#which actually not a true torture device so there's the irony of it being as a poser like her lmaoooo

[kurohaai]

Reject fish 🙅‍♀️🦈 become clown 🙏🤡

My newest fantroll just dropped ayo Bonus my train of thought while making her below:

Also Sepida (the gf) belongs to @halloweensuittruffles!

[convenientalias]

I Rate Cdramas Based Off Their First Episode

Today I dropped another cdrama off my to-watch list after watching one and a half episodes. Which has me thinking about first episodes in general, and what I look for from them. I could write extensive meta about this but instead I thought I'd just make another list where I rate cdramas based on my own arbitrary taste.

Some caveats: These are only cdramas I've watched to completion and whose first episodes I actually remember. So, for example, I liked the first episode of The Story of Minglan but dropped it on episode 10--it is not on this list. On the other hand, I had mixed feelings on the first episode of Sword Dynasty when I watched it but now I can't remember it, so it isn't on this list either. That said, let's begin. In alphabetical order...

Ancient Detective: Introduces the three leads, gives you a sense of the MC's motivation, and gets the main bromance started. Has one mini-case solved in the first half of the episode and then sets up the first multi-episode case. A fun episode in itself and a good introduction. 10/10, I think anyone would want to watch at least the next episode to see where things are going and get some more bromance.

The Disguiser: Really has a lot going on. It can be kind of confusing at first, especially for someone who doesn't know much about this period in Chinese history, to figure out who's who and who belongs to what political party etc, but it does get across what the main characters are like and establish them all as very competent and (except maybe Ming Tai) pretty shady. It has everything: executions, torture, assassinations, reunions between old friends (lovers?) who are no longer exactly friends, dramatic plane rides, kidnappings, recruitment speeches... Admittedly better on a rewatch when you're less confused, but does start things off with a boom. 9/10.

Flame's Daughter: On a rewatch I had misremembered this first episode as being the first two episodes because so much fuckign happens. And yet it's easy enough to follow. A large number of major characters are introduced, but few of them are given much depth as of yet, and you don't really know their motivations. The two MCs have a sort of a meet cute, and Lie Ruge has some fun hanging out in a brothel. I would rate this episode higher if Taste Flower Pavilion had more to do with the main plot, or if a couple characters who seem important in this episode didn't turn out to be mostly irrelevant. But it's got a good hook, even if it sort of underplays the level of wuxia intrigue that will show up after a few more episodes. 7/10.

Granting You a Dreamlike Life: Does anyone like the framing device of GYADL? It's really only relevant to the first and last episode, and it's so pointless. Why introduce the two main actors in completely different roles for the first half of the first episode and then go into a prolonged flashback where they're different characters entirely? It just annoys me. (Partly bc the plot of this framing device is embarrassing.) That said, once you get into the flashback itself--which you do get around to this episode--you get one of the best scenes of the series with the two leads fighting each other over a bag of dumplings, doing acrobatics and martial arts and even some motorcycling. A quality meet cute. So I will give this episode 5/10 for being both excellent and awful.

Handsome Siblings: This show's first two episodes are mostly backstory. But it's not that bad, really. I mean, think of all the kdramas that spend the first three to five episodes on backstory and it's really not that bad to just spend one and a half episodes on it. Still I'm not a huge fan of the MCs being babies for the whole first episode, and this first episode is extremely tragic while the majority of the show is a mix of angst and comedy, so it's not all that accurate of an introduction to the show either. I think the second episode is much truer to the mood of the series as a whole and a better introduction in general. Still, the first episode does give a lot of backstory that you really need to get the dramatic irony that the rest of the series leans on, so... I guess 4/10??

Joy of Life: The first episode of Joy of Life is hilarious. Doesn't introduce the political intrigue aspect or some other aspects of the show, and the first couple minutes are confusing, but mostly, it's just hilarious. The kid actor for Fan Xian I may like better than his adult actor lols. 10/10, again, I have a hard time seeing anyone wanting to stop without watching another episode.

Nirvana in Fire: I know NIF's first episode is notoriously confusing but I actually think... it's not bad. Because fundamentally, NIF is a show about a lot of characters doing political schemes and often monologuing about it. So a first episode that has some basic scheming and introduces a lot of cast members isn't really that bad. I also kind of like that the first episode is like "this show will be about the conflict between Prince Yu and the Crown Prince, and Mei Changsu supporting one of them to become emperor" and then not only does MCS not support either one, but he also is secretly more focused on the Chiyan case than in even making Jingyan emperor as a goal in itself. Also, NIF said at the get-go "MCS is gonna die in two years" and it stuck to its guns and you have to respect that. And making Lin Chen show up for one episode and then disappear until the final act was also pretty wild. That said, I have now watched this episode five times trying to convince others to watch the show and I only convinced one person, so I can't say it's all that effective as a hook. I give it a 6/10 because I am fond but it's true that it's kind of a disaster.

Winter Begonia: I would like to complain and say this show starts off slow. The leads only meet towards the end of this first episode, and they spend most of the episode hanging out with their respective families (or opera troupe, as the case may be) living their everyday lives. But this is a slice of life show with a slow burn (b)romance at its core, so even though at the time I first watched the first episode I wanted things to move faster, ultimately it makes sense with what the show is. In some shows, you get the leads becoming close right off the bat (Ancient Detective, I'm looking at you), and in others, it only happens after several episodes of shallow but flirty meetings, a disastrous party, and a serious conversation in a gazebo in the middle of a snowstorm. What you get from Winter Begonia's first episode is not immediate action or relationship development but a strong sense of who Shang Xirui and Cheng Fengtai are separately, which prepares you for how they will and won't mesh well together as the story progresses. 9/10.

I haven't actually watched any of these episodes in a while so I may be wrong or biased by how the shows turned out by the time I was done with them. Let me know if you agree or disagree :)

[occasionalfics]

worth my while // p. 1

main masterlist | thor masterlist | ko-fi | prologue | p. 2 

Summary: After being banished from his home, Thor Odinson has stopped at nothing to prove himself worthy of his throne, title, and power. 

After losing the love of your life, you turned to a power you didn’t understand.You know you shouldn’t get involved. 

But how could you not?

Pairing: Thor x Reader (Hercules au…kind of…)

A/N: For all of y’all that are wondering how Thor is involved...here’s where it starts! Let me know what you think! :D

Warnings: Violence, lots of angst, borderline abuse and definite manipulation, eventual smut, way too many feels, major character death (eventually).

Words: 2,027

Hades spoils you, but only when he wants something out of you. Only when it benefits him. At least he doesn’t put his hands on you. Most of the time.

Tonight, he’s gifted you the most ostentatious golden gown you’ve ever seen. The back is low cut, and the front drapes over your body as if it were made for you. Even you notice how much you shine in it, but you can’t tell if that comes from your skin or Hades’ magic.

The shoes he’s given you, however, are not a gift. They’re torture devices, in your own opinion. But they make your legs look amazing.

Hades knows what he’s doing. Knows what he likes, too. Knows what men like him like.

Men like him and Victor Von Doom.

Sorry, Doctor Victor Von Doom.

God, you think, knowing all too well about the irony in not invoking Zeus instead. What a pretentious name.

But then again, your Master is the literal God of the Underworld. He’s not a man at all, you realize.

And you really shouldn’t be surprised; Doctor Von Doom’s ballroom is just as incredible as his name and reputation. According to the information Hades gave you, the man is an insanely rich sovereign of some country called Latvia, but he has business to attend to in New York. And, for some inexplicable reason, he hates Doctor Reed Richards, as if that means anything at all to you.

Hades insisted it would, one day. But that was all he’d said on the subject.

Von Doom is easy enough to find in his sea of guests. It’s a charity event, and everyone is clambering to get a peek at the elusive host. Why Hades thinks this man will comply with his terms, you can’t say, but you still find yourself doing your job, stalking over to him with your head held high, hair falling into your face for an air of mystery.

Hades words, not yours.

You join the conversation easy enough. It’s all the same, after a while. You stay coy and playful on the outside, despite the creeping cynicism and exhaustion inside. It’s enough to catch Von Doom’s attention on more than one occasion.

Eventually, you’re quipping back and forth with him, holding your own with a gazillionaire like you’d never imagined before giving everything to Hades. But the God has trained you, and trained you well. He refused to send you out to do his bidding until he was satisfied, knowing you were ready according to his own standards.

By now, you’re practically an expert in playing a room.

And you get Von Doom alone in under thirty minutes. Almost breaking your last record of twenty-seven and a half.

He brings you to his office, sits in a large, red velvet chair behind his desk, and pours two lowballs of Scotch. You forgo one of the chairs opposite him and place yourself directly on his desk, between his nametag and intercom.

“So, Miss (Y/L/N),” he says, a light accent evident in his tone. “I must say, you’ve quite intrigued me.”

You already know this, but you give a light chuckle and lift your shoulders playfully anyway. “My employer will be thrilled to hear as much.”

He tilts his head toward one shoulder as he looks at you quizzically. You have to admit to yourself that he is rather...gorgeous. Classic Hollywood looks, vaguely European accent, clearly tanned and bright eyes any woman could fall freely into.

But he’s also a Billionaire. And, according to some of the things you’d read, not the greatest person. Or lover.

“And who, may I ask, is your employer?”

Your smirk widens. You push yourself off his desk and take a look at the shelves he has around the room. A well-read man, Von Doom appears to be. It’s almost impressive - would be even more so if you hadn’t gotten to know Hades too well since...everything.

But you can’t get lost in that right now. No, right now, you have a mission. A job.

After all, you sold your soul.

“He’s a man of many talents, Doctor Von Doom.” You pick a book off a shelf, pretend to examine the spine, then place it back without messing up the order. “A man much like yourself.”

Only he’s immortal and clever and I hate him.

But that’s also your own fault.

You turn only your head and glance at von Doom. His expression is still curious, so you know you’ve got a hook in him. Now all that’s left to do is reel him in on Hades’ plan.

You cross your arms and go across the room to another shelving unit, this one covered in sculptures of all media and sizes. There’s a bust of a woman that you’re sure is Mary Shelley, but you’re not sure what she has to do with any of this.

“And what is it that your employer does?” Von Doom asks.

As calculated as Hades’ intends, you turn fully to him and answer, simply, “He deals in life.”

In a way, it’s true. But that’s another reason you hate Hades. He’s far too technical. Gets what he wants on too many technicalities and specific details.

And yet, you always find yourself still respecting his methods. He gets what he wants, and everyone else pays for it. He’s never the one to get hurt, never the vulnerable one. After a lifetime of being told that that meant being evil, you’ve come to find that that’s not always the case.

Sometimes, it’s just better. Easier, being alone. Because no one can get hurt.

Von Doom’s laughter pulls you back into the now. But no worries; you’re prepared for this, too.

You take a heavy step toward him. “My employer is interested in powerful people,” you say. “He has plans. World-changing plans, Doctor Von Doom.”

With a good-natured smile, he tells you, “Please, call me Victor.”

They always say that you think. But you nod anyway.

“Victor,” you start again, taking yet another step back to the desk. “My employer is a man with vision. He has his means, but he wants allies. People to share his vision of the future, with a similar vision for today.” You splay your hands on the edges of the desk and smile gently at him now. “He wants to take out the Avengers.”

Victor laughs again. For just a split second, you’re confused, but you quickly compose yourself.

Before either of you can make a next move, the door bursts open. More accurately, the door is forced into the room, the wooden moulding in its frame splintering and cracking, the concrete surrounding it turning to rubble.

Speaking of…

You have no idea what the Avengers could want at a Von Doom Charity Party. So when the blond God from...Space, as far as you know, barges in with rage in his eyes, you stand and immediately back away.

“Let the lady go, Doom,” the God says, deep voice booming through the room.

Victor’s smile falters and vanishes. He sighs and shakes his head.

“You simpleton,” Victor says. “Must you constantly be ruining my doorways?”

“In the name of public safety, whatever it takes.”

You definitely have no idea what that means.

Victor is up in a flash, a metal gauntlet covering his fist - a gauntlet he certainly wasn’t wearing a moment ago. He blasts the God with a streak of white light, but it only earns him a roar in return.

And a blast twice as bright, twice as powerful, and twice as damaging. It hurts for you to look, so you turn to the window and yelp.

The air in the room settles, and there’s a plopping sound as something heavy hits the floor. You don’t turn around until a hand settles on your upper arm, but instead of Victor, you find the God holding onto you.

You push his hand off and glare. “You asshole!” you yell. “I was in the middle of something!” Something much more important than this...Lightning Guy would ever know.

He just stares at you, blank expression on his face while the doorway around him continues to fall apart. You can hear shouts and yelling from the ballroom, and a metallic voice attempting to calm the crowd.

You roll your eyes, knowing Tony Stark is behind all of this. Whatever this is.

It’s too ironic, you think, that you’re here to accost Victor Von Doom in an attempt to get him to join Hades in taking out the Avengers when they just happen to show up.

“Are you not...a damsel in distress?” Lighting Guy asks.

You had half-turned to a passed-out Victor, but find you can’t help but respond. So you turn back and glare at him and spit, “Do I look like I’m in distress?”

He doesn’t have an answer to that. You return to Victor, who groans now. Without looking back at Lightning Guy, you tell him to get lost and head across the room to make sure your target is still alive, can still possibly benefit you.

In a way, you think you should thank the Avengers for showing up. With this attack on Victor, he’ll have a vendetta. Once the so-called heroes disperse, you can use this to your advantage.

To Hades’ advantage.

“I would not approach him if I were you, madame.”

You groan this time, a deep and rumbling sound that shakes your chest. “I can handle myself,” you tell him. Just inches from Victor’s twitching legs, you look at the...actually quite handsome, gigantic man in the doorway who’s watching you curiously. You smirk at him, because giving anything real away could jeopardize your new plan. “Have a nice day,” you tell him with a wink.

Kneeling beside Victor, you reach down and feel for his pulse, even though you saw him moving already. He’s definitely still alive, which makes you sigh.

“Ma’am,” you hear. It’s not Lighting Guy this time, though you missed the sound of footsteps approaching. “I’m gonna have to ask you to clear the room.”

You’d know that self-important, high-and-mighty tone anywhere. He was the spokesperson for the team, after all, though Tony Stark often thought of himself as such. The difference was that Stark had his own business to speak for on a regular basis, while Captain America had only the Avengers.

“Ugh, fuck off, would you?” you let out, despite how borderline polite the Captain had sounded.

“This building isn’t safe,” he says back, like you know nothing at all about the situation you’re currently in. “That man is a dangerous-”

“I know who he is,” you shoot. You sit back on your heels and give both Captain America and Lighting Guy an unimpressed look. “I’m a big, tough girl.” You turn and stand, just to make a point, showing off the uncomfortable shoes that lace up around your calves up to your knees. “I can tie my own sandals and everything.”

“I’ll give you one last chance, ma’am, before one of us is forced to remove you from the room,” Captain America says, voice even and commanding.

You’re not surprised that he’s not exactly the piece of Apple Pie every American thinks he is.

You look them both over. Lightning Guy’s biceps are bigger than your head. Each. He’s...unreal. Inhuman. He looks like he could pummel Hades into next year.

But the longer you look, the softer his eyes become. There’s...something akin to respect lining the electric blue of his irises. Like he sees the power you’re attempting to wield and likes it, even if you’re busy telling him to fuck off.

And Captain America - well, that dude punched Nazis! You couldn’t take him if you wanted to. He’d have you over his shoulder and down a flight of stairs before you could blink.

Because you know all this, and because you’d rather leave with whatever dignity you have left in tact, you sigh and nudge Victor’s shin with the heel of your shoe. You roll your eyes again and say, “Fine, fine. If he wakes up, tell ‘em I’ll be back, would ya?”

You head across the room and the two huge men make way for you. Just as you come up to Captain America’s shoulder, he steps back and puts himself in your way, but doesn’t bother with touching you.

You’re quite thankful for that, actually.

“I wouldn’t advise it, ma’am.”

You give him a rather condescending hmm, look right into his sky-blue eyes, and smirk the smirk Hades always says is the reason he keeps you around. “Save it for someone you can actually save, Cap,” you tell him.

Then, you’re gone.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X16 - The Miller’s Daughter

I actually don’t have a pun this time, but if you want to read some semi-interesting thoughts on this episode, comedy bits that may or may not be funny, and for me to try to analyze costumes despite having fork all knowledge about them, then come with me and you’ll be in a world of fairytale serialization!

Press Release Cora’s desire to rid herself of Rumplestiltskin in order to take his place as The Dark One takes one step closer to becoming reality as she and Regina try to overpower a dying Mr. Gold, and Mary Margaret is once again tempted by dark magic. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Rumplestiltskin agrees to offer his services to a younger Cora - for a price - when the king calls her bluff and orders her to actually follow through on her boast of being able to spin straw into gold. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past Cora’s psyche was FABULOUSLY written in this segment. She’s not completely unsympathetic, but seeing the things that tick her off and her suggestion of “bloodlust” as her fuel for her magic show that she’s a psychopath. She wants to torture people for looking down on her and it’s appropriately petty. Her ambitions are so strong and appealing to her that they eclipse even her sense of love. We get such a complex picture of this woman here and it frames her perfectly for the tragic fate that comes upon her in the present.

Cora, you are an evil woman but I’d be lying through my teeth if I said you didn’t rock that dress! Actually, despite knowing fork all about fashion, I want to continue. Let’s talk about the use of color in this scene. Cora’s wearing a red and black dress, though it’s predominantly red. I feel like this can be read (Or rather, RED XD ) as Cora being a person who wants bloodlust and who is finally deciding to let the blackness in her heart take over in order to get what she wants. Also lets not the silver on he dress as well in the form of the jewel or brooch (Note my lack of fashion know how), a small but noticeable reflection of the values Henry Sr. wants in a wife. And speaking of, Henry Sr. is dressed, not only in white, but white and silver. The white, of course, is his sense of goodness which does win out in the end, but the silver to me stands in for the speckle of darkness that his future endeavors with an evil Cora and an eventually evil Regina will be involved in. Finally, let’s look at the king. His clothes are roughly half black and half white. I read that as him ultimately having good intentions for his son and kingdom but being wicked for all that he puts Cora through, knowing her rank, status, and likely abilities.

While I understand that this borders of shipping stuff, and I usually separate that, I like how while Cora and Henry Sr. have a relationship that’s not at all antagonistic at the very start, they don’t spend enough time together to discover whether or not it’s love, making their dysfunction later on make so much sense. Present I have a lot to say about Snow wanting to kill Cora...just not here, if that makes sense. While I remember it going overboard in upcoming episodes (Prepare for the longest eye roll in the world when Snow goes on about how it was easy to kill Cora), it’s really well executed here. Snow riles herself up to kill Cora and when it finally happens, she realizes how she wasn’t ready for the internal consequences in regards to her heart and sense of goodness (Not to mention her safety from Regina!). Snow’s rage from the last episode’s ending is still so present, and it’s appropriately framed as a risky path she might not want to take, but just might have to.

Snow utterly GETS Regina as she’s giving her the heart. It’s horribly twisted just how much she’s able to pick on Regina’s need for a mother’s love and use that to get Regina to kill Cora. That moment really struck as the one where she realized (And me) that for as tactical as the move was, it may have been too cruel. All Encompassing I love seeing Cora as she started out because it says so much about the presentation she’s built around herself over the course of her rise to power. Cora has a fiery and snippy temper that she can just hardly control, even among the royals who she so desperately wants to be one of. The Cora of the present composes herself so well and it’s such an interesting contrast, especially in the moments when that anger does comes out.

It’s such an interesting contrast as the scene where Emma learns how to use magic cuts to the one where Cora learns to use magic. In the Emma scene, Rumple has her conjuring a mental idea of those she loves and wants to protect and why so that she can help others. Meanwhile, in the Cora scene, the ideas Rumple has Cora conjure have to deal with those she wants to harm and kill so that she can better her own status. It’s a great point of contrast not only for the two characters, BUT also for how light magic and dark magic are uniquely created. Also, given how Rumple is a Dark One who was at one point a Savior (Though I acknowledge that that might not have been created at the time), it’s great to see Rumple at the cornerstone of both lessons, showing a sympathy and understanding for both women.

“I realized no matter how good I was or how hard I worked, I was never gonna be more than I am now.” Cora and SNow are conflicting characters in this episode, and it’s so cool to see that at one point (Obviously longer for Snow by a huge margin), both women held the idea that goodness being the cause of good fortune as true. Insights - Stream of Consciousness -I love the design of Cora’s home in the past. With the placement of her father in the wheelbarrow and the dirty colors all around, it really highlights the squalor that Cora’s lived in all her life. Additionally, the castle in the still quite visible distance is the perfect thing to show her ambition to be more than she is and ascend to royalty. The melancholic music in the background just brings it all home. -Going off of my last review, I love how Eva is characterized in her small moment. The trip is pre-mediated (But in a smart way) and the Season 3 episode where they first meet even gives more of a reason as to why she was so horrible here. -Those bunks are actually roomier than I thought they’d be for a pirate ship. -I like Rumple’s subversion of expectations with Emma as he asks if she wants him to die before they return to Storybrooke. He always expects the worst out of people (As semi-justly as that mentality is) and when they show that that’s he’s wrong (whether he understands that or not) is just so nice! -”I-I’m not wicked.” You are about to kill at least four people! Yes, you are wicked! Or evil, since ‘wicked’ is more of Zelena’s schtick. -Also, Cora’s reaction to the phone call is hysterically petty. She’s like a cat. -Yes, Regina! Doubt her! (fork me with a rusty fork, the dialogue is just AMAZING here!) -*wistfully sighs* The stylized design of this ball is so beautiful. The masks, the dancing, the layout! It’s so distinct! -I have to ask: Does Cora know that that’s Henry Sr. when she originally gossips about him right to his face? On one hand, I’m not sure we’re supposed to interpret that that way, but on the other hand, it’s a very Cora thing to do. -It’s really weird to see someone on this show say ‘whore’ (“Whoring” in context, but still!). -”Cora. Sounds like something breaking.” I can’t say that I agree with you, Rumple. Cora’s a lovely name! We just need someone less evil to have it! -”Can ya read”” I think this is the first time Rumple’s actually checked to see if someone could read! He really should do that more! Like, so many of the people he deals with are defenseless peasants! So what the hell?! -Love that pen, Rumple! THAT is a deal-making pen! -”For a rainy day.” You say that a lot, Rumple. What, did a rainy day eat your dog or something? -”And there’s no coming back from death, either.” Give it a season, Rumple. And then another. And Then Another. And. Then. Another. AND THEN ANOTHER! I don’t hate this plot device, but it really happens a lot! XD -”...When he learns that you killed his grandpa.” Rumple, the other solution is her killing his adoptive grandma/great-grandma. This isn’t as much of a point in your favor as you think it is! XD -I love how they showed Emma using magic here. You really feel the step-by-step process in how it’s done. I wish they’d use that filming style more often in the future, but I guess I get that the creators acknowledge that we get the deal in the later seasons. -”I rip out his throat and I crunch his veins with my teeth.” That is amazingly disturbing imagery! Like, the writing of those lines are so impactful and frankly scary! -”To a child.” So, I don’t know if this was the fault of casting, but Eva and Cora are too close in age for the difference to be all that remarkable. -”I want their kneecaps to crack and freeze upon the stones. I want their necks to break from bending.” Another instance of disturbing as all here writing, but done so eloquently that it’s beautiful. -I like how Regina and Cora are able to pretty easily take down Emma’s protection spell together while Cora takes longer to do it on her own, showing that even though Emma’s the Savior and indeed powerful, she still has a lot to learn. -Also, good on you, Emma for giving Regina a last chance! -”WHEN YOU SEE THE FUTURE, THERE’S IRONY EVERYWHERE!” Finally! I not only now know for life where that forking quote comes from, but after referencing it time after time, it’s so good to hear it again! -Another note on the costume colors: The only time Cora rejects her ambitions are when she’s wearing her opposite color: White. The goodness in her is so overpowering! -I love the distorted version of the classic Once tune that plays as Snow is getting Cora’s heart. -”At least this cursed power will pass from this world.” I’m not sure how I feel about this line when it comes to Rumple, given how just two episodes ago, he was so on team magic, but given that the dagger both threatens his family now and caused the initial separation from Bae, I can understand the sentiment. -I’d like to think that when Cora sent Emma and Neal away, she essentially just did it via subconscious randomizer! XD -”Did you ever love me?” Given everything that happened with Milah, it makes sense that Rumple would ask this going forward with his romantic endeavors. -”I did nothing.” Yes, you did! Rumple, who the here told Snow about the freakin’ candle the second time? I love you, man, but don’t weasel completely out of this! -Something I noticed: So, I know that the point of contention with Regina blaming Snow for Daniel’s death is a hot topic (Hell, I even saw a debate about it this morning), and I can’t help but feel like this was written partially so that Regina would have a more...legitimate reason to hate Snow. Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Rumple Finding Baelfire/Neal - I actually discuss there two in just a moment! Regina’s Redemption - This episode definitely shows Regina’s sense of good and evil being pit against each other and Cora is right in the middle of it. In the shop, she’s directly by Regina’s side and there, she won’t even entertain the idea of Emma’s offer to change sides. But when Cora and Regina are separated, and the idea of Cora’s real love is brought up, that’s when we see her goodness win. Cora in Storybrooke - Here concludes this arc, and I honestly loved it. Like all of the best villains and their arcs, Cora leaves so much on the floor (Apart from her corpse, that is) in terms of emotional issues for our main cast, especially Snow and Regina. The arc itself  was also well written and well paced. Not to mention, it mixed very well with Regina’s Redemption by forcing it to be turned back a bit, showing that Regina’s redemption won’t be so easy. Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Neal - These guys have a scene that’s maybe half a forking minute and they steal the god damned episode with it. Rumple finally gets to say what we all know he really wanted to say. And what I especially love here is how Neal hears him out but does not forgive him! Like, Rumple is dying and he doesn’t fully absolve him, and I think that was such a bold and brilliant thing for Espenson to do. It shows that Neal’s pain, even in this moment, still matters, and while there can be softness, that pain hasn’t gone away. It’s such a small, but insightful understanding of their relationship. Writer Jane Espenson hit the writing out of the forking park! At least a few times during the episode had such intricate language. Honestly, it almost freaks me out a bit with the imagery she painted during the ‘bloodlust’ scene with the way she has Rumple and Cora speak about the harm they wish to inflict on those who scorned them! While there are errant lines here and there that I don’t like (I jotted a few down in “Insights”, they’re so few and far between that they hardly matter. The storytelling and character work here is great, too. She took advantage of all of the little nuances from the other episodes and shows just how much attention she was paying here. Rating Golden Apple. This was a great end to Cora’s story. Intersped with two fantastic stories that connect pretty well are great character moments between our main cast. It’s incredibly solid for an episode that serves as such a big moment of culmination, but it is. It’s entertaining, heartwarming, heartbreaking, disturbing at some points, and everything else in between. The feeling of tension as the Mills/Charming-Stiltskin war comes to a head is present through the entire flashback and Cora’s backstory only shows how much of a threat she truly is. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Snowing - I like how David knows Snow well enough to know exactly what killing Cora will do to her psychologically. A subtle moment like that really shows how well these two click. Golden Heart (Cora/Rumple) - I’d be lying if I didn’t say there weren’t sparks that could light the Enchanted Forest up like a menorah between Rumple and Cora. I love the way they bond over bloodlust and their kiss in front of the mirror while Cora’s in her wedding dress is a little hot! Look, I LOVE mopey dopey puppy love ships like Snowing, Rumbelle, or Captain Swan, but I LOVE villain ships! I love when a couple loves evil and each other, the exact order notwithstanding and this episode gives me exactly what I want. In another world, I would totally have had Rumple and Cora be together and have episodes and be recurring villains, but that (partially) doesn’t happen. Still, I’m grateful for what we get here. Also, I love when while Cora places her heart on Rumple’s chest, he says “I will show you EVERYTHING,” meaning his heart and love as well. I’ve also got to point out that Rumple and Cora can do that thing that the True Loves do when their kisses can be indicative of when something is wrong. Finally, Cora’s pentultimate dying words are “this would’ve been enough,” and Rumple and Regina are the only two in the scene, meaning that she would’ve wanted to be with them as a family. Rumbelle - I could honestly just put the entire phone call here and it would cover everything I want to say. It’s such a beautiful goodbye. However, I’m going to reference just a single line that comes in early on. “You are a hero.” Rumple knows how much being a hero means to Belle and that’s the first thing he tells her. It’s her ambition for herself and he places that ahead of her ambitions for him. That’s just heartbreaking. And it’s here that Rumple first says a sentiment that carries him to the series finale: “You make me wanna go back to the best version of me.” And that forking almost silent “Thank you, Belle” legitimately choked me up. ()()()()()()()()() Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales!

Wow. After all the pain that Cora caused, Storybrooke’s more or less a new town! I guess we should welcome ourselves there. ;) See you next time. Season 2 Tally (142/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (39/60) Jane Espenson (35/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (24/50) David Goodman (24/30)* Robert Hull (16/30) Christine Boylan (17/30) Kalinda Vazquez (20/30) Daniel Thomsen (18/20)* * Indicates that their work for the season is complete

Operation Rewatch Archives

[mittensmorgul]

8.10 is the worst... Naomi gives Cas the info on Samandriel and is the one who orders Cas to even rescue him in the first place, with the command to believe he'd discovered Alfie's kidnapping himself, which led to him saying all sorts of the awkward stuff he did, because he'd been compelled to explain everything away as his own idea, when it had been Naomi's all along... There’s just an awful lot of... awful... going on for Cas, and he’s been magically compelled not to even notice the fact... *cries for two hours and then drags self back to the keyboard to type this out*

Let’s separate out what exactly has been done to Cas to set him up in this position of unwitting spy and tool for Heaven, up to and including forcing him to do the one thing he’d sworn not to do-- the thing he’d confessed to Dean only two episodes earlier that his guilt over had driven him to the brink of suicide-- killing another angel. Yet Naomi forced his hand... I’m getting ahead of myself. This episode kills me. Sorry. Back to that list.

Naomi has placed the burden of obligation on Cas, rescuing him from Purgatory and extracting his unwilling help as payment.

the conditions of his obligation to her involve his complete loss of agency to her, in addition to a sort of magical geas that prevents him from even examining the source of the compulsion despite the actions he’s forced to undertake directly contradicting his stated emotional and psychological intentions, his guilt over what he’d done to Heaven, and what he’d done to Dean...

The episode shows us an example of what Cas has been doing while on his own since 8.08 via healing an infant of a “difficult to detect” painful medical condition. Left to his own devices, we imagine he’d continue this sort of benevolent work, yet Naomi snatches him up...

Cas had turned off “angel radio,” having personally decided he couldn’t bear it yet. He didn’t hear Samandriel’s distress call, yet Naomi forced him to believe that he had, and to lie about it continually throughout the rest of the episode. It’s not quite as jarring and awkward as some of what she forces him to do and say in 8.17, but we see her influence, and we know what the eventual effects of this sort of mental manipulation will have over him later, as he breaks under the stress of her control. Again, sorry. Getting ahead of myself.

NAOMI: His distress call cut out before I could pinpoint his exact location, but you will find him and you will bring him home. CASTIEL: Crowley will have warded against angels this time. I'll need help getting in. NAOMI: Take whatever you need. But you will be certain, Castiel, it was your idea to rescue Samandiriel, not mine, not Heaven's. Do you understand?

So of course Castiel goes to Dean for help, while operating under the confusing impression that he actually did hear Samandriel’s cry for help... No wonder he sounds so uncertain here...

CASTIEL: Yes. I, uh – I heard his distress call this morning. DEAN: On what, angel radio? I thought you shut that down. CASTIEL: Well, my penance, it's going well, and I thought it was time to turn it back on. I've, uh... been helping people, Dean.

The only true thing he said was that he’d been helping people. The worst thing is that Naomi’s order to rescue Samandriel from Crowley’s torture is that it’s exactly the sort of mission that he would’ve taken on of his own free will. He WOULD’VE felt it was a chance to “get a win,” to use his s12 phrasing on the subject. After causing so much death, Cas would’ve been grateful for the chance to save Samandriel’s life.

But Naomi’s orders came down, and entirely against his will, Cas killed Samandriel... oops, getting ahead of myself again.

Under torture, Crowley and his demon minion managed to unlock Samandriel’s “operating system,” the baseline programming that seems to equate to what makes an angel (or their grace). “OBEY.”  “You, celestial being, have been created to be an angel of the Lord.” And as Crowley says, “Protecting the Word of God seems to be hardwired into these dingbats.“

i.e., Angels are powerless in the face of the Word of God (meaning the tablets specifically in this case, since that’s what they’re discussing)

Cas shows his implicit trust in Sam, handing his angel blade over to Sam to use during the raid on Crowley’s warehouse. Sam hands it back once they’ve broken the warding and Cas can get inside.

Meanwhile, Cas is being affected by Samandriel’s words, his “prayer” for lack of a better word. Cas makes the excuse that he’s not at full power due to the angel warding sigils, and yet we see his specific reaction to Samandriel’s chanting-- (I’ll wait while y’all go look at that gif set...)

Cas covers his ears trying to block out Samandriel’s words, the exact programming that’s currently forcing CAS to OBEY Naomi, which gives him glimpses through the cracks, and flashbacks to what Naomi had done to him. Torture, reprogramming. Brainwashing, essentially.

He’s terrified and powerless in the face of it. And yet, he’s still compelled to help Samandriel and stop his torture. The problem is that Cas didn’t completely break free from Naomi’s control.

SAMANDIRIEL: No. You can't take me back there, Castiel. CASTIEL: Why not? SAMANDIRIEL: You don't understand. I told Crowley things – things he shouldn't have known. He got to our coding, our secrets – secrets I didn't even know we had! CASTIEL: What secrets? SAMANDIRIEL: Heaven, Naomi. CASTIEL: No. W-who's Naomi?

Even after JUST HAVING FLASHBACKS to his torture at Naomi’s hands, Cas doesn’t know.

SAMANDIRIEL: Who is – listen to me. Listen to me closely. I've been there. I know! They're controlling us, Castiel! CASTIEL: What do you mean?

OH THE IRONY! As Naomi is literally controlling him!

NAOMI: Kill him!

(see? yet in his mind, Cas manages to ask an important question of Naomi, challenging her, even from the same position in which he’d been accepting her instruction up to this point...)

CASTIEL: What does he mean, they're controlling us? NAOMI: Castiel! CASTIEL: Who is controlling us? Why did I see your face? Why was I so afraid? What did you do to me? [NAOMI hauls CASTIEL to his feet.] NAOMI: This is a direct order! Kill him!

OBEY! And horrifyingly, he does...

CASTIEL lets his angel sword slip down his sleeve and uses it to stab SAMANDIRIEL. Blinding white light emanates from SAMANDIRIEL as he dies.

CASTIEL: What did I just do? NAOMI: You killed a traitor. CASTIEL: Samandiriel... was good. And I was trying to atone for – NAOMI: Samandiriel was broken. He revealed the existence of what I would die to protect – what any of us would die to protect. The angel tablet, Castiel. Crowley knows. CASTIEL: I just murdered one of our own to protect a tablet? NAOMI: If the demon tablet can seal demons in Hell, what do you think the angel tablet could do to us? You're a hero, Castiel. You've done Heaven a great service. CASTIEL: And that's what I tell Sam and Dean?

Then she proceeds to literally sock-puppet Cas through his entire conversation with Sam and Dean, robotically telling them lie after lie while we-the-audience can see exactly what’s going on behind the curtain...

The problem is that all Dean can see is this...

And Cas’s entirely uncharacteristic behavior before he zaps off for points unknown without any further explanation...

It’s so unsettling that Sam and Dean ward their cabin against angels so not even Cas can see or hear them, because it’s clear there’s something wrong with Cas now... that someone or something is messing with him.

Since Dean used the words “sock puppeted” to describe the nephilim’s power’s influence over Cas in 12.20, when we know exactly what Cas being sock puppeted looks like, it’s very difficult to see at least something along these lines at work and influencing Cas’s actions now.

[tell--your--world]

Elements of Fear: Six Ways to Scare Your Reader

For some bizarre reason, humans enjoy scaring themselves and others. Horror is one of the most popular and well-known genres, with elements found in stories ranging from action to comedy. In this post we're going to look at horror in its traditional form as nightmare fuel.

The basic elements of horror are suspense, foreshadowing, mystery and, of course, something to be afraid of. This last can be just about anything: a supernatural creature, a human serial murderer, or even an animal. The important thing is that, whatever you choose, you can make it scary.

Suspense is the key to a good horror. You don't need to keep your readers on the edge of their seats with every page, but there should be an undercurrent of anxiety even during the calm moments in the story. If your protagonist is stressed because of recent events, your audience should feel it too. And if there's a specific person or situation that has been established as dangerous, readers should be worried when those things reappear.

Foreshadowing is one way to build that suspense. When you reveal what your characters are afraid of, the audience will expect them to have to face those fears at some point during the story. A phobia that goes ignored is irrelevant to the story at best, and a failed character flaw at worst. So if the love interest hates rats, include rats. If the protagonist can't stand snakes, have a couple slithering around. And if the best friend is claustrophobic, make sure you trap him in a small space with the story’s boogeyman (this works especially well if you plan to kill that character, which I'll come back to shortly. If you want to keep this character, though, make sure there's a believable way for him to escape or be rescued. Or trap him without the boogeyman).

Whatever a given character’s phobia is, it should come up at least twice in the story if you use foreshadowing. One method is to have a harmless encounter with that fear early in the story - perhaps a nonvenomous snake appears in the garden, to the dismay of the protagonist - then revisit the fear in a more dangerous setting - a venomous snake lies between the protagonist and escape.

A more subtle form of foreshadowing is the use of throwaway lines and irony. One character might joke about killing another, then actually do so while possessed by a demonic entity. An animal abuser might come out on the losing side of an encounter with an animal. The bigot who believes they're safe from harm because the killer only goes after a certain gender, ethnicity or religious background might stumble across a murder in progress and get attacked for being a witness. The possibilities are limited only by your own ingenuity.

Mystery, which can be considered the opposite of foreshadowing, is another way to build suspense. Instead of hinting at what's to come, you keep certain things from the readers. This can be as simple as wondering who the killer’s next victim will be, or it can be more urgent: the characters themselves have to study the killer's pattern and figure out who's next in time to save them (this would be a great time to put that claustrophobic character in a small space with the killer. Nothing builds suspense like having the next target revealed just as the killer makes their move, since it leaves the audience wondering if the other characters will make it in time).

Almost every horror story contains a mix of these elements, but they don't all follow the same formula. Here are a few more tricks to make your story more frightening.

Dramatic irony: This is when the audience knows more than the characters. A story which includes the antagonist's point of view might reveal that the next target is the person right next to them, who has no idea their best friend is hiding a knife. The readers might know the monster is in the closet, but the character putting clothes away doesn't. This plot device works through the reader’s own sense of helplessness; they know what's coming, but are powerless to stop it.

Imagination: I've seen a lot of writers describe horrific events - from rape to torture to the aftermath of a murder - in graphic, often gory detail. But those details are not only unnecessary in most cases, they can actually reduce the emotional impact of a scene. Sure, you can describe exactly how the love interest is sprawled on the ground after being pushed from a balcony. You can linger over the blood, the broken, twisted limbs, and whatever else strikes your fancy. But does the protagonist even notice any of that? Or are they busy staring at their lover's face, seeing but not really believing the blood in their hair and the unnatural paleness of their skin? The details you choose to include set the mood of the scene, so do you want to the death of a major character to upset the readers’ emotions, or just their stomachs?

Horror is a deeply psychological genre, so even when you do need to describe something awful, I advise a minimalist approach with the details. Give your readers a vague idea of what the crime scene looks like, and they'll fill in the details without help. Best of all, their details will be what's most horrifying to them, which means you'll affect more people more deeply with fewer words.

Kill characters: In a true horror story, something horrible happens to at least one character. They can die, be possessed, go insane, lose loved ones, and even survive a gruesome ordeal only to be finished off later (you might want to limit this last to minor characters, unless you want your fan base to hate you for making a major character suffer through so much just to die). However, there's no rule saying the main characters are safe, or that the story will turn out all right. Some well-known classics have no happy end, or imply that the story was part of a cycle that will one day repeat itself. And that's okay. When you write horror your goal should be a satisfying end, not a happy one. You just put your cast through hell. Let them be scarred. Odds are you’re feeling a bit traumatized yourself.

If you're curious about my fanworks or want a better idea of my abilities as a writer, you can find my fics on the following sites: just remember that older stories and chapters don't reflect my current writing style, and are slated for editing.

My AO3 account:

http://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkDecepticon

My fanfiction.net account:

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4428055/

If you wish to support this blog on Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/darkstarofchaos

[bnrobertson1]

The Unexpected Tutelage of Cuphead

Lot of Life Knowledge in those cups. 

I am not a fan of horror movies. Sure, I almost always like them when I find myself watching them, but that usually takes a Herculean effort of an enthusiastic friend or a total lack of desire to drudge up an explanation why I don’t want to watch something called Happy Death Day 2U. The reason I don’t like them? Simple- life is terrifying enough as is, and seeing as I don’t like ruminating in fear with my precious free time, the idea of willingly being scared strikes me as preposterous.

While there are some “scary” games like the new Resident Evil*, for me the real parallel to scary movies in the video game world is difficult games. Most current video games are super user-friendly, oftentimes because the software developers want you to see the entirety of the thing they’ve spent hundreds of thousands of hours and hundreds of millions of dollars creating. In other words, they don’t want you to get pissed and bail without showing off what they spent a good chunk of their lives working on. And while I have played video games long enough to be pretty good at them (I’m not), I actually appreciate the lowering of the difficulty bar. Much like scary movies, I usually stray away from difficult games. Why? Again, simple- frustration ain’t welcome in my leisure time. I’m trying to enjoy myself, not get all red-faced and hurl hard plastic as a torrent of never-before-heard profanity gushes out of my mouth because I’m trying to defeat some recluse’s brainchild/ torture device.  

*A stone cold modern classic for the first hour alone

But, many hardcore* gamers find modern games’ user- friendliness/ forgiveness to be insulting to their cheesy-dusted core. Many of this ilk were raised in the original Nintendo-era, where difficulty was praised and games like Ninja Gaiden and Battletoads were designed to be essentially impossible to defeat, thus making it a bragging-worthy accomplishment if you could.   

*Bathe in the irony of me using a pornographic term to describe a gamer 

But, as video games started to expand their audience, many of these Capital G Gamers who loved the feeling of accomplishment that accompanied victory over insanely hard games were kind of forgotten, given “Hard” modes on otherwise easy games to satiate their thirst for difficulty, but that’s about it. After being avoided for what to them must have felt like ions, things finally began to change when games like the rebooted Ninja Gaiden and the fetishized Dark Soul franchises started catering to those who those studs who think replacing l3tt3rs with numb3rs is cool and that the best games are the ones that only those with superhuman focus and tenacity can defeat. 

Enter: Cuphead. A long-in-development indie game that looks like a gorgeously* animated WW 2-era cartoon a la Betty Boop or Woody Woodpecker yet is as difficult as finding a WiFi hotspot during the Great Depression. A simple shooter, the game does an excellent job of drawing you in with its eye-popping looks and catchy soundtrack before it intentionally overwhelms you. Because it’s you, a literal cup of coffee whose only offense is a finger-gun (seriously) and the ability to jump, fighting enemies so large their eyeballs fill the screen. To put it politely, you’re fucked.     

*And buddy, it is one seriously gorgeous game. One of the things that keeps you playing is the desire to see all of the peerless art and monster design    

Again, it’s you:

Versus (that’s you in the little red airplane- everything that’s glowing will kill you instantly, but that’s a good life lesson within itself):

Again, fucked. And that’s one of the earliest bosses. Just about everything on screen kills you, and there are no checkpoints from which you can start over. It often takes several consecutive minutes of flawless playing to even make a dent. But amongst all the gorgeous ass-kicking chaos, the game does something profound on the sly: it gives you hope.

I realize this sounds silly- hope, arguably existence’s sweetest gift, is given by a game where Asperger’s is almost a prerequisite to win? But it’s true. 

At 35, I’m at the age where I doubt that most things can or will change. Sure, shoes look different, the popularity of some philosophies surge then retract, the younger get old who in turn die, but much of life is being reminded that real human change simply does not happen. Socially awkward at 15? Probably won’t be much different at 45. Addictive personality? Better find a healthy outlet because the addictive part probably ain’t going anywhere. Planning on writing the Great American Novel? Drinking like the other millions who tried that is much more likely. Want to pick up a language in your 30s? Maybe an instrument? Good luck, those parts of your brain stopped working while you were cursing at the iPod speaker because it wasn’t playing Master of Puppets loud enough after that gin bucket incident. 

The more life’s inevitable stasis solidifies in the brain, the more harrowing it is- the more dangerous the feeling of defeat and despair become. Grand realizations and epiphanies start feeling like the stuff of fiction. Things perpetually prove pointless, because if you can’t change, what exactly is the point of existence? The one thing you know for sure that does change is our planet’s resources (they dwindle) as we march- or should I say sail- to our doom.  

“Hold it right there, Mr. Goth McDowner,” Cuphead whispers at you after about an hour of play. 

Because not being good at Cuphead is exactly what you should be once you start playing it. Failure is certain. You die all the time. Like within seconds, over and over and over. You’ve got a gnat’s chance against a windshield. Fail. Fail. Fail.  

But while Cuphead first appears to be the masochist’s wet dream, you realize that why everything still overwhelms and doom as is certain as time itself, you’re- somehow- getting better. Slowly, sure. In most instances, you’re not even sure how. It’s almost imperceptible when it isn’t imperceptible. But, sure enough, keep at it, and you will improve.

And that is the direct result of Cuphead’s design. For while it is hard- easily one of the hardest games I actually enjoyed playing- it is never cheap. The game doesn’t want to defeat you with bullshit tactics like games from the 80s. Much like the loving, hardass parents everybody probably needs, It wants you to get better, and is more than willing to kick your ass to get you there. How does it do both? By subtly encouraging you through how it is made. Getting better boils down to two things: sharpening your hand-eye coordination and muscle memory*, and recognizing patterns that start simple but become supremely sophisticated, ranging from the speed of enemies to knowing the exact positions where the 12,000 objects flying at you will miss you by a millipixel. Nothing truly random ever occurs, so you won’t have to bear the true indignity of finding meaning in a game you’ve played for dozens of hours about coffee cups cheap deaths (or cheap wins) just when you’re about to see that sweet, sweet Victory! screen. The game also does something genius when it comes to letting you know you’re progressing: Every time you lose, a timeline appears where you see how close you were to victory. 

*Sorry, A.I., but that one requires practice, which means dying. A lot. 

Plus, it’s just funny to lose to characters from the 30′s who then insult you with Vaudevillian trash talk. None of them have voices, but I like to think they all sound like the Penguin from Adam West’s Batman. 

At first this seems boisterous if not barbaric in the worst possible way- a na na nee boo boo for the Switch generation. It quickly proves to be just the thing you need to see that you are in fact making progress. Yes, it makes some of the frustrations sting a lot more (I was this close). But it also gives you hope (I was this close). It’s the first time I’ve seen such a mechanic in a game, and I will be amazed if it is the last.

Eventually, after you’ve beaten the Robot that has been giving you a headache for the better part of 10 hours, a weird feeling may hit you like it hit me: not accomplishment- although that is most certainly present- but hope. Hope that if you are willing to be persistent, you will get better. Sure, that’s not an guarantee, but one thing is for sure: you can’t improve- in this game, in life- if you quit.  Persistence is the best quality a person can have, as it is pretty much the only one they can control. Why? Because hope- the beautiful thing that makes happy people happy-  is the fruit of persistence. And the truly ingenious thing about Cuphead is that its design encourages such epiphanies. Not bad for $20. 

Does constant failure suck? Speaking as an ad writer and more generally as a person I can tell you from experience that yes it indeed does. It’s humbling. It can be crippling. It’s demoralizing. But if you’re willing to fail with both feet, you will get better. At least sometimes.  And if you don’t, just remember to not chuck your Switch in the lake.

[elizabethrobertajones]

are you ever like, “I was only being flippant but now you’re disagreeing with me I’m going to defend this sandcastle with my life”? :P

sam-winchester-admiration-league replied to your post“Do you know if there is going to more of Castiels past and flashbacks...”

eh, 12x09 was actually about Sam and Dean. Mary and Cas just provided uber service.

Me, waving a plastic shovel from atop the battlements:

First of all -

The episode starts with Mary and Cas, apparently much more important to establish how they were doing because for some reason their emotional stake in the episode is probably going to mean something later

Sam and Dean are given literally nothing to do as their “here’s how you’ll spend this episode” before the title card. This scene is presented as an outside POV on the Winchester’s lives from the guy who runs the facility, being brought up to speed on their history in the horrifically biased way it looks to outside law enforcement agencies - we’re SO far from Sam and Dean’s perspective we’re looking at them from someone who doesn’t know why they’d desecrate graves, or if they’d be white supremacists or Muslim terrorists. This outside perspective on them in the prison continues with occasionally dropping back to see them with a little montage of them doing nothing. They’re viewed from above as if on CCTV in many shots, and from outside their doors, or talking about them in the room while they’re dead trying to figure out WTF just happened to them. This is the main POV the entire time they’re in prison despite some close ups on their time-passing activities.

the episode’s about what happens to their world when they’re not there - yes they sort of have their usual main character centre of the universe pull on the emotional stuff going on there, but the difference is that we’re seeing it from the eyes of characters who aren’t always the focus. It’s very clearly about giving another side, or exploring the effect of the main characters on the others. It’s important to remember Dabb co-wrote Weekend at Bobby’s - he knows what he’s doing when he writes an episode like this. It’s important to remember he likes writing episodes like this :P

Chow time! 

We get scenes with Crowley deciding they’ll be fine while Cas suffers. We get scenes where Cas suffers alone. We get scenes where Mary suffers alone. We find out the hunting community is missing Sam and Dean’s presence and suffering “alone” until Mary steps in. We get Mary seeing the picture of herself and Dean, which now seems to be something that’s been naturally building since 8x14 when Dean put the picture there, and the culminations of lots of DEAN-centred uses of that picture for emotional whammy, now flipped around and given to us from Mary. Literally taking a Dean thing and handing it to her, both with her taking Dean’s call, taking his hunt, and taking his emotional moment with the Mary and Dean photo.

We get a scene of Mary and Cas suffering together but still also oh so alone.

At some point off-screen Sam and Dean break under torture and make the deal - we have no idea they’ve done this, now effectively removing them as reliable POV narrators for the entire rest of the episode until the final five minutes. We are only ever going to be in the position of cameras watching their action and not emotionally interacting with them because we don’t know what’s going on.

it’s worth mentioning that there’s a whole scene which was Mary and Cas while the Winchesters were dead, aka completely taken out of the narrative; even if we all know Sam n Dean won’t stay dead because that’s just obvious at this point, Cas and Mary at that point are our “last standing” characters, and we’re continuing to get a very detailed emotional arc about how they feel, how they’re coping, how they’re beginning to forge a friendship out of this loss, and generally just giving us buckets and buckets of completely pointless angst for a pair of Uber drivers. In a world without Sam and Dean, Mary is bravely soldiering on, Cas is crumbling. They’re brought to their lowest point.

Dean finally phones Cas and though the phonecall is from his POV in terms of where the camera is sitting, emotionally we know he’s absent because we don’t know about the deal he’s made, Sam points out we don’t know about the deal, the scene reminds us there’s something we don’t know that Sam and Dean do but Dean did not tell Cas. 

Meanwhile, since Sam and Dean are having a mysterious but action-filled escape with no emotional hook except their escape (since they’re not allowed to have the conversation about the deal, we don’t know the deal, therefore any true emotional exploration of their escape is limited to comments about “midnight” which are only going to be any good on a second rewatch), because we’ve had at least 3-4 scenes of Cas openly, no-lies, just plain obviously missing Sam and Dean, the stress in that scene is that Cas has left his phone and isn’t answering but we want him to answer because he will discover his suffering is about to end. 

It’s not delayed gratification on Dean hearing Cas’s voice aside from the obvious weeks in prison thing (we don’t know Dean knows he’s dying in a few hours and therefore how MUCH more it means to him - we’re a step removed from his perspective on this phonecall and it’s nice to see him really want to call Cas, but the scene doesn’t overtly set up a real emotional hook on HIS side apart from the very pedestrian “Dean is trying to call an uber” sort of feeling I guess you got there if you don’t care about Destiel so I’ll take yours as the casual viewer version of that scene (just as I suppose I casually-view some stuff that might mean the world to you) because the whole escape is deliberately avoiding giving ANY emotional stakes to Sam and Dean - they don’t talk, there’s no real emotional discussions about anything, they don’t even comment about how nice it is to breathe fresh air, let alone get teary about seeing each other OR Dean calling Cas for the first time in ages - it’s all to business) so the emotional side of that is CLEARLY all on Cas, who has been waiting and mourning and visibly emotionally deteriorating all episode specifically because of the helplessness and misery of having lost them...

Sam and Dean continue running through the woods living out an action movie again, still not telling us their emotional stakes. So they’re being the main characters in another genre and while we’re rooting for them, it’s a side-quest, a way to clear up a little loose end of how do they get to the road without being caught, and an excuse to play, really, but it has no emotional weighting on the episode. In fact, because Mr Ketch goes and kills everyone anyway, it makes their whole effort even more pointless once we have full hindsight, and we also know about the deal which removes their emotional stake in winning that fight even further. It turns out they had even bigger things on their mind and it was just some action filler before we get to the real story. 

The end of the episode reminding us it was a framing device and Mick has been “telling” the story takes us a step even more removed once the episode is over and adds ANOTHER layer of Sam and Dean’s disconnect from the main story and POV. Like with Magda, they have no idea their efforts were for nothing but WE do. We as the viewer have a HUGE emotional advantage over Sam and Dean this season because of dramatic irony. It’s not like other times we get hints of what the villain is up to: they’re giving us plain and simple more information than Sam and Dean have, enough info that would DESTROY the current balance if they knew. So once again: by the end of the episode we are not WITH Sam and Dean on this side quest log cabin Home Alone thing at all. It was briefly for our entertainment, but we’re peering in on them with a huge disconnect in how we relate to them, because we are effectively stuck keeping a secret for Mick and Mr Ketch that we don’t even want to keep from Sam and Dean.  

Meanwhile Mary is shown mirroring Dean’s behaviour in various dark times likes the end of the Mark of Cain arc when he was killing off vampires to blow off steam. There’s something grimly reminiscent about Mary’s walk, the staging of the scene, the carelessness about leaving the dead body there... It all screams of Dean in his giving up stage, which again is an actual emotional piece of storytelling about Mary, layering her into the pre-existing imagery, comparing her to other emotional arcs, and telling us in no words whatsoever how she’s doing. We don’t see her fighting the vampire - it’s not like Sam and Dean running around in the woods providing the action. The important part here is how she FEELS. The emotional part of the story is with her. Finally Cas phones her and they’re all on the same page that the story will once more be “about” Sam and Dean. 

We still don’t know Sam and Dean have made a deal, or even that “midnight” is as urgent as it seems as it’s still being referenced in passing without the show playing up like, a countdown clock sound effect towards it or something. 

Cas and Mary on the other hand, discuss the good old “Winchester bad decision phonebook”. Do we call the king of hell? or make a deal with the new devils on our turf? This is what we missed with Sam and Dean talking to Billie - that and the scene where Mary and Cas meet Mr Ketch and Mick. The part where the emotional and hazardous stakes of making these deals are clear. They’re incurring more debt to these suspicious assholes in the nice coats, and we can be worried about what they’re doing (MARY seems worries about what they’re doing at that point) and basically all the POV stuff that comes with making a deal that we don’t know for sure we’re waiting for with Sam and Dean except for the “of course something is coming because there’s no free lunch” feeling - which is all they’ll let us have. Certainly no crushing weight of knowing what’s coming at midnight which could have in an episode ABOUT Sam and Dean been used to play up all that tension for a long run in the woods, while we don’t see Cas and Mary at all all episode until the end when they’re sprung on them like a reward, after Sam and Dean have angsted this six ways to Sunday before having to face their consequences

Anyway finally they meet and hug and the emotional POV is with Cas, getting these hugs but then looking towards Mary, and now we’re really building on his sense of isolation even from the family group which has been around all season... We’re left with him feeling sad while watching them hug and his isolation is meant to  be the take away from that scene, because we’re still building up the emotional stuff for the big reveal at the end

the car is quiet and we know there’s secrets yet to come. We don’t know what they are. We’re with Dean’s POV and he glances at Cas as the time comes. NOW it seems this might be about Sam and Dean.

The Uber driver gets out of the car when it stops, I guess because she wants to get moving again so she gets a good tip. Unfortunately there’s also a woman in the road and she might not get tipped if she runs her over.

The woman refuses to move out the road, and the uber driver is so overcome with emotion at not being able to finish driving her passengers home she attempts to commit suicide

the back up uber driver who came with her is so horrified by his co-worker’s loyalty to the job that he is inspired to also kill for the sake of getting their passengers home on time, and also to protect company resources by not letting the other driver kill herself

the passengers who made them drive down this sketchy road in the first place are basically passive horrified witnesses to the whole thing

the episode ends with the uber driver going to seek out a union or something to stop this shit happening again, ending the episode where it started as being all about her and her feelings.

second of all -

Mary Fucking Winchester is not an Uber Driver, she is a main character.

Castiel Fucking Winchester is a main character. Also probably not an uber driver although idk what he does between episodes sometimes so who knows.

[williamlwolf89]

57 Literary Devices That’ll Elevate Your Writing (+ Examples)

Where were you when your fourth-grade teacher first introduced you to literary devices?

(Did you learn about the mighty metaphor? Or maybe its simpering cousin, the simile?)

Perhaps you were daydreaming about cheese pizza and wondering what your mom packed you for lunch.

Years later, you’re starting to realize that maybe you should’ve taken better notes back then.

Because you’re a writer now, or trying to be, and it’s kind of embarrassing when your friends (or worse, your kids) come to you and ask: “What’s an onomatopoeia?”

And all you have to say is: “An onomatopoeia? Uh, well, you know it’s a species of a…a…achoo! Darn my dratted allergies!”

Never again.

Not with this handy-dandy list of 57 (count ‘em!) literary devices that will help your writing soar above the clouds… pull ahead of the teeming hordes… shine beyond the most brilliant — uh, you get the idea.

But let’s back up. You probably need a quick refresher first, right? Let’s do a quick Q&A.

Starting with…

What are Literary Devices?

Literary devices are strategies writers use to strengthen ideas, add personality to prose, and ultimately communicate more effectively. Just as chefs use unique ingredients or techniques to create culinary masterpieces (flambéed crêpes, anyone?), skilled writers use literary devices to create life-changing works of art.

So who should care about literary devices?

You, of course. If you want to be a charismatic, powerful writer that readers want to follow (or clients want to hire), that is.

The right literary devices can make your ideas more memorable, your thoughts more clear, and your writing more powerful.

Your knowledge and skillful use of literary devices will catapult you above the hordes of wannabe writers, increasing your self-confidence, and endowing you with the kind of influence that will keep your audience salivating to consume your work.

How are Literary Devices Different From Rhetorical Devices?

Literary devices and rhetorical devices have a good bit of overlap. They’re very similar — so similar, you’ll find a lot of confusing, conflicting information online.

Google “alliteration” and you’ll see it on lists for both rhetorical and literary devices. The same is true with “personification”, “tmesis”, “litotes”, and numerous others.

So what’s the difference?

Here’s an oversimplified TL;DR:

Literary devices are a narrative technique. Rhetorical devices, also known as persuasive devices or stylistic devices, are a persuasion technique.

What are the 10 Most Common Literary Devices?

Alliteration

Anthropomorphism

Dramatic Irony

Euphemism

Flashback

Foreshadowing

Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

Oxymoron

Point of View

(Yes, we were surprised “anthropomorphism” made the list too.)

Alright, enough questions. It’s time for the main event.

Our Huge List of Literary Devices

You will find some recognizable names in this list. You will also find a few party crashers that (unless you were an English major) you’ve probably never heard of (I’m looking at you, verisimilitude).

But whether it’s a familiar friend or an idiosyncratic interloper, each and every device comes with a lovingly hand-crafted definition and an enlightening example, carefully curated by yours truly.

(Don’t say you haven’t been warned.)

Here’s our list of the 57 must-know literary devices to get you started on the road to writerly stardom:

1. Alliteration

Some super sentences supply stunning samples of alliteration, such as this one. In other words, an alliteration is a literary device that features a series of words in swift succession, all starting with the same letter.

Graceful and clever use of alliteration (not, ahem, like the example above) can create a pleasant musicality to writing.

But note: Alliterations are a special kind of consonance, which means they must use words that start with consonant sounds. Repeated vowel sounds are known as assonance.

Example of Alliteration

Most people think of tongue twisters like “Peter Piper picked a pot of pickled peppers” when they think of alliteration. But did you know many famous writers throughout the ages have used alliteration in their titles?

Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Romance Readers and Ridiculous Rascals… wait. That last one is not actually a thing. But it is alliterative!

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t share this alliterative-filled introduction from V for Vendetta:

2. Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is when a writer gives a non-human animal or object human-like qualities.

Example of Anthropomorphism

In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Lumiere the candlestick, Cogsworth the clock, and the other enchanted residents of the Prince/Beast’s castle talk, walk, sing, and feel emotions just like people do. (Because they technically ARE people… fictional enchanted people, that is.)

3. Dramatic Irony

Audiences love dramatic irony, because they get to be “in the know.” That is, they know something that the characters IN the story do not. Hey, if you buy the book, you get privileges!

Example of Dramatic Irony

In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, two men attempt to escape their responsibilities using the same fake name: Ernest. Only the audience knows the two tricksters’ real names are Jack and Algie. (A far cry from Ernest, for sure!)

4. Euphemism

The prefix “eu-” means “good” or “well,” so it makes sense that a “euphemism” is a “good way to talk about a bad thing.” Or, a “word or expression substituted for something else that is too harsh…”

Like when you say your nephew “just needs a bit of practice” when he plays the violin like a tortured cat.

Example of Euphemism

Because of humanity’s understandable aversion to death, we have come up with quite a few creative ways to describe death and dying:

Pushing up daisies

Going the way of the dinosaur

Kicking the bucket

5. Flashback

Flashbacks are scenes which show an event that happened in a character’s past, providing clues to the present story.

Example of Flashback

In Alfred Hitchcock’s famous movie Vertigo, one key flashback scene was almost cut out of the picture entirely. (SPOILER ALERT: It’s the scene where we find out that the suicidal wife is actually an actress hired to hide the wife’s murder. The actress starts to write a confession letter, then rips it up.)

6. Foreshadowing

The writing on the wall…

A glimpse of a tombstone with your name on it…

Fingernail marks scratched in blood…

Not all foreshadowing is creepy, but they all warn or indicate something is coming in the future. You could say that foreshadowing is like the opposite of a flashback.

Example of Foreshadowing

In the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee foreshadows the last twist in the story in the very first line of the book: “When he was nearly thirteen my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.”

(Of course, by the time you get to the end of the book, you’ve probably forgotten all about the first line. But that’s why Lee is a genius and the rest of us can only wonder in awe.)

7. Hyperbole

A hyperbole is an exaggeration that a hearer or reader is not supposed to take seriously.

Example of Hyperbole

The great satirist Mark Twain wrote in Old Times on the Mississippi:

“I…could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far.”

8. Onomatopoeia

An onomatopoeia is a word that comes from the sound it represents, such as “achoo!” or “arrgh.”

Example of Onomatopoeia

Young children’s books are the motherlode of onomatopoeia. For example, Doreen Cronin’s Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type has onomatopoeia right in the title. Same with Ross MacDonald’s Achoo! Bang! Crash! And Barry Gott’s Honk! Splat! Vroom!

9. Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a popular literary device where seemingly contradictory words are connected. Fun fact: the word “oxymoron” is itself oxymoronic — it comes from two ancient Greek words meaning “sharp and stupid.”

Example of Oxymoron

Simon and Garfunkel’s famous song “The Sounds of Silence” is a perfect oxymoron.

10. Point of View

Point of view is the perspective a writer chooses when writing. In fiction, you can have a first, second, or third person point of view.

First person uses pronouns like “me” or “I,” second person uses “you,” and third person uses “he/she” and looks at the character and story from the perspective of an outsider.

Note: Third person can be limited. The narrator can either only see inside the head of one character, or they can be omniscient — a Godlike narrator that can see everything that is going on.

Example of Point of View

In The Help, a novel about black maids in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, the story is told from the first-person point of view of three women, looking at similar events from their own perspectives.

11. Allegory

Take a metaphor, put it on steroids, throw in a dash of realism, and you have yourself an allegory: a figure of speech used to represent a large, complex (and often moral) message about real-world events or issues.

Example of Allegory

Nothing screams “hypocritical tyrant” quite like fictional pigs in human clothing, declaring: “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others!”

At least, that’s the message George Orwell hoped to convey in Animal Farm, a fictional mirror of communism. Orwell certainly had a way with (dystopian) allegories!

12. Allusion

An allusion is a device that the writer uses to refer, indirectly, to someone or something outside of the situation, such as a person, event, or thing in another (real or imagined) world.

Example of Allusion

In The Big Bang Theory, the names of main characters Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter allude to the real-life TV producer, Sheldon Leonard. (Let’s hope that he did not share his fictional counterparts’ personalities.)

13. Anachronism

Anachronism is the time machine of literary devices. Anachronisms pop up when a writer accidentally (or purposefully) makes an error in the chronology of the writing.

It’s most often seen when writing features slang or technology that should not appear in the timeline of the story.

Example of Anachronism

In the famous “He got me invested in some kind of fruit company” scene from Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump unfolds a thank-you letter sporting Steve Job’s Apple logo.

But the letter in the movie was sent in 1975, while Apple didn’t go public in the real world until 1980. So Forrest Gump couldn’t have invested in the computer company as the movie portrayed it. (We still love you, Forrest!)

14. Anaphora

The anaphora is a literary device that emphasizes a word, word group, or phrase by repeating it at the beginning of a series of clauses or sentences.

Example of Anaphora

One of the longest opening lines by Charles Dickens (which a high school English teacher once directed me to memorize) uses anaphora generously:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the…”

(Thanks a lot, Dickens!)

15. Anastrophe

Anastrophe is a literary device that alters the normal order of English speech. In other words, instead of subject-verb-object (“I like cats”), the sentence order becomes subject-object-verb (“I cats like”).

Poets use anastrophe to make rhyming easier, and prose writers use it to sound… wiser?

Example of Anastrophe

Who can talk about anastrophe without mentioning our favorite intergalactic mentor? That’s right, Yoda’s iconic speeches are fantastic examples of anastrophe:

“Powerful you have become”

“Named must be your fear before banish it you can.”

“The greatest teacher, failure is.”

16. Aphorism

An aphorism is a short, witty saying that delivers wisdom with a punch. But in order for it to be an aphorism, it has to contain a universal truth, packed into a nutshell-sized statement.

Example of Aphorism

Benjamin Franklin was a master of aphorisms. Here is a prime selection from his treasure trove:

Little strokes fell great oaks

Strike while the iron is hot

Fish and visitors smell in three days

17. Archetype

An archetype is the original pattern, the prototype, the ideal model for a certain character or situation.

Example of Archetype

In the epic poem, Beowulf, Grendel is the archetypal monster, a “descendant of Cain,” “creature of darkness,” and “devourer of our human kind.” (Yikes. Would not want to meet him in a dark alley!)

18. Asyndeton

Sometimes, a writer leaves out conjunctions like and, but, or, for, and nor. This is not because s/he is forgetful. It’s because that’s what an asyndeton is: a group of phrases with the conjunctions left out, for rhythmic emphasis.

Example of Asyndeton

Here’s Abraham Lincoln beautifully demonstrating the power of the asyndeton:

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”

(Notice the glaring omission of the word “and.”)

19. Chiasmus

The Latin word “chiasm” refers to a “crossing,” so it makes sense that a chiasmus is a literary device where words, grammar constructions, and/or concepts are “crossed,” aka reversed.

Example of Chiasmus

Apparently, early Greeks were quite fond of the chiasmus, or at least Socrates was:

“Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.”

20. Cliffhanger

Cliffhangers get their name from the effect they have on readers: making them feel as if a cruel, cruel writer has left them dangling off the edge of a lonely ledge.

We all know that feeling of reading WAY past our bedtime, because every chapter’s ending has us frantically flipping to find out what happens next. That’s a cliffhanger.

Example of Cliffhanger

Here’s a cliffhanger from Harry Potter:

“Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe, slipped inside… and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.”

Want to know what happens next? You’ll have to read the book.

21. Colloquialism

The word “colloquialism” would probably never be a colloquialism itself. That’s because colloquialism is a word, phrase, or expression that is used in daily, informal conversations by common people. Colloquialisms vary, depending on where you live.

Example of Colloquialism

The briefly popular 2012 meme series, “Sh*t X say,” are packed with examples of colloquialisms, such as these, er, jewels (?) from Episode 1 of “Sh*t Girls Say”:

“Twinsies!”

“Shut UP!”

“Like, I’m not even joking right now.”

22. Cumulative Sentence

A cumulative sentence builds on a core idea (an independent clause, if you must know the technical term) by layering on chopped-up partial sentences (dependent clauses) and phrases, like a layer cake!

Example of Cumulative Sentence

“She finished the Game of Thrones marathon, exhausted yet exhilarated, full of grief that it was all over, itching to call her bestie to discuss her impressions, shocked that it was already nearly dawn.”

23. Diction

Diction is a fancy way of saying: “the words a writer chooses when talking to a specific audience.” Diction can be formal or informal, use jargon or regional slang, etc.

Example of Diction

Formal diction:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Informal diction:

Hain’t we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain’t that a big enough majority in any town?Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn

24. Epigraph

An epigraph is a brief quote or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter that is put there to suggest the theme of said book or chapter.

Example of Epigraph

“For Beatrice — My love for you shall live forever. You, however, did not.”

“For Beatrice — When we first met, you were pretty, and I was lonely. Now I am pretty lonely.”

“For Beatrice — I cherished, you perished. The world’s been nightmarished.”

Technically, the poetic homage to the dead Beatrice in Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events is a dedication, not an epigraph. But since Beatrice is fictional (as is, in a sense, the author himself), and these darkly funny quotes set the tone for the Unfortunate Events quite well, one could make the case that these are, in fact, epigraphs.

25. Epistrophe

Not to be confused with alliteration, the epistrophe is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of a series of clauses or sentences to add rhythm and/or emphasis.

Example of Epistrophe

‘Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it

If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it

Don’t be mad once you see that he want it

If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

(My apologies for the ear worm.)

26. Extended Metaphor

An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is extended. Just like I’m about to extend this definition: a metaphor developed in high detail and spread over a large passage of writing, from several lines, to a paragraph, to an entire work. (Done! Whew.)

Example of Extended Metaphor

In 2003, Will Ferrell told graduating Harvard-ians about his alma mater, the “University of Life” where he studied in the “School of Hard Knocks” the school colors were “black and blue,” he had office hours with the “Dean of Bloody Noses” and had to borrow his class notes from “Professor Knuckle Sandwich.”

27. Exposition

An exposition is a literary device used to introduce background information about the story in a matter-of-fact way.

Example of Exposition

Because of the famous fiction writing rule, “show don’t tell,” many authors use dialogue and other tricks to convey need-to-know information. But some very successful writers continue to use plain old straightforward exposition like:

The hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of the Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected.J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

28. Frame Story

A frame story is exactly what it sounds like: A story that frames another story. In other words, it’s a story that introduces another smaller story inside, or the story outside the story within the story… oh, never mind. Just see the example below.

Example of a Frame Story

The best example of a frame story is The Princess Bride, which author William Goldman claims to have “translated” from an old “Florinese” story his father told him.

The movie version also uses a frame story: A grandfather reads his grandson a bedtime story (The Princess Bride, of course!).

29. Humor

If I have to explain what humor is to you, I’m afraid you might need something a bit stronger than 57 literary devices to… Oh, what’s that? (My editor says I still have to give you a definition. Contractual obligations, and all that.)

Fine, fine. Here it is: humor is a literary tool that amuses readers and makes them laugh. (There, happy?)

Example of Humor

I mean, technically this whole entire article is just one big ball of fun, but… what’s that? Okay, alright. Official examples, here we go:

“It’s just a flesh wound!” — The Black Knight, after getting both arms chopped off in Monty Python and the Holy Grail

“‘Greater good?’ I am your wife! I’m the greatest good you’re ever gonna get!” — Frozone’s wife’s in response to Frozone’s desire to bail on dinner to save the world in The Incredibles

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” — Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless

30. Hypophora

No, it’s not a fancy name for a Greek hippo. Rather, a hypophora is a literary device where a writer asks a question and then immediately answers it.

Example of Hypophora

Here’s a philosophical example from the timeless children’s novel Charlotte’s Web:

“After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die.”

31. Imagery

Imagery is descriptive or figurative language used to evoke near-physical sensations in a reader’s mind. Well-written imagery helps readers almost see, hear, taste, touch, and feel what is going on in the story.

Example of Imagery

Here’s an excerpt from T.S. Eliot’s Preludes, which uses multiple senses:

The winter evening settles down

With smell of steaks in passageways.

Six o’clock.

The burnt-out ends of smoky days.

And now a gusty shower wraps

The grimy scraps

Of withered leaves about your feet.

32. Irony

Irony is one of the trickiest literary devices to define, best grasped through absorbing examples. But a workable definition goes something like this:

Irony is using a word or phrase that usually signifies the opposite of what the speaker intends to say, for comedic or emphatic purposes. Irony can also be an event that works out contrary to the expected, and can often be funny.

So enough with dry definitions, let’s see if the examples can explain better:

Example of Irony

There are three kinds of irony, one of which (dramatic irony) we discussed earlier:

Dramatic irony: In Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows that Juliet isn’t dead, but asleep. Romeo, who doesn’t know, kills himself.

Situational irony: In the animated film Ratatouille, it’s ironic that a rat (which most people don’t like to see in kitchens) ends up being the master chef in a kitchen. 

Verbal irony: When Beauty and the Beast’s Belle is trying to get away from an odious suitor’s proposal, she says, “I just don’t deserve you!”

33. Isocolon

Isocolon refers to a piece of writing that uses a series of clauses, phrases, or sentences that are grammatically equal in length, creating a parallel structure that gives it a sort of pleasant rhythm.

Examples of Isocolon

“Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).” — Julius Caesar

“You’ve got a lot to live. Pepsi’s got a lot to give.” — Pepsi, circa 1969

“You win some, you lose some.” — Unknown

34. Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is a literary device writers use to place two highly contrasting things together to emphasize the difference.

Example of Juxtaposition

In Pixar’s Up, Carl Fredricksen is an old, curmudgeonly widower, while his unwanted sidekick Russell is a young, naively energetic schoolboy. That’s what makes the movie so much fun: the contrast (read: juxtaposition) between old, jaded Carl and young, innocent Russell.

35. Litotes

Litotes, from a Greek word meaning “simple,” refers to an affirmation where you say something by negating the contrary.

Example of Litotes

In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift prefaces his proposal to cure poverty by eating poor people’s children with a litotes:

“I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

Having been assured by a very knowing American…that a young healthy child well nursed is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food…I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragoust.”

36. Malapropism

A malapropism is when a character (unintentionally and hilariously) mistakes a word in place of a similar-sounding word. The concept comes from a character (Mrs. Malaprop) who liked to use big words incorrectly in a comedic play by English playwright Richard Sheridan.

Example of a Malapropism

The beloved children’s series Amelia Bedelia describes a maid who takes her bosses’ instructions a bit too literally. For example: sketching her bosses’ drapes when asked to “draw the drapes.”

37. Metaphor

Ah, the metaphor! A favorite tool of writers everywhere. The metaphor is a literary device where something is compared to a dissimilar thing without using a comparison word such as “like” or “as.”

Example of a Metaphor

In Pixar’s Inside Out, the emotions Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness live and work in Headquarters, an obvious metaphor comparing the brain to a technological control center.

38. Metonymy

Metonymy is the practice of using part of a thing to represent something related to it. In other words, it’s the use of one word as a stand in for another, bigger concept.

Example of Metonymy

Mark Twain uses metonymy in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

“He said he reckoned a body could reform the ole man with a shotgun.”

Here, a “body” refers not to a corpse, but to a person. A corpse, after all, would probably have a hard time wielding a shotgun.

39. Mood

Mood is the feeling an audience gets from consuming a piece of writing. The words a writer chooses creates an atmosphere that evokes powerful emotions from the reader.

Example of Mood

Children’s writer Roald Dahl is a master of creating whimsical, funny, child-friendly moods in his books via extraordinary situations (a boy wins a golden ticket to a magical chocolate factory) and a silly invented vocabulary:

“Don’t gobblefunk around with words” — The BFG

40. Motif

A motif is a sound, action, figure, image, or other element or symbol that recurs throughout a literary work to help develop the theme.

Example of Motif

The book/movie Ready Player One is stuffed with pop motifs from the 1980s. The entire plot revolves around a virtual 1980s world, which contrasts with the main character’s bleak real-life.

41. Paradox

A paradox seems to make two mutually contradictory things true at the same time.

Example of Paradox

In the tragic revenge story, Hamlet, the title character says something that sounds paradoxical:

“I must be cruel to be kind.”

Meaning, he must kill his stepfather (cruel) in order to avenge his father’s murder (kind).

42. Personification

Personification: giving humanlike characteristics to nonhuman animals or objects. Don’t confuse it with anthropomorphism, which goes farther, making the nonhuman character act and appear human.

Example of Personification

Pixar is a master at using personification. For example, in their 2006 movie Cars, the main characters are all, well, cars — cars who talk, race, date, do community service, and win trophies.

43. Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is a literary device that uses conjunctions quickly, one right after the other, often without punctuation, in order to play with the rhythm of the writing.

Example of Polysyndeton

In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou uses polysyndeton when she writes:

“Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets…”

44. Repetition

Repetition is the grandaddy of many other devices on this list, such as anaphora, epistrophe, and polysyndeton above.

In other words, repetition is the reiteration of something (word, phrase, sentence, etc.) that has already been said (for emphasis).

Example of Repetition

Repetition is frequently used in song lyrics, such as the iconic Beatles song, Let It Be:

“When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

There will be an answer, let it be…”

45. Satire

Satire uses humor, ridicule, irony, and exaggeration to expose and criticize something ridiculous, stupid, or bad. Satire can be light and funny, or dark and judgmental.

There are three types of satire: Juvenalian (viciously attacking a single target), Menippean (equally harsh, but more general), and Horatian (softer, more humorous).

Example of Satire

The funny-offensive show South Park is a modern-day example of biting satire, riffing on all kinds of sensitive topics in a politically incorrect fashion, from politics to religion to Hollywood.

46. Simile

A simile is like a metaphor, except that it compares dissimilar objects using the words “like” or “as” (whereas metaphors compare directly, without any helping words).

A choice simile can be funny, memorable, surprising, or all three!

Example of Simile

Sometimes the most memorable similes are the strangest ones, like this collection of similes from Song of Solomon in the Bible:

“Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are a flock of sheep just shorn…your lips are like a scarlet ribbon…”

47. Soliloquy

A soliloquy is a speech given by a character in the absence of hearers. Soliloquies are particularly popular in plays, which don’t usually have the luxury of omniscient narration to reveal characters’ inner thoughts.

Example of Soliloquy

Who can talk about soliloquies without mentioning the Bard’s epic romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet?

“Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo!” says Juliet, speaking (or so she thinks) to herself.

48. Suspense

Alfred Hitchcock. Lee Child. Steven King. All are storytellers who create suspense, a feeling of heightened anxiety, uncertainty, and excitement.

Example of Suspense

The famous (or should I say infamous?) shower scene in Hitchcock’s Psycho kept watchers curling their toes for 45 seconds while the innocent-and-soon-to-be-dead Marion takes a shower with a killer lurking in the background.

49. Symbolism

Symbolism. A favorite device of literature teachers everywhere. Symbolism is, of course, when writers use symbols (images, objects, etc.) to represent bigger, deeper ideas, qualities, and so on.

Example of Symbolism

Harry Potter’s lightning scar, the Ring of Doom from the eponymous Lord of the Rings, the mockingjay from Hunger Games… there are examples of symbolism everywhere you look!

50. Synecdoche

A synecdoche is a literary device where a part stands in for the whole, or vice versa. It is not to be confused with metonymy, which is when something represents a related concept. (See the earlier example for metonymy.)

Example of Synecdoche

In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony asks his “Friends, Romans, countrymen” to “lend [him] their ears.” Thankfully, his audience recognized this metonymy and did not interpret Antony’s words literally. Otherwise, we would have a very different play on our hands.

51. Tautology

A tautology is a literary device often used by accident. It involves saying the same thing twice, but phrasing it differently the second time.

A tautology is something a child might say: “I want it because I want it!”

Example of Tautology

In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, “gently rapping” and “faintly tapping” are redundant:

“But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door”

52. Tmesis

From the Greek word meaning “to cut,” tmesis is a literary device that cuts a word or phrase into two parts by inserting a word in between them.

Example of Tmesis

Here are two silly samples from Pygmalion’s Eliza Doolittle:

“Fan-bloody-tastic!”

“Abso-blooming-lutely”

53. Tone

Tone can be tricky to define. Officially, in writing, tone is the attitude a writer has toward the subject or the audience. It’s the writer’s viewpoint, conveyed through his or her word choice.

Example of Tone

Notice how the choice of emotional words, pacing, and use of other literary elements in this excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart create a guilty, anxious tone:

“I gasped for breath, and yet the officers heard it not…I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations, but the noise steadily increased. Why WOULD they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro…O God! What COULD I do? I foamed — I raved — I swore!”

54. Tragicomedy

A tragicomedy is exactly what it sounds like: a story (play or novel) that is both tragic and comedic.

Example of Tragicomedy

Having mastered both tragedy and comedy, is it such a stretch for Shakespeare to have mastered tragicomedy as well? Think: The Merchant of Venice, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest, which all blend humor and suffering in a reflection of real life.

55. Verisimilitude

Verisimilitude is a fancy-schmancy word for saying something fake looks real. Example: writing about a fictitious person, thing, or event, that seems almost true, even if it’s far-fetched.

Example of Verisimilitude

Fantasy stories are the best fodder for finding verisimilitude. For example, prolific fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson often creates convoluted magic systems based on things like color, strict rules, constraints, and consequences that almost makes them seem possible.

56. Vignette

A vignette is a short scene or episode — a moment-in-the-life description. Unlike a short story, it doesn’t have a narrative arc or all the elements of a plot.

Example of Vignette

In 2009, Pixar put out a series of video vignettes to promote their movie, Wall-E:

“WALL-E meets a football”

“Wall-E cup shuffle”

“Wall-E meets a magnet”

Here, check them out:

57. Zoomorphism

Zoomorphism is when a writer gives animal-like characteristics to something (human, inanimate object, etc.) that is not an animal. It’s basically the animal form of personification.

Example of Zoomorphism

Want a terrific example of zoomorphism? Just check out Spider-Man, Catwoman, Black Panther, and dozens other comic book superheroes.

What to Do With Your Literary Device Knowledge

Whew! That was a doozy. Congratulations on making it through the entire list.

Now, I know what you’re thinking:

“Do I need to memorize all of these literary terms?”

No, no you don’t.

“Do I even have to know them by name?”

Not necessarily.

But tell you what…

Go through the list again and just let everything soak in. Then next time you’re reading a book, blog post, magazine article, or even a tabloid, try to spot any of the literary devices hiding inside.

I promise, they’re there.

And next time you write, see if you can weave in a common literary device or two, for emphasis, for art, or just for grins and giggles.

As you learn to notice and absorb these devices into your craft — the way a kung-fu master absorbs the basic foundations of his form — you will find yourself becoming a more versatile, expressive, skillful writer.

It’s a bit like having a variety of colors to choose from as a painter. Sure, you can draw a decent portrait with just a stick of charcoal, but imagine what you could do if you had an entire palette.

That’s what literary devices can do for you, if you take the time to pick them up.

So take another peek at this list now and then, and practice sneaking lit devices into your own work.

You’ll be amazed how much clearer, stronger, and addicting your writing will become.

Editors will grin and nod as they read through your work.

Bloggers will fight to snap up your guest posts.

Readers will mob you for your skills.

And you will smile like Mona Lisa, master of the secrets of the universe (or at least this list of literary devices).

The post 57 Literary Devices That’ll Elevate Your Writing (+ Examples) appeared first on Smart Blogger.

from SEO and SM Tips https://smartblogger.com/literary-devices/