#mess rambles

ohhh these two

they spin round and round and refuse to let me have a day of peace.

their dynamic fascinates me because they are the Heart (Tang Sanzang) and the Mind (Sun Wukong), and they are meant to complete one another, to make up for where the other falls short.

however, the thing is, they can't understand each other. they simply fail to see from the other's POV because of how different they are, the circumstances they were born in and lived through, although said circumstances are parallel to one another (there was a really good jttw essay abt that; i'm referencing that essay, actually) cause this rift between them

like, these two know each other deeply. their strengths, weaknesses, the good and bad, but when it comes to their philosophies they clash because they are so stubborn, too stubborn to give up their beliefs and it causes friction in their relationship. but like. you can still love someone, even when you don't believe the same way they do. there's just something really profound in that kind of love.

it's even more thought-provoking when you consider the symbolism between them representing the nature of man versus the nature of animal, which adds more to that misunderstanding of core values between the two. like, in general. humans have set up morals in a lawless world while animals are more focused on surviving in a harsh world.

and, not to mention, Wukong is pretty much the physical metaphor of chaos, of randomness and unpredictability so I would imagine that would clash with a human's want for order in life, specifically a monk's goal to attaining enlightenment. perfection.

these two bring out the best and the worst of each other, and they can change the other for better or for worse. they are devoted in a way that's just.

i can't explain it. not right now.

now i'm getting carried away. I haven't even read the book. this is literally just a summary of fanfics and Tumblr posts i've consumed about this dynamic duo so it's possible that once I read the novel my expectations will be crushed.

I'm currently rewatching death note and this is specifically about episode 9 and the first five minutes of episode 10, because everyone on this site has already said that if he just acted how if he acted like the son of the police chief, he could have avoided a lot of what happens in the plot.

Execpt. He did.

(putting a cut here cause who knows how long this will be)

Alright, let's get this ball rolling.

There has been many close calls.

So until then I will not be talking until I have rewatched Iron Lung and Project Hail Mary for the nth again, and then start yapping about it

Or until my family watches Angel again

wanted to share some background action of the second half of the movie that really stood out to me.

in the scene where Judy speaks in the press conference, it's at the point where she's lost control of the reporters and they've been worked up in a paranoid frenzy.

Judy had made biased claims against predators that although seemed factually true, had no trustworthy source to begin with, only little inklings she had overheard. her intent to inform that public despite being misinformed herself, as well as being overwhelmed by the reporters, who were all presumably prey. (well, look at that)

as I was watching this play out, I spotted this feline (not sure what she is, although I assume she may be a lioness or a puma) and

it hurts.

the disbelief on her face.

to see how this trusted individual of the ZPD, an official who was supposed to ensure her safety and well-being, would go on about so recklessly to toss it away as a fickle thing.

She's a Burmese immigrant, so this topic has been something she holds dear to her heart. I'm a Burmese daughter, but I hold no love for something I cannot remember. I want to try though.

There's a lot we talked about, with my mother answering many of my questions. I could write a couple pages going into detail about it, but here are some of the main points.

My mom lived a solid 18 years in Myanmar, yet she did not have access to any journalism of any sort. This was because freedom of speech was not recognized as a human right, and anyone who attempted to practice it was either jailed or even executed. This meant that she had no idea the situation was this bad. In fact, most of what she had told me about the war, she had learned after settling into the United States.

Political officials are greedy assholes. They bask in the luxury of their country's economy and send their sons and daughters off to Thailand to receive education, whereas the civilians live in very, very poor conditions. Dreary and terrible conditions that still remain bright and vivid in my parents' minds whenever we ask them about their motherland.

Me and my mother have different hopes of where salvation may come from. When I heard that the political officials sent their sons and daughters off to Thailand, I suggested perhaps the children of said officials may do better, if they are receiving an education and experiencing what a more developed nation looked like, perhaps they would be than their predecessors and fix this mess. My mom disagreed. She believed they would become dictators, just like their parents. "When Min Aung dies is when this war ends," she bitterly stated.

The people are suffering because of their leaders, who don't know fucking social science. Because of the exploitation of government funds by the military coup and political figures, the school system suffered heavily from neglect. Apparently, some schools have been closed since 2021 and only those who have money are able to access online classes to pursue their education.

Education, despite having a rough reputation, is vital. In my opinion, without education, the democracy movement in opposition to Myanmar's dictatorship is fundamentally lacking. In the U.S. History, specifically the making of their government, the public have educated themselves through newspaper forums all these vast and sound concepts of how their government should function, taking inspiration from the British government. While the civilians may be on the right track, advocating for democracy, I fear that there may be much more discourse on what "normal" would like for them. Even if the civilians, or the PDF (as my mom called them) wins, if they cannot secure a strong foundation the military coup may take advantage of this weakness and restart this war anew.

I reached an epiphany about the power struggle while we discussed. The difference between the United States government and the Myanmar government is that there is no balance of power. Myanmar's government is a tree with no branches, save for a large singular one at the very top. It receives most of the sunlight and relishes in early rain, but soon, it will grow too heavy. When it eventually snaps off, it will go tumbling down, and may take the whole tree down with it.

Power does not corrupt. It never did. Rather, as Jack Weatherford had preached in his novel 'Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of China', "Power purifies. It magnifies and exposes the essential character, whether for good or bad... absolute power reveals absolutely." In this case, power revealed that Myanmar had a bunch of gluttons and nut jobs sitting on their thrones.

This civil war could be resolved. Although it's not a verifiable solution, perhaps if the military coup and PDF reached an agreement that evened the military coup's political power while giving more attention to the civilians current conditions, this civil war could end. But I don't know, it feels like there should be a simple solution for this but there's not and I don't know what to do about it.

If there is any, any information here that is incorrect, please correct me. Now, what can you do with this information?

I'm going to be honest: I don't know.

I learned so much in this conversation but throughout it all I felt such helplessness, so I decided to share this in hopes that maybe someone more capable can do something with this and help fix this mess.

This first started with L being Gertrude Robinson, which lead in to Near being Jon, obviously.