#where the term 'narcissism' has a specific meaning

[intermundia]

i just read about the "narcissism of small differences," aka the idea that the more a community has in common, the more likely the people in it are to engage in interpersonal feuds and mutual ridicule because of hypersensitivity to minor differences perceived in each other, and i knew there was a reason my time in academia and fandom felt oddly similar lmao

#you guys!!! this was freud's term from 1917. not mine #i understand people concerned about the colloquial usage but again. this is freud's term for the phenomenon in psychoanalysis #where the term 'narcissism' has a specific meaning #again. not my term. just a specific concept i found when i was reading about psychoanalysis and found relatable #ANYWAY. original tags -> #fandom stuff #like with people shipping the same ship #they have so much in common #love of and knowledge about the same characters #but then things like #top vs bottom characterization of one character #such a slight difference between people obsessed w the same character #makes sense it's so vicious lmao

[xxlovelynovaxx]

Y'know, in the same vein as the earlier post about not policing reclamation of slurs/language used by marginalized groups...

I really hate not feeling safe in any spaces dedicated to activism for others causes as a disabled person.

I'm too scared to ever say how much it hurts when the words for our symptoms and pathologies are used derisively. When "delusion" is used to mean "a non-pathological disconnect from reality caused by radicalized hatred and bigotry". When "stupid", "idiot", "moron" and so on are used nearly exclusively to describe bigots, bad people, and exclusionists, reaffirming the idea that intelligence has any correlation to morality and harm. How words like "narcissistic", "sociopathic", and "psychotic" are used as synonyms for abusive and bigoted.

I see it in activist spaces for communities that I'm in. I'm scared to say anything out of fear I'll be denied both resources and community itself and be outcast and dogpiled for daring to ask for a change in language that would make disabled people within the community feel safer and more comfortable.

I see it in activist spaces that I enter as an ally. I'm afraid the axis on which I have privilege will become a weapon in trying to speak up on the axis in which the people using the language (often) have it. I know dynamics of privilege and oppressive power are complex and often fluid themselves, and try to simply uplift the disabled people within these communities... but they're encountering the problem in the last paragraph and are often just as scared to speak, so no ones does and the issue continues unchecked.

(I see it in activist spaces where I am questioning or joining the community, especially where I'm trying to educate myself while I occupy the weird space between "ally" and "member".)

Sometimes I see members of specific marginalized groups that I'm not in say that no one else could possibly understand entering queer or plural or even just leftist spaces and facing the deeply rooted bigotry against that marginalized group in what's supposed to be a safe space. I know I can't understand exactly with each specific form of bigotry, but I have experienced a form of that. I know what it's like for what's supposed to be a safe space to be deeply unsafe on the basis of identity.

I wonder when I see these words being used in this way: if they knew I had NPD, would they think I'm more likely to be an abuser? Would they reveal years into a friendship as close as any romantic relationship that they thought I was "one of the good ones"? Would they say "narcissism is different from Narcissism the Personality Disorder, anyone is capable of being a Bad Narcissist" and simply not care enough to listen to the person hurt by those words about how they hurt them? Would they care that I don't know whether they think people like me are less than human when they use that language, but I do know they're using my identity as a pejorative?

I wonder: If I ask them to reconsider conflating lack of intelligence with harm, if I pointed out that this is insidious language which upholds the oppression of those with mental, intellectual, cognitive, and developmental disabilities - particularly by subtly perpetuating the idea that we are dangerous - if I point out the way we flinch every time we see "stupid" as an insult because, well, it's a word that's been used against us, that belongs to us, that is us (in a way we refuse to have taken away)... will they care?

I wonder: If it's pointed out how misuse of terms related to psychosis and delusions are foundational to sanism, that the contexts in which they are misused often link them to "dangerous" and "harmful" behaviors which only serves to further the myth that "mad" mentally ill people are a danger and need to be locked away for their own good and the good of society, if I talk about how this language is inaccurate, taking the few words we have for what can be intensely traumatizing experiences internally and are almost always intensely traumatizing identities to hold in a sanist society where we are many times more vulnerable to abuse than most... what would be the response?

Will I be accused of "derailing"? "Stealing important language" from "the real victims"? Of "speaking over marginalized people" in cases where we each have full, nonconditional/noncontextual privilege on one of the axes involved? Will attempts at education over words being used derogatorily against nonconsenting parties (which is still harmful even by parties that can reclaim said language for self-usage) that are carefully neutral in tone and wording and even encouraging be ignored because it's not focused on "the real issue"?

I mean, this is an issue even within disabled spaces, particularly those for physical disability (which I am in as a physically disabled person), much like corpoableism is prevalent and harmful in mad and neurodivergent spaces. It's not a unique issue. Ableism is so pervasive and so insidious in our society that many people are legitimately ignorant. Ignorance is neither evil nor a crime.

When I was less traumatized in this regard, I had many lovely interactions with individuals who were grateful to be informed about these things, with whom I was able to have nuanced conversations about how language itself can be neutral but the context of its usage can cause it to further harmful ideologies.

Unfortunately, the bad interactions vastly outnumbered these in scope, scale, and magnitude. People who seemed otherwise progressive and anti-bigotry would go full mask-off fascist, claiming everything from "narcissists should all be lined up and shot" to that I was "clearly too [r-slur] to understand how these words were actually perfectly fine" to how I was "psychotic and should be locked up and asylum treatments should be brought back".

Honestly, those were the least traumatizing interactions. It was the little, subtle stuff - the way self-identified abled people would turn around the accusations of ableism and accuse me of being ableist (or otherwise bigoted, usually against my own other identities) in classic DARVO fashion. The way people would twist and manipulate my words to claim I was arguing something I never said in order to shut down discussions of ableism that might force them to examine their own accountability and complicity. The way people just wouldn't ever take conversations on ableism seriously and will ridicule any attempts at discussing any ableism that isn't shouting r slurs at people in the streets or telling disabled people you hope their disability kills them.

The way that I struggled to find examples extreme enough for that last sentence, because if you're subtle enough you can use equivalent words to the slur or simply IMPLY that disabled people are burdens on society who live miserable lives that are not in any way fixable and that we and everyone else would be happier and better off if disabled people were dead.

I want to make it clear: if you have any willingness to learn, if any of the language you use has been out of ignorance and you are willing to listen (even if you need to take time to be in the headspace to process it properly), if you can even sit with this post and not reactively do the aforementioned behaviors... this isn't about you. This is a vent post about the people who make it unsafe and terrifying to open a dialogue with the people that simply aren't educated on every possible form every kind of bigotry can take.

I'm constantly terrified. I relate to what other marginalized people - jewish people, people of color, even people with specific disabilities I don't share - are going through right now. This isn't to call out any specific space, because it's just... everywhere. How can you stand up to it when it's so completely ubiquitous? How do you maintain the courage to keep demanding a baseline standard of decency when everybody is using the language that the people who legitimately think you should be dead or worse use?

How do you explain that something is a dogwhistle for your own dehumanization and oppression to someone, when odds worse than a coin flip are that they agree with the premise of the dogwhistle even if not knowingly using it as such?

I dunno.

People are welcome to reblog this, though of course I will never pressure anyone to do so (and if this triggers any kind of OCD or other compulsions, this is me giving you a pass not to do so!)

I debated on asking people to keep the discussion centered on ableism or to limit commentary to only those affected by ableism, but quite honestly, I think the discussion would be enriched by discussing this phenomenon as it pertains to other forms of bigotry. All I ask is that for anyone who does participate in this conversation, that no one ridicules or derides anyone for expressing "this is a form of my oppression/bigotry that hurts me" and that we all do our best to center the voices most affected by a given issue, even while allowing for participation in that part of the discussion by others.

(Maybe this post will languish and die without opening a conversation and that last paragraph is just my ego getting the better of me lol. Who knows?)

This also is really just a vent post. Not a call out post, not meant to assign blame, not any kind of attempt at holding anyone accountable (what an ineffective tool a tumblr post would be for that, anyway!), not anything other than expressing frustration and rage and grief and pain and terror and trauma over the way the lines between well-intentioned ignorance and malicious but pretty-sounding hatred have been blurred by bad faith actors.

I will say though for those willing, one of the best ways to combat this problem is to educate yourselves and others. It's okay to focus your efforts on members of your communities that you trust to be receptive to you specifically. It's okay to only spread the basics and direct to disabled (or otherwise marginalized, for other issues) activists who are focused on education for further information.

Sometimes "privilege" in the context of marginalization can simply mean "I will not be hurt by someone being reactive towards an identity that I'm not, AND they're less likely to do so in the first place because they know I am a safe person for our shared identity".

That's maybe an imperfect explanation, but it's one pulled from my own experiences calling in members of communities I'm in. Calling in is better, whenever possible, for this reason! It's why my fears expressed about communities that I am entering as an ally and a disabled person are about causing harm, rather than just being harmed, but which tie into the fact that disabled people within those communities fear being harmed.

Entering the conversation as someone who is marginalized AND nonmarginalized on the same axes as the other person puts you very solidly on even footing. It makes a space recognizable as safe by ALL parties from the start. Discussing bigotry that does not affect you especially, even if you lack some depth of perspective on it, lowers the stakes and allows the delicate conversation to take root and grow.

#ableism #sanism #activism #trauma

[that-ari-blogger]

The Moral Of The Story

In my opinion, the greatest strength of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is its humanity. This is odd, because I don't think any character in the series is actually human. But I mean this on a character level.

Every character feels human, and dynamic. When people make mistakes, or argue, it rarely feels contrived. And a lot of the conflict inherent in Adora is how human she is. I would say more so than certain grimdark stories.

But this post isn't about Adora. This post is about two other characters and how well they mirror each other, despite only being tangentially related. Catra, and Glimmer. Specifically, during the events of Princess Prom.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

First up, if you want an explanation of this on a wider scale in the series, Overly Sarcastic Productions has a phenomenal video that I would highly recommend.

Prom is a shortened form of promenade, in reference to a leisurely walk or a stroll. The word is in reference to a dance, or a celebration. History.com links the origins to the Ancient Greek Symposia, which was an event in which was: "Held for elite men to honour their transition into adult society". And while the elitism of the event has been nullified and the event has been opened to all genders in the past several centuries, the coming-of-age part has most certainly not. A prom is an event that usually marks the end of school, and the transition into adulthood for many of its participants.

Why am I focusing on this word so much? Because a prom is a hallmark in my mind of a type of plot called a Bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story.

Princess Prom is not a Bildungsroman. There are a lot of differences. For example, a Bildungsroman is a type of novel. But it is worth examining the episode through that lense to examine some themes.

A coming-of-age story is a story about choice, and fate. It is the convergence of past, present, and future in its purist, most palpable sense. It is a story about deciding what to do next, who to be, what to become. A coming-of-age story is a story about change.

Notably, Princess Prom is an episode about change as well. It is the episode in which Catra and Glimmer are both trying to relive the past, to cling on to tradition and affection. But the message of the story is simple, acceptance and love aren't exclusive, or at least, they shouldn't be.

Glimmer sees Bow spending time with Perfuma, and thinks that the tradition is over. She thinks that Bow is spending time with Perfuma instead of her. And you know who else has that exact mindset? Catra.

Most of Catra's characterisation is driven by deeply rooted abandonment issues, and while I don't think Glimmer is as bad in this regard, she definitely shows some symptoms. Most obviously, the view that a person's attention is finite. I would say this is more a trait of narcissism than abandonment issues. And while Glimmer and Catra show traits of both, I think that Glimmer leans more towards one and Catra towards the other.

But the question of how to go forward is twofold. First up, this is one of the first cliffhangers in the series (I don't classify the Sword Part 1 as having a cliffhanger because it's a two-part episode). It explicitly defines what will happen next, and it sets She-Ra in motion from a more episodic, individualised story, to one that is wider in scope.

Second up, this defines Catra and Glimmer going forwards. They are driven by exceedingly similar flaws and goals, and at this stage, both have a mostly healthy support network, Shadow Weaver aside.

The difference is this, Glimmer gets told, in no uncertain terms, the moral of the episode.

"No one is leaving you behind. I wanted to hang out with you and Adora and Perfuma tonight. But you're the one who keeps acting weird and leaving. I know change is scary, Glimmer. But that doesn't mean you get to take it out on me."

Catra doesn't learn this, and instead decides to double down. I set Shadow Weaver aside earlier, and this is where I bring her back. Because look at what Catra decides to do, who she decides to be.

Catra mimics Shadow Weaver. She takes on the persona of a calm, calculating, magnificent bastard type character. With one difference, kinda.

Catra is irrational. She keeps talking even when it would be advantageous to not, and she almost gets herself killed. This is in directly contrasted with how Shadow Weaver presents herself. Shadow Weaver doesn't make mistakes, Shadow Weaver is in control, at least to Catra. But it's stated at the beginning of the episode.

"Shadow Weaver failed to get Adora and if Hordak finds out she'll take us down with her. She's obsessed."

Turns out Shadow Weaver isn't as efficient as she claims to be, and Catra can see through it. As such, Catra's flaws are framed by the previous episode, in which Shadow Weaver failed in the exact same way that Catra almost fails, Catra is only saved by the people around her, both Scorpia and Adora, who care about her, and refuse to let her down.

This will be a running theme throughout the series. Catra trying to mimic Shadow Weaver, an abuser who excelled at conditional acceptance. But almost every time, Catra gets saved by unconditional love from those around her.

That's why the end of the series is so cathartic, its Catra finally extending that unconditional love to someone else, and it's that love that quite literally saves the world.

Previous - Next

#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #character analysis #what's so special about...? #she ra and the princesses of power #she ra catra #she ra glimmer #she ra princess of power #spop #catra #glimmer #she ra spop #she ra #princess prom

[lhoellh]

Stranger from hell analysis

I have rewatched both Strangers from hell and Hannibal NBC and the similarity in characterization is uncanny. But first, I just want to explain that although it seems the title "Strangers from hell" is the widely accepted title in English, "Hell is other people" is so much more poetical don't you think?

Throughout the series, it has been thoroughly discussed that the people that surround us are the ones that make our lives for better or worse and that is what we see with Yoon Jongwoo. From his poor mother, his brother, the residence, and his job. But what really stuck with me is that it is not the place that is making Yoon Jongwoo's life miserable. It's the people around him. He does not consider her mother and his brother and maybe his girlfriend the burden or his final straw to insanity, but the people in his residence and his work. This may seem like a given, but I just like this when thinking about this series.

--- The next will contain spoilers. Be warned---

Now the similarities between Hannibal NBC and Strangers from Hell, is, of course, the 2 main characters.

From the psychoanalytic theory where childhood is very important, both our sugar killer's childhood is not really put importance and we are only given small amounts of information regarding this regard. This information is enough. In psychology, mothers are very important figures in our life as a baby once. This mother figure is what makes us who we are today (well as I have said, mostly on what the psychoanalytic theory suggests). But from the Hannibal nbc and strangers from hell series, both Hannibal Lecter and Seo Moonjo are orphaned and have no clear distinct features of a mother figure to learn the ways of society or as Alfred Adler's theory teaches them social interest. However, since they live as the adults that we see they are, we know that someone took care of them.

My question is, in the psychoanalytic view, does their lack of parental love, neglect, and obvious lack of social interest, the reason why these individuals are who they are as adults? In a humanistic-existential theory most specifically Erich Fromm's theory, both show necrophilia, or the love of death, and malignant narcissism, or the extreme obsession with oneself, and this characterization, if spoken to, will make Hannibal and Seo Moonjo itch. Additionally, they are perfectionist and thinks that everyone is beneath them. Overall, these two individuals are toxic and beyond repair.

2. Hannibal and Moonjo are seen as smart and educated. We know that they are in the medical field, and we understand that they both are good at doing it. Their jobs help them with their murder hobbies, and their medical knowledge helps them with their signature killing style.

3. Gift-giving! In terms of love languages, it is seen that both Hannibal and Moonjo-despite being obsessive lovers- share their own form of love in acts of service. With Hannibal with his livers and sausages (if you know what I mean), it is understandable that he feeds it to people in his small social circle-but I see that as satirical where their high social standing makes them ignorant even to the littlest things like the food that they are eating. But with Will... Hannibal feeds Will with the intention of acceptance and affirmation that what Hannibal eats tastes good, and thus, Will should have them too. It is twisted, but who are we to judge his form of love?

We can also see this with Moonjo's bracelet full of teeth. Like Hannibal who has a fascination with human meat, Moonjo has a fascination with teeth. And like Hannibal, Moonjo shares them with Yoon Jongwoo because if he wears the bracelet, then maybe, maybe Jongwoo accepts Moonjo's love. Oh, I almost forgot the human meat that he feeds to everyone. But what makes it special is Moonjo's action while he feeds them to Jongwoo (I am being delusional but aren't we all?) where it looks like he feeds them to jongwoo so that jongwoo can understand moonjo better.

4. Throughout the end of the series, we can notice a similarity in the story resolution and how it shapes our two main characters.

a.) First with Yoon Jongwoo. At first, he has this life that in a sense, I still consider normal since it does not affect his daily life. He has his own problem with his poor mother, and his brother which seems to be an equally financial liability that makes him go to the city to finally be alone and work. It is not perfect, but it is his life that he just lives through as part of his lifetime. Toward the climax, with all the evils he has been through, the psychological abuse that not a normal person can handle is the last straw for his patience. I personally believe that a normal individual is judged by his patience in society, and if this patience does not exist, is what makes things problematic. Because of this, as we follow through to the end, he snaps and kills everyone including the very man that is obsessed with him- Seo Moonjo.

What I like about this end is that with all of the things he has gone through, we don't necessarily know how he would live his life after. We know that the current end tells us that what he did to Moonjo will be considered as self-defense and he gets to live in society to act like a normal human being. But can he? And, what then? We do not know.

b.) Now with Will Graham. An individual who has many mental illnesses that makes him think so differently than an average person, which in a sense, might makes his life a little bit harder than most considering that he does not follow the norms of the society, but like Yoon Jongwoo, he lives with it. Following through the 2nd season regarding his arrests, we noticed a turn of personality, specifically, hostility towards Hannibal. Will's unlawful arrest draws his last patience and at last! His becoming. I am curious to hear more of Hannibal's thoughts about this considering that this is part of his design, and yes, he cannot control what happens next, but what does Hannibal really think of this? Does he love it? Was he surprised? Aroused? Anyways, this new Will that we will eventually see in season 3 was very romantic unlike Strangers from Hell, and honestly, I am here for it!

If I have watched this when I was younger, I think I would have hated the ending. But since I watched it at the prime age of 18 (still too young I guess?), I LOVE LOVE LOVE it so much. The love that should not exist in the first place, a love that is so forbidden that you just have to choose which one, and the becoming of what you two truly want is my peak romance. Nobody writes romance like this anymore I guess...

Anyways! I just got really excited with this since I think I have found my favorite genre of literature and it's just murder bl haha.

#strangers from hell #yoon jongwoo #seo moonjo #hannibal #hannibal lecter #will graham #psychology #psychoanalytic #psychoanalysis

[samsvenn]

𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐲𝐚𝐭𝐨'𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐦

a bit long so grab your drinks

Today, I thought it’d be a great idea to deep dive into the psyche of the people in DL, specifically Ayato. When we hear about Ayato, three main traits emerge: arrogance, self-centeredness and aggression.

In the wiki, it is canonly confirmed that he is in fact narcissistic and if you’ve played the games, in any routes that Ayato appears in, it’s clear that Ayato loves to hog all the attention to himself. This is apparent in the drama CDs, the games, the manga and the anime.

Yes, Ayato is narcissistic. But, in order to understand who he is as a person rather than an otome character, a deep dive is required. 

Narcissistic people aren’t born, they’re made. The word ‘Narcissism’ is a blanket term for symptoms under the narcissistic personality disorder. If you have no idea what a blanket term is, think of the word ‘cheese’. We have different cheeses from all around the world and all of them vary in name and flavor, but we still call them cheese despite their origins, smokiness, texture and ferment treatment. Taken from wikitionary.com, ‘Blanket Term’ is “a word or phrase that is used to describe multiple groups of related things. The degree of relation may vary”.

There are four types of narcissism: malignant narcissism, covert narcissism, grandiose narcissism and communal narcissism. There is a difference between all four and I believe I found which one Ayato is.

 To simplify it the best I can, Grandiose Narcissism is the classic type you’ve seen in movies, media and in a way, the stereotype for what narcissism looks like. Egotistical, arrogant, attention seeking, constantly searching for validation, the “Look at me! And look at you! One of us is better than the other and obviously, the answer’s clear.”

Malignant Narcissism has the same traits with grandiose narcissism but the difference between them is that this type lacks empathy and sympathy more, resulting in them being meaner and outright vile. These people get a sense of satisfaction from hurting others out or for their desires. Their strategies for attention are more violent, aggressive and borderline abusive.

Covert Narcissism is an undercover narcissist who always makes themselves out to be the victim. They’re still grandiose, but they blame their failures on everything and anything but themselves. The keyword here is ‘covert’, meaning secret. “Can you believe it?! I wasn't invited to her stupid party! Me, out of everyone there! I’m a good person and I deserve to be there! Such a pisspot!”

Communal Narcissism is a narcissist who’s hell-bent on doing good deeds, all for attention and glory. They’re doing good deeds for the gratification and the image it brings them. When people don’t react to their good deeds, they may throw a tantrum or start to act extremely distant.

For me, I personally believe that Ayato is the Grandiose Narcissist, not the Malignant Narcissist. The main reason why is because surprisingly, Ayato is capable of sympathy, albeit his own version of it. Malignant Narcissists are often grouped with sociopaths and the worst scenario, psychopaths.

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. ✧˚₊‧⋆ dialogue start! ⋆. ✧

Ayato - HDB Maniac. 9

Ayato: So this is where you’ve been.

Yui: …!

Ayato: What are you doing, skipping school and all?

Yui: Ayato-kun…

Ayato: Woah there! I won’t let you go any further.

Yui: Eh…?

Ayato: Don’t wander around.

What will you do if you hurt yourself on the thorns and waste blood?

Yui: …

Ayato: I won’t let anything else but me hurt you. …Understood?

Ayato - HDB Ecstasy. 7

Ayato: More importantly…

ー Ayato moves closer

Yui: Wah…!

ー He kisses her neck

Ayato: …

Yui: Wha…Ayato-kun!?

Ayato: He didn’t do anything to you, right?

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. ✧˚₊‧⋆

These two excerpts are from HDB, the game considered by most as the most sadistic one in all of the entries. I haven't included his heavens and vampire endings because those two are far in Ayato and Yui's relationship. I wanted to establish that Ayato shows concern and worry unconsciously and without critical thinking involved; in layman's terms, on instinct.

The true shocker is this: Narcissism can start off as a coping mechanism before it spirals into delusional oblivion.

Let me explain.  

Children in narcissistic families often have to hide their mistakes away or else they’ll be yelled at or even worse, punished for being ‘insolent’ and ‘clumsy’; traits that are perfectly normal for children to experience in their learning adolescence. But these minuscule mistakes are not perceived as perfect by their narcissistic parental figures, causing them to engrain it in their psyche that people will judge or persecute them for their weaknesses, vulnerability and shortcomings. 

These narcissistic parental figures have hammered it in that if the child is not ‘perfect’, then they will be mocked and ridiculed for their ‘defects’. So, what happens?

These children, when they’ve grown up, will project their ‘best’ image to the world so that nothing tethers them to their painful past, essentially erasing it by cleansing and purging themselves of love, trust and the ability to feel the way normal people do. 

They don’t behave normally because what ‘normal’ was for them was either getting disciplined, punished or the worst of the worst when it comes to dealing with a child, neglect.

All of these might explain Ayato’s desperate need for approval, attention, love and comfort. But, something is also present: his aggression. Today, we’ve tackled Ayato's narcissism. In hopefully a future post, we will dive into his sadism, aggression, nature vs. nurture argument, whatever the results of his narcissism materialized/manifested itself into basically.

sources: 

The Four Types of Narcissism - Medcircle 

Maligant Narcissism: Definitions, Signs and More 

DSM-5 Year 2013 (Pages 670 - 672)

translations belonging to: @dialovers-translations

#diabolik lovers #diabolik lovers fandom #diahell #diabolik brothers #ayato sakamaki #sakamaki brothers #analysis

[transterrence]

the unordinary wiki is heavy coated in ableism and bullshit; let's talk about why.

im not going to talk about john's page, because im not unpacking that today. also, im sure many already know why it's so shit. instead, let's talk about terrence.

[ill mostly be talking about the ableism and the mischaracterizatiom of him. tw for ableism, specifically against symptoms of aspd and negative portrayal of npd.]

first off, we have this "amazing" description of him. /sar

[IMAGE ID: a screenshot of terrence from unordinary's fandom wiki page. a section has been highlighted in red. it says: "His cunningness, connections and lack of empathy make him one of the most dangerous people in the school." /END ID]

now, the unordinary wiki decides that terrence, this 15 year old boy, is dangerous because he is cunning, knows people, and lacks empathy. which is just.. so absurd.

you know what, the fact that he's cunning is somewhat fair. sure, ill cut them a little slack- give them the benefit of the doubt. he's deceitful and does anything for a means to an end which could make him dangerous if he so pleases.

but "connections" .. he knows people. so what? knowing people doesn't make you necessarily dangerous. remi also knows lots of people, so does isen. they are not inherently dangerous because of this. the whole idea of certain traits making someone dangerous is bullshit. people can be more predisposed to certain things as a result of environment, mindset, etc; but he is not inherently dangerous because he has connections and that he's cunning.

which leads to the final descriptor: "lack of empathy". first off, putting past the blatant ableism [low empathy is a symptom of aspd and often associated with aspd whether aspd is present or not], terrence has never shown to be unempathetic. he appears to hold no guilt for what he's done, but this could one: be a facade, or two: be because he truly believes this is right. terrence hates high tiers and believes that what he does is for the better, that what he's doing is necessary to make a better society. if anything, a better term would be a "lack of sympathy".

also a lack of empathy isn't bad or dangerous. you can't change your level of empathy; empathy is feeling what others feel. people without empathy or low empathy aren't evil or heartless. someone can have low/no empathy and still have sympathy.

terrence is not dangerous because he is cunning, has connections, or has a "lack of empathy"; he can be dangerous because he has hurt others and has shown intent in continuing to do so.

okay, this has mostly been me nitpicking. ready for the real mess?

[IMAGE ID: another screenshot of terrence unordinary's fandom wiki page. another section is highlighted in red. it says: "Terrence’s corrupted mindset has turned him into a disrespectful and sadistic narcissist who seemingly enjoys when his classmates are endangered by Spectre, even his close friends." /END ID.]

there is NO WHERE in unordinary that describes terrence with symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, or that states him being or even implies him being a narcissist. there is not even a reference for this statement. and even if it was semi-implied, a speculation, or merely a headcanon; this is supposed to be an informative wiki without bias. it is not stated explicitly, therefore it should not be on the wiki. if whoever wrote this thought terrence was a narcissist, then they should've described the symptoms he exibits which may be npd instead of just calling him a "disrespectful and sadistic narcissist".

OH and the fucking heavy coated ableism drives me insane. whether he has npd or not, it doesnt make him "disrespectful" or "sadistic". PLUS, you do not get "turned" into a narcissist because of a "corrupted mindset"; narcissism is a personality disorder that doesnt have a hundred percent known cause. it has factors that can contribute to its development, but a "corrupted mindset" is definitely not fucking one of them.

there is so much more i could say about this, but i think ill leave it at that. disclaimer that i do not have npd or aspd, and i am not infallible and i can be wrong. if anyone has any different opinions or something ive stated here is wrong, then please tell to me about it! i don't want to spread misinfo /gen

thanks for listening to my angry ted talk <3

#beyond pissed but i like writihg abt my litle guy so i guess it evens out #terrence YIPPEE #spex.sells #unordinary #unordinary webtoon #unordinary terrence #terrence unordinary #fandom neg #discourse

[west-tokyo-incidents]

The Facility

Listen I just need to babble about this shit it's 5am.

---

Deviations/Alternates- Both terms are used for any timeline that is different from the central, canon timeline, which is Dunstan's Ideal. Deviation often has a more negative or dangerous connotation, often used for unknowns, new changes, or as an insult, despite being the official term for them. Alternate is a more neutral term and often used for different timelines that are well known and predictable.

Collective Age/Collective Time- Due to the fluid nature of time within the Facility, telling age accurately is extremely difficult. Those who stay in the Facility often simply ignore the concept of age, as cellular activity is very different within it. Those who leave and return tend to track their age collectively through how much time they spend in linear time.

For example, a Vice instance who lived 900 years before joining the Facility and spends 2 years in one timeline for a mission, 60 in another, and 26 in a third, would have a collective age of 988.

Instance- Any member of a timeline that is recurring, typically the characters of the series. Their actual names often become meaningless with seeing and hearing the name in various different forms and the vast majority rename themselves for their own sanity.

Modification/Mods- Pretty much what it says on the tin, modifications made to the body.

For humans, this is typically with various generic douji parts and mechanics, though some may choose for their parts to be from specific douji.

For douji, this can mean many things, such as adding to their arsenal or modifying their appearance, but the most extreme involve complete sphere transplant or even remote control of their body so that their sphere is safe while the body ventures into dangerous territory.

---

Garion Dubois-

Administrator of the Facility. Mother appointed them following the Facility's detachment from Dunstan.

An amorphous figure, identity-wise, but human. Doesn't remember how they came to be, but is absolutely ancient in collective time. Similarities and draws towards Paresse instances spawn multiple theories that they may BE a Paresse instance, perhaps one who became human, or a reincarnation of Michel or Mizho in some timeline.

Has an unusual distaste for Dunstan, viciously critiquing and criticizing the Funeral at every opportunity.

Built Trickery on their own, but recognizes their own failure and narcissism in the construction, as Trickery definitely isn't a true douji, but a convincing mimicry.

Often inserts themself into timelines that have already deviated from the central (canon) timeline and just kind of Vibes until shit goes wrong.

Songbird-

A Fusataro instance who barely remembers her original timeline. In collective time she has at least a few millenia under he belt. She's one of the high commanders alongside Dubois, whom she's married to.

She heads most communications with timelines, her charisma a great boon when recruiting, but her favorite place to be is alongside her husband on recon missions in new, high deviation timelines.

Has a high level of modification and is nearly completely mechanical, to the point she can hold her own, unarmed, against a lesser douji and can hold out for at least a few minutes against a Vice or Ultimo instance on their own, but only if unmodified, unfused, and without heavy deviation. She has an array of weapons she can use for those and is never without at least two which are grafted into her body.

Her timeline followed closely to canon, up until near the end where Vice and Ultimo fusing went horrifically wrong due to an error. She and a Makoto instance are the only survivors and the two don't communicate often.

Dubois-

One of the first douji to join the ranks of the Facility willingly. He is the lead commander for reconnaissance and exploratory missions into new and unknown deviations from the main timeline.

Most timelines that the facility doesn't directly interfere in may have sightings of him that aren't significant enough to wipe.

He was recruited from his timeline following the death of his first master and his choice in that timeline to, instead of leaving, seek out the Chasseur Alpins and join the ranks. Unfortunately this timeline also became one where one of the most dangerous deviations occurred and he was pulled and recruited from it.

He chose his new name for fairly obvious reasons. He was extremely distant for a very long time until meeting Songbird in her timeline. She discovered him on a reconnaissance mission and called him out on not being the Paresse she knew in her timeline, and he absolutely fell hard and fast.

Father-

A Rage instance who joined the ranks alongside Mother and Weaver and instigated the initial separation from Dunstan.

All three are from the same timeline, one where their Paresse manages to break through the fabric of space-time--due to a deviation in their Ultimo--and adapted to an impossible size and structure in the timeless and spaceless in-between.

Their Jealousy followed and created a pocket dimension in which the Paresse, now Mother, would reside.

The Rage, having converted to good and fallen in love with Mother, would find the rift after a long search and resided inside of the dimension with Mother. They'd be like this for an unknown amount of time before the Facility reached out, and eventually moved in with permission... with the stipulation that Dunstan would surrender control of the Facility.

Father would become the head of all militant operations, with Dubois and Songbird both reporting directly to him. For the most part, he trusts his subordinates on their decisions, but still heavily reviews every proposed mission and every issue that rises, handing them off to the necessary branch if needed.

Mother, Weaver, and Sight-

The equivalent of 'gods' in the Facility. All three are very eldritch and distant members of the Facility, forming the infrastructure and literal base of operations for the Facility.

Mother quite literally IS the Facility, their bones its rooms and their veins its halls. Their sphere is kept in an extremely secure and protected location far from any secured deviations. Mother may appear as a multitude of different apparitions or forms through the Facility, but rarely, if ever, communicates.

Weaver is the most distant, residing on the 'walls' of the dimension in which Mother resides and maintains them, as well as weaving new 'paths' to often visited timelines to ensure safe travel and ensure Mother wastes as little energy as possible. It does not speak and actively attacks if someone gets to close, due to the fragile nature of its freshest weavings.

Sight is a Slow instance who is so utterly enraptured in the threads of fate that he rarely speaks and takes the form of a mechanical stag that is staring straight off into nothingness, lost in the eldritch, twisting branches of time and fate and prophecy. When he does speak, it's to inform of a new deviation that he discovers. It's up to the Facility staff to determine the details, as after announcing it, he's often lost tracing another potential line.

#the facility #ress writes #karakuridoji ultimo #karakuridouji ultimo #scp au KINDA??? #its complicated

[flyatahighergame-arch]

Tang has many mental and emotional struggles of his own, most of which stem from a personality disorder, that is narcissistic personality disorder or NPD edited: I also forgot to add he has overt npd 

There are specific criteria for the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).  [Notes: the following is taken from PsychCentral.com ]

Criteria include at least five of these nine symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder:

grandiosity and self-importance

fantasies of success, perfection, or power

a strong conviction of being special and unique

a need for admiration and praise

entitlement

a pattern of exploiting others for personal gain

low empathy

envy, jealousy, and distrust

arrogance, haughtiness, and scorn

Diagnosis criteria require these symptoms of narcissistic personality to remain consistent over time and show up in most domains of life. These symptoms may impair a person’s ability to function and relate to others, in general.

A narcissist may engage in controlling behaviors in a relationship, for example. A narcissistic ex may move on quickly as well.

But these narcissistic behaviors won’t just affect romantic relationships. They’ll also show up in the workplace and with family and friends.

Experts typically diagnose the condition in adulthood. Many adults have a narcissistic trait or two, though. This does not automatically mean they have narcissistic personality, especially when these narcissistic traits only show up in specific situations.

For example:

wanting admiration from a romantic partner

holding a proud attitude at work or school

showing entitled behavior at home but nowhere else

Some people experience a handful of symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder that have a severe impact on interpersonal relationships and functioning. Others have several mild traits that nonetheless affect daily life.

The DSM-5 doesn’t detail different types of narcissistic personality, but some experts recognize four types of narcissism:

grandiose (overt) narcissism

vulnerable (covert) narcissism, also called closet narcissism

high-functioning narcissism

malignant narcissism

An important aspect of personality disorders is that typical condition behaviors or symptoms usually cause a great deal of distress to the person.

A closer look at the nine symptoms of narcissitic personality disorder can offer more insight:

Grandiosity and self-importance

Generally speaking, grandiosity is the defining symptom of narcissistic personality disorder.

If the term grandiosity calls to mind “grand,” you’re not far from the mark.

People with narcissistic personality disorder tend to consider themselves grand, important, and better than others.

Grandiose behavior, which helps establish this sense of personal importance, might involve:

bragging about personal achievements and skills

exaggerating or lying about past accomplishments

devaluing or criticizing others

anger or rage when achievements go unrecognized

regularly describing personal attributes, such as intelligence, power, strength, wealth, and attractiveness or sex appeal

If you have the characteristics of a narcissist, you might expect people to recognize you as superior and feel confused or frustrated when they don’t acknowledge your accomplishments.

When others achieve something admirable, you might feel the need to challenge them. For example, you would point out where they went wrong or how they could have done better.

When it comes to covert narcissism, grandiose behavior often goes unrecognized. This is because instead of openly boasting or describing themselves as superior, covert narcissists might dwell on these achievements internally. They would also spend a lot of time fantasizing about their own importance versus talking about it.

#➢ Iᴛ ᴅᴏᴇsɴ'ᴛ ʜᴜʀᴛ ᴍᴇ; ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴɴᴀ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ʜᴏᴡ ɪᴛ ꜰᴇᴇʟs (headcanons) #note(s): I have researched this personality disorder but feel free to POLITELY tell me if I get it wrong

[invisiblefoxfire]

Something that bugs me a lot sometimes in the Tumblr Discourse is when people equate common adjectives describing human behavior with mental illnesses or disorders that use the same words.

Which is an understandable thing to do, and I'm constantly frustrated by the fact that psychology insists on using common words to name disorders that don't equate to the everyday meanings of those words.

A person can be narcissistic without having Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The latter is a disorder with a list of requirements for diagnosis, and it negatively impacts the person's life. A person with NPD isn't just annoying or dangerous or whatever, they are themselves suffering.

But calling someone a narcissist or describing them as narcissistic is not the same as diagnosing them with NPD. A person can be narcissistic without it being a diagnosable disorder.

The same is true for "antisocial." Antisocial Personality Disorder is a specific disorder that an average person might describe as being a "psychopath" or "sociopath" (these are not actually diagnoses). But calling someone antisocial usually just means they don't like being around people, and is commonly applied to introverts. The term in psychology is not the same as the common word.

It's just... I saw a post where someone posted a whole rant about how calling an abuser a "narcissist" is ableist because people with NPD are suffering and they're not all abusers and it completely missed the fact that "Narcissist" and "person with NPD" are not inherently the same thing. (Not to mention that, yes, people with NPD can in fact be abusers, though of course not all of them are, and just because they are hurting doesn't mean they can't hurt others or that they should be excused from responsibility for their behavior just because they have a disorder.)

And another post saying if an abuser isn't suffering, you can't call them narcissistic, because NPD involves a negative impact on that person's life, and... Yes, that is true of NPD, but a person can be narcissistic without having a diagnosable disorder, and narcissism (the personality trait, not the disorder) can be and often is a factor in abuse, regardless of whether someone has NPD or not.

I think this is all a part of the larger Online issue of policing terminology as the first priority. Telling people what words to use and lecturing anyone who uses the Wrong Word to describe something. And considering the words someone chooses to use to describe their experience more important and significant than the experience itself. Not every personality trait is part of a diagnosis. Trying to sort everyone into the correct box should not be your top priority all day every day.

#psychology #mental health #narcissism #abuse

[iguanalysis]

Is There a "Little" Jouissance ("j")? The Possible Definitions of Homosexuality in Considerations of Jealousy

I would just begin by saying, whenever I find myself within what Freud termed an "anaclitic love" situation, I wonder if my perception of (my own) masculine narcissism is the basis of something I can't help but call a "little" jouissance. In connection with the ideal ego, perhaps it is a variable one ought to denote with a little "j".

And yet, a familiar haunting persists in my mind of the problems with the object relation (since I keep wondering how it might be subject to certain changes along the lines of sexual difference) in accordance with the problem of subsequently encountering multiple (and seemingly contradictory) different definitions for a now-enigmatic word, "homosexuality". Or at least its definition is enigmatic to me, anyway. What I mean by that is that what I see in the structure of fetishism specifically is the disappearance of the letter "E" from the preoedipal triangle. Focus is diverted away from it towards the ego (m) and the image (i) instead, taking for themselves the whole energy contained within the dynamic between mother and phallus. And all that is not exactly news. But this, to me, is the most foundational premonition or prescience of the subject (S) who is to inherit the child's place. Yet, this "S" is somehow, via fetishism, trapped in a booster-seat of observation, and robbed of all its self-awareness.

But is this cognizance of fetishism a unique privelege of the sex chromosomes which I likely have in at least some of my cellular nuclei, those of "XXYY"? (I believe I have a genetic condition called XXYY syndrome). My body, during puberty, had a distinctly feminine shape. Now that I'm getting older, braver, and losing weight, why does it make me so happy that I might even look like an attractive man myself in addition to desiring sex with other men? This obscure or specific form of enjoyment is what I'm thinking of as a little "j". But is it genuinely homosexual enjoyment if I experience it more intensely from the anaclitic perspective of loving rather than from a narcissistic perspective, which has already far more deliberately shut out the letter "E" from the phallic spectacle which it is so intent on beholding?

I'll just say that I got this idea as well from reading this paper on academia.edu:

https://academia.edu/resource/work/1812768

I wonder about a natural state of balance in the physical world, or better, a state of justice, which necessarily must always be the most essential precondition for the existence of love itself. The character of Clytemnestra from The Oresteia immediately comes to mind, though it is difficult to remember why. Her strongly masculine jealousy towards Agamemnon had no feminine object to take for itself in the form of a so-called normal jealousy. Thus, she inflicted a violent death on her husband and desecrated the House of Atreus as her own womanly form of Melanie Klein's "good enough" jealousy. Typically that denotes a fundamentally "homosexual" diffusion of frustration or perceptual stimuli into the outward world, stimuli which cannot be capable of taking any vengeance back out on the child in return. It is unfair to feeling itself, and yet, this is an indispensable step for the infant's getting-along with the natural states (or "states of justice") of the outer world, in which the concept of love already demands such just conditions. For Clytemnestra, however, if her jealousy or anger are somehow a violent "homosexuality" towards the political universe around her of Ancient Greece, is the death of her cuckolded husband such an indispensable maneuver as it might be for a suckling infant? In other words, where should we locate her little "j"? (In her position, is it maybe only possible for it to be a little "x", or an object of privation?)

#lacanian psychoanalysis

[flickeringart]

Saturn and narcissism

Many people have a faulty perception as to what narcissism really is. It is usually described in terms of overt behavior of self-aggrandizement, vanity and excessive self-love. This would be the over-simplified and non-helpful way to describe it, because it doesn’t pinpoint the reason for, or encompass the complexity of this character trait or “personality disorder”. When it comes to narcissism, the overt self-inflation is not really what it seems because it doesn’t spring from a true sense of grandeur. It stems from a deep sense of lack and insecurity, which the person has over-compensated for. There’s a difference between a person who is genuinely self-loving and someone who needs to focus excessively on the self and one’s success in order to not feel inferior. 

Saturn (and Capricorn for that matter) in the natal chart seems to me to be in line with what one could label “narcissism” because he is generally associated with struggle and deprivation. Saturn is indicative of a psychic lack, which can manifest itself in different ways depending on the sign placement, house placement and aspects made to other planets. Usually, there’s deep inadequacy that is felt, some void that is not filled and coped with through clever defenses. I’d like to think that most people have narcissistic traits; I have certainly not met a single person that hasn’t displayed some kind of cold and walled-off behavior. Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone can be said to have the personality disorder, but, everyone has Saturn somewhere in their chart and his placement indicates where we have built the most rigid defenses, where we are painfully serious and where we are the most vulnerable. It is also the place where we feel the most undeveloped and infantile, and it’s often hidden behind a façade of competence or proclaimed superiority (or inferiority designed to instill guilt in other people for being better or more “accomplished”).

Narcissistic individuals can be very controlling, manipulative, false and uncaring. They can lead double lives and twist the truth to their liking. This is understandable since they are buffering themselves from a (seemingly) permanent inner wound and can’t live their lives from a place of authenticity – the pain of the void in annihilating and needs to be covered over. Feelings of guilt and shame are usually carefully contained within, but sometimes these surface in response to something small, and there’s an over-reaction that is obviously stemming from something more serious than the “superficial” trigger. Typically, people who are involved with this person feels like they have to walk on eggshells around them and might become hyper alert as to not say something that would provoke the narcissistic injury. The rage storms, critique, pessimism, skepticism and double messages are commonly displayed within personal relationships, rather than publicly, but there certainly are cold, competitive and authoritarian people in the work place and on the public arena as well. The negative traits are typically mixed with charming and likable qualities that cause confusion and cognitive dissonance in others.

In extreme cases of narcissism, to the point where it could appropriately be labeled a disorder, the person might be unable to be in touch with any sense of guilt or remorse for inflicting other people pain. This coldness is more often than not an adaptation to a very unforgiving and controlling early environment that caused the individual to put up high walls between the self and other people. When emotions are continuously taken advantage of and there’s no room for developing something real, the person must emotionally disconnect from life because the world is ruthless and non-conducive to well-being. The price for walling oneself off is internal isolation, emotional starvation and deep depression – but it’s sometimes better to be “voluntarily” starving than to be starved by the world. Although lack is usually seen as a bad thing, it comes with its own hidden treasure. It invites the opportunity to build something that is resilient and reliable that will stand the test of time, something that isn’t reliant on circumstances to exist. If anything, Saturn lends itself to being self-motivated because everyone in the external is a threat and would take pleasure (even if it’s not admitted to) in seeing another fail. Humans are quick to take delight, however slight, in another person’s relative disadvantage and weakness. People feed off of the pain of others, to varying degrees of severity.

In my own experience, I’ve found that people can be very nice and encouraging and openly supportive, only to make you feel at ease, and then they use that openness to that they’ve created in order to disempower you through instilling doubt and shame when it suits them. This is exactly how Saturn works. His function is to disarm the “opponent” (everyone is a potential threat) in order to protect the personal ego from facing annihilation. His attempt is essentially to strip away everything that isn’t real and pure within through playing the devil’s advocate. People play this ruthless game of the “devil” with each other all the time – especially when they feel vulnerable and need to drag someone down in the pit of self-doubt with them. People point out each other’s shortcomings, their deficiencies, their falsity and their hypocrisy. No one is as keen to point out the wrong doings of others than the Saturnian because he is striving for realness and substance. Everything that is built on shaky ground will be destroyed in his presence. The same can be said about the narcissistic individual – he will accuse others of being or doing the very things he is afraid are his own sins, primarily to deflect the shame, but also to test the other person’s realness or integrity. That which shatters under pressure is not very reliable and the Saturnian is looking for quality and substance. The sad thing is that just about anything can be dismantled and broken in this world – except that which can’t. What that is exactly is for people to find out for themselves.

It is often said that people with narcissism live in a false reality where everything is taken personally and the slightest hint at criticism and disapproval will tip them over into frenzy. The reaction isn’t false nor is it purely due to living in a false reality; it is a fact that people in general aren’t full-fledged saints. I have yet to meet a person that is so completely void of an ego that they don’t have any sore spots and won’t bite back if they feel that they’ve been attacked. I also haven’t met any person who has 100% altruistic motives. People nudge and coax each other all the time, which can be seen as quite innocent, but it still stems from a desire to get one’s own way. In a sense, one could claim that people only seem to care about another if there has been some kind of identification and projection of inner subconscious qualities on the other – and even that is not true caring because one really does it for the self, even if it doesn’t seem like it because it’s unconscious. A narcissistic individual with apparent difficulty to include other’s well-being as their own is perhaps more capable to do something purely altruistic because it would not give them any pleasure to be “selfless”. In other words, there is no secondary gain in genuinely acting in someone else’s best interest for these types – not even emotional satisfaction. Empathy that comes naturally is beautiful, but when it doesn’t and has to be acquired against all odds, there’s opportunity for great growth. This opportunity is character building and humbling – it really is the opportunity of building something of substance from the ground up.

Lack is not ultimately a bad thing if its treasures are valued instead of dismissed and ignored as meaningless. Being “without” is an opportunity if one can stretch one’s perception beyond the discomfort of the present. The psychic void of shame that is felt can only be filled from the inside. By cutting out the middle man (that is, “external supply”) the person becomes truly self-sufficient and non-complacent in dealing with life. Saturn is not a bad planet per se, even though it is traditionally labeled “malefic”. It simply requires more consciousness on the part of the individual and more deliberate effort. Narcissism can be a byproduct of the Saturnian dynamic, but its ugliness can be a blessing in disguise.

—————

Note: I’m not ”blaming astrology” for causing a mental disorder in this post, I’m simply exploring the Saturnian archetype and how it correlates with certain behaviors. I don’t believe any planet ”causes” specific behavior but I think that it can point to an underlying archetypal pattern at the core of certain behavioral dynamics. As stated, Saturn is representative of lack, defences and restriction in astrology - which are all necessary psychological functions. Like any function, they can be effective and healthy, but there’s always a downside to any function. I’m exploring the downside in this post.

#saturn #narcissism #saturn and narcissism #capricorn #lack #deprivation #inner void #astrology #saturn in astrology #planets in astrology #isolation #loneliness #hidden treasure #narcissistic injury #malefic planets

[queersturbate]

hiya i'd love to hear u talk more abt light's npd and mental issues bc u frame them in a rlly concise and informative way and i love reading them

hey!

i'm sorry it took a bit to respond to this you caught me having a bad mental health week and hating my npd specifically. But i think talking about it with a character i wholeheartedly adore would actually help. Also i love doing additional research on npd for Light because i read the articles and i just stare at it like looking into this weird cosmic mirror.

anyway, to get to the point. I've said what I think Light has and everything before, but i'll say it again: narcissistic personality disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, obsessive compulsive personality disorder (different from OCD, i have a post on it!), psychosis , and anxiety. I'm sure there's more that i would consider him having, like anti-social personality disorder which i dont have and have not done any research on so i cannot say if so, uh oh I know people also love Light being autistic alongside L. Honestly i really like that because it shows off different sides to autism, because you can be exactly like either and still be autistic.

but anyway, specifically with NPD, the general symptoms are a not caring about other's feelings/low to no empathy, sense of entitlement, not being able to take criticism at all, and wanting praise, recognition, and admiration at all times. Also with a majority of personality disorder, psychologists are not 100% how it's developed but most narcissists raise narcissists. My mother is a classic narcissist, and my dad hides his narcissistic traits better than her. However for Light, I don't think it was genetics but more-so environmental, but not to any fault of his parents.

Narcissists have a huge inflation of self worth, and coupled with a god complex, it can be overbearing. Light's "quick descent" into him being this all powerful god and him thinking he was CHOSEN for this job with the death note, him immediately going "im the only one that can do this" did not just come from no where when he picked up that notebook. L, the task force, near, etc never had that level of self importance and inflated view on themselves. Light had npd before he picked that notebook up. His disorder helped the curse of the notebook take hold much quicker and harder than everyone else, because Light was looking for a reason to be the person he thought he should be.

Also when I say "god complex", as opposed to what many people seem to believe it is not just believing you are god. or in tiktok users' cases, it does not mean you like to look at yourself in the mirror or you think you look good. A god complex is when you feel like you are owed something. The world, the universe, the people in your life, everything owes you something. you have an insatiable feeling of privilege. god complexes are an extenuation of narcissistic personality disorder. Also god complexes are not generally recognized as something to be diagnosed, lumping it in with narcissism. it's not recognized by the DSM it isnt a clinical term. An example of Light feeling this type of privilege is when he asks ryuk why he chose him. he was practically on his knees begging for Ryuk to say some grandiose thing about Light on why actual living God's chose him and only him for this 'job'

here for anyone still confused: A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, intractable problems or difficult or impossible tasks. The person is also highly dogmatic in their views, meaning the person speaks of their personal opinions as though they were unquestionably correct. Someone with a god complex may exhibit no regard for the conventions and demands of society, and may request special consideration or privileges. (source: wikipedia because again, not a recognized, diagnosable disorder)

also my favorite thing to point out about npd is how behind all of this intense self importance and self righteousness and blahblahblah, is that it's all delusional, and im sure you know that. but listen, narcissists are delusional because we have this deep and vicious hatred of ourselves and are so so insecure that (im explaining this incredibly simply) just starts creating delusions of "no you're not, you are in a world full of idiots. you are better than them all. no one is better than you" blahblahblah (this is why i hate those tiktok videos where it's literally just "telling" the viewer this type of stuff and pass it off as confidence boosters or whatever like no girl knock it off) anyway, that why when anything in Light's plan goes wrong he has an utter meltdown, he cannot handle criticism and in this moment his only critique is himself since no one else knows about kira and if they do, they praise him and see him as a higher being.

alright! i've rambled enough! thank you for sending this ask! lmk if you want any more talk on the other disorders i listed. i only really just explained npd so sorry about thatsjdhdj

#death note #light yagami #light yagami headcanons #ask

[ohlookitstomorrowff]

Been legit talking everyone’s ear off about Wicked today - specifically regarding Glinda…

I just love her so much, I don’t know whether I want to be her or if I want to marry her, and I’ve realised how many headcanons I have for her and I just wanted to share and hear everyone else’s ideas.

Glinda is very curvaceous (I hate to use the term ‘plus-sized’)

She also has so many body/image issues due to her curves but tries her best to mask them - her obsession with image that can come across as narcissism, her corsets and crinolines, etc.

She’s a lesbian. 100%. No one can change my mind. (She’s also very much in denial until she starts to get closer to Elphaba.

She’s not as upper-class as she portrays herself to be - she’s more middle-class with aristocratic ties (the Arduenna link in the novel) and she’s been socialised to believe that a woman’s power comes from wealth and social status and thus becomes a social climber.

Did I mention she has ADHD?

Although her mother and father raised her with rather old-fashioned, patriarchal (slightly misogynistic) values, they loved her deeply, hence why she finds it easier to demonstrate her affections (most of the time) but hides her personal emotions and thoughts.

She’s actually really intelligent. She chose to major in sorcery because of family ties, a sense of feminine power, and the fact that it’s viewed as arty and socially acceptable for someone of her standing and perceived aspirations. However, she has more academic talents like…

Her love of architecture!

She loved once, and only once. Elphaba was the only person she ever let into her heart, and she never got over their separation.

She always held out hope that Elphaba would come back to her - legit sharing a bed with Elphie on the road to the Emerald City was all she could remember about her youth in later life.

She’s pragmatic.

Even though he was only a Baronet and not nearly as high up the pecking order as everyone expected her to snag, she chose to marry Sir Chuffrey to gain her independence. Chuffrey was like 15+ years older than her, he was kind and really wanted to protect her and give her everything in a fatherly way. It wasn’t a sexual relationship, and I think she was more of a trophy to him? (Think Onassis wanting to marry Jackie Kennedy after JFK’s death).

She had moments with other women after Elphaba - touching someone else brought her comfort in the moment and made her feel less alone, but she couldn’t allow anyone else to touch her.

She couldn’t have children despite wanting to be a mother more than anything.

She used charity work to find meaning and the impact she made is what caught the attention of The Wizard who then made her Glinda the Good.

She never ever got over Elphaba’s death. It haunted her forever.

After her husband’s death and the Wizards’s departure, she retired to the country where she would only employ female servants. She definitely promoted female empowerment there… in a lesbians can rule the world way…

She was imprisoned in Southstairs later in life for the disloyalty she showed to the Wizard. It was here that Elphaba saved her - whether Glinda died and Elphaba came to retrieve her and take her onwards, or they were both alive, I don’t care. But Glinda deserves her happy ending.

She deserved so much more than both the book and the musical thought to give her. What an absolute Queen.

I did say she was a total lesbian right? Like she definitely had a collection of Sappho’s poems, and she read Rebecca, and watched Hitchock’s film (although she probably complained about the underlying misogyny and ‘male gaze’ theory afterwards), and definitely had a thing for Mrs Danvers.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk… sorry you had to hear it. :)

#glinda #wicked #Gelphie #glinda the good #elphaba #the wizard of oz #I don’t know what this is #today has made me so emotional and nostalgic #see if I wasn’t so busy with uni #I’d be well into writing a total account of Glinda’s life #but that reminds me #I legit went to none of my lectures this week #and I have so much to catch up on #sighs #why did I chose to study English lit? #like i love it #but also #it is driving me crazy #personal #wicked headcanons #Glinda headcanons #galinda upland

[limerental]

I tried to put words to more of my concise thots about sylki specifically but got too tangled and gave up but let me just try again.... I think the difficulty is that many people don't understand the appeal of this sort of ship or the reason why i personally find it so deeply interesting and worth exploring.

under a cut for spoilery ness

disclaimer/aside that I don't think the show is capable of getting into the nitty gritty of what I actually find most interesting about the ship largely because, to appeal to a mass audience base, the show has zero subtlety or delicacy. every philosophical issue or plot point is presented in the bluntest, most obvious way possible to minimize viewer misinterpretation.

but what I enjoy most about the concept of selfcest itself, divorced from anything that happens in canon, is adjacent to what I've personally explored writing body swap fic... it's about the vulnerability, the self-perception, the recognition of the self as something worthy of care and affection and delicate treatment, grappling with traits and mannerisms both abhorrent and admirable, the inevitable outsider perspective of coming to a sort of self-analytical realization about why you act the way you do, witnessing your own falsehoods and lies you tell yourself, arguing with yourself over what you truly want... maybe even come to a place where you can feel at home in your own body and mind, at peace with the parts of yourself that didn't make sense before.

specifically in terms of sylvie and loki their romance has this extra element of... nature vs. nurture and free will that I think is at the heart of the series. are they truly the same person given their divergent paths? are they destined to repeat the same loop over and over even if circumstances change, pointing to some inherent element of their nature that cannot be changed in the way that the sacred timeline cannot ever be changed?

could sylvie, who was an orphaned, terrified runaway raised experiencing vastly different events and traumas, ever really be anything close to the same person as loki? if so, everything and anything that happens is meaningless because it all amounts to the same end where neither of them and no one in general can escape or rewrite their story.

loki giving a shit about sylvie and even loving her as her own distinct person separate from him isn't really akin to masturbation or shallow narcissism unless you assume that all of our traumas, choices, and circumstances change nothing about who we are and ultimately mean nothing.

for me, the thing that makes sylki interesting is that its not about "self-love" so much as it's a rejection of the premise that we have one, destined story that cannot and will not deviate. sylvie isn't loki. they aren't the same person because of the different lives they lived.

but yeah, it's just about boy meets girl smoochy het nonsense, keep telling yourself that's why people are interested. sure yeah, no depth here.

#this entire analysis could and likelu will be flung aside once the series finishes #because i could be very wrong about where this is going but #aw nuts im invested im writing meta essays now #this is jist a ship manifesto #sylki #sylvie x loki #loki x sylvie #loki #sylvie #loki spoilers

[legionofpotatoes]

I love your art, it is very detailed in a neat way. Was wondering how you got started making it as a source of income? How did you get your first paid work, I'd love some advice on how to get started, if that's ok

Thank you. Of course it's okay, although I doubt I have enough work experience in art to really delve into this. I only went full freelance this year, and had been juggling art as a side hobby until then. If you're still interested in my somewhat narrow perspective, and are okay with my long-winded rambles, I'll give it a shot:

So to answer your question fully, I'll describe how I started and move into personal advice and learnings later on. As a disclaimer, I am a white cishet dude in my late twenties with a moderate cocktail of mental illnesses, but overall I can pass for a functioning adult so a lot I have to say may come laced with privilege I cannot fully identify.

So uhh I began drawing in around 2012? I think? Maybe halfway through 2011? And I mostly made fanart for things I enjoyed and tried to branch out in communities that felt nourishing to my style and interests (I caught a bug for alt posters and enjoyed mainstream movies so I spent a long time on posterspy early on). There were a handful of opportunities that came from there but I could only accept a couple because of primary workplace commitments. Still, it showed that networking in a focused community was definitely a good place to start; I myself have huge trouble committing to social networks and really staying socially active, but I knew it was an essential ingredient in succeeding so I tried to make myself be involved in challenges and art support trains etc. as much as I could.

In parallel to all that I also ran a few third party online stores (redbubble, teepublic) for disposable income and would sometimes, if rarely, hit around $100-150 a month from those sources combined. It is a sort of thing that requires helper accounts on other social media sites to promote it on, because the stores themselves have a huge volume of content that translates into low organic discoverability. Obviously it was never gonna be the way towards financial independence through art, and with community projects being few and far between, I opened private commissions in around uhhh 2017 I think, focusing on offering a few styles I knew I could do well, and sometimes operating in individual fandoms (it was mostly a bioware thing to be frank). But I had to close them back down after a year or so, again because of work-life conflict and how badly it was burning me out. The reason I kept trying to monetize this hobby is because I honestly hated what I did for my main job and wanted to see a way out in some shape or form in the future.

And then in 2020 I had to quit my main job altogether because of *gestures at pandemic* and deal with a mental breakdown from all the wonderful things it did to us and me specifically. I took a short break and decided to give art a shot full-time, and that was around May this year. I was planning on opening up commissions again (and I still am), but a few sudden opportunities that fell in my lap moved that timetable down and now I'm grateful to even be doing something I am getting adequately paid for.

So, with that somewhat limited perspective, here's what I've learned that I'd tell myself if I was just starting out:

1. Being a fan of something can be a shortcut towards effective networking kickoffs. Which are important evidently. If you love something and enjoy making content for it, join communities, settle into a combination of social media websites that feel right for those interests + your body of work + your inner rhythm, and try to play to content discovery as much as your mental health allows you to. Like I said, I know that I myself am incredibly bad at self-motivating to talk to people, so I found that synergizing common interests into fanart - which I enjoyed making anyway - could be a way to give myself a gentle nudge forward and build those bridges leading to community activities, which then net experience and coverage. Sometimes even freelance projects from official avenues. Again; picking the right spaces for what you're after is key. Companies roam twitter, concept art recruiters scour artstation or linkedin etc, instagram can land you private commissions and collab opportunities, so on and so forth. Find your niche and try to kick up dust. However...

2. I do not believe that any social profile can replace a good portfolio. The thing that made an immediate difference to me this year was building a coherent, simple website with my best work front and center and a contact form on top. Every single opportunity I got came from that form (maybe via twitter or instagram initially, but always sealing the decision after going through the website), so I firmly believe that showcasing your skills and portfolio in a visually arresting and user-friendly way is a big priority. I had some reservations about tackling that task but fortunately I had help from a savvy life partner and we slapped it together via wordpress in less than a day. Twitter/whatever social media is prevalent in your target groups is definitely important to get the right eyes on your shit, yes, but those eyes will then look for a second stop where your work and rates are more clear and concise. Simplicity is key imo, I cannot overstate this. So make a cute, simple portfolio!

3. Your skills and rates will grow and change as you do. Let them. Over the years I built several lasting professional relationships from my obsession over mass effect and kept getting opportunities both from bioware and their partner companies, some small and some a bit bigger. A one-off job earlier this year opened an unexpected door to another much larger commitment, and then the work I did there brought some attention from small businesses looking for commercial commissions. These were all incredibly different projects in terms of scope and budget, and I've been tackling them all on a case-by-case basis and slowly coming into my own irt my needs, rates, and SOW thresholds. It is still a work in progress (and a LOT of literal work as well), and very much a thing I struggle with in publicly marketing, which is why I felt a tad underqualified to answer your question in the first place (obviously I did not let that stop me). But what it means for me now is that I am rapidly developing into whatever my "version" of a functioning freelance artist is, and when the conditions for that guy are met, I need to be able to confidently plant myself and operate from that space despite past precedents. Do not let anyone bully you into downpricing what you yourself perceive as legitimate products of personal growth and development. Speaking of which...

4. The shitty challenge of turning envy into inspiration, and paddling outside your comfort zones in full riot gear. it is hard, but realizing that being a miserable, self-hating artist in my early days got me nothing but more misery back was the first real step I took and what truly blew the hinges off. I was just not pleasant to be around, I would badmouth my work all the time, and it all somehow made sense in my broken mind because the validation I sought was purely external and the way I sought it was through eliciting sympathy via self-victimization (even when I made something objectively nice). It all led fucking nowhere. Except perhaps to my own narcissism that I one day managed to identify and start managing. So I started looking at things that made me seethe with envy and calmly deconstruct and figure out their inner workings instead, do studies, and find nuggets of inspiration or discover new ways to approach rendering or building up specific elements. It was an application of analytical diligence to what I wanted to be a purely emotional, esoteric workflow, but that I deep down knew wasn't. Art is a discipline and a skill, and maybe it isn't a straight line, but you gotta find some line to thread nevertheless. Being self-hating was almost an identity I had to break out of, and despite it still being like, 4-5% there? I realize its cause and effect on me, my work, and those around me, so it is with a conscious choice that I gently set it aside when I work and especially when I learn. It won't always stay quiet, but the effort is the difference. Your doors towards accepting true growth and venturing into uncharted territories, art styles, and networking will really open from there. But there's a huge caveat...

5. Toolsets, accessibility, privilege, and all the good things that enable artistic expression and profitability are not given equal to all. you might do all the mental work I mentioned to be ready to rock and roll and learn and draw your way out of anything, but digital art is a fucking money pit that asks almost too much at times. I don't got a good case study here but identifying and ensuring accessibility to the tools you need to do your best work is, like, super important. The ergonomics can improve as you make money and settle into the job, but the basics have to be made available to you. And some of that might not even be under your direct control. That can be anything from pen tablets to software subscriptions to opportunities in hiring sullied by sexism or what have you. You gotta navigate all that through careful networking and money/time management. I don't do a good job of devoting specific slices of time to work/study, and my primary clutch is iPad software which went from a good deal to a nightmare scenario over the years. So all I can say here is do what I didn't; network, invest in a PC/tablet, and pick a software you'll learn that won't burn a hole in your pocket.

6. Be nice to work with? This one is hard to articulate and has landed my own ass in hot water in my early years because of how socially inept I am, but nothing is more worthwhile than being.. like. a good person to work with. That can be anything like meeting deadlines, or sometimes missing them but eloquently articulating why, being generous in early stages, being communicable and not too wordy in your emails, having a good grasp on abstract artistic concepts and how to describe them in simple terms, having a clear, laid out framework of your working rates in commercial and non-commercial projects and sticking to those guns with grace, understanding when you need to say no and saying it well, the works. Just being nice. Sometimes that might mean going headstrong with something you believe in, or simmering down and sucking up to the big man, all relative and adaptive. Part and parcel of the service provision dance that we all have to do in order to make bank. Know your lines here, obviously, and don't like. work for nazis. or uh.. *shudders* exposure. but be nice and empathetic and communicable and word will travel eventually. Skill may be in abundance these days, but good people are most certainly not, and capitalism has a way of bubbling up scarcity. Grim, but uh, them's the breaks.

I know I'm ultimately telling you to like. Have a body of work, make a portfolio, grow, and network. But that's really how I see it for now. And being nice can be a cherry on top that sets you apart, along with the inherent irreplaceable voice of your artwork. I think I rambled on enough, but if there is something specific you need my help with, even if you want to come off anon and talk in private, please feel free.

#anon #asks #long post #sorry I cant actually condense ideas better :(

[shaymcsudonim]

Malevolency

A rant on psychology and wild speculation on the motives of the Dark Triad.

More under the cut.

(Trigger Warnings for trying to find good qualities of fictional mass-murderers)

The dark triad as Personality Traits, and the Dark Triad’s personality traits.

Part 1: Selfishness, Callousness, Button-Pushing.

I took no psychology classes whatsoever in school, and therefore was completely blindsided when I learned that the phrase ‘Dark Triad’ is a psych term. These three personality traits (self-centeredness, sociopathy, and manipulativeness) are called ‘dark’ because they are thought to be particularly malevolent.

Specifically, as the fandom has already deduced, Black Clover’s Dark Triad has Dante as Narcissism, Xenon as Psycopathy, and Vanica as Machiavellianism.

Like most things in psychology, this strikes me as complete and utter bullshit. Personality traits are just that: traits. A trait is merely a descriptor; it holds no moral value.

Narcissism, for example, means that someone is self-centered. This could mean that someone with this trait is monstrously selfish, since they might only care about their own desires. However, what of someone who cares primarily about their reputation? Or about their own adherence to a moral code? Or an artist who only cares about their art and how it reflects on themselves? Preoccupation with the self doesn’t necessarily equate to positive or negative behavior.

Sociopathy, as the second trait, primarily implies a lack of empathy. But, in all honestly, if someone is only a good person because they can mirror neurons to simulate the feelings of others… then they aren’t really a good person in the first place. Empathy as a morality chain fails when empathy fails, especially when combined with xenophobia. Would sociopathy potentially make it harder to learn helpful social habits? Perhaps. Or, a lack of empathy could lead to a more considered and logical approach in determining what is owed to other people, an approach which would not fail with faltering emotions. After all, Agape, the highest form of love as reckoned by the ancient Greeks, was characterized by the presence of caring and the lack of emotion.

The third trait, Manipulation, is probably the most neutral of the three. After all, being able to read people and predict and/or guide their behavior is a valuable skill for anyone. If a school principal, for example, is skilled at reigning in the behavior of their students, through positive and negative reinforcement, we would call them a ‘Good Leader’ rather than a ‘Manipulator’ but it mostly comes down to the same thing. A con man is a ‘Deceiver.’ A showman is merely ‘working the crowd.’ Social manipulation itself is merely a tool, and can be employed for any ends, moral or immoral.

So, to summarize, the so-called ‘Dark Triad’ of personality traits are not inherently moral or immoral, but rather descriptors of various personality styles found among characters of any given archetype.

Part 2: Dante, Xenon, Vanica.

Okay, so I’ve mentioned this before, but the Dark Triad have not met the expectations that I had for them as villains. Specifically, they show more heroic traits than I would have guessed.

That brief flash that we got of Yuno’s infancy in the Spade Kingdom offered a glimpse at the young Dark Trio. Dante, Vanica, and Xenon were high-ranking soldiers who worked together. They’re wildly unpopular, because of their violent methods. Yuno’s parents and those loyal to them hold the three siblings in contempt.

Honestly, I suspect that this might just be garden path foreshadowing. There is an incredibly strong possibility that the Spade Royals are evil. (They sent the Dark Triad to crush a rebellion. Why was there a rebellion? What policies were they rebelling against?)

Not evil in the sense that the King and Queen are outwardly malicious or unkind to most of their underlings, no. And, of course, they both love Yuno and are doting parents.

However, those traits say jack-shit about the Spade-King and -Queen’s moral character.

The fact that the Zogratis siblings are relatively young, that they work together at the same rank despite being related, doing a job they’re absolutely apathetic about with as much gratuitous violence as possible… to me, that hints at some sort of conscripted service.

Clearly the Spade Kingdom is aware of demons, as it mentions that two of the demons from the current arc used to be humans from the Spade kingdom. I would consider it a strong possibility that Nacht learned the Devil Binding ritual in the Spade Kingdom, or at least that the ritual itself is a Spade Kingdom technique.

I bring this up to say this: there is a strong possibility that the Zogratis Siblings were gang-pressed into becoming devil hosts for the benefit of their kingdom, with the threat of their siblings being killed if any one of them rebelled.  

Because, while they certainly seem to have been twisted by their life experiences, the Zogratis siblings show far more compassion than I anticipated, towards each other, towards their enemies, and towards their devils.

When they form their plans to take over the continent, the siblings are able to do so without egos clashing or jealousy over power differentials among themselves (when Vanica, at least, could draw our fewer percentage points of Megicula’s power than Dante could of Lucifero’s). When Xenon saved Dante from Yami, he cradled him in a horrifying bone cage, instead of carrying him by impaling his limbs as he did to Yami and Vangeance. It’s subtle, but I don’t get that undercurrent of hostility towards each other that I expected to see before the time-skip.

When talking to their enemies, Vanica remains relatively hostile, but Dante and Xenon almost seem sympathetic, at times. Dante tells Asta that they should be able to understand each other because they’re both devil hosts, Xenon tells Yuno that he’s not weak, he’s just facing an overwhelmingly strong opponent.

In terms of their devils, we haven’t seen much of how Xenon operates, but Dante and Vanica seem much more cooperative and friendly than I ever would have guessed. For example, Vanica said that she cursed Loropechika ‘for Megicula,’ not in exchange for anything, or under threat, but presumably simply because the demon asked. Not only that, but Vanica doesn’t seem distressed in the least when Megicula possesses her. The two of them even have a friendly conversation, where Vanica explains her desire to change plans, Megicula asks clarifying questions, an accord is reached, and Megicula even throws out a parting compliment. The two of them are clearly drift-compatible, despite their obvious personality differences. In that same vein, Lucifero and Dante speak in a cordial, straightforward manner, though we only see a single conversation between them. (There is also the fact that Lucifero didn’t seek out a different host after Dante was defeated).

And so, this brings to my mind my current theory for why the Zogratis Siblings went berserk and massacred the spade royals and most of the palace guard:

The Dark Triad were considered sacrificial soldiers for the sake of the Spade Kingdom’s prosperity. Their colleagues and superiors viewed them as dead soldiers walking, and treated them with all the courtesy they were thought to deserve (ie none). The Zogratis siblings were isolated and kept under rigid control, to keep them in line.

However, the High Ranked Devils that they hosted reached out to them in genuine partnership, which possibly even turned into friendship.

Various members of the Dark Triad have stated that they’re enacting their plan because they want to fight whatever humans survive in a post-apocalyptic demon world, but I’d bet that a large part of their motives also involve freeing their friends from the afterworld.

Are the Zogratis siblings evil? Yes, I’d say so. After all, good qualities don’t erase their crimes: Dante slaughtered his liege Lord and most of his colleagues, Xenon massacred half the Golden Dawn, and Vanica cursed who knows how many people at Megicula’s behest.

But I expected the Dark Triad to be very different people than they are. I thought that they’d be siblings in name only, constantly fighting and jockeying for power, looking to usurp each other or push each other down.

Instead, they seem to care for each other.

I expected the Dark Triad to be constantly at odds with their demons, contracts held together by duct tape and spite, each only biding their time before stabbing each other in the back.

Instead, they seem to understand the value of teamwork.

And, it’s just, if this is what they look like, when they’ve fallen so far as to work for the virtual extinction of their own species. What were they like before the Spade Kingdom broke them?

I could very well be wrong, but we’ve gotten so little from the Dark Triad’s perspective that something horrific is almost certainly waiting in the wings. 

Especially after Nacht said he didn’t care what their motives were. Nacht hates redemption arcs, and thinks anyone who has ever made a mistake deserves the harshest punishment possible. He seems to think that most of the Black Bulls are irredeemable, describing them in harsh, unforgiving terms, when we know them to be good people. 

And the Dark Triad, while they most certainly aren’t good people... individuals like them don’t usually develop into misanthropic extremists in a vacuum. Something drove them to make the choices they did, and I’d bet that a large part of it had to do with Spade Kingdom Society as it functioned under the Royals. 

We’ll see how the rest of the arc pans out, I guess.

#black clover #black clover spoilers #dark triad #dante zogratis #vanica zogratis #xenon zogratis