When It’s 3 Am

Unexpected Aspects of the Types

ENFP: They actually crave schedules and structure like nobodies business, if and only if it revolves around their passions. 

INFP: The “manic pixie dream girl” stigma is so wrong. 90% of them are more along the lines of “embittered memelords” with a splash of off-beat and sensible fashion. 

INTP: They’re actually excellent in social situations that they throw themselves into. Your odd aggressiveness and shouting is amusing and weirdly charismatic. 

ENTP: You’ll have to murder them a thousand times before they’ll admit that they actually DO crave harmony and peace more than chaos; Debate and verbal jousting (and memes) is just their way of getting there. 

ENFJ: The worst time management skills. Worse than all of the P’s put together, bar none. You got stars in your eyes and not a single “no” in your throats and it often leaves you ragged busybodies from over committing yourselves. 

INFJ: Despite their ‘mysterious and secretive nature’ stigma, if you engage them in a deep conversation about their passions, 9 times out of 10 they will splay their soul to you even though you met 5 minutes ago at a college party.

ISFJ: They’re known for being the kindly, grandmotherly type that just wants the best for their friends, but the flip side is they’re all basic bitches that secretly crave being a tool. They’re usually just too nice to go Full Douche™, praise the Lord. 

ESFJ: Despite being known as the social butterfly who can grace any situation, they’ll 100% ask you a thousand clarifying questions about something arbitrary and still act like you’re the weird one.

ESTJ: Weirdly enough, more often than not, they’re one of the most socially graceful and self-aware people in the room. That, or they’re utterly cringeworthy. Not really any in between. Just don’t get them started on politics (I’m begging you). 

ISTJ: Despite the ‘emotionless Traditionalist™ robot’ stigma, although they can’t offer consistent emotional output, all of the ones I’ve met are some of the most emotionally stable, mature, and available people I’ve ever met. 

ENTJ: Your responsible, efficient, and commanding CEO of a friend is actually the biggest procrastinator in the game, bar none. It’s hidden under a few hundred layers of self-confidence, but they need the stress of the last minute to feel anything in this world. 

INTJ: Massive internal war between fearless, emotionless sociopathy, and caring so deeply for a select few people that they’d give up every ambition to follow them to the ends of the earth without a single plan. TL;DR, their black and icy hearts are secretly hearts of gold and they absolutely abhor that about themselves. 

ESFP: Your favorite quick-talking, loud-mouthed, social explosion with all the friends is probably pretty lonely on the inside. Almost every ESFP I’ve met has huge commitment issues (big and pretty accurate stereotype), but few people realize it usually comes from self-knowledge of their sporadic nature, and they keep people at an emotional distance as a result, so they don’t end up getting hurt. Advice: letting people in and trying to make it work is infinitely better than loneliness in a crowd. 

ISFP: The EXTJ’s WISH they could be as soul-crushingly terrifying as your favorite superwholockian, equestrian painter friend when somebody’s crossed their family or friends. 

ESTP: The “sex, drugs, drinking, and more sex” cliche with ESTP’s is so dumb because literally every ESTP I know doesn’t care about alcohol or sex more than any other person I’ve met, but they ARE infinitely more obsessed with ultimate frisbee and bridge jumping. 

ISTP: The calm, rational, logical side of Ti is thrown completely out of the driver’s side window when they’re behind the wheel, because these hoes have the worst road rage I’ve ever seen, without exception.

I want to apologise to

- Britney for making fun of her when she had her breakdown

- Monica Lewinski for judging her when she was a 22year old temp sexually assaulted by the most powerful man in the world

- Ke$ha for ever thinking she was trashy when all she wanted to do was make party music

- Kristen Stewart for ever thinking she was dumb when she’s actually one of the coolest people ever

- Megan Fox for ever thinking she was just a slut when actually she was an actress being harassed by her employer. 

- Hating all the women who made a career out of having a hot body. Being is shape is hard, beauty is a weapon and auto promotion is hard work. 

- All the Mary-Sues, who exist because young girls everywhere want to be part of a story they love so much

- All the female characters I ever snobbed because they got in the way of my ship.

- Hating the color pink during my teenage years, when it’s actually a lovely color and what I resented was society’s pressure to perform femininity. 

“Nevertheless, although the way the Bathhouse is staged recalls a megalopolis, Miyazaki did not choose to show it from a futuristic angle, in contrast to Tezuka Osamu. The references are more ninetheenth and early twentieth century: the forge, the apothecary’s cabinets, the tatami room, the tasuki sashes, the old-fashioned elevators, the curtains and wall hangings in the old woman’s apartments, as well as her hairstyle, and so on. It is the world of bourgeois order. The old woman’s face, her Victorian bun, and the way her rooms are decorated all suggest it - at the very top of this closed and vertical universe lives an Anglo-Saxon-looking witch. However, neither the Japanese people nor Japanese culture (starting with the public-bath tradition) are entirely remote from this world. In fact, they are completely taken with it and are confirmed stakeholders in it; one of the more obvious reminders of this is that the outside of the Bathhouse clearly brings Sino-Japanese architecture to mind. But it is not an ancient architecture recalling a specific style. It is a hybrid building, almost a pastiche; it is made not of wood but of conrete painted and decorated in the 1930s style known as Imperal Crown, like the Tokyo National Museum. Miyazaki thus evokes the Rokumeikan palace, built in 1883 by the Japanese government to welcome Westerners, and the salons of Gajoen and Meguro, popular spots for bourgeois weddings.”

“[…] Even though allusions to the West are the most pronounced, it is interesting to note that there are also references to Buddhism, a religion that in Japan is consistently described as a foreign creed. There are at least three allusions to Buddhism, each of which could plausibly be accidental but collectively leave no room for doubt of their working together. The first is in the name borne by the witch’s son, Bôh, a word often used in Japanese to mean just “boy” or “kid” but that primarily means “monk”. The second occurs in a quick scene that takes place on the banquet level, where we see a small sign that says “Pure Land” (Jôdô). And finally, the big mole on the witch’s face is placed where one might usually find the “third eye” in Buddhist iconography. Buddhism is thus clearly associated with the upper spheres of society, with power and money. Beyond socio-historical criticism, however, the allusion to Buddhism indicates that the vertical world is first and foremost one of eschatological promises.”

“The possibility of reaching the world of horizontality is granted to Chihiro thanks to her resistance to the laws of verticality - she never espouses the system of mimetic desire. Not only does she refuse the gold that Kaonashi offers her, but she refuses to give in to her new friends’ desire for wealth. Her attachment to people, beginning with her parents, is sincere and unwavering. She does not, however, have just one thing in mind (restoring her parents to human form, for example), which would amount to a form of fantasy. She handles situations in real time, based on circumstances, and solves problems as and when they occur. This is why she gives the antidote that could have saved her parents to Haku and Kaonashi, who need it immediately. She also avoids being reduced to the object of other people’s desire while still remaining sympathetic and compassionate, as we see from her relationship with Kaonashi.”

“In short, Chihiro is driven by the power of her heart, which also dictates her moral sense. She is quite willing to imitate the way poeple look or act (she has no problem dressing like a servant and does her best to wash the floor like a practiced hand), but she does not adopt their aspirations. She can therefore have genuine relationships with people. She forges strong and lasting bonds, as symbolized by the tasuki - the white sleeve ties that she wears in the film’s poster. Miyazaki thus contrasts the fake depth of the Bathhouse, which is of Western origin (but into which modern Japanese culture has been completely absorbed) and which keeps individuals in a state of severe and ridiculous anxiety vis-à-vis death, with the real expanse, the real depth, which is an awareness of the bonds that link people to one another under any set of circumstance and in real time, and that link mankind to nature.”

Imitation and Creativity in Japanese Arts; from Kishida Ryūsei to Miyazaki Hayao, Michael Lucken, 2016.

I’m not sorry.

some thoughts on ONE and his themes

i’ve been sitting on this for a little bit bc it’s a more personal thing and super tough to articulate besides, but here goes.

Most shounen mangaka center their stories around superpowered teenagers and children, which is just fine! I like wish fulfillment just as much as the next person. But I have to give a shoutout to ONE for doing what I haven’t yet seen another mangaka do, and capturing the particular mid-to-late-20′s sort of mini crisis a lot of people get after college, where they’ve been working justt long enough that they’re starting to stare down the barrel of “is this what i’m going to do forever and ever until i die oh god” and “I have a job and checked off all my ‘accomplishment’ boxes but now am floundering without the structure of childhood and academia”. As someone who went through a complete 180 career change in my early 20s, it means so much to me to see a young-20s character like Reigen, or Saitama, be disillusioned with their careers and switch tracks, or be depressed and unable to find fulfillment in their “same-old” routines, and have that be an important, central point of the story. I relate painfully to Reigen sitting at his desk and thinking about how he was bored and unfulfilled at his old job, and i feel like I can really appreciate the fact that he left it and made a change for himself. I relate to Saitama, if not to his godlike powers then to his feeling of “is there all there is to life? what is there to live for besides just my accomplishments?” It sounds dramatic, but it’s easy as a young adult, especially a financially struggling young adult, to ‘work to live’, and neglect everything else to the point where when you finally stop to take a look around you, you realize you’re not sure what you’re actually living for. What did you dream of doing as a child? What do you want, on your deathbed, your life story to be? your memories to be? 

What does fulfillment even mean? 

With Saitama, ONE answers this question first by pointing out that challenges and obstacles give life meaning. When we watch OPM, we’re not rooting necessarily for Saitama. We root for Mumen Rider, or Genos, or any of the myriad other heroes that we know don’t stand a chance. Saitama’s punch might give catharsis, but the pathos is all in the side characters. And Saitama knows this! the manga is all about Saitama struggling to find meaning in a world without those obstacles. And this leads to ONE’s second answer, through King: life is not just about maxing out your level- it’s also about exploring the game. it’s about collecting every outfit, or talking to every NPC, or befriending all the companions, or completing every side quest. ONE shows us that once you look up from your single minded drive to climb the ladder, there’s a ton more to see! friends to make! hot pot to cook! cool new stuff to investigate and explore with those friends! And this is so comforting to me, as a young adult, to have a piece of media show me that not only is struggling okay and good, but that it doesn’t and shouldn’t consume everything and that there’s more to explore.

With Mob Psycho- god, where to start with Mob Psycho. First of all, I was expecting a typical ‘everyone’s 12-14 years old and OP as fuck’ shounen. I was not expecting one of the central characters to be Reigen “I’m almost 30 and I’ve switched careers and am not succeeding in the traditional sense” Arataka, or that another central character would be Serizawa “I AM 30 and I  d e f i n i t e l y  switched careers and have doubly not been successful in the traditional sense” Katsuya. Both these characters struggle with the same question in different ways. Serizawa has a more straightforward narrative: he shows us that it’s never too late to turn your life around. At 30, socially anxious and with nothing on his resume besides “dropped out of middle school to become a terrorist”, Serizawa gets a haircut, gets his act together, goes back to get his degree, and by the end of the manga is not only well on his way to academic success but is really becoming his own person, with a supportive friend group, self confidence, and his own hobbies and interests. Reigen struggles to find meaning in his life beyond just being a boring salaryman - to “become someone” - and eventually through lifting his head up from the daily hustle and opening himself to others, realizes that he HAS become someone, though perhaps in a different way than he expected: he has become a very important person to all of the esper kids and to Serizawa, and through influencing them he becomes the backbone of the manga itself. Reigen shows us that personal growth can be nontraditional, and responsibility can be scary, but both lead to fulfillment. 

I never truly thought about these kinds of things when I was younger, because I wasn’t living them. and the beauty of it is that both OPM and MP100 can be read by an audience without them; they can be enjoyed just for their comedy and their crazy nuts action scenes. But ONE put in characters struggling with these young-but-not-SUPER-young-adult issues, and it makes me, at least, feel seen. It makes me feel like I’m not alone in worrying about these things, in fearing the mundanity of routine, in struggling to find meaning in life while I’ve got the strength to grasp it. And it makes me feel like becoming an adult doesn’t have to be such a bad thing, after all. 

okay so I got super inspired by this really beautiful ethereal remix of claire de lune and I’m on the hunt to find similar songs to put on a playlist.

So, does anyone have any song suggestions that embody the feeling of “I just dissociated so hard I astral projected into the tenth dimension to float amongst the stars on the outskirts of the galaxy, but I feel curiously warm and whole and I know I don’t have to feel afraid or alone”?

Like an embodiment of this picture

Credits to @lovingtaeonmain on Twitter

I’m really obsessed with the idea of worldbuilding that refuses to clarify its relationship to reality

When we read books we instinctively try to categorize books based on the kind of book they are, oh this is fantasy, post-apocalyptic, etc. and we try to find out things and clarify what kind of world it is and whether or not the things in it are make believe and how make believe they are.

So what if I...Messed with that process?

For instance. A book is set in Ohio. We mention the names of cities in Ohio and pieces of Ohio’s history and famous landmarks in Ohio and it’s incredibly well researched, even down to the names of museums in Cincinnati or something. We’re talking very firmly established in the facts of a place. It’s kind of an eerie book and in some ways the setting seems weird or cloudy or dreamy but it seems grounded in just the amount of facts that are in it about the setting.

There are little factoids dropped here and there. At first very boring ones. Something that happened at an Ohio water treatment plant in 1995. What it takes to serve on a jury in Ohio. Ohio laws about spraying pesticides on corn. Facts about corn itself. Probably one of those cutesy little facts about weird local laws.

They start to get...stranger. The little bits of worldbuilding. Did you know that Ohio has had more nuclear power plant accidents than any other state? In this small town in Ohio, you used to need a license to perform an exorcism! This charming small town’s mayor is a ghost. In Ohio, it is legal for doctors to draw more of your blood than they need to sell to third parties. There are no Dollar Tree’s in Ohio. (Have you ever seen a Dollar Tree in Ohio? Are you sure?)

At some point the reader catches onto something that is clearly not right. Maybe the book states at some point that Indiana is to the east of Ohio instead of the west. This is clearly a mistake, and they move on.

Some things about the everyday realities of the setting seem peculiar. There seem to be quite a bit of packs of wild dogs about, and mold seems to grow a lot quicker. Grass is described very strangely—a shade of green that isn’t very characteristic of grass. There seem to be a lot of cults, and there are a lot of empty lots in town enclosed with razor wire for no apparent reason. Sometimes a character’s hands grow suddenly cold, and they panic and hasten inside. Frostbite? Is it the climate? Why does the author write that way?

At some point, though, it becomes clear that the author is fictionalizing a bit. It may certainly be the case that nuclear accidents have occurred in Ohio more than any other state, but the tale of how deer from that area glow in low light is probably made up. And though that famous televangelist existed and it seems plausible enough that he owned tigers, like some kind of janky drug dealer would purchase, it seems implausible that he regularly fed people to them.

As the story continues, more and more facts seem a little off, though. The spatial relationship of Ohio to its surrounding states, and the shape that Ohio is (it’s described at one point as having a panhandle, and as bordering East Tennessee) seems to make less and less sense. The wild dogs are massive, and have smoldering eyes like hellhounds. One nuclear disaster apparently wiped out a full sixth of Ohio’s population. The deer, plagued with cancer from the radiation, have turned carnivores. The wild horses run under a red sky—the sky is always described as red. The original capital of Ohio is lost, its stones dashed down in the war that made its citizens turn to cannibalism. The invasive plants of Ohio can pry open windows, and once choked a woman in her sleep. The people of Ohio dream more frequently of birds of prey gouging out their eyes than people in any other state. There are plagues of rats in Ohio that sometimes devastate towns. In Ohio, unexplained disappearances are rarely investigated. There are eagles in Ohio—their wings blot out the sun. Ohio briefly seceded from the Union in 1922, and there are those that still believe in the Free People’s Empire of Ohio. Ohio shares a border with Arizona. Ohio has a coastline on the edge of a dark and perpetually cold sea.

It becomes abundantly clear that this is not Ohio. It is something else, named Ohio and superficially wearing Ohio as a skin, but it is not Ohio. And looking back, it is hard to tell when it stopped being Ohio. When it stopped being just quirky Americana and an eerie mood and started being...this. Small details were off early on, but these were not noticed, because they seemed so normal. The sky was always described as red, but that was because it was supposed to be sunset...right?

The governor of Ohio has been struck down. All bow before the God-Emperor of Ohio. The black wolves of Hell await those who will not bow with their teeth.

Whisper of the Heart (1995) dir. Yoshifumi Kondō