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#or just crossed their personal values and beliefs
r-2-peepoo · 2 months
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I just saw a really stupid take from a Star Wars fan (I know, absolutely unheard of! (heavy sarcasm)) so here is a reminder:
People who ship clones with Jedi are more than aware of the power dynamic. That’s a huge part of what makes them interesting. If we were to to ship Cody with basically anyone else other than Obi Wan, it probably wouldn’t work as well because Obi Wan is precisely the last person who would ever want to pressure him or cross his boundaries.
The Jedi were totally screwed over and backed into a war that goes against so much of what they stand for and on top of that, now they have an entire army of brand new humans to lead. All of those brand new humans are totally unique and just experiencing the world for the first time, even though they’re all mature adults too. It’s a totally screwed up situation which puts so much added pressure onto the Order, so we throw romantic feelings on top of that and we’re not supposed to find that absurdly compelling?
Obi Wan is literally defined by his empathy and his kindness. The reason shipping him with Cody works so well is because there is no one who represents what the Jedi are meant to be better than him. Goodness is at the core of his character. There would never be a day that he didn’t value Cody’s wellbeing over his own feelings. Not to mention that they’re both so dedicated to their beliefs and responsibilities that a relationship is never even realistically an option while the war is going on.
Codywan is about the yearning. It’s about them both knowing they have feelings for each other and not being able to do anything about it because they are fighting for something much bigger than themselves. It’s about the infamous “after the war” conversation that they never got to have. It’s about them meeting again on Tatooine years later, finally on equal footing and completely alone in the galaxy, bonded together by their grief.
That’s why people love Codywan. The suggestion of anything otherwise is just an insult to the hard work all the artists and writers have put into making some of the most incredible fanfiction and fanart and fanon lore I’ve ever seen in any fandom ever.
P.S.— the portrayal of something in a piece of media doesn’t equal the condoning or promoting of that sort of behaviour. I thought we’d long since established that. Let’s use our brains here.
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theambitiouswoman · 10 months
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Ways to Cultivate Self-Love
Practice self-compassion: Treat yourself with kindness and understanding, just as you would someone you love.
Practice self-care: Prioritize your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Take time for relaxation, get enough sleep, eat nutritious food, exercise, and pursuing hobbies or activities that make you happy.
Set healthy boundaries: Assert your needs, desires, and limits. Establish clear boundaries in your relationships and communicate them assertively. Saying no when necessary and honoring your boundaries helps protect your well-being.
Practice mindfulness: Be present in the current moment and non-judgmentally observe your thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness can help you develop self-awareness, reduce stress, and cultivate a deeper understanding of yourself.
Challenge self-limiting beliefs: Challenge negative thoughts and self-beliefs that hold you back from self-love and personal growth. Replace them with positive and empowering affirmations.
Surround yourself with positivity: Surround yourself with people who uplift and support you. Minimize contact with those who bring negativity or undermine your self-esteem.
Practice gratitude: Regularly express gratitude for the positive aspects of your life, as well as your own strengths and achievements. Keeping a gratitude journal can help shift your focus toward self-appreciation and increase your overall sense of well-being.
Celebrate your wins: Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem. Recognize your efforts, progress, and achievements, and take pride in them. Doing this reinforces a positive self-image and boosts self-confidence.
Practice self-acceptance: Embrace and accept yourself fully, including your flaws, imperfections, and past mistakes. Realize that no one is perfect, and that self-love involves accepting and embracing your whole self, including both your strengths and areas for growth.
Focus on self-care rituals: Engage in regular self-care rituals that make you feel nurtured and valued. Take long baths, practice yoga or meditation, journaling, creative activities, or spending time in nature. Find what activities make you happy and make them a priority.
Embrace self-expression: Explore ways to express yourself authentically. This could be, engaging in creative activities like art, writing, music, or dance.
Practice forgiveness: Forgive yourself for past mistakes and let go of any self-blame or guilt that may be holding you back. Making mistakes is a part of being human, use these experiences as opportunities for growth and learning.
Celebrate self-care milestones: Celebrate the progress you make in your self-love journey. Set small achievable goals for self-improvement and celebrate when you reach them. This helps build self-confidence.
Surround yourself with positive influences: Surround yourself with people who inspire and uplift you. Invest in relationships that support your growth, well-being, and self-love. Distance yourself from individuals or environments that consistently bring you down or undermine your self-worth.
Practice self-empowerment: Take control of your life and make choices that align with your values, desires, and aspirations. Set goals and take steps towards achieving them.
Engage in self-reflection: Reflect on your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Incorporate journaling, meditation or mindfulness exercises. Self-reflection helps you gain insight into yourself, your patterns, and your needs, enabling you to make intentional choices aligned with self-love.
Be your own advocate: Stand up for yourself and your needs. Speak up assertively when you feel disrespected or when your boundaries are crossed. Express your opinions, asserting your rights, and asking for what you need in various areas of your life.
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prismatic-bell · 4 days
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I’ve been thinking about something at my job—not difficult, honestly, my job leaves lots of thinking time—and I have something I want to share with the folks who object to the label “culturally Christian.” I hope it may help you make more sense of the label and, perhaps, not be so angry about it, if you’ll indulge me for just two minutes.
I was born as a white gentile. While I later found out this wasn’t entirely true—I have Jewish ancestry and there is a small-but-non-zero chance I’m partly Black through my great-grandmother, which is a story too long to get into here—I am, for all visual intents and purposes, white, and count myself as such.
And the first time I heard myself included in the phrase “white supremacy,” I WAS SO FUCKING UNCOMFORTABLE. Couldn’t we call it anything else? Why are you including me in this? I didn’t ask to be born white. I don’t run around in a pointy hood burning crosses. I’m not even racist. Black people can do anything white people can do! I am NOT a white supremacist!
….except. I kinda am. And it is not a choice I made, it is a choice that was made for me 400 and 160 and 120 and 80 and 50 and 35 years ago. Slavery and deliberately-botched emancipation and “separate but equal” and killing of Black leaders and the simple fact both my parents were white. Textbooks that hold up Eli Whitney as a hero and promote the lie of The Great Empty Wilderness and never ask us to wrestle with what it means when the majority of a population is counted as only three-fifths of a human being. Redlining and even the fucking freeway system—I didn’t design any of this, but I live in the world where it exists.
G-d willing, I will not be a white supremacist until the day I die: G-d willing, the systems we are struggling against will have been replaced with better, kinder, more equitable systems. But I don’t get to opt out by saying “I’m not racist!” Yes, I’ve put in a ton of work to unlearn harmful racist behaviors and attitudes. But as long as a Black woman in my position with my experience makes less money than me, I’m benefiting from white supremacy. As long as I get the job, the car, the loan, the opportunity because someone else had locs and I “looked professional,” I’m benefiting from white supremacy. And yes—as long as people aren’t deliberately stupid about my name because they associate it with white cultures, I’m benefiting from white supremacy. The fact I’m white is morally neutral. What I choose to do with that fact is what matters.
And so: we come back to cultural Christianity.
The law of probability says if you’re on this site, you’re probably from a culture with a Christian hegemony. That’s going to cover the Americas, Europe, and to a lesser extent, portions of central and south Africa (both the creatively-named country and the continent). Even if your country mostly considers itself secular, if your answer to “what year is it” is automatically “2024” without having to ask “on which calendar,” you’re probably from a country with a Christian background.
THIS IS A MORALLY NEUTRAL THING. You do not choose which country you’re born in or what its centuries-old culture is. And that’s fine! And it doesn’t mean anything about your personal beliefs. You can be an atheist born to atheists, you can be Buddhist, it is literally whatever.
BUT, to an extent, the place you grew up will absolutely have an impact on your thoughts and morals, because it’s all you’ve ever known. Because the choice to be culturally Christian is not one you made—it was made for you 2000 and 1800 and 1700 and 1200 and 1000 and 800 and 400 and 200 and 50 years ago. Taboos, laws, unspoken rules you’ve never thought twice about, this is not stuff you pick. It’s baked into the world around you. And if you want to unlearn that, you can’t just say “well I’m not Christian so I don’t have Christian morals or values!” and leave it at that. It’d be a beautiful thing if we could, but that’s not the way brains work.
Which means—even if you’re satisfied with what you believe—you should ASK YOURSELF why you believe it, and HOW. One of the biggest things I hear mentioned by other Jews in relation to cultural Christianity is people being black-and-white absolutists. This is true, so that is a lie. That is wrong, so this is right. There is no space given to the idea that maybe everyone is telling the truth as they see it, or that something is right for some times/people/places but wrong for others. And this gets into the harmful territory of “it’s true so I believe it and because I believe it, it’s true.”
So ask yourself why. Start deconstructing your beliefs and learning about new things—and yes, make world religions part of those new things, because religions are major cultural shapers, and also you’d be stunned how many of us 1) do not proselytize and 2) encourage actual study and questioning over blind faith and obedience (hint: it’s most of us. These two things that are taken as universal constants by a lot of atheists ARE EXPLICITLY CHRISTIAN), and there is no harm in learning about our cultures. (You know who’d say there is? Say it with me, kids: evangelical Christians.)
I’m still uncomfortable with being referred to in the context of white supremacy. But part of unlearning racism and, yes, white supremacy, was learning to recognize that is not a discussion I get to steer, because it’s not about me. It’s about people of color explaining, quantifying, and discussing their experiences. So I will be uncomfortable if need be, because that’s a me problem, for me to work on. That is part of what being a good ally and a good neighbor means.
Please give Jews that same grace. Yes, it can be uncomfortable to realize that yeah, you WERE affected by this thing you want to separate yourself from, especially if you have religious trauma. (Side note: if you do, I genuinely and strongly encourage you to seek therapy for it. As an evangelical cult escapee I can tell you it’s helped me a lot.) But you owe it to yourself, and if you genuinely want to dismantle that hegemony, you also owe it to others. While you’re yelling about how you don’t like the words we have created to describe our experiences, we’re working to fix the hegemony you claim to hate.
So: stop focusing on the word. Your discomfort with it is a you problem. Focus on WHAT IT’S TALKING ABOUT, because truly coming to a level playing ground and rebuilding will require you to have allies—not burned bridges all around.
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diagonal-queen · 2 months
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Your blog is very safe, me thinks. Very comfort, if that makes sense lol. I have a request, feel free to ignore this but I can't help but to wonder what a few BSD men would be like with a very mature/maternal and responsible s/o who tends to put themsleves last and burn themselves out (preferably fem, as I am an older sister who has taken on the role of caregiver and project HEAVILY) I'd like to see Fyodor, Poe, Ranpo and Jouno. (You can throw in anyone else if you want)
BSD boys with a self-sacrificing girlfriend
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♡ pairing: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Edgar Allan Poe, Ranpo Edogawa, Saigiku Jouno x fem!Reader
♡ synopsis: How are they with a caring and self-sacrificing girlfriend?
♡ cw: Swearing, use of fem titles, she/her pronouns, mentions of stress and burnout.
note: Thank you for the sweet message anon <3 it's truly a shame that you and i are the exact same person who have experienced the exact same burden of raising children we didn't choose to have. but i've moved out now so i'm free!! come live with me queen tf we're besties now. apologies for errors and I hope you enjoy x
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Fyodor:
Fyodor is a trad man. I'm sure he has some weird beliefs about how women are supposed to have some normalised feminine traits, but this is too much even for him.
It really pains him to see you be so selfless, truly. Though he admires your kindness and patience, he just wants you to be content. He wants you to be comfortable.
Does he enjoy having what is basically a personal maid around? Yes, yes he does. Does he feel guilty for feeling that? No. But does he recognise that your current self-sacrificing routine is unhealthy? YES HE DOES.
So...he simply does not make you do anything at all. If you want to do something for him that's on you.
If you want to do something for someone *else*, he probably won't really let you. Unless it's like family or something, then he understands, but no, you're not helping that random child get their kite unstuck from that tree no matter how much you want to, myshka.
Fyodor absolutely doesn't involve you in his work. He knows that'll only stress you out more, and that's the last thing you need. As such he keeps you away from his coworkers (especially Mykola. Sorry Mykola lovers)
He comes to value his time spent relaxing with you, because he also acknowledges that he could use a break every now and then as well. There's nothing quite as comforting to him as lounging around alongside you- you don't have to be talking or even doing the same thing, as long as you're there together.
Listen, Fyodor does care about you, and he values your health and wants you to be relaxed and uncaring as much as is possible. But if you, his sweet woman, wants to make him a cup of tea, who is he to turn you down?
Poe:
I don't know exactly how to explain Poe here. Just hear me out
He is genuinely so like stressed and anguished about your lack of self-preservation in favour of caring about others. He constantly thinks about it and writes tragic poems about it and shit
Like he's like 'my love......she does not see herself as i do, as a beautiful star....with every act of kindness her light dims ever so slightly...until she's reduced to nothing.........the irony of the good deeds of man..............;-;'
HE'S SO SAD OKAY HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH AND WANTS TO SEE YOU RELAX FOR ONCE
He will go all out in his attempts to make you feel calm and comfortable and happy. Oh he will buy you SO many presents it's disgusting. He will rent out whole restaurants and like even theme parks and shit if that's your thing. He'll stop at no lengths to give you some respite, and it's honestly quite sweet
All that being said, he does love that you're so attentive and caring about Karl. He's definitely watched you play with him and then started blushing super hard because the word 'parents' suddenly crossed his mind and now he's thinking about children and aaaaaa
ABSOLUTELY writes a scenario in which you can relax. Whatever you want- an empty beach, a forest, a liminal space, he'll write it all for you, and gift you the book so you can go there whenever you want :>
He's basically a sugar daddy, except you're in an actual relationship and it's not all about the money. Your boyfriend just happens to be loaded as fuck
At the end of the day, Poe is such a hypocrite because he himself is such a workaholic that he practically lets it consume him, too!
You're both absolute messes. Drink some water and sleep for god's sake. And for the love of all things good take care of each other.
Ranpo:
Bro knows exactly what's up. Sorry, he's got you all figured out fr
That doesn't mean he won't let you baby him though. At first. He'll just let you, along with everyone else, clean up after him and buy him shit
BUT soon, soon he realises that this behaviour is rather detrimental to your health. He sees the circles under your eyes, he notices these things. And he's like '...oh shit'
Ranpo doesn't have any shame or reservations. He straight up confronts you about it. 'Why don't you ever take care of yourself?' And he's not playing around this time
And no matter what your excuse is, he's like 'not good enough. We're going to get ice cream RIGHT NOW and you're going to talk to me about this. Now lead me to the ice cream parlour immediately'
(I may or may not be paraphrasing this particular quote)
The point is that he presents you an avenue to open up about your struggles, stress and psyche. And he really does want to help- the fact that he gets ice cream out of this is just a bonus
From here on out he'll keep an eye out for you. Every time you find yourself getting overworked or burning out he'll make you take a break. This could be a nap or sending you home or a surprise outing- anything to get your mind off work and people.
Ranpo is a stickler for the rules, sure, but he's also lazy as shit. Any time he doesn't feel like working, you're now not allowed to work either. You have to hang out with him or else (he'll be a little sad)
He doesn't necessarily introduce any...permanent solutions to your predicament, but he does have you looking forward to your couples-down time each day, and that's something!
Over time, you do learn to balance yourself and external responsibilities. And he will absolutely be taking credit for it lmao
Jouno:
Jouno is very...self-important, we'll say. Not like, completely selfish or anything, but very much tends to prioritise his own opinions and time and such.
You make him do a complete reassessment and breakdown of all of his thoughts and beliefs he's built up over the course of his lifetime
/j but really, you're unbelievably different from him. You're both willing to put yourself in danger or wear yourselves down, but *you* don't have anatomical medical adjustments that practically make you invincible.
Jouno wants to protect you- and he's not willing to negotiate. He's not letting anyone hurt you, even if on accident. He's especially not willing to let anybody take advantage of your generous nature, which is probably more likely anyway.
He's such a scary dog actually (lol get it?? get it cause he's one of the Hunting Dogs? DO YOU GET IT-) he'll accompany you anywhere if you ask him to.
When he wants to do something for you, he will do it. You're not lifting a finger miss girl
Like he really will take care of you! When he's off work, of course. His job is kind of important, but you best believe you're getting pampered when Jouno is off the clock.
My mans is romantic as FUCK: cooking you nice dinners, reading to you before bed, massages, cuddles- as well as engaging in your interests alongside you of course
He just thinks it's so cute to see you engrossed in something that YOU enjoy, and will encourage your down time
Jouno is gonna make sure that you take care of yourself too, because when he's not around, who better to look after anybody than you? That's the most important thing to him.
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taglist~ ♡ @gettinshiggywithit, @fyodorhatr, @flower-of-darkness, @bejeweledgirl, @kokoenjiandco, @pinkiipeachiikeen
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thatsdemko · 9 months
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ruin that friendship - l.norris
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masterlist
requested: n
pairings: lando norris x fewtrell!reader
warnings: playful banter + playful teasing + goes from 0 to 100 towards the end
a/n: thank u to @userlando’s anons and thank u to my love cay( @oconso ) for helping me with the plot 🫶
the mattress shifts, you can feel the dip beside you. a groan escapes your lips knowing what time it is. morning had come far too early, and whoever was making themselves comfortable in your bed had no right to do so.
“get out.” you grumble, the grogginess takes over your voice, it strains your vocals making you sound faint and tired—which you were.
he chuckles, whoever it was, sounded awfully familiar to your ears, but not enough to recognize with your eyes closed. your face is pushed further into your pillow to block out the light that comes from the hallway.
“you’re not going to get up and greet me?” he asks, and the mattress shifts once more, his body is closer to yours. you can smell his cologne, the scent fills your lungs and you instantly remove your face from the pillow due to familiarity.
your eyes flutter open, despite the crusties that refuse to let your lashes lift up. there he, lando, is sitting in your bed, “get your shoes off my comforter!” you launch your body at his lower half, pushing his clean air Jordan’s off the white linen.
“god you’re still annoying.” he gets up off your bed in content of officially waking you up, “also, I want that shirt back, I never said you could keep it.” he adds before closing the door behind him on the way out of your bedroom.
the silence allows you to get comfortable against the mattress again. you feel sleep sink into your body, eyes just beginning to fall heavy, “hey! I found your notecards on the kitchen table, did you want to study?”
you take a pillow beside you and throw it in the direction of his voice, “get out!” you sit upright pointing your index finger towards your bedroom door that’s open once again, allowing the light in.
he chuckles, settling himself back against your mattress, he begins to flip through your note cards, “cognitive dissonance? what the hell is that?” he asks, half expecting you to respond, “it’s called get out of my room, asshole.” your voice is muffled against the pillow, middle finger shoved into the air to show him how you feel.
he laughs once more grabbing a hold of your hand, pushing the finger back into your palm with the rest of them, “come on, I’m bored max left to get bagels like twenty minutes ago.” he whines, you can feel him kicking his legs against your mattress making you turn your head in his direction.
“are your shoes off?”
“why do you care about if I have shoes on?” he retorts back, the slight attitude that you’ve always hated since you were kids. since max met the asshole who pushed your buttons like no tomorrow.
you sit up again, facing him, due to the way you were previously laying, “because this is white linen sheets. unlike you, I cannot afford to buy another comforter.” you hiss, having enough of him for the morning, you get up out of your bed.
“you still haven’t answered my question,” he says, arms crossed against his chest watching you turn on your heel, “what’s cognitive dissonance?”
you chew the inside of your lip before a long sighs leaves your lips knowing he won’t give it up, “it’s when a persons beliefs and attitudes are inconsistent with their value.”
“can you give me an example?”
“can you shut the fuck up?”
the cool pool water drips onto your warm legs. the cool droplets against your body send a screech out your lips, as you pull your legs into your chest and fling open your eyes, “god, first you wake me up this morning now this?!”
he laughs, it echoes across the openness, you never realized how loud he could be— at least not until he was in front of you laughing, screaming, or talking. all things that irritated your middle school and teenage mind that seemed to carry on into later life. lando was all your brother had for years, and it seems evident the two never parted ways despite the ending of Max’s driving career.
“you don’t want to jump in?” he shakes his wet curls out with a towel, sitting down in the chair beside you. he takes the chance to notice the freckles on your nose, the pinky color to your cheeks, “you could use some sunscreen.” he notes, tossing you the bottle that’s in his chair.
you let the can hit you in the leg. his comment wasn’t much of a demand or question, rather a statement at the red and pink across your body, and you take the time to apply the white cream all across the parts exposed to the sun.
he sits in the chair, scrolling through his film and taking the chance to share what he’s captured with you. lando’s love for photography was not something you ever expected out of him, it was very sudden. one minute he didn’t have a camera, the next he’s taking photographs of your parents at dinner.
“did you finish studying?” he asks, attention shifting to you, you watch him move in his seat to face you, “didn’t I do a good job as a tutor?”
you scoff, it’s something you couldn’t control when he said it. despite the egocentric comment, he was a patient tutor. unlike max, who grew angry each time you got a question wrong, lando was kind enough to read hints off the notecards for help.
“you were something that’s for sure.” you turn back to the pool, watching your brother and his girlfriend race each other around. you find yourself turning to lando once again, reaching for the sunglasses he’s now sporting, “thanks for helping me.”
he nods, allowing you to carefully remove his expensive ray-bans and place them on the bridge of your nose, “you’re a good friend.” you say, turning away towards the pool.
while you turn away, you can’t see the lump he swallows in his throat, the eye roll he gives you, and the tiny nod, “that’s what friends are for, right?” he asks, standing up from the chair to remove his glasses from your face. his chain hovers just above your eyes, and he leans a little bit forward, lips nearly inches apart, “cause what we have? I don’t think that’s a friendship, babe.”
you can feel the leftover droplets of water in his hair hit your face, some across your bare stomach too. he’s about to pull away when you reach upward, lips desperately pressing against his.
“help a friend out, I think I forgot how to have sex?” your eyes flicker from his beautiful blue ones, down to his lips, his sweet soft plump pink lips that you desperately want running all over your hot body.
he exhales an excited but breathy chuckle, “it’s my pleasure, darling. you’re lucky you’ve got the best tutor in town.”
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kenobster · 11 months
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The thing about Anakin (in prequel trilogy movies) is that he actually is a really good person by default. He is a war hero for a reason; he cares so deeply and unconditionally. Sure, he's a little careless sometimes and a little impulsive. He makes mistakes and bad calls and sometimes he needs to get his hormones under fucking control. But overall, he's very much trying to do a good job. He listens to feedback, he asks for advice, and he apologizes and tries to improve when he realizes he's wrong. 
Really, he only ever crosses unforgivable lines when two very specific criteria are met: (1) when the most sensitive points of his trauma are being put under an immense amount of pressure; (2) when his support system, for whatever reason, is absent. 
And even when those two criteria are met, he still struggles not to cross those lines as hard as he can for as long he can--until he eventually just snaps under the pressure.
Example #1, the Sand People massacre. Long before going to Tatooine, Anakin’s trauma points were already under an extreme amount of pressure. He was having nightmares about his mom--reminding him of his childhood as a slave and of the slavery in which he’d left her behind. When Anakin does go to Tatooine, his support system consists solely of a girl whom he does like and does trust but whom he doesn’t know very well. Old wounds continue to reopen as he takes his first steps into Mos Epsa and speaks with Watto, a being who owned and abused him. Anakin has no reason whatsoever to think Watto isn’t the orchestrator of his mother’s torment. But does he kill, dismember, or otherwise attack Watto? No. He remains polite. So polite, in fact, that it’s unsettling.
When he hears about his mother's capture and torture from the Lars family, Anakin is, suffice to say, upset. To rescue her, he goes alone (no support system). Even with his mother actively being brutalized (trauma), Anakin does not arrive with the intention of violence. He does not massacre the entire village in an attempt to rescue her. His plan is clearly to sneak in unnoticed, grab her, and sneak out. Even after seeing her strung up, at no point does his plan seem to change… Until she dies. In that moment, his mom, the epitome of his failure to free all the slaves, has just taken her last breath. He is completely alone. His mom has practically been slaughtered. His mom. Thus, his trauma hits a breaking point, and his usual support system is out of sight. 
He snaps. 
It is his choice, yes, but it is the result of a decade of abuse and generational trauma. It is also very much a mistake/accident… In other words, it is not an example of his true values and beliefs; it is an example of their temporary absence.*
*Evidence supporting this is in the scene with the line “to be angry is to be human,” but that’s a subject that needs its own whole ass post. I’ll link it later if I ever write it.
Example #2, the Jedi massacre. There are so many posts on the subject already that I'm not going to spend time detailing every single instance in which Palpatine isolates Anakin or manipulates Anakin into isolating himself. But a brief overview: sowing distrust in the Jedi Council, creating a narrative of deceit around the Jedi Order, orchestrating events to get Obi-Wan dead/offworld, and associating the dark side of the Force with Padme’s presence (via suggestions that only a Sith Lord can save her). With that, Anakin's entire support system is crippled. Unlike in AOTC, he is surrounded by loved ones, yes, but they can’t help him. By Palpatine's design, Anakin eventually bars each of them from entry.
Meanwhile, Palpatine is putting his trauma under extreme pressure and manipulating the shit out of him. Starting on the Invisible Hand itself, when Palpatine encourages Anakin to kill Dooku.* The movie explicitly connects this scene to the sand people massacre, which immediately establishes an awakening of old trauma. Wounds reopen, and Palpatine presses on them and he presses on them and he presses on them. Padme’s looming death becomes the symbol of his past trauma (of what he failed to protect and what he did as a result). And through Palpatine’s misinformation campaign, the Jedi become the perpetrators of this trauma, rather than the support system.
*For reasons beyond the scope of this post, I do not consider Count Dooku's murder to be an example of Anakin crossing an unforgivable line. I consider it to be an example of Anakin making a bad call. Even so, one could easily argue that his support system was absent and that his pressure points were being targeted in this scene, too. But I find that argument uninteresting because it doesn't apply imo.
Still, Anakin resists. Still, he tries again and again to retain his ideals. He seeks advice from Yoda. He listens to Obi-Wan's feedback and apologizes. He opens up to Padme. He initially rejects Sith Lord Palpatine. He tries to do the right thing by telling Mace Windu and letting the Council handle things. Because that's who he is--that's his true nature. Anakin is alone in the Council chambers (no support system) when Palpatine taunts him with Padme's inevitable death (trauma). And still, he resists. He races to Palpatine's office, but does he immediately kill, dismember, or otherwise attack Mace Windu? No. Even as Palpatine continues to press on his trauma (“I have the power to save the one you love!”), Anakin tries to reason with Mace. However much he is rationalizing the truth to his benefit, he is still trying to get out of this trap. He even admits the core of it in the end: “I need him!” Even then, even when Mace rightly goes for the killing blow, Anakin is still resisting! He attacks, he dismembers, but he doesn't kill. He makes an impulsive, ill-thought-out, almost reflexive decision (supported by the horror in the line “What have I done?!”). It’s as if Palpatine has shoved him right up against that unforgivable line, and Anakin is using his last inch of space to not teeter over it. 
Then Palpatine kills Mace Windu. In his mind, Anakin has nothing left after that. In his mind, he is responsible for getting Mace killed (trauma), and he doesn’t see how the Jedi can possibly forgive him (no support system). In his mind, his wife is dying (trauma), and he is alone in the presence of his abuser (no support system).
He snaps.
Unlike in AOTC, this does not happen by accident. These events were deliberately and continuously manufactured by a Sith Lord with an agenda. Palpatine directs Anakin’s explosion onto the Jedi Order, where Anakin compounds upon his trauma with more murder and more death. He becomes isolated to Palpatine's manipulations by killing (or enraging) his entire support system.
Afterward, Palpatine has all of the fuel he needs to make Anakin snap and snap and snap, over and over, for a very long time.
Who is to blame is such a boring, irrelevant question when we have such a fascinating character. The prequel trilogy gives us a complicated villain who is simultaneously the executor of such horrific violence and also the boy who wanted to free all the slaves. A villain who kills a part of himself every time he kills another. A villain who is so horrifically victimized even whilst he commits his terrible crimes. And because it's fiction (aka the victims of his actions are narrative elements, not people), I'm allowed to feel unashamedly devastated for him. I’m allowed to see the truth: that Darth Vader is only the suit he wears. The mask concealing the good person underneath. The Jedi Order was Anakin’s family, too, and you should feel sorry that he lost them. You should feel sorry for the way he is abused in ROTS. Darth Vader doesn’t represent who Anakin is or what he believes, and blame is irrelevant to this truth.
Because support systems matter. They matter to people who have gone through trauma. Yes, sometimes they are even the ONLY difference between the choice to do good and the choice to do bad. Sometimes, all that is necessary to prevent a heinous crime is to help them before they snap. I think people are uncomfortable with Anakin because that kind of helplessness is a really hard thing to admit. It's not fun to realize that you could have made similar choices if you had been in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong person. Research has shown people greatly prefer to attribute their accomplishments to their own actions and choices in life. It makes sense. The realization that external factors may have played a role in everything we take pride in is scary--but this fear leads us to the bias that we could never become Darth Vader. Even if we were raised as a slave, even if our loved ones were taken from us, even if our sense of reality was being manipulated and distorted--somehow we would not be broken. We would remain Anakin Skywalker.
It's a comforting fantasy for people who have done nothing wrong.
As someone who is human, someone who has made mistakes and bad calls and who regrets the times I might have crossed lines, I find a lot more comfort in the message George Lucas provides. The prequel trilogy is a story about the harm someone (anyone) can do if they're not careful. Anakin becomes Darth Vader not because he’s innately evil but rather because he’s under extreme pressure and no one is able to help him. In contrast, the original trilogy offers compassion and an opportunity for self-forgiveness. Darth Vader chooses to become Anakin simply because one person looked at what he'd done and said, "Stop. This isn't you." In the face of how helpless and dangerous every one of us can be, I find Anakin’s story to be really meaningful, and I wish more of us appreciated it.
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allastoredeer · 16 days
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Do you have any headcanons about Alastor's participation in WW1? The Selective Service Act of 1917 made it mandatory for men aged 21-30 to register for military service and was later expanded to include men as young as 18, so if the stream saying that Alastor was late thirties to early forties when he died is still canon he'd have lived through that
So, I hadn't gotten to this part in my development of Alastor's backstory, but it got me thinking because, huh, how DID Alastor manage to get out of that?
Unless he just served in WW1. Which...I find oddly funny. I don't know why, but the the image of Alastor in the trenches...
But anyway, you got me curious so I looked into it. You're 100% right about the Selective Service Act of 1917 making it mandatory for men aged 21-30 to register for military service, and they even came up with different "classes" of the men who qualified, and if they exhausted one class, they'd go down to the next.
However, even with the Selective Service Act, there was still a lot of draft evasion going on. In fact, a significant amount of draft evasion happened in the South, which, as I'm sure you know, Louisiana is part of (some of it was in part of Southerners not having documentation, and thus, unable to even legally draft, which would probably give them a whole other slew of problems).
So, I was looking into how people evaded the draft. A lot of it is split up into different groups, like draft avoidance and draft resistance, with their only little list of things, but that's a lot and I don't wanna get into all of that. But my bet is on Alastor doing draft avoidance.
And there were actually quite a few interesting ones, like:
Claiming to have a mental or psychological problem (if you could find a doctor willing to certify that for you)
Student deferment, when someone is primarily in school to learn and study (or obtaining one in an effort to avoid the draft)
Deliberately failing the military intelligence tests
Professing sincere or religious ethical beliefs (join a church, avoid the draft!)
Bribery
and my personal favorite:
Being homosexual.
Because, as you know, the government can't allow the gay in the military!
And look, I'm a silly goober, so of course I immediately went to Alastor claiming to be homosexual. But the thing is, I kind of do think that is something Alastor would do for a majority of reasons.
In the 1920's, social values were evolving, and a lot of postwar "youths" began questioning traditional concepts of family, sexuality, and gender. There were "little Bohemia's" around the US, including in Manhattan and San Francisco, with communities and groups like this, and they weren't exactly unknown.
Back to Alastor, he lived in the French Quarter in New Orleans (or, at least, that's where I think he lived as a majority of mixed-raced Creole people lived there, which we know Alastor canonically is). And it just so happens, that it became the birth place of New Orleans gay community in the 1920's. There were entire gay neighborhoods, there were clubs where people dressed in the clothing of the opposite gender, they had parties and bars, and while it wasn't "the norm" to live this "lifestyle," and there was still a lot of harassment, it was still fairly normal to see. (Of course, then came what we can call the "gay panic" where government started cracking down on it, and claiming the gay community were all predators and pedophiles, and - well, you know. You know.)
But that was after/close to Alastor's death, so...
Anyway, I 100% believe that Alastor did take part and lived in communities like those. Names and labels for those things didn't exist at the time, so it's not like he knows what they're called, but homosexuals, cross-dressing, drag queens, they were normal to him. He's lived with them, partied with them, maybe even tried a few things out himself(so many headcanons, guys. So many).
This is to say, I think Alastor would 100% be comfortable claiming to be homosexual to avoid getting drafted. You've seen getting married for tax benefits, now consider becoming gay for draft evasion! I actually had a pretty fun talk about it with a friend in Discord, which only cemented it in my mind LMAO.
I have SO many headcanons around Alastor and him living in the French Quarter, in gay communities, where they challenged social norms (and we all know how he feels about challenging status quo's 😏)
But if not that, my runner up is that he totally bribed his way out of it. I don't know how he got the money, maybe he killed someone and stole their wallet, IDK, but bribery is a yes from me.
And if not THAT one, then he joined and church and claimed to have sincere religious and ethical beliefs 😇 🙏 (Yes, this is inspired by Nun Alastor, and no, I do not take constructive criticism. That's what happened guys, I was there). Besides, New Orleans was pretty Catholic, I'm sure he could find a church somewhere.
That's my take on it XD I think the one closest to Alastor's canon character would be bribery, but this is fandom, and if I say he claimed to be gay to get out of going to war, then goddammit he claimed to be gay to get out of going to war.
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astrosky33 · 1 year
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HOUSE MEANINGS IN ASTROLOGY
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[READ] People often question why there’s so many meanings for each planet/house and the reason is so that you can learn more than just one thing about yourself through each placement. Otherwise astrology would be very vague and boring. These are all meanings that I’ve learned from my astrology classes at Kepler College
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1ST HOUSE: identity/self, outward personality traits, outlook on life/approach to life, appearance, physical body, beauty, confidence, beginnings, how you initiate/ambition, your mannerisms, your outward behavior, physical fights, your presence, individuality, and passion
2ND HOUSE: money/finances (how we spend it, store it, and manage it), work, short term jobs, your work ethic, material possessions, self worth, values, emotional security, stability, financial security, how you meet financial obligations, your singing voice, giving/receiving, and resources (both material and non material)
3RD HOUSE: communication, your speaking voice/the way you talk, your mind, the way you think/your thinking skills, your perceptions, your opinions, your conscious mind, neighbors, siblings, interests, gossip, ideas/information, mathematics, literature, transportation (only ground not flying/air), local media, social media, cell phones, phone calls, visits, social activity, publishing, early education (before college), short trips, and short journeys
4TH HOUSE: homes/houses, family/family roots, your parents (particularly the mother/motherly figure), your inner child, emotions, foundations, your childhood, heredity, tradition, self-care, places of residence, real estate, properties, femininity, and conditions in early life
5TH HOUSE: children, childlike spirit, talent, creativity, drama, risk-taking, spotlight, romance (shows short term relationships, flings, hookups, and if long term relationships then only puppy love), hobbies, pleasures, objects of affection, vacations, games, speculation, fertility, concerts, festivals, and joy
6TH HOUSE: daily routine/day to day life/daily tasks, your health/fitness/the work you do on your body, your duties, self improvement, consistency, step-siblings, your hygiene, innocence, systems, service to others, co-workers, analytical nature, diets, animals, and your pets
7TH HOUSE: long term relationships, marriage, concern for others, attraction/attractiveness, charm, conflicts, partnerships, business partners, contracts, love affairs, open enemies, close associates, lower courts, negotiations, peers, agents, equality, harmony, and sharing
8TH HOUSE: major transformation, sex, death, longevity, changes, joint/shared finances, investments, stock market, your partners resources, taxes, inheritance, reproduction, seduction, intimacy (in general not only sexual), rebirth, merging, taboos, resurrection, loans, assets, secrets, mystery, businesses, spiritual transformation, magic (especially black magic), psychology, surgery/operations, trauma, periods, and the occult
9TH HOUSE: wisdom, law/laws, beliefs, religion, philosophy, higher education (college/university), viewpoints, languages, foreign environments, in-laws (your relatives through marriage), ethics, long journeys, travel, ideologies, higher courts, media, television, interviews, cross-cultural relations, grandparents, and learning
10TH HOUSE: your legacy, your career, your public image, your status, your reputation, fame, long-term goals, worldly attainment, sense of mission, responsibilities, recognition, authority, father/fatherly figure, experts, bosses, achievements, and professional aspirations
11TH HOUSE: friends, friend groups, gains, money made from career, desires, step/half parents, step/half children, uniqueness, inventions, technology, film, social awareness, influence, manifestations, hopes and wishes for the future, ideals, humanitarianism, associates (not just close ones), groups (in general), politics, social networking, where you make your debut into society, companions, allies, science, socialization/social interaction, clubs, organizations, and parties
12TH HOUSE: healing, the hidden, karma, karmic debts, old age, sleep, mental health, solitude/isolation, dreams (the ones you have when you sleep), hidden enemies, hidden causes, illusions, secret bed pleasures, spirituality, fears, losses, endings, escapism, impersonations, closure, need for withdrawal/privacy, afterlife, limiting beliefs, subsconcious memory, subconscious mind, hypnotism, self-undoing, hidden desires, the past, delay, and restrictions
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MASTERLIST
MORE BEGINNER ASTROLOGY
PLANET MEANINGS
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© 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝
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ronearoundblindly · 4 months
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The Dignity of His Choice (abridged ending)
Speedy version of Reflections Part II & III (see previous or series) Steve Rogers x wife!Reader
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Alright, this may not be conventional, but I'm crippled by guilt over this story. There are so many elements that hit brutally close to home based on a personal experience this past year (arguably this past decade but whatevs), and so I have sifted through 28 A4-sized pages, front-to back, and 17 smaller pages, front-to back (save one sheet), as well as a typed-up 7k, in hopes of grasping this magical redemption arc that exists in my mind and falls flat everywhere else. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of loving this story so much that nothing is good enough, and I'm sick of hoping to offer a conclusion that never f***ing comes. Welp, today you can know the conclusion--or the gist of it at least--because that is my Christmas gift to myself. I'm washing myself of the guilt. -> What follows is an extremely unedited and maybe slightly poetic summary of the finale. God, I hope you enjoy it, but really, I just want to feel like I *can* finish something. Sorry if that's dramatic; that's just...the situation of 2023.
Thank you in advance for your understanding, and I hope this serves up some sort of holiday cheer! (No real warnings because smut is reserved for the full-length version. This tale, as always, is 18+ due to very heavy themes.)
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The thing is Steve doesn't regret his choice. How can he regret anything that ensured you were here, alive and happy, by his side? That's not an achievement he'll ever be ashamed of; there's no guarantee in the multiverse that he could have done better.
You spoke of being lucky. You felt guilt that of all the servicemen and women to lose their lives, yours came home in the end.
Steve doesn't see it that way. Yes, you and he are very, very lucky, but overall, Steve won.
In every war, there are battles. In battles, there are fights. In fights, there are shots taken, punches thrown. You don't need to land every punch to win a war. There are always losses.
Steve Rogers tends to win because he understands this.
He knows the value of strategy. He knows the value of hope. He especially knows the value of planning for the worst.
And so he's surprised--as he often is with you--that he hasn't lost more.
You accept the loss as well as the win. You endure more gracefully than he ever imagined possible during those long months alone and away.
His sacrifice may have played a factor in your safety, but in the end, it just came down to you. You fought for yourself. You battled for your beliefs. You warred for your convictions.
Steve can understand that. He admires it.
He plans to make this dreadful mess up to you, he hopes for the time to do so, but before he can strategize how, your bubble of isolation is burst by a knock at the door.
"Open up, Rogers. Please," Sam Wilson requests anxiously over F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s speaker.
He could simply mean you since you are a Rogers and neither of you have heard the okay that the world knows Steve's alive. Although, Steve still doesn't have a phone again, and you haven't exactly been checking yours during recent...activities... (Not to put too fine a point on it, but Bucky's little gifts aren't going to miraculously last eight days and nights.)
Steve stays in the corner of the kitchen, drying his hands from the dishes you two were washing together, while you answer the door.
It swings open in the direction that still hides Steve.
"Hey--" Steve hears the soft pause in Wilson's voice "--I think...I may be out of line here, but Stark ordered personnel to vacate the compound."
You cross your arms over your chest, nervous. "Do we need to leave? I--As in, you and I? Are we included in that?"
"No," Sam says flatly. "It's just...suspicious--look, can I come in?"
"Sam, wait!" You push to make a wall in the doorway, meaning Steve can no longer see you or what's happening while a silence, an extremely pregnant pause, stretches.
Afterward, there's a whisper.
"Is he here?"
Your reply is only a stutter of unfinished words, but that's enough. Sam's stepped past and halted a few feet inside before his scanning gaze lands on Steve.
Steve's not sure what he expects his friend to do. He's misjudging reactions left and right these days, so he can't presume that--
"Gym?" Sam ticks his arm, thumb pointing back out to the hall. "I'm going for a run."
He has to convince you and Steve that the whole place really has been cleared before Steve changes clothes.
The string-light and garland-lined corridors remind Steve that his apartment remains devoid of any festive touches. You two have been too distracted to realize it's the day before Christmas Eve, so the 'evacuation' will likely draw no attention from the average employee.
Stark is just adamant they have the holiday for family. That's all. The only people who live there are Avengers.
The smell of the rubber floor when they walk onto the track spikes nostalgia in the back of Steve's brain, and in his utter joy to be there again, he starts sprinting like old times.
His blood pumps and his lungs stretch, but it's too hard, too fast. His blood thunders in his ears and makes his head swim. His lungs burn fiercely and seize. He collapses, gasping through his weakest asthma attack yet, but it still happens.
Things are almost, almost the same. Things are still different.
Without taking the opportunity to gloat (too much), Sam uses his powers, skills he's had all along, to divine Steve's real fear:
Steve changed things, and he may have changed things so much that it's all ruined. He can't go back to being Cap because he showed his colors: he chose you over everything else. What if you can't go back to being his wife because of that same choice?
Sam helps Steve off the floor.
"You walked the same circle for a long time, buddy. Instead of getting off the track entirely, try one lane over. Baby steps."
Steve snorts. "Ya know, she said something similar."
"Yeah, well, some of us filled in the stoic charm while you were gone."
"Comes naturally to you, doesn't it?"
Wilson turns to walk backwards, flashing pearly whites. "The outfit is growing on me, and I think the press were just about to stop calling me Black Cap." He playfully punches Steve's shoulder. "We'll see how far this sets me back, huh?"
After realizing he has to take it easy, Steve enjoys a long, mostly quiet run beside his friend, never once passing him. Though Steve asks about returning tomorrow, Sam has to decline. Christmas Eve is for Sarah and her boys, and Sam's sister will raise hell if crossed.
Just before leaving the gym, Sam hugs Steve, the length and intensity of the embrace telling Steve all he needs to know. Sam--like everyone else who knows so far--is happier than he is hurt, and that stifles Steve in a torrent of humility.
He doesn't deserve the strength of this family built around him, but he is grateful.
Steve also doesn't expect to find Natasha and Bucky in his apartment when he returns. He was hoping to put up some decorations with you, bring a touch of joyous spirit to that place you've been emotionally entombed for months, but he outright frowns when seeing the box they brought.
Between you and Nat sits the bin of intel the Keepers gathered on you and left behind at a raided facility. You're pouring over the dirty details of horrible intrusion to your private life, both you and Steve's, and he can't help but watch your face closely.
You do look horrified. You look furious for minutes on end, file after file, until you finally ask, "who's had stuff like this on you guys?"
That's the thing. That's the part eating away at Steve's shame. It's why he can't be beyond a superficial level of sorry for what he's done.
"The Red Room," Nat replies softly.
Buck shrugs. "Hydra...among others."
Steve knows what that intel could have been a precursor to; they could manipulate more than just him. You could have been used, you could have been changed, and it would have been his fault. Extremes are most of his life, so Steve goes to extreme measures to keep his life separate from all of that.
Blurring those lines--bringing you closer to the fray of this scary and violent world feels irresponsible.
You continue to ask candid questions about what Nat and Bucky were doing this whole time. The response is grueling, a complex web of taking out targets without signaling an ulterior motive, every interaction carefully executed to seem natural, all the while knowing that Steve waited to come home and you waited for...well, the truth.
The way Natasha describes it makes Steve sick to his stomach.
He never wanted this, but he has to live with the consequences.
You thumb over a few stalking photographs in your hand and simply say, "that was quite a commitment."
Something triggers in Steve, and suddenly, his next move is crystal clear.
"I'll--I'll be right back," he blurts.
All three of you startle in confusion, sat around the coffee table like it's the most normal thing in the world to share so much. You've had top clearance for twenty-four hours. You're already a pro, and that makes Steve's idea that much more perfect.
He races through the building, glad he doesn't have to hide, and pounds on Tony's door.
As soon as Tony opens up though, Morgan rushes past his legs and lets out a blood-curdling cry that ends in a sobbing, "you're alive."
The little girl flings herself into Steve's arms, refusing to let go the entire time he asks Stark--all the Starks--for a favor.
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You wake up the next morning to find a note from Steve and a dress of yours hung by the tree you put up after a long meal with Nat and Bucky.
Important errand, the note reads. Expect Tony to come by at 11. Wear this, please. I love you.
It's the dress you chose for your first date with Steve, the date that kinda never happened because the compound was invaded and you had to kill a guy. Odd memory to resurrect, but you do adore that dress.
You're not surprised when Tony arrives in one of his signature suits, nor when he makes a show of walking you through the halls on his arm. He has the uncanny ability to chat about nothing using the maximum number of words. He's delightful that way.
Your first real clue is Morgan, standing outside some double doors to one of the flex rooms, like the ones changed for training different abilities, like the ones used for therapy circles. In fact, it's the same room, the exact same double doors as years ago.
The girl looks fit to burst, clearly told to keep her cheers to a minimum as she clutches a wicker Easter basket in her hands, crouching as if ready to spring into action.
Pepper stands close by. Nat and Bucky whisper conspiratorially a ways down the hall.
Then you notice.
Tony has on a black suit with red pin-stripes, Pepper a blue dress with a white belt, Natasha a red dress with a white belt, and Bucky a navy suit with a black-shirt underneath.
"We did our best on short notice," Tony rambles off, guiding you to a stop in front of the party.
"This is for you," Morgan squeaks, ripping a colorful bundle of pipe cleaners out of the basket. There are buttons woven to the tops of each 'stem.'
Pepper quickly adds, "wild flowers were...a bit scarce, as you can imagine."
You brave a single question.
"What's going on?"
Everyone just beams at you, falling into a pattern of pairs behind Morgan before Tony winks and tells you to follow his lead.
The doors open, and there, at the end of the aisle, stands Steve--your Steve--in his old Captain America outfit minus the cowl. His hair is still long and darker, but his beard is properly trimmed.
All you can think is how you'll tease him about that.
You pinch at the leather sleeve in curiosity, and Steve leans over.
"This is the last thing I'll ever do in it," he says before kissing your cheek. "Promise."
"Says the guy who's stolen it twice," Tony mutters from his place on the other side of Bucky.
"He has a point," Nat chimes in.
The poor priest clears his throat and bellows, "dearly beloved..."
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He keeps his promise.
At a press conference just before New Year's, Steve is announced as one of those rescued from "an enemy base" in an undisclosed location.
The crowd of reporters erupts in a chaos of inquisition, but all Steve will give them, standing there in a simple sweater and slacks, is his official resignation of the title Cap.
"What do we call you then?" someone shouts from the back.
"Just Steve. I am Steve Rogers, that's all." He looks to his left for the comfort of your face. "And this--" he grabs your hand "--is Mrs. Rogers, my soulmate."
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@im-a-slut-for-fluff @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @fangirl-swagg @georgeweaslysgirl @austynparksandpizza @bucky-fricking-barnes-reads @fallinallinmendes @claireelizabeth85 @patzammit @supraveng @1950schick @jamneuromain @yiiiikesmish @ashesofblackroses @spectre-posts
A/N: and yes, the full-version will be written eventually.
[Main Masterlist; Ko-Fi]
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1000sunnygo · 11 months
Text
Law really thinks the love Doflamingo shows for his Family is 100% superficial doesn't he.
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"You vile human, you only gather people you can use as tools and you had no love for your brother"
"Fine, i have no love for my brother - If that helps you sleep at night."
.
It's just not true.
There are countless evidences against the assumption that Doflamingo sees his family as mere tools. Doflamingo cares them, pampers them - he feeds Diamante's ego, protects Baby 5 from local creeps. He saved abandoned children and raised them (most of whom were scared away by Corazon). He'd kill anyone for laughing at his family's vulnerable sides - their muteness and "funny voice". he took Rosinante back in the crew without a question even though Rosinante was suspiciously absent throughout his entire childhood. He studied Flevance's history immediately upon Law's arrival and was the first person to berate the superstitious ill treatment Law received for his disease, forgave every major failure of Baby 5/Buffalo/Trebol/Sugar/Jiolla during the alliance's raid. These all can't be fake. Doflamingo may sacrifice his Family member as last resort but he does not want that.
Doflamingo is a narcissist sociopath, but there are people who he wants to treat right, as best as he can - an influence that erases empathic outlook towards the world but offer protection and a safe home. If you're a useless coward with weak resolution like Bellamy, you're a nobody. But if you're capable in Doflamingo's eyes, he's got your back.
Law himself subconsciously took advantage of Doflamingo's care for his Family when he halted Doffy by blackmailing Jiolla.
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Whether it's due to Doflamingo's experience throughout the "peasant life" or a hint of goodness passed genetically from his parents, Doflamingo's love exists and has a quality compared to as seen in other nobles/world nobles ie. Saint Rosward or Outlook lll.
But it's selective, and Doflamingo can't stand betrayal.
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Law despises Doflamingo for doing something he didn't want to.
Whether Doflamingo is by birth a narcissist sociopath or no, he was wronged by his environment and family.
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Doflamingo's "family" is a small circle of people, yet he was betrayed within this circle repeatedly. Homing did it first. Then Rosinante. When Doflamingo killed his brother, he had to come in terms with the reality that his blood family are his enemies.
And finally, Law did.
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Law overheard Doflamingo's statement that rightfully made him lose his respect and trust. But, once again, it's not what Doflamingo wanted to happen.
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Doflamingo's value of "nakama" isn't the same as Luffy or Law's, it doesn't transcend personal goals. He fully endorses his role of a captain, a King, protected by an army who'd lay their lives for him. It's not selfless but doesn't make him as big of a scumbag towards every single human as Law (and Rosinante) assumed he is. If Corazon didn't betray him first, he would've been alive.
Now, what would it be like, if Law and Doflamingo's paths ever cross again?
While Doflamingo remains irredeemable for the crimes he committed in general, imo, his redemption for killing Corazon (in particular) had been resolved once Dressrosa (the people who Corazon wanted to save from Doflamingo) were freed. The final arc is building up antagonists that can't be taken down by a single group of pirates. There will be full-fledged war. If Law and Doflamingo do encounter each other, they'd be on the same side against the same enemy.
Doflamingo's connection with the ones "up higher" is vague at best. There are missing details as to what happened when Doflamingo returned to mariejeoise with Homing's head, how he discovered Imu and/or the national treasure. It's likely that Doflamingo learned the details of Ope ope fruit specifically because he knew Imu's history.
Donquixotes have been repeatedly pitted against Celestial dragons' belief and traditions. Mosjgard being a Donquixote is an interesting detail, probably added as an afterthought for some reason.
Oda wouldn't have made Law a "D" if he isn't meant to play a pivotal role against the Celestial dragons, especially now that it's vaguely confirmed it's his fruit that made Imu immortal. We don't know why Law's family kept the D hidden and what the hidden name "Water" stands for.
Law right now is dragged into another potential revenge subplot but we know blackbeard isn't his to beat. Oda might've separated Law from his crews to directly incorporate him in the Imu plotline instead of the race for One piece.
I think Law's future role doesn't involve combat, at least, it won't be the main focus. Law losing his sword reinforces this assumption.
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All these considered, a temporary collaboration of Law and Doflamingo for Imu's downfall isn't entirely off the table - Doflamingo knowing what can be done and Law possessing the "what" that can be done.
Looking forward to their return, hopefully soon.
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indiangp · 3 months
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Analysing Valentino Rossi's handwriting
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okay so to preface this so I don't have to explain myself if I ever get anything wrong:
1. I have lost most of my knowledge regarding graphology after I got deep into it about 4 years ago. I rediscovered it about 3 days ago. Moreover, I'm just a girl on the internet, not a scholar. Some things might be inaccurate.
2. Graphology is considered a pseudo-science. There is no empirical evidence backing up graphology; if it's more understandable that way, think of it as analyzing someone's birth charts.
3. I generally do not know the people whose handwriting I analyze. I nor know what Valentino Rossi is like in real life, and neither will I ever. This is for funsies <3 I just enjoy graphology.
4. An important, somewhat unspoken, rule of graphology is that it's imperative I keep aside my knowledge of what I've seen him act like in public and focus solely on what the page tells me.
5. ALSO. Our handwriting has fixed as well as unfixed traits. For example, your IQ is fixed, likewise, your aptitudes, temperament, and identity are all fixed. There are unfixed traits as well in our handwriting. They keep changing depending on the conditions. Your abilities, attitudes, moods, beliefs, motivational level, and physical conditions are unfixed traits. People's handwriting also changes depending on whether they are writing for themselves (eg. a personal note, journal) or for someone else (eg. a letter <- like the sample currently at hand !)
6. I will sound nerdy at times as I might quote some graphology experts or use their works verbatim from their books. I have tried to keep it as simple as possible but still, if anything is unclear/your opinions vary, asks are always open <3 
*****Text in italics are random comments that shouldn't be included in any professional graphology analysis document but are there because this is a TUMBLR POST******
Now, the actual analysis
1. Initial Impression
This is a “normal” writing sample at first glance. Form quality doesn't reflect over-embellished or neglectful form. The writing is legible, which is expected considering it is a letter. The handwriting is slightly middle zone dominant(explanation in section 8.) indicating a bit of self-centredness and concern regarding day-to-day life. There are a lot of things crossed off which may show emotional distress at the time of writing the sample. I also noticed the large spacing between the lines at first glance and it generally shows fear of isolation(he was leaving Yamaha 💀) and distrust. There are also some arcades and garlands at the end of words(explanation in section 10). WEIRDASS LOWER ZONES. 
But mainly, it's so… erratic; the baseline is erratic, the slant is mostly vertical but still erratic at times, and the way he crosses off so much stuff is an indicator of emotional distress. 
2. Baseline
The baseline is the imaginary line running from left to right at the same level. It is on this imaginary line that letters rest on dividing upper and lower areas while moving forward to the right. Any movement horizontally along the baseline represents your reaction to experiences, living values, time demands, and learning. Right motion is to advance, expand, and progress and left motion is to revert, constrict, and regress. The baseline reveals 1. attitudes about reaching our goals, 2. the kind of mental energy we apply to our life situations, and 3. our general moods.
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Initial lines in the sample display a “Moody” baseline or an erratic baseline(some authors call it a “sinuous” baseline). When a baseline has a number of ups and downs, or ascending and descending it is called erratic. Of course, it shows the moodiness of the person. They may laugh and cry easily and have lots of ups and downs in their lives. They are unbalanced as the handwriting shows. This is not to be confused with an incoherent, aka, ”sociopathic baseline”.
HOWEVER, the end of the sample follows a stable baseline which is an indicator that the person shows controlled/consistent behaviour to the outward world. A straight line is a straightforward path and its meaning is a firm, unchanging foundation. Its positive qualities are straightness, discipline, willpower, constancy of purpose, and responsibility. Its negative aspect impact is inflexibility. 
I wish I had more samples to confirm my thoughts and form a consistent opinion because I cannot conclude a single baseline pattern followed by the person. Language and cultural upbringing differences also don’t help. 
3. Slant
A handwriting can be a. just vertical; it stands straight on a baseline as though at 90 degrees. b. inclined to the right or c. inclined to the left. Further, it can be lightly inclined, very inclined, or acutely reclined. In general:
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Leftward slant writers are emotionally cold and defiant, self-centered, and/or selfish. Overly leftward can be very emotionally sick. Extremely left slants often indicate past trauma and/or inability to move on/ recover. 
Upright/vertical slant reveals emotional reserve, suppression, and self-reliance. The person acts not with his/her heart but with the head. The person can be cool under pressure.
One’s right slant indicates compliance with people. The person is emotionally expressive. The person will act according to emotions. Here pressure levels reveal how intense the emotions are expressed. Overly right slant writer cannot control his/her emotions.
Variable slants betray mostly an emotionally unstable person.
I had a terrible time with this one because even when I superimposed a chart on it, it was still unclear which slant it follows. Rossi’s handwriting appears to go in all directions however it is seldom on the extreme ends(ie, acutely inclined to the right or acutely reclined to the left. Both of these are “abnormal” and rare.) 
If we write with an unstable slant, we feel pulled in different directions. An unstable slant is a wobbling slant. At one moment the person is affectionate and at another moment he is aloof. The more unstable a wobble, the more unstable is the writer. The interpretation of the slant is based on the universal concept of ‘left versus right.’ Usually, people associate the left with the past and the right with the future. If the left and the right represent the past and the future, then the centre represents the present.
4. Size
Size simply refers to whether the writing is large or small. Of course, there are many categories in size, like large, overly large, medium, small, or overly small (microscopic). It is an unfixed trait. Because, depending upon the mood, people write sometimes small and at other times big. It also depends upon the paper on which they write. 
Valentino’s handwriting again follows a somewhat irregular pattern when it comes to size. I say this because size changing over a few lines is completely normal but irregular size between words shows emotional instability.
 According to Karen Amend et al, “variable letter sizes, that is, middle zone letters ranging in size from 1116th of an inch upwards, show a writer who is emotionally off-balance a good deal of the time. Too much caught up in his own feelings, he is likely to be self-centered, overly expressive, indecisive, and childish. Those around him often find him moody and immature, but not always without charm.”
(I do not agree with this description too much but this is all i could find regarding unstable size)
The letters enlargen in the middle of the sample, especially when he mentions someone by their name. If a certain word or name becomes suddenly bigger in comparison with other words in the same line, then we can conclude that the writer has invested some emotions either positive in the person or thing signified by that particular word that got enlarged. When we hold somebody or something in high esteem, then automatically that word gets enlarged in our writing. On the contrary, if we have less regard, and think less of the person, then the word automatically shrinks.
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5. Margin
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NARROW UPPER MARGIN
In short, it shows informality. If your handwriting leaves a very narrow margin on the top, it is an indication that you are informal with the person to whom you write. It shows informality and familiarity. Just because you are comfortable with the person, you start writing from the very beginning. (this does match with the contents of the sample at hand)
(Not much more to say really, the margins are wide on left and right side but it doesn't favor one side, which shows a balance/peace with their past as well future)
6. Speed
Speed refers to how fast or slow one writes. It measures how quickly or slowly an individual thinks and acts, the person’s intelligence level, and finally the degree of spontaneity and honesty. When we speak of speed, we are referring to the natural speed of the writer in thought, action, and reaction. All of us have an optimum speed at which we think and act most comfortably. If one is forced for a long time to go faster or slower than the optimum speed that will end up in difficulties. Speed tells of the intelligence and spontaneity of the writer.
There are barely any signs that the sample was written in a rushed or sloppy manner. He does leave a few large gaps in between which indicate uncertainty and the writer is possibly taking time to gather their thoughts before putting them onto paper. 
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7. Spacing
SPACING WITHIN WORDS
The distance that the writer places between the letters shows how he relates on a personal level to other people. Valentino’s handwriting shows more or less balanced and normal spaces within words. There is occasional tanglin but not to a concerning degree.  A normal, well-balanced spacing within the letter shapes and between them shows a personality that is balanced and flexible in relationship to others, with the ability for both closeness and reserve where appropriate.
SPACING BETWEEN WORDS
The space left between the written words represents the distance that the writer would like to maintain between himself and society at large. Rossi’s handwriting has rather narrow spaces between words. Very narrow spaces between the words show someone who will crowd others for attention, craving constant contact and closeness. Such a writer can be selfish in his demands and unwilling to give of his own time and energies to others.
SPACING BETWEEN LINES
The amount of space that the writer leaves between the lines on the page gives clues to the orderliness and clarity of his thinking, and to the amount of interaction that he wishes to have with his environment. Overall the sample at hand shows normal to slightly wide spacing between lines. There isn’t much tangling(sign of confusion/jumbled ideas) between the lines and neither are the lines excessively far apart(signs of suspicions and hostility). Normal spacing has its own personal harmony and flexibility. 
8. Zones
This is the most complex thing in graphology to me personally but to oversimplify, the three zones and what aspects they relate to are as follows:
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I. Upper: fantasy, spirit, intellect, creativity, imagination
Ii. Middle: social life, daily life, everyday concerns
Iii. Lower: instinctual self and drives for security, materialistic things, biological needs
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People can have a writing that is balanced across all zones or they may have a dominating zone. Valentino’s handwriting is overall middle zone dominant. According to Karen Amend et al, “If the Middle Zone is Strongly Developed, but neither the upper nor lower zones are, the writer is overly concerned for himself and his own daily activities. His self-assurance borders on presumptuousness and conceit, and he will make great issues of trivial things. The danger to this sort of writer is boredom and confinement in a self-centered world. ”
This is a somewhat pessimistic and outdated view of this trait(and respectfully I hate it <3). Most students today actually tend to have this type of handwriting and it’s quite common. While it is a somewhat “childish” trait, it may show the person’s extroversion and general concern over daily concerns. (This view is what I believe in more than the weird self-centred blah blah explanation.)
9. Printing & Cursive Writing
To oversimplify, print writing = intellectual/methodical person/head-over-heart or trying to be coherent. Cursive = fast/connected thoughts. 
Valentino mixes these two and it is considered an example of efficient breaks in print-cursive handwriting. It is quite common and indicates that the writer is intelligent, succinct, efficient, direct and fast, and simple in writing.
10. Connecting Strokes
(This was another aspect I had a hard time with because I am so out of touch with the knowledge I used to have.)
There are 4 types of connecting strokes: garland, angles, thread, and arcades. 
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(I’ve already written more than anyone wishes to read so I'll just jump to the conclusions instead of explaining each.) He uses a lot of garlands(upward strokes) as connecting strokes. If you write with garland connectors, then you are open, friendly, sociable, affectionate, flexible, ready to establish a link with others and communicate easily. Garlands are associated with openness and friendliness. More women than men seem to use garland connectors.
Garland is an image of round and open and is sincere, receptive, and obliging. Hence the positive qualities are feminine traits, friendliness, kindliness, natural behaviour, lack of formality, receptiveness, and adjustability. Socially, they are adaptable and flexible, but their strong need for security makes them feel threatened by any changes in their home, family, or lifestyle. These types are expressive yet conventional. They want communication with and acceptance by other people.
11. Signatures
Signature reveals: one’s public self-image, self-confidence, egotism, self-destruction, diversity, and creativity. Signature is the sum and substance of your public self-image. It shows how one behaves in public, how one acts around others, and in short, one’s social persona.
Signature larger than the script 
The writer is advertising and wishes to be recognized as an important person. Pride, self-esteem, ambition, and self-confidence are shown. (also a sign of vanity)
Creative Signature
The graphic imagery of the creative signature will mirror or express the nature of the creative drive, as in the beat of music, the stroke of brush or pen, or creative imagery that reflects the professional involvement.
Ascending Signatures
This is a sign that the person feels good about his public image. 
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 12. Letter Specific traits
Capital 'A'
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The 'A' seems to be written in a single stroke retracting back up which may show intelligence and originality.
Lower zone letters
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I DIDNT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS AND I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY. SO HERE IS WHAT ONE TEXTBOOK SAYS:
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THIS IS WILD AND I DO NOT WANT TO COMMENT ON THIS.
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Yeah so that will be it for the analysis, I wish I could be more coherent about this. please send asks incase if you want me to explain something in particular or you disagree with some aspect of the analysis (eg the slant <- the poll I did was killing me)
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oceane4loveu · 5 months
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i'm a recovering people pleaser, where does it cross the line with being kind and people pleasing with ur friends.
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While it's important to be kind and considerate to your friends, it's crucial to recognize when people-pleasing behaviors start to cross the line. Here are some signs that may indicate you're prioritizing the pleasure of others instead than your own well-being:
ignore your own needs: If you find yourself constantly putting your needs and the wants of your friends ahead of your own, without considering your own boundaries and desires, this may be a sign of pleasing others.
Fear of Conflict: People-pleasers often avoid conflict at all costs, even if it means suppressing their own opinions and feelings.
difficulty saying no: if you have difficulty refusing requests or favors from your friends, even if it bothers you, this could be a sign of pleasing others.
seek constant validation: People-pleasers often rely on external validation and approval from others to feel good about themselves.
so how can we stop being a people pleaser?
sets clear limits: identify your limits and communicate them, practice saying no when necessary, without feeling guilty or obliged to provide explanations.
learn to say no: practice saying no when necessary. also saying no doesn't make you a bad person it just means you prioritize your own well-being.
Question your thoughts and beliefs: Examine the beliefs and thought patterns that contribute to your people-pleasing tendencies. Challenge the belief that your values ​​are based solely on appropriation from others. remember that it is normal to prioritize your well-being and that true friendships are built on respect and mutual understanding.
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Comeback
Word count: 1.5K
Summary: after a break up with Jenna, this is what you’re going through
Warnings: angst angst, bad writing
Pairing: Jenna Ortega X Fem!Rrader
———
“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.”
This is what you and Jenna said to each other multiple times during your short lived relationship. It was one if not THE best relationship you ever had, she was the best person you had ever met. You were perfect for one another, however you had two very different necessities. She was a worldwide known actress, and you were just one of the people she met before becoming famous. It was nice, at first. When your relationship was made public you had lots of fans, lots of people cherished what you had with Jenna, and soon enough you found yourself being invited to movie premieres with her and you were also under the attentions of paparazzis and interviewers and journalists. You didn’t mind that, you had to say. You loved absolutely everything about Jenna’s world and you were there to support her each step of the way.
you were there to support her the moments she broke down, telling her that everything was going to be okay. You were there the moment when the pressure would become too much, and she would feel at ease in her arms. You were there for her, no matter what she needed you were there.
But when you needed her, where was she?
“I can’t today, I have an interview”
“Babe I have filming this month, you know I don’t have time”
“I’m going out with the rest of the cast, I’ll see you at home”
As much as you wanted to be involved in her life, she never let you in completely. She never brought you on sets, she never introduced you to her friends, and sooner than expected you started feeling just like a distraction.
“Why are you still with her? This hurts you, and you know that. You don’t deserve to get hurt from this relationship.” Your mom asked you.
Because some times, We hold on to those who cannot love us for so many reasons. Sometimes, we hold on because we convince ourselves that the circumstance will change - that if we love harder, if we give more, if we stay, if we endure, the situation will evolve. The value of our love will be recognized, it will be chosen. Sometimes, we hold on because we feel like we have to. We feel like we have to be the ones to fix, the ones to mend, the ones to prove that human beings don't give up on a person they see something beautiful within.Sometimes, we hold on because we feel guilty, because we think that walking away and choosing ourselves is us discarding someone we care about, is us abandoning a human being. And sometimes, we hold on because we think that we will never find the kind of person who proves to us that love is not something that is meant to hurt. Sometimes, we hold on because we lose our belief in the fact that love has the potential to be soft, that there is more to life than what we are settling for.
And you want to hold on. You want to hold on because you really hope that she’ll find your way back to you. Because after all you’re perfect for each other. You knew that from the beginning.
From the beginning you knew, well, you hoped that you’d spend the rest of your lives together. But now?
Now you’re strangers again. And remembering how close the two of you used to be, it hurts you. Even after months, you still remember the smell of her perfume. The sound of her laugh, that you’ll probably never hear again. And you’ll always remember small details about her. The time the two of you spent together wasn’t much, and you wish you had more time with her, but you’re glad that your paths crossed, even if just for a while. And even though in the end she decided to leave, maybe she did what was best for you. For now you will love her silently, because you’re strangers again.
You don’t talk anymore, that’ true, but that doesn’t mean that you forget about her, and you know you can’t be anything anymore so you try, you try to move on from her but some times, part of you is still wishing for her to come back to you.
And she did,
She came back.
It was late at night when you heard your bell ring. You saw from your window that it was Jenna, and you had to be honest, you wanted to ignore her and go back to sleep. But you’re too nice. If she called you crying, you would answer. If her mother called you saying “(Y/N) we have an emergency, we need you” you’d rush at her place. If Jenna ever needs comfort, you’ll be there, every time. Maybe you’re too good, to sweet. But it’s who you are, and nothing can change that.
You went and opened the door for her. As soon as you did you looked in her eyes, you saw she was crying and you invited her in. You wanted to hug her and comfort her, but you knew better.
“What do you want, Jenna?” You asked her and crossed your arms, watching as she sat down on the sofa in the living room. She took a deep breath and spoke, trying not to sob. “I miss you. I’m so sorry if I hurt you, please, please forgive me” she said, and you chuckled, making her look at you. “Forgive you? Jenna you didn’t just hurt me, you broke me. You kept pushing me away, you kept excluding me from your life. For you I only existed when you needed support, and when you were asked to bring someone to the movie premieres. I didn’t exist as your girlfriend, I didn’t exist as the woman you come home to. I didn’t exist at all, because whenever I needed you, you ignored me.”
“You kept pushing me away, but I alwavs chose to stay. So, shame on me. Shame on me for letting you walk all over me. Shame on me for letting you get into the depths of my soul that no one has ever touched. Shame on me for putting up with your mind games.“
You saw Jenna’s eyes fill with a new bash of tears, and she tried to speak but you were quicker
“Shame on you for always misleading me. Shame on you for always making me feel we had a chance. Shame on you for keeping me in your fantasy of what we could be; when you had every opportunity to set me free, you chose to let me dream.”
“(Y/N) please, please just let me try to win your heart again, let me try ti fix it-“ she sobbed out, but you have had enough. “No, Jenna. I’m done with your games, I’m done with only being used as a distraction, I’m done with only being there only when it’s convenient for you. Just leave and forget about me. I’m just a stupid normal girl after all I’m not famous like you, I’m not an actress or someone you want to be seen with so I’m sure it will be easy for you to forget about me.”
You said and didn’t look at her, you put your hands in your hair. Now you changed your mind, You just wanted to keep her in your memories, keep her locked there and never see her again.
“But what if I never forget you?” She said all of the sudden, you turned to look at her. “What if, all my life, when I meet someone new I can never fall for them because they aren’t you?” Jenna asked. You wanted to tell her that you will never forget her, that you’ll never find someone like her and that you wanted to be a couple with her again. But your pride was stronger than that.
“Find a replacement. You already did that, all the times that you were acting smitten and all lovey dovey with Percy.” There. She asked for it, didn’t she?
You watched Jenna react like a mouse who just got caught in a trap, like this was her deepest secret.
“What are you talking about?” She said, trying to play dumb.
“Jenna, enough. I’m tired if being a replacement and for someone I want to be someone that isn’t so easily replaced.”
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xelasrecords · 1 year
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V and Jumin's Emotionally Distant Friendship
At first I wanted to laugh at Jumin roasting his friend for being pretty outside but empty inside but then what V said got me thinking
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2 important statements here: 1) V believes that a friendship is a mirror that reflects oneself and 2) Jumin sees V as an empty statue, beautiful but hollow inside, something that people could only fleetingly appreciate before moving on to a more interesting thing because it has no depth. V agrees with Jumin, and even if we don't know whether Jumin believes in V's mirror analogy, it is true for them.
V and Jumin are lonely because the ones they love and claim to love them back never bother to know them deeply. They have the same insecurity, but their coping mechanism is different. V uses Rika to define himself as the man who could love grandly and withstand any trials and tribulations in the name of love. Jumin closes himself from everyone and projects his unhealthy definition of love onto his cat, building up the fantasy that it could understand him like a human would.
But once the illusion is shattered—that neither of them could give a perfect love because perfection doesn't exist—they break inside. V spirals into existential crisis while Jumin refuses to take back his cat that ran away from him. They share a common belief that their love has to be perfect. They have to be the best or they would be a failure. This is what Jumin says after he finally agreed to take back Elizabeth the 3rd due to V's persuasion:
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But because V and Jumin are living in their own fantasies, how could they be there for each other? How could they look into each other's emptiness and recognise how lonely the other really is, and offer emotional support when they've never learned how to do so?
The emotional closeness doesn't exist in their friendship because they can't cross the bridge. They have a shared history and deep trust, but when there's a pressing matter in the present, they don't quite know how to strengthen each other, and what is a best friend if you can't be there for them when they need it the most?
Below is one of the examples where V thinks Jumin only ever keeps one thing from him when Jumin's biggest secret is actually his feelings for Rika that he had to hide to honour his best friend's relationship:
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It's sad for everyone involved. V is blissfully ignorant and thankful that Jumin still trusts him despite his self-isolating secrets, while Jumin can't even show that he's also just as lonely. They can't lean on each other when they need to.
Sure, Jumin could get the best doctors for V due to his connections and V could persuade Jumin keep Elizabeth the 3rd because he knows him best. They were helpful on a surface level but the emotional job falls solely on the MC, which could be romantic if you look at it in a "wow there's only one person who could change them" way, but isn't it heartbreaking to have a friend so close to you yet feel so far away? Romantic love is important, but platonic friendship is just as meaningful. The trust and deep understanding of each other's nature are already there, so what they need to do is simply nurture their friendship and go to therapy.
On a more positive note, Jumin and V see their counterpart as the better person. V may believe that a friendship cannot change him since it's only a mirror, but if he sees Jumin as inherently better, doesn't that reflect his opinion on himself? They believe in themselves and feel their decisions validated because they trust each other. Jumin only decides to keep Elizabeth the 3rd because he values V's opinion highly, which in turn makes him better in accepting himself. V is always thankful for Jumin's unwavering trust, which pushes him to be a better person because he wants to be more like him.
Their selflessness is also a mirror. Who else but V and Jumin who would drop everything for the safety of the RFA? V would literally give up his life and Jumin would give up his C&R position and take the fall for the RFA.
I hope after their respective good endings, they'll learn to be vulnerable and open up. Their friendship will be more fulfilling and their trust will be strengthened because of it.
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whitedemon-ladydeath · 7 months
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okokokokok so like
Small towns are literally notorious for being a community of people who help each other and who knows each other's business so I SAY that the Villiage that Feyre and her sisters live in is more of a COMMUNITY!!!! that helps each other in need bec that's WHAT WE DOOOOOOOOOOO God I can tell SJM is from a city
potlucks, food and clothing drives, helping each other become educated, whether that's some kind of traditional teaching each other or resourcefulness and survival skills like knowing what plants are edible, hunting, fishing, etc
festivals and religious beliefs and superstitions they all share. Winters are horrid and such a hard time for survival. Traditions to bring winter to an end faster, like the Drowning/Burning of Marzanna (this is one that is just so personal to me idk idk listen)
the elderly in the village hold a higher status of respect and knowledge. they are the BACKBONE of the Village. They're v active with providing support and care with their families and with the children in the village. the children are warned to behave and to not venture too far into the woods. making BLANKETS and CLOTHES for people in NEED!!!!!
the able bodied often work together to harvest and prepare food, especially for the winter months. women and girls often have their own little community where they sew and knit and do cross stitch together. they talk and share wisdom and offer each other household advice to make do
there's an emphasis on family and traditional values, of helping each other. there's a bit of a resistance and hesitancy towards outsiders who come into the villiage that people don't know, but it doesn't take long for them to welcome them in
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astraltrickster · 10 months
Text
Listen. Cringe culture is dead. It must remain dead because it is evil. In order for it to remain dead, we need to acknowledge that it being dead does NOT change a few particular facts:
1) People have the right to their personal, completely arbitrary annoyances. If we don't respect that, then people will just start trying to make up reasons that doing things that mildly annoy them is somehow OBJECTIVELY bad because that's the only way to get that respected, ergo, the resurrection of cringe.
2) There is such a thing as being objectively incorrect, even in fields with a lot of gray area such as literary analysis - you can come to different conclusions about a piece of media, but some are going to be less correct than others; e.g., "Cobb was awake at the end of Inception"/"Cobb was still asleep and back in limbo"/"it doesn't matter and has more thematic value as an unknowable" are all perfectly valid answers that could get a good grade in media analysis class; "the movie ended with everyone turning into giant space dragons and moving to the moon and what we saw was just a metaphor for this and this is 100% the intended reading"...not so much unless the point of the assignment is to break high school English programming and show the limitations of treating deep reading as THE analytical method of all time by coming up with the wildest reading you can support from the text no matter how much you have to reach and cherry-pick to do it. Unironically elevating blatant bullshit to be comparable to things where the point is to try and analyze reality may be mostly harmless when it's in fandom or similarly low-stakes environments, but even then it's sometimes worth pointing out because it ties to the kind of much worse trends of anti-intellectualism that gave us a rise in belief in conspiracy theories, antivaxxers, climate denial, flat-earthers, young earth creationism, even denial of germ theory. Taking away the option to point this out means people must leverage the emotions of disgust and annoyance instead; see point 1 for the consequences.
Saying someone is incorrect is not inherently shaming or "cringing". Saying someone's preferences and behavior make them personally incompatible with you is not inherently shaming or "cringing". They are important functions that need to be allowed to exist without crossing that line, or else it's likely that the monster will be reawakened because its power to "teach lessons" by unsustainable negative feedback feels like the only thing that works, and/or people conflate it with these very necessary things and thus start to think it's not that bad.
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