#BUT BUT THE CONCEPT OF IT BEING IN DREAMS PERSPECTIVE SPECIFICALLY

[absurdumsid]

Well the story of dreamtale is on jokublog tumblr and when I read it felt like the story was told from dreams pov

SORRY ITS JUST I JUST I I I I

[luckykiwiii101]

FEEL LIKE OVER-CONSUMING?

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💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

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(Remind yourself of these facts whenever you feel doubtful, frustrated, stressed or like over consuming)

💕Do NOT focus on the 3D. Just focus on the 4D

💖The 3D is just the old state/assumptions manifested

💗I KNOW that I have everything I want no matter what the 3D shows

💞I Fulfil myself every time I think of my desire (surrender to the 4D)

💓I NEVER identify with the 3D unless it’s desired

🌸I KNOW that i’m not waiting for the 3D to conform. I am only making my desire natural to me. I am getting used to always having it.

🌺I am only REMINDING myself that I have what I want.

🌷Logic doesn’t exist

🎀I am NOT lying to myself!!!

💄NOTHING can “ruin” my manifestation

💐I Only see/hear what l want to see/hear

🩰I Only focus on the FEELING of having what I want, I return back to that feeling every time I think of my desire. I satisfy myself until i no longer need the feeling of satisfaction.

💗I don’t need to affirm or visualise etc all day.

🍬I only look for confirmation in the 4D. NEVER the 3D.

💘Creation is finished. It’s done.

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

Quotes from @loasuccessarchive from anons who manifested their dream lives:

💗 “I've manifested so much physical changes when i stopped thinking about how the 3d needs to change. i focused on how i feel (state of already having your desires) and sustained that feeling.”

💓 “I did absolutely nothing but focus on my desires/the 4D. I was delusional, I was detached from whatever bullshit was happening in my 3D and I was basically in love with my 4D.”

💞 “the only reason why you fail, is because you haven’t accepted that imagination is the only reality, everything stems from imagination. the longer you focus on getting it in the physical world, the more stress you’ll have. you only want the feeling such desire brings you, so give it to your inner man.”

💕”All i did was fulfill myself in my imagination, and stopped looking for confirmation in the outer world, whenever i felt the urge to “look for it in the 3D” i would close my eyes and see it in my imagination. That’s all i did, the first days i felt a little anxious but then everything was okay, and i was EXTREMELY calm.”

💖 “I started focusing on the feeling of having everything I wanted, without being specific because my subconscious/ god knows what it is, it’s when things started happening, and let me tell you it’s was so quick.”

“I didn’t work on my self concept, I didn’t do methods (however I tried SATs and it did work for me once but I stopped since I got lazy) I didn’t focus on time or logic, I didn’t do anything but focus on what was happening in my imagination.”

🎀 💋 “your only job in here is to think from the perspective that you already have it baby. don't stress yourself, everything will change because if it is in your imagination and you accept that it will reflect in the 3d, thats literally everything everything and everything . you don't need to change your thoughts, only your state, you want to get into the void this night? imagine however you want that you are waking up with everything you wanted, it is not a desire, it is the reality. you want proof? go to your imagination. everything is there.”

💋”the wish fulfilled isn’t something over exciting (although it may be at first) its just a natural and normal.” —> https://www.tumblr.com/etherealkissed88/737821647378284544/the-state-of-the-wish-fulfilled

P.S Ily 💗 XOXO

- gossip girl

[tainbocuailnge]

so I haven't touched arknights in like. about a year or so, but it sounds like Crownslayer is a gravel style opp? Which. idk back when I was playing Gravel was still an incredible unit for her ability to be dropped and just stall someone for a bit. and crownslayer having stun and evasion, as well as being able to provide evasion to other units, sounds like a similar style of insane??? idk why people are saying she's bad she sounds bonkers

(tho I might be wrong, like I said I've not touched the game since like Il Sira)

the problem is that people have developed a completely warped idea of what an executor specialist is supposed to look like because texas and yato are not actually good representatives of the subclass.

the game started with gravel and projekt red, and waai fu was added early in year 1. gravel is built to facetank damage with her massive shield and to this day she remains undefeated in that role. red meanwhile is more damage oriented, meant to chip away at medium-threat targets with her s1 or do a bit of crowd control with her s2. waai fu follows this philosophy of having some defensive utility on her s1 (an atk debuff) to let her 1v1 medium-damage priority targets and crowd control utility on s2 (inflicting silence). their damage was never crazy high, their use was in crowd control including plugging leaks, reducing incoming damage through methods like debuffs or just baiting attacks, and taking out priority targets like elite casters or guerilla heralds at a lower cost than throwing a whole dreadnought guard at it.

then phantom released around the first anniversary as the first 6* of the archetype and his skills cover every job that you would previously need separate specialists for. his s1 tanks physical damage, his s2 lets him quickly handle medium-threat targets, and his s3 has crowd control in a large area. phantom on release was genuinely the pinnacle of fast-redeploy specialists because he was all of the other fast-redeploys in one, and you could deploy him twice to boot. despite this he still left reason to use the others instead of him if you really needed a specific bit of utility, and gravel in particular made it so his s1 was rarely actually used because she was just better at it. I consider this a good thing from a game design perspective, but I also believe this created this idea that phantom is (was) the best executor because he has more damage than the other executors, instead of because he's 2-4 utility units in a trenchcoat. phantom is an executor that is two executors.

in year 2 kafka released and she stuck with this idea of chipping away at enemies and doing funny crowd control with her weird range and sleep debuff. in philosophy she's still exactly what executors were originally supposed to be, bringing a new angle to the concept that doesn't clash with what the others were doing. kafka is an executor that is an executor.

skip forward to year 4 and we get texas, who despite everything still retains the shadow of the original spirit of the subclass. she has silence utility, she has the ability to pick off targets, she has crowd control. but it's year 4 and she's a limited operator, so she also deals more damage than all previous executors combined could ever dream of and also hits air with her stuns because we introduced an enemy gimmick where you want anti-air stuns since we last made an executor. her s2 does more single target dps than surtr s3 or so i've been told. texas is really more like a high damage guard cosplaying as an executor.

then only half a year after texas they bring in yato who just straight up does not even have utility, all she does is infinite fucking damage and her crowd control is killing the crowd dead. she's not an executor in the original sense, she's some other thing, like how mountain is a brawler that is not a brawler. but because she and texas released so closely together and both do so much damage, people now think that an executor's job is to deal a lot of damage and that the utility on texas is a bonus instead of part of the original conceit.

and it's this warped idea of executors that crownslayer is being compared to. crownslayer is doing exactly what executors have been doing from the start, namely taking out medium-threat priority targets, reducing incoming damage, and providing crowd-control utility. she's an executor that is an executor, same as phantom, but where phantom combined the at the time existing executors into his kit crownslayer instead looks at the functionality that executors are meant to provide and approaches it from a different angle. obviously I haven't actually used her myself because she just released on CN but on paper she looks incredibly well designed for her job of being an executor

[weebsinstash]

I'm sorry but I'm going insane for your idea of Lilith and Luci getting a sinner pregnant together can we please have more of your thoughts on this idea 🙏

Absolutely because I'm a dirty little heathen and Season 2 isn't just about to magically pop up out of the ground and I've had SOME THOUGHTS and also this post is way longer than it should be 💀

I was sitting and I was thinking of the concept of the Hotel having communal breakfasts or having at least one day of the week where there's food served and everyone (typically) eats together, not only as a bonding/unity sort of thing but also simular to how real hotels can have complimentary breakfast as part of your stay, and like, yeesh this is actually an entirely separate fic idea in of itself but you're talking with Alastor and you're saying something along the lines of "oh yeah, well, I was actually starting to think a lot about motherhood before I died, but, raising children is so complicated, not to mention society right now is so genuinely hostile and dangerous to children, and i wouldn't have been able to afford it anyways, and, well, you know, NOW i literally can't have them down here"

AND FROM THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE END OF THE TABLE

COMPLETELY UNPROMPTED

HERE'S LILITH, "Oh! It wouldn't be impossible at all! You and Lucifer could still have a baby :)"

RECORD SCRATCH SOUND EFFECT AS EVERYONE LOOKS TO THE QUEEN OF HELL. She seems completely unbothered while her husband is A TOMATO, he can barely even look in your direction, he's just tugging on her sleeve, "L-Lili, cmon, don't say things like that 😳🥴" and awkwardly laughing, maybe even asking to speak to his wife in private (I feel like its a regular occurrence for these two to dip out of a room and reappear and Lilith is reapplying her lipstick as she re-enters followed by a kiss covered Lucifer lmao)

Can you even imagine going to Charlie, "hey um, this is awkward, your mom keeps like. Jesus please don't kill me I'm not a homewrecker but your mom keeps making comments about me having a baby with your dad and she sounds completely serious about it and shes been bringing it up for like two weeks" and you could not be saying this in a more obvious "hey girl this is weird and I don't like it, can you chat with your parents for me to stop this" kind of way BUT, the actual way Charlie is responding ALSO THROWS YOU OFF. I can see it already, Charlie all but LIGHTS UP WITH EXCITEMENT and she, takes a breath, "oh!! I mean!! You don't have to do anything you don't want to obviously, bbBUT UH THAT BEING SAID oh gosh that sounds like it would make you really happy, aaaaand and I know you wanted a family of your own and, hey isn't this place about new beginnings and" GIRL WE AREN'T HAVING A BABY WITH YOUR DAD TF?

You know how I made that post "hey Lucifer kind of appears to have these vague Master Of All type powers down in Hell, what if he could manipulate your dreams and made you dream about being a kid because he's wanting to heal your inner child/adopt you". I also started thinking recently about Lucifer AND OR Lilith using these powers to make you dream about 1) being with them in general and more specifically 2) motherhood and i started mentally deep diving for that shit. Like. It could genuinely actually get so fucked up actually. Could you imagine you're just, VULNERABLE with the Queen of Hell and you're drunk and you're crying and you're just, SPILLING EVERYTHING, she's getting your entire life's story, and she's petting your hair as youre way too drunk to realize youre telling her way too much, amd she's just thinking "oh you poor thing, human society sounds absolutely dreadful now" and like. Think of it from a hypothetical fantasy psychology perspective. It's not like Lilith has never been part of modern society, she's been a member of Hell forever and has only been out of contact for 7 years, BUT she also exists from a time predating all of that AND she built Hell with Lucifer, so like, imagine she actually starts forming some um Strong Opinions on how, it sounds like all these complicated modern things are really dragging you down, both as a person and as a free spirit, and comes to a consensus that your life needs to be a little... simpler

I'm serious, I'm talking "Lilith makes you dream about being In The Actual Goddamn Garden Of Eden Itself with her and Lucifer and you're ALL naked". Just completely controlling your dream. You're naked as the day you were born and so are they and you can't control your dream at ALL. Lilith is wanting to like, watch you peacefully frolic around, I'm talking she wants to see you having your Hot Nymph Summer where you're napping in beds of flowers and you're having birds land on your finger and you're gasping at all the pretty flowers and wanting to explore and, experiencing the beauty of being alive without all these messy modern nuances and it's like NO MAAM I DONT WANT TO PICK BERRIES FROM THAT BUSH, YOU CAN SEE M Y BUSH AND I CAN SEE YOURS AND YOUR HUSBANDS---

Alastor is over here thinking he's hot shit, "oh I do so wish we could return to simpler times without all these modern trivial problems!!" MEANWHILE LILITH IS LIKE. ACTUALLY GOING THAT EXTRA MILE. Alastor is like "boo cellphones are bad and women dont dress modestly enough, people these days spend too mych time with technology and not with family" meanwhile in "the garden" a completely naked Lilith is braiding your hair and weaving flowers into it while an also completely naked Lucifer is feeding you berries by hand as they discuss the idea of having a nice fun swim in the lake passed the glade, like you guys really are frolicking and fucking around like a bunch of fairies and it's. It's peaceful and fun but also you miss your cellphone and having underwear 😩 like miss queen of hell can I PLEASE get some boob support--

Moving on, I was thinking of the Fake Garden in of itself, as its own idea, but like in this poly baby raising context, it would be essentially Phase 1 of the plan to normalize their presences to you and make you more comfortable around them and then skipping into Phase 10 of "oh hey by the way you're gonna have a dream about um sleeping with the King and Queen of Hell and it's Totally Not Real and you're Totally Definitely Not Actually Like For Real For Real Legitimately Pregnant Now ;)" like. First off before I get any farther in this post can we just like acknowledge the like HEINOUSNESS of you not knowing everything is "real dreams" and LiliLuci using this to their full advantage to ask and find out anything about you because basically to them, they think you're just being boggled down and negatively influences by modern human society and you're like an onion they have to peel some layers off of first to expose those juicy inner tender bits

Just. Ok. Like. High level fantasy horror concept ok, here we go I'm gonna cook here:

It eventually does move on to you having dreams about living in an actual home with Lucifer and Lilith, sleeping with them in you know, All Those Ways, basically in what you think is some weird imaginary throuple that while you do find yourself enjoying it like actually, you can't wake up from it, and these dreams can feel WAY too long sometimes. You're dreaming of some, "am I a man dreaming I am a butterfly or am I a butterfly dreaming i am a man" shit where you hit the pillow in Hell and Dream You is waking up, seeing your husband and wife get ready for work and you're basically a pampered stay at home spouse. I honestly can't decide what dynamic would be cuter: both of them having jobs, you and Lilith having jobs while Lucifer is the house husband, only Lilith having a job while you and Lucifer do dumb shit at home, or Lucifer being big daddy and bringing home all the money while you and Lilith lounge by the pool and she takes you to the spa and pampers you all day and is sending texts and photos of how cute you are to her husband while he's working

You're probably thinking "wait but weeb this is actually kind of cute, where is the horror" and for starters it just kind of, mentally wears your energy down over time to 'never shut your brain off' and have true rest, like Lilith and Lucifer intentionally 'trade' you being alert in reality to you being more conscious in the dream world, so, you're not as present when you're around ACTUAL people as you are when you're in their little, fucked up pocket dimension.

Then you've got. The baby. You're pregnant ONLY in the dream. You have THE ACTUAL PAINFUL EXPERIENCE of giving birth, BUT THEN you're waking up and you can't hold your child, show them to your friends, have the, SANITY AND COMFORT OF KNOWING YOU ACTUALLY HAVE ONE. You're waking up DEVASTATED. Where's your baby? 🥺 oh right.... They're not... actually real... like it fucks you up psychologically

I just picture, if I were to put it in an order of events. You go from 1. Lilith and Lucifer are just your casual acquaintances, Charlie's parents that you know through her 2. They start getting closer to you as you stay longer at the Hotel 3. Ok we get along and have fun moments and even sing songs and we have fun times with your daughter ^^ 4. Ok you're getting maybe a little comfortable, am I tripping or are you a little too comfortable 5. You're Bush Out in Fake Eden 6. You accidentally slip up and get more cozy with them in reality because Ok Maybe The Stupid Garden Bullshit IS Fun And Maybe A Little Soul Healing 🙄 7. You're getting banged in the Garden 8. Being in reality is awkward now, suddenly you're avoiding them less, so you're dreaming about them more, having them push themselves closer to you in response to you trying to pull away, like even if you're spending entire days outside of the Hotel you can't escape needing to sleep eventually 9. Suddenly you're like, not in Eden, you're in a hospital getting an ultrasound w Lili Luci holding your hands as a doctor tells the three of you you're pregnant and oh no you're actually really happy and excited about it 🥺 10. crushing crushing reality. You're single and not pregnant and you're beating yourself up for these fucked up dreams you're blaming yourself for having, as if they're some self conscious desire and you're kinkshaming yourself for having them 11. Dream You is having your baby, everyone is so happy like it's actually so perfect, even when you're stressed as a first time parent you have so much love and support to keep you strong 12. You wake up and it's nothing but DEPRESSION DEPRESSION DEPRESSION where is my baby and my wife and my husband who love me and I love them DEPRESSION DEPRESSION DEPRESSION 13. Lilith and Lucifer HAVE TO to spill that Hey Our Baby Is Real because you're like going near insane with "grief" like youre like actually wanting to try and end your life or constantly self harming because Where Is MY CHILD 14. You're so fucked up at this point you don't care to ask questions when they hand your Very Much Real Baby to you looking exactly how you remember them from your dreams. You're just happy your baby is real and now you can be with them all of the time and you don't even care that um This Was Such A Fucking Ethically Dubious Conception.

Do you think the other Hotel residents would have a sliding scale of being ok with this. Like you just SHOW UP WITH THIS LITTLE BLONDE BABY IN YOUR ARMS and Lilith and Lucifer are all but glued to you and they're all fucking confused because WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN??? you barely even spend time with these two, or so they thought??? When were you PREGNANT??? HOW??? I feel like realistically if they aren't all, you know, as Equally Crazy For You, that they would find this extremely manipulative and fucked up MEANWHILE CHARLIE DOESNT CARE and may have been in on it.

Also "something something what if Reader being able to get pregnant also turned out to be like God Himself being like 'hey lucifer lilith here's the deal I'm throwing you a bone right now, ok, this is for you, to keep things chill between us mk' and there are added layers of Oh Shit You Were Created To Be With Them" as if your ass wouldn't have an impossible enough time escaping as is 😭💀

But like... the concept of Reader falling so deep into "grief" that it gets so bad that you're basically not eating or sleeping, Lucirer and Lilith were always gonna tell you but they're forced to do it abruptly because you just breakdown and can't stop crying. Or it's even Charlie disobeying her parents and running up to you with your baby who stops crying the moment they're in your arms

I also just... as a final note..... just as a cute palette cleanser there's one specific idea I keep thinking of... you have your new baby and you're showing it to all your Hotel buddies and you give it to Alastor to hold because your baby was giggling and gurgling at him and you're just, death grip on his shoulder, "alastor please hold my child :) they're excited go meet you, say hi" and while you're like, vaguely threatening him to interact with this baby which he has Extremely Valid Reasons To Find Abhorrent, his deer ears move or twitch, and your baby is just looking up at him with their big eyes, watching those ears twitch, and, poof! Your baby has their first Lucifer/Lilith related shape-shifting incident and suddenly your baby has twitching little red ears and they're looking up at Alastor with these big cute eyes and here you are, "alastor :) aren't you going to praise my baby :) they just had their very first shift and it's for you :) tell them what a good job they did :) you're not trying to make my baby uncomfortable are you :)" and. Ok Maybe this does win Alastor over a bit being the narcissist that he is BUT THE TRUE REWARD is Lucifer scrambling into the room after you call out in excitement, dropping to his knees and all but wailing, "NO, WHY IS MY BABY HAVING THEIR FIRST SHIFT FOR Y O U AND I MISSED IT" and you just have Alastor being an ABSOLUTE SHIT, suddenly oh so cozy with your baby, "well talent recognizes talent! This little one clearly has potential! Why, look at how clearly they ALREADY ADORE THEIR DEAR UNCLE ALASTOR >:)" and from then on you can't leave these two men alone with your baby or they'll be having nonstop contests to "win them over" and prove who the best role model/caretaker is

Ok. Lastly. Lastly lastly lastly. THIS BABY SPECIFICALLY IS RUINING MY LIFE. Look at those STUPID CHUBBY cheeks and those big eyes and how attentive and focused she is like oh my godddddddd if LiliLuci handed one of those to me "this is yours" i would just die like 🥺🥺🥺 man, I'll have to tell you guys later about my idea for "Reader wants to see if Rosie will let them adopt a Hellborn baby and Alastor helps vouch for you and lowkey becomes your husband/the child's second parent" or "Reader finds an abandoned imp baby and all the shenanigans/protective possessive feelings from your yandere/s that follow once you begin your motherhood journey "

[oraclemoontarot]

what your nct dream bias says about you 𓂃⊹ tarot reading

little fun reading on the general personality of a fan who biases a certain member.

This is a general reading on the personalities of all those who bias a specific member so, there could be individual differences, take what resonates!!

mark ౨ৎ

cards pulled: seven of wands, sun, hanged man, wheel of fortune, queen of swords, hermit, four of pentacles, magician, eight of wands, snow leopard: self-reliance, lady bug: good luck, wolf: pathfinder, sea otter: happiness, loon: intuitive

Mark Lee stans are generally busy bees. You work hard for things that make you happy, things that you are passionate towards. Just like Mark himself, you embody warmth and happiness, spreading your positivity and light; your joy is contagious. You also have a different perspective on various things, such as your views on the world, concepts, and others' opinions. You likely have a wide range of skills, or at least one which you are focused on and others could have a high regard for. Whatever you set your mind on, you achieve. There are various sides to you, constantly changing, constantly evolving. The person you were yesterday is not the person you are today.

As the queen of swords, you are quite intellectual, a strong presence, oftentimes viewed as cold when, internally, you are far from that. But you do set clear boundaries, never letting others overstep. There are times when you retreat into your shell, guarded and reserved, or embracing your solitude to let yourself reflect. After retreating, you come out even stronger, more self-assured, and confident in your decisions. You could be quite good with your finances as well, sometimes holding back more than what is necessary or beneficial to you. It could also mean that there are moments when you hold back on sharing your ideas and views with others, especially as it may be something valuable. But you are a creator. Whatever you want or wish for, you have the power to make happen. You are fast-moving, dedicated, strong, and with a lot of willpower. You have an appreciation for art, people, and your own mind and solitude. You really do have an incredible mind; your thoughts are intricate and intellectual. There is so much people could learn from you, having the ability to influence and educate others, to give them the opportunity to think and explore.

With the animal oracle, you are self-reliant. A very independent person who embraces solitude, often finding strength through spending time in your own company. You value integrity, with a strong intuition, and may have a tendency to be a perfectionist. But you have such bright, lucky energy. Just being in your presence fills others with joy and makes them feel lucky in some way—lucky to be next to you, lucky to receive that contagious good energy. You don't have much time to worry; you focus on the present, having so much love and color to you. You are not one to live or dwell on the past. You may be like that of a teacher to others, helping them find their way through guidance, advice, or even lending an ear to them. Whatever challenge comes your way, you have a strong, unwavering soul and character—able to endure, persevere, and be resilient, especially when it involves those you love.

You likely have a playful nature to you, enjoying every moment of every day, oftentimes going with the flow. You have such a loving nature, wearing your heart on your sleeve, and being such a warm, caring, and kind individual, one most would value. You have so much trust within yourself—your own opinions, thoughts, and feelings come first when it comes to forming decisions about your own life, having this inner knowing, this powerful intuition. The busier life is for you, the more likely you are to enjoy and seek your own solitude—not in a lonely way, but likely as a way to recharge. You appreciate your authenticity, your uniqueness, and you have a strong sense of self-love.

── .✦ songs by nct dream that represent you:

go

best friend

pretzel (♡)

yogurt shake

renjun ౨ৎ

cards pulled: fool, star, judgment, knight of swords, six of pentacles, six of wands, strength, nine of cups, two of cups, orca whale: adventure, bison: abundance, heron: patience, white stag: protector, pronghorn: action

Renjun stans have such a rich inner world, embracing their inner child and having this immense amount of curiosity and eagerness for adventure. You may often smile a lot, having a contagious happy energy. There is also this dreamer and optimistic side to you; you may even have one big dream that you wish to achieve someday. But there is something comforting, sweet, and pretty about you and your energy. You know who you are, who you're meant to be, and what you are meant to do in this world and life. You may have gone through a self-awakening, knowing what your destiny or purpose is. You may also have impulsive or go-getter tendencies, not wasting a second in pursuing what interests you or towards your goals.

You are generous, both in your time and energy. You never hesitate in helping others; gift-giving may even be your love language. There is also a possibility that you may donate to charities or causes, or support your friends and family if they are in need, not hesitating in sharing your resources. You may even be popular or well-liked by those around you, or at the very least, successful in whatever you do—whether with academics, career, personal hobbies, skills, or interests. There is this inner strength and independence to you, and that comes from knowing who you are. You value the little things in life; the little moments are so, so special to you. You appreciate beauty such as art, music, nature, etc. And you value the time you spend with people and deep, meaningful connections. You have a lot of love and even a cuteness to you that people can't help but adore.

You love doing things differently from others, being as wild, free, and authentic as possible. You may be someone who is unafraid to voice their own mind, and you may love to travel and explore various cultures! You, at your core, are loyal, confident, brave, powerful, and have a deep value and appreciation towards your friends and family. You have so much wisdom, as well as gratitude and warmth. You know how to balance between your drive and alone time, finding a sense of patience. You are also a protector, an old soul with a strong intuition. You have your own 'magic' and strength, the power to influence and motivate others, but also a sense of creativity, art, and passion. You are action-oriented, acting immediately when opportunities arise. You have a quick wit and sense, often finding success with ease.

── .✦ songs by nct dream that represent you:

glitch mode

yogurt shake

chewing gum

we go up

jeno ౨ৎ

cards pulled: page of cups, hanged man, high priestess, three of cups, ten of cups, four of wands, page of swords, knight of swords, emperor, raven: shaman, heron: patience, white stag: protector, moose: wisdom, raccoon: inventor

Jeno stans are romantic idealists at heart. You may believe in concepts such as fate, destiny, soulmates, and the mystical—filling your heart with romance tropes and an eagerness for true, meaningful love. You likely value family and want to find a long-term partner, someone you could build a family or home with, as it is something that would bring you this sense of content, this peace and love which fills your whole heart.

You have an incredible perspective and view on the world, especially with relationships. People are intrigued by your mind, but also your mysterious nature. You are incredibly attractive, and there is something about you that pulls people in, like this depth, this inner-knowing and something mystical. It's like, even if people have known you for years, there's still so much to you—it's like trying to point out every star in the sky; that is how much depth there is to you. You likely enjoy socialising, going out, or networking—finding joy in interacting with others.

You have a wide range of ideas and goals, possibly loving to travel as well. You may be good at communicating and always looking towards the future, but with this drive where you act on your goals as well, not one to miss out on opportunities. But you are also a protector. You are a pillar within your family and connections; you look after others and provide support, you are a source of strength.

You are both a creator and a magician. You know how to use your gifts, skills, and resources for good and have a power and wisdom to all the words you speak, harboring a sense of mystery and inner wisdom. You have a balance between living in your head and in reality. You are a dreamer who is grounded in logic, but you are also patient and bring a sense of comfort and stillness in terms of your presence when with others. You are a protector, an old soul who has a strong intuition. You are meant to create blessings in yours and others' lives—an inventor who has integrity and balances between various roles and responsibilities.

── .✦ songs by nct dream that represent you:

it's yours

fireflies

dreaming

breathing

haechan ౨ৎ

cards pulled: page of cups, moon, seven of wands, lovers, seven of pentacles, knight of swords, high priestess, four of pentacles, two of cups, dragonfly: magic, lynx: keeper of secrets, sea otter: happiness, humpback whale: singer, deer: love

Haechan stans are generally dreamers. There is this childlike nature to you, likely believing in concepts such as fate, soulmates, destiny, or the mystical and spiritual. There is this playfulness, and something about you or your energy that most would see as cute or sweet. You may live in your head a lot, where people would naturally be intrigued by you as you're mysterious, seeing you as someone with a lot of depth and a lot that they don't know about you, even after years of being close with you. You could be a hard worker, or at least put a lot of your energy and effort into relationships you value. You are a romantic at heart, often spending time daydreaming about certain romantic tropes, though in reality, you could be quite reserved, cautious, or closed off to romance, preferring the way it exists in your own mind as the story plays just how you like it—safe and warm.

You're naturally a patient person who could have impulsive tendencies due to your excitement—possibly random hyper fixations that you suddenly feel passionate about and want to enjoy. Many would view you as attractive, especially with your energy, linking back to your mysterious nature, but equally because of you knowing who you really are. There is something authentic and true to you. You present yourself the way you are—nothing more and nothing less. You may even be good at tarot. There is this inner knowing to you, this strong intuition. Lies and false intentions can't get past you.

With the two of cups, your overall energy is one of love and meaningful connections. That is what is most important to you: authenticity, real connections, and deep emotions tied to deep relationships. You have a lot of love to give, but you are also deserving of that amount of love back.

With the oracle cards, you are someone who is constantly changing, unafraid of improving yourself and your life. You are able to move on from the past, not letting it hold you back—you are someone with this magic to you, this undeniable strength that presents itself in a light, beautiful, and graceful way. You value honesty just as much as you value loyalty and keeping secrets safe. You are an observer, someone who listens and watches more than speaks. You also have this inner knowing with other people; you can see deception, feel when someone is hiding something or isn't doing too well but pretends they're fine. You also seem to enjoy your own company and space, finding your strength through spending time with yourself. You have such a positive and happy energy to you, as well as this cute innocence.

There is something so friendly and approachable about you, where you are filled with gentle and loving energy, seeing the positives in everything and everyone, valuing and acknowledging your sense of self-worth and self-respect. You may even be someone who tends to go with the flow, being a healer for those around you, appreciating art, good things, good people, and the world itself. You have a strong sense of purpose and never stray from your path.

── .✦ songs by nct dream that represent you:

my first and last

walk you home

rains in heaven

dear dream

as a haechan stan, I was severely called out 😭

jaemin ౨ৎ

cards pulled: three of cups, two of cups, seven of pentacles, queen of pentacles, queen of wands, four of swords, magician, four of wands, king of cups, penguin: authentic, cat: independent, moose: wisdom, dog: friend, hawk: messenger

Jaemin stans value friendships and meaningful connections. You don't appreciate superficial relationships, seeking only those that are deep, loving, and authentic. You are likely to be social butterflies, or at least prefer having a group of friends, at least three close people in your life. You are patient, especially when it comes to your goals and dreams, feeling like the rewards would likely be guaranteed and abundant that way. You are someone who has two sides to you, yet nurturing at heart. On one side, you value safety, security, and finances, making a house a home, and are grounded and humble. On the other end, you are passionate, creative, enthusiastic, sociable, warm, confident, and welcoming, and most would find you attractive, especially with your energy.

When you are hurt, stressed, or overwhelmed, you seek solitude, prioritising your health and comfort, letting yourself heal and relax before going back out into the world. At heart, you are a creative and a romantic. You may believe in marriage and seek long-term relationships, being really loving and expressive. Whatever you want, you'll get as well. Just like Mark-biased NCTzens, you know how to turn your dreams into reality. You could also love fantasy novels or romance films/books, embracing your inner child and finding ways to bring love and joy into your life. Overall, you are a mature person, especially emotionally. Sometimes, you may be intimidating, but you are so loving and a protector toward those you care about. You don't let others hurt them, quick to defend and stand up for them.

You are authentic and unafraid to embrace it. The people you are friends with are likely kindred souls, sharing similar interests or personality. Your family and close friends are extremely important to you; they are your source of strength, especially in times when you struggle. You are yourself, unchanging and unashamed. Even if everyone else is the same and you stand out, you stay true to your authentic self. You are also independent and a natural healer, with a strong intuition, and are not one to follow the crowd. You have so much wisdom, yet a balance between the dream world and your current reality. Your creativity and logic are like yin and yang. You are grounded and have an old soul. However, although you are grounded, you are also the definition of a true friend. You have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, bringing inspiration with you, inspiring others, and giving them a source of love and happiness without expecting anything in return. You are a true protector and friend. You are someone who is likely to have a bright future, being able to see and understand things most wouldn't. You are not one to be easily distracted or strayed from your path or goals, constantly growing and achieving.

── .✦ songs by nct dream that represent you:

my youth

candle light

dive into you

rainbow

chenle ౨ৎ

cards pulled: king of wands, high priestess, page of wands, eight of pentacles, page of pentacles, eight of cups, knight of pentacles, page of cups, ace of swords, peacock: vibrancy, cat: independent, polar bear: mystic, tiger: fire, dolphin: play

Chenle stans are passionate, energetic, and enthusiastic people, especially when it comes to learning, academics, studying, or their career. You have so much depth and mystery to you; just like Jeno stans, there is something so intriguing about you, it just pulls people in without them knowing why. You are attractive, with such a powerful, compelling energy. You have this balance of work hard, play hard, bringing life with you wherever you go, the life of the party. You could be the class clown or resident hype buddy. You are a determined and hardworking person, focused and dedicated towards your goals.

You are someone who doesn't stay too long in things that do not serve you, quick to move on towards better things—such as a better job, environment, relationships, or the past itself. You move at a steady pace towards better things and towards your goals; patience is something you value, finding it builds a strong foundation in most things within your life. You are also a dreamer and a romantic idealist, possibly enjoying creative hobbies and endeavours. You wear your heart on your sleeve and likely believe in concepts such as soulmates, destiny, fate, and mystical, spiritual things—similar to a lot of other NCTzens on this post. You have this child-like nature to you that is so innocent, sweet, and romantic. Some people may even have a strong adoration for you, especially as they'd find you really cute and endearing. You are also an incredible communicator, able to express your thoughts and feelings with clarity, always voicing your opinions, unafraid of judgment—similar to Chenle himself.

You were born to shine and inspire others, yet you are humble and aren't jealous in nature, feeling grateful for your life. You are true to who you are, recognising your self and authenticity, and you are independent, a natural healer. You have a strong intuition, not one to follow the crowd, and someone who is stronger through challenges you go through. Adversities don't hold you back at all. You find and renew strength through resting and dreaming, and you are someone who likely has psychic abilities, which explains your mysterious intrigue. You are bold, brave, powerful, and passionate—someone who is fierce and unmoving from their path and goals. But you are equally someone who brings happiness and joy with you, knowing how to have fun, filling yourself with confidence and not letting fear hold you back. You likely go with the flow and have such rich wisdom, enjoying life through having fun and letting your playful nature shine.

── .✦ songs by nct dream that represent you:

ridin'

carat cake

boom

to my first

jisung ౨ৎ

cards pulled: nine of pentacles, ten of cups, knight of wands, eight of wands, seven of wands, king of cups, knight of cups, nine of wands, empress, butterfly: rebirth, eagle: mastery, tiger: fire, deer: love, giraffe: visionary

Jisung stans are people who embody gratitude and humbleness, especially after working hard to get to where you are now. You treasure and gratefully accept the rewards, but not forgetting the journey it took to get there. This gratitude also seeps into your value and treasuring of your family. You have a lot of love for your family and wish to have a family of your own someday; it is what brings you both strength and a sense of contentment. You are also enthusiastic and full of energy, life, and excitement. You are a go-getter, never backing down and never one to miss out on a new opportunity or adventure.

You are emotionally mature, and may even have a sensitive side to you. You are a protector towards your family, looking out for them and providing support, especially emotionally. You are someone who is a romantic at heart, and in a very sweet, innocent, and genuine way. You make the ideal partner and likely wear your heart on your sleeve—very affectionate too. You are also resilient, never backing down and not letting challenges stop or sway you. As the Empress, you are nurturing, loving, feminine, and know how to make a house a home—things such as tending to a garden, bringing life into your environment. But you are also strong, voicing your thoughts and opinions, and setting clear boundaries.

You are someone who embraces change, constantly looking for ways to reinvent yourself, open to the journey of self-discovery and rebirth. You are constantly transforming and sharing the brilliance which is you. You don't let the past hold you back, focusing on mastering your skills, your character, career, or hobbies, having a lot of wisdom and strength. You likely have a talent in guiding and inspiring others too. You are someone bold, brave, passionate, and unstoppable—you charge headfirst towards your goals, never straying from the path you laid out. But, just as you are fierce, you also embody love and gentleness, like a deer. You have the ability to heal others, seeing the positivity in all things, and have a sense of self-worth and grace.

── .✦ songs by nct dream that represent you:

beatbox

fire alarm

we young

love again

[transient-winds]

The conclusion of the Noroshi arc has finally arrived! Way to go Bofurin and allies 🥹🙌!!

Spoilers for Wind Breaker Chapters 157 and Chapter 158 ahead! (with additional doodles as an apology for not posting last time, exams was kicking my ass i fear)

Crazy how this whole arc happened in around or in less than 12 hours and I was so ready for it to end on 157 but I should’ve know Takiishi was too stubborn to be knocked out so easily.

GAHHH I have so much to say about the symbolisms in these two chapters.

So first of all, the “Umemiya’s will to change Furin is akin to forging metal” analogy from Endo (Chapter 153) comes back in 157, but now it’s being used in the context of Takiishi. The metal (Takiishi) is finally hot enough to be malleable for potential change and its evident with his new found interest in the rain. Throughout most of Takiishi’s life, he has remained static. He gets what he wants, when he wants and how he wants it. If he doesn’t like it, he gets rid of it. There had been little else that has ever made a significant impact or changes in his life, then he meets Endo and Umemiya—

—both becoming the faces of his perception on the types of people that exist in his life. Then, Umemiya takes it a step further and becomes the catalyst to a (much needed) change in perspective for Takiishi. In my opinion, Takiishi liking the rain can be symbolic of two things:

(1) the rain or more specifically water in Buddhism symbolizes purity, clarity and calmness. Think back to how hellish and messy Takiishi’s mindscape was like in Chapter 153, it had been full of all his interests (notice the fireworks in the bkgd? he said he likes fireworks in 158) and how he perceives things from the outside world. Takiishi starting to like rain means he’s introducing rain to his mindscape, and I can only assume it helps clean up that horder’s wet dream of a place. That is to say, he’s allowing himself to be cleaned from the impurities and bring serenity into his life.

and (2) it represents Takiishi reaching Nirvana (or something similar to it). Now, to most people this probably came out my ass but hear me out: nirvana literally means “to blow out (a light/fire)” or in other words “to extinguish” and as a concept in Buddhism, its a state in which one extinguishes the three posions (i.e. greed, hatred and ignorance) from their life and reaches enlightenment. AND THE TITLE OF CHAPTER 158 IS “The Great Fires of Extinction*”. *smacks my scrub-down board* DO YOU SEE THE CONNECTION RN? TELL ME IM NOT CRAZY FOR THINKING THIS. What I’m getting at is Umemiya was able to help in quelling the poisonous flames of Takiishi’s heart and guided him to self-betterment JUST LIKE THE DUTIES OF FUDO MYO-O AND EXACTLY LIKE HOW BUDDHA CONVERTED THE EIGHT LEGIONS TO BUDDHISM. (Sorry for the capslock im just *gestures wildly* excited)

*note: my delulu brain made the connection between extinction and extinguish because they both refer to the removal of something. (update: etymologically, they both orginated from the same latin word extinguere / lit. destroy or put out)

By the end of this arc, Takiishi has changed significantly and, as much as I hate to say this, but I agree with Endo on this being a beautiful fight. It had been a long time coming for both parties but it had been a necessary conversation to kickstart a new beginning for Takiishi like a rebirth of sorts (+ it allowed Endo and Sakura to gain perspective on people, their complexities and for the latter the responsibilities of being top dog). Wish it didn’t have to end in the rooftop and the town becoming a mess, but oh well, we can’t have everything.

I love love LOVE how Nii-sensei writes Umemiya. His role as a guide and protector to both his people and his enemies is so fucking beautiful and poetic, my words won’t do it justice. In my heart, I see it as him stepping up to be the big brother figure he was always meant to be—had the accident not happened, he would’ve been the best one in the world.

“There’s nothing more fascinating than people.” AGREED KING, SPEAK YOUR TRUTH. I

NOW FOR MY SILLY YAPPING!

UmeEndo conversation really shines in 158 and I’m living for it. I get you UmeEndo shippers, I get you. Endo’s so fucking weirded out by Ume’s optimism and genuineness, I genuinely love how uncomfortable he gets. I’m framing the faces he made in this chapter. Oh how the turns have tabled, you absolute goof.

I already said this once to a friend but I’ll only say it one more time, but I’m genuinely happy for Endo. He has stuck onto Takiishi like a leech without any expectation for the latter’s reciprocation and it was kind of pitiful watching him dance around Takiishi like an annoying chihuahua. Now that Takiishi has officially and verbally acknowledged him, it was heart warming…I guess. I'll let him ride this high with a follow up sketch I'll share here later.

���

Despite no sunrise panel, I think it was appropriate for this arc to end in a downpour. It’s fitting like a forest fire dying down from the rain to replenish the earth and grow anew with all the nutrients from the ash remains of the forest (shoutout to Ales for her EndoChikaUme being Fuel, Fire and Ash post, im kissing your brain rn). Overall, very happy with the conclusion of the Noroshi arc and I’m happily dancing to Happy Xmas (War is Over) by the Plastic Ono. All the love to Nii-sensei and everyone in the official English translation staff for literally the best arc so far in the manga. And thanks for reading ‘til the end of this post. ^^

[shakingparadigm]

did you see the interview...? yk that specific question that vivinos said that the other characters were derived from Sua? what do you think about it?

I think it makes a lot of sense. Even though Mizi is the main character of Alien Stage, Sua is the "face" of it (to us, while Luka is the face of it in-universe). She's the only character that hasn't changed since her conception, which checks out when you consider that she fits the style of character VIVINOS is fond of. Seriously, looking back at the very first sketches of Alien Stage it's almost hilarious how consistent Sua is. You can't improve on perfection, I guess!

Sua being the first or the "source" isn't too suprising, considering how Sweet Dream (her song) was supposed to be Episode 0 of the series. In the first drafts of Sweet Dream, it was originally more focused on Sua's perspective and her own fascination with Alien Stage. Barely any other characters showed up in the video, and Sua took the role of the main character rather than that of a more detached presence. It's likely that the rest of the cast was created to fill in what she lacked or heavily based their characteristics on how they would compliment or contrast to her. They either revolve around her, uncannily mirror her or are impacted due to her link with Mizi.

Sua's death creates a domino effect on everyone else, to the point where if the results of ROUND 1 shifted the slightest bit, everything would turn out differently. She has affected every character both in-universe and during creation, present everywhere. Shoutout to girls who haunt the narrative!

[agentrouka-blog]

What made you first interested in Jonsa? I really want to love Jonsa. Which may sound strange. But hear me out. I’ve read all the metas and from a metatextual level I really agree with and believe in Jonsa. But I have trouble actually enjoying it and I think maybe it’s because so much content seems to focus on Jon pining over Sansa. I’d much prefer to see things from Sansa’s perspective where she sees the hero in him and sees that maybe all the songs aren’t lies after all as opposed to him “winning her over.” I feel I have been inundated my whole life with stories of outcast men pining over beautiful women they see as out of their league and “winning them over” and I honestly find the trope tiring because it’s so male perspective focused and doesn’t give Sansa the agency of choosing her lover, instead, making her something to be won or earned. If you have any suggestions for Jonsa content that focuses heavily on Sansa’s point of view, on her falling for Jon first (or at least falling for each other at the same time without realizing it) I’d love to hear them! And I’d love to hear what makes Jonsa appeal to you on a personal non-meta level!

Hi there!

I too draw a difference between Jonsa as a theory and shipping it for entertainment.

I've drifted quite a bit away from what you describe as "content", which is fanworks, art and fanfiction. My tastes are very narrow and that puts me outside the target audience for a lot of what is being shared by creators. Plus, I get a great deal more personal enjoyment out of just interpreting the canon text. I enjoy what the couple represents in the narrative more than I necessarily enjoy immersing myself in different non-canonical variants.

And there's a lot of variants. You have two similar but also very different canon-sources (books and tv show) and within those two sources very different takes on the couple. For as many "Jon pines for higborn Sansa" approaches you get an equal amount of "Sansa jealously pines for her brother's oblivious best friend" modern au's. What we enjoy in recreational reading is extremely personal and subjective.

That said, for fear of disappointing you, I don't particular enjoy the "Sansa falls first" scenarios because what I like about the couple especially is the idea of Sansa finally being appreciated for who she is. Canon offers us plenty of examples of Sansa extending affection and crushes on other characters. They are never truly reciprocated, and they join in on a theme of Sansa going unappreciated for her qualities by the world around her. She is disregarded, mocked, criticized, belittled, humiliated. So much so that a large part of the fandom considers this to be justified and educational for her. She has given up on being loved for herself, but she will not sacrifice her values as a consequence. So someone falling in love with her is to me a very compelling and cathartic validation of Sansa as a person. Of course, this only works if the person falling for Sansa is actually attractive to her and embodies the things we know she has been looking for all this time. But specifically the idea that Sansa falls first fails my personal taste because it contains a sense of lacking reciprocation that we've already seen multiple times in her story. She's been not-loved-in-return a lot already.

I do enjoy the concept of Jon being loved by Sansa, too, because it validated aspects of him he usually keeps close to his chest. Things that touch on his specific mixed sense of identity as a nobly-raised bastard. He has soft sensibilities, a romantic disposition, pedestrian dreams of family and home, and highly idealistic and emotional ideals surrounding leadership that center on duty and honor. But he is generally not appreciated for those specific things. He is appreciated for his brains and his abilities, his bravery, his pragmatism, his loyalty to his friends and duties - but not for the boy who wants to be Lord of Winterfell with a lady wife and babies, who wants to be a hero from the songs, Florian the Fool, Ryam Redwyne. It's a lovely and very specific recognition of a very private part of Jon, to be loved for his secret soft self.

But it's not my primary focus because unlike Sansa, Jon still receives a lot of validation and love in the source material. It's just not the specific kind he wants. So that makes it comparatively less compelling to me.

That doesn't mean that Sansa primarily falling in love with Jon isn't an equally valid thing to enjoy! It's just that I can't make you any good recommendations on this subject specifically because it's not my specific favorite flavor of jonsa.

I wish you good luck though!

[charmedreincarnation]

The art of detachment: Loa edition

Detachment and the Law of Assumption are two related concepts that often go hand in hand. Detachment is the practice of releasing attachment to outcomes and results , while Loa teaches we can receive our desires by assuming they are ours. While similarly related, these two concepts are used differently and understanding them can help you make the most of your life.

So in short, detachment is the practice of not attaching an emotional value to the end result of a situation. It’s understanding that by letting go of control, you can enjoy greater personal freedom and success in your desires. Detachment allows us to view our obstacles and successes objectively, not emotionally. For example, if you’re on a diet, you can practice detachment by not attaching an emotional value or outcome to the diet, but instead simply focusing on following the plan and trusting that it will get you the result you desire, and we can apply the same to manifesting.

When we’re attached to a desired outcome, we can become frustrated and disappointed when faced with delays or unexpected results. This can cause us to doubt our own power and possibility. Detaching from a desired outcome can help us to remain focused on our intentions, while trusting that our desire for said “thing” is in the process of working out the best possible way just because we claim and believe so.

To begin the process of manifesting with detachment, I would suggest setting an intention and visualizing the desired outcome. Try to be as specific as possible and make sure it’s something that you truly desire. Once you’ve done this, let go of any attachment to the outcome and focus on releasing any tension or anxiety around it.

Next, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and imagine a beautiful gold light surrounding you and your desire. Let go of any attachments to a specific timeline and remember that the you being able to have the desires in the first place, should be a reminder it has always been yours to begin with. Be patient, stay present and trust that it is for you and is already yours.

When thoughts or doubts arise, acknowledge them and then gently redirect your focus back to your intention. Focus on the feeling of having already received what you desire and remember that you don’t have to try and control or speed up the process; it’s yours.

Remind yourself that your desire is being taken care of in the 4D and trust and know that the 3D has no choice to conform. Don't get attached to what outcome has to look like. Remember: once you set your intention and align with your desire, all you have to do is let go and enjoy the journey.

Think of manifesting as planting a seed in fertile soil. You start by imagining and visualizing the growth of a particular seed. You create an intention for what that seed can produce and you nurture it with your thoughts, words and actions. This is the manifesting part of the process.

Now comes the detaching part. When that seed has been planted, you don’t need to keep watching it all the time. You don’t have to keep checking on its growth or trying to control its outcome and path. All you have to do is water it and make sure it stays in healthy soil, then let the seed grow in its own time and at its own pace.

Finally, you ignore the 3D reality of the situation and focus on the 4D perspective of the journey instead. In other words, you don’t just obsess over immediate results. Instead, you recognize that the real growth happens in the spiritual realm, in the unseen. You trust that an unseen force, your higher self, or universe (whatever you believe in), is at work helping your seed grow into its fullest potential. This is the 4D perspective of manifesting your dreams.

This may all sound complicated but by breaking it down into segments and understanding each step of this process, manifesting and detaching from 3D reality while focusing on the 4D perspective can become a lot simpler. Think of it as planting a seed and trusting it will grow into a beautiful flowering plant or tree. You don’t have to keep checking up on it every day. All you have to do is give it space and watch it grow with love and intention

By combining detachment and the Law of Assumption, we can gain a better understanding of how we can effectively improve our lives. Detachment allows us to focus on taking action without attaching emotional outcomes, while the Law of Assumption reminds us that our perception can create great things for us. Uniting these two concepts can put us in the perfect position for personal growth, fulfillment, and success.

We know that we are all creators in our own mind. By appreciating that statement and understanding that it applies to us all, you can learn to healthily detach from undesired aspects of your reality. When you assign yourself the power to create your own reality, it gives you the ability to detach from difficulties or desires in order to identity more effectively with your authentic self.

Begin by recognizing and accepting the circumstances of your current reality. Understand that difficult circumstances can’t always be avoided, and that attachment won't help them dissipate faster. Release any emotions of regret or guilt, and instead focus on what’s in front of you by staying grounded in the present moment. As Eckhart Tolle states “the power for creating a better future is contained in the present moment”.

Reality is our mirror

When applying this law to reality as a mirror, it highlights how what we see in the world is a reflection of ourselves – ultimately, it is a reflection of our own energy and thought. This being said, even though the external world affects us, our decision to respond to external situations or circumstances is determined by our inner self – our beliefs, feelings and thoughts.

Recognizing that reality is a reflection of ourselves also brings forth the understanding that we are all creators of our own realities. By acting with love and kindness, and by choosing to focus on what is positive in life, we can create a reality that is in alignment with our highest self. When this understanding is acknowledged, it allows us to take full responsibility for the life we lead and create a life of peace and joy for ourselves. I know it’s hard but we have to take accountability for our own journey

focus on the feelings you wish to experience as a result of your manifestations. It’s easier to let go and be more open to the Universe’s gift when we focus on feelings rather than the ‘thing’ we are trying to manifest. It helps us stay in the present moment and release our attachment to a particular outcome.

open yourself up to new possibilities and changes. When we become attached to a desire and don’t allow room for new options, we limit our growth and manifesting power. We should also practice gratitude for everything we have right now and throughout the journey of our manifestation.

And ofc be patient and don’t lose sight of the larger vision. In fact Be patient with yourself most importantly. It’s easy to become frustrated and consumed with when and how our desires will be fulfilled. To maintain healthy detachment, it’s important to stay focused on the end goal and trust yourself. No one can do that part for you.

take time to reflect and assess your progress along your journey. Ask yourself where you feel energized and fulfilled. Are there any behaviors or patterns that are no longer serving you? Taking time out to reflect and make changes can help keep you anchored in the greater vision – and less attached to specific outcomes.

You should not be ignoring the 3D. You should be detaching from it. I understand we have hard circumstances, I am not stupid nor ignorant of that. But the reason manifesting exists is because everything we desire and can create begins with the desire to create it. Everything. The 4D is as real as the 3D, and essentially, I'm talking about shifting our focus from the issues and challenges that can make life feel difficult, to instead imagining what we would like our life to be like in our own minds.

To explain this more in-depth, let's take a look at Neville Goddard quotes. 14 years before Dr. Brian Weiss penned the book @Many Lives Many Masters,” Neville Goddard was advocating the power of using our imagination to create the life we yearn for. He said "What you desire you must make real in your mind before it can appear in your world."

This means that when we use our imaginations to create a vivid image of our dream life, we are essentially calling it forth. That's why we must detach from the 3D, so we can be fully present to imagining and visualizing our dreams. We need to give ourselves the space and time to do this powerfully and authentically.

Another important point of Goddard's is to make each of our imagines real by feeling their emotions as deeply and realistically as possible. He said "Feel the feelings associated with your goal having been achieved – for the feeling is the secret". Simply put, this is the power of imagining our dreams with a specific feeling in mind, be it happiness, joy, excitement or satisfaction.

The final point I want to leave you with is that if our goal is to materialize something in 4D, we have to take an action towards it in 3D. As Goddard said: "When you practice with your interior senses, sensing and feeling what you would have after it has been realized, you will find yourself acting differently...for there is no gulf between 1D and 4D".

[girlwiththegreenhat]

hey when they wrote "knight behind bars" and they wrote kitt helping a couple get together and they gave him the line "Some day, it will be my turn" [to find love]. did they know what they were doing. did they know that in some 40 years some gay autistic robot-obsessed little freak on tumblr would not stop thinking about it for weeks and write literal dozens of paragraphs screaming about it on discord. did they know they were going to ruin Me, Specifically, with this concept that feels like the culmination of everything kitt has gone through through the show and such a fascinating thing to think about in regards to michael and kitt's relationship,

one of the themes of knight rider is kitt developing as a Person, developing a line between the Knight Industries Two-Thousand, and Kitt. discovering humanity, his own emotions, the joys of the seemingly and logically pointless, and often through the lens of his own driver, his partner, his friend, Michael - his primary guide through all these experiences, his reference for those human things he doesn't understand. and as much as he initially claims to not be capable of experiencing emotions, of understanding feelings, he learns to. he experiences a wide range of emotions through the show even while claiming he doesn't, he even learns fear and insecurity. perhaps it's only natural a robot would learn to love, or at the very least be terribly curious about it and wonder if such a thing could ever exist for Him

the majority of people are not exactly kind to kitt. they talk about him like he's not there, they talk about him like he's a machine, a novelty, some people are even scared of or disturbed by him when all he's trying to do is make polite conversation and company. he's always Othered - there's no other cars like him (at least not anymore), but there's no other person like him either, he doesn't truly belong among humans or vehicles. some of the technicians at FLAG don't even seem to fully respect him as a person, at least they don't based on my vague recollection of how they talk about him in Junkyard Dog. when Michael asks him after KARR is destroyed if it feels good to be one of a kind again, he doesn't say yes or no - he only says it's a "familiar feeling." it may be familiar, but it's surely also isolating, and i think that's something he'd realize as he slowly picks up this curiosity about love. where could he even find it when so few people see him as an equal person to begin with?

and then there's michael. oh my god, and then there's michael. no matter what flavor you choose to read it in, the whole show is about their relationship, they're a duo, a set Not to be separated, they're Partners. they work together, they worry about and look after each other (forever insane about when kitt was a melted shell, Michael stuck around the garage for hours, waiting for any news like a worried spouse, constantly checking on him every opportunity he got... encouraging him to recover, and even helping paint back on his protective coating... kitt always looks after michael, but for once, it's michael's turn to look after Him), in a way they were Made for each other - Kitt more literally, being programmed for Michael and holding his namesake, but Michael was also made in a sense for the pilot program, hand picked and given a second life to work for the foundation and with this strange supercar. and even if they had a rocky start, michael comes to view kitt as a person - car, TV set, or computer core, Kitt is his partner, his buddy. he helps him find himself, guides him and teaches him about these things that make us human, and in a way, kitt becomes human - but his entire experience is still through the perspective of an AI in a car, it's still very unique and isolating, and I think he sort of grows into his own limitations, he's finally brushing against the walls that define him.

he learns of love, and then he learns to dream Of love. these things he sees in the movies, that michael tells him about, that he so often sees michael Partaking in that he gets so oddly jealous of, doesn't it all seem so wonderful? he's very curious. but who could ever love steel and circuitry, who could ever see him as an equal let alone a partner in a romantic sense? who would ever love a car and all the limitations That comes with? it's a problem for a hypothetical hopeful Some Day, in the meantime stuck between two worlds where he doesn't perfectly belong to either, where no car Can love him and no human seemingly Would love him...

and michael loves him anyway. before either of them really realize or talk about it, in spite of everything, in any form, regardless of the fact it wouldn't be a typical relationship by absolutely any means, michael loves him anyway. kitt is as much a person to him as bonnie or devon or RC, and that person is someone he loves and cares for deeply. the feeling is mutual, kitt's world revolves around michael, he's one of the most important people in kitt's life, and he'd do anything to protect him.

and it is michael that will finally teach him to love, and what it means to feel loved in turn, to be loved as the person he undoubtedly is.

[villiedoom]

Sorry if this has already been asked, but this world is very interesting and I love hearing about it!

You know a lot of the Koties, but what if they knew of you? Or mankind in general? How would, say, Vewis feel if he were to meet a new sentient species?

In a sense, they already know about me (Vewis and Atram specifically), not in their canon world though but in my mental reality and dreams. To be my imaginary friends and a kind of spiritual guides is the essence of their meaning, sharing ideas and stories that have some personal and symbolic meaning for me.

As for canon Koties, I thought about it a lot, it's very intriguing!

If we imagine this as a real meeting, I think they would be very curious about it and interested in learning more and possible contact, while what happens next depends on many factors… humanity as a whole is a very unreliable and even dangerous friend, and different nature, values, social structure and language can become a very big problem and cause a lot of misunderstandings. Plus humans are very dominant, aggressive and destructive compared to Koties, which may seem like a dangerous sign for them; I believe fear would be a reasonable reaction, and avoiding contact might be the wisest decision.

Although, given that both humans and Koties are extremely curious and very social, it would hardly be possible for them to avoid each other if they find out about each other's existence. They will be interested in everything from biological nature and evolution to technology and society. With a lot of curiosity, concern and caution. And safety first. Humans will likely try to take away and want to use everything the Koties know and have, all their technologies and resources, and I'm not sure Koties would be happy about it. It's too dangerous and unpredictable, especially considering that humans may be not the ones to respect their "no". Humans, on their part, might be worried too. You know, a mysterious alien feline that has telepathic technology might be creepy, who knows what it can do to your brain...

Vewis is a simple person, he doesn't think about things so globally, and will most likely observe new and mysterious creatures secretely, being interested in friendly contact with individual friendly humans. Atram, on the other hand, takes things more globally and seriously, and is more likely to see this as either a potential revolution for their entire world, or a potential disaster that must be prevented. And he would probably be interested in some deeper research and discussion. The rest depends on the circumstances.

If it is a mental contact, like an individual Kotie who suddenly received a mental connection with some humans, he will most likely share it to other Koties as a concept. I thought of it as a funny "parallel reality", when humans are a "fictional species" and imaginary friends for a Kotie, just like they are for me :D

I think from their perspective, humans could also appear as a very unrealistic and fantasy-like species, being both fascinating and terrifying. Like, these are such a weird-looking creatures which aren't able to contact each other mentally, yet have some really fantastic technologies and ways to communicate with each other. They are very dominant, aggressive, selfish, and at the same time very collective and sociable, creating many different and fascinating forms of communication to compensate for the lack of telepathic contact. The fact that they achieved so much without telepathic technology will most likely be fantastic for the Koties. Oh, and they have cats as pets! I think it would sound crazy to Koties.

The way human cities look with a lot of crazily huge buildings, cars, lights, is absolutely surreal, alien and mind-blowing. It would be amazing for a Kotie to see something like that. I think many of them might find it indescribably beautiful or scary.

[commsroom]

first of all thank you so much for having this blog and sharing your thoughts!! your eiffelposting (and heraposting) has literally got me through the post w359 Grieving Process after running though the whole thing in about 2 weeks and your character insight is. well. chefs kiss. Eiffel Understander Of All Time. 2 things: 1, if it’s ok, you’ve mentioned before about an eiffel version of change of mind, and the idea has (1/2)

(2/2) literally stuck with me since and i’d love to hear your thoughts on that if you have any! 2, are there active w359 discords about bc i got a deep need to yap about all this (apologies if the first msg came through twice, tumblr's being weird)

oh, it makes me very happy to hear that!! your art is a gift, and i'm glad i can offer you something in return.

as for your question... yes! okay. the basic premise is to frame eiffel losing (and regaining) his memory as a catalyst for character growth, as a narrative parallel to lovelace's death and resurrection, rather than a resolution. i think it's noteworthy that the finale has eiffel faced with himself from first a very internal (the final confrontation literally taking place inside his head) and then a very external (hearing his logs as an outsider after losing his memory) perspective and i think the natural extension of this is, well. to confront him with himself.

one of the most key things about eiffel's character arc is that he wants to escape himself. "it's taken me this long to realize that running from everyone else means that you're alone with yourself" but, as addressed in constructive criticism, he's also running from himself. he doesn't like what he hears on those tapes, but the eiffel of succulent rat-killing tar both is and isn't the eiffel of brave new world, and i think that's what's being set up/suggested at the end.

i think viewing eiffel's memory loss as a death is incomplete, while viewing it as a "fresh start" or anything of the sort is incompatible with his existing character arc. but if you think of it as part of this pattern of eiffel trying to escape himself, and ending up still stuck with himself...? if he makes the big sacrifice, "escapes" the person he is as much as anyone can, and then finds he's still stuck with himself, still has to live as the person he is...? then, what next?

(i think this also ties in well with maintaining sobriety; addiction, self-destructive impulses and the desire to not be present in his life, etc. are all rooted in the same things.)

my concept of eiffel regaining his memory would be this sort of... fever dream "life flashing before his eyes" sequence of stepping into significant moments in his life (as a stranger) and interacting with himself, and needing to accept / reintegrating all of these versions of who doug eiffel is and has been. that the question of "am i still doug eiffel?" is one of accountability for his past but that he's always been changing and will continue to grow. i think a key part of this would be him seeing these moments through a pop culture lens / as if it's a movie and then more gradually seeing what they really are. ideally, these would be moments tied to specific songs for him; eiffel's internal soundtrack is well beyond wolf 359's budget, i'm sure, but it's a hypothetical anyway. these would be real memories, in some form, but obviously none of this would be happening for real; it's just how i think his brain would make sense of it (while he's presumably unconscious.) it's like sarah shachat said about eiffel's story in limbo: to tell that story, he would first have to make it a story.

i like this because i think it works well with eiffel's existing arc. i like it because it provides a different angle on self-exploration via memory in the same vein as memoria and change of mind. i like it because it makes a good potential parallel to shut up and listen/constructive criticism, and to mayday (eiffel alone with the voices of others vs. eiffel literally alone with himself.) it feels like a natural extension + heightened conclusion to things that i feel are already implied + set up. and, while i like where wolf 359 ended and would never want to add to it, i like imagining what zach valenti would do with a bunch of different versions of eiffel at different stages of his life interacting; i think he would knock it out of the park with material like that.

i think the real core of identity in wolf 359 is in these moments where people assert who they are, or decide to be who they are. again, in parallel to lovelace... the same way that lovelace decides to be isabel lovelace, "even if [she] never has been before", eiffel would decide to be doug eiffel, all the people he's been, the person he is now, and all the people he's going to be.

(as for discord... i think there are some, but unfortunately i don't know of any that i would personally recommend. you are always welcome to ramble at Me on discord, but i know that's probably not the same.)

[blessphemy]

@comment-bingo get me on that Blackout Prize List!!

These are all AO3 fics I commented on because.... I like fics. What about it. Perhaps on my next bingo card I'll remember to comment on some fanart and fanvids...

List of what I commented on under the cut! Because I'm a nerd.

Action/Adventure: Slapdash Neural Wiring by potatoturnipbean. This fic is part 2 of a series, but you can start by reading this one no problem. (That's what I did.) Featuring original construct characters set in the Murderbot Diaries universe, amazing heist fiction, drama, emotional turmoil, cool scifi gadgets, and line after line of hilarious, snappy prose. Do you want to be mercilessly punched in the emotions while laughing at the same time? Have you been craving a book that's exactly like Murderbot in tone and setting, but a littttle bit different? Do you want something gripping and fun and affecting? This fic is incredible and I'll tell anyone who listens. For free. Pleaes read Slapdash Neural Wiring it's an amazing work that needs love.

Poetry/Filk: Poetry installation: Untitled ("my friend always chooses the media") by borth. Very cool stuff. You have to actually read it to appreciate it I think... it's difficult to describe why I like it. In-universe poetry written in a bathroom stall.

Outsider POV: Cinema Verite by BoldlyNo. BoldyNo does it again with sensitive writing that explores canon and characters from various angles, this time it's Ratthi's perspective of creating The Video in System Collapse. Very good. Emotions.

Fave Trope: Road Trip For Science by Thirteen Primes. I don't know what my Fave Trope is, but I love Road Trips, and this fic has got a road trip. The author was inspired by a scene that came to them in a dream. There's something charming about this fic that is difficult to put my finger on. Featuring Mensah who'd done trucking to pay for school when she was younger, and Murderbot, driving a truck through a planet recently opening up to outside trade and which is being courted by corporate rim.

An Author You've Never Read: An Audacious Undertaking, Even to God by lumpy_space_princess. Featuring SecUnit 3, who is desperate to restore and re-upload the consciousnesses of SecUnits 1 and 2. Experience emotions from this fic or your money back. This fic is a multichapter and still updating!

Respond To Other Comment: On Constructs And Cats by ForestWren. Murderbot finds a kitten. What more do you want? It's exactly what you want.

Original Character: Happy Birthday by Jewels9162. Part of a prolific series about rogue Barish-Estranza units and their human handler. Bit of a nice slice-of-life here. About friends and birthdays.

Character Study: Sense of Belonging by ArtemisTheHuntress. Listen. I don't care what plans Martha Wells herself has for SecUnit Three. This fic is what truly happens with it in my heart after the events of System Collapse. It's such a good character study, about finding yourself in the context of a new strange social scene, about grieving what you've lost, about making a positive difference in the world using your specific skills and interests. So good.

Multi-Chapter: Slivers of Existence by musicofthespheres. A collection of loosely-connected ficlets. About Murderbot. It's very nice, okay. A bunch of pleasant scenes you can sip tea over as a pick-me-up. Enjoyable.

Long Fic (5k+ words): Family Portrait by ramshackle_fey. Are you ready to experience emotions about Murderbot and The Mensah Kids? Prepare yourself. Gird your heart.

Bharadwaj's Documentary: If You Want To Write by borth. This is a very neat concept. Chapter 1 is Murderbot and Bharadwaj talking to each other about the illiteracy enforced upon Murderbot by the company, and how Murderbot sneakily learned to read, and how its secretly-gained literacy is what allowed it to hack its governor module. Chapter 2 is a meta text exploring themes of literacy and worker control.

Old Favourite: In Another Life by Lick. Frankly it's impossible for me to pick only one favorite fic, so this is just one of many favorites. Frankly anything written by Lick is a favorite. This one is an AU in which Murderbot continued on its adventures for 4 years before returning to reunite with its humans on Preservation. The shifted dynamics with ART, SecUnit 3, and its humans, are a delight.

Free Space: do humans even dream by BWizard. A 4+1, times Mensah experiences nightmares, as noticed through the eyes of the people close to her. :')

Make a Rec Post: This post.

Crack: mining for copper (or ways to annoy your construct friend) by friendoftheJabberwock. Short and silly. Murderbot must do a very important infiltration at a costume party.

Canon Continuation: In Defense Of What I Never Had by Thylacine_Wishes. You ever want to ruminate on the Implications of Murderbot's shitty creation in comparison to ART's state-of-the-art University birthplace? Welcome. We have baby AIs.

Posted/Updated Pre-2023: precious cargo by FiannlyPhoebe babyfic. Fast forward some Years: Iris and Amena generate a human baby.

Fluff: people look east the time is near by BWizard. The secular space X-mas cookie making vibes. Sweet. Cookie decorating.

Hurt/Comfort: Memory Fault by Yellow. Murderbot and ART in the wake of the difficult events of Network Effect... talk it out.

Bot POV: Hints by i_have_loved_the_stars_too_fondly. Technically this is SecUnit POV. But I'm counting it. An exploration of how Amena may have come and done Murderbot's hair, pre-System Collapse. Made me feel a little sad :') I want them to feel connection and careeeeeee please.

Additional Canonized Tag: Third Dorm Mom by BoldlyNo. The canonized tag in question is "#Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland." Y'all this fic is AWESOME. If you love slice of life. If you love character and relationship studies. If you want a fic that is alllll about the relationship between Murderbot and Amena. It's this fic. Warm your heart over the coals, go on.

Fanart with <50 Notes: This collection of drawings by paging-possum. It had <50 notes when I reblogged it with commentary tags. You should check out this artist's works if you like Murderbot. Very nice drawings.

Podfic: [Podfic] Cog in the Machine, by FlipSpring by CompassRose and mistingsidekick on AO3. Come ruminate on the nihilistic POV of the Combat SecUnit that Murderbot faced off against in Exit Strategy.

Funny/Silly Tags: a comforting presence by afjakwrites. The tag in question: "#featuring secunit carrying ratthi bridal style." Consider, if you will: what if Murderbot is Objectively Hot.

Crossover: We Provide... Security by Blue_Bees. Very very good very good crossover!!!!! You don't need to know Leverage. Case fic + screw over Corporations time!

[adis-is-hades]

PJO x DC concept: Lantern Corps Demigod(s)

Disclaimer: I haven’t actually read any GL comics so everything I know comes from fanfics and various other sources (Google)

We know that the human GLs tend to have some sort of engineering background, which is why they got the hang of the ring’s constructs pretty quickly. So think about a child of Hephaestus or Athena with a Lantern ring. They’d go feral to have the ability to create stuff with a single thought.

I also just think it’s kind of funny (especially with other kids). Humans can come across as feral to most aliens, and demigods (mostly Greek) are even more so. I can see the GLs (or JL/TT/YJ if the demigod is on a team) being sent in a diplomatic mission that somehow fails and they get dropped into a death tournament. The demigod is absolutely willing to fight tooth and nail, even without weapons. They are taking off fingers (ooh carrot mentality) and tearing skin from muscle and bone. With their prior training (and maybe war experience) they’re wrenching joints from sockets and placing their opponent(s) into submission locks, barely even breaking a sweat.

I think if every demigod got a ring, most of them would have green. All of them qualify for green. The will power it takes to fight and survive as long as they have. That’s a lot. Will to live is such a defining part of many of our canon characters.

Getting more specific:

Percy could possibly have blue (and not just because it’s his favorite color). Blue symbolizes hope. His refusal to release Elpis—hope—to signal surrender is a huge moment in his development in “The Last Olympian”. He could potentially qualify for indigo which symbolizes compassion. He doesn’t kill Iapetus after the Titan’s swim in the Lethe in “Sword of Hades”, instead renaming him Bob and getting him a (relatively) honest job in Hades’ palace. He befriends Damasen in Tartarus. And the pain he feels when he has to leave them behind is tangible.

Annabeth could be orange—greed. Her desire to build a new world is a prideful, almost greedy aspiration. She tries not to let it control her, so perhaps it’s not the best match, but it’s an option. I think she is more apt for green. The will to not let her pride control her (especially after meeting Percy), he will to pursue her dream and become an architect to build a new world is very admirable.

Will I think could qualify for both black—death—and white—life. He canonically has affinity for Apollo’s domains of both healing and plague, so it’s not that far fetched. He could also be indigo. I imagine healing accident prone demigods over and over again takes a lot of compassion.

Nico has the obvious of black, but I think it would be ironic if he had a white ring. The black ring comes from being the son of the god of the dead, but I think that just puts life into perspective for him better than most. He knows the ins and outs of death to the point that he knows that life is sacred and something everyone should get to experience. And think he’d have the opposite of Will’s ring if they had them at the same time, like a yin yang. Nico could also be red, rage, for the fact that his fatal flaw is holding grudges. He holds his anger for months between “The Titan’s Curse” and “The Battle of the Labyrinth” until he finally gets to speak to Bianca and get “permission” to let go. Indigo is yet another option due to his actions of bringing Hazel back to the living world. (If I recall correctly, he was originally looking for Bianca, to offer another chance at life to her, but stumbled on Hazel when he couldn’t find Bianca).

Clarisse is most likely red. Rage is a big part of the Ares kids, and Clarisse is often always angry. She could also be violet—love—or indigo for her acts regarding Chris and Selena.

Rapid fire! With no context and in no particular order:

Piper: red, green, blue

Leo: yellow (fear), indigo, blue

Jason: yellow, blue

Frank: indigo, green

Reyna: green, indigo

Thalia: white, blue

Chiron: green, indigo, blue, violet

Sally: violet, indigo, blue

Feel free to add on!

[beanghostprincess]

Why do you think in shuggy break up Luffy would be on buggy side?

I think it's obvious, isn't it? The core purpose and inspiration of Luffy are dreams and freedom. Luffy's character quite literally is just about that (and more, but those are his main character traits). As the story progresses, we see him helping others, not because he wants to or because he's nice like that (he isn't. He is a fucking menace to society) but because those are the specific buttons you have to press for him to be empathetic or resentful. Luffy is pretty much a selfish person. He's not helping others just because he can, but because of the unfairness of the world or how they treat others. If he doesn't get along with you, he gives zero fucks about what happens to you UNLESS a dream or freedom is involved. Because it's not really about you, then, but about this precious concept he has of life and freedom and how everyone should be able to choose and live however they want. He isn't selfless but he does fight for what he thinks is right. And what Luffy perceives as something everybody should be able to have is both dreams and the freedom to achieve them. So, basically, Luffy is empathetic and helps if he likes you (basically if you're cool or show signs of being a nice person) or if there's something keeping you from being free.

Anyway, why am I telling you all of this? Because I think that, if Luffy knew about what really happened between Shanks and Buggy from Buggy's perspective, he'd side with Buggy without any hesitation. Well. Maybe a little hesitation. Maybe a ton of hesitation because of Shanks. Let me explain-

Let's just make a hypothetical situation in which the three of them are together and Shanks and Buggy start arguing about what happened that day. Yadda yadda yadda, it doesn't really have to make sense for me to explain this. The thing is, Buggy tells his side of the story, and Luffy hears it. I think his first reaction would be about Shanks. He would have SO many questions about his decision. "Why didn't you go for the One Piece right away, Shanks?! Why did you hesitate?! Why did you let Buggy run away and not run after him?!" Because, due to his impatient and overly protective nature (and abandonment issues, cof cof) of the ones he loves, Luffy would instantly ask himself these things. Because Luffy wouldn't have done it this way. Luffy wouldn't have hesitated. He makes impulsive decisions on the spot. If he wants something, he's gonna go take it. And if his best friend leaves without explaining anything (WATER FUCKING SEVEN) he's gonna run after them (STRONG WORLD!!!!!!!) and make them come back to him because he knows something's wrong (WHOLE CAKE ISLAND MY BELOVED). So I personally think he'd be defensive at first with Shanks and Shanks would look away with the most painful of stares and avoid Luffy's hurt eyes. You know when he gets angry at him for what happened to Uta because he can't understand anything and Shanks can't tell him what happened and Luffy has to learn to be mature and accept that sometimes he just won't understand/agree with some of Shanks' decisions? Well, that's him right now. Shanks tells him there was something deeper going on (because of fucking course Oda is gonna go full drama and turn Shanks' hesitation at the time into something extremely painful). Or maybe he just says they weren't ready yet and Luffy just has to understand that patience is a virtue (something that Shanks has actually been teaching him for a long time). Yadda yadda yadda, I think Luffy wouldn't be mad at Shanks for a long time but he wouldn't really truly get it. And besides, the Buggy thing has no excuse. He should've followed him. That's it. End of the discussion. Because that's Luffy's mentality and he'd rather starve to death than let his family go.

Then, I think Luffy would have mixed feelings about Buggy's POV. Because he doesn't understand it, but he gets the important stuff. He doesn't understand why Buggy wouldn't follow his dream even if he feels inferior. He could've just told Shanks. Or maybe just?? Idk. Not feel inferior in the first place (such good fucking advice from somebody like Luffy who gives zero fucks about that sort of thing). But I think he would remember Water 7, too? And Usopp in general? And also all the times he has felt weak and powerless? And I think he doesn't quite understand Buggy's reasons for staying in Shanks' shadow, and that makes him furious and angry at Buggy for giving up so easily, but he would also be kind of sad. I think he'd get the important stuff. Like. The simpler way to put it is that Luffy sees Buggy with this new POV and just sees somebody who lost his hope for X thing and gave up on his dream. The inferiority complex took away his freedom. In fact, the devil fruit and losing the map? That actually was what took away his freedom. Metaphorically and literally. And Luffy sees this and says "Well, it's never too late! You might be a coward and a whiny loser but nothing can take your dream away from you and I'm sure you'll make it! Cheering for you but not much because I'm the one who's gonna be King of the Pirates, but yeah! Good luck! You can do it!". And Buggy takes it as an insult, but I'm pretty sure Luffy would get serious about this at some point and say "Shanks should've run after you... But you were the one who gave up first. There's nothing stopping you now, though!". And... Turns out the damn kid is right?? And Buggy is never going to say that out loud but damn.

I think he'd get along with Buggy, then. Luffy would want to help him achieve his dream all he can. Or at least encourage him and see him as a fair opponent and enemy, which is the most respectful thing he can do as a pirate. He'd be on Buggy's side in the sense that "both parties were acting silly and stupid and should've done things differently but the world has treated Buggy poorly and that is unfair and Shanks should've been the one going after him instead of doing nothing" because he sees himself in Shanks' shoes and it just seems odd to him not to go after the ones you love when this happens.

And also, to put ALL OF THIS in an easier, simpler way: If we're talking about romance exclusively here. About an actual breakup and not just these two parting ways. I think Luffy would be on Buggy's side without hesitation because you don't let go of somebody you love that easily (he's having WCI flashback. Lusan moment. Or Water 7 Lusopp moment. Just choose whatever). Imagine explaining this to Luffy like "Shanks and Buggy had a huge fight about going after the One Piece and Shanks hesitated and Buggy ran away and they broke up" what do you expect him to say?????? Of course he would get angry at Shanks. Even if Shanks had his reasons, Luffy is just fundamentally different in some stuff, even if there are parallelisms between these two. They're different, and Luffy often doesn't agree with Shanks' decisions. Like letting Buggy break up with him. Luffy didn't go through Water 7 and WCI for him to not side with Buggy, honestly.

[s-che]

simplicity in design is a virtue, you cretins

i'm rereading Avery Alder & Ben Rosenbaum's Dream Askew / Dream Apart in preparation to finally do some serious editing of my game of intimacy, liberation, and faggots at sea Beneath Pirate Flags. among the billion other small things i'm reconsidering as i go over the bob/ndnm fundamentals, i'm really struck by how simple both these games are — elegant in a way i think i really failed to capture in the first public versions of bpf.

i have a theory about this, and it has to do with why i think the sprawling "always another sourcebook" approach taken by a lot of dungeons & drasprawling, commercially successful ttrpgs is fundamentally weak design — but first, here's one of them fancy 'keep reading' buttons you can click on to keep this post from being six and a half miles long.

hey, welcome back. lets get into the details:

bpf makes a critical break from the original ndnm games in the way its environmental playbooks work. mine are things like "the fort" and "the map" (see images) — individual iterations of broader concepts, much like the character playbooks ("legend", "dandy", "monkey" etc) are iterations of common pirate types. there are, almost certainly, multiple "monkeys" in one world — much as there are almost certainly multiple forts.

this contrasts with Askew / Apart's setting books — things like "varied scarcities," "society intact," and "goyishe world." these are intentionally broad environmental pressures. although "society intact" may be encountered different times in different places — with different names and different faces — it is, fundamentally, the same force.

2. this isn't necessarily a thing i want to change (although there are tweaks i'll be making to just about all the playbooks) but it is real interesting to think about how bpf got here, from a design perspective. the story is simple: bpf didn't start from playing either dream. it started with me reading wanderhome, and this design is borrowed (nearly) directly from there.

wanderhome, like bpf, has players create new environmental elements again and again over the course of a campaign — from the smallest kith to the largest citadel, you might be doing generation multiple times in a single session. wanderhome handles this by simplifying, simplifying, simplifying — a trait has one picklist, a nature two, and so the process of generation is quick and nondisruptive, and you're quickly able to create a populated world without losing yourself in any particular moment of generation.

(che, i hear you shouting, you baited us in with an inflammatory claim about d&d's bad design. get to the point already. ok. i will)

one of the things i like most about possum creek games as a whole (ha, got you again) is the way they can become sprawling without ever overwhelming players. this has been talked about a lot in advance of the yazeba's release — but it's true for wanderhome, too.

where both dream askew and dream apart have just six setting elements, wanderhome has (even if you disregard the seasons and holidays) a whopping forty-eight traits and thirty-six natures. it is — despite seeming small in the shadow of yazeba's — a sprawling game, and it's only through a tremendous efficiency and elegance in design that the whole thing doesn't come bursting apart at the seams. some of that is thanks to the ndnm token economy as a whole and some of it is good writing specific to wanderhome, but none of it is possible without an ethic that prioritizes simplicity — cutting the building blocks into their smallest fundamentals, so they can fit into something huge and, more importantly, comprehensible.

this all stands in sharp contrast to what seems to be the tendency in dice- and percentage- based games (told you i'd get there eventually), who — out of a need for a bespoke, simulationist tool for every situation, maybe — have a tendency towards appendices, supplemental books, and a proliferation of minutiae. i am talking about d&d here, although i don't think it's the worst offender — i still have nightmares about the hand-to-hand system from top secret, a game my dad only recently admitted he was "basically only pretending to understand the rules of" when he ran it for my friends and i when we were kids. i'm not saying all crunchy game design is like this — honestly, i think crunchiness is a totally different spectrum from rules-complexity — but i do think that, sometimes, in an effort to feel sprawling and more importantly substantial, games become inefficient and more or less illegible. it is hard to play d&d. it is hard to hold all those rules in your head. by comparison, dream askew, dream apart, and wanderhome can held pretty easily in your head. you could probably even reconstruct some of the playbooks from the design fundamentals (act weak = gain token, act strong = spend token, evocative picklist). the most important thing about these games is that the rules are evocative and they let you stay in the fun part of play for as long as possible, interrupted as little as possible.

let me make this totally clear: the fun part of a game can absolutely be tallying numbers and consulting armor ratings, but i don't think that's the reason some of these games get so big. the real answer is: cutting shit is hard! eliminating systems is hard! saying "this is not helpful, let it go" is really tough, especially when you're left with a design document that was shorter (and by extension, whispers the awful voice in the back of your head, worth less) than you were expecting. still, it's important to remember: 'good system design' is not the same thing as 'filling as many pages as possible.', even if that's hard to accept in an industry that feels like it has to be prices and paid by the page.

how does all this affect beneath pirate flags? well, that's simple — pretty quickly in my recent playtesting, i realized that pausing mid-session to create new maps, forts, ships, and so on sucks ass. it's fun to brainstorm with friends, but the environmental generation throws off the pacing of sessions in a way the wanderhome kith stuff just doesn't. why? there's too much shit in my environmental playbooks! wanderhome has two picklists per nature and one per trait. askew & apart have just one per setting element — and you only have to do it once per campaign. beneath pirate flags has five. five! it sucks! and cutting out that unecessary shit — even if i do want to straddle the middleground between dream askew & dream apart's simplicity and wanderhome's sprawling growth — is going to be the hard first step on the long road to getting this game where it ought to be.