#fuzzybilities

When she was doing her wash again the next day, the same octopus came out and let her cut off another leg. This went on for seven days.

On the eighth day, the old woman set out intending to be sure to get the head, too.

The octopus stuck out its last leg and waited. When the old woman started to cut it off, the octopus suddenly danced up to her and wound its remaining leg around her neck and dragged her to the bottom of the sea.

Nagasaki, Minami takaki-gun

(Japanese folktale compiled by Kunio Yanagita, translated by Fanny Hagin Mayer in The Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale)

This is one of my favorite Japanese folktales, and I thought it would be appropriate to post it during Halloween. I actually translated it from Japanese to Portuguese in my Brazilian page: here.

It was through this Fanny Hagin Mayer’s translation of Japanese folklorist Kunio Yanagita’s collection that I discovered this delightful horror tale. This book translates the Nihon mukashibanashi meii 『日本昔話名彙』, a 1948 compilation edited by NHK.

Fortunately, I was able to find (and download!) the scanned Japanese original work via Japan’s National Diet Library, here: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1124179/1/95.

Screenshot of the tale, which can be found on page 94 in the pdf (page 160 of the book).

Unfortunately, the scan quality is not very high, which makes it difficult to me to recognize every single letter (a difficulty aggravated due to the use of obsolete ideograms).

Still, I thought it would be nice to bring a transcription of the Japanese text. Just keep in mind that some kanji might be wrong (and feel free to indicate the correct ones, in case you spot them).

蛸の足の八本目

昔婆が海邊で洗物をして居ると、すぐその前に大きな蛸があらはれて、これを切れと云はぬばかりに一本の大足をさし出した。婆は早速その足を切取つて帰り喜んで食べた。翌日も又洗物をして居ると昨日の蛸が足を一本切り取らせかうして七日間續いたが八本目のことである。婆さんは今日こそ、頭も一緒にとつてやらうと思つて出かけて行くと、蛸はいつもの通り残つてゐる一本の足を出して待つて居た。さうして婆さんがその足を切取らうとすると、急にその蛸がをどりかゝつて來て、残りの一本の足を婆さんの首に巻つけ海の底に引つばつて行つた。

―――長崎県南高来郡―――

I was able to establish sort of a reading routine lately, so I FINALLY finished “The Surface Breaks” (oof), by Louise O’Neill, and managed to continue “The Turn of the Screw” (Henry James), Jorge Amado’s “Dona Flor e seus Dois Maridos” (Dona Flor and her two husbands), and Tachibana Yuka’s “Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu” (聖女の魔力は万能です The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent) .

But I think the brightest star of this month’s reading spree was “The Great God Pan“, by Arthur Machen (the Brazilian edition was published in 2024 by DarkSide, translated by Andrio dos Santos). I started and finished it this month, and it’s just SO GOOD! It’s crazy to me how it never got a movie adaptation. In the hands of a Del Toro or a Flanagan, or even Eggers, it could be amazing.

It’s a Victorian mystery slash (cosmic) horror novella about an enigmatic woman and a series of dying (not so gentle) gentlemen. I think it’s best if read without knowing a lot about the narrative, that’s why I’m keeping it as vague as possible, but it was a big influence to Lovecraft (and many other authors), and its publication was apparently scandalous to Victorian audiences (mainly due to implied sexual content). If you’re into the occult—and seeking a good suspenseful narrative—, I highly recommend it.

So, I’m a real couch potato, but I’ve been trying to keep my legs somewhat active and my weight under control, therefore I linked this book-reading routine to a stationary bike in order to kill two birds with one stone and all. Meaning I limit my reading time to the bicycle time and vice-versa to make sure I’ll have something to read while exercising, and to make sure I’ll be exercising while reading…

Anyways, I had to restrain myself in order not to keep reading “The Great God Pan” after stationary bike hours. It didn’t feel like a chore (let’s be honest: not all books are made equal, and some of them require willpower to get to the ending; the biking-reading routine helps me in those cases too, because I have to read something to keep going ’cause only god knows how I hate exercising ugh), and I was curious about the developments. The Brazilian edition also had these interesting complementary essays about Pan, the deity, and his representations across the arts.

I struggled before to keep this habit going because reading feels like a bigger commitment than mindlessly scrolling through my socials—not to mention it’s a big part of my job… But it’s also more rewarding, so there’s that. (On that note, I’m also limiting screen time on social media to force me to resort to other activities… including writing in this God-forsaken page.)

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This month I also went to the movies to see HIM. The phenomenon, the angel of some other celestial sphere, the appetite: Dracu…er, Nosferatu. I’m still gathering my thoughts about it. And by gathering my thoughts I mean violently hiperfocusing on the story, the adaptations, the trivia, the memes! Did you know, for instance, that Bill Skarsgård wore a prosthetic penis? And that Eggers framed it and gave it to Nicholas Hoult after filming wrapped or something like that? Yes, that’s crucial info… says my brain. Incidentally, I decided Count Orlok’s Prosthetic Cock is the name of my punk band now.

That’s not the only movie watched this month, though. First one was 2023’s Love at First Sight (pretty OK), the original Nosferatu (Murnau’s), The VVitch (yeah, in preparation for more Eggers), Babylon (2022), Perfect Blue (traumatized by it now), The Boy and the Heron (a little Ghibli for good measure), Buñuel’s Cet Obscur Objet du Désir (That Obscure Object of Desire), Jordan Peele’s Nope, and finally Mulholland Drive. Looking at this selection side by side, I see this month was full of thrillers, dream-like scenarios and horror… Interesting.

I’d like to keep my ideas marinating before actually reaching a verdict and writing a full review, so I might expand on some of these stories later.

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Finally, I was able to start and finish a game in my Switch library: Witchy Life Story. It’s short, not too complex, focused on the visual narrative rather than the mechanics… which is kind of a bummer, since I liked the idea of cultivating a garden and working on potions and spells to help the people in a village. This game was no Potion Permit, though. The graphics are super cute, the music is soothing, and I enjoyed some parts of the narrative, but the characters are generally kind of… off-putting? Including the player character, who’s a little bratty. I think it’s not something aimed at my age bracket (a.k.a.: old). One of the game’s pros, though, was its inclusivity: you’re able to choose your own pronouns (there’s a lot of mixed possibilities) and appearance… although it doesn’t do much, since the story is quite linear and fixed. However, I don’t regret getting the game; it was enough to keep me entertained for some days (apparently you can finish it in about 4 hours, but there’s no need to rush).

Now I’m hooked on Spirittea, a game where you manage a bathhouse for spirits—clearly inspired by Spirited Away, both thematically and aesthetically. It definitely has A LOT to explore and solve, but the core mechanics is management with a tint of puzzle. There’s also a narrative aspect, because you have to befriend the locals of your town in order to unlock events, spirits, maps, recipes etc. And, boy, are there a lot of villagers and places and schedules to keep track of… Sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming. However, the events don’t seem time-sensitive. I mean, there are seasons, but I guess we don’t have to rush in order to complete everything. Some days I just focus on managing the bathhouse and that’s all. One of the most interesting aspects is that you can raise your relationship gauges by playing mini games with the villagers. So far, I think I’ve only played games with talking or gift-giving as relationship mechanics. I love its retro aesthetic, and the music kind of reminded me of Persona 3 soundtrack for some reason.

Anyway, it’s been fun, even if a bit time-consuming. (Because it’s fun and I want to keep playing it…)

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January has been quite a rainy month here (it’s Summer after all), and I’ve been a little gloomy lately due to the global fuckery going on (especially on the US), but I’m glad I was able to enjoy all these media, looking back now.

Not only that, I managed to journal and write a bunch of things, paint some small watercolors (after a long time) and resume a miniature I was assembling previously.

I think keeping track of the things you do/watch/play/listen to/play helps, because when there are no receipts you tend to think nothing was done or accomplished, and that is so untrue!

I’m tired of openly commenting on stuff, and then having men send me a heartfelt “I agree” or “your point of view is interesting”. Then why can’t you point that in a like or in a public comment? Why should your support be private?

“Oh, but nowadays women interpret everything as harassment or creepiness! We can’t comment on anything!”

Look, if you know what you’re saying could be interpreted as harassment, then you’re probably right not to leave that “nice pair of tits” in a woman’s message box (publicly or privately) anyway. But you can make a normal remark, right? Mirror other respectful comments you see. I promise your manhood won’t shrink. You won’t be emasculated by having a simple conversation with a woman or by—Heaven forbid!—agreeing with her or acknowledging she worded a concern of yours like no one you ever saw.

Also, PLEASE bear in mind: not every human interaction is (or should be) sexual by nature. If that’s what you fear, do know that we don’t take every compliment as a declaration of love or sexual attraction, and people who do that are sorely misguided.