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maoam · 1 year

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DISSECTING SAKURA - WHY IS SHE SO TERRIBLE?

INTRO

I promised to write a post about Sakura’s character long time ago so here’s that now. If you want to read my Hinata post it’s here.

Sakura is a character that is very hated in the Naruto fandom. Many people acknowledge she’s one of the worst female characters in anime. And yet, she also has many dedicated stans that defend her character and insist she is simply misunderstood, that she’s actually a good shinobi and a person, or not as bad as people think. While there are many videos and essays about Sakura, my issue with them is that they often either praise Hinata who isn’t any better than Sakura or they do not acknowledge Sakura is supposed to be the way she is. She is intentionally written as an unlikeable person and she was never supposed to be inspiring or a positive character. I will try to explain this to you the best I can by dissecting her character. As usual, if you’re a fan of her character you might not want to see what’s next. This will be tagged under the anti tags so if you see it in the character tag that is not intentional.

SAKURA AS A SHINOBI

I will first focus on Sakura as a shinobi and her skills in fights since Naruto is a battle manga. Sakura is, as it's often acknowledged to the point of memes, pretty useless. A lot of her stans don’t understand why. She might get to punch once every 200 chapters or heal fodders but in the end she is featless. She is placed in many important situations where she does nothing to contribute or even gets in the way. This is not acceptable for a main character that has a lot of screentime. Naturally, this is something that annoys many people but it’s made even more annoying by the fact Sakura is constantly talking about how much stronger she has gotten and how she wants to be on par with Naruto and Sasuke.

In the beginning, during the bell test, Sakura doesn't even attempt to get the bells from Kakashi and only ends up fainting. In the Land of Waves, because Sakura was able to climb the tree due to her chakra control, she became smug and overconfident and thought she doesn't need to train. Which is funny considering she does nothing except stand around during an actual fight while Naruto and Sasuke actually contribute to the fight with the main antagonists. She's tasked to protect Tazuna, yet she can't do that either, but Kakashi has to intervene and get injured. It’s also worth mentioning Kakashi pointed out that during the tree climbing Sakura was able to control her chakra better because she had little chakra to begin with. Thus Kishimoto establishes very early on Sakura as someone who brags and overrestimates her own skills.

In the Chunin exams, Sakura hopes that Naruto and Sasuke aren’t foolish enough to cheat during the written exam, and she’s sure that she can answer the questions based on her knowledge. But what she doesn’t realize is that the real intention of the test is for the takers to use their observation and deductive skills to gather information and cheat. We find this out in the same chapter through Sasuke. Sasuke, unlike Sakura, realizes that the test makers want them to act like a shinobi. Sakura is book smart and a rote learner, but as we have seen in the Land of Waves and what we will see in the rest of the Chunin exams, being book smart won’t help her on the battlefield. Kishimoto wanted to show us that Sakura is just someone who brags and thinks she’s got everything under control, despite the fact she’s not the right kind of smart to be a shinobi, she doesn’t think like one.

In the Forest of Death, we then see she isn’t able to actually put anything into practice and Naruto and Sasuke again do all the work, while Sakura does nothing except stand around, scream and cry. Sasuke even has to yell at her to stop merely standing around. Eventually though, when Naruto and Sasuke are knocked out after the encounter with Orochimaru, Sakura has no choice but to protect them from Orochimaru’s henchmen. But she of course fails. She sets traps that fail, and gets mocked for her amateuristic skills by her opponents. We see characters like Kiba are able to put up traps that actually work, but Sakura who is supposedly smart isn’t. Then Rock Lee arrives to her rescue. After he gets beaten up, Kin grabs Sakura by her hair and calls her out on her vanity and tells her she should have trained more, which is basically what Sasuke did at the beginning of the arc, when he told Sakura if she has time to flirt maybe she should use that time to learn a jutsu or two. In the chapter cover she is also seen brushing her hair in front of a mirror in the forest, so Kishimoto makes it pretty clear Sakura is someone who cares a lot about her looks even during a mission. Kishimoto uses the villains to point out Sakura’s flaws, since the main characters can’t do that considering she is one of the main characters. So we see Dosu point out Sakura’s lack of observation skills and talent, and Kin point out her vanity and boy chasing personality. Sakura then dramatically cuts her hair and gives a speech on how she wants to walk in front of Naruto and Sasuke and wants them to look at her back. Despite the little fight she puts up, she is easily beaten down and is saved by Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji, before Sasuke wakes up and beats up Orochimaru's henchmen, driving them away. Sakura acted like this was going to be her moment, yet it wasn't at all. She had five other characters, 4 of them supporting characters, all of whom showed much better ninja skills than her, come to her rescue.

During Sakura and Ino's match, Sakura starts boasting how Ino is nowhere near her level. What happens is despite her bragging, she falls right into Ino's trap. Unlike Sakura, Ino actually used her wits and shinobi like strategy during the fight, using Sakura’s ego against her to successfully trap her. But because Naruto yelled Sakura's name, her inner Sakura somehow interrupted the fight and it ended in a tie. I think Ino should have won this fight but regardless it didn't make Sakura look good, just an overconfident brat who got lucky.

The rest of Part 1 Sakura spends moping over Sasuke and getting one-paneled by Gaara in the Konoha crush arc where she again becomes a damsel in distress to no one’s surprise. Her uselessly holding a kunai has become a meme because she does it many times during the series. Despite being a liability to her team she never thinks about how to better her skills nor tries to train. After Sasuke leaves and Sakura fails to stop him, she goes to Naruto and begs him with tears in her eyes to bring Sasuke back. Considering how many support characters have contributed massively in Part 1, a main character like Sakura achieving nothing just puts it into perspective how useless she really is. She has been a damsel in every single arc. When Naruto fails to bring Sasuke back, Sakura decides to ask Tsunade to train her, and tells Naruto next time she will go with him to get Sasuke back. The thing is, she should have had the resolve to train and change herself already before Sasuke left. She should have realized she put her team constantly in jeopardy by being weak. She read all about what life of a shinobi entails yet she seemed to treat it as some playground where she can play damsel while everyone around her protects her. It’s only when her crush left and Naruto failed to bring him back that she bothers to make an effort.

At the start of Part 2, Kakashi gives Naruto and Sakura yet another bell test, and Sakura shows some potential by showing off her chakra punch. But in the end, they manage to finally get the bells due to Naruto's plan. Some people act like Sakura is the smart one in team 7 yet she constantly fails to showcase this smartness of hers. Next, team 7 is assigned by Tsunade to rescue Kazekage Gaara. Sakura swears that this time, she will save both Naruto and Sasuke. Again, she sets up a high goal for herself, only to never achieve it. Sakura does however, mix up an antidote to heal Kankuro after he got attacked by Sasori. Next Chiyo and Sakura get ready for a fight with Sasori. Notice how this is the only fight where Sakura actually manages to not fail? It's because Chiyo is literally directing her moves, both verbally and physically. But I will give her credit for using the antidote to survive Sasori's poison, and taking the hit for Chiyo. Sasori was also apparently suicidal and didn’t avoid the last hit but I don’t dwell on that too much.

Now I need to mention something that is very important to note when it comes to Sakura’s character writing. Whenever Sakura does anything she’s complimented countless times by Kakashi, Chiyo, Sasori, and basically everyone she comes across. Kakashi starts to talk about how she might be able to surpass Tsunade, just because she punches the ground once in front of him. Chiyo hails her as a girl who can surpass Tsunade as well, before even seeing her fighting abilities. Hashirama thinks her power might be greater than Tsunade’s despite not even seeing what his granddaughter can do. And this goes on and on. This is Kishimoto intentionally raising up the audience's expectations, only to later intentionally bring them down. Superficial readers think she is smart and could possibly surpass Tsunade because other characters say so, but people who actually read the manga and pay attention can see that Sakura never lives up to the expectations placed on her.

Right after this arc, Sakura goes back to being useless and not contributing much especially considering the screentime she gets. Despite being able to avoid Sasori’s attacks with the help of Chiyo, in the Tenchi Bridge arc she gets first knocked out by Kabuto's flying butt because she's not watching where she's going, and needs to be saved by Yamato. Then she doesn’t let Yamato do his job and gets knocked out by Naruto's 4-tailed form, and needs to be saved by Yamato and healed by Kabuto. When they finally meet Sasuke she charges at him with no apparent strategy and needs to be saved by Yamato again, who gets injured in the process.

So after the entire part 1 of being useless, and 15 chapters of not being useless, Sakura needs to be saved multiple times by Yamato while contributing nothing. To people who paid more attention when reading the manga, this arc made them realize Sakura was never gonna change and this is how her character would always going to be. But others were still starstruck by the previous arc, and would only realize it later.

In the Akatsuki Suppression arc she pretty much does nothing worth mentioning. She is tasked to go help Shikamaru but the latter has already taken care of Hidan by himself. In the Itachi Pursuit arc she doesn’t do anything either, but only follows the dogs tracking Sasuke’s scent. In the Pain arc a lot of characters contribute in the fight against Pain, even Konohamaru who is just a kid manages to defeat one of the paths of Pain, while Sakura is again shown crying and screaming for Naruto. What was that about saving Naruto and Sasuke? If she’s so strong as she acts like she is she could have at least tried to buy some time for Naruto instead of crying like a total whimp.

There’s also a constant pattern of Sakura trying to demonstrate her "powers" or "strategy" and failing. This happened again in the start of the Five kage Summit arc when she tried to fight with the Kumo warriors, got immediately facekicked to the ground and had to be rescued by Naruto yet again. And this is not even the worst. In the same arc she attempts to take down Sasuke by herself, drugging her teammates so they can’t help her, and ends up failing when Sasuke figures out what she’s trying to do and she needs to be saved first by Kakashi and then by Naruto. As always, she aims too high and falls flat on her face. She ends the arc moping how she can’t do anything except to trust Naruto. Of course, Kishimoto doesn’t forgot to mention that Sasuke is resistant to poison, so Sakura’s attempt of killing him whether she succeeded stabbing him or not would have been futile either way. Again, she is failing to come even close to her own goals she set for herself. She is once again a liability that needs saving. And so the audience is frustrated and annoyed with her character. They are thinking, why is this girl who is constantly bragging about her skills constantly making a fool out of herself, crying pathetically and needing to be rescued? Well, that would be because she is supposed to be a person who is completely misguided about her own skills.

In the war arc, Sakura isn’t any better. The war arc only amplifies what we already have seen and know. That Kishimoto uses subversion to show Sakura’s character as overall irrelevant, and to show she’s all talk. In part 1, Sakura is said to be smart and she boasts about her skills yet she can’t do anything in an actual fight, but has to be saved by multiple characters, including Naruto, whom she considered inferior to herself. This of course made people annoyed with her character. When part 2 started, other characters were again commenting on her potential and how she had supposedly grown. So many people got hopeful that she had actually grown a lot and changed. And yet, as I have pointed out, she tried to show off many times and failed miserably. Which made people even more frustrated with her. Because they had gotten their hopes up. The Five Kage Summit arc was definitely the ultimate breaking point. After Sakura’s ridiculous attempt to manipulate Naruto, her drugging her teammates while leaving them defenseless on the ground and her trying to take down Sasuke and failing, she was certified as the fandom’s laughing stock. But some of her stans still remained, and thought she would redeem herself. Somehow.

Then comes the 4th shinobi war. Sakura has mostly been in the background healing people, but when Sasuke shows up, she is suddenly motivated to show off for real. She even gets pissed when Naruto is about to go with Sasuke and suggests to her that she could take a break. Sakura insists she is also part of team 7 and that she surely can keep up with the two of them. We have a panel hyping up Team 7. Then Sakura gets a moment to make a big punch after which she boasts and thinks she’s better than Tsunade, insulting the latter in the process. But she’s not paying attention to her surroundings and needs to be saved by the boys, after which she starts to boast how she will steal the Hokage seat from Naruto and how now they will all fight together with their backs to each other. She then reaffirms herself that she has finally caught up to Naruto and Sasuke. This level of arrogance needs to be backed up, otherwise the audience will get annoyed. And it did annoy a big portion of the fandom, considering they had seen for the past 600 chapters or so Sakura talking about how she wants to be on par with Naruto and Sasuke, how she won’t be a liability anymore and it all leading to nothing except disappointment after disappointment. Sakura’s confidence and ego are greatly disproportionate for someone of her capabilities, which a big part of the audience notices, whether consciously or subconsciously. And this is of course intentional.

She is left on the sidelines again when Naruto and Sasuke are too busy being ”the main act” and fighting perfectly in sync. Sakura has to ask Hinata what is even happening with the two of them. Sakura keeps healing people, but eventually Naruto’s chakra starts to help her with the healing.

Then we get to one of the most infamous moments with Sakura, that resembles another infamous moment in the Five kage summit arc, when she tried to take down Sasuke with a poisoned kunai. In this moment Obito is asking Sakura to stab his rinnegan eye with a kunai. In both moments, she can’t come up with a resolve to use her kunai but just trembles centimeters away from her target. Taking her time shaking she then gets attacked by her opponent, and ends up being saved. In both cases, she wastes her chance because she’s a total whimp who has no resolve to do what she pretends she can do. And thus, the audience is annoyed once again. And the people who always knew what she was like make fun of her.

But Kishimoto won’t stop there. In the very same chapter, when Sakura is trying to heal Kakashi, Naruto takes over and not only heals him but also gives him a brand new eye, something Sakura of course isn’t able to do. Healing was the only thing she could do and even that was taken from her! So much for her being a relevant member of Team 7 who is on par with Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi then starts reminiscing about Team 7, and it ends with him reminding the three about his first lesson, which was team work being the key to success. So what happens?

Sakura begans to once again nurse her own insecurities and tries to show off to satisfy her own ego by charging at Madara and telling the boys to follow her. She has no idea of Madara’s strengths and weaknesses and what would you know, her punch is stopped and she gets stabbed in the chest and is once again rescued by Naruto. And what does she do? Mopes that Sasuke doesn’t pay attention to her nor seems to care. She cares more about showing off to Sasuke than defeating Madara, even when this is about a threat to the whole world. What a great shinobi. It’s a callback to part 1 when she moped over the fact Sasuke didn’t care about her climbing the tree. Just like with her shaking with the kunai, it’s just another moment that shows she never truly changes. Not in ways that matter.

And then we see Naruto and Sasuke actually fight Madara, and Sakura literally just stands there in awe of them. She’s shook by Madara’s power which she obviously had no clue about. Of course Sakura still tries to go after the boys but Kakashi stops her and says it’s pointless to do so unless she has a plan. And she stops, and stares at Naruto and Sasuke’s backs as they disappear. Hah. She once again, has failed to achieve the goal she sets for herself. Kishimoto hyped up team 7 yet constantly showed Sakura failing and being left behind, despite how much she claimed she could keep up with the two of them. The way Kishimoto writes her, by making Sakura herself or others hype her, and then showing she’s actually lame is very consistent and relentless.

Taking into consideration that she’s a main character, and all the times that she’s promised major improvement, what we received was just pathetic. When you add it to the fact that she’s a member of such an over-achieving team, it makes her look pitiful in comparison. But it’s supposed to be. Don’t even think this is unintentional from Kishimoto. Sakura was supposed to be someone who never changes.

SAKURA’S PERSONALITY AND HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS

Now a little more on Sakura’s personality and the way she interacts with others which is definitely one of the reasons why many people hate her.

In the beginning, she is introduced as a shallow girl who is focused on her looks and getting the attention of the popular boy in the class, rather than being a good shinobi. She gets called out on her vanity by not only Sasuke but also by her enemies. She is pretty quick to give up on the bell test which annoys Sasuke. One wonders why is she even a shinobi when her resolve is so weak. She beats and berates Naruto and is only able to treat him better by mimicking Sasuke. Despite Kakashi’s comments on all of them maturing Sakura hasn’t changed at all at the start of the Chunin exam arc but she keeps asking Sasuke on dates instead of training and also squeals for him like a fangirl. She mopes that she’s not good enough for the Chunin exam and only gets motivated when Sasuke compliments her. This type of shallow and weak characterization made many people instantly dislike her.

In the chunin exams we also find out she broke her friendship with Ino after she found out Ino liked Sasuke as well. This is something that gave more background to her character but at the same time made people dislike her even more, since Ino is someone who reached out to Sakura and helped her build her self-esteem yet Sakura simply dumped her and started a catty rivalry over Sasuke. In Part 2, they only interact once, and during that moment Sakura wants Sai to call Ino ugly. You can’t really call it a beautiful friendship when Sakura is constantly shown as catty and the only person who does anything for the other is Ino. It’s Ino who reaches out to Sakura. It’s Ino who comes to her rescue in the Forest of Death. It’s Ino who compliments her after their match. What has Sakura done for Ino other than wanting her to be called ugly and teaching her kid to keep Ino away from Sasuke?

During Sakura and Ino’s match, Kakashi says Sakura isn’t the type to brag and bully others, even when we have seen her do both constantly. Already in the Land of Waves she bragged how she doesn’t need to train despite not being able to do anything in a fight. She also constantly berates Naruto and acts superior to him, aside from punching him all the time over nothing. Sakura having a bloated sense of superiority and tendency to brag about her skills is a consistent character trait of hers. But she never manages to truly back up her arrogant attitude but comes off as weak and overall irrelevant, which is yet another thing that makes her an unlikeable character in the eyes of the audience. In the war she also insults Tsunade, the one who taught her, while boasting how she is better than her like she’s some badass when she is far from it. When has she created her own jutsu or made anything revolutionary? During the same chapter she also brags how she’s gonna steal the Hokage seat from Naruto. Yes Naruto, the guy who keeps saving her useless ass all the time.

Speaking of Kakashi, he is a character that Kishimoto used in his writing as someone who treats Sakura with kid gloves and coddles her. This is one reason why some people defend her character, and why some people ship the two of them. If you’re a Sakura stan, it must feel validating when some character constantly defends your fave’s stupid behavior. But Kakashi is someone who not only admits to not understand Sasuke, but also someone who clearly doesn’t understand Sakura, as we see from the earlier image how Sakura’s behavior contradicts with Kakashi’s claims since the beginning. Basically, if you need to know how Sakura really is like, just flip what Kakashi says about her and you’ll know. Since Sakura is part of the main team, Kishimoto needed some character to defend her behavior so she wouldn’t be confronted about it too much. But smart readers aren’t fooled. It’s also worth noting that Kakashi tells Sasuke Sakura still loves him despite the fact Sasuke tried to kill her, while conveniently omitting the fact Sakura went there to kill Sasuke herself. This makes Kakashi look hypocritical but Kishimoto needed some character to do this because of Boruto, and it’s not like he was gonna use Naruto, the one he himself called Sasuke’s ally.

Then we have Sakura’s hypocritical behavior, that Kishimoto also consistently portrayed. During Sakura and Ino’s match, Sakura says Ino is a girl who is focused only on her looks and that she wouldn’t want to be on the same level with her, despite the fact Sakura herself was shown brushing her hair in the Forest of Death and getting dragged for her vanity. She also got upset and hit Naruto when he tried to pee in front of her, saying she’s a lady, yet thought to herself how she would like to see Sasuke pee in front of her. When trying to plead to Sasuke to not go, Sakura says revenge won’t bring anyone happiness, but when it doesn’t work she flips completely on what she said and asks Sasuke to take her with him so she can help him. Even if she acts like she cares about Sasuke’s well-being, what she really cares about are her own feelings. Sasuke unsurprisingly finds this annoying as do many readers. Sakura makes fun of Naruto and insults him, yet gets enraged when Sai calls her names and she proceeds to hit both him and Naruto. She also gets mad at Konohamaru and Naruto for their sexy no jutsus, yet when Konohamaru showed her hot boys naked, one of them being Sasuke, she went all gaga over it.

Sakura is also introduced as a bully who beats Naruto up and mocks him in front of Sasuke who then proceeds to call her out on her terrible behavior. In this chapter, Kishimoto made Sakura call Naruto ”annoying” and then made Sasuke throw her own insult back at her when Sakura mocked Naruto, by calling her annoying. Something that is worth noting is that while Sakura also reacted to Lee badly at first, after he saved her she didn’t do anything bad to him anymore. Yet while she later realizes she was wrong about Naruto’s resolve, and that he cheers for her when she needs it, and that he saved her countless times, she keeps beating him up over nothing and berating him. She still keeps calling him stupid and acting like she knows better. This is why whenever she cries for him, it’s hard to feel any liking to her, because she comes off as more like a poser who will surely soon bash his head in if he dares to behave like himself, or drop him for the sake of Sasuke. Her treatment of Naruto is unreasonably bad at times, but it’s easily explained. In the beginning we find out Sakura dislikes Naruto because she thinks he comes between her and Sasuke. And we see many instances where this notion is amplified by the text. But Sakura is too delusional to understand the reason there is distance between her and Sasuke is simply because Sasuke isn’t interested in her, she’s too shallow and juvenile for him to pay attention to.

Her fake confessing to Naruto and trying to manipulate him made a lot of people lose all respect for her. She also showed she knew so little of Naruto she accidentally managed to tap into all of his insecurities in her confession. She also somehow believed Naruto was really chasing Sasuke for her sake and that he would give up if she offered herself to him.

Her second confession to Sasuke is also very telling of her jealousy of Naruto and Sasuke’s bond. She yells how she can’t exchange blows with Sasuke, how she can’t get close to him, how the only thing she can do is cry and beg. Considering how Naruto is the one who is about to exhange blows with Sasuke yet again, and how Sasuke after their fight talks about how Naruto kept coming closer to him, Sakura is clearly thinking of Naruto when she is having this meltdown. Sakura was shown to be jealous of Naruto’s improvement and skills in Part 1, but she is also jealous of Sasuke’s care and love for Naruto, which she wants for herself and thinks she is entitled to. Even at the start, Kishimoto said Sakura thinks Naruto stole Sasuke’s first kiss which she thought belonged to her. It’s no different at the end of the series. Her outburst is her fighting for what she thinks is rightfully hers, Sasuke, despite the fact he has given no indication that he loves her. But this makes sense. Afterall, we see Sarada come between Ino and Sasuke while Sakura laughs nervously in the background. Despite everything Ino has done for Sakura’s sake, she still sees her as a threat, to the point her own kid is doing the dirty work for her.

Let’s talk more about Sakura’s relationship, or lack there of, with Sasuke. We know Sakura was portrayed like any other fangirl of Sasuke in the beginning, who liked his looks and how cool he was. She never tried to approach Sasuke as a friend but only kept asking him on dates despite his blatant rejections. She never says why she loves him, or even likes him. According to herself Sasuke never says anything to her. Her first confession showed how little she understood Sasuke. She was the girl with everything, with family, while Sasuke and Naruto had nothing. Yet she had the nerve to say if Sasuke left she would be just as lonely as he was. She’s comparing the massacre of Sasuke’s family to a boy she never talks to leaving her, while disrespecting her own parents in the process. How juvenile that must have sounded like to someone like Sasuke. In Part 1 Sasuke occassionally protects Sakura because she’s too weak to protect herself, and in part 2 Sakura probably wanted to entertain the thought Sasuke would still have this consideration for her. But in Part 2 Sasuke treats Sakura like a fodder ninja. She doesn’t manage to get a proper reaction out of Sasuke who focuses on Naruto everytime he meets up with his former team. Sasuke also leaves Sakura to die couple times while choosing to save Naruto instead. Despite all this, Sakura still thought she’s entitled to Sasuke, and in her second confession she started to yet again scream how much she loves Sasuke and how much she hurts due to it. In both of her confessions she is guilt tripping Sasuke and trying to make him pity her. In both of her confessions she makes everything about herself. She admits to herself she can’t do anything for Sasuke, yet she tries to win him over by pity. But she annoys Sasuke once again, and he puts her in a murder genjutsu. Sasuke then says they have no reason to love each other. And he’s right. What does Sakura know about Sasuke? Clearly nothing, considering she said the worst things she could have said during both of her confessions. She heard Sasuke talk about wanting change, yet she started to scream how if Sasuke stays with her, things can go back to how they were. It’s like the most basic things she doesn’t understand. She’s just an overemotional child who has nothing of worth to say. Kakashi who coddles her tries to talk to Sasuke on her behalf as well, insisting Sakura suffers for loving him. Sasuke then thinks of his family and says perhaps those are ties to a failed past. As in Sakura literally lives in the past. And she does. Despite the fact everything has changed, she thinks about the moment when Sasuke thanked her, and ignores him calling her annoying for her ignorant comments, or the fact someone who wants change obviously doesn’t want to go back to the way things were. This brutal rejection though still won’t slow Sakura down, but after Sasuke is leaving to his atonement trip Sakura blushes like a school girl and asks to come with him. After him mocking her and putting her in a genjutsu, this is what she does.

And Kishimoto still won’t stop there. After all of Sakura’s boasting that ended in failure, after the brutal genjutsu and her being made mostly irrelevant, we see her destroy her own house because her kid asked about her marriage with Sasuke and she got insecure. I have to ask how do some people not realize Kishimoto despises Sakura and writes her as a terrible person? She is a bad daughter who doesn’t understand how lucky she is but is ready to ditch her parents for an indifferent boy’s sake. She is a bad student who disrespects Tsunade for no reason. She is a bad friend who treats Ino and Naruto badly out of insecurity. She is a bad person who treats the target of her crush like an object instead of a person. She is a bad shinobi as well who is most of the time a liability. And she is a bad mother as well. When she’s insisting to Sarada that Sasuke cares about them, she’s sweating and looking nervous, she’s clearly not confident in what she says. Kishimoto also drops two implications that Sasuke never kissed Sakura. Because that is apparently important for us to know. Sakura then tries to insist a forehead poke is better than a kiss. Yet when Sasuke is leaving, she is waiting for a kiss and not a poke. And she is rejected, and looks like a wet rag just like everytime Sasuke rejected her before ever since she was a kid. It’s hard to think of a female character that is more pathetic than her.

And yet, we have SS insisting Sasuke surely knew Sakura could take care of herself, that’s why he left her to die and saved Naruto instead, who didn’t need saving. Surely Sasuke thinks about Sakura as an individual and not just a member of team 7. Despite the fact we have never seen Sasuke think about Sakura outside of team 7 context nor say anything about what he likes and admires about Sakura. Surely Sakura is the most important person to Sasuke, that’s why Kishi wrote Sasuke say to Hagoromo, to Naruto and to himself that Naruto is the only one he still cares about. That’s why Kishimoto wrote Sasuke say Naruto is the only one who never gave up on him. That’s why he wrote Sasuke say Naruto alone saved him. Despite the fact Sakura wanted to be part of saving Sasuke with Naruto, Kishimoto would never let her. Because he doesn’t like her, or SS.

As a final note, a lot of the manga revolved around the importance of family and bonds, yet Sakura, the girl who had parents unlike the rest of her team, is shown to disrespect them everytime she brings them up. And she’s never redeemed on this. This is also intentional from Kishimoto, of course. Sakura is too selfish, too ungrateful and shallow to understand what she has. She’d rather chase a guy who keeps rejecting her like he’s some trophy she owns, all the while trivializing his pain over the loss of his family, by acting like she understands. And she’s ready to throw away her parents, her friends, and her dignity for the sake of this guy who was never interested in her. What’s worst is she had many opportunities to change and mature, yet she choose not to. And thus she remained the same self centred, superficial person she always was.

Actually this is the final note: @sneezemonster15 is a co-creator of this post. She has also talked about Sakura on her blog, for example that war arc part here. Another example is here (but you can just generally go through her anti-sakura tag). But I wanted all this on one big text since certain people are very stubborn about us “picking” supposedly minor things to bash Sakura for when this is throughout the whole manga. And since tumblr doesn’t let her add more than 10 images to a post for some reason I decided to write this down.

#anti sakura

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scribbledghost · 9 days

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Hello there!! I just wanted to gush about the NSFW Fem!Simon alphabet, because it was so awesome!! I'm infatuated with the whole piece, but if I had to pick my favorite letters they were probably A (for Aftercare), F (for favorite position), and Z (for snoozing afterwards.) I really find it interesting how, despite the topic being steamy, there's still some areas to dive more into fem!Simon's character (like, i.e., her becoming less sexually active after her experience in Mexico.) I find it super cool how you're able to give us a peek into her character from a more unique perspective, in this case with fem!Simon's dynamic with sex.

And then, there was something I was curious about. If I can phrase my thought correctly, it's my curiosity on what fem!Simon might have in common with canon!Simon, as well as what differs between them. For example, while rereading the fem!Simon works, I was going through the one about her first kiss with reader (which I'll link here because it's super stinking cute and sweet: https://scribbledghost.tumblr.com/post/746033214969315328/omg-i-love-mas-muscled-and-im-literally-so-in)

There's a couple of lines there that would be really fitting with canon!Simon's devotion towards reader. Like, for example: "Hell, she’d walk outside, lie face-down in the water, and let you tread on her back all the way to the truck if you asked her to. But that’s a different matter." And, additionally: "For a moment, she contemplates telling you the truth - that she likes holding you, likes taking care of you, and likes showing off her strength (purely because she knows you like her showing off) - but she reconsiders."

But then, there's the blurb you did about fem!Simon being ecstatic about reader calling her wife. And, in the tags, you were talking about how canon!Simon would be allergic to marriage for a few years while fem!Simon is more eager. So, I'm just curious, how similar do you think fem!Simon is to canon!Simon? And what are some key differences between them?

(I also apologize for A) making this a mini-essay with the length and B) any mistakes... I'm sleep deprived and typing this at 5:00 in the morning so it's probably not my most coherent ask lol.)

okay, i am super sorry it's taken me so long to answer this! I've been super busy while on vacation this week, but I've finally got some downtime and I've been thinking about this ask since I got it. so here we go!

First, I'm so glad to hear you like the smut alphabet! It was super fun to write (and I promise I'm still working on that SFW version). I love digging into characters' personalities and stories, so those alphabet memes are perfect for that. For Fem!Simon's relationship with sex, I headcanon her as being incredibly closeted until maybe her early 20s due to her upbringing (her father was super abusive, and she's always been a tomboy even before coming to terms with being a butch lesbian, so there was plenty of homophobia coming from her dad too). From there, she had a few flings, but after she was tortured and assaulted in Mexico, she stopped all of that. I know sexual trauma can also manifest in hypersexuality, but I just don't see it happening that way for Simon. Instead I see her withdrawing from it completely for a while (until she meets you).

As for similarities and differences between Fem!Simon and Canon Simon, I'd honestly see them as mostly similar. For example, they're both incredibly loyal and devoted once you get past their emotional walls, like you mentioned with the quotes from the first kiss blurb for Fem!Simon. They've largely got the same backstory, with the only alterations being in how their sexualities shaped them differently. Her personality is largely the same as well - stern, blunt, and has no problem with being mean when the situation calls for it.

For differences, I think Fem!Simon is only slightly (and I mean VERY slightly) more open than canon Simon is. She's still incredibly stoic, cold, and closed-off if she doesn't know you well, but if she's romantically interested in you, she'll make her move a bit sooner than canon Simon would. She still takes time to feel you out, so to speak. She keeps an eye on you, takes mental notes of your mannerisms and how you handle certain situations to make sure you're compatible. She's analytical, just like canon Simon. But once she's sure, she's sure.

And as far as marriage goes, she's more open to it than canon Simon is purely because it was illegal for most of her life (same-sex marriage didn't become legalized in the UK until 2014). So even once she'd come to terms with her being a lesbian, there was a decent amount of time where she wouldn't have been allowed to marry anyway, so it was... idk, "safer for her to want it", I suppose. Now that it's legal, she's already moved past her mental blocks on the issue.

I think those are the more obvious differences between Fem!Simon and Canon!Simon? Largely, I think everything else is either mostly or completely the same between the two.

Again, thank you SO MUCH for this ask and for letting me dive more into Fem!Simon's personality!! I appreciate it a lot 💖💖💖

#fem simon #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost x reader #ghost x reader #ghost scribbles

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mass-convergence · 7 months

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I’ll be honest with you - in season 1 of WOT:

I didn’t exactly love what I’m calling the Main Character Squad (Rand, Egwene, Perrin, Mat, Nynaeve). Like don’t get me wrong - I didn’t hate them. I just thought they were … idk … boring? And this may warrant a rewatch, I’ll admit I was not in the best place emotionally while watching the season. But I just felt like they were kind of flat with maybe the exception being Mat and Nynaeve who I was kinda like 👀 what’s going on. Mat had that whole corrupted by darkness thing going on with him and Nynaeve was just a fucking badass and seemed highly motivated to protect her friends from the get go. But idk Rand felt like he was just kinda …… there? Same with Egwene and Perrin.

(This is ending up turning into an essay so I’m gonna put shit below a cut)

They were cool characters and I obviously was rooting for them to get reunited and stuff but I was like “eh???” Until maybe the very end when things started falling in place and the plot became a lot more sticky (as my friend describes plots that suddenly have a lot of competing motivations all coming together)

So I think my main issue was with their writing rather then the characters themselves. I’m coming at this as a complete outsider to WoT - never read the books and even if I did, I believe an adaptation must be able to stand on its own. And what I think happened was that season 1 like *had* to catch everyone up on the lore of the world, why Moiraine was so hellbent on finding the Dragon, what the hell the Aes Sedai were, etc. etc.

And it may have somewhat put characterization on the backburner until the end when they were like “we caught you up to speed now here’s the plot”. I guess they felt passive, like the plot was just happening to them instead of them driving the plot. Like we got hints of stuff - I was confused about what was going on with Perrin, then really intrigued towards the end when the wolves attacked the White Cloaks camp. And then of course the whole Eye of the World thing and Ishamael being released and him cutting Moiraine off from the One Power.

But idk, most of that season just fell flat to me.

The second season however, whooooo boy did I get fucking invested in those crazy kids. I was like “why can’t Nynaeve deliberately channel? [Insert Spiderverse “can’t do it on command” meme here]”, “oh fuck how is Egwene going to get out of this and also fuck you Renna”, “Rand please don’t go crazy”, “Perrin is like spiritually connected to wolves??? I need to know more about how that is a thing”, “Mat I swear to god you better not be evil because I’m like rooting for you”.

And of course I was really invested in the supporting characters - like Moiraine’s journey, Liandrin’s betrayal, Lanfear’s … everything (god I love her).

And oh god was it almost empowering to see their arcs play out.

- Rand struggling with the fact that he is indeed the Dragon Reborn and that male channelers tend to go batshit and kill everyone they love.

- Perrin becoming more familiar with his wolf-powers (I forgot what they were called or if they even had a name I’m sorry) … and being caught between his humanity and his wolf side. RIP Hopper, I’m glad you were avenged almost immediately.

- Egwene first off like: struggling with the fact that Nynaeve was kind of distant (because Nynaeve was obviously dealing with her own issues) but sticking with her friend. And then getting fucking captured and enslaved and like thrown into one of the most disempowering positions one can get into… and she fucking still held her own and never gave in. God I think her arc is like my favorite one this season. Fuck you Renna I’m glad you fucking got what you deserved.

- Mat dealing with the aftermath of the dagger and just having this darkness inside of him. He had been pushed down and kicked all his life, people viewed him as a loser, and he had that attitude towards himself as well. I felt like a connection to him because yeah, that boy is just a touch depressed, and as someone who’s dealt with their own mental health issues and ADHD absolutely making me feel like I’m constantly failing everyone including myself …….. good lord did his arc make me feel some feelings. Like he took that darkness - namely the dagger - and he used it to fight his way out. And then he’s a fucking hero of the horn. That is unironically super fucking inspiring to me.

- Nynaeve not being able to channel on command, being almost afraid of the power she can wield (I think that’s the angle they’re going for at least - though it also does seem to be very attached to her emotions). Out of all the main character squad: I liked her the most in the first season. She was very much motivated to protect her friends. Like I do see her kind of as the mother figure of the group (and not in a derisive way - like she will absolutely fuck a person up if they hurt her friends as we saw in season 2 with that sul’dam), the “heart” in the five man band. Like *almost* like Katara in a way and I really loved Katara so there you go.

- honorable mention to Moiraine because she thought that she had to handle this shit on her own. She had to figure out what Ishamael and the Dark One were planning while protecting Rand and also dealing with the aftershocks of her being cut off from the One Power. Something that Verin very much analogized to being assaulted or raped. And Moiraine just kept trucking, carrying the burden of what she felt like her own responsibilities like she carried those fucking buckets up the hill. The season was her realizing she could rely on others and she didn’t have to be as closed off as she was being. And oh my god once she got the One Power back she (a woman who was already plenty fucking badass during this entire season) like went to fucking S-tier levels of badass. God I fucking love her.

Basically: I’m saying that I loved season 2 very very much and I’m now rooting for these crazy kids to fuck shit up and save the world.

Also I love every single woman in this show who’s not Renna or the Seanchan because fuck those slavery loving assholes.

#I could say a shit ton more but I have like errands to run today #so anyway … yeah #Wheel of Time on Prime #wot season 2 #wot season 2 spoilers #character analysis??? I guess???#anyway rooting for these crazy kids now #rand al'thor #nynaeve al'meara #egwene al'vere #Perrin #mat cauthon #moiraine damodred

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lurkingteapot · 4 months

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2023 post round-up/summary

Lovely @twig-tea tagged me here, so I'll try my hand.

I'd abandoned tumblr for about 4? 5? years 2016ish through 2020, had a short stint with it again in 2020, took peeks and vehemently disagreed with much of what I saw in 2021-2022, and grudgingly settled back in in 2023. I wasn't going to interact. I wasn't.

Jan-April: *crickets* I was being strong!

Then, I saw people moaning about how they'd learn Thai if only it was on Duolingo, and you know how spite can be funnelled into positivity? I did that! Result:

May

Popular: Free Thai Language Learning Resources, most popular by a landslide. This pleases me greatly, as I put a lot of work into it and always hope more people start picking up this language.

Favourite: maybe my thoughts on Ming, piggybacking off @kenmakaashi's post?

June

Popular: my musings on translation and how it relates to fannish reception of media, which was my most popular post of the year and 'broke containment', if only in a very small way. Some of the additions in the tags and reblogs are fantastic, do go have a look if you like!

Favourite: toss-up between my attempt at showing a parallel between a silly moment in Our Skyy 2 x BBS and a scrapped shot from BBS proper and this rant about Romanisations of Thai and why G**gle translate is the devil (that bit is in the conversation downthread), which let me meet @plantsarepeopletoo.

July

Popular: Summary of James Welker's 2006 essay "Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: “Boys’ Love” as Girls’ Love in Shōjo Manga"

Favourite: the offerings are slim here … let's go with the one in which I once more was salty about the way folks talk about BL

August

Popular: Only Friends' Ray isn't just The Drunkard, but also The One Who's basically Given Up On Himself, as per his title card (this one was so popular it got stolen and reposted – without credit or permission – to twitter 🙃)

Favourite: Thinking about Drama, the Romance genre, and tropes, and how those relate to our perception of BL (good additions from various folks in the notes; conversation with @visualtaehyun in reblogs and @twig-tea in the replies).

September

Popular: IFYLITA Ep 6 poem context notes

Favourite: toss-up between complaining about badly machine translated content in Love in Translation and musing on the name of Khun Yai's favourite bar

October

Popular: my long-winded answer to @zimmbzon's ask "Hi, how would a non-binary person (me) get around the binary gender rules and vocab in Thai?"

Favourite: uhhh … maybe my musings on honorific translations in kimi ni wa todokanai? (yes, technically a reblog from sideblog, shh)

November

Popular: most popular was this throwaway therapy vent containing food for thought and while I guess this meme is mostly fannish I'm linking it anyway because it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to (or something)

Favourite: when I called out the resemblance between the Last Twilight trailer and Intouchables (2011). Literally no one cared, but then @my-rose-tinted-glasses independently came in strong with receipts as soon as the actual first episode aired and made me feel validated af.

December

Popular: Why I'm pretty sure Last Twilight's "fried rice/false rice" joke was funnier in Thai

Favourite: the saga of the songs in Ep 4 of Last Twilight

I didn't do any round-up posts, but I'll include the other category @twig-tea added:

Five other posts that I want to highlight because I can:

BL Favourites Tag Game (July 2023)

Link to fujoshi.info with information on WHY you should check out that site if you're interested in having an informed opinion on BL and the genre's history.

contemporary issues in Thailand as mentioned in Only Friends ep 1

Thoughts on code-switching in Step by Step

Reply to @mynameisnotthepoint's comment-via-ask on my anti viki rant

I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm completely lost – I was mostly off tumblr for nearly three weeks; if you made a post like this you'd like me to see, please link me/tag me! <3

#2023 roundup #link dump #self promo (of sorts)#my nonsense

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feminismisstillahatemovement · 1 year

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Why do you post every day about hating trans people and how women belong in the kitchen. Why are you like this? Reflect inward

I feel fairly confident in saying I have never posted anything about "hating trans people" or about how "women belong in the kitchen". I have written an awful lot about the insanity of the current gender ideology, the clear and horrific damage it is doing to individuals and society, and how much I feel sorry for people who have irreversibly mutilated their bodies because of those insane and incoherent beliefs.

Similarly, I've written endlessly about how feminist ideology is hurting both men and women, and how it too is based on false claims and incorrect assumptions about reality. But I want individual women (and men) to follow whatever path will make them most happy and fulfilled in the long run: some women are clearly born to be artists and scientists and architects and sportswomen and whatever else, and if they have a clear talent for those vocations I would not want to stand in the way of their dreams in any way. I believe in equal rights and opportunities for all and that the best person for any job should get the job. Personally, I'd be perfectly happy to live as a house husband and potter around the kitchen all day while the woman I'm with goes out every morning to be a blacksmith or a welder: it would give me lots of time to work on my writing and other creative endeavours. Now that I think about it, I'd like that a lot.

So my question in response would be: why do you feel you have to so egregiously misrepresent other people's words and positions to make yourself appear as though you are in the right? Why not approach others you don't know as individuals just trying to do good in the world and find and share truth, the same as yourself? That's something for you to reflect on.

I like the community, the creativity and the open-ended nature of posts: Tumblr is the best interface I've found for posting a variety of pictures, long essays, memes, one-liners, jokes, gifs and videos, and the way the responses are laid out in an easy-to-follow conversational form is superior, too. It's also largely ignored by the media, so it feels like more natural, thoughtful and authentic conversations can take place here, out of the glare of the public eye seeking to sieze-upon and blow-up every throwaway remark into a "gotcha!" news story and destroy people's lives.

Something like Facebook would be even more censorious, and the impression I get is that it collects more data and spies upon its users more than Tumblr does. Twitter, though much improved under Elon, is too much of a warzone, with people continually and hysterically attacking others, all day every day. So someone who enjoys sending anonymous hatemail to people they've never met might think about giving that one a go.

#fan mail

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littledoggy-girlcollar · 1 year

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a counterargument: colin bullied nate pretty relentlessly, including physically. nate was openly scared of colin in the for the children ep. not that that makes what said okay, but he also apologized to colin afterwards.

you know i did think about this when writing the post so here's my thoughts on that:

you're right, colin did bully nate in season one, but unless i totally misread shit (which, possible, i did watch a lot of it fairly late at night and watched the other part of it while writing an essay), the bullying was explicitly ring-led by jamie, and was stopped pretty much entirely by roy yelling at them in the club. as far as i remember, there was nothing specific that colin did that jamie and isaac didn't, and while i also don't remember a full apology to nate, it also seemed like they all got along fairly well afterward, especially after nate's promotion to assistant coach.

and then the Headspace episode happened. i had thoughts abt what i was going to say and then i went "hey lemme pull up the episode to make sure i have that right" and i forgot those thoughts and now i have new ones and they're way more thesis-y than i thought they'd be so here we go!

nate is a bit of a dick to colin during practice, following some ribbing of nate's new nickname of the "wonder kid," coming from him mispronouncing "wunderkind/wonderkind" (as far as i can tell these are the same word? just different spelling?). dani, jamie, and colin all make essentially the same joke, but colin is the only one that nate gets mad at. could this possibly just be because of the lingering resentment from the bullying last season? sure. but colin actually goes to nate's office to figure out what he did wrong and if there's something else he should be doing, and nate literally tells him he did it because dani and jamie have more talent and recognition than he does (incredibly paraphrased). my rant about how colin could end up being THE most inspiring member of the team if the show/the character decides to go that way will be saved for another post, but in essence, nate explicitly tells both colin and us as the viewer that he picked on colin because he doesn't think he has that much power to retaliate, and nate's position as assistant coach gives him a level of authority over colin as well.

crazy. almost like a role reversal over here or something.

anyways, beard calls nate on his shit, nate apologizes to colin in front of the team, the apology is accepted. in all, it was kind of a one-off thing that was resolved fairly easily, and i am realizing that my view of that specific instance may have been clouded by the rest of the episode, but there is one more point i want to hit on before we get to that part, which is that: colin is a gay man in a sport with (from what i've heard) no visibly out queer men, and nate had no way of knowing this, but that probably made his comment cut deeper than he even intended. i know in season three colin says he doesn't want to be some big statement or representation or whatever, and i think that's totally fair and if the show wants to stick with that i think that's chill, but i do still think telling a closeted gay man that "you aren't special, you don't inspire anyone, shut up and do the work" would have a biiiiit of a mental impact beyond just the visible hurt we see from colin as he leaves. again, this bit isn't necessarily on nate since he didn't know and may not have factored it in even if he did, but to me it's just kind of another drop in the bucket of "wow this man is just saying anything now cause he's got an outsourced sense of superiority."

and that's actually where my main problem comes from. because after the apology the team gifts nate a jersey with "wonder kid" on it. and they are happy about it, and they think it's cool, and they give the credit to will (the kitman, you know, nate's old job) for coming up with it, and will says "it's a pretty awesome nickname." and then nate sees one fucking negative meme on twitter, in a flood of literally hundreds of positive ones, plus headlines and fucking podcasts praising him to high heaven, and nate goes "clearly will was trying to embarrass me, guess i better go physically threaten him so he never does that again."

because he's an insecure prick that doesn't actually believe in himself or have self-confidence. he's done a bit of growing, sure, and he can stand up for himself and voice his opinions a bit better now, but despite his stupid fucking posturing and spitting in the mirror (cause its tough? a metaphor for him hating himself? whatever it's fucking stupid) he gets all of his confidence from other people. he hasn't internalized it yet. he feels good when ted praises his ideas, he gets overly insecure when roy does literally anything, including give the proper credit to nate, feels lighter than air and higher than heaven (i don't usually invoke holy shit this much the show must be rubbing off on me in terms of metaphors) when everyone is praising his name, and it can all be ruined by one comment from his father and the same picture of his face on the internet only this time it's saying shit instead of giving him glory. so he's hearing all of this praise from pretty much all corners, and he feels good about it, but he can't hold onto it. he can't internalize it. so when he sees a sliver of criticism, it all goes out the window, and he doesn't want that! that makes him feel bad! so he has to get rid of that, too, and the easiest way to get rid of it is to turn it around on someone else. someone with less power who won't fuck you up and who doesn't visibly have enough support to come back at you (because while i love colin, we really don't see him shine on his own that much. and neither does nate). and sure whatever nate's dad is a jerk to him and childhood issues shut the fuck up that's a grown man with an actively growing support system. which he throws under the bus like five seconds later by the way.

anyways. my point here is really that the episode is kind of a perfect summary of nate's character at this point in the narrative. he's abusing his power out of some weird sense of superiority one good win got him, he's got enough humanity to realize (re: be forced to realize by a large man with a beard and ability to disappear from offices) when he's fucked up no actually hold on. he literally only apologizes cause coach beard confronts him on it and is expecting it. he wouldn't have done this otherwise and we know it because look at how he's treated will literally since he got there. ok sorry for the detour that hit me literally as i was writing and i don't have the energy to go back up and revise to fit that in. so: abusing power, will apologize when made to by those he still views as having more power than him, externalizes all of his self-concept, positive and negative, and continues to take out all negativity on anyone he views as having less power. WHICH AGAIN FUCKING SUCKS SINCE THAT LITERALLY USED TO BE HIM IT'S LITERALLY "WELL I WENT THROUGH X SO YOU SHOULDN'T GET Y" BEHAVIOR FUCK OFF. GOD. okay i need to end this before i get real fucked up about it ok closing statement.

yes, colin bullied nate in season one. yes, nate ostensibly apologized to colin and colin accepted. no, the reason this grinds my gears isn't necessarily the colin thing specifically, but the situation is kind of a microcosm of everything that's going on in the world of nate, and is therefore condensed, and therefore saturated, so it sucks more ass. yes, i understand that pretty much everything i've laid out is why nate is such a well written character, but that doesn't make him a less shitty person. i'm sure i had more things to say and forgot them so if you wanna ask questions shoot.

#ted lasso #colin ted lasso #nate ted lasso #colin hughes #nathan shelley #anons #sorry this got. long. again did not expect to be posting about ted lasso literally ever but the end of the semester is making me crazy.#shoutout to the footballs. or smth.#character analysis. kinda.

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anti-kin-cringe · 1 year

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This is not intended to start arguments of any kind. I am merely expression my personal frustration.

I'm glad everyone is having a good time with this "catgirl hacks the TSA" thing. You do realize therianthropy will never be taken seriously now, and any progress we've made toward making otherkinity "acceptable" to the human public is obliterated. Therianthropy will forever be a meme or a joke because of this. Hell, one of the most popular posts about this calls otherkin furries and a lot of non-kin people were already confused about the difference. This is damage that can't be undone.

I'm just tired of my identity, the core of who I am, being treated like a quirky joke, and this did not help. I don't see how so many of us seem to be okay with this.

Anon, I think you need to stop. Look in a mirror and say this out loud. Realize how fundamentally fucking ridiculous and selfish you sound.

You are blaming a single cat therian for having gone and done what is fundamentally an incredibly important deed for revealing flaws and inherent bigotry in how the United States approaches anti-terrorism tactics in flights post-9/11, and for being publicly a therian while having done it. Are you holding all therians to this same standard, I wonder? Is any therian who is publicly alterhuman and does something to gain positive renown Problem Therian #1 to you? Should we all just hide our animality in our lives outside of Tumblr for your comfort and security? If we ever do something good, do we automatically neeed to start dedicating serious resources to being a Good Therian Role-modelTM?

If you feel that therianthropy is being misunderstood en masse, how about you get off your lazy tail and actually do something to assist the problem that you're so confidently whining about? You can spend the energy here telling us how much therianthropy will "never be taken seriously now," and you're bemoaning human acceptance. You're sitting here complaining about Maia, but what have you done in recent memory about this? You're desperately wanting for human respect here, but I don't exactly see you flaunting your resume of times you've rolled over, showed your belly, and played the part of a respectability politics beg. I don't see you making websites, creating videos, writing essays, or anything else, either. You've got energy to send us this ask, but not to show your face behind it or say the things that you've done yourself to actually help this issue that you boldly claim that Maia has created. That's some tucked tail. Show up or shut up, as the kids say.

Also, I hate to break it to you, but there's been a well-known, popularly referenced meme specifically mocking otherkin and therians since 2013. A meme that was specifically fabricated from a documentary on nonhuman identities with the intent to mock them, if what interviews say are true. If Naia Okami's "On All Levels Except Physical, I Am A Wolf" meme didn't tank the community even after her doing alterhuman-focused interviews that referenced it for almost ten years after the fact, I think we'll be fine with this. Hell, what we're talking about here isn't even negative attention, and it's not even attention directly focused on us as a community, it's just adjacent! Maybe I have a thicker pelt than you, but this is seriously nothing comparatively to some of the things that have happened and been connected to the therian community in the past.

Anon, I don't know why on Earth you thought sending this in wouldn't spur an argument considering what you're saying is frankly insulting on multiple levels: to anyone who's actually done groundwork in the therian community, to plenty of us who were there during periods of time where media was being connected to the community in actually harmful and negligent ways (Wolfie Blackheart, Naia, etc.), to people who are openly a therian online and in their day-to-day life but don't make it a priority to try and be the therian's therian or anything ridiculous like that, to anyone who is "okay with this" as you put it. You're claiming that a therian who's done a genuinely good deed has wronged the community by virtue of her just being a public therian. How do you not realize the plethora of shitty implications in what you're saying here?

~ Mod Halcyon

#Ask #Anonymous #its ya boi mod halcyon #I'm sure the other mods might have different opinions on this one but heeeere's mine.

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greatcheshire · 1 year

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How would you rank your vids based on how much you like them?

Ah yes!! I can answer this one

The Many Adaptations of Berserk: I feel like it has to be this one as my fav. There’s parts of the video I wish I could redo (mainly the audio), but to put out such labor of love and have it receive such a positive response back, it’s so fulfilling. From people telling me it got them into Berserk to survivors messaging me to tell me how much the video meant to them. It’s a sense of pride and accomplishment that I never thought I’d ever feel with my art.

Spider-Man Musical: This, for me, feels like the prime example of what I want my channel to be: exploring relatively obscure things in a way that shows how strange they are while also taking it seriously and really examining them. As someone who has been fascinated with this musical for over a decade, finally finding a way to make an essay about it and letting people know about things like the spider fucking and the shoe song.

Dollar Store Game Show: I wish I could redo the audio here. God I wish I could redo the audio here. That being said, I’ve always seen this as the hidden gem of my channel, and whenever I talk to other creators, chances are this is the video of mine they bring up. The Facebook conspiracy “In Motion” part might be my favorite editing gag I’ve ever done

Demo Reel: I would’ve ranked this much lower if I hadn’t rewatched it a few weeks ago for the new Demo Reel vid. Despite some first time video mistakes that I would happily fix if I could, I think the script here is really solid and could have been way worse. I get why people like this one so much. I probably would’ve been really into this video if I wasn’t the one who made it. I still can’t believe I actually got away with the Evangelion intro gag.

Kitchen Nightmares: I started outlining this video back in my college days. I rewatched it about a month ago and my main note is that it feels like a video anyone could’ve made on Kitchen Nightmares, for better or for worse, and lacks a lot of the… personal energy I like to include in these things? But I still think it’s pretty solid. I also meant to include an entire segment on Nathan For You and just… forgot to lmao oops

The Return of Demo Reel: This one is still so new that I haven’t fully processed my feelings on it. This is probably the meanest video I’ve done so far lol I wasn’t sure how much the two halves would connect together, especially since it’s the only video I’ve done so far that isn’t broken up into segments but is rather scripted as one long thing. The stinger is my second favorite stinger I’ve ever done for the channel. I’m so glad that landed for people as I almost cut it entirely lol

The Cinemassacre Backlash: It feels weird to rank this one so low. I still am proud of the result, but I also think it has the same issue as Kitchen Nightmares where it’s like oh, anyone could’ve made that. I did like getting to interject my perspective into the discourse as someone who co-writes and makes online content and I have gotten a lot of praise for this one by my peers which has been nice. Having it blow up so much was wild and has definitely been a career benefit, even if I’m unsure if I’ll ever do a video like this again

Harley and Ivy: I don’t know why but I can’t help but feel like I could’ve made this one better. I’m not sure how, but it just feels like it exists to me. I actually didn’t even remember that I did the whole thing with the Be Gay, Do Crime scale until I saw it referenced on my TV Tropes page

Lost Film About Internet Memes: This one is fine but it sits in a lower place in my head for a lot of reasons. First being that a lot of personal life stuff surrounding the release and aftermath of the video. Second being my hatred of the original thumbnail and the belief that it tanked that video in a way it’s only now recovering from, which affected future business dealings and negotiations and algorithm stuff. Then the fact that this is the only time I’ve regretted going soft in one of my videos. I originally put more stuff in the script about how I believed the guy who made it was a grifter who seems to do a lot of scams but I changed it to make it more subtext and less of a personal attack and then in the aftermath of the vid it turns out, oops, this guy had a history of screwing people over and grifting and jumped into cryptocurrency because of course he did. I don’t think I’d ever revisit this subject, but if I had a time machine, I would’ve had way more testimonials in the vid from former PopMalt people.

Existential Horror Of Making Content About Content: The nicest thing I can say about this one is that it was the first time I ever made a thumbnail myself and I’m actually pleased with how it turned out, all things considered. Otherwise I can’t see myself ever watching this again

I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m too harsh on my own work lol I just have a unique relationship to it, I think. I’m generally proud of my videos, even if I do have issues with them as their creator.

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lansplaining · 1 year

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*rocks up to the fandom meme mad late with drip coffee i made in my own home even though its like 10pm*

sometimes i see posts that express some intense general feeling about my dude, lan wangji. intense like or dislike, extreme affection or disdain, you know, the usual. and – with the exception of people who are super blatant side character fans who are expressing the opinion they adopted from their fav side character – i don’t really believe any of these strong emotion claims (ppl who are actively roleplaying jiang cheng or lan jingyi i believe you i promise pls).

(beginning hyperbolic generalizations in 3,2,1-) as a group fandom just does not ponder lan wangji enough for me to believe many of them actually care the way the suggest they do, and when they do he doesn’t stay the topic of conversation for long. sure, they might start a post about his traumas and woes about his parents and his beloved but strict grumpy uncle but that post will swiftly slide to xichen and the way he approaches relationships and then it turns into 3zun and that turns into Mess lol. maybe they’ll start with how he was raised but don’t be fooled! that is actually just the opportunity to complain about the evil lan sect and all its controlling rules in a trench coat. if you find a post about his relationship with his brother then what you’ve actually found is a post about the tension between the nie bros, the trauma amongst the siblings jin, or Whatever Is Happening In Lotus Pier and the Twin Jades of Lan are actually just there as a comparison point in paragraph three of the essay. more often than any of this, if you think a post is about lan zhan, blink, and it will be wangxian before you hit the author’s note/tags.

secondly, if the fic isn’t a lwj-centric fic then lwj tends to be 1) an objective window into the story, a reliable narrator you can trust to give you the plot with no opinions, thoughts, or feelings about what’s happening 2) a Voice of Judgement an author can use to berate a character they’re mad at with the idea that hanguang-jun can get away with that with minimal fall out and is Convincingly Convicting enough to change the character’s behavior 3) a plot-hole filler – you don’t have to explain why something is true is lwj says it bc he never lies and he probably knows more than you. it’s the maple leaf in the Xuanwu cave over and over 4) a treat for wwx. you don’t have to like lwj or let him speak, just have him in the background for wwx to kiss and beg money from occasionally.

i have to say I’m not /bothered/ by this. i have enough lwj brainrot for all of us I don’t need other people’s thoughts and headcanons i have my own and a corner of fandom that supports me in these things. i know a lot of it is bc mxtx made him all ~mysterious. i just think its funny when people speak so strongly on the guy as if they think of him ever for real at all.

this is fascinating. obviously I spend my times in the JGY/xiyao corners of the fandom, but I am probably one of the people you are talking about in some ways!! i fucking love lan wangji, i experience extreme Feelings about him regularly and he's the reason i fell in love with CQL and ended up on this downward spiral into madness

but if i tried to make a post about him it would be like, 'u know when CQL wangji says 'are there rules already written for everything in the world?' and it permanently altered my brain chemistry? (hand gestures)'. my position on lan wangji is no thoughts, only internal yelling.

however, i think all the patterns you're noticing are so right, especially when it comes to fic. when it comes to meta i sort of get it-- wangji doesn't feel like he NEEDS explanations, he's the main love interest! other characters need their arcs and interests and personalities excavated, whereas his is surely just right out there. but it isn't!

#ask answered

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gunsli-01 · 1 year

Text

So, are you ready to jump into the first part of the Tarot rundown? Probably, hopefully... I've only been vaguely mentioning this essay for weeks at this point. Today we'll be going over the first five cards in the celtic spread shown first in MeMe. Next, we'll go over the other five and our interpretation of the cards overall. Then do the same with the second spread.

Now we're not just giving a surface level reading here. We'll also be taking a deeper look into how Mikoto designed his cards in comparison to the classic ones. This is going to be long and go over what people may feel is superfluous off topic information. Such as the history behind some tarot cards which will include how they were typically depicted and the history around those previous depictions.

Now with all of that out of the way let me put my suffering on full display. If anyone goes under this cut, you'll see pretty quickly why this was separated into four parts. Five cards down fifteen more to go-ha ha no some of these repeat so it's literally like maybe twelve or eleven.

Here's the link to preface explaining every bias I may have

Spread One

First Card Represents: The Situation

Card Drawn: Hangman

Position: Reversed

In Mikoto’s tarot deck the Hangman is portrayed as a yellowish orange man strung upside down by their leg on a glowing blue cross a yellow moon behind their head and eyes peering at them from behind. As if put up on display against their will. This is fun for multiple reasons it plays on Mikoto’s fear of being surveilled or unknowingly put into a situation where he is being watched by others with no escape from their gaze.

However, the eyes watching on at the display remind me of the game Hangman. That fun game where a person or team of people have to guess the letters in a word or term but if a guess is wrong another piece of the hangman is drawn on the board until he’s completely there signifying the guesser’s loss. It’s the one-time people will look on intently at something usually considered gruesome and find entertainment in it.

We’re not saying this could have been an intentional allusion when it comes to the eyes it’s just a fun thought. Especially considering that Mikoto has been related to competitive children’s games already.

Mikoto’s variation on the Hangman card is pretty close to what the card looks like within most modern tarot decks. Hanging upside down by their foot tied to a cross of some kind. Certainly, he took some liberties with the background. Though roughly it’s not too far removed from its typical depiction that it’s difficult to tell what it is.

However, that’s considering its modern-day depictions. Historically the Hangman card while still depicting a man hung upside down by one of his feet did not have him tied to a cross. In fact, he was tied to a tree said to hold up the heavens with roots that directly connected to the underworld. The card has been depicted with the man hanging from a branch held up between two trees firmly rooted within the ground. That or one tree with leaves on each side of the top branches. Over time the tree the hangman was attached to slowly became more and more cross-like. Eventually the cross took the tree's place entirely and no greenery can be found within most depictions of the card.

The hangman is also associated with the motif colors of both of the Kayanos seen in MeMe. Red and Blue. The hangman is also associated with yellow. In versions of the card the Hangman is depicted with golden blonde hair, yellow shoes, red pants and a blue shirt. The red is meant to represent the passion of humanity and the human form. While the blue represents calm and reflective emotions. The yellow on the Hangman’s personage is meant to represent his intellect.

In Mikoto’s first iteration of the Hangman card (the painting seen at the beginning of MeMe) the color red does not appear at all. Though this could be because it is unfinished.

However, I think the Hangman is the tarot card associated with Boku Mikoto. The Fool being the one associated with Ore Mikoto. Fun fact the painting of The Fool can be seen in MeMe as a visual indication of when Ore Mikoto is on screen in some scenes.

I think this is the correct interpretation of things not only because Ore Mikoto is heavily associated with red throughout the mv and Boku Mikoto Blue or because blue is the color of focus within the hangman card Mikoto draws originally. It also makes sense when we take their individual personalities into account.

Boku Mikoto is the leveled and calm one. Having him be represented by the hangman tied to a blue cross the color the card associates with calm emotions; the body and moon be yellow the color associated with intellect. Fits especially when you take into consideration that The Hangman is no hostage or victim of circumstance. It’s generally believed that he is not only fine but is there of his own volition. Only having one leg tied and his hands freely held behind his back.

It's thought that the hangman can leave whenever he pleases but he doesn’t. A lot of people would assume his hands are tied as well as his one foot and tend to be wary about receiving this card in any reading. Just because of the look of it alone. However, the hangman itself is the embodiment of calculated risk and reward. He’ll stay where he is until the time is right to get what he wants.

Hm, if that isn’t reminiscent of a certain lyric.

“I’d play dead even though I’m alive right?”

The Hangman usually foretells sacrifice in the sake of progress. To obtain or accomplish one’s goal something must be given. Though this time of sacrifice may not be pleasant it is expected to lead somewhere in the end. It can also allude to needing to take a premeditated step backwards to better move forward later. However, it is usually interpreted as a sign to stop. Warning against continuing forward on a particular path or with a certain action. Heavily recommending one take the time to step back to better analyze the circumstance before proceeding regardless of how urgent the matter may seem. Due to this it can also be seen as a sign of indecision.

It appears here in its reversed position which foretells that the querent has reached a point in their life where they feel as though they’ve sacrificed so much yet very little, or nothing has been gained in return. They have reached an impasse filled with a feeling of crippling stagnation. They are possibly curious if anything can be done from the position, they find themselves in now. Finding themselves feeling as though whatever they attempt to do, no matter how much they try nothing is turning out as it should.

“All those ridiculous accusations. Hurting it, holding it down, it doesn’t change anything, does it? Ah, it’s the same anywhere I go. It’s like what’s wrong isn’t wrong.” –- “My life it wasn’t supposed to be this way.”

Second Card Represents: The Challenge

Card Drawn: Queen of Swords

Position: Neutral

The Queen of Swords is usually seen with a stern look, her sword pointed up to the sky in one hand and the other out as if offering something. This card has been associated with the element air and clouds. It has been stated that the Queen of Swords place is in the clouds far from the reach of anyone who would wish to do harm to or deceive her. However, in Mikoto’s Tarot deck the Queen of Swords is represented by multiple knives with a chain-link fence behind them. As though the queen has been caged in and separated from her place in the clouds.

The clouds even appear to still be present just behind the fence. The Queen of Swords is meant to instill clear judgement when it comes to mundane situations that occur in the querents day to day activities while also leaving them flexible to the input of others. Overall allowing them to gain more knowledge from their peers while completing their everyday responsibilities.

It appears to signal to the asker that sometimes it is best to make decisions unclouded by one's own emotions. Instead beckoning the person to look at all the facts of the situation before making a snap judgement. Whether reversed or right side up it tells the wonderer to stop thinking with their feelings and look at things objectively. However, in this case it is neutral and representative of a challenge one will face.

When combined cards one and two form the heart of the situation Mikoto in this case the querent is currently facing. The queen being here doesn’t seem like a problem but should be read as such. Everyone interprets tarot differently so feel free to take the proceeding interpretation with a grain salt. Taking in all the information we have on Mikoto at this time.

Card 1 & 2 add up to one interpretation. Mikoto is having a difficult time with the outcome of his choices. He feels like he’s in a constant spiral of giving without ever receiving anything in return. The problem is he has no proper way of communicating this. Be it that his grievances are too far in the past to bring up now,

“If I could laugh, if I could go back, I’d play dead even though I’m alive right?”

A lyric that under this interpretation could be considered to mean even if I went back, I’d still keep quiet while screaming on the inside. He’d still just keep it to himself even if he could redo it all. This may be because he doesn’t even know where to start when it comes to communicating how he’s feeling or he’s willfully holding it all in. Making direct communication a closed off option entirely. This could possibly explain why the queen has been fenced in within his Tarot design as well.

Okay, so what? Mikoto has a problem. He’s feeling like all his hard work has amounted to nothing and he’s only being asked to do more. He can’t/won’t communicate that issue. Something that is very in character given how his communication style has been portrayed so far.

So, let’s talk about that communication style. Mikoto’s style of communication has been shown to be a mix of Passive and Submissive. He’s not a pushover but he has a general unwillingness to burden others around him. He doesn’t balk at communicating in general and attempts to keep the atmosphere amicable and positive. He shows outward disdain towards Futa whose communication style drastically conflicts with his own. Noting that he believes Futa’s way of communicating to be attention seeking in nature.

“Hey, it’s a bother having you be so angry and tense all the time. You should stop trying to get everyone to pay attention to you. You’re a uni student, right? You can’t act like that once you start working properly.”

Mikoto interprets Futa’s more aggressive communication style and tense mannerisms as attention seeking and notes it as a problem. This contrasts with his usually more amicable demeanor and mature way of communicating. While also showing off his ability to directly communicate issues with others. Even though Mikoto attempts to be the mature one most of the time like Mahiru he seems to genuinely enjoy communicating with others.

He may even find comfort and needed stimulation from his social interactions despite the strange circumstances. He even goes up to Shidou someone he states is difficult to talk to in a previous interaction five days later just to chat. All because a good opportunity to break the ice presented itself.

Even though Mikoto’s upbringing may not have allowed him to develop the best communication style when it comes to taking his own feelings into account, he seems to get some satisfaction from conversing in general. I believe his chatty nature is displayed the best in the Portal Timeline Posts on 20/07/15 when he discusses his studying habits with Amane, 20/05/31 where he talks over his belief that Milgram is a reality tv stunt with Mu, and 20/05/25 where he’s caught talking aloud to himself by Mahiru before they introduce themselves to each other.

In all of these situations someone initiates conversation with Mikoto first. Who is shown to be more than happy to reciprocate when prompted and willing to stretch the conversation on longer. Having to stop himself during the conversation with Amane twice because he recognizes he may be talking about things she doesn’t understand or someone her age might not be interested in.

After confiding in Mu that he still believes this is a reality stunt. Because he really hasn’t murdered anyone. So, this can’t be real but if that is the case, he is worried about being seen doing something as embarrassing as getting upset about his wrongful imprisonment. He then follows up lengthening the conversation by changing the topic to how if it is a tv stunt Mu will be really popular because she’s good looking. Plus, there are lot of folks who get their big break from things like this.

The focus of his conversation with Mahiru is usually how he gives her a nickname immediately. Mikoto explains who he does and doesn’t give nicknames to and why he likes using them as well. It doesn’t seem like a socially manipulative tactic on his part even though he notes the psychological benefits of it and recommends it. He says he doesn’t give them to people who are hard to talk to like Shidou or children like Amane. So, if he were using nicknames in a psychologically manipulative way or to come off more endearing wouldn't it be easier to use it on people you have difficulty speaking with like Shidou instead of not using them at all with a select few.

Something that could easily be taken as personal slight when you're known to give everyone else nicknames. Mikoto's reasoning behind who he doesn't give nicknames to leaves Futa to wonder where he falls between the Amane and Shidou. Difficult to communicate with or child. Neither of which are good options for the college student.

However, I propose he falls squarely into the category of Mikoto’s actual reason for giving nicknames. To differentiate between the people, he feels comfortable talking to and people he doesn’t. That’s why Futa doesn’t fall into either of the categories he presented and why the only common thread between these three is how he’s shown hesitance when it comes to communicating with them. Even if the reasons why vary. They're all people that he’s on more than one occasion shown a need to watch what he says around or a general discomfort speaking to.

That leads me to believe these nicknames are his way of going oh I feel comfortable around this person and want to interact with them more. This lines up with his introduction to Mahiru as well. Mikoto doesn’t just give her a nickname out of the clear blue sky before he does, he literally says,

“Ahh, I’m glad there’s someone here who’s easy to talk to.”

So, it’s likely that this is just his subconscious way of going this person is easy or safe to talk to. Our overall point is while Mikoto does struggle with communicating certain things he seems to enjoy the act of communicating itself. Something that makes sense given he’s the only individual in Milgram to have a communications-based vocation.

Q.08 What’s the most rewarding part of your current job?

Mikoto: I mean, it’s the top advertising agency in the industry? Anyone would be proud to be a part of it. I put a lot of work in just to get there, too.

He is just very unlikely to voice displeasure or do anything that he views as burdensome, uncivil, or generally embarrassing. This means he probably has a lot of patience when it comes to dealing with bad actors. Possibly holding the mentality that regardless of how another person behaves towards you, how you react to their treatment is a choice that reflects your character so be the bigger person. Let their actions speak for them and your actions speak for you.

If that's the case though... Then what could have occurred that was causing him so much emotional distress and irritation that his communication would be affected to this degree?

Third Card Represents: The Past

Card Drawn: Wheel of Fortune

Position: Reversed

In Mikoto’s Tarot deck the Wheel of Fortune is represented by multiple wheels. Some wheel designs appear multiple times throughout the card. However, the wheel with double layered spokes and rims only repeats twice. The wheel right above where the card says Wheel of. Another tire like it appears behind and under further behind the wheel stained with blood. One can tell it’s the same wheel because of the doubled spokes that can be seen in the gaps of the tire in front of it.

Since that specific wheel design appears twice it could be the design of Mikoto’s bicycle wheels. However, the shape and size of the wheels are more reminiscent of car tires with a snake slithering between them.

There are two things that we can consider odd about Mikoto’s rendition of this card. Those being the snake and the use of car tires. To our knowledge Mikoto doesn’t own a car and to his own admission does not like reptiles.

Q.06 What do you hate?

Mikoto: working overnight / reptiles / violence

The wheel of fortune historically has been represented by one wheel usually covered in alchemical symbols surrounded by multiple creatures. An Angel in the top left corner representative of the zodiac sign Aquarius Air and Intellect, an Eagle in the top right corner representative of Scorpio Water and Emotions, a Lion in the bottom right corner with wings representative of Leo Fire and Passion, and a Bull in the bottom left corner with wings representative of Taurus Earth and Possessions. They are all depicted holding/looking at books.

Q.12 How do you travel to work?

Mikoto: Road cycling. It’s one of my hobbies, good exercise too.

The fact that I don’t have to worry about making the last train can be both a blessing and a curse.

Why are these astrological signs associated with the wheel of fortune? Simply put there is a bit of an overlap between Astrology and Tarot reading. Tarot cards overlap with many things. However, the explanation for these signs being used specifically may lie in the myths associated with them and their elements as signs.

The water bearer depicted in Aquarius represents a boy of legend by the name of Ganymede. While tending to his father’s land Zeus saw the boy falling for him instantly. Zeus then turned himself into a bird and swooped down taking the boy and bringing him to Olympus where he became the water bearer of the Gods. Going from farmer to immortal is hardly an unfortunate thing. Though being abducted by a bird kind of is and if you go into the emotional logistics of if the guy hated or loved his family, then it could have been a bit of a downer.

Either way, there at the top left corner of the wheel the eleventh sign Aquarius sits displaying that even life’s best turns are unpredictable.

In the bottom left laying peacefully is the second sign Taurus. The bottom is usually a rough place to be, at least that’s what many people believe. However, sometimes the place where you are is right where you're needed. Taurus showcases the ups and downs of the wheel perfectly with its myth. In it Zeus transforms himself into a white bull to steal away the object of his affections Europa in which he succeeded. Taking her to Crete and wooing her with multiple gifts. They had three children together. One of them would go on to become the King of Crete known as Minos.

However, the path of the parents is rarely the tale of the offspring. To become the King of Crete Minos prayed to Zeus’ brother god of Seas Poseidon. Poseidon then sent a bull from the sea as proof that Minos had the right to rule. Minos had promised to sacrifice the bull back to Poseidon in thanks. When met with the bull's magnificence much like his mom when it had come to Zeus he took a shine to the animal. It was gorgeous. So, what was wrong with keeping it? Minos then decided that he would partially keep his word to the Sea God sacrificing a normal bull to Poseidon instead.

As you can guess this did not go over well with Poseidon. As recompence for words not kept Poseidon had Aphrodite make Minos’ wife lust for the sacred bull. So, even though Minos had become king by not keeping to his word and trying to take more than promised. He became king but his wife was well getting horny over other things soooo…the bottom left you lay Taurus. Life truly is full of highs and lows.

On the upper right-hand side rests, the eighth sign Scorpio depicted as an Eagle with a book beneath its talons. Scorpio is tied to the myth of Orion. There are many myths surrounding Orion. He is a son of Poseidon and best known for hunting. It is even said he accompanied Artemis on a hunt.

His tale has many iterations in one telling of events he boasted that with his skills he could take down any creature on earth in another he promised to kill every animal on earth. This display of arrogance or callousness depending on the story offended and upset Gaia who sent a giant scorpion after him. Orion and the Scorpion both died during their altercation leading to the creation of the constellations Scorpius and Orion.

Zeus or Artemis decided to memorialize Orion in the sky, but Gaia is said to have created Scorpius in honor of the scorpion that killed Orion. In another tale Orion while a hunter spent most of his days attempting to obtain the hand of the woman, he loved the daughter of Oenopion the king of Chios. During his efforts to gain the right to be with Merope Orion cleared the beast from the island and brought his beloved the spoils from his hunt. Like a cat.

Despite all the spoils he had gathered her father Oenopion was disinterested in the man’s advances. Refusing to give his consent for the union. This led Orion to try to take Merope by force. This did not go over well with her father who blinded Orion while after he’d gotten inebriated and sent the man out to shore. He eventually found his way to the sun god and got his sight restored. After which he stayed with Artemis (Diana) as her hunting partner. Artemis grew fond of the man but her brother Apollo was brought to upset by this and would chide her about said affections.

One day when Orion was out at sea Apollo spotted him from above and bet Artemis could not hit him. It must be noted that Orion was so far out that he appeared to be nothing more than a black speck. Artemis took deadly aim and fired. When Orion’s body washed up to shore, she was so aggrieved she placed him into the heavens.

The less extravagant telling of events and possibly what the wheel of fortune is referring to is… Orion was a man who led a rather sad life and ultimately met his end when he accidently stepped on a scorpion. The Gods felt so sorry for him that they immortalized the hunter in the sky surrounding him with many animals so that he could continue his hunting even in the stars. Showcasing that even when the wheel runs you over you will one day roll up to the top again.

Last but certainly not least is Leo. The fifth representative of the western This one is somewhat common knowledge or at least has been showcased in various media over the years since it’s tied to Hercules/Heracles. For reference you know the giant lion Hercules fights during Zero to Hero in Disney’s Hercules. Yeah, that’s Leo. Getting folded by Hercules in what’s basically a visual footnote in the background of a musical number. That’s certainly a way to get to the bottom of the Wheel of Fortune card.

Yet somehow it gets worse for poor Leo. In one story possibly connected to the lion of the stars there was a young couple Pyramus and Thisbe who very much wanted to be together, but their parents contested their relationship saying that they were both too young to be wed and separated them. However, the pair decided to meet secretly with white berries beneath a certain mulberry tree. When Thisbe arrived, she was attacked by an already blood-stained lion at which point she ran away from their meeting spot. As she left her veil fell from her face and onto the ground and the lion pounced atop it. When Pyramus arrived, he saw the blood veil and assumed the worst. He then threw himself atop his own sword in grief. Thisbe returned briefly after whether it was out of concern for her already fallen love or just to keep to their meeting is unknown. However, when she saw the Pyramus there blade ran through him and her bloody veil nearby she took her loves sword and quickly followed him. It is said the blood of this tragic couple is what colored the berries of the Mulberry tree red. Some even believe that Zeus himself placed Thisbe’s veil in the sky as Coma Berenices.

The other tale is that of Hercules. In Nemea lived a beast of great size with a hide thick as iron that no weapon could pierce with claws that could rip through armor. A lion of great strength that far surpassed the others of its kind. It brought fear to the hills of Nemea. Hercules’ first task was to defeat the beast and bring the King its pelt. During his first attempt Hercules used arrows to no avail. After which he went after the beast with his club chasing it into a cave with two entrances, one of which he’d already blocked off.

He cornered the animal realizing it could not be slain with human tools he took to using his bare hands. Choking out the beast in his with his mighty arms while avoiding and at times ignoring its claws. So, there Leo sits at the bottom right of the Wheel.

-Back to Mikoto for those not interested in the mythology stuff-

I may have been writing this for too long but that last story of the lion sounds a bit familiar. Sort of reminds me of what Mikoto is shown to be going through in MeMe. Particularly, his last obstacle where we see him burying a person alive, but his bat is weirdly absent as though he was incapable of using it in that bout or disarmed. Though we’ll go into his crimes in another post. Just thought I’d note that here.

I explained all that to get across that there were many animals more prominent within the wheel Mikoto could have chosen. He could have even played on the eagle representing Scorpio and had scorpions crawling through the tires. The snake isn’t even a mainstay in most iterations of the card. It’s small and off to the side. Only there to represent evil. The fact that Mikoto’s tarot design of the Wheel of Fortune hones in on the snake says a lot about how he views fortune in general.

This also plays into why there are multiple wheels instead of one within his depiction.

For the most part Mikoto has presented himself as an individual who believes in personal accountability, working towards one’s own goals, and being considerate of those around you. Considering his character, it’s not surprising that the wheel of fortune is not just one individual wheel but multiple wheels that seem to be crushing and overshadowing his own. As though he’s just a cog in a larger machine as the snake slithers through unperturbed by the chaos around it. It really does perfectly visualize the fickle crushing weight that is the reality of such things as fate and luck.

Highlighting how most people don’t get anywhere without the help of others and sometimes it’s not about letting go or letting whatever happens happen. Instead, it’s only who you know and who likes you that decides how the wheel spins.

This card perfectly visualizes the fear Mikoto has around letting go of control of things like his emotions, job, or even past choices that aren’t working out and letting what will happen after just happen. Because there are so many variables that can’t be accounted for, and life is full of wills outside of one’s own. Having your life be affected by the lives of others is unavoidable.

Yes, we are all crushed by the wheel, but some are ran over more than others and the chaos surrounding his version of the card perfectly illustrates that. While it does a great job of highlighting his general wariness about letting what will be, be it also shows his disdain at the concept. Whether consciously or subconsciously Mikoto associated the one thing he openly dislikes with the card that literally symbolizes that everyone will have to relinquish control of a situation at some point and just have faith things will work out. That good and bad times both will pass.

Mikoto’s response to this card's existence is direct hostility, and he is using his artistic abilities to call bullshit on the concept of the card itself. He really went no I dislike this card specifically, designed it like this, and then drew that shit in two separate Celtic spreads. Like the cards, the cards, the cards will tell- Man I’m surprised he hasn’t burned this deck. The only thing I’ve realized through writing most of this is that Mikoto can be incredibly passive aggressive, and I love it.

Now when it comes to the car tires. He may have chosen them to represent the Wheel of Fortune because cars tend to be expensive making it fortunate for one to own such a vehicle. However, we believe there may be more meaning to this. One that may be discerned from looking at the other cards.

The Wheel of Fortune signifies the uncontrollable and cyclical nature of life. The ups and downs spinning in tandem with no signs of stopping. Reminding people that regardless of their status some things are just fated to occur. Like life’s many saddening facets and happy accidents, some things are unavoidable. The wheel runs over all indiscriminately.

It reminds the querant regardless of the situation they currently find themselves in that their present is not their end. Things will change. Upright it reminds people to appreciate the good times they may be having for they will not last and in reverse it reminds them that the bad times too shall pass. As the third card in the Celtic spread, it is representative of the querants past.

In this case signifying that Mikoto has faced many troubles in his past up until this point. Yet these times may be passing.

Fourth Card Represents: The Future

Card Drawn: Five of Swords

Position: Upright

In Mikoto’s Tarot deck the Five of Swords is represented by five cooking knives with seven holes above the edge of the blade. Other than that, the card does not differ too much from its regular depictions. The fourth card in the Celtic spread represents the querants possible future. So, we can discern a bit about how things may go from this card.

The Five of Swords suggests that the querant is facing a conflict of some kind. This conflict can be internal or external. It can allude to one having social disagreements. It advises the querant to introspect upon what is more important in this argument, being proven correct or keeping polite relations. Warning that even though it seems they have won they could end up losing in the long run due to the ire they’ve incurred. Highlighting that it may be necessary for the querant to face themselves by fully investigating their beliefs.

It warns against becoming overly ambitious. Stating that continuing in this manner will either lead to querants defeat or a victory in isolation.

“If I could end, if I could stop; how long would this dream go on?”

“Why, hey why, I’m nowhere to be found?”

Fifth Card Represents: The Conscious/Above

Card Drawn: Ace of Cups

Position: Upright

The Ace of Cups in Mikoto’s tarot deck is represented by a cup pouring what appears to be paint over the broken remains of a bunch of wooden mannequins used for figure drawing in front of a bluish moon. I could have brought this up earlier, but I assumed it was readily apparent and could not remember if there was an exact word for these things. However, I’ve given up on finding out if there is at this point.

So, yeah, the human figures in Mikoto’s tarot cards are wooden figure drawing mannequins. Tiny dolls with moveable joints that artists position in order to get a better grasp on poses. They can be found in art schools for example the only reason I know what they are is because I went to an arts high school, and they were brought up at points by students. They can also be found in art supply shops. Not everyone uses them, and some artists find them finicky opting to just look up references or stock photos instead.

However, these mannequins are usually fun to use, position in various ways, and are helpful for those who like a three-dimensional reference. So, it might be more likely that artists who studied mostly through drawing art models people who pose for art students to draw them either clothed, partially clothed or nude would gravitate towards these. While we’re on the topic all the items except for maybe the car tires depicted within the wheel of fortune are items that can be found within Mikoto’s home.

Pentacles being represented by records there’s a record player on one of his drawers, his baseball bat representing wands, the kitchen knives representing swords we don’t see his kitchen in MeMe but I assume he has knives and these figure drawing mannequins while not seen in his home are possibly something he uses for work or has around in an area of his house we have not seen yet like with the knives.

As I brought up, when going over the wheel of fortune card two of the tires within the wheel seem to belong to Mikoto. However, this is only believed to be the case by us because they have doubled spokes and are the only tires to appear just twice throughout the card.

Moving on. Usually, the Ace of Cups is depicted as a standing but overflowing cup held out by a hand as if it is being offered to the asker. Even though the Ace of Cups is depicted as overflowing it is rarely depicted as being deliberately poured out as it is here.

It is usually shown with five separate streams of water flowing out of it as it stands. In a way reminiscent of a fountain. Comparing the amount coming from the cup in Mikoto’s interpretation of the card to how much water is usually depicted in other variations of the card it becomes apparent how measly this amount is. So, why might that be?

Well, the answer can be found when looking into the meaning of those five streams. The five streams are meant to embody the power of intuition, highlighting the effect looking inward and listening to one’s inner voice can have. The cup standing showcases how it does not need to be disturbed or moved for it to overflow just filled or fed by its holder. The streams flowing or jutting out of it illustrate the tangible effects the holder can have on their environment by doing such a thing.

Think of it similarly to how we talked about bottling up emotions earlier with Kazui. Doing it for too long will eventually cause one to overflow in numerous ways. It can either boil over or burst forth in a controlled way.

However, in Mikoto’s case doing it too little will leave one with nothing to fall back on when external sources of validation fail them. Because there’s very little of an inner voice to connect to in Mikoto’s case be it from him focusing most of his emotional understanding outwards or other reasons he has to tip the cup over to even get a smidgen of what for most it can give while standing.

The Ace of Cups is Upright here highlighting that the inquirer needs to let go of any lingering pain from their past to move forward in a more open and unburdened way. New beginnings are on the horizon if the asker is open to them, themselves, and is willing to leave their baggage behind. Because it is in the position representative of the querents conscious state.

This can be interpreted to mean that Mikoto is making the conscious decision to remain open and flexible. He’s making a conscious effort to be approachable and amicable in his relations. Possibly even purposely ignoring any misgivings he has about his circumstances to do so.

“The minus energy that I swallowed hugged me.”

#i always turn my work in on time i say as i miss every deadline i impose on myself #milgram #kayano mikoto

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