#how to shift identity

[theluckygirlblog]

You’re Not Stuck—You’re Loading: Why It Feels Like Nothing’s Changing (But Everything Is)

Have you ever felt like you’re stuck in the same place year after year—working hard, dreaming big, and still wondering when things will finally click? If you’re nodding your head, you’re not alone. There’s a silent frustration that many ambitious people carry: the sense that life is moving in circles, that effort isn’t yielding visible results, and that dreams seem just out of reach. It’s the…

[inafieldofstarflowers]

this scene is so incredibly important to me for so many reasons

“a rabid little Fox who’d had a lifetime to master his lies” is such a good descriptor of Neil

Jean’s reasoning behind believing in the possibility of a future being that neither Jeremy nor Renee benefit from lying about what happened, while he doesn’t trust Neil’s word alone because Neil has too much at stake here, is fascinating insight into how he views Neil & the complexity of that relationship

Renew answering Neil’s implied request for assurance that Jean will be okay with a promise not to leave him

The fact that Jean reaches out for Neil seemingly without meaning to, like he’s a lifeline—even though he just talked about not having any reason to trust Neil

THE moment, of course, is the shift from “Nathaniel” to “Neil” in Jean’s head, and I think it’s important on multiple levels. First, this is Jean accepting that Neil came out on top. He won, Riko lost. He lived, Riko died. Nathaniel was the boy Riko had plans for, Neil is the one who carved a path for himself. Second, I think this is Jean letting go of his own idea of who Nathaniel was (or, perhaps, should have been) & choosing to trust who he has made himself to be.

The fact that Neil immediately stops when Jean says his name says so much about how Neil feels about Jean in return—Neil isn’t soft with people as a general rule, and I don’t necessarily think he is with Jean either, but there are moments like this where you can see so clearly how much he has grown through the series when it comes to small gestures of affection.

“It was a good game.” THE line of this conversation to me, actually. To me, this is the precursor for the I didn’t deserve what they did to me conversation in TGR. Jean isn’t in a space yet to say he’s glad he won’t be back at the Nest or talk shit about Riko, but in this moment, he’s implying it. Riko’s game—his perfect court and his manipulations and abuse—is over, and ultimately, he didn’t just lose to Neil, Neil made him look like a fool. He turned down his offer and talked shit about him to the press and then showed him up, just like he said he would. Neil didn’t just play along, he made his own rules. And this is Jean, saying with the words he can, that he’s glad. And Neil’s response? It’s one of his rare smiles, and though we don’t see it, because Jean doesn’t, I would guess it’s the same one that’s described as unsettling by both Jean and Jeremy, and that Neil himself sometimes tries to suppress. He understands the implications of Jean’s statement immediately & doesn’t press him about it; he just agrees. It was, wasn’t it?

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Went from being totally lost as a teenager to finding solace in aesthetics and fitting urself into a template in my late teens and now I think I struck a healthy intermediate where I know who I am as a person generally but I’m also completely subscribed to the idea of evolving and would never deny trying something just bc it doesn’t fit the image of myself I crafted in my head

[lupinescribbler]

Thunderbolts comic thing :) John Walker is a very interesting character to me and I like theorizing about his psyche

[tiredspacedragon]

I love Kanohi so much. I love the concept of a customizable face and thus identity, I love that each mask has its own powers that carry their own significance in addition to its shape, I love that each mask has multiple shapes to show the wearer's identity changing or speak to what aspect of themselves is most prominent.

Have some concepts:

A Matoran with a Great-shaped Kanohi who becomes a Toa. Their new identity is an extension of their old self. They become a Turaga and their Noble-shaped Kanohi is a symbol of how they were fundamentally changed by their time as a hero.

A Matoran with a Noble-shaped Kanohi who becomes a Toa. Their new identity is a departure from their old selves. They become a Turaga and their Noble-shaped Kanohi symbolizes that their trials are over and they have earned peace.

A Matoran who becomes a Toa and wears a different mask than they did as a Matoran. Their new identity is a dramatic break from their old self, one they either chose to take on to distance themselves from their past or to embody their vision of heroism, or one that was forced upon them and to which they must now adapt. They become a Turaga and their Noble-shaped Kanohi is yet another change. A new chapter.

A Matoran or other character whose powerless mask is broken or lost, so they receive a new one. The change has no effect on their abilities, but their new mask signifies their character growth. Though the mask grants them no powers now, the character's potential has changed, a new path and new role is open to them.

A character whose powered mask is broken or lost, so they receive a new one. Or perhaps they willingly trade their old Kanohi for another. Do they choose the same mask they had before, showing their conviction and stability in their identity? Do they choose a mask with a power they think will be more useful, showing practicality or responsibility, and determination to get the job done, including a willingness to sacrifice their identity? Do they choose a mask worn by someone they admire, honouring them by trying to emulate them, but risking subsuming their own unique traits? Or perhaps they choose a new mask whose powers are a better match for them or who they want to be, showing commitment to changing and embracing themselves?

A character who changes their armour and equipment, but keeps the same mask. They adapt to the needs of the situations, but refuse to lose themselves in it.

A character who could use a Great Kanohi, but opts for a Noble one instead, to cultivate the image of a sage. Maybe it's deserved. Maybe it isn't. Perhaps they even wear a Great Kanohi that is merely forged to look like a Noble one, to achieve the image without sacrificing the power.

Two characters whose mask powers work well in tandem, but one or both of them change masks and the new powers conflict or are no longer related at all, marking a breakdown in the characters' relationship.

Or the reverse, two characters whose mask powers don't pair well, but one or both change masks and now they do, signifying a growing bond.

Just to name a few.

I love how this one single aspect of character design can tell so much of their story at just a glance, and again that it's the face, the part we look to the most for expression and understanding.

[boycritter]

trying to formulate my thoughts on a topic. failing. i should be allowed to kill.

[wardensantoineandevka]

I keep thinking and laughing about this person who was really mad that I said that the insistence on "destroy the Veil" is a desire for a specific power fantasy and they cheered a frankly tepid rebuttal to my post with "OP having 'New Yorker' in bio like that's an ethnic identity and not a city is killing me, Americans need to be sedated", which is just such an incredibly funny attempt at a dig.

First, it isn't at all abnormal for people who live in major cities, regions, or countries to list them in their bio using the demonym form, especially when they lived there all their life. I've seen all sorts of demonyms that aren't denoting ethnic identity, or national for that matter, but a place association. Second, and even funnier, the precise next thing in my bio is "Pinay", an ethnic identity.

Like, this is a legitimately funny thing to say and think you're actually accomplishing anything clever or making a deep point. I keep thinking about it because it's just so incredibly misguided and hilarious. Like, truly thought something was being said there.

also, especially because it has no relation to any discussion about, like, Solas, the collapse of the Veil, or even narrative construction across the series

[astro-nomaly]

MY BOY 😭😭😭

[olivexing]

Olympe is smitten. He MUST meet this dancer.

Olympe doesn’t understand corset laces, but he helps out anyway. The dancer seems surprisingly familiar….Ben DOESN’T want him to recognize her. But Ben DOES want to get to know Olympe, her strange merman friend from the docks.

They take a lil walk out to the beach:

And they get to talkin’….

Now I think there should be a g/t interruption.

Should they get to kiss? Should the kiss itself trigger a transformation back into Olympe’s giant merman form? Should he try to run off, and she follows him to the sea? She knows at this point that he’s a sea monster, but he doesn’t know that she’s a woman- and a dancer, at that!

What’s a girl to do? How should Ben reconcile these two identities, as a boy by day and girl by night?

Open to ideas on where to take this scenario in a ✨ g/t direction ✨ involving Olympe’s secret giant merman self 🧜‍♀️

[freakinator]

oh i realized i should probs make refs for all three forms the shifters (kab and vi) have huh

[wanderingcritter]

the internal conflict between wanting to have a meat free diet bc of high empathy for animals / the environment, but also having theriotypes that instinctively crave meat 24/7 is so so real

[pshiftcultureis]

Pshifter culture, as someone whose first shift was at a young age, is getting doubted and called a liar or being told you were dreaming, and it's not possible that happened

(Not 💥anon lol, but another shifter who first shifted somewhere between 5-7yo. Maybe I'll go by 📑)

.

[blindmagdalena]

Oh god, reading the previous anon's ask makes me think of how stressed Homelander's partner would be around his birthday. I mean, what do you get a man who literally can have it all? I feel like he wouldn't exactly hide his feelings very well if he really disliked the gift either. In your opinion, what kind of gift do you think Homelander would enjoy the most?

anything heartfelt, honestly. you're right, there's nothing he couldn't buy himself, but a thoughtful gift from someone who loves him? that's priceless.

you could bake him a very special cake, or even some Christmas cookies! you could also gift him a framed photo of the two of you two together.

the monetary value obviously isn't going to matter to Homelander. what will matter to him is the effort put into it, and why you got it for him. what made you think of him, and the inherent love that comes with that.

sure, he could buy himself an ornament for his desk, but it's not the same as you gifting him one because it reminded you of your trip together. you can buy him noise cancelling earbuds to wear because you know he can be prone to overstimulation, and even though he knows they won't really work for him, he's touched because you care. you thought about his needs, how to take care of and protect him.

ultimately, Homelander loves love. he wants to feel it, be bathed in it, be adored. the point of the gift isn't to get him something material, it's to show him that he's thought of, wanted, and cared for.

[daz4i]

a thing that made me accept and solidify my sense of self is accepting change. like. i am not the same person i used to be (thank god). but that's a good thing, bc the self is transient. it's nice to find things to define yourself by or to check how ppl see you - but it's important to be able to let these things go. you used to be a dog person but now you prefer cats. you liked this color and wore it all the time but are now tired of seeing it. etc etc. little things we may unconsciously latch our identity onto (which is fine, and natural, i'd argue almost a necessary part of growing up) but being able to let them go and find new things to temporarily(!!!!) define us is helpful. and through that you can notice patterns in who you used to be vs who you are now, grab the things that stand out, and just. keep them in your mind for now. but be willing to let them go once they become unhelpful. does that make sense

[violent138]

Shapeshifters who take on other people's skin probably have to have some way of reminding themselves who they are to survive the onslaught of foreign memories and personalities and remember that they're not actually that person, they're just borrowing to do some very evil things. Like a note or a voice recording to themselves.

"You are not Sandra, you do not care about the PTA meeting, just fucking go kill Ted."

They likely also need a picture of themselves so they know what to transform back into, and get the nose shape and eye width right again.

[sandmanfemslashfans]

The Sandman Femslash Moodboards

Gault the Shapeshifter/Nuala the Fairie