#sin analysis

[lu-is-not-ok]

So, Jia Xichun has Gloom for Skill 1, Gluttony for Skill 2 and Envy for Skill 3. What the hell does that mean.

So I wasn't initially going to make a full on analysis, as I don't want to burn myself out on Sin Analyses all over again... But then I thought about it. And thought about it some more... and oh, girl... Oh dear... Oh honey...

So yeah we're doing this

Gloom S1: Gloom as a Sin is associated with negative emotions, dwelling on the past, sinking into despair, and self-destruction. The two Sinners we have with a Gloom S1 - Yi Sang and Gregor - are both people who get easily thrown into reminiscing about their past by seemingly minor happenings, especially Gregor who's quite literally got PTSD.

The easiest way to read this is as a reflection of Xichun's trauma with the Jia Family, and the anxiety she's developed because of it. She's shown to be extremely concerned with building a faction, likely something required of her as one of the candidates for the Family Head, and for a brief moment she even suspects Hong Lu of potentially trying to kill her if she joins up with him, even though Wei points out that Hong Lu is different to the rest of her siblings.

There's also something else I've noticed in the few lines Xichun gets thus far in this Canto - the way she reminisces about her home and past. Unlike Hong Lu, who brings up anecdotes of his life seemingly to try and lighten the mood, unaware that they sound fucking insane to any normal listener, Xichun is very very aware of them being bad memories. And the moments she's pushed into reminiscing seem... very interesting.

The first time is when she manages to shut Hong Lu up and make him stop bothering her by telling him not to embarrass her (which is a line that makes me insane for a completely different reason unrelated to this post), causing her to reminisce and compare Hong Lu's current state to how he was the last time they met.

The second time is when she's failing to extract any useful info from the Priest, comparing the state he's in to the state people tortured by the Jia Family would be reduced to (one of those people likely being Hong Lu himself, judging by his completely silent reaction).

Compare this to the one time Hong Lu reminisces about something towards Xichun. He compares their current predicament, of only temporarily working together, to a truce made over some snacks. He understands what she's saying, he's just either refusing or straight up unable to comprehend the severity of what she's saying. You can tell if she were the one reminiscing here it would be a much darker memory than this.

So.

Xichun is a young woman who was left full of anxiety after having to live in the Jia Household, this anxiety only being made worse by the rivalry she's forced into against her siblings due to circumstances outside of her control.

This anxiety is likely the main cause for her hostility, which acts as her defense mechanism to push people who could harm her away from her, though in the process she ends up sabotaging herself by trying to push away the people who genuinely want to help her, like Hong Lu.

She's a deeply traumatized person, who gets reminded of her family's abuse whenever she sees people around her act in a similar way to the victims of the Jia Family.

That's what I believe her Gloom S1 is meant to reflect.

Gluttony S2: Gluttony as a Sin is associated with hunger, desire, inability to feel satisfied, and in certain cases survival. The two Sinners who have a Gluttony S2 - Gregor and Ishmael - are both heavily tied to survival, being the main focus of the "Survival is a Sin" scene in Canto 1 with Yuri. At the same time though, the object of their Gluttony differs - for Gregor, it's normalcy, a desire to escape the nightmare he lives in, one which he can't reach due to the scars left in him by the Smoke War; for Ishmael, it's finding Ahab, a desire that turns into an obsession with killing a survivor in an act of revenge, one if she were to fulfill would leave her empty and with no other reason to keep on living.

Xichun herself seems to continue the trend of Gluttony being tied to survival, as a lot of how she treats others can be very easily tied into her trying to avoid being picked off by her Family. The main object of desire in Xichun's case appears to be Power.

The first thing Xichun notices and mentions upon seeing Hong Lu is his lack of a well-built faction, and from the way her own posse is described, it seems she herself took the time and effort to build a group that is more than capable of both protecting her and dealing serious harm. She appears to care a lot about the Power numbers give her, especially with how she describes the methods her siblings would use to kill her.

It's not that Yuanchun or her other siblings would personally come after her, no, their Power, and by extention her own, come from the people who surround the siblings. The lackeys, the minions, the faction.

There is also... something else Xichun is searching for in La Manchaland, something that I believe ties back into this desire of hers. Xichun's sole reason for coming all this way is her search for a specific piece of information, and considering her reaction to the story being told by Sansón, it's not impossible for that info to be related to the Rivers of the deep.

...This is where I have to do a bit of speculation, as the Rivers are a part of PM's world we still don't know much about.

Here's what we know for sure about the Rivers:

At least some of them are analogous to the Rivers of Hades, as the River of Oblivion shares the name with one of them, Lethe.

2. The Rivers seem to primarily possess powers that directly influence one's consciousness, whether it be giving one visions of the future that drive them into madness, or completely oblivionize one's identity.

3. Considering the above use of 'well' as a synonym for the Rivers, it's very possible they're Heavily Connected to the Well LobCorp would draw from using Cogito.

So. We don't really know the reason for Xichun to be searching for info on the Rivers. However, from what little we know of what they might be able to do, it's not unlikely her goal is to try and use their Power in some way. It would fit with what we know of her so far, and while our own knowlege is limited, the fact that one of those Rivers was LobCorp's Well shows that when harnessed, they can be incredibly Powerful resources indeed.

So.

Xichun is a person who has been put in a situation where her primary concern is her own survival, as she's put in constant danger by her Family. This has likely led to her developing an unsatiable desire for some form of Power.

This desire primarily manifests itself through Xichun's concern with surrounding herself with powerful people and building her own faction, as it's clear the biggest threat her fellow siblings pose to her is through their own lackeys. Her experience would have clearly taught her that's what being Powerful is all about.

However, due to the nature of this desire as something that cannot be satisfied, a faction is not enough for Xichun. While this is my speculation, I believe this same desire for Power is exactly why Xichun is searching for information on the Rivers within La Manchaland, likely believing that the Power they have would be a highly valuable resource to her.

That's what I believe her Gluttony S2 is meant to reflect.

Envy S3: Envy as a Sin is associated with a sense of inferiority, lack of control and free will, jealousy, and attempts to copy others. The one Sinner with an Envy S3 - Sinclair - is shown to be deeply insecure and easily manipulated into acting a certain way by people who show him attention. He's implied to covet the aura and the kind of presence Demian carries with him, and his fears and feelings of inferiority are the flaw he struggles with the most visibly.

Xichun, at her core, is a deeply insecure person. One of the first things she says about herself is expressing the opinion that she's nowhere close to the level her older siblings are at. She's someone who tries to do what they do, coveting the Power and status they hold, but is unable to match them in her own eyes.

And then. There's this line.

Xichun considers herself to be So below her other siblings, that she sees herself as such a non-threatening figure that there's a chance her siblings would straight up ignore her in their rivalries. This line, I think, exemplifies just how deep and pervasive Xichun's Envy is.

There's also this moment, again further showing her lack of confidence, immediately putting herself down and claiming her prediction is probably wrong the moment she's asked to share it.

So.

Xichun feels a deep sense of inferiority, often comparing herself to her siblings and feeling jealous of their own Power and status. She feels self-conscious about her own lack of those things compared to her Family, to the point where she considers herself completely irrelevant at points of notable weakness.

It's very likely that everything Xichun does stems from that feeling of not being the one in control of the situation, of being so weak that her siblings would feel she's not worth the effort. She needs Power, she needs to be on the same level as her other siblings, because without it, she's considered nothing.

Perhaps it's part of what infuriates her about Hong Lu's behavior. We've seen he's extremely self-sacrificial, willing to just lay down and accept pain simply because he knows why other people would want to inflict that on him. He's someone who seems to put himself in a position of weakness willingly. Of course Xichun would hate seeing that, as someone who doesn't have the choice not to be in a similar position herself.

That's what I believe her Envy S3 is meant to reflect.

I love her. I'm so scared for her.

It makes me wonder if the choice to give her white bits in her hair is meant to invoke the idea of someone's hair turning white prematurely from stress. After all, if there's anyone in the Jia Family who would be stressed to the point of that happening, it would be the one who considers herself the weakest out of all of them...

[outism-odyssey]

Outis Base EGO Sin Analysis

Right, I made this blog specifically to analyze her sins... and promptly forgot to do that!

For the meanings of each sin, I’ll be largely referring to this post from @lu-is-not-ok​ (its a very good post, do check it out!)

I originally meant to do her base ID and EGO in the same post, but, the EGO alone goes on for a while. (I’ll probably write up the base ID tomorrow)

Sin Costs

To Páthos Máthos costs 2 pride and 2 sloth, and translates to "Suffering Becomes Experience". Pride generally represents ignoring consequences. Act now, deal with the problems later. And almost always, pride-related actions ate taken out of the belief the benefits will outweigh the consequences. Sloth, on the other hand, represents apathy and resignation. It has many uses, but a particular use I think resonates with this ego is to do things without ever complaining or acting out.

Together, these sins would suggest that Outis believes what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That she should press on, stoic and ignoring the pain, believing in the end she'll come out better for it. But, I don't think she actually believes that. Rather, it's what she *wants* to believe.

Early in canto 4, Outis tells the other sinners that "experiencing a certain pain will make you learn to fear and avoid it." And she says this in a very different tone of voice to the rest of her speech. It certainly doesn't sound like the words or tone of someone who thinks pain makes them stronger.

Her EGO's line is "the odyssey has a purpose." And in the context of her speech in canto 4? It sounds to me like she's trying to convince herself. She's trying to tell herself that there's meaning to her suffering, and that she hasn't just gone through all this for no reason. Telling herself that her odyssey did have a purpose.

Sin Resistances

There’s a few theories around about what exactly sin resistances on a sinner’s EGO means (like this one from analytical-machine!), but for this analysis I’ll be sticking to my own interpretation of it.

In the abnormality EGOs, I don’t believe resistances mean much of anything.it’s just the abnormality’s resistances, and it’s always identical across all sinners with the same EGO. But, the base EGOs are more interesting.

For a sinner’s base EGO, I believe the sins they’re fatal to are in some way connected to the origins of their traumas, while the sin they endure is how they’re trying to escape it - either literally or metaphorically.

For instance, Gregor has fatal for gloom and envy damage - respectively representing his PTSD and feelings towards G corp, and Hermann using him as a test subject and poster boy. On the other hand, he endures sloth. Gregor escaped the room he was locked into when, out of resignation, he cut the apple and was allowed to leave - resignation being heavily associated with sloth.

The resistances for To Páthos Máthos are: Fatal: lust, envy Endured: gloom

The combination of lust and envy was odd. Lust is associated with self-indulgence, following your own whims and goals. But Envy is associated with taking action because of someone else. They seem like complete opposites. I kind of didn’t know what to do about them. But, @speedynamo​ had some great insight in some comments, and I’ll paraphrase those below.

For Outis’ envy weakness: In The Odyssey, Odysseus ended up in the trojan war because he was bound by a truce to support the Greeks if Helen were ever to be kidnapped. When Paris of Troy asked Aphrodite for the most beautiful woman on earth for marriage, Aphrodite gave him Helen - thus kicking off the war and dragging in Odysseus.

And for the lust: War's often promoted as something that will make you complete. And because of that, many people think the best way to achieve your desires is to go out, fight in war, and come back as a war hero.

Speedynamo mentioned that their analysis hinged on there being a very close equivalent to the Trojan war. And there certainly is: the smoke war! While the specifics probably aren’t identical, there is a good chance that Outis’ experience was similar. Something was stolen (likely Old L Corp’s singularity?), and a deal/truce involving it dragged Outis into the war, where she believed she could complete herself by becoming a war hero.

It probably didn’t work out that way, though. So, how does Outis deal with it? With her resisting gloom... it seems like she doesn’t handle it. Gloom as a sin is all about stewing in your negative emotions, buckling under pressure, letting those emotions control you. And while we never see her express this directly, there are a few rare moments where she seems to show this side of herself - like when she tells Dongrang the calf will remember him, or in her sunshower EGO’s corrosion line (which is a topic for another time)

But, with her mask(s) on constantly, it’s not often that you see this side to her.

[syntonylife]

Manifesting Mischief: A Playful Look at the 7 Deadly Sins through the Lens of the Law of Attraction

Unlocking Your Potential: Transforming Sins into Strengths with Self-Discovery and Manifestation Last week, while I was on a car journey with my friends while going to Porto, I was recounting how my hairdresser had decided to make me look ridiculous by giving me a dreadful fringe and miserably destroying my beautiful long hair. I complained to my friends, revealing to them that I am aware of…

[sinnbaddie]

This is the difference in their relationship with Sasuke.

By no means is Naruto the greatest friend to him and vice versa (I mean we can’t expect child soldiers to have healthy relationships let’s be serious), but the very fact that Naruto - instead of pushing his love onto him and his views - wanted to take on his burdens show how healthy his approach to Sasuke was.

Sakura wanted to push her love onto him, make him accept her while simultaneously changing him. She didn’t want the bad parts, she wanted him to change for her. Naruto accepted Sasuke as he was. The only thing he wanted to change was the darkness consuming him and he didn’t even want him to just stop, instead he told him he’d carry it with him and they’ll hold onto it together because Naruto knew that doing it alone would destroy him and nearly did.

The contrast between Sakura and Naruto’s view of Sasuke and their relationship is that Sakura wanted Sasuke to walk out of the darkness himself and Naruto wanted to shoulder it with him so he wasn’t alone and that’s why Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship is better.

Other characters, including Sakura herself see her “love” for Sasuke as a burden. Whereas Naruto, wants to take on Sasuke’s burdens because he loves him.

[theunholyvirginemilyprentiss]

The BAU on vacation:

EMILY: By day, she sleeps by the pool in the sun reading Kurt Vonnegut books, cocktail in hand, and by night, she goes out, ‘sin to win’ style, thoroughly hungover the next day. Nobody knows where she goes or what she does, but it always seems like she’s had a crazy night.

REID & GIDEON: have a full itinerary planned exploring the best museums and most niche historical destinations. Reid acts as a tour guide and all around information repository. Both brought speedos, yet neither of them get in the pool or the ocean.

JJ & GARCIA: Undisputed karaoke queens. They are the first to arrive and last to leave at the karaoke bar each night, and come back to the hotel covered in glitter and boa feathers. Garcia is a nuisance at the front desk as she keeps getting logged out of the hotel WiFi.

HOTCH: Spends most of the vacation on the phone to his higher-ups at the FBI. He looks very official, sitting pin-straight on a deck chair, shades on, expression serious. Workers at the hotel keep offering to book him in with the masseuse, which he rejects—he looks like he could use it.

ELLE & MORGAN: gorgeous people flock to them as they sunbathe at the hotel’s poolside bar. They always enter the nightclubs together, but they always leave separately—and never alone…

BONUS: Spencer is a walking sunblock dispenser, yet Emily still gets sunburn—though she’d never admit it—as she claims she ‘doesn’t need it’. Morgan recounts his one night stands to Spencer, who just looks terribly confused and stares at Morgan in puzzlement as he gives him advice on flirting and smooth pick-up lines. JJ and Emily nurse their hangovers together at the hotel breakfast buffet, sitting together with their shades on and silently passing the coffee pot between them.

Check out my Masterlist for more BAU scenarios

[nyxofdemons]

okay so the main criticism i've been seeing against episode 8 is that beelzebub (among other things) is "too nice" to be the sin of gluttony, because she's an attentive hostess, because she expresses worry over blitz's excess drinking, etc., and i wanna talk about it.

the thing is, i feel like this complaint is rooted in the most basic, somewhat cliche idea of the sin of gluttony, and a somewhat boring approach to bee's character in general. the idea is that, as the sin of gluttony, bee should be encouraging over-indulgence, excess, and the self-destructive aspects of party culture and drinking.

but she's the queen bee. she clearly explains that she can feel the "energy" of everyone at her party, and i think that's very important to analyzing exactly what gluttony means to her. instead of indulging in food and alcohol and drugs and being selfish (as gluttony is generally expected to be about), bee feeds on the ENERGY of the demons around her. and in order to get the best energy she can, she needs to be making sure everyone is actually having FUN and having a good time. gluttony, in this sense, is about EXTRAVAGANCE, having the best quality of everything, rather than just everything in general.

i also think this is why she was so put-off by blitz's actions. when he chugs the entire barrel of alcohol and then is absolutely wasted beyond all reason for the rest of the party, he's NOT actually engaging in her sin. he's not being gluttonous; he's not drinking to have a good time or to indulge or to have fun - he's drowning himself in alcohol because he's trying to forget and ignore all his problems, which is a sin much more akin to pride. his energy feels bad to bee because he's not having fun, he's deeply hurt and trying to distract himself by being self-destructive, which is NOT what her sin is about.

(also, remember, this is supposed to be part TWO of the finale. meaning, this episode (and the introduction of bee's character) directly goes hand-in-hand with the introduction of asmodeus, who's entire club IS about indulgence and depravity and everything you'd expect from the sin of lust. bee and the gluttony party are meant to be a direct foil to the energy of ozzie's.)

[sinnbaddie]

Something something, Raph having no one to lean on because he’s the oldest sibling and his father while physically there isn’t emotionally there

Something something, Raph being pretty good at keeping it to himself but donnie noticing how lacking their father is with them and how Raph can’t lean on anyone but especially their own father

Something something, Donnie taking on a more parentified role in regards to Splinter because he can’t help but feel how unfair it is that Raph has to take care of not only himself but three younger siblings and he doesn’t know how to show his love for his older brother but he wants to ease his pain as much as he can

Donnie and Raph being the ones who noticed Splinter’s absence the most and having to make sure the others are ok even if they hurt because if they can’t help their brothers what’s the point of them?

[spicylove4ever]

"Queen Bee doesn't look like a properly designed Beelzebub! There's nothing on her design that says Glutony!"

Ok... so we're talking about the sin about over self-indulgence, about seeking satisfaction through something you ingest, waste of food, eat or drink stuff that is bad for your body, waste money on overly expensive food....

I wonder is there is a type of escenario where all that happens at once.... oh yes. PARTIES.

So.....

A party queen. One with hair and tail made of the HONEY SHE MENTIONS DON'T STOP ON HER THEME SONG.

A belly that I bet can digest everything so she's NEVER EVER FULL of food or drinks. Also, works as another big clue.

Offers food and drink non-stop, is always up to get something in her, and has a pool full of what seems to be magical honey that she can turn into sweets.

.....nope. Not a convincing Glutony Queen at all. XD

[anthurak]

Something I’ve been thinking about when listening to ‘Crooked’ is how Ozzie seems to really relate to Fizz with lines like ‘I think you’re messy but I’m messy too’ and singing about his own ‘crooked heart’ and how he finds Fizz’s imperfections beautiful.

And I think this could get really interesting if Asmodeus and the rest of the Sins are fallen angels just like Lucifer. I mean imagine what Ozzie’s sense of self-image is like if he was an angel who left or was expelled from Heaven and took on this new form in Hell?

Like we’ve always wondered why the Sins look the way they do, particularly in contrast to the demons they seem to rule over. Asmodeus rules over the succubi and incubi yet is this multi-headed fire-rooster, Beelzebub rules over the hellhounds yet is some mashup of a fox/canine and a bee, and now Mammon rules over the shark-demons yet is some weird spider/pine-tree thing.

What if the reason they all look like this is the RESULT of them being Fallen Angels? Specifically, the result of their expulsion from Heaven? What if this is the whole reason for them being ‘embodiments of sin’ in the first place? What if it was all originally intended as a PUNISHIMENT by Heaven for whatever transgressions they may have committed? Something meant to ‘curse’ them when they fell.

In which case, I think it’s all too easy to imagine why Ozzie empathizes, relates and connects so much with Fizzerolli and his struggles. Because Fizz is going through a struggle likely all too similar to one that Ozzie may have gone through, what ALL of the Sins likely went through after their fall. Expelled from their home, having their bodies massively changed and told it was BAD. And I think Crooked shows how Ozzie coped with it: By embracing what he had become and finding the beauty in it, something that he now uses to help Fizzerolli, showing that there is no shame in all their crooked, messy imperfections, and that there is even beauty in them.

And I imagine that ALL of the Sins did more or less the same: They embraced and OWNED this ‘curse’ Heaven sought to ‘punish’ them with. Embraced these ‘sins’ they are supposed to embody and made them their own. It’s why Ozzie and Bee are able to express this very positive interpretation of Lust and Gluttony respectively. As a way of making a new life for themselves and also probably a big ‘fuck-you’ to Heaven.

Now that’s not to say that ALL of the Sins were able to do this in a positive manner, Mammon being a clear example. I imagine that as we are introduced to the rest of the Sins, we’re going to see more of a range of positive and negative ways they’ve chosen to express the ‘sin’ they embody. Like even Asmodeus has been shown to have had his hang-ups on Lust and Love being exclusive, leading to him keeping his true relationship with Fizzerolli secret.

Though it’s clear over the last couple episodes that Ozzie isn’t worried about that anymore.

And I think that in particular is REALLY interesting, because it implies that the Sins aren’t actually bound to a particular way of indulging. Rather, the way they express their ‘sin’ is not by compulsion but by CHOICE. Which I think puts all of the Sins’ actions in a pretty interesting light.

Like it means that Mammon being this petty, skeevy, manipulative asshole isn’t some grand, nebulous ‘Embodiment of Greed’ thing, but rather simply a Mammon thing. The product of his own personal issues and hang-ups. Which also weirdly enough implies that there’s hope for Mammon. The possibility that he doesn’t HAVE to be this way. Admittedly it would almost certainly take a (pardon the pun) HELLUVA family intervention to have a hope of making that happen, but you never know. It would certainly be in keeping with the themes of the show.

All in all, I’m finding more and more the possible backgrounds of the Seven Sins to be VERY compelling. Not just for ‘The Lore’ reasons, but because it further develops the Sins as characters. It takes these monstrously powerful and ancient beings and shows them to be far more grounded and, for lack of a better word, human than we might give them credit for.

[gameguy20100]

You know, when you think about it, it makes sense Mammon is such a jerk. Out of all the sins, Greed is arguably the most selfish.

Ozzie always says that lust should be natural and enjoyed together. In fact, most of his establishments outright discourage indulging in lust on your own. You should get out there and indulge in your sick twisted fetishes with as many people as possible. As long as it's consensual. Because if only one person is enjoying it, that's not lust.

Bee always throws huge parties and encourages everyone to have fun indulging in Gluttony. But you shouldn't use it as a way to ignore your problems. That's not helping you, and it's just going to ruin everyone's fun. Don't be that jackass.

Even Lucifer, the embodiment of pride encourages you to stand up for yourself. "Don't take shit from other demons."

Greed? There's really no way to indulge in greed without hurting people because its very concept is taking what you want at the expense of other people. It's prioritizing your own needs over everything else.

So if you're wondering why Mammon is such a prick, it's because greed really is just inherently worse than Pride or Lust.

[librathefangirl]

getting emotional over this journey

[ohtori-dropout]

Something quite interesting that I haven’t really seen mentioned often, though I’m sure it has been mentioned, is the parallel between the Rose Bride and the sin-eaters of Britain (particularly Wales). A sin-eater was a person, almost always poor, who was paid a scant fee to take on the sins of the deceased at their funeral. They would eat bread and drink ale near or over (depending on time period) the corpse - symbolically ingesting the sins of the deceased - and, when the duty was done, driven out. Sin-eaters were ostracized for their role, only called upon to do their duty and be driven off again, believed to be carrying the sins of all who they performed this ritual for. Somewhat similarly, the Rose Bride takes the swords of hatred directed at the “dead” prince unto herself, taking the blame for the prince’s failures and being treated as an object and/or a monster by those around her. Despite this ostracization, both the sin-eater and the Rose Bride are called upon to do their ceremonies, only to be discarded or used afterwards.

The last known sin-eater, Richard Munslow, was celebrated over a century after his death in 1906 with the refurbishment of his gravestone, which took place in September of 2010. Despite this literal interpretation of the role of “sin-eater” having presumably died out with him, its spectre remains within society, with many people trapped in the role of the taker of blame within their relations, be they platonic, familial, romantic, or even so far as their community. The Rose Bride, and Anthy Himemiya in the role, is a more modern representation of a cycle of abuse that has gone on for time immemorial.

EDIT: Said “really” twice in a row and was annoyed by that fact

[kacievvbbbb]

Garp and Compliance

I do think Garp is a very complicated man with very complicated motivations and actions. He is the definition of lawful chaotic. And I do genuinely believe that he joined the marines cause he wanted to do good in the world and that was how he saw how. But I also believe he is a great example of how the willful compliance of the few "good" help maintain the power of a bad system and how that is a part of the problem. does it matter if there are a few good men if the entire system is bad?

But I also do believe that he wanted his kids to drink the marine cool aid like him to keep them safe, Ace particularly. Like I do genuinely believe that.

Like listen they have the "D" just by being alive they are a threat to the world government and it will always want them dead and those they love dead by association. Hell even Sengoku tells Garp that he would have been executed long ago for the crimes of his family if he wasnt so valuable as the Hero of the Marines, anf it's played off like a joke but given everything we know about the marines and the world government it was very much a real threat.

But they haven't because Garp is valuable, he doesn't follow order, his family are all some of the most dangerous criminals in the world and he acts entirely too much like a pirate himself never mind that he and his lineage bare the ultimate sin of having a "D" in their name. But he gets to live, he is safe because he is valuable. And so by that logic if those kids get into the marines, if they complied and become strong, indispensable, invaluable. Then maybe that will keep them safe, maybe it will keep even Ace safe, a boy who committed the gravest only crime against the marines by being born the son of a man the government killed 22 years ago.

And if they are safe then maybe Garp doesn't have to confront the tyranny he swore to protect.

[victoriadallonfan]

I know I’m like half a year late to recommend it, but The Sin Squad just put out a great video on how difficult it can be to find actual dog whistles and problematic material in fiction versus paranoid reading (aka gearing yourself up to find a reading to such things where they might not be intended)

I recommend it for everyone to at least give it a few minutes if your time because it’s some solid work and high quality analysis!

[somereaderinblue]

"I'm not a man..."

https://youtu.be/E03wfrPje38?si=y4FAALdrX6sHU8o1

Changing 'I'm just a man' to 'I'm not a man' can be so poignant. In this essay I will-

[jubileemon]

Lucifer's Pride

Fittingly for someone who is the Deadly Sin of Pride, Lucifer's main issues in his relationship with Charlie stem from being too proud to admit how much he loves her directly until the events of the episode "Dad Beat Dad".

Another trait of pride he has also involves his relationship with Charlie, refusing to accept Charlie needs anyone's help but his. But Lucifer's help basically amounts to "I will give you anything you want because I'm the strongest being in hell" which misses the point Charlie is making while Alastor offers more indirect methods to accomplishing Charlie's goals that are more likely to succeed than just forcing everyone to do what you want. Funny enough, Alastor playing up being a fatherly substitute to Charlie hurts Lucifer's pride of being her father.

From the start, it's clear that Lucifer never went out of his way to physically visit Charlie. One reason is, as he stated, depression. But it's also characteristically very prideful of him to not show up until Charlie is the one to take action and explicitly invite him to the hotel.

The resolution of their strained relationship makes sense as well; by opening up to Charlie about his failures and insecurities, Lucifer displays humility, the opposite of Pride, and the only true antidote to shame. What is more, this opening up allows him to see Charlie for who she truly is, and fall into the more virtuous side of his Sin by taking due Pride in his daughter and how she is following in his footsteps.

Even his introduction also shows his pride in action. He makes a rubber duck that can backflip and breathe fire... which he then throws aside like trash in a few seconds. Anyone else will be impressed by such a feat of engineering and creativity, but Lucifer's pride set such a high standard that not even this can remotely impress him.

Lucifer is also shown to be rather depressed and the reasons are fairly numerous: he was kicked out of Heaven for defying the rules, in hell he's only able to see humanity at it's worst because of his own mistakes, he lost his wife and got stranded from her own daughter; he probably believes he hit rock bottom at that time. The audience can see how miserable he really is, yet as the phone call goes, Lucifer goes all on it's way to pretend he's totally fine, that he's been doing important thing that kept him busy and puts a jovial mask all the way through. Lucifer's pride is so high it forbids him to even openly admit to his daughter he has been rather miserable and needs a lot more help and confort that he lets on, acting high and mighty during his song with Alastor and putting smiles and exhuberance to cover up the fact he's trying so hard to not fall into despair.

It's only at the end when he decides to be humble when Charlie can finally see that beneath the apparent aloofness, her father was actually in emotional pain and yet he still loved her despite everything when Lucifer finally gets a chance to get the appreciation he desperately needed. Sometimes depressed people are often prone to believe they're supposed to be fine and use arrogance to not be perceived as whiny, often avoiding seeking help because they just can't accept their own feelings of sadness or anger.