#want to understand other people's perspectives

[argonautsoul]

“Oh, to be able to be admired, cared for, loved, without needing to do any other thing than existing. No need to fight. Just to care, and nourish one and each other...”

Love isn’t something you feel, though. It’s something you do. And so,

loving someone is loving who they are.

When people feel that they are not understood, it frequently is due to not enough empathy going both ways...

[Text ID: “I would have preferred if you had loved me less and understood me more.”]

Here, one is actually saying: “I was in love with the fantasy relationship I wanted him/her to give me, but s/he wasn't offering me that; (I didn't like the way s/he was treating me)”.

Whatever you understand about your partner is your perspective. It is not what s/he really is. Whatever you attribute to your partner is in relation to you.

True love is based on accepting each other as they are... and you can't love something that you actually don't like... you can't love the other one if you don't actually enjoy the way s/he makes you feel.

Preferences are more about us than the other person, so first, try to give yourself what you are seeking from your date or partner.

Love isn't about trying to change someone to fit our idea of perfect.

What's more,

Forever, one can not fully understand the other one at all. This is the beauty of how they were created. Therefore, there is conflict between them.

Even within ourselves, there are/can be some deep-seated subconscious behaviours and beliefs that we don’t understand.

It is about accepting the whole person, even the parts you don't fully understand or agree with.

People's personalities change and grow over time. As you go through life together, you'll see new sides of each other. True love allows for that growth and accepts the ever-changing nature of your partner, even as their outer personality shifts. 

Any relationship is in a state of change, part of which is continuous knowledge of the other.

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”

 — Fred Rogers

And hence, constant effort is needed to accept and adjust themselves to keep up with the changing lifestyles along the way with the changing society.

It takes time to grow together. And we want the maturity in a relationship that comes with time, the emotional connect that develops over years, that sense of belonging when we barely even know the other person... Apparently, nothing is worth our time, effort, and patience. Not even love. Relationships, however, require energy and participation.

Cognitive biases can be particularly damaging because they distort our perceptions and interpretations of our partners' actions and motives.

Cognitive bias is so difficult to acknowledge, understand, or be aware of within ourselves because we actively protect our beliefs. Sometimes, this means denying truth or new information that comes to us (a la cognitive dissonance).

In addition,

Depressed people don’t have the energy, and if they are caught up in the very common mode of isolation because of their depression they are definitely not participating... sometimes, there is an element of mental illness involved in this arena in general.

Lastly,

We don't really need an intellectual twin who can finish our sentences.

And that level of interconnection isn’t necessary. As long as they treat you appropriately, even if they don’t understand you completely, you can still have a very fulfilling relationship.

Love is a commitment, not about the mushy gushy feelings.

Let the commitment be the beginning of understanding. 

══════☸☸☸══════

Too often, in this culture, we cloud the picture, overanalyze, fear those conscious efforts, and insist that love means something very definable and ultimately acceptable — don’t get sucked into the madness, stay in your true path and please, please find a partner who is similar to you (i.e., hold similar values), who cares about your thoughts and feelings, and genuinely enjoys your company.

And read “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. It’s eye-opening to realize that someone may be figuratively shouting their love from the rooftops — but you aren’t “hearing” it. Communication is key, as long as you understand your partner’s language.

.

Margarita Karapanou, tr. by Karen Emmerich, from Rien ne va plus

[Text ID: “I would have preferred if you had loved me less and understood me more.”]

[careyakane]

Rushed thoughts on the importance of creation while in our youth (meant to be read quickly without heed to grammar…)

Music really is a young man’s game—an attempt at a unique perspective to be consumed by the youth. How the hell do I see the world? How do I convince someone, through feeling and words, of my conviction for living? How do I use my singularity to communicate to the masses (or the few)?

How do I take the common and make it intriguing? How do I take the muted and listless and make it wondrous? How do I take suffering and turn it into comfort? How do I alchemize life into art?

How do I say just enough, and never too much, so I might not disrespect what is already great innately in all things beyond the human touch?

Who am I? I am not meant to just be the messenger. That is a part, but not the whole.

I want to be an architect of taste and understanding. I want to make people understand themselves. I want to make them feel the same awe and wonder that I do in small, simple things, just as one does for the grand and rare. I want to reverse the plague of numb stumbling, drowned-out consumption, and blindness to a beautiful world that has not failed them.

As much as I like to claim there is no rush, it is a lie. The rush should never force one to do sloppy work, but time is everything, since perspective is everything.

Only once will I have this clarity and naïveté toward life—this sense of worth and great fear battling each other day in and day out. Only now do the days stretch with such opportunity and golden light, and the nights with such longing and melancholy.

Speak. Write. Dance. Create. It is all you must do. But do it well and honestly. For honest and quick work will be your best hope. The gods of creation look upon you with kind eyes and won’t fail you now.

You must only give in to the work. Give in to the life. Give in to the range of elation and loss.

Write, my boy. Write.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Analysis: Narrative Elements

The purpose of this resource is to assist in the critical reading of narratives, and to help you explore how the effect is created and the meaning is made.

Fiction is best understood by breaking down and discussing terms common to most stories, be they novels, short fiction, movies, TV shows, etc.

Includes: plot, characters, point of view, setting, theme, conflict, and style.

Understanding how these elements work helps us better analyze narratives and to determine meanings. Seven main elements of fiction are defined below followed by a sample of questions to help readers uncover meaning of a given narrative.

Theme

Perhaps the most important literary concept because it is the overarching idea that the writer of the story wants to reader to understand.

All other literary concepts are used to create theme.

The theme is the author’s commentary on a subject.

Example: In Shakespeare’s Othello, one of the major themes is how easily human perception can be manipulated when powerful emotions are at play.

To determine the theme, examine other literary elements of the story.

Questions to Consider: First identify the subject(s) of the story and then ask: what is the writer trying to say about this subject? What literary tools does the writer use to create this theme?

Plot

The structure of the narrative as it moves through time.

Most narratives (but not all) follow a traditional plot structure.

It consists of:

the exposition (introduction of setting and characters),

rising action (events that build conflict for the protagonist),

climax (tension of conflict reaches highest, most intense point),

falling action (the events following the climax), and

denouement (the resolution of conflict).

Questions to Consider: What is the relationship between the events of the story? How do the actions inform the theme of the story?

Characters

The people involved in the narrative.

Characterization - process by which a writer creates a character.

Protagonist - main or central character, often considered the hero.

Antagonist - main character who opposes the protagonist, sometimes considered the villain.

Literary analysis of characters often focuses on whether or not, and to what extent, a character changes throughout the story.

Questions to Consider: What is the motivation of each character? How do characters grow or transform throughout the story? Or do they fail to grow or change at all? What does their growth or lack of growth say about the theme of the story?

Conflict

The issue or problem characters in a story are confronted by.

The narrative is structured around how the characters face the conflict.

The 4 general types of conflicts (with examples) are:

person vs. person (a couple going through a divorce)

person vs. self (protagonist wrestling with depression)

person vs. nature (protagonist trying to survive a natural disaster)

person vs. society (protagonist fighting for civil rights)

The interaction of character and conflict creates the central effect of the story and is the main indicator of meaning.

Questions to Consider: How does the conflict affect the main characters in the story? How is the conflict resolve d and what does the resolution say about theme? How does the conflict change the main characters?

Setting

A time and place the story is set in.

The location can either work symbolically or it can simply be a backdrop for the story to take place in.

Questions to Consider: How does the location, time, and/or date of the story affect the theme? How does the setting affect how the characters respond to conflict?

Point of View

The perspective the story is told from.

This element includes:

First-person narrator: Tells the story from the perspective of one or several characters with the word “I” or “we.” The readers, as if from their own eyes, can envision the characters actions.

Third-person limited narrator: Tells the story from an outside perspective from the perspective of one of the characters (usually the protagonist). The third-person limited narrator can relate events, thoughts, actions, but is limited to that single character. For example, if the narration is from the point of view of the protagonist, the narrator cannot relate events that are happening across town from where the protagonist is, nor can they relate the interior thoughts of any other character. Third person limited narration uses the pronouns “he,” “she,” or “they.”

Third-person omniscient narrator: Also tells the story from an outside perspective but this narrator is not limited to actions and thoughts of one character. This narrator knows all of the in formation of the story and can relate the events of the story, the actions and speech of each as well as the interior thoughts of any character. There are no limits for this narrator.

Questions to Consider: Does the narrator reflect an inner or an outer perspective on the story? Why did the author select this point of view? What would change if the story were told from a different point of view?

Style

The way the writer uses language including diction, voice, tone, sentence style, etc.

Paying attention to these details allows the reader to identify how and why word choice and sentence style, etc. can help create the effect and meaning of the story.

Questions to Consider: Is the diction hard or simple to understand? Are the sentences short or complex? Why did the writer make these stylistic choices? How do these choices add or detract from the effect of the story?

NOTE: Of course, these aren’t the only literary devices narrative writers use to create their stories. Imagery, symbolism, metaphor, foreshadowing, and ambiguity, for example, are other important devices that should also be considered in the analysis of narratives. Source ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

More: Notes & References ⚜ Critical Reading ⚜ Active Reading How to Read for Historical Research ⚜ How to Identify Character Descriptions

[sirxlla]

You Have a No Kill Rule and They Dont / Vice Versa.

(Request @nesting-dreams)

--------------------------------------------------

Dick: "You know I really wish you wouldn't kill, it goes against everything I have ever agreed with." He had stated this over and over again and you had stated your side. This conversation always went in circles every single time until one or both of you gave up.

"Don't you understand it's wrong to kill?" He pressed relentlessly.

"Don't you understand that it never stopped anyone else in Gotham? Doing this would make sure that those out there can't harm or the innocent people of Gotham. Criminals won't stop killing just because of the fact that you don't want to do it. Meet then were there at, at least then they fear for their life, not a broken nose." You spit words at him like venom. The two of you parted the same way you did every single time with both of you being pissed off at one another.

By the time that bed came you two would crawl up into bed together with no issue like you didnt fight with him at all.

Jason: Before you knew everything about Jason and Gotham as a whole, you would have had these long conversations about exactly why it's wrong to kill people and everything along those lines. Those fights usually ended in screaming matches and someone if not both of you pissed off for several days. You had begged him over and over to just try it your way and for the most part he tried, at least it seemed like it from an outside perspective. If he killed he didn't do it in front of you.

He understood entirely that once you end someone's life or see it done you don't always sleep the best and that's why he never did it in front of you.

Now that he had let you in and you'd learned everything about Gotham, saw how horrible and rotten it was your opinion changed. You saw just exactly the type of people that deserved death and exactly what was the source for Jason's bloodlust.

Bruce: "Bruce, don't even start with that bullshit because if it was Alfred that would have killed them you would have had no issue with it and I know your track record with women and 99% of them kill people so I don't want to hear it because you're being hypocritical. I have no choice and if I didn't do it I would be dead now."

His face turned to stone that's definitely not something he wanted to hear. He often had a bad time being hypocritical and not understanding the entirety of what exactly was life and death considering he forgot you weren't him and you weren't some sort of badass that could take on whoever the fuck you needed to.

Even though the man was small that you had to end, he had a gun to your head and you had no choice but to shoot him through your bag.

Tim: He never wanted to fight about it but it was something that you definitely didn't agree upon. Tim was always kind and soft spoken when he tried to tell you not to do it. Tim was probably the most understanding on why you had such a similar view to Jason and Damian.

Tim had high hopes that there was always a redemption for a criminal. He had more hope than his father that maybe a criminal could change their ways. He saw cases like Harley Quinn and Azrael whom had turned corners and he hoped they's set examples for others.

Tim was always an optimist, he was so soft spoken about it. It was because of that that you eventually came out around to his ways, if he were so adamant and pushy about it you would have stuck to your guns but now you saw the kinder brighter side and how good some of these people could be if given the right opportunities.

Damian: It's something that always left a bad taste in your mouth, how Damian did it so easily without losing a hair of sleep but you knew how he was. He definitely tried to be less prideful in his kills while you were around cause its just something that you hated. In your mind a body's lifeforce was sacred, this is why you wouldnt even remotely begin to hold Damian's sword even if he asked you to hand it to him.

"It's such a sword." He would say as if the blade wasnt essentially stained with the blood of what felt like thousands. Even though it was something that puts such a bad taste in your mouth you were never going to tell him not to do it. It was just the way he was raised but you also didnt bother because the blood was on his hands, not yours.

The only thing that you had asked him to do in regards to that sword? To not bring it into the bedroom where the both of you slept because somehow in someway everytime he did, you had the worst nightmares and sleep paralysis.

(Send me some prompts if you'd like)

Masterlist

[sharonaparadox]

[Images: fancomic featuring Charlie and Vaggie from Hazbin Hotel, uncolored but for the reds and pale purples of their respective speech balloons. They are seen from behind standing together on a balcony with skyscrapers in front of them, Heaven and the hellish moon above them in the background as the two women lean against each other.

Charlie asks, “Did you really mean all of that?”

“Of course,” Vaggie responds.

The perspective shifts to show their faces. Charlie is looking over at Vaggie with a small worried frown as she asks, “Are you sure?”

Vaggie looks down with a soft smile as she replies, “I’ve been sure for a while, to be honest. It just took me some time to tell you. I just didn’t think I was worthy of you. I still don’t, really.”

Charlie turns and takes Vaggie’s hands into her own, looking shocked as she exclaims, “That’s ridiculous!”

Vaggie smiles warmly up at Charlie as she says, “It’s not! You have no idea how amazing you are. I’m nothing compared to you. But I want you to know that I’d dedicate the rest of my existence to be worthy of you.”

Charlie frowns tightly, her eyebrows furrowed and a small blush on her face as she looks down to the side and says, “I don’t know about being worthy and all that. It’s not like I’m some special little trinket that you have to be highly deserving of. What even is the metric for that? I’m just me. I don’t need you to prove your worth to me, but I understand that it might take you awhile to be convinced of that. I know I struggle with it too.” Vaggie looks up at her with a sad frown, and Charlie steps closer and continues, “All my life, what I’ve done and what I’ve wanted was for my people or my family. But Vaggie…”

Both women blush as Charlie raises Vaggie’s hands up to press a kiss to her knuckles. Charlie says, “You’re the first thing I got to want for myself. You make me feel so loved… Hell, I’m the one who doesn’t feel worthy of it all. I don’t think anything I could ever do would prove that I am.”

They look at each other with half-lidded gazes as they press their foreheads together. Vaggie says, “I don’t need that. I just love you anyways.”

Charlie pulls back and grins widely at Vaggie as she says, “Right back at you. There’s no need to prove anything, is there? Just let me love you anyway.”

End description.]

from chapter 4 of my fic The First Guest

I'm soooo happy to have finished this fic. Writing is such a struggle for me, so I'm really proud whenever I get to finish a multi-chap fic. Here's my personal favorite scene to celebrate

[jeonscatalyst]

why do you and other jikookers strongly believe that jm and jk are in a comitted relationship with no hiccups whatsoever when that fling/relationship jk had/has with jennie's friend makes so much sense. All I see from jikookers are debunking-or there's actually no debunking I've seen some bloggers saying "if you don't believe in them, go leave, i trust them." That's not debunking, that's holding to a false belief. Purely delusional atp.

Anon,

How do you see yourself as any different from those who firmly believe that Jimin and Jungkook have been in a committed, hiccup-free relationship, when you’re basing your own belief that Jungkook had a fling with Jennie’s friend on absolutely no evidence? I could understand your perspective better if you had a basis for your claim, but it seems like you don’t. Why does this make sense to you? Is there any tangible reason to believe Jungkook had a fling with Jennie’s friend? If you’re referring to the leaked apartment video, I can see why you might think there was something going on with the person he was hugging but how did you arrive at the conclusion that it was Jennie’s friend?

As for why some Jikookers believe what they do, I’d say it comes down to personal experiences, culture, environment, and perspective. Some believe that Jimin and Jungkook’s behavior doesn’t align with the idea of a casual relationship. They genuinely see no reason to doubt that they are fully committed to each other. Others may reject the idea of anything less than a perfect relationship because they idealize that kind of bond. For some, believing in this ideal relationship fills an emotional void or brings them happiness, and the thought of imperfection might disrupt that joy.

There are also those who don’t see Jimin or Jungkook as the type to engage in casual flings, either because of how they perceive their personalities or because they find such behavior incompatible with the image they have of them. Suggesting otherwise might feel insulting to their perception of who Jikook are as individuals.

Ultimately, these are just a few reasons I can think of. Everyone has their reasons for what they believe, and I think people should be allowed to hold their beliefs without forcing them onto others. While I encourage open-mindedness, I understand why some people are less flexible when it comes to Jikook. If you want to believe Jungkook had a fling with Jennie’s friend, go ahead, that’s your choice. However, I find it ironic that you question why others are so steadfast in their beliefs when you’re just as certain about something with little to no evidence. Isn’t that you kinda holding on to false belief too?

[mryoyo000]

Wicked book and musical: on Glinda (SPOILERS)

I waited a bit to write this until hopefully the Discourse��️ has settled a bit but I wanted to say something about Glinda in the novel “Wicked” vs. the musical/movie.

SPOILERS

One thing I’ve seen people talking about regarding the book vs. the show is expressing disappointment regarding Glinda as Maguire depicts her, versus how she is changed for the show. Glinda in the musical follows a fairly typical kind of character arc, beginning as the archetype of a superficial, popularity-obsessed rich girl, who grows in depth and maturity over the course of her life (kickstarted by her relationship with Elphaba) and by the end has become, if not the primary heroine of the musical (which is Elphaba), a character who we see has earned her title as the Good Witch.

I said this in my precious post, but again it bears repeating that “Wicked” the book and “Wicked” the movie have not only completely different target audiences but also completely different goals as stories. I’m not trying to criticize anyone who saw the show or movie first, and felt disappointed by the novel—or really anyone who didn’t care for the novel in general—but I think that some of the criticism the book has gotten recently, after the movie came out, doesn’t take into account that in many ways, the book and the musical are completely different works with the same character names and broad plot outline.

So I’ve seen some people expressing disappointment that in the book, Glinda “regresses”, that she’s racist, that she’s not actually a good person, etc. And I can definitely understand how this rubs people the wrong way—whether in comparison to the show or even just to the Oz books or the 1939 movie in general. Glinda in pop culture is about as synonymous with good as the Wicked Witch of the West is with evil, and seeing her depicted in such an unflattering way is probably not what a lot of people anticipate or necessarily enjoy reading.

(In my previous post I already addressed a different criticism, which is Glinda’s comparative lack of presence in the novel—she’s the POV during Elphaba’s time at Shiz and then largely fades out of the story before a final confrontation. I maintain my stance this is what works for the book, which saves Elphaba’s perspective for the end after showing us all of the people she’s lost first.)

But it is true that in the Maguire book, Glinda’s “goodness” is a cynical punchline for a character who, in her reunion with Elphaba, has become this:

[Glinda speaking] “‘Yes, I had been at an orphanage on the shores of Mossmere, and for a lark I thought I’d go to the game park—they have dragons there now, and I’d never seen a dragon—so I was scarcely a dozen miles away when the storm hit. We had terrible winds even there; I cannot imagine how a ceremony could have been in progress in Center Munch. In Mossmere there were whole sections of the park closed to visitors due to the fear of falling trees and escaping Animals—’ ‘Oh, so they call it a game park, with Animals?’ said the Witch. ‘You must go, dear, it’s a lark…’”

and this

“Glinda turned yellow-pink. ‘My dear,’ she said, ‘I was fond of Fiyero and he was a good man and a fine statesman. But among other things, you will remember he was dark-skinned…’”

Knowing about Elphaba’s history with Dr. Dillamond and general involvement with the cause of Animals makes Glinda’s casual mentions of Animals in game parks that she visits even more unpleasant. And while it is definitely indicated that Glinda was in love with Elphaba, I don’t think her comments about Fiyero here are some sort of deflection to hide her feelings about Elphaba—this would be overly convoluted and anyways Glinda could have denied the suggestion of an affair without making a racist comment.

Glinda here is an archetype that I think many people are familiar with especially in current discussions about society and politics: the idea of the supposedly “benevolent” elite, doing lots of public charity and good PR, while actually aligned with the forces of oppression out of convenience and material benefit. Elphaba explicitly calls her out on this:

“‘You are working in collusion with the Wizard to render Munchkinland ready for annexation,’ said the Witch. ‘You have no agenda of charity, Glinda. At least don’t fool yourself. Or are you really under some rusty spell of Madame Morrible, after all this time?’”

Glinda’s “goodness” in Maguire’s telling is the exact opposite of Elphaba’s “wickedness”—one is rewarded and praised for her participation in the Wizard’s regime where the other is ostracized and eventually treated as a criminal for her attempts to rebel and resist. The book “Wicked” is in some ways a story about failure, and while Elphaba’s lifelong failures are the focus of the story, Glinda adds to that thematic focus—she is yet another disappointment in Elphaba’s life (in addition to Nessarose, and Boq, and her father, and so on) and one that stings in particular because she could have been better. She was better, at one point. And Glinda has failed herself, too.

In the quote above, there is a nod to the suggestion that Glinda and Elphaba’s fate and even their actions as adults may have been influenced by Madame Morrible’s spell. But Glinda herself says to Elphaba: “‘I’m no pawn…you do have some choice.’” In that very same scene, in fact.

I can’t blame people who dislike the novel for being quite cynical and pessimistic in its outlook of humanity, but at the same time that cynicism is what drives a lot of the characterization. Glinda in the novel is not the friend to Elphaba or hero that she is in the musical, and she isn’t meant to be. Viewing the book primarily as a political satire, Glinda fits in well as a parody of a particular kind of figure, and it’s both intriguing (in my opinion) and controversial that Maguire uses a character so strongly associated with goodness to make that point.

[spookyjudgement]

Ok. So you're right shame and oppression are not uniquely christian inventions and we should talk about how they work internstionally and across many religions. But the language you used to describe how those operate was entirely Christian, and you did not say anything that can be applied broadly without some heavy twisting. Your discussion of shame is entirely christian and as a non christian it feels gross to see statements like this where people familiar with christianity want to discuss religion on THEIR terms with THEIR language and pretend it's a broad discussion of religion.

Please let other people discuss their experiences with religious institutions and religion or promote people who do that in their own words instead of making sweeping statements where you from your western christian-influenced understanding of religion perspective claim to understand how religion as a whole operates and makes people feel. Your experience living in other countries does not automatically give you that so stop it with the gotcha.

We do the world at large a disservice by letting people who sre immersed in white christianity lead the conversation in everything.

not to be anti-religious but i do wonder if teaching children that they are innately flawed and sinful is, perhaps, not a healthy worldvi

[quirkwizard]

On the Matter of Quirk Counseling

So one of the hot-button issues of the fan base is the subject of Quirk Counseling. That it's this horrific practice done to "deviants" like Himiko to make them normal, and it's what turned her into the person she is today. And with the ending, people thought that Uraraka working to spread it out over the country was a terrible thing and was only going to make more problems. Naturally, this is something I disagree with. At least, to the extent the fanbase takes it.

We're told that Quirk Counseling is a program that helps the youth understand and adjust to living in modern society. However, as we see with Himiko and her flashbacks, this kind of process can end up isolating people who don't fit in with that society. A pretty grim perspective on the world. However, I don't think it's the most reliable one. This is the kind of perspective we get from Chitose, who is someone who is radically opposed to how society handles Quirks and wants to destroy it, and Toga, someone who was hurt by this same process. So I think that paints a specific picture of the practice. One that may not be entirely true.

Because in spite of being such a big part of a major villain, we know very little about what Quirk Counseling entails. We're told by Midnight that every kid goes through Quirk Counseling during elementary school. So every character in the series must have undergone this same process at some point. During Tamaki's flashback, we see something like this going on in middle school. People being taught how to use their Quirks, at least in a basic way. This is later reinforced during the Remedial Course Arc, where the whole point is the heroes helping to teach kids about their powers. All in all, it doesn't seem that terrible, and it seems to work with a lot of people in the world.

This all paints a different picture of what exactly Quirk Counseling entails. Because when we see it in action, it's mostly just teaching people how to use their Quirks and helping them understand their own powers. Which isn't a bad thing. Quirks can be very dangerous and wild, even from a young age. It's important you know how it works, whether it be how it functions or how to use it. Better yet, how not to use it. Because, as we have seen, the unchecked usage of Quirks is going to be dangerous for everyone involved. Values like this need to be put into kids at a young age to keep any kind of peace or stability in the broader world. And it seems to work.

Himiko is an odd case within the world. Someone whose Quirk had a potent effect on their interests and personality, more so than any other person we've seen. She is an outlier. A deviant. Yet she was still a little girl that needed help. Maybe, if she had gotten the right help, she wouldn't be the person she is today. And that is part of the tragedy of Himiko. That the concept of normality has been so enforced that they can't even hope to properly help Himiko. The problem wasn't the system itself. The problem came in its inefficiency to handle cases like Himiko. Outliers that couldn't handle possibly fit within the brackets of "normal." And when all that pressure comes down on someone, they will eventually break under it.

It's why I don't think that Quirk Counseling growing is the problem everyone tries to make it out to be. Uraraka's helping to expand the system that is meant to help and teach kids about their powers. We've seen how that can help troubled kids. The Remedial Course is the prime example of that, where it's something that works with the kids rather than trying to strongarm them. And with that system growing, it will help to prevent cases like Himiko. It can help the kids learn about themselves and their powers. It can show kids not how to be "normal." But what they're going through isn't something they have to be afraid of and can live with. Just as Himiko could have. Expanding this isn't disrespecting her. It's keeping other kids to suffer like she did.

[bwat5-blog]

Vi and Jinx: Listen To Jinx

**Spoilers For All of Arcane**

The relationship between Vi and Jinx is one of most important parts of this story. It is immensely complex, tragic and heartwarming, the tale of these sisters as they fight to find their way back to one another over the course of this story is truly incredible. I have personally written a full analyses on their story, as have several others. This, is not that. Put simply, if I see one more "Vi got what she deserved" post regarding Vi getting hit by Caitlyn, or her running from Jinx's bombs, or whichever example people want to misinterpret to prove their point, I am going to lose it.

So! What this is, is a hard and fast list of some statements regarding the two of them that will likely ruffle some feathers. I would hope anyone reading my writing by now knows I love both of these characters, and understand the nuance in these situations. But people need some serious perspective. These events will be leading up to season 2, act 3, because at that point they are pretty much on the same page.

**There is nuance and deeper meaning in each of these situations. There are many more things each character does both good, and bad. Neither of them are perfect. But sometimes boiling things down is how we get to the crux of the issue**

Season 1: Act 1

There is not a single shred of evidence Vi was anything other than loving and supportive sister before the night of Vander's death.

Vi was completely correct in leaving Powder behind for the mission.

Vi did not make Jinx. An otherwise loving older sister losing control during a single traumatic event did not completely warp her little sisters mental health. Now seven years as the daughter of a violent drug lord however?

Vi "left" Powder because she was kidnapped as a minor and thrown into a violent and abusive prison without cause for seven years.

From everything we were shown, if Powder had listened their family would have made it out.

Season 1: Act 2

Jinx murders 4 firelights, 1 who she thought was Vi, and six enforcers all in 1 episode.

Jinx is a loving daughter to the man who tried to (and mostly succeeded) kill her entire family and took her for his own.

Jinx puts her gatling gun under Vi's chin during their first reunion.

Vi is stabbed, beaten and chased all in her attempt to get to Jinx.

During their reunion, Vi immediately embraces Jinx, tells her whatever she had to do was for survival, tries to take responsibility for what happened, and fights back to back with her.

Season 1: Act 3

Jinx kills several enforcers and Marcus on bridge

Jinx actively tries to kill Caitlyn and Vi both

Jinx almost kills both herself and Ekko

Jinx abducts Caitlyn naked from her bathroom, makes her put on her enforcer uniform, ties her and gags her with a smiling mask so she can try and convince Vi to kill her

Jinx brutally knocks out Caitlyn

Jinx kills Silco

Jinx murders 3 Piltover counselors including Caitlyn's mom in front of her

Vi insists she can help her sister before the bridge attack

Vi is going back to the undercity to find Jinx before the bombs go off on the bridge

Vi completely blames herself for what her sister has become when they are in Caitlyn's room.

Vi refuses to kill Caitlyn, but tries to get Jinx to come away with her so they can be family again.

Season 2: Act 1

Jinx expresses knowing she could die at any time as "best feeling in the world'

Jinx declare intent to kill Vi

Jinx intentionally lures Cait and Vi into ventilation chamber for battle

jinx encourages Vi to kill her when time comes

Jinx is the only reason Isha is in danger to begin with. She had no business being here.

Vi joines enforcer taskforce: Hunting Shimmer, Chem Barrons, and Jinx

Vi stops fighting when Jinx says she is ready to die.

Vi stops Caitlyn from hurting Isha

Season 2: Act 2

Jinx knew Vi was in the pits, and came to see her at least twice before finally coming to her over Vander. Made no move that audience is shown to help despite obvious decline

Jinx was hiding during entire occupation. She "busted half of Zaun out of Stillwater" because of Isha. Not her people.

Jinx being the symbol on the painting with Vander is laughable. She is known as the daughter of the man who killed Vander and the rest of his kids.

Jinx tells Isha last time she and Vi fought she kicked Vi's ass. Jinx was on her back wanting to die.

JINX IS THE REASON ISHA IS IN DANGER. SHE HAD NO BUSINESS BEING HERE. (Vander hunt and commune both)

Vi comes with Jinx after literally everything above

Vi saves Isha from Vander

Vi trusts Jinx and lowers her gloves.

Vi throws her body over Jinx's to protect her from explosion

In the end, the sisters have found each-other again and accepted who they have become. They are both flawed, they both mistakes,and their story is incredibly moving. Because ultimately their love for eachother perseveres even when it seems like they have totally lost one another.

So why did I do all of this? Because regardless of circumstance, of nuance, of deeper meaning, when you boil it all down Vi is a loving and protective older sister who goes about a million miles past reasonable trying to help her little sister, more than a few times to her own detriment. And guess what? Jinx knows that. She specifically tells Vi to start living for herself and stop feeling guilty over being happy, and being loved. And her last action (as far as we know) in the world of the living, is to save Vi's life. Seems like she knew what an amazing sister Vi always was. Maybe some of yall should listen to her.

[anoyint]

Oh dw, i didnt mean to force anyone to do anything. You can believe in someones ability to change while also telling them that youre still wary of them and that theyre not welcome in your spaces.

As for what I'm doing, my focus spending time arguing about this is not to widely prevent harm, but to better myself by understanding the other side. I am afraid of falling into a headspace where I am biased and closed off to new ideas, and like, here are some people with a perspective that I don't have, that are more than willing to respond to requests to understand them (even if those responses are often passive aggressive and uninformative), thats awesome! Also, in participating, I'm motivated to dig deeper into my ideas by the time spent working on a response, and I get immediate and impersonal criticism back (again, of varying quality). It's much harder to figure these things out in a vacuum. Last, I know that I want my limited efforts to be dedicated to causes like environmentalism and sustainability more than anything, so talking about it like this is a nice and easy way to give me a taste of the other worlds of ethics that I'm missing out on without taking away too much time and energy from my main focus.

i believe that seeing yourself as superior to another human being is counterproductive and incentivizes stagnancy. I cant remember the name right now, but I read this wonderful article that attempted to explain part of the psychology of anti semites and racists and the likes, and part of it was that they liked seeing themselves as better than the ones they are prejudiced towards, because they don't believe theyre special, but at the same time want to be worth something. So they use hate to put other people down, and find value in being nobodies, rather than work hard to lift themselves up and prove their worth. Believing that people are set in their value just because of who they are also sets that precedent for you. But believing that we are all just doing the best with what we've got, and that no one is more intrinsically valuable than anyone else, sets the scene for you to recognize your limitations and alter yourself to accommodate for your circumstances, rather than futilely attempting to alter your circumstances to accommodate for yourself. Its generally a healthier way to about things, to my understanding. Its something I need to work on myself, because I recognize that I often feel entitled to certain things because I believe myself to be deserving despite lack of effort, and that's reflected in me putting other people down in my head. But thats part of why im spending time on this.

Could you personally forgive someone who had a neo-Nazi “phase” as an adult? Assuming they’re trying to make amends for their past behavior/beliefs

[purble-turble]

i can 100% see Nezha and mk's relationship (regardless if it's platonic or romantic) being equally beneficial and detrimental. like there so much they could help each other with but also subconsciously cause serious problematic habits/ thought processes/ coping mechanisums for each other and themselves the biggest thing my brain latched onto was how MK could become Nezha's first truly safe space.

Nezha going what i know and understand about his lore and what we can glean from the little we know in the show's canon, definitely has it rough in the celestial realm. he had a very troubled childhood and is clearly haunted by his past and is being defined by it despite his efforts to grow and prove that he's better now. he can command respect for his strength and power but people still question him as a person, always waiting for him to slip up. what relationships he does have he probably doesn't feel fully safe expressing his real self and thoughts because it poses potential risks. then mk comes into the picture. Nezha's given him a safe place to talk openly and he'd want to offer the same to the prince. even if he can't help directly he knows just having someone to vent to can help. its small stuff at first, little complaints here and there about work and the celestial realm, but slowly nezha starts to open up about more personal stuff. stuff with his family, with other celestials, and about his past. and to his amazement and relief is met with only empathy and understanding from mk, even after learning about the darker stuff MK never judges him. Nezha doesn't have to mask anything about himself around mk, infact he's being encouraged to relax and just be his natural self around him. he's truly safe when its just him and mk, that feeling has to be euphoric for the poor guy used to being on guard constantly even around the people he loves.

but of course, could easily lead to a mutually unhealthy co-dependency. nezha's already been isolated to some degree having never had much of a positive support structure, and mk's slowly isolating himself away from his established support structure. resulting in an echo chamber of two very well-meaning but very mentally ill people.

(i'm so sorry this turned into a short essay I've been waiting three hours to get of shift so i can spill my brains out about this. i have more but I'm going to end it here in fear that i'm being a bit much about these two)

Noo don’t worry about this being long, I absolutely love it!!

You’re so right, Nezha and MK are at the same time a good counterbalance for each other while also being accidentally self-destructive. MK is a chaotic lil gremlin who follows his emotions and worries about consequences later and Nezha (in LMK at least) seems to be trying very hard to come at things logically and approach from a more grounded, duty-based perspective. They both could use a splash of the other’s energy in that manner, so in that way it’s for sure a good thing that they’re getting closer.

Problem is, like you said, these boys are sooooo mentally ill 😂 The feeling that they need to constantly be proving themselves, giving a little more away every time, pushing their own boundaries and suffering in silence because it’s what someone else needs- these are things they might accidentally end up encouraging in each other…. Actually, probably not even accidentally. They see the other working crazy hard and being run ragged physically and probably emotionally too, and they’re like “I am SO proud of you for sacrificing so much!” ..and both of them have never felt so seen as when the other says that to them. It’s validating their worst impulses to just keep going and giving because their own feelings about it are less important than everyone else’s.

Also, the fact that they feel like they can expect to get that praise when they admit to being stressed might even make them be more open about it. Only with each other, though… if they were to mention feeling overworked or burdened to their families, they know already that they would not get the response they were looking for.. but again, even if it means they’re being more open, it’s still not a super good thing that it’s reinforcing destructive behavior. :U

[thesugarchanotaku]

Let's talk about Octavia

With the newest helluvaboss episode out and season two cming to an end there was a lot of discussion about Octavio even before the epsiode dropped. That's why i decided to look at her a little more in depth. Spoiler ahead (duh)

My realtionship with Octavia is kinda rookie. I love this asexual queen as much as her dad but find myself a little annoyed at her behaviour sometimes. Let's recap what we know about her.

Octavia is a royal teen, deeply loved by her father, troubled by the divorce of her parents and 17 years old. But if we look past the more obvious characteristics there is a lot going on in subtext.

Octavia is oblivious: Octavia grew up quite sheltered and as much as it is understanable (since they tried to assissinate stolas at loo loo land) that she is well protected the problem is that she has little to no clue about the outside world. Much like her father in the recent episode she is seen being scared of the world in seeing stars. She is THAT unaware that she was walking around without a disguise in broad daylight.

Octavia loves her father: So you might ask where the problem is for that point. She sees Stolas as JUST her father. She fails to see Stolas as a person with needs, wants, dreams and wishes. We have to point out that Octavia is never seen with any other people despite her parents (not counting loona in seeing stars). So it's save To assume that she is quite isolated and ultimately fixated to on her parents.

Octavia lacks comparission: As we grow up we compare. We always do. It helps us to decern right from wrong. The outside world helps us contextualize. Octavia probably never had that. Growing up with mostly her parents she has no other love relationships to look at and compare. Therefore she might not see Stella as an evil person like we do. For us the audiance it is hard to understand why she always puts her mother next to her while talking to Stolas and about the broken "family". But forOctavia Stella is an integral part of her life. (As a mother should be) She has no chance to see the behaviour of her mother as toxic and harmful, because that is how her mother ALWAYS was. Its the only thing Via knows. She cant understand why her father was "fine" with the antics of her mother until a certain point and "suddenly" isnt anymore.

Octavia is a child: That point kinda put me at odds a long time. My parents divorced when i was 12 and I could understand the situation better than her. Octavia is nearly an adult. Most children her age don't want to be that close to their parents, they want to be free, start their own live. Octavia doesn't. She clings to memories, to promises her father made to her and she just feel so so SO young. She tries to be that edgy teen but she feels way more like a child. Which isnt exactly bad but plays a huge part in her character.

Octavia and Stolas

The relationship of father and daugther hit a fallout and it was important that it happened because both characters need to GROW up.

While Stolas never had the chance to grow into his very own charcater due to the fact that his life was planned out for him, he tried to shelter Via from the same fate by protecting her and sacrificing for her. He did basically the other extreme of what he experienced.

Stolas slowly grows into himself, making decisions for himself and realizes that while having the freedom to make decisions for yourself is great, the consequences are yours to bear too. And he just realized how overwhelming these consequences can be in the recent epsiode.

Via on the other hand still needs to grow up. The fallout with her father is over due because stolas isnt JUST her father. She tries to remind him of his role on every step he takes further to himself - his true self.

Octavia needs to finally learn about the world, how healthy relationships look like, and what her father truly did for her. Right now she is angry and dissapointed and from her perspective she has every right to be but she lacks the understanding for her own father. It shows how little she truly knows about the relationship of her parents. She need to question why her father took pills rather than judging him for it. She needs to ask why her mother is so degrading towards him rather than accepting it as a given. She needs to see the true intentions of her uncle and mother rather than overlooking it.

and there clearly is hope. She protected her dad, still called him dad and i belive that if both of them grow and want to mame an effort it can work out. If Via learns more about her parents and the world - if she manages to grow up both father and daughter can grow into a healthy relationship. And if it takes a bruning bridge for now, than so be it but I'm certain that they will find each other again sooner or later.

[liquidorcard]

Okay, to the anon who sent me the breakdown of what happened to Liquid Lily:

Thank you for the write up. I do appreciate you filling me in. But I'm going to use this as a chance to address the ground rules of how we address Courtney going forwards on this blog.

Let me be perfectly clear here:

Courtney's behavior as of late has been very upsetting. To me, to many of you, yes. I have very much privately expressed my own thoughts, feelings and frustrations on the matter in more private settings. There's no sneaky shade here, everything I've said I'd be more than willing to say to her face. I'll send her screenshots myself of everything I've said if she so requests it. I'm not here to gossip and bitch and not stand by it when confronted.

And Courtney on the off chance you're reading this, on the off chance you give a shit what I think of you and want to hash it out, my DMs are still as open to you as they have ever been. I'm not going to be brow-beaten because you don't agree with my perspective on things, I'm not interested in a pointless back and forth, but any concern you have with my presence in this cursed space I am always willing to hear you out on. The offer will always be there if you want me to signal boost something you want out there, of what little I can. It doesn't have to be a whole thing.

I'm also not going to wag my finger and tisk tisk on anyone else sharing their thoughts on Courtney's behavior. Nor do I want anyone to think I'm implying Courtney deserves to be coddled and babied because she's too fragile to handle people criticizing her.

With all that said. . .

Courtney will remain a no-poop-touching subject here on this blog. Obviously, she exists, bring her up when relevant, but we are going to refrain from name-calling and casting judgment. We are not making jokes now at Courtney's expense. We are not psychoanalizing her, speculating, making a circus side show. I will bring her up or respond to asks aboit her if I feel it's appropriate, relevant, or necessary.

Here's the thing gents:

Courtney and I have had some very similar life experiences. I'm not going to pretend to know her whole truth or suggest I'm an authority on her because of that, but. I know for me, having gone through what I did didn't help me become the most pleasant person on God's green earth either.

I never intended to hurt anyone, but I did. I have. I am very aware I have the capacity to do so again if I don't keep myself in check. I take full responsibility for the ways I have absolutely set bonds with friends, family and lovers on fire before. I hate it, I feel the full weight of that guilt to this day, but it's better to accept it and do what I have to to be better than pretend I'm a Saint. I've been told by people in flesh space and online how much they appreciate how "level-headed" I am. There isn't any kind of trickery afoot, I learned the hard way one too many times the cost of me not managing myself appropriately. I've put in the work to learn, and even then it's not like there's zero chance I won't eat shit and have a public meltdown caught in 4k. I hope that doesn't happen, lord knows I'm doing what I can to mitigate that risk-- but if it does all I can do is take the L and try to do what I can to fix it. I'm always hopeful the people in my life will forgive me-- and I'm thankful most do. But some don't, and I understand why. Some do, but it's better for both of us if we give each other a wide birth. Being a big boy do be like that sometimes.

And to be frank, if my abuser became an internet lolcow you couldn't fucking pay me to engage or come forwards. All of Lily's known victims are much braver than me. There's always going to be this extremely isolating disconnect when it comes to passive observers engaging with your abusers shitty behavior and you. The deep, crippling, profound panic and imminent sense of heightened danger is never going to feel the same. You might as well be on a different fucking planet, no matter how empathetic or accommodating they are. I can all but 100% garentee the histrionic way I'd be acting wouldn't paint me in a flattering light either.

I've heard some concerning information on some of the things that might be going on in Courtney's life right now. I trust the source it came from but have no way to verify if it's true. If Courtney publically confirms it I'll consider adding my two cents, having had lots of experience with what may be going on. Not that it justifies her actions, again, just very much contextualizes it.

I will say, I do think the sentiment of Courtney's frustration is more than valid-- I just think she made a lot of very poor decisions in who she directed those feelings at, then escalated things far beyond reason. I also empathize with her frustration over everyone and their mom telling her to log off because she's having an episode. I can tell you from my experience I would not respond well to anyone but a very close, trusted person in my life telling me that regardless of whether or not it was true. I've also seen plenty of OTHER dickweeds call Courtney "damaged goods" and the like all over the internet so I really don't blame her for shadowboxing ghosts now over it. You know who you are.

Being a victim doesn't make you incapable of harm or absolve you of personal responsibility. Lily's the fucking poster child for that.

The thing is, within reason, I believe in giving people a healthy amount of space to be messy bitches. Glass houses. It's one thing for me to comment on Courtney somewhere where there's little to no chance people will see it without context, it's totally different for me to put it out there in a space anyone can see it without knowing what went down.

Anon, I'm not scolding you, but I'm going to ask you be careful where and how you describe Courtney in the future publically. The last thing she needs is for more people to treat her like her trauma isn't relevant-- and unfortunately people routinely do expect victims to be perfect little angels. I'm not going to risk putting Courtney in the line of fire for that kind of behavior.

Thank you for your understanding.

[thechthonicherbalist]

Lestat really deserved this after all the hurt Louis inflicted on him. Even if it was because Louis was lied to and manipulated by Armand. Of course the hurt between those two became monstrous. Of course they wronged each other. But why? Because Louis thought it was so bad of Lestat to try and protect him of Armand... All of these characters are very complex, with great depths and dark and light sides to themselves in their very unique ways. I have loved these books for over 15 years and I slowly come to love the series, in a very specific and kind of critical way. Both independent and intertwined with the books, now that I have started to re-read them from the beginning with my friend and the parallels become clearer again, I am mind-blown actually.

My babies will always be Lestat and Nicki, who have suffered such a tremendous loss, that is most relatable to me and many more things. I have another favourite I will not mention out of respect for someone's feelings. There is so much I have to say on these two. How I relate to Nicki's mental health and passion. How I relate to their childhood trauma. How I was created to be like Nicki and all my life worked to be like Lestat, how Lestat is indeed my light, the one that made me hold on in darkest times and reminded me... infused that taste of immortality into my existence... abandons my senses when I fall apart and get licked by the flames and torn apart and into madness by... ah well. And such mixed feelings on Louis... I love him, understand him and grieve him and resent him through the lense of Lestat. He's both relatable and makes me want to say "No, how could you?? Are you blind?? He loves you. He fought for you and you fought him with your anger, your vengefulness. You suffered and so you wanted to make him suffer with you... he deserves better than that, but please just be gentle and nice now, Louis. Lestat has set his heart on you, you're his everything. So just let yourself be loved and love him. You've both been through so much and he is so much more fragile and such a sensitive soul than he let's on, than you accept him for..." So very human, I could never hate him for it. But yes. The gift he wore like a curse. Hah. They could have had it all and yet it got consumed by the flames. I am glad Louis learned this very hard lesson and only made that mistake once in the books. And Armand... complex, difficult Armand, who is a very interesting character in a beautiful body and with a beautiful and charming personality on the surface and oh-such-deceptive depths to it. A master at luring people in, making them love him. Not neccessarily a favourite of mine. But certainly a character I look at with fearful respect. As a writer, I cannot even pick up his character to write from his perspective, I cannot comprehend it. So I have utter respect for the abilities of Anne Rice, the AMC series team and Assad Zaman for the amount of skill it takes to make such a character come to life in all his horrifying and compassion rousing details like that.

"I didn't know it was a gift... I wore it like a curse... I was selfish… I tried to make nights awful for you… I wanted you to suffer... Because I was… suffering."

Interview with the Vampire Season 2 | Episode 8 "And That's the End of It. There's Nothing Else"

[jubshead]

In my opinion <- strongly for ME

When it comes to Agatha All Along seems like people lose the plot & content about it as it goes, idk why but

1) Agatha is a Villain- she doesn't need redemption she's aware of herself & acknowledges her doings ( like wanda says " you do it you become the hero , I do it I become the enemy)

Agatha doesn't have to atone to what she's done or will continue to do ,does she feel bad hmm 🤪

So she's a serial killer - most those witches deserved it if you ask me, her salem coven completely did for wanting to put a child on trial because they were scared of her powers

"You don't see it holding me back " & it shouldn't hold her back she's a cunty witch no one forced anyone to follow her in her scheme she's a great con artist 🥵 I'd willing volunteer for you AGATHA HARKNESS 😏

Now I'm not saying her grief is an excuse, & that it's ohkay what she's done with her & Nicky's song but isn't a lil evil enjoyable😈 don't always have to be good doesn't mean you're always right

Like the ballad where all that's wrong is right & all that's bad is good!

² ) Agatha & Rio's love IS NOT toxic. What makes it toxic that rio gives & Agatha takes? If you think in depth their love is dynamic! Agatha is a person who time & time again is wronged by close & acquainted people of course she'd close herself from hurt when that's everyone's intentions without giving her a chance it's not her fault that people misunderstands & here comes Rio our amazing entity who knows how to show compassion because no ever will this is something Agatha deserves & Rio is literally the best example being that homo sapien feel the same way about death so who's best to understand Agatha than Rio herself & show & give Agatha what no one has? Their love makes sense & is precious because death can be seen to never be loved & here comes Agatha someone that's put off by people whom in their eyes seem like she's not capable of ever loving, yearns to want & give it & is giving it to death the best way she possibly knows how to, so who's to say their love is toxic?

3)Agatha is a Villain! That's what's perfect about her it's what makes her likeable

She is not evil( yes she is 😏🤭) , just misunderstood, not given a chance . She can still do & is doing the things even if she was good

] a daughter, a mother, a mentor ! Being a Villain doesn't stop her for being the things she was gifted with as Rio sees her for what she masks with - you just have to look through the disguise as well cause in time you'll see notice & you see if you pay close attention she isn't hiding as one would say you just aren't taking the time to notice because she's good at what she does best DECEPTION!

1 and 3) Yes, I agree! Agatha is a villain and she shouldn’t have a redemption arc! She doesn’t want to change and she won’t (tbh I prefer her as immoral lmao)

I think redemption arcs are usually very forced, just bc someone regrets their doing it doesn’t change what they did. She can have better actions, but being a villain isn’t really about what you do in the present, is about the way people view you and she’ll always be a villain in someone’s perspective, there’s no way for her to run from that title anymore.

People have the need for their favorite characters to be liked by everyone, have a moral high ground or something like that, but making her greedy and egoistic (in my opinion) gives her a bigger depth than “oh she always does what’s right”. Who the fucks only do what’s right?

I don’t agree that all of the witches she killed deserved, the only ones I know that deserved were her previous coven!

2) Agatha and Rio have a VERY complicated relationship.

Would I say it’s toxic? No, I wouldn’t!

Are they toxic people? Yes, they are!

I think they basically match each others freak to the point their toxicity doesn’t become toxic lol

And I also think that they have true feelings for each other, they can fight, they can argue, they can hurt, but when it comes to the important stuff they will take things seriously! Just like Rio did when she defended Agatha from her mother.