#source is i am a physicist

[polliwoggers]

What do you think HR-D3 is? Is he a machine created by the Humans of the Forgotten Land/Shiver Star due to creating HR-H or did Dedede created the machine? How did it get under Metal General's control?

More asks! answers below the cut.

HR-D3 is a machine made by humans in collaboration with Halcandrans (and others) as part of a larger defense act against future invasions from off-world foes. Both humans and Halcandrans have experience being invaded by alien enemies -- humans with Elfilis specifically, and Halcandrans with all sorts of things, including but not limited to Dark Matter. So, both would have good reason to collaborate on defensive robots like HR-D3 and HR-H.

Part of why both HR-D3 and HR-H are still active for (at LEAST) some centuries after the places they defended fell is because they incorporate magic as an energy source. Lots of electronics and other technologies humans created incorporated magic, once the concept was introduced to them by Halcandrans. It's really very practical! Although, both robots can use alternative power sources as well.

This may not seem relevant to that last point, but it's important to note that Earth physically moved location in the galaxy between its original Solar orbit and when we see it as Shiver Star in K64, and moved AGAIN before it became the Forgotten Land. Specifically, it moved relatively nearby to Popstar for K64, then fell into Another Dimension in KatFL. The first move was violent, the second by chance.

You know how some places are hotter than others, because there's more energy there in the form of heat? Magical energy works like that too, and Earth's original location happened to be eerily low in the stuff -- unnaturally "cold", so to speak. That's part of why Earthly life evolved not to be able to use or sense magic energy, and why Halcandrans were BEYOND surprised to find any life on Earth when they first went to check up on Elfilis -- they didn't think life could exist without magic, let alone intelligent life!

Metal General belonged to a later line of defense robots that were mass-produced, mostly to replace the dwindling population of puffballs that had previously made up a large portion of the Halcandran empire's military. As it was produced later, it's a lot "smarter", and doesn't necessarily have to fill the role of a foot soldier -- it can be a drill sergeant, a tactician, and even a general! That last case was true for Metal General, who was placed in command of many of Halcandra's larger war machines, including HR-D3.

Also, HR-D3 has no connection to Dedede, at least not in my lore. My guess is that the devs for RTDL felt they had to include a Dedede-adjacent fight to make up for the fact that he's not a fightable boss himself, being a playable character and all. In-universe, it's simply just an uncanny resemblance!

So. Um. This is awkward.

I don't consider Rainbow Curse canon to my lore, at all.

This is for two reasons: firstly, because of its concept of "color". As the shown in the game, "color" is something that can be "stolen" and reused for other projects. Claycia's "theft" of it alters Popstar to become gray and lifeless, apparently yielding all that "color" energy for Seventopia's creation, without any obvious energy loss. This MAJORLY messes with the conservation of energy, which is a law in physics I try very hard to adhere to for non-Dreaming processes, including magic.

As a rule of thumb, altering anything takes energy. Altering something by heating it up takes heat energy, and altering something by hitting it takes kinetic energy. Altering something by using magic OUGHT to use up magic energy. You do not "gain" energy from these processes; at least, not any more than you put in. Entropy is a thing, so you MUST lose energy by performing an alteration. No transfer of energy is truly lossless in real life, and that applies to my headcanon lore as well. Therefore, to alter Popstar, Claycia ought to LOSE energy in the process, not gain it -- assuming "color" is even analogous to energy.

secondly, a pause screen in Robobot (which I consider a significantly "more canon" source for information than a spinoff like Rainbow Curse) states that Kirby is a being of infinite energy -- which, yeah, I know, breaks the conservation of energy again, but I keep it in my headcanon lore because it's cool and fits into his gimmick of infinite potential and change. This just... breaks Rainbow Curse.

SO. In the intro cutscene of Rainbow Curse, where Claycia is stealing the "color" of Popstar and its inhabitants, how did she manage to steal all of Kirby's energy if he has an infinite amount of it? I can think of two ways: either she counteracted HIS infinite energy with HER OWN infinite energy(???), or she SOMEHOW managed to defy the laws of physics and losslessly(?) STEAL his infinite energy to create Seventopia. I think both of these explanations are very unlikely, both from an in-universe power-scaling standpoint as well as a narrative one.

Like, power-wise, possessing infinite energy or being capable of "stealing" it would place either Claycia, Dark Crafter, or the possessed fusion of Claycia AND Dark Crafter as being the de facto MOST POWERFUL ENTITY IN THE KIRBY UNIVERSE, which is something I simply cannot stand for. Narrative-wise, if she's got infinite energy (either on her own or by stealing it)… why would she stop at making Seventopia? Why not control all existence? She's being controlled by Dark Matter; isn't subjugating the universe to live in darkness kinda their thing? Why stop at making some pretty islands?

Also, I have… NO idea what "color" even IS. Like, WHAT is it that Claycia even steals from Popstar? Is it their Soul Matter? Maybe some supposed "life energy"? -- that can't make sense, because she steals the "color" from non-living things too, like the sky and the water Kirby's fishing in. Those hold no Soul Matter and aren't even alive. Is it not energy, and instead matter? But nothing changes size or apparent gravity when she steals it??? WHAT IS COLOR IN THIS GAME.

So I just… don't bother. I can't make Rainbow Curse fit into my framework, so I don't include it in my canon! Its prequel, Canvas Curse, IS still canon though. Just in case you were wondering.

And listen: don't take this as me hating Rainbow Curse. I have nothing against that game -- its visual design is SO charming and quirky, and some of my FAVORITE Kirby songs (both remixes and originals!) are from its OST. I haven't played it, so I can't vouch for its gameplay, but I'm sure that's wonderful as well. This is purely a transcription of my own frustrations trying to work its story and concepts into my lore, which I ultimately decided wasn't worth the headache and scrapped entirely.

So uh. Long story short: The events of Rainbow Curse do not happen. Seventopia is never created. "Color", as defined by the game, does not exist. Dark Crafter probably also does not exist, but that's just because I find his design ugly and unappealing. Claycia and Elline likely DO exist, but they're off doing their own things, sculpting and painting to their hearts' content, very far from Popstar.

[moonlightbraveheart]

do you have any kind of update to the radioactive plate? just curious couldn’t find one

Unfortunately I don't have an update for you! I'm still waiting on the university equipment to be repaired so that I can have the plate (and now a few other much more concerning pieces) tested to find out more information. My best guess atm is its a weird uranium glaze painted on to a lead plate, but I still dont know for sure or what its origin is. I'm trying to save up for a radiacode to get some idea what it could be beforehand, and I'll make a post about the plate again and the other pieces as soon as I know more. Thanks for the ask!

[lockefanfic]

Alarming

The following is 3.2k words of pure unedited filth that could be a part of the Business Trip storyline but could just be the product of an hour of BFH-inspired viewings of Momo’s most recent Strategy fancam but anyway here we go I put some words together I am writer I can write I swear -

---

You had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the iPhone’s alarm jingle. More often than not it was a source of frustration or anger, given its tendency to rip you unwillingly from the warm, comfortable embrace of sleep. It was too often a herald of reality, a reminder of adult responsibilities like spending the next eight hours exchanging your time for the money necessary to afford a cell phone alarm in the first place.

But these days you weren’t so upset at the familiar jingle and the way it interrupted your gaming session. How could you be, knowing what this particular alarm was for?

You quit your game mid-session, not even bothering to leave the match, leaving your virtual special operative frozen on its digital battlefield, an easy kill for some sweaty thirteen year old. Even before the console has fully powered down, you’re already on your way up the stairs to the bedroom.

Hirai Momo is waiting for you on your bed, wearing a silk robe that reached the top of her thighs and no further, leaving those long, toned legs of hers bare. She is on her phone, no doubt having just silence the same alarm notification as the one that brought you to her presence. With a wry smile she makes a few taps on her screen, likely placing her phone on Do Not Disturb. 

“Come here, then,” she says, casually, as though she weren’t inviting you into your bed dressed the way she was.

“I plan to,” you answer, earning a giggle from your wife as you rid yourself of your t-shirt and join her on the bed, crawling atop her.

She smiles into your kiss.  It is soft and intimate. Her lips are sweet and sticky and taste vaguely of the strawberry lip balm she loved so much. When the kiss finally ends the two of you stay there for a moment, faces inches apart. She smiles, and you do, and there is nothing there but love.

You kiss her again, this time more passionately. This time your tongues find each other, duelling between lips and teeth. Your arms wrap around your neck and she spreads her legs to allow you between them, your body pressing against hers and it all feels so soft and comfortable and safe. It feels like home.

You’re the one to break the kiss this time, and this time there’s no intimate, romantic eye contact. You dive instead into her neck, your lips and mouth finding all the soft, warm spots there that you knew she loved. She sighs softly, her cheek pressed against the side of your ear so the sound that leaves her lips heads straight into your ear. Wordless, breathless, hopefully the first of many.

You kiss a path down her neck, to those collarbones of hers, to the little dip between them that she’s told you the anatomical name of multiple times because you keep forgetting. Because honestly you didn’t care what some 14th century physicist decided to call it. You knew only that it was a part of Hirai Momo, love of your life, and that was it, that was enough. 

The silk of her robe stops you from going any further - a flimsy barrier but one nonetheless. You feel her hands lift your head from her upper chest until you are hovering above her, eyes finding and locking with their counterparts. There it is again, that perfect, intense intimacy; an intimacy you’d built over years of dating and a couple of years of marriage, the kind that allows you both the ability to communicate without words. She cradles your head in her hands and she smiles warmly and as corny as it might be there just aren’t any other words to describe it - your heart melts.

Her hands leave your cheeks, and without breaking your gaze she undoes the flimsy knot that keeps her robe together, pulling the folds apart to reveal her body to you.

You remember the first time you saw Hirai Momo naked, all those years ago. You hold that memory pretty close, honestly, because it was one of those moments in your life that you weren’t sure could ever be topped. She was a one night stand, then, the result of one too many glasses of old, expensive grape juice at a bar. That night you seared the sight of her in your mind because that was all she was, all you thought she would be.

Little did you know that she would be who she was, all these years later. You see her practically naked now beneath you and your reaction now is the same as it was back then - sheer, utter, awe.

She is perfect, as she was back then - all curves and valleys and muscle. She’s round breasts with tight nipples and she’s a flat, toned stomach and she’s long, perfect legs that go on forever and feel perfect wrapped around your head or your waist.

She’s as beautiful now as she was then. Even more so, honestly, because of what she is. Not some half-drunk, ill-advised one night stand with a co-worker, no, she is so much more than that. She is your wife, yes, but she is your soulmate, something you weren’t entirely convinced existed outside of fairy tales and silly romance stories written by amateur authors on the internet.

The smile on her lips turns into a giggle. “Stop staring,” she says, “and start fucking.”

It was just like her, just like Momo to turn an intimate moment into something a little less serious and a little more lewd. It was a defense mechanism of hers, you’d come to learn. She wasn’t the most open person with her feelings sometimes, not because she didn’t possess said feelings, but because she wasn’t quite sure how to articulate them. And so she often diffused those situations with humor.

You share a smile, but it softens quickly and becomes something else altogether. The humor becomes passion again. 

You dive into her body, first into those wonderful breasts of hers, so round and full and perfect. You take a rosy nipple into your mouth and Momo gasps in response, her back arching off the mattress, taken aback by the feel of your lips and tongue on her when she was expecting you to take the more circuitous route around her chest. Your other hand finds her other breast, not wanting to leave it idle, and soon her gasps turn into soft moans that fill the bedroom.

You take your time on her chest, knowing how good it made her feel, to say nothing of your own desires and needs. She had a body to die for but her chest was something special, and you had no trouble at all lavishing her round mounds and taut nipples with all the attention you both needed.

She’s a squirming, writhing thing now, her legs grinding against your crotch, searching for friction, for relief. Her thighs press against your hips and even while your mouth is latched firmly around a stiff nipple she grabs one of your hands by the wrist and brings it between her legs.

She’s wet and ready and dripping and you never, ever tired of the feel of her on your fingertips, so slick, so hot. You drag a fingertip from her base to her clit and she shudders at the feel of you.

“Fuck,” she gasps, the first full word she’s able to manage in a very long time. 

It turns into a longer, drawn out version of the same word moments later when your fingers slide inside her, only a single knuckle deep, two fingers wide. Stretching her, opening her, feeling her wet readiness on your digits. Your fingers continue the same languid pattern, starting at her base and sliding up her slit to her clit, circling the tender bud with your fingertips.

She moans, the sound soft and musical and causing your lips to curl into a smile around her breast. You release the tender bud from between your lips and look up at her, that same smile smug on your face.

“You like that, baby?” you ask - the most rhetorical of questions.

Her eyes, half-lidded in pleasure, tell you what her answer is. She backs up said answer by grasping your head again and crushing your lips with hers. If the first kiss was intimate and the second passionate the third is needy. She tells you with her lips what she cannot articulate with words. 

She breaks the kiss, and your heads hover inches apart, eyes locked on each other as your fingers play with the increasingly drenched flesh between her legs. She whimpers and sighs and moans and you watch all of it, watch every quiver of pleasure as it courses through her cheeks and lips. Her eyes shut and flutter open and remain half-lidded and sometimes her brow furrows as though she’s in pain or deep concentration but you know it’s neither, it’s pleasure, it’s wonderful and it’s taking over her body.

Her hand finds your forearm, her nails dig into your arm and it’s almost painful. 

“Gonna cum,” she gasps, eyes shut. “Gonna cum.”

“Do it, Momo. Cum for me,” you urge. You find her lips, give her a soft kiss, inhale the moans leaving her lips. Her hips buck, her thighs quiver around your hand. Your fingertips, incessant and merciless, continue to circle her clit, their pace neither increasing or decreasing but staying steady, just the way she liked.

When she cums it is a sight. Her back arches and her mouth opens in a scream that never comes, frozen open. Her nails dig into the skin of your forearm and the sharp pricks of pain are nothing compared to the pleasure you find in helping Momo find her own. You watch, enraptured, as her orgasm courses through her body. She’s quivering and sweaty and dishevelled. You never tired of it. Never would.

When she comes down from it her cheeks are flushed and her hair, her newly cut, blonde waves, cling to the side of her face by matted sweat at her temples.

“Fuck,” she gasps between her teeth. “Fuck.”

You smile. Her hand releases the deathgrip it had on your wrist and your fingers leave her aching clit. She brings your glistening fingertips to the space between your faces and she licks her slick juices from them.

“Fuck me,” she says, inbetween darts of her pink tongue that gather up the wetness on your fingers. “Cum inside me.”

“I will, Momo.”

She gives your fingers one last lick, releases your hand. The intensity in her eyes is clear.

“Breed me.”

What you would have given to see the reaction of your younger self if you’d told that poor schmuck that one day his one night stand would become his wife, would perhaps become the mother of his children. But here you are, and here she is, and you’re married and about to start a family.

You press yourself between her warm, spread thighs and bring your tip to her entrance. You slide your head up and down her slick lips and the contact rips wordless sighs from you both, sighs that turn into deep, primal moans when you finally slide inside her.

She’s wet and hot and tight and every possible adjective in the English language could not fully describe how it felt to be inside Hirai Momo. It felt amazing, better than any other physical sensation you’d ever known. Her legs close around your hips and her arms wrap themselves around your neck and you’re one being. You kiss her, deeply. Your lips leave hers and your faces hover inches apart as you begin to slide and out of her slick, hot cunt.

It’s soft and slow and passionate this time. You both loved the hard, rough sex - Momo herself had been ever keen on adding a hand wrapped tightly around her throat or handcuffs binding her wrists to the headboard - but now was not one of those times. Tonight was about more than that, and the conversation your bodies were having with each other made it clear what this night was really about.

She sighs and moans, wordless, breathless sounds directly into your ear. She loved her dirty talk, but much of it was absent tonight. Often sex in your bedroom was punctuated with filth or demands or name calling.

Tonight there are asks. Requests. Pleas.

“Fuck me, please,” she gasps. “Fuck me, give it to me.”

“I will, Momo. I will.”

“I’ve… I’ve been a good girl, right? I have. I want it. I want your cum. I need it.”

“What do you need, Momo?” you ask, another question that needed no answer. “Tell me what you need.”

“I want, I need,” she says, which were full, adequate sentences in and of themselves - but you knew what you wanted to hear. What you needed to hear.

“What do you need, Momo," you repeat, insistent. "Tell me. I need to hear it, need to hear you say it.”

“I need you to breed me,” she spits, breathless, desperate now, needy. “I want you to cum inside me, fill me up with cum-”

“Fuck, Momo-”

“-breed me, make me a mommy, leave a baby in my tummy baby, baby please-”

“Fuck,” you gasp, tearing your ear from her lips, as though you were afraid if she went on, babbling in your ear, that you’d cum too soon. But you wanted this to last, wanted to draw it out even longer than your usual sessions. You plant your palms on either side of her head and raise your upper body from hers. Throughout it all you are pumping between her spread legs, the silken, slick embrace of her cunt tight around your cock.

Detached somewhat from her, you watch with lewd fascination as her body is rocked by each thrust into her cunt. Her breasts - perfect, round mounds - bounce hypnotically, flesh soft and creamy, taut nipples still glistening with your saliva. Her abs clench and tighten, her thighs flex and work. Your gaze wanders further down, to the spread lips of her pussy, tight and wet and slick. Your cock glistens in the split seconds it spends outside of her body, catching the low light of the bedroom before it is inside her again.

When your eyes return to hers there is an intensity in them that takes you aback. Those were eyes you’d seen often twisten in pleasure, slave to her body’s whims, but now they are serious, intentional, even as they are occasionally shut or half-lidded by a sudden spike of pleasure. But they always open again, always find your gaze and hold it.

“Harder,” she says, the word half-moan and half-gasp. “Please. Fuck me harder.”

Your body moves of its own accord. Your hands, planted on either side of her head, leave the mattress. Sitting on your heels for a moment, you pull her body back towards you, embedding yourself inside her to the hilt and drawing a gasp from her lips. Then your hands find her knees, snaking beneath them and pushing her legs back against her body, folding her almost in half atop the bed.

You lean over her. She is bent in half and with her legs against her arms, knees almost touching her shoulders, she is helpless, unable to do much more than simply take your cock.

You fuck her. hard and merciless, your cock drilling into her body to the deepest parts of her. 

“Oh god,” she swears, “oh god, you’re so fucking deep, oh fuck, oh god!”

“Fucking take it, Momo,” you spit between gritted teeth. “Fucking take my cock, take my cum.”

“Yes!” she exclaims, the word leaving her mouth like some natural reaction, some primal response from somewhere in the deepest, darkest parts of her. “Fucking cum inside me, please, cum inside me and give me a baby, breed me, get me pregnant-”

“Jesus,” you hiss, your turn to swear. “God, Momo, you’re so-”

“Fuck, please, breed me, breed me, cum inside me-”

You groan then, something dark and guttural leaving your throat in reaction to the pleas of the needy young woman beneath you. Her cunt flutters and pulsates and every movement either of you make drives you crazy, chases sanity from your mind and replaces it with something altogether scary, something that makes you slave to its whims and desires - the desire to leave a part of you inside this woman, to make her yours in the most primal way possible.

“Momo, I-”

“Inside me, please, please, breed me please-”

“Gonna cum-”

“Give me a baby, breed me please-”

The sight, the feel, the sound - the connection - it’s all too much, and you bury yourself as deep as you can inside Hirai Momo’s quivering, trembling body and let go. Your cock pulsates and spills warm, hot cum inside her, filling her up, leaving her cunt slick and messy, making her yours.

You stay there, frozen, her body still folded in half, feet helpless in the air. Your foreheads touch, the contact somehow grounding the both of you, bringing you both back to Earth, back home. She is still a mess around you, the pleasure still coursing through her body. Your bodies work hard to feed starved lungs. Your sweat drips from your forehead onto hers, another mark of your bond.

You open eyes you hadn’t known you’d closed. And there she is, eyes already finding yours. The softest, most intimate of smiles finds its way onto her lips. You kiss her softly, your lips playing tenderly with each other as you slowly release her legs from her chest. She wraps them around your waist as you settle atop her, your half-hard cock still embedded inside her creamy, messy cunt.

When your kiss breaks you look at each other again, and when she smiles it’s a little softer now, a little less intense. 

“Wow,” she says, softly, thereby winning the award for the most understated reaction that night. It brings a smile to your face and it becomes a soft giggle that she returns. 

You slowly ease yourself from her body, both of you wincing at the loss of the most intimate of connections. You fall on the bed beside her and she cuddles up to your side, but not before finally ridding herself of her silk robe, now sweaty and messy and in need of a turn in the laundry machine.

You bring her close, and she nuzzles into your neck as your arms wrap around her. You feel her lips curl into a contented, soft smile to mirror the one on your own.

“I hope they’re all like that,” you say, softly, earning a soft murmur of approval from Momo.

“Me too. Doc says we should try every day for the next couple of nights, so…”

“Well if it’s doctor’s orders, I suppose we don’t really have much of a choice.”

Momo raises her head from your neck. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are tired but there is love there. There is love everywhere.

“Mmhmm,” she agrees. “I think we can find a way to make it happen, I suppose. So same time tomorrow?”

“The alarm’s already set.”

You smile. You bring her close. You tell her you love her. She does the same.

----

Author’s Note: This is completely unedited filth that you shouldn’t use as a measure of my writing skill because it’s trash but BFH! BFH! BFH!

Momo too hot.

[in-sufficientdata]

ID: Bluesky post by Ro Salarian (@RoSalarian.bsky.social):

I often wonder if abusive people are drawn to the arts, or if a certain amount of notoriety just makes people turn to shit. I am involved in a lot of different art scenes, and every single one has a whisper network about some big names who nobody feels they can address directly.

Kelly Barnhill (@KellyBarnhill.bsky.social) quotes this on July 10, 2024 at 6:47pm EST and responds:

Sexual predation is clearly not limited to the arts, and so-called "whisper networks" exist in every profession. And ultimately these networks always, always fail. They don't reach the most vulnerable and they don't ever remove the offender or prevent future harm. end ID.

At the source, the thread continues:

When I was growing up, I had a friend whose house had a bad stair - a nail sticking up on one side, and on the other side if you stepped wrong, the whole tread could flip up and send you flying backwards. We had to be told to avoid that stair. It was dangerous. We couldn't forget.

The trouble was, it looked like every other stair. Sometimes we did get hurt. This went on for years. Finally, one of the other parents in the neighborhood was like THE CHILDREN ARE GETTING INJURED and the whole "rule" of avoidance, of letting people know, was thrown out. They fixed the stair.

Now, this was dumb, of course. Who just has a stair that looks like every other stair but is boobytrapped in this bonkers way? Well, lots of people, as it turned out. And this wasn't so bad, as injuries go - a skinned knee or the occasional puncture wound.

Imagine if they had a stair that was, say, secretly filled with bees. Or poisoned. Or a one-way portal to one of the various realms of Hell. And it was there, like any other stair, looking benign. Maybe it was even fancied up - attracted the eye and tickled the fancy. A rock star stair. Well.

It's problematic, is my point. Leaving a danger in plain view is problematic. Simply relying on a network of people warning people and washing our hands of the whole affair is problematic. And worse, it abdicates responsibility. This is not how grown-ups should behave.

Part of the problem stems from the Myth of Male Genius - organizations twist themselves in knots to protect their access to whatever Male Genius they've tied their careers to, be they philosophers or physicists, conductors or or inventors, teachers or hotshot attorneys. We've all experienced this.

And while it's [notallmen] or [notonlymen] or whatever tagline you want to throw at me - yes, I know, and yes, I agree, and yes I'm certain that toxic and predatory women exist and have also harmed but I honestly can't think of any at the moment - it all stems from a central problematic fallacy:

Here's a toxic fallacy that I'd like to see dismantled: that genius is rare. That it must be protected at all costs. That it must be allowed to misbehave because the misbehavior is tied to genius in some fundamental way that none of us can understand because we are not geniuses. WRONG.

For every "rockstar author" or "rockstar artist" or "rockstar scientist" or "rockstar academic" there are a thousand others who are just as talented, just as transformative, just as consequential. And by ascribing godlike abilities to those who are more ordinary than we'd like to admit, we allow the person on that pedestal to become unglued from consequence and unhooked from the ties that are supposed to bind us to one another. This is a moral injury and an injury of empathy as well. So it's bad for the "rockstar". And holy hell is it bad for every person they injure. And worse, what about the "genius" of the victims? What about the dreams deferred and the paths upended because the world they've entered has decided to make itself unacceptably dangerous, unacceptably callous. A busted stair in the middle of the ascent in some young woman's career, left for no reason.

Here's what I know: genius isn't godlike or magical or even that rare. Genius is cultivated, nurtured, supported, delighted in. It happens in the context of a myriad of tiny boosts, too numerous to count and too subtle to name. It is as common as breath, and just as precious.

The reason why predatory men are lauded, protected, demurred to, is because we've told a story to ourselves that their genius is special, and have allowed ourselves to believe that the only way to become special ourselves is to bathe in its light, regardless of consequence.

Let's be done with that story. Cultivate more lights. Be the light.

And also? Let's fix that fucking stair, shall we?

[transcarcinization]

*waves hands* eclipses. you knwo

sources under cut

Quotes:

"On that day, many hopeless romantics became destined to a lifetime of searching for signals in the gamma-ray sky", A History of Dark Matter

"Do you have a human soul and can you prove it?", The long and short of it, Richard Siken

"Dear God / It is great the way you always get the stars in the right places." Children's Letters to God, Stuart Hample

"Things are similar- this makes science possible. Things are different- this makes science necessary." the dialectical biologist, Richard Levins & Richard Lewontin

"Hinc Itur Ad Astra", translates as "from here the way leads to the stars". Motto of Vilnius University

"Amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got", Eulogy from a Physicist, Aaron Freeman

"I know that / intimacy is not a clean thing; / it is difficult like this—covert / and common. Bare, as it should be: / someone says I want the mess in you / and you give it to them", Heed the Hollow, Malcolm Tariq

"For all I know, maybe everyone is screaming / as they go through life, silently," Don’t Tell Anyone, Tony Hoagland

"KL: Your honor I am here for a refresh. A renewal of self. I consider this act to be a poetic gesture and a birthday gift. I am ready for an update. An intervention into my life. I am here to be born again as myself, or at the very least, the most current version of myself. I am prepared to let go. To empty my cache. To refill the screen with the same information." Court hearing, Kristian Sue Lucas

Images:

Nasa: solar eclipse, multilength milky way, tycho's star

circuits archive (my love), Enterprise schematics, Franz Joseph, 1973

Other:

shoutout to this post for making me want to learn gradient maps, and @metronn for helping me find the episode where they show Geordi vision! Paintings are referenced from this screenshot (sorry for pinterest link i have no idea what episode this is)

[brailsthesmolgurl]

APPRENTICESHIP

Preview: Set back in the olden days of China, your attendance was much summoned by Master Li Shen, a renowned Medical Physician that is in need of an apprentice. Known for his stoic personality, your temperance was definitely tested. But, could there be an actual explanation behind his stoicity?

Warnings: This is gonna be quite of a long read for you Zayne girlies out there so pls strap in. Fluff, makes your heart giddy in a funny way. A possible new series.

P.S: I am not a doctor, hence most of the 'medication methods' mentioned in here are for the sake of the plot and is not and shall not be implied to real life practice! Futhermore, I am not a historian so I am not the best at depicting traditional China perfectly, all of the basis of my descriptions are taken off of the Chinese dramas I used to binge on. This story was also highly inspired by this amazing artwork and the most recent memory of his! He is always known as Doctor Zayne in modern days, so why not give it an inspirational twist and make him a highly honoured doctor in the older days of Chinese history! Divider is sourced from here!

next part

"We had arrived, Miss y/n." Waking up to the jolting of the chariot and the shoutings of the driver. Her head was ringing, possibly a light comatose from the constant bumpiness of the muddy roads for the past fortnight. Rests were only necessary for food and bathroom breaks but other than that, most of the time was spent encaged within the four walls of her chariot. Occasionally, the books may be entertaining; a romance novel, a literary piece and a biography of the great physician named Li Shen. The man named in the biography shall be her soon-to-be-teacher.

Master Li Shen is in need of an acolyte and y/n was called upon to meet him due to her father's connections. The old man boasted her to be a capable physicist, mildly implying his greed to receive a reputable name for his own bloodline. Although y/n father's opinion was distasteful, but she had decided to go through with it. Anything would grant her a better life than to be at home, waiting to be married off to some man who might be thrice her age and a pervert. Marriage is not the one thought she would want at this moment, let alone a marriage that she holds no control over.

Stepping out of her chaise, covered feet coming in contact with rocky pathways and eyes welcomed the sight of the abundance of verdurous greenery. Everywhere she looked, it was aligned with bamboos and wild grasses and ferns, standing on-guard and surrounding a standalone courtyard house. The courtyard house was mostly white and brown, the body of the walls being white whilst stilts were clearly constructed from lumbars. It sat within the same aesthetic framework as its surroundings.

The driver got off of his seat at the front of the chariot and he retrieved y/n's bags from under the chariot. “The master shall await for you in the house. I will get your bags into your chambers later. It is best to bid your greetings to the master as of now.” She heeded his instructions, walking over towards the grand doors of the standing structure. Pushing upon the heavy doors, it revealed a wall with a carved symbol—a standardised design of houses back in the days. The symbol is intricately carved by hand, taking shape of a leaf cradled by a pair of hands. It is a symbol that could only be bear by the best of physicians, an indicator of intermediate medicinal herb practitioners.

To the left, the hallways extended into a total of three rooms. All of the windows aligned with paper maché as windows and doors made out of varnished bamboo wood. On the right, only a set of sliding doors were found, no paper maché to be found on the windowsills and you assumed that is where the treatment room is allocated at. The courtyard in the middle held a small pool of lotus flowers, blooming elegantly on non-rippling waters. A stone table placed next to the pond, with incense burning on a wooden bark. It explains the lingering of a smoky-jasmine scent in the air.

“Y/n right?” A young man revealed himself from behind one of the sliding doors, adorning a cotton Hanfu. His features are sharp, pinched cheeks a good mixture with his chiselled jawlines. But his body was taut, the clothes he wore hung onto his mannequin-like body structure. “I hope the ride here has not taken too much of a toll of you as I could not afford to care for you the next day.” He was just as what was described in his biography. A man that owns an ego higher than his height, with a handsome face but too cold to touch. “Your chambers are located at the end of this hallway. Be awake at dawn tomorrow.”

Y/n laid in her bed at night, listening to the choirs of nocturnal bugs outside of her window sills, the haunting howls of wolves, the ricocheting chirps of the grasshoppers, the piercing screams of the cicadas. The room she was assigned to was fairly large, with more than enough space to fit a double bed and a dining table in it. The room is not anywhere special, it looked oddly familiar to her own room at home but minus the amount of gilt paintings and ornaments. It also reeked of herbs and incense that leaves a smoky aftertaste through one's nostrils. After a short staring contest with the ceiling, her dreamland beckoned and she willingly submitted to it.

The next day, y/n got jolted awake to screams followed by gibberish that was indistinguishable. Sitting up in a hastened manner, eyes widened and hair messily sat on top of her head. Oh no, the sun is up. She pushed herself off of her bed and scrambled to make herself presentable then proceed to storm off to the treatment room where she was expected to be. Sliding open the bamboo door, and she was welcomed with the sight of a young man wincing in pain, with the master holding a thread in his hands.

"Your habit of waking up to the sun heating up your bottom is unfavourable." Master Li Shen spoke, not sparing her any eye contact as he continued his suturing on the guy's back, and her peripheral vision eyed the man biting down onto a wooden bark to muffle his screams. "Don't just stand there, make yourself useful. Get me the herb in the mortar." And she did as she was told.

A huge gash streaked on the back of the young commoner, now sutured up neatly in measured knots. It seemed like it could have been caused by a blunt force of trauma. "Here." Y/n handed the filled mortar to Master Li and he applied it onto the wounds, the patient of his hissing in response. "How did he obtained this wound?"

"Whiplash, he said it was an accident, but judging by the wet patch at the front of his pants, I assume it's intentional for the whipping, just not expected for this aftermath." Hearing that, her face heated up at the context that she was provided with. Men of lower classes clearly have lesser safety measures when it comes to fulfillment of their kinks. "Serve him a cup of tea that would suit his current conditions. He has sutures and a mild fever from the infection." Then the physician got up, his outfit emitted his elegance, long and flowy, just like his hair; a symbol of virility in this age.

Once Master Li had left the room, y/n scooted over to the tea table, looking at the array of loose tea leaves at her disposal. She took up the small tea pot, and filled it up with the chosen tea leaves before brewing it for the patient. Amidst waiting, she decided to observe the lotus flowers in the courtyard. She slid open the door and there is Master Li, sat at the stone table, with a calligraphy brush in his hand and a scroll laid out in front of him. "Master Li." Y/n mustered up the courage to approach him. "I apologise for my tardiness this morning. I did not mean to be late."

He looked up, hazy green eyes glanced at her. His hand still hovering over the scroll. "Being tardy is not professional, it is not tolerable for me. Do not repeat that mistake, do you understand y/n?" She nodded quickly and sat yourself opposite him, watching him quietly as he started producing strokes of words on the scroll. His handwriting is surprisingly neat, and fulfills the box-like characters for Chinese writing. So he is not only a good physician, but also has good handwriting. When he is done, he set the brush aside and looked up at her again, expressionless. "I will be setting into town tonight to gather some herbs. Would you like to come with?"

"Yes, I would love to. I have not been here before." She smiled at him and the man in front of her sighed contently. Getting up to retrieve his scroll and he walked towards the room the patient is in. "The tea should be brewed by now, you should serve it while its hot. After you're done with this patient, you may rest and I shall see you later during dusk."

Two hours was spent on treating the oncoming patients and Master Li Shen had asked her to tend to them as he had some other matters to care about. The patients ranged from having a mild cold to obtaining wounds from their harsh work. The only weird case of the day was surprisingly the one that she woke up to early in the morning. Throughout the treatment process she got to hear what the patients have to say, particularly this old lady with the surname Hwang. "He is a lovely young man you know? He never charges us a single penny and always prepares chrysanthemum tea for me to bring home. Even on the days I am not sick, I could come over just to have a cup of tea with him and talk."

"I see." Y/n replied with her back turned towards the lady as she was preparing the medicated powders for the lady to bring home to her granddaughter. "Does Master Li Shen talk a lot?"

"He does, but not as much as he does for listening." The old lady chuckled, her sign of age disappearing for a moment whenever she smiles. "I was telling him the other day that my granddaughter is almost at the age of maturity. I figured I could introduce them together. It would be nice to get her to marry a physician, especially one who is so good looking and kind like him."

The load of information caught y/n off guard slightly, not being able to properly process it as she did not know him well enough to be a judge of character just yet. She instead, focused on the task at hand, wrapping up the earthly toned powder in a thin piece of brown paper and wrapped it with some thin bamboo strips and turning to face the woman, placing the packed medicine onto the table and sliding it over to her. "I guess marrying your granddaughter to a physician may not be a bad idea afterall." Slender fingers tapped onto the medicine pack. "Mix this with hot water and drink it twice a day. If she does not show any signs of improvement, you may bring her back next week."

After the dismissal of the old lady, y/n walked her out towards the main entrance. Upon arriving at the main entrance, the heavy wooden doors were pushed open and her hands unconsciously held the lady's shoulders, backing her up so she would not get hit by the doors given her poor vision. "Master Li Shen." Y/n greeted the towering man that slotted into the entrance and his eyes glanced over towards y/n, and towards the old lady.

"Y/n, Madam Hwang." A curt nod was accompanied with his greeting and he turned towards the young acolyte of his again. "You may get ready, I can lead Madam Hwang back from here." He extended an arm forward for the old lady to grasp onto.

Y/n was slightly reluctant of course. He had only came back and now he has to leave the premise again just to walk the old lady home. She did wished for him to take a rest before the outing with him later in the late evening. "But Master Li Shen, you had only came back from your trip to--"

"I will be fine y/n." The end of his lips pulled up slightly, revealing a small smile of solace. For a man whom had always been content with their own loneliness, having someone who cares for such a minute detail made him felt acquainted. "I shall send Madam Hwang home and await for you in the courtyard for our outing in a bit. Come Madam Hwang, let's get you home." His tone, amiable towards the senior as he slowly walked her out of the premises. It was at this moment that got the young maiden wondering if Master Li Shen had always been such a warm fellow and he is the total opposite of what the rumours had suggested of his attitude.

The town was much bigger than what she had expected, streets lined with stalls selling various goods, foods and beverages. Lanterns lit up the street in a warm glow, a stark contrast towards the silverish-blue rays of the bright moon for the night. People of all ages flood the street like ants within a colony, busy yet lively. Y/n walked next to Master Li Shen, cautious in herr steps as she does not wish to bump into anyone and cause any trouble.

A kid was shouting something incoherent, the thick accent of his made the dialect sounded like a foreign language. "Watch out." A palm landed onto her shoulders and she was forcefully tugged aside, her other shoulder bumping into something solid and she winced at the interaction. Looking over, y/n noticed Master Li Shen was the one who has his arm around her, a glare sent towards that mischievous kid who charged right towards you earlier. But when he looks down towards the young maiden again, his glare dissipated. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Master Li Shen, thank you for watching out for me." You bowed slightly, a common courtesy in the olden days to show one's respect to another. His arm around her shoulder dropped and she could feel the heat prickling on her cheeks. Never once, she was touched by a man other than her father. Although the touch does not mean much, it still lingered on her skin.

"You should walk in front of me," she raised an eyebrow at his suggestion. "So you may be safer in this crowd." Nodding her head, she position yourself in front of him and slowly lead him through the crowd, cheeks still burning whenever his chest would accidentally bump into hers due to the crowd flow. The man behind her however, had no issue following behind her, his vision clear given his height difference from the norm. Or so he thought. "You may turn right on the upcoming junction. That should lead us right to the--- y/n?" Looking down, y/n's figure is nowhere to be seen. "Y/n?"

The crowd was too hectic, she had underestimated the crowd flow as she weaved through individuals, totally forgetting the fact she was supposedly accompanied by a giant. Given her small stature, she managed to get past the crowds easily only to find herself lost in a small alley. The darkness loomed over the alley, swallowing everything within its path to blend it within the shadows. Y/n could make out movement from within the shrouded darkness, but it sent goosebumps down her spine. Something does not feel right.

Suddenly, a bony hand reached out from the dark and she cried out as it grabbed onto her arm. The force then started to reel her in, and she could feel her tears surfacing to her eyes, too stunned to fight back. "Let me go!" She shouted in a desperate attempt to flee, head turning towards the crowd to grab someone's attention with her voice. More hands had started to extend from the dark alley to secure her legs and the ends of her dress, ready to drag her into god-knows-what. "HELP---" Another hand slapped itself over her mouth and she was immediately voided of her attempts to free herself as she got dragged into the darkness.

How long has it been? Her eyelids lifted every once in a while, visions went from black to blurred in a few blinks. She was drifting in and out of a state of unconsciousness and her ears could only take in the sounds of someone breathing hard. Her body was jerked back and forth, feet are certainly not on solid ground. But it felt like she was floating?

When y/n managed to snap her eyes open, she shot up while inhaling a breath so sharp it jabbed her lungs. "Careful, you might hurt yourself." The voice got her snapping her head towards the side, seeing Master Li Shen seated next to her, blowing onto the tea cup in his hand. "Here, have some of it. It shall quench your thirst." He handed her the cup that he had blew onto. Sipping onto it, the warm temperature soothes her body immediately.

"What happened?" Y/n asked, placing the tea cup back onto the table and looked at him. The moonlight gleamed through the wax papers of the window sills, an unnatural soft glow coming into the room and lighting his face up just enough to for her to read his expressions, which holds a blank slate. "You just got a little bit of a concussion. Nothing much to worry about." His voice was hushed, cool-headed as always. "You shouldn't have ran off like that, the town is dangerous. Especially for newcomers like you. You're fresh meat alike to them." He then leaned forward with a piece of cloth in his hand. She was too fixated on trying to regain her memories of the happening that she had totally missed out on him wringing out the cloth.

The way she had withdrew herself out of shock halted his movements from reaching his hand out further. He figured it would be best to get her permission before he proceeds. "You have some cuts on your cheek, I am going to clean it for you." So much for asking for her permission, it's more like he is demanding for her face to be served to his treatments. It does make one wonder if he treats all of his patients like this? Demanding.

To Li Shen however, it was more of an act of service. He could care less if someone was found in the state she was in earlier. Finding y/n in the alleyway, strewn on the muddy floor like a puppet as men stood over her, ready to do whatever they had planned to do. Alleys were never known to hold people of high morality and it got Li Shen irked on what he thought they might do to someone so beautiful like y/n. Yes, Li Shen does think of her as a beauty. Hence, he went out of his way to save her. He did managed to save her in one piece, but part of his guilt still troubled him, wishing that he could have stop them from digging their dirty nails onto her skin and causing those scratches and cuts.

"I can do it myself Master Li--" She was paused when he put the wet cloth over her mouth to shush them. He was so close that she could smell the scents of the market she was in earlier. Smells of the sweet tanghulus and freshly made baos, enveloping his usual jasmine-incense musk.

"Please, call me Li Shen from now on. We are quite close in age, there is no need for so much formality." His wet cloth pressed against the cut on the right side of her cheek and she winced in return, cheeks turning the opposite direction due to the stinging pain. "Stay still, it will only hurt a little." His free hand came up, and two fingers were placed under her chin as he turned her head back to face him. His gaze was steady, not on her wound, but staring right into her soul. Those emerald orbs that held a lot of emotions in them, yet she could never seem to read through them.

The tension grew between the both of them, as the staring contest went on. For a moment, she was encaptivated by him, a man so ethereal and smart and mysterious that it makes one want to fall for him. Maybe he is not the same as what the rumours had always suggested. "Li Shen." Her mouth blurted out his name before her brain could even process the emotions and she immediately looked away to hide her embarassment.

When she broke off the eye contact, it got Li Shen to snap out of his own reverie as well. His heart was thumping against his chest when he looked at her a while ago. It was as if the night had gotten longer. She looked ethereal to him too, the shine of the moonlight highlighting her facial features; her big eyes that had always held sincerity in them, soft and plump lips that makes the best smiles and laughters, her long brunette hair that flowed down to her waist, a heart so big that if given the chance to fit everyone in it, she would. She had never changed from the last time he had last seen her.

Li Shen had never really been associated with any females for any romantic relationships. Even when he was introduced to different potential marriage partners, he had never felt the need to be in a relationship. But with y/n, he just knew that it had always been her. Even from young.

"Yes?" It had never felt so right for him to hear her say his name out loud again. But, did she remembered him? Before her last accident? Right before he had left to the city for his physician test? When he had gotten news of her drowning because she fell into a well by accident and only to be awoken to a fresh start for memory collections. Had he ever once popped up in her pretty little head?

He anticipated for her response, trying so hard to not break the ice and to ask her the question he have had the moment he saw her within the candidate pile to be his assistant. However, his anticipation diffused as soon as she answered. "I...I didn't know why I did that. I apologise." Her apology was frowned upon for the wrong reasons, but Li Shen of course, was discreet about it. "I only remembered I blacked out."

"You don't have to know what happened." Li Shen tilted her head back to its initial position and wasted no time in pressing the cloth against her cheek. She hissed this time, biting her lip to stop herself from turning her cheek again and to disrupt his aid. "But you are safe now and that should matter the most." The statement came off to be more bitter than what he had intended to. It was a long awaited sentence. But with the current context of her not even having a slither of memory of him, it hurts him to say it. "The water was mixed with some herbs, it shall promote healing within a couple of days. You had a few cuts on your legs and arms too but I had helped you to apply some medication onto it while you were unconscious just now. I will see you tomorrow morning."

The physician then got up, his height immediately taking up space within her room. She may not know him, but she could tell that he seemed bothered. His sudden change of tone and body language got her curious. Without much thought, she leaned up slightly and grabbed ahold of the ends of his outfit. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look down at her. "I will not run off again next time, Li Shen. I'm sorry for what happened today. And thank you, for saving me." Accompanied with her smile, it only got Li Shen's heart weighing more than ever. The physician only gave her a nod of acknowledgement and sees himself out of her chambers. If only he had never left her from the start, then perhaps, he could have actually saved her.

next part

OKAY BBYGURLS, this is soooooo long overdued because of a writer's block. Lemme know in the comments if this is worth for a part 2 hmmmm :)))

[ko-existing]

No source of seeing, experiencing, feeling and being. No actual objects to be seen despite seemingly infinite amount of objects. Duality of subject versus object is a complete illusion from the Mind.

by Being_is_IT / Twitter

Reader: "Dreamer" and "SELF" are synonymous. To say "dreamer" doesn't exist but "Self" does is to confuse what one is pointing at when saying "dreamer." The source of the dream - Not an entity, but entirety.

BeingIs: Yes, all these concepts are very confusing when you try to comprehend them via the instrument of the Mind. My pointers are concepts that serve temporary purposes, by no means trying to describe a truth for you. What I am really pointing at is, concepts of entity such as "dreamer", "me", "self", "I", "he", "her", "you", "other", "it", "that", "this", are all assumed by the Mind. Other than the Mind's assumption, these concepts don't actually stand at all. But for the sake of communicating to you, I have no choice but using some concepts as convenience of communications.

Obviously, there are energetic effects of experiencing, seeing, feeling, thinking, and being..., but such effects are not originated from an entity listed above. Let me say it more thoroughly, these obvious energetic effects are not originated from a source at all. The concept of a source is also an imagination from the Mind. Thus, there is not a determinable "source" for experiencing, seeing, feeling, thinking and being. Energetic effects only seem to be present like dream seems to be present. These energetic effects are source less, non-created, and non-ending.

In other words, the energetic effects of feeling, experiencing, thinking, and being have no beginning and no ending. I use the word SELF to point to such infinite intelligent energy as a conceptual convenience so that I can form a readable sentence. But this concept of SELF can be easily misunderstood as all sorts of entities as listed above. That's why pointing will only serve a temporary purpose. I have no way to help you know directly. The actual knowing cannot be expressed or talked about.

The actual knowing cannot be taught either. Actually, there is no such thing as a dreamer, there is no such thing as a dream, there is no such thing as source of dream either. The closest word to use is "effect of dreaming" or "effect of experiencing", just like some people like to use the word "awareness" as an effective pointer. Let me put it more simply: There is obviously an energetic effect of seeing, but you can never be able to pinpoint an entity as a source of seeing, i.e., there is no way to actually determine a so-called "seer". You may try to find this "seer" to the end of your life, you will be empty handed.

Likewise, there are obviously myriads of objects to be seen. But you will never be able to determine any actual object at all, not a single one object is actually determinable right at this moment! You may try to identify an object to the end of your life; you will find nothing. Of course, the Mind is quick to reach a conclusion: "This is a body" or "That is an apple". Really? Are you certain?

Please go take another look! Don't take these fancy new concepts physicists tell you seriously: quantum wave, super string theory, dark matters, quantum gravity, theory of everything, ..., these concepts are nothing more than abstract assumptions imagined by the Mind to make the Mind's logic seems self-consistent. The Mind will forever imagine new logic to replace old logic to try to make self-consistency.

If you don't get what I am saying, let me ask you this question: Where did all the objects in your dream go? Of course, you don't know. Next question, were they actually objects or persons in your dream? If you can't answer these questions, what makes you so determined to answer the same questions being asked about your current experience?

Therefore, the duality of subject versus object is a complete illusion from the Mind. I don't deny the energetic effect of seeing, experiencing, feeling, being, and awareness. But you will never be able to determine a source for such energetic effects regardless how obvious they appear to be.

[sophieinwonderland]

I have actually read your sources, none of which touch on the neurobiology of "plurality." However, several neurobiology studies have demonstrated that DID is only a result of trauma. As for the link with messages from Colin Ross, I do not see him as a credible source. I am well aware of his history with DID research, but unfortunately, his belief that he can shoot energy beams out of his eyes and his malpractice lawsuits makes him less than credible.

Reinders research group demonstrates that DID cannot be simulated (across various studies) as people claiming plurality are doing. I would recommend looking beyond simplistic literature and actually understand the real science behind trauma disorders. It makes it very clear that DID and being "multiple" is solely caused by trauma. Now given that "plurality" is a relatively new social contagion, alongside the destruction of research institutes within the US, i doubt any research directly comparing the neurology of people claiming to be "plural" and people with DID will come about.

I highly recommend expanding your "research" into more scientifically rigorous papers. Also the DSM does specify that DID is a trauma disorder, you just have not read the whole section, unless you ignored the part where it mentions that 90% of cases are from child abuse and 10% are from war, terrorism, or child prostitution.

You do realize that the lawsuits hinged around allegations that Colin Ross gave the patient "false memory syndrome," a syndrome made up by a group of accused child molesters to defend other accused child molesters, right?

30 years later, we still have little to no evidence that the syndrome ever existed. There are some studies that have shown some minor false memories can be implanted. But data is conflicting and nothing on the level of the severe persistent traumatic experiences that have been alleged have been validated. The foundation that created this made up syndrome has since closed down.

If you want to talk about pseudoscience, then you should probably talk about the pseudoscience that drove a lot of the malpractice lawsuits against specialists of dissociative identity disorder at the time.

As for Ross's belief that the human eye can emit energy, I genuinely don't see how that is relevant. Plenty of experts in various fields hold some sort of metaphysical beliefs. Especially when those beliefs are outside of their area of expertise. And Ross is primarily a psychiatrist, not a physicist or a biologist.

The fact is that Colin Ross is one of the foremost experts on dissociative identity disorder in the world. He is a doctor who has spent over 40 years working directly with patients with DID. He has written more books on the topic than almost anyone alive. If not more than anyone alive. His contributions to the field are still regularly cited by other reputable doctors because he is considered a credible source by actual academics.

He has spent his entire career fighting for trauma survivors. Working with patients, developing new treatments, and encouraging trauma-centered care.

You would struggle to find doctors with more experience than Colin Ross with treating dissociative identity disorder.

But I get what you are doing. You can't win on the front of expertise and experience. So you go for personal attacks. When faced with the reality that one of the most experienced expert on DID doesn't support your hate, you decide it's better to find anything you can in his history of fighting for trauma survivors to discredit him.

You cannot accept that the experts disagree with you. That you can't actually find ANY experts who support your belief that plurality can only come from trauma. So your only viable move is trying to attack the experts.

Reinders research group demonstrates that DID cannot be simulated (across various studies) as people claiming plurality are doing.

If these studies are the ones I think they are, what they show is that DID is distinct from "simulating controls." That is, a control group of neurotypical singlets that simply pretends to have DID. What they show is that "people pretending to have an alter will appear differently on a brain scan than people with DID."

It's really not relevant for a number of reasons, and frankly is built on a lot of circular reasoning. Since these studies literally only compare the DID group to roleplayers, you sort of have to start with the premise that endogenic systems are roleplaying to think this is relevant at all.

"Endos are roleplaying" -> "Studies comparing DID systems to roleplayers show that DID is different from roleplaying" -> "This proves that endogenic systems aren't real" -> "Therefore endos are roleplaying."

Citing studies comparing the brains of DID systems to neurotypical singlets who pretend to have DID as evidence that endogenic systems aren't real makes no sense!

I highly recommend expanding your "research" into more scientifically rigorous papers. Also the DSM does specify that DID is a trauma disorder, you just have not read the whole section, unless you ignored the part where it mentions that 90% of cases are from child abuse and 10% are from war, terrorism, or child prostitution.

How are you guys all failing this much at basic reading comprehension that you imagine words that aren't there? This talking point comes up all the time and it is always just wrong.

Here is the quote you're referring to!

Read it over closely a few times.

Note that it does not mention that this makes up the other 10% of cases, only that they have also been reported. Let's break this paragraph down.

Early life trauma represents an environmental risk factor for DID.

About 90% of cases report neglect or abuse.

The early life traumatic experiences can also include painful childhood medical procedures, war, terrorism and human trafficking.

Onset of the disorder has also been described after exposure to other dysfunctional family dynamics.

Going by this alone, these cases could make up the other 10%... or only 5% or 2%.

90% of cases show reports of abuse or neglect. And then an unspecified number of cases report other forms of traumatic experiences.

I am not saying that DID can for certain form without any trauma at all. I am just saying that if you think that this paragraph proves 100% of DID cases are traumagenic, you have fundamentally failed at reading.

[denimbex1986]

'UPDATE, 11:44 am PST: Christopher Nolan confirmed before the beginning of the “Oppenheimer” screening that the cast has left in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA strike.

PREVIOUSLY: Matt Damon has revealed that the “Oppenheimer” cast talked about their strike strategy before hitting the movie’s red carpet premiere in London on Thursday.

“We talked about it,” Damon told Variety on the carpet. “Look, if it’s called now, everyone’s going to walk obviously in solidarity … Once the strike is officially called, [we’re walking]. That’s why we moved this [red carpet] up because we know the second it’s called, we’re going home.”

Damon added: “We gave the strike authorization. We voted 98% to 2% to do that because we know our leadership has our best interest at heart.”

“It’s really about working actors,” he continued. “It’s $26,000 to qualify for health coverage and a lot of people are on the margins and residual payments are getting them across that threshold. This isn’t an academic exercise. This is real life and death stuff. Hopefully we get to a resolution quickly. No one wants a work stoppage, but we’ve got to get a fair deal.”

The London carpet for Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb thriller kicked off just before 5 p.m. local time, with a lot of nervous publicists and marketing executives looking anxiously at their phones and watches. In the event of an early strike, sources told Variety that the entire cast planned to discreetly exit the carpet in Leicester Square.

Emily Blunt told Variety: “Obviously we stand we all of the actors and at whatever point it’s called, we’re going to be going home and standing together through it because I want everyone to get a fair deal.”

Asked whether she’ll be joining the picket line herself, the British star quipped, “Oh, I think so!” before being rushed down the line by her publicist.

Kenneth Branagh, who plays physicist Niels Bohr in the film, also spoke to Variety about his feelings on the strike.

“There are a lot of people here we did not want to disappoint, but we’re also in complete solidarity with our colleagues and what they’re doing,” he said. “I know they’ve worked diligently to achieve an agreement which is happening at a critical point in our industry. It’s important that we’re ready to be shoulder-to-shoulder with them as the situation develops.”

Nolan also spoke to Variety on the carpet about the film’s runtime.

“The runtime is two minutes shorter than ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ so we cling to that,” he said. “I said to (producer) Emma Thomas very early on that it’s going to be a three-hour film. I have to write a script that reflects that. That was our conversation with the studio. It’s a big story and needs a big talent. It’s a 180-page script and it’s a $180 million movie.”

The cast worked the carpet for the better part of an hour before wrapping around 6 p.m. for group photos. Rami Malek, who was stuck in traffic heading over to central London from a shoot, missed the red carpet entirely, but arrived at the 11th hour and hurried onto the carpet for photos...'

[pinkbirddiaries]

I don’t know if I’ve already written this so please bear with me as a do a deeper explanation on how I think the Phantom Dimension works.

Part of this theory is going to be HIGHLY speculative this is do the nature of the subject that we will be discussing. Since I am not a physicist please bear with me as I explain to the best of my understanding how the Phantom Dimension is an alternate universe the is accessible through time travel. All sources will be at the end.

To travel through space is to travel though time. This is supported by Einstein work in special relativity. “An object in motion experiences time dilation, meaning that when an object is moving very fast it experiences time more slowly than when it is at rest.” We see this when we send astronauts to space. While time travel in rotation around the earth versus time spent on earth is negligible but the closer you get to the speed of light the more noticeable the difference is; think interstellar. “Imagine a 15-year-old leaves her high school traveling at 99.5% of the speed of light for five years (from the teenage astronaut's perspective). When the 15-year-old got back to Earth, she would have aged those 5 years she spent traveling. Her classmates, however, would be 65 years old — 50 years would have passed on the much slower-moving planet.”

Moving forward Stephen Hawking’s Multiverse Theory, stems from Quantum Mechanics. I will not pretend to understand this concept but I will explain to the best of my ability. Prof. Hawking and Prof. Hartle created the theory of Quantum Mechanics to explain how the universe originated from nothing. This created a problem of course, how could the universe only do this once? It didn’t. The Big Bang in theory would have created an infinite amount of universes. All similar and slightly different from our own. According to Prof. Hartle “The laws of physics that we test in our labs did not exist forever. They crystallised after the Big Bang when the universe expanded and cooled. The kind of laws that emerge depends very much on the physical conditions at the Big Bang.” (BBC News) To my understanding, it’s kinda like when you make something out of clay. The universe is the clay and you have infinite possibilities but once it drys the clay must stay that way.

Hopefully all of that made sense. Now you might be wondering, “Bird, how tf does that connect to SBG?” And I’ll tell you.

It’s established early in and mentioned constantly that there is a time difference from the Phantom Dimension (PD) and the Human Dimension (HD). Whether that time is one minute or seven is negligible because the effect is still the same. The Graveyard Kids (GKs) are experiencing time dilation. Time dilation is defined as “a physical phenomenon that occurs when two clocks show different elapsed times due to a difference in gravitational potential or relative velocity” The clock for the GKs being their internal clock unfortunately since things in the PD don’t visually affect the HD.

The GKs are in the PD for 7 hours and wake up to a world where next to no time has passed. They are still living and experiencing this time. This is shown through how the kids heal. Remember how earlier we established that each universe can have its own unique set of rules and laws in physics. The could mean that in the PD universe healing based on mental state is just a law of the universe.

“But Bird! How tf did they get to the PD?” I hear you asking. Don’t worry we’re getting there.

What if these “Rifts” as they are called in SBG are actually “Wormholes”. Wormholes (as defined by Einstein) are “a hypothetical structure that connects disparate points in spacetime.” It is often visualized as a tunnel with two ends at different point in spacetime. Spacetime being different locations, points in time, or both. I believe that the Rifts are Wormholes and when the GKs visited the Sorrel Weed house they accidentally fell through one.

The contact is the bridge of the Wormhole which allows travel in between with the human and the Phantom being the two points in space time. The two points being both the Phantom (in a universe with an accelerated time) and the human (in a universe assumed to be similar to ours). So not only is it a different place but time moves differently.

From this point on I have no more sources to support me. I only have speculation.

I believe that when they fell through the Wormhole; alternate bodies were created in the PD universe. The contact between the Phantom and the Human (as referenced previously) is what creates the alternate body (the clone). The GKs consciousness gets transported there for seven hours every night, while we don’t know precisely why this happens we can infer why. I believe it is due to their new bodies not being able to function fully without the HD consciousness.

@crayfee had brought up a good point while we were taking about this. They suggest that maybe these newly created bodies, since they were created for the PD are part Phantom. This could suggest why the clones seen in Logan/Ashlyns dream as well as in the finale look human but operate as Phantoms. Even going to far as to have Phantom like features when the GKs consciousness is not present in them. They could be attempting to take the GKs place in the HD because as of right now they are trapped in the PD.

Speaking of trapped in the PD. Let’s talk about how the parents and the coma patients fit into this.

For whatever reason, the GKs were able to escape the Rift (Wormhole). When we see the kids at the Rift in the Sorrel Weed house the Phantom is seen grabbing Ashlyn’s arm but she manages to pull away and escape. I believe that the parents and coma patients were grabbed by Phantoms but did not escape. It’s safe to assume that do the lack of clones we see for the parents that their consciousness is trapped in the PD.

We’ve seen what happens when someone loses a fight with a Phantom in the PD. They become an infected in the HD. These infected then can turn around and pass the Phantom inside them (or perhaps a new one) into another individual. I believe that the Phantom that is inside the humans HD body is creating a sustained Wormhole inside the body of the infected human. This could explain why it appears that the life is draining from the infected body. It’s not taking on the look of a Phantom but rather it’s dying. A Wormhole would take a lot of energy to sustain and that could be why the Phantom is trying to move bodies in the HD.

This is all I have for know on this theory. If you have anything to add please tell me. (Don’t be mean. I’m not a physicist, I’m a medical humanities student)

But to recap, to move through space is to move through time. To move to another universe is to move through space. Another universes rules become set once it’s created and to travel there you must have a body that abides by these rules. The contact being two points creates a Wormhole that can be traveled through.

[whirligig-girl]

Okay, I have to ask, are you a geologist, physicist, engineer, or have a career in STEM in any other field? I’m new to this account, but my general impression of you is that you like space and world-building, and you put a lot of thought to the science in/of your worlds. You seem very knowledgeable.

I'm a Starfleet officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade in the Operations division, engineering specialization. Prior to that I was an intern and then cadet at the United Mellanus Spa--

Woah woah woah Guz, hey, sweetheart, they weren't talking to you.

Oops. Go on, Luna.

I don't have any serious professional qualification to talk about astronomy and worldbuilding, but I have been a volunteer science communicator at my local observatory (since 2019) and with NASA (JPL Solar System Ambassador, since 2022) for some time. I am self taught, so take it all with a good heap of salt. But I have always tried to put as much plausibility as I can in my worldbuilding from a scientific standpoint (even when it conflicts with the tone of the source material, like with Star Trek fan-worldbuilding :P ), or, at the very least, I like to know the rules before I break them.

I'm just a nerd who likes astronomy and planetary science and played too much KSP and made too many KSP mods.

[scotianostra]

On April 20th 1809 James David Forbes, the Scottish physicist who invented the Seismometer was born in Edinburgh.

James was born at 86 George Street, he was a sickly child ever since birth, and his early years were marked by several tragedies which affected his world view. His mother died in 1810, his older brother William in 1826, and his father in 1827. Consequently by the age of around 18 he was a solitary individual who made no friends until well into adulthood.

One of the sources I have read says he grew up, conservative, superior, and aloof. After the tragedies in his early life I find it amazing he went on to still be talked about over 200 years later.

James entered the University of Edinburgh at aged 16 initially studying law but abandoned his legal interests in 1830 and embraced a life of science. There he won academic prizes and began writing articles on meteorology. The articles got him into the Royal Society of London.

Aged only 24 he became a professor at Edinburgh.University, the great James Clark Maxwell was one of his students. Until his health gave out, Forbes never stopped. His character was simply relentless, as irresistible as the glaciers he devoted his life to studying. I am in awe of the amount that he achieved, from ground-breaking research on the polarisation of thermal radiation to the invention of the seismometer, from the first accurate maps of the Alps to the foundations of modern glaciology.

Until Forbes came on the scene, glaciers were shrouded with ignorance and folklore, poorly understood and shoddily studied. A keen mountaineer capable of thirty miles a day for a week across the roughest terrain. He did all this before the invention of modern mountaineering equipment, safety techniques, or even real maps.

In 1843 he suffered an attack of gastric fever that nearly killed him. He struggled against chronic illness for the rest of his life and would never again regain his former strength. In 1846 he returned to the Alps but was too weak to climb, and his doctors prescribed complete rest for his annual six month vacation. Needless to say, his active personality rebelled against the sentence of peace and quiet, and in 1847 and 1848 he conducted a geological campaign in the Western Highlands. In 1848 Forbes explored the north face of Ben Nevis. He was probably the first man to turn a scientific eye to the mountains of Lochaber and Glencoe.

When the Alpine Club was founded in 1857, Forbes was the first honorary member. He maintained a keen interest in the Alps but never again climbed: “My heart remains where my body can never be. My yearnings towards the home of my youth and towards the Swiss Alps are much on a par: both homesickness.” he said.

Forbes died in 1868. I’ve shied away from his scientific work which made Forbes famous to show that some of these great inventors that Scotland spawned were more than scientists but led a life away from their labs and studies. He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. The grave is marked by a simple but large grey granite Celtic cross and lies on the south side of the main path just west of the roundel. The third pic is his invention, the world's first seisometer.

[redpenship]

cosmic wip

an: this fic is taking me FOREVER to write and i like this convo quite a bit so I am posting it on tumblr!!

---

This was a huge claim. Starline blinked in surprise. “You . . . stabilized an energy circuit? Without a surge protector?”

Ivo gave him another paper from the folder. Starline stared at it blankly. On the paper was a schematic for a capsule; in the main section was a drawing of a small bird, and attached to the bottom was a battery. The title read: animal-powered battery. 

“This must be some kind of joke,” Starline mumbled incredulously. In what world could animals power a facility like this on their own? He couldn’t even begin to imagine how they would stabilize his energy electrical circuit. That was a feat physicists had been trying to achieve for decades. And here, Ivo was claiming to have done it own his own. Without training. 

“It’s not a joke! I’ve been using those batteries as my main source of power for many years, now.” Appearing excited, Ivo leaned forward and tapped the schematic with a finger. “They work because I adapted our laws to the conditions of this world. You are a biologist first, so I will explain this simply: Chaos Emeralds respond to the needs of living creatures. Without their interference, the animals inside the capsule would die during the energy extraction process. The emeralds protect the animals by supplying the electrical circuit with enough energy to function without killing them.” 

Starline blinked. Ivo was right—he was a biologist, not a physicist. He hadn’t looked at energy physics in a very long time. But despite his inexperience, he understood just how big this stable energy capsule could be. Ivo had made a breakthrough in Earth’s sciences. Unstable energy had suppressed the planet’s sciences for millions of years. If Ivo’s invention really worked . . .

“Given your silence, I can only assume that you’ve come to understand the grander implications of this capsule,” Ivo said. He took the schematic and put it back into the folder. “Don’t get too excited. I have no intentions of sharing this with anyone else for the time being.” 

He was keeping it for himself? “Why?” Starline demanded. “You could help science everywhere!” 

Ivo shook his head. “This will not help science. It is a temporary fix to a much larger problem. To help science, I will need to present a complete solution to the energy crisis.” 

“This is a good first step!” Starline argued. “Other physicists could use this to find the solution!”

As Starline spoke, Ivo’s face fell. He said his next words sternly. “If human science was capable of solving the crisis, we would have done it by now. I accomplished what I did by abandoning our methods completely. No other scientists would have been willing to do such a thing.”

They were right back to Ivo’s initial argument: humans, and by extension their science, are idiots. “What makes you think so?”

“Anyone who is allowed to practice science in a lab has completed the circuit of higher education. To survive such a circuit, students must depersonalize themselves and accept rigorous training. They are traumatized into accepting academic dogma even if it seems unnatural to them. Upon graduation from such a system, how many of them will be willing to abandon everything they’ve learned to perform ‘unscientific’ experiments?”

Starline immediately disagreed. “They’re rigorously trained to meet scientific standards.” 

“On a non-standard planet! Everything they’re learning is useless until we can solve the energy crisis.” 

The logic didn’t add up. “Then the crisis is unsolvable. Unless you mean to say that you’re the only one who can do it?”

Ivo crossed his ams with a huff. “I’ve hit a road block in my research. Now that I have the capsules, I am finding it more and more difficult to pretend that I don’t have expectations for my experiments. Staying away from university could only bring me so far. No matter what I do, I will always make assumptions about the future and my experiments. It is an unconscious way of thinking that I cannot overcome; my brain simply cannot accept the uncertainty created by Chaos Energy.” 

Unconscious ways of thinking. It all clicked at once. Starline looked to the cognitive tests on the table in front of him and realized exactly what conclusion Ivo had drawn from them.

“You think only someone with a traditional Mobian worldview can solve the energy crisis,” he said. Ivo nodded his agreement and Starline kept going. “It has to be someone comfortable with uncertainty . . . someone with an intuitive understanding of Chaos Energy.” 

“Precisely! The energy crisis will only be solved by someone whose first reaction to learning the law of conservation of energy is to refute its existence.”

[csolarstorm]

Pokemon Legends: Z-A: What is Λ?

Lo! It's a Λ! 

When you take the Z off of Z-A, you're left with Λ, or the Greek letter lambda. So what does this lambda mean? What is the Λ in Pokemon Legends: Z-A?

This Λ is most likely the symbol for the Infinity Energy coming from AZ's Ultimate Weapon.  Infinity Energy is the reoccurring power from Generation VI. It's sometimes created from the life energy of Pokemon, but not always. Some fans like BirdKeeperToby use the term to refer to the energy, power, or magic that Pokemon use in general.

In the real world, Λ is tied up in all sorts of equations of radiation and light, so it fits perfectly with Infinity Energy.  The most powerful and prolific energy associated with Λ is dark energy.

Now, a disclaimer: I'm not a physicist, so I might get some of this wrong. I'll try my best to stick to the sources.

Albert Einstein used the letter Λ to symbolize the Cosmological Constant, a hidden factor in the universe that counteracted the force of gravity and kept the universe static, neither getting bigger or smaller.  Except, he miscalculated.  The universe wasn't just expanding, the expansion was accelerating.  (Source: LiveScience)

Image from HubbleSite

In the 1990's, scientists named the hidden force dark energy.  It's the hidden factor that is pushing against gravity, causing the universe to expand.  And while it's invisible to the eye, and accelerating too far to access, some scientists believe that in billions of years the expansion could rip apart the universe. (Source: LiveScience)

It feels like a very anime idea, like something from Gurren Lagann. An overload of crazy, accelerating energy (three-fourths of the universe!) that expands the universe beyond its limitations.  We could liken dark energy to the untapped potential of Pokemon. Pokemon have special powers and abilities, but in certain circumstances, they can unlock a special potential within them that allows them to evolve their limits.

Mega Stones were created when the blast from the Ultimate Weapon irradiated normal evolutionary stones with Infinity Energy. When a Pokemon Mega Evolves, it reveals within them a potential that was hitherto unknown, energy that lets them expand beyond their limits, just like dark energy expands the universe past the force of gravity.

Of course, there are other things that Λ can symbolize.  Lowercase lambda (λ) symbolizes half-life, and radiation is tied closely with Pokemon evolution itself.  The Mega Stones were "irradiated" with Infinity Energy.  λ is also used to symbolize wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum, including light, which works well with Lumiose City's Prism Tower.  (Wikipedia) Lumiose City is after all, based on the Paris, the City of Lights.

While I find Dark Energy the most exciting explanation for the Λ on the cover of Legends: Z-A, our big green Λ probably incorporates multiple concepts of energy and light into the idea of Infinity Energy.  Infinity Energy is the connective tissue of Generation VI, so it's very likely that it will appear in Legends: Z-A again.  While this doesn't tell us much about the game itself, it might give us an idea why GameFreak used the letter Λ.

Edited by @fluffybunnybadass.

Previously, in the Legends: Z-A Saga!

Part 2: Is Z-A Just Zygarde-A? (%1000 Zygarde and the Fragments of the Tree of Life)

Part 1: Aaah, it's an A! Is the A in Z-A the Tree of Life?

Part 0: How much longer am I going to have to wait for a freakin' Unova remake?! (Not really a theory.)

[anakinsafterlife]

More thoughts on WOT (Season 2, ep 7 and 8)

The series continues to absolutely light the sky on fire, and yes I mean that literally, given the season finale. I know that there's been a lot of hate from certain quarters, expressed towards the television writers, but imo there have been so many smart changes made to compress the gargantuan source material that I honestly now see this as a completely different universe from the novels. In many ways, it's the universe that I imagined when I first read the books in the mid-90s, the potential that I glimpsed that still made me a fan when I was frequently frustrated by Robert Jordan's prose.

For example, the Forsaken were fascinating because they were different than other villains of the time. They weren't actually faceless archetypes. They were professional people who had been influential in their fields, as well as strong in the One Power, which made them useful tools for the Dark One. Over time, post-Breaking, people began to think of them as archetypal demons who had existed for as long as the Dark One had existed but when we were exposed to the Forsaken as individuals in the narrative, we saw that they were petty and venal and self-interested and nihilistic. The books do this well, but, dare I say, the television show expresses this more clearly. So far it has shown Ishamael as a man who is deeply depressed, who sees no point to living when the mistakes made in one live will simply be made in the next (and since he has empirical prove of reincarnation, there's no refuting this). He's tired of the cycle and wants out. Unlike what we know of the other Forsaken, at least from the books, his did not swear to the Dark One for material or artist or emotional benefit. He fully supports the Dark One's ultimate goal of breaking the Wheel for all time, and this is the reason why he is the devil's main man. (It's also the reason Lanfear did and must betray him, despite their closeness). Keep in mind also that his profession in the AOL was "philosopher." Presumably, this means that, like Lanfear and a couple of the others, he was an academic. He published or perished. His wrote nihilistic books that became very popular. Also like Lanfear, he personally knew Lews Therin. In the books, they knew each other well but weren't necessarily close friends. I think the writers have merged Demandred’s role with Ishamael's in the show, however, because they portray Lews Therin, Lanfear, and Ishamael as having been the best of friends, a golden trio. I adore the change and the tension and sorrow it brings to their interactions, but despite their closeness, these characters were still very different from each other. Unlike the philosopher Elan Morin, Lews Therin was a professional politician. His goals were practical, if not always tenable, his moral code (which is entirely of his own making) seemingly strict and unbending, by the commentary we've been privy to as well as the flashbacks (which are probably my favourite part of the whole show; the nuanced portray of Lews Therin is magnificent), and it was probably that endbending nature that drove his friends away from him.

Like Ishamael, Lews Therin also wrote books, but books of social theory and political commentary. He was less of an abstract thinker than both Ishamael (philospher/logician) and Lanfear (scientific researcher, probably a physicist). A scientist and a politician think very differently. While the former might painstakingly determine why a theory will or will not work, the latter is likely to simply insist that an idea is good and force it through--which is exactly what Lews Therin did. Despite evidence of a harrowingly poor outcome, he leads the attack with the "Hundred Companions," his closest supporters in the Hall of Servants, on Shayol Ghul.

Where am I going with this? Essentially, that there are no villains here in the mythic sense, just selfish people, and likewise there are no heroes, just people skilled enough to fight when required. Ishamael and Lanfear swore oaths for personal reasons. Lanfear supposedly joined the Dark One so that she could win Lews Therin back. I expect that's not entirely true, and she's probably harbouring a great deal of unexamined motive, but it is very human. And other Forsaken swore their loyalty to this extradimensional being that they actually know very little about for surprisingly silly and petty reasons. Sammael wants to be taller?? Asmodeon wants to write better music? Very genre blind. There is a great deal of artistic lore regarding selling one's soul to the devil for increased artistic ability, but we are talking about an eternity of damnation here, and the bill always comes due. So Asmodeon is not a demon or an archetypal villain. He's a man who made a stupid decision. And so are the they all, excepting perhaps Ishamael, who is the only one who seems to know what he got into (maybe he had a few ancient books of lore about deals at the crossroads in his library).

This humanization of "the bad guys" has been a theme throughout the show, and we have seen it again and again across political lines. In the finale, we see Lanfear and Ishamael sitting together, still friendly even in their antagonism. We see the antagonists making poor choices for very human reasons, like Liandrin wanting to save her son and then losing him anyway. Like Barthones becoming a Darkfriend to advance his position in the city and please his mother, only for his mother to retreat in horror and imprison him. These things render their choices absoltely moot, but their vows hold them in chains. With few exceptions (Lord Ingtar now and you know who later) no one ever tries to reject those vows, because these people continue to rationalize their choices as they go along, inventing new excuses for themselves, like Liandrin, who continues to serve even after Lanfear murders her son. It's brilliant and insightful, and it's the primary reason that I not only love the series but looked forward to examining it on a technical level every week.

The finale ending did not disappoint. Mat blows the Horn, and whatever anyone says, it makes so much sense that he was one of the Heroes already. My guess is he was Aemon the last time around, since Mat's always been closely tied to Manetheren. I love that Ishamael set him in to kill Rand too. That was wonderfully clever, since Ishamael does not wish to do it himself, and it displays his skill in manipulation to great effect and gives Mat a more active role.

Perrin is now fully a Wolfbrother (my personal headcanon about Wolfbrothers is that they were wolves in their previous lives). Elayne heals Rand's wound and sets their romance in motion, while Egwene is transformed utterly by her experiences. The girl from the Two Rivers is gone forever. In her place is a soldier with an iron heart. Moiraine (clothed in a costume that resembles that of an Asian warrior) does her part to proclaim Rand the Dragon Reborn (and there's a warning in Ishamael's statement that he is so very like Lews, when we just saw the extent of Lews Therin's ruthlessness in the flashbacks, so we can expect dire things to come as Rand undoubtedly will begin to unravel under the stress of war as well as the Taint). And Ishamael gets not only what most would say he deserves, but what what he desires: death. But he leaves a little surprise for Lanfear on his way out the door. Moghedien is so very creepy/scary and seems genuinely mentally ill. I love that they show her still in the clothes of the previous age, just awoken from her sleep and ready to do her absolute worst. It's a great starting point for the next season.

The only thing that I really missed from The Great Hunt, and hope will show up soon in some form, is the journey through the Portal Stones that reveal alternate pasts and futures for the characters. I do wonder if it might have been thematically replaced by the tea that reveals past lives. This is one of my favourite innovations in the show, and actually something that's been my headcanon since I was a teenager reading the series for the first time. There had to be some reason, I thought, that these people of the far future treat reincarnation not as a matter of religious faith but of concrete, undeniable reality. They know with absolute certainty that everyone dies and is born again, endlessly. They know that when the Dragon comes, the title will not be symbolic, but one that belongs to the man who was factually Lews Therin Telamon in a previous life. That is why they fear the Dragon. Because he will be the one who broke the world, come again. And so there must be a proof, a way of truly knowing that souls are reborn. My idea was always a ter'angreal, but perhaps the tea is a psychotropic substance which opens up the pathways to the soul and its migrations. And of course, the way of demonstrating that these aren't just hallucinations would be to access memories of a recent lifetime and track down physical proof of it. So I was delighted that someone saw the necessity of such a proof in the world of WOT, just as I always did.

I've already seen that Season 3 was confirmed and has begun production, and I am so excited to see it and all of the new exciting changes and directional choices!

[nomlioart]

Hi..Sorry for the interruption, but I need your help.

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