#asau first

[ageless-soul-au]

Happy Halloween from ASAU's resident ghosties, First and Flicker!! Carving a dragon was a little too ambitious for Flicker so he just drew it lol 🎃

Characters belong to ASAU, pls don't tag any other AUs :3

[elgatt0]

Creatures time :D

I - Winged Wolfie from me ^3^

II - Kemi, The pink blupee jackalope from @ageless-soul-au

III - The Noodle, Lizard spirit from @heroesspirit

[hulknussen]

about are you here from the "about this blog" button on the customized version of this blog? great! you're in the right place. if you're not, or viewing this on mobile, you can find a list of links that are linked to in the sidebar of the customized version at the end of this post.

what do I post? motorsports as a whole, but specifically whatever series kevin and nico are currently running in: right now, formula one and endurance racing. there's also rpf - sometimes with nsfw themes - as well as normal trackside and racing discussions. I talk about writing, too.

faves a surprise to some, I do have favourites that aren't kevin and nico. you'll see them around sometimes. I mainly post nico and kevin, though.

tags I use I have an archive and tagging system set-up; like the rest of this blog it has a huge kevin/nico bias with some romain sprinkled throughout. you can combine the tags below if you're looking to find specific content on one of them (kinda. depends on the mood tumblr is in that day--I apologize if it ever gives you troubles. there is an archive version of this blog native to tumblr as well).

#lore - posts and rbs with lore of drivers/ships #analysis - when I (or others) put the grey braincells to work and analyse driver's media personas, career trajectories, narrative parallels, etc. all for fun, don't take too seriously. #web weaving - web weaves created by me #art reblog - art reblogs #photo/video edits - photo video edits (not my own)

#archive - pics, gifs, videos, etc of drivers. #baby hulk posting - anything young nico hulkenberg #fuckboy posting - specific genre of nico pictures #dekra hat posting - nico hulkenberg with his dekra sponsor visible #babymag posting - young kevin magnussen

#age swap hulknussen au - for anything pertaining to the age swap au (asau) #my writing #my gifs

drivers and ships drivers get tagged as their first and last name, no special characters. some of the ships I post about may not have a set or commonly agreed upon shipname, so here are some clarifications should you need them (and I double tag kevin/nico with both hulknussen and haasbands)

#jenmag - jenson button/kevin magnussen #valkev - valtteri bottas/kevin magnussen #grosmag - romain grosjean/kevin magnussen #groshulk - romain grosjean/nico hulkenberg #groshulknussen - romain grosjean/nico hulkenberg/kevin magnussen

masterposts and essays that's the links I was talking about earlier

a brief look at the history of hulknussen on ao3 (semi outdated by now; written 11-09-2024) hulknussen fic rec list (might be outdated - not sure if I will continue updating it) why haas, nico, and kevin worked so well a write up of the narrative parallels between nico and kevin

[valdrinors-writing]

ASAU Profiles - Investigation Team Edition

Naoto Shirogane

Age: Fifteen (First Year at Yasogami High)

Likes: Detective Novels, Exploration, Connections

Dislikes: Being Misgendered, Large Crowds, Ghosts

The Fool

Elec Skills

Persona: Sukuna-biko

A curious and intelligent young man who moved to Inaba to live with a family friend as his grandfather is recovering from an illness. A natural detective, Naoto becomes embroiled in the Midnight Channel mystery upon stumbling on it one night, and wants to stop the killer before they can get to anyone else in the town. He's the Wild Card and leader of the Investigation Team

Rise Kujikawa

Age: Fifteen (First Year at Yasogami High)

Likes: Music, Helping Others, Cooking

Dislikes: Junes', Being on Stage, Insensitive People

The Magician

Fire Skills

Persona: Shingi Waō

A young woman who works at her grandmother's tofu shop in the shopping district. She's the first person who Naoto befriends while in Inaba, and quickly sees him as a good shoulder to cry on. She was friends with Saki Konishi before her passing, which was what spurs her to enter the TV World with Naoto the second time, leading to her confronting her Shadow. She has a secret desire to be an idol

Theodore 'Teddie' Hanamura

Age: Fifteen (First Year at Yasogami High)

Likes: Flirting, Bears, Puns

Dislikes: Being Treated Differently, Parental Pressure

The Chariot

Ice Skills

Persona: Kintaro

The younger - adopted - brother of Yosuke Hanamura who recently moved to Inaba due to his father being made manager of the Junes' chapter there. Outwardly, he's an energetic young man who wants to score with a large variety of girls, but internally, he's envious of his brother's popularity and insecure about not being a full-blooded Japanese person

Yosuke Hanamura

Age: Sixteen (Second Year at Yasogami High)

Likes: Freedom, Guitar, Scooters

Dislikes: Studying, Being Rejected, Letting His Parents Down

The High Priestess

Wind Skills

Persona: Hiroyuki

The son of the Junes' manager and 2nd year student at Inaba who's surrounded by rumours about him. Yosuke is outwardly cheerful and energetic, liking to stand out. However, his fears of being judged by others have lead him to be a bit of a pushover when it comes to the people in his life - both friends and family - and has lead to him suppressing his true self

Yukiko Amagi

Age: Sixteen (Second Year at Yasogami High)

Likes: Tea, Scary Movies, Bad Jokes

Dislikes: Not Being Seen As 'Feminine', Paparazzi, Rumors

The Emperor

Ice Skills

Persona: Asama no Okami

The heir to the Amagi Inn and a frosty second year student who consistently seems a bit stern and traditional. Secretly, she wants to be more open, but is afraid of disappointing her family and not looking like the ideal Japanese woman, which has lead to her putting up appearances as a 'perfect' Yamato Nadeshiko. She tends to appear 'cool', which leads to her getting harassed by boys who talk about 'The Amagi Challenge'

Kanji Tatsumi/Tatsumaki

Age: Fifteen (First Year at Yasogami High)

Likes: Sewing, Loud Music, Swearing

Dislikes: Stalkers, Overly-Judgemental People, Managers

The Lovers

Persona: Kashima-no-kami

A former member of a popular visual kei band moved back to Inaba after a stalking incident resulted in him having a minor breakdown backstage. He's happy to help his mom at her store, but a bit miffed about all the attention that he's getting even though he just came back to Inaba. Somewhat confrontational, but secretly has a heart of gold under the surface. He acts as the groups Navigator

Marie

Age: Unknown

Likes: Poetry, Reading, Music

Dislikes: People who read her poetry, Nosy People, Shadows

The Star

Elec Skills

Persona: Kaguya-hime

A wolf like creature that the group find in the TV World. She's very protective of her home, and is very annoyed by the killer interupting her solitude, which is why she goes along with the Investigation Team. She's a bit prickly, but can be warmed up to - even if it takes a while - and has a secret admiration for humanity that she doesn't want to show to anyone

Chie Satonaka

Age: Sixteen (Second Year at Yasogami High)

Likes: Kung Fu, Meat, Bruce Lee Movies

Dislikes: Being Judged, Being Treated Like A Child, Ghost Stories

Wheel of Fortune

Dark/Light Skills

Persona: Gozen

An aspiring action star and stuntwoman who has returned to Inaba in order to scout out the local police force. She lived in Inaba as a child, but moved out five years prior to the series after her parents divorced to live with her mother in Tokyo. She's quick witted and a bit rash and overconfident, but has a soft spot for her childhood best friend Yukiko that can soften her up

The Persona names are inspired by @rollthedice-playthecards, who used the same motif for their story The Naked Truth

[thebigpapilio]

so everyone knows my ASAU of Persona 5 Royal, A Righteous Rebellion. right? And we're all also aware of @scruffyturtles' Adult Confidant AU?

well I sorta fused them? tldr: i made a (mostly) Adult Confidant AU for ARR! Details below, if you're interested - and if you have any questions about it, please ask @rollthedice-playthecards or this blog here!

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ARR! CANON-STANDARD TRIGGER WARNINGS!

The Fool and Strength (i.e. Igor & Caroline/Justine/Lavenza) are the same. Otherwise, everyone's changed.

The World (i.e. Protagonist) is Tae Takemi!

Her parents were abusive shitheads to her, and she got into a program that helped her escape for Tokyo.

Her first Persona is Merit-Ptah, a fictitious woman purported to be a chief physician of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh and thus one of the oldest known women in medicine and science.

The Magician is Sadamu Niijima (transmasc!Sae)!

The home invasion that killed Mr. Niijima also led to his death, but Igor came upon his soul and reincarnated him into a hound (because of Shadow Sae's tattoos) for The Yaldabaoth Game™.

His first Persona is Turiddu, a Sicilian bandit whose gang was "legally held responsible" for a massacre, although the entirely of their role in it is disputed.

The Priestess is Sadayo Kawakami!

She was a member of Student Council, but when she brought up Kamoshida's abuse to Principal Omon "Bael" Kobayakawa, she lost her seat. Kobayakawa actually replaces Kaneshiro as the third major target.

Her first Persona is Elissa, legendary founder and queen of Carthage... oh, and I will be shipping her with Tae for my Kawakemi agenda. :)

The Empress is Chihaya Fukurai (Mifune)!

Yuichi "Mammon" Fukurai, her adoptive father, runs Fukurai Foods (Big Bang Burger's owner and more). Chihaya was setting up to inherit the business when Yuichi "changed his mind" and prepared to sell her off in an arranged marriage to Rikio Sugimura.

Her first Persona is Lakshmibai, an Indian rani who rebelled against the Bri'ish.

The Emperor is Sojiro Sakura!

He's a culinary prodigy studying under his adoptive parent (I haven't decided who yet, but they're Azazel) - a TV chef who runs a kids' competition a la Chopped Junior. They definitely abuse some of those kids.

His Initial Persona is Hamlet, the famous Shakespearean Prince of Denmark.

The Hierophant is Makoto Niijima, owner of Cafe Bianca.

She's been looking for her estranged younger "sister" for years now.

The Lovers is Munehisa Iwai!

Munehisa is Shujin’s star athlete. Excels in every sport in Shujin except volleyball, from which he was banned after standing up to Suguru "Asmodeus" Kamoshida.

Kaoru, his younger brother here, takes the role of Shiho, and Akimitsu Tsuda and Masa replace Nakaoka and Takeishi.

His Initial Persona is Barrow, a Great Depression-era criminal who robbed small stores, funeral homes and banks with his partner Ms. Parker.

The Chariot is Ichiko Ohya!

Leader of the photography club. She caught photos of Kamoshida’s dirty deeds in the past and is trying to find a way to expose them anonymously. Oh, and she has a long-distance girlfriend named Kayo.

Her Initial Persona is O'Malley, an Irish pirate queen so violent Elizabeth I considered sending the Royal Fleet after.

Justice is Toranosuke Yoshida!

I sort of split Goro's two roles in this AU. Toranosuke plays the Detective Prince trying to solve the case of mental shutdowns (+ the Phantom Thief case), but his brother-by-choice Benzo Kuramoto plays assassin and mental-shutdown-inducer for Masao Kuramoto, his grandfather. Tora joins the team in Oda's Palace, and they fight Benzo in Kuramoto's Palace - that's where Toranosuke achieves his Second Persona.

Speaking of Personas, his Initial one is Greenlefe, Robin Hood's second-in-command and the only one present at his death.

The Hermit is Takuto Niijima (Maruki)!

Makoto had a brief stint as a police officer, but after a influential asshole (Kuramoto) drove drunk and killed one Tomoyo Rumi, she attempted to dig into the situation and was dishonorably discharged. Soon after, she met Rumi's boyfriend, Takuto (an orphan with one shitty relative), and took him in.

He would be a third-year if he was still in school. He’s wasting away as he grieves Rumi's death. He can’t bring himself to kill himself, but he also doesn't want to be alive anymore.

His Initial Persona is Popol Vuh, a religious text of the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ Guatemalans.

The Fortune is Hifumi Hibino (Togo)!

After Mitsuyo disowned Hifumi for coming out as lesbian, Hifumi moved in with her wife Haru (they both end up with Makoto later). Hifumi took up busking/street shogi, not wanting to be reliant on Haru.

The Hanged Man is Akira Kurusu!

Not much for this guy right now - like Canon!Munehisa, he's an ex-yakuza who runs Indomptable, an airsoft store. Ren is his adoptive son.

Death is Sumire Yoshizawa!

A medical misdiagnosis (by her biological mother Yui, not that she knows it) left Sumire's sister in a coma. Ever since, Sumire can't see anyone unconscious without thinking of Kasumi.

Temperance is Ryuji Sakamoto!

An orphaned man who teaches PE at Shujin and moonlights in an escort service to take care of himself and his son Morgana.

Just after his college years, his mom's ex-husband killed her and then killed himself to escape the police, so he has no support system. Thus, he got himself into trouble with a duo of loan sharks so he could look presentable enough to replace Kamoshida.

He, Ann and Shiho were friends in high-school, but he never saw them again after graduating.

The Devil is Ann Takamaki!

An up-and-coming actress working hard to make it big. She's keeping her sexuality (and her girlfriends Shiho Suzui and Mika Abe) under wraps from everyone, including her manager.

At the end of the Confidant, she moves in with her old friend (and future boyfriend) Ryuji after Tae mentions him.

The Tower is Goro Shido (Akechi)!

Goro is a very temperamental young man with no methods of healthily and safely letting out his anger at the world and his shitty, abusive father.

After Shido's heart is changed, Ryuji (and Ann and Shiho) take Goro in.

The Star is Zenkichi Hasegawa!

Even if Zen doesn't know it, he's the best player in the shogi club at Kosei. It's discovered their "team" has been fixing matches, and Zenkichi is determined to find out who's cheating.

Jyun Owada, his senpai and club president, is jealous, and is trying to cause strife between him and his girlfriend Aoi to weaken him.

The Moon is Sophia Ichinose!

Sophia is a Greek immigrant who moved to Japan for work opportunities. She's Tae's science teacher, so Tae really likes her. Her daughter Kuon, however, has fallen in with a HORRIBLY nasty crowd - a bigoted group who hates (among other groups of people) Kuon's adoptive mother. Kuon, naturally, is conflicted, and this leads to conflict between her and Sophia.

The Sun is Haru Hibino!

A young politician whose bold eat-the-wealthy mentality does not sit well with older generations - for example, her father Kunikazu, who disowned her and silently smeared her campaigns so she'd waste her inheritance and never expose his criminality.

In the end of the whole story, Haru legalizes polyamorous marriage!

Judgement is Shinya Oda!

Uses they/them pronouns here.

After Shinya's mother Hanae was killed in cold blood, they joined the SIU to find the killer. She did something to piss off Kuramoto, though, so he and the director do everything they can to keep Shinya away from that.

The Faith is Wakaba Isshiki!

Daughter of Shujin's new counselor. A science prodigy.

I don't have much ideas for her yet, never mind her Personas.

The Councillor is Futaba Isshiki!

Shujin's aforementioned new counselor in the wake of Kamoshida's arrest. Believing the world to be "without life" without her deceased fiancee Kana, her Palace becomes a Graveyard, where she "raises the dead" by fixing their problems.

She only has one Persona - Chac Chel, an important Maya goddess of many things, most prominently both creation and destruction.

The Hope is Yuuki (Mishima)!

His ranged weapon is eye lasers. They use both he/him and they/them.

An A.I. made by Katsuo Akiyama, a regretful high-school bully who caused one of his victims to commit suicide.

Their first Persona is Thyrsus - a giant fennel staff that Yuuki uses like a weapon alongside the Persona aspect of it.

The Apostle is Yusuke Kitagawa!

The only original Phantom Thief to keep the power of Persona.

Ordered by Madarame Ichitaro (the killer of his mother and Police Commissioner) to investigate the Phantom Thieves after a series of mass heart-changings occur again.

Akane has a brother, Natsuhiko, and they share the Jail. Their mother, Takayo (Yusuke's beard) is still dead.

His Persona is Enjolras, and he later gets with Akira.

Lastly, a unique Arcana - The Actor, Morgana Sakamoto!

A theater prodigy at his school (not Shujin or Kosei) and Ryuji's son. He has no clues to his past before Ryuji, and he wants to know, but he also wants his dad to be happy. At the end of the Strikers arc, Lavenza becomes human, and he and Goro get the Sakamotos to adopt her as well.

Reminder once again to post any questions about this AU to @rollthedice-playthecards!

[brokenhardies]

alright i have an unfortunate announcement

i have decided that bitbo/runaway/foolsuke au is finished. there were several reasons for me doing this;

up first was the fact that i was overplanning and underwriting, not focusing on the actual concept and instead focusing on getting the story perfect instead of actually focusing on creating the concept

the next was my classic anger at not being able to draw causing me to become frustrated that i couldnt just dump the concept and walk away, which caused me to get angry that i was not writing and instead just sitting in concepts and ideas

finally - i was not writing from a very healthy place. i was angry at another writer and frustrated with the lack of help i was getting on my writing, so actually writing it felt like pulling teeth

the last straw was the poll i published, where i realised i actually was more fond of the bosozoku jumpsuit for akechi and the only reason i was putting the poll out there was because i wanted people to be okay with whatever choice i made, which was also not healthy!

i might come back to the foolsuke concept and make a hypothetical summary post using certain ideas, but that's probably all you're going to get. its a shame bc i was very passionate about this idea, but i feel like i have to throw it away due to my own perfectionism.

if you want a good asau to read - @hobie-doh's take yer time, you're gonna need it is a mix between an asau and a ng+ fic which focuses on ryuji and is an excellent take on both genres, focusing on ryuji's survivor's guilt and martyrdom complex, while @ur-favoriterecord's keep your faith is an amazing take on an asau without having to change most characters positions.

for art if you regret/reset the game is another ng+ au by jazlyn-jin on twitter and @crescentmoonteas here on tumblr that was a major inspiration for bitbo and the art is gorgeous and well designed

thanks again and sorry for any inconvenience caused lol

[monochromaticblue]

ooh considering youre so hyped about him... asau akira????

IM GLAD YOU ASKED.

He’s my favourite so he’s the first character I ever saw worked on and the most developed

Funfact: when I randomized the roles Akira got Fool again originally

TW: Abuse, self harm, torture

Akira Sakura, formerly Akira Kurusu is the adoptive son of Sojiro just as Futaba is.

A few years prior to canon, Akira lived with his twin brother Ren and his parents. Akiras dad was a private investigator currently gathering evidence against Kamoshida for a client. When his investigations started to get a bit too close for comfort, Kamoshida employed Haru to silence him.

Haru unfortunately has really bad timing and when she shoots his shadow, he was driving the car, with the rest of the family in it. This ultimately results in a pretty nasty car crash, Akira being the only one to come out alive. The crash was labeled as a murder suicide after a (fake) note is found in their house detailing how much Akiras father hated his family.

After taking a few months to recover, Akira, already severely fucked up, is sent to live with family. Because of the note his dad left, Akira is blamed for the deaths of everyone else and even abused by a few family members. Eventually Akira is taken in by Sojiro, an old family friend but because of everything he’s already been through, he’s become a shut in.

Akiras Alibaba alias in this au would either be Orpheus or Prometheus, I can’t explain why I just like them. His palace takes the form of a prison due to his blaming himself for his family’s death. Cognitive Ren & Parents are the wardens and final bosses. There are cognitive Akiras throughout the palace going through various torture methods in prison cells. Akiras real shadow is in the very final area of the palace, the solitary confinement room.

Akira and Cognitive Ren have a moment to talk before the palace collapses and it’s just Akira finally stopping blaming himself for what happened.

Akiras persona, Pollux is derived from the Greek myth of Castro and Pollux where Pollux is the immortal twin of the mortal Castro, who gives up half of his immortality for Castro. I thought it was pretty fitting for him

Following his awakening, Akira is still pretty quiet but slowly opens up to the rest of the thieves (eventual shuake mayhaps.). The beach episode would probably not happen here since Akira has a lot of scars everywhere from the accident and himself that he would rather not show off, I’m thinking they take him to Dome Town instead? But I haven’t decided on that yet.

ANYWAYS. THATS AKIRA. I RAMBLED SO MUCH BUT I LOVE HIM. THANK YOU FOR ASKING. He’s just a guy. Things are still subject to change though

[ketchupkio]

Who's your favourite character (Zelda, AU, or otherwise) to cause Problems for on purpose?

Probably Wars, in terms of asau. I used to think it was Legend, but like. That's all in terms of his Tragic Backstory, and I very much like causing problems for Wars in the present 🤣🤣 I can't do anything TOO egregious tho bc I'll get sad if they're too sad, but setting off their ptsd?? Hell yeah.

For people I'm okay with ripping out their heart and stomping on it, we've gotta go to the second overall faves, like Twilight and Wind. First sometimes counts, but he's in place like... 1.5

[symphonic-scream]

Hello, fellow Magician!Goro-ist (see https://archiveofourown.org/works/44101893 for explanation)!

It's a refreshing change of pace to find another ASAU that's contains no NG+ or any other timeline hooey... to my memory...

Tell me more about Crow as opposed to Rasu, if you wouldn't mind...

Okay so the reason I chose Goro was. Just because someone needed the fucking braincell. He's a little irked by his three teammates at first, and wants to peck at them all the time for what they do, but. They grow on him eventually

He's serious. To a fault. They have to *teach* him what joking is. And it still doesn't work! Cause it's Yusuke, Haru, and Makoto! He also just. Has a car. No Mona Bus, he just drives them around in his like, Honda CRV or some shit

Basically just. A less insane Akechi. That's Crow. He scowls and calls them all idiots but he's taking the corners softer so they don't flop all over the car

[ageless-soul-au]

courtesy of the ASAU discord server, we bring to you the mcdonald's triforce

[legendstrauma]

Reading Confidential from ASAU for the first time and I love Hyrule. @ketchupkio @mizuriii

[ncisladaily]

NCIS INVESTIGATES THE APPARENT SUICIDE OF A NAVY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER WHO LEAPT TO HIS DEATH AFTER TAKING LSD, ON “NCIS: LOS ANGELES,” SUNDAY, JAN. 2

Episode Is Directed by Series Star Daniela Ruah

“Lost Soldier Down” – NCIS investigates the apparent suicide of a Navy intelligence officer who leapt to his death after taking LSD. Also, while Kensi is away, Deeks makes plans to redo the backyard without her input, on the CBS Original series NCIS: LOS ANGELES, Sunday, Jan. 2 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Episode is directed by series star Daniela Ruah.

REGULAR CAST:

Chris O’Donnell

(Special Agent G. Callen)

LL COOL J

(Special Agent Sam Hanna)

Linda Hunt

(Operations Manager Henrietta “Hetty” Lange)

Daniela Ruah

(Special Agent Kensi Blye)

Eric Christian Olsen

(NCIS Investigator Marty Deeks)

Medalion Rahimi

(Special Agent Fatima Namazi)

Caleb Castille

(Special Agent Devin Rountree)

Gerald McRaney

(Retired Admiral Hollace Kilbride)

GUEST CAST:

Michael Ocampo

(Navy Officer First Class Adrian Vargas)

Joshua Chang

(Naval Intelligence Specialist Jason Renfro)

Tui Asau

(Prophet Mahee Mahee/Emmett Westerhouse)

Anne Gee Byrd

(Dr. Evelyn Bernhard)

Grant Jordan

(Grant/Young Man)

Melissa Sears

(Leah)

Duncan Campbell

(NCIS Special Agent Castor)

WRITTEN BY: Indira Wilson

DIRECTED BY: Daniela Ruah

[hulknussen]

Hey, was just wondering, when do you think you'll next update lovers rock? It's such a great fic and I love your writing so much x

hey anon! thank you first and foremost, though I'm sorry to maybe give a disappointing answer, as it might be a while still. I am working on the chapter(s), it's just going a lot slower for various reasons. you can believe me when I say that it will get finished and that I have the entire rest of the fic drafted out, though. I'm really sorry for the delay in the meantime

I will slightly hijack your ask to say that I still want to and have plans to get my uploads straightened out. right now I'm switching between a lot of projects which leads to all of them progressing but none of them ever getting finished, BUT once I have this batch (so lovers rock, asau, the rest of make it last 'verse) (not taking into account some fests coming up that I may want to participate in cough cough there I go again, spreading myself too thin) finished I plan to work on my projects one by one to make sure I can upload regularly

[valdrinors-writing]

a random asau idea from a while ago but slightly modified

fool!morgana, magician!akiren, chariot!futaba, lovers!makoto, emperor!ryuji, priestess!ann, hermit!yusuke, empress!akechi and justice!haru

morgana's basically a latchkey kid - his mom and dad died when he was young and he's been running from foster home to foster home. he has sticky fingers and a short temper, hates being seen as a kid. he's a first year in high school and was moved from his small town to tokyo after one too many 'run away' incidents

akiren is a teeny tiny pomeranian, all black and fluffy. he's very intelligent and a surprisingly good mentor to morgana, prone to often acting like he knows better than everyone else (partially because he does), is a bit arrogant but that hides a bunch of insecurities

futaba was involved in sports more for the extracurricular needs, so when kamoshida snapped her arm in half when she refused his advances, she became a recluse and is often seen as a 'troublemaker'. her mom's still alive, so she's more extroverted than in canon but - kind of like ryuji - will do anything for her

makoto is still the student council president and - as a result - feels a sense of responsibility for the other students. she has a modelling job on the side which leads kamoshida to immediately target her. she's tried to tell the principal and other faculty members about it to no avail

idk much about ryuji's deal but i imagine that he's more introverted than canon ryuji and deeply socially awkward - if madarame's still the same much more prone to outbursts about madarame due to feeling like he owes him for taking ryuji and his mom in

idk much about ann at the moment lol

yusuke - much like futaba - blames himself for his mom's death and has locked himself in his room at morgana's new foster home. morgana does hear him sneaking around the house at night but has never actually seen him. his palace is a shrine with him as a priest

switch shido and okumura for akechi and haru - akechi is trying to get his deadbeat dad arrested and when akiren gets lost, he sees it as an opportunity to stop him. puts on a calm, friendly appearance in public but goes all "die, die" in the metaverse

haru basically broke under the pressure of being the perfect daughter - plus okumura was using her as a metaverse assassin from when she was quite young - which lead to her actively rebelling against him... by murdering everyone associated with him! she's much more cordial towards the phantom thieves and they find out about her identity much earlier on

im thinking heirophant takemi for morgana and yusuke's legal guardian, but thats p much all i have lol - just a bunch of rambles. get ready for more of these!

[vedantaboston]

"What's the Point?"

Hungarian-born, New York-based financier George Soros, 89, pinpoints a day in 1979 when, walking along a London street, he suddenly felt a hammering in his chest and feared he was having a heart attack. That was the moment when he said to himself, “What’s the point?” Soros took personal stock: his investment fund at that time had reached $100 million in assets, and his individual worth was $30 million (in 2017 his net worth was estimated to be more than $25 billion). “I felt I had made enough money for my personal needs,” he said, and he decided to direct some of his bounty into a philanthropy.

I read this 25 years ago in a Time magazine profile (July 10, 1995). What struck me then, and what has stuck in my mind to this day, is not so much the vastness of Soros’s wealth and the abundance of his philanthropy but this simple question: “What’s the point?” It’s a question I ask myself often. The frequency of asking myself, “What’s the point?” has increased with age. Every moment in this world someone is born somewhere while someone else dies. We don’t even think about this. But death becomes a headline during a pandemic, making the question “What’s the point?” even more urgent.

When common people like you and me read features such as the one on George Soros and other billionaires-turned-philanthropists, how do we react? A few reactions are predictable. For instance, it is natural that most will admire such people and appreciate their spirit of service. Those with financially strapped projects on hand may want to get in touch with them. Mean, stingy people may be horrified at what they might see as the thoughtless extravagance of the super rich and predict that they will repent later. Some fantasists are likely to sigh and say, “If I had such big bucks, I too could have given them away.”

Every reaction tells us something about the person who is reacting. Our words and actions invariably give us away, no matter how hard we may try to project ourselves differently. It is easier to be ourselves than to appear to be what we want others to take us to be. Alas, we waste most of our energy trying to change our exterior. With only a fraction of that energy, it is possible to make our interior more beautiful.

Let’s go back to the question that started Soros’s philanthropic career: “What’s the point?” Almost the first thing we realize is that it is not impossible for our own hearts to start beating erratically at any moment. Death is a natural process. What is unnatural is living, and we manage to live for years at a stretch. Listen to this ancient verse:

मरणं प्रकृति: शरीरिणां विकृति: जीवितमुच्यते बुधै: ।

क्षणमप्यवतिष्ठते श्वसन् यदि जन्तुर्ननु लाभवानसौ ॥

Maraṇaṁ prakṛtiḥ śarīriṇāṁ vikṛtiḥ jīvitam ucyate budhaiḥ

Kṣaṇam api-avatiṣṭhate śvasan yadi jantur-nanu lābhavān asau.

“The wise say that it is natural for people to die and unnatural for them to live. If a person manages to live even for a moment, they should consider themselves fortunate.”

Vedanta teachers give the example of a jar filled with water. Suppose holes are punched into it from all sides. Should we be surprised if the water drains out? But let us suppose we find water not draining out. Now, that would be unnatural. So these teachers say, here is this body-jar filled with life-water (prāņa). Isn’t it altogether amazing that life manages to remain inside the body for years together in spite of several available exits? Fortunate, indeed, is a person who can live even for a moment!

Every one of us is a walking, breathing miracle of life. Our misfortune is that we don’t feel ourselves to be fortunate when we are living. On their deathbed people are ready to spend a fortune to be able to survive a little longer. We understand the blessing of being alive only when we are faced with the imminent prospect of death. It is only then that most of us—and a few, not even then—begin to question the value of our life’s achievements.

Something like that seems to have happened to George Soros, which brought forth the question “What’s the point?” As it turned out, the death-scare that Soros got was only a false alarm. But it had done its job of awakening this man and directing his life’s energies into a more fruitful, meaningful and fulfilling channel. While it would have been easy to forget one erratic heartbeat, Soros chose to remember it—fortunately for him and fortunately for the millions of his beneficiaries.

What about your and my heartbeats? Is it necessary for us to wait until we get some ominous signals in some unexpected way at some unexpected time? By then it might be too late to pull through. Why not begin the preparation now, this very moment, when things don’t appear so bad? We must proceed along two fronts: one, learning how to be ready for the inevitable event called death; and two, ceaselessly remaining conscious of the blessing of being alive.

At first sight, the two—life and death—appear to be different from each other, but they are not really different. They are just two sides of the same coin. If we know how to die, we’ll automatically know how to live, and vice versa. But because of our inborn dread of anything connected with death, how-to-live discussions seem to be more pleasant than how-to-die discussions. No discussion on life, however, can be complete without reference to death, just as no discussion on death can be complete without reference to life.

It is possible to see life as a period spanning two deaths—the death of my previous body in my last birth and the upcoming death of the present body in this birth. What we do within this intervening period determines the course of our future existence. What we are experiencing now has been determined already by what we did in the past. This is the theory of karma. It is neither fate nor God’s will. Karma simply means being accountable to myself. I don’t have to search for scapegoats for my follies or blame others for my woes. I just have to recognize and accept my own responsibility in being what I am and doing what I do.

Responsibility goes hand in hand with awareness. If I’m responsible for something or someone, I must be aware that I am responsible. Else how will I—and why should I—willingly employ my time and energy in that direction? I am responsible for my own life, my present and my future. When I keep my awareness shining brightly on this important truth, I know what I must do in order to attain my goals.

Goals we all have, but not all of us have cared to examine them mindfully. If we do that, keeping our own prejudices and pet ideas aside, we shall discover that quite a number of our so-called goals are no great shakes. Not only are they worthless, they are also a needless drag on our time and energy. Instead of making us more free, more happy, more peaceful, they bind us, they create new anxieties in us, they disturb our inner harmony. When we find this during our sane moments, we must have the courage and wisdom to abandon these goals.

Many of our goals start out as the means to some other goal and at some stage they get promoted to being goals in their own right. Then the mischief starts. Take, for instance, the desire for happiness, security, stability—a perfectly understandable, agreeable desire. To fulfill this desire I need money. This too, let us assume, is OK. Money is thus the means. Then I start on my money-making spree. So long as I remember that money is the means, I am safe.

But it is not easy to remember this always, because we find that most of us forget this often. Money suddenly becomes the goal and ceases to be the means. People sacrifice their existing happiness, security, stability—to get more of which was their goal, remember—and run madly after money. This often leaves them with precious little time to spend time with their family, or to play, or to read books, or to do gardening, or to saunter along a stream or in a park. There is no longer any time for such things. 

Time is money in this bustling, hurried world of today. So time should not be “wasted.” We are so busy with our careers and with making money that we ignore the happiness which is already available. We know, of course, that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, but we are so taken with those two, that the bird in hand flies away. When shall we, oh when shall we, realize that our present happiness is infinitely more precious than some future happiness which may never come.

The problem is that “future” happiness can never be experienced. What is experienced is always “present” happiness. Life can be lived only in the present moment. The past has already gone, the future is not yet here. If we don’t develop the capacity to identify and experience our present happiness, we shall totally miss the future happiness when it finally arrives and becomes the present.

The same thing applies to our desire for stability and security. We already have these to some extent and we want to strengthen these. That’s fine. But we go about doing this by undermining or ignoring our existing stability and security, while dreaming of some special kind of future stability. That’s crazy. Again, no one knows what’s in store in the future. Here is the present—right now, right here. If I value the present and deal with it intelligently, the future will take care of itself. If I want to be happy in the future, I must learn to be happy in the present. There is no other way.

Back in 1980s when I was in our Delhi monastery, we had a kitchen-assistant named Lal Singh. This young man, who was in his early twenties, hailed from the Garhwal region in the foothills of the Himalayas. Hardworking and somewhat clownish, Lal Singh was loved by all. He received a decent salary and could have, within his means, lived happily. But he wanted to get rich—and do it quickly. So he bought lottery tickets every month, not one or two, which would have been all right, but many tickets, exhausting sometimes more than half of his salary. Until the results were out in the papers, he would be then on tenterhooks.

Most of the time he drew a blank. On some occasions he won a few minor prizes, more or less recovering the money he had spent that month. It was customary for him to approach some young monastic with a request to check from the newspaper whether he had won anything. As the swami or brahmachari scanned the numbers, the expression on Lal Singh’s face was worth seeing: hope, anxiety and, when the news was bad, the inevitable dismay.

Once Lal Singh won ₹500; he was on cloud nine. He had already decided what to do with this windfall. His reasoning was simplistic: if I got 500 today, I’m certain to get 500,000 tomorrow. That is how we found him the following month coming with 500 lottery tickets and a newspaper: “Maharaj, could you please check these for me?” Not even one of those 500 tickets proved lucky. Lal Singh nearly wept. We thought this blow would wean him away from his addiction to lottery. But no. Next month he had again a bunch of tickets in his hand, and hope and anxiety on his face.

Poor Lal Singh! He could have had enough happiness, security and stability, if he had tried to live within his means and been reasonable about improving his lot. But his dream of some kind of super happiness, super security, and super stability made him close his eyes to the happiness, security and stability already available to him. He lost the bird in hand and never managed to lay his hands on the two in the bush.

At least a little bit of Lal Singh lives in all of us. So we have to be careful. How do we go about exercising care? The method is simple enough, provided we are simple ourselves. All we have to do is find a quiet corner, stop the roving mind from fishing in the troubled waters of the past and the future, and bring it to a stop in the cool, steady, still pool of the present—and ask this question: “What’s the point?”

When I am not sure whether I should do something, I can ask myself: Is it really worthwhile to do what I am doing? Is what I am doing now connected with what I want to achieve? Is there a better way to do it than how I’m doing it now? Questions like these are implied in that simple “What’s the point?” The more often we ask this question to ourselves, the more of our useless, unexamined, even self-destructive, pursuits we shall be able to get rid of. In addition, this will make us more goal-oriented, transforming our life into a more purposeful, joyful and speedy journey towards freedom and fulfillment.

Life is not just any journey, it is a pilgrimage. People around us are fellow pilgrims. Service really means sharing. We may not be billionaires (yet), but even without that it is possible to share with others what little we have. It doesn’t always have to be money. It could be a little of our time or energy or talents or possessions—used in service of those around us without expecting anything in return. At the least, a few kind words or a smile. If even this is too difficult, goodness gracious!—then what’s the point?

“What’s the point?” is another way of asking the question: “Why?” Read more about it here.

[thejoywithinorg]

So Hum

The So Hum mantra (also called the Soham or So Ham Mantra) is one of the most popular mantras. The phrase has been used for thousands of years in many Eastern religions and meditation practices, but has recently gained popularity in the Western world as well, thanks to its simple structure and easy pronunciation.

Om So Hum: How To Use The Mantra

This mantra is used in two basic forms. The first is simply to use the ‘So hum’ words repeated many times in a cyclical structure throughout your meditation practice.

The second style is to incorporate an ‘Om’ sound in between the ‘So hum’ cycles. Either approach can be a very powerful practice.

The word Om refers to the sound of the universe. It is the most basic sound that, according to Sanskrit traditions, represents the entire universe in a single world. Using this word in a meditation or mantra can invoke the feeling of unity and oneness with All That Is.

So Hum literally translates to “I am that.” Thus, repeating the phrase in your practice helps to center you into the feeling of interconnectedness even further. This is why the two phrases are often used together, and create a unifying effect.

When using the sohum mantra in meditation, play with the idea of connecting the two halves of the phrase to your breath. For example, I like to inhale to the thought of so, and exhale to the thought of hum. I find this allows me to engage with the words in a nice, even rhythm. After a few breaths of this, my mind relaxes, and I allow my breath to flow evenly, regardless of the word I am repeating.

You can also use this mantra outside of the context of your meditation. As you go about your day, take the time to center yourself in your breath, step back from your circumstances, and remind yourself that regardless of what appears to be going on around you, on a very real level, you ARE the thing that is happening.

You are one with the universe. You ARE the person in front of you in traffic, the angry boss and the screaming baby. By repeating this mantra during the day, you remind yourself that you are connected to everyone, and you can more easily remain in a state of peace, joy, and bliss, despite the challenges you may be confronted with throughout the day.

Why Use This Mantra?

So Hum and Om So Hum are great beginner’s mantras for anyone new to working with repeated phrases. It is short, easy to remember, and easy to pronounce, which makes it a great phrase for people of any language. There’s no need to work through complex Sanskrit spellings or pronunciations.

That said, no mantra is a “beginner’s only” idea. Ancient yogic and Buddhsit traditions assert that any single idea, when repeated, has the power to unlock the secrets of the universe. Since this mantra translates to repeating that you are One with All That Is, it’s a great phrase to help you towards your enlightenment.

Like any mantra, the power of this mantra comes through repetition. Using it in one meditation and then never coming back to it is a sure sign of failure, or distraction. At first, using the mantra may feel awkward or perhaps even uncomfortable, but when you repeat it over time you can allow yourself to receive the full benefits.

Since this phrase has such an ancient history, there is a lot of energy connected to it. That’s why I often recommend that people invoke the original Sanskrit, rather than the English translation (I am that.) The literal sound of the word includes a specific energy with it, and that’s the energy you want to access through the Om So Ham mantra.

Video and Audio Recordings

There are many great recordings of this mantra that you can access for free. Finding the right meditation audio is about finding the sound that works for you. I’ve included two of my favorite recordings here to get you started. The first is a beautiful, elongated chant sung by a full choir and set over a lush string background sound.

The second is a guided meditation that walks you through using this mantra in a seated meditation practice. They’re both great backgrounds for meditation, so I hope you enjoy them!

Choir Sings a Beautiful So Hum Chant

Guided Soham Meditation by the Deepak Chopra Center

So Hum Meaning: Hindi and English

As mentioned earlier, the translation of So Hum comes to “I am that.” So translates to “I am,” while Hum translates to “that.”

There are several variations of this phrase, including: So Hum, Sohum, Soham, So Ham, Saham, and is sometimes inverted as Hamsah. When the phrase is altered slightly, it can also translate to: “I am the Swan,” as is the case in so ‘ham hamsah. In this variation, the Swan refers to Atman.

The phrase is originally found in the Upanishads, such as Verse 16 of the Isha Upanishad, which reads:

(…) तेजो यत्ते रूपं कल्याणतमं तत्ते पश्यामि योऽसावसौ पुरुषः सोऽहमस्मि ॥१६॥

tejo yat te rūpaṃ kalyāṇatamaṃ tat te paśyāmi yo ‘sāv [asau puruṣaḥ] so’ham asmi

“The light which is thy fairest form, I see it. I am what He is“

Soham Mantra Benefits

There are many so hum meditation benefits. In a single session, practicing this mantra can cause you to feel centered and in touch with the world around you. It can be used to clear negative health problems, or to help you to focus on your aims and make important decisions.

The real benefits of soham meditation, however, come over time. When you practice this mantra consistently, you empower yourself to begin to notice the intricate connections that exist in the world around us. You will start to see yourself as a part of all those you come into contact with, and, as a result, can become more compassionate, more understanding, and more loving.

Furthermore, you can use this mantra outside of your meditation in order to cultivate a renewed sense of peace and oneness anytime a stress trigger arises in your environment.

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from The Joy Within http://thejoywithin.org/meditation/mantras/so-hum