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nomorerww · 1 year

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Clinical psychologist Rachel Andrew says she is seeing more and more envy in her consulting room, from people who “can’t achieve the lifestyle they want but which they see others have”. Our use of platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, she says, amplifies this deeply disturbing psychological discord. “I think what social media has done is make everyone accessible for comparison,” she explains. “In the past, people might have just envied their neighbours, but now we can compare ourselves with everyone across the world.” Windy Dryden, one of the UK’s leading practitioners of cognitive behavioural therapy, calls this “comparisonitis”.

rants below cut

and this is the worst among young people who think that they've got something to prove.

If those images or narratives tap into what we aspire to, but what we don’t have, then it becomes very powerful.”

and this is why you see the teen to early 20s crowd look like they came out of the barbie factory while professionals in their late 30s to early 40s don't seem to bother with making themselves up as much. you're less likely to gaf or pay attention to trends/norms as you age and are no longer dating/partying like you used to. (being 40 and still going to obnoxious clubs is just sad)

To explore the role that envy plays in our use of social media, Kross and his team designed a study to consider the relationship between passive Facebook use – “just voyeuristically scrolling,” as he puts it – and envy and mood from moment to moment. Participants received texts five times a day for two weeks, asking about their passive Facebook use since the previous message, and how they were feeling in that moment. The results were striking, he says: “The more you’re on there scrolling away, the more that elicits feelings of envy, which in turn predicts drops in how good you feel”.

[...]We don’t measure up to the lives we tell others we are living, and we look at the self as though it were an other, and feel envious of it.” This creates an alienating sense of “self-envy” inside us, she says. “We feel inauthentic, curiously envious of our own avatars.”

this isn't a problem when you're male, & have zero shame and self awareness to begin with.

“Envy is wanting to destroy what someone else has. Not just wanting it for yourself, but wanting other people not to have it. It’s a deep-rooted issue, where you are very, very resentful of another person’s wellbeing – whether that be their looks, their position or the car they have. It is silent, destructive, underhand – it is pure malice, pure hatred,” she says.

oftentimes the people who 'have things' are shitty (and braggarts -- like, why do strangers and acquaintances need to know wtf you're doing?). and selfish. and un-self aware or just uncaring, where the accountability there?

When it comes to the kind of envy inspired by social media, he says, there are two factors that make a person more vulnerable: low self-esteem and deprivation intolerance, which describes the experience of being unable to bear not getting what you want. To overcome this, he says, think about what you would teach a child. The aim is to develop a philosophy, a way of being in the world, that allows you to recognise when someone else has something that you want but don’t have, and also to recognise that you can survive without it, and that not having it does not make you less worthy or less of a person.

this is an incel problem and it's not solvable in many of these men, as they aren't receptive to therapy (how did male dominance metastasize into it's current, monstrous form? b/c males aren't vicious, self-centered little pricks?):

We could also try to change the way we habitually use social media. Kross explains that most of the time, people use Facebook passively and not actively, idly and lazily reading instead of posting, messaging or commenting. “That is interesting when you realise it is the passive usage that is presumed to be more harmful than the active. The links between passive usage and feeling worse are very robust – we have huge data sets involving tens of thousands of people,” he says. While it is less clear how active usage affects wellbeing, there does seem to be a small positive link, he explains, between using Facebook to connect with others and feeling better.

if you're actually interacting with people, you're probably less focused on the whole jealousy thing and more on relating to the individuals in question.

[...]with news that is quite personal, do we need to make it so public? Honing your personal brand on social media may seem good for business, but it does have a price. It all creates an atmosphere where showing off – whether unapologetically or deceptively – is not just normalised but expected, and that is a space where envy can flourish.

the ppl who need to heed this advice never do...

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slightlyrebelliouswriter23 · 3 years

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Okayyy so your thoughts on the scene where jude was drugged with the fae fruit in CP, please?

Because I still don’t forgive cardan for not doing anything to help her? Like she was drugged, humiliated and like kinda sexually assaulted?! And he participated?! I dunno I still kinda hate him for that but I really want to know your thoughts, maybe I missed something...

okay a couple things: first, i have absolutely no interest in starting discourse on this subject. if you agree with me, great! you're welcome on this post. if you don't, keep it pushin this is not the ask for you. second, these are fictional characters. they don't have real feelings but people on the other end of blogs do. be gentle with one another please.

CW: DISCUSSIONS OF ABUSE AND ASSAULT.

I. In Defence of Cardan- motives, intent, tragic past, blah blah blah

i'm not really in the business of defending villains because 1) they don't need to be saved (that's the great thing about them) and 2) it's not my job to make everyone like them. but Cardan is a special case where i feel, if you approach what he did with only the outcome in mind instead of an attempt at understanding all of the pieces at play, you're going to hate him.

so let's clear the air.

i think it's an overstatement to say that he participated. participation is an active word, whereas what Cardan did, i see as more of a passive involvement. did he stop what was happening? no.

but he did stop Valerian from suffocating Jude. he did intervene when Nicasia told her to crawl to them (he told Jude to kiss his foot, but that was likely to save her from being further assaulted while under the influence). he did prick her finger so that she could sober up enough to protect herself while being alone in the woods with Locke.

in other words: he de-escalated the situation, but only when things started getting too dicey.

does he get brownie points for this? hell no. he still has A Lot of work to do to earn ours and Jude's trust at that point.

but in my opinion, he reacted to the situation in the only way he could while maintaining two important things (to him): the status quo and his control of the outcome. the former is selfish, but then again Cardan never claimed to be selfless. the latter is noteworthy because Cardan knew that what Nicasia, Valerian, or Locke could do to Jude would be so much worse than a bit of embarrassment at his hand. they were willing to go further. he wasn't.

what's more, if you've read HTKOELTHS, you'll know that Cardan feels helpless for a lot of his life. only wine and cruelty help control those uncomfortable feelings. why would he sacrifice that security for someone he doesn't really know, who has also made it a point to be a constant "thorn of iron" in his side?

II. Cardan Is Like.... Not A Good Dude?

i've said this before on here but i guess i should say it louder for people in the back: Cardan is not a Good Person! this isn't a story about a hero defeating the villain and claiming her morally pure love interest. this is a story about, to put it bluntly, a bunch of fucked up people doing really fucked up things either because they feel they have to or because they want to. and yes! it's fucked up. that's the point.

so Cardan didn't stop what was happening in the faerie fruit scene, but if he's not a Good Person, why would he have reason to?

apart from the fact that humans are always treated poorly in faerie, Jude is Madoc's treasured daughter. Jude is a human afforded all the luxuries of one of the fae Gentry, all because someone loved her enough to give her that, not because she had any right or entitlement to it. i see a lot of jealousy from Cardan in TCP, and this is one of the most obvious instances.

it's also heavily implied that Balekin, infamous mortal abuser, would beat Cardan as a result of Jude (a mortal) besting him. was this Jude's fault? absolutely, unequivocally NO. but it's easy to see how, if Cardan could not lash out at Balekin for beating him, the next best option would be to make Jude experience even a tiny fraction of what he felt she'd caused.

to Cardan, Jude doesn't know helplessness (even though we know that to be untrue). and i'll bet there was a part of him that, after months of not being able to get her out of his head, relished seeing her suffer a little at his hand.

III. Should We Forgive Him? (hint: it's about The Growth)

forgiveness is a very personal thing, and something not everyone can afford to give. but also, i don't believe forgiveness should be the main objective for moving past wrongdoings.

understanding is a much more achievable goal that gifts all parties, witness or involved, with a certain boon of distance. if we can understand why someone did a thing, we can better realise empathy for them without feeling the need to coddle their emotions—and without them feeling the need to further atone.

and if, at the end of all of this, you still cannot understand Cardan in this scene, then i will not be able to sway you.

either you're the kind of person that holds every action someone makes that you disagree with against them forever, or you're the kind of person that recognises personal reflection and development as a positive character trait that can outweigh past cruel actions, if the proper effort is put in.

for me, Cardan's efforts throughout the rest of the series proved enough to earn my trust. it's the Growth, your honours. it was very sexy.

–Em 🖤🗡

more on Mean Cardan

more theories & analysis

#not me simping for cardan on main 🙄#as per usual #simping for the simp: meta-simping. if you will #tw abuse mention #tw assault mention #tfota #jurdan #cardan greenbriar #jude duarte #the cruel prince #tcp #the folk of the air #holly black #tfota theories #tfota analysis #my analysis

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s5anyu · 3 years

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Inuyashiki: Explorations of human nature

Inuyashiki: Last hero explores the impact on two characters, Hiro Shishigami and Ichirō Inuyashiki, of a supernatural event that grants them superhuman bodies. Their lives are irreversibly altered and inevitably intertwined as they both navigate the worlds in their new bodies.

This essay will consider the question of whether people, both as individuals and as a collective, are inherently and absolutely good or bad, and how this theme presents itself throughout Inuyashiki: Last Hero.

We first get an insight into Inuyashiki’s inability to fulfil his desires due to his health, when he provokes a youth on the train into threatening him. The camera pans to his clenched fist. This suggests that he wishes to retaliate, however - most likely because of his poor health, he doesn’t. Therefore, he is unable to fulfil his desire at the time simply because it is physically impossible for him. However, this scene is a juxtaposition to what we see of Ichirō Inuyashiki before this scene – and immediately after, before the alien attack. He is shown to be a passive and lonely man, stuck in routine and unable to make those he cares about happy. The first 5 minutes of the show solidify the audience’s view of Inuyashiki as a man who simply wants the best for his family and wishes for his love for them to be reciprocated. If one takes views Inuyashiki: Last Hero as an exploration of human nature, it can be argued that this scene is intended to show that Inuyashiki, and therefore man, is not bound to the confines of his supposed nature – he is not absolutely good natured and caring.

When Inuyashiki first becomes aware of his new body, he recalls the incident and immediately decides that he must meet with Shishigami in order to get a better understanding of what has happened to him. As he takes a walk, he becomes aware of his newly enhanced sense of hearing, which draws him to the scene of a rough sleeper, eager to turn over a new leaf, being violently assaulted by a gang of youths. This is the first time in the show that we see an act that can be considered as an absolute evil. Inuyashiki is decisive about approaching this scene despite his lack of combat experience, which speaks to his kind-hearted nature, which we are initially exposed to at the beginning of the episode. With no combat ability or definitive understanding of what his body will be able to do to help him, he steps in.

When his body intervenes and ends the assault, he cries tears of joy at the idea that he saved someone’s life, proclaiming “I am a person. I am still a person capable of feeling. I feel alive. I am Inuyashiki Ichirō.” Inuyashiki’s definition of what makes him a person – and himself – is the ability to do good by others and to feel emotion. This also shows that in losing his human body, Inuyashiki was forced for the first time to introspect on himself in order to come to this conclusion. However, it could also be argued that he was aware of what made him human, and what made him feel alive, and simply did not feel like he was living. The first interpretation would reflect the notion that our understanding of the self is defined for us by society, rather than through an assessment of ourselves, and what we believe to be right and wrong. The second interpretation would be the beginning of the juxtaposition of Shishigami and Inuyashiki, which will be discussed in the next paragraph.

The second episode shows Shishigami as already having done this introspection to himself. Having had his cyborg body for the same amount of time as Inuyashiki, Shishigami has come to an entirely different conclusion – that he is no longer human. Striking up a conversation during a visit to his friend Ando who has been absent from school for a while, he declares “I basically am empty. I’m not really Hiro Shishigami anymore.” He shows Ando his various cyborg abilities, each gradually escalating in intensity, until he causes a mass car accident at a busy intersection, leading Ando to realise that Hiro is in fact, not using magic tricks.

However, before we paint Hiro as an antagonist and as an evil person we should return to his declaration that he is empty and no longer Hiro Shishigami. Hiro Shishigami is later revealed to be a young boy who found pleasure in the loss of other people’s lives, as shown when he recollects a suicide he witnessed. Before the incident, he did not take other people’s lives, nor did he participate in the physical harm of others. However, he found pleasure in the idea of doing such a thing, and in this, he demonstrates the will to harm others, long before he has the ability to do so. Through this revelation, we are shown that a person’s morals and ethics cannot be determined through their actions, and often what somebody thinks is right and evil is not the moral code by which they govern themselves. Throughout the life he lived in his human body, Shishigami was aware that his feelings and desires were abnormal to what is deemed right and acceptable in society around us, and so governed himself by society and humanity’s principles instead.

When he undergoes his metamorphosis, he believes that he is no longer human, and so governs himself by the principle of what gratifies him, and what he deems “acceptable” within his own ideals. Shishigami lives a life that is satisfying to him, taking care of his mother and offering a means of vengeance to his friend Ando. He has achieved gratification for himself, and so introspectively he is a good person. Now, let us return to Inuyashiki. If we interpret his declaration of feeling alive as meaning that him not truly living was defined by his inability to do good by others and make them happy, we see immediately that he and Shishigami are antitheses of each other. Both characters were bound by different things – Inuyashiki by his health and appearance, Shishigami by society’s expectations. Inasmuch that they were bound by different things, they were bound in different ways. Shishigami who wished to do as he pleased, regardless of and for the sake of harm caused to others; Inuyashiki who wanted to do good by others wherever he could. The metamorphosis allows both of them to fulfil their desires, but the opposing nature of their wishes brings them into direct conflict which becomes the centre of the show’s narrative.

The show continues like this, with Shishigami causing chaos on larger and larger scales. His final act of chaos is the crashing of multiple passenger planes into the city of Tokyo. Upon diverting this emergency, Inuyashiki is prevented from saving his daughter Mari from a burning building by Shishigami who finally confronts Inuyashiki. Shishigami comes to the realisation that he is the villain and as Inuyashiki pleads for him to stop killing people and makes to depart, Shishigami attacks and they begin to fight – but not before Shishigami asserts that he and Inuyashiki are one and the same; that they are selfish and do only what pleases them. This is not an unfamiliar idea to Inuyashiki, as seen after his attack on the Koudankai syndicate. He reprimands the syndicate after his cyborg body takes away their vision and damages their spinal cord, taking the role of an arbiter of justice – a hero. However, when described as such by Ando, he sadly reveals that he is afraid that he is just a killing machine. Inuyashiki recognises that even if he is helping people, he is hurting others in turn.

What sets Inuyashiki apart from the seemingly evil Shishigami?

Though it was his body that undertook the attack on the Koudankai syndicate, Inuyashiki takes responsibility for what happened and implicitly views it as a part of what he needed to do in order to save the life of an innocent victim. Shishigami and Inuyashiki both bring people to harm (though Inuyashiki doesn’t kill people in the way Shishigami does) in order to fulfil a goal that benefits them. However, because Inuyashiki’s goal also benefits others, we do not perceive him to be selfish in the same way that we perceive Shishigami. It is only when we make each man’s actions relative to something else that we are able to determine whether or not something is good or bad. Inuyashiki seriously injuring dozens of men in order to save Inoue is a morally questionable act, one that we can only determine to be good if we compare it to something else or observe the net benefit. Do bad people deserve bad things to happen to them? Perhaps the end goal of saving Inoue was a large enough benefit and therefore a justification for Inuyashiki’s actions. However, some of Shishigami’s actions were for the benefit of someone else too.

Under the influence of Shion Watanabe, Shishigami seeks out some form of atonement in the form of healing others in the same way as Inuyashiki. In order to quell Shion’s distress he says, “I’ll save the lives of people who are about to die. I’ll save as many lives as I’ve taken. That’ll work right?” He makes this proposition as a form retribution for what he has done, and yet the language he uses suggests that he feels no guilt – only that he wants to do the right thing in order to make Watanabe happy.

He stole money from ATMs to provide for his ill single mother with whom he lived in poor conditions. This was a selfish action, but it benefitted somebody else too. And yet this is seen as a bad thing by others, including Naoyuki who most likely knew how Shishigami and his mother lived. When his mother was driven to suicide by shame and pressure from the media, in vengeance he killed people who were harassing his father’s family, and people who spoke ill about his mother on internet forums. Both Inuyashiki and Shishigami brought harm to others as arguably equal retribution for the suffering of others, but only one of them is regarded as a hero for their actions.

When Shion and her grandmother die during the raid on the Watanabe household, Shishigami is consumed by guilt and resurrects them, apologising tearfully before flying away. Shishigami still has the potential to be empathetic and guilty, things that are associated with being human, despite Shishigami separating himself from humanity. Shishigami’s rejection of his humanity is perhaps only a way for him to justify his pursuit of his twisted desires. In the final episode when Inuyashiki and Shishigami are on the asteroid attempting to stop it from reaching earth, Shishigami says “even I have people I care about. I don’t want Shion or Chokko [Ando Naoyuki] to die.” He reveals that he intends to sacrifice his life to save their lives, listening regretfully as Shion weeps for him. He appears to be at peace as his body detonates. In the process of saving people who he loves,

Shishigami has sacrificed his life to save the entire world; he has done a good thing, thus proving that he is not absolutely evil. The surprise that Inuyashiki expresses towards Shishigami ending his life to save the world suggests that he doesn't believe this to be possible - he is of the view that in order to do evil things, one must be inherently and entirely evil, and in doing good things, one proves that they are inherently and entirely evil. What is Inuyashiki's supposed world view shaped by?

Perhaps in seeing the evils of the world first hand and feeling as though the people he encountered could never be redeemed, Inuyashiki despaired and viewed the evil of humankind as irredeemable, an idea that is all too common in our own society. We see the state of the world, our leaders, the people, and we too despair. But the story leaves us with hopes of redemption; in seeing Shishigami as sad, vulnerable and peaceful as he sacrifices his life to save the entire planet; in seeing the once helpless and sickly Inuyashiki become a hero who heals and protects, we are shown that man is not and will not be confined to his nature – regardless of what that nature is.

#anime #anime / manga #review #nnjw #inuyashiki #hiro shishigami #ando naoyuki #shion watanabe #philosophy #psychology #literature #anime review #manga review #inuyashiki: last hero #sad #thoughts #writing #hope

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starryburglar-archive · 5 years

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Ignis Info

Full name: Ignis Crane

Species: Human

Age: 19 ( verse dependant )

Sexuality: Heterosexual

FC(s): Tsugumi Hazawa ( Bandori ) || Makoto Nijima ( Persona 5 ) || Shailene Woodley

Bio: Ignis is the only child of the Crane family, a powerful and rich family from Germany. Their business? It used to be dedicated to selling to the public nothing but the most quality art products at an accessible price, while also participating in charities. That has changed, however, with the death of the previous head, Marcus Crane. It was a tragedy, all happening during a car accident – it was considered a miracle that his daughter, Ignis, survived with little to no injuries outside of a few broken bones.

The death of her father caused much pain to the little girl – she was six at the time, and the two of them were very close: he introduced her to the world of art, the basics of drawings and painting, that there are no limits to the imagination. Once he was out of the picture, however, not only did Elizabeth take over the company, changing the angle from art to calculators and office materials (and stopping the charities altogether) but also had complete control over her daughter’s agency and will for almost a decade. Strick classes, no light in her life, forced to become a perfect woman who knew multiple languages and how to behave like a proper upper-class lady. The few times Ignis defied her mother at first, the punishments could be either several slaps in the face of being locked in her bedroom for hours.

Ignis was scarred for life, being physically and mentally abused and without any way of contacting the outside world. But everyone has their limits – she reached her at the age of fourteen. She wanted a life, a normal life, to feel the sun, go to school like most teenagers, to simply… live. It took more than a couple of months, but her plan worked. With nothing but a small bag pack, her most important belongings, and cutting any way her mother could use to track her – so, no mobile phone, no credit cards, no electronic devices – and left the manor in the depths of the night, took the first train available to France, and left Germany during a cold winter’s night.

It’s not like she travelled to another country without a plan in mind. She knew exactly why to go to France and not anywhere else. That country is where the only living relative who actually cares about her lives: Marianne Crane, her grandmother and father’s mother. The woman, currently in her late 60’s, was surprised to see her only granddaughter, now fully a teen, at her door’s house so early in the morning. But it didn’t take too long for the woman to catch up to what happened – after all, she disliked Elizabeth Woodford from day one, never liked the idea of her son marrying her, and learning what she did to Ignis only increased her hate for the woman. They began a new life together, depending on one another, helping each other… Marianne did everything she could to help Ignis get enrolled into a decent High School. It started slowly, cutting ties with the past – such as cutting Ignis’ long hair to have it barely above her shoulders – and having new additions to the family, such as a Dalmatian whom Ignis named Shady.

Due to the lack of communication with other people – either because she didn’t see that many people or wasn’t allowed to talk period – Ignis has a hard time opening up to others. Not to mention she avoids talking too in-depth about her family outside of her grandmother and her father; to avoid the bad memories, of course, but also to prevent from being recognised as the daughter of a rich family. Despite the awkwardness at first, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s a sweet girl who will offer a hand to others if necessary. Another downside to not be used to social interactions is being quite slow in the romantic department, not catching up to flirting or the like as fast as most people.

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V001: Timid Artist

Default main verse. All the information necessary is at her bio page; this is also her default “College Verse”, in which she’s studying to get a degree in arts. Aside from getting paid by walking the dogs of the neighbourhood, Ignis accepts commissions online and gets paid via Patreon. She would like to teach young kids how to draw, or just be a Kindergarten teacher in some shape.

V002: Sanctuary Underneath the School

Amour Sucre verse. After moving with her grandmother, Ignis never thought she would end up assisting to a school like this. Very pink and bright, even the same sounds like out of a romantic comedy. But she does her best to live her daily life as normal as possible, being careful to not get recognized by who her mother is by accident. She usually spends time in the basement where she paints the walls… very illegal, but is where she goes to find peace and leave behind expectations and mean girls.

NOTE: Age is 16 - 17 in this verse within the context of the original Amour Sucre. If it goes into the realm of MCLUL, then her main age is 19 and she’s ( in most versions of this AU ) married to Castiel Heinsworth / @kindcstguardian

V003: Hiding in Plain Sight

Alternate main verse. Ignis underestimated the persistence and resources her mother has at her disposal being a millionaire and all. She and her grandmother had to react quickly, moving to a country which they were sure her mother wouldn’t suspect of them living there. Marianne, luckily, made the process easier than it could’ve been thanks to some old friends from said country, but is still a sad departure.

V004: A Stranger in the Chat

Mystic Messanger verse. It all started with a mysterious cell phone. Ignis had only picked it up to return it to its owner if given the chance. One thing led to another and curiosity killed the cat – it’s still strange how all of this was happening not too long after moving to Korea with her grandmother. And now, the artist was stuck in a mysterious apartment with nothing but her backpack, her cell phone, and a private app to RFA’s chat log.

V005: Royalty from Beelzenia [Private w/kindcstguardian]

Madness of Duke Venomania verse. The Crane aristocrats, like any other citizen from the Beelzenian Empire, share the same physical features. Brown and red hair or eyes. Ignis inherited the red eyes from her father, who inherited them from his mother way back when -- the bright brown hair, on the other hand, came from her mother.

The happy family didn’t last for long, as her father tragically passed away. The reason? Poison. Someone had poisoned the aristocrat kind man, leaving his wife and daughter alone in the world. This is when the lady began to show her true colours -- Ignis saw just how cruel and despicable she could be. Elizabeth spent the majority of the following 12 years shaping Ignis into the perfect, passive little wife, all while searching for a suitor for her.

Soon enough, much quicker than Ignis would’ve anticipated, she was engaged to Sateriaris Venomania.

V006: Speechless Lady

Royalty verse. Ever since her father’s death, Ignis has been living under an iron grim. Always occupied, always with etiquette lessons on how to be a proper Lady of society. She knew what her mother was trying to do. It was so obvious to her and the staff of the mansion. Ignis Crane was to be made into the perfect bride to be, so the search for a husband would be easier on her end and Elizabeth Crane could arrange a marriage for Ignis. All for the sake of money, titles and recognition.

She couldn’t say no, she couldn’t say anything ever. Ignis was nothing but a puppet for her mother, to be toyed and played with until she was perfect.

V007: Witness my Resolve

Persona 5 or Sweet Persona verse. Despite doing the impossible, Ignis didn’t feel like she had accomplished much. Sure, being with her grandmother and as far away from her old life as possible, down to the point of moving to Japan, was leagues better than the life of abuse she endured for so long. And yet, nothing about her had changed -- Ignis was still a pretty reserved girl who had trouble interacting with others and opening up ( not to mention the language barrier as a new obstacle ).

Things didn’t get better once she began attending Shujin Academy. All alone and timid, not many people tried to talk to her, and those who did struggle with their broken English or her broken Japanese. The gym coach, Mr Kamoshida, didn’t make things better for her. He kept pushing her forward under the excuse of “It will help you open up!” but it only made her more anxious, not to mention the guy itself freaked out, even if Ignis never knew why for half a year.

Imagine her surprise, the following months, when the pieces began to fall into place. It all happened one day after class, all Ignis wanted to do was return to Sakamoto Ryuji his school book that he had forgotten at the end of the class, but instead of simply returning it to him and leaving, she ended up on a reality much like her own but very different at the same time.

That’s when she saw them. The two boys and one girl, one being Sakamoto, all dressed up in leather, black or red, and wearing masks, with them was a strange-looking cat ( and it talked! ), and in front of them was Kamoshida... a Kamoshida that resembled her worst nightmares, one that made her feel scared for the first time since she ran away. The strange creatures immediately captured her, bringing her up to Kamoshida, who only laughed at her suffering. And all Ignis could think of was... Why? Why was this happening? Why couldn’t she do anything to escape? But, is running away the best option?

Then, she heard a voice. ‘My, my, you have finally awoken, my child,’ and her head spin and hurt like hell. ‘Running away can only get you so far. Is this how you really want to live your life? Afraid like a mouse, constantly running? Deep down, you know you don’t want this,’ her body juggled in all directions while still feeling the firm grip of the monsters, she was trying to escape. ‘I am Thou, Thou art I. Let me grant you the means to push forward and not turn back in fear.’

Ignis felt a rush of adrenaline in her veins, enough to set herself free while feeling something take form in her face. A mask, a Venetian mask, and she knew what to do next. When she ripped it off her face, it felt like being born again. Her clothes changed to go with the others, her right hand now held a long silver trident and behind her stood her Persona, Jean D’Arc.

CODENAME: DA VINCI || PERSONA: JEAN D’ARC || ARCANA: LOVERS

Note: Since this verse will be used for the Sweet Persona AU as well ( a MCL AU heavily inspired by P5 ), her awakening takes place inside a different palace. Also, her age in this verse isn’t 19 but 16.

V008: Beginning Anew

Fire Emblem Three Houses verse. To be written in more detail later but here are some important tidbits:

Ignis is the only child of the Cranes, which is a respected noble family from the Empire.

Her father died when she was young and, not too long after, her mother took control over her life, forcing her to be the perfect child.

It was unknown for 10 years but Ignis bears a Minor Crest, even though nobody can tell which crest it is. (That crest is one of the ones lost to history, the Crest of Noa)

This way of living was too much for her. At the age of fourteen, she fleed the place that used to be her home, nowadays known as the House Woodford, and left the Empire.

She went to live with her grandmother, who is currently living in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.

The girl has an affinity for magic; with the help of her grandmother, she enrolled in the Royal School of Sorcery in Fhirdiad. Her top marks and dedication guaranteed her a letter of recommendation to, later on, enroll in the Officers Academy as a student of the Blue Lions.

She’s 16 pre-timeskip and 20 post-timeskip.

She specializes in magic and sucks with most weapons except the bow. Her class is probably the Warlock.

V009: Obey me

Obey me verse. How did this happen? How did this come to be? One second, Ignis was on her way home from class, already thinking about what to cook for dinner and to also do some quick grocery shopping for the dogs, and then the next... She, well, si not even in the same familiar streets or in the same familiar town anymore. It took more than a couple of hours for her to catch up on what’s going on and even then this all feels like a strange dream. The Royal Academy o Diavolo?? She’s a transfer student from the human side?? There are demons in this realm?? At least half of them are named after the demons linked to the seven deadly sins? Oh boy, this is going to be wild.

V010: Overwatch

Overwatch verse. Tired of being forced to be basically a living doll --- never talking back, never acting out of line, always looing, acting and being perfect, always being AFRAID --- for her entire life after her father’s death, Ignis Crane decided to take matters into her own hands. It took at least a year to plan out and do it on her own so she wouldn’t be discovered, plus the many trial and errors she run across when building her own machinery, but once she was ready, the heist began.

Ignis cut her long, beautiful brown hair, leaving it as short as a boy’s haircut; her perfectly tidy and clean dresses were replaced by a worn-out hoodie, shirt, jeans and running shoes, all covered in dirty, paint or both; the hood of said hoodie covered her head, while a grey scarf covered her face just below the nose and a pair of goggles rested on the upper side of her face.

At first glance, Ignis looked like a street-rat graffiti artist ready to vandalize any wall no matter what. Well, good, the disguise worked. Sure, she carried around lots of spray paint cans but not all of them worked as intended, not to mention the flamethrower she had on her back alongside her backpack with money, some food and replacement parts. The spray paint cans had paint in them, yes, but at least half of them were modified to work as bombs -- her way to stop the police or omnic ( or anyone, really ) chasing after her by leaving them in a sticky situation against the ground or wall. She also carried lots and lots of bedbugs to leave on the ground. The flamethrower, which she found by chance some years ago, was cleaned and refilled with fuel ( which her bag had more spares in case it runs out ). Ignis does have one more ace under her sleeve, a bomb, but didn’t have time to make a lot of those and still inexperienced in that area, so those little guys are reserved for special circumstances.

Her main goal, at first, was to not only become a runaway but to also expose her step-mother for the vile that she is. Her first heist was to her mother’s money vault, after all, and Ignis took as much money as she could before leaving, but not without leaving a message with her spray paint: Elizabeth Woodford is a Talon associate, she’s an enemy of society --- Phoenix. A few days later, after she began appearing on the news as a fugitive and criminal, Ignis felt so much satisfaction for ruining with her mother’s perfect image that she thought of continuing on with this, to mess with as many asshole rich people as possible and steal ( some of ) their money for those who need it.

V011: Kamiaso

Kamigami no Asobi verse. In order for his plan to proceed without any inconveniences, Zeus decided to bring not one but two humans to the Garden, to act as teachers and guides to the gods. Kusanagi Yui was his first choice from the beginning, but picking another worthy human was a tough choice. In the end, after searching and searching, inspecting different countries and such, he found his second candidate.

Ignis Crane, after returning home from her college classes, was planning to rest for a bit before doing her homework and other house chores. However, just as she was about to lay down on the sofa, a powerful light engulfed her whole, blinding her. The last thing she heard was Shady’s barks as the scenery around her changed. -- she was no longer at her house in Paris, France, but in a world unlike any other, and soon to be tasked to get along and live with literal all-mighty Gods.

-----------------------------------------------

CONNECTIONS

Castiel Heinsworth :: [ Bae ]

:: Ignis ♥ At last I see the light [ Castiel ( kindcstguardian ) ] ::

Zen || Hyun Ryu :: [ Bae ]

:: Ignis ♥ Foolishly in love [ Zen ( kindcstguardian ) ] ::

Karamatsu Matsuno :: [ Bae ]

pending tag

Arthur Kirkland :: [ Bae ]

tba

Daria Novak :: [ Bae ]

pending tag

Kentin Bronsworth :: [ Martu ]

pending tag

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ceci-n-est-pas-un-chat · 6 years

Text

Makers of History: Sophie Scholl

“How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause? Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?”

These are the last words of Sophie Scholl, just before she was executed for high treason by the guillotine in 1943, aged twenty one, after being caught distributing pamphlets encouraging passive resistance to the Nazis. Known as a symbol for anti-Nazism since the 1970s, Sophie’s role in The White Rose, a non-violent resistance group to Hitler’s government based around active intellectual opposition to the regime, was a stand against the horrors of Nazi Germany. But what about the girl herself? What sort of girl would face martyrdom so calmly at the tender age of twenty one? Here are five points of interest about her life, that perhaps might shed some light on the girl behind the name.

WARNING: What follows discusses in detail actions of the Nazis, such as the Holocaust, euthanasia and homophobia, that some readers may find upsetting.

[source: The White Rose (Life time: 1943) - Original publication: 1942]

Even in secondary school, Sophie was critical of the Nazis

For those of you who don’t know, secondary school is from the ages of 11 to 18, and in Nazi Germany, the curriculum was full of pro-Nazism indoctrination. For example, young children used to be taught how to recognise Jews from their facial features alone as an attempt to introduce them to eugenics and to teach them that the Jews were inferior to the German Aryan ideal. Initially, Sophie was quite enthusiastic to join the Bund Deutscher Mädel (The League of German Girls) aged twelve, the female wing of the Hitler Youth, which her brother Hans was a member of:

'But there was something else that drew us with mysterious power and swept us along: the closed ranks of marching youth with banners waving, eyes fixed straight ahead, keeping time to drumbeat and song. Was not this sense of fellowship overpowering? It is not surprising that all of us, Hans and Sophie and the others, joined the Hitler Youth? We entered into it with body and soul, and we could not understand why our father did not approve, why he was not happy and proud. On the contrary, he was quite displeased with us.’

- Inge Scholl, Sophie’s sister

However, the disillusionment of her friends and family - even Hans eventually, after the Nazis began to target him over a same-sex relationship he had aged 16 - led to her turning against the Nazi Party. She almost didn’t graduate secondary school because she had lost any interest in participating, but she did in the end with an essay titled “The Hand that Moved the Cradle, Moved the World.” Again, Sophie found difficulty in applying to university as it required her to partake in Reichsarbeitsdienst (National Service) - she originally hoped she could teach in kindergarten as an alternative, but this was not accepted and a year later she became a nursery teacher in the auxiliary war service for six months. During this time she was again dismayed by the things she learnt about the operation of the Nazi Party.

2) Sophie was religious

Sophie was discovered to have sent her boyfriend, Fitz Hartnagel, two volumes of the Catholic John Henry Newman’s sermons when he was sent to the Eastern Front. Sophie and Fitz discussed in great depth the ‘theology of conscience’ in their letters to each other, and this greatly impacted how she viewed the political situation in Germany at the time. Catholic Bishop Clemens August Graft von Galen also influenced her, especially his outcry against the Nazis’ euthanasia policies that were intended to ‘protect the gene pool’. Sophie was horrified by what Hartnagel told her of Soviet POWS being shot into mass graves, and when he passed on what he had learnt about the extermination of the Jews in death camps. The euthanasia policies in particular prompted her to distribute Graft von Galen’s sermon as the first leaflet before the official establishment of the White Rose.

[Bishop Graft von Galen: Domkapitular Gustav Albers († 1957) - Bildersammlung des Bistumsarchivs Münster, des Erbnehmers der Urheberrechte ]

"We know by whom we are created, and that we stand in a relationship of moral obligation to our creator. Conscience gives us the capacity to distinguish between good and evil."

- Fitz Hartnagel to Sophie Scholl

Fritz was evacuated from Stalingrad in 1943, but sadly this was after Sophie’s execution. He went on to marry her older sister, Elisabeth.

3) The fact that she was a woman proved invaluable to her work as part of The White Rose

Not only did the fact that Sophie was a woman mean she was much less likely to be stopped by the SS, thus making her useful for distributing leaflets, but it also meant that when she was arrested, the Gestapo (specifically the interrogator Robert Mohr) originally thought her innocent. It was only after her brother, Hans, confessed to the crime that she assumed full responsibility in the hopes that her brother and other fellow members of the White Rose would he protected.

4) Sophie’s brother was also involved in The White Rose

It was Hans involvement, in fact, which introduced Sophie to the movement. Sophie, after realising that Hans was an author of one of the anti-Nazi pamphlets being distributed around her university, joined him in The White Rose, despite his initial reluctance at her risking her safety. They were both arrested after an incident in the University of Munich in 1943, along with their friend and fellow member, Christoph Probst. Sophie and Hans had been distributing pamphlets throughout the university, but once the bell rang to dismiss class, they discovered that they still had some left over. In an attempt to rid herself of some, Sophie Scholl threw them from the upper level into the atrium, but was spotted by the caretaker, and was reported to the Gestapo along with her brother. Hans attempted to eat his remaining pamphlets before they could be found on him, but the Gestapo retrieved them from his stool and were able to piece them together. One of the pamphlets was authored by Probst, thus incriminating him as well, and all three were executed.

[Hans Scholl: source]

5) Her work left an important legacy

In 2003, Germans voted for Sophie and Hans Scholl as the fourth greatest Germans to ever live. Had the vote taken into account just the votes of people under 40, then they would have come first, over Einstein, Bach and Bismark. At the time, the sixth pamphlet was smuggled into the United Kingdom, and Allied planes in 1943 dropped copies over Germany under the title ‘The Manifesto of the Students of Munich’, thus making all of Germany aware of the actions of The White Rose. Unfortunately however, this did not lead to a great revolt against the totalitarian regime. The White Rose has had more influence post-war.

So, what are your impressions of the courageous Sophie Scholl? Do feel free to drop me an ask and let me know, or correct me if you think I got something wrong! (Politely, of course).

Well, that’s it for now from Makers of History! This may be the last installment, not because I want to stop, but because this new-fangled Article 13 being proposed by the EU means I may have to delete my blog if it passes. So if I do have to, know that it’s been great fun making these, and I’m sorry to go <3

As always, my sources are WIKIPEDIA.

I’m not doing anything special, just trying to get people interested in history!

Until we meet again,

Aurelia x

#make history great again #makers of history #sophie scholl #hans scholl #history #historical figures #world war 2 #world war ii #world war two #adolf hitler #hitler #the nazis #nazism #the holocaust #stalingrad #the white rose #the scholl siblings #germany #german history

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acapelladitty · 7 years

Note

"why is your penis on a dead girl's phone?" for the prompt meme

“No specified pairing make Ditty something-something”“Write BruHarvey?”“DON’T MIND IF I DO!!!”

Here ya go love lmao xx

The feeling of cold metal wrapped around his wrists was the first sensation which Bruce experienced upon waking. He was seated upright and from the stiffness and chill of the seat he could tell it was made of some flimsy metal.

Easy to break through in a pinch.

The last thing he recalled was a feeling of extreme dizziness, of being drugged, as his vision failed and he collapsed. As he tensed his body, he could feel that his expensive suit was fitted around him comfortably and he took a moment to gather his wits as he prepared to face whatever was holding him here. From the breathing in the room he could detect three others present, men, and he inhaled as he put his best expression of panicked confusion on as he feigned awakening.

Bruce Wayne would panic in this situation.

“W-What is going on?” He stuttered, squinting as his eyes to dart around the floor. There was a table before him and he could faintly see the outline of black leather shoes indicating that someone was sitting across from him - waiting for him to look up.

The room was reminiscent of a prison holding cell in its barren state, and aside from the men held within it, the table was the only other item.

Glancing up, Bruce felt a jolt of surprise as he recognised his captor.

Harvey Dent.

Two-Face.

“Harvey.”

Only a slight hint of his confusion had seeped into his tone.

“Bruce.”

Harveys’ voice was calm yet clipped. It was the voice of an irritated Harvey Dent, rather than a relaxed Two-Face, and Bruce was put off-guard by the uncomfortable familiarity of it.

Sparing a glance for the two thugs, unarmed, who stood in both corners of the room opposite him, Bruce was quick to return his gaze to Harvey.

The main threat of the situation.

His expression was closed-off and the scarring which had torn through his handsome face on his left side was looking somewhat healthier than usual, despite its inherent grotesqueness, and the healed nature of it led Bruce to suspect that Harvey was in the middle of one of his ‘good’ periods.

Harvey had participated in a mass breakout from Arkham two months previously and Bruce had heard nothing concerning him since. No sightings by the docks, no whispers of plots on the wind and he had brushed it off as he sought out other escapees such as Tetch, who had been determined to cause as much havoc as possible immediately after his escape.

The only thing of interest which had cropped up concerning Two-Face was that he had been in contact with his psychiatrist, a specialist whom Bruce had flown in from Bludhaven to assist in Harveys’ care, and had contacted her via phone several times.

However, any hopes Bruce had possessed over Harveys’ potential reform were being severely shaken by this current predicament.

“Why am I here, Harvey? What is this?”

The million dollar question.

Two Face attacked Batman with no reprieve but Harvey Dent did not attack Bruce Wayne.

Even in his darkest moments as Two-Face, Harvey had never specifically targeted Bruce as a victim of one of his crimes. There was too much history between them and the lack of persecution had always left Bruce with a vague feeling of hope that Harvey could still be saved and even as he sat, he could feel no rage emitting from the other man.

But even the fact that Harvey had went out of his way to kidnap and handcuff him was disturbing.

“Harvey,” he prompted again as Harvey just continued to watch him, his scarred eye unblinking as he stared, “why have you brought me here?”

“Why is your penis on a dead girls’ phone?”

“What?!”

Whatever he had been expecting, it was not that.

As Harvey slammed a photograph on the small table which sat between them, Bruce was uncomfortably aware of how ironically this mirrored their usual encounters with the only exception being that Bruce was the one performing the interrogation in his full batsuit and cowl instead of a split-toned suit.

Moving his head forward, Bruce stared at the image. It was an explicit screenshot of a male penis and the mobile number which sat above it, the sender, was very familiar to him.

After all, it was his own.

Feigning embarrassment and surprise, Bruce slammed his own hands on top of the image.

“That’s not mine!”

And it was true.

In-keeping with his playboy persona, he had to experience the occasional media scandal and he had assumed that a leaking of private images would be enough to last the tabloids and paparazzi for a good while. So he had dedicated a very concise amount of time to finding an image which was similar enough to his own 'package’ to pass by those who were familiar with it without the actual humiliation of having to take and release his own pictures.

Gotham could take a lot from his but he would retain his dignity.

It had been an excruciating activity and he was thankful that neither Alfred nor his kids had walked in on that particular batcomputer search.

“Don’t lie to me, Wayne!” Harvey hissed as he balled up his fists. “This was found open on the phone of Victoria L'Amont next to her strangled corpse and the police have made you their first person of interest because of it.”

Bruces’ eyebrows shot up in surprise. He had no knowledge of any of this information so it must have been a very recent development within Gotham. Victoria L'Amont, an air-head socialite, was a woman he had very vague contact with and she was one of the few he had 'leaked’ his images to because it was more likely that she would go to a tabloid and attempt to sell him out.

His gut twisted as he considered the circumstances of her death and he hoped deeply that he had not been indirectly responsible for her death in any way. He had only ever sent images to women who were notoriously single and held no commitments. Her death was something he would need to investigate privately as soon as he was free from this interrogation.

Still protesting his innocence, Bruce shook his head vehemently.

“Harvey, I swear that’s not mine.”

“Cut the shit,” growling, Harveys’ frustration was clear as he continued using Bruces’ surname, “and stop lying, Wayne! Even I recognised that it was you and it’s been years sin-”

Harvey cut himself off suddenly, unwilling to disclose any more information than was necessary to the others in the room, as the faint memories of youthful indiscretions and heated debates which always ended with even more heated actions flooded Bruces’ mind.

“I have my sources within the GCPD,” Harvey explained as he picked some imaginary dust off the front of his suit, “and they told me that you were a suspect. So, tell me, why did she have it? What excuse will you give the police?”

Folding his arms on the table, Harvey stared him down and - for a moment – Bruce could see the ghost of his old friend sitting in the exact same position, questioning him as he practised and developed the persona he wanted to adopt in court.

He could also see his fingers twitching and he wondered if Harvey was fighting the urge to bring out his coin.

“I must have sent her it during one of our 'conversations’,” Bruce lied easily placing emphasis on the final word, “but I cannot recall doing so. When you’re in my position, you send a lot of images to a lot of different women and it can be hard to keep track.”

A tiny hint of disgust entered Harveys’ gaze as he rolled his eyes and Bruce could feel small tendrils of shame gripping him as he sensed the disappointment within the other man. However, his appearances had to be kept.

“What the hell happened to you, Wayne?” Harvey muttered, his scarred lips barely moving as the soft words escaped him.

“What the hell happened to you, Dent?” Bruce shot back, irritated at having been scolded by this man whom he had arrested more times than he cared to count, but he instantly regretting the words as he saw Harvey fight back a flinch.

Bruce knew exactly what had happened to Harvey Dent.

Feeling a touch guilty, Bruce tapped his handcuffs on the table and tried a different tactic.

“Why am I here, Harvey?”

His voice was soft and as his gaze focused on Harveys’ face, he was surprised by the look of confusion which had clouded it at the simple question. The small room was silent as Harvey internally debated his own reasoning and the answer which he would eventually give.

Mildly amused by Harveys’ uncertainty, Bruce sat with a thoughtful expression as his former friend came to a decision.

“You paid for us to receive treatment from that Bludhaven psychiatrist instead of the usual Arkham swines,” Harvey admitted, not quite meeting Bruces’ eye, “and she was,” he paused again, “kind to us and we thought that you deserved the jump on this.”

This was an excuse, a lie, and between the shifting glances and the mild flippancy, Bruce did not have to be the worlds greatest detective to work that out.

“So you kidnapped me just to warn me?” He concluded.

“A necessity,” Harvey contested, “because you would not have come willingly and I am a wanted man.”

“We could still ransom him boss if ya wanted to,” one of the henchmen piped up from his position in the corner, “like, we could make him pay for a safe return home. I’m sure the pretty boy can afford it.”

Twisting in position, Harvey snarled at the man and his face turned ashen as he realised his mistake.

“YOU WERE TOLD TO STAND THERE AND STAY QUIET!” Harvey bellowed, his tumultuous nature taking a turn for the worse as he rounded on his employee. His scarred hand dug into his pocket as he pulled his infamous coin free and tossed it high in the air in a threatening manner. “WANT TO TEST YOUR LUCK? GET OUT!”

As both men scrambled to leave the room, Bruce watched them passively.

“Harvey,” Bruce interrupted as Harvey continued to breathe heavily as he fought to control his temper, “thank you for warning me.”

His tone was soothing as he attempted to lighten the mood before he was forced to bring Harvey in for yet another murder and, leaning over the table with his cuffed hands, he placed one on Harveys’ shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

Distracted by the touch, Harvey turned and Bruce locked eyes with him for just a moment as he allowed him to understand his genuine appreciation for the warning.

Harvey could only hold his gaze for a moment before breaking away and he looked almost deflated as his aggression left him as quickly as it had appeared.

“I hope your alibi is strong, Bruce, because if it isn’t they’ll come down hard on you for this one. She was an heiress and the family has a lot of ties.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “It’s moments like this where you need friends.”

“It’s moments like this” Bruce agreed, “that I truly regret that the greatest lawyer, maybe even one of the greatest men, this city has ever seen has been lost to her. For now, anyway.”

“Good old Bruce. You’ll never give up on me, will you?”

Harveys’ wistful tone implied that the question was intended to be rhetorical but Bruce responded anyway.

“Never. I have, and always will, believe in Harvey Dent.”

Harveys’ grin exposed all of his teeth on his left side and the wolfish nature of it held a certain charm which even the scarring could not completely ruin.

“And Harvey Dent believes that you should stop sending out pornographic materials to women whom you barely know.”

Clasping his hands defensively, Bruce fought off a small smile at the rare display of humour.

“Noted.”

http://archiveofourown.org/works/11580897

#im not 100% happy with this but this is my first time writing them and it was an odd choice of prompt so leave me alone #bruharvey #bruce wayne #harvey dent #two face #batman #Anonymous

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jamieclawhorn · 5 years

Text

3 investment rules I live by

Investing is often made out to be a hideously complex thing that only high-charging professionals in the city are able to do. Fact is, many regular people are capable of growing their wealth with a bit of research and by remembering a few fairly basic rules along the way.

Here are just three of the latter I like to keep in mind.

1. Nothing lasts forever

Without wishing to get your week off to a bad start, it’s worth remembering that everything we know is always in a state of flux and nothing is permanent. This is particularly true in the stock market.

Now, bar the odd wobble, markets have only gone in one direction since the financial crisis. They might continue going higher for a while.

At some point, however, everything succumbs to gravity. We might not know what the cause will be (or when it will happen) but this is not as important as recognising that corrections and bear markets are to be expected not feared.

It’s also why, if you’re a passive investor, it can make sense to invest the same amount of money on a regular basis rather than all in one go.

Gravity applies to individual companies as well. That wonderful growth stock that just simply won’t stop going up in price? It’ll come unstuck, even if only temporarily.

This might happen even if profits continue rising and simply because the weight of expectation has become too great. It’s the equivalent of scoring an ‘A’ in an exam when a teacher or parent was expecting an ‘A*’.

Sounds harsh? Thankfully, there’s a flip side to all this.

2. The market has a habit of over-reacting

The fact that the good times won’t last forever also applies to bad times. And when the proverbial hits the fan, that’s usually the time we should be buying stocks.

Unsurprisingly, market participants have a habit of getting rather het up when prices drop. Research in the field of behavioural economics shows that losses feel far more painful than gains feel good.

In time, things recover. When there is no one left to sell, no stock gets sold. Cue buyers. Cue a rise in prices. It’s all down to something called ‘regression to the mean‘ or the tendency for things to even out over time.

The market may have trouble seeing this in the short term, but after a while — and by ‘a while’ I’m talking months, sometimes years — things will revert back to their true value.

3. If everyone agrees with you, do the opposite

We’re social animals. We like it when people agree with us or praise things we’ve done. That’s all fine unless we’re talking about the stock market.

Buying stocks that everyone loves feels good. Buying stocks everyone wouldn’t touch with a barge pole? That’s not quite so comfortable but it can be far more lucrative.

An established finding in investing has shown that the cheapest shares (those that the market is either uninterested in or hates) collectively give better returns than those with lofty prices over the long term.

As to be expected, however, achieving this outperformance requires a whole lot of patience on the part of the individual.

That’s in short supply, of course, and that’s why being a contrarian can work wonders for your wealth.

Will the FTSE recover in 2019… or are we heading for a bear market?

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