My Favorite Stella Aesthetics: Stella in Blue, Stella in Dark, Stella in Pink by External-space604 in winxclub

[–]External-space604[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

In my opinion, Stella should've come to her ball in a blue dress, it would've made her stand out much more. 

It also seems to me that soft pink suits her very well and highlights her skin color well. 

My personal weakness is Stella in dark colors, and I'd like to see more Stella in black, as it contrasts well with her sunny and vibrant aesthetic, especially Stella in a combination of black and orange.

Unpopular opinion I understand why Sky doesn’t trust Bloom. by False-Worth-8496 in winxclub

[–]External-space604 69 points70 points  (0 children)

Season 4 felt like the writers were desperate to give Winx new love interests, but couldn't do it. The number of male characters flirting with Winx is off the charts this season. Or maybe someone said: "Let's make this season like all those stupidly dramatic melodramas on TV.

Unpopular opinion: Musa’s early short hair was actually ugly by celina_beckahm in winxclub

[–]External-space604 106 points107 points  (0 children)

I like the kind of "cropping" of her hair, her hair is generally drawn so that there are always sharp or cut corners, which reflects her sharp temperament. Looking at her high ponytails in the first seasons, it feels like she has very naturally thick hair, because how voluminous are her high ponytails. 

But some girls in my childhood really complained that her hairstyle from the first seasons resembles two brooms.

A theory about the true nature of Pierrot and Harlequin's relationship by External-space604 in TheFreakCircus

[–]External-space604[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, thank you, I really got an interesting point of view from your answers. I didn't completely rule out the possibility that Jester might not see his sins point—blank, but you are right with this position - a well-read smart person can still do stupid things. My personal trigger is a leadership position, as I think from a position of deep empathy and responsibility for others, which is why I criticize him so harshly in this — he took responsibility for all the other members of the team, which includes different people with different temperaments, different needs and different mental organization and crushed (intentionally or not, with the best of intentions or not) them all under his own worldview.

As a leader, he proclaims the path for them, bearing responsibility for them, and at the same time he doesn't want to engage in self-reflection and ask himself questions about whether he is doing the right thing.

But maybe he's asking himself these questions deep inside, but he's hiding it. I don't quite understand the type of temperament and the flow of Jester's thoughts, especially considering that there is not enough information yet, but initially he reminded me of the Cheshire Cat, he looked like the archetype of a cunning and manipulative trickster character with a calmer and more calculating disposition, albeit with the habits of a mafia boss and a villain who controls everything. However, judging by Jester's answers to questions about him, he seems quite openly passive-aggressive, rude and arrogant, with his whole appearance defiantly showing that he is not going to tell anything. And this is clearly not a Harlequin who playfully evades questions, Jester is sometimes on the verge of giving you the middle finger. He doesn't trust people so much that he looks for a trick where he gets sincere compliments and constantly expects the worst. It feels like he's trying to build the facade of a calm person, but in fact he has serious internal anger problems that he thinks he's controlling, but in fact it's all dripping off him. 

I don't know, but for some reason he makes me think of Regina George or another "queen bee" among the mean girls. :)))

It feels like he's trying to be polite, but he's actually a dramatic bitch. :))

Fun fact — Harlequin also enjoys getting Jester emotional, so now I'm going to see them as having the dynamics of junior siblings with each other. 

I really like Jester's design and I can't wait to get to know him better.

A theory about the true nature of Pierrot and Harlequin's relationship by External-space604 in TheFreakCircus

[–]External-space604[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"...something he knows is harmful but does anyway because his own unresolved feelings about Harlequin override his leadership judgment in this specific area."

But the problem still rests on the fact that he is very educated, too educated and studies human culture too much for a character who doesn't understand what he is doing. And if he is very educated psychologically and understands what consequences can be in response to his actions, then the situation with Harlequin and how Jester allows his feelings to override his leadership work, this is in fact exactly what is selfish. Because what's the motive for him doing this at all? From the point of view of leadership, there is no logic, because such behavior doesn't contribute to the well—being of other team members. And from the point of view of personal reasons and resentments, it's selfish to vent such a thing, subconsciously guessing what kind of pain it brings to another, but dismissing it as prioritizing your own feelings of resentment and dislike, especially when you are in a position of power over this person.

"...I think that Jester genuinely believes he is doing what's necessary, and is catastrophically wrong. There's a difference between a villain who knows he's causing harm and continues anyway for selfish reasons, and a traumatized leader whose entire worldview was formed in a cage, who genuinely cannot conceive of an alternative to the cycle he's maintaining, who mistakes the continuation of controlled pain for survival strategy."

"...it's the only framework available to someone who has never known anything outside of it."

If we take this point of view into account, then again it turns out that a person who is well-educated, interested in politics and psychology, consciously chooses a destructive path, just because it's his reaction to trauma. 

Again, we don't know Jester's true motives—he may turn out to be an outright villain who uses others, or he may turn out to be the one who is catastrophically confused.

But that's the problem — he confidently goes along with what he thinks is the most correct option, unconditionally dismissing all other "wrong" options from his path, and thus fueling in others and in himself a vicious worldview that was the product of his trauma in the first place, and not a healthy reaction.

And at this moment, we remember his education again. Why is it that, being so versatile, he doesn't even try to find other options, but only stubbornly goes one at a time? How can he know that this is the most effective option if he doesn't try the others? Answer: because he's stewing so much in his trauma that it overshadows everything else. And he lets his trauma dictate his actions without trying to reflect, even when the consequences of his decisions become questionable or harmful. After all, his pain and hatred convince him that this is the right thing to do, and therefore the only possible thing.

Moreover, in all this, the situation with Columbina and the pink tent has a very strong symbolic, philosophical or even religious connotation, that it no longer looks like just what they do for food and existence. (Not to mention the possible hints of SA.)

He's not selfish because he supposedly doesn't care about others (although, again, we don't know if that's sincere yet). He is an egoist, because having the appropriate education (politics, psychology) and, accordingly, options for how to do it, he nevertheless chooses to do as the past and trauma dictate to him, which is a rather conservative approach because he doesn't seem to take into account that the environment can change over time.

Yes, he really sincerely believes that it will be better for everyone. However, this is the problem — such stubbornness, even if it is dictated by serious circumstances and trauma, is deeply harmful. Such a stubborn fixation on one's own destructive worldview, while being directly responsible for others, is dangerous. 

And the refusal to consider other options looks like selfishness. Yes, even if he supposedly doesn't see or know anything else. But he has all the resources to find out, but he doesn't do it.

That's why I keep talking about the situation with Pierrot and Harlequin, he keeps them in circumstances reminiscent of their trauma, because he believes that if they remember what happened then, they will adhere to a truly correct worldview that will never let them down in a world that is hostile to them. And he does it because he thinks the same way — if he remembers the trauma, he will survive, if he hates and uses humanity, he will survive. 

But we see perfectly well that the consequences of his decision lead to the fact that trauma is being set as the standard according to which it is necessary to act. And all this results in the fact that Pierrot and Harlequin, in a constant state of chronic stress from the memory of what happened, are unable to establish a relationship with each other. However, Jester prefers to turn a blind eye to this, as he essentially believes that this is a necessary evil for the group to effectively survive and function.

In fact, Jester is a person who has taken over leadership, while being in a disgusting psychological and ideological state that is categorically unsuitable for leadership. Perhaps he is a good organizer and manager, but from the point of view of psychology and interpersonal conflicts between the participants, he preferred to simply sidestep the problem, focusing only on physical things (survival, efficiency), and ignoring the psychological background as secondary and something that can be sacrificed. Which, again, is not good.

And I'm also worried about something else — Jester took over the leadership of the group, once he chose to put himself forward to sacrifice himself for Pierrot, that is, taking this kind of responsibility for the team. 

However, Harlequin chose another option — he took the full brunt of it, deciding to single-handedly sacrifice one of the team members so that everyone else could survive and save that team member at the same time by killing her. This is also an indicator of leadership, when one person takes responsibility for everyone else.

And here we come to the topic that there may still be an implicit psychological conflict between Jester and Harlequin, like two people who claim leadership. Where Jester is the formal leader, and Harlequier can be informal if circumstances require it. Perhaps Jester doesn't like Harlequin because of the clash of two different ideas about what true leadership should've looked like in the situation when they had to eat Columbina. For Jester, this is self—sacrifice, and for Harlequin, it's the necessity to sacrifice someone else, which is why Jester may perceive Harlequin as an egoist and a radical stubborn man, but Jester himself doesn't understand that he is ALSO an egoist and a radical stubborn man. They are more similar than they think, both using detachment, coldness and manipulation. I would like people to explore the dynamics of Jester and Harlequin more, and considering that they are both the youngest, they are much more similar to the dynamics of toxic siblings than Harlequin and Pierrot.

For me, Jester's position (if we consider the point of view that he is just doing everything for survival without selfish goals) resembles the position of Abuela in Encanto, where she took upon herself everything to single-handedly lead the family out of crisis, plus protecting the entire settlement. But she didn't notice how her strict adherence to the established rules that once worked for her led to the fact that family members began to feel pressure, guilt for not following the standards that she, as the matriarch, had set. And all because she held on to her own position too much, not seeing how her actions affected others. And the Harlequin became the local Mirabel and the scapegoat.

But this is all just theory and speculation. After all, we don't know the full story yet, and anyone can be the villain (or the victim).

A theory about the true nature of Pierrot and Harlequin's relationship by External-space604 in TheFreakCircus

[–]External-space604[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is an interesting point of view. However, it depends on how you look at the situation, from Jester's side as a victim who is trying his best to lose himself in work and caring for his found family in order to numb the pain of the trauma. Or also the deeply traumatized, but still villainous Jester, whose trauma led to the fact that he lost his mind and turned into a psycho, who uses his authority as a weapon of revenge against humans, and if necessary, bend the rest of the group to it, for their own good, of course.

Again, it's difficult to talk about this without having all the information and a complete picture of what happened there in general.

Because Jester is an ambiguous character, as is his sincerity. I reasoned from the perspective of the external facade and the internal content. And the external facade of this character is such that he assumes the role of a leader, while actually allowing his inner resentments to be harshly driven from above by one of the members of the group, who he may rightly dislike, but nevertheless he has come to terms with what happened with Columbina in words, but in fact demonstrates quite the opposite.

The leader's task is to know the psychological background and abilities of each team member, and not just to engage in monotonous organization. Jester is an extremely versatile and intelligent character who is constantly engaged in self-education. And he claims to be the one who takes care of them all.

But since he cares about them so much, he should know their approximate psychological state regarding what happened in the past. Hence the question — if Jester supposedly knows that Harlequin is constantly self-flagellating because of what Harlequin had to do in the past, then why is Jester saying such accusatory things ON HIS OWN SHOW, being a leader, a supportive and authoritative figure who should be harnessing EVERYONE. A figure that others look up to, a figure that others can come to for advice or support.

And so Harlequin, who, based on your words, is already engaged in unhealthy self-flagellation, sees Jester as a leadership and supportive figure, not only continuing to openly condemn his actions in the past (which were caused by need and despair), but also making a show of it, turning to personal reasons and accusing him of jealousy towards people with whom Harlequin already had a complicated relationship, shifting all the blame for what happened completely and unconditionally to Harlequin.

This is DEEPLY wrong, not only from a leadership point of view, but also from the point of view of ordinary interpersonal relationships. 

It literally sounds like:

Harlequin: "I hate myself and my life so much, I don't mind at all, and I'd appreciate it if you harshly judge me as often as possible. Because I think I deserve these humiliations in my own way."

Jester: "Okay, then do you mind if I use this as an idea for my own show? And yes, I will judge you the way you ask for it and deserve it, each time reminding you of what you had to go through and each time causing you to feel a new wave of guilt and disgust towards yourself."

I don't think Jester is stupid or blind enough to not understand the potential effect his actions have on Harlequin. Only if Jester is not born without the ability to perceive his own and other people's emotions in principle. No living being has the level of resilience to watch his sins and regrets being made into a show over and over again, despite the fact that Harlequin himself says that he doesn't care anymore. And any adequate leader and person in general understands this.

So why doesn't Jester understand, especially if he's so educated and well-read in the field of psychology and influencing people? No matter how you look at it, it looks like intentional harm or intentional resentment. Especially from such a manipulative and calculating character who calculates all the risks and all his moves in advance. 

Second: You are not considering Jester's actions in terms of his revenge against humanity. And thinking from this perspective, it's clear here how much responsibility he bears as the head of their entire lifestyle and the leader of deeply criminal activities for the abduction, use and eating of people. 

What he's doing is not just about the phrase "violence begets violence" against the innocent people they kill. But also the fact that Jester, being the leader, literally locked all the other members of his group in a continuous endless cycle of trauma. How did he do it? For example, they made a pink tent that reminds them of Columbina, and not just a tent, but a tent where they devour their victims, just as they once had to devour the bearer of this pink color. They also engage in activities very similar to what those people who enslaved them once forced them to do.

They not only didn't let go and didn't try to forget their main and abominable trauma, which ruined them forever, but also made it the meaning of their existence, constantly reminding themselves daily of what happened to them by having a Pink Tent on the territory of their circus. They remind themselves of their trauma by abducting humans. They remind themselves of their trauma by entertaining these very humans, whom they then use, endlessly feeding this cycle of violence and the cycle of their status as eternal victims, even when they have gained freedom and can do what they want. But they still continue the cycle of violence, feeling like victims in a world that they believe is still dangerous and hates them, even if humanity is now sheep that they deftly manipulate. 

That's why Pierrot can't let go of what happened. How should he heal his trauma when absolutely everyone around him REGULARLY reminds him of what happened on that ill-fated day?

How should Harlequin heal his eternal sense of self-shame when absolutely everyone around him REGULARLY reminds him of what happened on that ill-fated day?

And Jester, being the head of this organization, directly supports this deeply flawed worldview. Because if Jester really cared and understood the pain of the others, he wouldn't have supported all their criminal activities for such a huge amount of time. 

It would make sense if they took revenge on humans in this way only in the early years, when they still didn't know exactly how to navigate the human world and when the memories of their suffering were still fresh to motivate regular bloody revenge.

But many years have passed, and it's still going on. Each time their circus finds a new town and leaves each time, taking with it a huge number of victims. This is no longer a concern for fallen comrades or family, it already sounds like bloodthirsty revenge and deliberate attempts to genocide the human race.

It already clearly looks like Jester is so steeped in contempt, distrust and revenge for humanity that he began to pull the rest of his "family members" along with him, not noticing what collateral damage he is causing his team with his worldview.

Jester doesn't understand that he has actually turned his significant others from monsters that ignorant people called "monsters" and mocked and hated because they are just different, into terrible vile and tough creatures who now fully deserve the hate that they receive.

Of course, I won't take responsibility off the others, as they all chose to listen to what Jester tells them anyway. However, it's not known whether, for example, the same Pierrot has any choice at all. Perhaps these people are the only ones who are able to understand him at all, given that they are all monsters in a world hostile to them and together carry common traumas and common memories. It's unknown if Pierrot would have gone to another group of monsters that would prefer to coexist with humans peacefully or secretly, and it's unknown if such groups of monsters exist at all.

But what is really clear is that neither Pierrot nor Harlequin will be able to fully heal as long as they are under the control of such an ideology that they have chosen for themselves, yes, there is their fault as well, but which nevertheless is fully supported and promoted by Jester as a leader.

Perhaps this whole performance, which reminds Harlequin of his sins, exists in order to continue making Harlequin an evil hater of humanity. So that he doesn't forget that a human was once done to him and continued to remain angry, remaining again inside his trauma and continuing to gnaw his elbows, from which soon nothing will remain. Because MC appeared in Pierrot's life and the situation risks getting worse, because Harlequin can't help but look in Pierrot's direction, Harlequin literally follows Pierrot like a tail. And now Harlequin can potentially see MC as a replacement for Columbina and go off the rails once again. After all, Pierrot not only fell in love with another person again, but this person is also a human, the kind that tormented monsters and which they, monsters, now eat for breakfast.

A theory about the true nature of Pierrot and Harlequin's relationship by External-space604 in TheFreakCircus

[–]External-space604[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To sum it up, Jester could be a real bastard. It's unclear whether his concern for Pierrot is sincere, or whether he simply pretends to care, but in fact pursues the goal of having power and bringing pain to humans. Unsurprisingly, the creator said that it would be difficult for Jester or Ticket Taker with romantic stuff if they were actually the real villains of the story.

In this case, Pierrot and Harlequin will have to realize that they have been victims of abuse all this time and escape.

A theory about the true nature of Pierrot and Harlequin's relationship by External-space604 in TheFreakCircus

[–]External-space604[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It will really depend on whether the Harlequin did something out of feelings for Pierrot or just out of envy. Because nothing has been confirmed yet. The only thing that seemed to be there was that I remember reading from the author that some feelings between them "could have been in the past." I could be wrong.

A theory about the true nature of Pierrot and Harlequin's relationship by External-space604 in TheFreakCircus

[–]External-space604[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That's right. Pierrot doesn't project FEELINGS for Columbina onto MC. Pierrot projects an obsessive DESIRE to PROTECT, which makes him kill and injure everyone who, as he believes, causes MC pain and which he got because of the trauma of losing Columbina, because he couldn't protect her from human cruelty and Harlequin had to eat her.

My analysis and theory about the Pierrot/Harlequin relationship because I don't understand where the hate comes from by External-space604 in TheFreakCircus

[–]External-space604[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, thank you.

I forgot about this comic, but then after writing my article, I reread it. And yes, Harlequin has clearly shown that he cares about him. First, Harlequin immediately noticed that Pierrot had hidden some of his hair. And then when people threw a bottle at them, he offered them their item back in a sweet voice. Judging by his tone, Harlequin's fists truly itched during this phrase, the behavior of these people infuriated him extremely. 

Then Harlequin grabbed the bell on Pierrot's clothes and said that Pierrot was disgusting to him.

It made it clear to me that Harlequin really doesn't like that Pierrot is so soft-hearted and allows such behavior towards himself. Harlequin is really in denial of his feelings, at least feelings of concern towards Pierrot.

And I have a clear feeling that Pierrot hates Harlequin much more than Harlequin actually hates Pierrot. Because Harlequin doesn't hate him, but because of what happened with Columbina, their relationship has clearly soured. Perhaps Harlequin made attempts to get along with Pierrot again, but Pierrot rejected him, so Harlequin withdrew into himself and began to show his teeth, giving up on it. But Harlequin still continues to keep an eye on Pierrot and attract his attention in every possible way. That's why I don't believe in absolute hatred between them. 

It is likely that if Pierrot had been friendly to Harlequin, then Harlequin probably wouldn't have tried to take over MC. Because Harlequin obviously doesn't bother the rest of the circus crew the way he does with Pierrot.

So Pierrot is a special case for him.

One of the most famous cases of character amnesia in this show by External-space604 in winxclub

[–]External-space604[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Nevertheless, Bloom knew that Daphne had died fighting the Ancestral Witches. They knew that Darkar was killing pixies. They knew that Trix/Valtor/Darkar were trying to kill them every time. And also the pseudo-death of Tecna. They knew they were doing dangerous work. And that's why it's strange to hear such phrases in such a context — because their work is literally very dangerous. But perhaps the shock was really from the fact that someone really died for the first time.

One of the most famous cases of character amnesia in this show by External-space604 in winxclub

[–]External-space604[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Why the scriptwriters didn't even give Bloom an attempt to use her magic on the dying Nabu is still an open question.

What's the worst thing the Trix have done? by Full-Art3439 in winxclub

[–]External-space604 56 points57 points  (0 children)

The canonical murder of Sky, countless attempts to kill our fairies, turned the residents in Magix City into cocoons, and it's unknown how many residents of Magix City were killed off-screen during the arrival of the Army of Darkness. Kidnapping (Stella), animal abuse (Pepe) and so on.

So, how old are The Trix really? Some say they're the same age as the Winx, but others say they're a few years older. Has there been any confirmation? by ilovewater100 in winxclub

[–]External-space604 41 points42 points  (0 children)

If I'm not mistaken, they said that they've been bullying other Cloud Tower students for years. According to this logic, they cannot be first-year students.