#the beauty of human beings is that we are capable of complex thought and are able to experience Nuance ❤

[hostilemuppet]

theres this trend with self described "sex positive leftists" to act like just bc somethings a kink makes it inherently morally neutral. like im sorry but if youre a white person into raceplay youre still racist idk what you want me to say here

[icantdothistodaybruh]

oh, are you familiar with the BoM side story? where arthur dreams of different characters in different fairy tales? i’ve become so! obsessed! with the snow queen versions of sebaciel. ciels outfit is so pretty on him!! but i love a ciel that left everything behind to stay with sebastian.. and sebastian, he’s been so lonely for so long that when he gets a pretty boy he can’t let him go. when someone tries to save him they not only get a “no” but get forcefully snow-blasted right out the door. they understand each other because no one sees the beauty in desolation like they do… so of course they stay isolated in a castle together.

there’s the panel where sebastian’s wrapping his coat around ciels whole body… sebastian acting so smugly to ciels rescuers… the line where ciel says he belongs to the devil… i could live here forever… please consider this cold angle of sebaciel

I AM! AND IT'S ONE OF MY FAVE EXTRAS OUT THERE!!

The implication that the whole dream was of Sebastian's doing (which he is very capable of judging by GWA) brings out such an interesting twist to it - we can see a glimpse of Sebastian's actual opinion on other characters! But I'm of course going to talk a little about Ciel solely for today hehe

I might be wrong since I only have ru and eng translation at hand, but the way Ciel talks about his heart being frozen and eye belonging to the devil makes me think of these acts as essentially same thing, especially given that he "adapted beautifully to the world of Ice" by Sebastian's words. I mean that his heart being frozen doesn't equal to death or inability to feel, but rather just that, adaptation and belonging.

Now I know it sounded far-fetched, but the reason It caught my attention in the first place was the mentioning of the heart at all. It's a dream made by Sebastian, the 'emotionless' and 'unfeeling' demon, with clear analogy to the contract built on power, revenge, and hunger for one's soul, or at least that is how it always was portrayed before. So why would his made up dream-Ciel suddenly bring a heart into equation?

You should've seen my face when I got to the chapter were Elizabeth escapes to rCiel. Call me delulu but it suddenly made so much sense when Sebastian started talking how "human hearts are mysterious, complex things" and "no matter if you are demon or god it is truly and utterly impossible to shackle another's heart." Before that I wouldn't even think he'd have any opinion on the matters of the heart, let alone it be a stated fact to him that he can't have it in a way he can own souls or bodies.

And so that man, in his made up dream, with a made up Ciel, made that Ciel say that not only his soul (eye) belongs to the devil, but heart too. Knowing for a fact it can't belong to him in reality. I'm speechless.

Also when I got your ask yesterday I thought I should make a fanart or a redraw of that scene, and once again, you should've seen my face when I found the page:

and if you don't know why I was so surprised I'll gladly explain with two more pics:

My head exploded.

Three pieces. Representing their change of masks and roles. Yet each is the same in it's core. And one of them is character's fantasy while other two his reality. I'm so done with this show.

...could it be that Arthur's dream made by Sebastian is yet another lie becoming truth?...

[abductedlawnchair]

*ranting and raving and stomping on rooftops and flailing my arms about* HUMANS ARE AMIMALS!!! WE ARE ANIMALS!!! QUIT ACTING LIKE WE'RE NOT!!!

I am so goddamn tired of society acting like we're not!!! I am so goddamn tired of us as a society acting like we are above all the other animals!!! I do not care that we are the apex!!! We are fucking ANIMALS!!! Like, just take a step back and observe us like we have our own nature documentary on Nat Geo or something. Maybe with David Attenborough or whatever, idc. Just imagine it.

We are a species of apes that just so happened to gain the ability of extremely complex and abstract thought, capability of language, an almost absurd level of self-awareness, and the type of intelligence that allowed us to discover, invent, and develop tools. A species of apes that just so happen to have such a crazy level of curiosity that we have the capability to learn about the world around us, and beyond.

The way we learn and develop is fascinating. If you observe a toddler from that standpoint, watching them interact with the world around them, you'd see how natural curiosity is to us, in our human nature. Neil deGrasse Tyson has literally said that children are beings of chaos because they're curious and learning about the world around them.

We all have children in us, just like we have our ancestors in us!!! Our brains are wired like theirs. Relatively, we have been in this state of society for an extremely short amount of time!! Our brains and nervous systems are still wired to survive and keep us safe from predators and other dangers!!

We are social creatures!! We need love and connection to survive!! We can't do things on our own. The only reason we ever got to where we are is because we work together and communicate and share knowledge. The way society is right now is too isolating!! Humans aren't meant to be fighting for a place in society!! Haven't you seen zookeepers?? Or anyone who cares for nature in any capacity?? We have an incredible capacity for compassion and caretaking, because we have the capability to know and understand the inner workings of ourselves and countless other species!! Caretaking and compassion is literally an innate human trait!! We're supposed to take care of each other and the world around us!! We literally are capable of pack bonding with ROOMBAS, for fucks sake!! Little robots that our ape brains see moving around on its own, being part of our homes, and thinks "little guy is alive... I love him"!!! Isn't that beautiful???

We were an evolution of Mother Earth, Herself, to grow Her and expand Her and care for Her!!! Whether you believe in intelligent design or just the absurdity of it all, it still happened like that. We have the capacity to care for Her in an evolved level, yet we're fucking it up so badly right now.

Indigenous cultures have always been on the right track. They've always been right about this. They have always known that we are all pieces of the same organism, just like the atoms and cells and organs and electricity in your body are all part of one body!!

And btw, culture is another HUGE part of us being social creatures!! Being expressive and creative and connected!! That's part of our nature!! We're meant to sing and dance and laugh together!! That connectivity of us being a collective is So Important!!! Making fun of people for being "sheep", or having "herd mentality" every single time is so stupid because yes!!! Yes that's EXACTLY how we are supposed to be!!! We are social creatures, remember?? The whole point is that we do things together!!!

I know how society is rn isn't the end all, be all, but it just breaks my heart that this Capitalism shit goes against some of the most beautiful parts of humanity!! We are animals!!! We are cute and curious and compassionate and social and we need warmth and sunlight and sustenance from the earth and water and sleep and shelter from the elements!! We have instincts just like everything else!! We came from the dust and we will return to the dust because we will always be part of the Earth, just like all the other animals!! And somehow, despite all odds, despite how robotic Capitalism wants us to be, our human nature seeps into everything.

Take care of yourself! You are an animal, after all! <3

*climbs off rooftop... for now*

[iongsiyi]

我的阿勒泰 To The Wonder : An Analyzation of Humanity (Part 1)

哈薩克文化裡，人與人之間產生友情或者愛情，是由於被看見，所以在哈薩克語中，我喜歡你意思是我清楚地看見你。

In Kazakhstan culture, in order for individuals to develop a friendship or a relationship, they need to be seen, that is why, "i like you" means "i can see you clearly" in Kazakh.

"To The Wonder" is a Chinese show that tells the story of Li Wenxiu, a Han girl from Altay, whose dream is to become a writer in Beijing, thinking that with it's rich culture, she would be able to write good stories. She returns home after a failed job, decided to settle down and work at her mother's store, along the way, she met Kazakh boy Batay, and built friendships with other residents, as well as discovering the beauty of Altay.

As a fellow Chinese, I would like to take the opportunity to make not only an appreciation about this wonderful show that got an impressive score of 8.1/10 on IMDB, but specifically an analyzation of humanity as reflected by the characters (Zhang Fengxia, Gao Xiaoliang, Li Wenxiu, and Tuoken)

As the mother of Li Wenxiu, losing her husband is one of the only things that Zhang Fengxia truly cannot let go of. Numbing herself with alcohol every night, reminiscing the memories between her and her late husband, but whenever her daughter asks about it, she avoids the topic and claims that she does not miss her late husband. In reality, deep in her heart, she not only deeply misses him, but she longs for love, a deep connection with someone.

When Gao Xiaoliang came along one day, she was blinded by her longing, diving headfirst into a relationship with him, claiming that he was sent by her late husband. There is no wrong in that, as humans, we all have an innate longing and want for love. However, when she realized everything that Gao Xiaoliang did was only an act, she allowed herself to grief what they had, what she thought they had, and sat with her emotions, quickly picking herself up after and moving forward with life.

In my opinion, that was truly the most touching yet heartbreaking moment in the show. Unfolding the complexity of the human heart, as well as demonstrating the strong will that humans are capable of - to live, to move on, to move forward with life despite the amount of times our hearts have been trampled all over.

一個男人跑了就跑了嘛！我們離了婚也不丢人的，男人没了，再找一個嘛

Most audiences think Gao Xiaoliang is a bad person, lying to Zhang Fengxia about his true intentions, earning her trust and leaving her behind, and lying to Li Wenxiu when they were working together in Urumqi. But that's the thing about humanity, there is never an exact definition of what's good or bad. Just because someone did something doesn't make them a bad person. In order to understand him truly, we need to look at the character from their perspective.

Being robbed when he first got to Xinjiang, losing everything he's worked for and truly losing directions in life; decided to hold on to Zhang Fengxia as his last resort, but seizing the opportunity of earning money because that's his priority in life - to earn money.

Blinded by his want for an adequate life, for money, he lied to Zhang Fengxia and left her behind, he negotiated with his boss to get Li Wenxiu's severance pay, but only giving her the 1/3 that he actually received. Yes, he may seem like the villain to the protagonists, but that would be an unfair statement to his character as a whole. Did he want to settle down with Zhang Fengxia? Yes. Did he give Li Wenxiu some of the pay when he could've kept all of it to himself? Yes.

But at the end of the day, as humans, we all get blinded by certain things, we all have our own wants and may do anything in our power to "seize the moment". Actions that we commit don't define us, who we are, because we have to understand that humans are complex and there is no "black-and-white" to us. All these actions only added to the depth of the character and our sympathy for what he went through, and how he got to the point where he was mad.

我出人頭地了，你出人頭地了嗎？

[astrogurujimayanksblog]

Astro Observations

Astrology offers an in-depth look at the hidden aspects of human behavior, and certain placements can reveal intense, dark, and even shocking truths about individuals. In this article, we delve into some of the more unusual and adult-oriented astrological observations, shedding light on behaviors and tendencies that go unnoticed in traditional readings. This random edition of astro insights focuses on the darker, more intense placements and aspects that can shape an individual's life and character.

The Intriguing Beauty of Cancer Risings

Cancer risings possess an undeniable beauty, both physical and emotional. Their aura is often soft, nurturing, and deeply comforting, making them naturally attractive to others. What adds to their allure is their ability to connect with people on a profound emotional level. Beneath their gentle exterior, Cancer risings can also exhibit a wild, freaky side that takes others by surprise. This hidden duality is what makes them so captivating.

Unconscious Influences in Astrology

Astrology is more than just sun signs and personality traits; it uncovers the subtle and often unconscious influences that govern our lives. Knowing the intricacies of your chart gives you an edge, as you can see how these hidden energies shape the decisions, actions, and emotions of those around you. It is crucial to recognize these energies to avoid being swept up in unconscious behaviors or toxic patterns. Understanding your astrological influences allows you to navigate life with more awareness and intention.

Mars Conjunct/Parallel Daitarabochi (8551): A Dark Persona Emerges

Individuals with Mars conjunct or parallel to the asteroid Daitarabochi (8551) tend to harbor dark and intense desires. They can be highly violent if pushed, and their attraction to taboo subjects makes them seem intimidating to those who don’t understand them. Even if they are not physically imposing, their energy can be repulsive or frightening to some. This placement indicates a fascination with the darker aspects of life, making them drawn to themes of power, control, and even violence.

Mercury Conjunct/Parallel Daitarabochi (8551): The Mind of a Dark Genius

Those with Mercury conjunct or parallel to Daitarabochi (8551) often possess minds that operate on a different plane. Their thought processes are intense, and at times, they can seem frightening or unhinged. These individuals often wrestle with dark thoughts, and suicide or extreme actions may cross their minds more than others. Although they aren't necessarily psychopaths, their mental world is complex and intense, often drawing them into dark spaces metaphorically. They may struggle to see the light or to stay grounded in positivity, leading to emotional isolation.

Mars Conjunct/Parallel Heracles (5143): The Unyielding Warrior

When Mars is conjunct or parallel to Heracles (5143), the individual exhibits unshakable determination and a strong will to conquer challenges. These individuals seem to attract difficult situations that test their strength and courage. With a competitive and combative attitude, they are often seen fighting through life's obstacles with sheer power. This placement signifies a natural warrior who thrives on proving themselves in the face of adversity, often seeking out opportunities to test their limits.

Mars Conjunct/Parallel DANTE (2999): The Dark Crusader

Mars conjunct or parallel to the asteroid DANTE (2999) indicates an individual capable of extreme, even brutal, actions in pursuit of their goals. These individuals often walk a fine line between what society deems morally acceptable and the darker, more violent side of human nature. Driven by a deep connection to the shadow side of existence, they can be cold and calculating, willing to go to great lengths to achieve their objectives. This placement is similar to the fictional character Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach, who thrives on chaos and power struggles.

Scorpio Venus: Struggles with Love and Loyalty

Scorpio Venus individuals often face unique challenges in relationships. In an era where loyalty and fidelity are increasingly questioned, Scorpio Venuses feel the impact more profoundly. They are intensely loyal and crave a deep, emotional connection with one person, but modern dating practices, such as open relationships or polyamory, can leave them feeling unfulfilled. Despite their best efforts, finding that one person with whom they can merge completely seems elusive, causing emotional turmoil.

Sexuality in Astrology: The Opposite Expression

Astrology also plays a role in how individuals express themselves sexually. For instance, those with Eros in Aries tend to be more submissive in intimate situations, despite Aries being known for its dominant energy. Conversely, Eros in Libra individuals can be more dominant and aggressive in bed. This opposition between their astrological sign and their sexual expression is a fascinating quirk that adds complexity to their relationships.

Mars in Capricorn: The Devil's Determination

Mars in Capricorn individuals can sometimes embody the archetype of the devil—ruthless, materialistic, and overly focused on their ambitions. They are known for their intense endurance and stamina, both physically and mentally, but their relentless drive often leads to suppression of their emotional and sexual needs. If not properly aligned with their goals, Mars in Capricorn individuals can slip into deep states of depression, objectifying others in the process and becoming harshly critical of themselves and those around them.

Lilith Dominants: Unconscious Darkness

Many people who are dominant in Lilith energy may not even be aware of the power this placement holds over them. Unconscious Lilith dominants often come across as narcissistic, manipulative, and cold. They can be violent or cruel in their pursuit of control, and they may leave a trail of emotional destruction in their wake. Lilith’s influence, when left unchecked, is poisonous, and it requires a deep level of self-awareness to keep her dark energy from ruling one’s life.

Moon Conjunct Chiron: The Wounded Child

Individuals with the Moon conjunct Chiron often carry deep emotional wounds related to their mothers. This placement indicates a history of neglect or betrayal by the mother figure, leading the native to either be overly naive or completely distrusting of their mother. However, these individuals also possess immense compassion and empathy for others, often channeling their pain into healing or helping those who are suffering.

Lust Conjunct/Parallel Moon: Emotional and Physical Desire

Those with Lust (4386) conjunct or parallel to their Moon often experience a blurred line between their emotional needs and their physical desires. These individuals crave deep emotional and sensual satisfaction, and once they connect with someone on an emotional level, they become almost hypnotic in their ability to seduce. They may struggle with feelings of depression or emptiness if they do not have a partner to fulfill their intense desire for intimacy and pleasure.

Anime Villains: The Archetype of Lilith/Pluto Dominants

Many of the villains in anime are excellent examples of Lilith/Pluto dominant individuals. These characters often embody the darker aspects of human nature—control, power, manipulation, and destruction. They mirror the unconscious desires of Lilith and Pluto placements, showcasing what happens when dark, shadowy energies take over, leading to a path of chaos and devastation.

[savagewildnerness]

This little silly happy one is for S3! The Vampire Lestat is happening folks! I am so excited! Eighteenth century Lestat! Gabrielle! Nicolas! Wolves! Rockstar Lestat! Akasha! Marius! Lelio!

I can’t wait to see Lestat reflecting on the moral quandaries of being a vampire capable of monstrous things both intentionally & unintentionally, but who at the core of who he is, in the ‘human’ thinking & feeling & caring part of his brain - is in many ways - Good. He oscillates between fearing he is & celebrating that he is “the perfect Devil”, but as I see it - We (is humans too) are all complex, multifaceted beings with good & bad & beauty & terror within us. Vampires are that times a million, just with the monstrous bits a very inescapable & extreme part of their nature. Lestat’s eternal quandary is whether it is possible for him to be or do good when he does evil things & will again & causes harm to people who do not deserve harm… but that he does evil things does not negate the good as I see it, though it’s not a simple question or answer.

I hope the show will articulate this & delve into Lestat’s philosophical questioning & self-reflection as well as his reflections on goodness in art, nature & aesthetic matters. And I hope it’ll correlate to us as humans & how we too - every single one of us have done or thought bad things or ignored good we should have done & does that mean we too are irredeemable?

And now S3 is happening, I’m going to SAY IT! I love Lestat. For all of who he is! His darkness & his light! I am also SO EXCITED for Nicolas de Lenfent! And Nicki & Lestat’s conversation. And what they’ll create with Louis & Lestat in modern day, which I feel already in my heart & soul shall be BEAUTY!

WOOHOO!

[iwriteasfotini]

Humanizing a Villain

“I am unsure what that would feel like. ‘Affection’ is a concept highly entwined with romance to me.”

“But don’t you consider people your friends?”

“Certainly, I consider any person I spend time with a friend,” Voldemort said. “But I feel no affection for them—fondness, perhaps—but it is most typically purely utilitarian.”

“Those are synonyms, my Lord,” Bellatrix whispered. 

- Keep My Candle Burning, Chapter 43 Aquarius sun, Taurus moon

To @keepmycandleburning -

I love this story arc. Taking someone as generally hated as Lord Voldemort and giving him a meaningful backstory is not only fun, but takes talent. You wrote Voldemort so well, I often forgot he was the villain of the whole series as I read your story. The things he does are truly horrific, and yet I found myself justifying them on behalf of who he is as a person. He is immensely flawed. And he is also someone with real emotions. Someone capable of building deep and meaningful relationships, even if it takes him decades to discover this about himself. And yes he is a bit of a predator who targets vulnerable young people who are usually dealing with emotional turmoil, but he doesn’t force people to like him. He genuinely thinks he is being “helpful” to all these people. 

Something very interesting which stuck with me is the way people spoke of Voldemort as beautiful. They were fascinated by his physical characteristics rather than repulsed. Not everyone was in this category, mind. But those he was closest to became accustomed to his distinct features: flat snakelike nose, scarlet eyes, seemingly lack of hair, long thin limbs, delicate spidery hands. It made him far less creepy and far more fantastical. People look all sorts of different ways, yet we tend to see only a few representations of beauty in the real world. 

You wrote his dialogue and speech patterns so well. Because I saw your patterns so often, in scenes where you reverted to canon dialogue, Voldemort almost felt off from himself. I know you based your dialogue and speech strictly off canon, and it isn’t that which made me want to hurry through those canon dialogue scenes. It was that he felt flat in the canon scenes. Your Voldemort is far more robust and it comes through in the words he uses, his unique turns of phrase, and the times he chooses to speak at all. I almost wish you would have stayed less strict in your canon compliance and rewritten the dialogue to suit your Voldemort. Anyone who has delved into this character cannot deny how IC his mannerisms, speech, and movements are. And yet, I think what you do with him yourself is far superior to anything he does in canon. 

The complexity of his relationships was so sad and also so beautiful to me. I loved watching his progression through the story. It took me a while to get used to a physically affectionate Voldemort, but once I did, I just needed more and more of it. His constant seeking of warmth, much like a snake, his struggles with his ability to engage fully in sex - always making it about the other person, and the slow development of new physical relationships were all things which stood out to me. It all felt so authentic to his character. The man likes to be touched. He seeks it out. And he finds people who are willing to reciprocate. It is such a stark contrast from my HC of Voldemort being touch adverse. And in your story it works because it is complicated! He has some excessive needs and also some extreme aversions. 

All his romantic partners were also a surprise and felt perfectly IC. I know this is a Bellamort fic, but there are several other romantic pairings which are just as important if not more so, in my opinion. By the end, I can clearly define four relationships which carry the weight of a monogamous partner which he has had through his life. And some of those relationships overlap with each other. That didn’t weird me out at all. I never thought twice about it. For whatever reason it made perfect sense in the context of your story. He is someone who is so needy one person cannot be enough, he would suffocate them. Voldemort needs almost a ridiculous amount of love. And he gets it! 

[subliminalbo]

Mind Control in the Wild #3: Shivers

Hotness: 1 Context: 4 Creativity: 4 Final Score: 2.33

CW: Sexual assault

You can watch Shivers for free on Tubi.

While mind control creeps into David Cronenberg's early work enough to make you wonder if he's a secret weirdo like me (this is a joke, Cronenberg is such a fucking weirdo), none of his films come as close to an EMCSA plot as 1975's Shivers. Often miscredited as Cronenberg's feature film debut, I would say that it is his first notable film.

Like many of the shock horror films of the 1970s, Shivers was panned by contemporary reviewers for its violence and gore. Also like many of the shock horror films of the 1970s, it's not really that gory at all. In the 80s, Cronenberg would codify the body horror genre with films like Videodrome and The Fly, and Shivers does play with similar tropes, but it never goes as far into the gore as you might expect. It does feature plenty of bloody parasites being vomited up and the eruption of one from a host's stomach that would be replicated to better effect a few years later in Alien, but the horror in Shivers is largely found in the actions of the parasites' hosts.

To put it more bluntly, David Cronenberg's Shivers is about sex zombies. It's an apocalyptic story where humanity ultimately succumbs to a parasitic invasion that, to use a direct quote from the film, turns the world into "one beautiful, mindless orgy." I imagine that it watches a lot differently for someone who doesn't have a mind control fetish.

There's enough brutality in this movie that I felt the need to include the content warning up top. It is about people being compelled by preternatural forces to commit sexual violence and ultimately that's a big reason that it ranks so low in the hotness category. There is a lot of mind control sex in this film, but there isn't a moment where it's being played for anything but horror. It may not be very scary to a hypnofetishist, but it's more likely to make you interrogate your fetish than to scratch an itch.

The entire film takes place within a large apartment complex in Montreal where a mad scientist has developed a sexually transmitted aphrodisiac parasite with the intention, I guess, of making the world sexier. The disgraced professor uses one of his young students as a guinea pig, and we open on him brutally murdering her before killing himself. The medical staff at the apartment is left to piece together the story, learning too late that the professor's student was a carrier of the parasite and that she was sleeping with several men in the complex.

The first third of the film is largely dedicated to this mystery while establishing the handful of characters that we follow. It's very slow, but once the parasites begin infecting the tenants, the pace ratchets up. From a story structure, it checks a lot of boxes for me. We get enough of a glimpse of these characters' everyday lives that we know who they are and we feel for them once the weird shit starts happening, but that also makes it more exciting when these characters become victims. I preach a lot about the importance of establishing characters in mind control stories before throwing them into the mind control. There are many scenes in Shivers that introduce random strangers who immediately become victims, but there are plenty of long set ups and payoffs. The film ends with every character infected; what we're really watching is the serial recruitment of an entire apartment complex.

I've used that word "zombies" to describe the infected, but it's not exactly one to one with Romero's living dead. In some scenes they shuffle around mindlessly, but in others they speak clearly and appear capable of (mostly) rational thought. The infected are alive, which means that they can be easily killed. In one scene, we see an infected tenant flee from gunfire, so we know that they retain a sense of self-preservation over the compulsion for sex. Cronenberg's follow-up, Rabid, features a far more straightforward zombie apocalypse where the infected shuffle and growl and leak shit from their orifices before ultimately falling into a coma and dying. If the parasites in Shivers aren't fatal and its hosts are just super horny forever, is it really an apocalypse?

Shivers is the kind of movie that exists on the boundaries of hypnofetish content but never fully crosses over. It's not interested in being sexy with its premise at all, it's a body horror movie. To anyone who might be interested in watching it, my biggest warning is that Cronenberg is known for taking things too far, and in a couple scenes he shows that even children aren't immune to the parasitic infection. It's nothing explicit, but the implication is enough to make it the only genuine horror in the movie and likely a reason to avoid it.

Still, it's hard not to respect the influence that Shivers has on the squicky mind control community. Later parasite invasion movies would go much harder in the zombie apocalypse direction, like 1986's Night of the Creeps and 2006's Slither, the latter of which features a parasite in the bathtub scene that is reminiscent to one in Shivers. But beyond influences in mainstream media, you can see Shivers' DNA in random hypnokink webcomics or EMCSA stories or in those parasite porn videos that are everywhere on Reddit. It's a classic case of one man's horror is another's kink. So watch it with caution: it's a little boring, it goes a little too far in one direction while not enough in another, and the parasites look like dried turds.

[paradoxicalpaldeann]

okay. been having more thoughts abt the demigod au so i thought i'd probably better share them. i also havent decided which ships would be funniest

first off, general world details here.

the mist is a lot weaker than it is in pjo canon due to a lot of different reasons, but this essentially means that demigods and monsters have an unspoken pact to NOT start fights in public areas as if the godly world is exposed the monsters have realised it will be worse for them than it will be for the humans.

as a result, instead of living remote a lot of demigod communities (like camp half blood) are in much more public spaces to abuse this treaty. the place where sr lives is a bigger on the inside apartment complex which houses a considerable amount of demigods (like 40% of the welsh community) that still houses a lot of the amenties camp halfblood has, such as but not limited to floors that are just entire fucking forests and lakes. nobody knows how it works or who made it (rumour currently holds that the building's actually a part of the Labryinth) but the complex changes to everyone's needs and seems happy to house everyone, so they roll with it. yes, it's sentient.

technology doesn't attract monsters ANY MORE. it used to, but somehow it no longer does. as a result most people still use iris messaging out of habit and the complex only just got wifi (it's fucking good though)

demigods are generally a lot weirder and inhuman than in canon. i wanted to lean into the eldritch bullshit chat

it's not just celestial bronze and it's counterparts that can harm monsters, hecate's kids have recently invented simple enchantments which allow any weapon to harm a monster if engraved into it.

instead of cabins we have floors. gods with enough kids get entire floors, otherwise they get a dedicated wing on a floor, or just a few rooms (for really minor gods)

wings always have pretty big common rooms that are usually themed after the god it belongs to

stan, son of arachne

weird half monster. (demimonster?) nobody knows how he can possibly exist or why his father saw a spider centaur woman and went "oh yeah i have GOT to sleep with you with no protection"

he still has severe arachnophobia. if anything, it gets worse once he realises he is biologically related to EVERY single spider on earth.

he's capable of making webs. it's more a weird magic thing- he essentially reaches out and 'pulls' and creates thin, incredibly strong webs from thin air that can slice through skin and bone with ease. because it's Magic he can also willingly dismiss them or make them permanent (for when he weaves things)

he's sticky. like spiderman.

he essentially has weird 360 vision- he can see all around him, but if he's not looking at it directly colours are hard. he also has shit vision in general.

claws, great sense of smell, he's somehow even taller than irl stan

he panics and bites a monster once and thats how he learns he's actually venomous. his saliva can be deadly if it gets into your bloodstream (KISSING IS FINE THOUGH)

when his limbs get severed he's capable of just. sticking them back on. the perks of being half monster

like monsters, he can smell demigods but he never knew thats what he was smelling and he kinda thought everyone could do that. everyone has a unique smell to him

on that note he's also technically stronger than all the demigods and heals faster he's just shit at fighting

he can sense spiders if he tries hard enough

he's on floor 6 which has the athena wing in it, he originally lived on an empty 'minor god' floor until sam and ebbz got him to move into the minor god wing on floor 6

the athena kids abuse his spider detecting ability

kaif, son of aphrodite

yes kaif's an aphrodite kid.

he's got kind of a weird ethereal beauty kinda thing going on, it's pretty to mortals who can't see through the mist but to everyone who can he suddenly becomes incredibly uncanny, unnerving and strange- eyes too bright with strange colourful patterns dancing within his irises, teeth sharp, fingers just a bit too long, etc

he's got an innate ability that he finds insanely annoying, essentially the mist (thing in pjo lore that hides monsters from ppl) is being constantly warped around him by his powers in a way that makes him incredibly eye catching and a bit alluring. people quite literally can't take their eyes off him. he hates it.

he hasn't figured out if he can turn it off but he's figured out how to reverse it, which makes him essentially invisible to people which is equally annoying. he can only either be completely unseen or steal the spotlight.

he's a really good shapeshifter and super talented with his charmspeak too, although he does tend to subconsciously shapeshift in small ways when his emotions are really strong

he's actually a really good fighter. he mostly started training out of spite after a few too many judging comments on how fragile he looks from other demigods

he gets along well with sr because they don't really care abt his strangeness and treat him like an equal, not caring about the fact that his fangs sometimes grow and jut out of his mouth like blades when he's angry

he initially thought stan was somehow affected by the mist despite being half monster because stan called him pretty (and meant it) but then he gets insanely flustered when he realises that stan is seeing what he actually is and is still interested

his chosen weapon is whatever he can get his fucking hands on (tends to be a sword)

kaif's on floor 7 in the aphrodite wing, but he frequently ends up on floor 6 in the minor gods wing with ebbz and stan. people have jokes about him living there

sam, son of athena

sam's an athena kid! woo!

he has telumkinesis, which essentially means he can manipulate weaponry.

so far all he can do with that is summon infinite throwing knives and launch them at bitches but that tires him out so he sticks to making a few and retrieving them via telekinesis. knife machine gun.

he's also very talented with ranged weapons. and he's incredibly good at strategic planning- one of the best in the athena wing to date.

also severely arachnophobic- its an athena kid thing.

he has NO BELLY BUTTON!!! athena is a virgin goddess, so she doesn't actually Fuck. it's canon in pjo that her kids are quite literally brain children like how she was born (but with less skull cracking). she has kids via a 'meeting of the minds' where she combines her thoughts with her lovers into a kid as a gift to them. as a result, sam, and by extension all athena kids, don't have a belly button because they never had an umbilical cord- they just Happened. (im undecided if stan is the same because he hatched from a spider's egg or if he was born like a normal human kid)

sam was initially very very wary of stan since athena and arachne have a centuries long blood feud but he warmed up to him pretty quickly. arachne is mortified by the fact that she finally had a human son and maybe she could finally challenge a child of athena with proper might and her kid instantly went and started crushing on the first athena kid she saw like NO I MEANT SMASH HIM TO PIECES LIKE DEAD NOT THAT NOT THAT. athena finds it fucking hilarious.

sam does not sleep unless forced to, this is how he and stan first started getting along- stan had a nightmare and ended up just exploring the floors and ended up in the athena wing before he moved there and a sleep deprived sam held a knife to his throat and stan gave him some cookies he baked and then put a pillow under his head and a blanket on him when he passed out and sam got attached

do NOT ask sam about obscure video game lore he will info dump on your ass it's in his blood

lives on floor 6 in the athena wing

ebbz, daughter of styx

like stan, she dealt with some pretty negative attitudes towards her when she first showed up at the complex. being the daughter of the goddess of hatred will do that to you.

i've already talked about her high pressure water guns but she's also got incredibly strong skin, as if she was dipped within the river styx. it's not FULL invincibility, she can still be injured, but it takes a lot. her weak spots are her eyes, inside her mouth, and a small patch of skin just beneath her chin. she likes to wear full biker helmets as a result.

insane stamina.

she's taller than irl ebbz and way more muscular- she's built like an honest to god brick wall, and her dark obsidian eyes that sometimes seem to flash a deep vibrant purple-blue and perpetual scowl make her pretty unnerving.

she's actually really nice she just has a godly genetic resting bitch face and nobody told her for 70% of her life that she looks like she's about to kill someone whenever she's actually enjoying a conversation so she never knew why people avoided her

after travelling to the underworld and meeting her mother for the first time, she's convinced by her to drink from the river styx. this act burns the ever living fuck out of her hands (she starts to wear gloves) but afterwards she is capable of channeling pure, unfiltered hatred for attacks and to buff herself up temporarily. she channels it into her palms once and turns a monster to dust simply by grabbing them. she's scary

her chosen weapon is a spear.

she's the head of the minor gods wings, essentially camp counsellor. she organises everyone but she doesnt start out in this role

lives on floor 6 in the minor gods wing.

josh, son of hermes

josh is ABSOLUTELY a hermes kid he's too much of a professional instigator to not be related to the god of thieves

he's unnaturally fast, one of the fastest demigods around. he can floaf VERY briefly but chicken boy is Not Immune To Fall Damage

as hermes is also the god of roads, whenever they're on land josh is essentially a walking map. his sense of direction is impeccable. on water, in air, underground and in the underworld he cant do shit though

josh is capable of a handful of silly things, mainly he's an incredible thief and lockpick. if he knows the exact location of an item that is the size of his palm or smaller and he can see where it is or the person who has it, he's capable of teleporting it straight into his hand. makes escaping easy.

additionally he's capable of 'delivering' items to people if he's seen their face and he's either enchanted the item or slapped an enchanted sticker on it. it's incredibly useful in situations where iris messaging and phones are unavailible, and he sometimes uses this in combat to hilarious effect.

his main weapons are a bow and a fuckton of explosives. the hephaestus kids ADORE him as he finds a lot of weird components and metals and secretly delivers it to them frequently so no officials can get annoyed at them for having potentially dangerous shit, and as a result they happily supply him with hand made grenades.

he uses his delivery ability to deliver arrows directly into skulls, or live grenades into an enemies pocket. he's a menace if he has ammunition.

if all else fails he's really good at kicking people! celestial bronze toe boots are a life saver

josh helps run the on-site hermes express department, which means he's frequently using a book full of people's faces to deliver mail and inform new demigods of their status and that they have a place to stay if they wish.

he lives on floor 3, which is the hermes floor- hermes gets an entire floor for all his kids and hermes express deliveries. hermes is one of the few gods who frequently visits the complex, as he often comes to deliver lists of new demigods the other gods finally admitted to having been involved in the births of. and bribery for dionysus, who has a similar role to pjo canon. everyone's got a weird cryptid hermes story.

nia, daughter of hades

bet you weren't expecting this one huh

nia is one of the very few kids of the 'big three' alive today.

people initially stereotyped her as an aphrodite kid when she was unclaimed due to the pink hair, but hades claimed her in private in front of Brad. brad is an ares kid.

as a result, brad agreed to help hide her as an ares kid as they knew how dangerous this was- hades did too. thats why she was claimed in private, and why hades gives ares gifts each month for letting this slide.

telumkinesis, which i mentioned earlier, is common within ares and athena kids (athena is the goddess of battles) and nia fakes this with her ability to manipulate metals as hades has control of everything that originated beneath the earth- aka, metals. brad gets her a custom axe that has more metal in it than usual so it's easier for her to control it.

her control over the earth is insanely good and it's better than her control over the dead, but ghosts and shades are still willing to cooperate with her because she's nice about it.

she tends to give shiny rocks to people she likes like a weird terrifying muscular crow with a giant battle axe

she's good at navigating underground, and has shadow travel but she sucks at it

yknow how i mentioned stan can reattach his limbs? thats because here, instead of breaking his wrist she cuts his fucking hand off on accident

lives on floor 5 with the ares kids in the ares wing but after the truth comes out she's allowed to move the entire hades wing to floor 5 so she can stay with the people she grew up with (she was found quite early in her life)

brad, son of ares

brad is pretty infamous for somehow being a 'Normal' son of ares. the truth is he's just good at hiding his batshit insane tendencies but weh

gets along really well with a lot of people

he's insanely good with every single weapon he wields

ares is also the god of courage, and brad is known for his pep talks and encouraging presence. thats why he's also mistaken to be a 'normal' ares child- he's more courage than he is war.

people also thought he was a hephaestus kid for a bit as he's fine with the heat of the forge and knows how weapons work simply by looking at them, but in reality he's just silly like that.

he was claimed by his father after slaying a giant monster that burrowed into the complex through the ground after distracting it with three seperate wooden chairs. he was given ares' blessing, and used his newfound strength to tear the monster apart with brute strength before the blessing faded.

he teaches newbies how to fight, and the fact he's more courage than war makes him a great teacher.

his favoured weapon is a gun. im not shitting you. he has celestial bronze bullets and everything. he just whips out a gun.

lives on floor 5 in the ares wing

thats all i have for now but im planning to add more like other members of sr as demigods

[yakultii]

imo the main issue with society chronically online is that people are losing the ability to think critically, or maybe we aren’t losing the ability to do so, but rather lack the desire to communicate more nuanced understandings of things in the digital space. this black-and-white mindset leads us to forget that multiple perspectives can coexist (for the same person) and we don’t always have to “take a side” to be viewed as confident/having strong character. life is pretty complex and I think it should be allowed to be, especially considering we personally are unlikely to know everything there is to know about it. For example, I can believe that life is probably complex but I can also believe that life is simple, we live and we die so just be nice! — two things at the same time! and I won’t fight you if you strongly believe in just one and I won’t doubt your entire being if you are unsure of where you stand but I think it’s cool all sides are able to be considered and we aren’t necessarily required to land on one thing (because we actually aren’t a search engine required to spit out definite answers at any moment - a search engine was just a tool created to simplify the complexities of human thought but it never required us to become it). I’m a big fan of the internet but we gotta remember we still have human capabilities !! we aren’t actually bots ourselves, at least not yet. I could be wrong but I highly doubt we were put on earth to become the embodiment of a comment section - in fact the comment section was probably intended to become an embodiment of us, we just got a little lost along the way :,) in saying all that the internet is beautiful, there’s so many lovely people! I love it! I just hope we don’t forget to communicate our cool human abilities in digital spaces too :)

[pearl484-blog]

My main issue with senti-monsters

Alright, so first of all, this is not an essay about the senti-Adrien, senti-Felix, senti-Kagami, senti-Chloe or any other senti-person theories. There are a lot of complex theories and debates and discussions about the ethics and moral implications around it. 

No. This is an essay about missed potential surrounding senti-monsters, which is probably one of the least relevant things you’ll need to hear about it. This isn’t about poor execution or predicting where the show will go. It’s not about someone who did something right (well, not completely), or anything like that. In fact, I am veering far away from most of the usual senti-monster topics. So, if you’re hear to discuss humans born of senti-monsters or anything like that, this is not for you. Sorry.  

Now, first of all, I have opinions about the name senti-monster. Now, it’s not what you think. I’m not one of those people about to advocate for using senti-being here. No. I’m here because I want to ask: “Where are all the monsters?”

My introduction to the Peacock was a black eyed woman ripping a monstrous butterfly made of grief painfully out of Hawk Moth against his will. This thing was huge, massive, and scary. It’s design was creative and clearly reflected that this thing belonged to Hawk Moth, and he didn’t have any say in its creation whatsoever. 

My next few introductions were promising. A lolipop monster made out of a need for processed sugar from a baby, and I read that very well, and a simple monster made from hunger which was nearly impossible to defeat, which yeah, giant frog that’s basically a moving mouth. I can get behind that. 

But unfortunately, we also had Senti-bug, and that kinda derailed things. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love Senti-bug, and the moral implications behind her and her destruction are beautiful, and it raised the sentiment of “Good God, the Peacock’s ability to create life and take it away in the snap of their fingers is horrifying”, but alas, it set us down the path of human monsters, which is most decidely not monster-like. 

See, what I thought was going to happen was that the senti-monsters would be representative of deeply buried emotions, the dark, forbidden secrets that you shamefully keep locked up and hidden away for no one to find, and that their creations would be a very unpleasant experience for their hosts. 

The design team has proven with it’s design ideas to be more than capable of being up to the task. The akumas especially are amazing design wise. Most of them have a unique silhouette, are recognizable at a glance, and you can tell important character traits with them. (Except Vanisher who does not have a distinct character design and doesn’t even have their own episode). There are some pretty obvious flops, yes, but even those often have a reason. Some of these akumas do not look good at all, but usually there’s a reason behind it. Ie, Aspik’s hood is concealing his hair, reflecting his need to hide himself and a visual reference to Hawk Moth, Reflekta’s design is almost painful, but memorable, and the Bubbler reflects his childnessness of both his worldview and his influence, blowing bubbles. 

However, it was clear that akumas were begining to stagnate. It was obviously getting harder and harder to come up with realistic reasons why a character might lose their cool, and the loads and loads of characters was starting to become worrisome if the series wanted to keep up the momentum and focus on the characters they already had. 

The obvious solution, I believed, was making the Peacock target deeply buried emotions, setting up a one-two punch. Either you could become an akuma, losing yourself to your flaws in a moment that you lose control, or you could bury your feelings until they became strong enough to become a senti-monster, a living embodiment of a feeling you never wanted revealed. This would start a catch-22, either you deal with your emotions in a healthy way and resolve them, hopefully in a way where neither of you lose your cool, or you avoid it and it turns on you. 

This would begin to force people to move things very quickly or suffer the consequences. Long simmering grudges you know are stupid and pointless get brought to the surface. Deep fears come alive. Secrets you keep hidden from everyone come alive. It could also affect the heroes too, without completely incapicatating them. For example, Adrien’s hidden resentments could come to life, or Marinette’s crush may decide to confess regardless of her say so. Even better, you could take inspiration from Fu’s montster and make the host have a strong emotional reaction to them. From panic to anger to fear to hopelessness. It’s rife with drama.

Now, originally, the Peacock was meant to be used for good, so how would it work if they were heroic? Well, the same way Shadows work in the Persona series. Yes, each character rejects their shadows, but when they accept their Shadows, they become allies. Yet, when rejected Shadows are a problem. It’d be a case of Bad Powers, Good People, where the Peacock’s abilities are dark and creepy, but could be used for good, not just for combat, but for self-growth, and it’d absolutely deserve the moniker senti-monster.  

This would let us see the heroes deal with talking people down in their own ways, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Queen Bee could cut straight to the heart of the matter and tell you what’s going on, no frills, but that might also hurt people and she might have to learn how to stop being callous but still use her skill at dissecting people and seeing their flaws. Ladybug may be kind and compassionate, with a lot of people looking up to her, but she might have a tendency to miss the point. Rena Rouge may be confident and have an internal strength that allows for no bullsh*t, but she can also be pushy. Carapace may be calm and non-judgemental, but might need to work on pushing people out of their comfort zone. Chat Noir would be great at this, being that he is very naturally empathetic, and tends to understand what people are dealing with quickly, but he’s also conflict avoidant, and would be screwed if it happened to him. 

Plus, I’d be able to see monstrous representations of problems and each character needing to accept terrible parts of themselves or be afraid of others learning about it. And I’d get to see fan material that leans into monsters and that creative side a bit more. Like debates over what Alix’s monster would be or represent, or fan art of Rose’s sick looking unicorn design. 

[ryuichirou]

Waves!

Its the OruVil/VilOrtho shipper again, back in your dms offering more of this consuming ship 🩵💜

So the new event Playful Land! I’m not sure if you’ve seen any or played it yet (sadly I’m not sure if you’re EN or JP sever), don’t worry I will keep this post entirely spoiler free for the sake of everyone here!

There has been a LOT of interaction between these two.

It’s got me thinking about the whole Pinocchio story it’s based around but also with some personal HCs about Vil and Ortho being very parallel to the story of the Tin Soldier and the Ballerina (mainly based off the outfits). It makes me wonder if twst is pushing Vil to be a ‘Blue Fairy’ type role to Ortho as well.

Sorry this isn’t the usual risqué HCs but what if Vil is the one capable of making Ortho more in touch with being human, that’s his gift to Ortho - giving him freedom and choice and support when Idia has hang ups with it all.

I honestly cannot get over how close these two are becoming, it feels like more than friendship at this point, they have a mutual respect and understanding that’s so adorable but Ortho’s also becoming more of a little shit.

Deviant HCs on the table, I feel like Vil’s doting behaviour and encouragement are making him a filthy enabler to Ortho’s little god complex and entitlement. As soon as he becomes that star and sees Vil looking up with heart eyes he’s never going to let that or Vil Schoenheit go.

Cue Ortho’s dangerously obsessive and possessive arc of his beautiful senpai. It would be awful if he saved damsel Vil’s life if anything bad should happen at Playful Land and Vil is left swooning…

Sorry for the late reply, Anon!

Just in case: we haven’t watched this event yet. We don’t play the game ourselves at all, just watch everything on yt and read the translations. So thank you for not spoiling anything, we really appreciate it!

That being said, we’ve seen that the event has a lot of OruVil interactions, and honestly this is super exciting. The Tin Soldier and the Ballerina!! Such cute potential visual themes for them! Also, Vil being a “Blue Fairy” for Ortho would make sense. They do have an interesting connection, and I think Vil has influenced Ortho more than it appears at the first glance. I mean, he is the one who taught Ortho about the whole “the possibility is not 0” thing, so we’ve seen him unintentionally enabling Ortho in the main story already. Vil inspires Ortho to both take action and do whatever he wants, and to reflect about who he really is as a person. This dynamic is definitely going to evolve, since Ortho became such a special boy for Vil.

I really really like the idea of Vil being a little bit too enabling with Ortho though lol I feel like every time we discuss these two I just end up talking about how much Vil spoils him. Ortho is definitely going to become the biggest little shit with the most horrible god complex in the world if his kind senpai keeps treating him like this lol But of course, Ortho also loves Vil very much, so seeing him being obsessive and dangerous to everyone other than Vil would be so fun~ Both in canon (can you imagine?) and in fanon.

I feel like I just repeated a lot of what you’ve said, but just to stress: I’m really happy you like these two and share your thoughts with us. They are awesome….

[cesarorka]

Therianthropy and Nietzsche philosophy

I was having one of those late-night philosophical conversations with my friend and we ended up on the subject of what happiness is. Ignorance, that's what we found as the answer to the question. When you forget about reason and learn to enjoy moments of pure instinct you are truly happy.

When we reached this conclusion, the first thing I thought about was my therianthropy. This was the best explanation I could find for how to be a therian feels.

Explaining my experience better

For me, therianthropy is the moments when I can give up what is socially accepted as a human experience of happiness. In humanity we have this idea that to be happy we need an incredible job, money, a romantic relationship, being pretty and having stylish clothes. But for me, and I imagine for many other therians, these things don't cause happiness or fail to cause a certain kind of happiness.

Shifts are just our moments of ignorance, when we come as close as possible to our instincts and when we can achieve the happiness of ignoring the existence of social rules and constructions. But, if everyone experiences this type of happiness, what is the difference between Therians and non-Therians? This is where Nietzsche's philosophy comes in.

Nietzsche's philosophy

Nietzsche, unlike several other philosophers, did not defend that knowledge brought happiness (pleasure), but he did not deny that it was an important part of the emotion. For him, happiness was "fragile and volatile", only having meaning through the possibility of its non-existence. "Death is beautiful because it is what gives meaning to life". Happiness can only exist if you know what sadness and emptiness are. Knowledge is what teaches you to recognize this complex spectrum of emotions.

Therianthropy, following this logic, would be the knowledge that makes you capable of experiencing a type of happiness. The happiness of an animal instinct.

[gl4ssfan]

yknow, humans try every day to understand a concept we made up. we think about right and wrong, good and bad, but those concepts are entirely manmade. animals dont hesitate to kill and fight because that's what they need to do to survive. is it because we aren't fighting every day, all day just to stay alive? or are we constantly in a dance with death and we just don't realize it? is it because we have the capability of so-called complex thought and it fills our brains with things other than survival? but then why do we worry so often over little things? why do we care beyond keeping what is useful to us around, be it a person or an item? i don't know why we care so much. but we do. that, in and of itself, is humanity. the capacity to care and the chance to make a choice. i think there's something beautiful in that. ignorance is bliss, right? perhaps our inability to think about everything all at once--however much we crave being omniscient, sometimes--is what makes us good. there's that word again, right? the concept of good? i think that's beautiful too. that our caring seeps into every aspect of our existence, to the point where our whole lives are built up around nonsense concepts. the human mind is so convoluted and beautiful all at once.

[commitchanges]

As technology progresses, and as machines become more ergonomic, I can't help but feel that we've lost our appreciation for the beauty of creation, and the respect towards the immense forces at play in these machines.

I visited the railway museum today and had the thought while waddling between steam locomotives; titanic masses of steel, wrought to serve the will of man after hundreds and thousands of collective hours of fabrication alone. Wild machines in which were used to tame the forces of nature, but yet still possessed the bestial will common to all of gods creations.

Mechanical joints, intricate pipes, infinite rivets, laid bare for one to see. These commanded wonder for the dedication of man. Relentless power harnessed from nature commanded respect for the power of machine.

The engineer operates the machine through primitive interfaces.

Opening and closing valves of the creature's circulatory system.

Shoveling coal directly into its flaming belly.

Looking ahead by leaning out the side of the cabin.

This is a beast of a machine where the human is both the most important component, but paradoxically an afterthought.

Now I'm not saying that this is comfortable or preferred by any means. I'd take the present day mech piloting paradigm of air conditioned lounge room over this any time. But with this ergonomic and minimalist design, we've also began to lose respect for The Machine.

Respect for The Machine isn't just a thing I made up here. As part of employee training, JR West used to require certain employees to crouch in a service ditch as a Shinkansen passed over head at over 300kph. Objectively terrifying, but also extremely effective at allowing one to feel the power of a 400m long 700ton aluminum tube traveling up to half the speed of sound.

The lack of respect for The Machine can be seen in how we go about our day to day. For those of us who drive, we hop into finely tuned machines consisting of thousands of moving pieces, and we take it for granted that we expect it to work. We use magical black rectangles which allow us to talk to the other side of the planet in milliseconds. And behind the sleek, streamlined veil, is a delicate ballet of electrons and metal, with not even a slight demand for attention or appreciation.

This effortlessness of use of technologies, coupled with design language comparable to Orwellian Newspeak results in us, as humans, struggling to viscerally understand the power and complexity of our own creations. Our lizard brain is just not capable of it.

Technology used to command your attention. Computers used to scream before connecting to the internet. Cameras used to hiss, tick and click. Telephones used to require at least three humans in the right place to operate. All these things are now abstracted and automated away for ease of use, and hidden away for ease of mind, and so; we take it for granted. As a result, the lizard brain thinks technology is simple. But now, one must peel back the Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 to see the same arcane wizardry, artfully crammed into a portable rectangle. The culmination of human ingenuity.

Something about this disrespect for technology feels analogous to approaching wild animals without caution; like touching an irukandji jellyfish. Like the seamless and harmless looking jellyfish, magical technologies like Tesla Full Self-Driving lure us to approach it without caution. We place our lives in its its flawed, mechanical hands, and when it fails, we are met with it being "intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver".

OECD published a study in 2016 with regards to the international job-related skills. Of which they found that 69% (nice) were only capable of very simple tasks on a computer; and this is just computer literacy! Completely ignoring whether or not the person has an understanding of how a computer functions. This, I would personally would say, is very concerning given how integrated into our lives technology is becoming.

Minimalist design language not only leads us to be unaware of the hidden complexity, but also being uninterested. Unable to fathom the miracle of microscopic connections and diodes that lie milliliters below the the sleek glass exterior. None of the complexity to appreciate the craftsmanship. None of the teeth that the lizard brain would perceive as dangerous.

In the 80's, science communication was at the very least, a critical criteria in the decisions made in the pursuit of science. That whether or not it was to be Big Bird on the Challenger space shuttle, or some other educational figure. Where computers laid their internals bare to let you know "I'm serious business". There's something about it which gives you an appreciation for the complexity.

I think it's the same lack of appreciation which leads people recklessly to AI art. To self driving cars. To touching the irukanji jellyfish.

Undervaluing the process. Pursuing only the results. Unaware of the terms and conditions of service. Leading us to casually make dangerous decisions.

Ultimately, we are all weird apes with weird quirks; gifted with the double edged sword of creation. We swing it where we want, creating whatever we like. However, we have the ability to manipulate our environment beyond what our lizard brains evolved to understand. Thus, if we are going to create beyond the lizard brain's understanding, we should perhaps invest in understanding it instead.

All in all, technological advancement is inevitable. Accessibility of technology to the masses is good. But, we spent all this time and effort, tricking rocks into doing math; building our Tower of Babel. It's odd that we're not investing in some buttresses as well.

This writeup was inspired in part by @gallusrostromegalus and a conversation I had with @shitmynamewastoolong

[starryseafo4m]

🎫 + isolde !!

YESYESYESYEES (okok I needed some time to gather my thoughts before I could answer cuz omfg I got so many things in my mind rn and I may or may not have gushed and ranted about her lore and upbringing more than me just simply loving her, so I deeply apologise if there are any grammatical errors!)

Okokokokokpk ISOLDEE, alright so first of all how the game portrayed her, her first appearance, her in the end of chapter 6, and her backstory

First things first, she, from the very beginning was introduced to us as a patient who is ill and unable to live a normal life due to hysteria(the story takes place in a era where hysteria was interpreted as a valid illness to be diagnosed with) and so ppl had pity on her from the very moment of her existence

Because! We see in the event "A small room" where we witness her backstory, we are first introduced to Isolde's mother and her deceased daughter (Isoldes older sister that has passed away) and once the others find out that after this tragedy, Isoldes mother was announced pregnant with her(Isolde), and so others pitied her when she wasn't even born yet!! Afterwards we are given an explanation that Isolde's family possesses the capability of talking to spirits but one of the ghosts that resented (not really but partially) was her older sister (and from what I understood it was because she wished she lived instead of her)

I can go in depth how much chapter 6 gave us in regards to Isolde that makes her such a complex and interesting character, she's neither good or bad she's so flawed but yet so pure intentioned because by the end of the day she desires a world where arcanists are not discriminated against by society, making her think that "the salvation" is the cure and liberation of all arcanists

And now my rant as my f/o. She is one of the most gorgeous individuals I have ever seen in my experience, I don't tend to believe in things such as "love at first sight" but I must admit this is how I felt when I first met her. At first she seemed like an untouchable force of nature above all beings but ever since understanding her she's much more divine because of her humanity and desire for her people to be happy. I would like to kiss every part of her face, every little eyelash, everything, I'd like to give her the most gentle of kisses and reassure that everything is going to be alright and that I'm not going anywhere (because after hearing her voice lines we can assume that she has attachment issues) I'd love to wake up next to her and pamper her with the softest of kisses and admire her beauty that lies in and out of her soul. If she's ever sick of the ghosts that haunt her, I, with the biggest pleasure would let half of her ghosts to haunt me so she'd feel the pleasure of a quiet undisturbed night

Thank you for coming to my yap fest<33 I really appreciate the liberty that I have gained now that my emotions are written down!!