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#i go on reddit and see someone asking my same question
tittyinfinity · 6 months
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I don't even use reddit but I'm about to make an account simply based on the fact that it's the only fucking place on the internet I can find answers to anything anymore
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artsekey · 11 days
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I really hate how ads have taken over the internet. On one hand, I know that hosting a website costs money, right? And ad revenue is one of the simplest ways for free-to-use websites to cover their operating costs.
My question is-- and I would genuinely love an answer-- is this ever going to stop? Tumblr ran for a long time without ads. So did Youtube. I know that the cost of hosting so much media has gone up, but there are a lot of users on these websites that make the content that drives people to use the service that don't see any of the money generated by this revenue. On Youtube, there's at least a way for creators to make some money from what they do. For most, it isn't much, but the opportunity is there. On Tumblr, well... the ability to convert the visibility of my blog into any financial gain practically nonexistent, though they did at one point promise that users would be able to make money from ads run on their blogs (whatever happened to that, Staff?).
"You can pay to avoid seeing ads!" Tumblr says, as if the views on my main blog alone over the past few years have not generated more than enough ad revenue to cover the price they're asking me to pay, the person who is actively making content that brings eyes to their ads.
I'm not mad at Tumblr for hosting ads. I get that it has to happen because it's the easiest way to keep the site free, and honestly, I imagine Tumblr's staunch opposition to monetization has been a real obstacle for the team building Tumblr. But at the same time, it feels like yet another small concession in the usability of the site. I'm tired of ads that auto-play with blaring audio while I'm scrolling. I'm tired of adds that, if I touch them while trying to scroll past them, take me to an external site. Outside of tumblr, I'm tired of looking for information online only to get a webpage that's 95% ads and otherwise illegible. Hell, I recently got an ad on Discord. Was it unobtrusive? Maybe. But it was there, for the first time, and I know that won't be the end.
I know the first reply I'm going to get on this is "use adblock", and yes, that's a solution, but think about how much the landscape for media has changed in just ten years.
Popular forums are basically gone outside of reddit.
Youtube, without Red, is ad hell. You can't watch more than 3-4 minutes of video without getting sent to marketing hell.
Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter-- it's terrible. I firmly believe they've manufactured a worse experience through the implementation of ads to convince you to buy into their premium services.
Just Check out this video of Penguinz0 trying to watch a video on a third-party site.
There's discussion of putting ads into video games.
Remember when games didn't include micro-transactions? Blizzard is charging $70 for one mythic skin. You could almost buy Overwatch 1 twice-over at that price-point.
Influencers make a living by making their lives into advertisements.
Youtube has retaliated against users using ad-block on non-chrome browsers by artificially inflating the load times of it's videos.
What can we do about this? I imagine companies see it as an infinite money hack; users can't stop companies from hosting ads, and the action they could take to voice their displeasure-- leaving the site, using other competitive services-- has been all but obliterated thanks to the homogeneity of popular social media outlets. If someone is truly so incensed about ads, well-- it isn't like they have to engage with them, right? They can enroll in a cheap, auto-renewing service to get rid of ads entirely. Well, wait, the price of premium might just have to go up. Don't worry, it's auto-renewing! You won't even notice it. Oh, no, it's got to go up again, you won't even notice it.
There's no incentive for them to cap this behavior, and no way for us as users to pressure them to do so. We create these spaces; we fill them with color, art, activism, community, and the companies that ride on the tailcoat of the spaces we create tell us to give them more. What comes next?
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catboybiologist · 5 months
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Be honest: do you think there are femboys who aren't just eggs?
Yes, and tbh I resent that their existence is questioned so much. And I know this is gonna be considered a Bad Take by many people I've fostered a community with, so uh. Yeah.
As a former femboy, and current dykey/tomboyish trans woman, gender nonconformity within your actual gender is an essential part of a trans or genderqueer identity. In a lot of ways, my transition goals are the inverse of being a femboy- I'm going from a feminine man to a masculine woman. And yet, the trans community doesn't question my feminimity as a masculine woman in the same places where many people would question the masculinity of a feminine man. And don't even get me started on where NB identities fit into all of this. This is largely coming from the same place where people are okay with women wearing pants, but men or AMABs in general wearing skirts is Bad (tm).
Like don't get me wrong. The caricature of the Bad Trans pushing all the femboys to become eggs is a wildly overexaggerated, and I've met many, many femboys online that used that caricature to excuse rampant transphobia. But. I hate that there's a but. But.... I literally experienced it myself many times during my femboy days, especially online. Here's a short list:
-Had a transmed bombard me with harassing messages and comments on reddit telling me that I was a "fencesitter" and I just needed to "fucking transition already and stop making trans people look bad"
-Had a trans woman I knew irl shove an estradiol pill in my face, and try to order me to take it, in front of a group of people I wasn't even fully comfortable presenting as a femboy to, until she was eventually asked by someone else to stop.
-Had several comments indicating that I should be force femmed in femboy subreddits
-Had many, many DMs trying to tell me I was a "failed man" that should just transition already
And to clarify- all of this is so, so mild compared to transphobia that myself and others face. But it is a very real thing that happens. To many femboys, I think this is the first time they've received any kind of queerphobia or questioning of their identity, so it feels far worse in their heads than it really actually is. And, to be fair, I think it mostly happens from the more gender binary minded cis community than it comes from trans people- but as I've said, I've had it coming from trans women both irl and online.
I've also tangentially noticed that it seems to be transmed adjacent. Not saying that this anon is, or others who try to encourage femboys to explore their gender, but there certainly is a correlation. If its difficult for you to acknowledge cis gender nonconformity, then its easy to see that extending to a lack of understanding of nonbinary people or others with different trans experiences.
Every time one of these things happened, it didn't put me any closer to transition. It made me feel unsafe. It made me feel on the spot, and scared, and almost outed.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again- if you want historical parallels to femboys, we have a perfect example in drag. Drag is performative, over the top femininity that has become its own artform, style, and means of expression in a way that is intrinsically tied to gender nonconformity. Being a femboy is also all of those things. And guess what? Many drag queens have used it as a way to explore their own gender and realize that they're trans. There are also many who are cis, and remain confident in that identity. Is the percentage of trans people among people who have done drag at some point higher than the general population? Of fucking course- its one of the few places where exploring gender is encouraged and celebrated. Of course trans people flock to that. And the exact same thing is true of femboys. Are a higher proportion of femboys trans or eggs than the general population. Of course. It's a great venue for trans people to explore their identities. But even more of them are
Am I saying you're a bad person if you encourage femboys and gender nonconforming people to consider the possibility that they're trans? Of fucking course not. It was the gentle, affirming pressure with respect and care for my comfort levels from several incredible trans women I know irl that eventually made me confident enough to start HRT. Their continually support is a key factor in my social transition plans for the future. I needed that pressure, and I think everyone, including people who aren't actively engaging in gender nonconformity, needs some push to question their gender and start unlocking cis+. But to be blunt, questioning whether cis femboys even exist is not gentle, comfortable, and affirming pushes.
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aaronsrpgs · 5 months
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In Praise of Random Encounters
I'm in my "responding to frequently asked Reddit r/rpg questions" phase, so please allow me to defend the random encounter. This post is in response to everyone who goes, "Why do people use random encounters? They interrupt the flow of the story, and it doesn't make any sense to have something randomly show up and fight."
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Did you know there was a Pokemon named after me?
In this post, I will argue against these strawmen, make a case for random encounters in certain games, and describe my favorite random encounter situations from my own games.
This disputation against random encounters can be broken up into three parts:
they interrupt what is already going on ("the story")
they are illogical
they're automatically a fight
I'm going to address these last to first.
Random encounters shouldn't jump right into fights. If used as intended, they come with an encounter distance, meaning sometimes you just see signs of the encounter, or you spot them from far away. And they should also come with what used to be called a reaction roll, which dictates how the encounter feels about the PCs. These were rolled on 2d6, which meant there was a bell curve that favored results in the 6-8 range, which were usually something like "wary" or "neutral."
Second, the logic of random encounters. If you're using them right, random encounters should make sense. They should only have a chance of happening in places where the encounters could be, and encounter tables ought to be chosen based on location. So you won't get a dire trout in a desert or whatever.
This last bit is the hardest one. If it feels like a random encounter would disrupt "your story," you're probably running a game whose underlying philosophies are opposed to random encounters, yes. It's probably also opposed to many other frameworks that were present in traditional/old-school rule sets. If your game has a pre-planned story or plot, if that plot requires a certain pace or order, and if the injection of outside elements would disrupt that plot, you probably shouldn't use random encounters.
(You also shouldn't use D&D or its cousins. You might also not want to have other players, since they can disrupt those plots. But that's just me being petty.)
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A page of random encounter rules from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. This is a shitty example. I promise it's easier than this.
So when SHOULD you use random encounters? Use them if the game you're running is attempting to simulate a world that has its own logic and background that is not dependent on the player characters. Random encounters help show that the world is in motion at all times and that people and creatures move about of their own volition. They don't show up when it's meaningful to the plot or the other characters; they wander. They're random.
Another key component of this style of gaming is that they usually consider story as something that emerges from or comes after play. "Remember how we tried to cross the raging river full of electric eels, and you dropped your sword, and I almost died, but we made it across? That was awesome." These things didn't happen because they were important plot points predicted by the DM; they are the results of rolls at the table, rolls that are honored in their immediacy and only made sense of after the fact. Does this mean that you risk having a disjointed mess from which no pleasing story can emerge? Yes! But you also risk having a story emerge that no one could have planned, that is equally surprising and pleasing to everyone at the table.
This emergent storytelling is probably the greatest joy of the random encounter. Don't approach the encounter with, "It doesn't make sense that a goblin would be here." Instead, adopt the attitude of, "Let's figure out why this gobllin would be here." (And while you're at it, use that same attitude toward books you read and movies you see.)
A related aside: in some play cultures, the DM is considered to be someone who plans everything out and slowly reveals bits of story as rewards to the other players. As a DM, this can feel really stagnant, and it can be a lot to keep track of, and there is far less joy of surprise. Using dice at the table to introduce new elements can bring some of that fun back to the DM.
Everything I've said so far is a synthesis of dozens of rulebooks and blog posts I've read across a decade of running games, so please allow me to introduce a final element: my own experience with the joy of random tables.
In 2014, when 5E was coming out to great demand on the backs of Stranger Things, Critical Roll, and The Adventure Zone, I started running a campaign for friends and coworkers. There was no developed play culture around 5E at the time, no cottage industry of third-party developers. So in running it, I was drawing on what I had been reading for years: old-school roleplaying and story games.
So I prepped my starting town (doing way more work that I would today), including random encounter tables for the area. And when the players were out searching for some ruins and getting lost west of town, I rolled a random encounter. It was some gnomes. All the gnomes here had escaped from a gnome hell for greed, so they weren't exactly kind. And their reaction roll was just south of neutral, so they were a little surly.
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A bad screenshot of my "west of the town of Wall" encounter tables.
They led the players to the ruins and waited, trying to trap them inside after they'd been run down by the undead inside. But the players overcame the trap and told the gnomes off. (They didn't want to get in another fight after going through the ruins; more emergent storytelling.) So the gnomes ran off, but they would remember this.
Flash forward to a different session. In the main mega-dungeon under the town, the players were exploring a new area. Another random encounter: the devil of gnome hell! It was a giant mole with masses of earthworms for limbs, and it was searching for its escaped prisoners. It threatened to kill the PCs unless they gave it a magical item. So Pepper the elf gave up his winged sword, which he'd found in the aforementioned ruins. He loved that sword.
And here's where it all comes together. The gnomes were trying to settle the land west of town, but the humans had a fort there. The players were going to that fort to get some information about the faerie realms. How could I show this situation in a way that would, as succinctly as possible, illustrate the tension while giving the players a choice on who to join? Well, the gnomes would be attacking the fort. This normally wouldn't be much of a battle…but the vengeful gnome from the ruins had made a deal with the gnome devil for power. And now he was wielding Pepper's sword, using it to fly over the fort walls and attack.
Pepper was pissed! He wanted his sword back! The other players were more interested in figuring out a way to stop the ongoing conflict between gnomes and humans. And the gnomes were split between wanting to peacefully settle their new land and get revenge on the players for driving them off from the ruins. Who would prevail?
I hadn't planned a story, but I had created a situation a story was likely to emerge based on the players' actions and the results of the dice.
Conclusion
This isn't me saying this is the only way to play. It's not the only way I play. In a short one-shot or a tightly paced, emotional game, I would never use random encounters. But they can be fun! And they (and their associated suite of rules) can address some of the issues that lead to DM burnout and genre predictability.
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If you find me in the wilderness, I will fight you.
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kimberleyjean · 6 months
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Aziraphale's Illustrated Bible
There are a lot of interesting items stored within Aziraphale's bookshop and one I find fascinating is the bible (or bibles) that are typically on the stand next to his desk and which they use for the Job flashback/memory sequence. Here's what these books look like in episode 2 - the blue detailed folio, the beige folio held by Aziraphale, and this same beige folio when opened to Job:
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You might not have noticed yet, but there are several other images shown in this book in the second season! Often the book is out of focus and far from the camera, but some sleuths on reddit were able to identify the particular images being shown.
Let's take a look at those images and where they occur in the show. All of these images are famous illustrations by Harold Copping:
1. "Joseph knows his brethren" - Book of Genesis, Old Testament
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This image is on display in episode 1 and looks like this on camera. To spot it, I used the little telltale shadow that is created on the ground:
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The story of Joseph may be more familiar to you as "Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat". I've certainly had to brush up on my bible knowledge myself, so please, if you know more than I do and I've gone wrong anywhere let me know. Joseph is rejected by his family and they believe him dead. He then gets promoted to a high-up position in Egypt. The image depicted is when Joseph is reunited with his estranged brothers and they don't recognise him at first (something which happens a lot in season 2!). However, Joseph recognises them and he pretends to be a stranger to them at first. Eventually, he clears the room and says to them "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?". I'm sure there is more to unpack in this story but I'll leave that for someone with better biblical knowledge.
2. "Jacob's vow" - Book of Genesis, Old Testament
This image appears in episode 2:
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In the episode, it first appears in the background looking like this:
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According to comments on the reddit post, this image could refer to "Jacob’s vow in Bethel, that’s when he promised to worship God if God took care of him, and it was the day after his famous dream about a ladder in heaven. It is generally a symbol of the link between heaven and Earth." Here is a quote from the exact passage: "Genesis 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me, I will surely give a tenth to you." We see a lot of emphasis on food giving this season. The Eccles cakes get offered to Maggie then handed to Crowley. Gabriel offers up lots of little snacks at the ball. The Metatron gifts Aziraphale the coffee. At the ball, we see people being given new clothes as well - is that what this could be referencing? Why do you think these particular images have been chosen?
3. "The Brazen Serpent" - Book of Numbers, Old Testament
What do we think of when we hear "serpent"? Anything snake-like refers to Crowley in this show, so that's where my mind immediately goes.
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This appears in episode 3 looking like this (partially occluded):
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The story is that God had sent fiery serpents to attack the Israelites for making complaints about God and Moses (no asking questions, no complaints? What kind of organisation is this? They really need to unionise). However, God seems to then have a change of heart and commanded Moses to erect a snake upon a pole, referred to as "Nehushtan", so that anyone bitten by the snakes can just look at this pole and they will survive.
We get some pretty wacky stories about God's fickleness in Good Omens, especially in the S2 Job flashbacks. Is this a reflection of that theme, perhaps.
4. "By the rivers of Babylon" - Book of Psalms, Old Testament
If you don't have a Christian background, you may be more familiar with the song than the story itself. From the wikipedia article: "The song is based on the Biblical Psalm 137:1-4, a hymn expressing the lamentations of the Jewish people in exile following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC".
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It appears in episode 5 and looks like this:
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One Redditor has explained it as such: "The rivers of Babylon symbolize deep grief and longing for freedom by people exiled from their homeland and doomed to live in captivity."
5. Closed Book(s)
The book also appears closed at times. Let's take a look at the scene where Aziraphale retrieves the book for the Job flashback. We see him getting out the beige folio and putting it onto the stand but over the top of an almost identical book. The only difference is that the Job one has blue detailing and the other is a plain/beige cover (seen here in this third image with Crowley, episode 6).
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So what is this other book? Well, looking online, it appears that Harold Copping's illustrated bibles could come in sets of two - one for the Old Testament, and one for the New Testament. All the illustrations we see in S2 are from the Old Testament, so why would the New Testament also be there? When explaining this to someone they mentioned that Aziraphale has a lot of misprinted bibles in his collection. So could they instead be two different versions of the same text - one with misprints and one without? I'd be keen to hear your thoughts.
6. Bonus Season 1 Appearance!
In Season One, we also see a Harold Copping illustration - Adam and Eve after the Fall.
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The book is in the same place inside the bookshop, as show in episode 1 (26:21) and episode 2 (51:40).
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Beyond supporting the themes of Good Omens these books are useful in another way too - finding discontinuities! If you are interested in the discontinuities of Good Omens S2, then please check out this post:
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cpericardium · 23 days
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So! I've gotten a host of messages and asks regarding recent disk horse and I wanted to address them as a collective. I know I have anon asks off, I won't share your URLs, but I do want to thank you for asking and clarifying some of the frankly vile things people have been saying about me, my girlfriend, and friends. I value those of you who offered your words of support, and didn't jump to believe screenshots taken out of context and lies written with the utmost confidence and none of the facts. I am a little tired of having my morals questioned and my views conflated with every single person I associate with, but there it goes.
Some questions and answers under the cut. Feel free to continue asking and I'll do my best to answer.
tumblr user cpericardium suspiciously silent on the subject of Gaza: does this mean you support ethnic cleansing???
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My reticence when it comes to posting about topics like I/P is because:
-This is a fandom blog intended for lighter topics, except maybe the occasional vent about life stuff, which I usually hide under a cut. I don't have sideblogs. They seem tough to maintain and I don't post nearly enough to justify it. If I were to make one it would be for another fandom or maybe just the freakier bugs. I simply prefer my social media experience to be stress-free.
-Anti-slacktivism. It's a documented thing: posting about an issue makes you feel like you're doing something, you get that little shot of dopamine, so you don't actually go out and do something that effects meaningful change. I'm trying to do less of that. I'm good with the friends and people I follow who choose to post about it and this is a strictly personal belief, but when I engage in activism, it is offline or it is a donation. You're not going to hear about it.
But don't you reblog lgbt and women's rights posts?
Yeah, and that's usually when I want to save a post for one reason or another (e.g. to talk about with someone on discord later). The bottom line is that the main purpose of my blog is not to post political takes or to spread awareness of anything. It is just a collection of my interests (fan stuff, bugs) and hopefully a way to share those interests with like-minded people.
I will state my views clearly for the record: I support Palestine. The ongoing genocide is heartbreaking and so is the violence against protestors. Additionally, I am against antisemitism and the harassment of Jewish people in the name of supporting Palestine. This shouldn't even need to be said.
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Is your girlfriend a Zionist?
No.
Does she support Zionists?
No.
Wasn't she in the military?
Yes, years ago.
But the military is evil?
It is. She's extremely hardcore anti-war, does not believe the US should even have an army, and actively PMs strangers on reddit to try to convince them to not make the same mistake. If they're dead set anyway, she gives them detailed advice on how to survive. Because she actually cares about the human cost of war, not the social clout gained from shunning or sneering at people who make wrongheaded choices. I have seen her doing this, seen her seeking to understand their reasons for joining so she can systematically explain—from personal experience!—why they're not going to get any of that out of the army. It is a hell of a lot more effective than bitching them out or writing callout posts or starting whisper campaigns about them. She cannot delete those years of her life no matter how much she regrets them. There is only forward. I think we can all agree on that.
But what about all those things she said. "I regret nothing, I have no qualms, VA nipple money etc."
Well you have to understand that while of generally upright character, she is a bit of a scamp. She believes she fundamentally should not have to explain herself to randos who do not know her, who have never, not once, interacted with her, who are clearly digging for dirt and will twist anything she says no matter how banal. People see what they want to see and they look for evidence to reinforce their preconceptions; they'll go so far as to make alts to join servers, cherry-pick screencaps, crop them, and conveniently fill in the rest of the narrative for curious onlookers. So she decided to exaggerate and amplify and twirl her mustache like a supervillain. Give them a show, as it were.
To be clear, I'm not sold on this strat because it makes her look cartoonishly evil to people who can't understand sarcasm and hyperbole. But her friends and I are aware of her actual beliefs and also that she did not in fact do those things people imagine she did. And isn't that what matters? Real-life harm? Do you even care?
Re: screenshots/so-called proof from shakertwelve & lakesbian's "callouts"
Girlfriend addresses them here.
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charmedreincarnation · 3 months
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Hi charm. Your posts have helped me lots! Im keeping consistent for once and understand the law and shifting properly. My question is that I’ve been trying to considerate my understanding and application of states and A+P. This sounds stupid but I go back and forth and try to apply them, but the debates about them don’t make sense to me. I think rn I reinstate more with states but some I do prefer to just affirm and I’m just curious on which one you “preferred” and how you applied that to shifting. Thanks 😊
I think it really does depend. I love the law of consciousness, and under that really anything goes. But for me personally, I really do think there’s a point of no return when it comes to A and P and states. Just in my experience, feel free to believe and do what you like. First and foremost, your beliefs are more important in your reality. But I feel like everyone says that so often. If you don’t understand that, it's not really my job to coddle anyone at this point 😭😭 everyone is their own god and that’s the most important thing to understand.
But I started my journey back in 2020 when I was 16, and I manifested so much with mirror work and affirmations because I didn’t know about the law, and honestly I barely knew anything about manifesting either. I was only a shifter. And all my shifting friends, not on Tumblr, who shifted pretty easily and I consider "master shifters" (not that it exists or matters), honestly didn’t get into LOA either. They just affirmed (but used LOA, by knowing they’d wake up in their desired reality without knowing). Ever since then, they don’t gripe in the community because sometimes ignorance rlly is bliss. If I was in 2020 and stuck with that, I would have gotten everything so easily. But looking back, somethings happen for a reason because the desires and drs I wanted at 16 are nothing like the life/drs I want and have right now. I’m so grateful I struggled for a bit; it was a blessing in disguise 😭😭😭.
Around that time, I hated LOA because I talked about this in a different ask, but my favorite master shifter on Reddit (I’m an OG Reddit girl) who brought LOA to Reddit eventually left because she claimed she thought she was mentally ill, and shifting is psychosis. So I hated Neville and LOA for a while, which is so funny, because what did he do? I also didn’t like states because none of my shifting friends knew about that, and all shifting was just knowing and affirming. I wanted to do that too, not live in my head or whatever I understood states as.
I obviously eventually learned about LOA properly and learned so much about the "mechanics" and origins and over-consumed, just like a lot of you guys. When I tried to go back to A+P, I struggled so much because I really did believe in states. I thought about my horrible childhood, but how I got through it was knowing and believing in magic and my eternal happiness. From ages 9-14, I was a very happy and lucky child despite my circumstances and depression, because I was in the state of someone who had it all. I always knew life was more than what we can see with our eyes, so really, I knew A+P wasn’t really what was working, it was my state. But I refused to admit that for a while and got mad when my affirmations stopped working (that’s what I mean by point of no return).
Also, my shifting friends are using states, and when I started asking them about it, they started talking learned about their methods and how they suceeed easily. Most of them used some variation of SATS without knowing and music to fulfill their inner man and know that, regardless, they’ll wake up in their desired reality. So I started doing the same, and that’s how I manifested my first shift.
But everyone is so different. Like look at all the success stories. Some people just use science and logic with lucid dreaming steps. A lot of people in LOA now didn’t even use LOA to manifest at first or get into the void or whatever. Some people shift without knowing or by accident, etc., etc. The point is understanding states helped me because that’s the type of person I am; I like knowing the mechanics behind the seemingly magic. But maybe you don’t, maybe you don’t care about states, you know they’re behind everything but don’t care. That’s all good too. I don’t care how anyone achieves or understands the law to get their dream life, as long as they’re not spreading misinformation. The law is about you and understanding what fulfills you; you don’t need to follow debates to fulfill yourself.
A lot of people feel very strongly about their beliefs because it’s what helped them achieve their dream life, so they’ll die on hills for it. And I honestly get it; that’s how you feel about shifting. So I really don’t like when people try to dunk on it or like "debunk it." And that’s how everyone feels for their beliefs; it’s the human in us, we feel strongly about our passions. But don’t let people make you feel bad about your beliefs. Sometimes Tumblr can get like middle school-esque with the labels and drama, but again, it’s a good reminder that no matter how godly you are, we still have our human shell, and that’s oddly comfortable to me so I don’t care that much tbh. Just do you girl, at the end of the day it’s your happiness that matters
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the-fallen-blue · 9 days
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So today, I spent about four hours writing and re-writing a reddit comment. I was asking someone a question about something that I find really interesting, and thought they'd have interesting input on. The context was a little volatile, so while I felt pretty confident that the user I was replying to was on the same general page as me, I still deleted and edited and deleted and edited for a while, to try to make sure that it was completely, crystal fucking clear that I was totally sincere and genuine, and was asking in a spirit of friendliness and curiosity.
I got a downvote, and a really pissed-off reply imputing all sorts of smug snarky malice into my question. So I replied again to wish them well, and moved on.
The lesson is this:
You cannot control how other people will see you. No amount of work can ever guarantee that someone will understand you the way you wish to be heard. Save yourself three and a half hours, and just engage with the world in good faith, and remind yourself that people who don't meet you in good faith in return were never going to, no matter what you did, and are not worth the extra time.
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giac222 · 3 months
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I have to be honest, the Reddit TCOAAL community has some of the worst takes on the game I’ve ever seen. 💀 I kind of talked about this already in a previous post I’ve made on here. That’s why I like the Tumblr community sooo much more.
This post will probably be kind of long and messy, so sorry in advance. Anyway, let’s get into it.
Here’s a screenshot of the comment that inspired this post. 😂
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This was in response to someone’s post about the vision in the questionable route. After seeing Andrew’s relationship with Julia and how little he cared about her, I don’t know how anyone could think he’d be able to have a normal/healthy romantic relationship with someone. I’ve literally seen people make excuses for him defending Ashley the way he did in the flashback with Julia while she was raising genuine concern. I saw someone say “well Ashley had him by the balls, if he said anything else he would have been screwed.” like be serious, he defended Ashley because he wanted to and has always cared about her more. I mean he literally lied to Julia’s face about Nina’s death, her best friend. 😬
This is what bothers me, when people act like Ashley is solely the problem and that Andrew did nothing wrong at all. Let’s be real, Andrew is the one driving Ashley’s worst behavior. He blames her for “making” him do things. He obviously can’t be guilty, so he needs something from the outside to blame (Ashley). As I’ve said in my previous analysis, they are both flawed individuals, they are the same. They are both toxic but they do really love each other.
Despite what these people say, Ashley is the love of Andrew’s life. He would never just leave her in the dust even if she doesn’t sleep with him. Mind you the two of them have never slept together and you can still see how devoted Andrew is to her, even if Ashley herself doesn’t see it yet.
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This is literally how he looked at her when she woke up after he thought he was going to have to take her to the hospital 🥺. I don’t want to hear any nonsense about him ditching Ashley or how he should leave her for good. 💀
In the Decay route vision when Ashley lets him kill her, he says “then I’ll see you in a bit.” Meaning that he’s going to follow her in death. Andrew wouldn’t want to live without her. Anyone who’s played the game knows one can’t live without the other, period. We know that they have a toxic codependent relationship, but it’s not only that way because of Ashley. It’s very annoying to see people act like it is. It’s literally both of them that contribute to it.
Are people just casually forgetting that even back when they were kids the game shows us that Andrew didn’t really care about Nina’s death, he was mostly worried about the consequences they would face if they got caught. Plus him grabbing Ashley and saying “guys and girls don’t go to the same prison, they’re going to take you away from me!!”. Also, before their blood oath Andrew literally contemplates if killing her would be worth it like hello??
In the game after Andrew brings up how their parents had friends, Ashley calls their parents whores and asks why they couldn’t be happy with just each other. He then responds by saying he never implied that they had sex, which causes her to say that it doesn’t matter and that it’s all the same. Ashley doesn’t see a difference between platonic and romantic love, to her it’s all the same. So yes, technically she does want romantic love from Andrew, she just wants his love period. In Decay when they’re on the bridge at the end of ch.2, she says something along the lines of “I’ll start when you love me with half of the heart that I love you with.” To say she only wants his attention and not his love is a damn lie. 💀
Anyway, when it comes to Ashley’s reaction to the vision in the questionable route, I didn’t see her as confused. To me it seems like she wasn’t expecting to see that as a vision, but at the same time she’s not really surprised. I mean she literally tells Andrew she assumed it would happen between them eventually anyway, so she’s definitely thought about it before. Earlier on when he gets her the Toxi Soda she asks him “What do you want in return? My virginity?” 😂 obviously she could just be joking there and nothing more but 👀… girl. LOL
Andrew’s reaction to the vision shows that he also wasn’t expecting it, except he was blushing harddd. He reacted the way he did because his thoughts just got exposed. The demon really said:
👁️ Andrew Graves I know what you are 👁️ lmao.
I think it’s fair to say that sex isn’t a big deal to Ashley, if her and Andrew never slept together I don’t think she’d really care, she also views sex as transactional. We see that in the questionable Burial route she thinks “the demon showed me one way to keep him around.” I’ve seen people on Reddit try to use this as a way to show that Ashley would never sleep with him out of love, and that she’d just do it so he’ll stick beside her, basically implying that she doesn’t actually love him….. 🤦🏻‍♀️ As I’ve mentioned already, sex isn’t a big deal to Ashley and she views it as transactional. However, her views on sex might change after her and Andrew fully cross the line. I hope what I’m saying makes sense. That maybe she’ll start seeing it as something out of love instead of something she has to do in order to keep him in her life, especially once she realizes that he loves her just as much as she loves him, and that he will always stick beside her.
I mean look at the way she’s looking at him in the vision. 😭
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That is a look of pure love fr.
I talked about this in my last analysis, but people who act like Ashley is the big bad villain and that Andrew is an angel who’s done no wrong are just in denial, and dare I say misogynistic. 😶 I mean to go as far as implying that she doesn’t actually love Andrew…. be serious right now, you have officially lost the plot 💀 like that boy is literally the center of her world and she’s terrified of losing him. As she said herself, he’s her pride and joy. These people sound like those Breaking Bad fans that act like Skyler White is worse than Walter.
Most of these awful takes about the game stem from Reddit, then again Reddit is a total cesspool on it’s own. If people on the game’s subreddit aren’t sexualizing the shit out of Ashley (the things they say never fail to make me die of cringe), they’re blaming her for everything bad in the game. 🤦🏻‍♀️ ughhh.
I have such a soft spot for Ashley as a character, especially after seeing how she’s always been treated terribly by everyone around her except for Andrew. Also because of her very poor self esteem and how it’s hard for her to believe that she’s lovable, like I’m sick rn. 🥲🥲 So, I hate how people are sooo weird about her, like leave my girl alone please. 😭
~~
I feel like this post was all over the place oops. Thank you for reading. ❤️
Also, thank you to everyone for all the notes on my previous analysis post about TCOAAL. ☺️ I’m glad you guys agree with me!
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sanjisblackasswife · 1 year
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“MMAHMB” Luffy x Black!Fem Reader (FLUFF)
I got this idea from reddit
Bad Summary: For the past 6 months Luffy has been telling you 6 letters everyday wanting you to figure out what it means and it’s been driving you crazy
CW: Just cheesy fluff fr, a kiss ig, Reader is Mentioned to Have Locs
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“Man?”
“No.”
“Mom?”
“No.”
“Make?”
“No!”
“Well i dont know Luffy gimme a hint!”
You both got lost in the jungle the crew decided to scope around and while searching for a clear path to follow Luffy called you over to see what he carved in the tree and it was a poorly worded
MMAHMB
Right on the bark, you look to see his happy go lucky smile and ask the same daily question,
“What does it mean.”
“Guess!”
“I CAN’T—!”
You have tried to come up with every possible word but the only one you’ve guessed right was “me” but that wasn’t the first word.
“Can i get a clue.”
“No.”
It was like a never ending game of hanged man, except no confirmation that you are right or wrong or close to the answer.
At one point you’ve asked for help but it made Luffy so whiney and upset so nobody tries to give you aid in your time of need.
“Give up?” Luffy teased now wrapping himself on your back as you walked, luckily he was always light as a feather so carrying him was never an issue with him holding onto you like a Koala.
“It’s been MONTHS Luffy of course i give up!” Your shrug your arms out groaning in mental exhaustion from your menacing boyfriend, he just giggles to kiss your cheek before pointing forward
“Okay fine! You suck at riddles Y/N..”
“Shut up and tell me!”
He lets out an airy chuckle and stares off for a moment in thought as you kept walking as Luffy played in your locs, you can feel him twirl it and even put one on his lip like a mustache making your lip curl into a grin,
“You should show me sometime how you got your hair like this i like it alot….so soft—“
“Luffy tell me what the letter mean bro.”
“OH RIGHT HEHEHEHE!”
He lets go of your hair to grab your cheeks, his slightly dry lips right on your ear to.
“PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPPSPSPSPSPSPST!”
“EW! WHAT?!” You swat his hands away and rub your now drool filled ear, “Luffy you play too damn much!”
“Hahahahaa! Okay okay! Fineeeee.”
Doing attempt 2, you felt reluctant, but you still leaned into his touch, his hand now covering your opposite ear and other hand cupping your other, he breathes are slightly shaky, possibly from excitement.
“You ready?” His tone a little more sincere and genuine, you nod impatiently, “okay…”
“Y/n…”
“Oh look we’re here! We found a path!”
Almost as if someone robbed you of seeing the One Piece, your heart sank and in an instant you got a headache. You felt Luffy’s bodyweight off of your back, but you couldn’t even look at him. You just held your face, nearly about to crouch down.
“Hey…what’s wrong you hurt?” Luffy tilted his head and tugged your arm to show your eyes.
“Noooo Luffyyy.” You pouted, “tell meeee what the letters meeeeeaannnuhhh?”
Luffy’s slight frown turned into laughter as he wrapped his arm around you to hold you on his side and run to the nearest tree.
You were so defeated and annoyed you just laid there practically dead on his side with the most irritated look on your face, of course Luffy didn’t care he was too busy carving…
MMAHMB
“Marry.” Luffy had his finger on the first word and looked at you,, he wasn’t necessarily smiling, but he had a very hopeful look on his face.
“Me.” He pointed at the next letter and with each word your eyes grew bigger.
“And.”
“Have.”
“My.”
“Babies.”
It took you a moment to register what he said,
“…marry me and have my babies…”
“No! Marry ME and have MY babies, y/n!”
You were dumbfounded. Clearly these past 6 months he haven’t been trying to,
“…are you proposing to me?”
“Well.” He said helping you stand you back up, brushing your clothes that have seemed to been dirtied by leaves while running, “kinda. We can’t get married now but this is my promise to you!—
“You will marry me and have my babies!”
You felt your heart and face warm, he was so confident and proud to finally reveal his little secret to you you started to blank out on his rambling.
“…and you should have all boys! When im pirate king I want an all boy crew to teach! Not that i don’t want any girls, I do like you, Robin, and Nami—-“
“Luffy!” You snapped him out of his thoughts as you touched the poorly carved tree. “You mean that?”
“Duh, why would i lie.”
You smile at his shrug, grabbing his neck you kiss this boy, making him smile. He grew to adorn your kisses, he grew to adorn you, which is why he knew and meant what he said,
“I love you, Luffy.” You mumble on his lips getting another laugh out of him before he throw his hag on you.
It was such a weird yet cute way for him to propose, you never really had many romantic moments like this with Luffy, he just isn’t a romantic guy, he does things out of impulse and what he thinks is right and you knew that so you wasn’t too surprised this was how he would profess his love to you, so what can you expect from a guy like him.
He’s Luffy.
And he loves you.
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zebulontheplanet · 1 month
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hi! hope you're having a good day! i would like to ask a question. it's something you've talked about before, i'm pretty sure. but what do you think or feel when people say, "visibly autistic doesn't exist?" i saw a post on reddit talking about how you can't be visibly autistic, and it ticked me off. i myself am not quite visibly autistic (i am low support needs, probably level one but no official diagnosed level), and i would like to hear from someone who has higher support needs than i. of course, absolutely no pressure to answer! you are not obligated to talk about this at all. thanks for your time!
Hi anon! I think this is a very important topic and I’ve talked about it in the past as well.
Honestly, it pisses me off. Because it ignores a HUGE population of autistic people. A lot more autistic people are higher support needs than people think. I think it was said that 26% of autistic people have “severe” autism? Or around that number. Although that doesn’t include those with medium support needs, and the likes.
When people are saying that “autism is invisible” they’re ignoring people like my friends and me. They’re ignoring those of us who do look autistic, who do need care in everyday life, who are visibly autistic. And it pisses me off when people say it. It’s 100% ignorance. Ignorance towards those who are higher support needs and low masking. And even those who ARE lower support needs and low masking, which is a thing.
Low masking autism, visible autism, is a thing. And people love to acknowledge it until it doesn’t fit their quirky idea of autism. Until it doesn’t fit the silly hand flapping and being “quirky”. When it doesn’t fit that, when it involves violent meltdowns, needing help using the bathroom, needing help every single day with “basic” things, suddenly it doesn’t exist to them. It isn’t possibly autism, it’s something else. It’s intellectual disability, it’s this, it’s that, it just isn’t autism. It can’t possibly be autism, right? /sarcasm
It annoys me so much, and I think more people need to talk to higher support needs, low masking individuals. They need to talk to them. They need to expand their social media coverage and friend groups. They need to see these things and believe it, because autistic people are here, and they’re visibly autistic. One autistic person isn’t going to look the same, they’re going to have different needs, but that doesn’t mean that autism doesn’t have a look for some.
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wheeboo · 11 months
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Rania !! Who do you think is the "my gf is mad at me I wanna die" kind of bf in svt and why do I already see mingyu and dokyeom in it ಠ⁠◡⁠ಠ (tbh I kinda see hoshi and dino do that also)
PLS I LOVE THIS QUESTION !! also lovely anon pls lmk if u want to have an emoji or something i love seeing u pop up in my inbox <3 is it funny i can tell who u are from the cute emoticons 😭😭 at least i think its coming from the same person oops... anyways i hope i do answer this question right i feel like i didn't lmao
i think my top contenders for this is def dokyeom, mingyu, and hoshi. dino is a candidate but i think it depends on the situation or his mood tbh, and he can be that way if he rlly wants to ykyk
dokyeom is an overthinker (same w me tbh), and this poor boy immediately thinks worst case scenarios if you were mad or upset at him with something either big or small, joke or not. and he's pretty sensitive so it doesn't rlly help his case yk. you can probably be on your period or something and he doesn't know but he would still be like "why is she so upset with me?? i didn't do anything wrong, did i?" "are we breaking up?? if we're breaking up then something should have happened right?" he'd want to go on his knees to apologise for whatever but he's a bit Too scared. is literally melting into his own body n fidgeting just o v e r t h i n k i n g. someone save him pls
mingyu does it for pity points i swear. if it's something small and not serious he would literally be like "yah are you trying to kill me? I was two seconds away from having a heart attack!" but if it's something more serious and let's say mingyu had done something (like idk, hog the blankets all night kinda deal) and you're mad and ignoring him, he is literally going to be All up in your business. he's going to try and pry open your crossed arms, swing his legs over you so he could cuddle you to make you feel better, ANYTHING. "baby,, you're killing me here from you just ignoring me" :( his heart is aching and literally in pain when you're mad at him. it doesn't help that he devotes his entire being and soul to you and is very whipped. so anytime you're mad it feels like a gunshot to his heart
hoshi is kinda like a combo of the two, but unlike dokyeom he goes to lengths to figure out why you're mad yet DIRECTLY avoid asking you because he's a bit (very) ... intimidated. he can be asking his own members or searching freakin google to find his answers. he would google something like: "my s/o is mad at me and i have no idea what to do" and he would find answers on reddit or quora help. and he might get a lil frustrated and atp accept his fate. the longer you're mad and ignoring him literally feels like him getting shot with an arrow for every hour that passes. gives you a pouty face so you can see what he feels like and hopefully feel bad for ignoring him :((
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perfectfangirl · 12 days
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notes after rewatching fallout s1 ep2
• dogmeat's introduction 🥺 • the enclave being shown as supremely evil because how could you incinerate live puppies 😭 • i want more backstory on siggi because i am curious if this is change of heart or like a mole • the super mutant hand needs to go from easter egg to reality next season forreal • i noticed siggi was drinking whiskey? to numb the pain of putting that cold fusion chip in his head--- i also wonder if he was drinking because he knew he wasn't going to make it • saw on reddit someone asking so it's the enclave who has cold fusion? and i'm still a bit confused about that because... i was thinking moldaver had something to do with its creation but then siggi knew exactly who lucy was... if the enclave is supposed to be a continuation of the pre war us government, then it feels like there's more tying the enclave and vault tec together than i thought
• in the escape scene, it seems like the other scientist knew siggi was betraying the enclave, but how? if they have cold fusion, was it obvious he was "stealing" it and trying to give it to someone else? maybe i have gaps in my knowledge here • siggi genuinely does seem like he's trying to do the right thing though 🥲 • dogmeat seeing that guy try to harm siggi and dogmeat fuckin' him up ❤️ • game dogmeat being referred sometimes as a boy and show dogmeat being a girl lol [love the gender doesn't matterism here gldfgld]
• the people who are enslaved work at the enclave being held there and escape meaning death • if these are namibia scenes where lucy is trekking, they are breathtaking, wonderful worldbuilding • lucy seeing a tumbleweed for the first time and going "the heck?" but then i like, remember she doesn't really know what "wind" is 😭 [and this also subverts the "tumbleweed blowing in the wind through a desert or desolate place" trope, i'm sorry but this a masterclass in comedy lmao] • her coming across some bodies but this time skeletons at a dinner table, a family of four i believe, all having taken poison, vault tech brand [a chilling scene but fallout is known for their hilariously placed skeletions so there's one with a cup of dirt in front of it] • probably the first time lucy is being confronted by hank and/or vault tec's lies, depending • lucy setting a [camp] fire, and me recognizing immediately it was a bad move [i watch too much stuff 💀] • i honestly' can't believe she took off her pip boy • dogmeat finding lucy 🥺 • it was destiny in so many ways because dogmeat is tearing that radroach the fuck up • siggi giving like a monologue in the most unsettling voice ever was so funny to me • siggi trying to tell her these animals [if you can call them that] up there are insane and genuinely in the nicest way possible trying to tell her she should go home • "question is, will you still want the same things when you have become a different animal altogether?" is some crazy foreshadowing • the cold fusion capsule glowing as he walks away • lord titus being an asshole and maximus doing the same to thaddeus lmao • lord titus "wanting to shoot something" and his stupidity leading to his own demise • [i like neither lord titus or the actor that plays him so dkfsdkgd] • dogmeat going into the yao guai den and coming back with a hand like it was sharing it with them 😭 • maximus being continuously disrespected and knocked down a peg, he doesn't deserve this 😞 • insane how close and somehow inadvertently hot on the trail lord titus and maximus was for siggi and dogmeat • learning squires appears to be a dime a dozen and that's one reason lord titus sent maximus deeper into the cave, the other is that he was scared • maximus seemed to be both disillusioned and struck with fear watching the yao guai attack lord titus--- so it was almost breathtakingly offensive when lord titus decided to blame maximus for everything and wanting him like, court martialed almost for this incident, despite maximus being small of gun and armourless, despite them both being scared, lord titus blames maximus for lord titus' own failings • "this wasteland fucking sucks!" love that running motif • anyways glad that guy died, next! • lmao this very disgusting man in a diaper or something being thankful lucy didn't shoot him but also drinking all her water 😭 • lucy getting a taste of wasteland selfishness and desperation gdfgdgfd • maximus belongs in a power suit • this chicken fucking man having the elixir to immortality or regeneration or whatever it is 😭 • and the chicken farmer, in a cameo, is a makeup designer and props department person 🙂 • in a beautiful shot, it looks like lucy is in the famous car forest or a replica of it • her trying to be convivial and people just not having it 😢 • filly is very fallout and i assume gamers enjoyed this scene because • everyone is in bizarre and comical mad max style outfits, iguana meat, giving metaton vibes • so i just read filly was named because it's a landfill but also there's the fact it was filmed in an airplane and automobile graveyard outside new jersey [close to philadelphia] and that there is a fillmore, california • also saw where it's modeled to look a lot like megaton and i thought this on first viewing • i didn't even realize cooper was already shown sitting and waiting, the crossing of paths was crazy • lucy seeing degeneracy first hand 💀 • lucy seeing weird shit and smiling because she, too, is weird
• cooper mysteriously and sexily watching from afar after cornering his bounty • "barv get in here" not ma june calling her friend to come and point and laugh at lucy • moldaver being ma june's client and that's why she shuts lucy down so fast after she asks about that pip boy • ma june saying lucy got all ten fingers, damn the writers were so • "i know that it can't have been easy for you up here, what with all the murder and the dirt" lmao lucy please • lucy realising vault tec's demonic saviour complex is very hard to preach about to wastelanders, people who have survived for centuries and without the help of the vaulties • lucy really is from the rich part of town because ma june was so insulted by her lies, she took her gun out • cooper, siggi, lucy intersecting was so crazy though • kind of wondering why siggi didn't wear a disguise as a wanted man • siggi trying to be nice and warning lucy to leave versus ma june harshly reminding cooper him and his ghoul kind aren't wanted in filly • getting chills that siggi is explaining to lucy what her vault experiment basically was as i didn't see it as that on first watch • siggi was telling her to go home because if someone smart realized who she was or where she came from, all hell would break loose • ok so cooper says the bounty went out from all six agencies but i could only think of three, wondering who they all are • ma june mentions she was given caps for siggi's safe transport out of filly, cooper mentioning a bidding war, is that why he shot siggi's leg clean off [probably did because bounty was dead or alive] • ma june getting people clipped by putting caps on whoever can take cooper down first 😭 • cooper smiling as all them people descend on him because this is the "the love of the game" shit he was talkin' bout 😭💀 • "all this murder makin' me hungry" cooper essentially • him eating those cherry tomatoes and then paying for them 🥲 • almost forgot cooper actually did get shot multiple times and kept goin', ghouls are somethin' else • noticing cooper gave ma june a nonlethal leg shot versus basically sending siggi to his demise with his • cooper stabbing not shooting dogmeat • cooper was about to shoot but lucy's candor and morality was a breath of fresh air, he was so shook lmao • he was so charmed, he kept walking, leaving him open to her shooting him in quite literally his heart [ok symbolism] 😭, smiling and everything • "well now that is a very small drop in a very, very large bucket of drugs" lmaooo they created ultrajet for ghouls because jet isn't strong enough for them • lucy being immediately impressed with the t60 • i hate maximus had to lie because this was so "knight in shining armour" but why did he reveal his face to lucy knowing if the brotherhood of steel had found out this early about what he did, he'd be dead meat like • cooper almost shot that girl like three times ldgld • i genuinely think the tranquilizer effected him but just a teensy bit • siggi saying he could still make the trip and ma june saying he'd be lucky to make it to breakfast ☹️ • jim's limbs has be cracking up every time • them installing that robo leg onto siggi is the most gory and disgusting scene to me and i hope it gets worse • something oddly sweet about siggi saying lucy can take him to moldaver after nearly begging lucy to go back home for her own safety, she put her life on the line to save him 😞 • cooper getting mopped by maximus in that power suit sends • i didn't realize after maximus made cooper fall, cooper says "goddamn, that hurt" 😭 • "you drive that thing like a fucking shopping cart" and it's a power suit gldgfld • that snake oil salesman really was telling the truth, he maybe could've healed siggi • cooper petting dogmeat while giving them a stimpak, cooper showing a genuine smile while doing so • siggi really lost too much blood and i thought this back in filly • siggi saying the cynanide pill from vault tec was the most humane thing they produced, pre war was a dark time
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maegorsbignaturals · 5 months
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Do you have any thoughts about Maegor and Balerions bond?
OMG HIII THANKS FOR THE ASK!!
I think that Maegor saw Balerion as an object, but not necessarily a weapon of mass destruction, but more likely like one that showed his position as the crown's heie. During the first decades of the Targaryen dynasty Balerion helped to show the "truthful heir" in some way like the Aegon I's crown and Blackfyre sword did, since those are heritages from the conqueror and most importantly, from Valyria (since they are descandents from the Valyrian Freehold and that makes them superior from the rest of the men and you- you know, Jaehaerys and his doctrine). But Balerion is a living heritage, the Last living being that really saw Valyria on its prime, and the fact that he bonded with someone after Aegon was a sign that he was a "More worthy/rightful" heir to the crown. Also, lets add the fact that Aenys gave Maegor Blackfyre sword, so yeah, he might accidentaly made Maegor to be seen as a worthy heir in everyones eyes (Perhaps as Aegon's heir, but i like to think that it was going more by Aenys's heir route, given Visenyas reaction when Aenys named Aegon the uncrowned his heir and not Maegor, and the fact they didn't tried to usurp Aenys when he was crowned, and also how he answered everytime when Alyssa V teased him about not having a Dragon).
Now, in a more heart-touching tone, i think that Maegor saw Balerion as a bond with its supposed father, since he never received the same treament he gave Aenys. Aenys was teached to fight by the king and the Kingsguard, Maegor was teached by the master of Arms of Dragonstone, Aenys lived almost all his life in Aegon's fort and had the chance to travel all around Westeros by his father's side while Maegor passed almost all his life in Dragonstone with his Mother. He never had a true bond with them, and the only time he might had had it was when Maegor was knighted at thirteen and when he was named hand by Aenys. I like to think that once a rider takes -or is chosen?- by a dragon, they not only bond with the dragon itself, but with the past riders thanks to its bond. In that way, Maegor could have had holded some of his father's memories and feelings and understand him, know why he never was perceived as an equal to Aenys. And, of course, the advantage in war and postion this ancient beast gave him. He was searching something from Balerion, as almost all of his Targaryen riders (except Viserys I). Almost all its life, Balerion was seeing as an object or a symbol from whom people could get something, Maegor I got the advantage of war, a way to try to understand its father, and the position of the heir (Aegon's heir? Aenys heir? The lines began to difuminate!), Aerea wanted Balerion to take her back to home and her privileges as heir, but Viserys? Viserys wanted just Balerion, but by getting Balerion he got the symbolism of heir and- okay, okay, i think that my point with Balerion and succession is clear. @kingcunny has a better understand and toughts about Balerion and Viserys bond than i, they can explain it better than i do andnqndnwne. I have talked to them and we both find funny the possibility that some ideas or feelings from the past rider get trought the bond to the New one. Like Viserys turned atheist reddit type with the seven once he bonds with Balerion and begans to question himself about his faith and the Faith thanks to Maegor's quarrel with the Faith.
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mookymilksims · 22 days
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I was struggling with how to respond to blackswan, and you said it all so perfectly! Thank you so much.
I want say this in general because the drama is done and we aren't ever going to get a response here.
Firstly, thank you for saying that, while I never look to represent anyone, it is a relief to know that I wasn't the only one thinking it.
I've wonder why simsecret is such an environment recently, and then I realized that the simblr community space is a PR warzone.
People, in general, are afraid to speak up, afraid to speak their minds, for fear of losing notes, being canceled, receiving anon hate.
There's a bizarre and unspoken rule here that you need to do everything publicly in a very calculated manner and it incentivizes people to not be themselves and think about how other's will perceive them more. Then you consider that a good chunk of people in this community are not very good people, so who's rules are we even playing by?
I've been hearing from a lot of new and old simmers who state that this space is very depressing for them because they felt lonely and anxiety when attempting to interact with each other. Anxiety when posting their gameplay. Anxiety when asking questions to other simblrs. Anxiety when reacting to other people's post.
Tumblr was made to connect with people. So why is simblr causing so much anxiety and pushing people who want to connect and interact and speak up; into silence?
Then spaces like Simsecret start to make a little more sense. It seems to be a rebellion to the atmosphere here in simblr. Same can be said for the anon feature here on tumblr.
When people are having an easier time connecting on FB, Reddit, and Discord than tumblr, despite being mutuals here it's safe to say there is a root problem in this space.
I think this whole situation reveals a bigger problem with simblr in general, that just hasn't really been addressed.
I want to offer some solutions here that are pretty simple so I hope no one takes this as being condescending:
If you really like someone's blog, don't even look at their notes. Heart it. Send them a direct ask off of anon and talk about what you love about their content.
Reblog their content, again, don't look at the notes, if you like it and it makes you happy, and you want it on your page, reblog it.
DM simblrs, I mean is this a stretch? Just reach out and say hello. If you want to befriend them, be the first to extend that olive branch. The worst they can say is no or not respond, that's not that bad.
Real life topics such as queer-phobia, racism, sexism, etc will always rear it's head into any space with humans in it. You bring your biases with you. If you see someone express very harmful views, speak up. This doesn't mean or have to mean you or that person is getting canceled. These could easily be teachable moments, and even healthy dialogue. Unless you literally studied and work in sociopolitical fields and are an active activist, the vibe should be to not expect anyone to know everything. These ideals are so deeply engrained into us from a young age, it wouldn't be fair to expect each and every person to know exactly how these complex super structural systems work.
Tell jokes sometimes, I'd love to know what sense of humor you guys have, we get memes like once in a blue moon. Let's try to not make this space so serious, it has everyone on edge.
There is so much beautiful art work and content in general right here on tumblr but I've heard simblrs express anxiety with reblogging that because they don't want to lose followers by posting non sims content. I literally love the rest of tumblr for the very reason that I can translate that work back into my game. And I just thought someone's photography or drawing or story was so good I wanted to see it on my blog.
I mean bouncing off the previous one, why don't we interact with the rest of tumblr? That would be dope.
And this shouldn't even be regulated to the rest of tumblr, I'd love to engage with more ts1, ts2, and ts4 simmers as well.
I mean I think I've made my point, because I can keep going with this. I don't think this is going to fix sim secret or the need for simmers like blackswan to dirty delete. I'm actually very disappointed in that whole situation because she could've received a lot of support but she dug herself into a deeper hole after her actions. I'm sad for her and sad that this situation was flipped into drama and not that black simmers in general are tired of the micro aggressions. Which is a way more serious message. But people are afraid to speak up. So I guess everyone active in this community will keep going around and around in this cycle. I certainly intend to KEEP applying the solutions I've outlined above, anyone feel free to join me.
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Words from the Gods 2 - Signs
I think signs are one of the most difficult things to navigate early on in one's relationship with the Gods. As someone who enjoys doing the occasional lurk over on Reddit, I feel like I see, at least once a day, someone on r/Hellenism saying something to the effects of "xyz happened today when I did/was doing zyx, do you think [insert God/Goddess's name here] is [insert emotion here] at me?" And I think there's a few problems with viewing signs in this way.
Don't get me wrong, I completely understand where they're coming from, especially if these people have come from a religion like Christianity, where signs are frequently seen as a bit more ominous, and searched for with a fair degree of intensity. But signs are a bit different here, both in terms of subtlety, but also in meaning.
For starters, the Gods are never trying to make our lives hard. This will probably be something I repeat a lot over this series, because it's entirely true, but also not something that I see said nearly enough! When it comes to receiving signs, generally a lack of understanding what the sign means can be connected to a lack of knowledge about the God/Goddess who might be sending you the sign. There is a combination of both "historical knowledge" and "personal knowledge" that goes into interpreting signs.
Historical knowledge simply applies to what is widely or historically known about a God/Goddess. For example, Hera is associated with peacocks because of Argos in mythology, or Poseidon is associated with horses and the sea from his own traditional attributes. It's one of those things where, if you have paid any attention to the God you are worshipping, you'll almost definitely understand what's going on, or at least who's saying what.
Meanwhile, personal knowledge applies to something which is directly communicated between you and the God that you are worshiping. For example, even though there isn't necessarily a historical connection between Dionysos and moths, He still sends me moth wings every now and then, specifically eye spots. This is because, after reading the article Riding the Phallus for Dionysos (would highly recommend if you're over 18), I found out that animals with eyespots were sacred to Dionysos, and after that, I found multiple perfectly intact moth wings, all of which had eye spots on them. So even though Dionysos has no traditional connection with moths, He still pops them in my life to remind me that He's around.
The other thing, besides knowledge, is context. This would be why the God in question is sending you a sign. Generally, you should have at least some form of general knowledge as to why They would be doing so. I've found that signs are usually just a divine way of saying "Hey worshiper of mine! I know you've been [feeling alone/asking Me for something/needing a push to do something/etc.], so here is some proof that I'm around!" Sometimes, obviously, the signs that are something like "giving you a push" are a bit vague, but it shouldn't be something so incredibly difficult to understand, you're getting stressed about it.
If signs seem to appear with no context, and no knowledge of either what aspect of the God (historical or personal) it applies to, I would do some research of your own, to start, and maybe throw out a few prayers to the Gods you're suspecting of sending you the sign. At the same time, though, I wouldn't be too concerned. Sometimes, strange things just happen in this world, as do some weird coincidences. I remember that once, earlier in my practice, my parents were coming to visit. I wasn't even worshiping Dionysos at that time, it was mainly Hermes and Hekate. I was praying to Them for a good, safe visit, and seemingly in response, there were dead frogs scattered all over the roads. This made my stress skyrocket, and I was internally panicking the whole visit. Nothing ended up happening, and in the following years, I started noticing that around that time of the year, there were always dead frogs on the road. I was living near a pond, and during the mating season, there would be more frogs, which would get drawn onto the roads, and there would just be... more dead frogs. It wasn't some kind of display that I had angered my Gods, or that something bad would happen. It was just a freaky nature thing that happened to coincide with my prayers.
To draw a conclusion in all of this, I'll say the following: first and foremost, signs can be difficult to interpret, and I'll never fault someone for struggling with it. But at the same time, getting to know a God both personally, as well as historically, is always a good way to understand the signs easier. There is also, as always, the context in which you are experiencing the sign, and if there seems to be none of that, then try to find a natural explanation.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to come ask me about them: my inbox and my messages are always open! (I know my writing can be vague at times - whenever I write these, I am attempting to collect my ADHD thoughts into one coherent Thing lol)
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