#stem people are not better than humanities and vice versa

[lady-madoona]

Wait, what? STEM people are the ones falling for conspiracy theories? Is this actually a thing? They, of all people, need to show pretty much all of their work, and the resources they used are peer reviewed. STEM people are not supposed to "believe" anything!! They can only accept facts when they cannot prove them wrong. Who are these STEM geniuses that are clearly failing at their jobs?

Also, while, English (or whatever your mother language is) classes are super important because you learn literary elements and reading comprehension which everyone needs so much and everyone should learn it without whining, BUT even without that, you are not supposed to just take anything at face value in science!! It goes against the structure of your work. You are supposed to scrutinise your findings and only move forward when you fail to prove otherwise, and you have to have other scientists check that you did stuff the right way.

Which is why I find it hard for a STEM person to be susceptible to conspiracy, unless they know it's wrong and perpetuating misinformation on purpose because they are dishonest, which is so much more dangerous.

[duckiemimi]

this was commented a while ago on my tiktok (it was about this post), but it’s so good, it’s stayed on my mind ever since. i’ve been meaning to talk about this for a while!

on geto & empathy.

let’s address the likely reason why people tend to see geto in this empathic light and through this lens that almost absolves him from blame.

the hidden inventory arc, especially towards the end, was written in a way that humanized geto; we read his mind, we saw his thoughts and how he processed them, we shadowed him as he went through traumatic event after traumatic event. we were placed in his shoes as he ran through a never-ending marathon—essentially, we were him in his moments. we’re supposed to empathize with him.

it’s why at first hand, his defection might’ve seemed like a logical conclusion to us. it made sense. (unlike how it was for every other character in the story, and especially how it was for gojo—geto’s decision came to them all as a shock.) this is what makes him a well-written character and an overall excellent villain.

it’s also probably why geto is such a personal character to many people, but this intimate association doesn’t make him faultless. yes, he was a victim of circumstance, but so was everyone else in the story. geto was also a perpetrator who inflicted harm on other people: a genocidal cult leader who had his eyes set on the greater good, someone who disregarded the means for the end. “well-written,“ in my opinion, also means multifaceted, complex.

now let’s talk about geto pre defection.

geto is gojo’s foil. at first read, he’s supposed to contrast gojo in a way that highlights specific aspects of gojo’s character. (and vice versa, but this arc is also called “gojo’s past arc” for a reason; gojo is our main character in this part of the story, he is our point of reference.) geto serves as a comparison to gojo, but he also stands as his own character. where gojo failed to empathize with the “weak,” geto succeeded. but what was empathy to geto anyway?

empathy, in its colloquial connotation, is seen as a virtue. it’s a community-building tool and it’s inherently human. it’s how we contextualize our place in the world and our connection to other people. in broad construct, it’s a “good” quality to have, to be empathic—but not all forms of empathy are the same.

geto’s empathy towards the “weak” was, in a word, paternalistic—like how a father would interact with his children, or how a deity or a king would interact with their subjects. it stemmed from his arrogance and his “well-meaning” saviorism tendencies: in short, “i am better than you, therefore i know better than you. i know what’s best for you.” this is especially true in regards to his patronizing attitude towards non-sorcerers pre defection (and it extends post defection, too).

geto’s sense of duty as a sorcerer manifested in how he assumed responsibility, and to a lesser extent, authority over non-sorcerers. it’s a type of benevolent prejudice; these people are powerless and weak, therefore inferior to him, and so it’s his job to protect them, it’s his job to care. while he had good intentions, he saw them as “lack,” not as humans who were ultimately just different from him. he saw them as helpless victims of themselves; which, given his occupation at the time, was an apt contextualization, but within the bigger picture, it ironically dehumanized non-sorcerers. it was underhandedly condescending, whether he was conscious of it or not.

the very root of his defection is this: he did not view non-sorcerers as equals to him in the first place. sure, plenty of other sorcerers also have this mindset, especially the very powerful ones, but geto made this the basis of his purpose, taking on the moral high ground by giving it meaning. after toji and after mimiko and nanako, he recontextualized and changed the meaning of what it meant to be powerful—but while his circumstances and his proximity to non-sorcerers changed (him revoking his empathy towards them), the patronizing way he viewed them (“monkeys” now) was constant; it was his pivot foot from charitable pity to resentment and hatred.

some things to consider: i assume geto was fairly new to the jujutsu scene in the hidden inventory arc, given his non-sorcerer family. i also assume he must’ve felt very alone prior to his enrollment, being the only one in his family to see cursed spirits, and possibly the only one in his childhood environment. this grand introduction to a some sort of a secret society must’ve felt special to him; it must’ve made him feel special, especially considering he was put on par with the kid who everyone thought was immensely powerful.

i can see why he thought himself better compared to the non-sorcerer background he grew up in. plus, it would be hard to not let your ego inflate when someone like gojo keeps referring to you as half of “the strongest duo.”

i also think that despite how black and white and consequential his outlook on life was before and after his defection, he probably still had his doubts and moments of wavering throughout his decade-long career as a curse user. i mean, he said it himself—his goal is only possible for one person only, and it’s not him. that could definitely be a factor, and it could also be some lingering sentimentality, too. he burned the bridge between him and his past and he just couldn’t risk the distance, but he probably thought of it sometimes.

i’ll end this post with a quote from him from the anime that made me really think. geto does care, but at such a young age, it was a juvenile and idealistic concept of “care.” had he stayed and grown up a little, worked through the trauma and organized with his fellow sorcerers (instead of assuming responsibility alone like he did, leaving to create a better future for sorcerers without including them in his plans), perhaps he could’ve made this a reality:

“survival of the weakest. that’s how a society should be. the weak help each other and discourage any who are too strong.”

[horizon-verizon]

We know from the text that moon tea can be used both to prevent pregnancies and to terminate them. My question is, what do both law and custom in Westeros say about contraception and abortion ? And what else ways there are to make abortion in Westeros ? It seems like Cersei used a different method to abort the baby Robert had gotten her impregnated with (a decision that I wholeheartedly support),“Your Robert got me with child once,” she said, her voice thick with contempt. “My brother found a woman to cleanse me.” This may have been through the use of moon tea (as Cersei later says she knows of it), or it may have been a D&C or similar technique. What are your thoughts ?

Love, love this question, anon!

Before the answer, moon tea is also not always 100% safe and can cause severe side effects, like those that affect a young Lysa Tully. But so were most especially if dosed or taken wrong.

Here is AFfC Cerssi's thinking of Margarey, with the use of "murder" implying that like today's Christian religions, abortion is considered a "murder" of life:

So it's definitely an ideological belief that it's "murder" stemming from the most strict of Seven canon...yet in secular practice and custom, people use moon tea often enough for nobles to refer to it several times. There are no declarations or laws against either the use of moon tea or abortion itself, but you can see how abortion & moon tea and a woman revealed to be using if unmarried will suffer grievous censure or even death, according to circumstances. If you are a Queen Consort, for example, and you prevent your husband from having heirs/more heirs, you'd be seen and punished as meddling/ruining the line of succession. Of course, it'd be better if you already had kids but still, a Queen--who is supposed to model her behavior after the Mother(Seven)/the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and Queen of Heaven is more beholden to her role as that AND a woman/child-bearer than a King is to his faithfulness to her. That doesn't necessarily mean EVERY single queen or noble wife obeyed of course, just means that if it found out, she would pay a heftier political and personal price than others.

Other real-life Europeans didn't obey the Church in everything or even to a certain zealous degree as people today might think, the church as after all an institution rather than the religion itself, though yes it can and has modified some beliefs to influence how it worshippers think about...pretty much everything of human existence and humans' relationship with the world (ex, colonization and the slave trades-missionaries). People held pagan-originated festivals, drank alcohol in great amounts, ate a lot, and had sex even when unmarried or extramaritally. (Example, the maypole) The most interesting fairytales people have or the ones that endure to this day are from pagan Celtic or Anglo-Saxon myths and religions or tales told for social control. There were medicinal and regular recipes from pagan Anglo-Saxon or Celtic rituals/life. Popes, priests friars, and monks had concubines and/or bastard children and used prostitutes for sexual relief, some even going so far as to advocate for the continuation of prostitution for the sake of keeping the "right" women from men raping them/the men having a place to expend their sexual energy. Some bishops and most Archbishops came from noble families to represent or be used for the families' political schemes/secular desires or ambitions and/or had some of their own. Anyone heard of the Borgias & Pope Alexander VI?

For some states, some monarchies, and some periods of monarchial Europe, a monarch could only be crowned and recognized as a ruler if the Catholic church/Pope crowned them. The Church informed the monarchy and vice versa. (Henry VIII made the English crown & England separate, forming the Anglican Church, which nonetheless retained many Catholic practices, imagery, etc. changing mostly in leadership, the crown.)

Even for a married woman, since the purpose of a noblewoman is to produce heirs for her lord/king, if she'd found "willfully" taking moontea for something else other than preserving her life and master-recommended and her husband at least in some way aware...well. I don't need to spell it out for you. So this also speaks for contraception implied as an unideal necessity conditioned on decisions from others outside the woman herself. According to circumstance.

D&C (Dilation and curettage) is only first recorded in late 19th cent for Europeans. Westeros is modeled after medieval-early modern period Europe, specifically England, France, the Italian states, and Germany. As far as I know, it wasn't a real option for real-life med/Tudor people, so it wouldn't exist for Westeros, esp w/how invasive it is, people arent really going to think of this. (btw, today as well as in the 19th century, people don't just use D&C for abortions)

I also don't think that moon tea was the only resource women had to contraception and abortion. That would be too implausible, esp considering how women had more than one way to prevent or end pregnancies. Sure, it's possible that Cersei used something other than moon tea since she'd want to not be discovered and moon tea is so recognizable and known. We don't have the details, Cersei also could have taken moon tea. If she didn't there is no named alternative to moon tea that I could remember nor from what I tried to research.

[flickeringart]

Thinking and Feeling -  What keeps you civilized?

In order to be able to live in a civilized manner, a person has to align with certain values and standards that enable behavior that doesn’t threaten, disturb or cause disruption in social interactions. The air signs in astrology represents the thinking function, the ability to formulate ideals and communicate with the environment. The air element is the function of deductive reasoning and it allows for a certain detachment from the emotional-physical reality. The thinking function allows us to interact with the world on an intangible level, through sublimating actual experience to conceptual reality. “Communication” is only possible when there’s separation present – where there’s a subject and an object present.

The air element is often referred to as the basis for “civilization”. It is uniquely human; it is what sets us apart from the animals. Without thinking, there are no ideas, no conceptual ideal to strive for. This is not to say that thinking on its own is productive – there needs to be a physical- emotional reality in order for thinking to have something to conceptualize of in the first place. As humans, we are only partly thinking creatures, and we can hardly be said be defined solely by our thoughts. Even though air dominant types might be more justified in basing their identity on their capacity to think and navigating conceptual reality, there is so much going on at a denser, subtler level, a feeling level that might or might not fit into pre-conceived conceptual framework, that might not be understood through concepts.

Thinking is undoubtedly powerful. In a “civilized” society the pen is mightier than the sword, if used skillfully. A lot can be done with a sharp intellect and a quick mind. However, thinking is not responsive, it is a conscious construction. Powerful emotion or overwhelming instinctual reactions are more organic and dynamic. People can hold values and ideals that are perfectly in line with civilized society, but it doesn’t mean that the instinct is ever “tamed” because it can’t be constructed. Thinking can’t hold emotion back and the thinking function can’t ever perfectly define or describe what is felt simply because emotion is subjective and not objective. No person can completely act and behave in accordance with ideas and ideals. Emotions prevent this from happening – they are immediate responses that are personal – not impersonal. This is why, on an intellectual level one can say, “it’s wrong to kill”, but it won’t prevent the person from affectively responding to a situation in a way that results in a killing. Reversely, on an intellectual level one can say, “I have to kill”, but it won’t prevent the emotions from moving in a different direction.

Does thinking really keep us civilized in a real sense then? It seems not; it only creates a façade of civilization, a light façade of connectivity and communion, a light façade of love that stems from detachment from actuality and idealization of potential. The intellectual ideal is impersonal, seemingly more pure than the ambiguous and powerfully primitive emotional response, but in a sense, also inhuman (superhuman?) and inorganic. The thinking function is indispensable, but it is shallow in its own way, less potent and less alive than emotion. Words only have true power in connection to emotion; on their own they are simply tools, empty and dead. Perhaps it is accurate to say that civilization cannot manifest without alignment of the soul and the mind. Thinking can’t control feeling and feeling can’t control thinking, inevitably one is operating separately from the other but they can align. Thinking and feeling are unable to reduce each other to nothing. Thinking doesn’t cancel out feeling and vice versa. Strong emotion might call for intellectual justification socially, yet, since thinking didn’t cause feeling in the first place (at least not consciously), one can only speculate as to what the emotion is or was in response to – why it was so intense and if it was reasonable and so on… In a sense, trying to conceptualize of emotion is like trying to conceptualize of life and it’s never productive because it won’t make the feeling nature be different than it is or prevent it from expressing itself.

Generally speaking, emotions don’t “fit in” socially and societally because they are strictly personal and untamed – often impossible to fit into a conceptual framework that everyone can understand and make sense of. There is no logic behind emotions because they are immediately experienced and are not part of some pre-conceived conceptual construct. In fact, many people find it insulting when others try to make sense of their reactions and responses, to make them fit into a neat intellectual-conceptual “box”. Emotions demands acceptance no matter what – they essentially reflects organic truth rather than conceptual truth. The feeling function is often devalued and deemed “less evolved”, but without it, we would lack deeper “personal truth”.

------

On a separate note, albeit connected to the text above,

Some claim that thought creates reality and emotional experience is a direct result of subconscious thought patterns and programming. I believe this is true in the sense that there’s a universal blueprint that is set up for us, however, I don’t think that thought creates reality in our own personal lives in the sense that we can separate ourselves from our personal blueprint (reflected by our birth chart) by “working on ourselves”. It is true that one can become more conscious of components and facets of the psyche, but it’s too presumptuous to believe that one could “change” the self for the better to fit a preferred mold. Some people seem to work well with the “law of attraction”, they are able to positively focus and manifest the personal reality they want. This ability is undoubtedly reflected in the birth chart of these people – optimism, a propensity to believe and receive effortlessly. Not everyone is set up that way, which is quite evident considering the struggles and hardships that people face, despite the effort to look on the bright side of life. Some charts are set up in order for the individual to experience pain and crises in order to discover something of value through the death and rebirth process. This is a valid path, although it might not seem blissful or peaceful in the least. For these types it is not realistic or rewarding to soar on the surface of life.

Take Esther Hicks for example, a famous channel, author and public speaker. She helps people to close the gap between their desires and the manifestation of them. She is channeling a “collective thought stream” (called Abraham) in her talks that is concerned with seeing humanity actualize its desires and dreams. Her chart, as shown below (from astrotheme.com) has a grand fire trine with Jupiter, Venus and Mars. This trine blesses her with a certain fundamental and natural faith in her own ability to receive what she wants from life. Her chart is not void of friction and trouble, but this grand trine has her back when the going gets tough. She would have a natural propensity for generosity and an “abundance mindset” as they call it.

The conjunction of Pluto-Saturn-Mars (all in retrograde which makes the energy experienced internally) in Leo points to a charged desire nature, a concentrated and powerful drive that is, for lack of a better word, ruthless and almost painful. As Mars is the fighter of the personality, this kind of configuration makes me think of an insatiable, prideful yet painfully contained fighter who can’t admit to any personal passions without feeling weakened, but at the same time can’t let go and has to have at all. It makes sense, that a person who helps people to get what they want through mental-emotional alignment would understand the pain and dissatisfaction caused by not being able to control life. The conjunction opposes Mercury, which is interesting since she writes and speaks for a living, or rather speaks for an autonomous “entity” of sorts. She lends her communicative ability to something other than herself. When she channels, she’s not in her Pluto-Saturn-Mars mode. Venus and Jupiter, the two benefics, and Uranus nicely support Mercury. She can convey ideas that are revolutionary and speak of happiness and abundance. It strikes me that when she speaks, she speaks to people with frustrated desires (Mercury opposite Pluto-Saturn-Mars) – it is as if she projects this cluster of energy and experiences it through her audience. I’m sure she avoids identifying with it and meets it through others that she encounters. The Pluto-Saturn-Mars conjunction is highly uncomfortable and the person would likely attempt to work around it in any way possible if the chart allows for it. In Esther’s case, she has a lot to lean on in order to avoid its harshness - the trine certainly helps and the Mercury opposition allows detachment. Nonetheless she meets it in her life because it’s part of her blueprint.

My point with all of this is to illustrate that certain “philosophies” and belief systems come easier to others because of the personal astrological setup and it being backed by experience in accordance with the planets. It always makes sense why a person thinks and feels a certain way from looking at the natal chart. Nobody’s wrong and nobody’s right, there’s only the chart and what it allows for and doesn’t allow for. I do believe that no one can act outside of his or her chart. All paths are ultimately valid from a universal perspective. Work with your own blueprint because that is the only way to live anyway.

[uraandri]

i am making a pauze in my travels to talk to you about the worst professor i ever had. my chemistry professor maybe did mix up the tests for us humanity oriented students with the tests for the hardcore stem oriented students and maybe he did refuse to aknowledge that but he graded on a curve and i liked chemistry so i was just good enough to justify the existance of said curve so we all had good grades. my geography professor maybe did come into class drunk as fuck and maybe i did stress vomit from time to time before his classes cause we did not have a textbook and he did not hold typical lectures so you had to piece everything together by taking ultra fast notes and maybe he did have a habit of just asking you a number (a percentige, an altitude, whatever) and you had to remeber everything that was ever connected to that number but at least i learned how to take notes and at least his lecture were incredibly informative. by my god. my fucking god did this woman suck at her job. not only did you have to listen to her point out that marx was a jew and that she wasn't sure if engels was also a jew (she had to check but she never fucking did), not only did she say that jews ruled the world, not only did she say that muslims were a blood thirsty people, not only did she say "if a black man can do it so can i" in reference to her seeing a native parisian (who was black) use the parisian metro without a hitch after she struggled to figure out what to do, but that woman was so so fucking useless as a professor. i am not saying that her at least teaching sociology by the book even if she disagreed with it would have made the situation any better, but i am saying that in every evil there needs to be at least a little good. every yang needs to have a little yin in it and vice versa. but this fucking woman was so far removed from that concept that it was stupid. idiotic. moronic. a devout christian who made fun of anscient cultures venerating trees as sacred as if she did not burn badnjak on christmass, a woman who never failed to mention how much she hated marxism, but who could not even teach weber correctly, a woman so intelectualy dull and just generally stupid that i trully believe an octopus with a text to speech converter would have done a better job at teaching sociology. how she managed to finish university and land a job will forever remain a bigger mistery than the insides of a black hole to me. when i had to prepare my entrance exam for sociology i had to relearn the whole textbook, which she did not use cause she deemed her lectures as superiour, because even what we did learn was only partial and in a lot of cases incorrect. and she had the nerve to tout my highest score on the entrance exam as her achievement. i need to fistfight that woman. i need to tell her that the communists should have finished off her grandparents to prevent her from ever being born. i would send her a business email but i need to spit in her face and that is as of yet impossible through modern technology. okay. maybe she did end up cementing my interest in sociology because of how shit she was at her job as a sociologist but if we are going to attribute that to her then i am also going to attribute my suicidal ideations due to academic stress to her. fuck you bitch

oh my god do you know what i just fucking remembered. my antisemitic and islamophobic (and bigoted just like. in general) high school sociology teacher. i do not even wanna imagine what absolute garbage she must be spewing in her classes these past 6 months

[ayearinfaith]

𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟳𝟬: 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 "As Above, So Below" -Common paraphrasing of the 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘵 Hermeticism is a religious/philosophical tradition from which almost all extant forms of Western Esotericism and Occultism stem, at least in part. It is named after the fusional philosopher/deity Hermes Trismegistus. 𝗘𝘀𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 Esoteric tradition are broadly defined by two features: secrecy and magic. The word “esoteric” comes from the Greek word for “inner” as in “inner circle”, and typically include a doctrine of knowledge which must be kept secret and only revealed to the properly initiated. The magical aspect of these traditions, typically what we would call “the occult” is often a result simply of the veneration of knowledge; the allure and power is what you can do with it. In the West, meaning Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa (all connected by the Mediterranean Sea), Esotericism was largely spawned by a newfound multiculturalism as the Roman Empire and other states began to erode in the first century of the Common Era. Before then most Mediterranean peoples would have generally practiced some version of either or both a state religion, like the Roman Imperial cult, and an ethnic one, like the pre-Christian “pagan” religions, both more expressions of nationality and heritage than philosophy. As state powers dwindled, cultural boundaries fuzzed and fusional philosophies began to form, not tethered to any one people or state. Originally, the restricting of esoteric knowledge was likely not due to any sinister conspiracy or defense against the state, but simply the fact that they could not be easily grasped without a basic philosophical education. Hermeticism developed in this period during the collapse of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. The Ptolemies were Greeks who took control of Egypt after the collapse of Alexander the Great’s empire. Though they adopted Pharaonic aesthetics to better appeal to the Egyptian populace, the Ptolemies maintained a sharp divide between the Greek culture of the ruling class and the conquered Egyptians. In the years leading to the collapse these boundaries at last blurred and the Greek and Egyptian traditions began to mutate in earnest. Thoth, the Ibis headed Egyptian god if writing, science, and magic, fused with the Greek god of messengers and medicine, Hermes, to become Hermes Trismegistus i.e. Thrice-Great Hermes. As the tradition grew, it also incorporated many aspects of Judaism and the still-developing Christianity and Hermes Trismegistus became equated with patriarchs like Enoch or even Noah and Moses. Hermeticism generally employs three distinctive practices by which knowledge can be achieved, each one broadly attributable to one of the three major sources of the fusional system. Astrology, i.e. the observation of heavenly bodies as a means to discern the will of heavenly forces. was largely born from the Greek tradition. Alchemy, the investigation and pursuit for control over earthly transformations, stems from Egyptian metallurgy, knowledge of which was passed down through the priesthood. And Theurgy, the direct invocation of supernatural entities, stems from Judaism and other Levantine faiths. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 Part of the continued influence of Hermeticism in western culture is that it has functioned almost like a time capsule of Western magic and philosophy. After its initial popularity, the rise of European Christianity and North African Islam (both occurring around the 5th-7th centuries CE) drove many esoteric traditions, Hermeticism included, extinct or underground. Almost no original 1st century Hermetic texts remain, and we know of them primarily by means of their being referenced in contemporary sources. However Arabic versions of 3rd-8thcentury Hermetic texts made their way into Europe around the 12thcentury and were translated into Latin. These versions would become popularized in Italy at the start of the European Renaissance. During this time rediscovering ancient knowledge from antiquity was popular and romanticized, and as all the Hermetic texts claimed to be authentic dialogues from an ancient Egyptian scholar (Hermes Trismegistus himself) the audience was very receptive. Another advantage Hermeticism had among the Renaissance was its relationship to the sciences. Hermetic teachings actively promote the use of the scientific method as a means to enlightenment. This is clearest in its use of Alchemy, which in the Egyptian method used religious allegory as a means of notation. This appealed to Renaissance thinkers who built an identity on rejecting the anti-intellectual dogma of their medieval forbears. Through Hermeticism, a scientist could also be faithful. This produced the distinct nature of the Renaissance scientist, wherein the person in the room most likely to be able to produce a chemical poultice or devise a new form of irrigation was also the person most likely to believe they could commune with an angel. Isaac Newton, who was deeply influenced by Hermeticism, is a prime example of this. Interest in Hermeticism died down near the end of the 17th and early 18thcentury, but came back a century later with the popularity of Hermetic derived organizations such as the Freemasons and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, of which the famous occultists and Thelema founder Aleister Crowley was a member. Almost all modern Neo-Pagan movements have Hermetic ties, Wicca being the most direct. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗹 Hermetic beliefs are centered on the idea that there is a single true theology which was once know to mankind in a far distant age and echoes of which can be seen in all natural philosophies and religion. The use of quasi-scientific methods, like alchemy and astrology (and even theurgy if you count the mathematics used in its numerology) were core to its principles as even the laws of physics should bely this Truth. The most popularly cited Hermetic wisdom is “As above, so below”, which at its most basic level is a belief in the relation of heavenly bodies to earthly events (astrology), but expands to imply that the workings of the most grand and transcendent elements of the universe can be perceived by observing the small and mundane, and vice versa. This fusing of two things, a kind of dualistic concept of unity, is a common Hermetic idea, which can be seen in its frequent use of sacred androgyny (here being used in its most literal sense; a fusion of man and woman). The concept of a supreme god, typically called The All, is explicitly androgynous, and the original humans were as well. The division of parts, in Hermeticism, is the source of strife and ultimately illusory. Similar to South Asian religions, which may have come directly or via West Asian influence like Gnosticism, the physical world is considered to be a kind of illusion and prison in Hermetic cosmology. Our more perfect androgynous forbears had access to the secret knowledge of the universe, but for various reasons (generally some form of hubris) became trapped in physical bodies incapable of realizing the potential of our transcendent souls. Only by pursuing the true wisdom can we again become free. Image Credit: Illustration of Hermes Trismegistus from 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘊𝘩𝘺𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘮 (“The Alchemical Pleasure-Garden”) by Daniel Stolz von Stolzenberg, 1624

[rose-sunlight]

Hibernation

Pairings: Spencer Reid x Female! Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: Spencer wakes up first, which means he has the job of trying to wake his girlfriend up. On this particular day, it takes a lot more than just shaking her awake.

A/n: This is my first fanfic in the criminal minds fandom, which is super cool because I love the show to death, and I absolutely adore Dr Spencer Reid.

(GIF not mine, credit to the original owner)

In the first year of the two youngest agents arriving to the BAU, almost everyone could tell that they were head-over-heels in love with each other. The only two oblivious ones were Y/n and Reid, the two people at the source of the office romance.

They’d gone to the FBI’s academy together, and even then, they were known for being inseparable. Although Y/n didn’t have the same IQ level as Reid, they understood each other in a way that others could hardly understand; if Y/n needed Reid, he was there, and vice versa. It was a strong emotional connection that stemmed from their trust of each other.

After years of deliberation, Reid was the first one to connect the dots between his feelings and the person they were directed to. After that, with many months of deliberation, Reid confessed his feelings, and Y/n confessed hers. Garcia often joked about how their romance was very similar to Jim and Pam. Reid didn’t know who those people were, but he hoped that they had a good relationship, almost as good as the one he had with his girlfriend.

He often thought about how blind they were when they were cuddled up like this. All the years he watched idly as Y/n met significant others and broke up with them, all the times where she’d shown up to his apartment with tears running down their face after a nasty fight, and he’d never known that it was Y/n all along. Now he had her for himself, he was sure not to ever let her go.

Which is why, at 6:30 in the morning, when their alarm had already gone off several times, he let her sleep as he reflected on their relationship. This was traditional, as Spencer woke up at a set time every day, but Y/n relied on Spencer to shake her awake. Normally, this was easy, but Spencer was finding her particularly difficult to wake up today. Y/n slept peacefully on, unaware of her boyfriend trying desperately to free himself from her embrace. Spencer had her head on his chest, and her legs draped across his. While he tried to detach, she stirred, groaning at his shifting.

Spencer leant down and pressed a kiss to their forehead, “Morning, baby,” He murmured, before going to open the blinds in their room “time to get up”

Y/n’s response was less than optimal, hissing like a vampire when he threw open the blinds, diving under the covers. Reid shook his head before laughing, making his way into the bathroom. He hoped and preyed that when he returned to their bedroom, Y/n would be up and getting dressed for the coming day’s challenges.

This would turn out to be wishful thinking.

When he returned from the bathroom, Y/n was still buried underneath the duvet, unmoving and silent. She’d gone back to sleep, and Reid had to step in, shaking her back to consciousness.“Spencerrrrr” She drawled out, rolling over in their bed. He didn’t give up, though, instead, he threw the sheets off her. She grabbed onto the duvet and chucked them over herself again.

Reid shook her once more “Y/n, just get up, it’s not that hard!”

“I’m hibernating! You wouldn’t tell a bear to get up in the winter, would you?”

Reid scoffed jokingly “Well, judging by your lack of migration patterns, fur, and the fact it’s summer and 82.4 Degrees Fahrenheit outside, I’m going to say that it would be impossible for you to hibernate.”

Y/n poked her head up from the blankets, her eyes locking with Reid’s. “I can be whatever I want to be!” She protested; Spencer gave a defeated sigh before advancing towards her. Even when she was fake angry, she was adorable.

“That’s it, c’mon,” He said, picking her up from the sheets and pillows bridal style, carrying her to the bathroom as she giggled and kicked her legs around like a child. Y/n gave a small smile while she began to actually get ready.

“You know,” She paused, looking at her boyfriend, who was leant against the door frame with his arms crossed, he raised his eyebrows for her to continue “This kinda treatment makes me feel like a princess. Think about it, a personal chauffeur to the bathroom, my human alarm clock waking me up softly.”

Reid scoffed again, shaking his head; he may not understand social cues well, but he knew his girlfriend’s sarcastic tone from being on the receiving end of it so many times “Well, your highness, I’m only staying here to make sure you don’t fall asleep on the toilet.”

“Hey, I would never! Sneaking back to bed, though…”

“See, this is why you need a chauffeur.” Spencer shortly replied, “Breakfast?”

“Please. Can you put some toast on?”

Spencer nodded, wrapping his hands around Y/n’s waist while she applied her eye makeup, kissing her on the shoulder “White or brown bread?”

She barely paused to think, “White, please, babe.”

“Alright,” Spencer said, smiling before planting one long and final kiss on her collarbone “Love you” He said, and Y/n smirked cheekily.

“Doctor Reid, you better stop kissing me like that or I’m going to drag you back to bed with me.” She said very bluntly. Spencer’s cheeks went bright red, flushed as he began to stammer out a response. He couldn’t find one, so instead, he quickly left the bathroom, going to put two slices of toast into the toaster.

Their relationship was unconventional, sure; they went from academy friends, to work colleagues, to pining soulmates, and finally, lovers. And if Garcia wanted to compare them to what Y/n called one of the best love stories on modern TV, he wouldn’t disagree. Even as he buttered her toast for her while she did her makeup in the bathroom, something so mundane, he couldn’t help but think about the unique paths their lives had taken to get to this point.

He wouldn’t take any moment back.

submit a request here| masterlist

[eliwray]

Last one y'all! For now! Let’s wrap up with a cut from the Autism Greatest Hits album. Let's talk about autistic empathy.

You may well have heard that autism is defined as a lack of empathy; this has been a persistent myth that is continuously reinforced by the majority of autistic representation in media tbh, not to name any names. Autists vary in their empathy level as much as any group of humans. Some experience little, and handle that in a variety of ways. Meanwhile, many of us autists have faced persistent issues throughout our lives stemming from feeling too much empathy.

Rather than buying into some big absence of empathy among autists, consider the following:

The justice sensitivity mentioned above routinely extends to others, with autists favoring a lot of social advocacy paths. This is a facet of empathy

It’s been long established that autists’ lean hard into anthropomorphism and object personification, with autistic adults and kids connecting easily and deeply to animal characters and even inanimate objects; this is another facet of empathy

A few reasons why this myth happened - besides NTs defining us without our input from the start - include:

Some empirical definitions of empathy have relied on a subject interpreting social cues properly and acting on them, instead of assessing internal feelings or motivations, leading to confirmation bias in studies

An autist might tell truths bluntly in an effort to be helpful

Autists are less concerned with social norms, and can miss elements others think of as basic friendliness

Autists more frequently have demeanors, social habits or body language that feel less approachable to nonautists, leading to the bias that autists are standoffish and therefore less caring

For most of the existence of the word, autism been defined by the behavior of a subset of deeply traumatized kids; expressing empathy is difficult when you’re overloaded and overwhelmed with unmet needs

Several elements of the also infamous "inflexibility" of autistic kids can have their roots in managing overwhelming levels of empathy

I’d like to introduce you here to the double empathy problem: the two-way breakdown of communication between people with drastically different perspectives - like being autistic and not - of the sort that I’m sure you’ve seen in multiple contexts. Communication is better among autists, and among non-autists, than it is across the two groups, because so very many cues of care and friendliness simply differ between the groups. If we look at the full variety of ways to measure empathy in empirical studies, autists often score high in forms that nonautists don’t, and vice versa.

While we’re here, have a Autistic People Care Too Much.

And, of course, in the running for the greatest paper title ever: “Object personification in autism: This paper will be very sad if you don’t read it”. (Most of it is paywalled, sorry)

Okay. Wolfe’s empathy. First of all, the fact that many in-world characters would deny it exists at all is very cleverly autistic of him. But let’s dig more.

Object personification: This Original Will Be Very Sad if You Smuggle It -- Before we stray too far from that last study link I gave you, let’s think about Wolfe’s relationship to originals. While Wolfe doesn’t attribute thoughts or feelings to originals the way one might speak of clothing left in a drawer feeling sad (that we know of), he is one of the major vehicles for communicating Caine’s near-religious reframing of the treatment of original handmade books in the absence of the printing press. And I could argue that, even with Jess’ deep love for books, Wolfe’s emotional life as it pertains to originals may be the most elevated and romantic we see. I’m really intrigued to keep exploring this.

Justice sensitivity -- We’ve covered this before. It’s pretty clear Wolfe wants the corruption of the Library destroyed not just for revenge or for the good of the organization but for the wellbeing of everyone involved with it. What is a world-encompassing justice sensitivity if not an engine driven by empathy?

I would argue that Wolfe’s handling of postulants is, in its way, deeply autistically empathetic. They experience him as capricious, cruel and uncaring. But he knows what it takes to survive the Library and he doesn’t coddle on the subject. He sets the pressure on high to weed out who can’t tolerate it; better to leave now than waste time and be irreparably broken later. When he’s down to those who are not just very good, but who are as stubborn and as doomed to the Library as he, then he begins to give them every tool of survival he can cram into them. This is not someone sleepwalking through an assignment he hates. He values teaching them, and that is deeply empathetic. While he efficiently wipes his hands of those he dismisses, he takes a deeply felt responsibility for the lives of those under his care. This could be someone who has had to figure out where to draw a line and not feel crushing levels of empathy for everyone. The postulant group spans the whole first book, and of course Wolfe is a complex man motivated in a lot of different ways. But in the absence of a reread (and without the energy to also write up the baby in the warzone) I’m holding this up as my significant empathy example.

There’s just… so much more to say about this and I can’t do it without a reread!

----

Well y'all, there are several other aspects of this I'm curious about right now - not least of which is autism, “autigender”, and Wolfe’s gender identity - but this is what I’ve got in the tank right now. Thanks for coming along for the ride! And for all the feedback! I adore Wolfe, and everything about him. I hope this gives you more to love.

If ANY of these traits resonated with you personally, congrats! You might be autistic! There’s no one trait that all autists have, but you may find a pattern that’s insightful to you, if you go looking. Here’s a few places to start looking for more information.

I would heartily recommend the following:

@mightbeautistic (twt) / @mightbeautistry (IG)

@sensorystories_ (twt) / sensorystoriesbynicole (IG)

@AutisticCallum_ (twt) / autistic_callum_ (IG)

The Autistic Teacher on FB

Devon Price’s Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

Abed Nadir in Commmunity (self-insert for autistic creator, and a beloved character in-world)

I would give my deepest fuck you to Autism Speaks and ABA therapy. Do not recommend.

If you’d like to contact me in good faith about autism, please feel free to drop me a line here or on any platform I’m on. I’m no expert; I self-diagnosed May of last year and autism has been my special interest ever since. Late diagnosis (I’m 48) is a wild, wild ride! But I’m so relieved and pleased to know more about myself.

Hi there! So this series of posts is written by an autist - nearly a year out from a late diagnosis - and I am sorting out a looong resonance with Christopher Wolfe and building a case for him being autistic.

The idea that Wolfe is autistic isn’t going to surprise anyone ever! But my reasons for it might surprise you, depending on what you know about autism. So, without further ado, let’s start what will inevitably be a lot of words on this topic.

First, a few words about autism. Like many things in oppressive systems like ours, a personal perspective of autism built on information passively gathered in our culture can easily be chock full of misinformation. Autism has been overwhelmingly defined by non-autistics describing how autistic kids’ trauma-induced behavior impacts other people, rather than the lived experience, gifts or needs of actual autistic people of any age. I would encourage actively seeking out input from actually autistic people, in order to be informed.

Quick terminology note: ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a list of problems made by non-autistics and put in the DSM. Autism is a neurodivergence that I have a lot of pride in. The largest overlap of the two is, again, what non-autistics get bothered by in autists with PTSD from being mishandled all our lives. Living and thriving with and inside autism is a whole other ball of wax from that.

I’ll mention this too, because it’s the largest misconception and it impacts Wolfe’s characterization. Non-autistics decided at some point that autists have no empathy, when in fact most autists are easily overwhelmed by an abundance of empathy for other people, animals, and even objects. Check out “the double empathy problem” for further information, but the gist is, empathy works VERY differently for autist and nonautist brains, and communicating across that gap is fraught and complicated. And nonautists have the power to define most everything about mental health. And they decided a long time ago that the miscommunications mean autists have no feelings or compassion. That is incorrect.

Okay. Next up, Christopher Wolfe, autist. This will be a nonexhaustive list of ways he embodies autism, which I thought would come with a reread later this year but my brain wouldn’t let go of until I started writing it!

More to come.

[hamliet]

I love your analysis and you seems to be someone who can "read" people well so I was wondering if you knew how to recognize a dumb guy ? Because I realize I've always attracted the worst men and even my friends tell me I'm an idiot magnet so I was wondering if you perhaps have some tips to recognize them at first sight ?

Ahaha, well, fiction is a lot different than real life analysis! The thing is, in fiction, even the most complex characters will never truly live up to the actual living, breathing complexity of a human being. Thus, I can’t really give advice for first sight, because it’s impossible to tell (also, not sure what “dumb” means in this context!) Dating inherently comes with risks, too. You’re not guaranteed anything, so it is scary. 

But here’s my advice (take it with a grain of salt):

I think earlyish on in a relationship, find out what they’re looking for and see if it’s what you’re looking for. Are you looking for something serious or not? If he’s looking for the same thing, whatever that is, that’s helpful, cuz you’re on the same page, which decreases the risk of feeling used or baited on either end.

Watch how he treats those around him--specifically people he doesn’t have to be nice to (waiters, for example). If he’s polite, score. Some guys are shy and some aren’t so talkativity isn’t really a measure here, but just--does he treat the waiter/coffee barista with respect? 

And then just see if he treats you with respect: when you mention a problem you’re having, does he actually care? Everyone has bad days, but if it’s a pattern of him ignoring it or redirecting the problem to himself, that’s not a good sign. Talk about your future goals or even your uncertainty about them: does he care? Does he treat your goals with respect and compassion? Or is he going to tell you that’s stupid or laugh? If the latter, probably not a good sign.

Does he respect your physical desires? It’s okay to want to move at different paces, but the key here isn’t in wanting the same thing, but in talking about these desires. Communication, yo. There’s a line between “if you don’t have sex with me tonight we’re over” which is a sure sign to dump his ass and “a physical connection is very important to me; how can we explore that in a way that you’re comfortable with?” which is valid; whether or not this can be worked out depends on the specific situation.

Also, how does he fight? I always say that I could never, ever be serious with someone I haven’t fought with or at least disagreed with (stemming from my background in an extremely verbally abusive household). Every relationship has these moments, and unlike Tumblr dot com’s insistence, saying something you regret once or twice isn’t inherently a sign of a doomed toxic relationship. Are you able to disagree without it being a personal attack? If something he says hurts you or vice versa, will you take that to heart and do better and grow? 

And then I guess I’d say just pay attention to yourself and your own needs and wants, too. If you feel like you’re making all the sacrifices and efforts, then it’s not an equal relationship. Know that you Deserve a better guy, not a dumb loser even if you’ve only chosen dumb losers in the past. You deserve someone you are attracted to, whop is attracted to you, and whom, while not perfect because you aren’t either, will treat you with compassion and respect. Try to know your worth (I’m talking to myself too because I have Very Low self-esteem) in every aspect of your life; it will help. You are worthy of love and happiness just because you exist.

[wickedsrest-rp-archive]

Supernatural Diseases - Shifters

Note: Please message us if you plan on using these! We just want to coordinate to make sure there’s no doubling up at the same time.

General:

Stuck Shift: For those who can shift at will, a stuck shift is when an individual is stuck between their two forms, which can be very painful and make it hard for the person to function. Generally resolves on its own with time, but there may be some lotions sold on Amity Road that can speed things up.

Balam:

Chronic hairballs, obviously.

Apotheon: The balam suffers from the feeling that they are something divine that was broken into many pieces, and begins to exhibit deific delusions of grandeur and a sense of creeping loss. There isn’t a known cause to this condition, and it can be difficult for a balam to get out of this mindset. However, they can be shaken from it if something forces them to come to grips with their own mortality.

Toxoplasmosis magicii: A magical parasite much like the normal cat parasite, that is completely harmless to the jaguar form and can cause fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes while a balam is in human form. This results in an increased desire to stay in the jaguar form for longer and longer periods. Can be treated with selkie slime.

Bugbear:

Fear Toxicity: Fear begins to be toxic to the bugbear, usually derived from not feeding enough. Over time, the bugbear will grow gradually sicker as they continue to feed, and eventually they will be completely unable to feed on fear, leading to inevitable starvation. In the short term, this causes their illusion powers to not function properly, and in the long term it is deadly. Fortunately, there’s an easy enough cure -- receiving a nightmare from a mara.

Scare-bies: Caused by small, supernatural mites that burrow under the skin. They’re extremely itchy, and after a time, will even cause patches of hair to fall out in a bugbear’s bear form, giving them a mangey appearance. These mites can impair a bugbear’s ability to cast illusions, making it difficult -- even impossible -- for them to feed properly. Over time this can lead to starvation and even death. Fortunately, scare-bies can be treated by special ointment made from mara blood and grounded up yeth hound tentacles. This smothers the mites until they crawl out of the skin. It’s important that every bit of infected skin is covered by the ointment otherwise the infection will spread once more.

Ursus Mane: More unpleasant and awkward than anything else, Ursus Mane is caused by a virus that affects hair growth. In bear form, afflicted bugbears are completely hairless, leaving their skin vulnerable to the elements and anyone who would do them harm. In human form, these unfortunate bugbears are covered in a thick coat of bear hair, resembling the most extreme cases of hypertrichosis. This can be treated with the use of supernatural steroids that gradually return the hair to its rightful form.

Kitsune:

Elemental Shifting: The kitsune will shift elements uncontrollably and without warning. This is particularly problematic not only to the kitsune but to others. i.e. A river kitsune suddenly with thunder powers would not know how to use their powers. The exact cause of the condition is not known, but it’s likely highly magical, and will typically resolve itself over time -- hopefully before something disastrously wrong happens.

Kitsunebi: Part of the mythological association between kitsune and will-o-wisps may stem from this relatively harmless ailment, wherein a kitsune who uses their powers very liberally may have will-o-wisps gravitate to their location. The wisps do not harm the kitsune, but it makes it hard to move inconspicuously. Refraining from using their magic for an extended period will cause the will-o-wisps to drift away over time. 

Inari’s Void: The kitsune’s fox-shaped shadow takes on a “mind of its own” and begins attacking people in range, possibly even leading to peoples’ deaths. On some level, the shadow may be acting out the kitsune’s worst impulses. This seems to be brought on randomly in places with large amounts of spiritual or magical energy, especially if the energy is corrupted in some way. The effects linger even once the kitsune leaves the location, but they will dissipate on their own over time. 

Lamia:

Medusa Trichoptilosis: The lamia begins to grow snakes on their head. They don't harm the lamia but could prove a nuisance, such as trying to bite a passerby. This condition may cause some sensory overload to the lamia as they’re now able to see, hear, and smell from multiple locations on their head, which can be disorienting. The snake heads must be painfully chopped off, and after the lamia’s next shed, all will be well.

Dysecdysis/Stuck Shed: If a lamia is not well-fed or exposes themselves to poor environmental conditions, they may have a hard time shedding their skin. This can cause the old skin to painfully adhere to the new one underneath, which looks pretty awful and is very uncomfortable for the lamia. Over time this corrects itself, but sometimes the new skin becomes somewhat damaged in the process.

Clogged Venom Glands: If a lamia doesn’t use their venom for too long, it may harden and clog inside of the gland. This is painful, and causes swelling in the face and neck. While the glands are swollen they can’t use their venom, and they may need some magical assistance to gradually free the glands. 

Selkie:

Sensory Inversus: Caused by a parasite, Sensory Inversus makes the senses of the selkie become acute above ground, and dulled underwater. This results in increased light sensitivity, whiskers growing in human form, and overly sensitive hearing in human form. Additionally, this makes it dangerous for the selkie to be in seal form, because those senses are needed underwater. Specific potions made of mermaid fins can treat it.

The Skin Crawls: Selkies start experiencing an intense desire to wear someone else’s skin, usually not another selkie’s. It starts as a subconscious off-hand thought, then slowly grows over time until it's all encompassing. The feeling will go as soon as the selkie puts on someone else’s skin (...After carefully peeling it off their victim who will likely die). The other treatment would be using the skin from a well-formed mermaid.

“Donkeyskin”: Caused by a fungal infection that can get into the pelt if not cared for properly, making it fit weird, and causing the limbs to not all transform properly. This can feel strange in the water, and makes the selkie look a little like a mutant seal monster. While not necessarily painful, it is irritating and a little itchy when interacting with the selkie goo. The infection can be treated by soaking the skin in a bath made from warm water and selkie mucus for 15-24 hours. Should it be left untreated, the damage to the skin will be left irreversible. 

Siren:

Witherwings: Sirens must be particularly careful about selecting their prey, otherwise they may face consequences. Many normal humans and other supernatural individuals can be carriers for Witherwings, which has no presenting symptoms in non-siren individuals. However, once a siren has consumed an individual with the virus, they will experience fever, itching, and discover that their feathers will begin to fall out. If not treated soon enough, a siren can permanently lose their feathers. Treatment for Witherwings include topical oils with bits of crushed phoenix feather.

Omnitone: A strange phenomena can occur where sirens lose the ability to control their mesmerizing musical abilities. Instead of being able to actively turn on their powers, sirens will find they are enthralling people with their speaking voice and those under their power are prone to dangerous levels of obsession. Drinking lemon tea mixed with eintykára honey is the common practice of getting rid of this affliction.

Mushmouth: (Teeth horror tw) Particularly messy eaters in the siren community should be aware of Mushmouth, a very annoying but minor disease of the mouth. Similar to cavities, too much accumulated iron will cause siren teeth to begin to rot and even fall out. A diet of only fae (as they don’t have iron blood) can allow them to avoid this condition. Mushmouth is easily avoided by regular flossing, brushing of teeth, and general dental hygiene. Once afflicted, sirens must refrain from eating flesh and rinse nightly with a brine made with mermaid scales.

Werewolf:

WereFleas: While werewolves may not be prone to dog fleas (the jury is out on that one) they do have their own flea species to worry about. If this mutant kind of flea bites a werewolf, an uncontrollable itch occurs. The fleas will live in the fur (or hair) of an individual and reproduce there, worsening the problem. If left untreated, this causes numbness in the areas of the bites. Strangely enough, this can be treated with regular dog/flea removal.

Úlfhéðnar: A rare disease stemming from wolfsbane consumption, the werewolf begins to feel the wolf within overshadowing their humanity, often getting the feeling that their human shape is ‘false’ or some fake skin they are ‘wearing.’ Their senses sharpen beyond the werewolf norm but animalistic behaviors, sometimes violent ones, begin to increasingly creep into their human life, and the onset can be quite rapid. This can go all the way to losing the capacity to understand human language, and walking on all fours. One of the better treatments for this is to proactively re-engage with human life, almost pushing away the wolf side as much as possible. This can be dangerous if the violent behaviors are already an issue, and may result in the werewolf losing touch with their wolf side around the full moon.

Osteolupinus: (Chronic illness tw) Wolves get afflicted with a joint and bone disorder which makes turning more painful than usual, and can result in imperfect transformations -- for example, the skin and musculature changing but not the bones, or vice versa. Not only is this painful, but it can inhibit movement, and can be an issue in either direction of the transformation. Can be treated by eating the bones of a bonedoggle, zombie, or banaspati.

[thisisaname-whatahappyname]

hell-o sorry im re doing my tags the previous one made it seem like i was against op because of the tumblr coding misplacing (i forgot quoting things with "" puts the thing in front so i replaced it with two '') bits of text from it (the tag in was very much against context is very much against saying trans people are just another thing millennials came up with, but out of context and without the quote it just seemed like i was saying that

leaving this up as a way of making up for potential damage it did sorry

It doesn't matter what you think, stop doing it. When someone tells you you're doing something wrong, trying to argue around it just makes you a jackass. Just apologize and correct your behavior.

This, my friends, is what we call “weaponizing progressive language.”

Because this would be a completely reasonable response in many circumstances. We’ve all seen similar things said to people who genuinely need to Stop, like celebrities defending their use of slurs (to name just one example). Devoid of context, this ask seems like someone fighting against an unreasonable asshole.

Except the thing I was most recently told to stop doing was…acknowledging that historical trans people existed.

The only reason I’m not simply ignoring this ask is that, once upon a time, I would have seen it and immediately started groveling. Because I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I ESPECIALLY don’t want to be doing so habitually. And very young people- like teens -in progressive spaces, I feel, are often cornered like this and made to apologize for “transgressions” that aren’t real. They have the compassion, but not yet enough experience to recognize this pattern of behavior.

It’s important to apologize and change when you hurt someone undeserving, or a group of innocent people. But it’s also important to recognize when someone is trying to use that concern for others against you.

[koorinohebi]

I am curious: how would you describe Kiomi's relationship with Jiraiya? And with Koji Kashin? What you've shared about them so far seems very interesting and I must know more!

Thank you for dropping by and asking about my life blood for Kiomi! xD

Kiomi's relationship with Jiraiya is by far one of my most favorite things (it ties with Sarutobi Arai, another OC whom she formed a really strong bond with over the years, to the point where they are like sisters).

A little tidbit before I begin; to be perfectly honest, with the amount of stuff I dish out that's Jiraiya related, one couldn't have guessed that he was one of the characters that I absolutely HATED back in the day. Whatever admiration I have for Jiraiya mostly stemmed from Kiomi. 

Now, where do I start...

JIRAIYA

I have 3 verses for Kiomi's interactions with Jiraiya. One follows the anime/manga, one is my main verse for her which follows my RP with the Jiraiya she came to know as her sensei, and then one verse with which I've started a long long time ago (and still ongoing with @ambitiousparagon​). Since the most fleshed out is her main verse, I'll be talking about that. 

Truthfully, Kiomi's relationship with Jiraiya is supposed to border on platonic going to enemies. However, fate has a funny way of letting the stars align.

The initial plot for this was Kiomi's desperation to prove herself useful to Orochimaru that she agreed to not only get intel on Konoha, but also take down one of the 2 remaining Sannins. A suicide mission, I know. Since Tsunade had value to Orochimaru as a healer, and someone whom he believed he could still EVENTUALLY sway to his side, her lord instead sent her after the most rumbunctios one of them all. He wasn't going to tell her how to do it. Since she’s so eager to prove herself, he allowed her to plan everything. Which she did, starting with pretending to be a defector from Otogakure. Kiomi had plotted with a few of the Otonins to help her out, set an attack, do as much damage as she could while she escaped to Konoha with pretty valid info (about Sasuke, and maybe a few plans here and there) to try and earn their trust. And while she was accepted, Konoha wasn't so stupid as to simply believe a previous underling of Orochimaru. SO. In order to prevent her from doing any sort of damage, and at the same time to keep her under surveillance, Tsunade had assigned Kiomi as a "student" to Jiraiya who had just returned from one of his reconnaissance missions. And with Jiraiya being a person who doesn't stay long in the village, it seemed like a good course of action to take, one which also worked to Kiomi's advantage because it brought her closer to her goal.

Their student-teacher setup starts out very platonic. Kiomi has always been quite the curious kid. She does her best to learn whatever it was that she could. With her arrangement of being a student, it allowed her to work closely with Jiraiya who, well...being Jiraiya, mostly had his nose stuck in a hot spring somewhere. This made her wonder if this was some kind of weakness that she could exploit when the time was right so she kept a close watch. She'd been warned about his lecherous ways, but since she was a teenage kid who didnt really see herself much of anything, she could care less about his reputation. In fact, there are times when she would wonder if his so called "research" was worth all the broken ribs and bones. Often times she would also use Jiraiya’s love for women and sake as motivation to head to a new village for whatever work they need to do.

Eventually though, the more they traveled the more they kept ending up in trouble's very welcoming arms. And these were the moments when a bond of trust formed between the two. Kiomi had been very open about her principle of not caring about other people's live. Who died and who didn't. After all, she was groomed to be a tool. Her mentor, however, was not having any of that nonsense. Jiraiya instills in her repeatedly the value of human life. True enough that taking one was easy, but preserving it along with learning how to understand one another despite all the differences was the goal of being a shinobi. He also pretty much treats her like an actual human being rather than just someone expendable, which sparked Kiomi's curiosity all the more. Because while Orochimaru had been kind (manipulative), Jiraiya was a very warm individual who didnt seem like his kindness had any strings attached. He also allows her to just bloom into her own person, encouraging her to rediscover herself as more than just a Shinobi, but as a living breathing human being. More than being a mentor on jutsus and other skills, what endeared Jiraiya to Kiomi was how much values and lessons about life she learned from him. To the point where she could no longer push through with her mission of assassinating him, and instead permanently defecting to Konoha. It also helps that Jiraiya hinted that he knew about her supposed betrayal. Where one would have normally sentenced her to execution because she was the enemy, the Toad Sage believed in her, and it was that benevolence that ultimately defeated her.

So it went from platonic to an eventual slow burn of becoming a ship. Which was all accidental, because apparently, due to all the trouble they got into, and due to always having each other's back, the sage developed his own brand of protectiveness over the girl and vice versa. That ended with him being half in denial and half in acceptance of what he was feeling, despite knowing it was probably wrong. He doesn't act upon it though as their bond as Master and Student was what was most important. At the same time, Kiomi who is as dense as a rock had no idea about what exactly it is that she feels. But when she realizes what it is, she tries to avoid it at all cost, as being Master and Student was also more important to her. Every once in a while though, a little bit of their feelings slip through. Mostly when one of them is half dead. (And they get into so much trouble that at the end of a specific arc, one of them is either REALLY injured, or near death, and in one occasion actually died.) There are also times when it just slips on its own from either side, due to careless words, or perhaps impulsive actions that creates a bit of awkward situations.

Here is an example of when Kiomi gives in a little to her own feelings.

===

What am I doing?

She couldn't sleep. She ended up shifting for a while there, turning to look up at the stars that Jiraiya had been so keen on seeing. Everything was pitch black which made her, for a moment, appreciate the little specs of light that seemed to glisten in the vast distance of space. Pretty. However, beautiful as they may, they gave her no comfort. The moon that had so graciously lent them its light was now hiding behind the midnight clouds, shying away from her sight. I can't sleep. At this rate, there would be no rest for her for the entire night.

That was when she felt just a slight shift beside her. Curiously, she took her first glance of him after that short period of silence. A soft sigh passed through her lips. At least, one of them was getting some sleep after a long day of training and misunderstandings. Still, from the looks of how his face was contorting, his slumber didn't seem all too pleasant. I'll check just a little.

And so, she sat up, silently and cautiously moving close enough so that she ever so slightly hovered over him. He didn't look like he was having a good time at all. See, this is why bed was the better choice. The mental note was made. Maybe she should wake him up, just in case he was having a nightmare. In that moment wherein she wanted to call for him, no words came out. Instead, a free hand moved on its own in an effort to touch his face. But they stopped. Just inches away from his cheek. Kiomi remembered the way that he had caressed her own (when he seemed under a delusional trance), but she had no courage to do the same. Even when her mouth moved to speak, only soundless words came out. And even those, she couldn't even finish. Again, she bit her lip inwardly. She didn't have the right to say them. After all, the expression on his face from earlier...the one that enthralled her to the point where she couldn't think straight, wasn't even meant for her.

So instead, her hands retreated to a few strands of hair that was long enough for her to take. Gently, just pressed her lips against them before finally relenting, retreating back to her own spot. And apparently just in time, since a few moments after that, she felt him move. Heard him speak. She had to hold her breath for a moment. Again, pretend to sleep. Closed her eyes.

What...am I doing?

===

In this main verse (where Jiraiya survives through the 4th Shinobi War), we've gotten to a point where they've admitted to what they feel (above is a prelude to said revelation), BUT! More than the awkward lovers they end up as, what's most important first and foremost is their relationship as teacher and student. It’s always the main element, everything else is basically secondary. Their relationship whether it's platonic or romantic, has always been one of learning.

And as proof to that, here is a scenario wherein Kiomi and Jiraiya were having a small lecture on the workings of the heart-- affections vs. unconditional love. She, out of curiosity, blurted out the question, "Isn't it frustrating if you can't touch the person that you love...?". To which the answer came as such:

===

"Hold that thought." He replied as she spoke the last of her words, wanting to take the time to address the prior question which was awkwardly blurted out on her behalf earlier. "It's very frustrating, yes, but...if you can't touch a person's heart with sincere feelings first, then no amount of hugs, kisses, or anything else can fill the void inside of you. There were many things that kept the woman that I loved and I apart. War. Misunderstanding. My own personal faults, but I find that I would've given anything within reason, even not being allowed to touch her in ways that would've held significant meaning for us both, just to be accepted as someone that she loved and was genuinely in love with."

Indeed, he had harbored those feelings for someone else. The unrequited love of the century, in fact, but what was worse in his mind was to succumb to the despair of not being accepted, was giving up on the prospect of being loved or in love at all. This was the man who believed that a ninja's worth was measured in his determination not to give up on their mission. So come what may, this brief skirmish of feelings with Kiomi had strengthened his resolve to maintain that belief system all the more no matter what the outcome between them would be.

"The better question is, why are you alright with hiding so much from yourself?" A contrast sharper than the edge of the most menacing blade, the internal conflict that she was experiencing was the true focus of his next words. "In other words, you won't get anywhere in life if all you do is hide from what you feel for anything." There were no exceptions going to be made, because this was suddenly about far more than mere affection or literary prowess. It was the central issue of Kiomi's very being which needed addressing in its own due time. Jiraiya felt that in the moment, it was his duty to plant the seeds which might otherwise allow her to consider the best options about how to confront and move past so daunting a thing. And there, without ever needing to say a word, his argument was given it's apex example. It didn't matter what realizing the truth of that matter cost if she could manage to pull it off. No price would be too high to pay, even their sacred bond, if it meant that she could grow past the limitation of inhibition which had placed a virtual strangle hold on her heart and mind.

===

Obviously talking about Tsunade in the first part. She feels an irrational bout of jealousy over a person who didn't even choose him, and feels her own emotions to be ugly. It's definitely a different type of envy compared to when she's jealous of Sasuke being Orochimaru's choice for a vessel.

And Jiraiya here made a really good point. The more she hides from what she feels, the more she doesn't get anywhere, which is why in verses where he is dead, Kiomi is left with an overwhelming regret of never having the chance, let alone courage to admit to her feelings and confess. Because she knows that he loves Tsunade, she is prepared for any sort of rejection (and knows that it'll even probably legitimately make her cry all the tears she can cry). If she had just allowed herself that little bit of honesty, then she probably wouldn't be stuck in the mud, unable to move forward in the years to come.

Ultimately though, Jiraiya's happiness is what's important to her. Which is why after the war, Kiomi works closely with both Otogakure and Konoha in order to protect the place and people that her mentor loved and died fighting for.

At the end of it all, I believe that for these three verses, the finality of her relationship with him is one of absolute trust and loyalty. Whether or not her feelings are reciprocated, she has already accepted the fact that Jiraiya ignites a flame within her, not necessarily one brought about by romance, but in the trust that he puts in her. He never was the type to give answers directly. It wasnt a mind game, but Jiraiya's brand of teaching encourages a belief in one's self to find an answer that the student can believe in, something in which he too comes to have faith in.

Kashin Koji’s route comes in a separate post. 

[shadowfae]

to people scared of the word “voluntary”: I know. I know what that’s like, I know how it can make you shrink back and cringe and avoid exploring the connections that may be given that word or the community that accepts that their experiences stem from a choice to build upon their alter human connections.

to me “voluntary” means ‘I have found a connection here, and I want to explore it more’. for you or others, it might mean ‘I am using this connection to get through a difficult time or deal with particular emotions’ or any other multitude of reasons. it doesn’t always say something about why we got to this point, but it doesn’t have to!

the similarities between us are that we choose to cultivate and grow and explore our links 💛 wishing all linkers well in our journeys

(sorry for literally just posting a whole text post in your inbox, I feel like it is suited to being here tho)

I’ll publish stuff unless you tell me not to, but if you say not to you gotta not be on anon, because I can’t reply privately on anon. (I know your blog so it’s fine, I know if you’re not on anon to answer privately.)

But you’re honestly so correct in that: people are just scared that if they’re choosing it, then it’s not real, but it is. It just means you decide how real it gets to be. ‘Linkers can all work together and understand each other a lot better than ‘kin can understand ‘linkers, and vice versa. We need more linker spaces and voices.. It’s the only way we’re going to know more about them.

[black-syndicate]

* ･ ｡ *  OTP ASKS MEME * ･ ｡ * ☆

FOR THE FLUFF

1. What are things they both find funny? They lose it when they watch those EPIC FAIL videos. Anything involving the pain and suffering of others stitched together with the comedic timing of sound effects lifts their spirits.

2. If they could each describe each other in one sentence, what would it be? “He is my angel.” Short and simple, meant to encompass every meaning of the word. “Mercilessly vengeful, cruel, and radiant, she is my pride and joy.”

3. If they complimented each other, what would they say? Soulay’s compliments usually focus on Elliot’s achievements and various accolades. She’s also known to comment on his host body from time to time because well... woof. Elliot is the romantic of the two, ascribing beauty to all Soulay does.

4. What would be their ship name? Spellbound. To hold the complete attention of (someone) as though by magic; fascinate.

5. What activities do they enjoy together? While they enjoy doing most anything together, staying in different hotels around the world is their guilty pleasure. Elliot goes nuts over the smallest things “Look, beloved, they garnished our pillows with mints.” and Soulay is always happy to be away from the Sulo Estate.

6. What is/are their love language(s)? Elliot thrives off of words of affirmation and physical touch. He returns those acts ten fold onto the ones he holds dearest to him, accompanied by frequent gifts. Soulay enjoys receiving gifts and physical touch but she often shows her love through acts of service.

7. Write a ~300 word love scene for them. “Something Old” can be found on ao3

8. What were their first impressions of each other? Uhhh... Their initial encounter was brief and unyielding of any strong sentiments. Elliot eventually became infatuated with her and Soulay saw it as an opportunity to overthrow the Sulo family. 

FOR THE ANGST

9. Have they made each other cry? Not intentionally. They’ve been together for over 100 years, so of course they’ve had their rough patches, said some things they shouldn’t have and through miscommunication and stubborn pride caused the other grief.

10. Write a ~300 word argument scene for them. “Something Blue” can be found on ao3

11. What causes them to fight? The Order of the Renew is a constant source of tension between them. Soulay loathes the organization and Elliot has devoted his life to it. As Elliot’s visions are grandeur start becoming a reality, Soulay begins to show more resentment towards him and his followers.

12. Do they have differing political opinions? Not really? Being top dog of a cult means they both are able to set the policies they want and neither of them are too caught up in the human rights violations of other nations. 

13. Name something they would never do for the other person. Neither one would give up their magic, even if the other’s life depended on it. Honestly, it stems for childhood trauma on both their parts and not wanting to feeling powerless again + if one of them dies then at least the other can try to revive them with magic.

14. What would be a dealbreaker? Their relationship relies heavily on codependency so nothing is really off the table. 

15. What are traits they dislike in one another? He’s stubborn, overworked, and a wet blanket in private. She talks while she eats and doesn’t recycle.

16. If they broke up, what would be their opinions of each other? They’d sooner kill each other than break up. Elliot couldn’t handle knowing that Soulay no longer loves him and Soulay rather see Elliot dead than happy with someone else.

FOR THE DEPTH

17. What senses (sights, smells, feelings, etc). remind them of each other? Fairgrounds bring about nostalgia in both of them. That was their first date, after all. Elliot has a deep obsession with the sea, so similar items along that vein always remind Soulay of him.

18. What would be their love motto? I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.

19. If they could each write a single line in their marriage vows, what would they be? They don’t do vows. Words are cheap and when you’re as old as them you know you’re gonna be breaking a lot of stuff you said in your youth. 

20. What is a promise they have made to each other? To always have the other’s best interest at heart.

21. How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse? Soulay’s habits and vices rub off more on Elliot than vice versa, just because she is more worldly than him and when you both grow up in the same environment, it’s the one who leaves that will more likely change. Elliot has influenced Soulay’s taste in men, as he’s now the gold standard most cannot compete against.

22. If their lives were what was originally intended at birth, would they have still fallen in love? They’d both be dead. Different periods of times but same result.

23. Write a ~300 scene between them with no dialogue, only body language. “Something New” can be found on ao3

24. What is something they have each had to forgive the other for? They don’t really ask for forgiveness...so I don’t know how it would work. But Elliot gets hurt every time Soulay leaves the Order for extended periods of time, and had to make peace with it. 

FOR THE DIRTY

25. What moves do they know work on the other? Elliot freakin’ loses it when Soulay gives him a massage. He knows exactly what’s about to happen next when she starters kneading his shoulders. It’s a Pavlovian response and royalty screws him over when he goes to a masseuse.

Soulay is by far the easiest person to get in the mood and it does help that Elliot usually inhabits the bodies of people he knows to be her type. Running a hand through his hair and asking for sex is all it really takes, tho he’s far too much of a gentleman to be so brazen...most days.

26. What are their favorite parts about physical affection/sex? The concept of being wanted and admired. They’re both such lonely people and their need for love manifests itself in different ways but during sex they share a lot of the same fetishes and kinks, even if Elliot doesn’t fully want to admit it.

27. Do they have any kinks/fetishes that they share? Body worship and roleplay are the biggest ones. And by roleplay I mean they have been known to possess the bodies of strangers to spice up their sex life. Voyeurisms and swinging also seems to come with the Sulo family package.

28. Write a ~300 fantasy one of them has about the other. “Something Borrowed” can be found on ao3

29. What are each of their signature foreplay moves? Soulay likes to strip tease. Sometimes she’ll start where he’s working and slowly leave a trail of her clothes as she makes her way somewhere more private. Her panties are always the last to come off. While Elliot is an avid believer in marking his territory with slow sensual kisses that turn into be suckling bites.

30. Write a short exchange of dirty talk between them. lmao no.

31. What do they love to do after sex? Sleep. Nothing beats a night of rest after being satisfied by your spouse.

32. Do they enjoy morning or night sex? Night because of the activity mentioned above.

[corinthbayrpg]

NAME. Lucretia Russo AGE & BIRTH DATE. 25 & July 30th, 1995 GENDER & PRONOUNS. Female & She/Her SPECIES. Shapeshifter ( Komodo Dragon ) OCCUPATION. App Developer FACE CLAIM. Yandeh Sallah

BIOGRAPHY

( tw: drugs, suicide ) Lucretia Russo was born in Rome, but it was not where she would stay. Her parents had looked a little too deep into the drug scene long before she was born, and in fact, her birth was more an accident than anything else – her mother didn’t notice the pregnancy until it was already too late. Her parents were simple humans, as the shifter gene that stemmed from her father’s side had skipped a generation. When Lucretia first figured out that she could turn into a Komodo Dragon, she was alone at home, freaked out, and afraid to tell her parents. So she never did. They might not have believed it, or blamed the drugs, anyway. It was her little secret, and until she was a grown up, she thought that no one else in the world was like her. It made her feel lonely, like an outsider – but also a tiny bit like a superhero. 

At home, the situation only got worse the older Lucretia got. When money for drugs became thin because neither of her parents worked proper jobs, they instead started to sell the tiny pills they adored so much themselves. They hopped across Europe, made a small excursion to America, then returned to Europe to sell their drugs. That was how Lucretia ended up in the foster care system, for the first time in Lisbon where her parents had resided at the time and were arrested for selling drugs. Lucretia, or Luce as she preferred to be called, had a hard time adjusting to the foster system, or new families. When she wouldn’t take shit from her biological parents, why should she accept it from literal strangers? Over the years, she kept returning to her parents, running away from the foster families that she hated and vice versa to return to a home that was no proper home, and simply a ruin of what a family was supposed to be. She despised them, but she despised the foster families she kept ending up in even more.

The one thing Lucretia was interested in from a young age were any sort of video games. Computers in general held her attention, as they offered a world to disappear into. And they offered a shot at a new life. She started faking her own IDs at age sixteen, and they were so good that she quickly provided plenty of other people with the same to make her own money that she hid in pillowcases away from her parents’ greedy eyes. She learned how to hack into programs at a later time, which she used to her own advantage when it came to the foster system. At age nineteen, she was not only her own person, she had also faked herself an entire résumé to get herself a good job as a programmer. The money was good enough to afford a very nice apartment, a motorcycle and nice vacations she usually took all on her own. Luce didn’t like letting people in, she preferred easy, meaningless relations rather than anything else. At age twenty-one, she then searched the internet for her biological parents, more out of curiosity than anything else. It turned out that her father had committed suicide three years ago, though she did not know that it happened because he had fallen prey to a cubi. Her mother on the other hand was nowhere to be found. Her trace disappeared back in Rome, and Luce returned there to look for her. She could not find her, and decided it might be better that way so she could not be put down once more. 

Lucretia stayed in Rome for a few years, but a year ago, she decided to come to Corinth Bay. Again, the internet was the reason, as she found quite a few stories about unusual activities on there, maybe even supernaturals. She had only met few of them over the years, and she was ready to stay in a place where she was no longer an outsider. Only recently at the masquerade did she learn about the fight for the veil, and she does not intend to lose the small thing that made her special. She’ll go down fighting rather than anything else.

PERSONALITY

+ idealistic, confident, persistent - rebellious, irrational, jealous

PLAYED BY LISA. GMT+1. She/Her.

[mbtiofwhys]

Persona 5 and how MBTI can expose writing (in)consistency

Disclaimer

We’re studying writing and narratology as self taught, we are passionate about narrative in general and we believe in MBTI as a tool to analyse things and frame both reality and fiction in a different way. These are our opinions on the matter of how MBTI can be useful in approaching plot and character consistency, but don’t take it as a scientific paper;

We’re writing this article after a good 3 runs and various hundred of hours spent in this game per mod. We’ve already analysed the whole main cast and tried to explore everyone of them more in depth, so please don’t take anything in this article as an attack to a certain character or the game as a whole. We love P5 and P5R wholeheartedly - for this reason, we can’t overlook problems when they arise;

Big huge enormous spoilers for both P5 and P5R.

Premise

Characters are the most important element of a story - yes, even more important than the plot. Especially if you consider that a plot is, basically, characters doing stuff to reach a goal. Lots of stories revolve around a particular event or atmosphere, a fictional world to explore, or an issue, but there will always be characters in them because, as human beings, we’re attracted to people, their flaws and their problems.

So, if characters are the basis of a story, going deeper we see how fictional works tell us about how and why people overcome hardships and become a better person in the process (tragedies surely exist, but they aren’t the norm). That’s what is called the transformation arc.

That being said, how do we use MBTI? Since cognition is essential and behaviors mean nothing, we tend to look at characters both from a narrative and metanarrative standpoint. This means putting aside what characters do or what they like, and focusing on how they gain information, make decision and what are their motives. Since stories tell us about people and their struggles, it’s interesting to understand why characters act in a certain way, what really moves them forward. 

This approach, inevitably, must compromise with the fact that fiction is made by people, and people can make mistakes. Works of fiction aren’t flawless and sometimes, trying to find what type a character is, is a way to bring light to those problems. Rules are a social construct, they’re fluid and constantly change, but they also provide useful tools to analyze stories, discovering their strength and their flaws. So, stories aren’t defined solely on strict rules, however MBTI can push one to better understand what is a good story or a well-written character and, vice-versa, why stories can fail to amaze us.

Why Persona 5?

Because it’s an excellent case study to show both how our typing process must adapt to face different situations, and what means to analyse a wide cast of characters that aren’t always perfectly written. The cast, though, is diverse enough that you can have characters with similar or opposite types that interact for 100+ hours, and this creates a very interesting setting for comparison and conflict.

Moreover, the confidant system can be a golden source MBTI-wise, because, if properly developed, a confidant can give us great insights about the character, or show other sides of them outside the main plot. 

Tropes and typing

Persona 5 offers really great examples of what means to differentiate between typology and tropes when typing. Since we’re talking about fictional characters, we must acknowledge that sometimes there is a correlation between certain tropes/archetypes and certain types (mbtinotes on Tumblr talks about this more in depth here: https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/spotting#fiction ). This, though, isn’t a rule and mustn’t become a limitation when typing, because cognitive functions work regardless of tropes, exactly as they do regardless of behaviors. P5 has both types that follow the tropes they are often associated with, and types that are completely different. 

Ryuji is one of the main example belonging to the first case. He matches the Book dumb and Dumb blonde tropes, alongside with the Hot-blooded and Idiot hero ones. Those traits are usually linked to Se doms: always hungry and with lots of energy. In Ryuji’s case, though, he’s not an ESFP (only) because he’s loud and reckless, but also due to his approach to life and general cognitive process. That being said, it’s also true that he embodies the most common conception of what an ESFP looks like.

A similar example also applies to Akechi: he’s presented as the smart ace detective (The Ace) and later on as the mastermind traitor. He possesses many traits often linked to ENTJs, especially when they’re the villain, antagonist or anti-hero of the story. This doesn’t serve as a limit to his character though, and Akechi shares the majority of a young ENTJ’s cognitive process, alongside with some of its tropes.

On the other hand, P5 also offers characters belonging to the second case, for whom only looking at their tropes and role in the plot can be misleading typing-wise.

It's the case of Futaba: she’s an INFP according to our typing process, however the game always stresses her quirky and antisocial side, something so strong it defines her as a person even after her narrative arc. This is why many people type her as INTP, since those traits are often linked to Ti doms, high Ne users or rationalist types.

Another example is Yusuke: we typed him INTJ even though the community often refers to him as an ISFP. Our main complain regarding Yusuke as an ISFP is about how this type is justified only using the tropes he’s associated with. Since Yusuke is a bizarre artist and a weirdo, he must also be an ISFP in love with painting, art and beauty, right? Well, this is true, but not because he’s an ISFP. His behaviors don’t stem from an ISFP cognition, rather from the one of an INTJ, in our opinion.

Narrative arcs

Narrative arcs define the plot, but (following a shonen structure) they also sadly tend to be too much stand alone in the game, especially when it comes to character development. This leads to a situation where characters shine in their narrative arc, but then just sit in the background for the rest of the game, as a part of the Phantom Thieves. This isn’t entirely a bad thing, since Persona 5 revolves around a large cast of characters and tends to focus more on the group as a whole, so this structure suits the game’s leitmotif appropriately. However, narrative arcs surely enhance what we said about tropes and stereotypes, not always in a good way. 

There’s also the problem of characters following the plot/comic gags instead of the opposite. A story may undoubtedly be full of gags and fanservice without it compromising its characters and their purpose inside the narration, but problems arise when said characters must adhere to rules set by the plot, rather than being realistic people freely taking actions and making mistakes.

More specifically, we’re referring to:

Ann and harassment

This, in our opinion, is the most emblematic case about narrative arcs and how they tend to be isolated from the rest of the game. Ann’s arc doesn’t revolve around a big issue, differently from others later on where the Phantom Thieves face threats against the entire Japan. However, Kamoshida feels like a real villain and the pain inflicted to his students isn’t less relevant than other issues. The firs arc tells us a story about harassment, how it may lead to victim blaming, social exclusion and extreme actions like Shiho’s attempted suicide. So, the game surely starts with a realist and captivating take, but what lies after it? Sadly, not much. From that moment on, Ann still remains the most sexualised member of the group and is often the one whose body is used as a tool to gain intel or other useful things - Yusuke’s modeling affair and the second letter of recommendation on Shido’s ship are just two blatant example.

And while Ryuji’s confidant is simple and straightforward yet still works properly, Ann’s one can be dull, revolving around characters less interesting and engaging than the ones we see during Kamoshida’s arc. Moreover, her confidant takes place while Shiho is still recovering, so we see her mentioned only few times.

Makoto and duty

Every awakening in Persona 5 is thrilling and moving but, speaking for us mods, we think that Makoto has one of the most galvanizing. Her arc embraces the leitmotif of rebellion and it works even better than the others since she always appears as a diligent and polite student. But is there something more after her awakening? Sadly, as we saw for Ann, the answer is no. Makoto’s confidant is plain, a simple solution placed by developers to show her personality while introducing new characters. It works, but it doesn’t give a further twist to the premise the game showed during her awakening. Not to mention that, despite her decision to less blindly follow the rules, Makoto is often relegated to the mom friend/dutiful student role, reminding others of rules and schoolwork and stuff. Yes, she has a relevant role in Sae’s arc, but we still find her confidant lacking what is shown during Kaneshiro’s arc.

Futaba and self growth

Futaba’s arc is interesting on many levels, especially because we see how a hikikomori undergoing severe traumas can overcome them, thus becoming a healthier person. Even though her arc is one of the most emotional in the game, Futaba quickly resets to a stage where she’s more of a comic relief than a vivid character and she often kicks in just to mock the other thieves or to solve problems tied to computer science and technology. Yes, this is coherent to her character, at the same time it often closes her in stereotypes since Futaba is limited by those roles rather than showing her new and mature side.

Kasumi and Sumire and the lack of closure

Sumire’s arc and confidant deal with finding acceptance and a new balance between her old and new self, since Sumire slowly accepts her sister’s death. Or, at least, this is what the game tries to convey to the players. We love what Persona 5 Royal added to the main game and we played both versions for hundred of hours, however we must admit how both of us mods found lack of proper character development throughout Sumire’s confidant. Her arc does a great job in showing how much pain she had to endure and how she begins to live with her sister’s death. But at the same time her confidant doesn’t give her a new starting point, in our opinion. Why? Because reaching rank ten with Sumire means that she just finds a new way to be tied to Kasumi, and not in a completely healthy way. Sumire admits how gymnastic was a way to be together with her sister and how she loved accessory activities tied to the sport, like eating ice cream after training, more than the sport itself. So, Sumire never really cared about the competitive side of gymnastic and, at the end of her confidant, it seems like she sticks with it just as a way to be tied to Kasumi again. Yes, this is surely a healthier way than the one she took with Maruki’s help, and we know how our opinion regarding Sumire can be controversial, at the same time we don’t think her confidant truly ends her arc properly.

What has typing every character highlighted?

After 3 playthroughs, two platinum trophies and many hours spent discussing this group of punks, we used MBTI to give a structure to our articles and, unexpectedly, we often had to slightly change our approach in typing the main cast. It’s been a huge project of analysis, research, reading online discussions and further learning. In the end, we’d like to write down our own conclusion about these characters. This specific section might be a bit more about our personal opinions, though.

Protagonist (ENFP)

Typing the protagonist was the wildest part of this project. Since he’s mostly an avatar controlled by the player, we knew everything had to be taken with a grain of salt. We separated canon from player’s choices, as a way to find what makes the protagonist a real character (sadly, not as much as he would have deserved). We also tried not to rely too much on gameplay mechanics in typing. In the end, we progressed by process of elimination, discarding the option that surely didn’t fit. We agreed on ENFP for him, but ENTP isn’t a bad match either. Even if a character so malleable by the player can’t be associated to a single type so easily, we do believe that a starting point somehow exists. Our hope for the future is that in new games we’ll get to play a real character, though.

Morgana (ESTJ)

Morgana was pretty hard to type, especially regarding the perceiving axis - which is a pity, because he’s not the stock ESTJ type of character. But since he’s the mascot of the Phantom Thieves, Morgana is often even more stereotyped than the other characters. He decently shows his dominant function during the game, but way less his auxiliary and tertiary ones, since his personality gets subdued by his function as the sidekick of the protagonist.

Ryuji (ESFP)

We talked above how tropes aren’t always detrimental and Ryuji is the perfect example of this concept. He was the easiest character to type, due to his simple (yet defined) personality. Ryuji demonstrates how a character doesn’t have to be complex or multifaceted to be interesting and loveable.

Ann (ESFJ)

Ann is the opposite case of Ryuji: a character driven by plot rather than by being a vivid person. We aren’t saying we dislike Ann (honestly there isn’t a thief we properly dislike), but we must admit how typing her was really difficult, and not because she’s too complex. It’s safe to assume she’s a Fe dom, however the game doesn’t give any solid clue about her perceiving axis - we traced down Si only by elimination and because her confidant show a clear FeNe loop, but otherwise the game offers nearly no clue of her Si (or Ti). Ann’s personality can’t shine properly in a game where, outside her narrative arc, she often has to follow the role of the ‘attractive/supportive character’ assigned to her. 

Yusuke (INTJ)

Yusuke is an interesting case: typing him wasn’t easy, but, contrary to Ann, just because he’s more complex than he may appear. Under the ‘artist’ trope (that misled the majority of the community towards ISFP) there’s a character with less predictable sides and a well-written arc. Also, a very nice example of a non-textbook INTJ, since these types are often associated with science and/or greater battles in life. Yusuke was a nice surprise to find.

Makoto (ISTJ)

Typing Makoto was a bit of a slow process, since there isn’t a popular type assigned to her by the community. At the same time, identifying her cognitive functions wasn’t too hard, so we can at least say she’s a relatively solid character, meaning that even if she’s mostly a textbook ISTJ, she still shows the development process of her inferior Ne and tertiary Fi in her confidant. Her growth is pretty linear, and the problem lies precisely in the lack of a proper twist in her personality, since she could have been far more interesting and less predictable.

Futaba (INFP)

Futaba was hands down the hardest character to type, since she’s tied to all the stereotypes of being quirky, asocial and nerd, usually associated with INTPs. Futaba perfectly shows how a theoretically well-written character can’t shine under specific circumstances: she has an emotional and complex arc, which was in fact our starting point in typing her, since it’s a pretty clear example of a FiSi loop. Yet, she acts more as a comic relief or as a source to solve IT-related problems, and her functions aren’t properly shown.

Haru (INFJ)

Despite the meme of Atlus hating her and not giving her the proper screen time (which isn’t untrue), Haru was pretty easy to type. She’s a nice example of how a character doesn’t have to follow his type’s tropes to feel real. Haru isn’t the typical daydreaming INFJ with a saviour complex, and in fact she gets sometimes mistyped as INFP. Unluckily, as for Ann, the game doesn’t do a good job in giving her a well-rounded personality, and in fact finding evidences of her third and fourth functions was pretty hard.

Goro (ENTJ)

Akechi is probably the most multifaceted and complex character in the game, at least in P5 vanilla - we believe Maruki lowkey stole that record in Royal. However, since he’s a well-written one (even if he still lacks a proper narrative arc, to a certain extent), Akechi wasn’t hard to type. The most interesting thing is that he may seem the classic ENTJ with a psychopath/killer personality, but in reality, he probably doesn’t suffer from any mental illness, and his character revolves around what happens when functions are used unhealthily, or are excessively underdeveloped. For this exact reason, though, we find a pity that the game doesn’t properly address the consequences and aftermath of a teen that had to commit severe crimes and murder people to find a place in life.

Kasumi (ENFP) and Sumire (ISFJ)

There’s a lot to say about Kasumi and Sumire, especially regarding their role in the plot and their confidants. Typing them wasn’t easy, since we only see Kasumi through Sumire’s actions, and both of them have a half-confidant instead of a proper one each. So, with both sisters we had to proceed a bit by process of elimination, since they appear for a relatively short time and without super strong evidences of their types despite a few functions. Sadly, they highlighted how writing characters for plot’s sake rather than by making them vivid may lead to incomplete narrative arcs.

We’ve come to the end of this article. Thank you for reading!

This officially concludes our journey with the P5 main cast - it’s been a wonderful experience to learn more about both MBTI and the characters of the game we loved so much. If you want to discuss things with us, we’ll gladly listen. You can reach out here on Tumblr in comments, asks and dms, as well as on Instagram.

(And, if you’re interested, we’ve also wrote about Maruki, Sojiro and Tae).