#thanks for this ask :))

[justcallme-ange]

wow such a beautiful wedding I'm so happy for them-

WHEN BABIES

Asdfefihgoeifhhghi

Uhhhh… tbd?

[ivory--raven]

thoughts on ocean sunfish (mola mola)?

A controversial fish and one I have not seen in-person, though I'd like to. This post deserves a picture.

Mola mola is a huge planktonic bony fish - planktonic meaning it lives in the plankton, goes wherever the currents take it and can't outswim them. Most plankton are really small. Can't see them without a microscope small. The common ocean sunfish (mola mola) can weigh up to 1,000 kg. They look like giant heads - or moons. In French their common name is poisson lune, moon fish. They get their bad reputation because they're basically giant heads and they can't swim and they only reason they're not eaten is that they're too big to eat. It's an effective strategy. Natural selection doesn't care about coolness.

I do care about coolness, but my metric's weird. I think ocean sunfish are cool.

Here's a sea lion just chomping out of a sunfish. This is one of the perceived flaws of sunfish - but y'know, sea lions also straight up eat marine iguanas' tails for fun, so sunfish aren't uniquely bad for being eaten by them.

And ocean sunfish are cool. They're a member of order Tetraodontiformes, along with pufferfish, porcupinefish, and filefish (yes, filefish are a real fish). This order is one of ray-finned fishes and they're known for their weird body plans. Most fish are pretty predictable with their body plans, favour manœuvrability or cruising or acceleration. There's a cool diagram about that.

Tetraodontiformes, ocean sunfish included, are doing something else. If I had to put them on the diagram, it would be in the manoeuvrable corner, cause they're rubbish at everything else. I've scooped up a filefish with my bare hands.

The order name is more or less tetra + odont + iformes, meaning four + tooth + shape. And the whole ending in formes thing is pretty typical for orders - people like to name them "shaped like this" or what basically translates, in scientific latin, to "[example organism] and friends." For Tetraodontiformes, it's all about the jaw bone being formed into a beak shape with four chunks. Fish with beaks.

Beaks and weird body plans. I'm sold!

One cool thing about ocean sunfish is their spikes. Yep, spikes, like their relatives.

Left - a porcupinefish. Right - a pufferfish.

Left - a porcupinefish. Right - a pufferfish.

And a young ocean sunfish.

As young fish (the word is fry) they are spiky! And pretty cute, I think.

Ocean sunfish manage to steer themselves by squirting jets of water out of their mouths. They have very few bones, and no swim bladder, which is unusual for a fish that lives so close to the surface. They use cleaner fish to get the parasites off them and I'm a fan of mutualism. They also might use seabirds to clean themselves off, floating at the surface and getting the birds to pick parasites off. That's pretty cool.

So yeah. In general I'm an ocean sunfish fan.

[ihni]

Thinking about Steve coming to school with increasingly suspicious bruises and his teachers all asking him if everything is okay at home and of he's being abused or smth. About Steve just hitting his head or whatever weirdly while trying to ninja his way through some girls bedroom window. And Billy, coming to school with bruises from his dad and not one teacher is asking if he's okay. That's how Billy Hargrove is. Angry kid. Got in a fight. Why should anyone be concerned.

Ouch, anon, that hits hard. I am weak for that particular kind of feeling that being overlooked/shoved aside/ostracizised evokes - it's a very specific flavor of whump.

I don't suppose the anger would lessen by Billy having to see this, either. See how they all ask and care about Steve, fuss over him and turn concerned eyes after him in the hallway. And maybe he hears Steve's answers and like ... he knows obvious lies when he hears them, right? He's an abused kid, he can recognize another abused kid's ridiculous excuses. So maybe he's a bit concerned too. Maybe he camps out outside Steve's house a couple of nights, for a while. And he's so confused when his parents don't seem to be home. And maybe he follows Steve one night, and SEES Steve try to ninja his way into a girl's bedroom - actually watches it happen - and the next day in school when someone asks about Steve rubbing his elbow or knee, he tells them what happened and Billy realizes; they weren't excuses. Steve's just clumsy. And people STILL care more about him than they ever will about Billy.

Just, it's gotta hurt, yeah? Maybe he feels betrayed, without knowing why. Because for a moment, he thought that he knew something about Steve that no one else did. Turns out though, that he didn't. Just like no one knows him. Like no one CARES to know him. That feeling of betrayal would possibly lead to MORE anger, especially directed towards Steve. Which just plays into what everyone already know: Billy Hargrove's an angry kid. Violent. Volatile. 'Why should anyone be concerned' in deed (except for maybe their own safety)

(And on a similar vein: when someone finally DOES find out about what Billy's home life is like, and the first question they ask is if it's happening to Max, too. Maybe they ask that because they don't know what to say to what has just been revealed to them, but ... imagine that stab of pain Billy must feel, when people's first reaction to learning that his father beats him, is to ask for the safety of precious Maxine.)

[happyheidi]

i think that discussion about if social media are toxic isn't about tumblr because on snapchat or tiktok or Instagramie all you care about is "if no one likes my face then i'm a loser" but tumblr is a different thing because you can't even see how many followers people here have and all we do here is post photos of nature, animals and poetry. tumblr is the healthy social media. all we care here is pretty nature and wise poetry

𝖱𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍?? 𝖨 𝖽𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗋𝖾𝖿𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗍𝗈/𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝗎 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖾, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖨’𝗆 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽 𝗎 𝖽𝗂𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖨 𝗍𝗈𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖺𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖾!! 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖲𝗈𝖬𝖾 𝗌𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗎𝖼𝗁 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗉𝖾𝗍𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇. 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝖾 “”𝗉𝖾𝗋𝖿𝖾𝖼𝗍””. 𝖧𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖾𝗍𝖼. 𝖠𝗇𝖽 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝟤𝟦/𝟩, 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝖺𝗍 𝗎𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗉𝗌. 𝖲𝗈 𝗎𝗋 𝖻𝗈𝗆𝖻𝖺𝗋𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗂𝗍. 𝖶𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖻𝖾 𝗌𝗈 𝖽𝖺𝗆𝖺𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗀! 𝖲𝗈 𝗂𝗍’𝗌 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝖺 𝖻𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗄 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 - 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖾 𝗎𝗋 𝖽𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍, 𝗍𝗎𝗆𝖻𝗅𝗋 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇 𝖺𝗋𝗆𝗌!

“𝖳𝗎𝗆𝖻𝗅𝗋 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗍𝗁𝗒 𝗌𝗈𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖺”

𝖯𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖼𝗁 𝗌𝗂𝗌! 👏👏👏

𝖧𝗈𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖺 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗅𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝗎𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗋𝗍, 𝗉𝗈𝖾𝗍𝗋𝗒, 𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾, 𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗅𝗌, 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗒 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗅𝗅𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍 𝖻𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍’𝗌 𝗂𝗆𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍𝖺𝗇𝗍! 𝖨 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗎𝗆𝖻𝗅𝗋! 𝖧𝗈𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗎𝗆𝖻𝗅𝗋! 🍃🥳🎉💛✨

pic source

𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖺𝖽𝗈𝗋𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝗁𝗈𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗌 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗌𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖾𝖺𝖼𝗁 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋. 𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝗇𝗈𝗍? 𝖨𝗍’𝗌 𝗍𝗎𝗆𝖻𝗅𝗋! 😄

[wisteriagoesvroom]

criminal/detective landoscar!? or any of those kind of vibes within the crime world? do you like or nahhhh

yuuuuh! in my head lando is a kind of eccentric, impulsive lead private detective figure and oscar is his watson.

lil moodboard for funsies:

(i've had this in my head a lil while but idk if i'll ever write it - let's see...)

also here is @lemonadedino with a beautiful idea for a crimeworld!landoscar au 🕵🏻

and in smth kind adjacent, here was a getaway driver one i came up with a while ago!

[thebestofoneshots]

firstly, I absolutely adore your blog!! <3 ur so cool

secondly im curious to know- what marvel superhero would you assign to each of the marauders? I personally think sirius would love ironman, he’s so tony stark coded

AH, you're combining some of my favourite fandoms, babe! Which is why I might end up writing a way deeper analysis than I need to lol. But let's go through it one by one.

My darling James, the golden boy of his era, he is 100% Captain America. He is hell-bent on protecting those he loves, and he would do anything for them. Also, he's been in love with one girl for all of his life. It's just so fitting for him, I feel?

But also, I feel like James could also be a great Spiderman (and that is probably his favourite superhero), especially younger James, with his charm and charisma and how he is loved and cherished by his people. Also, he is totally in love with a redhead.

Remus Lupin is a complicated one. You know, I feel like Hulk is quite fitting, since you know he gets angry and turns into a green monster, which kind of relates to Rem in a deeper level. Having said that, I think his superhero would be Moon Knight and I'm ready to diе on this grave.

Hear me out, it's about the deep-held emotional trauma and the way Steven and Jake came into existence to protect Mark, he would absolutely love, love Moon Knight, especially the Disney+ version of him. There's also the lack of control the multiple personalities entail (which is very much like Remus' turning into Moony) and the moon theme. Besides, Rem would totally have a mini crush on Oscar Isaac.

And for Sirius, I agree, he is definitely Iron Man coded and would love Tony, I mean it's in the daddy issues they share with each other, the family background, the rich kid persona and all that. But I also think Sirius would love, and I mean LOVE Peter Quill (StarLord).

StarLord also has family issues, but he grew to become an absolutely charming character, sharing his love for beings with Sirius (aka they're both a little bit of heartbreakers) and he is super funny, which I feel Sirius would love. They both love music, and Sirius would praise Starlord's taste every single day of the week. Something else Siri would love about StarLord is his found family. He met the Guardians of the Galaxy and they all adopted each other, in the same way, Sirius adopted and was adopted by James and Remus.

Reggie is Bucky Barnes (and this is one of my favourite Marvel characters). Bucky was brainwashed and tortured by Hydra, in pretty much the same way Reggie was by his family. He shared that traumatic past and his absolute desire to be better, and to improve, he doesn't want to be a deatheater anymore and he fights for what's good. Also, if he is Bucky and James is Cap, we can have a bit of Starchaser hehe.

Lily loves Spiderman, and not because James does, nah, Lily has been a fan since she was a kid, she loves his sense of justice and how he fights for what's good. Spiderman's motto "With great power, comes great responsibility" is literally Lily's bible.

Marlene is into Black Window, and not only bc she has a massive crush on her, but because she thinks she is the most badass character in the entire fucking Marvel universe, no joke. She can stand against beasts three times her size, and fight alongside the most powerful superheroes on earth by being just a human woman? She is INCREDIBLE!

Mary gives me Vision vibes, I'm not sure why, but I totally see her reading Vision fanfiction and writing some too.

Barty is a Loki kid, you cannot change my mind. I mean, forgotten and neglected child who has to be exceptionally good at everything to get the attention from his dad? He becomes evil bc he thinks it's the only way he'll get Odin to see him? This to me screams Barty, and he would love Loki.

And lastly, I think Evan likes Quick Silver. Firstly, he thinks he's super hot, but he also loved his relationship with his sister, and he loves Pietro's charm. There's just something about him that he can't stop thinking about. I also feel he would like Mystique, but that's due to her complicated past, and her ability to become anything anyone she wants. He feels it would be so freeing to do that.

PS. Didn't I say I'd go crazy with this analysis? Aaaah I'm such a nerd...

[dopecarmilla]

Madison square garden is forced to use ticket master, Ticketmaster in turn raises prices as time goes on especially because of the absolutely massive turn up to presale tickets. Personally, I showed up early for online presale, and was still 4000th in que. at that point, most front row seats were around 200-300 and most nose bleeds were >150. Dropout had nothing to do with pricing, it’s just unfortunately as the show says “Capitalism”

I was hoping it was just ticketmaster fuckery! Damn, well I’m sad I couldn’t afford the ticket but at least I don’t have to be disillusioned with the intrepid heroes

[fleshwerks]

Another stone in the lake of Daniil and Artemyi's relationship is the fact their endings are mutually exclusive in the original game, and the game pushes their own as the only one - you have to jump through a lot of hoops to make either even think about destroying Polyhedron for the city's sake or the city itself for its sake.

They're very interesting together, but, and that's another good detail, each and every healer needs to destroy something to even hope to save Gorhon. For Daniil it's the city, since his ending is siding with Blok, for Artemyi it's the Polyhedron because it curses the city, and Clara requires to sacrifice all of the people close to her to save both.

It's common trope in fanfics to assume Daniil chooses Artemyi's ending, but, to be honest, I don't know... It really doesn't feel like him, a man so destructive he'd rather glass the city for the shred of a dream.

It's why in the fanfic I've been picking on, Dankovsky actually fires on Burakh when he realises that there are two more copies of the orders, and promptly gets laid flat on the cobbles in retaliation because Burakh knows that even if that Judas revolver misfired, little man will beat him to death with the butt of the gun if that's what it takes. Dankovsky's entire deal is that he will not compromise, and with Thanatica in cinders, he cannot compromise without effectively erasing the last of himself from existence. The best you can hope for him is him realising that Burakh isn't wrong, but rejecting Burakh's bid on an incredibly mundane, ordinary future that even Burakh acknowledges is bound to result in cataclysmic repetition.

Ideology is a beautiful, mighty thing, and also reliant on the ideologue being uncompromising and destructive. You can't just snuff wildfire with love and shared trauma.

The only way I really see Dankovsky being swayed to choose Burakh's ending is... well tbh, I don't. Just like you can't put a house fire out by talking to it. You have to hose it the fuck down and tame the last spark of that flame on the docile wick of a candle (light, warmth and potable water, baby!), and I think that in most cases it's a serious wish fulfillment and misreading of his character to think that he'd ever stay his hand. Doesn't make him a villain, a good culling by wildfire is literally a terrifying part of a healthy ecosystem. He's not some secret sad boi who just wishes to be softened and understood, if anything between the two men he's by far the one more open to discourse, good collaborative science, and even making age-appropriate friends in a place that defies all common sense.

But he will not grow no fucking turnips on a vegetable patch. Ironically, assuming that he'd yield his dream for Burakh's ending is like him assuming that he can give Death the finger and get away with it. And Death's not evil, either, it's just a part of all life, and if you deny it, you get... well, you become comatose. Forever. And withering away in a comatose state is not living, it's rotting bedsores, degenerating muscles and neurons, and all of your family having to keep on suffering seeing you in this non-state while the hospital bill keeps growing while your comatose carcass takes up a hospital bed that could serve someone who can still be saved from becoming comatose in the first place.

So I always felt like any of the three healers choosing someone else's ending is not 'breaking the game's rules', but more like surrendering something necessary for a whole, living and awake entity to function to its fullest. And given that it's a game about Russia (and to a lesser extent the rest of Eastern Europe. We're a part of the story of this entity even against our will, so it's our story too, whether we like it or not), I'm not even going to dive into how complicated the narrative really gets there.

In the end I've always maintained that no healer is right or wrong, they are what they are, represent what they represent, and the player must choose a sacrifice they themselves can somewhat live with, because what is 'right now' simply cannot continue. Mind you, I like Burakh's ending the best, because the Polyhedron is too close to Lenin's glass coffin for my liking as a player, and I'm a fucking bleeding heart who can't bring herself to slaughter the old pixels and strings of text guard for the sake of the new, but I get why the options are there, I get what they symbolise, why all three are valid and even necessary, and fucking with that gets my Eastern European hackles up for reasons I could write a paper brick on. Itä's coooooooooomplicaaaaaateeeeeeeed!!!

To be honest if I'm going to be petty, I'd say 'Dankovsky for Burakh's ending' is a very... Western way of thinking. Because it isn't familiar with why and how things here are the way they are, and it's near impossible to comprehend unless you dedicate decades of study to it, or were born and raised here. Which, well, ironically, plays out with an enlightened stranger trying to fix a place whose history and customs and inner workings he doesn't understand. Not out of malice, but simply not being able to wrap their mind around the fuck's going on, or adapt to it, even with the presence of curiosity and goodwill.

I'll close this commiseration with the following: to me the three correspond to the following: a dream, a pair of capable hands, and a choice. A mind and heart without a choice is a slave, a heart and choice without a mind is an idiot, and a mind and choice without the heart is a psychopath. You cannot bend one of the three and expect to fully function as a capable, autonomous creature with a future. And good science, good discourse and good moving forward always happens when mind, heart and soul are in constant conflict. It's like a combustion engine. Take one component away from what makes a combustion engine go, and all you've got is either a dead engine, a mere dream of an engine, or a driver who never learned how to drive.

I've had my P-meta fix, I'm going to return to wiping Canada off the map in Civ 6 now.

[cupcraft]

No because one of the members of the server Niki is currently a part of was removed for grooming allegations what, a month ago? And so the fact that people would automatically assume she was talking dream and start spreading hatred towards her further goes to show that 1) despite all their posturing, they never cared about her enough to learn a single thing about her, her career, and her community, and 2) they truly never think about anyone but themselves and their man

Exactly.

And I also think it reveals how prevalent and pervasive misogyny is in mcyt as a fandom. To make Niki's multiple experiences as a cc about dream and to be mad she is not the "right kind of victim" or speaking about her experiences in the "right way" heavily links back to people's misogyny. None of those ppl actually cares about her or her experiences or her as a person. To them, she's just a prop for their fav guy even if she doesn't even utter his name. To them, she has to perform always in proximity to "being nice to my fav guy". It's misogyny.

[artist-issues]

I think the problem is when you say "nothing about you is good" is that a lot of people, young people in particular, afraid admitting leads them to think "Why am I even alive then? If nothing is good about me, maybe I should just die", it leads to despair and sometimes even suicide and the only solution they see is self-love and self-compassion.

Not only that, the powers that be which is modern secular society make it where those who admit this are punished for it. Especially on social media.

You admit you're wrong or not perfect, another person will use that as justification to bully you or use your faults flaunt their supposed moral superiority, not unlike Jesus's parable about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Only the Pharisee is more rooted in secular beliefs.

Modern society has made it that if you admit your no good and be selfless and self-sacrificial, then they get to exploit that to punish you relentlessly and call you a hypocrite when you fight back.

It's kinda social coercion and its despicable when you think about

But too many people just gloss over all this and just try to lecture someone in once again, moral superiority

Not saying you're wrong or what you're doing, but I think understanding the current circumstances, personal, cultural, and societal can help address the issue in a way young people can understand and know what to do.

Could be. I agree with what you’re saying. The thing is, figuring out how to say it in the right way only has so much power. Truth is truth; even if you say it in the perfect way, at the perfect time, there are still people who are just not going to like or accept it no matter how well or carefully it’s presented. My post about Wish got a reblog where someone said, “I like how this person is tiptoeing up to saying they wish Disney was Christian without actually saying it.” Because it’s like, yeah, that is what I meant, and no, I didn’t come out and say it exactly like that—but someone still saw what I meant, and they disliked the truth that was there. No matter how I couched it.

I mean, we can agree that everything Jesus said, He said perfectly, at exactly the right time, in exactly the right way. But people still rejected it. And I certainly can’t do better than He did.

So at some point, it’s not how you say it; the problem’s not with how it’s said. At some point, the problem might just be with the person you’re talking to. It’s like a bridge. One end (speaking truth in the exact right way and right time for the audience you’re speaking to) goes halfway, and that’s great, but the other end has to meet it in the middle (the audience has to accept the truth when they realize it is there) or else the bridge doesn’t work.

But please note; both sides are equally important. I agree with you that the truth has to be spoken in the right way, in the right place, at the right time (and I certainly don’t do that well all the time, or even most of the time.) That’s what the Bible means when it says, “speaking the truth in love.” It’s got the power of a hammer but it’s supposed to be used with the precision of a scalpel.

Anywho, as far as people not wanting to admit they’re broken or wrong or have no good in them—welcome to the human race.

(I’m going to say some potentially triggering things below the cut, but it ends hopefully, so if you’re reading and you’re someone who struggles with suicidal thoughts, proceed with caution ((I know what it’s like, it can be too slippery a slope to chance at certain times in life))—but it ends hopefully, which is why I’m saying it at all.)

And actually, going from “there’s nothing good in me” to “why am I even alive? What’s the point of me, then?” is scary because yes, it can lead to suicide…but that is logical. It is natural. If you stop at “there’s nothing good in me,” then yeah, the conclusion of that thought, alone, is hopelessness. Of course it is. Of course that’s why we shy away from it.

But you’re not supposed to stop there. You’re not supposed to stop at “there’s nothing good in me.” And really, you’re not even supposed to begin there either.

That’s just the middle part.

The beginning part is, “there was supposed to be something good and worthy about me—I was made in the image of God. He bothered making me, and loved me and wanted to make me, when He didn’t have to. He set humans apart and gave them dominion over everything else He created; we were special, we were chosen, and even now we get to have something His other heavenly supernatural creations, angels, don’t have. I was made as His “very” good creation—everything else was just ‘good.’ I am special to Him; He made me special.”

Then the middle part is: “And it’s ruined. And there’s nothing good in and of me, because I reject the very source of Goodness, and I reject what I was made to be, which is good. And I’m not special—because I reject the One who invented “specialness” and gets to decide what that is. And I’m not worthy—“

Then the best part, the conclusion is: “—except that GOD GETS TO DECIDE WHAT “worthiness” IS, and what “worthiness” is for, and HE said having a right relationship with me instead of leaving me as an evil empty corrupt creature of the dirt was worth the ultimate sacrifice. The ultimate sacrifice is what I’m worth, and the ultimate purpose is what I’m worthy for.”

If I didn’t have that last part, that part that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with God, I wouldn’t be here to type this, about ten times over.

There is no hope, no light, no truth, no life, inside of you by yourself. It’s only outside of you. It’s only in God.

But there’s a third point of view here. We’ve established Point of View 1) “I’m worthy because God says I am,” and we’ve established the one that gets stuck halfway, Point of View 2) “I’m evil and there’s nothing good in me.”

But then there’s Point of View 3) “Yahweh doesn’t get to decide what makes me good or worthy or anything because if He did, that would make Him God—in charge—and I don’t want Him to be in charge of me, or to say anything about me; therefore the only thing that matters is what I say and how I feel about myself. Hope, hopelessness, worth, unworthiness; it’s all defined and felt by me, for me, nobody else…(which makes me God.)”

Point of View 3 is the one that most people are actually stuck on. So they reach for it and condemn anyone who has Point of View 1, and meanwhile try to encourage Point of View 2 people to get to Point of View 3 with them.

But Point of View 3 is going nowhere. It’s empty and hollow. Because once you decide you can define good for yourself, and worthiness for yourself, both “good” and “worthy” change to be whatever you want them to be moment-to-moment, and therefore…lose all objective, real meaning. And even if you can fool yourself into thinking that Point of View 3, which does not line up with reality, isn’t as hollow as it is, you’ll still have to deal with the consequences of that eventually.

Read the book of Romans, or the book of John. It’s all there.

Romans 2:11-12:

“…Remember that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

[randomfoggytiger]

You know I read the tags when people reblog things from me and I just read one of yours and it was #making rules only to bend them later. Except I read it as making rules only to BED them later and I thought, huh? Is this an expression I don't know? Until I realized I had merely misread. But now I'm wondering why we merely bend rules. Why not put them to bed, lay them to rest cause we don't need them at the moment. We can wake them up in cause we want those rules back. Anyway, I thought I'd share this strange thought straight from my brain :D

So late on this, but what an intriguing thought. o.o

Yeah, why do we? Maybe humans fear if they set the rules aside entirely, their "power" will begin to lessen and they won't pick those healthy/necessary/etc. habits back up again? Or maybe the appeal is in the ability to rebel, then turn back when they choose? I do know there's a name (which I forgot) for the "phenomenon" of purposefully staying up past one's bedtime-- an effort to reclaim some "me time" a person feels robbed of during their normal or busy routine. Maybe that would qualify as bending, not breaking, a rule? And maybe the human ego or the human fill-in-the-blank doesn't want to see themselves as "a person who has/keeps that rule", so they bend-not-break to keep that image of themselves to themselves intact? (...I'm going to be thinking about this for a while.)

Also: "making rules only to BED them later" is genius. XDDD

[lacm-ac]

could you please draw my mom and dad - kratos and faye? 🥺❤️

Woop! I put my heart into this since I love them sm! Mom and dad being happy makes me happy.

[aziraphalalala]

your username is my favorite thing ever

Why thank you! Here, have Furfur attempting the name, and then Michael Sheen stomping on him (and our hearts) with "Aziraphale".

[intrulogical]

If Remus asked you out what would you say?

yes in a heartbeat . my taste in men r deranged

[eraserisms]

sorry if you answered this before--does Shota have any tattoos? I know it once was taboo in Japan & they still don't let people w/tattoos into some of the public baths--but I think tattoos are otherwise OK now (+ MHA isn't OUR Japan). anyway…?

Hand-delivered by @dhampiravidi No, don't ever be sorry for asking Shota questions. We accept all and any Aizawa inquiries here.

So, even as of today ideas around tattoos are beginning to change in Japan. Even if they're difficult to find, there are even some onsens that allow people in if they do have tattoos. As far as other social ideals go, I've seen a handful of interviews where Japanese people have said that they find tattoos to be not as intimidating when on a Westerner, because it's something that they expect out of them. On the other hand, they feel more uncomfortable with other Japanese people having tattoos due to the implications of them (without saying not everyone feels this way and people are always going to have varying opinions).

So with the above in mind, the answer is no. It isn't that Shota really cares about what people of him, but as a hero and a professional; Shota does have an appearance to maintain. People already think that Shota is a scary individual even without tattoos and in some cases Shota does try to be more approachable. Specifically, cases where he might be dealing with someone who is a victim of Yakuza activity or just children as a whole.

More importantly, Eraserhead doesn't want to have any sort if identifying markers on his person that could be traced back to Shota Aizawa. Sho doesn't see his family all that often with his busy schedule, but I do write him as a person who has a family and is still involved in their lives. He will always be protective of them, especially his niece and he doesn't need any trails that could lead villains to their doorsteps. I have a headcanon about Shota and 'secret identity' here.

However, I do have a Yakuza verse in development for him and that Shota, definitely would be sporting tattoos. But even then, Shota doesn't keep tattoos that are in obvious places like his neck or hands. He does have a snake that is wrapped around his right forearm, but he is always found wearing something long sleeved as a means to keep it concealed. I still haven't figured out what other tattoos that I want to put on him because I need to do more research on the significance & meaning of them.

I gave Yakuza!Shota a snake long before I decided that I needed to investigate more about the culture of them. So, as of right now, I just looked up the meaning behind a snake tattoo, and I am pleased to say that my decision was in alignment with Aizawa's personality and his past. Snakes have a few different meanings but the ones that stuck out to me that apply to him are the following; Snakes represent power & wisdom gained previous bad decisions, bad luck, transformation/personal growth, and lastly, healing (which I think is why he got the tattoo in the first place).

Meanings of the snake that don't really apply to him would be a symbol of good luck. He also would never bare a white snake as it indicates a fear of death. The notion of a snake symbolizing regeneration also doesn't quite suit him.

[foolsocracy]

Noir fans truly are the same. Little bugs scuttling around.

to me there r 2 types of noir fans