#and ultimate freedom

[jensensitive]

This was like an important scene for me when we wrote it. And when I say “we,” it was primarily– the story was broken between Ben Edlund and I. So um– if you uh, loved the script and loved the episode, you can blame– I’ll take the credit! If you hate the episode, it’s Ben Edlund’s fault [chuckles]. I think we’ll just um, we’ll leave it at that. Um, no, but Ben and– Ben and I really broke the episode together, and he did the lion’s share of designing this story and– and where it all goes.

So this little speech from Jensen, and this is a good place to talk about the skill and talent of Jensen Ackles, and how he as Dean is able to infuse such vulnerability into this character– as everyone well knows at this point– I mean I’m not breaking news. But if you just look at these moments– if you look how desperate he is to save everybody, to get through to Cas.

Like, the scene could just be– yelling at Cas and dressing him down, but Jensen and I talked about it, and we talked about like what are the other layers to bring to it? What are the layers of vulnerability? And one of the things that we talked about, and Jensen’s just so good about looking for these things. And–and what we talked about is– if you’ll remember the last time in that first Anna episode, how he wanted to be angel. He didn’t want all the pain and guilt of being human. He wanted to let go of pain and guilt. Because being human was so painful for him, because all the memories– he was in Hell. and-- and this scene, this little moment here, he’s saying he wants pain, and he wants guilt, and he’d rather have battling and fighting with Sam. He would rather have all of that, than to be in some paradise.

This– it’s not just about trying– yelling at Cas. It’s about being frightened, it’s about being desperate, but it’s also about a kind of redemption for Dean. It’s about his realization that he’d prefer being human. All the faults and foibles of being human, and he’d rather have that. And he’d rather take the imperfection– the messy, sloppy, confused– yknow, selfish, bewildering imperfection of being human than to be some cold, unfeeling angel, even if that means ending up in paradise and everything being perfect.

Perfect is cold and hateful. And humanity is messy and sloppy. And–and if we have a theme in this show it’s that– yknow, we’re a humanistic point of view. That being– that perfection sucks, and that what you want is to be the messy, sloppy, bewildering state of being human and having family, for as much as family is messy and muddy, that salvation is always in that. It’s always in sloppy humanity and messy family. And-- and that’s– that’s where hope and salvation lie. And when you turn away from family, that’s when the world will be destroyed. And when you turn towards family, that’s when the world can be saved. And that’s just something I– I don’t know– it’s– I don’t know– it’s just something I kind of I deeply feel, and– and– I think–

Yknow, there was a line that Bobby had that ending up getting cut, but “Family’s the one true thing in a world full of crap.” And that’s as good a– uh, it was a little– you don’t wanna get so on the nose with your theme, which is why we cut the line form the show, but that’s as good a way to state the primary thematic of this show as– as there is. That family’s the one true thing in a world full of crap. Um, also that destiny and god’s will is all a bunch of holy crap, which Dean said in the last [scene], that’s actually another good thematic of the show. We’re believers in free will.

Eric Kripke’s 4x22 Lucifer Rising commentary on the scene with Dean trying to get though to Cas [28:25 - 32:18]

#spn 4x22 #commentary #Eric Kripke #jensen ackles #jensen and acting #free will #heaven #I just love hearing about jensen getting to collaborate with a director who really appreciates and respects him as an actor #as much as kripke can annoy me sometimes I really appreciate that #because they both really cared about telling the story and doing the best work they could #i also as someone who hated what heaven was and it was like the most existentially terrifying thing ever #i really appreciate how well everything he says gels with the heaven endgame #and jack and cas who've been so transformed by being a part of sam and dean's family #transform the very essence of what heaven is #to be actual salvation #and ultimate freedom #and finding peace in oneself though love and family and freedom #even dean's journey in the winchesters #finding himself and his own happiness and saving himself and the universe through family and love and connection and freedom

[purrfectlycontent]

till’s pupils reflecting red only when he’s looking directly at ivan

#my ramblings #all the little details they put in #the metaphors with the red and the shooting stars #it makes me wonder if part of the reason why they specifically chose these scenes is because of freedom #the first scene being ivan and till escaping from anakt garden #the second being death. the ultimate freedom from alnst #and there’s that whole thing with an eye (with black lashes looking like ivan’s) being injected with something red #sorry. i’m still not over this #in fact i have more questions #alien stage #alnst ivan #alnst till #ivantill

[uncanny-tranny]

Your fears that you don't have a body that will transition "well" are, sure, understandable, but there isn't truly such thing as a body that's unworthy of transition. Perhaps your changing body won't suit everybody's taste, but would you rather live for yourself or for the whims of random people who don't care about your happiness as long as they're attracted to what they see?

Transition is for anybody who wants it. It's okay to be fearful. It's okay to be uncertain. But it isn't the end of the world. You are in control, and if you choose to transition to any capacity, it should be at your behest. You and your body are worthy of transition. I hope you are able to seize transition and do what you truly want for yourself.

#trans #transgender #lgbt #lgbtq #ftm #mtf #nonbinary #have been seeing a small resurgence in some trans spaces that there is such thing as an 'untransitional' body #there are people out there who cannot transition for medical/financial/social reasons but that isn't what people often mean #kill the person in your head that says you need to adhere to cishet standards. it's okay to be trans and *look* it if you want #transition because it makes you feel happy or fulfilled. transition because it is something *you* want #while yes it's complex because appearing trans can be dangerous i ultimately want people to have the freedom to make decisions solely... #...on what *they* want y'know? #i have seen this idea that some people just aren't 'able' to transition because they won't 'appear cis' for years now and it's heartbreaking #like i used the whole 'i don't look cis' against myself because it's impossible for me *to be* cis... #...i will never be non-trans. i will never not be a transsexual and i used to hate that about myself... #...because i was taught that being trans is bad. i was taught that looking trans is a curse that nobody should EVER inflict upon themselves #and that the goal was to essentially distance yourself as far away from transness as you can #and it's okay for people to not want to 'look' visibly trans. it's neutral. what was harmful was the idea that TRANS was bad #there's a huge difference between 'i don't want to be visibly trans' and 'i think being trans and looking it is bad'

[rhaenyratheecruel]

A huge problem with antizionist activists at the moment is that so many of them are just absolutely itching to see more violence. They don’t want to stop the violence. They don’t call for a ceasefire and peace anymore. Instead they call for Israelis/Jewish people to be ethnically cleansed from the region instead of Palestinians. Like they literally just think the “wrong people” are being murdered right now. They’re a bunch of western spectators with nothing on the line agitating for more violence in a region thousands of miles away so they can root for their “team.” It’s a game to so many of these people, and a game they want to end in even more violence than has already been perpetrated by the Israeli government and Hamas.

#like call me crazy but i think ethnic cleansing/genocide is Bad no matter what group of ppl you’re doing it to #ultimately everyone needs to realize the only way forward is peaceful coexistence with equal rights and freedom of movement #because neither the israelis nor the palestinians are going anywhere nor should they have to #i/p #miri’s thoughts #i’m just. tired #antisemitism #i think the world could benefit from having LESS violence actually #anyways i left twitter so i wouldn’t have to keep being subjected to antisemitism/being expected to comment on this issue 24/7 #so i’m not really going to talk about it here very much #but i wanted/needed to get this off my chest

[ganondoodle]

the idea of playable zelda in itself is really cool, but then i think of how her 'type' of character typically gets animated/sounds/treated and i just shrivel up inside

the only way id accept if it was like fromsofts way of doing it, which is there is literally little to no difference no matter who you play as, but we all know nintendo would never lol

#ganondoodles talks #zelda #and if totk is anything to go by oh boi #what could it be #dress up game? stand beside link and look sad and pretty? #like im not against the concept at all #but like ... id rather have none than like -that- #the bar is 6 feet below the ground and i still think theyd somehow bury it deeper #i know sheik and whatever existed but it cant be just me that feels like zelda as a franchise has been regressing in terms of writing #especially with their newfound ultimate fantasy of “freedom” #and i just dont see them doing anything radical with her #even though she deserves it #...could you imagine how the average gamer bro of today would react if zelda wasnt a perfect uwu waifu?

[4dkellysworld]

All the effort you're involved in is effort to be an ego, or to resist being an ego. Do you see what the problem is? It is your constant effort. You must become effortless. - Lester Levenson, Session 34: The Self (Your Self) - Keys to Ultimate Freedom

#quotes #lester levenson #keys to ultimate freedom #its been a while since i posted some lester material

[philosophybits]

We know nothing of the ultimate realities of our existence, nor shall we ever know anything. Let that be agreed. But it does not follow that therefore we must accept some or other dogmatic theory... It only follows that man is free to change his conception of the universe as often as he changes his boots or his gloves, and that constancy of principle belongs only to one's relationships with other people, in order that they may know where and to what extent they may depend on us.

Lev Shestov, All Things Are Possible

#philosophy #quotes #Lev Shestov #All Things Are Possible #knowledge #limits #limitations #ultimate #reality #existence #being #freedom #liberty #consistency

[scintillyyy]

i also mainly think it's interesting that tim's robin series is conceptualized as far more conservative today than it actually was at the time (because of dixon's eventual descent into the uberconservative) because of the drug psas, the gun psas, the pregnancy arc, the hard on crime aspects when in actuality all that was...actually pretty bipartisan for the time. and despite the fact that i find his current politics horrid, when i look at tim's robin series alongside others 90s media i don't think dixon was lying that he was trying to keep it & tim as neutral as possible based on the standards of the time. those things we look back at are conservative by today's standards, but society & culture itself used to be more conservative across the board. like chuck dixon, a republican, pitched those stories. dennis o'neil, a liberal, okayed those stories.

also i think it's a little funny that tim gets the reputation of being dixon's mouthpiece when he was acting fairly standard for 90s media when steph was the one who was *actually* spouting off actual conservative talking points of the era & was basically his mouthpiece because he had more freedom and wiggle room with her as a side character instead of the restrictions of acceptability with a main character.

#which is why i think dixon ultimately liked her better as a character because he was allowed that freedom due to her being a side character #vs tim who had to be very neutral and uncontroversial by status as a main character #anyways tim who didn't think steph needed to keep the baby #vs steph who rages at welfare recipients hates bill clinton and thinks that retributive justice is better than restorative justice #i know which of you was the actual conservative mouthpiece of the era lol

[newspecies]

"the vast majority of legal persecution against early queers was focused on men" ARE YOU INSANE

#rot.txt #DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WOMEN WERE FORCED TO MARRY MEN OR DIE. HUH. WHERE AM I #this is from the section in the new hbomberguy video where he talks about james somertons misogyny and lesbophobia btw #SOMEONES BITTER THAT WOMEN KISS IN CARTOONS SOMETIMES!!! #AS IF THAT ERASES THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF MISOGYNY IN SO MANY CULTURES!!!!!!! GOOD GOD #sorry somerton is just so insanely stupid i cant get over it. why is he like that #like i dont know maybe this isnt important but i remember being asked as a kid to pick a greek city state to live in #but i was a girl. so none of them were good choices because apparently i would be forced to have children no matter which one i picked #and i guess it just stuck with me. if the boys liked to fight they got to pick sparta and if they liked to read then it was athens #but what did the girls get. a little more freedom in certain places but ultimately the same expectation. have babies or die #in hindsight there were definitely options in ancient greece #but my teacher didnt tell us that. we just had to write about whether we would like to have slightly more rights or not #OBVIOUSLY gay men have historically faced discrimination but saying that it wasnt as focused on women is just unbelievably stupid #sorry i dont know if any of this made sense #lesbophobia tw #misogyny tw

[forgondor]

I haven’t read the book so I can’t say but something that struck me in James Ivory’s 1987 Maurice is the fact that Maurice & Alec’s relationship is started by Maurice unknowingly sending a signal to Alec, which Alec largely misinterprets, but it works out anyways, and much later at the end, when they meet at the boathouse, Alec goes “did you get my wire” and Maurice goes “what” because again he completely missed that signal but it doesn’t matter because he’s here anyways. And it’s like. There were a million mistakes to make and a million mistakes they made, but somehow, they find their way to each other, almost unwittingly. Maurice says “It’s a chance in a thousand we met” but I don’t think that’s true. I think it was always going to be like this, in every world they would have found each other. It’s the way they fall into each other’s arms so easily and they try to get away from each other but they can’t and they’re separated by so much but they still collide... This story is SCREAMING at us that no matter how impossible it is no matter how alone and repressed you feel you mustn’t lose hope because your love will find you and you can’t avoid it! You will be happy!

#this isnt about being soulmates i don't really believe in soulmates nor do i love soulmate stories #this is about how queer people have never been alone and have always found each other throughout history even in the most repressed of times #this is about how maurice never gave up on his hopes for happiness and ultimately thats what brings him happiness (unlike clive) #if you trust life and you put yourself out there and you're true to yourself then happiness will find you #just dont lose hope #it's also when alec says 'when you arrived i thought I want that one and look at us now' its like well of course. of course #meant to be etc #also intertwined with the themes of nature and the natural and freedom etc #maurice #maurice 1987 #maurice and alec #maurice hall #alec scudder

[thepersonalwords]

Knowledge is the ultimate key to open the door to freedom.

Debasish Mridha

#quotes #Debasish Mridha #thepersonalwords #literature #life quotes #prose #lit #spilled ink #debasish-mridha #debasish-mridha-m-d #education #freedom #inspirational #knowledge #knowledge-is-the-ultimate-key #philosophy

[astarlightmonbebe]

it's easy to read the situation between li tongguang, ruyi, and yuanzhou as a love triangle on a superficial level, but looking even one step further, it's clear that there's no triangle about it. li tongguang is obsessed with ren xin; ning yuanzhou is devoted to ren ruyi. ltg's obsession is fervent and all consuming, but it's not devotion. like ruyi herself notes, his feelings to her are on the basis of her as a mother figure in his life, as a replacement for what he never received from his mother. is there an element of romantic/sexual love/desire to it? maybe. more likely he's deluded himself into thinking that, because the truth is, it's doubtful that ltg even understands what love is (platonic, filial, familial, romantic, all of the above, etc), because he has no basis for understanding. ruyi's teachings and actions towards him are the closest thing he has to hold up as an example. what he wants is ren xin, is a replica of the master he had. he doesn't want ruyi, because he doesn't actually care about ruyi. therefore, he doesn't care if she's sad, angry, mad; he just can't bear her 'abandoning' him. we saw this way back when she first meet and left him, both at thirteen and seventeen. although he distrusts her first, she saves his life and cares for him in the way no one else has, hence her first being raised on a platform in his mind. when she leaves for good, ending their master-disciple relationship/training, even though it's for official business and she's not abandoning him, in his mind that's exactly what it is. so now that she's in his life again, he won't let her leave again. he was powerless before, a child with no proper name, but now he's a recognized member of the imperial family, a man who can meet her as 'equals' (even when that's far from the truth). as a child, he could only cling to her legs and beg her, but now he has the power to keep her by his side. it's telling that when he finally gets confirmation of her identity, it's not ning yuanzhou he seeks to harm (even though he detests him and their relationship), but yang ying. yang ying is ruyi's new disciple, and as ltg doesn't know she's a woman, he only sees her as his direct replacement.

ning yuanzhou, on the other hand, is devoted to ruyi. he wants to build a new life and future with her, instead of slotting her into a spot in the life he already has. he's someone who accompanies her on walks and makes her midnight snacks, who holds her when she needs to be held and lets her go when she needs to do things on her own. when she speaks her mind, he listens, even when it makes him discontent/it's not what he wanted/wants to hear. he sees her unabashedly as his equal, and though he acknowledges her skills and abilities, or points out her naivety, he never does it to belittle her; to him, she is his peer, deserving of the highest honor and respect. he trusts her to have his back, and she has come to trust him to have her. he did what she might have thought no man would ever do: he proved himself reliable, so she came to rely on him. yuanzhou gives her freedom and autonomy as both ren ruyi and ren xin. of course they run into problems, but they both learn and grow from them, as individuals and as a couple. yuanzhou's belief in her is unwavering, but adaptable, whereas ltg's is unwavering, but frozen in time, disallowing for any new information to be presented. yuanzhou works with ruyi to accept the changes thrown her way; he seeks the core behind her actions in order to better understand her. li tongguang cannot accept the changes in ruyi's character, because they run contrary to the master he has on a pedestal in his mind.

what li tongguang wants is to return to the past, but yuanzhou offers ruyi the promise of a future, even one that might never come to fruition. there's no triangle about it.

#star stumbles #my thoughts #a journey to love #一念关山 #cdrama #written right after watching ep 26 #hope i explained it well #honestly i have a lot more thoughts about this ep and ruyi/ltg but that's still a separate post that will happen. well sometime #maybe after ep 32 idk #it's just the juxtaposition between entering a room that is a shrine to the person she is trying to leave behind #and going home to a man who makes her wonton soup and accompanies her on her revenge journey #who offers his own insights and thoughts but lets her lead the way when it comes down to it. #he gives her ultimate control over her own journey. and ruyi who has never had that freedom of course is drawn to him #oh and one more point that didn't make it in #ruyi's confrontation about how ltg is unwilling to give up his power and success is further proof of his obsession =/= love or devotion #it's not that ning yuanzhou WOULD necessarily give up those things if she asked him to #but he would respect her enough to let her go if he knew he was unwilling to give up his position #of course nyz right now is someone who is planning on retiring and living a quiet life away from it all #which is appealing to ruyi #but ltg obviously won't give up his name and success. he wanted an imperial name but now that he got it the avenue has opened up #we saw his big dreams early on in eps 4-5 (before the character butchery...though i can't really call it that since it makes sense #but still drives me insane) #and of course he won't! for a neglected illegitimate child with no power even gaining a sliver of it is just the beginning #and ruyi is honestly so far from the court in that she might have been close with empress zhaojie #but her understanding of the court is very ignorant. not in a bad way but she was a weapon so of course she didn't have to understand that #she just struck when told to. the power games of the court are basic knowledge but they still shock and confuse her #so it's also a thing about living two different lives and different paths #even though yuanzhou and her are on different ones theirs are still compatible #at this point in their lives. as they said earlier if they had met earlier they probably would be trying to kill each other

[hanadoesstuffwrong]

Sokka: This is getting out of hand, now there are two of them

Kiyi is the only addition from the comics that I'm willing to acknowledge, however, I will happily ignore everything else abt her story. Instead she is Ozai's daughter and protecting her was what kept Ursa in hiding, at least until a year after the war when Zuko and Katara show up for The Southern Raiders pt 2: Electric Boogaloo.

#zuko's redesign stems from my headcanon that after trying to be like his predecessors for a hot minute #he ultimately realises that another Sozin/Azulon/Ozai is not the answer so he kinda de-militarises his royal outfits to represent that #(also all i can think abt when i see comic zuko is him going sideways to get through doorways) #so bye bye big military-style shoulderpads and hello soft flowing robes #also no more bangs because what were they thinking #i have a fic idea where zutara find Ursa and Kiyi with prisoner Azula's help only for a landslide to seperate them right after reuniting #zk and Ursa on one side and Azula and Kiyi on the other #so Azula is faced with a LOT #does she escape? does she take revenge on Ursa by leaving Kiyi defenseless? #she has a whole crisis but ultimately protects Kiyi and returns her to Ursa even though it sacrifices her only chance at freedom #this action doesn't redeem her or spare her the consequences of her past actions but it does start her on that journey #zuko #kiyi #my posts #atla #atla fanart #my art #gonna add zutara cos this does allude to a zutara au i have in mind even though it isn't strictly speaking abt zk themselves #zutara

[henchwife]

Monster Hunter Weapons compilation 2. A lot of these are reworks of varying thoroughness, but a lot of them aren't :V Weapon names in the image descriptions.

Weapons Compilation 1:

Armour Compilation 1:

Armour Compilation 2:

Armour Compilation 3:

#Lego #Monster Hunter #Monster Hunter Freedom 1 #Monster Hunter Freedom Unite #Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate #Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate #Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate #Monster Hunter World #Monster Hunter Rise

[azaracyy]

one of my finished ych commissions. other finished artwork can be found here. the tailmon is based on the twitter meme / trend of tailmon with pikachu build

#brace yourself long tags of rambling ahead #so i tend to ask my commissioner's permit to post a watermarked smaller version of the art on twt #im a person of my word so im not gonna assume or much less abuse that to simply cross-post to every platform im in #this one is a bit special bc the commissioner is an old friend #tldr we were talking about life and career being the typical adults and they randomly went 'ok draw smth for me' and just... paid #so it's like.... a joke commission? but also not bc the pyment is real?? #but yeah they left the decision of what to draw to me. i suggested what i was thinking of drawing and they went #'do it. finish 2023 with a bang' lmaooo idk if this is banger enough but i clearly had a blast. record breaking fastest comm i've ever done #back in school i doodled pikachu everywhere like breathing so it helped #apparently im given the freedom to share the art however and wherever i like too so yeah bc this is a meme and it is best shared with ppl.. #its kinda cool how we now have the ultimate answer to the question 'which is better digimon or pokemon' tho #upon which im just gonna show this chonky polite tailmon #tailmon #gatomon #digimon #png #finished commission #dood you probably wont see this but ty for the random commission :'))

[shadowshrike]

“that you've trapped him in a new, 'nicer' but similarly insidious cycle of abuse with a "savior" figure that he isn't emotionally mature enough to recognize as controlling his life.” he sends 7k people to hell but sure it’s about “controlling his life” are you daft??? Like genuinely dumb.

Thank you for perfectly illustrating my point. There are so many different ways to understand and play this story, and if you feel strongly about one, you may not appreciate the others. This particular example brings up many questions that someone may answer differently while playing:

How much do I think Astarion is capable of and willing to change? How much do I think his vulnerability and occasional sweetness are acts to placate the player? How much do his intent, desires, or what's best for him vs the world/the player even matter to me?

How much does his situation reflect my own experiences? What would I have wanted in his position? What do I think would be best for him in his position? Do I think he would resent someone for making either choice, consciously or subconsciously?

Do I think power is corrupting or revealing of a person's true nature? Do I want to bring out that true nature, regardless of the answer?

Do I want to play a 'moral' game? Does something else feel more satisfying to me?

Is absolute autonomy or power for a person I love more important to me than whatever happens to other people? Is it more important to me than what happens to that person, too? Is personal catharsis my absolute goal?

Do I believe that those 7000 people were effectively doomed and/or monsters already? Do I believe that sending them to hell is significantly worse than what would happen to them otherwise? Do I think I could save them somehow as we have other doomed souls?

These are all valid things to answer differently in a piece of fiction. As is typical in DnD, his story constantly rides a dissonance between something very real (abuse, being controlled by fear, the desire to seek justice and have a brighter future, the fact that victims are not always pleasant people) and something that's very not (dooming thousands of souls, being abused for several human lifetimes, immortality, the curse of vampirism) which means people's emotional responses are going to vary wildly.

How you weigh those choices is up to you. There's going to be diversity in how we perceive a complex story, especially with weakly defined or easy-to-miss fantastical elements, which is the beauty of fandom. To this anonymous poster: if you don't personally think there's ever any justification for Ascension in any type of playthrough due to the cost of 7000 souls - cool, don't do it. My post was very clearly not directed at anyone who isn't excited by the idea of exploring all outcomes. If you can't find common ground with those who do enjoy it, kindly just leave them alone. Have fun with your game and celebrate what you love with those who love the same stuff. Those who prefer Ascended Astarion for any reason aren't hurting you or others by enjoying a game in a particular way, finding different things attractive than you, or placing their moral values differently than yours.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #astarion #my personal preference is to ignore him or not romance and have him leave on Good runs #Ascend and possibly romance on Evil runs #And have him as a spawn in post-game fic but ultimately resentful of his lost freedom #That's what resonates best with how I play games and like my stories #You do you friends! #ask box