#chessna2

[seabeck]

I now totally understand why you said you don't like sunny days 😅 I just tried to do some forest photography in harsh lighting and it was terrible.

Any tips for how to do photography with harsh backlight? Also I adore your photos, they have inspired me to pick up photography again!

Use a diffuser if possible, wait until golden hour, use the shadows to your advantage, cry if possible

[feynavaley]

I would love to hear your thoughts on Myers-Briggs/personality stuff with the FACE family. It doesn't have to be their types, specifically, but just patterns you see in the way they think/process things, and how that might clash sometimes. You seem to know their characters so well and I would love to hear your ideas! 😊

Thank you so much for this question!! 😊

First of all, I have to admit that I don’t know enough of Myers-Briggs personality types to use them for the characterization. So, I don’t. This is going to be quite a bit of rambling, I’m afraid.

America

America is a contradictory mixture of good intentions and egocentrism. The thing about America is that he genuinely wants to help and do his part to make the world a better place, from the smallest gestures to large-scale issues. He also wants to get the recognition he deserves for his actions, this much is true, but it’s actually somewhat secondary to reaching his goal.

He also is quite proactive. America doesn’t waste energies on anything he doesn’t deem important – which is the reason he may often come across as lazy – but when he thinks something is, he works as hard as he can.

However, America is also extremely self-centred and with a dangerously high dose of confidence. He wants to do the right thing – but what he believes to be the right thing, and he doesn’t take well to suggestions/corrections. He has gotten to the point where he’s willing to acknowledge that his approach isn’t the only good/right one (we actually saw him develop this awareness in the manga) but he still isn’t ready to admit his own might be flawed. (All this is what makes him dangerous. America is willing to do everything he needs for the ‘greater good’, he’s not completely above using immoral tactics. He doesn’t enjoy it, but he’s so firm in his conviction that he’s doing the right thing that if there’s no other alternative, he will.)

America’s confidence is also reflected in how he behaves with people. Even when trying to be friendly and helpful (which he does most of the time, actually) he starts from himself and treats other people the way he would want to be treated. He doesn’t stop to think other people are different and, consequently, might benefit more from a different approach. He doesn’t mean to, but this is what happens. He also tends to keep in higher consideration his own needs as opposed to other people’s needs. The fact he’s very pushy (because he puts a lot of energy in everything he does) doesn’t help.(This makes him clash a lot with Canada, who is so sensitive that he cannot truly grasp how genuinely America doesn’t mean anything bad, and England, who thinks America should make more of an effort to be mindful of others, even if it doesn’t come easy to him. France, instead, isn’t so offended as, in spite of being sensitive himself, he knows America well enough to realize that his behaviour truly is unintentional.)

I don’t think America is completely unable to admit he did something wrong and fix his act, though. The very hard thing is to have him realize he was wrong – but once he does, he immediately sets to make amends and improve for the better. America is proactive in everything he does. Realizing he did something wrong is quite crushing for him, however. With the high consideration he has of himself, anything that proves he isn’t so perfect forces him to re-evaluate a lot of things.

However, America’s bad mood doesn’t last long. In fact, America has an extremely positive mindset. He’s not prone to wallowing in his misery, rather, he forgives himself and promises to improve and not repeat his mistakes. More in general, instead of looking at the negative side, America prefers to focus on the positive and how to build something better/fix things from there. And he does believe things will get better, with enough hard work and positivity. Due to this strong belief of his, America is also really good at motivational speeches. His enthusiasm and energy are so genuine that the crowd is immediately enthralled.

On the other hand, America’s positivity can also cross the line of idealism as, in his conviction that everything will improve, he might overlook/dismiss some details and complexities of the issue. (This is another point where he clashes with England, who, instead, has a more pessimistic mindset and thinks that America’s approach is too naïve.)

America is sort of naïve, too. Having spent the centuries between his independence and WW1 very isolated, he doesn’t have a real grasp of the complexities and subtleties of the relationships between personifications and the real weight they have inside their government (America is aware that he doesn’t know everything, but not of how much he’s kept in the dark of). He tends to oversimplify things a bit.

America isn’t without fragilities, however. People tend to forget this as he likes to present himself as confident and positive – and he is – but this doesn’t mean he’s made of stone and nothing touches him. For a starter, America feels lonely and unappreciated. He doesn’t want to change himself to receive a better reception as he believes that he doesn’t have anything to change, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. So, he relies a lot on those few people he’s close to. Their eventual rejection, for how small, hurts him a lot. He would need a few more reminders that he’s cared for, but not many realize he does.

America also cares a lot about their opinion. While he doesn’t usually care for critiques coming from random people, he’s hurt when those dishing out against him are his loved ones/people he respects. (This is where England often goes overboard as he doesn’t realize how much his words/opinion affect America. Sometimes, Canada makes the same mistake.)

Another thing about America is that he doesn’t like showing weakness because it makes him feel vulnerable. It’s not an issue of admitting he has some weaknesses – for how nearly-perfect America believes he is, he knows he does – it’s more along the lines of giving his enemies something they could use against him. America can only show weaknesses with people he trusts a lot. (And, in spite of him being generally friendly, truly gaining his trust isn’t so easy.) In turn, America values people showing to him their weaknesses and issues as a measure of trust.

America also values bluntness over cold niceties. As a tendentially blunt person, he thinks that saying what he truly means and being informal is a signal of respect and openness towards other people. This isn’t to say that America can’t be formal when the situation calls for it. In fact, he’s quite a charmer and an excellent liar when he needs to. However, he only does it when he needs to deceive someone. As a result, he tends to be quite wary of formal and polite people as they give him the impression of having a hidden agenda.

England

England is another complex case, full of internal contradictions. He had a harsh and isolated childhood, without the support of loved ones he would have needed in order to grow up. Everything England did, he had to do it alone.

He’s a mixture of pride and low self-esteem. He needs to constantly prove himself because if he doesn’t accomplish everything on his own, it means he’s a failure. Every insuccess, no matter how small, is a dent to his self-worth. This is why England always push himself harder and harder – on everything – and doesn’t easily accept help (or that he needs it). He’s insanely stubborn, too, and he never admits he was wrong.

Being so hard on himself also means that England feels justified to be just as equally stern with others as well, though. He expects a lot of people and doesn’t have much patience. He doesn’t tolerate mistakes, not even small ones.

In spite of this, England is actually quite soft-hearted. He wants to experience love and warmth, and he’s easily moved. His issue is that he just doesn’t know how to deal with it. He does nicely as long as there are no emotions involved as he is a fundamentally kind and polite person, which is generally appreciated. (In fact, England values politeness and formality a lot, he sees them as a sign of respect. So, on the other hand, people being too casual/informal anger him.)

However, things take a completely different turn once the relationship threatens to become something more than casual acquaintances. Connecting with somebody means showing vulnerability and opening himself to the pain of rejection, and England doesn’t know how to cope. He’s awkward and he turns to sarcasm to protect himself. He often ends up coming across as almost cruel as he tries to protect himself by putting some distance between him and other people.

Once he has created a stable relationship, however, England is extremely loyal. He might not be overtly affectionate, but his fondness is expressed through protectiveness and many small kind gestures. He ends up getting very attached to people he opens himself to. In turn, their eventual betrayal/rejection hurts him deeply. He cannot bring himself to get over it. Real forgiveness from him is almost impossible.

Another thing I should mention about England is that he has a very analytical mind. He tends to use a rational approach on everything, not letting his (or anybody else’s) emotions factor in his decisions. (In fact, he often ends up being too cold about this.)

And in general, England has a very pessimistic approach to life. He has been hurt too many times to fool himself into thinking things will be better, and the envy he feels towards people who are, instead, still optimistic (see: America) makes him be even harsher.

Canada

If you’re interested, I have actually already written quite a lot about Canada, both in terms of characterization [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] and his relationship/clashes [x] [x] [x] with America (there are also some headcanons mixed in, but I think it should be easy to spot what is an analysis and what are headcanons).

Canada is mostly defined by his selflessness, extremely low self-esteem, and positive attitude. The end result is that, in most cases, Canada’s approach starts from valuing the wellbeing/needs of the other people involved above his own. He is also proactive in this – in spite of maybe not feeling up to it (see self-esteem issues) he still always does his best. And, in spite of his beliefs, Canada is actually quite smart and a good tactician. He’s good at reading people, too. In the end, his way of looking for a solution is generally a good compromise between an emotional and rational approach. He doesn’t like violence and tries instead to find a more peaceful solution. (I think that Canada would make an excellent leader if he just spoke up. He’s rational and compassionate, actually focused on reaching what would be best for everybody. If you’re interested, there’s a really good fic [x] that explores this side of his personality.)

In spite of his general selflessness, Canada would want to be recognized for his efforts, but he believes that if he doesn’t, he’s not good enough yet. So, he has to work harder in order to get there. Basically, Canada doesn’t hide behind his self-worth issues but uses them as a push to always try to improve himself. And he truly believes he will, if he works hard enough – his vision of the world is a mainly optimistic one, not unlike America. Also not unlike America, Canada is quite active and a hard worker (even though he will work hard on anything that’s assigned to him, instead. He sees people entrusting him with some work as an opportunity to prove he’s worthy of their trust, so he puts all himself into the task, no matter how small).

On the other hand, Canada’s self-worth issues also mean that it’s hard for him to openly express his needs/opinion. In general, he’s truly vocal only if he has to advocate for somebody else. But Canada actually has strong opinions about many things. So, he tends to instead adopt some sort of passive-aggressive attitude until he reaches the point of no-return and explodes. (This is where he clashes a lot with America, by the way. Because America is the opposite in this – he says what he needs and he takes it. So, Canada not expressing himself clearly frustrates him to no end.)

Always due to his self-worth issues, it’s also hard for Canada to see when people care for him. However, he’s so friendly and helpful that everybody generally likes him, even if he doesn’t realize it. Actually, I would say that aside from America, Canada doesn’t really clash with anybody else. At least, openly. There are some almost-hidden fractures.

As I have already mentioned [x], both England’s and Canada’s self-worth issues created some distance between them. While they both care deeply for each other, they aren’t open enough to express it, which makes their relationship somewhat stilted.

About France, instead… due to what happened during the French and Indians War and the Revolutionary War, Canada took a while to trust France again and believe he had ever cared for him. While he now accepts this, Canada still doesn’t trust France completely because he knows France is prone to telling white lies in order to placate other people. So, he never knows whether France telling him something to calm him down is true or not, even if he appreciates the good intentions.

France

To be honest, France is a bit of an enigma to me. Of these four, he’s the character I have the least solid grasp on. I have already mentioned this [x], but the thing that throws me off the loop is that he’s extremely melodramatic but he can also be so mature an insightful.

The conclusion I have reached is that France is very mature. He’s good at reading people and situations, he always has a deeper insight on what’s going on. But, he also feels so deeply that he cannot help but express it. Even if actions are perfectly sensate, the execution is always over-the-top. Moreover, while he would be capable of making rational decisions, his sensitivity makes him consider the feelings and emotions of the people involved more than what would be the most rational approach. (Needless to say, this is something that makes him clash a lot with England.)

As far as self-esteem is concerned, instead, I don’t think that France’s is extremely low. He knows his flaws, but he also knows his strengths. However, France also has an extremely deep need to be liked by everybody. Every criticism – no matter who it comes from – hurts him deeply. So, France ends up… Not exactly submitting to people, but carrying politeness almost to the point of fake flatteries with people he doesn’t know well. He’s good at making people like him, he tends to create a lot of shallow connections.

His tendentially non-confrontational nature doesn’t help. Nor does his tendency for gossip and even talking behind people’s backs, at times. (This is something that infuriates England. England is polite, too, but within limits. He’s not fake. If people don’t like him, so be it. He can’t stand the way France behaves in these circumstances. America finds it annoying, too.)

Only with people he knows well enough to be comfortable with France will drop the pretenses and let his tongue ran. In those cases, he doesn’t keep back from expressing what he truly thinks.

France is also tendentially cautious. Before jumping into situations, he analyses them, and he doesn’t take unnecessary risks. He prefers working on the sidelines or even manipulating people (and he’s good at it, since he’s so good at reading them) instead of tackling issues head-on. (I think it took America a while to realize this isn’t a cowardly approach. He still has issues with it, though.)

While he doesn’t have a tendentially pessimistic view of the world and he likes hoping for the better, France is also prone to melancholy. He tends to wallow in his misery instead of trying to fix what’s ailing him, especially at first. (And this makes both America and England mad at him as they don’t understand complaining about something without trying to fix it.)

…

And wow, I really have rambled far too much. 😅 I hope this makes sense! 😊 And if you want to discuss something or want clarifications on any point, don’t hesitate to ask!

[lithuanias]

So I'm giving you a chance to rant here lol but what is it about Lietpol that you love? Like what do you think makes them or their personalities/situation unique, or work especially well?

personally, i find that their personalities compliment each other exceptionally well. poland is selfish and impulsive, but he’s also brave and stands up for what he believes in. liet is a tad more calm than poland. in the modern-day,  lithuania is more like a forest and poland is more like a fire.

there’s also, of course, the shift in their dynamic and their relationship throughout history. i do headcanon that they pined for each other during the partition period, but lithuania realized that it’d be best for him to gain independence instead of a rebirth of the commonwealth. imo i believe that yes, he wanted independence but he still valued poland himself as a friend and maybe more during this time. i think that polands continual nostalgia about the commonwealth would cause some friction but by and large he would accept lithuanian independence nowadays.

which leads me to another point about how they are a good example of the separation between nation and person. i believe that despite everything that has happened between them throughout history and whatever happened between their governments, they still like each other as people even if they’ve been though very difficult times in the 20s-40s. i think that this is why i believe that one of the central themes of lietpol is always hope. hope that they can and will remain friends/lovers no matter what happens to them politically.

[ask-aph-baltics]

chessna2 replied to your post “who's the best at playing BS?”

Oh my god Eduard would be unbeatable at any game that requires him to lie. Lying? Telling the truth? You can't tell the difference that man's face is a STEEL VAULT

@chessna2 No one can see what goes on in Estonia’s mind. However he’ll be confident even in the weakest times, I can see it.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

chessna2 replied to your post “if your fictional discrimination is predicated on the marginalized...”

Through logic, does Zootopia fail to present discrimination correctly? Predators are a real "threat" to prey, or no...?

Yup! Zootopia fails to present discrimination on a number of levels. That’s one of them. Another one is that it can’t seem to decide if predators or prey are the oppressors, and so tries to have it both ways.

More broadly, Zootopia uses a lot of trappings of, and references to, oppression (token minorities! racial slurs! a lack of accommodations! fear of sexual assault! “you can’t just touch a sheep’s wool!”) completely at random, with no thought as to how they work within the larger social structure. Instead of being part of the history and culture of a world they created (for example, “In the past, predators used to the word ‘cute’ to dismiss bunnies and treat them as lesser beings”), they just sort of throw them at us as weird in-jokes. 

This is mostly because the original story was a spy thriller and then a dark dystopia before they decided to make it about oppression instead, and they had something like eight months to change the entire story from scratch. I think if they had done it carefully from the start, they might have created something that’s not so piecemeal. 

[cielsama14]

RCMT Discord

https://discord.gg/qCg99Q

https://realcielmastermindsoundscool.wordpress.com/2018/04/02/rcmt-masterpost/ (the meat is in, I just need to update the post with the reveals from 141 and a few small things)

I’ve made a discord for RCMT and anyone's free to join! The only requirements are to read my RCMT masterpost (otherwise you won't have any idea what we're talking about most of the time) and the general be nice to each other along with no sexual language/content. 

Let's have some awesome discussions and memes about RCMT!