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millysastroblog · 1 year

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RANDOM ASTRO NOTES 💋💄

💄Hello, guys I’m back with a simple decent Astro observation. So yeah , noo dragging and arguments over here. If u want drama and tea you probably will have to wait for a while 😅!

Anyways enjoy yourself as always ;)

💋 Uranus in the 5th house is an underrated creative placement , they come up with the wildest creative ideas ever 💡

💋 Moon air sign in the 4th house ppl love to communicate with their family , these are people who constantly need to call and message their loved ones📞

💋7th house stelliums don’t feel comfortable being all on their own.

💋Moon conjunct Saturn , Saturn in the 4th house look like Stone cold , heartless bitches, but they are not. They hide any kind of vulnerable emotions to protect themselves from criticism, abandonment and being misunderstood . It’s an protective shield that they build from young adolescents . they close their hearts , so nobody can enter in it to use their vulnerability against them. # past childhood trauma # pls give them a hug 🤗

💋moon , Venus Aquarius ,11th house love to be around their friends ,they feel emotionally connected to them , sooooo better not fuck with their friends!!!! ( not in a sexual way, you get what I mean right?? Yeah!)

💋Jupiter in the 2nd and 6th tend to have a huge appetites.

💋Sun square moon can make for indecisive individuals.

💋Sun conjunct moon Moon on the other hand can be very decisive and strong headed . Not always in a negative way , but what they feel or say is something they’ll rarely change for anybody.

💋 Neptune is the 11th use technology , phone, social media as escapism.

💋Neptune in the 7th , Venus- Neptune , Venus in Pisces use relationships as escapism,focus is heavily directed to love life. Forgetting anything and everything when In love 😍!

💋Mercury in Sagittarius, Mercury- Jupiter aspects can cut your soul with their bluntness. #Gordon Ramsay

💋 Venus in 4th, Jupiter in the 4th house can come from a pretty, good, wealthy, stable family’s.

💋 Jupiter in the 12th house are spiritualy connected and protected by the divine ,since birth . They naturally love to practice spiritual stuff like meditation, yoga, tarot, etc.

💋Aries , Gemini, Capricorn ,Scorpio are the most disliked zodiac signs in astrology !

💋Moon in the 4th house if good aspected feel a close connection towards their mummy . 😚

💋Sun in the 4th house are very loyal to their mum.

💋Moon in Aquarius/ 11th house are somehow everybody’s bestie 🦋✌🏽.

💋Moon in the 12th house ppl need isolation and distance from ppl more than everything.

💋Aries , Taurus , Scorpios, Sagittarius ppl can not be controlled or told what to do !

💋 Mars in the 10th house if negatively aspected can argue and fight with their parents, bosses people who have power over them , they hate to be controlled and told what to do , troublemaker for rebelling structures and rules.

💋Mars/ Uranus in the 1st are generally chaotic troublemakers, rebelling against everything and anything that comes their way.

💋Pluto in the 3rd /11th , Lilith in the 3rd/11th house could have been, badly bullied when younger have ppl spitting on them ,cutting their hair, just awful things happening to them # protect these babies 😣😢!!

💋 Uranus in the 1st, 4th,7th, 10th,11th tend to feel weird , unique, different from others .

💋Pluto in the 11th have very profound intense close friendships, they love or hate their friends with all their heart, calling and checking up on them, telling dark hidden secrets to each other, being ride or die friends for one another. When I die I’ll take care of ur family type of friendships, strong, deep sexual friendships ( fwb) situations if connected to the 7th house ruler or Venus !!!

💋Pluto in the 6th house are either very organized, punctual, ocd , clean freak or the complet opposite having a chaotic room, chaotic schedule, doing everything or nothing at the moment , extreme daily living to the point of burn out, exhaustion or even sickness.

💋Venus -Jupiter = over shopping, spending, buying.

💋Venus-Saturn= hoarding money, stingy, observing Bank out daily, making plans on how to increase income.

💋Mercury in Capricorn have an interesting tone of voice, when they speak people tend to quietly listen to what they have to say. Good in arguments. They just can demanding respect because of how serious and engaged they are in a conversation. Business minded 🫰🏽💵

💋Pluto in the 3rd / Mercury - Pluto voices are deeeepp, intense,loud just so intriguing and addictive to listen to, especially the men omg they have the most seductive voices. 🥵

💋Chiron, Neptune in the 3rd might have siblings or classmates who make fun of how they speak, not listening to what they have to say, ignoring them or not believing what comes out their moth.

💋Moon in the 3rd house can be very emotionally attached to their siblings, always communicating and spending lots of time with them.

💋Sun conjunct Neptune are kind, empathetic , sensitive and intuitive souls just like Pisces Sun !

💋Chiron in the 1st/ 10th house don’t like pictures taken of them or being filmed, very self conscious about how they are perceive by others.

💋 Capricorn Rising / Saturn in the 1st are waaaayyy grown before their actual time. These ppl can fake their whole existence based on how old they look, entering in clubs at literally the age of 15 , Early bloomers ! #apperance

💋Taurus Rising/Sagittarius/ Libra is a placement that usually indicates having a big ass, wide hips, and strong big things 🍑👀!

Thx for reading 💕

•~Milly~•

#astro notes #astro community #astro observations #astro placements #astro posts #astrology #astroloji #astroblr #astrology asteroids #writing #funny stuff #astro love #astro #astro predictions

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lunadileo · 1 year

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ღ Astrology Notes ღ

These are my personal observations that I wrote based on people around me and many years of observing them. Happy Holidays! ✨🎄🥂

💕 People with Taurus Venus are naturally such great gift givers. Their taste is impeccable and refind. They’d rather go for an expensive gift of high quality (perfume, jewellery, spa certificate) as they have a very good sense of style. They love spoiling both themselves and their loved ones. 🥰

💕 People with Pisces Moon are very sensitive and compassionate to other people, their emotions and feelings. They naturally tend to be very self-sacrificing and put the comfort and wellbeing of others first, which can often be taken for granted. Nevertheless, people with Pisces Moon are very kind-hearted, talented, intuitive and generous beings. 😍

💕 People with Taurus in the 6th house value comfort so much. They love coming home to coziness and safety every day after work, make a cup of their favourite tea, lay down under the warm blanket and watch their favourite tv series. They love for their days to go as predictable and smooth as possible. They also hate to be in a rush and mostly prefer to laze around the house. ☺️

💕 It’s very important for women with Taurus in the 7th house/Taurus Descendant to find a sense of safety and reliability in their partner. They are traditional and want their partner to take very good care of them and provide for them materially, financially and emotionally. They also love to be spoiled with gifts, receive gorgeous bouquets of flowers, love and attention. 💞

💕 People with Scorpio Rising/Pluto in the 1st house go through many transformations since the beginning of their life. They grow wiser and stronger each time, however, many people can sense constant heaviness and toughness present in their energy. These people emanate the deepest sense of unmatchable power, inner strength and are never scared to face things and people head on. Others never dare to come at them or start arguments. 👁

💕 People with Leo on the 9th house cusp are usually very successful with their studies at universities. They are interested in studying foreign languages, international affairs or intercultural communication. They may also love studying languages, geography and world history at school. Travelling is their biggest passion and motivation. 🗺

💕 People with Aquarius on the 3rd house cusp/Uranus in the 3rd house have very unique and unusual thoughts. They naturally think in an innovative and smart way. They are ahead of their time, in a good way. Many people don’t understand them and find their ideas to be weird and unconventional, not “fitting in”. Natives with these placements don’t care though and learn to accept themselves and voice their opinions over time. 🧠

💕 Men with 10th house stellium tend to be very focused on their career and public life. Their reputation is extremely important to them, they may be afraid of public judgement or being seen in a negative light. In some cases, they may neglect their families (spouses and children) and put the majority of their time and focus only on their work and getting money.

💕 People with Virgo Mars are very good workers. They are dutiful, reliable and organised. They love to complete their tasks one by one in a calm and relaxed manner. Working under pressure is not their biggest strength. 👩🏻‍💻

💕 Women who have Leo Sun Aries Moon usually occupy the leading position at work and tend to be very harsh and demanding bosses. Their colleagues and employees may not feel at ease around them, some may even fear them. Nevertheless, women with these placements are strong and don’t lose their cool in the critical situations, they handle them with confidence and authority. 🔥

💕 People with Venus Conjunct Saturn want to have that “one and only” type of partner, relationship and marriage. They will never commit to the person they don’t trust or connect with just for the sake of being in a relationship. They’d rather wait for the real one that they can build something significant and long lasting with rather than waste their time going from one shallow relationship to another. Very beautiful and thoughtful placement. ❤️

💕 Women with Leo Venus love to be spoiled with expensive gifts, love, adoration and attention. They are very fashionable and love buying designer clothes and items. Moreover, they have a very good sense of self-love and self-respect, that’s why they demand and expect the same treatment from their partner. They will never settle for less than what they think they deserve. 💖

💕 It takes some time for people with Taurus Mercury to process new information. They usually need to reread and repeat certain topics until they’re able to fully grasp it. When they do, they’ll remember the information very well and for a long period of time. People with this placement may also enjoy soft jazz music playing in the background while they are studying. 🎷

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lycheedr3ams · 4 months

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König Character Analysis (Part 1)

*image reposted with permission

Part 1: His Past

the first installment of a multi-part character analysis for our beloved König

to convince you guys i know what I'm talking about, just look through my blog at my könig posts. I am confident that I have grasped most parts of his personality and backstory, but I will acknowledge that some of it may be projecting. obviously we do not know much about him, which is the point of this series. i also relate a lot to him

discussion of my interpretation is welcome in the comments, and if you disagree, there's no need to be hateful. he is, at the end of the day, not real

TW: bullying, social anxiety, other mental health disorders

We have very little information on könig's life before the military. his bio includes one sentence, just one, about his past:

König suffered from severe social anxiety throughout his life, often being bullied during his childhood.

while this information alone isn't striking, when put into more context of other parts of his bio, it says:

While he hoped to join as a recon sniper, his physical size and his inability to stay still made him an unsuitable candidate.

focus on those words: his inability to stay still. this crucial bit of information, tied to the fact that he was often bullied, leads me to conclude that könig has ADHD. not being able to sit still is not a stereotype, it is a real fact of life for those with ADHD, me included. people with ADHD are bullied much more than neurotypicals (people without ADHD, autism, etc). while each source is different, it is estimated that children with ADHD are 4-10x more likely to be bullied.

it is no wonder why bullying would cause social anxiety, since most of könig's interactions with his peers were negative. as someone with social anxiety, it is horrible. not knowing what to say or how to act, you end up either completely misreading the social context or not saying anything. either way, you can never win.

additionally, children with ADHD receive up to 20,000 more negative messages from parents and peers in their childhood than neurotypical children. because of this, it is common for people with ADHD to also be extra sensitive to rejection, and it can be so strong in some that a new term has been coined called "rejection sensitive dysphoria." research on this issue has revealed that 99% of people with ADHD also have and experience rejection sensitive dysphoria. therefore, it makes sense to conclude that König also experiences rejection sensitive dysphoria (rsd)

an aside on rsd: this isn't just feeling hurt when you're rejected by a crush or feeling sheepish or embarrassed you're scolded at work or school. rsd episodes make you question your entire life, your personality, your worth, and for many can even lead to suicidal thoughts just from a small incident of rejection. it can also lead to the person having low self-esteem, and they are also more likely to perceive rejection even when it is not there. it is an intense and overwhelming experience that no one should have to go through, yet people with ADHD experience it often

so, we've established, based on the evidence i've provided, that König has ADHD, social anxiety, and experiences rsd. i would say that i can't even imagine what König's childhood was like, but sadly I can since i too have adhd and was bullied. being mean is never okay, and bullying is not cute or quirky or sassy. bullying is when someone kicks your books across the floor, steals and destroys your belongings, when they spread false rumors, make fun of you, laugh at you, when they give you mean faces when you ask questions in class, when your only friend is the other "weird" kid who also has ADHD. it's when your teachers constantly criticize you and you get in trouble for every little thing. it's when you just wanted a friend and everyone else knew how to socialize, but somehow, you didn't. being bullied while also having ADHD is an experience i wish on no one. yet könig went through this. just sit with that for a minute. the big scary military man we love was also a child once, and went through this.

sorry to depress you guys, but this is the reality of his character. i firmly believe that könig has ADHD and experiences rsd despite his untouchable and stoic demeanor, and you're not gonna change my mind.

so, that's the end of the first installment. keep your eyes out for more, cuz trust me, there's gonna be more. (also don't forget to sign up for my taglist if you want! link is on my masterpost)

taglist: @osteawb, @sleepystaarr, @vvampir3s, @simpxinnie, @majocookie, @sharkyyyyyyyyyyyy, @marysdelrey, @kybeth5, @chaos-on-stand-bi, @shannonswizzies, @arcadia509, @bloodstoneruby, @cumikering, @skystreamchan, @junkratssheila-09, @kit-williams, @tangerynsbaby, @dreamdiaries777, @royalbxstxrd, @non-satanic-panic, @theweirdchick, @kiyomisan, @maylif, @mortimoshi, @eneiss

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iuciferic · 2 months

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I usually don’t make text posts on tumblr because I use this site as an archive for the artwork I post online and I think keeping boundaries online is good. But it’s way too long for Twitter and I’m thanking people who use tumblr in it. But I’ve been self reflecting. Well actually, I’ve been reading the work of Nagata Kabi so it inspired me to write this. This is NOT a negative post btw.

TLDR: if I don’t believe in myself, I gotta believe in the people who believe in me

So. I’m my biggest critic, constantly annoyed at how slow my skills progress, unable to see the good or a single quality in it, basically just posting it the same way you’d hand over a test you clearly failed but at least you tried. Well, today I was scrolling my own blog and scrutinizing my own work. But in between all the work there were all those asks from people who made the step forward to come and express what they think about it. Usually when this happens I brush it off as “oh well, they’re just trying to be nice. I will thank them because I appreciate their kindness in trying to make me feel better”. But if it was the case, they’d probably just leave a like or, they don’t know me so they’d probably just ignore it. I kept reading everyone’s asks inbetween criticizing myself and it made me realize, while criticizing myself is GOOD (it means I see my past mistakes and I’m one step closer to improving), I focus too much on the negative. Some asks were pointing things I never notice about my own work. I think it’s like our own appearance. Many of us will think it’s nothing special but other people will like it. Actually this might be a bad analogy.

I wanted to thank each person (who was off anon so I could directly message them) individually but I’m actually a very shy person and I felt embarrassed like “hey, uhh, yeah that asks you probably don’t remember you sent? I read it 2 months later again and I’d like to thank you again”. I assume replying to old stuff is universally seen as weird by other people. The people might be weirded out. But in case any of you read it (anon or not, know that I am really thankful for everything and it’s thanks to you that I’m having this surge of happiness right now).

This triggered a lot of memories. Back in October, when I was drawing a lot of armored core stuff, I got an email in Japanese. At first I thought it was some google translated bot but, it was actually proper Japanese (if easy to make the difference, even if your level is low). The person was complimenting my armored core stuff and later they actually revealed themselves on twitter. It made my week to know that someone would write such a long email just because they saw what was to me a picture online I just felt “meh” about, saying that they wanted to learn to draw now. (The email was very long, I can’t just dismiss someone writing all that)

Also since I was laid off from my studio job last year, I still received freelance work doing concepts and IU for smaller games (and was even requested to do more work for the previously mentioned studio) and was able to live comfortably thanks to that. But to me it was nothing, like I refused to acknowledge my own achievements. I mean everyone has a job. Why would I congratulate myself? Because you’re doing the job you’ve always dreamed of. Yeah, it’s not a in-house permanent contract, sure I’m not working on AAA, but freelance work is still work and small indie games are often the ones doing unique and interesting things. Plus it’s not the 90’s anymore where you could have a part time job on something that would become a cult classic. The joy I felt the first time I’ve seen my name in the credits roll of a game felt like a victory after a long battle. So yeah.

I still DO need to improve drastically if I want to grow as an artist and get hired on bigger projects and have the career I dream of. (I also need to keep studying for my N2 haha). But I’m happy of what I’ve achieved so far and I’m thankful from the bottom of my heart for the people who voiced themselves to remind me to stop looking at a small detail instead of the bigger picture. We’re all works-In-progress so even if we’ve been shitters so far, doesn’t meant it’s over and we can’t get better. Also I’m conscious I’m lucky enough to have people voicing their feedback, while smaller artists don’t. If anyone has ever complimented your artwork, I would advise to read what they said again.

Also I’ve been contracted to do creature/monster design on a console game starting next week so I’m going to go and beat FF7 Rebirth in 4 days before I’m unable to play it for the rest of the month. 🫡

#this felt therapeutic to write #Kyou.txt #humans are hard to draw - machine and monsters better

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bethanydelleman · 3 months

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Don't you think that according to what is written in the book, Elizabeth was quite plain? The book itself says that Darcy and the Bingley sisters (and probably Mr. Hurst as well) made fun of Lizzy's appearance several times, when there was no reason for them to feel anything more than indifference towards her. And they didn't mock the looks of the other girls in Hertfordshire, just Elizabeth's. So for me it's understood that Lizzy's appearance attracted attention, but not in a good way.

The negative focus on Elizabeth's looks is for two reasons:

Darcy is trying to prove (to himself and others) that he doesn't like her

Caroline knows that he likes her (because he said so)

We are told by the narrator that only Mary is plain, her sister Mary, who having, in consequence of being the only plain one in the family... so while Elizabeth is certainly not a great beauty like Jane, she must be pretty enough.

Darcy focuses on some pretty weird flaws too, so it's not like she was an easy target: "Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing" like what human is perfectly symmetrical you weirdo!

So no, I don't think she was very plain, just not extremely beautiful. She looks fine.

#question response #pride and prejudice #elizabeth bennet

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pinkcrocss · 1 month

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On Andre...

So, I've been picking up on a lot of negative feelings towards Andre within the fandom (some warranted, some unwarranted in my opinion). And I think it comes down to two things:

-Andre is probably one of the least developed of the core group in terms of writing.

-Andre's actor (Chance Perdomo) has some problematic views irl.

I want to focus on the first point however, cuz I'm interested in the character not the actor (Patrick Schwarzeneggar and Claudia Dumit also support Isreal, so I'm choosing to focus my feelings on characters, not the actors if I want to enjoy this show at all).

When I first watched Gen V (before the hyper fixation had kicked in), Chance's performance had been one of my least favourites. I didn't like the weird voice he was doing (turns out he was Brit doing a pretty decent attempt at an "American Jock" type accent) and I thought the actor kept doing a lot of awkward stammers and tics that didn't feel in line with the character (I assumed, that's just how the actor was irl). That is until I watched a cast interview and I learned 2 things:

He is a Brit.

He's actually a very smooth and clear speaker. Which means those mannerisms were an intentional choice by the actor.

Later, once the hyperfixation had truly set in, I was watching a boatload of cast interviews, when I caught a comment underneath one of those videos that totally changed my view of that character and performance during my 4th (maybe 5th) rewatch.

You know how each of the core group's abilities hurts them in some way and thus works as an allegory for some form of personal issue that they are overcoming? i.e.

Marie -> Cutting/Self Harm

Emma -> Eating Disorders

Cate -> Consent

Jordan -> Gender Identity/dysphoria

For a while, I don't really see how Andre's abilities could serve as an allegory for anything. like, yes later on we learn that his powers will cause him damage over time, but that kind of seemed ham-fisted at the last minute, and not really connected to his ability to bend metal.

But back to that one Youtube comment. I can't remember word for word the comment, but to paraphrase, essentially:

The commentor spoke about how they connected to Andre's character a lot because when they were in college, they had developed an auto-immune disease that essentially made them chronically ill.

They talked about being unable to keep up with their peers, while they were supposed to be in their prime physical years, and how much that taxed on their mental health. Constantly feeling left out, constantly self-medicating, and the chronic pain that they just had to grin and bear.

And as soon as I read that, everything I didn't quite understand/connect with in Andre's character suddenly made sense.

What is one of Andre's core personality traits in the group? He's the stoner.

From episode one, there's a scene of him doing drugs in every episode. Cate is constantly asking him if he's high... he's self medicating.

The slow way he talks, the constant blinking and squeezing his face (note the scene when he's yelling at Tek Knight, or after he takes that first hit from Sam, or after he stops the helicopter)... he's in pain.

So many tics and nuances in his behaviour that I initially wrote off, was actually a much more nuanced performance from Chance Perdomo.

And it all coalesces in that final scene when Andre is at Vought tower and learns of his dad's diagnosis. His powers are slowly killing him, making him weaker (like an auto-immune disease. the body attacking itself).

And the doctor asks him if he ever feels light-headed? has he noticed any uncontrollable tics? Andre is hesitant, almost like he's in denial. But you look back at his actions/behaviour throughout the show, and he's been showcasing both those things.

Finally, the scene with the helicopter. Where it's more or less confirmed that Andre's powers are doing to him, exactly what his dad's powers did. I've seen people very critical of that scene. Saying things like, Oh! He's all of a sudden being affected by the use of his powers, but we hadn't seen that previously (which I disagree) and how it seemed "too convenient".

But keep in mind, stopping a decelerating helicopter is the biggest feat of Andre's abilities we'd seen so far in the show. Of course it's going to take a bigger toll on him than all the other times (not to mention he was in pretty big emotional distress. His dad, Cate's betrayal, an attack on the school...). Stress exacerbates illnesses.

The other critique I've seen is, why are Andre's abilities having this affect now? He's supposed to be in his 20s, but his dad made it all the way to his 40s/50s before it was detected... and that's a fair question. I have some theories:

Like certain genetic illnesses, this issue is hereditary. It's not Impossible, that Andre just inherited a stronger ability than his father, and thus stronger blowback on himself.

Andre's chronic drug use might be a chicken or egg situation. Where maybe his chronic drug use exacerbated the damage his abilities were causing him, and as a result he started self-medicating with more drugs, causing a continues cycle of him increasing the damage to himself.

His dad has been shown to have a very stubborn personality (note how he refused to acknowledge when Andre revealed to him the damage their powers were causing them). Perhaps, he had started feeling the symptoms around the same age Andre had, but just kept ignoring it and pushing through up until he reached his limit in his 40s/50s.

Some other reason that writer's haven't revealed yet. The show has been renewed for a second season, and it's obvious these characters have been set up to be integral to the overarching storyline of the boys as a whole. It's entirely possible that there is more potential development for Andre's character in the future, and I think it's fair to give the writers leeway to explore that.

All in all, I just wanted to get my thoughts out about this, and maybe see how everyone else views Andre's character. He seems to be one of the least discussed in the core group, and I feel like his character has a lot of room for more development in the future if the writers approach it correctly.

#sorry for the rambling #I literally made this blog just so I can be insane about this show in peace #gen v #andre anderson #marie moreau #jordan li #emma meyer #cate dunlap #luke riordan

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ofbreathandflame · 3 months

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(okay so this is actually a couple months ago but i was writing something and i was oh - this kind of sounds familiar to something ive written somewhere. its a draft so forgive me for jumping around hehe

ive seen the resurgence of this topic and it really hints at the differences between the way the pro/anti sides read this books.

this argument is a much older one - and the orginal argument was that sjm undervalues feminine work, not 'feyre undervalues feminine work.' the framing is very important toward the argument being made; if we say that 'feyre undervalues female work/femininity' then we're looking at a very narrow focus. we are making a statement about her character, not the characterization and writing decisions that go into making the character. when we say that 'sjm undervalues feminine/house work' then we are making a much broader statement. because then we are making a criticism toward the writing decisions, not character decisions. the reason this is important, in particular, is because often the story struggles with distinguishing sjm's voice from feyre - hence why we are often told things, and shown another.

the important takeaway from this argument is that sjm often chooses not to show or elaborate on the 'feminine' coded things; that in the books thereafter - there are two black-coded women in the background doing alll of the housework, and another older black-coded woman doing all of the medical work. and another black-coded woman in the spring court doing alllll household of the work. its that even though the 'laziness' of the sisters was a focal point in their relationship fracture, the story never actually acknowledges these things - or that even feyre did them. the focus is always on the hunting. its that the book assigns these task to black women and never talks about it again. that feyre was able to assume this fatherly role (hunting) is what the story argues is the sacrifice. bc the story is adamant about the women not falling into the 'party-planner' 'lady' 'baby-making' role. why be 'just a mother' when you can be a highlady fire wielding, death-beating, seer, goddess warrior. being 'just a mother' isn't enough. being 'just a party planner' isn't enough women who occupy that 'just a mother role' are often women who are violently killed off and unnamed, victims of hyperviolence, or characterized as vapid (rhys and tamlin mother, lyria, sorsha, marion, loa, cassian's mom, az's mom, mother archeron, dorian's mother, ember - who occupies both roles imo). there is an unwritten, negative consequence associated with being 'just a mother' -- and its not until sjm herself becomes a mother that we even see semi-positive representations of motherhood (yrene, embe, feyre; and even in this case - feyre still falls into the catergory above). in short - the narrative works against sjm newfound appreciation of motherhood and it's also demonized as femine-coded work that isn't considered valid.

instead of actually holding the sisters accountable for ‘not doing enough’ the narrative just assigns the task to invisible women and moves on from the discussion. and this segues into a wider discussion of representation and white feminism; how it’s okay to always place black/brown-coded women in invisible positions of servitude and service (madja, alis, nuala and cerridwen, nehemia, sorscha). think about this - the story essentially praises that feyre does all of this work and that she deserves to rest by....giving the work to these black handmaidens to do; ofc this argument is analytical and subjective (i.e. its my opinion), but i think there's always something so weird about framing the discussion around the fact that 'feyre deserves to rest,' instead of actually getting at the problem of having servants to begin with.

we get a moment where feyre sees her boots falling apart and instead of just taking nesta's boots (bc she was asking for another pair) or mending her own (feyre is just assumed to only have one pair). she kind of just throws herself a pity party. there’s like feyre doesn’t think like a survivalist, nor do her sisters even act realistically impoverished. even if nesta and elain where stereotypical mean girls they still would not act like that given how long they’ve been in that position. im sure nesta and elain know how to sew, so at the very least, they could’ve been mending clothes, making their own clothes and shoes. that is a ‘feminine’ coded task that could have easily been incorporated into the story to make their circumstance more believable. instead the emphasis is always put on the masculine coded activity: the hunting.

the reason the statement even comes up is because the story often disparages 'femininity' in the name of progression (i.e. this is why elain's character exists in a vacuum; she is praised for the same qualities she was vilified for). the 'progression' in this case is an approximation to masculinity. its why the sisters must go on a journey before settling into femininity and why the book essentially believes training is the answer for the illyrian women oppression. its what the book distinguished feyre away from her sister with. it’s that the story doesn’t acknowledge a decade, of at the very least, regular household tasks.

#anti sjm #anti feyre #anti feysand #anti rhysand #anti sjm: nesta archeron #anti sjm: elain archeron #anti acosf #anti sjm: feminism discussion

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samasmith23 · 1 year

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Why do some people think that stories portraying darker subject matter is always an inherently bad thing?

I’ve recently encountered this weird mindset in regards to certain online fandom spaces, wherein people will argue that fictional characters experiencing intense trauma and pain is somehow inherently problematic and negatively reflects on the creator’s skills or ethics. This feels like such a narrow-minded and shallow understanding of a piece of media, since characters undergoing hardships is often a necessary element for them to grow and develop as the narrative progresses. Plus, while some stories can indeed be more intense and graphic in what types of trauma is depicted, it’s mere inclusion doesn’t automatically make the story or it’s author inherently bad. For instance, even though I personally haven’t read the manga series Berserk by the late Kentaro Miura (May he Rest In Peace…), based on what I’ve heard from others while the series does include graphic depictions of sexual assault which the main protagonist Guts suffered from in his past, said-assaults are NOT framed in a gross or exploitative way, but are instead utilized to analyze and discuss the character’s feelings of physical and psychological trauma derived from said-horrible events, and heavily factors into Guts' overall backstory and development as a character as he tries to heal from the violent trauma of his past and discover some sense of happiness in a bleak world.

And yet despite this I’ve encountered a few people accuse Berserk of being “pro-rape” or even outright stating that Miura “deserved to die” (which is an absolutely disrespectful and disgusting thing to say!) simply because he included these darker elements in his manga. Like... that's as stupid as someone claiming that Quentin Tarantino is automatically "pro-murder" simply because his movies include lots of scenes of characters killing each other.

I’ve also encountered far less overtly toxic examples of this kind bad faith media criticism in comic circles. Awhile I was incredibly confused when I saw some people on Twitter arguing that Saladin Ahmed was “ill-suited to writing teenage characters” simply because of two scenes in his Miles Morales: Spider-Man & Magnificent Ms. Marvel runs respectively, which involved Miles being tortured by the new supervillain, The Assessor (who would later make clones of Miles as a result), as well as the final battle between Ms. Marvel and her evil robot-duplicate Stormranger getting quite brutal at times (you could see blood from the impact Stormranger’s punch).

In regards to the Miles’ torture scene, I've seen a small number of people argue that the scene's existence was inherently inappropriate due to Miles' status as a Black minor, going as far as to label it as "dehumanizing" and "really insensitive to the real trauma of black boys." I'm not sure how I feel about this as those labels feel a tad extreme due to the fantastical nature of Miles' stories. Like, as brutal as the scene with the Assessor is, it’s at least given a more ficitional sci-fi vibe due to the high-tech laboratory, the Frankenstein operating table, and the fact that this whole ordeal leads directly into Miles' own version of Spider-Man: Clone Saga after The Assessor acquires Miles’ DNA in the process. So it feels less grounded and not as reflective of those real-life traumatic experiences Black men and boys unfortunately go through in the U.S. like I saw a few critics of Ahmed’s run claiming. Plus, Ahmed had Miles be rescued by both his father Jefferson Morales and Uncle Aaron Davis teaming-up together. So the narrative frames the Assessor’s torture of Miles as a bad thing whilst depicting two older Black men actively putting aside their personal differences in order to save their son/nephew as a major narrative focus as well. How exactly is it "dehumanizing" or "inappropriate" then?

And it seems like this bizarre criticism isn’t just limited to Twitter comic fandoms, since a certain Lily Orchard recently made an AWFUL video which outright accused animation fandoms and creators of “fetishizing the torture and abuse of POC women” in cartoons like The Legend of Korra, The Owl House, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. As soon as I saw the thumbnail for that video I knew it was going to be an absolute dumpster fire.

In it, not only does Lily engage in those similar types of arguments like the ones I mentioned earlier about Saladin Ahmed’s portrayal of Miles & Kamala, but Lily went multiple steps further by outright accusing various scenes from The Legend of Korra, The Owl House & She-Ra of being “literal torture p*rn” and “fetishized abuse against POC women.” With Korra, Lily accused the scenes of Korra brutally poisoned with the Red Lotus’ liquid metalic venom, Korra still being significantly weakened by the poison during her final battle with Zaheer (causing her to fall and tumble down cliff-sides) and Zaheer trying to use his air-bending to suck the oxygen right out of Korra’s lungs (the same technique he previously used to assassinate the Earth Queen), plus the Unalaq fight from the Season 2 finale where extracts the Avatar spirit from Korra and kills all her past lives one by one with a water-whip as “white centrist writers being turned on by the trauma and torture of a woman of color.”

And in regards to She-Ra, Lily accused Catradora shippers of being an example of fandom going “full mask-off” simply because she found 2 or 3 random comments defending Catra’s abusive behavior prior to her gradual redemption arc in the final season simply because they found the Adora & Catra fights “hot” (which I know for a fact does NOT represent the entirety or even majority of the She-Ra fandom & Catradora shippers).

It’s just… I honestly don’t understand why Lily is describing these scenes as “torture p*rn” or “abuse fetishizing.” Like, it’s not unexpected for characters to undergo traumatic crap during their story arcs, and most often it’s for the purposes of raising the dramatic stakes of the conflict or to have said-characters eventually undergo some sort of positive change arc (which is what happens in both Korra and She-Ra btw). While the abuse Korra suffers at Zander’s hands is indeed violent, it’s intentionally disturbing and off-putting in order to increase the viewer’s suspense and fear over whether or not the main character will get out of this alive. Personally, when I first watched the Season finale of “Book 3,” I was on the edge of my seat and constantly worried for Korra’s survival, and while she is left physically and psychologically scarred by the whole ordeal I’ve heard that the entirety of “Book 4” (which I still haven’t seen BTW) focuses on Korra healing from her trauma and becoming more spiritually enlightened in the process. YouTuber and MarySue author, Princess Weekes, though had some interesting analyses about Korra’s portrayal of overcoming trauma and how its heavily rooted in East Asian philosophy, despite Weekes' overall mixed feelings about the series in general:

And while I can’t comment on The Owl House (again, haven’t watched any of it), I can say that Lily’s characterization of Catradora as “torture p*rn/abuse fetishization” is 100% wrong since the show frames Catra’s behavior towards Adora and others throughout Seasons 1-4 as toxic and unhealthy, and Season 5 is all about her fixing herself on her own volition after realizing the harm she’s caused, and it’s only AFTER all of that when Adora & Catra become lovers. But the way Lily describes the scenes in Korra & She-Ra (which are honestly pretty PG in their levels of brutality despite being fairly dark for family-friendly animation) you’d think she was talking about some over-the-top violently explicit tentacle hentai or something, as she even goes as far as to compare the Korra & Zaheer fight to FREAKING The Passion of the Christ (seriously… Lily actually compared Korra to Mel Gibson's antisemitic guilt-tripping exploitation film which unnecessarily stretches out Jesus' torture and crucifixion; which in the Bible occurred in just a few brief passages instead of 2-and-a-half hours like in the movie).

Geez… given how Lily so inaccurately mischaracterizes these scenes from Korra and She-Ra, I’d honestly hate to see she’d react to Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is heavily centered around the characters suffering from intense depressive episodes and experiencing emotional breakdowns, whilst also including lots of psychoanalytical and disturbing imagery. Knowing Lily, she’d probably ignore the fact that NGE’s director Hideaki Anno was suffering from severe depression while creating the series (which heavily influenced the show’s overall production and themes), and instead accuse all the depictions of depression and trauma in EVA of being “unrealistic” and “inaccurate” since according to her all fictional depictions of trauma are inherently inaccurate since there’s no one universal depiction of trauma (Lily actually said that in her terrible video), and accuse all of the series’ violent and sexual imagery of being “torture p*rn” whilst calling Anno a “perverted abuse-fetishizing creep who is turned on by torture” (which feels incredibly SWERFy on Lily’s part, as well as needlessly hostile towards people who are into BDSM or sado-masachism and practice it safely and consensually) just like she did to the creators of Korra, Owl House, and She-Ra (even though NGE and especially the movie The End of Evangelion is highly critical of exactly that kind of gross and toxic behavior within Japanese Otaku subcultures).

So my overall question is this: why do Lily and some other people think that including intense trauma or brutal torture scenes in comics or animation, even when said-scenes they're framed in the story as bad things are inherently “problematic,” “dehumanizing,” “fetishistic,” or “torture/trauma p*rn”? It's like... I can understand not wanting to stomach intensely violent or depressing scenes if they can't handle them, or being critical if they feel unnecessarily mean-spirited or exploitative, but often times having darker elements is an unavoidable aspect of giving a story a sense of conflict. Conflict is necessary in order to have a plot or to develop characters, except it feels like a lot of people on social media believe that the mere inclusion of any type of darker conflict or subject matter is inherently ethically dubious regardless of how its framed within the overall narrative.

I just don't get this kind of mentality and why it's become so prevalent online these days... I really don't...

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shysublimecoffee · 4 months

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I prefer not to sound harsh, but Miraculous has become a fandom where I find more enjoyment in reading fanfics than watching the show. It feels like there's a lack of effort or an attempt to justify and rearrange elements, often ignoring past seasons and assuming the audience won't notice. The handling of Derision is a notable example, with more astute critics than me delving into their dissatisfaction and the evident retcons.

I didn't anticipate the show going to such lengths as portraying Gabriel as someone deserving of a statue, and it left a sour taste in my mouth to see the hero endorsing it. Adrien/ChatNoir's portrayal has become quite pitiful, with a peculiar shift where Ladybug takes on a significant role in the Agreste Saga despite her absence from that narrative. Ladybug, who isn't even part of the Agreste Saga, is the one delivering heartfelt moments. The decision to sideline Adrien and put him out of commission is disappointing. It's his story yet she the one who has to make it about her. She gets to shine along with a cool costume to boot.

There's a palpable bias from Astruc against Chloe, evident in the show's treatment of her character. Despite her being manipulated by Gabriel Agreste, the narrative blames her for becoming mayor, and the absurdity of the situation is magnified when everyone in the story goes along with it. The inclusion of a scene in Revolution where Chloe is crying is perplexing and frustrating, as it seems to perpetuate the negative and irredeemable image the show consistently paints of her. The added layer of her mother being horrid to her intensifies my annoyance, especially when sympathetic scenes are presented in a seemingly contradictory manner.

I mean you want her to be the worst but yet she has scenes like this? Why not go all the way wtf. Why give her depth only to take it away and then make her be so demonized in s5 and act like she was like this from the start. When she's been a joke

I hate to be critical, but seriously, it's hard to ignore how the Miraculous universe is just dripping with untapped potential. Five seasons in, and the movie outshines the show effortlessly. It makes you wonder about the writers' team and their approach—seems like they're just coasting on low effort for profit, and somehow, it's working, thanks to Miraculous inexplicable popularity.

The show's been beating the monster-of-the-week horse for five long seasons, lacking any creativity in crafting interesting villains. Gabriel, honestly, feels like a starter villain, and if they're going to make him the big bad, can we at least get some villains with a bit more pizzazz? You know craft creative interesting villains? KNDS, Original PPG, Totally Spies they got it so why not Miraculous. It's so damn tiring seeing the same old song and dance with Gabriel 24/7 monologuing to his wife and releasing the akuma I thought Mayura would be important but she's barely there.

It's not even an excuse kids do deserve better entertainment so why should Miraculous lower its standards. Marinette is very weird to me as the protagonist because her lovelife is more focused over everything I gauged her well enough to know about her that the rest of the secondary needs more of a spotlight to be cast on them. I like her but am I the only one who just skips when she starts the whining about Adrien and her plan to again get together it was cute at first now I fast forward to the more interesting part of the episode because it irks me i'm tired okay... what other facet of her character do the writers focus on besides her love life? I hope I don't appear to salt on her but Imma tag it just in case. I think she's in neutral treading to dislike because how can I come back from her gaslighting her boyfriends I'm sorry I can't.

You know what I'm afraid of that if Lila gonna be the next big bad they'll just recycle everything from Gabriel onto her. We'll have the same akumatizations same monster of the week formula only this time it's Lila.

I trust more in the fanfic community to come up with a better substantial plot than Miraculous could ever be. I know romance is a big part but the lore is so damn little it's season 5 are they ever going to expand more in the later seasons lol.

I'm tired from writing this long. Imma go to bed now.

#miraculous salt #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug #marinette salt

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demodraws0606 · 3 months

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The very weird plays in Tsukasa and Rui's last event and how they can be analysed and the weird detail that links them together

I made a post about this before but it was poorly made (and also not really a theory or analysis it was just me having brainworms) so I deleted it and I want to actually make an analysis about it. Unfortunatly this also means this post will be long as fuck which can be a positive or a negative depending on how you view it.

Warning for mentions of suicide and drowning

So Tsukasa and Rui both have plays that are kind of the focus of the event, to the point where wxs literally stop to basically explain to us the plot of them (in world they're just talking about it but like it's clear it's also meant for us the viewers to understand the plays they're doing).

And these two plays are already very interesting and...well dark on their own but they have a extremely strange similarity that I don't believe is a coincidence (because that would be insane) and also just kinda shakes the foundation on how colorpalet write these sorts of topics in general.

First I want to preface this by saying that me analysing these plays isn't some kind of fool's herrand as colorpalet has explicitely hid backstory information, future lore hints and overall just little bits of character into WxS's plays more often than not. Of course some plays are more explicit than others.

A huge exemple of this, is the first arc ender where the play they do to save Phennyland is one that obviously is meant to parallel Emu's backstory with her grandpa. It also stands as Very early foreshadowing between the parallels of Emu's grandpa and Tsukasa that Emu sees in Admist a Dream.

So yeah, from a writing standpoint, makes sense you don't want the plays you spent a lot of words describing to the audience to be useless especially considering colorpalet has a limited amount of time to explore these stories.

I also want to get this as early as possible before I get possible criticism because I know how this fandom acts towards analysis that delve into darker topics. Don't try and respond with "colorpalet wouldn't write something like that" or "this is too dark for colorpalet". Not only because I'm not insinuating that they will actually go full dark mode and depict something graphic.

But also because this is something that is already IN the text, I'm not making up darker themes here, that is something that colorpalet chose to add in WonderlandXShowtime's event stories. I'm only bringing up how odd this is for colorpalet and how it could relate to the overall story.

I'll bring this up later because this specific criticism gets very silly once you delve deeper into it but I don't want to stall the analysis any longer.

So now with this out of the way, let's get into the plays.

This is the story of the first play showed in Tsukasa's event

Of course the first thing that stands out is how much darker this play is compared to well...almost anything colorpalet addresses in stories ? This definitely shocked when I first read it, there is no usage of "disappearing" and it Actually describes the method as to which the protagonist wants to end their life which the only thing close to that we see is Kanade hinting on wanting to starve herself. But I'm gonna get into how weird this is for colorpalet later.

Extremely dark topics aside you can easily draw parallels to this story to Nene and Rui specifically already. The story is vague enough that those parallels don't hold too much water (ahaha get it) BUT it's still something that I feel is important to point out nontheless.

Nene and Rui were both unsuccesful in their dreams before the main story. Nene having given up going on stage and Rui never being able to be a director being forced to use robots for his plays.

Both were pretty jaded and well "worn out" until they met Tsukasa and Emu which would be a stand in for the protagonist of this play going through various encounters with many people and deciding to live a little longer.

(The reason I don't compare this protagonist to Tsukasa and Emu here is because I don't think they fit as well. Tsukasa's issues wasn't being unsuccesful its more so him forgetting the reasons behind his dreams and Emu's situation while similar just doesn't feel like it fits this story in particular)

So yeah this story is pretty simple so there is not much to analyse or pick apart. I could go scene by scene but then I would be distracting from the main point I want to make so I'll just be using the simple descriptions of the overall story.

NOW this one is a doozie, I didn't put the whole story that's described but I think compared to the last one this one is way more obvious as to what this could paralleling (or even foreshadowing if you want to be spicy).

I don't think this play is meant to be interpreted in only one way but the most obvious interpretation is the parallels to the disbandement arc. I think it particularly fits Rui in the disbandement considering how Katsuyuki is described but it can also work with Emurui in general as well.

Someone struggling meeting someone who brings joy in their life before they seemingly have to leave, said person being desperate for that not to happen.

I do think it's also meant to be a sort of double meaning here as if you have seen my cyberpunk deadboy analysis, the idea of someone leaving silently with the other trying to chase them down is something that just feels...idk intentional. But I don't have any evidence other than vibes here.

Now that I analysed these plays I want to get into the one common thread they have that is extremely baffling and concerning.

They both have the main character contemplating suicide by drowning.

Now you can be nitpicky and point out how the play in Rui's event doesn't explicitely say that this dude wants to drown himself but I just find it more likely mostly because of how this and the description of Katsuyuki's characters are phrased.

When Katsyuki is said to be "without the will to live"

THAT is a literal translation

Unfortunatly I'm not a japanese speaker so don't take my research with 100 pourcent certainty

However if you look at how this sentence is phrased in japanese, this translation is pretty much word for word

And also just what Hajime says doesn't feel like what someone would say to someone if they're just leaning to close to look at the ocean or just being reckless.

Anyways now that I've made my point that there is a 95 pourcent chance this is Heavily implying Katsuyuki was plannign on drowning himself the question is....

what the fuck ?

Now one time is already a big deal considering colorpalet's insitance on censoring explicit mentions of suicide and for it to be implied twice in the span of two events in a row ? And have it be specifically be by drowning both times ?????

I don't understand people just brushing this off because Colorpalet Actively chose to make the plays like this. These plays often take a large portion of the screentime, and I've showcased how they can hold story significance so such a blatant connection between them feels extremely intentional.

This is why complaints about expecting Colorpalet to get too dark and that it's unrealistic would be legitmatly silly because what's more unrealistic ?

That colorpalet has tackled this dark topic twice in a row to foreshadow or hint at possible topics that will be addressed in the future of WxS's story ? Weither it's through flashbacks or implications like 25ji OR even just symbolism.

Or that colorpalet just went and made the plays needlessly dark, for no reason ?????? Twice in a row with it being drowning both times ??????? With the same actor and both being the protagonist of the play ?????? Have those plays that take a lot of screentime being described just being completely devoid meaning ???????

I think I made my case about why the fandom's usual kneejerk reaction wouldn't make sense here, this isn't a "X character is secretly suicidal/depressed" situation.

Either way, I actually don't legitematly know what this could entail. This is clearly important enough that colorpalet is obviously shoving it in our faces but I do not know the meaning of it towards WxS's story just yet.

It could be hints at some of the members backstory (BTW by that I mean it could be hints at basically anything, it doesn't have to be explicitely 1/1 "they wanted to drown themselves") specifically Rui considering how suspicious they are at handling ms Rui but that is it's own can of wringling worms. But that could also be my fav character bias speaking tbf.

It could also just be meant to be some kind of like, message of colorpalet saying that they are willing to go darker with WxS's storyline if necessary. In a way showing that the gloves are off if they're not censoring dark topics that they usually censor.

Anyways I'm not delving further into it because otherwise i'd get into unhinged rants but honestly this subject just gives me so much brainworms because legit what the Fuck is colorpalet doing rn.

They are being so weird for literally no reason with WxS's story and I just have to sit back and watch them just drop weird shit out of nowhere.

Edit : One of my friends pointed out how one of them is a movie and one of them is a play and i realised I might've mixed those words up while writing this so yeah 😭

#project sekai #rui kamishiro #tsukasa tenma #emu otori #nene kusanagi #prsk #pjsk #prsk analysis #pjsk analysis #wxs #wonderlandxshowtime #tw suicide #tw drowning #tw mentions of suicide #warning before you interract with this post though #I'm doing this for fun #I appreciate wanting to give feedback but it kinda just kills the vibe for me #I'm sorry for being so defensive in a majority of the post but I feel like this is necessary considering what I know about the fandom #This is also not an invitation to try and criticise my post anyways just block and move on #This fandom just gets really touchey when people try and do analysis like this which I understand considering some rlly bad analysis #have come out of completely forgetting how colorpalet writes stories but like #that is very much not what i'm doing the topics are THERE i'm just reacting to them #And also just the “colorpalet wouldn't do that its unrealistic” is like pretty much not something I can argue against completely because #the point in itself is not based on evidence like we will never know how far colorpalet would go until they Go There #(also if you believe i'm vagueposting about someone through these constant warnings you'd be kind of right but like this is also just to #(make sure i'm understood because the last I post I made definitely gave people the wrong vibe which is my bad)#(these analysis mean a lot to me #personally so I want to make sure that this keeps being fun for me)#(anyways rlly sorry for the rant in the tags eirfuezij)#TLDR : i don't mean harm towards anyone if you don't agree with me it's in your full right but don't try and jump into the rb's to argue

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1galaxia369 · 5 months

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VIRGO RISING ♍️

💚 Timeless Read 💚

Virgos I'm getting you went through some things, some soul searching happened. I see a renewed person! I love that for you! You finally removed the tight restrictions you had on your self and finally are leaning into divine flow. You finally got real with yourself and healed, letting go has to be a life changing feeling for you. I don't know if you realize that this change happened within you yet but it has and you'll never be that old you again. your overall energy at this time is forward movement, things will be picking up and alot will be happening regarding your career and spiritual life also, you might be moving soon or going abroad. It's time for you to start enjoying life now you are too hard on yourself and you put too much of your energy into work (work that isn't for you). You have so many ideas and creative skills and the universe is (not forcing you) giving you a forceful nudge towards working on them and walking the path to your dreams and goals. It's time for some focus, you have an excellent work ethic, towards anything you put your mind to. you will have an entire plan and routine surrounding your plans and that's what you need right now-- to be your self and use that magick you got at birth to do something you love.

In the past or maybe you just went through some struggle and serious lessons. Things like these often leave an imprint on a person, you might be dealing with a scarcity mindset as a result of what happened. Your relationship with money is imbalanced, you might have made a financial choice that you think messed you up or caused struggle but that wasn't the case. The period of time was going to happen regardless of what you did with your money, things like that have to run its course. Your okay now, you don't need to keep up that fear of fucking up aslo, you are human. Also, its okay to spend your money on things that aren't neccessesity. Buying things that makes you happy are just as important as taking care of responsibilities, put something aside for yourself everytime. You need to understand that you actually don't have control over everything in this reality and over yourself. Practice not thinking and planning every single outcome and possibility for everything you do. Give your mind a rest and allow your intuition to lead you. There is a strong need for that listening to SELF and not worrying about things that haven't happened yet, you can't control something that haven't happened yet. Your spirit guides are working hard on your behave, give your self a break and learn to flow. When things arise in that moment you'll know what to do just focus on what's going on right now. This will bring in happiness and emotional stability.

You are in good position to start seriously working towards your dreams. The universe is handing your stability and support, let your intuition lead you now. The signs and messages will be there and you need to pay attention even to the little nudges and feelings you get. If you feel like walking to the park or randomly having a certain song stuck in your head follow those nudges. Little things will lead you to information or help. More importantly the negative self talk and self doubt create noise and you won't be able to hear your inner voice. Please note that when embarking on new journeys you are usually going to be alone and to your loved ones you'll be considered crazy or weird. The people closest to you won't be able to see your vision and won't be much support I'm afraid, so this dream that's about to be fulfilled requires mental strength and complete peace and focus. Meditation and just mindful sitting is a good way to quiet your mind, whenever you start over think or when peoples criticisms start replaying in your head and it's too much, just take deep breaths 3 to focus, 6 to center your self and 9 to release. I see you being in love with all your old hobbies and passions and you'll be going back to learn, whether it's you dedicating time to practice or going back to school or hitting up a mentor. You'll be going back to find yourself and renewing those things you left behind in the pursuit of practicality and doing what society wants. Time to be yourself and honor what self wants and stop living up to the expectations other people put on you.

I recommend some spiritual cleansing, baths and smudging ( sage then palo santo or get a good incense I'd rec. cinnamon or lavender or 7 african powers). Release is good for you 29 deep breaths from the gut. Try some yoga it will help with slowing down your mind and releasing tension.

#tarot #tarot reading #astrology #virgo #virgo rising #zodiac #spirituality

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livixbobbiex · 4 months

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More on ADHD and acceptance in Percy Jackson

TLDR: Percy Jackson was a formative ADHD representation experience for me, even though I didn't know at the time, and I hope it can be that for others too. Mostly a slightly tmi personal tale, but this has a point I promise.

I was a teenager during that specific sweet spot where internet culture had taken off, but Tiktok wasn't a thing yet. Social media was less algorithm based. This meant that my exposure to ADHD as a concept was somewhat less than what you see nowadays.

Percy Jackson was pretty much the first (and only) exposure I had to ADHD. And because I was around 13 when I first picked it up, I hadn't figured myself out yet, so I didn't have that instant relational experience. What I did relate to, though, was the emotional weight. Percy's narrative voice sucked me in, because even if I didn't understand 'ADHD' fully, I fundamentally got the otherness. The weird sense of just being different from other people. I used to daydream about being whisked away too, that I would get some explanation for why I was Other. So when I read the PJO books, it was a case of deeply understanding that narrative, but not fully knowing why.

I was able to fully pin down that I was probably an ADHDer by 16 or so (more after things like internet quizzes and specific research). And I was only able to actively start the diagnosis process when I was 18.

So when I read the Percy Jackson (and Heroes of Olympus by this point) books again with that context, it was a different experience. It didn't teach me that I was ADHD (I will say, the books don't really focus on that and consistently tie behaviours back to it explicitly). But they don't portray ADHD as a negative thing and that's very important. There is legitimate room for criticism of the 'ADHD superpower narrative' in the early books especially, don't get me wrong, but for my young self this was legitimately so helpful.

What it meant was that for me, my first true experience with ADHD was a sensation of okayness and acceptance. As Percy was told, there's nothing wrong with him, he was just built different, brain tuned to be better at different things. Yeah, the 'mortal' world is difficult to cope with, but that doesn't mean that Percy was somehow wrong or broken. Just... different. Which I suppose is the reason Rick started telling those stories in the first place, too.

That message is what stuck with me super hard, when I could directly apply it to myself. It's a fundamental part of why I have never been afraid of my diagnosis, and why I'm comfortable being super open about it both online and in my day to day life. I genuinely do not think I would be in nearly as good a position in life as I am today, had I not read those books.

So yeah. I'm stoked that the series is back in huge relevance. I absolutely love the way that ADHD has been portrayed so far in the show. In general I think access to information about ADHD nowadays is a net positive, though I do share concerns that there's a tendency to over medicalise/hyperfixate on the condition part of it. So, it does make me happy to get the kind of representation that's far more in the 'you're not broken by being different' lane, because that's something we could frankly all use more of.

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #adhd #actually adhd #this turned into a whole self analysis session #But who knows maybe some people will relate #I was also just really into greek mythology #Totally blame pjo for making it into a full blown hyperfixation though

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destinationtoast · 11 months

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On writing messiness, genre expectations, and satisfying endings

(AKA why did I mostly like the Ted Lasso finale?)

I found the Ted Lasso finale more satisfying than many people seem to have – which is not to say I found it perfect; it was an imperfect end to a messy season – but it made me feel a lot of big & enjoyable emotions while watching it, and it didn’t contain anything that left me feeling too frustrated afterward. But I know a lot of people had a much more negative experience (and I feel empathy and compassion for that, as someone who has been deeply disappointed by past shows I was hugely invested in *cough* Sherlock and Game of Thrones *cough*). This meta is me noodling about why I found the finale mostly satisfying, while not critiquing anyone else’s experience or expectations.

It's been funny watching the Succession finale and the Ted Lasso finale in such close proximity, for a number of reasons (I loved both shows, in such different ways). Maybe I'm just not tuned in enough to the Succession fandom to see it, but I didn’t see people saying things like, "I can't believe Succession set up X to stay in an abusive dynamic with Y," or “Z is in such a mentally unstable place and didn’t get help! So unhealthy.” OTOH, I see a lot of people feeling unhappy that their favorite Ted Lasso characters weren’t given ideal/healthy/happy endings, which seems to be where a lot of the finale dissatisfaction arises.

A lot of this obviously comes down to tone expectations – people were presumably not expecting Succession to be kind to the characters in the end, because it's never been about kindness or healthy relationships, whereas Ted Lasso has often been. But this got me thinking about how I nonetheless seem to have had different expectations for the Ted Lasso finale than some (many?) fans did. Looking at some of the criticisms I’ve seen from people who were disappointed by the finale, I think I had different writing expectations from some fans, different genre expectations, and perhaps a different idea of what qualifies as a satisfying ending.

Writing expectations. I didn’t think the finale could possibly fix most of what was wrong with S3, which was a mess. S3 was often lovely, and I will enjoy rewatching it, but it was still a mess structurally – featuring weird pacing, odd choices of where to focus, and some unsatisfying storylines & character moments. And because writers are only human – and also working with a lot of behind-the-scenes constraints & S4 negotiations & late rewrites – I didn’t think the finale would be able to do any last-minute miracle saves. I didn’t expect any grand plan to become clear, or all/most of the loose threads to get tied up. But I went in open to the idea that I would enjoy the finale for where it took the characters, given the messy journeys they’d already been on by the end of episode 3x11. (This was tempered by my having hoped in vain for the writers to miraculously make sense of everything/tie together all the messy threads neatly in a finale before, and having never seen that happen!)

Genre expectations. I think many fans watching Ted Lasso were expecting that the show was going to give an unambiguously happy ending to all the main characters for genre reasons. Some saw it as a rom-com – a story leading to romance(s) and some form of happy ending for all the main cast – because the show featured a number of rom-com elements and references, as well as some romantic storylines. And I think some (an overlapping set) saw it as a particular kind of hurt/comfort narrative – a story about triumphant personal growth, about overcoming adversity & trauma, and receiving only comfort & joy by the end of the story. I can see the ending being disappointing with either of those genre expectations. But the show I thought I was watching was about imperfect people trying to grow, to improve, to build better relationships, and to find ways to thrive – but doing so imperfectly. I expected progress for most characters, but also backsliding – and for some characters to improve in some dimensions but not in others. I thought the show was more about hope and effort than about success. (And the show also wasn't about romance to me, even though I enjoyed Roy/Keeley in the show and want to read/write a ton of shippy fic about my OT3 and several other ships.)

Satisfying endings. Given my genre expectations, what I wanted was not for the characters to all end up perfectly happy, nor for all the relationships to end up healthy or resolved. I wanted characters to behave in ways where I could understand their motivations, and that were consistent with their behaviors through 3x11. To me, the finale succeeded better at this than a number of episodes earlier in S3, where I was left scratching my head about why characters had made various choices. And I wanted many of the characters that Ted had influenced to show some kind of growth/hope for the future, however imperfectly, because that fit my expectations for the kind of narrative it was (as described above – not complete happy endings, but messy and imperfect growth). For me, the finale succeeded there, too. To address a few endings that caused specific sore spots for other fans:

Beard/Jane: The one thing that seemed impossible to believe about Beard’s wedding was that Ted wasn’t there. (That’s the main thing that makes me open to the “it was just a dream of Ted’s” theory – I think that theory has other difficulties, but it’s fun to consider, and I’m open to it.) I know some people were upset that Beard & Jane ended up together because it’s a toxic relationship. But while I don’t disagree, that doesn’t seem like a dealbreaker to me unless the show is a rom-com. Beard has been on & off with Jane the whole show, and I didn’t see any signs that he was about to break that pattern. It made sense to me that he would feel very conflicted about whether to follow Ted or stay with her, but also seemed believable to me that he would ultimately choose to stay. I was very sad that he was leaving Ted, but it actually felt like personal growth to me, for him to feel like he could thrive without Ted. (Lots of room still for personal growth in other dimensions.)

Roy, Jamie, and Keeley: Roy and Jamie fighting about who should be allowed to try to date Keeley was stupid of them, but not unrealistically stupid, given that they're trying to figure out how to preserve their new relationship while also both loving her. That’s backsliding, but they’ve also both grown a lot. (Well, Jamie clearly has; Roy allegedly has, and I can see signs of that in a couple of episodes especially, but S3 has not served him that well overall imo, and I will require fic to fill in some blanks.) I’m glad Keeley didn’t choose one of them – that shows growth on her part, I think. I very much headcanon the three of them getting together eventually, but I feel like her choosing to focus on herself & KJPR for now (especially while they’re both being idiots) is a satisfying outcome.

Jamie and his dad: As with Beard/Jane, a lot of the critiques I saw of the (dream?) montage reunion between Jamie and his dad were of the form “But that relationship has been toxic.” And I can understand wanting Jamie to be fully done dealing with the source of so much past trauma. But I can easily imagine Jamie trying to cautiously have some limited form of relationship with his dad again. I am not saying someone in Jamie’s position should do that, nor that it’s likely to lead to a healthy/easy dynamic. But it does not seem inconsistent with where Jamie is as of the finale. I think he’s grown a lot, and has more agency in his life now, but he clearly showed he was having trouble just ignoring his dad. And many people revisit relationships that have caused them pain and have lacked resolution, for better or worse. I hope and expect that with a strong set of friends/found family supporting him, Jamie will ultimately be okay.

Nate: Okay, here I admit my headcanons are doing some heavy lifting, and I would have been happy if they’d clarified more of this onscreen. But I cannot imagine that Nate was not offered a coach role when he returned – and I can easily imagine him refusing that offer and asking to be a kit man again for the short term, so that’s my headcanon. He seemed to really be enjoying working at Taste of Athens as a waiter – for multiple reasons, not just because Jade was there – and this seems consistent with that. I think part of what he learned from this season was that prioritizing fame & recognition doesn’t lead him to happiness, and that he has an unhealthy need to be admired/praised by the Twitterati, the press, etc. I can easily believe that he’d want to step back from the limelight and prioritize working with a team that cares about him while figuring out what’s next. (Especially as he has been pretty bimodal; overly humble and shy at first, and then overly recognition-seeking and angry about perceived slights – I can easily buy him backsliding into too-humble mode for a while). I fully expect he’ll keep building more confidence again in a healthier way, and that he'll coach Richmond again shortly (even if the montage was just a Ted dream). And if Roy was truly made head coach, I headcanon that it happened after a discussion about who should fill that role, and Nate turning it down. I also would have liked a fuller resolution between him and Ted, but I bought the brief scene between them as consistent with where they both were emotionally at that point (I would not be shocked if Nate mailed Ted the full 60 pages later, though).

Rebecca: Love that she’s truly over Rupert and figuring out whether she still wants Richmond in light of that – and I love the decision she arrives at. Her running into the Dutch guy was the most rom-commy piece of the finale for me, but I didn’t mind it. I’d been trying to figure out how on earth they could wrap up the whole messy psychic storyline (which I hated), and I had vaguely wondered whether – if she was indeed fated to be a mother – she might end up co-parenting with Bex, or whether she might end up with the Dutch guy. I also started to think during the finale that she might go back to Kansas with Ted, but if she had done so, I wanted that to be the first step on a journey of world travel and self-exploration – not her getting together with Ted and co-parenting Henry. (I wasn’t ever opposed to T/R, but I personally felt it would have felt unearned if that relationship had only started up in the finale. I personally really enjoyed the double trolling at the beginning of the episode, though, with Ted and then the bethonged Beard in Rebecca’s kitchen – amazing! XD ) Anyway, I’m fine with her ending up surrounded by her Richmond family and dating the Dutch guy.

Ted: I expected Ted to return to Kansas at the end, and I think that was the best choice, though a hard one. I think Ted adores Richmond and will be back visiting all the dang time, and I hope he may eventually move back. But the “choice” Rebecca offered him to move Henry to Richmond now was an unrealistic one – Ted would have to negotiate that change with Michelle, and it’s a HUGE ask her (and possibly Dr. Jacob) to uproot like that and leave her family/friends/job behind. So the right thing for Henry right now is for Ted to go back and be with him. And I think that choice is very consistent with what we’ve seen of Ted’s struggles with anxiety last season and his more explicitly worrying about where he should be this season. I think it’s a bittersweet choice for him, and he’s going to miss Richmond a lot, but I’m not worried about him being all alone. With the way Ted makes friends, I am sure he already has a bunch of good ones back in Kansas, and that he’ll keep making more. I very much look forward to a lot of reunion fic with everyone he’s left behind, though. And I want AFC Richmond to come visit him, as well as the other way around!

I’ve read/been influenced by some good meta about some of the above points, and I’ll reblog some of it later. But that’s the gist of where I’m at – the characters we love are growing and changing in some very good ways, but they are definitely still imperfect, and still themselves. And most things don't wrap up tidily with a full resolution, but that's okay. For me, that all holds true whether or not the montage was Ted’s dream, and I am happy for that to be ambiguous (except for the part where Ted would totally be at Beard’s wedding). But I’m very interested in hearing about the whole gamut of experiences people are having (and to hear alternate theories about genre expectations, etc)! I can’t wait to read more meta, as well as so much fic, fix-it or otherwise. I continue to be delighted to be a part of the fandom for this show. <3

#ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso finale #meta #all the thinkiness #op #I didn't address trent or some other dissatisfactions because I currently have fewer thoughts #but interested to read others' meta #I've actually been offline a bunch since the finale #and I have so much catching up to do!#:)#50

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weirdmageddon · 2 years

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i’ve noticed this in more than one post: many people take posts that talk about how uncomfortable self-deprecation is as a personal affront and get wildly defensive and proud(?) about being self-deprecating. just look at the notes on these posts. why do people vehemently INSIST on being self-deprecating even after they’ve been told why it’s uncomfortable, that it kills the vibe, why it’s an unhealthy mindset in the long run, and people’s personal stories? i’m sorry that’s a weird as fuck thing to cling to.

see, here’s the issue: it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. if you believe you’re “heckin trash” and don’t want to change that view of yourself to accomodate for others, people are going to think you’re a total bummer and not want to be around you, thus giving you an actual reason to believe you’re “heckin trash” because nobody wants to hang out with you and your vibe-harshing attitude.

there’s respectable humility, and then there’s offputting self-deprecation. humility that commands respect is not outright said. it is implied through the way one carries oneself.

humility is the opposite of arrogance. having humility simply means you don’t think of yourself as necessarily better than anyone else; it makes others feel like they are valued around you. c.s. lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.”

self-deprecation ironically horseshoes back around to arrogance (especially when people defend their own self-deprecating tendencies) since you are thinking about yourself again. unlike humility, but similar to arrogance, it assumes that you are uneven with others. self-deprecation isn't just stating your own grievances, it's also stuff like making negative judgements about your traits or turning down compliments. how is that not uncomfortable for everyone else when you criticize a trait they also have, or doubt the sincerity of their compliments? the focus has come back to the self and not the other. this is why self-deprecation gets so uncomfortable. you’re not making people around you feel like a valued equal. you’re making it about yourself. and when you reject people’s objective comments and feedback that you are good because you personally don’t feel that way, that’s not humility. you’re actively making people feel unvalued and driving them away.

like have you ever tried to tell someone they’re not worthless/bad/negative thing, and ever felt how uncomfortable it is when they can’t take the compliment even when you mean it from the bottom of your heart because it doesn’t align with how they see themself? doesn’t that feel invalidating? like you just wasted your time with this person? but when someone says, “OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!” it feels so, SO affirming of your sentiment. that’s not being arrogant. i always have this perspective in mind. that’s why i say thank you to compliments and sometimes go the extra mile to explain what that comment meant to me if applicable (i.e. “thank you so much, i worked really hard on it..[bla bla bla maybe a struggling situation from my pov but said a way that doesn’t demean myself], so this comment seriously means a lot to me”) so that the other person feels further affirmed and validated.

people say to do the opposite when they feel like deprecating themselves, to self-aggrandize (“i failed my test i am so sexy etc”), but, while it’s okay sometimes, that’s just as annoying in excess. people need to realize that you can have humility without self-deprecating yourself at every turn. i think the first step is to remove yourself as a subject from the equation. because again, “humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less”. instead of going, “i’m so stupid” as though you at your core are an oaf and failure of a human being, you can contextualize it in terms of a temporarily blunder that has no bearing on you as a subject, i.e. “that was stupid of me”. and this is actually a more objective lens. but don’t keep it on yourself. learn and then just Move On. make your negative value judgments of yourself temporary and contextualized. if you can’t contextualize it to some external effect in this way then it’s not worth talking about and ruining everybody’s parade over.

tldr; bitches will be like “im heckin trash lol” and i’ll be like “thats lame nobodys gonna want to hang out with you if you talk like that. stop being self-deprecating it kills the vibe. have some dignity”, then bitches reply “no” and later down the line are surprised when nobody wants to be around them. just put an end to the cycle now. read people’s stories about how stopping self-deprecating humor and thoughts made them and the people around them happier. humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less. self-deprecation and telling everyone how trash you are and refusing to hear anything else is closer to arrogance than true humility.

#mental health #self deprecation #self deprecating humor #long post

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rainbowsky · 1 year

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Final thoughts on the Wuji candy

Thanks to everyone who wrote in with asks, and also those who shared their thoughts in the comments of my post about the Wuji recording comic.

Rather than answer a bunch of asks about this and make this topic the dominant thing on my blog for the next few days, I'm just going to respond to everything in one post. Sorry to anyone who is disappointed they didn't get a direct reply.

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

I understand people on both sides of the fence - those who are really excited about the candy and believe it was shared in good faith, and those who have concerns about it. I personally think this candy is probably totally fine, and maybe even a positive thing given how it's changed the conversation in the fandom and cheered a lot of people up, but I do have some mixed feelings and I think it's legitimate to have reservations about the whole thing.

Everyone gets to form their own opinions. Hopefully we can all respect each other and not get too argumentative over it.

There are valid perspectives on both sides:

Negative

The thing that bothered me the most about this candy is that it violates the central turtle precept that 'everything is fake'. She did handle things somewhat carefully, but I found it jarring and a bit scandalous to have someone connected to them do something so brazen without couching it in 'fake'.

She didn't just confirm they were holding hands, she heavily implied a romantic connection between the two of them. She talked about love and romance and cast herself as a turtle. While it's not directly outing them or a direct threat, I can totally understand why some people are concerned about a real-life connection of theirs talking like that so openly (for reasons I explained in the first point above).

The NDA comment had me raising my eyebrows, and I can see I wasn't alone in that. A lot of people expressed that as the main issue they had with it. And it raises so many questions. The NDA for The Untamed expired long ago - is this a personal NDA that has expired, enabling her to share? Was the NDA the only thing holding her back from sharing this type of thing? She promised more candy in the future. Should we be worried about what else she might share? Should we be worried about other associates whose NDAs expire (and might perhaps be less well-intended toward them)? Are other associates of theirs going to start speaking openly about their relationship? All of these questions are totally understandable. I personally lean toward thinking she was probably just trying to deflect any potential criticism about privacy, but I definitely felt weird about the way she phrased it.

Posting it openly on her social media made her a central part of the story, when the focus of candy like this should be on GG and DD. This was also a major concern for some people. I think this one can be argued both ways. I mean, it can be said that by making it focused around her she prevented it from being too broadly connected to GG and DD.

We didn't need any conformation. The emoji was enough. Several people expressed this feeling, and I tend to agree.

A lot of people have stated they feel she's attention-seeking, and that the posts were exploitative. I think she opens herself up to those accusations/concerns by making these public posts/comments, but so does anyone who is connected with them who discusses them in any way. Even someone wishing them a birthday greeting or something gets those accusations. Unfortunately being massively famous makes people assume bad motives. The covid heart candy post had similar accusations against it. This is just the way these things go.

Positive

It is a sweet candy.

At least at face value, she appears to really care about GG and DD and to be someone who is excited about them as a couple. She has something of a track record of this from way back in 2018/19, so this isn't a put-on thing just for this moment. She has consistently expressed interest in and excitement about them.

Whether coincidentally or not, it was well-timed to reassure and energize turtles at a time when people were feeling low about the whole anti video from last week. We were expecting a candy after that, and it looks like we got one - even if it was from an unexpected source. It has successfully changed the conversation and turned things around quite a bit, and that might be intentional.

The characteristics of this video/situation appear to be strikingly effective at downplaying the credibility of the anti video from last week. The anti video was filmed surreptitiously, while this one was openly and legally taken with GG and DD's full knowledge. No legitimate witness has corroborated the malicious impression that there was anything special going on between GG and the other subject in the anti video, meanwhile a known public figure has gone on the record with this video to say that GG and DD were on good terms and held hands.

Cheng Yi and the whole handholding thing went to the top of the entertainment hot search, in the top two positions. Those hot searches were left up, yet the one about the anti video was pushed down (aka GG and his team likely paid to have the anti video hot search suppressed, yet allowed these Wuji ones to remain). While neither of the hot searches would necessarily be associated with GG and DD in most people's minds (they don't mention their names or fandom names), it's hard to imagine that similar searches connected to that anti video would have been left up.

As I said in the previous discussion, there is a lot of plausible deniability baked into this situation. GG and DD were singing a song for the soundtrack of a series they shot together. It was years ago. Even if video footage of them holding hands during recording was released, I'm not sure that it would have much impact outside the circles who already care about this type of thing. Most people would likely dismiss it as fan service or two guys joking around. The whole thing strikes me as pretty harmless.

It's not like GG and DD have really been hiding their relationship anyway.

GG and DD are under more scrutiny than ever (as are all prominent people in China), and with projects set to come out they are at less liberty to take risks. I think that it's possible we will see more candy from people in their entertainment circle, rather than directly from GG and DD themselves.

I am not saying this candy was something GG and DD personally sanctioned (it's possible, of course, but we'll never know), I'm saying that given the climate, there are likely people closer to them who understand the limitations GG and DD are under right now and who will want to reassure turtles when they are upset.

I believe that GG and DD care about - and need - turtles. I've talked about that a lot in the past, here's just one example. I don't think GG and DD, nor the people who care about them, will stand by and let turtles be attacked or heartbroken in ways that could threaten the fandom. Look at OOL airing, which ended up being a huge candy dump from GG.

They're looking out for us just as we're looking out for them. That is how I see it. Others might disagree, but that's my perspective on it.

Anyway, thanks again for being so engaged with this topic. The discussions and perspectives have been interesting. For now I'm going to not take any more asks about this unless there is new information or a perspective that substantially adds to or shifts the conversation in some way.

Edit: More on fan perceptions here.

#the mysteries of yizhan #ggdd in the public eye #ggdd entertainment circle

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waheelawhisperer · 11 months

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Slogged through V9E6, thoughts are under the cut

As always, I am worried that Jaune’s arrival means he’s going to start sucking focus away from the other characters again. Here’s hoping the writers remember he’s best used as a supporting character.

Jaune why did you grab the weird thing that looks like a clock what did you think was going to happen

Don't touch weird shit you idiot it's like rule #1

I hate the Ever After so much

So did he just sit there for years until he got DILFed? Lmao.

I'm sure this change will have long-lasting ramifications for both Jaune's characterization and the narrative as a whole.

Well, this was a wonderful, touching moment until it was immediately ruined by Weiss’s daddy kink

Like seriously who the fuck thought it was a good idea to have Jaune admit that he’d gone through a horribly traumatic experience and been incredibly lonely for what’s indicated to be literally decades based on his physical changes and then have Weiss immediately start thirsting for him like we literally see his eyes watering and then not seven seconds later Weiss is looking at him with do-me eyes

These writers genuinely have zero understanding of tone or how to set and maintain it effectively it’s amazing it's like they watched the MCU and the only lesson they took away from it was that every moment that might possibly have any kind of emotional impact needs to be undermined by a snappy quip as quickly as possible because otherwise someone might make the mistake of assuming your show is sincere about anything

Anyway girliepop’s showing her whole ass right now way to keep your fetish under wraps Weiss

Yang’s looking at her like “I know what you are”

Nice try Yang like I didn’t see you eyeing up Jaune too feast on the crumbs my fellow pan Yang truthers

Miles is genuinely never beating the “Jaune is a self-insert” allegations holy shit

Like if you want people to believe that the character you voice, who's received a disproportionate amount of narrative focus throughout the series already and has received repeated criticism for it, who's already been presented as attractive on at least one occasion, isn't a self-insert, maybe don't have one of the mains openly thirsting after him once you've written an excuse for him to be aged up so that he's both closer to your age and significantly older than she is after you've already posed for a picture with a body pillow of an underage girl from the show you write for and your coworker has posted that picture online with the caption "She's still only 16, don't get too comfortable". Like maybe consider the optics for 5 seconds. It'd be 5 seconds longer than you typically think through your writing choices, at any rate.

Wow, finally someone is engaging with the fall of Atlas, Team RWBY’s part in it, and the ramifications of both the previous things. Only took half the fucking Volume.

I actually like the pretty distinct perspectives and the conflict between Weiss and Blow. Weiss is the one who has the most reason to be attached with Atlas and Blow has the most reason to feel negatively about that Kingdom, so having them be the ones arguing here is a good choice.

Yeah, Weiss, you did fail, but it wasn’t just you. Most of the blame rests on the shoulders of Ironwood and these dumbass fucking writers.

That said, you guys didn’t exactly pass your trials with flying colors.

Good point, Ruby.

Yang is the first one to engage with Ruby’s distress again, even if she’s not exactly on the money here either in terms of her actual position on Ironwood or how to help Ruby.

I feel like this is one of the few moments of actual substance we've gotten this Volume and I really wish we'd spent more time digging into it. Unfortunately, He-Jaune, Master of the Universe, cuts it short. Not a fan of that choice unless we pick this up again at a later date.

He-Man’s a little bit of a jerk. Interesting. I kinda want to see where this goes.

He also doesn’t seem to like the Cat. He gets points for that.

He-Man, Master of the Jauniverse, does not want them going to the Tree. Given what apparently happened to the Herbalist, this implies something sinister about the Tree and Ascension.

You read my mind, Weiss.

Jaune has a very different perspective on Ascension than the Cat. On the one hand, the Cat is a denizen of the Ever After and probably knows more about how it works than Jaune does. On the other hand, Jaune is far more inherently trustworthy as a character we’ve known for 8+ Volumes, whereas the Cat is sinister as fuck. They've been creeping me out since their introduction.

Once again, Ascension is equated with death – you lose your memories, lose who you are. Whatever you used to be is gone.

Good pun, Yang.

Who the fuck is Lewis?

Oh, wonderful, Alyx had a brother. An irrelevant character had another irrelevant character to hang out with. Can we please stop expanding the cast?

Go off, Weiss (and Yang)

What the fuck did the Cat just do

I love you Weiss. There really is just no end to the Ever After’s bullshit, is there?

Where the hell are Blow and Yang?

You walked right into that one, Weiss.

Love how He-Man’s just done with everything. I am too, buddy, I am too.

Here it comes, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Maybe we’ll get something decent out of this Volume after all.

YOU GUYS CAN LITERALLY DOUBLE JUMP WHY DOES EVERY SCENE IN THIS VOLUME THAT DOESN’T INVOLVE COMBAT INSIST ON FORGETTING THAT THE CHARACTERS HAVE MOBILITY TOOLS

I could cross that shit and I don’t even have superpowers

You have perfectly good ropes right there

Yes I get that it’s a metaphor for taking the next step in their relationship blah blah blah but the metaphor is shit

This Volume really likes presenting challenges as insurmountable when Team RWBY has regularly handled far more difficult ones it keeps breaking my willing suspension of disbelief

I'm normally pretty willing to buy into what a show is going for but I just can't do it for this Volume

Was that Summer in the reflection?

Looks like the reflections show everyone’s issues – Summer for Ruby, Penny for Jaune, Atlas for Weiss

Oh, so Alyx was a little shitter, huh? I’m sure there’s nothing negative about the choice to portray a (female) character of color this way, especially in a show known for being racist produced by a company known for being racist.

Okay yeah Jaune you probably fucked up here trying to railroad her into the book’s storyline. Somebody’s never played D&D before and it shows

Poor guy’s really hurting though, can’t blame him for feeling like a failure

I’d like the show to unpack all this but I don’t even trust it to handle Team RWBY’s issues (or even address them in a meaningful way) so we’ll see

I feel like we have to take everything Jaune says about the Cat and the Tree and the Ever After with a grain of salt, but the Cat is genuinely creepy as shit, so I feel like there’s some validity to this, at least.

So Jaune thinks the Cat fed Lewis to the Tree. Is he right? Who the fuck knows?

But it does set up some sinister implications about the Tree, the Cat, and the nature of the Ever After. If the Tree’s not an option, how does the gang get home?

I get the feeling that Jaune is at least partially wrong about how the Tree works, but what he's saying makes sense based on what he knows.

Yang you fucking dork

Anyway if Blow has a really good brain it’d be nice to see more examples of it beyond “she’s the bookworm”, I’m sure setting her own house on fire was a great demonstration of intelligence. I feel like this is another indication that I’m right when I say that RWBY would’ve really benefited from another Beacon Volume to really build the relationships between the core cast that the show tries to convince us exist.

Also, Yang is smart even if Blow makes her brain turn to mush. She seems to have figured out the trick here. She sounds so sweet and sincere when she mentions liking Blow’s ears, though I feel like this is another instance where the show isn’t taking Blow’s status as a minority seriously, what with the potential elements of fetishization here. Still, I’ll try to go with the writing’s intent here.

Honestly it probably wouldn’t even bother me if this Volume hadn’t insisted on continually comparing Blow to a cat

You did, in fact, nail it, Yang. Such a fucking dork I love her

Okay, Blow, maybe you do have a really good brain after all. Again, would’ve been nice to establish this a bit earlier, but oh well.

Yang you fucking dork lmao

Damn, Blake went hard here. Yang went with the surface-level stuff and was probably expecting the same in return and Blake just started pouring her heart out. I love the way Yang’s eyes and face just softened the moment Blake said she was an extraordinary person. Girlie was not expecting that at all.

“I like that you’ve never been intimidated by me” BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Yang she fucking flinches like a dog expecting to be beaten every time you raise your voice around her she’s the only one in your friend group who’s ever been intimidated by you even Jaune is fine around you and that boy’s afraid of his own shadow

Jk I lied the other abuse victim on your team also has negative reactions when you act aggressive

Anyway I guess we know why we got that line about Yang not being scary (even though she could be if she wants to) back in Episode 1.

Yang how are you missing with every line Blow gave up on Adam and the White Fang and that was a good thing because it let her escape his abuse hello?

Oh and she sure as hell gave up on Qrow and Ironwood when Qrow crawled into a bottle and Ironwood decided to raise Atlas, and she was literally the only person on her team who didn’t believe in Yang’s innocence when Cinder framed Yang during the Vytal Festival (guess who was ride or die for Yang in that moment? I'll give you a hint: her name starts with a W), and she ran away from her entire team when Weiss was racist for two episodes. Finding her was the whole fucking plot of the V1 finale. Like I’m not even arguing that she was wrong or unjustified for any of that but if you want her to be the one who never gives up on anyone then maybe fucking show her never giving up on anyone

Does Blake really know what matters to her, Yang? It sure as hell wasn’t Faunus rights during the Atlas Volumes.

That fucking lighting lmao

Just spit it out you idiots lets get this over with my expectations are dropping with every line

God Yang is such a fucking dork I genuinely love this for her it would’ve been so easy to make her the cocky flirty one all the time and they didn’t

For all my frustrations with this show I do genuinely like that.

I like how Yang hesitated a bit and didn’t quite commit but Blake went full-bore.

Oh my God it’s so sappy and cheesy and romantic

I can understand why people love it even if for me it crosses the line to narm like honestly this scene just feels ridiculous but that's just a personal taste thing, it feels too over-the-top for me but there's some charm to it as well

I feel a little bad for the Cat but honestly they strike me as manipulative more than anything

Every scene just gives me bad vibes

Damn, they were makin out, hands changed positions and everything

Nice little leg pop Blow

You and the fandom both, Jaune.

Kinda wonder when you figured it out though because you were not picking up on it in Volume 8 ("Ruby?" "Yeah... Ruby.")

Good to know the Bees thought confessing their feelings was more important than getting home or stopping Salem. I like both characters less every time they treat the Ever After as a vacation.

The little hand touch is cute though.

Okay, Ruby is not reacting well to the return of Crimson Rose, probably because it represents the burden of being a leader and a Huntress.

She's pushing her insecurities down again. That's gonna burst out sooner or later.

Jaune thinks Alyx traded Lewis to the Tree in order to leave. My guess is that either Jaune or Ruby tries to trade themselves to the Tree so the others can go home.

Damn, Ruby’s rejecting Crescent Rose pretty emphatically there.

Music is still forgettable I don’t think there’s been a single song that I’ve remembered a not of when it’s not actually playing for 6 whole episodes

Miles gave a solid performance here and so did whoever voices the Cat.

Okay, so, here it is: the scene we’ve all been waiting for since Volume 2 at the latest. The Bees are an item now, and it’s really obvious that it meant a lot to CRWBY. They put a lot of love into that scene, and it shows. Visually, it’s gorgeous, the voice actresses clearly put their hearts and souls into it, the music is meant to scream romance...

Unfortunately, I don’t like it. Perhaps this is just a nitpick on my end because I’m a stubborn ornery cantankerous bastard who hates being told what to do, but this confession doesn’t feel organic. It feels like they were forced into it by outside factors (the stupid fucking punderstorm that wouldn’t let them leave until they told each other their feelings. If I'd been in their place, I would've sat my stubborn Texan ass down and told that fucking weather condition that it could let me out right now or move along on its own time, but I'm staying right here until it does. Ain't no fuckin rain clouds gonna tell me what to do).

I don’t like that in and of itself, but it gets worse when you consider that both characters are A) queer and B) were only coded and not explicitly confirmed as queer within the show prior to this scene. It feels like two queer characters are being forced out of the closet, which would be bad enough on its own, but gets infinitely worse when the company behind the show named itself after a homophobic slur and then built a company culture around bullying and bigotry and the lead writer on the show has been openly biphobic and fetishized bi women in the past. Good job, morons, you managed to take a ship I’ve supported since the characters involved met in the Emerald Forest and make it feel gross to me. Between this and Blake’s jokes about Yang’s arm in Episode 2, I’m officially not a Bumbleby shipper anymore. You’ve fumbled the bag that badly. Please never hold a job in any creative industry again.

Overall rating: Horrendously Bad And Specifically Disappointing On Top Of That/10

Amazed that I can't definitively declare this a bottom three episode of the Volume because 3 of the 5 others I've watched so far were also this fucking bad. Truly an accomplishment.

Everything that wasn't Weiss's thirst for DILFs and the Bumbleby confession was okay (not amazing), but the writers fucked up so badly with the parts that sucked that they accomplished something incredible: they executed a scene I've been waiting for for ages so incompetently that I don't ship Bumbleby anymore.

#this entire volume has really been a masterclass on how not to write a story #I would be ashamed to put this on my resume if I had worked on it #rwby #bumbleby

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