That cool bee book I was talking about a while ago mostly refrains from philosophical digressions (which I think is a strength, I appreciated how the author had total confidence that just clearly presenting the facts about his subject would be enough to make a fascinating book without the need for any "...and here's why that should blow your mind" editorializing, and he's totally right), but there was one towards the end I've found myself thinking about a lot, which is: he wants people to stop using "self-consciousness" (i.e. the concept exemplified by the mirror test but used implicitly or explicitly in tons of other contexts) as a criterion for which animals can be considered sentient/morally relevant/having significant inner lives/however you want to describe it. Not, as you might expect, because he thinks it's an unreasonably high bar to meet, but because it's such a low bar that it produces no distinctions: he argues that basically any animal with any kind of developed central nervous system has to have some kind of self-consciousness almost by definition.
The example I remember best is: imagine you can see an object in your visual field getting closer to you. No matter the specifics, it's obviously always going to make a huge difference to how you evaluate this situation whether the cause of the object getting closer is a] the object is moving towards you, or b] you are moving towards the object. If a, then something might be pursuing you or falling on you or a thousand other things that are just not even worth considering in the case of b. But visually the two cases are indistinguishable; if you're going to be able to track the difference, your brain has to be putting at least some work into keeping tabs on what your own intentions are and what choices you're making as you move through the world, predicting the expected consequences of those choices, and maintaining a fairly tidy mental separation between stuff in the world that you're making happen and stuff in the world that's just happening of its own volition. Otherwise, every time you walk towards a rock you'll freak out and think the rock is rolling into you, or vice versa.
And it's not hard to see how this applies to your entire sensory world right, it applies to sounds and tactile sensations and even feelings internal to your body to some extent, if you're going to both perceive the world and take actions in the world then it's mandatory to mentally separate yourself and the world before that's going to yield even an ounce of helpful information, you just can't function successfully on the most basic level if you're processing stuff that you're doing on the same level as stuff that's happening, if you're in that state then you simply don't have a usable model of the world at all, you just have chaos.
So you can very easily eliminate a certain seductive narrative about the evolution of consciousness, which starts with very primitive animals who are mentally processing nothing but basic sensory inputs, then as you rise up the chain more complex animals are forming concepts of objects and building up a more nuanced understanding of the world, until finally you approach humans and the mind becomes so subtle and sophisticated that it gains access to this special advanced meta-level of thought where it can even understand itself! No, the self is precisely the one idea that has to be in place from the very beginning, before any of it has even the most rudimentary practical value. Self-consciousness isn't the pinnacle of the mind's evolution, it's one of the lowest, most basic foundations that everything else builds off of.
I think this is really cool stuff! I don't know enough about the relevant academic philosophy of mind debates to say how far all this does or doesn't speak to that, maybe someone will tell me the "self-consciousness" concept being attacked here is a strawman somehow, I don't know. But it's definitely impacted the way I (just a dumb guy who likes creatures) think about our small small cousins and what their lives might be like and I think it's super interesting. If you think it's interesting too then maybe you wanna buy The Mind of a Bee by Lars Chittka and read it. It's mostly not about this stuff, as I say it's light on philosophy and heavy on bee-life immersion, but if you actually read this whole post then you're probably in the market for that I feel like.
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R Ace Trappola - Luxe Couture Vignette
"My perception just lagged hard"
[Fairest City – Crystal Galleria]
Ace: Alright, it's finally the free roam time I've been waiting for! That brand-name shop looks good, and so does that one… But I think I'll have to pass on 'em!
Azul: Oh? You don't plan on visiting those stores?
Ace: I mean, I'm not anywhere close to being able to afford all those high-brand clothes. But you already knew that when you asked, right, Azul-senpai?
Ace: But it's not like I've completely given up on doing any shopping, though. I'm thinkin' about checkin' out some of the secondary line shops.
Azul: Ah, yes, there are many high-end brands that are developing products aimed at the broader marked instead of just their main audience.
Ace: Yeah, yeah. I did some digging after heading back to the hotel yesterday, and…
Ace: Looks to me like those secondary line shops have fits that suit me better.
Azul: Hm. And what sort of look do you tend to like, Ace-san?
Ace: I guess my likes reflect my usual getup. I dress pretty casual.
Ace: I like clothes that are easy to move around in, and aren't really high-maintenance. And I can't really deal with looks that are too stiff.
Ace: I'd probably say that most of my outfits have a splash of the current trends, but also have a bit of an edge to it.
Ace: On the other hand, I can only imagine you wearing pretty stiff and formal stuff.
Azul: I suppose. Of course, it does depend on the time and occasion.
Ace: Maaan, I know you got some real good sense about these things. It'd be greaaat if you could tag along and pick out some clothes for me~
Azul: Well, let me see… I do have some interest in how those secondary line brands develop their merchandise.
Azul: There's no reason for me to not join you as I observe their establishments. HOWEVER! You will, of course, be paying for yourself.
Ace: Tch. Guess he saw right through me. Suuucks.
Ace: Oh well, let's go, then.
Ace: Hmmm, where's the store I was checking out yesterday…? Oh, found it. Azul-senpai, it's over here.
Azul: The store does seem to have a grand appearance, yes… But I can see that the designs here are rather different from the signature line.
Ace: Looks pretty good, huh? Let's go in!
Ace: Woah, check out this stylish sweater! The shape's pretty good, and I bet it'd work with all sorts of outfits. And the price…
Ace: ONLY 30,000 MADOL [300 Thaumarks]! THAT'S SO CHEAP!
Azul: Calm yourself, Ace-san. Is 30,000 Madol for one sweater considered cheap to you?
Ace: ACK, WAIT, NO, THAT'S NOT CHEAP! WHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE~
Ace: After seeing all those Luxe prices set for the rich and famous, I guess my perception just lagged hard.
Ace: But I think I should be able to buy at least one thing from this shop with my pocket money.
Ace: Azul-senpai, I'm countin' on you to pick out something nice for me.
Azul: What do you think about that black blazer on the mannequin over there? It has a stunning silhouette.
Ace: Ooh, you're right. It's got a pretty slender and sleek profile!
Azul: Underneath it… How about this collared white shirt? It would probably look good with a striped tie, as well.
Azul: If you combine it with these center-pressed slacks and leather shoes, you would do well in any establishment that requires a dress code.
Ace: Cool, I woulda expected nothing less from something you've selected, Azul-senpai. Pretty formal and mature.
Ace: It's a pretty different look than what I normally would go for, but I guess I should at least give it a try.
Azul: I am pleased you like it.
Ace: If I were to buy everything that you chose for me… Urgh, that's over 100,000 Madol [1,000 Thaumarks]!
Azul: Well, this might be a secondary line, but it is still a brand-named shop.
Ace: Hrrrngh, maybe I'll do just this blazer… It's not really something I already own or anything.
Ace: And black pretty much goes with anything, so it makes it easy to come up with outfits…
Ace: It's a shorter style, too, so it might actually go for a casual look with my hoody and jeans.
Azul: That is a combination that hadn't even crossed my mind… Yet, I agree, I'm sure it would suit you immensely.
Ace: So that look would be like a combination of our two fashion senses, then.
Ace: If it's just the blazer, I think I could just barely afford it, but… My funds when I return to campus'll be pretty low…
Ace: Ooh, I have an idea! Can you let me work some hours at the Mostro Lounge?
Ace: I can be pretty good with my hands. You've seen that before, right, Azul-senpai?
Azul: Yes, of course. And we have a mountain load of tasks to be done. I look forward to your wonderful hard work, Ace-san.
Ace: …Shoot. Did I just put myself up for something I shouldn't have?
Ace: Uhhh… Hope you'll go easy on me~
Requested by @ordinaryanon.
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Ok so my friend and I just recorded 4 HOURS of raw audio breaking down the OUAT pilot, season 1 finale, and discussing the show in general for our new podcast where we make each other watch episodes of our favorite shows and talk about them together. It’s exactly as fun as you would imagine. :)
But even after all that, I still have things I forgot to say or didn’t get to. So here’s a few of them:
1. “Evil” as addiction: the OUAT writers treat the concept of being evil like addiction/substance abuse which is really interesting and kind of a bold choice for a 2011 show about fairytales. Then within that structure they show basically the two choices you have when facing addiction: choose not to use and become a better, healed version of yourself (Regina) or keep using and stay stuck in your patterns and hurt everyone you love forever (Rumple). As a child of an alcoholic who has chosen the latter, I loved watching Regina’s journey in this context and while she stumbles a lot, she keeps striving to be good even though she gets the short end of the stick most of the time. And her North Star is always Henry, which I think is important to show that you don’t just change because you feel like it, there usually has to be the threat of something worse happening if you don’t change (in this case, losing Henry physically and emotionally).
2. Regina Mills might be the most psychologically complex and interesting character on prime time tv in the 2010s? Period??
3. I rambled a good bit in the podcast about the costumes and color symbolism but here’s a bit more for you: Once Regina is on team heroes she often wears some kind of red top (the hero’s color) with a black jacket/coat over it showing that she’s changed on the inside but she still *looks* like the evil queen on the outside and can now use that persona/power to her advantage instead of being consumed by it. By the end of S5 this contrasts with Emma who wears her signature red jacket but a black/white/gray sweater underneath, showing that she’s a little more of a mix of good and evil these days post-dark one. In a color sense, they’re almost mirror images of each other at this point, and it’s really cool.
4. I know a lot of people are really salty about how Emma’s light kind of dims toward S4, 5, 6, and I’m right there with you. Her character feels flatter, and honestly kind of depressed. Now idk if this was a real choice on the writers’/JMo’s part, if she was going through some stuff at this time and it just showed up in the character, or what. That said, it does track for me in a way, especially post-dark one. She should be kind of thrown off by everything that’s happened! She should be changed! I just wish they had done something with it instead of pretending it was normal. If Regina’s struggle with evil is analogous to addiction, why can’t Emma’s struggle with evil be analogous to depression? It would have been an interesting take. Somebody write the fic.
I could keep going but I’ll stop here for now. Stay tuned for the podcast!
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Having absolutely no context for your Lovebrush posting almost makes me want to stay clueless about the plot because there's something so funny about seeing the same guy be this really nice sweet guy and then next post is about his war crimes. Please keep it up I'm deeply enthused - an Artem follower
JHGJLJFLGJFH EHLP! oh my god OKAY OKAY OKAY. FIRST OF ALL. THANK YOU! FOR STICKING AROUND I GENUINELY APPRECIATE IT AND APPRECIATE YOU!!!!
second of all - this made me laugh so hard. im not even joking i stashed this in my inbox for a bit because i wanted to reply properly. so i apologize for the wait!!
lbc is. so stupidly complicated and i love it so much. okay. so like. the sparknotes summary. if you want it.
the mc is a "traveler", aka someone who can travel through space and time. there is only one of her across every universe.
cael (one of the love interests) is also a traveler and is from a War Criminal Planet universe where war crimes are the norm and emotions are SO not cool. there is also only one of him across every universe. he is also immortal.
the other love interests (ayn, alkaid, clarence, lars) are "paragons", who are basically four guys who manifest in every alternate universe and act as their worlds' last line of defense in the event they are ever threatened.
two different au versions cannot exist in the same universe as their souls will either combine, or one will take over the other.
their alternate selves are all different people, but are the same at their core. they have the same "nature", but very different "nurtures" due to the differences in their backgrounds and home planets.
of course, this means there are also "paragons" on the War Criminal Planet cael is from. so while they have some similarities due to their nature deep down, their nurture has made them. uh. well uh. insane??? lmao??
so basically this means while each alkaid tends to be friendly and patient, you also get the prefect luminary, who was raised in a world where our morals are flip flopped and what is good here is bad there. the fun in lbc is seeing how these two very different alkaids are similar, and how they are VERY different due to their upbringing.
for example, alkaids tend to be very image conscious. this manifests in modern alkaid as coming across as unassuming and nice to everyone to get them off his back. while it is in his nature to be nice, it is also in his nature to be perceptive and sharp as a tack. something he tries not to be too open about in the modern world for backstory reasons.
in the prefect, this manifests as someone who feels the need to overcompensate and try to exert their power to be the prime example of a prefect in the empire (war criminal planet). any deep down kindness is smothered. his perceptiveness and sharpness, however, is on full display.
these two alkaids' ways of "fitting in" are veeery different due to their environment.
BUT YEAH. basically take the au cards in tot and just. imagine rosa going through time and space and meet all of them and each of them have a route and stuff.
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feel free to delete if this makes you uncomfortable. I saw on your rules dark content is fine, but I know yandere stuff can be a trigger in particular with its many aspects (stalking, murder, etc)
TW: Yandere, violence, kidnapping
im curious how a yandere Yuu would vibe with the great 7. they aren't good people (duh) but would they at least try to keep Yuu on a somewhat good path? even if its a student the 7 like, like the dorm leaders, their number one is Yuu, so I can't imagine they'd feel bothered, in addition to the being evil. And with half the cast having angsty backstories, I cant imagine it would be hard to make some justicifacation (I messed that up, didn't I?) for kidnapping the object of Yuus afection
Queen of Hearts: "Well of course I helped my Rose with young Riddle! Its so sweet to see such a happy couple, and honestly, why wouldn't he love this? A nice space for the two of them, free from *that* woman, allowed to indulge in whatever he likes! As long as he doesn't break my Rose's rules, sure he'll need some time to adjust, but they have the rest of their lives to spend together! :)"
Jafar: "So maybe its not Jamil's ideal, but what's there to complain about? Travelling the world together, free from the Al-Sims,and a nice home to come back to, where the housework is split evenly so he doesn't have to do it all. I just hope he doesn't try Snake Whisper again, or else his eyes may have to go. The ingrate may just deserve it, he has all he wants but still is fighting my poor gem"
Idk if i understand this but
Tbh I don't really care for yanderes– don't get me wrong the concept is cool but I feel it's never done right, it's either always tropey or overly edgy– but the 7 encouraging Yuu to be as deranged at they are is great. I mean look at Male and Grimhilde, they'd definitely be like "if he doesn't like you– lock him up!!
Meanwhile Hades advice depends on which story you believe. It's either "go kidnapp them and feed them a pomegranate" or "idk leave your house unlocked and if they love you they will walk in and make themselves home"
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hello! I really liked that one ask where the farmer was a dragon, can we have that one with all the sdv bachelors? even some npcs and/or the bachelorettes if you want? thanks!
Heya! You mean the reaction to Dragon!Farmer? Sure, why not! ☺️ (Hope you don't mind if I'll do sdv bachelors only).
Only that past ask specified a male Farmer, but since there's no clarification here, I made Farmer neutral (they/them). Thanks for the ask!
_________________________________________
"Well, now I know exactly what I'm going to call the next chapter of my autobiography." Farmer had to give Elliott credit: their ginger haired husband held his own, not fainting or screaming in terror when they appeared before him in dragon form. Though they realized from the exhausted smile and pale face that it was better to stay close to catch the writer's body at any moment.
Shane kind of quit drinking.... And he never took any of other stuff thar can make so hallucinate. Then why the hell is there a giant reptile flying over his head right now calling him "darling?" That's what only the Farmer calls him.... And now this overgrown lizard landed in front of him and turned to his favorite spouse again, looking at him with a guilty smile. Just a regular Tuesday for Shane, for fuck's sake...
A tense moment for the Farmer themselves as they finally reveal true form to Sebastian, love of their life. They wait for his reaction, what he will respond, shock and horror on the emo's face. But in the end, Sebby's brain goes to autopilot and he spews out, "I've seen bigger." What... Now it was Farmer's turn to gasp in shock. "Have you seen other dragons?" Farmers don't know if they asked it out of surprise or even jealousy, while Sebastian was still stunned.
It seems that Sam's bewilderment and shock passed very quickly, because anyone else would have started showering him with questions: how long or why didn't you tell me before? But not the young guitarist, because the first thing that came to his mind was "Will you take me for a ride? This would be cool!" On the other hand, things got around without panic, so that's good.
Harvey, as a doctor with experience, was mentally prepared for anything. Apparently, not everything, because the poor man fainted at the sight of a huge dragon on the place where just a minute ago Farmer was standing. The local doctor wakes up with a headache, and the first thing he sees is Farmer's worried face, already in human form. Phew, so Harvey was imagining things and it was just a dream, right? Heh, poor Harvey...
"Now what am I going to tell my grandma?" Somewhat surprisingly, Alex uttered those words not because he was surprised by the Farmer's true form itself, but because they scared him so badly that the athlete dropped a dozen eggs. "Honey, we live on a farm, we have plenty of eggs. And anyway - there's a dragon in front of you." "Dragons later, chicken eggs for Grandma first." And he added that they were the weirdest and coolest person in the whole world, and that he loved them. But don't let the Farmer scare him like that again.
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I'm on my nth re-read of books 1-4, and I keep finding new things to be delighted by, on top of the old reliable lines that make me giggle every time. Like in book 4:
“Yeah,” said Harry, whose success had overdosed him with optimism. “Hey, think about this: you reckon I can just Banish the water and walk down?”
“Oh, bless, he thinks he’s Moses.”
How does (presumably pagan-ish or non-religious based on holiday celebrations) Draco know about Moses? Does he think Moses is a wizard??? I mean... he DID accomplish several miracles with a big stick. Any of the implications here make me cackle
Oh this is awesome, I've been wanting to talk about this for ages: I think wizards know what the Bible is! And Christianity, and Judaism and Islam, and I think there are practicing members of all of those religions (and more!) in the Wizarding World. Here's why.
The Bible (Old Testament specifically — Draco's references lean towards the OT because that's the broader cultural referent, it's the common glue of the Bible/Quran/Torah and if wizards know any Abrahamic text, it's that) is a huge, ubiquitous, world-shaping cultural text that was thousands of years old before the International Statute of Secrecy. The date of 1692 for the SOS means that any muggle culture before the 17th century is fair game, even if it's not accepted by wizards. So that's why I think atheist/agnostic/pagan wizards should still have at least referential familiarity with it.
The fact that wizards celebrate Christmas (NOT Yule, although obviously in Lionheart they do both) tells me that there is at least vestigial religious belief in the population. Expressions like "Merlin" in place of "God" tells me that wizards probably have a different relationship with it — Merlin's generally treated as a kind of prophet? — which is giving "splinter sect of Christianity defined by the emergence of Merlin as a separate prophet for wizards," but I'm not gonna spiral too far into that headcanon, because this is a lore analysis post. But that's my working idea, here.
The first-order response to the "what about magic?" problem is: Not everything that happens in the Bible can be explained by the Harry Potter magic system. Water into wine, sure. Resurrection? Impossible, as far as 99% of wizards know. Harry Potter is the only person we know of to be fully resurrected, and even he's never technically full-dead. Moses parting the Red Sea? I mean, we can imagine spells that would do it, but think about how much water is in the fucking sea! We don't see anything of nearly that scope happen in the series. And what about manna? We know for a fact that you can't use magic to make food!
But let's sidebar that, and drill down on what you can explain. Water into wine. Curing the sick. Okay, cool. There's still a big difference between "established in-universe ability that has been ritualized and turned into technology" and "literal miracles." Walk on water? Sure, you could probably perform a spell for that. But does Jesus? Do we know, for a fact, that he had a wand, or that he cast a spell? Had the spell for that been invented yet? Are you even sure he was a wizard? Can we prove it? Moreover, would it matter?
This leads me to my bigger point about the nature of religious belief: if you believe the dude's divine, having magic doesn't change anything, right? Because he's still the son of God. Christians don't believe Jesus was divine because he performed the miracles; they believe he was divine and so performed the miracles. There are many different IRL-theological stances on how much of the supernatural stuff in the Bible "actually happened," and you can be a skeptic about the scientific facets while still subscribing to its broader philosophical and religious claims about God.
Even if you take Jesus and other Abrahamic characters out of the question, there's still a place for religion in wizarding society, because of the afterlife. With the exception of ghosts (who by their account have never been fully "dead," and so don't know it) and inferi, the relation between the wizarding world and the afterlife is a one-way conduit. That means there's still plenty of room for wizards to adopt religious beliefs specifically about the afterlife, and religion would still play a social role in defining how people approached those topics.
Finally, the pagan elements of the Harry Potter series read less to me as an espousal of sincere religious conviction and more as a ritualistic vestige of prehistorical magical practices. Since the universe's magic draws heavily on pagan ceremonies — especially in the realm of potions/herbology/magical creatures — ironically, I can't imagine paganism as a religion in the universe of Harry Potter. Like, it's just straight-up true! It would be like starting a religion around meteorology, or chemistry. There's no element of mystery or divinity involved for faith and belief to fill in the gaps; you know how magic works, and you can be good at it.
What JKR did with the magic system — apparently on accident — was to textually validate huge volumes of pagan practice without invoking any of the associated spiritual or religious beliefs. And since we live for seven years in the mind of a competent, practicing wizard who does tons of magic without seeming to believe in any particular god at all, I have to infer that you don't need to. Rowling has, again, likely not on purpose, built a universe whose central conceit is: "what if the pagans were just straight-up right?" and revealed the answer to be: "well, then it wouldn't be paganism anymore."
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once I promised phil as a tourist dad
here he is
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this is probably an unpopular opinion with the amount of "everyone is married with kids" type future aus people make for sonic characters but i cannot see sonic getting married or having a kid ever. if he did somehow end up with a kid hed be the worlds first transmasc absent father or however the joke goes
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i feel like. theres designing a character with certain themes and motifs in mind, and then theres making a gijinka for the water bottle on my nightstand
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there are a couple changes i would make to the keyboard if i could:
wiggly exclamation mark
bleeding heart emoji
varying snake emojis (more poses would be fun)
question mark with a little heart for the dot bc, well,
more explosions
and that is all thank you
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I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh
hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]
i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..
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Don't leave me alone after 3 AM I will come up with a new idea
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this will be unpopular probably but idk i've been called slurs a time or two and it's personally uncomfortable to see... obviously do as you please in general but when interacting with me or my posts i'd really prefer if yall didn't casually use fag, etc in place of gay and stuff 👍
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