#and the grey one isn’t black if you interpret it as grey

[dilfcherricola]

Did you guys know that apparently most gifted and talented programs happened during the school day? The one at my school was after school so I was always glad I never tested into it cuz it had had to do more school after school I would have bitten someone

[sarshles-cheescake-li]

Why's Lu Guang's hair white?

It has occurred to me that a lot of people on the English side of the fandom aren't aware of the Lu Guang white hair theory.

It's a very popular theory/headcanon on the Chinese side (I'd say maybe 30% of people believe in it?) of the situation. I have no idea who in the English fandom have talked about it and who haven't, so I'll just provide what I know of it. Full disclaimer that I wasn't the first one to make this observation.

The theory is based on this scene right here, episode 12 of season 2. Here, Qiao Ling has a singular white hair after receiving Xixi’s powers (and seemingly activating them for the first time). This can be either interpreted as her spontaneously gaining a white hair, or as just an effect of the lighting.

Lu Guang has (presumably) received and activated Cheng Xiaoshi’s powers before.

Lu Guang’s hair is white.

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

It doesn’t help that his eyebrows are a different colour. In pretty much every piece of official media, they’re a grey a bit lighter than his eyes. Except for in the phone ad for OPPO (I think that’s what that was…?) where his eyebrows are largely black, except for one shot where they’re their normal grey, so I’m fairly certain that’s just a mistake in animation. I could’ve sworn to God there was one piece of media where his eyebrows were white, but I can’t find said piece, so I guess that was a fever dream.

Quite a few people have wondered how a naturally white-haired person would have darker-coloured eyebrows. Based on that, the argument is that Lu Guang’s natural hair colour is darker, and his hair turned white later in life. Of course, from an artistic standpoint, this evidence is… hard to work with. Characters with a light hair colour paired with a light skin colour often are drawn with their eyelashes and eyebrows being a darker colour for the purpose of contrast. It’s not rare for a white-haired character with fair skin to end up with grey eyebrows, since it makes their eyebrows more easily visible while still looking lighter. The problem?

Ouyang Bubai (how does the English fandom refer to him…? Do I use pinyin for him? Jyutping? Cantonese Yale? Is his Chinese name written in simplified or traditional???) has almost the exact same hair colour as Lu Guang. His eyebrows are white.

Paint tool sai version 2 colour picker (and visual examination) tells me his eyebrows are a slightly different colour than his hair, being a bit warmer and a smidgeon darker, but the point stands. Compared to Lu Guang’s eyebrows, you can definitely tell they’re drawn differently.

Other light haired characters like the Li siblings receive the same treatment as Ouyang Bubai, having pink eyebrows. It’s just Lu Guang who has his situation.

And no, it’s not a matter of convenience. Link Click’s eyebrows are always drawn with black lineart and a solid fill, usually one matching the character’s hair colour. Lu Guang’s eyebrows match neither his eyes nor his hair, something that would theoretically make drawing him more inconvenient because now you’ve got one extra colour in the pallet.

But if the point was that Lu Guang’s hair isn’t supposed to be white, then why make his eyebrows so light? Because now, what is potentially foreshadowing looks like artistic liberty. Was it for the sake of visual cohesion? To throw theorists off? Is it something about the character design process and Inplick?

Anyway, a few possibilities emerging from this theory.

How many times has Lu Guang went back in time for Cheng Xiaoshi if all his hair is white? Or does the process speed up the more you use another person’s powers?

Does his hair turn white all at once whenever he goes back in time, or is it gradual? Like, was there ever an attempt where Cheng Xiaoshi went to bed, woke up, and went “woah Lu Guang that was one mean mental breakdown you had last night if you bleached half your hair”

Does using another person’s powers affect you negatively in other ways? Is that why Lu Guang has limited attempts – not because he’s running out of photos, but because he’s running out of time himself? And, my personal favourite:

The white hair isn’t because of power usage. It’s because of stress. Lu Guang is just a lot more stressed than Qiao Ling is.

[signanothername]

Sorry if this sounds out of nonwhere but what are your opinions on canon ink? Maybe fanon ink too perhaps

Canon Ink is my absolute beloved, he’s super complex and I just fucking adore how morally grey he is!

I have mixed feelings about fanon ink?? I feel like (just like Killer) it really depends on the fanon interpretation, there are interpretations in fanon that i like, others I’m neutral about (not my cup of tea but still can indulge in them), and a few I hate with a passion

I especially hate interpetations that have him as a “bad guy” cause of his grey morality or the fact he’s soulless, or when they “fix” him by giving him a soul

Like the problem isn’t the fact he’s soulless, it’s literally just Ink’s personality, he’s a hypocrite that sees everyone as characters in a story yet sees himself above it, that’s why he doesn’t care when people die inside AUs but cares about the AUs themselves, cause creators/creation is literally what keeps him alive, and yes, he’s selfish for it, but he also deems himself the guardian of these AUs… see how conflicting his morality is with his actions?? That’s why Ink is such a good character <33333

But people somehow blame it on the fact he’s soulless?? It’s like how did you even connect his personality with his soulless ribcage dhhdhdhh

Like yeah I get it, souls in monsters are the culmination of their being and whatnot, but a soul doesn’t determine morality, and a monster with a soul can do bad things and a soulless monster can do good things

Morality is complex and is beyond black and white boxes but the fandom just can’t handle grey morality and it shows with how Ink (and especially Ink) is mostly interpreted hcchhchcch, like unfortunately a lot of the fandom feels the need to put Ink in one very tight very binary box with a big label on it that determines which “side” he’s on, when in actuality, Ink can’t be put in either black or white boxes and putting any sort of label onto him is missing the point of his character in my humble opinion (like, if you wanna put him under a label so bad at least use the right one that was used for him in canon and say that he’s neutral dhhdhdhd)

Then we have the other side of the fandom that makes Ink into an absolute bitch, don’t get me started on how a part of the fandom take his soullessness as an excuse to make his behaviors even worse than that of Nightmare’s zhhxhxhdhxh

Like yes, Ink can be blunt and mocking, he can be distant and detached, etc, but he’s also helpful and kind, he even usually avoids conflicts, he literally tries talking to people before fighting them in canon

Ink is a very flawed character and to me, that’s what makes him an Interesting and phenomenal, cause in a way, I feel like Ink is a very realistic depiction of people and how they work

Anyway, Canon Ink for the fucking win <333333

[mirroringdust]

Lucy works on her listening talent during the black winter and finds an unusual way back to Portland Row. A Lockwood and co fic with mind palace and little lotr vibes 😊

When the skull had first told her about it, she had straight up laughed at him. When he hadn’t stopped telling her more, Lucy had no choice but to listen.

After all, there was little distraction and no one else to talk to during this long, meaningless winter she had barricaded herself in. The flat she had lived in since leaving the place she had called home and the people she had belonged to was just that, flat and devoid of light and any sense of comfort. She just stayed here after a job, ate and waited until the next job could distract her. In all the grey fog she tried not to think about, talking to Skull was actually a delight. And during all those days of brooding and aimless gazing out of the window, she was more than grateful to have someone to talk to. Usually, it was his sarcastic comments that got her through the day, making her laugh and forgetting for a moment that she was far from the place that had brought her joy for the first time in her life. Perhaps the skull had noticed, if a floating skull in a jar could notice such trivial things, but sometimes Lucy thought he knew her better than anyone else and knew what and who she was missing.

He mocked her for it, but lately his words had been more serious than usual. He must have watched her stare into the void once too often, or maybe he was bored by her growing silence, but one day in the cold of that winter, he had told her about the concept for the first time. Surely he had wanted to help her, but after she had laughed, Lucy had just raised an eyebrow.

“Locis anthoenius?”

The green flicker in the jar floated angrily. “Don’t play dumb, you can’t be that language numb. Can’t believe I’m even rhyming now. This requires change!”

“I’m not a hundred years old like you. Please enlighten me.” Lucy replied with a tired look.

There was a sort of eye roll. At least that’s what Lucy could interpret by now.

“Lo-cus A-moe-nus.” The skull emphasised each syllable in her mind as if talking to a little child.

Lucy moved across the bed and closer to the windowsill the jar was standing on.

“And what does that mean?”

“It’s something I've heard of. Maybe I shouldn’t talk about it.”

Now Lucy got curious, which was probably exactly his intention. “I know it’s like you to play around like that, but I’m really not in the mood.”

“You should be. It’s the only thing that might get us out of this senseless hole, if only for a distracting while.”

“This isn’t a hole!” Lucy rose with a look of indignation.

“It's definitely a mess. There are clothes all over this place.”

“It is not!” She narrowed her eyes, adjusted her position on the bed and looked at her room for what must have been the first time in weeks. She swallowed, it really did look horrible. Clothes lying around everywhere, old parcels from deliveries, a couple of used teacups, shoes scattered around and not in pairs, her equipment - and it did not stop there. The chaos in the other place she had escaped from had been somehow charming, but this was far from it. No wonder she was not feeling well. She made a mental note to clean up this mess later and sighed. "Fine. What is this thing?"

The skull didn’t wait a second for his reply, "a kind of concept. Or some kind of sense that can only be furthered by those who are able to listen, and as you’re someone who can talk to me, perhaps you can do it."

"Do what?" she asked, her voice demanding and annoyed, not sure if this conversation would lead anywhere, but if it could bring some colour to this grey mass, what harm could it do? No more than the weight on her shoulders anyway.

"You can return to a place of… joy, that’s how you’d name it. You need to recall a feeling of a place that feels very strong to you, and you need to remember some details." He paused for a moment. "And I know very well which place you'd like to return to."

[Continue on AO3]

[taylorswiftandx]

Taylor Swift and Opposites

Note: huge thank you to @meandmypagancrew for assembling all the lyrics for this post! At the same time, they also created an amazing, giant set of lyrics I'm tentatively calling TS and Juxtapositions, which is a looser interpretation of this "opposites" prompt, and which tumblr is currently not letting me actually post on the blog due to its length. Hopefully I can find a workaround soon.

'Taylor Swift'

I’m Only Me When I’m With You: I’m only up when you’re not down

'Fearless (Taylor's Version)'

Love Story: You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess

You Belong With Me: She wears high heels, I wear sneakers

You Belong With Me: I’m the one who makes you laugh when you know you’re about to cry

Forever & Always: It rains when you’re here and it rains when you’re gone

Forever & Always: So here’s to everything coming down to nothing

SuperStar: This is wrong but I can’t help but feel like there ain’t nothing more right, babe

You All Over Me: Held out, and held on God knows too long

That’s When: When it’s sunny or storming

That’s When: Laughing, when I’m crying

That’s When: It was sunny or storming

'Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)'

Mine: You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter

Mine: I fell in love with a careless man’s careful daughter

Sparks Fly: It’s just wrong enough to make it feel right

Dear John: Or maybe it’s you and your sick need to give love then take it away

When Emma Falls In Love: She waits and takes her time ‘cause little Miss Sunshine always thinks it’s gonna rain

'Red (Taylor's Version)'

All Too Well: You taught me ‘bout your past, thinking your future was me

22: It’s miserable and magical

I Almost Do: I hope you know that every time I don’t, I almost do

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together: I say “I hate you,” we break up, you call me, “I love you.”

Begin Again: He didn’t like it when I wore high heels but I do

Begin Again: He always said he didn’t get this song but I do, I do

Begin Again: You don’t know how nice that is, but I do

Forever Winter: He spends most of his flights getting pulled down by gravity

Forever Winter: I’ll be summer sun for your forever, forever winter if you go

'1989 (Taylor’s Version)'

Blank Space: I can make the bad guys good for a weekend

Blank Space: You’re the King, baby, I’m your Queen

Blank Space: Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream

Out Of The Woods: The rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming color

Out Of The Woods: We were built to fall apart then fall back together

I Wish You Would: We’re a crooked love in a straight line down

I Wish You Would: You gave me everything and nothing

Bad Blood: Did you have to ruin what was shiny? Now it’s all rusted

How You Get The Girl: And then you say, “I want you for worse or for better”

This Love: This love is good, this love is bad

This Love: This love is alive, back from the dead

Wonderland: Whispers turned to talking and talking turned to screams

“Slut!”: In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman

Say Don’t Go: Now your silence has me screaming, screaming

'reputation'

…Ready For It?: Some, some boys are trying too hard, he don’t try at all though

I Did Something Bad: They say I did something bad, then why’s it feel so good?

I Did Something Bad: You gotta leave before you get left

Gorgeous: You make me so happy it turns back to sad

Getaway Car: The ties were black, the lies were white in shades of grey and candlelight

Dress: Even in my worst times, you could see the best of me

Dress: Even in my worst lies, you saw the truth in me

'Lover'

I Forgot That You Existed: It isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference

Cruel Summer: Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes

The Man: And it’s all good if you’re bad

The Archer: I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?

The Archer: Easy they come, easy they go

The Archer: Who could ever leave me, darling, but who could stay?

You Need To Calm Down: Sunshine on the street at the parade, but you would rather be in the dark ages

Daylight: I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked

Daylight: I want to be defined by the things that I love, not the things I hate

'folklore'

the 1: Been saying “yes” instead of “no”

cardigan: A friend to all is a friend to none

cardigan: Chase two girls, lose the one

this is me trying: I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting

illicit affairs: It’s born from just one single glance but it dies and it dies and it dies a million little times

illicit affairs: They show their truth one single time but they lie and they lie and they lie a million little times

invisible string: Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven

epiphany: Watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out, out

epiphany: Someone’s daughter, someone’s mother

betty: I don’t know anything, but I know I miss you

betty: Those days turned into nights

peace: I’d give you my sunshine, give you my best, but the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me

'evermore'

willow: The more that you say, the less I know

'tis the damn season: I won’t ask you to wait if you don’t ask me to stay

tolerate it: I notice everything you do or don’t do

tolerate it: I know my love should be celebrated but you tolerate it

tolerate it: Gain the weight of you then lose it

ivy: I’d live and die for moments that we stole

marjorie: What died didn’t stay dead, you’re alive, you’re alive in my head

marjorie: What died didn’t stay dead, you’re alive, so alive

closure: I know I’m just a wrinkle in your new life, staying friends would iron it out so nice

right where you left me: Friends break up, friends get married

right where you left me: Strangers get born, strangers get buried

'Midnights'

Anti-Hero: Midnights become my afternoons

Midnight Rain: He was sunshine, I was midnight rain

Question…?: Good girl, sad boy

Vigilante Shit: I don’t dress for women, I don’t dress for men

Vigilante Shit: I don’t start shit but I can tell you how it ends

Vigilante Shit: She don’t start shit but she can tell you how it ends

Bejeweled: Don’t put me in the basement when I want the penthouse of your heart

Labyrinth: Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out

Labyrinth: Break up, break free, break through, break down

‘The Tortured Poets Department’

But Daddy I Love Him: Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?: If you wanted me dead, you should’ve just said, nothing makes me feel more alive

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can): I can fix him, no really, I can, woah, maybe I can’t

loml: Still alive, killing time at the cemetery, never quite buried

loml: You low-down boy, you stand-up guy

loml: When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes, well, you took me to hell too

loml: What we thought was for all time was momentary

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived: And I don’t even want you back, I just want to know if rusting my sparkling summer was the goal

Clara Bow: It’s hell on earth to be heavenly

imgonnagetyouback: Told my friends I hate you, but I love you just the same

The Albatross: The devil that you know looks now more like an angel

The Prophecy: I guess a lesser woman would’ve lost hope, a greater woman wouldn’t beg

Cassandra: When it’s “burn the bitch,” they’re shrieking, when the truth comes out, it’s quiet

The Manuscript: Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward

Other Songs written by Taylor

Beautiful Ghosts: Born into nothing, at least you have something

Beautiful Ghosts: Born into nothing, with them I have something, something to cling to

I Don’t Wanna Live Forever: Give me something, oh, but you say nothing

I Heart ?: I’ll be fine if you just walk by but you had to talk about why you were wrong and I was right

I Heart ?: And now you ask about you and I, there’s no you and I

Only The Young: The game was rigged, the ref got tricked, the wrong ones think they’re right

Only The Young: They think that it’s over but it’s just begun

Renegade: There was nowhere for me to stay, but I stayed anyway

You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home: You can say goodbye and you can say hello

You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home: You can laugh and cry

Official Alternate Releases

Vigilante Shit (Clean Version): I don’t start it but I can tell you how it ends

Vigilante Shit (Clean Version): She don’t start it but she can tell you how it ends

Cassandra (Clean Version): When its “burn the witch,” they’re shrieking, when the truth comes out it’s quiet

[cocoaletta]

realizing i never elaborated on this. so basically i thought reavers color scheme and fable 3 was odd cause white and black is an odd combo for steampunky colors esp if there isn’t a lot of brown. but they’re also too drab to be flamboyant reaver colors and like, it’s just a weird color combo. anyways i fell into a rabbit hole about colors in the victorian era and their common usages and white, black, and purple are all common mourning colors. sure i guess you could argue that these colors on the characters represent wealth and prestige but if i was reaver and the bestie died, id be dramatic as fuck about it too. anyways there’s a lot more under the cut so fuck it

disclaimer I know fable 3 isn’t explicitly set in the Victorian era but it takes a LOT of inspiration from early Victorian/Industrial era Britain, enough so that I feel its fair to interpret through that lens.

Reaver

Men’s wardrobes were often fairly muted with some browns allowed, and colors would differ depending on the period of mourning you were in (black> black and grey> black and white> black/white and purple> normal colors again)

also important to note that the mourning period would change based off of how close you were with the deceased. Mourning could be anywhere from a few months to a few years.

Black silk top hat with a seven inch crepe (the band on the hat) that is either black, grey or beige.

His clothes are all white with black trimmings which would have been common half mourning attire

ALSO his undershirt under his brown vest is black. Which is also just uncommon in the Victorian era and also in fable 3 lmao, no one fucking dresses like him

his cravat is also black which you literally do not wear unless you are in mourning. Its weird

Like sure you can say he wears white cause he’s a factory owner and is able to stay clean cause he’s rich, but who shows off their wealth in the dullest, most drab colors. All the other nobles walk around in the brightest, most vivid, eye assaulting color combinations, why is he different. Here are some examples of black and white half mourning and quarter mourning attire.

Most of the examples are women’s clothes because um, Victorian misogyny and women being expected to mourn longer while men were expected to be breadwinners and provide for their families. But if you read through old magazines and guides from the time you’ll find that men also wore similar clothes made with the same colors and materials, just usually for a shorter period of time.

In conclusion you can interpret this as however you like but personally I like this idea cause his clothes are just so ugly otherwise.

Little bonus to talk about the HOBW and Logan because they both wear purple and you could fairly interpret that as “oh those are royal colors” “purple is meant to be a neutral color opposed to blue or red”. But look.

Purple, specifically purples with white were often worn by the children of the deceased while in mourning as drab colors would raise an ‘unpleasant child’.

[seadem-on]

Hi, I've read your Blondie/Tuco ship manifesto and I'd love to ask you something since I'm on a personal quest to understand more why ppl ship these two.

I'm not here to hate, but for context you need to know I ship Blondie with Angel Eyes and might use that ship for comparison. I love complex characters with depth (which we all know they each have in TBGU), hence I don't have a problem with morally grey or criminal characters.

I like Tuco as a character, love the depth that his family situation gives him, the loneliness and sadness in it, and I fully support the idea of Blondie having compassion for Tuco and their frenemies vibes.

I was excited about you pointing out the ropekink/bdsm side of their relationship which I was frankly too blind to see and now am absolutely paying atention to bc I was too deep in my own kink interpretation of Angel Eyes stepping on men with his high leather boots while sucking on a pipe (guess the "Tuco being beaten at the camp" scene has very different meanings for the two of us :D)

Still however there is one major thing that buggs me about Tuco. So why can't I see the ship and instead ship Blondie with Angel who is also a bad man? I've told myself: well maybe it's simply just bc you're superficial and don't find Tuco attractive (I mean I can smell the man through the screen :D) and love Mr. Lee Van Cleef's face too much. So would it be different if Tuco was played by someone I find hot?

Well… no. After many discussions with my gf (you see we're both "old" tumblr residents and share a number of ships together and often spend a long time talking about them) I've realized it's the rapings. "….raping a virgin of the white race, statuatory rape of a minor of the black race.."

Angel Eyes is supposedly this evil man. But I see someone principled, intelligent, cold/composed and efficient. A murderer for hire (who is very interestingly not wanted by the law), who among other methods uses violence to get what he needs/wants. He just gives me dom vibes sorry :D.

Blondie is supposedly a good man. But I see an opportunistic fraud, also intelligent (also very interestingly not wanted by the law - I have some headcanons about that), who uses others for his own gain and bends the law as it suits him.

And Tuco. The ugly. I see a fiery intrepid man, a simple man, who is above all selfish and will betray anyone anytime if it suits him. Who rather then becoming a poor priest turned to crime for his own gain and truly doesn't shy from violence and murder.

I know the movie tells us that none of these men really are simply "the good, the bad, the ugly" still I've found I'm not able to get over the rapings in the context of placing Tuco in a romantic relationship with anyone, and am super curious if it's a problem for Blondie/Tuco shippers as well or if it's just written off as criminal behaviour or smth else entirely.

Thanks for the long message! Whoa this is a very fun question

… Angel Eyes literally beats up a woman on screen… 🤣 isn’t that problematic for you?

As for the rapings - if you accept AE beat up a woman and killed innocent children what is the problem withe morally dubious actions perpetrated by another character? It seems to me you’re applying double standard to him and Tuco.

Furthermore, you’re condemning Tuco for something they accuse him of and we have no evidence of. In my opinion these accusations were made up artificially to increase his bounty - because they are exxaggerated and borderline unbelievable.

Also - you can smell Tuco? He is literally the only character who takes the time to have a bath? He is canonically the one who cares the most about personal hygiene.

Tuco was also cunning, smart and tenacious enough to find Blondie not once but TWICE, leveraging his knowledge of him and acting out a revenge that tells a lot about Tuco having a sadistic, dominant side. Blondie is literally scared to the bone by him and for a reason. Blondie knows Tuco could kill him in a heartbeat and is probably the only person who is able to. Not only that - Blondie actually find this a reason to respect and admire Tuco deeply - and that is something that Blondie does not have for AE. He literally walks out on AE without any care - to go back to Tuco, and you can see from his eyes and his smile how happy he is.

And Blondie develops complex feelings for him - on one side he cannot forget the torture and the murder attempts - it’s so personal between them, like some sort of untold promise to always try and overpower the other (and you know how Blondie would not be interested in getting the better of someone he knows he is weaker than him). On the other side Blondie grows fonder and fonder of Tuco - he smiles when Tuco is around and gets worried when he is in danger. So I wouldn’t talk about feelings of compassion - it’s more about tenderness and friendship, with Blondie being borderline needy of Tuco’s attention and friendship.

Also… AE is not wanted by the law… have you ever considered that he has probably bribed the law to get a pass and be invisible…? That he exerts his power via his money? He pays his henchmen, he pays Wallace, he probably paid someone to get into the army. Have you ever thought that this makes him powerful over poor people who get arrested instead? Which is exactly what Blondie despises (people who take on other people who are weaker than them). I think Blondie has a very low opinion of AE.

So yes I actually believe things would change if Tuco were played by someone you find hot!

[priceofs]

Teacher’s pet

So, I got inspired. I’m going to play out something that I’d really like to happen to me. By the way, English isn’t my first language, though I enjoy writing anyway. This will be a series, and this is part one, almost obviously enough. It’s about you, a male!reader x an older!male teacher. He’s a bit of a goof, be warned. You’re kind of laid-back, apathetic, even.

—

George, a name you’d always remember. Goddamn him and the way he’d changed your life without intending to.

You had to choose between Art or Science. You fit both categories, often diving into the world of doodles and research, but the latter club possessed a quite dull teacher—and you didn’t feel too engaged with her, honestly. You hadn’t met your actual Art teacher until today.

A crazy-looking man with medium-length, brown hair tied into a ponytail with slight grey strands hanging off the attempt at formality in his head, which, you’ve heard wasn’t his forte. He wore a black and red flannel shirt, dark blue glasses with thick frames and smudged lenses—you could see the brown of his eyes twinkle with mischief under them. Well, not exactly, but that was the vibe he gave off. He had a bald spot on his scruffy beard, and he walked a bit irregularly, but you couldn’t assume he had a limp—it was more of a state of mind, if you will, from him, not you, or so you’d like to hope. He carried a cup of hot black coffee that smelled good enough for a school drink; bittersweet. You didn’t like this guy. You had already labeled him from that one school event—he wore those dorky shirts with anime or Marvel references, and, in your opinion, he was trying too hard to be funny.

Then, he dropped his things on his desk, clapping his hands once, smiling to show his irregular teeth. You could almost compare this man to Charles Manson—and that said a lot. A lot about you, too. Anyway.

“Hello, people, people, hello,” he announced with that goofy flair, “time for the annual presentation, ‘cause we’re not doing this again, eh?” He chuckled. Suddenly, he turned serious, but you could tell it was more like a mocking action, not to anyone in particular. “You!” He pointed at one of your classmates, which, by the way, you didn’t hold a relationship with. “Name, age, interests, now!” He held his hands up, looking down at her, expectant. Some chuckled, some stared, a bit bewildered. They probably had some expectations about getting a hippie who was too kind for their own good, too fragile to be a teacher at times like these, you thought. Instead, you all got this clown.

“Uh, Isabel, eighteen, dancing?” She replied.

“What kind of old-ass name is that?” One of those stereotypical machos blurted out, looking at his buddies for approval. George smirked, placing an apparent friendly hand on the guy’s shoulder. “Tell me, what’s your name?”

“Jake”, he answered. “Oh my God! Jake! Are some sort of supreme human being?” George asked, his eyes widening as he placed his previous free hand onto Jake’s other shoulder. The guy just chuckled nervously, caught a bit off guard. Oops, Jake’s control was falling apart. ‘What’s this alpha male gonna do now, huh?’ You thought to yourself, smirking a bit as the teacher started cracking your initial opinion of him. George abruptly turned around. You sensed he wasn’t all that bad, since he wasn’t in the mood to humiliate anyone. You kind of forgot about the whole presentation thing, but suddenly, he was pointing at you.

“Name, age, interests. Same thing. Go!” He enthusiastically stared, shifting the class’ attention to you. ‘Ah, great’, you articulated internally. You presented yourself. Your birthday was in a month, but you weren’t sure it was worth telling. “I’m seventeen”, you continued.

“Oh, a bit younger than your peers, huh?” George said innocently, despite what your initial interpretations made you think.

“Apparently so. I mean, time’s relative, right? Einstein said that. We trust that guy, no? Uh—” Realizing you were rambling like you usually did, you stopped yourself before contributing to humiliate your own image any further, or whatever was left of it in this fucked up hell of an educational system. Not like you knew much about politics, but it sure didn’t seem fair.

Snapping you back to reality, George’s voice rang through the echoing classroom. “Well, a science guy, huh? Me too. Science is in everything, right? Even sweeping! It’s the way you grab the broom, the way you mentally organize the space to remove all visible dirt or unwelcome objects from the floor— Anyway, back to the presentations.” He said enthusiastically, turning around to another student. You realized that you were smiling by the slight stretches and twitches the muscles of your face made. With that description, it sounds like you’re exaggerating it a bit, but it was a genuine grin, something that was rare in anyone, especially you.

[diwatyara]

UNHEARD TRANSCRIPT CASE 1: TWINS

Contains spoilers for Unheard: Voices of Crime Case #1.

A transcript of every line.

Who hid the drugs?

Tyler

JENNIFER

Welcome, detective. Please, make yourself comfortable…

You open your eyes and see a woman sitting across a table from you. On the table is a tablet and an ash tray. The woman wear a grey coat with medium length straigiht black hair, her face is obscured in shadows cast by the hanging light directly overhead her. To your left, there is a metal door with grates blocking a window. There a vents and a CCTV camera, with a small red light. There is also what seems to be an emergency lights system to your right. There are lights where the walls and floor meet.

JENNIFER

I appreciate your coming in today and I’m sure you’re wondering what this is all about.

As you know, technology is changing how conduct investigations, so we’re looking for “exceptional candidates” to test a new human-computer interface system.

We think you might have what it takes. So, let’s get started.

First of all, we’d like you to put on these headphones, but the room is equipped with speakers if you’d prefer.

There is a rustling-like noise, almost as if you’re putting on a headset.

JENNIFER

Next, we’re going to show you a series of pictures.

We want you to tell us what you see… or more importantly, what you hear.

Go head and pick up the tablet in front of you.

She taps the tablet as it lights up, showing a floor plan.

JENNIFER

Try to relax. Think of this as a sort of a… Game. Or a puzzle.

Something to assess your interpretive and deductive skills.

You hear echoes of voices and yelling as you are sucked into the illusion.

(HEY! WHAT DRUGS, YO? WHAT THE HELL’S GOING ON?)

INT. POLICE STATION - JAN. 1ST 21:18:18

INTERROGATION ROOM

AMBER

State your name, please.

CAMERON

Already told you. Tyler.

AMBER

Hmm? But your car is registered under the name ‘Cameron’.

CAMERON (coughing)

My brother lets me borrow his luxury vehicles sometimes.

AMBER

You two look a lot alike.

CAMERON

You’re not the first person to mistake us for each other. We’re twins. Except he’s a big shot CEO. Was on a magazine cover recently.

Amber chuckles.

AMBER

I pulled your sheet. A repeat offender. DUI. Assault.

CAMERON (sighing)

It’s the people I hang out with, honest. I told the guys I shoudn’t’ve been drinking but they insisted — I swear. Never again.

AMBER

Do you have anything else you’d like to come clean on besides the DUI?

CAMERON

Uh… Nothin’ I could think of. Why?

AMBER

Drugs, perhaps? Does that jog your memory?

CAMERON

Wait, what? I dont know anything about any drugs!

AMBER

Okay, we’re done for now. Wait here.

Amber stands up and starts walking out of the interrogation room.

Cameron stands up and approaches a few steps.

CAMERON

Hey! What drugs, yo! What the hell’s going on here?

CONT’D. INTERROGATION ROOM - 21:19:19

CAMERON

Come back here! Wha’did you mean when you said — Ugh — Damn it!

CAMERON (exhaling)

Kay — think, think. I paid my bar tab… Went to the car… Definitely had too much to drink but I don’t remember there being anything wrong when I got there. Ugh… I may have passed out for a couple minutes. Could somebody be trying to set me up? Maybe, but who? And why like this? Ugh… Just - stick to the story. As if I had another one.

CONT’D. INTERROGATION ROOM - 21:20:00

Marty and Amber enter the room.

CAMERON

Officer, you said something about drugs earlier. What was that all about?

MARTY

What’s your name, son?

CAMERON

Tyler.

MARTY

Same old story, I see. If you’re Tyler, then who’s the Tyler in the room next door?

CAMERON

He’s here too?

MARTY

Let me ask you again. Who. Are. You?

CAMERON

Alright. Alright… Cameron.

MARTY

This isn’t your first time impersonating Tyler, is it?

CAMERON

No…

MARTY

If it was only a DUI this time, you might have been able to pull of your little stunt again. But seriously, drugs? You really wanna pin that on your brother, too?

CAMERON

What drugs?

MARTY

We found a whole kilo in your trunk.

CAMERON

That’s impossible! Okay, I drank too much but I’ve never taken anything stronger than aspirin! (panting) … I wanna see my lawyer.

MARTY

Finally. There’s the magic word. Amber, let’s go.

AMBER

You wanna question him again once his lawyer gets here?

MARTY

He’s done nothing but lie straight from the start. We already read him his rights but he didn’t ask for a lawyer until now. The statement we got will hold up in court. Lawyer or no lawyer, we’ve got him.

INT. POLICE STATION - JAN. 1ST 21:18:18

QUIET ROOM

MARTY

Take a seat.

TYLER

Thanks.

MARTY

The tips you provided us have all been checked out. We’ve got the guy and the drugs. There’s just one thing I don’t get. Why would you report your own brother?

TYLER

Because he’s gotta learn to take responsibility for his own mistakes.

MARTY

What do you mean by that?

TYLER

We’re twins, right? Identical. He’s been pinning his fuck-ups on me ever since we were kids. But now he’s rich and famous. And me? I’m trying hard just to get by!

MARTY

Then why do you always take the fall for him? Until now, I mean.

TYLER

Because he’s older. By a couple minutes! But as the second son, I was considered the ‘spoiled brat’. So it was my duty to protect the rep of the ‘rightful heir to our father’s business’. I guess I always thought “What’s the harm of adding a few misdemeanours to my rap sheet?”

MARTY

Pretty generous for a ‘spoiled brat’.

TYLER

Don’t believe me? Ask him. Fucker’s probably still pretending to be me.

MARTY

Alright. What changed this time, then?

TYLER

He racks up a couple moving violations? Fine! Whatever. But I ain’t taking the fall for no drugs. That’s some felony level shit!

There’s a knock at the door.

MARTY

Be right back.

The door opens and Amber steps inside. Marty walks over to her.

AMBER

All done, Marty.

MARTY

Ah, Amber. How’d it go?

AMBER

Asked him the basics. He said he didn’t know anything.

MARTY

Figured as much. Follow me, I’ll talk to him. (to Tyler) Wait here. We’ll need your signature for that affidavit.

TYLER

Of course, officer. I need to make a phone call, anyway.

Marty and Amber leave.

CONT’D. QUIET ROOM - 21:19:50

Tyler dials someone.

TYLER (to someone on the phone)

Yo. I’m at the police station. Can’t talk much. Just wanna make sure you get everything tied up…

Yeah, shut that guy up for good… When? Now, obviously!…

Cops ain’t that stupid. We’re talking about a whole ki here, ‘course they’re gonna trace the source. And the dealer can ID me, so hurry up…

My brother? Pulling the same old stunt as we speak. Heh. Yeah. I knew he’d try to blame me, but it’s gonna backfire on him this time…

Don’t worry, he was already wasted when I popped open the car. Didn’t notice a thing. The police are gonna nail him for possession and purgery. And when you finish this little errand, he won’t even be able to offer up the dealer as part of a plea.

He’s going to jail and I’m getting the business. My old man can’t and won’t help him this time. Not after Cameron got caught with what he did…

You’ll get your cut after I take over as heir. Anyway, no celebratin’ yet. Go do what you gotta do. And call me back when it’s done.

[rainbow18]

The D Charming’s Outfits meanings.

Prince Daring Charming.

Daring’s crown is the most extravagant. This symbolizes He’s the spoiled and Vain one and he’s presumably The Heir to their Kingdom. (I’m not sure how the monarchies work in Eah.) He’s the one that was supposed to be The Best.

The Gold/Yellow symbolizes that He is Popular and He smothers those that he’s close to and Daring’s magical touch is to literally light up a room.

Daring has a EAH Jacket as a unique feature. The Jacket symbolizes Daring’s love of Sports and how he is firmly on the Royal Side.

Daring wears a light blue shirt that has traces of Yellow and black.

The shirt symbolizes that while at First Glance, Daring appears to be the average Cocky Jock, once you get to know him, Daring can be nice and helpful. He isn’t above being willing to ask others for help if he really thinks he needs it and He’s willing to acknowledge his mistakes. Daring does want to be a Prince Charming in more than name.

Prince Dexter Charming.

Dexter’s crown is more simple than Daring’s. This symbolizes how He’ll never be more than 2nd best in their Father’s eyes. However it still has details/designs because assuming that Daring is The Heir, Dexter is The Spare.

Dexter’s Blue symbolizes how he does want to be a good Prince Charming but he doesn’t fit in with his family. He wasn’t a natural at sports. He isn’t obsessed with training. He is the only one that needs Glasses. He is the only one with dark hair. He liked reading, much to his father’s disapproval. He is more open minded than King Charming. He doesn’t want to marry a Damsel in distress.

Dexter’s black shirt having his family crest symbolizes how with a couple exceptions, most of his relatives ignore and/or abuse him.

Dexter’s grey pants symbolizes his indecisiveness/inconsistencies and his anxieties.

He wants to please his family and learn his fairytale but he also wants to marry because of True Love.

He insulted Maddie’s madness yet he enjoyed Her Teashop’s madness. (But then again, He might’ve been feeling bitter about how Maddie had injured him.)

He has been shown liking and not liking dancing.

He made a joke about Daring’s ego yet he wants to be exactly like Daring.

Princess Darling Charming.

I’m not a expert on Crowns or Tiaras but I suspect that Darling has a Tiara on since 1. It doesn’t look like it makes a complete circle. 2. It looks completely different from her brothers crowns. 3. It is common for Princesses to wear Tiara’s.

Darling’s Tiara is silver because She’s a Rebel. It has a unique design because She is The only Princess in her Immediate Family. However it doesn’t have many if any details because if she’s in the line of succession, She’s just a Spare because Dexter was born first. (Although given the family’s sexism, Darling might still be after Dexter even if she had been born first.)

Darling’s armor shows her interest in being a Hero. Just Like her brothers, She wears Blue however she also has pink.

This symbolizes how Her parents force her to be ladylike and pretty all the time. Although its up to interpretation whether or not She is truly feminine.

[rizzulusarcturizz]

yo i can't reply to your comment OP blocked me lol, but i just wanted to say sorry if my comment was too aggressive but i'm just really annoyed at anyone who acts like family Must Mean Everything - especially since i've gotten shit so many times for not loving my own. if someone wants to hc sirius as not caring for regulus it doesn't mean that they're an only child - or that it's a bad hc, cause OP made it sound like it was (maybe they didn't mean it like this though). and tbh i don't feel like anyone is trying to be the authority about them, people just read this characters differently, we don't even have a clear canon of them so ofc that happens

anyways sorry again if it was badly said in my comment

I’m not offended, everyone is entitled to their own opinions! I was speaking to my personal experience and am the first to admit I can’t fathom the idea of not caring about my siblings. I’m not saying people are wrong if they have a different experience, I absolutely recognize the importance of setting healthy boundaries with family. There isn’t one universal relationship that all siblings experience; lots of people go no contact with family members because it’s the best thing they can do to protect themselves! That being said, what concerns me about some of the headcanons about the Black brothers having a bad relationship is that it can start to get in to the realm of victim blaming.

When we’re writing from the character’s POV Sirius/Regulus resenting the other brother for staying/leaving is completely understandable. That being said, when readers start to say one of them is terrible for trying to survive what is often interpreted as an abusive household you get in to a more grey zone. No one should ever be encouraging children to do something that they personally don’t feel safe doing in an abusive situation. This isn’t directed at you, I’m not suggesting that’s what you were saying, but my day job is a social worker so I feel entitled to say this.

I can’t speak for OP, obviously, but I think they were just speaking to a particular headcanon they dislike. I definitely have seen people wielding the idea of “canon” to justify only one idea of a character which I think is silly because we know very little canonically about these characters. I don’t think it was an aggressive comment but it is typically considered rude in fandom to comment on someone’s post calling them out for a personal fandom rant. Tumblr is a space to cultivate your own experience; if you feel like people are making you feel shitty for your personal family experience you should absolutely block away. This particular fandom is exhausting at the best of times given how much conflict there is; don’t feel like you have to consume content that makes you feel bad. Sibling relationships are not a one size fit all kind of thing and don’t let fandom make you think otherwise!

[drdrizzey]

Ghouls and goulettes -> Headcanons of them as monsters!!

There’s my interpretation on how ghouls could look like and live like if they were some fantastic spooky monsters like werewolves or vampires.

I will probably later on draw some of the band members the way I picture them as that, so feel free to do the same and tell me what you think!! I just did that for fun since I wanted to make some ghoul and Ghoulettes ocs.

How they’d look like :

- grey-ish skin. Can be darker or lighter and have marks, freekles, tattoos and all that.

- Horns. Can be slightly different in form, length and color. Always in grey-ish tones. If they’re not then it isn’t natural and they changed it themselves. They can be like mountain’s ; with different black and white patterns on the horns ; doesn’t have to be only one colour.

- (Grey-ish means everything on a B&W scale.)

- Eyes. Can be all black, can be all white, can be pretty much anything as long as it feels right.

- Teeth. Most ghouls got nice fangs like bats. Teeth can be different depending on the ghoul as well.

- Tails. Most ghouls have tails that they hide in their pants when they perform on stage. They can have different forms and patterns like horns ; it just has to look natural.

- Nails/claws. Ghouls can get their nails to work kinda like claws. A bit useless but hey. Ghouls kinda reminds me of cats somehow so I won’t be surprised if they purred and hissed as well.

- Ears. They’re mostly pointy but their form differs depending on the ghoul.

- Feets. Actually no, they don’t got feets, they got paws. Paws are cuter than feets. Yes.

- Hair. Natural ghoul hair colour always have a little bit of a grey-ish tone but aren’t necessarily on a B&W scale even though they’re not very colourful still. Hair type can really be anything.

- wings. I love the idea of ghouls and Ghoulettes having wings, like bat wings. But it doesn’t seems practical. So I guess they can retract them however they want or something. Why couldn’t they.

How they’d live :

Ghouls live in the dark. The light isn’t much good for them, kinda like vampires. They eat like bats so some need fruits and other only meat or blood, it just depends of their needs. They live hidden of humans, mostly in pretty bad conditions. They’re mostly scared or angry at humans since they’ve always been badly treated by them.

Some ghouls and Ghoulettes are saved by papas and live in a huge abbey in a place where it’s always dark outside. Not all of them play instruments or are in the band. They all love their papa so playing in the band with him is kind of a goal for lots of them but it’s not an easily accessible position obviously. Some ghoulettes became sisters in the abbey. Playing in the band is an amazing opportunity for them but it’s also very difficult since they have to wear a costume that protect them from the sun or from humans to see them. They make their skin look human-like on some stage but the sun still hurts them a bit so they mostly play in the dark with artificial light. For them, playing in the band not only allows them to be close to papa but also to see humans treat them like they’re so cool while they usually hate ghouls and ghoulettes when they don’t have their costume on.

The abbey, papa’s satanism and the songs brings them comfort and home. Living at the abbey or at papa’s side as a ghoul or Ghoulette is a huge privilege since being one isn’t all fun games since they’re mostly seen as invasive nasty stuff like bats and rats by humans and every other creature. Rats and bats loves ghouls. All other animals either die, get mean or run away when they’re close. Sometimes plants also die when they’re close, which makes them sad but it’s not always the case.

Songs :

- Rats

- Griftwood

- Respite of the spitalfields

- we don’t need another hero

And that’s pretty much it ! Just some of my silly headcanons. Hope you liked it!

[sterlingsilverrosepetals]

Black Butler, Rewatch: Episode 1

Episode 1: “His Butler, Able”

Before watching this episode, on a scale of 1-10, how much are you looking forward to seeing it again?

7 

The episode that started it all. It’s okay not the best episode and I analyzed the entire first chapter so I have very mixed feelings about the anime’s take. Nevertheless, I still enjoy watching it. 

Favorite screencap: (I have two just because I can’t think of one without the other.)

Favorite Moment:

I loved seeing this entire scene animated. The swift ability Sebastian displays to easily pull the tablecloth. I love how they focused on his concentration as pulled the tablecloth away and in an instant the cup settled with the wine now in the cup. The contrast of the Butler and Earl’s reaction in the scene was great. If anything they animated this scene wonderfully. I will never get tired of it.

Least Favorite Moment:

Ciel: I don't need to explain my actions.

So this dart scene always made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like what Ciel did. Plus when I actually read the manga he didn’t do this to Finnian or the others. I could see him doing this to Sebastian easily but not the rest of his staff. It kind of made him more of a cruel tyrant in a way. It doesn’t fit Ciel when it comes to those closely connected to him. He would not do something so cruel to Finny. 

This entire scene makes him out to be a completely spoiled brat and makes the audience less inclined to see him as more than a wicked upstart noble.

Manga/Anime Difference Thoughts:

They definitely changed stuff from the original manga and these are some of things that stand out to me.

Ciel summoning Sebastian. This is not how the manga does it. There is no cage involved it almost seems like a void is where they first met. I prefer how it is shown in the actual manga. The naked child under a sheet is just wrong. Thank goodness the Book of Circus follows canon. 

Sebastian is hinted at as being abnormal in chapter 1 but he is still considered ‘human’. In contrast, the anime plays up his supernatural abilities from the start. This is kind of a misstep they are missing out on the big reveal. I think if they kept with the original manga interpretation they could have made the big reveal rather shocking. One of the things I love about the manga is it starts giving hints to his demonic nature but it doesn’t show them right around.

Who are you, good sir? Where is Chlaus? I can’t imagine why they changed him out. Except to have someone they could torture from the get-go. Missing out on an important overarching plot in the first book with the drugs because Chlaus isn’t there to give the evidence. That scene is necessary to understand Ciel’s role as Watch Dog. The anime just makes Ciel someone who tortures people to get his way. Also interesting to note it is Sebastian who greets the arrival whereas in the manga it is Ciel who welcomes Chlaus. From the beginning, it tells you what they think of their guest.

Morning tea Earl Grey instead of Ceylon Tea. The tea set is different too. It is a bitter variety of tea while in the manga Ciel starts out with a citrus tea. The original tea in the manga fits with the little hints of his childlike nature and his love of milk with honey for bed. This tea seems to play on the fact they want things darker. On a side note, the entire reason I tried Earl Grey was because of Black Butler and it’s one of my favorite teas now.  I always thought it would be too bitter but after trying it I loved it so much. 

What’s one thing you noticed/realized about this episode that you hadn’t before?

The Portrait/Flashback image looks ghastly and for some reason, Rachel has black hair. This looks odd and given how she looks in the rest of the anime I think it was a mistake.

The board game is still a good interpretation of the canon. I still enjoy the clever board game between Ciel and the bad guy. Even if it’s not in the manga it does demonstrate both Ciel’s intelligence and ability. Along with the fact he is a kid. Even in the manga Ciel is very prone to playing games it’s one of his joys in life. And it’s often used to show his detachment from the world and how he views life in general. So I think it was cool.

Foodie moment. They did a great job with the food what can I say? I want to show each dessert that Sebastian serves Ciel just because it is delicious. 

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate this episode?

6 

To be honest I started with the manga (when it was still limited in translation) for a little while but the anime is how I was truly got into Black Butler. The beginning never entirely endeared me to the characters or the story. It wasn’t until they got into the Jack the Ripper stuff that was in it for the long haul. When I did read the manga I really viewed the anime differently and from a writing standpoint I think the manga was better.

They changed so many things I loved about the manga. The episode feels inconsistent and the payoff isn’t here. While I like the torture of the bad guy toy factory manager it made the series even darker and paints a bitter contrast to the manga. Plus they stuff so much filler in here. It works I suppose for the anime-only season but it gives you a different viewpoint on Black Butler as a whole. 

Celebrate it! (A little poem for you all.)

A lone visitor comes to call.

When will this foolish man fall?

Ravens stalk the night.

Danger lurks with frights.

Mishaps and chaos abound.

Yet still the Butler is profound.

Next Episode: Episode 2 His Butler, Strongest

[acosmiceducation]

Optical Illusions – They’re more than just fun

Can you agree with others?

In 2015 the internet became enamoured with “the dress”. This one:

Is it blue and black? Or white and gold? One group fiercely claimed the dress was blue and black and were seemingly unable to see how it could be interpreted as white and gold. The other half fiercely claimed the dress was white and gold, unable to see any blue and black in it whatsoever. Debate and discourse ensued. But who was right?

Can you agree with rationality?

Here is another illusion:

In this well-known illusion the viewer is instructed to focus on the colour/shade of the marked squares “A” and “B”. Believe it or not, they are in fact the exact same shade of grey but you will likely need to cover up the rest of the image to see it.  Here is an image that will help:

Here is an even more striking example:

Believe it or not the brown square in the middle of the top face of the Rubik’s Cube and the orange square in the middle of the front face that is in shadow are in fact the exact same colour. Again if you don’t believe me, cover up everything else in the image except for those two squares.

Even when you know the correct colours of the squares there is seemingly nothing you can do to see it the correct way when you look at the image with its full context.

Can you agree with yourself?

The third type of illusion I want to explore is one where it is possible to interpret it in multiple ways but never more than one way at a time. Take the famous “Brainstorm/Green Needle” audio illusion that became popular a few years back. Here is a link of it. Check it out for yourself and then come back here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXxV2C1ri2k&ab_channel=GuardianNews

Most people should be able to hear either “Brainstorm” or “Green Needle” and what you hear is entirely based on what you concentrate on prior to the sound playing. It is also very difficult or perhaps impossible to hear both phrases simultaneously.

What does this mean?

Many people, including perhaps yourself may claim to see the world objectively, or “you see the world as it is”. You might describe yourself as pragmatic, or rational. Before I eloquently burst your bubble, let’s come to some definition of what the “real” world really is. Defining it could be discussed at book-length, but for now I will say this:

The real world, for the purposes of this article, is the world in its raw physical form as described by the laws of physics. That is, a real image is the unique combination of photons that interact with said image. A real sound is the unique combination of air particles that vibrate in accordance to the vibrating object that stimulates them. This is to be taken as completely independent from human emotion, bias, interpretation and thought.

Every image our eyes take in is interpreted by our brains and (as far as I know) there is nothing we can do about that. It is therefore impossible for a human to see an object for how it truly is. To prove this, look no further than the illusions provided above.

Beau Lotto who studies illusions like this and gave a Ted Talk about them describes how our visual perception evolved to interpret the world in a way that was useful in the past, not how it actually is. It turns out it isn’t useful for our survival to see the world how it actually is. To show this, take another look at the Rubik’s Cube illusion and take note how your brain interprets colour it believes is in shadow compared to how it interprets colour it perceives to be directly illuminated. In reality, the colour reflecting off an object varies drastically compared to if it is in shadow vs in direct sunlight. 

Borrowing an example from neuroscientist Anil Seth, if you look at a blank white sheet of paper indoors it will look white to you. If you take the same sheet of paper outside under direct sunlight it will also look white to you. But if you took a picture of the paper in both situations and then held the photos next to each other you would see the papers as different colours. This concept is known as white-balancing and is something your brain does automatically. In fact, this is one solution for the dress debate that Seth describes. Different people have slightly different white-balancing mechanisms and it is possible that the image of the dress – given its colours and background – has reached a perfect sweet spot for one group of people to white-balance the image more than the other group of people such that they actually see a completely different set of colours inside their brains.

Allow me to suggest a potential reason why white-balancing in humans may have been useful in the past. If you are living as a hunter-gatherer in a band of 100 humans on the African savannah it would be very important for your survival to be able to quickly recognize the members of your tribe and distinguish them against other humans from rival tribes. Imagine you are conversing with your compatriot Adim, under the shade of a tree. If you both move into the sunlight you will of course still see that the person you are conversing with is your friend Adim. In reality the appearance of the colour of his skin will have changed dramatically as you moved from the shade to the sun, so much so that if you saw colour exactly as it is, you might even begin to doubt that the person under the sunlight is not the same person you saw in the shade. Even if there was a 0.1% chance that you got alarmed at the change in appearance of Adim you might mistake him for a member of a rival tribe increasing your likelihood of lashing out. There is no situation where that would be useful for survival so our evolution made it so your brain balances the light to view Adim as having the same skin colour regardless of his setting.

Another solution to the dress

Here is one study that attempted to explain the dress phenomenon: https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2617976

One of the arguments made in this study was that your chronotype (the time you prefer to go to bed) has an influence on what colours you see in the dress image. The study found that night owls – people who prefer to stay up late – are more likely to see the dress as black and blue. Vice versa morning larks – people who prefer to sleep and wake up early – are more likely to see the dress as white and gold. This is not a perfect correlation, there is plenty of overlap but it is an interesting explanation. 

The reason for this suggested by the paper is that people see the dress one way due to assumptions they are making about the lighting conditions in the image. Night owls tend to spend more of their time indoors under artificial lighting and so they’d assume that the dress is lit artificially (that is with light bulbs as opposed to the sun). Artificial light is quite orange/yellow in colour and so if you assume the dress is artificially lit your brain will filter out those colours to attempt to see the true colours of the dress, black and blue.

Alternatively, according to the paper morning larks will assume the dress is lit by the sun. Sunlight has a lot of blue in it so your brain will attempt to filter out the blue in the image to attempt to see the true colours of the dress, white and gold.

This is an interesting interpretation and I’d encourage you to read the full study yourself. The correlations are not completely convincing but perhaps are one reason to explain such a fascinating phenomenon.

You only hear what you want to hear

Have you ever been in a room filled with people with multiple conversations happening simultaneously? Parties are good examples here. Heard from a distance they can sound like gibberish, but if you are in the party it is possible to listen and focus on just one conversation. It is also possible to switch your focus to a completely different conversation. It is also nearly impossible to focus on and make sense of both conversations at the same time. Our brain seems to have a built-in mechanism for selective listening. This is a great tool in situations such as parties, otherwise you might be faced with an overwhelming wall of noise unable to understand what anyone is saying unless everyone else shuts up. The Brainstorm/Green Needle audio illusion is a more controlled version of this phenomenon. 

This proves that you can literally hear what you choose to hear. But can this concept be taken further? How many times have you been in conversation with someone only to zone out part way and only hear a portion of the words they said? Or how about hearing all the words someone said but interpreting it differently from them? That is a fascinating concept to explore altogether which I will touch on more below. For now, the fact that two people can be presented with not just the same image, but also the same sound and lead to completely different conclusions just further emphasizes that you don’t see the world for “how it is”. You begin to realize that the world is constructed in your mind.

We evolved to interpret the world in a way that was useful in the past, not how it actually is

That fact, (stated above) implies one of the most profound aspects of being human. That is, an insight that is not obvious to most people, yet proven by the illusions shown above, and has numerous implications in many other areas of life. To me, the first obvious other area is politics. It is no wonder we can’t agree on simple political notions when we live in a world where two groups of people can’t even agree on the colour of a dress. Even when presented with identical information different people interpret the information in different ways. Add in the fact that on debates like climate change, abortion, and universal health care people on all sides can choose to ignore certain pieces of information, it is no wonder we can’t seem to collectively come to agreements on these issues.

We all see the world slightly differently

Some of us see black and blue, some see white and gold. Going further, people have different tolerances for temperature, conflict, cognitive capacity, levels of empathy, physical strength, and past traumas. People live in different parts of the world, have different educations, have different spiritual beliefs, among countless more dimensions of uniqueness. All these things combined makes every human unique and in turn, means that every human sees the world differently.

Semantics, word meanings, is the first level you need to agree on if you are conversing with someone. Let’s take a crude example. Here are a bunch of images of chairs or things resembling chairs:

Which ones of these are chairs and which ones are not? The red one? Most people would agree it is a chair.  What about the one next to it? It doesn’t have a back. Does a char need to have a back? What about the one made out of grass? It has a back but it is not made of “traditional” chair materials and is not easily moveable. What about the turquoise one (middle left). Is it too wide to be a chair? Does that make it a sofa? How wide does something need to be before it is no longer considered a char and is a sofa instead? The facetious (or realists) among you may say none of them are chairs, they’re only pictures.

Do any of these questions have clear answers? Most importantly, a group of individuals will certainly not agree on all the answers. In a similar fashion to the disagreement about the dress, our different physiologies and life experiences will cause us to have different definitions of seemingly trivial everyday objects such as chairs. And most of the time, we aren’t aware of this. We are not aware that we have different definitions of what a chair is compared to others, but perhaps even more importantly we are likely unaware that our own definition of what a chair is not well-defined. You might say, “I just know a chair when I see one”, well what about the examples I shared above. Why do you consider some of them chairs and not others? What if someone else who claims to be as logical as you comes up with different answers. Is one of you delusional? Are you both delusional? Is your definition of what a chair is really based on rigid logic, or is it based on feelings, on emotions? 

I’m not suggesting that not having a precise definition of a chair is inherently a bad thing in all circumstances but in extreme situations such as debating big decisions that will affect the future of humanity, if you are unaware that you define words differently from your opponents or collaborators then how effective are you going to be at decision making? The young people of today are one day going to be making big decisions that affect the future of the billions of humans on Earth, the trillions of non-human animals and how we take them into the future. If we are to create a future that addresses the biggest concerns we face today such as climate change, wealth disparity, animal and human suffering, and averting nuclear destruction we need to teach the children (and adults) of today that on a fundamental level, any two people do not see the world in the same way. And what better medium to introduce that concept than optical and audio illusions? 

A new meaning for humility

The world has proven – as with the dress – that even when given the exact same information we are led to completely different solutions, even when the solutions are trivial. That fact calls for a new emphasis on humility when it comes to worldview and opinions in general. I know how easy it is to get hot-headed and annoyed at people who don’t see the world the way you do. I feel that I am right and anyone who doesn’t agree with me is wrong. So many people are delusional it seems. But as the dress and other optical illusions show, humility is the only response to approach conflict with others that will lead to the most peace and love in the world. That is not to say that 100% of worldviews should be tolerated. If someone’s worldview is one that involves violence or oppression, I’d say it is valid to move beyond humility and attempt to cease the violence. But again, that is just my interpretation of the world. At the same time, don’t assume there is such a thing as objective good and evil. Every villain is the hero of their own story. I’m starting to get into the realm of moral relativism which is an adjacent and equally fascinating topic. But that will be explored another time. For now just don’t assume that you have it all figured out.

Thank you for reading! Go to my site for more! https://acosmiceducation.com

[lupineactuallyisnthere]

Seth's growing vendetta

Just a quick note: I really wanted to explore and interpret Seth's grudge against Osiris through writing for awhile now so hopefully I'll be releasing this in a few short parts.

-Part 1-

“So you just plan to… blunder through life?”

No matter where his eyes darted to, he couldn’t pin where the voices came from. Only one sentence in a mess could be made out—once in a blue moon, anyway. Seth stared out the window, hollow-eyed. Grey clouds rolled gently over the full moon. No stars twinkled in the black pool. His palm dug into his chin. His elbow into chair’s arm. His own thoughts were drowned by the voices.

“Well, we live forever, don’t we? It would make things a lot more interesting, anyway.”

None of it mattered. They’d lived, they’d seen it all, they’d… Why? Osiris was dead. Seth still had something to see, right? He took a sharp breath. Crisp, cool air stung his lungs like a million angry wasps. His chest tightened. His lair’s walls caged him. He fought a war with himself to look at his hands. Clean. Then why was he so worried?

“Seth?”

Seth’s racing heart screeched to a stop. His eyes widened for a split second. “I didn’t see you there, Nephthys.”

“.. Of course you didn’t, Seth.” She was so tense it hit him like a brick. Her hand rested on his shoulder. Her touch was cooler than a desert night. “What are you thinking about?”

She strained to put any sort of softness into her voice—he just knew it. Venom hid in every word she said. “Him.” He huffed, his own exhaustion grated his ears.

“Is that it?” She pressed, her grip tightening a bit. He closed his eyes, shoving his face into his hand.

“Whatever you have to say, don’t be afraid.”

Her hand quickly slid off his shoulder. “.. Why?” Her harsh tone broke. “Why did you do it?” Seth opened one eye. It lingered on his hand which was bathed by moonlight. The voices left. He furrowed his brows slightly. His lips pulled into a tight frown. His head grew lighter than a cloud. He couldn’t squeeze a single thought through his head.

But instead, two voices buzzed in the back of it.

“You walk into life always expecting the worst, Seth.”

“It’s always good to prepare yourself, right..?”

“I mean, the world isn’t all doom and gloom.”

“Nor is it peaches and roses.”

[bussyslayer333]

Mad About the Boy

fratboy!bradley bc i said so (isn’t he so meow in this)

summary: trying to tutor bradley bradshaw was infuriating for many reasons, not all of them you expected.

pairing: fratboy!bradley x tutor!reader

word count: 2.6k

warnings: smut but no actual sex, allusions to smut, swearing, frat boys 😟, pet names, one mention of daddy issues (not in reference to reader) MDNI 18+

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Romeo is crazy for tying himself down like that so young,” Bradley complains for what seems like the hundredth time in the past hour.

You sigh, sick of his Shakespeare ‘interpretations’ which have been interrupting your tutoring session. This year you had prayed that keeping your head down and getting on with your classes would mean you could get by with ease. However, your English lit professor had other ideas. You had no idea why Bradley Bradshaw was even in this class, from what you had heard he was headed straight to flight school after graduation so analysing classic literature didn’t necessarily seem up his alley.

“We’re not talking about Romeo, we’re talking about Juliet’s relationship with her father.”

“Shit, daddy issues? Yeah I’ve dealt with that before someone tell Romeo to get out while he can.”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes once again and readjust your glasses.

“Look, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere today, we can just start again next session.”

Bradley seems upset at your suggestion and speaks up quickly, “No! Please, don’t go I’m sorry. I promise I’ll pay attention now.”

This was one of the many things you claimed to hate about Bradley Bradshaw. Not the fact that he was in a frat, or that he had a ridiculous name, it was the fact that he always managed to get you wrapped around his finger. You’d promised yourself when your professor had asked you to do this that you wouldn’t fall into his traps, his big brown eyes or his backwards caps that he somehow managed to pull off.

Bradley’s looking at you from where he’s sat across the table in the private room you’ve booked in the library. He’s wearing grey sweatpants and a tight white t shirt, he discarded his large black hoodie on a chair to his right earlier. You try not to look into his big brown eyes but you feel it would be worse to let them drift down to where his shirt is drawn tight across the expanse of his chest.

Shaking your head slightly you refocus.

“Bradley you have to promise.”

“That’s what I said sweetheart.”

That was what you hated most. That he made you feel special. That he made you feel like you weren’t just some girl picked out to tutor him. When he talks to you he always makes eye contact, he has a way of making you feel like you’re the only two people in a room even if it’s bustling with life. Even when the things he says are stupid and lack thought you want to laugh, because you want him to look at you and smile.

Fiddling with a loose piece of wool in your knitted cardigan you continue,

“Well… okay then.”

Bradley smiles, “that’s my girl.”

Your stomach flips and you feel your cheeks warm. It’s utterly embarrassing but you can’t find it in you to care. You take a deep breath and reassess, looking down to your textbook at notes you’ve highlighted to bring up and explain.

What you don’t notice is Bradley watching your every move, smirking to himself as he sees how flustered you are.

“Right, so for context we understand the importance of the patriarchy in Shakespearean society, which is why it’s shocking to audiences of the time that she disobeys her father so brazenly to elope with Romeo.”

Bradley’s watching you with his mouth slightly open. He looks adorably stupid. You look up from where you’ve been reading your annotations and he closes his mouth and leans in closer.

“Do you understand?”

Bradley winces slightly apologetically and you sigh again, wracking your brain for a way to actually help Bradley retain the information. You think back to the past few tutor sessions you’ve had with him. You had done a small assessment with him where you divised a few questions on topics and themes you’d tried to cover with him. He had excelled in one specific part but the rest was very mixed with him. You wondered what you had done in that session for him to remember so well.

“Bradley, why do you remember act 2 so well?” You ask harmlessly. Wondering what technique you tried in that session that clearly worked so well.

Bradley flushes at your question, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly avoiding your eyes. You worry you’ve upset him and start to form an apology when he finally speaks up,

“Well it was on that really hot day, and you were so animated when you were explaining everything and God please don’t think I’m a dick but your tank top was really tight and I’m an idiot and-”

You’re laughing so hard Bradley stops his embarrassed rambling and looks up, brows scrunched together. You have to take a breath to collect yourself before you can speak again.

“My boobs are what kept your attention whilst talking about act 2 of Romeo and Juliet?” You giggle.

His cheeks are rosy and hot to touch, he looks bashful and has the decency to apologise,“I’m sorry, if it’s any help you were also very enthusiastic about it which was good as well.”

You snicker again and humour him, “So if I took my shirt off and repeated the last sentence you would know what’s going on?”

He laughs, glad you’re not upset at him, “I mean probably.”

He’s joking for the most part but it forms a plan in your head. You can’t really believe this is happening. You’ve seen the girls usually surrounding Bradley and you wouldn’t be a part of that crowd ever, but you’ve never seen him act this way around a girl so you decide to voice your plan.

“Bradley read back through the notes, then I’m going to quiz your orally.”

Bradley looks slightly crestfallen at the turn in conversation and at the idea that he has to study again, before you continue your plan.

“For every question you get right I’ll let you pick a piece of my clothing I have to take off.”

He looks up at you with a dazzling smile and you chuckle at his quick change in demeanour.

“Really?”

“I promise.” You mimic his words from earlier.

Bradley immediately opens his textbook to the same page as yours and pulls your notebook with extra annotations over. He reads with intent like you’ve never seen and you feel slightly annoyed that you’d never thought of this before.

You check your phone to find a text from your roommate Maya. She knew you were tutoring Bradley tonight and had sent a message saying she hopes it isn’t too bad. Boy if she knew.

You look up to see Bradley reading the last section of your notes. You’re shocked by how fast he read, before this you were 75% certain he couldn’t read, so it was a pleasant surprise really.

“I’m done, quiz me.” Bradley interrupts your train of thought.

He’s leaned back more slightly in his chair now, observing your movement openly. You stand to twist the lock on the door, although the room is in the corner of a secluded part of the second floor you can’t imagine the horror of the 70 year old library assistant (Laurie) who you’d become well acquainted with, walking in on you stripping for a frat boy.

You sit back down in your seat and pull your knees up to your chest. Bradley has closed the books and has his phone turned face down on the table, you’re impressed by his commitment.

You decide to start off easy wanting to test the water, “Why does Romeo refuse to fight Tybalt?”

Bradley smiled like you’ve asked him the easiest question in the world even though two hours ago he did not know who Tybalt was.

“He’s just married his cousin, he doesn’t want to start fighting his own family.”

You smile at his answer, “Correct.”

“Take that hideous cardigan off.” Bradley chuckles.

You gasp at his words, “I love this cardigan! My roommate knitted it for me.”

“Is she blind?”

You stifle a laugh and pull the cardigan off. Bradley sits up a little straighter as he takes in your attire which was hidden by the baggy outer layer. You’re wearing baggy sweatpants with a tight crop top. It’s worn, so it’s comfortable but it suits you well and hugs the right areas, it also shows that you’re not wearing a bra underneath. You take in Bradley’s tensed eyebrows and eyes that are already zoned in on you.

“Are you seriously rocking a semi after all I’ve done is take off my cardigan?” You tease in mild disbelief.

Bradley takes it in his stride, “It’s more from the relief of not having that eyesore right in my view anymore.”

You roll your eyes and continue on with your questions. He gets the next one right and opts for you to take off your shoes. Claiming it will make it easier for you to remove your sweatpants when he gets the next question right. You laugh at his cockiness but surely enough he gets it right. You make a show out of taking them off, wiggling your hips and turning around whilst you bend down to take them off fully. You’re glad that morning you decided to put on a nice pair of underwear, it’s lacy but tasteful. When you turn around Bradley is readjusting himself slightly and rubs a hand down his face. He has a lazy smirk plastered on,“You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about this.”

Your face heats at his admission “You should have told me sooner.” You smirk back.

“I think you need to sit closer. So I can hear you better.” Bradley claims

You move around from the seat opposite to the seat right next to him, you go to sit down but you can see a sly look on his face that reveals he has an ulterior motive. He pulls you down onto his lap, you’re in a slightly awkward position at first but readjust so that you legs sit either side of his. You look up and catch his lips quirking up and he sighs contently as he feels the weight of you settle down on him.

“Much better.” He breathes.

You squirm slightly, worried that he can feel the warmth of you through his sweatpants. There’s only a few layers separating you now and it’s obvious to both of you. Bradley places his hands on your waist, stilling you. He groans as you rolls your hips accidentally.

“You’re killing me here sweetheart.”

You flush slightly but decide to continue your questions,

“What does her nurse suggest to Juliet at the end of the act and how does it affect their relationship?”

Bradley tries not to focus on how good you feel sat on him and wracks his brain for the answer. He remembers reading your notes about it and closes his eyes in thought. You roll your hips down with more purpose now and speak,

“5…4…3…”

Bradley groans but begins, “Bigamy! It ruins the trust they once shared!” He spits out with urgency.

He looks down at you and sees a pleased look on your face,

“Well done baby.” You speak but flush at how the pet name slips out and Bradley quirks an eyebrow.

“Shirt off, baby” Bradley copies you with a smirk on his face.

You consider letting him suffer, but you honestly want to as much as he does now. You tease him, lifting the bottom of the shirt slowly. It reaches the bottom of your breasts and you feel Bradley twitch in his sweatpants beneath you. Filled with a surge of confidence you lift your shirt swiftly, pulling it over your head carefully. Your glasses slip down your nose slightly but your hair remains mostly fine. Bradley groans loudly and you shush him.

“We’re still in a library after all,” you giggle.

He rolls his eyes but begins again, “Can I touch you?”

His sincerity shocks you and makes your heart race, “I think you deserve to yeah.”

His hands are on your breasts in an instant squeezing them with a look of awe on his face. It makes you laugh but you’re quickly silenced as his hard length is bucked up into you. You whimper quietly and he finally closes the space between you which has been reducing as the events unfolded. The kiss is tentative at first, he tastes like the spearmint gum he’s always chewing. You take the initiative and deepen the kiss, tangling your fingers in his hair, you can tell he enjoys the action because he whimpers into your mouth.

Bradley finally removes his hands from your breasts and moves them to skim along your waist and finally down to your ass. He plays with the lace of your panties and you hum into the kiss. When you finally part from his lips, his chest is heaving. Your lips are swollen and rouged from the pressure and he admires them, staring down at your face. You feel him ping your panties against your hip and you finally speak up,

“We can’t fuck in the library.”

Bradley laughs and you worry that you’ve assumed too quickly before he reassures you,

“I wouldn’t dream of it sweetheart, I’m far too gentlemanly for that.” He winks. “Come to mine? I really want to give you a tour of my bedroom, maybe we can continue our tutor session there?”

You laugh at his suggestions but nod your head anyway. Bradley is nice enough to give you your shirt that is strewn across the chair next to him. You pull it over your head and Bradley pouts playfully. Leaving his lap, you’re glad to see you haven’t left a wet spot on his sweatpants but you can quite clearly see his prominent bulge. Bradley smirks as he follows your eye line. Not wanting to boost his ego even further you spin on your heel to pick up your own sweatpants and shoes. You hear him whisper a quiet ‘goddam’ as you bend over to pick up your sweatpants and once you’ve pulled them on you turn around and stick your tongue out at him. He laughs through his nose as you lace up your shoes.

Standing back up you see that Bradley has collected your books into your tote bag and is wearing it over his shoulder. The sweet action makes you smile shyly and he extends his hoodie out to you.

“I’m not being seen with you in that cardigan.”

“Shut up.”

You take the hoodie anyway and pull it over your head. It smells dizzyingly like him and you shake your head to clear your thoughts. He’s holding both your bags and tells you your cardigan is in his backpack. You pick your phone up from the table and slide it into the front pocket of Bradley’s hoodie, you spot him shooting a text to his roommate Jake telling him to be gone by the time he gets back and giggle. You make a mental note to text Maya and tell her you’ll be back later than usual.

Bradley walks you to the door with his arm guiding you on your lower back. Once you’ve unlocked it and are walking out he slips his hand into yours. The action is far too sweet for all the things he’s about to do to you, but it shows you that maybe you don’t hate Bradley Bradshaw after all.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

a/n: hehehehhee this was so self indulgent sorry,, i promise i will get to requests asap i just wanted to post this first :p i really hope everyone loves fratboy!bradbrad as much as i do

requests are still open !!!

pls reblog and comment or send me an ask and tell me what u think !!!

thanks for reading :)

- honey <333