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sa1808fi · 15 days

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thinking abt how in rex's case, the age-old question of "is it better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all?" would for once have the answer of "yes"

cause if he had been trapped on undar before tlm1, he wouldnt have suffered as much as he did sure, he still would suffer, but he wouldnt have felt abandoned by people he held dear. cause he didnt HAVE anyone to hold dear you cant feel abandoned and forgotten by people you dont have

but as it stands, in canon he went back to being alone like he'd been his entire life before meeting his friends. only difference is, for the first time it actually stung

so paradoxically if emmet had never met the gang, rex never would've happened - nevermind the fact that he wouldn't go out into space at all, if he DID get trapped on undar through some other means (like how rex was in the original storyboards, when he was still a random guy - the alien attack knocked him off the bricksburg table), he wouldn't have broken nearly as much - if at all. and rex specifically would have no reason to exist as a persona, cause he wouldn't have anyone to prove himself to

Hmmmm, intresting take you've got here.

See i'm going to assume you meant yes to the 'it being better to have never loved at all' part of that saying, cause that's what I'm getting from this. And all in all, I do agree.

I mean at this point it's been shown many times that the main thing that motivated Rex to try and bring about armageddon was because of his hatred towards his old friends and the way they 'betrayed' him, they way they treated him when they first met, and all of the other times after that.

I've mentioned this plenty of times in previous posts, but the betrayal Rex feels during Undar isn't just from being left there alone, it's also the pain of having the people closest to you not trust your ability to take care of yourself (or them).

Emmet is a person so full of love and happiness, he always wants to help the people around him, and this fact is made evident in the few scenes we see of Apocalypseburg where he goes around and tries to spread joy or help them, especially his friends.

And while there were some good times during those few years, it's debatable if those few instances were really worth all of the mistreatment he experienced outside of that, and then the 5 year isolation in Undar.

I still think that even without meeting Lucy, he would still develop that hatred that fuels him in Undar, it's just that this time, he doesn't have anyone there to betray him. Since he doesn't have any relationships this time round, the pain of being left behind wouldn't sting as much because he no longer has any of those people to miss.

But he's still going to want to get out of Undar and get tougher as a way to stick it to everyone who ever ignored him and become so cool that he feels much more 'powerful' than everyone else.

I guess in this timeline, he's focusing on himself more than the rage he's feeling (it's still there alright, just not as destructive as in the og timeline), he's trying to make himself unforgettable to make up for those years of conformity.

Yeah no but this is fun to think about

The angst of him turning out better after Undar because he never had any friends to be mad at is doing things to me.

(Rex my bby :( )

#emmet brickowski #rex dangervest #the lego movie #the lego movie 2 #lego movie #lego movie 2 #I meant to answer this earlier #just got caught up in a lot of things #It's intresting to think about how everything would go #if Emmet never ended up being the special #or if he never met Lucy #He probably wouldn't become a master builder #because he didn't have that motivation or experience #course after Undar he learns how to master breaker since he still has those negative emotions #but he just ends up learning how to do that along with master building #so he has two things #it's just that breaking is 'cooler'#saffi's asks #saffi's rambles

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carnivalcarriondiscarded · 11 months

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date night! Barnaby planned. well. "planned"

#he got too excited and forgot that dates include doing things #he was too caught up in the euphoria of holding howdys hand #an honest mistake 💅#it turned out well tho in my mind #they had a nice candlelit (microwaved) dinner on the roof #where barnaby performed a stand-up act he wrote just for their date <3 howdy laughed so hard he knocked over their drinks #scribble salad #welcome home #welcome home puppet show #welcome home fanart #howdy pillar #barnaby b beagle #LaughingStock #OKAY SO IN MY MIND BARNABY LIKE. STRAIGHTENED HIS FUR FOR THAT SLEEK N STYLED LOOK #TO CHARM THE BUG YAKNOW #but now. oogh. i kinda like it a lot #the classic barnaby look....#im torn between the floof and the fluff.... the way i draw him and the way he Should Be...#anyway im in love with 60s/70s fashion #bring it BACK #i wanna wear campy suits and ascots and flared pants #before anyone says 'what stopping you' uhhh The Fact That No One Makes That Shit #agony.

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uhbasicallyjustmilex · 6 months

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the end of 505: 2007 vs 2023

#don't even talk to me about the way the moment the song finishes alex seeks miles's gaze out #the way they're so immediately and instinctively drawn to each other #and how after over fifteen years it's just the same #the same inescapable awareness of each other #of being so caught up together #the only thing that's changed is that if anything they look even more at ease with each other now #there's a little less of the nervous over-awed quality and more of a deep sense of love and ease and belonging #i can't even think about how reluctant they are to let go of that hug in the second gif #how alex is still looking and smiling at miles even as he walks away #aghhhhhhh #i'm entirely too emotional over them and i need to go to sleep #tonight was a lot in the very best way #i'm so so happy they got to share a stage again on such a special and significant night 🤍#milex #miles kane #alex turner #tlsp #arctic monkeys #505 #milex 2023 #dublin #my gifs #lulu posts

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svsss-fanon-exposed · 4 months

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I find it interesting that the most controversial/widespread posts have been those relating to physical appearance/visual medium. Lbh's hair and body type and sqq's eyes. I wonder what's the underlying cause for this. Maybe because people get attached to designs they feel more protective of them? Just a thought.

Oh, I would say this is absolutely the case. Visual design choices are, after all, often symbolic reflections of parts of individuals' own selves in some way, or of other things that are important to them. Artists will also spend a lot of time and thought on creating their designs-- and in some ways, visual media and written media are also quite different. You don't need the visual contrast so much in a book, but you do need it more when it's pictures, because characters with good contrasts are pleasant to look at together.

I actually think the donghua designs create a sort of contrast too-- both by SQQ's lighter eyes to LBH's, but as well as with the broader silhouettes, where SQQ has flowing robes and hair and LBH's silhouette is tighter. Also in general, the black robes of adult LBH vs the teal & white. Western stylization just focuses more on body type+hair texture silhouette diversity, while eastern stylization is more about the clothing and hair-styling silhouette, in a broad generalization, so it's only natural that when people create their designs, especially for a media that is only written, like SVSSS before the donghua or official cover art came out, that they will draw influence from the background of their own culture in creating these designs, in addition to their own experiences.

It's difficult too in my position, because while I genuinely want to take a neutral look at trends and history and patterns and cultural influence as a scientific sort of examination, there are so many instances of attacks on character designs, which make both the artists and designers and the people who like those designs feel bad and just isn't productive, even if criticisms are genuine. Things should be talked over civily, without bashing, because a space where people are belittled and attacked is not a space where people can learn.

Anyway, everyone has reasons for their designs. Sometimes these may be rooted in stereotyping or westernization, but other times, they're based on personal reasons and don't actually have those roots. It's not my or anyone's place to declare, definitively, that someone is stereotyping (of course, there are some instances when things are very very obvious and that's a different story), I only try to explain what things i can so that people are then able to examine things for themselves. I do think it's everyone's own responsibility to look at their own biases and think about where their portrayal choices are sourced from, especially when engaging with a culture that isn't one's own. But I don't want people to get into a justification loop, because that's not going to help anyone-- just to honestly take a look at the why of things. Sometimes there's subconscious biases, sometimes it isn't about that. I don't know peoples' own experiences, so I'm not going to say what it is or isn't.

In the end, accountability is something that is definitely needed in sensitive areas like westernization or stereotyping. However, accountability is not dogpiling on someone. Instead, it's personally being open to consideration, to change, and to growth-- and we'll never have that in a hostile environment. People need to focus more on holding themselves accountable, and less on holding others accountable-- we all have unconscious biases. It's part of existing in any culture or environment, and it's a life-long process of examining them and growing in experience and knowledge. And I hope to contribute that knowledge wherever I can, and use what platform I have to foster that sort of gentler environment, where it's not about making people who genuinely didn't know things feel bad, but where it's okay to be wrong, and to learn and grow.

It's up to an individual to examine themselves when they hear new information. That doesn't mean everyone needs to change their designs to conform with Chinese beauty standards-- which have plenty of issues of their own, and shouldn't be taken as more "morally correct!" It's just so that as many people as possible can have as much information as possible, so they can make the best and most informed judgments and decisions they can about their own viewpoints and thought processes.

But yes, even saying all this, I can perfectly acknowledge that fan-designs of beloved characters hold a bit of their creator's heart. While creators can be imperfect, the experiences and emotions and care that these designs stem from is still genuine, and should be treated with gentleness and understanding.

No matter if someone's viewpoint is erroneous or just different from yours, it's important to remember that every person on the internet is a real, human person. Fandom culture can be so notoriously toxic-- and it's high time that people remember each other's humanity, and treat one another with compassion and understanding. That's the only way to create a better fandom space-- and ultimately, a better world.

#answered #psa #this got very very long #i was actually going to make a whole post of my own on this #there are a lot of important things to consider #but most importantly we are all people #all enjoying something together #all existing on this planet and in the end we want to be happy and live and be treated fairly #and when getting caught up in fandom wank or anything else really #this can get forgotten #there's a place for anger and a place for calling things out #but if a gentler option can be just as effective there's no reason not to use that #better to take the time and understand than to lash out incorrectly #long post

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simgerale · 1 month

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me after attempting to get back into sims and realizing i had a lot more to do than play the game

#hi everyone #I’m going around hugging you all #okay now that we are gathered here today #i will simply acknowledge that i have been gone for a very long time and then also acknowledge that maybe it was for the best #i relied on sims to be my only creative activity even if i tried to write a book at the same time #and also. i prioritized sims over real life responsibilities. that’s just a deadly combination lol #but I recently noticed I just replaced sims with Netflix. with YouTube. with anything that gave me quick dopamine #literally became addicted in a sense. still am but I’ve been cut cold turkey from most everything #I get off work and go. okay I’ve done the dishes and the laundry……..I could read or write or bake….#I try to write and sometimes i get a good hour #then I read for a few hours and then get tired of it #and I made cookies Tuesday so I’m waiting for those to be gone before baking again #I’m just so pitiful that I feel BORED and don’t know what to do #so I said….. okay what if I do sims for an hour.#I downloaded some new cc Tuesday and tried to play yesterday #y’all ……………….. I can’t find the energy anymore to set up elaborate scenes and pose my sims and plan posts #I said wow… this is boring without my intervention and fake story #I said wow…….. all this for what? for tumblr? yes I created cool things and provided joy. but is that inherintly important compared to my #own joy? my own everyday activities I should be doing?#y’all I do not leave the house unless we got out to eat or shop or travel to our parents #.. I have little desire to. I’m trying to find that desire #but my husband is busy with grad school and work and I don’t want to do anything by myself #I’ve found myself in one heck of a slump #I didn’t want to be human for awhile. just had no desires no interests no ambitions #I was slacking off SO HARD at work. I just had no drive to do well #I’m still working on it. I’m still trying to get caught up. I’m still trying to force myself to move every day.#but I am struggling y’all. and I can tell you that sims… sims isn’t helping rn but I want it to so bad. I want to get back into it #I didn’t mean to disappear on everyone. I got married and then life got busy and then I fell into this hole of nothing #I didn’t even WANT to crawl my way out. but my husband has helped a lot. I feel like such a child!!!!#I reached max tags. 🙃 bye love you all. till next time

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larrythefloridaman · 5 months

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WOAH, HE'S BIGENDER? I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!

#hey. hey. im just saying. he LITERALLY 'transed his gender' in a diagetic bit in orange. and if that wasnt enough.#in blue he disguised himself as squid jenny specifically with larry's powers (the only thing hes done with them on screen)#got caught by his god-assigned roles-obsessed caretaker. and was given the label of being something intrinsically unescapably deceitful.#while 'pretending' to be trans girl.#like. if i wasnt pretty sure it was all an accident i might even call the allegory here slightly heavy-handed.#with the nccts emphasizing a theme of 'youre not just what people say you are #you can be more than one thing at the same time' with crim #i think crimson can have boygirl swag. some bigender pizzazz. i think he deserves it.#is it REALLY a cpu kerfuffle arc without a subversive narratively relevant gender-transing.#am i supposed to believe the spirit of deviance himself is cis? get fucking real. grow up. /silly #also a lil crimtoinette in there. just for flavor. because i cant help myself.#also sidenote the nccts have given him this cute lil tendency #to tip his hat down to hide his face when hes trying to be Genuine or Thoughtful or Poignant. and i enjoy that little touch #i maybe like this guy a little too much. hes most of what ive drawn for months.#but what do you want from me. i read him as a queercoded villain deconstructed at the metanarrative level.#am i just supposed to be normal about that.#me and zia talked about this in dms and discovered. we came to a lot of the same conclusions. completely independently. lmao

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wolfylch · 8 months

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CW // hallucinations

*please consult a specialist if you're unable to sleep/having feelings of strong anxiety/paranoia*

#hallucinations #insomnia #Misty misses Chip a lot and has found herself growing too concerned about him...#she hasn't been able to sleep she's too caught up worrying about things #it's really been effecting her but she's afraid to admit there's anything wrong #Spruce just got her to sleep in our AU which is very nice - he's worried about her #ttcc #toontown corporate clash #toontown #toontown: corporate clash #au #ttcc au #misty monsoon #ttcc rainmaker #benjamin biggs #bellringer #alpha pup #zak blazer #ill tag him why not

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scarletiswailing347 · 13 days

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discliamer since i havent really done that for these kinds of posts and i feel like this one is worded in a more demanding way than i usually do: any post of mine regarding what the ccs "should" do is less me actually wanting them to do what i say and more me speculating on the kinds of actions that they could take, not cause i think im smart or tactical or anything but because this is my idea of what fun is

im watching the tower vod rn and i think the only real way to deal with minute and jumper at this point in the server is to. not

like it probs wont be satisfying to the PlayersTM considering the kind of ppl they are (proactive, confrontational, plays along with the spirit of the server, self-focused morals) but considering the kind of ppl minute and jumper are (reactive, avoidant, prioritizes survival even if it means not great content, normative morals) i think its the only real way to engage with them when it comes to this kind of recursive conflict

like everytime they confront one another it keeps circling back to this moral debate regarding the ethics of killing ppl on fucking Lifesteal of all things and i highly doubt its ever gonna stop (at least for this season) considering none of the new members have really been traumatized the lifesteal way, i dont mean regular smp trauma like war and betrayal and all that jazz cause theyve already got that, i mean Lifesteal trauma: the realization that everything is a cycle, that good and evil doesnt matter, that feeling of hope shattering over and over again, that realization that in the grand scheme of things your ideals dont matter and the only thing you can truly hope for in the server are teammates and allies that wont backstab you, and that even then thats a tall order

so back to Not dealing with jumpertech, i dont mean forgetting what they did, i mean actively avoiding them, acting irrationally scared of them even when theyre being civil, fully putting them in the role of big scary villains, basically still putting what they did at the very forefront but acting like its an insurmountable trauma, planting doubt in their status as heroes, continually being the aggressors just cements in their minds that yes they are the heroes and that yes they are doing the good things

like whether the PlayersTM like it or not this is an unstoppable force vs immovable object kind of situation except the unstoppable force has more to lose by virtue of having a goal that can easily be tided by the immovable object

and i do think they can pull it off, they can lose a fight and lose so much that it breaks their spirit, like jumpertech have both been in kings, they both know how determined at least zam and mapicc are, surely it would be really offputting to see someone youre so used to seeing never giving up to do just that

#mine.txt #i think 4c is maybe the closest to having that Lifesteal TraumaTM i was talking bout but hes not quite there yet #possibly wemmbu as well but truth be told i dont think hes absorbing any of it lol #not even cause hes dense or whatever i just dont think he gives a fuck since hes already inclined to the kind of server ls is #so it would take A Lot to give him Lifesteal TraumaTM #pentar i think rather than being Inclined to the server its more that hes uhhh Adaptive to it for lack of a better word #like hes got the kind of personality where it would also take A Lot to give him Lifesteal TraumaTM #but i think its in the opposite way to wemmbu almost #where rather than it being because hes got the exact kind of personality the server looks for #its instead where his inclinations almost. parry everything that could give him Lifesteal TraumaTM #like he doesnt care that much about loyalty but hes no traitor either; hes good at pvp but doesnt engage in it self-destructively #he goes along with plotlines if he gets involved in them but will set up his own plotlines as well #so om the topic of jumpertech #they seem to firmly put themselves into the role of ''cyclebreakers''#im curious to see how far they go with it as well as how theyd react to the servers inclination of breaking the hero archetypes #would be interesting to see at least one person not be caught by the cycle even after the Lifsteal TraumatizedTM and actively reject it #i dont even know what thatd look like #closest i can think of is spep but i think he has an acceptance of things and just finding joy in it rather than a rejection #i wrote this all at around midnight so maybe this is all just complete nonsense but its interesting to think of at this moment at least

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markiafc · 6 months

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to fulfill my promises to @ananeiah and to expound on @seventh-fantasy's post, there are many conceptions of enlightenment. because buddhism is a massive and old religion with a very robust canon, enlightenment goes by many names, it's articulated and imagined in many different ways. let's play the game of how many of them are adopted by the show...

popular metaphors that embody enlightenment include a refuge, a flame going out, or a firm island - because this world is often described as an ocean. all human beings are floating in the 生死苦海 sea of rebirth and suffering. to escape it, one must make their way to the island or to get on a boat. mahayana buddhism (aka. chinese buddhism) is literally named 大乘 the great vehicle, the primary idea being that enlightenment = to board a vehicle of transport, it will take you away. however, buddhism doesn't just envision this as an ambiguous vehicle. 乘 the vehicle specifically refers to a 船 boat.

the mortal world and the cycle of suffering is a sea and the way out is enlightenment, envisioned as a boat.

an extension of this is the concept of 彼岸 the faraway shore (alt tl: the further shore, the distant shore, the other shore, or at times the opposing shore). it draws on the same notion of 苦海 the ocean of suffering. to achieve enlightenment is to swim to shore, where there is finally safety and stability, free from suffering. this is why the euphemism for enlightenment is to 度到彼岸 reach the faraway shore.

此岸 this shore, is this ever-changing world full of agonies. you wade across the 苦海 sea of suffering, and reach 彼岸 the faraway shore. this is enlightenment.

as @seventh-fantasy depicts in this post, the final shot of ep 40, and as seen in the bonus ep 40.5, this is where llh is. ep 40 ends with the camera moving further into the distance, moving further into the sea. and the bonus ep 40.5 makes it clear again that lxy/llh has found his way to a different beach. llh has crossed the sea to another beach. he is on another shore, the 彼岸 faraway shore, far from 东海 the east sea where everyone else is.

let's look even closer at this.

enlightenment is also conceived as a place: 淨土 the pure lands, 极乐世界 the realm of greatest bliss, and so on. one of the geographical markers of this idea is 西 the west. this "land" accessible only to the enlightened (佛 buddhas, 菩萨 bodhisattvas, and 阿罗汉 arhats) is also dubbed 西方淨土 the western pure lands and 西天 the western heavens, etc.

enlightenment is imagined to be westwards. the opposite direction and away from 东海 dong hai = the east sea. where the story began and lxy famously plunged into; he fell into the 苦海 sea of suffering located in the 东 east. from this starting point, llh makes a meandering journey to his final location in the show. he makes his way 西 west, towards enlightenment, and reaches a 彼岸 faraway shore, the enlightened "after" and what is beyond.

now that we're on the topic of the pure lands, it's worth mentioning that this concept is furnished with a lot of descriptions in buddhist sutras. it is a beautiful, glorious land brimming with lotuses. because, of course, the lotus is yet another ubiquitous image that represents enlightenment.

the lotus position is crucial to the buddhist practice of prayer cultivation, especially in 禅宗 zen buddhism that is built around the central practice of prayer. lotuses are motifs in buddhist art, and buddhist myths (the legend goes that lotus flowers bloomed under the buddha's feet when he took his first steps as a child). people practicing buddhism are referred to as 莲友 lotus friends, 芬陀利花 the white lotus is a synonym for the buddha. lotuses are also integral to buddhist canon; the pure lands are detailed to have seven 宝莲池 treasure lotus ponds. every buddhist has their own lotus waiting for them in the pure lands; it is believed the more you cultivate, the more your bud in the pure lands grows/blooms.

of note, every living thing residing in the pure lands are made from lotuses. in fact, buddhist canon states that the enlightened are reborn inside a lotus bud, similar to an incubation. their new body is reconstituted from lotuses and they emerge anew when the bud blooms. crucially, it is also stated that every enlightened in the pure lands will have 莲花座 a lotus seat. this is a vehicle of transport, usually likened to the magic carpet from one thousand and one nights. it is described as 随心所欲、飞翔自在 something that acts after your heart's desire, something that flies free. the lotus seat is about boundless, freeing travel.

this isn't comprehensive at all, there are tons of other ways lotuses come up throughout buddhism. but the connection to the show is straightforward and self-explanatory. the primary motif in 莲花楼 mysterious lotus casebook is the lotus - a famous marker for buddhism itself. one of the dominant illustrations of enlightenment, the cultivation process to achieve it, and enlightened entities themselves.

the buddhist notions of rebirth are similarly heavily intertwined with the lotus. it is your body; you become it, it becomes you. from then on, you are surrounded by its image and its presence. you even have a lotus vehicle that becomes your main method of travel, a mode of travel defined by carefree contentment. sound familiar? llh's identity and his living carries major markers of enlightenment. it is one of the primary concerns of his character arc.

quick detour. a prominent moniker for enlightenment is the setting of the sun, as yet another epithet utilized by the drama.

detour over. crazy connections time.

discussions of death and suicide is, to my knowledge, particularly prominent in japanese buddhism. but as a whole, a significant portion of buddhist canon and a good number of buddhist media deals with this too. dying as a means to get closer to enlightenment, equating death and enlightenment, the subject of suicide itself. characters seemingly pass away and become enlightened, or characters strive for death with this express purpose as death is connected to enlightenment. this is true. one does not necessarily cause the other, but the concepts are interconnected in buddhism. it comes hand in hand, dissecting one means dissecting the other and vice versa.

most buddhist texts and masters do not condone a direct correlation, suicide is not the way to enlightenment. there is no buddhist value to killing yourself. but the key exception lies in one of the most important buddhist texts: the lotus sutra.

"These include several themes dealing explicitly with death, such as how suicide was committed to speed up rebirth in the Pure Land based on the sanctioning of voluntary death as a superior form of sacrifice in Chapter 23 of the Lotus Sutra ..." [1]

the chapter 23 in question talks about a bodhisattva who turns himself into a human candle and burns himself up, in offering to the buddha. there is more to the story, but it mainly functions as a lesson about cultivation and enlightenment.

in the canon about buddhist suffering, there lies a subset dedicated to physical pain and torment. there is a heavy focus on our 5 senses, specifically (that's a whole separate topic i won't go into here). very briefly, to suffer is to experience the world through our 5 senses. to live as a human being is to suffer in a sensory way.

buddhism aspires to transcend this flesh and blood suffering. so annihilation of one's body is an essential step to achieve enlightenment. usually, this theory centers natural death and decay. you accept that you are always aging, your senses will lose their edge, your body is always subject to illness, injury and other failings. let the body waste away, it will do so regardless.

hence, the human body is set on a course of gradual deterioration. this suffering is processed through our 5 senses and is defined by them. in the face of this, the lotus sutra is the only notable buddhist text that looks kindly upon "voluntary death" to transcend it.

similarly, llh accepts the effects of bicha on his body. it mimics the natural decline of the human body, accelerating the degradation of his senses, his immune system, and his physical capabilities in general. his experience of this form of suffering is also emphasized through a period losing his sense of sight. it is a very buddhist torment. but at the end of the day, it is still a man-made, unnatural cause generating this effect. accepting this is not the same as accepting 生老病死 death via age, sickness and other natural processes.

llh embodies the sentiments and themes in the lotus sutra when he consciously chooses to let bicha run its course. he chooses to die, it is a "voluntary death". let this destroy his body. let this suicidal choice (though its more nuanced than simply suicide imo) free him from buddhist physical suffering. thus bringing him closer to peace, a version of himself that will be happier.

finally, enlightenment is about ambiguity.

凡人 the common people are incapable of comprehending enlightenment. it is understood that the human senses and the human mind is too inept and unrefined, too clouded by illusions, to grasp it. there are a million ways to express it, depict it, and name it. but there is a consensus across buddhism that these are simply aids for the common student of buddhism, and they are not accurate to the truth. at the core of enlightenment is an abstraction, an inherent unknowing.

it is, by definition, a departure and a continuation. it is a removal from this world and a transition into another place, another realm. all at once, the phenomenon straddles a greyness between an ending and a beginning. it is unclear whether the enlightened has left, or is it the common man who is so lacking he cannot recognize or even perceive the enlightened? in the theory of enlightenment, buddhism accounts for both factors. but we will never know for sure.

where do the enlightened go? where are they, where have they gone? these are questions buddhists often ask and explore, and it is also the question that the remaining cast engages with. what is enlightenment, exactly? there is a suspicion, some notion of what must have happened. it might be death, it might not be. only the enlightened can answer this, everyone else is left without clarity.

in the end, the seekers get close to the answer but there is no real fruition. and so the search lasts indefinitely.

that, too, is part and parcel to enlightenment.

as for how enlightenment narratives function, i leave you with this.

"Nirvana provides the full stop (period) in the religious story; it gives what one might call, to use Frank Kermode's well-known phrase, "the sense of an ending" - that is, a real ending and not a mere breaking off. Such an ending is only possible within a narrative.

[...]

Nirvana, I want to suggest, is a moment within a discursive or practical dynamic, a formal element of closure in structure of Buddhist imagination, texts, and rituals. One might say that nirvana has primarily a syntactic rather than semantic value: it is the moment of ending which gives structure to the whole. The fact of narrative structure and closure provides a meaningful and satisfying resolution, although in itself nirvana has merely the formal value of a closure marker.

[...]

Earlier I called nirvana the full stop (period) in the Buddhist religious story; now I can add that it is a full stop in an eternal story, a full stop which brings closure to individual lives in a master text which itself can have no final ending." [2]

Sources:

Tragedy and Salvation in the Floating World: Chikamatsu's Double Suicide Drama as Millenarian Discourse by Steven Heine ↩︎

Nirvāna, Time, and Narrative by Steven Collins ↩︎

#莲花楼 #im exhausted and busy #but got caught up in doing this post anyway #deciding to look into what english buddhist canon has going on has led me down a rabbit hole #anyway...... lxy/llh's buddhist arc is very profound and meaningful to me #there's a lot of other buddhist theory i couldn't and didn't really want to get into #but i want to keep this post as just a list of enlightenment themes in llh's story #i wish i could get into like......#eg. enlightenment is a very very varied & diverse concept actually and there are different definitions of it #eg. nirvana isn't a place or something you “enter” or a stage you break through into #even though that's how it's often expressed #it's just a very tricky thing to convey #which is why there's like a 238912839 different names and allegories and euphemisms and metaphors for enlightenment #ambiguity generates people throughout history trying to bridge this gap in knowledge #and i'm so glad that quality was taken into account in the show #some might even say it is enlightenment's defining trait.... that it's a mystery #stressed that i didnt talk about 清净 purity that the buddhist plaque he got llh the name from is about #i think about it so muchhh a prayer quiets and cleanses the heart / lotuses will bloom everywhere.....#maybe some other time #me is mark

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wellhalesbells · 3 months

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the thing that fucks me up about rereading instructions for dancing is trying to pinpoint when it is that derek becomes obsessed with stiles and realizing the answer seems to be always. from the beginning. the moment they met. that poor bastard. he probably should have tried to be a little nicer about it, though, saved them both some hardship.

I think it slides so quickly from fear and annoyance that Stiles will steal Scott away to 'Oh no, oh fuck,' I'm not even sure Derek knows himself. Poor guy hamstrung himself by starting out with the 'I'm going to scare him away' mentality then wondering where the hell that went and trying to find it again through almost every subsequent interaction (while something so much bigger and so much worse - Derek's Thoughts™ - completely eclipsed it). Meanwhile Stiles also helps cultivate Derek's dickish-ness by assuming that original motivation to be his only interest in him at all, essentially until the moment Derek tells him he's in love with him.

Which is hopefully why it seemingly comes out of left field for Stiles and the reader, because that's what I wanted.

#i mean you should definitely think: uh ohhh derek caught feeelings before that moment #but since it's stiles and scott pov - they are the bright spots in each other's worlds so they are the focus #and occasionally derek will come along and glow around the edges and distract stiles a bit but that's all he is - a momentary distraction #and he's still that when he finds out that scott may be stiles' bright spot but they don't want each other the way derek wants #and so he blurts out 'i'm in love with you' before someone else shows up to want the same way he does #and since we've been in stiles' head and only gotten to see the moments that define him and derek is in so few of those #he's COMPLETELY thrown for a loop because what do you mean?? how could derek be in love with him??#how could stiles be all his defining moments and NOT know it y'know?#(because if you got instructions from derek's pov stiles wOULD BE so many of them)#and realizing they are in different places by a lot but not wanting that to mean they can't be anything more to each other says #'give me a chance to catch up' which in my mind is the only thing and the perfect thing #that was the very first scene i wrote for that fic actually - it changed almost ENTIRELY before the end but that line stayed the same #i just love the idea that you can be totally oblivious to something so defining for someone. that people can be such enigmas #inject that shit directly into my veins pls and thank you!#sorry i just love that dynamic so i can yammer on for DAYS about it lol #thank you for the ask and yeah you're pretty dead on about that haha #instructions for dancing #sterek #teen wolf #!ask

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mattynmarns · 5 months

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#just got some of the scariest news of my life #my dad is in the ER and is being transferred for emergency surgery #and im at school. on call. so i can't leave. in a completely different city.#apparently 85% survival rate if its caught quick #god i hope it was caught quick #i just really love my dad man hes the person i talk to the most and will listen to me talk about all my favorite random stuff and engages #with me about it and he's the person i look up to the most in the world probably and im just so scared because im so far away and i cant do #anything but trust the doctors #im just. so scared #and apparently hes in a lot of pain right now and i just. don't want this to happen #and i just want to go back to when i saw him a few hours ago when he was fine and make sure that he stays fine #and idk. rough night.#prob deleting this in the morning but i hate telling people im scared irl and i need to tell someone that im freaking tf out actually and #that this feels like the worst thing to happen in my life #anyways yeah. going to try to not exist for awhile and pray that i dont run into anyone with eyeliner tear streaks and snot all over my fac

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sophieswundergarten · 1 year

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So. Everyone who yelled at me yesterday for making a ramble on Reynie going blank and then not resolving it, this is for you: (@lemondropletters, you have been tagged)

Also, it's in a Google Doc because it was definitely too long for a Tumblr post, and ~~I don't know how AO3 works~~

The (vague) premise is that, instead of Constance seeing Curtain's broadcast, they all get to the compound mentally sound, but once there, they split up to look for Mr. Benedict, and instead Reynie finds Curtain. This is the wrap up of what would have happened in the last episode.

#I'm sorry if it's also garbage #My brain hasn't been letting me sleep the last two days so I've just been working on this #And also I've never tried writing fic before so it is highly likely to be bad #But it was certainly a fun experience!#I was like “Oh I'll just rewrite that first post in this new format and then add the notes I had in my drafts”#And from there it somehow spiraled into a five and a half thousand word mess #But I think I learned some things!#And I'm sorry Miss Perumal isn't more help I got caught up in the emotion and I just really wanted the kids to work it out themselves #Especially since Reynie is normally the driving force for those kinds of solutions #But without him it took a lot longer than I expected #Also be warned I use a lot more em dashes then I think I'm supposed to #And I was trying the technique of mostly using the adult's formal names since the main perspective is the kids'#But the point is that I did it. I tried.#And if it's terrible then I will just never do it again #I'm sorry I didn't know how to end it so it's kind of vague and abrupt #I hope it's fairly in-character I tried really hard but messing up character voices terrifies me which is why I've never tried this before #I am genuinely so sorry if this is hot garbage it certainly feels like garbage #Okay shutting up now. Again my apologies #the mysterious benedict society #mbs #reynie muldoon #kate wetherall #sticky washington #constance contraire #miss perumal

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void-and-virtue · 5 months

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OP I LOVED UR ANDREIL POST GOING CRAZY THINKING ABOUT IT if you have anything else in that amazing brain of yours on this take please do share because i absolutely LOVED how you articulated this aspect about andreil. its something i particularily appreciate about their dynamic and relationship with anger and Their Issues TM. your post will cross my mind whenever ill think about it from now on.

I don’t think I have ever gotten an ask and this is kind of making me go insane??? I hope you know that you made my day and also, I’m so glad people share in my endless brainrot bc when it comes to this series and these characters I simply cannot stop

It really isn’t nearly talked about enough that the thing that got Andrew to actually look at Neil and become interested was (as cited by Neil himself at some point tho I can’t remember in which book that scene is from the top of my head) Neil’s bone-deep jealousy of Kevin. It’s—it ties into that whole epiphany that Neil has at some point, when he looks at Andrew and realizes that while he is hurtling towards his own breaking point and about to burn out and shatter into something he’s not sure he’d recognize if he survived the encounter, Andrew hit that point and broke from it years ago. And that’s an understanding that goes both ways between them—in a fucked up way, it feels like Andrew might be the future that Neil has waiting for him if he doesn’t end the year six feet under: hollow and drifting, passionless after everything he had to rip away from himself to be able to survive. At the same time, Neil probably reminds Andrew of how he used to be, back when he had hope for things only to have that hope rip him apart—which is exactly where Neil seems to be headed for the majority of the story.

I think that a lot of Andrew’s understanding of Neil comes from the fact that he knows intimately what it feels like to be caught between a rock and a hard place and cut his own lifeline, only to then fail to die on impact. Neil hasn’t had to resort to that yet, but he is hanging by a thread. You’d think that watching him struggle would only serve to drive it home for Andrew that he made the right choice in closing himself off, except… well. His expectations of life and the people in it are so bleak, it’s no wonder he finds himself drawn to Neil’s messy emotions and every unexpected show of spine like a moth to a flame.

Neil, for all of his issues and scars, can still feel things—can still want something so badly it defies all logic. Can want something with such visceral, fucked-up intensity that it resonates where it shouldn’t. It’s an ability that Andrew thinks he’s either lost or cut out of himself to stay somewhat safe, sane and alive a long time ago, but that remains as the most fundamental crack in the foundation of his being. It’s a fascination that seems to come out every time he’s sober and eventually ties into him wanting Neil—wanting something worth wanting and putting a name to it once he finds it. They look at each other and don’t want a watered-down version of the person in front of them. It creates a relationship that embraces issues big and small and accepts (even values!) the messy parts of being human. It means that any space shared between them immediately becomes safe once they settle into something comfortable together. The way they handle the uglier sides of each other’s personality honestly makes me feral because it’s always done with understanding and acceptance and they even find positives or comforts there that the other can’t see and that’s probably a reason for why 1) their chemistry is so off the charts and 2) their relationship is so damn healthy (in addition to their communication being stupidly good when it comes to each other).

Andrew wants something real and Neil wants to be real. And then they get to have exactly that.

#I hope this is even somewhat coherent #this went way out of hand but it’s an aspect of them that’s so hard to put into words #something something Andrew’s almost detached fascination with intense emotions and fervor #he shows that same tendency when it comes to Kevin vs exy as well #in the sense that I’m convinced Kevin’s passion both fucks him up and mystifies him #Neil is just much more up close and personal bc yeah his original devotion that caught Andrew’s eye was to the sport #but then Andrew got to experience that devotion turned around on himself full force #you cannot tell me he was ready for that #but also also #this and the og posts were meant to be about Neil and Neil’s emotions being ugly and messy and human #and how that resonates with Andrew because even terrible feelings can be better than an emotionless void #between numbness and twisted-up falsities #Neil’s raw emotions were probably the most honest thing about him early series and he had a lot that he was never allowed to express before #and not only is Andrew safe to let go of those inhibitions around #Neil also wants for Andrew to relearn how to enjoy that same privilege with him #losing control and all that #there’s a lot that can be said about all of this and I’m really not fully finding the words but. THEM. That’s all and thank you.#also ty for the ask I was really !!! when I saw that in my inbox :)))(#aftg #all for the game #neil josten #andrew minyard #andreil #aftg meta #answered asks

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