#reflection essay

[sheliyann08]

A simple yet Wonderful Life

Living in a small but crowded, dirty and clean, noisy and messy but a fun place of Malibay, Pasay City, where I grow with passion, dreams and contentment in life.

They say that our hometown is like a garbage with a bunch of trash which they say a "squatter place" because of scattered trash everywhere, a bad smell coming from the river at the back and from the poop of dogs but little did they know that there lived the kind hearted people, a beautiful scenery of a city especially at night, an affordable things and food to buy is here in Malibay.

Furthermore, Malibay is a place where people are contented with the life they had but as for me, Malibay is my inspiration to dream big, to take risks and be ambitious because someday I want to give my family a better and a decent life where, far from danger and disasters which they experience at Malibay, Pasay City.

[jheamarganas]

Hiking

Recently, I went on a challenging hiking trip with friends to a beautiful waterfall in the mountains. The experience started off feeling peaceful and invigorating, but as the trail became steep and rugged, I started to doubt myself. However, I pushed through, focusing on the beauty around me and drawing strength from my friends' support. In the end, reaching the waterfall filled me with a sense of accomplishment and taught me valuable lessons about perseverance, determination, and the importance of leaning on others for support during tough times. Reflecting on this experience has helped me grow personally and appreciate the power of pushing beyond my comfort zone.

[justincarlcredo4138]

Long Life Realization

(Reflection Essay)

First and foremost, my life is like a roller coasters that has a ups and down; has full of challenges that takes me to be a strong man. Learnings and realization are the one who help me to see something that is different from what I know on my own perspective. From what I gained to the challenges that I faced, it could be in social, spiritual, physical, as well as on emotional.

As Grade 12 students, I have subjects that tells me to be more open in political participation and in political world. Philippine Politics and Governance(PPG) teach me a lot about politics wherein 1 of the lesson that i cannot forgot is the saying of Aristotle. Aristotle says that through political participation we can achieve a good life; thru that saying, I realized that I should be more open as the time goes by, since back then I don't have any concern about political participation and after that, PPG subjects serve as a eyes for me to see the political situation of our country.

Other than that, I also have an experience that brings realization in my love life. As of my age right now at 17, I also experience the different kinds of love in my life whether it would be from my family, friends and many more. However, a kind of love that gives me more learning & realization is from my schoolmates that gives a trauma in Me. The love that he gave to me is like a tangled rope that cause a unserious relationship that we had. Additionally, the most difficult thing that he done to me is that, he used to reason out his Sister's message even though, he was the one who did that; by that, I feel so many uncontrollable feelings. My heart feels like a broken glass, wherein I'm trying to fix it but I can't.

Furthermore, because of the trauma that last in me, in every relationship that I have recently I always do the conclusion every time my partner and I has a circumstances that we face even though, i don't have evidence that I can prove to myself.

Lastly, there experiences that brings me a lot of realization and helps me to be more strategic thinker, that to intuitive thinking since mostly when I make decision, I always end up up for being intuitive. But because of those experiences that I've encounter in my life, it teach me and I realize that everything should be explained, not just concluding for no reason at all. Nonetheless, being a person that has a open mind for everything that is done by myself is a great contribution to my personality, since it will help me to be practical on the things that I encounter.

[3cssndr3]

A Sculpture Named Bea

You can define me as sculpture. A sculpture who encountered many carving tools and artists that shaped me for who I am today. And now, I will share those tools who became the materials for who I am today in this enormous museum.

The first carving material is my science teacher aka my adviser who was my gouge. My belief changed when I was in fifth grade. It was a cold, summer day and my science teacher suddenly asked us if we believed in forever. Of course, as a young sculpture who loved fairy tales, I proudly said that I am.

“Walang forever. Ang lahat sa mundo ay may katapusan, kahit ang mga gusali at plastik ay nawawala. Ganoon din ang pagmamahal at kabaitan.”

Those words that he said became a coloring pen and a gouge that sculpted my head. Another knowledge was given to me and my perception of the word “forever” changed forever.

Afterwards, it was a year later when another tool bared its fangs to me and it was a mallet. I was in my sixth grade and it was a hot, sunny day. I was sweating buckets and I’m fanning myself like a madman when another revelation flew down to me like a dove. When suddenly, a woman entered the classroom. I was seated in front so I could clearly see her. She introduced herself as a person of the church (I can’t clearly remember if she was a nun) to guide us for our kumpil. And then, she dropped a bomb on us (well, at least for me) that changed my belief or perception for my whole life.

“Ang pagtwag kay Jesus na Papa Jesus ay mali. Dahil si Jesus ay ang ating kapatid, at ang Panginoon ang ating ama. Kaya ang Papa God ay tama, pero ang Papa Jesus ay mali.”

And back then, I fully believed her. Because if you thought about it, Jesus is really our brother, while God is our father. Thus, I stopped calling Jesus as Papa Jesus. However, the bomb didn’t stop there because this time she dropped a missile.

“At sa pagdadasal, pagdating sa anak ang inyong kamay ay dapat nasa inyong tiyan at hindi sa dibdib. Dahil sa tiyan nabubuo ang isang anak at hindi sa dibdib.”

Once again, my belief or perception changed since that day. Whenever I pray, when it comes to “of the son” my hand is at my tummy and not on my chest. Therefore, the mallet shaped my heart.

Time passed by like a hawk, and I was already in my eighth grade and a flat chisel came in front of my eyes. Those were the times when I was really hooked on Facebook. Like a gossiper looking around for juicy news, my eyes and hands are always on my phone and scrolling in the said app. And there, I encountered a war between two netizens about the topic Death Penalty. 

Like a narrow alleyway, I was favorable at this punishment. Yet, that stranger changed my mind.

“Oo, masasama silang tao na maraming ginawang karahasan sa iba. Pero deserve ba talaga nilang mamatay? Paano naman ang second chance? What if na falsely charge lang siya? Or ginawa niya yun dahil wala siyang choice…”

The stranger’s comment goes on and on, but those words stuck to me like glitter. They shone through my narrow mind and opened it to become more accustomed to the enormous museum. Because of those stranger’s words, not only did my belief change when it came to the Death Penalty, that stranger was the flat chisel who carved my eyes to see the wider scope of the museum.

After a period of time, the clock started to work again and four years have passed and now, I’m in my twelfth grade, where I need to decide for my future career so that I can choose a course for my college. And it was a drill press that pierced through me. 

My family and I were going back home and we were inside our car. I don’t know how, but our conversation took a turn about my chosen course, which is Political Science. And surely enough, my father expressed his worry.

“Sigurado ka diyan? Ang lambot-lambot ng puso mo tapos magla-lawyer ka? Baka naman mamaya, iiyak lang yung kalaban mo tapos iiyakan mo rin?”

My father questioned me like a private investigator which my younger sister laughed at. My father only heaved a sigh.

“Pero kung yan talaga gusto mo, wala kami magagawa.”

I thought that was the end of our conversation, but his next words pierced into my whole being.

“Pag naging lawyer ka, dapat kaya at alam mong depensahan ang kliyente mo. Example nalang, pag nakita mong nadapa yung kliyente mo, dapat kaya mong patunayan na hindi siya nadapa.”

Those words were the drill press that pierced and carved my whole being. I wanted to be a lawyer to be a hero for every Filipino citizen, however, my father made me realize that if I become a lawyer, I will be a hero to the other and a villain to another.

Those few tools shaped me as a beautiful sculpture who I am today. They may be few but they made me change my habits, thinking, perception, and belief to a better version of it.

Thus now, I am a sculpture who was made by different artists with the use of different carving tools that can face and any flash of the cameras and phones that may come in my way. Because those flashes will become my carving tools who will once again pierced through my skin and prepare me to another museum.

[shaineinin]

Untuned Notes: The Making of Gracious Harmony

a reflection essay

"It's so perfect, perfect, perfect. A hundred percent, put us together you know what you'll get. Harmonies' so cold, you'll never ever wanna let it go."

In the midst of broken melodies, where harmonies and tones do not blend together to create a masterpiece, I was there, in between. Listening to the music of life that may have untuned notes, but still puts up the most gracious and gorgeous euphony that I could ever ask for. The loveliest that I didn't realize was me. It was me that it built.

I remember when I was a little child, a child raised at the blazing land on a farm, I was free. Free as a harmony ready to prove herself that she can do great things. That she can achieve high tones. However, in that same phase in my life, an unexpected untuned note that made that harmonious thought tangle and clash within itself. It was my grandfather, whom I love dearly and treasure deep within my heart, got found dead in the middle of the dawn. The dawn where a lifeless melody had broken up to the music of my life.

He was one of the few people who taught me how to be brave at all times. Brave as the king of the jungle. Alert and ready to embark on a new journey. Never afraid to fight and to accept change. One of the toughest people who gave me the inspiration that no matter what life serves you, make way to give your A game and serve life back the things that you actually deserve.

Despite that untuned note, my life kept going. It kept going like a thread of hair or as continuously as lengthy as the longest bridge in the world. Until I have finally reached the second untuned note that placed me in an excruciating phase again, which made me believe that my life is a path of broken melodies.

For the most part of this music called life, the second untuned note dragged my soul out of me. Unfortunately, the 2nd year of the pandemic was also the year when my father got a heart attack and was diagnosed from a stroke. It was a hard time for all of us, most especially my siblings, because that was also the time when my mother was away. What we had at that time was nothing but ourselves. Nevertheless the situation, as the eldest, I acted as the wall for my 4 siblings. I did what I had to do. I was their shoulders when a broken melody of life enters our way. Their peace and calmness amidst the storm of chaos that was happening in our lives.

Frankly speaking, right after that untuned note, there was a block of unwavering tunes that got off my way and made my little yet synthetically enormous life— enough with struggles and hindrances every single day. There were those times where I had to take a huge portion of considerations to make sacrifices. Sacrifices that alter my music, my life to the fullest.

Above all, I realized that through these untuned notes I was able to learn things that made me who I am today. A solid, unique, and harmonious music that could make other people happy with her beat and tune. It creates me into something worthwhile listening.

Through these untuned notes, I was able to take lessons in life that I would've never learned without those notes. Notes that I would never ever let go. I am now a piece of art that will spread her music to the world for it to heal from its wounds.

[jaiyiee]

TURNING BACK TO THE SAND OF TIME

As i looked at the sky, i realize how the youngest stars shines so bright than the old or past self would be proud if she saw new me that shines so bright? She would be feel over the moon if she saw me twinkle every night? As i turned back the sand of time. I saw old version of me crying at the darkest night, selfless, you cant even see the shines in her eyes, she was full of sorrow, cant stand on her own. It was 10 o'clock still cant figure out, the goodness and powerful love of God that guides to walj at the right path. Then i let the time run for a long time still thinking whats going on, i heard the voices of anger and envy yawning at my ears. Oh! I think thats the voices of stars who cant shines so bright, the envy on their heart is like the stick stock on their chest. I think my shines has an impact for them to be angry so bad.

It was half of the golden time, i decided to focus on my own shines and let the asteroid falling to the land like a rock. I started to fix my self as well as my heart. Moreover, i also focused on my study because i believe that it would help me to be succeed in life. Howeve, there is still people who keep pulling us to the ground, but as i started doing things great, they cant even pull me because i build strong foundation on my heart. The girl who was at the corner of the room decided to live it and faced the challenges; she experienced before. In addition, if i am going to ask my old self, i think she could be proud of me, because i didnt let my fear become my biggest regret.

It was already 12 o'clock then i saw shooting star passed through my favorite star. Then i make a wish, i wished that to my future self always be good to others. Life might be selfish, friends would be your enemy but God is powerful than anyone. I closed my eyes, i realize that my old self was strong as a concrete wall. The only words that came out to my mouth was "Thank you lord" because without the hardships that i experienced i cant be who i am todag. We cant turned back the time; only we can do is to look back at the past for us to know that we shines now than the old times.

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

I'm sorry but the irony of Nico calling Max unprofessional is sending me so bad like sir there's an entire garage full of people, who were literally in the trenches trying to survive the Brocedes fallout while just doing their jobs, who might have a few things to say about your (& Lewis') level of professionalism at that time 😭✋️

[officialspec]

ill be honest as much as i love to criticise the use of fatphobia for comedy ill never be able to hold the fatphobic jokes in kung fu panda against it

like yea those movies are guilty of dipping into The Usual Tropes for a cheap laugh but not only is the character writing for the fat characters the strongest and most sympathetic ive Ever seen literally just the character designs of the pandas in the 3rd movie get me choked up sometimes. theyre all so appealing and clearly treated with the same care and attention as everyone else without copping out and making them Barely Fat. po is already a size that doesnt exist in film protags and hes still the thinnest person in that whole village and that meant a lot to me

[gayghostrights]

thinking about John Doe and the dark world as a metaphor for addiction/relapse.

How circumstance and trauma pushed him to do something he told himself he’d never do again, and how he has to live with the consequences and the memories, even though he’s working to not be that person anymore.

And how much shame he carries about the things he’s done, because even if he was pushed to do them, he still did them. To him, he still made that choice, and he has to bear the weight of that.

Thinking about 43, in particular, where the witch is trying to tell John that all he was is all he’ll ever be. That, despite the work he’s put into bettering himself, he’ll only be seen as his mistake in the eyes of some.

And it just feels really meaningful that Arthur’s love is what saved him, in this context. That being forgiven and loved unconditionally, even though he’s made mistakes and hurt people, is how he can cope with the memories of what he’s done. It’s how he can stop himself from slipping back into being someone he doesn’t want to be, even when it’s hard.

love isn’t what makes him better, but it’s what makes him want to work to be better. It doesn’t undo what he’s done but it allows him to live with it.

I just think it’s interesting to read this as an addiction narrative, because so often addicts are dismissed because they’re addicts. Regardless of how much we’ve healed or how far we’ve come, there are some people who will never see beyond our addiction and will force their perspective onto us. Some people hold no compassion for us because they think we’ve made the choice, and think that the harm that resulted from that “choice” makes us unredeemable.

and to see John receiving Arthur’s support and love despite what he’s done, or what he was pushed to do, really reflects how important support is to recovery. Arthur doesn’t absolve John of his mistakes, he doesn’t dismiss the harm he caused, but he doesn’t hold it against him. He knows John is more than what he’s been, he knows John is capable of change and a good person in spite of it, he knows John is capable of being better. Only John can do the work of becoming who he wants to be, but Arthur’s love and support makes the work a little more bearable.

[herinsectreflection]

I'm So Evil, And Skanky, And I Think I'm Kinda Gay (Bad Girls)

In 1872, a full twenty-five years before the release of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu published Carmilla. This story depicts the relationship between the young and innocent protagonist, Laura, and the confident and mysterious title character, Carmilla. A friendship blossoms between Carmilla and Laura and the two become close, but over time Laura becomes suspicious of Carmilla’s strange behaviour. She flees from her, and it is revealed that Carmilla is a vampire who has been preying on Laura – feeding on her nightly and attempting to turn her into a creature of darkness. Carmilla is confronted, killed, has her head removed and body burned, and the ashes of both are thrown into the river. 

A simple story and much shorter than a true novel, Carmilla’s historical impact outweighs its length. Not only is it one of the earliest and most notable pieces of vampire fiction, and a great influence on Dracula itself, it is also the origin point of one of the most controversial tropes in this genre of fiction: the Lesbian Vampire.

The vampire myth as constructed by Dracula and its compatriots positions vampires as a corrupting sexual influence upon women. Older men sneak into the bedrooms of virginal young women, penetrate them, and therefore transform them into something tragic and ungodly. They personify a threat to patriarchy; a threat perceived in the form of female sexuality. The idea is that an unmarried woman having symbolic sex will irrevocably twist them into some kind of monster.

The Lesbian Vampire exists as an extension of this idea, focusing on one of the most diabolical threats to patriarchal ideology – a woman who sexually desires another woman. Carmilla’s victims are exclusively female, and her pursuit of Laura is very visibly romantic in nature. She kisses Laura, confesses love for her, the two take walks in the moonlight and embrace each other. This is what leads to Carmilla feeding upon Laura and threatening her death. Symbolically, there is no separation between the two. The danger Laura is in is caused by same-sex desire. Carmilla’s villainy is her lesbianism. The trope does not have to include vampires in a strict sense, but more generally the link of sapphic seduction leading to corruption.

Read More

[gothchrist]

"War Porn," in The Conspiracy of Art by Jean Baudrillard

[milolovesbmc]

The "I do too" from Marvin after "Do you take this man to be your husband?" in In Trousers absolutely destroyed me so here's this!!!

[loveofdetail]

Let's talk about Gale's sex scenes

I love the astral sex scene and it means so much to me, and I have some problems with the way I've seen it talked about.

I should start by saying this post is not intended to critique anybody's personal preferences. The license to do Whatever The Fuck in an rpg is sacrosanct and there are no wrong choices. But I’ve also seen people imply that the astral scene is not “real” sex, or that Gale romancers “deserved more.” I hope I do not have to explain why that's kinda fucked.

Additionally, I think it is a saddening misread to call the astral scene “performative” in contrast to the bed scene (which gets correspondingly framed as “showing Gale that you want the real him.”) But doing a grandiose magical gesture IS the real him!

I know I'm not alone in viewing Gale as autistic; for me the astral sex scene is a big contributor to that. For one thing, it resonates with the concept of having unusual sensory wants. For another, it reads to me as Gale opening up and showing his passion for magic to the PC in a way he’s never been able to with another mortal before. What neurodivergent person has not had someone view their passion as too weird or too over the top? Have you ever been at a level of enthusiasm that wraps back around into seeming “performative” to others? Ever wanted to show a loved one something that matters to you, but worried they’d never understand—or, worse, they’d actively cringe?

In the astral sex scene, Gale shows the PC how much he loves the Weave (which is not the same as loving Mystra), and the PC does not cringe.

If all the glowing merging translucent bodies, the nebulae, the multiplying limbs, the spinning, the trippiness, the celestial music—if all these trappings made you, the player, cringe: there is nothing wrong with that. But I do think it is a misread to say that the bed version constitutes “helping him heal from his trauma.”

Maybe I have a hair-trigger for anything that implies “becoming more sexually normative = character growth.” Or “vanilla sex = a more intimate connection.” But they are just such tiresome concepts.

I understand that some of the dialogue in the game also suggests that idea, but all that dialogue is coming from the PC. What Gale says is that having bodily sex is “a small gesture toward your comfort.” This has been widely glossed over, imo.

Ultimately the two versions of this scene fulfill two different narrative functions: the bed version is to show the player that Gale will set these wants aside for you should you ask him to. But the astral version is there to show the player who HE is and what HE wants. And I think it is sad to write off this beautiful, lovingly crafted, unique and creative approach to a sex scene as merely something “performative” that he only does because Mystra made him think he had to.

“Stay with me now. There are endless worlds out there. Countless ways to declare love. Infinite ways to express it. Too much for one night... but we shall try.” I've admittedly got a ways to go in the game, but so far this is my single favorite line of dialogue. I genuinely don't understand how people can hear this line, the way it’s acted, and think it's just for show. He knows he's about to get weird but he longingly, vulnerably asks you to stay there in his weirdness with him.

Many writers, when they are writing something kinda out there, have doubts of the form Who is this even for? If the astral scene just isn’t for you I don't have beef with that. But the people who saw the astral sex scene and went "Oh, my god, now THIS is FOR ME"—are perhaps people who only very rarely get to watch a sex scene and have that reaction.

I'm glad Baldur's Gate brought something this beautiful to this particular table and I think it deserves consideration as a serious element of Gale’s characterization.

[dykealloy]

spoilers up to the end of dressrosa arc here but. I can't stop thinking about how Law takes on Rosinante's will. Corasan freed him from Doflamingo and the marines and the world government and everyone that ever could have touched him at the time, but has Law really felt free? “Everything I do until I die represents what Corasan achieved” is sweet until you recognise that Law is willing (and planned) to go to the grave for that belief. Until Doflamingo dies there is always a part of him stuck in that treasure chest, constrained by what Law felt happened to Corasan due to him that day.

It's crazy how textbook survivors guilt victim Law is (I’m new here so I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the first time this has been brought up), but let’s just quickly go over some symptoms:

Obsessive thoughts about the traumatic event ✅ (will go over this in greater detail below)

A sense of disconnection or detachment/need to isolate oneself from others ✅ (Law doesn't fully isolate himself but he definitely has his walls up at all times, though there are often subtle hints of him enjoying the company of the people he chooses to surround himself with. He is notably more reserved, emotionally unavailable, cold and distant than others around him, and watching closely you'll notice that even physically he has a tendency to situate himself three steps behind the group)

Insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks of the traumatic event ✅ (if we can assume some of his backstory expressed in Dressrosa are flashbacks, and also assuming that the perpetual eyeliner he wears are covering some pretty heavy eyebags. Also mention that the only time we see him resting is against Sunny's mast on the way to Dressrosa - and that was 1. a filler episode, and 2. if he was sleeping, it was very quickly interrupted by an attack by petplay guy - a nightmare in of itself)

Irritability and anger ✅ (though elements of this could just be attributed to Law's personality or a natural response to the straw hat's shenanigans, as well as Luffy's total inability to stick to a reasonable plan)

Feelings of despair and thoughts of suicide ✅ (that's Law's Dressrosa arc babe)

Now, there's many reasons why Law is unable to move past this guilt (an apparent lack of therapists in one piece being one of them) - but his inability to believe in unconditional love is likely the biggest offender.

Law may have started off (initially) with one of the most fortunate, stable beginnings, with a loving family and a big house in a rich country (wealth of which was built off the back of lies and corruption and the murder of innocent future generations - we'll get there). But he had a mother and a father who loved and nurtured Law (and were both highly respected doctors in their own right who citizens trusted and relied on). Law's happy beginnings really juxtapose the unfathomable horror that had been lying in wait in Flevance.

Even when shit started to hit the fan, at a very young age (<10 yrs old), Law was already stepping up and showing love for his little sister (lying to her when she was on her deathbed, knowing full well he would likely face the same fate after reading his charts, putting on a brave face for her so she wouldn't be afraid when the screams began to reach their front door, hiding her away when soldiers sieged their home and rushing to check on his parents). Given everything that happened in Flevance, it's completely understandable that, while Law will likely never forget the love his family gave him, remembering it became twisted in the lasting memories of his home — parents riddled with bullet holes. a closet holding a sick little sister waiting for him in a house engulfed by flames. stumbling through a town of friends, neighbours, just... people he used to pass by on the street, now all dead.

Seeing hell, knowing why and how it transpired, who were responsible (spoilers, the World Government; the same body that most citizens believe exist to protect them — yeah, sister "a merciful hand of salvation waiting to help" were perhaps the worst possible combination of words you could have left Law with here. Likely instrumental in having him lose his faith "I don't believe in anything anymore."), knowing he is the only survivor, and fated to die anyway due to the terminal illness that is slowly killing him because some figureheads years back were greedy and the governing powers above the figureheads were willing to cover up everything if it meant garnering a portion of wealth and maintaining influence and control. It's beyond grief, beyond rage. And there's absolutely nowhere Law can put it. No one he can retaliate against. Who could come out of hell knowing this and not want to see the world burn?

So, smart little Law escapes under a pile of bodies and goes to the one person infamously revered for being in the business of that kind of thing. And boy oh boy I can only begin to imagine how a young and impressionable Law - fresh from a genocide, with a hole in his heart and a hatred for everything still alive - had his concept of love warped whilst surviving those two years around Doflamingo and his family. A family where members are only welcome so far as they are useful to Doflamingo and his aspirations. Of course Law's going to pick up some fucked up ideas about how love works outside this little white fence he grew up and watched burn down.

Then. Enter Corazon.

Their relationship may begin on shaky legs (near-juvenicide via defenestration in a failed attempt to ward Law away from sticking around) but Corazon quickly becomes the one person in the world Law can trust and rely on again. And Rosinante can only do so much in terms of healing and guiding this broken kid (yes, his position both as Doffy's brother and as a double agent made things difficult, but need I mention he was only 26! 26 when he died!) but he showed Law kindness and compassion when he was at his lowest. He had faith in the existence of a cure that Law was long past believing. Was determined to help him, even against Law's wishes, even if it meant having Law relive his trauma over and over again. Corasan becomes incredibly important to Law, giving him a reason to live beyond just destruction and revenge.

After the rest of the world had long turned his back on him, when he had been nothing but a dying puddle of rage and self-destructive nihilism, Corasan saved Law. He told Law "Aishiteru" - a very rare way of saying "I love you", never used casually due to the depth of its meaning and the massive connotations behind it - in essence translating to "I love you so much I cannot possibly imagine life without you". There's a high likelihood that at his age, Law had never heard these words before, and probably didn't quite understand the weight of Rosinante saying it at the time.

Corasan frees Law, then he dies at the hand of Doflamingo, Rosinante's own brother.

All Rosinante wanted was for this poor kid to go on and live his life unburdened by his more than turbulent history and his connection to Doffy, but I think for all his planning, Rosinante's one critical error was well and truly underestimating how much him loving Law, and loving Law to the extent he did, would mean to that kid. Law really went from that ten year old hollow void sentiment of "why does anyone or anything at all get to exist when everything that was important to me is dead, burned to ashes and wiped off the map" to "I should have died at age thirteen and every second I've lived since then, I've only lived as a result of Corasan's efforts and as a personal affront to Doflamingo." This time, Law has a tangible, heinous 10 foot monster of a target to direct 1. his grief and anger and 2. justice for Cora towards, and this time he has the power and will to follow through. More than that, he believes Corasan sacrificed himself for him because he's a D. (someone destined to rain down destruction on the gods - Doflamingo, in this case). Corazon becomes a saint that Law dedicates the rest of his life to. Which is something that Law is not vocal about to just anyone he comes across, but is so unbelievably obvious once you know what you're looking at — his tattoos, his jolly roger, his crew, his ship, his ambitions, his beliefs, his fucking. custom-made Corazon jacket. all of it for this man that showed Law - at a time when he hated the world and everything in it - love. For all of six months. max.

And his whole life and personality and behaviour CONTINUES to be guided by this trauma — the way he's reckless with himself, his borderline self-destructive actions, the way he keeps telling himself that none of it would've been worth it unless Corasan's last wishes are fulfilled, the way he surrounds himself with bright people and soft things, the way it doesn't register that his crew genuinely loves and cares about him, the way he's terrified of losing anyone important to him again (and I would say this is one of his biggest downfalls as a Captain compared to someone like Luffy - who is just as reckless as Law is but trusts his crew, doesn't try to send them away, isn't afraid to let them grow and risk their lives for him like Law is with the heart crew), his inability to take a damn compliment. The way he doesn't understand Luffy AT ALL.

Doesn't understand that this alliance that he's brokered means nothing to Luffy because he sees him as FRIEND. No transactions or mutually beneficial pacts necessary. Doesn't get that he's the one that inadvertently asked Luffy to be his friend, thus breaking a long chain of people (mostly parental figures and siblings) abandoning or leaving Luffy behind/no one taking the first initiative to ask to be around him. Law is complete and utterly in the dark as to why someone would ever bat for him when the stakes are this high for no other reason than because they like them and care about them as a person.

Luffy, with his playground rules where he loves unconditionally and will take on the world for a friend he made five minutes ago, perplexes Law with his sheer simplicity.

When Sengoku tells Law, "Don't try to find a reason for someone's love", I do NOT think he takes it well. Because there must be a reason. There has to be. Between the two options of Corasan saving Law's life and freeing him because he believed in the will of D., or Rosinante saving him for no other reason than because Law was a kid that was loveable, and because he loved him unconditionally... everything we've learned about how Law functions up until this point suggests the former will always make more sense to him, and after everything he's been through, is most likely less painful for him to accept.

[dykedvonte]

I think Curly would've seen the nicer parts of himself in Daisuke but completely overlook the naivety because he doesn't believe his belief in seeing the best in people, especially Jimmy, is born of the same thing that has Daisuke always look for the best or fun in an awful situation.

Not to mention he wouldn't necessarily see that as a bad thing and enjoy that someone can remain so positive seeing as he's losing that light in himself...

[afurtivecake]

It's easy to get the impression that Tetsuji never cared enough to rein in Riko's behaviour and temper but I think it's the opposite. I think Riko grew up constantly being told stuff like, "You have to learn to control your temper" and, "Is that any way to behave?" by Tetsuji. I think Tetsuji would have even disciplined him harshly every time he was caught acting out of anger. But all that is coming from Tetsuji - the man who would beat a kid if they displeased him in any way. How can you ever really take to heart the words of someone who demonstrates the exact opposite of what they preach? How are you supposed to not learn that the real lesson is, "Become the one who has all the power over everyone else and you will never have to suffer criticism for how you behave ever again."