#[[ boone -- aes ]]

[scopebite]

Thinking 'bout Craig

+ more under the cut

⚠️ wound tw there's no bandaid censor over the scope bite in the full version

wiki says he has green eyes but I've always thought of them as kinda hazel personally

2 of hearts in reference to his card with Manny and I used a screencap of Boone's Novac room as the background with higher saturation and darkness lowered because I just think about it sometimes idk

I really like his scoped hunting rifle being described as "a .308 caliber flaming sword of justice"

+ have this ncr first recon teddy png I made more for Manny than for Boone

[windflows]

" 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐦𝐞? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝. "

[caeruleums]

tag drop for my newbies! marigold & callahan.

[ghmvsings]

muses pt. 6

carter spence // boone hayes // onyx jones // adra mongkhon // leon ruiz // ronnie costa // sienna uriz // battle frances

[plethoraworldatlas]

The White Tower 4th Age

The White Tower has stood for thousands of years, and even after great tribulations Tar Valon stands the center of the Aes Sedai, determined to guide the world through this new Age. Yet, it is a Tower and Aes Sedai divided not unlike the foul schism, whose factionalism still stains the Hall. The Tower of the Third Age stood against the Dark One, Watched over the Seals of his prison, and waited to guide the Dragon Reborn to fulfill the Prophecies and lead the forces of the Light to victory at the Last Battle; The Dark One has been sealed away outside of the Pattern once more, in a prison where they cannot touch the world, a prison without Seals to watch over. The Dragon was Reborn and has lived, fought, and died to deliver the world unto this new Age. The unbreakable Tower at the end of the third age was fractured by the foul Schism, and even the Tower itself damaged by the horrid raid by the Seanchan. It was by the Light and the wisdom and power of the young Amyrlin Egwene Al'Vere Sedai and her fellow sisters that the Tower stood strong at Tarmon Gai'don, stood in the face of great causalities and fought the Dark One until they were resealed.

With both loss of life and loss of purpose, the Ajahs and the Tower itself must find its new place in a wider world. This will not be easy, for its troubles are even more numerous than that; The very nature of the Ajahs and Tower Law are being called into question, in what some call a disastrous continuation of factionalism, while others call it a way to ensure the Tower remains standing and purposeful. The skyrocketing rise in the number of those seeking to join the ranks of Aes Sedai, while remaining a boon, has stressed the finances and balance between Ajahs to a great extent. The rise of new an rediscovered Weaves has joined technological advances, reshaping the Tower. With the advent of Continent wide Newspapers and accurate reporting has come public scrutiny the Tower has never faced before; It came at a terrible time, for a secret kept by the Hall was revealed by the Lion and Sun Newspaper's finest investigative reporters has shaken trust in the Tower amongst the commoners, as well as shaking the trust in the Hall amongst the regular sisters.

Perhaps most of all, the White Tower and Aes Sedai are no longer the sole grand organization of channelers seeking to influence the world around them; Alliance with the Aiel Wise Ones and Atha'an Miere Windfinders creates ties among them as they train select apprentices amongst each other uet does not mean they follow the same directions, Everloyal Dreadlords and Warlord Channelers calling themselves Sorcerers seek to create fiefdoms of their own on the fringes of the world, the Ayyad do not take kindly to the sanctions place upon them for their role in fighting unknowingly alongside the Shadow nor do their factions stand meekly as their homeland is occupied and cut amongst the growing imperialist powers, the Freed as well shall not tolerate new chains from foreigners, and the Seanchan threaten all female channelers with the leash. Yet none are as troublesome as the rise of the Black Tower, their future equal, the Asha'man to their Aes Sedai; History says that male and female channelers are stronger together, and that it is in these two great organizations destinies to one day reunite. That day is far off, as three thousand years of culture and history is not so quick to be forgotten or left behind for good or ill. The White Tower stands still, and it is only a question of what path it shall try to go down, and whether the new world will follow.

The White Tower and Tar Valon

The Tower has rebuilt fully after the Seanchan Raid and the Schism; The Stained Glass windows requested by Amyrlin Egwene Al' Vere Sedai have been placed in the sites where the largest holes caused by the Seanchan Raid, a reminder of the Tower's strength that night and of the enduring danger posed by their enemies and infighting.

Prominently displayed within Tower Grounds, a memorial statue of the lost Amyrlin Egwene Al' Vere Sedai stands, Stole on her shoulders, Sleepweaver necklace on her neck, the White Rod Sa'angreal pointed skyward directed at the Fields of Merrilor where she died in one hand, and the other hand holding three cracked Seals of the Dark Ones Prison, the others broken at her feet. An inscription on the statue reads "She Comes! She Comes! Egwene Al' Vere Sedai, Watcher of the Seals, the Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat! She who mended the unbreaking Tower when broken, she who watched over the Seals until the Dragon Reborn remade the Drak One's Prison anew, she who became the Flame of Tar Valon to heal the fractures in the world! Light illuminate her and may she rest sheltered and saved in the Palm of the Creator until Reborn again at the hour of the world's greatest need!". Her dresses seams share the colors of her stole, yet the dress itself is Green like her chosen Ajah, and while clearly a expensive material, it is styled after the Dress of a village Wisdom. The statue was crafted as a gift by Ogier and human master sculptors, from colored stone imbued with the Power by Aiel Wise Ones.

The Tower Guard has built new Garrisons nearby the White Tower itself, always manned in case of emergency. Though the Guard's number has waned slightly, it's forces remain strong. New additions to Tower Law have made it easier to raise a Tower Army under the command of the Tower Guard, though this has not been done yet. Only one force of such a Tower Army is currently mustered and stands at the ready; The Rushing Boars Company, formerly the Younglings, are formed out of those who trained as Warders yet took no Aes Sedai. The Rushing Boars are also responsible for maintaining the White Tower's small number of Dragons purchased from Andor.

Work removing the Cuendillar chains on the Harbors are finally coming to an end. Northharbor is open once more, while Southharbor merely has to find a way to dispose of the unbreakable and unbending mile long chain. At the moment, North harbor is using a metal net in place of the old chain to close the harbor off; There are talks amongst the Ter'angreal specialists, however, to attempt creating a new defense with an object of the power.

The isle of Tar Valon isn't the only place being rebuilt; For the first time since the times of Hawkwing, Tar Valon directly claims and rules territories outside of the island itself. Though far smaller than even the territory the commanded even during the Compact of the Ten Nations, Tar Valon is a true nation once more. Sharing a border with Cairhien to the Southeast and claiming the lands until Dragonmount to the Southwest, the nation of Tar Valon is almost triangular, its northernmost point being the meeting of the River Antaeo and the River Erinin. Still administered by Aes Sedai, the formations of a unified commoner government under Aes Sedai oversight has begun to form, bringing greater lives to the people living in this new nation, yet one's threatened by everything that threatens the power and stability of the White Tower.

The Rise in Initiates

Currently, there are over 1,440 Aes Sedai, 6,500 Accepted, and nearly 28,000 Novices of all ages under Amyrlin Egwene's reforms. The current rate of Novices progressing to becoming Accepted is ~22%, and Accepted become Aes Sedai is ~22% as well. The Novice family structure, however, is expected to increase that rate. The first Novice families have become Aes Sedai and remain strongly tied together, even past Ajah, bringing hope that as time passes the factionalism can fade as well

The Ajahs of the Fourth Age

The very nature of the Ajahs has been called into question; The Ajahs in a way all revolved around how they chose to fight the Dark One, yet now many require great change. The Ajahs were first formed as factions in the early Tower centered around common goals, with Tower Law forming around them; For the first time since the founding of the Tower, new Ajahs are trying to form. First, the divide between the Red Ajah sisters who take no Warders and those who take Asha'man as Warders was too great to overcome; In a failed plot to Exile all Asha'man bonded Reds, the Crimson Ajah was formed. The Crimson bond Asha'man to work with them as equals for the better of the world through greater feats of channeling; The Reds work with the Black Tower to hunt down criminal channelers and prevent abuse of any kind of power everywhere.

In an agreement to prevent fighting amongst the Hall, both only get two Sitters for themselves and one to share; Other Ajahs still consider this a fraud, and treat the five Sitters as if they were all one Ajah.

The White was next, but more logical; They were the smallest Ajah, even with an influx of new members, and needed to do more for the world. The White remains about philosophy, but has embraced the Press and information; The Ivory has dedicated itself to the more standard mathematics and logistical sciences. They follow the same two Sitters and one shared system, mostly without trouble.

The Sitters of the Hall are as follows;

For the Red Ajah; Raechin Connoral, Viria Connoral

For the Crimson; Barasine, Janine Pavlara

For Red and Crimson: Teslyn Baradon

For the Green; Farnah Sadaou, Rubinde Acedone, Faiselle Darone

For the Gray; Varilin Zanaire, Yukiri Haruna, Andaya Forae

For the Brown; Bennae Nalsad(replaced Saerin after her death of old age), Janya Frende, Takima Deraighdin

For the Yellow; Magla Daronos, Salita Toranes, Samitsu Tamagowa (replaced Romanda Cassin after her death)

For the White; Seaine Herimon, Ferane Neheran

For White and Ivory; Berana Shemon

For Ivory; Saroiya Farseen, Aledrin Malenry

For the Blue; Lelaine Akashi, Lyrelle Arienwin, Beidalin

The Current roles and actions of the Ajahs

The Red works with the Black Tower to guard the world against Abuses of the Power and Tyrants of all kinds.

The Crimson bond Asha'man to work with them as equals for the better of the world through greater acts of channeling and linking.

The Green, finding its performance during the Seanchan Raids and during the Last Battle wanting, have reformed and seek to fight the Everloyal Darkfriends and remaining monsters of the former Blight Frontier, as well as be prepared for whatever great calamity threatens the Fourth Age

The Gray has both found success in adapting Traveling and Skimming for trade and diplomacy, but has faced difficulties maintaining diplomatic peace during a rapidly changing world, especially in the face of republicanism compared to their familiarity when dealing with feudal nobility. They have joined Aiel Wise Ones to diplomatically protect the Dragons Peace, but have gotten entangled with radical movements that seek to expand the scope of the Dragon's Peace, radicals both for and against the rise of imperialism, and more factions. Though it is taboo to mention, a number of Grey's are believed to have gone renegade and joined with the Sorcerers to stake out new channler ruled realms of their own, or seek to puppet Mardhol affairs to their own benefit.

The Brown have embraced the New Age, opening schools big and small to spread the knowledge they have collected; though they have trouble with the Academies, they have slowly been able to act as intermediaries between them, as well as expanding all of their libraries. They have also embraced the return of creating Ter'angreal. They have drawn the ire of much of the Tower, though, for their new reputation of leaking information, by accident or "accident", to journalists.

The Yellow have decided to not just embrace the newly discovered Healing Weaves, but further study new methods of Healing, under the watchful gaze of the Small Hall of Experimental Ethics, which while mainly chaired by Yellow Aes Sedai has seats for other Ajah representatives as well; Their distaste for Herbs and non-channeling forms of healing and medicine have been abandoned, though older sisters still consider them inferior, younger sisters study them all to expand their abilities. The Yellow have been opening Healing Hospitals around Mardhol; They do not operate where the Kinswoman do, however, as part of a strife that has regularly made headlines. The Yellow Ajah has also had trouble with the Queen of Malkier, their most famous and powerful Sister, as both are famously headstrong and independent; Their current feuding is born from Malkieri and Blight Frontier Wisdom Circles, organizations that many sisters accuse of being Wilder training groups.

The White remains about philosophy, but has embraced the Press and information; They maintain directly and indirectly multiple Newspapers and journals, including one of the largest newspapers in Mardhol, The White Flame

The Ivory has dedicated itself to the more standard mathematics and logistical sciences. It has joined in the administrative work required to maintain the Dragon's Peace, as well as prevent famines and shortages. They have also taken an interest in maintaining trade and roads

The Blue have been searching for direction, with many sisters trying to push the world and Ajah in different ways following different ideas of justice. The Sitters of the Blue have settled the Ajah down somewhat into trying to formulate great courts and fair legal systems amongst the Dragon's Peace nations

The Amyrlin Conspiracy

Cadsuane Melaidhrin Sedai was chosen to become Amyrlin after Egwene Sedai due to lack of good options and as a compromise amongst the Ajahs; All knew she was the oldest Aes Sedai and would not hold her position for very long, and she had been heard to say she lived only so long to make it to the Last Battle, and even though she was close to the oldest age an Oathrod sworn channeler was ever known to be able to live to, she refused to follow the path Egwene Sedai had tried to establish for Aes Sedai to unswear the Oaths and join the Kinswoman to live longer and retire, stating that no Amyrlin should ever retire as none had before.

The Hall had expected her to live at least half a decade longer, giving them time to decide who should become the next Amyrlin; However it was not to be, as she died roughly two years into her rule. She was discovered dead by her Keeper Merise Haindehl and multiple members of the then Hall. After deliberating amongst themselves when the full Hall was secretly gathered in her chambers, they knew they were nowhere near close to deciding an new Amyrlin, with no proposed Amyrlin getting backing from more than two Sitters. It was then the Hall decided to take drastic action; The Hall would continue on as if Cadsuane Sedai still lived and ruled as Amyrlin, with the Hall running all the affairs of the Tower on their own until they chose a new Amyrlin.

It was not the first time the Hall was the true power of the Tower, but never before in Tower history had such a plot taken place. For nearly thirty years the Hall ruled, trying and failing to choose a replacement, pretending Cadsuane Sedai had taken to a reclusive nature and used illusion Weaves to keep up the Conspiracy. It was the length of the conspiracy, and the suspicion of other sisters that led to the events that would ultimately brake the biggest news story in the young history of Mardhol reporting; The Lion and Sun, a newspaper from the Sun Empire ruled by Empress Elayne Trakand Sedai, broke the story not just to the world, but to the average Aes Sedai.

Since then, the Tower has dealt with scrutiny like never before; Now the deliberations are regular news stories, Aes Sedai are furious with the actions of the Hall and their own Sitters, and the facade of Aes Sedai infallibility has broken in the minds of most people. Keeper Merise being exiled as an attempted fall woman backfired terribly as reports made the Hall out to be panicked and weak by said actions.

The Tower must find a way to win back trust and influence, but it can't do that until it decides on a new Amyrlin at last. That is, Most Aes Sedai believe a new Amyrlin is needed; Despite the flaws of the time the Hall ruled secretly, and the treachery, some believe it may be time to phase away the position, if for nothing else then to move on from the backlash.

Each Ajah, besides the Blue which has withdraw all of its candidates and pledges to support any just candidate, still propose new Amyrlin. The practical and political have become intertwined, and any woman raised to the Amyrlin Seat will bring her and her Ajah's own wonders and woes.

Commentary: Alright, first big post! Thought I would have to delay it because Tumblr went down for like 4 hours. As you can see, this project was very inspired by the ways factions in hoi4/ck2 mods get set up; The Tower has tons going for it, but has a lot of big problems that just might get them into trouble or a major conflict soon. The same goes for the Ajahs, and should any actually take hold of the Amyrlin Seat, that multiples the chances to do great things as well as accidentally or purposefully cause horrible disasters.

I know a lot of people see the Reds as fully changing course, but it never made that much sense to me; I mean, if nothing else, this is the series of problems that have to be solved repeatedly, of recurring antagonists that keep coming back in slightly different forms and sometimes never really get destroyed and instead only get so changed and displaced and beaten down as to become irrelevant going forward. I don't think the Red Ajah that has held the culture it had for 3000 years would change so radically and so fundamentally and so FULLY in less than a few months (really weird to think but yeah, the entire series takes place over like 2 years, so at most a few months changed everything for the Tower). I also don't think the White Tower as a whole would be so keen to let go of the sheer power and influence it has amassed alone as the "only" channeler organization in Mardhol to work with the Black as full equals; Definitely someday in the future, like maybe as part of one of those routine every thousand years or so shake up part every Age has, which basically act as multiple mid-game crises.

Cadsuane is a character I understand the draw of and have come to respect more over re-reads and reinterpretations, but I never got her as the new Amyrlin; Besides the fact that one of her first Pov passages ends with her outright saying she's so close to death that the only thing keeping her from dying in her sleep is her dedication to making it to thr Last Battle and doing what is needed of her, she just felt very placeholdery. That got me realizing that so many major Aes Sedai died over the series, that there are very few big names that have lots of information about them, and thus when Cadsuane inevitably died, there isn't really anyone named and fleshed out that would actually make a good choice and a logical choice for Amyrlin. Maybe, maybe, Silviana or other major Sitters, but I doubt her for big reasons; One, though more "successful" than most other Mistresses of Novices in Lore her take on the job is basically just a more extreme version of the usual method, which is already just outdated Drill Sergeant-esque corporal punishment with some treats thrown in, which is proven to be an awful short and long-term method so her main claim to fame will most certainly come back to cause problems in the Tower later (since some of the factionalism the Tower suffers originated way back to disputes between Novices, and between older sisters who held massive power over younger Aes Sedai for decades when they were Novices and Accepted, etc). Her time as Keeper was fine, her standing up and risking Stilling and death for Egwene was noble and the right thing from her; But still, politically her ties to Elaida basically counts her out of any big position that she isn't appointed to or offered, I even with the Schism done, I doubt the Hall would even consider her.

The White also split simply because their calling was already super vague and broad; Like, Blue gets the shake for being "justice" despite having no overarching unified idea of what form of justice they're after, but White is literally philosophy and mathematics majors the political party.

Anyways that's all the commentary I can think of right now. Thanks for reading, feel free to interact and ask questions and wait until next week for a more in depth breakdown of an Ajah. Maybe I should do a poll for which one(s).

[laslow]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Sam

Pronouns: she/her

Birthday (no year): 5/28! Cyan and I share a birthday with: Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey, Ian Fleming, and Siegbert :)

Where are you from? What is your time zone? California, USA! PST (west coast best coast)

How long is your roleplay experience? 10+ years? Is it closer to 15 now? If you listen you can hear my joints creaking

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? None other than Wajas.com. Middle school, what a time you were

How were you introduced to TOA? iirc a FE blog I was following reblogged a ToA post and I thought "hm, that's pretty cool! I'll look into it!" and then I blinked and 5 years passed.

Do you have any pets? No :sob:

What is your favorite time of year and why?(Season, holiday, general period) Winter! The weather is actually livable

What is your IRL occupation? Office Assistant though I ask for good vibes I have some new opportunities coming up to leave my current place

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? Writing, reading, cross stitching, karate, journaling, language learning

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Legend of Zelda, Persona, Stardew Valley, occasionally I dip my toes back into Honkai Star Rail

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Vaporeon and Water Type!

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! Dunno if I've mentioned this in the past but I have crooked pinkies due to a recessive gene in my family! My dad has crooked pinkies as well :)

How did you get into Fire Emblem? Five/six year old Sam watched my brother play Path of Radiance on the family Gamecube and I never looked back

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Sacred Stones, Awakening, Fates Conquest route, 3 Houses, Engage. I have read the scripts for Genealogy and Thracia. Halfway through Blazing Blade!

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: First was Path of Radiance! Awakening is still my fave all these years later

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Inigo, Ilyana, Dimitri, Xander, Haar

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! Ilyana! I honestly can't remember why anymore I just thought she was super cool something about the thunder magic spoke to 5 year old me's imagination

Any Fire Emblem crushes? Laslow AND Dimitri that has not changed

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Chrom, still Chrom - Fates: Silas, still Silas OR perhaps Laslow if I'm feeling Spicy- Three Houses: Dimitri, still Dimitri - Engage: Diamant, still Diamant

Favorite Fire Emblem class? Assassin or Swordmaster!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? A very mid Myrmidon who can get some good stats if you have good rng luck

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? Blue Lions pride baby!!

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? -Boon: Sword, Bow -Bane: Heavy Armor, Axe -Budding Talent: Authority

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? Brodia!

How do you pronounce TOA? Tee-Oh-Ae

Current TOA muses: Laslow, Leo, Nephenee!

Past TOA muses? Ilyana, Vanessa, Azelle!

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Inilow is here to stay I can't make this man leave my head if I tried.

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? I love my flirts, and I also enjoy more serious characters who have a relaxed side if you know them well enough. Also youngest siblings.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Villains! As interesting and multifaceted as they can be, I struggle staying within that mindset for a long period of time.

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I do still enjoy combat--nothing like getting your adrenaline pumping!--but recently I've found I enjoy some of the more emotional things, too. Relationships, grief, etc.

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? Not really; I've been extremely lucky over the years to have written pretty much every scenario I can think of. I would love to continue exploring both Lazzy's and Leo's arcs as fathers.

Favorite TOA-related memories? Oh goodness....way too many to count! Most recently, I still find myself laughing over Leo (muse) dying for Jan 2024's event plot. Iconic

Present or past tense? Present!

Normal size text, small text, no preference? No preference! I try to use small text on Leo solely for that #aesthetic, but that's it

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉  Not at the moment! I'm happy with my lineup! (But if you twist my arm.....a certain knight from SacStones still lives in my head. And there's this wyvern rider from Tellius who occasionally whispers.)

[butterflydm]

Bits and Pieces of wot 2x7

Yes, I am continuing to have more thoughts about this episode! Only show spoilers in this post!

The first time Rand gets shielded and forced away by Siuan, it puts him down on both knees. The second time, at the Waygate, he goes down to one knee and braces himself. Minor but I liked it, because it lets Moiraine and Siuan still have their confrontation but it also shows that Rand is adjusting to the sensation and processing it. It's like this time, he's keeping himself ready for the shield to be removed, part of him remembering what Moiraine had said about this feeling being temporary.

In general, the body language that is being used when Rand is shielded is fascinating. You can really see how much it's affecting Rand to be cut off from the One Power -- and Rand never would have guessed that it could possibly affect him this much, I suspect. We even see him reacting to the feeling of the shield being transferred from Leane to Verin. The second it goes away, the impact is instant once he can feel the One Power again.

I also really love the way he concentrates so hard on trying to be delicate when he's cutting the tied-up weave on Moiraine, because we can see how massive and indelicate his power is at the moment and he's focusing so much on being careful. This really was such an amazing bonding moment for Moiraine, Rand, and Lan.

I am also fascinated by how Moiraine's unwillingness to share information with the people she loves most has accidentally given them a harsher view of Rand than if she'd been honest with them. BOTH Lan and Siuan judge Rand for not 'doing his duty' because Moiraine did not tell either of them that Rand believed that he already had. Rand thought living low and staying away from the people he loved would protect them because he thought he'd already defeated the Dark One. He's been avoiding using the One Power because he thought he didn't need it anymore to face the Dark One and he didn't want to accelerate the process of going mad and hurting other people.

(and Rand doesn't correct them because he feels guilty and probably feels like he should have known that TDO wasn't really gone)

Lanfear making such a public show of striding through the Foregate and causing mayhem and destruction, knowing that the Amyrlin will realize that this destruction was meant as a distraction to help free Rand -- and then she got the unexpected boon of actually get to talk to Rand in front of said Amyrlin. But it all feels like a big ol' "The Shadow already owns the Dragon" message being deliberately sent to the White Tower.

I've mentioned that Lanfear does a good job not doing anything 'too bad' when she's actually around Rand, but the show makes a point of having Rand notice the chaos and destruction that is happening out in the city when his jail break occurs.

I'm just going to make a note as to each Sister's position on The Dragon Situation, so that I'll have it down for the next time we return to this storyline (which I suspect will be in s3):

Team Cage:

Siuan -- she feels like Moiraine failed with Rand and, after this episode, she may feel that Moiraine failed with Rand deliberately, because she may believe that Moiraine and Lan are Darkfriends. She's seen both that the Dragon doesn't have any control over his powers and that he is willing to make deals with the Forsaken.

Leane -- she seemed completely disgusted with Moiraine in the prison cell scenes, and doesn't seem thrilled with her at the start of the episode either.

Since Leane doesn't seem shocked at someone else showing up to take Rand's shield at the end of the episode, that implies that the rest of the Aes Sedai with Siuan may have been briefed on the situation after Siuan decided to pull the trigger on Plan B.

And the rest of the Aes Sedai who were on the wall to link with Siuan and put out the fire in the Foregate -- fires caused when one of the Forsaken came to help break Rand out of prison. That probably doesn't bode well for them to think kindly of Rand.

We don't have names for most of these Aes Sedai, but I saw Joiya from 2x1 there. I did not see Yacissa on the wall with Siuan. There are 8 sisters with Siuan on the wall. There were 16 total in Cairhien (who weren't Moiraine) -- 2 per Ajah plus Siuan and Leane. So that's eight who are not currently here -- this includes Liandrin, Verin, and Alanna and we know what they went off to do. Yacissa and four other Sisters are not currently accounted.

Team Dragon:

Moiraine -- I mean, we know her position. She's been extremely clear this season. "Protecting Rand, guiding him, is the only thing that matters." She has been willing to burn down everything else in her life to try to protect and guide Rand.

Verin -- almost certainly openly known to be in collaboration with Moiraine at this point; she misleads Leane into handing over Rand's shield and then Rand escapes with Moiraine. I would not recommend she stay in Cairhien or return to Tar Valon.

Alanna -- covertly helps Lan; Siuan may or may not have learned about the fact that she is Team Dragon. Does not have an opinion on Rand himself.

Team Shadow:

Liandrin -- her affiliations may or may not be revealed, depending on what Anvaere or Barthanes might report. She didn't use her name while she was in the Damodred manor but a brief description could probably pinpoint which Aes Sedai gave Barthanes his orders.

[commanders-company]

Audio Log Archive: Calculator Zoxxe

Entry 34 - 1326 AE. Transcription start:

Ten years with the Inquest, and I’m still equally amazed and appalled at what my fellows get themselves caught up in. I’m sure sciences like herpetology and ichthyology have their uses, but it gets aggravating seeing promising researchers become obsessed with some rare fauna or another when they should be applying themselves to the stated goals of our organization.

Case in point, this “Scarlet” character. Everyone and their golem is buzzing about this mysterious sylvari who studied at all three colleges - personally, I doubted the authenticity of her certifications even before the Council revoked them. As though a non-asura could ever hope to achieve our heights of genius. Ha!

Still, I can’t deny the spark behind her eyes. She has big plans, whatever they might end up being, and I have no doubt she will do anything to see them through. I have no interest in partnering with pirates or bandits or whatnot, so I will continue to watch from a distance as I continue my own aetherology research here. Who knows, maybe Scarlet will impress me after all. Or maybe dolyaks will sprout wings and fly.

Entry 39 - 1327 AE

Of course Scarlet ended up being a bust. Anyone who believed differently was a fool of the highest order.

She certainly went out with a bang - my aetherology instruments were going haywire from the sheer amount of magical energy that rushed towards the deep jungle. Now that we know the truth about the sylvari, we can near-conclusively see that her true goal all along was to reawaken Mordremoth. It was certainly a bold idea to flood the ley line stretching from Lion’s Arch to Maguuma with magic; not unlike jump-starting a stalled golem with an external power source.

Whatever her exact motivations for this could have been, her success does open up a potentially fascinating avenue for my research - what sort of link is there between the elder dragons and the magic of the world? Clearly Mordremoth was attuned to it, but what about Zhaitan, and for what purpose? And most importantly, how can we exploit it for ourselves?

I’ll prepare my thesis and send it to high command along with a request for additional funding and personnel. I have no doubt they will give me all I ask for, so I will begin my personal work at once. I wonder if the Pact would miss one of their submersibles…

Entry 53 - 1335 AE

The Pact and that blasted commander of theirs continues to be both a boon and a curse! While our agents in the Rata Novus lab have passed on immeasurably useful data from their efforts, that blasted sylvari keeps killing more dragons - good for the survival of the common folk, I suppose, but absolutely detrimental to my research.

Only one dragon remains, the ever-theorized but heretofore unproven “deep sea dragon.” There’s so much more we’re on the cusp of discovering, and the commander is on track to ruin my career without even knowing!

But, as always, I have a plan. I was able to find records of Scarlet’s notes left over in an old workstation. She mentions time she spent with the late Omadd, and most importantly, a fascinating device he constructed near the Silverwastes. Supposedly, the device allows the user to peer into the fabric of reality - the very Eternal Alchemy itself!

Finally, a chance to mathematically prove what I’ve always believed - to show those boorish idiots I call my fellow researchers that absolute structure is the only way to success. Everything down to the smallest particle of the least important atom can be determined, charted, predicted and directed. The Inquest has always strived to control the Eternal Alchemy, but no one ever thinks about what we’ll do with it. Absolute order to all things is the only conclusion that makes any sense, and I will be the one to put it in place.

I will be traveling alone to the machine - no reason to give anyone else the chance to muck everything up, or worse, steal my work. Very soon, all asura - the entire world - will know my name!

Entry 55 - 1335 AE

[unintelligable] -it’s wrong. It’s all wrong, everything is wrong, I was - [crashing, papers scattering, yelling]

I fixed it. The machine worked and I saw everything. All magic flowing in and out the dragons like water through a filtration matrix. For a moment it was so beautiful. But the dragons died one by one, and in their place, there is…

Nothing. Less than nothing. Void from end to end. No greater purpose, no rules or equations or anything comprehensible. An emptiness that will take and take and take until there is nothing left.

She’s doomed us all. She can’t save us this time. Now everything we’ve done, everything I’ve done is worthless. No one can stop what’s happening.

The Void comes for us all. The Void comes. It comes. It comes. It comes… 

[unintelligible]

Entry 56 - 1335 AE

Ahem.

I’m not going to delete my last entry - embarrassing as it may be to admit, it is important to acknowledge when one’s conclusions end up being incorrect, if only for the purpose of proper documentation.

Which is to say that the world didn’t end, obviously. The Commander found a way, as she always seems to do. Our agents report that Aurene now fulfills the role the previous elder dragons used to, sans the whole death/rebirth cycle. Magic flows through her to be cleansed, and the world is balanced once again. The Void is - it’s gone. It has to be -

[coughs] I’m putting together another thesis and personnel request. The events of the last few days opens up yet another previously unknown facet of aetherology. We’re not under immediate threat anymore, but it demands to be studied. All sorts of possible applications could be found, if we can properly contain it.

I cannot - I will not be taken by surprise again. I will master its flow and dictate its course.

I will be the one in control. It will have no power over me ever again.

Should my proposal be approved, and I have no doubt it won’t, I will be forming the V.E.R.G.E. krewe - Voidic Energy Research and General Exploitation. We will decipher every secret of the Void and turn it to our own ends - and prepare ourselves should it ever return like this again.

I will be ready. And someday soon, all of creation - even the Void itself - will bend before me.

[mechafinch]

gregposting #3

It is greg time! This time I will be presenting my largest automation project in modded minecraft thusfar: Automated LV, MV, and HV circuits!

Playing Nomifactory CEu. MV age, 72 hours playtime (18 hours since last gregpost)

Before we get to the big ole' circuits line, we have the primary boon of HV circuits: AE autocrafting! Here we have the AE basement.

And because relatively little of the autocrafting in any gregtech pack will happen in the molecular assemblers, here we have the 22 machines currently employed for the job.

And finally, the star of the show which will be supporting my efforts for a while, the circuits line. Although the conduits are all over the place, it's decently organized with each group of machines handling the production of 1 or 2 ingredients.

Here's the flowchart used to plan the whole thing. There're about 45 machines in total. Also, in addition to the boule EBF, there're two more EBFs; one for silicon and one for aluminium. They feed into the ME system rather than directly into the circuits line, as they're often used elsewhere.

And with all this, what comes next? The clear next step is to expand the base's energy production. With the circuits line active, the base is consuming almost 20,000 RF/t. Current production has a capacity of ~25,000 RF/t, but it's burning through fuel slightly faster than the DML system produces it. Energy demands will only continue to grow, too. Therefore, the next step will be to increase PPC production and expand the DML line. After that, I'll be working towards HV proper.

[liardolls]

𓂃 ✚ 。 NPTs based on Nagito Komaeda from SDR2 !

Nora , Lucky , Bunnie , Theo , Frail , Necro , Servant , Clover , Boone , Faust .

Luck／Lucks , Bun／Buns , Ae／Aer , Ho／Hope , Grim／Grims .

The ultimate／SHSL lucky student , Prn whose luck precedes prn , The servant , The self-appointed ultimate hope , Prn who always believes in hope .

[inscrutable-shadow]

Augusnippets Day 22 Redux - Path of Hurt - Tearful Goodbye

i'm not 100% pleased with this but i wanted to hurt people so :) while set in the canon verse this is extremely not canon i imagine a new version of this scene at least once a month

contains: major character death

There was no point in running from it any longer. Light of aer life, favorite toy, constant companion, countermelody to aer soul, Thanatos was old. So very very old. So old that his gaze drifted, unmoored to thought, unless ae was actively speaking to him, and even then seemed to have trouble adhering to reality. Or, rather, Reality.

"Do you remember the day we met?" ae asked him, bringing him to life from reverie.

He smiled distantly. "No. Too long ago, I'm afraid. I remember well the feeling of our many long years together, but specific points have tended to meld into the whole."

He began to drift again, so the Archfey spoke again in an attempt to retain his attention. "None of it? The war, the spaceports, our many lovers? Yesterday?"

Thanatos shook his head, chagrin seeping into his smile. "I'm afraid not. I… sense that there is love within me for a good many people, but upon inspection it all tends to be subsumed into the greater love I have always held for you." He took aer hand in his. "As for yesterday, I fear my memory of it may be tainted by that of many similar ones that came before. I… remember little else but this cottage and your love." Ae looked away, and ae squeezed aer hand tenderly. "I think I'm ready, dearheart."

Tears sprung immediately to aer eyes. They ran in tracks down aer cheeks and dripped from aer trembling chin as ae looked down, unable to meet his eyes. Such a thing would have been impossible before him, but he had taught aer to refine aer form such that aer emotions could control it without direct input. "I do not want you to go…"

He cupped aer face in his hands. "I won't tell you not to cry, my love. Nor will I tell you not to mourn for me. What I will say, is that you have brought so much joy to my meager existence that I hope, nay, pray, that you won't let my absence steal yours forever. Grieve for me as long as you need, but promise me that you will be my happy Rea again someday."

The Archfey buried aer face in Thanatos's neck and aer shoulders shook with shuddering sobs. Ae didn't know how ae could promise him that. Ae felt like the world would collapse in on itself without him in it. But no. Ae was the Divine Reality. The world could not stop for one vampire, no matter his importance to aer. "I… promise, Thanatos. I… I will find joy again, after you."

"Good. I love you more than the stars themselves, Rea. I couldn't forgive myself if I did that to you."

"Is there… somewhere you'd like to go?"

"Can you take me home?" Thanatos's gaze drifted again, and the Archfey knew he was speaking of Athens.

"Of course." Ae folded space, and between one breath and the next the two of them sat under an olive tree on a hill. Earth Four had been the target of a reconstruction project in recent years, and much of the natural scenery had been restored. The Archfey watched as Thanatos took in the scene, the look of wonder on his face making him seem more present than he had in decades. He really was home.

"This is good. I… think I'd like to feel the sun one last time, my love." He knew what it'd do to him. One last defiance of the Shadow. Very well. Ae'd grant him this final boon.

"All right. I will remove the filtering." Ae couldn't bear to tell him ae loved him again.

"Of course. Thank you. Will it… hurt?"

"I will not let it."

"Ah. So you do love me after all. Goodbye, dearheart." He grinned, laughed, and then glowed as the sun took him.

And so, after many thousands of joy-filled years, Thanatos Iuventus ended.

[agardenandlibrary]

The Shadow Rising: chapters 23-26

okay, some stuff happens.

They make it to Rhuidean and Rand+Mat immediately are like - hey, I gotta go into your sacred city and I’m not leaving my boyfriend behind. The Aiel Wise Ones are like - Well, you might as well; the whole world is changing. Aviendha and Moiraine also go into the city. Avi needs to do the Aiel equivalent of the Accepted test, and Moiraine's just nosy.

Egwene gets set up w/ the Wise Ones and we learn more neat Aiel stuff!

Rand+ Mat go in together. Mat finds another Doorway like the one in Tear and goes in, determined to ask the right questions this time. So he goes through the doorway to Faerie and does not realize that the Unseelie world has different rules. But he gets 3 boons: his memory holes filled, a way to be free from the influence of the Power, and a way out and back to Rhuidean.

RAND, MEANWHILE he goes on the same vision quest all Aiel chieftains must go on. He lives the brief moments in life of certain people, tracing the history of the Aiell all the way back to the breaking of the world 3,000 years ago.

This was very cool. Not least because we got to see the pre-Breaking world.

(Sidenote: did that one lady really say "hey, I found a way for men and women to channel from the same Source”, only for that source to be the Dark One? Ironclad ovaries, ma'am.)

We find out the Aiel served the Aes Sedai - for what reason or in what capacity, still unsure. After the Breaking, the Aiel wandered, charged with staying alive and keeping the various angreals safe. I get the feeling that staying alive is the more important of those tasks.

Over time, the Aiel fractured. The Tuatha'an and their Way of the Leaf are one branch. The Jenn Aiel and Aiel are other branches. All that remains of the Jenn Aiel is Rhuidean and this trip down Aiel memory lane. This was scrumptious. No wonder the Aiel are so squirrelly about the Tuatha’an. Big church-split vibes. 

Anyway - Rand gets out and finds Mat hanging from the world tree/Avendesora. Alright Odin, I see you, calm down. Mat also received a spear w/ Ravens on it with an inscription about thought and memory, plus a silver fox medallion. Yes, I think it's funny to call it a silver fox medallion, I will not be taking notes at this time.

Rand and Mat are like "well. Let's, uh. GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE." and they leave as dawn arrives....

[hydralisk98]

Slowly going towards one TS2 Legacy... Maybe

I mean, I have iterated on such for my conworld for a while but I am definitely having a hard time choosing how to go about it considering I tend to play with many mods, ideally with a couple of my very own coming soon, and prefer having ultimate source code ownership / customization available to me (unlike doing anything with SC4 & TS2/3/4).

It is still 16^12 related, and though I don't enjoy the current source code status of my "modding game workflow" as far as my Civ5 CE Maskoch modpack -> FreeCiv+SimCity4+TheSims2 is concerned, I do like the overall system I have starting putting in place to help manifest my DR goals IRL;

So yeah, here are some of the preparation memopads...

Prior to 1910 (up to two generations behind "ancestors") : May Tiffy, Jana Petri, Kira Fleche, Hugues Tortue; Kala Petit-Ours & Alphonse Grand-Ours;

LEGACY starting context (& overall their goals per "generation")

~1910 : Milan "Kelly" Petit-Ours + Nil "Bayes" Main-Noire;

~1925 : Pana Ninsun + Carter Woodpecker; Konstanz Tunder + Marta Sevres;

~1940 : Rudy Saller + Tekla Wozniak, Ivett & Timur Corbeau;

~1955 : Elka & Bel Arterberry; Keno, Hypathia, Tascha Maynard; Zenon Binh;

~1970 : Ruan Boon & Sina Pallas; Rinne Taygette & Tunder June; Zera, Timur & Aurel Becker;

~1985 : Valenz, Sasha & Dena Becker; Keller, Irma, Pasha Hayden; Kazik, Kush & Ken Ukene;

~2000 : Kate Ker & Ava Booksword ("platonic" relationship, sharing together Shoshona the black Turkish Angora fem housecat), Deno & Wyatt Hayden; [...]

~2020 : Tano Booksword (Simply a successor android unit to Ava in her initial role as synthetic-tier domestic servant); Victor/Astra Reuben (Debs pun?); Freya, Ren, Maya, Rex, Alfa Shang (Roosevelt pun?); Anuk, Kaleb, Brittani Hagues (Hugues pun?); Tina, Iwa & Sam Duckwater (Taft pun?);

~2045 : Czar, Aurel & Sakura Kant; Hafar Hades; Kerry / Zenia Constantin; Mao, Vala, Myranda Glosse; Samantha/Samar Reiter; Thales Zeitlich; Tally Lightfall, Parm(in)ae Knossos;

[...]

[pharawee]

Now that I've started reading Art Adore En (Hin & Phayu's novel) and Chains of Heart, I understand even less why they decided to include every single couple from the author's book universe. Yes, they're all friends, but honestly apart from maybe Boon the story would have worked just as well without including at least 33452 dudes in suits.

Unless they're supposed to be an easter egg for fans of the novels? Or maybe the production company plans on expanding the universe? Which is hilarious because there's already two different series planned from different companies with different actors but the same characters (it's confusing for me, too).

So in order not to lose my mind, I tried to figure out who is who in the show. Which is torture. You guys, I am faceblind. I know who they are by name but I can't tell them apart when they're standing next to each other.

Anyway, here goes...

This is Boon. He's a police inspector and I think he used to be Hin's senior (and code brother?) at university. He has two people working under him and they're also part of their uni friend group. One of them is Ae (who's a different Ae from the Ae who's Chief Ingpha's sister).

And I think these are Pleng, Phrai, Mangpor and Safe. Don't ask me who is who. Three of them are the same height. Please send help.

Pleng And Phrai (the show has him as Plary but uhmmmm that's not what the messages say) are the main characters in Love Puzzle. Pleng is Hin's best friend and Phrai is his boyfriend.

Mangpor means scorpion (I know because the auto-translate translated every name and let me tell you it was really confusing reading about scorpions and rocks and storms and sand and soil... and opium). Could be he's also a police officer because he's always mentioned alongside Boon and Ae in the novel.

Then there's Safe. He's the first friend Hin made at university. He's Mangpor's boyfriend because EVERYONE here has a boyfriend.

Here's where it gets weird.

All of TJ Tommys' novels are connected but most of them are different genres. Chains of Heart is a crime thriller, Art Adore En and Love Puzzle are university-themed, and these guys have a supernatural/reincarnation storyline:

Guy (left) is a doctor and Nott (right) is... idk but he can apparently predict the future. They also remember their past lives, and they're boyfriends (naturally).

When Ken was found two years ago, Hin asked Nott about what he saw in Ken's future and Nott cryptically answered that he didn't see Ken with Din. He saw Ken with someone familiar who he couldn't reach and someone unfamiliar who seemed strangely close.

...

Just be glad that Waranyu and Palang haven't shown up yet (or maybe they have. We'd never know. There's a seemingly endless amount of boyfriends in this show), because Waranyu is some kind of soul guide and can communicate with ghosts. Which he does (in an extra chapter of Chains of Heart).

That leaves Yuji. Yuji might be with Ae because he's the only other person not paired up with anyone (??). I don't have a screencap of Yuji because I'm not even sure he's in the show. He's the same age as Phayu and Ken and he definitely pops up in the novel but I haven't even so much as heard his name in the series.

Aand that's it. The gang's all here (I think. I hope).

Now someone tell them that "worrying for your friend" doesn't mean "secretly watch his every move" but something more like "hey maybe you shouldn't wallpaper your hotel room with your deceased boyfriend's face".

[solitaireships]

Gonna talk about some mental health related stuff for my f/os since this month is also mental health awareness month!

Also, with all my self inserts basically being me, they pretty much have the same stuff as me going on. So all of them have autism and probably some kind of anxiety and maybe PMDD? idk, like me they have not gotten tested for any of that lol

Everything else going below the cut bcs this is long (tho the info I give gets shorter the further down you go)

Starting off with Bruce, the comic miniseries Batman: The Imposter said that he most likely has autism, possibly GAD, OCD, and PTSD, with the PTSD coming from watching his parents die. His obsessions are mainly focused around protecting Gotham, with the compulsion in response to that being to work as Batman

James also has autism and PTSD, with his PTSD having been from the mission he was serving on when the rest of his team died and the right half of his body was severely burned, then leading to him getting his prosthetics. He also has hallucinations from time to time, both visual and auditory, with this being a symptom of his PTSD

Chae-Yeong has PTSD, OCD, and autism. Her PTSD comes from witnessing her biological father get killed in front of her on her birthday. Her OCD obsessions and compulsions are similar to Bruce's, those hers are more broadly based around protecting people as much as possible, then being the Scarlet Shepherd as a compulsion in response to that

Mark is an alcoholic in recovery, with him having started drinking as a coping mechanism when he was dealing with the grief of his sister dying

Jayce has inattentive ADHD and some trauma following the events at the Shimmer Factory

Xianyun is autistic! Ae’s special interest is inventing stuff and she loves info dumping to me about aer creations :)

Luke is autistic and has some anxiety which usually leads to him getting irritable and generally speaking being pretty closed off

Alexander has PTSD and GAD, with his anxiety being exacerbated by the position he’s being put in by the Powers That Be

Boone has autism, PTSD, and is a recovering alcoholic. His wife’s death combined with everything at Bitter Springs led to him developing PTSD and have a depressive episode, which is also what led to him drinking

Miguel has autism and depression. In AUs where he ends up losing Gabriella, he also has PTSD from witnessing her death

Strahm is autistic and has checking and rumination based OCD. A big compulsive behavior he has is clicking his pen repeatedly

Yanfei has autism and combined type ADHD! I don't really have more to say here, I've already said a lot on this lol

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Random thoughts on a rewatch of Chains of Heart eps 1, 2, & 3

We started ep 1 with a fierce, confident Ken running, shooting, getting buff, and fighting well. And with Deedee a bit of a wet blanket. But by ep 8 I feel like Ken has become a bit of a mouse and Deedee is able to manhandle him. What happened?

I kind of feel uncomfortable that the baddie is the one with the facial disfigurement and sight disability. Haven't we gotten past this type of stereotype?

Din/Lue really did string up some random gangsters for trashing Ken's father's restaurant and then blew them up...and yet he had multiple opportunities to kill Ingpha and Nok and anyone else who hurts Ken and...just hasn't yet??? Whyyyyyyy?

I'm presuming that there's a translation error with Nok's demand that Din/Ken (and in future eps Din's family) "return his stuff" to him. I'm assuming the 'stuff' is actually the camera with incriminating evidence of Ingpha's crimes and not actually Nok's 'stuff' because this really doesn't make sense.

In ep 2, Payu tells Hin that he had someone follow Ken but that it wasn't Khun Tee (the guy who saved Ken from being choked on the bridge) but he also wouldn't say who it was. I don't remember this coming up again...so who did Payu get to follow Ken and do we ever find out? Is it Deedee maybe?

At the funeral, there are six men whom I have no clue about who they are, then Boon comes in (who I now know is with the police) saying pointedly that he will talk to Hin after the funeral (presumably about something important if all their reactions are to be interpreted right) - did he and did we ever see what that was about?

I think the man in the middle in the left pic is Dr Guy - so are the other two with him also doctors? The four in the right pic I have NO CLUE. I mean, I know their names from the text conversation but, like, WHO ARE THEY?! And why are they there?

I don't understand Nok's reaction to seeing Ken after the car crash in ep 3 nor his reaction to seeing Lue...does he not know who they are at this point? Why was he worried they were dead when he looked in the car? Was he not sent there to make Payu crash with Hin and Ken? Why did he not just kill them all there and then?

Right. So, Nok shoots his underlings because they got caught by the police but Ae tells Din's parents that they were hit by a truck. Then Ingpha tells Din's parents that the case will only be over once Nok dies...but Nok is working for Ingpha...so why would he say that? I mean, he must want the case to be over, so why not just hand Nok over and/or kill him and be done with it?