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Jun 2026

Fatal Flaws

I find the idea of fatal flaws interesting. The perfect being, bestowed with unparalleled blessings, where greatness is inevitable, and yet- one thing about them, their life, their situation, causes their demise, their fall.

Often, it is the thing that they take for granted, the most. Be it Duryodhana's thighs, or Achilles' heel, Indra's pride or Karna's skills.

Myths, are ripe with such examples. I wonder if those are cautionary tales, or matter of fact- that every human being has one- the fatal flaw.

The soft boy has the most raging heart, the creative genius girl, within a day, goes through a range of emotions people seldom experience over a lifetime, the gym rat has the most crippling body dysmorphia and the geeky nerd can never focus on a thing in class. The workaholic fails at making any human interaction without alcohol in the mix and the national competitive exam ranker cannot breathe air that lacks validation.

I wonder if it is our fatal flaw that makes us, us. Regardless of how far we run from it, how much we try to "heal" from it, it finds a way to catch up- inextricably intertwined with our very idea of the self.

Losing the flaw would mean giving up on who you think you are, how you've known yourself, the shape of your desires and the taste of your blood- sweet, sour or just bitter.

Why do it? Why lose it? Where does the journey of losing your flaws, and thus every new version of yourself that your thought was better than the previous end? While we may romanticize this idea of constant evolution, how does one get over the exhaustion that comes with it? Having to deconstruct and rebuilt parts of you that you thought, were you.

Advait says your idea of yourself is but an illusion, trika says all you are is Shiva, the absurdist says nothing really matters, the existentials try finding meaning in this senseless cycle of construction and destruction.

I say it's pretty damn annoying. What do you mean I'm Shiva and I have to eat protein my body weight. What do you mean by I'm bramhan and I can't dissolve into jello at will, and why the hell is murder drone making tax free, but I must find meaning in my taxes?

I wonder if we're god's fatal flaw.