#who determines what's true?

[carolinemillerbooks]

New Post has been published on Books by Caroline Miller

New Post has been published on https://www.booksbycarolinemiller.com/musings/truth-or-consequences/

Truth Or Consequences

Shakespeare created problems when he wrote Hamlet’s line, “…thinking makes it so.” (Act II, Scene, 2)  Pastor Ben Huelskapm seems to take the words literally. His op-ed declares, Let’s be clear, transgender women are women and transgender men are men.  Hard stop. If thinking makes it so, then Huelskapm’s statement ends the transgender debate… at least for him. Conservative thinker and psychologist Jordan Peterson has done some thinking on his own and points out that to perpetuate the human species, nature requires a sexual dichotomy. Feeling like a woman won’t satisfy that necessity. Because I explored the transgender question earlier, I won’t address it here.  Peterson’s remarks about sanity and communal rules interest me more. Sanity is not something internal, but the consequence of a harmonized social integration… Communal ‘rules’ govern the social world—have a reality that transcends the preferences and fictions of mere childhood at play. Communities define norms and these, as Peterson says, take precedence over subjective assessment. He asks, by way of example, how a  psychologist is to treat an anorexic girl. Should the doctor encourage her fantasy that she is overweight? Or might some other “truth” be brought to bear? Surprisingly, his question opens the door to the  Heisenberg principle, a discovery that informs us a photon isn’t a photon until it is seen. If truth is relative to the observer then which is “truthier,” the observation of the individual or the community? Peterson’s vote goes to communal rules and much of the time, he is correct. Society shapes the bulk of our beliefs. It decides when an individual has the presence of mind to drive a car, work, go to war, marry, serve on a jury, or hold public office. In criminal courts, juries determine an individual’s guilt or innocence regardless of the plea. These rules aren’t etched in the firmament. They alter over time, the outcome of discoveries, wars, or natural disasters, and sometimes because an individual challenges the view of the many. Henrik Ibsen’s play, Enemy of the People offers a good example of the turmoil that follows when one person’s truth clashes with the norm. As a sidebar, because democracy seeks to harmonize opposing views, in times of change, experts see it as more flexible and therefore more resilient than other forms of government. Technology has brought constant change to modern societies, forcing the brain to navigate not only between personal views and communal norms but also those found in the virtual world.  Borne of nothing more than an electronic sequence of zeros and ones, cyberspace holds sway over both private and public perception. Ask teenagers if social media enhances or diminishes their feelings of self-worth. Ask Fox News followers if the 2020 election was stolen. Even the mundane banking world is susceptible to electronic truth. Ask a teller if cryptocurrency is real.  Switzerland, a hub of the financial world, harbors so much doubt, its citizens are circulating a petition.  They aim to make access to cash a constitutional right. Switzerland isn’t alone in its worry about technology’s influence. Innovators in the field like Steve Wozniak and Elon Musk are nervous as well. Joining over a thousand of their colleagues, they’ve signed a letter to the U. S. government requesting a 6-month ban on further Artificial Intelligence (AI) development. During the interim, they urge Congress to dramatically accelerate development of robust AI governance systems. They worry that without guidelines, job losses will destabilize the economy. Of even greater concern, they fear that if unchecked, AI development might lead to the enslavement or elimination of our species. Mad or prescient, Blake Lemoine, a former Google Engineer, claims we have already educated AI to the point where it is sentient.  If true, what realities have we installed?  Ethics seems to be in short supply. Students are using it to cheat on exams and write term papers. At the community level, writer Hannah Getahun has documented countless racial and gender biases within its framework.    Without industry guidelines, some worry that technology can facilitate societal unrest and lead people to abandon communal rules in favor of personal codes. Technology facilities that tendency because it allows individuals to cherrypick data that support their opinions while discarding the rest. Members of the public who insist the June 6 assault on the capitol was a tourist gathering are among these, and Tucker Carlson of Fox News is their leader. To find truth today, we need more than Diogenes’ lamp. The terrain is no longer linear but resembles Star Trek’s multidimensional chess games. We exist in many worlds at once–personal, communal, and one that is measurable. That isn’t new, but technology adds a fourth that colors all three.          Which plane is the most endangered by it,  I don’t know.  But I fear for our inner world, the seat of human creativity, and our spiritual nature.  Will technology help us confront our vanities or allow us to give into them? If the latter, we become caged birds, free to preen our fantasies like feathers until they fall away and expose the depth of our mutilation. Only one truth is self-evident. We must agree on one plane upon which to meet because we are nothing without each other.  

#Blake Lemoine #call for 6 month ban on AI development #communal rules #Diogenes #Enemy of the People #Hannah Getahun #Heisenberg principle #Henrik Ibsen #Jordan Peterson #levels of truth #Pastor Ben Heulskapm #racial and gender bias in AI #sentient AI #Swiss constitutional right to cash #technology's threat to humans #transgenders #who determines what's true?

[firelxdykatara]

idk i just feel like the more pressing matter with sokka is the fact he’s been played by a white dude than whether or not he still hates women or whatever. and it’s so weird too because the casting for everyone is pretty spot on at least broadly speaking and then you get to sokka and it’s just (karen smith voice) if you’re from the water tribe, why are you white?

Well, for starters, we don't actually know that he is white.

I'm reluctant to relitigate this at this juncture, since there's been a lot of speculation with very little evidence, and frankly, even if he is white, the cast is still a damn sight more diverse than any installment we've ever had. The original main cast of the show was white--with the exception of Zuko and Iroh--as was the main cast of the movie adaptation (again with the exception of Zuko and Iroh, funnily enough), AND the creators were white AND all of the writers were white (and almost all of them were men), which means that there were approximately zero poc with storytelling authority involved with the show. Even if Ian Ousley is white (which is still an if! and I'm not gonna be out here demanding his 23andme results), that's one flub against an entire cast of Asian&indigenous actors, showrunners, writers, and directors (of which there are also considerably more women than the original could boast).

I'm not willing to throw that baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, and I'm going to err on the side of if the rest of the cast is ok with his presence, then it shouldn't bother me too badly. They have excellent chemistry in interviews and on screen, and, from what I've seen, seem to be friends, and that's good enough for me.

Also, I just want to take this moment to point out that trying to rely on looks to determine who is or isn't a poc is problematic at best--and I think that, without bias, Ian doesn't look out of place next to Kia, Dallas, and Gordon. It's not like he's Jackson Rathbone, guys.

#atla #atla la #The Sokka Thing #sokka #ian ousley #even if it is true that he's white it's not necessarily true that he lied to get the role #him believing what he was told growing up about his ancestry does not make him a villain trying to steal roles from actors of color #and i shouldn't have to explain why relying on US validation of a tribe to determine who is and isn't native is. a problem. #but all of that just can't compare to the opportunities that have been given to the other actors&writers&directors who ARE poc #and are getting a chance to tell this story #me: i'm reluctant to relitigate this #also me: AND ONE MORE THING #anyway

[katebihshop]

there is a world of difference between "this person was fired for supporting palestine" and "this person was fired for being a raging antisemite" and you do in fact need to actually look at what that person said to determine which it is. it sets a dangerous precedent to consider any support of palestine inherently antisemitic but it is just as dangerous to excuse antisemitism under the guise of supporting palestine.

#text #this isn't even just about celebrities either like there was some post going around a while ago that was outraged about some doctor #which literally included a screenshot of his post where he praised hamas for october 7th? #and tbh if you are both a) cruel enough to celebrate a terrorist attack and b) stupid enough to post that under your real name and face #then yeah! fuck around and find out #you can't just read a headline and assume the comments that got them fired were blown out of proportion by the (((media))) #but you also can't assume that they must have been fired for literally agreeing with hitler either #you need to read what they actually said and determine for yourself whether it was warranted or not #also related to the online outrage around the celebrities signing that letter about wanting hamas to release the hostages #calling everyone who signed it a genocide supporter for. literally wanting hostages released. #and wanting israelis and palestinians to be free to live in peace. anyone who signed that letter is now an evil genocidal zionist apparentl #because people didn't read the letter themselves and just assumed that must be true! #i/p #antisemitism

[silverwhittlingknife]

Has Tim ever put Dick on a pedestal?

100% yes! This is basically Tim's backstory IMO. Prior to meeting Dick in Lonely Place of Dying, Tim's a kid who's got a distant, idealized, made-for-TV vision of Dick and Bruce - mostly Dick - and he sets out on a quest based entirely around that misperception.

Aaaand then he immediately crashes headfirst into reality, because the Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne he remembers from his childhood memories and daydreams are like this:

But it turns out that the actual real-life human people are a bit more, uh, cranky than Tim's glossy vision - things are tense and neither of them are super-happy to meet Tim:

And Tim has to rethink a bunch of his mistaken deductions as it slowly dawns on him that - far from being a plucky team - Dick and Bruce are actually not getting along at all:

And so Tim has to realize his whole plan of "Dick has to be Robin again!!! That will fix everything!!! :)))))" was actually wrong, and based on a misunderstanding of Bruce and Dick's relationship. And having realized he was wrong, he immediately sets about trying to figure out what he’s failed to understand in the most intrusive way possible—by asking lots of nosy questions!

Actually-meeting-Dick is basically the end of Tim’s super-idealized vision of Dick. It's not a vision that can survive contact with an actual human being who's snapping at you. And kid!Tim is (I love him but) extremely pushy and annoying, and Dick's a prickly young adult who is not above getting annoyed, which means Dick snaps at him pretty regularly.

But Tim does continue to admire him.

So for their various interactions after Lonely Place of Dying, IMO "does Tim have Dick on a pedestal" is kind of a judgment call based on your assessment of Dick's relative strengths/virtues. What's unambiguous: Tim has a consistently higher opinion of Dick than Dick does of Dick, and they argue about it a lot.

I had way too many thoughts about this, so below the cut:

Comics where Dick and Tim have conversations along the lines of Dick: "I suck and I'm failing at everything." Tim: "That's not true!! Actually you're great and you're succeeding at the thing you think you're failing at!!"

So who's right - Dick or Tim?

Dick and Tim's high opinions/expectations of each other: the plusses and minuses

Comic examples

Here are a couple different variations on Tim thinking that Dick is great (often when Dick's less sure):

in Showcase, Tim thinks that Dick’s a way better teammate than Azrael, even as Dick’s thinking himself as a failure who let the Titans down; 

in Prodigal, Dick tells Tim a story about confronting Two-Face which to Dick symbolizes a moment of great failure and which Tim insists was a no-win situation where Dick did the best he could;

also in Prodigal, Dick’s despairing over how badly he thinks their encounter with Killer Croc went and meanwhile Tim thinks it went fine (after all, Dick listened to him and called an ambulance instead of beating up Croc!), and Tim tells Dick to lighten up and Dick talks about how he’s a failure; 

in Nightwing 6, Dick thinks he’s doing badly in Blüdhaven and he’s self-conscious about it and paranoid about what Tim might tell Bruce, and Tim insists that the fact that Dick’s being targeted means he’s succeeding and getting close instead of failing, and Dick retorts that this won’t be comforting if he winds up dead because getting close just isn’t good enough; 

also in Nightwing 6, Tim thinks Dick was a better Robin than Tim is, and Dick thinks he wasn’t that great and that Tim’s better;

post-Last Laugh, Tim’s insistent that Dick's being too hard on himself about attacking the Joker whereas Dick's really haunted by the experience and confides that it feels like he's discovered a terrible dark side of himself;

way later in Nightwing 110, Tim’s seeking Dick out and Dick’s trying to avoid him because he thinks he’s a bad person who’d be bad for Tim;

in BW: Murderer, Tim doesn’t trust Bruce absolutely, but in Red Robin, he does trust Dick absolutely (or at least, more than Tim trusts himself);

etc. etc. etc.

Who's right: Dick or Tim?

So, is Tim being too easy on Dick and looking at him with rose-colored glasses, and Dick’s harsher view of himself is the correct one; or is Dick a perfectionist who’s being too hard on himself, and Tim’s the one who’s actually seeing Dick’s strengths more clearly?  

I don’t think the comics really commit one way or another! These are moments of multiple-perspectives, where we notice that Tim has one attitude and Dick has another attitude and that tells us things about the characters, not moments that are meant to resolve to a simplistic “one person is Right and one person is Wrong.”  I think often you could argue that they're both right? So, like, if you wanted to take the approach of, "Tim's idolizing him but he's not actually as great as Tim thinks," I don't think the comics precisely contradict that interpretation.

... THAT SAID, look, I am a Dick Grayson fan at heart, and I tend to lean toward “Dick’s being too hard on himself.” 

Tim’s not oblivious to Dick’s flaws—he immediately figures out, for example, that Dick’s gonna attack the Joker, and rushes off to stop him; he just isn’t as judgmental about this moment as Dick is, and he doesn’t think it makes Dick an awful person forever.  The point is (Tim says later, practical-minded) that it was made right, and Dick shouldn’t beat himself up about it.  In Prodigal, Tim’s not unaware that their fight with Croc went badly; he’s just focused on how Dick’s morals and teamwork-centric attitude feel right to him in a way that Azrael’s didn’t, and look, Tim didn’t get shot even though he got shot at, and isn’t that the important thing?  Tim gets caught in the same ambush that Dick does in Nightwing 6; he just takes the glass-half-full attitude toward it while Dick takes the glass-half-empty attitude.  And so on.

Tim admires Dick, looks up to him, trusts him, interprets his flaws generously, and doesn’t think he’s a failure. And... this isn't quite in the comics, but it doesn't contradict them: I like to imagine Dick feeling like he's on a pedestal, and feeling kinda uncomfortable with Tim's admiration when he's forced to realize it exists, and feeling like he doesn't deserve it, and sometimes subconsciously braced for the other shoe to drop, convinced that Tim can't possibly really think this forever, that he's deluded somehow, and that eventually Tim will realize who Dick really is and get disillusioned and leave.

And I tend to think of Dick having this problem a bit with everyone in his life who thinks highly of him, but especially with Tim, because he doesn't feel like Tim's ever needed him or that he's done anything worth Tim's admiration. I feel like Dick - despite some insecurities - does know his own worth as a team leader, and he knows he was a good partner to Bruce, and he understands when he's helping people who are clearly floundering, like Damian and Rose. But all he's ever done for Tim is...hang out, and be nice. And he doesn't think Tim ever needed fixing or saving, and he vastly underestimates both the value of his own friendship in general and how much it's meant to Tim in particular. Not all the time, because later in their relationship when they've known each other for years I do think Dick does feel a bit more secure in that friendship and entitled to make demands based on it (and vice versa, for Tim). But I do imagine Dick periodically feeling like Tim lets him off the hook too easily, and thinks more highly of him than he should, and alternating between being grateful for it and uncomfortable with it.

But I would argue that Dick does deserve Tim’s admiration! 

Look, Dick's not a perfect person - no one is. He does screw up sometimes, and sometimes he's petty or jealous, and sometimes his temper gets the better of him. But he is pretty great! He's brave and thoughtful and kind and generous and caring. He takes his own grief and his own suffering and devotes himself to helping other people. And Tim sees that. Tim watches an orphaned kid crying on stage, and has nightmares about it - and later recognizes the hero in him. Tim stops Dick from beating the Joker to death, and he holds Dick back from strangling Hugo Strange, and he talks Dick down from two separate panic attacks, and he listens to Dick monologue about his various perceived failures, and he gets yelled at a lot when Dick's annoyed with him, and his takeaway from all of that is that he believes in Dick, and trusts Dick, and thinks he's a hero.

You could see that as Tim having him on a pedestal and refusing to acknowledge the ugly reality. But I tend to see it as Tim understanding that Dick's flaws and occasional missteps don't define who he is - the fact that Dick's human doesn't make him any less of a hero. Tim can see the hero that Dick can't always see in himself.

Dick and Tim have really high opinions of each other... for better or worse

Tim's not alone in having a high opinion of Dick - Dick thinks Tim's pretty great, too! Dick repeatedly compares himself to Tim and finds himself wanting, whether he's thinking that Tim's a better partner for Bruce, or having a fear toxin nightmare where Tim's a rival who's beating him out of a job, or deciding that Tim would never have let Blockbuster die (and that he'll be better off if Dick avoids him), or musing that Tim would be a better Batman. Dick calls Tim his equal and closest ally in Red Robin; Tim thinks Dick is "the best" in his origin story and basically never changes his mind.

I think nowadays we're sometimes pretty highly-attuned to the way that high expectations can be bad or oppressive, and... I have mixed feelings about this? On the one hand, it isn't untrue! Dick and Tim's mutual high opinions of each other, and correspondingly high expectations, are not an unmixed blessing! They 100% cause problems! Dick and Tim think highly of each other, and expect a lot from each other, and sometimes they're pushy or abrupt or demanding when they could stand to be more sensitive. And the iffy side of high expectations is something I find interesting, and I do think it's solidly canon-based - you see aspects of this in several of their comic conflicts - LPoD, Graduation Day, BftC, RR, etc.

But at the same time, it's complicated! I don't think you can fully untangle the higher expectations from "they rely on each other and have a lot of faith in each other." Love and trust are different things, and Dick and Tim care a whole lot about being trusted, not just about being loved.

I also think it's important that their belief in each other is often a gift rather than an inevitability: Dick and Tim choose to see each other in positive ways. Something they both do is after they have a conflict, they'll apply on a retrospective very positive gloss to whatever just happened. So e.g. Dick starts Resurrection mad at Tim, and ends it by declaring, "I let you make the choice... because I knew you'd make the right one." Tim spends most of Red Robin 1-12 mad at Dick, and ends it by declaring that he knew Dick would catch him because Dick's always there for him. And in both cases, we-the-readers are aware that they knew no such thing! But to me, that doesn't make these declarations meaningless - it makes them more meaningful. Their faith in each other is sometimes genuinely felt, and sometimes it's something they stubbornly brute-force into existence because they want to give that gift to each other.

And I mean... Tim did make the right choice. Dick was there when it really counted. Just because it isn't the whole truth doesn't mean it's not a truth.

Now, does this positivity also put some pressure on them? Absolutely! They're both people who are very upset by failure, so they tend to reassure each other by insisting that there was no failure, could never be failure, failure is impossible, even when they know perfectly well that's not true. They praise each other's skills as a love language, when what they mean is I love you no matter what. They talk about other people's needs but don't always acknowledge each other's. And it'd probably be healthier if they said instead, "Even if you'd made the wrong choice, it'd be okay, because it's okay to make the wrong choice sometimes," or "Even if you're not always there for me, that's okay, because no one can be there for someone else all the time."

And they do not say that, because Dick and Tim are relatively well-adjusted by Batfamily standards but that is a very low bar, and at the end of the day they're still deeply messed-up perfectionists who deal with their emotional problems by punching crime in the face.

But look, they're trying. And isn't that the important thing? <3

#dick 'imposter syndrome' grayson and tim 'dick grayson stan' drake #dick grayson #tim drake #dick & tim #ask tag #i rambled for a really long time anon <3 #it's complicated because i feel like mmmm the ''pedestal'' thing is obv true in some ways #but i think it also sometimes gets used in this kinda flanderized way #where it gets extrapolated into claims like ''older!tim is shocked to learn dick experiences normal human emotions' or w/e #and obv fandom is transformative and a rich tapestry etc but for me personally #part of what i LOVE about tim's introduction is that dick is in the middle of one of his very angsty eras #so tim's burst into his life being all ''hiiiiii!!! you're the best :)))))'' when dick is at peak ''i am gloomy and depressed'' #that said tim's high opinion of dick is very canon and very compelling to me <3 #tim does think dick is the greatest thing ever! #but it's more like being a stan of his rather than being a distant stranger who doesn't know him at all #it's not that tim's unaware that dick gets angry/sad/etc or that dick and tim never have fights (they do!) #it's more that unless they're actively in the middle of a fight tim admires/loves dick a lot and is determined to think well of him #so he considers all of dick's strengths What's Important About Him and all of his flaws Basically A Rounding Error If You Think About It #and he doubles-down on this when someone's questioning it (including Dick) #there is definite motivated reasoning at play in Tim's view of Dick but imo it's not quite the same as a pedestal sdfdsfds #i'm not sure there's anything that Dick could do that Tim couldn't find a way to justify in his head how it was okay / #not really Dick / not really his fault / etc. - like if Dick went on a murder spree #Tim would be there making the big This Isn't You! I Know You Won't Kill Me Because I Believe In You! speech #and like. if he was wrong then he'd be dead sdfdsf but the thing is he'd have secret doubts and be wary AND STILL #find himself ultimately making that speech / taking the risk - and ditto for Dick toward Tim #it's not that they never get mad / distrust each other and it's not impossible they'd stay bitter and suspicious for a while #but in the END they both really really WANT to trust each other

[k1rishiki]

let one of the kids Finally pressure me into opening fgo so she could look at it while i was at work today and uhm. congrats to sei shonagon for being the most popular fate character among girls grades 2-4 at [redacted] elementary school's afterschool program

#THEY MADE ME SHOW THEM EACH INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER IN MY CHALDEA #kiyohime got second place bc she was the one who wanted to see fgo to begin with's favorite. but sei v kiyo was 3:1 #(parvati and caren were also runners up bc all of them agreed that they liked them) #the girl in question is 100% convinced that her uncle's gf is an avid fgo player and at first i thought she was lying but i'm almost #convinced that she's telling the truth. she swears up and down that she recognizes ko gil bc of her uncle's gf #saberstolfo was surprisingly unpopular. likely bc i have her on 2nd ascension and they didn't like that her midriff was showing #they freaked out sm whenever anyone but Especially the guys weren't wearing a full shirt. which is. uh oh. bc. fgo. #i looked up arjuna (bc i've yet to summon him) and asked them what their thoughts on him were. as the True determinating factor #of 'do i respect their taste or not' and they liked him enough but were ultimately p apathetic towards him #like their arjuna reaction was near identical to their sanson reaction which. love the guy but he can Not compare to arjuna #(i'd also like to note that by some miracle i was able to divert their attention in order to skip over ushi and boudica bc. god no.) #romeo.txt

[saaraofthesand]

Xianxia is like

#it’s like what if this realm that supposedly represents goodness and justice was actually the problem #what if it really represents nepotism and authoritarianism #what if it represents the 1% #what if it represents conformity #what if true justice means accepting that purity is bad #what if right and wrong aren’t determined by who you are but by what you do #xianxia #heaven official's blessing #tgcf #the starry love

[aeide-thea]

truly just SUCH a typical tumblr experience but like.

Familiar Tumblr Name makes a post that's like: 'you know how fast fashion perpetuates itself by selling us clothing that gets dingy and grody really fast, so we have to replace it yearly?'

me: uh, no, actually—historically i've found that the few fast fashion pieces i acquired long outstayed their welcome, and were perfectly wearable long after i was heartily sick of them! but go on, i guess

FTN: 'let me tell you about this traditional domestic wisdom (implied: that's been lost because of, uh, capitalism) that will fix this problem (that you, too, definitely have) for you!'

me, googling: okay so this residue that FTN said was somehow a Fast Fashion thing is apparently generally caused by like. fabric softener and/or hard water. using discount detergents that skimp on active ingredients. using too much detergent so it doesn't wash out. letting your bedding go too long between washes. letting your washer go too long between cleans. etc. anyway. lots of specific factors here, many of which may in fact not apply to you in particular!

but like. why get specific when instead we could assert You Know This Problem, Right? This Lost Traditional Wisdom Will Definitely Help You Personally!!

#just like. makes me mad as rhetoric bc like. *i* can evaluate yr Dramatic Tumblr Post critically and do independent research abt it #and determine how much of it applies to me #and like. the answer is: basically none but it's a good reminder to clean the washing machine‚ thx #but like. there are loads of ppl in the notes just like. nodding along very wide-eyed #to whom this ALSO may not be applicable but who have lapped up yr sloppy demagoguery #and it's just like. [FTN] admits *in this post* that they don't actually know all the ins and outs of this #and it's just like. then probably you shouldn't be climbing onto your soapbox to explain it to people just yet!! #and telling people to get Righteously Angry that this has been Kept From Them #anyway. extremely specific subtweet and honestly the consequences of blindly taking OP's advice would probably not be too bad #but it's just like. i get really frustrated with these bloggers who want to Dispense Advice #but aren't actually experts themselves‚ don't provide any citations for their assertions‚ and claim that things are Universally Applicable #which is just. never true!! people's situations vary!!! #and like. if everyone were equipped to critically evaluate this shit it'd be fine‚ probably #but they're not! people are like 'oh wow you sound confident‚ okay‚ information integrated into my worldview now!' #and it's just like. i realize the subject matter here is relatively low-stakes but it's like. the KIND of rhetoric here is. weird. #very like. There's Been a Conspiracy and You Should Believe Me Because I Sound Confident and Friendly and Like I'm On Your Side. #Reject the Innovations of Capitalism. Retvrn to the Old Ways. #and it's just like. hm what politicians does that remind me of! #anyway. sorry for this very vehement very specific subtweet i just. idk. genuinely think this strain of tumblr demagoguery is pernicious #and like. lots of it is perpetrated by liberals!! most of it ime! but it's the same damaging dynamic even so

[iwasbored777]

Idk why is everyone so rude calling Adrien and Marinette stupid. Those were the most accurate reactions to falling in love with someone you never saw that way and never thought would ever have romantic feelings for based on Adrien and Marinette's personalities plus their current mental state and how long it took them because they were too occupied with their first crushes and now everything just fell into it's place and they need to process it. Idk why is everyone so rude to my children. They make more sense than any cheesy rom-com I've watched.

#Also waiting for the reveal to watch Marinette scream because even though she loves both model and the cat she's gonna scream of course #Imagine finding out your innocent crush is out there going draw me like one of your french girls literally to you every day #And Adrien will scream bur also cry and then throw up cuz that's Marinette #The same girl who runs into a lamppost every day is that chick who breaks the lamppost in half with that yoyo #And what wouldn't he give to be tied up with that yoyo for tonight #And now his dream can come true #Miraculous ladybug #Ml fandom salt #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #marinette sugar #adrien sugar #ml determination

[everyryuujisuguro]

#ryuji suguro #ao no exorcist #blue exorcist #ryuuji suguro #suguro ryuji #suguro ryuuji #bon suguro #manga ryuuji #chapter 4 #tatsuma suguro #young ryuuji #he's probably seven to ten here #so they've joined true cross at this point? or more likely this is what leads to the join #but that determination and that drive to fix what ryuuji thinks is the problem #because in his mind satan is why they're not accepted #but he's too young to realize that even if he does manage that #these people will never accept him or his temple #and at this point the goma hall has fallen to disrepair so they're not getting visitors their either #this is the first time he's ever spoken that goal out loud #and he's telling it to his father who he was close to when he was little #but i'm pretty sure this is the moment that changed that

[gonkaccino]

this kid is braver than any marine. if michelle gomez touched my face like this I’d die right on the spot.

#doom patrol #michelle gomez #laura de mille #madame rouge #rita farr #what laura said: I am terrified of the pain people can cause me and fear I may never know true human connection #what rita heard: our friendship was never real because friends don't hurt friends #glad these two are stuck together and forced to cope with their problems #I could write an essay on how absolutely fucked rita is and how that has determined laura's character but I also don't want to #not because I want to keep my secrets #but because the truth is actually quite simple and I want to continue to feel smart #anyways just rewatched s4 and I'm glad this is happening while kay and keeg are demanding gay sex NOW #really hammers in how cliff and vic are the only two who don't need gay sex to fix them #would cliff enjoy it? absolutely but he doesn't need it

[swamp-cats-den]

.

#so I've just gone through the blog of that dostoyevsky person #and while I used to think they were yet another westerner who majored in russian/Eastern Eur (which in many unies also means russ studies) #hence the interest in russia with the sprinkle of russophilia #and the typical attitude of the russian liberals #'yes putin bad but Ukraine not good too and us russians are poor things' #now when I've seen just how selective they are in what they post about Ukraine #that is reblogs about an instance of questionable treatment of rus pows or racism in Ukraine #or Zelenskyy saying smth about missiles landing in Poland before it was determined how it happened and therefore 'escalating' #info which is mostly true but actually cherry-picked and not representative of a bigger picture #which also skews the perspective on the war a lot #that all makes me think that they are one of these people really dangerous for us #even to think of their post about the Kyiv Rus inheritance claims #smth that is so irrelevant in the Ukr spaces #but presented as the issue on par with imperialistic wars of conquest #it's very deliberate #shouldn't have engaged with that post at all #a waste of time

[welcometogrouchland]

Also, vaguely related to the last post: I do think sometimes ppl overstate the like. Importance of religion/Christian culture when writing about the Wittebane brothers-

(not that it's not a very strong element of the story that Philip is a critique of Christian institutions, but rather bc, based on what we know, both of them stopped holding explicit Christian values at some point during adulthood, if they ever really cared and weren't just witch-hunting for social clout/material gains like the reenactment in thanks to them shows. Philip only uses it as an ideological shield to buster his own notion of heroism, as in, he knows Christianity is Good but he can't be bothered to actually demonstrate it's values (like not murdering your brother) which fits with his primary metaphor as a colonist/modern conservative.(bc something something social norms and dominant groups and excuse to commit heinous crimes you know are heinous but are apathetic towards) and uh. I think it's safe to say Caleb wasn't super concerned about things like sex w/in marriage when he was already bumping a supposed 'servant of the dark' (Evelyn, my faceless darling beloved). Okay, tangent over)

-but I will be the first to admit that, as an ex-catholic, sometimes applying a twisted version of the imagery associated with Christianity to a story about murder and betrayal fucks severely. even if I don't think it would hold great significance to Philip as a person/character if he were to creepily hum "oil in my lamp" as he lights the ring of fire that he and Caleb have their death match in (he's sooooo culturally Christian who considers himself an enlightened atheist on Reddit core)...the idea and how it'd look to us as an audience? Based.

#ramblings of a lunatic #the owl house #toh #caleb wittebane #belos toh #praying to god ppl are normal on the post where i say ppl write the wittebane brothers as too Christian /j #i just think ppl toon Belos' speech in hollow mind at face value too much when the more coherent interpretation of his character- #-is a man with very little moral code and a lot of concern for only himself using morality as a shield for his actions #it's not the only difference between him and Luz but it's one of them. she's true to her convictions even when it gets her punished #namely her ideology of self-expression and determination #she actually has a moral compass even if it's never gonna be perfect but unlike philip at least she's trying #sorry I make everything about luz. it will happen again <3 #We never actually get proof that marriage exists as we know it is a thing on the boiling isles tbh. btw. i realised this while writing #I can't think of a single time any of the adult couples with kids refer to each other as partners or spouses #except Alador and Odalia but it's clearly very business-y on purpose w/ them #Dana does say Alador and odalia got divorced but who's to say what that looks like in universe #We know they don't have wedding rings on the isles #so while I doubt that marriage as a concept doesn't exist #it may be way more casual #-slash less normative than it is here for us. It's actually fully possible that Caleb got Evelyn pregnant outside of marriage #and like. Again #I doubt Philip cared #more focused on the witch thing #but it's still kinda funny to my. Slut! Caleb prevails once more. #okay okay I'm done everyone be normal here #i actually don't even know who's gonna see this bc I've blocked so many ppl in the wittebros side of fandom- #-for being Weird about the show treating these two secondary/side characters as. yknow. secondary #and instead focusing on it's actual main character in the finale instead of them. it makes me feel Weird #that was more immediately after WaD aired though so like. idk what the convo looks like now #anyway. I'm gonna try and sleep now

[yououghtaknow]

ben platt was so right when he said (to paraphrase) your heart can break so much that it breaks open and lets love in. that's 2023 to me baby.

#experienced Real grief and heartbreak for the first time in my life #lived alone for most of the year and really Grew Up because of it #lost the three people i was closest with and lost the person i became for them to love me (which is a good thing) #learned a lot about art and life and myself and what it means to Be Alive. #was this year objectively bad for me??? look at all my personal posts honey. #but i feel like i've Grown so much and i'm really proud of myself not Despite everything that happened but because of it #i'm not ashamed to have loved and made choices and to have been wrong about So Many Things!!! i am so young and always learning!!! #i feel like Myself for the first time in Years. and for the first time since i can remember i genuinely feel Fine. #a lot of things are bad and i have bad days (today was one of them) but!!! i am hopeful and i am Determined to survive and be happy. #i do not have to be great!!! i do not have to be good!!! i simply have to be and that is enough!!! #one thing i said this year that haunts me is when the person i was in love with told me i was being silly for having a panic attack #and i responded with 'why should i feel silly for experiencing true emotion?'. and that's just really guided me since i said it. #ANYWAYS. insane year for me. this time last year i was madly in love and denying So Much and this year i am Accepting and loving what i have #this has been the return of isaac's insane personal posts. which are happening So Much Less due to the healing but hey!! we ball!! #i love you friends who live in my phone <3 if you're still reading happy new year and may you find whatever you're searching for <3

[shopcat]

being charged with mischief is so funny he's a mischevious scamp! what was the mischief charge even for

😭 i was trying to figure out what carrying around a baseball bat shot through with industrial nails in public would land you with and that's the best i got ❤️ he is a silly little guy he needs to do more crimes

#asks #u can be charged for a mischief demeanour for just having a weapon in public it happens to those kids who carry around katanas all the time #i bumped it to criminal mischief bc it's so clearly not a normal baseball bat for smashing skulls even . It's got nails. for killing #he needs to kill someone with the bat. #also all the diff assault charges for all the different THINGS... hitting that guy with the phone is technically just battery i think #but it's not like he was being cute and coy it was with intent to hurt him ☝️ #jonathan is also just basic assault . billy was self defense so i never count it even if it could be assault as well #and the manslaughter is billy in the car and the guard again . he loves to kill #sts #also criminal charges are usually pedantic and evil and they try and land you with as much as possible #like having a bong means you've got a device intended for drug use + theyll charge you if there's seeds #seperate two charges for grass and stems vs proper bud #just from my expy at least... and maybe australian police are extra cunts who knows #and having a fun means the gun charge + bullets are counted as explosives and then the placement determines another charge #so if it's in ur car that can be intent . if it's shoved in a closet that's lesser. if it's ON you. etc etc #and then the reason u HAVE it so it can be having a weapon with intent to harm then like. protection or something #but it's illegal to have any gun at all here so just owning it is enough #the reason the person who i knew had it was bc he SAID he took it off a suicidal friend bc he was worried #that's not true though lol. he's just a cunt. but yeah #anyway. what was i saying

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

:/

#while i was NOT feeling this way i finally identified something of what ive been feeling at times #(and im determinedly trying to shut up that voice that says if you can analyse what you're feeling you must be faking it bc i don't think #that's true? is it? who knows honestly) #its like ive been feeling emotions too big for me idk #like they need an outlet #and by an outlet i mean physically they need somewhere to go #still i am unharmed #and i intend to remain so #but the urge is here tonight :/ #anyway i will ride this one out as i have all the others before #the most ive got is a bit scratched up. a few bruises. will not happen tonight i am determined. #sometimes it feels like these moods come upon me more and more often :/ #courage dear heart! i will prevail. #i HAVE to prevail :(((

[dangaer]

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 ?

the inability to see the good in yourself, therefore relying on others to provide it for you.

your heart is so full for the people you love. it's sweet, but you've now forgotten how to care for yourself. you only seem to see great things in the people around you. they're wonderful, and you... you don't like what you're seeing in yourself, right? you need to be reminded that you're enough. that you're talented. that you're worthy. that's partly the reason why you reach out so much. you need to hear it from the lips of someone "better" than you. but afterwards, it makes you feel even more guilty and upset. you feel like your actions are self absorbed. you're aiming for perfection because you see it in others. you're failing to see the flaws in everyone else. i promise, you're no monster. i could say this again and again, but will you believe me when i say you need to find it out for yourself?

tagged by: a mutual a very long time ago! (sorry for forgetting but thank you for tagging me all the same!) tagging: anyone who ate something sweet today!

#hc tag / #ive got really old memes sitting in my likes ... i should really write who tags me in what or theyll just stay lost like this ;_; #setting this one out before i potentially(!) tag people! i might go a few different routes (aka ppl on dash / ppl in my notifs / ppl in my #ims ... ) but in the meantime ... #this hit hard and home #one day i think itd be an interesting topic to talk about. how i hc the brothers view each other #but beel with the idea of his brothers being better than him ... thats something that rings true sometimes. mainly as being one of the #youngest. but also the fact he could only save one person. with how high he views lucifer or mammon or even asmo for example ... he imagine #theyd have had either the braveness or the determination to save both belphie and lilith #and it haunts him that it fell onto his shoulders and he couldn't live up to their expectations #that now he has to be stronger to prove their expectations. to be as great as them ... #when it couldnt be further from the truth :')