#and experience and the physical world are one in the same

[acmeangel]

I’ve had this in my drafts for about 5 months because I’ve been too afraid of stirring the pot if my takes are hot, but I also really just enjoy character analysis so… this is my opinion!

Levi would not be a rough, mean dom in bed, and he wouldn’t have a high sex drive.

(CW: sex, prostitution, trafficking, all the Levi childhood things)

To start, if we look at his childhood, his mother was a prostitute in the Underground. And he was the direct product of this. While it was never specified exactly how Kuchel died — just that she was sick — I'd wager that it was almost definitely from an untreated STD; and even if not, it was precisely her dire circumstances that would've prevented her from receiving adequate treatment for any other illness. This lifestyle killed his mother, and we can see how deeply her death impacted Levi through even the smallest behaviors in his adult life; in the way he treats life as valuable, how he looks out for the young teenagers who end up on his squad, even in the way he holds his teacups. Kuchel loved him, and she was a kind person, but it didn’t matter—the world was too cruel of a place.

In Bad Boy, we see young Levi being threatened with the prospect of being sold into the same life as his mother — one of the men says, "We should make him do the same job as his mother. He might have inherited her talents." That's not something he'd easily forget, and, unfortunately, would likely be an experience that shaped his perception of self-worth, what sex is, and how the world works. This is not to say anyone is defined or shaped by their traumas, but our childhoods are very often where many of all our behaviors lead back to.

I'd imagine that if this is the life he grew up with, it would make his viewpoint on sex that it's something harmful, cruel, and unforgiving; it's a transactional means to an end, something taken with brutality, not an act of care, love, and intimacy.

There likely wasn’t anything in his life in the Underground to shown him otherwise, and he was there for all of his key, formative years. Even aside from his own personal experiences, we know that prostitution and trafficking ran rampant in the Underground—Mikasa and her mother were intended to be sold into it.

His abandonment by Kenny (who he almost definitely thought was his father at the time), only would've compounded his negative views regarding self-worth and the dysfunction/unreliability of relationships that are supposed to be caring, comforting, and nurturing. It took him decades to find out who Kenny really was or why he was abandoned—that's plenty of time for these emotional scars to cement themselves deep within him, even if subconsciously.

He'd then go on to lose basically anyone he'd ever dared to care about from that point forward—from Furlan and Isabel to the original Levi Squad to almost the entire Scout Regiment to Erwin to Hange to Sasha and Eren. Because of all of that emotional turmoil and the loss of all of his relationships that had mattered to him (despite his best efforts to keep them), I don't think emotional or physical intimacy would come easily to him or be something that he'd go out of his way to find, because why risk it? Why take the chances of getting attached to someone if your life is full of loss?

For that reason, I don't think he'd seek out sex just for the pure physical release. I think that for sex to even interest him at all, there'd have to first be a level of emotional connection and trust. With the right person, I'd reckon that over time, he'd develop a desire/need for it—it feels good physically, he'd see that it does foster intimacy, it would likely soothe some of his emotional wounds, and he'd want to please his partner. It’s also not to say he’d be overly gentle or timid or meek; but there’s a difference between passion and being rough with someone to the point of harm.

I just don’t envision him being particularly rough or dominating about it. He's not a violent or aggressive person at heart—only by necessity and circumstance. Honestly, I think, to some degree, he likely struggles internally with the super-human physical strength and fighting skills he's inherited. In my mind, it's not a far stretch to think that Levi has viewed himself as more of a tool/weapon/killer than a person, and I don't see him wanting to bring that into sex (or a relationship at all for that matter).

Levi didn’t choose to be an Ackerman/fighter — it was a perfect storm of his bloodline, Kenny’s influence, and the survival instinct necessary to live in the Underground that turned him into one. But that doesn’t mean that it’s his true nature. (Yes, he can at times reach a breaking point and lash out because he’s human, and almost no one constantly acts in line with their true nature and morality when put into dangerous, pressurized situations.)

I feel that Levi would want to avoid being violent or aggressive in an intimate setting, toward someone he deeply cares for, at all costs. Underneath his stoic exterior, crudeness, and the hardened mask he's often had to wear, he's shown to be a deeply caring, protective, and empathetic person.

Not to mention, I could genuinely see him being wary of his own sheer strength and not wanting to hurt his partner in any way or potentially scare them off, which would lead to yet another loss/abandonment.

Again, none of this is to say that a person’s trauma has to define them or shape their actions, feelings, and behaviors; but Levi is a deeply empathetic person, and I don’t see him easily shaking off seeing his mother’s tragic life, being abandoned, the loss he’s experienced, and the violence he has committed. Sure, it’s possible that after he gets into a relationship, or feels truly comfortable enough with someone, he’d be more open to different types of sex and not be as wary, but he’s just not a violent person in my eyes.

But mostly… I think, after a life of fighting and violence and aggression, he’d be eager to leave that behind when he can.

He’s not a violent dog, he doesn’t know why he bites.

This is not to discount anyone’s versions of Levi that they write/enjoy in fics/smut, I don’t really care what other people do and this isn’t about that. I’d never tell anyone what to do in regards to that. At the end of the day, we are really all just having fun here and living out our little fantasies as our our collective favorite character (I mean, I mostly write fluff pieces, so it's really not all that serious…). This just happens to be my take on Levi, it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s by any means, and I think character analysis is interesting! Pls don’t come for me, I won’t come for you!

[sunandflame]

Alber "King" MODERN AU: Government Experiment Survivor | Underground Fighter

Alber, who was taken from an orphanage at just 3 years old, labeled "unclaimed" and selected for a government experiment that erased his identity before it ever formed.

Alber, whose childhood was replaced with laboratories and locked rooms, trained like a weapon and shaped through years of genetic editing and violent physical conditioning.

Alber, whose body was designed to endure what others could not — with muscle density beyond normal, reinforced bones, suppressed empathy, and a nervous system that learned to silence pain before it could reach his brain.

Alber, the most successful prototype they ever created — silent, obedient, inhumanly resilient — until he disappeared at 17 during a transport blackout, killing two handlers and vanishing into smoke and silence.

Alber, who no longer existed in any system, who gave himself a new name — King — not as a title, but as a shield. A way to hide in plain sight while the government still hunted ghosts.

King, who stands at 2 meters tall — that’s 6 feet 7 inches of broad, quiet mass. A man built like a fortress, with a presence that fills any room he walks into, even when he says nothing at all.

King, who fights in illegal underground circuits, cash-only, off-grid, nameless — known only by bruised mouths and broken ribs.

King, whose reputation carries further than his voice ever has: undefeated, silent, merciless. A myth in the flesh. Rumors say he doesn’t feel pain. No one knows where he goes after the match ends.

King, who moves like he’s still being watched. Who fights with brutal efficiency — a fusion of military kill-strikes and raw street brawling. There is no waste in his motion, only intent.

King, whose back is carved with a massive black wings tattoo — spanning shoulder to hip, inked with precision and grief. A monument to what he was supposed to be, and what they tried to take.

King, who lives above a junkyard in an abandoned apartment, walls stained with oil and silence. A mattress on the floor. Taped-over mirrors. A punching bag swinging like a pendulum in a room that never changes.

King, who eats the same meals. Who trains every morning. Who fixes bikes and cars for cash and does side security at a bar where no one makes eye contact.

King, who doesn’t let anyone close. Who doesn’t speak unless it matters. Who makes every word feel like a loaded gun.

King, whose body is all survival but whose soul still flickers behind burned-out eyes. Who isn’t cruel — just disconnected. Emotionally shut down, because nothing inside him was ever allowed to grow.

King, who watches the door even when it’s locked. Who never sleeps through the night. Who wakes up mid-fight, fists clenched, breath caught in a memory that doesn’t belong to this world.

King, who carries phantom pain and names he doesn’t say out loud. Who remembers the screaming, the silence, the training rooms painted red.

You, who didn’t flinch when he walked in bloodied and silent. Who didn’t ask for explanations. Who didn’t treat him like a threat — or a myth.

You, who spoke to him gently. Who handed him a clean towel. Who called him by name like it wasn’t something stolen.

You, who kept showing up. Who never pried, never demanded. Who looked at him like he was human, not haunted.

He never thought he could want. Not anything real. Not softness. Not warmth. Not you.

He doesn’t know how to touch gently, but he learns. Slowly. With still hands and shallow breath. He learns to stay when everything in him says run.

He tries to keep you away. Puts up walls that don’t speak, closes doors that never truly lock. You find your way in anyway. And that’s what terrifies him most — not that you’ll leave. But that you’ll stay. And someone will find you. And someone will hurt you. And it will be because of him.

[olowan-waphiya]

It was the experience of apocalypse, not just the fear of it, that my ancestors faced. On Turtle Island, the name many Indigenous nations give to North America, the apocalypse began its inexorable consuming of our Indigenous way of life from the moment European settlers reached our shores. Our people died from a host of diseases for which they had no immunity or cure. The Mayflower was a plague ship. It, and countless others like it, brought smallpox, measles, and influenza--diseases we had never known before that wiped out whole communities to the last person. At the same time European colonialism, with it rapacious hunger for our land brought war and destruction upon us no matter how many peace treaties we signed. Whatever we gave, it was never enough. Many of us were forced onto death marches, like the Trail of Tears, that claimed the lives of thousands of people, especially our elders and infants. Over time, our children were taken from us. They were taken to boarding schools where they suffered physical and sexual abuse. They were forbidden to speak their language or wear their cultural styles of hair or clothing. The animals on which we relied for good were systematically slaughtered and left to rot. Racism made us objects of derision and scapegoating. Even our ways of prayer and worship were outlawed. We were left in poverty and isolation, with the expectation that our genocide would soon be complete. If you wanted to find an experiential example of an apocalypse, you would be hard pressed to find one more total than what North America's Indigenous civilization confronted for more than four hundred years. If apocalypse means cataclysmic destruction--in essence, an end of the world--my ancestors went through it. But they did not all die. They did not become victims of genocide. They did not disappear. They survived. Even if only as a remnant of what once had been, they came through the nightmare to live another day.

--We Survived the End Of The World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope by Steven Charleston on the 'American Apocalypse'.

[anontaku]

dating leviathan headcanons ୨୧

✧ pretty common assumption, but: in the beginning, he needs a lot of verbal and physical reassurance that you actually like him for who he is and don’t have some sort of ulterior motive, such as using him to get to one of his brothers. this doesn’t stem from malicious distrust in you, but rather the belief that others have qualities that are worthy of him being envious over. he is the avatar of envy, after all. considering the fact that one of his ddd lines is “asmo and i are brothers, so who decides that HE should get all the good parts of the gene pool?”, it’s clear he compares himself to other guys and considers himself unattractive. casual reminders that you consider him far more attractive than others mean a lot to him ♡

✧ for people who are comfortable with sleeping with him in his tub-bed: as soon as you’re together, he orders a new, more spacious bathtub from akuzon. mammon attempts to pawn the old one without permission which annoys levi greatly (as always)

✧ for people who would try to convert him into sleeping in their (normal) bed: he begrudgingly obliges after much protest. during the first few days, he tosses and turns in his sleep, not being used to your flat mattress. he gradually accomodates to the new space, but comes up with the idea to purchase aquatic themed decor from akuzon to remind himself of his oceanic room

✧ before you came into the picture, he much preferred talking about himself and his interests over listening to others’. what’s the point of listening to normies anyway? it’s not like they had anything worth listening to. however, with your presence came a fresh new perspective in his formerly solitary life. you became the exception to his habit, with him listening to you talk about all of your interests and heeding all of your quirks intently

✧ he may be a bit shy, but he wants to spoil you as much as any other guy would. he makes it so that the two of you share an akuzon account and occasionally checks the Recently Viewed/Favorited sections to see what sort of things you’d like

✧ if you like a particular anime or manga, he’d remember to keep track of any updates about it, as well as merchandise releases, the same way he does his own favorite anime

✧ he would hesitatingly ask if you just so happened to kind of want to go to an anime convention with him in couple’s cosplay.. and be elated when you agree. he’d feel ecstatic showing you off on his arm in front of his fellow otaku

✧ the two of you enjoy getting back at mammon, mainly when he's indebted to levi or has stolen one of his items yet again

✧ he loves spamming you with texts about different topics, posts he thinks you’d like, etc, in his free time while the two of you are away from one another. the needy demon he is, he’s fortunately grown from being all “i need you to respond URGENTLY” to being comfortable with distracting himself whilst awaiting your response, knowing that you’d reply when you’re able to. his heart skips a beat whenever he hears his text tone, expecting it to be you, and he rushes to check his ddd.

✧ he would get a nosebleed from the sight of you cosplaying ruri-chan (or literally any of his waifus tbh)

✧ he made his ddd and pc wallpapers a collage of photos that you’ve taken together

✧ he begged you to show him around the places you know within the human world in order to experience the otaku culture up there for real, and obviously you would happily oblige

[rrezshifts]

SHIFTERS BURN BOOK : THEO / THAÏS

THIS ACCOUNT is ran by a gender Chrysanthos of Athens ( an

freak in and outside of this reality. OC he made for his ancient

Obsessed with both the feminine greece dr, he’s lucky on that

and masculine, he jumps in front . . . or so he thought ),

and out of man and womanhood Alexandra Saint Mleux, Oscar

to experience it all. He/him in this Piastri, Spencer Agnew, and

reality, she/her in the next. One SIRIUS BLACK. But most

common denominator in all especially his self proclaimed

realities is the style and whoreish soulmate Tommy Shepherd

personality upheld by him. and all the variants he’s

Borderline poly, even in this reality, created across several realities.

THEO / THAÏS has a collection He has an intensity towards

of various significant others these partners of his. One

stretching the cosmos. But only that is a little jarring to some,

a few hold onto his heart stronger but can be relatable to others.

than the rest. The block button

looks really nice when he sees

others shifting for these people.

OBSSESED WITH LOVE all his realities are required to be

coated with the disgustingly sweet hopeless romantic wet dreams he

has rattling around in his mind. He’s been fantasizing about his

realities every night for so many years, he no longer knows what

people go to bed thinking about. He wonders how people can stand

going to sleep when romantic and raunchy scenarios aren’t playing in

the back of the mind. A true yearner in and out of this reality. But he’s

now one who has all but given up on romance in this reality in search

for something more ideal, maybe fantastical in nature, but preferable.

Every reality holds something special for THEO / THAÏS.

KNOWING THE AURA surrounding each reality allows you to truly

understand the man himself. Only a few will be explored here. But

there’s so many more realities that THEO / THAÏS thinks of everyday.

And your own exploration and any questions are always welcomed!!

HIS YOUNG AVENGERS REALITY consists of nights

studying for exams that end with chaotic nights out in New York City

with his friends. Loud yelling in the Young Avengers penthouse living

room, both happy and angry ( yet always playful in nature ). Cuddling

in the plush bedsheets of his boyfriends huge bedroom. Watching his

boyfriend from those same sheets as he creates art. Going to nerd

conventions with his boyfriends brother ( his best friend ). This reality

consists of his parents rarely expecting their own child home once

the penthouse becomes a second one. But having heartfelt chats

with his parents when he is home. Showering his boyfriend, who’s

been through so much, with excess amount of love. Even when

parasocial fans harass him everyday online. A second family in the

form of a superhero team, as well as a second extended family from

the other heros calling earth their home. A future mother in law who

cares about him so much, and is one of the sweetest and caring

women he will ever know. And convincing his boyfriend he doesn’t

need to be sped everywhere and they can in fact just walk or drive.

HIS MODERN!MARAUDERS REALITY consists of aching

heart break and lingering emphatic love for the one who hurt him. A

couple group of friends who love him wholeheartedly. Modern magic,

wand and wandless, physical and spiritual. Altars and oracle decks.

Weed and alchohol. A lot of it. Students who somehow have the

capability to rage on weekends yet pass all their classes ( probably

has to do with magic ). Yearning for months. An attempted love affair

with his sporting rival. Trips across the world. Hidden conversations

with his ex-boyfriend spoken in french. But also terms of endearment

and love confessions whispered in the language. Cross faded flirting.

Ultimate bisexual relationship with his enby4enby romance. Buying

too much stuff. And being bought too much stuff. The cutest pet

snake that his glasses wearing dorm-mate has been scared of for

nearly five years. And a love ( obsession ) for nomaj culture.

HIS FORMULA ONE REALITY consists of fast cars and

climbing the ranks of a sport he’s merely a rookie in. Awkward team

dynamics due to a past relationship with his teammate. Weekends in

Italy. And later, weekends in Australia. Trips to the McLaren factory.

Friends with benefits with a world champion. Jealousy. Trophies. So

many trophies. Finding a best friend in his race engineer. Gossip

sessions with said best friend. The Mclaren crew and garage knowing

too much. Lingering hugs and hands. Press days with his teammate

getting easier as he starts to forgive the man. Being a partier, but

having to be responsible. Joining F1 at the right time when media

training is recommended and no longer required. Having his first,

then second, then third, then . . . you get it, win. Fan shipping being

just jokes and the fans having no idea that they’re really on to

something. Sneaking kisses away from all the cameras. Kissing a

helmet or forehead or two when cameras are on. Moving in together

and the place being an absolute mess. Body worship and constantly

singing the praises of his teammate. Energy drinks. Fighting to keep

his hands to himself when he’s next to his teammate.

HIS SMOSH REALITY consists of constant laughter. Found

family ( despite having a big loving family already ). Playful flirting

that leads to real flirting played off as playful. Friends who know that

he’s in love with his best friend and vice versa. Dinners and nights out

with the found family. Introducing his bio family to the found family.

Being known as the nerd of the channel. Being a fan favorite. Along

with his best friend. His infodumps are welcomed. Comedy show

appearances. Try Guys and Dropout appearances. The perfect LA

apartment. The most precious snake. Vacations with his best friend.

Spending time at each other’s apartments. Adoring his job and

looking forward to every week. Again, constant laughter. Heart eyes

on the Smosh Games sound stage. Hugs from everyone. Everyone.

Acceptance and love for his weird. Behavior with his “best friend”

that should get HR involved. Love confessions he saw coming but

waited patiently for. Private relationship. But there’s clues. Fan edits.

A RATHER INNOCENT MAN ne- his peers have moved. He’s not

ver having more than a sip of only yearning for a romance he

alcohol at two months until 21 lacks, but a way of life he so

years old until less than a week often misses. The ability to

ago. Hasn’t had a romantic partner move through life with nothing

since early in high school. A man stapling his feet to the ground

who’s social anxiety restricts him and telling him no when every

from accepting the freedoms he part of him screams yes. He

was already awarded. Quite a wants to let those parts of him

lame creature in the grand scheme get the very desires they crave.

of things. Deep down there may These are what his realities are

be something cool about him. But for. Surface level, it’s romance.

he wants to live a life where Under the surface, it’s freedom.

nothing holds him back. Where he

can move forward in life at a speed

UNFORTUNATELY writing too much is THEO / THAÏS’ specialty . . .

this post is an honor to that, and so is our apology for that ( famously

overly apologetic ). However he has chosen the next three who have

the ability to participate in this event ( no pressure/requirement )

while THEO / THAÏS was at a loss of who to choose . . . he doesn’t

have many shiftblr friends, he decided to choose those he feel would

have the creativity and wonderful minds to do it. ( @deerdoegone ,

@bloodmoonmary + @chiming-bluebells ) IF NEEDED FOLLOW

THE GUIDEBOOK FOR HELP!!

© rrezshifts last updated. 06/25/2025

[andypantsx3]

Andie! Just coming here from one of my regular rereads of “when I make you mine,” and I just wanna say how much I love love love it❤️❤️❤️ I especially love the alpha/beta/omega world building you did in that fic, as it’s unique from a lot of other a/b/o fics out there. Tbh, I’m not generally a huge fan of a/b/o because of the sexism and discrimination that often results due to the inherent imbalanced power dynamics, but I really enjoy your interpretation through the fic and how there seems to be way less of that in this a/b/o world in how you presented the run and neutral commentary throughout about stuff like non-traditional omega choices (all that to say, no shade intended at all to any of the authors who write more of the typical a/b/o!! I just have a harder time getting into it). I was curious if you have ever considered returning to that world and writing for one of the other characters we see in the fic? I’d be so curious to read your alpha Bakugou or beta Kirishima, or even more about Touya/Keigo, particularly with Touya’s undetermined designation and how he’s such a spitfire haha

Anyway, all that to say, big fan of the way your brain works lol ❤️

Ahhhhhhh thank you so much!! I'm really glad my little a/b/o universe spoke to you!! This is such a fun ask because I really love the omegaverse as an allegory for human gender, and I find it really interesting the different ways people engage with that dialogue!!

Right up front I wanna say I love almost any version of the omegaverse and the pairings within, from the hardcore to the uwu little soft bean interpretations lol (which wimym mostly is). I'm sure it's not always the case that a fic is representative of an author's own relationship to their gender and sexuality, but I do think a large plurality of omegaverse fics are, and so I really like reading a fic and thinking about what the author is revealing about their own experiences!! A lot of the "secondary gender" sexism and discrimination that often result due to the inherent imbalanced power dynamics within the omegaverse are so representative of many women's (and many AFAB individuals') experiences where we are thought of as weaker, lesser, people who need to be coddled and corralled and controlled. And so I find it equally interesting when authors (particularly women) either actively subvert that within their fic, or embrace or play into it. And the same goes for how authors choose to pair the dynamics.

In large part, when i make you mine (and my predilection for writing beta/alpha in general) is representative of my own relationship to femininity and what I value in "traditional" masculinity. Omegas are most easily mapped onto stereotypically "feminine" traits - they are alluring, and attraction to them is basically a compulsion for alphas - but I've never been particularly pretty and so I find it kind of hard to see myself inhabiting that secondary gender!! I really like writing beta readers, as they seem somewhat overlooked and neutral within the omegaverse, and that's kind of how I feel! And Touya, as a suspected-but-unconfirmed omega is also kind of representative of the friction I feel with traditional "femininity"; he maybe is, maybe isn't, but what you know for sure is he craves attention and is obnoxious, and everyone around him just accepts that lol.

But I also looove writing an alpha love interest, as in general I find stereotypically "masculine" traits super attractive (e.g. physical power). But what I value most in those masculine traits is how they are used; in particular I like when a man has immense power, but chooses to be gentle and do good with it. Not just to me but the world at large. And when i make you mine Shouto is definitely like this, he's got almost no interest in his alpha traits except for the way that they enable him to do his job and provide for our Reader, and the way that "alpha" as a sort of powerful social class helps close some of the power gap that an age gap might have left between Reader and himself.

I don't know if I will write more in the when i make you mine AU specifically although I do think I would have a lot of fun with alpha firefighter Bakugou lmao. But I do plan to keep playing around with my same thoughts on my relationship to gender expectations in ready or knot (although be forewarned that that one plays a little bit more overtly into the "traditional" a/b/o stereotypes).

I'm really really really happy you enjoyed it though and I had the time of my life writing it. It means the world to me that you keep rereading, and thank you so much for saying so much nice stuff about it. Sending you all my best vibes!!!!

[tired-hydra922876]

Y'all, feel like we're forgetting the obvious here -- Makoto and co. did not know about the Hajime and Izuru thing. They appear surprised that Junko even brings Izuru up in the first place, Makoto is incredibly shocked at the reveal, and Kyoko is visibly disturbed by the implications of her father's probable involvement. They did not know Hajime and Izuru were the same person, or the fact that (pre-fusion, at least) the existence of one requires the other to experience a death of personality/complete memory loss.

If they did know, they probably would not have put him in the program in the first place. You think Makoto - the guy that tried to reason with Junko that he didn't want her dead just before her execution, even though she murdered his friends, destroyed the world and nearly killed him - would knowingly attempt to erase a person? If Makoto knew that Izuru was a separate set of memories (that, if put in the program, would be fully gone - in the same way that Hajime's memories were violently suppressed), I think he'd have taken a much different approach.

Still, yeah, the 'remove their traumatic memories' plan is alright in theory, but has horrific implications in practice. Consider Hajime specifically, for example: he'll still be dealing with the physical and psychological scars - except he has no clue why he's like this.

He'd be scared/anxious around hospitals (in chap3, he paces the lobby when a prior line of narration described the group "waiting patiently", and he wonders to himself "On a side note, why is it I can't relax around hospitals?" Note: he's experiencing this fear response even while in the program and with those traumatic memories removed.)

He'd still be dealing with the ramifications caused by his talents/the boredom they cause. Also, even if the graduation program removed the talents, he'd still have to deal with the canonical lobotomy (to cite my sources here, we get an image in chap6 that resembles the operation of a transorbital lobotomy, that image is called 'Lobotomised?!' in the extras menu, and Izuru's lack of initiative and lack of emotional intensity fits with common effects of a lobotomy.)

In the Island Mode ending where no killing happens and everyone graduates as intended, Hajime would have no access to Izuru's memories. He would be dealing with severe psychological and physical issues (scars, changes in behaviour, new unexplainable fears, unexplainable competence, unexplainable boredom), and have no clue what happened to him as a Remnant to cause these new issues. Also, if the crew correctly put together that Hajime was experimented on/medically tortured, everyone would probably come to the conclusion that Mikan was the one that did it. The guilt Mikan would be dealing with would be awful - and she wouldn't know she's innocent of that because she wouldn't remember anything from the Remnant days either!

Just a messed up time overall...

I'm thinking about that one post that went "Amnesia but you're haunted by your scars" post, talking about how wiping someone's memory in fiction doesn't completely erase the trauma they went through, and I just immediately look to DR2's cast and go "... Yeah."

I think Makoto was well meaning in wanting to wipe their memories of being remnants and putting them in an island paradise, but like. That's not therapy. That's not healing. That's only covering the scars on their hearts with an ill-fitted bandaid.

Even without the KG for that game, I think the Remnants would have like, sensations of fear they can't explain, sensations of trauma they can't address.

I don't think it's cruel to want to erase someone's painful memories... but I don't think that's a solution, either.

[serpentface]

Do psychotropic drugs and/or ritual play a role in any of the blightseed cultures? A pretty broad question, lol

Yeah that’s a very broad question, the answer is about as much as it tends to play roles in real history. Alcohol is pretty ubiquitous (outside of cultures that abstain from intoxicants) and used for a variety of purposes, opioids are commonly used in some parts for pain relief or recreational purposes, stimulants (usually in mild, natural forms) are used to provide extra energy, and hallucinogens are most commonly used as part of a larger religious framework (rather than for recreational purposes). Any more elaborate answer kinda has to be case by case in a certain culture or part of the setting.

I'll just take this as an opportunity to talk about the one established sect that pretty much REVOLVES around psychoactive use. This is the Scholarly Order of the Root, which is a sort of mystery religion + elite community of scholars who currently occupy the Ur-Tree and its forest in the far southern Lowlands (southeast of Imperial Wardin, on the same land mass).

The Ur-Tree is the obligatory Huge Fucking Fantasy Tree (and its surrounding forest). It’s a mass of vegetation about a mile tall and almost as old as Plant Life Itself, its upper branches are primeval plants, which become more modern the nearer they get to the ground (and each 'level' holds tiny ecosystems, some containing descendants of LONG-extinct arthropods/other small animals). Its lowest branches and the surrounding forest are contemporary plant life, and all is connected and protected by an incomparably MASSIVE fungal mycelium network (which is itself a living god).

A lot of the Scholars' more secretive practices revolve around experimentation with substance use with the goal of expanding the Mind and transcending the body to fully connect to the Dreamlands, and they have a supply chain of traders and mercenaries called Rootrunners who traffic substances into the Lowlands. Most of their psychoactive use is in a very intentional capacity and not just like, for fun, but a LOT of them are just straight up addicted to cocaine (in the form of alchemically refined bruljenum, which is used for practical purposes of its stimulant effect during long hours of work).

All known psychoactives are desirable for experimentation (particularly hallucinogens), with each having properties that either allow expansion of the Mind, transcendence of the body, or outright divine communion. Their effects are logged in great detail and interpreted to form the basis of the Scholars' understanding of the natural world and reality itself.

The most important substance is Ur-Root, which is root matter from subterranean levels of the Ur-Tree that have both their own intrinsic psychoactive substances and a very, very high concentration of living god mycelium. The tree root contains DMT and the mycelium has its own wholly unique effects (being an actual living god). They alchemically refine it into a purer, more potent form, and use it to expand beyond the body and directly commune with the Giants, a group of entities they have identified as the only true gods.

An Ur-Root trip starts off with minor visual distortion, which turns into shifting fractals that slowly obscure the vision. Eventually the senses are entirely taken over by a 'tunnel' of rapidly shifting fractals and geometries. In a complete trip, the experiencer gets a sense that they have been pushed through a membrane and entered another realm, finding themselves in a distinct experiential Space.

At this point they may encounter entities which communicate to them in a language impossible to describe but wholly understood. These beings are understood to be the Giants, or at least aspects of the Giants that mortals are capable of comprehending (they often take familiar tutelary forms of the Mantis or the Snake, or appear resembling the same type of sophont that the experiencer is, all composed of ever-shifting geometries). The experiencer often feels a sense of unconditional and endless love from these beings, though the Giants may be more hostile and may appear in the form of the Trickster (usually a cultural figure regarded as malicious, be it an animal or otherwise) in a bad trip.

(^Up until this point, this has mostly just been a DMT 'breakthrough' experience ft. 'machine elves' and the like).

They are then removed from this space and returned to something that feels like the real world, but is nearly unrecognizable. They have a sense of rapidly moving through time, and will usually see 'the spires' towards the beginning, which just so happen to look like this:

(source + some context via Implication- the spires are exactly what this art is depicting)

The experiencer continues to move across an unfathomable amount of time, occasionally 'seeing' other such flashes of unfamiliar landscapes and creatures, and yet also being devoid of all their senses, the 'seeing' is pure, unfiltered experience. There is a sense of interconnectedness with all life, and that one has become the forest (or even Life) itself. The sense of time is wildly distorted, the trip lasts only about 5 minutes but feels like an eternity and is understood as literal hundreds of millions of years.

The experiencer has usually lost any remaining sense of Self and individual consciousness during this phase (in which case this time distortion is usually a neutral or even peaceful experience), but some retain a fraction of their identity, and find themselves trapped and conscious while experiencing what feels like eternity (which can be LIFE-CHANGINGLY distressing, even after the fact).

(^This latter part of the trip is the effects of the Ur-Tree fungus).

The trip ends with a sense of rushing through the ground and back up into one's body, at which point they will abruptly return to their senses and consciousness. The details are then immediately retrieved via interview and recorded in immense detail. The whole experience is understood as having been full comprehension of the Dreamlands, communion with the Giants, and then a tour through the act of creation.

This is done as part of the initiatory practice into the inner mystery-religion of the scholars, and as needed for study by high scholar-priests. It is not taken lightly, both as it is absolute communion with the gods and reality, and in that it can be a very, very difficult experience. People who have gone through this often walk away with a permanently shifted perspective, often in a positive and/or comforting way- a sense of interconnectedness with all life, a peace with the concept of death, seeing less of a point in individual ego and the concept of Self, and comfort in the sense of divine love they (may have) experienced. This heavily influences the philosophy of the Scholars and has had effects by proxy in the religious worldviews of the region.

Details of this experience are closely guarded, and initiates are given absolutely no prior knowledge and expectations for their trip. This is seen as a necessity- their naivety will allow for a true, unfiltered experience, and can be used to gauge whether they should or should not be accepted. Those that have a distinctly bad trip upon initiation may be assumed to have been 'rejected' by the giants and thus denied full priesthood, though this largely depends on How they interpret their distressing trip- those who identify this as a test and harsh lesson in a journey to enlightenment may be accepted (as this is how fully initiated scholar-priests interpret and handle their bad trips).

This inner priesthood is only a small fraction of the Scholarly Order, and its greater function is as a hub of education and repository of knowledge, and Scholar-trained doctors can provide some of the best medical care available in the setting ('best medical care in this setting' only means so much but it's pretty solid, relatively speaking). Only a chosen few Scholars ever get to commune with the Ur-Root, and most of the divine secrets revealed in the process are kept hidden (though they indirectly influence the politics and worldview of the entire order).

[mechanical-sunchild]

I am here to tell all physical nonhumans and supporters to not engage with tumblr user ursacanid on any of his posts about physical nonhumans and perhaps consider blocking. He is not open to even tolerating physical nonhumans and will not change his mind. I ascertained this myself from a very long and frustrating conversation in which he kept rehashing very classic and familiar 'anti-thisidentity' povs. Namely:

He talks a lot about 'you can be tested and your DNA and blood etc would come back as human, therefore you are physically human' and won't accept any reasoning or arguments which oppose this as the one objective truth or suggest that the experience of being physically different even if it is all psychological perception warrants the use of the word physical or literally (blank) 1/2

Not accepting the personal happiness/euphoria of physical nonhumans and the fact it's harmless (except the issues he's invented) to be a good enough reason for the use of the word 'physical' and anyone saying 'I am literally physically nonhuman' due to above 'it's illogical' mentality. 2/2

'You're special snowflakes', although he didn't use that exact phrasing he may well have as he believes that physical nonhumans simply enjoy being more special than other nonhumans and enjoy starting fights by interjecting that they are physically nonhuman and accusing people of being ableist and exclusionary.

'I don't understand your labels, so you must be doing it to confuse me', he strongly believes that physical nonhumanity is a confusing term because of it's inclusion of the word 'physical' and that refusal to change it to something he deems is more fitting is being done because the community likes to confuse people and make communication difficult and unclear.

'You're in an echo chamber because you don't like it when I tell you that you're wrong', dislikes that most physical nonhumans won't and thinks they absolutely should debate him on their identity despite the fact that he won't accept any counterargument that doesn't result in you relenting that you've got a human body. Hates all that go 'Nope I am literally this though' due to feeling they do not have to justify their identity to strangers and can't seem to understand that hostility towards this behaviour is because it is rude and uncalled for and that no group enjoys it when people not in their group or even in their group tell them that they're not actually (blank). 1/2

Sees this as indication that physical nonhumans are a toxic group which exists in an echo chamber because wanting support for your identity, or at least tolerance, and to be included/considered in the wider community/communities language and disliking anti's who tell you you're not what you are is apparently wrong. 2/2

In other words, it's completely pointless and probably upsetting to try and speak with him on the matter. His posts are going to be inflammatory because he really wants to convince the community to go against physical nonhumans, or at the very least acknowledge that 'it's not physical, it's (blank)'. I have sympathy, he's Autistic and so am I and I know what it feels like when something doesn't sit right with your internal perception of 'real and logical' and how the mind makes a mountain out of that molehill because of it, so please please don't harass him, but I keep seeing his one post go around with different people trying to get something across to him and I'm telling you it's not happening. Here is all he has to say and will ever say, you don't have to engage with him further.

[lost-where-the-forest-would-grow]

OH YOU THINK THE EARTH IS PERFECTLY ROUND DO YOU? HOW QUAINT. WELL IT ISN'T. THAT'S SIMPLY AN APPROXIMATION. EVEN SAYING IT'S AN OBLATE SPHEROID IS AN APPROXIMATION. OUR FORMULAS FOR THE EARTH CAN ONLY APPROXIMATE THE TRUTH. TO ASSUME THE EARTH ISN'T A SPHERE AND THEREFORE MUST BE A TURTLE IS A FUCKED UP LEAP OF LOGIC.

NOW WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE STUPID ASS EPISTEMOLOGY AROUND APPROXIMATING TRUTH. DUALISM IS NOT ABOUT THE SUPERNATURAL!!! IF YOU STOPPED STARING AT THE SHADOWS ON THE WALL ON AND TURNED AROUND TO SEE THE TRUTH YOU WOULD REALIZE HUMAN EXPERIENCE IS MORE THAN THE MATERIAL WORLD (Republic BK. 7).

YES THE WORLD IS OF MATERIAL FORM, SAYING SO IS NOTHING MORE THAN A BORING TAUTOLOGY. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE HUMAN MIND IS GREATER THAN SIMPLY THAT OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD. THE MIND AND BODY ARE BOTH DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE PHYSICAL WORLD, YET DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT; THE MIND CANNOT BE REDUCED DOWN TO THE PHYSICAL WORLD AND REMAINS ONTOLOGICALLY DISTINCTIVE (Chalmers's Conceivability Argument for Dualism, 2001).

YOUR ARGUMENT RUNS UPON THE FALLACY THAT WE EXPERIENCE THE PHYSICAL WORLD, THEREFORE OUR EXPERIENCE IS THE SAME AS THE THE PHYSICAL WORLD. QUALIA IS AN EMIGRANT PROPERTY OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND EXPERIENCE OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD AND THEREFORE IS DIRECTLY LINKED TO IT, NOT SOME SUPERNATURAL AND SEPARATE IDEA.

Bibliography: Republic BK. 7, 514a - 518b, (Ch. 9 'The Supremacy of the Good', pp. 240-245) Retrieved from: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=nlebk&AN=688165&site=ehost-live&custid=s1165276&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_240 Brueckner, A. (2001). Chalmers’s Conceivability Argument for Dualism. Analysis, 61(3), 187–193. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3329232

The concept of a “favorite color” is so funny

[floorpancakes]

funny thought that just came to me do you think watanuki would start crying getting spooned for the first time because he's emotionally overwhelmed

[cq-studios]

Wake up. Missing Link was never cancelled. This last month was all just a bad dream.

It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't-

[non-un-topo]

Stumbled upon some pre-transition polaroids. x20 emotional damage.

[shepcdr]

writing (read: thinking about and occasionally putting two words down on paper every few hours) yishai's squadmate romance... and i think he'd be sooooo heads over heels for a paragon sheploo ngl

[ravenwolfie97]

all pokemon games are good but they are not all equally as good

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[callme000]

I don't think audiobooks are bad or an inferior format - but they're not necessarily reading and they're not equivalent to oral storytelling! When people pass on stories orally, they are directly interacting with their audience, tailoring that retelling in that particular instance to that particular audience. Easiest example being campfire stories that are always about "nights like this" and "not too far from here". It's a false equivalence because audiobooks do not and cannot do that. (Ted Chiang has a very interesting story about oral storytelling called Truth of Fact, Truth of Feeling which is centered on the differences between oral and written tradition - fantastic read) The malleability of oral tradition is the most important part!

Audiobooks are wonderful for accessibility, for those who may have learning or physical disabilities that can make traditional print inaccessible - 100% in agreement. But audiobooks, especially in this day and age, are very often used as background noise when completing another task. Not saying it's impossible to be focused on an audiobook, but reading traditional print requires pretty significant active involvement and is hard to do while also dedicating some portion of your concentration elsewhere.

Imo you lose a lot with audiobooks: you can't make annotations, the reader/narrator's intonation and performance choices will color your perception of the book, it is difficult to jump between passages or sections or quickly browse through the book, you cannot really set your own pace without audio distortion - you also gain a lot: integration of music and background noise and multiple voices expand the world far beyond the page, it's great for accessibility, it can help incur a more visceral reaction (ex: Lolita's audiobook, which is excellent and I highly recommend it) in the listener.

But it is fundamentally different and I don't think it's entirely unfair to assume that people are often engaging with audiobooks in a less active way than they do with traditional print. Relinquishing your ability to "steer" the reading makes it a significantly different - and not necessarily equivalent - experience. To the point where, in my experience, it's often incomparable.