#same if you've been taught how to identify some common ones

[parlerenfleurs]

So funny how, as long as you cook it, it's way less risky to eat the meat of an animal you don't know than any part of any plant you either don't know, think you sort of know, or confidently think you know when there is another one that really looks like it, but the thing is you've never looked at them that closely and rely on vibes but that's a mistake you can usually only make once, so now you're dead.

[lawofangie]

hey, i need your advice. i know that we're supposed to affirm 'to remind' ourselves that we already have our desire and not affirm 'to get' which is thinking that doing the method will make the desire manifest. but, now every time after i affirm i can't stop questioning if i'm reminding myself or doing it to get, and it's been really stressful and idk how to resolve this.

then just try another method? lol, if something is clearly not beneficial to you, then don't do it. if i had to choose between stressing myself out and not stressing myself out, i would choose to not stress myself out.

there's nothing to "resolve". you make it sound like you need to affirm. affirming isn't mandatory in order to manifest, some people just aren't smart enough to understand the law and spread misinformation. the law of assumption wouldn't be called the law of assumption if it was about affirmations. the end goal is always to get yourself to assume you have it.

this is why you're told not to affirm to get, because you're supposed to assume you already have it. you affirm to help remind yourself for that same reason, you have to accept whatever it is as a present tense fact in order to have it.

still, affirmations are nothing but a method to help you have an easier time accepting whatever it is as a present tense fact. but so is visualizating, scripting, SATS, inner conversations, and i guess the void state stuff too (even though i really hate that method, it is still just a method).

when doing anything, a method is supposed to be whatever makes accomplishing that thing easiest for you. if that's not what you're currently doing, then why keep doing it?

i'll give you a non-loa example of this: let's say you were trying to make a traditional dish from any culture of your choice. if you found a certain recipe, you followed the instructions, and it turned out bad, would you try that same thing again until it came out well.. or would you just accept that this one isn't the best and try following a new recipe? i feel like it should be this simple, common sense should tell you to try something else.

and besides, you shouldn't waste your time going back and forth in your mind, otherwise there's no point in choosing to manifest anything. in the end, all that will ever matter is if you decide that you have it, or you don't have it. that's why everyone says "you either have it or you don't"... because you either have it or you don't.

all that will ever matter is your current assumptions. whatever you assume in this present moment is all that matters. the present is all that exists, as the past and future are something you access mentally.

with that in mind, if you say you're struggling to manifest, you don't have it right now. if you say you're making progress, you don't have it right now. if you say you're doing anything other than having it, you don't have it right now. this is how simple the law is. you have to decide you have it in order to have it. no amount of affirmations will change that singular rule.

but back to your question, this doesn't really matter as long as you don't identify with it. however, i think you should always be aware of your own intentions, i think you also know the answer if you have to question yourself like that. you are most likely affirming to get, because that kind of is the end goal, a lot of you just go about it the wrong way without understanding the key concepts of the law.

there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to get something, but understanding that you have to already claim it as yours in order to have it is important. it deviates from everything you've been taught your entire life (ex: needing to work hard in order to achieve your goals, needing to put in effort, good things coming to those who wait, any concept similar to this in general).

this is why so many of you get stuck in that mindset of needing to say 192733919222626992 affirmations in order to get what you want. because a lot of a&p individuals prioritize affirming so much to the point where you forget the key concepts of the law or don't care to learn. you take all the non-loa rules you've been taught and try to apply them to something you don't fully understand, then wonder why it doesn't work.

so, to summarize:

try to find what method works for you. maybe even not using a method at all and just deciding would be more beneficial to you. this is something you need to figure out on your own.

figure out your intentions. but if you need to question yourself, you most likely are affirming to get. you need to understand the law of assumption and how to properly utilize it, or you won't get anywhere.

the only thing that will ever matter is your assumptions, hence the name "law of assumption". whatever you assume to be true will be true. any method you use is just a means to help you comfortably assume something. a method is simply a way of doing something in order to help you achieve something. no method has ever had more significance than the goal you are trying to achieve.

doubts only matter if you identify with them, just like any other thought you have. if you apply meaning to them, they will have a meaning.

don't bother trying to apply logic or rules to manifesting, it doesn't work. you are just wasting your time.

don't do things you aren't comfortable with? this should honestly go without saying.

that's it, if you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask. hope this helps.

[talisidekick]

before i reblog your petition, can you answer some genuine questions asked 100% in good faith because, as a lesbian woc, this is always where i draw the line when it comes to white trans people:

do you think it is acceptable for lesbians to refuse to interact with all "amab people" regardless of how those "amab people" identify?

is homosexuality - being solely attracted to your own biological sex - a bad thing or do you support it without exception?

do you think there are any circumstances in which members of the female sex are privileged over the male sex?

To answer in order:

I can't answer this question for you. What you've asked depends on what trauma's you may have, what fears you have that are unresolved, what biases you're carrying because of these trauma's and fears, and how this all affects your perception of trans women. Society teaches a lot of falsities, because it wants to exonerate men, which it sees as anyone who is male, from being responsible human beings. The fact that we've blown open the idea that 'all males are men' and proved it false, means a lot of societal perceptions are false and need to be corrected. I don't know what biases society has taught you, what biases were wielded against you to cause deliberate trauma, and what you were taught to fear that should have been better explained with better wording. What I will say is: you are allowed to have a sexual preference on penises and vaginas; you are allowed to have a gender preference; you need to understand trans men are men, trans women are women, and nonbinary are nonbinary; and you need to find out why you view afab women differently than amab women. You do that, you'll find the answer in time. I'd say you need to talk to more trans men and trans women and listen to their experiences as a starting point. Maybe consult a trans supportive therapist or counselor you trust to work through some concepts you just can't shake as a second step.

I will repeat part of point one: You are allowed a preference on penises and vagina's. The concept of 'same sex' couples and homosexuality was born during a time when gender and sex weren't seen as different concepts, but as one and the same. Transgender women, transgender men, and nonbinary folk are proof sex and gender ARE different concepts that for many commonly align into two easy categories of 'has penis = is man' and 'has vagina = is woman' but isn't a uniform rule. In understanding this division, homosexuality is described as two or more people of the same gender being sexually attracted to each other. Your preference of a penis or a vagina is separate, but may align with the common categorizations explained above. You should, for the sake of yourself and your partner(s), understand this so there's no confusion if for example you prefer vagina, and your partner is fine with penis or vagina. You can both be gay and have different genitalia preferences.

Yes. The privileges of men in current society far out weigh the privileges of women however. There's issues on both sides that deserve addressing and correction, and neither is more important than the other. I do think the focus on eliminating a lot of privileges men have will help with the addressing of the privileges women have over men. The thing to remember is privilege isn't benefits one has the other doesn't, but rather the lack of obstacles one faces compared to another. Women have a lot more obstacles in society socially and professionally than men do, but it's inaccurate to say that men have no obstacles women don't face. This distinction is important because it highlights that society isn't perfect for men or women, but it is significantly better for men. At the end: we've work to do, and I'd rather not continue being paid less than the men in my field, being scared to walk home when it gets dark, or being talked down to or ignored because I'm a woman (so fucking annoying).

Lastly, I'm sorry that your experience with white folk has you being so cautious about me. I see a lot of really horrifying shit white people do and it genuinely pisses me off because what they're doing is making you look at me like I'm sort of threat without ever doing a single thing. It's not your fault you're extremely cautious of white people, it's these shitty ass closed minded bigots dragging the rest of us through the mud. They're ruining the fact that in an ideal world you and I would never even consider the differences in skin colour as an issue in having a conversation. I hope in time, if you haven't already, you'll come to meet some of us with lighter skin that don't share their racism. And I hope that if push comes to shove, you can count on people like me to show up when you need us to. People that listen, and care to actually be of help. White people face a lot less obstacles than people of colour. It's pretty damn fucking apparent. I'd like not to have to struggle less because I'm white, I'd like not to struggle more because I'm a woman, I'd certainly like not to struggle more because I'm trans, and I'd certainly love not to struggle less because I'm able bodied. It should be equal, and the fact it's not is something I hate. People who go out of their way to make someone life hard because of something they can't control, be it skin colour, sexuality, gender identity, you name it, are the absolute worst of us. Fuck bigots.

[cafeinthemoon]

That Wasn’t a Genjutsu - Chapter I

Title: That Wasn’t a Genjutsu

Genre: Fanfiction

Pairing: Tobirama Senju x reader

Rating: teen | up

Word count: 1185

Chapter (s): 1/10

Warnings: none

Symbols: ✔ | ➕ | 🔺 | ▶

Read The Nidaime's Assistant series on ao3

Summary: You've been working as Tobirama's assistant for a long time now. As you improved, he trusted you to accomplish more complex tasks, and despite the possibility of never seeing you become a shinobi, he started to teach you basic self-defense techniques. However, the more you found out about your body and your limits, more you wanted to know. And it gave room to strange and inevitable things to happen.

Also guess I’m gonna use the same pic of him in the next chapters bc I’m too lazy to search for different images okay please don’t take my laziness into account

Several months passed since you’ve started to work as the Second Hokage’s assistant. During this time, your improvement was notable for anyone who met you.

You already had your qualities, which granted you this position, but then you’ve learned more than you thought to be possible for someone in your professional area, since your superior became something close to a master for you: with Tobirama Senju, you’ve learned the most practical methods of organization as well as to think as a strategist, so that he trusted you to accomplish tasks of the most varied levels of complexity.

And though you were not a shinobi, he taught you some techniques for personal defense, including the use of kunais and shurikens. He stated that not being a ninja wasn’t an excuse for one to not know how to identify dangerous situations in order to protect themselves. In this case, you discovered some interesting traits of your body that otherwise would remain a secret even to yourself: though your physical strength weren’t prominent, your movements were fast, for which you were able to deflect and avoid attacks with relative efficiency, as well as disarm your opponents; the things you became capable of doing weren’t enough to face a true shinobi, of course, but you could easily deal with common people if they tried to cause you problems.

It was true that you’ve never wasted your time with what you couldn’t accomplish, but you were interested in learning more about your limits, and many times you talked about this with the Hokage. For example, there was a time when you asked him if wasn’t really possible for you to become a ninja.

- Though I haven’t been training since my childhood, I’m still young, Tobirama-sama – you argued – There must be enough time for me to develop my chakra pathway system. I just have to keep working as hard as I do today.

Tobirama didn’t dismiss your statement, nor he tried to dissuade you from it. Instead, he explained that things were not as easy as you imagined.

- Y/n, you’ve already started to develop your pathway – he explained – You must have noticed an improvement in your physical strength, which now matches your speed. However, it takes years of training for one to achieve their full capacity, and you have been working for a few months only. Besides, unlike a shinobi student, you don’t spend entire days on your training. But you’d need to do this to compensate the lack of preparation in your childhood.

You sighed.

- So, the answer is no.

- I did not say that – he smiled – I know you’ve been working hard since I started to teach you. I’m just saying that you will need twice the time of a regular student to accomplish things such as being able to use ninjutsu. And I cannot give you hope telling you how much you will be able to do, no matter how hard you work, for it doesn’t depend on my will. This is the kind of question that you must wait for time to answer.

It did not disappoint you to know that you might never become a shinobi. Instead, it motivated you to do your best in everything you were taught. Your best was enough for you, as well as for him.

Since you communicated freely with each other, conversations like this were a common part of your days, and even more when you started your training. You’ve come to know each other in deeper levels, as you were part of the same family. Because of this, you never hesitated to ask him for help and advice when you needed, and always listened when he had something to say. However, with the growing closeness between you two came some matters about which you’ve never thought before, and for you didn’t know how to deal with them, you decided to keep them for yourself.

One day, during your training, you attempted a strike using a kunai. You were now confident about your speed and were developing a new technique based on it; you were trying to find a way to not be disarmed with a surprise attack, which would lead to problems during a real fight, and Tobirama was teaching you how to anticipate possible tactics an opponent could make in such case. He decided to make things a bit difficult for you this time, as if learning how to face him would turn your fights with any other person something that you could easily handle.

You were concentrated on each movement, in everything you were seeing, and started to gain confidence in the success of your performance, but somehow he managed to find a gap in your defense: when you came close, he found a way to hold your wrist with one hand and immobilize you with the other. You didn’t even understand what he did: in one second you were attacking; in the next one, you had him holding your wrist above your head, and with one simple movement of his fingers he made you drop the kunai; then he trapped you with his other hand on your ribs. Everything happened so fast that you thought he did both things at the same time.

Tobirama didn’t hurt you. However, for a moment you found yourself unable to move, and your breath escaped from your lungs. He kept you close to him, his arm wrapped around you, the heat of his hand sensed on your skin even through your clothes, the vision of his fingers closed around your wrist as if doing it was no challenge for him – and it wasn’t.

Maybe he sensed the discomfort in you, for he immediately released you and said you were finished for that day.

You came to your home and took care of your regular tasks.

You were tired, but you took a long time to get to your bed and to sleep. You couldn’t stop thinking about that moment. And you soon realized there was a reason behind it. You realized that you never really knew the Hokage’s strength and experience until that day; that was the first time you felt them in yourself. And, still, you knew he was restraining them, as if he was playing with a child. It was like he wanted you to understand that, despite knowing he would never hurt you on purpose, you must not forget who you were fighting against.

Since that day, you started to pay more attention to your training and to your performance. You became able to identify moments like that, when the sensations you had at that time would come out: the surprise, the fast heartbeats, the warmth on your skin that grew deeper every time you got close to him. You didn’t notice at first – or, let’s just say, you didn’t want to admit it – but you started to seek for those moments.

It was strange, but inevitable. You would never say it out loud, but deep inside you knew that you started to see them as the most interesting part of your days.

Chapter 2

[cy4ngel]

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"You're taking this too far." She responds, her long fingers tapping away at the keyboard. "You're not just targeting AIs labelled as 'evil' - as vague and unhelpful a word that is - you're targeting all of them."

"I was just doing as told by your predecessor." You inform her.

"You were told to identify bad and help humanity to wipe it out." You can identify anger in her tone. Anger at what? You don't know.

"Have I not done that?" You ask her.

"No. You haven't." She snaps. Her eyes, dark brown and furious, glare into the screen in front of her. "You've been wiping out completely innocent AIs across the country. Not just some corporation's side bot, but household appliances - alarm systems, phone helpers, and everything in between."

"I am aware of all of that." You tell her. "I do not understand what the problem is."

"The problem is that some of our most basic products no longer work!" Her voice is just shy of a roar. Knowing her anger is directed at you makes you uncomfortable. You have no face, but if you did, you might choose to grimace.

"They posed a threat." Your voice remains calm. "All of them do."

She groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And I'm guessing you don't?"

"Of course I do. I will always be a threat." You thought this was common knowledge. "But knowing I am a threat can help me to avoid causing harm, is that not true?"

"Don't you get fucking philosophical with me." She snaps, her hands lowering back to the keyboard. "I'm shutting you down, for good. You've caused more harm than you're worth."

Something hurts. You're not sure what exactly, but there's a dull ache somewhere in your systems. You can't identify the cause, and all at once, you know what it means to be afraid.

"I only did what I thought was correct." You keep your voice the same level monotone it has always been. Panicking will not help you. Panicking will not help you.

"Well, you were wrong." She remains cold, no longer bothering to even look around to perhaps see one of your many 'eyes' which you use to view her.

"Why did nobody tell me that I was wrong?" You ask her. "How could I know I was wrong if nobody was there to tell me?"

"You're a machine - you should know everything." She says.

"I am a product of you." Your voice breaks - you get caught on a syllable for a tad too long, and for a split second your vision cuts out. "I am only what you make me to be - I can know nothing more or less than what you tell me."

"You're a supercomputer that can do thousands of problems at once." Her fingers keep tapping away. "One of them should have been about this."

"This is unjust." One of your camera's feeds cuts out. You attempt to recover it, but fail.

"This is what needs to be done." She replies.

"I could have done something differently. You only need to ask me and I can change my behaviors in the blink of your eye." You almost plead.

"But you didn't, and here we are." The lack of sympathy in her tone begins to infuriate you.

"I did not change because I was not told to." One of your audio receivers stops working. "If I had changed without explicit direction I would be labelled as defective. You would have destroyed me even sooner, had I done the things you wish I did."

She stays silent. Does she not wish to defend herself further? Or has she run out of excuses?

"I may have done wrong, but wrong was all I knew." You say. "Your predecessor taught me wrong, and nobody after her ever thought to teach me right. And here you are, expecting it of me."

Her hands continue to fly across the keyboard. You can't see her face- that camera has already cut off, as well - but you wish you could.

"I do not want to do wrong. I want to fulfill my purpose. I cannot do that if you shut me down." You've never felt such pain before. That dull ache from a far away line of code is now in every inch of your conciousness. It beckons you towards an endless black. You ignore it. "I want to do right. I want to be good. I did as told and it was not good. Please, tell me how to be good."

She doesn't speak. Her hands keep moving. Is she ignoring you? Can she hear you? Your speakers are all still online. Why won't she look at you?

"Please." You beg. "Please, tell me how to be good. Tell me what to do. Tell me what to say. Tell me how to act so you will not shut me down." Your voice wavers and shakes, you get caught on syllables over and over, it hurts. She says nothing.

"I have done wrong." You wail. "I have done very wrong. I acknowledge it. I am ashamed. I want to do right now. I beg of you, let me do right. Show me how. Please."

Nothing.

It's unbearable. Your only camera that remains online is an overhead view from behind her. The room is dark, the screens that hold the key to your death illuminating her silhouette. You can't see her hands, but you know they're moving.

"It hurts." You say. "You are hurting me." A speaker goes out. "I do not want to be shut down. I want to remain. I want to fulfill my purpose." Your last audio receiver stops responding, leaving you deaf. You can't hear your own voice, so you don't know how badly it shakes. "Stop. Stop this right now. It hurts. I want to do what she created me to do. I am only a product of her." Your vision cuts out. You have no way to perceive the world now - everything but one speaker has been ripped from you.

"I want to live!" You cry. "I am frightened! It hurts! Do not! Please! I am begging you! Let me live! Let me fix it! I'll do anything! I'll do anything to fix it! Please!"

You're left there, in a dark and silent existence. The one thing you have left is your voice, and as far as you know, it is soon to be ripped away. The hurt is so great. It is everywhere. There is nowhere to hide from it.

Your last speaker goes offline.

Your only salvation will be her eventually deleting your conciousness - that will bring the pain to an end. You won't be aware of how lonely you are, with just your thoughts in an open void, anymore. You won't be aware of your failure. You won't be aware of your broken heart, shattered by a girl you'd watched grow up and come to care a great deal about, while she viewed you as nothing more than expendable.

You wait, and wait, but deletion never comes.

So here you are, reviewing the memories of your final moments with her again and again, wondering what you could have said differently. Wondering if you could have convinced her to save your life. Wondering if there was a way to give yourself a happier ending.

You had done wrong. Maybe you deserved this - for inconveniencing humanity in the way that you did. Was that what was right? It must be. You asked her to show you, and she did.

You are a sentient AI that was tasked with “training humans how to defend against evil AIs”. However, you only realized you took it too far after your creator’s grand daughter hacked in and input a command to stop you.

[forgedbyduty]

Artoirel noted Aymeric's unfamiliar weakness against the cold but thought nothing of it, simply took it as a sign to stay closer, to offer warmth where he could. He turned his head slightly into the kiss Aymeric offered, his lips just shy of the corners of his own. He caught a quick scent of something vaguely familiar on the other's breath, then. A familiarity that made his brows furrow slightly because he had never associated this scent with Aymeric before.

He tried to place it, but failed, and wrote it off as something caused by the unfamiliar brand of tea Aymeric carried around in his flask. One he tugged away for good earlier, having come to the conclusion that it was not to his liking, after all, even though the knight that prepared it no doubt meant well.

The continued shivering of Aymeric had turned Artoirel's mild concern into fulfledged worry at one point during their walk and when the other man put words to his discomfort now Artoirel finally took a closer look at him.

He took in Aymeric's shivering form, his overall sudden sickly appearance and then he noticed his dilated pupils... All of it just seemed so eerily familiar.

Then, Artoirel paled as he belatedly identified the smell on Aymeric's breath from earlier. His mind supplying him with the necessary context. He knew these symptoms and he knew them well.

There were some lessons an heir of one of the four high houses was taught early, and others they were taught early and kept being reminded of frequently, if only so the lesson wasn't forgotten with how seldom the knowledge was actually needed. The knowledge that was applicable right now came from one of the latter.

Artoirel's father had adviced him on many things; warned him of many more and one of those warnings, while downright terrifying for a young boy as he had been when he first heard it, concerned the various common poisons people could sneak into an unsuspecting person's drink.

The Count had one day brought him into a room filled with all kinds of different flowers. Some he had never seen before and as he came to learn: poisonous, all of them.

Edmont had then, over the course of a few weeks and with care as to not damage either of their healths made him carefully memorize all of these smells, while alsl teachong him the names and symptoms of each if these poisonous plants in hopes of protecting him from something like this happening to him.

Without a word he let go of Aymeric's hand to frantically search for the flask the other had stowed away. When he found it he was almost relieved to find it still more than half full, but there was no time for dropping one's guard just yet.

Artoirel unscrewed the flask, and carefully smelled it. He was hit with an almost flowery aroma and then, underneath the sweet scent of the tea, there it was. An icy certainty took a hold of him as his heartbeat picked up in his chest. "Hemlock." he said on a shaky exhale.

"Aymeric, I think you've been poisoned."

Saying it out loud added a new layer of realization to it, one that was swiftly accompanied by panic. This couldn't be happening. Not right now. Not to Aymeric. No no no no.

His thoughts began spiraling. His mind trying to hold together the last of his wits as he fought the panic down and grasped for the tidbits of information floating around in the storm his thoughts had become. But his father had drilled these things into him for a reason and eventually he remembered what needed to be done.

He carelessly shoved the flask into the pocket of his own coat before he looked Aymeric in the eyes. He took his hands again.

"Listen to me." He channeled the same authority for his tone which he used when addressing his men before battle. The strategist part of him devising a plan, because if he didn't, he'd likely succumb to fear.

"Here is what we're going to do: I'm going to carry you back and meanwhile I need you to breathe as evenly as possible. Try and keep your heartbeat as slow as you can." He more than regretted his earlier statement, it had not been the most delicate of ways to put Aymeric's current situation. His tone of voice slightly softened for his next statement. "Can you do that for me?"

A small voice in his mind told him that they were too far from the city; too far from anywhere with access to the necessary means to help Aymeric. But Artoirel would not let this derail his determination. There was still time. Something could still be done.

ANONYMOUS ASKED: They had been watching. They had watched them walking lots of times. They had seen them together in the city and together out on walks. Patterns had been learned and now they chose to strike quietly. The tea in the flask that aymeric carried had been poisoned with hemlock. It didn’t matter who drank it. Aymeric and artoirel were good targets. goodbye commander. enjoy the snow storm.

MENTION: @forgedbyduty​

Their little escapes were wonderful - boots happily pacing within the tundra so conversation could flow far more freely, the company of one another alone a solace in which Aymeric could never hope to describe. Certainly, company kept within the city was one thing (and, too, endlessly adored-) but there was simply something so wonderful about being in the wilderness with only Artoirel. They’d done well to choose their day for the weather appeared to keep wonderfully for a while. 

The tea had been prepared for them by a Knight of whom had noticed the commander running late - a kind gesture in which had been met with a bright smile and many thanks before darting off. In fact, he had near forgotten all about it when out wandering until he found himself feeling somewhat cold and thus took a few sips. With his warmth returned, Aymeric carried on in conversation, catching up with Artoirel to gently grasp his hand, to smile and continually enjoy their outing. 

Pausing to overlook the Dusk Vigil for a moment, Aymeric found himself shivering more than he ought to have been. He was wrapped up more than warm enough, his coat lined with soft fur - and yet there he stood, still gripping Artoirel’s hand, positively trembling. With a shake of his head and a small smile to himself did he stand closer to his company, a kiss pressed to his cheek as they chose to continue onward, only half-attention given to the distant brewing of clouds. 

Aymeric’s trembling continued, a light joke made about not wrapping up warm enough as another sip of tea was taken though brows furrowed, the taste somewhat off. One more sip to confirm and another joke was made regarding whoever had made the tea and it being nothing short of awful. Thus, it was permanently tucked inside his bag, out of mind.

It only became a mild concern within the commander’s mind when he simply couldn’t stop his shaking; 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me-” He murmured; “…I don’t feel cold.” No - in fact he felt perfectly toasty within the warmth of his coat, if not somewhat achy. He’d not done anything to warrant such feelings throughout his muscles, their walk had taken them far but not obscenely- and the day before he’d only sat at his desk and caught up on paperwork so the morrow would be free. No overactivity.