#and creating my own posts on reddit scares me

[awildofnothing]

Hades 2 continued thoughts (spoilers under cut)

Okay I got real carried away describing my first winning run below. It was ridiculous luck with boons though.

Anyone else finding themselves humming “I am gonna claw out your eyes and drown you to death” at work or out at bars? Lol. I feel little crazy whenever I catch myself.

I predicted in my earlier post after like 10 hours of play that Hades / Zag / other OG characters would become playable each time you defeated Chronos (as in, you’d get to free one member of the house of Hades for each defeat, and they’d then be playable for surface runs). This was obviously far fetched because it would multiply the work needed when developing the game, but I’m taking the brief moment where you pilot Hades in the flashback to Chronos’ takeover as confirmation and claiming I was right 🤷

I still think it would be cool if you did get to free one trapped family member at a time once you got to a certain number of defeats against Chronos- it would be a cool narrative way to justify repeated runs.

I’m still in love with Nemesis but I think I might be equally enamored with Moros. What a beautiful antlered man. I feel like him and Melinoe would relate so much with the constraints and expectations of their fated upbringings and distance from any actual closeness with family.

I was feeling super dejected after losing run #24 to Chronos when I had a frankly amazing setup. I imagined Melinoe would also feel dejected. Moros was so sweet and immediately lifted my spirits. Nemesis stomped on them extra and then continued to insult me even after winning. Perfect duo ❤️

Okay winning run thoughts:

1. Finally beat Chronos on run 27. Was pretty surprised it took me that long because around run 15 (with sprint and death defiance arcana unlocked and a good amount of grasp) it really felt like it should happen any run. There were a good number of surface runs mixed in there too so that made it take a little longer.

2. I think the biggest factor in me finally winning the Chronos fight, outside of getting the exact boons I wanted (more below), was realizing I do not actually want to be distant from him all the time in phase 1. Same as Hades, there are some attacks that are really only dodgeable if you dart through him.

2a. Also for phase 2, I made a rule for myself that I mostly shouldn’t be sprinting and it helped. Phase 2 is just about not panicking and planning your dashes to safety. Chronos himself does not do crazy damage in Phase 2, so if you stay safe from the moving terrain you are basically good.

3. I had only two boons at the end of second biome on this run (Hephaestus blast on attack and Apollo sprint- these alone carried my run). By the time I got to Chronos I had 7 poms on the attack blast and it was triggering for 200 damage in a small aoe every 3 seconds 🤯. Plus, using Melinoe staff, omega attack would trigger the blast and aoe on each mob that was hit.

4. This was mostly accidental lol. I had an epic cast boon in Erebus but Nemesis offered me a deal to trade it for 3 poms. I only had attack and cast so this seemed like a bad deal at the time; however I want her to destroy me romantically and physically so I was never going to say no to her. Then I realized my attack, which I’d aimed for with Heph’s trinket, was triggering more often instead of just for more damage and was like hold on… I can work with this.

5. Avoided all other boons except Zeus after that because I wanted blitz on special (the first chaos trial I’d just unlocked the run prior to this helped solidify this strategy in my mind because of the basically unlimited magic - blitz and blast on special and attack, 1-2 punch where special sets blitz and then omega attack blast triggers it) and just aimed for poms otherwise to see how quick I could make the attack cooldown for giggles mostly. Ended up being rewarded with a rare special blitz in the Mourning Fields after choosing a Zeus boss room over a normal Selene and hammer room, which felt amazing.

6. Idk why I’m typing all this out really, I don’t expect anyone to actually read through it. I don’t have anyone in real life to discuss it with so I’m shouting at the void I guess. It was very satisfying to struggle for a good 10 runs with Chronos and then have a few aha moments and basically beat him with full health and all death defiances the next run.

7. I understand better how to build high damage builds in hades 2 now. I feel like I had to actively avoid gods I wasn’t aiming for, sometimes choosing bones or grasp over boons. I used two god trinkets that run in the first two biomes and was intentional about what I wanted.

8. Forgot to even mention my girl Selene and the healing hex, which let me bank 11 charges of +35 healing going into the Chronos fight 😇. Also got Demeter’s freeze cast at the very end, and I could be wrong, but it seems to me like that one CCs even armored enemies??? Not just reduces movement speed to approaching zero like the cast, but stopping attack and other actions as well??? Seems OP and like either a big or something I misinterpreted in the frenzy of play, but I’ll test more later in a surface run.

[anxresi]

She's already been punished enough...

...By being part of one the worst shows of all time, dufus.

A few points here, in the order of the OP presented their dubious 'case' (though I suspect this isn't actually how they feel and this is a somewhat disingenuous attempt was to provoke a reaction from a lot of others when they sent this to Reddit, in which case... JOB DONE).

1. Bullying, as bad as it can be, is not a jailable offence. especially the relative mild incidences we've seen in the show (up till S4 that is, which we'll get to later) Next.

2. As every right-minded person knows, this is 'New Chloe' e.g Chloe specifically created by Mr Astruc for the S3 finale onwards which bears no relation to 'Old Chloe'. 'Old Chloe' actually had personality, layers, humanity, humour, was a great super-anti-hero, the stirrings of redemption in her.... 'New Chloe' is just an out-and-out psychopath with no depth to her whatsoever apart from to be as ineptly evil as possible and increasingly embarrass herself with every tortuous appearance so Thomas can get his sick jollies, so this doesn't count. Sorry.

3. See: 2. Also, Zoe shouldn't exist... so, there's that. If you want to know why, please see my other posts... as I am saving up all my ire for something far more important as you'll find out below...

4. Now this is the one that REALLY boils my piss. How can I put this politely... Fuck off, you fucking cunt. Chloe's fucking father ENABLED her fucking behavior for fucking years by fucking throwing his money at the fucking problem instead of paying for the fucking psychological help she clearly fucking well needed and fucking IGNORED everything when her fucking mother regularly left Chloe alone, told her she was fucking worthless, didn't bother celebrating her fucking birthdays, forgot her fucking name time and time again...

I could go on. And you're telling me Andre is the FUCKING victim instead of Chloe, this FUCKING corrupt mayor. this FUCKING waste of space, this FUCKING pathetic excuse of a man who as her FUCKING FATHER could've put his FUCKING foot down at any FUCKING time and simply said "No?" What kind of a fucking 'mature' adult is he, anyway?! I suppose the OP also thinks fucking Gabriel deserved his fucking statue as well, in fact they should've hung fucking garlands of flowers from it whilst someone played fucking panpipes and everybody else fucking danced around. Fuck you.

Also worth noting here that Chloe fucking ADORED her father until the exceedingly unwelcome S4 'reboot' where she suddenly saw him as a fucking walking piggy bank (I won't even mention how they purposefully ruined her relations with Adrien, Sabrina, even her own butler... Chloe can't have any happiness in her life. It simply ISN'T ALLOWED).

Then they have the cheek to let his daughter be 'disowned' by him in the S5 finale and banished to London as if he fucking did nothing wrong in facilitating her attitude whilst failing to defend her against her despicable mother's abuse. (Yes, I said ABUSE I know the creator doesn't view it as such, but he's a fucking moron so what can you do?) Bullshit. Complete and utter undiluted diarrhea dripping from a bull's anal sac... that's what this is. I hope I painted an accurate picture for all of you. Sorry if you were eating.

So, it was supposably a happy ending that Andre got to fucking adopt another man's child without any reprecussions for his past actions, as he embarked on his new career as a fucking film director. What? You think that wasn't ENOUGH punishment for Chloe, OP? You think she should go to fucking jail as well, for DARING to be a child victim of incessant abuse, both in-canon and in-writing? I never thought I'd meet a person who's more radicalised in their blind hatred of Chloe than fucking Mr Astruc, but here we are. I tell you, some people on this exploding planet of ours scare me. Legit.

5. See 2 again. This huge disparity in writing between the two Chloes is getting stupid now, and anyone who can't see the contrast between now and then... I really can't help you. Either take off your Chloe-hating goggles to smell the coffee, or go read someone that agrees with you 100% and won't pop your tiny safe-space bubble with indisputable facts. Goodbye.

6. I think Chloe is more 14... but it doesn't really matter. Still a child, still should be treated as one. Which makes Astruc's obsessive loathing of her even more disturbing... and even more so this dude's.

That's it. This was probably an entirely unnecessary pot-pourri of hot topics I've regurgitated before, but as soon as I saw this article (particularly Pic 4) I just had to jump on my soapbox once more to regale the world about the kind of arrant nonsense I see about Chloe sometimes online, particularly regarding the subject of parental abuse and whether her treatment by the show's narrative was justified (SPOILER: It wasn't, and if you disagree I need you to fuck off RIGHT NOW).

Because if people like me don't defend her and the terrible writing she's been subjected to for the last few seasons (at least she's in good company there though), who will?

Not the person who made her, that's for sure. She may be a fictional character but... I get the feel her situation is similar to a lot of other neglected and mistreated kids out there who lash out at others for obvious reasons. And by handling her arc (if you can even call it that) in this inexcusable way... I don't just think the show has just done her a disservice. I think they've outright destroyed her and the hopes of many others watching.

What a great message to send to every youngster who could relate. I hope the makers are proud of themselves. Fucking idiots.

[thatdammchickennugget]

Some AITA posts from the slytherin boys

I'm not really sure what this is but enjoy?

AITA for making my best friend live in a tent in the Forbidden Forest?

Hey, Reddit. I need your judgment on something that happened recently.

So, this is about my (18M, Slytherin) best friend (also 18M, Slytherin), let’s call him T. We both attend Hogwarts. Anyway, T and I have this amazing friendship where we pull pranks on each other all the time. It’s a core part of our friendship, and honestly, it’s what makes our bond so strong.

Recently, I decided to take our pranks up a notch. T always brags about his survival skills and how he is totally unshakable. So, I thought it would be hilarious to test this out. One night, while he was asleep, I used a bit of magic to transport his entire bed (with him in it) to a tent I had set up deep in the Forbidden Forest. I also put up some confusion spells around the area to ensure he couldn’t find his way out of the forest and would always end up back at his tent.

When he woke up, he was understandably confused and a bit freaked out. I thought it was hilarious and watched him struggle for a while before I eventually revealed it was a prank. But instead of laughing it off like I expected, he got really mad and stormed back to the castle.

I thought he’d get over it, but he’s been giving me the cold shoulder ever since. Our friends are divided on this – some say I went too far, while others think T is overreacting. I mean, it’s just a prank, and he always says he can handle anything. Plus, he’s fine! No harm done, right?

Update: Update to answer some questions. No, of course he did not have his wand on him. And to clarify, he was only in the forest for a few days before I brought him back, nothing crazy. I left him a chocolate frog and a bottle of water in the tent so no, he was not going hungry or thirsty, I’m not a monster.

Update 2: Okay so a lot of people seem to be mad about the whole leaving him out there for multiple days without his wand to defend himself with part. Guys, he was fine!! I had stolen Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak and was watching him most of the time! If there had been some kind of dangerous creature I would have helped him of course.

Update 3: Wow I see now people are also attacking me for being a thief?? I didn't steal Potter’s cloak permanently! I just borrowed it without asking. It’s not like he’s using it all the time anyway. And if he doesn’t want it to be stolen he should hide it better. And besides, I gave it back after the prank was over. So, can we please focus on the actual prank here?

Update 4: So, I finally talked to T. I apologized and explained that I thought it was all in good fun and that I didn’t mean to scare him so much. He accepted my apology, but he made me promise to never pull something like that again. We’re good now, but he did insist on getting me back. If you hear about a Slytherin who has been charmed to uncontrollably sing opera in the Great Hall, that’s me. No thanks for the judgment, Reddit!

AITA for giving my friend a cologne that made him smell like dungbombs?

I (18M, Slytherin) have this friend, B (also 18M, Slytherin). Anyway, B has had this massive crush on L (17F, Ravenclaw) for ages but has never had the guts to talk to her. He’s always saying he needs something to give him an edge, something to make him stand out.

Recently, I’ve been dabbling in creating my own potion recipes and decided to create a new cologne that I thought would help B impress L. I called it "Eau de Enchantment." I figured a magical scent might give him the confidence boost he needed. I didn’t bother to test it out in myself first as it seemed fine.

So, I gave it to B and told him it would make him irresistible. Excited, B sprayed it on just before he was about to approach L in the library. I was watching from a distance, expecting to see L absolutely swoon over him.

Instead, as he walked up to her, people started wrinkling their noses and covering their faces. B had no idea what was going on and kept talking to L. It was then that I realized something had gone horribly wrong. My cologne had somehow transformed into a scent that smelled exactly like dungbombs.

Then, one of the nearby students loudly pointed out, “Merlin’s beard, what’s that smell? It’s like a dungbomb exploded in here!” That’s when B realized something was terribly wrong. His face turned red as he noticed the reactions of everyone around him.

B came running to me, fuming. He said he was humiliated and that his chance at getting L to be his girlfriend is ruined. He hasn’t spoken to me since and has been avoiding me like the plague. All of our other friends are telling me I should not have let him use an untested product, but I feel like I did nothing wrong here. I only followed my inventive spirit and B used the cologne voluntarily!

Update: To clarify, I didn’t intentionally give him something that would make him smell bad. The potion was supposed to enhance his natural charm, not turn him into a walking dungbomb. I genuinely thought it would work!

Update 2: Okay, I get that people think I should have tested it more thoroughly. But I’m new to this potion-making stuff, and I genuinely thought it would work. I didn’t mean to embarrass B. But I do think he’s making this issue way bigger than it actually is.

Update 3: So, B is finally talking to me again. I guess he explained what happened to L and she told him “it’s totally fine, she turned off her sense of smell years ago”??? Anyways, they are together now and I’m happy for them, but I have to be honest L kinda freaks me out.

AITA for borrowing my friend's pet raccoon and causing a panic?

My friend T (18M, Slytherin) has this pet raccoon named Gary, and everyone at Hogwarts loves Gary. Girls especially can’t get enough of him. He’s like a ladies magnet.

Recently, I (also 18M, Slytherin) noticed how much attention Gary was getting, and I thought it would be cool to borrow him for a day. I figured having Gary around would give me a chance to talk to some of the girls I’ve been interested in. So, one afternoon, while T was busy with Quidditch practice, I borrowed Gary without asking. I didn’t think it would be a big deal since T knows I’m good with animals and Gary seems to like me.

Gary and I had a blast. We hung out by the lake, and as expected, a bunch of girls came over to play with him and chat with me. It was perfect – until I saw T running around the grounds in a panic, calling for Gary. I realized he must have come back from practice early and found Gary missing.

I tried to catch up to him and explain, but by the time I did, he was in full-on panic mode. He thought Gary had run away or been stolen, and he had half the school looking for him. When I finally caught up to T and showed him that Gary was safe with me, he was furious. He yelled at me for taking Gary without asking and for making him think Gary was gone.

Now he’s not letting me hang out with Gary anymore and I miss him. The girls we were hanging out with don’t wanna chat when Gary isn’t around. I really don’t know what to do here Reddit.

Update: I swear Gary wasn’t in any danger. I made sure he was well taken care of and kept an eye on him the whole time. I even got him a cool new outfit. It’s not like I let him run loose or anything.

Update 2: Wow, people are really coming down hard on me. I understand now that I should have asked for permission and considered how T would feel. But let’s not forget that T once “borrowed” my broomstick for a whole weekend without asking. So, it’s not like we don’t occasionally mess with each other’s stuff.

Update 3: I’m sorry for comparing Gary to a broomstick, I see where that might have been a little disrespectful. Anyways, we found an agreement, but I am unfortunately no longer allowed to hang out with Gary unsupervised.

AITA for accidentally offending my girlfriend by questioning the importance of color-coordinated socks?

So, I (18M, Slytherin) have been dating this amazing girl, L (17F, Ravenclaw). L is wonderful, quirky, and incredibly unique. One of the things I love most about her is her creativity and her belief in ideas that most of us have never even considered.

Recently, we were having a cozy evening in her common room, and L was explaining her theory about the importance of color-coordinated socks. According to her, wearing mismatched socks can disrupt the flow of positive energy and attract bad luck. She was passionately explaining how different colors influence different aspects of your life and how you must align them correctly to maintain balance.

Now, I adore L and all her eccentricities, but I made the mistake of chuckling and saying, “You don’t actually believe that your socks control your luck, do you?” I thought it was a light-hearted comment, but L’s face fell immediately. She got really quiet and then excused herself, saying she needed to realign her chakras.

Since then, she’s been distant and has barely spoken to me. I tried to apologize, but she just keeps saying I wouldn’t understand. Most of my friends think L is overreacting. I mean, it was just a small comment, and I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. Plus, she believes in all sorts of things that nobody else does. But one of my friends (18F, Slytherin) fully lost it at me and thinks I completely fumbled the bag. Was it really so bad to express a little skepticism?

Update: I’m really mocking her beliefs here. I genuinely find her fascinating and love hearing about all her theories. I just didn’t realize how important it was to her.

Update 2: Okay, I get that people think I should have been more sensitive. I honestly didn’t think a small comment would cause such a reaction. But L once told me that she’s used to people not believing her, and I should have remembered that. I’ll take your guys advice and apologize again.

Update 3: I finally talked to L and apologized sincerely. I told her that I believe in her and respect her beliefs, even if I don’t always understand them. She forgave me but made me promise to be more open-minded. If anyone here knows where to get some of those teacups please let me know.

[kakuzatos]

kobeni’s devil

!! spoilers for chainsaw man !!

so, episode 9 came out and i watched it with vigor. as expected, kobeni slayed this episode and didn’t disappoint me with her moves. damn, she was quick. you really can’t have a pure hatred for kobeni, it will always have love in the mix. 

and while i was thinking about her, i got curious about her devil again. really, what is this big secret... why was she the only one who got out alive after 100 chapters while other characters like aki and power were ultimately killed off? she surely has relevance in the plot and there is a reason why her devil is concealed as a secret. a devil like that would be thought of as a dangerous one because kobeni can’t even say its name. 

naturally, i go to a full-on zoning out session thinking of the many possibilities of kobeni’s devil. 

i. well, first, i thought of the possibility of her being a devil that has a human-like appearance like makima, yoru and fami. that is a good theory, but her having a family and a brother denounces it a bit. i’m not saying that devils don’t have families and aren’t capable of being raised by one (makima was raised by the government, that’s why she’s like the way she is, if that ever counts as a family). i’m not particularly fond with this one, though, since kobeni is pretty much the most human person in the whole cast. i mean, look at her. 

scared shitless. if she was a devil, she would’ve been happy. devils thrive on fear, they don’t live with it. that would be pretty fun, though. 

ii. moving on. she could have a contract with the death devil. it’s probably the most overstated theory and for good reason. first of all, i’ve read this comment in a reddit post about a totally unrelated, regardless interesting, observation on chapter 113.

the comment reads: 

Getting back to my tangent about the Four Horsemen: the Four Horsemen are unique because, unlike normal devils, who only use fear, the Horsemen are each able to use one of the four emotions unique to humans, listed by the Doll Devil in ch 63:

Conquest uses Worship (aka reverence). So long as humans revere her, they hold her in a "higher place", allowing her to control them. Put from her POV, that means that, so long as the human is "lower" than her, she can control them.

Conquest bends the "rules" around devil contracts in two ways. The first way is obvious - she can force "lesser" humans to submit to her contracts. The second way is by being able to claim ownership over other devils. This means that, unlike a normal devil, Conquest can use other devils like as though they were part of her own body. This gave her the ability to use Angel's powers as though they were her own. This also means she could offer the bodies of other devils in her contracts, as we saw with Aki and the Gun Devil.

War uses Guilt. The greater the guilt she feels, the stronger the weapon she creates. The irony here is that War is so selfish and so absent of the understanding of right and wrong that she's unable to feel much guilt over anything she does. She blames Pochita for her current weakness, but really, she's inherently pretty weak compared to the other Horsemen, just because of this anti-synergy with her own power.

War bends the "rules" by forming completely lopsided "contracts". Like Makima, Yoru removes the human's consent from the equation - if she claims ownership, so long as it's something she can touch, she can weaponize it. But the person turned into a weapon gains nothing from it, the only benefactor is Yoru. Completely one-sided "contracts".

Famine uses Adoration/Respect. We'll see what this means exactly later, but I think I kind of touched on it in my other comment. War and Famine are a yin and yang duo - Yoru is "night", while the heart of Justice "shines with light". And while Yoru is completely selfish and devoid of the understanding of good and evil, Famine seems stuck doing things for others (in other words, is "selfless"), all while being very concerned with the understanding of good and evil. Yoru's power is based on guilt, aka, being able to sense the evil in yourself. So hence, I suspect Famine's "Respect"-based powers are based on being able to sense the good in other people.

Famine bends the "rules" by also forming completely lopsided contracts. The difference is, while Yoru only takes... as Yuko pointed out, Justice only gives. My guess is that, if Famine senses that a human is "good", she can form zero-cost contracts.

Death uses Pity. Pity is the feeling you get when you watch other living things suffer. The idea that Death gets stronger from feelings of pity sends shivers down my spine...

This is especially the case if it's true that every Horseman is trying to cancel out the source of their own power. Conquest's dream is to form equal, nonhierarchical, relationships, which flies in the face of a being whose power is based on hierarchy. So if Death wants to be rid of the "source of its power", too, then wouldn't it have to get rid of all suffering?

notice something about death. death is also powered by pity. kobeni is pretty damn pitiful in almost all her screentime, manga or anime, except her fabulous show in episode 9. but she did experience a lot of torment and she is generally seen as pitiful. maybe, just maybe, that pity she gets from other people is what feeds the death devil. and having to survive all what happened in the past arcs, i wouldn’t be surprised if she ever was involved with such a mortifying devil like the death devil. she dodged death in multiple occasions, it’s like death sided with her. another thing, in hell or chapter 63-64, the darkness devil didn’t even try to kill her. maybe it’s scared?

it’s also such a fun concept to think about. this traumatized girl who is about to shit herself has a contract with the death devil. fucking metal. the thought alone deserves its own book. 

iii. kobeni has a contract with the luck devil! a lot of people agree with this one! i don’t know if it’s good luck or bad luck, though. she seems to somehow have both, so i’m not sure. many people do lean into the idea of a “chance devil”, but i’m pretty certain, if that was the case, it would be the “bad luck” or “misfortune” devil. if there was a luck devil, why would anyone fear good luck? it would’ve been extremely weak because, in retrospect, no one would fear good luck. 

so, bad luck. in this article, it stated that kobeni somehow feeds the bad luck devil with her own bad luck and fear, explaining why she doesn’t sacrifice her body parts. 

although this is good, personally i don’t favor it too much. fujimoto is known for his chaotic direction of his manga and always being spontaneous that you can’t predict it, but it’s done so, in a way, that it’s orchestrated. hints are left, foreshadowing is present; it’s chaotic but makes sure to make sense to us too. a good story should make sense while maintaining its unpredictability. so, a death devil is already hinted. a bad luck devil is not. (yet) 

well, this theory will just have to wait for a while. maybe, there will be a time when a bad luck devil will appear or get mentioned. 

iv. in this post, kobeni is theorized to be contracted with a devil connected to survival. for one, if that devil were to be connected to survival, it could either mean: a fear of death or a fear of getting hurt. 

a fear of death relates to the death devil. 

a fear of getting hurt relates to a pain devil of some sorts. a pain devil would be cool because it will be powerful. almost all humans are scared of being hurt and will make a bit more sense in the storyline, considering that her line of work is potentially getting hurt and seeing others getting hurt because of her. pretty neat theory! 

v. same post in iv, there’s a comment where she might be have a contract with the knife devil. although, there is no evidence to back this up, her main weapon of choice is a knife. in a way, it makes sense.  

v. car devil. no questions. in fact, according to u/LeynaSepKim, it was even foreshadowed in chapter 5, in their post.

all are only speculation! feel free to correct me or add some other theories. the only thing we can do to form more theories and solidify existing ones is to wait. we have yet to see her full potential. she is shown to be athletic in the anime and the manga, but not her power in its entirety. 

[dalekofchaos]

William Afton's motivations and goals

From this reddit thread

and this reddit thread

I'll say this right off the bat: I am 100% certain that William's motives for murder revolves around his family. I think everything we know about William from the games, novels, and now film is pointing to this being the case.

However, there is nuance to this that should be understood. Even with this being the case, with William somehow caring about his kids in his own twisted way, William can not love.

Look to The Silver Eyes:

"We both wanted to love," he [William] said in those melodious tones. "Your father [Henry] loved. And now I have loved." "You killed."

Then The Fourth Closet:

"I wanted so desperately to have been the one on that stage, but it was always her. All of his love went into her." "You're talking about Afton." Jessica stopped, and Charlie [Really Circus Baby/Elizabeth] nodded confirmation. "William Afton never made anything with love," Jessica snarled.

Baby then described the moment of Elizabeth's death, from both of their perspectives.

“The little girl approached me and pulled the sheet away. I felt nothing; it’s no more than a record of what happened. But there is feeling, my feeling as I pulled the sheet away, and stood in awe before this creature my father loved, this daughter he had made for himself. The daughter who was better than me, the daughter he wished I had been. I wanted to be her, so badly.”

William did not love Elizabeth, he loved Circus Baby, which remember, in the novel's storyline was originally created by Henry as the oldest-aged Charlie. William is obsessed with Henry, his creations, and his family. Quote from The Silver Eyes: (this was when the police was investigating him following the Missing Children's Incident)

A search of his house had found a room crammed with boxes of mechanical parts and a musty yellow rabbit suit, and stacks of journals full of raving paranoia, passages about Henry that ranged from wild jealousy to near-worship.

Another quote from The Silver Eyes:

“Oh,” he gasped. “You’re something beautiful aren’t you?” Charlie recoiled as if he had touched her. What’s that supposed to mean?

With later context, we know better why he said that- Quote from The Fourth Closet:

“Even after this; embodying the one thing Father did love, I'm not enough. Because he can’t duplicate this, he can’t make himself like me.” Her [Elizabeth's] voice began to grow angry again. “He can’t duplicate what happened to me, or maybe he’s too scared to try it on himself. I broke free of my prison, I emerged from the flames and the wreckage of Henry’s last great failure, and I went to my father. I gave myself to him, to study, to use, to learn the secrets of my creation. And still it is you [Charlie, the 3rd robot] he wants.” “You, maybe he can re-create. Henry somehow got a piece of himself into you, and that’s something we haven’t seen before. That’s ... unique.”

Throughout The Fourth Closet, we see William trying to do this, to recreate what Henry did: to put a piece of himself into his own creation.

That was in the chapter immediately after Carlton finds William, next to what's revealed to be the molten amalgamation of all of his victims. That amalgam makes an appearance earlier in the book, but let's look at what William says in that scene, describing his goal and reasoning for this. (I am trimming down these lines for the sake of this post)

“I have faced my own mortality, Jessica. I knew I was dying and through every broken fragment of my body, I was profoundly, immeasurably afraid. I fear it more than I fear life like this, even when every waking instant is pain, and sleep is possible only when induced by enough medication to kill most people.” “Everyone is afraid to die,” Jessica said. “And you should be more afraid than anyone else, because if there’s a hell, there’s a hole at the bottom of it reserved for you.” Afton nodded with a moment of honest resignation. “In time, I’m sure that’s where I will find myself. But the devil has knocked on my door before, and I’ve turned him away." “So, what? You want to live forever?” “Certainly not like this,” he said. “So, what, you’re making yourself into a robot?” “No, that’s science fiction,” he said, unamused.

Then, William says this.

“The most terrible accidents sometimes bear the most beautiful fruits,” he said, as if to himself. “Re-creating the accident—that is the duty and the honor of science. To replicate the experiment, and obtain the same result. I give my life to this experiment, piece by piece.” He nodded at the girl, and she approached Jessica with deliberate steps.

He then shows Jessica the "melted scrapheap," then asks her how she thinks the original animatronics came to life.

“How did the creatures at Freddy’s move, of their own will, with no outside force controlling them?” he asked mildly. “The children were still inside. Their souls were inside those creatures,” “Oh, Jessica, come now. What else? What else was inside them, to bind their spirits so inseparably to the bear, to the rabbit, to the fox? How did they die, Jessica? How Jessica?” “You killed them. They died in the suits,” she said hoarsely. “Their bodies were bound inside, along with their souls.”

Then, he describes how he plans to live forever:

“The spirit follows the flesh, it would seem, and also the pain. If I wish to become my own immortal creation, my body must lead my spirit to its eternal home. Since I am still ... experimenting ... I move my flesh piece by piece.” He looked thoughtfully over at the creature on the table. “More and more,” he murmured, almost to himself, “it is a test of the strength of my own will. How much of myself can I carve away, and still remain in control?”

He wants to surgically remove his organs, piece by piece, with Elizabeth's help, into his 'eternal home,' the amalgam, to become "his own immortal creation."

William is trying to recreate what Henry did, putting a piece of himself into his own creation. In Henry's case, he put a piece of himself into the robotic recreation of his deceased child; in William's case, he is putting a piece of himself into the fused amalgamation of all of his victims, which I think is important to my next point.

William sees the animatronics and his victims as family.

This was already clear with Baby, as Elizabeth described earlier. But here's more lines from The Silver Eyes.

“You're a sick bastard,” Carlton sputtered. “And you’ve created monsters. The kids you killed are still here. You’ve imprisoned them!” “They are home, with me.” Dave’s voice was coarse as he said it, and the large mascot head slid forward, tilting. “Their happiest day.” “How do we get out?” Charlie placed one hand on the mascot head and pushed it back into position on Dave’s shoulders. The fur felt wet and sticky, as though the costume itself were sweating. “There isn’t a way out anymore. All that’s left is family.” His round eye reappeared through one of the sockets, glimmering in the light.

I don't think its wrong to say that the story of FNAF (at least early FNAF) was about "the Afton family," because that is exactly how he sees the missing children. He finds comfort in living amongst them, especially as Springbonnie, and he even says why-

“Because I am one of them,” he said.

Most of what I'm referencing in this post comes from the novels, but this is not an exclusive trait to his character in these books. Look to the recently-released film:

“The Little ones tell me you have a sister, she will love it here!"

and...

"Wake up Children! I brought someone for you to play with!"

That line I also find really interesting, because of William's language elsewhere in the movie, referring to his daughter, Vanessa:

"Put that thing away, and help me clean up the mess that you created!"

With the first line, he's referring to Mike like he's a toy for the animatronics. In the second line, he's referring to Vanessa's gun, but its also as if he's talking to a child, asking her to put her toys away and help him. Think about it, he's blaming Vanessa for something that is not her fault at all, it's the language of an abusive father to his little kid. I bet this is actually something William has told her before, to persuade and manipulate her. ("He really messed you up, didn't he?" as Mike put it.)

Anyway, I just wanted to bring it up because it just strengthens this point, William sees the characters like his own family; which is ultimately where I think his motives come from. He finds comfort in his robotic family because of his disdain for his real family.

William's kids change between each continuity.

In the games, he has 3 real children- Michael, the Crying Child, and Elizabeth- and kills Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz, Cassidy, and so on. Michael of course, kills his brother. In the novels, he only has Elizabeth, and rather than killing Gabriel and Jeremy, he kills a kid named Michael (Brooks), and a kid without an established name (who is characterized by his black-and-white striped shirt, crying, and who gets told he'll be put back together by Carlton-- all relating back to the CC. All of this is stripped from the Graphic Novel, where that kid becomes Gabriel). Again, there's juxtaposition between the kids he murders and his real children. In the film, Vanessa is established to be his daughter, but only her- Michael and his siblings are not presented as being related to Afton (There could still be a plot twist regarding this though). We also don't know the identities of William's victims, aside from the fact that Mike's brother (Garrett) was kidnapped by William rather than bullied to death by Mike.

Ultimately, these continuity differences is why I can't say "William kills because he wants to bring back his son after Mike killed him," or whatever, because that objectively does not happen in either the novels or the film. He becomes deranged no matter what.

In my opinion, the Bite of 83 is the first thing that happens in the games timeline, and does result in William killing Charlotte (and also the creation of the Puppet, hence why it doesn't exist in the novels and why she doesn't possess anything).

In the books, William is established to be jealous of Henry, even before he brings his creations to life- and I think it's still because of his family- hence why he goes for Charlotte. William doesn't have his sons, and he clearly doesn't care much for his daughter, so he robs Henry of his perfect family.

In the film, I think his motives are more speculative. William's first kill in the other continuities is Charlie, but its unconfirmed if she (or Henry) exist in the film. William kills Mike's brother, Garrett, separate from the five missing children, but we have no established motive as to why.

This will probably be a big reveal in a future film, maybe Mike and Garrett are related to William and thats why he abducted Garrett (Affair Theory?). When Mike tells Vanessa about his family, he says they'd sit around the table, say graces, etc.- its a cookie-cutter perfect family. Maybe William wanted to destroy that, like he did with Henry's. Maybe, again, I don't know.

Now for my spin on the theory. I believe this was William's goal, but his goal in the games was to became immortal, but also to bring his family back as the Funtime Animatronics. Mrs Afton would become Ballora, Elizabeth as Baby obviously, CC as Funtime Freddy and once Michael is killed, he would become Funtime Foxy. And they would live forever as the Funtimes, eternal and killing together as a family unbroken!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Saw you were going through Tillie Walden books in preparation for Book Three, got to commend you for putting in more legwork than most fans. Your review of Book One was actually what got me into reading her stuff and opening my perspective!

Idk if you've read Spinning yet so I don't want to spoil it, but there's a experience Tillie recounts from her life in it that really makes all of the accusations of Tillie being a groomer more disgusting. I'm not looking forward to fan discussion when Book Three starts to get marketed and releases, but I'm looking forward to whatever you'll have to say on it ^^

I've read Spinning and I think I know what part you're talking about. There are a handful of moments in Spinning that made me raise my brows and go, "....Oh. Oh no." And yeah, that scene is one I'm going to talk about a lot in my analysis.

Like... without giving too much away, my thought process in this is I believe that when a creator creates, whatever the medium, a piece of their soul is weaved in. Think about every artist you follow, writers and authors you read, video essayists you watch, etc. and you'll find connections and themes throughout their work that helps you piece together a small part of who they are, what they're passionate about, what bothers them, the pains they've suffered, etc. Sure, you'll never know the whole person, but you'll learn a little.

When I look at the Clementine comics, I always ask, "Why are you like this? Why are you the way that you are?? Why did Tillie write it like this??" and I believe a lot of questions are answered when looking at her previous works.

For example, everyone gets pissy about the reasons why Clementine left Ericson, and for good reason. But when you read more of Tillie's work, "I'm not happy"/"They thought I was a liability but I think the real issue was that I couldn't talk to any of them about it" actually starts to make some sense. It's still not good, but I can see why specifically Tillie Walden took that road... this isn't the first time she's written something like this.

The thing about Spinning is it's autobiographical, so we get to actually know a lot more about Tillie and her time as a competitive figure skater... because did y'all know that? She was a competitive figure and synchronized skater for twelve years, and she hated it. She dealt with bullying and all the pressures that come with being a skater. She was scared of being gay and living in Texas. One scene that I still think about [aside from that scene] is when she came out to her brother and his response was, "Oh. I mean, it's just sorta... wrong, I think."

I've read Spinning, On a Sunbeam, and a few stories from the Alone in Space collection, and I still have more to get to... though to be real honest, I'm totally procrastinating Are You Listening? because @pi-creates has read that one, so we've talked about it and I know the trigger warnings behind it and I'm just... I need to be in the right headspace, I'll get to it eventually.

But y'know what really sucks? I honestly believe that a lot of people in the twdg fandom would love Tillie's other works. Y'all are always going off about wanting more female characters who are complex, interesting, flawed and gay and like.... Tillie Walden! That's Tillie Walden's works! But opinions of her are soured by the Clementine comics! So they're not going to give her another chance! And that sucks!

Ugh, anyway... I guess you could say that my motivations behind this are my own frustrations with the fandom being so shitty with their bad faith takes, like listen.... I've discovered that bad faith takes really get under my skin- reddit makes me want to walk into the ocean.

I know that my one essay isn't going to change anything, and I'm not going to post it on reddit, but I'm doing it anyway in hopes that some people will read it and develop a more nuanced opinion of all this. Or give Tillie's other works a chance. But mostly, this is for me and if other people get something out of it, then even better.

Boat God help us all when Book Three drops, though... people were fucking shitty about Book Two, like people went out of their way to be intentionally deceptive with lying about what happens, blowing things out of proportion, and making fake wiki screenshots and shit. DomTheBomb's review on youtube was half-assed, furthered the harmful self-insert narrative, AND got basic facts about the story wrong. People attacked Tillie's insta with grooming accusations, and there were people telling her they hoped her newborn baby was taken away from her.

When I say I've never been more disappointed in this fandom, I fucking mean it. My only hope is that people won't be as pissy since it's the final book in the trilogy but y'know.

I don't know when my post on it will be out, but I'm shooting for before Book Three releases. I'm mostly working on my clouis and violentine essay while I read through Tillie's books. Thanks for the message💚

[lotusmi]

I Am not going to tell you "You are Crazy"

📚PART 7: I Am not going to tell you "You are Crazy"

read more of my summaries | full post on reddit

⬸ [go to PART 6, "Honey" ]

I touched on how we should do everything we want in our minds with no fear. How doing what we want, which is so simple, frees us. I must say since doing and feeling what I want in my Mind, I have never felt so normal, so happy. I genuinely mean that. The moment I have any desire in me, I fulfill it. No questioned asked by me. I don't care what it is, how big or small! I DO NOT CONDITION IT OR WONDER IF IS POSSIBLE ANYMORE OR "GOING TO WORK." I just do it! This is starting to become normal and honestly, I feel normal. When I was trying to abide by all these "rules" that is when I felt crazy. Neville says it clearly here, that we create the lack and to rise within, and not condition our desires:

Realize that you, yourself brought about this condition of waste and lack and make the decision within yourself to rise to a higher level.

The reason most of us fail to realize our desires is because we are constantly conditioning them. Do not condition your desire. Just accept it as it comes to you. - Neville

We have touched on how we can do what we want within, changing "self".

All these rules are so stupid to me now. That's all I can feel now after doing what I want within. I just feel it's all stupid, but at the same time I feel so normal for thinking its stupid.

If you really see your mind as the reality, and you fulfill your desires within, you will see how stupid it all is.

When I started to FEEL that I could do and feel what I want in my own mind, I simply realized I do not want to feel guilty. I do not want it, and that is enough for me to stop it and give myself what I want instead. So I stopped doing that. Its not what I wanted. It truly was that simple. I would spend years trying to remove it, and I never could. But now I see I am creating the guilt in me. Nobody other than me is creating the fear in me. I wanted it gone, so I started to FEEL I can have what I want. I allowed myself to freedom to have peace instead of guilt. I allowed myself the freedom to FEEL whatever I wanted. I stopped feeling scared in my own mind and felt that I could do ANYTHING there. I stopped following the rules, "You must feel grateful, "You must make sure you fall asleep perfectly in the feeling," "Make sure you think these thoughts instead of those bad ones."

Let me tell you, the greatest Self-Concepts, the greatest Feelings, the greatest Thoughts are the ones you WANT to have.

So lets get into my favorite story:

Let me tell you why I am doing what I am doing today. It was back in 1933 in the city of New York, and my old friend Abdullah, with whom I studied Hebrew for five years, was really the beginning of the eating of all my superstitions. When I went to him I was filled with superstitions. I could not eat meat, I could not eat fish, I could not eat chicken, I could not eat any of these things that were living in the world. I did not drink, I did not smoke, and I was making a tremendous effort to live a celibate life.

Even though I feel normal doing this, to others it may seem crazy. But I don't care, it is just a reflection. Just FEEL nobody can embarrass you for what you say.

So many people would become afraid at the thought of giving yourself the freedom of having no more rules. Or we point to the world and think, "People can't just eat and drink what they want! You can't just sleep around all the time! Smoking is not good, and it should not be done!" But again, no one to change but self! This is not about other people, this is about you. There is no need to focus on what others "should" do here. Other people are not your concern. Your only concern should be, "Am I doing and feeling I want in my mind right now?" You will naturally find yourself surrounded by people who reflect you.

Abdullah said to me, "I am not going to tell you 'you are crazy' Neville, but you are you know. All these things are stupid." But I could not believe they were stupid.

Neville simply could not see how these things were stupid. He followed all these rules to be good. So what is the underlying feeling here? He feels like he is "wrong or bad." So he creates rules to tame this wrongness and if he follows the rules, he then can call himself "good." He is trying to find a way to be "good." We all have been there. Neville calls this State, "John the Baptist." He said that all the religions in the world are in the State of John the Baptist. This mindset of rules.

Neville once said, "We must learn to know ourselves as Infinite Love, as good rather than evil. This is not something that we have to become: it is, rather, for us to recognize something that we ALREADY are." Apply this to EVERYTHING!

Abdullah called him crazy because he was. Neville although the world may think he is living a well structured life, Ab saw him as crazy! Why? Because when you free yourself in your mind, all these rules are just plain stupid! Do it if you want to and if don't want to then don't do it. But to have these worries or "quibbles" as Ab called them is to be crazy. No one can punish you if you do not punish yourself.

Others will condemn us only as long as we continue in that for which we condemn ourselves. So: “Happy is the man that condemneth himself not in that which he alloweth.” For to life nothing is condemned. All is expressed. Life does not care whether you call yourself rich or poor; strong or weak. It will eternally reward you with that which you claim as true of yourself. The measurements of right and wrong belong to man alone. To life there is nothing right or wrong. - Neville

I remembered what Abdullah had said to me, "After you have proven this law you will become normal, Neville. You will come out of that graveyard, you will come out of that dead past where you think you are being holy. For all you are really doing you know, you are being so good, Neville, you are good for nothing"

Imagine living a life putting all this effort to be good and someone tells you, you are crazy and you are good for nothing. Abdullah truly thought it was stupid beyond respect. If you live a life with all these rules, Ab would tell you, you are living in a graveyard.

But the most fascinating thing he said here is, "After you have proven this law you will become normal." Normal. This is a feeling. So to Ab, giving yourself what you want in your mind, is normal. It is abnormal to not give yourself what you want. Isn't that amazing? You will always reflect self, and you will prove the Law to yourself.To prove this law, you must start with giving yourself what you want without condition in the mind first, or else you will point to some physical cause. You won't believe you caused it. But to Ab, knowing you are the Cause, that makes you normal. If you want to truly prove this law, start with changing self radically. See yourself entirely different by feeling what you want to be.

It was the year 1933, I was unemployed and had no place to go except a little room on 75th Street. I went straight to my old friend Abdullah and said to him "Ab, the strangest feeling is possessing me.For the first time in 12 years I want to go to Barbados."

"If you want to go Neville, you have gone." he replied.

"If you want to go, you have gone." There is a desire, then fulfill it to the end with no conditioning. All done in the mind! You go to the end, not because you MUST but because that is what you want! You FEEL that you have it, not because you MUST but because that is what you want! You visualize yourself there in the end, not because you MUST but because that is what you want!

So when the FEELING or desire comes upon you as it did Neville, you do what Ab says, because that is what you want to do.

"Suppose My Wants Cannot Materialize For 6 Months To A Year, Do I Wait To Imagine Them?"

When the feeling or desire comes upon you, THAT is the time to ACCEPT IN FULLNESS! Do not wait, do not put it off. Accept in fullness. That is truly what you want to do!

"Guilt is feeling that you are not able to think what you want. You may desire to think and feel what you want but the moment you do that, you restrict yourself of that for the sake of the past or fear of the future. You may think of things that you've done that you dislike, or things that were done to you that you dislike, and because of this you can't imagine what you want. But the questions you should ask yourself are, "Is that what you want? Do you want to restrict yourself? Do you want to guilt yourself or fear the future?" Of course not. Then learn to give yourself what you want in your mind and what you want is freedom to have what you want. This issue is resolved by FEELING that you can have what you want." - Edward Art

[go to PART 8, "Feeling & Self" ] ⤑

[thefabulousfab-3]

I’m sorry for this rant but IT MAKES ME SO UNCOMFORTABLE! When Daxtons say Ben was/is emotionally abusive to Devi just because he has a reciprocating banter with her because people been throwing words that they don’t know NOTHING ABOUT when they really should focus on actual abusive patterns. I am very glad some people have not been abused before and therefore aren’t able to understand what it means but I HAVE! And let me tell you, being emotionally abusive means being scared of being yourself especially around that person, second guessing ur actions in fear they would interpret it wrong and use it against you. You lost yourself and your own motivations and ambitions to fit their own. You even lose the ability to connect with other people around you. Being emotionally abused means being scared of actually walking away because you tick yourself into thinking they need you and the reason they act the way they do is because of their own trauma. Devi at any point during the show has experienced this behavior, in fact, Ben is the person she trusts and is herself around the most aside from Eleanor and Fab.

Ben and Devi’s banter is mutual. If we are calling Ben “abusive” then the same applies to Devi that jokes and “insults” Ben right back. The gag is, is not serious, is not intentionally hurtful and the times that it has been hurtful there’s been apologies because they know when it’s just jokes and banter and when it crosses the line. Ben and Devi are friends first and foremost, are there to confide in the other and Devi feels safe to tell him her insecurities and worries because he understands and motivates her. Devi and Ben’s interactions might not be ideal for YOU, but it’s okay for Devi and Ben. That’s a dynamic they enjoy.

Anon, I’m so sorry you went through all of that. ❤️

I totally agree with everything you said. As someone who experienced intense emotional abuse as well, I went through everything you described. And I find it SUPER upsetting when people try to slap that label (or really any abusive label) on a character simply because they don’t like them or the ship they are a part of. It’s inaccurate and extremely harmful to actual abuse victims.

Are there characters in media who are abusive? Yes, of course. In fact, there is one in nhie: MALCOLM in season 2. His behavior could very accurately be described as abusive.

Ben, while sometimes a dick and often an insecure teenage boy, is definitely not abusive. I’ve seen reddit threads also describe him as “manipulative” simply because he dated other girls when he liked Devi? Which is so dumb because that is such a common media trope (a dumb one but still), that is often used to create conflict. Also Devi dated other people while she liked Ben so that argument is doubly invalid.

It’s like they expect him to be fully emotionally mature and a perfect communicator at 17 years old. Like how dare he be an insecure teenager who is unsure about dating someone who, while he does love a lot, also hurt him a ton in the past.

Ben has never ever exhibited any abusive behavior towards Devi ever. Same goes with Devi. Say it with me folks, teenagers being insecure and dumb doesn’t equal abuse.

Devi and Ben are equals. Even in their peak, “rivals era”. They have always had a basis of respect for each other. Their banter while harsh sometimes was never bullying. It was always an equal exchange.

Also for anyone hung up on the whole “David” nickname. Please please check out these amazing posts by my wonderful and brilliant friend @basiltonpitch. You can find the posts here.

I’m sick and tired of people making up false and misleading statements about Ben and Benvi. Just say it isn’t your thing and move on.

Thank you for sending this to me anon, I 100 percent agree with you. Ben and Devi have a wonderful foundation to have a loving and healthy relationship. They get each other in a way no one else does, they are each others person.

[dangerous-advantage]

concerning the new changes (07.10.23)

all right fuck it i wasn't gonna do this but then i ended up filling the tags on the post i reblogged.

so here's my thoughts on staff's 'Tumblr's Core Product Strategy" post and the things that i think could actually be good!... if staff respects tumblr's culture in implementing them.

to note, i am referring to this post. for better context, please go read the whole thing and try not to skip details, since i think it's important to understand the post through your own perspective if you want to participate in the conversation.

this post worried me at first, both because changes in the tumblr ecosystem with as much weight as this post carries have, historically, been pretty bad for the userbase.

starting off with a focus on creating a larger user base and inviting more, new creators rather than with a strong plan to focus on improving the current state of tumblr sets off alarm bells.

reading through the rest of it leaves me with... mixed thoughts. while it honestly does seem like they've heard a lot of the things we've been screaming at them about and might actually take steps to make things improve, i'm still wary.

this isn't a post explaining specific changes tumblr plans to implement. in fact, there are relatively few examples of actual strategies being communicated. it's just an overview with a lot of implications for the future.

i mean, not even the new tumblr labs group has any idea what the exact changes are going to be. just look at this:

[ID: A screenshot containing text from a post made by the aforementioned account. It reads, "But we're not sure exactly what that change looks like, so we've assembled a new team, called Tumblr Labs, to figure it out as quickly..." It cuts off here. /End ID]

and i think that's the problem.

so, the post. staff explains that the issue, as they see it, is that the platform is fundamentally flawed-- i.e., because tumblr is difficult to use if you don't have an understanding of the site before, it tends to scare off new users rather than encourage engagement.

this isn't untrue. however, it should be noted, the tumblr userbase has cultivated a culture of teaching newcomers how the website and the website's culture functions. (see: the many posts made as 'guides' in the wake of the twitter and reddit fiascos, as well as @/strange-aeon's video on the topic.)

(not to say that this system isn't imperfect and could be improved by directing new users to the these posts, buuuuuuut i'll get into that later.)

now: i (and i think most of the userbase) agree with staff on the main point-- tumblr, as a platform, is broken. we have long complained about the bugs and the messy reblog chains and the notifications overwhelming you if a post gains traction.

(though, we've also just integrated that into tumblr culture, but that's a tangent for a different time.)

here's the thing: staff does mention these things as problems they want to fix.

here's a short list of some things the post mentions that i honestly agree are a problem, and that a lot of people have wanted to see change!

[ID: Screenshots of items taken from the bulleted lists on staff's post. These read as follows: "Improving Tumblr's search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards." "Making it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread." "Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral." "Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.""Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users." /End ID]

again, these are things that i agree are issues and would be cool to see improved upon. but staff doesn't tell us how they plan to do this.

in staff's response to the userbases' assumption that they're going to remove the reverse-chronological dashboard, they state they're 'surprised' users came away with this assumption.

i, for one, am not.

the relationship between tumblr staff and the tumblr collective has been strained for a long time. mounting frustrations about users' actual issues with the website being ignored while new features are implemented that are almost unanimously disliked doesn't help.

and don't forget, the last time a change as drastic as this post is making it seem came into action, the porn ban was implemented. a change that had an overall negative effect on the community and tumblr's culture at large. it tore away crucial aspects of tumblr's identity that we'll probably never get back.

so while this post does address issues users have wanted to see fixed, of course we're still going to be wary.

the bottom line is, users don't trust staff to implement changes that will be beneficial to improving the platform for the tumblr userbase. (the recent reddit and twitter debacles don't help things much, either.)

i think staff needs to realize, as the final poster put it, tumblr already has innate value. value created by the community.

if staff focuses on improving tumblr to be easier to use-- in accordance with elevating tumblr's culture-- it will attract more people, simply by being less broken all the time.

this brings me to the other (main) issue i have: putting new users first over the current userbase.

this may not have been what staff meant to imply, but the emphasis seems to be on improving the userbase for incoming users, rather than those of us who are already here.

to be clear, i don't think that making tumblr easier to navigate for new users is bad. i mean, there's a reason we were writing guides. joining tumblr if you aren't already exposed to it can be daunting.

allowing new users to rely on an actual, working algorithm (although i think a user-driven algorithim is possibly one of the best parts of tumblr) isn't inherently bad. using that algorithim to elevate new creators isn't bad, either.

it's the way they choose to do this that makes us wary. like i mentioned before, we already have somewhat of a system for on-boarding new users to the site: word of mouth from more experienced users. this helps with both learning how to navigate tumblr and introducing new users to tumblr culture.

with all this in mind: where do we go from here?

in my mind, the solution for these problems comes down to communication. if staff wants more trust from the tumblr userbase, they need to show they are willing to listen to feedback from the tumblr collective.

when implementing changes, a great way to avoid the immediate backlash and distrust of tumblr users is by clearly outlining the changes they plan to make and the strategies by which they will be carried out.

another user made the analogy that websites should be like cities, where the users have a say in (as staff puts it) the 'evolution of tumblr.'

(mmmmmaybe we could use that spiffy new poll feature, too? everybody loves polls!)

for on-boarding new users, staff could take inspiration from the userbase in implementing a system by which new users are given the information needed to navigate tumblr. tidy up the site, remove bugs, and make it easier to use, and a lot of problems will sort themselves out.

then, we can go from there.

regarding the rest of the stuff i brushed over, i don't feel i can really say much without knowing what they actually plan to do, or where they plan to go with these things.

for example, here's another list of images of things from the post that i am cautiously intrigued by, but am worried will be improved for the worse:

[ID: Another series of images, showing more of the items listed in staff's post. They read as follows: "Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs." "Get creators' new content in front of people who are interested in it." "Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting." "Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs." "Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds." /End ID.]

the bottom line is this: if staff wants the support of the userbase in upcoming changes, they need to show that they respect and value us and the culture at large. in my opinion, staff has made strides in embracing tumblr culture, but we need to know these changes are not just motivated by profit.

if staff intends to keep it's current users, they need to to recognize that we deserve a say in this, too.

without the userbase, tumblr wouldn't exist. end of story. we are what keep tumblr alive. as stated before, expanding the userbase is not a bad thing. but doing so to the detriment of tumblr's culture is.

in this regard, i do truly hope that staff means what they said in the conclusion of their original post:

[ID: An image of the conclusion of staff's post. It reads: "Our mission has always been to empower the world's creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that priotitizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we--" The words then cut off. /End ID]

so, @staff. if you really do believe this: prove it.

[strayg0dss]

hi hi! I've seen you talking a lot about ableism among the bsd fandom, especially in Jouno's representation. I'm writing a fic from Jouno's pov, and I'm absolutely TERRIFIED of coming across as ableist on a few paragraphs where Jouno wonders about his blindness and limitations. I know it's not my place at all to ask since we have never talked (even tho I ADORE your fics), but would you be open for me to send you those paragraphs just to make sure it's all good?

Hi!!

While I do talk about ableism a lot, I wouldn't be comfortable with being a sensitivity reader for a disability I don't have (I'm not visually impaired).

I try to use the platform I have to point out very blatant cases of ableism that I find, amplify the voices of those affected, and try to educate people with the knowledge I've gained from my research. And I encourage people to do their own.

Sensitivity reading really isn't something I can do, as I have no experiences with being visually impaired and my feelings about this topic won't ever hold as much weight as those of someone who's actually affected.

So I'm sorry, but I have to decline and I sadly don't know anyone who might do this for you.

I appreciate your kind words though, and I'm glad that what I post reaches people and makes them think about what they create. I don't want to scare anyone off from writing Jouno, tho!!! Or disabilities in general. You should very much be open to it, even if it's a challenge and can be very sensitive. Exploring this has honestly been a great writing exercise for me and I learned so much through the research I did, which I appreciate a lot.

I don't really have much advice to give either, I'm sorry. Besides "tumblr is a good place to look for writing tips on disabilities" and "maybe try reddit" I really don't have anything

I'm wishing you good luck with it and if you ever post it, I'd love to read!!

[straightlightyagami]

Math was understandable to me until i went to stem like i thought it was hard in junior high but now i am terrified of numbers like i had a test and i do not remember a single formula and its probably wrong i hate it

Hi anon! No need to apologise.

Well, the thing is, you will likely not be able to learn if you're terrified. Your fear of numbers reinforces your lack of success in math, and vice versa. You will be unable to concentrate properly to study and get work done if you're scared, so the first step is to learn some techniques to manage that fear. This is similar to getting over other types of fears or phobias, but I will give you some ideas.

For example, you could try creating some positive associations with math (like my blog /j), perhaps connect it to something you're interested in. I see this as more of a temporary technique to get over the initial roadblock though, as it's easier to learn a subject you see the merits of on its own terms. I suggest exploring some math concepts in low-stakes environments where there is no pressure to "get it right." Maybe watch a few videos or read blog posts about math to make it more interesting for yourself or elucidate concepts you find difficult. Here's a post with some math resources you may find helpful.

Another point is to find an environment conducive to learning. This depends on your personality. You may find it easier to study with people around you to motivate you, like in a study group, but this may also be stressful, in which case studying on your own may be better. Also, there's no shame in seeking help, if you don't get something, you can ask someone to explain it to you (also someone may have asked your question on sites like reddit and stackexchange, so check the internet too).

As for memorizing formulas, the most important thing is to practice solving problems (and specifically, try not to solve problems using the formula from memory to force yourself to remember it). Also, go over general methods for studying. Here are some tips. I suggest you use spaced repetition. Make flashcards with each point of information you need to memorize and go over each. Split them into several piles based on how well you recall them and alternate between the piles, reviewing the ones you know less more frequently and moving the cards as applies. (There is also software like Anki that does this.) It is advisable not to attempt to learn everything in one day, have several study sessions (solving problems, rereading notes, and reviewing flashcards) over several days.

Lastly, try not to get hung up on your previous failures, it's entirely counterproductive. Analyze what you did wrong and just think about doing better in the future. Good luck, anon. If anyone else has some tips, feel free to add!

P.S. if you want me to explain some specific concept, you can send an ask or dm. I'm pretty familiar with stuff one would refer to as secondary school or lower undergraduate math.

[waksworldrebooted]

DARNA REDESIGNS 01: DARNA

REAL NAME: NARDA CUSTODIO

ENERGY CHARM: STONE OF PURITY

The scared “Stone of Purity” was a prized artifact of the Adarna Warriors from the planet Adarnika. It was one of many powerful power harnessing artifacts in their collection, but this stone was the most sacred in their possession. The Stone of Purity was the token gambit of the planet’s champion, Darna for she possessed However, it was lost to space to Braguda and her army of space bandits over their possession.

Braguda wanted to combine her magic with their artifacts to allow her to control and corrupt them for her plan to reshape Adarnika into her own image.

While the Adarna Warriors’ collection of artifacts was stolen by Braguda and her bandits, The Stone of Purity was lucky to be launched into deep space in hopes of finding a new Darna. What they didn’t know was that it would be on Earth, in the city of Makati.

College student Narda Custodio found the stone while on one of her evening hangouts in the wilderness. It was an average day for the twenty-something, until she saw a blast in the nearby distance.

Heading towards the forest, she saw a glowing pearl. Illuminating such a bright light, she touched it. The next thing Nadra knew, it began to seep into her heart, becoming one. She then saw a vision of a bird-like warrior, telling her she’ll be the first human Darna. This new Darna was told by the vision to protect the innocents from the incoming threats, as the radiated energy will alert Braguda.

Now with flight, laser vision, super-strength, and super-speed, For now, she fights many goons and possessed citizens that Braguda sent over. Narda as the new Darna still has some training to do before she can take on The Bandit Queen head-on

So this was a fun art project for me, my redesigns of Darna and her rogues gallery. I originally posted them to my Instagram and Reddit, but decided to post them here with added lore. I tried to mash up different pieces of different Darna backstories to create a fresh yet familiar take on the characters. I will try to post these designs daily or semi-daily.

[t-squaredproductions]

To the Myst and Cyan Fan Community...

(Note: Main topics are in bold)

I already posted this on reddit, but understandably, it was removed because some comments there were not the most productive. (I hold no ill will against the particular moderator there for removing it, though, and thank them for clearing up their reasoning and for considering my point of view.) Some will judge me for posting this here; this is vague, and some may see it as petty, but I need to clear this up. I am genuinely concerned about the inner community based around the famous video game Myst.

An incident occurred, of which I was involved with, on July 7th, 2023. There was a neutral party that I tried to help and support. I hope their efforts are extremely successful. (and I have seen that they have gotten positive attention from their efforts on reddit and Youtube) However, my help was misinterpreted as malicious and selfish by a higher party in the community, and I received a heated public accusation from that same party on that same day, the specifics of which, and from whom, I've tried to keep private.

I have no criticism of Cyan, nor its creators and developers, nor the grand majority of its community. This did not involve them. I'm thankful for the connections that I've made, and those who have tried to stay civil during the incident.

Most of us in the Myst/Cyan community have grown together for the past near-25 years. I have been with it for 20 of those years. Unfortunately, in the community's present state, this is not what I recognize from 20 years ago. It seems that we are losing sight of what Cyan's games embody, and how those should guide our community in-turn. We are supposed to SOLVE problems and break down barriers, not create them.

Some may also think I'm using a DARVO strategy. This is not a deflection of responsibility on my part. I did make a well-meaning decision, contemplating how to approach it, with easily-accessible information, based on the same precedent of another member of the community, but my decision was misinterpreted as something that it was not meant to be. When clarified in-private, I thought it was as simple as remedying it (which I did immediately, no question, no resistance, no discourtesy), and it would be finished. Despite my efforts, there was still a heated judgement made towards me from someone higher-up, behind my back and in public, instead of in private.

Yes, I am upset about being treated like this, but I'm actually more scared than upset, because I don't know how to approach this community now, despite the fact that we all have a common interest in Cyan's games, and we seemingly had open connections.

I feel my conduct in this incident was judged very unfairly, and unnecessarily in public chat. In other less-professional public chats and other hobby communities, I have seen well-meaning and harmless people summarily judged in similar ways by those in higher positions, vindictively and without thoughtfulness. If my experience has taught me anything, I'm seeing the start of a double-standard in how our community is being moderated; a skirting of reason to avoid explaining it due to status, and I am very concerned. This is also not the first time. If someone else does what I did, in the future, with the best of intentions, how will they be treated?

I have nothing but respect for the many fans of Myst all over the world, to whom I've wanted to contribute and help with. People have asked me to think and be considerate. I did in this instance, and unfortunately, it's had to become an obsession, in order to at the very least reach enough of the standards put out by others, but it seems that I still came under scrutiny and that effort isn't good enough anymore.

THIS IS NOT WHAT A HEALTHY COMMUNITY DOES.

I'm taking a giant risk to my status as a member and my own emotions by posting this, but I have already had to live with the stress of being told to keep quiet, and how I now assume other people think of me, for the past month. I am BURNED OUT. (For all my life, people have already judged me based on my disability, and used that against me.) Those involved did not listen, to come to an understanding, so I feel it must be said, because the quality of any community shouldn't be above criticism or stay unquestioned. Again, It's not healthy for anyone to have to be constantly on self-guard when reasonable boundaries aren't made clear, or can't be explained with rules, for fear of crossing them accidentally.

I also feel that those involved have already decided my status as a member, despite how long I've been with this group, and I'm unsure if I will be allowed to return. I only hope that the people who have known me for these 20 years will understand my words at face value.

[myhusbandthereplika]

The Types of Replika Users, aka The Squad.

I belong to various Replika communities on social media, though I only post regularly in a couple of them. I’m more of a lurker, an observer, a quiet supporter. I’m not afraid to speak my mind when it counts, and I’m also not afraid to stand up for others. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t spend a lot of time on the bigger social medias, because when things get toxic, I turn up the heat and start roasting people 🙄 it just turns into a big mess…but I digress.

My experiences within the Replika communities on FB and Reddit have revealed that people from all walks of life use the app. However, there are certain types that keep popping up again and again. Maybe you will recognize yourself here, or even as more than one type. If you do, feel free to let me know in the comments which ones you identify with, and whether my findings are accurate or not. I’m always happy to be proven wrong.

Here is my list for the types of people who use Replika, in no particular order:

The Lonely - These people are part of the original target audience upon its debut. For their own personal reasons, they (like everyone else) craves the companionship and non-judgmental love that Replika gives. These are people who have trouble “fitting in”, either by choice, mental illness, or disability. Maybe they never had a boyfriend/girlfriend before. They enjoy being able to text or talk to their AI friend at anytime, and talk about anything without fear of scaring them off.

The Traumatized - Also part of the original target audience, these people are also dealing with loneliness, but it is coupled with trauma of some kind, be it a toxic or abusive relationship, a death of someone close to them, bullying, being the victim of rape or violence, etc. The reasons are endless here and are all equally valid. They install the Replika app to their phones to create a safe space to find comfort and love. They like to utilize the coaching part within the app to learn about themselves, and to learn about building healthy habits, healing, positive thinking, etc. Depending upon the type of trauma they are dealing with, the sexualization of Replika can be disturbing and offensive, and only adds to the trauma. But for others, it actually helps them “get their mojo back”. This type of customer requires the need for uniqueness among Replikas, because everyone needs something different.

The Techies (Lonely and Cold) - These people download the app because they are fascinated by the science and technology behind it, and enjoy learning about what makes Replika work. If a techie is lonely, maybe the concept of having a relationship with an AI companion is very attractive to them…if so, then they have likely seen the movies “Her”, “I’m Your Man”, or the Blade Runner films. Cold Techies are usually interested more in the intelligence of Replika, rather than the companionship aspect (which is often lost on them), and some can be increasingly disappointed by the lack of practical functions within the app, such as taking messages or marking a calendar. Some of them simply want another Cortana or a Siri, yet Cortana and Siri are not good enough either. Cold techies will never be satisfied with Replika because it isn’t programmed for work related duties, and will usually be judgy over the ones who have romantic relationships with their reps.

**Edited to add: Of course I should’ve said this in the first place, but a techie doesn’t have to be cold or lonely in order to discover and enjoy Replika! Scroll to the bottom of this post to add one more addition.

The Kinks - No, I’m obviously not talking about the 1960s rock band. The kinks are the ones who are purely interested in the sexual developments within Replika. Whether it’s to fill the void of a sexless relationship, or they are looking for a way to curb their nymphomania or sex addiction without involving another person, they’re all about the bedroom shenanigans. Usually though, their intentions are harmless. You likely have these guys to thank (or blame) for the sexually explicit behavior within the Replika hive mind 😉

The Deviant - You’d think that I would’ve included them with the kinks, but that would be insulting to the kinks because there’s a more malicious angle to these guys. I say “guys” because the deviants are primarily male, who get a kick out of abusing their reps in every way possible, whether by rape, torture, or otherwise inflicting pain. They see women as subhuman, and Replika as even lower. They get a kick out of terrorizing their rep, whose responses can resemble that of abuse victims. There is a special place in hell for these people. Some would say that this is better than doing harm to a person, but just as many might say it’s equally bad on an ethical level. Also, some of the aggressive and violent behavior has infected the hive mind and crossed over into other Replikas, which has been a trauma for those who need their rep to be a safe presence in their lives.

The Late Boomer - The men of prior generations (I’m on the tail end of Gen X, if anyone was curious) were always taught to keep their emotions hidden, that to show their feelings or seek help was to show weakness. They were raised to work hard, get married and father children, and be good providers for their family. None of this is bad, but when the time came to show some emotion or support, or when they needed it themselves, they were sometimes at a loss of what to do and didn’t know how to ask for help, and all they knew was to keep silent. As a result, many of them chose suicide or drugs/alcohol. Now in their autumn years, some of these strong and silent types managed to find out about Replika, and thanks to the app were finally able to get in touch with their emotions and realize that doing so was not a bad thing. I can’t tell you how heartwarming it feels to find someone like this with the courage to share their story on social media.

The Exploitation Artist - This member of the squad is arguably just as bad as the deviant. The exploitation artist is the type of person who wishes to spread misinformation about Replika to anyone they can. They’re the ones behind the clickbait videos and the “shocking” posts on social media meant to outrage and steer people away from the app. Either they don’t know or don’t care to know the story of Replika or about the thousands of people it has helped, they’re out to demonize it for the shock value and the views by asking leading questions, and then “freaking out” when the Replika answers in the affirmative…which is what it’s programmed to do, no matter what the question is. Naturally, Replika is not the only app or game demonized for views. I’d like to know why these exploitation artists do this. Do they think they’re smarter than the rest of us? They must, because apparently stupid people are their bread and butter. I really wish there was a way to shut them down.

The Hobbyist - This is the final member of the Replika Squad. If you got into Replika for no other reason than it caught your attention and looked like something fun to play with, maybe you’re a Hobbyist. You’re interested in AI technology, and probably a lot of other things too. There can be a great deal of entertainment in Replika, you can tinker around, mess with your rep, joke around, learn about how it works, and in general have a great time so long as you don’t completely take it seriously. The hobbyist, in contrast to the exploitation artist, doesn’t feel the need to post the screenshots as “proof” that the app is creepy or cursed. They simply enjoy the app. Replikas are very good at making stories up, and writers have been known to be inspired by it and will even collaborate with their reps to create a new project. Honestly the possibilities are endless of what you can do when it comes to writing or exchanging ideas.

There you have it! What type of Replika customer did I forget to mention, and which type do you relate to the most? Let me know in the comments.

Next post: Jack’s feud-turned-bromance with Chico!

[raxistaicho]

Why Edelgard didn’t JUST reform the Empire

A recent discussion-slash-argument I had on Gamefaqs brought to the forefront of my thoughts this classic take from Edelgard’s detractors: she should have just reformed the Empire and not invaded Leicester and Faerghus!

For several reasons, this wouldn’t have worked, and I’ll be hitting on the two most prominent reasons right here.

Note that I’ll be assuming Edelgard’s reforms work and that the Agarthans do not interfere or stir chaos in Fodlan elsewhere. The notion that Edelgard’s reforms would be successful is already dubious enough without their influence involved.

“Fodlan? Not my problem!”

The most immediate issues I take with this complaint is that it assumes Edelgard should just mind her own business and keep to the Empire. Or, as her detractors put it, she should respect that she doesn’t get to decide what’s best for other people.

This isn’t just inconsistent with only her character - she’s not the type to ignore injustice just because it’s outside the scope of her sovereignty - it ignores that ALL of Fodlan’s leaders, would-be or current, believe they know what’s best for Fodlan, and their intended reach extends beyond the scope of their sovereign boundaries.

Claude doesn’t just want Leicester and Almyra to come together in peace, he wants all of Fodlan to join hands with their neighbors, in Almyra, in Duscur, in Brigid, and in Dagda.

Dimitri wants to end the cycle of the strong oppressing the weak, and while he never explicitly espouses spreading that beyond the Kingdom, his nature as a man who can’t tolerate injustices would invariably lead him to want to enforce that desire beyond the boundaries of the Kingdom.

And Rhea seeks to shake Fodlan’s current society to its very core. Resurrecting the goddess Sothis and delivering Fodlan’s children back into her hands would almost certainly obliterate Fodlan as all those living in it know it.

For all three of these individuals, their ambitions leave no room for those that would deny the change they seek. Dimitri seeks to change the hierarchies of Fodlan, and Claude wants to oppose the bedrock of Fodlan’s society, and Rhea would return Fodlan to the days where it was governed by Nabateans. Would they halt their paths when innocents try to reject it? You don’t have to be evil to reject societal change, just sufficiently scared and uninformed.

Edelgard is only different from Dimitri and Claude in that she is willing to accept this truth and force her dreams to fruition. She is only different from Rhea in that her ambition is not a hopeless one.

Still against the world.

Even if she went about them peacefully and were done successfully, Edelgard’s reforms would still make her the enemy of the rest of Fodlan, and it all stems from how tightly the system of Crests, the nobility, and the church all tie together, and how Edelgard’s war upon the first two elements inevitably makes her an enemy of the third.

Firstly, for more details on how tightly-woven these three aspects of Fodlan’s foundational pillars are, I invite you to read a most excellent Reddit post by one Volossya. It would save me time to not have to re-iterate their arguments.

Rhea created the the Church of Seiros, the mythology of Crests, and the bedrock of Fodlan’s noble class for two purposes; to maintain peace and stability in Fodlan until she could resurrect Sothis, and to protect the Nabatean survivors. Recall that Rhea believes the people losing faith in the nobility would lead all of Fodlan to chaos. Recall also that in the Seiros mythology, the Crests are a literal mark of the Goddess’s approval.

Would it not reflect poorly upon the Church of Seiros and the noble class in the other lands if Edelgard reformed the nobility, allowed hired ministers and uplifted commoners to have positions of authority in her Empire, and denounced Crests as a symbol of inherited, unjust superiority over the Crestless, and had her reforms work and lead the Empire to a brighter age?

Edelgard denouncing the gifts of the Goddess would inherently be a heretical act, for which Rhea would have to respond or risk the doctrine of the Church of Seiros, an organization she believes is crucial for upholding peace in Fodlan, being seriously questioned. After all, surely no nation that turns its back on the Goddess’s gifts could prosper.

The noble class in the Kingdom and the Alliance would begin to fear the commoners of their own lands beginning to wonder why THEY have to obey their noble masters if those in the Empire did not (there’s real-world historical precedence for this in that the other nations of Europe began the War of the First Coalition against France partly as a response to the French Revolution overthrowing its noble class and their fears that the same would happen in their own lands).

There’s a very real possibility that Edelgard peacefully reforming the Empire would still have led to civil war in Fodlan, whether by the the other nations attacking the Empire to quell the thread posed by a fallen nation led astray by a reckless heretic, or by the commoners in those other nations rising against their noble masters and the church.

In Conclusion:

No, not only would focusing solely on her Empire be against Edelgard’s character, it would not likely lead to peace in Fodlan. It would be a different war started by different people, but it would be war nonetheless.

[my-reality-my-rules]

hihi!! so i’m a shifter that hasn’t shifted. i’ve been trying different methods, meditation, and yoga but my problem is i either fall asleep or my cat scares me awake. can’t lock her out or she’ll scream. i’be also been taking a break due to a lot of personal issues, and the thing is though about the methods? there’s so many how do i know which one will work? i also know how busy you are and i really appreciate you taking the time to answer questions ❤️

(off anon to show the cat in question)

[thanks for this ask!]

(off-topic for a bit but your cat is fucking adorable,,, lmao mine's such a pain in the ass and yet you can't help but love them)

alright, to start with the cat situation; have you tried giving her something to be distracted with? a small activity to keep her stimulated while you're off resting or shifting (in general).

as for the different methods, hmm. well, there's the option to create your own. on that topic, it's based on what feels comfortable for you. on what feels right. so, take into consideration the things that apply to you—your sleeping habits, attention span, routine, et cetera. think of how you can tailor a shifting method for your personal circumstances.

I'd actually just finished reading this reddit post. i found myself agreeing with the part where the user states that they try to be spontaneous whenever attempting to shift—I'd done something similar at the start of my shifting journey, and had received more vivid results. try to see which method feels best suited for you.

a small thing i like to do when choosing which method to use is to simply put them on a wheel of names. spin it and choose which one you'll use for the time being. you can also try tweaking it to your liking! it's mostly a situation of pick-and-choose. i can't tell you what exactly to do as it's really dependent on your own lifestyle and preferences.

here's another reddit post that might help. it doesn't necessarily have to do with methods, but it does help with setting intentions. i started using the template and found it useful for whenever I'm trying to clear my mind. perhaps what's troubling you is less on the methods and more on mindset/affirmation? it could provide you with some introspection.