#in fact it's lines like this (and the flaws in even someone as pure as aang) that makes me love the show! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ironmandeficiency · 8 months

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the hobbit + hozier songs

characters included: kíli, bilbo, dwalin, thorin, nori, bofur, ori, fíli, dori, tauriel

word count: 1166

a/n: the amazing and precious @wordbunch inspired me to write these bc of her lotr/th characters as taylor swift songs posts & i couldn't be more excited to finally post this labor of love!! thank you bestie for listening to me scream abt this for nearly two months lol

kíli: foreigner’s god

he loves outside of his race and this fact causes undue scorn to be thrown at his feet. it’s unheard of for almost any dwarf, let alone one from the line of durin, to do such a thing. this does not deter him - it empowers him; if his heart could go against the traditions forged into his bones, molten in his hot blood, how could it not be true? the strength of his love is what helps him ignore the doubts shouted by the prejudice plaguing those who know nothing of his heart. that, and the sound of your laughter at his antics, the soft smiles only given to him when he’s being a little too charming… he could go on.

bilbo: like real people do

as much flack as bilbo gets from the company for not being conventionally tough, he’s not weak by any means. he’s familiar with the pain of loss, and how the ways one tries to rise above the grief that follows aren’t always savory. he knows there’s a respect to be found in the absence of prying questions, choosing simply to coexist in the feelings and allow answers to come in their own sweet time. he’ll put some tea on to cook and scrounge up some leftovers from the previous meal, sitting beside you and letting the comfort flow naturally, his soft lips soothing the most tender aches.

dwalin: work song

just looking at him, you wouldn’t think dwalin a sap. but with his insanely strong sense of loyalty and stalwart dedication, he can’t be anything but. he’s faced down innumerable evils in his time, braved the fiercest of storms that many of his comrades didn’t; none of them even come close to keeping him from you. your arms welcome him home without question after each fight he braves, and your letters tucked into secret compartments in his armor keep him warm between embraces. he’ll read them by the fire every night when he’s away, every gentle word carrying his mind away from thoughts of the day’s turmoil.

thorin: sedated

this sweet, sad man doesn’t think he deserves good things in life. this, unfortunately, includes having someone love him despite his flaws and past mistakes. he couldn’t resist admitting his feelings for you and was ridiculously shocked that you reciprocated & allowed him to love you. on nights when he feels his failures deeper, he’ll try to convince you that he doesn’t deserve you. vitriol will escape from worried lips and terrified heart, piercing you in the way only a lover knows how. a soft kiss, gentle words, and a few strokes through his hair will soothe these wounds from him for a time and allow him some of the peace he’s fought to find, but doesn’t always believe is earned.

nori: it will come back

it was decades since the last time nori thought of love, even longer since he believed himself worthy of it. meeting you only solidified his disbelief; how could someone look at him and see someone that deserved such a pure thing, after everything he’s done in his life? he’s stolen, lied, cheated, and killed to survive (and sometimes not for mere survival). his attempts to spurn you away from him only increased your determination to break through the fortress he built around himself. he could only be strong against your advances for so long before he crumbled, reluctantly accepting the love and peace and safety you offered so freely.

bofur: nobody

bofur’s done a lot in his time. he was born in the blue mountains, a colony that never seemed to find the prosperity needed to do more than simply survive. he is a brother, uncle, cousin, friend, toymaker, miner, member of the great company that reclaimed erebor. but through all his adventures and hardships, he never lost his playful streak. he wants to have fun with who he loves, wants a little bit of mischief to make his laugh louder and brighter. bofur is a fun-loving soul who, despite his wandering past, will always choose you over anywhere that you’re not.

ori: francesca

ori’s life has never been a peaceful one. being raised by dori and being followed by the whispers of his late amad’s reputation (not to mention nori’s) without a mountain to call home, it weighed on his shoulders. even his craft, the pride of every dwarrow worth their beard, happened to be one seen as miniscule in importance compared to smithing. every moment spent with his one, doing anything or nothing at all, eases the burden he carries and makes every moment of strife worth it just to be with the soul made to mirror his.

fíli: i, carrion (icarian)

your love for him seems almost too good to be true, the remnants of stories told in dusty tomes written by those with far more eloquence than he can claim to possess. that being said, he is definitely not one to look a gift boar in the mouth. he relishes in each tender moment, every second spent in your presence that carries him far beyond the constraints life has placed upon him. but he recognizes that life isn’t always so simple, retreating into your arms and wishing that everything around you both just disappears. there’s always reality, waiting patiently outside of your chambers for one faulty misstep to throw you both askew. that’s why he dedicates himself to showing you that if life does what it does best and deals harsh blows, he will be there for you through it all.

dori: shrike

dori never had time for love; he had two brothers to protect, one more wily than the other was young. his focus was on getting his brothers through the days, putting food on their plates and the semi-frequently used stash of bail money well-stocked. he allowed his feelings for his one to fall to the wayside in the name of preservation. he ignored their call for decades and braved out the pain that came with such a silence. he begged for his one’s forgiveness every time they called for him. but once the mountain was reclaimed and his brothers safe, he yearned for what he could have had. he would approach his one with much regret and sorrow for the time lost, but a pure hope that they could find forgiveness in their heart for him.

tauriel: unknown/nth

to earn her love is a feat unlike that which the world has known for a long time. being seen as worth all these mortal struggles and painful toils in the eyes of an elf, let alone one as fierce as tauriel, is quite the achievement to anyone outside looking in. to the red-haired warrior in question, though, giving her love to you has the same unthinking ease as breathing; it’s beyond instinct to do and just as necessary to her survival. you’re worth every century spent alone, every moment after knowing you spent away from you.

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drakaripykiros130ac · 2 months

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What is it with this Targaryens are blood supremacists bullshit?

Let’s make some things clear right now:

1. Targaryen blood is superior. It’s not some sort of twisted Nazi belief, like some people make it out to be. It’s actual fact.

Sue the Targaryens for constantly pointing that out and lacking modesty. It doesn’t make it less true.

Their blood gives them godly features and the ability to ride dragons. The hypocrisy of Andals never ceases to amaze me: they have a tendency to complain about how Targaryens have ‘queer customs’ but what actually bothers them is that they choose to keep their ‘superior blood’ within their family and not share it with others. Andals criticize Targaryens for being different and yet trample over one another for a chance to marry into their family so that their offspring would have godly features and ride dragons. If Targaryens are so “bad”, then why don’t Andals keep to themselves too?

2. When did it become an actual problem to want to stick to your own kind?

Valyrians are not originally from Westeros. Their home was destroyed. They found another home, of people who constantly judge them and look at them differently despite hundreds of years after conquest.

Despite the many flaws in the show, there is something that actually stuck with me: when Daemon said, “Valyria is gone. We don’t belong anywhere.”

This actually broke my heart a little and got me thinking: how many Targaryens actually felt like strangers in their own home despite having been born and raised there?

I mean, Andals constantly treat them differently and yet blame them for wanting to stick to their own Valyrian kind (Targaryens, Velaryons and Celtigars).

The Conquest in itself is no excuse. The Kingdoms were divided and at constant war with one another, which destroyed the smallfolk. The Targaryens took away their individual powers, united the Kingdoms and gave the people a better chance at peace. The Andals are pissed because they lost their autonomy? Well, considering what they used that autonomy for, they shouldn’t have had it in the first place.

I applaud the Targaryens for taking charge and conquering Westeros for a better future. I mean, do you honestly believe that they would have been accepted in Westeros if they hadn’t? That they would have showed up with their dragons, asked to be a part of the Andals’ world and they would have been accepted with hugs and kisses? Don’t make me laugh. They would have never survived if the Andals kept control of Westeros.

And do keep in mind that if their intentions were actually bad, the Targaryens would have turned Westeros into the new Valyria. They didn’t do that though, did they? They even accepted and converted to their faith.

3. Valyrians are actually attracted to their own kind. So what? It’s their custom and nature. It’s the one thing they asked for. The only exception. To be able to keep their traditions of marrying within their family, not only in order to keep their blood pure for the purpose of controlling dragons, but also because they feel comfortable with one another. They connect with one another. They don’t want to lose ties with their true home, with their history, language, culture etc.

Andals will never be able to understand Valyrians. It’s called having a connection with someone. It can be both physical and emotional (like it was with Daemon and Rhaenyra). Why is that such a crime?

Targaryens are constantly criticized for wanting to stick to their own kind, yet the Andals have been treating them like strangers for hundreds of years simply because they are different.

Who is the blood supremacist here?

Who are the ones who constantly discriminate and create the division lines? Answer: the Andals.

#Let’s keep in mind that Targaryens never tried to impose Valyrian traditions on Westerosi. They wanted those traditions kept for themselves.#And yet the Westerosi couldn’t even let them have that.#To be honest now I am kind of sorry they didn’t do that considering all that went down.#Queen Visenya should have burned the Starry Sept to the ground and Westeros should have become the new Valyria. It would have been better.#house targaryen #canon asoiaf #asoiaf meta #team black #pro team black #house of the dragon #hotd #asoiaf #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen #pro house targaryen #the blacks #loyalty to House Targaryen!#daemyra

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nebbyy · 9 days

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Lester Papadopoulos/Apollo x reader - It's Over, isn't It?

A/N: okay so a few weeks ago I was listening to the song “It’s Over isn’t it” form the Steven Universe series and this scenario came to my mind, so I thought I’d just make it a fic! For this piece I didn’t see a point in assigning a gender to the reader, so we go with gender neutral all the way😎😎(neither your godly parent is specified since it doesn’t really add anything to the plot, so you can choose whichever you prefer)

PART TWO IS HERE

Warning: insecurity, jealousy, angst (WITH comfort tho), mentions of suggestive activities

Word count: 3209

You kinda hate yourself right now, and you hate yourself because you are so angry right now.

Well maybe angry is an exaggeration, but still, you’re really, really upset.

And you know you should be anything but upset right now. I mean, the love of your life finally has the chance to go back to his home in the Olympus, regain his honor and his status as a god. Those were all good things that you should be ecstatic about, right?

Well, wrong.

Just thinking of it made you feel like you could throw up at any moment. Thinking about the fact that Apollo. Because, what will be of Lester, your Lester?

Your whole relationship had started because he wasn’t Apollo. He wasn’t the tall, tan, handsome and all mighty God of the Sun; he was just a normal teen, whose only things that made him stick out were his acne, his clumsiness and a somewhat nice voice. His mortal condition didn’t even give him a single chance to act in his usual exaggerated, narcissistic self. He had to start off from the start, build a personality that wasn’t based on his godly qualities, but on something more real.

And in that situation he found himself in, with his new eyes he had seen you, and you truly seemed like a deity to him.

How could you be anything less to the rest of the world, he thought. You were your godly parent’s greatest hero, you were liked and admired by most campers both because of your victories and your looks. And he spent oh so many nights fantasizing about taking you back with him in Olympus, giving you the godly status that should be rightfully yours. But hell, with the body he’d found himself in he’d barely the courage to come up to you to talk.

He told you so many times how absolutely surprised he was when he found out that you actually liked him back, even if he looked like any 17 year old loser, his actual words. And you remembered too, how his voice was so shaky as he tried to muster up a coherent sentence, how his cheeks shone a bright red, how his hands were trembling as you took them into yours and his palms sweating. But in your mind, that was more beautiful than any sonnet, any haiku, any poem, any grandiose, Apollo-like gesture. Because that was Lester, not Apollo; and in your eyes, Lester’s awkwardness was what made him stand out, because it was purely genuine.

Now ever so often you wonder, if he used to feel like you’re feeling right now, like you’re no match to the person you love. You look at your reflection in the mirror of the bathroom, and the mean joke that played your mind made you highlight all the flaws you could spot in yourself. All things that a god could never accept in their lover. You feel so wrong, so flawed that you just wish you could turn yourself into mud and reform your appearance completely.

Gods, you’re being ridiculous right now, you think, you just want to slap yourself in the face and yell at your reflection to get a grip goddamnit! You’re one of the greatest heroes of your time, you survived two wars, you can’t possibly draw the line at a failed relationship with a god.

At one point someone might think: but why are you so opposed to the idea that your boyfriend is finally becoming a god once again? How ungrateful can you be??

But the point is, you know damn well that the whole point of the creation of Lester was forcing Apollo into a form that would’ve been the total opposite of who he is.

Because Apollo is naturally flirty and superficial, he loves to love and be loved, and he pursues anything and everything that he finds beautiful. But he got bored easily of his love conquers, hence why he has so many kids. So in your mind, it was only natural that as soon as he was back to normality, he’d grow tired of you and move to the next mortal that piqued his interest, maybe even leaving you a single parent to a new demigod.

That’s why you couldn’t stop that nagging feeling deep into your core, as you walked out of your cabin, hearing all the girls already speculating about how beautiful, handsome, shiny and dashing Apollo will be once he goes back to his form. “And who knows, maybe he’ll set his eyes on some of the friends he made in here” squealed a girl, from which cabin you did not know nor care. Her friend replied: “Yeah I mean, ain’t no way he’s gonna keep staying with the same partner forever. I mean, come on, he’s Apollo!” They both giggled like school girls, then kept gossiping about something else, but you did not care enough to keep eavesdropping their whole conversation.

You really hated yourself for being like this right now.

Of course, you know that those two girls meant no harm, it wasn’t their fault if they knew just as much as you did about Apollo’s tendencies. And about that you’re already came to terms with, but there’s something else you hate yourself for…

You stopped reaching out to him. Or even worse, you even started to avoid him.

Not also him, but your friends and siblings as well. You closed yourself off of everyone else in your life, opting to spend your free days in Camp by yourself, whether it is in your cabin, sparring or all alone in your favorite spot in the forest.

Which is exactly where you’re directed to right now, as you put your headphones in your ears, wasting no time to press play and then abuse the volume up button to muffle any sound from the outside. You walk past the two girls, past another group of guys that were training with one another, and past your friends too, who you didn’t noticed as they were calling and waving at you to join them for a quick snack, leaving them rather confused and preoccupied as it seemed that you were stuck in a trance, locked out in another dimension of your own.

You didn’t even see Lester excusing himself from the group to subtly start following you wherever you were going.

It’s a quiet place, the one in the forest, protected by a thick layer of trees and bushes that makes it hard to reach it; but it’s worth all the climbing and scratches for the beautiful sight of a clear waterfall that fell right into a circular body of water, surrounded by a rather big field of moss, so soft and fresh to lay on during the hot summer nights.

And so you did, letting yourself fall on that natural mattress, then closing your eyes to feel the light breeze on your exposed skin, and let the words of the song that’s blasting at full volume at the moment fill your ears, although you can barely focus on what they’re saying

It really seems unfair, all of this. That you thought you had fallen in love not with a god, but with a boy. Somehow forgetting that boy and god mixed in Lester, two sides of the same coin.

And maybe he forgot too, because every time the two of you were together, he suddenly couldn’t bring himself to think of the responsibilities that were waiting for him. With you, he forgot about his lost and very much missed abs and tan, he forgot about his chariot and his comfortable place in Olympus. Hell, you even made him forget about all his old lovers. It was really only you in his eyes, just as he was in yours. If only he’d ever told you all of this though…

Your mind keeps swirling in a million thoughts, until it fixates on one memory in particular.

You and him, alone on that very same spot in the forest. In a similar situation as you were now, too, with your crappy phone playing music softly in the background, as the the two of you laid together, one next to the other. You turn around to look at him briefly, only to find him already looking at you. “What, do I have something on my face or..” he just shake his head with the most lovestruck eyes you’d ever seen, batting his eyes slowly before looking at you once again, “I just really want to kiss you right now”.

Your eyes widen. His eyes widen. Did he really just say THAT?

Neither of you were sure how or why, thinking back to it, you wonder if it was his godly charm poking at the back of his head. But that didn’t matter at the time, the future in which he came back to his godly state seemed so far from you, it wasn’t even an option in your head.

Nevertheless, after the initial shock from his words, you silently answered him with a slow, almost numbed movement of the head, nodding slightly, almost scared that if you moved to fast you would’ve whisked him away, or that he could’ve changed his mind already.

But that nod was all that he needed before crashing his lips against yours, one of his hands flying to grab the side of your head, while the other stayed put on its place against the ground to keep him from falling on top of you.

The kiss was an absolute mess: teeth clashing, nose bumping against each other,... but it was perfect that way to you. You broke away from each other for a brief moment to catch your breaths, and you just look into each other’s eyes. With chests heaving, breaths mixing, you both started laughing, if only for a moment, a laugh of disbelief at what had just happened.

But that laugh didn’t last long before he moved his head closer once again, this time more slowly, more confidently. The kiss was in fact much less messy, your lips found their place against each other, the panic from before had morphed into pure butterflies in your stomach and fireworks in your eyes.

After a minute at most, you broke apart once again, but only for Lester to reposition himself on top of you in a more comfortable position. Your bodies closer than ever, you could feel everything of him….

What happened after still makes your cheeks flush red at the mere thought, but it also causes a frown to form on your face. Those times, when it was just the two of you are over. Maybe it was just a time of crisis that brought you two together, the shock from a morta perspective might have caused him to cling onto the closes person he could find. You can’t help but imagine Leste- Apollo in that moment, laying in the clouds of Olympus in a much similar scenario, maybe with a beautiful nymph or a smaller deity, or a mortal he laid his eyes on while he was on this earth-

“There you are! I should’ve known that if you’re not around you’re definitely in here.” If it were a normal, mortal voice, you wouldn’t have been able to hear it over the deafening high volume of the music blasting in you ears. But it wasn’t a mortal voice.

It was loud, it was melodic, it resonated in the air like the echo of the most beautiful of songs,…

You wouldn’t even need to turn around to know that that voice came from no other than Apollo. That’s right, he probably came back to his true form already. You can’t even imagine what a scene that would’ve been, to see the handsomely perfect god walking around Camp Half Blood, how many boys and girls had probably followed him around drooling over the sight of him.

You wish you could just stay put, coldly dismiss him and let him go for what probably is the rest of your life and his eternity. But, curiosity gets the best of you, and you can’t help but turn around tentatively, eager to see what your boyfriend really looks like.

Your mouth quite literally hits the floor at the sight. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve always found Lester really attractive, but this.

This was something beyond the concept of handsome or beautiful.

This, him, was beyond what humans can perceive and comprehend.

Yes, you knew that his skin was tanned, but as he stood in front of you it seemed as if his body was made of bronze.

And yes, you also knew that his hair was blonde, but that didn’t make them justice. They flew, like rays of sun through a clouded sky.

Of his eyes you knew nothing about, but you were pretty sure at this point that no description could really depict just how deep, bright, captivating, alluring, even, they really were.

Your mouth quite literally hit the floor at the sight. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve always found Lester really attractive, but this.

This was something beyond the concept of handsome or beautiful.

This, him, was beyond what humans can perceive and comprehend.

Yes, you knew that his skin was tanned, but as he stood in front of you it seemed as if his body was made of bronze.

And yes, you also knew that his hair was blonde, but that didn’t make them justice. They flew, like rays of sun through a clouded sky.

Of his eyes you knew nothing about, but you were pretty sure at this point that no description could really depict just how deep, bright, captivating, alluring, even, they really were.

Your throat felt tight, your mouth dry, and your whole body gives you this tingly sensation. With all of your strength, you took a deep breath to try and calm yourself down, before mustering all of your strength to speak without a pathetic shaky voice. “I thought you were going back as soon as you got your body back.“

“Ain’t no way that I wasn’t coming to kiss my beautiful partner goodbye.” He grinned as he swiftly took a seat right by your side, propping himself on his elbow, his eyes never once leaving yours. You swore his smile was intoxicating, you’d say contagious even if the thought that this might’ve been your last moments together didn’t fill your mind with sorrow.

You wanted to protect yourself from this, detach your mind and heart from him before he does it first, leaving you with an aching heart and moving on with his eternal life.

You felt a hand come up to your cheek, holding it softly as the sweetest melody came from his lips, “I’m gonna miss you madly once I’m back there, you know?” At that, you can’t help the deep anger that fills you from inside, a feeling that expresses through icy, stinging words, as you turned your head away from his touch, “I’m sure you’ll move on in no time.”

He frowned. That wasn’t the reaction he expected from you at all, but he didn’t really take it personally, it was so obvious that there was something troubling you. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” your voice is louder, a mixture of frustration and anger. But also so much sadness, that can be felt by just how strained the sound that came from your throat is, almost as if you were fighting back tears. You swallow hard, trying to recollect yourself, “I mean that you are a God, I am just a mortal. One of many. I’ve got nothing special to be remembered for, to be remembered by you for the rest of eternity. And Im okay with it, really. Our destinies were never meant to combine, I was just another one of your lovers.” As you spoke those last words you couldn’t help but let the tears flow from your eyes, those who always looked at Lester with a mix of love and mischief, now only filled with a never ending sadness.

Slowly, as to avoid scaring you off, the renewed god took your wet face in his warm hands, pulling you closer and wiping your tears off at the same time. Gently, he spoke: “My love, you couldn’t have said anything more wrong. You are special to me, and I could never forget you. In thousands of years that I’ve existed, no one had ever treated like you did, like I wasn’t a god. Sure, it was temporary and you knew I could’ve incinerated you as soon as I got back to… this.” He looked down, gesturing at his body, a sight for sore eyes that could’ve really made you unfocus on anything were you not so taken by your talk with Apollo at the moment. “But that didn’t stop you from treating me like we were equal. And I hated it, at first. I thought it would be part of my punishment. But as time passed, I realized that being your equal was the highest of honors I could ever get. You’re… you’re crazy strong, incredibly smart, unbelievably beautiful, way too kind for your own good, especially with those brats of the kids in this Camp.”

You giggled at his words, a consistent contrast with your tearful eyes and quiet sobs, “Some of those brats are your children too, genius.” “Well then it must run in the family.” You laughed again while shaking your head, but only for a moment before returning your full attention on the boy in front of you. He took the sign to continue.

“What I’m trying to say is, I don’t think I could ever be able to let you go. Over all the lovers I had through the years, which I’m sure you know are many, you’re the only one that saw me and treated me with true love and care. Not with fearful devotion, never fearing what I was capable of. I only ever saw this kind of love in Sally Jackson, and I mocked Poseidon for letting a mortal like many treat him so casually. But now, now I get it, and to be honest I can’t help but think that you’d deserve to be called a deity far more than many others who already are. Maybe even more than me. So I refuse to ever let go of this blessing that fate has given me. And if in order to do so I have to take your soul and put it on the sky above, to rest as a star forever by my side, so be it. But trust me you’re not getting rid of me so easily.”

You crumbled like a sand castle at his words, that he spoke with the very same tone, on the very same spot when you still called him Lester, and you promised to stick by each other’s side for the time you had left, only a few months before this whole encounter. You let your head fall into his broad chest, sobbing softly as you desperately clung to him. Your tears weren’t of sadness anymore, but of relief, for you had just been given the confirmation that your lover was still yours.You spent the rest of the night there, cuddling as close to eachother as possible as you rested in peace.

The morning after, at dawn, when he had to officially go back to his daily duties, he begrudgingly got up from his place in your arms, placing butterfly kisses on your arms and neck, careful not to wake you. He left a little not right next to you, one that read:

“I had to go, didn’t want to wake your pretty face this early in the morning. Meet me here at dusk tomorrow, Forever yours, A.”

It made you smile, seeing that note as soon as you opened your eyes, almost made you forget the lack of your boyfriend next to you,… and the yelling of your friends and siblings calling for your name in the distance.

You wasted no time walking towards those voices, and when they asked you just where the hell have you been all night, you just smiled and brushed it off, but everyone noticed how your usual bright self had mysteriously came back after days of brooding.

Hours later, you were calmly eating dinner with the other campers, laughing and talking and eating seemingly decent food. You were totally clueless as to where exactly Apollo was, but you guessed he was on his chariot, on his way to let the sun set and go to your secluded spot. But little did you know, he was in neither of those places. He was actually walking up to Zeus’ throne, tall and proud as he respectfully bowed to his father. “Apollo, I see it took you no time to get used to your old life once more. I trust you have learned your lesson.”

“Indeed, father. And I came here to thank you for it all. It was… better than I expected.” Zeus lifted a brow suspiciously, eyeing his son as if trying to make out what’s in his mind just by his appearance. “Mmh I hardly believe that you only came here to thank me for your punishment.” “Heh, you’re not wrong, father. I came here to make a request.”

“Depends. What is it that you desire?”

“How do you make a demigod immortal?”

#lester papadopoulos #my fic #angst #fluff #gender neutral reader #apollo #lester papadopoulos x reader #writers on tumblr #trials of apollo #percy jackson #meg mccaffrey #pjo apollo #apollo x reader #apollo x you #the trials of apollo

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redthefortuneteller · 5 months

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Snake is not a human with snake genes. He's a snake with human genes.

𓆚 𓆚 𓆚 Edit: I've added at the bottom something else I had forgotten about. If you've read this post before, give it a read. Sorry about that! I've made other seperate posts related so that this one doesn't get so enormous. Here are the links: The Island of Queimada Grande The Snake Charming Flute A Pet Snake Feel free to give them a peek if you found this post interesting. These posts are much more brief than this one, I promise you! :D 𓆚 𓆚 𓆚 If you're at all familiar with the 1896 early science fiction novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H. G. Wells, the tittle surely might've brought it to mind. Indeed, I am basing this theory on this novel. "The Island of Dr. Moreau reflects the ethical, philosophical, and scientific concerns and controversies raised by the themes and ideas of Darwinian evolution, which were so disruptive to social norms in the late 1800s."

In brief, Doctor Moreau was an eminent physiologist (read: mad scientist) in London who ended up fleeing Great Britain due to his experiments in vivisection being publicly exposed. Vivisection is, for all intents and purposes, experimentation on live animals. What he accomplished with his experimenting was human-animal hybrids. But it's not as one would assume at first glance (as did the main protagonist in the novel), that he'd turn humans into animals, as is often portrayed in this sort of fiction or even in real-world folklore (think werewolves or berserkers).

Instead, Doctor Moreau turned animals into humans. And unfortunately, through means of extremely painful surgery, which fits in quite well with a dark story such as Kuroshitsuji.

Almost all of the beast-folk are named after "what they're made of". For example: Leopard-Man, Hyena-Swine, Wolf-Man, Fox-Bear Woman, etc… And he refers to them as his children. Children he holds hostage on an island. You know, like an orphanage? The orphanage, which is mentioned in Chapter 192, could very well be "the island" where the Doctor's children were being held at. After all, an island is just like a building where one can be held in, only the walls are a vast ocean. Snake (or Oscar) refers to it as "… a terrible place." and remembering the painful surgery part, I think that's an understatement.

In a 1996 film adaptation that slightly deviated from the original work, the beast-folk as they're called, need to take a serum in order to keep them from turning back into their original form. All except for one hybrid in particular, which the doctor refers to almost perfect or the closest he's gotten to perfection. I feel inclined to mention that in the film someone confronts the protagonist with something along the lines of "What do you intend to do once you get her out of the island? Sell her to a circus?" referring to that almost perfect hybrid. I believe it to be the case that Snake could be the perfect hybrid. The doctor mentions the fact that in turning animals into humans, he could create the perfect human, devoid of its human flaws, devoid of malice. I firmly believe Snake is devoid of malice.

The whole incident with Phelps was nothing but a mistake, and Snake's paying dearly for that mistake as he got his neck sliced in the same place Phelps had the mamba bite.

Whichever the case, the plan was not very well thought through: he was going to kill Smile without knowing the circus troupe was dead and without so much as asking Smile about it. He was going to kill Sebastian too, were he not a demon. As Smile was telling him that he had infiltrated the circus in order to investigate, Snake kept flip-flopping between getting shocked with the revelation that the troupe were kidnapers and getting aggravated, insisting Smile was lying. Probably due to the snakes' chattering each of their opinions. He's confused, but he's not evil. It's clear from his reactions.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because he was acting purely on impulse. Not much thought. Or at least, the thought he put into it wasn't much. It wasn't malice guiding his actions, but a sort of instinct. Snakes don't think much about attacking when they feel threatened. If they feel inclined to do so, they just do. No questions asked. No thinking about consequences.

In the film mentioned earlier, the doctor's office looks like a small library. The doctor is obviously quite literate. However, his "children" aren't.

There seems to be quite a bit of focus on Snake not knowing how to read. First mentioned on Yana's personal blog and most recently brought up in Chapter 195. It was quite common for people to be illiterate at the time Kuro takes place, but there was a focus on Snake from Yana's part, which I only find interesting because of how his snakes were named. After famous writers.

Could the doctor have named the other snakes but not him, as he was the first snake? The Snake. Or could Snake have named the others because he himself didn't have a name? It's funny that among all his family, the one human is simply named "snake" while the ones that would be naturally referred to as snakes are named quite fancifully. It's also quite comical if you consider chapter 51, when Finnian thought Snake was "Mister Oscar" as he introduced himself with "I'm Snake…", "- Says Oscar."

If you'd like to consider going a little further and going a bit crazy on these what ifs: consider that his snakes are the others who didn't make it or reverted back to normal. The panel in chapter 195 (page 7) where Snake has himself a little dilemma (in space!) with all the snakes chiming in in his head? I know it might sound a little out there, but I think the reason those three Snakes are shown naked could be because they're not Snake, they really might be Keats, Emily, and Wilde. Either the Snake-Man hybrids all look the same, or this is how Snake visualizes them speaking, as he himself is a snake like them. The difference is that he can use human speech, so if they were to use it as well, they too would look like him… right?

In fact, he often makes little distinction. He's said this in chapter 202 when Arty asks if he's a snake charmer, to which he firmly responds, "No. Snake and us are family. - says Dan." and "We are all footmen. - Says Goethe." Before this, he says "We're all here. - says everyone." He refers to them as "us". He makes little separation between himself and the other snakes. He understands and talks to snakes because, naturally, he is a snake. And he's the only snake who can talk to humans—the only one who is also human. He's the spokesperson (spokesnake, lol) of the group. Edit: He makes different voices for different snakes. Each snake has their own voice. What if those were really their voices at some point in time? The first idea one gets from Snake is that the snakes are like parts of his personality that he's expressing through them. However, this isn't true (or entirely true) because they do really do communicate with him, as proven undeniably by Oscar sneaking into the castle basement in the Green Witch arc and bringing back information Snake had no way of knowing (and couldn't really explain very well when Bard asked for details).

In chapter 53, he's sneaked down to the cargo to share the food with "everyone" as he says. I always found it a little odd to share human food with snakes, who only eat whole animals. On the plate, there were some leaves. There are no herbivorous snakes; they're all exclusively carnivorous (insectivorous, too). Of course, the lettuce, or whatever it is, is intact. But still, snakes don't eat breaded chicken or liver pâté either… It's just odd that Snake, who's been seen feeding his snakes mice twice, suddenly thinks they'd be interested in this gourmet, first-class dish. I believe he thinks, since it's delicious to him, surely they might think so too. After all, they're all snakes. Could he get a little confused sometimes?

He's also never showed any fear of the werewolf forest while the other servants were scared as they made their way to the village in the Emerald Witch arc. He doesn't seem phased by the idea of wolf-men. He was freaked out by the torture instruments in the village though, meaning some things are scary, just not the werewolves.

Edit: I forgot to mention an interesting passage from the Kuroshitsuji Original Picture Drama live reading from 2015. As far as I know, the script was written by Yana Toboso. It's all done mainly for comedic purposes. However, there's a part where the characters are drinking and chatting and eventually some get a little tipsy. What Snake says in a drunken crying fit is "I'm a snake! I feel better if I drink a lot of sake!" Interesting, isn't it? ;) Go ahead and watch it yourself here if you feel like it: https://youtu.be/xMmrWsHLaqc?si=ozkAfssE_fLOOoaM&t=506

To end I'd also like to call attention to the cover art from Chapter 196. Him being confused about a lemon cake and a lemon tart being different snacks when they're both sweet and both cakes made it to the cover art. He's having trouble grasping how a lemon flavored dessert can be different from another lemon flavored dessert.

I think that sums it up nicely, although I might have forgotten some things. I do apologize if anyone has already made this correlation between this work by H. G. Wells and Snake's possible origins, I couldn't find anything related.

Of course it can all be explained easily by just saying he sees the snakes as family and as "us" because he has a connection to them. However, it's the "how he came to be" part that is my main motive behind the theory.

I put a lot of love and care into this theory and since Snake's flashbacks might be coming up soon, I thought I'd share it just so that it's out there for all it's worth.

Thank you so much for reading. Have a lovely day. Red

#kuroshitsuji #snake #black butler #theory #island of dr moreau theory #Snake is a snake #kuroshitsuji snake #black butler snake

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myjisung · 2 years

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stray kids' hyung line as romantic fanfiction tropes !

content. stray kids hyung line + hyunjin, non-idol!skz, gn!reader, idiots in love, lots of dialogues — fluff.

warning. mention of alcohol ( minho )

wordcount. 3,1k, each imagine is about 850 words long but some i got carried away for.

a/n. would you guys be interested in those scenarios being fully written? also, this is only my opinion. feel free to disagree and let me know what you would have done differently :-)

bang chan ( 방찬 ) as mutual pining

as far as he could remember, chan always liked you. he had never believed in love at first sight and he did not fall in like on the day he met you; but, to him, it was close enough and could be called such. whether he liked it or not, chan did in fact fancy you the moment he got to know a little more about you. if he ever was asked, he would not be able to tell what it was that had him fall hard and it did not bother him one bit. as cheesy as it could sound, chan loved thinking that it was the fact that you were so you, so incredibly kind and easy to talk to that had him become smitten.

it was as if it was meant to be. you laughed at his jokes, got involved in his hobbies and let him in on what was going on inside your head from time to time. over time, weeks maybe months, a strong bond had been formed between both of you; something chan took pride in. yet, no matter how much he loved you, chan could never bring himself to tell you about his feelings. actually, he had sworn he would never confess; not only out of fear of probably being rejected but also because he felt like he did not deserve any more than the close friendship you had built. more than that, he knew that you deserved much better.

what chan did not know, was that you felt the exact same way. though you did not fall as quick as he did, you fell just as hard. whatever chan did or said, you could not help but like him more. blush crept up your cheeks, your mouth went dry as he was trying to make conversation and your eyes could barely meet his; out of pure nervousness. though you had grown to fall in love with chan, with his personality, his flaws and numerous qualities, you did not want to tell him about your feelings. that relationship you had was extremely precious to you, a treasure you wanted to cherish for the many years to come.

even if you wanted to take your relationship to the next step you also felt like chan did not like you that way. no matter how you looked at it, you felt more like a best friend than a possible partner; and even if you tried to not think much of it, that hurt. you could not imagine yourself beside anyone else but bang chan. every single time you tried to get over it and get on with someone else, something tugged at your heartstrings, telling you to stop, that it was not right.

chan felt the same way. which is why, after months of pining on his own, he let go of everything that was holding him back. it was probably the fear of losing you or the fact that he needed to get this out of the way so that he could focus back on his work. that day, chan cut to the chase, not even letting you think before he opened his mouth.

"i've liked you for a while. like, a really long time actually and it's driving me crazy. can you reject me now and get this over with?"

oh. oh. so that was what had been going on. so that was how chan felt about all of this, about you, about you AND him actually. there was no way you could have ever figured it out on your own. before you could even think about it, you talked back.

"i'm gonna date you actually, if you don't mind."

chan did not mind.

lee know ( 리노 ) as drunken confession

minho had always been unreadable. all you knew was that he must have enjoyed spending time with you. no one else but him rung your bell at ungodly hours just because they wanted to sit with you and scroll through their multiple online timelines. no words had to be exchanged, he was like a cat who only wanted to be in your presence, spend time by your side without needing to constantly talk or do anything. minho was content with sitting in the same room as you and that was something you appreciated.

sometimes, though you wanted to see people, you did not feel like going all out and he got that like no other. over the course of a few weeks what used to be a simple friendship blossomed into a strong, incomparable bond.

minho was comfort and safety. whatever you told him, you knew he would not judge you. though he pretended to not care about what you had to say, he always intently listened. maybe it was in an effort to make you feel more comfortable.

minho had always been comprehensive and kind, despite not wanting to show it and instead prefering to tease you over seeming welcoming. yet, there was no fooling you. the way his face contorted in an expression of worry whenever you looked upset or started randomly tearing up in front of him was easy to spot.

he did not have to say it. you knew minho cherished you; there was no doubt that you were one of his closest friends, someone he held dear to his heart and came to whenever there was time. even if he did not tell you directly, minho was thankful he had met you and loved every passing second he spent by your side.

despite all of that, there was no way you could have guessed the way he truly felt about you. truth be told, minho had liked you for a long while. he did not plan on doing so, it just happened. unbeknownst to you, after a specific day he spent at your house and a few specific words you told him, he fell suddenly; and there was no going back.

he could not tell you. there was no way he would risk ruining that friendship which was so dear to him. yet, after a while, those feelings of his started to become overwhelming. so much so that you were always on his mind, whatever he did, however busy he was.

which is why, that night he spent at your house, drinking away as you were watching a boring movie, he could not help but let loose. it was the way you gently turned off the tv and shook his shoulder to stop him from dozing off on the living room floor. you had not been drinking, pretending you had lots of stuff to get done the following day. upon seeing your face painted with the gentlest of all smiles, he opened his mouth as you helped him up.

"that's why i love you, y/n. you always take such great care of me. you're always there, so welcoming, sooooo so kind. i really-," he trailed off. "i've really liked you for a while, so much."

you were taken aback. you had never considered minho in that way. neither had you ever thought of him liking you like that. because he was minho afterall, so minho it was almost overwhelming. hearing him say all of that had you blush like crazy. you stumbled and almost fell as you helped him get comfy on the couch. though drunk, he could tell you were all shaken up by the bomb he had just dropped.

"think about it, okay?" he continued, a confident smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

oh, you would think about it; much more than you would ever want to admit.

changbin ( 창빈 ) as bed sharing

it was simple. you and your eight friends had planned out a trip to the coast. hyunjin had been annoying about wanting to look at the sea and sketch the way waves crashed against the shore for weeks now and everyone was over it. which is why, one night you all spent together at the bar lead to chan asking whether everyone wanted to travel to the beach. minho was not too fond of the idea at first, saying that organizing trips was a hassle and that he was not about to worry himself sick over everything going well, which han rolled his eyes at. minho had always acted as if no one but him had their shit together but, truth be told, you had to give him that.

when you were reunited as nine, things always seemed to go south. either the weather was not on your side when you decided to FINALLY leave the indoors or someone always ended up getting hurt while doing mundane tasks. it was as if the universe was against you living your lives peacefully. but, in a way, it was a little funny. felix getting eaten up by mosquitos to the point his left arm was completely covered in bites you could draw constellations by connecting them with an ink pen was pretty hilarious. especially after he had giggled at jeongin getting bitten right on the top of his nose the day before. 'serves him right', you had thought.

after a little ( a lot ) of convincing, minho finally caved. he agreed on a three-day trip to the nearest beach. you would go by train and stay at a hotel not too far from the city centre as those close to the sea were much more expensive and you did not have that kind of money yet. in an effort to save money, you had chosen to rent four rooms for the nine of you, one of which could hold three people whereas the others were made for two.

after a round of rock paper scissors, the roommates were decided. you and changbin would room together which you were not ecstatic about. not that you disliked changbin, far from it actually. for as long as you could remember, you had the hugest crush on him. when seungmin introduced you to changbin after meeting first during a lecture you both shared, you knew there was something about him. changbin, though far from intimidating, carried himself in a manner that made you a little shy. he was confident, wellspoken and got involved with other people easily. those things and many others had you charmed. no matter how hard you tried, you felt as though there was no way you could hide your attraction to changbin. so, really, sharing a room with him was not going to help your case.

you comforted yourself with the knowledge that you had booked twin rooms. even though you would have to sleep in the same room, at least you would not be insanely close to one another.

or so you thought.

after a five hour train travel, you arrived to the coast and walked around the city you and your friends would be staying in for a little under an hour until you found your hotel. once there, you accompanied chan to the desk, grabbing the keycards you then went to give the other boys. the travel had tired you out, and you decided to stay in for the night. so, you all went to your rooms.

accompanied by changbin, you walked towards the door adorning the number 109, your room. after scanning your keycard, you walked in as changbin was making smalltalk with you about how the air here felt much different than in the capital and how he was so excited to check out the hotel's gym tomorrow morning. you talked just as much as he did, despite being nervous about this entire rooming-with-your-crush situation you unfortunately got roped into. at least, it could not get any worse than this. but, lo and behold, it did the second you set foot in your supposedly twin bedroom.

though you had booked two seperate beds for the both of you, there in the middle of the minimally decorated room laid a two-people bed. your heart sank and your stomach did exactly two loopings as changbin let out a confused half-yell ( because it was late at night and people were probably sleeping ). he sighed loudly, and blamed bang chan under his breath.

"i'll go back to the front desk and ask whether we can switch rooms," he said after dropping his bag in the entryway.

that left you some time to get over your emotions. there was no way this was happening to you, especially not in changbin's presence. sleeping in the same bed? that was off the table. how were you supposed to remain calm—with the man of your dreams a few centimeters away from you—and not die? you did not want to know.

changbin came back a few minutes later, looking slightly annoyed.

"it's fully booked. we can't switch rooms."

seems like you were, in fact, about to know!

"i'll sleep on the floor, okay? you can take the bed, y/n." changbin offered.

or not? that was so kind of him but you were not about to let changbin sleep on the cold hard floor. he was probably exhausted from the travel too.

"no it's fine. let's both sleep on the bed. i don't mind" you said, trying to sound confident.

"are you sure? we don't have to do that if you're not comfortable with it."

"that's fine, really. let's just get to bed, alright?"

you felt lightheaded the entire night. you could feel warmth radiating from changbin's body despite laying back to back. you could feel the way the mattress slightly sunk to his side and hear the rhythm of his breathing. needless to say, you did not get any sleep that night. did changbin? you might never know.

let's just say the day after was interesting for the other boys to say the least.

hyunjin ( 현진 ) as fake dating

"okay, just hear me out" hyunjin started as you opened the door to your locker in an attempt to hide his face.

"oh come on, don't be a bitch," he continued, stepping to the side so that you could look right into his eyes "i need a favor, it's the first and last i'll ever ask of you."

"and i told you i was not interested didn't i? right now, i need you to walk away and leave me alone." you replied, placing a few books into your locker before slamming the door shut and walking to your next class.

"y/n, please!" hyunjin cried out.

you stopped. never in the months you had known of The hwang hyunjin had you ever heard him beg, let alone mouth the word 'please'. it had a pleasant rung to it, something that made your stomach flip and your heart beat a little faster but you did not comment on it.

you spun to face him again and waited until he took the few steps that separated you. as if he was afraid to be heard, hyunjin looked around—just to make sure everyone had left the halls already. you were alone and that did not help the slow increase of your heart rate. 'weird', you thought.

"listen, i know how that sounds but i really need you to date me"

upon hearing this absolute madness of a sentence, you let out a strange strangled noise that came all the way from the pits of your stomach before laughing out loud. hyunjin had the audacity to frown his eyebrows at your demeanor, as if YOU were the weird one here and he did not just say the stupidest thing you had ever heard.

"where does that even come from?" you asked after composing yourself back.

"why do you care? i don't wanna date for real anyway, but like, can't we just pretend we do?"

at that, you got even more confused but decided to overlook it, "well if you want to 'date' me you've got to at least give me one valid reason"

hyunjin could not help but roll his eyes and let his head hang low for a few seconds. once he looked back at you, he sighed. "i just need people off my back. dating someone would be so much easier right now, i wouldn't get constantly stared at and maybe some girls would leave me alone? i don't know i just- i just need some space and i believe i'd get it by pretending to date you."

"yeah see, that's where you're losing me. why does it even have to be me? can't someone else take on the job, i'm not interested in acting"

"it can't be anyone else. it just has to be you!" he exclaimed.

"um... mind explaining why that is?"

"i can't. please, y/n." he begged again "i'm not gonna ask for anything else. can't you just hold my hand in public and kiss the back of my neck when you hug me from behind or let me tuck stray hairs behind your ear? it's not gonna be any more than that, i promise. please."

hyunjin was desperate. despite the fact that he was barely an acquaintance you were very comfortable speaking to, you could not help but feel bad. so, you did the next most logical thing and accepted whatever request he had.

without even realizing it became a habit, hyunjin started walking you to school and back home. he would grab your hand in the hallways and softly smile at you whenever you would sit in the same classroom. hyunjin would have lunch with you almost everyday and lay his head on your lap as you were sitting on the grass, commenting on the clouds' shapes. he knew how to hold a conversation, how to make you feel cared for and special.

your friends started to question it but you always remained vague, as a way to protect both you and hyunjin. your fake boyfriend was beyond thankful for you. after a few weeks of this game you played, he admitted to feeling much more comfortable ever since he claimed to be dating you. girls started gravitating around him less and less, leaving him with enough space to function without feeling like he was suffocating.

the introvert inside hyunjin was having a field trip and being able to help him feel at least a little bit more like himself was enough.

dating hyunjin was never something you had ever considered. it just happened. and though at first you were thankful for it to only be playing pretend, you ended up catching yourself wish for hyunjin to be yours.

did he wish the same, you might never know. there was no way you would ever ask him anyway. playing pretend was enough, for now.

taglist. @zoe8stay @starlostseungmin @starzzns @dumbfound-princess @hyukabean @l3visbby @yejiimg @eggielix @pearlygraysky @meowmeowisdaname — let me know if you would like to be added / removed.

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alchemicaladarna · 28 days

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I'm thinking about making a pre-fallen angel q!BBH design soon. When I have the motivation to... But basically my vision for angel qBBH is that he is almost like an antithesis to demon/current q!bbh. Basically, if his demonic form has dark, shadowy void skin, I think it would be perfect if his angelic form looked a little less humanoid and more like a physical form of light itself. Something that is otherworldly, ethereal, and terrifyingly unknown...

Actually, the fact that it's so hard to explain my interpretation right now is kind of perfect, because I think angels are meant to be abstract and so far removed from the physical world, therefore humanity, that you can't really explain them.

I've noticed some people designing angel q!BBH that looks more human, and while I don't think there is anything wrong with that (design characters to your heart's desire <3) in my opinion, angels are beings that the human mind simply can't comprehend. Like, that time when Bad was explaining the whole concept of the 4d time thing, it took someone drawing a diagram for me to understand it, and even then I still have trouble fully comprehending that. That's what angels are, and my interpretation of q!BBH, at least. Plus, it would go so well with him falling, becoming a demon and literally being corrupted by darkness yk?

And when I say symmetrical- like light vs dark, I don't really mean that as a parallel to good vs evil because there are so many gray areas with how heaven vs hell and character morality is presented in the qsmp. So I think heaven/light lines up with order and perfection. A cleanliness that must be kept pure, emotionless, and distant. Whereas hell/darkness is chaos, desire, and flaws that relate more to humanity.

Anyways, I went in a little tangent but basically: angels=light=strict order/harsh justice and demon/falling from heaven= darkness=chaos=humanity.

#qsmp #qsmp badboyhalo #qbbh #i promise i will get to designing and drawing again soon but im having problems w my tablet rn but rest assured i will do this because #its just a really cool idea for me to do #also ive been lacking motivation the past few weeks so i kind of took an art break as well -_-#but yea i just love the fallen angel designs and discussions people do for qbbh idk why but its one of my fav parts of his character-#badboyhalo

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autism-alley · 1 month

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alright sorry to be a bitch about casting, but i’m gonna bc i do think it’s important to illustrating the feel of a character (if you come to me to bitch and whine about black annabeth get the fuck off my lawn). myself and others have already talked at length about the writing of the series, so if you’re looking for more weighty criticism, just scroll thru the pjo crit tag, now is my time to be a stickler for details, and this is a live action show, a visual medium, the casting is important for reasons beyond an actor’s ability to deliver lines. embodying the character purely in an actor’s personality isn’t enough—they need to physically feel like they could be this person to really sell it (there’s also something to be said abt not having to cast someone who supposedly feels like the character they’re playing just as themself—it’s called acting for a reason, but i digress).

just. take in the official viria pjo art of sally jackson.

look at this woman. look at her!! that is MOTHER. that is the woman who worked herself to the bone to single handedly raise perseus jackson, flaws and all. that is the woman who rocked up to the battle of manhattan with a shotgun and A WILL. that is the woman poseidon himself called a queen amongst women and offered a palace to. with warm lighting only outshone by her reassuring smile and the candle of percy’s blue birthday cupcake—that’s sally jackson. the composition of it, her pose and welcoming smile, makes the viewer feel like we are percy jackson, and it’s our birthday we’re being beckoned to join in the celebration of, a special moment between mother and child.

now look at this woman.

i feel like i’ve had this english teacher before, asking me why my autistic ass was tweaking out in the middle of her lesson on iambic peranimeter. i’m sure she’s a nice lady in real life, it’s nothing against her as a person or her skills as an actress, to me she just lacks the warmth and gentleness crucial to sally jackson’s feel as a character. that is my own subjective take. she doesn’t make my shoulders relax at the sight of her. her smile doesn’t make the tightness in my chest go away. looking at this sally jackson, i feel everything her character ISN’T meant to embody. i start feeling stressed out. like everything is somehow a lesson and she has grand expectations of my answer. and the script does NOT do her any favors with lines like “you decide how ugly this gets” at VERY MINOR “outbursts” of percy’s. paired together, the script and the casting, we get what feels more like all the chastising teachers in percy’s life rather than his loving and patient MOTHER. and i don’t wanna hear another one of y’all defend this depiction as more accurate to parents of ND children or i’m gonna lose it.

now finally, look at this woman.

we can bash the pjo movies for all their inaccuracies and adaptation flaws, but if there’s one thing they nailed, it’s sally jackson. the kind eyes. the welcoming and reassuring gaze. a tired yet inherently trustworthy face. she’s so open. she feels so special, so giving, even if she herself has little. i can see myself laughing in her kitchen, making seven-layer dip or blue cookies. i can see her handing me an extra few jelly beans after a long shift at the candy store. i can see myself as percy jackson, able to put aside another school expulsion because that’s my mother and she’ll never let me doubt she loves me. i can see why poseidon, god of the sea, would fall in love with her in a way he hadn’t in thousands of years. i can see him offering her the world.

i don’t know if this casting impacted the official art, it did come first, maybe that’s a well-known fact and i just sound like a jackass—nor is official art is the end all be all (looking the og official pjo art dead in the eyes)—but this woman just deeply strikes me as the same sally jackson as the one in viria’s art and the pjo books. she’s sally jackson in way show sally vehemently just… is not.

#pointing at show sally #this woman looks like she’ll yell at me #this woman looks like she’s going to tell me to wait outside in the hall to talk after class #just because rick riordan slapped a ‘sally jackson’ name tag to her does not magically make her feel like sally jackson to me #literally any other depiction of sally jackson? mom. momma.#that’s my mother she’s taking me to montauk now #anyways school has been busy as hell ik i have people to get back to and asks to answer i just wanted to crank out a quick post #that i’ve been wanting to get to for a while #pjo show crit #pjo tv crit #ris raves

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gatalentan · 1 year

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who’s more whipped: melissa or barbara

ok so purely speaking from my own interpretation (and i WELCOME discussion, please!) is that while I do think they are both whipped in their own ways, my immediate instinct is to say obviously melissa is the most whipped, purely because we've seen it in action on screen, in the text, undeniable where she gets scolded and immediately folds, like the little yappy dog she is, multiple times:

if we're talking fanon over canon my answer is probably still her, because she's absolutely like, VISIBLY, on-screen besotted and delighted by basically everything barbara does...

...and that if shes still like this after 20-whatever years of friendship it means that it probably follows them into the relationship, right? i think at the slightest wink, this woman folds like a wet paper towel. turns to actual melted butter. fuckin' marshmallow. like, fully ruined. blushing and twirling her hair and squirming and shit. barb smiles and she's like well that's it for me, i'm done, i'm cooked, bye! invade france? sure, let me grab my bag. worships the ground she walks on. thinks she's literally perfect. can look past just about every conceivable flaw because she's so happy just to be near her.

but... and here's me drilling down probably further than you intended but its me so i can't help myself...

in a more canon-adjacent reading of there being more to their deal than what we see, my interpretation is that she's so whipped in-text due to being extremely hyperaware of the fact that if she pursued her attraction to barbara it would put barb into an unteneble situation because of gerald, and thus, like, doing whatever she has to do to not have barbara push her away because she knows the risk. barbara has the most to lose, sure, but that means she also holds the most cards.

melissa has some turbo insecurity/self esteem issues that she masks really hard with humour (👈this part isn't fanon, this is how LAW interprets/plays her, see: this podcast in the part where she's discussing Readathon). because of this I can't imagine her any other way than like constantly trying not to overstep that line, and doing whatever she has to do to stay in barbara's good graces and not lose her in her life because she's like, the One Good Thing she has. whipped as a defence mechanism. it's easy to replace someone when you're already married to the replacement, you know? so she has to make herself seem irreplaceable to barbara.

i think the fact that the only other person she felt she could talk to about starting the relationship with gary was fuckin' joe I think speaks to the fact she most likely has very, very few people in her circle - we hear about her family members but their dynamic seems pretty dysfunctional and arms-length, so the fact barbara has kept her in her life so long to her is like, world-altering shit. I think even in an AU where they got together... the fear of her leaving would always be in the back of her mind because of Joe. So she would basically move heaven and earth for her and whatever she says goes because she feels so lucky to have her, at least for right now, as long as she'll let her. She'll do whatever it takes. "I ain't killin' for any of you. Except Barbara."

Do I also think Barbara is whipped though? Yes. I think that's most evident in the way she's starting to take on more of Melissa's unsavoury characteristics to both make sure they can stay working together but also stay in her good graces (see: Delisha Sloss, see: being the one to suggest scamming the parents into coming to AVA Fest) even though it feels deeply unnatural.

You also see it in how, when her insecurities bubble up, she immediately is comforted by Melissa's words and takes them to heart instead of dismissing them (see: like fine wine, see: aging with dignity) and the tension she's held ALL DAY visibly unwinds near instantly.

If I look at her from a fanon context, this woman would literally be risking SO MUCH because of her attraction/love for this woman, her husband, her children, her church, literally upending her entire life, everything she's ever known, to risk being with Melissa. Just keeping her around is a huge risk because of the temptation, but she DOES keep her around. It's so fun to imagine the beginning stages of their friendship when they were much younger because of all this too, because they're so different, they have so many vastly different morals, (melissa has a rap sheet ffs!!) that it's like, even getting to KNOW her was a risk to barbara's moral character and image... but she did it anyway, over and over again, for twenty-whatever years, because she just finds Melissa that fucking delightful and charming and wonderful that she can't help herself. She's trained herself to look the other way as much as she can because the other parts of her are so worth it to her. She makes her laugh every day and she smiles when she sees her come in the room and she can't go one fucking lunch period without her sharing her table without having a Menty B. That's some fucking whippage.

#work wives #chatalentan

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zeb-z · 5 months

Text

Bad has so many reasons to be cautious, even paranoid, as anyone else on the island. From Federation nonsense to Dapper being kidnapped to the whole purgatory nonsense to whatever fuckass suit of armor “old friend” was setting up cameras in his house. But it compounds on his regular overly aware paranoid self to this state of hyper-paranoia. And as a demon who can and usually will lie, cheat, steal, and use sneaky underhanded tactics, he expects the craziest extent because he thinks of it, realizes it’s possible, and would use it himself. We saw this very obviously in purgatory - when he thought greens desperate last ditch effort to balance the scale was a super planned out tactic to tip the scale, so he did it first, all the hardcore base hunting, the spawn killing, there’s a reason every other tactic he used usually followed a main channel qsmp post with updated rules - all usually things he was surprised no one else thought of. But then this also piles onto the fact that he has to have things go his way, all the time, and that he’s argumentative as all get out, which led to the debate between him and Bagi yknow. Especially because he’s not just doing it for the sake of being right, he doesn’t think he’s paranoid, but that he’s exercising the right amount of caution.

So like. Listen dude. Yeah he’s got reasons to be paranoid. But his thought process around building vaults for separate cookie caches like they locked up the risus pills, only to scrap it because it’s not perfectly impenetrable, is extreme. His character has hardly been a leading example in someone who has reasonable reactions to things. And even when there isn’t his own children’s livelihoods potentially on the line, he has a need for control, and the most control he has is if he keeps the cookies in his inventory at all times. If he makes himself the sole point in which the others can get ones in a case of emergency, then he can control the variables. The problem is he’s unreliable about himself when he’s at his most rational and healthiest, and he’s far worse with the current memory and health issues he’s been mostly unaware of.

I dunno it’s like. There is never going to be a purely impenetrable base. And it’s not just a case of “Bagi just hasn’t lived through __ yet!”. Bad’s own logic about keeping the cookies on him at all times is flawed under his own logic, because Bagi is right - if someone has enough drive to break into separate secured cookie caches purely for the downfall of eggs, they more than certainly have enough drive to find a way to kill Bad and just take them from his inventory, or to just kill the eggs themselves. All it truly does is give Bad a sense of control, and soothe his paranoia.

#everyone let’s remember rurus’ tweet about bad NOT being in the blunt rotation. he would try to pluck cameras out of your eyes. and he will #make it seem like it’s the most reasonable thing to do in that moment #now this is more me complaining about shit I’ve been seeing on Twitter in the tags <3 love and peace but I’ve got beef #side note - to say the people who are commenting on qBad’s paranoia or this and that are all newcomers who just ‘weren’t there to experienc #-the dark times’ or ‘weren’t there for the egg deaths/nightmares’ like you are not immune to the way bbh can make something seem so #reasonable #he’s got his own reasons to be paranoid. and most everyone agreed that the base idea of a ‘cookie jar’ would need rethinking with security #but to say qBagi (or Jorge’s/other viewers) is shortsighted or naive. when qBad is THE definition of paranoia. of overreacting. like #qBad’s reaction extends from a mixture of care hyper paranoia and trauma response (which is half that hyper paranoia)#and he will pick and pick and pick until there’s nothing left to pick at #sometimes this is helpful. a lot of the time it’s not #and on the flip side it’s like y’all bad cares about the eggs to a ridiculous degree don’t be silly here okay. he does this because he care #even without a memory in his brain he calls them ‘little one’ and is gentle like. he cares #but at the same time this doesn’t always justify his nonsense. his thought processes. he’s Uber hyper paranoid and not easy to reason with #he’s selfish he can and will jump to extremes he’s overly controlling. and he’s the worlds most unreliable narrator #I’ve been saying this I’ll keep saying this he’s an unreliable narrator! this doesn’t make everything he says or thinks bullshit but you #cannot take what he says to himself how he justifies his actions etc etc in private at face value. unless he is making it EXPLICITLY CLEAR #he’s talking from a meta perspective as the creator of his character #you have to take his perspective with a grain of salt. because he will ‘I’m just a little guy and the world is out to get me’ his way outta #everything #there is a difference between reasonable caution from learned past experiences and overly anxious paranoid responses #idk I’m running out of steam sorry this is like a second post with the tags #and again I say this as a huge qBbh enjoyer lmao #mcyt #qsmp #q!bbh #q!bagi #z speaks

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theloganator101 · 5 months

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Just read a fic praised by the MHA fandom as being 'anti Bakugou' and 'anti Endeavor' it is don't get me wrong but there is a part where the messaging becomes awful and the story goes downhill hard.

Aizawa confronts Shoto and Izu on some concerning behaviour they have shown because of their trauma. Then Izu tells him essentially 'Our situations are shit. You can't change mine or risk Bakugou becoming a villain. You can't change Todoroki's unless you want the HPSC after you for ruining Endeavor and having the public question heroes.'

In this fic, Aizawa hears this. Then literally just nods, agrees and decides to do nothing...

Like ignore the fact that the messaging to the reader is pure ass for a moment, what the fuck kind of teacher would react like that?!

Bakugou becoming a villain due to facing consequences of being an abusive shit? Let him. Being a villain would be HIS choice and for him to face the consequences of down the line. Besides he's not an AFO level threat, most heroes could K.O this fucker (especially Izuku which would be cathartic to read) if Hori weren't playing favorites.

The HPSC going after Aizawa for exposing Endeavor as a child abusing shit and the public questioning all heroes because of it? Well, if the HPSC are going to react like that instead of rightfully condemning Endeavor then they SHOULD be questioned. All heroes should be scrutinised because how many other heroes would have similarly got away with being child abusing shits with that logic? How is that a bad thing? In fact, if they did this it would take the wind out of Dabi because he wouldn't have SO MUCH of a valid point about Endeav not facing consequences for being a abuser.

God, the way Izuku and Todoroki in this are content sacrificing their childhoods on a pyre in this to protect these two abusive shits is so, SO sad. It's even sadder that the writer paints this as a noble choice instead of recognising it being a flawed one made by two traumatised children.

Then there is the fact that Aizawa LETS them instead of telling them, 'no you both deserve a happy childhood too' or 'no I will fight for you.' This paints him as an lazy and AWFUL teacher but also a AWFUL person point blank. The fic I don't believe did this intentionally because it isn't tagged Aizawa bashing which makes it worse...

Todoroki and Izuku's other friends and the other adults in their life also all try their best to cheer them up and fail because they don't have a clue what is going on. They also become noticeably sadder as a result which is just depressing.

Sorry for the rant, I'm just so depressed and angry now having read that and needed to vent somewhere.

I'm not the type to be a hater on someones work and I wanted to know your thoughts.

I... don't think I ever read this fic.

But from what you explained... yikes.

Why do these writers want to portray Bakugou becoming a villain as the worst possible outcome? Like I get and I'm all about giving people a chance to change for the better, but you also have take into context what that person has done and if they're WILLING to take that chance and actually WANT to change!

But from what we've seen of him, he never shows any signs of wanting to change for the better and just started holding back his brash behavior. In fact I'm even more convinced that once he's an adult, he'll just start putting a front for the public to make himself look good while concealing his true personality behind closed doors.

I think the only way to make Izuku saying this phrase work is if the story acknowledges what he's saying is wrong, have some of the characters point that out to him, and have one of the adults say something like this to him.

"If he ends up becoming a villain after this, then that's his decision. We'll be there to apprehend him and keep him from hurting anymore people."

Or you can make it into more like it's been ingrained in Izuku's mind that Bakugou is a strong fighter and that if he becomes a villain, than it's all over and no one can stop him. Only to be proven wrong when the news cover Bakugou's capture and how easy it was to take him down.

And as for the second part with Endeavor, god that logic is so fucking flawed...

Did the writer of that story NOT read through that or thought twice how that probably wouldn't make sense if the reader put two seconds into thinking about it? It wasn't like the HPSC was helping him conceal his abuse or anything, that was ENTIRELY on him!

And if he does end up being exposed? So what? They got plenty of heroes to spare and I'm sure they would want to save face to keep people from bashing on them for allowing such a person to be in a position of power.

Both Izuku and Shoto shouldn't have to sacrifice their childhoods to prop up and protect these horrible people in their lives, they both need to learn that people like that needs to be cut out from their lives. And even if they're changing, they aren't obligated to forgive them and keep them close... it won't make you a horrible person for choosing not to.

That's one of the problems I keep finding in this fandom, they have a black and white view on things that they think forgive and forget is the only best option and that choosing not to will make them into a horrible person for holding grudges.

#bnha critical #mha critical #anti katsuki bakugou #anti bakugou #izuku deserves better #anti bakugo #bakugou critical #bakugo critical #endeavor critical #anti enji todoroki #anti endeavor

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aihoshiino · 5 months

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I dunno if its just me but it stands out to me that even though ai describes herself as someone whose never loved or been loved she seems to put a lot more emphasis in trying find someone to love rather than finding someone that loves her for being her

ai, please you deserve love too :((

(message from future claire from the end of this ask: to no one's surprised, this turned into an Ai essay... I ended up straying onto the topic of Ai's ideal lover, who that could even be and what 'salvation' and a long term positive arc would look like for Ai)

Nope, you're entirely correct!! It sticks out so bad to me that what Ai is actively looking for is not a person who will love her, but a person she can sincerely give her love to. It makes me want to eat wet cement!!!!

It's interesting to think that as Ai of B-Komachi, she probably hears people say they love her all the time. Viewpoint B even specifically identifies B-Komachi as a gachikoi group in the original Japanese text, meaning they are built from the ground up to exploit the types of fans who develop serious romantic fixations for their oshi, and with Ai being as popular as she is, it's almost a guarantee she has a whole army of these types of fans - and uh, we know for a very unfortunate fact just how sincerely and deeply obsessed with her a lot of these men are.

But ultimately, none of those people actually love the real Ai. As she herself puts it in Viewpoint B again, 'Ai of B-Komachi' is her idealized self - an ideal for both the fans and for Ai herself. She's a perfect, pure, invincible girl who loves everybody with no limits and no restraint. From Ai's perspective, performing 'Ai of B-Komachi' is an act of love outwards to the fans but because she's not the real Ai, none of that reciprocal love is actually for her.

The sad part, though, is that... Ai of B-Komachi isn't really that different from Ai herself! She's polished and airbrushed and lack any of Ai's human flaws but her strength, her warmth, her charisma, her playful sense of humor and her deep, deep kindness and her efforts to love everyone no matter what... those all come from the 'real' Ai and we see them authentically expressed through her again and again and again. But of course, Ai can't see that.

The reason Ai doesn't look for someone to love her, imo, is because she simply doesn't believe it's possible. She hates herself too much to imagine that anybody could ever love her as she is, so she compromises by slicing herself up into as many pieces as possible and letting everybody else reassemble her into an Ai they might be capable of loving. Even when she's directly asked who her ideal lover would be in 45510, her initial response is just sooooooo depressing.

"I guess I'd like to be with someone who doesn't lose their cool with me when I mess things up, ‘cause that happens a lot! Someone who gets all worked up over every little thing would probably get tired of me pretty quick. It’d be unfair for them, so I'd rather be with someone who's not like that."

Like... really think about what she's saying here. The narrator even specifically notes that Ai is as unfiltered as she gets during this stream and the best she can come up with is "Idk, someone who won't get annoyed with me even though I'm annoying as fuck". She herself even says a few lines later that even if someone told her to their face that they loved her, she simply wouldn't be able to believe it. To quote the 45510 narrator...

People evaluate others based on their own understanding of the world. Someone who lacks an understanding of love might struggle to believe it when others express their affection, just as a habitual cheater is more inclined to suspect their partner of being unfaithful. It’s one of those things you grow into understanding as an adult.

Babygirl I'm going to turn into a California fucking raisin!!!! Please!!!!!

45510 does conclude this train of thought with something interesting, though - with Ai's truest feelings that even the 45510 narrator can't dismiss or write off as a lie.

"I don't want anyone to hate me. But it's not like I don't want to talk about myself, even though it might sound a bit contradictory. I want people to know. I want them to know about the dirty parts, my rough edges, and all the rest, and I want them to say that it’s okay. That they accept me."

This is, ultimately, why Ai doesn't bother finding someone to love her as she is. Someone loving the real Ai would need to see the things she talks about here and not reject her. They would need to see the parts of Ai that she calls dirty, irresponsible, underhanded and impure and tell her that they accept her as she is, warts and all.

And she can't believe anyone would. Why would she, when she's faced rejection and abuse all her life, been failed again and again and again by every single person who had the responsibility to care for and protect her? The ultimate cruelty of Ai's life is, ironically, also its greatest joy: that the two people in the world who should have absolutely, unconditionally loved and accepted her as she was - her children - turned out to be people who, even years after her death, continue to only see Ai of B-Komachi.

I've talked about this elsewhere off Tumblr just in terms of writing Ai long term in fanfic and RP and what have you, but all this stuff is why I think the ideal long-term positive arc for Ai could never be one about Ai enacting change in herself - becoming self sufficient, learning to love herself on her own, etc. It would ultimately be a betrayal of what Ai's arc is trying to convey.

Ai is the way that she is because from the moment she was born, she was continually let down and failed by everyone else in her life who was in a position to love her. Nobody saved her from her mother's abuse, nobody helped her heal from it and nobody protected her from exploitation. This failure of care was so consistent that Ai ultimately concluded that she was the problem - that she had to make up for whatever about her was so reprehensible and lacking by being harmless and agreeable and useful and slicing herself to pieces so she could serve herself up in the most consumable way.

This is why I'm actually really glad that OnK has never gone the route of challenging Ai's assertion that she's dirty and impure - because the core of that idea is that Ai lacks worth because of that. Disproving her conclusion that she is 'dirty, impure, hopeless, etc' does not actually challenge this central idea that Ai only has worth so long as she is perfect and pure. Her salvation could only ever come from someone seeing her most wretched, dirty, ugly and miserable self - having someone strip her to bone and marrow, put their hand in her guts and cradle her heart and accepting her as she is, wholeheartedly, unconditionally and without compromise.

#oshi no ko #oshi no posting #ai hoshino

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writerbuddha · 5 months

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Do you think writers should use more of a well-defined morality approach to the widespread "grey"? Though the former has always been criticized for its simplicity and irrelevant to the real world, the franchise under George Lucas looked like a gateway for philosophical understanding. If possible, as someone who understands it well, what is your opinion on the separation of Pure Evil (ingrained by DNA) and Broken characters?

I think that when it comes to writing, we need to distinguish between layout and morality, because only then we can address the problems with separating Pure Evil and Broken characters!

I think writers should use a more well-defined morality approach, but that's different from the conventional morality approach, I call it light-and-dark morality as opposed to black-and-white.

Layout: "black-and-white" and "grey"

BLACK-AND-WHITE LAYOUT:

In black-and-white layout, the characters are arranged along clearly and strictly defined lines: we have the heroes who are Good and we have the villains who are Evil. We have these sides opposing each other, and it's very clear which side we should identify with and who should win. The overwhelming majority of the most popular stories of our time, including but not limited to George Lucas' Star Wars, uses black-and-white layout. Jedi Knights versus Sith Lords, the Rebellion versus the Empire, the humans versus the orcs, wizards and witches versus the Death Eaters, Gandalf the White versus the Dark Lord, Snow White versus the Evil Queen, the Pevensie children versus the White Witch and so on. It's important to note that this doesn't mean that heroes can't turn into villains and villains can't turn into heroes, nor does it mean that there can't be hero figures on both sides, but but it means, that will always be a clear shift from Good to Evil and from Evil to Good, or that the heroes of the Evil side are deceived.

Black-and-white layout sometimes might allow for "grey" characters. The mildest example of this might be Grumpy in Snow White, who is quite hostile to the sweet princess, but who obviously loves her, and then there is Hondo Ohnaka in Clone Wars, who is a criminal and serving only himself, but there are signs of willingness to do good. But most often than doesn't, "grey" eventually must choose.

GREY LAYOUT

Grey layout is understood to be a relatively new type of layout for a story, but Homer's Iliad could be one of the most ancient surviving examples of it: there is a king who fights for his honor, a king who fights for his city, a prince who fights for love, a warrior who fights for glory. We can identify and empathize with both sides, or at least we can find both sides' actions comprehensible, plausible. I think the best example of grey layout today would be Netflix' Arcane, where, even though we can point out the least sympathetic characters, we can't comfortably declare one side Good or Right and the other Evil or Wrong, whereas in black-and-white layout, this is a very easy task.

Grey layout can be seen as a more realistic layout for a story, trying to address complex, contemporary issues, while the black-and-white layout is more metaphorical, focusing on conveying universal lessons and messages in an abstract way that can be translated to concrete situations. In this sense, stories with grey layout seek to present reality and bring attention to concrete issues in the real world, and stories with black-and-white layout are focusing on presenting role models, to raise human beings who are able to solve concrete issues.

Morality: "black-and-white," "black-and-broken-and-flawed-and-white," "grey" and "light-and-dark"

BLACK-AND-WHITE MORALITY

Black-and-white morality can exist only in a black-and-white layout, but it's crucial to understand, black-and-white layout doesn't always results in black-and-white morality. In fact, black-and-white morality stories are quite rare and they can end up being criticized for being overly simplified and for failing to be applicable to reality. In black-and-white morality, everything between birth and death can be seen as a war between clearly and sharply defined poles of Good and Evil. Good is always the most morally pure and satisfying, most just and also nicest thing to do, and the Good Ones are always doing Good.

The only ones who are dissatisfied with them are the Evil Ones, who are willfully and consciously fighting against the morally pure and satisfying, the just and nice, and do Evil, the exact opposite, instead. Black-and-white morality isn't trying to explain or understand Evil, it only focuses on identifying it, locating it and destroying it, which is, of course, the Good thing to do. In black-and-white morality, Evil is understood to be either as is a quality that we are born with (i.e. "ingrained by DNA") or that Evil is something like an infection that is nevertheless under our conscious control (i.e. "you sold your soul!") Lord of the Rings is the closest thing to black-and-white morality stories: the heroes are creatures of light and grace or modesty and simple good-will, they're noble and well-meaning, even though they can be corrupted by Evil, which is a creature of fire and darkness, leading an army of deformed, vile, animalistic monsters.

BLACK-AND-BROKEN-AND-FLAWED-AND-WHITE MORALITY

The reason why black-and-white morality faces with increasing criticism for is the fact that it fails to address the complexity of life: whenever we look deeply into the heart of someone we identified as Evil, we find that they actually don't meet the criteria: they, just like ourselves, simply want to be happy and not to suffer, and this is at the core of everything they do. They don't see themselves as Evil, they didn't vow to destroy Good. In fact, more often than doesn't, they're, too, victims of Evil. Black-and-white morality is sometimes replaced with another type of morality that includes Broken, who is like a white chess pawn moved by the player who is with black: they are not Evil, but, in truth, they're Good, who are the victim of Evil, and because the Evil that was done to them, they are twisted to a place where they themselves do Evil. It would be important to realize that this is still black-and-white morality: it insists on the existence of Evil that must be identified and destroyed without any hesitation or compassion and it asks us to believe and not to ask questions when it points at someone and says "Evil" and at another saying, "Broken."

The morality that separates Evil and Broken is just black-and-white morality trying to delay the inevitable collapse of the entire binary upon which it was built, and by doing so, it also paralyzes its heroes. Treating Broken characters as Evil would fail to meet with the criteria of Good, therefore, each and any character who decides to respond with countermeasures to the Evil done by Broken characters cannot be Good - they're flawed. In fact, so the reasoning goes, Good would make Good attractive enough for the Broken, so they won't choose Evil, thus ultimately, anything that the Broken character did, was the fault of the Flawed characters. True Good characters must gather all their Goodness and radiate it to Broken characters, and turning them back to Good as a result. It would be important to note that this type of morality is often presented as relevant and nuanced, but in truth, it's an even more severely absolutist morality that cannot tolerate nuance and fails to address the complexities of life, insisting on a dangerously simplistic view. However, its popularity is growing in fandoms, even though to this date, it manifested itself only in hot takes built on "death to the author!" theory.

GREY MORALITY

Grey morality can be defined in many ways, but it's essentially the rejection of black-and-white morality paired with the view that Good and Evil are both just ideas and the line between right and wrong is blurred. Although grey morality is seen by many as the morality that moves beyond the dichotomy of Good and Evil, it should be noted that it stops at rejecting this dichotomy - it's either not equipped or not willing to explore a post-black-and-white reality. For this reason, apart from dwelling on the absence of the clearly and strictly defined lines dividing Good and Evil, stories adopting grey morality are not really having much to say, it doesn't really know where to go from there, since although it pushed the old moral compass aside and didn't make a new one to navigate. Grey heroes are usually angsty, edgy, "not good so that's bad but not evil, so that's good" figures.

It should be noted that stories adopting grey morality can deal with complex and relevant issues and can communicate very important messages, and grey characters can develop or mature. In fact, most of them ends up doing immense good to others, so grey morality sooner and later does try to a re-establish black-and-white layout, but it presents heroes and role models who are careful not to rise the bar too high, since grey morality holds an essentially skeptical views on humanity. Although it won't come to any profound conclusion about Good and Evil and how to conduct ourselves in the world, it does try to update Good and Evil in a way that says, "It's OK. No one is perfect, just keep trying to do your best, that's all that can be asked, really." Game of Thrones or Hunger Games might be good examples of this.

LIGHT-AND-DARK MORALITY

Although light-and-dark morality can exist both in black-and-white layout and grey layout, it's the least popular type of morality, since it challenges the conventional story of Good and Evil, even though it defines "good" and "evil" very strictly and clearly. In a nutshell, light-and-dark morality tells us: anything we resent in another person is also within ourselves, a part of all that lives. Evil behavior arises as a result of other causes and conditions, the "dark" parts of ourselves: fear, anger, hate aggression, greed, selfishness, bitterness, jealousy and so on, and an Evil Person is a person who is under the sway of these parts themselves. Therefore, although light-and-dark morality acknowledges the reality of conflict, in place of the struggle between Good and Evil and the quest to identify and destroy external Evil, it emphasizes identifying and conquering our own dark side and the understanding of the true nature of Evil, as a way of really winning battles between what is understood as Good and Evil. Therefore, the struggle is to keep the roots of Evil within ourselves under check and to cultivate compassion, wisdom, generosity and mindfulness.

Light-and-dark morality, therefore, proposes, there is no Evil that we can identify and destroy and then label it a Good and Right thing to do, to which only those will object who are consciously and willfully chose to fight against the most morally pure, most satisfying and nicest thing. This is a conclusion that black-and-white morality tries to avoid by separating Evil and Broken characters, since it clings on the notions of absolute Good and absolute Evil. The light-and-dark morality tale equates Evil with Broken, and it indicates, we must be able to recognize when we have to stop fighting for the Broken and we have to start to fight for those who must be protected from the Broken, who inflicts pain and suffering and harm onto others. Thus, light-and-dark morality rejects the idea, the Good and Right thing is always satisfying and just and nice to everyone: it proposes, we must accept, in many cases, the right thing to do isn't the nicest, the most gentle or most pleasant or most agreeable thing to do; the wrong thing to do isn't always the nasty, mean, unkind, unpleasant thing to do. And unlike grey morality that blurs the lines between good and evil, light-and-dark morality proposes, everything has a dark and a light side: there is no action that is inherently good or evil, whether it becomes a good or an evil act will depend on our motivations and the circumstances we're in. George Lucas' Star Wars story is one of the best examples of light-and-dark morality: he defined the battle between Good and Evil is defined as a battle between selflessness and selfishness, that is, in truth, the battle between no-fear and fear. Jedi Knights are focusing on doing good and to prevent evil from rising, but in order to do that, they must do things that aren't Good according to the criteria established by black-and-white morality.

#morality #grey morality #black and white morality #star wars #George lucas #writing #good guys and bad guys #good and evil #anon ask #evil or broken

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orchidrene · 2 years

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What kind of people do you attract+ find yourself being attracted to?

Please check out my paid services if you enjoy this reading. DM for donations and paid readings (payment accepted in WorldRemit (requires a small transfer fee), Google pay and Paytm. Every penny is appreciated. Also feel free to choose multiple piles for this one :). Also your feedback makes me really happy <3.

Note: before some engenes attack me, I see Jay to be more than just a meme, his thoughts and wise words have made me think a lot about the way I view life and has helped me have a more positive yet realistic approach towards life. I'm posting this lego whisper meme only because the pick up line sounds weirdly funny. I'll still remove it if you feel like Jay would be uncomfortable with me using this picture though.

Pile 1

What kind of people do you attract?

I feel like hardworking people are attracted to you, they might be the type to overwork. People who are different from you in their approach to decision making, either you're logical and they're intuitive or vice versa. People who are attracted to you might have gone through a recent or long standing heartbreak. People who might cling onto the memories that hurt them. Might be people who are like "I don't believe in love or fate" just to come across you. You are like a new chance to them. You definitely attract people who take you a little for granted though. They might have the "they're in love with me, they'll never abandon me or get over me" kind of attitude. It is kind of a sad energy though 🗿 they take you for granted so they might date someone else while treating you like you're their partner 💀. My playlist was on shuffle and 'unconditionally' by Katy Perry started playing, I feel like they feel like you would love them regardless of them acting like a douche and treating you like shit. I'm also getting 'dandelion' by Ruth B energy. They feel like your dream is to only have you as theirs and that you could do anything for them. You've surely got a lot of charms considering the fact that you can make people feel so special. It's like they know that you look only for reasons to stick around them even if they keep on hurting you. It's like they could friendzone you and you'll be like "they chose to friendzone me." I feel like they have an illusion that they are totally in control of you which makes them take you for granted. They do care about your feelings though, I'm not even sure as to why they treat you this way. I feel like they feel a piece of them missing when you finally choose to leave them though, you might be someone with genuinely pure emotions causing them to not even being able to hate you and plus it's their fault for not giving you the treatment that you deserve. These people will hold a special place for you in their hearts, forever. (Mostly because they're like "what if I had actually treated them well? What would we become?" You might not even end up dating most of them.

What kind of people do you find yourself being attracted to?

People who can speak without fear? Express themselves and their opinions in an effortless manner. People who are headstrong and know how to make judgement without bias. Self controlled individuals, the type of people who might have a bit of a bad boy/bad girl vibe? If not, just someone who knows how to accept their flaws. Someone who looks cold but is selfless and an unconditional and sweet lover, only for you. Someone loyal and committed. Someone who has eyes and heart only for you. Someone who is kind of emotional? You might like the idea of them crying on your shoulders, trusting you with their emotions and being vulnerable with you. People who might have a lot of people that like them 💀. '505' by Arctic Monkeys is playing, someone you might've liked might listen to artists like Arctic Monkeys, The neighbourhood, Chase Atlantic, etc. People who are a bit pessimistic and hard to open up so you can fill their lives with joy. People that make you feel more creative, confident and happy. Someone who's so attractive that they make you question your own worth. You might be into slow burn but fast and fiery passion. People who unexpectedly enter your life and make it worth living, like a knight in shining armour. Someone who feels like home and can take care of themselves. People who might roast you once in a while and get angry (only at you) but their anger melts away instantly because they have a soft spot on you. Not gonna lie but you might romanticize and be more comfortable with getting hurt. 💀 Maybe you read angst books on Wattpad all day to cry your eyes out or keep on thinking back on past memories while listening to music to forcefully feel the nostalgia. Someone who might inflate or hurt your ego.

Pile 2

What kind of people do you attract?

'Clarity' by Zedd, Foxes is playing. People who are a bit codependent. They want to find their other halves. They are very ride or die though. Hopeless romantics too. They might push people away when they feel like they're depending too much on them emotionally though 💀. Someone who turns cold and becomes a whole different person after pushing you away. People who will never really be able to move on from you. Very nostalgic people. People who like being hurt even though they hate it🕳️👩🏾‍🦯. People who will always care about you even after pushing you away. People who will keep tabs on you. People who have a hard time staying in a healthy relationship, people who are used to tough love and unhealthy relationships. The type to spend the night with you, doing nothing sexual but just talking about life after 4 years of them pushing you away, but trying their best to avoid you from the next day even though they're totally in love with you. They will eventually choose to trust you though. Someone who spends time walking through memories. Someone who really validates you and take cares of everything that you want and need though. Ride or die kind of people. People who need to work through their childhood trauma. People who will forever be grateful to you for teaching them how to love themselves. People who end up laughing or crying while simply just thinking about you. People who tend to live in fantasies, people with the purest intentions. People who have recently gotten out of a relationship? People who push you away because they don't trust themselves, people who might feel like they'll end up hurting you and that you deserve better. Many of your Instagram followers might be attracted to you. The type of people who come off a bit more of the unreachable bad boy/girl types.

What kind of people do you find yourself being attracted to?

You are attracted to people who would do anything for you and people who make you feel like you'd do anything for them too. The type to have a dreamy aura, someone ethereal and otherworldly. People who might be more quiet but still popular, mysterious people to say the least. People who have a good sense of style. People who come into your life when it's falling apart and fill it with happiness, replacing every bit of pain with their love. People who might be similar to you. People who you like so much, you can't help but think about them, be curious about them, the type where you can't resist them no matter how much you try to. Someone who you know would do anything for you. You're into people who you know can't resist your charms. People with a calm and comforting aura. People who know how to comfort others, wise people who overanalyze things and add meaning to literally anything and everything. People who you can read but can't read at the same time. People who spam your phone with texts. People who you know won't give up on you. People who look at the sky while thinking about you. People who consider you while making decisions. People who give you space while patiently waiting. People who might come off extremely detached. People who appreciate you enough to stick with you for a long time or people who don't even acknowledge your existence. People who might elevate you socially, intellectually and emotionally. Someone who you can explore with. Nurturing people who are very understanding towards you. People with common sense. People who care about other people's opinions. People who feel like home. You might be attracted to people with very significant virgo placements, people who are very critical of themselves. People who are in touch with their intuition. Someone who's out of touch with people around them, the popular loner, shy but popular, unreachable but humble person.

Pile 3

What kind of people do you attract?

The kind of people you attract tend to have extremely moderate views on life. People who don't have the strongest opinions. People who walk the middle path. Individuals who are really balanced on their approach to life. People who are content and successful. People who usually have a lot of wealth. People who are good at communicating and love wholeheartedly. People who can express themselves very well. Your friends 💀. People who make really good friends and are blessed with really great friendships. People who celebrate their friends and their own success in a very grand yet intimate manner. People who have been greatly affected by the past events. People who are really influenced by memories even though they try to be balanced. People who choose not to live in the past but instead take from it to build a better future. People who might be clingy towards their significant other. People who spend their energy and time well. People who are publicly recognized. People who tend to isolate themselves and restrict themselves from spending, feeling or being clingy. 'The lovers' came up so I interpret them to be a hopeless romantic. People who might usually not make moves towards the people they like? Fair people who can accept their flaws and faults. You might be like their safe space, you might feel like rest after a long day of work (I think I said it in another pile too.) They might feel safe and relaxed around you. Usually lucky people who tend to get new opportunities as soon as they leave old situations. They will probably not make moves 💀. Usually people with Scorpio placements. People who have a lot of information on others even though they don't really gossip. Someone with a really adorable laugh. "All I wanna do is get good with you." Lol someone with a similar aura to Jay Park's song "all I wanna do." People who have gone through transformations. People who might avoid people from the past.

What kind of people do you find yourself being attracted to?

People who might be in need of help, people who are insecure, tend to overthink and isolate themselves. Overworkers who have gone through a lot but drown themselves into work to distract themselves instead of healing. Someone who doesn't follow their own heart but doesn't follow others' advice either. Someone who exercises self control. Someone decisive, someone who stands up against injustice. Someone who can channel their impulse and insecurities into action and determination. People who are of authority. People who can make decisions without prejudice. People who are clear thinking and just leaders who don't don't partake in favoritism. Someone with unbalanced emotions. People who mentor you. People who build themselves through the past mistakes that they've made. People who are starting a new phase but quite not there. Assertive people with a lot of willpower. People who make you feel like something new is starting. People who are different from you in some sense or the other. People who make you feel the excitement because it's an unpredictable kind of relationship (like not even you had thought that you would end up liking someone like them.) People who you can help by helping them get out of their restrictive and cautious thought process to be more open to receiving and giving love. People who help you stay more happy. People who might get caught up in their heads so you can help them make clear and useful decisions. People who you give hope and vice versa. Someone who you can teach to be less controlling and make them feel relaxed. You're into loners who enjoy working by themselves. People who will definitely treat you special. You might have a capricorn moon or Venus or 11th house Venus.

Pile 4

What kind of people do you attract?

People who are a bit more on the selfish side, people who know how to take care of themselves and put themselves first. People who aren't very fair, people who definitely have favorites and are partial. People who tend to take time out to themselves very often. People who deny their own emotions, people who act different from how they actually feel. People who are confident. People who have been through a lot and have a lot of knowledge. People who respect themselves. Their perspective might be different from most people but it makes a lot of sense. Might have aquarius/capricorn placements. Independent thinkers, people with a lot of mental clarity. People who can speak their minds without fear. People with complex personalities. Nurturing people when they open up to love and trust you. People who care a lot about your well being. Warm people when they care about you. People who might be a bit naive when it comes to dating, people who see a very idealized version of you. People who are open to trying out new ideas and possess a child like curiousity when it comes to life. People who choose to stick with the same people when it comes to social settings. People who have a hard time making decisions but take time with them, very careful and reflective people when it comes to making decisions. People who might confuse you a bit. People who have the ability to create something out of nothing. People who tend to give you mixed signals. People who know how abrupt endings feel. People who take endings very gracefully. People who tend to reminisce a lot. People who try to remain focused but at the same time struggle a lot with it. Intellectual people who carefully analyze situations and people, people who tend to look for the long term but leave if they don't feel the spark. People with grand ideas for their future. People who naturally attract leadership roles. People who know how to create opportunities out of loss. People who are visionaries.

What kind of people do you find yourself being attracted to?

You are attracted to people who cherish and give you a lot without making it obvious, actions are louder than words kinda people. People who will take your side even behind your back, loyal people. People who teach you a lot, also people you can teach something to. People who might hurt you a bit. People who make you think a lot about your mistakes, people who come into your life when it's falling apart and make you feel cared for. People who make you feel calm and peaceful while still making you feel butterflies, people who accompany you during your healing phase. People who give you a sense of security while still letting you stay free enough. People who make you see new sides of yourself. You might have a cancer, pisces or leo Venus. People who have some kind of spiritual views. People who create a lot of illusions and people who you can't help but fantasize about in a sweet way. People who will never get over you and vice versa, might be people that you never end up dating. People who you face a lot of obstacles with. People who make you feel hopeful. People who might have aquarius/sagittarius placements. Someone who you can idolize while still not dehumanizing. People who might take care of you when you physically end up hurting yourself. People that are social but introverted and tend to disappear for months just to appear out of nowhere again. People who make you feel a bit uncertain, like you might unnecessarily overthink the situation and not be sure as to whether or not they ever liked you back. People who are actually pretty critical of themselves and push you to be better. You might be a critical person too, you might expect a lot in relationships and they tend to be so different from all that you imagined but still make you feel really satisfied. People who heighten your standards. People who have a soft spot for you. You might enjoy the sexual tension you feel between each other. I'm getting you feeling like they like you back, them actually liking you back but never expressing it verbally and might actually roast you a bit but still treat you special and would do anything for you. You both still looking for each other in social settings but not expressing your romantic feelings anymore. Someone you're acquaintances with and flirt with in an awkward manner but still feel really close to. I'm getting slow burn. 3rd house Mars synastry might be significant. "You right" by Doja Cat might explain a lot.

#kpop #pick a card reading #pac reading #pick a picture #pick a pile reading #pick a pile #free readings #tarot cards #shufflemancy #pac #intuitive #intuitive reading #intuition #channelled messages #mars synastry #channeled songs

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lightlessentwine · 30 days

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[ELDEN RING GRAND THEORY REVISION 2.1- SUBJECT TO INQUIRIES AND FURTHER REVISION]

*Ever since i started putting the narrative of the game through the lens of Alchemy, it's started to make a lot of sense to me. this will be my personal grand theory for the DLC. Basically, the world of Elden Ring is affected in every aspect by Messmer and he is talked about in a way through the game and in interviews that doesnt really allow someone to actually throw a wrench into it, thus far*-------

The Narrator in the newest trailer opens with the line, "Pure and Radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men.. There is nothing more terrifying." and frankly every aspect of Miquella's role in the Golden Order is terrifying from his perspective. He had to pass judgement in blessing others, which alone can be enough to break someone. It is from here that we may see part of Miquella's original reason in creating the Haligtree. At some point, Miquella became St. Trina to guide followers to the Haligtree. Knowing Miquella is St. Trina, it is possible to extrapolate on Messmer's identity when applying the concepts of Alchemy and how it translates to a classical understanding of Analytical Psychology. a lot of this speculation also ties back to extensively studying the world of the game, as well as a bit of real world religion, history, and even learning to cross-reference in-game crests and murals:--

We must first establish that literally anything not understood in a binary in Elden Ring actually confounds and terrifies followers of the Golden Order. It in fact worries Corhyn so deeply that he refuses to believe Goldmask as he grovels in the ashes of the Erdtree-- One of the biggest revelations in the entire game is premised around breaking a binary that was never proven to be a binary at all. In other words, the entire Golden Order is based in dichotomies and binaries and there is a fundamental flaw in that regard; it disregards the individual and non-binary aspects of the World to force them into a simpler mold that was going to fall with time, regardless.- Much like with Gwyn's plight in Dark Souls; it was never about the people of the land with him, it was about preventing a coming age and clinging onto whatever control found in preserving the current one forever.

At the basis, St. Trina and Miquella may have shared one body but two identities because of having been born of a single-bodied Rebis, or at least as the Golden Order sees Marika/Radagon, a God. this is an ability only demonstrated by Marika that Malenia seems incapable of. I believe her bestowment from the outer god of Rot is the reason for her lack of other personal identities; she does not have any others to project other than what she is, due to societal perception of her bestowment/affliction and her choice to let miquella ascend to the role she could also be in. In the current age, all she has been doing is dreaming (note: st. trina) and awakens promptly when we arrive; likely to the only movement of air she's felt in ages

I think Miquella is the entity of purity while St. Trina is a Lunar Reflection; the Albedo, or an Animus in Jungian Psychology, which has heavy ties to alchemy. She's the hero and protector of the people thar Miquella often envisions within. Messmer, residing in the shadow realm, represents a deep seated truth within Miquella- a sort of "Cognitive Rubedo" if you will, or a "Truth in the Mind" that he hates as much as others fear, and that nobody wants to be found. part of this truth must be Marika's fault, and it has left Miquella with a personal guilt that has torn at him so badly that eventually, a Shadow of himself tore away and became its own monster from Within.

Imagine it like this; if St. Trina is Miquella's image of theirself as a blessed, pure caretaker and a sort of christ-like figure, then Messmer is the part of him that represents "The Sins of The Father." Marika's own rise to power and established order themselves are what shaped a young Miquella. It was with time and between his noted brilliance and ability to "compel affection," that he found a way to break free of his fated identity which meant breaking free of the Order itself.

Applying the Realm of Shadows to this "Within," having been physically separated from the lands between by Marika's own mischievous deeds, it is likely that the shadow realm now acts as a cognitive realm of Marika's, of sorts, which could absolutely contain the perception or persona of another person within it. (think Mementos from Persona 5, lol)

So.. Without the current Elden Ring there would be no Order, but the current Order hides a serpent at the central intersection, which seems to represent Messmer. this is the same concept as how a pentagram represents a human, and humanity, while being inverted it represents a goat, or in many cases, Baphomet. Baphomet is labeled as half-human, half-animal, male and female, good and evil.. he is referred to as a man but is essentially every binary and every dichotomy that arises from them. He is even seen as both a deity and a demon. I believe Miquella and Radagon's work on discovering the Law of Causality is the main hint toward Messmer's presence, which ties into the rest of the alchemy involved. He is a pagan cult deity who represents balance and neutrality, and is almost always depicted doing a gesture signifying "as above; so below" which is a condensed version of the Law of Causality, already known to be associated with Miquella and Radagon, well before the Shattering; "Causality is an influence by which one event, process, state, or object contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object where the cause is partly responsible for the effect, and the effect is partly dependent on the cause."

For clarity's sake, because i figure i'll be asked if not addressed: It's not impossible for Messmer and Miquella+Malenia to have all been the first child of Radagon/Marika with this Theory. Malenia was a twin born at the same time as Miquella, so she would be a first child with Miquella. If Messmer is a diety representing neutrality or, as I expect, a product of the Law of Causality, then he would be a product of Miquella as much as Miquella is of him. this idea lends to the possibility of Miquella actually being the remainder that was left over from a splitting where Messmer's counterparts (possibly both Miquella and Malenia, given their twin nature) are representative of his own aspects.. it does is beg a sort of "chicken or egg" paradox, but before we had a realistic answer to that, many would reply- and almost sarcastically, if not for the fact that it was the best answer we had- that the first thing to appear was "the Universe." The modern answer is, in fact, that the egg came first. (whether any of this analogy alludes to the actual lore or not is something i think we'd just have to wait for the expansion to know)

Marika herself had this Shadow hidden away, and this presents rather well because we know that there was a long period of time after the Night of Black Knives that Marika was still active but becoming more distraught, preceding the Shattering. on top of this, more proof resides in that, within Jungian psychology, it is that one's Anima/Animus comes to them in dreams, much like St. Trina came to people in theirs (who, as an Animus herself, was probably motivated by helping malenia look for her Anima, which perhaps never existed). It is also true that a Shadow Persona is borne of conflict tearing at one's conscious until it becomes its own entity, which i've already presumed of Messmer above.

#elden ring #lore #shadow of the erdtree #alchemist #alchemy #messmer #miquella #malenia #st. trina #messmer the impaler #miquella the unalloyed #malenia blade of miquella #theory #theorycrafting #narrative analysis

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pliskin · 1 year

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Ok the. Geeta meta so I can get it off my chest bc some posts on here are deeply troubling in the way they will vilify her for having character flaws. Not going to talk about sweatlord team composition/battle mechanics just purely her writing and the story

Let me preface by saying this, you need to stop applying real world class and workplace dynamics in a series that is literally based on a utopia. There is no reason for you at all to extrapolate someone like larry working three jobs to mean he is living paycheck-to-paycheck and is being exploited financially; he lives comfortably from the simple fact he goes out to eat regularly. That’s not someone living in poverty.

To talk about larry more because this is where geeta catches the most ire, let’s talk about geeta’s insistence that larry use flying-types in the e4, to larry’s dismay. This is where geeta starts to meddle, and comes across as thinking she knows what’s best for larry (and other members of the league). I do think it’s completely fine to think she’s controlling in this aspect, and it is a character flaw of hers. She’s the boss, she’s bossy, she wants change where she wants improvement, she exerts that hierarchal power.

So she tells larry to use flying-types, and he’ll lead you to believe he’s not happy about that. But is that true? His design reflects both his flying and normal affinities. When you speak to larry again for your rematch, he starts telling you:

He’s admitting that his viewpoint, that resigning himself to normalcy, means he’ll never get to see everything there is in life. That is character progression! Or it could’ve been something he knew all along. It’s hard to tell with larry, when he seems to suggest he’s not always telling the truth during your first gym battle with him.

Not only that, but he also tells you that geeta tells him to stop working overtime. That is not indicative of an exploitive boss. Geeta from these lines carries so much compassion it honestly hurts that a lot of people will choose to misconstrue that, or not notice. It was an order to choose flying-types, but it made larry reconsider sticking to only what he knows. It’s nurturing for him, it’s wanting to see him at his full potential. It’s coming from a place of kindness. It’s telling him to work less. LARRY chooses to overwork.

Every other gym leader that has some trouble with her, it is in my opinion chalked up to their own insecurity and anxiety over being assessed. Lots of gym leaders are apathetic over their gym leader status and would rather pursue their other careers. Tulip’s dislike stems literally from jealousy over Geeta’s beauty:

I just want to say. A lot of characters being uneasy with her is NOT THAT DEEP. Tulip is jealous of her bc she is a big ass lesbian and thinks geeta is beautiful. And that is one of geeta’s more egregious relationships, along with larry, who has already been spoken for. It is not indicative of anything even nearly sinister of what the fandom has cooked up in their heads.

She meddles, and she’s underdeveloped and under-utilized, and that’s it. She’s not your real-life boss. She has flaws indicative of her role as the big boss in the region. It’s not a pass, but you’d hope to think people would extend some sympathy to that, and not interpret literally everything she does as bad faith as one possibly can. I don’t understand it. Her design being based on a glimmora makes one wonder her relationship to area zero, and I think it’s completely fine to theorize, but the insistence to demonize her through extremely inauthentic critiques makes me think you don’t hate her, just what she represents as a ��boss”.

#pokemon #champion geeta #literally has been eating away at me so much I had to speak up #ohhhhh my god

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strangestcase · 1 year

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One thing that is easy to notice but also easy to overlook in Strange Case is how Hyde moves in this very nebulous space. Depending on what it is narratively needed of him, he can be a man, an inhuman monster (even an animal!), or a background force bringing disorder and horror wherever it goes.

Hyde doesn't "interact" with the reader firsthand until Utterson talks to him. Before that, he was a character in a flashback, an anonymous entity. Utterson envisions him as a faceless creature in his dreams, a liminal place where Hyde feels right at home. Even once the reader gets to see him "in person" through Utterson, he remains a mystery, and the lawyer himself says there's very little of human in him. The murder is also told as a flashback (a witness' narration, in fact), and that's where once again he's made to be this shadowy figure, a monster. After the murder, Hyde lingers and hovers over Jekyll like a phantom, then disappears, only to become physical once again right before he dies, almost before the eyes of the protagonist and thus the reader themselves. And in this physicality, Poole describes him as a "something", an "it", compares him to an animal, and can only think of him as that fiend that has killed and replaced his master, playing a quiet farce that neither party is brave enough to break.

In later chapters, as Hyde interacts with more characters and gets a narrative voice of his own, he is at the same time more physical and more conceptual. He gets to be a man, albeit a distorted one, under the watch of Lanyon. And when Jekyll reveals this Mr. Edward Hyde never really existed to begin with, he plunges again into the realm of the conceptual and intangible, walking the thin line between a flesh and bone human and a noxious influence. Inner demons aside, the true nature of Hyde is more akin to an addiction than anything else. Not a someone, but a thing, a phenomenon, that can destroy lives and breaks everything it touches.

But at the end of the day, Edward Hyde is a person.

You see, it's very, very easy to forget he is a person. Hyde as-is might be conceptual but he impacts the story through his personhood either way, because if Jekyll is a human being with flaws and emotions, Hyde also has to be one. The fact that Hyde isn't our definition of human, that he resembles us but isn't like us, that there's something to his monstrousness other than just typical human cruelty but a sort of more primal evil that can't be understood... hell, his very existence not as a run on the mill man but as a modified, twisted Jekyll still doesn't blot that humanity out. No matter how much he tries to remove himself from the equation or how much he is presented by original text and adaptation alike as a demonic entity, we are always hit in the face by the fact that the worst monsters are still human.

And isn't that the moral of the story? That evil isn't a stranger, that evil lurks inside all of us, and it's up to us to not let it destroy us? That anyone, ANYONE, could be Edward Hyde?

It doesn't matter what separates Hyde from us, because he's still part of us, and that's the whole point. He could have never existed as anything else but a living breathing person, because living breathing people have evil in them. And despite his nature, or maybe because of it, this monster, this force, is still a man. Edward Hyde has thoughts, opinions, dreams, emotions; he gets angry, he fears, he cries, he laughs, maybe he even repents or cares about those he's left behind (who knows? he's not telling us, either way), and he's completely ordinary beyond all the little things that remove him from a "normal" human being. It could not be any other way, because, no matter how much he wants to tear himself apart, he is Henry Jekyll, a fundamentally human, complex, flawed person, someone who is here, who is like us.

Maybe he alone in the ranks of humanity is pure evil, but he's in those ranks still. That's what makes him scary and at the same time somewhat tragic. You look at this demon, and your own eyes stare back.

#jekyll and hyde #the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde #dr jekyll and mr hyde #jh #jekyll and hyde weekly #jekyll and hyde spoilers #minor ones but uh #yeah

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