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mbti-notes · 3 years

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hey mbti-notes! a question about one of your posts on politics/conservatism. you say that conservatism at its best is needed for society. the way conservatism has existed in my mind thus far is: using religion to justify prejudice, ignoring science (like climate change), racism, etc. i live in the US so maybe part of the media hellscape is why i have these associations, but im curious about how conservatism can actually be good to a society. infj and want to be more open minded/knowledgeable

I appreciate the willingness to learn. The political media in the US is dominated by “talking heads” (as they are commonly called) with hidden/ulterior motives. They’re there to push an agenda, to persuade and push people to emotional extremes, for the sake of making money and/or to support a cause that they’re personally invested in. The most important point is that they’re not really there to educate or help viewers be more learned, so they have no reason to be intellectually honest or care about other viewpoints. They’re certainly not the best sources to learn politics from.

When you get emotionally captured by talking heads, you’re buying in and essentially joining their agenda, either as a vocal supporter or their vocal “enemy”, and helping them spread their narrow/distorted worldview. It’s no coincidence that the spread of talking heads in the news media has been accompanied by a spread of conspiratorial thinking in society.

Learning about society and politics through talking heads makes it easy to turn various groups into abstractions. This enables dehumanization and polarization, hence, the endless battle between the “cons” and “libs”, as though everything in the entire world is split along this stark line. Whether you think there’s a fundamental difference between the two “teams” (partisan) or no substantial difference at all (apathetic/cynical), you’re missing the point that the false dichotomy was invented to mislead you and erode your political power. The first step to stopping this problematic trend is to stop it within yourself. When you’re aware of what’s happening, then you have the power to take a different path and encourage others to as well.

To be an intellectually honest person means being careful about the claims that you are making. When you make a claim: 1) you have to define your terms and use them properly, 2) you have to support the claim properly with factual evidence or logical argument, and 3) you have to prove the legitimacy of your claim by properly answering the relevant rebuttals to your claim.

Addressing the claims that you’ve made, for example:

Only conservatives are prejudiced? Only religious people are prejudiced? A prejudiced person is going to use any justification available. Someone who uses religion to justify prejudice is perhaps better called prejudiced, bigoted, racist, xenophobic, sexist, intolerant, fundamentalist, hypocritical, self-interested, disingenuous, etc, depending on the situation.

Only conservatives ignore science? Have you ever met an anti-vaxxer? Most of them aren’t conservative. Someone who ignores/denies/devalues scientific facts is perhaps better called irrational, uneducated, ignorant, willfully ignorant, skeptical, antiscience, denier, a luddite, etc, depending on their particular beliefs and reasons for mistrust.

Are most/all conservatives religious? There are many atheist conservatives that believe only in economic conservatism.

Are most/all conservatives bigots? There are many moderate conservatives that support equal rights and civil rights movements.

Are most/all conservatives antiscience? There are conservatives that love science and are even scientists themselves.

The point is that your claims are not objective, precise, nuanced, or well-informed. By making careless criticisms, you’re being unfair. And you’re destroying any chance of winning over people that might be sympathetic to your position. The fact of the matter is that the majority of people are relatively moderate, even uncertain or weakly committed, in their political beliefs, though they may lean conservative or progressive based on their upbringing or past experiences. This is a good thing because it allows space for people to learn new ideas, find common ground, and tackle sociopolitical problems in a balanced way. You don’t want most of the population to exist at political extremes because that’s how you get a dysfunctional and even violent society, yet that is where the talking heads lead people. When you’re dealing with an extreme person, you can’t help but become more extreme to make yourself heard, which starts up a vicious cycle that leads to more and more extreme positions. You see this happening between political opponents in the media or social media, until the extreme voices drown out everyone else.

Did you learn these ideas/associations from media talking heads? You sound just like them. You misapply words, make extreme generalizations, use questionable logic, and inject (emotional) bias. You’re using the word “conservative” without really knowing its meaning, though it seems central to your political beliefs. It’s not just you. A lot of people misuse political terminology, e.g., conservatism, liberalism, fascism, communism, socialism, etc. Study political theory or political philosophy and you will start to understand how these words have been abused.

To live in a democracy, you raise your voice, you engage in debate, and you criticize those you disagree with - quite normal. But if you want to debate well and launch a serious criticism, make your claims verbally precise, identify the right source of the problem, and be factually objective, as opposed to carelessly lumping all the people you dislike into one abstract group to label, demonize, and hate. There is constructive vs destructive criticism - which do you prefer? Constructive criticism is intelligent and boringly focused on getting proper solutions; destructive criticism is gratifying but makes problems worse.

By definition, a conservative is a traditionalist, meaning that they respect tradition and aim to preserve tradition for the good that it contributes to a well-functioning society. Therefore, conservatives, as a group, are as diverse and varied as the many possible human traditions that are out there to be upheld. Are you really going to claim that no tradition is ever good or that all traditions should be abolished? If you make this claim, you will be wiping out some very important structures and institutions that keep society alive and well, and you will be removing some very important mental health supports from individuals. If you call yourself a “progressive”, are you really going to claim that continuous “progress”, growth, expansion, or change doesn’t have any downsides whatsoever? If you make this claim, then you are ignoring legitimate criticism from conservatives about your blindness.

There are always going to be conservative and progressive forces in every society because these forces exist in every human mind. The question is how they relate to each other. It is the job of a good conservative to make sure that society doesn’t erode, doesn’t change too quickly to be destructive, doesn’t descend into chaos - to cherish what is already good in society. Similarly, it is the job of a good progressive to make sure that society doesn’t stagnate, doesn’t perpetuate negative beliefs and values, doesn’t resign itself to entrenched problems - to improve upon society’s flaws and faults.

Conservatism and progressivism are opposing forces that need each other to be at their best. It is when they act as enemies and retreat into their respective corners that you see the extremes which dominate US politics today. Politics is actually a circle rather than a spectrum, in that the extremes on both ends eventually come together to agree on mutual destruction. If you aren’t able to understand this principle of mutually determined fate, then you are in danger of becoming just as biased or extreme as those “conservatives” you criticize.

#politics #media #social media #conflict #debate #psychology #political psychology #ask

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111blogger · 4 years

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Experiencing Your Travels To Spain

Contemplating visiting Spain? Spain - located in southwestern Europe about the Iberian Peninsula - continues to be one of the more preferred attractions and travel destinations equally as much right now since it is definitely previously. Possibly you're wanting to know about where you should pay a visit to in Spain... Maybe you want to learn more about its history and experience its incredible effect in European art work... What ever your causes of seeking to go to are, you're certainly sure to take pleasure in the unique traditions, customs, and background of this region when you've appeared there.

Obviously, the architecture of Barcelona, the Holy Monstreat, as well as the Toledo cathedral turn this a popular coordinate. And as this is this sort of hot vacation area, you're advised to help make your air carrier reservations, motel reservations, Cafelavista and car lease plans early on - 3 or 4 several weeks in advance as a matter of truth - particularly when tourist might be high (summer season, holidays, etc.). When you would rather vacation "off-period," - which is, while in a time when vacation is reduced, you may possibly not have to make this sort of very early bookings. Within the latter scenario, one month-sophisticated planning may be adequate.

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Now a lot of people like spontaneity - a little bit experience - the unidentified - whatever you want to consider it, but many of us like to create an schedule of things to do and locations to look. If you're the "planning variety," then you definitely might enjoy spending some time to road map out your adventure. And there's certainly no problem with that - seeing that you're visiting a new location, your chances of getting fed up or going against spontaneity are incredibly slim since Spain has a great deal to offer to each of your actual detects!

When and when you produce such an itinerary, some of what it is advisable to involve needless to say are such things as instances to enjoy, acquire trips, attend demonstrates, and (our favorite) store! You might think that this information is hard to find but due to the World wide web, it truly isn't' difficult to get at all. If you're by using a tour operator, after that your endeavours to complete an schedule ought to be pretty little. However, if you're functioning by itself, you are able to certainly look at the tourist websites of Spain and create your very own graph of items to find out and revel in.

If you're helpful with the indigenous words of Spain (which you might have correctly thought is Spanish), it is possible to certainly read through a couple of on the web Spanish classifieds to find occasions and local people which might be of interest for you. Chances are that you'll discover much more amusement info by looking at a Spanish newspaper than you will in the event you solely trusted an English presentation.

After you've arrived and also have discovered transport to your resort, it is possible to inquire further more to locate more interests. By now, you have to be talking just a little Spanish to enable you to effectively talk and exchange money with your accommodation director:

Hola! (Hello)

Gracias! (Thank You)

Como te llamas? (What's your name?)

Como estas? (How are you currently?)

Me llamo... (My label is...)

Soy de United States of America (I'm in the United states)

No comprendo (I don't recognize)

Por favor (you should)

Me numero de telefono es el... (My telephone number is [and then the phone numbers in Spanish [uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, and so forth.)

You'll of course would like to learn how to request other important matters like aid and directions. These are among the points that will make your vacation to Spain more fun - especially as you talk using the natives and try out new foods or amusements that you simply hadn't even prepared for! Just remember to pack the digital camera or your modest online video cam so that you can document your experience and appreciate them loved ones back home.

Journey in Spain by Taxi

Touring by taxi cab in Spain gives an extremely practical way to relocate about and "view-see." Like touring by taxi in the states, lowest charges go with metered mileage along with a small additional cost for baggage and evening hours - nighttime - or holiday brings.

Spain Traveling Recommendations

European Union inhabitants (18 several years or more mature) must individual a nationwide driving permit to operate a vehicle in Spain, however non-Western Union citizens (18 many years or more mature) also need a global Traveling Permit also. The two varieties of residents will need to have car insurance and id (certificate, passport, etc.) legally, is needed always. Chair belts should be worn by all travellers, and travellers under the age of 14 should be seated within the back seating from the motor vehicle. When traveling, keep in mind that driving a vehicle jobs are reversed to American drivers. You have to deliver to on-approaching visitors from junctures and targeted traffic groups.

Additional care should be delivered to restrict your driving for the primary paths specified on the most recent maps with this region as other paths will not be ideal for driving (grime roads, hill passes by, and many others.). In metropolitan regions, you may conveniently refuel your vehicle from unleaded or diesel service stations. However if you'll generate for long amounts of time, it's best if you completely fill your aquarium, as energy stations are sparse in outlying portions of the country.

Driving rates are often restricted to 30 mph to 56 mph, even so traveling rates can increase from 62 miles per hour to 75 miles per hour on highways with more than two lanes. Be prepared to spend both factor and set toll charges related to metropolis admittance approaches.

Traveling in Spain by Automobile / Automobile Rental

Simply because Spain's city centres are so well-known, you are cautioned to prevent traveling in these areas - especially considering that the filter highways within these locations can support targeted traffic traveling in 1 route only. Moreover, left vehicles make driving a vehicle extremely hard. Traveling by vehicle hire is advisable completed by following a recent map of its roads - which offer opinions which are literally remarkable.Visit website for more information about Spain.

#traffic #aquarium #Additional #experience

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shinneth · 4 years

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6, 1, 7, 5 and 10 for the fic writer meme!

OKAY. Finally got free from the distractions. Let’s see how well I can answer these.

6. Share one of your weaknesses

Oh, I have a good amount of those. I would say my tl;dr curse (I don’t think I’ve EVER written a fic below four-figures, and very rarely does it end up 5k or lower), but I know there’s many out there who’d tell me that’s definitely a strength and that they’d love to be able to churn out six-figure epics in their sleep like I do. So let’s go with a more objective weakness.

I have the redundancy curse. I have this really, really really really really really really really bad habit of somehow reiterating a statement twice within the same sentence. Or at the very least, my verbiage will get repeated more times than it should within the same sentence (enough to the point where the sentence sounds very awkward when you read it out loud). This almost always happens because I’ll establish something at the beginning of my sentence, somehow forget about it midway through, and think I need to add it to the end.

I can’t tell you how many times I fall into that trap. Only through rereading my progress to get back into the groove to continue a chapter is when I’ll really have an opportunity to catch these slip-ups. Since I’ve never used betas and I’m pretty much fine finishing everything in one draft and all that. It’s astounding how many of these errors I’ll catch, really. And despite that, a few will always end up slipping through in the final product anyway!

It’s a very annoying quirk that I’d love to fix, but again, it almost always happens right under my nose. No matter how conscious I try to be about this sort of thing, it’ll pop up when I least expect it. So really, all I can do is just try and catch as many as I can after I’ve written my stuff down, but before I finalize my piece.

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

I think the name of the game here is Adaptation Expansion. I focus on a character (or a small group of characters) that I feel

A) Didn’t get as much canon development as they deserved

B) Might have gotten a decently good amount of focus, but I’m seeing many unsolved mysteries/curiosities around said character(s) and many possible routes to explore any headcanons that are raging inside of me.

Or the headcanon itself is just really nagging at me, so I make a whole story dedicated to it.

In your typical Shin fic, the more Shin likes you, the more you should be afraid. Outside of having a wildly creative sadistic streak, my best ideas are usually best suited to my favorite characters, and I happen to be very big on the Earn Your Happy Ending trope. Certain series I feel kind of gave their characters a good conclusion a little too easily, and so I’ve made it my life’s mission to erase any doubt in my readers’ minds about whether or not the characters truly paid their dues to get their reward at the end.

So of course, you add that with the sadism, and that means you’re very likely to get a fic that at least somewhat leans on the dramatic end. I think the vast majority of my Fanfiction.net stories are listed under “Drama”, now that I think about it. But really, drama’s what you go with when you wanna raise the stakes to crazy-high levels. It won’t be melodramatic 100% of the time, nor will it be grimdark or consummately edgy; I do make a point to add some witty humor and even fluff if it’s appropriate. But Shin fics are all about letting you see the kind of hell certain characters could be going through in canon and thankfully aren’t - yet you’re also seeing those same characters achieve a level of greatness canon would have never permitted because they put their all into reaching their goal.

That’s about the gist of it: trying to outdo canon at its own game, giving justice I feel my favorites are due, but only after I put them through the seven circles of hell.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Hm, okay. When it comes to pride, I’m typically very reserved in that regard. However, I was very proud of how This is Who I Am Chapter 5 turned out. I had an idea well before writing it about how I wanted to do a twist on the Mirror Match trope with Steven and Peridot - basically, forcing their light sides to fight off the dark sides of each other, rather than themselves. The more accurate terminology for what I actually pulled off was an inversion of Opponent Switch.

I was very happy how I managed to execute this plot, since so much of it was rigged in the dark sides’ favor and almost insured that only Steven or Peridot would come out of this alive; not both. When it came to Light Steven meeting Dark Peridot, I finally had the opportunity to properly write for Pre-Series Peridot, who I established earlier was a bit of an opportunistic sociopath. I was eager for the chance to make my version of Socio-Peri a legit unsettling psychopath and boy did I revel in it. So, without further ado:

Steven desperately tried to find any trace of hope remaining in this situation. "E-Even if you and him are just the worst things about us made into people, like you said, you are still part of Peridot, 5XG! You're linked, me and the other Steven are linked… and you two shouldn't want to shatter your loved ones, either!"

5XG found herself legitimately enjoying this; savoring Steven's agony and dwindling optimism. It had been far too long since she was able to relish in the pain of another; especially when it resulted in her getting rewarded for it.

"If you're attempting to argue that we don't have a single iota of contempt for one another, I suggest you spare us any more of your unacceptable stupidity by jumping off this platform and descend into the abyss where you belong," she said in a sharp tone. "You'll recall I absolutely despised you for quite some time before my weaker self got the better of me. Past-tense or not, it is a fact you cannot deny. Therefore, it is part of me. Consider it as valid as the fact that, regardless of tense and however I changed over time, I am and always will be a murderer."

"NO!"

Steven was completely shaken up, now driven to tears and cowering away from the Peridot who was his adversary long before becoming his soulmate.

"Please, don't!" he urged. "I've forgiven her already! I-I never hated her for–"

"You hate murderers," 5XG stated in a calm, neutral, but very firm tone that was sharp enough to cut Steven off. "Anyone who takes the life of another, you hate on principle. The cause or circumstance is of no concern to you and never has been."

Steven swore his blood ran freezing cold for a moment after taking in those words. He was stunned to the point of being unable to rebuke any of this.

"The Bismuth told me how events played out when you first met her," 5XG added, readily rubbing salt into the wound. "After knowing by this point how the Diamond Authority were responsible for committing multiple acts of global genocide, how this very planet was on that list, and were prone to shattering members of their own court on a misdemeanor or even on a whim. You were aware of all of this."

Steven squinted his eyes, trying his best to shut away any more tears. He tried to turn away from 5XG; his entire body was shivering while his hands balled up into fists. "P-Please, stop…"

"Yet you admonished the Bismuth for daring to create weapons made for wiping out an enemy with lethal force; legitimate ways to justifiably defend yourself against an enemy you know would not hesitate to take your life if they had an opening. You stood there, and you actually labeled her as one who is completely indistinguishable from White, Blue, or Yellow Diamond," 5XG continued; of course she wouldn't honor his request. "A loyal ally of your maternal unit whose focus was always on doing her best to defend her friends and loved ones, who only fought when forced to by the Homeworld gems… to her face, you belittled her convictions and you said there was no difference between her and the maniacal, genocidal dictators that you yourself were defending against along with your loved ones – just as the Bismuth herself. I honestly don't blame her for trying to kill you that day. You should have died."

5. Share one of your strengths.

Phew... this one’s a little awkward for me. I know one thing I’m objectively good at is writing insanely long shit that is at least good enough to compel people to lose sleep or pull all-nighters as they strive to finish it. I can at least safely say that because nearly every goddamn reviewer I’ve ever had has gone out of their way to mention this. Even if they don’t review, if I ever have a chance to talk to them personally, they’re normally gonna let me know they sacrificed many hours of sleep because of me :P

But really, I’m consistently praised for expanding on characters or concepts that canon either could have touched on more or barely touched at all. Some people have gained newfound appreciation for characters they didn’t care about or even hated because of my portrayals, and that’s pretty damn empowering to hear. I’ll often get remarks along the lines of me taking a character and “really making them my own” - in a positive way. Sometimes I have plot twists that are complete and utter batshit on paper, but then I’ll get commended for making it completely believable to the point where readers tell me they wish it was actually canon.

So, that’s enough of a strength, I would say. I can reach really far and still make an AU story sound like it could have easily fit in canon even if my ideas are ones the staff won’t touch with a 10-mile pole.

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

rsilgjdgkljdgsjgahhahhhh, that’s not as easy a question as you might think! Every story has given me a hurdle or two.

I think by default, I’m gonna say it’s Peri-dise: The Capitalist Anarchy. Because while I put my own spin on it and added a lot of things to make a proper story out of it, Peridot’s little Citystate session was almost exactly to the letter like a certain one by GrayStillPlays. So a lot of the heavy lifting was already done for me in that regard. Still made sure to add plenty to it just to ensure it wasn’t SOLELY just a retelling of that video with some name changes.

And that takes care of my first big ask! Hopefully those were satisfactory answers. I’ll... TRY and get to another before I pass out. Really wasn’t fair of CN to drop this leak on the same day I’d have to contend with 3 hours of Monday Night RAW...

#answered asks #nobynaga #meme #fanfiction #writing

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darrowsrising · 5 years

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You know, I will just throw questions back at you if you don't mind because I can finally scream with people! Tell me about your favorite RR characters aswell, please? ♥

I never mind people asking me things about RR. I love this series with my heart and soul and everything in between. Also, stop apologizing to me about long posts regarding RR, I love them and I have lots of long rants to confirm that.(don’t search for them, they are full of spoilers…and my distaste for Dancer and Roque!) Also, I’ll try not to spoil the fun for you…

Darrow:

My absolute favourite. I love him to bits, he’s my precious, murderous baby! I’d start a #DarrowDefendingSquad or a #DarrowPreciousMurderousBabyBoy, but that’s not my style. Or his style for that matter. He can take care of himself, 75% of the time…the other 25% is not really up to him (it’s a combo of his friends and pure luck).

Jokes aside now, Darrow’s feelings and realness always got to me. When I started reading Red Rising I was 17 and I was recovering from a very bad…burnout (I went to see a psychologist and she told me that I was hurting emotionally from many bad things happening at once, but it wasn’t like…depression or anxiety per se). His feelings, whether it was rage or kindness or anything in between, were so valid to me. He reminded me that it’s perfectly alright to have confidence in yourself, to go after what you want, to be proud of yourself, to love again (friends, lovers, whatever) and many other things. I was at my lowest then and he showed me that ambition is not a dirty word, that confidence in yourself isn’t a bad thing and even if these things intimidate the people around you, they are valid and you shouldn’t be ashamed of despicting such things.

That made me relate to him a lot. I still find myself (whenever I revisit the books) being like “mood” or “same” or “that’s my boy” or “my pride and joy” or “Hail Reaper” at many of his thoughts, actions and one liners. I will always love him, although he is very thick headed sometimes and that’s annoying.

Mustang:

She is my favorite female character. I love the fact that despite growing up with Nero au Augustus as a father and Adrius as a twin, she is still kind. She is also fair, open-minded and highly intelligent. And strong in more ways than one. I love that she is multi-faceted (although haters think she is bland and 2D…Pixies, where? Did we read the same books?) and despite her family and the way she was brought up, she finds it hard to pretend and is mostly genuine (unless she has a plan). I love how she doesn’t give (to use Sevro’s terminology) two squirts of piss over the title of heir of House Augustus, although she’s more than capable to fill in the spot. But she’s more concerned with making the world a better place (she is a Reformist and although the story follows Darrow more, that is a big deal giving that she tried to make laws to help other Colors including the banning of the Board of Quality Control). I love how she is a logical person, yet she sacrifices a part of herself for her family, because she is human and bound to do illogical things. I love how, despite loving her family so much, she often goes against them, because it’s the right thing to do. I love how she is underestimated and she just spits (not literally) in their faces. I just love how she is a fighter, a politician, a leader, because we rarely see females like that.

Sevro:

Sevro is a breath of fresh air. He is who he is without warning labels and apologies. He is a survivor, a loyal friend (very rare kind), a badarse. He is amazing. His existence is a defiance and I love it, although that resulted in a lonely childhood. I love him to bits tho, because he also shows how good it is to be yourself and like yourself despite everything. He is very sweet despite being a hard arse and his insults always leave me very impressed. It’s obvious that at the Institute, he just wanted to survive and get a modest job (like Fitchner - thing which Fitchner probably encouraged), but he started to see Darrow and his behavior with the others and he wanted to make friends. And when Darrow became his friend - his only real friend until then - it made him want more, dream for more. And I just love that. I love how Sevro evolved and how he protects his friends - Howlers included. The only thing I’m not a fan of is his hygene…and his pornographic collection of holoFilms.

Victra:

Victra is a warrior, an heiress and a business woman. She kicks arse, takes names and simply slays. I love that there is more to her than meets the eye (although I don’t trust NerdsTM to appreciate her like she deserves). I love how bad arse and loyal she is. I love how she enjoys life and all it entails. I love that she lets herself be vulnerable in public and it makes her courageous. I love how open she is about herself, yet she is still mysterious. I love the fact that she never lies and she loves jade jewelry and displaying her scars like jewelry and the smell of the air before the rain hits the ground.

Fitchner:

I feel like Fitch is way too underrated. He was fairy chosen to be Rage Knight - a position Lorn filled which only makes it legendary and harder to get. He beat Proctor Jupiter and Tactus’ eldest brother - which I hope is Tharsus, because Apollonius is in my graces atm. Not only that, he created the Sons of Ares, he lead them and infiltrated into the Society’s highest ranks to destroy it from the inside and build something better. It was his plan, his sacrifices, his dream. There would be no Rising without Fitchner. Not even Sevro, but hey, it’s not like the guy would say something like “The entire world should thank me for Sevro - he came from my sperm, ok, my swimmers made the little Goblin. You’re welcome!”…when we all know Sevro’s enemies would rather curse Fitchner’s balls for helping create their doom…

Getting back on track, Fitchner was the okay-est Proctor and one of the best characters.

Adrius: (no, it’ not an unpopular opinion, here we love Adrius)

I believe Adrius is the best villain hands down. There are no excuses for his actions, he is a genocidal maniac with daddy issues. He looks at people like they are objects, not human beings, he has no compassion and has no knowledge of empathy. And I love him. I give him sympathy, because he is a monster, but he was made that way. Although he displayed terrifying behavior from a young age, his fall towards evil could have been avoided if his father gave two (2) fucks about him. I love his relationship with Darrow and how they were rivals, then sort of allies, then…you’ll find out. I just love how Adrius was written. He is really great as a villain. I hate what he did to Darrow, tho. When he killed Nero I was happy for him, but no one touches Darrow, so that was his worst move ever. Like…Pixie, you just signed your death warrant, stay away from Mustang’s Bitc- Boo!

The Telemanuses:

All of them are amazing! Much love to all of them! They deserve the world! I include Niobe, Thraxa and Xana, but that’s all I’m going to say, because you need to read for yourself to believe me.

Cassius: (long stoty, because i didn’t really like him at first)

You know what? I disliked Cassius as much as Darrow did first time he saw him…too annoyingly perfect. And after what Darrow endured it felt like a disgrace to see an entitled little Pixie dance his way on marble corridors at the expense of so many Colors. As the story progressed, Cassius’s entitled arse didn’t improved and the most annoying part was him bragging about the death he claimed. I know he did it to make people talk and find out who killed Julian, but that doesn’t make him right. The 49 other people killed in the Passage were just as innocent as Julian. He made the death of the person he killed sound cheap. Even Antonia had more respect towards that. And Titus made it worse, but that gets off tracks. I understand his pain. If someone would have killed my sister in the Passage, it would have sworn revenge too. But the painful thing is that Cassius saw only Julian’s death, Julian didn’t deserve to die. But that is also true for all the other people who got murdered in the Passage. They didn’t deserve to die either, but you don’t see anyone going at Mustang or Sevro with blood oaths to murder them. The whole system is fucked up and must be changed. Killing Darrow might be a thing of honour, but honour doesn’t bring back Julian.

The fact that he lied to everyone that Darrow was killed by Adrius to claim his spot as Primus of Mars wasn’t good publicity either. And then, he got to be even more of a Pixie in Golden Son. But it was Mustang who convinced me to give him a chance. Because she was the one who revealed that Cassius is conflicted, that he regrets losing not one brother, but two. That he suffers, but tries to do his duty to his family and honour them. Bit by bit, I was open to seeing Cassius from this perspective, so I gave him lots of benefits of the doubt. Until he killed Fitchner and all I wanted was to see his head on a spike turned ugly by gore and maggots. Then Morning Star happened and I went from: fuck Cassius (and not in a nice way) to Bloodydamn finally, Pixie, you made me so proud. Then, we got Iron Gold and man, if something happens to him I’ll kill all the Gold families of the Rim and then that bitch of a ward.

I really love his character development. I can see that mine is an unpopular opinion everywhere in this fandom, given that even the author has a soft spot for Cassius (not that that stops him from making Cassius suffer even more), but yeah…that is the story of how I got late to the “We love Cassius” party. I’m being short on the good details, because I don’t want to spoil you, but I hope you understand.

Holiday and Orion:

They are amazing human beings and although they are side characters I love their contribution to the series. I love their personalities and talents and their overall no nonsense attitude.

I’ll stop here, before we go off charts. Here are some honourable mentions in no particular order: Aja au Grimmus, Ragnar Volarus, Theodora, Matteo, Mickey, Tactus au Rath Valii, Lorn au Arcos, Apollonius au Valii Rath, Alexandar au Arcos, Rhonna of Lykos, Diomedes au Raa, Trigg ti Nakamura, Volga Fjordan.

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freehway · 5 years

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THINGS I KNOW THAT I SOMETIMES FORGET…

Okay my little darlings. I’ve been meaning to write this up for a while. I hope it is helpful to you. What follows is a list of reminders I made for myself a few years ago. I’ve been reading about and studying these types of concepts, across the disciplines of physics, psychology, art, religion, and spirituality, for decades.

One day, when I was playing in the woods and feeling particularly “tuned in,” I saw this big beautiful rainbow, and I thought about how rainbows are seen as promises from God/the UNIVERSE. I felt that the promise the UNIVERSE was making was that, knowing what I now know, I should never have to really feel pain again.

Now, I know, that’s awfully ambitious. But I must say, with these things in mind, it’s hard to feel bad about anything. However, it is also hard to keep these things in mind, which is why I still flounder myself from time to time.

The following comprises some of the things I’ve learned over the years, which if kept in mind, can free one from a great deal of negative emotion and upset. After seeing the rainbow that day, I wanted to clarify these ideas for myself.

Of course, in the heat of the moment, when we’re already upset, it’s often too late to use these concepts. However, if you work with them enough, and internalize them, they should help change your thinking enough to curtail some of those moments before they get to that irredeemable point. There’s certainly more that could be listed here, but this was for my own personal use, and the concepts which I focus on here are those that corresponded to my own set of negative thoughts and emotions (thinking about how bad something is/was, worrying about something bad happening or that I’ve done or will do something wrong, etc.).

So, without further ado, here it is, just as I once typed it up for myself:

With everything that you know, with all that you’ve learned and experienced, you see there is no reason to feel anxious, no need to worry about anything, ever.

1. Nothing “bad” can ever really happen, because “good” and “bad” don’t really exist in an absolute form. For every event we could call “bad,” there are “good” things that came about as a result. The same is true for events we might call “good.” Without a divine perspective, it’s foolish to think we could know what might be “good” or “bad.” There is no such thing as “evil” in nature; the hawk is not “evil” for killing the rabbit. So it goes with human endeavors. I often remind myself, the UNIVERSE knows better than I do. Labeling events as “good” or “bad” is a shallow reduction of life.

2. Everything happens for a reason. This has been proven to me in so many remarkable ways, time and time again. Consider instances in your life where struggles and setbacks actually led you to a greater place. How can we deny that the UNIVERSE is working out a plan for us? That plan is more beautifully complex than we could ever imagine, with our limited human brains. Just trust the unfolding.

3. Everything has always, and will always, turn out okay. You’ve made it this far, right? If you trust the unfolding of the UNIVERSE’s plan, you know that it will guide you to your highest joy.

4. When negative emotions are being caused by my thoughts of other people, I’ll tell myself, “Eh, I don’t care about them.” This may sound a bit cold, but my weakness is actually caring too much. So, I have to remind myself to have no concern about what others think, as it almost never has any real bearing on me anyway. Furthermore, we assume we know what they think, when really, we have no clue. And what about solipsism? What if other people don’t even really exist? They might not even be real. And if they are real, you don’t know what they really think anyway. Even if you did, you certainly can’t control it. So, who cares? It doesn’t even really affect you, does it? Whatever they’re thinking only affects them.

5. When negative emotions are being caused by thoughts regarding time, I’ll remind myself that time is actually meaningless. This is what modern quantum physics has uncovered. Time, as we understand it, DOES NOT ACTUALLY EXIST. I will write a separate post on this soon, in case you’re not convinced or you need to understand this concept a little more concretely. Whether you understand it right now or not, just know that it’s a false premise and that you can move beyond it. Give up thoughts of past and future, for your true nature is eternal.

When I say your “true nature,” I mean the nature of your soul, your energetic core, your inner being, the thing that will remain after you’ve shed your earthly vessel. You should probably come up with your own terminology for this. I often call it THE PEARL, since I like to think of a ball of shiny, pearly-white energy right in the center of my body. In Invitation to a Beheading, when Cincinnatus divests himself of his physical form one night before bed, Nabokov calls it the “pearl ring embedded in a shark’s gory fat- O my eternal, my eternal… and this point is enough for me- actually nothing more is necessary” (90). That imagery really spoke to me.

If your true nature is eternal, then concepts such as “past” and “future” are meaningless. You dwell in a realm beyond time.

6. If anything were to ever “go wrong,” (and that’s in quotation marks because if nothing is really “good” or “bad,” then nothing can truly be seen as “going wrong”) you can simply cross that bridge when you come to it. An example of this that really hit home for me- I often avoid busy places, such as gas stations which I know will be crowded. Sometimes, I experience anxiety the moment I leave the house, readying myself for what I think will be a terrible ordeal in a busy public place. However, I realized one day, that I was given a brain for a reason, to solve problems and overcome challenges with it. As I drive down the road toward the dreaded gas station, all the fear and anxiety is utterly useless. But once I get there, I can use my brain to navigate the situation. I will use my eyes to look around and find empty pumps or parking spaces. I will use my brain to successfully make it through. I know that I’m smart enough, and capable. It will be a perfect opportunity to use my brain, exactly what it’s meant for. Furthermore, whatever we’re worried about is almost never as bad as we thought it would be.

That seemed to cover my most common anxieties, but then I decided to take the exercise a little further. I wanted to really get at the heart of things, so I dug deep, looking for any tiny source of fear/worry within myself. I wanted to cover every possible avenue, and really, I think what most of us fear the most are pain and death. That really seems to be at the heart of it all. So, I wanted to tackle those too:

7. There’s no need to fear pain. Being no stranger to pain, you know how to handle it. You can go within, deep within yourself, where THE PEARL resides, a peaceful place, like the bottom of a deep lake, with the things of this world nothing but ripples on the surface that cannot reach you. Alternatively, you can leave your body and rise above and beyond the pain. The pain can even be made spiritual, in some ways, a clear reminder of the physical form and it’s parameters (which allows one to grasp the non-physical much more clearly, since the opposite of a thing inherently clarifies a thing by showing what it is not). We’ve all felt pain. And we’ve all conquered it. Remember, you have that strength within you, that WARRIOR ENERGY, that you can always call upon again. The pain will not overwhelm you; it will not destroy you; and at some point, it will subside.

8. Even death is nothing, merely a new adventure, wherein perhaps you’ll finally find some answers.

I know, I know, that last one is a gross oversimplification, and of course everyone will probably always have some anxiety surrounding their own death, but it was thrown onto my list that day because I wanted to cover all aspects of my own negative emotion, giving myself absolutely no reason not to feel joyful.

As I typed this, I realize that I did not deal with the concept of loss, probably because this has only begun to weigh heavily on me very recently. I have a deep fear of loss, and find it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate things while I have them, because I’m so worried and upset at the prospect of losing them (mostly people, but others things too, pets, my youth and beauty, my home, etc.) Nabokov makes an excellent point though, in one of his books. He says something along the lines of “Everything I really need, I always carry within me. Nothing real can ever truly be lost.” This is coming from a guy who lost everything. He was 17 years old, had just inherited a mansion and sprawling estate, fallen in love, written his first poems. And overnight, all was lost. He had to give up his happy life, his wealth, his beloved homeland. Not long after, his father, who he was very close to, was murdered by a man who was trying to kill someone else. If Nabokov can overcome loss, then I’d say we probably all can. And he’s right- what’s real, the stuff that really matters, is always with us anyway. Like memories of Nannan and Poppop- we will always carry them with us. They can never really be lost.

Okay, my beautiful beings of light and love, that is all for right now. More to come soon. I ordered two books from Amazon last week, that I can’t wait to share with you-

“A Religion of One’s Own,” by Thomas Moore

and

“The Empath’s Survival Guide” (can’t remember who it was by, but will post about it later)

Lots of light, and all my love, go out to you.

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