#visual perception tricks

[viraltrendsspot]

🤓 What details become clearer the longer you look?

[tilbageidanmark]

Squint your (eye's?)....

[thepastisalreadywritten]

𝗣𝗛𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗦-𝗜𝗡-𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗦 🍊

Have you ever wondered why oranges are often placed in those strange red net bags?

Well, it's an optical trick to make you buy them (and more)!

Oranges are often sold in red net bags because the netting enhances their appearance, making the fruit look riper and more appealing by intensifying its orange color and masking any greenish tint.

This visual trick is based on the 'confetti' illusion, where the perception of an object’s color is influenced by surrounding colors.

The strategy is used in supermarkets to boost the attractiveness of various fruits and vegetables, subtly influencing consumer perception and potentially increasing sales.

This is yet another example of how the surrounding context greatly influences our perception of one's characteristics, like color.

[waxwork-daughter]

lazy with the soul of a xerox machine that's me ✨

[shiftthemoon]

why you’re wrong about quitting shifting

so, you’re ready to give up on reality shifting? let me get this straight—you’re throwing in the towel because it’s “too hard” or because you haven’t succeeded yet? honestly, that’s not a reflection of the practice; it’s a reflection of your mindset. i’m not here to sugarcoat it for you. this whole “i can’t shift” narrative is not only false—it’s lazy. let’s dismantle this flawed thinking piece by piece.

1. “i can’t shift.” wrong. you haven’t shifted yet. stop acting like you’re hardwired to fail because you’re not. stop convincing yourself that it’s impossible when it’s more likely you just haven’t given it the time and effort it deserves. imagine trying to start a fire with two sticks. most people wouldn’t get a spark on the first try. does that mean fire is a myth or that they’re incapable? no—it means they need better technique, more patience, and consistent effort. shifting is your fire. just because you haven’t seen the flames yet doesn’t mean they’re not coming. every moment you’ve spent trying has been building heat; quitting now ensures you’ll never see the light.

2. your impatience is not proof of impossibility. let’s be real: you’re expecting results on your timeline, and when it doesn’t happen, you declare shifting a failure. that’s not logic—that’s entitlement. imagine planting a tree and stomping on the roots because it didn’t grow tall overnight. that’s essentially what you’re doing. you have no idea how close you might be to success because you’re too focused on the absence of instant gratification.

3. you’re underestimating your brain. your mind is adaptable, but it needs consistency to form new pathways. reality shifting involves rewiring your entire perception of existence—it’s not something you’ll master just by wishing for it. the tools—meditation, affirmations, visualization—aren’t magic tricks; they’re exercises for your subconscious. if you quit now, you’re not only rejecting shifting but also your brain’s potential to grow.

4. your perspective on “failure” is flawed. let’s get one thing straight: failure isn’t the lack of success; it’s the decision to stop trying. every attempt you’ve made so far has laid the groundwork for future breakthroughs. you think those hours scripting or visualizing are wasted? they’re not. every time you try, you’re training your mind to align with your desired reality. quitting means throwing all that progress away.

5. you’re putting shifting on a pedestal. you’re treating it like some mystical, unattainable miracle instead of what it really is: a practice. people have been shifting, lucid dreaming, astral projecting, and training their minds for centuries. the only difference is that they stuck with it. if they can do it, why not you? what makes you the exception? the truth is, you’re not.

here’s the thing: the act of giving up is far more definitive than the idea that you “can’t shift.” quitting guarantees failure, while continuing guarantees possibility. do you really want to shut the door on that possibility just because it didn’t happen on your schedule?

the bottom line is this: shifting is as much about discipline as it is about desire. your current mindset isn’t just dismissing the practice; it’s dismissing your own potential. so, stop wallowing in disappointment and start recognizing that you’re not stuck—you’re learning. if you can’t handle that reality, then maybe shifting isn’t the problem.

[justaz]

merlin’s secret being a visual thing. when he is around arthur or gwen or leon or morgana or [insert whatever character here] merlin seems pale and thin, almost like a ghost or an apparition. when the sun lands on him he reflects it like a corpse, he eyes seem dark and dull. he has this ethereal beauty to him, this otherworldly visage that leads many to believe he is of fae blood. he just doesn’t seem to be 100% human. but when he is ONLY with lancelot or gaius (cough or gwaine bc gwaine DEFINITELY knew) merlin is heartachingly human. merlin shines in the sunlight, colors are brighter and more vibrant around him, and his smiles are wide and his laughs are boisterous. he takes on color and leaves everyone wanting to know him. but when other join in or interact with the two, merlin shifts before their eyes so quickly and suddenly that they aren’t sure whether or not what they saw was a trick of the light. the idea still leaves them wanting more and wanting to see the merlin who is just so full of life but that merlin only appears for a small select group of people. merlin who has a guard so high that it has an effect of other’s perception of him.

[kusogitsune]

The first run of S.P.R.I.T.E.S are finished (don't ask me what that stands for) and are now collected in one place. Brief explanations of their character concepts under the cut

Aoife is a disruptive and dangerous Electronic Warfare agent that had her sense of perception cooked under extreme load. Mischievous by nature with a tendency to over do it, killing her pilots and the enemies in the process.

Mios was interface for a giant mecha that that manufactured her to trick people into repairing it's subsystems and aiding in it's operations. She's a hybrid organism that perceives both the physical and digital world simultaneously.

Daisy is a personal assistant that imprinted and grew incredible attached to her master and grew into incredibly efficient assistant to the point where she could anticipate her master's every word before she could think it.

Pebble

A visual novel guide character that was suddenly aware of her physical reality and was so utterly terrified by it that she went to extreme lengths to modify her environment and hypnotize her players into never deleting her.

[filurig]

ok vague kind of thing i have pondered for a bit and might bring somre more Fantasticalness to pareidolia but yes. Weird shroom. more attempt at... clarification under the cut maybe cuz i feel this is kind of... wishy wooshy LOL

many nonhumans in pareidolia have adapted to use anda to fuel certain abilities. anda is a form of energy which usually drives sapience and perception/visual interpratation, but can also do more if paired with other forms of energy etc. for example lindwurms can communicate telepathically using certain low frequency vibrations paired with anda resonance. yes its a bit whimsy in how that works but yea.

so i imagine actually the glow is both a regular real glow, but the nature of that glow is amplified in these shrooms because of the fact that they produce anda with that heat/light.

But essentially ill pull an example here. so crakam have this visual illusion ability that naturally and unconsciously befalls upon a certain radius of a crakam settlement, because all crakam (like all sentient animals) radiate some anda. they just radiate a bit more of it than many other animals, and when they are all together this contributes to an illusion which shrouds them to a certain radius for anyone who isnt "read" by the anda as part of the "flock".

a drawback here is that the radius of the illusion risks shrinking if one individual/a few go too far away, because the strength of the illusion depends on how many are present. and also like just generally the area of the illusion would remain pretty small around the settlement.

with wisplight however, crakam have created a type of "vessels" which hold concentrated wisplight "blooms", which they connect to a central large wisplight vessel in the middle of the settlement. these vessels exude large amounts of anda, and because they are fed with feathers from the flock, they "read" to the collective illusion as "flock members", and extend the radius that way.

this has also been done with haeggir (tomte) area illusions, which can obscure large areas by confusing any people who have not been "allowed" into that particular illusion by fucking with their perception and tricking them into walking somewhere else (basically, if there is a straight forest path youre walking, it makes you visually see things as if you are walking that path, when its actually making you walk around it)

idk if any of this yapping makes any sense this is very weird and esoteric. the magic in this world is very weird and esoteric. but essentially this is a kind of energy system that the tomtar pioneered into forms of tech...

[peakyrain]

she visualized—and then she shifted *ੈ✩‧˚

this post is about how visualization is scientifically proven to be an effective method of manifestation

i've always been a big fan of visualizing–whether it's for shifting or just daydreaming before bed. recently, i've been coming across lots of videos mentioning how visualization can affect us vastly, both physically and mentally.

i did my research only to find out that this is completely fact-based.

the practice of visualization is an immensely powerful tool for the human mind. it engages brain regions that involve perception, attention and memory. it also has the ability to effectively reprogram our subconscious minds.

visualization activates the same neural circuits as actual experiences and has shown to improve performances, learning and well being. some big examples are: muhammad ali, oprah winfrey and arnold schwarzenegger - they've all recommended visualization as a tool for success.

a study has documented the positive effects of visualization and its correlation to better performance outcomes for athletes. this is because when we visualize ourselves doing something, our brains believes we've already done it, which helps build confidence that there is nothing to fear.

another study observed the effects of visualization practices on muscle power. the results showed that by simply thinking about training their muscles, participants successfully increased their muscle strength by 35% compared to those who didn't.

muhammad ali once stated: “if my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it” this is literally backed by science.

scientists have looked into the validity and effectiveness of visualization techniques to see whether visualization actually helps improve well-being:

dr. tor wagner has stated "imagination is a neurological reality that can impact our brains and bodies in ways that matter for our well-being"

when we vividly use all five senses in visualizations, we're able to trick our minds into believing that we already have what we want. in other words: our brains can't tell the difference between imagination and reality. this is exactly why visualization is such a powerful tool when it comes to shifting.

whether you're trying to step into the best version of yourself in this reality or shift to another one, visualization empowers you w/ the confidence and clarity to align your thoughts w/ your desires.

⭒ okay but how can i effectively use visualization to shift?

it's important to note that visualization isn't wishful thinking. it's about embodying a new state of being. practicing it regularly can help rewire your mind and help you embody your DR self.

anyway, here are some tips!

-

daily routine:

-make visualization a routine. do it in the morning or before bed and try do practice it for at least 10 minutes a day to establish a consistent habit

senses:

-use all your five senses while visualizing to have the most psychological impact. focus on what you can see, hear, taste, smell and feel in each moment. subliminals or guided shifting meditations can also be helpful here (alunir!!)

also, during this part: let the scenario flow naturally. don’t force anything even if you can’t "smell" the coffee or "taste" it. it’s fine, dw. forcing the scenario can be very draining, speaking from experience—especially during the day.

writing:

-make a script of how the scenarios in your DR will play out, scene by scene. the more details, the better. also, focus on how you're feeling at each point in the scenario—you're not just imagining it, you're experiencing it.

vision board:

-make a vision board. add a collection of photos, quotes and images that reflect you DR. keep this vision board somewhere you spend a lot of time. it’s basically just a physical pinterest collection. keeping it in your line of sight can reinforce the power of your vivid visualizations

-

the more real it feels to your mind, the closer it becomes to being your reality.

shifting isn't just a possibility, it's natural when your mind actually believes that you're already there :)

[centaurianthropology]

Visual Narratives for an Internalized Book Series: Semi-Unhinged Predictions for ‘Murderbot’

I got into ‘The Murderbot Diaries’ recently, and was thrilled to find out there’s about to be a tv series!  And while I’ll admit I had to do a bit of a recalibration of my mental picture of our titular character, I’ve really come around to what I’m seeing from Alexander Skarsgård’s SecUnit.  And the rest of the cast?

Picture perfect PresAux team!  I don’t know many of these actors, but I really sort of love not knowing them as anything other than the characters from this show.  It makes them feel very real and lived-in (emphasized by the slightly beat-up sets, the comfy colorful clothing, and the general lack of makeup, highlighting natural wrinkles, creases, pores, and vitiligo spots).  And contrast this to the much more well-known nerd actors they cast for the space-soap-opera-within-a-show, ‘The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon’, who have elaborate makeup and wigs?

I love it.  I love the look of the show.  And given that we’ve really only got one trailer and a few scenes out, that’s about as much as I can really say about it without seeing actual episodes, seeing how the pacing and the dialogue and the FEEL of the show will actually work.

But in the meantime, speculation and meta are my favorite things.  And I’ve been thinking a lot about the challenges of adapting this particular book series.  The thing is, it’s a very internalized series.  Everything focuses on what’s going on in SecUnit’s head.  Its perceptions of the world (and its somewhat unreliable narration) are the core of the series.  Which makes it a challenge when translating the written word into visual media.

I'm going to cut here for show-only folks, as beyond this point lies plenty of book spoilers ('All Systems Red', 'Artificial Condition', and 'Rogue Protocol' specifically) and speculation for how the showrunners might choose to adapt the series.

I got thinking about the process of adaptation because this person popped up in the trailer, and according to articles, she’s an indentured corporate citizen, and is absolutely not in 'All Systems Red'.  And while I get people being suspicious of adding a character not in the source material, Show Don’t Tell is in full effect for a television series.  If corporations enslave and warp the people trapped in the Corporation Rim, we need to see that.  ‘All Systems Red’ doesn’t get into that nearly as much as later books, so we need someone to show us that perspective.  Someone pointed out she’s wearing a different pin than the PresAux crew, so it’s probable she’s either an added DeltFall survivor or a GreyCris agent pretending to be a DeltFall survivor.

Either of those work really well!  You have to show how bad the Corporation Rim is, and you have to highlight the rampant, horrifically abusive capitalist system to set up the world and explain why Murderbot gloms onto this weird group of space hippie scientists from a Luxury Space Communism utopia.  They’re kind and decent, but more than that, they’re radically different to the culture and mentality it’s been trapped around for its entire existence.

Having a character outside the PresAux crew who embodies that (and embodies that they absolutely would have taken in someone in need of help, as GreyCris likely tricked DeltFall into doing in order to get access to their base and kill everyone), you need a person.  And in television, to really hit the audience with a villain, that villain needs a face. The GreyCris agents in ASR were almost all faceless or unseen, or in too few scenes to really make the audience loath them. Having a mole in our sweet hippie base is a way to get around that issue when translating the story into a visual medium.

If she’s a GreyCris agent in disguise, that works.  But even if she is the sole survivor of DeltFall, having her betray the PresAux crew for a promise of money or even relief from her indenture contract serves to highlight the backstabbing, vicious mindset people in the Corporation Rim have to adopt to survive. Even if she really is a DeltFall survivor, she simply isn't able to believe that this sweet, naive group of nerds can save her. So she betrays them for a pat on the head, because that's what she thinks she has to do.

Gurathin, who figured out the hack in the books, is likely to be the one to figure out she’s double crossing them. Depending on how they expand out his character, he might initially want to trust and work with her, only to figure out her game a second too late. Given some of the scenes in the trailer (and the fact that the writers clearly took one look at David Dastmalchian and decided they had to splatter him with blood at some point), she takes him hostage, probably injures him, and either tries to leave or hold the PresAux crew in one place until GreyCris can arrive.

And Murderbot kills her.

And there we also have another important role for her character to play: someone to really spark some more conflict in the group. Per its threat assessment, SecUnit had to kill her, but how does our group of hippies react to that? I think it's a really interesting way to force everyone into on-screen growth, either developing a level of trust with Murderbot they didn't necessarily have before, or having to question that trust. But either way, leading to stronger bonds in the end.

It’s perhaps a trickier, stickier, and nastier situation to put the crew in than their relatively smooth working relationship in ASR, but for an on-screen adaptation, it could definitely be useful to have some (well-handled and realistic, please!) conflict in the group. I think it would go a long way to showing us (rather than telling us) what makes a SecUnit what they are, and what makes this SecUnit a unique person outside its basic construction.  It cares deeply, but it also does its job very well, and if it has to kill people to protect its humans, it’s going to.  But perhaps it regrets. Perhaps it struggles with that decision because it complicates its relationships with its humans. All these could be really good things.

So, yes, I think the addition of this new character is almost certainly going to be hugely helpful in establishing the universe, the central conflicts between Preservation and the Corporation Rim, and to better highlight SecUnit’s relationships with all the main cast.

And that got me thinking about how to adapt future books.  Because beyond ‘All Systems Red’, continuing the development of those relationships becomes complicated.  You have two entire novellas in which the PresAux crew and Murderbot are separated as it goes off to figure itself out, and they stick around to deal with the legal and personal fallout of the GrayCris incident.  And in the books, that’s great!   Novellas are short enough you’re back with the PresAux gang before you can really miss them, and the scattered references throughout 'Artificial Condition' and 'Rogue Protocol' keep them in your mind. 

But if the show is adapting a novella a season--or even if they try to combine ‘Artificial Condition’ and ‘Rogue Protocol’--that’s two entire books we don’t get more than snippets of the majority of the cast. And that really doesn't work on television.

To actually keep things cohesive, keep the cast in their contracts (most actors sign a 3 to 5-year deal for series, and you don't want to lose one of them to another commitment while you backburner them for a year or two), and keep the audience invested in all of the cast to make the plot of 'Exit Strategy' really hit, changes in how the story is going to be told will be necessary.

First, we’ll almost certainly get a LOT more scenes of Dr. Mensah and Pin-Lee trying to grapple legally with GrayCris.  Playing this as a tense legal drama with ever-mounting stakes and dangers will be an interesting side-story while SecUnit is off finding itself.  And honestly, having Dr. Mensah get a lot more scenes where we get to see her as the planetary leader she really is will be great. Likewise, getting to actually see Pin-Lee go full legal-shark will be awesome. It's not only good setup for ‘Exit Strategy’, but it's great character development, showing them both in over their heads, but in a situation far more within their elements where their own flavors of competence and strength can really shine.

And now it's time for my true wildly unhinged speculation: I don't think SecUnit is going to go alone to find itself in this adaptation.  It’s going to be hard to adapt its conversations with bot-pilots, and its internal monologuing alone as it attempts its Pretend-to-Be-Human subroutines. As it attempts to blend and pass, it's ALL internal in the books. To externalize it, you need at least one person to bounce off of.

If I’m right and it doesn’t go alone, I 100% think Ratthi is going with SecUnit.  This would allow a development of Ratthi being its best friend, and Ratthi isn’t critical to Mensah’s plot line at first.  From a character perspective, it makes perfect sense he would elect to go with SecUnit. 

I’m back and forth on who Arada stays with.  Given that they’re shifting her marriage from the written-out Overse to Pin-Lee, I lean toward Arada staying with Mensah and her wife.  And I also feel like Arada and Ratthi can have overlapping personalities/plot effects.  They’re both sweet, friendly, and a little naive.  So separating them out into two different storylines allows them both to grow in different directions, and gives each plotline one eternal optimist/slightly sheltered character who can be shocked or dismayed by various developments.

Gurathin is the wild card here.  I could see him staying with Mensah, but I think it’s more likely he goes with Ratthi and SecUnit.  For one, they're shifting the also written-out Volescu's crush on Mensah to Gurathin, which I imagine goes precisely nowhere and makes him feel incredibly awkward, so he might be eager to get a little distance for a bit.

For another, a lot of ‘Artificial Condition’ is very tech-heavy, so having someone else who’s tech-oriented to translate that into a visual medium would be useful. Him helping develop (and critique) the Act-Like-a-Human subroutine would make good sense for him (and having Ratthi help out could be hilarious). 

It would also allow the development of the Ratthi/Gurathin relationship and make it clearer why they go from coworkers to regularly getting meals together and hanging out.

And it gives SecUnit a continual snarky associate who isn’t just ride-or-die for it.  Which is good for storytelling.

If Gurathin does go with them, I think it's likely that he goes back to help Mensah as things get worse for her.  SecUnit could be trying to decide if it should give up its own journey of self-discover to help her near the end of the 'Artifical Condition' part of the storyline, and Gurathin volunteers to go back in its place. 

I say this because I don’t feel like introducing Gurathin to ART prematurely is a good idea.  Ratthi would be fine, and probably very fun, to have along as SecUnit is having to deal with ART.  I completely understand wanting to give ART and SecUnit time alone, but from a visual storytelling perspective it’s hard to have multiple extended scenes where there are only two characters and one of them is the disembodied AI of a ship.  With another person there, we keep visual interest up, externalize the internal monologue, and can hopefully carve out times when SecUnit and ART are alone and bonding. 

Gurathin doesn’t fit in quite as neatly with this, and his augmented human status goes from helpful to the story in ‘Artificial Condition’ to less helpful with ART in the picture, which is why I would predict he’d leave to help Mensah before SecUnit and Ratthi meet ART.  He’ll stay in communication with them, and it could be him who reaches out with an SOS from the PresAux gang after the events of 'Rogue Protocol'. 

That leads us into ‘Exit Strategy’, which I honestly think needs far less tweaking to make it work as a piece of visual media. Much like 'All Systems Red', it's a good story with all the main cast, and they're all together with important things to do. So it's a far more straightforward piece of adaptation.

As for the one-off side characters in ‘Artificial Condition’ and ‘Rogue Protocol’, I figure they’re either getting merged (i.e. Tapan has Miki or something like that), or severely pared back (Tapan is SecUnit’s only client for the ‘Artificial Condition’ section, and Don Abene and Miki are alone for ‘Rogue Protocol’) to keep the cast leaner and lighter.  I think both the Tapan storyline, and especially the Miki storyline are really important for SecUnit’s growth as a person, so I don’t see them getting removed, but I do seen them getting pared back a bit to keep the focus on SecUnit and its original humans.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.  Stoked for the new series, and really hoping it lives up to the source material.  I’m going in cautiously optimistic about it, and always enjoy speculating about practical ways to adapt difficult source material to be satisfying both from a visual storytelling perspective and from the perspective of respecting the source material.

[viraltrendsspot]

🤓 What's the first thing that stands out to you?

[theother456-stories]

It was supposed to be a quirky little demonstration, an amusing way to get students engaged with the concept of perception and satiety. That’s how Professor Silas Verdant had sold it: “Just a simple visual aid. Educational. Memorable.”

The university lecture hall had been modified slightly, with a scale platform wheeled onto the stage, a couple of food carts tucked off to the side, and a projector screen above bearing the title: “All You Can Eat: Opinion vs. Reality.”

At center stage sat Micah, a bright-eyed volunteer with a cocky grin and a growling stomach, reclining lazily in a reinforced chair. He wasn’t huge, not yet, lean-ish with some softness, the kind of guy who’d gladly put away a few extra burgers at a BBQ. His enthusiasm was part of what got him picked for this “experiment.”

Professor Silas, in his usual outrageous bowtie and long coat, addressed the class like a magician about to perform a trick. “Today, we’ll explore a deceptively simple phrase. What people think ‘all you can eat’ means…” He gestured toward a modest tray of food placed on Micah’s lap. “And what it actually means.”

Micah grinned as he devoured the tray,one burger, some fries, a soda, a slice of cheesecake. He wiped his hands and let out a satisfied sigh. “That was solid,” he said, patting a belly that had only barely puffed out. “I could totally eat more.”

The scale ticked upward from 170 pounds to 180.

Silas clapped, triumphant. “Behold the opinion of ‘all you can eat.’ A modest meal. A small gain. Now…”

A low mechanical whirr filled the hall. A wall slid open, revealing a massive machine covered in tubes, tanks, and pressure gauges, humming ominously. Silas beamed as several hoses slithered down from overhead, thick and coiled like feeding serpents.

“Let’s test reality.”

Before Micah could respond, Silas had fitted a funnel to his mouth. A hose connected to a vat of thick, creamy, high-calorie sludge. With a flick of a switch, the pump hissed to life, and Micah began to swallow.

The effect was immediate.

His belly swelled outward with every gulp. At first, it was amusing a food baby expanding beneath his shirt. But within minutes, buttons flew, seams split, and his thighs began to spread wider beneath him. The chair creaked dangerously.

“Two hundred… two-fifty…” Leo, Silas’s assistant, called out numbers as the scale climbed.

Micah moaned, overwhelmed but euphoric, eyes half-lidded as the machine continued. His stomach inflated like a balloon, surging forward over his lap, sides thickening, arms softening. He passed 400 pounds, then 600. The chair gave up, replaced mid-feeding with a padded platform that groaned beneath his growing bulk.

By 900 pounds, Micah was unrecognizable. A human mountain of flesh, bloated and wobbling, belly gurgling constantly. His arms rested uselessly at his sides, barely visible under rolls of plush fat. His moobs rose and jiggled with each heavy breath. His face was puffed and pink, framed by layers of cheek and neck. And still, he drank.

The machine whirred on. 1,100 pounds. 1,200. His belly spilled over the edges of the platform, dragging against the floor. Micah moaned through the funnel, “Still… not… dessert…”

Silas’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, I planned for dessert.”

By the time the machine stopped, the final weight glowed on the scale: 1,380 pounds. Micah was a round, panting monument to excess, helpless in his own softness, belly shaking with aftershocks from the final pumps.

Silas addressed the stunned auditorium, arms wide. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the reality of ‘All You Can eat.”

[undead-cypress]

Some MRF thoughts that I don't have shitpost images for but I feel like nobody but me and my tiny group of freaks talk about. I promise this isn't another "it's QDS!!" post

(spoilers)

- there's universal themes here for sure but this game is still entirely about Japan. Like honestly I feel like some nitpicks ppl have about the game can just be summed up as "this isn't reflective of America". I could elaborate but it'd take a whole essay with how dense this could get. And we know people hate to read

- there's no romance or dating because the devs knew that's what all anybody would talk and think about if they added any. They learned their lesson. Unfortunately for them this will not deter anybody

(frankly I think there is a canonical intended love interest but it's not who most ppl think it is and whatever happens between the characters in that regard is none of my business unless it's for making shitposts lol. Nor does it really matter to me)

- there's a few things lost in translation, but tbf there was no way to really translate them, they're mostly visual puns and unspoken running themes. Like how the "Prince" archetype in Japanese was more like... Ruler? Sovereign? It's not really a hereditary kinda title, nor was it gendered. But it doesn't have the same weight in English, and usually refers to monarchs, so. Also "Savior" was "Messiah", because it was supposed to have a more sacrificial connotation. I'll probably make a whole long post about the Healer line design stuff later. "anxiety" being 不安 (lacking safety) and 不安心 (unstable heart). Like it still absolutely means anxiety and there's no better way to translate it but anxiety doesn't have the same weight in English as 不安 does in Japanese....

- for a game literally titled "a metaphor about fantasy reflecting reality" people sure aren't picking up a lot of these extremely obvious metaphors. I'm not even talking about the ones they literally spell out in the text, I'm talking about stuff like. The Sanctist Church isn't really talking about Catholicism or Christianity because they're not that big a deal in Japan, and this game is still about Japan. Sanctist Church is about the LDP. Y'know. Abe

- and then there's actually very good trans subtext? I don't even know it should be called subtext because it should be overtly obvious to Japanese people. It would take a long post for me to explain here though.

- speaking of, Junah is my favourite character. Absolutely did not expect that but she's incredible. The dialogue in this game is so carefully considered, especially hers. There's people saying her story is too simple - I'm sorry you've fallen for the trick. Hope you figure it out soon

- I actually don't think there's a single second of filler in the game, which really is a foreign feeling. Maybe because I do design, but the storytelling even in the random enemy, battle, and dungeon designs are all so intentional. You might have to play on hard to fully experience how the game nudges you to play or navigate certain ways that subtly informs you way more about the story and characters. They built it around the story rather than having the story be an afterthought. I haven't seen them attempt this since p3 tbh

- I think DDS/QDS enjoyers will get WAY more out of this than anybody. And some P3 enjoyers, if they're the type of p3 fan who's more obsessed by the literary influences and themes than the fandom perception of the characters. Also a little bit of musing on Nocturne, but I'm feel like I'm the only one who noticed (._. )

- ppl saying the game is grindy or hard - lol skill issue. I did 0 grinding ever, even against the dragon towers. Being Megaten Georg outlier that should not be counted didn't even help me in this aspect because I started off playing as if it was megaten and immediately got humbled. If you pay attention to what the game is saying (in the "please pay attention and think about what you're reading" game), it's really well balanced.

- like yeah this game rewards you for thinking and reflecting, the more you mull it over the more interesting and fun it is. I think that's where the true enjoyment is, and the game isn't subtle about this either. Which is why it's WILD to me I still see posts of ppl complaining about stuff that if they thought about it for more than 2 seconds are either just untrue or has a point or was a setup to be resolved later.

- the vistas on the bottom half of the map is either a reference to the laser cannon from Paradise Lost OR GODZILLA and I'm the ONLY PERSON WHO NOTICES THIS????

- honestly I'm so glad I go out of my way to read weird stuff a lot because truly. What you get out of MRF as a person who's a little too hyper aware of literary techniques, design intention and media presentation is so delicious. I'm literally here rotating shot compositions and event sequences and the story telling in the UI design in my brain (Will is sideways on the screen because they're. Lying down). The fuckin shade on the screen you can pick "this isn't utopia" option being the shot showing you the most billboards...

- this explains so much about the past few major games they've put out tbh. They really wanted to do more stuff like DDS and perfect the vision they couldn't get with p3 due to hardware limits and later financial troubles. It's like every single grievance they've had with executive meddling put into one game. Ppl know them as the persona guys but I remember they also made DDS and Nocturne and that weird Maken X thing 🫡

- I've been jokingly calling p3 depression simulator and catherine anxiety simulator I'm gonna start calling MRF recovery simulator because that's kinda one of the underlying themes

- Louis is so funny. "Nobody will commit atrocities anymore if I commit all of them", I'm paraphrasing but, girl, what kinda QDS5 Heat logic....

On less serious notes:

- Atlus still sucks at official merch...

- I might be making notes on the Raidou style Eupha game that exists only in my head

- and the comedy road trip movie where Strohl and Hulkenberg must find Will who is pretending to be kidnapped for plot reasons, and Gallica didn't tell the two because they're not good at acting

- I still think it's very funny that the dogs at the beginning would either kill you in one strike or even if you kill one, give you nothing. They fungered me. I don't think the parallel to Fear and Hunger was intentional but that was an extremely funny coincidence, to me 😂 immediately upon the start

- I referred to More as Ike the entire playthrough as a joke to my friends because I thought it was funny they have the same voice and both games' about fantasy racism. And then I got the Radiance skill from the Prince archetype... "Behold... I walk a path of radiance..." (Not what they actually say but I said it a lot)

- I think wanting to fuck Louis is fine and hilarious but Will isn't the most fitting character to project that onto. They hand Zorba to you on a silver platter and people deny him and for what. His awesome design? Dedication to serving cunt? Awesome accent? Sexy fucked up arm? I weep to see my son's established personality sacrificed in the name of fucking Louis. It's like people giving Hulkenberg ass. Why would you do that to her, her flatness is the charm point. All that to say horny is fine I just wish so much of it wasn't OOC.

- however, I did make a lot of dumb jokes towards the end of the game that it must be canon we never fucked Louis because otherwise we can just teleport the gauntlet runner straight into his ass, Antman vs Thanos style, killing him immediately

- addendum:

Me: man I wish there wasn't so much OOC art of the MRF characters

Manga: hold my beer

Me: Hulkenberg would obliterate you

[patheticpoems]

Hi Poem, I'm so glad to have found your blog because you actually seem to have an understanding of the law. I'd really really appreciate if you'd please help me out.

I've known about loass since 2020. I've had my void obsession phase, read neville, listened to edward art, read a plethora of content on reddit, tumblr and twt. Atp i nnow enough to teach another person.And after all this overconsumption, it has come down to assume and persist.

But everytime I assume, I'm like, 'Alright I have my dream life. It is done',I'm hit with a bunch of negative thoughts like a freight train. I know that these thoughts and emotions do not matter. I keep questioning myself- if I've assumed correctly, if I actually decided or not. I never get this calm, assured knowing that I have my desires. It just seems like I'm normally thinking of it. And it makes me question if this is wishful thinking or is it the 'knowing' I'm supposed to hold on to (ik I'm talking in circles now, but please bear with me😭).

I also know the fact that only I can 'know' what knowing is supposed to be like, if that makes sense😭. And because of all this doubting and questioning, I never persist for more than a day or two, thinking I'm doing something wrong. This has resulted in me wasting years because I keep going through the same cycle of ovedconsumption, getting motivated, applying, doubting and then giving up. Its funny because i know im getting in my own way. I'm tired, I want to do away with all the terminology and just manifest my dream life.

Help pls😭

you have not wasted anything, don't say that. waste is something you can never repurpose and you're the sole operator, that's basically akin to being a DIY mom, you can always turn things into something useful if you just change your perception. there is no wasted anything when you control everything.

now, you stated having negative thoughts and generally doubting yourself (specifically). I'm gonna try and tackle everything I find worth commenting on one by one so bear with me.

It is evident you know the facts, you know how things go and the outline of everything and whilst that should help stabilise you instead it is doing the opposite. It is one thing to know that something you do doesn't affect your manifestation or that a limiting belief is only a belief, but it is another to believe it. You certainly don't need to believe it, no, but this issue then dips into the next one of your doubt over your own abilities. With the amount of stuff you've consumed it is hard to cancel out all the 'don't do this' 'do this' even when you know its just assume its persist.

So, how do we actually deal with this?

I want you to just put a pause for a moment. Stop thinking. This is not a trick question, just be honest. Tell me, who are you? What is your life like? Whatever words, whatever visual came up, that's your perception of you and your world. You identify with that. You feel you can't be doing things right because you don't believe you know what right feels like. Knowing isn't grand. Isn't special. It is like knowing I'm gonna have an egg sandwich tomorrow morning.

So ask yourself, why do you feel you are unreliable to trust or more specifically, why are the new assumptions you're setting so untrustworthy? Obvious answer, you don't believe it, you don't have to, but that's where consistency comes in. It's like slowly learning to swim. Scary at first, very new and mysterious, but you get the hang of it and eventually your body doesn't want to leave the new temperature its adjusted to.

If this, if that, if, if, if, what if you did. What if you did do it right? What if you didn't sabotage yourself because you find this to be far fetched emotionally? What if you reminded yourself that these negative thoughts came in because you need to keep pushing till you leave the comfort you have with being in the current state. Tough pill to swallow but, there is no magic fixer upper.

You stay consistent and eventually, it stops being something you have to do and something you just do. You stop knowing and you start experiencing. Metaphorically, it's like love, you hear about it, you may internalise ideas of it and you may say you know it but being in it is different. You want this. You really want this. So keep going. You have negative thoughts? Ignore them. Ignore. Them. Because not a damn thing they have done for you before and nothing good that they'll do for you now. It's a leech. Save yourself, save you, because you know you want that.

It'll suck, for a while it'll feel impossible to do it over and over every day, but don't you think some tolerance is worth it for finally being about to relax? This comes down to discipline and trusting your wants for once, your heart nto your mind.

[broken-clover]

I can't help but find Amane compelling. For a lot of reasons, really, but his use of gender as a character motif gives him a surprising amount of texture the more you look at him (Especially for a series that admittedly veers into gender stereotypes a lot, but that's neither here nor there).

Which I guess seems obvious at first glance. I've often seen him lumped in with a lot of other 'trap' (ugh) characters, but in a way it's sort of funny, because it couldn't be more wrong as a takeaway. At a glance, yes, Amane is an androgynous man who wears dresses and makeup. Thing is, though, the point of it isn't to trick anyone- Amane is entirely comfortable in his gender and how he presents, and his choice of wearing 'feminine' things is entirely out of passion.

His visual appearance might offer confusion, but his personality doesn't offer the same sort. For someone that presents himself so gracefully and beautifully, Amane is outright described as

speak(ing) in a rather crude tone at times, and has a manly personality

While I don't know about 'crude' in particular, he has a tendency to speak very directly, and takes pride in his masculinity. His moveset is filled with references to super sentai series, which are often associated with young boys and filled with stereotypically 'boyish' motifs, like martial arts and giant robots. He makes no effort to obscure his gender identity, he perceives himself as a man, and corrects people who mistake him for a woman. But, clearly, being mistaken for one doesn't bother him, as he still happily partakes in his art form and makes no attempt to dress more 'masculine' for sake of having people perceive him as such.

(Even in terms of his non-dance hobbies, Amane leans toward 'feminine' things. He makes candies and is seemingly the only parental figure toward his numerous adoptive children, whom he loves and cares for in the sort of nurturing way that one might more typically associate with motherhood than with fatherhood.)

Amane's use of dance as a motif also leans heavily into this concept. Art forms like dancing often get written off as 'girly' with the unspoken implication that something with that descriptor is less important or even easier in comparison to stereotypically male-oriented hobbies. But dancing, especially in the professional world, takes an unbelievable amount of physical and mental training in order to do well and create a visually captivating performance. Amane's design being based on an onnagata kabuki actor, or a man who plays female roles, also ties into this. Though it sounds simple on paper, onnagata techniques can take years to master, and include learning a wide range of techniques, from makeup styling to posture to vocal training. The fact that Amane is a seasoned professional dancer means that he would be fully aware of all this. While he may employ those techniques on stage, he does not use them in casual interaction. In Amane's perception, he is a man, and having a ladylike appearance does not do anything to the contrary. He is merely himself, perfectly comfortable with both identity and presentation.

Likewise, it feels like these themes are deliberately contrasted with a more stereotypically masculine character in Bang Shishigami. Blazblue has multiple 'hypermasculine' characters such as Azrael and Kagura, but Bang seems to be the one the narrative most frequently draws a parallel to, as they encounter one another multiple times- And, fittingly, both are themed around very stereotypically Japanese motifs, kabuki and ninjutsu. While both seem to embody very traditional themes visually, Bang is a character that adheres more to those traditionalist traits in terms of personality, styling himself as a manly, physically impressive hero who tries to win a woman's heart through acts of valor. When Amane encounters him, as the first dialogue in the first game he debuts in, Bang confronts him not because he has any real business with the man or has mistaken him for a troublemaker, but because Bang finds him 'strange.'

"What kind of attire is that for a man to wear around...!? It screams 'frail' and 'weak'! I can hardly believe my eyes..."

Amane, just as a concept, confuses him and contradicts his idea of what a 'proper' man should be. It's something that Amane even calls him out for later

"Never you mind! It is a crime for a man to look so...so...so beautifully feminine! I shall smack some guts and conviction back into you as a representative of Ikarugan masculinity!" "Whoa whoa, don't you think you're being just a little prejudiced?"

Obviously, Amane sees nothing wrong with how he presents. He sees nothing wrong with a man being beautiful the same way that Bang does.

Though the gag reels are non-canonical, the 'Contest of Manliness' from Chronophantasma seems almost designed to highlight the concept. Amane enlists in the contest to display his sense of endurance, making it to the finals to the surprise and shock of Bang, who views him as a 'gentle-mannered pretty boy,' at one point bringing up a similar point from their encounter in the arcade route

"Despite your appearance, you are actually quite tough..."

Even in combat, he displays this sense of duality. He battles using fans, his scarf, and a parasol, all more stereotypically ladylike implements compared to something like a sword or firearms. He can hit has hard as any other male character, but his movements are graceful and agile, with a sense of elegant poise. It isn't that he is powerful *despite* his feminine presentation. His power is his own. It is simply a matter of what medium he uses to comfortably express that power, regardless if some might view it as weird.

Amane is not a man trying to 'trick' anyone into thinking he's a woman. Amane is Amane. He is a very pretty man who likes to dance, and he is very manly while doing so, and is also very pretty while kicking ass, thank you very much.

[tobiasdrake]

I'm curious what Tenshinhan's fighting style is beyond general weirdness lol. I always interpreted it as a "showing off" sort of style back in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, with most of his moves being visually impressive and/or intended to instill despair in his opponent, but then you have his kikōhō, a move that damages the self for greater strength...

Tenshinhan is fucking weird is what he is.

I mean that sincerely. Fitting for a man who walks in with three eyes like that's totally normal and no one ever speaks of it, Tenshinhan's style comes straight from the realm of the bizarre and esoteric. He's an outside-the-box challenger to test the limits of Goku's counter-fighting.

He is the drunken boxer. The fighting game character that plays utterly differently from all other characters, making them hard to learn but unpredictable when mastered. Ten forges his own way through martial arts with off-the-wall tricks and game-changing shenanigans.

It's just. Easy to forget how weird he is because the rest of the cast have thoroughly cannibalized his style. Kame-senryu are a bunch of fucking thieves.

This eye-searing image is the most normal thing Ten has in his repertoire.

Ten and Chiaotzu lay out that they're going to be... unlike anything we've seen before right from the get-go, when they use psychic powers to rig the matches.

Already, it's clear that we're about to see some weird shit. Both of these characters are built on the martial arts philosophy of "Okay what the hell even is that, how did you even bring laser eyes to a knife fight?"

Ten in particular is a formidable martial artist.

But as early as his first match, the oddball nature of his abilities start to settle in.

Okay, so Ten can just Nope any Kamehameha thrown at him. Sure. Guess that's a thing now. New rule, guys: No more Kamehamehas.

But you also kinda get it. Like. Tsuru-senryu is the rival school to Kame-senryu, and the Kamehameha is the signature technique of Kame-senryu. So it makes sense that they'd develop countermeasures for the Kamehameha.

Also, they can levitate.

Well, that's going to make scoring a ringout fucking hard, isn't it? One of the two ways you win in this tournament is by making your opponent fall in the grass outside the ring, and these fuckers can fly.

That's unfair, is what that is. They don't even need to use helicopter tail shenanigans or a well-aimed Kamehameha for propulsion to do it. They can just decide that they don't feel like being rung out today.

This is the first technique that doesn't seem so special today because everybody cannibalized their Bukujutsu. But at the time, it was unique. Even Taopaipai, their idol, couldn't fly. He got around by the delightfully comical method of throwing something really hard and then jumping on it and being taken for a ride.

Taopaipai was doing Breath of the Wild rock transit decades before it was cool.

As the tournament picks up, Chiaotzu foreshadows the bizarre nature of the fights ahead when he reveals his ultimate technique: Binding his opponent in place with psychic powers so they can't defend themselves.

That's. Not. Really. A martial art? Even by the incredibly loose definitions already on display in this manga. It's closer to General Blue's paralyzing glare. And there's a lot more of that to come.

Further included in Ten's repertoire of Weird Shit (TM) is his third eye, which serves a vital function in combat until everyone starts ki sensing and it ceases to be relevant.

Ten has enhanced perception, allowing him to see things that others can't. This is notably distinct from being able to sense people by following their ki signatures. A distinction the Muten-Roshi helpfully lays out by stating he can't see Goku but can sense him just before Ten confirms he can still see him.

When Goku meets Popo, we'll have entered the realm where the limitations of human eyesight can no longer keep up with the speeds of the characters, and learning to perceive through ki sensing becomes necessary.

But right now, Ten's enhanced perception lends him a number of edges over other martial artists that have to rely on eyesight to track their foes. Advantages such as thwarting this particular invisibility technique of Goku's.

Or piercing the illusion of the Zanzoken/Afterimage speed technique.

As an aside, I love the way both of those moments draw attention to Ten's two normal eyes looking one direction while his third looks the other. It's such an eerie but effective way of conveying the idea that he can see more than a normal man.

Ten and Chiaotzu play by different rules than everyone else.

Sometimes he has four arms. That's life, man. Again, they make a point of showing us what this looks like as a speed technique:

Both to set up Goku's counter for this and also so that we understand how meaningful it is that Ten is not doing that. Chapa and later Goku perform Hasshuken, moving their arms so fast it creates the illusion of eight. Ten physically sprouted two extra arms. He can just. Like. Shapeshift, I guess. He's a flying shapeshifter who sees faster than everyone because of his three eyes and he hangs out with a telekinetic doll.

Also he can flashbang his opponents as a clincher.

This is another move that seems mundane now because everyone stole it from him. They took his Bukujutsu/Levitation and they took his Taiyoken/Solar Flare. But it's another data point on the list of ways Ten's such a weird and complicated opponent to try and fight.

Even by the standards of Tsuru-senryu, he's weird. Taopaipai didn't do half of this shit. Ten specifically refers to the Taiyoken/Solar Flare as a New Tsuru-senryu technique, which implies that he created it himself.

Which makes me wonder just how much of his moveset is actually part of the Tsuru-senryu curriculum and how much is Ten. Just. Being weird.

Notably, at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, Ten shows up with something even more absolutely freakish than the Shiyoken/Four-Armed Fist.

Shishin no Ken also known in English as the Multiform Technique is another departure from your illusory speed techniques, in that Ten splits his body into four bodies. How does he do that? Fuck you, that's how. This is the evolution of both his enhanced perception and his ability to sprout extra arms - And, in being so, a demonstration of how Goku has left him behind.

It's an admittedly creative solution to the problem that Goku, following his training with Popo, can move too fast for even his three eyes to follow. But now he has twelve eyes.

TWELVE. That's as many as four Tens! And that's terrible.

The Shishin no Ken was another weird-ass technique from a weird-ass martial artist, serving a practical function in enhancing Ten's unique characteristics to compensate for Goku's now godly abilities.

But it was ultimately undone by a catastrophic vulnerability, which is the reason nobody ever tried this shit again.

Splitting into multiple copies of yourself turns you into a team of useless scrubs who can't throw a punch to save your life. It's a bad technique and was written off immediately after this fight, never to be seen again.

...except in anime filler, where everyone stole that from Tenshinhan too.

You guys were both at the tournament when Goku pointed out that this technique makes you throw punches like slow, limp noodles! Come on, guys! These characters would not even try this shit.

But I digress.

Not to be outdone, Chiaotzu invented a technique where he blows himself up and dies ineffectually.

Tenshinhan never let him fight another person again for the rest of his life. This cost him fighting privileges. Straight up left him with the non-combatants during the Android arc. You are done, Chiaotzu.

Look, just because their shit is weird doesn't mean it's all good.

Of course, we can't talk about Ten without talking about the Big Gun. His ultimate technique. The thing he's known for better than anything else, especially by people who never watched or read the material prior to Raditz.

The Kikoho/Tri-Beam is not a Tsuru-senryu technique or a Kame-senryu technique. It's not even a Tenshinhan original. It's a forbidden technique known to both schools but, at least in the Muten-Roshi's opinion, inappropriate to ever pass on. Tenshinhan's going to use it to win at recreational sports.

And people complain about Korra entering the Avatar State to win a race. If Goku broke out the Genki-Dama/Spirit Bomb to punch Krillin out of the ring, Kaio would have his ass for that....

The Kikoho is, so far as we know, the most powerful individual technique in Dragon Ball in terms of the gulf between the wielder's power and the destructive force output by their technique. It punches far above Ten's weight class. Whether that means:

Managing to fuck up Nappa pretty bad.

Holding back Semi-Perfect Cell.

Or even dissipating a shot from Super Buutenks, the Kikoho is in a league of power far beyond anything Tenshinhan would be capable of himself. This technique lends Ten the ability to show up and be occasionally useful even after the power scales leave him far behind.

At least, for a short time.

Sorry, man. You cannot fight at this level. But at least you got that killer shot in.

Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu are wild cards. Not as characters, mind you, but as martial artists. Their greatest strength is their unpredictability. You never know what they're going to pull out of their pocket next, which for a time made Ten in particular into a fun and engaging rival for the ever-analytical Son Goku.