Legend of a Writer: 2022

Thankfulness Thursdays I

November 03, 2022

Hope Amidst Brokenness // rambles about Violet Evergarden

Faith + Musings June 05, 2022

Happy Sunday!

Over the past few months, I've consumed a lot of stories - some good, some bad, some funny, some sad. (This summer you'll probably be hearing quite a bit about them XD.)

Most recently, I just finished the eight-month-long process of watching Violet Evergarden, one of the most beautiful stories I think I've experienced. This is a fantastic beginner anime, so if you're looking for a good show that allows you to dip your toes into this medium, Violet Evergarden is a perfect place to start. It's got beautiful visuals and a solid storyline.

And as much as I could rave about how aesthetic the entire show is, I want to discuss the storyline today.

(Welcome back to another rambly reflection/fandom post XD. Also, beware of some spoilers ahead.)

In case you haven't seen this show and want a brief summary: Violet Evergarden tells the story of a girl named Violet, a war survivor who's trying to figure out who she is and move past the trauma of fighting on the front lines as a child. She spends the majority of the show trying to figure out what love means, since she's never been introduced to it. Along the way, she takes a job at a writer's agency, where she helps people write letters to their loved ones - and, in the process, helps her to love and heal.

And this show. THIS SHOW made me sob through nearly every episode.

Now, usually when I sob over stories, it's because the story is heartbreakingly sad. For instance, I cried over the horror webtoon Sweet Home because it's incredibly dark and painful and physically hurts to read. Another example: Your Lie in April. Episode 22, while containing some hope, is one of the saddest endings to a TV show I've seen.

Violet Evergarden, though, is different. Don't get me wrong - it is sad. One of its episodes is literally about a dying mother writing letters to her daughter, who she'll never see grow up. It is rough going at times.

But I realized about halfway through the show that there was something more to this show, something that Sweet Home and Your Lie in April definitely included, but never explored to their fullest potential, I don't think.

Violet Evergarden is a sad show. But more importantly - and more powerfully - it's a hopeful show. There's so much beauty woven into the sadness. Of course, the most obvious way it does this is through the soundtrack and the visuals, both of which are just stunning.

This song is so sweeping and beautiful. Definitely one of my favorites <3

But hope permeates not just the visuals and music, but the entire plotline as well, and there's so much beauty in every episode - even in the episodes where it seems that all hope is lost. For instance, the episode I mentioned earlier about the dying mother is incredibly heartbreaking. BUT. The heartbreak isn't the end. With Violet's help and through letters, the mother is able to show her daughter love years after she's passed away. Despite the sadness of her death, there is still hope and happiness present at the end.

The writers could have ended that episode with the pain of the mother's death, but instead they chose to show the daughter receiving a letter every year on her birthday, show the emotion and the love that came with it - show the hopeful ending that arose out of such a horrible scenario.

And all this hope culminates in Violet's character arc to learn what love is and move past her violent childhood. Through seeing all the ways that her writing has impacted the people she's helped, she finds hope and beauty in her own life.

The despair and bloodshed of her background could have been the end for Violet. But she moved on, kept pushing forward, and found friends and hope amid tragedy. <3

While writing this post, I was reminded of a song quote that goes, "What earthly sweetness remaineth unmixed with grief?" Violet Evergarden completely turns this on its head and asks, "What earthly sadness remaineth unmixed with hope?" And I think that's a beautiful perspective to have, one that I find lacking in many of today's stories.

We want to focus on the darkness of the world, show that it's not all sunshines and rainbows. And that's okay - we need to show that the world has been stained by sin. If we fail to do so, we're not spreading truth in our writing, and spreading truth, to me, is one of the most important reasons to write.

But at the same time, if we focus too much on the darkness, we can forget that there's something higher, something more powerful than despair and sin.

We need stories with darkness, but I think now more than ever we need stories infused with hope: stories that show both the beauty and the brokenness of the world, stories that, like Violet Evergarden, show that beauty, love, and hope will always win in our lives if we let it, and they will win in the world at the end of days.

Violet Evergarden is a secular show; no God is mentioned. But I believe that secular stories can point to God and to truth without perhaps intending to. And for us Christians, the beauty and hope of Violet Evergarden can point to the beauty and hope in our own world. Except our own is greater, because we have a God who died for us so that we can have hope and beauty.

That hope is what made me cry. Not just the sadness, not just the heartbreak, but the stunning visual realization that there is more to life than just pain and grief.

There is beauty.

There is healing.

There is Love.

-Nicole <3

Have you seen Violet Evergarden? (If not, you really should - I'd recommend it to everybody. :D) What are some other hopeful stories you've experienced? Let's talk!

this semester in snippets

Happenings May 15, 2022

Happy Sunday!

My semester finished up last week, to my relief, and because I have more free time now, it's time to write a blog post! I considered writing a "normal" wrap-up post about the past few months, but then I thought: why not switch it up a little?

So here, take this non-linear, completely random view of my semester, because none of it felt linear at all.

semester stats:

number of Apple Notes files created: 64

number of playlists created: 42

number of days chocolate was consumed: all of them

number of books I read in my spare time: 2

number of moments I regret: 0

^^^ one of the most gorgeous sacred music pieces I've ever heard

"A little at a time / I feel more alive / I let the scale tip and feel all of it / It's uncomfortable but right." -Sleeping at Last, "Nine"

. . . thinking back on this semester now, I spent way too much time on Discord XD

got a pun calendar for Christmas :D

top three stories I read:

- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: surprisingly good! I cried at the end. I thought it a very moving coming-of-age story, which is why I wrote two papers and a presentation on it XD 10/10 would recommend this story!

- Passerine by thcseus: this is one of three fanfics that I've ever read, and it's the only one that I've ever loved. I SOBBED while reading this. The writing was so lyrical, the characters so real and painfully flawed, and the ending perfectly bittersweet. Only recommended if you like the DSMP and want to be emotionally destroyed for days :D

- City of Blank by 66: this webtoon. THIS WEBTOON. It's still ongoing, but the first three seasons are phenomenal. If you're looking for a heartbreaking brotherly relationship, some sassy found family vibes, and a similar feel to Fullmetal Alchemist, READ THIS. (And even if you're not looking for any of this, read it anyways. You will laugh and cry.)

"Human beings require stories to give meaning to the facts of their existence." -Neil Postman, "Learning by Story"

cacti are incredibly cool

notable adventures:

- went to a desert for spring break ;)

- stayed up until midnight consistently, but not because of homework

- lots of choir performances! I'm in a chant choir and I love it so much <3

- saw countless theatre performances - oh, how I've missed them . . .

^^^ I rediscovered my love of animatics this semester, and this one is incredibly gorgeous! All of SAD-ist's work is amazing :D

The DMSP - a Minecraft role-play server that's become super-popular on Youtube - basically became my life this semester. I can't recommend it because of the sheer amount of cursing and other Mature Content, but I've found the storyline really intricate and the characters compelling. (Also, I basically quote it all the time now. Whoops XD)

"My unfinished symphony, forever unfinished." -Wilbur Soot

hi, I'm Nicole, your resident fog enthusiast

things I learned this semester:

- God does answer prayers

- writing is incredibly difficult

- always use the dorm laundry machines at 5:30 in the morning so as to avoid waiting an hour for one to open

- you don't have to be the best at the things you love for you to love them

- don't give up. Even if you stumble through a semester, even if life scars you, you'll get through it with Him <3

"For God alone my soul waits in silence." -Psalm 62:1

^^^ my favorite song of the semester; listen to it and cry.

And now it's summer, somehow. I have so many creative plans (some of them blogging-related), and I'm behind on all of them already, but I don't care. Because if there's one thing that I can take away from last semester, it's that passion takes time and effort, but it's so so worth it in the end.