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tobiasdrake · 14 days

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Thinking about redemption yesterday got me thinking about fallen heroes today, and how rare it is to see a character initially painted as a hero be driven to heinousness for legitimate reasons.

Often times, if a hero goes bad, it's because of an external force corrupting their mind. Or it's a misunderstanding and they were secretly still good all along. Or they were just having a rough day and they'll be good again in five minutes.

We rarely see get to see heroes go sour purely on their own merits. Maybe because their values weren't so benign as they'd seemed when pushed to a natural conclusion. Maybe because they expected too much of themselves or of others. Or maybe personal experience taught them to believe something else.

Whatever the case, as often as writers will attempt to examine the transformative power of better angels, we rarely get to see the transformative power of worse devils.

Which brings me to....

Sayaka Miki is a character that holds a special place in my heart, not for overcoming her flaws but for being consumed by them. She's a cautionary tale into the perils of righteousness.

I need to preface this by bringing up that the characters of Madoka Magica are children. They're irrational, judgmental, ignorant of risk, and quick to throw themselves into horrible mistakes with absolute confidence. Because they're children. That's how this works. The villain of the series is a psychological predator who feeds on the impulsivity and poor judgment of youth, grooming them into self-destruction.

The entire system of Magical Girls exists to give these children enough rope to hang themselves with and then to kick the ladder out from under them. That is the plot, with Sayaka being the primary means by which the show demonstrates the complete journey from rope to ladder.

I just. I need you to understand that even at her worst, Sayaka is a victim of predatory incentives and calculated coercions meant to cultivate her worst traits while stripping her of hopes and dreams. To drown her in mistakes she could never take back. She didn't have the life experience to know better. That's why her predator targets children.

Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. It's not immediately apparent when we meet her, but Sayaka's fatal flaw is ego. Her moral compass is wound extremely tight, and it's only later that we realize it's wound around her neck.

Like many children, Sayaka is trying on an identity moreso than expressing her inner self. She wants to be altruistic. She wants to be selfless. She wants to be a true hero. She wants to live by nothing more than high-minded ideals, expecting no reward for her efforts (but receiving it all the same).

She wants to be the kind of person that Mami was.

But she has no idea who Mami was. She wasn't there to see Mami fracture. To see her break down in vulnerability and express the isolating misery she lives in.

Sayaka didn't see that. She only saw how cool Mami looked when she was killing Witches. So when she tries on an identity, she's specifically trying on the identity of Mami - blissfully unaware that her interpretation of Mami was nothing but a mask. She is emulating the behavior of a victim already consumed by the predatory incentives she's accepting.

Sayaka was doomed from the moment she made her wish.

Once again, the show does a brilliant job of concealing this at first. Right off the bat, it's easy for Sayaka to be the hero. She saves both her BFFs Madoka and Hitomi from a Witch in her debut adventure, before being immediately thrust into a moral argument that's super easy for her to win.

This is what a hero looks like! Should we stand by and let monsters eat people YES/NO

Sayaka says no. Sayaka says letting monsters eat people is bad. Solid Bioware-level moral dilemma she's got here. Sayaka won +10 Paragon points for the choices she picked out of this conversation tree, lemme tell you!

Moments like this work to disguise what's going on here with Sayaka. Obviously Sayaka's making good choices and doing the right thing when the alternative is Kyoko going "Want me to break your crush's limbs so he needs you for life support?" That's awful, so since Sayaka's against it then that means she must be right. Right?

Kyoko is the devil. Sayaka is the paragon.

But this is a story about nuanced and complex people. Sayaka isn't that person. Sayaka likes the idea of being that person. She's being dishonest - With herself, with others around her, and with the universe.

She's trying on an identity, not fully understanding who she really is or what her limitations are.

Incidentally, so is Kyoko, which is what makes their Yin and Yang dichotomy so potent. Having never been tested like this before, Sayaka is more selfish than she truly understands - While Kyoko, damaged by trauma, is more selfless than she wants to believe.

The thing Sayaka doesn't quite grasp is that, to an extent, it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to want things for yourself. Again, the identity she's trying to live up to was a lie to begin with. She only saw the mask; Never the humanity underneath. So she fails to recognize her own humanity; Her own needs and wants and desires.

She imprisons her own mind in a cage of altruism.

Sayaka is warned multiple times against spending her wish on another person. But she doesn't understand the perils of it. She lacks the necessary perspective to grasp the level of sacrifice she's making. (Because she is a child. I cannot stress this point enough.)

When she makes her wish, Sayaka wants her sacrifice reciprocated. She wants to be rewarded. But she doesn't want to want that. She wants to be the selfless hero for Kyosuke. To silently grant him a miracle because it's the right thing to do for her friend. But she expects, without consciously thinking about it, that the universe will deliver her nice things because she is good.

But life doesn't work like that. It doesn't give you things you aren't willing to reach for. Sayaka said she just wanted him to be happy. She just wanted to help people. She just wanted to dedicate her life to virtue and altruism, with no wants or needs or desires of her own.

Kyoko was being cruel and unfeeling when she suggested crippling Kyosuke; She was trying to express a mask of selfishness, the same way Sayaka's been trying to express a mask of selflessness. But she wasn't the only person telling Sayaka that it was a mistake to do this. She's just the only person who said it after the fact.

So the universe calls her bluff. While Sayaka waits for her sacrifices to be rewarded, fracturing more and more from learning what those sacrifices truly entail, someone else claims her prize. The work gets harder, not just physically but emotionally. And she only gets what she asked for. Nothing more.

This is what a hero looks like. She wanted to be Mami.

Remind me. What was Mami's reward for her sacrifices?

Oh. Yeah. That's right.

The thing of it is, there is a reward for a Magical Girl's sacrifices. There is a prize you're meant to receive for the unjust hardships and self-destruction that you're volunteering to undertake.

It's the fucking wish.

That she, in her righteousness, gave away.

Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. Her fatal flaw is ego. She was undone by arrogance expressed in ignorance, not of glory the way we often think of egotistic people, but of righteousness. She held herself to a standard no reasonable person could ever live up to, and it crushed her as it came crashing down.

And yet, she was a victim all the same. Because she was walked, hand-in-hand, to that pier by a predator. Children are meant to learn from their mistakes. Not to die for them.

#puella magi madoka magica #sayaka miki

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starguardianniom · 9 months

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The emotional immaturity of Adrien and Marinette

This need to be said.

You cannot tell me Adrien lacks the emotional maturity to handle his father being the villain he fights for 5 seasons, his assistant helping him, and his mom being alive in a coma in the basement and tell me he can't handle it. Who the hell would?

And yet, he still should have been there for the final battle, because after spending 5 seasons trying to break free from his caged life that Gabriel threw him in, he deserves to have a final face off with the man and see the reality of the situation, while also denouncing everything his father fought for by saying he was wrong, and he's gonna fight to end his madness.

Somehow, Marinette gets to be in the final battle alone with 2 miraculouses against her boyfriend's father who's the antagonist, and at the end when he wins, she complies with his last request to not say anything to Adrien.

How the hell is that her handling it in any kind of mature way possible, or saying she didn't have her emotions messing with her judgement here?

Cause I'm sorry, but past seasons proved time and time again that Marinette is just as emotionally immature as Adrien, if not more, when it comes to world shattering stuff thrown her way.

Starting with her being very immature emotionally whenever it concerns Adrien.

We saw her screwing up in 3 seasons finales because of her feelings for Adrien having a factor in it.

In season 1 Volpina, she impulsively humiliated Lila in front of Adrien to not only call her out on her lies, but also to get her away from Adrien, after spending a lot of time following them around because she was jealous, before Tikki noticed the Book.

Season 3 in Heart Hunter, her being heartbroken over letting Adrien and Kagami be together and then later seeing them together as Ladybug mess with her feelings and she choose to get Kagami away from Adrien instead of finding Chloé who told her she was ready to fight, and honestly there's no way she chose Kagami purely for selfless reasons 100%, she was still affected by her feelings of being crushed, and when choosing which miraculous she should take, she was clearly debating either to choose Chloé who was already aware of the situation and it was her parents, or choose Kagami who was having a romantic moment with Adrien. Do not tell me she was completely focused when she had been distracted earlier as Ladybug at seeing Adrigami in display, she freaking crashed into a tree when seeing it.

Season 4 Strike Back showed her, after spending the last episode being driven impulsive by Risk, which she became aware of in the end, she decided to go fetch "Adrien" to pull off her plan, despite having much easier options to go as. Not to mention her Lucky Charm saying she had to go in the past, knowing the entire city was affected, yet somehow Adrien wasn't, yet it didn't tip her off that maybe if Adrien wasn't affected it was because he wasn't there the day before, and thus couldn't have been Adrien, but maybe his cousin, since she knows he pulled a twin switch once with him. She could have fetch Sabrina who was already familiar with the Dog Miraculous, heck better yet, she could have just unified her miraculous with the Rabbit and the Dog without having the Horse, and do the travel herself, if she use the beyond broken Rabbit miraculous, then she can freaking use the Dog, but she decided Adrien was trustworthy. She even questionned herself if the idea made her reckless. But since she can't shake her crush is perfect, she stood to her initial plan, and got completely fooled by him which gave Gabriel all the miraculouses but hers, Chat Noir's and the Peacock. She thought with her heart, not her brain there.

It's not the first time she does it either.

When it comes to Adrien, or perfect guys, Marinette becomes one of the least emotionally mature people on the show.

We saw how in Desperada, her knowing Aspik was Adrien couldn't make her focus at all.

In Kuro Neko, having a new partner, which was basically Adrien's model routine up to the max, she couldn't concentrate at all on the mission, let alone KNOW HOW TO USE HER FREAKING LUCKY CHARM.

And now Marinette herself when it doesn't have anything to do with being Ladybug, just being Marinette, or it being about Adrien in any way.

Marinette is a girl who is insecure, nervous and prone to self-spirals to the simplest mistakes, and goes above and beyond to try to either salvage the situation, or try to cover it up with others being none the wiser if she wants to and plays her cards right.

She will go to extreme answers to basic problems, which usually cause more trouble for herself in the long run.

She is extremely reckless in that aspect and doesn't think things through completely like she thinks she is doing.

Mostly because she has an immature response to anything that could cause her any embarassment or having to confront a though situation she doesn't want to deal with or just hope it goes away on its own.

Accidently leaving an embarassing message on Adrien's phone?

Break into his locker, steal his phone, learn his password and delete it, instead of maybe explaining herself calmly.

Accidently erasing a video of Ladybug on Alya's phone? Steal the phone, lie to her bestie, try to redo the video so she won't notice, being afraid she'll break her friendship with her if she finds out, not thinking Alya might have posted it on her blog before showing it to her.

Juleka needs to be in the class photo? Go steal the memory card of the photographer and erase the previous photo so he'll need to take another one instead of just asking to redo it, because she is sure he won't want to.

She didn't do anything grand like her classmates for Heroes Day? Lie about what she actually plans to the entire class and get caught up in her plan when she can't pull it off, despite Alya defending her earlier, her parents and Tikki telling her she needs to come clean, and her classmates, sans Chloé, not being bothered by it, probably understanding that she was very busy and did what she could on a short notice.

Adrien is at a movie premiere with Kagami? Team up with Chloé to humiliate Kagami so she'll be seated next to Adrien and prevent him and Kagami from leaving Japan, instead of trying to stop her bully from 4 years from pulling a cruel prank, a bit similar to what she went through the year prior, being humiliated publically in front of a guy she liked.

Can't give Adrien a gift at his house? Abuse her powers to transform and break into his room to deliver his gift, instead of waiting at the front gates until he arrives like a normal person.

The guys having a boys only party at Adrien's house? She needs to ditch her friends to go to that party, and pass herself as a boy to join, instead of just letting them be, because how dare they have a guy only party the one time they all group together, not like she only hangs out with her girl friends all the time without any guys.

Doesn't know why her grand-father is estranged from her dad? Pretend to be someone else, and lie to him, instead of coming clean from the start.

Learned Kagami and Adrien broke up? Push Kagami to try to make her fall in love with him again and ignores everything Kagami tells her, at one point literally lifting her to get her to talk to him, projecting her feelings on Kagami the entire episode, instead of listening to Kagami and trying to learn what happened.

Ghosted Kagami by ignoring her calls because she didn't want her to be disappointed in her not being able to tell Adrien "I love you" despite dating him at that time.

She doesn't want to see Luka because she's afraid to break his heart again and get him akumatized? Ask his twin to tell him to not come to HIS OWN BIRTHDAY PARTY BECAUSE SHE'S TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO FACE HIM! Not to mention not listening to Alya telling her she exaggerate and that Luka would like to see her again, as unlike her, Alya has been talking to Luka and knows he would prefer to stay friends with Marinette even if he still has feelings for her, cause Luka is that mature.

Su-Han wants to know Chat Noir's identity for safety reasons in case anything happens to him? Why, lie to Chat Noir about wanting to knows each other's identities, have 2 people knowing his without his consent, then erase the deed so neither he or she will remember it, her thinking Chat Noir will never reveal himself to anyone but her, without her ever bothering to talk to him and explaining the reasons, which given how much more understanding he is than her most of the time, he would get it and would do so without complains, but nope she goes behind his back and immediatly thinks she knows him better.

Learns Adrien is sended to Shangai without her knowing? Welp, time to lie to her parents about wanting to connect to her maternal origins from China and wanting to go there to know her roots, making them pay for what was supposed to be a family trip that they had planned since she was born, just to go stalk her crush whom she basically sees everyday in class in another country, just because she was miffed that she didn't know about it, despite boasting how she knew everything about him and she would know if he was going.

Those are the many emotionally immature actions that she made throughout the show, and you tell me Adrien isn't emotionally mature enough for the final fight in the finale of season 5?

Fuck you, the main protagonist is even more emotionally immature than he'll ever be with all the crap she pulled.

The creators even said Marinette has a very poor control of her emotions. Even as Ladybug she's not immune.

Adrien is probably more mature than her because of all the mental strenght he builded up just to keep up with his life before getting a miraculous.

Marinette is just a normal kid who kids herself, she is very clever and intelligent, but in the emotional maturity department, she is one of the worse, out there with Chloé, Lila and Gabriel.

Any minor problems she faces she tends to go to extreme lenghts to solve, despite many people telling her time and time again that she's really thinking way too much about it. Namely Tikki and Alya.

Her first responses are most of the time, lie, manipulate, steal, in the hopes she can undo her mistake before someone sees it, or to save face and prevent herself from being embarassed. Heck, a lot of the time, it doesn't have anything to do with being Ladybug, she just want to save face.

Honesty isn't her first answer a lot of the time.

Not being honest about making mistakes and just trying to avoid them by lying or fixing them before someone sees them is emotionally immature on her part.

Because she's a stupid 14 years old teen who does a lot of stupid 14 years old stuff.

Like Adrien is a 14 eyears old teen who also does a lot of stupid 14 years old stuff, mostly as Chat Noir, Adrien, a bit less, but sometimes too.

So to hell with Adrien not being emotionally mature to handle his dad being a villain and all that, Marinette is just as worse.

The fact she lies to him at the end about it all proves it.

She is not emotionally mature about him, she has never shaded her rose colored glasses that are glued to her face when it comes to him.

To her, Adrien is the perfect boy who needs protection from anyone and anything that could harm him or cause him grief.

She sees him more as an idol than a real person. Even when he confess his insecurities to her, she's more concerned about his safety rather than trying to learn more about why he feels that way and connect to him more than just drooling over him like the hardstuck fangirl that she is when around him.

She sniffed his pillow. Pulled hair and kissed what she thought was a statue of him. Stalked him to another country. Humiliated 2 girls who were interested in him. Makes tons of complicated schemes to woo a guy she can barely talk to because she was traumatized before by a prank and the lesson she learned from it was to learn everything about the next guy just to be sure she wouldn't be caught again, instead of just listening to her friend's advice, taking it to an extreme form of creepy.

Again, not the picture of emotional maturity here much. So do not ever tell me that Adrien is not mature enough to be able to take emotionally the bad news.

If Marinette's response to the bad news was to lie to the entire city about the villain and make him a hero instead, and lie to her partner, and boyfriend, because she listened to Gabriel's last wish, then seriously, it outright says in blinding lights neon that she was not emotionally mature for it either.

Especially since the villain was her boyfriend's dad, and we all know how she acts when it's about her beloved.

She didn't have to change her views on Adrien, never did, for that she would have needed to treat him like a person instead of an angel gracing the earth.

The shrine she saw him from was so high up in the sky she never saw what was really happening with him, even when told, she just went back to drooling over him as if nothing happened.

#ml season 5 spoilers #miraculous ladybug #ml s5 spoilers #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #gabriel agreste #marinette salt #ml salt #miraculous salt #ml s5 leaks #ml season 5 leaks #sorry to say this but marinette is the emotionally immature one between her and adrien #by a large margin #seriously #i am almost not surprised that she does that #she never got character development for her adrien problem #adrien confessing to her instead of her doing it kind of robbed her of any progress she could have done in that regard

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astroesque · 9 months

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The 27 Yogas: Influence on the Natives

1. Vishkumbha Yoga- these natives are usually very good looking, wins over their enemies, are wealthy, and have support from their family.

2. Preeti Yoga- these natives are popular/well liked, fond of beauty and attracted to beautiful people/things, and enjoys their life with contentment.

3. Ayushman Yoga- these natives live a long and healthy life, have an energetic personality, and are physically strong.

4. Saubhagya Yoga- these natives live an enjoyable and comfortable happy life, are blessed with a great fortune, and are highly attracted to the opposite sex/find beautiful people irresistible.

5. Shobana Yoga- these natives are sensual, have a beautiful body, are more sexual, but are troubled by grief despite having a pure heart.

6. Atiganda Yoga- these natives will live a troubled and difficult life, face various obstacles and accidents, might have a difficult temperament, are truthful, and prone to excessive lust.

7. Sukarman Yoga- these natives will be wealthy, perform great deeds, are compassionate, and charitable.

8. Dhriti Yoga- these natives are wealthy, tends to blame others, interested in other partners, but are patient, healthy, and don’t get worked up easily.

9. Shoola Yoga- these natives are truthful, will experience sharp pains in the body, are religious and interested in religious things, and can be quarrelsome/have an angry disposition.

10. Ganda Yoga- these natives will be very talkative, truthful, may face health problems, may have flawed morals, and physically strong.

11. Vriddhi Yoga- these natives will be very intelligent, heroic, truthful, pure, and their life will get better as they age.

12. Dhruva Yoga- these natives will be persistent and concentrated in their efforts, has a steady and calm nature, are wealthy, but may indulge in sinful deeds.

13. Vyaghata Yoga- these natives will be thievish, unclean in their body, cruel and proud, many enemies, able to multitask, and very talented and skilled in their endeavors.

14. Harshana Yoga- these natives are humorous, intelligent, untruthful, and scholarly.

15. Vajra Yoga- these natives are not charitable, extremely physically strong and wield a lot of physical power, unpredictable, and forceful.

16. Siddhi Yoga- these natives are skillful and accomplished in many areas, are beautiful, may have health problems, are compassionate, and protects and supports others.

17. Vyatapata Yoga- these natives are prone to sudden mishaps, unreliable, anxious, may have a problematic childhood/upbringing but becomes a more fulfilled person later in life.

18. Variyan Yoga- these natives are fond of music and other art forms, can be lazy, may be boastful, and enjoys luxury and an easy life.

19. Parigha Yoga- these natives will be intelligent in many subjects, soft spoken, fickle, irritable, and honorable.

20. Shiva Yoga- these natives will be of chastity, are selfless and charitable, full of wisdom and a pure heart, rise above materialism, are intelligent, and honored by people around them.

21. Siddha Yoga- these natives will be skilllful, have an accommodating and pleasant personality, interested in rituals and spirituality, and will be blessed with a great spouse.

22. Sadhya Yoga- these natives are well behaved, patient, determined, liberal minded, and intelligent.

23. Shubha Yoga- these natives will be extremely fortunate, truthful, have a beautiful body, irritable, may have health issues, and wealthy.

24. Shukla Yoga- these natives are fickle, attractive, truthful, intelligent, have an unsteady and irritable personality, courageous, and impulsive.

25. Brahma Yoga- these natives will be very pure and commendable, trustworthy, ambitious, and have devotion.

26. Indra Yoga- these natives may not live a long life, will be successful, intelligent, wealthy, and will be righteous.

27. Vaidhruti Yoga- these natives will be miserly, fickle, may not get the due credit for their efforts, powerful and overwhelming, have cheerful and a positive personality, and helpful.

DISCLAIMER: These are general predictions so don’t take them too seriously.

#vedic astrology #sidereal astrology #hindu panchang #hindu vedic

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illegiblewords · 5 months

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SOME ILLEGIBLE RAMBLES AND REFLECTIONS: MISSING WYLL

Jumping off my last analytical post for BG3, I actually do want to talk about Wyll a little. Wyll has been the companion I've had the trickiest time sorting thoughts out on. I do have thoughts on him, and frankly I want to invite people who are mainly Wyll fans to chime in if they have any observations that I might've missed! I don't know if this is the best way to explain it, but my perspective is if his story were a song I'd say he has the makings of a beautiful one--but there are notes missing. Notes that really, really should be there . I don't know why they aren't there, or if they've been hidden somewhere I haven't found yet.

As usual, longass discussion under the cut.

Here is my understanding of Wyll currently, without grabbing specific quotes.

Ulder Ravegard is his dad, who was a humble blacksmith who rose to nobility through some exceptional effort and personal achievement. Pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps sort of guy, takes pride in being compassionate and dealing with others in good faith. Raised Wyll not to consider himself better than anyone due to his status, but also seems to have imparted a lot of lawful good mentalities tbh. One thing that stood out a lot to me was a line Wyll said in Act III about how as a kid, he used to pretend to kill monsters in the park all the time. When he became an actual monster hunter as the Blade of Frontiers he had the disquieting realization that most monsters in reality are only people, just like him and his friends. This is interesting to me because it was NOT a lesson he got as a kid, and from how Ulder treats Wyll I don't think it's something Ulder is quite comfortable with himself. I'd go so far as to argue that, while Ulder's definition of 'good' is genuinely very good--it doesn't leave a lot of tolerance for anyone outside that. His compassion only goes so far and no farther. He's a little black-and-white in his thinking.

Side note: Wyll seems to treat being Blade of Frontiers like being a two-dimensional hero in a storybook at times. The Act III line where he admits it's all just messy people was so fucking interesting, and I wish there was more examination of the messy morality of trying to fight monsters or even understand what monsters are for him. Being good isn't easy or guaranteed and the most impressive title in the world doesn't prove you're actually a hero. Actions come before reputation.

Wyll was, according to the previous point, raised to be the embodiment of lawful good as Ulder saw it. Be selfless, don't indulge in finery or status, be noble, make sacrifices for the greater good. With that in-mind, I want to point out that for all Wyll doesn't like courtly life he loves to dance as something more aligned to that courtly lifestyle. It's one of the things he has left that continues to give him joy. It's an indulgence.

Wyll, as raised by Ulder, sacrifices his own well-being and future in his pact with Mizora to ensure no one else in Baldur's Gate came to harm. He was also bound in such a way that prevented him from explaining what happened or why. When Ulder saw his son return home with one eye, pacted to a devil, obviously in a lot of distress and struggling to explain something... Ulder's reaction wasn't to trust his son's morality or feel concern for him. Ulder decided to hurl out all history, all individual understanding of Wyll's character, and chuck Wyll out like he was a pure evil aligned monster and always had been. He just assumed Wyll was the embodiment of every selfish, depraved impulse he could imagine and a traitor to every cause he believed in. He also does not change his mind on this unless forcibly shown through the tadpole what actually transpired. He is not willing to listen or consider alternate perspectives, and I'd argue he loved his son as an abstract concept/extension of his own moral beliefs more than as his own person. (And as an aside: given how Ulder reacted to Wyll without even knowing his situation, do you think he would be ready to show compassion to someone like Astarion who has done horrific things to others under coercion?)

Note, Wyll never actually deals with previous point emotionally. He never allows himself to feel anger or grief over the way his own father treated him. He never lashes out at Ulder on his own behalf for not seeing him as a person, for not treating him as a person, for not loving him as a person or as his son. Ulder talks almost casually about having misjudged Wyll. 'Whoops my bad, I might be an asshole'. We're in a game where Astarion kills Cazador and just starts screaming and sobbing on his knees over everything that happened. Why isn't Wyll pissed off that everything he endured ALONE, the realization that his father never really saw or trusted him, was met with 'whoops'? Why isn't Ulder more horrified over what he did to Wyll? The fact that he isn't so much as in the same breath as other characters expressing anguish makes me think he still, STILL does not understand what he put Wyll through as his father. And Wyll having no reaction other than 'yay Dad likes me again :D' doesn't ring true imo. It's possible to love someone but be absolutely furious with or hurt by them. Mizora was not the only one who did Wyll dirty.

Wyll's pact with Mizora in the first place hinged on Wyll not trusting himself to keep Baldur's Gate safe from the cult of Tiamat AND Wyll not considering himself someone also worthy of protection too. Wyll is part of the tradition 'other people's suffering counts but not mine, I exist to be a shield for others'. I don't think Wyll has ever been taught he is also part of Baldur's Gate who should be kept safe. Self-sacrifice under those circumstances isn't an informed choice but like a self-destructive person offering their life up for cheap, when it isn't strictly necessary. First resort rather than last kinda deal.

Unless I've forgotten something, Wyll breaking his pact is framed not only by Mizora but the narrative as Wyll being selfish and deciding his father should die instead of keeping himself bound. The narrative itself doesn't really challenge this idea even if Wyll does successfully save Ulder unbound by his pact with Mizora. In my experience, out of all the cast members I think Wyll is the only one who is framed as possibly a worse person for opting out of the abusive relationship he's in. I really don't think he should be. Healthy selfishness (self-care, self-esteem) is not a bad thing. We have sayings about not setting ourselves on fire to keep others warm. I don't know why Wyll isn't given room to realize, discuss, and embrace this. In addition to everything else I've mentioned it kind of kills the shape of his character arc imo. Wyll starts off selfless to a fault. Having him remain selfless to a fault and continue making the same choices he did at the beginning sets him up for spiritual death as a character, which would make him staying pacted to Mizora fitting to articulate that concept in a way. He didn't 'sin' against or wrong other people to become a devil, but he absolutely 'sinned' against himself by allowing it to continue. It's total self-destruction and it's tragic. But when he breaks the cycle, in canon any degree of selfishness is still narratively condemned. He only gets "redeemed" if he saves Ulder, in the sense that he is still enforced as a selfless person/he is only so good as he is selfless. ADDITIONALLY! He's given a choice between protecting people as Archduke or protecting people as Blade of Avernus but there isn't actually a whole lot of discussion about Wyll's own happiness regardless of others. Wyll isn't given room to feel ugly emotions, anger on his own behalf, or basic self-preservation without the game itself side-eyeing him. Wyll should not have to be a "perfect" and selfless person to be a good and worthwhile person worth protecting.

Like... what bothers me, is that Wyll isn't given room to express or examine anything. He isn't allowed to feel conflicted or angry. He isn't allowed to want for himself. He isn't allowed to be furious with his father or to wonder if his anger at his father (who he still loves) fuels his desire to break his pact with Mizora or if it's just treating himself like he's worth something too. It kind of feels like the narrative itself is dehumanizing Wyll by denying him room to be selfish at all, even when he really needs to be. Even when it would give room for emotional and complex scenes that could resonate.

When I've thought about what kind of romantic partner would be most interesting for Wyll imo, what struck me was it should be someone who is selfish and actually encourages his selfishness a bit. Not in a corrupting way (even if he worries it might be at times) but someone who can encourage some balance in him and vice versa. I don't think Wyll works as a narrative tool to show how nice another character already is or be their trophy boyfriend. As a character, him being imperfect I think is intrinsically important to him feeling real. And guy really does deserve to feel real, you know?

It's been weird, since Wyll approaches some of my absolute favorite themes as a character for being a hero who needs to understand not being heroic all the time is okay/heroes need protecting too sometimes. But he doesn't really do anything with them currently as far as I'm aware. That's made it harder for me to engage with him. If his romance route touches on it more like then that's awesome. But I feel like if we could see full character arcs for other companions regardless of romance, it should be doable for Wyll too.

#final fantasy xiv screenshots #Wyll Ravengard #Blade of Frontiers #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 #bgiii

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ajokeformur-ray · 8 months

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I've been wondering about this, How would J react to falling in love with reader but reader only wants to stay friends, would he get mad and leave the reader or would he understand? Love your work feel free to ignore request 🩷🩷🩷

Haven't written for J for a long time so I hope you enjoy!! Thank you for requesting.🥺💖

J is very intelligent. When he plans a heist or something equally heinouss, he has plans, back up plans, contingency plans, contingency plans for his contingency plans... he's calculative, manipulative, and he knows what he's doing. If you think he doesn't, if you think he's acting purely on impulse, that's what he wants you to think... right up until he doesn't.

He's a dog chasing a car; he doesn't know what he would do if he finally caught one. Just like he didn't know what he was going to do when he realised he'd caught feelings for you, but he did know and he does know that he's not telling you unless he is very sure that his feelings are reciprocated.

For the most part, people are just pawns on the chess board to be moved from one position to another or taken off the board entirely. Their feelings are predictable, and people show who they really are when they're dying. To an extent - and it's a small one - J is quite selfless with his feelings for you, because unless he's as sure as shit is brown that you return his feelings, you're not going to even suspect that he loves you. It's selfless because it saves you from any potential guilt you could feel from not loving him back. But it's selfish because he's also doing it for himself - what you don't know won't make you uncomfortable and it won't make his life difficult.

So if he fell in love with you but he could tell that you didn't love him (body language, the way you treat him, your pulse when he's around, pupil dilation, conversations, and the like), then J just wouldn't tell you and he'd never treat you any differently. He might disappear for a day or two, to get himself in order, but when he comes back, it's as if he never left to bury his feelings for you so deep that he can tell himself he never felt anything for you at all.

But if he fell in love with you and you do return his feelings? Then J's lighting up Gotham's sky with the most obnoxious and expensive fireworks to literally spell it out to you. Grand gestures are what people appreciate, so it's just as well that he's a man of action and a man of his word!💖

#ledger joker #ledger joker x reader #tdk x reader #tdk #the dark knight #ledger!joker imagine #ledger!joker #ledger!joker x reader #heath ledger

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kingmagnificoofrosas · 3 months

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Ok, it's time to deep talk even more about Magnifico! Part 1.

Since my analyses have gotten so much love, support and agreement, I feel motivated to continue 💙

In my first analysis I've touched up on many things, but something I want to deepen a little more is his trauma and his responses to it. Next to his character all in one of course.

After watching and rewatching and studying while making screencaps, I found myslef being heart broken for Magnifico even more. He's so horribly misunderstood it blows my mind. People are so freaking mean and ignorant it's insane!

We know that Magnifico was deeply traumatized as a young boy. Most people focus on themselves, their pain and their healing, but Magnifico instead wanted to make sure others will never suffer like he did. Please, let that sink in for a moment. His first response isn't to look at himself but to look at others. He lost everything and what does he want to do? Give! His first impulse was - I need to learn magic, so I can be strong enough to build a place where I can make sure people will never have to endure what I had to. Not "I gotta build myself a safe place so I can never be hurt again" like a little hermit crab hiding in a new house. No, he always looked what he could do for others!

This is one of the most selfless things a human being can do! It's not happening often but it's happening. People with trauma using their trauma as a motivation to help others.

Magnifico's determination to build a save haven for others despite his situation is freaking honarable!

He loves deeply! I did explain that the trauma Magnifico suffered heavily influenced and altered his thinking, his feeling, his actions and decission making.

He loves deeply but his paranoia and fear cloud it. What I mean is, some of his decissons aren't right but this doesn't make him evil! He's like a helicopter parent! His motivation to fiercly protect and keep save is purely love driven and initially right but because of his immense fear and paranoia it's becoming overprotectiveness and that is not the right way.

He never meant harm, he never meant to hurt. He was being too selfless in way. I heard another Magnifico defender say, he did too well.

And it's true.

Magnifico has given so much in his life. Matter of fact, he was absolutely right when he said he gives and gives and gives and yet people still aren't satisfied. And I totally get it! It's real life. People are greedy beings. Give them your little finger and they soon want your whole hand.

The people of Rosas live in total peace. They get everything they could ask for and more. Enough food, good homes they don't even need to pay rent for, enough money ... they get wishes granted every month. Sometimes even more! Magnifico mentioned in the past year he's granted 14 wishes, which means he did grant more than just one every month from time to time.

Magnifico is so much more than his handsome looks and his abilities. Yet, all people saw him as was that. A very handsome genie. Not the benevolent ruler that even made this flourishing life possible in the first place!

And I mean yeah, he said "I'd love to see you try and do my job!" And he's right again. I've never ruled a whole kingdom before and successfully at that! But I can imagine it must be darn hard! Certainly not a piece of cake.

People loved and celebrated him for what he could give and do! But what if he'd been just a regular king without any magic powers to grant wishes?

We see how the people of Rosas reacted after he told them about a threat. In the end they ask for another wish ceremony. And Magnifico snaps at them. He's clearly in distress even though he tries to appear collected and sovereign, and the only thing they care about is getting more wishes granted? Dude, give this poor man a break!

I can totally understand Magnifico having a nervous, emotional breakdown. Add it all up. He's constantly on edge because of his trauma, he always means well but the pressure of his ambitions and his duties as king are weighing him down further, he's constantly triggered, constantly irritable, no one gives a toot (Amaya included) which is like fuel to the fire in his soul, he feels threatened, he's terrified, he feels not understoond, valued and respected and furthermore used and exploited.

See how he make's the wishes spin around him faster and faster here? It's literally symbolic of what's going on in his soul at that moment.

Same as this one does.

The mirror is cracking, meaning his soul is cracking further. He's starting to break.

It's no wonder he loses his cool, really. Everyone would eventually break in such a situation.

Now, back to the whole wishes situation

Stop a moment and look how Magnifico looks at this wish/dream. He adores it, he appreciates it. (It's a happy family btw.) and someone who's as good in reading emotions as I am will see the ever so slight pain swimming along.

As king, it's Magnifico's duty anyway to make sure his kingdom runs well. That his people are safe and content, that there is order. And the whole decission making rests upon his shoulders as well.

Should he be in the leading position he is in? No. No, a person as deeply traumatized as he is, shouldn't. But the fact that he still tries is admirable! He's not in power because he's a power hungry, cruel, cold-hearted, selfish, narcissistic psychopath, like a villian is! He is in power and wants to stay in it, because he wants to protect others! He cares so much more about others, that he stresses himself to the peak of breaking mentally!

His trauma keeps him in this spiral. Trauma driven motivation > stress/trigger > trauma response > desire> action > trauma result/success or failure

Yes, he doesn't grant every wish because his trauma blurrs his judgement. He's so deeply into it that he cannot judge properly. Does this make him evil? Nope. It would be laughable how rediculous the hater's arguements are if it weren't so sad.

The arguement "Magnifico sees the dreams of people as a threat to his power so he steals them and makes people forget them."

🤨 huh?

I could slam my forehead even harder against something other than my hand. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The ignorance hurts!!! Like, have this people even paid any attention? Clearly not.

He never stole anything! Neither did he manipulate, play or lie to people. He left the decission to them. It was an open fact "If you want, you can give me your wish and I will keep it save and eventually grant it." And even if one doesn't give their wish, they are more than welcome to stay in his kingdoom and live a happy life!

Now listen. Magnifico's desire to keep the wishes in the first place isn't out of any bad or ill will! To say he keeps the wishes because he simply likes to be in control over people because of selfish, cruel reasons is a big mount of bullcrap. Look at how this man treats the wishes! Which by the way, to him, resemble his people!

Ah, yes, sooo evil and selfish and ill willed!

If someone sees this, the pure love in his whole bodylanguage, and still claims that this man is evil, actually doesn't give a damn about his people, and takes the wishes just because "powerhungry" has something really wrong!

Should he decide over other peoples dreams and wishes? Not really! This is a grey area. Back to his duty as a king. A king needs to care for his people. Magnifico takes this very seriously. Thanks to his trauma, a bit too much. This might be "not ok" but it doesn't make him evil. Good grief! Urgh!

He loves his people! He keeps the wishes because he thinks that it gives him a better opportunity to keep watch over them! Why does he want to watch over them and have the control? Out of fun? To satisfy his selfish urge to rule over others? No, because -

"Everything, everyhing I do is to make sure that never happens again!"

It's the very same stupid reason people have been villainizing Abuela Alma from Encanto. It makes me fuming mad that people ignor deep trauma and the mental issues that come with it and make such people out to be villains. Abuela treated her whole family unfairly, yes. She was harsh, inconsiderate, cold, stern, overprotective, insensible etc. But why did she act like that? Because she was hecking traumatized!

After she and Mirabel reconcile, she tells her family this :

"I'm so sorry I held on to tight, just so afraid I'd lose you too!"

Aha! Now taken in consideration that she is also deeply traumatized and I mean, pfff, she saw her home town getting burned, had to flee with her 3 newborns and see her soulmate get stabbed to death or even beheaded (we don't know) right in front of her eyes.

Her desire to keep safe was always good but her trauma blinded her to a degree.

A similar case were people have been villainizing a character for having trauma would be the case of Imelda from Coco. Her trauma of losing her husband and having to raise their daughter on her own caused her to forbid music for 2 generations! She was harsh too, and even though her actions concering this might have been wrong, she meant well. Everything she did came from the good motivation to keep her family from experiencing the crushing hurt she had.

Yet another example I've seen Magnifico defenders bring up would be Elsa! Elsa has been born with ice-powers because she's actually part spirit as we've learned in the 2 movie. She got traumatized as a child when she accidentally hurt her little sister Anna. Her response to trauma brings her whole kingdom in danger, even threatens to kill them by freezing them to death, and when Hans and his guards go to find and kill her, she defends herself and almost kills one of the guards. Yet, despite everything, Elsa isn't made to be a villain! She was supposed to be but in the end recieved love and appreciation, while Magnifico didn't?

It makes absolutely no sense.

Does trauma justify wrong actions? No! But it explains them and it certainly doesn't make someone a villain! Goodness gracious! 😩🤌🏼

Alma was obsessed with having the "miracle" controlled because she was terrified if she would lose that control, her past would repeat. She would lose her family.

Elsa abandoned her kingdom because she didn't want to hurt anyone anymore.

Imelda forbade music because she didn't want her family to experience the hurt she did.

All of this Sounds similar, right?

Magnifico obsessivly wanted to stay in control because he was terrified that if he would lose that control, his past would repeat. People will get hurt and lose everything like he did.

He panicked as an unknown light flooded his kingdom and made the wishes rattle.

The very first thing that came to his mind was "threat." And this was ONLY because of his trauma.

More in part 2 ⬇️

#king magnifico #disney wish #wish 2023 #team magnifico #magnifico defenders #king magnifico isn't a villain

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nataliescatorccioapologist · 4 months

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Yellowjackets characters and their The Wilds counterparts (pt.2)

Jackie Taylor and Fatin Jadmani

Bubbly, feminine, preppy, popular in social circles, fashion-oriented, fiercely loyal, struggle with the weight of expectations and the pressure to be perfect, tend to disappear or isolate from the group when hurt, have a hard time adjusting to the wild and using survival skills.

Van Palmer and Toni Shalifoe

Gayest mfs alive, sarcastic, funny, goofy and silly, can be impulsive, such a simp for their girlfriends

Laura Lee and Shelby Goodkind

Kind-hearted, religious and faithful, positive and optimistic, cheerful, see the good in everyone, pure and hopeful, caring and selfless, (both secretly lesbians?)

#yellowjackets #jackie taylor #van palmer #laura lee #the wilds #shelby goodkind #toni shalifoe #fatin jadmani #lesbian #everyone is gay I’ve decided

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shaymcsudonim · 3 months

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lololol

Alastor played himself

He ran to save his own life, as any reasonable person would do.

This gave him the opportunity to come back stronger later.

But what if he had genuinely sacrificed himself for his friends?

Even if it would have seemed like the end of the road, we now know it wouldn't have been.

Because of Sir Pentious.

His sacrifice landed him, not at the gates of heaven where human souls end up, but next to the seraphim, implying that he might be one now himself?

What Alastor wants more than anything seems to be freedom, and his machinations reflect that. He's making plans and spinning schemes, getting his hands dirty and doing what needs to be done for his own agenda

Sir Pentious has never constructed a complex strategy in his life, running purely on feelings and tactics.

And even though his sacrifice made no difference, while Alastor's stalling at least bought them a bit of time, nobody is tearfully saluting portraits of Alastor at the new hotel. Even Charlie & Co. can tell which of the two was more sincere.

And now Alastor has a favor from Charlie in his back pocket, an unfathomable well of rage, and a five year plan to rule hell.

And Pentious is up in heaven hanging out with seraphim, through the power of Heartfelt Selfless Impulse.

Its so fucking funny. : D

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel spoilers #spoilers

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oraclemoontarot · 4 months

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xdinary heroes ideal type - tarot reading ★

disclaimer - for these readings i only look at what their ideal types are currently, take these as a grain of salt too as they are for entertainment purposes only!!

★ gunil's ideal type:

gunil at the moment is undecided about what he wants. he either wants someone who is more traditional/stable, loving and nurturing, or someone who is more sociable, outgoing and a go-getter - a risk-taker. he would want someone who is family oriented though, as well as intelligent, talkative, and with a strong personality. he’d love someone who is generous with their time, someone kind and selfless. he’d also like them to be cute personality wise – a contrast to their cold appearance. overall, someone who is hardworking, sweet, selfless, and strong.

★ jungsu’s ideal type:

jungsu likes someone who is career-oriented, driven, and good with money, he also likes someone mature, classy, and intelligent – someone witty and not afraid to speak their mind. jungsu wants someone who is sensual, has a childlike nature and may seem happy and positive on the outside, but there’s more to them the more you get to know them. jungsu would like someone who has leadership qualities, is strong, confident, humble yet also carefree and playful – an impulsive person who is always up and experiencing new things. overall, someone who is always positive and brings people together, they know how to make a home – with decorations etc. and know how to take care of themselves and their appearance. simply someone who brings joy to his life and is full of love and happiness.

★ gaon’s ideal type:

gaon wants someone who is intuitive, sees life with a different lens, mature, sexy, and intelligent, yet also playful and fun. he likes someone who has had a difficult past in which they have overcome – someone who is interesting and has stories to tell. he also likes someone who is giving, humble, at peace with themselves and balanced. they’re sociable and are able to make friends easily or get along well with his friends and family – someone with a mother-like energy – warm, nurturing, deeply connected with their emotions and kind. gaon may also like someone who is spiritual, mysterious and with a hard exterior that, once you get to know them, they’re sensitive and sweet souls.

★ o.de’s ideal type:

o.de would want someone who is stable and loyal, someone with a strong sense of right and wrong – a high moral compass, but also logical. he also likes someone who is optimistic, positive, and confident – a person who knows how to enjoy life to the fullest, an adventurous soul or a child at heart. o.de wants an emotionally balanced person, who also has a high sex drive. someone who has leadership qualities but also has a lot of love to give. if they have struggles, o.de likes when they work hard to get out of it or improve themselves – someone independent and strong.

extra notes – might prefer someone who shares the same culture/is from the same country.

★ junhan’s ideal type:

junhan wants someone who is goal-oriented and protective of their family, patient and would never give up. he wants someone who has a lot of friends and is a dreamer and creative – someone deeply passionate. like gaon, junhan may like someone who is intuitive and spiritual as well. junhan is a romantic and would want someone he can have a family with and grow old together. someone who is family oriented, wise and with a depth to them. he wants someone who is equally as romantic as him but also has a lot of love and happiness to share with the world. a pure and kind soul who loves helping others, trustworthy and a provider – a mother/father but also a life partner.

★ jooyeon’s ideal type:

jooyeon’s ideal type is someone who is wise, educated and gives strength to those around them, as well as staying true to their beliefs. he likes someone who is competitive, good with words and a risk taker. jooyeon wants someone who is fun and affectionate and loves parties or simply being around people – a lively person. he also wants someone who is good at what they do and are successful in their line of work. he would like someone who is gentle, sweet and with numerous hobbies. jooyeon’s ideal type is someone who tries to look at the positives or to be optimistic even when things may be troubling them. like junhan, he’d also want someone he could settle down with, whether it’s with a family of their own with children/pets or something him and his partner could look after together.

#tarot #xdinary heroes #ideal type #tarot reading #kpop #gaon #jun han #gunil #jungsu #jooyeon #o.de #Kpop tarot #Xdinary Heroes tarot #ideal type tarot

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chamerionwrites · 6 months

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There's this popular category of life advice on here (I've seen two or three separate posts just recently) that basically boils down to "doing something good/kind/charitable for self-serving reasons (including 'wanting to feel good about oneself' or 'wanting to be admired') is functionally identical to doing it for purely selfless reasons." And while I do appreciate that they're largely intended to address a certain kind of fretful overscrupulosity (with which I sympathize!), and I obviously don't think it is selfish to derive happiness out of making others happy, I've gotta be the local killjoy and push back here because imo those posts overstate the case to kind of an alarming degree.

Sorry but it takes exactly one experience of watching horrified while some entitled donor acts as a human wrecking ball to an organization's stated purpose before you develop a healthy cynicism about charity, motive, and the human capacity to convince others (and frequently oneself!) that deeply destructive and self-serving actions are making the world a better place. Motive DOES matter and it's not because joy is inherently suspect, or because an act is only good if you personally suffer for it, or because you are being judged/deserve to be judged for every secret passing thought and emotion. It's because motive can and does have real material effect on outcomes.

So yes, agonizing over the perfect purity of one's motives as opposed to just doing the nice thing can definitely be taken way too far. On the other hand reasonable self-examination is absolutely a thoughtful, honest, necessary impulse and not a sign that you need to kill the joyless cultural puritan in your head or whatever [CITATION NEEDED].

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mirambles · 2 years

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Little Women - The Ending

What a wild ride this drama was! When you watch too many KDramas there is a constant cynic in you wondering if the drama with a solid start will derail after it hits the mid way mark - or will the finale be a disappointment. Every episode of Little Women upped the level of mystery, thrill, sinister plots, character twists and you kept wondering if the writer and director would be able to tie all the loose ends or will it make no sense at all and leave us infuriated.

The plot twists were largely unexpected, to maintain such consistency over 12 episodes is near impossible, getting 1-2 plot twists right amongst 20 odd is a big win for the writer. It means she had us glued, she had us guessing, she had us theorising and she kept blowing our mind and surprising us. Jung Seo Kyung deserves a standing ovation.

Before I jump into the main characters and their ending - just wanted to put it out there that every single actor/actress in this drama - whether the role was big or small, brought their A game to this drama. This is what great direction and writing can do!

However it left me baffled that people are actually lamenting and disappointed that InJoo and DoIl didn’t get their ‘happy ending’ - are you effing kidding me? Did we even watch the same drama? The romance is a side plot - it didn’t even exist or even if it had , it would have no bearing on the story. Please stop obsessing over this non existent plot point. DoIl was a side plot. Let it be that - don’t make the drama about him.

I will re-emphasise this - a drama made by women for women. The story was about the 3 sisters who loved each other immensely and would go to any lengths to protect each other, the story was about the heiress who went rogue after being denied her right by patriarchy, the story was about a friendship between two young girls wanting to free themselves of their family burdens, the story was about a woman’s revenge to avenge her mom’s death. The story was about these women fighting their battles - winning some and losing some and the men were a side plot, they were mere pawns and let them be at that. Don’t make a woman’s life about the men in her life.

The ending was poetic in many ways - Won Sang A bringing about her own destruction. Her guilt over her mom’s death, her anger at being discriminated channeled in the wrong way. Uhm Ji Won was brilliant, simply brilliant in shifting those expressions and her cold calculated behaviour sent chills down my spine.

In Kyung was the smart, principled one, but was equally reckless and impulsive; however she realised in quick time the importance of holding back the important cards to play at the right time. I’m also glad she realised that brain producing alpha waves is the right choice over her heart racing. Nam Ji Hyun was stellar and I haven’t seen her look this gorgeous in any drama of hers. She slayed the pants look in this one.

InHye - everyone hated on her and her selfishness but she turned out to be equally selfless - never ever forgetting her sisters’ love and sacrifices. Once she found her path, she made sure her sisters were in a comfortable place just like she was. She was a great friend to HyoRin and helped her escape a life that would have been pure hell, and who knows might have tipped her to the dark side. How valuable is their friendship to each other.

InJoo being in the apartment alone - this scene was the most poignant one in the finale for me. How often do we define our happiness by the people in our lives? How often do we forget to place ourselves ahead of others? The grand-aunt did deliver some wisdom nuggets to InJoo. InJoo who loved her sisters and her life was only about them, was now by herself; still loved by her sisters, but free of the responsibility to take care of them, free to live her life. She wasn’t lonely, she was just relieved. Despite all she was put through, her innocence and naivety were not damaged. As @kdramaplaybook on twitter said she grew but she stayed the same.

The consistency in the characters throughout the drama was impressive. DoIl loved his money and he probably liked InJoo too l, but if he had left it all for her - it would be so cliched and inconsistent and hence I liked where it ended. Maybe they will meet, maybe they won’t , there are other fish in the sea. InJoo needs to finally live her life, happiness is not always being with your loved ones, sometimes it also lies in letting them go to pursue their happiness and putting your own happiness first. InJoo can do whatever she wants to be happy - even if that means spending all her money on buying truckloads of lipglosses and icecream.

I may need to write another long post in praise of Kim Go Eun’s performance as InJoo in this drama - she nailed every expression, but most of all I loved her expressions when they changed in split second from ‘There I got you’ to ‘holy shit did I mess up again’. I love Nam Ji Hyun, but Kim Go Eun had the meatier role and she did full justice. Having watched quite a few dramas of hers, this is by far her best one.

The background score and the cinematography were two equally powerful characters in this drama and I can write pages on every shot , frame and scene where they took the story ahead or warned us of the upcoming twist or shocked us to the core. They elevated every frame of this drama. As my friend @KdramasSlump on twitter said - this drama was pure art.

The drama praises would be incomplete without praising the director Kim Hee Won ( also directed Vincenzo) and writer Jung Seo Kyung of this drama. Sure men write good thrilling plots, but women write thrilling plots with equal emphasis on emotions , life’s lessons and well etched characters. Kingdom was a case in point and now it is Little Women.

This drama has so much to be spoken and written about - the social commentary in it, life’s hard hitting truths in so many dialogues, it could well be another long post. It will be a long , long time before I get over this drama and multiple rewatches will happen to discover more hidden meanings behind every dialogue and scene. When a drama sucks you in and engulfs your mind like this - you know the team has delivered a masterpiece, what’s more wonderful is that an all women team delivered it and I will forever be rooting for more of this to happen!

If this drama doesn’t get all the awards - I’m staging a revolt!

#little women kdrama #little women #tvn little women #nam ji hyun #kim go eun #park ji hoo #uhm ji won #finale #wi ha joon

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lovergirlrin · 1 year

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Always.

Little Stiles blurb. This is my first time posting my writing, so don’t be too mean, please. I know it’s a little dialogue heavy, so I’m sorry about that. Also, I have no clue how to work tumblr, so I would appreciate any tips.

Fluff, pure fluff, it’s lowkey cringey, stiles is a dork, reader is scotts sibling

“I’m scared,” It was barely a whisper, but he heard.

“I know, but we’re gonna be okay. I’m with you,” he held me tighter.

“Always?” I already know the answer, but I need to hear it right now.

“Always. It’d have to be the end of the fricken’ world to keep me from you.” I smiled at that. After everything we’ve been through, the end of the world doesn’t sound so scary.

“I don’t wanna lose you.”

“You never will. No matter what, I’m with you. You and me forever right? ‘S what you said when you made our rings.” I started laughing.

“I was high off my ass when I painted those, Sti. I literally used nail polish.”

“I know, you kept calling me pretty. I mean, I appreciate it, but you said it like a million times.”

“God, don’t remind me!” I gently hit his chest. He grabbed my hand, moving his face closer to mine.

“Am I still pretty?” His nose bumped mine.

“Of course you are. Can’t believe I got lucky enough to have such a perfect boyfriend.” I rest my forehead on his.

“M’not perfect, baby.” I wish he could see himself how I see him, but he can’t. So, I’ll just tell him, every day.

“To me you are. You’re every good thing in my world.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I love everything about you. Your obsession with Star Wars. The way you pout when you focus on studying or working on a case. How selfless you are. How brave you are. Your beautiful brown eyes. Every birthmark you have. The impulsive decisions you make. Your hair. That big brain of yours. How persepti-” I’m cut off by a gagging noise. I pull away from Stiles, to look at my door. Finding my brother, Scott, standing there, I roll my eyes. I hadn’t even heard the door open.

“Can you two stop being gross and come down so we can all talk?” He looks absolutely disgusted.

“Shut up Scott. I’m allowed to spend time with my boyfriend. Also, learn to knock! ” I throw a pillow at him. I hear some laughter at my shouting, from down the stairs, as I stand up. Scott, who dodged the pillow, rolls his eyes and heads back downstairs. “Alright, let's go before Scott throws a hissy fit.” Stiles groans, before standing up. As I head for the door, Stiles grabs my arm and pulls me back.

“I love you,” He tells me, holding me to him.

“I love you too,” I breathe against his lips. He kisses me lightly before we hear Scott yelling at us to hurry up.

#fluff #stiles stilinksi x reader #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #scott mccall #mccall!reader #teenwolf x reader #reader #x reader #stiles x peter

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parlerenfleurs · 2 years

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I've been thinking lately about the incense burner extras, and I cannot sleep so I might as well type out my thoughts.

The first time I read them I wasn't enthused. While I can read fucked up smut for its own sake, here, it was a bit too hard-core for my taste in relation to a couple that love each other (AND I do Not like the blood. Boy I sure Don't like the blood. Why did there need to be blood?). BUT, while as smut goes it's not what I'll go read when I'm in the mood, I have since then read several posts and meta, and also other translations that put it in a different light for me.

And while I'm sure I'll probably just regurgitate what more perceptive people have said before me, I did have a fond revelation about them, which make them especially moving (yes, moving) to me.

I'm not gonna address Wei WuXian's farmer fantasy, as this is not what this is about (and besides, @ninjakk might make a post about it someday, so I'm eagerly waiting!) - here, right now, we are talking about the sex Õ3Õ.

There is a lot to be said about how erotica is a mirror of a culture and its current taboo/repressions, and about the fact that this is written in Chinese by a Chinese person in current Chinese culture, and that kinks and sexual fantasies do not reflect one's morals, but many people have talked about it and I have no authority nor personnal knowledge on the matter, so let's accept that there extras can be a bit jarring to some of our sensibilities and move on (just like I did the first time I read them and was put off but decided to go on enjoying the rest of the story regardless).

I'm rambling so damn much but my point is this. These extras are a gift from MXTX to her characters, a gift most of us can only dream about but never achieve: a gift of a second chance.

A gift of being able to go back in time and catch that missed opportunity, fix this messed up situation, come back with one's current skills and knowledge and do better. I'm especially talking about the second dream, here, where Wei WuXian, as an adult, meets the young teenage Lan WangJi and riles him up to Mengpo's hall and back, because, crucially, Wei WuXian never did make Lan WangJi lose his control when they were young, (at least not on purpose, and I'm coming back to the Kiss TM later), and it wasn't for a lack of trying, but since he wasn't aware of his own attraction, even less Lan WangJi's toward him, how could he have gone all out then? So he didn't, and Lan WangJi kept his control, and they didn't go at it like rabbits on the back mountains of the Cloud Recesses. Much to Wei WuXian's chagrin when they have sex for the second time, and he laments not having done this from the beginning, and having lost so much time.

So they get this chance, for Wei WuXian to undo Lan WangJi's restraint, for young Lan WangJi to finally let go like he so badly wanted to. For both to retroactively not miss the opportunity (yeah they do this in a freaky way because they are freaks /affectionate *cough* Bichen *cough*).

I think this has been said a lot so I won't expand too much on this next part, but. Lan WangJi is a freak. He's a jealous, possessive, dominant lover, who nevertheless never lets these traits impose on the object of his affections (and make no mistakes, his love is also pure, selfless, and beautiful - but he has kinks, don't we all, and he's human, as we all are). So, compounding with how his father treated his mother, these things that Lan WangJi feels, and thinks, and wants, and fantasizes about, bring him a lot of shame, and probably some self-loathing. Absolutely self-loathing when he gives into his worst impulses and forcefully kisses Wei WuXian on Phoenix mountain, but I'm pretty sure with time he comes to accept himself enough to not hate this part of him. He's still ashamed, though. And afraid of hurting Wei WuXian. BUT fortunately, Wei WuXian is exactly the freak for him. The man also has kinks and they match beautifully with Lan WangJi's, and when he sees Lan WangJi's darkest fantasies.... it turns him on, he cheers him on. Even before seeing them he's spot on with his dirty talk, telling Lan WangJi he should have just dragged him somewhere and have his way with him back then (they both would have enjoyed it, albeit with a lot of confusion on Wei WuXian's part).*

There goes Lan WangJi's shame. He cannot be more deeply and entirely accepted and celebrated and loved as he is now.

These are the incense burner's gifts.

*it occurs to me that the little freak must be quite happy to be reborn in a slimer/shorter build, so that Lan WangJi can manhandle him even more easily.

#mdzs #wangxian #incense burner extras #am very tired+sleepy now this might be incoherent I don't know #sleep now.

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ask-fantasy-sanders-sides · 10 months

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I forget, is Sune’s pink?? Idk why I thought it was also red? - 🌫️

(Roman smiles,)

Roman: Oh, only a few of the colors have been claimed by specific deities, like Lathander's Ruby Radiance and Eilistraee's Silver Moonfire. If you're not one of those special cases, it's usually more based on personality!

Roman: The color of your magic is changed by what your attitude towards magic is — It sorta reacts to how you intend to use it. The most common colors you'll see are shades of yellow, orange, and blue, with green being a little more rare than that, and purple being very rare. Each one has a pretty consistant profile of personality traits in the people who manifest them, and when you've seen enough spellcasting, you can even start to guess what spells people can probably do based on their color!

Roman: Yellow is associated with guidance, protection, and control; It's believed you manifest the yellow color if your use of magic is always dominated by your desire to do what you believe is right. Yellow casters tend to be fiercely devoted to their allies and principles, and are often incredibly selfless. They are usually healers and abjurers, using their magic to shepard others. Many famous leaders have been asociated with that golden glow~! However, yellow is just as common among iron-fisted dictators as it is among heroes and knights. —Disregarding that last warning, I always thought Yellow was the color Patton would have, if he ever gained a talent for magic!

Roman: Blue is associated with tranquility, focus, and intellect. It's believed you manifest the blue color if your use of magic is always dominated by your desire to learn and experiment. Blue casters casters tend to be analytical and curious, but they can also be cold and selfish. They use their magic to seek out their own full potential, and discover things new and exciting! It will come as no surprise that this color is very common in wizards, for good and for ill.

Roman: Orange is associated with pride, impulsivity, and freedom; It's believed you manifest the orange color if your use of magic is always dominated by your current emotional state, very rarely thinking through a spell as you cast it. Orange castors tend to be social, compassionate, disobedient, and hedonistic, but are also the first to harm others with their spells. They often use their magic to get whatever they currently want, or to entertain the others around them, making it the most common colors for bards and sorcerers! But, it also can be a warning to you about the caster's lack of morals or lack of control.

Roman: Green is associated with instinct or wildness, harmony, and vitality. It's believed you manifest the green color if your use of magic is driven purely by the ability to do it; the mere fact that the option is there. They are known to use their magic like anyone else would breathe, as a simple part of them they cannot live without. Green castors tend to be inhumanly stubborn and resistant to change, always true to themselves.

Roman: Purple is associated with ambition, amorality, and resourcefulness; It's believed you manifest the purple color if your use of magic is always dominated by your desire to exploit that power as much as you can. Not much is said aside from that, since it is so rare and most of it's notorius users have not been so kind. It's considered a bad omen, but it isn't inherently bad, it's just...particularly prone to corruption.

(Logan scoffs,)

Logan: No more so than yellow or blue. That is just a stereotype. Purple can just as easily be associated with a fear of power as a hunger for it.

Roman: Logan's just cranky because his dark blue gets mistaken with purple~

Logan: Just like the colors on a color wheel, the Achranoma exists on a circular spectrum; Yellow, blue, purple, red, green, and back to yellow. Your place on it will rarely be stuck in the middle of one hue. Mine manifested on the farther-towards-purple side of blue, that's all.

#lets roll #game mechanics #🌫️#long post

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flowersofstarlight · 3 months

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🦋Emma Neil is a kind-hearted, compassionate, outgoing, and eccentric girl who possesses a strong love of fantasy and adventure. She is a Straight Ally and an optimistic person who always attempts to see the best and the good in others, even in past enemies. She is clever, creative, and is good at drawing and painting. She is 14 years old, the younger sister of Aiden and Rian, and a best friend/older sister of Yuki.

Emma has ADHD, but it doesn’t hinder her. She is hyperactive, impulsive, loud and easily distracted when she sees cute animals and mythical creatures like Yuki. She’s brave enough to face scary things to help and rescue her family and friends.

Emma has shown to be heroic, risking her life on a number of occasions to protect others, especially those she loves. She does not tolerate when others take advantage of someone’s positions in life, regularly standing up for herself, inspiring them or those who cannot stand up for themselves as seen against the likes of the bullies at school and their enemies’ oppressive rule and evil plans to destroy what they pleased and take control of everything.

❄️Yuki is an Ice Fox from another dimension who has been lost and unable to figure out how to get back home for a hundred years. He got separated from his siblings and doesn’t remember how he got transported to Earth. He only remembers that he and his kind were attacked and captured by an army of dark entities.

He is very kind, loving, cheerful, and loves spending time with his friends and family. He is friends with Aiden, Rian and Emma. And also an adoptive brother of the Neil siblings. He is a determined and brave little Ice Fox who is willing to help his friends and fight for what’s right. He enjoys playing in the snow, helping others, likes the sound of peaceful rain and music, and seeing natural scenery. He has a tremendous love for food like cupcakes and ice cream, but dislikes peanuts and coconut. Even though he doesn’t need to eat, he still enjoys it.

He enjoys nature walks with Aiden, painting with Emma, and listening to Rian playing music with his guitar. He is upbeat, energetic and likes to make new friends. He is easily trusting and naive, but he never fails to see the best in everyone and everything. He has a pure heart that allows him to reach out and connect with others, such as his allies, swaying them with his kindhearted and selfless character.

He is sympathetic when he helps Aiden calm down during a massive panic attack. He helped and comfort Emma when she’s having anxiety and depression. And also helped Rian with his Anticipatory anxiety, helping him stop repeating himself what he could’ve done differently and to realize that he shouldn’t blame himself and that his actions were not intentionally or directly or actually his fault for what happened. And the guilt he had shouldn’t be there in the first place because it’s not serving any purpose and needs to be let go of.

Yuki does not hesitate to stand up for them and come to their aid when needed. He is extremely terrified of spiders, especially the ones from his dimension that are much larger than the smaller spiders from Earth.

Yuki’s powers are Cryokinesis (controlling snow, ice and frost), healing powers, and the ability to walk on water. His age is unknown, but he is mentally 6 years old, noticing his behavior and personality. He, along with the other species of fox from his dimension, don’t age and don’t need to eat like humans and animals from Earth. However, they can eat if they so desire. He and his kind represent what season when they were born/created, symbolizes their traits and what elemental powers they have like Yuki’s ice power, his fur color and his personality.

#Emma Neil #Yuki #Yuki the Ice Fox #fantasy #mythical creatures #fantasy creature #fantasy character #original character #drawing #my ocs #my art #original art #traditional art #traditional drawing

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