#Free will

[skyfullofembers]

Oh

don’t forget that it’s your life. it’s not school’s life, it’s not work’s life, it’s not your family or your partner’s life—it’s perpetually your life, for better or worse. what do you want from this life? forget happy, what motivates you to live? why are you here?

[the-cool-guy]

I was reading hector fanfiction and imagining the y/n insert as random characters and then ended up with Laios but for some reason it stuck with me…

I had to bring it to l i f e

I think I made hectors eyes too small lol(I wanted them to match)

free will is awesome!

[danizmomota]

these edibles ain’t shi-

*transforms into the W00DCHIPPER*

my car lookin different huh

[searay-artist]

So.... Anyway-

[seaweednpeanuts]

Love all of this.

You can tell as well that both Aziraphale and Crowley are aware of their mutual desperation to escape their situation. Without being able to escape. Because they just can't.

We see some great examples of this really early on in their timeline, in the 'Companion to Owls' minisode. Here, they come to an understanding that they both go as far as they can with their respective sides.

Crucially, for me, it's when Aziraphale says, "Surely the great thing about being a demon is you can do whatever you want."

Instead of disagreeing, telling Az that he too is stuck, Crowley probes in his reply; "You sound jealous, Angel."

That whole episode is sprinkled with moments where they're finding out that they are on their own side, but I particularly like that moment because you can see how much Az wants his own free will. Or I think so, anyway. You also see Crowley's acknowledgement of it.

This is from the book, while Crowley is trying to talk Aziraphale into helping him stop armageddon, and does his drunken ramble about eternity. Apparently God enjoys The Sound of Music.

“You’ll enjoy it. You really will. You won’t have a choice.”

I feel like this line gets overlooked a lot. It’s an important line, for sheer horror potential.

Whatever the control mechanism is, clearly it isn’t running on every angel at all times, because if that was the case, a rebellion never would have happened. Aziraphale wouldn’t have six thousand years of doubts piling up to critical capacity. Gabriel wouldn’t have been able to escape.

But it’s also clearly very easily turned on, since they both accept that it would be used for something as petty as enjoying a movie. This lack of will can be rolled over angels at any time, for any reason.

Aziraphale clearly has some dread of this. *Crowley* knows it, and used it to convince Aziraphale to help him stop armageddon. But Aziraphale is very good at letting one part of his brain know something while another part of his brain denies it, so it’s not clear how much *Aziraphale* knows he dreads it, even as that dread shapes his character.

He’s never really broken free of Heaven. Even when he was being called a traitor, he wasn’t fallen, and so he was expecting to be called home eventually. And he’d be happy, of course. He won’t have a choice.

Aziraphale’s been trying to walk away from Heaven for at least six thousand years. He walked away from guard duty. He gave away his sword. He lied straight to God’s face about it. He lied to the archangels, and then straight up told Crowley he was ready to go to Hell. Several millennia of trouble-making and demon-fraternizing later, he stood in the middle of Heaven, declared he wasn’t going to fight in any war, then escaped via the demonic act of human possession. He is ready to GO.

And still his wings are snowy white. He’s just as angelic as when he first worried the pretty starmaker might get in trouble, and tried to protect him with a warning.

But he can’t escape. Heaven isn’t letting anyone else go. And he knows what his future holds. Eventually, no matter how many times they put it off, eventually he will be called back to Heaven.

And so, what promises can he make Crowley?

To stay with him always? Of course not. To love him? Can he even promise to love him? No. He’ll eventually be dragged back to Heaven, and he’ll be happy to go, and he won’t even miss him. *He won’t have a choice.*

And perhaps that’s the problem. He loves Crowley too much to make promises he can’t keep.

[sotie-art]

May I introduce a little creature that lives in my head rent free 24/7?

Here is the Shanelin (Shane goblin)

[angelaness]

Free will

Write a letter to your future self and seal it for next year

Break one routine just to see what happens

Say yes to something you’d usually decline, just for the plot

Make one decision purely on intuition, no logic involved

Practice doing things without documenting them: no photos, no notes, just presence

Go somewhere new without checking reviews first

Pick a book blindly, first one you touch, you read

Have a conversation where you only ask questions, no statements

Order something totally random at a café, no overthinking

Try fully disagreeing with someone in a debate just to explore another side

Walk a different route than usual and pay attention to new details

Give yourself one day to act like a completely different version of yourself

Spend a whole day making choices like a child; curious, playful, unfiltered

Ask a stranger for a book, movie, or music recommendation and actually try it... ACTUALLY

Give something away without expecting anything in return

Try doing the opposite of your instinct just to see where it leads

Write a personal philosophy: what do you actually believe about life?

Spend a full day in silence, no speaking, just observing

Set a personal rule for the day, no lying, no complaining, no autopilot responses

Go on a walk and let a random object or sign dictate where you turn

Pick a past “what if” and go do it now, no excuses

Invent a personal holiday and celebrate it however you want

Try making an important decision without asking anyone for advice

Spend a full day making choices as if you're already the person you want to become

Do one completely pointless but deeply satisfying thing—just for the joy of it

Let go of one belief or habit that no longer serves you, just to see how it feels

Set a rule for yourself: every time you feel hesitation, do the thing anyway

Pick a random topic and learn about it like you’re preparing to give a TED Talk (I'd choose to talk about my art)

Make one small but bold move that shifts the trajectory of your life, even slightly

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[timblriche]

Ooooohhhhhhh OK WALK WITH ME bc i just about made myself cry with this one! this is all an allegory for the show and its message of FREE WILL vs predetermined fate!

this is 100% the note attached to the story of the rest of Mike’s campaign that he re-wrote on the night Will went missing, and intended to give to him at school the following day…

when I first watched the garage scene as a teen myself, I was a little disappointed and confused that mike just frowned and didn't reply to will at all, not even when he said "see you tomorrow!" and how that was their last interaction before he went missing. it seemed uncaring, it felt like will was sending him multiple emotional bids that went right over his head and went unreciprocated, like he was opening himself up just to find himself talking to a wall lol. but now with this theory, I think this is because mike was just taken aback, and had to process his feelings that night until eventually deciding to rewrite the story for will... (and when will went missing, he wasn't able to give him the rewritten story. his delayed reaction and reciprocation was "too late" so to speak. that's a running gag with mike!).

so like I said, when Will confessed to Mike “the demogorgon. it got me,” I always found the expression on Mike’s face really compelling….

his expression is not happy or even neutral, like Will’s. It’s soft, but he definitely frowns right when Will admits that he rolled a seven. He looks… confused? or taken aback by Will’s admission and loyalty to him outside of the game and even outside of the rest of the party… it almost shows a flicker of guilt and sadness too, bc after all, as the DM and the story’s writer, he was the one who set the demogorgon on Will. Technically, Mike killed him. but Will just broke his fourth wall completely by essentially saying “You matter more to me than winning. More than the game, more than the party. I’d literally rather die (in the game) than ever lie to you.” (This is the sentiment that Mike was 'too late' to reciprocate via his gesture of rewriting the game's ending for Will, which he didn't get a chance to give him the next day, obviously. It's the sentiment that Will also matters more to him than a game!)

UMMMMM yeah ofc mike was gagged!

i’d be completely speechless and left standing there crestfallen in my garage too… 🧍‍♂️

and then we get these lines when he talks to lucas over the radio, making it clear that will’s honesty AND his loyalty AND his self-sacrificial bravery are all clearly things that meant a lot to mike, left a permanent impression, and have tugged at his heartstrings ever since that night…

mike: “i’m worried about will… i was thinking… will could have cast protection last night… but he didn’t. he cast fireball. …he could’ve played it safe… but he didn’t. he put himself in danger to help the party.”

he admires will for these traits, of course, but that night, he didn’t like that will sacrificed himself, even if it was imaginary. he didn’t like the idea of will thinking he didn’t deserve a happy ending despite his heroism. he wanted to give will a happy ending. so to honor a boy who mattered to him more than any roll of the dice, to show will that HE also means more to him than any game, he stayed up late that night of will’s disappearance re-writing this story into one where will’s bravery, selflessness, resilience and loyalty was rewarded… and that’s what S5 is gonna be when they defeat the monsters. and when mike wants to empower will when he’s at his lowest in S5, he’ll show him this story from when they were 12 and remind him that this is who he has always been. a hero!

so mike's not just rewriting a D&D campaign, he's rewriting fate. rewriting will's ending, just like the show did. this is an allegory about realizing that we have the free will to change our predestined fate, to overcome a roll of the dice, to overcome vecna's prophecies, to overcome our obstacles and our traumas (the monsters didn't get will in the game, and they won't get him in real life, and he will defeat his fears and inner demons). S5 won’t just close the upside down—it’ll close this story.

P.S. it’s also really sweet and funny that if this happens, it means mike would break the rules of the game (ignore the dice entirely and rewrite the story) out of loyalty to will… while will would neverrrr break the rules by lying about the dice, also out of loyalty to mike.

ive been thinking about that one byler-esque post on twitter so I thought I'd take a crack at it even though I've already seen like 300 posts about it on every platform ever

anyway I think you'll like it, sorry I couldn't get it done before you left, but you mean so much to me and its been crazy without you here. Hope this is enough to last until you come back. Love, Mike

i'm still debating whether I think this was something Mike wrote when Will disappeared or something ABOUT how Will disappeared.

I don't think this was from will about the painting because season three came out July 4th of 2019 and this was posted October 17 of 2019 so I firmly believe Mike wrote this somewhere in between season 3 and 4 after the Byers moved out but was too scared to send it-- so he didn't send any letters at all.

continuation I know this has been mentioned a lot but it was mentioned in S4 that Mike was always whining about the phone line being busy because of Joyce's job, and since calling over the phone is dangerous from El since shes hiding from the government, the only reason Mike would be calling would be because of Will.

haha not a single ounce of byler doubt in my mind hehehahachortlechortle

strong lettergate believer so this better be right

[kafkasapartment]

Rachel Barr, PhD candidate in neuroscience. She is also on the autism spectrum, so autism obviously does not mean someone is cognitively impaired about everything.

[succulentsiren]

When Entering Your Villain Era🩸

I. Stop taking orders. When someone says jump — stop responding with, how high? You are not a pet. You don’t owe anyone access to your time, body, money, mind or energy (not even your family is entitled). Release your binds and acknowledge that you always have free will.

II. Stop looking for permission, praise or validation. Pick-Me energy is repelling. Learn to clap for yourself and do things to make yourself proud 1st. Take yourself to dinner, buy yourself flowers and write yourself love letters.

III. Embrace your Dark side. In all things, there is a Yin and a Yang, Dark and Light, Naughty and Nice. Begin to make your own rules without limitations or shame.

IV. Don't over-give, over-commit or over-extend yourself. This is called being a People-Pleaser. Although it's normal to have empathy and manners for others, having excess people-pleasing behavior is an invitation for others to drain and control your energy.

V. SAY NO. This two-letter word is the magick word when it comes to protecting your energy, space and time. Anyone who doesn’t respect it, doesn’t respect you.

VI. Never trust anyone until they prove themselves worthy of being trusted. Trusting people too readily, can cause you to be easily taken advantage of and mislead.

VII. Be less available. Don't agree to participate in anything you don't want to. Yes, you have that choice. Not only does selective availability eliminate toxicity and protect you from being drained of your energy, it also increases your self-respect, mystique and personal allure.

VIII. Emanate a powerful presence. Walk in like the Dark Feminine. Take up space like you are a being of importance. Don't be afraid to make your presence felt and your voice heard. Walk in your power at all times.

IX. Work on your confidence. Your inner core must be unshakable. No one's words or behaviors should be able to shake or decenter you. What others say or do is not personal anyways. Know who you are and remain in your center.

[just-floetcoeur]

No Sanity Grian

CG for when your sanity bar runs low. I don’t think he’d canonically look that creepy, I just thought he looked cool. Also my art style is so inconsistent, holy hell.

Also I’m keeping your suggestion in mind, @morning-fragility , I’m just waiting for an idea to come in mind. I’m having lots of fun doing these little pixel drawings.

Design by @morning-fragility

Inspired by Cherri’s art again

[kuuderekun]

Did you assume there is something Religious about my bringing Free Wil?

If so you probably made a very assumption about my Theology, I'm an Arminian not a Calvinist.

What I believe about Free Will I consider consistent with my religion but it's a conclusion you can come to independent of it, there are Atheists who reject Free Will on the same grounds I do.

I'm referring to Determinism not Fatalism.

People actually out there arguing that the age of consent should be raised to 25. Do they inhabit this planet? Why are people so utterly desperate to infantilise grown adults? My parents had been married for 7 years and had a child by the time they were 25.

Imagine saying with a straight face that you're functionally a child until your mid 20s. Sounds an awful lot like trying to avoid responsibility for yourself to me. If you're still a 'minor' then it's easy to say you can't be held accountable for your actions. Grow up.

[telly-zenith]

I love my Alpha Maomao, we're expecting twins

[angelsdean]

dean’s anger toward god from the moment he learns there might even be a possibility of his existence is so so delicious. he’s so sexy for that. esp since the core of that anger is anger on behalf of all the good, innocent ppl that have been hurt or killed or suffered while god did nothing to help them!! and those feeling stay consistent throughout the whole series. he hates god!!! he hates god for not caring abt the whole world!!! he hates god for treating people like they’re nothing but expendable toys for his stories and games!! he also, from day one, has been creeped out by the idea of god taking any special interest in him. he doesn’t want to be god’s favorite, he doesn’t want to be the starring hero in god’s story, he most definitely does not want to be the “righteous man”. he doesn’t want to be special or better than anyone.