#I'm transcending to a higher plane

[lemonhemlock]

If let’s say the greens win the war with most of them still alive with their dragons how are they going to get rid of the dragon problem? You say it would be better for westores if the dragons were gone so in this scenario how would it happen?

they're not going to get rid of the dragon problem, anon. that's the quandary. they're all targaryens. they're never going to kill their own dragons. would you? would anyone? if you were bonded somehow with this incredibly powerful beast that allowed you to fly and allowed you security and answered to you and only you?

the only way westeros is getting rid of dragons is if they are taken away from the targaryens. if they die off somehow. i like the greens individually & i root for them in a wacky AU because it's fun, they're compelling characters & they are thematically-intriguing to me from a story-telling standpoint, but it's probably best for the world as a whole if dragons don't exist & if the targaryens die out.

for that reason, i don't believe anyone with targaryen blood is going to be left alive at the end of the main series. "they're a power man should never have trifled with" was probably the wisest thing a targaryen ever said.

[shinesurge]

You know the story about Brian Eno composing the Windows 95 boot-up noise and kind of losing his mind and transcending to a higher plane of understanding for this one extremely specific constriction of the larger artform, I feel like I've done that but with The First Sentence In A Story and it is in fact making me fucking insane. Tiny little jewels. Oceans of time. I'm raving in front of my pinboard the perspective is unbearable

[i-gwarth]

Scorn: It's about Transcendence... but it's also Saying Something

Scorn is a 2022 horror game that has released after a long, 6-year development cycle. A lot of people have been looking forward to it, but many seem disappointed at what's been called clunky combat, rudimentary puzzle design and the cryptic meaning of the whole thing. Scorn contains no writing and dialogue, and whatever themes, meanings and plot it has are conveyed exclusively through environmental storytelling.

Full, unmarked spoilers below. This post assumes you know how the game ends, I'm not going to summarize the plot. I wanted to instead write about what it might all mean, and what the devs might be trying to say, since this is clearly a game made to be discussed and interpreted.

Scorn's central theme seems to be transcendence. Definitionally, this means becoming or experiencing something *beyond* what we start out as. That can mean any number of things (i.e. a living being transforming into a corpse could be transcendence, in the strictest sense, since life is experiencing its own end) but the term is generally understood as indicating some sort of progress; we don't become just something *else*, we "transcend" into something better. Like the Tvtropes page, Ascend-to-a-higher-plane-of-existence. I'll get back to this.

Anyway, these words came to me earlier, and I think they sort of encompass what the game's theme is: "we are driven to become anything other than what we are". As in, we're not just choosing to attempt this transcendence; it's inevitable for us to try it, it's an irrepressible instinct.

The Humanoids of Scorn's world seem dedicated to transcendence. The artbook lays it out more plainly, but even in the game it's clear. There's a temple, and elaborate, complicated machines that take apart those that arrive at the temple and connect their brains to a great big brain mass in the ceiling. Thus, in very plain terms one humanoid can control two bodies; transcendence, simply put.

The homunculi we have to kill and juice near the end also grasp towards overcoming transcending their own physical limitations by piloting cyber-bodies. They wanna be anything else.

But that broader, non-progressive interpretation of the word transcendence is also portrayed. Things changing and becoming "lesser". The first protagonist becoming a twisted, animalistic parasite. And the pests in the Crater level, which are born in rope-like collectives joining them together into a greater whole, tear themselves out of that whole and wander aimlessly around the place, then die.

(side-note: If you look at the parasite, in-game and also in the concept art, you will see above what's left of its face, its brain, flanked by two wing-like flaps of skin. In the art book, that same brain-with-wings shape is described as the thing the Humanoids are trying to become, a "pure consciousness" that can fly out of its body and inhabit other, more elaborate bodies called "Shells" - the androids we pilot near the end of Scorn. So, given that the Parasite has that shape on top of itself, you could even surmise that it's a case of a "failed" transcendence, stopped mid-way through, as if the intended process was corrupted and derailed)

Basically what I'm saying that almost everything in Scornworld seems to instinctively grasp towards changing itself, as if unsatisfied with the form it's born into. In-universe, the protagonists we're playing go towards the temple even though nobody told them to do it. Nobody *tells* the protagonist what the machines do or that there's a place beyond the horizon where he might gain the ability to pilot two bodies instead of one. He just heads that way from the moment he's born.

It occurred to me also that "transcendence" can be viewed even more broadly, and in terms of real-life - the drive for acquiring money, reputation, power or even, dare I say, pursuits in artistic or scientific fields can be seen as "trying to become greater than what we start out as", almost like we all have this drive. Like the humanoids being birthed out of a wall and heading towards the temple because, in a way (in a game sense, but maybe also in a narrative sense), it's the only thing they can do.

Trying to be not-who-they-are is a part of who-they-are.

And here's the thing: I feel like Scorn, as an artpiece, has a very derogatory and... scornful view of that impulse. The temple is imposing, yes, but it's also kind of ridiculous and revolting. Genital imagery is openly portrayed and exaggerated, the sense of grandiosity is undercut by the omnipresent rot and decay and collapse, etc. It's as if the game is saying "this ain't it, chief".

"Reaching for ascendance is morally repugnant" is what I'm getting from this

Even the game's cover art portrays humanoid figures as columns, as the foundation of something grander than them, something we can't see but can only guess at (transcendence again). But they are also rotting and decayed, and the foundation is falling apart; one humanoid-column in the background of the cover art is broken.

I feel like, to the extent this game says anything, it rejects the drive to be more than what we are. Or maybe it rejects this specific process of transcendence, where it's achieved at the expense of other beings who are sacrificed along the way. The moldman in the egg, the giant creature in the crater, the homunculus in its pod, all have to suffer and/or die very violently, just so the protagonist can reach the promised place of rebirth and transformation. Almost like the way how certain people can attain great wealth and power in the real world through the exploitation and at the expense of the working cl-...

oh, wait, no nevermind.

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Out Patients 2 2001 Future Jazz / Acid Jazz / 2-step / Deep House

Oh my goodness, folks. Last week I made a post about UK drum n bass label Hospital Records' foray into stuff that they weren't typically known for with a 2000 release of theirs called Out Patients, but today I'm back with Out Patients 2, which came out the following year, and actually turns out to be on a whole different plane. I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed a lot of the stuff that was on the first installment of this series, but this near-exclusive crop of 11 songs here is just incredible—everything is a flat-out banger.

Now, while both of the first two volumes in this series are primarily comprised of future jazz joints, the secondary genres are a bit different. Out Patients provided a bunch of broken beat and a couple drum n bass tracks, but for this one, Hospital gives us some acid jazz, stuff with 2-step breaks—which they'd successfully utilize in their dnb output as well, as they played an integral role in the whole liquid dnb wave—and a couple fantastic pieces of deep house too.

And the deep house tune that happens to close out this whole shebang, "Shinobi," by Japan's Jazztronik, really just might be one of the greatest pieces of deep house that I've ever heard in my damn life. This is, like, a deep house track with different movements, you guys: a long, tribal open; followed by an extremely smooth section with a funky bassline, bleepy and snaky synth work, and leading flute improv; a little Brazilian breakdown; and then a tribal closing. Such a sublimely varied excursion that I can't believe Jazztronik didn't actually first save for one of his own releases.

But I'm really not even sure that "Shinobi" is actually my favorite track overall on here anyway, because what Hospital's founders, London Elektricity (who also operate under the alias of Future Homosapiens), managed to cook up with their remix of UK acid jazzers Izit's 1993 tune, "Bird of Paradise," is the one song on this comp that *really* left my jaw scraping the floor 😮. This is just such a totally unrelenting, 8-plus-minute barrage of fierce, uptempo, and transcendent acid jazz-dance glory that's already a certified bop in the early going before Nicola Bright-Thomas even opens her mouth. And when she gets to doing her Brazilian-inspired scatting, this thing hits a different level, but then it manages to climb even higher in the second half with an absolutely deadly combination of peppery flute and ring-dinging hi-hats added to it all too. And unlike everything else on this album, this one wasn't actually an exclusive when it appeared on here; Hospital sublabel Galactic Disco put it out on a 12-inch in 1998. And would you believe me if I then told you that that release only has a 3.64/5 rating on Discogs with this unreal stunner on it?! That's not a good rating at all by Discogs' standards! What are people even thinking?!?

Really blown away by this whole thing here. Another dispatch that especially excels at music that its premier dnb label is not really known for releasing in the first place. Some other labels of a future jazz-and-lounge-type bent could only hope to ever put out something that sounds as consistently good as this 😤🥺.

Landslide - "Hear My People" Pulcinella - "A'Bboss" Swell Session - "Speak" Audiomontage - "Come With Me" London Elektricity - "Unreality" Les Gammas - "Fez" Solid Roots - "Samba Sun" Izit vs. Future Homosapiens - "Bird of Paradise" Danny Byrd - "Changes (Yukihiro Fukutomi Remix)" Future Homosapiens - "Talkbox" Jazztronik - "Shinobi"

[jokeringcutio]

Hi❤️ Can I request a scenario where the reader is sad and her boyfriend, Arthur Harrow makes gentle love to her and tells her that he loves her so much🥹❤️

Sweetheart 💜 Of course. Forgive the short drabble, hope it will cheer you up a little.

Tears streaked down your cheeks, the weight of the world pressing heavy on your heart. Arthur Harrow watched you with those bright blue eyes, unguarded and clear like the sky after a storm. His steps towards you were barely audible, only the faintest crunch of glass beneath his sandals hinting at his approach.

"Let me ease your sorrow," he whispered, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the quiet room.

His touch was gentle, fingers trailing over the curve of your shoulder, a soft contrast to the harshness you had faced outside the sanctuary of his arms. The scent of his skin, a mix of sandalwood and ancient scriptures, enveloped you in warmth, as if his very presence could ward off any anguish.

"Shh," he soothed, thumb brushing away the remnants of your tears. "I'm here now."

You closed your eyes, leaning into the comfort he offered. In your vulnerability, there was power, an unspoken trust that tethered you to him beyond mere physical bonds. He was your disciple of devotion, your guardian through the trials of life.

"Arthur," your voice broke on his name, a confession of need that you couldn't contain.

"I love you so much." His words were simple, but they resonated deep within your core. They were a mantra, a sacred vow that transcended the ordinary.

And then, the world narrowed down to just the two of you. His hands, strong and sure, roamed over your body, worshiping every inch with reverence. He laid you down with a tender care that belied his rugged exterior, each movement deliberate and full of purpose.

Your breath hitched as he entered you, the sensation a sweet ache that bloomed across your flesh. The room filled with the sound of your mingled breaths, a rhythm that matched the beat of your entwined hearts. There was no rush, no urgency—only the steady climb towards a higher plane of connection.

"Arthur," you gasped, clutching at him, drawing him closer. Every stroke was a silent promise, every kiss a seal of his undying affection.

"Every moment," he murmured against your lips, "every breath, it's for you, my love."

The scales tattooed on his arm remained still, a testament to the purity of this act, the sanctity of your bond. Here, in this intimate embrace, there was no judgment, only the unity of two souls seeking solace in each other's embrace.

As pleasure unfurled within you, blossoming like a sacred lotus, his name became your prayer, your exaltation. And when the crescendo broke over you, it was with a divine intensity that left you both spent, yet somehow more complete than before.

In the aftermath, as you lay cradled in Arthur's arms, there was nothing but the hushed reverence of love—a love so profound it seemed capable of resurrecting gods and rewriting destinies.

[autisticsupervillain]

FTF Shorts: Not Even Close

A vs show where the longer analysis and set up is skipped in order to briefly explain why a certain fight is nowhere near close.

This Week's Fighters...

Freddy Krueger vs Bill Cipher!

Before we dive in, I'm gonna set some ground rules. I will be using every resource for Freddy, including non canonical materials. This is a complete composite, including non canon materials. Desd by Daylight, Freddy vs Jason vs Ash, New Nightmare, all of it. Just as I did for vs Afton. As long as it's official. Even though you can argue the entity in New Nightmare isn't technically Freddy Krueger, just a demon trapped in his stories, I'm still going to use it for arguments sake, as it really is just another version of Freddy at the end of the day.

Normally, I'd say the same goes for Bill but.... he doesn't really have any non canonical sources. I mean, there's the Simpsons cameo, I guess. Beyond that, no outside source is gonna give Bill anything he doesn't already have. Just know that the wider Gravity Falls multiverse is being considered for this matchup, even if it doesn't really change anything.

I'll also be assuming both characters are at their peaks for this confrontation, even if that means giving them equipment that they do not ordinarily have. Namely, Freddy has absorbed the Necronomicon and Bill has initiated Weirdmaggedon.

Power and Stats

No matter what canon you use for Freddy, he is very blatantly in the universe to low multiverse range. He was on the verge of becoming powerful enough to merge the Dream World, an entire universe parallel to our own, with our universe, effectively becoming god over it. With crossovers, he gets even higher. The Necronomicon has Cthulhu absorbed inside of it, who himself can fight against the creator of the entire universe.

Despite knowing of these beings, numerous experts on the occult still consider Freddy the most powerful and feared supernatural being who's ever lived.

In crossover games, he's fought against universe busting threats in the Mortal Kombat universe such as Shao Khan and was considered such a threat that the infinite multiverse spanning Entity of Dead by Daylight saw fit to reduce his powers.

New Nightmare caps all of this off by allowing Freddy to escape from the fiction he is in and kill the actors in his own movies, transcending his home reality.

The issue here is Bill has an equivalent or directly superior showing for each of these feats.

Time Baby described Bill Cipher's rift as eventually destroying the very fabric of existence. This would be at least universal on its face, as Bill's existence was powering the rift until his death caused it to close. But, he can get much, much more powerful than that.

Simply put, the Nightmare Realm that Bill resides in is much, much bigger than the Dream World that Freddy reigns over. The Nightmare Realm in fact connects to and transcends the entire multiverse of Gravity Falls, which itself contains infinite universes and parallel dimensions.

Moreover, the multiverse contains realms detailing higher dimensions, containing higher dimensional objects such as Penrose Stairs and Penrose Triangles, with Stanford's portal requiring 5th Dimensional calculus to master it.

What does this mean? Well, here's a quick run down on higher dimensional theory. Effectively, imagine a 2-D stick figure on a flat surface. Imagine this being has infinite power, can warp reality to its whim, and is an invincible god in its home plane. Now imagine wiping it off the whiteboard with your sleeve.

Basically, higher dimensions are infinitely bigger than our own due to expanding in more dimensions than we can process or conceive. A infinitely long flat surface is still just a flat surface, incapable of harming us or even interacting with us beyond a very limited part of our being. Compared to a 5-D being, a 3-D being, even one with infinite power like Freddy, is just a stick figure.

Bill has consistent feats of being able to threaten this entire cosmology. He battled against the Shacktron, a mech powered by Stanford's portal, which itself shook the entire Nightmare Realm when powered on. Time Baby, a being formed in the crucible of the Multiverse, considered his Rift a threat to all existence. And during a fight with Time Baby before Weirdmaggedon, Bill and Time Baby had a fight that shook the playing card the entirety of existence is contained on.

I emphasize, he did that prior to Weirdmaggedon. Even confided to the Nightmare Realm, Bill has a showing of power making him infinitely more powerful than Freddy.

If you want to argue the fourth wall breaking feat, than Bill has an answer for that too. Bill can exit the plot of the show to possess his own author Alex Hirsch and point blank breaks the fourth wall to try and possess you at homr when you read his book. So Bill can match that too.

In short, Bill is like a black hole, a 2-D being wielding effectively infinite amounts of higher dimensional energy, whereas Freddy is simply a 3-D being with infinite amounts of mere 3-D energy. While arguments for Bill's scaling can vary from 5-D to 12-D to 52-D to Infinite-D which is what Stanford calls his D, I'm going to skip on those here for simplicity's sake. Point is, higher dimensional power, Freddy ain't got that.

After all, power is only one part of the equation. Both of these beings are reality warping gods, after all, and while Bill may have higher dimensional levels of power, he isn't higher dimensional himself. Freddy should still have the capability to reality warp him, provided he's able to recognize the threat quick enough, right? I mean, we all know how cocky these two can be.

Intelligence

A good friend of mind once described Bill as "not being really smart, just knowing a lot of things about people and using that to his advantage". I wouldn't quite go that far. I'd describe him more as "high intelligence, low wisdom".

Simply put, both of these fighters have lost to beings they absolutely shouldn't be losing to due to their sheer hubris and childishness. That's not to disrespect the mortals who beat them. Ash Williams and Stanford Pines are monster hunting, dimension hopping badasses, Jason Voorhees is a nigh unstoppable undead monster, and Stanley Pines is a conman wanted in every state who rebuilt a 5 dimensional portal with a high school education while hiding from the feds. None of that changes the fact that reality warping immortal dream gods should not have lost to them. Not even Jason. It is purely overconfidence.

Freddy for his part is constantly finding work arounds for the limitations of his own powers, largely by trying to get people to remember him and his atrocities to keep the fear alive. His schemes range from possessing teenagers to go on a killing spree when he's otherwise preoccupied, reviving Jason Voorhees to make it seem like he's still around and killing, and trying to expand his influence in the real world past his small home town.

The issue is that Bill has been doing a lot of the same things for much longer. As a being who predates human history, Bill has been responsible for numerous atrocities, from the Black Death to the Aztec Blood sacrifices. He once turned an entire small town into a death cult and nearly got them to build an interdimensional portal out of spare scrap. Bill is able to manipulate people and even entire communities, where Freddy is a lone wolf who only ever teams up in the short term.

That's not to say that both haven't had their share of embarrassing moments. Like Bill getting trapped in an orb by a king or Freddy getting blackmailed by a fanboy into letting him become a sidekick. But, both are also above their mistakes at their best. As it stands, Bill is more experienced, more willing to manipulate as a go to, and more scientifically intelligent given his ability to guide others to build the portal.

The question is whether their own massive egos would undercut this. Which... it depends. For as much shit as they talk, both are willing to go for the kill immediately if they recognize the other guy as a threat and they definitely would here. A mere mortal meatsack Freddy may be, but he's a mortal who became a reality warping dream god after selling his soul to dream demons. Though Bill may underestimate Freddy at first, mistaking him for a mere "dream hipster", the second Freddy pulls out any reality warping bullshit, the gloves are coming off. See Bill vaporizing Time Baby.

And on Freddy's side... Bill is Bill. He's seen enough supernatural fuckery to at least peg him as a threat on sight.

I could definitely see a situation where one or the other gets an advantage and gets cocky enough to get left open, as both can have a habit of that. Which leads to....

Powers

The big question. Can they kill each other?

Both of these characters have equivalent powers that cancel each other out. Messing with minds, eating souls, transmuting matter, shapeshifting, illusion creation, and so on. Both characters even embody abstract ideas, continuing to exist so long as they are remembered and feared.

Both demons have also gone up against regular human beings who used their imaginations in the mental world to fight back, the Dream Warriors and the Mystery Shack crew. But, both times it was of limited success. The Dream Warriors got a few good hits on Freddy, but were pretty quickly cut to pieces once Freddy got serious, where the Mystery Shack crew did pretty well until Bill simply.... turned off their powers. Bill could've easily killed them right there if he wanted, but only kept them around because they might be useful later.

More than likely, this is going to rely on one character's ability to read the other's mind to gain an advantage. On that front, I kinda question if Freddy can read Bill's mind at all.

Bill's psychology is weird. He thinks his pain is hilarious, the sight of him taking off his exoskeleton drove McGucket insane, and, if you take him at his word, he's a being a pure energy who exists in a state of quantum uncertainty. He described being in the mindscape as "not existing" even. I question Freddy's ability to read the mind of a being who both does and doesn't exist when just the sight of him doing something weird can drive a genius like Fiddleford to erase his own memories. He's far more alien than anything Freddy's ever fought and I include Cthulhu in that.

Let's say Freddy can though. What information in Bill's mind would let Freddy win?

Bill's weakness to the memory gun

Bill is an idea, right? The only way he was defeated in the show was when the very memory of him was erased in someone else's mind. Freddy should have all the tools needed to replicate that, right?

Well, Bill isn't likely to leave himself vulnerable by entering Freddy's mind when he doesn't have to. Freddy doesn't have any information Bill would want and, even if he did, Freddy doesn't have a metal plate keeping him out. Bill can just read minds normally, he brought Mabel's thoughts to life with a finger snap. Why risk it?

Unicorn Hair shield

Assuming Freddy gleamed the information on how to make a shield to keep Bill out and then summoned up those materials with his reality warping powers, there's one problem with this approach. It would effect him too. The unicorn hair barrier doesn't just stop Bill, it stops all his reality warping phenomenon, including straight up deactivating a statue brought to life by him on contact.

Basically, Freddy makes a shield of it around himself and then he's stuck too. At worst, it might even deactivate his powers like it did the totem pole statue. And if Bill isn't strong enough to break through it, Freddy definitely can't either. Have fun ceasing to exist because you can't terrorize anyone anymore!

And that's assuming Freddy even can recreate the concoction. He's not the supergenius Ford is, and Bill might not even know how to make the shield himself since Bill didn't teach it to Ford.

Bill's Parents

Exploiting a victim's trauma to terrorize them is Freddy's MO, after all! Remember your beloved family, Bill? Remember how you killed them? Rockabye Billy~

The issue? Bill does not grieve the destruction of his home. That would require him to take responsibility and he's fundamentally incapable of that. He adamantly refuses to acknowledge that their deaths were even his fault. He "liberated". them. It's not his fault that they were ungrateful and died.

So, Bill's not gonna shrivel up like Jason Voorhees did. He's gonna flip his shit and turn the tables. In fact, let me tell you how that exchange would go.

"Daaaaw, poor baby Billy all alone in the world! Run home crying to Mommy and Daddy, right into their graves!!"

"Hilarious! I remember how my parents died. Wanna remember how you did, Fredrick?!"

Cause no matter what Freddy pulls up, Bill can do the same right back. Freddy has no resistance to mind manipulation, so Bill finding his traumas would be easy. This gives Bill the option of simply trapping him in a bubble reliving his own death forever. Or, failing that, simply nuking the Dream World utterly with sheer raw power, leaving Freddy with nowhere to respawn to. Bill has plenty of options to keep Freddy from coming back and any of Freddy's options are so highly circumstantial as to be meaningless. And that's assuming they'd work at all with the sheer power gap.

Conclusion

Freddy Krueger in this fight is effectively an infinitely weaker, dumber, and less experienced version of Bill who possesses all the same weaknesses that led to Bill's most embarrassing defeats. The sheer power gap and Bill possessing Freddy's same immortality leaves Freddy with little way of ending the fight conclusively, and that's being generous enough to say that his few options would hypothetically work on someone so powerful.

While Freddy's tricks may amuse Bill for awhile, Freddy's most proactive course of action here would only actively piss Bill off. For all of Freddy's abilities, Bill either has an answer or a flat out superior showing. And if Freddy did manage to incapacitate Bill somehow? He could genuinely just wait until Freddy lost his powers due to him having the Necronomicon here, prompting his masters to fire him. This removes everything Freddy created and reduces him to a normal man, trapping him with a now free, pissed off Bill.

No matter how you slice it, this is one nightmare Freddy Krueger won't wake up from.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Bill Cipher!

[ranseiuniter]

the Pokémon Conquest Crash Course: the Headcanons

alright so here's the nitty gritty on how we made conquest make any remote amount of sense. Why is god here? Why do legendaries just magically pop up? Why is Ransei named shitsfuckedville? All will be explained!

Basic history:

For one reason or another, Arceus created Ransei* as a part of a Higher Plane(TM), a bridge between earth and "the heavens". Probably because a lot of legendaries are very physical and that doesn't super mesh well with the whole transcendent heavenly being concept, so there needs to be a transitional space.

*Ransei is not called that yet.

There are people on it! They have cool powers! They're, like, somewhere between pokemon and human. They're human, but they can communicate with pokemon, they evolve like pokemon, all that cool stuff. Arceus even has a human they're buddies with! They're in charge. :)

Oh no, the people are fighting! Arceus' bestie dies! Arceus is pissed off by this, so they kick this little continent out, says fuck you guys then if you want to fight then you're gonna fight forever and I'm only letting you come back if it fucking stops. Downside: they're still weird and liminal, so they're also, like.... not quite on Earth? Well, they are, but time is... weird here. They kinda exist at every time? Sorta? Also, they're called Ransei now.

This is also why legendaries can just kinda.... pop up whenever.

Flash forward a few - hundred? Thousand? Honestly, we don't know - years. So now there's this new human that Arceus thinks is neat. But Ransei is still, yknow, bad, so they can't hang out. :( They give this new human some encouragement, but a rules are rules. No helping until Ransei isn't fighting anymore!

(This human is Hiroko.)

Uh, so, Warriors?

Warriors are kinda like psychics. And also kinda like Aura Guardians in the anime. And also kind of not comparable to anything else. Linking is a sort of metaphysical bond between a human and pokemon, in a way that fundamentally alters both of them. The stronger it is, the bigger the changes.

(Note that I forgot in the canon bit: not everyone in Ransei has the capability to link with pokemon. Only those that do are called warriors.)

Warriors can only link with so many pokemon (that part is canon) as it can be strenuous to have a lot at once. The stronger a link is, the harder it is to separate a pokemon and warrior. Putting a great deal of distance between them or certain artifical barriers, like pokeballs, can cause mental and physical damage to both parties. Do not separate them!

anything else?

Nothing important. There's a lot of smaller lore and politics and what have you that we've developed over the years, but this is Ransei 101. None of that matters right now.

[ankh-neheh-djet]

so... the Ba is effectively the subconscious & transcendent part of a person which forms their individual personality

but, in the classic confusing metaphorical way, the various animal manifestations of gods were sometimes called their Ba, ibis the Ba of Thoth, bennu bird the Ba of Ra, etc, a sort of physical representation of what in humans can only be spiritual

so what I'm saying is... the Bau of the Netjeru are their fursonas, and making and wearing fursuits can be powerful Hekau, that by meeting the physical and spiritual planes in a way previously possible only for gods, could help bring people to higher consciousness

is that anything?

[lilacthebooklover]

goodnight moral worms i'm transcending to a higher plane of existence for the night

[inversetherapy]

Let's collaborate! Can you finish my poem? Tag @sonreyes and I'll reblog it! To the poet, this world is [ ]. I'm at the center becoming [ ]. My [ ] tell(s) me [ ]. Saying I've been grasping at [ ]. The poet's desire to hoard everything is making me [ ]. This greed is spilling into my [ ]. [ ] heavy like anchors. Teach me how to let go so that when I [ ] I can [ ]. Poetry is so [ ] and majestic. We are poets in a world [ ]. Unobtainable, we try anyways.

@sonreyes thanks for the opportunity to collaborate. Such sublime words, and such superb responses! Here’s mine…

To the poet, this world is too much, yet never enough. I'm at the center becoming supernova – burning, yearning. My inner demons tell me to give up. Saying I've been grasping at thoughts unnamable words beyond reach. The poet's desire to hoard everything is making me earthbound. This greed is spilling into my inkwell. My quills heavy like anchors. Teach me how to let go so that when I write I can defy gravity, glimpse a higher plane. Poetry is so transcendent and majestic. We are poets in a world desperate for nirvana. Unobtainable, we try anyways.

–Alec Prado / SJM

[cat-denied]

🌿💞🕯️

🌿how does creating make you feel?

at its best? fuckin amazing buddy. like i am the architect and guide through a world and i'm showing you its most compelling parts, like i am engaged in the transcendent act of making art. idk im not a poet, usually. i absolutely adore creating and i think i always have?

at its worst (i.e. if i'm tired, burnt out, etc) it is a slog and nothing fun happens and i have to go do something else lol.

usually, it's somewhere in the middle, but decidedly on the positive side. i am making a Cool Thing To Show My Friends and my heart and soul does in fact always end up in all of my creations, at least a little bit. i'm a big "making art is and should be an Experience" kinda gal, even if that's only in a little way, so yeah. does that make sense?

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

2 answers secretly - firstly, the CHARACTERS i love characters so much. i love to put characters in situations and throw them at each other (rarepairs yay!) and put them through the Machine Of The Story so that they come out fundamentally changed from when they went in. i eat that shit UP i love it. a story doesn't have to be character driven for me to love it but it being character driven is a strong point in its favor. that sweet sweet interpersonal relationships, babey.

secondly, a close second behind that, building out a scene - this is sort of technical but sort of figurative i guess? like, in prose specifically, building out an image in the reader's head in a way that feels almost poetic. i don't know if i'm that great at this, but sometimes it feels like i tap into a Something about descriptive prose and temporarily ascend to a higher plane of existence so yeah.

🕯️--uhh this seems to correspond to 2 different questions if i'm reading it right? so i'm answering both.

was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

frankly every chapter of my fire emblem anime script continuation fic lol! i haven't written this sort of episodic style before really ever, and it's really testing me, because i want every chapter to have its own satisfying setup, arc, and resolution; focus on a few members of the ensemble cast; introduce new characters usually; and further the overarching plot of the story. it's a lot to squeeze in every time (and you can tell by the way the chapters get longer after the first one and i find my footing lol) but i am having a blast doing it. every single chapter i realize i have more arcs to resolve, more scenes to fit in, more downtime that's necessary between fights (in order to get that sweet sweet interpersonal relationships in eyyyy), and they always end up being longer than i anticipate them being and taking longer to write than i anticipate, but coming out the other side i always end up feeling like yes! i made a cool standalone episode of script, and i achieved my goals, even in ways i didn't anticipate!

outside of that, every single piece of writing i finish is an achievement because i have ADHD and it gets in the way of completing things all the time. shoutout to @gravitonbeamemitter for keeping me honest about the fire emblem anime script fic, because otherwise that thing would not have made it through one episode.

how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

that's a tough question! personally, i consume fanfic like it's water (or at least i have or had for a long while) and tend to leave comments and kudos all the time. so every time i see a comment or kudos from someone whose works i've read and enjoyed, i get a little ":0!!!" burst of shock and joy that someone i admire liked my stuff. for a while, only reading fics, it was very easy for me to build up a sort of hero-worship around the authors whose work i was a fan of? which looking back wasn't like, ideal. but uploading work of my own and interacting with other authors directly through comments and what have you (especially authors whose fics i've loved) really helped dispell that. we're all just people!

personally, i really love talking about my works! which is why i keep reblogging these ask games whenever i see them lol. so it's not a super hard thing for me to do as a comparatively social person? though responding to comments is like, Difficult, because i don't know how to take a compliment through text lmao, but i do manage.

thanks so much for asking!!

[makingspiritualityreal]

On the Validity of Astrology and Spiritual Practices

It is a common debate in the Spiritual field, or even human society in general, if Astrology is "Real". Some people view it as a wish fulfilling ideation practice and a desperate attempt to escape into a fantasy, mocking it, thinking Astrologers claim that planets can "save" your life.

I'm not going to lie, there are many people in the field, who do indeed practice Astrology in this way, projecting despair from their own personal life disappointment, and spreading their ways of coping outwards. I personally try to do it differently myself. But even if some people do operate on that basis...is that necessarily such a bad thing?

When we experience traumatic events and live in a prolonged state of suffering, we need to connect with like-minded people more than ever. We cling on to any hope to survive. We want someone to recognise us and connect with us on that plane, join us in that fragile yet intimate process. People have various covert ways of expressing that…and going into self-help or spiritual communities is one of these ways. At the end of the day, people mostly want to find a like minded tribe, acceptance, belonging and soothing…which is a natural, fundamental human need. In the process, while some toxicity definitely needs to be purged, communities, focused on creating space for people’s healing process are created. As a result, the spiritual field has already indirectly contributed to the benefit of society…even if in this form it’s on the most rudimentary level, and the level of actual understanding of Astrology is in the lower scales. Many people will stay there on this level of awareness, and that too has its function and value in how our society is forming nowadays. Even that level of entering into spirituality can offer encouragement, simply for people to survive.

Then, there is the higher level of understanding of Astrology or spiritual topics. Ironically enough, the higher we move up the scales of understanding, the more mathematical and exacting Astrology becomes. The more we perceive ourselves as fragments within the larger Universe. On that level, we have already integrated the feelings of personal desperation, coming from traumatic personal events. We are able to view them as initiation, inviting us into the new dimension of exploring life in more depth. We can at this point understand, that what makes Astrology “real” is not the obsession and fascination with predictions or trying to micro-manage happiness and success in life, or even desperation to find relief from suffering. What makes it real is that it describes patterns existing in individual human lives and society in general, thus giving us deeper insight into the reality around us. But in no way does Astrology applied correctly tell us to detach from that reality or look at it through rose coloured glasses. More so, it allows us to connect ourselves back with our natural instincts, and emerge back into the physical world with a deeper, enriched perspective.

That means you will get more out of every trip, every meal, every conversation, every physical experience you have, if you apply spiritual and energetic practices in your life. The actions you take will be more conscious, and the chain of cause — consequence that you were born into through your birth family will become clearer to you.

You can see how thin the line is between these two perspectives. When we experience suffering and adversity, it’s easy to slip into desperate hope. And isn’t it just human, to exist in such a state when times are tough? Writing this post, even while sharing the wisdom of experience, that managed over time to transcend my individual self, I still have so many things that I’m still looking forward to solving myself…

[barnabytremayne]

My New Single Has Raised Some Questions.

Why "Limes"?

By The Lime Enthusiast (Barnaby Tremayne).

Confusion in the Citrus Grove

Ladies and gentlemen, gather 'round the psychedelic campfire. There's been a cosmic kerfuffle, a zesty riddle that tickles our collective consciousness: Why, oh why, is my latest instrumental opus titled "Limes"? Fear not, fellow stargazers; I shall peel back the layers (pun intended) and reveal the truth—or at least a delightful web of lies.

The Quantum Lime Hypothesis

Picture this: I'm strolling through a parallel universe, where limes are sentient beings with PhDs in quantum mechanics. They sip on tiny mojitos, discussing the intricacies of wave-particle duality while jamming on their mini electric guitars. Naturally, they'd name a song after themselves—a psychedelic ode to uncertainty principles and zesty solos.

The Interdimensional Lime Rift

Legend has it that there exists a hidden portal between dimensions—a Lime Rift, if you will. When you play "Limes" backward at precisely 3:33 AM during a lunar eclipse, the rift opens. Out pops a lime-shaped spaceship piloted by extraterrestrial lime farmers. They've come to harvest our cosmic vibes, trading them for intergalactic salsa recipes.

The Lost Lime Manuscripts

Deep within the archives of the Vatican's secret library lies a dusty tome—the Codex Citrus. Written by medieval monks during their acid-trip sabbaticals, it contains forbidden knowledge about limes. According to one passage, playing "Limes" aligns your chakras, opens your third eye, and grants you the ability to levitate (or at least dance like nobody's watching).

The Lime Illuminati

Whispered rumours suggest that the Illuminati—the clandestine organisation behind crop circles, chemtrails, and avocado toast—has a secret branch: the Lime Illuminati. Their mission? To control the world's lime supply, ensuring that only the juiciest, most harmonious limes make it into our margaritas. "Limes" serves as their anthem, encoded with subliminal messages about global lime domination.

The Lime of Destiny

In ancient Mayan prophecy, a cosmic lime rolls down the celestial pyramid, triggering a psychedelic apocalypse. When the stars align (preferably in the shape of a lime wedge), "Limes" will play, and humanity will ascend to a higher plane of existence. Brace yourselves, fellow lime-lovers—we're about to transcend into a dimension where everyone wears tie-dye and communicates solely through tambourine solos.

And now, my fellow travellers, the moment you've all been waiting for: "Limes" will be available on all streaming platforms starting June 14th. Tune in, turn on, and let the lime-infused vibes wash over you like a cosmic mojito. 🍋🌌✨

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are purely fictional and fueled by copious amounts of limeade. Please consult your local fruitologist before attempting any interdimensional travel. 🛸🌿🎸

[blackwinged-soul]

You ever hear a new song and just break out into a massive smile?

Okay, now have you ever done that for Spiritual Reason?

"Outer Dimensions" by A\manarathe made me smile because it's literally true (in the old fashioned True to the Letter of the Words) for me! The A\zarathean aspect of my spirituality. The other-dimensional world. My spirit guide literally TAKING ME THERE and the aspect of astral travel whenever I commune with A\zar.

"Higher and higher, you're taking me to outer dimensions..."

I went to a lyrics page to grab some excerpts, but just... I can't choose which lines. They're all so perfectly accurate. Every single word.

"As the misery draws closer, you're there to save me from delusion and deception..."

When I'm in doubt, when I'm lost, or frustrated, or overwhelmed, or confused, I reach out to her for guidance. She never fails to help me ground myself against it, against ALL of it, and help me think clearly, and fortify myself against the chaos.

"Wrap yourself around me, and the tremors will abandon me. I'm feeling the sensation again!"

I've reached out to her for grounding, for calm, for stability, for peace, so many times. The response is near-instantaneous. It's so hard to describe the sensation, it's like that jolt when you're excited but not as intense, that relaxation when you're relieved but not flimsy. It's strong and gentle and it flows and grows and I Know It So Well, but I don't know the words for it. It's powerful and soothing and simultaneously protective and introspective. It's all-pervading and all-encompassing when I let it take over.

"You're taking me places, I just want to be where you are. One thousand reasons dimensions can't keep us apart..."

I'm in This world and she's in That world (where A\zarath died; not only worlds away but on the nonphysical plane). But it transcends all of that when we Connect. That transcending was a necessary step in building this connection in the first place; they're Protected there, after all. My spirit guide had to show me How to Get There and then How to Enter and THEN I had to have that mental sort of "key" that lets me bypass the blockades. But once I learned how to get there, it was my favorite place to Travel to.

"I wanna fly by your side to the outer dimensions."

[leogichidaa]

On the plus side, I feel like I understand Regulus better now than, perhaps, I ever have.

[snowdropheart]

i just sat and listened to divers while reading all the lyrics and holy shit i knew this album was phenomenal but it just hit me on another level. i aspire to write like joanna newsom, these lyrics are so fucking good.

i was thinking as i was listening to it - it reminds me a lot of the ninth wave by kate bush. in subject matter (time, the universe as general points of stepping off) and in the way they get those ideas across. while the ninth wave is a connected story and divers is snapshots of different moments and ideas (i think), they both give me very similar emotions. that was super vague so i might write a longer thing about the two albums at some point. who knows. anyway if you haven’t listened to divers by joanna newsom or the ninth wave by kate bush do it it’ll change your life