#I hope I'm making sense

[my-name-is-apollo]

I'm very normal about how madness is integral to both Apollo and Dionysus and one uses it to create order while the other uses it to create disorder.

Also very normal about how the bacchantes honored both of them, and also worshipped the two deities as one - opposite but inseparable.

[the-kirbe-anon]

Do you think lgbt people need the gospel? I know you said you just disagree and will still be friends while they make their choices! I think that’s lovely! But should we still give gay people the gospel if they think getting it is homophobic? :(

Yes! We ALL need the Gospel and LGBT people are no different. Everyone has sinned and deserve Hell and need Jesus to save them, me especially. We should give the Gospel to everyone who will hear! So yes, we should give LGBT people the Gospel, even if they think it's homophobic. What I mean by I'll not shove my beliefs is that I won't try to force people to believe in something they won't believe in. If I tell someone the Gospel and they choose not to believe it, it's not my duty to force the Gospel on someone who isn't ready to accept it. If someone declines the Gospel, that's between them and God, my job is to pray for them and love the.

[theheirofthesharingan]

Itachi never told Kabuto how much he loved Sasuke. If anything, Kabuto tried to use Itachi's betrayal to his family to save the village to get Sasuke join him instead. He'd also taunted Itachi for being a liar and mocked him for being "tender hearted" because Itachi called him out on using Edo Tensei to win a war that shouldn't have been waged in the first place. When Itachi bid farewell to Sasuke, Kabuto was stuck in Genjutsu, so he couldn't have known what their conversation was like.

However, he still understood how much Itachi loved Sasuke. The only one who understood the intensity of Itachi's love for Sasuke, other than Sasuke himself, was Kabuto. Trapped in the illusions, fighting Itachi's ghost, he came to realize the extent of Itachi's love for his brother and that Itachi lived his life for Sasuke and died for him.

He wasn't obliged to save Sasuke's life. He came to war, not only because he'd changed, but because he knew Itachi spent his whole life keeping Sasuke safe. He died for Sasuke. And Kabuto felt obligation towards the love Itachi had for his brother. Kabuto could have helped in war any other way too but he only chose to save Sasuke's life because of Itachi.

There's a kind of mysticism in Itachi's love that surfaced only when he was truthful to Sasuke, and the ripples were felt by Kabuto, too.

[hopinglylost3214]

Haha you're ticklish and all, but I must admit it's also silly and embarrassing(but in a positive way) being a ler.

Like I want to make you laugh, but instead of making jokes like normal people, I want to use my hands?!? I see your stomach and I go like "oh wow, I wonder if they're ticklish there"?! I get so excited when I find a tiny spot in your body that can make you laugh a little louder?!

So silly and goofy.

[the-skeleton-speaks]

Experiencing physical attraction with a lack of sexual attraction feels weird sometimes

Like I Do Not want to fuck that person/character or anyone rlly but by GODS are they are so fucking hot the muscle the tummy etc fucking scrumptious

Idk this is mostly me verbalizing shit, maybe it feels weird because attraction to ones physical body has for the most part been intrinsically linked with sexual attraction in media and online so maybe that gap in my brain is sending off weird little social signals

And it's not aesthetic attraction, that's a totally different feeling for me y'know

[kafus]

Oh I see asks post!! Soo.. What's ur favorite headcanon about Liko and Dot??? :D

oh god a FAVORITE?? how do i even pick a favorite... i have so many lol

well okay i'll just pick one i really like off the top of my head. even though this is kiind of implied by the show, it's really not directly touched on a whole lot, so - i usually headcanon dot to be very particular about her personal space. (i say usually because sometimes my headcanons change based on what i'm having more fun with that day, but yeah.) like, she doesn't like people touching her, she doesn't like people sitting too close, it just makes her uncomfortable. she has the capability to enjoy physical touch, but it has to be with someone she's extremely comfortable with and who is patient with her, and that's where liko comes in.

i think there's a bit of a slow burn where dot slowly adjusts to liko being more physically affectionate and closer to her. even before they would hypothetically get together in a relationship, just as friends, she adjusts more and more to liko sitting closer or occasionally touching her on the arm or whatever. and when they get together romantically, the process speeds up and becomes more conscious - there's a push and pull of liko testing boundaries and making sure dot is okay, and dot figuring out more about her physical boundaries and pushing them further until she's comfortable with like, casual hand holding, cuddling, liko leaning on her, etc.

i just think it's really cute and sweet because i think liko would be a pretty affectionate person in a relationship, but her patience and compassion for dot's difficulties outweigh that and she's willing to be patient (even if she loses her mind with happiness every time she gets to be affectionate with dot early on, lol)

[spork-supremacy]

Please elaborate more on leader (cult) Jay!

I'm, so sorry anon, I started writing this draft then I absolutely forgot about it for weeks.

Note however that I'm taking the cult thing and applying it more vaguely as just groups, including specifically, Administration, Reserve Team, League of Jay, and while I would love to count the keepers for comedy points, I can’t.

——-

A big part of his leadership roles is how he got to that point, specifically I want to look at the reserve team and the league of Jay. This is because they both were created in times where jay knowingly lost his team, his main support and protection. Both the reserve team and league were created to fill a void almost, because Jay much prefers team work than going it solo. It just so happens that they chose him as leader and he accepts it without second thought.

However, we have the positions like the Manager of Realm Reassignment, where he seemed to have been drafted in, as he says the he “woke up,” in the administration. I don’t know if they mind wiped him to force him into the role or they found him like that, but it was clear no other option was presented to him.

——-

How he is portrayed in each and the subtext to it:

In the league of Jay he is reflected as a great hero and and idol, revered by most members who have most of which been saved by him. This is something I find fascinating because while it does seem vaguely culty and creepy, you have to remember a key detail. Most of those trapped in prime empire are children sucked into the arcade machine and placed in the body of adults. Now you could argue about their voices and such, but I fully believe that there is a customisation to change it and that's what they thought a 'deep, manly voice' sounds like when they have barely reached puberty. Yes I can bet a few of the league are also teens and adults, who I bet are there because they see the league as a safe haven. The reason Jay is treated and respected the way he is in the League is because he is probably the most capable adult in the room, is the most with actual skill, and is already seen as a protector of Ninjago citizens.

I wish I knew how the league was formed, I would say most of it was from the group during undercover who watched him fight and then expanded. I would also like to know how long it’s been operating, because I have a hunch time in the game goes a lot faster than the real world.

Jay’s place in the administration stuck out to me, he's within a position of power for sure, but it's in middle management. The thing with his position is it's easy to get lost in the cracks, he's head of what I guess is a fairly small team, in a not only small branch, but also a new one. the administration is the administration however and they do notice his absence , but he is also a nothing person, replaceable , no one is scrabbling to find him. I think this reflects on how he wishes to blend in there, not stand out, because from what I can tell about his reaction to thinking they could know about his powers, standing out is a very bad thing. He does everyone achieve that, work in a forgettable department, does the bare minimum, has a very small team, and hides in his office. Jay did not choose to be a leader in this case, maybe he did choose the promotion because it allowed him to delegate, but he definitely did not want to lead.

His position in the reserve team is actually quite simple, the veteran hero in a rag-tag team. He is the last ninja standing free so he finds it upon himself to rise up to that title and be a leader. In this team he wishes to achieve his goal, save everyone and put the Djinn away for good. It's not like the league where he can play around for a bit, like with the whole Superstar Rockin’ Jay thing, or the Administration where he couldn't care less, this time he takes it fully seriously. He is the one portrayed with the most to lose, and has the most knowledge on the current state of the enemy.

——

Validation as motivation?

It’s no secret that Jay is probably the most insecure out of the ninja, or at least outwardly. He is, his entire true potential surrounded that theme, but when can that cross over into any of his leader positions?

It actually hasn't now that I've thought of it, I may have mentioned it in my initial summary, (which why this section is here at all) but each time he steps up as leader it hasn't been for vanity, but instead because it was deemed necessary. The only time that you could interpret that it was to validate himself was just that one part in season 5 when he thought he could do better at leading to take the scroll. This could either be seen as him proving himself, or just having that little faith in everyone else’s abilities. Granted throughout the season he does keep suggesting he lead and that they should listen to him, but every time they turned him down sometimes hung worse kept happening, like ghost Cole, or Zane’s communication box going on the fritz, so either interpretation is valid to me.

back on track now,

Every other time it's either because he is the most skilled one in that certain group, and therefore should be the one in charge (reserve team, and league of Jay). Or whatever got him as head of real reassignment. He doesn't actually have to actively prove himself in each case, everyone kinda just knows who he is and what he can bring to the table, excluding administration because that was post amnesia.

so my bad on that.

-----

Why else does he default to a leader when left alone for five seconds?

Two main things I can think of for this, that being Jay's somehow natural charisma (which is often balanced by him just being him after a while) and a natural leadership ability.

The charisma thing is definitely genetics, I have no other explanation, his dad was an actor after all. He grew up pretty isolated for the most part and as far as we know had no friends until the ninja, rather working on his inventions it seems. I would say that whatever people skills he gained were from comics, tv, his parents, and when old enough helping with customers.

I do find the leadership thing very interesting though, I remember seeing someone say once that Jay is a leader who believes he is a follower. Which is a really interesting concept considering he was originally chosen because he was an ideas guy who could think out of the box and on the spot, which is a key skill for leadership. Something else he displays in leadership roles is extreme focus on the mission, all his humour and comedic relief tendances go out the window, he isn’t there to lighten the mood, he is there to set a standard for his team. Think Operation Land-ho and his temporary position as leader in season five (minus the roof fall and biting the lock.) one last thing is his confidence boost in these roles, I don’t know if it’s just that it’s what the narrative wants from him but he never wavers from any plan he makes and sticks to it. Sure there might be things that have to change midway to adapt to the situation, but he always keeps the original plan in mind. Once again I refer to those two episodes.

Unfortunately we never see him actually lead much in other positions, the league just talk about him, and in the administration we don’t see him with a group, instead just either alone or reminding his subordinates about their place.

——-

And there is one last thing I would like to add that I think is very important. In an old Ninjago book, I have no idea which because I found the page on Pinterest, and I swore I saved it, but it’s gone. It caught my eye though so I kept it very deep in my memory.

Anyway, the page was quite simple, it’s from the perspective of Wu and judging by the images post season seven. It was just a short list of things the ninja get distracted by and how Wu kept them focus. For Jay specifically it is Nya, video games, and shiny things in that order. What want to look at though is Wu’s way to keep him focused: giving Jay something important to do, something that Jay can not mess up on and makes him feel valuable to the mission.

this ties back to his leadership roles because it helps explain why he seems so different in certain ones. He is completely focused and aware on how much everything hinges on his actions, yes he may not like others screwing up, but he is the one in charge and takes the responsibility.

Thought I'd mention the neat canon-ish reasoning behind that obvious shift in demeanor he gets.

——-

In conclusion I have found that Leader Jay is a phenomenon that occurs in conditions where he is separate from his team and is the best option, mostly due to his training and status. In this position he acts just differently enough that you can tell this is a side of him not often given a chance to come out despite how well he tends to do under the pressure. As a leader he is confident, focused, and an example, which is honestly not usually how he acts. He is fully aware of what it means to be in his position and the importance of it. He strives towards his goals, if there is one to aim for at least, and does anything to achieve them, be it a risky infiltration or theft. Most importantly his motivation isn't because he wants people follow or worship him, he often does it to protect others, and find a way to get out of whatever situation they're in.

[latinare]

Hi, I asked you about the etymology of Marcus/Martin a while ago, and I have an easy follow up question.

Based on nothing but vibes, my theory was one is essentially "dedicated to Mars," and the other is "Mars-like/having qualities of."

Is this at least not wrong enough to pass as pseudo latin? Or is there another form that would be "displaying characteristics of?"

I kinda thought from what I read that Marcus might be more qualities/likeness and Martin more dedicated to, but I don't have enough expertise to say for sure and it might not even be possible. Think of the English names Jones and Johnson; they mean roughly the same thing, and theoretically you could say well, Jones is just a possessive whereas Johnson has the word son in it, so Jones must be more about general belonging than biological descent... but in fact they were originally both just practical ways to keep track of which village kids belong to John so you know who to call next time one of them falls in the fishpond or something.

[mai-love-andthestars]

Hello! So, I’m not new to worshipping deities. I’ve worshipped Hades in the past. But, I’ve been worshipping Aphrodite for the past month and now I believe Apollo is reaching out as well. Funny enough, I’ve also thought of reaching out to Ares. What’s it like to worship all three of them at the same time?

I just want to preface that everyone's relationship is different, so a lot of this is personal opinion lol.

Worshiping them together isn't bad, and they have been more than okay with my worship together. There are some days where my focus is more on one than the other. Because they all have different lessons that they have to offer, and realistically I can't keep having life lessons back to back lol. Worshiping them has been delightful and I appreciate them, some times their lessons are tough but I have come to understand that growth is hard as well. I started worshiping Ares and Aphrodite first, and maybe its because of their obvious history I've seen practitioners worship them together often. and together they have always worked together hand in hand in my growth. Aphrodite has always been gentle and patient in my growth and Ares has been encouraging and supportive. and is quite the opposite of what is often thought of him when it comes to him being a god of war. I started worshiping Apollo a little later and has always been (ironically) a ball of energy and sunshine, so sometimes he is straight forward and to the point but not without reason. And Honestly I checked in with Aphrodite and Ares first if they were okay with me worshiping with them. Overall, I suggest researching them and seeing how you feel. I encourage exploring anyone's worship and work with them. But again everyone is different. It could seem overwhelming to worship 3 deities as closely as I do, but once you learn how the flow of your worship works, it is not as hard. There will be some trial and errors along the way but its okay, we are human, we make mistakes and the gods understand.

[ninelivesastrology]

tw: Neil Gaiman, mentions of Diddy and R. Kelly, rape

A lot of people are gonna be distracted by the fetishes that Neil Gaiman allegedly has and refuse to believe the victims. Read that twice.

Why do I say allegedly? Stay with me.

Because he may not have these fetishes at all. He have just forced these acts of depravity off the idea that victims would not be believed because of who he presented himself to be. It's a part of power dynamic of sexual abuse. We saw it with R. Kelly.

Who would believe that Neil Gaiman, best selling author, made multiple women [redacted]? Some abusers just do depraved sexual things to victims because they won't be believed. It's not about their sexual desires as much as we think it is.

Now, is it still horrifying regardless? Being forced to participate in fetishes and kinks you don't have will give you nightmares.

But framing it as some kink or fetish that everyone involved was okay with to obscure the fact that these acts weren't consensual is even more horrifying. It's premeditated.

That's why it's not cool that Diddy's sexual assaults are being called "Freak Offs" instead of what they really are. It implies the victims were just being sexually adventurous just like Neil Gaiman implied. To be filmed is being imply you were willing in the first place. It's a tactic.

You will find these sick motherfuckers again and again talking or joking about not using a safe word, so the title of that article is very on point.

[homoquartz]

i don't know how to explain how violent those shots of the slaughtered inuit family were to me. i wonder if they were intentionally referential to the photos of wounded knee. it taps into an ancestral pain.

[electricea]

that question was interesting and it was hard to answer broadly (especially as there are so many mementos targets who come to mind) i don't know if he'd really be friends with them, but depending on what they did (like no way he's gonna befriending the cat abuser) i think he'd mostly be empathetic to them and their struggles - plus, i think he's got a 'forgive but don't forget' mindset - what's important is that they're genuinely remorseful and want to change and better themselves. i don't know if he'd really end up becoming friends with a lot of them but i don't think he'd harbour grudges, either.

[mexashepot]

https://www.tumblr.com/mexashepot/749182048437223424/i-suffer-from-what-i-call-reverse-misogyny-in?source=share

Girl it's ok to be annoyed at women when they're annoying. Even the most feminist of women get annoyed reading Camille Paglia or MTJ or whatever. It's not something you should feel guilty about.

I understand but the reasons I find her annoying is because of her methods of coping with being a woman in a male-dominated field

Hence the feelings of guilt bc like

She's just trying her best to cope under patriarchal structures I guess

And here's me getting annoyed over it

I feel I'm in the wrong for this bc of this reason if that makes sense?

If she were annoying for reasons that don't have to do with dealing with misogyny then I think I wouldn't feel guilty over finding her annoying I think

[all-or-nothing-baby]

i've said similar before (as have countless others on here before me) but i'm taking a moment to say this again:

IT'S OKAY TO LIKE MEAN/BAD/HORRIBLE AND EVEN JUST DOWNRIGHT PURE EVIL CHARACTERS

and i think it's wildly stating the obvious to say the following but apparently there are still some folks who need to hear it:

CHARACTERS AND THE STORIES THAT THEY'RE FROM ARE NOT REAL; THEY ARE ALL MADE UP BECAUSE STORIES ARE MAKE-BELIEVE AND CRAFTED FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT

irl, i seriously dislike mean people. i despise bullies. i can't think of anything worse than a person who does 'evil' deeds to others and enjoys it. granted, i can at times end up feeling sorry for some of these arseholes bc a lot of the time there are genuine reasons for their poor behaviour; sadness/trauma/mental illness/etc. but that isn't me dismissing that behaviour, i'm just trying to have some understanding and empathy for their suffering because it's clear that it's effecting their humanity, y'know? it's often a sad reality, but does not mean i would excuse a person treating others badly.

STORIES ARE NOT REALITY

the characters from the books/tv show/movie/play/podcast etc that you like are not real. they are dreamt up to help us learn lessons from a young age, to make us laugh at their stupidity, to help us see that those who have found themselves on a dark path are mostly there because something terrible happened to them. these characters are brought to life for us in sometimes terrible forms—those truly dreadful villains—to help us work vicariously through emotions we all suffer with from time to time, the irrational feelings we can have of revenge or world domination lol. there is anger that we, as a race, all have to deal with, intrusive thoughts that we all sometimes struggle with. when we feel ourselves wanting the badguys in the movies to win, it can help us to manage these kinds of real life feelings we suffer, and it might mean we can learn how to deal better.

it's like wanting to punch someone. i would personally never actually want to do that—but occasionally as humans we might feel like we want to.

DOING THINGS LIKE USING A PUNCHBAG OR AGGRESSIVELY CHOPPING WOOD CAN BE THE SAME KIND OF REPLACEMENT ACTIVITY AS ENJOYING A MORALLY BAD CHARACTER. IT IS TAKING A FEELING AND RELEASING IT SAFELY WITHOUT DOING ANYBODY ANY ACTUAL HARM

also, none of us are perfect creatures! none of us. liking a bad or morally grey character can sometimes be because you might see some of their toxic traits in yourself, and feel better about the fact that even though you have faults, at least you're not as bad as they are. or maybe you know somebody like the character, someone who—even though their actions are wrong and you don't agree with them—has had a terrible life and you have some understanding of why they behave in the way they do. maybe the character helps you understand that person more and have more empathy for them and others like them?

AND SOMETIMES BAD GUYS ARE JUST GOOD FUN

baddies get to do the things we sometimes wish we could! who doesn't occasionally wish they could do a michael douglas d-fens in falling down?! or have the whole world kneel at their feet as loki does?! or be so be clever and cunning you can get away with any criminal plan you damn well choose like james moriarty?!

even the 'pure evil' characters in media are written so that we love to hate them, otherwise we wouldn't care about what happens to them, and caring about the story and it's characters is the whole point. and even if you just wholeheartedly love them—like you completely adore those vile bastards, regardless of all their evil deeds—that's okay! they're not real. just because you enjoy a character like hannibal lecter doesn't necessarily mean you want to murder and eat people, you just like a character who does terrible things because they have been written to be liked.

IT IS ENTIRELY NORMAL TO BE ENVIOUS OF AND/OR SIMPLY ENJOY A VILLAIN, BECAUSE THERE ARE SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS OF OURSELVES, ALL OF US, HOWEVER BIG OR SMALL, IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM

so, the paramount thing to remember is:

VILLAINS AND BADDIES AND MEANIES IN MEDIA ARE! NOT! REAL! THEY ARE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY FINE TO ENJOY THEM BECAUSE THAT IS THE VERY THING THEY WERE CREATED FOR

anyway, thank you for coming to my ted — *gets shot by the bad guy*

[fourthwonton]

Hi, I'm Fourthwonton and onion-esque media has me in a chokehold

*onion-esque media refers to media that seems like a fun, fluffy show to watch on a Friday evening at first sight but it has many layers so you write a new analysis after every rewatch and you now sob every time you think of it.

[rogueddie]

I just saw the poly chart- A) I love it💖 B) I would like to propose an arrow between Eden and Steve because 1) Steve has a type, bless him and 2) Bonding over trying to wrangle little shits /affectionate 2.5) Maybe Eden would be impressed by Steve's ability to actually get the kids to listen to him👉👈... Well shoot now I'm a little emotionally invested in the thought of Them

See, the problem is, I adore Steve/Eden on their own. It's one of the very very few little pairings I have where I just... don't like them in a big poly type relationship, ya know? Like, maybe as a threesome with Argyle. But I do just adore the idea of Steve and Eden as a pair on their own.

I think I've gotten it stuck in my head that in that big poly situation, Eden would have a similar relationship as Robin to Steve. They'd be a little three way platonic soulmate package deal.