#there's a reason a lot of that literature is written by Gary

[not-poignant]

In UtB, how long before the story takes place, did James die? Or how old was Gary?

I don't know, exactly!

Worldbuilding timelines and time is actually something I really struggle with because I have quite severe dyscalculia. (I didn't even start giving characters things like birthdays until about a month ago, and I didn't even try with birth years - If you tell me someone was born in 1974, I am still going to really really struggle with telling you how old they will turn this year, and I will probably need a calculator, and I will probably second guess myself, and then I will probably still get it wrong.

Developmental disabilities are evil. Thankfully I can mostly get away with them in writing, but I will give myself a migraine occasionally to work out a timeline lmao

At the moment I say it's approximately 10 years since James' death, give or take a few years because I don't know for sure.

I'm not even entirely sure of their age difference. I don't think it was that significant, James was going for his Associate Professorship so he'd been at university for a while, while also very deep into a long-term career as a celebrity musician (with multiple albums). It's even possible that James was older than Gary, by a couple of years, as I think he was in his early 30s when he died.

If it becomes relevant in the story in a more concrete manner, I will sit down and give myself a guaranteed headache figuring it out, but to avoid the headache and just give myself mild 'rtgugghghghh' feelings, I can only give you approximations anon, I apologise!

[another-rpg-sideblog]

Pathfinder Drops Phylactery From In-Game Terminology

Paizo has discontinued the use of the word "phylactery" in its Pathfinder publications due to the word's origins as an item used in real-world religious customs. In the most recent chapter of Strength of Thousands, Pathfinder 2E's current Adventure Path, Paizo noted that it would use the phrase "soul cages" to describe the physical item that a lich stores their soul in. Traditionally in Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and other fantasy tabletop games, the item was known as a phylactery.

In the table of contents to Doorway to the Red Star, Paizo explains their reasoning: "Starting with the lich Dwandek in this adventure, we're making a long‑overdue terminology change. The use of the word "phylactery" as the item in which a lich stores their soul is both inaccurate and inappropriate given the evil nature of liches and the word's connotation with real‑world religious practices. Instead, liches in Pathfinder Second Edition store their souls in objects called soul cages—an act that liches see as an ultimate act of defiance against the cycle of life and death. Liches consider their souls not as things to cherish, but as weaknesses that, once locked away in a cage, allow for eternal undeath. Apart from this change in name, the mechanics for how liches function remain unaltered."

Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz introduced what modern fantasy fans recognize as the lich in the pages of Greyhawk, the first-ever rules expansion for Dungeons & Dragons. Their version of the lich (which to that point was used as a generic synonym for the undead) was that of an undead magic user who retained their abilities from beyond the grave. Gygax expanded upon the lore of the lich in the original Monster Manual, specifying that liches were magic-users who through foul sorcery had conquered death by placing their soul inside an arcane box. Gygax called this box a phylactery, a word also used to describe a leather box worn by some Jews while praying that contained passages of the Torah. Many Jews alternatively referred to a phylactery as a tefillin, and the word "phylactery" is associated with a tefillin through the Greek New Testament. It's noted that subsequent descriptions of the phylactery in Dungeons & Dragons even went as far as to note that the box contained spells written on strips of paper, similar to how a tefillin contains passages of the Torah inside of it.

Because liches are depicted almost universally as evil creatures in Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy properties (some methods of becoming a lich involve the ritual sacrifice of an infant) and because the phylactery is usually depicted as an evil artifact, some have pointed out that using the word seems problematic. While the word phylactery has historically had other uses than as an item used in Jewish religious practices, at least some game designers have either consciously or unconsciously appropriated the tefillin when describing the item used to hold a lich's soul. Given how much Anti-Semitic imagery and symbolism crops up in fantasy literature either through ignorance or deliberate bigotry, Paizo's move seems reasonable and their new terminology makes a lot of practical sense.

We'll likely hear much more about soul cages, as Paizo plans to release Book of the Dead, a new rulebook covering the undead, next year.

[SOURCE]

[lecarreverse]

The great author recalls Smiley’s origins in one of his last pieces of writing, a new introduction to Call for the Dead.

I wrote Call for the Dead, my first novel, because I had been boiling to write for 20 years but had never quite had the prompt. I had done book illustrations, I had written bad poetry and one or two stories, and produced a couple of amateur plays, and become a reasonable hand at caricatures. In a bookless household, I had managed to acquire some sort of taste for books, largely because of a master at one of my early schools who read aloud to us beautifully from Conan Doyle and GK Chesterton. At 16, having fled my English public school, I took a huge sidestep into German language and literature and ended up teaching them at Eton, with the result that English letters always played second fiddle. It took a lurch from Eton into the intelligence community to get me writing Call for the Dead, and the prompt came from John Bingham, novelist, spy and colleague.

In MI5 the standard of report writing was very high indeed. Registry and senior officers were all pedants and descended on you like eagles if they spotted a sloppy sentence or an unsubstantiated claim: “Too fluffy. Can you actually demonstrate this? If this is hearsay, kindly say so clearly,” ran the marginal comments in different handwritings as your report came whistling back to you from the top floor. It was my first experience of having to battle for every sentence I wrote as if it had to stand up in court.

The agent-running section to which I was eventually attached was dominated by two figures, both men: Maxwell Knight, naturalist, broadcaster and the subject of at least two published biographies, and Bingham. Knight, allegedly of the far right, though I never heard him on politics, was by the time I knew him tolerated only on account of the agents he had recruited long ago and that were still beholden to him. He was a big, unwashed, silvery, boy scout of a man, of great charm and idiosyncratic habits that included bringing ailing small animals such as gerbils into the office in his jacket pocket. Bingham could scarcely have been more different.

Everything about Knight suggested that he be enjoyed with caution, but John was approachable, unassuming, quietly spoken and a kindly shepherd and confessor to his agents, mostly women. He was also a needle-sharp intelligence officer of great experience, as I had good reason to learn when one of my agents was blown and I needed his urgent advice on how to limit the damage. And John of necessity did much of his work in the evenings, when his agents returned home from their high-wire acts needing his consolation and wisdom and a large gin.

So by day, when he wasn’t writing a report, John was writing a novel. He had written quite a few by then, thrillers, all published by Gollancz and well received. I don’t remember that we ever talked about the process of writing. John, once a journalist, didn’t see himself as a literary man, just a thorough writer doing a job. The one piece of advice I remember him giving me was to stick a postcard with £100 written on it above my desk and look at it every time I thought of giving up. But far more inspiring than anything he could have said was the simple act of him sitting five yards from me day after day at his desk with his head down and a hangover, writing himself a novel on lined paper. And I suppose, at the most primitive level, I decided that if he could do that, I could.

I lived in Great Missenden in those days and commuted to Marylebone station, then walked or took the bus to Curzon Street. The train journey was an hour plus, so I wrote in small notebooks supplied, I am ashamed to say, by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. I just wrote. And the first person who came to mind was the man who got me going: John Bingham, one of the meek who do not inherit the earth.

But no real character in my experience is drawn directly from life, and for George Smiley I needed a lot of things that John simply hadn’t got and didn’t wish to have: an obsession with German literature (although he spoke decent German), a miserable private life, a sense of being strapped to the secret treadmill and not knowing how to get off it, and most importantly serious moral questions about the work I was doing. John was, to say the least, a nationalist, and doubts of that sort were simply not his thing, particularly when his every evening was spent buoying up women agents who were, in their estimation and his, sacrificing their private lives for England. So where to turn?

Well, my own life had been pretty well supplied with moral doubt, not least by my father, a conman on the run from the law. But I needed more stately concerns for George Smiley, bred in me in part by the unsparing plays of Schiller, Lessing and Büchner and the anguished cries of 17th-century Germany.

But Smiley is not at heart an academic. In the beginning was not the word but the deed, Goethe tells us through the agency of his Faust, and Smiley refuses to shirk from action where he believes in the rightness of his cause. And so it seems to me now, with the luxury of hindsight, that for Smiley’s conflicted inner life I resorted to my beloved mentor, Dr Vivian Green, by then rector of Lincoln College, Oxford: scholar, administrator, closet iconoclast and Anglican priest whose institutional faith over time gave way to a universal humanism. I don’t know any more whether you will find the seeds of all this theorising in my first stab at George Smiley, but I do. We have grown up together, changed and matured together, and seen his likeness exquisitely portrayed by two great actors, Alec Guinness and Gary Oldman. But for me he’s still the same soul-searching secret sharer that I wrote about in little notebooks on the rattly commuter train from Great Missenden to Marylebone.

Extracted from Call for the Dead by John le Carré; the 60th anniversary edition is published by Penguin Classics on Thursday.

[purplesurveys]

1198

Have you ever bought a YouTuber’s merch?  No. Most of the merch that had been put out when I was still into YouTubers were always underwhelming and overpriced, anyway.

Do you think oatmeal tastes better when made with water or milk?  Eugh, I don’t like oatmeal. Ate it everyday for breakfast as a kid and I just want nothing to do with anymore.

Have you ever left a note in a library book?  No. I’m pretty sure that counted as vandalism or at least under some kind of violation, so I never did anything to my borrowed books beyond reading them.

What time of day do you prefer to wash your hair?  There’s no time of day for me; I just wash it whenever I feel like showering.

Has anyone ever spread lies about you?  Just a couple times when I was in like middle school but it was all very superficial stuff that I never think about.

Have you ever taken a photograph with a celebrity? If so, did it turn out the way you wanted, or do you wish you could retake it?  Nah. I freak out about the idea of meeting celebrities and always turn down or pass up any opportunity I get lmao. I don’t handle nervousness well so I don’t trust myself to be able to behave or speak properly.

If you could move out of your home country permanently, would you? If so, where would you go?  Yeah, anything to get out of this shithole. I’d love to move to Canada.

Is there a celebrity that everyone else seems to love, but you find totally overrated? Why is it that you don’t like them?  Taylor Swift. Her music’s just never fallen under my personal preferences, but I don’t actively hate on her or bash her when there’s been no reason to.

If you could volunteer for any charity, which one would you choose? Do you think it’s more important to help humans, or are animal and environmental charities equally important?  I don’t think acts of charity should be compared. Personally though, I tend to lean towards causes for animals.

Do you prefer holidays where you relax, or actually do things? My family alwaysssssss makes sure our itineraries are absolutely packed when we go on vacations. Seems like a waste of money to travel to a new place just to stay holed up in our hotel room.

Do you think that after we die our spirit is still alive?  No, I don’t believe in those to begin with.

Has anybody ever told you that you could be a model? Yeah, usually because of my build. I hate posing and being in front of a camera, though.

Do you use different kinds of moisturizer for different body parts? ie. hand lotion for your hands, face cream for your face. Or do you just use one moisturizer for all body parts?  I don’t use skincare products, though I should probably start because my skin is finally biting me in the ass and giving me breakouts 23 years later lol.

Have you ever felt like you were someone’s rebound? Nope.

Has anybody ever broken up with you over something really pathetic? What was it? Have you ever been dumped in a disrespectful way? (eg. through text, through a friend..)  I wouldn’t say it was over something pathetic. She had her reasons and I respect that. Doesn’t mean I can’t resent her.

Did you have a lot of role models as a kid?  Not really.

Do you feel like anyone looks up to you? Why or why not? I don’t know, but this isn’t a compliment I get a lot either. I don’t actively try to be a role model, so I don’t care about maintaining such an image.

What was the last thing you found offensive? My mom often throws around subtle homophobic remarks in passing. She knows I hate them because I shoot her a glare every time she does it, but for some reason she never learns...

Who is the nicest person you know?  Angela.

Do you feel safe in your country?  In a country where the president is a blatant liar, misogynist, has anger and cursing issues, and enables extrajudicial killings? Safety is a dream here.

Do you feel safe where you live?  Very technically speaking, yeah I do since it’s a gated village so nothing ever happens here.

Have you been falsely diagnosed with something by a bad doctor?  Not necessarily misdiagnosed, but I’m pretty sure I was prescribed the wrong set of medicines for my UTI last year...nothing came out of taking those pills and I felt just as sick (and dead) as I was after a couple of days. The only reason I got better was Angels’s mom is a doctor and gave me the right meds to take, which worked on me within a couple of hours.

Have you ever had a doctor refuse to treat you?  No.

Name the strangest game you’ve ever played (video game or real game): WarioWare is suuuuuuuch a weird game haha. Doesn’t stop me from enjoying it, though.

Do you know anyone who has been struck by lightning before?  Not that I know of.

Which cartoon character would you want to keep as a pet? Gary from Spongebob.

Do you like marshmallows?  Haaaaaaaate them. I never got used to its weird, sticky texture so I always take them out when they’re included in like drinks and desserts.

What is your favorite flavor of candy cane?  I don’t consume candy canes much. Too sweet.

Have you ever fostered an animal?  Nope.

Do you still take hot showers when it’s hot out?  No, I want the water to be as cold as possible.

When writing $ sign, do you draw one line through the S or two?  I do two, though I rarely have any reason to write down the dollar sign in general.

What animal have you always wanted as a pet but couldn’t have?  We weren’t allowed to have dogs as kids because we “wouldn’t be able to take care of them” – which they were right about, anyway. But we have two now, so it all worked out in the end.

List three people you’ve had crushes on:  Gabie, Andi...and that’s it, really.

Have you ever thrown up from cramps?  No. Fortunately my period cramps have never been that bad, and the only time they can be a headache is if they’re the leg crampjp that sends me waking up in the middle of the night.

List three people you had a hard time forgiving.  I don’t really forgive. If someone fucks up badly enough that I feel the need to cut them off, that’s pretty much it for me.

Who is the most spiritual person you know?  I don’t know.

Would you ever start a vlog?  Sure. I’ve always wanted to try it, but I don’t have a decent vlogging camera and am not invested enough in the venture to spend on one. In general I’m also not comfortable being in front of the camera, as I’ve already shared several times here. Vlogging does look fun though, and I definitely would’ve already given it a shot if only I felt more comfortable.

Are your dreams coming true yet?  Some of the short-term ones, sure.

Do you struggle with depression?  I go through phases of it, but I’ve never been formally diagnosed just because I’ve never booked a trip to the psychiatrist.

Are you haunted by your past?  No

What medical conditions do you have?  Do scoliosis and lactose intolerance count? Those are the main issues I have.

Do you use a Magic Bullet?  Why did I think this was a vibrator...? Anyway, I looked it up and no, I’ve never used one.

What does your apron look like?  I’ve never had to use one regularly.

What are your favorite spicy foods?  Curry, tteokbokki, ramen, samgyeopsal with ssamjang, spicy fried chicken.

Which do you like better: being an adult or being a kid?  Being an adult has a lot more freedom to it even though I have to go through heavier and deeper shit, so it’s still more worth it to me.

Were you excited to be a teenager on your thirteenth birthday?  I was heavily depressed back then, and was for a while, so I didn’t have any feelings about turning 13. I don’t even remember my birthdays up until the 15th.

Did you feel insecure in high school?  In the first half, yeah. But I started opening up more and gaining friends by junior year, so at that point I wasn’t feeling too shy anymore.

Would you ever be friends with someone who was suicidal?  I hate this question that I am simply ignoring it.

Who was the biggest bully in high school?  My school didn’t tolerate bullies so no one ever dared to be one, in the grand scheme of things. But back in kindergarten Kaira used to love targeting me - she was my big bully before she became my friend, lol.

What was your favorite class in high school? History, of course. I personally didn’t like literature but I enjoyed English classes, just because it was easy and was a guaranteed A+ in my report card.

Would you rather have a daughter or a son?  Daughter. 

Have you ever written to an advice columnist? Nope.

Have you ever had a doctor not believe what you told him?  Not really, but I’ve had a doctor be a total asshole towards me before.

If you’re female, would you feel uncomfortable having a male gynecologist?  No.

Do you like Lisa Frank?  No.

What gives you nightmares?  I don’t really get nightmares.

Were you ever hospitalized as a child?  Nope. I was hospitalized one time, and I had been 11 then.

Did you get senior pictures taken?  Yeah, for both high school and college.

What color is your bicycle? The family bike is blue and silver. Not that I could ride it, lol.

Did you ever have to take home a fake baby in health class?  No...is that a practice in other schools? That’s so weird if it was.

Would you rather wear ivory or white on your wedding day? What color will your bridesmaids wear?  White. Ivory can be for the bridesmaids, actually.

Would you rather have a swimming pool or trampoline?  Swimming pool. Trampolines are neat, but I would get bored of them so quickly.

Do you think babies are cute? For the most part yes, the only exception being if I have to be exposed with a baby/toddler that is prone to screech-crying. My patience is an extremely thin line when it comes to children like that lol and I FEEL BAD for feeling like so... but I just can’t deal with harsh sounds like that one.

Do you dream about the future a lot?  I guess I daydream sometimes but it’s nothing obsessive.

Do you think about your past a lot?  I’ll daydream or feel resentful sometimes, depending on what or who I’m thinking about lol. But I don’t stay in the past for too long.

How good are you at living in the moment?  I’m a lot better at it. It’s nice to be in the now.

Have you ever questioned God’s existence?  I did starting when I was 10, and I also disowned my religion by that time.

Vanilla frosting or chocolate? Chocolate foreverrrrr.

What’s your favorite foreign cuisine?  It’s always a three-way tie among Indian, Malaysian, and Thai.

Have you ever moved to another state?  No. We don’t even live in states.

Did you do anything productive today?  Well I had work today, so yeah I’d say I was. I had two meetings and worked on a bunch of spreadsheets and decks, so it was a pretty productive day.

Can you say the alphabet backwards?  Nope.

Do you like flowers?  Sure, but I’m not obsessed. It always feels nice to receive them, though.

Have you ever thought you were gonna die?  Every single time I get catcalled by men I always have the fear that they’d go all the way and drag me away to my death. That’s why I’m usually in shock whenever it happens and I’m never able to retort.

What kind of mood are you in today?  Super relieved because it’s Friday. A bit guilty because I had Starbucks delivered when I had already spent a lot this week, but I keep telling myself I deserve it after working all week haha. I just wanna enjoy my coffee and salmon dill sandwich in peace lmaooooo

What are you craving right now?  This salmon sandwich I ordered, so I’m hella glad I got it.

Is there anyone you would seriously punch right now if you had the chance?  Maybe shove, but not punch.

What is worse, physical or emotional pain?  Physical. My pain tolerance is extremely low, lol.

Have you ever walked in on somebody doing something… questionable? I don’t think I have.

If you were to make videos on YouTube, what would they be of?  I think just doing the trendy games like the Lie Detector game would be fun haha. I wouldn’t take it too seriously.

Posting pictures of yourself in a bathing suit on the internet - ok or not? ...It’s 2021.

Do you typically laugh when somebody falls down?  If it’s a close friend or a relative I’m close with, yeah. Anyone else I would immediately try to help.

What is the most disturbing movie you’ve ever watched?  Eraserhead or Under the Skin, which I didn’t even bother finishing.

Your opinion of Katy Perry, please?  I like her older songs.

If you could say anything to your Mom right now… what would it be?  Stop acting like a brat when you don’t get your way. You’re literally reaching 50.

[maddie-grove]

Little Book Review: Don't Tell the Grown-Ups

Author: Alison Lurie.

Publication Date: 1990.

Genre: Nonfiction.

Premise: In a collection of essays, novelist and English professor Alison Lurie explores how children's literature, from fairy tales to Peter Pan to some 1970s crap about gnomes, is actually kind of fucked up sometimes.

Thoughts: It's not all Alison Lurie's fault that I experienced this book in the same way I do clickbait articles with titles like "The Original Stories That Inspired These Disney Movies Are Seriously Dark" and "Yikes! 10 Famous Children's Authors who Were Way More Messed Up than You Thought." In 1990, the study of children's literature was younger, and research was harder because there was almost no internet. Of course I respect Lurie more than all but the finest Cracked.com writers. The gap's just a lot smaller than I would've guessed, partly because the book's points (unfairly) seem tired after years of listicles with similar content, and partly because Lurie's work can be legitimately sloppy.

Lurie's at her best when exploring the dysfunctional and/or politically subversive lives of Victorian and early-twentieth-century children's authors, such as Beatrix Potter, J.M. Barrie, E. Nesbit, Kate Greenaway, and Lucy Clifford. She writes engagingly, shares some truly haunting tidbits (go away, John Ruskin!), and draws interesting parallels between the authors' lives and work. Her work on fairy tales isn't as strong; she's prone to making dubious, unsupported statements like "the kings in fairy tales made up by peasants are probably actually just prosperous tradesmen." So...is she saying that peasants didn't know what a king was? That they routinely confused, say, the local miller with a monarch? Like, sure, I buy that the average peasant wasn't familiar with the details of a king's life, but I've never read any version of a fairy tale and gone "hmmm, this king is described as living in a wooden house with four rooms and an actual window--I think he's really just a successful wheelwright."

The chapters on more recent children's literature are also sparse, to say the least. Lurie talks about Richard Adams (even though Watership Down is, at most, an adult book popular with kids, and Shardik isn't even that) and a kitschy illustrated book about gnomes that was apparently popular in the 1970s (and also not chiefly written for kids). She disdains Disney movies and Star Trek so much that she won't analyze them. I'm sure she has her reasons, yet that gnome book seems way more ephemeral than even the least essential Disney movie or silliest Star Trek episode.

Hot Goodreads Take: "I find Ms. Lurie's claim that she just couldn't find any American children's authors (in the year 1990) whose works suitably showed the subversive trends she was writing about somewhat spurious. No mention of Beverly Cleary and puckish Ramona? No discussion of Marguerite Henry and her animal stories? No Laura Ingalls Wilder and her subversive repackaging of her autobiography? Not even a passing mention of Gary Paulsen? Come on." Yeah!!!

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

Yeah I feel the same way. That's one of the main reasons why I don't really read romance centred books, because the romance a lot of the time written by some cis women just feels very self insert-ish and it's either the "dark haired bad boy with a tragic past" who is a creep/treats the MC like crap and tries to control her or its some bland ass Gary Stue. The MC honestly doesn't make it any better, because she is either a self insert for the author to fulfill her desires or she's just bander than my doormat. There's no in between. The romances a lot of the time in these romance books are fuelled by lust and there's no actual connection/chemistry between the characters, they don't really get to know each other,we just have to keep reading the dialogue that's drier than the dessert and just have to keep on reading about how much they stare at each other without blinking. Like every once in a while I do like to read some trashy romances I'm not going to lie, but that's extremely rare nowadays. The romance genre has so much potential, its honestly so sad that these authors keep writing the same story over and over and often don't include POC/queer people unless they're like the side best friend of the MC, that's just there to earn diversity points for the author. Also please give us a romance between two characters that have actual chemistry and develop a romance naturally throughout the story. Some romance novels written by these authors are good at doing this, but most are just trash. I mainly read fantasy and other genres where romance is not the main focus, because I feel that the story/characters tend to keep me invested even if the romance isn't all that great ya know. (well not SJM, those books are erm... how do I put it nicely not that great, at least for me). Thank you for listening to my Ted talk.

Honestly the more I see the more I seem to find myself just not enjoying the genre as much as I feel I should? And I don't know why, because I love a good romance, as evidenced by the fact that I keep trying to write them. And I know for a fact that I keep picking them up because the premises sound fun and exciting and I keep thinking I'll find something good. So like ... am I the problem? Am I just lying to myself and end up calling a whole subgenre of literature bad just because it's not for me? But what is for me, then? I know I enjoy romance, so why can't I enjoy these?

It's genuinely kind of sad, tbh :/ I feel like I'm doing something wrong, or being needlessly mean, or maybe looking in the wrong place? Or have I just always had the wrong idea of what romance in books actually is, and this is the norm and I'm actually interested in something else? I can't tell at this point.

[farfrombrooklyn]

The Trouble With 'Bookiness'

My Year Abroad Chang Rae Lee

This is just to set down an idea that came to me while reading--and before having finished (or put aside, we’ll see)--Chang Rae Lee's "My Year Abroad."

The idea, put simply, is that some books are just too booky. By booky, I mean a highly self-conscious performance of literature. "My Year Abroad" is entertaining (so far) and energetically written, with some nifty turns of phrase--a rich suburb is described as being rife with “apex MILF”--but it doesn't ring quite true as a portrait of humans. It's just too booky.

"My Year Abroad" reminds me, in both its strengths and weaknesses, of Gary Shteyngart’s “Lake Success,” which is full of authorial fireworks but even more so chockablock with showy details about, well, just about anything--the ins and outs of bond trading, collectible watches, and so on. Shteyngart did his research and he wants you to know it. But "Lake Success" doesn’t really come off as a narrative of an actual life. It’s cartoonish.

In the case of “My Year Abroad,” a number of highly polished details in the early chapters just go clank: for instance, the narrator, a callow college dropout describes his mentor-to-be this way: “His regular gig was as a bench chemist at a global pharma giant.” The terms "global pharma giant" and especially "bench chemist" are used only by older folk, and in particular by older folk who like to collect linguistic ephemera. That is: novelists.

I presumably will have more to say about this later, but the point is not that I don’t enjoy this book. To the contrary, it’s fun and at times funny -- like “Lake Success.” But it feels somehow flossy and insubstantial to me, like a magic show, or opera buffa. It’s an entertainment. I’m not sure why that seems like a criticism, I don’t exactly mean it to be one, but I know that there is more than a hint of criticism in that term, "entertainment."

I suppose if I want an entertainment, that means (to me) that I want something less literate, less observed; more eventful and faster moving. It's also difficult, in this day and age, to put forward any book as an entertainment... there's just too much purely entertaining streaming media available at the touch of a button. A novel needs to deliver an emotional or an intellectual punch if it is to justify itself.

By the way, the Shteyngart book occupies an unusual place in my reading history. I loved his “Super Sad Love Story” and was deeply impressed by “Absurdistan,” so I opened “Lake Success” with a lot of anticipation. I read it in full, but never felt completely involved in it. And then, for some reason, I finished it and immediately read it again, start to finish! Even though I hadn't "liked" it much.

I don't think I've ever done that before. Of course there are many books I have read many, many times over. But I can’t think of one that I reread immediately upon finishing it for the first time. The fact that I did so without fully buying into the narrative is really mystifying to me. So who knows, maybe I'll finish off "My Year Abroad" with quibbles, and then turn back to page one and make another round trip. We'll see.

Postscript: I didn't get much further in "My Year Abroad." Its sheer bookiness did it in. I admired the writing but didn't want to read it. Does that make any sense???

[loadinglord552]

Best Dnd Games

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Not based on D&D but an adventure gamebook of the same name, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain: Goblin Scourge Edition is a unique experience on the Switch. More like a tabletop game than most of the games on this list, it even lets you switch (pardon the pun) things up and play as one of the. Dungeons & Dragons video games for XONE sorted by popularity among gamers. Xbox One is the 8th generation console and the third in the Xbox family from Microsoft (a successor to Xbox 360). It was released on November 22nd, 2013, initially only in 13 countries over the world.

Best D&d Games Pc

Best D&d Games For Xbox One

Not only is Planescape: Torment the best D&D game to have been made thus far, many would argue its place as the best RPG game ever made.

In addition to those games inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, the property has been the host of many officially licensed D&D games over the years - many of which stand as classics in their own right. Peruse our ranked list of the top ten D&D video games below, and share your picks in the comments at the end of the article.

Manticore Games, creator of Core, chose to honor the iconic RPG with a massive contest, inviting hundreds of players to create D&D-inspired experiences on its system. These fan-made adventures are all completely free to play right now on Core, and players can even access a special hub world that will teleport them to the contest winners.

D&D has been part of popular culture for over 40 years.

Even its creator Gary Gygax could not have possibly predicted the reach and popularity that this pen-and-paper tabletop game would achieve. Naturally, its successes have allowed it to seep into different types of media—video games included.

Thus far, D&D’s video games have followed the RPG formula. These titles also tend to translate the tabletop’s intricate rulesets into engaging video game mechanics, where players can create and customize characters. Plus many titles on this list boast fantastic narrative and writing, thanks in part to a significant amount of published literature and tabletop content for D&D.

Let’s dive in and see which games are the most fun to play in the D&D franchise.

NOTE: Unless otherwise specified, the video games on this list are available only on PC (either Windows, Mac or Linux).

10. Dungeons & Dragons Online

Released in 2006, Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) is the franchise’s first major take at an MMO title.

When it originally came out DDO scratched the online multiplayer itch with third-person perspective combat, cooperative quest-based progression, and customizable build paths.

Its graphics were functional in quality, but they sufficed for the game’s basic premise.

Unfortunately DDO hasn’t aged very gracefully in either graphics engine or gameplay.

Still, it earns a spot on this list for being a decent first shot at an online D&D video gaming experience. On the bright side it also came before D&D as a franchise really took off through Internet fandom, so maybe there’s hope for another similar multiplayer title.

9. The Temple of Elemental Evil

Released in 2003, The Temple of Elemental Evil follows the RPG formula taken by D&D video game titles from the previous decade.

However this game takes players away from the Forgotten Realms setting, which had become something of a favorite for D&D content.

Instead we are taken to Greyhawk, the first world designed by Gary Gygax for the tabletop’s first edition.

Temple of Elemental Evil uses turn-based combat, and many of its mechanics are based on the D&D 3.5 edition ruleset that released in the same year.

This title’s fidelity to the tabletop’s rules serves as a particular highlight overall, though it does lack the same narrative punch and writing chops as some other video games in the franchise. Still a really fun game to play if you’re a big fan of D&D as a whole.

8. Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation

Released in October 2017, Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation is set in the Chult region of the Forgotten Realms, one of D&D’s flagship settings.

The game’s main story follows the same plot threads as D&D 5th edition’s Tomb of Annihilation adventure module.

Unlike many preceding video games in the franchise, Tales from Candlekeep shies away from basing its mechanics too wholly on any one edition of D&D’s ruleset.

Instead combat follows an amalgamation of rules that resembles standard D&D fare adjusted particularly for a dungeon crawler focus.

In that regard, the gameplay is more reminiscent of the turn-based combat seen in the XCOM series than previous D&D video games.

Players get to choose the members of their main party from a set of premade adventurers, each with their own specializations that give you leeway to develop multiple iterations of tactics and combos.

Typical of RPGs, adventurers progress by undertaking quests that reward experience, gold, items, all that fun stuff.

The game also contains a map generation system that lends itself to multiple replays so it’s probably gonna keep you entertained for a while.

7. Neverwinter

Unrelated to other Neverwinter-themed titles (which we’ll come to later), Neverwinter is a free-to-play MMORPG available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

The game takes place in the eponymous city of Neverwinter where players can undertake different quests and storylines.

All the narratives and locations take inspiration from novels written in the Forgotten Realms setting. However recent content includes tie-ins to official modules published for the tabletop game.

You can also experience player-created content through the game’s “Foundry” system.

Neverwinter initially started with mechanics that took after D&D’s 4th edition rules. Gameplay involved players creating characters based on one of eight classes, each with its distinct roles and abilities(typical of D&D).

Players could team together in up to five-man parties while completing content. With the advent of D&D’s 5th edition, however, the game rebalanced its classes in 2019 to better match the most recent edition’s ruleset.

Like other MMORPGs, your characters grow more powerful by leveling up and acquiring better equipment. Though now you can do it in D&D-style!

6. Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

This isometric RPG takes place in the eponymous Icewind Dale, a region in D&D’s Forgotten Realms setting.

Based on the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore, the game boasts fantastically-written dialogue and hours of content through quests and exploration.

Players create and control an adventuring party of up to six characters. Each character receives special class designation and stats, which determine their effectiveness in combat, skill access, and spellcasting ability.

You also improve these characters by earning experience points from quests and enemies.

Black Isle Studios(who is responsible for other great favorites on this list) developed the original Icewind Dale game.

Much later Beamdog took over its Enhanced Edition remake, which packaged in the original DLCs as well.

The Enhanced Edition features improved graphics, UI changes, bug fixes, and gameplay tweaks.

For both new and experienced D&D fans I’d say Icewind Dale will definitely scratch that classic RPG itch.

5. Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition

The original Neverwinter Nights had been developed by Bioware with Beamdog taking over the game’s 2012 remake.

This title contains hundreds of hours of content set in D&D’s Forgotten Realms.

In addition to the main storyline there are numerous side-quests and subplots. Players receive rewards (such as experience and items) for completing content outside of the main questline, so there is a lot of incentive to partake in engaging different characters and exploring areas—a highlight of the Neverwinter Nights experience.

The actual gameplay mechanics are mainly based on D&D’s original 3rd edition ruleset, which gives you many options in customizing characters.

Practically everything you do in the game relies on chance, based on a 20-sided die roll. You have some control over the results based on character stats and abilities, but there will always be a level of randomness to the successes and failures.

The game also has modding compatibility which adds more replay value through fan-made mods(and there are dozens of them). Also at this point there’s little reason not to go with the Enhanced Edition since it already contains the DLCs packaged in.

4. Neverwinter Nights 2

A top-down perspective RPG title brought to us by Obsidian Entertainment. This 2006 game provided audiences a taste of what this developer could do with the RPG genre(and some of you may know Obsidian for their much later work on Pillars of Eternity and The Outer Worlds).

Taking place in the same setting as Neverwinter Nights, this sequel title features equally stellar writing and depth of content to its predecessor.

The fact that this title improves on some of the first game’s flaws is what gives it the edge on this list.

Neverwinter Nights 2 faithfully adapts D&D’s 3.5 edition ruleset to create an authentic tabletop gaming experience right at your computer.

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Players go through an intricate character creation system, much like the tabletop game, that lends itself to customization and optimization.

This title also has three different DLCs, though only two were developed by Obsidian. But with these extra DLCs players who enjoyed the base game can opt into the expansions for some really fun additional content.

On top of having mod support, Neverwinter Nights 2 (as with its predecessor) benefits from an active modding community so players can find a lot of replay value here as well. Highly recommend this if you’re big into PC gaming.

3. Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition

Baldur’s Gate takes place in the ever-popular Forgotten Realms setting, specifically (and unsurprisingly) in the city of Baldur’s Gate.

Players dive into an intricate story of intrigue and interfaction conspiracy that threatens to spark open conflict in the region.

During the adventure your burgeoning hero can be joined by several colorful characters, and you may even encounter some big names of Faerûn fame, like Drizzt Do’Urden.

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The original and remake games’ mechanics take after the 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset.

And just to clarify: the original 1998 game “Baldur’s Gate” is fantastic in its own right. In fact, it was hailed one of the best RPGs ever released… though I have to hand it to Beamdog for remaking the Enhanced Edition into a more superior title fit for modern standards.

In addition to looking better, the Enhanced Edition stays true to many of the original’s gameplay mechanics. But it adds hundreds of quality-of-life changes along with content and player options. I mean, it’s fair to say gaming has changed a lot in the past 20+ years.

The remake also contains the original Baldur’s Gate expansion pack, Tales of the Sword Coast, while having its own exclusive DLC called Siege of Dragonspear.

2. Baldur’s Gate 2: Enhanced Edition

Even in the realm of video games, the sequel curse exists—where a great work is followed by a not-so-great sequel.

I’m happy to say Baldur’s Gate 2 kicks that curse to the curb.

This succeeding game builds on what made the first one so memorable. Baldur’s Gate 2 takes the player deeper into Forgotten Realms, this time focusing on the country of Amn.

Much like the original Baldur’s Gate, here you are plunged into an epic adventure on a scale to rival or even exceed its predecessor’s story. With different class choices you can eventually build up your character to be a walking army, accompanied by a cast of fleshed-out recruitable companions.

Like its other D&D remakes, Beamdog’s take with Baldur’s Gate 2: Enhanced Edition polishes graphics with a more advanced engine along while adding many modern changes (such as functional multiplayer capability).

The remake also maintains its fidelity to the 2nd Edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

All the while the Enhanced Edition keeps to what made the 2000 original game such an impressive RPG: its great story, in-depth characters, and hundreds of hours’ worth of adventure.

1. Planescape: Torment

The top spot on this list indisputably goes to Planescape: Torment and its remake, Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition.

I have to admit the remake does well to update graphics to more modern standards that most gamers expect.

Not only is Planescape: Torment the best D&D game to have been made thus far, many would argue its place as the best RPG game ever made. Period.

You play as an immortal amnesiac protagonist known as The Nameless One.

Though based in the central hub of Sigil, the City of Doors, you will have to brave all the dangers and oddities of the Planescape multiverse (imagine every universe in existence).

Your goal?

To search your memories and understand how you came upon your immortal state. Of course, your quest won’t ever be as simple as that. And the game’s setting is a gift that can give one memorable highlight after another.

One can only imagine the utter weirdness and hilarity that can ensue when you mix creatures from every nook of existence, sometimes of utterly different moral alignments.

Luckily the writing is top-notch to keep up with the possibilities of the game’s multiverse.

Planescape: Torment just hits all the ideal RPG beats you want in a game.

A fantastic setting where you don’t always know what to expect. Complex and well-written, with tight dialogue and a gripping narrative. The chance to round out your party with compelling characters all with their own sub-plots to resolve.

And lastly, this is a game system that encourages different builds and customization.

Whether you’re new or a veteran of the RPG genre, Planescape: Torment is a must-play experience.

Special Mention: Baldur’s Gate 3

While Baldur’s Gate 3 hasn’t seen the light of day yet(as of this writing), I wanted to give it a special spot as possibly the most hyped D&D video game since Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition released.

This title will be brought to us by Larian Studios, developers of the acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin game series.

What we know so far is that it will take place (again) in Forgotten Realms, and gameplay will include some aspects of D&D’s 5th Edition ruleset.

Fans should also get excited at the prospect of encountering the terrifying Mind Flayers, a notorious creature borne more of Lovecraftian mythos than typical tabletop fantasy.

While Larian Studios and Wizards of the Coast have been keeping this title’s finer details under wraps, Baldur’s Gate 3 promises to be a must-have RPG-experience if its predecessors are anything to boast about. Keep your eyes peeled for this game’s release as we move into the 2020s.

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The discussion about “literature” in Asia Minor has received new impulses in recent years, in that questions have been raised about the transmission history, origin and compilation, but also about the purpose and sponsorship of such texts. For some time now, literary theories have also been given greater consideration in the development of texts from Asia Minor. Such questions were therefore - in the casual connection to two conferences held in 2003 and 2005, which primarily focused on religious topics of Anatolian tradition - at the center of a symposium in February 2010 in the Department of Religious Studies of the Institute for Oriental and Asian Studies from the University of Bonn. The reference to the two earlier conferences is not only established by the same place of publication, but also, in terms of content, there are undoubtedly points of contact between the history of religion and the history of literature in Hittite Asia Minor; for a considerable part of the written tradition of the Hittites is related to rituals, mythologies and the transmission of religious ideas.

As a pragmatic basis, “literature” was understood as a culture worthy of handing down written material for the symposium's question, without making this description too narrow for the symposium. This made it possible in the context of the contributions to raise a number of questions that could focus on different aspects of the literary tradition of Hittite culture depending on the interests. Some of the questions discussed during the symposium focused on literary theories, and some of the processes of literary production and dissemination were outlined, whereby stylistic forms of expression and motifs in this function were also considered.

Despite the different approaches of the authors, it is not difficult to see thematic similarities in the present volume. Questions of literary theory and literary genres are mainly in the center of the contributions by Birgit Christiansen, Paola Dardano, Amir Gilan, Manfred Hutter, Maria Lepši and Jared L. Miller; Complementary to this literary block are the contributions by Silvia Alaura, José L. García Ramón, Alwin Kloekhorst, Elisabeth Rieken and Zsolt Simon, who examine motifs and linguistic forms of expression in Anatolian texts. How understanding of literature - be it with regard to the statements of a literary work or be it with regard to the conception of such a work - is also promoted by the comparison of texts can be seen in the present volume in the contributions by Sylvia Hutter-Braunsar, Michel Mazoyer, Ian Rutherford, Karl Strobel and Joan Goodnick Westenholz. Finally, the last - no less important - group is the contributions by Gary Beckman, Carlo Corti, Magdalena Kapełuś and Piotr Taracha, who focus on the reconstruction and compilation of individual texts - as the basis for future literary analyzes of these texts.

For the present volume, the individual contributions have been editorially standardized as far as possible, but spellings of names and sometimes also transcriptions of Anatolian words, for which the authors have good reasons, have been left in different forms within the texts. The editorial standardization therefore primarily concerned citation methods and abbreviations, the latter can be broken down using the attached list of abbreviations.

1. The Illuyanka text is undoubtedly one of the best-known Hittite stories. The text was presented by Archibald Sayce in the 1920s. Shortly thereafter, the linguist Walter Porzig drew attention to parallels to the ancient Greek traditions, especially to the Typhon myth. The first "modern" editing of the text was done by Gary Beckman. In the meantime, numerous translations and studies have appeared that illuminate the text from different perspectives. The fascination that the Illuyanka text exudes is partly due to the fact that the myth has been handed down in two different versions - on one and the same board. The text also owes its popularity to the numerous parallels to other narratives of the type "snake dragon slayer". Tales of this kind about a hero who defeats and kills a serpentine dragon have been widespread throughout history in many parts of the world and continue to be so today. They are as good as universal. History can fulfill numerous functions - etiologies of extraordinary natural phenomena, ideological claims to rule, cosmological considerations about the beginnings of the world, religious symbolism or literary entertainment - which often show fairly constant plot structures and are subject to their own narratological logic. As Calvert Watkins (1995) was able to show, many of these narratives also share poetic formulas which are documented for the first time in the Hittite Illuyanka text. It is noticeable that many kite snakes have an affinity for water in common - an ambivalent and conflicting element in itself. "The fundamental element in the dragon’s power is the control of water. Both in its beneficent and destructive aspects water was regarded as animated by the dragon ”, stated G. Elliot Smith (1919: 103). Also Illuyanka, the (eel) snake, if one follows Joshua Katz (1998) and favors the old etymology of Illuyanka as illi / u (eel, English eel) and -anka (snake, cf. Latin anguis) (see now also Melchert, in press), is closely associated with water in both stories. In addition, in many cultures dragons have a special affinity for water sources (Zhao 1992: 113-114), which also play a role in the Illuyanka text. In the ancient Orient, the role of this hero is in most cases a weather god in one of his characters. The role of the enemy is occupied in different epochs and regions of the Ancient Orient by the (primordial) sea and a number of eerie creatures that inhabit it or originate from it. In the Syrian region, the battle of the weather god against têmtum is already mentioned in ancient Babylonian times; in a letter from the ambassador Maris in Aleppo, the weather god of Aleppo traces the kingship back to the investiture of his weapons with which he fought against têmtum (Durand 1993: 41-61; Schwemer 2001, 226-232). The weapons of the weather god from this fight, as well as the mountains Namni and Ḫazzi, are mentioned in the Hittite Bišaiša text (CTH 350), a mythological story that has unfortunately only survived fragmentarily. There the mountain god Bišaisa tells the goddess Ištar - after he raped the sleeping goddess, but was caught by her and begged for his life - about the weapons of the weather god with which he defeated the sea (Schwemer 2001: 233; Haas 2006: 212f .). The famous passage in the Puḫānu text, which is often interpreted as the “crossing of the Taurus”, is in my opinion linked. to this mythologist (Gilan 2004: 277-279). The fight of the weather god against the sea is also a theme of the Hurrian-Hittite Kumarbi cycle. In order to regain control over the world of gods, Kumarbi creates several terrible adversaries who are supposed to defeat the weather god Teššop. Three of these adversaries are closely related to water. At first the sea god himself was an opponent of the weather god. The song from the sea, which is mentioned in Hurrian and Hittite fragmentary myth and ritual fragments as well as in table catalogs, was probably made during a festival for Mount Ḫazzi (Zaphon, Kasion, today Keldağ on the Bay of İskenderun, the scene of many war and dragon stories ) presented.

Ullikummi was also closely associated with water. Another adversary was Ḫedammu, a snake-like monster (André-Salvini / Salvini 1998: 9-10; Dijkstra 2005). Ḫedammu was conceived by Kumarbi with the gigantic daughter of the sea and because of his voracity caused a famine that threatened to destroy mankind. Help was provided by Ištar, who went to the beach for nude bathing, seduced Ḫedammu there, who crawled excitedly out of the water to land, where he met his end. The Ḫedammu story shows many similarities to the first Illuyanka story (most recently Hoffner 2007: 125), while the "Anatolian" myth of "Telipinu and the daughter of the sea" (Hoffner 1998: 26-28; Haas 2006: 115-117) has a lot in common with the second Illuyanka story. In both narratives, a marriage - and the obligation associated with it - served to prevent danger. 2. The great importance of the Illuyanka text for the history of religion, however, is primarily due to the fact that the mythical narratives seem to be embedded in the ritual - an assumption that has strongly influenced the interpretation of the narratives in research. It is precisely this supposed connection between myth and ritual that will occupy me in the following. Before I get into that, however, I would like to briefly outline the scientific discussion about the relationship between myth and ritual, as the discussion is of crucial importance in interpreting the Illuyanka narrative (s). The question of the relationship between myth and ritual has shaped myth and ritual theory like no other since the end of the 19th century. It is associated with scholars such as the Old Testament scholar William Robertson Smith, who was the first to point out "the dependence of myth on ritual". The theory was further developed by Sir James Frazer in his monumental masterpiece "The Golden Bough", which grew from edition to edition. Frazer examined various ancient gods, which he interpreted as vegetation gods - including Adonis, Attis, Demeter, Tammuz, Osiris and Dionysus. The myth of death and resurrection of these deities was ritually performed annually during the New Year celebrations to guarantee the revitalization of the vegetation (Versnel 1990: 29f.). “Under the names of Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, and Attis, the people of Egypt and Western Asia represented the yearly decay and revival of life, especially of vegetable life, which they personified as a god who died annually and rose again from the dead . In name and detail the rites varied from place to place: in substance they were the same ”(Frazer 1961: 164). Segal (2004: 66) describes the meaning of the myth for Frazer as follows: “Myth gives ritual its original and soul meaning. Without the myth of the death and rebirth of that god, the death and rebirth of the god of vegetation would scarcely be ritualistically enacted. ”In the second, more influential Frazerian myth-ritual theory, the deified king is at the center. To end the winter and to guarantee the food supply, the king is killed by the community as soon as he shows weakness but still has strength. The weak phase of the king is equated with winter. His premature killing is to ensure that the soul of the deity who dwells in him can be transferred to his successor (Segal 2004: 66). The "Cambridge Ritual School" around Gilbert Murray, F.M. Cornford and Jane Ellen Harrison took Frazer's theories further. They transferred Frazer's story of the ritual royal drama - his death and resurrection - to Greek society and saw in this basic ritual structure the origins of Greek mythology and Greek drama (Versnel 1990: 30-35; Bell 1997: 5f.). The ritual was considered the source of the myth. Myths originally emerged only as a textual accompaniment to a ritual: "The primary meaning of myth ... is the spoken correlative of the acted rite, the thing done" (Jane Ellen Harri-son, quoted in Segal 1998: 7). However, myths could live on in literary forms after the rituals from which they arose have long since disappeared (Bell 1997: 6). The Old Testament scholar Samuel Henry Hooke turned to the ancient oriental religions (Versnel 1990: 35-38) and was able to reconstruct a ritual scheme (cult pattern) that is reminiscent of Frazer's ritual royal drama (Segal 1998; 2004: 70-72). Here too, the focus is on the deified king, who represents the deity in the festive ritual. According to Hooke, the following elements belong to the great New Year celebrations - the climax of the cult calendar year - as well as to other rituals (Hooke [1933] in Segal 1998: 88-89):

(1) The dramatic representation of the death and resurrection of the god.

(2) The recitation or symbolic representation of the myth of creation.

(3) The ritual combat, in which the triumph of the god over his enemies was depicted.

(4) The sacred marriage.

(5) The triumphal procession, in which the king played the part of the god followed by a train of lesser gods or visiting deities.

The Babylonian Akītu festival was of central importance for the development of the cult pattern as well as other theories of the myth and ritual school. Scenes such as the humiliation of the king in Esagila on the 5th of Nissanu, the recitation of Enūma eliš in the festival and the so-called Marduk Ordal offered the myth ritualists perfect parallels between king and deity, myth and ritual. For them, the ritual treatment of the king, his humiliation and possible re-enthronement reflected exactly the original mythological event in illo tempore - the fight of Marduk against Ti’amat and her troop of demonic monsters in enūma eliš (Versnel 1990: 36f.). Hooke's ritual narrative was further developed and modified by Theodor Gaster. For Gaster (1954: 198) too, myths are only myths if they are used or used in the ritual. Myths supplement the practical, functional level of the rituals with an eternal, ideal component. The myth "stands in fact in the same relationship to Ritual as God stands to the king, the 'heavenly‘ to the earthly city and so forth "(Gaster 1954: 197f.). With the simultaneous performance of myth and ritual, a cultic drama arises in which the myth is brought to mind (Gaster 1950: 17). The focus of his ritual theory is the seasonal pattern. "Seasonal rituals are functional in character. Their purpose is periodically to revive the topocosm, that is, the entire complex of any given locality conceived as a living organism. They fall into the two clear divisions of Kenosis, or Emptying, and Plerosis, or Filling, the former representing the evacuation of life, the latter its replenishment. Rites of Kenosis include the observance of fasts, lents, and similar austerities, all designed to indicate that the topocosm is in a state of suspended animation. Rites of Plerosis include mock combats against the forces of drought or evil, mass mating, the performance of rain charms and the like, all designed to effect the reinvigoration of the topocosm "(Gaster 1961: 17). In Thespis Gaster (1950: 315-380) offers a selection of ancient oriental mythological texts, partly also in translation, in which he discovered the traces of this seasonal cult scheme, including a number of Hittite texts, myths that are even still in their "original" ritual packaging are handed down. These include the Telipinu myth, the myth of the frost Ḫaḫḫima, the myth of the disappearance and return of the sun deity and The snaring of the Dragon, i.e. the Illuyanka text embedded in the Purulli festival. The myth ritualists gained great influence in many areas of the humanities, especially in literary studies. However, criticism has increased over time. This is why Clyde Kluckhohn (1942: 54) writes in his influential essay: “The whole question of the Primacy of ceremony and Mythology is as meaningless as all questions of the hen or the egg form”, a quote that also inspired the title of this article . Kluckhohn pointed out that myths often appear in connection with rituals, but just as often they do not. Rites and myths can stand in the most varied of relationships to one another, and can also arise in total independence from one another. A myth can contain motifs from other myths; these can be transferred between different cult contexts (Bremmer 1998: 74). Many other critics followed who pointed to errors and misunderstandings in myth and ritual literature and thus shook its foundations. E.g. Kirk (1974: 31-37) comes to the conclusion, based on the Greek material, that the vast majority of Greek myths arose without any special relation to rituals (1974: 253). The mytho-ritualistic interpretation of the Akītu festival was also decidedly rejected (von Soden 1955; Black1981). From today's point of view, the seasonal scheme of parallel mythical and ritual death and resurrection is considered outdated (Smith 1982: 91; Versnel 1990: 44). The works of the myth ritualists have themselves become myths and are particularly interesting from a research historical perspective: "The Study of Ritual arose in an age of Unbounded Confidence in its ability to explain everything fully and scientifically and the construction of Ritual as a category is part of this worldview "(Bell 1997: 21). However, Frazer's great narrative of ritual drama - battle, death, and resurrection - still enjoys popularity. One good reason to deal with Frazer's ritual drama here is above all that this concept shapes the Hittite literature on the Illuyanka text to this day.

3. Volkert Haas undertakes a decidedly Frazerian interpretation of the Illuyanka story, who sees Ḫupašiya as a “kind of priest and year king” who, after a hieros gamos with the goddess, “from a priestess of the Inar (a) to a limited, perhaps even annual, rule cycle would have been killed ”(Haas1982: 45f.). The characterization of the text in its Hittite literary history also has Frazerian roots (Haas 2006: 97): “With the Illuyanka text, there is a seasonal myth in which the order and forces of the cosmos are renewed in the cultic reconstruction of prehistoric events. The myth has been handed down in two versions. At the end of the agricultural year in the autumn after the harvest, the Hittite python Illuyanka, the personification of winter, defeats the weather god Tarhunta, who embodies the forces of spring and who has now ceased to function and is in the power of the Illuyanka during the winter months. At the beginning of spring, with the awakening of the forces of growth, a second battle follows, in which the weather god defeats the Illuyanka with the help of his son or the human Ḫupašiya. The myth that is part of the Old Hittite New Year ritual ends with the etiology of sacred royalty. He was probably also represented by miming. ”- The elements of the Frazerian story cannot be overlooked: ritual drama of primeval times, renewal of the cosmos, order and chaos, revitalization of the forces of nature, the close connection to royalty and the performance in ritual. Some elements of this interpretation have meanwhile been strongly questioned, such as the suggestion to view Ḫupašiya as the king of the year or the cohabitation with Inara as hieros gamos (Hoffner 1998: 11). The identification of the Purulli festival as the Old Ethite New Year festival could not establish itself either (CHD P, 392b; Taracha 2009: 136). Other “mythos-ritualistic” elements are still the state of research. 3.1 This includes embedding the Illuyanka myth in the Purulli festival. In a fundamental essay on Hittite mythology, Hans G. Güterbock set himself the research task of tracing the origins of the various myths and their ways of transmission (Güterbock 1961: 143). "In doing so we immediately make an observation concerning the literary form in which mythological tales have been handed down: only the myths of foreign origin were written as real literary compositions - we may call them epics - whereas those of local Anatolian origin were committed to writing only in connection with rituals. " This distinction between local mythological material embedded in a ritual context and “more literary”, imported mythological narratives of “foreign” origin has since established itself in Hittitology (most recently Lorenz / Rieken 2010). For research in this context, the Illuyanka text represents the prime example of the embedding of myth in the Anatolian cult. As Güterbock (1961: 150f.) Notes: “The text states expressly that the story was recited at the purulli festival of the Storm-god, one of the great yearly cult ceremonies ”. This assessment, too, has practically established itself in Hittitology and has a major impact on the religious-historical interpretation of the two Illuyanka stories. There is far less agreement on the question of whether the myths in the festival were also represented by facial expressions, as Gaster suspected at the time (1950). In his review, Goetze was skeptical about this. The idea came back to life with Pecchioli Daddi's proposal (1987: 361-379; 2010: 261; but see Taracha 2009: 136) to identify the festival ritual for the deity Tetešḫabi (CTH 738) as part of the Purulli festival. She observes (Pecchioli Daddi 1987: 378) that the “daughter of the poor man” functions in the cult of the Teteš “abi, a figure who also plays a role in the second Illuyanka story and leads to the assumption that the myth is in the cult facial expressions (Haas 1988: 286). In addition, the connections between myth and ritual in the Illuyanka text are varied and complex. The Illuyanka stories were recorded on a board along with "ritual descriptions" which may, but not necessarily, represent parts of the Purulli festival. In addition, the first Illuyanka story also provides the aetiology for the Purulli festival celebrated in spring (Goetze 1952: 99; Neu 1990: 103; Klinger 2007: 72).

3.2 The Illuyanka stories are often interpreted as seasonal myths which symbolically represent the regeneration of nature, if not even magically bring it about. According to this interpretation, the defeat of the weather god, who is the lord of rain, endangers nature and agriculture (Hoffner 2007: 124). The eventual victory of the weather god symbolizes the revival of the vegetation in spring (Schwemer 2008: 24). Illuyanka's role is interpreted differently as the personification of winter (Neu 1990: 103; Haas 2006: 97), the Kaškäer (Gonnet 1987: 93-95) or, in my opinion, true as the master of underground water (Hoffner 2007: 124). 3.3 A close relationship between the narratives and the Hittite kingdom is postulated. "The mythic story about the dragon Illuyanka could be interpreted as an aetiological legitimation of the invention of kingship ... very secure are the close ties between the Hittite kings and the festival respectively the place where the mythological drama is located - namely the city of Nerik "(Klinger 2009: 99). The close connection to royalty is primarily based on the identification of Ḫupašiya as an archaic, mythological king as well as on the role of the goddess Inara as the protective deity of Ḫattuša with close connections to the Hittite kingdom. But can the Illuyanka text meet all of these expectations? 4. The text (CTH 321) has survived in eight or nine Young Hittite copies - the affiliation of duplicate J (KUB 36.53) in Košak's Concordance has meanwhile been disputed - but the text contains linguistic archaisms that could refer to an older model. Hoffner (2007: 122) notes the small number of archaisms which for Klinger (2009: 100) show “the characteristic features of a moderately modernized text typical of the process of copying an older tablet”. The text itself is introduced as the speech of Kella, the GUDU priest of the weather god of Nerik. The GUDU priest was part of the basic equipment of Hittite temples and was mainly anchored in the northern and central Anatolian, Hittite-Hittite cult tradition. He served in traditional Anatolian cult centers such as Nerik, Zipplanda or Arinna and was primarily active as an incantation priest and as a reciter in festive events (most recently Taggar-Cohen 2006: 229-278; Taracha 2009: 66). As the report of a GUDU priest, however, the Illuyanka text is quite singular. In reality, the text is unique in itself, a property that unfortunately went relatively uncommented in research. In contrast to other mythological texts of Anatolian tradition, the Illuyanka text does not represent a mūgawar "invocation" and did not serve to appease and bring about disappeared deities (Lepši 2009: 23). The text is not a festive ritual text and does not contain any magical practices (but now see Lorenz / Rieken 2010: 219). I will come back to the genre definition of the text, but first we will deal with the question of how myth and ritual are embedded. The text is presented in the words of Kella (KBo 3.7 i 1-11 with duplicate KBo 12.83): [U]MMA mKell[a LÚGUDU12] ŠA d10 URUNerik nepišaš dI[ŠKUR-ḫ]u-[n]a? purulliyaš uttar nu mān kiššan taranzi utne=wa māu šešdu nu=wa utnē paḫšanuwan ēšdu nu mān māi šešzi nu EZEN4 purulliyaš iyanzi mān dIŠKUR-aš MUŠIlluyankašš=a INA URUKiškilušša arga(-)tiēr nu=za MUŠIlluyankaš dIŠKUR-an taraḫta

As follows Kell [a, the GUDU12 priest of the] weather god of Nerik: This (is) the word / matter of the purulli [...] of the weather god of heaven. When one says in this way: “Let the land prosper and multiply! - The land should be protected! ”And as soon as / so that it flourishes and multiplies, the purulli festival is celebrated. When the weather god and the snake fought in Kiškilušša, the snake defeated the weather god. The rest of the story should be known. The weather god begs all gods for help, the goddess Inara prepares a festival and brings Ḫupašiya to help. Ḫupašiya shows himself to be helpful, but demands in return to sleep with the goddess. The snake and its children are lured out of their hole in the ground; they eat and drink too much; The story, however, follows Inara, the actual heroine of the story (Pecchioli Daddi / Polvani 1990: 42), who builds a house for herself on a rock in the country of Tarukka and lets Ḫupašiya quarter there on the condition that he never looks out the window . But the relationship does not last longer than 20 days, because aupašiya does what he is not allowed to do. It is unclear whether Inara Ḫupašiya ultimately kills, but it is often suspected. For our question, the last paragraph in history is of particular interest (KBo 3.7 ii 15'-20'):

Inaraš INA URUKiškil[ušša wit] É-ŠU ḫunḫuwanašš[=a ÍD ANA] QATI LUGAL mān dāi[š] ḫa[nt]ezziyan purull[iyan] kuit iyaueni Ù QAT [LUGAL É-ir] dInaraš ḫunḫuwanašš=a ÍD […]

Inara [came] to Kiškil [ušša]. And when she put her house and [the river] of underground water [in] the hand of the king [...] - that's why / since then we celebrate the first purull [i] festival - and the hand [of the The king is said to be the house] of the Inara and the [river] of the underground water [...] So much for the first and longer mythical story. However, it cannot be overlooked that nowhere does the text suggest that the snake narrative is recited in the Purulli festival itself, as is so often assumed. At the beginning (lines 4-8), Kella explains to his addressees what Purulli actually means: A spring festival that is celebrated as soon as the land flourishes and multiplies (with Hoffner 2007: 131) or so that it flourishes and multiplies, as it did recently Melchert (in press), who revived Stefanini's suggestion (Pecchioli Daddi / Polvani 1990: 50) that it should be read here as a final conjugation, exceptionally and depending on the context. The cited speech "from the cult event" is clearly limited to the short blessing. Immediately afterwards, Kella begins to tell the first snake story. As the end of the story (lines 15-20) makes clear, with his first myth, Kella provides an etiology for what he believes was the first / original Purulli festival. The addressees of this speech are not the festival participants in Nerik / Kiškilušša, but the recipients of the text in Ḫattuša, who are informed by Kella about the meaning of the festival and its history. The widespread assumption that the myth was presented at the Purulli festival itself cannot be confirmed in the Illuyanka text itself. The brevity and the unadorned style of the narrative - epithets are missing e.g. completely - speak against the assumption that the story, at least in this form, was ever presented in a festive manner (Lepši 2009: 23). Can the presumption of recitation be explained as a projection of myth and ritual theory, originating in analogy to the Babylonian Akītu festival? Kiškilušša, however, is far from Babylon in many ways. If the Illuyanka myth was not recited during cult events, as is so often assumed, the assumption that the story symbolized the regeneration of the forces of nature, even magically and creatively caused it, becomes all the more improbable. The substance of the story itself speaks against this assumption; Hoffner (2007: 129) rightly remarks: "Unlike the so-called Disappearing Deity Myths the text does not elaborate the natural catastrophes that must have followed from the Storm-god’s disablement." Nor does he describe the healing states afterwards. The narrator's interest is obviously elsewhere. Kella only wants to explain how it came about that Inara placed her house and the river of underground water in the hands of the king (KBo 3.7 ii 15-19), an event that founded the first Purulli festival for him. As Gary Beckman (1982: 24) rightly remarked, the handover is the etiology for a royal cult in Kiškilušša, a scarcely occupied village not far from Tarukka, which, however, claims to be the site of a large one primeval struggle, the traces of which could still be seen in cultural legacies (the house on a rock in the Tarukka country) and in local, extraordinary natural phenomena (the flow of underground water) (Hoffner 2007: 126-127). Only the victory over the snake made the handover by Inara possible, who in turn founded the first / original Purulli festival for the weather god of the sky (KBo 3.7 i 2).

The Purulli festival has, as is well known, archaic, northern and central Anatolian roots and was celebrated in spring in several localities for several deities (see CHD P: 392a for the evidence). As is well known, spring festivals were an integral part of the cult in countless Anatolian towns. With his aetiology of the Purulli festival in Kiškilušša, Kella tries to “sell” the importance of the royal cult foundation in Kiškilušša, and he is certainly interested in the fact that this cult foundation will continue to exist in Kiškilušša. Thus a rather profane reading suggests itself for the last, very fragmentary sentence of the first story (KBo 3.7 ii 19'-20 '): “and the hand [of the king shall be the house] of the Inara and the [river] of the underground water [hold?] ”(additions from Beckman 1982: 19). This interpretation is supported by the second mention of the king at the end of the Illuyanka text (KBo 3.7 iv 24'-26 ’with duplicate KUB 17.6 iv 20-21). There is talk of a royal foundation, which regulates the supply of the three deities - Zaliyanu, Zašḫapuna and Tazzuwašši - or their priests in Tanipiya. As the etiology for this foundation in Tanipiya, which is described in detail, Kella tells of the throwing ceremony, which decides on the seat and hierarchy of the gods and makes it necessary to care for Zaliyanu and his companions in Tanipiya. This foundation is also a local affair, as its relatively modest size suggests. The parallel between the two cases cannot be overlooked. In both of them it is up to Kella to explain the importance of local cult institutions. This local dimension of the first Illuyanka story may in my opinion not be overlooked. The historian Paul Veyne (1987: 28) writes about the Greek mythographer Pausanias, albeit a bit pointedly: “If you read Pausanias, you understand what mythology was: the most insignificant spot that our scholar describes has its legend, fitting to a natural or cultural attraction of the place. ”With the elimination of the mytho-ritualistic interpretation scheme, the often suspected close relationship with the Hittite kingship began to falter. Compared to most of the Hittite texts that refer to the cult, the king plays an astonishingly minor role in the Illuyanka text. In the passages we have received, it is only mentioned twice in the entire text, both times in connection with cult foundations. A comparison to the numerous invocations and blessings embedded in the Anatolian cult, such as IBoT 1.30, according to which the gods gave the whole land to the king to administer, can only relativize the theological significance of Inara's gift to the king, which "only" consisted of her house and the river of underground water in Kišškiluša. But the thesis that the Ḫupašiya story is the aetiology of the Hittite kingship can, in my opinion, also be valid. not convince. The story itself offers no clue points for any connection between Ḫupašiya and the king, and as far as I know, the entire Hittite tradition provides just as few arguments that a Hittite audience viewed Ḫupašiya as the original king or associated him with the king in any other way. 5. The question now remains, however, as to what connects the mythical stories with the other text sections, the so-called ritual descriptions. Immediately after the first snake narrative there follows a text passage, unfortunately only fragmentarily preserved, which is usually considered a ritual description in secondary literature and relates to Mount Zaliyanu and the city of Nerik (KBo 3.7 ii 21'-25 '): The mountain Zaliyanu (is ) the first [ranked] among all. When it has rained in Nerik, the herald brings thick bread from Nerik. And he asked for rain from Mount Za [liyan] u. After a large gap, we are already in the middle of the second mythical story (KBo 34.33 + KUB 12.66 iii 1’-10 ’; KBo 3.7 iii 1’-33’ brings the story to an end). The second snake story is structurally very similar to the first - with the son of the weather god in the role of Ḫupašiya - and also shows the weather god in a negative light. He sacrifices his son for the "bridegroom price" and his own salvation. However, geographical information is missing here, except that this time the snake is connected to the sea. The function of this narrative is, however, not apparent, nor is Kella's motivation to report it.

Immediately afterwards follows the introduction of a new speech by Kella (KBo 3.7 iii34’f.), Which probably introduces the new topic - the procession of the gods to Nerik. After another gap, the delivery is better, but the content all the more puzzling (KBo 34.33 + KUB 12.66 iv 1'-18 ’; with KBo 3.7 iv 1’-17’ and KUB 17.6 iv 1-14): [And] before / for the GUDU priest they made the [first] gods the [last], and meanwhile they made the last gods the first. The Zaliyanu's cultivation (is) great. But Zalinui's wife, Zašḫapuna, (cultivation) is greater than the weather god of Nerik. As follows the gods to the GUDU priest Taḫpurili: “When we go to Nerik (in KBo 3.7 iv 5: to the weather god of Nerik), where do we sit down? Taḫpurili, the GUDU priest: “When you sit on the diorite / basalt throne, the GUDU priests will cast the lot. The GUDU priest holding Zaliyanu - a diorite / basalt throne stands over the spring - he will sit there. And all the gods arrive and they cast the lot and of all gods Zašḫapuna of Kaštama is the greatest. This scene is also about the mountain god Zaliyanu (Taracha 2009: 44f., 104). His wife Zašḫapuna von Kaštama, who played a very important role in the cult of Nerik and the surrounding area (Haas 1994: 598; Taracha 2009: 44, 104), and his lover Tazzuwašši are also mentioned. Here, too, as in the first section on Zaliyanu, the question of the hierarchy of the gods is concerned, which was reversed at the beginning. This text passage is also characterized in secondary literature as a description of rituals. However, as Maria Lepši (2009: 21) rightly points out, the gods are involved in a dialogue with the GUDU priest and are informed by Taḫpurili of the ceremony of throwing away (Taggar-Cohen 2002) - elements that are discussed in Genuine ritual descriptions are rarely to be expected. There is presumably another mythological tale that tells of a ceremony involving Zaliyanu, Zašḫapuna and Tazzuwašši, which restores the true hierarchy of the gods and thus illustrates their great importance in the cult of Nerik. Thus, Kella also provides the justification for the subsequent cult foundation in Tanipiya. After the detailed and exact presentation of the royal foundation in Tanipiya for the supply of the three deities or their priests, Kella asserts the truth of his report. The text comes to an end. However, we return to our opening question. How do the mythical narratives correspond to the “ritual” passages in which they are embedded? On closer inspection, the answer is sobering - they probably don't, not least because, at least in part, they are not genuine fixed descriptions. The suspicion arises that we are actually dealing with a text compilation (as already Taracha 2009: 137 note 803) that combines different excerpts from different "reports" of the Kella, or text sections with different content: The Etiology of Purulli -Festes in Kiškilušša, the second Illuyanka story, the function of which unfortunately can no longer be reconstructed, and another story about Zaliyanu and his companions as the etiology for the foundation in Tanipiya.

This interpretation is also supported by the new introduction to Kella's speech after the second Illuyanka story and the fact that the colophon only speaks of Kella's words and no longer of the Purulli festival as in Incipit. The matter of the Purulli festival was possibly only a topic in the first part of the text. However, the different sections of text have a lot in common. First and foremost, the water, an element that flows through the entire text like a red thread in many facets (rain, subterranean flood, the sea, springs). Pecchioli Daddi / Polvani (1990: 47-48) offer an ingenious explanation for the outstanding role that Zaliyanu, the rain giver, and his two companions in life, Zaš Tapuna and Tazzuwašši, who are also deified as sources (Haas1994: 446) with the Water connected, enjoy in the text. The ritual parts celebrate this troika, while the actual lord of the rain and head of the pantheon, the weather god, was temporarily incapacitated by Illuyanka. However, we are dealing here with two generations of weather gods: In both stories Illuyanka fights against the passive weather god of the sky, while Zaliyanu, Zašḫapuna and Tazzuwašši dispute the hierarchy of his dynamic son, the weather god of Nerik. The two weather gods are also differentiated, with one exception (KBo 3.7 iv 5 ’), by their sumerograms: the weather god of the sky is written as dIŠKUR, his son from Nerik with d10. Instead of myths embedded in descriptions of rituals, we are dealing with narratives on two different mythological levels, which, however, have a similar function. As we have seen, all parts of the text deal with hierarchies. At the end of the first Illuyanka story, Kella explains why the first / original Purulli festival was celebrated, then he notices the high ranking of the Zaliyanu, and later he also deals with the hierarchy of the gods, reaffirming the importance of Zaliyanu and Zašḫapuna24 through the story about throwing away and thus establishes the royal cult foundation in Tanipiya. It appears that this compilation of texts tries to make religious claims. This probably did not happen within the framework of the Great Empire's cult organization - the obvious option, which, however, is probably ruled out because of the archaisms of the text. But the long history of the city of Nerik certainly also offered other contexts for the composition / compilation of a text that I can only describe as a “mythological cult inventory” (for cult inventories see Hazenbos 2003). It is almost certain, however, that this compilation owes its popularity - evidenced by eight or nine text copies - to the interest in Nerik during the reign of Hattusili "III." (Hoffner 2007: 122). But maybe it was also the fascination, then as now, that the stories of dragons and their conquerors radiate.

[baddyxangel]

Scott is the flattest series regular in Teen Wolf. Teen Wolf dropped the ball with Scott. He’s surrounded by characters with amazing depth and character growth. He is the main character of the show and yet he’s the one everybody dislikes. I don’t dislike Scott. I don’t mind Scott, actually. He’s a good character, just like most characters in the show. But, I don’t love him. Same goes for a lot of people, as well. For a character we’re supposed to like, he’s not really that likable. In the beginning of the show, Scott started off as a bit of a naive, not the sharpest tool in the shed kid. But, I liked him anyways. His stupidity was funny to me and that gave him a bit of charm, weirdly enough. Then, seasons later, he becomes super mature. He develops a hero complex and has this thing against killing no matter what. He definitely took a turn for the worse throughout what you’d call character development. Scott became a flat character.

There was this old trend in literature about making the protagonist what you call an, ‘Epic Hero’. Basically, it’s a perfect hero. And Scott is by no means a perfect hero, but the show-writers gave a half-assed attempt to make him this God-like figure who could do no evil, who’s never selfish and always selfless, and who saves everyone because he loves everyone and tries to protect his friends no matter who’s bad or good. The thing is, we don’t like perfect heroes. Do you think an average person will look at Scott McCallHimPerfect and say, “he wants to save everyone. My god he’s just like me. He believes in good and evil. Damn I love him, just like me.” Nobody says that because Scott is not relatable in the slightest. He doesn’t have a personality other than, girls. Save people. Allison pretty wanna marry. Must not kill kill equal bad.

Do we even know anything about Scott? It might be just me, because I haven’t seen the show in a while. But what interests does Scott have? Because I don’t think we know the slightest about his hobbies and interests other than he plays lacrosse and likes to save people I guess. Do we ever see why he went to UC Davis? What does he want to be when he’s older? So yeah. Not only do we know next to nothing about what his personality and life is like outside of the supernatural, but he also acts all high and mighty. Bad combo.

One of the most annoying Scott moments—for many people—was when he yelled at Stiles for ‘killing’ Donovan without even listening to him. He took the word of Theo, some dude he barely knew, over his best friend. So, he was flipping his shit about Stiles killing someone because as he says it, “we don’t kill.” Despite the fact that almost all of the pack members and their allies have killed before. Scott develops this viewpoint on life throughout the series. He takes on this black and white view on life, thinking that if there’s someone against the pack, they’re a villain. They’re bad. But, if they’re an ally, they’re good. He doesn’t take into consideration that people are morally grey. He doesn’t recognize that the world isn’t black and white. There’s no such thing as good and evil. We’re all just...people. Scott never gets this fixed. He doesn’t make room for the thought that people who kill aren’t always evil. I feel bad for Stiles, because yeah, maybe Stiles could’ve explained what happened better, but the fact that his best friend wouldn’t give him a pass for self-defense is sad. Malia killed when she was eight and he never seemed to care. Kira killed that one guy when she revealed herself as a Kitsune and he she got a pass. Derek has killed many people and he doesn’t care. But the second Stiles kills someone, it’s suddenly an issue to Scott. Hypocritical, much?

In addition to all this, Scott’s also not the selfless hero everyone makes him out to be. He’s actually rather selfish and he’s proven this time and time again. Scott ditched Stiles time and time again to save Allison or someone else who never needed his help. He was also more than willing to throw Derek under the bus and blame him for some murders. I can’t remember any more times he’s done this, but let me know if you remember other examples.

I wish that he was more like his season one self. He went from 0-100 real fast in terms of ‘maturity’ and I found that annoying. His stupider self was more charming and was more interesting. Scott was struggling with dealing with his transformation and I wish this lasted for more than one season. It would’ve made him a much better character. And I do like Scott. I know it doesn’t sound like it, but I like Scott and most of the other characters. He has his moments. Some good moments, some times I really do like Scott. But I wish he wasn’t so flat. I wish we knew a little more about him. The hero complex is an old, overused cliché and I was Scott was....y’know....more relatable.

Here seems as good a place as any to say it, so...the true alpha thing is BULLSHIT and it completely ruined Scott's character. One of my all-time favorite Scott moments was in 3a when he threatened Gerard, saying that if Gerard lied about Deucalion and people got hurt because of it, he'd come back and kill him. And almost immediately after that Scott becomes a true alpha and is like "Oh, wait... nevermind, then." Stiles should have at least said something like "Dude, Donovan was trying to kill ME," but all he ever says is "He was gonna kill my dad," which is not at all the reason why he killed Donovan. Not to mention that he didn’t even deliberately kill Donovan, it was a complete accident. The writers did that whole, ‘he was gonna kill my dad’ thing on purpose. If I was Stiles, I’d say, “seriously, Scott? That psycho was literally trying to kill me! And I didn’t even kill him! He fell and impaled himself!” The thing about his dad was to create more of a divide. But leaving out that Donovan was legitimately trying to kill Stiles is even more annoying to me because it leaves them room for Scott to be like "I know the difference between murder and self-defense," later on when they reconcile. If Stiles says it outright then Scott looks like too much of a dick for not taking that into account. But all of that only still makes sense if you've forgotten that Theo specifically said that Donovan went after Stiles when he lies to Scott about how it happened. So, it's already been (at the very least) implied to Scott that it was a self-defense situation (that got out of hand, according to Theo), but because Stiles doesn't specify that it leaves some (less than plausible, but okay) room for Scott to backtrack and be all "Well, I didn't know THAT. THAT changes everything." That's why that "lie of omission" bugs me so much. Stiles was not obligated to share his trauma with Scott if he didn’t want to. And Scott’s neither Stiles’ alpha, father, nor authority figure, so he doesn’t get to judge/condemn Stiles or demand an explanation from him. Not to mention that Scott is the very same hypocritical scumbag who threw a temper tantrum when Derek didn’t let him assassinate Peter like Scott WANTED and DEMANDED in Season 1, tried but failed to assassinate Gerard because ”He threatened to hurt my mom! I had no choice!” in Season 2, and conspired with the likes of Deucalion to assassinate Josh and Tracy in Season 5. Scott committing premeditated attempted murder for his own benefit and using Derek as his own personal murder weapon is good, but Stiles accidentally killing Donovan in self-defense to protect himself and his father is wrong and Stiles is a monster?! Lmfao sure, Scott! Scott McCall is a true something alright. A true hypocrite Stiles didn't because he was in a self destructive spiral. He didn't think he deserved to be forgiven and he thought he should lose Scott. The Dread doctors were constantly reinforcing his negative thoughts about himself through Theo and his own hallucinations because that was his greatest fault and source of his trauma

in the beginning scott was more than willing to kill to get what he wanted (for example when he was gonna kill peter since he thought that would cure him), which was always funny to me idk. i do love scott though especially the first 2 seasons scott since he changes after that, but he’s not the strongest character in the series and they should’ve done the whole ‘true alpha’ stuff differently imo

Scott McCall is literally the blandest, flattest, weakest, most useless fictional character ever. He’s just a badly written and portrayed Gary Stu and a judgmental bigot with abusive tendencies and no character development. Scott became a “True Alpha” due to his canonically nonexistent strength of character, virtue, moral superiority, and force of will, he’s never held accountable for his abusive actions and behavior, and the only time people dump his toxic ass it’s either not his fault or they are being wrong, psychotic, and unreasonable. Scott is such a Gary Stu it’s like a 12 year old on an ego trip wrote him. Scott yelled at Stiles, played judge, jury and executioner with Stiles, and accused Stiles of being a violent, unstable, dangerous, inhuman monster and a serial killer for choosing not to share his own trauma with Scott and for daring to accidentally kill Donovan in self-defense in Season 5; and yet Scott’s the one who threw a temper tantrum when Derek Hale didn’t let him assassinate Peter Hale in Season 1, conspired with Gerard Argent behind everyone’s back and used Derek as his murder weapon because “He threatened to hurt my mom! I had no choice!” in Season 2, lied to Kira about her fox to control her in Season 5A, plotted/conspired with Deucalion to assassinate innocent chimera victims Josh and Tracy in Season 5B, played up an injury that had long healed just to convince his friends to help him and not abandon him again in Season 5B, and wanted to sacrifice Tierney and Jiang to a mob boss to save his own ass in Season 6. There are 100 episodes suggesting that Scott is more than comfortable with killing someone, with lying, and with engaging in violent actions (premeditated murder) to protect himself and his mom despite all his big “killing is bad and wrong” speeches. Scott McCall is a true something alright. A True Hypocritical Asshole and Toxic Friend I remember this one time where Isaac told Scott he liked Allison and wanted to kiss her and Scott just threw him against the wall for having the internal thought to kiss her. He didn’t even do anything!! Plus, when your friend, who’s a survivor of abuse, advises you to hit him, you don’t actually do it!

And I love how Scott gave absolutely no sign of being gay, he’s even said numerous times he likes girls. Take those numerous denies over Stiles’ silence when asked about liking boys. Sceo is the worst ship I’ve ever come across of. The only ships regarding Theo that make sense to me are Thiam (Liam x Theo) and Steo (Stiles x Theo). The others, however, are total crackships. The fact that Theo didn’t show any care or remorse after he killed Scott proves it. And, they barely have any interactions after season five and the times they do, Scott is advocating Theo being sent back to prison. How is that shippable material?

”I’ve heard a lot of the defense of Scott McCall SWAT team, and I’ve heard a lot of them are hypocritical and mean. You can’t pull the race card because we don’t like a character. Scott is just bland, it’s got nothing to do with racism” You took the words right out of my mouth. Scott Stans pull out the “Scott McCall is a poor oppressed Mexican brown boy leader protagonist” every time Teen Wolf fans criticize Scott’s canonical abusive actions and behavior. They also claim that pointing out that Scott was unhealthily obsessed with Allison is racist, even though anyone who watched the actual show knows that Scott is canonically unhealthily obsessed with Allison – so much that he abuses Isaac out of sheer jealousy and hallucinates Allison making out with Jackson TWICE Exactly! Especially because he shoved Isaac into a wall just for thinking about Allison, AND SCOTT AND HER WERE BROKEN UP. He is super possessive of her to the point where he is interfering in Allison’s love life when they weren’t even together. I know there’s a bro-code, but Isaac didn’t even do anything. All he did was think about kissing her and he got thrown into a wall. And yeah, the Tumblr post said Stiles was obsessed with Lydia and nobody calls it out. Stiles was obsessed, but at least he didn’t react poorly when Lydia moved onto another boy. Scott McCall being a toxic friend and an even shittier character is not a Latino thing. It’s a Scott McCall thing

[ramrodd]

Who Wrote Hebrews? (With Dr. David Alan Black)

COMMENTARY:

Theophilus wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. His signniture is Hebrews 13.:24

Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. (https://biblehub.com/hebrews/13-24.htm).

This is in the format of a standard issue, by the numbrers Roman signals message. In the modern military bureaucracy I served in as a combat leader,, we continue to employ this method. It's not foolproof but it is a whole lot easier to use than passing around scrolls of vellum inscribed with hieroglyphics. This is the Roman MI5/MI6 talking to the rest of the clandestine Roman Christian cabal inside the Preaetorian Guards. The first sentence is what would head a military signal: Distribution and has the same purpose, this pattern of distribution, that Don Romsfeld's "Snow Flakes" and Trump's tweets, except that it security status was need to knon and the Distribution list probably contained within a modern spy network cell system: nor more than X number of people had a common source which evaporated upon reading. True MISSION: Impossible stuff, Le Carre and all the rest. That is WHY these 4 gospels exist: It's a military field manual for Christianity in the same way the Torah is a military field manual for social engineering. Trotsky said that trying to transform a culture is like trying to resurrect a cemetary. Well, Genesis, Exodus, and Numbes as the application of the social theory and Deuteronomy as the initial case study of the transformed culture.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are a case study in the recruitment, training and tuning of what amounts to a Green Beret "A" Team created to set a permanent transformation process in motion leading to humanity going boldy where there is no humanity at the moment, starting with the Moon. Apollo 11 is a direct result, epistemologically, of the relationship between the Cross and

John 15:1313Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. https://biblehub.com/john/15-13.htm

So, this is part of the internal communication of the Italian Cohort (AKA: The Centruion Cabal) that created the Holy Roman Church Hebrews is the manifesto for moving forward that the Italian Cohort distilled from all the data they had been compiling in Quelle to try and understand just what the fuck Resurrection was all about. The Romans didn't destroy Jerusalem: Judaism devoured itself. It learned the wrong lesson from Maccabbees and a millenium and a half of Karma from being bad neighbors since David collected 100 foreskins as a dowry came to a head in 70. 3 or four years after Hebrews was written.

The 13 epistles of Paul are, indeed, the 5th gospel and it would serve Christians for all Abrahamic traditions to accept that as, well, gospel. It is clear that Paul has at least read the current version of what has become The Gospel Accrording to Mark by the time he writes Galatians because of his use of εὐαγγελίου, which I propose is the Roman military signals protocol for STATUS. in

Galatians 2:5 οἷς οὐδὲ πρὸς ὥραν εἴξαμεν τῇ ὑποταγῇ, ἵνα ἡ ἀλήθεια τοῦ εὐαγγελίου διαμείνῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς. https://biblehub.com/text/galatians/2-5.htm

Paul is extending the narrative of the Mishnah on what Jews consider a common messianic trajectory but turns out to be The Way. Because of Hillel, Judaism can rightly claim credit for the basic ethical basis of Christianity: That which is hateful to you do not to others. The problem with Hillel, as he reflects the soul of patience, is the introversion of Judaism, generally, The Golden Rule,

Matthew 12:7 In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-12.htm

"For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets" is a recapitulation of Hillel's observation that "Everything else is commentary".

Christianity is Judaism transformed by the KISS principle. Judasim and Islam make the same mistake as the 18th Amendment: it is a tyranny of folly to legislate against human nature.

Paul is very rigorous to only use the Torah as the basis for his explication of the lements of Christianity embedded in the Torah. The Jesus Followers didn't know that The Way was supposed to go to Rome because Jesus never told them because I don't think Jesus, Himself, understood how it was going to work out, except that He needed to validate the God Hypothesis through a kama-kazi intervention. The wager He had with Satan was that He could take Christianity viral with Ted Talks, intellectual engagement. and a traveling medicine show like Cat Stevens and avoid all that messy drama and inconvenience of the cross.

Until the Resurrection, Christianty, as an ethical social system, was totally an inside baseball agenda for the Romans. As Luke points out in Acts 24:22, the Roman military intelligence system in Palestine had a pretty clear picture of the anthropology of Palestine the Resurrection, which the existence of Quelle demonstrates. and Festus and Eelix inherited from Pilate (although Felix doesn't seem to me aware of Quelle nor whatever connection there is between Cornelius and Theophilus. As far as I can tell, the first Emperor who became aware of the Centurion Christian Cabal since Tiberius was Constantine, with the possible exception of Claudius. The fact is, it isn't entirely clear to me if an Prefect of the Praetorian Guard was aware of Quelle after Marcus Opellius Macrinus.committed suicide. The Centruion Cabal was spread throughout the Roman legions and they probably concealed their worship by combining elements of Caesar Worship with the fellowship of Mithra,

The fact that Hebrews exists reveals the larger Jesus conspiracy inside the core of the Roman empire. The Gospel of Mark is an abstract of Quelle as an intelligence archive of the activities of Jesus. Whereever the historic present shows up in the Greek, that is raw intelligence from the Roman spy networks, an eyewitness account. A lot of the narrative of The Gospel According to Mark comes from the debriefing Cornelius conducts with Peter described in Acts 10. Acts 10:34 - 43 is the core doctrine of the Christian ethic Cornelius transmits to Rome and, as Gary Habermas points out, this doctrine forms the basis of the Apostle's Creed and appears immediately as a result of Pentacost. As you know, this baptism of the spirit happens 4 times in Acts and is consistent with the numerology of the Bible that the Holy Spirit employs throughout scripture, beginning with Genesis, the word itself.

In addition to transforming Judaism with the KISS principle, Jesus is promoting the Holy Spirit as a an element of the ontology of The One as described in Revelation 4:2. A part of my personal commission is to promote the Holy Spirit as a capitalist tool. The Holy Spirit is a divine resource for dominion over the universe, stewardship in society and the fellowship of community. He has always exeisted, but nobody was paying any constructive attention to Him until Jesus came along and made it the only unforgivable sin to deny He's there.

I've had a relationship with the Holy Spirit since I was killed in 1954 and a working relationship with him since I abandoned a military career when Jesus said to me: "I have other plans for you than a military career. Follow me and in the fullness of time. you'll end up revealing the author of the Gospel According to Mark and some other stuff having to do with high performing systems in a Free Enterprise economic ecology of American and British constitutional capitalism".

And here I am, today.

The 4 gospels describe the creation of the tools of cultural transformation and Acts is the case study of the transformation process once it's set into motion. Jesus is a test-tube baby who must die and go to seed like a Dandelion. Unlike the Dandelion, Jesus is born-again while the Green Beret "A" Team He has been training becomes the seeds of the Sower and the rushing wind of the Spirit of God blows them all over the world.

Mark 14:72 and John 11:35 are both the result of the actions of the Holy Spirit. Josephus describes a similar action of the Holy Spirit in the life of Herod Agrippa with the appearance of the 2nd owl in his life before he is eaten by worms.

I had a similar experience in Vietnam and Jesus offered a way out. And here I am, today. Why 4 Gospels? Because the Holy Ghost wants you to discover that Cornelius is the author of The Gospel According to Mark and that there is a line of ethical transfer from the Cross to Nicea that runs straight as a laser through Hebrews and the XP on the shield of the Milvian Bridge by way of the Christian Amideh: the 4 Gospels, Acts and the 13 Epistles of Paul are fulfilled by the 19th element of the meditation, Hebrews,

In the numerology of the Bible, 7 base numerology is the organizing principle of the Mythos, when humanity first began to record its existence after cave drawings and before capitalism and pyramids , the 8 base numerology of Egypt the organizing principle of the Ethos, lwhen humanity began to record its existence with symbols and the 9 base numerology of Melcizedek is the organizing principle of the Logos, when humanity began to develop a God's Eye view of the universe. 19 is the Alpha and Omega of the mind of The One and Sura 74:30 is the clearest portrait of the mind of The One in literature.

In the Beginning was the Word, but, before the Word was, Number IS.

The reason why there are 4 gospels is to describe the qualitative difference between literature and history. Narrative proceeds beyond the horizon while history recedes as debris from the here and now. As Father James points out, the narratives of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have proceeded in parallel for one thousand years because of the Holy Spirit. The history of the Church, especially the Christian apologetics defending Solo Scriptura, reflects the post-modern deconstruction of academic historical methodogy employed more or less universally in PhD programs and is Marxist in aspect. The problem Christian apologetics has with dealing with critics like Richard Carrier and Ahmed Deedat is that you are all using variations on Dialectical Materialism, which is a very acute instrument, indeed. The Jesus Seminar is an extreme example of its analytical nature, but Thomas Jefferson was trying to do something similar by cutting out all references to God in the Bible: he was trying to get at natural law or what I call process theology, my profession.

The 4 gospels are material debris from the life of the Living God and Son of Man as recorded by people who smelled His farts. The number 4 refers to the material world, as in "Mind" and "Matter". The Gospels are what Ayn Rand would call "Man Made" in that they exist on paper and contain the Metaphysical evidence of "Mind" in operation. The reason why there are 4 Gospels is because that was how the Holy Spirit guided the narrative and the mundane numerology, the literal chpater and verse numberin added a millenium after they became canon is even more magical. The Holy Spirit fairly drips out of the narrative of the Gospels and Acts. but the history can't catch it because it's magic. Magic conveys in literature: it's, at best, a conjecture in Marxist historical analysis: vote a red bead, yeah, a black bead, nay, and the opinion of scholarship in pink and grey, in between.

It makes sense that Paul's gospel is the 5th Gospel. The number 5 has to do with man qua human, archetecture and the interior line, which has a military aspect to it. .Paul presents the strutures of Shammai, the Law of Moses as harsh reality, but with the embedded aspects of Christianity extrapolated and transformed for the military audience of the Praetorian Guard. Along with the Quelle archive in Palestine, the case studies of Jesus in the Gospels, the history of the Dandelion seeds of Pentacost in Acts and the Septuagent, the result is the finding of Hebrews that launched Acts 10:34 - 43 2000 years into the future.

The Epistles of Paul have the same relationship to Hebrews that the Federalist Papers have with the US Constitution: they represent the state of the art in social engineering at the time, but the resulting dynamics have characteristics totally unanticipated in the original intent. The 19th Amendment is just one example. And, the fact is, arriving at the 19th Amendment was the original intent of the Framers in the same way the US Constitution is the original intent of the Epistles to the Romans.

Like George Smiley in La Carre's MI6, Theophilus took all this data in and, digested it and arrived at Hebrews. The important loop he closes is with Melchizedek, the Maji in Matthew and the 7 Etruscan kings from which emerges the fushion of the democratic socialism of Athens with the SPQR and the subordinate republican socialism of Sparta in the Preaetorian Guards.

Here's the thing to understand about Marx and the limits of Dialectical Materialism. Marx wanted to remove all the contradictions in society he believed money and the profit motive created, so he devised a methodology for slicing the ideal away from matter. The problem is that the contradictions he proposes to eliminate are actually paradox and the dynamics required to sustain the paradox is what keeps society resilient and progressive. Supply Side economics is an example of a paradox being devolved to dilemma and a system based on a false choice devised that denies the synergies that make it socially valuabe, if not metaphysically necessary.

Paradox does not convey, historically, only the effects.

In constrast, paradox is the leading edge of narrative, which is what Father James points out to you in comparing the Coptic narrative to the Eastern Orthodox narrative. Hebrews captures the paradox contained in the Holy of Holies like the scolls in the Arc of the Covenant and delivers it, in the fullness of time, to mankind as the final gift of the Magi.

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

Tips On How to Write a Shape-Shifting Character (For both fanfic writers and original content writers)

(gif courtesy of http://ilyone.tumblr.com/)

HOLY SHIT MY LAST POST ABOUT WRITING  WINGED CHARACTERS (which you can find here) GOT A SHIT TON OF NOTES! SO I DECIDED TO MAKE ANOTHER ONE ON SHAPE-SHIFTERS!

There are a lot of shape-shifting fics and stories out there. Like. A lot. Whether they be about were-creatures or about characters that just have the ability to shape-shift, a lot of the times- like with winged characters- these shape-shifters are not written very well.

They may be unoriginal, or they may be super Mary-Sues/Gary Stus when it comes to the fact that they have an infinite amount of power or whatever. So I decided to tackle the issues that come with creating a shape-shifting OC or making a canon character into a shape-shifter.

1. Decide what your character’s shape-shifting will be mainly used for

Shape-shifting can be used for a variety of reasons, and that’s why it’s critical for you to figure out what your shape-shifter will mostly be using their powers for.

Here are some reasons why shape-shifters can use their powers:

-Battle (transforming into a bigger creature to overpower enemies)

-Disguise (transforming into something that blends in with the environment around them to hide from enemies)

-Forced to shift (AKA werewolves)

-Spy work (transforming into antagonist’s lackeys to infiltrate the base or even vice versa)

2. Set Limits Right Off the Bat

Shape-shifters are incredibly powerful, and in theory, they can be practically invincible when it comes to battle and hiding from enemies.

However, that should ONLY be in theory. Your shape-shifters CANNOT be all-powerful like their abilities can call for them to be. Here’s where Mary Sue/Gary Stu elements come in, because many writers just state that their characters can shape-shift and leave it at that.

That brings up questions like:

“If he was running from the Big Bad™, then why didn’t he just shift into a wall or a chair and disguise himself?”

“If she had to fight the Big Bad™, why didn’t she just transform into a dragon and deep fry him?”

“Couldn't they just masquerade as the Big Bad™’s minions and get inside the secret lair?”

Then, the author tries to make up for the lack of rules by giving us some half-assed explanation halfway through the third book.

As soon as the reader finds out that the main character is a shape-shifter, you have to lay down the groundwork for the limits.

Can they only transform into animals?

Can they only transform a certain amount of times at any given point?

Is there something that distinguishes them from the object/person/animal that they’ve transformed into?

Can they only transform into inanimate objects?

Can they only transform into other people?

Does transforming take a lot of energy and therefore they don’t do it often?

Is transforming painful?

Take Beast Boy from Young Justice/ Teen Titans/ various other things as an example:

He can transform into a lot of animals, yes, but they’re all obviously green and unnatural, making it difficult for him to blend in with other animals. his means that his shapeshifting would be most used for attack than for disguise.

You need to set limits, or else your character will be all-powerful and the plot won’t be all that intriguing to the readers; they know that the protagonist will win, so they won’t bother to really get invested in the story.

3. There are many forms of shape-shifters. Just because the mainstream media is all about werewolves with sixteen packs that can cut glass doesn’t mean that you have to make werewolves only

Did you know that technically, a werewolf is just a subdivision of were-creatures?

The prefix “were/wer” means “man” and is usually followed by the name of an animal, ANY animal, to imply that the man (or woman) is transforming into it. Therefore, there could be werecats, weretigers, werelions, wereunicorns, and were[insert plural name of creature here]. You should really look up the different kinds of shifters from all different cultures and regions of the world. They’re actually quite amazing!

Here’s a list of some of my favorite shapeshifter creatures (Note that these are not all of the shapeshifters, just my personal favorites some of which I feel needed to be represented more in literature):

-Were[insert name of big cat here]

-Werewolf

-Animaguses(Animagi?) (don’t use these they’re JK Rowling’s I just really like Animagi)

-Generic, run-of-the-mill shapeshifters

-Were creatures that are actually just the creature trying to masquerade as a human/ a creature that has a human form

-Transforming into huge gruesome monsters (it’s good shit 10/10)

4. You don’t have to describe the full transformation every single time. The first time is enough.

Readers don’t want to have to go through long, agonizing paragraphs of description every time your character changes, especially if they change during a battle. They don’t want the bloody, gory action to be disrupted by a description of a transformation that they’ve read a hundred times before.

If you truly want to describe the transformation more than once, though I highly advise against it, never describe it more than three times, and make sure to make it unique every single time. If you don’t think you can do that, just describe it once.

You should, however, describe the symptoms that come with transforming. Is it painful? Is it uncomfortable? Does it feel incredible because it makes the character feel a rush of power? Gimme the deets, but not all of them.

Things that happen during transformation that you can describe:

Painful

- Fur/scales growing (stinging and itchy)

- Bones breaking and reorganizing, as well as new ones appearing and old ones transforming

- Muscles ripping and elongating/shrinking

- Fingernails/toenails turning into claws

Invigorating

- Heightened sense of sight/smell/hearing

- Adrenaline rush

- More power/strength/speed

Hope this helped!

[khalix-hyetology]

Slices of Writing (4)

Emotions and Logic really do govern the three dimensional space you create in stories. They add dimensions that readers and explore and question. Yes, question. Questioning is a good quality. Even if they feel you lacked something that meant they diligently read your pieces. If they have nothing to say that means your work brought indifference to them. You don’t want indifference there unless that is what you aimed for in some segments. Positive questions could be a synchronicity to their own ideas and feelings. That is also rewarding. You wrote something that understood them. Being understood is an important thing. More on that later.  Well, now that you understand the weight of emotions and logic you are going to wonder where to place them. They usually are placed in characters and the plot. And, without those a story would just be, in computer terms, free-flowing data and not information. Information that they can relate to, or enjoy or even find meaningful paths in. Knowledge can also course through your writing because we all have a knowledge to offer. Even in someone’s work if someone find something oppositional in is providing factors/knowledge to be antithetical to. I use knowledge here as a subjective idea and experience. It does not necessarily have to be fact. If you get facts wrong then you can obviously correct them. Your readers will point them out to you. Don’t be antagonistic to it. If you are writing something contextual then readers may have different opinions. That is good. It means you retained some form of originality.  This is different than say trying to offend or sensationalise for the sake of sensationalism and scandal. That is not being original. That is pretty much being a cliche. You are arousing resentment and bitterness because you want publicity. That is not knowledge. That is a cheap trick. Do not reduce yourself and your writing to that. You can do better than that and testing your inner and outer wealth of life and mind is a productive way.  Onwards to the final points. 

Building your Original Characters — Original Characters may seem difficult to write. Initially, they seem to hard to come by. For many online writers the original characters they can first write are characters for role playing and fanfiction. There is nothing wrong with that. That is still making original characters. Sometimes, we find it easier looking at a pre-existing story and putting into characters there. That is not being lazy, unoriginal or tacky. Professionals do it too. That is why Disney makes a lot of money out of fairytales and we have blockbusters and we have genres. Do not let anyone tell you your writing an original character in fanfiction is not serious and is unimaginative. They are being unimaginative and trying to shame you because they don’t have your courage. At least you are trying and also succeeding.  Also, @fandomsandfeminism once reblogged a post that is VERY IMPORTANT. We have all been told that writing Mary Sues are stupid and that it means nothing but laziness. If that is true then so many professional writers are guilty of this. Mary Sues are hated because people critique mostly women/girls/females who write them. It is another form of misogyny to an extent. Don’t believe me? Think about James Bond. James Bond is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu in many ways. Yes, he is a professional agent but there is no reason for him to always get women and be victorious as much as he has. Still James Bond is a big franchise. There are many characters like Bond including Batman, Tony Stark, Captain America and Superman who have so many moments go well for them and their franchise has only recently given them flaws. Mary Sues are a female’s way to appropriate some of the REALLY HARSH cultural demands on them. So the criticism is pretty gendered if you think about it. If Original Characters (OCs) are also a bit like you there is nothing WRONG with that. Even if they are based a lot on you there is nothing completely wrong with that either. The classic Les Miserables protagonists Jean Valjean and Javert are actually based a lot on the author, Victor Hugo. Still, that book has themes and plot that is now a classic.  One of my favourite animes is Psycho Pass and I can say right now that both Shogo Makishima, the villain, and Shinya Kougami, the “hero,” are both Mary Sues. In real life both of them would have the dunce cap on their head they have in those old cartoons. In real life, people would be annoyed and rightly so by both of them. One is a gross idealist and the other tries to act like a gloomy ass man. Still people loves the show and love them. I am guilty of loving Shogo Makishima a lot too. I know he is flawed by being a Sue so I love that flaw.  Mary Sues are usually liked and even treated as paragons when they are male characters. They are not usually liked when they are female characters. That is just unfortunately the sexism of mainstream cultures. A very good example of a Mary Sue is either an exaggeration of abilities or the lack of them. Female Mary Sues usually occupy the latter space and that can be a negative representation of females yet still a Mary Sue. One example, is Bella Swan from the Twilight series. I don’t think there is anything wrong that Stephenie Meyer and Bella Swan look similar. I think it is wrong that Bella doesn’t do much in the series aside loving Edward. Even her love for Edward is a bit erratic but people love this story more because Bella is interested in love. If Bella Swan was Brendan Swan and he was interested in Edward or Ellie Cullen the story would be different. Of course, people would have a hard time believing a male would be this invested in love. They may even make a homophobic comment or two if this was Brendan and Edward. However, no one would be very hostile towards Brendan. They would attempt to understand him alongside criticising him. I am guilty of this too. You know there is a slight similar male Bella Swan too in literature. Classical literature and it is considered one of the best stories by a South Asian author named Saratchandra Bhattacharya. The novel was named Devdas. Dev is a complete love obsessed young man like Bella. He also does destructive things like Bella when he is separated from his love. Instead, of criticising him for his weird behaviour readers lauded his devotion to his loved one (I was guilty of this too). Oh there was a Jacob in that story too. Her name was Chandramukhi. And like Jacob she was also really pushed to the side of the story.    Why I am telling you this is that you can always refine your original characters. And, they can similar to you. Nothing wrong with that. There is no one else like you so rather your original character have some of your original qualities. If your original character is trans or gender fluid or nonbinary remember to treat them with respect. Do not make your romances heteronormative or inescapably sweet regardless of orientation. Try to write real interactions. If possible try to balance angst with sarcasm and humour. Angst is also important. Teengers can question their life and existences. Don’t let anyone shame you into thinking that is wrong to do. Make OCs like yourself, like your friends and like anyone you know. Give them emotions and logic. Give them purpose. Even the simple one of getting out of bed and going to school. For someone with depression, that is a huge feat. And, that is something important. Give your characters ideas and actions you wanted to explore but couldn’t. Or, something you have experienced and faced. You can make them choose the opposite of what you did and what happened to you. Characters can be larger than life in the sense that you are larger than life. You occupy spaces, real not imaginary, and your actions have effects on yourself and others. Thus your characters can get this energy from you and that can be shown when you are writing. You can experiment with characters too. Have them make mistakes, make them fail exams, make them be a loser until their mid-30s and then change and become winners.  Think about them having dyslexia or a reading disability, think of them having synaesthesia , think of them having interaction problems and many more things. The problems in your character’s life need not be only romance. It could be things aside romance, sex and even epic battles.  Your characters have possibilities because you have possibilities. Never forget that. 

Only You Can Write Your Plot — Despite what people say about Twilight, and I don’t really like it, I truly believe only Meyer could write that story. Only Suzanne Collins could have written The Hunger Games and only J. K Rowling could have written Harry Potter. Yes, we may have similar ideas but we will never have identical ideas. This preserves our originality and theirs. We can strive for their merits but ultimately we have to practice our own fortes and crafts. Stephen King is not trying to copy Rowling and neither is Neil Gaiman trying to copy King and Rowling. Yet, we all know and enjoy these authors and their works. We enjoy them because they have their own signature style.  You have your own signature style. You just have to develop it. Only you can write your plot. Your plot comes from you and can come from no one else. You should take that as your confidence. Your style could be that you write very detailed friendships. Think about the author Courtney Summers. I like Summers’ work because she talks very detailed experiences of childhood abuse especially on female circles. Yes, Margaret Atwood also wrote one book on it — Cat’s Eye. But Summers wrote things that people actually didn’t want to believe but I am happy she wrote them. She wrote about female on female violence and the hierarchy on female childhood “gangs.” People could not fathom how there seemed to be like a pecking order like that as in males but there are. Summers was good in exploring how people get vengeance and how petty people can be when they feel they have been slighted. The way she writes petty anger is also well highlighted. We need authors who can do that.  So, think about what you know about specially. It could be that you also have betrayed friendships or a very intimate one. Perhaps your character is figuring out their sexuality. Perhaps they are finding out they are gay or even bisexual. Perhaps they even don’t understand their straightness and how to operate in a straight world because it puts too much demands on sex and dating. You can do a lot with your plot and you can talk a lot about various topics in plot.  Going back to Twilight and Harry Potter. The story of Twilight may be annoying to some but it has a good quality in trying to show about love and finding yourself a community. In Harry Potter there are aspects of goods versys evils but also understanding community and coexisting with different types of people. The Hunger Games is also about how strong love can be very enduring. Overall, it is also about perseverance, endurance and the spirit’s need for justice.  Can you write a story like The  Hunger Games? Why not? Think about a story where your character is up against something. What if your character is in high school and they have to endure trying to get out of a toxic friendship? What if your character has to deal with homophobia? What if your character is a POC female and deals with misogyny and racism on a daily basis? Those are also stories of perseverance. endurance and spirit’s need for justice. See, the stories don’t need to be identical. They can have similar themes and speak volumes with your originality intact.  There are many other plotlines you can write within the main story (as in different logics and emotions). This also seems realistic and drives out monotony. But, if you really wanna focus on one thing that is no problem either. Anything can be made engaging. Good writers practice even to make the events of a day seem magical and impactful as they can be. Look at the novels Ulysses, Mrs Dalloway and The Hours for that. You can customise your story any way you want because after all it is your story. Now, I am going back to the part of understanding. Perhaps, your story makes your readers feel understood. Then you must also develop empathy not only in your writing but yourself. I know in social media there are many posts about being nice to people, nice to your followers on blogs and also mutuals but many people don’t practice it. I know they don’t. Many people personally confide to me on how people use them, betray them or even after knowing all their sadnesses think it is okay to abandon them.  You should have the originality to know how you can handle your stories and your readers with as much empathy as possible. Do not slight anyone if you feel they are not like you or have different views than you. Do not actively act rude with someone who was overenthusiastic with you. If they say your writing gave them peace at a time of utter misery then please be proper and treat them nicely. If you feel they act “overbearing” do not tell them to get lost easily. You are not being a reliable writer if you cannot handle some of the critiques, success or even questions to your writing. Be understanding. After all the person who connected with your writing also did you the service of understanding you.  Your plot can only be written by you.  As you are an original and have originality your writing can be developed to reflect that aspect of you. Don’t give up. Practice and intuitively keep at it.

That concludes my Slices of Writing posts. Thank You to everyone who have read this series. And, remember customise the rules in which way you see fit. I am happy if I was able to help you in any way. Good day and Goodnight to everyone. And, KEEP WRITING!

[pheebs03-blog]

How has the use of photography sexualised women?

Sexualisation of the female body is a common theme within our society, and therefore extremely important to me as a young woman. It is defined in the Collins dictionary that ‘sexualisation’ is ‘to sexualise someone or something or to consider them in a sexual way’ (2017).  I personally became interested in the sexual portrayal of women when I moved to an all-boys school, from an all-girls school. I realised that the way I dressed and presented myself was more important now I was surrounded by the opposite sex. Therefore when choosing a project that’s personal, I chose the aspect of my life which constantly affects me, and other young women on a daily bases whether those around us are conscious or unconscious of this act.

To me the sexualising of women has a lot to do with people, especially men, stereotyping women. In that the main focus in my opinion appears to be the manner in which men perceive how women present themselves.  With this in mind I would like to explore how and why women are sexualised and how we can alter a photograph to change the view ‘as people’. Exploring this will allow me to be able to alter a photograph with the aim to focus on the beauty within the subject of the photographs, instead of only on the ‘outside’ by this I mean the physical appearance. I feel being born as a millennial and being surrounded by constant social media showing off and exploiting women of all ages, professions and ethnicity is playing a big part in attracting me to this topic.

To this end want to use high contrast within my photos such as is explored within Film Noir. The casting of shadows and the increased brightness of the lighting comes into play in order to allow me to explore and express nuances within my topic. I would like to better understand how stillness within the background can enhance the narrative within the frame and highlight the beauty of the shape and form of women in subtle yet strong image.

In researching the historical context it appeared that women lost their legal status around the 1800’s when they got married. Once stripped of their legal status a husband was legally allowed to decide where and how to live, to beat his wife, and even lock her up if he wished too. These ghastly actions, by men, which were deemed as normal in the 1800’s have impacted our society and treatment of women drastically. I find this historical ‘norm’ challenging for me as it appear that men stripping women of their power is no different to men stripping women of their dignity, of their clothes, and disrespecting them in this present day. 

In literature a light into a world of women through the words of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, appear to glorify their lives as young women. Emily Bronte however in contrast to published works, wrote to Jane Eyre recounting her life as a strong willed orphan whom grows up with her arrogant, violent cousin and his sisters, in the custody of her mean disapproving aunt. She grows up and still voices her opinions of a woman, however she is in the shadow of men throughout the whole book. Reading these books today have an unexpected effect upon our minds of today, not realising the treatment of women is constantly being spoken about, expressed within these books and standards of treatment constantly get better and worse throughout the years.

Ernest Jones Bellocq, Eve Arnold and Norman Parkinson are two such photographers who captured images of celebrities; and royalty such as Marilyn Monroe, and Barbara Mullen in magazines such as Vogue. Their fashion portraits and shots demonstrate high contrast and black and white due to their time of work during the 50’s where the film and movie films dominated the style of photography. Film Noir is a type of cinematographic film style which makes by a specific mood and was popularly how detective or thriller films were made in the 1940’s/50’s. Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay on the male gaze ‘argues that traditional Hollywood films respond to deep seated drive known as ‘scopophilia’: the sexual pleasure of looking’ which can be seen in the iconic film Rear Window (1954).

Ernest Jones Bellocq is a prime photographer to study because of his specific focus on women such as prostitutes in the early 1900’s. I find the composition of his work interesting, as the subject is mostly positioned in the centre, just off centre of the frame, allowing the eye of the viewer to focus on her body.  The chosen clothing of a vest and socks- which then highlights her body shape, and her  profession  however not necessarily herself as a person . The lighting focuses primarily on her alone, not the background; the use of this highlights her vulnerability.

Erwin Blumefield, another photographer which I’d lie to focus, study and contrast their work to Bellocqs’ because of the difference in their work. He’s a fashion photographer who worked in the early 1900’s for many fashion magazines such as Vogue. He uses subtle colour and dramatic framing to present his pieces, such as an actual photo frame, or shadows over the main subject of the photo. His fashion photography interests me because of his use of props and focus on colour which is so different to Belocqs’ black and white, high contrast shoots.

I looked into articles regarding the psychology of nakedness, to see why looking at a female body might trigger something in the brain to make the photographer position them different ways, because of it being a bare body.

These notes from LiveSciene which is written by psychologists such as Kurt Gary Joshua Knobe and Paul Bloom explain the details behind the human mind explaining what happens when they look at the female naked body.  An experiment carried out found that when men glance at ‘sexualised’ photographs of women they show reduced activation in certain parts of the brain which exhibits certain mental states. They look into how removing a piece of clothing can change one’s feeling or way of acting- it can significantly change how the mind looks at certain things, therefore how they react and interact with the subject.

 A second experiment carried out shows a photo of ‘attractive’ men and women who both had highlighting features. People were asked questions as to how the subject- X, would be capable of ‘self-control’ or ‘acting morally’. The end result exhibited that people felt that the less skin on show the more agency (control) they had in life, in relation to their actions. Whereas the more skin on show in the photos, people perceived them to have less agency in life and over their actions. These results express society’s views on the presentation and reflection of this on a person’s character and

life.

       I want to portray the style of the black and white high contrast within my photos, and the layout of film and experimental images I can make with film would work well with my project, the time period in which I’m looking at and how they took the photos back then in contrast to today. Deeper into the meaning behind the photographs, I want to explore the psychological reasons for looking at women in different ways, what effected that and what has effected that over the years to the present day. 

Firstly I explored the photographer Anton Beleodchenko, a body scape photographer. He frames the female body in unusual positions to express and explore their physicality. His high contrast and lack of colour present the figure in the simplest form as a stunning object to view.  I wanted to understand the female form in its nakedness and vulnerability before exploring it within the nature of clothing. I used a studio to set up my blank background and florescent light box to focus purely on the subject. I wanted to convey the female body as a sculpture. The body is a piece of art, and viewing it solely as a beautiful object in front of you contains true emotion behind it from the photographer and subject. My outcomes express the natural beauty within women using selected lighting and empty space. Having taken inspiration from Belovodchenko I used minimalistic backgrounds to present the subject as a piece of art for those to be free to view. My appreciation of the female form comes through my photographs by the composition and use of lighting.

  I went onto study the photographer Eve Arnold for she photographed many icons such as Marilyn Monroe, and she captured and framed women in a certain way which showed her respecting them. Her work indulged an intimacy between the camera and the subject.  For shoot two I was inspired by how she captured the subject in minimal clothing which is developed from my shoot one. I used my Cannon 100d to shoot both of these, along with one coloured  film and one black and white to keep my theme of the 50’s and Film Noir through my shoots. I captured my subject by the side of a lake, to use the idea of the Marilyn Monroe at the beach photos, in a public setting, and having my subject in minimal to no clothing. I wanted the subject not to be aware of the camera capturing their personality and presentation of themselves, forcing them to be who they really are. I then went onto edit my digital photos on Photoshop and increased the contrast and the brightness to create harsh tones to put across the black and white film Noir look of the 1950’s. The high contrast and black and white also accentuate the shape of the female body, and the creases and muscle forms of her legs to highlight parts of her body.

 In contrast, I used coloured film to accentuate Arnold’s use of media. Shoot three allowed me to explore Arnold’s Monroe shoot, presenting her in denim on the set of misfits. I enjoyed using coloured film immensely and presenting them in groups of three or four photos allowed me to convey the whole story. I also experimented with my angles for I didn’t want my subject to dominate the image, but however I want her to be the full focus on the photo without taking over the whole frame

  My fourth and fifth shoot was inspired by Norman Parkinson; a fashion photographer during the 1900’s who used women in positions and clothing that captured their beauty in interesting ways through their clothing. I used my subject in a camel tie coat to be in keeping with the style of the photographer and also looking at how the coat affects their body shape towards the camera and viewer. I edited my frames to direct attention towards the figure by selectively decreasing the brightness within the background, and increasing the brightness within the foreground. I then also used a subject in the setting of rural farm land, on a small path, wearing vintage clothing to keep Norman Parkinson’s style. I wanted to take fashion photography inspired poses during the shoots, focusing on the elegance of the subjects and how their clothing compliments their bodies and the shapes, highlighting their shapes and creases through the clothing like the skirt and the jacket, being typically a male item of clothing, I wanted to use it to cast equality and bring to attention the subject, as a woman without being obviously showing off her body. 

    Moving on from the previous shoots onto my sixth shoot looking at the fashion icons being photographed, I looked at the higher end of the spectrum. Moving on from this, I explored the high-end fashion magazine, Vogue as inspiration. The photographers known as Bruce Weber and peter Lindbergh were inspiration for this shoot. I shot with my Cannon 100d and used lighting from one side of the subject, whom was then positioned centre of the frame or to just off centre to allow the empty space around her to engage the viewer within the gaze of the subject. This gaze allows her to emit the power and challenging force form within her, expressing the stand up for women for power. The suit jacket with high heels shows the unnecessary contrast between women and men within society and how much power they have within the world. I decided to edit the images in colour emphasise the black within the frame.

    I then took the concept of high fashion into my own hands, inspired by shoot seven; I wanted to develop them into a contemporary shoot, using minimalistic background to express a woman’s power. These photos still embraced the stereotypes by using the drastic loss of clothing and selected lighting. Using a florescent light box and flash the lighting allowed the shadows to immerse the subject into darkness yet simultaneously highlighting her body as beautifully and simply as possible. These photos also highlight women’s power by wearing the suit jacket and top hat, portraying the strength within women in comparison to men and stereotypes within society.  My outcomes show beauty and strength within the use of subtle colour balance to create a faint sense of colour, accentuating the delicate feminine stereotype.  

    Within shoot eight with the same theme of high fashion magazines I focused on the glamour side of the women in magazines. By using the studio and a florescent light box on one side of the subject I was able to capture isolated images of the woman, focusing on the details of her body and her clothing, a faux fur coat, a symbol of glamour throughout time and the history of fashion. Using the coat as the only clothing allows the sexual attraction of women comes through, just as the advertisements within magazines such as vogue try to achieve. The outside shots allowed me to capture the subject within the frame, expressing the thought of glamour not being the only significant aspect in her life. Magazines promote glamour; therefore I captured that aspect of their message but developed it to promote other parts within life with mystery within body language.

        I then took photos from all of my shoots and incorporated them to create a mixed media piece to explore ways in which I can present my photos. I took a man’s shirt and used image maker to apply my images to cover the shirt. I then asked male and female subjects to be photographed in the shirt, showing the dominance and the victim behind the images on the shirts.

  Whilst exploring the sexualisation of women through photography I have been able to explore the topic through time, fashion and mixed media. I have learnt the ways in which a photograph can present a subject depending on their clothing, lighting and angles. All of the elements to the medias way of sexualising women are down to the root caused from back in the early days of paintings, the books. The books written of women in domestic roles, which then go on to develop through time to become more rebellious within their presentation of themselves through clothing and actions such as smoking.

I’ve appreciated the works of many photographers during my exploration, and understood the leap in which women have taken through the past century. Women have become stronger and grasped more power, which I hope to have conveyed in my shoots towards the end of my project, allowing a chronological order to my project. The understanding of the female body at the beginning and reading around the feminist authors such as Laura Mulvey and taking inspiration from Anton Belovodchenko was vital in starting to focus on women. To then go onto include the different clothing and how it affected it links with the chronological order of our society and history.

I hope to have highlighted many positives and negatives of sexualising women in photography through this project. I wished to show people who women really are, and to use the elements within a photograph to express these emotions, attitudes and themes through these components such as lighting, composition, empty space and props.

I feel to a degree I have successfully portrayed women beyond their appearance and more to do with who they are, as independent and nuanced human beings. In some aspects I have grasped the stereotypical understanding of women and altered it to convey their strength and power as a woman, by the use of my lighting, clothing and editing skills. However I could have gone further in developing this using irony within my setting and use of props and bystanders.

              Bibliography-

  Ernest Jones Bellocq- https://fraenkelgallery.com/artists/ej-bellocq

Glamour photography- https://www.headshotlondon.co.uk/glamour-photography/

Vogue- http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/ten-creative-radicals-share-perspective-change-google-pixel-2

Heen Dyden- https://helendryden.com/

Women - power, sexuality- https://www.facebook.com/glamour/videos/10155697310365479/

Objectifying women as a community- https://fstoppers.com/originals/photographing-women-sexual-manner-are-we-all-guilty-objectifying-women-112940

Bartley, P (1996) 1800’s History of Women changing through time- Women changing through history

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/states-of-undress-viceland-series

 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edith-sitwell

http://www.vogue.it/en/fashion/cover-fashion-stories/2017/11/06/the-state-of-undress-vogue-italia-november-2017/

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/10-iconic-fashion-photographers/

American embassies- curating art, FAPE- https://www.nga.gov/audio-video/audio/curators.html

[ganymedesclock]

What do you think about villains that are forces of nature? I know you talk about how to make relatable villains a lot, but do you enjoy stories that don't have the-one-semi-bad-guy/group-I-need-to-stop and instead have i must stop the-loss-of-magic/evacuate-before-the-landslide-hits/survive-the-storm etc?

I think at the root of a lot of my posts on villains, I think ultimately I enjoy stories about people.

In my experience, I have met very few people who I would describe as genuinely malicious- expressing a desire to hurt me because they enjoyed the idea of making someone else hurt. And, not to play armchair psychologist, but, I have a sneaking suspicion if I had a good understanding of them, there would be reasons behind their behavior besides that they are literally empty vessels possessed by the devil.

People are capable of doing bad. People are capable of doing a breathtaking amount of bad. There are terrifying, horrible, brutal things in history, things that left scars on the world and on society. Some are happening right now. More are coming.

But I’ve read a lot of stories about magic, and dragons, and flying castles, and people standing on the moon with no need to breathe. And there is nothing I find more unbelievable than the idea that any person, even someone who has done incredibly horrible things, is unilaterally and only bad.

So I guess... my rebuttal here is a matter of “what, exactly, makes a villain?”

I would consider Steven Universe a story without a villain. Because it really isn’t. Yellow Diamond is not a villain. Nor is Jasper, nor is Aquamarine, nor is Rose, nor is Steven. Steven Universe is a story about a world populated by people who, in the way that people are, can be misguided and wrong and hurt and as a result they may have, and will, cause hurt to each other.

I feel like “villain” is often kind of a statement of culpability. They’re responsible for everything. It’s their fault.

In that sense, I don’t think a force of nature really can be a villain. I think they can be a danger, absolutely.

One of my favorite series, growing up- unusual, since it didn’t even have any dragons and back then I could rarely be bothered to read literature so bereft- was the Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen. Roughly, it is the story of a teenager who is dropped unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere and nature, being nature, does not immediately sweep him up in its nurturing bosom. In fact, it nearly kills him on many, many occasions.

But it’s not really a villain. And I guess I kind of shy away from thinking of any character as a villain. Even characters who are actively malicious, who much of it is their fault, really- like Zarkon in Voltron. And mostly it’s because- I think, for me, it’s more informative to conceptualize the situation as they’re all characters. We empathize more with Voltron, they’re our viewpoint characters- our window into the world, and that makes others, like Zarkon, distant and scary to us.

Zarkon is a character. He is also responsible for a catastrophic amount of harm. In not calling him a villain, I am not remotely trying to diminish that he has done awful things, and, will likely, continue that going forwards. Hell, I have written rather lengthy meta considering the idea that he is very likely an abusive parent.

I think “villain” can sometimes be a comforting category. It’s a level of distancing, because in the vast majority of works, you are asked to view the world from the hero’s perspective. “Villain” is a way to say that the person who does the most harm is wicked and strange, fundamentally unlike you. This can often involve a lot of work done to depersonalize the villain- to make them into, as you said, a cosmic force or a natural one.

But now I think if you’re going to consider something a villain, you have to consider it first a character. It must affect, in some way, in the work, a kind of personality.

I’m not saying that all of your characters must be well-meaning. Petty, vindictive, cruel people exist. They’re valid personality traits. You can write them.

But I guess what I want to pick at is the idea that there’s a specific role that’s “evil”, and that if you’re evil, it means that you’re obligated to have these traits. Why is a character vindictive? Why is a character petty? Do they deny their pettiness or revel in it? If there’s nothing meaningful to be had there- then why make them petty in the first place?

If your character is supposed to be unpleasant, you shouldn’t have to heap random atrocities on them to make it look like they don’t have a point. They just plain shouldn’t have a point and that should be able to stand on its own. As a writer, I have to trust that my audience will react to my characters in their own way. It may be different from how I intended them to.

And honestly, what fun is that? If I write a story and put it out there and I feature a character who I think is largely forgettable- maybe one person finds this character and really resonates with them. Says, “Hey, remember that one guy who was working for the final boss and just wanted a paycheck? I went over all of their lines, drew some conjectures- they really speak to me a lot. They might be my favorite character!”

I don’t really want to try and force people to only look at the things I write one way. And often, tacking unpleasant qualities onto a villain just because they’re the bad guy and I want them to be hated is... limiting. 

So all of my nitpicking at the topic of villain isn’t even that I think you can’t write these characters or shouldn’t, but, basically, I’m trying to talk against the idea of selling characters short by oversimplifying them. 

[hoodedhalcandran-archive]

Your new nickname is magazine. Your hat looks like burnt maccoroni. Can I eat your crown???

“The Little Engine That Could is an illustrated children’s book that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The story is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children”

BACKGROUND

The story’s signature phrases such as “I think I can” first occurred in print in a 1902 article in a Swedish journal. An early published version of the story, “Story of the Engine That Thought It Could”, appeared in the New-York Tribune on April 8, 1906, as part of a sermon by the Rev. Charles S. Wing.

A brief version of the tale appeared under the title Thinking One Can in 1906, in Wellspring for Young People, a Sunday school publication. This version reappeared in a 1910 book, Foundation Stones of Success.

Another version was published under the name “The Pony Engine” in the Kindergarten Review in 1910, written by Mary C. Jacobs. A different version with the same title appeared in a magazine for children in 1916 under the name of Mabel C. Bragg, a teacher, but she “took no credit for originating the story”.

The story first appeared in print with the title The Little Engine That Could in 1920, collected in one volume of My Book House, a set of books sold in the U.S. by door-to-door salespersons. The Book House version began, “Once there was a Train-of-Cars; she was flying across the country with a load of Christmas toys for the children who lived on the other side of the mountain.” The story was labeled  “As told by Olive Beaupré Miller”; the first edition gave credit to Bragg, but subsequent editions did not as Miller subsequently concluded that “the story belonged to the realm of folk literature”. Miller was the founding editor and publisher of The Book House for Children, a company based in Chicago.

The best known incarnation of the story The Little Engine That Could was written by “Watty Piper”, a pen name of Arnold Munk, who was the owner of the publishing firm Platt & Munk. Arnold Munk was born in Hungary, and as a child, moved with his family to the United States, settling in Chicago. Later he moved to New York. Platt & Munk’s offices were at 200 Fifth Avenue until 1957 when Arnold Munk died. Arnold Munk used the name Watty Piper as both an author of children’s books and as the editor of many of the books that Platt & Munk published. He personally hired Lois Lenski to illustrate the book. This retelling of the tale The Pony Engine appeared in 1930, with a title page that stated: “Retold by Watty Piper from The Pony Engine by Mabel C. Bragg’s copyrighted by George H. Doran and Co.”

In 1954, Platt & Munk published another version of The Little Engine That Could, with slightly revised language and new, more colorful illustrations by George and Doris Hauman. Although there had been many previous editions of this classic story, “It was the work of George and Doris Hauman that earned The Little Engine the title of being worthy to sit on the same shelf as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” A 1976 rework featured art by Ruth Sanderson received a lot of attention at the time of its release, in part because the art reflected “the stereotypes of masculine strength and feminine weakness in vogue when it was written”.

PLOT

In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain. Larger engines, treated anthropomorphically, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. The engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating its motto: “I-think-I-can”.

The story of the little engine has been told and retold many times. The underlying theme is the same — a stranded train is unable to find an engine willing to take it on over difficult terrain to its destination. Only the little blue engine is willing to try and, while repeating the mantra “I think I can, I think I can”, overcomes a seemingly impossible task.

An early version goes as follows:

A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill. “I can’t; that is too much a pull for me”, said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. In desperation, the train asked the little switch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. “I think I can”, puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”As it neared the top of the grade, which had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly. However, it still kept saying, “I—think—I—can, I—think—I—can.” It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, “I thought I could, I thought I could.”

VERSIONS

Later versions would revamp the story to have a more specific appeal for children – the stranded train is recast as a train of good food and anthropomorphic toys for the children across the mountain, thus in saving the train the little engine seems to be working for the benefit of the child reader, making the successful deed all the more triumphant.

In these versions another character appeared and remained a key part of the story hereafter – the clown ringleader of the toys who attempts to find help with several locomotives but is rebuffed. The number of engines in the story also eventually became standard across the tellings: The happy locomotive on the toy train who breaks down and cannot go on, the pompous passenger engine who considers himself too grand for the task, the powerful freight engine who views himself as too important, and the elderly engine who lacks either the strength or determination to help the toys. The little blue engine always appears last and, although perhaps reluctant (some editions have the engine clarify her role as a switcher not suited for road-work), always rises to the occasion and saves the day for the children over the mountain.

Each engine is defined by its appearance or function and is not given a name or personality beyond its role on the railroad. It is only in the 1991 film adaption that the engines’ personalities are expanded on, including the granting of names: Farnsworth (the express engine), Pete (the freight engine), Georgia (the friendly engine of the toy train), Jebediah (the elderly engine) and Tillie, the titular “little engine that could”. The clown was also named “Rollo” and a sixth engine character, Doc, appeared briefly to recover the broken-down Georgia and thus tie up the hanging story-thread of what happened to the failed engine of the toy train, which all other versions leave unaddressed.

FILMS

The tale with its easy-to-grasp moral has become a classic children’s story and was adapted in November 1991 as a 30-minute animated film produced in Wales and co-financed in Wales and the United States. The film named the famous little engine Tillie and expanded the narrative into a larger story of self-discovery.

In March 2011, the story was adapted as a 3-D film named The Little Engine That Could, produced by Universal Studios and featuring the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alyson Stoner, and Corbin Bleu.

“LITTLE ENGINE” TOYS AND RAIL TOURS

A full-size replica of the Little Engine That Could makes an annual circuit around the United States. Arranged through Rail Events, Inc., a number of tourist and museum railroad operations host the “I Think I Can” Rail Tour. The replica was constructed in 2005 by the Strasburg Rail Road in southeast Pennsylvania. Strasburg also constructed the Thomas The Tank Engine replicas that tour the United States.

American toy company Whittle Shortline produces wooden toy trains of The Little Engine That Could as a domestic alternative to Thomas the Tank Engine. Maxim Enterprise held the license prior to 2006.

IN POPULAR CULTURE

In the 1941 Disney movie Dumbo, when Casey Jr. the circus train puffs up a hill, he chants, “I think I can!” and “I thought I could!” when going down the hill.

International champion vintage motorcycle racer Todd Henning’s motto was “I think I can!” and he named his racing team I Think I Can Racing after the book.

This book was chosen by “Jumpstart Read for the Record” to be read worldwide to tens of thousands of children on August 24, 2006.[7]

Shel Silverstein wrote the poem “The Little Blue Engine”, which referenced this story.

West End and Broadway musical Starlight Express was loosely based on the book.

The original logo for Elton John’s record label The Rocket Record Company was based on the book.

One of the Vagina Monologues is called “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could”.

The chorus of C'mon ‘N’ Ride It by the Quad City DJ’s repeats “I think I can!” as a rhythmic part to sound like a train.

A song on The Pillows Fool on the Planet album is called “I think I can”, and the chorus is a repeat of “I think I can!”.

NBA player Kyle Lowry is nicknamed “The Little Engine That Could” by Toronto Raptors play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin.

In episode 1 of season 3 of the TV series Married… with Children titled “He Thought He Could”, Al Bundy has to return a copy of the book that he borrowed in 1957.

A Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson, published October 18, 1993, shows the little engine sitting broken on the sidewalk, panhandling with a sign reading “I thought I could, I thought I could …”.

SEE ALSO

Thomas the Tank Engine

….Vi didn’t know how to answer this one so I, here loving boyfriend @Ravioko, did so for her.