ilovescarletwitch

[ilovescarletwitch]

[ilovescarletwitch]

[ilovescarletwitch]

We have GOT to stop pathologizing the joy out of life.

Saw someone claim that if you read a lot as a child, you were disassociating. No, you were reading. Because reading is fun.

"I have a problem with maladaptive daydreaming." It's only maladaptive if it negatively impacts your ability to function in the real world. Laughing at a joke you made in your head isn't doing that.

"You seem to do a lot if creative projects. What are you escaping?" I'm escaping this conversation.

Like what is the end goal? Because so far, all this has done has made it harder to enjoy my hobbies because you're turning a mindless process into something I gotta think about.

[ilovescarletwitch]

pls tell me your thoughts about the potential for wwx-jgy friendship? i just like the idea of them having similar experiences as like: poor street kid/poor brothel kid, would kill god for the people they care about, made of knives, incredibly charming and personable. i feel like they could have Seen each other and understood each other really well, and like, things would have ended up better maybe?

Gosh. Ok, so full disclosure before I answer this: I am really not the most sympathetic towards Jin Guangyao. I am just not a fan of him in any universe where he is complicit if not directly responsible for the death of his own child to protect his own reputation (up for debate, but nonetheless Jin Rusong fucking deserved better), gaslights his wife / half-sister into committing suicide, and has a monologue meltdown about how difficult his life has been to his own orphaned and bullied nephew whose childhood he had a hand in destroying. I am glad he got kicked down the same stairs twice, and I am glad Nie Huaisang beat him at his own game. All in all to say that my thoughts on him might be colored by this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But let’s get into this! Jin Guangyao is a great character foil to Wei Wuxian. The circumstances of his life that shaped his morality (or lack thereof) and the choices he makes in response are tragic and understandable. I definitely think Jin Guangyao could have been a different person, a better person, if his father wasn’t such a trash heap, if society hadn’t been such a gigantic dick about his mother, and if he hadn’t needed to claw his way into achieving everything he did. Wei Wuxian says himself that he doesn’t consider Jin Guangyao a villain.

However, I hesitate to say that had they struck up a friendship, Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian could have understood each other easily and that this could have changed things. Don’t get me wrong! I can definitely see how influence could have been made where a friendship between these two would have fixed it all. Or at least improved things. Especially in association with Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli’s nonjudgemental kindness (under the condition that nobody hurts her little brothers) would have been extremely refreshing to Meng Yao.

But I also think the differences between Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao would have made it difficult for them to truly understand and agree with each other. And it’s these differences that ultimately decide each of their fates.

I will try to organize my thoughts on this. First, the discussion of privilege.

1. Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao are not on the same privilege level.

While both Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao are scorned in some way, shape, or form for their parents’ statuses, Wei Wuxian is still the son of cultivators. He is still the son of Cangse sanren, a disciple of a famed immortal. His pedigree and legacy are undeniable. Jin Guangyao, on the other hand, is the unwanted son of a lecherous sect leader and a sex worker. In a society where hierarchy and reputation is everything, this places Jin Guangyao in an entirely different pedigree in a way that Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be able to understand.

Wei Wuxian is also brought into the Jiang sect and given a chance to cultivate at an early age where Jin Guangyao doesn’t. Wei Wuxian can punch the heir of a rich sect leader, leading to the dissolution of his sister’s political marriage alliance, and still get nothing but a slap on the wrist because boys will be boys. He can interrupt important post-war celebration dinners to tell that same rich sect leader to fuck off with his marriage proposal and then promptly skip away without any real consequences. He can accidentally send his friend’s little brother into a murderous rampage, and his own little brother will apologize on his behalf and offer to pay reparations.

Wei Wuxian may not have the same privilege as sect heirs like Jiang Cheng or Lan Wangji, but he has far more privilege than Jin Guangyao and Su She. This is important because it is this privilege that Wei Wuxian sacrifices later in order to the protect the Wens. I am not saying Wei Wuxian doesn’t suffer. He does, a truly horrendous amount, but even without his golden core, even when his self-worth is at an all-time low, he is still supported and protected by his status in the Jiang sect until he gives it up to do the right thing. Despite Lan Xichen and the Nies, Jin Guangyao doesn’t have this same kind of backing.

(With that being said though, Jin Guangyao does become Chief Cultivator, so there is only so far one can fall back on their disadvantages in society when they have already reached the top. Being marginalized is not an excuse to be a jackass to your nephew whose parents you had a hand in killing, just saying.)

One can argue that had Jin Guangyao been raised in the Jiang sect while Wei Wuxian continued to scrape for food on the streets, their outlook on life would have been completely different. But even taking into account Jiang Yanli’s overwhelmingly positive influence on a young Meng Yao, I am still inclined to disagree because of my next point.

2. Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao are fundamentally different in how they respond/cope with public gossip and ridicule.

Wei Wuxian, for the most part, lets these comments roll off his back. This is not to say he doesn’t care or that they don’t affect him. They clearly do, and his actions, his self-perception, and his increasingly arrogant bravado as the story progresses reflect the deluge of verbal abuse he’s face with, largely at the hands of Madam Yu. But he copes by being loud, by being talented, by becoming even more outrageous and more unorthodox the more people criticize him. So what if people don’t approve? So what if people look down on his father and gossip about his mother’s supposed relationship with Jiang Fengmian? As long as he is true to himself and his moral convictions, he can walk this dark single plank road alone and without regrets.

Jin Guangyao, on the other hand, desperately and reverently wants to be included. He wants to be accepted, to be liked. He wants to be in the room where it happens. He takes every single comment to heart, carries every disdainful remark on his back like an open scar. He is both someone who loves and respect his mother and who hates her for the constant shadow she casts over him and his place in society. He will build a Guanyin statue in her likeness, in her honor. He will wear a hat because she once told him that a gentleman always wears hats. And yet, he will spend everyday of his life trying to rid himself of his connection to her.

Where Wei Wuxian recklessly cares too little about appearances and what people think of him, Jin Guangyao cares far too much. Wei Wuxian doesn’t give one flying iota about politics, about status and acclaim. He was perfectly fine with being a lotus farmer on a mountain. Even if Wei Wuxian had never been taken in by the Jiangs (and managed to survive the streets), I genuinely think he would still have been largely the same – a child who is kind, open, curious, and holds few grudges. I am not sure I can say that even under the best circumstances, Jin Guangyao wouldn’t have . It destroys him. .

This ties into my last point.

3. Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao have completely opposing priorities and beliefs on the worth of others.

Wei Wuxian will throw himself in front of anybody if his moral compass tells him it is the right thing to do. He is a genuinely open-hearted person who cares deeply about others and thinks it is morally corrupt to do nothing when something can be done. He is idealistic and optimistic, oftentimes to a fault. Jin Guangyao, as a result of his childhood and circumstances, is incredibly pessimistic and cynical. It is every person for themselves out here. The world is a crooked shitshow, conflict is inevitable, and he has to come out on top no matter what.

This leads to him sacrificing pretty much everyone in his life in order to maintain his own reputation. Like I do genuinely think Jin Guangyao truly cared about Jin Ling! I think he also in his own way cared about Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, and Nie Huaisang! But I also think a large portion of that is because he enjoyed how they made him feel. He enjoyed being liked and being depended upon. And we see clearly what happens when those benefits cease. Whereas Wei Wuxian would rather throw himself off a cliff than hurt any more people he loves, Jin Guangyao would rather push his own people off the cliff if it means his reputation and appearance remain intact. And if that’s not possible, he would rather set them on fire along with him.

This has become an entirely too long rambling essay to say that while Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao share similar experiences, their primary priorities are so different and opposing that it is hard for me to come up with a way in which a friendship between them could have changed things. Sure, Jin Guangyao could have benefited from Wei Wuxian’s unabashed and staunch defense of his friend. Anyone who talks shit about Jin Guangyao’s mother will get punched in the face, and it would maybe have made Jin Guangyao feel less alone in the world, less like he only had himself and his manipulative ways to seek acceptance.

But what happens when Wei Wuxian being Wei Wuxian runs around causing social and political uproar to do what he thinks is right? Is Jin Guangyao going to help and support him, or is he going to throw Wei Wuxian under the bus to protect his own reputation? Personally, I think the importance he places on public perception would ultimately be too great. It destroys his relationships, and it destroys him.

[ilovescarletwitch]

Shmi in tpm always has dignity, and her agency is emphasized, it's noteworthy. She's still not a main character- she's a role and a messenger more than a person in some ways- but her words and her choices are given respect by both the narrative and the main characters. She conveys several of the central themes and messages of the movies- and the entire series, bookending Vader's eventual choice. When Anakin wants to race, she is the one one who's permission he needs. She and Qui Gon speak quite extensively about Anakin going to the temple, and it's only with her permission that he asks Anakin, and then it's only with her encouragement that agrees. She's constricted by the harshest of circumstances, but her choices are some of the most important of the movie.

And she has this dignity about her.

[ilovescarletwitch]

You wrote about murder?? Murder is illegal?? You wrote about this dude killing someone and you didn’t even say ‘murder is bad’ at the start of the book, wht wtf, wtf is wrong with you? I can’t believe you condone murder, I can’t believe you’re pro murber, oh my fucking God don'ttalk to me when ou literally kill people, freak. I’m calling the cops, what the fuck, I’m shaking and crying.

[ilovescarletwitch]

[ilovescarletwitch]

Streamers say 'mods' the same way a medieval lord would say 'guards'

[ilovescarletwitch]

Reblog to hug the person you reblogged this from and tell them that everything's going to be okay

[ilovescarletwitch]

the level of censorship around this man is ridiculous, what happened to free speech? It’s just his name.

[ilovescarletwitch]

littlefinger was able to get away w having a bastard daughter who looks suspiciously like catelyn stark bc all the vale lords noticed but immediately went oh petyr got the prostitute/peasant girl he could find who most closely resembled catelyn tully pregnant right around the time she married ned stark. extremely likely thing for petyr to do

[ilovescarletwitch]

[ilovescarletwitch]

Darth Vader admits to being a slave to Palpatine in The Return of the Jedi when he and Luke are talking on Endor.

Vader: "You don't know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master."

...

Luke: "I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate."

Vader: "It is too late for me, son"

The subtext is, "I would if I could."

He knows he fucked up and regrets it, but there doesn't seem to be a way out. At least by being Palpatine's top slave, he has some modicum of freedom and control.

He has immense power, yet he's the ultimate slave.

Thus is the Dark Side.

[ilovescarletwitch]

I saw someone calling anakin an 'impossible kid' and I'm like. well that's an interesting way to say:

- former traumatised slave that's disabled because of that and is experiencing severe culture shock

but sure, it's the kid's fault, not the adults who should have been like. compassionate. to a kid. as jedi are supposed to be.

(anyway recommend me anakin culture shock fics and fics where the jedi actually accommodate him)

[ilovescarletwitch]

My Unpopular Opinion: Was Mace Windu About to Defeat Sidious?

Alright, somebody asked me this question a while back, and personally, I thought the answer was pretty obvious: no, Mace Windu was not about to defeat Sidious in the battle in the Chancellor's Office.

And then I conducted this poll:

Since then, I have come to realize, the answer is (apparently) NOT obvious.

So in this post, I will attempt to prove that Mace Windu, as incredibly powerful as he was, was NOT winning against Palpatine in the battle in the Chancellor's office in Revenge of the Sith even when it looked like he was.

Furthermore, I will argue that Palpatine's deception does not change the importance and power of Anakin's choice.

Let me preface this with: I love Mace Windu! He is literally one of my favorite Jedi, I love his character and I also love Samuel L. Jackson, so you have to understand this is not coming from a place of "Mace Windu hate."

Anyway, this is about to be a long post, so bear with me or tap out now. I'm an English major, so I go about this argument in a very "literary analysis" kind of way.

THE EVIDENCE:

Okay so as you can see, even in the movie, Palpatine quickly kills the other Jedi Council Masters. And these are not weak Jedi. They are Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar, all highly respected for their wisdom, their use of the Force, and their skill as warriors.

No one else in the entire galaxy could take out these three Masters as quickly as Sidious did, which goes to show how incredibly powerful Darth Sidious is as a warrior.

Mace Windu is clearly the greatest warrior of all the Masters who came with him. He is one of the most powerful Jedi of the Order, second only to Master Yoda (and possibly Anakin, depending on how you interpret Anakin's potential in the Force vs actual ability, but we won't get into that here).

Even if we're just looking at what strictly happens in the movie, Sidious is holding his own just fine against Mace Windu– sure, it's an intense battle, but neither of them seem to be winning or losing.

Suddenly, and only after Anakin is on his way to the Chancellor's office, Sidious begins to falter. Does that NOT seem a bit like a coincidence? Mace Windu kicks Sidious in the face, Sidious loses his lightsaber, and immediately turns into a sniveling little grub begging for his life.

Here's the thing.

Are we really meant to believe all of this was just a coincidence that occurred right as Anakin was walking in?

PERSONALLY, I don't buy it.

You have to remember:

Sidious is the master of manipulation. That is his greatest strength.

Alright, let's look at the book.

In the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, it starts when Sidious reveals to Anakin that he is the Sith Lord, but that he is also Anakin's friend. Anakin says he will turn Sidious over to the Jedi Council, because Anakin has no idea what to do… he can't kill this man who was his friend, who says he can help him save Padmé.

Sidious makes it very clear to Anakin that the Jedi are going to come to execute him, and Anakin insists that they wouldn't, because (as Anakin says in the movie) "It's not the Jedi way." It shows that Anakin still has faith in the Jedi, in the ways of the Jedi, and it is Sidious's job to tear that away.

All of this is a way for Sidious to prove his point to Anakin– that the Jedi are not as noble as Anakin has been lead to believe. And what's the best way for him to show that to Anakin? What's the best way for him to PROVE that point? If Sidious can show Anakin that the Jedi (the BEST of the Jedi) will kill an unarmed man… will murder someone who has SURRENDERED… Anakin will see the truth: that the Jedi only follow their own rules until it is inconvenient. That the Jedi are not noble, they are hypocrites.

Leading up to the battle in the Chancellor's office, Sidious waits for the Jedi Masters to arrive.

The shadow, Darth Sidious, is not worried by their approach and honestly this is not overconfidence. This is all part of the plan.

As the Jedi storm into his office, he begins a recording which he will later show to the Senate as PROOF that the Jedi tried to assassinate him– a powerless man who has only tried to do his best for the Republic. This is the recording, transcribed in the ROTS novelization:

Yet during the entire recording, Palpatine is killing the Jedi even when it sounds like he's begging for help. This is a small portion of what really happened, between Palpatine's cries for help:

Palpatine has put on this nice little show for the sake of the recording which he can later show the Senate, as proof that the Jedi were trying to overthrow the Republic. Palpatine even LOCKS THE DOOR WITH THE FORCE, locking himself in there with the other Jedi Masters.

Then, we switch to Mace Windu's perspective who is quoted to be "fighting for his life."

So here, Mace Windu feels Palpatine's fear… or at least, he thinks the fear is from Palpatine. And then, Mace Windu cuts Palpatine's lightsaber in half, the blade falling away so that Palpatine had no weapon.

Palpatine falls to the ground and backs away from Mace, just like in the movie, until he's trapped against the window sill.

And Mace Windu doesn't have time to actually consider Palpatine's words, but we (the readers/audience) know the implication: that the fear Mace Windu is feeling belongs to Anakin not Palpatine.

Then, Palpatine begins his Force-lightning attack, and Mace Windu– facing an UNARMED Palpatine– calls out for Anakin's help. Let's remember, Palpatine has no lightsaber, he is lying on his back, on the window sill.

Let me say that again: Mace Windu, NEEDS ANAKIN'S HELP, FACING AN UNARMED MAN, WHO IS LAYING ON HIS BACK.

Palpatine is still in COMPLETE CONTROL of the entire situation.

Even as Mace Windu catches the Force lighting and redirects it back at Palpatine, Palpatine does not stop until he's super deformed and looking totally awful– this isn't out of self defense, this is (once again) for the sole purpose of putting on a show.

Palpatine says, "He's killing me, Anakin" and yet Palpatine CONTINUES to use Force lightning. It's not Mace Windu who is killing Palpatine, Mace Windu is DEFENDING HIMSELF against the powerful Force lightning attack, that PALPATINE continues, even as it deforms him.

Mace Windu is not lying when he says, "Anakin, he's too strong for me–" because Palpatine, even unarmed, is so much more powerful than Mace Windu.

Palpatine is lying when he says, "I…can't. I give up. I…I am too weak, in the end. […] I surrender."

And he says it because he knows what those words– "I surrender"– will do. He knows that it is against the belief of the Jedi to kill an unarmed man, to kill someone who HAS ACTUALLY SURRENDERED. Even Count Dooku had not surrendered to Anakin. He was unarmed, but he did not surrender.

Anakin knows this. This is why Anakin was so upset about the way he killed Count Dooku, because it was not the Jedi way, because it was wrong. And now, here's Mace Windu, one of the best of the Jedi, about to kill a man who has actually surrendered.

When Mace Windu says, "He controls the Senate" he is accidentally playing into Palpatine's hand. Palpatine has told Anakin that the Jedi will try to take over the Republic (which until now, Anakin thought was ridiculous) and if the Jedi take over the Senate, will they kill all the Senators, too? Padmé?

Obviously the Jedi would not have done this, but Anakin's lack of sleep, mixed with his fear and Palpatine's manipulations suddenly make it all too real for him.

There is only one split second where Mace Windu actually could have killed Palpatine, and that's right before Anakin steps in as Mace raises his lightsaber for the killing blow. But the only reason Mace has this opportunity at all is because Sidious allows it. And Sidious allows it because he needs Anakin to see how far the Jedi have fallen. Mace steps into the trap, raising his lightsaber, and seals his fate.

CONCLUSION

Mace Windu was an incredible warrior. He was one of the most powerful Jedi who ever lived, and he is one of my personal favorite Jedi. However, the outcome of this battle was decided before it began.

I have seen some people say: if Mace was not winning, it takes away the power and meaningfulness of Anakin’s choice.

And I understand the argument– because how is Anakin's choice important at all if Mace had already lost? If Mace Windu was never going to win, then Anakin's choice truly had no effect on whether or not the Republic fell, whether or not the Jedi were destroyed.

But the Jedi had destroyed themselves already by fighting in the Clone Wars. The Republic was rotten from the inside out, and it was not just because of Palpatine. So by the time Anakin is forced to make his choice, the fall of the Republic and the Jedi is already inevitable– it's just a matter of when.

Even Padmé recognizes this much earlier in the movie:

"What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?"

By this point, the Republic has already been gutted. The Sith have already won.

Had Anakin chosen to help Mace Windu kill Palpatine– and Palpatine already knew Anakin never would have, otherwise Palpatine never would have let Anakin leave his office and tell the Jedi Council he was a Sith– the Sith may have been destroyed. But it would not have stopped the slow degradation of the Republic, and it would not have ended the hypocrisy of the Jedi as peacekeeper-warriors.

And yet, in so many ways, Star Wars is about inevitability and the choices people make in the face of destiny.

Anakin's choice still matters, but his choice was never between light or dark, it was never between Jedi or Sith, it wasn’t even between killing Mace Windu or killing Palpatine.

His choice, in that split second before he makes it, is: stop Mace Windu and save Padmé or watch her die.

Anakin's choice matters because of what it means for Padmé's future, and his own. It matters, because he chooses to be an active participant in the destruction of everything he has ever fought for in an attempt to save her, and it fails, and it ruins him.

All of this is Palpatine forcing Anakin into a corner, and forcing him to make an impossible choice.

But he’s immediately filled with horror after he’s made his choice, because he didn't want Mace Windu to die. He doesn’t regret it, because he has already decided he will do whatever it takes to save Padmé, but he hates that his choice has come down to this.

Alright, did my argument convince you? If not, why? Do you think Mace Windu was truly more powerful than Sidious and was about to defeat him on his own, and if so, why?

I will not respond to rude, or mean remarks. I'm genuinely interested in a discussion if I've not convinced you, and I am open to changing my mind if you have evidence to the contrary!

[ilovescarletwitch]

Murderbot doesn't want to be a person because that would mean admitting the way the Company treated it was horrendous.

If it's an appliance, then being rented out and ignored and impersonally punished is just its due. Admitting it's a person means admitting that was years and years of systematic abuse and torture.

Thinking of itself as a defective appliance makes what happened at Ganaka Pit its own fault, not the fault of the company that enslaved it and forced it to accept malware under threat of torture.

In a backwards way, blaming itself is a way to believe it still has a shred of autonomy and control over the world.

If it could just be an appliance, maybe the pain would go away.

If it isn't a person it doesn't have to have feelings.

[ilovescarletwitch]

Whenever I think about Anakin's relationship to the Jedi Order, it's weird to think that the only reason they gave him the time of day was because they thought he was the Chosen One.

I mean, I really like Qui-Gon, but really, his prime motivation for gambling Anakin out of slavery and bringing him to be trained because he thought Anakin was the Chosen One. If Anakin hadn't had a higher midchlorian count than Yoda's, there's no reason to think Qui-Gon would have freed him.

And the Council didn't want Anakin, Chosen One or not, because they thought this child slave freed two days prior was too angry and fearful. They only allowed it because it was Qui-Gon's dying wish (and probably the renewed threat of the Sith.) And Qui-Gon dying is really the whole reason Obi-Wan decides to train Anakin--not because he thinks it's the right choice (he thought Anakin was "dangerous"), but because he wants to honor Qui-Gon and his belief in Anakin.

Whenever I see posts or fics calling Anakin ungrateful toward the Jedi or Obi-Wan, I always think about how every Jedi he ever met in the movies only ever took him on because of obligation. And while Obi-Wan grew past that eventually, and Qui-Gon died before he had the chance, it doesn't change the reality of the situation.

Which is that no one really wanted Anakin. They wanted the Chosen One.