I've Been Wondering What Is Going On With William's Hand Since Forever. Why Is He Holding It Like That

Wen Ning: *sends a voice message to WWX*

Wei Wuxian: (texting) I’m a little busy, is it urgent?

Wen Ning: (texting) No, don’t worry, just listen later.

[later]

Wei Wuxian: *presses play*

Wen Ning’s voice message: THERE’S A FIRE—

today i want to present you Gabi ‘i don’t fucking care about Falco’ Braun:

yeah

she doesn’t give a shit about Falco just at all

bonus:

Eren wants to forget. Mikasa chooses to remember.

If Eren really did send all these alternative universe visions to Mikasa, he wants to turn her back so she won’t follow the same bloody path as him. Eren sees their desire to be together as selfish one, because instead of fighting alongside with others and doing something great, they are choosing to live a peaceful life in mountains.

Eren loves his friends, but he is ready to sacrifice his love and humanity for a greater good. He doesn’t want them to remember him and bring them so much pain with his actions. He wants them to forget him so they won’t suffer as he did, when his close ones died.

But Mikasa sees it as the motivation to keep fighting and saving. She chooses to live so she will remember and the memory of her loved ones won’t die with her.

“Once I'm dead, I won't even be able to remember you. So I'll win, no matter what. I'll live, no matter what!”

Actually, before I thought that it was either because of her triggered anxiety, when she loose people she loves or when Ymir/Eren changes something in the timeline, but now it’s because Eren sends her alt. visions that should stop her from following him, but she still continues to move forward and stay by his side. Since she chooses to remember, Mikasa is technically opposing him and when she does, Mikasa gets a headache.

Mikasa’s selfish desire to be close to Eren saved so many people from Yeagerists and titans. Mikasa could simply die back in time and let herself be eaten by a titan. But her desire to love and remember pushes her to fight and simply live. Because of her Gabi wasn’t killed, Louise and her mom weren’t eaten by a titan, Kiyomi and her people didn’t die from hands of Yeagerists and much much more.

For Mikasa, love is a motivation. For Eren, love is a sacrifice.

mtp characters as birds (1)

so, one day i woke up and thought to myself: what kind of birds mtp characters would've been?

and, well. at that point, there really was no going back.

anyway, now that i have some time to put it onto my virtual paper, here's my little rant on the matter. i typed all characters that i could remember, but in this part there're only moriarty & holmes brothers + john.

WILLIAM & LOUIS: i'll be honest here—of all mtp characters, william was the hardest one to name for me. also, initially the brothers had different species assigned to them (which kinda did pair up pretty well tho), but as i had trouble envisioning will as one, i scrapped it and went with the second option. and for the better ig as it makes much more sense now.

so, all that said, my pick for both william and louis is a pair of barn owls.

ngl, barn owls are one of the long-standing favorites of mine. it was kinda natural for me to associate them with a pair of my favorite mtp characters lol. although initially that association hadn't extended to william, upon some thought i've seen the hidden appeal, and now can't imagine him as anything but a barn owl.

these ethereal birds have a lot of symbolic meaning attached to them, the most prominent being that of darkness, doom, and death. being the lord of crime, both william and louis reflect upon those ideas throughout the story a lot. but another meaning, derived from the owl's ability to see through darkness, is that of wisdom, perception, and introspection, and these fit brothers even more so. also, as the lord of crime, they match another motif connected to barn owls—transformation. this one mirrors william's desire to change his country, and louis' determination to change himself for william's sake and the world that william wanted him to see.

lastly, barn owls are simply beautiful birds, and i just think it would've been neat to include them in the list fsjkfsnkjs

ALBERT: 100% a dove. an instant pick here lol (that actually has little to do with charlie). doves as well carry a lot of symbolic meaning, such as peace, purity, freedom, and love. funny enough, albert shares none of those qualities—save for one. he rejected peace once he decided to follow william to the end. he lost his purity when he took the life of his mother. he refused freedom to atone for his (and william's) sins. love is the only thing that albert has left in abundance.

but that is not the line of thinking that i used here. actually, albert being a dove in my mind is more due to his noble status that he hates than anything else. at first, i imagined him as a white dove, one of those specially bred over the centuries kinds. perhaps, even one of the breeds that have suffered some unsavory consequences of inbreeding. but then my eyes fell upon a luzon bleeding-heart, and—

oh. my. god.

that has to be The One.

the feathers on their chests have a bright red coloration that indeed reminds of a bleeding heart. and that's— just such a fascinating piece of symbolism? that fits albert perfectly??

so beautiful.

SHERLOCK: another instant pick— none other than a crow. crows are highly intelligent birds that are also known for their mischievous and playful nature. they're quite undemanding birds that, being opportunistic eaters, can eat almost anything and thrive almost anywhere around the globe.

when a crow, or one of its flockmates, is disturbed, they'll go to no end in holding a grudge against a person who did so. although sherlock isn't the kind of person to hold grudges, he's still quite fierce when it comes to protecting those dear to him, and hunting down criminals in a fit of hyperfixation on a mystery. moreover, crows are not just intelligent, but very curious creatures too, which, again, is yet another scherlock's important characteristic.

so, all things considered, including sherlock's chaotic yet kind and loyal nature, i can't see him as anything but a crow.

JOHN: he's a cute little goldfinch! tbh i went mostly by vibe and appearance here. but i find the symbolism quite fitting as well, as these cuties are most often associated with joy, cheerfulness, persistence, and light-heartedness. and, well, who could've been the embodiment of these qualities if not john?

there's also a profound religious meaning tied to goldfinches, as they are often connected to the image of christ. as i have no real knowledge of theology or religious art, i can't give any commentary on the matter. but i still wanted to mention this fact, because imo someone who could deal with pre-time skip sherlock on daily basis must truly be a saint lol.

MYCROFT: matching sherlock's crow, he's, of course, a raven. but there's more to that decision than me wanting them to resemble each other.

actually, i think there's no one more fitting to be a raven than mycroft, as ravens are the birds that to this day are used to guard the buckingham palace. specifically, they hunt down vermin that dare to stick their noses into the royal domain. to me, that sounds a lot like our lovely government guy here!

royal associations aside, these birds are usually much calmer than crows and generally have a somewhat cooler vibe around them. and, of course, they're intelligent as hell. sherly and mycky really do enhance each other as a pair of a crow and a raven in my eyes, just like william and louis do as a pair of barn owls.

that's it for now! hopefully i'll come back to make other parts as well and share all these beautiful photos of birbs hidden in my stash too...

Thinking about Buddhism as it relates to Madoka Magica, sadly for the first time as I have no personal frame of reference surrounding the religion as a white Canadian.

I think just as much as Madoka criticizes aspects of Christianity, it is also criticizing Buddhism. Namely that the salvation Buddhists seek in the pursuit of nirvana can rob us of our inherent human experience.

“According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught that attachment or clinging causes dukkha (often translated as "suffering"), but that there is a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from dukkha”.

Huh. Attachment and clinging causes suffering… where have we seen-

Homura is the fairly straightforward unideal person in Buddhism. Attachment and clinging in Buddhism is called ‘tanha’, and there are three main pillars of it, each of which Homura represents in Rebellion (and the girls all represent with their wishes):

1. Kama-Tanha: Craving for sensory pleasures. These are usually material things and mostly associated with our base desires, like food, sex, wealth even, etc.

2. Bhava-Tanha: Craving to be something, to exist, to unite with an experience. This one is more difficult to understand; but it seems to relate to the idea of wanting to be important and exist in others’ lives and thoughts.

3. Vibha-Tanha: Craving for non-existence. The desire to not experience unpleasant things, and also the desire for self-annihilation (suicide). Homura exemplifies this one strongly.

Buddhists seek to distance themselves from these things in order to seek nirvana, the cessation of desire and thus of suffering. But when you are left without this ‘suffering’, you are also left without the beautiful things in life.

What is a life worth living without desires? What is life for a god who has no attachments? Madoka Magica through Homura, the antithesis to Buddhist ideals, asks this question blatantly in the Concept Movie Trailer.

What is happiness without delicious food and sunbeams (sensory kama pleasures) or connections and existence (bhava)?

Madoka’s existence as a so called enlightened being in heaven (nirvana) goes against what makes us human beings, and her own happiness in turn.

The cessation of desire, a driving force for basic human emotions, does little but make you emotionless and numb. It disconnects you from relationships. What then is to differentiate you from emotionless Incubators?

Attachment and clinging can bring despair to people like Homura in Rebellion. But in the right circumstances, attachment, desire - it brings happiness and love. It is happiness and love. Without suffering, there is no joy. Is an existence without joy worthwhile?

"Eren, you are free."

Meta on "Thank you" and "Sorry" in MDZS

Inspired out of spite by a post where someone said Lan Wangji not wanting to hear thank you and sorry from Wei Wuxian in the novel is stupid because healthy couples need communication and this is why CQL is better. LMAOO

OK. Before starting I want to point out that one of the themes of the novel and Wei Wuxian's characterisation is the concept of indebtedness and owings . It is one of the reasons why he is so dutiful towards the Jiangs and why he sacrifices his golden core and the reason he resurrects Wen Ning.

The words Thank you and Sorry are very significant in the story and are very explicitly tied to the above mentioned themes. They are the words Wen Qing says to Wei Wuxian in her parting because she feels indebted towards Wei Wuxian as he has protected her and the rest of Wen remnants and even resurrected Wen Ning on her request. Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian have a cycle of debts where they both believe they owe each other. [Just to clarify I don't think it's just indebtedness that defines their relationship but it's definitely there ].In the next life Wei Wuxian uses the exact pair of words on Jin Ling as he owes him for insulting his parents whose deaths are caused by him.

As you can see these words are explicitly associated with indebtedness and owing.

Lan Wangji loves Wei Wuxian unconditionally. He obviously wants Wei Wuxian to return his feelings BUT he does not want Wei Wuxian to do so out of indebtedness or gratitude. Whenever Wei Wuxian says thank you to him, the narration describes as him being tense and sad, the cause of this is as I described earlier and also because in the past whenever they have exchanged these words they have parted on bad terms.

The text is very explicit about this.

"Lan Zhan you're really scared of me telling you 'thank you', aren't you? I suddenly remembered many of the times we parted ways in my past life, I said 'thank you' to you right before. And every time we separated, I worsened the next time we met"

The time they killed Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu at the courier station, the time they met each other through the flowers at the towers in Yunmeng, the time they parted at Yiling's Burial Mound. Every time, he used that word to mark a clear line between him and Lan Wangji, stretching out the distance between them.

The word that finally breaks their makeout session in the inn is one thank you from Wei Wuxian where Lan Wangji snaps as he believes Wei Wuxian is only doing this out of gratitude towards him and not because he returns his feelings. It is insulting and heartbreaking to him and he is angry because of this.

When the conflict is resolved with Wei Wuxian's confession that includes :

"... I swear it's not the heat of the moment or joking around like I have done in the past. I'm not doing it out of gratitude either. Anyways, it's not because of anything else. I really just like you so much."

He deliberately clarifies that there are no feelings of gratitude or indebtedness involved in reciprocating Lan Wangji's feelings.

"Between you and me, there is no need for 'thank you' and 'sorry'."

This line by Lan Wangji defines how he views their relationship i.e without indebtedness or owings. So far all the relationships that Wei Wuxian had been a part of have the feeling of obligation and indebtedness, the Jiangs for raising him and Wen siblings for rescuing him and helping him out . Ofcourse he loves them but indebtedness and his sense of duty to repay them are also his major motivations. He takes drastic steps because of this and we all know how they turned out. Lan Wangji doesn't want this kind of relationship with him, the one he had with others in the past. He wants him to be free of ever feeling like that he owes Lan Wangji something.

Thank you and sorry are not just courtesy words here but carry a hurtful baggage and choosing not to use them isn't a miscommunication but freeing from the feeling of obligations.

mtp characters as birds (2)

a follow-up to this post (part 1).

and in this part it's gonna be the rest of the moriarty's party + even more fun facts about birbs~

MORAN: a steppe eagle. these birds are large and formidable birds of prey that both hunt live game and don't shy away from scavenging for carrion. and that's exactly the line of thought that i used for an association here. moran, as william's right-hand man, matches this description well: he both hunts down those who are not needed alive anymore, and clears william's path of any filth that could lead to the lord of crime and get in their way. tbh initially he was meant to be an eastern imperial eagle, but i settled for a steppe eagle purely because in my mind, it matches moran's appearance more (as its plumage is quite darker than that of an eastern imperial eagle).

FRED: a shrike! these little cuties look harmless and defenseless, but in reality they're as much fierce hunters as any preying bird. shrikes can eat about anything from insects to vertebrates, including other birds as well, and are known to hunt prey even larger than themselves. but their uniqueness comes from their hunting technique. as shrikes are not true birds of prey (they're passerines), lacking assets that those guys have (like sharp talons), they stalk their prey and ambush it in one swift strike, using their beaks to break victim's neck. and when it comes to killing prey bigger than themselves, they often impale it by carrying and throwing it at sharp barbs or thorns. all in all, they're such cool birdies lol.

anyway, all that yap is just to say that fred's fighting skills and his general role as a spy that hide behind his quiet and kind character (or is it the other way around?) remind me a lot of shrike's behavior and its deceptive nature.

BONDE: right after william, he was the second one with whom i struggled the most, but eventually i've settled on a european bee-eater for him. it's a very beautiful and colorful little bird that imo perfectly reflects james' charm and charisma. but another noticeable thing about bee-eaters (as it's evident from their name lol) is their diet, which consists mostly of, well, bees. sadly, for that reason some beekeepers would often kill them thinking they ruin their hives (which is not the case at all). in a way, that somewhat reminds me of irene adler's fate as well, considering how they endangered themselves for so long while working for a good cause, but then got involved in something far bigger than themselves and just... couldn't handle it, because, despite how talented they are, they're but a human being after all (or a bird being in case of bee-eaters ig).

JACK: ok, it seems like this fancy old man is actually the only one who gets two picks from me lol. you see, i just can't imagine him in his youth and him in his old age to be the same bird. idk, he's like a totally different person, and that's it.

alright, so, the first one, corresponding to his youth, would be a golden eagle. this apex predator perfectly describes jack at his prime, with him being feared by both his foes and allies alike.

the second pick, matching his old butler persona, would be a white stork. tbh it should've been a black stork, as i think its shy and reclusive nature better reflects jack's retirement and living for years as a simple butler, severing any possible connection to his past. and, uhh, bc how could i not include a black stork in a bird list of mine.... my friends would be shocked if they heard about it lool. but then i kinda looked again at this old man and thought that he's. um. if he's old, let him... be old. and look just as glorious for his age even as a bird. :p

MONEYPENNY: a short-eared owl! just... dang. look at how gorgeous these birds are and tell me that moneypenny isn't just as gorgeous as them. honestly, it's one of the few characters/birds where i went mostly by vibe and somewhat by appearance, but gosh that owl looks just like her incarnate, and i can't see it any other way.

VON HERDER: a proud example of a true magpie! he's sooo magpie-coded lol. again, as yet another corvid, magpies are intelligent birds that are also quite playful and energetic. even though them liking shiny/metal things is actually a myth, they're still fond of collecting some little trinkets for building their nests. and i can't help but think of von herder who always does as he pleases and invents all kinds of stuff from nothing. i bet if you give him one day, a can of trash, and leave him in a basement, he'll make you an endless engine because he got too bored. and him loving those strange metal puzzles? so cute. so magpie.

Now I'm entirely into Attack on Titan, have a Annie from the OVA Manga

Water Lilies painted by Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)