#because currently I can't identify them easily

[noaestheticacademic]

On the Identity of "Chat"

Like all the linguistics folks on Tumblr, I've been sent the "chat is a fourth person pronoun" post by a bunch of well-meaning people and and I've been thinking waaay too much about it. @hbmmaster made a wonderful post explaining exactly why "chat" ISN'T a fourth person pronoun, and after reading it I wanted to go a little deeper on what it might actually be doing linguistically, because it is a really interesting phenomenon. Here's a little proposal on what might be going on, with the caveat that it's not backed up by a sociolinguistic survey (which would be fun but more than I could throw together this morning).

On Pronouns

Studying linguistics has been really beneficial for me because understanding that language is constantly changing helped me to become comfortable with using they/them pronouns for myself. I've since done a decent amount of work with pronouns, and here are some basic ideas.

A basic substitution test shows that "chat" is not syntactically a pronoun: it can't be replaced with a pronoun in a sentence.

"Chat, what do we think about that?"

"He*, what do we think about that?" (* = ungrammatical, a native speaker of English would think it sounds wrong)

Linguists identify pronouns as bundles of features identifying the speaker, addressee, and/or someone outside the current discourse. So, a first person pronoun refers to the speaker, a second person pronoun refers to the addressee, and a third person pronoun refers to someone who is neither the speaker nor the addressee (but who is still known to the speaker and addressee). This configuration doesn't leave a lot of room for a "fourth" person. But the intuition people have that "chat" refers to something external to the discourse is worth exploring.

Hypothesis 1: Chat is a fourth-person pronoun.

We've knocked this one right out.

Hypothesis 2: Chat is an address term.

So what's an address term? These are words like "dude, bro, girl, sir" that we use to talk to people. In the original context where "chat" appears - streamers addressing their viewers - it is absolutely an address term. We can easily replace "chat" with any of these address terms in the example sentence above. It's clear that the speaker is referring to a specific group (viewers) who are observing and commenting on (but not fully participating in) the discourse of the stream. The distinction between OBSERVATION and PARTICIPATION is a secret tool that will come in handy later.

But when a student in a classroom says "wow chat, I hate this," is that student referring to their peers as a chat? In other words, is the student expecting any sort of participation or observation by the other students of their utterance? Could "chat" be replaced with "guys" in this instance and retain its nuance? My intuition as a zillenial (which could be way off, please drop your intuitions in the comments) is that the relationship between a streamer and chat is not exactly what the speaker in this case expects out of their peers. Which brings me to...

Hypothesis 3: chat is a stylistic index.

What's an index in linguistics? To put it very simply, it's anything that has acquired a social meaning based on the context in which it's said. In its original streaming context, it's an address term. But it can be used in contexts where there is not a chat, or even any group of people that could be abstracted into being a chat. Instead, people use this linguistic structure to explicitly mimic the style which streamers use.

And that much seems obvious, right? Of course people are mimicking streamers. It doesn't take a graduate degree to figure that out. What's interesting to me is why people choose to employ streaming language in certain scenarios. How is it different from the same sentence, minus the streamer style?

This all comes down to the indexicality, or social meaning, of streamer speak. This is where I ask you all to take over: what sorts of attitudes and qualities do you associate with that kind of person and that kind of speech? I think it has to do with (here it comes!) the PARTICIPANT/OBSERVER distinction. By framing speech as having observers, a speaker takes on the persona of someone who is observed - a self-styled celebrity. To use "chat" is to position oneself as a celebrity, and in some cases even to mock the notion of such a position. We can see a logical path from how streamers use "chat" as an address term to how it is co-opted to reference streamer culture and that celebrity/observer relationship in non-streaming mediated discourse. If we think about it that way, then it's easy to see why the "fourth person pronoun" post is so appealing. It highlights a discourse relationship that is being invoked wherein "chat" is not a group but a style.

#chat #linguistics #pronouns #discourse

[bethanythebogwitch]

It's big, it's strong, its scaly, it's this week's Wet Beast Wednesday topic! An arapaima, also known as a pirarucu or paiche, is any of four species of fish in the genus Arapaima in the order of bony-tongued fish. There is som ongoing debate about the classification of the species, so to keep thing simple, I'm going to use the most common species names of Arapaima gigas (the type species and most well known, and the one with the most confusion about its classification), Arapaima agassizii, Arapaima leptosoma, and Arapaima mapae. Because A. gigas is the most well-studied of the species, unless I say otherwise you can assume everything I say in this post applies to it.

(image: an arapaima)

Arapaimas are bony fish that retain several primitive traits, causing them to sometimes be identified as "living fossils". They are most notable for their size, with A. gigas being a contender for the largest freshwater fish in the world. The maximum recorded size for one was 3.7 meters (10 ft) and 200 kg (400 lbs), but most get to around 2 meters (6.6 ft) long and 200 kg (440 lbs). That average length is decreasing as overfishing of the largest individuals is resulting in a selective pressure for smaller sizes. In addition to their size, they are extremely strong and can move fast if needed. Arapaima are fully capable of leaping out of the water if disturbed or they feel their current pond in unsuitable. Because of their strength, specimens in captivity must be handled with care as they can easy break bones if they slap someone. They live in rivers and lakes in South America, where they are often the top predators.

(image: several anglers with an arapaima)

Arapaimas are obligate air-breathers and will drown if they can't get to the surface to breathe. This is accomplished with a specialized swim bladder. The swim bladder is filled with highly vascularized tissue, letting it act like a lung. This pseudo-lung opens into the mouth using a modified gill arch known as the labyrinth organ. Arapaima gills are too small to sustain them, but they can supplement their oxygen intake with the gills. Juveniles are born exclusively using their gills and transition into air-breathers shortly after hatching. Arapaimas can survive up to a full day out of the water. They typically surface to gulp in air every 15-20 minutes. Breathing makes a loud gulping sound that anglers use to target them.

(image: an arapaima at the surface)

Because of their ability to breathe air, arapaimas are top predators in low-oxygen environments. Non-air breathing fish are forced to slow down in water with low levels of dissolved oxygen as they can't get enough oxygen through their gills. Since Arapaimas breathe air, they can easily chase down lethargic smaller fish. They are especially potent predators during the low season, when water levels lower. A combination of rotting vegetation reducing oxygen levels and ponds getting cut off from rivers and losing a supply of oxygen lets the arapaima reign supreme. Arapaimas are primarily predators that feed on smaller fish, though they will hunt other types of animals and eat fruits and seeds. Even land animals aren't safe as arapaimas have been known to launch themselves out of the water to catch animals near the shore. A combination of sharp teeth and their bony tongues are used to debilitate prey.

(image: an arapaima with its mouth open)

Not content with powerleveling their attack stat, arapaimas also have excellent defense. Their scales have been compared to bullet proof vests. Each has a hard, mineralized outer layer over multiple layers of collagen fibers. These layers are all oriented at an angle to each other to provide extra strength. This orientation of layers is called a Bouligand-type arrangement and is similar to how plywood is assembled. The harder outer layers and flexible inner layers work together to allow for both strength and flexibility. These scales help provide protection form large predators such as caiman and small threats like biting piranha. They also like provide protection from other arapaima, as the fish are aggressive and will fight each other.

(image: a diagram showing the composition of arapaima scales. source)

You probably wouldn't expect a swimming tank of an animal to be a good parent, but you'd be wrong. Arapaimas work together in mated pairs to build nests for their eggs, then cooperate to guard the nest. Once the eggs hatch, the male will practice mouth brooding, keeping his young safe in his mouth. The female will also help by patrolling the area around the male to ward off predators. They secrete pheromones from their heads to ensure the young don't swim too far away. Eggs are laid either in in the low season or as water levels are starting to rise, ensuring that the young become independent during the high season.

(Image: baby arapaimas)

Arapaima are classified as "data deficient" by the IUCN. This means there isn't enough data to properly assess their conservation needs. They are known to be threatened by overfishing. Arapaima make up a large part of the diet of many South American populations. Habitat loss and pollution are also believed to threaten them. They have been introduced to many areas out of their native range and are an invasive species in placed like Florida, Malaysia, and India.

Does anyone else remember these cards? (image: the arapaima card from Weird n' Wild Creatures)

#wet beast wednesday #fishblr #fish #biology #zoology #ecology #animals #aquatic biology #animal facts #absolute unit #arapaima #pirarucu #paiche

[cosmicdeaths]

i'm writing this because i don't know else to do to stop crying. and because there is little else my helpless hands can do to change this horrifying reality we're living in. i am sudanese. and my mother just told me that we've lost yet another relative in the ongoing civil war in sudan. i've also learned that the small lovely town i grew up in, Shambat, in Khartoum Bahri, is currently plagued by this fever the origin of which is yet to be identified. from what little we know whoever gets this fever just does not wake up to see the sun of another day. it might be because the dead bodies people buried in their backyards in a desperate attempt to grieve and honor them are unearthed by the rain. it might be because the entire health system has collapsed months ago and there is no way for these people to attain any form of medical help. we've lost family members with chronic conditions simply because they couldn't get medical attention until it was too late. my own grandfather died of complications that could've easily been managed had they gotten him the proper treatment. we've lost people to this fever, too. a brother and the very next day, his sister. and more keep dying. it hurts and angers me that no one's talking about this. and just as equally my heart breaks for each and every palestinian out there, and i keep praying for them and hoping to be half as patient as they are. i know what it's like to be so scared your entire body goes numb, i know what it's like to be displaced and leave behind everything you've ever known with little hope of ever coming back. to survive and not really feel like you did. i saw this video of a palestinian woman holding her dead baby and just begging to nurse him one more time. i see palestinian men breaking down into tears while trying to comfort children, literal babies, whom they pulled out of the rubble. a little girl who's saying god why didn't you take me along with my mother, god, you know i can't live without her. and i suddenly remember that i know of a friend of my family who just sits there crying helplessly every night because she doesn't know what to tell her starving nieces who are too young to understand that they can't get food because of all the shooting outside. i keep seeing entire villages in the west being completely wiped off the map, reduced to nothing but a black dot of ashes and ruin. and this isn't even a first; ethnical cleansing in the western areas of sudan went on for decades and no one even bat an eye. my heart will never stop bleeding for Darfur. i know of a group of boys who were stuck for days in the very university i went to, waiting for a ceasefire for days on end until one of them died of fear or starvation or illness or whatever it is that we still don't know to this very day, and they had to bury him in the very field they used to play football matches in. a field every student in that university knows and has been to and laughed and cried in. girls are raped and sexually enslaved in terrifying numbers. the biggest maternity hospital in the country, the one i was born in, was looted and patients kicked out. these are all stories that will never leave my memory til the day i die. they're all deaths i will never forgive nor stop mourning. i won't despair and i won't give up, but the heart aches and cracks, and the tears run and run and leave crevices behind. the world is an ugly, ugly place. only hope and solidarity can save us. my sudanese and palestinian brothers and sisters, you are not alone. and you never will be.

#sudan #sudan crisis #sudan conflict #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #may allah put an end to all this pain #Keep Eyes on Sudan

[docholligay]

Going through someone's blog and seeing two posts, like...4 days apart ? Of:

Post a: neurotypical people don't understand how much of a struggle it is to listen to them talk about stuff I don't care about :( I wish it was socially acceptable to tell them I'm not interested, ever.

Post b: honestly hurts so much when you can tell someone doesn't care about your special interest. :(

I just want to cup your face and go, "please reread those and let's talk about social kindness"

I did block them, I think I am reaching a friggin... point break over here. I have been weird all my life, I was an EXTREMELY lonely child, and if someone wanted to tell me about their pet lizard I would have died happy, and if they had listened to me talk about the time Kate Harony burned down a barn to get doc out of prison, my tiny child heart would have burst. Like, that's give and take.

I've been trying to express this deep deep SCRATCH of irritation for weeks now, and I think a closer step to it, is... neurotypical, if we believe anyone is, people, also have feelings and needs and preferences. They ALSO get to decide what they can and can't live with.

I have a pretty classic and overwhelming strain of ADHD. Though, I feel less and less like saying the word for it matters, and get closer and closer to identifying as Fucking Weird. My mother is broadly neurotypical. She gets to have her feelings be hurt if I don't want to hear about her and her boyfriend's day at Costco. That's what she did with her day. She wants to tell me. I owe her that if I want to talk about my run, for example. I listen to jetty talk about coding even though I legitimately don't understand. I try and follow along!

I get tired of the idea that you don't ever have to put effort into relationships, and if you do, they aren't good relationships. And this attendant idea that being nice is masking behavior when it's you, but it's just kindness when it's other people doing it.

If it is true that you don't owe anyone anything, then the reverse is also true. No one owes you anything. This is not how I want to live.

There are things I do that are basically harmless: I have a lot of trouble sitting still, I'm twitchy and startle easily, and a million other small things that as it turns out I'm actually not going to mention because I don't like attention being drawn to them and i hate it when people notice, and I know they do.

None of those things really affect other people.

There are also things I do that are anywhere from annoying to harmful: I forget things, I interrupt people,* I sometimes zone out and lose the thread of whatever was going on.

If I love people, and I want them to love me, I have to treat them with that love as much as is possible. If I forget something, and make someone feel rejected, that is true whether or not I can pin a diagnosis to their lives. I hate to say it, but, "treat people as you would like to be treated" is often a very good guideline. Do you want someone to listen to you talk about the video game you really love? Then you should listen to them talk about Crossfit. Or, I guess the secret third option is, maybe you don't want to be friends, but that, too, is a choice.

I've been working with my three year old on conversation, and we've come up with things you can ask people if you'd like to get to know them better. Her current favorites are "What's your favorite animal?" and "what's your favorite color of crayon?" I think these are both great topics for a three year old. I want to teach her that if she wants people to talk to her and be engaged with her, she will have to give them the same.

This is true of everyone. Everyone has feelings. Everyone has interests and thoughts and preferences. I cannot emphasize enough how important I think it is to remember that life is a chorus, and none of us are the soloist. We are here for each other. Other people are not your backing vocals.

*this is also a cultural issue, though. I don't actually experience problems with this in some circles.

[t00nyah]

Meet 24 hour — they're ready to cheer you up, well…24 hours a day!

2019. Despite both not being really fond of publicity, it seems like the idea of making a band together made them work on their social awkwardness and, by publishing their fresh version of Calamari Inkantation, they got the attention of Inkopolis' cephalings. Soon after that Off the Hook finally were ready for their tour and their place was offered to 24 — which, while being quite unexpected, but was accepted by them.

Sango is a beginner DJ with a potential, but not with the most expressive face, trying hard to contribute in broadcast, although very often he can be seen gesticulating more than talking…

(even though Three is they/them non-binary in my headcanons, they went through some gender identity crisises before getting there. Timeline-wise in 2019 my Three uses he/she and identifies as man, and still has to figure out why it still feels not like it doesn't suit him. I will refer to Sango with he/she when I portray him in that time period, but with they/them when it's later, when they came out as non-binary!)

Hachi is a brighter, easily impressionable and smiling octoling songwriter. She seems to be very easy to offend because of her emotionality, but she forgives easily.

(now, i'm not good at music at all, but i've made a track for Inkopolis News ft. 24hour!~ i tried making more but it all turned out bad and my pc couldn't handle my spicy beats, uhhh...)

🎃SpookyFest!🎃

Hachi: It's time! Sango: 24 LIVE… Hachi: Yep-yep, that's us! I wonder what are current stages for… OH! Sango: ? (turned his head to Hachi, interested) Hachi: I think we might need to tell the exciting news first! Sango: You mean… Hachi: (nods) Ta-du-dum! It's Splatfest time! Sango: What's the topic this time? Hachi: We'll find out… In a minute!

[BAM!] Hachi: (puts her hands over her beak) Ah!! Wait, what day is it?! It can't be that soon… Splatoween, already?! Sango: Oooooh… (motioning fingers in a spooky manner) How would you like to spend your Splatoween…diving into the atmosphere by watching spooky films? Hachi: Or on a theme party? Hachi: Oooh… This one's tough… (taps finger on her cheek, thinking) Sango: It's pretty simple for me. Parties are not my thing. Sango: You can't turn off people around you when you're tired. Sango: But a TV always has this function. Hachi: Hm-hm~ But what about spending time with your friends in spooky or funny costumes? Hachi: You could make thematic decorations, food, games, anything! Hachi: I'm team Splatoween party. Sango: Have fun there, and I'm going to watch Nightmare before Squidmas. Hachi: Hey, I want to too..! (puffs her cheeks) Hmpff… Sango: I can wait for you if you want. Hachi: !.. Sango: (smirks) Well, what would you choose? Splatoween films or Splatoween party? Hachi: Don't forget to go to the Splatfest terminal and choose!!

~~~ Hachi: It looks like it's time to wrap up… Sango: Well, all day's the time… Hachi: …to let you shine!

(yep, i decided 'what do you mean no splatoween. here i have it right there.')

SpookyFest art! Hachi and Sango doing both activities in the end. It's not like anyone's gonna find out that they're both too scared of scary movies and social interactions to do things on their own, right?

Bonus: 24 concept art!

(you can actually use this as a reference as long as you understand that some things here aren't finalised and if something doesn't seem right(like sango's teal color is different from his actual design here) — you better reference the artwork above! it's mostly good for small details like their headphones or hachi's skirt for example)

(me trying to figure out their studio layout and dynamic at broadcast)

(small doodles where you can see hachi hiding her shoulders by tying her sweat..er?.. anyway i love this concept so much.)

(i tried to cut out splatoween sango and hachi in case anyone wants to use them as a pfp idk (just credit me please if you do!))

(also a small shellfie doodle i made yesterday bc i was really hyped to show all this!!!)

big thank you if you made it to the end!! i worked on this for half of this month and i'm really glad i finally get to show all this stuff :] i hope you like it 'cause i might plan to do something else...

#splatoon #splatoween #agent 3 #agent 8 #dj sango #hachi #24hour #idk what else to put here!!!

[al-the-remix]

Years pass but people still remain gross about WAGs. And now they dress it up with “intellectual” terms like industrial complex and post-colonial supremacist whatchamacallit. Give me the messy puck bunny blogs at least they’re open about hating WAGs.

Yeah, I can't say I have many complex things to say on the topic, except that that dialogue has been in this fandom forever (all fandoms forever; tumblr, the birthplace of the 'not-like-other-girls-girl') but it's especially bad in rpf and I'm exhausted of reading the same tired iterations on "well, I could NEVER understand how another woman could live like that--" STOP. Just stop it, it's not your life, and it's likely never going to be your life, for all the aforementioned unfair reasons. You don't have to compare yourselves to them constantly. It doesn't make you lesser or them better for being (presumably) born into a more privileged circumstance and it doesn't make them lesser and you better for achieving some enlightened pearl of knowledge.

The puck bunny blogs irk me just as much, and if you find one better than the other I guess it's more a question of what rolls your stomach more: spite or smugness. But in my opinion, calling Kathy an ageing escort that Sid pitty dates is just as nauseating as talking down your nose about her like she's some ignorant waif that cant make her own decisions about her life or her relationship.

Yes, the NHL is an intrinsically racist, misogynistic, homophobic, capitalist, fatphobic--and all the other bad terrible things--nightmare creature whose ailment runs all the way up to the giant sucking malignancy attached to its heart that is Garry Bettman and Bill Dayley, and further, to the executives that they shill for, and even further back to the time period, tenets, and culture that the sport was founded on. Remember, this is the same organization whose administrative and players (retired and current) repeatedly spit in the face of their teammates who've suffered chronic and debilitating injuries, and continue to mock journalists and veterans who try to bring those issues to the forefront, stating that the injury is worth it to win -- (or that the possibility of injury is worth it, considering these comments so often come from players that are still relatively hale).

Hmmm, sounds incredibly familiar to the position the NHL takes on another rampant issue in the sport: sexual assault.

There's a reason why the NHL is falling behind in popularity (and in value) compared to other sports organisations and it's because they cling to their archaic values and methods and flat-out refuse to let them go -- and thus attract players and administrative and fans who find all that entails appealing. It's not everyone in the sport obviously but it's a large enough faction to keep things stagnant -- just go take a look at Ian Kenedy's twitter page and start scrolling through the replies to his tweets if you want a taste of what we're up against here.

If you want to do anything, ANYTHING AT ALL to help improve the hockey culture, there are multiple avenues to explore that might actually make a difference --first of all getting involved in your community not just the internet community-- in chipping away at who this game attracts, how they see themselves, how they see others, how they see hockey players, and how those hockey players see themselves and others. Those avenues do not include dunking on wags. I get it, they all look the same, haha. it's weird, their children and husbands can't tell them apart, hahaha. There, I said it too and now I never have to hear that fucking joke again. Move ON.

I understand that the lines between reality and fiction can blur easily when it comes to rpf, but making actually, completely serious judgements on other people's private emotional lives and relationships is completely out of the realm of reality. You can't know, you can never know completely. It can be difficult enough to identify these things when it comes to a friend or a family member how are you possibly going to make a pronouncement that someone's relationship is stale or without intimacy or connection when literally have no idea who they really are? I've been stalked and I've had people write fanfiction about me and I can 100% say that what they gleamed of who I was and what my life was like from the outside did not run true.

Analyzing those aspects and their intersexuality is worthwhile -- if anyone has an actual interest in these topics I suggest reading: Wille O'ree's biography, Bern Saunder's biography, Fred Sasakamoose's Call Me Indian, Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes by Darril and George Frosy, On Account of Darkness by Ian Kennedy, Why I didn't say anything by Sheldon Kennedy, Crossing The Line by Laura Robinson, Major Misconduct by Jeremy Allingham, Finding Murph by Rick Westhead -- There are more than that if you're willing to dig for them ... but especially after the back to back Kyle Beach and Hockey Cannada lawsuits I've just had it to up to here with the takes about the ~uwu poor hockey men~~ and their repressed homosexual longings and lack of overall male intimacy and companionship --- who do you think is doing said repressing?? THE HORRIBLE UWU MEN. (Said in exaggeration and jest but also not fucking really.) They are victims unto themselves. 99% refuse to speak up or do anything about the inequality, harassment, and overall intrinsic issues in the sport, the ones who bravely do are shunned by the others who refuse to help themselves or others. They don't see themselves as emotionally underdeveloped manchildren stranded on the frigid island of masculine solitude and arrested development. They like their lives, they don't care about what kind of impact that lifestyle has on other people (or on the environment or on the economy). They like their cookie-cutter world, conservative sandbox and comfortable wealthy liberalism... and most of all they like their hot blond skinny wives and they don't care what sort of social constructs have led to them pursuing a very specific type of woman. The vast majority of them have zero interest in having their eyes opened to a more complex and diverse worldview and it's not the fault of anyone but themselves, least of all the women who get pulled along in their wake.

#no offence to the ghost of andrea dworkin but I feel her possess me every time I'm forced to here a take like this #not that i claim to be in her league in literally anything only that the wags would benefit from living together all together in a lesbian #commune away from the internet experiencing bliss and many orgasms while the men are doomed to play out a pantomime of heterosexual sex #on the ice penetrating each other with their skate blades and sticks and shins and elbows night after night forever all the while grinning #and proclaiming it's all for the love of the game #im sure this is filled with spelling errors and mistakes but im tired and i tap out #ill be back when i have saved up enough energy for my next rant or someone posts a new picture of steve yzerman in the tag

[naxcoffe]

love, how to actually manifest anything? please explain to me! i'm acquiring a lot of knowledge but i can't apply it because i don't understand it in practice

I see that a lot of people might get confused when they try to apply the law of assumption because they don't know if they're actually applying it. Let me explain to you how to do it:

Im going to do a comparison between what is actually applying the law of assumption:

If you identify more with the second side, then follow the first side!

We are all capable of manifesting our desires, and that our thoughts and beliefs are the key to bringing them into reality. Imagination is abundant, and that we can create whatever we desire if we align our state of being and feelings with that desire.

But what is a state of being?

The state of being refers to our internal state of consciousness or awareness.

Neville Goddard taught that our state of being is determined by our thoughts and beliefs, and that we must be conscious of these thoughts and beliefs in order to change our state of being. So that’s why I don’t worry about negative thoughts while fulfilling myself because my state of having because it is mine and it can easily be changed. Neville believed that by changing our beliefs we can change our state, because we always have one.

For example, if I desire to be with a certain person, i must align my state of being with that desire by thinking “oh, how it would feel I this person loved me endlessly?” and just go to that feeling over and over!. This means focusing on abundance rather than lack and sadness. That is called fulfillment!

Manifesting is about feeling something and feeling so happy or just simply acceptance! Acceptance carries no desperation for time or how will it appear because it is yours. Imagination is the only true reality, so why would you fight or get mad if you don’t see it in the physical world?

In order to change our state of being, Neville Goddard taught that we must first become aware of our current state of being, including our thoughts and beliefs. We must then consciously choose to change our thoughts and beliefs to align with our desired reality, and cultivate the feelings and emotions associated with that reality.

By aligning our state of being with our desired reality, Neville Goddard believed that we can manifest our desires and live the life we truly desire.

Okay, I have a desire what should i do?

Decide that you already have it by fulfilling yourself in the way you want to. ( Like fully fulfilling yourself to the point that you know you have it, like you don’t need it anymore. Fulfill your imagination and see it as a reality and so you don’t feel it as pretending and know if you ever doubt is not true because your imagination says otherwise and is the TRUEST REALITY)

Every-time you think about it just give it to yourself in your imagination and so on and on.

Notes:

*you’re not doing this to get something in the physical world you’re confirming having it in your imagination.

*don’t worry about negative thoughts, just don’t IDENTIFY with them, don’t ignore them because they’ll get worse (I’ve been through that) just feel if you need to and after you’re calm, you with your desire!

*”everyone is you pushed out” a very called phrase that means whatever you have and believe in the outside will reflect on the outside!

*the “feeling not to get but just to feel” may sound stupid but hear this; if I’m telling you that your physical world (whatever you see with your human eyes) and your mind are connected and your mind tells the world what to do… then, why would you look on the outside for confirmation? instead you feel your desire inside of you as something real to your imagination (why imagination? Because I’m imagination there’s no judgement by other negative belief unless you allow it to enter) and know is real and the outside world will act to your commands but DONT DO IT TO GET!!! Your only job is to feel full and happy or whatever emotion means acceptance to your desire to.

#desires #law of assumption #loa #loa assumption advice #loassumption #manifest #manifestation #manifesting #neville goddard #subconscious #loassblog #advice #law of attraction #law of desire #law of abundance #affirm and persist #affirmyourlife #affirmyourreality #affirmations #states of consciousness

[saltynatto]

needy.

dazai is a literal meaning of touch deprived. hold his cheeks with your palm, he would melt at the warmth feeling your hand transfer to his cheek. ruffle and run your fingers through his fluffy brown hair, you would get yourself a soft dazai, whines escaping his mouth at the feeling, waiting for you to massage his scalp next. dazai will not waste every single second and opportunity so that he could get his hands on you, no matter how small the touch he will initiate, he is happy to just touch even your fingertips. with every opportunity he gets, he will hold your hands, link your fingers together while working (read : forcing) himself on reports that kunikida always gets mad at him for procrastinating.

not only that, this man loves to kiss you, whether on your cheeks, your forehead, the crown of your head, your nose, your temple, your neck, you name it. but of course, his most favorite place to kiss you (even he could never admit it) is your lips. nevertheless, it would never slip from your attention how he would mewl, his features softened everytime you award him with your kisses on his lips. this man would whimper from the slow, soft kisses you would pamper him with when he's needy.

it's an adorable, heartwarming scene really. with his hand hugging your waist tight, holding you close to him so that your kisses are endless, his another hand would grab at your clothes, his neck cranes to look up at you from where you sit him down, your hand would hold his cheek softly, caressing it with your thumb. when you pull away from the kiss, he would chase your lips, already missing the sensation. you hope you could picture his state right now with any cameras you could get your hands on, but because you can't, you resort to keep it in your mind instead, locking the scene deep at the back of your mind.

oh how he's so pretty, his lips glisten with spit, his fluffy hair is now messy, his cheeks red, his beautiful brown eyes are twinkling and as clear as days, looking up at you with adoration, lips shape into a small frown as he utters “one more..”, so pretty and so needy for your love.

nevertheless, as much as you love to spoil dazai with your attention, love and adoration, you would also love to see his reaction when he can't get all of that so easily.

you would love to test him out. thus, it explains your situation right now.

“belladonna, please..” he whines as he tries to touch your arm. you ignore his needy laced voice, internally chuckling as you force yourself to focus on the work, diverting your attention back to your laptop, leaving the man huffs in response to your lack of attention for the whole day.

“please what, ‘samu?” you ask, acting oblivious to his wants.

he huffs again, his cheeks puffing at the action. “please help me”

you stop typing the report on your laptop, turning to face him with an interested look plastered on your face. you quirk your eyebrows as in asking for the details of his request, once again acting oblivious to what he wants.

“how can i help you, pretty boy?” you scans his face as you utter the question, his forehead crease, his lips pursed, his eyes are the reflection of neediness.

you try to compose yourself at his current state ; confuse, needy and adorable, maybe you're enjoying this a little bit too much. you bit your lower lip as to at least get a hold of yourself.

he put his hand on top of yours, trying to intertwine your fingers together. it's the least touch he could get that day, it leaves him frustrated to the bone.

“i don't know! how should i know? you should just.. understand.. and give me..” his voice becomes slower as he utters more of his words, nearly mumbling. his head hangs low, frustration becomes more visible by seconds.

your heart clench at the sight, the dazai osamu, the nonchalant man everyone knows is a man who is still unable to identify his own emotions and his wants as the results of him always suppressing them really deep.

him showing his vulnerable state in front of you leaves you feeling protective over him as it really shows how he trusts you with his whole heart. part of you glad that you are able to show him the feelings of being loved, adored and taken care of as you could not imagine if he ever will go through his life without knowing all those things. the thoughts sting your heart.

“kiss..” his mumbled voice pulls you back to the reality. lifting his head up, he stares at you with the eyes he hopes he could conveys his feelings with. he further takes your hand he's holding to caresses his own cheek, wanting your warmth more than anything, wanting to feel safe. upon that, he closes his eyes, nearly mewling at the feelings.

upon that, too, your composure snaps as if a rubber band finally snaps after being pulled way too far. with one swift movement, you pulled him close to you, crashing your lips against his, pushing your lips as close as possible to let him taste you, to taste him too. your another hand find its way to the back of his neck, playing with his waves. he whimpers at the feelings.

his arms find their way to snake to your waist, pulling you closer until there's no amount of distance left between you two, placing you on his laps.

the kiss is longer than you anticipated, but that doesn't matter right now. you would give him every kisses he deserves, which in his case, everytime he wants.

“i love you”

#dazaibsd #dazai x you #needydazai #dazai osamu #bsd #bungo stray dogs #dazai x y/n #dazai x fem reader #bungou stray dogs dazai #bsd x reader

[genderfluid-info-blog]

; so I'm currently using Genderflir ( a term I recently discovered, originally just using Genderfluid ), but I'm having doubts ... Because, although the definition seems to fit how I feel perfectly, I have literally never seen / known of anyone that uses it. And so I feel like, weird ?? Logically I know that since the term exists, and was easily findable on a wiki, other people are Genderflir. But I still feel alien, and like I'm the only Genderflir person in the world- and know I feel like I'm lying to myself and should " go back " to being Genderfluid ?? I don't know. I'm sending this because I guess I need clarification ? Confirmation ?? Something along those lines, just someone to tell me I'm not weird or lying to myself, or disrespecting other Genderflir people by identifying as Genderflir even though I'm doubting my gender so much- qwq

; gender is very confusing to me, and I was so happy to find a term that described me so accurately ... But I can't help but feel wrong, for constantly changing terms and whatnot so much. Y'know ?? ( sorry this is so long lol, just needed to get it off my chest before I literally explode . )

It's no secret that I love micro labels, but there are some downsides to them: micro labels can lead to a feeling of alienation from community. But here's the thing: I promise you that there are more genderflir people out there than you think. And I promise you that you can use your micro label and be genderflir, and you're still just as much of a valid member of the genderfluid community <3

You're not disrespecting anyone. You're not lying to anyone. You're being yourself and I think that's beautiful. And even if you were the only genderflir person on the earth, that wouldn't invalidate your gender in any way! Gender is complicated and unique and fluid and indescribable sometimes, and I believe that there are as many genders as people, because we all have a slightly different experience, even if we use the exact same descriptors.

Finding yourself and the correct label for yourself is a journey. Change is human and natural, you're not wrong for changing labels. You're staying true to yourself, and that's amazing! It takes courage and self-respect to embrace change, and it's great that you're being patient with yourself and accepting of your journey. It's normal to doubt yourself occasionally, but be gentle with yourself🫶🫶

If the label makes you happy, keep using it. You're absolutely valid and you're always going to be more than welcome on my blog!!🩷🤍💜🖤💙

PS: your label is really cool tbh, i love the flag!!

#asks #genderfluid #nonbinary #transgender #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #lgbtqia #lgbtqia+ #genderflir

[chewyjellycable]

oooo you want to talk about dele on tumblr soo bad ooooooo

I CAN'T BELIEVE I NEVER ACTUALLY RAMBLED ABOUT THEM ON HERE OH MY GOOOD I NEED TO FIX THIS. (Edit: This is a lie I did it once and entirely forgot about it. There's a lot more info in this one, though feel free to check the other one even if there's repeat information!!)

Anyways here's a list of things about Bredele de Cassonade I think y'all should know (with many accompanying links):

Bredele is intersex (designated AFAB though), and (kind of) identifies as Agender! They use They/He/Zem, but are fine with any other pronouns. It doesn't matter if you use masc, fem, or androgenous terms for them!!

Unlike Langue, they found their identity very easily since they really didn't care what they aligned with. It all felt silly to them. Langue would dog on them about not being "girly enough", but even then they didn't feel like a ""real girl"" (their body always functioned oddly due to being intersex), so! They're not!

They like growing their hair out and letting their facial hair grow in, but they rarely get to do that because of work. They did have longer hair in their school years before they chopped it off for the sake of their job. They let their stubble grow in when they're on vacation, though!!

Though when it comes to relationship, they CANNOT for the life of them figure out what they like. They last assigned themself to be asexual and androromantic, but even they're not sure. It's hard for them to decipher a lot of things emotionally, especially relationships with others.

They currently hold ""possible relationship interest"" in Milk, Espresso, and Cream Cheese Tea.

Their pet is called Ditzboard, who's a ditzy little thing who trip and falls and does all manner of clumsy things but never drops its documents!!

Autism. They bit things as a child and still do sometimes when under stress. They get overstimulated, they hate the sound of their own heartbeat, they have specific tastes in food and textures, they have shutdowns (and meltdowns), they don't understand social cues very well outside of what they've had to teach themself... They also do a lot to themself to make themself feel ALIVE, though I won't specify what here.

They've held an interest in doctors since they were a kid. Hell, as a kid their favorite game series was Trauma Center. Much like how Langue played Ace Attorney when they were younger. :] Both DS games!! I like to think they shared a DS as kids.

Dele also has a keen interest in blood. It may be morbid, but they love thinking about it. It's not that they'd harm anyone for it, absolutely not, but the red fluid is something they think about and it fascinated them endlessly. They'll be bleeding and think of the blood and how it will clot and what it looks like on his skin whilst treating the injury. (They also don't have many to talk about this interest in for obvious reasons.)

Despite their visual differences, Langue and Bredele do get mistaken for each other sometimes!! Dele gets flattered, Langue gets offended.

Dele is ONE inch taller than Langue, and was born moments after Langue was. The lawyer SEETHES at the fact that Dele is better in ANY capacity. Langue will take anything they can get to prove they're better than him.

Langue's jealousy runs deep. Being the louder and more emotional of the two, they're one of Dele's worst critics. They'll lie to zem, bicker with zem, but at the end of the day they're siblings and Dele wouldn't give that up for the world. Langue, however... It's hard to say if they'd truly give up much for zem.

Bredele has learned mending magic from the spare few times they've visited Parfaedia. He's not very magically gifted, so he'll take what he can get!! Besides, it's very useful for equipment (and Langue's glasses when those crack and break too much to reform quickly).

They think Dasani Bottled Water is very unhealthy compared to other types of water bottles due to the lies Langue has told him.

BACK ON THE EMOTIONAL PROCESSING. Dele cannot cry. Well, they CAN, but it's very hard for them to. They can go through the world ending and there's only a chance that they could. A lot of negative emotion just gets numbed out and they can't express it unless it just gets to be Too Much, and even then it's just. So. Difficult. At a younger age, they were called a monster for being so "emotionless".

#chewy ask #oc tag #crob oc #cr oc #bredele de cassonade cookie #langue de chat cookie #chewy lore #cw blood #doctor-sunshine-is-dead #chewy art

[untilteddocument]

After-Action Archive Caves of Qud - The Warmonger

Welcome again, one and all, to the After-Action Archive! This one is going to be a little different, in large part because I didn't think to get screencaps in the thick of it and, as Caves of Qud is a roguelike with only one save file allowed per playthrough, I can't go back and correct this. There will be screencaps just to communicate the graphic style.

Also bear in mind, these will be nowhere near plentiful enough to count as a full LP, but consider it a sort of highlight reel. With that in mind, let's get to the action.

For the Lucky 10,000, Caves of Qud is a roguelike set in a post-apocalyptic sci-fantasy world, where the ruins of unimaginably-advanced precursors have given way to humbler infrastructure. Villagers harvest watervine, the only way to get reliable drinkable water in the salt-suffused climate, and in between these havens lie jungles, salt marshes, rocky canyons, crumbling ruins, and chrome caverns filled with scavengers, stowaways, and ancient technology waiting to be rediscovered, for good or ill.

My foray into this world is as a humble Tinker, a collector and artisan of technology both current and ancient. While I do have some ability in direct combat, such encounters being all but unavoidable, my skills lie more in being able to find or harvest useful items, identify them, and either put them to use or disassemble them to make something else.

My mutations were intended to aid this (though this is hardly an "optimal" build, at least not intentionally so). Psychometry gives me the edge in properly identifying artifacts I find and learning how to build them. It also means that most security doors will do nothing to impede me. Electrical Generation serves as a high-damage "panic button" and, later on, will be able to provide emergency power for any number of properly-modded gadgets. Photosynthetic Skin and Regeneration work together to keep me solvent, letting me survive encounters intact and travel without having to pay as much attention to food supply.

I was traveling through the desert canyons, with no real objective in mind aside from finding what I could find. What I did find (or more accurately, ran into nearly-head-first), though, was an immediate cause for alarm.

The Putus Templar are an antagonistic faction in the setting, a genocidal group of True Kin (un-mutated humans who live in distant arcologies) who see any such mutations or sympathy for them and their bearers as an intolerable stain that must be cleansed. Even player characters who are of the True Kin themselves are regarded with disdain, tainted in spirit if not in body.

Furthermore, I saw a name shaded purple in the activity log, indicating that this band was being led by a legendary member of their people. In this case, it was a legendary Infiltrator:

Cytor Hadicte, Warmonger Amongst The True.

Threat Rating: Impossible.

So any given reader would understand why, when I saw the flurry of activity, including ripples in the fabric of reality as Cytor Hadicte, Warmonger Amongst The True and his entourage started teleporting at me, I turned around and ran the other way in blind terror.

From the map above, I fled south, trying to outpace my would-be killers. To this end, the trees were a boon, allowing me to break line of sight with the Templar squires, but the infiltrators, including Cytor Hadicte, Warmonger Amongst The True, kept pace easily, nipping at my heels and even casually teleporting me around with them. Even my recoiler (a teleportation device that can transport me to a predetermined area, in this case the village of Joppa) was of no use, because I couldn't get far enough away from my pursuers for it to be usable.

With no other options, I steeled myself and turned to make my stand.

Now that I wasn't scrambling to figure out how to get away, I could focus on figuring out how to survive. After a bit of thought, I realized that I had the advantage that infiltrators are built for reconnaissance, and are of little use in direct combat. Even with their Average challenge rating, I was able to crush the regular Infiltrators with little trouble.

However, this wasn't as much of an advantage against Cytor Hadicte, Warmonger Amongst The True due to its inflated stats and its having picked up an iron long sword during the chase. The stats in particular meant that I would still lose out in a fight.

Luckily, I had an answer for that.

In my earlier travels, I had managed to scavenge an intact Issachar rifle, a reliable workhorse of a gun that used less ammo than the chain pistol I started with, useful given how little ammo I had at the moment. With my expression grimly set, I decided to see how an enemy used to being the one to confound and disappear would react to a response in kind.

The tree cover was instrumental in my battle plan, letting me break line of sight and get precious distance for the rifle's advantages to tell. I would trade blows with Cytor Hadicte, Warmonger Amongst The True until it began to get the upper hand, then run into the trees before whipping around and giving it a taste of atomic number 82.

To my delight, I confirmed that most of my opponent's defenses lay in agility and dodging, so when a bullet did connect, the impact was devastating. HP peeled off in chunks of 20 or more, but even then, Cytor Hadicte, Warmonger Amongst The True kept coming, undeterred. This was, however, more of a product of programmed devotion than any sense of inevitability, because my plan held. With a final groan, the legendary Infiltrator shuddered and ceased to be more than artifacts and scrap. To the victor go the spoils.

A hoversled (one of two that it was carrying!) is a boon for heavy loads, and it would see much use. However, it wasn't the most welcome surprise.

Eaters' Nectar is a fantastically rare tonic, a relic of the precursors from whom both mutants and True Kin claim descent. Its benefits are likewise rare to find and, despite the warning, it is safe to use consecutively, since its benefit has no set duration. Even with the squires still there searching for me, I'm ready to give them what I gave their boss. It's safe to say that the juice, in this case, was well worth the squeeze.

#after-action archive #caves of qud

[pancakeke]

I have been procrastinating finishing the sonic ring garland for my tree because I've had a nagging thought that the rings should be smaller and now I'm finally caving. I'm going to redo it all with smaller rings.

my initial thought when I started was that the rings need to be large enough to see from a distance or they might not be identifiable, but now that I look at them I think the size looks stupid.

my big concern now is how to stick smaller rings onto the string that holds them in a line. The string I got is a .8mm nylon cord so it has a bit of thickness to it. thin string/thread would tangle really easily so I refuse to use anything thinner.

I want the rings attached to the string at 2 points so they can't pivot and face the wrong direction (the back of the gold paper is plain), but the large rings were barely wide enough to accommodate using tiny pieces of tape.

like, the width of the current ring and its bend radius created JUST enough room to stick on a little cut of masking tape. I don't think I can use tape if I go smaller, which leaves glue :/ and hot glue would be the only option because it dries quickly. that stuff is such a mess though.

also despite paying like $8 for fancy glue that claims to adhere to glass, the clear line popped off two chaos emeralds :/

I let the glue cure for 24 hours like the package said to do before hanging them. I'm unsure if the glue sucks or if there was some kind of oil/residue on the glass from its manufacturing process that prevented the glue from adhering. I'm going to wash these pieces and try again and see if it works this time.

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

I'm writing this to you because I sort of don't have anyone else to talk about this. I hope you don't mind. I kind of got into a spat over the internet with the lqbtq people. Do you identify with that group? (you don't have to mention it if you're not comfortable disclosing it). The thing is I'm straight but I have considered myself to be an ally all this time but maybe not a very loud one you can say. I don't have any issues with them and I'm in no way homophobic (to each their own, do whatever the fuck you wanna) but they were making fun about straight people being lame or whatever which I found a little uncalled for. To me it feels like how can you expect to find an ally in me if you keep being so hostile towards me. Like they literally don't know anything about me yet I'm being bombarded with messages about how 'queer people will rule the world and the days of my freedom are numbered' (someone said this word to word) and stuff like that. I'm sorry if I'm trauma dumping but I feel quite embarrassed and upset about this and I can't help but hide in the anonymity of the internet.

I don't like labels but for the purpose of this discussion, I'm bread.

(pansexual)

As an ally (tbh, of any minority group), mostly they ask for respect. Just to be treated like normal human beings and seen as equals to those in more privileged positions. For a long time these groups of people have been unfairly treated as lesser than simply because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. I don't necessarily agree with the mentality of "an eye for an eye" - ex: heedlessly make fun of of heteros simply since there's little to no social repercussions in this current social climate - and yet I see where they're coming from. it is frustrating that cis-passing heterosexuals are so easily socially accepted and they have no idea how easy it is, how their identity is not seen as some kind of circus performance, how affirming that you are on the spectrum leads to a sudden interrogation, and how you abruptly become representative / role model / pinnacle of all people on the spectrum (which some people are accepting of and some aren't).

I think speaking poorly of people (even in a general sense) is unsavory and rarely does any good except in extreme situations. But, anyway, basing your perception of an entire group on a clustering of shitty individuals isn't fair either. Assumptions and conclusions of an entire group should not be made off a small sample size that is mostly likely not representative. Making general statements from a loud minority leads to misunderstandings. Plus, you can't change the minds of toxic individuals. Can't be a martyr to those that don't think they need saving. Most people wouldn't want to associate / surround themselves with shitty people regardless of their sexual and/or gender identity. Personal identity does not dictate behavior and shouldn't be treated as such.

tl;dr: If someone is acting like an asshole, they're probably just an asshole lol.

Being outside of the norm / nonconventional does not mean that you exempt from being narrow-minded or ignorant - by choice and/or lack of experiences. Being inside the norm / conventional doesn't excuse you from that either. Also, a lot of the time this type of aggressive behavior is simply projection from past traumas, not necessarily an attack on your person. I don't think you should take it that way, especially since this is online and behind a keyboard. Block and move on. Better to not engage. It will show them that this type of behavior is not acceptable and they won't be getting the satisfaction of a reaction from you as such reactions will only enforce their behavior.

[justatalkingface]

What are your thoughts about One For All?

By that, I mean the power itself, the story surrounding it, the connections to All For One, the person, all of it. You spoke extensively about Izuku and now I'd like to hear your thoughts about his quirk. Yoichi Shigaraki seemed very suspicious, and his quirk being a death curse at first seemed like it was setting up for a really morally ambiguous OFA. But it turns out the guy's a saint and he's trying to take down the devil. As far as I can tell, One For All kills people just to justify Izuku being the current holder and to make him special. We also got the typical shōnen power escalation of Izuku ending up with a bunch of new powers out of nowhere. Many of which seemed to exist just to have him surpass All Might quickly enough so he could handle fights against super powerful foes, because this series takes places within a year. The story rushed this dude's development, so his powers had to rush him to where he could handle things. And he also became a genius who could master a bunch of new quirks in a very short amount of time. Many of the abilities felt very redundant with his power set or go mostly unused, such as smokescreen. Float and Black Whip were cool and added a lot to Izuku's kit. The OFA vs AFO plot line eventually took over the series. I prefer the battles against AFO's forces in comparison to the earlier parts of the series, where the kids fought each other in battles with no stakes. The academia part of MHA was always the weakest part, but some people preferred it. What do you think?

One For All... well, let me get this almost mandatory part out of the way: he suffers for being introducing during The War Arc, and by dint of it means we'll probably never have a satisfying amount of information on him.

Quirk wise... it actually tracks? If family Quirks are similar, both AFO and OFA both, then, have a Quirk that is based around 'transfering Quirks', the same way that Asu's family all have Quirks based around frogs, yet they are all expressed in different ways.

I've seen people argue that the mysterious door he's helping hide is AFO, since the stockpiling Quirk passed through AFO himself first.

I just, let me.... alright. Honestly? I could see it. I really wouldn't be that surprised at this point if they did that. Logically? That makes no sense. The power stockpiling Quirk was just that, stockpiling power. It was only special when it got fused with OFA's nameless Quirk, and they fused into something more, a Quirk that is apparently specialized to act as a mental arc, in his body. Moreover, it should mean that AFO would have a Vestige there, and I just... really hope they don't do that, because I can't see a way it ends well, you know?

More recently, I'm wondering if that BIg Mystery they're clearly hiding has to do with why AFO was crying when he was killing(?) the Second; did The Second kill OFA? Was that a revenge kill? Did OFA plan that? Did he go, 'My brother is too powerful to stop, so we must sacrifice ourselves until someone is strong enough to do so, and act as fertilizer for their eventual rise' and that's why the first couple of generations are edgy and the later ones, who didn't get that memo, or who were thought to be that theoretic final product, are more open?

I... could see that. It's not something I think would be done well, with MHA as it is now, but I could see that.

Really though, when you think about it the fact that each of them have suicidally went up against AFO in his prime means that there's no way that OFA should have been able to be transferred throughout the generations, because AFO has so much stacked in his favor that he should have easily been able to hunt them down and kill them (and when does he even realize they have that Quirk? Early on, especially, it couldn't have been easy, with how weak it was; it'd probably be easier to identify it based off behavior more than power).

The thing I've realized about OFA is that the early lore for it is really kind of questionable, just because they explicitly went up against AFO with barely any power ups, which is basiclly suicide. Even if AFO wanted them alive to keep the Quirk alive (and why? Before his 'development' you could argue it's because he wanted his brother back, and thus his Vestige in it, and later it's a strong Quirk, but there's a good period where it was a Quirk with potential, not power, and AFO has been developed into a two dimensional caricature who would kill for the lulz, who has no depth or moral attachment to anything. Before his 'development' you could argue that he wanted even a small part of his brother back, and it would explain things, but now? Was he just... letting it live to refine it so he could steal it when it was strong? It'd fit with how everything is AFO's fault these days), it would be dead ass easy for him to capture the current Holder and then keep them imprisoned, maybe after crippling them, until he can get what he wants from them.

The fact it's kind of incompatible with a person with a Quirk... kind of tracks, since, you know, Nomu, but if this was always a thing, under that logic everyone who wasn't Quirkless with this thing should have rendered brain damaged like, you know, the Nomu. The fact that they kind of... fall apart? That feels like bullshit. It has the energy of trying to make Izuku a True Destined Hero in a True Shonen by making him the only one who could use it safely, instead of, you know, just being chosen on his heroic merits, and goes blatantly against the themes the manga was talking about from the start, that everyone can be a hero. Because 'men aren't born equal' is wrong, and even a Quirkless kid can be heroic, can save someone. But, you know... Everything Changed When The War Arc Attacked. I'm not surprised it got fucked up.

May be a little off topic, but I'll point out since AFO has vestiges now (suddenly), that that's going to be important for whatever end game there is, and, you know, that's going to be bullshit, since OFA only has those from a Quirk that was specialized in making them, and even then they only started communicating with him at the War Arc, after generations of that one Quirk being powered up to allow it to happen. Meanwhile, AFO just takes the Quirks, and even if Quirks keep, well, a vestige of their former owner, why did it take so long to happen if it was just a thing that happened when you moved Quirks? Why didn't any OFA user before Izuku have this happen? Why aren't the Nomu filled with the traumatic impulses of their parts; not the main body, but the minds of however many extra Quirks are stuffed inside them? There's no reason for that logic to apply to AFO, since he just takes them, but... yeah. ECWTWAA.

....So, is the reason he's such a two-dimensional character is that he can't get a good night's sleep because god knows how many people are just constantly screaming at him, in a ironic own goal on their part that is making him more and more evil as he slowly loses his mind over the years, doing more and more terrible things they don't want him to? Or is that just me putting more work in AFO's characterization that Hori has actually done?

You want to know my prediction? That was introduced as the way to beat him, in the end: Izuku and OFA are going to lead a revolution in AFO's body/mind and purge him, or... something stupid to beat his mind once and for all, since AFO is apparently studying Orochimaru style immortality and we're reaching a point where killing any one body, and maybe even both, won't be enough to kill him, so they have to go deeper to finish him!

Which totally makes sense.

SIgh.

On the Vestiges, and the powers? In theory, I'm fine with it, Hori clearly was hinting about them way back when, but in practice the way that's been handled is ass. Either A, these guys all have buttons to unlock their Quirks, in which case there should have been a Team Meeting with Izuku rather than him randomly shooting out combat tentacles out of nowhere, when he could have killed someone with them, just like... you're in a fight; surprise super powers! What could go wrong, or B, it just happens, in which case them making noises about proving himself or whatever sounds... dumb when what they think about the situation has nothing to do with it.

More than that, though, the way they're being used to power up Izuku? The way that they're just his Stands now, more than actual characters? Only showing up behind him to show how serious Izuku is? The sheer fucking disrespect of it irks me; Hori, if you're going to introduce actual characters who are people, then treat them like people. If you just want to give Izuku powers, don't give him a mindscape full of people with opinions, just give him powers. One or the other Hori; you can just give Izuku a weird Animus style flashback without a personality you actually need to manage being attached.

On the powers themselves, it's clearly something that got dropped on the wayside. Black Whip, obviously, is Hori's favored child, lovingly used at every possible chance and drawn out in great detail (I hear he really likes Spiderman?) but after that? The first couple were utility skills, chosen to give Izuku some soft support while he wandered on his own without readily available support tech, beyond those.... Hori just used them as crutches to skip over all the development Izuku never had the time to do to master AFO itself. No matter how they phrase it, no matter how complicated they make the explanation, they're just there so he can punch harder.

As a person, it's hard to tell much about OFA. He has morals, he opposes his brother, he's keeping secrets from Izuku.... let's be honest here, he's more of a plot device than a human being at this point, and I have zero faith in his future development. It's kind of frustrating since there's a lot of interesting potential there (is he a Good Guy(TM)? Did AFO just go too far, and before that he was fine with his brother the warlord? Was he cowardly like Izuku, but also went through character development once he gained the ability to stand up for himself? There's a lot of ways his characterization could be spun, but that has more to do with his lack of characterization than anything) that I'm sure he'll never live up to than anything.

Beyond that... there's this symbolism with hands that keeps coming up. Shigaraki has it, of course, that's mostly his trauma being expressed with his hand based Quirk (and strengthened by AFO using hands to condition him, actually...), to the point where it became his theme. Later on, though, when they started expanding on AFO and OFA mentally, there's thing where both of them are reaching out to people, with this focus on their hands. Both of them do it, and it's always drawn in this ominous sort of way, even for OFA, the apparent good guy. Sometimes, usually (or only?) for AFO (who also has a Quirk focused around his hands; it's not surprising his mind would orient around that to some extent) it's even the only thing we see of their mental silhouettes. It's... very interesting to me, and makes me think there was probably going to be more to him at some point, that there was going to be some, any, depth to his character.

On the academia part, here's the thing: compared to later on, the early stuff was better, not on the merits of school vs fighting, but because early on, even with its flaws, it's clearly something Hori put a lot thought into, had a plan. The later stuff? Well, there's some sort of plan, but the later we get in the timeline, the more it feels like Hori is backpedaling from some original concept, and changing it to something else as we go along. And in itself, his ideas changing isn't a bad thing, but those changes are still built off the foundation of his older plans, and it leaves more and more plot points hanging out in the wind, without proper support. If this manga was a house, the higher Hori built it, the more floors he added, the more he started shifting the house to one side, while everything he had already built stayed where it was. That's not how you get a solid house, and no matter how much fancier those higher floor may look, it doesn't make up for the fact that it's only barely staying in place.

At the same time though, it's clear that, for all that this series is called My Hero Academia, the actual school part of it is something Hori doesn't seem to be all that interested in, or have put thought into. UA, narratively, isn't a school, it's an excuse, and the times when Hori puts in things like class presidents, or normal, actually academic tests and the like, it's because he has to put them in, and so it's understandable when you look at the actual school parts of this 'school', it feels awkward and out of place.

When people talk about liking it, it was probably less, 'Man, Izuku and friends in school, doing school things, was great' (though, there are are probably plenty of those as well, to be fair; again, My Hero Academia; it's not surprising to see interest in that school setting promised in the actual title) and more that, 'Wow, it was nice to focus on Izuku and the main cast we were introduced to from the beginning, and watch them actually talk to each other and interact!', since the farther we got into the actual hero stuff, the less we had of all that, and of all the characters we got attached to originally, when we first started the story.

#mha critical #bnha critical #ask #One For All #All For One #My complete lack of faith in this series developing anything anymore #OFA's transformation into The Mandate of The True Hero #The Vestiges are people not Stands #Black Whip is Hori's favored child #Remember when 1A was important?

[scoutpologist]

none of thats fucked up, honestly i think its natural and makes a lot of sense to feel as a trans/nongendered person in this environment. no apologies necessary

i think its not really a controversial statement to say that the world would be better off without these ideas of gender weve built for ourselves because yeah it kind of would. gender can for sure be beautiful in the ways people interact with or change it but thats not really gender itself i guess but more the interpretation. the current idea of gender itself to me is a divisive thing that was mainly used to oppress people. i mean maybe if colonialism hadnt happened wed have a different popular form of gender that was built on celebrating and worshiping differences and that would be really cool but as it is i dont really see anything wrong with personally wishing it didnt exist so that it wouldnt have to apply to you.

also i dont think youre a girl just because youre often interacted with as one. as a multigender person whos constantly the brunt of misogyny i get why it might feel easier to just "accept" girlhood since thats how people want to label you but like, nah. you dont have to.

and even if youre totally fine being seen as a girl that doesnt mean you have to be one on the inside too. your gender can just be your own special thing if you want.

this was way too much talking but basically do whatever you want forever. its okay to hate gender its okay to want no part in it. its okay to try to escape it by dressing like a bog monster or really emo but its also okay to stay exactly the same and just tell people youre not really a girl. its all up to you

i wish you luck

thank you so much for sending such a long and in-depth response!!

you're right in that it's not fucked up. looking at it with a clear head i know it's not.

"gender can for sure be beautiful in the ways people interact with or change it but thats not really gender itself i guess but more the interpretation. the current idea of gender itself to me is a divisive thing that was mainly used to oppress people."

^^^ this is roughly how i feel about it but i was struggling to put it into words. i also hesitate greatly at times to say that gender is a tool of oppression because even though that's true, that line of thinking can very easily be misconstrued as trans people being oppressors forcing gender onto others, rather than victims of the social oppression. it's the reason i haven't really brought this up before as well. i'm very relieved to find that people have understood what i meant lol.

"also i dont think youre a girl just because youre often interacted with as one. as a multigender person whos constantly the brunt of misogyny i get why it might feel easier to just "accept" girlhood since thats how people want to label you but like, nah. you dont have to."

very true (and thank you for this <3). i think i feel the way i do because identifying that way used to be a very core part of my identity. and it always comes back to me as something that's difficult to let go of. i feel a kinship with other people who had the same formative experiences as me or who are going through them now.

i guess what gets me is that i understand and feel that gender is social, but i'm socially labeled a girl. so... technically that could make me a girl, in some way. and that's what i can't buck off - the fact that i'm seen that way means i have some connection to it that's socially definitely there. i'll never be able to get rid of my past and my childhood, too, and i wouldn't want to change those either. so does this make me a girl?

in my case specifically? it might, in some way defined solely by experience. and if it does make me, in some sense, a girl, what does that matter for how i view myself and my gender? it really would only matter for peace of mind and acceptance of how people see me. it's something different from my internal perception of myself. so i don't know. i'll have to think about it. but you've really got me thinking.

i think that people's internal perceptions of themselves and the outside perception are very different things, but they can interact to a certain extent based on the person. some people might not care at all and some do care. so it's a very individual thing that i'm talking about.

"and even if youre totally fine being seen as a girl that doesnt mean you have to be one on the inside too. your gender can just be your own special thing if you want."

very true. everyone do whatever you want forever <3

and as for the screenshot, yeah, i believe that gender is entirely social and made up as well. so do whatever the fuck you want. be free. maybe i should take that advice.

thanks again for the response, it means a lot, and i'm super happy to have this convo. talking about this is very freeing and it's always helpful and enlightening to hear others' thoughts!!

#ask #relaxxattack #oof this is a lot. hope that's okay

[shiny-holographic-star]

Can an 8H mercury (Libra) cause someone to always play devil's advocate?

I have always been "wrong" in the eyes of the people in my life, so i'm passionate about defending people "in the wrong" by the majority. I'm talking about murderers, cheaters, etc. I don't excuse their actions, but I try to understand their motives, feel sympathy, try to understand them.

I also have Lilith conjunct ASC, so maybe this could play into it?

Hii! Lets see what I can interpret from those placements to answer that question from an astrological perspective!

Libra Mercury in the 8H

Mercury is how you explore your immediate reality, make sense of it and how you problem-solve or use logic. It's about your priorities, how you organize your ideas/mind. How you analyze your current situation and seek to self-improve.

Libra is more conscious of other people, can be more collaborative and might be able to compromise in order to achieve balance in relationships and be fair.

As a Libra Mercury you might keep in mind or be conscious about other people's opinions and situations when you make judgments of your immediate reality.

For you, it might be important to “balance out the scale” after evaluating a situation (analyzing who has the upper hand, who needs more help, who has more power, who has it “easier” and who's more vulnerable).

You might focus your problem-solving skills into considering other people's points of view about the problem and mediating among the people involved to seek a solution that leaves both sides satisfied enough to calm the waters.

The 8th House represents those moments when we get closer to others in an intimate way, so we're vulnerable and the other person can see us “naked” (metaphorically or literally), but we can see them too without masks or barriers. We might also get more conscious about our shadow side when we have planets here / 8H synastry since we know that we won't be able to hide it when we get really close to others.

Maybe you're more in touch with your shadow self (also seen with your lilith/ asc aspect), you're more compassionate and understanding of it, maybe because people perceive it more easily and they judge you.

Mercury in the 8th House could indicate that you're more inclined to explore your shadow side and make sense of it, plus with Libra here you might try to understand it, accept it, integrate it. You don't try to push it away and bury it like most people, you want to be fair with that side of yourself. This might trigger other people since you might easily use/incorporate that energy which they can't even stand to look at. If you don't wear a mask or try to hide that plutonic/lilith energy, they're gonna get uncomfortable and try to force you to bury it like they do, to reject your shadow self. That energy feels dangerous, deep, intense, powerful, and they're afraid of it so they want to escape it.

Lilith conjunct Asc

The 1st house is the Aries house, it's about starting things, desiring something, being motivated to take action, your drive. While Lilith is the hidden side of your personality, like the dark side of the moon.

Conjunction means they work together and their energies merge for the better or worse.

When you're motivated to do something, you tap into that “darker” (not to confuse with evil) side. You might be passionate about identifying and destroying whatever is “wrong” with society/your environment like Scorpio (the energy itself not the sun sign). You might consider that it's wrong to judge people based on their shadow self, that it's not fair. You value your shadow side and seek to incorporate it, integrate it in a healthy way. “Why should we be scared of it? It's just another part of ourselves.”

People might perceive you as someone who has a hidden agenda (motivation + hidden side), like you're plotting against them so you're a threat to them. They might feel that whatever you desire is dangerous for them.

Well, that's what I've got for you! I hope it made sense and that I got it right :D

#astrology #astro placements #birth chart #natal chart #aesthetic #ask #Libra Mercury 8H #Lilith conj Asc