#he has both seen and experienced such suffering from a young age

[lyfeward]

Amis is so important to me

#OOC / HOLLY. #he is so soft and gentle and open #but there’s a quiet strength in him a steadiness a certainty #as constant in his values as any idyllic hero #but his values are that there is inherent goodness in all people #that all people are worthy of love and compassion #that to help and defend and care for others is never wasted effort #he has both seen and experienced such suffering from a young age #he is not naive he does not see the world through rose colored glasses #but knowing suffering has made it clear to him what he does not wish to be or to put out into the world #and he knows how even the smallest act of kindness can change everything for the better #I know I made him okay but I made him with love and I do love him

[sideprince]

I've seen the same post a hundred times now. Sometimes it's a few days old, sometimes it's from years ago, but it's always the same. Some anti posts about how they don't understand how anyone can like Snape because he was so awful, and then there's a long reply that goes something like, "imagine this happens to you, and then this, and then this" to describe Snape's experience. Sometimes there's some James Potter hate thrown in.

Look. You can go through describing a character's entire experience but you don't really need to. Here's the thing that antis don't understand:

For all her faults (and they're big, bigoted ones) Rowling understood a really integral part of the human experience and conveyed it through Snape. Everyone needs love and to feel accepted. It's that simple. Snape became a Death Eater to seek acceptance (Rowling has confirmed this, though I can't remember the source - whoever wants to add it please do), because it was the only way he could find any.

Snape's understanding of morality, like everyone's, is subjective. Some readers understand this and some don't. When faced against a morality that says there is good and bad in the world, everyone makes choices based on their personal experience. Context is everything. Someone who experiences pain and suffering will not see the person inflicting it on them as moral. That's it. 'How can this person be good when they caused me so much suffering?' = human psychology. Most of the people who think 'I'm a bad person and deserve this' have been gaslit and abused into thinking so, because it's not a natural reaction - it's one that has to often be socialized into someone at a young age, exactly because it's not natural. Everyone is the hero of their own story; no one sees themselves as a villain, because they see the valid aspects of their own perspective.

You can write essays on how vulnerable people needing acceptance is what cults and fascists exploit to recruit vulnerable people, or on how the standard anti's un-nuanced reading of Snape both ignores canon and displays a disturbing lack of empathy or compassion, but at its core it just boils down to context. From Snape's perspective he experienced cruelty, therefore the people inflicting it must be cruel. Again, it's that simple. He was a person, like any other, except he was fictional so he wasn't even real. On the flip side is James Potter, who, for all his faults, didn't get to live long enough to get a chance to change and grow unlike Snape, and I think the Snapedom also needs to acknowledge that.

They're fictional characters representing things an author wants to say, not sports teams, not martyrs, and not all good or all bad emblems that define your identity depending on how you feel about them. It's depressing how much time is wasted arguing with bullies and trolls whether from the Marauders fandom or just random antis. I literally can't find more than three blogs to follow without this argument coming across my feed daily. I know the Snapedom is Not OK™ and that's kind why we're all here, and I know that my take is super unpopular but like Snape, I don't care what others think: this fandom has been having the exact same argument for years and nothing has changed. There's fanart and meta and fic and so much content out there appreciating this character, you're not going to change an anti's mind who's deliberately trolling in the tags, so why are you trying? What are you getting out of it? What does it give you? It's exhausting just scrolling past it.

#The thing about morality is that it's subjective #the religious leader who's a beacon of moral purity to their congregation #is a source of selfishness and pain to someone they abuse in secret #is that abuse victim immoral for rejecting the values the religious leader represents? #the congregation might think so because their definition of morality relies on the religious leader being a moral guide #the victim might not think so though because how can something be righteous if it causes suffering #look this is just an example of how perspectives can vary and I know there are more possible takes on that example #my point is that the idea that there's no clear 'good' and 'evil' there's only power/what you do with it is actually how psychology works #'good' to one person can be pain to another #'scourgify' is an innocuous household spell that cleans stains until it's used to waterboard someone #context matters more than labels like 'light' and 'dark' magic

[ikram1909]

Just want to offer a little perspective against all the people fear-mongering about Gavi’s injury being “career ending”.

Florian Wirtz is the most obvious example of a recovery from a full ACL tear at a young age. He was 18 when it happened about a year ago and has come back without missing a beat. If people haven’t watched him they should, he’s really fantastic.

Within Barcelona both Xavi and Gundogan had ACL tears and have come back just as good if not better. Gundogan said himself that he may not be the same player after, but it doesn’t mean he’s worse, just different.

Two more players who suffered ACL tears very young are Darwin Nuñez (17) and Moises Caicedo (16) who have now gone on to play professionally in the Premier League and are doing very well currently. (Darwin’s habit of missing sitters has nothing to do with it).

Other examples of players include Leroy Sané and Virgil van Dijk who while taking a bit of time to come back to form are now doing very well again. Medical experts have claimed that it can take up to 2 years to get back to your level after an ACL injury due to mental blocks, so immediate form should not be seen as “the best you can be”. While of course we all want Gavi to come back better than ever straight away we must be patient and realise that he has an incredibly long career ahead of him and may not hit his prime till the later years regardless of the injury.

Players in the past who have gone on to have incredible careers following ACL tears include Alan Shearer (became the premier league top scorer) and Roberto Baggio. Baggio not only ruptured his ACL but also tore his meniscus yet went on to win a Ballon D’or. While Gavi has also got an “associated injury” with his lateral meniscus, that’s actually fairly routine with an ACL and nowhere did Barcelona say he had actually torn it.

There are many more examples both older e.g. Francesco Totti and more recent e.g. Federico Chiesa who have returned to form following their ACL injury.

Beyond the world of football many other athletes have also made a complete recovery and gone on to have incredible careers e.g. in the NBA.

While it’s completely valid to be very upset over the injury because the recovery is very painful, he’s so young, and he may return a different player, there is no need to despair. He will have top medical professionals at his side, be surrounded by others who know how to recover from injury, and the treatments and recovery chances have come on leaps and bounds since the likes of Shearer and even Xavi.

While there is a higher risk of re-injuring the ACL or having compensatory injuries, if the recovery is not rushed there is every chance he will be physically the same in most if not all departments. The areas most likely to be affected are explosiveness, speed and quick turns, but the first two Gavi has never particularly relied on and he can always adapt to the third. But in the cases of Wirtz and Sane they are still very agile, nimble players, while Xavi adapted to rely more on his tactical prowess, but either way have been successful.

The other aspect is mental such as a fear of re-injury. While we cannot say for sure that Gavi will not have this problem as he has never experienced an injury of the likes of this before, we have every reason to assume not. His teammates and coaches both in Barcelona and on the national team have always spoken of his mentality and fight, and that will prove particularly important now. Also, we are talking about the same kid who was sidelined age 11 because of a broken nose and immediately after his return threw himself into headers again. He has always shown he is not scared of pain and won’t let it hold him back, so he will hopefully apply this same mentality to what will surely be a difficult recovery.

Ultimately we will not know until after the surgery and even until he’s back or several years later how the injury will affect him. But he will be back and there’s every reason to believe he will make a full recovery or become a different but just as good player. We may even get to see more of the impeccable technique that he showcased in La Masia rather than being used partly as a workhorse as he has previously.

While the number of ACL injuries this season is completely horrible, it means Gavi is not the only one going through this journey. And to those on twitter and elsewhere trying to convince you that he won’t have a career after this, I doubt they think the same of Militao, Courtois, Mings, Pino and etc.

Sorry for the essay but we must not give up on Gavi and instead must support him and the team through this surely horrible time. This too shall pass and while we will miss him the time will pass by quicker than you expect.

First of all, thank you so much for this ❤️ reading it this morning genuinely made me feel so much better and I hope everyone here takes the time to read it, I promise it'll help you guys worry less.

Reading this and finding out about all these success stories after ACL injuries gave me much more hope. If so many others were able to overcome it then best believe our little warrior is very likely to do the same I have no doubt about it. Also, it's a relief to know that it mainly affects speed and explosiveness because Gavi has other strengths. And maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing for him to focus on technical abilities that we all know he excels at but the way coaches utilised him up until this point hindered their development. The thing about Gavi is that he excels at so many things so even if his injury affects one two or two aspects of his game he'd still have so many other qualities he's just that good. The main obstacle of this injury is the mental toll it could have on him but I have faith in his own strength and the incredible amount of love he's surrounded by to get him through it. Obviously he'll feel down for a while and is probably still in shock (hell even I still can't believe it I literally expect him to show up in barças training stories and then it hits me again) it's not easy but time heals everything and knowing him he'd do anything to get back to what he loves as soon as possible. He's a fighter, he's always been that way an injury no matter how serious wouldn't take that away from him. He'll be back. It might take a while for him to get back to his absolute best but he'll be back. He has all the time in the world, he's only 19. Now we just need him to take all the time he needs to recover completely and not rush anything.

[justforbooks]

“He’d kill us if he got the chance.” Those words, spoken by a bespectacled, beige-suited young man (Frederic Forrest) as he wanders through Union Square in San Francisco with his lover (Cindy Williams), are secretly recorded by the surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) in The Conversation (1974). Their meaning, mulled over at length, becomes vital in unlocking the story’s mysteries. One of the key thrillers of its decade, Francis Ford Coppola’s film was also an eloquent expression of paranoia in a country reeling from Watergate.

Forrest, who has died aged 86, was the ideal actor to throw certainties into doubt. In The Conversation, he is bookish, furtive and opaque. The audience never becomes properly acquainted with him, though recordings of his voice and image are repeatedly offered up for our scrutiny so that the act of studying his expressions and intonations becomes central to experiencing the film. Without realising it, we channel a good deal of energy into deciphering his motives.

If we are never quite successful, that may explain why Forrest did not become the star that some predicted he would. He was a consummate character actor, too complex and mutable to be limited to any persona. This seemed to be a source of mild frustration to him. “I would like not to have to fit into somebody else’s story and have my scenes cut because I’m too strong,” he said in 1979.

It was in that year that he was seen in the two films which brought him closest to stardom. Working again with Coppola on the Vietnam war epic Apocalypse Now, based on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Forrest played Chef, member of a platoon led by Willard (Martin Sheen), which ventures into Cambodia to kill the wayward Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando).

Forrest’s role here was nothing like his one in The Conversation, demanding instead a raucous, baffled bluster which is seen most demonstrably when he suffers a breakdown after a nocturnal encounter with a tiger. His wide, startled eyes, soup-strainer moustache and floppy hat with its upturned brim lent him a goofy, knockabout air. Even amid the film’s widespread carnage, his grisly eventual demise was strongly felt.

Also in 1979, he starred in The Rose, directed by Mark Rydell, whom he credited with teaching him how to “personalise” his acting through looseness and spontaneity. Bette Midler played a hard-living rock star based on Janis Joplin; Forrest was the sunny-eyed, straight-shooting Texan chauffeur with whom she connects emotionally and romantically. He received an Oscar nomination for the performance.

Coppola used him in two further projects. He was cast – or, arguably, miscast – as the dreamy romantic lead, a mechanic at the Reality Wrecking Company, in the ill-starred musical One from the Heart (1981). The movie was shot at crippling expense on glitzy sets designed to evoke a garish, heightened Las Vegas. He also played an automobile engineer in Coppola’s Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988).

He was at his most winning in Martha Coolidge’s intelligent teen romcom Valley Girl (1983), in which he was the adorably laidback manager of a health food restaurant whose daughter (Deborah Foreman) is dating a Hollywood punk, played by Nicolas Cage. That young actor, who happened to be Coppola’s nephew, may have stolen the show, but seeing the two men together made it feel as if Forrest was passing on the mantle of risk-taker to a new generation.

Born in Waxahachie, Texas, he was the son of Virginia (nee McSpadden) and Frederic, who ran a furniture business and owned greenhouses from which he sold plants to local shops. Frederic junior was educated at Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth. His acting ambitions led him to New York, where he studied under Sanford Meisner. After a stint in the army, he made his stage debut in the off-Broadway show Viet Rock in 1966, then had small parts in both the 1968 stage version and 1969 film adaptation of Futz, a comedy about a farmer in love with a pig.

His first major screen roles were in When the Legends Die (1972), in which he starred as an 18-year-old Native American rodeo rider – though Forrest was 36 at the time – who is mentored by a seasoned veteran (Richard Widmark); and the crime drama The Don is Dead (1973). He played the title role in Larry (1974), the factually based story of a man wrongly admitted to a psychiatric institution for 26 years.

He also appeared in The Missouri Breaks (1976), a western with Brando and Jack Nicholson, and played Lee Harvey Oswald on television in Ruby and Oswald (1978). He was twice cast as the novelist Dashiell Hammett, first in Wim Wenders’s wryly speculative Hammett (1982), which proposed that the writer was caught up in a real-life mystery that inspired him to pen The Maltese Falcon, and later in the TV movie Citizen Cohn (1992), where he suavely resists the efforts of the virulent lawyer Roy Cohn (James Woods) to intimidate him into naming names during the anti-Communist witchhunts.

Other films include Abel Ferrara’s Elmore Leonard adaptation Cat Chaser, Costa-Gavras’s war-crimes drama Music Box (both 1989), the tardy Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes (1990), directed by Nicholson, and Trauma, a rare US excursion for the Italian horror maestro Dario Argento. In the thriller Falling Down (also 1993), Forrest had a scene-stealing turn as a cartoonishly villainous racist in a Los Angeles military surplus store.

On television, he starred in Stephen Frears’s Saigon: Year of the Cat (1983), written by David Hare, and was part of the sprawling ensemble in the acclaimed western Lonesome Dove (1989). In the BBC2 series Die Kinder (1990), he played a private detective hired by a woman (Miranda Richardson) whose children have been kidnapped by their father. John Frankenheimer directed him in the US civil war drama Andersonville (1996).

He also starred in The Brave, the only film to be directed by Johnny Depp, and Wenders’s The End of Violence (both 1997). His final appearance was alongside Sean Penn and Jude Law in All the King’s Men (2006), a political drama adapted from the Robert Penn Warren novel previously filmed in 1949.

His two marriages, to Nancy Ann Whitaker (1960 to 1963) and the actor Marilu Henner (1980 to 1983) both ended in divorce.

🔔 Frederic Fenimore Forrest Jr, actor, born 23 December 1936; died 23 June 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Frederic Forrest #in memoriam

[acourtofthought]

Hello!

I need to vent how horrible the acotar fandom is.

This ship war has become hell. I can't stand to see how much they chase the girls (Elain and Gwyn) and exempt Azriel's contradictory actions.

Male chauvinist is very dominant as always, especially among such young girls.

Another one who suffers a lot from this is Lucien. The disrespect in theories is absurd, I doubt that Elain would like to be talked about the way they say about Lucien. Remembering that she defended Lucien from the love of her life Greyson in Acowar.

Absurd theories that Lucien is someone like Tamlin's father, Rhys' father or like Beron himself.

They say that acotar5 will be forbidden romance. Where they'll do it all behind Lucien's back like he deserves to be tricked or manipulated.

They place him as an aggressor and harasser, and he is a sexually and psychologically abused character.

They say the bond of mates is fake like Rowan, but they forget that the bond never existed. Rowan didn't feel that thread, and yet he loved Lirya and their child.

Aelin has great respect for Rowan's history, just as he does for her past and romances, unlike Azriel who sees Lucien as a nuisance and shows gratuitous disrespect.

Elriel stan are sometimes racist and make fun of the violence he suffered and even make fun of his disability.

I as Lucien Stan get sick of these things. How do you handle this fandom? Do you have any tips on how not to fall into the desperate Elriel's traps?

How do you think Elain would react to hearing the dismissive way Azriel says of Lucien? How do you think she would handle it if she heard about the Blood Duel idea?

Vent Away!! I understand your frustration because people have blown way past reason and logic and have entered into Mean Girl territory all in the name of fictional characters.

And pitting Elain and Gwyn against one another while treating Az like a poor baby who just needs to be "wuved" is disturbing.

This man TORTURES people. He starts fights in important political meetings because he can't control himself. He disobeys orders from his High Lord and High Lady.

Yes, what happened to Azriel is terrible and it's completely understandable why he's got issues. But constantly making excuses for him and giving him repeated forgiveness for his actions / behaviors while acting like two females under the age of 30 who very recently experienced major traumas and have not yet discovered who they're meant to be are the problem is crazy.

Elain and Gwyn are extremely parallel characters right now.

Both had older sisters who protected them. We know it's a fact for Elain and Gwyn tells us:

"Catrin was always the strong one" "After our mother died, she took care of me. Looked out for me."

Catrin was Gwyn's Nesta.

Both have shown moments of extreme bravery (Elain while saving Briar and when she stabbed the King and Gwyn during the attack on Sangravah and the Rite).

But despite that, they are both still hesitant to fully embrace their futures. Elain by sort of hiding in the NC telling herself everything is fine and Gwyn (despite her proclamation that she was tired of living in the library and didn't want to take the safe road anymore) returned to living in the library and wasn't sure she would attend Nesta's ceremony after the Rite.

Again, lots of similarities between them.

One of the only reasons E/riels have a problem with Gwyn is because Az is being set up as her possible LI. No, she doesn't need to be your favorite character but it's a near impossibility to hate a character whose major role in SF was to be Nesta's support system. To have created so many slanderous things to say about her. How can you have so much hate for a character who has not been written to be antagonistic in any way right now?

And the Elain hate is also extreme. I've seen some Gwynriels (this is a very select few as most Gwynriels I talk to are awesome) say that Elain should be killed off or SA because she's worthless. This is a girl who had a special cake made for her sister because she wanted her to know how much she's always appreciated her. Elain stood up to Nesta to allow Feyre to use their home as a meeting spot for the Human Queens regardless of what that might mean for her own engagement. This is a girl who has always shown the members of Feyre's new family with respect. She doesn't have to be anyones favorite but Geeez. Saying she'd be better dead or assaulted is way out there. Of course people have things they dislike about her, that tends to happen when a character is more fleshed out. SJM has given her good and bad (especially when we are witnessing sister squabbles on page) but acting like she's a more terrible person than Az is 🤔

And Lucien, my god. His entire journey so far has been filled with impossible decisions. Constantly being put in the middle of his friend and High Lord (a High Lord who gave him a job and home) and Feyre, a friend he had just met. Always between a rock and a hard place on what she needed versus what Tamlin and the Spring Court needed. Being accused of not doing enough when, whenever he tried to do anything he was threatened and eventually abused by Tamlin. Having to reign in any emotions he may have had for Rhys and the IC, people he was led to believe were the bad guys for centuries and who really didn't show Lucien much respect in the beginning, because they were allowed to dictate when and how he was allowed to see his own Mate. He's never threatened ANYONE or brought harm to anyone Elain cared for. He freely works with Az even though Az treats him like garbage He's always tried to find balance between respecting Elain's need for space while also letting her know he'd still like to interact with her. All while he can't return to his home as his father keeps trying to kill him and Feyre ruined his name in Spring.

What tough decisions has Az made as of late? What impossible situations has he really been placed in? Az is a bit of an asshole right now for no real reason at all besides his desperate need for love while Lucien has legitimate problems and is faced with difficult decisions. Az starts fights, has anger issues, refuses to communicate, and doesn't listen to authority. Yet Az gets more respect because.......? Because he said something poetic about Illyrians and the wind and acts like a perfect gentleman around Elain?

I do think SJM will restore Azriel's character but anyone holding him in higher regard at the moment than Lucien, Elain or Gwyn is a very interesting person indeed.

To answer your last question, Elain would dislike everything about the Az that exists when she's not around. From how he talks about Lucien to his casual disregard for he and Graysen's lives. To the real thoughts he has about her, that she's the "third sister" and that's why he wonders why he didn't get a bond, that his thoughts for her really only amount to sexual fantasies. That he doesn't think she can handle something dangerous.

It's ironic because the front Az puts up around Elain is how Lucien actually is yet she's so stubborn against getting to know him that she hasn't realized it yet.

I think the reason I don't fall into the E/riel traps and bullying is because, after looking through the series over and over and OVER again, I finally feel like it's all clicked. I came up with a lot of different thoughts, even trying to prove an E/riel endgame possibility at one point but some of those things didn't feel right. I'd have an idea and start running with it but after asking other questions, the idea fell apart under my own scrutiny.

A year ago, I would have probably been uncertain on my stances and wondered if I missed something but now I do feel very confident that I'm just as versed as any of them might be (at least on the Elucien / Elriel / Gwynriel debate) and that makes it easy to ignore or argue back. That's not to say SJM can't turn around and completely change the direction of her story but as far as things stand right now, I do feel that I've grasped the hidden messages she's left us about those ships. And that in order for E/riel to ever be a possibility, she would have to go in a completely different direction and decide what's she's written so far didn't matter because what there is does not point to E/riel.

So for others out there that struggle dealing with them I think really looking back through the series and trying to disprove their arguments can help because it builds the confidence that you understand the material as well as the next person. Or, you can find blogs that resonate with you, that their logic also makes sense to yours, and use that to build up your knowledge.

But even if it's a blog you usually agree with, it's ok to question their take on it too. If I or anyone else says anything that makes you go "wait a minute", then going back to the books can again help. See if you can disprove (or even find additional supporting proof) of what they're saying.

In the end, regardless of how much effort you want to put in when it comes the series, remember that anyone who resorts to threats is not anyone you should be paying attention to anyway. They are obviously not someone you should respect and allow to dictate how you feel about yourself or your enjoyment of something.

I am sorry for the stressful nature of the fandom though. It does suck the life out of me from time to time and it makes me desperate for answers from SJM.

#pro elucien #elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #anti e/riel #pro elain archeron #pro gwynriel #gwynriel #pro gwyneth berdara

[agentvalentine]

About Jill's Brainwashing and Trauma.

This is a very, very long post. It's longer than I intended for it to be. But anyway, some of you know I studied psychology and it tends to be one of my main interests in media I consume. I like to analyze characters and dive into their headspace and make sense of what they've been through and how it affects their behavior and relationships, etc. Jill is one of those characters who have gone through so much from a young age, and, naturally, I like to analyze her and think about how everything she experienced has shaped her up into who she is now. I'll be referencing stuff from RE.5, RE.3R and DI. I have to preface this by saying I love RE.5. I think it's a good game and super fun to play. But I do have some criticism for it, specficially in terms of how it treats Jill.

Content warning for: attempted suicide.

I've talked about this before in an ask, but also just to double down on it. We see in RE3.R, during that first nightmate sequence, that Jill would rather shoot herself than turn into an infected. We also see in another dream sequence in that game that she'd rather let an infected Carlos kill her than shoot him.

Having seen DI and the extra content, the writers also talk about this when they compare Jill to Dylan, where the difference between them is that Jill would never pull the trigger on her friends/people she considers close. This is why she doesn't pull the trigger on Claire who is on the verge of turning. Jill also sympathizes with Dylan to a certain degree because she recognizes their similarities, and that's why she doesn't shoot him, either, even though she had every opportunity to.

I think Jill's "Go f yourself" to Dylan is less about her telling him to F himself, and more about her feeling frustrated and conflicted. Because on one hand, she gets where he's coming from, on the other, they both made different choices.

In addition, what happened in RE5 was totally out of Jill's control. She didn't choose to attack Chris or Sheva or anyone. It was all happening against her will, and we even see her resisting that for a moment. Whereas Dylan willingly pulled the trigger on his friend, so even though the weapon turned out to be empty, he still made that choice of his own free will, and had to live with it.

Knowing all this, I don't think it's farfetched to assume that Jill was wishing death upon herself all the while she was attacking Chris and Sheva or hurting whoever it is Wesker ordered her to hurt that day. Because, as we've established before, she'd rather die than become a monster who poses a danger to her friends, and she'd rather die than have to fight/kill her friends and those she cares about.

My headcanon (while taking the rewrite of Jill's character into consideration) has always been that, throughout the experiments, and knowing that she did manage to gain some level of consciousness admist them (which led to the gradual increase of the dosage), Jill would have likely tried to end her life on multiple occasions just to stop herself from: a. doing things against her will and b. hurting people she didn't want to hurt and c. becoming the puppet of the man who is the cause of all her suffering since 1998 and d. becoming and aiding the one thing she's been trying to fight against (bioterrorists).

But even ignoring the remake and putting its acknowledgement of Jill's PTSD aside, what Jill experiences in those 3 years is still, pretty simply, messed up. I dare say beyond messed up, even. And this is where my frustration comes from. Because this is such a big deal that was downplayed so hard in RE.5. It's really funny to me that Cap.com thought the best way to handle someone who's been through all this is to essentially have her wake up from being brainwashed for three whole years, and be immediately hit on by a random man she just met. Not only that, my woman somehow finds it in her to flirt back. And then later on it's not just Josh hitting on her, but also Doug on the comms, and Jill's just there like "yeah, tell me more."

I like Josh and his dynamic with Jill, and I also liked their chemistry. So my problem isn't at all with the flirting itself, per se (although I stand by the fact Josh shouldn't have flirted with her IMMEDIATELY after waking up, nor should she have flirted back). The flirting could have actually worked perfectly if it had been used in a smart way, as means for Jill to cope with her trauma. If it had been Jill's way of distracting herself and keeping herself grounded in the present.

The problem is that, this is not at all how the flirting was used. Because throughout the entirety of RE5 and Desperate Escape, Jill's trauma is never ONCE acknowledged. We never see her dissociate, pause, freeze or "lose" herself momentarily as she processes everything that happened to her. We never see her struggling or fighting with her body that is still not 100% responding to her because the virus is still in her system and hasn't left it completely.

We never see any signs or hints about how awful and draining the whole brainwashing experience was for Jill. She just passes out after Chris and Sheva save her, wakes up, and suddenly she's fine. Everything's functioning as normal. She's being hit on and hitting back on people. Because Cap.com chose to reduce her character to badass blonde in sexy catsuit. Jill had to endure so much, and yet her own struggles are barely acknowledged, and simply used as a tool to amplify Chris's "oh no i lost my partner and now she's working for my archnemesis i'm so sad and angry." That's all she was in that game, fuel to Chris's trauma. Never mind what she had to go through in those three years.

The laziest thing they could have done is include flashbacks from the game itself (if they were too lazy to animate new cutscenes), from her fight with Chris and Sheva + the flashbacks from the Spencer Estate, but shown from HER POV, just so we know "hey, btw, Jill is absolutely not over the fact she nearly died, was brainwashed AND almost killed her best friend."

More effectively, they should have shown us things from when Jill was working under Wesker's control, the horrible things he made her do, the awful experiments she had to endure, instances of her regaining control and trying to fight for her freedom. Hell, they could have made those events part of the RE5 narrative, a "what Jill has been up to while Chris was doing this" sort of thing. In the vein of Separate Ways in RE.4. Instead of starting Desperate Escape during the point at which Jill is "free," we could have started it earlier. We could have also used Jill's familiarity with the setting, as she guides Josh around during their escape, to include instances of her telling Josh "this is where X happened and this is where Wesker did Y and this is where I did Z" etc.

Jill was so objectified beyond belief in RE.5 both by the narrative and by the writers/developers. The funny thing is there were easy and quick solutions to give her character more depth throughout so she's not as flat as a blank sheet of paper (character-wise, because they made damn sure she wasn't flat physique-wise).

They could have delayed the flirting with Josh till after they've established her messed up mental state and used it as a coping mechanism. They could have shown us flashbacks from her POV to get a better, closer look into what she had to endure. They could have interrupted Jill's badassery and used breathing moments to showcase instances of weakness where she dissociates or temporarily loses control again and attacks Josh, just so we know this woman is still struggling, but she's doing her best to fight and get out of here regardless.

I don't think allowing Jill to be weak for a few minutes would have taken away from her badass status. On the contrary, I think it would have made her even stronger because, despite all her internal struggles, she's still fighting. But the complete erasure of her internal struggles and trauma in favor of her looking badass is just quite honestly icky and unrealistic. Not only that, any reference to what Jill went through is only within context of "this is really sad for Chris. Look at what Chris had to endure. Poor man."

And the thing is, I'm not even asking they take that out, because yeah, what Chris went through? It's pretty horrible and messed up and very valid, too. But I do take issue with the fact only HIS struggles are recognized but not Jill's.

RE.5 gives a very unrealistic, crappy and objectifying portrayal of Jill, and I wholeheartedly believe this is one of the main reasons why, now that cap.com is actually trying to acknowledge Jill's trauma from the very start (since the Spencer Mansion incident), and give a more accurate perspective on her mental and emotional state, people are struggling to accept this "new" Jill. Even though, at her core, she is very much the same Jill, just reacting to certain things the way a human would react after enduring so much.

The many times she shows kindness and care for characters (dead and alive) in RE3R are countless. Her resolve to fight for the innocent and save people is ever stronger. So strong she's willing to team up with people who work for the corporation that caused the deaths of her comrades and traumatized her for life, in order to save and help those in need.

It's always funny to me people call Jill a b because of the way she acts with Carlos at the start of the game. Are you telling me that after surviving a horror mansion filled with zombies and all sorts of monsters, watching your comrades die and failing to save most of them, barely making it out yourself, being betrayed by your captain whom you trusted, returning with the hope to stop the tragedy only to find out your chief has been bribed by the corporation behind it all, getting suspended by said chief, watching the city fall apart as the evil corporation takes control of it, having to literally take medication made by said corporation to help yourself sleep at night so you can function as a human being for a while, knowing this company is constantly endangering the lives of the innocent, that after going through ALL OF THIS, you run into a dude who works for the nightmare company, and you just go "Oh cool, nice to meet you"????

I think Jill has earned every right to be angry and throw a few f-bombs at people, but that's just me.

And I also have a whole lot to say about Jill and Chris post-RE.5 all the way to DI, but this post is already so long, so I'm gonna cut it here and maybe talk about that another day.

Edit to add: it's also even more frustrating that Jill didn't even get to execute revenge on the man who enslaved her for years and instead had to watch Chris and Sheva kill him with a very minor contribution on her end. This adds to just how downplayed Jill's struggles are in the game. Because throughout it all, Wesker is more or less Chris's archnemesis even though he messed up Jill's life just as bad, if not more.

#〈 ✘ Headcanon 〉 #〈 Analysis • Character 〉 #〈 ❝ F*queue. ❞ 〉 #this is probably my most important analysis about Jill tbh #i want to write more about her psychology specifically after recovery and also maybe something after the mansion incident #but yeah one thing at a time

[sarah-cam]

After listening to Slut! by Taylor Swift, it reminded me how a lot of the fandom really slut shames Belly for having relationships with the brothers, even though that’s literally the show’s entire premise. While Belly is not perfect, there’s no excuse for people (a good amount of whom are adults) to slut shame an insecure 16 yo girl who is processing her own grief. It’s also surprising to hear people who are Team Conrad slut shame Belly because while Conrad was disappointed with Belly choosing Jeremiah in s2, he would not approve of this slut shaming at all. Plus, I find it ironic how tsitp (a very Taylor Swift coded show) has it’s main character face the same slut shaming Taylor Swift experienced throughout her career. Despite tsitp focusing on Belly’s coming of age and her taking charge of her life, she deserves a lot better from the fandom.

okay i want to start this off by saying i wholeheartedly agree that belly gets unfairly slut-shamed and yes she is only a teenager struggling with grief HOWEVER that doesn't mean she should be exempt from criticism

the fact that she dates both brothers is literally the entire premise lol and i suspend a level of morality, i guess you could say, when it comes to fiction because it's FICTION!! it's supposed to be fun and emotional and dramatic

i love belly but she is so messy ☠️

my issue with her behavior is not based around the fact that she kissed someone else, there's nothing wrong with her trying to move on from conrad. that in and of itself is not the issue, which is what's different from the slut-shaming that i see in fandom. it's the fact that it's with jeremiah -- it's the emotional aspect. like she really went after the one person that would hurt conrad the most without even giving it a second thought!! but even so, it doesn't make her a bad person or a slut. and i know she's a teenager but also... that's fucked up to ANYONE idc how young you are. like i was a 16 year old girl not THAT long ago 😅 and that's just so messed up (but that's on jeremiah too, not just her)

slut-shaming is a huge issue that i see in fandoms because that's such a huge part of society unfortunately. if you watched nancy drew or follow me then you've probably seen me express frustration when nancy gets slut-shamed by the fandom. if not here's a brief summary - nancy has multiple partners throughout the series, several of which are while she's trying to move on from her feelings for ace. the first is while ace has a girlfriend and neither know of the others' feelings, and the second is after nancy and ace break up. there's nothing wrong with a single woman/person having hookups or flings or whatever with other people or even multiple people. the only issue that would rise for me would again be regarding the emotional aspect -- it's WHO she is with, like if it was ace's brother or best friend

it's not about shaming a woman for expressing and enjoying her sexuality -- it's about just having simple respect and consideration for another person's feelings

think about it like this -- you and your boyfriend break-up (when neither of you really wanted to) and are still in love with each other. and then your (ex)boyfriend almost immediately goes and makes out with your sister. or your best friend. who KNOWS that you're still in love with each other. that's FUCKED UP and in reality i would never forgive either of them for that

i know that belly not wanting to have sex with jeremiah before the wedding is part of the plot in book 3 so i am wondering how they will handle that given she has already had sex with conrad, so she's obviously not waiting for marriage to lose her virginity. if we do have to suffer through a sex scene (🤮), it's not uncomfy because she's having sex with someone else, it's uncomfy from the emotional standpoint and because we know she ends up back with conrad -- but AGAIN this does not make her a slut, she can absolutely do what she wants with her body and should not be shamed for it

i'm hoping that maybe this is how they approach it -- with belly feeling weird about having been with conrad and tries to justify her uneasiness (since she's also still in love with him) by waiting until after the wedding because then she can say "well obviously i can have sex with my HUSBAND"

AGAIN, at the end of the day, she can do what she wants and having sex with jeremiah certainly doesn't diminish her or her value, or her love for conrad. and hey, if conrad can get over it and forgive her for everything then who am i to judge -- it's fiction!!

in real life though, if i was taylor, i would be checking belly SO HARD about her behavior and if i was steven, idc if it's my sister i would be verbally destroying her AND jeremiah AND telling conrad to go to cali and never come back 💅🏼

(also the line in the song is "if they call me a slut, it might as well be worth it for once" and belly sweetie jeremiah ain't worth shit ☠️)

#the summer i turned pretty #anti fandom #anti jelly #tsitp meta #answered #anon #it's hard to put into words so hopefully this made sense #this got so long #pls don't think this is me hating belly bcos i don't!! i love her #but you can criticize characters and still love them

[howlingalltheway]

Insights Chapter 3

I just realized that I never posted the third chapter on here:

Sevro is less than a year old, and Fitchner feels more helpless than ever before. The boy is crying. Fitchner doesn't know for how long now. He can hear the pitiful screams from the other room, but he just can't get himself to get up and check on his son. It feels like all energy has finally been drained from his body. He is sitting on a chair, in the confined darkness of his kitchen. His eyes looking somewhere in the middle distance. Bryn would hate him, if she saw him right now. She would be screaming at him. How dare he just sit there and do nothing, while Sevro is obviously in distress? But Bryn isn't here, ant that's the whole point. Fitchner was able to keep it together, while he was arranging to get Ryanna and the others into hiding. But now, that there is just him and the boy, the thoughts enter his brain unbidden. He has lost her. She is gone. And there is nothing he can do to bring her back. He wants to scream and cry and destroy something, but he can't. He can't even move. And that is proven in the fact that he is still sitting in this gory damn chair, even while Sevro is working himself to hysterics in the other room. 

Maybe the situation could have been different. Maybe he could have offered his own life in exchange for Bryn's and Sevro's. Then, with his remaining funds, Quicksilver could have gotten his wife and child into hiding. And Bryn surly would be better at this... single parent thing. She wouldn't let the boy scream himself hoarse. That's for sure. Then again, they would have never gotten this far. Arturius would have killed them, the moment Fitchner would have laid down his weapons. There's a high chance he would have done it in front of Fitchner's eyes. No, there was never a scenario in which he got both of them out. He would have always had to choose. At the end of the day, it was Arturius who made the decision for him, but they both know that Fitchner would have chosen his son over his wife as well. He doesn't think that Bryn would have forgiven him, if he had saved her instead. And, truth be told, he wouldn't have forgiven himself. The thought of anything happening to the small bundle that is proof of the strength of his and Bryn's love is making him sick.

But then why can't he get himself out of his chair and into that room? It feels like a heavy weight is placed upon him. One, he is not strong enough to lift, and he knows that if he doesn't do something about it soon, it will crush him. The pain inside his chest, the pain that keeps him bound to this chair, is worse than anything he has ever experienced. Any wound he suffered in the institute, loosing his arm on Triton, Arturius' betrayal. All of this is nothing, compared to what he is feeling right now. But there is nothing that could make this pain ease. Nothing that could lift the weight on his shoulders. Nothing.

The door chimes. Fitchner buries his face in his hands and lets out a groan. He sounds older than he is. He isn't sure who has decided that now is a good time to pay him a visit, but whoever it is, Fitchner doesn't expect it to be a pleasant surprise. The door chimes again. Fitchner ignores it. Maybe his visitor will just leave. He is not that lucky. The door chimes a third time and when, again, Fitchner doesn't go to answer it, there's a short pause, before someone opens it from the outside.  When exactly Regulus ag Sun has gotten hold of the entry code, Fitchner isn't sure, but Quicksilver is standing in his kitchen, before he can even force himself to react to the opening door. If this had been a killing squad, send by Arturius, he would be dead.

But it's not a bunch of Obsidians or Grays that accompany Quicksilver into his apartment. It is just a young Pink. Fitchner isn't sure if he has seen him before, but the boy, or man, doesn't stay in the kitchen for long. As soon as he enters, he already leaves, in the direction of the still crying child in his crib. Maybe that should set Fitchner on edge. He shouldn't let a stranger this close to his son, but the Pink doesn't seem threatening, and as he opens the door to Sevro's room, Fitchner can hear him dote over the baby.

“Why, look at you. All worked up. No, no, we can’t have that.” Then the door falls close and the Pink's voice vanishes. It is shortly thereafter, when the crying finally stops. Fitchner averts his eyes from the direction where the Pink vanished and looks at Quicksilver instead. He can't decide what the emotions in his eyes are. Pity? Disdain? Both or Neither? Fitchner isn't sure, but he knows that the other man won't make him wait too long for an explanation for his arrival. 

"Matteo is making sure your son doesn't die." Matteo, so that is the name of the pink. And he is caring for the boy. Later in life, Sevro will thank the Pink by breaking his jaw with a single punch to the face. But Fitchner won't be around to witness that.

Quicksilver continues without giving Fitchner the chance to react.  "Is that what you're doing? Letting him die?" 

'Of course not!', is, what Fitchner wants to say. But he doesn't.

“Maybe it would be kinder.”, the words slip out before Fitchner can stop them. He doesn't mean them. They both know he doesn't mean them. But there is no taking them back now. And maybe, just maybe, there is a bit of truth to it. Sevro will grow up an outcast, without a mother and a father who hardly knows how to care for him. Putting a child of two worlds into this universe was selfish. Fitchner is aware of that. Maybe this is the payment for it.  Quicksilver laughs. It's an ugly sound. Cold and humorless. 

"Really. You should have thought of that early. Why did you not let him die with his mother and spare all of us this mess, then?"

Fitchner buries his face back into his hands and softly pulls at the few hairs that mark his receding hairline.

"I don't know how to care for him."

"Yes. That much is clear." Quicksilver takes a look around the room, before he moves and turns on the light. It blinds Fitchner. He endures it. "Figure it out."

Fitchner wants to say he is trying, but that would be a lie. If he were trying, it wouldn't have taken Matteo to get Sevro to stop crying. He isn't fit to be a parent. He doesn't know how to care for other people. But the Pink, on the other hand.

"You take him." It's not an order, not a demand. It's a desperate plea of someone who doesn't know what to do. Quicksilver doesn't humor it.

"Excuse me?", he snarls, and Fitchner looks up.

"You could take him. Raise him..."

"Me!" Quicksilver barks out another laugh. It cuts through Fitchner like a slap to the face. "And how exactly do you think that's going to go? A Silver and a Pink raising a Gold child? You don't really think that is possible, do you? And even if it were. Even if we could hide him away and somehow make sure he gets old enough to not be culled the day he steps, outside, do you really want him to hate you? Because he will hate you, if you abandon him now. The boy already lost his mother. Don't make him lose his father as well, before he is even old enough to remember your face. Besides, he is your problem, not mine."

Fitchner nods. He is right about that, but still there is something curious about Quicksilver's words. "Never knew you to be so slagging sentimental. What do you care if he hates me?" 

The Silver shrugs. "Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe I have sympathy for you. Or maybe I just want to see you crash and burn from up-close. Who knows."

Fitchner doesn't believe him. "No. There is something else." 

Quicksilver eyes him for a moment. Then he nods.

“You are a smart man, Fitchner, even if you don’t look the part. I have my own dice in the game and I need someone who does my dirty work. You need someone who has money. At least if you want this little rebellion of yours to have any results.” The look in his eye is dangerous. “Why don’t we help each other?”

He is right. Fitchner needs his help. His money. He put the sons of Ares into this little game of chess, and now he needs the funds to move them. He started this, and now he needs to see it through. For his wife. For his son. 

Before he can answer, Matteo suddenly enters the kitchen. Sevro doesn't look as small in his arms, but maybe that is because the Pink is rather small himself. He cradles the bundle that is Fitchner's son to his chest, as he crosses the room. "That was the last time, I changed a diper. Horrible stuff.", he exclaims to Quicksilver before his eyes pierce Fitchner. "A baby shouldn't be left to be lonely. That's cruel." He comes to a stop in front of the still seated man and shoves the bundle into his arms. "Do better."

Fitchner is almost impressed. There are not a lot of lower colors, that would dare to speak to a Gold like that. Then again, he isn't very imposing right now.

Matteo looks down at the bundle before he pulls his hands back.   “Good luck, little one. You’re going to need it.”, he says before moving past Quicksilver. He know that whatever conversation the two other men had, it is not for his ears.  “I’m going to wait outside.” and without another word to Fitchner he is gone. 

The gold looks down at his son. Sevro tries to snuggle closer to the warmth that emanates from his father. His eyes are closed. He is probably exhausted from all the crying. 

Quicksilver clears his throat.    “Once you get back on your feet, contact me." he says as he moves to the door. He stops and takes a look back at father and son, still sitting on the chair.  "And Fitchner. Don’t take too long. I’m entertaining all of this right now, but I am not a patient man.” And with that he follows Matteo outside. Fitchner is left alone with his sleeping son. 

 The apartment hasn't been this quiet in a while. It reminds Fitchner once again, that things will never go back to the way they were. He will never hear Bryns voice again. She will never sing their son to sleep, or laugh or console her griefing husband. And there is nothing he can do about it. But that doesn't mean he can just give up. He has to go on.

Fitchner can feel the tears coming and for the first time in a long, long time, he can’t hold them back. As Sevro sleeps in his arms, Fitchner silently sobs, over the woman he lost. He sobs and hugs his son close until the boy begins to stir. The Pink is right. If Fitchner wants to make this world better for the boy he put in it, he needs to be better himself. It’s a long road, but maybe he can try.

#red rising #golden son #morning star #sevro au barca #fitchner au barca #ares #goblin #red rising trilogy #red rising series #fanfiction #insights #bad parenting #child neglect #grief #regulus ag sun

[theaceofmanyhearts]

The Inherent Autistic Nature of The Batman

The concept of “The Hero” has existed for millenia in all different cultures and methods of storytelling, but in today’s society, it has superheroes like those in Marvel’s highly successful cinematic universe that have captured the people’s attention in order to see a person prevail over even the most difficult obstacles that life could create. DC, another popular comic company and publisher, has many strong characters that garner favor from their audience with one of the most popular being The Batman, billionaire Bruce Wayne. There have been many iterations of Batman throughout comics, cartoons, Hollywood action films, and more. However, through these different mediums and portrayals of the character, a common theme of many autistic traits are found within Bruce Wayne and his existence as a hero. This stems not only from the trauma he faced as a young child and the resulting mental health issues caused by that event, but in his personality, his struggles with relationships, his interests, and the very creation of his alter ego as The Batman in the first place. The authour, as someone who has not read many of the DC comics, will demonstrate how these different aspects of the comicbook hero combine to create a character that can easily be read as autistic or otherwise neurodivergent by the audience through the movies and cartoons scene and fan written works that include and study this character.

In most stories of Batman, Bruce Wayne creates this vigilante alterego during his twenties to fight crime in the city of Gotham, New Jersey using the funds he has as an old money billionaire in the United States because he witnessed the murder of his parents when he was eight years old during a robbery gone wrong. Trauma, especially that which happens at a young age, leaves a lasting impression on the psyche and so it stands to reason that Bruce Wayne would have experienced mental health issues after he was, in one night, violently turned into an orphan at the loss of his loving parents. Such mental illnesses he likely would have faced are depression, anxiety and other panic disorders, PTSD, as well as others that deal with grief and loss combined with needing control and issues of trust. He also likely would have faced issues creating and maintaining relationships because the most inherent and fundamental connection he had, that of a parent to a child, was ripped away from him unexpectedly. His issues with relationships would have likely come from any possible isolation Wayne created for himself due to the trauma and ensuing mental illnesses he suffered. While these mental health issues do not make Bruce Wayne autistic, there are many links to the symptoms of different mental illnesses to the manners in which autistc people act added to the proclivity of autistic people to suffer mental health problems due to the altered manner in which they experience and process stimulants in the world.

In many fan created pieces, the authors analyze Bruce Wayne and find that he is more true as Batman than he is as himself and so never lets go of the mask. While comicbook heroes are known to wear masks to hide their identities by simply covering their faces, autistic people use the act of masking to try and maintain the appropriate actions and customs of the neurotypical or allistic society. They pretend to not be autistic in situations and so act as a different person. This act can be seen used by Batman in the different masks he creates for himself. Bruce Wayne, the true person underneath, has created at least two personalities or identities for himself. For everyday life, there is “Brucie Wayne” the ditzy billionaire who laughs off everything and anything because that is what is expected from him from both other members of high society and the rest of the population who view rich people in certain ways due to parasocial relationships. “The Batman” is also a manner of masking used by Wayne not only be being a crime-fighting alter ego, but also because Batman is allowed, but also expected, to act very differently from Brucie or Bruce Wayne. Batman is allowed to be sullen, quiet but intelligent, and able to use different fighting abilities in order to pursue his interest of fighting crime, as will be discussed more later. The author does recognize that Batman is less of a masking technique in a way because the hero is not expected to make friends or act polite in company but instead allowed to show more of the natural mannerisms of an autistic person however, The Batman must also be a form of masking because he has a reputation of being the “World’s Best Detective” and a very terrifying vigilante. In character studies by different authors, it seems like Bruce Wayne, the real person, is a very quiet and intelligent man who relies on his interests and the masking he does because he is not comfortable showing his true self to the world when really he is still that grieving child that lost his parents.

Having both a secret identity and the early trauma, Bruce Wayne is often shown to have issues creating or maintaining relationships with other people. While he does raise many children, both in general and in the crime fighting lifestyle, it is seen in many comics and storylines that those father and child relationships are often fraught with issues caused by lack of proper communication or other problems that oft seem to lie with Bruce and his words and actions, or lack thereof. Batman is also a member of the Justice League, a worldwide group of heroes that band together to fight larger threats than everyday crime, but he does not often share his true identity with the team nor does he communicate his plans or thoughts with the other members in many different versions of his character. The reason this is considered an autistic trait of Wayne’s is because autistic people in real life have issues with relationships either due to their own personal needs being considered different to normal society and the differences that exist in allistic versus autistic communication, espectially in those autists who are selectively mute or nonverbal, whether that is all the time or simply during specific episodes. This makes it very difficult to understand the allistic people around them or to be understood by the allistic people because it is unknown the best way to communicate and so it is hard to correctly place a level of closeness with that person or to maintain the correct relationship or closeness with them at all times. Batman is considered to be selectively mute by the author because many times he simply does not speak, like when he does not communicate his plans to other heroes, or simply hums and grunts instead of using full words or sentences. In the 2022 film The Batman, Robert Pattinson, who plays Bruce Wayne, often does not respond directly to remarks made to him both as Wayne in daily life or to officers at crime scenes when he is Batman. The hero also is known to frequently leave Police Commissioner Jim Gordon before the man can finish the debrief because, to Batman, he already has all the needed information and so there is no point in continuing the conversation no matter how rude it is considered by Gordon. It is also likely that Wayne would have different scripts for any interactions he might have as either Batman or Brucie Wayne in order to maintain the identity he currently inhabits which is a common trait amongst autistic people in order to better mask and communicate in everyday society.

When it comes to neurodivergent people, they are often known to have “special interests” or hyperfocuses that take up a majority of their time and attention. Obviously, for Bruce Wayne, vigilantism as Batman is a hyperfocus because it has become almost his true self in many iterations of the character. Some other special interests that could be considered are his specialty in detective work, martial arts, languages, different sciences, and likely many more. While these are linked to his needs for crime fighting, they are also interests that he has cultivated and become very focused on to the point where he is considered the best in many of those fields, at least within the superhero or “caped” community. He, as a billionaire, has very easy access to study these interests as they come up but still it matches with the neurodivergent process of becoming focused on some media, skill, or other stimulus to take up quite a bit of their attention.

In most iterations of Batman, Bruce Wayne dawned his cowl to ensure that no other person would experience the pain he did when he was only eight years old. He decided to take matters into his own hands and become a vigilante because he did not see a way to place faith in the legal system when the legal system did not save him from being orphaned all of those years ago. This is also often the reason given for why he takes in Dick Grayson, the first Robin and often the first child hero in many DC comic runs, after the boy’s parents fall to their deaths during their circus act after a protection racket tampers with their equipment. While this may seem to simply link to Wayne’s personal trauma and his own selflessness to try and protect the people of Gotham, it can also be linked to another autistic trait. Many people with autism have a very rigid sense of justice or right and wrong which leads to a very specific moral code. Batman has an incredibly strict moral code in that he fights crime as a vigilante, which in itself is a crime, but refuses to kill or go any further beyond the legal system than his vigilantism. This often causes issues in his relationships because other vigilantes do not see issue with being “Judge, Jury, and Executioner.” Examples include members of the Justice League, such as Wonder Woman, and Red Hood, Bruce Wayne’s second son and the second robin, who began killing when he returned from the dead after being killed by the Joker, one of Batman’s villains.

In all, while most writers most likely do not attempt to make Batman or Bruce Wayne an autistic or autistic seeming character, many of the traits he is given do match with those of autistic people in real life. It gives a sort of deeper introspection of the character and how exactly the events in human life can affect a person, but it also brings to question how fictional characters are perceived for these characteristics versus the real people who exhibit the same within our communities. People look up to heroes because their stories usually end in victory which is attractive to the public who exist as living beings that often do not succeed or feel failure in their lives. Whether Batman was intended to represent these autistic traits or not, it is impossible to reject the idea that he does embody them and exists as a revered hero at the same time.

#batman #dc comcis #autistic experiences #autsitic #autism #my autism made me write this #I don’t know canon #my opinion

[chainsxwsmile]

01, 02, 08, 15 (Canon and/or Olog-hai verse)

Character Headcanon Questions: specify verse, please!

01 What is your muse’s sense of humour like? What’s their favourite joke? How do they react to humour from people around them? Can they laugh at themselves?

In comparison to his canon, Bruce (in Olog-hai verses) has the general same type of humor; easily amused, and rather laid-back with a good sense of not taking himself too seriously. A mischievous streak of 'playing around' with close friends and even strangers, by using cheeky nicknames and what-not. The only main difference is the addition of gallows humor, which would be typical for anyone raised in such an environment like Mordor.

02 Do they believe in aliens? Have they ever seen a UFO?

If aliens was synonymous with beings like the Valar or Maiar, then yes. However, most of Bruce's worst years were spent in forced servitude under the particular Maia, Sauron. Thus, the Olog is considerably distrustful of supremely powerful beings, having suffered through the cruel worship of a malicious one.

08 What activity will make your muse nostalgic for their childhood?

I've teetered on the idea of Bruce actually being a wild-born Olog, and not one 'born' in a Vat in Mordor. It would offer a deeper explanation to his general resistance towards Mordor's military, his quadrupedal preference for travel, and would even narratively allow Maliku's presence to spark memories rather than merely stories of the west.

A wild population of Olog-hai live in the very southern parts of Greenwood. The capturing of a young Olog wouldn't be out-of-character for Mordor soldiers. Especially to raise their own numbers for battle.

In such a case, the feeling of being enveloped in a forest-- dwarfed, even, despite his size-- elicits both a feeling of familiarity and vacillation. While Bruce's memories of childhood involve the security and safety of the forest -- sans spiders, wargs, and Orcs-- Mordor tends to beat out the appreciation of nature at an early age. Despite still longing for the feeling of traveling beneath a forest, doing so still leaves Bruce feeling like an outsider or trespasser. Like he shouldn't be in the forest.

15 What were they like as a child? What hobbies or passions did they have?

Unlike Olog-hai and Orcs in Mordor, who were born from the Vats which incorporated a dark magic to produce such numbers in little time, wild-born Olog-hai were natural borns (as were many Orcs outside of Mordor).

Wherein those born from the Vats 'came out' in as full-sized adults, those born outside of Mordor experienced a glimmer of childhood. As an Olog childling, Bruce was on the smaller side and tended to stick close to his mother. Despite this, he also had a strange tendency to attempt to befriend anyone. Even stray Wargs or smaller spiders, whereas most Olog-hai tended to stick to their own communities. Despite his kind's reputation, Bruce had always been a sensitive and gentle soul.

#verse: olog hai #thank you so much! #honeybilbyrp #about Bruce #answered

[trashyocstash]

i want to talk about mark, being that i've been developing him more and have a lot to say(also thankful that making the story original breathed new life into the characters and i'm much more concerned about historical accuracy than ever before).

so, i imagine mark's parents married on a whim, they were young, in love and in 1950, the average age of marriage for men was 22.8 and 20.3 for women; so you additionally have pressure to marry young. but it fell apart, because societal pressure meant women were told to focus on husband and family over a career and mark's mother fell into this, feeling she had to give up any career aspirations to be a housewife..thus building up resentment and hatred between mark's parents, which was taken out on each other and mark.

additionally, mark was forcefully attempted by his family and society to conform to traditional male gender roles: be strong, intelligent, athletic, assertive, ambitious, tough and men were expected to never show weakness, to not participate in any traditionally feminine activities and young boys had the expectations that one day, they would be the breadwinners of their own families.

but mark is, naturally, a more gentle, peaceful type. additionally, he has a learning disability and has never been particularly athletic or interested in sports in the first place. he was unable to live up to what was expected of him, which contributed to his abuse. his father believed strongly in abiding by traditional gender roles, and thought that mark was destined to be a failure. it should also be noted that during this time, it was believed children should be seen, not heard.

additionally, we have to take into account the context of the 50s being a decade of fear. this was during the height of the cold war, so you had the fear of nuclear war and communism. children of the 50s had duck and cover drills to prepare them for a nuke going off, and some schools gave kids dog tags in case their bodies were destroyed beyond recognition, also in the event of a nuke. for additional historical context, a psa about duck and cover shown to 50s kids.

and not only that, but polio was going around during this time.

i bring all these up, because these all contributed to mark turning out the way he did. the first inklings of the mark we know popped up when he was teenager(about 1966/1967). prior to that, he was very shy, quiet, scared and nervous, not at all the goofball activist he would grow up to become. seeing the vietnam war on TV and the growing hippie movement. mark was appalled by the war, and felt drawn to the hippie movement, believing in their ideals. he joined up with a group of them and became one. for the first time ever, he found people that liked him and accepted him for who he was, and it is here where he met kent, charlotte and sandra. around this time, he also met julie and vivian, and fell in love with vivian(who returned his feelings).

on the other hand, mark's parents hated and were frustrated by his hippie rebellion, so he was subsequently kicked out. from here, he ended up living with julie and her parents. being away from his parents, and having his friends and his community, both loving and supportive, over time allowed him to become his true, authentic self: a goofball with a big heart who believes in peace, kindness and justice for all.

he grew up abused, in a time of fear and war, with parents that hated each other. he saw and experienced suffering, and did not want anyone to suffer like he had to. he chooses to be kind and peaceful, because he believes it is what is right and abhors violence, war and suffering. mark is kind, compassionate, selfless, understanding and participates in protests and other activism work, doing his part to help the world become better. he believes even the smallest acts of kindness can have the greatest impact. and because of his parent's relationship, mark believes in finding someone he truly loves(vivian).

but, mark is not the perfect victim. he is still traumatized and broken, he just attempts to hide it from others, not wishing to worry and upset them. he doesn't trust machine initially but never says a word until later because he doesn't want to upset julie. he's great at giving advice and is a good listener, but ask him to talk about his own feelings and he freezes up. julie could never talk about the deaths of her parents with him because of it, and he's been unable to tell vivian he loves her. he has cigarette burns and scars on his body from his abuse, so doesn't like to be topless around anyone he doesn't know well. mark is also a people pleaser, again he doesn't want to worry and upset others, he seeks constant approval. he priorizes other people over himself to the point of neglecting his own needs. mark is afraid of causing disagreements, is afraid of loud noises and gets jumpy with touch.

but luckily, mark's arc will involve him healing. abuse is the kind of thing that always sticks with you, but he'll get better, don't worry.

#mark #abuse tw

[calismediadiary]

we're doomed - Media Blog Post #6

In the first 2 years of my college education, what I would consider one of the most useful pieces of information would be that when working within my career, I am not and am almost never what is considered the “target audience.” 

Specifically in regard to being a marketing major, you have to understand that you are not trying to make yourself understood but an outside audience that is not you. I believe this is something everyone needs to have drilled into them because in both our media landscape and everyday life there's a lack of knowing that you are not the center and there are many dialogues.  

TikTok humanizes and puts every creator at the center, when you scroll onto a video it is their “art” and online existence that you are witnessing in real time. And I think the trends that have emerged from TikTok show that these people are using their online existence as a means of survival.

Just last month, the trend to livestream you repeating the same five words over and over again was having people receive thousands of dollars within minutes. 

The crazy thing is everyone accepted it and began participating. 

This NPC streaming started off within TikToker PinkyDoll repeating the same words over and over again based on the gifts being sent. However, this essential went viral overnight and every day people and well known influencers were following suit. One of the most famous being the Miles Morales NPC where he repeats different catch phrases and even stays in character when questioned and eventually running from the cops. 

Which is why the ability to trend on tik tok is unreliable unless you are consistently trying every trend. 

Personally, an aspect of TikTok that I find really interesting is scrolling through livestreams. Outside of the bizarre NPC streams, there is no consistency or algorithm to livestreams. You can find one that has 5,000 people watching and the one directly below it is 5 people. 

As someone who is essentially justifying their media addiction under the major of marketing, I do think TikTok is dystopian. But not only that all social media is dystopian and it is insane to assume otherwise. 

Our society is undeniably suffering from the developments that we have had from social media. We constantly refer to the fact that Gen-Z is the loneliness generation, but also it's the generation that has free access and will (most likely in some capacity) continue to have this free access to social media for the rest of their life. We have not yet seen the long lasting effects of becoming people who are able to exist solely online. 

I wrote a research paper on just how affected younger generation are especially within depression, suicide, body dismorphia, and grooming. These are aspects I believe if you asked, without a doubt someone has seen a post, made a post, or even experienced it themselves. And it is insane that we now take this into the norm.

I don’t have a solution, and when considering how TikTok exists I can not explain how it operates, what its intentions are, and if there is a way to indicate if its a good or an evil. 

In a space where you can essentially reach a mass audience, project your thoughts onto a young and impressionable audience, and it keeps going around and around, even rhetoric that doesn’t seem harmful is especially when there are no age restrictions and lies are constantly constructed with the only intent of going viral. 

However, my biggest problem with TikTok hate is parents being able to use it as an excuse for bad parenting. While the fact that the site is far from being child safe is obvious. We are always looking at things that are corrupting children's minds whether it's the video games they consume or Dungeons and Dragons, but parents have still yet to find a way around it. 

People who don’t get access to media are ostracized from their peers because of how integrated media is within teenage culture, and it affects their ability to relate, but are they better off?

[punjabcosmetologyclinic]

Anti Aging Treatment in Nawanshahr Restores Your Young Look!

There are several reasons why people can look aged very quickly. Some people have not reached that age when they can look aged. However, they start to look aged in a very young age. And this is surely a problem. Scars, wrinkles and other symptoms of aging process can be seen in young people as well. Looking aged at this age is not really admissible and acceptable. Through anti aging treatment in Nawanshahr you can get rid of this problem safely and quickly.

Anti Aging Treatment in Nawanshahr

As far as the anti aging treatment is concerned, this is all about stopping or delaying your aging process. Both the non surgical and surgical anti aging treatment in Nawanshahr are available now. Some people use to look aged as they stay exposed to the sun most of the time due to their work. For these people also anti aging treatments are available. However, conducting the right anti aging treatment is something that solely depends on your dermatologist. He or she decides which anti aging treatment is better and effective for you.

Hair loss, baldness, hair thinning, etc are some of the most common problems that people use to face these days. Both men and women across the globe use to face these issues. Hair loss is mostly related to the genetic issue and some time it can also occur due to different other reasons such as prolong medication, illness, improper food behavior, etc. No matter why you have faced hair loss or how long you are suffering from it, there is always a way out for this problem. It’s the professional hair transplantation in Punjab offered now can bring an end for your hair loss problem. Certified and experienced dermatologist is appointed to offer such treatment in affordable price. While going for the right hair transplantation method, you can really explore new hairs budding or coming on your scalp. But before that you must know a certain things related to hair transplantation.

When it comes to the hair transplantation, the doctor can go for either any of these methods such as follicular unit extraction or in short known as FUE and follicular unit strip surgery or in short known as the FUSS. These are the two common methods applied for hair transplantation and they are very effective in their own ways. As far as the hair transplantation is concerned, this is all about moving hairs from one part or place on your scalp and deploying them on the other places where hair loss or hair thinning has occurred. Again this can be done in different ways. However, the most common method that is followed for hair transplantation is the grafting process. In order to appear as a proper candidate who can go for the hair transplantation, he or she must have thick hairs at certain parts on the scalp. It’s the permanent hair from which several people use to suffer from and this can occur due to several reasons which also include different types of alopecia. Through professional hair transplantation in Punjab, such issues can be avoided and eliminated easily and safely.

The result that you get after the professional hair transplantation in Punjab is often visible, effective and long lasting one. The new hairs that grow on your scalp or the hairs that are transplanted can be washed, cut as well as dyed. When the hair transplantation is done by a professional and certified hair restoration expert, the result of such treatment can last for the lifetime. Keep in mind that the hair loss is all about genetic predisposition and this lays in your hair follicles and not in scalp.

#best laser dermatologist in nawanshahr #best laser hair removal treatment in punjab #scar reduction treatment in Nawanshahr #best acne scar treatment in Nawanshahr #best Skin Care Treatment in Nawanshahr #hyperpigmentation treatment in punjab #affordable cosmetology services in punjab

[jello-in-my-bello]

It’s time that we had a real conversation about Aang...

For the main character of a television series, Aang somehow almost always finds himself under-rated and dismissed in fans’ posts. You see all these posts and, when they do reference him, it’s usually accompanied by the phrases “immature” and “12-year-old boy.” I mean honestly, in some ATLA fans posts, it seems as if Aang’s name is almost synonymous with the word immaturity--and it’s been that way for years. I’ve always wondered why people discredited him. Was it because they saw his age and immediately ruled him out? Is it an excuse for Katara and Aang to have never happened? Was calling him the most immature character a way to bring up their favorite characters? Or did they simply get conditioned to think Aang was immature because everyone just... said he was? Well, I think Aang’s the most mature character (from start to finish) on the show, and Imma tell you why. 

I think that Book 1 Aang is the Aang that everyone has stuck in their head. We get introduced to Aang in a strange way: he’s a boy frozen in an iceberg, and the first thing he asks is to go penguin sledding. Then he boldly explores a fire navy ship after being told it might not be a great idea. This kid’s kinda stupid, we think. Why does he care about penguin sledding? Why does he explore something he is told not to? Then he stops at Kyoshi Island to ride the Unagi, then he stops at Omashu to ride the delivery service, and then he lets the gang stop at other locations—having mini adventures—without worrying about learning waterbending on any sort of timeline. Why does he choose to explore all these different places at first rather than master the four elements? Doesn’t he even care about being the Avatar? Ah... that’s right. He’s only 12. 

Except surmising his entire maturity (or lack thereof) to the fact that he stops for these adventures means that you are ignoring one glaring detail of the show: Airbender and nomad culture. Aang asking Katara to go penguin sledding instead of what year it was and taking his friends to all those random stops in B1 so that he can explore can not be chalked up to immaturity. Because then you are ignoring an entire culture. We don’t get to see a lot of airbenders, and I think that plays into the problem, but from what we do know, we learn that a critical part of their culture is that they travel. A lot. And experience different cultures. A lot. Think about all the different places he’s referenced going to 100 years ago in the series. Then think about all the friends he’s talked about having in these obscure places—and it always sounded like he visited them more than once. Traveling, experiencing different cities, and meeting new people was a part of him and a part of his culture. He wasn’t being a 12-year-old when he stopped to ride the Unagi or the delivery shoots in Omashu, he was being an air nomad

On a similar note, one of Aang’s most notable traits is saying, “Hey, check this out,” excitedly while doing some air bending trick that seems juvenile--like spinning marbles around or doing an air scooter.  People look at him doing this and his previously mentioned traits and go, “Oh, what a kid.” But here’s the thing: we can’t roll our eyes at his persistent need to show people marbles floating in the air or his air scooter. In the episode “Southern Air Temple,” we see Monk Gyatso—an extremely old, wise air bender—throwing cakes on other monks’ heads, and then we’re told throughout the series that Airbenders were known for their playful nature. Airbenders didn’t use their bending the same way other benders do. For example, Waterbenders might show off their skills by creating a giant wave and being like, “Look how cool!” (See: Katara, like every time she learns a new move.) We know Airbenders have some pretty powerful moves--we’ve seen the tornado Aang created, the air body imprint of Aang that slammed Zuko back--but they don’t show off those moves because they’re so combative and not so fun. They show off the good-natured side of air bending (ex: Gyasto’s staff surfing when he was a child).  So those marble/air scooter tricks can’t be watered down to 12-year-old immaturity. Because he’s not being a kid when he does those things, he’s being an Airbender. People also tend to look over the fact that he is a survivor of a genocide. You need to keep in mind that he is a living relic and the only example left of what his race was. So even later in the series when he continues to show people those tricks, he’s showing them not just for fun, but to keep his culture alive. And what do you think he’s going to show them: a tornado with random objects flying around in it or two marbles flying in his hands? Which is a better representation of Airbender culture?

Also, do not forget that Aang earned his arrows. Airbenders are not just regular benders; they are known for being especially enlightened. You don’t just need to be a master at airbending to get your arrows—you also need to be a master at their culture. Aang was an enlightened boi. Look at all the speeches that he gave as the series continued. He didn’t just magically become wise in the course of a few months because he had to fight the Firelord, he just tapped into what was always there and never showed. The maturity was always there, and the receipts are in the arrows. 

So, I’ve gone over why he’s not as immature as everyone thinks, but why do I think he’s the most mature on the show? It’s because his emotional maturity is freaking through the roof. He’s part of a genocide, his culture is mocked, the few things—his clothing and glider—that he had left from his home were completely destroyed, and he had to do something that severely went against what he believes in. And he almost never loses his shit. In fact, we only ever see him get actually upset (we’re not counting the Avatar state cause that’s a whole different thing) 3 times in the series: when he was telling Katara about how the monks wanted to take him away from Gyatso, the episode when Appa was stolen, and when he was explaining that no one understands the position he is in (in terms of killing Ozai). Think about how much we saw everyone else freak out over the course of the show? About even smaller things.

Katara and Zuko are generally accepted as the two most mature characters of the series. But why? Zuko is continuously snapping at everyone, and, yes, he matured. But he is not completely there yet. He still somewhat believes in revenge (See: Southern Raiders), and it’s only at the last episode of the series that he understands violence is not the answer. And Katara? She acts very mature towards everyone else, but when it comes to her own emotions? She’s a whole basket full of mess. (See: Southern Raiders, again. Or anytime she uses anger as her way to show she’s “passionate.”) A good way to showcase the difference between Aang and these two is realizing that all of them lost a parent from the war and analyzing at how they handled it. (For Zuko let’s focus on the idea that he never really had a father) Katara lost her mother, Zuko his father, and Aang his father, Gyatso. Throughout the series, losing their parent was a huge topic point for both Katara and Zuko so much so that it was as if they thought no one else had ever suffered. (Katara, we see you telling Sokka that he didn’t love your mom the same). Aang, however, acknowledges his pain, tells stories of Gyatso and uses him as an example of what he wants to live up to— eventually coming full circle at the end wearing Gyatso’s beads and an identical outfit. I can’t imagine a more mature way to handle what happened than that.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is, maturity isn’t based on how you have fun, it’s based on how you react to hard situations. And nobody, nobody reacted better in those situations than Aang. So if you watched Avatar and thought it was a story about a young boy maturing, then you misjudged. It wasn’t a story about an immature boy growing up. It was a story of an Airbender becoming an avatar. 

#i just had to get this out #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #avatar gaang #avatar the legend of aang #atla aang #atla #atla meta #aang #gaang #the last airbender #airbender #avatar rant

[sunflowerhotline]

ASTRO OBSERVATIONS PT.3

🦩Neptune in 1st and 5th people can often suffer from conditions like body dysmorphia due to an innate inability to see themselves as they truly are. keep in mind that this is not always the case but it is certainly very common with this aspect.

🦩In synastry, jupiter, uranus and/or venus in the 1st house is indicative of the planet person loving the house person’s body. jupiter likes and appreciates the ascendant’s body and usually goes out of their way to make the house person feel good about themselves, inside and out. uranus tends to be wholly accepting of the house person’s body which is usually a very welcomed feeling for the house person. venus usually sees the house person as their physical ideal.

🦩Aquarius MC natives usually do something first, then people follow. they’re trendsetters.

EX: Matisse Thybulle (20° Aquarius MC) is the NBA player who started “NBA Bubble Vlogs” and then many other players started doing the same thing.

🦩The house that the 8th house ruler falls in indicates your soulmate.

EX: 8th house ruler (Saturn) in 11th could indicate that your soulmate is one of your [older//male] friends.

🦩2nd house ruler in the 2nd house indicates spending money on or investing in things that bring you comfort. this is also a position indicative of emotional eating and emotional shopping.

🦩people with 8th house suns and 11th house suns tend to be very difficult people to truly get to know.

8th house suns are more outwardly mysterious so it’s less surprising when one realises they don’t know much about them.

11th house suns are seemingly more open and are very friendly. they relate to people in a way that gives others the impression that they know everything about them when they really don’t.

🦩mercury in 12th house people have others talk over them on a regular basis. they’ll be in the middle of a sentence and someone just cuts them off and starts talking about something else or they just get ignored completely.

🦩a lot of people with 10th and 11th house stelliums are actually introverts. they can be social butterflies when they’re ready and they do love interacting with others and meeting new people but social interaction can actually be draining for these people. these are the people who are the life of the party when they go to an event but then disappear and go into hibernation for 3 months after.

🦩moon square saturn in synastry is a lot more common than people even realise. many, many, many married couples have this aspect together! it may be a more difficult aspect to have but the people who have this aspect in their synastry usually believe that they’re gonna be together forever (and they usually are) so eventually they decide to work out their problems. i’ve noticed that couples with this aspect get closer to each other after experiencing any kind of hardship or tragedy; their bond is strengthened through overcoming things together. it’s not easy but it is an indicator of undying devotion.

🦩pisces and sagittarius placements get along way better than cookbook astrology gives them credit for. they seem to really compliment each other. pisces usually softens sagittarius up and sagittarius usually appreciates the pisces kindness. they accept each other’s differences really well and allow each other to be who they are. they give each other the freedom they both require.

🦩someone’s ascendant conjunct your midheaven (mc) may indicate that you look up to them. in a sense, they’re everything you’ve ever wanted to be…or they at least come off that way

🦩people with hard mercury-saturn aspects have deep and (kinda) monotone voices. they have a tendency to talk slowly; they take their time with their words. when explaining something they also have a tendency to say “uh//hmm//umm” or “do you know what i mean?”. they’re voices are also pretty recognisable

EX: Harry Styles (Aquarius Mercury @ 29° conjunct Pisces Saturn @ 0°) has a distinct, deep speaking voice. In interviews, he is known to speak slowly as if he’s really thinking about what he is saying or is about to say. he is also a frequent user of “ahm” in his sentences.

🦩virgo placements are really good at folding.

🦩MANY MANY MANY MANY musicians have neptune in 3rd. it bestows a sort of mesmerising musical talent to the natives who are blessed enough to have this placement. they have great voices and may also be gifted with instruments.

EX: Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Madonna, Kurt Cobain, Britney Spears, Harry Styles (again lol), John Mayer, Jaden Smith, Dua Lipa, Marvin Gaye, Louis Armstrong, Halsey etc.

🦩neptune in 10th natives can have a “can’t-do-wrong” reputation. people can see them as angels on earth even when that may not be the case. these people could also do some kind of humanitarian work for a living or be involved with many causes. many people with this placement complain about being seen in a way that isn’t who they truly are. neptune in the house of public perception tends to allow others to project whatever they want onto the native; they can be very misunderstood by people around them.

EX: Diana, Princess of Wales, Oprah Winfrey, Jesus Christ, Bernie Sanders, Walt Disney, Aaliyah, Gigi Hadid.

🦩women with their moon in a house ruled by a masculine planet (1st, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th) could have many male friends but have trouble maintaining some friendships with men because the male friend may develop romantic feelings for her. it happens A LOT.

the opposite goes for men. men with their moons in feminine houses (2nd, 4th, 8th, 12th) could have many female friends but one or a few of them may develop feelings for him. these are more private houses so she/they may never confess their feelings

🦩people with 10th house venus often attract and go for older partners and im not talking about people who are like 20 years older (ik that can happen but it’s a rare case) but people who are like right outside their age group so maybe 5-6 years older.

these people can also experience getting “hit on” by older people while they are very young.

🦩air mars gets a reputation for being lethargic, overly polite, non-physical and low energy but air martians just need an outlet to put their energy into. lots of athletes have air mars

EX: Kobe Bryant (Libra Mars), Kyrie Irving (Aquarius Mars), Bam Adebayo (Libra Mars), Tiger Woods (Gemini Mars), Tom Brady (Gemini Mars), Lance Armstrong (Aquarius Mars), Lou Gehrig (Libra Mars), Floyd Mayweather (Aquarius Mars), Marcus Smart (Aquarius Mars)

🦩lots of basketball players also have venus-mars aspects

EX: Kawhi Leonard ( conjunction in Leo), Kobe Bryant (conjunction in Libra), Jayson Tatum (sextile - capricorn/pisces), Vince Carter (sextile - pisces/capricorn), Steph Curry (trine - taurus/capricorn), Zion Williamson (conjunction in Cancer), Lonzo Ball (conjunction in Sagittarius), Magic Johnson (conjunction in Virgo)

#astro observations #mercury #saturn #11th house #moon in the houses #celebs #synastry #ascendant #midheaven #mc #sports astrology #air mars #neptune #pisces #sagittarius #8th house #1st house #mine #astro notes #astrology

[mendipite]

On Yumi and Nishiki in “Like A Dragon - The Prologue”

There’s a lot in this movie which I wish could have made it into the games - backstory about Sunflower, Kiryu and Nishiki’s childhood, Yuko Nishikiyama actually having screentime so that we can be sure that she really does exist.

That aside, I want to talk a bit about Yumi, and one scene in particular that I wish had been adapted into Kiwami.

For anyone who hasn’t seen it, there’s a very low res upload on Youtube here. The scene in question starts at 30:53.

Disclaimer, this isn't particularly well thought-out and I started rambling a bit. I'll stick it under a cut.

Following Dojima’s murder, Yumi wakes up in the back of Nishiki’s car and has no recollection of who he is. She begins to panic, having flashbacks of both Dojima’s murder and the murder of her own parents, and begins screaming at him to stop the car. Once he does, she gets out and runs into the road.

Nishiki gets out, runs after her and gets hold of her. Once the flashbacks of her parents’ deaths subside, she eventually calms down, and Nishiki convinces her to get back in so he can take her to the hospital.

-

Like most women in this series, Yumi suffers from being pretty flat. She barely appears throughout most of the game, and unlike Nishiki she didn’t get the bonus of a prequel or extra scenes to give her character any real depth. On top of that, despite supposedly being like family to them, her relationship with Kiryu is barely explored and and her relationship with Nishikiyama even less.

In the game, we don’t really know how the events of Dojima’s murder went down, what Dojima did once he kidnapped her, and what Nishiki did when he got there. By that point, Yumi’s already completely out of it, and what she experienced isn’t ever a point of discussion beyond her memory loss, which is blamed on Nishiki and left at that.

The women in the series are generally not well written, and I think this is the crux of it - their experiences aren't really delved into. We know what Yumi did throughout the game, but what we know of her reasons for doing them are very surface-level. Rather than being treated like a person who's problems matter, she's instead treated as little more than a plot device.

What we see in this scene is that it wasn’t so much the murder itself, rather it was the fact that it triggered memories of her parents’ deaths what affected Yumi so badly. It explains why she ran away, and why she ended up back at Sunflower. It's such a small thing, but for a character that could probably have been replaced with an item without any real plot consequences, a scene like this makes her feel like a real human, like her problems actually matter and that she isn't just an afterthought.

It also acts to further the contrast between where she is at the start versus the end of the game. By the end of the game she's become a woman who can confront her own past which, from a narrative standpoint, would contrast nicely against Nishiki's arc which goes in the opposite direction.

Whilst we're on the topic of Nishiki, it’s nice to have a scene of Nishiki and Yumi together where they actually interract. The only other time that really happens is at the Millenium Tower, which I guess is yet another reason why this scene would have worked well in Kiwami. Nishiki trying to reason with Yumi in his panicked state almost parallels the Millenium Tower scene where Yumi calmly tries to reason with Nishiki.

On a somewhat unrelated note, parent-related trauma is something that Yumi and Nishiki likely have in common. Unlike Kiryu, where it’s implied lost his parents at a young enough age not to remember. It’s likely that, like Yumi, Nishiki was old enough to remember his parents, given Yuko’s existence. Unfortunately the most we hear about this is that they died in their home in a gas explosion.

What I'm trying to say is that it would have been really interesting to explore the dynamic between these two a little more, it would have made for some interesting parallels, even more so when Kiryu is thrown into the mix.

As a final thing, notice how at the start of the game, Yumi is wearing black and white, but at the end she’s in grey? I wonder if that was intentional..

#this wasn't supposed to get so long #it started as one paragraph but then I kept having thoughts #sawamura yumi #nishikiyama akira #yakuza kiwami #myposts #text