#affluence and morality

[zomb13s]

The Paradox of Entitlement: Luxurious Consumption and the False Merit of Hard Work

Introduction The modern world is characterized by a growing disparity between those with immense wealth and those struggling to survive. In many societies, the notion of “deserving” luxury and affluence has become an implicit cultural narrative. This essay critically examines the psychological and social implications of claiming entitlement to extravagant lifestyles based on the idea of “working…

[cosmicpuzzle]

9th Lord in Houses

1st House

You are in a good connection with your higher spiritual side, and you seek to understand the world from a higher perspective. Due to your virtuous nature and openness, you are bound to be fortunate in life, in terms of education, wealth and health. You try always to do what is right and you may find a good support from governing powers.

2nd House

You are scholarly and knowledgeable, and you bring good fortune to your family. You may seek to understand the world through the economical accumulation and affluence. Self-expression in terms of philosophical matters may fit you very well. Your family life will be happy.

3rd House

You may seek learning and understanding of life in the way you assert yourself: in terms of initiative and action. You may be easily motivated by spiritual principles or people who are on the path of spiritual development. When asserting yourself you have to be aware of the higher purpose behind your actions. You are bound to be successful in your endeavors and your siblings will be fortunate.

4th House

Spiritual or religious principles or practices sooth your heart and give you comfort. You may have gotten introduced to such principles from your mother or someone very close to you. You will be fortunate and gain possession of good property, real-estate or land as well as vehicles.

5th House

You are a virtuous and fortunate individual, who devotes him/herself to study of higher education and knowledge. You may be a well respected teacher or a leader and you try to uplift people with your wisdom. You are respectful to your elders and you communicate well with your children, which will be very fortunate.

6th House

It might be hard for you to acquire higher education and spiritual knowledge, and even though you may gain it the process of gaining it might prove quite irritating and annoying. Your relationship with your father might be lacking and your father's profession might be linked with medical science.

7th House

You are attracted to people who are virtuous and knowledgeable, sharing their wisdom freely with you. Your build your relationship upon sound principles of devotion, respect and moral values. Due to this your marriage will be happy and your spouse will be a reservoir of moral and spiritual values.

8th House

There is a hesitation in you when it comes to accepting new doctrines of religious or spiritual principles. To you it needs to be explored and analyzed, while in actual practice it tends to confuse you. It would make you feel vulnerable and weak if you would accept a religion or a spiritual path without deep and long consideration. In a way you hold back on the flow of fortune and good luck in your life, so you merely get a meager reward that expected. Your relationship with your father may suffer.

9th House

You are very spiritual, open-minded and a fortunate person. You are endowed with higher learning, wisdom and good moral values. You feel close to the divine aspect of yourself. Consequently you'll be lucky in life, financially fortunate and gain great happiness from your siblings and your grand-children.

10th House

It is very important to you to grow into a positive role in society. You take your moral values with you to work and your reputation and social image is very important to you. Your career is therefore bound to be very fortunate and successful. You always want to do the right things, you will be popular and rise in power and influence.

11th House

You are very affluent and open minded. You always seek to expand your opportunities and you will always have plenty of resources. You can be very inspiring and uplifting to others, and good at guiding them with proper principles to realize their dreams.

12th House

It is just like all your attempts to expand your horizon, to achieve higher education or higher spiritual teaching, get diffused and aimless when you try to pull them through. You need to transcend the selfish attachment you might have to such an endeavor. Indeed when you indulge in selfless acts of kindness and charity, you may discover the reservoir of knowledge within yourself.

[truevedicastrology]

Jupiter's Influence on Fortuity

🌟 Jupiter in the 1st House: Your countenance is kissed by luck. A myriad of garments adorns your closet, fulfilling every desire. Your style undergoes constant metamorphosis, exuding unwavering confidence. Jupiter bestows joy upon matters of appearance and vitality, fostering an unyielding individuality. Confidence in physique and actions draws attention effortlessly. An optimistic life view and robust overall health accompany this Jupiter placement, rendering you inherently appealing. Financial luck and life's treasures are within your grasp.

💰 Jupiter in the 2nd House: Felicity in fiscal matters, valuing possessions, and indulging in life's pleasures. A captivating conversationalist with profound life acumen, possessing mental fortitude and intelligence. Financial success graces you early in life, with steadfast values deflecting external influence.

🗣️ Jupiter in the 3rd House: Bliss in relationships with kin, fostering understanding and camaraderie. Fortunate occurrences extend to vehicular matters and swift exam success. Your gift of eloquence ensures articulate expression, resonating positively.

🏡 Jupiter in the 4th House: Familial happiness, affluence, or a deep sense of belonging. A harmonious connection with your mother and favorable living arrangements. Fortuitous circumstances surround your dwelling, possibly leading to residence in a dream locale.

🌈 Jupiter in the 5th House: Swift recognition of talents propels you into the limelight. A proclivity for sports and diverse skills define you. Enjoyable encounters characterize your dates, often with like-minded individuals. Favorable outcomes in gambling showcase high self-esteem and risk-taking proclivity.

🌿 Jupiter in the 6th House: Health and physical well-being favorably influenced by luck. An enjoyable and intriguing routine mirrors fortuitous professional endeavors. Financial abundance often emanates from daily work, with new opportunities arising through colleagues.

💑 Jupiter in the 7th House: Luck with relationships, potentially leading to an ideal partner and grand unions. A predisposition for popularity accompanies this placement, with societal recognition and advice-seeking becoming commonplace. Legal professions may find this position particularly advantageous.

💸 Jupiter in the 8th House: Fortune in inheritance, financial dealings, and a shield from misfortune. Profits through investments are likely, and deeper relationships are blessed with happiness. Resilience in matters of the heart ensures swift recovery from emotional setbacks.

🌍 Jupiter in the 9th House: An overall stroke of luck. Frequent travel, exposure to diverse perspectives, and encounters with life-changing individuals define this fortunate position. Enthusiasm and curiosity for the world's wonders infuse your being, making every adventure invigorating.

🚀 Jupiter in the 10th House: Success in your career, often intertwined with financial support from parents or ancestors. Leadership roles and prominence become synonymous with your professional journey. A penchant for travel and cultural exploration characterizes your pursuits.

🤝 Jupiter in the 11th House: Realization of dreams and steadfast, loyal friendships. Your circle is erudite and multilingual, and influential connections propel your advancement. A recognizable presence in social networks is a natural consequence of this fortuitous placement.

🧘 Jupiter in the 12th House: Luck in adversity and a heightened spiritual inclination. Elevated moral standards and a proclivity for altruism characterize your persona. A solitary contemplative nature intertwines with an acute awareness of life's intricacies, guiding your intuitive decisions. Traveling to desired destinations becomes a personal venture shaped by your instincts.

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[multifandomexpialidocious]

The subtext of hunger, agriculture, food crisis vis-a-vis scapegoating and “othering” in Wicked

I just watched the WICKED movie the other day. This is my second night after having watched that movie. I’ve read the book, watched the musical, and now, watched the movie. I am writing this immediately after I woke up after lucid dreaming, some themes and commentary hiding in plain sight having been made clear in my dream.

So.

Oz is a highly agricultural land. From the depiction of a largely agrarian society in Munchkinland to the triggering events that shape its society, this much is clear.

Right off the bat, in the movie, Dr. Dillamond attributes the scapegoating of the Animals to the Great Drought, where the people, hungry and frustrated, wanted someone to blame. (As a side note, I am curious whether Madame Morrible is alive and already competent a sorceress during those times. I am don’t remember the dates, but come Oz suffers from Great Drought when there’s a weather-manipulating sorceress in the picture? This to me is suspicious in the same way Morrible’s hand in Nessa’s demise is, or will be.)

This already sets the precedent of the public consciousness being pliable to “other” sectors of society and deprive them of their rights, if it meant being able to get-over a real but complex societal problem like poverty and hunger. Sounds like Nazi Germany and today’s current climate, right? It does. The propensity for fascism exists within Oz’s culture.

Now this part may sound like a stretch, but I argue that there is subconscious reason why they sprang out of the creators’ imagination.

I’m not gonna talk about witches and their significance as an historically oppressed group and the metaphor of a witch as society’s constant attempts to snuff out women empowerment. Y’all already know that.

Obviously, the solution to a drought is water. And I cant help but remember how water is significant in the story. In the classical tale, Dorothy melts the Wicked Witch of the West into a puddle by throwing a bucket of water at her. In the books, Elphaba is deathly allergic to water. This is not the case in the musical and movie, but she does take advantage of that ridiculous rumor and a bucket of water gets thrown at her. In the movie, and as I’ve seen many point out, during Elphaba’s iconic scene, storm clouds punctuate her rise to power. But Elphaba isn’t known to manipulate the weather. You know who is? Madame Morrible. Storm clouds and thunder are gather to literally make Elphaba appear villainous, fearsome, and menacing. Spoilers, but, Elphaba wasn’t able to see her political aspirations bear fruit. Going back to the drought imagery, Elphaba, a symbol of otherness herself exists as a figure that seeks to correct the undue scapegoating and political disenfranchisement that people chose to wrongfully resort to. They may wreathe her in stormclouds all they want, but as force of nature herself, her moral stance in all these injustice, her advocacy, is correct and righteous. She and everything she stands for water to the Ozian’s moral drought: clear, purifying, quenching. A path to wash away the sins of society and clean its conscience anew.

The resulting “othering”, scapegoating, and disenfranchisement of the Animals, of Elphaba, were not mere reactions to a harrowing social ill. The Great Drought and its direct effects (poverty and hunger) and the trauma it entrenched in collective Ozian consciousness were taken advantage of by political figures. Leaders people looked up to but were unable to solve the problem. So instead of taking accountability, they chose to shift it on others instead, employing propaganda. The “greenness” of Emerald City is an illusion of the Wizard, the phony spectacles masking the glaring inequality in its metropolitan affluence as opposed to the more agricultural provinces and distracting from holding leaders responsible to effect true and direct solutions. After all, if there were no problems, who would the people look up to? It is all a fake. This “greenness” is a fake to Elphaba’s real. It’s a “greenness” that co-opts and imposes conformity, calling one to willful blindness and perpetuating that same culture of division and disenfranchisement. A “greenness” that is not the same as and inevitably clashes with Elphaba’s own: a greenness forged by the same “othering”, stigma, and disenfranchisement but with a sense of self and a sense of justice to effect social change that would end the cycle.

[probablyasocialecologist]

In theory, in a meritocracy, hard work leads to elevated socioeconomic status and stability, and such status and stability is available to all talented hard workers. In recent years, much ink has been spilled over the realization that meritocrats aren’t much different from the aristocrats of the past. I, for instance, have always worked hard. I also have White, married, college-educated, financially stable parents. I have both inherited and achieved their same level of education, economic stability, and social standing. In a meritocracy, social advantages can look like the reward of hard work, even if they really are inherited. Books like William Deresiewicz’s Excellent Sheep (2014) and Daniel Markovits’s The Meritocracy Trap (2019) have identified both the ways in which the meritocracy excludes deserving workers and how its values fail to satisfy those within it. The philosopher and Harvard professor Michael Sandel’s recent contribution to the discussion, The Tyranny of Merit (2020), goes even further in its examination of the injustice of these values and the impossibility of perfecting a meritocratic system of reward. “The problem with meritocracy is not only that the practice falls short of the ideal,” Sandel writes, but that “it is doubtful that even a perfect meritocracy would be satisfying, either morally or politically.” These books argue that the system is functionally closed. It cuts off most (not quite all, keeping the myth of mobility alive) of the people who are not already within its demographic fold. Meritocrats are indeed talented hard workers, by and large. And yet what gets them – us – to the top is not hard work. It is birth. Wealth begets wealth. Power, power. Ballet class begets ballet class. Advanced Placement courses beget Advanced Placement courses and SAT prep sessions and summer enrichment and service opportunities.

[...]

A second problem is that the meritocrats aren’t happy. The relentless pursuit of achievement and advantage engenders anxiety, which often manifests itself in working harder. We keep working to maintain our status and to ensure our children have what they are supposed to have – piano lessons and tutoring and international travel – only to face despair. Suicide, substance abuse, clinical anxiety, and depression all occur at high levels among the meritocrats. These signals of deep dissatisfaction send a warning that this life of relentless hard work, entertainment, affluence, busyness, restlessness, and achievement does not accomplish much that matters. In Sandel’s view, meritocracies are bound to fail not because they can never live up to their own ideals, but because they rest upon a foundational assumption that GDP defines the common good, that economic productiveness is the highest value for society. Sandel traces the history of meritocratic ideals through Protestantism and western philosophical traditions. In his lengthy discussion of Friedrich Hayek’s capitalist philosophy, he comes to a concise conclusion: “[Hayek] does not consider the possibility that the value of a person’s contribution to society could be something other than his or her market value.” Reducing humans to their earning potential is dehumanizing, and it fails to consider non-monetary contributions that individuals make within their families and communities.

[sweet-chimera]

Character Dossier

Basics

Full name: H-0434

Known aliases:Honey Suckle Reject, Mead florere rejecto

Age: 3,219

Gender: Female presenting or Demi-Female (uses she/her pronouns)

Birthcreationdate: April 1st

Heritage: Gladen

Religion: Polytheistic considering gods and deities are real

Sexual and Romantic orientation: Demi/pan sexual and panromantic

Status: Currently a free monster, court officer, in the Miracle territory

Residencies: In the Reject Estate located in Kevin the forever forest

Highest level of education: Greek Gymn school, monster quality assurance training, The Nursery, Godly and royal etiquette training, Greek monster and spartan training

Occupation: Public servant, court officer (she's their lie detector for sentencing)

Physical examination

Facial features: Round eyebrows. Rounded goat nose, tusks protruding from mouth, four sets of eyes (White pupils, usually red and green), 6 distinctive facial stripes

Face-claim: Herself. I draw all my own stuff

Voice: She has a (more mild now) scottish accent and a deep, feminine voice

Voice claim: Bronagh; Sound of the Sea

Eyes: She can have up to 8. All looking like colored rings, in the following colors:

Hair: Old burgandy, dark brown hair with a slightly redish-purple hue

Body type: She is a curvier, larger women with wider hips, and fat deposits on her body (shes had many kids)

Distinguishable Marks: double stripes on her shoulders, a serial number fur pattern in her fur, and 6 stripe markings on her face

weight: 285 lbs give or take

Height: Fluctuates, but remains around 5'7" for the sake of being approachable to most species

Mental Evaluation

Mental illness: PTSD, Hypervigilance around others, Not technically DID but she is a single body housing many creatures mentally, emotional affluency

Psychological profile: ESFJ

Positive traits: Empathetic, perceives needs, practical, caring

Negative traits: Detached, self deprecating, Assigns values based on usefulness

Alignment type: She can not perceive morality but based on action alone, True neutrual or lawful neutrual

Meyer-Briggs Personality type: (S/N)

Phobias: Afraid of technology, Frogs

Mannerisms: One set of eyes will avoid eye contact, one set will stare. Finger taps. Tail buzzing. Frog blinking.

Hobbies and Interests: Horticulture, Potion craft, baking, weaving, national parks, child rearing (yes), Tailoring.

Strategic analysis

Combat style: She avoids fighting at most costs, and if she does get into one (Not relating to damage mitigation or calming down a rampaging friend). Her motto is destroy them, everything they hold dear, and 5 generations of their blood line. Or pawn the problem off on someone else (still usually resulting in death) Since fighting is looked unfavorably upon. But other wise, mid to long ranged attacks with close range hand to hand being for when you want to get messy

Weapon of choice: She personally is a pole arms user, spears and pole axes when its not her magic or body as a weapon

Hand to hand Combat efficiency: Extremely competent considering she spent actual decades in a spartan military against other monsters

Tactical strength: Reconnaissance and small precise strike teams (herself and her parts). Honorable mention being honey potting or espionage

Tactical weakness: Lack of external leader ship, the cold, salt water, lead (lead is the only thing that works on the whole body and not an individual part

Signature technique: Plant, fungus, and moss roots forming spell circles underground and releasing a powerful (long set up) attack without the enemy ever knowing it was being set up.

Pain tolerance: Extremely high to everything but ice and lead. And even then she's willing to turn pain receptors off. (And risk not even registering when her body is beyond the point of no return)

Defensive skills: Classical shield training, turning big, using more hard wood and fiber plants. Running away

Relationships and affiliations

Family: She has 31 siblings. But the most notable are Nectar (the sphinx), Pollen (eastern loong), Heat (Chimera), Rika (Daughter. 100% honey's, but biologically black dragon)

Allies and associates: I haven't discussed relationships with muns that much. I know that shes on familial standing with some muses, but as far as allies or associates. No one really has her loyalty nor do I really have mains like that or overlapping canons with other muns. But from story canon there Persephone, and Queen Mab.

Rivalries: Honey has no one she's in competition with

Enemies: Honey has no one she despises or is on sight with

Romantic histories: Honey has no explicit ships or romantic history with any muses with active blogs. (Like puppy crushes are different from a bonafide ship). But from her Story canon, theres Cerberus, Rika's father, and a few other monsters from history (at least sexually. Romance is stretching it)

Notable friends: Alex, Hax & Eath, Gritt, Hook & terrance, Olgan, Frost, Crowley & Mack, Rachel, Kairi, Heiron, The fizz bots, and I'm sure others I can't think of.

Habits and life style

Daily routine: Honey Wakes up at sunrise regardless of when she went to bed, especially because Rika is Nocturnal and Is going to bed at that time. She makes herself tea and breakfast by 6:00 am or at least an hour after she's woken up which ever is earlier. She'll check on all of her Nymphs and forest creatures. Then she'll go into town to check on her neighbors. Then she'll go into work doing essentially odd jobs for the colony because they haven't had need for the court in ages. Then its the daily shenanigan with what ever muse she's seeing that day, and usually shes back home in time to wake up Rika, feed her, help her with homework and send her off to her training.

Diet and nutrition: She's Vegetarian. And won't eat meat. being part plant. She consumes alot of sugar and needs access to sunlight to feel okay

Exercise habits: most of her exercise comes from Sparring woth some of her coworkers and physical labor.

Grooming habits: She tries to bath no less then once a day. But considering how often shes running for her life or in someones shenanigan it's at a different time each day. Every day her horns and fangs grow to a point so she'll file them down back to being round and non threatening. As well as pluck any flowers Alluria sprouted out of her skin.

Substance use: She doesn't. Unless she's at like a party. But 9 times out of 10. Straight edge.

Sleep patterns: She doesn't unless something puts her to sleep.

Personal aesthetic: Cottage core, little house on the prairie, dark academia

Favorite book: Before the law by Franz Kafka, Frankenstein by Mary shelly

Favorite music genre: Blue grass folk

Favorite Art/Architecture: neo-classical

tagged by: @feelinsheepish and technically @xxlordalexanderxx

Tagging: anyone

[nonsexquitor]

An ethical framework that relies on classifying the people around us according to their perceived value which then allows for the sacrifice of individuals, with zero limitations, if will always lead to practical issues.

Even a theoretical utilitarian utopia, where the populace does not make flawed value judgements, still presents issues that intuitively clash with our understanding of the world (see the organ donation problem etc)

I don't feel like writing a whole post about it, given that I'm tired right now and I'm sure many other people have pointed this out a million times, but a significant portion of the left picking up utilitarianism as their guiding flag was a huge mistake that will have echoing ramifications which we are only seeing the beginning of now.

[obsidianpen]

The whole scene with Liam using his Veela magic to get past Hermione’s memories was so creepy, and then him stealing a kiss 😫 Liam, no consent is never okay boi! But then you also revealed Liam experienced abuse due to his creature magic, which is so flipping complex and fantastic character development/choices on your part. Like him doing that is not black and white. And that sure af does not justify him mentally diving into Hermione mind, kissing her while she’s under his influence, but it adds weight to his decision. Ahhhh shades of grey all the way down! I love your writing Pen

thank you anon! Been getting lots of comments on the Liam portion of the last chapter, so I’m just gonna address a lot of them here:

I think it’s interesting how very up-in-arms angry a lot of people are over that specifically. Yes, of course it was morally Bad and it’s totally natural and legit to be super pissed that Liam would do that…. But I also think it’s worth looking at things from his perspective. Is it assault to interrogate a criminal like that in wizarding Britain? I’d say yes (legally in the magical world idk, probably very gray area; it would depend on if there are specific laws in place barring part-creatures from using their abilities on detained criminals… unclear, when things like veritaserum are okay, so yeah idk), but there’s a lot going on in the background that we (you? Hermione? The readers?) aren’t seeing. The real negotiations are happening between Madison and Dumbledore while the minister is out of commission. They’re both willing to ignore a few laws to get what they want because - here it is - they think they are doing the right thing.

well, okay, Madison’s being compelled by the MACUSA too, but he also thinks he’s doing the best thing for hermione by saving her from a trial in Britain. Isn’t even wrong really.

but Dumbledore - easy to see him as evil rn, but remember, he suspects riddle of murdering a poor innocent child! He thinks (correctly!) that riddle killed Myrtle and got hagrid to take the fall. He sees an opportunity to right that wrong, to clear Hagrid’s name, and to prevent someone like riddle - a murderer - from being free in the world and killing again. Because he will. And does, canonically. Dumbledore doesn’t even know about the fact that he killed his dad and grandparents yet!

so enter Liam - he honestly cared about hermione; she helped him get this job he’s been wanting, he thought she was long-time friends with his bestie… he believed all of it and thought they’d have a future as fun colleagues at the very least. Then she suddenly vanished with this creepy (to him - and he’s not wrong) guy who shows up out of nowhere and then he learns not too much later that she attacked Walt, fucked with his memories, and then lied to all of them; Walter gets fired, and then when they track her down, he learns that she also attacked and modified the memories of some witch and her house-elf in Britain (oh and she nearly killed the minister and two other people in her escape attempt)…

From where he’s standing, hermione is not a good person. She’s assaulted and modified the minds of several people, she’s stolen and used some old lady’s gold and name and affluence, she’s invented an entirely new fake identity…

so, when Albus Dumbledore and Lester Madison, two of the most powerful wizards he knows of (one of him is now his boss) asks if he can get these memories from her using a bit of his special brand of magic… what is he supposed to say? When it would, in the end, conceivably save both her (by getting her back to America) and put away a much more sinister wizard (if Dumbledore is correct and this creepy dude that whisked hermione away is actually a killer… and he is!). He may not have been jazzed to do it - he never tried to seduce her in America before, after all, and never would have - but one doesn’t say no to your very adamant new boss and freaking Dumbledore, the guy who defeated Grindelwald, especially not when the ends really do seem to justify the means (to them, at least). And all of this is not even touching upon the very vague hinting at Liam’s personal history with abuse.

anyway, kind of a rant, just had to put it out there because yeah, what Liam did was icky and nonconsensual but what hermione has done to people many times was also icky and nonconsensual and arguably a whole lot worse (imo, of course, but everyone is entitled to think differently there!).

[noname-nonartist]

thank you for making takaken real here too 🙏🙏🙏🙌👏 which form of kenjaku is present in this au? :3

i believe i read somewhere on this blog that choso's working with the ootoris. is he doing well?

gojos behavior here is really interesting.. it's rare to see an antagonistic approach to him so it's a breath of fresh air! hopefully he'll watch a concert one day and warm up to the leoni girls lol. is his cocky and more unforgiving nature as an adult due to the lack of moral direction in his past? did he meet geto in this world? congrats to tsumiki on winning the legal battle :)

and i have similar thoughts with yuuta's actions and heightened confidence in this world. is he without his tragic history with rika? was he born into affluence here? for a cuter question to balance things out what's each member of the cooking unit's favorite vbs member/friend?

sorry for the question spam again, especially with question after question bringing up new characters from the jujutsu cast. i just keep finding more things i want to know about ajdjfjsj... you're seriously thorough with this au!! thank you for putting the time into answering all these pesters too,,

WAHHHHHHHHHH!!! Thank you again for being so interested in my AU!!! >///<

And Yasss TakaKen be realll~

Kenjaku’s Form within this AU is the one that they had during the heian era in jjk! :Dc

I choose this version of Kenjaku since Geto is still alive and kicking in my AU, and Kaori is herself in my AU too! (Although she too passed away on the same day as Jin sadly, I’ll explain one day lol).

And I was tempted to use Kenjaku Kamo form too, but ngl… it would look too similar to Emu’s dad (since Kenny wouldn’t have their iconic stitches) so I scratched that design. =v=

Ahem! For the Choso question… Yes! Choso is doing great!

Or like. Way better in comparison to the jjk version (then again it’s not a high bar lmaooo). Basically Choso works at the Otori as a personal chef for their house!

(Explanation + the rest of the answers under the cut! :3c)

Choso Backstory

So basically his backstory is that Choso’s mother unfortunately died when he was extremely young (whoa, lots of parents deaths within this AU lol), so because of this he was sent into the foster care system.

Even though he did not have a good time there, he was able to make some deep bonds with a few of the younger orphans in there. Those he calls his younger brothers.

Of course, those brothers would later be in adopted into different families or with different foster families. But they all vow that they will still be forever brothers no matter what.

Due to this. Choso grew up with a strong sense of family.

So like as he grows up, he decided to make it his personal mission to reunite with all his siblings. Both his he bonded with in foster care, and any other siblings that are blood relatives too. (Hence why he took Yuuji in as his new guardian after Wasuke’s death)

How did he got hired as the Otori’s personal home chef?

… Uhhh… That’s still in a work in progress ngl. =3=;

Like I got a vague idea that invokes Emu’s grandfather, but nothing is completely set in stones yet.

(And yes. Choso does view Emu as a sort of younger sister as well too. They have a wholesome bond)

Gojo’s Behavior/Backstory

Ngl. I’ve always sort of view Gojo as a bit antagonistic. I mean. I’m not saying he’s a villain in jjk. But he does have similarities in both attitudes and mindset of the antagonists within jjk. Such as Sukuna and Toji in a sense. :oc

Like Gojo always has the “Might = Right” mindset. Where he only really care about the strong. Like. Gojo only really helped Megumi, Maki, Yuuta, and Yuuji due to them being strong. And he is actively demeaning and insulting anyone he deems as weak. Yes, he is protecting them and does seem to care and trust them. However, just because he cares does not mean his behavior is justified. For he does low key harassed them. A good example is how he treats Ijichi. Like Ijichi has low deprecating self esteem, and it’s all due to how Gojo has treated him all that time.

Hence why I sort of wanna explore more within my AU. But rather than caring about “the strong”, Gojo instead cares about those he views have “Innate Talent”.

Of course, this is just my personal interpretation and take on Gojo! I completely understand if ya disagree! ^w^/

Anywayyyy.

Gojo does meet Geto in my AU! However, I’m unfortunately not gonna have a flashback arc focusing on them. For like. They are not the focus of the story. Yes their backstory will be mentioned and even hinted at. But I don’t want them to actually take away from the actual pjsk main characters (+the jjk kiddos too).

But I will give ya the basic run down/speedrun on what happened between Gojo and Geto in the past.

Gojo and Geto meet in High School -> formed a band together with Riko, Utahime, and Haibara -> Geto and Gojo get picked up by a large record label company -> Geto get intense burnout and believe the music his makes is pointless -> Geto quitting due to him wanting to make more “meaningful” actions to “improve” Japan

Andddd yeah! That’s pretty much the run down!

Oh! Also to note. The hugest reason why Geto has that burn out was because he saw how absolutely devastated Riko was for she can no longer make music with all of them again. Sooo… Good news! Riko is still alive in my AU! Yayyyy!

Yuuta’s backstory

Yes. Yuuta being having that rich family moneyyyy. Like basically, the Gojo, the Kamo and the Zenin family be old money rich. And Yuuta is still a cousin to Gojo. Soooo… yeeee

Yuuta’s backstory is actually gonna be pretty different. Since like jjk never really go into depth what he’s relationships with his parents and his younger sisters were.

So like. I sort of want to make Yuuta’s relationship with his family members be like the opposite of Tsukasa’s. What do I mean by that? Well. Yuuta’s younger sister would have a chronic illness too. And due to this, Yuuta’s parents unfortunately neglected Yuuta in order to care for his sister. And like Yuuta wasn’t really strong enough to handle the loneliness. So Yuuta, basically subconsciously rejected them. Of course he doesn’t mean too. But in a way (similar to Megumi in the beginning), Yuuta pushed them away and never really tried to reach out or really get to know them.

The reason why Yuuta in my AU is so loyal to Gojo was because Gojo was there to help mend away his loneliness when his parents and sisters cannot. Hence Yuuta’s flaws of not actually really caring about others that much, and only care about those that showed him affection and attention that he craves.

Anywayyy, Rika. So like. It’s actually gonna be less traumatic, but I do still want their relationship to be a reflection of Yuuta’s flaws too. So like there will still be that iconic scene where Rika promised Yuuta that they will marry each other when they grow older. But like, a few months later, Rika moved.

And like Yuuta hasn’t seen Rika in forever.

And like I actually want a scene where when Yuuta does finally meet Rika again. It like not what he expected.

Like Rika is still kind and such. But she’d grown. She actually doesn’t love Yuuta. For even though she does care deeply for him as kids, they were also. Ya know. Kids. So when she made that marriage promise, she actually wasn’t committed to it for she didn’t understand/fully comprehend what marriage meant yet.

And while Rika does care and cherish the memories she has with Yuuta. Rika unfortunately does not feel any romantic feelings towards Yuuta. And like. It would show how Yuuta’s love more one-sided than he lets on.

Of course, Yuuta’s arc/growth is about him growing past this, and actually like. Start thinking about other people rather than himself lol

But yeah! Once again, those are my interpretations of Yuuta! ^w^/

Flaming V 음식 + VIVID BAD SQUAD

The cooking unit group, which I named as Flaming V 음식 (Flaming V Eumsig), are very closely associated with VBS but in general as Viivid Street as a whole.

Since I want the group theme and focus being about culture, community, and connection through foods.

Flaming, as a reference to the fire used for cooking but also to represent the groups passion too.

V is a reference to Vivid Street, due to how important the town is to them (especially with Kasumi, Toge, and Maki).

음식 (Eumsig), which means food In Korea, is a reference to how the group is gonna focus on the important of other cultures (since I do headcannon Vivid Street being a very diverse community). But it also a reference to Toge’s personal arc of reconnecting with his Korean side of his family history again.

Anyway! Enough about that! On to ya actually question!

Maki’s favorite VBS member is definitely An Shiraishi. Not only is it because An was the first one to helped Maki out when she was at her lowest, but it’s also because Maki admires An’s dedication and passion for singing. Maki even sees An as a sort of spunky little energetic sister.

Plus Maki and An have that similarities of trying to put up a front of being cool/strong and hides the more vulnerable and that’s been slowly eating them up and-

Even though Kasumi knows An longer than Maki. Kasumi’s favorite is actually Kohane. This is sort of due to the fact that, even though she does see An as a friend. She also sees her as like. Ya know. Her Boss’s daughter too.

So there’s that unfortunate distance between them at the start of the story.

Kasumi connects more with Kohane because she understands and even connects a bit more with Kohane’s social anxiety and fears. And that initial feeling of not having a drive in life, until one day ya do. And all ya wanna do is to do your absolute best to reach it.

Side note: Toya loves Kasumi’s coffee and would always asked if Kasumi is around so she can make his drink.

Toge favorite is gonna be… probably Toya. Like Toge is friends with everyone at VBS, but he just vibes a bit more with Toya. He especially relates to Toya about the struggles of connecting with others and his emotions. And relates to how he never experienced much as a child (Toya due to his strict father, and Toge use to his albinism).

Yuuta… uhhh. Well at the moment he doesn’t have a favorite. He just sort of see VBS as people that Maki, Kasumi, and Toge deeply care about and nothing else atm.

But that’ll change in the future! You’ll see! >:Dc

Thank you once again for asking me these questions! They always make my day!!! >///<

[citylighten]

My Pietro and Sal gameplay have both been interesting and led to me having so many different headcanons. I’ve always struggled playing Fallout 4 because my main gripe is that I can’t recreate ANY oc want due to them having a set backstory and dialogue that reinforces certain plot things, but Pietro has a pretty good Sole Survivor AU. He's canon divergent though. More undercut!

-Pietro Impellizzeri was an notorious and powerful gangster Pre-War. He’s similar to Vito Corleone of The Godfather in the sense that he immigrated to America as a child and rose to the top of his community’s underworld.

-He had crossed paths with the human Nick Valentine on numerous occasions over ‘missing people’ as well as a ‘dirty money trail,’ but Pietro always knew how to throw the detective off. They were neither enemies nor friends, just merely people who kept a tense eye on one another.

-As a Boss, in terms of his conduct, Pietro was a composed, fair man but he was also known to be ruthless when the situation called for it. Outside of public events, he was seldom seen. If his men saw him it meant something bad was going to happen. Despite having such affluence and respect, Pietro's over-indulgence in the finest things (liquor, media, women) kept him blind to the things going wrong in his personal life.

-Pietro was married to Jasmine, who was a pinup model before marrying him. Their marriage was based on sex, possession and material interests. Ultimately, Pietro was a largely inattentive husband due to the demanding nature of keeping things afloat in his criminal empire.

-As a nuclear war approached, Jasmine began a series of affairs with men. Some powerful, some were Pietro’s enemies. Her wrongdoings ranged from supplying large sums of money to her lovers, to telling inside secrets. There came a moment, days before the bomb dropped, when Pietro (at his limit) considered murdering his wife. However, this did not come to be as the bombs fell over America.

-Needless to say, when Kellogg shoots Jasmine, Pietro feels guilt. Yes, he was plotting to murder her, but he knew that line of thinking wasn’t right. He doesn’t come into the Wasteland in the pursuit of being a better, kinder man, instead his decent actions come largely from the need to survive and understand the world he’s in.

Whereas Sal comes out Vault 111 ready to murder and massacre anyone in Eve’s name, Pietro’s mentality is: “I need to understand what civilization is like now. I need to know who is in charge of things.” Especially because since Pietro has been at the top for so long, it’s been years since he was doing dirty work for himself, let alone personally killing others on a continuous basis.

-When Pietro meets Nick Valentine there’s tension. But, they recognize they need each other to find Shaun, however there isn’t full trust between the men. Gradually, as the two spend more time together, Nick believes that Pietro can become a good man in this new world and often pushes the idea that Pietro is kind. Pietro does not believe himself to be kind, because he’s not burying the man he used to be before the bombs fell.

-There are times when Nick and Pietro split and his companions become MacCready, who reminds him of a lackey he would’ve used Pre-War, and Preston, who is yet another character who believes there’s an inner goodness in him. As a result of Preston and Nick - plus an envy for the mayor of Diamond City, Pietro decides to invest time in building the Minutemen and building settlements to lead. Despite possessing aspirations to lead, Pietro is shifting morally. Often, Nick helps him on Minutemen quests which strengthens their relationship.

-While helping settlements, Pietro meets Rosaria at Covenant. The woman is a secretary for Jacob Orden, the town’s mayor. Even when Pietro seems like he could be trouble for the settlement, she helps him learn more about the Amelia Stockton case with her insider information. After that, she leaves Covenant to affiliate herself with the Minutemen, which allows Pietro to see her more often. Time with Rosaria [who enjoys farming] has Pietro nostalgic about Sicily and as a consequence, he grows to enjoy things about nature as well as treasure the present he gets to spend with her.

-And that’s all for now because I haven’t completed his run yet 😘

[serendipitysparks]

Birth and Origins: Jinwoo Sung emerged into existence in the bustling metropolis of Seoul, South Korea, where the confluence of tradition and modernity shaped his formative years. Born into a milieu characterized by both affluence and expectation, his early life was imbued with the duality of privilege and the relentless pursuit of excellence.

Intellectual Acumen: Possessing an extraordinary cognitive aptitude, Jinwoo exhibits an insatiable curiosity that propels him toward the acquisition of knowledge across diverse domains. His intellectual prowess is not merely confined to rote memorization; rather, it manifests in his ability to synthesize complex information and apply it pragmatically. This intellectual dexterity enables him to navigate multifaceted challenges with remarkable efficacy.

Personality Traits: Jinwoo's persona is a tapestry woven with threads of resilience, introspection, and an unwavering moral compass. He embodies a dichotomy of humility and ambition, often oscillating between self-reflection and the relentless drive to transcend his limitations. His demeanor is characterized by a quiet confidence, which belies an underlying tenacity that surfaces in the face of adversity.

Psychological Profile: Psychologically, Jinwoo grapples with the existential dilemmas that accompany his extraordinary abilities. His introspective nature often leads him to ponder the implications of power and responsibility, fostering a profound sense of empathy towards those less fortunate. This empathetic disposition is juxtaposed with an innate desire for self-actualization, creating a complex interplay between altruism and personal ambition.

[girderednerve]

history details from vampire show i am thinking about

they changed louis' family business from indigo to sugar; i assume this is because synthetic indigo was available from the 1880s on, so the market for natural indigo crashed badly, but they wanted to preserve both louis' affluence & his family connection to the cash crops of the louisiana plantation. they could've gone with rice, i guess? but that doesn't have the same evocativeness, i think. like everyone heard that line ("capital accrued from plantations of sugar and the blood of men who looked like my great grandfather but did not have his standing") & had an instant image, right? rice doesn't have the same legacy, although it could've been interesting (started as a more incidental crop, then became a major commercial product in the latter 19th c.; actually, rice became a commercial crop after railroad construction in 1882, the same year indigo dye was synthesized)

i have probably said this before but i like that louis works in, loosely, the vice business; it leaves him with some interesting moral problems, i think. i hate the way that he talks about the enslaved people in his household (& elsewhere) in the books; i hate the terrible line in the '94 movie where he's burning down the plantation house & telling the group of enslaved people gathered at the doors that they're free (oh! will that do anything! well! no worries as long as you & by extension we don't have to feel bad about it!); but there are parts of that relationship to other people, as a business proprietor with immense control over their working conditions, that have to do with the compromises he ends up making about his own capacity for violence & predation. mostly this bullet point is about how much i hate that line in the movie, though

the shot on the street in front of his paris apartment with armand, where they kiss for the first time & there's a sign behind them for 'le dakar.' i have googled around for this & turned up nothing, so it is at least probably not a famous landmark? i might be stupid? but dakar is the capital of senegal, & one of its districts is the île de gorée, one of the most famous departure ports for the middle passage (this legacy was plausibly exaggerated for tourism reasons, per wikipedia? apparently sparked after the tv show roots, so probably familiar to american audiences? there is an internationally famous memorial to the victims of slavery there). there's a resonance there about journeys, departures, agency, memory; it's a lovely, well-lit scene. i'm not making a claim in particular & of course there are lots of other things that happened & are happening in dakar, i just thought about it

delighted by louis' delight in the modern, particularly photography. still gnawing on this one. but if we want to be nice, it's something he might share with lestat ("siri pause" lol) or something that armand enjoys (being rooted in the present, right). it's also a neat little reflection on artistic arguments about truth; probably there's something going on with the style of theater in the théâtre too? i don't know anything about postwar french theater but that sounds like it might be true? but anyway here we are, is a photograph art, is a photograph true; is this interview an admitted performance, is this interview true. especially after louis got caught in a lie in romania because of his albumen photograph. layers, we love them

[saturnsoups]

he alone the honored one : gojo satoru

a vedic astrology perspective

keep in mind that every system of knowledge serves some purpose so lets be respectful towards different schools of astrology. keep in mind I'm using

Vedic depictions ( with Hindu deities of nakshatras (constellations) with Vimshottri planetary rulers for each )

Sidereal measurements for planetary placements in the sky

Whole house system

previous post on his sun sign

let's begin

To understand our sorcerer’s natal moon placement and immense significance of this placement one must understand what I intend to bring forth and what I consider these planetary placements to represent.

The moon

The moon in vedic astrology is the key significator of a person, his intimate sense of emotion, his visceral body and nervous system, his emotional self, his mother, early childhood, body, eyes and to certain extent his aura. Other than this, the moon rules over women, children, magic, witchcraft, the subconscious mind, emotional body, the masses, psychology and other things.

In today’s topic of concern, we are brought forth to Gojo Satoru, a very famous, fan favorite, sorcerer, arguably the strongest in his field. Canonically according to this birth date, he has a uttarapradrabada moon in pisces. While his moon is squaring his mercury and trining his mars, today we will look into his moon placement and it’s significance only.

Pisces moon

According to vedic astrology, pisces is the last of the 12 zodiac signs, the end of the zodiacal wheel and the sign of spiritual actualization. Co- ruled by Jupiter and ketu, the pisces sign is the sign of moksha and giving – being an ultimate sign of spiritual abundance so much so that it fills up the cup of others with it’s knowledge because of its naturally fulfilled and whole state. Jupiter here signifies the guru, the teacher who is the overflowing goblet of spiritual knowledge and wisdom that it bestows upon his shishyas or disciples. Guru is generous and benefic in nature, never the miser and always giving the best and bringing the best to its true disciples. The ways of the guru are moral, ethics and devotion to what it learns. One who embodies the guru is charitable so much so that it is default to its nature as the person is spiritually abundant and thus energetically seeks to give and do charity. Materialistically this also signifies that the person might be of affluence in whatever manner it manifests; be it emotionally charitable, kindness, rich or being a very knowledgeable person.

The co-ruler ketu is the descending node of the moon, the body of the dragon, the spiritual residual of the past life and the karma and knowledge of it. Ketu is detached, ashen, very very dry in nature, and while it can make a person very detached and turn them lack luster towards the worldly pleasures, it often happens because it has no more desires or desires that can be fulfilled. Monks. Ascetics, healers, hospice nurses, cremation grounds, spirituality, wills, litigations, ancestors, etc.

Personally speaking when ketu transited over my personal placements I had a very big change self image, and I let go of what used to identity my own person to myself as. The nodes are extremely karmic and one should actually look into them to understand themselves better.

Pisces is the end sign, the conclusion if you believe in the illusion or maya of a single end and beginning of things. Reverting back to the snake imagery, the never ending snake to be exact we must remember that the thing that looks like the end of everything, the conclusion ( pisces ) is also the beginning of it all. To see what the beginning brings, as in the zodiacal wheel Aries, you have to see what is being gestated in the pisces realm, in the realm of the past, last birth, ethers,  spirit.

This brings us back to the two things we know till now – moon in pisces

The native embodies abundance of spiritual essence, a self fulfilling, nurturing, innate knowledge that brews on in itself. It is essentially a nurturing energy because even if it is the end of the cycle, it recreates and continues the cycle.

As I said before moon signifies magic and sorcery is the study, the academia you may say of magic, Gojo being a teacher in magic to put it plainly is easily seen through this. It’s his calling, his choice and something he saw coming (  ketu giving that “ I gotta be this” vibe to it ). Sharing his knowledge, his abundance of cursed energy and his knowledge of harnessing it to his students serves him emotionally as well, is his way of catering to his own personal emotional needs too. Ketu does bring that self sacrificial “ one day they ( students ) will be stronger than me” and that one pep talk he had with megumi reminding him that one big fight between their ancestors who shared their respective techniques.

Venus exalts in pisces, so that sense of being gifted is always subconsciously present in natives. The blessing of this venus comes from surrender to the trials of the karma and the hard tests of guru.

All of this, albeit vague, I hope provided some clarity to his personal nature and emotional makeup as a person. Now coming to the main part that shows not only his technique but his path leading to it with some other references too.

Uttarabhadrapada moon

Uttara Bhadra (Pada 1)

Gojo Satoru has his moon in Pisces, exact degree unknown because of non availability of real birth time well because Gege lol. But either way moon is predominantly in the uttarabhadrapada nakshatra throughout that day.

Nakshatra ruler – Saturn

Nakshatra deity – ahirbudhyana

Symbol – the hind legs of a cot, signifies both birth and death.

The trip I went through researching this nakshatra damn truly Saturn nakshatra indeed. But the bountiful knowledge and complexity. For real the fandom needs to stop putting Satoru’s personality in a box ( lol)  because if this doesn’t prove it I am not aware what will make them understand.

Uttarabhadrapada is the second last nakshatra in the 27 nakshatra cycle, and the last Saturn nakshatra. Every Saturn nakshatra is considered blessed and benefic in vedic astrology because in these Saturn nakshatras the native reaps the spiritual fruits of the trials and lessons it went through in its previous nakshatra ( Jupiter nakshatras). Pushya , anuradha and uttarabhadrapada are the Saturn nakshatras and are considered auspicious and blessed. It is also seen that these nakshatras are often linked with goddesses and are actually feminine in nature, giving it nurturing, enterprising, fertility and healing abilities, albeit creating energy. This abundance of creating force, accompanied with the culmination of spiritual fruits through the cosmic cycle deposits in this final Saturn nakshatra giving immense spiritual prowess and vast expansive energetic capacities to old and nurture to its natives. This ability is also supported by the fact that this nakshatra is in Pisces which is ruled by Jupiter, therefore there is abundance of knowledge and natives if not born with material blessings often accumulate material and knowledge wealth through out there lives. As Claire Nakti said, natives already possess the said capacity to attract and uphold abundance, it is just the matter of finding the said treasure.

But to correlate this with Satoru’s technique, the picture is incomplete. Abundance this, blessing that, we have already established the fact that he is very very strong quite early in the story. His sun in Jyestha already signifies that and now does his moon, but where is that click to it? The massive plot twists, the climaxes, the ascension to divinity, where is it and why is it news when he was blessed with it already since birth? And coming to think of it, his technique is generational. Satoru is born into luck. Why is yours  truly dragging this post? Well because yours truly has something.

To understand the true essence of Uttarabhadrapada you have to know its previous counterpart – purvabhadrapada.

Purvabhadrapada is the last Jupiter nakshatra, the last and ultimate trial of the guru, the hardest of the test, the fire that will either purify you and get rid of your sins and pollution or become your pyre. With the promise of finding the ultimate treasure in this world, the biggest strength and the divine fruit of the this long spiritual cycle, people jump into this fire, your sanctify themselves, to become the hero, you become the self. But the fire never existed, it was never ignited. It was never something to step into. The fire is not for the native, the native is the fire. This test is the ultimate test, the Dark Night of the soul.

When confronted with ones own short comings, devils and monsters, it is up to the native what he’ll do, stand in it or escape it. This internal battle is something the native must go through to break and open up their own world, sacrifice their ego and let go of their self that they thought were them. This very close call either burns you or births you anew.

Satoru’s purvabhadrapada stage is visible in various ways, firstly him killing one who was embodying it -  Toji Fushiguro. It was conquering that ordeal did he unlock his complete technique. Toji’s lack of will to embody his own prowess because of trauma reflects the dark night of soul that gojo had to physically get over.

Geto was his most personal counterpart that went into this dark night of soul very consciously and overcame it actually- by accepting this stand and lack of chances of winning his cause. Though ending later, the deflection of geto is actually a slow death, preceded by the initial death of Gojo’s ego with his first murder of non sorcerers.

Geto’s version of dark night is completed when under Gojo’s conscious guidance (  true actualized self projecting) another student fights against Geto – Yuuta. And while Gojo was already the strongest after physically ending this first dark night with Toji, this process births another powerhouse in the Jujutsu world – Yuuta Okkotsu who is a Purvabhadrapada Sun himself ( his introduction is his back story while Gojo’s was his strength ).

Through these emerges the strongest – uttarabhadrapada, the one with self restraint from his previous trials, innate ability to harness and channel the immense spiritual energy that one gets as the final fruits of this long trial.

Ahirbudhyana

The deity of this nakshatra is Ahirbudhyana, which has both connections to Shiva and Vishnu. Meaning the serpent of the deep it refers to the snake that is coiled in the depths of the earth and is a great devotee of Vishnu, the hindu god that to put it very simply because I don’t have words enough to describe him at all, the one supreme that nurtures this world. Ahir, therefore it refers to the thousand headed snake upon whom the deity rests with no stress. Ahir budhayna is  also the name of an avatara of Ruddra who is a great devotee of Vishnu and simply put signifies divinity in an immensely devotional form. Ahir budhayana therefore through symbolism itself represents the vast ocean of consciousness held by Vishnu himself that connects him through heaven and the mortal realms, as he alone nurtures life between the realms of Bhramha ( heaven ) and Shiva ( pretloka or realm of the spirits ).

Ahirbudhyana, through its manifestation represents the Limitless, expansive divinity, as expansive as the eternal etheric ocean from which is it said to have originated. Being a snake, its actions and true nature is said to be mysterious in nature. No one knows who an uttarabhadrapada native truly is.

Awakening and the Eye correlation

Ahir budhayan is therefore also sheeshnaga, the God of nagas also bring correlations to the kundalini which are the 7 energy chakras present within our bodies. The kundalini actuvation process is one the rarest spiritual instances, often either accidentally activated or through intense sadhana. The Kundalini activation is the activation of the pineal gland, physically coinciding with the etheric Third Eye chakra, the all seeing eye that leads to actualization. One with an activated 3rd eye is very spiritually aware, can see the unseen and is an enlightened person. Rings a bell?

It takes 1000s of incarnations and immense hardships for a soul to physically harness the kundalini, become a direct conduit of high vibrational perhaps higher dimensional energies so much so that they are spiritually less human more divine.

Said physical awakening of the Eye lets Gojo become an active conduit of limitless divine energy, making him almost always borderline between life and death, given also that Ahirbudhyana does traverse through the realms, with his tail in the nethers and head with the gods.

It is Saturn’s prowess of Piscean lordship of Jupiter, Gojo is an adept master of control over this knowledge that is born with -  this limitless that is constantly generates himself through his chakras, Eyes. Coupled with the fact that sheesh nag does actually is said to hold the world it’s head, Gojo is actually the one that is upholding the Jujutsu world. But again due to his jupiterian nature he still  hasn’t usurped the elders and taken control. But how long is the question.

Through all that use of my limited brain juice and it’s 1 am where I live, I think we can say Gojo Satoru really, even though I truly stand by the fact that he does not have a god complex but is regal like that truly

Through heaven and earth is the honored one

But though all of his trials and tribulations,

Bye for today muah.

[bethanydelleman]

@redwooding added on another already very long post:

ANOTHER set of questions, which people can ignore or answer: what the hell, Ward sisters? One, about as lazy as a human being can get; one, a truly nasty person, who deserves the purgatory to which she has been consigned; and one, a disorganized slattern. Is this a function of birth order? Their marriages? (Nine kids? Anyone would be overwhelmed. Get off her, Lieutenant Price!) Inborn personalities?

I think it is a mix of personality, circumstance, and birth order.

We know Lady Bertram and Mrs. Price are very similar in disposition, so it's not just the toll of having nine children:

Of her two sisters, Mrs. Price very much more resembled Lady Bertram than Mrs. Norris. She was a manager by necessity, without any of Mrs. Norris’s inclination for it, or any of her activity. Her disposition was naturally easy and indolent, like Lady Bertram’s; and a situation of similar affluence and do-nothingness would have been much more suited to her capacity than the exertions and self-denials of the one which her imprudent marriage had placed her in. She might have made just as good a woman of consequence as Lady Bertram, but Mrs. Norris would have been a more respectable mother of nine children on a small income. (Ch 39)

Mrs. Price was also most likely woefully unprepared to be at the very bottom of the gentry class. She doesn't know how to work efficiently, she doesn't have a housekeeper and butler helping her keep the servants organized because that didn't make up part of her education or expectations in life: "always behindhand and lamenting it, without altering her ways; wishing to be an economist, without contrivance or regularity; dissatisfied with her servants, without skill to make them better, and whether helping, or reprimanding, or indulging them, without any power of engaging their respect."

Mrs. Norris, despite her obvious faults, is better able to adapt to circumstances than either of her sisters. She is active and efficient, probably from birth. She is intelligent and economical enough to save a good deal over her years, but the uselessness of her economy makes her into a miser: Having married on a narrower income than she had been used to look forward to, she had, from the first, fancied a very strict line of economy necessary; and what was begun as a matter of prudence, soon grew into a matter of choice, as an object of that needful solicitude which there were no children to supply.

I take from this that if she had had children, she would not have ended up like she did. Instead of saving for something, she makes the saving itself into her object of affection. A similar thing is explored in Silas Marner by George Eliot. Silas becomes a miser because he has nothing to make money for, so the money becomes his love.

There is also definitely a birth order effect, as Lady Bertram, the middle sister, blindly defers to her elder sister. Mrs. Norris is a controlling elder sibling and Mrs. Price a classic rebellious youngest.

Lady Bertram fell into the situation she was suited for, and becomes a very lazy baronet's wife. Mrs. Price is entirely unsuited by disposition to her lowly station in life and therefore struggles considerably. Mrs. Norris married lower than she wished, adapted, but fell into the temptation of greed due to a lack of children/something sensible to do with her money.

Whatever morality or principles that they may have had as young women seem to have worn away over time. There is very little positive good in any of them.

Another blog post about the Ward sisters here.

[offbeatcappuccino]

i'm back boo ~ my demon (episodes of 1-6) ramblings

The past two years have made me feel like an unfinished work of pottery struggling to stay together on a tilted pottery wheel. Through this process, not only has my sense of normalcy, but also my idealism towards romance and love has greatly dissipated. This might be a digression, but as a 23 year old woman ( 14 at heart and cognitive ability), I am frankly exhausted of the convoluted "chase" involved with modern day romance. The mere preponderance of dating apps, texting culture, situationships, and avoidant-anxious pairings make me feel like I am seconds away from having a brain aneurysm explode. It is in this relational climate that the flurry of contract marriage k-dramas that have been presented to us this winter feel like a breath of fresh air. One of these shows is "My Demon" (on Netflix) starring Kim Yoon Jung (Backstreet Rookie, 20th Century Girl) and Song Kang (Nevertheless, Love Alarm, Sweet Home), who play Do Do Hee and Jeong Gu Won respectively.

My Demon is a fantasy romance rooted in Catholicism (with a uniquely Korean flavor). Jeong Gu Won (Song Kang) is a centuries old demon tasked with exploiting man's innate greed, whether it be for wealth, love, or merely to be alive. He uses his powers, which emanate from a cross tattoo on his wrist, to seek desperate humans to make decade long contracts, where in return of him fulfilling their wishes, not only die by Gu Won's hand in ten years, but also are placed in eternal hellfire. There are many parallels between Gu Won and other supernatural beings we have already seen in other kdramas such as Myul Mang from Doom at Your Service. Both characters have a rigid adherence to their divine responsibilities, leading to bountiful disdain for humankind and scant mercy for their victims. However, unlike Myul Mang and other supernatural beings, who detest the burden of immortality and yearn to become "human", Gu Won has no such desire. He relishes the eternal youth, immortality, and wealth that has been granted for him and the power that he wields.

The female lead, Do Do Hee, comes from an equal position of affluence, as the adopted daughter of the Mirae Group, a fictional and powerful industrialist family, helmed by matriarch Joo Cheon Seok, and the CEO of Mirae F&B, a successful food and beverage company that she started after college. As the adopted daughter and Chairwoman Ju's favorite, Do Hee earns the contempt of her other power hungry family members, who not only constantly plot However, this love also puts Do Hee in a precarious position as other members of the family constantly plot to not only undermine her company's success, but also kill her. While Do Hee as a character checks off many k-drama protagonist tropes like having a history of childhood trauma and having a strong sense of morality and loyalty, it is important to note that Do Hee is not kind to the point of being naive and foolishly selfless. She is an assertive and ambitious twenty something year old and can be considered to be an "ethical girl boss of sorts".

It is due to Do Hee's precarious state that Gu Won and her meet for the second time in the first episode (the first time being a hilarious mix-up of a blind date) when she is being chased by a psoriasis-ridden murderer. Seeing his next possible victim, Gu Won arrives at the scene, hoping to make his next deal with desperate Do Hee in return for saving her. However, things take a turn and both end up falling over a railing and into the ocean. As Do Do Hee struggles to pull the unconscious Gu Won and herself up to the surface, something interesting happens- the cross tattoo that was once on Gu Won's wrist is transferred to Do Do Hee's. It is this transfer that ends up being a pivotal turning point in the story and forms the crux of the plot.

What ensues over the next few episodes is the gradual development of a push-pull dynamic between the two characters when they realize that the murder attempt from before would not be the only effort to take Do Hee's life and the fact that without the tattoo, Gu Won's powers only work when he holds Do Do Hee's hand. With Gu Won needing Do Hee to harness his powers and continue to maintain his immortality and Do Hee requiring Gu Won's powers to protect herself, this sets up the perfect premise for what is initially a relationship of convenience between bodyguard and employer and later husband and wife.

My Demon isn't meant to be the show that leaves its viewers with sleepless nights pondering purpose of their existence or the meaning of love. At its core, it's a hilarious, appropriately paced, and well executed romantic comedy with strong willed protagonists overcoming their egos to realize that their need for the other is actually an insatiable want. This is evident in the characterization of Gu-Won, who Song Kang delightfully brings to life. There's something about Song Kang that allow him to play morally grey characters in a palatable and comical manner with ease. Even though he's an arrogant and narcissistic jerk, there is an inherent innocence and vulnerability that you can't help but root for. As Gu Won's relationship with Do Hee deepens, he starts to gradually becomes less demon and more human both literally and figuratively. Not only does Gu Won faced with the limitations of losing his powers, but he is also forced to address the burgeoning emotions and attachment he develops with Do Hee. While he asserts his superiority externally as an all powerful being, internally he is conflicted by the gradual shift in the dynamics between him and Do Hee as he starts to develop empathy, love, anger, and jealousy. One particular scene that exemplifies this is the funeral scene in Episode 3 when Gu Won comforts a grieving Do Hee by changing the color of her funeral outfit from black to white, so that the passed individual's soul can recognize her. It's a simple but beautiful gesture by a being, who before meeting her became so accustomed to taking lives and did little to no reflection of the gravity of death and its impact on the living. It is through several similar encounters that Gu Won is forced to confront his humanity, which he had long repressed in his transformation into a demon.

This isn't to say that the show is mind-numbing entertainment and there are profound moments of introspection. Gu Won and Do Hee's relationship serves as medium for a larger ideological dilemma on right versus wrong. This is again exemplified in Episode 3 when Gu Won and Do Hee visit a pediatric cancer patient at the hospital for Gu Won to make his next deal. Gu Won brokers a deal with the child's desperate mother, promising to cure her daughter in return for her agreeing to go to hell in ten years. Do Hee is rightfully horrified by Gu Won and what she believes is him selfishly exploiting the mother, so that he can continue to prolong his existence. Furthermore, she believes that by proposing the deal, Gu Won did more harm than good because the pediatric patient would have to prematurely lose her mother.

On the other hand, Gu Won claims to have helped the mother by saving her child's life and states that everything has to have a price. Later in the episode, both Gu Won and Do Hee independently interact with the patient and her family. When Gu Won talks to the young girl, he is surprised that her wish is to not be discharged from the hospital but to not be a source of suffering for her parents. On the other hand, when Do Hee watches the family celebrating the girl's birthday, she realizes how Gu Won provided transient yet meaningful happiness for the family and reduced their suffering. These scenes poignantly depict how both characters are forced to reckon with each other's definition of justice and the complexity we face as beings with the freedom to choose but not the freedom to escape the consequences of our actions. I believe that it is the show's ability to delve into these larger themes, which allows it to retain both the best elements and escape from the mundanity of ascribing to a trope.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

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“Tolerance toward that which is radically evil now appears as good because it serves the cohesion of the whole on the road to affluence or more affluence. The toleration of the systematic moronization of children and adults alike by publicity and propaganda, the release of destructiveness in aggressive driving, the recruitment for and training of special forces, the impotent and benevolent tolerance toward outright deception in merchandizing, waste, and planned obsolescence are not distortions and aberrations, they are the essence of a system which fosters tolerance as a means for perpetuating the struggle for existence and suppressing the alternatives. The authorities in education, morals, and psychology are vociferous against the increase in juvenile delinquency; they are less vociferous against the proud presentation, in word and deed and pictures, of ever more powerful missiles, rockets, bombs--the mature delinquency of a whole civilization.” ― Herbert Marcuse, Repressive Tolerance