#and hyperfixating on US history

[yosefcandraw]

You should totally draw North Dakota [happy] /nf

Here she is!!!

I decided to make her a girl because why not, I haven’t see wttt North Dakota as one before.

I’ve been very busy lately so my posts might be a few days apart but don’t worry I have a list of the requests and I’m making my way through them!!!

Next up is North Carolina and I can’t wait to show you all the both of them!

Followed by: Indiana, Minnesota, Delaware

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

So I'm fully in a Transformers Prime binge rewatch and holy SMOKES I did not remember how gay this show was. Like obviously Starscream is twinktown central and Knockout is very flamboyant, yes--but Megatron is so obsessed with Optimus (and vice versa) it's not even funny! Here's a compilation of the best moments from *just the first half of S1*:

Megatron returns after who knows how long and one of the first things out of his mouth is "No one rids me of Optimus Prime except me!!"

Megatron "dies" and Optimus is immediately depressed to the point where Ratchet asks about it and unlocks Sad Reminiscing

The Autobots are trying to figure out what the Decepticons are up to and Optimus starts with "Starscream is no Megatron, but--" just say you miss him

Megatron is literally comatose and his coma dream is him and Optimus fighting over and over again. Optimus just keeps respawning. Bro is LITERALLY living in his head rent free

In fact when Bumblebee gets inside Megatron's head Optimus is literally the First Thing he sees

Why is Bee in there? Because Optimus is deathly sick! And one of the only things that rouses Optimus from his nearly catatonic state? Learning Megatron is alive!

Megatron is also the only one who has the knowledge to save him so now they're both on their deathbeds together and their fates are linked etc. etc.

Bumblebee gets the info he needs by telling Megatron that if he doesn't give them the cure, Optimus will die (and Megatron will therefore not get to kill him)

Megatron (who had figured out this was all about Optimus before Bee even told him): "After our deep history together, to NOT watch the spark ebb from his eyes with my very own...well played, Scout." And then he gives him the cure

Starscream is about to kill Optimus and Megatron--as the FIRST thing he does after getting out of his coma--literally knocks him out of the sky, saves Optimus's life (priorities), and completely lets Optimus go. Which brings the Deliberately Saving Optimus's Life count up to 2!

Will add on as the show continues, but this is just like. 14 episodes in. At this point, forget allegations, they've been fully tried and convicted lol

[sinister-things]

Just realized Ford doesn't know about:

(Ford was in the portal from roughly 1982-2012)

Chernobyl (1986)

Wreck of the Titanic is found off the coast of Newfoundland (1985)

First usage of DNA fingerprinting (1985)

Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)

Death of Princess Diana (1997)

Discovery of Anastasia Romanov's remains (1991)

[stormofdefiance]

True knowledge exists in knowing you know nothing || Dr. Ratio & Socrates

Okay, I legitimately laughed out loud writing that title, but listen. LISTEN.

Ratio's inspirations derive from many sources; from referencing Archimedes's brain-blast in the tub, to being doomed to have his head bonked by Newton's apple ad infinitum in his idle animation, to his ultimate line ('esse est percipi' / 'to be is to be perceived') a direct quote from Berkeley on Idealism - it's apparent that his design nods towards scholars across time periods rather than being a direct parallel to a singular academic.

Nevertheless, just for fun, I've been rotating Ratio and ancient greek philosophers around in my head and have had a great time chewing over how parallels Socrates in particular. I am in no way saying that Hoyo even thought about Socrates while they were designing Ratio, but I thought I'd share my thoughts. I think there are some worthwhile parallels to be drawn that touch on all aspects of Ratio's own philosophy regarding ignorance, the value of knowledge, and his deep appreciation of life. So, let's get into it.

Ratio is interested in humanity and curing 'ill minds with knowledge', that 'to turn a blind eye to the folly of others is not an etiquette, but a wicked worldly practice.' Ignorance is a disease - this is a concept that can be viewed through a Socratic lens. Socrates believed that that virtue and knowledge were impossible to separate from one another, and that virtue could be developed through acquiring knowledge and insight. If knowledge is virtue, then ignorance is vice. In Socrates's mind, no one would rationally choose to do something bad. People might choose to do bad things, but this is rooted in their own perception of the world - as in, someone would only choose to do something bad (for the world, or for themselves) because they believed (erroneously) that it was the right or good thing to do. To Socrates, the cure to this was knowledge: 'There are two kinds of disease of the soul, vice and ignorance.' & 'What does most harm in the world is not sinfulness but ignorance'.

To Ratio, 'If ignorance is an ailment, it is the duty of the scholars to weed it out and heal the universe'. He views his own ignorance as 'filth' that must be cleansed through methods such as reading. He also views knowledge as a method for humans to overcome their problems - 'Another day has passed. If your problem still hasn't been solved, is it possible the problem is you?' & 'You look distressed. Is something troubling you? if so, you can figure it out for yourself.' These statements sound harsh, but they also clue us into Ratio's philosophy - that through self-examination and improvement, one can overcome one's ailments.

Socrates was also known for being a trouble-maker, he was abrupt and tactless and did not care for someone's social standing nor decorum. He was also known for using what is now called the Socratic method, asking a series of questions that ultimately seek to show contradictions in the beliefs of those who posed them, and to move systematically towards a hypothesis free from contradiction. Socrates rarely made assertions himself - after all, he had no wisdom of his own. But he could interrogate others in order to expose their own foibles, much to the embarrassment and annoyance of those around him. He was once described as a 'gnat' chewing on the 'lazy horse of Athens', causing it to wake up and spring to life due to his persistent gnawing and prodding. Ratio also employs the Socratic method - 'I'm asking questions' - and also adopts sophist tactics such as playing devil's advocate and taking opposing sides (with both himself as seen a story quest, and with others as we see with his texts urging us to take up a side so he might debate us). Through questioning and interrogation, upsetting what we consider social convention and norms, we can dispel contradictions and thereby come closer to some form of truth.

To add to this - as highlighted in the replies below - Ratio’s skill ‘intellectual midwifery’ is a reference to the Socratic method. The idea being that Socrates helped those around him give birth to the knowledge that was already within them, rather than treating his students minds as empty vessels for him to fill with his own answers. Again this is beautifully echoed in Ratio - he doesn’t want to tell you how to live your life, he wants you to work out for yourself what it is you need, thus empowering oneself through self-examination and questioning.

Socrates did not believe in writing anything down. He believed that face-to-face communication was a far more effective way of communicating knowledge - which means, unfortunately, what we know of Socrates is primarily derived from secondary sources. Much of what we know about him today comes from Plato's dialogues, and Plato was known for liberally exercising artistic license.

Although Ratio is not dead, I find it interesting that his character story is told exclusively through secondary sources. To quote - '…There are no less than eight documentaries detailing his legendary exploits, and over a dozen memoirs about him. However, despite the plethora of commentaries, none of them seems to provide a compelling perspective.' It's as though there are no surviving fragments penned by Ratio's hand and all we have to go on is through the lenses of other people. This challenges us, perhaps, to try to think about our own interpretation of Ratio since secondary sources cannot be taken as a wholly unbiased account - and once again employing the Socratic method and empowering the reader to come to their own interpretation.

While Socrates left no writing behind, he was interested in spreading knowledge. Socrates spent most of his life in Athens, a city that was, during his lifetime (~470-399 BC), a hotpot of scholars, wisemen and philosophers. Athena, the Greek god of wisdom, was named after the city - her symbol the owl that is also appropriately perched on Ratio’s shoulder. Also in Athens at this time where the sophists. The sophists were a class of intellectuals who were known to teach courses in various subjects - but often for a high fee, and generally centred around the idea that persuasion and the use of knowledge as a tool was more important than wisdom or truth itself. There's some debate about whether Socrates could be characterised as a sophist himself, but, crucially, he is characterised as refusing to take payment for his teachings. He was born a plebeian (perhaps you might describe it as a mundane background.) He was known to dress in rags and go barefoot, speaking to and (often antagonising) people from all walks of life, preferring the marketplace as a center of debate than palaces or courtrooms. I can't help but think of the sophists as similar to the genius society (or at least Ratio's depiction of them in contrast to himself), cooped up in ivory towers and gatekeeping knowledge to the most privileged. He doubts if Herta's talent is always helpful to others, he compares Screwllum to a 'monarch'. Then again, the sophists may in fact be a bit of a parallel to the Intelligentsia Guild - from Ratio, 'when someone is willing to listen to knowledge that is being disseminated and circulated, a price is created'.

Socrates (or at least the Platonic depiction of Socrates) was at one time declared the wisest man in Athens by the Oracle of Delphi. Socrates balks at this assertion - how can he possibly be the wisest man in Athens when he in fact knows nothing at all? This was not a claim made of modesty - he truly believed that he had no wisdom, that he was unsure what 'wisdom' itself even was. Ultimately, Socrates concludes that the only way that the Oracle could be correct is that by actually acknowledging that he knows nothing he paradoxically is the wisest man in Athens. All wisdom, therefore, is rooted in wondering, with wondering only possible if one is open to admitting one's own ignorance.

What I love about all of this in relation to Ratio is that Ratio styles himself as a mundanite. The Intelligensia Guild advocates that 'all knowledge must be circulated like currency' and accepts 'all beings… who seek to learn'. Ratio has no time for the satisfied self-styling of intellectualism, he himself states that 'to speak knowledge, we must first make people realise their own folly.' No one is above criticism in this regard, even himself - again, to quote 'Whenever someone agrees with me, I feel like I must be wrong.' Again, I feel as though he would resonate with Socrates here: 'Smart people learn from everything and everyone, average people from their experiences, and stupid people already have all the answers'. With Aventurine, he is quick to mock his appearance as over-the-top and vapid - once again making it clear his distate for vanity and hollow displays of showiness (albeit he may have been acting for Sunday's sake here. Also, no comment about this coming from a man who runs around in a toga, lmao) Equally, with Aventurine, it is clear that Ratio is willing to learn from him - he apologises when he offends, he abhors his methodology and yet he still relies upon it and trusts in Aventurine's plan, he is drawn to him in some ways precisely because he is so different to himself. Aventurine (at least styles himself) as impulsive to Ratio's slow and steady methodology, Aventurine whose learning has been entirely self-made vs Ratio who has spent his life in classrooms, Ratio who scoffs at Aventurine's favourite games of chance yet adds slot machines to his simulated universe. And to Socrates, the experience of aporia – in all of its discomfort and disruption – is the very catalyst of wonder, and that wonder was not just the root of wisdom but also the way to live a good and happy life. There is something beautiful in this to me, and this extends to Ratio. Ratio fundamentally cares about life. For all his brashness, his lashing out against 'idiots', his harsh demeanour - he wants people to live good lives, he wants to contribute to the good of humanity - all people, even those he is annoyed by, he cares so profoundly and absolutely about life. The entire reason why he is obsessed with wisdom and learning is not to exalt or elevate himself, not as some kind of ritualistic expression of piety towards a deity, but it is instead an expression of devotion towards life itself. Ratio has a strict work out routine not so that he can show off his body, but because living healthily is living well and working out is a component of that. Even the way he fusses and worries about Aventurine, someone he is pointedly irritated by, reveals how deeply his care runs. So so much of his character is centered on caring for life, even if it is not immediately obvious.

Finally, I'd like to highlight some ways in which Ratio is not like Socrates. First of all, Socrates was repeatedly described as 'ugly' by fellow philosophers Plato and Xenophon - this is contrast to Ratio being repeatedly described as 'handsome'. This is an interesting subversion to me (albeit likely an indulgent one) as in both cases both men attempt to distance their physical appearance from the weight of their words. Ratio wears the bust for many reasons, but way to view it is that he is attempting to stop his appearance from bearing any influence in the subject of debate.

Socrates was also said to be blessed by a divine touch, and as we know, this is something that agonises Ratio as Nous has not yet turned THEIR gaze towards him.

Lastly, Ratio has - thankfully - not yet been ordered by the state to drink hemlock for all his trouble-making and blustering. Though perhaps he may someday be put on trial by the IPC if the theories that he is working alongside Aventurine to undermine the corporation are true - we will just have to wait and see.

Thanks for reading my little ramble. I'd be super interested in anyone's thoughts if they'd like to share, but regardless, I'll leave off on some of my favourite wee quotes from the Rat man:

'Even a life marked by failure is a life worth living - it is only in moments of solitude and despair, when help is absent, that fools grasp how to pick themselves up.'

'Do stay alive. I wish you the best of luck.'

[lexveryreal]

history class is smth else fr

[mytardisisparked]

Sometimes I would like to extract my brain from my skull so I can look it in the eyes and ask why it picks certain hyperfixations.

[sadgelikethegrass]

Damage Gets Done

A Hozier X Oc fanfic

_______________________________________________

Intro:

Ari is a girl born in Jamaica. Her father is Jamaican, while her mother migrated from Ireland when she was 19 years

old. Sadly, her mother passed away last year from breast cancer. Aspiring to be a painter, Ari decides to move to

Bray, County Wicklow, in Ireland. She makes a promise to herself—and to the spirit of her departed mother—to paint

her way along the coast of Ireland. While in a local bar, she meets a lanky man with a voice like honey, and he

reminds her of her mother in some ways. It isn’t until she settles down in an old lighthouse, which she spent her life

savings on, and reconnects to the internet and her friends, that she realizes the soft-spoken gentleman may be

somewhat famous.

_______________________________________________

Cast:

Ari O’liry as Bcasais_ on Pinterest

“It’s not like a tall handsome Irish man is going to fall out of the sky or anything…”

Andrew Hozier-Byrne as his glorious self…in my image ofc.

“I ehm, have you seen the flowers around here?”

More cast to come! And fanart ofc!

[catinasink]

hii cat. wjat did i miss why are you john adams

jogn adams ❤️

[marblem3ad0w]

Inami Master Post!!!

So, a long time ago I watched this little 2 season show on Netflix in the span of about a day. I was a kid that just really loves finding a series, watching all of it, then daydreaming about it for a little while. I had long since forgotten about it until a couple days ago, but when I looked into it appeared to be teetering on the edge of obscurity/lost media. I want to change that because this show means a lot to me and it needs more attention because it’s actually really good for late 2000s kids cartoons. I’d like to give a little introduction to kinda bridge the gap of Inami to potential fandom interest because it’s hard enough to even find this show on one’s own as it is.

Inami is a cartoon consisting of 26 episodes total divided into 2 seasons. It is a French show from 2008 (though some broadcasters bought the distribution rights and provided dubs of many other languages, including the English version on Netflix. This show was available as an English dub on Netflix up until around 2017. The show follows an 11 year old boy named Inami living in an Amazonian tribe and tackling the challenges of living in a jungle and sparing with the rival tribe.

Here are some of the main characters!

(Now bear with me here, the only versions of this series I could find to watch were in French, Russian, and Portuguese, which I then auto translated and cross referenced with what little information I could find about this show. Some of the spelling, character traits, or dynamics may be a little off, but I am relatively confident on my deductions provided below. If anyone has any better/further knowledge on this, please feel free to let me know as I will be more than happy to gain more information on this show!

First up: Inami himself!

Inami is the main character of the series; an 11-year-old boy dealing with a mix of cultural initiations, societal dilemmas, and challenges of living in the Amazon. He is very fervent and courageous, often putting himself in harm's way to do the right thing or help someone out of a tough spot. He can be a little hardheaded at times, but that just comes with being a little kid sometimes.

Shimiwe!

Shimiwe is another 11 year old boy inhabiting the same tribe. He is Inami’s best friend and often accompanies him on his exploits, however wary he may be against them. He differs from Inami in that he is far more level headed and thinks before he acts. This provides a nice dynamic where, when using both their heads, they are able to approach the same issue with different strategies to achieve the same result. Shimiwe is also sensitive to the spirit world and trains intermittently with the village Shaman to harness his abilities.

Animata!

Aminata is Inami’s younger sister. Every so often she is able to convince her brother to let her accompany him on his adventures, but when she can’t she plays a very convincing part in covering for his absence. This is especially helpful when Inami goes against the wishes of his peers in favor of his better judgement.

Xiomaro!

Xiomaro is Inami and Aminata’s father, and the chief of the Bellacaïbos tribe. He is a responsible and steadfast leader who does whatever he can to ensure the safety of his people, despite the many attempts to deceive his impartial disposition.

Minoska!

Minoska is the mother of Inami and Aminata, and the wife of Xiomaro. She, like her husband, does anything she can to ensure the welfare of her tribe and family. She tends to be a bit more level headed than her son and husband, preferring to wait for results because she relies on the nature of those around her to predict outcomes.

Hyaema!

Hyaema is an 11-year-old girl belonging to the rival tribe, The Patami, hereditary enemies of the Bellacaïbos tribe. She is Shimiwe's friend and Inami's love interest. Inami and Shimiwe will often visit her in private because knowledge of one of their own fraternizing with the enemy would cause the Patamis to declare all-out war on the Bellacaïbos. She balances out the dynamic between Shimiwe and Inami in being brave yet reserved; whatever the situation at hand calls for.

Pintos.

Pantos is the father of Shimiwe. He is often very selfish, scheming, and not very supportive of anything his son does. This could be due in part by the fact that his wife- Shimiwe's mother, drowned when his son was just a baby. Most of the time, when an episode features Pantos, he is seen concocting/abetting some kind of hair brained scheme to usurp the position of chief from Xiomaro with Morikas.

Carras! (My personal favorite)

Carras is the Bellacaïbos Shaman. He is extremely wise, patient, and capable. He communes with the spirit world or the God(s) Hekuras to interpret omens, predict disasters, protect the village, and guide Inami and his friends. Inside his hut is the totem of the Sacred Armadillo, a protective token representing connection and defense to the Bellacaïbos. He, and by extension, the totem are often targets of Morikas's envy/tricky schemes. I believe he is the older brother of Xiomaru/uncle of Aminata and Inami but I'm not entirely sure (if this is not in fact true then I'll claim it as a headcannon instead).

Morikas/Moricas!

Morikas is the Patami Shaman, and since there doesn't seem to be one, chief to the tribe as well. He is arrogant, foolhardy, and covetous, doing anything he can to steal glory for himself. Instead of focusing on his connection with the Hekuras or improving his abilities as a Shaman, he insists on unseating Carras and/or taking up the duties of both tribes' Shamans. He also tries to steal the Sacred Armadillo whenever the opportunity arises or strikes deals with Pantos to unseat Xiomaro and replace Carras. Usually, Morikas' schemes never come to fruition, and on the rare occasion that they do they are quickly thwarted by a Bellacaïbo or, every so often, a fellow Patami.

Horonami!

Horonami is the mother of Hyaema and allegedly a widow. She does her best to protect Hyaema, despite her insistence to sneak off with Shimiwe and Inami on perilous quests. Her love for her daughter often causes Horonami to go against the wishes of Morikas whether it is to save Hyaema or simply out of personal morality.

Fousiwe/Fousilwe!(???) (I have no idea. His name only auto translates to "rifle" in Portuguese, so I had to just go by what the characters said)

Fousilwe is a Patami boy that briefly served as Inami's rival due to his romantic interest in Hyaema. He is Morikas' nephew, and he usually appears to act under the paternal guidance of Morikas as a tool against the Bellacaïbos. (There is an episode where Morikas refers to Horonami by "daughter" though this must be a mistranslation referring to his position as the leader of the tribe. Otheriwise, this would therefore make Fousilwe and Hyaema cousins, which considering the romantic rivalry, is a little weird.)

Last but not least, Tatoon!

Tatoon is Inami's pet/double. A double is essentially a spirit animal, one soul sharing two bodies, that being Inami and Tatoon. She is very smart, humorous, and- much like her other half, a little stubborn at times. She often delivers messages to Hyaema or to Inami, she accompanies him on quests and keeps an eye on Inami and Shimiwe. Whenever Tatoon is hurt or poisoned, it hurts Inami as well, which is true of everyone's double/partner. Tatoon serves as a sort of connection to nature, and by extension, the magic that imbues it. (Tatoon and the other spirit doubles seem to exclusively be referred to as girls, so all doubles might be females? I'm not sure/could be another translation bug.)

[thekidsarentalright]

truly did not have getting hyperfixated on catholic yaoi on my 2025 bingo card but autism works in mysterious ways

[frankidacre]

History fans defend their faves like “He’s just a guy!!! He didn’t do anything wrong :c” girl that is CLEARLY a 19th century business mogul who probably employed children 😭

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

why do cats have to die 😭

[menlove]

the way my autism latched on the beatles age 12 and has just constantly had it as one of my like. 3.5 special interests. truly embarrassing things happening in this world to gods most autistic warriors.

[doctor-disc0]

I have a love/hate relationship with my hyperfixations. Because, on the one hand, I love them. But, on the other hand, it gets very frustrating trying to talk about literally anything else because all my brain can focus on is the hyperfixation. This becomes a problem when I try to form friendships. Or maintain friendships. Or literally just talk to any other human being.

[god-breast-america]

He vaguely looks like an American woodcock

[catinasink]

my stretching tescher n classmate were subjext to a one hour long yap session about us history from 1790-1840 oops