#LIKE they have a positive influence on each other while also being unhealthy because of Alastor's whole manipulation plan?? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

momentomori24 · 7 months ago

Text

Being a soushin fan and Sou/Shin stan is a constant, annoying push and pull (for me). Like, on one hand I love seeing a doomed relationship. I love seeing how there was love and affection there-- twisted, deeply unhealthy and destructively toxic, but it was still there. I love seeing a massive rift between that keeps that distance between them, but they're so intimately close all the same. I love seeing love and longing and hate and bitterness clash into an ugly, painful, confusing mess of emotions. I love seeing moments before the death game when things were "easier", where Shin was "happier", knowing that he never had any chance of winning in a friendship with a man like that. I love seeing two complicated men too obsessed with each, clinging to a scarf or a picture or an AI when they can't be together, seeking each other out to the point where'd they'd destroy each other and themselves eventually.

And on the other hand I want to see Sou be able to move on. I want to see him heal. I want him to be able have a life outside of Midori's influence. Letting go of that scarf, of taking on that persouna. Of having to be suspicious of everyone around him. Of being afraid of anyone getting too close. Of acting cruel and playing strong so no one can hurt him like that again. Of having that past trauma leak into his new relationships like it did with Kanna. I want him to be happy. To get better-- be better. Be himself. Not Shin, not even Sou. Just... him. Who ever he finds himself to be after the dust has settled on the horrors he's faced.

One part of me wants them to be impossibly close, so entangled in each other that it's sufficating, while the other want them to be as far apart as possible, of it never being able to be the same again, of Sou cutting himself free from that relationship, from him, and live freely until he forgets what it was like to have been haunted at all.

Which is funny because. Literally 95% of my Soushin experience is usually Shin, despite the abuse and manipulation Hiyori puts him through, choosing to stay. Seeing no other option but to stay. Loves him-- or wants to, thinks he wants to-- and submits to it, submits to him, stuck in that vicious cycle which he believes to be his "happy ending" yet again. And like, I love it, I love some super angsty, toxic soushin cuz I'm a soushin degenerate, but MAN it kills the Sou lover in me to see him like that. Sou, Shin, the love of my life-- RUN AWAY, get AWAY from that man, throw him off a balcony. Ditch his ass, you deserve BETTER (I say, also an avid Keisou shipper. I just headcanon he has shitty taste in men that... don't really have his best interest in mind XD poor baby)--

Btw, while I'm at it and this is about Sou anyway. I'm waving my finger and spitting in your face, Yttd fandom. I don't give a flying flip if the emotion route is more positive in tone or you believe that it's "canon" or whatever. I'm keeping Sou alive at all cost to spite the game, him and all of you guys. I will win him that second chance of happiness, prove that 0.0% a lie and carry that walking wet noodle bridal style into the moonlight to put a ring on that finger or I will DIE trying.

#yttd #your turn to die #sou hiyori #shin tsukimi #soushin #i ship sou with four (technically three) people #seaweed-head. the corrupt piss haired cop. himself. and ME #i know this post is very soushin and i also touched on keisou and i love them all but still get in LINE both of you #anyway i love sou if you hadn't noticed #that's it. that's the post #i didn't plan for it to be so long #pardon any potential typos

51 notes · View notes

forgot-how-catflap-works · 2 months ago

Text

Sitcoms perpetuate “harmful stereotype” of having friends in adulthood, experts insist

Hundreds of experts across the country have signed an open letter stating that friendships portrayed by modern media are damaging the nation’s mental health.

The letter comes in response to rising concerns from childless layabouts who claim that having friends as an adult should not be an unobtainable fantasy.

“The whole structure of our late-capitalist hellscape society completely disincentives adulthood friendships,” said Ololade Fren, spokesperson for the adult friendship advocacy group The Friends of Friendship. “Our lives are consumed by work, the cost of living crisis continues to spiral out of control and our wages have stagnated.

“The desire to maintain and foster friendships stands in direct opposition with a system that wants to bleed us dry. The rancid ghouls that run everthing leverage the vacant, hollow feeling that remains in order to sell you a fucking smart watch by making it look like a fun time with friends.”

But experts have refuted the Friends of Friendship as “naive children”. They claim that television shows and sitcoms in particular promote an “unhealthy and unrealistic expectation” of prioritising joy over meaningless toil.

“When you watch a television show that features a tightly-knit friendship group, this can trigger what’s known as sitcom lifestyle dysphoria,” says Professor Chad Blokesworth from Brosdown University.

“This intense discomfort arises from the incongruence between an individual’s perennial loneliness and the feeling that they should have a core friendship group of their own. Not only do they feel this friendship group should have always existed, but it should be able to withstand seismic vibe shifts such as members starting new jobs, going through breakups or having children.”

Since the global financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent atomisation of society in the social media age, friendships have increasingly moved online. But depictions of friendship in modern media haven’t kept pace with this trend, and it’s causing emotional distress.

“The freeform antics depicted in television shows reinforce a harmful stereotype that broke millennials and zoomers with emotionally draining, pointless jobs are able to enjoy themselves,” said Dr Winnie Gurlsbrunch, from the Gal Pal Institute.

“We have to accept that regular, in-person interaction with our friends is simply an outdated cultural standard. It’s long past time that we moved away from this monolithic view of social interactions as something we do in person as a vital part of our mental wellbeing.”

While some thought leaders have suggested that the refocusing of modern sitcoms around workplaces is a positive move, Dr Gurlsbrunch said it creates an unhealthy expectation of having fun at work.

"As each new generation enters the workplace, they are shocked by the grim and soulless nature of modern employment,” she said. "Shows like The Office or Parks and Recreation are creating an unobtainable standard and distorting expectations. It's only making things worse and it needs to stop.”

Loneliness advocates also chipped in, telling Totally Unbiased News that the whole thing is being blown way out of proportion.

“It’s an issue of entitlement,” said Rupert Sadboi, a loneliness influencer on Instagram with a single digit following that we included in this article because our slavish devotion to being balanced means we report all viewpoints as being equally valid no matter how demented they are.

“I have no friends, so why should anyone else? Human misery is an essential operating requirement for the machine. It needs us to be physically and emotionally isolated from each other in order to function. Therefore we all have a moral duty to fall in line and make that happen. If we don’t, the entire system could collapse, and then who will plunder the earth’s natural resources or uphold its genocidal regimes? The system is working as intended, and I have an Apple Vision Pro, so I think it’s working pretty great.”

The Labour government recently classified friend groups as a “bloated aspiration that cannot be justified in the current economic climate.”

The Friends of Friendship were met with indifference after calling upon government ministers to realign society with the founding principles of the Labour party by prioritising the needs of working people over racist oligarchs.

“You are supposed to be working, not having fun,” said Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer from her reinforced machine gun nest at the heart of Westminster.

“Decades of neoliberalism has left a blackhole in this nation’s finances that successive governments have failed to address. Now that we’re in charge again, it’s about time someone carried on trying basically the same strategy. To attempt anything else would be insane; like allowing transgender women to compete in women's sport or using women's spaces.

“What it comes down to, ultimately, is that If your nan can’t have a warm home this winter you certainly can’t have any friends. You all have to make sacrifices. It’s called austerity. Look it up.”

(Inspiration: The Core ‘Friend Group’ Is a Myth—and It’s Making Us Feel Bad About Ourselves)

#anti capitalist #anti capitalism #satire #creative writing #uk politics #british humour #friendship #settle for less #you're gona die alone #bullshit jobs #you'll have to roll me out of this office in a coffin #late stage capitalism

9 notes · View notes

purpleheartskies · 1 year ago

Text

In my recent post, Robby's rejection of toxic empowerment, I talked about many of Robby's positive traits that exemplify healthy/positive masculinity. These traits are one of the main reasons why I find Robby to be such a lovable character and why I continue to support Robby each season. No doubt I want him to get all the wins in life because of all the traumas he's experienced and continues to experience, but also because of who he is as a character. His traumas and trauma responses don't define him. No matter what happens, Robby tries to stay true to these traits, and when he falters, he course corrects. (This of course doesn't include his unhealthy fawning behavior in s5.)

Interestingly, Johnny wants to be like Rocky Balboa. In s5e8, Johnny and the Sekai Taikai judge bonded over the fact that Rocky is their hero. Later in the episode, Johnny quoted Rocky to him, "If I can change, and you can change. Everybody can change." This in context to Johnny and Daniel now combining their karate styles. There have been other references to Rocky in the show and some specifically in relation to Johnny. In s4e1, Miguel tried to convince Johnny to reach out to Daniel to work together like Creed had with Rocky, but Johnny didn't want to be Creed. He wanted to be Rocky in that scenario, even though "striking first is badass". In s4e5, Johnny dressed kinda like Rocky and trained to the song "Burning Heart" from Rocky IV in his silly training montage.

Johnny, Chozen, and Daniel also sang "Eye of the Tiger" in the limo in s5e9. Interestingly, the lyrics of the song have two meanings in the context of the story. For most of the song, they're happily singing. They didn't really "win" against Silver, but they're still in the fight against him by getting accepted in the Sekai Taikai. And, that was after they'd snuck up and snagged a chance to try out.

Rising up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

[Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet]

[Just a man and his] will to survive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all

With the eye of the tiger

They're the tiger in the song. But then they realize that someone's hijacked the limo. Earlier in the episode, they assumed that Silver's been stalking them because they've been trying to thwart his plans. The lyrics that play after Chozen suggests that Silver had their limo hijacked feel different in this context:

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all...

With the eye of the tiger...

implying Silver's now the tiger in the song and they're his prey.

John Avildsen, who directed the Karate Kid movies, also directed Rocky and Rocky V, so these Rocky references in general have a special meaning for the series.

Rocky is a popular example of a character who exemplifies healthy/positive masculinity. Johnny in turn exemplifies toxic masculinity. Johnny aspires to be like Rocky, but to be like him, Johnny has to outgrow his toxic masculinity traits and adopt the healthy masculinity traits that Rocky has. In this regard, Robby is more like Rocky than Johnny is. Actually, Rocky is a popular example of an underdog too, and Robby is the main underdog in the series.

I've heard that there's some criticism of Rocky's portrayal of masculinity especially because he was a boxer. However, it's really his many character traits, like his kindness, sincerity, respectfulness, vulnerability, accountability, accepting influence, etc that people refer to when they speak of his portrayal of healthy/positive masculinity. Especially given the time, a character like that exhibiting those traits while being athlete is an interesting thing to see. And although Rocky was a boxer, he hadn't wanted to break people's thumbs for the mob. He kept his aggressiveness for the ring. With Cobra Kai being a series about karate, I think it's an okay comparison to make, especially since we're focusing on the emotional journeys of the characters, their struggles to be better versions of themselves, and how they interact with those around them.

After 5 seasons, I continue to stay for Robby because he is the superior character 😌. He always has been. If Johnny wants to be more like Rocky, then Johnny should learn to be more like Robby.

#cobra kai is robby's story #robby keene

22 notes · View notes

dead-boy-dont-eat · 2 years ago

Note

Hello! I have a question

So I am an ex-anti, and I'm pretty neutral on the proship community, but I've seen things that irk me pretty bad.

Why do some (a very small amount, but I've seen it) call antis a cult? I feel like a lot of antis (as I was) were very misinformed and didn't mean genuine harm. And cults cause so, so many deaths (amongst other things) and I think it's not a very fair comparison. Cults aren't comparable to uninformed people.

Thank you!

Hello, anon! You certainly ask an important question here, and I'll do my best to give it the research and thought that it requires. Apologies in advance because this is likely going to be a long post. I'll put a TL;DR at the end, but I encourage you to read through everything for a better understanding. I've taken the following phrases from a checklist of cult characteristics. A link to the full list is here. I'll only be commenting on the ones I find relevant. (Most of the others are not included because antis are not a religious organization or because they would not apply to any online-based group)

The group displays an excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader, and regards their belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law. While antis on a whole do not have universal leadership, the foundation of the position rests on this idea: fictional media can change a person who would otherwise never commit a crime into one that would, and that this phenomenon takes place on such a large scale that the act of consuming fiction can be claimed as moral or immoral. This belief is accepted in the community in spite of repeated psychological and sociological evidence to the contrary, and is practiced as truth with little questioning.

Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished. From what I have observed, it is common practice that, when an anti questions the actions or beliefs of the community, they are often assumed to be a secret pro-shipper (which they often understand to mean pedophile or groomer) or at least hold some problematic beliefs. The consequences of this vary by group, but often involve the person who questioned to be shamed for it.

The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel. Again, while antis on a whole do not have universal leadership, there are universal ideals that they all seem to hold: certain fiction is inherently immoral, the act of consuming or thinking positively about this fiction is immoral, and that those that consume this fiction are unhealthy and dangerous. These communities may also be very critical of kink and sex work, detailing which kinks are good and which are bad.

The group has a polarized, us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society. Since antis have been lead to believe that pro-shippers are inherently immoral people- some to the point of believing they are child predators or groomers- they often believe that the only moral option is to root out and expose these people to get them to either change or to leave the platform.

The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group. Antis are led to believe that certain acts (suicide-baiting, bullying, harassment, death threats, doxxing, etc., or, being complicit with these acts) are justifiable because they "work towards a higher goal" which is often something that is at face value agreeable such as "keeping children safe" or "protecting abuse victims."

The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and control members. Often this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion. Anti-ship beliefs naturally evolve into antis admonishing each other for the shows they choose to watch, books / fanfics they choose to read, and art that they create. There is a lot of self-policing that takes place to make sure that they don't accidentally consume "something pro-ship." Once a group is made aware that a member has come into contact with something problematic, it's common that an effort is made to "warn" them about the dangers associated with the content.

Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group. The above self-policing is not ordinarily limited to media consumed, but also to people that an anti chooses to follow. If an anti is seen following a pro-shipper, for example, and they are warned about the pro-shipper's status as an "other", they are expected to unfollow and stop interaction with that person as soon as possible, otherwise they are labeled as supporting pro-ship ideas. If an anti is consuming media deemed problematic, they are expected to stop doing so as soon as possible.

The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members. Again, this is tied to antis being led to believe they are the only moral position. They are naturally very focused on convincing those in the middle and even pro-shippers that are found to be redeemable.

Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members. Very similar to points made above. Socializing with pro-shippers is seen as being complicit to child abuse and is the subject of shame in these circles.

First, I will say that I do not believe antis are a cult in a traditional or religious sense. I haven't seen any proshippers say that they do believe antis to be a cult in this way (though there may well be), but rather that they see similarities to how cults function based on either research on the matter and/or personal experience with cult abuse. On that level, I certainly see and agree that there are similarities. Now, while I believe that antis are considerably similar to cults- I also believe that the majority of things they have in common are similar to any other abusive group. To your point, perhaps it would be better to use this phrasing, as it doesn't invoke the same imagery that might confuse an outside party. However, I also believe that the similarity is there and it is patently valid to point it out. In my personal opinion, the two ideas (A, that antis share similarities in function to cults, and B, that many antis are misinformed and don't mean genuine harm) aren't opposed. In fact, I think they support each other- I agree with both statements. It's exactly the point that members of abusive groups are misinformed and don't mean genuine harm- often, these groups form in an effort to accomplish something good, like protecting children and abuse victims! People who want to bully and harass others will capitalize on an anti's goodwill and disgust with real life events to achieve their own end. TL;DR: Personally, I see many similarities between the way that the anti community and cults have operated- but these similarities exist between most abusive groups, not just cults. I agree with you that antis are often well intentioned but misinformed people, and see the majority as victims. However, this belief does not contradict with the comparison. It adds to it. -B

#proshipper #pro shipping #proshipping #pro ship safe #pro ship #pro shipper #pro shippers please interact #cult #abuse #profiction #profic #comship #byakuya [aesystem]

26 notes · View notes

mirrorofliterature · 3 years ago

Note

Do you think Percy moved back into the Burrow, or did he while reconciling with his family, still decide to live in his flat? Like maybe to try and find his own self. As I feel like everything that happened in order of the phoenix to Deathly Hallows needed to happen for him to grow. I mean if Voldy never came back and he never had a conflict with his family he wouldn't of changed for the better.

No, I don't think Percy moved back to the Burrow (because he's already happy living with his fiancé Oliver Wood). In all seriousness, I don't think he would because his family stifled his ambition by dismissing his accomplishments. Overall, his parents did not facilitate a supportive environment for Percy. If the Grangers had treated Hermione the way the Weasleys did Percy, actively belittling her academic ambition and achievements, the fandom would have rioted, but that's neither here or there. Yeah, siblings tease each other, but not to that extent. It's much more normal to congratulate them, not tear them down. Source: does have a sibling. And other life experiences: friends with siblings.

And I agree that Percy did need to leave the Burrow and have his absolutely disastrous experience with Fudge to grow, but not in the same way that you (or others) might think. I think that the Burrow was an unhealthy environment for Percy - for the majority of the Weasley children, actually. Charlie and Bill and Fred and George all left the second they could, and if that's not telling, I don't know what is. My thoughts on the Weasley parents' less than stellar parenting techniques can be found in a more than two thousand word discussion between Ginny and Percy in my novella-length story, a study of cracked gold. But in short: Arthur was absent and treated Muggles not as real people but a spectacle with very rigid views (yes, he was prejudiced against muggles: look up implicit bias and how harmful the objectificiation of minorities is, even if it is in a positive skew). And Molly was incredibly prejudiced with severe internalised misogyny (thanks, Queen TERF) and treated her children favourably and yelled at them, frequently.

My dad is one of six, and my mum is one of four, so I know what large families are like. I know what healthy families are like. They are not like the Weasleys: it is just in contrast to the Dursleys, they shine. They meet the material needs of their children, mostly (Ron's wand aside), but their emotional needs are clearly suffering. Children are not there to fit parents' neat little picture, but as people who need nourishing and space to flourish. Molly and Arthur don't allow their children true individuality and it is harmful, incredibly so.

Anyway, getting back to the actual point of your question, I think Percy did change for the better because he was no longer under the influence of his family. Yes, I think realising the extent of corruption in the Ministry probably made him more cynical/pessimistic/activist, but I don’t think he was unaware that Fudge wasn’t a perfect specimen (see: this meta here). But I think that Percy not being constantly belittled for being himself and being different [autistic, likely, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he also had anxiety], allowed him to grow comfortable with himself and perhaps not so dependent on external validation and more able to rely on other people. In my personal headcanon, along with Oliver being a great support system, he also becomes close with Sirius and Remus, who, despite being lowkey disasters, are good examples of healthy adults/mentors and support that Percy desperately lacked. I also see Andromeda Tonks being a good mentor to the Weasley family (as Tonks is Charlie's best friend) for healthy intergenerational relationships are snazzy.

Percy leaving his family and 'siding' with the Ministry was good for him. He would have gained a lot of valuable (if mildly traumatic) experience as an assistant to the Minister of Magic and would have been in an incredibly valuable position during the war to help vulnerable people such as muggleborns. But the real reason, I think, he was allowed to flourish and make mistakes, was because he was not being constantly negatively scrutinised by his family and instead surrounded himself with a positive support network.

So yeah, you can say that by leaving home, Percy became his better self. Consequent to this growth, I don't think he would have gone back.

#percy weasley #perciver #oliver wood #hp #percy weasley meta #my meta #this was fun! please do ask me questions #weasley family critical #arthur weasley critical #molly weasley critical

173 notes · View notes

mbti-notes · 3 years ago

Note

hi i’m an istj. i fear the problem im going to describe is resolved by being more Te proactive and taking on more leader responsibilities and failing. just typing that out makes me feel burned out and miserable. anyway i get involved with groups that align with my values to get things done but it always feels like i somehow join things that aren’t as efficient as i’d want them to be or stagnate. at the same time that i have strong opinions about what to do i resent having to take on more responsibility to enact it. i want to be part of an established, moral, process/group but it seems like everything is in flux all the time. just making sure: is this Te-Ne dysfunction ?

Your question is about type development. An important aspect of type development is understanding the weaknesses and flaws of your type, in terms of the ways that your type tends to misuse functions. You seem to believe that your problem boils down to a simple lack of desire to lead in group situations (weak Te?), but it probably goes far deeper than that.

Si-Ne problems often manifest as a general aversion to change, specifically, unwillingness to change how one looks at a situation, which would then significantly alter one's approach to it. Imbalance between Si and Ne becomes a very unhealthy stubbornness when one is also prone to Si-Fi loop that thinks in terms of pure absolutes. In essence, you believe what you believe and you want what you want, and nothing and nobody can break through that mental wall. Perhaps not even you.

Auxiliary development is meant to help with Si extremes and Si-Fi loop stubbornness by making you care more about empirical facts (Te) than your frustration (Fi). It isn't always easy to develop the auxiliary function when you come to believe that it interferes with what makes Si feel most comfortable (e.g. "just typing that out makes me feel burned out and miserable"). If using the auxiliary function feels so "tiring", it doesn't mean that you should avoid using it. Quite the contrary. It's an indication that you haven't yet learned to use it properly, which means further development is necessary.

Te wants efficiency, that much is true. However, what separates immature Te from mature Te is how exactly one conceptualizes "efficiency". When Te is immature, one has a very rudimentary understanding of how to be efficient. For example, one is likely to believe that efficiency is achieved through assertiveness or even brute force, i.e., "making" things happen despite all the obstacles in the way. Is it any wonder that using Te feels tiring, then? You're essentially forcing yourself to swim against the current. Si doms are painfully aware that their energy is finite, so they quickly run out of steam.

However, Te isn't really about mustering up energy. This is not what makes TJs smart, strong, and formidable. Mature Te conceptualizes efficiency as reducing the amount of energy required whenever possible, which is why they have a lot of energy to take on very heavy workloads - some people call it "working smart". This is done through facing the empirical facts of a situation head on and learning to work closely with them, which makes it far easier to make them work in your favor.

Your problem requires a two pronged attack:

Are you able to change how you look at situations in order to improve your approach (to address Si-Ne imbalance)?

Are you able to face the empirical facts of the situation and work with them rather than against them (to develop better use of Te)?

Wanting to be part of a process/group that aligns with your values in order to enact some good in the world is an admirable thing to strive for. Presumably, the other people involved in the group have the same sense of mission, otherwise, they wouldn't have joined. However, what you fail to take into account is that people aren't generally single-minded.

Human beings are complex because they are motivated by a multitude of factors, whether they realize it or not. They are full of psychological conflicts, contradictory desires, irrational impulses, old baggage, and unconscious bad habits. And when you bring people together, all that stuff comes out and creates complicated entanglements. A "group" only becomes a "team" when it is able to overcome those psychological obstacles together, and it can be a very long process of learning how to maximize strengths and mitigate weaknesses in every individual member. That's why a lot of groups simply fall apart. While your intention to join the group seems simple and straightforward (because Si-Te is admirable in its ability to keep things simple and straightforward), other people's intentions might not be so simple. If you fail to take into account the irrational aspects of human nature, you will cause yourself needless suffering.

Your frustration with people is likely a manifestation of your unrealistic expectations of them. Perhaps you aren't able to understand people who don't resemble you, let alone work with them. And you will certainly be doomed to fail if the only way Te knows to deal with individual differences is to force everyone to become more like you. That's an impossible task, not because it requires the energy of a thousand suns as you assume, but because you're choosing to fight against reality. Mature Te would advise that you should first face down the empirical facts of how people operate if you hope to discover the most effective way to influence them. Your repeated experience of feeling disenchanted with groups tells you that you're missing an important piece of knowledge about groups and how they operate.

I'll give you a very simple example from my own life. I used to gather with a group of 30-50 people once a week to conduct planned discussions. The discussions never really started on time despite everyone being in their seats because people weren't focused enough at the start of the session. There was often whispering and sidetalking and such that would go on for about half an hour before the room felt settled and focused.

One method of addressing the problem arose organically. Whoever was the main speaker simply started shushing people and it became a thing. Sometimes, it would even escalate to calling people out, like a teacher scolding a student in a classroom. This definitely made the social atmosphere less inviting and more tense. Sure, people would shut up after being called out, but they became less focused due to seething with resentment. Power struggles aren't great for group morale, especially if it's supposed to be a group of equals coming together for a common cause.

It all sounds quite childish, but these kinds of judgments are useless. You can call people childish, inefficient, incompetent, etc etc, but it doesn't solve the problem. And, worse, being judgmental blocks you from understanding people better and working with them. Perhaps an ISTJ would see this as a "mess", an "inefficiency" that wastes time, and evidence of bad character when people break the rules.

However, if you change the way you look at the situation, you might not be so quick to make such judgments. Actually, it's kind of weird for a bunch of people who know each other well to enter a room and immediately sit down quietly. Humans have a natural tendency to socialize as a way to strengthen interpersonal bonds. Isn't group cohesiveness a good thing, since it encourages better cooperation? If you are able to see the benefits of their chatty behavior and how it contributes to group cohesiveness, then instead of fighting against it, you would think of ways to harness it.

The real problem wasn't inefficiency; inefficiency was merely the symptom. The more primary problem was that a lot of people joined the group not just to "get things done", but also to make friends. The structure of the event denied them from fulfilling that important need and then they were more likely to act out. This problem was discovered when people had a chance to talk about what was frustrating them, which meant that the group had to make space to conduct some uncomfortable conversations.

To address the problem, the group eventually decided that the first 15 minutes would be devoted to socializing and allowing people to catch up, with the explicit promise to get down to business when the time was up. Some people brought drinks, others brought snacks. Some even showed up early to have more time to socialize. It enlivened people and enriched their relationships. Being "officially" allowed to get the chattiness out of their system, they were better able to sit down and focus on the planned agenda. The meeting felt like fun rather than a chore. And if you're interested in a cause, don't you want to recruit more people to support it? Making things more fun is one good way to attract support. You can look at it as wasting 15 minutes OR you can look at it as a 15 minute investment.

Solutions to human problems require:

cognitive empathy: figuring out what's really going on inside people's heads (in Te terms it means working only with the empirical facts of the situation, rather than indulging negative Fi judgments)

strategy: taking the time to work with people and figuring out the best way to help them get over obstacles (in Te terms it means investing energy early and wisely to maximize your returns later, rather than putting effort into the wrong places or only stepping in to tackle mere symptoms of the problem)

creativity: harnessing natural human tendencies to produce something useful or worthwhile (in Te terms in means taking what's already there and transforming it into a NET positive, rather than getting too fixated on every little negative detail and losing sight of the bigger picture)

Te can be a great function for dealing with human problems as long as you overcome the immature aspects of it, such as impatience, bluntness, or inflexibility. Every person is unique, so every group is different. Let go of the idea that there is only one way to approach a problem/conflict and you will start to be more creative in your approach. By accepting the fact that things are always in flux and using empirical evidence to understand and predict how change works, TJs become much more effective and efficient at everything they do. When it comes to people, meeting someone different from you is an opportunity to learn how to deal with that kind of person. The more knowledge you have of human psychology under your belt, the better you get at dealing with people's weird or negative tendencies. If a strategy works, use it again. If it doesn't work, adjust it to fit their psychology better.

In your situation, you see the problem as people being inefficient, so your inclination is to step forward and do something to "make" them more efficient. Humans aren't built with the prime directive to be efficient. They're not machines. Their psychology is messy, so trying to force them to behave like a machine is to force them to go against their psychology. In other words, you're choosing the least efficient approach. The more efficient approach, though it requires more intelligent thinking on your part (you want to become more intelligent, right?), is to properly understand the more primary problem of what's really causing them to be so inefficient in the first place. That is the way to discover the right strategy. If you are able to target those obstacles at the very root, efficiency improves more naturally.

Oftentimes, working smart doesn't require you to step up and be THE leader for everyone. As an introvert, it's probably more comfortable for you to work behind the scenes to talk to people, get a better idea of what they need and/or what problems they're experiencing, and incrementally remove the obstacles that are preventing them from focusing on what they should be focused on. You can't fix everything all at once, so just do what you can to fix what you are able to fix at any given point in time. It's a process and some progress is better than no progress.

#istj #auxiliary te #fi loop #inferior ne #te #efficiency #problem solving #working smart #creativity #change #perspective #social skills #ask

671 notes · View notes

makeste · 3 years ago

Note

do you know enneagram and if you do, what type do you think deku is?

I do indeed know about Enneagram! link for reference. it's actually my favorite of the personality classification systems. I especially like that it takes into account that the same person might behave in vastly different ways depending on their current mental and emotional state, and so each personality type has a range of descriptions, e.g. "this is what a healthy Two looks like, this is what an unhealthy Five looks like", etc. not only is this useful for working on one's own personal growth (gotta know your weaknesses in order to grow, as a certain character would put it), but I've also found it to be extremely helpful for character analysis. in fact quite a bit of my character meta is probably influenced by Enneagram stuff in various ways now that I think about it.

I also like the fact that where MBTI personality types are more defined by things like "this person is an introvert" or "this person makes decisions based more on intuition", Enneagram personality types are chiefly centered around a person's core fears and desires. I personally find that what people fear most ("I'm afraid of being controlled"; "I'm afraid of being unworthy of love"; "I'm afraid of lacking support and guidance") and want most ("I want to discover my own unique identity"; "I want to feel like I've contributed something to the world"; "I just want to have my basic needs fulfilled and be satisfied and content") give you a much more meaningful picture of that person overall as opposed to knowing whether they're introverted or extroverted or "thinking" or "feeling" lol. not that MBTI isn't fun as well, but I just vibe with Enneagram a lot more.

anyway, so regarding Deku, I think he is a type Two -- the Helper.

Twos are empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted. They are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing. They are well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can slip into doing things for others in order to be needed. They typically have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging their own needs. At their Best: unselfish and altruistic, they have unconditional love for others.

Basic Fear: Of being unwanted, unworthy of being loved

Basic Desire: To feel loved

Enneagram Two with a One-Wing: "Servant"

Enneagram Two with a Three-Wing: "The Host/Hostess"

Key Motivations: Want to be loved, to express their feelings for others, to be needed and appreciated, to get others to respond to them, to vindicate their claims about themselves.

We have named personality type Two "The Helper" because people of this type are either the most genuinely helpful to other people or, when they are less healthy, they are the most highly invested in seeing themselves as helpful. Being generous and going out of their way for others makes Twos feel that theirs is the richest, most meaningful way to live. The love and concern they feel—and the genuine good they do—warms their hearts and makes them feel worthwhile. Twos are most interested in what they feel to be the “really, really good” things in life—love, closeness, sharing, family, and friendship.

When Twos are healthy and in balance, they really are loving, helpful, generous, and considerate. People are drawn to them like bees to honey. Healthy Twos warm others in the glow of their hearts. They enliven others with their appreciation and attention, helping people to see positive qualities in themselves that they had not previously recognized. In short, healthy Twos are the embodiment of “the good parent” that everyone wishes they had: someone who sees them as they are, understands them with immense compassion, helps and encourages with infinite patience, and is always willing to lend a hand—while knowing precisely how and when to let go. Healthy Twos open our hearts because theirs are already so open and they show us the way to be more deeply and richly human.

seeing as I literally just posted an essay a couple hours ago about how Deku doesn't particularly lack self-worth, you may wonder why I'm now sitting here identifying him as a type Two whose basic fear is being unworthy of love, lol. and my answer is that Deku, being a shounen protagonist (and thus idealized in a lot of ways), is very much a healthy Two. his selflessness is completely genuine and unconditional; he cares freely about others without having any kind of agenda. he's not doing it for attention, or so everyone can see What A Good Person He Is -- he genuinely is that good person.

what he is not, is manipulative or self-serving in any kind of way. again, this is likely because of the whole shounen protagonist thing. nothing about Deku is in any way insincere. he genuinely does care about people as much as he seems to, and he doesn't at all come off as someone who's bitterly keeping track in secret of how many people actually return his generosity. his desire to save isn't performative, and he doesn't do it simply because he's trying to earn people's love. he just does it because he loves them. there isn't a selfish bone in his body.

I'm gonna put the rest of this under a cut because it's getting long now with all of the copy and pasting lol.

so for instance, below are the descriptions for an "Average" Two. there are quite a few parts that do match up, but I've crossed out anything that doesn't apply to him. basically anything that stems from selfishness doesn't really factor in at all.

Level 4: Want to be closer to others, so start "people pleasing," becoming overly friendly, emotionally demonstrative, and full of "good intentions" about everything. Give seductive attention: approval, "strokes," flattery. Love is their supreme value, and they talk about it constantly.

Level 5: Become overly intimate and intrusive: they need to be needed, so they hover, meddle, and control in the name of love. Want others to depend on them: give, but expect a return: send double messages. Enveloping and possessive: the codependent, self-sacrificial person who cannot do enough for others—wearing themselves out for everyone, creating needs for themselves to fulfill.

Level 6: Increasingly self-important and self-satisfied, feel they are indispensable, although they overrate their efforts in others' behalf. Hypochondria, becoming a "martyr" for others. Overbearing, patronizing, presumptuous.

I crossed out the flattery/fake good intentions part, for starters, because Deku is never anything less than one hundred percent sincere (he has to be; if he was two-faced in any kind of way we wouldn't root for him as a protagonist). nor does he go out of his way to create needs for him to fulfill -- but that may also be because he and his friends already have more than enough problems without having to make up any new ones lol.

he does have people-pleasing tendencies though, and he absolutely is one of the world's greatest meddlers lol. and the "possessive" part rings very true as well, as he's at his most ferocious whenever "his" people are personally threatened. he doesn't obsessively seek out affection or acknowledgement from his loved ones, but he is fiercely protective of them almost to a terrifying degree, and will run himself ragged for them as well.

and of course the last part, level 6, is almost a spot-on description of his recent breakdown during the Deku Alone arc. he became convinced that he alone could stop AFO, and worked himself to exhaustion, abandoning the people who cared about him one by one in the process. it took the entire class 1-A to finally bring him back to his senses, and he said some pretty nasty things to them before it was all over and done.

most of the time, though, Deku is the very picture of a healthy Two.

Level 1 (At Their Best): Become deeply unselfish, humble, and altruistic: giving unconditional love to self and others. Feel it is a privilege to be in the lives of others.

Level 2: Empathetic, compassionate, feeling for others. Caring and concerned about their needs. Thoughtful, warm-hearted, forgiving and sincere.

Level 3: Encouraging and appreciative, able to see the good in others. Service is important, but takes care of self too: they are nurturing, generous, and giving—a truly loving person.

all of this is basically Deku to a T. there's none of the disingenuousness that's intermingled with the descriptions of levels 4 through 9. this is another big reason why I don't think Deku struggles as much with his own self-worth as some would suggest -- because if he did, I think we would see more hints of the level 4, 5, and 6 behavior. the manipulations and sympathy plays go hand-in-hand with the lack of self-worth. that he doesn't feel the need to do that suggests that he already has it. what he does show instead are the patterns associated with his chronic and incurable medical condition of Caring Too Much. meddling, possessiveness, and wearing himself down by taking too much on.

that said, even at his worst, he's never even come close to showing any of the truly unhealthy type Two behaviors, which include guilting others, being passive-aggressive, and playing the victim. basically the more desperate the person becomes for love and acceptance, the more manipulative they get. and I just don't pick up on any of that from Deku even in the slightest. imo his biggest struggles are with Trying To Do It All (hence him getting frustrated and belittling himself when he can't), and Trying To Put It All On His Shoulders. he definitely does need to take better care of himself, but I think it's more accidental neglect more than any subconscious feelings of believing he's not worthy.

anyway, sorry for all of these continuous rebuttals tying into my previous post lol. but yeah, to sum up, he's a type Two in my book, and one that does all Twos proud.

to finish this post up, here is the section on Twos' relationship with type Eights, which is relevant because Katsuki just so happens to be the Eightest Eight who ever Eighted.

What Each Type Brings to the Relationship

These two types are more alike than they might appear to be at first. Both are action-oriented and want to have a personal impact on their environment. Both can be sentimental and deeply feeling, with a soft side that is often more hidden than apparent. Both can play the roles of provider, protector, caretaker, and nurturer while avoiding or even denying their own needs. Both tend to overwork themselves and both tend to be the strong one in relationships (although Twos will tend to do so as the power behind the throne while Eights will tend to clearly be on the throne). Both types bring passion, vitality, interpersonal and social skills, magnanimity, and generosity. The basic emphasis of both types is distinctly different, however, with Twos being primarily interested in the welfare of others while Eights tend to be interested in their physical wellbeing and in having a distinct impact on their world, often with beneficial fallout for others.

They easily play roles that the other needs and wants: the Eight is practical and concerned with results, whereas Twos are more people-oriented and more openly altruistic. They are both strong willed and like taking on responsibility, as long as they choose it themselves. Eights often bask in the glow of the Two's affection and adoration: Twos truly appreciate the Eight's strength and efforts—and see their often hidden self-sacrifice. Both see each other's noble qualities and can be each other's staunchest supporters and admirers. Their roles are also clearly delineated, so they do not get in each other's way. Each runs different spheres of their lives and cover different bases (one plays the symbolic Mommy the other the symbolic Daddy and things are clear and balanced). These qualities make this couple powerful allies who complement each other's strengths, particularly the good effects they can have on others.

Potential Trouble Spots or Issues

Twos and Eights have very different value systems: as noted above, Twos tend to be person oriented, while Eights tend to be practical minded. Their interpersonal styles are also very different, with Twos tending to be more empathetic and indirect and Eights being more direct and independent. Even average Eights tend to become proud of their resolutely unsentimental way of dealing with people and situations, while average Twos become highly attached to people and overly-solicitous about their needs. Twos tend to see things from the points of view of others, while Eights do not: they see things from the point of view of self-interest, feeling that others need to learn to take care of themselves lest they become weak and ineffectual. Thus, in a relationship, Twos and Eights have very different ideas about where other people fit into the picture, including their own family.

Both types tend to move in opposite directions and have increasingly opposing views about how to treat other people. Eights become more hard-hearted and confrontational, while Twos become more possessive and self-sacrificial. Between themselves, they can get into battles with each other about whose philosophy will prevail. Rather than feel rejected or lose a key relationship, however, Twos can get caught in a codependent relationship with the Eight. The Two can become an apologist for the Eight's bad behavior, enabling them and thus encouraging Eights to continue with anti-social or self-destructive habits. Thus, this couple might not break up as quickly as some other pairings would, although they can drag each other down without seeing their mutual trap. Ultimately, Eights can lose respect for Twos, finding them insincere and manipulative, while Twos lose respect for Eights thinking them to be cruel and domineering. Both can become coarser and more controlling if this continues, with overtones of stalking and paranoia, fears of betrayal and acts of revenge.

gotta love how this not only lowkey sums up Win and Save, but also almost point-for-point describes exactly how their relationship fell apart in pre-K lol. thankfully they have both more or less put that breakup behind them now and are making great strides towards the healthy relationship described in the first two paragraphs, which are basically everything to me. both see each other's noble qualities and can be each other's staunchest supporters and admirers. yes please and fucking thank you, oh my god. it's all I've ever wanted, good night.

#midoriya izuku #bnha meta #deku meta #bakugou katsuki #bakudeku #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #anon asks

128 notes · View notes

lilweaselcanons · 2 years ago

Text

Alright cause I’m in a mood and I’m tired of seeing it , I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and probably piss some people off.

The Collector is not just a ‘misunderstood/confused’ kid who needs to be taught empathy.

They are a morally GREY being, who while may indeed have disconnects on mortals morals, is not EXCUSED or completely ignorant to these acts and comments being fucked up in a human/witch/mortal view.

&& yes im doubly talking to the people who seem to think that theory is an unpopular one because i can count on one hand how many people DON’T think thats the case, and i see it 4-5 times each time im in the tags.

But because I’m not going to just whine that other people disagree, I’m going to fully explain my counterpoints to a lot of the stuff I’ve been seeing.

Lets begin.

1. “ They’re called a ‘child’ of the stars in canon”

Yes; while they are called a ‘child’ this could be a title due to the form they take. As they are petite and look young.

From what we’ve seen, the collector as a being takes a lot more similarity with a deity / demi-god type being. Which would fit seeing as they are set up to be King’s foil / a being similar to a titan. && Titans are set up in canon to be ‘gods’ of the isles. It is not uncommon in mythology for gods / demi gods / god like beings to take child-like forms or forms of other things to seem more harmless than they are.

2. “ The collector looks young! They’re definitely like 4-6 years old like an ipad toddler! They’re just a kid!!”

Fam, even if they were a ‘kid’, which they are definitely not. they look more closely to gus in height and build so like (12-14).

But again they are certainly NOT comparable to a MORTAL CHILD in all legitimacy. The collector is not a kid, if we are to take canon, where they existed long before phillip came to the isles, (long enough to have been trapped by kings dad hundreds of years prior), and have not changed since, there is no aging. there is no growing up. This is an ageless being.

(which leads to my next point:)

3. “ They just need to grow up and be taught proper morals by someone! / Belos was just a bad role model! ”

Again, for that logic to make sense, they would have had to be in a position for the ability to change / start out innocent. They existed for hundreds of years BEFORE phillip existed in the isles. && from what we know was trapped quite a long time before that. If they were simply innocent and corrupted by Belos, why would Kings dad need to trap him in the first place? Why would he go OUT OF HIS WAY to make a symbol PURELY TO HIDE KING FROM THE COLLECTOR.

This is not a quirky coincidence. This is not a throw away joke in CANON this is a very important point they made sure to emphasize. If the collector was never a problem before Phillips influence, there would be no reason for king to remain hidden from the collector, especially to the EXTENT he was. (The whole island, the collar, the guards?)

With him being set up as a foil of king, would also make sense, as king is set up to grow and change, and learn. While the Collector is ageless, and is likely the way he was thousands of years ago and will remain that way. They seem to be set up as a being who is far more disconnected from mortal lives/way of life than the titan ever was.

4. “ I just think it would be interesting if the collector was just a misunderstood lonely kid-god who needed to be adopted!”

A couple things,

A, that power dynamic would never make any relationship with a witch/human/mortal being and the collector a healthy one. Sorry. not sorry. Power dynamics like that are automatically unhealthy I don’t care how much genuine connection u put there. Theres no way for a mortal creature to be friends or otherwise with a being that could wipe them out of existence with a flick of a finger.

B. I’ve seen this EXACT take with so many characters in the fandom and its getting so tired. Amity, The blight twins, Hunter, Steve, you name it I’ve seen it. Please pick a new take I’m begging you. Having every character in a media be the exact same is not interesting or fun its not.

C. You can add depth to an antagonistic / morally grey character without taking away that they are in fact, an antagonist or morally grey. (cough belos apologists cough)

D. King. The character you’re talking about is literally King. King is literally set up as a deity (Titan) Who can learn, grow, and has bettered himself over the last few seasons. He’s literally a kid, and has been adopted by Eda. You want another king. We already have that. Lets have something different now.

5. “ The collector is just a kid so its okay that he helped with genocide and made jokes at mass murder! He’s a kid who doesn’t understand empathy”

Uhhhhhhhh lemme ask you---when did you ever meet a 4-6 year old who went around laughing at genocide/ trying to murder people as a default? If we’re going to go all the way with ‘hes a little kid!’ narrative, then lets be honest with ourselves. Kids are usually the ones with the MOST empathy and compassion by default. Hate and aggression are LEARNED behaviors. You do not start out this way. But please, show me evidence that this is a default state of kids, because you must be around some really disturbing children.

** && if you’ve gotten to this point and start with the ‘but phillip!’ nonsense, please read my previous points because you didn’t.

6. “ Its SO unpopular to think the collector is a kid I’m being victimized for having that opinion!”

No. You aren’t. Literally everyone in the fandom agrees with the kid thing--to the point where ive seen more ‘ipad kid’ edits of the collector than actual interesting dynamic art. If this is the opinion you wanna have. sure fine whatever makes you happy. More power to you. But don’t cry that someone is victimizing you when someone else disagrees its really gross.

I’m tired of this fandoms weird fixation on everyone needing to conform to the favorite opinions or they’re bullies or smthn. Having different takes on media and characters is what is supposed to make fandom spaces fun. Does that mean i cant put my own counter into the ring? No

. Me making this post doesn’t isn’t going to do shit to dissuade people with the kid-llector nonsense and i know that. But if yall can talk so can I.

7. “ You just think the collector is pure EVIL!!”

No, I don’t. Actually. I even agree with some of the interesting points about the collector having a complex about being alone for so long. Where i draw the line is excusing the collector’s shitty behaviors and saying he just ‘doesn’t understand’ or is a good person deep down.

Thats not interesting when its your take on every character.

The collector can have feelings/complex issues and still remain morally grey/chaotic / disconnected with what you or I would recognize as morally right and wrong. The character doesn’t need to be reduced to a little baby who just needs a good role model.

8. “ The collector is short / childish so they’re a child!”

This take always irks the hell out of me regardless of character and regardless of fandom. Short people exist. Short adults exist. I am literally 5 ft. I’ve known several people (full grown adults) around the same height/shorter. We are not kids because we’re petite.

&& Saying someone’s childish personality makes them a child is ableist. There are plenty of people with mental illness who act younger than they are ( and some who aren’t mentally ill that do!). Fully grown adults. This does not take away that they are adults. This alone is not evidence enough to prove he is a child. Unless Dana herself comes out tomorrow and says they’re 10, you cannot definitively declare this as canon. HC it all you want, but again, using that as the reasoning is maybe a take to reconsider.

&& Finally, for those who still want to insist the collector being morally good but misunderstood is ‘canon’

Dana herself literally said the character is morally grey and chaotic. This is not a disputable thing, this isn’t my opinion. She literally said this as canon, as fact.

So regardless of ANY head cannons or opinions, that is one thing that is pure fact.

JUST A DISCLAIMER; This is simply my take on the character, and like everything else on this website, is just that. my opinion. I’m not trying to pick fights with anyone over a tv show. But If I have to see ‘baby’ collector all the time in the tags, I’m allowed to have my own opinions too.

#ooc #long post #(of Moons && Stars);Eshu #ya im goin there #if i gotta see it every 2 seconds then i can put in my piece too #toh

22 notes · View notes

anicocat · 3 years ago

Text

Oh here we go again with the “Lou the fat poor girl everybody hates for no reason you‘re all fatphobic“ argument 😶. Yeah because she wasn‘t a entitled little shit that stuck gum to a wall to seem cool, drove under the influence, stole twice, rudely threw tampons at people, called herself robin the hood and posted Isi‘s sexual assault to social media, etc. Oh, but it seems that doesn‘t matter, because she is… FAT!!! Huh??? You know what? I don‘t care. She‘s proudly fat, good for her, that doesn‘t mean she wasn‘t an obnoxious girl that a lot of people didn‘t like. Being fat doesn‘t make her special or entitled to any special treatment, so just as a lot of you spent criticizing characters like Isi, Mailin and Constantin since S5 because they did wrong, don‘t act surprised and scream fatphobic or “mlm fetizisher“ to anyone who dares to criticizes a fat, female character. This double standard is completely ridiculous.

It’s true that lot of people preferred Sascha over Lou, but it‘s not really a big mystery, is it? He was nothing but a nice, kind, patient, hard working and authentic person that actually wanted the best for Isi, but it‘s seems that being a good person and good friend is boring for you and anyone that likes him is just drooling over his hot, white, skinny ass. Alright?? 🙂 I guess we should instead ship Isi an emotionally unavailable girl that only dragged Isi into her unhealthy copying mechanisms because she‘s fat and that‘s the only thing that matters. You do realize that that actually would have been the unhealthy relationship, right? They didn’t fit each other romantically because Isi was confused and lost and Lou was more worried about her parents divorce so she used partying and rebellious stunts as a copying mechanism. She clearly stated she doesn‘t want anything serious because she‘s focused on her own life, plus dealing with her parents is too much right now. She only wants endless fun and while that doesn‘t make her a terrible person, that‘s not what Isi needs right now. Just think about Lou‘s and Constantin‘s drinking the mornings, do you seriously think that‘s healthy!? 💀 That only made Isi and Constantin forget about their problems. But I guess that’s good anyway, Isi will be having a blast with the fat girl 🙄!

On the other hand, I‘ve seen people calling Isi‘s and Sascha‘s relationship unhealthy. Isi neglected Sascha because Lou‘s rebelliousness and confidence dazzled him, so he just wanted to be near her to explore his own sexuality and maybe understand themselves a bit more. She neglected Sascha and lied to him, but other than that he never did anything wrong to him or that got Sascha into trouble and neither did Sascha. Neglecting and lying to someone is bad, but I don‘t know if it‘s enough to call a relationship unhealthy and despicable. I think it‘s too soon to tell, but everything points to Isi becoming more aware of his mistakes, more confident authentic 🤷🏻‍♀️ and Sascha has clearly established his boundaries. We’ll see. Maybe in a more appropriate moment Lou could have been a good romantic interest for Isi because she also supported him, but like I said before that support wasn‘t enough to make positive changes. Right now I see Sascha as a more positive, healthy support that‘s always been there and actually brought out more positive stuff in Isi.

#druck #druck s7

66 notes · View notes

happi-tree · 3 years ago

Note

feel free 2 ignore this bestie but i need to know what's so great abt the frog show!! not in a like. derogatory way but like a what makes u like it sm!!! what r its chief appeals!! etc etc

Oh jeez, what a question!!! Like, there are so many reasons as to why I adore this show so much. Buckle up, buttercup, because this one is,,, long lmao

First off, I am an absolute sucker for fantastical interdimensional travel stories of any sort and Amphibia is a wonderful example! The world of Amphibia is just so wildly different from the main character's human-world reality in all these charming and wacky and intriguing ways, and the worldbuilding that you get to see is so clever and fun! There's also the whole quintessential "hero's journey" and all that it entails - the characters might return home eventually, but will it really register in their hearts as "home" after all they've seen and done? This trope makes for a bittersweet type of story that I just really really enjoy, and Amphibia is pulling it off beautifully.

Secondly, I adore how seriously this show takes its interpersonal dynamics. The catalyst of the entire show - what allows its events to occur in the first place - is a rather unhealthy, imbalanced, codependent friendship between three middle schoolers, and the show lets you know how off-kilter the dynamics are from practically the very beginning. However, this relationship is far from stagnant - a core (ha) theme of Amphibia is change, and it really shows in how clearly yet subtly you can see the girls' dynamics with each other shift as they learn to grow independent of one another and eventually find their way back to each other. It's messy and sometimes it feels like the characters take one step backward for every step they take forward, and that's what makes it so believable! I also really appreciate how believable they are as child characters - they don't think things through all the time and they have emotional outbursts and they see firsthand the consequences of their actions, which is just! Really nice to see! Of course, this doesn't even cover the many other relationships in the show - Anne coming into her own and learning responsibility by being thrust into suddenly becoming an older sister, the wonderfully chaotic uncle-niece relationship that is Sasha and Grime, the role model and mentor Marcy finds in Andrias, Anne being a member of not one but three families (counting Marcy and Sasha, of course) and her struggles in trying to choose between them... it's. Quite a bit.

Thirdly, the aforementioned theme of change! It's present throughout nearly every aspect of the show. The characters grow and change and build themselves into better people, not only through being thrown into circumstances but also through actively making the choice to get up and to improve. The landscape itself grows and changes alongside them, reflecting the choices that they make! Everything is in a constant state of flux and metamorphosis, and while some things are beyond the control of the characters, they learn to utilize those situations as a proponent of positive change which is just. Really neat! This show also deals a lot with letting go and with grief in general, in many, many forms. And I think that's a theme that will carry through until the final episode, if the titles are anything to go by (I am excited but I am also deeply afraid).

Also, not something I can relate to on a personal level, but that I adore about this show wholeheartedly: the Asian representation! Anne is the daughter of two Thai immigrants, and Thai influences and elements are very intentionally and lovingly baked into the core of the show. As someone who had little to no exposure to Thai culture beforehand, it was wonderful to see! Marcy is also confirmed to be Taiwanese, and while there aren't many nods to Taiwanese culture (that I could parse out, at least), it's absolutely lovely to see that 2/3 of our human protagonists are POC! There's this great line from Anne where she says that she could understand what her parents went through adjusting to life in the States now that she's experienced the culture shock of being treated as an outsider in Amphibia, and it just. It lives rent-free in my brain. And, without going into spoiler territory, there's also an interesting narrative dealing with colonialism, and if the show is going where I think it is,,, yeah. Yeah.

Shoutout as well to the music (Anne's theme can and has made me cry), the design of all the different environments in both worlds, the balancing of humor with heavier themes, the use of symbolism (which could be a whole essay on its own), the constant use of the rule of three, and the animation itself (blue moments my absolute beloveds!).

Well, this was very long-winded, but hopefully it suffices! As you can tell this show has been taking up quite a bit of my cognitive ability atm haha.

#SO much love for my silly little frogshow <333 #dksbhhkasbdhbdsks didn't expect to write a borderline essay tonight but. brainrot real!#bestie this is SO long oops I just. physically couldn't stop myself from rambling haha #thanks for the ask lovebird!#cartoons #amphibia #asks #tofumoons #anyway. hope you're doing well! take this front row seat to my current obsession <3 #happi rambles

14 notes · View notes

demonicheadcanons · 4 years ago

Text

Pact Headcanons

Okay bear with me because I’m starting this post on mobile at 4am but I’m thinking about pacts.

I’ve had a headcanon for a while that, after the MC makes a pact with Beel, they start to get hungry more often, and tend to build up muscle easier. So I thought I’d go ahead and just, write random pact headcanons for each of the boys?

I have tried not to include any clear spoilers, but if you haven’t yet made a pact with a specific brother, you may want to skip over them.

Some of the information may be considered dark, as a warning.

General Headcanons

The stronger the demon, the more potent / powerful the pact.

However, pacts will also get stronger the closer you are (relationship-wise, but this can also be proximity based) to a demon. For example, if you’re very close to Mammon and not close to Lucifer, your pact with Mammon will overpower the pact with Lucifer and amplify the effects brought about by Mammon’s pact. For a demon further on down the chain you would really have to hate Lucifer and be incredibly close to the demon to overpower the pact. For Mammon you only have to be friends, and close friends with Levi, etc. You can measure how close one of the brothers considers you by examining the effects you feel from your pact with them.

If two pacts interact (e.g. Levi’s envy and Lucifer’s pride), the stronger one will win out, or it will reduce the effects of both pacts. Ergo, you could balance out the negatives of one with the positives of the other by carefully adjusting your relationships with the parties involved.

All pacts have good and bad effects. They’ll vary from person to person, depending on their personality, but with the brothers their sins are the main influence of the pacts.

Having more pacts will reduce the rate at which you age, meaning Solomon is essentially immortal. Again, having pacts with stronger demons will amplify this, so having a pact with 7 of the most powerful demons in the Devildom would heavily slow down the rate at which the MC ages. If you make a pact with Diavolo, you’ll stop aging. Who knows what would happen if you somehow made a pact with his father? ((Note: if any pact involves selling your soul, the aging process will begin again, as you presumably need to die eventually for the exchange to be made))

Pacts create a weak empathy bridge between the demon and human. It’s not perfect, and it’s easy to ignore, but if you’re feeling down then the demons you have a pact with will be aware of it. The reverse is also true.

Even without a pact, the brothers can ‘feed’ from their sins. If you feel proud, Lucifer can gain energy from that, etc. For the MC, its weak initially as the brothers’ powers don’t work on them. However, once a pact is formed, it becomes a source of energy and power for them - this can be dangerous with demons who don’t know how to control themselves, as they may amplify the negatives of their pact as it means they can feast on their sin (or, for other demons, on whatever their influence is). More responsible demons, like the brothers, know how to balance it so that they’re able to feed without harming the MC, as this means they have a more stable food source for longer, and because they won’t want to cause harm to the MC.

Let’s get to the specifics for each brother:

Lucifer

Advantages: When you make a pact with Lucifer, you immediately become more confident. His pact is the strongest of the brothers, him being the eldest and most powerful, so there’s no waiting time for the pact to take effect. Essentially you’ll find it easier to be proud of both yourself, and others. His pact interferes with Levi’s - it counteracts the jealousy that you’d feel, and replaces it with pride, as a pact with Lucifer holds more power usually. His pact also grants an easier understanding of your surroundings and the people around you - whether it’s due to the confidence boost, allowing your anxieties to relax and to let you properly take in a situation, or just part of the pact is debatable.

Disadvantages: Pride easily leads to arrogance. Strangely enough, if you were already a confident person, you’ll find it easier to control yourself and not become too arrogant. But if you were struggling before, you’re going to swing wildly between completely adoring and despising yourself. Because the pact is so potent this can be dangerous, and you might need to distance yourself from a Lucifer and slowly build up a relationship again to be able to adapt to it.

Pact marks: Lucifer is a bit 50/50 on this. He’d like the pact mark to be in clear sight, because his pact was made to demonstrate a control and ownership over the human. However, because of how pacts usually work, he might fear that it would be perceived as being the other way about. Pact marks in clear sight are fair game, but perhaps somewhere where you could easily cover it up if needed would be preferred, so that he can see it when he wants to without it being on show constantly. He wouldn’t want it on show when you’re at RAD, honestly. He’d prefer for it to be on your back, hand if you’re willing to wear gloves, or neck if you cover it up with a high collar or scarf. Like most things, it all depends on his mood. He’ll adapt and make it clear that he’s no one’s pet no matter what you decide to do.

Mammon

Advantages: We’re already told that if Mammon likes someone, money comes easily to them. His pact partially influences this; if you want something, you’ll find that you’re able to get it much easier than before. This works best for material things, but if you’re very close to Mammon you’ll find that you’ll be able to win over people easier. It isn’t the same kind of charm that a pact with Asmo would grant, but still works fairly well. A pact with both brothers would boost the effects heavily, and you’ll find that you have most people wrapped around your finger after a simple greeting.

Disadvantages: Like Mammon, you might end up stealing to satisfy your greed. Getting everything you want is all well and good but it starts to lose its charm, whereas stealing still has some kind of buzz to it. At the same time, you may not even consider it to be stealing; it will start to feel as though everything already belongs to you. You’ll also become greedy for attention and feel lonely quite quickly. If you weren’t greedy before the effects won’t be as bad.

Pact marks: Mammon is possessive. He wants his pact mark on show - his number one spot would likely be on the back of your hands, so that when you’re holding hands he can rub his thumb over it, and so that its visible when you’re writing in classes or if you raise your hand to your face.

Leviathan

Advantages: Levi’s pact doesn’t necessarily offer many benefits to some people. If you’re willing to step back when you feel jealous and look inside yourself, its perfect for self-introspection and personal growth. It would be best combined with other pacts (especially Lucifer’s), and mostly works as a way of dampening the disadvantages that stronger pacts may offer by preventing you from becoming overly arrogant. It also helps to balance out Mammon’s pact, but does so by lowering your confidence in yourself so that you don’t seek attention or material possessions as much.

Disadvantages: You’re going to feel jealous constantly. If you have low self-esteem, it will present like Levi’s - you’ll believe that the world is unfair, that others are better than you. If you have a higher self-esteem, this will mix in an unhealthy fashion with the arrogance granted by Lucifer’s pact to make you simultaneously believe that you’re too good for everyone, and that you deserve better but can’t reach it because people are in your way. Overall, his pact is the most likely to isolate you from others.

Neutral: Depending on how you view it, this could be a good or bad thing, but Levi’s pact makes people jealous of you. This means that they tend to view you as being someone better than them, and might offer you some opportunities, but it can also make it difficult to form meaningful relationships and will likely isolate you in the end up. This will also have an impact on Mammon and Asmo’s pacts - if Levi’s pact is stronger, it will make people more likely to bend to your will, whilst also disliking you more as they feel unreasonably jealous of you whilst also being drawn to you. If the other’s pacts are stronger, it will lessen obsessions that have no base and will make it easier to form decent relationships that aren’t so superficial.

Pact marks: Anywhere. He doesn’t mind where it is, but if its smaller or less obvious than his brothers’ pact marks, he’s going to feel upset and not know how to deal with it. It all depends on your reasoning, but if you appear to see him as equal to or better than his brothers, he really won’t mind at all. When he’s feeling less awkward, he’ll want to trace his fingers over it, so preferably somewhere he can easily access. Number one spots would be on your shoulder, neck, or wrist.

Satan

Advantages: His pact, oddly, is a good confidence boost. More specifically, it makes you a lot less likely to put up with unfair and unjust behaviour. You’re more confident in speaking out against the things you don’t agree with. You’ll likely end up reading a lot more and educating yourself on everything so that you have the most concrete knowledge on any topic of discussion.

Disadvantages: If you’re not careful, discussions can become arguments and can lead to bad blood easily. You’ll be less forgiving than before, less willing to let things go. And you’re constantly, constantly angry. You’ll have to find a healthy outlet for this quickly, or it’ll consume you. Some relationships may end up tainted by the feelings his pact creates.

Your relationship: Your relationship with Satan is going to be strange. You both act as a comfort for each other, and when you’re around him both of you will be less angry. However, if Satan is in a bad mood and in need of a quick energy boost, he might decide to make you angry so that he can feed off of it. He sees it as being a short term risk; he can soothe you after, if he decides to, and if he believes you’re close enough that you won’t hold onto it. The problem is when he doesn’t. He likes seeing you angry, although preferably not at him, but in the end it really won’t matter so long as you’re mad at someone. Relationships can quickly become unhealthy, but your relationship with him will swing wildly if the two of you don’t sit and talk things over and work out a good balance; the best results would be if you were to go to Satan when angry about something else and let him soothe you by drawing out your anger. That way he gets a boost and the two of you remain relatively calm, keeping your anger in a safe and controlled space.

Pact marks: Back of the hand. He wants to see it when you’re reading. He already builds up a tendency to kiss you on the back of the hand, and he’d like to be reminded of your pact when he does so. Its a softer gesture that he doesn’t offer to many, and he gets to offer it to someone who accepts him no matter what, with a visible reminder of that.

Asmodeus

Advantages: People are going to like you. You’ll be able to charm almost anyone (exceptions being people who are immune to the demons’ powers, and anyone with more power than you). Even if you can’t charm someone, you’ll likely to be able to mildly influence their opinion of you. You’ll also become better at reading people, and will be able to guess at their desires. With enough popularity, you may end up influencing the worlds’ beauty standards to more closely match how you look (if you decide to do influential work in the public eye).

Disadvantages: Whether you try to or not, you’re going to attract all kinds of people. This can put you in dangerous situations and can easily build obsessions. You’ll find the human world to be a much more dangerous place, and will have to be wary of the people around you. Eventually you’ll be able to better influence how much people like you, so that it won’t become an obsession, but you’ll need some form of protection at all times in the human world for quite some time after the pact is made.

Pact marks: Asmo doesn’t mind so long as he gets to see it when he wants to. He wants you to be happy and confident in yourself. That said, he does want to feel like your first priority. Like Levi, he wouldn’t want his pact mark to be smaller or less obvious than his brothers’ marks. His favourite places would be on your chest or the top centre of your back.

Beelzebub

Advantages: Beel’s pact gives you an iron stomach. You can eat anything and as much as you want without it having much of an impact on your weight, although you will end up building muscle a lot easier. Your health will improve, and become as ideal as it can be. You’ll find that you don’t get sick very often and have a stronger immune system. Any dietary needs will become less prominent, from allergies to intolerances. Overall, his pact offers a lot of physical benefits.

Disadvantages: You’re going to feel hungry almost all of the time. Beel’s hunger influences your own, so when he’s hungry, you’ll be hungry too. Not only will eating take up more of your time and focus, but you’ll also have to spend a lot more on food. You won’t be anywhere near his level, but you’ll probably be hitting somewhere around triple the normal recommended daily intake.

Pact marks: Beel wants you to be happy, like Asmo, so you can put the pact mark wherever you want. He won’t pay much notice to it unless he’s feeling particularly low or possessive, but even then just having you around calms him down. He doesn’t need the pact mark to be a reminder of your relationship - he’s got you, and that’s more than enough for him. He’d probably like for you to have the mark over your stomach, if you’d be content with that - it’s an amusing idea to him, and it just feels right. Also, if he wraps his arms around you from behind, he can rest his hand over it.

Belphegor

Advantages: After resting, you’ll function better. You’ll be able to focus better, you’ll be more perceptive, you feel healthier, etc. On good days, you feel well rested after quick naps. His pact is a huge boost to your brain and body, and your mood will benefit from it too, leaving you feeling happier and more capable.

Disadvantages: More often than not, you need to sleep more than before, and on bad days, no amount of rest will be enough. You’ll also easily slip into bad habits in which you end up sleeping instead of actually taking care of yourself. Like Levi’s, his pact can be isolating as sleeping can often seem more appealing than spending meaningful time with people. A controlled sleep schedule is necessary to keep things under control.

Pact marks: Where you put the pact mark is your own decision, and he’s not going to make it for you. That said, he’d prefer for it to be somewhere you can easily see, so that you remember him and think of him often, and he’d rather you didn’t cover it up. He views the pact mark as a lasting reminder of him, and feels betrayed if you don’t view it the same way. The most ideal place would probably be on your hands or wrists, but he’s more likely to have places he hates (e.g. your back, where you couldn’t easily see it) than places he likes.

AN: Sorry for rambling and if this is disorganised ;u;. Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!! Feel free to ask any questions you have ^^

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #my headcanons #my writings #long post #i considered splitting this up into two posts but i wanted to post them all together. sorry its so long!!

604 notes · View notes

grimmradiance · 4 years ago

Text

Close to Me: How the Hollow Knight's Fighting Style Reflects Their Trauma (and the Radiance's as well)

So I've been trying to actually beat the Radiance, which means I've been fighting the Hollow Knight. A lot, as a matter of fact, since I'm beans at this game sometimes. I've also been thinking about @lost-kinn's meta about how fighting styles are how Vessels, especially the Little Knight, communicate.

In trying to apply this to the Hollow Knight, I've been coming to some very interesting conclusions, especially taken in context of...Everything Else in the lore, and Everything Else implicated in this by the psychology of it.

There's a lot to cover here, and it tracks through a LOT of different places, including trauma psychology, the relationship between chronic stress and lifespan health, and shape symbolism. Two warnings first:

One: this essay is gonna get heavy. It includes fine-grained discussion of the Hollow Knight's trauma, including discussions of the real-life machanics of psychological abuse, as well as the Extremely Concerning Implications of them harming themself during their boss fight. please read with caution and when you're in a safe emotional place to do so.

Two: This post is not a place for justifying the Pale King. If you read this essay in its entirety and still want to do that, please make your own post; my relationship to the Hollow Knight themself is deeply rooted in my own experiences, so in the context of this discussion I can't promise I won't take it personally.

With that out of the way, let's talk trauma and fighting styles:

We know that the Hollow Knight is trained to be a paragon of fighting skill, through the Pure Vessel fight, and this gives us a fantastic way to compare what they were like before they were made Government Assigned Radiance Jail, and after. Or, in other words, we're given the perfect opportunity to see what the Radiance is doing (i.e. context effects), and what Hollow is (i.e. what we can conclude is reliably consistent as a part of them). Listed here, for reference:

Hollow's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Radiant Shade Soul, which launches a volley of Infection blobs in arcs

A Radiant Desolate Dive, which produces pillars of entwined Void and Light at random intervals

The Infection bursting out of them in random arcs, covering a significant amount of the aerial space of the arena

The Radiance ragdolling their body around trying to hit the Knight

Contact damage from them stabbing themself and falling over atop you

The Pure Vessel's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Pure Shade Soul, which launches a volley of nails in straight lines

A Pure Desolate Dive, which produces nails at specific intervals

A Pure Focus, which causes circular explosions across most of the aerial space in the arena

Lashing out with a Void Arm (word choice intentional)

I've highlighted attacks from each battle that are different, since those are our points of interest here. In addition, both the Pure Vessel and Hollow are exceedingly fond of teleport-spamming in a way that is usually reserved for a specific group of bosses.

Another very important distinction between these two fights: the Pure Vessel doesn't scream. Well, they certainly try to, but no sound comes out. No voice to cry suffering, after all. All of these points have a lot to go into, so let's address them one at a time.

All That Remains: Theoretical Background On The Significance Of Constants

Making comparisons across time is important specifically because humans (and human-like bugs) change. Most personality traits aren't set in stone--they exist as an interaction of someone's internal tendencies, their experiences, and their environment. Speaking of those last two points, not all experiences and environments are created equally. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs for short) are known to have lifelong implications for a child's health, both physically and mentally. These are events that are so stressful or stressful for so long that they exceed a child's ability to cope and become toxic stress (yes, that's the term in the literature, because it actively damages your organs). They compound, as well--the stress of one ACE makes it harder for a child to cope with another, especially if they overlap.

Some examples of ACEs? Being exposed to physical danger or the threat of physical danger, deprivation of normal social relationships with peers of a similar age, being forcibly seperated from family members, witnessing a loved one being hurt or killed, chronic illness in oneself or a family member, neglect of a child's emotional needs....

Poor fucking Holly. It's a miracle they didn't disintegrate under the pressure. The only other option is that they bent and adapted under that much stress--in other words, most of their personality has been forcibly reshaped by what they've gone through. Anyone who has up-close experience with parentification or complex child abuse already knows: this was by design. I'm not saying the intent was to traumatize the Pure Vessel past several points of no return, but the intent definitely was to reshape their personality for the purpose of being The Vessel. We only see them (the Pure Vessel) in battle after this process is mostly or entirely complete, but we do see them a few times beforehand. I'd like to draw attention to the Path of Pain cutscene right now.

I've seen people talking about the look the Vessel and the King share as a sign that TPK really does love his child. That might be true, but it's definitely not relevant when it comes to how abuse works. This is, in fact, exactly how the cycle of abuse uses affection as a tool. Long periods of abuse or neglect, smoothed over by small periods of affection that placate the survivor? That's textbook love bombing, the kind that forms stubborn trauma bonds and facilitates unhealthy dependency. Forgive me for not giving the Higher Being of knowledge and prescience the benefit of the doubt on that one. (/s)

Team Cherry knows about the importance of parallels and dissonance. There's a reason the music in the second phase of the Hollow Knight fight plays in the Path of Pain. There's a reason it cuts out the moment the battle with the Kingsmoulds is over, instead of at the room transition. There's a reason it doesn't cut out in the Black Egg. Actually, there's two potential reasons, which could also coexist: either little Hollow trusts the Pale King to keep them safe, even after the borderline torture that they were just subjected to, or big Hollow is so hypervigilant that they're in full functioning-through-trauma mode even while they're at death's door.

If you don't see how much the Pale King scarred his child at this point, I'm not sure we were playing the same game.

Walking the Straight Line: How the Pale King's Teachings Show In the Pure Vessel

The Pale King loves order and control. Everything about the White Palace and every decision we see him make implies this. Everything is spotless white walls and well-maintained gardens; the only signs of disorder are hidden away, either in his workshop or in The Pit™. This also reflects in the Pure Vessel's title--pure as in holy, but also pure as in without flaw. Considering the Nailsmith's emotional state after completing the Pure Nail, TPK's fate with his Perfect Controlled Kingdom, and the Godmaster ending as a whole, attaining perfection is not a good thing in any sense.

We know the Hollow Knight isn't perfect--that's the whole catalyst for the plot. But considering their upbringing and their fighting style as the Pure Vessel, their imperfections absolutely kill them emotionally. I'll spare the lecture on how perfectionism affects neurodivergent kids even more severely than neurotypical kids, if only to keep this post to a reasonable length (look up "twice-exceptional children" if you'd like to know the theory I'm glossing over in more depth). But, in essence, the deck is doubly stacked against them--they have a higher goal to reach, and far more obsctacles in their path, including their own emotional scars.

I've already discussed how Hollow isn't meant for this kind of stress in a physical sense in other posts. They're not prepared for it emotionally, either--the Pale King wants perfection, and they can't even stand up straight (every spoonie in the audience already knows how exhausting people's obsession with Standing Up Straight is). There's another page on their stack of emotional baggage, even BEFORE you consider that the Pure Vessel knows their perfection is what bought them a ticket out of the Abyss.

Bringing Teleportation To A Sword Fight: Where The Pure Vessel Reveals Their Fears

How else are they going to cope with that need for perfection, that need to prove themselves worthy of the reason their life was spared, by being flawless in any way they can? Being a mechanical, flawless fighter puts so much pressure on them, both literally (repetitive strain injuries fucking HURT) and figuratively--if you're predictable, the only sure way to win is to mop the floor with your opponents before they figure you out. Hell, that's the way most people play their first run of Hollow Knight, by throwing themselves at the bosses over and over until they figure out the patterns. That strategy is inherently going to fail against an opponent that's, say, an immortal higher being.

There's no way that the Vessel didn't figure this out, and yet none of their TPV specific attacks are positioned randomly--the nails are always evenly spaced, and the Focus explosions are always in a specific height region of the screen. That's clinging to survival strategies even when they become maladaptive in its purest form.

Another dip into psychological theory: let's talk about disorganized attachment. Attachment styles describe how someone's relationships to their main caregiver(s) influence their understanding on relationships in general. Disorganized attachment is a result of an upbringing of inherently unstable parent-child relationships, where there's no way of a child predicting whether an adult is going to be delighted to see them, ambivalent, upset, or otherwise. If my parent woke up some days saying "all right my child, time for the Infinite Buzzsaws Obstacle Course," I'd be the same way. In adulthood this manifests as an inability to form a stable sense of self-concept as well as concepts of others. Mission accomplished, TPK, there's no will to break if you broke it yourself.

This is where the fighting styles as communication comes in--Hollow needs to keep Ghost at a distance to fight, but also wants to be closer to their sibling (the only being who has a chance of understanding what they've been through), BUT also has a trauma-rooted fear of attaching to people, as their experiences with attachment are inherently unpredictable and dangerous. Hence, both the teleportation that doesn't seem to match their fighting style any more reliably than "aim at the thing attacking you" and the second attack unique to the Pure Vessel--they're quite literally lashing out in pain to push people away. There's a reason that attack is so reminiscent of the Thorns of Agony.

Of note is that Holly does seem to teleport like the bugs of the Soul Sanctum do (favoring the edges of a screen, rather than going wherever like Dream Warriors do), which makes sense--they're the most obvious answer to the question "how did they learn how to teleport, anyways?" However, Sanctum bugs have abilities designed to capitalize on this, like homing spells and slashes from above. I can only assume this means that someone saw Holly's proficiency with the nail and assumed it translated to other forms of combat, and didn't feel the need to give them at least a bit of a primer on how to make the best use of it. There's another tally for the Hollow Knight as an autism metaphor.

Trauma Bonds: How the Radiance Speaks Through Hollow

Now, we're back to the Black Egg, and two people stuck in the same sinking ship. The thing that makes this hurt so badly is that Holly and the Radiance are at complete cross purposes here, and yet they both want the same thing:

They both want out, no matter the cost. For the Radiance, this means forsaking the pacifistic nature of the moths and nuking Ghost personally.

For Hollow, this means forsaking the way they were raised and everything that was bludgeoned into their personality: the only way out is to fail, give up control, and trust that Ghost will do what needs to be done.

Imagine how much pain they're in to actually go for it. Going against a literal lifetime of conditioning is something that takes the average person years to even consider, let alone go through with. It's a form of learned helplessness--if you try to break free and fall, again and again, it actively discourages further attempts. Breaking through learned helplessness is an interesting process, because it generally involves re-establishing a sense of control by recalling previous events where the person was able to change their situation.

Which, as far as we know of, are nothing but traumatic memories for Hollow. It's very unlikely that they'd break through it on their own, but we know they have by the time we see the second phase of their fight. This is them at their most desperate: the same music as the Path of Pain, the way they let, or can't stop, the Radiance throw their body around, the way they actively try to let the Radiance out by stabbing themself.

You'd think that giving up and learned helplessness are inherently compatible, but when giving up both goes against your core personality, and involves your active participation, they're in direct opposition. So either Holly was able to process all their trauma by themself (which I doubt, judging by how much effort the player has to go through to even see Ghost's and Hollow's traumatic memories), or someone gave them a nudge or three in that direction.

Considering that there's been someone living in Holly's head who has a vested interest in them Not Doing Their Duty, I think we know who. And the thing is, I think we watch Hollow have this breakthrough during their battle. Imagine for the first time in decades, at least, you can move. You're in pain from being in the same position, probably hallucinating from sensory deprivation, with an infection sucking at what strength your body has left. And there's this little creature who looks ready to fight you, who seems to have let you go for that exact purpose.

And you look down, and both you and the Radiance recognize them from a place rooted deeper than consciousness, in the murky depths of trauma. You see the other Vessel who just as easily could have been you, and who looks so much stronger for not being you, for being an imperfect, willful creature. And the Radiance sees history threatening to repeat itself, another one of the Wyrm's cursed children seeking to lock her away once more.

What else do you do when you're triggered? You scream, and you go on instinct, and you retreat into your head. Those first blows, with the epic music? That's the Vessel the Pale King forged, the fighting machine that will endure unimaginable stress because it knows no other way. What snaps you back out of dissociation? Usually, either the passage of the triggering stimulus, or an even more relevant stimulus (severe pain from getting beaten up by a nail, for example).

The tragedy is this: we know this isn't a triumph. I think most of us went into that fight the first time, knowing we'd be putting the Hollow Knight out of their misery. The music turns tragic, Hollow screams, and then we see the Radiance and Hollow themself break through: the Radiance trying to fight Ghost directly with the resources she has, and Hollow trying to help her along.

For what it's worth, Hollow even had the right idea, when it came to letting themself rest while helping Ghost stop the madness their father started--they were just digging for the Radiance in the wrong place. The dynamic between the Radiance and the Hollow Knight is something I could write on for pages and pages, but this has gone on for long enough. Tune in next time, where I'll presumably talk about this same topic but in reverse with regards to the Radiance.

#hollow knight #hk #the pure vessel #the pale king #the radiance #my meta #the higher being speaks #i hate fact-checking my abuse infodumps because the ableism against personality disorders is EVERYWHERE #but here this monster of an essay is #anyways the hollow knight as a character sniped my trauma on sight #so i may be a tiny bit biased here But Also I'm Right #abuse //#child abuse //#emotional abuse //#i legit do not know what tags to throw on this #also the overarching title is a reference to the song of the same name from just shapes and beats because. yeah

316 notes · View notes

autumnslance · 3 years ago

Note

I've got a writing question that's been on my mind for a while: how do you keep your OCs from becoming self inserts? Every time I think of developing an OC I realize that it's attributes that I

Oops, you got cut off! But in general: all your OCs are going to have traits of yours; it’s inevitable. Sometimes big things, sometimes small things. It’s how we relate to them, and also just natural, I promise. We write what we know, and we know how we interact with ourselves and the world.

But there is a difference between sharing some traits with a character and making them a self-insert. It’s letting their life, their community and culture, their experiences, also influence their traits and thinking, in ways that might be different from how you would respond in a similar situation. Even if you share those attributes.

This is me so let’s go behind a cut shall we?

Dark Autumn is as introverted and solitary by nature as I am; she can and does interact in professional and friendly ways with people (as I try to do), but needs alone time to recharge. However, Dark also has a very different outlook and relationship with her family than I, since her family is large and supportive, very close knit. If family is a lottery, I got the $50 scratch off prize while she hit the Mega-Millions. So I take that into account when thinking of her relationships not just with family, but with friends and potential romantic interests; Dark sees things through a lens of positive, low-drama familial relationships that I can barely fathom. This also means she has a support network and resources myself and other characters don’t, so gets some wish fulfillment of working through issues with care and grace instead of remaining in unhealthy places. She is my “comfort OC” so gets a lot of good things I wish I had—which shapes how she responds to others, like taking care of a FCmate and becoming something of a big sister figure for him, or the responsible older sister figure of my group of OCs. Which is me, really, idealizing my own older sister tendencies into this giant woman who’s better at it.

Aeryn was written to be on the ace scale; not my first character to be so, but the first written that way as I began to realize where my own orientations lie and wanting to examine that through fiction. That she fell for a certain rogue in the process of playing through MSQ again was not at all intentional. I like Thancred as a character—he hits a lot of tropes I enjoy—but in my own mindset, he’s a frustrating younger brother. I didn’t think I’d do NPC x WoL shipping. But there it is, because in determining Aeryn’s own experiences and how those shaped her, it ended up working out that way (and I spent the better part of 2 years writing the characters separately to figure that out and if it could work before writing them together because it’s not something that comes naturally to me).

Aeryn’s internal anger is something I have a difficult time with; it’s outside my own nature to carry things like that. I have my angers, certainly, but they are different from hers. I tend to need a lot to set me off and then it burns out hot and quick. Aeryn’s more of a long boil she keeps bottled up. I’ve gotten a few things through various fics, I think, but it’s why I do things like reference arguments but rarely depict them. Being non-confrontational myself (I’m meek and have hangups thanks to my own life) it’s a challenge. Aeryn responded to childhood traumas (that I never dealt with), bullying (that I did), losses (that I haven’t yet), and the responsibility she’s been given (thank goodness I don’t) far differently than I. Maybe I’d be more volatile, too, if I had her life. But I understand where her anger comes from sharing some of the reasons, I just shape it differently than my own.

There’s a lot of things about Dark and Aeryn that are accidentally similar, just due to the timing of their character generation and other RP OCs made for other games along the way; “Oh I haven’t done X or Y in a character in awhile” sort of thing, but how each approaches those similarities and why—their quietness, their issues with using magic, their tendency to “adopt” others as family—all come from different places and resolve differently, too.

C’oretta comes from a part of me that doesn’t quite want to grow up. That wishes I had been more of the peppy, active, cheerful, risk-taking, live it up stereotypical party kid, that “popular girl” archetype I felt so often on the outside looking in about. As my second character, I wanted her to be different from Dark Autumn—visually, emotionally, mentally. Where Dark is steady, C’oretta is flighty. While Dark is people oriented, C’oretta’s a bit selfish (like I often feel). Dark’s introverted, C’oretta’s extroverted. Much of C’oretta’s attitude is a deflection against the hurts in her life, a way to fight back against some terrible things. It’s a way I could never react. But I also can’t get away from a character who loves to learn and wants to try new things—but where other characters gain the ability to stick with and see them through, C’oretta gets my easy frustration and boredom, and then the “ooh shiny” of a new interest. There’s a history of ADHD (or whatever the acronyms are now) and even autism and learning issues in my family; it’s possible I have some undiagnosed ND stuff going on, and people have noted these things in C’oretta that I’ve based on my own experiences and those of people very close to me.

Many of my characters have traits I wish I had, or were better at; patience, kindness, consideration, convictions, courage, thoughtfulness, and so on and etc. They’re good at skills I haven’t the knowledge in, or the ability to do. They’re certainly more active than I am, or could be! Because I can take the time to think and plan and research and write those things out better, and just maybe along the way not only learn something myself, but try to practice it better myself. I can even sometimes let them teach me what I can possibly do or be, not just imagine it as an ideal that’s out of reach.

I try to let my characters make mistakes I wouldn’t—or in some cases, have in my past, and that’s OK. Especially if I learned from them, but maybe the character does not. Maybe they do but it takes awhile, or repeated instances until it sinks in. Maybe I let them make errors I still make, as a way to puzzle out better solutions I should probably entertain for myself.

Character voice is something I’ve felt I struggled with in keeping my OCs distinct. Do characters ‘sound’ alike, in dialogue and prose? Having distinct ways of speaking helps; C’oretta’s breathless chatty run-ons are certainly different from Dark and Aeryn’s quieter tendencies. I have to remember to trim down Aeryn’s dialogue more often, say less aloud, add more gestures and facial expressions. I tend to be a talker, an over-explainer (if you can’t tell), while the only times she gets like that are specific. Dark’s somewhere in the middle of those two, like I am. A lot of the reason I like writing NPCs and try to keep them close to my interpretation of canon is to practice distinct character voice to get better at it in my OCs, so they don’t sound like me!

And something I’ve never admitted to before is that I think for me, it helps that from the time I was a kid watching various series of Star Trek, I always have had an in-my-own-head-only self-insert. She’s always a support character (that’s what I’m best at). She has cool and unusual abilities to help the actual heroes, cuz heck it’s my internal fantasy and that’s fun. She has traits I want to be better at or wish I had, developed over time with more energy and focus than I can actually muster in reality. As time’s gone on, she’s become more of a mentor and Mom Friend as I’m now older and see a lot of protagonist characters as “my kids” now. She appears in nearly every story I’ve loved over time, in one iteration or another. And because I have a headspace character where I can say “this is what I, ideally, would say and do and be capable of in this situation…” My other characters that I actually write about can vary between doing something similar (if it suits them) to doing something completely different (cuz darn kids never listen) as I can compare them to the self-insert and decide where to diverge.

So it’s a mix of myself and my traits and knowledge, but taking into account how each character would respond and use those same attributes differently than I do or would. Write what you know, write who you are—and then add in some wish fulfillment, some what ifs, some bad choices, some good choices, and shake things up. Give the characters tics and tricks different from yourself and let that shape them, too, by remembering to take those things into account (even if you have to tape a note to your monitor).

And finally, don’t be ashamed of your self-inserts; I’ve known some great characters that started as self-inserts and grew, through their experiences, into wholly different people than their writers over time. Heck, the epic romance my original WoW priest was part of was with a character that started as a self-insert; his player began the game knowing nothing of the lore or roleplaying, but as he learned the story and how to RP, and determined how his character fit into the world and how that shaped him, the character diverged over time, while still sharing some key traits (some endearing, some frustrating, as people are and all part of that friend). It’s not a bad starting point at all. The rest can come over time and practice, especially if you make a lot of OCs and try to make them different from each other while also being aspects of yourself.

#Writing #Blogging #About me #Lyn Prompts #Character Development #Self Inserts #Original Characters

36 notes · View notes

nexstage · 3 years ago

Text

Amphibia’s environment, both social and natural

If there is something everyone knows about Amphibia is that growth and change are two of the most important themes in the show apart from establishing healthy relationships and what makes a friendship healthy or unhealthy.

The four themes are deeply connected and the understanding the girls have of friendship is portrayed in how they interact with one another and with others characters. But while Anne learns through all the hard lessons and experiences with the Plantars how friends should be with one another, Marcy and Sasha are still stuck in their unhealthy ways, no matter if one is more visible than the other.

Her constant character development and the stagnant/static condition of her friends weren't only portrayed in the dynamics they have with multiple characters; the environment, the nature, and especially the temples symbolize the nuance, flaws, struggles each one has faced or are still facing.

Anne's arc, for starters, is everything about maturity and development. Before Amphibia, she was negatively influenced by Sasha and Marcy, unhappy with the dynamics between the three, and even copying Sasha's toxic behavior. However, once she became part of the Plantar family and was confronted with responsibility, Anne started to change for the better. She grew kinder, wiser, and more confident.

That growth is related to the environment she found herself in when she was stranded on Amphibia. Wartwood is a village of farmers, they use their pieces of land to cultivate vegetables, herbs, etc.

The Plantars are farmers too. Let's not forget the twigs and leaves on her hair throughout the whole show that grew a lot when she activated her Calamity Powers.

One could say that is overthinking but if you watched Season 1 and True Colors with this data in mind you would see the meaning behind Anne ending up with the Plantars and in Wartwood of all places. With their influence, she overcame the toxic traits she had copied from Sasha and stood up for herself and the people she cared about when the moment came.

Concerning the temple of Courage/Heart, here is where it gets interesting. The temple was hidden from everyone because it was placed on the top of a tower, in a snow-covered landscape.

The location and the weather symbolize both betterment through hard work and surpassing the hardships of the past respectively. How? In every trial to charge the blue gem, Anne risked her life to protect or save someone despite the dangers: first Marcy from a giant bird, then she tried to warn a stranger from an avalanche, and then she saved Valeriana during their fight. Those three challenges highlighted her caring nature, but the most important one was accepting responsibility for her past actions: stealing the music box, in this case. And it happened at the top of the mountain where the blue gem was charged. By owning up her mistakes, added to her empathy, Anne could pass the trials, she learned from a difficult time of the past and overcame it, which represents the growth of nature after a harsh winter, the spring. And being at the highest place to succeed in charging the blue gem represents how far she had come since she ended up in Amphibia.

With Marcy we could say is the opposite, though. It has been implied in her debut episode and with the seashell on her coat that water is the element for her character arc. Besides, Newtopia, the place where she ended up, is surrounded by water, kind of like an Amphibia version of Atlantis.

Now water is an invaluable element. Water is life, remember the motto? So, where could be the cons if it's rooted in Marcy? Simple, water changes.

It does it ALL the time. It can be liquid, gaseous, or solid depending on the weather and place. It can also take any shape because it doesn't have one. You pour water inside a square, spherical, or cylindrical container, and that's the form it will take.

The irony is glaring because Marcy is connected to an element that changes so many times while she's averse to change. It's because she didn't want to be separated from her friends and planned to keep things as they always were that the three were stranded in Amphibia. That is another tragic irony for the sole reason that she refused to accept this change in her life, moving to another state because of her father's job, but decided to change her and her friends' life forever by sending them all to Amphibia.

As well as this elemental circumstance, we cannot forget how influential, positively and negatively, has been Newtopia for Marcy. The whole place spelled history and scholars everywhere, it was where her thirst for knowledge thrived, where she became an important figure thanks to her improvements for the city, and where she met King Andrias, the supposedly kind ruler who stabbed her later.

And water makes its appearance once more. How? With King Andrias. He who manipulated and enabled Marcy's escapism tendencies. He represented the poison, the toxicity while Marcy, despite being toxic in her own way, was the water, dirty already but then contaminated much more by Andrias. There is also the fact that he gained her trust for his own gain, which represents pouring water into a container of your liking to give it shape.

Let's go now to the first temple. Like in any typical movie with ancient places filled with traps and treasures, the temple of Wisdom is shown as this mystical site of a few millennia surrounded by dense vegetation.

Nothing has changed outside or inside of it, and that's the thing. Nothing. Has. Changed. The temple covered in moss, a once-imposing place in history, represents Marcy's desire for things to remain static, because, as stated before, change means to be torn apart from her friends which is her biggest fear.

But aversion to change is not the only flaw and theme in Marcy's arc, two others of her obstacles are her narrow-mindedness and hyper focus on one thing at the cost of the others' wellbeing. It was shown on the trials how concentrated she was, ignoring how she put Anne and the Plantars in danger while solving the magic Rubik cube, and then shrugging off Sprig and Polly's worries over Anne and Hop Pop's fight.

In the end, because of those flaws, she ended up in a cryogenic tube, in stasis, and look at that! Surrounded by water.

Last but not least, Sasha. As the most complex character and the most directly toxic, her arc is intertwined with an element that encompasses the best and worst of her, her duality and contradictions. Fire.

Pretty obvious because the third temple is inside a volcano.

Just like her, fire can be both a tool and a weapon, it can warm you and it can burn you. It is a source of energy but also it can become an inferno. And, using the words of the sun warrior chief from Avatar: "Fire is life, not just destruction."

This phrase might be applied in Season 3 once Sasha learns to lean on her better qualities instead of doubling down on her mistakes and toxic traits. Learning to be supportive and kind instead of controlling can represent the phrase above, that Sasha, despite her flaws and the bad things she had done, can get and be better, healthier, and wiser.

One of the most prominent aspects of her arc is how obsessed she is with control. Controlling her friends, her decisions, controlling the situation, everything has to be her way. But now, what can someone say about these two Avatar quotes?

"The flame will go out if you make it too small. Make it too big, and you might lose control."

"But fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it!"

Don't they sound ironic concerning Sasha?

It's because they are. Sasha loves to be in control, to have power, but when it is needed from her, she can’t control herself and her toxicity. She lacks discipline and humility which in the end, holds her back and she pushes away and hurts the people she cares about.

Sasha is also arrogant, prideful. She thinks she knows what's best for everyone or even herself when in fact she has no idea what she’s doing but isn't willing to reflect on her actions and the consequences. Her emotional stuntedness is fueled by her selfishness and ego; it is a harmful, self-destructive behavior which is shown in how Anne called her out for being an awful friend, Percy and Braddock leaving her after she endangered them, and Anne breaking off her friendship with her after the second betrayal.

So, one aspect in her arc on Season 3 that she will surely develop is admitting she makes mistakes and working hard to make amends whether she is completely forgiven or not. In the words of Iroh: "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

There is also her severe case of narrow-mindedness/close-mindedness. Sasha is cunning and strategical but she neglects consideration for others' ideas and opinions. That tendency of always thinking she's right is another self-destructive behavior that makes her push her friends away instead of giving them a chance of being open-minded and grow.

Again, with another wise quote of Iroh: "It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." So, what she needs to develop too in her arc on Season 3 is understanding others, not because she can gain something from it, but because it can help her do better. Comprehension, discipline, and humility are the virtues I bet Sasha will learn more about in her redemption by interacting with the Wartwood citizens.

Now with the environment and the temple. As we know, Sasha was captured and imprisoned in the Southern Toad Tower.

The atmosphere of that place you could say is filled with toxic masculinity because it's all about "the law of the strongest", also the way Grime considers softness a weakness and prefers ruthlessness and cruelty shows how intoxicating it is working there for many soldiers who aren't comfortable with their captain or his methods.

The aesthetic of Toad Tower looks from a horror movie too. Covered in spikes, surrounded by somber nature and steep mountains, with the crimson moon shining above it. Anyone would think the place belongs to hell.

When you added to that a hot-headed, arrogant, reckless, controlling, and manipulative teenager, you got the most explosive mix of all. Once again, the show has hit us with the irony because even when Sasha thrives there as a soldier and gains Grime's respect and support, she's actually digging her own hole.

Her strength and intelligence are used as weapons to terrorize the village, and her better qualities are pushed aside if not completely nullified while her manipulative skills and crave for control are feed by Grime's goals.

There was one opportunity in Season 2 for Sasha to get away from his influence and grow as a person: Toadcatcher. Being far away from Toad Tower wasn't enough because, despite having her pride at the lowest point when Anne was trying to save her in Reunion and kind of an epiphany of how her actions had hurt her best friend, Grime was still there, maybe not as the glory-seeking captain but he was the only thing left for Sasha, besides Percy and Braddock at a less degree, and she actively kept leaning on her flaws and mistakes, reigniting Grime's thirst of power which in turn fueled Sasha's obsession with control.

Apart from that, it was obvious there was a bond between Grime and Sasha despite how much of a bad influence he is, and believing she had lost Anne her attachment went directly to Grime, for that reason, she refused to leave him while Yunan was chasing them.

The other Toad Tower where Sasha was seen was the Northern one, and the appearance just shows us she's getting much worse, digging her hole deeper.

The place is much more threatening and terrifying than the former tower, is surrounded by nature that looks like it is rotting, while the site's display is of a castle partially in ruins that stubbornly keeps standing to showcase its power. It represents Sasha's arrogance trying to cover up how lost she is since Toad Tower and her insecurities.

A curious thing about both towers is the night. They were debuted in the night, making the environment more sinister than it could have been if it were in the morning or the afternoon. The night atmosphere embodies Sasha's worst self that she's letting grow and fester and ruining her along with her relationships. Unlike Wartwood and Newtopia that debuted on the day, the Toad Towers appeared at hours of the night, and it has happened two times, Season 1 and 2.

However, Season 3 will be a huge change because the Northern Tower has been destroyed by Andrias, and in the intro of S3, Sasha and Grime are shown with the people of Wartwood in what looks to be a new rebellion, this time against Andrias. So, being in Wartwood again and for a longer time and interacting with the villagers might help Sasha to find herself and nurture her better qualities while she works for her redemption.

And with that finished, we go now to the Third Temple, the temple of Strength/Power. As stated before, it is inside a volcano. And its trials are fit for Sasha due to her physical and fighting abilities. However, there's much more than that.

As everyone knows a volcano can be in two states: dormant and active. Fitting that with Sasha's personality shows that she is a closed-off person who keeps her feelings and intentions secret whether because of her being hermetic or because she can use it in her favor. In both ways, the image fits.

Honesty is important in a relationship, not only communication and trust, and Sasha has proven to be pretty dishonest with Anne and Marcy. She clearly cares and loves her friends, but her actions erode those feelings and her perspective of friendship is deeply skewed. Like a volcano, she kept her feelings inside instead of facing and understanding them to have a healthier mindset and comprehend others, and when she explodes or shows her true intentions it hurts the people around her.

This is the fourth lesson for her to learn in Season 3, how to be emotionally honest without using that new knowledge to manipulate people.

As the last points to check, if we compare the location of each temple, we can see that Anne is the one who has grown the most from the three girls because the temple of Heart/Courage is at the top of a tower, surrounded by clouds. Meanwhile, Marcy and Sasha's temples are on a lower level which signifies that their arcs will take much more time and work for them to be developed, especially changing for the better and atoning for their mistakes. Talking about that, Sasha is the one who will likely change the most of the three because her temple is inside a volcano, and a volcano's magma comes from the underground where the planet's core is.

There is one curious thing when the elements related to each girl are put together. Anne has the plant life; Marcy, the water; and Sasha, the fire. In a single picture, it's like watching a plant of any kind absorbing the warmth of the sun and drinking the water it needs. Sasha can represent the sun because it is a star covered by fire. With Marcy, it has been stated already. But here is the thing, too much warmth can suffocate the plant, and too much water can make it wither. There must be a balance which there isn't in their relationship as we have seen how toxic and dysfunctional it is from the start.

And the three have their own set of flaws and faults too, some are easier to point than others that can be portrayed in their elements. Plant life, for example, is not only filled with pretty little flowers or juicy vegetables and fruits, there are venomous, carnivorous, parasitic plants too. Fire, as I've listed, can be both a tool or a weapon, it can destroy or be used as an energy source. Water is life, but too much can drown you or it can freeze you because it changes depending on the circumstances.

Anne, Marcy, and Sasha can be pretty toxic and have the capacity to change and grow into better people. Anne has shown us her constant character arc and how much effort she puts in to be a better version of herself every day, and let's not forget that she is surrounded by a kind family, the Plantars, teaching her how relationships and friendships should be.

Now that Season 3 is a few weeks away, it's time for Sasha and Marcy to start their own betterment too, with the support of reliable people they might meet in the way.

#Amphibia #meta analysis #calamity trio #title has been changed #Posted also on Twitter

17 notes · View notes