periwinkle

Source: Stjepan Šejić

For whatever reason, this simple painting almost brought me to tears. Take note that these are my ponderings specifically, not commenting on what I think the artist was trying to convey.

The rose blooms on Harley's arm, the vine hiding a small leaf, like the growth of their companionship. There is always a seed of something new and always the beauty of the flower of love.

The contrast of the earthly green vine caressing Harley's skin makes otherwise hidden scars visible to the wandering eye. Battle scars of both physical and emotional confrontations. Joker did a number on her and Batman the fuel for her rage and nightmares under Joker's spell.

What sparked this curiosity originally were the different grasps of their hands. Ivy is holding on tightly and it looks like Harley is barely trying, like she doesn't care nor wants to hold on. At first glance it made think of the fragility of love itself, but it being Harley, I see it telling of her own fragility and Ivy being her stability.

Harley's touch is gentle because she is ready to fall, but a closer look it speaks volumes about her trust in Ivy. She knows Ivy is always there for her, that her heart blooms like the rose despite their pasts of betrayel and abuse.

The gentle touch of a lover versus the strong grasp of a lover portrays levels of need within their relationship. To hold on is an act of determination and steadfastness, to gently touch is an act of comforting and relaxing into the moment, both geared towards trust and faith.

𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨

≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺

ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴏʀ ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢ ɪꜰ ᴜ sᴀᴠᴇ

ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ

≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺

please try this on for size:

(I used to read a blogger who insisted that “All right, I’ll go to Hell,” from Huckleberry Finn is the most pure and perfect prayer in the canon of American literature.  Meaning, as I understand it, that the decision to do the right thing in the face of eternal damnation is the most holy decision one can make, and if God Himself is not proud of the poor mixed-up kid, then God Himself is not worth much more than a “Get thee behind me,” and the rest of us should be lining up to go to Hell too.  Worth noting that this person identified as an evangelical Christian, not because he was in line with what current American evangelicals believe, but because “they can change their name, I’m not changing mine.”  Interesting guy.  Sorry for the long parenthetical.)

Anyway, the point of Huck Finn, as far as I can tell, is that you can still choose to do good in utter darkness, with no guidance and no help and none of the right words.

Please note, this is just my opinion! If you loved this aspect of the show that is absolutely fine, I just need to vent here for a moment.

So, my problem characterising Azula as more... on edge, angry, frustrated, is that that's not the Azula we are introduced to initially. The Azula who is introduced to us in brutally unflappable. She's ruthless and cold and able to manipulate everyone around her. She's an absolutely awesome villain. She's only 14, and she outsmarts all the grown men who think that they can one-up her.

That's what I love about Azula - she's terrifying, she's powerful and she's relentless. And we didn't really see that at all, outside of her telling Zhao what to do (which rung very hollow for me, bc Azula's presence didn't actually alter anything. Zhao did those things himself in canon anyway - but this is another post entirely). And she spent the whole season frazzled and edgy.

Now, I do not at all hate the idea that Azula's motivations and emotions are more fleshed out and that her ultimate downfall is more gradual rather than how sudden it can feel in the OG. In fact, I quite like that concept! I am all for a more detailed Azula story than what we got in the show. What I have an issue with is doing that right off the bat without establishing her as the incredibly cunning, intelligent and powerful villain we know she is.

Because so far, this Azula seems more on edge. She's more desperate, and more reckless. She's desperate to prove herself to Ozai and that makes her vulnerable. Whereas, I think if they'd tried to make Azula more like the original, and have her slowly unravel over the course of the show, as Ozai becomes more demanding, more manipulative, more angry, and power-hungry than that would have been far better story telling in that it would be so much more gut-wrenching and tragic to watch her story unfold and knowing where it ends, and it would have been more reminiscent of the iconic villain that we all love.

AZULA BENDING LIGHTNING FOR THE FIRST TIME ONSCREEN