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carefulfears · 11 months

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okay i just watched folie a deux and now I'm thinking about the subtle nuanced way vince giligan deals with the msr relationship through the psychological horror of his scripts (particularly pusher, paper hearts, folie a deux, even bad blood though it's portrayed through a different tone) bc like....their relationship IS kind of a psychological horror show of shared madness, and folie a deux illustrates that the most blatantly and kind of is the culmination of that idea. that's why the "one in five billion" confession isn't even romantic in the traditional sense, it's this horrible soul-bearing wound-exposing thing that neither of them knows what to do with, bc facing the implications of it is just...too much. a madness of two!!

"this horrible soul-bearing wound-exposing thing that neither of them knows what to do with" !!!!

you worded this so well, and that's what's so heavy about vince episodes; especially in season 5, which carries this theme throughout.

folie a deux is a scary episode, and it has nothing to do with the bug monster. it's the isolation, the effects of not being able to trust what you see, the danger of a spooky reputation.

it reminds me of her face here, when he says his famous line. unlike redux, fight the future, amor fati, and other times when he’s being open and appreciative of her, she doesn’t cry. she doesn’t smile. there’s something solemn, and wary to it.

out of five billion people in the world, he has one that would believe him, even if his life depended on it. he has one that would listen to him. he has one that would care if he ever made it out of this hospital, enough to come back for him later. and it’s her, who nearly died of cancer earlier that year.

there’s fear in being needed, there’s grief in being starbuck.

i love your point about vince episodes utilizing psychological horror, and it makes me think of the end of paper hearts.

paper hearts is my favorite episode of the series, but also arguably the darkest, and it really serves to ground the characters in a way. it doesn’t get more brutal, for mulder, than 16 dead little girls. it doesn’t get more human, than digging for bones in the dirt.

in conduit, when he unearthed a body that might have been a missing teenager’s, she implored him to stop with protocol and reason. in oubliette, when he gave CPR to a cold kidnapping victim, she begged and tried to grab him. in paper hearts, she hears “help me,” and she digs with her bare hands.

in the end, their tones are so different. he gives her that smile and a hug (the same thing he did to try to convince his mother he was okay, earlier in the episode).

and she stares at the floor. she calmly strokes his hair, holds him. he hurts so much, for so long, and he has one person who knows it. “death’s best girl.”

and isn’t that a kind of shared madness, in itself? the things that control your lives and give you direction, not mattering or existing to anyone outside of that office?

his pain is real to her. samantha’s loss is real to her. they don’t know it yet, but what samantha suffered is closer to scully’s own experience than they had imagined. she is more entwined and enmeshed with this journey than she thinks.

“folie a deux” might be romance to some, but it isn’t to them. “you’re my one in five billion” might sweep some off their feet, but it doesn’t to them. it’s scary, and it’s painful.

the episode doesn’t end with her saving him through her own position. scully sees the monster, she joins him in delusion, and only then is he permitted safety.

it ends on the elevator, going down side-by-side, neither of them ever meeting the other's eye.

like you said, there are some things that are just too much to face.

#asks #thank you for sharing!! i loved thinking on this #i hope you’re enjoying your watch #folie a deux #paper hearts

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bonesandthebees · 11 months

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Now, the reason this fight is so good, is because both characters get a reality check. Which they can only do because the know each other so well. Nothing hurts more than someone pointing out a truth you didn’t want to acknowledge and forcing you to face it. Especially, when, deep down, you know it’s the truth too.

Wilbur gets called out on his trauma. Gets called out on clinging to his believes in words only. Gets called out on being a person when he isn’t one. He gets called out defending a Goddess who has ‘never’ done anything for him (quite the opposite in Tommy’s opinion). Tommy gets called out for thinking he always knows what best. He gets called out for using that mentality to make decisions for other people. He gets called put for being selfish.

They both know where to hit and they rile each other up until they are willing to go for the killing blow. Though we’re not at “You’re just a bastard.” levels just yet. Also, now that I’ve reread it, the narration is all over the place during this fight.

[Like the Pythia wasn’t the Pythia at all, but just- “Wilbur?”] I really love this line. The narration completion Wilbur’s thoughts. You use it quite a lot of I think, but it’s just a fun technique.

Part of the thing that upset Tommy at the start is the implication that he doesn’t care about putting everyone else in danger, because Tommy does care. He cares so much about everyone. He cares so much about Wilbur too, enough to get angry on his behalf. But that care gets overshadowed by Tommy thinks he knows best, because he doesn’t always ask what other people want, or because he overrides what they want for his own needs or intentions.

He pushed Jack of a roof even though he knew he wanted to run because he knew best, because he thought his death would be kinder. He constantly tells people of for pushing Wilbur and claims he knows him well enough to know when he should or shouldn’t push, and yet he keeps pushing to go out when Wilbur clearly doesn’t want to go, because he does. Same with the name thing. He uses the name because he thinks it’s necessary, but Wilbur still hasn’t given him official permission to use it. He keeps brute-forcing his way past other people’s boundaries despite insisting that he cares. And he does, just not enough to back the fuck off when they ask him to.

Also, disclaimer, I’m not here to debate morality. We love the morally grey area. I’m just here for character motivations. I like trying to figure out what makes them tick. What sets them off and why. And this fight is very good for that.

(4/?)

-🌲

yeah they both really called each other the fuck out during this fight. it was bound to happen with how enmeshed they've become and how well they understand each other.

lol thank you I was very proud of that line. yes I do use that technique a lot, I think it's a really clever trick to further play with the intricacies of the narration tools I've been using in the fic

tommy cares SO MUCH. it's a bold-faced lie to say he doesn't care, because everything he does is for the people he loves. but it's because he cares so much that he goes to such extreme degrees to do what he thinks is right to help them, even if it's not actually the best course of action. he wants to help, and he's going to do it his way even if the people around him tell him he's not doing it correctly. it doesn't matter if they get upset with him, if he's helping them that's what matters most.

(tommy constantly telling other people off for asking wilbur questions or pushing his boundaries isn't just because he's worried about wilbur's comfort, it's largely because he's very possessive of wilbur and wants to make sure he's the one who understands him best. he's not super self-aware of this though)

you know I love me some good grey morality :)

#ask #spruce anon #through a glass divine

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beatriceeagle · 4 years

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What do you think of later Veronica Mars seasons? Any advice for Rob Thomas? And (I guess about all VM seasons) anything you would change? Thank you

This got extremely long. I didn’t get into things I would change, and I didn’t give any advice; nevertheless, I have a lot to say about Veronica Mars.

The long and the short of it is that a lot of people discuss Veronica Mars as though it is a noir TV show, but it’s not solely or even primarily a noir work. It’s certainly noir-inspired; many of its characters are drawn from noir archetypes; it’s cynical enough about the status quo to be noir; you might say that it’s in conversation with the noir genre. But although noir detective fiction has plenty of hardboiled detectives (Veronica), dirty cops (Lamb), and femme fatales (Logan), where in noir do we place Wallace? Where do we put Mac? Where does Keith go? What about Meg? What about Duncan? (Poor, poor Meg and Duncan.)

By the time it exited its first season, Veronica Mars was just full of too many bright, funny, fundamentally likeable characters—characters who you fundamentally could not suspect of murder—to be classifiable as fully noir. Moreover, the central mystery that it left dangling at the end of the first season wasn’t about murder, or corruption, or betrayal; it’s about romance. Who is at Veronica’s door? By the season one finale, Veronica Mars is first and foremost what it perhaps inevitably was going to become, when it aired on network television: an ensemble character drama.

Can an ensemble character drama be noir? Well, sure. Veronica Mars is. But in a long-term ensemble character-based show, the needs of the characters have to be served before the needs of the noir. People watched season one of Veronica Mars because they enjoyed the mystery (and the quips, and the romance). They kept watching because they connected with the characters.

Season one balanced those two needs nearly perfectly; that’s why it’s often held up as an all-time great season of television. Season two remains pretty noir (it is, after all, the season of the acquittal of Aaron Echolls), but the construction of its mystery gets overly complicated, and the personal plot—the character drama—tends towards soapy. It still balances well enough to be enjoyable, but it’s undeniable that there are problems with season two of Veronica Mars, and I think they come from trying to figure out how to incorporate the characters into an ongoing noir storyline. Wallace is simply not a noir character, but he gets sucked into a dead-end story about his missing father and a hit-and-run on a homeless guy for half a season. Duncan, once you establish that he’s not going to kill anyone in a blackout rage, is basically a bland, quiet, nice guy, and not in any way a noir character. So he has to go on the run with Meg’s (also not a noir character, therefore killed off) coma baby halfway through the season.

The basic construction of season two of Veronica Mars is that the cast from season one, now cleared of all suspicion in Lilly Kane’s murder, encounter a new noir mystery, populated by new noir characters: Woody and Gia Goodman and Jackie and Terrence Cook on the one hand, and Felix Toombs and the Fitzpatricks on the other. The main cast are organically enmeshed in this new noir set-up to varying degrees. Logan (who is perhaps the most naturally noir character of the show’s early seasons, above even Veronica) is fully integrated in the murder of Felix Toombs; he’s an obvious suspect, and although we don’t believe he did it, it’s understandable why everyone else thinks he did. Logan’s drive to clear his name (or at least stay out of jail) takes him to believable, if unlikeable, noir depths—which the show engages with! If the murder of Felix Toombs were the main focus of season two, it would probably be a pretty great focal point. But it’s not. The main mystery only touches Logan’s storyline for about one episode, where it’s a red herring, and the rest of the time Logan and the Fitzpatricks mostly operate in a parallel track, at best distracting from and at worst confusing the real plot.

The rest of the cast are involved in the main mystery, but their involvement is a tricky thing. Most of them weren’t on the bus when it crashed, or before it crashed. Most of them aren’t directly connected to the Sharks, or to the mayor’s incorporation plan. (Wow, season 2 has a lot of plates in the air.) Their connections are, by and large, second-hand. Wallace is dating Jackie. Mac is kind of dating Cassidy. Keith and Veronica just really like solving mysteries. And also Keith is running for sheriff I guess?

The thing is, those second-hand connections work to keep the show in the realm of noir. We don’t need Wallace to get involved in a hit-and-run, okay? He can just have a tempestuous and heartfelt but ultimately doomed relationship with a girl with a mysterious past. Duncan probably didn’t need to go on the run with Meg’s coma baby; he could’ve just like, gone to boarding school in Connecticut.

Season two is very aware that some of its characters are noir and some of them are not, because it leverages that fact to make the mystery work. Cassidy is on the bus, and then leaves before it crashes; Cassidy alone of the main cast is heavily connected to the incorporation storyline; Cassidy basically has a big red arrow pointing at him for five episodes leading up to the finale saying, “Hey, SOMETHING’S GOING ON WITH THIS GUY.” But Veronica never seriously considers him as a suspect, and the only reason that the viewer doesn’t (if they don’t) is because... it’s Beaver! Beaver’s not a murderer! Beaver’s not that kind of character. It’s kind of like how season one shows you Aaron Echolls beating a guy half to death, but plays “That’s Amore” over it, and you don’t realize you’re looking at a clue—or how The Good Place hid its first season twist simply by being a sitcom. If you don’t know what genre you’re operating in, it’s hard to be genre savvy.

But there’s a risk that comes with that kind of writing: No one was invested in Aaron Echolls, but I can imagine that someone might’ve been invested in Cassidy. I wasn’t, but someone might’ve been. He was in the main credits. He was dating Mac. In order to make season two’s mystery noir, and meaningful, and keep it connected to the main characters, they had to burn a character with some real work invested in him, and do so in a way that potentially broke faith with viewers who really liked that character and his relationships. (And that’s not even getting into the really unfortunate implications of the specific motivation and backstory they gave to Cassidy.)

Season three is just kind of a mess, for a lot of reasons. It’s not particularly noir; they’ve lost the overarching mystery, as well as the show’s central setting; they lean heavily into the character drama, but although Veronica Mars is an ensemble character drama, it’s not just an ensemble character drama, and it can’t and shouldn’t function without a mystery to sustain it. But more importantly, everyone’s a little out of character, so even if character drama were enough, I wouldn’t be all that interested in watching almost!Veronica get in her fifth fight with almost!Logan. That said, I think that leaning into character drama is a safer way to jump the shark than leaning into noir; at worst, the show is going to get messy and boring, which is basically what happens. And the ending of season three is a pretty bang-on noir ending, and falls out naturally from the weird, messy character drama. It’s not a good season of television, but there’s a reason that it didn’t destroy fans’ love of the show.

This is ~*unconventional*~, I know, but I like the movie, both as a fan and, when I try to step back and approach it somewhat objectively, as a critic. It is extraordinarily fanservice-y; I don’t think that’s a bad thing. There are, perhaps, fanservice moments that I find a little over-the-top. (One of them, alas, is the repetition of the “lives ruined, bloodshed” speech; Logan was drunk the first time he gave that, he doesn’t remember it, and that’s half the point!) But on the whole, the movie gets it. Logan and Weevil (and Gia, may she rest in peace) are inherently noir characters who you can insert into a mystery or a story about corruption or cynicism, and although we don’t want them to have done the big bad thing, they will operate smoothly within the confines of the system. Wallace and Mac are visitors from another genre; the make connections, they comment, their lives are sometimes affected, but they are not noir, and their stories should not be noir. Veronica and Keith are the pivot, constantly drawn into Neptune’s seedy network of crime, trying to root it out.

It’s basically the Logan-and-Fitzpatricks storyline from season two, but updated so that a) Veronica and the rest of the cast is actually involved, and b) Logan is a much more likeable person. And it turns out that that’s a totally solid engine for a movie! And because it’s so fanservice-y, we spend time with all of the characters, even the ones who aren’t really entangled in the noir plots. Mac gets stuff to do. Wallace gets stuff to do. Piz... gets... poor Piz.

Season four leans heavily on the noir. So heavily, in fact, that the characters who aren’t natural noir characters are virtually nonexistent within the season. Wallace doesn’t have a storyline; Mac doesn’t appear because Tina Majorino refused to be in the season, since she wouldn’t have a storyline. Weevil, whose noir tendencies have put him on the outs with Veronica in between the movie and season four, has a story, but it’s not one that’s heavily tied to the main plot, and he’s not around much.

Structurally, season four is similar to season two, in that the main cast encounters a new mystery full of noir characters: Patton Oswalt, Matty the mini-Veronica, that politician and his family, those cartel hit men, Veronica’s bartender friend Nicole. The difference is that in season four, the main cast has functionally been pared down to three people: Veronica, Logan, and Keith. Oh, and Dick. Dick’s still hanging around, I guess.

Because of that, we spend virtually all of our time in season four with Veronica. Sometimes a little with Logan, sometimes with Keith, but mostly Veronica. We see her making friends with Nicole; we see her taking on Matty as a protege. We see her fight with Weevil; we see her fight with Logan.

Oh boy, do we see her fight with Logan. Because there are so few subplots to distract from it, Logan and Veronica’s relationship is, in many ways, the story of season four. For a show trying so desperately hard to cling to noir and run from character drama, season four isn’t really about corruption; it isn’t about power; it isn’t about cynicism or brutality or the ways that Neptune has been and always will be bad. It’s about a relationship, and what happens to it when one person (Logan) is trying to move on to a healthier place, but the other person (Veronica) is still stuck in old, toxic patterns of behavior.

Nearly everything in season four is in some way about the Logan/Veronica dichotomy, or about their relationship with each other, or about the way that Veronica is pathologically stubborn and guarded and suspicious, and how that kills her relationships. It’s the thematic underpinning of the Matty storyline; it’s what the Nicole storyline turns on; it is, whether the show understands it or not, the devastating backdrop of the few scenes in which Weevil appears.

This is all fine and noir, but again: It comes to its fullest fruition, it finds its highest stakes, the season’s arc reaches its climax, in a romantic relationship. Which the season is, fundamentally, devoted to the psychological exploration of. And when Veronica decides that she can commit to marrying Logan, that is a key moment of character development, in a show that has historically been an ensemble character drama, in a season of television that has been, at least for Logan and Veronica, at least partially a psychological character drama.

And then Logan blows up.

And look, I am not opposed to killing characters. I’ve defended the death of Lexa on The 100 on this here very blog. But Logan’s death is 1) stupid, 2) at a stupid time, and 3) for a stupid reason. He dies moving the car across the street, just at the culmination of a major psychological arc about toxicity and moving on and opening yourself up to others... so that Veronica can stay toxic and guarded, I guess?

It renders any character development we’ve seen from Veronica in season 4 pointless. It cuts the character development we’ve seen from Logan for over a decade tragically and meaninglessly short. And it does it all in the name of taking a hard turn into “pure” noir, so that Veronica can go investigate mysteries in other towns, unencumbered by a troublesome cast that viewers are unwilling to suspect of murder.

The problem is that that cast is a lot of what’s good about the show. Maybe there are people who watched season four of Veronica Mars and came out of it thinking, “Ah, yes, what this show needs is even less of the ensemble cast,” but I was not one of them. The Veronica of season 4 is not a particularly likeable person. Veronica, on her own, was never all that likeable; what she was was funny, and understandable, and righteous, and decent. She had people around her to be likeable, to provide you with an entry point into her mind, to show interesting sides of her you might not otherwise see, to call her out when she crossed a line, and to give the show a lightness that made it fun. The bomb that blew up Logan may have made the loudest noise, and had the most final impact, but it wasn’t what killed season four; that happened when the writers sidelined Wallace.

It is, I’m sure, difficult to balance being an ensemble character drama with being a seasonal noir mystery. (Jane the Virgin ran into similar trouble, in the long run, balancing being an ensemble character drama with being a telenovela.) Nevertheless, Veronica Mars is both of these things, and blowing up the ensemble to service the noir is inevitably going to alienate viewers, because viewers have a reasonable expectation that the shows they’re watching will continue to be the same general kind of show. And because many viewers were drawn to Veronica Mars at least as much for the characters as for the mystery.

So my very, very longwinded opinion on the later seasons of Veronica Mars is that I think the show has an identity crisis, and I don’t think it’s going to resolve it any time soon. It may not be resolvable; honestly, television might not be the best medium for ongoing Veronica Mars stories at this point. But I have very little interest in watching any further seasons produced, so it doesn’t matter much, from my point of view.

#logan's death hit me surprisingly hard #i did not care about logan AT ALL as a teenager #but it turns out that i was incredibly invested in the story of logan growing up making amends and getting his shit together #we don't actually get that story a lot #and i suppose it mattered to me #veronica mars #meta

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mfkinanaa · 3 years

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SUN IN TAURUS.

Taurus: Fixed Earth

Ruler: Venus

Keywords: Stability, Structure, Security, Reliability, Sensuality

Positive Expression: Steadfast, loyal, calm, affectionate, practical, productive

Negative Expression: Stubborn, unreasonable, overindulgent, stingy, rigid, dull, materialistic.

The Need to Feel Secure.

When the Sun is found in Taurus, the drive to establish and maintain a sense of security is important. Taureans are learning about security, and what it means to be able to maintain a stable sense of self.

With the Sun in Taurus, this is a journey to the centre of what it means to be well-grounded. Taurus is not, however, a materialistic sign. On the contrary, a more correct understanding would be that there is a profound emotional connection between physical objects and a strong sense of self-worth.

Taurus relates to all things physical, sensual and real. Accordingly Taureans will be most responsive to what they can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Not necessarily concerned with pursuing objects for their own sake, Taureans are here to learn to experience function and form.

That which is tangible, or ‘real’ generates feelings of self-worth for Taurus that are hard to ignore. Taureans will often associate what is in front of them with how they feel about themselves. There can be a deep need to accumulate money and possessions.

Taureans of this type can be all about fixed-term accounts, home deposits and cash at hand. Money and ownership for the sake of security are key motivational factors, rather than the outward glamour or prestige that possessions can bring.

They need money in the bank, and should make sure that security needs are met in order to feel any peace. Once security has been established, then sharing possessions with others will keep the flow of abundance open, allowing those with the Sun in Taurus to gain full benefit from what it is they own.

This is an Earth sign, giving stability, practicality and solidity to the personality structure. Taureans are known for dependability, loyalty and a realistic approach to life.

In friendship, they display grace, charm and good humour. In love, they are reliable and constant. They tend to be characterized by warmth, kindness and generosity – seeking to share the good things in life they have found with others.

Issues with Change.

Those born with the Sun in Taurus will look at a problem from a pragmatic point of view, and if no simple solution presents itself, may prefer to wait and watch for conditions to improve – rather than risk adversity.

For such reasons, they can also be especially stubborn, and resistant to the new. Taureans tend to be peace-loving individuals, who would much rather graze in imagined fields of lush, ever-green comfort than face the uncertainty of struggle or too much change.

This sign is Fixed in quality, which brings the capacity for endurance but also a tendency to resist. Taurus represents principles of continuity, solidity and form. Taureans tend to cling to what is comfortable and familiar for as long as possible.

Accordingly, some Taureans can feel deeply unsettled by change. Time and again they will choose comfort and security over the new and unknown. Over time this can become a distinct disadvantage.

Taurus may have their heads down, happily grazing on the same patch of ground, and so be ignorant to the fact that an opportunity for change has come and already moved on.

Taureans can become very distressed when they sense that change is imminent, and may react by unconsciously ‘digging in their hooves’ – becoming inert to avoid unwanted change. In this case, other people tend to operate as the catalysts that Taurus needs, bringing necessary change in the form of sudden shocks which force the Taurean to evolve.

Partners often provide the impetus needed to keep Taurus moving. Stubbornness, and a certain rigidity about considering other points of view, may need to be released.

Some Taureans will focus solely on practical things, and will concern themselves with what is tangible over the esoteric at almost every turn. This in itself is not problematic, unless the concern for what is in front of one’s nose turns into the famed Taurean stubbornness to admit any other reality than one’s own.

Taurus has a reputation for laziness, and there are some born to this sign who will quite happily spend the whole day in bed. Whilst comfort and pleasure are indeed physical experiences which need to be met, overindulging can make it hard to stay motivated and on track.

Learn by Letting Go.

For others with Sun in Taurus, life is a mystery to be explored. These Taureans appear to avoid the material, in favour of more “refined” or spiritually motivated pursuits. This is most common when Scorpio or other transformational influences are also strong in the birth chart.

The experiences of the body and senses speak more strongly than any attachment to outer form. This Taurean is usually more concerned with the aesthetic side of life. Finding comfort through pleasure may be more important than maintaining a healthy bank account

Yet creating stability must nonetheless occur. The apparent rejection of purely material pursuits is still another way of basing a sense of self-worth on an emotional response to what is owned. A certain pride may form about ‘not being materialistic’ which actually masks hidden fear of not knowing how to generate enough.

Again care must be taken not to let stubborn or fixed opinions about the material world create a different kind of rut.

Learning to let go of dependence on material resources is a valuable lesson, yet achieving this ideal means doing so without denying the benefits that possessions will bring. Rare indeed is it to find a Taurus who is not profoundly enmeshed in ‘the material’, and all of its implications – whether they are busy accruing assets or resisting the pull toward doing so.

The Buddha himself was born with the Sun in Taurus, and his life story sheds light on this Taurean conundrum through the teaching of non-attachment. To let go of the material means first understanding the nature of its forms.

Ultimately, it may only be at such an elevated spiritual level of existence that Taurus can really transcend the material world. Finding a balance between physical needs and material attachment is the purpose of this journey. For some with the Sun in Taurus this will mean understanding the physical plane through nonmaterial means.

Naturally Creative.

Another important dimension of this sign is its affinity with creativity, beauty and form.

Those born with the Sun in Taurus will often have a pronounced sense of aesthetics – liking nothing better than using their practical know-how to bring something beautiful into form.

For this reason, many Taureans display strong creative skills, and enjoy working at a leisurely pace to make something from available resources at hand. As a Fixed Earth sign, creativity can easily translate into garden, woodwork, floristry or working with stone. Anything tactile, natural and beautiful is a natural Taurean expression.

The need to generate material security can just as easily be expressed by pursuing that which brings joy and comfort through the endless bounty of this world. An appreciation of beauty and comfort can be expressed in many ways, and a powerful way for Taureans to connect with a sense of self is taking time to create something beautiful that is also useful

As mentioned, this is also a sign of great sensuality. Taureans often have a healthy interest in good food, good wine and good sheets.

Physical appetites are usually strong, with an innate awareness of the body and its’ needs.

Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus, the Goddess of Love. Accordingly, the gifts of Venus can be pronounced. Many Taureans have powerful sensual and sexual requirements that should ideally be met. Taking time to enjoy the body is an important aspect of self-worth.

The need for physical comfort and contact should not be underestimated or denied. Yet as always moderation is required. Taurus can easily slide into gluttony, excess and ill-health if grazing at one’s chosen trough is not balanced by hard work, temperance and some form of regular physical exercise.

Sun in Taurus: Your Solar Journey.

If you were born with the Sun in Taurus then you are likely to be gifted with a grounded practicality and ability to face life as it is that is both an asset and a source of comfort. As you set realistic goals and see them achieved, you gain an inner sense of peace. Perseverance, constancy and an appreciation for the beauty in life are the benefits you bestow. By allowing yourself the pleasure and comfort of experiencing your senses to their fullest, you can share your sense of wonder and delight with all who come your way. Your challenge is to give yourself permission to be stable and sensual, at the same time as remaining open to life-renewing change.

#astroworld #astrology #astrotips #aries sign #taurus #gemini #cancer sign #leo #virgo zodiac #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces

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josukesknee · 4 years

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vanilla ice’s lifetraps... an analysis?

i spent roughly 1-2 weeks compiling this so yes i am posting it everywhere bc i put way too much effort into it.

hallo hallo.

i'm researching lifetraps for a quiz i'm making (and also i just think they're interesting) so... why not force it upon the jojo fandom using an ungodly amount of words?

or, yknow, let's talk about vanilla ice part two: electric boogaloo.

a lifetrap (or schema) is defined as a negative pattern that presents itself throughout our lives. it develops in childhood/adolescence based on our life experiences. one person can have multiple lifetraps. some psychologists say there are 11, some say there are 18. enmeshment, our primary focus, is typically included by those who say 18.

i plan to do this for a few characters. no specific group, just whichever ones i feel like pouring a couple hours into. for this blog, that's vanilla ice. again.

a warning: this blog deals with things you may find upsetting, particularly death, references to domestic violence, and implications of/references to child abuse. stay safe, stay informed, and reach out when you can.

—

disclaimer / spoiler warnings

major spoilers for the entirety of SDC.

i don't condone his actions yada yada yada you have a brain. use it before you lose it.

i am not a psychologist. don't use my definitions on yourself. if you think you identify a little too strongly with one of the lifetraps i describe, you are welcome to do your own research and/or consider therapy.

—

1 | basics of enmeshment

i'd suggest reading this blog if you want a better idea of what i, personally, think vanilla ice's psychology looks like.

so, first: what is the enmeshment lifetrap?

takanen describes it as feeling that you are so connected with your parents or partner, that you have no idea who you are anymore. goodtherapy calls it a blurring of boundaries. it isn't to be confused with dependence, despite their similarities.

some of the things that someone with this lifetrap will experience are:

difficulty disagreeing with parents'/partners' opinions

feeling as if they have no life, but their parent(s)/partner(s) live vicariously through them

difficulty identifying which needs, wants, and feelings are their own

guilt when they do not tell their parent(s)/partner(s) something

lack of independence from parent(s)/partner(s)

lack of distress tolerance

no sense of self

do i need to explain further? ok, i will. don't act so excited about it.

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2 | past & present: enmeshment

it's clear and emphasized in canon that vanilla ice puts dio on par with what you may consider your respective god(s); again, the blog linked in the beginning of this section will go in-depth on why i believe this, but dio is very likely similar to a part of his own identity. their identities are enmeshed in vanilla ice's mind.

vanilla ice's entire 'thing' is his devotion for dio, but... is it entirely devotion, or is it partially enmeshment? do we see anything of vanilla ice that isn't linked to dio? no, we don't; even his fury is because dio has been insulted. was it vanilla ice's desire to eliminate, or was it dio's? i think we all know who planted that seed.

and in comparison, the others in dio's crew had far bigger chances of having personal motivations that weren't solely about dio, or it's explicitly stated that they do (ex: hol horse is in it for cash); vanilla ice did not. his motivations were only about dio and where araki could've given us something to supplement that, could've given us a snippet of backstory, he didn't. maybe it wasn't intentional, but it happened, and i think it was.

we also have to ask what kind of person gets so attached? what kind of guy is vanilla ice, i mean, he's kind of intense all around, but who hurt him? enmeshment offers a pretty solid answer for that: probably his parents!

side ramble incoming.

a lot of your behavior develops based on your relationship to your parents/caretakers when you're young — anger, to name one — as do attachment styles.

vanilla ice's obsessive, co-dependent behavior likely began in his early life. following the theory i began before about him potentially being abused, forcing one into co-dependency gets just about every abuser off. it's how they trap their victims, including children who already depend on them for everything.

in an enmeshed parent-child relationship, there's a distinct lack of boundaries and privacy. children are brought up to feel guilty for attending to their own needs before others'. i would personally call it a breeding ground for child abuse.

unchallenged, this type of relationship will become what vanilla ice considers normal and healthy, and he may very well repeat and seek out this dynamic in every relationship thereon, which we can assume he does. one possibility after a childhood like i described is the person purposefully seeking out partners who require their care and protection. this could serve as a solid reason for vanilla ice following dio.

people also tend to have troubles regulating their emotions, which... well, y'all know what happened.

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3 | basics of subjugation

enmeshment isn't 100% accurate, nor is it likely the only lifetrap our subject finds himself in. so what other schemas is he likely trapped in?

subjugation is the feeling that you must please loved ones, colleagues, friends, and even strangers.

people who experience this lifetrap often allow others to control them so that they can avoid consequences such as anger and abandonment. they have an excessive build-up of anger that can leak out in the form of passive-aggressiveness or surprisingly aggressive temper tantrums, of the which vanilla ice exhibits the latter. they tend to attract dominant, bossy people who will dictate how they feel, behave, and think, a profile that pretty accurately describes dio.

it's essentially people pleasing, but one seeks less approval, more basic human interaction.

why does this lifetrap develop?

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4 | past & present: subjugation

people develop the subjugation lifetrap early on, typically due to their parents. the typical behavior of the parents of a subjugated individual lines up nicely (unfortunately?) with those of enmeshment.

we'll focus on the traits that line up most with vanilla ice. going with the assumption that he has anger issues, it's very likely that his parent(s) lashed out on him when he did not follow orders. that could contribute to both of the lifetraps i've mentioned here. control and guilt-tripping are also vital parts of abuse: they contribute to subjugation as well. one parent may have been the abuser and one the abused, as the abused would likely serve as an example of subjugation for vanilla ice to follow.

another thing to consider is that subjugation can form out of having to be the caretaker to family members since the parents were not around enough to do so (think dean winchester, if you will). food for thought, considering his role as a protector is presumably all he lives for.

which brings me to my next point. there are two types of subjugation: self-sacrificing or voluntary, and submissive or involuntary. this is where it gets complicated for vanilla ice.

an abuse victim would likely fall under submission out of fear, and it's pretty obvious the guy went through some variation of it. but with his relationship to dio and canon context, voluntary submission seems more likely.

i'd have to know the specifics of how they met and how he came to follow dio to be able to give you guys a solid guess as to which it is, but voluntary has more canon evidence behind it. their relationship could be viewed as either/or. at the end of the day, it's all up to your personal interpretation, especially of dio.

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5 | cream's significance

how about something a little lighter and more palatable? let's talk about vanilla ice's stand, cream.

cream is basically a walking/floating void, waiting to destroy and swallow everything up. god, that is a sentence i never thought i'd type. anyways. let's pretend araki intended for some rando to make this psychological reach.

the void is the unknown. even vanilla ice himself says that he doesn't know where things go once they're inside his stand. vanilla ice being so unfamiliar with his own stand's ability makes the perfect reference to enmeshment, in the same way that cream's blind destruction references its user's blind anger.

in enmeshment, vanilla ice's own identity would be beyond him, just as what really lays beyond his stand's maw. his identity is a void filled with dio this and dio that; he knows nothing about himself and likely never has.

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6 | other lifetraps

here are some others that i don't feel like expanding on or for which vanilla ice does not fit the criteria to a T.

insufficient self-control: pretty self-explanatory, very aligned with the aggressive behaviors of a subjugated individual. lack of boundaries, increased risk of addiction. tends to be attracted to demanding, disciplined, systematic partners. difficulty regulating emotions/thoughts.

punitiveness: tendency to be very harsh on yourself and punish yourself when you act incorrectly. one could interpret him blaming his anger on others as punitiveness, as others are targeted as well by a punitive's critical nature. not really seen in canon, but it's a very common trope in fanfiction (trust me... i've been in all the crevices of vanilla ice fanfic lol). this trap seems as if it would go hand in hand with pessimism, but don't quote me on that (or any of this blog, really).

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conclusion

your takeaway? well... i just really like getting in this dude's noggin. i think i'm trying to compensate for something! but i'm not here to psychoanalyze myself. also sorry i 100% repeated/used random dividers, there are like 5 different screenshots of vanilla ice on the internet and they are all low quality lol

thanks for reading. let me know other psych related things you'd be interesting in seeing from me. i enjoy writing these psych heavy blogs a lot (more than art or anything else, tbh).

—

sources

• prior psych knowledge • lifetrap test* • lifetraps and basic psychological needs** • enmeshment • 18 early schemas defined • subjugation lifetrap • jojo's bizarre wiki

* = this site was translated to english and wording may be incorrect, as some of the grammar is certainly questionable, but it's comparable to other sources.

** = this is a PDF. your browser may automatically download this file if you open it on a phone. some phones cannot open PDF files.

#jjba #vanilla ice jojo #analysis #stardust crusaders #jojos bizarre adventure #anime

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opalmothnightingale · 6 years

Text

Love Chips

12- 23- 17 -

Love tokens, love bank... blood bank, love vampire... Hm. When the chips are down in love, it is a good time to decide what your true colors you will show. I see a pretty mane, a luxurious pelt of fur, and beautiful colors, beautiful markings.

And... These I see in myself and I see in the astral lover/spirit lover and I see in the mirror of the lover, and I see in the Forest Spirit, and I see in the whole herd of horses of my Forest Spirit. And I see in life, and people all around.

I know the outer signs and coats, colors and arms, and patterns,... The allegiances. What is the novelty, that I was bought for, buy myself, buy others, lay down, a white flag, or ally oneself, let’s be brothers and sisters in arms... Against the battles of life, or just the general suffering of it... Or join the circus, make a laugh of it, be an acrobat,...

Fold up and move along, a life on the go, transient and on the edge, rough. The freak show life.

A life of all show and vanity, distraction and performance and building things up to be novelties and bizarre attention getting dramatic feats... All flash and show, but often at the cost of comfort or normal stability, to some extent...

But live for today... Who needs comfort, stability, norms, common decency? Maybe the circus life is the life for me. Haha

I used to have strange imagery and fixations on the circus, being in the circus, from a young age. And dreams, nightmares, of tents of people who I stayed among, unable to find my way to my tent among many that all looked the same.

And then from a young age, dreams or visions, of prostitution... Which I knew nothing about. Didn’t know much of anything about sex at all, but I had spontaneous visions of prostitution. It was rough, callous, distant and careless visions of sex with different men, different men every night, but I still liked it... In some painful, accepting, sad, broken sense.

And as I’m older, I think to myself, this was where I belonged, all along, the broken, outcast, the people who have to sell themselves. This is the oldest profession. There is nothing inherently wrong with it, in my opinion, however of course it can be harmful in its implications and the fallout of it all, and if abused, and so on... But all in all?

It’s not necessarily more harmful or dangerous than marriage and depending, entangling, becoming totally wrapped up in another person who can bring your world down...

Which so many do,... with not any taboo,... But instead, approval of our culture...

I don’t know anyway, what is real, with the astral lovers/spirit lovers and mirrors of them and the surrogate lover visions and the forest spirit... Maybe I was too quick to jump the gun and say things appear to be changing,... changing horses. Changing hallucinations and visions and insinuations...

Because it’s all that... only insinuations, hints, slippery, unable to hold on to a single thing... And when insinuations turn negative, it’s often just as vague as the positive was... I have a hard time interpreting it all.. It’s just like a big tease.

Then what’s wrong with that? The chips are down... It’s a good time to see what is really there, beyond assumptions, show off, tempting and taunting and pleasure and sweetness....

What stands the test of rejection, pain, lack, confusion, dislike and misunderstanding or changing understanding, uncertain if anything is there? For after all, at times like this my brazen soul tends to just tell all, show all... For myself, for the memories... Not because I think anything will last or anyone will listen or care, or understand even if they listen and do even try to care. It’s all for my memories, this talk show sort of absurdity of a life... Because when the chips are down I feel I’m going to lose, but still my memories, visions, hallucinations and the ideals the represent are there in my heart, my imagination, creativity and ideals...

I should know that I need no man or no person, can sell my way along through life... As many do, whether they see it as such. Can warp and perform and make myself a spectacle of things improper and unacceptable, the weird and untamed, suitable to stare and gape and watch and gossip about...

Not to befriend, trust or entrust with one’s precious life, love and friendship in any real lasting way... Unless maybe you’re also a feral one, and relate to the oddness and chaotic disorderly confusion of me, and can make a more stable broken spectacle instead of the pain and disarray that haunt and stalk after so many broken chaotic people...

Making them again unsuitable for me as anything more than a surrogate friend till they fail me or abandon or neglect, lose their minds, heart or lives, etc...

Life can be slippery, love can be slippery. It can change form and run from you, as though it was never yours. It’s better to not feel too attached and enmeshed,...

Yet the talk show bleeding heart self I am tends to just spill all and fall all over the place, the more people withdraw from me. Because if I don’t have anything and no one really cares, why hold back? I wish that I could hold on to something and build it up in a logical, careful, slow manner but what am I talking about or thinking?

What real thing is there here, to build up, to be careful with, to have faith in or step around cautiously? If people will be slippery, vague, insinuating and elusive, then what is there to be careful about? Nothing is there clearly, at all. When something is so real and undeniable that it’s overpowering and so huge, the love, the things in common, the friendship, despite my oddness, awkwardness, chaos and breaking,...

If such a feat ever occurs, then and then we can care about being so careful and if I’m damning it by spilling all, well better to love and lose what you never had? Rather than hold back and lose what you never had...

And then lose the ability to express it or remember it,... remember it for yourself or really deeply feel your feelings, dreams and hallucinations... of dreams come true, dreams like visions drawn in frail chalk dust and wiped away again and again... But at least the ideals, feelings, words and memories can be preserved for me...

If nothing else. I will take it. It’s worth so much, these stories more beautiful than so many lives... And energy, more beautiful than the lived love and relationships of many people. False strained and shallow live.

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