#everyday is a fight to choose compassion and understanding | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jophiares · 4 months

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Thank you so much for sharing your writings and arts. Also thanks for answering my ask about SuzaLulu. I'm a new fan of this fandom, and it's kinda hard for me to find those who still love this series.

Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Code Geass? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series?

of course ^^ thank you for sharing the interest with me. ill put my rambling below:

first things first, i am omitting lelouch and suzaku because i think it is too easy. the show wouldnt be what it is without them.

i dont know if i can tier these characters (since i would have to give it much more thought than im willing to put into currently) but here we go:

kallen - kallen is the only character with an actual backbone and moral compass on this entire show. interestingly enough, i dont think shes written as well as she should be. the episode about her and her mother was one of the episodes that hit the hardest during my initial watch through. i also really like the scene where she stops lelouch from taking a hit of refrain as well as when she kisses him goodbye during the un conference. she is a mixed person that chooses to side with the side of liberation versus the side of comfort, and that was something she was always doing. she would always be japanese, she would always fight for her people and for what is right. she is easily the most honorable character of them all.

c.c. - c.c. is one, if not the, most interesting immortal character i have ever seen. what attracts me the most to her is the fact that she is Not a Good Person. her life has been full of strife from before she got her code and afterwards. she's the reason mao's existence is as fucked up as it is. the whole time shes lelouchs accomplice, she knows that marianne is alive and what her (& charles') plan was for the world. its thanks to lelouch that she remembers how to be human again. shes hypocritical. shes wise but also immature. she damned lelouch by giving him a geass but she still grieves him at the end. hell, one of the final shots of her during zero requiem was her praying in a church, the same place where she was betrayed. its still obviously a place of comfort to some level--which, i think is incredibly symbolic for her character. shes cryptic and hard to understand (both on purpose and not). shes sad. lonely. self sufficient. despite her long years, she is still human.

shirley - shirley represents love (not romantic love specifically, but all kinds of love) in code geass. going from her crush on lelouch, to losing her father, to learning lelouch is zero, to SAVING him from being captured--then following up after she regains her memories and how despite everything, she still wants to be by lelouch's side because she realizes that he is alone. she tells suzaku that she loves lelouch when suzaku uses past tense. she tells him that shes forgiven lelouch--which is Much easier said than done on shirley's end vs suzaku's end, but i digress. she is then murdered because of rolo's own twisted love. shes' an interesting point of view into the story because shes very much a civilian in comparison to the other major characters. there are a lot of shots of everyday people throughout cg, but shirley being a main character in this sense puts her up there for me, though id argue that shes more of a writing device versus an actual character, too.

v.v. - (smt3 hell rider voice) here we go. the person reading this might be thinking--huh? v.v.? and yes, i say. my interest in v.v. comes more from things that were implied more than they were shown, as most of said things are recalled by other characters. like Every character i am interested in, he is a hypocrite. he is as conniving as his brother, their wish being one of truth while they were surrounded by lies. they would always have each other. but then came marianne, the lady knight, the flash. neither charles nor v.v. couldve ever predicted her, nor how much she changed charles--regardless if that is true or not. what really intrigues me is that it was implied that v.v. also loved marianne. v.v., an immortal stuck in a childs body, their only true tether to the world (his brother) and the part of the world he must have desired the most (marianne). i actually am planning to write a fic about this premise because it interests me so deeply. dont hold your breath for it tho, haha.

ive been working on this for longer than id like to admit so ill just do a little rapid round for other characters i really like.

honorable mentions:

-ROLO

-ohgi

-mao

truthfully i think every character is very complex in their own way, especially by the end of code geass. im not a fan of nina, but the final scene with her and emperor lelouch before they use the anti-fleija spear (lance of longinus, cough) is another moment i really like.

tldr; code geass has some great character writing sometimes. keyword sometimes.

#answered #code geass

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wovetherapy · 6 months

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Coping With Distressing News in the Media

If you find yourself struggling to cope with events happening in the news, you're not alone. Over the last few years, our world has faced insurmountable challenges, from a pandemic to natural disasters to war. When reading about current events, it is normal to experience a range of difficult emotions. Coping with these intense feelings is vital, not just for our individual well-being but also for the collective resilience of our society. When the news becomes overwhelming, it is important to consider ways of coping to protect our mental health.

Understanding Difficult Emotions

The first step in coping with difficult feelings is acknowledging and understanding them. Fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, and frustration are common reactions during moments of crisis. The uncertainty and scale of these events can trigger a fight-or-flight response, which leads to additional overwhelming reactions.

For more context, "fight-or-flight” refers to our physiological response to stress. This response is triggered by the release of hormones that prepare our bodies to either stay and deal with a threat or run away to safety. A fight-or-flight response leads to physical, emotional, and cognitive reactions. Some physical reactions may include rapid heartbeat and breathing, pale or flushed skin, dilated pupils, and trembling (Cherry, 2022). A person in fight-or-flight may also experience heightened awareness, fear, and anxiety. Recognizing the naturalness of these reactions and their biological origins can help us validate our feelings and implement effective coping strategies. Consider the following coping skills if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed:

1. Stay Informed, but Set Limits

While staying informed about global events is important, setting limits on media consumption is important too. The constant barrage of news can lead to information overload and increased stress. Create a balance by choosing reliable sources and dedicating specific times for updates. Limiting exposure to distressing news can help maintain your mental well-being (Mind, 2023).

2. Practice Self-Compassion

During global crises, it's easy to be overly self-critical and experience feelings of guilt. Remember that it's okay to feel overwhelmed and anxious. Practice self-compassion by treating yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a friend. Self-compassion can help reduce stress and increase resilience (APA, 2021).

3. Don’t Forget About Self-Care

Self-compassion also includes taking care of yourself and your mental health. Self-care is crucial for building resilience toward the stressors of everyday life and coping with difficult feelings. Whether it’s a walk in the park or engaging in a hobby, be intentional about making time for yourself. You can learn more about self-care here.

4. Connect with Others

Social support is a powerful tool for coping with difficult feelings. Share your concerns and emotions with trusted friends and family. Connect with support groups, both online and offline, where you can discuss your feelings and find comfort in the shared experience. Human connection is a crucial aspect of resilience (APA, 2021).

5. Focus on What You Can Control

It's easy to feel hopeless during tumultuous times. Focus on what you can control, even if it feels small. Whether it’s volunteering, protesting, or donating to an important cause, focusing on an action plan can reduce feelings of overwhelm. Consider making a list of the things you can change and the things you can't (Mind, 2023).

Coping with difficult feelings in response to distressing current events is a crucial aspect of maintaining both personal and collective well-being. Understanding and acknowledging your emotions, staying informed without overwhelming yourself, practicing self-compassion, and connecting with others can improve your mental health during these challenging times. Prioritizing self-care isn't selfish; it's a fundamental step in contributing to a more resilient and compassionate world.By taking care of our emotional well-being, we become better equipped to support those around us, and together, we can navigate the tumultuous waters of global challenges with strength and resilience.

If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment or you’d like more information, please contact us.

#Coping #Distress #Media #News

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nmukti44 · 8 months

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Nasha Mukti Kendra in jalandhar

In the contemporary world, substance abuse has emerged as a critical social and health issue, affecting individuals, families, and communities. The city of Jalandhar, known for its vibrant culture and history, is not immune to this problem. However, amidst this challenge, there shines a beacon of hope - Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar .

Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar , situated in the heart of Jalandhar, is a dedicated center committed to helping individuals break free from the shackles of substance addiction. The center employs a holistic approach that combines medical intervention, psychological support, and counseling to facilitate the recovery journey.

The Top Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar offers a range of comprehensive treatment programs tailored to cater to the diverse needs of individuals battling substance addiction. From alcoholism to drug abuse, the center's experienced medical professionals design personalized treatment plans that address the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of addiction.

One of the cornerstones of the Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar is its team of qualified and empathetic staff. Trained medical professionals, psychologists, counselors, and support staff work collaboratively to provide round-the-clock care and guidance to the residents. Their collective expertise ensures that each individual receives the attention and care they need on their path to recovery.

The Top Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar adopts a multi-faceted approach to healing, incorporating various therapeutic techniques. These include cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy sessions, art therapy, mindfulness practices, and more. The combination of these approaches helps residents build coping skills, understand triggers, and develop a healthier mindset.

Recovery from substance addiction is not solely a medical journey; it's a transformational one. Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar provides a safe and supportive environment that fosters personal growth and development. The center's serene surroundings and compassionate atmosphere contribute to a positive healing experience.

Recognizing the importance of family in the recovery process, Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar encourages family involvement. Regular family therapy sessions and workshops educate families about addiction, communication, and support strategies, strengthening the support system for the individual in recovery.

Recovery doesn't end with the stay at Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar . The center places significant emphasis on aftercare planning to ensure a smooth transition back to everyday life. This includes ongoing counseling, support group recommendations, and strategies to prevent relapse.

Choosing Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar is choosing a path towards a healthier, addiction-free life. The center's unwavering commitment to helping individuals rediscover their potential and regain control over their lives sets it apart as a beacon of hope in the fight against substance addiction.

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction in Jalandhar, know that there is a place where compassion, understanding, and effective treatment converge – Nasha Mukti Kendra in Jalandhar .Remember to review and modify the content as needed to match the style and preferences of the website you plan to submit it to.

#health #nashamuktikendra #rehabilitation #recovering addict

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alzaeemadel · 1 year

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*Every Parent must make Dua to Allah SW everyday for their children*

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Ya Allah Please forgive us all our sins,

*Oh Allah, I submit myself to you. I realise that parenting a child is a very difficult task and I turn to You in humility for Your help. I implore you for Your wisdom and guidance*

*Oh Allah, I know that our children are an amanaat from You, to care for and raise. Help me do that in the best way. Allow me to be a God fearing role model with all the communication, teaching and nurturing skills that I may need*

*Oh Allah, you know what our children need. Help and guide us in praying for our children*

*Oh Allah, put a hedge of safety around our children. Protect their bodies, minds and emotions from any kind of evil and harm*

*Oh Allah, I pray that You protect them from accidents, diseases, injuries and any other physical, mental or emotional afflictions and abuse*

*Oh Allah, I pray that you keep our children free from any addictions and vices. Draw them close to You for protection from every ill and evil influence of our society, whether it’s apparent to us or not*

*Oh Allah, grant our children hidayaah and a heart that loves to obey You. Shine Your light on any secret or unseen rebellion in their hearts and destroy it before it takes root*

*Oh Allah, guide them away from any pride, selfishness, jealousy, hypocrisy, malice and greed and make them uncomfortable with sins. Penetrate their hearts with Your love today and always*

*Oh Allah make apparent to them the truth in any situation and let them not be misled by falsehood*

*Oh Allah, grant our children the ability to make clear decisions and let them always be attracted to good things that are pure, noble, true and just*

*Oh Allah, guide them in making choices that please You*

*Oh Allah, help them to taste the sweetness of walking with a humble spirit in obedience and submission to You*

*Oh Allah grant them the wisdom to choose their words carefully and bless them with a generous and caring spirit*

*Oh Allah, I pray that they never stray from the path of deen and that You give them a future filled with Your best promises*.

*Oh Allah, always keep our children cleansed and pure from evil and shaytaan.*

*Oh Allah, keep them steadfast in establishing Salaah and help them revere the Glorious Quran as Your Word and Law and to read it with understanding daily. Let it be their source of light and guidance*.

*Oh Allah, let our children love wearing the dress of a humble Muslim. Let their dress be a representation of their Imaan and of their love and respect for Your commands. Lead them to a position where they rely truly on Your power alone and fear You in the open and in secret*

*Oh Allah, make them so strong in their deen that they never encounter doubt.*

*Oh Allah, do not allow any negative attitudes in the place of our children’s lives*

*Oh Allah, guide our children in honouring and obeying You, Your Rasool SAW and us as parents. Make them the coolness of our eyes*

*Oh Allah, fill our children with compassion and caring that will overflow to each member of our family*

*Oh Allah, grant them piety. Help them love, value and appreciate and respect one another with good communication between them always*

*Oh Allah, drive out any division between our children and bring them healing. I pray there be no strain, breach, misunderstanding, arguing, fighting or severing of ties*

*Oh Allah, I pray for a close, loving, happy and fulfilling relationship with them for all the days of our lives* -

*Ameen*.

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aakristinejoyce · 1 year

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how to,

I always believe I was damaged, that something went wrong growing up. I had an unlucky hand, and this world keeps on proving me right. My chances are limited, luck was never on my side. It pushed me to always work hard for every little thing though. I still get disappointed when something went wrong, but the funny thing is, I get more surprised when something went right in the first try. It's not because I am preparing myself for the worst case scenario, it's just how things always run down for me. I am never one to get an easy pass.

It's because of this I have learned the value of self preservation. As human nature kicks in, our instinct heightens and do what is necessary to survive, to live. And in this cycle of life where strength is valued by how much adversity you get through, you get to learn where to fight or flight. You get to understand the basic complexity of how this world wasn't just black and white. That right wasn't always good, and good wasn't always right. That yes can also be a no, and surrendering is how you win a fight. That there is always more to the story, and us is just a dusty particle of existence. That you know some things about the world, but at the same time you don't. You get to experience a whole lot, yet a list of nevers still lingers in your mind. You've seen a lot, you've been through so much, you've been there done that, yet still a virgin of so many wonders and ruins. The world is your oyster as they say, but it was also your bear trap. Impulsivity can get you killed, but so is being a ship on the shore when the ocean is just up ahead. It can kill the purpose of why it's made in the first place, until its essence is long gone.

So what do we do? We listen to the greatest story teller of all time - time. When it's time to sail, we sail. When it's time to heal, we heal. When it's time to let go, we unclasp. When it's time rest, we lay down. But how can we be sure if we are listening right? We listen with our body. We will sail again and again because our body can't stop being in one place. It itch to be out there. We will heal once the cycle of grief and pain subsides, the body will gradually learn to cope up with a broken heart. You know your letting go when your body started to get lighter. When you are still not ready to hold something new, but your hand learns to dance with the freedom. We will eventually rest no matter how powerful our will is, for our body is a well known compass for self preservation.

This is how I take care of myself, this is how I preserve the light inside, the good, the hope, the strength within. I learned to not push things the way I wanted it to be. I learn to take my place in His grand design. I learn to not push my luck but have faith in His everyday grace. I learn to be patient with my pain and fears but learn to also let out my cries and weep my troubles away. I am never gonna know everything, get the answer to all my questions. I will never have a lucky hand, I can't experience everything this world has to offer, I can try though. But what I can really do to make sure I seize the world, is to learn how to navigate life the best way my body, mind, heart and soul can.

To choose what to love, what to prioritize, what to experience, what to learn, what to feed my spirit, what to stand for, what to hope for, what to believe, what to create and what mark I wanted to leave behind.

...for in the beginning up to the end, you are always free to choose how to live your life.

#llh

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whump-a-la-mode · 3 years

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Nemesis - Choose Your Own Whump 2

With A receiving the most votes on my last post, for this adventure we are going with a drugged Villain whumpee. Sorry about the generic name for this one, I really couldn’t think of anything else ^^

I hope you enjoy, and thanks to everyone for replying to the last post! As always, votes can be sent in through any method you want. Comments, asks, and PMs are all just fine. I’ll see it!

CW//Falling off a building, hostage situations, shapeshifting, medical abuse, extensive talk of sedatives, brief mention of a needle

Please note that the third scene of this piece is from the point of view of a drugged character, and thus the scene has some aspects that could be described as unreality. Please skip this scene if this would make you uncomfortable.

The video was grainy.

It was always grainy. That was the strange thing about it-- everyone carried around miniature computers in their pockets, equipped with tiny cameras that would have rivaled the most powerful devices of years prior. Any civilian could take a 4k quality video on some social media, but the moment anything actually important was happening, technology seemed to regress twenty years.

Hero supposed it didn’t matter. Their memory of the incident was certainly clear as day, better than any camera could ever capture.

And yet...

They clicked a button on the remote, and the clip restarted.

The sides of the screen were blocked out in fuzzy grey-- the video having been taken through the bars of a metal fence. Between them, the camera focused at first on the foot of a brown brick building, before panning upwards, only stopping upon reaching the roof. It took a moment for the visual to adjust, focusing against the glare of the sun overhead.

Two figures, on the building’s roof. Two figures seen so often together, in so many similar videos.

The standoff had taken from dawn till sunset. How Villain had gotten into the building unnoticed had yet to be fully understood, but, regardless of method, they wasted little time in taking hostage a group of professors, eating lunch together. A single one had been released, bringing with them a message:

“Everyone leaves. No one comes in. Everyone stays outside the fence.”

It had seemed like a trap, at first. Of course it had. It wouldn’t be the first time that Villain had played such a trick. After much debating, however, evacuation was deemed to be the best option, and the campus was soon barren.

The hours afterwards had been as long and hot as they had been nerve-wracking. The very thought of following orders from Villain made Hero’s stomach twist, but their orders were incredibly clear: Don’t do anything stupid.

It was an incredibly difficult order to follow.

Establishing a line of communication had been the hardest part. Villain had quickly disconnected any security cameras in the vicinity, alongside confiscating any technology their hostages might have held.

In the end, it was decided that a reporter would be the one to go in. One of the most recognizable faces in the city, and one that was neutral. Not fighting for either side, but representing the citizenry.

The whole plan bet on one fact: That the shapeshifting Hero could pull of the imitation.

It worked. At least, it worked for as long as it needed to. Villain accepted the olive branch, and allowed the supposed reporter to enter unharmed.

Of course, the illusion broke as soon as Hero opened their mouth. No matter how good they were at changing their shape, it did not change their voice. In the brief moment of confusion, the hostages had managed to make their escape.

Leaving only the two nemeses, and the building as their battlefield.

It was hard to remember the fight. They had waged so many battles against one another, they all seemed to blend together, at one point or another. There was broken glass, pushed over tables, exploding equipment, and then-

And then they were on the roof.

Villain was stupid, but they weren’t, well, they weren’t stupid. They may have had the moral compass of a kleptomaniac feline, and the brain cells to match, but they had common sense. A sense of self-preservation.

Forcing them to the edge of the roof... it was supposed to be like pushing them to a corner. Trapping them.

In the video, the two figures danced. Forward, and back, until one took the lead. Until they were up against the edge, with nowhere left to go.

They were supposed to stop. They weren’t supposed to fall.

They stopped their own fall, or at least they tried. They were telekinetic. Of course they did. But they were surprised, or confused, or, or something. They slowed themself down. But they did not stop. The force with which they struck the concrete parking lot below was more than enough to knock them out.

The video ended.

And... that was it. The end. Years and years of battles, some won, some lost, all ended. They should have been happy, and they were! They hated Villain, sincerely and truly hated them.

But no other villain fought like them. No other villain had their tongue, their wit. Their skill. Their fight.

Villain’s defeat should have been epic! The ultimate confrontation of good and evil, of chaos, and order.

Yet, their downfall was a simple trip.

In the corner of Hero’s TV screen, small white text helpfully reported to them just when that video had been recorded.

One year ago.

One year, since that day. Since Villain’s downfall. And now...

Hero’s phone buzzed. A text message. The confirmation of a meeting.

One whole year, and still, Hero’s mind was consumed by their lost nemesis.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The diner was terribly busy, and yet, when Hacker walked through the door, Hero had no doubts as to their identity.

Despite their rather stereotypical appearance, there was nothing about the person’s manner that would have indicated the sheer amount of time they spent behind a computer screen. They greeted the receptionist, pointed to Hero, and exchanged a few words beyond that. With a smile, then, they parted, and made their way to Hero’s table.

Their manner only seemed strange when they sat down, and Hero noted that the way they smiled seemed to pain them.

“Is this seriously what you people act like?” They hissed through bared teeth. “Can I stop smiling now? Or will they look at me weird?”

“They’re already looking at you weird.”

“They are?”

“You- You don’t need to do that.”

“Oh thank god.” Immediately, their expression fell into one far more analytic. Far less friendly. “I, uh, don’t get out much.”

“Really?” Hero raised a brow incredulously.

“I’ve got more important things to do than, uh, than going out. Anyways.” They stuck a hand outwards. It was partially covered by a fingerless glove. “I’m Hacker.”

“I figured.” Hero shook the offered hand. “I’m Hero, though I suppose you already know that.”

“You’d think people here would be, uh, a bit more in awe? It’s not everyday you get to eat in the same building as a superhero.”

“Keep your voice down, please.”

“Oh, sorry. Is it, like, a secret? You don’t have a secret identity, do you?”

“No. But when I’m out of costume, I’m not exactly that recognizable. So let’s keep it that way. Kapish?”

“Kapash. But, still, oh my god. This is so cool! A real life hero...”

“Yeah... Yeah. A real hero alright.”

A hero who could hardly focus during battle. A hero who infuriated their team leader more than they aided them.

“Anyways.” Hacker raised their head, a far more natural smile coming onto their face. “I have the... thing.”

“You mentioned that. It’s about Villain, right?”

“Mhm.”

The person across the booth leaned down, prying a laptop from a carrying case and placing it atop the table. It was a bulky thing, and as soon as it was turned on, the shrill sound of fans struggling not to overheat filled Hero’s head. Hacker clicked around a bit. They gripped the edges of the device, as if about to spin it around, before they stopped, frowning.

“It’s been a year now, hasn’t it?” They commented.

“Since Villain was captured. Yes. 374 days.”

“You remember?”

“Yes.”

“You miss them, don’t you?”

It was so direct. Hero couldn’t help but stutter:

“I don’t- Of course I don’t miss them. I hate them.”

Hacker looked up over the laptop screen to give them an incredulous look. It wasn’t a convincing lie.

“I don’t miss them.” Hero stood their ground. “But I want to make sure they’re contained.”

“I just... I don’t know if this is something you want to see. You’re trying to move on, and-”

“Show me it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. If it’s something to do with their containment, I need to know about it. I can’t let them hurt anyone else.”

“Well, that’s not the problem here. If you’re sure.”

With a sigh, Hacker spun the computer around, so that it’s screen faced Hero.

They weren’t sure what they expected. Some kind of... deep web threat? A message from Villain? A copycat? An escape attempt?

But they didn’t get any of that. Instead, the screen displayed a simple PDF. Medical records. At the top, in bold letters and a rather ostentatious logo, the header read:

Specialized Criminal Rehabilitation Unit of Organization

For the most part, the page was Greek to Hero. A slew of ID numbers and attending physicians with far too many acronyms following their names. What did make sense to them was the spreadsheet that made up most of the page, labelled:

Approved Daily Medication Dosage for Patient: Villain

The spreadsheet took up two pages with solid text. Hero did not recognize the medication names, of course, but they did not need to be a doctor to understand the entries written under the column labelled “Medication Purpose.”

Every single data cell, even as they scrolled to the bottom of the document, contained only one word. The same word.

Sedation

“This is...” Hero muttered, furrowing their brow. Scrolling up and down. This had to be wrong, somehow.

“I don’t understand most of it.” Hacker commented sheepishly. “But, uh, I have a few friends with some more medical knowledge than me. They’ve never seen anything like it. It’s more than enough medication to sedate a fucking elephant- sorry, excuse my language.”

“It’s fine.” The confusion in their voice was rapidly melting to fury.

“Even for major surgical procedures... nothing near this level would ever be used.”

“This has to be a mistake.” Hero shook their head. “A mix-up. Maybe it’s like... all the medications the facility ordered. And they just labelled it wrong.”

“Well, if it’s a mistake, they’ve been making the exact same one for an entire year. I’ve got 374 of these files. Newest one just got uploaded a few hours ago.”

“And they’re always the same?”

“With some minor dosage adjustments, but yes. That’s not, um, that’s not all of it.”

Hacker reached over, dragging the computer back so that it faced them again. There was more clicking this time, along with typing at a speed that made Hero’s fingers hurt, just to watch it.

When the laptop was spun back around, this time, it was a video.

A camera feed.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Villain felt about to choke on their tongue.

It wasn’t a new feeling. More or less, it was the only thing they felt, anymore. That heavy block of muscle in their mouth, threatening at any moment to block throat choke air no air no-

They were losing their words again. Words... wordsssssss... Voices. Voices spoke words. Sometimes, they did. Sometimes they grumbled and muttered and sputtered and murmured like a car murmured. Cars... or was it cats? No, cats didn’t murmur. They purred. What else did they do? Not bark... no, barking too loud for cats. Cat go mew mew, real quiet like.

Cat’s meow, that is a cat’s voice. There were other voices, too. Quiet like cats. Two of them, two voices. They knew those voices, those were the doctors’ voices. The doctors liked to talk a lot. They talked, but they did not see. Or... no. They were not seen. Villain did not see them. They wanted to, but their eyes were broken. The engines in their eyelids would not run anymore, would not open the garage door, Sally!

One of the doctors’ voices got closer. A million miles away, a hand was laid upon Villain’s wrist, flipping over their hand so that their palm faced downward.

“Let’s move it.”

It was a silly thing to say. Nothing moved in this place. Nothing that Villain could see, as their eyes were broken.

“Is the other vein healed enough?”

“It’s going to have to be.”

Silly words... Villain wanted to laugh, but their muscles were firmly locked away behind a padlock.

“Okay.” The doctor sounded so sad. Why were they so sad? Villain’s mouth was full of soil. The doctor was tired. “I’ll get the rest of the medicines.”

“We’re going 30 milligrams up from yesterday on the Propofol.”

“Oh? Why?”

“They opened their eyes, yesterday.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hero felt sick. In the top right corner of the security footage, the same logo from the medical records was displayed. The Specialized Criminal Rehabilitation Unit of Organization. Below it, a subtitle.

“Keeping the city safe.”

Was this safety? It shouldn’t have been. They had known, of course, what had happened to Villain after their capture and very brief hospital stay. It was what happened to all villains. They were sent to the rehab unit.

A therapy program. Helping villains to control their powers and reform their lives. To return them to the straight and narrow. But, now that Hero thought about it...

Villain was the only one who had never been released.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Thanks so much for reading! Just like last time, there are two options along with every part of this story. Alongside each options is a question, so that you guys can give more specific suggestions if you so wish. The option that receives the most votes will be the choice that our Hero makes!

A.) Tell someone about what is happening - Who should Hero tell? (They are on a small team, as well as part of a larger Organization, for reference.)

B.) Attempt a more direct approach. Visit Villain in the rehab program - Should Hero try to rescue Villain immediately?

#whump #whumpee #whumpblr #whump community #hero villain whump #drugged whumpee #drugged villain #villain whumpee #hero villain prompt #choose your own whump #choose your own adventure #nemesis

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flautistsandpeonies · 3 years

Text

Prominence Part 1

Read My Prompt [Here]

Word Length: 2,710

Tags: Not for JC Fans, JC’s Canon Characteristics, Not for Madam Yu Fans, Madam Yu Canon Characteristics, Not Jiang Friendly, No Sunshot Campaign, Original Character, Vampires

Almost everyone had heard of Wei WuXian. Picked up from the streets of Yiling at the age of nine and brought to YunmengJiang to be trained amongst its disciples, the orphan was a reoccurring topic through the many sects, taverns, brothels, and businesses of china. For thirteen years, the young cultivator sparked many a sordid story and salacious talks of infidelity, bastard children, bloodlines, and even sword naming of all things.

Some thought positively of the young cultivator, wondering of his promise and imaging what he might accomplish with his cultivation. Others saw the prodigy as a blight on the normal way of life, an arrogant servant who didn’t understand his station. Both acknowledged his strength with a sword, his intelligence, and wit.

All in all, it was common to talk about the young master, whether it was scorn or adoration, it was almost impossible to not pass by one person and not hear the name “Wei WuXian” on their lips.

Especially now...

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The YunmengJiang Sect was hosting a discussion conference next month.

‘Not surprising, ‘Lan Qiren thought as he set the missive down, ‘Considering the situation’

The letter was short and concise, the way he preferred them. Jiang Fengmian meant to clear up some “misconceptions and rumors” about sudden events and offer a chance to the young disciples of the sects.

A two week discussion conference was to be held, the first dedicated to multiple lectures and the second a week long night-hunting competition.

Sitting to his right, Lan XiChen picked up the letter with inquisitive eyes and stared to peruse. After few minutes, he smiled and set the paper back down on the table with a hum.

“Young Master Wei has certainly come a long way, “XiChen smiled, “Will we attend?”

“There is no reason not to, “Lan Qiren stroked his beard, “It is an opportunity to learn something new, so we shouldn’t squander this opportunity...no matter how unseemly the events surrounding it are.”

While gossip was forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, it certainly was not in Caiyi Town. The many shop and tavern goers always had something new to talk about almost everyday, spreading rumors from the farthest brothels in Runan to the classiest restaurant in Laoling. Due to the town’s proximity to the Lan Sect, it’s disciples often picked up on the gossip whether they wanted to or not.

Lan XiChen gave a slight wince, knowing what his uncle was referring to due to his recent trip to the Unclean Realm, “I...have heard about Young Master Jiang’s injury.”

For the past couple of weeks, the YunmengJiang Sect was the talk of the Cultivation and Civilian worlds. It started with a simple event that exploded into a frenzy of rumors and tales.

Wei WuXian, Head Disciple to YunmengJiang, had recently published several cultivation manuals and even a few night-hunting tools. Now, this, while completely normal, did raise a few brows as no one expected someone so young to suddenly put multiple books out on cultivation. However, no one who truly cared about learning batted an eye and went at the books with a critical eye.

To name a few, there was:

Talismans for the Everyday Life The Hunter: Archery and Tracking Talismans Musical Cultivation: The Difference between the Xiao and Dizi The Stygian Lure Flag and Demon Wind Compass: Uses and Dangers

Due to the books being sold by a well-known and influential merchant, the books were being sold in small shops throughout the cultivation world in the matter of days. The books contained many research notes from various night-hunts, creation processes, and even notes on the failures and set backs found during the research phase; it would be an understatement to say they were a huge success and cultivators sought out these items as soon as they got wind of them.

The problems started soon after.

Everyone who wasn’t living under a rock knew how troublesome the marriage between the Jiang Sect Leader and his madam was. An arranged marriage that left neither participant with any benefits, the two were not a good fit. Even worse, the amount of gossip surrounding the home life of the Jiangs left many secretly wondering how they were still married, no matter how unpractical a divorce would be.

The Violet Spider’s reaction to the books and tools was not pleasant. Having been out on a night-hunt with her son at the time of their publication, she apparently found out by word of mouth. Customers at a restaurant in Ouyang having described the woman shouting in rage, destroying the table of a couple of rogue cultivators, and then rushing out with her heir and retinue.

As the Madam stormed her home, the doors to the sect were left wide open and the close distance to the civilians gave everyone a view of Yu ZiYuan shouting down her husband. Jiang Fengmian’s supposed infidelity and favoring of a bastard child were aired out once again for all in Lotus Pier to hear.

Even worse was the reaction of the heir, Jiang WanYin. Having been given Zidian by the Violent Spider for their night-hunt, the young heir took the whip to his da-shixiong, and the young author ended up brandishing his sword to defend himself. The end result of the fight left Jiang WanYin with a broken arm, and rumors spread that the Madam was now seeking to throw Wei WuXian from the sect.

Truly unpleasant.

Lan Qiren sighed, “Regardless, the Jiang Sect is offering for us to learn directly from Wei WuXian, and the competition their holding would be great experience for the junior disciples.”

Lan XiChen nodded in agreement, “Then I’ll look at our list of disciples and choose whom to take with us.”

Standing, Lan XiChen fixed his robes and then bowed to his uncle, “I have other duties to attend to, but I’ll get to the list as soon as possible. I’ll ask WangJi if he will attend as well. Do you need anything before I go, uncle?”

Shaking his head, Lan Qiren replied, “All is well. I will see you and WangJi later tonight.”

Watching his nephew leave, the elder Lan flicked his beard before standing and fixing his robes. Walking over to his bookshelf, he retrieved one of the newest additions to his personal library.

“Dao: Golden Cores and the many Paths of Cultivation by Wei WuXian”

Having acquired the book from his youngest nephew, Lan Qiren would never admit to having lost sleep trying to finish the book. Giving a thoughtful look at the materials, Lan Qiren couldn’t help but give a huff of amusement.

‘It seems that boy has learned some discipline after all.’

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The air around Lotus Pier was tense.

Purple clad disciples shuffled into each other, eyes downcast as they bowed at the retinue to Nie disciples, their sect leader, and second heir.

“Chifeng-zun, Second Young Master Nie, “a lower disciple said almost in a whisper, “Welcome to Lotus Pier.”

Nie Mingjue couldn’t help but frown as the Yunmeng disciples tittered about the gates, whispering amongst themselves. Servants quickly tended to their luggage, hastily informing them of where they would be staying for the discussion conference before scurrying off. Some of their faces were ashen and jittery, as if staying in one place for too long would bring some omen upon them.

‘Perhaps coming was a mistake, ‘he thought

“Da-ge, “the Nie Sect Leader looked to his little brother, “I don’t like this. I really don’t like this.”

“What? You want to go back to the Unclean Realm, “MingJue rasied an eyebrow

“No!, “Huaisang almost screamed in reply, “I...I’m worried about Wei-Xiong.”

Standing in the training ground with their disciples, the Nie brothers watched as disciples and servants alike scurried through the halls of Lotus Pier. All had their heads held downward as if they didn’t want to be noticed.

Nie Huaisang gave his brother a worried frown, “I’ve tried sending letters to Wei-Xiong before we came. The courier told me that Wei-Xiong was to be in seclusion until the discussion conference tomorrow.”

Returning his brother’s look, “Nie MingJue turned to observe the people of Lotus Pier once more

There were a couple disciples on the training grounds practicing their swordsmanship while others were a ways away practicing their archery. The sword training was going poorly, he observed, watching each disciple flinch as the loud *THUMP* of arrows hitting posts reached their ears.

The sight gave him a foreboding feeling.

“Nie Zongzhu, “Nie MingJue turned at the sound

“Jiang Zongzhu, “he nodded at the smiling man, “Thank you for this opportunity.”

“No need, “Jiang Fengmian shook his head, “This type of knowledge should be shared”

Jiang Fengmian turned to look at his training disciples. At the sight of their flinching, the man frowned at sighed.

Nie Huaisang walked to stand beside his brother, eyeing the Jiang Sect Leader.

“Is...is Wei-Xiong alright?, “Nie Huaisang asked while tightly gripping his fan

Jiang Fengmian paused, thinking for a bit, “Ah.....a-Xian is preparing for tomorrow.”

“Is that why he went into seclusion?, “he questioned

“It’s..., “the Jiang Sect Leader sighed, “I’m afraid that’s a personal matter, Second Young Master Nie.”

“But he’s okay, right?, “Nie Huaisang pressed

“He’s fine, “Jiang Fengmian’s smile returned, “You’ve known a-Xian for years. He’s always smiling no matter the adversity.”

Huaisang frowned at the reply, “Yeah...he’s...he’s really great.”

Placing a hand on his littler brother’s back, Nie MingJue nodded at Jiang Fengmian and started to lead his brother away, “Till tomorrow, Sect Leader Jiang.”

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The first week of the discussion conference seemed to go by in a flash. Each day was dedicated to a specific topic, invention, and/or book, Wei WuXian going into detail and answering any and all questions.

“Young Master Wei, do you intend to publish more?, “a sect leader asked one day

Smiling, Wei WuXian replied, “With more time and research, I plan to improve upon what I’ve already written, but more ideas will follow, I’m sure.”

After each lecture, minor sect leaders clamored to talk with the young man. Others sequestered Jiang Fengmian to a corner, talking up the young man and inquiring about tutoring for their heirs.

“My son is young and brash, perhaps a couple of week under Young Master Wei’s tutelage would straighten him out.”

“Jiang Zongzhu, my daughter has recently come of age and I was looking into decent matches for her. If you’d be inclined, I could get in touch with a matchmaker?”

The first seven days were almost repetitive in this way. Soon, however, the lectures came to an end and the final banquet before the competition was underway.

Like with the lectures, minor sect leaders cornered the Jiang Sect Leader and hounded him with questions and offers. The Jiang Sect Leader could only sigh and smile while he tried to talk down and placate the people around him.

Unlike with the lectures, disciples now felt more comfortable talking to the young Jiang cultivator now that wine was being circulated. Laughing and chatting up the young man, Wei WuXian found himself talking with disciples from multiple sects at once.

The banquet continued like this for a couple more hours. Both sect leader and head disciple moving about the room to talk to as many people as possible before the night’s end.

Said head disciple was currently talking with the leaders of the Lan contingent.

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan! It’s been far too long; how are you?”

Lan WangJi, “Wei Ying, “he nodded, “I am well”

Wei WuXian laughed, “That’s great!”

Facing the other two, he asked, “Lan-Laoshi, Zewu-jun, how are you?”

“We’re well, Young Master Wei, “Lan XiChen replied, “It’s been a long time since we’ve last spoken.”

‘It has, “Wei WuXian, “the last was back during the Qishan Archery Competition, wasn’t it?”

“Five years, “Lan Qiren replied, “You seem to have grown.”

“Ah, Lan-laoshi, “Wei WuXian gave a smirk, “Is that a compliment?”

Giving the younger man a blank look, Lan Wiren sighed before walking a little ways away.

“He still hates me, “Wei WuXian laughed at the Twin Jades

Lan WangJi shook his head at the man, “Xiaozhang and I enjoyed your books, “he stated

“Oh?, “Wei WuXian pondered

“Indeed, “Lan XiChen smiled, “I read your book on the Xiao and Dizi and was fascinated. I was wondering if you’d be willing to play a duet with me. Or maybe, try something on a night-hunt?

“A duet?, “Wei WuXian’s eyes widened before he grinned, “Of course, First Master Lan! No one else here plays the flute you see., “he chuckled

“Great, I’ll imagine we’ll have a lot of fun, “Lan XiChen grinned, “I’ll send an invitation for you to come to Cloud Recesses after we’ve settled back at home”

The air around the three men was light and cheerful. Lan XiChen and Wei WuXian chatted away, reminiscing about the past few years, and Lan WangJi added in his commentary when prompted.

Across the room, Yu ZiYuan was like a pot ready to boil over. A dark cloud surrounded the woman, making those not used to her temper and personality stay as far away from her side of the room as possible. Standing next to her was her best friend, Madam Jin.

“I guess it’s true then, “Madam Jin eyed Wei WuXian while he talked with the Twin Jades of Lan, “Has Jiang Fengmian finally admitted that he’s his bastard?, ”she turned to look at her friend

“Hah, no, “Yu ZiYuan laughed harshly, “he still denies it. Says this whole affair was to boost YunmengJiang’s relations. To attract promising disciples to the sects and bolster the coffers”

“That‘s not what most are going to believe though, is it, “Madam Jin scoffed, “He might as well admit it; he’s trying to depose his legitimate child for some half-breed”

At those words, the Violet Spider grew eerily quiet. The voices around them echoed through their ears, laughter and all matter of chatter going on around them. Madam Jin eyes her friend with a curious glace, wondering about the thoughts going through her friend’s head.

As if on auto-pilot, Madam Yu strode forward.

“ZiYuan?, “Madam Jin questioned

Yu ZiYuan stode the the bodies of cultivators, eyes focused on a singular target. Some eyed her warily as she pushed passed them; the rumors from before popping up in some of their heads as they looked to see where she was headed.

“Zewu-jun knows how to jest! Unexpected, “Wei WuXian chuckled, “Ah, Lan Zhan, you never told me your brother was this funny.”

“I wasn’t jesting, Young Master Wei, “the Lan sect’s heir smiled, “I’ve heard about your ChenQing and the melodies she plays.”

“Indeed, “Wei WuXian grinned back, “Oh, Lan Zhan, we could play a duet as well! What do you say? I’ll even let you pick the song. Or, the three of us could play something together.”

“You”

Wei WuXian paused and turned around, “Oh, Yu Furen-

*SLAP*

The sound of the slap silenced the entire room. Eyes turned to see Wei WuXian holding his cheek and Yu Ziyuan’s manicured hand raised high.

“You son of a servant!”

Reaching out, Yu ZiYuan yanked at Wei WuXian long tresses and threw him to the ground. Fisting his hair in her hand, she growled.

“You think you can do as you please in my home? Need I remind you who is the master here? Huh!”

Raising her other hand high, Yu ZiYuan brought it down with force.

*SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP*

“You think you’re above my A-Cheng. You think you’re the master of YunmengJiang?!”

*SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP*

“Well, let me tell you something. I am the Madam of YunmengJiang, and you will always be the son of whore!”

With a snarl, Yu ZiYuan threw Wei WuXian’s head back and at the same time kicked him harshly in the face.

“Mother!, “Jiang Yanli‘s voice broke through the crowd, “A-Xian!”

Everyone was frozen where they stood. The vehemence that radiated from Madam Yu shocked them so much she might as well have turned them to stone.

Wei WuXian coughed and sat up, One hand was covering his nose as blood rushed and stained his robes.

The dark cloud around the Violet Spider seemed to grow ever larger as towered over the young man. Her eyes were full of malice and an ugly snarl was stretched across her face.

Zidian unfurled.

“Conniving Dog!, “the Violet Spider seethed with hatred

With a scream, the whip lashed toward Wei WuXian. In front of everyone, the sight of Zidian tearing across his back was burned into their minds.

Flesh and blood flew as the whip dug deep and tore the skin. Rearing back, Yu ZiYuan let out a roar and striked again.

And again.

“Sanniang enough!”

For what seemed like forever, the Violet Spider vented her rage at the young man, her grunts, shouts, and insults filled everyone’s ears and bounced around in their heads. After what seemed like an eternity, Yu ZiYuan finally lowered the whip.

Voices cried out.

“Wei-Xiong!”

“Young Master Wei!”

“Wei Ying!”

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Author’s Notes:

-If there’s any confusion, this is a No SSC fic. So far, the only thing Wen Ruohan did was the Waterborne Abyss, but has not made a move in seven years.

-If you didn’t read the tags, I’ll remind you that this isn’t a fic for JC or Madam Yu fans. I will write them with their canon characteristics, I will not woobify them to fit your fanon nor will I excuse their abusive actions.

Read my other Prompts and WIPs [Here]

#wei wuxian #wwx #grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #grand master of demonic cultivation #mdzs #gdc #the untamed #oc #original character #lan wangji #lan xichen #lxc #nie mingjue #nmj #nie huaisang #nhs #lan qiren #lqr #lwj

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moons-and-stars-and-shit · 3 years

Note

Congrats on 300!!!!!🎉

Can I have a star matchup please 💕

My zodiac is aquarius (and also my moon is cancer, and my rising leo... You probably don't need it but it's there) and my self ship is suga or iwa (you can choose which on you want to do ☺️)

Again congratulations...and have a wonderful rest of your day/night ( ◜‿◝ )♡

@011tsukishima

𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣 𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕦𝕡 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕊𝕦𝕘𝕒 ♊︎♒︎

𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑠 🪐

Aquarius is ruled by the Planets Saturn (Karma) and Uranus (Rebellion)

Gemini by the Planet Mercury (Communication).

Saturn and Uranus combine their powers to lend Aquarius their progressive, original mind and the determination to put their ideas to good use.

Aquarius is the great humanitarian of the Zodiac. Gemini is a great thinker and conversationalist, and can easily help out if Aquarius gets stuck on an idea and needs a little mental shove.

Gemini’s more flexible mind can greatly aid Aquarius in times of tension or rigidity.

𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 🔥💧🍃🌬

Both Aquarius and Gemini are Air Signs.

Their intellectual bond is strong and true.

They’re both quite social by nature

Gemini is witty and chatty, in love with impressing people with that quick and agile brain

and Aquarius loves all sorts of people.

The more different kinds of people Aquarius knows, the better Aquarius feels in life.

Both Signs’ interests are multiple and wide-ranging.

Gemini’s penchant for good talks and debates is satisfied by the many experiences these two Signs are likely to share.

𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 🤞

Trust is a strange thing for this couple. We should emphasize that they will trust each other.

Aquarius finds lying ridiculous and Gemini will usually feel free enough not to lie.

On the other hand, Aquarius understands one’s need for privacy

For this is a sign where Neptune is exalted.

They will both probably have this ultimate trust for their partner and are rarely deceived because of their premise to give and receive freedom as an absolute priority.

None of them will have any satisfaction in storytelling or lying when there are so many interesting things to talk about with their weirdo partner, and so little to share that will be judged

𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 🤝

When Gemini and Aquarius engage in an intellectual debate, they are fun for everyone to watch.

They stimulate each other’s mind to such a point that they fire arguments they weren’t aware existed in their thoughts.

While Gemini will probably be fascinated by the belief system of Aquarius, always so rational and humane

Aquarius will have an opportunity to relieve some of their ego problem with their Gemini partner.

The mutable quality of Gemini will allow them to adapt to some of those rigid Aquarian attitudes and opinions even if they disagree.

Gemini does have this mellow nature that understands the flow of the social touch with other people, and will rarely fight for their beliefs with someone they feel really close to.

This is a good thing for their everyday life, but in general, this can present a problem because the authentic personality of Gemini could be shushed until they are not sure who they are anymore

It is important for them to have enough flexibility for one another

No mstter how different their premises might be.

Still, it is best if they share the same basic life philosophy, which they usually do, or they could get distant and lose interest in each other.

As two Air representatives they find that communication is the solution to any problem, but aren’t aware how far from Earth they might get with their ideas unrealized and their goals unreached because of too much talk, and too little action.

𝐸𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 😠😔😊

We could say that Gemini and Aquarius understand each other perfectly when it comes to their emotions.

Usually this is true, but that doesn’t mean this is what they both need.

In most cases, their rational, mental natures will complement each other in an exciting way, but there is not much emotion to be built in the core of their relationship.

It seems that both of these partners need to find someone a bit warmer in order to feel things more deeply and light their passionate hearts.

They will much more often become friends than lovers, even if they were attracted to each other when they first met.

𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 🤲

Suffice it to say that they both value intellect.

The rest is just something that other signs worry about.

However, Aquarius can be very passionate about their humane beliefs and will often support them strongly.

This is something Gemini can understand but rarely supports.

Because of the fact that Aquarius partner values equality of the people as much as their own freedom, this can be their point of separation, even though Gemini partner does not really disagree.

𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦𝑠 💪

Aquarius is the only sign capable to really surprise Gemini.

They are so different than everyone else and represent a step that Gemini should climb if they want their life to be unbelievable.

This is not always the case because some of the Aquarius’ weirdness can be a show off, designed by their need to mend their turbulent Sun.

Still, it is exciting for them both to enter this relationship

Aquarius to surprise and Gemini to follow them wherever they go.

Their main activity to be shared is movement.

They could drive thousands of miles just to find a specific ice cream or for no reason at all.

Mostly they can do anything together, from travelling and clubbing, to reading labels and instructions on the use of different kitchenware.

𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦 💕

Gemini needs a partner who doesn’t bore them or make them feel inhibited.

When you look at things this way, you could say that there is no better match for them than the fabulous Aquarius.

Aquarius needs someone to understand their grandiose ideas and discuss each one with them, and also someone who doesn’t make them feel inhibited.

Who could do this better than Gemini?

However, they could find themselves in a relationship that doesn’t have enough emotion and compassion, and this is certain to surface as soon as the first disturbing thing happens in the life of one of these partners.

They need to work on their emotional base and their non-verbal understanding if they want their relationship to last.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu fandom #haikyuu hcs #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu matchups #suga #sugawara #suga x reader #suga x y/n #suga x you #sugawara x y/n #sugawara x reader #sugawara x you #astrology #Gemini #aquarius #300FollowerEvent

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teamfreewill2pointo · 3 years

Text

Family Don't End with Blood Transcription

Family Don't End with Blood Transcription [twitter version]

Jared: So, in Supernatural, our character Bobby Singer played by the wonderful Jim Beaver has a quote, “family don't end in blood”.

Jensen: You know, it's one of the many, kind of, mottos of-of Supernatural and it is the family that you choose and it is the people that you care about and that you fight next to and that you fight to save. And that inspire you. And that push you.

Singer: No, I think definitely the family was going to be a theme right from the beginning. I mean the Pilot story was and- and whatever the mythology of season one was- was, you know, the search for dad.

Dabb: You'll watch the first few moments of the Pilot and it very clearly plants this flag about what it is. It is a family show.

Misha: Like who's your clan and who are the people you care about the most? And obviously, two orphaned brothers couldn't care about anything in the world more than one another, but they envelop this community of people who also care about them and one another. Alex: Sam and Dean and Cas and Jack and these host of characters are kind of... with loss forced to reassess what family is, and what I love about the show is they kind of build their own version of that.

Jared: There's so many characters along the way that Sam and Dean treated as they would treat each other. Dabb: I think that was a core part of this, because Sam and Dean are two guys that, because they define everything by family, they're always looking for a family.

Jared: You know, not everybody out there has a wonderful family life as far as their- their blood relatives.

Dabb: Sam and Dean come from a very dysfunctional family. Their father suffered this great, you know, world shattering tragedy and really spent the entire rest of his life trying to get revenge. And unfortunately, Sam and Dean came second to that.

Dabb: So when they got to be an adult, and I think a lot of people that come from dysfunctional families find this... is it becomes less about the family you're born into and it becomes about your family by choice.

Jensen: When you find someone that's willing to fight alongside you for what you collectively believe is the right thing, then it instantly makes you brothers and sisters in arms. And that's exactly what these two brothers found. They found other brothers and sisters in arms.

Singer: Bobby really served as a, you know, a father figure. One thing we always tried to do is that if we had a guest character that really kind of hit the mark, we would say oh, you know, we got to keep going with this- with this person. Bobby, that, character is certainly one of them.

Beaver: If you're walking the walk, and not just talking the talk, I think probably respects that immensely and- and he sees that in Sam and Dean.

Buckner: Crowley, Charlie, Jack, Rowena... all these people had a commonality. I mean, they were all alone in their own little universes to a- to an extent.

Singer: When Misha showed up... and created the- the Castiel character, we knew we had something special.

Misha: It's been such an interesting arc with the character of Castiel on Supernatural.

Jensen: You know sure the story at the core was- was about these brothers, but it was also about this- this ragtag gang of fighters.

Samantha Smith: Most hunters are solitary. It’s lonely. And, when they can connect with other people who understand their pain and their life and their dedication and their purpose, there's going to be a bond there.

Jensen: I'm thankful for, not only the characters and how they were written and how they affected the Winchester's, but also for the actors and actresses that have portrayed them, because they too have become family with Jared and I. And they are- they're part of this crazy circus that is supernatural.

Dabb: Jared and Jensen are both excellent actors, but I think their biggest achievement on this show is the example they were able to set for everybody. And you know, it's kind of a famous story, but Eric Kripke sat them down, you know, the first season we're like, “This is your show. You guys set the tone of this show.”

Kripke: They're bringing so much more to it than I ever could have written, in their grounding it and they're making it real. And it's clear you watch these guys, and they're smart guys, going through this story and I'm-I’m thrilled.

Dabb: Both Jared and Jensen are capable of carrying a show on their own. As they now will go off and do, I'm sure. The fact that we could get them together for this period of time- again, I don’t know that’s something you are going to repeat on a TV show for a while.

Buckner: They-they really are quite incredible. Jensen learned to tap dance for an episode... I keep hearing the phrase “once in a lifetime” and probably so.

Dabb: To get two guys at this caliber who are leading men to come in and do that job into it so well, and so thoughtfully- again I-I said it earlier, but I don't think I'm gonna find that again in my career.

Jensen: That's the crazy thing about being on a show this long and- and not just being on a show this long, but being with a large- a large majority of our crew has been with us either from the beginning 15 years or they've been with us 12 years, or 10 years, or eight years.

Jensen: That's a long, long time for these professionals to be in one- to be on one job.

Singer: Our set was always loose. The crew felt part of the family. They were in on the joke. The guys were always great to the crew, had great respect for the crew.

Sheppard: Truly great people all at the peak of their abilities. Some great, great wonderful writers, some extraordinary producers over the years, the various showrunners from Kripke at the beginning, to Sera, to- to Jeremy, to Andrew. It's been an amazing journey.

Misha: I've just been both grateful and inspired to be around a crew like this. We laugh so much and I-I know that Jared and Jensen and the producers all agree, we wouldn't be here if the crew of Supernatural wasn't the crew that it is.

Alex Calvert: I came into this show relatively late compared to everybody else.

The relationships that I've seen at work and away from work are incredible. People have started families. People have had kids on the show. You know, I think these people are-are gonna be in each other's lives forever because of this bond that they formed.

Dabb: This is a show where assistants have gone on to write scripts.

This is a show where crew people have gone on to direct. It's a show that has tried to be supportive to people who show that passion and that work ethic to get up there and do it. I certainly have felt supported. I mean, I-I went from a staff writer to running the show and you know, so obviously I felt very supported (laughs) in kind of my goals.

Jared: You know, I've-I’ve met my wife, mother of my kids. I met one of my groomsmen. I met a ton of dear friends, and I have a new extended family, our SPN family.

Jared: I'm honored and flattered and grateful that I got to be a part of that journey.

Alex: I think the- the overwhelming thing that I'd like to express for me and I think for a lot of people on the show that maybe don't get a say, which I want to represent, is the crew and the people that build the show and paint the show.

Alex: You know, costume to show and- and are here everyday working on it. I think a lot of it is just gratitude and thankfulness that- that we get to do what we do.

Dabb: On the writing side of it here in Burbank, that's always felt like there's a family atmosphere. I feel it's a great gift where we work with so many people that are both talented and professional.

Buckner: They- a lot of laughter in that room. I remember a tabletop strewn with toys, and play-dough, and slinkies, and etcha-a-sketches, and blocks that got played with endlessly. I know there's a whole wall covered with index cards with various, either funny, pointless, or stupid, things that the writers have said over the course of many, many, many meetings that's tacked up on a wall. And remember just a lot of give and take and a lot of feelings of safety in that room. It was maybe the largest production office I've worked in. The tiki bar in the middle of the office, always laid out with cakes or whatever for birthdays.

Eugenie: We were a community. We were a brotherhood. We were a sisterhood. And, that kind of was the way everything was run.

Buckner: One of the writers I remember once, had major surgery and had to come to work in sweats, a really loose fitting stuff. So a lot of the writers showed up in PJs as a-as a sort of show of solidarity. So there's just lots of ways that people supported each other.

Dabb: And I just feel incredibly lucky to have worked with, number one with Bob Singer because I've worked with him for 15 years now. It has been the most rewarding... partnership, mentorship, whatever you want to call it, of my professional life. In terms of being able to learn from him.

Jared: His involvement in the series was so necessary from day one. He can walk on set, look at me, not really saying anything, just give me a face, and I'm like got it. And that's built over time.

Singer: I come in with a plan, but it's not chipped in stone and then, you know, lots of times, you know, the guys would have ideas. Sometimes I would accept them readily. Sometimes, we had to talk about them, but there was always this mutual respect.

Jensen: He has been just this... Yoda character for our show. I call him my confident captain. He's just- he's been- he's been the real compass of this- of the show for so long.

We have come together in times of crisis. We've lost several of our crew members. We lost Yap. We lost Matt Riley. We lost Kim Manners in Season 4.

Singer: Kim was a great guy and a great director. Everybody responded to his talent but also to who he was.

Jared: He used to say, you know, we're not curing cancer, and I spend more time with you than I do my wife, my kids, my dogs. So, if we're not having a good time, then what are we doing?

And so we tried to make sure that we kept it light and that we all realized like hey, we're putting on makeup and playing pretend for a living.

Sheppard: I came into a couple of episodes, with a show that Kim Manners told me I really needed to do someday because I would really enjoy it and I'd love the boys. And he was right. He was absolutely right.

Singer: The hardest part of season four was- was losing Kim. And I think the… the best thing we could say about losing Kim was that we never replaced him. I didn't feel like anyone should have that job other than- than Kim. So, you know, that was hard.

Jensen: I'm not quite sure when the-the phrase was coined, but the SPN family, as the- the fandom is- is lovingly known as. What we are on set as a crew is now reflected in- in what we see as a fandom.

Misha: The SPN family, Supernatural family. I've seen so many instances of people gathering together to go support a Supernatural fan.

Misha: It's so lovely and inspiring and I-I-I honestly, you know, hope that that could serve as a template for how greater society works.

Buckner: When these guys were feeling for each other, or for other characters, or when they were afraid, or, you know, when they loved somebody, it just radiated off the screen, and the fans really picked up on that.

Jared: I know several of the fans personally and care about them deeply. And it's neat to talk about a shared passion. Man, I love Supernatural too. Like, I love the storyline too. I like that episode too. Like let's talk about it.

Jensen: We have this unique situation with our show where we're able to do these fan conventions and we do them quite often and it gives us an opportunity to get in front of a lot of these people and have honest real conversations with them face-to-face. And that's, in my opinion, that's helped shape the show.

Buckner: And this is not just limited to the United States. It's a worldwide thing. I mean, there are these conventions held, you know, everywhere in the world.

Eugenie: The fans are so polite. They're- they're very respectful of each other's appreciation of the same show they appreciate. It's like we're all in this together.

Alex Calvert: I can tell you that the people that I've met and that have been affected by the show and the fans of the show will- will tell you a hundred times over that this is not the end, that this goes on forever.

Singer: They've bonded over this show. And-and have created their own Supernatural family. And have a tremendous respect for what we do, but respect for each other.

Just a motivation of why we wanted to always keep the show going and keep it fresh was not to disappoint the fans. We certainly didn't want to disappoint them, because we didn't want to disappoint family members.

Dabb: There's nothing I won't miss. This has been, creatively speaking, an incredible gift.

Buckner: Just be able to go to work and have that kind of freedom and not dread going into a place.

Jensen: We love the show. We love the story.

We love these characters. We love the- we love the people that we make this show with. I hope and I believe that that translates on camera.

Eugenie: You know, there's always reruns. I'll always be able to see Sam and Dean.

Alex Calvert: I think everybody loves that- that Sam and Dean, you know, can go through hell together literally, and give each other a big hug at the end of it and know that they're gonna be alright because they have each other. I think that's a really beautiful concept of the show.

Singer: That bond is really, I think, you know, the heart and soulless show, and what gave us the longevity that we had.

Misha: I also genuinely hope that the supernatural family is something that carries on past the end of the shooting of the show. I hope we can continue collectively to do good in the world and to set a good example and to be a family to one another.

Jared: Sam and Dean, much like Jared and Jensen, over the course of Supernatural were allowed to add many members to their family, and they would do anything for their family members and vice versa. This world and this journey isn't just about fighting for yourself or fighting for somebody that it'll- it'll benefit you. It's not about the glory. It's about doing what's right and taking care of good people. And I think Supernatural from day one has been able to accomplish that. [Huge thanks to Kira who helped me clean this up!!]

End of the Road Special Transcription Winchester Mythology Transcription

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fakeikemen · 4 years

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The Roku/Sozin ancestry plot twist for Zuko

Like I’m sure this has been said before but the twist about Zuko being a descendant of both Roku and Sozin is actually a disservice to his character and his narrative as well? The way the narrative frames this reveal along with Iroh's dialogue, it backtracks on a lot of the story we are shown in Book 1&2 (and sometimes it even clashes with some dialogues in Book 3).

Iroh: “Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself. Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your legacy. But, there is a bright side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world.”

1. This implies that there are equal amounts of good and evil in Zuko and his internal struggle is about choosing one of them.

The core qualities of Zuko as a character are empathy, compassion and kindness. A person who always gets upset when he sees or even thinks about other people in pain, a person who spoke out against powerful people to save lives that were being sacrificed needlessly, a person who shows mercy to people who don’t deserve it, a person who is willing to reach out a hand to save the life of the man who tried to kill him, a person who avoids fights when possible, a person who is willing to fight on behalf of a family he has known for only one night, a person who reaches out to sympathise after being yelled at— a person like this is definitely not struggling with equal parts of good and evil within them.

Zuko does have two selves, but they can be categorised as pre-scar and post-scar.

His pre-scar version is the version who was unabashedly kind and compassionate, who spoke his mind without thinking of consequences. But his post-scar version was a cover up of the pre-scar version. It was a lie that Zuko lived everyday. He convinced himself that this was how he had to be; because this was what Ozai wanted him to be and that there was no other way.

And yet, when the situation is dire and he is depending on his instincts or when he is given a free choice, we see the pre-scar Zuko spring into action. Because that’s who he really is. It’s not a struggle between good and evil within him, it is his supressed self making an appearance when he slips up and fails to maintain his facade.

Perhaps the line that describes his internal struggle the best is this:

Zuko, imitating Iroh: Zuko, you have to look within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self, reveal itself.

And while this dialogue was played for laughs, it is the most accurate description of how Zuko had to reach for his suppressed self, his real self, to save himself from becoming what Ozai wanted him to be.

2. It also implies that Ozai and Ursa had equal influence on Zuko's upbringing and that he struggled to chose between what was taught to him by Ursa (good) and Ozai (evil).

The idea that Zuko has equal amounts of good and evil inside himself goes hand in hand with idea that the good and evil traits in him have been passed onto him by Ursa and Ozai's upbringings respectively which are legacies of Roku and Sozin.

I don’t need to look any further than “Zuko Alone” to know that Ozai's impact on Zuko's upbringing was slim to none. The flashbacks that we see, are dominated by Ursa's presence. Ozai hardly gets any time onscreen. And when he does, he is shown as a silhouette and when he isn’t a silhouette, we only see him smile at Azula's display of skills and frown at Zuko's attempt.

Ozai was Zuko's father alright, but never in the ways that mattered. We know that Ozai abused Zuko. He constantly belittled him and compared him to Azula. Partially because Zuko lacked the natural talent that Azula had and partially because he lacked the ruthlessness and cruelty that Azula displayed even at her age.

Which made Zuko copy Azula's behaviour to get his father’s acceptance. But whenever Ursa noticed this, she immediately corrected Zuko and clearly told him that it was wrong.

Ozai is never shown to tell Zuko that whatever Ursa told him was wrong. Ozai personally never taught him anything (except that one time). He appreciated Azula's behaviour and encouraged her to keep it up but he just kept on expressing his disappointment in Zuko.

Ursa: Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.

Zuko's innate kindness and compassion were protected by Ursa in the formative years when he was at his most pliable. And this is why no matter what happens, he never loses these qualities and is able to retain his real self even after he tried hard to suppress it.

3. It diminishes the extent of psychological damage and trauma caused by the scarring incident.

The one time Ozai did take it upon himself to teach something to Zuko:

Ozai: You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.

(Notice that here too Ozai's form is silhouetted against the light behind him.)

The scar is so much more than just a scar to Zuko. It is the one lesson that Ozai taught him. The scar exists because of Zuko's innate compassion. It was put on his face in an attempt to burn out his compassion. It was put there to be a constant reminder of what would happen if he dared to do something that went against what Ozai wanted from him. The scar was Ozai’s brand on his face. It took away Zuko's autonomy to make decisions for himself. It was a constant reminder that Zuko’s opinions didn’t matter.

Post-scar Zuko is Zuko's attempt at supressing his real persona to become the person Ozai wanted him to be, because he learned the hard way that he didn’t have the choice to be anyone else.

In fact, the first time Zuko makes a deliberate choice to go against what was expected of him, (letting Appa go) he succumbed to a fever. His emotional turmoil of coming to terms with the fact that he didn’t need to listen to Ozai and abide by him; a notion that he had been force feeding himself, everyday, for the last three years, manifested itself physically in the form of a fever. That was how deep the psychological damage caused by the scar was. (I hate it when people call it an angst coma.)

Saying that Zuko was struggling with equal amounts of good and evil within him, oversimplifies the complex emotional trajectory he had about coming to terms with the abuse he went through and reclaiming his autonomy and his personal opinions and beliefs, into just a choice between two aspects of his personality.

Zuko: I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I'd lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was.

4. This implies that Zuko's destiny was pre-determined.

Iroh said in the dialogue that Zuko was born with the power to restore balance in the world and that only he could do it.

Zuko, the character who has always had to struggle to gain what he wanted is suddenly told of an advantage that he had just by the virtue of birth? Kinda defeats the purpose of: "Azula was born lucky; I was lucky to be born", if you ask me.

And even more importantly, he let go of the destiny that Ozai forced on him, only to take on another predetermined destiny; a destiny that was his to fulfil by the virtue of birth, and took steps to fulfil this other destiny, instead of making a destiny of his own and paving his own path to it by making the choices that he had been denied for so long because of Ozai. Which seems weird because all the other times Iroh talks to Zuko about this topic, he always emphasises on how it’s Zuko's choice to make his own destiny:

Lake Laogai:

Zuko: I want my destiny.

Iroh: What that means is up to you.

Lake Laogai:

Zuko: I know my own destiny, Uncle!

Iroh: Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?

Zuko: Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!

Iroh: I'm begging you, Prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you want?

Crossroads of Destiny:

Iroh: Zuko, I am begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want.

Western Air Temple:

Iroh: You know Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind, and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday.

5. It indirectly implies that the good™ in Ursa and Zuko exists because they are a part of the Avatar's legacy.

Making Ursa a daughter of a nobleman (as intended originally)* would’ve served a much better purpose for the message that the episode was trying to get across: “the Fire Nation isn’t inherently evil”.

Katara: You mean, after all Roku and Sozin went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin betrayed him like that?

Toph: It's like these people are born bad.

Aang: Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance.

Had Ursa not been Roku’s descendant, then there would've been people other than just Roku and his descendants, who were Fire Nation and good™. (Iroh is literally the only exception.)

Moreover, Azula is just as much a part of “Roku’s legacy” as Zuko is, and yet is completely overlooked when it comes to it. She isn’t shown to be struggling with equal amounts of good and evil. She isn’t gifted at birth with the capacity to bring balance back to the world. It appears as if she had inherited only “Sozin's legacy”.

So, not only does this Roku/Sozin twist go against Zuko's fundamental characterisation, but it also partially deconstructs the narrative that had been carefully set up for him over the course of 2 seasons.

*(I have been looking relentlessly for the post where I saw two screen caps of the two different characterisations of Ursa: 1. Ursa as we see her in "Zuko Alone"; 2. Ursa as Roku's descendant. And I can't find it now otherwise I would've linked it.)

#i saw a vid on atla's official yt abt zuko #and the way his entire narrative was shown to be hinged on #being roku and sozin's descendant #it pissed me off; so here's the rant #zuko #zuko meta #prince zuko #atla zuko #atla #atla meta #ozai #lady ursa #azula #roku #sozin #avatar #avatar the last airbender #ira's posts

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rjhpandapaws · 3 years

Text

A Hand in the Matter

Ch4: Something to Think About

//warning for comparison and self worth issues.

Gavin was an outlier for Richard, an oddity if sorts, that had come into his life. He didn't have friends, coworkers and classmates, yes, but not friends. No one had stuck around before, not until Gavin. Richard didn't branch out easily, and well, most of the people he had met weren't all that inclined to learn to communicate with him. Silas and Connor both had friends in spades and Richard had never envied them. Having the two of them had been enough. Then, along came Gavin, who stuck, and Richard wanted to know why.

Unlike Connor, he wasn't overly kind, friendly, or compassionate. He wasn't good for conversation for one blatantly obvious reason. He wasn't known to go out of his way for others. Where Connor was a warm comfort; Richard was cold and unsettling. Or so he had been told. Personally, he believed himself to be carefully neutral, not expressing anything unless it was needed. Connor's easily gifted smiles were not something Richard understood. He was neither compassion or kindness, and yet, Gavin stayed.

Perhaps then, it was to use him. Gavin wouldn't be the first if that was the case. The thought left guilt sitting bitter on the back of his tongue. Outside of class Gavin still interacted with him. Sent him pictures of his cat, of things he thought Richard would like. The interactions were simple and seemed to come easy to Gavin. It didn't seem to bother him that Richard wouldn't always respond to them. It was, strange. If not out of ill means, why stick to someone who didn't indulge your antics.

He was different from Silas as well. Silas could take command of a room just by entering it, he was bright and vibrant, full of life in ways Richard just wasn't. Standing beside Silas Richard was as good as invisible. Silas was not genuinely kind in the way that Connor was, but made up for it by being captivating and out going, wrapping people around his finger left and right. Things that never did and never would apply to Richard. He held none of the qualities that drew people to his brothers, and yet Gavin stayed.

Perhaps then, his motive was pity. Maybe through Gavin's eyes he was a creature to be ogled at, observed, something for him to decipher for the sheer purpose of saying he'd been able to. A trophy friend of sorts. Someone Gavin could show to his other friends as a token of his good nature. That thought hurt, badly, and didn't quite sit well in Richard's chest. Gavin was doing things that no one aside from his brothers had done. He was learning Sign Language, doing abysmally, but trying.

It had only been a week. Six days technically, but no one was asking. Gavin would try and initiate conversations in sign, mostly finger-spelling before resorting to speech or text. It was the most effort anyone outside of his family had put into learning him. Richard was moved by it.

If Richard was honest, he didnt exactly understand his own attachment to Gavin all that well either. He was loud, combative, and overly stubborn most days. To top it off he had a penchant for starting fights, and losing them. One instance getting so bad Richard had to step in, removing Gavin from the situation. Under normal circumstances, Richard would have avoided a person like Gavin as though they were death itself, but with Gavin he didn't. Couldn't, and he didn't know why. It was eating at him and he hated it. Why did Gavin stay? What was it about Richard he liked?

He was startled out of his spiral by his phone going off several times in rapid succession. A string of messages that usually indicated that Gavin was reaching out to him again.

Gavin Reed: Hey dipshit

Gavin Reed: We still getting coffee

Gavin Reed: I'm outside the cafe where are you

Gavin Reed: Did you forget?

Gavin Reed: You forgot

Gavin Reed: You bribed me into studying with fucking coffee and you aren't even fucking here. What the fuck.

Richard read through the texts and gave a weak smile, the dark cloud over his mind relenting some as he typed his response.

Me: I didn't forget. I'm just running late. I will be there soon.

Gavin Reed: See you soon

Gavin Reed: Asshole

Richard rolled his eyes, choosing to leave Gavin on read as he grabbed what he needed before heading out. They would be studying at Hand Brewed Hope, for easy to caffeine while they studied and so Gavin could learn a few more signs. Ones that were used in day to day conversation. They had a test coming up in Psychology that Gavin was less than ideally prepared for, and Richard was going to help him.

He met Gavin outside the cafe feeling his mood lighten a little more. For the sake of having a bit of fun sent Gavin a challenge and a bribe.

Me: Bet you won't sign your drink order. I'll buy the coffees tomorrow if you do.

Richard figured it would be easy. The words at least, were something he said everyday. Learning to sign it seemed like the reasonable next step. Not according to Gavin if the gesture that was sent Richard's way as he grabbed the door was anything to go by.

"If I fuck this up I'm blaming you." Gavin groused as he fell in line behind Richard, "But hey, free coffee is free coffee."

Richard rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. There was atill someone between him and the counter so he could text without being an asshole.

Me: The signs are up on the menu. If you fuck up its because you're dumb.

"Well that was rude." Gavin spouted off, but as Richard ordered his drink he was distinctly aware of the lack of argument from his counterpart, "Just because I'm not some kind of genius like you doesn't make me dumb."

He paid for his drink and headed to the receiving counter to wait it out. He looked over at Gavin raising an eyebrow in an unspoken dare. The best way he had found to get Gavin to do something was to imply that he couldn't. In this case, it worked. Gavin's signing was shaky and childlike but he got his point across well enough. Richard was proud of him.

"Well? How did I do?" It was asked in a tone that implied 'see? I told you' and it made Richard smile.

Me: Looks like I'm buying drinks tomorrow.

Gavin lit up as they headed for a table to settle in and start studying. Richard's phone went off three times and he turned to look back at Connor. His brother was staring back at him in abject confusion. Once he was sat down he looked at his phone.

Connor: So Machiatto Guy knows sign language apparently??

Connor: You two are friends??? You are a raccoon tamer???

Connor: Explaination please??

Richard looked at his brother again and shook his head. This would be his secret a while longer. At least he now knew who Machiatto Guy was.

#A Hand in the Matter #dbh #gavin reed #rk900 #reed900 #dbh gavin #dbh nines #nonverbal nines #dbh connor

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afoolforatook · 3 years

Text

Oh look... another rant about James Ironwood.....

I’ve gotten into this some before but I’ve been thinking about it a lot since Witch (I wrote most of this like that day, but then put off ever really finishing it, but in light of the preview for tomorrow’s ep…….I feel like I need to get this out, so…)

(still not 100% on how I said all of this but I’m making myself finish it even though I’m kinda foggy headed before the ep, so apologies if I missed some poor wording in anything)

So, Fear came on while I was in the shower and… Honestly, I’ve had a bit of a roller coaster with Fear over the past 12 months. I love the song, but something about it didn’t sit right with me at first to be honest, though I wasn’t quite sure what.

It’s a gorgeous song. And the message seems like such a staple, good moral. It’s the whole ‘the greatest thing to fear is fear itself’ idea; that we have to stand strong against fear; fear is the true evil and can cause even the best intentions to go wrong.

But, the thing that always bothers me about those messages, or at least how a lot of people tend to interpret them, is the idea that we should judge a person’s morals ultimately by their reaction to fear. And specifically by them not handling their fear well. The idea that how we act in the face of fear is who we truly are deep down, that being truly ‘good’ means never letting that fear win, and if you do, then you must be weak, or a villain, or selfish, or a coward.

And that has never sat right with me.

(got long so rest under read more)

In a tags rant a while back I got into how, to me, James Ironwood is Qrow’s foil. In the sense of ‘a character who chooses to be kind despite all their pain’.

Qrow is that character people tend to love, who is torn down over and over and still pushes himself to be good and kind, and —that we have seen— he usually wins that battle. He has backsliding moments of course (the entirety of V6 is a good example) but even then, he doesn’t really fall into the deep end as far as letting his pain and fear turn him mean or controlling. He might not be particularly pleasant, he might be listless and blunt or even grouchy, but he still cares and he tries to keep to himself and keep his mood from making him outright mean (aside from hitting Oscar, which I’m not gonna get into here cause that’s a whole thing on its own and this isn’t about Qrow)

But here is James as a foil comes in.

Qrow is the character who is pushed to his breaking point over and over, who hits rock bottom. But he has the support around him to be able to keep getting back up, to keep having the emotional ability to choose to be good, to do the right thing.

James? He doesn’t have that support. He has Winter and the Ops and an entire army under him, but he doesn’t have any real personal support. The closest we’ve ever really seen to him having peers or friends, is the hug with Qrow in V7, and Clover’s comment about trusting him with his life (and calling him James, which we’d just been told is only what his friends call him).

And I don’t mean support as in someone telling him what he’s doing is right, someone backing him up in his decisions, making him feel better.

Qrow’s support that got him back on track? It was Ruby standing her ground and telling him to stop treating them like kids he had to protect; to trust them to be able to do the right thing; to stop putting all the blame and responsibility on himself. It was calling him out on how he was letting his personal struggles affect how he treated and ultimately viewed the kids.

James needs this too. He needs someone he trusts to tell him that he’s wrong, but that he can still try to make it right. (RWBY doesn’t count because, at the time that they stood up to him, he had just found out that Blake and Yang had, in his eyes, betrayed his trust. And for a man who is in a sharp spiral of having all his worst fears and paranoia confirmed, that means they can’t be trusted at all.)

We love the character who pushes and continues to be good and kind through hardship. Who continues to do the right thing with the strength they have left.

But everyone has a true breaking point. A point where they have pushed for so long and tried so hard, but then one thing goes too far and they don’t have the support to lean on, to help them keep fighting. And, despite having tried so hard to do the right thing, even thinking this still is the right thing, they react out of fear and pain.

Ren called out Yang on her fear, and her masking it.

We love the character who stands in the face of their fear, who meets it head on and doesn’t let it rule them. We love the character who gets back up over and over and chooses to keep fighting, their enemies, and their own fear and pain.

But, what if one day, after years and years of fighting and pain and loss and paranoia and hard decisions, what if Yang gave into that fear, even just once? What if any of the kids did? What if they reached their limit and, even without realizing it, made the wrong choice because they were tired and afraid and hurting? And people got hurt because of it? Would that undo all the times they’d been ‘strong’ before? Would they be selfish, villains, cowards? Would they be weak?

This is the problem when we see ‘giving into/reacting out of fear’ as a definite moral indicator. When we say that who you really are deep down is shown by the choices that you make when you’re afraid.

Because it’s not.

And that idea doesn't take into account all the times you’ve fought through that fear before. It doesn’t allow for the inevitability of being pushed too far, or the ability to come back from that breaking point.

Yes fighting that fear, facing it head on, is brave.

But no one, no one, can do that indefinitely, especially when they are doing it alone (emotionally).

Fighting that fear takes a lot of strength, that’s why it’s admirable, why it’s brave. It’s not easy. But pushing yourself over and over, until that strength is completely spent, and then having to face that fear again when you genuinely have nothing left?

That doesn't make you evil or cruel or weak or a coward. It makes you human.

James Ironwood broke. Not because of the machinery that is half his body; not because he doesn't have a heart; not because he’s selfish and thinks he’s infallible; not because he’s obsessed with power and too proud to admit he’s wrong, but because he pushed himself over and over until he had nothing left, and had no one to stop him, no one to snap him out of it.

James Ironwood isn’t a coward. He isn’t just power hungry and unwilling to compromise. He isn’t incapable of compassion. He’s tired (I mean, look at all of V7), traumatized (his comment to Oscar in the vault about seeing things, and multiple other examples), a bit awkward (Penny telling him he was getting better at giving speeches), vulnerable (the hug with Qrow), understanding (telling the kids they didn’t have to stay at fight at the Fall), loyal (flipping his weapon around and refusing to attack when he thought Qrow was attacking him at Beacon). Not to mention still undoubtedly reeling from the pain and trauma of losing his other arm.

He has fought his fear.

Over and over. Until it wore him down completely.

And we’ve seen nothing to make us believe he’s even properly addressed that trauma, let alone had proper time to process it ( and the conversation with the Ops about Tortuga all but confirmed this)

And the thing that I hate? That just really bothers me?

Yes. James is making awful, callous, choices that are costing lives. And he needs to answer for those choices. And he’s doing them because he is absolutely terrified, and he’s let that fear overshadow all other options. That fear has made him paranoid to the point that he trusts no one but himself to do what must be done to try to save anyone he can, even if it means abandoning others he’s meant to protect.

But I hate the attitude I see from far too many people; that his fear, and this inevitable loss to that fear, makes him weak, makes him a villain, a coward. That his reaction to that fear proves that he is just a power hungry dictator. Seeing people wanting to see him be shamed him for it, to laugh at how weak he really is for letting fear control him.

We commend characters who push through trauma. We want representation for those who have fought trauma themselves.

But real life? Actual people struggling with PTSD and paranoia, and just everyday fear?

They’re going to break. They’re going to wake up one day and be too tired to fight it, and if they don’t have the kind of support to help them get back to a place where they can fight, and think clearly, again —they’ll make bad, even hurtful, callous, decisions. Not out of malice or selfishness, but simply because they are afraid and unable to see the full picture clearly.

And the way to help them isn’t to mock them for not being infinitely strong against their fear. It's not to tell them that, by submitting to their fear —no matter how many times they've beat it in the past— they have shown their true colors.

The way to help them is by showing them that, even after their missteps, even IN the deepest part of their fear, they can find that strength again. They can come back and try to make things right.

Fear is the enemy, maybe. But being afraid and not having the unending strength to fight that fear, does not make you an irredeemable villain.

James’ flaw is that he sees himself as the grand hero. Not in the sense that he is infallible or better, but that he thinks it's his responsibility, his duty, it’s something he’s ready to make sacrifices for. And, with Oz gone, and RWBYJNROQ apparently against him, he has to believe that he can do it —he can save people— because if not him, who else can he trust?

And that kind of paranoia, on top of trauma, and unacknowledged fear, is so hard to fight on a good day, let alone after physical trauma, and under extreme stress, and having paranoia be proven right multiple times, triggering past trauma.

People in power are still people, and will still have their own psychological reactions to trauma. Acknowledging that trauma and how it affects their decisions (and the reality of the nuance beyond ‘good’ and ‘evil’) and holding them accountable for their decisions are not mutually exclusive. (I’m not gonna get too into a whole thing about direct ties to real world politics and leaders, because I honestly don’t have the knowledge or energy, but let’s just settle that the fictional circumstances are completely different than real world, and that characters and actions have a narrative meaning and importance that is not how real world people and motivations work. Me saying that Ironwood’s trauma and how it affects his decisions is an important part of his narrative and the theme of trauma in RWBY is not saying that we have to take into account every trauma or psychological motivation behind the actions of real world leaders. )

The fact is that James shouldn't have had so much military power, or at the very least, not such seemingly unchecked control, since at least since the fall of Beacon (likely before as well, but we don’t know how much things changed). The fact that things were able to get so far without another military official of similar authority having input is a flaw in Atlas’ structure (not counting counsel members since it’s been made clear that IW is the military leader).

I don’t in any way say that in a ‘traumatized/mentally ill people can’t ever be trusted with power’ way, but rather, that this is a man who has shown obvious signs of PTSD for years, with no apparent attempts or even opportunities to address and process his trauma, or likely even acknowledge it at all.

Trauma and the lasting effects of it don’t automatically make someone unfit for leadership, but that is only as long as it is being addressed and managed properly, including having other people on the same level as you, so that your judgement alone does not control entire groups and their safety (that applies regardless of mental state but, my point here isn’t to get into complicated, real world accurate government debate)

My point is, I know how hard it is to, day after day, fight back that kind of looming fear and paranoia. How hard it is to tell yourself over and over that it is just that: paranoia. How hard it is to keep doing that, when even one or two things happen to seemingly reinforce that paranoia. Let alone when it’s huge things one after another after another.

I know how exhausting that is, and my circumstances are infinitely less dire and large scale than what James has been facing for the last few years at the very least, likely much longer.

The man broke under the pressure. And I don't fucking blame him. Of course he did.

But he happened to also be in a position of power, in a system that did not have an appropriate distribution of power in place (really not just ‘happened’, because a large part of the stress that fed into this was feeling, and actually being responsible for countless lives, maybe even the entire world.)

James sees himself as a hero. Not in a bragging, overly confident way. But as his duty, his purpose. In that he must be unbreakable, he must be able to protect whoever he can at whatever cost. He has to win, or everything will be lost. It’s not arrogant pride. It’s twisted, tunnel vision, dedication.

So, when everything depends on him, and giving into fear is unacceptable, even acknowledging his own breakdown would mean he failed.

He doesn’t just think he is a hero, he thinks he has to be. But really, he’s just a man. And, anyone who refuses to even admit to their fear, who sees their fear as something to be ashamed and afraid of itself, is eventually going to lose that battle.

And laughing at him for that weakness? Wanting to rub it in his face just how scared he really is?

Like I get it, It know its fandom and we can joke. And honestly I'm not really talking about the jokes and memes (though I personally don't like some of them, but I’m not going to just say their inherently awful altogether) or the excitement to see the drama and action of his confrontation with Qrow. I’m not meaning the cathartic tension and messy emotions. I’m meaning people actually wanting to see this all be completely shoved back in his face and watch him be brought down a peg, watch him be humiliated or killed or whatever as a way of him ‘getting what’s coming’. Or just wanting to see him beaten and made to pay for being some power hungry cruel dictator, genuinely reveling in his falling apart.

Like, y’all. It’s not going to be dropping him down a peg, or destroying some power grab. He is literally at rock bottom, backed into a corner.

It’s just honestly very disturbing seeing people so ready to revel in the complete breakdown and possible demise of a (disabled) character with obvious and intentional signs of PTSD, who had previously always been shown to be a good, if somewhat short-sighted or misguided, person.

And think about it, if you were dealing with that kind of overwhelming fear; if you were trying to keep fighting it off, and you saw someone having it shoved in their face just how scared they were, and how much damage that had caused, would you be willing to admit your fear?

Or would you become even more afraid of not being strong enough and giving in to it.

It's all cyclical. You’re afraid. You’re afraid of giving into that fear. You’re afraid of letting people down, of being hated, of being wrong, of hurting people, of becoming the villain in the end if you slip up even once and let that fear win.

In essence you're afraid of being afraid.

Yang has someone to acknowledge her fear in a safe way, she has the ability to admit how scared she is, and keep fighting anyway. Not denying her fear or feeling guilty for it, but accepting it and still moving on

It's not that bravery is just being afraid and fighting anyway. It’s also admitting how scared you really are. Letting yourself be afraid, be terrified. And admitting when you've reached a breaking point.

James isn't just not acknowledging his fear because he's too proud, or doesn't want to admit he is wrong, or give up his power.

He thinks he can't afford to be afraid. That just being afraid, just admitting it, means he is too weak to do what he sees as his biggest role: be the hero. Just admitting how scared he is would mean that he's failed.

Bravery isn't just being afraid and fighting anyway. Bravery is admitting that you are afraid and allowing that fear to be there as you keep fighting, without being ashamed of it.

People aren't either just ‘brave’ or ‘cowardly’. Being brave takes something extra, something intentional. So does being cowardly. Not being able to do the ‘brave’ or ‘right’ thing, not being able to even tell what that is, or even doing the ‘wrong’ thing because it seems like the only option, or even the ‘right’ option, doesn’t automatically make you a coward or evil.

Just because you aren't able to be brave, to be the hero, just because you make the wrong decision in the moment when you are terrified and alone, doesn't mean you are just a coward or the bad guy. That doesn't mean you've shown your true colors, and deep down you really are heartless or cruel.

I'm not the biggest fan of the entire ‘Fear is the enemy’ thing.

Because, if fear is the enemy, then how is the answer to then be afraid of fear? Fearing fear is still giving it power over you. If the worst thing you can do is give into fear, then the bravest thing you can do has to be allowing yourself to be afraid, working to keep that fear from making decisions for you, and forgiving yourself when you fail, and then just trying to do better.

Everyone is going to be afraid. Everyone is going to make the wrong decision at some point because they made it out of fear.

You aren't just allowed to be afraid. You are allowed to not be able to beat that fear 100% of the time. Hitting your limit, especially when you feel like you're doing it alone is okay. You can still come back. You can still try to do better next time, try to make amends for the mistakes you made.

That doesn't mean you don't have to face the consequences of your actions. That doesn't mean the people directly hurt by your actions are obliged to forgive you. It's not an all or nothing thing.

And none of this is to say that James is not at fault, that he isn't and shouldn't be responsible for his actions. That he shouldn’t face consequences.

But his fear, his trauma, matters. It’s at the core of his entire character.

At first, I was somewhat uncomfortable with Fear, because I thought it was saying that James was weak, wrong, the villain, for giving into his fear. That he was an example for RWBY about the dangers of letting your fear control you. That he was already lost because he had given in to his fear.

And maybe it is, I don't know.

But listening to it the other day, I noticed something hadn’t occurred to me before.

‘But our greatest fear will be realized/ when we fall and lose ourselves to fear/ we become what we’ve feared all our lives’

Now, yes, this is all about looking ahead, about being ready to make the right choice in that coming moment. About being prepared ahead of time, and thinking about how you will act when you’re afraid.

But this, and the chorus, also seem a bit reflective almost. It’s posed as future questions, but for James, he’s there already. He’s made the wrong choice. If you look at the lyrics from his perspective, it’s not about if it will happen. It’s about confronting yourself when it already has happened.

James’ greatest fear is to realize he took the wrong path, he lost sight of everything but the most basic goal, he got so caught up in trying to be the hero that he missed how much damage he was really causing. In trying to be the hero, he became a villain.

And, since the end of V7 he’s been having to face his worst fears (likely longer, but Gravity kicked it into high gear that pushed him over the edge).

He’s faced (or believed he has) betrayal, physical trauma and further ‘loss of humanity’ and is almost certainly still in shock and/or pain from the injury and the brand new (likely rushed) prosthetic, not having Oz there (or ‘on his side’), events of the Fall reoccurring with the chess piece and the school being infiltrated, seeing Salem in his office and the loss of anywhere feeling protected, losing a trusted soldier/friend, Salem attacking, the world finding out about Salem and the possible aftermath, Atlas’ defenses failing.

He’s shut down, reacting out of desperation and fear, trying to salvage whatever he can (not to mention his semblance just making it easier for him to ignore his feelings or doubts and put blinders on).

He’s alone, losing soldiers and control and protections and options.

So, him truly realizing his mistakes, and having to face the reality of what he’s done, and try to fix things?

That is the fear he has yet to face. He’s already met his first breaking point. Maybe this realization is the next, but maybe this time he’ll have someone support him enough to hold him accountable and help him come back. Give him the choice: prove he’s still capable of doing the right thing, and accepting his own weakness and need for help, or refuse to admit to his fear and truly become a ‘villain’.

--------------------

Also, at the end here I’ll tack on this total stretch of a theory that I couldn’t stop thinking about after Witch.

Oz, Leo, James, Theodore (I don’t know how Qrow or Glynda would fit into this theory, just the headmasters.)

We say Leo fell to his allusion: he was cowardly and chose to protect himself despite the cost to others.

So people think that James will fall to his allusion: He’ll be heartless.

But it still to me just feels too straight forward for the Oz characters to just all fall to their original vices.

But, in a way, Leo’s end (not his death, but his choices) was reminiscent of the wizard. He was being puppeted, hiding himself and the person really running things for his own preservation.

So, if Leo fell to Oz’s flaw?

Oz. Well, Oz was standing to protect his home, was caught up in sudden chaos and wounded (in his case killed) and flung into a new life.

So.. if it’s a cycle… Oz got a ‘second’ chance, an awakening like Dorothy. Leo got the reveal of the wizard’s lie.

What if James got the lion’s confrontation of his fears (not necessarily, and hopefully not, by dying. Also, James not dying could feed into a different progression than just the ‘headmasters dying’ pattern; Oz handed the reins over to Oscar, Leo acted to protect himself and died, maybe James is the one to have to directly face the consequences of his actions, including giving up his position). And then Theodore somehow getting a decision of heart.

The other thing with Oz being ‘Dorothy’ in this pattern, is Oscar bringing up the ‘girl who fell through the world’ myth. Which feels very much like Alice in Wonderland. And L Frank Baum was influenced by Alice when creating Dorothy. So, what if Oscar’s allusion, at least in part, is Alice.

It’s all a stretch and I don’t know what it could eventually mean but, it’s just something I couldn’t stop thinking about last week.

#my writing #RWBY V8 spoilers #James Ironwood #I still am not really happy with how I said a bunch of this #but with the ep tomorrow....#felt like I should make this post before that #imjustalittleterrified #also Ironwood hate or just general hatefulness on this will get you blocked #dont have energy for it #im not saying you gotta like him #just #some takes i see are so....#oof they just dont sit right

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