Belle Nin, to the Union lines. Due to Aunt Belle's illness, the pair sought brief refuge at Mont Royal, due to the elderly woman's friendship with Madeline Main. Following Aunt Belle's death, Madeline asked Jane to remain at Mont Royal and educate the plantation's slaves in preparation for the end of the war. Madeline, who was biracial, foresaw the end of slavery and wanted the slaves to be prepared for the chaos of a post-war South. Through Jane's eyes, readers saw how the institution of slavery affected her fellow African-Americans throughout generations. What made Jane's role in the novel so interesting is that readers were given a closer and more personal look at the slaves as human beings than he ever did in the trilogy's first novel, "NORTH AND SOUTH". Charles Main's wartime experiences did not bring about a social and political metamorphisis as it did his cousin and best friend, Brett and Billy Hazard. Even as a child, he never really shared his family's racism or dismiss the ugliness of slavery. On the other hand, readers were granted an exploration of life within the ranks of the Confederate Army through his eyes. Looking back, I realized that Charles' experiences pretty much served as a metaphor for the novel's title. Charles had began the story as a man who had already gained experience as a military officer during his four years at West Point and another four years as a U.S. Army officer on the Texas frontier. He spent his early months of the war not only trying (and sometimes failing) to instill a sense of professionalism to the Confederate soldiers who served under him. Charles' sense of professionalism also included a belief that soldiers had no business getting involved in a serious romance. As far as Charles was concerned, serious romance prevented a soldier from being distracted and doing his job. This belief was immediately challenged after meeting a young and witty Virginia widow named Augusta Barclay, who owned a farm in Northern Virginia. Despite his efforts to maintain an emotional distance from Augusta, Charles' feelings for her deepened. And as the war began to take an emotional toll upon him, Charles began to question the logic of continuing his romance with Augusta. If anything, Charles' professional and personal experiences during the war proved to be a prime example of Jakes' ability to skillfully weave both history and melodrama together. I do have a few complaints about "LOVE AND WAR". One, most of the novel's setting seemed to be focused solely on the war's Eastern Theater - with scenes and chapters set along the Eastern Seabord. Villain Elkhanah Bent's participation in the Battle of Shiloh and his assignment in New Orleans gaves readers a view of the war's Western theater. Also, at least three characters ended up in the New Mexico Territory by the end of the war. But a part of me wished that Jakes had allowed more scenes away from the East - as he had done in "NORTH AND SOUTH". But my complaint about setting is minor in compare to another issue - namely the novel's villains. I will give Jakes kudos for managing to portray them with the same kind of complexity as he did his protagonists. I suspect that he may have somewhat succeed with Elkhannah Bent, Ashton Huntoon and Stanley Hazard. The author went further in revealing their desires, fears and ways of dealing with their personal demons and crisis. However, both Bent and Ashton still seemed less rounded than in compare to the protagonists. James Huntoon had been portrayed as a minor villain in the 1982 novel. But once his marriage fell apart, thanks to Ashton's love affair with a smuggler and political conspirator named Lamar Powell and his career within the Confederate government stalled, Huntoon ceased to be a villain and Jakes portrayed him with a lot more sympathy. Jakes' portrayal of the Mont Royal slave named Cuffey began with some level of complexity, as the character expressed his anger over being considered the Mains' property. But not much time had passed before Jakes had reduced Cuffey to a one-note thug and bully. I look back at Forest Whitaker's portrayal of the character in the 1986 miniseries, "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" and found myself wishing that the literary version of the character had been portrayed in a similar manner. Jakes' portrayal of Isabel Truscott Hazard remained as static as ever. Although Jakes seemed willing to portray Stanley with more complexity, he kept Isabel as the one-note vindictive shrew throughout the novel - with the exception of one scene in which she discovered Stanley's affair with a tawdry actress. As for the Lamar Powell character, he struck me as a one-dimensional rogue with a cruel and controlling streak. Granted, Jakes did allow one sequence featuring Powell's point-of-view. But that could not save the character for me. I cannot say the same about George's older brother, Stanley Hazard. Jakes seemed a lot more sympathetic toward Stanley in "LOVE AND WAR" than he was in the preceeding novel. Stanley did not become a better person. His views of his brother George remained as resentful as ever, despite his own success in politics. And his support of the Radical Republicans and their pro-abolitionist views was at best, a hoax on his part in order to further his career. And yet, Jakes seemed more than willing to portray Stanley with a bit more sympathy and more complexity. On the other hand, I found it odd that Jakes was willing to be more flexible with Stanley's character, but he could not do the same for the character's only sister, Virgilia Hazard. Unlike other fans of Jakes' saga, I have never regarded Virgilia as a villain and I never will. I do not regard her as perfect. And she is guilty of killing a wounded Confederate officer who had the bad luck to share the same name as her former lover, a fugitive slave named Grady who had been killed during John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. But I can never regard Virgilia as a villain. One, I share her political views . . . very strongly. Two, I find her family's unwillingness to allow Virgilia to be herself rather frustrating. I suspect that their dismissal of her politics - due to their own conservatism and her gender - had a negative effect on her character. And three, I have noticed that Jakes' negative portrayal of Virgilia seemed to have spread toward those historic figures that share her politics - namely the Radical Republicans. I realize that the Radical Republicans were not perfect. But not all of them were not as bad as Jakes had portrayed them. Not once have I ever sensed the author's willingness to portray them with any kind of sympathy or understanding. He seemed willing to criticize their behavior and policies, yet he avoids criticizing moderates such as President Lincoln like the plague. In once scene, Brett Hazrard had learned from her brother-in-law Stanley about the Republican Party's plans to exploit the freed slaves' gratitude over being emancipated after the war. I can only wonder if Jakes was accusing all of the Radical Republicans (including men like Thaddeus Stevens) for this willingness to exploit former slaves or fake abolitionists like Stanley and Isabel Hazard. Were all Radical Republicans - save for Virgilia - fake abolitionists? And was he trying to convey to readers that Virgilia was blind to the machinations of the Radical Republicans? Or was Virgilia simply a victim of Jakes' overall negative attitude toward the Radical Republicans? Judging from what I have read, I can only conclude the latter. In regard to historical accuracy, I can only account for one major example in the novel. It features an assassination plot hatched by Lamar Powell, along with the Huntoons and a few others against Confederacy president Jefferson Davis. Needless to say, this never happened. However, dislike and/or hatred of Davis did exist within the Confederacy. But aside from this story arc, Jakes painted a realistic portrait of the Civil War. "LOVE AND WAR" is probably one of the finest Civil War novels I have ever read. The novel really gives readers a wide range view of war through the eyes of the Hazard and Main families and those with close connections to them. More importantly, Jakes managed to provide readers with a realistic portrait of the Civil War filled with a good deal of personal drama, humor, brutality, euphoria and tragedy. It is a shame that this novel is so underrated by book readers and critics today, because I thought it was simply superb, despite the few flaws it might possess. Who knows? Perhaps one day it will be universally appreciated again.

[oceansouldeadboy-blog]

Franz Kafka : The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis

 Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague in a middle-class German speaking Jewish family. His father had a great on influence on his writing. He was described as: „a true Kafka in strength, health, appetite, loudness of voice, eloquence, self-satisfaction, worldly dominance, endurance, presence of mind, [and] knowledge of human nature” by Franz Kafka himself. His father’s loud, demanding and maximalist figure caused more anxiety in Kafka than what would have been a healthy amount. At university he studied law, not because he liked it, but it gave him a lot of carreer choices, which pleased his father. Finishing university he found work at an insurance company, altough he hated his work and just wanted to focus more on literary work. But he published very little of his works in his lifetime and only read his works out to his friends. After his death in 1924, Milena Jesenská and Max Brod collected his works and published them. Kafka’s works started to gain reputation in 1950s.

Kafka lived in a strange, uncomprehended world while feeling lonely and solitary. He realized that the machine of society has been alieneted from the people. Estrangement comes from only doing one part of a job, never actually creating anything meaningful, while having to fullfill a social role, where you cannot possibly be yourself. His views on relationships were realistic too. He saw that people only make friends so they are not alone, or to later use them in order to achieve their own goals. If he became part of this ’act’, he felt guilty, while the other option – escaping from society – made him lonely. Maybe the only way here is metamorphosis...

Kafka sees the world in an absurd way. His stories are just as absurd as the characters. They get into impossible situations from one day to another and we get to see them trying to deal with it. When it comes to describing these situations, Kafka remains completely objective, like it is just another day and there is nothing to get fazed about. These stories are like parables, always having another layer of meaning under the surface. Wanting to make the reader think is one the main purposes, as there is not only one absolute meaning, but there are several other ones as well. Which one do you see is up to you. Just as not everyone sees the world in the same way, not everyone will see the same meaning of a Kafka piece. Not to mention that not everything is explained and the reader constantly has to use his or her imagination to fill the blank spaces, or to continue or finish the story.

Stories of metamorphosis were popular even in the ancient times. The change itself was either internal or external or both. Medieval thrillers’ subject was often a vampire, whose change is both internal and external, but for example the beast from Beauty and the Beast only changes externally, because his personality doesn’t change.

The story is presented to us from the perspective of our main character, Gregor Samsa. His name already speaks volumes, because ’sam jsa’ means ’lonely’ in czech, and that is exactly who he is. His relationship with people are basically non-existant. He never had a girlfriend, his relationship with his family is cold, objective and detached. Gregor’s father is very similar to Kafka’s father, and the mother is suffering from asthma, basically meaning she is oppressed, and needs some air, also she doesn’t have a say in anything. And the father is causing his son mental pain, just like Kafka’s. Gregor has his deepest relationnship with his little sister.

The story goes as follows, Gregor wakes up one day just to find out that he turned into a bug overnnight.

„One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.”  

This, of course, is stated calmly and objectively like it was an everyday occurance. Before he turns into a bug, he is the sole money-maker of the family, and it does not bothers him, he is happy to help, but sadly he is being used, both by his family and his company. He worked more and harder than anyone, but was not appriciated for any of it. And he did not do it for himself, he did it for his family.

„If I didn’t hold back for my parents’ sake, I would’ve quit ages ago. I would’ve gone to the boss and told him just what I think from the bottom of my heart.”

His only hobby is making items out of wood, but he hardly has any time for that which could bring some meaning and colour to his life. Gregor’s life is just overall gray, lacking any meaning. As Nietzsche said:

„To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”

Gregor lacks this meaning, and tries to survive without it, which would not be that bad, but he only acts with fear and cowardness, always does what others wants him to do. Of course, life is meaningless, so it does not matter at all what we do with it, but at least, for our own sake, we should always try to improve ourselves. His room reflects his life perfectly. Practicality had the upmost importance in the room: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and even the picture on the wall was characterless. The dust under his bed symbolizes his unconsciousness trying to sweep feelings and thoughts under (in this case) the bed. All in all he lives a purposeless life.

Gregor’s transformation is both physical and psychological, altough his physical transformation is sudden, but his toughts will only change after some time from a man to a bug. What’s interesing here is that he will lead a more concious life, than what he did when he was a human. His mind will expand, and will realize so much more than he did before.

His transformation will be received in two main phases. First they will be frightened and uncomprehending, but I would be in quite a shock too if one my family members would turn into a bug overnight. One of Gregor’s first thought in the morning is that he should get out of bed and go to work, dispite him being transformed into a bug. And that is exactly what the family is afraid of, that he will not go to work and will not earn any money, but they will be even more afraid when they realized what had happened, also they will just try to ignore what happened. They will feed him, but they do not want to be in his company.

The second phase is guilt. They will be be ashamed that this happened to their son, altough they make some last miserable effort to communicate with him (maybe just to ease their consciense), but after a while they do not want to see him again. To avoid meeting him, they will hire a cleaning lady to take of the room instead. Next step is to find some work, which they will, rendering Gregor even more useless now, and the family is starting to play with the thought of getting rid of Gregor. Soon he will be just another item in the room. Grete, whom Gregor was the closest to in his human (and bug) life, tells the family that they should stop believing that the bug in the room is their Gregor, and that they should get rid of it.

The novel can be interpreted in many different ways. I am now going to list some of them, but I’m sure there is more than this.

                       I.          Gregor was not living a life that is worthy to a human being, he was more like a machine, a thoughtless thing, or a less consious animal. He was already not a human inside, so it was inevitably that he turned into something else on the outside.

                     II.          Gregor’s existential crisis has expanded leading to his transformation. He felt guilty for not sticking up for himself, and not changing his life. Therefore his transformation is a punishment.

                    III.          Gregor becomes alieneted from his world, family and himself and it gets to a point where he simply transforms into something else.

                   IV.          Gregor’s transformation can also be interpreted as a revolution. Seems like this was his only way to revolt againts the world he did not enjoy living in, but was forced to.

                     V.          Gregor was forced into a specific social role, and he did not want to be part of it anymore, so society starts to see him as an outlaw, as a worm, so he turns into one.

                   VI.          Gregor’s transformation may be a mask to disguise his own personality, that he so very much despises, from himself.

                  VII.          Gregor may not even be transformed (what a plot twist it would be), he just does not want to fulfill his family’s expectations towards him. It is only his family that will see him as a worm.

 In conclusion, what Kafka tried to achieve is to show how complicated life itself is. There is no single and simple solution to everything. Life is complicated but so as people.