#Active vs Passive Forces

[shamanflavio]

Creation, Manifestation and the Essentials

To achieve optimal manifestation, it’s crucial to understand and harness the power of two interacting forces: the active and the passive. This concept, akin to the dynamic between a husband and wife leading to the birth of a baby, is fundamental in bringing any desire from the realm of thought into physical reality. Manifestation relies on the synergy of these forces—where the passive element…

[wise-falafel]

“women used to marry young and have a lot of children” VS “men used to marry women when they were still little girls and force them to be pregnant and give birth their whole life”.

“in the past women didn’t get education” VS “in the past, men stopped women from getting education and excluded them from all cultural spheres”.

“muslim women must wear hijab” VS “muslim men force muslim women wear hijab”.

“in this country, abortion is illegal” VS “men in this country made women getting abortion illegal”.

women’s oppression doesn’t happen by itself. women’s oppression isn’t passive. there is an oppressor class that actively chooses to oppress women, and the oppressor class is MEN.

[alive-gh0st]

❝Too Far Gone❞

Mark Grayson x Brainrot Girlfriend!Readerᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ

˗ˏˋ ���� Part 2 of ”Corruption Complete” 𓉝ˎˊ˗

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🦈 summary: mark’s corruption arc continues. he’s made it to the dark side—but the brainrot never ends. from forced meme bootcamp to cursed movie nights and chaotic friend group crossovers, mark’s peace is officially gone. and now… he might kind of like it?

‪‪🦈 contains: sfw. modern brainrot. fandom jokes. reluctant!mark, chaotic!reader. oliver returns with more menace. debbie thrives. william + rick join the chaos. wine obsessed!debbie. amber vs eve. tiktok audios. cursed AI videos. gacha reactions. passive-aggressive memes. „tragic boy 2.0”

‪‪🦈 wc: 2187

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌a/n: we’re back, baby. this was supposed to be a joke, and now it’s a saga. blame mark for folding like a wet napkin. shout-out to the “ballerina cappuccina” for lighting this fire. enjoy the chaos.

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Mark stared at the whiteboard in front of him like it was written in an alien dialect. Which, to be fair, was only partially inaccurate.

“Okay,” you said brightly, tapping the marker against your palm. “Let’s review: What does it mean if I say ‘she’s giving One Direction in 2013 with a sprinkle of Tumblr Sexy Man pipeline energy’?”

Mark blinked once. Twice.

Oliver leaned forward like a predator scenting fear. “Say it, Mark. Say the answer.”

Mark sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “It… means she’s popular?”

“Popular how?” you challenged. “Contextualize it.”

“She’s… trending?” he tried.

“Wrong,” Oliver said, shaking his head gravely. “You’ve just been hit with a ✨deduction✨.”

He clicked a buzzer. Where it came from, no one knew. Where it went after that, no one wanted to ask.

You turned back to the board, adding another tally to the “Cringe Counter” in red marker. Mark’s score was now dangerously close to being labeled “culturally illiterate.”

“This is so dumb,” he grumbled. “This isn’t even a real language.”

“It is to us,” you and Oliver said in perfect sync.

Mark muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “cult behavior.”

You ignored him, moving to the next slide. A collage of pixelated TikTok reaction memes flashed onto the screen. “Okay, rapid-fire round: What’s the audio for this one?”

Mark squinted. “Is that… a raccoon in a nun outfit?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point,” you snapped.

Oliver gasped. “You don’t know the ‘Father, forgive me, but she was SERVING’ audio?!”

Mark opened his mouth. Closed it. “Why would I ever need to know that?”

“Because one day you might be the raccoon in the nun outfit, Mark,” you said, eyes burning with brainrot conviction.

He slumped back on the couch. “I regret everything.”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

What was supposed to be a calm, relaxing day became a Friday Movie Night. Which, in your (the Graysons’) household, meant one thing:

No peace. No mercy. Only WiFi-fueled chaos.

It started innocently. You were lounging on the couch, half-scrolling and half-plotting dinner, when Debbie offhandedly said, “We should watch something tonight.”

You, of course, took that as a declaration of war.

Ten minutes later, the lights were dimmed, the coffee table was drowning in chips and half-melted gummies, and everyone had been emotionally blackmailed into joining.

(“Mark, you saved the world. You can survive one night of meme cinema.”)

Mark sat like a hostage. William arrived mid-chaos with Rick, who brought snacks and the wrong kind of emotional preparedness. Debbie brought wine. Oliver brought his entire personality.

You? You brought a curated playlist of AI-generated edits that actively offended the concept of linear storytelling.

“Okay,” you announced, remote in hand. “Tonight’s film festival opens with: Edward Cullen breakdancing in front of an explosion to Skyfall.”

“…Why?” Mark asked, already regretting being born.

“Art,” Oliver whispered reverently.

The video began. Within fifteen seconds, Comic Sans text scrolled across the screen:

‘When he says forever but leaves the Minecraft server.’

Rick blinked. “I have so many questions.”

William, eyes wide, leaned in. “And none of them matter.”

The next clip was somehow worse—or better. AI-generated Loki slow dancing with the Riddler at prom while Will Smith stood in the corner like a disappointed gym teacher. The audio? A slowed-down remix of Let It Go over Sandstorm.

No one blinked.

“I hate this,” Mark whispered.

“You’re watching it,” you replied sweetly.

“…Shut up.”

Oliver pulled out a scoring notebook. “Okay, rating time. Editing? 10. Trauma delivery? 12.”

“Is there symbolism?” Rick asked, way too seriously.

“Absolutely,” William said. “The Riddler’s bowtie was a metaphor for late-stage capitalism.”

Even Debbie chimed in with a solid, “The pacing in the Subway Voldemort edit was weird, but I respect the emotional core.”

By the third cursed slideshow, everyone had a ranking system, emotional stakes, and deeply divided opinions about whether or not Gandalf doing a TikTok dance counted as character assassination.

Mark didn’t get up. Didn’t leave. Didn’t even look away. He just sighed.

And for some ridiculously stupid reason?

He didn’t hate it.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

It happened on a Tuesday.

A simple, forgettable Tuesday. Rain outside. Soup on the stove. A blanket of rare peace over the house.

And then Mark opened his mouth.

“You’re being real ‘girl who fell off the swing in 2012 and never emotionally recovered’ right now.”

Silence.

Your spoon hovered mid-air.

Oliver, across the room, slowly turned like an animatronic coming online.

Debbie looked up from her crossword, one eyebrow arched with terrifying accuracy.

“What,” you breathed.

Mark blinked, backtracking immediately. “I mean—not like that. I wasn’t saying you were—It’s just—I saw a TikTok—”

“A TikTok,” Oliver echoed, mouth spreading into a villainous grin. “So you have been studying.”

“I didn’t mean to say it out loud.”

“You quoted a cultural meme tag with precision,” you gasped. “Unprovoked.”

Mark stood frozen in the kitchen doorway like a raccoon caught in the fridge light.

“I blacked out,” he tried.

“You blacked in,” Oliver corrected, dramatically pointing. “Welcome to the hive mind.”

Debbie didn’t say anything, just sipped her wine with the smugness of a woman watching her son descend into madness she fully supported.

You dramatically slammed your hand on the counter. “You mocked us.”

“I still do.”

“And yet!” you shrieked, gesturing wildly. “You knew what that meant!”

Mark groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “This is your fault.”

“You’re damn right it is.”

Oliver held up the whiteboard from earlier and slapped a gold star beside Mark’s name. “Corruption milestone achieved: accidental meme reference in domestic context.”

“You’ve fallen,” you said softly. “You’re one of us now.”

Mark didn’t respond.

But he did mutter “she’s giving ‘delulu but functioning’” under his breath an hour later.

Oliver tackled him with a celebratory pillow.

You cried actual tears.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

What started as a casual group hang spiraled—as most things in your social circle did—into chaos within twenty minutes.

Amber had stopped by under the innocent promise of “a chill night.” She brought wine, even wore slippers. Her guard was down.

Eve was already there. Cross-legged on the rug, hoodie half-zipped, energy drink in hand like it was liquid law.

Amber settles in with a sigh. “I was promised snacks and serotonin.”

Eve flops down beside her, stealing a chip from Mark’s bowl. “And yet you walked into psychological warfare.”

The TV is paused on a cursed slideshow. The image? A freeze frame of Shrek photoshopped into a Renaissance painting, holding hands with a pixelated Garfield.

The caption reads: “when you and your emotional support cryptid walk into therapy”

Amber groans. “No. Absolutely not.”

Eve perks up. “Why not? That one’s a classic.”

“It’s blasphemy.”

“It’s art.”

“It’s Garfield in a toga.”

“Exactly.”

Amber throws her hands up. “Why is he glowing?”

Mark, exhausted from the last three meme dissections, doesn’t even look up. “Symbolism.”

“Thank you!” Eve beams.

“Don’t encourage her,” Amber mutters, taking a swig of wine.

You sit smugly between them, remote in hand, before asking. “Next slide?”

“Absolutely.” The red-haired girl encouraged.

“I will scream.” Amber promised.

The next image pops up—a tier list ranking internet boyfriends. At the top? Invincible, labeled: ‘tragedy-coded, would cry during WALL-E’

Directly beneath him—Paddington Bear and that guy who fixed his crush’s WiFi in a TikTok once.

Amber squints. “What does this even mean.”

Eve leans in like a scholar. “It’s a commentary on emotional vulnerability in male-coded narratives.”

“You just made that up.”

“I did, and I stand by it.”

William mutters, “I’d date Paddington. He’s stable.”

“That coat? Immaculate.” His boyfriend adds.

Amber glances at you. “Are your friends okay?”

“Absolutely not.”

Oliver, feeling slightly left out, stirs up some drama. “Mark’s at risk of joining the list if he cries during Finding Nemo.”

“I DIDN’T CRY.”

“You sniffled,” Debbie says from the kitchen.

By the end of the night, Eve and Amber are locked in a passionate debate about whether or not liking Remy from Ratatouille is a red flag, William is drawing diagrams to explain meme evolution, and Mark’s soul has visibly left his body.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

It was supposed to be harmless.

A passing moment. A flicker in the chaos.

You hadn’t even meant to record him. Not really.

You were filming Oliver’s dramatic reenactment of the “I’m just a baby!” audio using sock puppets and half of Rick’s hoodie when Mark walked by in the background—bored, hoodie half-on, sipping orange juice straight from the carton.

And then, with zero prompting, he did it.

He hit a trend pose.

Perfectly.

He didn’t even notice he’d done it. Just sipped, blinked, walked off like nothing happened.

Everyone stared.

“…Did he just—?” William whispered.

Oliver stood frozen mid-puppet grab. “Roll it back.”

You did.

And there it was: textbook trend behavior. Down to the head tilt.

“Put that on the internet,” Eve said, eyes wide. “Now.”

“No,” Mark said immediately, from the kitchen.

“Yes,” everyone else said in unison.

You posted it. You didn’t even try to be subtle. The caption?

’when the trauma makes you trendable. #tragedyboy2.0’

By the end of the night, it had 40k views.

By morning, 200k.

╭┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄╮

ြ The comments were chaos:

➤“he’s so emotionally charged I could fix him AND he’d thank me”

➤“when you cry to Mitski but still hit a clean pose?? king”

➤“tragedy boy 2.0 just dropped and I’m obsessed”

╰┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄╯

Mark stared at your phone, expression blank.

“I didn’t even do anything,” he muttered.

“That’s the point,” Rick said, nodding.

“Tragic aura,” Amber added.

“It’s the silent suffering that sells,” William confirmed, sipping his smoothie.

You handed Mark your phone with a smile. “Congrats. You’re a meme now.”

He stared at the screen.

Then at you.

“…I’m deleting all of your editing apps.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“You need help.”

“YOU TREND IN SILENCE.”

From the hallway, Debbie called out. “Make sure to tag me next time. I’ve got burner accounts ready!”

Mark buried his face in his hands.

Somewhere, a comment called him “WALL-E coded.” Another simply said, “blink twice if you need therapy, blink once if you already went and it didn’t work.”

He blinked once.

The internet cheered.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

It started out as a joke.

A throwaway mention. A cursed sentence uttered in the depths of a late-night scroll session:

“Imagine if there was a Gacha Life video of Nolan betraying Earth.”

You had said it. Mark had groaned. Oliver had gasped.

And twenty minutes later—you were all gathered on the couch, screen mirroring a Gacha reaction video with a thumbnail that read:

“Invincible Characters React to Nolan’s Betrayal (SAD/CRYING/REAL)”

The title card was Comic Sans. The music was royalty-free piano tragedy. The vibes? Devastating.

Mark looked like he was about to walk into traffic.

“Why is my Gacha self crying in the corner?” he asked, horrified.

“Character depth,” you replied.

The video played.

Pixelated Gacha!Debbie gasped in slow motion as Gacha!Nolan punched Gacha!Mark into orbit. A single animated tear rolled down her face and sparkled. The screen flashed:

“TO BE CONTINUED…?”

“Oh my god,” Rick whispered. “They gave it a cliffhanger.”

“Of real history,” William added. “This is art.”

Debbie blinked at the screen. “Wait. That’s supposed to be me?”

“She looks twelve.” Amber said.

Eve raised her martini drink. “I respect the commitment.”

Meanwhile, Gacha!Mark lay motionless on the screen, sparkles and red overlay blood pooling dramatically as a voiceover whispered: “He was just a boy.”

Mark put his head in his hands. “This should be illegal.”

Oliver patted his shoulder. “That’s what makes it so powerful.”

By the end, there was a montage of Gacha!Mark’s “best moments” set to a slowed-down nightcore remix of “My Heart Will Go On.” The subtitles read: “Mark… you were the light in our darkness.”

No one spoke for a solid fifteen seconds.

Then you wiped a fake tear and said, “They got your trauma arc better than the actual writers.”

Mark muttered, “I’m moving out.”

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•∘˙○˚.⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨🪼୧⋆ ˚｡⋆ ∘˙○˚.•

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By now, the “Tragedy Boy 2.0” clip had gone viral enough to birth its own ecosystem—edits, fancams, conspiracy theories.

And Debbie?

Debbie was thriving.

She’d quietly created an account under the name @markgraysondefenseunit, and she was everywhere.

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ြ Commenting on hate:

➥”he looks like he cries after arguments”

╰┈➤ @markgraysondefenseunit: “He resolves his trauma. Do YOU?”

╰┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄╯

Debbie hit send, sipped her wine, and smiled like she just ended a war.

╭┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄╮

ြ Fighting trolls:

➥“mid hero tbh”

╰┈➤ @markgraysondefenseunit: “Tell that to the asteroid he punched.”

╰┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄╯

She cracked her knuckles before typing that one. Felt good.

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ြ Replying to thirst:

➥“me n him rn [photo of two frogs cuddling]”

╰┈➤ @markgraysondefenseunit: “wrap it up sweetie, you’re not his type.”

╰┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄╯

Debbie raised an eyebrow, muttered “delusional,” and hit send without flinching.

For her defense—she did tell Mark about it, not her fault everyone thought she was just joking around.

So she stayed silent.

Until the day he scrolled through comments on his own post and paused.

“…Why does one of these accounts call me ‘my brave little meatball’?”

You smiled, innocent. “Huh. Weird.”

Oliver snorted into his juice.

From the kitchen, Debbie sipped her wine.

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a/n: this was supposed to be short. it was not. it got out of hand. again. also—did anyone clock my weird obsession with Tuesdays or are we all just politely ignoring it? be honest.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌With Love, @alive-gh0st

[crows-king]

I've been thinking a bit about how Galinda and Fiyero work as foils(?), and the contrast between their goals, personality, and their relationship to social influence individually change how they navigate their specific social situations.

And why it puzzles me when people judgmentally compare them and what they'd do in "What-If" scenarios as a gotcha to make one seem better/worst. Because in my mind they are similar but not comparable, because they fundamentally have very different personal stakes.

Primarily because of the difference in how they act in an Active (Galinda) vs Passive (Fiyero) approach to social engineering. And also, because one of them in writing is more developed as an individual than the other.

I'LL MOSTLY BE TALKING ABOUT: WICKED MOVIE - PART 1

Galinda is inherently Active. She has wants and desires that she's driven to achieve, and so actively plays the part of the good socialite because it will help her become more popular and to eventually become "Galinda the GoodSorceress". "It's not about aptitude, it's about the way you're viewed", and so on. It’s the one thing she knows she’s good at.

Of course, she also likes the attention and validation, but her charms doesn't come as naturally as she wants others, and probably herself, to believe. (I love that quote Ariana said somewhere about how "Galinda sees herself as a graceful swan, when she's actually a very stiff, but still beautiful swan", or something of that sort). She's insecure that she’ll lose people's favour and thus her most important asset, so she continually appeals to them. It's an act that she simultaneously enjoys doing for the most part, but also traps her from ever being truly close to anybody for fear of being known and not meeting expectations and losing that adoration. Until Elphaba that is.

Because of her drive to fulfill her dreams and to keep her best asset, and personal desperate need for validation, she has a much more obvious internal conflicts when she has to choose between Elphaba/the moral good vs keeping with the good graces of authority and/or the public. She's more prone to being influenced by others, and many of her choices become a calculated risk. She’s often times selfish and chooses her own desires, but it’s what makes her such an interesting and very human character. The struggle she balances when she’s forced to choose for better or worse.

In contrast

Fiyero is Passive. Dancing Through Life is literally him telling others that being lazy and not thinking is the best way to cope and enjoy life by ignoring problems. He is discontent with his life, but doesn't really acknowledge it until Elphaba reads him. Much like Galinda he is also playing a part, but it's not as tightly controlled as Galinda because he doesn't have an end goal for it.

Of course, while he probably doesn't want to lose his princely privileges. His passive "brainless" approach doesn't really put him in risky situations that would put him in conflict leading to losing things he cares about, because he really doesn't have a lot to lose. (Which is a byproduct of the fact he is primarily written as a love interest side character without much of an arc or motives outside his love triangle relationship to Elphaba and Galinda).

What confounds me is when people compare them and judge what their choices would be in if they were placed in pivotal moments, because we never really see them in situations with similar stakes.

For example, the Lion Cub scene. Most people interpret this scene as an act of braverism and heroics by Fiyero. And in some part it is, he's spurred on to save the cub, and he and Elphaba do. But it's telling that he only does this after everyone is asleep and there are virtually no risks. Any present social or physical conflicts that could arise? POOF! Gone. The worst that could probably be done to them is being punished, or even kicked out, if they’re discovered afterwards. Which Fiyero is not new to and doesn't really care about, and while maybe uncertain for Elphaba, is also unlikely because she's Morrible's irreplaceable pupil.

Some people use this scene as evidence that under his facade, Fiyero is secretly valiant like Elphaba thinks so. But I think in actuality tells the opposite. It reveals that Fiyero does care about the Animals, yes. But, the fact he only acts when prompted and there are no longer any present risks initially makes him seem less brave than Elphaba, and even Galinda. Because it contrasts with the Ozdust dance scene between the girls. Where Galinda had to make an active choice to do the risky and brave thing as an apology for hurting Elphaba, and offer to truly connect with her in front of everyone with the possibility of social out casting. She has an obvious internal conflict and risk assessment where she ends up picking the moral good over her personal comfort and social appeal. I'm genuinely curious on what kind of choices Elphaba, Galinda, and Fiyero might have done in that situation if they weren't given the perfect out by the magic poppies.

Would Galinda have helped in with the lion cub if she were awake? Probably, but who knows? Because in the narrative, Galinda isn't really put in a situation where she could choose good without being watched or without someone breathing down her neck. The prospect of being punished and kicked out from Shiz would also be most plausible and ruinous for Galinda. Morrible would definitely use it as an excuse to kick her out, or at the very least punish her, if she could, and it could throw away her only chance of achieving her dream of becoming a sorceress. She would have probably joined them in the end, though. If only to make sure they were safe. Compared to Fiyero, she has more conflicts of interests because she has personal aspirations and influence based on her reputation, and thus have more fears and consequences to consider in losing it.

Would Fiyero have joined Elphaba on the broom? Maybe, mostly likely. Because narratively, he’s never given a reason why he shouldn’t. He doesn’t see his worth and his skills intrinsically tied to public influence and opinion. He doesn’t have any wants or wishes he would have to abandon. He’ll have to leave his friends and family, but it’s not shown how close they really are to him outside Feldspar, his Horse friend, and he’s probably joining them anyway. He’s definitely more equipped to survive on the run compared to Glinda. Unlike Glinda, who is proven right in the end to being most useful when she can wield her powerful social influence For Good, Fiyero would probably be most useful as a sidekick to Elphaba. He was always written to be Elphaba’s follower, it’s no surprise. It’s also easier to take risks when you don’t have much to lose. But I think most people would agree that would make a less interesting story.

[helslastangel]

Can we please get a Aries Juno one please

😘🔥 ofc!

ARIES JUNO OBSERVATIONS

People with Aries Juno value their alone time, and while this might seem to contradict the whole concept of a relationship, it also doesn't-at least not for them.

Aries Juno people just want a partner who understands that taking "me time" doesn't mean "I don't love you anymore."

They value relationships where each person remains an individual and very much enjoy the idea of being with someone who has a full thriving social life of their own.

Having separate projects and activities are important to an Aries Juno because they do not usually like relationships where they and their partner are under each other's armpits or in each other's hair 24/7

Aries Juno people might enjoy a bit of mental sparring with a partner, so they tend to be attracted to vocal people or people who are energetically on the dominant side.

An overly passive partner or clingy partner is probably not going to be the best match for these people, unless other placements in their charts overpowered this one.

For an Aries Juno person, the idea of living separate lives together, walking the path of life side by side, wandering off at times but ultimately walking together again, is probably most appealing.

As parents, Aries Juno people could struggle with the united front concept, especially if they have different belief systems or ideals from their partner.

Aries Juno people enjoy taking the lead. Which may or may not backfire, depending on who they are with and whether their moon or other planet needs strongly contradict this desire.

Aries Juno people could attract very dominant people who seem exciting and like a great match at first until the egos and forces of wills clash.

Some realize that they are better off in the long-term with a partner who will be more submissive or at least less interested in being the visibly "dominant" one in the relationship.

Zendaya has Aries Juno and if I'm not mistaken, people have commented about how she seems to be the more dominant energy between her and Tom Holland, though he is by no means timid or overly passive, from what any of us can tell. I think she is at the age where most people start to figure out the differences between lust, like, and love, and also between what one might need vs. "fall hard for" in a partner and knows Tom is the kind of man she needs.

Rihanna also has Aries Juno and people have strong opinions about her choice to settle down with ASAP Rocky, but I think she too is a very smart woman who gained wisdom throughout her relationship history and realized that someone laid-back who doesn't mind letting her shine is the best choice for her personality and relationship values.

Juno in Aries can indicate someone who approaches relationships with much enthusiasm, passion, and even some aggression. This can come off as a Type A to some people or incredibly inspirational, dynamic and attractive to others.

Adventure and excitement are very important to these people and they will not enjoy a relationship that is too serious, comfortable or prone to doing the same types of things over and over again for very long.

For an Aries Juno, the ideal partner will be confident, self-assured, ambitious, yet not fixated on taking center stage. Someone who is comfortable with themselves, not shy, but not overly outspoken. A person who can hold their own in a conversation, but is also perfectly comfortable sitting back, relaxing and observing what's going on around them.

In sum, an Aries Juno needs someone they can rely on and have a wonderful life with, without feeling boxed in or like they're losing themselves in the other person.

[cassketti]

Hai. Adrian shephard headcannon minddump go. Talk abt my adrian shephard dog metaphors

I say you, you took me all around. Then treat me like a dog. And made me walk for miles. And then you held me up.”

Dog Shephard vs Dog Freeman

Both Gordon Freeman and Adrian Shephard’s character centers around their personal lack of control, and the control enacted onto them by outside forces.

I think what separates Gordon from Adrian is that Gordon is surrounded by people who are pushing him in all these various directions. Gordon’s role in the overall storyline is vital. And while he’s shown to be unable to really choose a path on his own (well besides Half Life Alyx), there’s still other forces that pushes him in different directions (vortigaunts releasing him from Gman, all the characters that literally direct him, etc etc)

Thing with Adrian (this is now bordering headcanon) is that a lot of his lack of control seems to boil down to shitty luck. Honestly maybe less on actual shitty luck and more so Gman’s influence throughout the storyline.

Where Gordon acts as the main push of the timeline, Adrian is only the support.

Devolving more into headcanon-ish territory, but Adrian actively tries to resist Gman's influence. When we play as Gordon in the other half life games (past the half life episodes), Gordon only goes in the direction that he’s guided in, which is the same direction that Gman and everyone else is pushing him towards. And while we kinda see a similar thing with Adrian, Adrian tries to go against Gman’s plans, i.e. him trying to escape or deactivating that bomb.

TDLR: Gordon lack of control just comes from everyone around him not just Gman and has been shown to sorta break out of Gman’s influence whether that be through the connections he has or whatever he did in Half Life Alyx, whereas Adrian is mostly forcibly dragged along the path that Gman wants by Gman. Gordon is more passive Adrian is a bit more resistant. Gordon is the main guy pushing the overall timeline, Adrian is more of the support/backup.

Gman’s K9

Mostly headcanons and ideas for Gman moving on from here

I like the idea that originally Adrian was supposed to be like, the main guy for Gman’s plans but Gordon with his bullshit came in and impressed her so much that now Gordons responsible for everything.

Gman has been plotting on Adrian for a while too, seen in the diaries and such. Now, this kinda ties into my stupid bad luck headcanon for Adrian, but because of Adrian’s shitty good luck (where he is thrown in the most atrocious situations yet still manages to survive every time), Gman decides to use him as a tool where his shitty luck would further advance his plans.

How, I don’t know. I’m not even sure about the bad luck headcanon too because idk if that goes well with Adrian’s whole “surviving against all odds” thing? Anyways.

So as such, Adrian works well as a sort of backup or support for Gman’s plans, whatever they may be. Gordon’s gone because he somehow escaped Gman’s control? Replace him with Adrian. Gordon’s gone because he’s completed his purpose in Gman’s plan? Bring in Adrian. Gordon’s gone because vortigaunts got him? Here’s Adrian then? See Adrian Shephard acts as Gman’s sort of backup boy when Gordon Freeman is out of the conversation.

Adrian works as a support too because of the way he is. Gordon, is a scientist, he has his connections, his intellect, and also luck too. Gordon with such qualities can make for a slightly flexible tool, but also something that can more easily escape Gman’s control because of said qualities. Adrian on the other hand, is a military trained soldier, meant to be weaponized for the government’s (or whoever/whatever gets their hands on him) sake. That being said, my Adrian Shephard is an annoying, rude, fresh out of college age 22 year old guy so it’s not like he’s mature enough to be straight up obedient. But it’s like, he doesn’t have many of the same advantages that Gordon has, making him more susceptible to Gman’s force. Yk.

Now in that case, Adrian Shephard works as a good tool to get the simple or more messy stuff done. For the government, he’s another soldier that you can give orders to, for the Gman it’s also the same thing.

Also as Gman’s K9, Gman doesn’t give him the same kind of treatment as Gordon Freeman lol.

I like to think Stasis was purposely meant to train Adrian in a way. To make him more aggressive out in the field. Not sure how that works but yk.

Dog metaphors also have room for military themes

the military reduces young boys into war machines and thus removes their autonomy in that aspect

So in a way, soldiers are basically like dogs for the military

I’ll add more LATER. Omg this is so gay bruh. Hut ya!

[orlopsexdungeon]

because his rejection of conventional victorian morality is one of Hickey's defining characteristics & because he also lacks a modern liberal moral logic, people tend to assume he has no morality of his own. but I'd say he does posses his own moral logic - a moral logic where harming and controlling others is not inherently wrong, but the moral right to harm and the moral right to authority are meritocratically earned. Hickey is sportsmanlike in his outlook, and views backstabbing and manipulation as fairplay. he does not view the other guy having the rules written in his favor before the game starts as fairplay. he admires Crozier because he assumes his irish background is proof that, rather than being granted to him by virtue of what class and country he was passively born into, his status and authority as a royal naval captain where actively earned through merit. this is a moral logic where a man using a rank granted to his class and a righteousness granted by preexisting social permissions wrt allowed vs disallowed sex to force a man who lacks that class background and social permission to listen a condescending lecture on sin is a severe moral transgression - and stabbing a man to death for his work contract is perfectly fine, an honest triumph of one man over another with nothing but his quick wits and skill with a knife

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Is Helena a victim? And why is everyone starting to say she's not a victim in the books? I saw someone saying: “there’s not a single line in the book suggesting she was against the usurpation or becoming queen. She didn't get a mention for Aemond's kinslaying, unlike Aegon, who threw a party, and Alicent and Otto, who were upset by his sin. She's obviously not as bad as her family, but she wasn't innocent either. Book Helena, before that, was in favor of having Rhaenyra bend the knee after usurping her and having her two youngest sons as hostages, to the same people who wanted her and her family dead, who hid her father's death, and who were behind Lucerys' death-all in the name of peace." And this is only their arguments.

I read the books, and I can see that their whole arguments is wrong. Helaena is definitely a victim.

While she doesn’t directly oppose Aegon II’s rise to power, there is no clear evidence in the text that she was in favor of it either. She is often depicted as someone who was deeply affected by the political turmoil but did not have the will or the power to actively challenge her brother’s ascension to the throne. Saying she “accepted” the usurpation doesn’t necessarily mean she supported it; it’s more that she was a victim of the events happening around her, unable to control her own fate.

The argument that Helaena didn’t speak out against Aemond’s kinslaying (the killing of Lucerys Velaryon) is also misleading. Aegon II’s reaction to the kinslaying, throwing a party, and Alicent and Otto’s strong disapproval of it are much more public. However, this doesn’t imply that Helaena was indifferent or complicit. The book doesn’t suggest that she supported the act, and given her general disposition and the way she was treated by her family, it’s unlikely she had any approval of such a brutal act. She was often portrayed as someone who was mentally and emotionally distressed, not someone actively participating in or enjoying the violence.

The claim that Helaena supported Rhaenyra bending the knee or that her two sons would be hostages in exchange for peace is also a misinterpretation. The book never explicitly states that Helaena wanted Rhaenyra to bend the knee. While there were political discussions about peace, the books don’t attribute any specific motivations to Helaena in pushing for such outcomes, and it is more likely that she was a passive observer in the discussions, even supportive of peace out of a desire to avoid further bloodshed.

The offer from Aegon II, as mentioned in the book, was more about securing peace through submission, not holding children as hostages. To suggest that Helaena advocated for such terms is a misreading of her character and role in the story.

Can you please explain why, in the books, Helaena is a victim and why this view/argument is wrong? I’d like to see your analysis on this matter.

There are many people saying she’s not a victim, and she’s getting a lot of hate for no reason. I see many people trying to destroy her character and make her seem evil, just like her siblings, and this is simply wrong. It makes me so angry.

@guiboob to be honest, although I could give a serious answer to this one, to me Helaena hate is right up there with the Jaehaera vs. Daenaera child bride-off when it comes to forced and pathetic team wars discourse. Even people who enjoy and support team black tend to understand that Helaena is objectively a victim without needing it spelled out for them. Anyone who is sitting there seriously writing out a "Helaena was no angel" argument to justify what happened to that poor woman has worms for brains and needs to log off, get some fresh air, fill out some employment applications, and maybe seek therapy.

[tofics]

Thoughts on TLOU S2

Just some thoughts on the differences between the game and the show. SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT.

So the obvious difference between the game and the show is that the show is a passive element vs the active element of playing the game yourself, where you become the character(s) and therefor "responsible" for their choices.

Which is exactly how they set players up for TLOU 2 by making us play Abby and thus basically leading Joel to his own death without us even knowing. They even talk about it in the behind the scenes footage of the game. We're forced to save Abby, unconsciously making us bond with her character (we just saved her!) and then get smacked in the face with the reveal that by saving her, we doomed Joel.

How do you successfully translate something like that to a show that doesn't offer the same tools for connecting with a character?

You do it the way HBO did it, that's how.

At first I was confused why we were seeing so much of Abby straight up from the beginning, even had her outright saying that she's gonna kill Joel. I was like "Doesn't this take away from the mystery?", coming from the game where we had to wonder who or what exactly she was looking for in Jackson.

But now, in retrospect, it makes sense. Instead of connecting with Abby through saving her, we're forced to connect with her through her grief. Cause what is she if not a mirror to Joel? She's just doing what Joel would've done in her shoes. She's doing what Ellie is about to do. All of them just seeking revenge for the death of their loved ones, kicked off by the actions of someone who wanted to save his loved one.

Having Abby talk to Joel about how "carelessly" he killed all of them, especially her father, was so smart. We're forced to listen to her explanation for why she's about to do what she's about to do and it makes sense, because if there's one thing we've learned so far, it's that Joel would've done the exact same thing in her shoes. His demonstration of violence towards Ellie's captors in season 1 is a perfect example of that.

We're made to see her pain from her eyes and we know she's right and we still hate her for it. Because he's our Joel, but that was her father he killed. And she doesn't care that he did it to save his daughter, the same way Ellie isn't gonna care that Abby did it to avenge her own father.

[byemambo]

4Minutes EP. 5 - My Takeaways

I'm back! I hope everyone is doing well and recovering from what happened this episode. BIG WARNING: I hacked the system (while happily creating more work for myself /lh) and made my own photo layouts to maximize the 30 image cap so I'm not sure how long this post will be but at least it's reference heavy!

The full analysis is under the cut to not spoil it for those who haven't watched yet :O

We start the episode off with Title's downfall and now in the hands of Tonkla, drawing connections in the supposed timeline dependent on whether Dome is dead or alive. Since the main story has funneled its way in solidifying the passing of Dome, we now are given the opportunity to watch Tonkla's revenge plot play out. My main question is wondering what Win will do once he is confronted with Tonkla, either through initiating that interrogation himself or look out for signs and gather evidence since they're now living together. But this is only if Win chooses his morals over his own vices, which will be one of the main points I wanted to cover today :)

Confrontation vs. Compliance: The Return to Ethics

As we've seen in the released episodes, there has been a wide range of how Tyme and Great approach life and its circumstances. Although both of them are introverted in nature, we can see their differences most through Tyme's guarded personality marked with tactical execution side by side with Great's impulsivity and kind hearted nature bursting with a strong sense of duty and justice. Tyme's pivotal life circumstances caused him to become detached and absentminded in his every day living, only giving his true self away to his grandmother and holding the strongest bond with her. Great on the other hand, entered the main family circle once Korn's mother passed and Great's mother, the mistress, elevated in status to be alongside both the son's father. In a sense, one person grew up with power handed to him and the other with power taken away from him, which really highlights how both of them interpret the world around them and interact with it.

Great is confronted with his most pivotal decision thus far, really putting himself to the test in challenging his passive nature for action: helping in seeking justice and accountability against his own family's corruption, which he is still wrapping his mind around since he's been told of how they affected Tyme's family along with others like Nan. I find this in contrast to the Great we first met in episode 1 to be so striking considering that the "old" Great was reckless and seemed to have little regard for his family, specifically his father, and now having to ponder on the ultimatum Tyme presents: confrontation or compliance.

Growing up in a Western culture with individualistic views in contrast to my ethnicity's Eastern culture with collectivist views, relationship with family is strong but in its respective ways. Individualism evokes a person to ground their reality in themselves and those who are an extension to them, such as immediate family members. These cultures value autonomy, personal responsibility and rarely fall to ostracization or becoming a scapegoat.

Collectivism finds strength in the prioritization of group effort and maintenance, valuing cooperation and collaboration, but easily gives into sacrificing autonomy for the sake of the group's overall success. We find such values in families who thrive off of power and exploitation, living in a "dog eat dog world." In a dynamic that feeds off of manipulation and utilizing violent or illegal methods to gain access to capital gain and status, many of these families, intentionally or by force, follow in blind faith that the head of the household dedicate themselves to these means for the sake of the family's survival, discouraging conflict and divergence within the system. Because this family involved themselves in high risk activity, tensions between them and other rivaling families and even within the family itself is kept under wraps until it's impossible to avoid.

This boiling point is best highlighted once Great begins to solidify his moral stance, which to his family interprets these actions as defiance and causes impatience and true colors to show through. Great's father uses deliberate language when his temper gets the best of him, willing to disregard familial love and affection for potential financial gain while throwing his own children under the bus after they've displayed no use to him.

Great's father has always operated on the basis of investment (he is a business man after all), which translates aspects of his life in terms of assets that have their various levels of worth and value in relation to himself and his own personal gain. Once he realizes that Great's behavior isn't simply another car accident scandal or frenzy that'll cause an uproar in the media and taint the family's reputation, he prepares himself for a point-of-no-return, already shoving aside his son and his mother and baring no relationship to them. "Get that son of yours," disconnecting himself at the point of realizing there is a chance of failure if he continues investing in this part of his family, that Great's behavior is not of his own son, a son like Korn who has set himself up for a life deeply rooted in submission. Korn represents compliance, Great represents confrontation, which reaches its peak once Samarn reveals information about Nan and her escape without Korn's permission.

Not having enough time to process and sort out his thoughts about the whole ordeal, Korn wishes to speak to Great before meeting their father, ending in Great's veil being pulled back to reveal his family's true nature.

Korn follows the footsteps of his father, falling under the guise of filial piety and familial responsibility. I spoke more on Korn's character traits in my episode 4 analysis, which has become oppressive and unyielding as he finds himself deeper and deeper in keeping the business from falling apart as it seems to be on its last leg.

I find that because Korn has witnessed the vast amount of violence and crime within this organization, he'd rather sacrifice himself to keep Great away from his eventual fate in also participating in the business. Rather than choice, it has become an obligation that has slowly consumed him whole to a point of not being able to shield his brother any longer from the main threat: their father.

Grief: A Shared Experience

Throughout the episodes, we've seen Korn beaten down by his father on almost every occasion he occupied the same room as him, to which he throws the bait by disclosing Great's involvement in Nan's escape and is instantly confronted by Great's mother defending her son. Living under a close eye by his father for most of his life, we're starting to see Korn enter a period of grief for himself and his life circumstances.

Denial when he found out Great helped Nan escape, anger when Great was defended by his mother to which his father defends her and leaving him with no one by his side (who used to be Tonkla), bargaining when Fasai proposes her offer to help him out of this situation on her own terms: marry her and stop seeing Tonkla, who was nothing more than a toy.

Depression when Korn identifies with his learned helplessness, that no matter what decision he makes, it's nothing but an illusion and he will ultimately give up something he loves. Acceptance when he agrees with her terms, and we witness a part of him that dies, the part which was dignified, ambitious, respectable and has become dishonorable, insecure, shameful. That person is no longer there, accepting his fate and making amends with his crossroad.

In contrast, we witness Great undergoing the same grieving process, but instead of grieving for the person he once was, he grieves for the family he once knew. The family who is loved and hated by many, the family who endured the death of a loved one, the family who carries enough influence within the industry that a few stories revealed by families suffering in the hands of their involvement will only make a mere dent in their reputation: this status and footing in their society means nothing to Great if the means in which all their wealth and resources caused irreparable damage to other families, to families like Tyme's.

Denial when his father refuses to accept responsibility for their family's corruption that has deeply impacted the lives of others. Anger once his finally meets eye to eye with his father and finalizes his estrangement from him.

Bargaining by his mother, who is also deeply affected by their initial status in the family as the "mistress and her child," finding any way to salvage the dire situation that will impact their lives forever due to her husband's influence and methods.

Depression once he confronts his mother with the real questions that haven't been answered with any ounce of satisfaction: who is this all for exactly? What is exactly best for me? Why does my voice not matter? Why do I not have a choice? Why am I being shamed and blamed? What are we even doing? Who exactly are we?

Acceptance once Great mourns for a brief moment that in order to save himself, he must make the painstaking decision to abandon his family, including his own mother. This sequence along with her desperate cries got to me, the pain a mother experiences when losing her child. Not only have they lost Korn, they too, lost Great. However, rather than sacrificing himself for his own self interest, he chooses to sacrifice himself to be with the one he loves, the one that he carries an indescribable pit in the stomach levels of guilt for, as his family has directly caused a lifetime of pain and suffering.

A cardiac arrest ensues once Great sees the guy with the gun in attempt to harm his mother, sending him back and he still chooses to sacrifice himself for another person he loves, this time his own mother.

We are blessed with an authentic depiction of unconditional love from both ends: Great telling his mother to run away, his mother remaining by her son's side, Great biding his possible last I love you, experiencing a different reality of acceptance. His mother willing to die right beside her son and allowing herself to take the bullet, she too, had experienced her own grieving process. Denial that her son has supposedly helped in Nan's escape that caused the scandal leak, which will possibly affect their family's reputation, anger and bargaining by conducting any possible attempt to bring Great back to apologize to his father and keep the position she had worked hard to attain in this life, depression once she realizes that her son is leaving for good and there's nothing she could do to stop him, and finally, acceptance in her own fate to die, as long as she can die alongside her son, the only person she has ever loved unconditionally.

We also arrive back to Tyme with his grandmother, renting their home and hiding out at a relative's house for the time being and wearing the exact outfit worn in the intro of episode 1.

Episode 5

Episode 1

Now entering the possible point-of-no-return at high stakes, we've arrived back to the beginning of the story, in which the person in need of CPR and medical attention in episode 1 is Great. This "full circle moment" is also visually present in the series's b-roll: all of these objects are spinning or being circled counterclockwise, as if time has reverted itself back to stage one. Even the camera rotation while Tyme is running to the hospital is rotating counterclockwise, that in this timeline, Tyme has the opportunity to rewrite his own history, a history that will reunite him with the one he loves, the one who's just as willing to sacrifice himself in order to protect each other. The one who both exchanged mutual reasons to choose life as an active participant, and became each other's reason that makes life worth living for.

We are the ones who are capable of changing our fate: it's all within our grasp, it's all within the confines of our hearts, it's all within our reach, it's all worth fighting for.

Honorable Mention: Jes in All Shades

Every day, I'm becoming more and more enamored by this gentleman. To think Jes is a household name who took the chance to venture outside of what he's always known as a means to try something new and challenge himself, to think that Bible has found his match who's into all the same things as him, who becomes observant of others whenever Bible speaks to make sure they're actively listening, to be so humble when people mention his accolades in so many areas that he's dedicated himself to (acting, music, sports, hobbies, etc), to be so endearing with such a fun and bright personality that is just the right temperature that compliments Bible well, to be so kind in taking care of him as the more experienced of the two, to be such an amazing person inside out that you can't help but want to scream off the rooftops for the world to discover such an incredibly hardworking individual whose goal for this particular series is to bring something new to the Thai entertainment industry, to become a trailblazer and take it upon himself as well as the 4M cast and crew to break out of the mold that's been complacent and safe, to be the best person for this role that I can't see anyone fulfilling it. Thank you so much for being a part of this project and bringing so much life to Tyme, and bringing so much insight and enthusiasm for the rest of us that support BOC series. <3

And we made it to the end WHEW. Totally wasn't fighting sleep trying to form coherent sentences before I sleep on it and forget literally everything

Quick shout out to everyone who's shown appreciation for these posts, that means the world to me and I love reading everyone else's thoughts :)

See y'all next week <3

[whatudottu]

All this new Earthspark content (i say with a sigh, not liking what i see), just makes me think more about it? Season 1, so good I didn’t need to think about… give or take Shockwave and the rushed end. Season 2? God- and I’m hearing the bloody ‘Decepticon Dome’ is still around for I guess this is season 3 instead of 2b??

I feel like I wanna share my notes for a season 2 rewrite or at least some concepts for one (with some Shockwave edits from season 1) that I had written on… *looks at the date* 28th July just before I started my shift-

Let’s see what happens then :P

First of all, Shockwave.

What do you mean the fucking unethical science guy has issues with what he immediately labels as cybrids? TFP Father-of-Predacons guy? IDW Literally-Becomes-Onyx-Prime guy?

So you’d think my first idea is to turn him not-racist right? Make him curious about the terrans like (using my main Shockwave experience) his Prime’s equivalent interest in predacons, right?

But what if I didn’t, what if he still has that speciesism but… reflavoured it into something more fitting? Say the ‘medical exploitation’ variant of racism that TFES Shockwave can openly claim that ‘I know I’m doing all these unethical experiments to one specific group, but I would do the same for any cybertronus’ to use Mandroid’s scientific name, but really he doesn’t actually desire to experiment on others he might consider the ‘default’. The kind of racism that treats others as scientific wonders in need of full study.

Heh, TFP Shockwave got off lucky, his obsession was predacons and he only knew they were sapient after reviving one from the dead AND discovering it he could transform; something about archeology vs graverobbing :P

Shockwave in the season 1 finale thus has more willingness to work with people who he considers in some way to be lesser, at least different; what’s a good test for a species’ intelligence than watching them problem solve against a corrupt government organisation?

Now onto the actual fucking season 2 notes then shall we?

With GHOST and Mandroid gone we are lacking threats that aren’t the fucking Decepticons again. The Quintessons of course take Mandroid’s role of the active antagonist, the one or ones that act their own agenda divorced from a wider perspective, but who fills GHOST’s role as the passive background threat? Well, as GHOST was the only company/organisation that had extended their hand to establish a proper post-war cybertronian-human alliance, and they seemed to be pretty tied in to either the government or with heavy media scrutiny, in its place could be filled by the actual American government now labelling any and all cybertronian (and terran) presence as criminal behaviour and thus officially rendering them as illegal literal aliens.

I’m not saying this is what the show should’ve done because that is a fucking stretch, but if I’m gonna rewrite Earthspark that’s who I’d want to fill the slot, fanfiction (maybe bayverse) kinda stuff. Maybe for a ‘kid friendly’ ‘not-so-anti-american’ way to make it just a special task force that’s still paramilitary enough to not get conservatives to freak; but let it be known the original idea :P

Back to Mandroid, considering the type (and aesthetic) of his final cybernetics - as well as his sharkticon guards (?) that he from what I remembered freed from somewhere (like a fucking shark pit???) - what if he had in fact made contact with the quintessons and, learning that he was from Earth, they had assumed that humanity and the Malto children were the children of Quintus, they were in fact assumed kin by His abandonment. When Mo ends up waking the executioner, it is still however her cybersleeve that draws it’s attention, yet it is also the terrans that draw its ire as they seem kin to the cybertronians Quintus oh so favoured over them, but also because they are filled with Quintus’ energy and ‘getting in the affairs’ or ‘robbing the power’ of humanity by their disturbance.

It’s not particularly too far off of the actual canon motivations to coming to Earth, as they already view humanity as fellow creations of Quintus even if literally untrue and prefer them to cybertronians and specifically to the maltos, but just imagine them being more anti-cybertronian rather than ‘pick me’ over Quintus’ chosen (one of the better things about 2b/3, the Judge actually acknowledged that the human Maltos were another set of child soldiers chosen for a destiny beyond their years, heh even Prowl agrees).

In a way, with this, both the human government and the quintessons can come to the idea that (for their own reasons and information provided) cybertronian affairs disrupt the human way of life and need to - in one way or another - be punished for their ‘chaos’.

Regardless though, the Emberstone is still shattered, and it’s not coming back (though the characters don’t know that… yet).

What doesn’t happen between it shattering and it’s… let’s say ‘pieces’ for now… is that the Decepticons don’t ‘do what they do best’.

Without GHOST in the way to arrest any Decepticon by virtue of them losing the war, the Autobots can actually begin to offer a genuine chance at armistice. Maybe not full on peace, their existence is a little too criminalised at the moment to immediately settle give or take a millennia worth of war in one sitting, but it is so much easier to prove to the Decepticons that they do in fact have a chance of rest against vorns of war and years of imprisonment and - as much as saying so word for word may begrudge the mecha - can ‘prove’ that they are worth as much freedom as the Autobots so prattle on about if neither of them have power over them in the ways GHOST provided.

What are their current goals? 1) do not get captured by government agents; there’s only so many cybertronians left even with a large concentration in Witwicky, and who knows if GHOST sent their technology back to their military. 2) do not let the government know of the terrans’ existence; with what Mandroid was invested in and what GHOST had intended to learn from him, neither faction nor any of the Maltos want to let the terrans become fugitives or pet projects (the craziest scientist they’ll even begin to consider studying the terrans would be Shockwave but even then they’d prefer even bloody Tarantulas more than him). And 3) gather the Emberstone shards before the government does; if Mandroid literally killed every cybertronian and terran on Earth with one blast of the full thing, what is the strength of one fragment actually measured by?

Given that apparently a shard with just a little bit of water is enough to make an entire spark (or at least, depending on what we learnt from 2a or the designs in 2b/3) act in replacement to a spark, probably decently powerful enough-

But to quote Brennan Lee Mulligan in his quite popular Game Changer, on a planet with 70% water coverage, weather patterns of a few sorts that scatter H2O in its many states to its surface, and all the time in the world between the Emberstone shattering and scattering, it is a “…statistical wonder…” that there were TWO (count them, 2) ‘’’’’’’’’Chaos’’’’’’’’’ terrans throughout - I’ll give it this - the entirety yet exclusively of the Americas.

First of all, FUCK THE TERM ‘CHAOS’ TERRAN! Let’s describe them as shard-spark for now, continuing to use Mandroid’s scientific terms we do not know if there’s a particular biomechanical difference beyond the Emberstone shard to sever the terrans AKA cybertronus terran from their new shattered siblings… or perhaps only cousins.

Second of all, shard-spark terrans are NOT born evil, just troubled in whatever relevant ways their circumstances cause them to be. Most often however without the conflict between the factions, a lot them if they do not happen upon a body of water in a location of dry weather conditions or even unluckily get stuck in a glass display would end up probably already being terrans by the time Autobots, Decepticons and 3rd or 4th party lock onto their signal to track them down from interesting community reports.

You know what was funny? Seeing everyone fall in love with Breakdown projecting a father-son relationship onto Aftermath who conversely didn’t give a shit, because y’all would just see Breakdown imposing that as just the cutest thing ever when he literally didn’t earn the right to think that way about a stranger that happened to be a child.

No, if Breakdown wants his ‘being a parent’ moment, he needs to put his back into it and make an effort to at least fucking try to be a parent? Hell, he can fucking suck at it and maybe even fall into a similar situation where he imposes the parent-child relationship onto a bad relationship, the main caveat being that it isn't supposed to be funny that Aftermath doesn't get it.

Breakdown can be the first contact with a shard-spark terran, maybe a few others or maybe alone, maybe he and Bumblebee took it upon themselves to race towards a shard only to discover a lost child. Instead of the fucking gang recruitment way 2a attempts to explain Aftermath going along with Breakdown, both the racers are mildly freaking out that there's a solitary kid who may or may not be a little fucking pissy right, just in the very spot both their scanners are saying IS the Emberstone shard they've been tracking. It takes a harsher more Decepticon standard demand to get Aftermath to follow either of them over a softer weaker Autobot plea; a force of habit for both of them, even if Breakdown starts actively avoiding Bee's responding glare.

Something about Breakdown associating harsh orders, reprimands and mutual hostility says more about him and his relationship to 'family' than it does on Aftermath sneering at squishy feelings that make him feel weird and preferring the worse treatment since it's the one thing he's got experience in. Something about how in fandom spaces every group of people is immediately turned into found family or just straight up family? Well- considering that Breakdown joined the Decepticons because the Stunticons also had done so (and changing Breakdown's association of Decepticons as family down to Stunticons as family), considering that most iterations of the characters 4 mentally ill soldiers and an abusive leader that actively preys on his team's weaknesses then... heh.

Breakdown finding the bickering and the fighting and the unspoken assumptions of that meaning family... it DOES mean more for Breakdown than it does for Aftermath doesn't it? :P

I don't think I got a good order with this but :P With GHOST gone the Autobots don't have a main base anymore, and by don't I fucking MEAN IT they don't go back to GHOST headquarters after all is said and done; it would be the first place to look for cybertronian activity after the government finds out the closest thing humanity had for bot sympathisers went belly up after all. Between them and the newly freed Decepticons, there is only one neutral ground between them on the Malto farm, but it would be Starscream to bring up stink over it (if even in his mischaracterisation in 2a he labels Autobots as oppressors) siting that the Malto's are functionally civilian and shouldn't - whether or not they could at all in the first place - be responsible for the housing of all these soliders; it's a farm, not a warbase, there is no need to bring more children into their squabble especially with the likelihood of crossfaction shared quarters he'd say.

There is one fortification left to stand against potential government hunting, even if it means to repair defense systems and cloaking devices, even signal scramblers just to hopefully allow rest to those tired of running. None of the Autobots would be happy about it - the Decepticons might disagree seeing it as potentially a little bit funny and as a little bit of petty revenge - but that base may or may not happen to be quite purple in it's paintjob, Decepticon base. To offer the curtsy that none of the 'Cons were given however, the Autobots in addition to the betrayer Megatron would be allowed free reign of the base, give or take a few zones off-limits even to lower ranked Decepticon forces. It's not like the Autobots would have left the base unraided in their time under GHOST's thumb, so there's no doomsday weapons to be wary of anyone activating.

Actual base life doesn't feel horrible for the Decepticons who, thanks in all due part to Megatron's aggressive leadership and hostile work environment, are already particularly used to being near permanently on guard even at rest; if the Autobots still had a base of their own in the local area the Decepticons would've made an easy transition even if still incredibly tense. It takes an extremely disciplined trigger for the Autobots not to snap under the tension, everyone save for Megatron who is used to being on edge, unfortunately for him the Decepticons give him shit constantly and tends to skew towards aggravating him than any of the 'Bots.

However, at the very least the remaining scientists have access to Shockwave's lab, which he might be more willing to share if it helps Wheeljack and Tarantulas to agree to run some tests on the terrans and actually begin to study them to get the full picture, at least as full as they can without dissection which is one of the compromises Shockwave would have to contend with especially if Nightshade wants to be science team buddies with at least the other 2. Either way, probably the least hostile section in the crosshabitation Decepticon base? Mostly because of the fact they're all agreeing to science together rather than punch each other.

But not everyone actually remains in the base, some take off to find better opportunities or because they find the base environment more stiffling than usual real free spirit types, AKA Breakdown. And also why I don't think I ordered this the right way- but I suppose from Emberstone to 'chaos' terran to Aftermath to Breakdown may break if I went no GHOST to no Autobot base to 'don't hide warriors in civilian homes' to Decepticon base to Breakdown to Aftermath... actually no... because then I can go to 'chaos' terran again and bring up Spitfire and others.

So, speaking of...

Shard-spark terrans, while not guaranteed to be trouble-kids so to speak, they are more predisposed to such given the circumstances of their creation in addition to the presence of the shard they are aptly named after. Aftermath is of course a bit of a destruction lover, it feels so good to break things it's often quite the shame that to have a broken thing, you must destroy something that may or may not have a use when it is unbroken. Breaking trees, breaking roads, breaking armour (even if it's a little baby dent to a soldier who's dealt with worse from a kid who didn't even exist up until a week ago), all the same to Aftermath who loves the thrill of it and hates things that make that thrill go away.

Can't even make a dent in that annoying Jawbreaker's armour! Ugh, he'll just have to teach JB to break something for him to make these gross feelings stop AKA JB discovers 'breaking things' stim and (with a bonus quick rewrite of his altmode episode where HE'S the one wreaking havoc on town because 'STOP BABYING HIM' 'WHY WON'T YOU LIKE ME' 'I HAVE AN ALTMODE NOW WHY DON'T YOU PAY ATTENTION TO ME' feelings) feels like really bad about it when he wants to break more things and scream :P good thing his mum's a veteran she can probably get him to do a war cry!

Spitfire kinda immediately did a gifted kid speedrun I think instead, Twitch 2.0 with a better drone model with better and more capabilities and the speed to out fly the out-mode, only up until it is Twitch who is preferred for her softer attitude and willingness to give up all that lets her win for someone else. Look Megatron, if you introduce a 'non-deadly' version of the Polyhex Protocol, maybe make fucking sure there is literally no fucking way for someone to be in immense 'death by falling' danger? Look look look look look- you put a newborn into her first race (btw, created while falling and thus having first hand experience that falling isn't deadly), say it's not to the death, and expect her not to assume that the giant cliff beneath the flying fox was also safe?? And that you had initially planned the Malto CHILDREN to run the course also and yet failed to create a proper safety net, literally or not you have a flight mode you could've played spotter!

Is Spitfire without fault? No, but what do you expect a newborn storm child to know about safety especially with a competitive streak like the one she's fast to develop! You all told her how she has the better altmode and 'better than this' why are you all looking at her like she'd suddenly BROKEN!?

And all these fuckers think they can all hug it out while she stands out in the rain biting and gnawing for attention?! Gross!

:P AKA Spitfire is like 12 (minutes) old and already fallen from grace, no wonder she gets a kick out of mutual 'want to bite people' sibling Aftermath :P

I think these thoughts are spiraling though to be fair my notes are also at this point spiraling-

Spitfire and Aftermath love to brawl with each other, it's too wild to be called sparring but it's not particularly deadly enough to call a battle, though it does get out of hand in ways that Breakdown - if he's still trying for parenthood - isn't even prepared to deal with (bumblebee voice: first time?). During one such brawl, Breakdown alternating between chasing the pair and backing off as they throw in more hits on each other, the kids accidentally run into Skullcruncher and - instead of backing down like someone more in the know - end up dragging him out of his listless reverie when Spitfire dodges Aftermath's double hammerfist after he threw her into the Decepticon.

Now why am I bringing up Skullcruncher is he secretly my favourite character? No, no he really isn't. But considering he's been used as a tool to not only display Mandroid's mind control technology as well as the visible consequences of that technology being used by GHOST, I feel as though he'd been left in the dust to kinda... regress? To disappear into his head? Some fucked up torture coping really, just in a literal brainwashing sense since :P GHOST wanted a pet project test subject. The aforementioned science team, with the help of everyone that was mind controlled and able to tell of it, have been trying to work through the brainfog it seems to have left Skullcruncher with. Regardless of the actual care they have for him specifically, they want to know if there's any actual lingering corruption on a mecha's processor all in due part because of it, to see if it would affect them physically as it had done mentally.

Between Shockwave's calculated response only providing his own experience in cold logic, Hashtag's experience (Shockers listing her under 'confounding variable' because of her status as a terran) having been used to connect her to Starscream when it counted the most whether or not she was good at playing therapist as a child full of fears and no wisdom, and Megatron nearly gunning down a kid he believed to be the hope of all cybertronian kind (all of the science team is reminded of how he has changed, how he now feels guilt over the future he could've failed instead of snuffing it out himself without mind), there may be a few networks rewired via the cybertronian equivalent of neuroplasticity... but the results so far are inconclusive and it's looking more and more likely to just be biopsychological placebo and coping mechanism Skullcruncher invariably got himself stuck in.

But getting dragged into the antics of laughing yet snarling children, going around beating each other around base not out of malice but out of pure enjoyment and glee, being chased around by someone who has the time and freedom - if not, the ability to be panicked about something so relatively small - to try and deal with the situation? Sure, the first strike is always surprising, and maybe he panicked with something violent in response. But the shard-spark siblings were already in the ebb and flow of their fight, if they got caught or grazed by jaws, if they got hit or dodged a sweep of claws, they'll fight like they always enjoyed. Skullcruncher may not be fully present, may not ever be, but hey... maybe those kids can help fight away the monotony and get him out of his head, out of the past the same faces of over a million years couldn't get to sooner.

Something like that?

And to give more love to other side characters that don't even get voices, why not some more Insecticon content- hell, why not a shard-spark terran who becomes an Insecticon, or at least has a bug altmode that caters to their personality. The 'sit alone inside the tube of a playground set all recess' type, the 'uses thoughts to give themselves company' type, the 'weird loner' type who's non-verbal and asocial? A very patient praying mantis, who takes the bugs outside when they're in and wants to show others the cool little creatures? To BE a bug?

Breakdown, who's willingly tied himself down to who he immediately claimed as his kid... his kids now? He... let's Spitfire decide for herself if she wants to be that but... Aftermath calls him 'old man', that's... that's what humans call their 'dad' right? They both make his spark ache and he's growing more and more confused at why he doesn't just run, take to the streets and drive away where his spark can be free again. But the idea sends his systems into a stronger more whole-body version of the feeling, shooting through his chest down through his arms and legs, in ways that feel familiar but... warmer than with any of the Stunticons.

Bumblebee, who was more or less stuck with the Maltobots as Optimus changed his mission, having gotten to actually learn from them as they learnt from him; he knows the feeling, he knows it strongly. And if they get to hang out more now that they aren't actively fighting each other - though I guess it's still a mutual 'hiding from the government' thing isn't it - they might get to talking about it.

"Yeah, that's just classic worry for you." "Bee, I KNOW what worry feels like, we've been at war for Primus knows how long!" He hated the way it sounded like Bumblebee was brushing him off, emphasised with waving of his hand like he was dusting his plating. If his 'cool' slipped well, the 'Bot didn't press him on it. "Always worrying about dying, worrying about energon. Pit! Worried about shrapnel to the wheels, can't keep beating you in races if my tires blow." Maybe not the best thing to bring up considering... "This is different." It has to be, because he knows he worried about the Stunticons, and they were his family. But... "Breakdown," When did he look away? Breakdown turned back to face Bee, "it's worry FOR them. It's... it's a worry because you care? I care about the Maltos, for the humans AND the terrans, and... I feel worried about them?" He can't help it, Breakdown laughs. A quiet chuckle really, turned snickers as Bumblebee's expressions twist. "HEY! What's so funny about that!?" Just in time to feel a fist beat against his shoulder - right on that afformentioned wheel, hah - even though his optics are narrowed and dentae bared, Bee vents out a laugh he tried and failed to hide. "Mr Never-Settle-Down hiding some wisdom I missed?" He squints at the name but doesn't let that stop his smirk. "Hah, come on Bee, you said it like you were such an expert before! But look who's confused now, right? Because 'classic worry' is so hard to explain." Bumblebee shoves against Breakdown's chassis, venting out another huff. "Okay sure, I'm not perfect at explaining it but!" "You care about them, these new... shard-spark terrans?" Aftermath, Spitfire, almost instantly that burst of 'classic worry' runs his systems wild. "I'm not an expert, so don't quote me on anything but..." He offered up his hand, beckoning for Breakdown to take it in one bold move. "I can help with what I do know, yeah? You've got one handful of kids don't you." With another pulse of his spark, the 'classic worry' - that 'worry FOR them' emotion - shivers down his wires and back up to his chest. Wordlessly, Breakdown takes up the offer with a small quick nod of acknowledgement, and feels the residual tingle simmer. It's not the same feeling with the Stunticons, this kind of worry but... maybe that's a good thing. "Good talk, Feelings-Expert, now why don't I the Winning-Expert take you up on that race?"

Can you tell I hate the first episode of season 2b/3?

Get prepared for a mood shift, we'll be talking about GHOST again!

Obviously because GHOST going defunct and maybe so suddenly it's hard for anyone to corral it under control of the next in rank, it IS an entire organisation after all, there would be quite a few lingering resources within the building itself that the government may be interested in let alone the mecha that would be at a disadvantage to those who would access such resources. Mind control technology and research (definitely don't want the government having that), anti-cybertronian weapons and restraining tools, the fucking GHOST harddrives that were placed in the fucking public recycle centre A YEAR AFTER GHOST FUCKED OFF AND DIED!? Yep that's all getting scavenged, at least as best as they can be while the government is extracting as much resources they can without needing to be sneaky about it.

Hah, considering the lows GHOST is willing to go, one such section - another where the cybertronians can't seem to access one way or another - ends up leading to a morgue of cybertronians, Autobot AND Decepticon. Some of course were known casualties, others are now confirmed dead rather than missing, but missing is an apt term. Missing limbs, missing parts, missing heads. Open chests, open sparks, open processors. Cybertronians were only machines to GHOST, only machines to Mandroid, only machines to manipulate and not even mind control... reprogram would be the term more accurate.

With a well of supply for how cybertronian brains may work, of course someone could eventually slap a remote control onto them and pilot them like a puppet on strings, and it's something something pretty horrific yada yada robot corpse desecration is like nothing on human TV screens.

Hmm... as I said I did like that Prowl acknowledge that hey maybe kids shouldn't get involved with war (even if it might've been framed as 'are we sure children are capable of doing adult responsibilities), so I wonder if I should continue with what my July 28th notes say about him or not... hmm...

Okay! MAYBE! I think it could work?

ANYWAY! Villain Prowl who is a stickler for the rules, villainous only in the way a lawmaker is (read: maker) and collaborating with the government to work cybertronians into the system so that they may be apart of the judicial system, which uh fittingly reflects the quintesson motivation and probably would be really cool to parallel the two. Prowl finds out about human war crimes and goes 'hoo boy some if not a whole fucking many of these laws have been violated by the cybertronian war' and resolves to fix it, but under American government cannot do anything official nor fair while the law only considers humanity. Something something 'cybertronians shouldn't be held to human standard law' yada yada 'so you think yourself above it!?'

Maybe not VILLAIN Prowl per say, more antagonist Prowl who wants to atone for the crimes committed on Earth's surface and give back justice to the people but doing so in the only way he knows how, like a cop. Or at least like a second in command/high ranking Autobot commander and advisor, doing his 'due diligence' to make sure that justice is served and that crimes are punished, which I mean ACAB and all he's still a bastard about it by doing it AS FUCKING SOON as GHOST collapses or at least working actively after the fact but :P

Hah and yeah, Prowl would be stiff lipped about children engaging in conflict. For all the bastard cops that oh so value the punishment part of crime fighting, there are laws in other areas (especially around war) that are to the benefit of the innocent. It's just that war crimes seem to really be listed down after the war has official come to an end and the cybertronian war is still in armistice as of now, in due part because Prowl has committed to atoning NOW of all times :P

This was a bit of a mess, I hope you derive some enjoyment out of this

[hoboblaidd]

what if you talked about Solas's beef with Mother Giselle 🔍

We do not teach that magic is evil. We teach that pride is evil - and does not corrupt only mages.

It’s a clash of ideals that really leads to his beef - active vs. passive resistance, and upholding a leader as something divine.

Solas respects her history of altruism. She wasn’t concerned about Chantry hierarchy or protecting her own people over all people. Her work with the poor in Jader and the refugees in the Hinterlands speak well of her. She has relatively progressive views of magic (insofar as a Chantry priest can) and what the Chantry’s role should be.

But hers is a “passive resistance” to an established, corrupt order that he can’t get behind. Working within, instead of overtly against, an institution in the hopes of changing it is about as effective as trying to push a boulder up a hill (hi Mythal). It’s complacency to him. Yes, Giselle helps people on an individual basis, but she was a priest in a position of influence who could/should have made actual moves for more radical change. This isn’t entirely fair of him, but I think it’s an understandable position for him to take having seen how little “passive resistance” can actually accomplish.

It also bugs him that for all her talk of altruism, the only time Giselle takes genuine action is to manipulate someone into a narrative that fits her idea of how the Inquisition should represent itself. Trying to sell Dorian off to his father without giving him a choice, sharing (or spreading) rumors about Dorian and the Inquisitor to undermine their friendship and thus drive the Inquisitor back to the arms of the southern Andrastianism she thinks they should be championing. She also constantly needles the Inquisitor about faith and insists on the Maker’s guiding hand, no matter how many times the Inquisitor tries to assert their own position.

Finally, and most egregiously, is her Kingmaking. Her faith is truly held, he doesn’t begrudge her that. What he does take issue with is her zealous determination to make the Inquisitor into the quasi-divine Chosen of Andraste in the eyes of the Inquisition’s followers. Solas doesn’t approve of an extremely faithful Inquisitor who believes they were divinely chosen, or worse, pretends to believe it to manipulate people. He views Mother Giselle as the primary force feeding that. Giselle demonstrates time and again that she’s shrewdly playing the Game with respect to the people’s “faith” in the Herald. People need inspiration, but they don’t need lies that their source of inspiration is divine and they should follow with blind faith. 

Although I should watch my tone. I speak to a demi-god, after all. The Chosen of Andraste. Do you enjoy worship? Does it make you feel infallible, or do you see them as fools, gullible for their belief? You give them a lie. Pride, defense of family, even the concept of the Inquisition - those are real things. You’re not gaining allies. You’re gaining minions, sheep driven by one false god to fearfully follow another.

[ceilingfan5]

Time loop rules, tools, and considerations

What makes a time loop tick? What makes a time loop a prison? What makes a time loop a mystery that can be solved? 

Does this puzzle inherently have a solution? Is there an element of doom, or optimism? 

What is the time frame, time limit, time constraint, time allowance? 

Is there always an end? What will trigger that conclusion? 

How do we escape the time loop? 

Is it possible to escape the time loop unscathed? 

How powerful is the risk? What are the hard limits?

What changes things? What changes things with any sense of permanence?

Change + resistance + passion + logic are needed. 

Passion in the form of love will make a difference, but not alone. 

Alone we will not escape the time loop.  

Objecting to social rule vs following the rules to the letter–"the rules" are not the rules as written, or necessarily vice versa.

Acting force + passive rules + change + motive– what is gained and what is lost? 

Alone you will not escape the time loop.

Others have skills we cannot see. Others have loves and tragedies we cannot see.

Time passes. But it also loops. How? Why? Nothing is without cost. Being stuck changes things. There is a price. Forces are mysterious but not without the potential to be understood…and misunderstood.

The familiar is not reliable.

The familiar is comforting but not progressive.

Comfort is unreliable, even untrustworthy. This does not mean it is without power or safety. 

That which is accepted as understood should be challenged.

Outside observers can see shortcuts we cannot. Shortcuts are not always safe or helpful, but should be accounted for. 

Accepting things as written or stated does not necessarily progress things.

Some things cannot be changed.

Some things cannot be changed easily. 

People will participate in things even if they are not directly “Motivated” to. Internal motivations are more complicated than they seem. External motivators are powerful but not reliable. Fun is not a write-off.  Neither is tragedy or impatience.

Habit is powerful. 

Accepting things as they are and following the rules is habit.  

Habit should be questioned especially when it does not serve us.

Loneliness is a habit.

Alone we will not escape the time loop. 

What if something changed the game? 

How powerfully can something change the game?

We are all cast in roles. By whom, by what? To what end? What can we affect from our position? How can we see our role without observing from the outside?

What do we see vs not see?

What corruption has occured? 

Who is watching? Why? To what extent? What must be obscured to preserve the audience? 

What weighs on our challengers whether seen or unseen? 

Clues must be gathered–active participants will escape the time loop. Passive participants ARE the timeloop. 

Alone we will not escape the time loop. 

Changing things is not without cost.

Humor is not without effect.

That which imprisons us is not necessarily unfamiliar.

Capitalism is a time loop. Work is a time loop. Struggle is a time loop. Time without passion and the means to apply it is a time loop. We must be the arbiters of our own time and make a difference to see that things have progressed.

Change is not without cost. Cost is not inherently negative. 

Change is not without an element of gamble, risk.

But risk without any potential of change is wasteful. 

Control is an illusion; how we manifest control should be weighed against how it affects others and ourselves. 

The comedy of our predicament is not known or unknown but rather measured out to achieve the desired effect. 

Even our most uncomfortable moments are dealt by and with powers beyond our own. 

The framing is invisible, and must be considered. 

We are never unobserved. 

We are part of something larger with or without our consent and participation. We can make a difference or not make a difference. Our choices are powerful. How are they used?

Why?

The status quo preserves itself. Its temptation is powerful. The familiar is comforting but not progressive. We must move forward.

Alone, we will not escape the time loop. 

[ryin-silverfish]

On Yin-Yang, Chaos/Order, and the Harbringer

-As with many of my LMK-related posts, this is just grouchy old Ryin nitpicking. If it entertains you or gives you ideas, wonderful. If it doesn't, feel free to ignore me.

-I don't understand why LMK fan theories try to fit the square peg of Yin-Yang into the round hole of Chaos/Order divide so often. Is it because Yang is associated with Creation/Life, and Yin is associated with Destruction/Death, and if something is destructive, it has to be chaotic?

-Except mythos-wise, the Underworld is as Yin-aligned as you can get, yet they are a judicial bureaucracy and the enforcer of karmic laws.

-They are subordinate to Heaven, feared by mortals, and a grim bunch overall, but also as "lawful" as their living and divine counterparts. Like, one of the things Yin is associated with traditionally is Punishment & Executions, usually happening in the context of laws.

-Instead of Chaos/Order, Yin-Yang is more like two sets of parallel yet inseparable orders, the boundary between them is quite thin and easily crossed, and when one peaks, it soon declines and transforms into the other.

-Basically, shadow and light without the "Good vs. Evil" connotations.

-But alright, if we have to fit the square peg into the round hole for funsies: won't Yang fit Chaos more? Specifically, the chaos that accompany active creation and unprecedented change and spontaneous life, as opposed to Yin's passive maintainence, decline and orderly march towards an inevitable end?

-Like, the Thunder trigram, Zhen, is Yang-aligned despite being made of one Yang and two Yin, because it symbolizes the bottom Yang forcefully breaking through the Yin and creating a huge thunderclap.

-Here, Yang is creation via violent destruction of its opposites. Same for Fire/Li——another Yang-aligned thing that is nonetheless capable of as much destruction (burning) as creation (heat and light).

-Instead of Pure Yang being Pure Creation, and Pure Yin being Pure Destruction: I'd prefer it more if both polarities, at their highest concentration and strength, is equally creative and destructive.

-Pure Yang is a supernova explosion, an intense spike of scorching light and heat that burns itself out quickly and transforms into its opposite in the ensuing decline.

-Pure Yin is the complete decomposition of a cadaver into its respective chemicals——a gross and grim process, yet it also attracts and sustains countless other lives that feed on the products of death, and is a vital part of the cycle of life.

-It'll be more interesting to me if the Harbringer of Chaos is not a force of Yin——which is all about passivity and "keep on keeping on" and, at its extreme, stagnation, but wild, unrestrainted Yang.

-Really just, disentangle all that boring moral assumptions from Yin-Yang, and show that they are more akin to two different chemical reactions, that either extremes are rare and usually not the most effective or desirable, and whatever good or bad you can do with them, it's on you and not the powers' alignment with Yin or Yang, y'know?

[avoskorm]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Character Skills and Descriptions

Davrin:

Ability - Assan Strike Damage: 405 🔥Fire Cooldown: 🔄18s Call in Assan to attack from the skies above. Deals bonus Armor damage and Knocks Down enemies.

Passive - Stunning Blow Assan Strike Stagger damage: +100%

Greater Passive - For Good Measure Assan Strike Assan now attacks 1 additonal time, dealing 50% of the base damage as ⚔Physical damage.

Ability Upgrade - Razor Talons Assan Strike The initial impact now deals Bleeding to the target. This skill cannot be purchased while Scorch is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - Scorch Assan Strike The initial impact now deals Burning to the target. This skill cannot be purchased while Razor Talons is acquired.

Passive - Ambush Assan Strike Damage vs. Armor: +50%

Passive - Second Wind Assan Strike Cooldown duration: -20%

Ability Upgrade - Second Helping Assan Strike Delivers another attack to a nearby enemy at 50% base damage. This skill cannot be purchased while Above and Beyond is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - Above and Beyond Assan Strike Damage: +25% This skill cannot be purchased while Second Helping is acquired.

**********

Ability - Battle Cry Cooldown: 🔄36s Davrin lets out a formidable shout, drawing the attention of enemies attacking the party. Taunts enemies in the area, forcing them to attack Davrin for a short time. Does not affect some of the strongest boss enemies.

Greater Passive - Breathing Room Battle Cry Replenish 50 health each second that Taunt is active.

Ability Upgrade - Overprotective Battle Cry When you are at Low Health, Battle cry automatically triggers if is not on cooldown. Can occur once every 60 seconds. Auto-fire does not apply cooldown. Manual activation will remain available.

Ability Upgrade - Quick to Anger Battle Cry Cooldown duration: -20% This skill cannot be purchased while Echo is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - Echo Battle Cry Effective radius: +100% This skill cannot be purchased while Quick to Anger is acquired.

Passive - Lasting Words Battle Cry Duration: +50%

Greater Passive - Brawler Battle Cry For each enemy Taunted by Davrin, he gains 10% bonus damage for the duration of the effect.

Ability Upgrade - Piercing Cry Battle Cry When enemies are Taunted they gain 300 ⚔Physical damage. This skill cannot be purchased while Searing Rage is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - Searing Rage Battle Cry When enemies are Taunted, they take 40 🔥Fire damage per second. This skill cannot be purchased while Piercing Cry is acquired.

**********

Ability - Death from Above Damage: 243 🔥Fire Cooldown: 🔄36s 🎇Detonates ⚔Weakened Davrin calls Assan to strike a target from above. Deals a high amount of Stagger.

Passive - Staggering Talons Death from Above Stagger: +100%

Passive - Slow Combustion Death from Above On Detonation, deal an additional 100% Stagger.

Passive - Bird of Prey Death from Above Cooldown duration: -20%

Ability Upgrade - Positive Reinforcement Death from Above On Detonation, you gain Rally Party. This skill cannot be purchased while Assan's Fire is acquired.

Passive - Infernal Drop Death from Above Detonation damage: +50%

Ability Upgrade - Barrage Death from Above On Detonation, this Ability's cooldown is reduced by 50%.

Ability Upgrade - Assan's Fire Death from Above On impact, deals 50% of the damage done to the target to all enemies within 6 meters. This skill cannot be purchased while Positive Reinforcement is acquired.

Passive - Wingspan Death from Above Effective radius: +50%

Ability Upgrade - Greater Chaos Death from Above Now inflicts damage up to 3 times, but deals -50% further reduced damage.

**********

Ability - In War, Victory Cooldown: 🔄36s Davrin's heroic actions inspire, filling you with the power and endurance of a steadfast Warden. Grants Invulnerable for a short period.

Passive - Do Not Yield In War, Victory Duration: +2 seconds

Passive - Respite In War, Victory When the effect ends, recover 20% of your health.

Ability Upgrade - Fortified Return In War, Victory When the effect ends, you gain Resistant This skill cannot be purchased while As a Rock is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - As a Rock In War, Victory When the effect ends, you gain Immovable. This skill cannot be purchased while Fortified Return is acquired.

Passive - Further Capitalize In War, Victory When used, you gain 20% of your Ultimate. This bonus applies only during combat.

Passive - Speedy Recovery In War, Victory Cooldown duration: -20%

Ability Upgrade - Ample Reserves In War, Victory Duration: +2 seconds This skill cannot be purchased while Forceful Return is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - Forceful Return In War, Victory When the effect ends, enemies near you take 150 ⚔Physical damage, and are Knocked Back. This skill cannot be purchased while Ample Reserves is acquired.

**********

Ability - Heroic Strike Damage: 270 🔥Fire Cooldown: 🔄36s Applies 💥Overwhelm A quick and decisive strike imbued with the righteous fire of the Grey Wardens. Deals a high amount of Stagger.

Passive - Armor Breaker Heroic Strike Damage vs. Armor: +50%

Passive - Overwhelming Strength Heroic Strike Stagger: +50%

Ability Upgrade - A Proper Drubbing Heroic Strike 💥Overwhelmed duration: +50% This skill cannot be purchased while Overpower is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - Overpower Heroic Strike 💥Overwhelmed effectiveness: +10% This skill cannot be purchased while A Proper Drubbing is acquired.

Passive - Focused Training Heroic Strike Cooldown duration: -20%

Passive - Critical Strike Heroic Strike Critical Damage: +25%

Ability Upgrade - Blood and Fire Heroic Strike On a Critical hit, applies Bleeding and Burning to the target. This skill cannot be purchased while Critical Power is acquired.

Ability Upgrade - Critical Power Heroic Strike On a Critical hit, you gain Enhanced Damage. This skill cannot be purchased while Blood and Fire is acquired.

**********

Veilguard Skill - Defender Assan Abilities have a 25% shorter cooldown duration. When used, Assan Abilites grant Deflect.

[viridiave]

forced myself into a state where i can actually indulge in 8path for exactly a day and I'll probably fuck back right into the void after this. but hey. hey. if you have octopath 2.

play the update. play the update, it's like god - we were meant to love and fear it

my full notes (live reaction reenactment) on the update under the cut, SPOILERS AHEAD!

NOBLE TEAM

IT'S FUCKING REAL

I STILL CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT'S REAL

HHHUH

THEIR SPRITES ARE LOWER RES BUT IT'S NOT STOPPING THEM

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THEY HAVE COMBO MOVES

WHAT

WHAT IN THE MOTHER OF FUCKING GOD IS THIS

FUCK EVERY POLL YOU'VE EVER SEEN ABOUT THE ORSTERRA CREW VS SOLISTIA CREW AIN'T NOBODY IS FUCKING SAFE

THEY CAN BOOST??????? HELLO???? FUCKING EXCUSE ME?????

god fucking of course Olberic has motherfucking BOLSTER DEFENSE

OPHILIA??? COUNTERS???? ELEMENTAL AND FUCKING PHYSICAL??? SINCE WHEN

OPHILIA AND ALFYN TAG-TEAM FUAOSJAKSAKSKA THEY HAVE MOTHERFUCKIGN COMBO MOVES????

OH MY GOD TRESSA AND OLBERIC TOO

MY ASS IS DEAD IT'S SO DEAD

NO OF COURSE HOLY SHIT OF FUCKING COURSE TRESSA ALSO HAS MOTHERFUCKING HIRED HELP AKJKAS

ophilia's buff rotation is interesting. i can't tell if she's going right-side down or if she's actively prioritizing certain members

WAIT THEY HAVE NEW VOICE LINES

HOLY FUCK????

i NEED to see the battle AI. show me the specs Square Enix I fucking beg you.

ALFYN'S CONCOCTS ARE SO MEAN OH MY GOD

CASTTI CAN DO FIVE AT ONCE BUT IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER TO ALFYN

why did i try and face them with Noble Team members too

well okay i guess. i guess we'd just be straight-up dead if i didn't have castti teme and partitio here jesus Hikari's carrying damage

too bad i never use him as DPS

WH

TRESSA

TRESSA NO WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU INCREASE DEFENSE WHEN YOU GET BROKEN

TRESSA WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU'LL BUY MY FUCKING WEAPONS

WHA

WAIT YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME MONEY FOR IT I HAVE TO BUY IT BACK FROM YOU

Therion was a bad influence on her lmao

AND OLBERIC'S NOT WEAK TO STAVES RIP

WHY IS TRESSA WEAK TO STAVES

my ass is so fucking cooked

WH

THEY HAVE FUCKING JOB CHANGES?????

OH MY GOD SCHOLAR OPHILIA IS CANON

THEY HAVE NEW MOVES I'M DEAD I'M SO FUCKING DEADDDDD

WAIT

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE

HUNTER ALFYN

I FEEL UNREASONABLY FUCKINGVALIDATED AKSJAKSAKSKAS

oh god what are Tressa and Olberic

hOLD UP ALFYN AND HIS ARROWS WAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT THE HELLLLL

oh.

oh my god.

w. warmaster olberic

wARMASTER OLBERIC IS REAL

….NOOOOOOOO I'M SO FUCKING DEAD WARMASTER OLBERIC IS REAL IT'S OVER IT'S SO OVER I'M DEADDDDD TO HIMMMMM

sidenote: i'm writing all of this after the fact, trying VERY hard to recreate my real-time reactions. and uh. this. this made me get up from my fucking chair and scream into a pillow so loud people thought i was getting anal

I didn't

oh. wait. if. if he's real.

and Tressa's on the field.

there she is. the motherfucker herself.

RUNELORD FUCKING TRESSA

I WAS DEAD BEFORE NOW I'M IN MOTHERFUCKING SUPER HELL. THERE WAS NEVER A CHANCE

NO OH GOD HERE IT COMES TRANSFER FUCKING RUNE

WE'RE PAYING FOR OUR HUBIRS WITH BLOOD AND THE SCREAMS OF THE DAMNED

…WAIT HOLY SHIT ALFYN AND OPHILIA ARE IN THE RED

THERE'S A CHANCE

THERE'S A CHANCEEE

HIKARI'S POPPING THE FUCK OFF

oh my god of course Brand's Blade is a 1 hit KO move

i'm scared. i don't want him to wreak havoc on me i need to keep fucking breaking him -

ALFYN'S DOWN

HE WAS THE MOST DANGEROUS ONE THAT'S GOOD

OPHILIA DOWWWWWNNNNNN

ALRIGHT JUST. TIME FOR THE 2 GOD MODE TRAVELERS I GUESS

god it'd be so mean if i saved Olberic for last. but he put that on himself he has motherfucking Physical Prowess as a passive

oh no Temenos is the only thing that can kill him huh.

OF COURSE HE GOES FOR THE FUCKING MAGE EVERY TIME

WH

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THE RUNES BYPASS SIDESTEP???? THEY'RE ELEMENTAL NOW????

H E L L

OH SHIT TRESSA'S IN THE RED THERE'S A FUCKING CHANCE

TRESSA'S DOWN

alright 4 travelers at full health with sidestep and defense buffs out the ass. we'll be good we'll be good we can weather olberic. thank you Prayer for Plenty

THIS FEELS MEAN I REGRET IT NOW LMAO

THAT DIDN'T KILL HIM

oh no his full buffs

WAIT NO HIRED HELP BEASTLINGS. JUST ONE MORE

FUCK YEEEEE

w

what

wha wha what the fuck wai

w-wait

hu

H H U H

OPHILIA YOU WERE DEAD HOW THE FUCK DID YOU REVIVE EVERYONE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?????

WAS THAT JUST PHASE 1???

NO

NOOOOO WE'RE SO DEAD

oh wait they're changing back

…oh no. they're more dangerous like this somehow

WAIT

WHAT'S HAPPENING HUH

WHY DID HE CHALLENGE HIKARI WHAT

WAIT WHY IS IT ONLY THEM

HOW LONG DOES THIS FUCKING LAST FOR?????

they're just in a cycle of countering and evading jesus

oh ok that answers tha -

TR

TRESSA

TRESSA WHAT THE F U C K

TRESSA GIVE ME MY FUCKING MONEY BACK WHAT THE FUCK??? WHAT THE FUCK

HIRED HELP BEASTLINGS WAS THE ONLY WAY I COULD BREAK THEM THAT'S SO MEAN

oh my god i'm dead

TRESSA WHAT THE FUCKA SKAJSAKS SHE CALLED OVER THE FUCKING??? ROGUE CREW??? HOW

WHAT

WHY

WAIT

WAIT SHIT I'M JUST DEAD

…i need to lie down

ROGUE TEAM

okay rogue crew what do you have for me

i'm so scared oh my god

GOD

WAIT

THERION YOU SON OF A BITCH GIVE ME BACK MY ITEMS

THEY HAVE INCIDENTAL ATTACK???? FUCK OFFFFF

LINDE'S HERE

…OH FUCK LINDE'S HERE

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN CYRUS CAN LOCK HIS FUCKING WEAKNESSES

god of course he's DPS in this fight. cyrus is just. too much man

of course Cyrus is weak to Swords. and Daggers apparently

WA

WAIT WHAT

PRIMROSE???

FUCKING HELL

WELL OK PRIMROSE SAID HAPPY PRIDE MONTH SHE JUST ALLURED THRONE

O WAIT POG PRIMROSE AND THERION COMBO

SO

OH THERE IT IS CYRUS AND H'AAN COMBO!!!

…WHY ARE THEY BOTH SO BUSTED

did

did Cyrus just. give me a weakness.

what

what the fuck

AY YO WHAT THE FUCK

yeah ok i'm dead.

i'll. i'll try again later i need to see how Noble Team plays out till the end

ALRIGHT WE'RE BACK IN THERE WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME ROGUE CREW

FUCK I FORGOT THIS WAS THE FIGHT WHERE CASTTI'S USELESS

oh my god they're cooking. i feel so unsafe. Therion is even more of a little bitch than usual

ALRIGHT GOD GUESS I'LL FUCK MYSELF WE'RE DEAD IKE 5 MINUTES IN LMAOOOO

MOTHERFUCKER I FORGOT H'AANIT HAS FUCKING PATIENCE

you know what Temenos doesn't need. Salt the Wound. why the hell did I put that on him

HOW LONG DOES ALLURE LAST FOR JESUS

oh my god Ochette. Ochette's Beastly Claws are NASTY damage woah. I need to make her do that more often

WELL ALRIGHT CYRUS IF YOU'RE GONNA BE A BITCH LIKE THAT

i wonder if they had to get chris niosi back for this role or if they just. had all these extra voice lines lying around

still not over the sprite quality being so drastically different lmao

hired help Beastlings save me. save me Hired Help Beastlings

O-OH. OH NOOO…

DAMN WHY CAN'T I HAVE THIS MUCH LUCK WITH BEWILDERING GRACE???

sidestep is saving my ass right now

I love that Primrose keeps piling her buffs onto H'aanit Square Enix said happy pride

HUH

MERCHANT THERION IS REAL LMAO

…OH NO DIVINE WIND

HE JUST STOLE OUR FUCKING LICENSES AKSJAS FUCK YOU THERION

AH THERE HE IS AKSJASK SORCEROR CYRUS - WAIT WE WERE ACTUALLY INTIMIDATED BY THIS STEPHEN STRANGE LOOKING TWINK LMAO

UNFORTUNATE

STARSEER PRIMROSE OF COURSEEEEE

AND THERE'S WARRIOR H'AAN JUST TO ROUND IT OUT

GANG'S ALL HERE SQUARE ENIX HAS SPOKEN

i could say i'm surviving but. the reality is that all 11 of my plums are GONE

alright Grail of Life don't fail me now

GOD OF COURSE SHE'D TARGET PARTITIO WHO HAS THE FUCKING DIFFUSE

alright time to stall

AAAAA THERION'S DOWN THANK FUCK

AIGHT SEE YA PRIM

CYRUS DOWN. STAY DOWN.

H'AAN LEFT ALRIGHT COME AND FUCK ME UP PHASE 3

what

what the fuck

i get ophilia and the aelfric thing but what the fuck happened here

NO FUCKING WAY THERION JUST STOLE OUR EX MOVES

GODDAMNIT TEMENOS IS USELESS NOW

GODDAMNIT TEMENOS IS EVEN MORE USELESS NOW AKSJA PRIMROSE STOP TAKING HIM

oh my god what do you mean H'aanit can also Provoke all

LINDE PHYSICAL PURSUIT I'M IN HELL

and Cyrus has. delayed attacks.

…good thing i never lasted long enough to figure out if that thing 1-hit KOs JESUS