#but in terms of how in control you have to be

[teaboot]

I remember you having a good post on the whole "I'm just a girl" shit and how demeaning it is but now I'm talking to a friend about it and I can't remember any of the points or find it, am I misremembering?

Also you can ignore this half but in case anyone has better counters then I did her arguments are:

- "if people get to excuse boys actions by saying 'boys will be boys' why can't I excuse my actions with 'Im just a girl', I won't care about I'm just a girl unless people start scrutinizing boys will be boys."

- "what does it matter if it's demeaning it's just a joke there's far more harmful things I can't do anything about why should I care."

- "Women are always going to be seen as lesser by men so why shouldn't I make the most of it"

- The statement is somehow empowering by implying that a man being spoken to is less smart than someone who is "just a girl"??

“Boys will be boys” is not so much a redeeming claim as it is a reduction of a person to their base animal nature, and “I’m just a girl” is no better. Are you a person, capable of understanding right and wrong and thereby responsible for the choices you make, worthy of praise when you do well and culpable when you do wrong, or are you no better than an untrained dog that shits on the floor? If you surrender responsibility for your wrongful actions, you surrender responsibility for your good ones as well.

A joke tests the boundaries of what is socially accepted in any given environment. Outrage at racism is absurd to a racist, outrage at sexism are absurd to a sexist. Outside of these circles, the punchlines don’t land, because the assumed truths extant in the reality posited by the joke are not universal. Similar to how puns don’t often translate across languages. Any jokes can be told by anybody, but the jokes we choose to tell can be indicative of the audience we seek to ingratiate ourselves to, and the values we are willing to adopt as our own.

“If women are going to be seen as lesser by men, then why not take advantage?” Interesting question. I’d say that this is very similar to the first argument: To accept the benefits of a posited reality is to accept the expense as well, and by extension, to validate and reinforce the belief. If you aren’t capable of doing better because you are a girl, then anything bad you do is out of your control, and if that is true, then men- so much superior, capable of higher thinking and self-control- are morally obligated to protect you from yourself. Crash your car? Spend your rent money? Of course, you’re just a girl. That’s what girls do. Which is why it would be irresponsible to let you have a driver’s license, or your own bank account or credit card, and if you’re so dangerous to be left alone then of course you shouldn’t be trusted with any kind of important job at all. In fact, it’s be better that you stayed at home, and had a husband to do all these things for you. Until he gets bored or fed up when you don’t behave, of course.

This last one is too stupid to parse.

TL/DR: Accept the consequences of your poor choices as a being worthy of respect and capable of better, or deny them, and trade your life of agency as a free-thinking individual for short-term comfort.

(I do not know which post you meant in part 1, but this topic makes me angry enough to write about it anyways.)

[evangelicgrl]

hcs + mini scenarios: saja boys as yanderes

they say “love can be too much”, but when you’re talking about literal demons from hell, the lines begin to blur. (un)fortunately for you, you’re the special recipient of their monstrous desires. will you resist or give in?

warnings: MDNI. contains general yandere themes (possessive and obsessive behavior, freaky behavior, stalking, killing, manipulation, etc.) however, i’m fond of “soft yanderes” the most so that’s what you’ll be seeing here, meaning none of them force reader to do anything against their will.

wc: 3,220

jinu

after being consumed by his guilt and shame for four centuries, he has already come to terms with his demonic nature despite the torment being never-ending, slowly eating away at the last flickers of his soul. it doesn’t matter anymore, he only needs you to share his pain with. if not you, then there is no one else. you’re irreplaceable in his eyes.

he’s highly methodical when it comes to executing his plans. being in control means less mistakes, and less mistakes mean less shame. jinu is prudent, he bargains his way through everything with cunning schemes and flowery words; he won’t do anything that won’t benefit the both of you. in the end, he subjects himself to further damnation by convincing himself you will be his salvation. it’s a vicious cycle he’s not willing to break.

with most people he’s standoffish and unapproachable—cocky even. he would be aloof, and he will make it known that he is a tough nut to crack. he won’t give anyone chances to distract him from pursuing you. when it comes to you though, it’s a whole other story. it’s almost embarrassing how quickly he folds for you. he puts you on a high pedestal, thinking you’re above everyone else, including himself. if you tease him about it he won’t deny it nor get mad at you, he’ll only get pouty.

overcompensating for his past mistakes, jinu would always want to do everything in his power to provide for your needs. want him to wash the dishes? they’re squeaky clean before you can say anything. want him to cook for you? you don’t even have to ask, just tell him you’re hungry and he’ll deal with the rest! you need him to beat someone up in your stead? say no more, darling! he doesn’t ever stop to think whether you’re in the right or wrong because he doesn’t care.

for a while, being in a relationship with him will almost look normal, that is until you notice some of your items going missing, him insisting to have a cctv installed inside your bedroom for “protection” or whatever, him sticking close only to you while being wary of everyone else, and some blood stains appearing on his clothes here and there that he always insists were minor injuries he got from touring with the saja boys.

“this is the third time we’ve installed another cctv, jinu. i think our home's secure enough, don’t you think?” you raised an eyebrow, nudging the raven-haired man’s side. jinu hummed, not paying any mind to what you’ve just said. how can he, when he feels everything is right when you’re near? he tightened his hold around your waist, hiding his face on the crook of your neck.

jinu breathes in your smell. god, you’re so intoxicating; he wants to crawl inside you and never leave.

“i know, but i don’t want anything to happen to you while i’m on tour with the saja boys; i worry about you a lot,” he whispers. he begins peppering kisses on your bare skin slowly; you shivered at the sensation. “fine, but this is the last one, alright?” you almost stuttered, your face heating up from his ministrations.

“of course, my love.” he considers the thought of marking you up with his sharp canines right here, right now, but he immediately disregards the thought.

he won’t do anything that will make you hate him, he’s lost far too much for him to mess this relationship up now. as for his obsessive monitoring of your everyday life and your coworkers who were too friendly with you winding up dead mysteriously… well, ignorance is bliss, right?

abby

abby is pretty flexible and adaptable. it doesn’t take him long to get used to new environments like the human world. being able to find shortcuts for a speedy escape route easily works to his advantage if he messes up a murder. sure, he can be quite an airhead sometimes, but he’s not that stupid. he gets his way around problems with his fists first, so as long as he doesn’t encounter complicated people—demons—like jinu, he’ll be fine.

he’s quite violent, and his muscles are put to good use when it comes to bashing heads in; he’s pleased by this fact, they’re not sturdy-looking for nothing! abby can snap most things in half just from sheer strength alone. with that being said, while abby is brash, he’s not entirely careless. he knows how to control himself like exerting the right force when he’s holding something and breaking someone’s neck.

no matter what you look like and whether or not you’re physically stronger than him, they won’t matter to abby. in his head you’re someone special to him, therefore he treats you gently like glass. god forbid he accidentally breaks a bone or two in your body, because he won’t ever forgive himself for it. while he’s proud of his muscles, he’s surprisingly self conscious about his strength at times, especially when he’s with you. he’s aware enough that a demon’s physique is far superior than a human’s.

ironically enough, he’s a physically affectionate guy. he wants to be close to you at all times, touching or holding you in some way both in public and in private. he doesn’t really care if people around him are bothered by the pda, your opinion is the only thing he holds in high regard. if you don’t tell him to behave, then he won’t have any qualms draping his body all over yours while you’re out and about.

abby is also extremely protective, he gives little thought to how other people and demons alike perceive you, which means he deems anyone that stares too long at you a threat. his cleanups after a particular murderous streak are sloppy, but he tries his best since he doesn’t want you to find out. additionally, nobody will be spared once he’s done dealing with the imbeciles who thought they could get away with disrespecting you. you never asked him to be one, but he sees himself as your knight in shining abs anyway.

“i’ve heard from my friend the creep around our area got their head bashed in to the point they became unrecognizable,” you recounted to abby, whose focus is entirely on lifting weights twice the size of his arms.

“oh yeah?” he replied in a disinterested manner, clearly he couldn’t give less of a shit about that bastard; he’d gladly do it again if given the chance.

serves them right for attempting to assault you.

“if i’m being honest, whoever the perpetrator was, they did us all a favor,” you sighed in relief. he smiles. good, you’re happy. if only you knew he did it all for you.

“agreed.” abby figured a curt response was enough to not give him away. he might not be smart in all the right ways like a certain raven-haired demon was, but he always tries his best to watch what he says in front of you. if you believe abby is a cocky yet sweet musclehead who can do no wrong, then he’d be happy to keep up the illusion for you.

you don’t need to know about his true nature right now, that can wait.

romance

he’s the most obsessive one out of the bunch, which is unsurprising given his namesake. rather than monopolizing your attention and going after others who do, he spends most of his time thinking about you and finding more information about you. it’s a miracle you’ve never caught him in the act once. in his opinion, even though he’s not the brightest, he still knows his way around whenever he stalks you, which is an everyday occurrence.

everything you say, do, and give attention to, romance is instantly filing them all away in his sick head. after all, if he knows everything about you, then you won’t ever feel the need to throw him away and replace him with a good for nothing human. he might have not told you that he’s a demon yet, but when he treats you so right, surely you’ll accept him? he hopes you do; he really, really does. his whole life revolves around you at this point that if you reject him, he doesn’t know what he’ll do.

it’s fitting for someone like him, a nameless demon who can only recall vague memories of his past life; it’s alright, he doesn’t care one bit at all. why live in the past when he can live in the present? after all, you’re the one who gives his eternal suffering meaning. the reason he became “romance saja” was to come into your life and for you to come into his, that he’s sure of now. he wholeheartedly believes you’re his soulmate.

romance appears suave and calm in front of you, sweeping you off your feet with flirtatious remarks. internally though, all he wants is for you to take charge of his every action and make him bend to your will; salivating at the thought, it’s basically his number one fantasy. other demons might call him pathetic for submitting to a human, but he knows they’re wrong. he won’t do it for all humans, only you. you’re different from the rest.

while he’s relatively harmless, he’s still a demon, making him highly destructive when he’s feeling emotional. if push comes to shove, he won’t hesitate to tear out someone’s throat open. once it reaches this point, then it means he’s been pushed to the brink of insanity. he would be blinded by his rage so much so he might not even realize he did something heinous until he recovers and calms down. be careful with how you treat him, you wouldn’t want his hidden jagged edges to come out.

“romance, you did pretty great during your photoshoot! i bet the fans would love it!” your eyes twinkled, smiling at him brightly. romance smiles unsurely, then tilts his head in confusion. “the fans? but i did it for you since you’re into that designer brand, right?”

he hums and twirls you around, his lovesick gaze becoming apparent. “you’re right, but the fans are much more important.” you laugh. his eyes darkened.

“no, they’re not.”

“huh?” you blink. what was that?

you don’t know if it was just your imagination, but you could’ve sworn his eyes flashed yellow for a second. you shake your head and sigh, maybe it’s the stress getting to you now.

“i mean, compared to the fans, you’re still my darling beloved. naturally, your opinion matters to me the most.” his hands settle on your waist as he pulls you in and leans his forehead on your own. “so, do you like it or not?”

“of course i do! don’t be silly, romance.” you chuckled, tweaking his nose playfully. he sighed as he pulls you closer to him.

everything he does is for your approval, he hopes you won’t forget that.

mystery

to this day, nobody can get a good read of his overall personality; the fact that he opts to hide half of his face doesn’t help either. he leans into his demonic instincts more compared to the rest, seeing no reason to pretend he could act like a human again when he’s anything but. because of this, he’s easily the most feral guy of the group, making him highly indecipherable. he navigates his way around his environment with quick, silent precision akin to a predator studying its prey.

don’t be fooled by his looks and seemingly placid demeanor, he’s freaky and would most likely be the type to dig around in your dirty laundry to sniff and lick your used clothes and undergarments; he feels invigorated doing this, it reminds him that deep inside his undead body, he can still feel. and because he doesn’t express himself half of the time, he relies on your emotions to gauge his options and do what he feels would make you be the least upset with him.

with you, mystery learns to have some semblance of control over himself. however, there are times when he can’t reel it in, so if he growls at someone getting too close to you, just tell him off and he’ll snap out of it. while he mutters a string of apologies, take this time to pet his head and reward him for a job well done in order for him to really remember what you want from him. to an extent, you can condition him to do your bidding if you’re determined enough to do so.

despite this, he’s highly possessive of you. if your family and friends are the type of people who hog you all to themselves, they would be in danger with him around. regardless of your relationships with other people, he doesn’t take too kindly to scum taking away what is his. mystery may not hurt you in any way, but the others are free game to him. simply eating their souls will not be enough, he’s brutal and would often prolong torturing people and/or demons if he despised them enough.

he goes to extreme lengths to show you he doesn’t mean any harm to you. more often than not, he likes showing off his qualities he thinks you appreciate the best; compliments can go a long way with him. your praise and your smiles directed at him repeating in his mind's eye like a mantra he never wants to end. before you, he never cared for anyone else, but now that you’re here, the love he has for you makes his nonexistent dead heart threaten to burst out of his chest. he's animalistic in a lot of ways, but even then he’s still considerate with your needs if you just forget the fact he likes stealing your underwear.

“stay away from them before you regret it,” mystery warned the person before him. his posture is rigid as he stares them down with a menacing aura, not backing out from the confrontation. “hey, hey! mystery! what did i say about threatening other people?!” you pulled him aside and reprimanded him. the other person could only blink in bewilderment before scurrying off to who knows where.

you imagined a pair of puppy ears appear on his head when he frowned and dipped his head in shame.

“sorry…” he whispers, if it weren’t for the fact that this café is sparse right now, you wouldn’t have heard him, and to be put into this position is embarrassing enough as is. “whatever, let’s just go home. i lost my appetite anyway,” you mumble.

mystery observes your facial expression under his bangs, the gears creaking and turning inside his head. he’s really done it, huh? well then, he just needs to make it up to you once you’re home.

he stares at your plump limps intently, feeling somewhat excited to make you sing praises for him again while he worships your body.

baby

on one hand, baby is bratty, mean, and everything in between; he’s evil incarnate with someone who isn’t you. on the other hand, he’s angelic and caring with you. the duality of his personality never fails to astound the others around him. being a master of deception, he can be quite unpredictable and hard to read, always hiding his devious tricks with a bright smile and an “innocent” gaze. you’re lucky he loves you, because the ones he hates aren’t so lucky. the fact that they crossed paths with him to begin with already sealed their fates.

he absolutely adores being spoiled by you; he would play up his charm to 1000% if it meant he gets to be the little spoon during your cuddling sessions for a while longer. your warmth enveloping him comforts him, and he would kill for this very same comfort if he feels it’s getting threatened by an outside force. he’s also possessive, but not to the extent that mystery is. he knows how to be mindful and play his cards right. if he needs to paint the others as bad people in your eyes to make him look good in return then so be it.

with that being said, baby is not entirely opposed to the idea of spoiling you instead. he finds it comes easier to him whenever you’re put in a state where you have no choice but to rely on someone’s help, such as being ill and bedridden or being drunk out of your mind. during these times, he coos into your ear and tells you he’ll never allow anyone other than him to take care of you since he knows you the best, and it’s true! his long record of stalking you proves that!

you’ll never have a dull day with him, somehow he always makes you do either creative or outlandish things, of course given that doing them won’t harm you. he thinks he’ll shrivel up and die if he accidentally gives you a paper cut while folding paper cranes for fun. he’ll offer to let you slice his skin with the same paper too "to make it even” because he’s simply weird like that. it doesn’t matter whether you indulge his odd requests or not, he will keep asking something similar anyway whenever he accidentally hurts you.

baby is extremely cruel, but he’s efficient with his murders, choosing to take the fastest route possible. he doesn’t want to spend any more time than necessary looking at his victims’ disgusting and ugly faces while the light in their eyes fades away. the satisfaction he feels from killing people is only fleeting, and before he knows it, he’s immediately cleaning up after himself so he can go back in your arms as soon as possible. you’re the only one that matters to him in this world!

“baby! i bought ice cream from the store!” closing the front door behind you, you slipped off your shoes and began trudging in the living room. not a second later, a blur of blue zooms towards you, engulfing you in a bear hug. “yay! welcome back, sweetie!” his cheers were muffled by your clothes seeing as he buried his face in them.

you laugh at his antics, bringing a hand up to brush his bangs away from his face. in response, he looks up at you in a daze.

“okay, let’s get this bad boy in the freezer before it melts.”

“aye, aye! captain!” he jokingly salutes before helping you carry the other things you brought along with you. but then he stops in his tracks, his gaze falling on the scratch on your hand. it was light enough to not be seen by the human eye, but unfortunately he’s a demon.

and demons have sharper senses.

“where did you get that?” you look down to your hand, and you chuckle. “oh, this?” he slowly nodded. “i accidentally grazed a sharp object at work today. it’s nothing serious, don’t worry.”

“i see!” and just like that, he’s back to his cheerful self. you didn’t know it yet, but he promised to himself to keep a closer eye on you from now on so he can pay a visit to the home of the person who thought leaving a sharp object around near you was a good idea.

he can hardly wait to meet them!

[sensitive-fungi]

birth control* is really important and its a fundamental part of your health if you’re having sex. However, the thing here is that you need to find the right method for you and your partner. If you’re an afab getting on birth control its very likely that your doctor prescribes or recommends pills, which might work nice for some people but have a lot of contraindications that are usually not get into account. There are many options; different types of pills, hormonal rings, hormonal IUD, copper IUD, etc etc. It kind of sucks because your doctor SHOULD (at least try to) recommend the best method but often they just jump to the first option and that’s it. BUT this isn’t get out of pills immediately, it’s know what’s best, get yourself informed and use what’s best for your body (and the best for your body is not to get pregnant if you don’t want that, especially when having an abortion is not always an option in some places)

please be safe

*im using birth control as a term to describe any method used to prevent pregnancies, im not sure if thats a mistranslation because in my language that’s how you would use it

The funniest part of the “ummmm actually ☝️🤓 birth control can be REALLY bad for you” responses on my ‘hey I think the current health fad demonization of hormonal birth control is right wing propaganda’ post is that I can’t take hormonal birth control. It reacts badly with my body’s chemistry. But I am wise enough to understand that it is a lifesaving medication for many people and encouraging people to get off birth control if it is working for them with no adverse reactions is bad. Birth control is bad for me and it can have terrible side effects but the potential of pregnancy and periods are worse for many people.

[kosmogrl]

No offence but that other anon is right.

I had no idea about your personal life/romantic life for the longest time and you give off seriously straight energy here. Maybe it because you never post about anything relating to queer people except maybe reblogging a big viral post a couple times a year? Maybe it's because you seem to have a long term boyfriend that you don't care or think about women anymore, or issues related to queer people since you effectively do not live as one. I don't know. But it's surprising because you post so much about your intimate feelings and life and reblog all sorts of quotes and posts of all kinds... and anything about being into women is never mentioned. Nor do you ever seem to reblog posts explicitly about queer people, or even quotes by famous ones when you reblog such things. Just an idea why maybe people think you're straight. Your blog is incredibly heteronormative, and so is the picture you have painted of your offline life. Nothing here at all even hints at your bisexuality.

And that's fine if people want to keep it a secret for safety or something. But considering how much you share about everything else, I would assume your feelings and thoughts about being queer in this world would come up more frequently. So...

I don't think it's right to assume that just because someone doesn't suspect you (a stranger online) might secretly be bisexual, they're biphobic. You never talk about it. The vast majority of the human population is straight, so for better or worse that is the default assumption unless you come out and say/behave otherwise.

There is nothing wrong with being straight. It's not an insult. Nobody can control their sexuality and if you're straight, it's okay. I know tumblr likes to be edgy and talk shit about "hets" but most of the world is, and you don't need to be ashamed of feel pressured to ID as bisexual just to be cool on tumblr.

Since we're on the topic ...finally! Maybe a get to know you? The real you? Then people can't pretend anymore.

Who was your first crush? Who are your current ones? How old were you when you realized you were romantically and sexually attracted to women? How many girlfriends have you had? Were any serious? Has a girl ever broken your heart? Which do you prefer boys or girls, if either? Do you find they kiss differently? This is juicy info inquiring fellow bisexual minds want to know! Is your queerness why you left the USA? How do you feel living as an immigrant as a queer woman? Does it make it more difficult? Does your boyfriend know or are you in the closet irl? If you are in the closet, why? Society? Family?

Sorry it seems like a lot but you dropped a bombshell and this feels like a whole new you, and i think we all want to meet her! <3

hey so I wasn’t even gonna reply but i’ll just let you know this is insane. have a nice day

[astroeleanor]

⛧°. Women of the Zodiac Who Will Walk YOU Like A Dog . °⛧

This concept is inspired by Saucy Santana’s song: Walk Em Like a Dog 🐕✨

The goal of this post is to analyze dominant/strong personalities in women through astrology. Let me know if you want to see more content like this! Let’s gooooo.🫶

ARIES (Rising, Chart Ruler, Moon)

• You come first, always! Might I add, you always want to win, and DO.

• Aries, ruled by Mars (god of war) + cardinal fire + being the first zodiac sign: you are born to lead, not to follow others’ footsteps.

• It’s hard to keep up with you. You are the embodiment of dominant energy.

• You challenge people without trying. That’s how your energy moves. It tests others.

• You don’t like waiting. If someone can’t keep up, you lose interest FAST.

CANCER (Rising, Chart Ruler, Moon)

• Cancer, ruled by the Moon, the Queen of the sky.

• There’s a huge misconception: that you’re soft and weak. But just as water nourishes, it can also drown.

• In Hellenistic astrology, the Moon governs the body, change, memory: you work in cycles, instead of straight lines. The Moon collects + remembers: helps with creating strategies, especially if Mars is prominent in your chart.

• You tend to control with presence and “manage” others by taking care of them. Plus, you know what someone feels before they do.

• Moon= fastest out of the 7 visible planetary bodies. Your advantage is reaction time.

• You dominate by knowing what’s coming (water=intuition. You’re always one step ahead.

• You don’t need to fight for attention, or do the most. You pull (Moon). And people come to you without knowing why.

SAGITTARIUS (Rising, Chart Ruler, Moon)

• Wild, free, untouchable, bigger than life. That’s you!

• You’re not afraid to speak your mind and say what other people are thinking, even if it burns bridges. (Fire + Jupiter rulership)

• Sugarcoating is NOT for you. You’ll tell it how it is, and people better handle it.

• You tend to dominate with truth and humor.

• When things get small and restrictive, you break out. That’s how Jupiter energy works! You don’t accept limits, unless they serve a bigger outcome.

LEO (Rising, Chart Ruler, Moon)

• Your presence fills the room. Leo, ruled by the Sun, King of the sky. Do I need to add anything else? Your energy commands attention, period.

• In Hellenistic terms, the Sun is the source of authority. That’s what you are.

• You lead with purpose, the way you control outcomes creates order.

• Some might hate to admit it, but most times things DO revolve around you (Sun).

SCORPIO (Rising, Chart Ruler, Moon)

• Your strength is constant. You outlast people, instead of being reactive.

• Scorpio, ruled by Mars= Martian energy expressed through the water element + fixed modality. You are a strategist, point blank period.

• You wait. And when someone crosses the line, you close the door.

• You’re good at pattern recognition: trackings what’s said, what’s left out, and what it means later.

• Control, direction, firm boundaries, processing things in silence, and moving with full intent are your strengths.

• You lead and dominate by withholding access. Mars in a fixed water sign= emotional control with NO leaks. Instead of chasing people, you make sure they feel your absence.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! Your curiosity & engagement mean the world to me. I hope you not only found it enjoyable but also enriching for your astrological knowledge. Your support & interest inspire me to continue sharing insights & information with you. I appreciate you immensely. • 🕸️ JOIN MY PATREON for exquisite & in-depth astrology content. You’ll also receive a free mini reading upon joining. :)

[xiatarot]

what’s next in love? - pick a pile

choose an image from left to right

( disclaimer: this reading is for entertainment purposes only )

♡

1.

what’s coming next in love for you feels like a powerful recalibration, a return to inner harmony, self-worth, and the steady building of something that doesn’t just feel right, but is right. you’ve come a long way already, and what’s ahead is not so much about chasing after someone or something external, it’s about aligning with your own truth, and letting that draw in the kind of love that can actually meet you where you are.

you’re entering a season of balance, both emotionally and spiritually. the energy around you is soft but strong, like water that’s learned the shape of its container. your heart may be healing or has already healed from a period where things felt scattered, maybe miscommunications, misaligned expectations, or even emotional games that left you second-guessing yourself. you’re learning now that love doesn’t have to be chaos to be real. in fact, you’re beginning to crave the kind of love that feels like peace, not adrenaline.

there’s also this undercurrent of partnership, not just romantic, but relational on a broader level. you’re stepping into a phase where collaboration becomes the foundation. love won’t thrive in isolation for you anymore; it needs to be mutual effort, mutual care, mutual vision. and you’re ready to grow something long-term, not just feel something fleeting. this is about co-creating, not fixing, not forcing, not proving. you’re looking for someone who’s also doing the work, someone who wants to build with you, not lean on you to do all the emotional labor.

you’ve done a lot of inner growth, and it’s showing in how you carry yourself. there's emotional maturity in your aura now, more groundedness, more patience, more discernment. even when love arrives in surprising ways, you’re not reacting impulsively. instead, you’re taking a moment to breathe, reflect, and choose how you want to engage. that patience is going to be your biggest strength in the next chapter. love is unfolding at a pace that may test your desire to control outcomes, but if you allow things to flow, you’ll notice something beautiful: love will rise to meet your frequency, not the other way around.

there is also a gentle reminder not to underestimate your own worth. you’ve been doing the inner work, but sometimes old patterns of doubt or fear can still whisper that maybe you’re asking for too much, or that love only comes if you play a role, shrink yourself, or settle. this next chapter is about dissolving those illusions completely. you are enough. not because you’ve achieved some outer milestone, but because of who you’ve become internally. love will reflect that back to you.

you might find that the energy of flirtation or lightness starts to return, don’t resist it. even if you’ve been in serious healing mode, even if you’ve been protecting your heart, this lightheartedness is healing too. it’s safe now to be playful, to explore, to open your heart without giving it all away too soon. this flirtation may come from someone new, or it may be a breath of fresh air in a connection you’ve already begun, either way, it helps you reconnect with joy.

the most important part of this unfolding is your willingness to release control. you’re being guided to loosen the grip just a bit—not lower your standards, but release the tightness of trying to manage how love shows up or when. that surrender doesn’t mean passivity; it means trusting that what is for you will not miss you. and with that trust, clarity is coming, answers that have eluded you, feelings that once confused you, paths that once felt unclear.

what’s next in love is both gentle and expansive. it’s rooted in self-respect and patience. it’s built on emotional reciprocity, slow and intentional growth, and genuine care. the person you’re calling in, or the deepening of a bond already present, is coming from this new soil you’ve cultivated within yourself. it will be a mirror, not a lesson. a choice, not a test.

and in the background of it all is this golden light of joy and possibility. you're not moving into love from lack, you're moving into it from fullness. your story is shifting. you're not waiting anymore, you’re welcoming. and love, in its purest form, is already on its way.

1: who’s your next lover? how will you meet?

personal readings

♡

2.

what’s next in love for you, group two, is nothing short of a journey through the very architecture of your soul. you’re standing at the edge of a deeply personal transformation, one that asks you to confront illusion, rupture, longing, and ultimately, connection. it won’t be easy. but what’s waiting on the other side feels sincere, grounding, and profoundly aligned.

there’s a kind of quiet strength you’re beginning to embody now, an inner structure forming within you after a long period of uncertainty. while things may have felt unstable in the past, especially emotionally, you’re being guided to create solid foundations not just with another, but first within yourself. this next chapter in love begins with a reckoning: who have you become in love, and who are you becoming now?

you may have recently experienced an emotional upheaval, something that cracked open what you believed about intimacy, about trust, about permanence. something that shook you enough to make you question whether love is meant for you at all. and yet, that breaking was a necessary dismantling of illusions. it may have come through disconnection, disappointment, or a long period of feeling stuck and unseen. you might have found yourself questioning your own worth, caught in mental loops, thinking: why does this keep happening? why can’t i move forward?

this energy is still lingering, though it’s beginning to shift. part of the work here is accepting that some things had to fall apart so you could begin to see clearly again. your heart may have grown cautious, even indifferent at times. there’s a sense that love was once something vivid and electric, but now it feels like a distant echo. and yet, somewhere in the quiet, you’re being asked to hope again. to believe, even when it feels foolish. especially then.

the connections you’ve experienced recently, or that you’re still energetically tied to, have tested your capacity for trust. you might feel abandoned, left out, or emotionally cold from someone’s distance or neglect. but rather than run from that grief, your path now asks you to integrate it. to allow it to transform you. not into someone hardened or cynical, but into someone softened by truth, sharpened by clarity, and grounded by their own emotional intelligence.

what’s coming next in love is not something surface-level. it will feel like a mirror. expect connection to arrive through honesty and vulnerability, something deep, magnetic, and unexpected. the chemistry is undeniable, but it will only be sustained through mutual growth and emotional availability. there’s potential here for a true partnership, one where both people are seen, held, and chosen. but it begins with your willingness to let go of what hurt you, not to forget it, but to release its control over your present.

you’re entering a moment of profound emotional and spiritual renewal. your inner world is being illuminated, and it’s leading you into a new romantic chapter. one that demands courage, but offers deep intimacy in return. someone is either coming in, or already nearby, who is emotionally evolved, present, and possibly very different from your past partners. this person sees your strength, but also respects your sensitivity. this is a connection that grows through shared truths, not fantasy.

remember, though, that love does not mean the end of personal evolution. your commitment to yourself, your healing, and your truth will continue to be tested. this is a journey, not a destination. at times, you’ll be called to let go of control, to trust in something greater, to open up even when it feels safer to shut down. don’t ignore the signs. they’re guiding you into something that can’t be logically explained, but is deeply felt.

a fresh start is arriving, even if you can’t see it yet. believe in it. even if it seems impossible. your heart is ready, even if your mind is still catching up. forgive the past. learn from it. feel the passion that’s still alive within you, even beneath the scars. let it transform you. this next chapter in love is not just about finding someone, it’s about becoming someone who no longer fears the depth of their own longing.

you are ready. not because you are perfect. but because you are willing.

2: who’s your next lover? how will you meet?

personal readings

♡

3.

what’s next in love for you, group three, is a slow, deliberate awakening, one that slices through illusion and unveils a much-needed truth. this is the point in your journey where clarity takes the wheel. the next chapter in your love life won’t be born out of fantasy or wishful thinking, but out of the raw, sometimes uncomfortable, liberation that comes from knowing exactly where you stand, what you want, and most importantly, what you will no longer carry.

you’ve been tethered to something heavy. whether it’s a connection from the past, or a set of patterns that keep you looped in cycles of longing, you're finally beginning to see the cost of emotional burden. love hasn’t just been about connection lately, it’s been about survival, endurance, and self-sacrifice. somewhere along the way, love became a weight instead of a refuge. and yet, that old cycle is beginning to break.

this moment asks you to look honestly at what has kept you bound. there’s an emotional imprint, deep, nostalgic, and possibly addictive that still lingers. someone may still occupy space in your heart, even if they’ve long since left your life, physically or emotionally. the bond may have been intoxicating, magnetic, laced with history and unmet longing. but there’s a growing awareness now that while the emotions were real, the dynamic may have kept you small, dependent, or out of alignment with your truth.

you’re being asked to examine the masks, yours and theirs. where have you hidden parts of yourself to keep the peace, to preserve a connection, to avoid abandonment? where have you allowed your power to be dimmed in the name of love? the answers might sting, but they’re offering you something priceless: the key to your freedom.

and yet, this isn’t about walking away bitter or broken. this is about learning to love yourself through the aftermath. to grieve what was lost, while acknowledging what it taught you. forgiveness doesn’t mean approval. it means release. it means deciding that your peace matters more than your pain.

love is not done with you. in fact, something new is already beginning to stir, though it may not arrive in the ways you expect. what’s coming next is a kind of emotional renewal. it starts with you giving yourself permission to feel again without fear, to want again without shame. someone new could be coming in, or someone from the past may return with greater clarity. either way, the energy around you is asking for emotional truth, not emotional performance.

this next chapter holds the potential for deep, transformative love, but only if it’s built on honesty, mutual respect, and full expression. this won’t be a half-love. this will be the kind of connection that invites growth through vulnerability. but first, you must clear space. let go of the emotional clutter. the what-ifs. the guilt. the silent waiting. your heart has carried too much for too long, and it’s time to set it down.

you are also being reminded not to dim your passion or your desire for connection. emotional intensity is not a weakness. it’s a compass. your emotions are running high because you’re being asked to pay attention, to honor the parts of you that ache for more. you don’t have to settle. not in love, and not in how you’re seen. stay focused on your vision. you know what love feels like when it’s true, and you know what it feels like when it isn’t. trust that knowing.

what’s coming next in love is not just about romance, it’s about reclamation. reclaiming your voice. your desires. your joy. this is about stepping into a connection where you don’t have to hide, shrink, or second-guess. one that honors the lessons you’ve learned, while giving you room to evolve beyond them. one that feels like peace, not a performance.

so, what’s next? a shedding. a remembering. a beginning. a love that invites you to show up fully, without armor. you’re ready. and what’s meant for you is ready too.

3: who’s your next lover? how will you meet? personal readings

[rosetowers]

A good starting point for that would be to restructure the education system to focus less on testing and more and helping kids to actually learn, enjoy said learning, and practical life skills. Next, focus on both ensuring that businesses can only advertise jobs when actually hiring (instead of just putting outs ads to show shareholders and investors that they're "growing") and raise minimum wage to a living wage (as it was intended to be).

Then, fix on public infrastructure like roads, libraries, transport, sanitation, drinking water etc that individual people shouldn't be expected to manage on their own.

Like, just to be clear, I get that you don't think anyone should have to delend on anyone else and i agree to an extent, but considering your point about how it needs to be taught, who is meant to do the teaching? Because a lot of these issues are out of individual families' control, we can't exactly teach our kids how to make companies actually hire people and pay them properly. The term "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" was originally meant to mean to do something impossible.

[saintplaquerat]

Since you're a Ghost fan too, I want to ask, is Cirice... not a romantic song? It gives off the vibe of a love song. You mentioned it's about manipulation, but I don't get that from it?

The fact that you think it's a love song means it's working.

The BITE model of authoritarian control gives us categories of Behavioral Control, Information Control, Thought Control, and Emotional Control. Cults display these traits, and in the case of this song, it's mostly emotional, but there are traits of the others present too.

Cirice is full of language that is very uh. Culty. Two standouts are:

I know your soul is not tainted Even though you've been told so

This is a form of emotional manipulation through isolation. The listener is made to feel special, and like they're being understood. It's a very easy way to build trust. This is also common in grooming.

Most notably for the "this is not a love song" is:

Can't you see that you're lost? Can't you see that you're lost without me?

This is not a good thing. This is a red flag if anyone makes you feel like this. This is an instillation of fear. You can't leave, because you NEED them.

I think if anything Cirice is closer to love bombing than romance. Which, again, originates from cult behavior. Margaret Singer wrote in Cults in Our Midst -

As soon as any interest is shown by the recruits, they may be love bombed by the recruiter or other cult members. This process of feigning friendship and interest in the recruit was originally associated with one of the early youth cults, but soon it was taken up by a number of groups as part of their program for luring people in. Love bombing is a coordinated effort, usually under the direction of leadership, that involves long-term members' flooding recruits and newer members with flattery, verbal seduction, affectionate but usually nonsexual touching, and lots of attention to their every remark. Love bombing—or the offer of instant companionship—is a deceptive ploy accounting for many successful recruitment drives.

Sound familiar? Feigning friendship and interest? Perhaps, say... knowing your soul is not tainted? Even though you've been told so?

Like I said, it's doing its job. Manipulation and abuse and indoctrination aren't really uh. Transparent in what they're trying to do. If all I've said isn't enough, here's Tobias's own words on it:

There’s a big handful of metal in there, but also AOR and melody. There’s a sort of androgynous element that I like to try to harness into our songs, and I think Cirice has that ambiguity. It’s meant to sound dangerous. It’s meant to sound double in nature and kind of deceiving. But you can also listen to it as a complete comfort track.

So yeah like tl;dr I have never seen Cirice as romantic because it's. Very very very culty.

yes i see him saying it can be a comfort track too. it's valid but i wanted to talk about how this song relates to real cults

[mona-risms]

Okay okaey imaginelike a. huntrix or polytrix x fem reader where reader is a rookie idol and they help her with her choreo that would be like so cutw 😭😭😭💕

◆ MAIN COURSE: poly!HUNTR/X x rookie idol!fem!Reader

◆ TYPE: SFW, romantic

◆ ALLERGEN WARNINGS: None

◆ NOTES: Wait shut up this would be so cute, esp if they're all already together (though my bad if you wanted pre-relationship 😓). I kinda spiralled here and it turned into them helping out with different aspects of being an idol SORRY 😭😭 Mira does still help though :3c

You're just officially starting out in the idol industry with your own rookie unit!! Probably with the support of the trio :3c. They all definitely helped with vetoing companies that they know for a FACT are corrupt as hell and making sure you get into a good one (either an approved company or their own, provided that the people in charge allow it). They most likely also helped you in terms of getting your skill up, and if you dare say you're being a burden to them they'll attack you (affectionately) bc they love helping you!! They love seeing you get to your full potential!! They love seeing you happy!!!!

When you debut they are your BIGGEST FUCKING SUPPORTERS of your unit EVER!!! Your other unit members are all so fucking shocked and confused about it like hello. Why. Why do they have the world's TOP 1 K-POP UNIT acting like THEIR NUMBER ONE FANS 😭😭 COMING INTO THEIR CONCERTS AND GETTING THEM TO SIGN THEIR STUFF 😭😭 THEY'RE JUST ROOKIES WHAT DO YOU MEAN 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 and when they find out you and them three are 'really great friends' they're like ?????what the FUCK

The trio would help you in the industry in so many ways :(. Hyping your unit up, making sure you're equipped with knowledge, AND they help you with their specialties!!!

You're practicing your choreo in your girlfriends' own dance studio bc you need as much practice as possible!!! But maybe there's smth that doesn't feel right or you don't know how to execute a certain move, and Mira comes in the room, expecting to choreograph smth on her own for a new song. Instead, she sees you :3c and abandons her prior task entirely just to help you via give you tips or demonstration on how to move or even recommendations!!

"..four-five-six-seven-eight, one-two-three-four-five-six..."

Mira's voice felt like a guiding metronome as you moved your body to the beat, your efforts sinking deep into not only the choreography, but your vocal stability and even your expression. It was a high-energy song, so of course you had to get used to performing it. Though even despite you having finished your trainee years, this still felt challenging—not like you've done this for long, after all.

And yet Mira was ever so patient as she pointed out mistakes and gave helpful pointers.

"..two-three-four-- stop."

Just like now.

You halted your movements and dropped your position as your girlfriend stopped the music, "Yeah? What'd I do?"

She came up to you as she pocketed her phone. "You're tensing up too much just before the bridge, it's messing with your rhythm."

"Ah.. yeah." You let out a light sigh as you demonstrated the move slower, much more controlled and much looser now thanks to the lack of timed pressure, "It just.. kinda happens on instinct."

"Feels like you're getting ready to pounce on something?"

"Mhm."

"That's 'cuz you're focusing on the transition too much—with the way the energy gets cranked all the way down, I get it." And she falls into step beside you, stretching lightly before getting herself into position, "I'm actually impressed they even have your generation performing with that insane sort of body control."

"Maybe we're just special."

That gets a soft, amused snort out of Mira as she teasingly pokes you on the side, "You are special. Now stop fishing for compliments and follow me; we'll slow it down until you get more comfortable about the transition, it should sort out your instincts then."

Maybe you're tasked with writing or rapping or even just singing through the most tongue-twisty parts of your songs, and you try to go through with it on your own but then Rumi and Zoey both hear you. It leads to them drifting over and approaching you with the want to help :3c

"Are you sure..?" Your hand creased the side of the paper, where your lyrics—colour-coded with highlights—were laid out on the page. "The two of you just got back from work, I wouldn't want to--"

"Ahh-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta," Zoey put a finger to your lips, silencing you before giving you a quick peck (she couldn't resist) and drawing back to stand up straight as she spoke, "are you gonna deny us, your very useful girlfriends, the privilege of being able to help our girlfriend and spoil her with our time? Are you? There is a wrong answer here—choose wisely."

Rumi rolled her eyes affectionately before elbowing her, resulting in a little "ow!", and moving to squeeze your free hand reassuringly, "Don't mind her. If you want to work on your own, then we'll leave you to it. But we really do want to help, why wouldn't we?"

"I.. wouldn't really wanna make the two of you feel like you're obligated to help me with something like this." A grimace formed on your lips as you looked away, "You've already helped me—us—out so much. Feels like nepotism."

Both of your girlfriends' faces softened at your admission as they looked at each other before pinning their attention back onto you. "If we're talking about nepotism, quite a few people would argue that I'm guilty of that, thanks to Celine. You?" Rumi lifts your hand to her lips, "This is you wanting to improve yourself with the help of your seniors, not exploiting connections—if that were the case, you'd have debuted as our fourth member out of the blue."

"Which would've been amazing!" Zoey piped in, but then she dials her excitement down as she shrugged sheepishly, "Though it's why we didn't recommend it—it'd be bad if you got flamed for that.. and we wanted the world to see just how talented you are on your own! So.. let us help? Not just as idols, but as girlfriends too."

Rumi nodded in agreement, "It'll be like when you watched us practice and you kiss us all whenever we got it right, just with it being the other way around this time."

"A lot more fun than standard practice, in my opinion. And much more rewarding!"

You chewed on your lip pensively before sighing in defeat, though the little smile on your lips fooled no one, least of all the pair in front of you, "Fine. But don't get all lenient on me, yeah?"

"Well, duh!" "Of course."

But they won't just help you!! They're more than happy to help the other members too, when they have the time!! Eventually it just ends up with HUNTR/X and your group becoming really close with each other, to the point where people are editing montages and stuff of your groups together in all sorts of ways ('HUNTR/X being gen z parents for 5 mins', 'HUNTR/X mentality' and it's just them fawning over you and the others, etc)

They have you taking breaks and eating properly too. I imagine at the very start, you'd still have to find your limits and stuff, especially since you'd be more prone to pushing yourself when you've only newly debuted. So they kinda watch you and make sure to monitor your rests and your diet in a way that they want you not to restrict yourself from eating and they want you fully-rested amongst the K-Pop idol lifestyle. Otherwise they'll all trap you in a cuddle pile and force you to settle down LOL

And then there's the shipping. If you get shipped with other women they'll be like "yeah okay I get it 🙏" but the moment it's with a MAN?? LMAOOOOOO SIDE EYE ALERT SIDE EYE ALERT next thing you know people are posting about how the trio's looking at said male idol like they want him buried six feet under and the internet is WILD with theories. You even look up from your phone and at them and they'll pointedly look at literally anything else 💀 they're all girlfailures I adore them

All in all, they are so willing to help you with ANYTHING in your career! Obvs they'll give you your own space to be recognised for your own talents and capabilities in your unit as a rookie idol, but they're just a call away if you ever need any assistance in anything :3c you're not just their junior, you're also their beloved gf!!!

[titleknown]

...I mean, I'm of two minds of this.

I do agree that there's this ...insidious mindset that to act as if boycotts need organization, or to even act as if their failures were due to organization and moral failure is itself a moral defect.

I do think it's a nasty descendant of a sort of cultural Calvinism that treats actions not as the products of systems but as the products of internal morality, and I feel like that needs to be pushed back against...

...But also, I feel like in talking about this, people end up falling in their own moralizing of the primary drives of this, who are (from what I've seen) people who end up trapped in that mindset as just busybodies rather than nothing the other factor in why they're like that.

IE people who are marginalized and feel overwhelmed and overpowered by the "people who can't see past their own nose," and that the only agency they have is moral.

And like, it's not just a vibe, it is also due to very real material factors! Material factors re-enforced by the hordes of privileged stupids that leave them to die! Material factors that make them easy prey for that mindset!

Because, if you have very little control over your life, at least you can control yourself, goes the logic. And from that logic, we get that toxic stew of getting mad at others for not doing the same because "If you people cared, I wouldn't be stuck in these miserable conditions".

And what bothers me about the way I hear people who fall into that mindset talked about is that it feels like nobody gives any value to their lives and their problems, it all comes off as very Shutupicrat, very "No we won't help you, just die quietly."

Which sends them back to that shitty not-boycott method because you've proven you don't give a shit about the solidarity they're lacking, so self-mastery it is!

Point is, if we can't integrate that understanding that the failure of the people around people with very little power over their own lives and; more importantly; their feelings of no solidarity from the folks around them; we're thoroughly and utterly cooked in terms of changing that mindset around boycotts!!

We need online-accessible systems of aid for the disabled and geographically isolated if we want these mindsets around not just boycotts but political action in general to decrease. I'm sorry if anyone in this thread thinks we can make these people Go Away by chiding them and letting the Grown Ups dominate the conversation, but that's not how this works!

Also folks who act like that towards people like that should probably interrogate why they don't value these people's lives! Because I think there's a lot of ableism in there, but that's its own ramble...

The other thing about social media boycotts is that a lot of them don't, like, actually exist? Someone desperately needs to tell The Internet that people posting "wow, I hope no one buys this!" and a few people going "we're all boycotting this, right???" does not, in fact, equate to organizing an actual boycott

[riemanifests]

Who gives a fuck about the 3d?

maybe right now in the 3d your sp doesn't like you, maybe you have no money and you really want tickets to a concert, or maybe you want to pass a class and your teacher has told you that you're failing. okay and? i don't give a fuck. i don't care what your circumstances are your circumstances don't mean shit. you need to get it ingrained in your brain that the past does not mean shit you are in the now right now you are not experiencing the past so why the fuck are you still holding onto it especially when it's something you don't want? why the fuck are you letting something that ALREADY happened define the present moment, and even worse you're letting it define your future which hasn't happened yet. you need to let go of the fucking past because it's not helping you, right? it's not a past you want to keep identifying with right? you clearly don't want that story anymore so let. it. go. seriously, your circumstances don't mean shit at all. the 3d doesn't mean shit. so what if your circumstances are terrible? so what if you have plenty? so what if everyone is telling you shit? i dont care because YOU are the god of your reality, meaning you can change it. you need to get some fucking audacity and start seeing yourself as the one running this show, because you are. right now i'm an actor in your movie watching you ( the director ) run around crying, not knowing what tf they're doing, and complaining about how the script sucks and the scenes suck... yet you can change the plot.. and we're all watching you like wtf are you doing? because wtf are YOU doing? you RUN this show, start acting like it omg! 1. The 3d is not permanent your circumstances are not permanent. but you're making a big deal out of them, you're constantly reaffirming them by worrying about them, and you're acting like oh shit the world is over now it's going to be this way forever. that is just so ignorant first off life changes and moves all of the damn time, nothing is permanent, each moment passes and everything is temporary. this isnt to say you cant make certain things "permanent" in a sense like a long-term relationship or a job but again you can wake up one day and say yk what i dont want this anymore, and boom it would be gone. you have a choice. 2. Wake the fuck up and realize you control the image the 3d doesn't move or work on its own. it conforms to you. all of the sudden because you're seeing something you don't like the 3d has free will? it has more power than you? nope, stop it! you are in control of your reality. get the FUCK up, wake up, and stop acting like a little victim crying about your life. take matters into your own hands! 3. Have some audacity have the audacity to be like yk what fuck this, this isnt the way it's gonna be. i have what i want now and it's done, period. you need to start being stubborn because why are you hesitating? why are you conforming to reality when it's supposed to be the other way around? why are you fucking changing your story every 2 seconds JUST because of the 3d? again you need to see yourself as above the 3d and start taking control. 4. Literally everything is possible you choose the outcome for any situation. like EVERY damn reality, version of you and others, and possibility exist, oh but no because the 3d showed you one you think it's done now and now you're stuck to that one little possibility. um i'm sorry what would God say? god would be like the fuck i dont want this, nope i have this outcome instead and that's it. decide you have the outcome you want and stick to that decision, reality must change to reflect that new decision. you are not tied to any one possibility because all of them exist within you. stop deluding yourself by thinking the 3d is the end of it all, every single thing and possibility exist within you so get tf up and see that. anyways tumblr is being a bitch and character limiting me so bye.

[hyperfixate-on-ninjas]

Feel like we should be glad, the Ninja were trained by Wu specifically. Cause we've seen that any other instance where if it was anyone other than Wu that trained them, the Ninja would've most likely doomed the world.

Like, if they weren't trained with morals or vows of honor (Like Zane mentions in DR S2 part 2 when Lloyd suggested that they should've gone with Dragons Rising first so that Zane wouldn't have lost, only for Zane to refute cause that's not what they were taught.) but were free to use their powers to their fullest without limits they would've destroyed Ninjago and the Overlord wouldn't have to do shit because everything is just gone.

Like the concept of the Ninja turning evil is much more terrifying than whatever the Overlord's deal is. Cause we've seen how BRUTAL they can be once they're stripped of their moral compass and honor and are just given freedom to use their powers to its fullest.

We've seen an example with Zane and how he caused genocides for the past 40 years in the Never Realm. How he mind controlled a bunch of soldiers and froze, men, women and CHILDREN living in small communities and villages without a second thought. HECK people were struggling to get food or stay warm, they were practically starving and freezing to death. Not to mention how a whole species was literally brought to basically extinction because of Zane.

We've seen an example with Lloyd, dude was literally a KID. And not only did he release the Serpentine, but dude nearly caused a Civil War, the only unlucky part was that Fangtom knew Skales and was on good terms with him. Remove that part from the equation, the Fangpyres and Hypnobrai would've been at war with each other, killing each other in the battlefield.

We've seen Jay as Rogue and how brutal he was in his approach. By default Jay has been hinted at to be quite aggressive if you count the multiple times he's exploded the Monastery. Paired with the fact that Lightning is already strong on his own. Evil Jay, much like we've seen with Rogue would've killed people without remorse. Plus we see he's capable of leadership, If Skybound and the fact that he's able to obtain a MANAGER position in the Administration is anything to go by.

Now we haven't seen a full instance of Kai, Cole and Nya becoming evil (Kai was just corrupted by power and Cole and Nya were technically brainwashed and infected by black smoke.)

But with their powers fully developed and throwing away their morals it's safe to assume that Ninjago would be doomed if any one of them did end up going evil.

And if ALL the Ninja ended up going evil with fully developed powers? That's not doomed that's just straight up nuclear and it's so damn lucky that Wu was the one who decided to look for them first.

[idllytarott]

PAC: SUMMER FOR YOU. (1989's version)

What can you expect this summer for you? Pick a picture or a number for your reading! (consider this a timeless summer reading)

This is an INTUITIVE READING. So take everything with a grain of salt.

Pick one of four pictures below, think wisely!

My Catalog.

PILE 1

Hello pile one! Let’s start with the energy you will have this summer; I see you being more adventurous, specifically on terms of love, either you’re meeting new people or you’re advancing to the  next level in your relationship, you will want to be more passionate and romantic, it’s something you feel like has been lacking a lot of this year. But I also see you busy, having a lot of responsibilities, too many things to do and wanting to escape, read a romance book or watch romcoms, while the way you present yourself is more stern, a “I’m busy” kind of energy, on the inside you are wanting something exciting to happen to you, you’ll want to experience… something more. I see you’re usually a person who is busy or has many goals in life, and you decide to not waste time, but this summer can be different for you, because you’ll be feeling different. You’ll want something else, a change from old routine, someone to come and make you feel something more, or to experiment more on what life has to offer, what love has to offer.

Now, how will your summer be? Busy, ha! You’ll be patiently waiting for someone to sweep you off your feet, or for something to happen, but is that same state of waiting, of expecting, that will stop you from actually finding something fun to do, you are advised to go after the things you want to happen in your life. Don’t wait around for it to fall in your lap, make it happen. This month, this summer, can go very unexpectedly for you, either in a good way or in a bad way, but things will change very suddenly, people come, people go, your mindset around relationships in general, but especially in love, will change a lot. You will have to learn some tough lessons in terms of love, more so how you interact with it, how you let it ruminate on your life, you are feeling bored, but you’re also waiting around. This month can also be very reflective for you, accepting that some things and people cannot be changed, that you do have the power to move on but also of creating something new. As I said, you need to go after these things, let yourself be seen, don’t spend too much time in the house this summer, say yes to unexpected plans or an invitation, move around town and around the city, you’ll be surprised of how many people you will meet through this.

Song for you:

PILE 2

Hello pile two! Let’s start with the energy you will have this summer; I see you rather closed-off, you will be focusing a lot on yourself, on your own growth, probably on projects or studies or issues you have going on in your family, you are looking a lot into your closest circle, and not expecting much of this summer. You’ll be deciding on a lot of things independently, something that maybe, up until now, wasn’t possible for you. The need for starting over will be constant for you, things will happen too slow and you’ll decide on starting one thing after the other, without really pondering on your decisions too much, sufficient to say, there will be two or three things you’ll regret doing out of impulse, it’s important to control yourself, if you want a new life, a new beginning, start with something that you really wanted to try for a while, or something you know you will like.

Now, how will your summer be? It will be filled with challenges, you will bounce from one thing to the next and it will be  very exhausting by the end of it. Don’t drop everything you’re doing just because, thinking through things,  maybe responsibility or wanting to be more independent, to not always be in the same situation time and again, will make you make brash decisions that you will regret instantly. This month is to step into something new with the knowledge that you might not like that new thing, but that you can change it, but you are a person of habit and changing is very difficult for you. Think very well about your next steps, you will have the intrinsicate need to leave, to move away, to travel, to drop everything, to disconnect from people you know, and to embark into something completely new, out of frustration. Which, do it! But don’t just do it out of anger, or sadness, plan it, pick a date and save up, if you have been thinking of traveling alone for a while, this is the perfect moment, you will be the main character throughout this next month, no other parties, no other family members or unwelcoming exes, you. But you have to think twice before dipping.

Song for you:

PILE 3

Hello pile three! Let’s start with the energy you will have this summer; You will feel very attune with the energy, like you are finally making sense of what it is you want in life or probably a lot of pressure will be freed. If you have been in a situation where you didn't feel like it's a place where you want to be at, that you are just conforming to what you have, it's more likely that this mindset will change. You'll want more than what is being offered to you, and not only in job or money, it talks about relationships and the self, you will feel more free to just be disliked? I see that you won't have this urge to control the situation, control what people feel or think about you, and that will be very liberating, for a person who tries hard to please everybody else, this time is important that you learn to be independent, don’t let external things or people influence your mood, you are very sensitive to other’s words and presence, and you know this, t’ll be good for you to detach from this, and it’s something you will learn throughout the month, you will be more relaxed, be relaxed. There is nothing you can do but that.

Now, how will your summer be? I see a lot of socializing. Honestly, you will just be talking to people and making new friendships, new connections, it will be a quite crowded month, but it will also come with new experiences delivered in the form of new people. As i said,  you will not be focusing much in what is people think of you or are going to focus a lot more on the experience and not on making something last, focused on not forcing things, and that in turn, is going to make people want to get to know you, hang out with you, or befriend you, even romantically. This feels like for you, detachment and letting go of wanting to control how people see you, will make them see you exactly how you’ve wanted them to, it’s weird, i know, but it’s the truth. Many friendships will be forming this time, they might not last forever, but they will be very important in your internal and external growth.

Song for you:

PILE 4

Hello pile four! Let’s start with the energy you will have this summer; Very tranquil, I have the feeling that you are taking time off of something, but I don’t know what exactly, maybe exams or work or something that you have recently been through, like a loss of a relationship, there is something that is gone that gives you peace of mind. And this summer can feel like that to you, getting rid of something very tumultuous for you, and you will be very in your comfort zone, wanting to heal from something or let time pass slower, you have no real big plans for this next month, there is a lot of inner work and debating with your own head whether to do something or not, you’ll decide if you are willing to compromise your time and space in something other than peace and quiet. This can be a very moving time, you will find out many things about yourself that you did not know, because you’re giving yourself the time to heal and move on. Whatever that happened to you, is not your fault.

Now, how will your summer be? As I said, it will be quiet and peaceful, maybe it's what you want, maybe it isn't. But this is a time of reflection, being around people this time is not something that you are ready for or want to do, I'm going to be honest here, it seems like something bad happened to you, something that was not fair and that it shouldn't had happened, or you made a bad mistake, and you can't stop thinking about it, I see a lot of sadness or numbness, depression or lack of care for the external world. I'd advise you not to let this grow until it's too late to deal with, if you want to be in solitude, that's okay, but this month is important to work into connection to something, anything, don't get used to being numb, or alone, don't let bad days overextend, if there is something you feel like you need to talk about, do it, your health, especially your mental health, is something you will be focusing on a lot, and you'll find that hobbies can save your life in this time, if it's writing or drawing or painting or anything at all, it's something you will grow very fond of. Whatever you're going through, is something you will get over, sooner than you'd think.

Song for you:

[mac-ann-cheese]

Rusameamerusharumachispacegays-- okay, I'll stop ( ˙꒳​˙ )

Cold War era-centered sketches with some headcanons below the cut. The post with many words. You don't have to read all of my yapping, I just had those hcs written down in my notes for like fuckknows how long (-_-;)

I think there are already plenty of beautifully written interpretations; however, I still want to give my own opinion on that. Additionally, it is important to note that everything below is silly and whimsical; please do not take it all too seriously (⁠◕⁠દ⁠◕⁠)

After WWII, both went absolutely batshit crazy, however in diff.. styles, I guess, so yeah yum yum. The war literally affected and changed the way they viewed peace as a state of life.

They both believed too deeply in their vision of an ideal world. Therefore, cutting the globe in half (almost, I should say - a buffer zone in the form of the Non-Aligned Movement squeezed in between), the regions, the countries, and turning everything into a "better" version was the only solution to regulate their loud and clunky clash of ideologies.

One more side note: I need to say that I tolerate the interpretation that both of these blorbos could not actually control the escalation of, basically, everything, and it was the government, yadayadayada. However, it takes away the drama...... The spiceeee..... the friends to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies to ..... I mean, whatever tickles your pickle, I don't shit on others hcs. I am just clearing this up, and I need to provide an explanation for everything, as I am neurodivergent and do not want to be misunderstood.

Now, back to the scheduled programming!

Before the CMC in 1962, Al and Ivan didn't fully recognize the consequences of their actions. The world was their playground, the balance of power — the swingset for only going up. The rest were left to sit on a powder keg and wait for it to explode. After the crisis (or more so, the reality check), some rudiments of awareness began to grow. It was the first time of being in centimeters (inches, if you prefer) close from falling into the pit of doom. Everything they do has so much influence that it will not pass without a trace, and it is necessary to somehow solve this and negotiate: set the boundaries of what is permitted, bargain on terms, and still try to somehow take the invisible first place in influence over the world.

Regarding the questionable rationale behind creating nuclear weapons:

If Alfred had the bomb, nobody would even dare to start any new war. He would become the new guarantor of peace, but it turned against him. Security based on something so destructive as nuclear weaponry becomes senseless, it only makes others worry to find their way on creating or obtaining the made-up security. A difficult dilemma, a no-win scenario, only leads to a weakening of the existing peace. You can never create security based on someone else's insecurity.

Aaaand this is what actually happened.

Welp (¯ . ¯;)

Alfred (until I guess the 1963s? Until the regulation of nuclear weapon processes and disarmament, that's for sure. The creation of the IAEA put him at ease, but only for a short period of time after) began to experience severe paranoia. I think that nations don't feel the passage of time like humans do; they get used to not noticing how the years flow by. However, at that time, every minute of thinking and guessing Alfred fully experienced.

A short and quick excursion into political science 101 to understand the context! Power, in a fairly broad sense, is a way of influencing people (its scope of concepts may include manipulation, influence, persuasion, force, etc.). Basically, there are two types of power: over and to. But why do we need power? For decision-making. The future is always uncertain and full of risks, and its forecasting is based on past experiences and is still not ideal. Therefore, people relieve themselves of responsibility for the future and transfer it to those who will make decisions for them. for those who have the power. Perhaps a fair question will arise about pluralism and democracy (polyarchy), but in these cases, power is present among several collective groups, and their decisions affect different areas of problems, where conflicts of interest may arise.

Decision making = responsibility = power = some control over the future.

Ahem.

So, Alfred doesn't know what to expect, he can't prevent something from happening. The only thing he could do was to react, and that drove him up the wall. He is powerless and is grasping at straws. Espionage was the optimal solution and the best way to anticipate the actions of the opposing side. He would call Ivan at night (for his time zone) to check, he didn't even need him to say something. Hearing Ivan breathe through the phone meant that he was not planning something against him as he found time to answer at an awful late hour. However, neither of them wanted to end everything with the threats they made to each other. It would have been pointless because no one would have had to prove anything. They were racing each other to prove who was cooler in the simplest sense. Simply dropping a nuke meant too many unforeseen risks for them to cover the losses. So Alfred and Ivan raised the stakes until they could calculate that the losses on both sides would be the same or terrific for both of them, and thus no one would "win", in other words, they preferred the potential threat of mutually assured destruction than the actual action (for further details on this topic I highly recommend checking out Thomas Schelling's "The strategy of conflict").

However, they have physically dispatched each other millions of times in the most sophisticated ways, cause woah magical personification's regeneration.

Ok, folks, the next bit is freaky, achtung!!!!

As Amy Allen notes on Foucault's conception of power, it operates in and through the practice of confession both to subject individuals to the injunction to tell the truth about their sexuality and to enable them to take up the position of sexual subject (Amy Allen, The Power of Feminist Theory: Domination, Resistance, Solidarity, 1999, p. 36). The point is that without possessing power on a planetary scale, they wanted to have power over each other in the most human (or even animalistic) form. To fuck, or not to be fucked, that is the question.... The feeling of having influence over someone else's body could have restored inner self-confidence (which was not there at that time). Ehh, I actually recommend for those who are interested in that just read Michel Foucault's work, for example, the history of sexuality. But they never got to the point of actual action, so to speak; everything slid into violence.

I don't think there was a dramatic breakup. It was unnecessary at that time. They have lost connection with each other in the whirlpool of events. No "ex" stage, their relationship froze in time, waiting for the spring (omg, she did the thing).

When there is no love, the search for power and control fills the vacuum.

This is precisely where the problem lies: they both blame each other for giving up on their relationship. Too stubborn to work it out.

Honestly, yes, they would reminisce about the time spent together on very quiet and lonely evenings. Perhaps with a hint of nostalgia. Only for them uncontrollably hate themselves for feeling weak.

And suddenly, the world's most annoying superpowers sort of calmed down in the 80s. The historical context and reasoning can be found in textbooks. But perhaps Alfred's mania phase went into remission, and perhaps Ivan felt that everything was going to end (for him). Perhaps both saw the change or at least let the thought that they might change, if not for the better, just change somehow.

[purplepleasureswritings]

In Your Hands -Caleb X Reader

Rating: Explicit

Wordcount: 1k

CW: No MC pronouns used but AFAB terms for genitalia , No Y/N used, Pegging, Strap-ons, Bottom Caleb, Mutual Masturbation, Phone Sex, Friends to Lovers.

Link to A03 for easier reading: here

Preview: It was time you took charge and put Caleb in his place.

Merry Juneleb!

It died.

It died and you screamed.

Alright, maybe you were being overly dramatic but you were so close!

You groaned in frustration, shaking your vibrator that had died. Why now?!?! You thought you had charged it! You didn’t want to use your fingers like some medieval peasant. You rolled over and let out a frustrated sigh into your pillow, your pussy throbbing with the lack of release.

Your phone vibrated, adding further insult to injury and you fumbled around for it, swiping the video call from Caleb. Shit! You forgot you agreed to have a video chat after he got off his shift and returned to Skyhaven. After not seeing Caleb for so long and thinking he was dead, you would take any chance you could get, no matter how bad the timing, to see his smiling and alive face.

“Heya Pips, how- wait, why are you out of breath?” Caleb asked, peering at the screen as you gave a strangled laugh.

“I was just getting in a nightly workout!” You lied with another laugh, adjusting the straps on your tanktop and holding your phone directly to your face so Caleb wouldn’t get a view of your still exposed pussy.

Caleb gave you a knowing smirk and you grew hotter. He was always like this, all knowing. It infuriated you a bit. Just once you would like to get the upper hand on him, to have him submit to you and be at your mercy and control. Your free hand crept down to circle your clit at the thought before you froze. Were you really going to touch yourself on the phone with Caleb? All those nights sharing a wall and you mastered the art of a silent orgasm, but was this a line that you shouldn’t cross?

But you wondered, would this finally be the push the two of you needed? How would he react? He wouldn’t just disappear again, would he? And speaking of, you still wanted to punish him a bit for letting you think he was dead for that long and then the whole interrogation by Colonel Caleb.

“Alright, I’ll play along. Seems like quite the workout, Pips. Did you get in a lot of reps? Some intense cardio?” Caleb teased and you squirmed. Was this a good idea? Probably not, but you were too horny to care.

“Something like that.” You answered breathily as Caleb sucked in a breath. Two fingers rolling over your swollen, throbbing clit. Caleb cocked his head, eyes darkening.

“I could use a good workout before I go to sleep as well.” Caleb said and you heard his zipper being pulled down as you pressed your lips together to stifle a moan, heart beating fast.

“Caleb.” You moaned, fingers picking up speed as you heard a soft schlick-schlick echoing in his room with his soft panting, eyes never leaving yours.

“Yeah? I’m right here, Pips.” Caleb grunted and you whimpered, pressing the heel of your palm against your clit as you slipped three fingers into yourself, desperate for relief as you chased your orgasm.

“I’d do anything for you, you know that, right?” Caleb panted and you whined.

“Anything?” You asked, head swimming with the possibilities.

“Anything.” He said lowly as you crooked your fingers just enough to-

You opened your mouth in a silent scream, back arching as you finally came, gripping your phone tightly and watching with hazy eyes as Caleb groaned loudly, hunching over. The two of you panted, staring at each other and coming down from your respective highs when Caleb smiled.

“Sleep well, Pips.” He said before ending the call.

You rolled over, pulling up your blankets with a smile.

Anything, huh?

✈️

You sat on your bed, eagerly waiting for Caleb to enter your apartment, a special toy waiting behind you. When he told you he had gotten a few days off, you had quickly gone shopping.

“Pips, I really hope a Hunter like you isn’t just leaving your door unlocked for just anyone to walk in.” Caleb called from the hallway and you rolled your eyes.

“I can take them!” You shouted as Caleb laughed and made his way to the bedroom, stopping and staring at you and the new outfit you had gotten for yourself.

“In a fight, right?” Caleb asked in a strangled voice and you grinned.

“Maybe… maybe not… maybe I’ll just hit them with this.” You said, grabbing the strapless strapon from behind you, waving the mechanical like silicone that you had fallen in love with when you were shopping. If Caleb didn’t want to try it, you definitely were with all the grooves and ridges of the faux plated metal and bumps from the faux nuts.

“That… that would definitely be something. I should go on shopping trips with you again if you are going to bring home this sort of thing.” Caleb said with a shake of his head and a laugh.

“What is all of this, Pips? Some new game?” He asked. It was the first time you have ever seen him so off put and you relished in the rush of power it gave you.

“Sort of… you said you would do anything for me, Caleb, right? I still think you need to make it up to me, you know, the whole fact you were gone for a whole year without telling me… Let me take care of you, Gege.” You purred, walking up to him and wrapping your arms around his neck as he trembled, taking the chance to resonate with him and borrow his Evol to make things more… interesting later.

“I…. you’re killing me here, Pips.” Caleb said, his voice shaking as you watched a war play out in his eyes. You knew submitting to you would be hard… but you did want to take care of him. To give him a pleasant touch different than what he no doubt experienced when he was away from you for so long.

He pressed his forehead to yours, pulling one of your arms from his neck to link your pinkies together as he looked into your eyes.

“Alright. I trust you. And, you know I love you, right? As more than…” Caleb whispered desperately and you kissed him gently.

“I love you too.” You said and he shuddered, kissing you deeper until you pressed down on his shoulder to kneel before you.

“Why don’t you get me nice and warmed up, hmmm? Good boys deserve a treat.” You purred and Caleb whined in the back of his throat.

“Yeah, give me those lips.” Caleb said and you gave a choked laugh as you thought he would try and kiss you again but instead dove into your thighs eagerly pressing his mouth to your leaking core and the black panties you wore, kneading and pulling at the leather straps accentuating your thighs and hips.

Caleb tugged your panties to the side, lapping at your clit as you buried your fingers in his hair and rocked forward against his tongue, holding him in place. He made a move to pull your panties down and put his fingers in you and you activated his borrowed Evol, pinning his hands down to the floor. He pouted, slightly struggling and you gave him an admonishing look that had him quieting.

“Make me cum with only your tongue. After this long, I thought you would love the chance to taste me.” You said in a soft, firm voice. His eyes darkened and he nodded, tongue swirling against your harder and more fervently as he made happy noises of pleasure that had your thighs quivering.

As he sucked harshly on your clit, you came, holding his head tightly to you as you gasped and shuddered. He pulled back, sitting on his heels and licking his lips.

“I’m going to make you scream my name, Pips.” He growled and you panted with a smirk.

“Only if you scream my name first.” You said, stepping back to grab the strapon. You slipped out of your panties and slipped one end into your aching core, letting it vibrate inside of you on a low frequency as you put a leather harness over it to hold it in place, stroking the shaft with a bottle of orange flavored and scented lubricant. Caleb sat obediently on the floor looking up at you with hooded eyes as you contemplated how you wanted him.

“I’ve gotta say, I’m jealous of that cock you’re playing with when you could be playing with mine.” Caleb said and you raised an eyebrow.

“Bad boys don’t get rewards. Be good. Don’t be a jealous little shit.” You said as he scowled.

You cocked your head, maybe you should put a leash and collar on him next time. Remind him he belonged only to you and to not run away again.

You decided then that you wanted him pinned under you.

“Strip and give me a show, then on your back on the bed.” You demanded and he grinned as you released him.

“So commanding. I should have brought my colonel hat for you.” He teased as you throbbed at the idea. He pulled his sweatshirt over his head, flexing as you admired his broad chest, before slowly popping open the buttons on his jeans and unzipping them, showing the impressive bulge in his tight dark grey boxers. You licked your lips briefly at the wet spot there and he pulled down his pants and boxers in one swoop, hands on his hips with his cock jutting out.

“Like what you see?” He asked with a boyish grin and you huffed a fond smile.

“Yes, very much so. Keep the socks on. They’re cute.” You said as he went to pull off his white socks that went up mid calf, stumbling a bit at your statement. He coughed and climbed onto the bed, spreading his thighs invitingly and holding out a hand.

“C’mere.” He said and you tutted as you kneeled on the bed.

“Uh-huh, I’m in charge now. I’ve had enough of you being in charge.” You said and he gave you a long look before leaning back against the pillows.

“Yeah, yeah Caleb is a big dumb meanie who always has to have his way. Alright. I trust you.” He said and you crawled over to kiss him for that before kissing down his neck and chest. When you reached his navel you nipped at him and he jolted before laughing.

“Menace.” He said and you grinned, kissing over the bite mark before moving down to his cock, sucking on it as you slicked up your fingers. You slipped one into him, swirling your tongue against his cockhead as he squirmed slightly.

“Not exactly how I thought our first time would go.” He muttered and you hummed causing him to moan as you worked your finger in and out of him, stretching him.

You pulled off to rest your head on his thigh and look up at him, pushing another finger in.

“I know. You always indulge me, Gege. Thank you. If you are good, you can fuck me however you want after.” You said with a smile that was part mischievous and part affectionate.

He shuddered and whined as you put a third finger in, before crying out as you pressed a bundle of nerves deep inside of him.

“Ah! Pips! That’s-” He panted and moaned as you abused it relentlessly until he was nearly cumming, having to pull the fingers out and squeeze the base of his cock briefly.

“Can I put it in, pleaseeee Caleb?” You whined. “I want to feel you.”

He whimpered and nodded and you gave him several eager kisses before pulling back slightly to guide the slicked up silicone into him. His eyes fluttered shut and you kissed a corner, gripping his hands and intertwining your fingers as you fully seated yourself within him. The buzzing within you and against your clit was already driving you wild but seeing Caleb look at you with hazy eyes of wonder and trust had you pulling out and quickly slamming in. He let you jackrabbit into him, moaning and then gasping as you angled your hips right and hit that spot deep inside of him, whimpering when you used the borrowed Evol to add a gravitational pressure against his cock.

“Pips… I’m-” Caleb trembled and you were filled with renewed vigor, kissing him and pressing close to him until he bucked, cumming on his stomach as you keened, thrusting in and out, chasing your own orgasm, clenching down on the end inside of you as the curved part hit your clit just right and you were cumming as well. You collapsed against him before pulling the strap-on out and curling against him.

“You still need your Gege, huh?” Caleb said, rubbing your back as you held him.

“Always, but I meant what I said about taking care of you too.” You said and he kissed your head.

“Then I’m in your hands.”

A/N: I love interacting with readers in the comments and I promise I don’t bite so please let me know your reactions and/or what you liked in the comments/tags!!! Reblogs and likes greatly appreciated More pegging favorite characters to come hehe!

[radiotransmissionaac]

my attempt at conveying how it feels to experience a delusion:

(I’m going to use the phrases ‘shared reality’ for describing the reality commonly agreed on by society, and ‘personal reality’ for the reality as it exists for the person experiencing delusions. There are lots of variations on these terms, this is just what I’m using here.)

A lot of info like this starts with ‘imagine you think the sky is green but everyone is telling you it’s blue.’ This makes sense from a logical perspective: in our shared reality the sky Is blue, while in a personal reality it could be green. But emotionally it doesn’t resonate the same way because ‘of course the sky is blue’, and imagining it as green is already a leap of logic.

So let’s start with: Imagine sharks live in the ocean (something we know to be true in our shared reality). Imagine sharks live in the ocean, and one day your friends ask if you want to go swimming at the beach. You’re afraid of there being sharks. No one else seems worried. So you bring it up and they laugh at you, saying, everyone knows sharks only live in the jungle. But that’s not right. You Know sharks live in the ocean, and you’re right to be afraid of them when going swimming.

You might have heard on the radio that there was a shark attack at a beach nearby recently. Or maybe you can see shapes in the water off to the side. You’re more and more convinced that it’s dangerous to be in the water because of the sharks.

Your friends are starting to get a little worried about your behaviour now. None of them believe there are any sharks in the ocean, because they all live in the jungles. And so none of them know what you’re talking about when you mention the radio, and they certainly don’t see the shapes in the water.

Now maybe, if you as the person experiencing the delusion have a degree of insight or the ability to double book keep, might think ‘right, I experience psychosis, maybe my friends are right and there aren’t any sharks.’ Or maybe you think ‘in my friends’ reality there might not be any sharks but in my reality right here there are sharks and they’re a real threat.’

And depending on a whole host of different factors, this scenario could play out differently. Maybe you go swimming because you trust your friends more than you’re afraid of the sharks. Maybe you think ‘everyone must be wrong’ and you stay out of the water. Maybe you start to get more afraid and paranoid that your friends are lying to you and they want you to get eaten by sharks. Or maybe that sharks are some alien force that is mind controlling everyone but you. None of these is the ‘correct’ or morally superior response.

Because the thing about delusions is that it’s like your entire world view has been rewired to accept this altered personal reality. The logic has its own internal rules that makes sense for itself. And there’s very little if anything that can be done to directly challenge these thought patterns or ‘poke holes’ in the logic.

From our perspective, you’re not trying to convince us that the sky is blue, you’re trying to convince us that there aren’t any sharks in the ocean.