“Artists use lies to tell the truth…” – Evey Hammond
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A little something for you!
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Coffee, Magic & Pixie Dust
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When Beauty Aches: Finding Yugen in the Broken Places
You know that feeling when something hits you so hard you can’t quite find the words for it? The Japanese have a term for that. It’s called yugen. It’s not just beauty—it’s the kind that makes your chest tight. Moonlight filtering through the clouds. Or when you look up at the moon and you see…
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Walking in the Light Because You’ve Lived the Darkness
You know that feeling when someone tells you to “just look on the bright side”? Yeah. That one. It lands like a slap when you’re standing in the wreckage of something that broke you. When you’ve been betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect you. When the institutions you believed in turned out…
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The Room is Full, But You’re Still Alone
You know that feeling, right? You’re sitting at the dinner table with your family. Or maybe you’re at a party with friends—people who are supposed to know you. The room is buzzing with conversation, laughter bouncing off the walls, and yet… you feel like you’re watching it all from behind glass. Like you’re there, but…
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The Beauty in Being Broken
You know that feeling when you’re barely holding it together, but you still show up? When every part of you is screaming to quit, to hide, to protect what’s left of yourself—but something deeper pushes you forward anyway? That’s the heart of Yugen. And honestly? That’s the kind of hero we need more of. Because…
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We Need to Talk About How Power Protects Itself
You know that sinking feeling when you realize the people who were supposed to protect you are actually protecting each other? Yeah. Let’s sit with that for a second. Maybe a few more seconds. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately—how institutions that claim to stand for justice are often riddled with people covering…
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Beneath the Banner: How Yugen Mirrors the Shadow Side
In the last post, we talked about why dark fantasy readers crave psychological complexity—and why Yugen delivers it so well.This time, let’s get more specific, and more uncomfortable: Yugen doesn’t just build a corrupt fantasy order in a vacuum. The Guardian institution, Fortress Frozen Stone, and the way Vian is treated echo something very real:…
Got any book recommendations?
Janessa Keeling 