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The Romanticism of One Piece
Iâm always amazed by how Oda has managed to stay thematically consistent for more than two decades while writing a thousand plus chapter epic about silly pirates having fun chasing their dreams. One Piece, at its core, is about the dawn of a romantic adventure, and its been that way since volume one, chapter one.
But romance is one of those terms whose meaning as shifted over the years and is drastically misunderstood. So what is literary romance, and how does One Piece fit within its framework?
Well buckle up, folks. This is gonna be a long one.
Romanticism as a movement started in the late 18th century, and is described by Isaiah Berlin as the âthe greatest single shift in the consciousness of the Westâ. The modern ideas of childhood, imagination, and sentimentality were born here. Itâs a rejection of societyâs constraints in favor of impossible yearning for impossible goals. Romantics were restless and passionate, and embraced the magnitude of their feeling over the scientific rigors of the Age of Reason.
Sound familiar?
Romanticism gets its name from the old medieval ballads (themselves written in the Romantic languages) that became popular with the growing movement. The 19th century was a period of incredible change. Industrialization, urbanization, and the development of the middle class were all new. Revolution, both industrial and political, was changing the course of the world forever. The Romantics worshiped heroes of the past (in fact, the term hero worship was coined during this time) and sought a return to nature. William Wordsworth famously lobbied against the building of railways in his beloved Lake District, and much of the art of the time, whether it be painting or poetry, focused heavily on manâs relation with nature
In addition to rebelling against traditional political structures, the Romantics also broke away from the traditional religious teaching, many believing that man found enlightenment not through theology or the bible, but by study and attunement with nature. One of proto-Romantic writer Jean-Jaques Rousseauâs most influential works Emile, or On Education was banned in parts of Europe and even publicly burned due to its ideas on natural religion.
All of this leads to the Romantic pursuit of the sublime. While Enlightenment thinkers would often attempt to remove themselves emotionally from what they were experiencing in order to understand said experience through objective, immutable fact, the Romantics sought emotion, awe, and reverence that transcended rational thought. They celebrated and marveled at the wonders of creation, allowing themselves to be consumed by emotion and experience. These were not stoic people, and its here where One Piece truly begins to shine as a work of Romantic art
The world of One Piece, particularly once the story gets to the Grand Line, is chalk full of impossible wonder and whimsy. Each island visited along the journey is a feast for the eyes, and Odaâs art does each distinct and incredible location every justice. Luffy has no desire to see the boring or everyday, and he has no qualm in expressing his excitement everywhere he goes. Oda has made the conscious decision never to let the reader look into Luffyâs thoughts via thought bubbles, but the audience is still able to connect with him because they are always aware of what he he is feeling. Every smile takes up half his face, every sadness drawn as a sniveling wreck. Logical ideas are routinely rejected in favor of desired experiences, and Luffy himself rejects the opportunity to hear the answer to the seriesâs biggest questions because to him, the journey is more important.
Itâs important that Luffyâs mindset isnât all that common, even a world as wild and wacky as One Piece. As the Jaya arc proves, Rogerâs execution initially inspired a generation of pirates to go out and follow their dreams, but in the twenty years since his death that ideaolgy has crumbled under the weight of a new wave of dreamless pragmaticism, the same way the Romantic movement gave way to the Realists who followed.Â
Luffyâs Romantic spirit stands out, even amongst the Straw Hat Pirates. Many of the Straw Hatâs character arcs involve Luffy helping to remove the blocks that prevent them from living out their Romantic ideals. As the series progresses, the crew inches towards embodying that freedom of spirit that Luffy exemplifies. What that looks like for each crewmate is different (Romanticism is highly individualistic, after all) but theyâre given the opportunity to live out that ideal because of their association with Luffy.
This theme of freedom of expression and pursuit of dreams follows the Straw Hats wherever they go on both the micro and macro level. The Romantic pursuit of self-determination bleeds over nearly every arc with Luffy at its epicenter, until it comes to a crescendo during the Wano arc, when the true nature of Luffyâs fruit comes to light for the first time.
Luffy is the beating heart of One Pieceâs Romanticism. He specifically imbues many of the Romantic ideals of childhood, such as innocence, joy, and being unprejudiced by a corrupting society. Heâs uncomplicated yet passionate, without a care in the world for what anyone else thinks about him, and because of that disregard for authority he comes off as equal parts wise and naive.
In Emile, Rousseau lays out his idea of childhood education, which doesnât include a classroom so much as the childâs interaction with the world, emphasizing the senses and building on the childâs own observations and inferences. The Romantic child was instinctual and in tune with nature, and a character like Luffy growing up on the fringes of society while spending most of his time romping around in the woods would not be out of place (see Mary Robinsonâs The Savage of Aveyron, based on the real story of a feral boy that had been found in France).
What makes Luffy different is that he never loses that simplicity of character even as he interacts with an increasingly complex world. Yes, he matures both as a person and a captain, bearing the weight of terrible loss and difficult decisions, but he does it still while maintaining that curious mix of selfish desire to do whatever he wants and selfless sacrifice towards the people he cares about. Luffy doesnât want to be a hero, but remains uncorrupted by the malevolent social hierarchies that rule One Pieceâs world.
But for all the ways One Piece is a Romantic story, the philosophy of the series departs in several key places. The Romantics of the late 18th and 19th centuries were reacting to the anxieties brought around by the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent urbanization that came along with it, while One Piece belongs squarely to the post-modern era of the 21st. While both glorify a long-gone past, what that past looks like is very different. One Piece fully embraces technology and progress, as best seen during the conflict between Noland and Calgura in the Skypia flashback. While industrialization is sometimes portrayed negatively (see Wano) itâs just as likely to be seen in a positive light (Water 7), and the mysterious civilization of the Void Century was more technologically advanced than the present day manga, not less.
Whatâs more important than modernization and technological advance is the ways people use said technology. The beautifully rendered locations along the Straw Hatâs journey are just as likely to be vast stretches of wilderness as bustling metropolises, and that search of wonder and the sublime is equally likely to be found in both.
More importantly, I think, is that the Romantics of old were solitary creatures, brooding and isolated from the people around them. There was a preoccupation of creating art devoid of outside influence. The sublime was a deeply personal experience that by its very nature could not be shared with others. Melancholy, loss, solitude, and death were preoccupations of the Romantic mind, the price of visionary genius being social isolation.
One of the most famous Romantic heroes of the 19th century was Thomas Chatterton, a young genius of a poet who, in the midst of poverty and depression killed himself at the age of 17. He was immortalized in paintings and poems, and his influence can be felt to this day by the persistence of the trope of the suffering artist that he, and countless others, helped codify.
One Piece is the story of a boy who rejects the confines of society in search of his own freedom, but he does not do so alone. Luffy is driven as much by the desire to be with his friends as he is by his desire to find the One Piece. The series agrees that risking death is an acceptable part of chasing ones dream, but rejects the notion that it should be sought out or celebrated. Itâs better to live an undignified life in the hope of a better tomorrow than to give into an easy death.
And thatâs the fascinating part about how philosophies evolve over time, because as much as One Piece borrows from the Romantic era of the 18 and 19th centuries, it isnât a Romantic story, just as how no amount of research and copying of style could ever turn a historical novel written today into a product of the era its trying to emulate. Oda has taken an old idea and made it into something new, using that idea as the guide for the entire series. Like sun, guiding to the dawn of a new era.
A Romance dawn, if you will.Â
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Just a little line to say your dogs fill me with feelings! Your line art is divine. You make it all look so easy, and effortless. Like my logical brain knows this is false because I failed art, I cannot draw a stick figure to save my life, but your boys just look so NATURAL, Iâm staring at them like âyeah. Easy peasy.â
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#thank you so much!#that's so nice to hear!#and I know the feeling#I get that often when I'm listening to music or reading any type of fiction#I don't know how to create either but I can tell 'oh yeah this person knows what they're doing they make it seem so easy and clear'#it's satisfying to see things slotting together perfectly as an outsider#happens with visual art a lot too but I can usually analyze and deconstruct it a little bit better#when it's a form of creativity that is more foreign to me it's like wizardry#like how on EARTH#answered#hrh-spinach
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I'm so grateful that the only GG fans that care about the light novels are the ones that can be normal about things because Lightning the Argent goes from the rawest scenes of carnage imaginable to Ky Kiske doing something mildly religious like offering a short, silent, prayer for someone that got mangled to death by WMD dragons, and I just know that, in the wrong hands, those brief religious moments would generate the most annoying goddamn memes you could ever imagine
#textpost#I have a mountain of beef with catholicism specifically and am negative percent religious#But the punchline to so many Ky jokes is just âha ha catholicâ like come onnnnn get creative#Religion on its own isn't bad. Look instead at how an individual interacts with it and judge from there#Untapped potential in how Ky's consistently depicted praying to Mary/an unspecified female saint for example#Actually... How come I've never seen anyone analyze that aspect of his belief?#His parents died when he was pretty young (iirc) so their influence couldn't've been too much of a contributing factor in that#Maybe he was closer to his mom in the brief time he had with his parent(s)?#Almost all of the Holy Order knights/members they've ever shown have been male too#So I wonder if maybe it's more like the calm/uncombative protective presence of a sacred woman is comforting to him?#It's definitely a stark contrast to the types of things he's generally exposed to in his daily life in any case#Another interesting contrast is how much Sol DOESN'T like religion#He's got some sarcastic lines about God and stuff even pre-Gearification. Wonder what the story with that is...#Anyway Ky only expressing his religion in private moments is interesting to me too#I can't think of an instance where he ever forced it on someone else or tried to explain something as happening just because God willed it#He's smart and logical and yet he still has this spiritual component...#Man is his character is complex. Studying this blond kid under a microscope...
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when i think about hanamiya makoto, i think what i respect most is the sheer pragmaticism.
like oh, you entered a field of high school basketball players who seemingly have superpowers? well if you break their legs... what type of superpower is gonna help them?
#makoto hanamiya#i know it's probably awful for me to say#but because everyone just has some supercool type shit... and makoto's thing is merely ''analyze the positions of the entire field''#i think he deserves to get a (literal) leg up in front of the race#i love him so much and i understand that what he did is fucked up but#i really admire his quick thinking and creative approach#as in creativity = violence#and i always admire a person who takes shortcuts to get ahead#even if i understand they're EVIL - i wish i could have that kind of disregard towards others to make my life even a bit better#he's deeply egotistical and goal-driven and i wish i had just a smidgeon of that myself#girlbossing his way out of obscurity towards a prison sentence? you go you go you go#at least you have a goal
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This is my encouragement to take the spells that seem fun and flavorful but aren't that mechanically useful. I took Encode Thoughts for my wizard cause i thought it seemed like a silly wizard spell and i've gotten SO much mileage out of it. With this cantrip a significant amount of shenanigans, I've just pulled off a detect thoughts without even having the spell in my spellbook.
#I am so so in love with encode thoughts. it's such a like specific case type spell but i've had so many good ways to use it#room that i won't remember when i leave it? go in encode thoughts come out and read the memory strand#got a cool vision that you want to analyze for clues later? encode those thoughts and take a good peak when you have more time#guy won't tell you the name of his god? use a homebrew metamagic option (imbue spell lets you cast range of self spell on another willing#creature) and deceive the guy into letting you cast encode thoughts on him and pull out that memory#its so good. its such a silly little wizard type of spell. its so unnecessarily specific. its perfect for bs#and its so so fun to get creative with it!!!!#d&d#ttrpg
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Medic, Maverick, Maniac, Murderer: Understanding Pharma
First thingâs first: I love Pharma, dearly.
In all the time Iâve spent evaluating his character, Iâve mainly focused on what can be worked out about who he is as an individual: his core sense of self, psychological drives, subjective worldview, etc.
When all else is stripped away, who is Pharma?
This treatise is the product of obsessing over Pharma, analyzing canon (and extras), and reading as many different perspectives on his character from fans across the fandom as I could find. The post is long, so for those of you who balk at the thought of reading a shortficâs worth of Pharma thoughts, feel free to read the TL;DR (Conclusion) at the end and then decide if the full read is worth your time. Also, a premium reading experience is available in the form of the original Google Doc version.
As you read, keep in mind that this is primarily a mix of psychoanalysis, evidence-based examination, and speculationânot moral, ethical, or sociological commentary. The goal is to examine Pharmaâs psychological drives and core values, and each of his appearances in the context of those. All other types of evaluation are up to readers.
Now, take your victim blaming-allergy meds (just in case); remove your black-and-white thinking caps; and leave your personal morality lenses at the door.
Psychological Drives & Core Values
Why does Pharma act the way he does? What gives him a reason to keep living? What are his personal priorities?
At the beginning of the Delphi arc, First Aid establishes Pharma as a âcontrol freakâ and someone who âthinks heâs an expert on everything.â
Now, First Aid has a habit of complaining about his bosses, but on both points, thereâs canon evidence to back them both.
Expertise and Intellect
Throughout the Delphi and Luna 1 arcs, itâs established that Pharma is a skilled and brilliant doctor.
He once performed a 4-way fuel pump transplant, donating his own fuel pump in the process. (see above panel)
Later, he invented a soundbomb that left an echo laced with a virus and invented an antidote to that virus:
And on Luna 1, he was on the edge of finding a cure for Cybercrosis, based on the fact that Swerve was able to formulate a cure from his notes.
More than being a doctor, Pharma lives for intellectual and scientific achievement as a physician scientist. He feels most alive when heâs able to solve complex medical problems, and when his achievements are recognized by those whose opinion he considers important.
This is Pharmaâs 'why.'
And even though heâs arrogant and enjoys praise, itâs not his primary motivation. He doesnât need it in order to set his mind to whatever heâs interested in, although heâll seek it from those he values most (i.e. Ratchet).
Pharma sees himself as less of a doctor, and more as a scientific innovator or medical maverick. The practice of medicine is primarily a catalyst for his creativity and intellect; itâs not an end in and of itself like it is for someone like Ratchet or First Aid.
First Aidâs observation of Pharma can be better phrased as, â[Pharma] thinks heâs an expert on everything medicalââbecause heâs not so driven by achievement and admiration that heâll grovel at the feet of strangers and get good at something he doesnât personally find interesting. The only time we see him express a desire for praise is when heâs around Ratchetâsomeone he holds in high regard for both personal and professional reasons. This makes sense since Ratchet is one of the only people who can give Pharma any kind of competition within what he considers to be his area of expertise.
âEach day we go to our work in the hope of discoveringâin the hope that some one, no matter who, may find a solution of one of the pending great problemsâand each succeeding day we return to our task with renewed ardor; and even if we are unsuccessful, our work has not been in vain, for in these strivings, in these efforts, we have found hours of untold pleasure, and we have directed our energies to the benefit of mankind.â âNikola Tesla
Ego
Without question, Pharma has an inflated ego, but having an inflated sense of self doesnât automatically mean a person is a full-blown narcissist or that they are totally uncaring.
Every personality trait exists on a spectrum. Yes, Pharma is arrogant, but the presence of arrogance doesnât automatically and completely cancel out all âpositiveâ traits. (For fun, check out studies on Dark Tetrad and Light Triad personality traits.)
People are complex. Arrogance can coexist with genuine kindness, ruthlessness can coexist with deep compassion, etc.
Whether Pharma exhibits genuine kindness is up to each readerâs interpretation of what little canon material exists, but the point is: Pharmaâs arrogance doesnât automatically rule out the possibility of authentic âpositiveâ traits.
Controlling Tendencies
Pharma is comfortable pulling the power card and using it to dump what he sees as uninteresting parts of medical practice on those below him:
âSo Fisitronâs writing about the Wreckersâ elbows now, is he?â said Delphiâs Chief Medical Officer. âCome on, First Aid - get to it. Youâve got a Fader in Row 2 downstairs.â He squeezed the air with his finger and thumb. âHeâs about this far from shutdown.â âfrom Bullets by James Roberts
However, thereâs nothing in canon indicating heâs power-hungry in a megalomaniacal sense. Heâs not Starscream or Megatron; he doesnât seek political or social power. In fact, he seems perfectly happy hiding away in a lab or medibay by himself so he can direct all his energy toward solving issues and achieving the so-called âimpossibleâ within the field of medicine:
The ways in which Pharma exercises power and control are through his expertise, and his administrative/management skills. Thatâs it.
Self-confidence
Pharmaâs arrogance and controlling tendencies donât seem to be a maskâlike heâs trying to compensate for some sense of lack (in those areas). Yes, he fears failure, and yes, he displays some insecurity when Ratchet questions his competence. But at every other point and in every other way, Pharma is unapologetically self-confident. Heâs fully self-assured of his intellectual prowess and problem-solving capabilities; he knows what he knows, and he also knows what he doesnât know.
Pharmaâs arrogance and desire for control donât stem from a hidden lack of confidence or a hunger for power on its own. They stem from the fact that he genuinely sees himself as the best person for the work he does. He trusts himself above anyone else to solve problems that come his wayâmedical or otherwise (within limits).
Elitism vs. Superiority
Iâve always read Pharma as having an elitist attitude, but not in the social stratification sense:
elitist (adj.) relating to or supporting the view that a society or system should be led by an elite.
Thereâs no evidence that Pharma believes an elite class of people should hold the most power. Instead, Pharmaâs âelitismâ is actually an individualistic sense of superiority. Itâs centered on him alone, and is tied to his capabilities as a physician scientist and surgeon.
Pharma sees himself as the best of the best and makes sure everyone knows itâsometimes through his words, but mostly by his conduct in the field of medicine. This, paired with Pharmaâs natural temperament, doesnât exactly make him socially popularâinside or outside of medicine:
One could argue that the âpersonalityâ Lockdown is referring to was a result of all Pharma had suffered at Delphi and Luna 1, but just as easily, one could argue he was always a bit difficult to get along with, and that his traumatic experiences merely magnified his already-present psychological patterns. Personally, I like the latter interpretation because itâs a flaw that makes Pharma a more interesting character no matter his mental state.
Everyone reacts differently to real and perceived social rejection. Some are so concerned about it that theyâll try anything to belong; others genuinely donât care, and they continue as usual; and still others cope by shifting their mindset and developing a sense of pride in being an outsider.
Thereâs no evidence for this in canon, but I believe itâs within reasonable characterization boundaries to headcanon Pharma as being in the second or third category.
With either of those two mindsets, a sense of superiority can develop, or even be an inciting factor. Either someone sees themselves as genuinely superior to the majority and doesnât mind when this alienates them from people, or they convince themselves theyâre superior because the pain of accepting they were rejected for who they are is too much to handle.
Whatever the case, the point is, having an âelitistâ attitude isnât necessarily rooted in a sociological or ideological belief. Sometimes, individuals just see something in themselves thatâto themâjustifies a sense of personal superiority. A quick glance at Pharmaâs canon appearances makes it clear he holds such a view of himself, at least to some degree.
Morality and Compassion
When Pharma first shows up in canon, heâs working at the New Institute. A lot of questionable things took place there on a regular basisâthings Pharma would have been aware of, to some degree. However, his presence at the Institute doesnât automatically mean he agreed with everything happening. Depending on how strongly someone feels about something, some people are content to disagree in silence. Not everyone who seeks employment considers it a priority that the establishment they work for aligns perfectly with their moral values. After all, there are other reasons to take a job: financial benefits, exclusive educational and career opportunities, pure convenience, etc.
Iâm not here to say either way whether Pharmaâs willingness to turn a blind eye to the events at the New Institute was wrong or right; thatâs up to each reader to decide for themselves. However, Pharmaâs choice to remain employed at the Institute for some time can say something about him as a character: his priority as a doctor and person is not to take care of everyone he encounters, or to act as some kind of moral or ethical authority.
This isnât to say Pharma wonât ever stand up for something he regards as right or push back against something he sees as wrong, âoff screen.â Itâs just that everything in canon points more to a tendency to choose his battles instead of acting immediately on any moral sense the way someone like Optimus or Ratchet might.
This also isnât to say Pharma doesnât care about saving lives, but from what little is shown of him before Delphi, itâs hard to say how much he cared. Ratchet confirms later that Pharma was an excellent doctor for most of his life, but all that tells us is he was an excellent doctor; it says nothing about his internal attitude toward his work or patients.
However, inferences can be made based on doctors in our own world:
Being a doctorâespecially one in trauma careâis far from easy. It takes a lot out of a person, and there are very few people who last in the profession for a long time. Most medical professionals fall into one of the following categories:
People possessing a strong will thatâs coupled with an unwavering passion for taking care of others (the publicâs favorite)
People who naturally have, or develop, an ability to switch their empathy off and on at will, or build walls around itâalso possessing a strong will (the ideal)
People who naturally have a limited capacity for empathy (the one the public hates to acknowledge)
People with a strong social and professional support system (the necessary, but underutilized and underappreciated factor)
Of course, even if a person has one or more of the above, burnout can and does still happen, but individuals who have at least one have the best chances of surviving and thriving amidst the demands of the majority of medical professions.
As far as is shown in canon, Pharma never had a strong support systemâeither circumstantially or by choiceâso something else was keeping him in medicine.
Pharma shows concern for both Tumbler (Chromedome) and Hubcap:
But even though he obviously cared enough to step in, neither instance makes a strong case for a capacity for empathy beyond the âaverageâ or ânorm.â Performing a job well is a lot different from being personally invested in the work.
Based on everything up to this point, and this later comment from Pharma, about RatchetâŚ
âŚPharma has probably never shared the same I-care-about-everything-and-everyone view of the world. Instead, itâs more likely that Pharma holds a more rational view of his work and patients.
One of the first things learned in medicine, especially in trauma medicine, is that you canât help or save everyone, and to hold yourself to that standard can destroy you quickly if you have a certain temperament or lack healthy boundaries for your empathy.
âThere are times when it may seem as though I view sick or injured people not as living, breathing humans with feelings and emotions and people who love them, but simply as cases, as problems to be solved. And that is absolutely true. It's not that I don't have empathy, but the hard fact is that as a doctor, and especially as a trauma surgeon, too much empathy can get in the way of your job and cause you to make decisions based not on sound medical judgment but on your own emotions. Sure, I've seen things that even years later can still make me choke up when I think of them: a little girl shot and killed, a shattered young Marine who shouldn't have died but did. But you can't choke up in the ER or the operating room. To be effective as a trauma surgeon, you have to put a layer of Kevlar around your heart.â âDr. Peter Rhee, Trauma Red: The Making of a Surgeon in War and in Americaâs Cities*
Pharma may have learned this difficult truth earlier than Ratchet and developed a practical way of managing his empathy that comes across as âcold.â He may have always had an ability to put up walls around his spark. Or, he may have always had little to no capacity for empathy.
The fact that the morality lock on Tyrestâs portal prevented Pharma from passing through proves he felt guilty for what heâd done, and JRO confirmed this. Therefore, itâs safe to assume Pharma had some level of empathy for his former patients, suffering moral injury when he felt he had no other option but to start killing them.
Still, looking at Pharmaâs psychological drives and his behavior throughout canon, itâs clear compassionate care and morality are subordinate to his other values and interests.
*I highly recommend this book, and learning about Dr. Rhee in general. Heâs a huge inspiration of mine, and one of my main sources of inspiration when writing Pharma. Level-headed and capable, strong-willed, selectively empathetic, an excellent scientist, etc. He lives for the thrill of practicing medicine both on the floor and as an expert in his field who pushes trauma medicine to new heights through his research. He also takes great pride in his hands. Seriouslyâthe man spent an entire paragraph and a half talking about his âgood handsâ and how they were one of two reasons he decided to go into trauma surgery. The other reason was that he âliked action and excitement, liked the feeling of being able to walk into a tough situation and take control.â (Sounds familiarâŚ)
Delphi
First thingâs first: we donât know how much Pharma did or didnât know about the DJD before agreeing to take the Delphi assignment.
That far into the war, he would have known something about the DJD and their ways of terrorizing traitors and Autobots, but for whatever reason, he took the assignment anyway. Perhaps Prowl assured him the situation on Messatine would be monitored and that the security team would be enough. Perhaps he underestimated the DJDâs capabilities, or scale of territory, and thought he would be able to handle things on his own. Perhaps Prowl gave him no choice. Maybe it was all of these and more.
Whatever the case, according to JRO, Pharma didnât hate Delphi before the incident with the DJD.
Word of god remains a touchy subject in fandom, but in this case, itâs important because it says two things:
The DJD left the Delphi medical team alone for some time.
Being on the edges of DJD territory didnât automatically mean isolation and harassment by their hand.
On the second point, First Aid was free to come and go from Messatine as he pleased, seeing as he attended a medical conference at Kimia five years into his assignment at Delphi:
Five years ago [mid-Delphi assignment], the leader of the Wreckers had cornered him at a medical conference at Kimia, the space station that doubled as a weapons research facility. âfrom Bullets
And five years after that, he was able to not only contact Springer without delay about one of Agent 113âs bullets heâd discovered in an Autobot badgeâŚ
He raced upstairs to his computer terminal and typed in a certain frequency code for the second time in his life. A face appeared on the screen and grinned. âItâs me,â said First Aid. âAnd you're never gonna guess what Iâve got for you..!â
âŚbut he was also able to meet up with Springer to hand off the bullet:
âYour friend has a funny way of making contact,â First Aid had said when heâd got in touch three days earlier, and he was right.
Itâs not known if this handoff happened on or off world, but either way, the DJD didnât interfere.
At some point, Tarn set his sights on Pharma and the Delphi team. Knowing the DJD, one can only imagine what Tarn used to show off his teamâs capabilities and convince Pharma the best option was to cooperate.
In striking a deal with Tarn to keep the DJD away from Delphi, Pharma established his territory and ensured his continued security and the safety of his staff. As long as Tarn got his T-cogs, Pharma could continue on in relative peace. He could work his magic on bots that ended up at Delphi, carry out his management duties, and work on whatever projects or research he may have been conducting in his free time.
For whatever reason, after he first came into contact with Tarn, Pharma didnât call for help. Communications were still operational, as Pharma wouldnât have suggested contacting High Command about the Duobots if the team was aware of any comm malfunctions:
Also, First Aid later confirms that communications were fine until the Big Bang (soundbomb detonation):
Itâs always possible the DJD was monitoring the radio waves, but secure subspace frequencies exist, such as the Datalog Network First Aid used to send the datalog containing the death statistics:
Speaking of which, assuming First Aid sent the datalog with the statistics right when things started to get âweird,â and before the Big Bang shut down comms, it only tookâat mostâa few days for them to reach Ratchet and Swerve on the Lost Light:
But back to Pharma not calling for help: for all of Prowlâs intel, contingency planning, and fretting over the security of Autobot territories, I find it hard to believe he would have stuck an Autobot medical team on the fringes of DJD territory without giving them some means of securely contacting the outside in case of issues.
But even if Prowl didnât give Pharma a secure way to contact him or anyone else, and even if Pharma was convinced the DJD was monitoring regular communications, there were other ways he could have reached out for help. After all, the team wasnât alone on Messatine. Like Pharma said, Prowl continued to send bots to defend the nucleon mines:
The Autobots had been mining nucleon for millions of years at this point, so I doubt the mined nucleon was just sitting in storage on Messatine; shipments of the stuff would have been sent off-world to wherever the Autobots needed it. Why not send a message for Prowl with someone leaving with one of those shipments? A message meant only to be sent over a call when absolutely certain they were out of range of the DJDâs potential monitoring.
Or, why not order in off-world medical supplies and send a message back with the delivery bot(s)?
There are two possible answers to this. One takes into account JROâs word on the subject; the other is more intricate and speculative on my part, but it leads to the same place. So whatever your stance is on the validity of word of god, thereâs an answer for you.
Answer one (word of god)
Simple as that. Pharma was aware of the scope of the DJDâs capabilities and relentlessness, and determined he was trapped prey.
Answer two (no word of god)
There are a few possible reasons Pharma didnât call for help right away:
He was convinced all his other options would take too long and/or would still lead to him being put under suspicion. After all, being found to have harvested even a single T-cog from an already-dead patient for the DJD could have raised concerns that would lead to Pharma being investigated and/or having a mark put on his record.
He underestimated the severity of Tarnâs addiction, and was certain he could keep up with the T-cog demand without resorting to other means of harvesting, not realizing Tarnâs quota would increase later on.
He was already paranoid as a result of whatever mind games Tarn had set in motion at their first meeting, making Pharma think escape was futile.
Word of god or no word of god, there are clear reasons as to why Pharma ended up trapped. Most likely, it was a mix of all of the above.
Whatever was going on in Pharmaâs mind before, he ended up in deeper trouble. Tarn increased his demand for T-cogs, and Pharma couldnât keep up. By the time this happened, even if he had wanted to call for help, it was too late to do so without implicating himself. He reasoned his only option was to start killing patients to harvest their T-cogs.
Soon, Pharma was so consumed with fretting over whether heâd be able to meet Tarnâs next demand that he didnât have time or freedom to do anything else except worry and feel guilty. His whole life revolved around Tarnâs addiction; he was no longer in control, and could no longer enjoy whatever it was about Delphi heâd previously enjoyed. Perhaps the facility itself enabled Pharma to research cures and perform scientific miracles of medicine.
Being at the mercy of Tarnâconvinced the DJD would find him no matter whatâwould have been pure psychological torture on its own, but also knowing that any small chance he did have of getting help would end in him losing everything would have added to his suffering. Pharma became desperate to reclaim control over his life and began planning an escape.
Now, JRO has said that Pharma didnât originally plan to use the rust plague on the DJDâŚbut canon says otherwise:
Of course, Pharma could have been lying to make himself look better in Ratchetâs view, but based on everything heâd been through up to this point with Tarn, itâs more likely he was telling the truth and had tried to eliminate the source of his suffering first. After all, wiping out the DJD would have been the simpler, cleaner option.
When the Duobots refused to detonate the soundbomb near the DJD, Pharmaâs objectives shifted. He had to get Delphi shut down in a way that would:
Convince the DJD the shutdown was legitimate.
Pharma knew chances of escaping the DJD at all were slim to none, but he was desperate. Getting Delphi shut down would cut off Tarnâs supply of T-cogs and allow Pharma to escape Tarnâs immediate control, but the shutdown had to be âlegitimateâ to prevent Tarn from retaliating and hunting him down later. Leaving Tarn even the slightest chance of regaining control was too risky, so Pharma had to make sure his plan was as airtight as possible.Â
Cover up the patient murders.
If the truth got out about Pharma killing patients, heâd lose his medical license and most likely be put away for life. Being cut off from the practice of medicine and his intellectually stimulating work as a doctor would mean losing more than a job and a reputation. It would mean losing everything in which heâd anchored his sense of identity and lifeâs meaning. His refusal to consider any other options wasnât just about ego and preserving his image as an excellent doctor; it was about preserving any kind of meaningful future he saw for himself.
Pharma needed a plan that would fulfill all of the above. Turning the engineered virus on the medical facility was the most effective and efficient solution. Anything else would have made him suspicious in the view of either Autobot High Command or the DJD, and neither of those would have ended well for him.
Because of his goal to preserve his reputation and future in medicine, he couldnât even risk revealing anything to First Aid or Ambulon, who would have seen to his ruin. They became nothing more than loose ends that had to be tied up, and based on the fact that Pharma only prepared one vial of the vaccine, his original plan involved him being the only survivor:
He probably would have had no problem making more of the vaccine for anyone else who survived, but he wasnât counting on it. He wanted a totally clean slate; in letting his staff die with most of his patients, he would be getting rid of any and all evidence and reminders of his failures. He may have cared about First Aid and Ambulon before things got bad, but somewhere along the way, he decided either it wasnât worth it to go through the trouble of finding a way to save them without raising suspicion, or he didnât want to risk them putting together the pieces later on.
Of course, when Ratchet showed up, plans changed.
Ratchet
Ratchet is not the kind of person who seeks first to understand or be understanding. Heâs inclined to trust whatâs in front of him over anything abstract, and tends to look at the results of someoneâs actions over trying to find any kind of âwhyâ behind them. Also, unlike Pharma, he operates from a strong moral sense, and reacts quickly and strongly when something or someone goes against that internal moral sense.
Ratchetâs reaction to finding out what Pharma did may seem hasty and harsh, but it makes perfect sense on a human level. There is no such thing as unconditional love; everyone has personal and moral lines (boundaries), and theyâre different for each individual. When the most rigid of lines is crossed, thatâs it; walls go up and the offender is cut off, no matter how strong the relationship may have been.
Ratchet obviously knew Pharma well enough to think he could try talking some sense into him, but then Pharma revealed that heâd crossed one of Ratchetâs lines: murdering patients. Any willingness Ratchet may have had to try to understand vanished. By the time Pharma started trying to provide a âwhyâ for his actions, Ratchetâs moral judgment had already shut down any chance of understanding what could have possibly led Pharma to kill patients. It didnât help that Pharma seemed totally unapologetic and outright proud of his plan. For Ratchet, the âwhyâ didnât matter anymore. What he saw was what he trusted, and what he saw was a friend whoâd become his idea of a monster.
Now, Ratchet and Pharmaâs relationship is one of the most confusing IDW relationships Iâve had the pleasure and pain of dissecting.
It is notoriously difficult to determine the depth and strength of a relationship from the outside. However, Iâve decided to go ahead and address it anyway because it has the potential to provide insight into Pharma as an individual.
If I were to sum up Pharma and Ratchetâs relationship in a single word, I would use âambivalent.â The first time I read MTMTE, the thing that stood out to me most about their relationship was the drastic differences between how they each perceived the relationship.
In one sense, thereâs the idea of Pharma basically being Ratchetâs crazy stalker ex, which is tossed around in fandom a lot. While I personally dislike seeing it regardless of context (yes, even as a joke), I do see how JROâs writing choices set things up in a way that makes it easy to superimpose that trope.
In another sense, thereâs the idea that Pharma and Ratchet were always close friends, and that what happened at the end of the Delphi story was a betrayal of both sides that came out of nowhere and whose consequences were taken too far.
I disagree with both. Personally, what I see at the end of the Delphi story isnât an obsessed ex gone mad, a sudden betrayal, or a badly executed backstabbing. What I see is a breakdown of an already-complicated and poorly-maintained relationship: true feelings being revealed, long-repressed bitterness being forced to the surface, carefully-hidden cracks being split wide open.
Most people donât have an accurate understanding of how much or how little they truly know the people in their lives, often overestimating how well they know a person until something surfaces and blindsides them.
According to JRO, Ratchet was oblivious to Pharmaâs romantic interest, and throughout canon, itâs easy to see Pharma was more invested in the relationship than Ratchet ever was.
The question is, did Ratchet ever care about Pharma at all? And if so, to what degree?
Yes, Ratchet calls Pharma âbuddyâ and âfriend,â but the former was sarcastic, and the latter means something different to each person. Also, in light of the circumstances, Ratchet could have just been saying âfriendâ in response to Pharma saying itâan emotional appeal more than anything.
However, Pharma must have been aware of Ratchetâs lack of relational investment because during the confrontation at Delphi, Pharmaâs first reaction wasnât to appeal to their friendship (ex: âBut you know me!â). Instead, he appealed to their shared profession:
Then thereâs the exchange of insults:Â
This is what I meant earlier by âtrue feelings being revealed.â Ratchet may have just been trying to match Pharmaâs insult, but itâs unlikely it was merely reciprocal because while Ratchet is snarky at times, heâs sincere in that snark. Thereâs almost always some truth in his verbal jabs no matter how unserious they seem, and heâs never cruel for crueltyâs sake.
So, if Pharma saw Ratchet as an inferior doctor, and Ratchet saw Pharma as an inferior AutobotâŚitâs reasonable to assume there was always some deep-rooted competition and conflict preventing them from being super close.
Possible suspicion surrounding Pharmaâs conduct as an Autobot paired with a tendency to misjudge the nuances of relationships could explain why Ratchet was so quick to decide Pharma was a lost cause. Maybe Pharmaâs actions at Delphi confirmed something from the past that Ratchet had brushed off for whatever reason.
In any case, Ratchet seems to have been largely unaffected by the Pharma he found at Delphi. While leaving Messatine, he emphasizes that heâll miss Pharmaâs talent.
Not âwho he used to be.â
Not âwhat we used to have.â
JustâŚâhis talent.â
Later, on Luna 1, Pharma mentions that he and Ratchet were inseparable, but that could mean a few different things:
Best case scenario: Pharma and Ratchet sought each other out on equal terms.
Worst case scenario: Pharma followed Ratchet around.
Somewhere in the middle: the job forced Pharma and Ratchet to work in close proximity most of the time, and while Pharma intentionally ran into Ratchet more often than necessary, Ratchet also sought out Pharma every now and then.
Whatever the case, working with someone every day doesnât tell you anything about who they are as a person, and the amount of time spent with someone doesnât automatically correlate to how deep the relationship is or how well the people know each other. Itâs not like either Pharma or Ratchet are shown to be good at expressing their personal feelings outside of extreme circumstances.Â
Ratchet does bring up late-night conversations of the past:
But while this indicates there was something deeper between him and Pharma, because neither of them were ever shown to be super open with their true feelings, itâs unlikely the conversations were full of touchy-feely talk. In all likelihood, the conversations were mostly medicine and war-related, with the rare spark-to-spark talk sprinkled in. Also, considering everything up to this point, one has to wonder if those talks ever meant anything to Ratchet, or if he was just digging for something that might stall Pharmaâs torture.
Maybe those late-night conversations did mean something to Ratchet, but whatever the case, Pharma didnât take the bait. He knew Ratchet was trying to stall by making an emotional appeal, and perhaps he was convinced the conversations hadnât meant that much to Ratchet.
Looking at all of this, itâs hard to believe Ratchet ever cared about Pharma as more than an interesting work friend. But even if he had cared more than he let on, it wasnât enough to overcome the doubts he had about Pharmaâs character.
As for whether Pharma truly cared about Ratchet, Iâm convinced he did, but in a mostly unhealthy way, and with a strong undercurrent of one-sided rivalry. At some point, Ratchet had been an equal and a source of challenge, and he probably listened to Pharma pretty often. Itâs reasonable to assume Ratchet was one of the only peopleâif not the only personâable to handle Pharmaâs intense temperament and challenge him in a meaningful way, providing some semblance of friendship for Pharma.
However, one last thing that stands out is that, when telling Ratchet why heâs torturing him, Pharma didnât say anything like, âBecause you hurt meâ or âBecause you turned against meâyour friend.â Instead, he said it was for âruining things at Delphiâ and because âyou declared war on my body.â
Either Pharma wasnât being entirely honest, or Ratchetâs friendship didnât mean as much in the first place as heâd previously implied. Itâs possible the âBecause you hurt meâ was implied in âfor ruining things back at Delphi,â but why not say it outright? Perhaps it was a fear of vulnerability and admitting there was ever a relational need at all.
At the end of the day, itâs difficult to say for certain how close Pharma and Ratchet were, but itâs clear they were never on the same page and there were always barriers between them.
Luna 1
Revisiting the matter of Pharmaâs morality taking a backseat to other priorities, his time on Luna 1 further underscores this. Again, Pharma chooses his battles and is unwilling to put himself at great risk for the sake of others, but a closer look at the situation with Tyrest reveals there wasnât really anything he could have done for the Cold Construct population even if he had wanted to. It would have been him against Tyrest, an army of Legislators, and a bunch of Decepticons. Pharma knew his limits, and seeing as his goal was self-preservation, it was perfectly rational for him to go along with Tyrestâs grand scheme.
Besides, it doesnât look like he was given much of a choice:
Although, knowing Pharma, he still would have demanded to know beforehand what he would get in return for the pain, and evidently, Tyrest held up his end of the deal since Pharma had access to the Luna 1 tech collection.
As for Tyrestâs plan to wipe out the Cold Construct population, thereâs nothing indicating Pharmaâs decision to turn a blind eye to it was rooted in malevolence or bigotryâjust rational apathy: âI canât stop Tyrest, so why concern myself with the outcome?â
Again, you canât save everyone; Pharma had all he could do to save himself.
But it wasnât all horrible. I would even go so far as to say Pharma found some happiness on Luna 1. Tyrest didnât care about him, but he didnât need Tyrest to care. Everyone else there hated him, but he didnât need to feel like he belonged or was admired. At this point, Pharmaâs only interest was Tyrestâs Luna 1 tech collection, and that meant playing nice so he could keep his reward. Back at Delphi, he probably assumed heâd never again practice medicine the way heâd loved; being brought to Luna 1 was an unexpected, yet welcome, second chance.
Even so, Pharma had his moments of cruelty. Back at Delphi, he had easily-identifiable reasons to kill patientsâboth the ones whose T-cogs he harvested and the 20 more he tried to kill when he shot the life support machine. But on Luna 1, he had no reason to be cruel, yet he chose to be. By this point, heâd mastered the ability to almost completely ignore or subdue his conscience.
In the case of Ratchetâs torment, one could argue Pharma only drew it out for retaliation purposes; it was personal for him.
As for cutting Ambulon in half, it was obviously meant to be as gruesome as possible, yet also quick. But personally, I donât think it was about Ambulon; it was more about hurting Ratchet. Due to the fact that Ratchetâs identity is wrapped up in his compassion and his ability to be helpful as a doctor, one of the most effective acts of revenge would be to do something that makes him feel utterly helpless.
Also I wonder if, subconsciously or consciously, Pharma was attempting to recreate the sense of helplessness he felt back at Delphi under Tarnâs watch: âDo you see, Ratchet? Do you now understand how it feels to have control ripped out of your hands? To be totally helpless?â
Next, for some reason, Pharma was invested in the promised execution of Getaway and Skids:
He had no personal connection to either of them that would give him a reason to be interested, so maybe Tyrest told him he could perform the execution and/or have the corpses for medical experimentation. Either way, Pharma would have had a chance to use some of the tech in Tyrestâs tech collection, possibly explaining his excitement.
Of course, any chance of an execution disappeared when the final showdown went wrong.
When Pharma tried to escape to Cyberutopia and discovered he couldnât pass through the spacebridge forcefield, he gave up. Heâd been caught; he would no longer have access to Tyrestâs tech collection; Ratchet and every other self-righteous Autobot would never forgive him; and the morality lock prevented him from escaping. By all appearances, he would never again be able to engage in that which gave him a sense of meaning. He had shrunken his world down to his obsessive interest in a specialized field and one significant, yet unrequited relationship. With both of these lost, his world collapsed.Â
Yes, guilt played a part in Pharmaâs despondency, but because he seems to have been in denial of said guilt, itâs more likely his despair was primarily due to the fact that he saw no future for himself. He had nothing left to live for.
In light of this, Pharmaâs flippant comments to First Aid make sense. He wasnât being insensitive as much as he was goading First Aid. Pharmaâs not stupid. First Aid had a massive rotary cannon on him, and Pharma knew exactly which emotional buttons to push to get him to pull the trigger.
Pharma wanted to die.
Adaptus
First, let me emphasize that Adaptus did not take possession of Pharmaâs body. Instead, Pharma was the unwelcome guest:
How Pharma ended up in Adaptusâ new body is a mystery, but whatever the case, Pharma didnât pass on to the Allspark. Whether or not he had a choice can only be speculated.
First Aid had blasted Pharmaâs head clean off, so whatever happened must have been related to the spark. Perhaps some residual spark energy was trapped in a body part that Adaptus repurposed, leaving Pharma tethered to the new body unwillingly.
Still, Pharma managed to assert his will and override Adaptus for a brief moment. Considering Adaptus was basically a god, this is impressive.
Based on Adaptusâ surprise at being interrupted, it seems he didnât know Pharma was there. Why Pharma hadnât tried to assert himself sooner is a mystery. Maybe Adaptusâ scheme was entertaining; maybe Pharma actually liked the company; or maybe heâd been waiting for an opportunity to get revenge on Tyrest for everything done to him back at Luna 1.
Sure enough, just like with Ratchet back on Luna 1, Pharmaâs vengeful streak came out as soon as there was an opportunity.
Unfortunately for him, this left him vulnerable, and Tyrest took advantage of the confusion:
Conclusion
When someone reduces their world to narrow personal interests and one or a few very special people, their grip tightens around what little they have. They often become obsessive and possessive of the few things that make them feel alive, and their view of the world becomes increasingly more subjective and detached from the outside world. Pharma seems to have fallen into this trap.
Even so, in the context of the circumstances, several of the decisions he made were rationalâeven if coldly so. Oftentimes, âextremeâ rationality and self-preservation are villainized in fiction, and characters like Pharma who donât automatically put themselves at great risk for anyone and everyone are villainized, or at least looked down on. Their choices are often regarded as less human, but rationality and self-preservation are just as human as compassion and self-sacrifice.
Ultimately, Pharma was trapped and pushed over the edge into âinsanityâ by Tarnâs cruelty, but his own choices made from a place of pride determined how he fell, and how far he fell. It was a perfect storm of Tarnâs mind games and Pharmaâs intellectual arrogance, excessive self-confidence, obsessive nature, and stubborn grip on the kind of future he wanted for himself.
Pharma is yet another Icarus who flew too close to the sun and paid dearly for it, and while JRO/the narrative could have given this Icarus better wings, that doesnât change the fact that he chose to fly so high.
***
Many thanks to anyone who made it to the end of this monster of a post.
-tosses a Rodimus Star at you-
#look who finally finished this thing#idw transformers#idw1#maccadam#MTMTE#lost light#idw pharma#pharma#tf idw character analysis#tf idw meta#dr. fancy hands#novaâs nerding out again
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astro observations air signsđŹď¸
đŚgemini suns/mercury people are so funny and comedic itâs my favorite trait about them honestly
đŚgemini venus people can get easily bored in a relationship if itâs not fun or interesting
đŚaquarius rising have this outgoing and humane attitude about them that i really just appreciate they are all about equality
đŚaquarius suns I feel like do the most out of pocket and extraordinary things lmaoo but I respect it they arenât afraid to be themselves
đŚevery person with libra placements Iâve seen or met is ridiculously and utterly gorgeous Ik thatâs pretty obvious since theyâre ruled by venus but still
đŚlibra risings have this approachable and caring nature that makes people love them
đŚlibra moons are the real indecisive ones but yet the most creative
đŚgemini moons are so hard to keep up with but luckily as a mutable dominant I keep up with them and their ability to be really changeable
đŚaquarius moons can be really emotional and sensitive people they just are afraid of showing vulnerability because they donât want people thinking they are âweakâ??! But some have no problem showing it if developed
đŚaquarius venus are not the type to be held down or restricted of their freedom in a relationship they want both respect,trust, fun and freedom in a relationship
đŚlibra venus can be very passive aggressive in love and indecisive while dating someone but they will love extremely hard
đŚgemini mars are so witty and quick with comebacks/compliments etc.
đŚ3H placements tend to overthink and analyze everything theyâre pretty much interested in ANYTHING that has to do with communication , gossip etc.
đŚaquarius mars can have a pretty eccentric and futuristic approach to their goals and ambitions they will do anything to achieve it
đŚaquarius mercury people can be so weird or interesting when they talk plus they have really cool and eccentric voicesđŠś
đŚlibra mercury will ask for others advice/opinion on something before making a decision or even forming their own opinion on something but for the most part they are independent thinkers
đŚlibra mars are all about being diplomatic and friendly when approaching or talking about a topic/goal they most likely optimistic about the results
đŚgemini risings have impeccable taste and style they always experiment with their clothes/makeup or outfits
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Just spent a couple hours digging into this book. I'm not even sure what has worse environmental impacts, the paper the book is made of or the opinions printed within.
Is "post-colonial" literary theory a joke? It's distressing that a book printed in 2021 by a reputable academic press can be so painfully Eurocentric, and I mean PAINFULLY. The philosophical and literary frameworks drawn upon in most chapters are like what some British guy in 1802 would come up with. In most of the chapters, every framework, terminology, and example is inseparably fused to Latin, Greek, and/or Christian philosophers, myths and texts, even down to the specific turns of phrase. You would think only Europeans had history or ideas until the 20th century.
Don't get me wrong, non-european and even specifically anti-colonial sources are used, and I don't think all the writers are white people, but...that's what's so weird and off-putting about it, most of the book as a whole utterly fails to absorb anything from non-European and in particular anti-colonial points of view. The chapters will quote those points of view but not incorporate them or really give their ideas the time of day, just go right back to acting like Plato and Aristotle and Romantic poets are the gold standard for defining what it means to be human.
In brief, the book is trying to examine how literature can shed light on the climate crisis, which is funny because it completely fails to demonstrate that literature is good or helpful for the climate crisis. Like that is for sure one major issue with it, it shows that people *have* written stuff about climate change, but it sure doesn't convince you that this stuff is good.
Most of the works quoted are rather doomerist, and a lot of the narrative works specifically are apocalypse tales where most of Earth's population dies. The most coherent function the authors can propose that literature fulfills is to essentially help people understand how bad things are. One of the essays even argues that poetry and other creative work that simply appreciates nature is basically outdated, because:
âOne could no longer imagine wandering lonely as a cloud, because clouds now jostle in our imaginations with an awareness of atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other atmospheric pollutantsâ (Mandy Bloomfield, pg. 72)
Skill issue, Mandy.
The menace of doomerism in fiction and poetry is addressed, by Byron Caminero-Santangelo, on page 127 when he references,
the literary non-fiction of a growing number of authors who explicitly assert, some might even say embrace, the equation between fatalistic apocalyptic narrative and enlightenmentâŚthey are authoritative in their rejection of any hope and in their representation of mitigatory action as the cliched moving of deckchairs on a sinking ship
He quotes an essay âElegy for a countryâs seasonsâ by Zadie Smith, who says: âThe fatalists have the luxury of focusing on an eschatological apocalyptic narrative and on the nostalgia of elegy, as well as of escape from uncertainty and responsibility to act." Which is spot-on and accurate, but these observations aren't recognized as a menace to positive action, nor is the parallel to Christian thought that eagerly looks forward to Earth's destruction as a cathartic release from its pain made fully explicit and analyzed. Most of the creative works referenced and quoted in the book ARE this exact type of fatalistic, elegiac performance of mourning.
I basically quit reading after Chapter 11, "Animals," by Eileen Crist, which begins:
The humanization of the world began unfolding when agricultural humans separated themselves from wild nature, and started to tame landscapes, subjugate and domesticate animals and plants, treat wild animals as enemies of flocks and fields, engineer freshwater ecologies, and open their psyches to the meme of the âthe humanâ as world conquerer, ruler and owner.
This is what I'm talking about when I say it's dripping Eurocentrism; these ideas are NOT universal, and it's adding nothing to the world to write them because they fall perfectly in line with what the European colonizing culture already believes, complete with the lingering ghost of a reference to the Fall of Man and banishment from the Garden of Eden. It keeps going:
âOver time, the new human elaborated a view of the animal that ruptured from the totemic, shamanic and relational past.â
Okay so now she's introducing the idea of progression from shamanic nature-worshipping religions of our primitive past...hmm I'm sure this isn't going anywhere bad
âWhile humanity has largely rejected the colonizing project with respect to fellow humans, the occupation of non-human nature constitutes civilizationâs last bastion of ânormalâ colonialism. A new humanity is bound sooner or later to recognize and overthrow a colonialism of ânature,â embracing a universal norm of interspecies justice.â (pg. 206)Â
OKAY????
Not only denying that colonialism still exists, but also saying that humans' relationship with nature constitutes colonialism??
Embracing limitations means scaling down the human presence on demographic and economic frontsâŚ(pg.207)
ope, there's the "we have to reduce the human population"
Embracing limitations further mandates pulling back from vast expanses of the natural world, thus letting the lavishness of wild (free) nature rule Earth againâ (pg. 207)Â
aaaaaaand there's the "we have to remove humans from wild nature so it can be freeeeeee"
don't get me wrong like I am a random white person with no particular expertise in anti-colonialist thought but I think this is an easy one. I'm pretty sure if your view of nature is that colonialism involving subjugating humans doesn't exist any more and actually humans existing in and altering nature is the real colonialism so we should remove humans from vast tracts of earth, your opinion is just bad.
Anyways y'all know I have an axe to grind against doomerism so it was probably obvious where this was going but good grief.
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URANUS AND THE TYPE OF SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS YOU MAKE
aries / 1H uranus:
spontaneous and energetic posts, showcasing new and exciting activities or taking a bold and direct approach in communication. could have to do a lot with posting selfies, self victories or success.
taurus / 2H uranus:
posts might reflect stability, beauty and comfort, focusing on material possessions or a consistent aesthetic. tends to avoid abrupt changes in social media presence. used to âflexâ on social media with materialistic content.
gemini / 3H uranus:
highly versatile and communicative posts, showcasing a variety of interests. embraces change and innovation in content and might be active on multiple platforms, probably talks about books and articles. quotes like crazy.
cancer / 4H uranus:
reflective and emotionally driven posts, sharing personal experiences or memories. may express a desire for security and emotional connection through social media, also can post domestic things such as cooking, family and cleaning.
leo / 5H uranus:
dramatic and attention-grabbing posts, possibly with a creative flair. enjoys showcasing individuality and seeking validation through social media interactions. lots of selfies and things to do with themselves. creative and only posts when they think itâs âimportantâ.
virgo / 6H uranus:
detail-oriented and analytical posts, sharing information or insights. prefers a clean and organized social media presence and may critique or analyze online content. may have a cooking or service orientated socials.
libra / 7H uranus:
social and harmonious posts, focusing on aesthetics and relationships. beauty and art. values connections and may share content that promotes balance and beauty. post about their relationships a lot.
scorpio / 8H uranus:
can be a bit private, might delete their socials a lot or go MIA. intense and mysterious posts, possibly exploring taboo or deep subjects. may use social media as a platform for transformation and expressing hidden aspects. likes to post about occult, astrology or death.
sagittarius / 9H uranus:
adventurous and philosophical posts, sharing experiences and ideas. enjoys engaging with a diverse audience and might use social media for education or exploration. likes to show off their adventures and explorations as well.
capricorn / 10H uranus:
goal-oriented and strategic posts, showcasing achievements and milestones. may use social media for professional networking and building a structured online presence. lots of pictures with them in suits or looking put together.
aquarius / 11H uranus:
eccentric and innovative posts, possibly advocating for social causes or sharing unconventional ideas. posts about your friends. enjoys connecting with a diverse online community. talks about technology and humanitarian issues.
pisces / 12H uranus:
dreamy and imaginative posts, often blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. may use social media as a form of artistic expression or to share empathetic and compassionate content. likes to talk about the supernatural.
Š spirit-of-phantom 2024
#astrology#houses#sidereal astrology#aquarius#aries#astro observations#astrology 101#tropical astrology#astro notes#scorpio#uranus#uranus through the houses#uranus through the signs
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PAC Who Is Your FS? Pt.1
Hey I am back with another PAC but Iâm going to do something a little different this time. I will be doing 6 piles but they will be in a 2 parter because I want the energy of the 6 to be separated. So at the end of the day you can read this one and get the gist and the sec on part is confirmation or even extra information, the others can and will find their answers in one of the piles in either part one or two. This is a general reading so with that you know the deal, take what resonates and leave what doesnât. So Picc an Emoji and letâs begin now.
Disclaimer: Tarot is not final but is a mere suggestion, donât you depend on the opinion or suggestions of anyone to make your own decisions and judgement calls.
P1: đŠ
P2: đ
P3: đĽ
đŠđŠđŠđŠđŠđŠđŠđŠđŠđŠđŠ
FS 1:
Animal that represents your FS: Crow Spirit. I feel like your FS off top is taboo, well for some of you here Iâm hearing witches and warlocks as spouses in this pile, or maybe some of you are? Something about counting crows idk if they do that but I know that they definitely associate with crows in some way? They Cocreate with their spirit guides whether itâs aware to them or not. I told you some of them are witches and warlocks or are very powerful manifesters. Theyâre hella creative and they may have a Loud yell or call. They may have bird like features some of them. Something in them is Sharp? Like a sharp nose or a sharp stare??? Numbers: 1,7,8 & 17 may have some importance
Auset describing Your FS: Hapi Water Spirit. Numbers 1,3,4 and 13 could be of importance. I feel for some of you, your FS are water signs, mainly Scorpio and Pisces. Theyâre the type of person that needs to work energetically and with thought before making any moves. Theyâre definitely a planner and Iâm hearing analyzer. This person wants nooooooo fuck ups! NONE HONEY!!! Baboons may have something to do with them too?? They need to visualize the moves for themselves before they do it. Iâm telling you this is my alchemical pile right here, very very magical spouses, maybe you guys delve in magic too or should try it. If not you definitely them!
Describing Your FS (Oracle): Here & Now. Numbers 3,2,5 & 32 could have some significance. Some of your spouses are 32, I heard that not all but for some. They are not one to worry about the future or worry about the past, I heard they gotta plan for that already, they are just worried about executing the plan for today. Theyâre a very live in the moment and present kind of people. I see that theyâre the type of person to get caught up sometimes and forget that though, cos being the planner that they are they do have worries about the future I feel in the past they werenât as prepared and that shit caused them so much struggle and so from that day they wanna be prepared. This is a person who has plan b-Z if A doesnât work. They are always present though, even when they worry about the future or the past they manage to always bring themselves back to the present cos they donât wanna miss a thing. (Ha now Iâm hearing that song by Aerosmith).
Your FS (Tarot): 9oPentacles, 6oSwords,Justice. You already know numbers 9,6,11,& 2 may have some importance to them. I feel that your FS are very accomplished, I feel itâs fairly new, they just acquired their success and blessings, they worked their goddamn asses for it! They arenât a lazy person, they hate procrastinating but I feel they may do it sometimes which is why I feel they worked their asses off to get where and what they needed and itâs finally starting to pay off for them, matter of fact every single one of these cards sort of represent that, instead of telling me who they are itâs almost telling me what theyâre going through, or what theyâve been going through and I think itâs because itâs a transformative time for them, they will be ascending and a lot of things that could describe them may be falling off so maybe your guides donât want to fully share their personality because theyâre experiencing their own experiences thatâs showing them who they really are. I feel like they may like birds, crows, hawks Ravens etc. spiritually and materially they have just been blessed and they are enjoying every minute of it! Theyâre not missing a single second for the world! They have gone through way too much shit for them to not be anything other than present for this. They are FINALLY coming out of a dark place in their lives, they were in some drama mama! Some straight up chaos and that shit was so unhealthy it began to shut them down Iâm hearing for some the others sort of just reacted angrily and it was so toxic they became spiritually and physically sick. I feel that they got some help to come in, and they were helped out by someone who moved them away from their toxic environment. I feel your FS are like that and I feel itâs cos they are compassionate, they know and understand struggle and they hate to see it. They could be a Libra due to the justice card of have Libra placements. They are the mediators of their group, I donât see them having many friends, a selective few maybe some acquaintances that they laugh and joke around with but other than that nobody really close to them, Iâm getting Lone Wolf and ranger type of vibes from this pile. They are someone whoâs going to stand up for what they feel is true and fair and equal! They cherish and crave mutuality, if itâs imbalanced they not a fan. They honor equality and respect for all! They see everyone the same they donât do favoritism and hatred towards anyone. They suffered. Some of your FS are Black, White, Some Asian/Korean/ Hispanic even too. I feel especially if youâre looking for women those ethnic backgrounds apply. Your FS has an ugly side tho, when unfairness or anything they feel is wrong or unjust comes out they are unmerciful. They can be ruthless if needed. Long hair for some, curly fros for others, black and brown hair colors Iâm seeing. Gentleman and gentlewomen. Very soft but sharp features. True knights. Diplomatic and tactful, Hella charming. Playboys and women, they know how to bag a person! Theyâre very good looking, handsome, stunning, Iâm even seeing gorgeous to some of you. Itâs a very classy kind of beauty. Innocent and beautiful. They are quick to help out anyone they feel needs them and theyâre not the type to swoop in and save the day assuming that needs to happen, they will always approach and ask âyou need some help?â âCan I help you?â Perfect customer service representative honestly. Theyâre very sweet and kindhearted. Great smiles. They may be gardeners some of them, they like organic shit, they may not eat meat, or anything that has chemicals and toxic ingredients in food. They are very sensitive about what they put into their bodies. Smokers for some? (Weed not cigarettes or anything else). This person is a catch, a true victorious winner and they will treat you amazingly. Earth and Air placements especially Libra and Taurus! This person is Venus personified! Congrats! Theyâre hella seductive! Iâm trying to find something bad on them honestly but itâs not working. They just fuccin rocc! Acts of Service is their love language.
I feel that. Congrats p1 you deserve it.
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FS II
Animal that represents your FS: Bee Spirit. So Iâm seeing that 7 could have some significance, as well as the colors Yellow and Black, which leads me to think that some of your FS are mixed races. Theyâre very hardworking and some of them are the queen bees lol. They have been striving towards something and sweet results are about to roll in for them. I feel like theyâre very goal oriented, tunnel vision. This is my workaholic pile I feel, they are workhorses some of them, others are spoiled by others. They have stingers but only use them if they absolutely must. They work like a well oiled machine, no rest. They are around the clock nonstop movers and shakers and theyâre about to be rewarded if they arenât already.
Auset Describing Your FS: Set. Numbers 3,7, 10, 1 & 37 could have some importance to your FS. Set is the god of chaos and war, dirt and sandstorms. I feel your FS have dealt with a lot of challenges and they have some negative traits that you will not like, Iâm getting Aries vibes from this. The color red is coming to my head, something about rage. They may have anger issues, they are a jealous person. Some of your FS are bitter from all the challenges they went through, life gave them shit and they kind of internalized it and became dreadful, survival mode on lock, they are so paranoid, they may have or had beef with a sibling. They could have jealous family members. Some of them could have just been dealing with some shit. They can be the youngest sibling or the issue is with the younger sibling. People are intimidated by them. Their demeanor is donât fucc with me and people heed that shit. They could be 37 some of them, or 10 years older or younger than some of you? Theyâve seen some ugly shit in their lives in love, family, career etc. Iâm seeing drug addiction for either them or someone they loved and they dealt with that shit. This person is strong but it tainted them in the process I feel.
Describing Your FS (Oracle): Treasure Island. The number 9 could be of some importance to your FS. I feel like theyâre the type to see the beauty in things others may not. One manâs trash is another manâs treasure, they may have that mindset. Theyâre beginning to see the results of their own actions, theyâve been moving slow towards this goal that theyâre about to receive. This person is a treasure and youâll definitely see them that way! Great at manifesting, theyâre right now working with the law of attraction. They just received a financial windfall from out of nowhere to them. Theyâre very abundant right now or theyâre definitely about to be.
Your FS (Tarot): The Empress, 3oSwordsRx, & The HermitRx. I see that the number 3, 9, & 7 are frequent in this reading so I feel like those numbers in particular are very important to your FS. They can be a Virgo or a Pisces. Theyâre very intelligent and intuitive. Your FS is beautiful youâll be blown away by their beauty. Especially if itâs a woman too! They can have braids or locs some of them. Theyâre very sweet and loving, nurturing and parental. They could have kids. They may love moon bathing some of them, or they should. They are of the world; hella creative and open to whatever the universe/god is bringing them. They are always coming up with new ideas and projects they are the type of people to have plenty of hobbies, a jack of all trades. They are very blended in their energies, and elements. I feel whatever they went through shaped them and helped them become whole but I just think that they canât see it. They are the type to not know the magnitude of how much they rule!! They may shit on themselves heavily! They are the type to be there for everyone except themselves. They put themselves on the backburner. They are so amazing but they are the type to wallow in their pain and own ignorance. They donât want to face what happened to them or they donât want to take accountability for their part in it, so maybe they had an outburst but they will always come up with excuses for it. They are jaded over this pain, I feel it makes so much impact with how they live, move and make decisions. They are so strong but they are so blinded by this pain or by this anger, they really see nothing but that. It overpowers everything that they are and do. They need to do some shadow work. They procrastinate when it comes to it, they may avoid those feelings because they donât want to relive that hurt but what they donât realize is that theyâre replaying this pain on a loop subliminally in their minds so theyâre technically always reliving that pain! Thatâs why theyâre so jaded, itâs like getting sick of a song but youâre leaving it on replay. They need to get out of their head. Theyâre in isolation, this person I feel has little to absolutely no friends. They were in some kind of abusive relationship. I donât really wanna get into that. If they donât have kids, theyâre very fertile!! They barely go out, a homebody and I feel to a scary point and I donât wanna get deeper into that cos itâs reminding me of myself and what I am having to break out of and baby that shit is no joke and putting that business on here without knowing them personally is just fucked up so I wonât. They have been through some shit but they are beautiful person, their heart is being pulled in so many directions and itâs so hard for them to catch a break and they are dealing with it in a toxic way for them and they need to face their demons. I feel they just need someone to talk too, but I have a feeling this person is locked tighter than a bank vault after a robbery. They arenât into letting anyone see them, not even themselves, Ugh my heart goes out to them. Words of affirmation I feel is their love language. Fear avoidant attachment style, theyâre Virgo like, the highs and lows of the sign honestly, I feel like some are Pisces and some are Virgos. Very feminine energy. They want love but theyâre afraid of rejection and getting hurt cos thatâs all they know, so theyâre afraid to dream bigger and want better for themselves.
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FS III
Animal that represents your FS: Pig Spiritđ˝: The numbers 4,7,11,2,& 47 may have some importance. This is the kind of person who is quick on their feet, they give me air energy. Theyâre very intelligent. Theyâre not a messy person even tho they have messy moments. Theyâre fun loving and just want to enjoy themselves while theyâre still on this earth. Happy go lucky type of people. They believe that pigs can fly, they dream big but theyâre not delusional they understand the concept between reality and fantasy but they have a great imagination and they have big goals and aspirations for themselves. They wanna own the moon one day. They wanna fly the highest they can possibly get. They live on cloud 9!
Auset Describing your FS: Anubis. 3. Heâs one of my guides!!!! I love Anubis heâs amazing! Your FS is such a great person! Theyâre very wise and give amazing advice. They take care of everyone, no favoritism with them, they treat everyone fairly, they judge by action, they feel like your hearts intention is based on how you move. You can protect on them to guide you whenever you need it, anyone who needs help, they are the one to call. So reliable and trustworthy, they may have a lot of people depend on them. Helping them transition from one state to the next. They can even be a therapist some of them, or the dr Phil/oprah of their group. They stand up for what they believe in and who they believe in. Theyâre a great protector. You will feel so safe, they feel like everyone should feel that way, âhas the RIGHT to feel safe.â I heard that. Guard dog lover, they arenât jealous but they wonât let just anyone get near you. They couldâve been abandoned by their parents (maternal esp if youâre looking for guy). They believe in healing of the soul by living out their passions. They believe that freedom to be yourselves is the best medicine. They want to get to know people for who they are at a soul core level. I feel they have GREAT FRIENDS. Certain LGBTQ đłď¸âđ energy here, they created their own family! They love caring for others, they feel itâs part of their purpose, some nurses and doctors here. Therapist just doctors or medicators of some kind.
Describing your FS (oracle): A Leg Up. 3,4,7, & 34 could have some significance to your FS. They can be 34 some of them. I feel like they are the type of person to definitely lift others up, they arenât selfish or greedy about shit, they will share their plate, cos theyâre confident in their position. They themselves have received leg ups in life from people and theyâre just passing on that energy. Theyâre not a jealous person at all theyâre about progression. Sagittarius energy HEAVY! Sag and Aqua energy HEAVY! Theyâre very free loving. Theyâre very authoritative and they know how to delegate, they know how to both give and receive help. Theyâre not hyper independent they believe in teamwork! I love your FS! Theyâre my favorite! Shhhhhh donât tell!
Describing your FS (Tarot): PageoSwords, 6oWands,& Judgement. Theyâre hella inquisitive and always asking about everything, they love to learn, very Gemini energy. They love to gossip with their friends, I also think that theyâre the topic of gossip. Reading is everything to them. Youâll always catch their face in a book. Great conversationalist. Young at heart. Playful. They know how to multitask and juggle many things at a time. Their mind is always racing and they canât turn it off. Theyâre a student of the world! They want to learn everything. The type whoâs learning how to speak different languages. 6,2,& 20 may have some importance to them, some of your FS in this pile is 20. Some of you????? If thatâs the case this is confirmation that you chose the right pile! I am seeing that your FS for some 2-3 maybe are celebrities like well known celebrities! No K-pop I donât sense that here but Iâm seeing some notoriety and some household names being here. The rest your FS is known in their field. Wildly successful and part of that has to do with their success story, how they came up and what they went through their hustle to mask it out of the âhoodâ or bad circumstances so to speak, they have brown hair, long, wavy, curly and straight, it varies Iâm seeing. They are hella influential and inspirational to a lot of people, theyâre extremely popular. An important person Iâm hearing VIP. The it boy/girl. Everyone wants them, everyone wants to be them. Theyâre not cocky though, theyâre all smiles and laughs, very joyous, Iâm hearing for the celebrities, once you meet them and get to know them a little youâll understand why they got fame. Theyâre so fun to be around. Fun and bubbly personality. They have loud voice. Theyâre very in demand. They know how to control a room. How to perform. Theyâre hella entertaining and I think theyâre funny cos Iâm feeling the urge to laugh and giggle. They may laugh a lot or giggle. You will find that cute. Theyâre not all about themselves, I see confidence but I also see that theyâre a bit insecure too. They dress nice. They dress and look expensive. This is my glam and glitzy but humble pile. Theyâre such a fuccin joy. And theyâre themselves regardless of whatâs happening or whoâs around. They are the essence of them and that shit is untouchable. They feel like people should see who they are, to love them and experience them to a full extent. They do enjoy the spotlight on them but Iâm hearing they deserve it. Theyâre so litty. They remind me of me! Iâm still feeling giggly and giddy, I feel this is how people feel around them (especially them celebs.). They are accepting too, they donât judge, theyâve faced a lot of backlash and judgement from being who they are so this is the smack in their faces to your FS, their whole image can be about fuck society and their standards etc. Iâm getting rocker energy from this pile so some of them can be famous rockers? I was getting the older numbers like 47, so some of you may have a FS in their 40âs, so what??? Youâre all over 18 & you will know this person is your person, I feel this connection between you guys is that of a spiritual one. You can feel their spirit, itâs strong! Their presence is very powerful! This person is electric and everyone loves them! Nothing bad to say about this pile! Not really!
Alrighty my dearies! Thatâs it for part one of whoâs your FS! Thank you for taking this ride with me and stay tuned for good ole part two coming soon!
Hope you have clarity!
Now Spread Love and Light!
EeeP Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee đđ˝
Heka đď¸đ
#tarot reading#tarotblr#tarot community#pick a pile#tarot cards#psychic#pac reading#pick a card#free tarot reading#fs pick a pile#love tarot reading#free tarot#tarot witch#thementalshawty#intuitive readings#tarot pac#tarot#love reading#pac#tarot tumblr#free tarot readings
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It's A Journal
Villain's fingers pressed slowly against the pages, completely engrossed by the lines of words strung together by Hero.
Across from them, Villain could hear the subtle movements of Hero tied to the chair. "Mmmhfh! Mmmfh!!" They pushed hopelessly against the ropes as Villain flipped to the next page of the small journal.
"You have a creative mind, Hero." They mused calmly as they finished reading the passage, "I should've known that you were the type to keep a diary." They chuckled as Hero glared at them. "Oh, right, a journal, a journal. Whatever you say."
They stood up and walked behind Hero before undoing the wrap around their mouth. Hero spat the taste of the cloth as Villain walked back in front of them again, "Breaking into my house while I'm off duty?? Have you lost your mind?!"
"Bah." They waved them off playfully, still unaware of the gripping matters swirling in Hero's head.
"Put my shit down. Now!"
Villain sat on the dining room table, "Not until I find something interesting."
"You've read enough! You know my fears! You know the name of my middle school! Now put it down!"
"You're right. I do know those things, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed, Hero." They cruised through the pages. Hero's eyes kept steady at their hands as they tried to count each page. "You keep talking about rather mundane topics."
"Stop it." They said with a bit of hesitance behind their eyes.
"Why? I'm having so much fun."
"You read more, and you'll find something you won't like."
At that, Villain had paused, suddenly caught off guard by the tone. "What won't I like?" They looked at them and shut the book with a curious expression.
Hero didn't respond and instead continued to settle in their silence.
"Did you write anything about me?" Villain raised a brow. "Darling?" They softly whispered.
"And what if I did?"
They stared at each other for a moment; Villain laughed subtly, "You think I'm falling for your bluff? I bet I know exactly what you wrote about." They put the book down on the table, much to the hero's relief.
"It's not a bluff." Hero said with wide eyes, their hands struggling from the restraints.
Their nemesis walked up to them pointedly. Villain's smirk widened as they tilted Hero's head up, pushing their cheeks in with their hand, "When has the good little Hero ever lied before?"
Hero shook their head in an attempt to escape their grasp with little achievement. "I have!"
"We'll see about that." They shook their head playfully and moved back toward the book. Villain analyzed Hero's fearful eyes as they brushed through the pages until something had caught their eye.
In large letters, Villain came across their name centred on the page.
"A whole chapter? Dedicated to me?" They turned the book in Hero's direction with a large smile.
Hero felt their face heat up as their jaw tightened, and they looked down, "It's not what it is." They mumbled desperately, but it wouldn't stop Villain from enjoying the detailed lines of words throughout the passage.
"Today, I met Villain again," they began.
"Please don't read it out loud!" Hero spoke, their face turning beet red.
"Why not? You already know what you wrote. Too scared you might've made a heartfelt confession in here?~" They laughed.
"It's not funny!"
"Who said it was?" They mused, but Villain had listened to their demand anyway and went ahead reading quietly to themselves. Their once playful expression had turned softer as their eyes moved around the page with careful consideration. A silence so defeating had come to Hero with their heart pounding in their chest, but their only focus was getting out of the chair.
Only a minute had passed until Villain had settled the book back down again. "You've amused me enough, Hero." They said. "I see you were very particular about what you wanted to write."
Hero could only wither in shame under the scrutinizing gaze of their enemy, fully aware of the specifics of their life inside and out.
"Please don't."
"Don't what?" They pouted, "You wrote about how excited you get when you see me. How our fights give you a thrill you've never experienced before."
Hero's face deepened in colour, denying the remarks about their encounters. "Shut up."
The comment didn't hold any weight to the criminal who tapped on the table thoughtfully. "I can't say I wasn't surprised that you even wrote about that time I pinned you up against that wall." Their shoes clicked forward and circled them. "What was it again?" They spoke lowly, "I wish they had held me just like that even longer. Isn't that what you said?"
"Oh God."
"My favourite part is the way you described me. You like it when my hands hold you like this?" Their fingers traced Hero's neck and held it firmly, but not enough to choke the air out of them.
"Okay, you win. Is that what you wanted?" They would bury their own head if they could, but Hero was left to become a spectacle by Villain who seemed to revel in their newfound power.
Villain leaned in, their lips brushing up against their ear. "We were just getting to the good part, Hero. You don't really hate me, remember?"
"I'm not supposed toâ"Their breath caught in their throat when they felt Villain's hand crawl down to their thigh delicately.
"Isn't that what makes this fun?" They pulled back, their eyes full of excitement. "Breaking those rules. For your own selfish desires?"
Hero had to keep their eyes focused on Villain instead of the way their hand loosely dipped into their inner thigh as they struggled to let out a sound from their lips. "I don't know."
"Well, wouldn't you like to find out?"
"It's better if I don't."
"Shouldn't a brave little hero like you be able to explore the unknown?" For a second Hero had caught a glimpse of their enemy's eyes flash down to their lips and back up again. They swallowed hard and shook their head with whatever little movement they could do with Villain's hand still around their neck.
"Tell me," They whispered, "do you still think about the day I pinned you against that wall?"
Hero licked their lips, and their breathing visibly quickened. "I can't say I can recall all the details, I'm afraid."
"Well, good thing I do."
Hero's eyes widened, "You⌠remember that?"
"I was running all over the place trying to catch you, but then again, you were looking to get caught anyway."
Hero thought back to the time, still so clear in their head, and the remnants of the memory slipped into their mind every so often.
Villain moved closer, their breath light on their lips as their skin prickled at the sensation. "I pushed you to that wall, and you didn't move when I pressed my weight against yours. I could feel the way your heartbeat." Their hand moved from their neck to Hero's chest, "Just like it is right now."
"I told you to stop it." They murmured, although they knew they couldn't convince Villain to do that at all.
Villain's eyes lingered on them, "You don't really want that." They drawled slowly. Villain moved behind them, and their cold, clammy hands came into contact with the leather of Villain's gloves as they gave hero a blade. Hero instinctively began wrapping the knife around the ropes and felt it cut away while Villain moved toward the window.
"Where are you going!?"
Villain slipped one leg out the other side, "Don't miss me too much; I'll come back soon."
The binds snapped behind Hero, and they raised their arm and tossed the weapon at Villain, who just barely got away. They cursed under their breath and ran to look outside to find nothing below them.
Hero locked the window tightly; this would be the last time someone would enter their home unprompted. They'd make sure of that.
They grabbed the soft journal in their hands and inspected each page closely for any damage.
"Thank goodness." They sighed in relief and turned to the very few pages Villain hadn't seen. A collection of personal fantasies they had created themselves to help nurse their growing feelings toward an enemy they weren't supposed to know. Maybe it would be better to leave their deepest secrets in their head next time.
~~~
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african astrology signs
disclaimer - iâm not african or extremely informed about african astrology. i am new to it, but i like posting about all the different types of astrology on my account. all the information iâm using is from the articles below âĄ
these signs and traits are based on the african astrology passed down from the greeks. there are multiple types of african astrology such as egyptian, but this is one of the oldest ones âĄ
these are only some of the main characteristics, but if i do more research in the future i may make more in depth posts about each signs traits âĄ
sources i used - one // two // three // four // five âĄ
more types of astrology âĄ
father (the baobab tree):
â january 4th to february 3rd
traits - honest, thoughtful, loves their freedom, realistic, good business skills, often successful, struggles with anxiety a lot
mother (the wealth of amber and silver):
â february 4th to march 5th
traits - strong self discipline, quick intellect, known as the sign of wealth, mood can change fairly quick, bad temper
family:
â march 6th to april 4th
traits - affectionate, sociable, emotionally reserved, gives good advice, fits in well, struggles with letting people take advantage of them
son (small services to the neighborhood):
â april 5th to may 4th
traits - good at making friends, has the ability to bounce back quickly and go from a really bad point to a really good one, indecisive, stubborn at times
daughter (the market):
â may 5th to june 4th
traits - likes peace and harmony, doesnât enjoy arguments, feminine, always wasting their time and effort on relationships that wonât last, can act dramatic at times
uncle (the ancestor):
â june 5th to july 4th
traits - leader, always rules groups, good sense of humor, self absorbed
witch (the judge):
â july 5th to august 4th
traits - quick thinker when not under stress, can analyze situations well, helps others, good at roasting people, overly judgmental
lion (the kola nut):
â august 5th to september 3rd
traits - high energy, wise, clairvoyant, confident, sassy, unstable emotions, annoying at times
antelope (the traveler):
â september 4th to october 3rd
traits - empathetic, loves to travel, complex personality, misunderstood a lot, overly sensitive
the sage (the distance):
â october 4th to november 3rd
traits - creative, strong character, romantic, enthusiastic, many poets have this sign, can become successful if they stop living in fear
aunt (the child of the world):
â november 4th to december 3rd
traits - gentle, powerful, generous, kind, devoted, may struggle to come outside of comfort zone
wealth (the harvest and the granary):
â december 4th to january 3rd
traits - positive, doesnât fall in love quick, prefers to spend time alone and would benefit from spending most of their time alone, often wealthy, can struggle to trust intuition
#african astrology#african#astrology#astrology blog#astrology chart#birth chart#astrology community#astro community#types of astrology
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Astrology Observations: No.25
*just based on my personal observations, only take what resonates
Omg my first degree theory observation was wrong Danial Kwan has moon at 18 degree, a Virgo degree ! (My bad yâall Iâm learning). Iâll say that he had to get a hold of his mental health while in Covid and his adult adhd diagnosis and that influenced the writing of everything all at once (Imma learn this lol, more studying must be done)
Ok better degree theory lol, the degree of your Venus and/or mars can show placements you attract. My Venus is at a cancer degree and Iâve dated a l o t of people with Cancer placements (an experience lol)ďżź
A guyâs Lilith can show that his sort of femme fatale attraction (type of girl that overstimulates him, makes him feel enamored but is also his weakness.) His Lilith placement can describe this femme in more detail. For Aries, a go getter that takes no shit (I believe @zeldasnotes said Lilith in Aries in a manâs chart is a strong indicator that heâs a feminist and I totally agree.); For Sagittarius sheâd be untethered and have a great sense of humor and may be outside of his culture. For Aquarius sheâd be idealized as a manic pixie dream girl, like quirky in a way he could never figure out. let me know if you all would like a whole post on this !
Only outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) in your 1st can give you an extra ordinary appearance and make you stand out quite a bit.
Your mars conjunct to someoneâs sun can make them feel competitive with you. Venus on the other hand can make you put the sun person on a sort of pedestal and can make the relationship feel like youâre a fan of the sun person. Moon to someoneâs sun can feel more at home and at ease.
Men with water Venuses seem to be super monogamous or like incapable of monogamy (which is fine lol, but be ethical about it and establish boundaries and donât cheat yo)
12th house synastry is sticky asl, as soon as you moved on someone just appears on your mind out of nowhere, lotta hidden energy all tied up together; 8th house synastry is really intense but itâs often hard to build something stable out of the intensity. 4th house feels like home, but as someone with Uranus over their 4th, I associate this synastry with being unpredictable and chaotic in familiar way. 5th and 11th house synastry tends to be good long term. 5th house means you feel fun and creative and always excited together. And 11th house will mean that thereâs a feeling of friendship underneath the passion that usually sustains the connection imo.
For all of the seriousness associated with Capricorn placements (especially suns) often focus on a lot on whimsy in their creative works, like itâs the outlet for a lot of their hidden optimism (Hayao Miyazaki, Nobuhiko Obayashi the director of Hausu).
Ok ok I know Scorpio risings are known for intense, bedroom eyes and their overwhelming s*x appeal and making suitors flee because theyâre so intimidated etc etc⌠but quietly I think our biggest weapon that people donât see coming is our sense of humor. (Honest to god I was thinking of how funny Hugh Grant is even though he doesnât need to be bc heâs been so handsome this whole time lol. He always puts in the effort into that comedic timing) (Also people still think if youâre hot and intense you canât be funny so it defuses some of the tension pretty well imo)ďżź
I feel like Virgo placements always seem to think they feel boring even though theyâre like very knowledgeable and compelling in their own right (Iâm getting all reflective and remember when like Virgo moons/mars would always ask if theyâre being boring or complain about being boring but they tend to be good conversationalists when they allow themselves to analyze things so deeply)
I think cancers are actually the most defensive sign, naturally. I want to say they have this in common with their sister sign bc Capricorns are defensive and donât like to show âweaknessâ. But the way that underdeveloped cancers (can) play the victim when scrutinized is different. (Like Capricorns do that earth sign thing where they use their perception to make you feel like youâre wrong, and they want to be seen as the authority not the victim). Where cancer is in your chart could show where youâre especially guarded and trying to protect your sensitivity.
To me Jupiter conjunct south node means youâll reap benefits of good karma from a past life (or the effects of bad karma will be a lot in this lifetime but I saw this in obamaâs chart and itâs a benefic planet so the first thing is what I thought of lol, heâs not a good guy but becoming the first black president of the us seems like a past life power play imo)
#sorry been super busy lately lol#but Iâm back#astro observations#astro notes#astroblr#astro community#astrology#lilith astrology#venus#mars#8th house#12th house#5th house#4th house#11th house#Capricorn#cancer#Virgo#scorpio rising
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Placements that can indicate having joyful vibes
Hi! This will be another post about astrology indicators. Here, I'll analyze some placements that can indicate being joyful, care-free, fun, entertaining and free-spirited. To be truly honest, I couldn't wait to use this beach aesthetic, 'cause this is one of my favorite aesthetic in general, hahaha. Regardless, let's just get into the theme!
Big 3 in Sagittarius
I mean, do I have to say anything about that? Sagittarius is basically ruled by Jupiter, the planet of luck, expansion and optimism. These natives are 'life of the party' type of people, indeed. Going to the party or just simply having fun is something unforgettable. If you want to live an adventurous life, do it with Sagittarius natives. When it comes to having a Big 3 in Sagittarius, it's crucial to look how Jupiter is placed.
Planets in the 5th/9th house
Especially Sun, Moon, Venus and Jupiter. So, the 5th house is associated with creativity, fun, entertainment, doing something you love to do, while the 9th house is related to luck, happiness, foreign lands, long travels etc. People with planets or even stellium in these houses might be naturally joyful and and find a way to enjoy in life. They may also be in tune in spirituality or they're someone who need a lot of freedom in their lifetime.
Purva Phalguni Nakshatra
This is based on Vedic astrology. Purva Phalguni nakshatra is completely located in Leo and it's ruled by Venus, the planet of love, aesthetics and pleasure. The symbol of this nakshatra is bed, which makes this nakshatra very sexual and erotic. One of the most common traits of the natives with Purva Phalguni nakshatra are prone to creativity, care-free personality and even hedonism. The combination of the Sun and Venus makes these natives creative, beautiful, fun, entertaining etc.
Jupiter as a dominant planet
That is a topic from my previous observation, but I'll continue into talk about this because it goes well to this theme. Jupiter can be a very lucky planet if it's placed very well (in Sagittarius, Pisces, Cancer or having a Rising sign in these signs). Natives who have a strong Jupiter in their natal charts are very optimistic individuals who always strive to have a good time.
Dionysus (3671) conjunct Sun/Moon/Ascendant
Dionysus is a Greek god of wine and festivities and asteroid Dionysus (3671) in astrology means indulgence, intoxication and how we approach to those things. Having a prominent Dionysus in natal chart means being 'life of the party' and indulgent individual who wants to have fun in life, get drunk and drives other people insane.
So, that could be it. I hope you're gonna like it and find it relatable. Take it if it's resonates with you. Or not, you choose. I wish you all had a wonderful next week that is coming. Bye and see you!
Best regards,
Paky McGee
#astro community#astrology#astro notes#astro observations#astroblr#astrology tumblr#astrology community#western astrology#vedic astrology#sagittarius#5th house#9th house#jupiter#venus#purva phalguni#dionysus
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Gemini placements
disclaimer: i am not a professional, these are just my observations that i have accumulated over the years
đsun in gemini-i think that people usually form strong opinions about them. definitely not the type to be seen as wallflowers. they are naturally curious and they're either shy or like to shine in the spotlight, depends on other placements. whenever they speak, people listen to them and often find them charming and funny. i think their personalities can seem intense which is why they're not for everybody, but they're not easy to read. they are adaptable and knowledgable about things that interest them. if they like to talk to you about their thoughts and ideas, you must be special to them. honestly, they have no patience for people who try to waste their time and act fake around them. they can conceal their personalities around those they do not trust.
đ§ââď¸moon in gemini-they have a lot on their minds and they feel the best when they process their emotions verbally, whether through writing or talking to someone. they probably enjoy talking to those closest to them about their emotions, but some tend to have better personal "enlightenment" when they process things in writing. their memory is amazing and they are very logical. some try to dissect their emotions outloud, while others try to supress them. they can talk about deep issues and then joke around in a matter of seconds, they're quite adaptable. they can get stuck in their head and overthink things which leads to a lot of negative emotions that they wanted to avoid in the first place. can be insensitive sometimes when it comes to analyzing other's emotions because they approach it from a logical perspective because they want to be reasonable, which may sometimes backfire or provide as good advice. unsurprisingly, they are good with words. they are emotionally connected to their moms. their moms might have been youthful, curious, and adaptable when they were little.
đ rising/ascendant in gemini-they are, in my opinion, hard to notice! they definitely have a youthful appearance and attitude as many claim, but it's not easy to spot them because of their adaptability, unless you really observe them in the wild among different types of people lol. i'll repeat this quality a lot in this post, but they too are very curious. some may not talk much, but once you ask them about something they love, you'll see that sparkle in their eyes and the yapper will awake. may appear fake while they are trying to see if they like you, but they're just protecting themselves. if they want to create a fake persona tho, they can do it easily. they explore their identities often and try to figure out who they are, and may get confused because they change rapidly. they express themselves with their entire body lmao, especially when they are enjoying themselves. can get strong energy outbursts. they are not big fans of routine and following the rules strictly. they have a specific style most of the time, but they like to surprise themselves from time to time, to the point of confusing others haha
đŚmercury in gemini-they are light-hearted and try not to take things too seriously in life. many like to read and talk with open-minded people and to those with whom they share similar attitudes. they are quick-witted and may not open up easily about their emotions and share their vulnerable side with others, so actually a few people know their true identities. this also gives them an air of mystery. the charm is really charming with this placement lol. very creative as well. but when they finally open up about their emotions and thoughts, they reveal their complex and beautiful souls. they also choose their words carefully whenever they talk about serious matters. they are calculated and observant, even when they seem relaxed...they are processing everything others say and do, as well as their surroundings in general
đvenus in gemini-so, so flirty, even when that's not their intention. they like people that seem interesting and talkative. they seek out good conversationalists. they want partners who are always ready do adapt and explore, and those who are fearful of changes/passive are not appealing to them. unless they find someone that fits their criteria, makes them laugh and feel excited, they won't settle down and they'll seek excitement in flings. romance and love seem so fun to them so they want to enjoy themselves while exploring these concepts. they can be immature at times and a bit superficial. humor is of utmost importance! they need it in their daily lives and relationships with others. they remind me of young love, especially high school and college. they are good with people, so they are often adored. freedom and space: a must for them. without it, they feel suffocated and become bolters.
đżmars in gemini-they have so much energy and they sometimes don't know what to do with it. they cannot sit still for the life of them. they can have mood swings. they experience stress or anxiety but they have a highly adaptable nature and manage to do everything eventually. they are often good at different things, whether in natural sciences or more creative fields. not all of them look super youthful but their energy appears young and lively. and they serve visuals! their personal style and face card are truly amazing. they are really intelligent and quick with their responses, and they need mental stimulation most of the time. they come up with many ideas and creative solutions. it may be challenging for them to find something they'll stick with for a long time because they crave change. they have to be careful with handling distractions!! careers that don't allow them enough passion, mental stimulation, and flexibility literally drain their energy.
đľjupiter in gemini-their communication skills get them far in life! they process a lot of information without difficulties and they are fun to be around. once again, they also love to express themselves verbally, so writing or in general having to perform among people is something they are good at. they like to meet different people that catch their interest, but they try to surround themselves with those who don't take life too seriously. this is especially true for those who may struggle with their stress and overthinking tendencies, so they like those who make them laugh and relax. their memory is excellent, to the degree that some remember dates of even minor events, especially if they are related to people they had a connection with at one point. music also triggers a lot of memories
đŤsaturn in gemini-they have so much to say but there are some things holding them back, whether it is related to speech impediments or general insecurity, they keep a lot to themselves. that's why they may be harder to figure out. make no mistake, they are very clever and have different talents. they can be good with practical things in life and technology. they also pressure themselves to be as confident, practical/powerful as possible, but they need to embrace their curious and flexible side. following a routine is not their favorite thing to do and they absolutely despise small talk and want to delve into deeper topics. they have a strong desire for excelling in their communication skills
Šrosesnbooks
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Deciphering the Angelic Language
DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY
Oh boy, I'm finally tackling a post on this! I haven't seen a ton of discussion about this or progress and I think that's because it's very complicated. I've done a bit of work on it and I'm hoping by sharing here we'll be able to combine our brainpower and make some more progress!
SO! Let's get into it shall we?
Let's start with what we've been told about the Angelic Language:
An SFX team member said that the pillars in heaven "don't translate into words" (so maybe it translates into something like hex? ASCII?)
A speaker at Ineffablecon confirmed that the language "contains meaning and can be decoded"
According to the Chapter 6 VFX Breakdown video, "The creative team broke down the symbols into an alphabet of about 140 runes"
I'm going to start with that last bullet point. An alphabet of about 140 runes, which math-wise narrows down what type of alphabet we might be looking at. Specifically, I think it might point to Consonant/Vowel Pairs, which gives you 126 characters, then add in numbers and punctuation, you've got about 140. That's my best guess anyway.
The next thing i did was look at the Heaven CCTV footage of Gabriel FRAME BY FRAME to analyze the runes on the screen in these scenes. I think this is the best place to start for a number of reasons, first of all, being that the CCTV footage seems to only use a subset of the runes that don't include and modifications like extra dots or ticks. I consider them base runes.
Secondly, the runes cycle through a lot of changes here so it's a great place to look for patterns, and find patterns I did.
I found 4 sets of runes that cycle sequentially through a repeating pattern. Okay I'm going to do my very best to explain this.
The above we will call set A
The above we will call set B
The above we will call set C
The above we will call set D
The runes on the CCTV will *almost* always follow the sequence of their set, and when they reach the end of the set, they're marked with one of the following first two sequences below which I'm referring to as "indicator runes" after which they either repeat the same set or a different set.
The only time the runes change in the middle of a sequence is when they're denoted by the third row indicator runes before the change occurs.
So there does at least seem to be some pattern to the runes, at least when it comes to the ones used in the CCTV footage. These however are only about half of the total number of runes, the other half are derived from these initial ones, and have additional tick marks and dots added to them to add some sort of meaning and differentiation.
These screen grabs are from the Chapter 6 VFX Breakdown video, and during the lead in to these animations I think I can also say that the language is probably read right to left, as that's the direction the runes scroll in on the screen.
These scenes are also shown with a certain glowing overlay, so I'm wondering if when we can figure the language out, if there is an interesting message here to be read as well.
Anyway! If you have any other info or this has sparked any ideas about the language for you please let me know! I will continue to play with it and update when I have anything of note! :)
#good omens#good omens 2#good omens meta#crowley#aziraphale#crowley x aziraphale#good omens theories#good omens clues#david tennant#michael sheen#good omens fandom#good omens runes#good omens angelic language#good omens clue#good omens theory#ineffable husbands#ineffable idiots#aziracrow#good omens crowley#angelic language
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