#Crab Interpretations and Meanings | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

astrobydalia · 4 months

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🪐 Astro Observations!!!✨

Happy 2024 babes! Here’s to another year sharing astrology stuff with all of you 🤩

work by astrobydalia

Yes water moons have great intuition and could be psychic but I very often notice they tend to allow their personal feelings interfere with their decisions and could tend to not follow their intuition as much. The ones that have a more reliable or unbiased intuition imo are Earth moons and Aquarius moon.

Scorpio Venus really do gravitate to unhealthy relationships… All their connections tend to have unfair or imbalanced dynamics to them where there’s no equal give and take. They believe love means throwing yourself and your life away for another person (or they expect someone to give everything away for them) with little to nothing in return. They may not understand the difference between deep intimacy and unhealthy attachment

Libra placements and their ability to appear likable even when they have the shittiest personality deep down

In my opinion Moon is the most important planet if you really wanna begin to know someone at their core. Ultimately no planet can give you full info without the context of the whole chart tho (#AllPlanetsMatter), but you can really uncarcarve sm about someone just by moon placement/aspects/degree, etc. Moon rules your needs and so it really cements your personality and its an energy that you'll project in so many areas of your life (relationships, career, etc)

Fixed Mars are ARGUMENTATIVE fr fr. They need to have the last word and will die on that hill if they have to💀Honorable mention: Virgo/Gemini Mars due to Mercury influence but they’re more about friendly banter and aren’t as stubborn

80% of Aries Moons I've met were very philosophical/spiritual/religious. They can develop a self-awareness that gives them a lot of wisdom. The other 20% were just adult toddlers and very egotistic...

Capricorn placements and their internalized elitism. They really do believe some people are better than others which is the shadow of Capricorn unfortunately

Aquarius Moons are some of the most traumatized people I know fr fr. Whenever I get to know their life and backstory Im always like bro….😶😶 It makes me so sad cause they always bring such good vibes everywhere (they have a playful aura) when in reality there’s a depth of pain underneath you wouldn’t even fathom through that unbothered persona. The OG misunderstood.

We all know Scorpio is all about depth, intensity and looking beyond the surface but I’ve very often observed the exact opposite in scorpio placements. They could tend to be very superficial, greedy and materialistic, more obsessed with wealth and status than any earth placement (it all comes down to power). In such cases their interest in occult or deep topics could also be superficial or opportunistic, like they only see it as something that could give them a leg up in life or help them avoid unseen threats but that's about it.

Cancer Risings do not come across as sensitive at all. They tend to have a rather sassy personality and are pretty defensive 90% of the time tbh. Think about it, are crabs 🦀 cute and cuddly? No, you actually actually have to be very careful around one cause they sting lol. They do wear their heart on their sleeves and are very sensitive and perceptive but because of this they constantly feel like their vulnerability is out for everyone to see hence the guarded attitude.

^I've also noticed they are VERY opinionated and will hold on very tightly to how they think/feel about something. This results in having a reputation for being kinda bold and sharp (Aries 10th). Pro tip: do NOT question these native's morals or integrity unless you wanna see a very snappy side to them, they respond very very very badly if you even insinuate that they might be hypocritical in their values/what matters to them

The interpretation that Aquarius in the 4th house means you’re an outcasted black sheep in the family low-key doesn’t make sense to me tbh. Aquarius is the sign of camaraderie, friendship, inclusivity and community. All the people that I’ve seen with this placement were actually very bonded to their roots and considered their family (and the people they bonded with during childhood) to be "their people" (they also keep their friends close to heart). These natives do tend to distinct themselves as they grow up but this is due to Leo 10th house. I've noticed their family is in general very supportive of them or at the very least they received some input in their upbringing that made them feel special and/or like their uniqueness was celebrated. Feel free to share your opinion/experience tho

I've noticed Virgo Mars people have a perfect balance between being confident in themselves and fulling trusting their abilities while also staying humble and acknowledge room for improvement. Very mature and self-accountable and they're also great people to work with cause they are highly appreciative of good contribution

Sagittarius placements and their ability to be casually rude in a charming way??? 😭

Moon in the 10th house do not have a reputation for being emotional at all, it's quite the opposite they dislike exposing their feelings like that. A lot of their energy is spent trying to appear put-together and emotionally stable. The ones I've noticed have a reputation for being moody or sensitive are Mars in the 10th house

Venus-Moon aspects probably grew up in an environment that fed up this idea they had to be beautiful and conventionally likable in order to be worthy of love. These natives tend to base their self-worth on the amount of emotional validation they get from others and struggle telling the difference between kindness and love

A couple notes on everyone’s fave topic: 8th house synastry

We all know this overlay deals with power dynamics. On a general basis I’ve noticed it’s the planet person who tends to have the upper hand. Exeption: Moon. When your moon falls in someone’s 8th house you tend to be vulnerable one due to the soft nature of this planet, but the house person secretly feels more intimidated

You will NAWT be able to keep secrets from someone you have 8th house synastry with specially if you’re the house person. Sooner or later they’ll see through you, circumstances might force you to expose yourself or you’ll simply feel drawn to revealing the truth to them. With water synastry in general you will feel drawn to share more deep or hidden parts of yourself/your life but with the 8th house you can’t help it, like there’s almost an accusatory tension between the two that grows the more you try to hide something from them

Something I see no one mentioning about 8th house synastry is the planet person always feels intimidated by the house person's success. The planet person will try to take part in the house person's success by taking some credit and have a sense of control over what belongs to the house person, it's giving Kanye's "I made that bitch famous". At best the planet person would want to help boost the house person's endeavors. Either way, when someone's planets land on your 8th house, you will never feel like something is completely yours anymore, somehow the planet person will "take" something away from you that you can't get back making you feel like you owe them or they owe you something big (8th house=debt), which is why this overlay very often goes south and tends to be very depleting.

If we're talking business (which 8th house deals with that) the house person is likely to take a risk on the planet person, invest on them (can be money, time, resources, trust, etc) in hopes that it'll pay off. The house person is most likely to loose something from their involvement with the planet person, but they can also gain a lot from the planet person if the investment pays off. In either case, one could tend to exploit the other if there’s any ill intent from the individual

Water mars people are very smothering in their affection tbh. Once you’ve been chosen, get ready to be bombarded by their attention a bit more each time. Secret stalker vibes.This doesn’t always mean they love you tho, if underdeveloped they may want to “bond” in order to have emotional control over you and use you. For them it’s easy to get what they want through manipulation so leading people on or fooling around is something they tend to do a lot

Going back to the affection topic, water venus are smothering too but they go about their obsession devotion in a much more soft and non-domineering way where they give a lot of power away to their partner

People with Gemini+Scorpio placements in their chart embody the mischievous trickster archetype fr fr. They’re funny but also a menace. Have an ease to become that type of deceitful manipulator who thrives in chaos

I have a theory that your Moon represents the kind of bond or relationship you have with your mother but Ceres represents how your mother actually is

Capricorn and Scorpio placements are huge tsunderes imo 😭

Chiron in Sagittarius/9th house have become disappointed with religious and/or academic institutions. For them both systems are essentially flawed and don't work or don't make sense

+When it comes to religion I've seen a lot of them being atheist and skeptics. Some others still believed in god/universe/etc. but they did not want to support any stablished religious institution and instead have preferred to craft their own belief system. In both cases, they saw the institutionalization of believe systems as something that hindered their freedom of thought and expansion

+When it comes to academics a very similar thing happens. They felt like collage and the educational system restricted their mind instead of expanding it so they just preferred to walk their own path and find growth elsewhere. A friend of mine with this placement quit collage and the other people I've seen who did finish it all said they had a kinda dreadful and/or unfulfilling collage experience which they low-key regret

If you’ve ever felt powerless in the house where you have your pluto, that’s because you gave your power away to the opposite house. For example, if you have Pluto in the 5th house and you felt powerless when it comes to expression, your creativity, etc that’s because you gave too much power to the public opinion/peer pressure (11th house) and what they may say about you if you express yourself genuinely

Scorpio Moons always battle with that "am I a good person?", "am I a monster deep down?" inner conflict. They are more in touch with darker emotions and experiences than the average person so for them it's particularly easy to channel their shadow. This can often make them doubt their own integrity or think they are doomed to never feel happiness and inner peace. This is moon's debilitation for a reason, their inner emotional world is ruled by chaos and turmoil and they tend to be a bit too comfortable (moon) in toxicity and drama, nothing is ever light-hearted for them. If developed this ability of staying in touch with the shadow side of things can actually give them lots of awareness and resilience for the darker sides of the world as well as a very solid moral compass and compassion

Leo Moons likely had grandiose standards forced on them that inflated their self-importance. It's giving "mommy told me I am the best and most special of all" which is great but now they be carrying that mindset for the rest of their lives and this is where lot of their infamous sensitivity and fragile ego comes from cause not fulfilling these standards deeply hurts their heart. In consequence they tend to be more unprepared to accept humbling experiences that'll make them mature

virgo risings are funny!!!! I haven't seen anyone mention this, but every virgo rising I've met cracked me UP, they are so witty and never misse a chance to throw in a cheeky joke every 2 minutes. I think this is overlooked because they keep a rather awkward demeanor to them which often makes for a rather dry delivery. Best examples of this are Ryan Raynolds, Keanue Reeves, Emma Watson, Cole Sprouse...

Also, all Virgo risings I've met tend to come across as huge snobs so it's very common that people don't take their humor or friendliness seriously

Honestly I've noticed this theme with Virgo/6th house inner placements in general where their judgemental nature always makes them unfriendly or snarky to some degree. They can be the kind of people who are never happy with anything and always have a bone to pick.

My main theory as to why Leo risings are the most shy out of all Leo placements is because a lot of them grew up in very problematic and dysfunctional families (Scorpio 4th house) where they were shamed for showing vulnerability or being genuine (Cancer 12th house)

I’ve noticed Aries Suns and Capricorn Suns tend to relate a lot to their fathers, they tend to have very similar character traits as their fathers. For good or for bad their relationship with their father is always very important in their personality.

I find that LEO Suns and Sagittarius Suns always be having daddy issues tho like 😭😭😭😭

One thing about Capricorn is they can be literal billionaires and yet will still refuse to spend a dime on something they think is not worth it

Mutable Moons don’t commit 10000% to things, they’re the type to always have a foot out just in case. They're most likely to commit to things if they don't feel forced or expected to stay permanently

Cardinal energy is very consistent and responsable. People with prominent cardinal placements have a really developed sense of agency, focus and direction (imo this will be more obvious with moon, mars and asc). There's something about them that always gives me this put together "I've got this" kinda vibe, they always seem like they've got it together and always know what to do even when they're lost.

Fixed mercuries and their inability to understand or accept that two different points can be true

Sun/Leo in the 3rd house could want to have a nice car, an expensive or luxurious car from a well-known brand

I’ve seen people saying Venus-Mars conjunction gives it girl vibes. This is also HIGHLY true for Mars-ruled Venus (Aries/Scorpio Venus) or Venus-ruled Mars (Libra/Taurus Mars)

work by astrobydalia

#astrology #astro #astro observations #astro notes #zodiac #birth chart #astrobydalia

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iamadequate1717 · 6 months

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Stede's Strange Day

I want to talk about Stede Bonnet's very strange day. Let's look at the progression of just what Stede sees.

He spends the night with his boyfriend for the first time, and his boyfriend brings him breakfast in bed like Doug did for Mary. They talk about their reunion. Stede is very happy right now!

His boyfriend tells him that he envisioned him as a beautiful merperson and that he thinks he saved his life.

They get dressed, and they go out on a breakfast date on the town. Stede tells Ed about the letters he wrote, and Ed loved that!

Stede then discovers he has a fanclub! Ed laughs and is happy for him! They're going to go down to Jackie's so Stede can enjoy this some more!

Ed throws in some light banter/teasing about this turn of events, and Stede literally squeals before they run off giggling together.

They get to Jackie's, and Ed continues to encourage Stede!

Ed leaves him to it! "Enjoy the night" are his parting words.

So Stede enjoys the night!

He's being accepted! And he still talks about his boyfriend while being fawned over!

Everyone tells him he's awesome! He offs an assassin while saying something cool! No one is making fun of him!

After a bit, he goes to find Ed to share in his fun! He's had a great day.

Only, he's immediately met with this with no context: Ed regrets being with him! Ed is leaving immediately!

Remember: Ed's last words to him were "Enjoy the night!" This is complete emotional whiplash. Stede knows right away what the problem is, but Ed shuts it down.

Ed wants to be a fisherman! A proclamation completely out of the blue! Stede tries to talk him down. That fish wasn't so awesome that it should completely change Ed's life trajectory, casting Stede out of the way.

Ed disagrees and abandons Stede with no real explanation or listening to what Stede was trying to say, which isn't a great move for a healthy relationship.

Basically, Stede spent a few hours (only a few hours!) enjoying himself (in a manner that Ed encouraged him to!). He did nothing awful (because murder is cool in this show), and was a lot tamer than what Ed and company were doing in 1x8 (turtle vs crab is mean!).

I'm going to go more into Stede defense in another post. "Last night was a mistake" is an egregious phrasing to use with the man you love who has self esteem and trauma issues (we know what he means but it can be interpreted much worse), but Stede took it in stride. But for some reason people act like Stede committed war crimes with the fish comment? Ed sharing his day and Ed excising himself from Stede's life are different contexts and the fish is viewed differently in each lens. It was an OK fish, and Stede did nothing wrong. Stede is right that Ed is a coward, and I don't think Stede saying a few slightly harsh things in the heat of the moment when being blindsided like this is a character flaw.

Ed behaved appallingly in shutting down the conversation and refusing to even give context to what was going on. With 1x9&10 and Stede deciding Ed was better off without him, I saw plenty of comments about how Stede couldn't make a major life decision for Ed like that. With this, Ed has made a major life decision for Stede (I'm going to dump him and remove myself before he can choose piracy over me!), but I have yet to see the same comments, and I know exactly why that is.

...

More Stede defense!:

#ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2e7 #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #stede bonnet #miscommunication #stede did nothing wrong #ofmd #our flag means death #stede defense #ofmd 2x07

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ardafanonarch · 24 days

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maybe a silly one: thoughts on crablor?

Crab-Lore

For those who have yet to encounter him, “Crablor” is a portmanteau of “Crab” and “Maglor”, i.e., the crab Maglor became after his many ages of wandering the shores in pain and regret. Crablor is fanon. It was born here.

As @faustandfurious wrote in that very post there is no canon about Maglor’s eventual fate. (You can read about the various ways Maglor ended, or didn’t, here).

But the idea of Elven crabification in general does have some basis in canon!

In his writings on Elven fading in Morgoth’s Ring, Tolkien talks about the fëa (spirit) consuming the hröa (body):

As ages passed the dominance of their fëar ever increased, 'consuming' their bodies (as has been noted). The end of this process is their 'fading', as Men have called it; for the body becomes at last, as it were, a mere memory held by the fëa; and that end has already been achieved in many regions of Middle-earth, so that the Elves are indeed deathless and may not be destroyed or changed. The History of Middle-earth Vol. 10: Morgoth’s Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, ‘Laws B’ (p. 219)

This was not, however, Tolkien’s last thought on the matter. In a marginal note on the entry for hröa published in the linguistic journal Parmasan Eldalamberon (Vol. 12), Tolkien revisits the metaphysical implications of Elven fading:

What of a hröa that resists fading? It is not then consumed by the fëa, but compressed by the process of containing it; by which it will in time be overcome, though at great expense to the strength of the fëa, for this at last takes possession of the changed hröa as its ‘casement’.

What?

This note Tolkien clearly did not intend to be seen or interpreted by anyone but himself, and its meaning is rather opaque. What he seems to be describing, however, is a slow process of shrinking and shapeshifting, from body to “casement”, in cases where a hröa resists fading.

Casement as in… shell? As in… exoskeleton? Elves who resist fading become crabs?

Okay, so that probably wasn’t what Tolkien meant, but I can find nothing to contradict it. Let us assume, for our amusement, that the hröa - casement transformation is, or can be, into a crab.

The next question is: Might Maglor have resisted fading?

If one imagines his fate in the published Silmarillion as self-punitive (a reading supported by the alternate versions in which he does in fact commit suicide like Maedhros), it would makes sense that he might resist fading as a sort of release from his punishment. Or perhaps the metaphysics of the Oath had some interference in his ability to fade in the usual fashion.

In which case, Maglor may very well have been one of the Elves who became a crab. Or something like it.

ETA: Happy April Fool's.

#crablor #maglor #elven fading #history of middle-earth #parmasan eldalamberon #happy april 1

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dyketubbo · 1 year

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lesbian related discourse tires me out sm. first it was aro/ace lesbians then it was nonbinary lesbians then it was he/him lesbians and it/its lesbians and now its bi/pan/mspec lesbians like when are all of you going to realize that the lesbian experience is extremely diverse and has never been as strict as "women who only identify as women who love exclusively women who only identify as women". like this goes for many identities but lesbians end up at the forefront a lot and it makes me wonder if any of you actually give a shit about queer history because istg lesbian separatism has been reinvented like 50 times in the past decade.

stop convincing each other that the queer experience is nothing but strictly defined boxes and labels that can always be condensed into one sentence. lesbians can experience a lack of sexual attraction and a lack of romantic attraction and lesbians can be nonbinary and lesbians can be gnc and when you actually go into what those last two mean you should realize that yes this means sometimes lesbians are men because genderfluid and bigender and trigender and transmasc and whatever gender lesbians exist and when you actually goes into what THAT means you should realize yes actually people combining labels like mspec and lesbian makes perfect sense because of fucking course orientation and gender and whatever else you consider to be apart of your queer experience is all fluid its all up to personal interpretation

its not shit like bi lesbians or mogai or aroace people or gnc people or "trenders" or it/its users or whatever fucking bonafide weirdos that are ruining the community its the people who want to sort everyone into neat little boxes because they cant handle that sometimes you arent going to understand other peoples experiences. its fine if mspec lesbians dont make sense to you. its fine if it doesnt make sense to you how someone could use it/its, if it doesnt make sense how a lesbian could consider himself transmasc, if it doesnt make sense how someone could seriously mean "my gender feels like a star", if whatever queer experience you run into doesnt make sense.

someone's identity does not have to make sense for you to respect them as a person and realize that exclusionary behavior is nothing but a crabs in a bucket type mentality. not only have "weird" queer people existed since fucking forever, but even if they didnt the human experience is diverse and we still dont know everything about the world and why the fuck would you decide that no actually if it cant be understood it must be bad and you need to find out reasons for it to be bad. focus on the people who are actively hurting others, taking advantage of vulnerable people, dont become one of them. dont become one of the people who scorns anything they dont understand and hurts innocent people in the quest of getting rid of anyone who they deem is abnormal. its fucked up and being any type of exclusionist is fucked up.

bi lesbians, as an overall community, is just a bunch of people who decided that a complicated label fits their complicated attraction and thats Fine. it is literally fine. being a lesbian was never about being strictly a woman who strictly loves other women who are strictly women. its about loving women in a gay/queer way, whatever that means for the individual. if an individual person is using it in a transphobic way, then thats a fault of the person, not the label. but at its core, all the identity is about is about recognizing that attraction is complicated and identity is complicated and not everyone is comfortable putting themself in neat boxes for other people to scrutinize until they Get It.

to any mspec lesbians (and hell, any mspec gays) who are reading this: im proud of you and theres nothing wrong with recognizing that your identity is complicated and maybe even contradictory. its Your experiences and no one has the right to say that youre inherently a bad person simply because they heard some strawman arguments and decided to believe in fallacy over reality. and because its probably obvious why im making this yeah maia arson crimew is literally fine its an absolute legend actually and i hope that its okay. fuck anyone who was a piece of shit to it because they cant handle someone being openly complicated and contradictory and unabashedly "Weird"

#mask mews #bi lesbian #mspec lesbian #lesbian #only putting it on this blog because i want everyone who follows me here to know my stance #before any mcyt antis or whatever bother me i want dream dead and i hate schlatt dont bother me i just like roleplay #a lot of this blog is made up of me criticizing a lot of these creators do not even try me. thx xoxo

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kemetic-dreams · 4 months

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Simbi water spirits are revered in Hoodoo originating from Central African spiritual practices. When Africans were enslaved in the United States, they blended African spiritual beliefs with Christian baptismal practices. Enslaved African Americans prayed to Simbi water spirits during their baptismal services. In 1998, in a historic house in Annapolis, Maryland called the Brice House archaeologists unearthed Hoodoo artifacts inside the house that linked to the Kongo people. These artifacts are the continued practice of the Kongo's minkisi and nkisi culture in the United States brought over by enslaved Africans. For example, archeologists found artifacts used by enslaved African Americans to control spirits by housing spirits inside caches or nkisi bundles. These spirits inside objects were placed in secret locations to protect an area or bring harm to slaveholders. "In their physical manifestations, minkisi (nkisi) are sacred objects that embody spiritual beings and generally take the form of a container such as a gourd, pot, bag, or snail shell. Medicines that provide the minkisi with power, such as chalk, nuts, plants, soil, stones, and charcoal, are placed in the container." Nkisi bundles were found in other plantations in Virginia and Maryland. For example, nkisi bundles were found for the purpose of healing or misfortune. Archeologists found objects believed by the enslaved African American population in Virginia and Maryland to have spiritual power, such as coins, crystals, roots, fingernail clippings, crab claws, beads, iron, bones, and other items assembled together inside a bundle to conjure a specific result for either protection or healing. These items were hidden inside slaves' dwellings. These practices were concealed from slaveholders.

In Darrow, Louisiana at the Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation historians and archeologists unearthed Kongo and Central African practices inside slave cabins. Enslaved Africans in Louisiana conjured the spirits of Kongo ancestors and water spirits by using seashells. Other charms were found in several slave cabins, such as silver coins, beads, polished stones, bones, and were made into necklaces or worn in their pockets for protection. These artifacts provided examples of African rituals at Ashland Plantation. Slaveholders tried to stop African practices among their slaves, but enslaved African Americans disguised their rituals by using American materials and applying an African interpretation to them and hiding the charms in their pockets and making them into necklaces concealing these practices from their slaveholders. In Talbot County, Maryland at the Wye House plantation where Frederick Douglass was enslaved in his youth, Kongo related artifacts were found. Enslaved African Americans created items to ward off evil spirits by creating a Hoodoo bundle near the entrances to chimneys which was believed to be where spirits enter. The Hoodoo bundle contained pieces of iron and a horse shoe. Enslaved African Americans put eyelets on shoes and boots to trap spirits. Archaeologists also found small carved wooden faces. The wooden carvings had two faces carved into them on both sides which were interpreted to mean an African American conjurer who was a two-headed doctor. Two-headed doctors in Hoodoo means a conjurer who can see into the future and has knowledge about spirits and things unknown.

At Levi Jordan Plantation in Brazoria, Texas near the Gulf Coast, researchers suggests the plantation owner Levi Jordan may have transported captive Africans from Cuba back to his plantation in Texas. These captive Africans practiced a Bantu-Kongo religion in Cuba, and researchers excavated Kongo related artifacts at the site. For example, archeologists found in one of the cabins called the "curer's cabin" remains of an nkisi nkondi with iron wedges driven into the figure to activate its spirit. Researchers found a Kongo bilongo which enslaved African Americans created using materials from white porcelain creating a doll figure. In the western section of the cabin they found iron kettles and iron chain fragments. Researchers suggests the western section of the cabin was an altar to the Kongo spirit Zarabanda

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wwouldvecouldveshouldve · 4 months

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warmth

what makes their heart warm?

[ ft. verlaine, dazai, atsushi, and kyoka. can be interpreted as platonic or romantic (kyoka is strictly platonic!) ]

Dazai isn't someone who easily trusts people, that's for sure. The only way to get to his heart is consistency and being genuine.

It starts with noticing how he doesn't eat much, and you heard him mention how he likes canned crab. So you got him just that one day, and left it on his desk. He'd figure out who it's from easily, I mean, it's Dazai we're talking about. When he needs something, you'll be there. You respond to texts and calls on time, and get him thoughtful things from time to time. Not to say that you aren't firm with him. He's gotta do his work, he's gotta fill his share. Over time, you'll get to him- without a doubt. It'll take an ungodly amount of patience to get through with everything, but so long as you're both together in the end, that's okay.

Atsushi is precious, but that's obvious! Little things from the people he cares about make him so, so happy. You helped him finish some documents? RWIJBSWEWSILDEM. You made him lunch? YOU'RE TOO KIND! Every little thing people do for him makes him feel warm inside. Just knowing people care for him and will take time out of their schedule to do something for him makes him unimaginably happy. Still, sometimes you have to reassure him that he isn't a burden because you did that. You're doing this because you care about him, not because he's being any sort of a burden to you. You want to do that, especially because he isn't a burden at all. (Potentially just makes him cry more but it's happy tears, I swear)

Verlaine is not open to affection at first. Still, patience is a virtue, and you'll stick through it to pry open his heart a little. It starts with spending some time together, getting to know each other from an arm's length. You get to know him at least a little, and you see what you can do from their. He's fascinating, so of course you want to learn more. So you do, and since you know how to keep a promise, he tells you a little more. Next time you come, you think of a gift he'd like. It's a journal, so when you're not there to talk with him, he can at least empty his innermost thoughts onto the page. You dare not read it, it's not yours to read. It's a long time later when he tells you about his so-called lack of humanity. You laugh in the face of his bullshit- he's never been any less than human to you. Since he seemed to like using the diary, you come around more so he can have someone to talk to face-to-face. And so comes a dynasty of trust and late-night confessions.

[ strictly platonic! ]

The moment you heard Kyoka some of Kyoka's likes and dislikes, you knew exactly what to do. Some days a little rabbit plush would appear on her desk when she had a bad day, other times a plate of tofu when she forgot to eat lunch. You would chat with her on missions every once in a while. You looked out for her instead of looking to use her, so she returned the sentiment. She figured out who was doing the gifts so she began to do the same with you, so it was mutually helping each other out through without actually saying a word about who was doing it with the other. You two never even talked about the gifts, even though you two talked all the time with each other. You acted like siblings, which does entail talking about dumb things and doing even dumber competitions, but that's only to get each other's minds off of bad days. Just caring for her when she's vulnerable is heartwarming.

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And that's it for my first post. Sfw requests are open! I love you all and have an amazing day.

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regular-gnome · 7 months

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Time for a random hill I am willing to die on, so what in the Titans name is Hooty

beginning with few things we know:

He is a bug type demon and demons are born from a titans body & magic

House demons are not common but also not extremely rare (coven heads are confused in Hollow Mind but Amity is like, yea, house demons do be like that)

Hooty is not dependent on the place he lives in - can freely detach himself from the house and just go somewhere what does not affect neither him nor the house

Hooty is terrotorial and protects the place he lives in

There are organs with own pulse inside the walls of the Owl House

All of this being said, I believe demons later called "house" demons were born from wounds on titans body. After titan got hurt, lost an eye in some manner, a bug type demon formed or moved into the wound establishing in there sort of symbiotic relationship. Maybe protecting the space from other creatures that did try to feed on the wound. Long after titans were gone they just continued to live in crevices and protect spaces around them what was later was used by witches to guard their homes earning them the name "house" demon.

Role of house demons on titans might be similar to the one of Oxpeckers on big animals that are unable to get rid of small parasites. Titans are huge and seeing how some characters were literally walking through their empty veins it would be extremely difficult for them to get rid of pests themselves.

On how is he attached to the space around him, I think he might have some kind of specialised organ letting him attach and form new connections to the space around him.

With time the connections gaining mass and requiring better energy flow they start form organs around the space and a circulation system (that's why there is a pulse even after Hooty is not longer in the door). And that's also why King, Lilith and Luz might have had such disgusted reactions to seeing him leave his place. But whatever he uses to attach to the house it might be pretty vulnerable, so he acts like a hermit crab getting from one shell to another and thats how we get porta Hooty.

But HEY if he has organs that connect him to the house why can he just take of his skin like a sock. My brother in Titan. Skin is a organ too and we literally saw him leave some spare ones in the door. There is literally nothing that says he even requires it and cant be just a skeleton horror with only the essentials near base of his body.

On why I dont think he is a parasite like Cymothoa exigua (tongue eating louse) is because I'm pretty sure Titan would be able to get rid of them himself (and it would mean Hooty ate his way into the titan witch I refuse to consider). It can't be comfortable to have a weird bug in your eye socket just singing to themself all day, so they had to have benefited from it somehow, or at least didnt mind, as Hooty is protective of his space that wouldnt be a strech. Also if they were parasites it would just add insult to injury if they hanged around even after death xD

Im sure Im not the first one to have this thought but I literally searched for theories on him and only found the parasite interpretation witch I don't vibe that much with

and while we are at the topic of Hooty I highly encourage to listen to unhinged Dutch Hooty, I was in tears the first time I heard him. Apologies for video quality tho, it refused work any other way

#and a side note #parasitism is just one type of a symbiotic relationship #and the relationship entirely revolves on that do both parties get from it #other types include mutualism commensalism and competition #so even if we conclude hooty is a parasite its still a demon that establishes a sort of symbiotic relationship with titans #I had 4h physics class but my brain had other plans #condutors were not part of it #toh #the owl house #hooty #hooty toh #toh analysis #titans toh #tw parasite #tw body horror #again

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windvexer · 2 years

Text

growth in witchcraft as shedding of snake-skin

Sort of obvious, but I had to learn it (like everything else) the hard way. And as spooky season approaches and people may be revitalizing their practices after breaks, I want to say something that might end up saving a couple folks from a lot of frustration and heartbreak:

Just because it worked that way for you in the past, doesn't mean that's how it works for you now.

I mean this in a literal, making-stuff-happen with magic and sorcery way.

You guys have heard the adage that some spirit guides are with you for life, some for short periods, some for just one lesson, etc., right?

Well, the same can be said for sorcerous techniques.

I don't know if I just shed techniques like hermit crabs shed shells or what, but this happens to me a lot. Here's the kind of thing I mean:

You used to do readings with a specific little ritual involving a prayer and incense, but now that technique seems to produce incorrect readings. It feels flat and you can tell you're not connecting.

You used to be able to tie intent into knots and carry the thread around with you all day to conjure specific little occurrences, but now it barely seems to work and manifestation is spotty.

You used to be able to converse with spirits by going into a deep meditation, but now when you try you can hardly connect and it's like their messages are getting blotted out.

And I think sometimes when these things happen, people tend to process this with:

self-blame (I'm not a devoted enough witch, I brought this on myself!),

scapegoating spiritual allies (I used to pray to Hekate before divination but now my divination doesn't work, so Hekate must be mad at me), or

developing personal doubt (I used to think magic worked but now I can't replicate my own results).

When the reality is, if you're a magical snickity-snek and you've shed your skin, you might be slithering about in the soil trying to do the little old things that no longer fit the bigger, better you.

Sometimes this "shedding" is very obvious and we can feel and taste it. "Shedding" may come before, during, or after a period of intense personal transformation. It may come in a numinous moment when you hear a single phrase, or view a single image, that makes you become the Hanged Man and see reality in a whole new way.

But it can also happen without us really noticing it. I might put down my tarot cards for a couple months, pick them up again, and suddenly the ways I used to read don't work for me any more.

It's not because I'm a bad reader, or that the spirits have abandoned me, or that magic isn't real.

It's because what used to work for me doesn't any more, and now I just need to find new techniques.

So if you're trying to pick up what used to work and it just doesn't seem to be helping any more, consider that it's just like outgrowing an old set of clothes. Nothing is wrong with you, or the clothes. It just doesn't fit any more.

Since I think it'd be frustrating as hell to read a post like this without some actionable steps, below the cut are some ideas that might help you develop new techniques if your old ones seem to be failing you.

Start with your beliefs

Examine your own rituals and see if what you're doing still matches what you believe. Let's say you used to pray to Hekate and light incense before divination, but now you do that and your divination doesn't work.

Do you believe Hekate is allowing your divination to be possible? Do you believe she's the best goddess to seek aide from at this time?

What role does the incense play? Is it an offering to Hekate? Is it to feed the ancestors who supply you with interpretations? Is it just to set the correct tone and atmosphere?

Maybe you've grown in your relationship with divinity, and you now believe it's more proper to call on gods with formal prayers - but your divination ritual still uses a simple, improvised prayer.

Maybe your understanding of Hekate has changed and it feels more suitable to call on different powers.

Maybe you feel strangely about constantly "paying" gods to help you, when they say they don't need it - and lighting the incense makes you feel awkward.

Change what you're doing to match what you believe. That's always a solid first step.

Examine your own emotions and reactions

Try performing rituals (from the smallest ritual of stirring intent into coffee, to full-blown compass-casting affairs under the full moon) mindfully.

Be aware of what you're doing as you do it, but also try to examine your own reactionary thoughts and feelings.

Suppose my ritual of stirring my coffee seven times clockwise to manifest a desired emotion doesn't work any more. It used to work great, for years, so I do it quickly. But now it doesn't work, so I do it mindfully.

And while I'm stirring, I watch a few thoughts pop up to the surface: why am I doing this seven times? I'm stirring my coffee for too long and staring into it like an idiot, and it's embarrassing. What if someone thinks I'm weird?

If any individual step of a ritual makes you feel embarrassed, stressed, or avoidant, or if you feel relief from not having to do that any more - that technique is probably not serving you very well.

Seek out methods that make you feel excited, hopeful, empowered, or interested. Or, at the very least, ones that don't make you feel bad.

Be open to shifting your paradigm entirely

Going back to the stirring coffee thing, maybe I think stirring seven times is too much. So I try to stir my coffee three times. But that still feels clunky.

Then I get into left-handed vs right-handed stirring, because someone might have said that doing stuff with your right hand is for blessings.

Then I try out a new little inner mantra while I stir X times with Y hand.

But it's just not working. No matter what I try, it feels like walking barefoot on a gravel road.

So maybe I just need to do something entirely different.

Maybe numerology isn't my thing any more. Maybe now, I just need to embrace my inner divine creator.

Maybe I should think about the ultimately powerful creative energy within rich, black soil - and as I pour my coffee, I can imagine that I'm pouring pure creative energy into my divine cauldron. When I sprinkle in a little sugar, I'm seasoning that creative power to my personal tastes - and no matter how many times I stir it, when I drink that creative power, a new reality blossoms from within me.

No numbers. No memorized chants. No left hand/right hand stuff. Just me, imagining myself as a planet, drinking pure creative energy that will bloom out of my aura as wildflowers bloom in the spring.

Ask for help

I'm not called fool for no reason, and after a couple years of being unable to astral travel - after having successfully done so for years - I finally sat down and asked my spirits for help.

The answer was immediate and simple. So simple, in fact, that I was confident it wouldn't work at all.

Well, of course it worked. I spent years trying to figure out the problem on my own, trying time and time again to use an old technique that I was confident would work. It took a goddess like four seconds to tell me the new way it worked for me.

Even if you're not in communication with spiritual allies, you can still perform divination to help troubleshoot your own magical skills. Try asking a series of questions: what doesn't work for you any more, what you should try, and what you should avoid trying.

When divining, consider the different "levels" of application. A reading that means "don't use excessive force" might refer to high-level life stuff, like, you're working too hard on all your responsibilities right now, learn to relax and the magic will come. But, it might also be referring to something very specific, like, you're trying to raise huge amounts of energy in individual rituals, break them up into smaller spells where much less force is required for each one.

#witchblr #witch community #witch tips #troubleshooting

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maniculum · 4 months

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scorpion in a 8th/9th century manuscript from the monastery of fulda (Basel, Universitätsbibl., F III 15a, fol. 23r)

[Image ID: a rough line drawing of a creature with the general outline of a horseshoe crab. On the left side are four spikes that probably represent legs; on the right are three. It has a tail and pincers, but the pincers appear to have eyes and odd triple-forked tongues, apparently being interpreted as snake's heads. The tail has a circle and a line drawn on it near the end that indicates it might also be a snake's head, but with its mouth closed.]

Okay, that's... that's something. I've got to assume that this is the work of someone who was presented with a more-or-less-correct silhouette of a scorpion -- maybe a drawing light on detail, much like this one -- and tried to interpret it in a way that makes sense to them. So the pincers become... snake heads, because it's venomous? Right? And maybe the tail too? Honestly I kind of like the creativity. Looks like they've screwed up the legs on the right side, though, assuming that's what those are meant to be. And I'm not sure why the snakes' tongues are forked three ways instead of two.

Points:

Small Scuttling Beaſtie? ✓

Pincers? i mean, kind of? they're there, but they have tongues... ½

Exoskeleton or Shell? ✓

Visible Stinger? fine you can have this one, ✓

Limbs? 9

As for vibes, this is a tough one. The creativity is respectable, but this is generally a mess. And I can't picture this critter in any way that makes me okay with it being around me, so I'm going with a 2 / 5.

Total points:

6.4 / 10

Taking some big swings here.

#medieval scorpions

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yuurei20 · 9 months

Text

Rook nickname compilation, English vs Japanese vs French

Grim JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Kemukujara JP Meaning: Monsieur Thick Fur

NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Peluche JP Meaning: Monsieur Plush

(Both the pronunciation and meaning were changed on NA for Grim, as well as for Jade Floyd, Jamil, and Epel)

Prefect JP/NA Pronunciation/Meaning: Trickster

Neige JP/NA Pronunciation: Roi des Neiges JP Meaning: King of White Snow

Ace / Deuce JP/NA Pronunciation/Meaning: Monsieur Heart JP/NA Pronunciation/Meaning: Monsieur Spade

Cater NA/JP Pronunciation/Meaning: Monsieur Magicam

Riddle JP/NA Pronunciation: Roi des Roses

("de" during the Phantom Bride event, but that may have been a mistake)

JP/NA Meaning: King of Roses

Trey JP Pronunciation: Bara no chevalier NA Pronunciation: Chevalier des roses

JP/NA Meaning: Knight of Roses

(While both Trey and Riddle have "roses" in the meaning of their nicknames, Riddle's is translated while Trey's is not: his "roses" pronunciation is in Japanese)

Leona JP/NA Pronunciation: Roi des lions JP/NA Meaning: King of Lions

Ruggie JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Tanpopo NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Dent-de-lion

JP/NA Meaning: Monsieur Dandelion

(NA gets a pun, as "dent-de-lion" is French for dandelion but literally means "tooth of the lion")

Jack JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Tough Guy NA Pronunciation: Monsieur fier-a-bras (should be fier-à-bras)

NA Meaning: Monsieur Braggart

Floyd JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Yukai-Han JP Meaning: Monsieur "Joyous crime (a crime perpetrated out of enjoyment of the commotion that follows)

NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Spontané NA Meaning: Monsieur Spontaneous

Jade JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Keikaku-Han NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Prémédité

JP Meaning: Monsieur Premeditated/Deliberate Crime NA Meaning: Monsieur Premeditated

Azul JP Pronunciation: this is possibly incorrect French, and sounds like it could be either "Roi de fort" (which should be Roi du fort) or "Roi d'effort” NA Pronunciation: Roi de Fort during a vignette, Roi de l'Effort during Beanfest

JP/NA Meaning: King of Effort

Kalim JP Pronunciation: possibly incorrect French, and sounds like it could be "Roi d'or NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Dore / Doré

JP/NA Meaning: King of Gold / Golden King

(The pronunciation (ドゥール) does not match d'or (ドル) or doré (ドレ) ("dore" is not a word) so it is a mystery)

Jamil JP Pronunciation/Meaning: Monsieur Multi NA Pronunciation/Meaning: Monsieur Pyramide

Vil JP/NA Pronunciation: Roi du Poison JP/NA Meaning: King of Poison

(Vil is the only person for whom Rook does not use an honorific, using "-kun" for all other characters when using first names, which he does often.)

Rook JP/NA Pronunciation: le Chasseur d'Amour JP/NA Meaning: the hunter of love

Epel JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Hime-Ringo (Literally: Monsieur princess apple) NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Pommette

JP Meaning: Monsieur Crab Apple NA Meaning: the part of the cheek that rises up when you smile, this can also be interpreted as an apple pun (pomme = apple)

Idia JP Pronunciation: possibly incorrect French, sounds like it could be "Roi de te chambre" NA Pronunciation: Roi de sa chambre

JP Meaning: King of one's own room NA Meaning: King of his own room

Ortho (until Book 6) JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Oningyou NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Marionette

JP Meaning: Monsieur Doll

Ortho (after Book 6) JP/NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Wonder JP Meaning: Monsieur Miracle

Lilia JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Koukishin NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Curiosité

JP/NA Meaning: Monsieur Curiosity

Malleus JP/NA Pronunciation: Roi des dragons JP/NA Meaning: King of dragons

Sebek JP/NA/Pronunciation/Meaning: Monsieur Crocodile

Silver JP Pronunciation: Monsieur Onebou NA Pronunciation: Monsieur Endormi

JP Meaning: Monsieur Sleepyhead NA Meaning: Monsieur Asleep

#twstRook #Rook Hunt #Rook nicknames #twisted wonderland #twst translations

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purpleisnotacolor · 10 months

Text

Okay, you know what?

I'm going back and forth on "crab day" in my mind and...

Yeah, Tumblr totally could interpret it maliciously and do a bunch of sucky things anyway...

But they could always can do that, crabs or no crabs.

Even if crab day doesn't work as a "see! Look! You don't need advertisers :3 " it'll still have been something positive the users did. It'll still be some decent money going into the site not shutting down.

So yeah, some bad features might still get added, some good features removed, but you can't improve a dead site, so we should at least keep it alive long enough to "make demands"

In short:

Tumblr can't be improved if there is no Tumblr!

...so being mean to get things changed will wait for a bit.

(and I know Tumblr isn't "my friend", I know it's a company run by people and not an individual person, I know they're not all working out of the kindness of their heart, they're working for money, but that's the point! They're working for money to make a product/service I like! So if we want the product, at least some of us are going to have to buy it!)

#crab day

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mu-me-kani-kama-kani-miso · 4 months

Text

Welcome! ⸜(๑⃙⃘' ᵕ '๑⃙⃘)⸝⋆︎*

I draw original manga under the pen name @ mu-me. When creating fan art, I use the pen name @ kani-miso or @ kani-kama.

My pen name comes from the Japanese words mu無 "nothing" and me.

Feeling as if kindness has been lost in this world, when my own existence seems on the verge of fading away, I want to connect with kind individuals in a gentle world where, in the end, compassionate people come together. With this in mind, I named myself "mu-me."

*✩︎ ̀⁽⸌̠̇⸍̠̇⁾ ́@ kani-miso

"Kani" means "I" in Ainu, and "miso" refers to the Japanese ingredient "味噌" (fermented soybean paste). However, in Romanized form, "kani" translates to "crab" in Japanese and English. In Japan, the innards of the crab are known as "かに味噌" (kanimiso) and are favored as a luxury ingredient. Although it differs from traditional miso, both in taste and appearance. Additionally, "かに味噌" (kanimiso) can be interpreted as "crab brain," and since "kani" means "I" in Ainu, I have infused the name Kani-miso with the meaning "my brain."

*✩︎ ̀⁽⸌̠̇⸍̠̇⁾ ́@ kani-kama

In Japan, there is an inexpensive food called "Kanikama" (imitation crab or fish cake), which mimics the texture, shape, color, and fragrance of the luxurious ingredient, crab (written as "kani" in Romanized Japanese). To draw a parallel in fan art terms, while the original is the high-end crab, what I create could be likened to an imitation crab stick (fish cake) resembling the original. Additionally, crab claws can resemble scythes (written as "kama" in Romanized Japanese), serving as the crab's defensive weapon. Similarly, for me, drawing becomes a form of self-defense, akin to my own weapon. Therefore, I infused the name with the meaning "my weapon," combining "kani" (meaning "I" in Ainu) and "kama."

Thank you for reading this far! I'm not confident in English, so I use a translation tool for posting on Tumblr and browsing everyone's pages. There might be typos or misreadings, but I hope you can overlook them. Although I'm a slow artist, I plan to post drawings at my own pace and enjoy the process. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to connect if our interests align! ◡̈︎*♚︎‧*˚✩︎‧₊˚

#my art #original art #fanart #original comic #self introduction

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gffa · 11 months

Note

Is it just me or do most anidala shippers have fanonized their relationship in a way? Like whenever it's discussed by those who ship them there always talking about aus or disregarding canon (ie the Clovis Arc). And it always rubs me the one way because it's almost like they don't actually ship the canon version of anidala, but rather a fanon version they came up with because they don't like the fact that there relationship ends badly and is just generally an unhealthy relationship (idk if there relationship being unhealthy was intentional or not but it certainly looks like it)

I'm gonna say something that's going to make me sound supremely boring and I'm sorry that it won't be more interesting. 😂 But if Anidala shippers want to take the stance of the ship being softer than I might write it: Good for them! I hope they're living their best life. I say this as someone who has been reading a crapload of DC fic where I lean towards a softer take on the characters than someone else might, where you might say the exact same thing (details changed) about my interest in the characters' relationships, that I don't go for the canon version, but instead go for a version that's not as unhealthy. And you know what? Good for me, too! I am living my best life! I'm not trying to dismiss what you're saying, it's frustrating to run into views of characters that clash with our own, especially when it feels like there's something really interesting about what we're seeing in the canon that seems to get dismissed by others. I personally do enjoy a more dysfunctionally leading Anidala because I like bite in my character dynamics! But after seven years of this fandom constantly hounding me for liking the Jedi in ways that other people would say aren't "canon", I have decided that anyone who just wants to enjoy their thing, whether in a more fucked up way or in a softer way than I like, I wish them all the fun in the world, have a blast, you guys! I'm gonna have a blast over here, too. As long as the Anidala shippers aren't being assholes to people who have different views but are staying in their own lanes (and, let's be fair, there's always some assholes in any subset of Star Wars fandom, but none of those subsets are a monolith), then I don't have to read their posts if I'm not into their content, just like people don't have to read my posts if they don't like my take on the Jedi, you know? Let's all walk away from interpretations we don't like, let's all leave room for others to be invested in things they want to be invested in, because what they like isn't any of my business if I'm not also into it. I mean, let's be clear, I'll crab to friends about things I find personally frustrating, in the whole CATER TO ME, FANDOM!!!! tongue in cheek kind of way, but genuinely if someone is just doing their thing in their own corner and leaving me alone, especially if they're coming from a place of "I love this dynamic!" instead of "here's why the Jedi suck and let me throw in some shade at real life religions along the way", then I'm fine with that. And it's made me a lot happier on a personal level to just let some of that stuff go, you know?

#lumi.txt #anidala for blacklist

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prismaticpichu · 4 months

Note

🔥 for Sephiroth fan fiction and shipping (This is meant as how his character is treated more than anything else)

Ohohooo!! You got it!!!

Alrighty, full disclosure, folks: I love Sephiroth, and I love reading almost anything he’s in, love almost all interpretations and angles bc he’s such a complex character and people do such an amazing job exploring that….. but I really, really do NOT like when people treat adult Sephiroth like some kinda hermit crab who doesn’t know the basic things about the world around him. What do I mean by that? Give this man a chocolate chip cookie, and imo, he should know what a chocolate chip cookie is. Just bc he spent his childhood under Hojo’s cookieless thumb does not mean he doesn’t know that desserts exist. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what a hug is. Yes, he may not have ever had a cookie or many hugs (thanks, Glenn <33), but this man was still in the outside world fighting a war and then spent years in ShinRa with the exposure of SOLDIERs and two relatively-adjusted best friends. This man is INTELLIGENT—not just in swordscraft or mathematics or like advanced astrophysics or whatever obscure college textbook he got his hands on. He knows about the little things in life, and I’m not the biggest fan when his ignorance is drummed up to that extreme of a level. That said, there are ofc ways and stories that exist that treat this with care and follow Sephiroth’s friends helping him assimilate/introducing him to these little things in life that he never got to experience. They exist, and they’re wonderful <333 It’s just not my first choice for a cuppa tea. Sephiroth is abnormal in a LOTTA ways; I think letting him know what a cookie is how we know he’s human lol.

(That… that was a really passionate geeky ramble I am SO sorry.)

Anyywhooo as for shipping—well… I do not enjoy shipping very much period xD I really ain’t into romance and prefer stories following close platonic friendships and bonds rather than relationships. However, if I had to give a few words about it in regard to Sephiroth, well…. shipping him with Cloud is prolly at the bottom of my interest rate whehshw. I do not have ANYTHING against fic writers who do and artists who draw them—you’re amazing and wonderful and talented <3 But for me…? The ship just really rubs me the wrong way. I don’t wanna elaborate bc I don’t wanna sound like an ass or anything to the people who enjoy the dynamic. It’s just not for me for a lotta reasons.

*scampers away and hides in a box. Duct tapes that box. Bubbles wraps that box. Puts box on a rocket ship and launches off into the safe and secure domain of space*

#sephiroth #ffvii #crisis core #ff7 #cloud strife #asks #ty!!

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typellblog · 11 months

Text

Hitagi Crab - An Analysis

Let’s start with Oshino’s story about the boy who sold his shadow. It’s present in the anime only as text flashing on screen at the start of the episode, which feels like the kind of thing you do not when something is unimportant, but rather when it takes up too much space to fit in the anime adaptation.

I think it’s a good jumping-off point, though.

To summarize, the boy sells his shadow to a strange old woman for ten pieces of gold. This is already strange, raising the question of what value we place on something as unimportant yet natural as one’s shadow. Losing the shadow doesn’t inconvenience the boy in any way – the problem arises when he returns home and the townspeople find his lack of a shadow to be creepy. As Oshino puts it, what the boy sold wasn’t just his shadow, but “what ought to be”.

The shadow itself is nothing, the reflection of an absence.

The parallel to Senjougahara is clear. While her weightlessness inconveniences her directly in some ways, by far the biggest is the social consequences – or rather, what she does to ensure that there are no social consequences. In order to live a normal life with her condition she must ensure that nobody gets close enough to her – literally, physically close to her – in order to find out.

The school setting is interesting in this respect. There’s a certain mandated closeness between students, but an equally mandated distance, like the arrangement of seats in a classroom. Senjougahara isn’t bullied or shunned, but nor is she approached.

She didn’t simply lose her weight, she also lost her presence, becoming “ethereal”, like she isn’t there at all.

This, however, is a deliberately maintained act. She reads books during class as if “building walls around herself”. She uses stationery to fend Araragi off. She builds a shell around herself, like a crab, and then uses her claws to snip at anyone who gets close.

Let’s talk about misconceptions. This is a theme that’s present early on, when Senjougahara refers to herself as a tsundere, implying that her cold persona will be pulled back to reveal a loving attitude. (Araragi doubts this.)

Many things are revealed about her, in this story.

Take, for example, how long she spends changing, Araragi assuming that she’s showing off when in fact she genuinely isn’t that good with wearing clothes. She hides the surgery scar on her back by giving him the full frontal view.

Acting tough in the cram school, an environment that poses real danger to her. Being reluctant to trust Oshino after already being fooled five times.

At every turn, what Araragi takes to be rudeness or arrogance is bravado, trying to distract from and cover up old wounds.

Perhaps his most significant misconception is that she’s already given up, “resigned herself” to a life of weightlessness. But why see five different con-men about it – why trust Araragi, despite being willing to cause significant injury in order to make him go away a minute ago? Part of it is witnessing his vampiric healing (and the self-sacrificial nature it represents), of course, but even so some part of her still wants to believe she can be cured. She only half-trusts Oshino, but put the other way around, that still means she’s giving him half of her trust.

Because – and this is the root of it all – Senjougahara wants to hold on to something.

Now is probably a good time to bring up oddities. It’s not particularly original to point out that they serve as physical manifestations of a person’s specific mental and emotional issues. Their very existence is questionable, a “trick of perspective”, the reflection of an absence. The important bit here is that their existence is also metaphorical, a sort of pun-as-narrative, as you can see with the Weight Crab’s name also being interpreted as ‘Emotion God’.

The Weight Crab does not only take away Senjougahara’s weight, but also her emotions, her memories, and crucially her ties to other people, snipping them up with its great big claws.

To link back to what we were talking about earlier, the reason why she distances herself from others isn’t really to hide her weightlessness. The deeper cause, the reason why the Weight Crab visited her in the first place, was to repress her trauma, to lighten her burden, to make it easier to go on without being bothered by her connections to others.

She lives a kind of ethereal half-life, untroubled by her poor relationship with her mother and the memories of nearly being raped, but equally troubled by her lack of feeling towards them, unable to properly move on.

All the bells and whistles that Oshino sets up - the priest outfit, the ritual site, the ‘purified clothing’ – exist simply to get her in the right mindset. He isn’t helping her; he helps her help herself. She is the one that must make a genuine request of the Weight Crab, to truly want to confront her own trauma.

She addresses Oshino more formally, more hesitantly than she does Araragi. I think she’s scared, a little bit. Scared that Oshino won’t want to help her. Scared that he will want to, and end up being another scammer.

But it’s interesting that she treats Araragi that casually in the first place, isn’t it? He’s someone who caught her without a second thought, someone who keeps running after her despite all her snipping. Someone that’s quick enough to respond to her biting humour, but not quite quick enough at picking up all the things she’s hiding beneath its surface.

She needed someone like Araragi to get her there in the first place. Oshino, for all his knowledge, wouldn’t have cared enough.

That’s part of why I find it such a moving line when she tells him that she can do it herself. Talking to Oshino, she means, but the same tone is also there when she begs Oshino to let her try and talk to the Weight Crab again. Despite everything, she really did want to hold onto those emotions, and was brave enough to try and reclaim them on her own.

At the end of this story, Araragi realises that Senjougahara might actually be a tsundere. What this means in practice is that despite how bluntly she is capable of delivering a vicious joke, she is equally capable of bluntly delivering a heartfelt thanks, shifting from irony to sincerity in an instant in a way that catches Araragi off-guard.

She’s more vulnerable than she first appears, but she’s also brave enough to confront that part of herself. Nothing will change, Oshino says, pointing out that her relationship with her mother will still be poor, her family will not come back together.

But it’s not as if everything will stay the same, either, she responds. In overcoming the crab, she also formed a new relationship with Araragi. The world keeps turning.

I am reminded of the imagery from her opening, staplers drawing lines across a grey cityscape. Slowly, surely, one step at a time, they create their own paths.

I don’t have an epilogue or a punchline (this time round, at least), but I’ll give a quick explanation of my plans here. Basically, I’m going to be reading the light novel version of each Monogatari arc followed immediately by the anime adaptation, and then writing up an essay on my thoughts for each one. This is sort of like what I’ve already done with Fate/Stay Night (and I’ll try to keep moving those posts over here while I’m doing this) so I’m sure this is going to end up increasing in scope and effort the longer I carry on.

Anyway, next time I’ll be writing about- well, I guess you already know, huh. That’s gonna take some getting used to.

#monogatari #senjougahara hitagi #koyomi araragi #monogatariposting

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