Beware The Children Of Gold

You’ve been hit by 🔪

You’ve been struck by 🔪

A Roman Senator 🔪🔪🔪

Happy Valumtimes!

today in very neurotypical activities, i've made a spreadsheet for all my teas and two tables (one caffeinated, one decaf) i can use by rolling dice to decide which one to drink if i'm stuck

 Okay we don’t talk about Ty Lee and Mai betraying Azula enough. Specifically how it contrasts so directly with their introduction in season 2. 

Azula never expected them to betray her. She thought Mai and Ty Lee feared her too much to betray her. She got them to join her out of fear: Ty Lee by using her political position to get the circus master to put Ty Lee in danger for her entertainment. She sent the message to Ty Lee that “you can and will be in as much danger as I choose you to be” and expected that message to stick. And Ty Lee was scared. She feared for her own life, which was why she did everything Azula wanted. Azula made it clear that with any hesitation or hint of betrayal, she wouldn’t hesitate to do away with her. Ty Lee knew the second she wasn’t useful, there was no telling what Azula would do. Her happiness and safety wasn’t a priority for anyone. 

With Mai, she interrupted the hostage trade off in Return to Omashu by asking why they were trading a two-year-old (Mai’s brother) for King Bumi. And she did it at the right moment to put Mai on the spot, making it very clear what decision Mai should choose if she didn’t want to face consequences. Azula knew that Mai wasn’t the type to step out of line, not even for someone she loved. She sent Mai the message that “who you care about is not as important as what I want”. And she expected that to stick. 

But then in Boiling Rock, there’s a hostage situation again and while Azula was about to let Zuko get dropped into a boiling lake, Mai decided that, no, this time she wasn’t going to let Azula choose for her. She knew Azula was wrong when she told her to not trade for her brother, but she was scared then. Mai has so much love not just for Zuko, but for her family and Ty Lee. She always cared but was afraid to show it. She was afraid to step out of line, of the consequences. That goes back to how her parents treated her and how she was taught to be complacent and quiet or else. After a life of acting in a way that would make others happy, Mai get this moment where she steps out of line and chooses for herself. 

They both get this moment where they choose love and it’s so good not just because of the unconditional aspect of their friendship, but because they both get to push past their insecurities and fears to save the people they love. They get this moment of strength after being put down for so long. 

Mai decides that who she loves is more important than what Azula wants. Ty Lee decides that what she wants, for Mai to be safe, is more important than what Azula wants. These two spent most of the series under Azula’s thumb, having their insecurities and fatal flaws exploited and pushed to do things they didn’t want to do to make Azula happy. But they overcame their internal struggles and get to chose love in the end. 

Anakin was a creative and innocent child. Even though he lived his whole life as a slave he was hopeful and brave, he had a strong will and he wasn't willing to be broken. He wanted to explore the stars and he was sure that he would have freed his people; he had dreams and he had them because he knew that he wouldn't be a slave forever because it was NOT RIGHT.

He dreamt about becoming a Jedi and going back to Tatooine for his people, he wanted to free every single slave of the galaxy because it was right and he thought that the Jedi were MEANT TO DO THIS. He had this belief about the Jedi as holders of peace and knights of justice, and when Qui Gon and Obi-Wan appeared he thought that they'd came to rescue everyone and LOOK AT HIS FACE WHEN HE REALIZES HIS MOTHER IS NOT COMING WITH HIM!! She knew they wanted him because of his powers, but she also wanted him to have a better life and with her he couldn't. Wrong choice.

With Wattoo he was forced to work, that's true, but he was aware of being a slave, plus, he was with his mother. In the Jedi Order he was all alone against lies, doubts, diffidence, they made him think he was bad, a mistake. When he says « I want more and I know that I shouldn't. » he wanted freedom. He just wanted to be free once and for all.

In ROTS we see Master Windu talking to Yoda saying that is dangerous to put Anakin and Palpatine together, and what are they doing? putting them together. Anakin's self destruction was started by the Jedi. When Yoda found out what he did to the younglings he said « the boy you trained gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader. » and that's NOT TRUE!! Yes, killing the younglings was a terrible thing, but on Mustafar Anakin was STRUGGLING and I believe he wanted to be saved. He just didn't have the courage to come back after what he did to the younglings. And, of course, Obi-Wan didn't help.

JESSICA JONES 1x03 || A.K.A IT'S CALLED WHISKEY

“How sad it is, That someone with a life barely lived. Is ready to die.”

— Philippa A. Madsen (via wnq-writers)

I wish it was easier to talk about mobile phone addiction without sounding like a boomer

Dragon Boat Festival by lei min

Literature transcends the boundaries of time and space, letting us know we are not alone in our adversities.

When you read Sylvia Plath’s fig tree analogy, you understand that you are not the first human to feel like your existence will crumble down like ash because of your inability to choose. When you read Santiago’s tale by Hemingway, you know that there is grace and dignity even in loss. When you read Kafka, you realise that there was someone else like you who felt like he couldn't explain his soul to others.

Is there a greater companionship in this world than the ink of a human’s vulnerability? Even in the pits of isolation, we are never alone.