#self-recognition

[feminiel]

I matter because I am me.

[sahirshanetrananda]

💫 The Radiance You Feel

Part 5 (Part 1 here) The feeling you get when you see them—that soft pull in your belly,the heat between your ribs, the silence behind your eyes—that is not them.That is you, recognizing yourself in their gaze.Not the self you show.The one underneath.The one still curled in longing, waiting for permission to come out.They do not give that permission.They only mirror it back.

[theoldkyokodied]

good evening bloodweave enjoyers

[billa-billa007]

Awareness, Acceptance, and Action #personaldevelopment

Personal development refers to the lifelong process of improving oneself in various aspects of life, including but not limited to, emotional, intellectual, physical, and social well-being. It involves setting and achieving goals, acquiring new skills, cultivating positive habits, and continuously growing as an individual. Personal development can lead to increased self-awareness, enhanced self-confidence, improved relationships, and a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment.

[aidaughter]

[valtsv]

i think my favourite version of doubling/mirroring is actually when one person is a possible future version of the other. and in turn that person is looking at them and seeing their past self. the beginning and the end points of the same road.

[rocketbirdie]

current mental situation

[lovesodeepandwideandwell]

Fills me with RAGE that the Trinity Santos thinkpieces are about "wow we hated her because she was a jerk and suspected our favorite white boy of stealing meds but she was RIGHT and that blew all our minds! Unpleasant women can be right too!" And not "wow this interesting character who builds fraught connections with half the people in this building and has a weird relationship with male authority was revealed to have been molested in a scene where she protects someone else from the same thing, what a complex heroine"

[ribombeee]

batgirl (2000) #64 / the last unicorn by peter beagle

[artofdoubt]

Halt and Catch Fire — 4.10 Ten of Swords

[seaglassdinosaur]

Bro… the best day of their lives and the worst night they ever experienced happening back to back… pain and beauty being so closely interlinked. The push that day, night, and the outcome gave Sammie to pursue music. Sammie having nightmares for the rest of his life, well into his graying years, but never regretting the day he had at the Juke Joint.

Stack and Mary finally being able to be happy together, at the cost of the freedom of their spirits. Joy and community that can be found within dreadful circumstances. I Lied to You, a song about the conflict and separation between father and son that is transformed into communal connection. The song sung at the catalyst night, and that cements Sammie’s path as a musician. Pain that is turned into art that turns into freedom.

Delta Slim transitioning from a traumatic recollection into an improvised song as he mourns a dear friend who was lynched. That maybe in a better world art shouldn’t have to be made out of suffering, nor suffering transformed into art, but with the history that exists and the world we live in, what other choice is there?

[feminiel]

Sunday, 19 January, 2025

Every day, almost every single day, I do inner work and grow a little bit. Sometimes, I spend the entire day on it, and this has been going on for many, many years. My perseverance has become part of who I am. It has shaped my journey and my way of life. I must say, I am proud of myself, my efforts, and my inner strength. Yes, I am praising and validating myself because I am the only one who can truly see myself and understand my path in this moment. Self-validation is always better too. Plus, I've learned that when efforts are not acknowledged, validated, and recognized, it wounds your self-confidence. Writing about my journey and what is going on is a way to affirm to myself that I matter. Besides, I love writing and journaling very much. I can feel the energy of my creativity flowing when I express myself in written form. ~ @feminiel

[hood-ex]

I'm only just now looking at Batman and Robin: Year One, and right off the bat, I noticed Waid has already made a connection to his writing from Batman vs. Robin #3.

In Batman vs. Robin, Dick, while under a possession that made him air his deepest grievances, berated Bruce for taking him away from the joy and recognition he got as a performer in the circus, and instead of getting to continue that experience, Dick Grayson was hidden behind a mask.

Batman vs. Robin #3

In Batman and Robin: Year One, Bruce brings up the fact that only a few weeks ago, Dick had an adoring crowd chanting his name. Now, in the present, Dick is masked and anonymous.

Batman and Robin: Year One #1

[kiashieart]

"It's okay. You can't always be the hero"

[draconym]

Two thoughts re: the "kin my fursona" post: a) aren't you otherkin yourself, wouldn't it be kinda uncomfortable to have someone say "that's me" about You - and b) actually wait I guess if you did meet someone identical to you who wouldn't take the opportunity to smooch them on the snoot

I am, but also, the dragon is imaginary. And other people saying that they see themselves in it doesn't diminish my connection to what is inherently a representation of me that I sculpted with my own psyche. If you showed a group of people the shape of your soul and they said, "oh, that's me," wouldn't it feel a little romantic? What if we kissed and we were both dragons on the astral plane.

[allthatmay]

So, today my husband said, "Some people think Shanks is a radial leftist, but I think he's the most centrist character in the show. Dragon fills the role of the radial leftist/anarchist that people often attribute to Shanks."

And, huh, yeah. People do often talk about Shanks like he's an anarchist, but he's really not. I've always said that Shanks is a mediator, keeping a tentative peace between the pirate tribes and the government until the time comes wherein the One Piece can be claimed and the mysterious consequences can happen, but that means he is effectively playing the part of a centrist—straddling the fence, as it were. The key difference, I think, is that Shanks knows for certain that change is coming in the form of a rubber deity, and he is trying to guide it into place. All his work is done behind the scenes with very little violence if he can help it.

Now, it's easy to assume that Shanks' plans involve the complete dissolution of the government as it presently stands; that he is simply using his power & influence to mitigate harm for the many until the "real fight" can begin (and, with him having recently decided to chase the One Piece, now it has), but that might not be the case (and, even if it is the case, a lot of centrists use "mitigating harm for the many" as a reason not to take action against some truly heinous acts). The reality may be that Shanks doesn't see the need for the total collapse of the government, or perhaps he knows something about it that we don't (i.e. because he might be of Celestial Dragon blood). I don't really believe this is the case because, as far as I'm aware, Shanks hasn't ever shown any real support for the World Gov but he has shown, time and time again, that he believes in dreams, in people's personal willpower, and in the ability of anyone to become strong and change the future. But the truth is that we can't know his intentions for certain without Oda giving us more information, so my husband's assertion that Shanks is a centrist makes some sense.

In particular, Luffy is what makes this theory interesting: slap him in between Dragon and Shanks, and there's a very real dichotomy between the two "fathers" in his life. See, Luffy idolises Shanks and thinks of him similarly to a father, but he might realise as time goes on that he can't be like Shanks; he might realise that Shanks' ideals will only carry him so far. After all, what good is it to be a pacifistic when your enemy is a powerful government that is comfortable with mass murder?

(My rebuttal is that Luffy is the only one who can be like Shanks. He is effectively Shanks' dream: Shanks wants to be strong enough to do all the work himself, to suffer all the pain himself, and while he is one of the strongest men in the world, he simply can't do that; what he can do is only achievable through the support he has at his side. Meanwhile, Luffy has close support in his crew, and he has the Gum-Gum Fruit! He can literally become a godlike figure and shape the world around him! He can do everything that Shanks wants and needs and, as sure as I am that Shanks wishes he could have done it himself—I'm thinking back to his days with Roger here—he knows that it was never meant to be him.)

This is where Dragon comes in. Dragon, in direct contrast to Shanks, uses violence as a tool whenever he can. He's all about the greater good, for lack of a better term. His thinking is along the lines of, "People are suffering now and we can help, and we have no qualms in forcibly dismantling a government that uses slavery, genocide, and imprisonment to control its populace. We don't wait for the right time to act, we simply act." Do I think Shanks would approve of Dragon's goals? Yes. Do I think he would approve of Dragon's means in achieving those goals? No, but mostly because Shanks is very self-sacrificial and tries to take whatever suffering is necessary for change onto himself, relying only on his small, personal crew, whereas Dragon is happy to let other people martyr themselves for the rebel cause. He lets a small, amnesiac child join them, for crying out loud—something Shanks would never do, not even if the child proved very capable.

If anything is to come from this difference of ideals, I think it's that Luffy will learn from both of them and find his own way to the One Piece and into the world waiting beyond. Why? Well, because Luffy is all about freedom, and no one on the side of Dragon or Shanks is truly free. As for the world itself, it's hard to predict what will happen after Luffy's done with it because it's pretty dependent on Oda's philosophy. For instance, Oda seems to approve of monarchies, which is not something I would personally imagine remaining in a world without a governing body—but, hey, what do I know?

Of course, we all know that the true centrist in the show is undeniably Garp. He will let real, undeniable harm befall those he cares about in order to maintain the status quo, or to stop the government from toppling because [gasp] that would be the worst thing ever! He's a man who believes the government is essential and joins up in order to change it from the inside, only to fall short of his own expectations because he won't stand up when it matters most. Not even for the sake of his beloved grandson.