#it shouldnt be simply because Everyone Does It can i just like. exist without all this speculation please

[faerociousbeast]

my experiences with attraction are very strange

#i may just be a late bloomer but that thought annoys me #it shouldnt be simply because Everyone Does It can i just like. exist without all this speculation please #i was the last one standing who went EWW at the thought of crushes and that title was very important to me #in a world where romance was suddenly pushed onto me and every interaction i had was scrutinized through those lenses #it just makes me incredibly uncomfortable to feel attraction of any sort now bc its like... #so they were right even i must fall. in more ways than one #not to mention the somehow Racism #youre brown wear glasses and smart you should have kids with the other kid whos brown and smart #we are 9 years old what the fuck are you talking about jonathan

[i-simp-for-gintoki]

JuJutsu Kaisen school headcanons

“some jjk school headcanons? not with a reader or anything but just how itadori and the other first years are in school?”-anon

This was pretty fun! Each character is pretty short but it still turned out longer than it needed to be oops.

So we all know that theres a proper private school to teach upcoming shamans. Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College...thats a long ass name no wonder i didn’t remember it. But in the manga and anime, they dont exactly go into details of what they do for the school(i might be completely wrong just lemme know)

In the yuuta 4 chapter story, we kinda get a glimpse

Gojo is one of the few teachers and he teaches first years in a small classroom. i dont know what exactly he teaches but sometimes they go outside to train and well when yuuta and the others were training i forget if he was actually teaching anything. Like he gave him a sword to help with his powers and gave a brief explanation but thats about it.

Anyways.

Itadori Yuji:

Is late to class for the first couple days since he doesn’t remember the lay out of the campus

Its so huge for so little people

Sometimes he’s late just cause he slept in

doesnt really understand whats going on

He only just recently learned this world existed so of course he’s out of the loop with everything

he probably naps in class alot or spaces out

‘If i were to feed sukuna’s mouth on my hand...where would the food go? What would happen? How deep does it go?  What the hell has my body become??’

As his thoughts continue to derail, gojo would call on him and he might yell in response

he often asks megumi or nobara for help but they just dis him or ignore him

He tries to study! He really does! But he gets distracted and loses focus quite easily

during training he gets super excited thinking hes going to unlock abilities 

but thats quickly shot down and hes usually just forced to do something really mundane like run laps or jumping jacks

He might get another dummy to help control his cursed energy while gojo does his best to annoy him (honestly it doesnt take much for gojo to be annoying)

believes everything gojo says 

The blindfolded teacher definitely uses that to his advantage

“if you lick this rock it might help your overall abilities” “...really?” “are you doubting your sensei?” “is that...mud?” “Its just part of the rock. Besides you ate a rotten old finger for power im sure you can deal with a little bit of dirt”

He got sick for a week

Fushiguro Megumi:

Hes the kid who sits by the window and just stares out of it the whole class

He finds gojo’s teaching style incredibly annoying

Yes he learns stuff but because of the way Gojo teaches it, he ends up doubting all the knowledge he knew before in the process

Probably does well on tests or whatever homework their assigned

This kid probably makes himself a neat little bento for lunch

During lunch Yuji saw it and asked if he could have one next time instead of always buying food

He rejected his request for a while

But eventually he decided ‘why not its not like it would take that much more effort’

Nobara saw and was like “oh so you made one for a dunce like him but not me?”

Queue a large sigh

Within a month or two he makes everybody lunch (gojo included because he got tired of him always coming by and swiping a bit of food from everyone)

During training he pets his animals quite a bit

When gojo demonstrates a new self defense technique, megumi always gets picked to help demonstrate

110% of the time it ends up with his face being smeared into the floor

Wont ever admit it but he kinda enjoys class with yuji and nobara

Kugisaki Nobara:

Pretty short since i don’t quite know her character that well sorry

I feel like shes a mix of passing but also failing idk

Like during some tests she’d pass with flying colors and without a doubt will show off to the boys

But in other things she’d completely flunk

Draws little doodles in the corner of her notes and thinks about her childhood friend

During training she dislikes learning hand to hand combat

Mainly because she knows shes not capable of beating yuji and that ticks her off

So instead she beats him with her rubber mallet when given the chance

When yuji asks her to join him and megumi, she often complains or makes sassy comments but she never really ignores them

If she wanted to she could just hang by her self but she enjoys being with the two

Gojo Satoru:

This guy never shows up on time

Once he almost did so he simply turned around and decided not to show up at all

He doesn’t necessarily dislike teaching, but he finds giving detailed explanations kinda boring

‘I just told you what would happen, so why are you asking for a reasoning of the reaction’

He wants his students to have a fun teenage life so he often cuts class short by an hour or two just to hang out or go out

He explains how to counter certain types of curses or what to do in some scenarios pretty well

Gojo tries to teach regular stuff like math or history but...i dont know actually

Im not sure if he would happily teach it or just give up after a couple problems

I have a feeling he might just randomly give stupid hard problems and laugh as the first years struggle and fail to solve it

If any of his students do well on a test he’ll give them a small treat

And it may be small for him but its probably hella expensive

I mean he literally just wears clothing that is a couple thousand dollars each

His socks are most likely worth more than my house and everything inside it

Theres probably a small rule book of what he’s supposed to say and what hes not supposed to say

So just to piss the old man off he says everything he shouldnt

He encourages stupid behavior and absoluetly loves it when Yuji and Nobara thanks him for getting treats

#jujust kaisen #jjk headcanons #itadori yuji #fushiguro megumi #kugisaki nobara #gojo satoru #jjk

[prompt-master]

Kazfort -I'm lazy don't mind mi- anon is here

Yeah specific characters to use

Mm

Okay! Let's start

1- Nekomaru Nidai

2- Kazuichi Souda

3- Chiaki Nanami

4- Hajime Hinata

5- TanaKa tHe fOrbidden

1. Im sorry any Nidai stans, but I don't like him. I mostly had a neutral stance on him, but Mechamaru instantly made me dislike him because it broke the fundamentals of the game. His existence really ruined a lot of the enjoyment for me, I instantly felt bored and didn't care as much. I understsnd the whackiness was a hint that the world is virtual, but I didn't care at all when he died in ch 4 and ive always said thats not good in a dr trial.

2. I love Souda, he's an interesting character with a fun personality whos also fun to bully a lil wee bit a lot. My main gripe with Souda is that he is the only survivor to not fit the theme (all the survivors have someone to mourn besides him). Its the only thing i want to change in regards to him. I like the potential he has to grow as well considering his background, so i love to play around with post game concepts for him.

3. I'm going to admit this to you all. At the tender age of 14 when i first played sdr2 i fell instantly in love with Nanami. Yes thats right. I took the waifu bait. But in all seriousness: I really like how Nanami's character gets recontextualized by the reveal that shes an AI. Especially when yoh realize so many of her traits connect back to her being an AI down to her talent. Her role in chapters 5 and 6 completely played with my heart in the best way, and her execution theme slaps a little too hard. My only issue with Nanami is that i dislike the dr3 retcon of her being a videogame AI and instead being a human girl

4. Shit man whats not to love about Hinata. Fantastic protag, fantastic (altho mostly predictable) backstory, fantastic character. I felt completrly invested in his emotional struggle. And i love how they twisted things so that it was HIS game. Yes, he stands for hope just like Naegi did. But its his OWN version of hope. Hinata is a big part of what makes sdr2 so special. I love his realist outlook and attitude, even if he leans to pessemist at times. I just with danganronpa would draw him with 91 cm tits.

5. Tanaka is a good character. But he deserved better in ch4. I wanna preface this by saying i could be inaccurate cuz i black out in ch4 from boredon. But his motivation makes little sense to me. Hes trying to save everyone and trying to show them the value of life and not giving up. They frame it as this noble thing. His actions however contradict nobility. There was no need for two people to die for a sacrifice (which also goes again how the ch says life shouldnt be wasted. Cuz well. A life totallt was wasted) its also not noble since he kept the mystery alive which put the others at risk

I always thought it wouldve been more interesting with a couple of slightly different dirrections. For example, the murder is caused by a lack of judgement on Tanaka's part from starvation. He was trying to do the right thing, but wasn't thinking about how only one person needed to die to save everyone and prove life is important. It could also be explained as a lack of judgement simply by virtue of his character.

Something i really like is the idea that Tanaka believed if there was no good mystery, then the mastermind would not let them go so easily. So he sets up a mystery in hopes to not waste Nidai's life. It could explain why he didn't think of suicide as an option, and why he kept the secret. It also leaves room for some reallt good recontextulation of the trial where we could realize Tanaka was trying to help us catch him the entire time.

Another interesting direction is the idea that Tanaka did not fully understand tbe responsibilty of his actions until after the murder was comitted. He would realize after the fact that if he is executed, his hamsters are left alone without him. After all theyve been through. He suddenly realizes he cant bare that. And so he panics, and has a moral dillema the entire trial. Does he keep quiet and try to survive so he can continue to live for his pets at the expense of his friends lives? Or does he follow through with his plan and allow himself to die so that everyone can get a chance of life but at the expense of his own life and leaving his devas alone? In the end, he can say that he deseeves the execution regardless because of how he nearly let them die, but its Sonia who tells him hes a noble and good person.

Idk, i rareely see people complain about ch4. But to me its a boring victim and a boring killer. The only really interesting thing in the chapter was komaeda

#ask #prom is talking #sdr2 spoilers #suicide tw

[almasidaliano]

epiphanies pt. 2 oct.19 238:

hai :&

fun fact about being a poet, or- writer; wherever i fall- sometimes you haven't the slightest idea what you need to say, but you have to write.

that's why i'm typing now.. slowly, unsurely. waiting for the light to flicker on and for it all to make sense.

good things are coming i think. and i should be happy right? i mean like ecstatic you know?.... fuck that.

maybe i should be laying on someone's couch disclosing this, however i choose to believe it reaches whom it needs, and even if this exhale isn't the one that helps me breathe at least it gives me space to take another breath, that being said:

fear does not exist. i have no fears. i'm not scared of anything. and the world thinks your reality has to be trafficking, and civil war for you to be numb to the ugliness. ugly has no concrete image, just characteristics.

my brother is dead. the love of my life, the only peace ive ever known is dead. a cousin i lost touch with years ago, one of the few on my maternal side that simply was as he existed is dead. a cousin i hardly remember is dead as well. a great aunt, a great grandfather, and a step grandfather as well. i attended two of those funerals. i stared at two lifeless bodies meant to placehold my loved ones. two lifeless bodies i could hardly recognize. bodies so cold, so stiff. i still dont understand how a body weighs anything with no soul to keep it grounded. why don't souls stay and bodies leave?

if i stay silent did i deserve it? shouldnt i have known better? you would think i would know better? nothing ever came of speaking out anyway..

imagine-- the sweetest girl, an athlete. active, beautiful, intellectual, selfless, caring.. she never had a place to "fit in", she always squeezed to fit until she was pushed out; naturally she moved around. she didn't like girly things. she wasn't filled out at first. pretty is safe, im realizing now, pretty and cute are safe.. she is naive. growing up with boy cousins and mostly brothers being one of the guys just felt like home. i suppose people are raised differently.. imagine she has this group of friends something like a family from after school programs. she is family oriented but her family tree is distorted. is she the apple that fell from a poisoned tree and tainted this one? is she to blame to the tragedy to come.. one by one her "brothers" cross a line, every time, all but one.. and one friend was fine. little did she know, when they grew up he too go would go.. the shocking part was that he felt entitled to her skin without her knowing.. everything about this recollection is disturbing. and the only time i tried to get this out, the wound was left open and the responses that i got ensured it wouldnt soon be closing. i want to scream, but i wont. i want to cry, but i dont. because i feel like everyone who has violated me will know. and they dont get that power.

im sorry. to those who feel #metoo.. because it took something like 3 years and it happening again, for me to truly realize im too weak to defend myself. too paralyzed. im cynical. im patient. if i fight i lose, if i freeze, i lose. being trapped removes the flight option, so i lose. no matter what i do. imagine conquering insomnia (kind of) just to never sleep again. because thats when he decided to invade you.

i have control over my worth, my confidence, me. and yet all that i can do is place accountability on me. for believing in humanity.

do you know how many times people promise to protect me? do you know the only one that did is dead now? ....

i wish i didnt ruin everything. i wish i was what people see/saw..

i wish i could still be me, without any of the pain at all..

[reddish-green-personality]

Just to make things clear, the motive of me asking you these is merely to seek your perspective, because I have always been an ardent beleiver that the soul lives on.

And well, I love you answer even if I don't fully agree, I smiled while reading it. If I came off as argumentative, it really wasn't my intention.

..

Conscience leads to redemption, but it doesn't prevent bad things from happening, even if it's something we're all blessed with.

Justice like you said isin’t something supernatural its not an entity of its own, it doesn't exist without its perpetrators.

Its simply the act getting what you deserve, but in this world despite the the extensive and complex legislative systems, not everyone recieves justice. There are many reasons, but probably the most prominent are the countless social power hierarchies that we have created. We have created an imperfect system where those at the receiving end of Injustice cant simply "punch back" there are factors that hold people back, no one will consciously let Injustice happen to them.

If justice was something that happened on its own, or was something that could be handled by imperfect creations (aka us)

rapists, murderers, radicalists would all get what they deserve in this world, but more than often they don't.

So no, people who aren't privileged enough and are at the receiving end of the Injustice cant simply make peace with imperfect systems.

I agree when you say, that once you are kicked out there is no reason to care about this world, because this world will perish, after death you are all alone with the consequences of what you did in this world.

If you tilt the narrative, if the person who committed the crime does beleive if afterlife (irrespective of its existence) he dies with regret and fear, he doesn't know what lies ahead but whatever does he would have to repay, he dies in pain which may or may not compare to the pain that he induced.

However, if the person who was at the receiving end of the Injustice dies with the knowledge that justice will finally be served, and not with a frown but peace that he will finally be freed of the pain that he endured, and this has nothing to do with the one who wronged him, this is between this person and the universe.

These beleives can obviously co-exist, its about what we find comfort in, for someone who spent their entire life collecting riches, will fear death either because all his life's earning will be lost, or because it doesn't matter in the life that lies after. This is why historically rich people are obsessed with the idea of longevity and immortality in this world.

For me, death is not the end of life, but simply a part of it.

Oh absolutely, and ive been loving all the asks regarding this. really challenges my ways of thinking, and thats what i live for. arguments are totally not the intention here, just some friendly banter

..

bad things will happen, and if you believe in ‘prevention is better than cure’, fixing concience of people who do the bad things before the bad things are done, is ideal

This whole ‘banter’ is slowly slipping into the talks about legislative systems, and i cant comment anything on that for i do agree that it is terrible, and improper judgement is regularly passed

i 100% agree with you about the improper judgment given very often, and no reprecussions for those. and i absolutely do not ask anyone to make peace with imperfect justice systems

but i ask only to make peace with the injustice, if there is nothing you can do about it other than praying for a place of Hell

If someone does believe in afterlife, and Hell, then they shouldnt commit the crime in the first place right ?

what i come to realize is that you, would like some one who got away with legal reprecussions, to die with the idea that they may be punished in the after life,

but you cannot impart your ideologies into someone, just for the sake of them dying scared

if you want them punished, punish them. I absolutely cannot agree with the fact that you go to a dying old man’s house, to tell them that the 7 rings of hell are waitng for him to be punished in.

you can pray for it on your own tho

IT IS NOT ONLY THE RICH WHO WANT TO LIVE LONGER. EVERYONE FEARS DYING, EVERYONE WANTS TO LIVE LONGER. THATS WHY MEDICATION EXISTS.

when you say theres an afterlife, do you believe in rebirth, or a place of heaven and hell ?

either ways, i hear your way of thinking, and i respect it. if you want someone to die in fear, feel free to want, but if you seek that out, i think its inhumane

injustice is very bad, but theres a reason why death penalty is the highest offence. dying is bad enough. i wouldnt want anyone to die wiht not only the fear of whats beyond, but also the knowledge that the beyond is hell

[mis-calculated]

I'm sorry i mean this in the most well intentioned, i want to support good credible people and stand up for people who have been wronged or marginalized by shitty people in power but i am honestly very frustrated and tired by the large issue of cancel culture from all sides.

And this isnt to say that people who are documented to be shitty shouldn't lose their position of power to others way more worthy. But theres a lot of moving parts to it that make it way more complicated than people have a tendency to paint it and I'm just so frustrated and hurt by a lot of people.

I don't understand why the fuck internet celebrities, particularly in the youtube gaming sphere can't just be decent people for once in their life. And this isnt even from someone who "stans" their favorite celebrities or anything. When I engage with youtube I legitamentally just watch content creators I enjoy and sometimes allow myself to get inspired through them. I don't really engage in fandom culture, I hardly ever even super find it important to meet them at a convention, I literally just watch videos about games I enjoy where the creators seem nice and intelligent and inspiring in some way and just think about them as cool people I wouldn't mind being friends with if circumstances were different. And even after appropriatly distancing myself like everyone on this website says to do, I still end up getting hurt because the average celebrity apparently cannot handle their fame going to their head in some way. I'm angry at creators for letting themselves sink to these levels.

I'm also frustrated at everyone on all sides' inability to fully grasp the weight of what their content means to people and how it affects them. Im angry at content creators for not realizing that through theyre platform they do have a bit of a responsibility to their fans and that even a fan that engages on a healthy level with a piece of creative work is likely to be moved by it in some way. Im also angry at people that continue to perpetrate the idea that if you feel some sort of genuine hurt and sorrow towards media with eventually problematic creators, that you are also problematic and a shitty person for not dropping it immediatly. I am not kidding when I say I don't know how I would have made it through middle and early high school without the Harry Potter series, and I'd be lying if i said that it wasn't one of the most impactful things I read to my creative endeavors, as well as still being a comfort universe for OC's I have purely for myself. Does that mean I support J K Rowling being absolutly shitty towards trans people recently? As a fellow trans person, absolutly not. The Game Grumps Wind Waker playthrough is a series I literally watch at this point as one of the few things that can calm me down when I'm having a panic attack. I think I've been watching their playthroughs since I was twelve years old and whether people like it or not, it has affected me in a profound way. Does this mean if the current allegations turn out to be glaringly true, or others continue to come out, that I am supportive of these disgusting behaviors? Absolutly not. But it still fucking hurts like hell.

Another layer to this has been the rising conversation in the classical music community about the unfortunate reality that much of our musical canon is from old white guys, some of which with deeply racist or classist views. And yes. I genuinly think its so terrible and unfortunate that the only music we have record of reflects pretty much one singular demographic of people, while everything else was pretty much lost to the unpublished masses. I also want to continue to dedicate some of my musical efforts to continuing to support female, lgbt, or poc in the classical music scene who are unfortunatly fighting against more of an uphill battle than I can fully comprehend due to my own privilages. Last week a kid in the year below me made a comment about how infuriated he was that the music history professor talked about Wagner in class without mentioning his gross antisemetic views, which i think is pretty justified anger. I think its really important in mentioning in these figurehead composers, especially people like Wagner who's platform was grown from his antisemitism, both their work but also their moral problems. However, they then said that we should stop learning about Wagner because of the shitty things that he's done. And I've heard that same sentiment echoed all the time in classical music recently. And again I believe this is a way more complex issue where I have to disagree. Whether we like it or not, Wagner's music is directly related to an entire school of thought in music from his time, and is also a major reason in the way opera music shifted and why our modern film music exists. You cannot just extract Wagner from the history and merely learning about him doesn't mean you are continuing to perpetuate the ideas that he believed in or supporting him and providing him a platform. I would argue that not learning about him at all and being uninformed is almost worse in a way because that also leaves room for atrocities to be swept under the rug and lost to time that shouldnt be. But there are people around me that strongly disagree and may view me in a certain light because of it. And im just so frustrated with it.

I've done a lot of growing in the last year and i genuinly do want to be a better, and more informed person every single day. I am so overtly aware of some of the privilages i have due to merely my race that others do not and I continue to examine and reexamine how that affects the views that I hold and this situations that I find myself in.

But I'm also just so fucking angry at the people who screw up like this in the first place and also everyone who perpetuates the idea that media is simply just media and if youre upset youre probably also problematic.

This is a rant and a half and i apologize and hope it makes atleast some sort of coherent sense. I generally dont share my views on stuff like this because Im aware of the ways it comes off. Im just so tired and upset about the things that were important to me in my life getting tainted or ruined by people being shitty but also feeling like I don't have a right to mourn it. Thanks for reading.

#quarantine vents #sorry everyone this is a lot #youre welcome to ignore and not engage with #this is like half a rant about the things that have been bouncing around in my head for weeks and half a fucking infodump rip

[anamericangirl]

@mysterious-foxes I’m responding to you in a new post because you just said a lot of really dumb shit. 

“dude 🤦‍♀️ I'm not saying you can't use analogies. I'm saying your analogies are bad because they're not even close to the same. In both pregnancy and organ donation, you are literally allowing your organs to be used. If abortion were illegal, the only difference is whether you get to choose if your organs are being used or not.”

and, dude, I wasn’t saying you said I can’t use any analogies. I was talking about that one specific analogy of slavery. Not analogies in general lol. What I was saying was if you think slavery is a bad analogy for pro-lifers to use in regards to abortion, then you shouldn’t use that analogy for abortion yourself. It’s hypocritical :) Especially when it makes less sense on your side of the debate. The analogy I was using isn’t bad, you are just failing to understand it. Telling people if they don’t like something then the solution is don’t do it themselves, not stop others from doing it is fine in general, but it stops being a good point when the thing in question is harming or killing others. With abortion, you are telling someone if they don’t like babies being killed, then the solution is not to kill babies ourselves but let other people do what they want. It’s like telling someone if they don’t like slavery or murder then don’t enslave or murder anyone but let others do what they want. You don’t accept the premise and I don’t expect you to accept the premise yourself, but I do expect you to try to understand where pro-life people are coming from and why that argument is a bad one and won’t have any sort of influence on our position. 

Organ donation and abortion are two entirely different things even if they both involve organ use. Thinking that the only difference between abortion and organ donation is whether or not you get to choose if your organs are used suggests you know very little about about organ donation and abortion. Organ donation is voluntarily giving an organ to a person who needs one. Abortion is knowingly and intentionally removing a perfectly healthy, developing human being from the environment it needs to live, killing it in the process. I understand you are trying to justify this act because the developing baby uses your organs for a few months, but the situations are drastically different. 

“Enslave: "cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action" but yeah, you're right, denying abortion does not fit the criteria for enslaving someone at all 🙄 (that was sarcasm if you couldn't tell)”

I know you’re being sarcastic but it just looks dumb because you literally just explained why denying abortion isn’t slavery lol. How are we causing anyone to lose their freedom of choice of action? I didn’t cause the pregnancy. The person who is pregnant chose to engage in acts that lead to pregnancy. I didn’t force pregnancy on anyone but I don’t have a problem denying people the choice of killing their children. Equating denial of abortion to slavery means that you think all laws are enslavement. Laws against first-degree murder? Well that’s enslavement because it causes someone to lose their freedom of choice of action. Laws against drunk driving? By your logic that’s enslavement because it causes someone to lose their freedom of choice of action. I disagree that telling people they aren’t allowed to kill their baby is equal to enslavement.

“I never said that abortion is comparable to donating organs, I said that pregnancy is. I said that abortion is comparable to denying organ donation. Because that's exactly what you're doing, denying the use of your organs. It's not just a similar argument, it is litetally the same thing. Denying the use of your organs is the exact same as denying the use of your organs.”

Denying use of your organs in an organ donation scenario does not kill the person. That’s the big difference you’re refusing to acknowledge here. In an organ donation scenario, do you get to walk up to the person and stab them after denying the organ? Because that is what is happening in abortion. It’s like actively murdering the person who needs the organ. You already agreed to let the baby use your organs when you got pregnant. You can’t revoke your consent once the deed is done, especially if revoking consent demands that you intentionally kill another person. 

“I'm sorry, I overestimated your intelligence. I thought you were smart enough to understand that forced pregnancy means forced continuation of pregnancy. Which is exactly what you're advocating for.”

Oh don’t worry, I get that when pro-choice people say “forced pregnancy” you’ll are trying to put the responsibility on everyone other than the person who chose to take the risk of getting pregnant and pretend like we’re “forcing” people to be pregnant because we’re against killing children. Like for some reason we’re the bad guys for saying “no I don’t think you should be able to kill your baby” and you guys translate that into “forcing” women to be pregnant. Yeah I definitely don’t have a problem advocating for people to remain pregnant once they become pregnant. Otherwise you advocate for killing babies and that’s what you’re doing. 

“Good news! Abortion doesn't kill a single kid! So you don't have to worry about that. Glad we could get that cleared up. If you think the goal of abortion is to kill someone, you have a huge misunderstanding of the reason people get abortions and what abortion actually is. I suggest doing some research. The goal of abortion is to no longer be pregnant.”

We didn’t clear that up. You simply reiterated a statement you said earlier with no explanation to support it. If you think the goal of an abortion isn’t to kill someone then you’re the one that needs to do research. 

Sorry but I'm not going to accept you as an authority on the subject, especially since you seem quite ignorant. Allow me to explain what an abortion is to help you understand it better and then I would love for you to explain to me how it doesn’t kill a single kid. Because if doesn’t kill anyone then I’m not against it, but, sadly, the science of the matter doesn’t seem to agree with your assertion. 

A fetus is the scientific term for the unborn offspring of a mammal. It is typically used to reference an unborn human baby eight weeks after conception. By this time there has already been a lot of rapid development. The neural tube has closed, the head is developed, the heart is beating and other organs have developed, but the bones are still very weak and fragile. The CDC tells us that majority of abortions happen under 13 weeks, and other sources put the majority of them around 8 weeks or less, so much of this development has already occurred by the time people are getting abortions. So by all accounts the unborn baby is alive and growing at this point. 

According to Planned Parenthood, the most common type of in-clinic abortion method is the suction abortion aka vacuum aspiration. The suction catheter is inserted into the uterus and the suction machine is turned on, which has a force up to 20x more powerful than a vacuum cleaner. The force of the suction power literally tears the baby apart, pulling it into the tube and forcing it into the suction machine. The abortionist then has to back in to the uterus and do some scraping to make sure none of the baby’s body has been left behind in the womb. At this point, the unborn baby has been ripped apart by a machine and is no longer alive and growing. It is dead. So please explain how abortion doesn’t kill anyone because I would be very interested in this new mind-blowing information that you’ve discovered that would contradict all biology and medical science that we have to date!

You sound incredibly ignorant when you say the goal of abortion is to no longer be pregnant. Like, yes, genius, I get that the woman is getting an abortion because she doesn’t want to be pregnant, but if we look at abortion medically, what it does to enable the woman not to be pregnant is kill what she is pregnant with. That’s how the pregnancy is ended, sweetie. If the baby is not dead at the end of the abortion, then the abortion was not successful. Surely someone who is as smart as you think you are would know that much at least. 

“Abortion is not intentionally killing someone. Again, nobody is killed during an abortion. The organism dying is a byproduct of abortion, just like someone dying is a byproduct of denying use of your organs. But you do realize that you can have an abortion without killing the fetus, right? Oh, wait, I shouldnt assume that you know that since you haven't understood other fundamentals of abortion.”

Wow, you are really not very educated on this topic. The fetus dying is not the byproduct, it is the goal. An abortion kills the growing organism. That is what an abortion is. If the growing organism isn’t killed, you haven’t had an abortion. You are either very, very stupid or in a crazy amount of denial. Please tell me what kind of abortions don’t kill the fetus. I would be so happy to learn that such abortions existed. 

“Next time, come up with a good analogy of something that's actually comparable instead of grasping for straws 🤷‍♀️ I simply pointed out similarities between anti choicers and slave owners. If you are offended by that, you should reexamine your beliefs.”

It is comparable. You lacking the brain capacity to understand it doesn’t make it a bad analogy. Your inability to grasp the comparison shows that you aren’t willing to even try to understand where the other side is coming from. And if you’re not willing to do that, you really shouldn’t be trying to debate the subject (another reason you shouldn’t debate the topic is you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about). I’m not offended by your analogy because it was a very poor one that didn’t make any sense. I don’t get offended by other people’s inability to make good analogies. You being wrong and not knowing anything about abortion or the pro-life belief doesn’t offend me, it just shows that your pro-choice beliefs come from very astonishing ignorance. Like you’re pro-choice but you don’t even know what an abortion really is. Yikes. And I know that based on how you are describing abortion. 

[meditativeyoga]

Healthy Aging: Planning for Tomorrow

' So, Mama, exactly what is it like aging?"

Even as young adults go, it was an unusually insensitive inquiry. It still ranks high on my long checklist of things-I'm- not-very-proud-of. I don't recall why that inquiry was so essential to me, as this happened a lot longer ago than I care to admit.

My Mommy's action is still edged in my mind.

" Absolutely nothing actually transforms," she said, with that said unshakeable persistence that elevating four kids had infused in her. "You really feel equally as young inside. It's simply the outside that changes."

I now understand just how real those words were. Like the majority of boomers, I have a negative case of mirroritis-- the state of shock that embeds in when you search in the mirror, and also the person looking back is not the one intended to be there. Ah indeed, the pleasures of aging.

But as I have actually come to discover with time, the glass isn't always half empty. Yes, the problem is that your body maintains changing-- non-stop, as well as in weird and also unpredictable means. The bright side is just what my Mama as long earlier prophesied: You do not feel any older. You begin to experience just what the yoga tradition has actually long held: There is an ageless aspect to our mind, our spirit-- the component of us that stays the exact same, even when the scenarios of our life, including the body, change.

When it involves the aging of our body, that component of eternity exists as a component of selection. Just how rapidly we age, as well as how we age, is not simply delegated Father Time. Research on the health and wellness beneifts of diet regimen, exercise, as well as yes, yoga treatment, all tell us that our long-lasting wellness as well as long life is linked to our day-to-day way of life. Something as apparently straightforward as the foods you consume, what does it cost? you exercise you obtain, just how well you handle tension, as well as the balance of remainder as well as activity in your life effect not only how much time you live, but exactly how healthy and balanced you remain as you get older.

The equation is basic, all various other things equal, healthy and balanced way of living practices = healthy and balanced aging. Excellent way of life practices like routine exericse, eating a healthy diet, as well as anxiety management minimize your risk of acquiring some of the most typical age-related chronic conditions, consisting of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, as well as cancer. As a matter of fact, lifestyle factors play as much of a function in identifying your longterm wellness as where your ball landed in the fickle roulette of hereditary makeup, possibly also better. Taking on even more healthy and balanced consuming, workout, or stress and anxiety administration practices can also turn around significant condition, such heart disease.

This is a simple fact, and also we have heard all of it before, possibly ad nauseum. Yet if you believe about it, the effects are quite remarkable. It indicates that-- all other things even-- we have an incredible quantity of option in how we feel as we age and also how healthy we'll be as we age. Where we finish up on the normal curve of health and well-being versus condition as well as disability is to a huge degree under our control, disallowing, certainly, the treatment of fate.

We invest a fantastic years preparing for retired life and placing loan apart so we can live a comfortable and also safe and secure life in our old age. Yet, when it involves preparing for our lasting health and vigor, the majority of us expend much less time and also effort. Actually so, because without health and wellness, planning for an economically comfortable retired life is a waste.

Changing way of life practices is not a very easy thing to do. At finest, it acts as another unpleasant reminder that the speed of life is too quick as well as there is inadequate time to do way too many things. At worst, it places us deal with to encounter with our individual devils-- simply believe of the emotional toll of skipping that tasty item of pie to stay streamlined and slender.

So really, that has to include more do's and also do n'ts, should's as well as shouldnt's to our currently jammed timetable? And also is it really going to make a distinction anyway?

As my younger sibling wryly commented when I at 18 years-old ended up being a vegetarian and began sermonizing about the merits of healthy consuming to everyone within range: "However Sis, exactly what will occur if you obtain struck by an auto later in life as well as compressed to a pulp? Then it will all have been for nothing!"

He enjoyed graphic detail as younger bros are inclined to. As well as he was, as all big sisters know that younger bros are similarly proper to, missing the point. Taking on extra healthy practices does make a large distinction, And also not just 10, twenty years, thirty years right into the future. Living a healthy and balanced way of life is really regarding how you really feel currently as well as everyday from currently on. Exactly how fresh you are when you awaken in the morning, just how much power as well as excitement you have throughout the day, exactly how well you really feel within as well as consequently, what does it cost? love you have the ability to present on your loved ones.

And therein lies the trick. The little actions-- gettomg a routine yoga exercise method in, remaining free from the transfats, cutting out the doughnut in the morning, eating your day-to-day 5-8 portions of fruits and veggies, taking that ten-minute stroll during the night, getting to bed just a little earlier-- include up to a lot with time. As you begin to experience the distinction these things make in your life, it comes to be much easier as well as less complicated to keep up those modifications and include more over time.

Planning for a healthy and balanced tomorrow is simply that-- like saving a little loan continually each year, continually readjusting your health practices with time. Hold your horses and compassionate with yourself-- and established small goals. The little success, like dimes in a piggy financial institution, amount to big changes over time.

#Yoga

[tallat-of-thralls]

Note on Astral Projection

This is not a post on how to do it, this is a post on reassurance for those whom have projected elsewhere and encountered... Oddities.

Even after years of periodic deep meditation, experimentation with psychoactive chemicals (do Not recommend), learning from yogis and gurus amongst other carny like mentors, and just my own practice in relatives terms, i cannot rightfully say that i am considered "experienced". There are no academic parameters that state you are experienced, there arent true degrees to attain nor controls to compare the experiences to. So, mind what i am about to express based on the principle of my own judgement (as biased and convolulted as it might seem...)

Let me first state that one of the principles, one of the sacred laws i follow (i follow about 13 give or take) is Tacere or "To be Silent". Its one of 4 (or five depending on the practice) rules of i learned as The Laws of the Magus. By the element water 🔻, it warns the practitioners on sharing their meditative or astral experiences. It expresses the urgency about refraining from speaking to others about your magical workings, lest they seek to undo you. Accept that sometimes it's better to say nothing and discipline yourself to avoid unneeded consequences.

With that in mind, Im not sharing any of my bizarre experiences. Its not something i talk about just because the very few times i did, i scared people. Most people dont want affirmation of their eldritch nightmares existence and prefer covering their heads with a sheet until that notion goes away. They dont like it when you tell them for what reasons you have the opinions that you do based off the principle of fluid and subjective factors. People scare easily even those who have been involved with the craft for decades.

Not every practitioner is comfortable with cross dimensions or wyrds or aethers or voids or anything outside the first three of the sephiroth and it is not your responsibility to show them that. Opening doorways just to say, "look what i found! This my new friend so-n-so in the xth sephirah. They like coffee and metaphysics." Dont do that... The amount of eyes usually scare the jesus into people whom are unaccustomed to working with extra planes. Even if you try to explain that your wrinkly, tentacle bearing, eyeball covered friend is equivalent to a stressed out ritalined strained and caffeine soaked college student. All they see is this mess of wiggliness too excited to speak coherently and may wreak havoc on their mind by chanting numbers.

Like in this dimension, understand that some of your friends are xenophobic because their upbringing taught them no different and dropping them into the middle of a advanced session of nothing but mathematics and tentacles will freak them out.

So, keep your dreams, travels, and other experiences to yourself or just use complicated metaphors to skip over the slimey bits.

Now, if youre a beginner and you are unsettled or excited by those possibilities that i had mentioned... I made the previous up. Those are just examples of what you *may* experience when traveling through some of the more intangible sephirah. Essentially, you would want to stay in the first two or three to start with. And when i say the first two, i mean the one you currently exist in (our plane the first sephirah) should be thoroughly explored and extrapolated from before you seek answers in another place.

Imagine travelling to a foreign country because you heard that the scenery is amazing without first researching the tourist points, land, people, or even knowing the name of the country. You just hop in transit and arrive in some random hamlet asking about hidden knowledge only confusing and frustrating the locals. You never learn anything and you were bit by several insects and now your tummy hurts. Same principle. Research and look into the experience you wish to have or beings you wish to encounter then come up with ways to attain that which you seek so that whatever you encounter has a foundation for which it can build upon.

Even if you're exploring the forest down the street from your house, be prepared to encounter local wildlife and stock up on supplies to ensure your safety. Im not only saying to supply honey to the fae that live there, im saying make sure you wear proper attire and have a snack and some water before hand and on you.

One of the things i have experienced from some of my more lengthy and arduous meditations that if i hadn't done proper preparations i came out of it so hungry I felt sick or so thirsty that i chugged water like i had hiked a desert trail. But if I had eaten light meal and properly hydrated im not distracted by my body's exasperation therefore allowing me to reflect upon what i had just experienced instead of rushing to the nearest open box to satisfy my afflicted hunger.

Now, i covered safety lets mold the prospect of successful projections.

The first three sephiroth (not including the one we live in) are much like what we know since it is so very close to the mundane that concepts will over lap....

As a side note, if you have absolutely no idea what the hell the sephirah and sephiroth are i suggest to research that. In short, its a conceptual design mainly used for categorizing fields of astral and celestial magic or manifestations based off of the Kabbalic Tree of Life. There are ten in total. We live in number 10 while the "godhead" resides in number 1. The typical astral projections travel to 7, 8, 9. The sephiroth 4,5,6 come directly before a "veil" that separates the top three from the rest of the tree. 1, 2, 3 are, in simple terms, existential planes that embody creation... That's the basics for the purpose of this post but there is a ton more on the tree of life and should be one of the first things you look into if you are interested in continuing the astral/wyrd/aether/celestial/sephiroth/extraplanar studies.

As i mentioned 7,8,9 are the sephiroth you'll spend most of your time projecting into. You really dont have to go much further from them, as all the sephiroth are, they are infinite in the universes that occupy them and you will find much of what you're searching for within them without confusing the f*ck out of yourself.

Sephiroth 4,5,6, are higher up on the tree and farther away from 10 but closer to 1. They are extremely intangible and physics does not make sense nor do the beings that live there. If you find yourself in the mess of geometric shapes and warped concepts, the most i can advise is not panic. Act like its the first time you watched the willy wonka tunnel scene and reflect on the horrors after coming out. Most likely you wont learn anything other than the thought of "Huh... That was weird and terrifying."

In any regard, you shouldnt share the experiences you met in 7-4 just because if it freaked you out imagine how others would respond if they even thought you came up with that on your own. They will stare at you the same way they would stare at any other intangible horror.

In short, travelling extraplanarly will change you. No ifs or buts about it, the concepts and images you will encounter will separate you from those who spend their entire lives in the bottom sephirah. Its both good and bad in my opinion. Good if you find what you seek, bad in the sense that you will be alone in these expiriences.

Last thing, this Doesn't make you superior. There is nothing wrong with those who practice the craft and decline to travel through the gates and rings. There is nothing wrong with refraining from the extra dimensional and wyrd. Not everyone has the need or desire to do so.

As i had said, each sephirah is infinite. There are many universes within the tangible places to explore without even having to leave our own sephirah.

Keep that in mind. Understand that projecting and manifesting isnt a vertical sensation. It can be a lateral exploration just as easily. You dont have to just go up, shifting side to side can be as informative and interesting.

As something selfish of me, im open to reading any of your experiences if you wish to tell some one. You can dm me or tag me in your posts about your projection stories and i will happily read them. No judgement, simply curiosity on my part. If you want me to comment on the experience just ask me in the post/message. Other wise i wont.

Have Safe Travels ☺

AethyrSecretary

#witch #witchblr #witchcraft #witches #sigil witch #enochian magick #wisdom #magic #aether work #celestial work #astral work #astral plane #astral projection #astral projecting stories #astral #extra planar #extra dimensional #meditation #white magick #chaos magick #magick #aethers #aether #wyrd #wyrd and wonder #sephiroth #sephirah #tree of life #tree of knowledge

[tuastelgar]

(x) /// SO. With all that interference, all those instabilities, external and internal alike....  She (it) was formed. Whatever she is now. She was brought about by a highly unstable magic and fade nonsense, and is now this... Being... This sentient entity that can exist and DOES exist in both or either the fade and/or the real world at any given moment. She’s constantly shifting, even just slightly, intangibly toward one side and then the other. It’s painful and disorienting sometimes.    She can’t control it. Think of an Eldritch being. How it moves and pulses and changes constantly and how its.. so impossible for the human mind to comprehend its mere existence. That’s.... kind of how she is, I’d imagine. How her.. power or... should she ever exist without the body she was formed inside, or should she ever just. find herself incorporeal for whatever reason... she’d just be.... so dangerous. a ball of sentient, unstable magical and spiritual energy that should never have been fused together so dangerously.   I can imagine that her mere presence may cause some people, especially mages, inexplicable uneasiness when shes around. Some people fail to notice her until someone else points her out. Probably another thing caused by her... odd sort of.... rapidly shifting of realities. She catches the attention of both spirits and demons alike, and some approach her, but many try to stay away.     She is unnatural. She’s unstable, and potentially very, very dangerous. She could just... explode?? At any given moment?? If she gets too upset, too angry, or too emotional (she SHOULDNT, given that shes quite bland, emotion wise... and she has understanding of how to control how she feels ? more or less?)  but should she become so overwhelmed that even she can’t handle it... she could do one of a few things... In a highly unstable burst of magic/energy of multiple sorts, implode or explode, probably killing everyone in her radius. Or she could.. potentially... just stop existing and fade into nothingness. Her energy, whatever its composed of, simply losing all cohesion and scattering harmlessly from her. Or something else. Something weird, is all I can imagine.

But even with all that... she does often times, simply instill comfort in some people. It depends on her intentions, most the time. If she’s genuinely trying to help, its because she wants to. She can give off this... albeit unintentionally... aura of well-being. Of caring and love. Compassion, one could say. But she’s not compassion. She has no set nature. No true ‘purpose’ in spirit terms. Because she’s not a spirit, and the spirit that got caught in that melting pot of magical nonsense will never find a purpose now. Which, come to think of it... might explain, if partially, why people sometimes just dont notice her (unless pointed out). She’s without purpose or reason. And the world abhors meaninglessness. She’s chaotic, in and of herself, without even meaning to be.    She’s not a BAD thing, per say, though.... Just the same as how a ghost isn’t a bad thing. A spirit isn’t bad. A demon isn’t necessarily... Bad. It just kind of is what it is.

    She joins the Inquisition, in the end. She’s shackled and studied, and then she appears someplace else in skyhold, unshackled and unharmed. Just because she was a little scared and didn’t want to be studied like that anymore.  She was almost killed for it. They tried. To kill her, I mean. It didn’t really... work... though. ? No one’s really sure what happened there. She did bleed, and she did get stabbed. But she was fine and ‘the bleeding stopped because she didn’t want to be bleeding.’ Be that a magical or a spirit-y thing...idunno.  She spoke a lot with Solas and Leliana, Cassandra generally didn’t really want anything to do with her once she was deemed ‘fade/spirit related’. And finally, she spoke with the Inquisitor. Now... that can go a lot of ways for a lot of Inquisitors... But for MY inquisitor... They accepted her for whatever she was, although hesitantly. He wanted to keep a close eye on her. So Nithreiel, while in skyhold, is surrounded by wary guards basically at all times. Everyone is to keep an eye on her, report anything unusual or potentially dangerous. Nithreiel doesn’t really take offense to it, she understands why they do it. They’re frightened of her. She too, knows how it feels to be frightened, she’d say, and she doesn’t like it. so she understands why they do what they do to feel safe.

      Nithreiel isn’t a spirit like Cole, but she is partially made of what a spirit is, and so she has similar abilities. On the same note, the mass of ... whatever Unstable Chemical Reaction like thing shes made of, is also made up of a mage’s magic.. or what gives them their magical connection. This means she can do magic. Like healing, for instance. It’s her preferred type. She loves to heal people, help em out, all that.  But she can also do..... unspeakable damage, if she wants to. Being unstable.. and not ever having had any sort of.. guidance for that magic, she can really... really devastate an area if she so wishes. Sometimes even by accident..? It’s best she sticks to healing magic and simple, focused spells, she’d say. It’s too easy for it to run amok on her. That being said, this means for attacking... if need be.. she prefers using dual blades. They WERE enchanted, funny enough... but somehow, were disenchanted upon her usage of the weapons. They tried enchanting them again but after she came back from using them, they were again disenchanted. No one really knows what happened there, but they stopped trying after the third time and left it at that.

#( long post ) #( Nithreiel. About ) #( Ooc ) #long is anyway jfjdfd #again mostly for my own keepin' ;w; im scatterbrained so its nice to have it written out like this #( ramblings ) #gOD tho jdjfj soRRY FOR THE MESS IM JUST CLEANIN UP MY THOUGHTS IG FUK

[thereunionvii]

Operation Reunion -The Fight for FFVIIR Legacy Cast FAQ

Hi there. I'm glad you're here. My name is Kelsey and I am a part of this wonderful movement known as Operation Reunion -a passionate, dedicated group of Final Fantasy 7 fans aiming to return the original English voice cast/our beloved VAs back to the remake. I’ll be more than happy to answer some of the more common questions that have come our way.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: I'm a fan that loves Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy 7 in particular holds a special place in my heart. The original FF7 English voice cast introduced in Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core are utterly PHENOMENAL. Many of these same VAs have been in other series I've grown with and they have been near and dear to me for a long time. They are talented and they clearly GET these FF7 characters to where they've always been just as irreplaceable as the original Japanese cast.

Q: Even Steve Burton?

A: YES. Absolutely. I'm not even a General Hospital fan (and that's putting it nicely) but Steve has always blown me away as Cloud. He just IS Cloud. He's played Cloud for almost 20 years, that doesn't happen if you aren't good and don't have the fan support. A lot of us here were ecstatic to have the English cast return for the remake.  

Q: So, obviously they're not in the remake now.  Did they just not want to do it?

A: Actually. . .no. . .it's far more complicated than that. . .The original EN and JP cast was always planned to return. In 2015 Gematsu interviews, producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Tetsuya Nomura repeated that the only voices that were left undecided at the moment were the ones that never had VAs such as Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, etc. In the 2017 trailer, Steve Burton and Beau Billingslea (Barret) are clearly still there. Steve Burton and George Newbern (Sephiroth) even returned for Dissidia NT only last year. Quinton Flynn (Reno and Axel (Kingdom Hearts) ) even returned just this year for Kingdom Hearts 3.

Despite all that, Kitase, who is not even the director and has no control over the localization made the absolutely feckless, unwarranted, and disrespectful decision to remove the entire cast-from what it seems right before the State of Play trailer. None of the actors were ever told they were being replaced and only found out along with the rest of us this was even happening. Some like Quinton Flynn and Crispin Freeman are STILL not even sure they'll be asked back for the remake.  To all of them, this change was just as much as a shock, and they were all very happy, willing, and beyond excited to come back as well. . .

Q: Won't the original cast at least be back for side projects? Kitase said so. . . .

A: Yes, Kitase claims they are keeping this "legacy" cast for future side projects but even if that were the case, WHAT side projects? Kingdom Hearts and Dissidia are pretty much done. Square has no control over Smash Bros. either. . .Everybody is busy with the FF7 remake and then the eventual FF8 remaster. There are ZERO "side projects" planned at the moment. Kitase's statements are just the "polite" way of confirming an entire cast was replaced without notice, even to the VAs themselves. . .

Q: Didn't the original FF7 not have voice acting?

A: Aww.. . .you're cute. . .Let's be real though. The remake was always going to have voice acting. Voice acting is a staple of 99% of major video game releases. Square has done voice acting for FF ever since FF10. And Square has always provided an English dub along with the original Japanese cast.

Q: Shouldn't we get a fresh, new experience with new VAs? This IS a remake. . . .

A: The original Japanese voice cast has ALWAYS stayed the same. The official Japanese cast list has never changed for anything FF7-related. Japan gets to keep all their original voice cast for the remake. It was only the English cast that got the abrupt and rude dismissal. . .

Q: I don't know, is it just too late to change this? The new VAs must be too far along. . .

A: Nope. Based on all existing evidence so far, and the fact NONE of the original VAs were made aware that they were being replaced, this change just happened. Likely just before the State of Play trailer. So at most, probably a mere 2-3 months ago. . .

Q: Did Square ever say anything about this beforehand?

A: No. Aside from a deliberately veiled 2017 interview https://www.siliconera.com/2017/02/22/final-fantasy-vii-remakes-voicing-main-story-pretty-much-completed/ that could have meant just about anything (and take a note that it says the voice acting is pretty much finished at this point. . .), Square gave ZERO warning to either the fans or the cast that this was going to happen. Even after the State of Play trailer, Square refused to give any official announcement over a new cast until E3, a mere two weeks ago. . .

Q: Why haven't I heard anything about this from Kotaku/GameInformer/Gamespot/IGN/my favorite video game news publication? Didn't you try to contact them?

A: Yes. I have tried. Several times already. So have several people from Operation Reunion. We haven't heard a response from anyone and the VA announcement rarely gets a passing glance in these publications as well. . .

Q: Have you tried Youtube? What about my favorite Youtuber who LOVES Final Fantasy? Why haven't they talked about it?

A: Beats me. . .Without naming anyone, I and several other members tried to get in contact with several popular Youtubers who are clear FF7 fans. The clear answer is that most of them are simply not interested, even if it might of interest to their fans. However, we are currently working on our own Youtube channel so stay tuned for some updates and more fun on that one.

Q: Okay. . .but why don't you give the new cast a chance?

A: Believe me, neither I nor anyone from Operation Reunion hold any malice towards the new cast. For the record, I actually kind of liked some of them. . .We have NOT, do not, or will not support, encourage, or endorse ANYONE to go out of their way to attack the new cast. . .HOWEVER. . .that doesn't change the fact the original English voice cast was always going to return, they always wanted to return, and Square replaced them at the very last minute. . .And that the original English cast deserves to be a part of the remake just as much as the original Japanese cast. . .

Q: But. . . what's done is done right? I mean, Capcom keeps replacing Resident Evil voice actors? Kojima replaced David Hayter as Snake for the last true Metal Gear titles. . .

A: Just because other people have done this sort of thing before doesn't make it okay. It will never be okay. I never forgave Capcom for sacking Paul Mercier, my favorite Leon VA. Nor when they fired Sally Cahill (Ada Wong), and refused to bring back Alyson Court, the ONLY voice for Claire since the beginning, for the RE2 remake because they didn't want to pay her more money, and found an actress who would be willing to do it cheap-which is a disrespectful to both those women. . .

What Kojima did to David Hayter, who will ALWAYS be Snake and has been Snake since Day One of Metal Gear Solid, was always unforgivable as well. . .Honestly, the Metal Gear fans should have rallied harder to bring Hayter back. THAT should have been the tipping point. . . but that is another matter. . .

But what Square did to their FF7 English voice cast. .. that is simply a new level of low in my eyes. . .This is replacing an ENTIRE CAST without warning and without their knowledge in the matter. . . An entire cast that has been loved and adored by fans for over a decade now. . .

As for "what's done is done". . .NO.  . .The English voice actors always should come back. And given that the remake is split into multiple installments, it is a fairly easy fix for Square to bring them back. Which is what this petition is for. . .

Q: But. . .that's unprecedented?!?!?!

A: Quite. But it never should have happened where the English cast was replaced. I will refer to this awesome comment left by the remarkable Fidgety Aura: "If Netflix can manage two or more audio options for languages I'm sure the developers can figure this out to let the new cast shine for newer fans without disrespecting the original English cast or all the English speaking fans."

The remake is slated to have a dual audio feature, it is not out of Square Enix's power to bring back the old LEGACY cast.

Q: But. . .isn't it just a "voice" after all?

A: NO. Voice actors are just as important and just as worthy of respect and recognition as any other actor. (Kotaku may not think so https://kotaku.com/why-excellent-video-game-voice-actors-cant-or-shouldnt-5821597.) English dub anime/video game VAs still don't get the credit, appreciation, and respect their deserve either. . .And that just finally needs to change. . .Replacing an entire cast is a VERY dangerous and slippery message to send to the video game industry-that any and all of our beloved VAs, any ACTORS are simply "disposable" at any given moment. . .

Q: Why don't you just stick to the sub?

A: Doesn't change anything. . .A lot of people love the original English cast as is and still want them back. Nor does that change what Square did to them. . .They always deserved to be a part of this remake. . .And they deserve to be brought back. . .

Q: But do the VAs even want to come back?

A: Yes. Both Quinton Flynn and Crispin Freeman have stated that they'd love nothing more than to come for some more Reno and Rude. Steve Blum has said he would love to come back-he "loves Vincent." George Newbern has said he's "always ready to assist if Square changes their minds." Steve Burton, Jamieson Price (Reeve), and Wally Wingert (Rufus) have all given support to this petition in some way. . .These VAs were just as excited to come back for the remake as we were. . .They still want to come back if given the opportunity. And they deserve every opportunity to come back. . .

Q: What can I do to help?

A: We have a petition to bring back the original English cast like they were always supposed to. . .If this matters as much to you as it does to us, please take a moment of your time to sign the petition. Share the petition with everyone you know. Keep tweeting Square Enix's official Twitter channels and comment on their Facebook pages that you want this to happen. . .Send the message that this is NOT OKAY and we all want our beloved voice actors back. Keep contacting your favorite Youtubers to do a video on this and keep contacting you favorite video game news publications to cover this story. We definitely have some fun things planned once we reach 777 and 1,000 signatures so stay tuned.

Q: But what can *I* really do? I'm. . .me. . .and Square is. . .Square. . .

A: A lot more than you give yourself credit for, actually. As a fan, it is your right to voice when you know something is just not right. No one can ever take that away from you. As a fan, you deserve respect, even to yourself. As for Square, they are never infallible nor impervious to criticism. If you are not happy with Square, you have the right to say, "NO. I do not like this. . .Here's why. . ." If you even just get involved for one person, do it for YOURSELF. Make Square respect you.

Q: Can I offer any ideas/suggestions that might help?

A: Oh, YES. Absolutely. Any new ideas/suggestions are always encouraged. This is a fan group made up of FANS, so there's nothing wrong with having a little fun with this along the way. . .And we're always happy to have anyone on board.

 Thank you everyone for all your support, kindness, dedication, and just overall awesomeness. . .And anyone who wants to join. . .Welcome, and we're always happy to have you. . .Let's make this happen. . .

#ffviir #operationreunion #returnfinalfantasy7voiceactors #george newbern #quinton flynn #steve blum #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 advent children #final fantasy #final fantasy 7 remake #Vincent Valentine #reno of the turks #crispin freeman #square enix #dissidia nt #ign #kotaku

[mattgambler]

My thoughts on Sekiro - Shadows Die Twice

TLDR: I talk about what I liked and disliked about Sekiro and why it in my eyes is probably* the best game From Software has released to date. Which means I also compare it to Dark Souls a lot.

*I havent played Demon Souls or Bloodborne, so I cant really talk about those. As someone who played through all three Dark Souls games as well as several other soulslikes on stream, I always stood by the unpopular opinion that Dark Souls 1 is a good game, but also a vastly overrated one - with one of the most unbearable fanbases out there, right up there with Undertale, albeit for very different reasons. My opinion is of course strongly coloured by my interactions with diehard fans of Dark Souls, both on stream as well as everywhere else on the Internet, but at the end of the day I never hated Dark Souls. I wouldnt have played through all three games otherwise. I *did* hate smaller aspects, like the fact that I ended up entering the tomb of the giants without ever finding a lantern and therefore  being forced to crawl through that place in near complete darkness until I found the emergency lantern in there, simply because I was unlucky enough to have none of the necromancers drop one for me. Or how the curse mechanic in the sewers got me trapped in a place that i already struggled with, but now with only 50% of my original HP. Or the entire “Git Gud” mentality that is so grossly abused to defend poor game design that the travesty that is camera control in the Ornstein and Smough fight looks like a piece of art in comparison. Onionbro and Solaire would weep if they knew. There were other things that I didnt enjoy, like what the Souls games count as a story, but I have an easier time pinning that down as personal preference and something that just isnt for me. Vaatividya makes good videos. The tomb of the giants without a lantern however, that just shouldnt exist in any game, not to mention a game that is glorified to such an extent that it could get its dick sucked every day by a different dude without running out for centuries. Can you taste that sweaty salt yet? Along comes Sekiro, a game by the same dev studio, with the same feel, minus many of the things that I have hated and criticized for several years now. Guess what, I like it.    This isnt a review, Im not trying to tell you if you should buy, Im not telling you that there are no microtransactions in the game or what framerate it isnt capped at. There are tons of videos online that jump-attacked all over that on day 1 of release or earlier. Im telling you why, in my opinion, this game is so vastly superior to Dark Souls that it simply warms my heart. Let me start a list and then never finish it: - You can swim - You can jump - You can talk - You dont immediately die when you fall off a cliff - You cant accidentally walk over a cliff like a moron, at least most of the time. - You can’t simply rely on dodgerolls and invincibility frames all the time - You can understand the story without having to go to Youtube to have it explained to you by someone - You can’t kill strong enemies simply by chain parrying them over and over, or at least it is hell of a lot harder - You can’t simply kill strong enemies by knocking them off a cliff (I think) - You can’t abuse magic for an immediate easy mode - You can’t abuse coop for an immediate easy mode

... I’m getting a little unfair here, I know. I actually think coop is a cool feature, even though I personally never used it and even the multiplayer pvp invasions are an original and interesting concept, although I’m not personally into it. Magic is cool too, although poorly balanced and therefore in my opinion less interesting. The reason I added those last two points to my unfinished list is not because I dislike them, but because of the lately relevant “does Sekiro need an easy mode” controversy. Especially the most elitist diehard fans of the souls franchise strongly disagree with the addition of an easy mode, which is funny... ... given that Dark Souls 1 has several. Personally I dont think Sekiro NEEDS an easy mode, but it sure wouldnt hurt anyone. I personally wouldnt have minded playing on a lower difficulty, I had three or four bosses greatly overstay their welcome before I finally managed to smash their asslike faces in. ...but Im rambling. On a surface level, just looking at the feel of combat, movement and overall story coherence Sekiro is already miles ahead, but I can understand that it therefore feels less like a Souls game and that not everyone will like that. I can understand and respect that. DarkSouls 1, as well as 2 and maybe even 3, have a couple of features that I greatly appreciate and that partly even surpass Sekiro in my otherwise overly critical eyes. Dark Souls 1 has the best and most memorable map in my opinion. Dark Souls 2 has incredible DLCs, especially Frozen Eleum Loyce was awesome and beautiful, with the minor exception of that retarded snow zebra area and how you would respawn *before* the loading screen to get there again instead of after. I also liked the Pursuers concept a lot, as well as the idea of despawning mobs if you killed them often enough. I dont remember much about DS3, it was okay as far as Im concerned but I enjoyed it the least out of the three, probably because of burnout as I had played through all three (blind) in a row. Im mentioning all of this because I want to clarify that in my eyes Sekiro is not THE TIMELESS MASTERPIECE NOBODY WILL EVER SURPASS that Darksouls 1 is often celebrated as. But in many ways it is headed in a direction that makes more sense to me than “if you are not enjoying it then you are doing it wrong and you should maybe think for once”. (Not that Sekiro streamers werent told exactly that just the same) Let me tell you, there were many instances in Sekiro where I also didnt think, didnt consider every possible option the game had given me, honestly Im pretty sure I sucked most of the time, in the eyes of your usual GITGUD-Bro. But I struggled, I improved, I succeded, and I had a way better time during it all, even though I did the same shit in the Souls games as well. Just without falling off edges in waist-high water every 10 minutes, or being invaded by some bowing edgelord, or losing 50% of my max hp as punishment for dying to the wrong enemy. There is this myth going around online that Dark Souls might be a harsh mistress, but at least a fair one. The one spreading that rumour must have been the Bed of Chaos herself, because that is nothing but horseshit. Sekiro isnt exactly fair all the time either, there are many moments in the game that feel all too familiar in their GOTCHA nature. Like how the game conveniently places the key to one of the hardest areas of the early game in your path so you go check it out just to get crucified there by Lady Butterfly and a special drunkard, just for you to learn after finally breaking both of them that you would have had a way easier time if you had simply ignored that area and soldiered on on your original path. Sure, one could have simply abandoned that area and returned later, but how many of you did? I sure didnt. The game likes to oneshot-kill you if you fail to dodge the wrong attack, be it a giant carp, a giant snake, or a giant TERROR man. Even worse, in Sekiro you cant even get your souls back! You die, you lose 50%. ALso 50% of your cash. Suck it. Im not particularly happy about that myself and Im not sure what the motivation behind that design decision was, but you take the good with the bad, right? Another thing that Sekiro does that I dont understand is how the game has you collect loot. Every time you kill an enemy you need to hold a button to collect. You can kill several in an area and then grab everything at once if they arent too far apart, but at the end of the day it eludes me why From Software didnt simply go for autocollecting instead. It’s not a big deal (even though I would forget about picking up loot every now and then) but at the same time it isnt adding any enjoyment to the game either, no matter how hard I try and emphasize with whatever a gamer who likes this might possibly think. It is not hard, its is not really relevant,  and I cant think of a single advantage it has over autocollecting. Maybe holding that button is supposed to feel rewarding? I consider it meaningless at best and tedious busywork at worst. At the same time the game introduces a stealth system that actually means something, while at the same time keeping it both well integrated as well as completely optional. Im truly impressed by how that is even possible. I also like the immortality mechanic, that results in you only truly dying if you go down twice, and even refreshes that revive if you kill enough enemies inbetween deaths. It doesnt help that much, as it doesnt refill your estus fl.... healing gourds, but it allows for a little bit more practice against tough enemies before you die, a little bit more lenience while exploring in an area where it is easy to fall, a little bit more standing power in a world where a giant carp can simply eat you. I appreciate it and it is far from making the game anything close to easy. Its more like an extra gourding flask. I could keep going and praise this (surprisingly satisfying enemy style and variety given the setting) or criticize that (less replayability because of fewer possible weapons and builds), but at the end of the day my opinion is crystalclear - Sekiro is stunningly beautiful, very enjoyable, hard as fuck, and while I have heard people say that “it is not a true soulslike”, I have to shrug and agree. It is better.

#sekiro #DARK SOULS #Matt Gambler #high difficulty #soulslike

[arcticdementor]

Let’s be blunt. The United States has become two nations occupying the same country. When pressed, or in private, many would now agree. Fewer are willing to take the next step and accept that most people living in the United States today—certainly more than half—are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term.

I don’t just mean the millions of illegal immigrants. Obviously, those foreigners who have bypassed the regular process for entering our country, and probably will never assimilate to our language and culture, are—politically as well as legally—aliens. I’m really referring to the many native-born people—some of whose families have been here since the Mayflower—who may technically be citizens of the United States but are no longer (if they ever were) Americans. They do not believe in, live by, or even like the principles, traditions, and ideals that until recently defined America as a nation and as a people. It is not obvious what we should call these citizen-aliens, these non-American Americans; but they are something else.

What about those who do consider themselves Americans? By and large, I am referring to the 75 million people who voted in the last election against the senile figurehead of a party that stands for mob violence, ruthless censorship, and racial grievances, not to mention bureaucratic despotism. Regardless of Trump’s obvious flaws, preferring his re-election was not a difficult choice for these voters. In fact—leaving aside the Republican never-Trumpers and some squeamish centrists—it was not a difficult choice for either side. Both Right and Left know where they stand today… and it is not together. Not anymore.

Those who wanted to Make America Great Again may refer to themselves as Republicans, though many realize that, apart from Trump, the party does not really care about them. Many may also, in some loose way, consider themselves conservatives. But among these plumbers, insurance salesmen, gym owners, and factory workers there’s one question you can pretty much guarantee they never discuss with their family and friends: “What kind of conservative are you?” This question has virtually no bearing on the problems that overshadow their lives.

It is still a question, however, that occupies intellectuals, journalists, and the world of think tanks. And this matters, unfortunately, because however sensible and down to earth the voters may be, an effective political movement needs intellectual leadership to organize and explain the movement’s purposes and goals. This leadership is still divided into—to name a few—neocons, paleocons (not to be confused with paleo-libertarians!) rad-trads, the dissident right, reformicons, etc. A lot of these labels are a distraction. But before I reject these disputes as mostly irrelevant, let me make a couple of points about why we can’t immediately leave this debate behind—and so why an essay like this is necessary.

…

Practically speaking, there is almost nothing left to conserve. What is actually required now is a recovery, or even a refounding, of America as it was long and originally understood but which now exists only in the hearts and minds of a minority of citizens.

This recognition that the original America is more or less gone sets the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy apart from almost everyone else on the Right. Paradoxically, the organization that has been uniquely devoted to understanding and teaching the principles of the American founding now sees with special clarity why “conserving” that legacy is a dead end. Overturning the existing post-American order, and re-establishing America’s ancient principles in practice, is a sort of counter-revolution, and the only road forward.

…

Conservatism, Inc. is worse than useless in this regard because it does not understand through perpetual study what Trump grasped by instinct. As if coming upon a man convulsing from an obvious poison, Trump at least attempted in his own inelegant way to expel the toxin. By contrast, the conservative establishment, or much of it, has been unwilling to recognize that our body politic is dying from these noxious “norms.” Keep taking the poison! it advises. A cynic might suppose that many elements on the right have made their peace with (and found a way to profit from) the progressive project of narcotizing the American people and turning us into a nation of slaves.

What is needed, of course, is a statesman who understands both the disease afflicting the nation, and the revolutionary medicine required for the cure. But no such figure has emerged, and it is unreasonable to pin our hopes on such a savior simply turning up.

What, then, are Americans to do?

…

If you are a zombie or a human rodent who wants a shadow-life of timid conformity, then put away this essay and go memorize the poetry of Amanda Gorman. Real men and women who love honor and beauty, keep reading.

Authentic Americans still want to have decent lives. They want to work, worship, raise a family, and participate in public affairs without being treated as insolent upstarts in their own country. Therefore, we need a conception of a stable political regime that allows for the good life.

The U.S. Constitution no longer works. But that fact raises more questions than answers. Can some parts of the system—especially at the local and state level—be preserved and strengthened? How would that work? How do we distinguish the parts that are salvageable from the parts that are hopeless? How did all this happen, anyway? The answers to these questions are not obvious. Having a coherent plan—thinking through what American citizenship used to mean, what made it noble and made the country worthy of patriotic love, and how to rebuild its best elements—requires input from people, and institutions, who have given these matters a lot of thought.

#claremont institute #glenn ellmers

[my-bobohu-blog]

aurora was a nice person though so you shouldnt hate her that much

literally the only quality of every single white disney princess is that “they’re nice.” cinderella was nice despite being treated like a slave and losing both her biological parents whom she loved. rapunzel was nice despite being locked up in a tower on her own for her entire existence. belle was nice despite everyone in her small provincial town ridiculing her and her father. literally anyone can be nice. aurora is just simply the epitome of uselessness.

like first of all, from birth to true love’s kiss, aurora doesn’t do jack shit. everything is given to her and she gets everything without lifting a finger (except for when she decides to touch the spindle) her fucking birthday party she gets bestowed the gift of beauty and song by two of her fairy godmothers. LIKE REALLY. BEAUTY AND SONG. THOSE ARE LITERALLY HER ONLY QUALITIES. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE. THERE IS NO MORE DEPTH. 

and then maleficent comes in and decides to spice things up (don’t even get me started on how much i love maleficent okay. like aurora’s parents are fucking conniving lil shits and they had what was coming to them) so then aurora is sent off to live in the fucking hundred acre woods with her fairy godmothers for like what 16 years? 

and for 16 years. this girl has done nothing. nothing at all. all she’s done is prance around the fucking woods befriending woodland creatures who steal the clothes of random passersby. SO SHE DANCES. AND SINGS. FALLS IN LOVE WITH SOME STRANGER WHO DANCES AND SINGS WITH HER. LIKE WOW CONGRATS ON FINDING TRUE LOVE. I GUESS????? like rapunzel was trapped in a tower for 18 years and she fucking MAPPED THE STARS WITH ACCURACY TO THE POINT SHE COULD DISTINGUISH BETWEEN STAR PATTERNS AND LANTERNS. THEN THERE’S AURORA. WHO PRANCES. 

aurora had one goddamned motherfucking job. don’t touch the spindle. but what does she do? TOUCH THE SPINDLE. 

and that’s it. that’s the end. that’s all she does. she sleeps. that’s it. nothing else. nothing more. AND OF COURSE THE ENTIRE KINGDOM DECIDES TO ENTER A DEEP SLEEP WITH HER. LIKE YEA OKAY THAT’S LOGICAL????? JUST BECAUSE SHE’S A PRINCESS AND SHE’S PRETTY? SHE’S NOT EVEN WORTH IT. SHE PROBABLY DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO RUN A KINGDOM. SHE CAN’T DO SQUAT DIDDLY SHIT. THEY SHOULDA JUST CUT THEIR LOSSES AND MOVED ON. PROCREATE SOME MORE IDK. HAVE ANOTHER KID AND INVITE MALEFICENT TO THE PARTY NEXT TIME. GODDAMN. /WHITE PEOPLE/ 

but yea. that’s it. that’s all aurora does. she sleeps and an entire kingdom is hung up on it so they sleep too. which is stupid because they haven’t seen this dumb bitch in 16 years. so really why bother. like dude move on.

just so much no. 

sleeping beauty is a stupid ass movie and aurora is a stupid ass princess and she has absolutely ZERO redeeming qualities. she’s cancelled. over. i’m done.

#i hate aurora with a burning passion of a thousand suns okay #i have harbored these feelings for a long fucking time and it enrages me EVERY SINGLE TIME #sweet potato anon #potato answers

[wholesomemommyposting]

Reasons why you should stay alive.

1. Cute Animals. Beautiful landscapes. Great video games. Football or baseball or basketball

2. It's not worth the regret. Either by yourself if you failed or just simply left scars, or the regret everyone else feels by not doing enough to help you.

3. It does get better. Believe it or not it will eventually get better. Sometimes you have to go through the storm to get to the rainbow.

4. There's so much you would miss out on doing.

5. There is always a reason to live. It might not be clear right now, but it is always there.

6. So many people care, and it would hurt them if you hurt yourself.

7. You ARE worth it. Don't let anyone, especially yourself, tell you otherwise.

8. You are amazing.

9. A time will come, once you've battled the toughest times of your life and are in ease once again, where you will be so glad that you decided to keep on living. You will emerge stronger from this all, and won't regret your choice to carry on with life. Because things always get better.

10. What about all the things you've always wanted to do? What about the things you've planned, but never got around to doing? You can't do them when you're dead.

11. Even if only one person loves you, that's still a reason to stay alive.

12. Watching the jerks that doubted you fail at life and prove them wrong

13. Killing yourself is never worth it. Running away is never solving the problems.

14. If you don’t even think but there are so many people that would miss you.

15. You're preventing a future generation, YOUR KIDS, from even being born, that could achieve great things.

16. How do you think your family would feel? Would it improve their lives if you died?

17. You're gorgeous, amazing, and to someone you are perfect.

18. Think about your favourite music artist, you'll never hear their voice again or see their concerts...

19. You'll never have the feeling of walking into a warm building on a cold day

20. Listening to incredibly loud favorite music.

21. Being alive is just really good for everyone.

22. Not being alive is really bad for everyone you ever knew.

23. Finding your soulmate one day and not hurry with it.

24. Red pandas? Myszojelen?

25. Going to fast food at three in the morning.

26. Really soft pillows or blankets

27. Eating pizza in your bed.

28. Proving people wrong with your success.

29. Trying cool drugs that will make you feel good, RESPONSIBLE. And when you’re adult.

30. Seeing someone trip over on straight pavement.

31. Being able to help other people.

32. Bonfires.

33. Sitting on rooftops and watch sunset from beginning to the end.

34. Seeing every single country in the world.

35. Going on roadtrips.

36. You might win the lottery someday.

37. Listening to music on a record player and feeling like you’re in 80’s movies.

38. Going to the top of the highest tower.

39. Taking really cool pictures and having awesome memories

40. Literally meeting thousands of new people.

41. Hearing crazy stories.

42. Telling crazy stories.

43. Eating ice cream on a hot day.

44. More books could come out, you never know that you would love, or even write one.

45. Travelling to another planet someday.

46. Porn, sex

47. Randomly running into your hero on the street.

48. Having your own room at a fancy hotel one day

49. Trampolines, Sky diving, something exciting

50. Think about your favourite movie, you'll never watch it again.

51. Think about the feeling of laughing out loud in a public place because your best friend has just sent you an inside joke and making people smile when they hear your laugh.

52. Your survival will make the world better, even if it's for just one person or 20 or 100 or more.

53. People do care.

54. Buildings

55. Hanging out with your soul mate in a treehouse. First try building one.

55. Snorting when you laugh and not caring who sees because you can be yourself and some people can’t do that.

56. I don't even know you and I appreciate you.

57. I don't even know you and I care about you.

58. Because nobody is going to be like you ever, so embrace your uniqueness!

59. You won't be here to experience the first cat world emperor.

60. WHAT ABOUT FOOD?! YOU'LL MISS CHOCOLATE OR PIZZA AND ALL THE OTHER NOM THINGS!

61. All the drinks you can try

62. Hugs.

63. Stargazing.

64. You have a purpose, and it's up to you to find out what it is.

65. You've changed somebody's life.

66. Now you could change the world.

67. You will meet the person that's perfect for you.

68. No matter how much or how little, you have your life ahead of you.

69. You have the chance to save somebody's life.

70. If you end your life, you're stopping yourself from achieving great things.

71. Making snow angels. And feeling cold going through your buttocks

72. Making snow/sand sculptures. Skiing snowboarding, hiking, swimming,

73. New generations

74. Life is what you make of it. Not others, don’t waste your time.

75. Everybody has a talent. Even if the talent is popular it’s still something that you can make better.

76. Laughing until you cry.

77. Having the ability to be sad means you have the ability to be happy.

78. The world would not be the same if you didn't exist. We all need each other, if we could just see those other dimensions that are bad without you.

79. Its possible to turn frowns, upside down

80. Be yourself, don't take anyone's shit, and never let them take you alive.

81. Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary. Be your own hero. Chase your dream, it’s not always easy but worth it.

82. Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections and accept them.

83. One day your smile will be real and the one who sees it will appreciate it.

84. Having a really hot, relaxing bath/ shower after a stressful day.

85. Lying on grass and laughing at the clouds.

86. Getting completely smashed with your best friends.

87. Eating crazy food.

88. Staying up all night watching your favourite films with a loved one.

89. Sleeping in all day, because you can

90. Creating something you're proud of and being able to share that with the World

91. You can look back on yourself 70 years later and being proud you didn't commit s*

92. Being able to meet your Internet friends!

93. Tea / Coffee / Hot Chocolate that makes you feel warm and calm

94. The new season of Your favourite show

95. Cuddling under the stars.

96. Being stupid in public because you just can, and you shouldnt care

97. If you are reading this then you are alive! Is there any more reason to smile!?

98. Being able to meet and hug that one person you haven't seen in years

99. People care enough about you and your future to come up with 100 reasons for you not to do this.

100. But, the final and most important one is, just, being able to experience life. Because even if your life doesn't seem so great right now, literally anything could happen in a future. Please consider this.

[writingguide003-blog]

'I completely lost it': the movie scenes that made our writers weep

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/i-completely-lost-it-the-movie-scenes-that-made-our-writers-weep-2/

'I completely lost it': the movie scenes that made our writers weep

From Toy Story 2 to Under the Skin, writers pick the cinematic moments that made them cry and explain why. Spoilers ahead

Aunt Lucys trip, Paddington 2

On the face of it, Paddington is a fairly broad kids film franchise about the hijinks of a CGI bear, and so probably shouldnt make a grown human cry hot, salty tears. But that description ignores the fact that Paddington is a really, really well-made kids film franchise about the hijinks of a CGI bear, one that completely gets the pathos of its central character, a little lost immigrant searching for something resembling a family. Both films ably tug at the heartstrings, but the second film got me sniffling as early as 15 minutes in when Paddington imagines giving his only living relative, Aunt Lucy, a tour around London, something that in reality is impossible as shes stuck thousands of miles away in darkest Peru. When at the end of the film spoiler alert Aunt Lucy arrives on the Brown familys doorstep and she and Paddington hug, I completely, unapologetically lost it. Lord knows what surprises Paddington 3 has planned for my tear ducts. GM

When She Loved Me, Toy Story 2

Just before writing this, I put When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2 on YouTube once again, just to check. Yep. Just as always, I choke up, in the same abject, lip-wobbling, head-bowed way. It still has that terrible power.

When She Loved Me is the song written by Randy Newman and sung by the devastated toy cowgirl Jessie and in fact performed, beautifully, on the soundtrack by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan. The song is Jessies way of telling Woody why she has grimly decided to submit to the airless world of the toy museum, because it is better than the inevitable heartbreak and delusion of loving a fickle human child. She reveals her anguish that her owner, Emily, has fallen out of love with her outgrown her, in fact. As Emily entered the world of adolescence, pop music and boys, Jessie was left under the bed and finally dumped.

When I first saw this scene and misled by the size disparity between toy and owner I thought it was a parable for a childs anxiety over being abandoned by the parent. But now that I am a parent I can see the truth which is completely the opposite way around. It is about the parents fear of being abandoned by the child: the terrible fear, actually the terrible certainty, that the kid one day wont want to play with you. They will grow up and want something else. This song is utterly devastating. It is modern cinemas equivalent of the Vesti La Giubba aria from Pagliacci the tragic clown smiling on the outside but crying on the inside. Im afraid to watch it too often. I dont want to break down over and over again. But I also want to preserve its power over me. PB

Ruths death, Fried Green Tomatoes

In many respects, Fried Green Tomatoes is not a movie for the modern age. It is a story about racism in the deep south told largely by way of eliciting our sympathies for wealthy white characters; it is a story about a lesbian relationship that had to slide its lesbian relationship in unnoticed, by presenting it as a very close friendship fulfilled by food fights, poker games and heads leaning meaningfully on shoulders. But I am deeply fond of this 1991 Sunday afternoon classic. Ive seen it more times than is healthy, and so I know exactly what is coming and when, and yet am still unable to resist the inevitable guttural sobbing that comes with the death scene.

There are plenty of teasers for it, too: Buddy on the train tracks, even Mrs Threadgoode talking about the death of her adult son. Nothing, however, can prepare the viewer for Ruth asking Idgie to tell her the old story about the frozen lake thats now somewhere over in Georgia. It doesnt so much pull on heartstrings as play a full symphony on them, and its devastating. As Sipsey puts it, a lady always knows when to leave. RN

The rooftop dance, Eat Pray Love

While I was repelled by the mere existence of the Eat Pray Love book, I found something strangely charming about its big-screen translation. It was a mixture of glossy food porn, glossy travel porn and glossy Julia Roberts emoting porn (she remains one of the best fake criers in Hollywood) all wrapped up in a rather unique tale of a woman trying to unshackle herself from the men in her life. But while that all provided mostly surface-level enjoyment, one scene cut deeper and the extent to which it cuts surprises me still.

As is often with the case with movie tears, these were tied to a real-world experience that had happened not long before I sat down to watch. I was dumped by a long-term boyfriend without much of an explanation and without any sort of warning. I was heartbroken and seeking some form of closure that was kept cruelly out of reach. I didnt understand why it had happened and it was the not knowing that felt harder than the break-up itself.

In the film, Roberts character has left her flighty husband and remains haunted by the heartbreak shes caused. On a rooftop in Delhi, a vision of him appears and they dance to Neil Youngs heart-grabbing Harvest Moon, the song that was supposed to accompany their first wedding dance. She reminds him that she did love him. He tells her he still loves and misses her. They cry and continue to dance. At the end, she tells him that it wont last forever, nothing does. Its a short scene but it hit me like a bus, it still does now. My tears are for the film but theyre also for something deeper: the sting of loving someone who stopped loving me and the ache of an ending I was never allowed in real life. BL

The thunderstorm, Click

Adam Sandler can make me cry harder than hes ever made me laugh, the true test of a clown. Yes, even in the underappreciated comedy Click about a dad who finds a magical remote control in the Beyond section of Bed Bath & Beyond.

Sandlers workaholic architect fast-forwards through the worst parts of his day the dull weeknight frozen dinners with his family, the repetitive arguments, the gross times everyone gets knocked out by the flu in order to get to his next promotion so he can buy his kids whatever they want. His plan doesnt go well, of course. But whats shocking is how gut-rippingly painful it is to see Sandler hit play on his life only to realize hes skipped past everything that matters. His bodys been present, the bills have been paid, but his emotional engagements been staticky a trade-off too many of us can understand.

In the climax, old man Sandler sobs in a thunderstorm as he arrives at his daughters wedding only to learn shed rather her stepdad walk her down the aisle, and his son has grown up to mimic his job-first, family-second example. I rarely cry at unavoidable tragedies where no ones at fault. My weakness is characters regretting choices they cant rewind. Click isnt Ingmar Bergman Sandler gets a happy ending but I barely saw his relief through the rainstorm on my face. AN

The courtroom, Kramer vs Kramer

By all accounts, Robert Bentons film Kramer vs Kramer skews heavily toward Dustin Hoffmans Ted, whose wife Joanna has left him and their six-year-old son Billy. Billy and Ted make french toast together, or argue about eating ice cream before dinner, or visit the nearby jungle gym. Were it not for Meryl Streep and the trenchant, intuitive way she humanizes a woman who, in the 70s, would have otherwise been made to seem mawkish and unstable Kramer vs Kramer might be just a schmaltzy panegyric on fatherhood.

But leave it to our greatest living actor to turn a film on its head with a single scene. You know the one: Joanna, during the custody hearing, is subjected to a string of sexist questions about her failure as a wife and a mother. When asked why shes seeking custody of Billy, she blinks three times, beginning the monologue Streep herself wrote in an effort to redeem her character, who she initially perceived to be an ogre, a princess, an ass.

Billys only seven years old. He needs me, she says, reciting the word need with a whispery uptick as she glances at her ex. Im not saying he doesnt need his father. But I really believe he needs me more. After catching her breath, she becomes more emphatic: I was his mommy for five and a half years. Since I was about Billys age when my parents got divorced, ergo, too young to understand or even care, Ive always been astonished and, by proxy, moved by how compassionately Streep plumbs the depths of Joannas truth. JN

The beach, Under the Skin

Little focuses the mind more effectively on human distress than the arrival of your own kids; scenes in films which I might once have snoozed through now induce boggle-eyed terror OH MY GOD, DONT LEAVE THAT BABY NEAR THAT COFFEE TABLE, IT HASNT GOT A CORNER PROTECTOR! But nothing has topped at least, not yet the scene in Under the Skin where Scarlett Johansson murders a swimmer and drags him off to eat him.

Its not the murder thats so epically upsetting, though its gruesome enough: Johansson, playing an alien visitor permanently on the lookout for human nutrients, simply bangs him over the head with a large stone as he lies prone and exhausted on the beach. Its what goes on in the background that is so awful. A woman goes into the water to try and rescue her drowning dog, and her male partner instinctively rushes in after her, leaving their toddler alone high on the shore. Johanssons chum the only other adult on this lonely Scottish beach goes to help too.

With the speed of falling dominoes, a nice little day out unravels: the mother and father are swept away to who knows where, and the alien takes her chance to acquire their would-be rescuer as a food source. Meanwhile, the suddenly abandoned kid is shrieking in terror as the night closes in. Another, less astute film-maker, might cap the scene with the alien scooping the kid up and adding him to her dinner menu, but what Glazer contrives is absolutely horrifying. Johansson-alien simply ignores it, and leaves it alone. The film moves on, this incident consigned to the past.

I have to confess I was absolutely blindsided by the scene; mostly, I think, because of the its sheer unexpectedness. I think I was gripped by a kind of internal hysteria: shock, hyperventilation, a feeling the back of my head might explode. (I cant say I actually cried though I may have, but in the confusion I cant really remember.) I certainly had to hold on to the seat to stop myself bolting out of the cinema then and there. I am aware theres a some degree of self-indulgence here: the fact that my daughter was about the same age as the kid in the film undoubtedly super-sensitised my reactions. But everyone has their weak spot; this is very much mine. AP

The birth, Cheaper by the Dozen 2

Cheaper by the Dozen 2, if you havent seen it you probably havent, why would you have? is the sequel to the remake of family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen, and Im sure it was made because Steve Martin, the star of the franchise, needed to pay his mortgage. The main gist of the movie is that Martin and his wife, played by Bonnie Hunt, have 12 children who get into various japes. Its asinine. But during a time in my life when I was making a lot of transatlantic flights, Cheaper By the Dozen 2 was always an option on the British Airways seatback televisions, and one day I found, because of the frequency of my flights, I had watched all of the other films.

What choice did I have? At the climactic scene, where the oldest daughter, played by Piper Perabo, gives birth, and then names the baby after her father because he has shown her that there is no way to be a perfect parent, but a million ways to be a really good one, I cried so much the man sitting next to me regarded me with what appeared to be real concern. There may have not been enough cocktail napkins on the whole plane to dry my tears. Was it the recycled air? Was it the two miniature bottles of white wine? Or was it that a joyful childbirth scene can warm the cockles of even the coldest of hearts? JHE

The accidental reunion, Manchester by the Sea

Weve got a real talent for repression back in Massachusetts. Kenneth Lonergans searing Manchester by the Sea plays out a 15-minute drive from my childhood home and, true to life, the characters all struggle to articulate the perfect storms of emotion raging within them.

When Lee (Casey Affleck) has a chance encounter with his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams), the shared history between them is literally unspeakable. They sputter out fragments of sentences that act as a shorthand for vast reservoirs of guilt and self-loathing they cant bear to express, and because they know one another so intimately, they can intuit all the meaning they have to. Theyve both shoved a lot deep down inside just so they can look at themselves in the mirror, and when in the presence of the only other person on the planet who understands what theyve been through, some of it has to come out. Randi does most of the talking, inviting Lee to lunch so they can get some closure, and he ends the conversation by walking away. Shes ready to face her past and be fully present in the new life shes built for herself. Lee, a North Shore boy born and bred, feels more comfortable starting a bar fight as his form of therapy. CB

The hotel, Unrelated

Joanna Hoggs first film, Unrelated, has had something of a second life on account of being the debut of Tom Hiddleston, and set during a Tuscan summer, which means swimming pool, which means toplessness, and lots of it. Its nice to imagine the Loki-lovers streaming this masterpiece of English upper-middle-class excruciation. As its ending shows, specificity is no barrier to emotional oomph.

The story sees a woman in her early 40s, Anna (Kathryn Worth), holidaying with old friends and their teenage children. She finds she prefers the company of the kids, especially the charming Oakley (Hiddleston, then 26, playing eight years younger). The holiday implodes. Anna goes to stay at a grim airport hotel. Her friend visits, crossly wanting to know whats behind her behaviour. Anna explains that, quite recently, she thought she was pregnant but no, in fact, it was an early menopause. Shell never be able to have children. She sobs and bends double on the bed. It is shot in one take, from the middle distance, acted with a banal frankness which feels like eavesdropping.

When I saw it a decade back, it floored me: a twist I hadnt foreseen, a pain I could only imagine. A few years ago, I began consciously avoiding the film, fearful a similar fate awaited me. Now I can safely watch it again or, I thought I could, but Hogg is much too superb and mysterious a film-maker for that. It isnt simply the information which is terrible, it is the dreadful catharsis of its expression, coming after so much obfuscation. The stifle has gone; instead there is the most awful sadness. Buttoning up is often the bravest way. CS

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