#and with all that cogs learned how to make more of themselves since they ARE robots and this is how suitopia grew to be bigger and bigger a

[cathalbravecog]

what do you think both societies would be like if toons and cogs finally make peace with each other and got along? (like with inklings and octolings from splatoon)

ohh!! interesting!! to be honest though, i know nothing about splatoon - but i can still work with this!

thing is, as the game is right now, peace really can't be made because it removes the main conflict that makes toontown, well, toontown - without it there's no gameplay. but imagining an au and a future where cogs and toons get along is interesting!

with my past headcanons i spoke of, i think it'd apply mostly to just toons from toontown and cogs inc or suitopia in general. i'll keep it as just toons of toontown and suitopia in general to keep things a bit easier to speak of since i did state i imagine suitopia as the one place where cogs are while toons are all over the place in different 'toontowns'.

in the case of ttcc (of course), i think it'd have to come with the defeat (or change of heart) for robert. probably not possible for the latter. cogs didn't know much about toons and stayed in their own place until robert and thomas started their company and basically invaded toontown.

i am not sure how that could happen - but i imagine if toons and cogs unite, perhaps they had to go against a third, bigger threat who's after them both. not all toons would agree to make peace with cogs, and not all cogs would be exactly thrilled to have to be friendly with toons -

but in the end it is better for the both of them. the cogs would have retract their invasions, polluting and taken over buildings. however, they don't have to worry about having to be repaired or have pies thrown at them due to a toon attack. that certainly saves some money - even if there's no in-come from all the other things cogs inc does.

cogs inc would probably disband completely, or turn into something else under new leadership because i highly doubt robert would agree with any of this. possibly thomas, since he's getting friendlier with the toons. (but then again, he still does regular cog stuff and doesn't stop anyone - just pointing out he isn't perfect and good himself either.)

but i imagine they could make a profit for having a place for cogs to travel to and relax in and have toontown as a tourist area. i am sure many cogs are curious about the toons and we know how tourists are. despite this being very controversial especially in relation how real life tourist attraction hot spots are (high living costs for natives living there, driving them away from their own homes), i can see this totally happening for toontown. not only that but the cogs and toons could even work together! but yeah it's to drive the point that the cogs are still cogs, they wanna make a profit. even if they're nice with the toons now

especially if they have a bigger threat now which could drive them to work together - because if everything's at peace there's just little to no story to tell.

i can see the cogs helping toons produce more gags to fight with - and perhaps helping with whatever goofy tech they may be building.

i feel like the toons and cogs would be on good terms but have conflict in a silly way - with the temperament of a lot of cogs they're still very serious and just want to get their work done - and not deal with a toon being silly and loud and annoying. still some looney tunes conflict, but in a more light-hearted, well meaning way. like, the war's over.

many toons would take time to adjust, and many would disagree with this. i can see this kind of like HTTYD, when the vikings first began befriending the dragons and inviting them into berk. they had to think of adjustments and how to live together to suit both sides.

on the other hand some cogs wouldn't be fans of this either - but in their case they can just quit, honestly. go somewhere else, find a different job. but that's okay because they're not being like sent to fight the toons now or anything. the cogs that are neutral or even happy about this would stay though.

like it'd take a looong time to adjust yknow? ive mostly been rambling about how they're FIRST getting used to each other without even knowing HOW and WHY it occurred in the first place. it'd need them to put their differences aside and see something they both want to fight for, or some other thing they share. issue is cogs and toons have MANY differences - they are supposed to be polar opposites in general if we don't think about individuals.

but again toontown is a cartoon and i think some big friendship unity COULD happen even if its less realistic. but yeah the first changes that cogs inc would have to be is to stop polluting shit and find different ways to make the company work. i'd say just turning the company place into a living area works since i already headcanon that cogs inc offers that, its basically its own smaller country for cogs outside of suitopia.

in the faaaaaaaaaaar future, things could be far different. it's just second nature that cogs and toons have peace now. perhaps the cogs learn to live simpler, more fun-filled lives. perhaps what the toons could do for the cogs is just go Fuck Capitalism and there's some reforming for suitopia? who knows! hard to imagine for the cogs who are all based on this. a hard question to answer 'coz it's like asking how to fix OUR real life society, LMFAO.

the cogs can learn that, despite them being robots made for work - there's more to life than that, they don't need to live according to their past like that. we don't even know where the cogs come from, but obviously someone had to have built them (even if i imagine cogs as part cartoon magic since they ARE alive they aren't 'JUST' robots)

the toons (of toontown) at least don't have to live in fear of the cogs invading anymore and they're possibly doing well from the new attention from the cogs AND other toons around the world. the toons can relax now, too, and focus on whatever fun hijinks they wanna get up to instead of strategizing and fighting off mean cogs. instead they can just, yknow, be chillin with them!

my brain's a bit scrambled now, i promise i had better comprehensive thoughts last night when i first read this ask so i'm sorta just blurting things out. hope y'all get what i mean!

i don't think it'd be impossible, with how many toons wanna be friends with the cogs (or lovers) (hell even family) with the cogs. but it'd be a hard feat to achieve considering how cogs are. But since many cogs just follow orders it'd need to be a change in how things are lead. (but some cogs would be more easier convinced, we already have some toon friendly/neutral cogs after all)

if i just think about this more and flesh out some of my tooniverse suitopia headcanons more, i think i'd have more comprehensive less repetetive and all over the place thoughts. but still, this is a fun thing to think about, and i'm sure it's something a lot of us cog fans would like to see in-game even just a little bit though it goes agains the whole point of the game. (but it's still in there! just within the realms of how the game works i suppose. looking at misty especially, she's the one who actively wants to befriend toons. then there's neutral cogs like cathal who doesn't even wanna fight. or chip. can't say much i haven't finished his fight yet. or hell, even high roller - they're neutral to cogs and toons - bringing them together on the show. then there's dave dave is something else okay)

but YEAH These are some long ass closing thoughts so lemme end this here since it's LONG. i just wanna explain myself my adhd is showing. TOODLES! i love your guys' asks, please do keep them coming!!

[thatndginger]

A Little Intro

Let's try this again, shall we?

I’m K (she/they), an overworked, perpetually exhausted cog in the corporate machine who's chosen method of staying sane is writing about queer idiots getting into trouble.

I live in the northern half of the US Rockies with my partner Cryptid, who features fairly often on this blog. Other featured family members are my four dogs and one cat. Since this is a personal blog as well as a writing one, you'll find occasional posts about my interests outside of writing as well. You have been warned~

My primary WIP is an urban fantasy project called Shapeshifter.

Set in a modern-day version of our world, Shapeshifter is a low-magic urban fantasy setting. Magic is a subtle force, incapable of knitting wounds back together or creating fireballs, but a force all the same. Werewolves, vampires, witches, and all manner of supernatural creatures exist openly in the world in small numbers. In the United States, the largest numbers congregate in the city of Moressau on the coast of Washington.

Morressau has all the problems of a major city and then some. Vampire queens and werewolf mob bosses vie for territory and political power while the powers that be turn a blind eye as long as they get a cut. The regular folk do what they must to get by, carving out lives for themselves in a city that only sees the sun thirty days of the year, determined to find happiness in the dark corners of a city that cares for them as long as they care for it.

Most of the current focus of Shapeshifter is on the first book, Into the Storm, and the trio of main characters. As a bonus, I've started a second wip following two other characters in a tiny mountain town in Wyoming called The Runaway. You can find out more of both below.

General tags: #wip: shapeshifter, #shapeshifter vibes

There’s a routine to Kerr McKay’s life. Help his not-a-boss smuggle goods around the city, get into fights with vampires and werewolves, run from cops, go drinking with his best friends Jay de Lange and Warrick Salehrad. Oh, and occasionally turn into a dog. Just a day in the life of a shifter living on the fringes of society.

You can read the first three chapters on AO3!

Until a new face appears at his favorite bar, a new gang starts trying to weasel it’s way into his territory, and his not-a-boss makes it clear that the last thing Kerr should be doing is getting himself involved.

Kerr has never been good at taking orders.

Tag: #shapeshifter: into the storm

Temperance Maddox is running from his past.

All he wants is to forget. The things he's done, the things he's witnessed, the things he knows. And the best way to forget is to put a couple thousand miles between himself and the place that haunts his nightmares. Until Temperance finds himself stranded in a middle-of-nowhere town and relying on the kindness of strangers as he re-learns what it means to be a human being.

You can read the first two chapters on AO3!

Dean Matthews is trying to build a future.

He's got people who depend on him, who love him despite all that he is. And he'll do whatever it takes to make sure he never lets them down. Even if it means learning how to be something he never thought he could be. Then a stranger finds their way into Dean's quiet, routine life and challenges everything he knows about himself and the life he's built.

Tag: #shapeshifter: the runaway

If you've made it this far, you may as well get to know the extra extra bonus wip of this blog: The Dragon Project. Borne of a particularly rough patch of overtime-induced burnout, The Dragon Project is a fluffy, lighthearted wip for when I just need something easy and fun.

Set on the fictional continent of Ostrera in a time period similar to our own 1860's, this is a world where people ride domesticated dragons. These dragons are of average animal intelligence and lifespan, more like horses than the sentient, talking dragons commonly found in fantasy stories. I don't have much for this wip other than artwork and vague ideas, but it's here all the same.

Tag: #the dragon project

[plantify]

TOONTOWN HEADCANON/LORE POSTING

This post is based around TTCC, and is entirely about headcanons I have about Suits/Cogs, mostly about their physiology, how they're created, etc. I might write more at some point. (Also I am sorry if this is extremely long and incoherent, I tried to at least break it up into sections with big titles and colored text)

What are Suits?

Suits are a “race” or “species” of robotic beings within the world of Toontown. 

The ones seen within the game are Cogs, which is simply what employees of C.O.G.S. Inc. are called. Other businesses may have a similar naming formula, a different one, or none at all. (e.g: S.C.R.E.W. Ltd calling their employees Screws)

Considering that the world that Toontown is in, is in fact a cartoon/cartoonish world, this would by technicality make Suits a type of Toon. (I believe the term "Toon" to just be the characters that exist within that cartoony world or whatever) Therefore. they are still bound to the same wacky physics that Toons are, though they do not always interact with it in the same way. Think of it as two different kinds of cartoons interacting and living in the same world.

Toons would be more akin to rubberhose ish/Mickey Mouse/Ducktales style compared to whatever the Suits would be like, though that doesn’t mean the Suits don’t have some of those properties as well.

Most Suits probably wouldn’t even know what a Toon is, since they are scarce throughout the world, and the ones seen in the game are isolated within the area they live in. 

Life Details (Organs, Sustenance, Etc)

Suits are very much like humans (which do not exist in this world). They have distinct lives, personalities, traits, desires, etc. 

Unlike humans, they do not typically die of old age, though they can begin to weaken and die because of SIDE EFFECTS of ageing without maintenance that is usually easily attainable. Because of this, many Suits live for a long, long time. There is still a bit of a limit though.

Suits cannot catch viral or bacterial illnesses, (I mean obviously they're robots) but can get sick from overexertion, overexposure to temperatures they aren’t built to withstand, or physical damage. In very rare cases, malware can be an issue.

They have “organs” within their bodies, and require sustenance to survive. They CAN eat “normal” food, though more often than not their food would be stuff like coal, oil, paper, metal, etc. Stuff that vaguely resembles human food but is made of stuff like what I mentioned.

Their “blood” (if they have any) would likely be some form of fluid, or pure electricity in some cases. Nearly all would not cry or sweat the same fluid as their “blood”, as the human parallel would be crying or sweating blood, and that's just no. (Think how people sometimes draw robots as having oil blood, yet also crying that same oil) Much like how the human body has more fluids within it rather than just blood.

Some Suits may use “alternative” sustenance, such as plugging themselves into outlets or using other means to absorb pure electricity, though not every Suit can do this. Suits who can do this are rare, and a special kind of physiology is needed for this to be done without short circuiting themselves/otherwise hurting themselves.

Suits do not produce waste in the way humans do, other than sweat and tears.

Their brains are like processor chips. Though most Suits have to learn information like how humans do, some Suits have the special ability to simply upload and download data like a traditional computer. Suits who can do this are also rare, for similar reasons as the chargeable ones.

 Despite this, all Suits can have everything stored in their chips stored in real time to databases in the event that they perish or are irreparably destroyed, to be transferred into a new body. Despite this, it may not be the most common technology, and may be costly, so Suits still try to preserve their lives and bodies. The Cogs have this technology. How they're able to keep it up for so many Suits is a bit of a mystery. Something fishy's going on, probably...

Sleep/Rest

Most Suits have to sleep in a way similar to how humans do. They must get a healthy amount of rest. Stuff like insomnia and restlessness still exists for most Suits. It is necessary in order to preserve energy, prevent exhaustion, the wearing down of their parts, as well as being a quick way to cool off.

Just like humans, it is not necessary to have a bed to sleep, but it has the same benefits for Suits as it does for humans, though it's a bit more likely to see Suits falling asleep on the floor/standing up than it would be for humans.

While asleep, a Suit is merely unconscious, but they still function, much like humans. Same thing with comas and being unconscious. 

If their processes are completely stopped, they will die. However, Suits can last a lot longer with their processes completely stopped, compared to humans, as they aren’t biological, and won’t rot or whatever if that happens to them. If they can be reactivated, and their vitals weren’t excessively damaged, they can be resuscitated.

Suits that can absorb electricity do not NEED to sleep, as they can merely be charged back to full power. These Suits may or may not choose to sleep anyways, and may gain the other benefit from it, aside from energy regeneration. 

Injuries

Suits have to be maintained to keep themselves functional and clean. Especially when they get injured. They are unable to naturally heal in the way humans can. (Maybe some can with nanotech or whatever but that's getting into extremely sci-fi ish territory which isnt bad but I don't wanna go too in depth/thoughtful about that kind of thing, especially since a lot of things are possible in a cartoon world like this one)

Minor injuries like small cuts, scratches and dents are easy to repair, to the point where it can be done manually. 

Sort of like how first aid kits/bandages/etc are sold at pharmacies. Literally just patch yourself up with polishing kits/anti dent/spare parts or whatever

They can't go through healing processes like how humans do, but they're lucky since if a bone is broken or whatever, all they have to do is get it repaired and then they’re fine. (I wish it was like that for US!!!)

More severe injuries may require healthcare and/or more surgical reparations. Severe injuries are able to debilitate or even kill Suits if they’re bad enough. Injuries like gashes are still easy to fix, but stuff like loss of limbs is harder. In the case of limb loss, a replacement can be made to fit that Suit, typically within a few days. 

Internal injuries and extreme damage to inside circuitry and vitals may take longer to fix, but are still way easier to fix than with humans, for obvious reasons. Too much will kill the Suit, though :/

Life Details (Physique)

They are more often than not humanoid in appearance, though some Suits may have extra limbs or proportions less akin to those of humans. Some may not even be humanoid at all, like being centaurs or whatever, though said Suits are extremely rare. Some may be semi-humanoid, like the Cog Bosses. Suits may receive surgery of sorts to change body type, though it would be difficult to change a 10 cm tall Suit into a 20 ft tall Suit, for instance. There are limits, and crossing them adds extra risk of dying/ending up with psychological damage.

While most Suits have a discernible face, mouth, eyes, and have the usual set of limbs, some may not have a face, or have a face that does not vaguely resemble that of a human’s. (Like how Cogs in-game range from having human-like faces, to object heads, to animal heads, etc) Some may have entirely different limbs, other than just arms and legs. 

A Suit can have their face/entire head modified/changed, as well as the rest of their bodies. Some may want to get entirely new heads, though many tend to get attached to the one they already have. Think of it sort of like plastic surgery and actual surgery, except to a more extreme degree. Despite this, there are still limits, and extensive surgery may damage a Suit physically and/or mentally.

The most common type of Suits tend to range from anywhere as short as a few centimetres, to as tall as nearly 20 ft tall, though most fall within the range of 4-9 ft tall. Obviously there's height diversity among all Suits

Some Suits may be built to be specially resistant towards things compared to others. One Suit may be built to resist extremely high temperatures, while another might legitimately just start to melt in those same temperatures.

Life Details (Psyche)

Suits are not evil by nature. The reason why such a high number of them are very pro-industrialism, pollutive, toxic towards fun, etc, is because they were conditioned to be that way because of the way their society is structured, and the needs that they need to survive. 

Despite this, there are still Suits that may enjoy fun or even be Toony in nature. Some may enjoy nature, and dislike the pollutive, industrial nature their world is so full of. Toons tend to be very ignorant to Suit culture and the personality differences between Suits, and understandably so considering what it must be like from their perspective, being invaded and all. Still ain't great to be that way for obvious reasons, though. Many assume all Suits are evil and the same.

There would still be entertainment within Suitopia and other Suit cities/society, much like the many kinds that humans are familiar with. 

How are Suits created?

Suits are created, most commonly within factories, though some Suits may be skilled enough, either through innate knowledge or through learned skill, to create another Suit on their own, making them the “parent”.

When a Suit is created, they awaken already having some base level knowledge of themselves and the world around them, under most circumstances. As a byproduct, “child” Suits are not really a thing. They can exist, they just typically don't. (Being born into the world as an adult must suck)

Suits can be made without a specific purpose, and that is how many are created. They will find one on their own.

Those that are made for a specific purpose will usually already know how to fulfil said purpose. For instance, being built for a specific type of job will generally cause you to be naturally skilled at it. Meanwhile, Suits who are hired for that same job without being created for it may have to learn it. They typically have a form of fondness for fulfilling said job, but may lose it over time, or not have it to begin with, which may result in wishing to pursue something else.

What are these factories like?

It depends. There are many kinds. Some factories may build the base model of the Suit, some may build only the skeleton, some may even build the entire individual, appearance and all. Some Suits are built with the purpose of serving the owner of the factory. Big variety in purpose for these factories and whatnot.

Many factories are automated, run without owners, with the sole purpose of creating new Suit life. Other factories may be owned by a company or force, such as those run by C.O.G.S. Inc. 

What about all the clones of Cogs we see?

All the “Standard” Cogs (e.g: Pencil Pusher, Flunky, Cold Caller, Money Bags) are clones created with the sole purpose of serving C.O.G.S. Inc. Despite this, they are all created with their own individuality and personalities, and are all different.

They mostly identical while working for C.O.G.S. Inc. as it is a “dress code” of sorts within the company to dress and appear that way.

Their facial and body appearances may have slight/moderate differences between one another, whether it be a quirk with how they were built, or a change they chose to make. The Cogs seen in the game are all 1:1 identical because of limitations. Same goes for Skelecog skulls. (For skelecogs, an example I think of a lot is how I wish Two-Face skelecog heads were two faced as well) They typically fit the face.

They are allowed to change their appearances so long as it does not violate the “dress code”. (Still have to be able to tell what Cog they are. A Big Cheese can't get a head that is not in fact a big cheese. A Glad Hander can't make themselves look TOO much like a Hollywood, etc.)

(Speaking of Hollywoods, they're referred to as “Mr. Hollywood(s)” ingame, though they can go by Mr, Ms, Mrs, Mx, and more if they choose, or forgo having that title at all.)

Standard Cog models that appear very feminine/masculine (e.g: Mingler, Glad Hander, Corporate Raider, Name Dropper) can be the opposite gender of ““what their model would suggest””. Yes, we can have Minglers that are men, enbies, etc. They may or may not choose to slightly alter their appearance to match this.

It is possible for these creations to stop serving their creators and direct their own life. It would be inhumane (or whatever Suits call it) to create mindless drones, and not give them these opportunities. 

A Cog like this could end up changing their appearance or getting an entirely new head/body to compensate for the lack of restrictions to conform to.

If you made it this far and actually read the entire thing (without scrolling by to get to the bottom instantly) I profusely apologize for putting you through this. If this catches on and you're interested, I'm open to hear your thoughts on the lore, and suggestions, whether it also be for the lore, or for a better way to format this.

[toonsurvival]

I was Inspired by Pibby and the MLP Infection AU Trend, so I wanted to make my own version of it as well but Toontown Theme.

I'm gonna call this AU....

Toontown: Currupt Infect

And I'll draw the Characters later when I have time but here's some Details.

Description

The Cogs and Toons we're doing their usual Daily Tasks, Cogs try to take over Buildings and do things that are not Toony for the Toons.

The Toons fighting for their Homes 🏡 and Protecting their Family Members while being Silly as always.

But one day, Flippy made an emergency announcement, and Warned the Toons and Cogs to have a Temporary Truce and needed to Work together right know.

They we're Both surprised, what got Flippy so Serious and Scared for the Toons and Cogs Safety?

Why do they need to grab as many resources as much as Possible and evacuate to "The Brrrgh" for the Toons and Cogs to move in?

[What they didn't know that Flippy is from the Future and went back in time with their Memories and Stuff including their own Experiences, Couch Z and Professor Pete is the only 2 that came with him.]

Some of the Toons took his Warning Seriously while the Cogs are a little skeptical but some of them follow suit.

The ones who didn't take it seriously will regret later, and the ones who did will be safe and relieved. But both Sides will be Horrified once the Infected finally appear.

And suddenly realized why Flippy was Warning ⚠️ them Multiple Times... this thing... was something they could never forget...

This Infect... Killed so many Cogs and Toons in a very Brutal way.

Couch Z trains people how to Protect themselves and Avoid getting Infected while Professor Pete teaches about them and make Blue Prints 🖨 of a Flying Magical Ship 🚢

The Brrrgh had been a Safe Zone for both Party's, even though there are some outpost in other Playground and Streets. It's still very Dangerous living outside of Brrrgh.

Over time people Agree to change the name of Brrrgh to "SAFE ZONE" so it will be easier for people to Recognize the Symbol and Logo of the Bored once they are trying to Retreat or found Survivors to bring back to the Base.

Here's some examples of Characters that Survived the Infection or Died, and what they are Currently Currently Doing.

The one who Survived

Bellringer - Helps Spread Information and News

Prethinker - Learning and Studying about the Infected Monsters Behavior and working with a Team of Scientists to find a Cure.

Multislacker - Has Cameras 📷 every on every Street and Playground and has a Team to help him Get Information and fix any Broken Cameras. Helps Bellringer with more Information and Savings Toons and Cogs since they also put random Speakers around the Places they can see.

Pacesetter - Helps with Rescue Tasks and Deliverying Mail, and sometimes Protroll the Area to find Survivals running away from the Infected Monsters.

Duck Shuffler - Really Good at Avoiding Attacks and not getting Infected while Saving Toons and Cogs and Brutally trys to Fight of the Monsters or Distract them.

Treekiller - Makes Sharp Weapons and Build Stuff out of Wood 🪵 work in a Team of Lumberjacks and Smiths.

Plutocrat - He turn his Pizza Restaurant 🍕 into a Tavern, were he sells all kinds of Consumable Goods and Beverages, it also helps Keeps Toons and Cogs morality up and desperate times.

Satellite Investors - Helps with Rebuilding Stuff including Projects.

Mouthpiece - Keeps an Eye of the Young Children and Runs a Knitting Club to make new Clothing and Plushies with other people.

Rainmaker - Sometimes help Mouthpiece with Babysitting but she mostly helps with Rescue Tasks as well but most of the time Helps in a Distance use their Weather Abilities to Fight Off the Monsters and slowly taking over other Streets and Playground with Cold Snowy 🌨 Weathers to make another Safe Zone.

Judy - She has no Idea how she manage to Survive but is very Greatful that she did, and she get to see her BFF again 💗 Mouthpiece! She works alongside her and keeps an eye on the kids as well. But she also helps Organize Schedules and Task for Toons and Cogs and Strict with People to be carful.

Litigator - He is Greatful that he and his Friends survived but is sad that Chief Legal Officer died Protecting them while they we're Running to the Safe Zone. Helps Judy so they won't overwork themselves and his friends joined in as well since there's so many Toons and Cogs that does Tasks for people.

Stenographer - THANK GOODNESS! She is good with ORGANIZING! Including being good at dealing with Stubborn 😣 People.

Case Manager - He Helps Labels Stuff so Toons and Cogs won't get Confuse and it will cause less accidents from happening.

Scapegoat - He still sometimes help people by Covering For Others but he also Works at a Cafeteria to make sure Toons and Cogs will have a Staple Diet, plus he discovered that he likes Cooking and wants to Learn more.

Derrick Man - He Does Delivery Stuff including Transferring goods into the Safe Zone, he sometimes does Health Check Ups for the Cogs when they come back from a Task, Has a Healthier and better Relationship with Rain. And slowly started to Understand Toon Culture while Toons slowly started to Understand Cog Culture as well.

Firestarter - In Charge of Keeping the Camp Warm with Unlimited Fire 🔥 of different Sizes for Toons and Cogs can use including handing out Heating Pads whenever they are going out to do Tasks in the Snow. Sometimes help Pacesetter with Tasks and gets someone else to Cover for him.

Featherbedder - He has a Side Job working at a Children's Library and sometimes read Bed Time Stories at the Safe Zone for Toons and Cogs, while at Night Shifts he does Tasks that need skilled people to be very Quit and Soundless, he's Perfect for that type of Job since the Infected Monsters will most likely not Detect him as long their carful.

Major Player - Makes a Entertainment Zone for Toons and Cogs to go to have Fun, it also helps give people a Temporary Distractions of the Harsh Reality they are in. They can watch Movies 🎬 Play Bored Games 🎮 Listen to Music 🎶 Dance 🕺 etc.

Chainsaw Consultant - Does the same thing like Major Player but instead of a Loud Entertainment Place, he works at a Quite Entertainment Zone we're Toons and Cogs who likes peace and Quite can go to. They got Books, Quite Bored Games, Realizing Music, A place to lay down under a nice Breezy Shade, freezing Fishes, etc.

Land Acquisition Architect - He works along side Multislacker and Bellringer when he's Guarding the Entrance from Monsters and Patrolling places that are too Dangerous for untrained people.

Deep Diver - Has a Deep Conversations with the Scientists and Prethinker on how the Monsters have different Weaknesses and Strengths, but her mane Job is working at a Fish Hotel we're people drop off their pet Fish's.

Gatekeeper - She literally Guards the entrance from Infected Monsters and help Survivals to Run to the Safe Zone, she has Key Workers of Toons and Cogs with Tasks she's unable to do since she's busy Guarding all the Entrance or doing something else.

Jennifer - After that Awful incident of The Chairman getting Brutally killed to Death telling them to Run to the Safe Zone while Bobby screamed in Fear and Cried in Thomas Saggs arms. Well... instead of being Lazy at her Job, she became really serious at her New Secretary Job, Fearing that the Infected Monster will try to get in the Safe Zone. Luckily Cogs and Toons who are associate with her made sure that she does take Breaks and reminds her to take care of herself.

Chief Operating Officer - While he was Running to the Safe Zone in Fear while Carrying Bubby JR in his Arms, he never forget his Brother Screams with his other Coworkers panicking beside him... it took a while for him to be able to be Active for Bubby and his other Coworkers who we're worried for him. But after recovery for a while a Toon offer him a Job at the very good Polite Department we're other Cogs and Toons Work at, and he became a Manager as well, he's also glad that Bubby found friends in his age Group.

Bobby JR - He's Scared... and they missed their Dad... He's very scared of those monsters... Luckily there's a lot of Activities in the Safe Zone for Children to not be bored and he made friends as well including a Bear Toon.

Public Relations Representative - Well... he's still very Unstable, but slowly recovering and getting help from both Toons and Cogs. And he gets to see his old Friends again, Pacesetter is surprised that he is Faster Runner than him, kinda had a weird friendship because of that while Derrick is glad to see he didn't get Corrupted by the Infected Monsters, and others who new him.

The one who Died

Chief Legal Officer - She has no regrets of helping her Coworkers escape from those Monsters but is terrified of becoming one of them while slowly loosing themselves...

Redd 'Heir' Wing - It took some time for him to get along with Toons and the Idea 💡 of working with them but after getting saved from a Certain Toon... he's more cooperation and friendly.

Jason -

Chief Executive Officer -

Director of Land Acquisition -

The one who became the Infected Monsters

Witch Hunter -

Count Erclaim -

Derrick Hand -

Director of Land Development -

The Chairman -

Survival Rate of Each Cogs and Toons

Higher Chance of Survival

Horse

Bear

Fox

Bat

Turkey

Cold Caller

Short Change

Big Fish

Medium Chance of Survival

Cat

Deer

Armadillo

Kangaroo

Mingler

Spin Doctor

Shyster

Legal Eagle

Flunky

Micromanager

Average Chance of Survival

Pets: Basically Doodles, Fishes, Jungle Spider, Bats, etc. Most Pets will be Average Change of Survival but they can go Higher or Lower depending on their Skills and Traits and who is their Owner or they a Wild Animal.

Dog

Duck

Monkey

Pig

Raccoon

Two-Face

Number Cruncher

Double Talker

Back Stabber

Connoisseur

OK Chance of Survival

Mouse

Rabbit

Kiwi

Koala

Telemarketer

Mover & Shaker

Factory Foreman

Loan Shark

Needlenose

Conveyancer

Advocate

Big Cheese

Magnate

Low Chance of Survival

Name Dropper

Glad Hander

Mr. Hollywood

Penny Pincher

Robber Baron

Ambulance Chaser

Middleman

Oh Damb! Hard chance of Survival

Tightwad

Bean Counter

Money Bags

Pencil Pusher

Yesman

Swindler

Toxic Manager

Magnate

Completely Doomed Unless your in Safe Zone before the Outbreak Happened or you Survived because someone Help you or gotten Lucky.

Bottom Feeder

Bloodsucker

Pettifogger

Barrister

Big Wig

Downsizer

Head Hunter

Corporate Raider

Con Artist

Head Honcho

Since you can't have a Funeral for every single Person that Died, Flippy turned the Kudos Bored into a Community Touch Screen.

Were there's a List of People who Survived or Died and Regular News on Stuff what's Happening.

[felixstudios]

Random Corporate Clash Headcanons, Getting a Virus Edition

For clarification, I'm talking about computer viruses! Also I HC that they themselves will get the virus and basically have symptoms ranging from glitching out to "normal" sickness presentations like coughing.

Duck Shuffler

🎰Dude probably gets something every other week and never learns from it

🎰Falls for free Robux, free Minecraft, free Discord Nitro, you name it

🎰Or maybe he knows it's probably a scam and just likes seeing what happens/taking the chance

🎰Literally does not care when he gets a virus

🎰Symptoms would be his slots spinning on their own and the near inability to speak

Prethinker

🧠I mean, this guy probably made an antivirus program for his own body so I'd be surprised if he did get a virus

🧠He will be so embarrassed if he did though

🧠Will absolutely try to hide it because someone as smart as him couldn't possibly get a virus

🧠Personally gets rid of it himself, or at least will attempt to

🧠If he finds out who made the virus he will send one back

🧠Symptoms would be glitching out and brain fog

Derrick Man

🛢️Doesn't often browse the Internet so this wouldn't be likely to happen

🛢️Probably got the virus from an email from a coworker who got infected

🛢️If not, he was trying to download an open source software like OBS and accidentally downloaded a fake virus.exe without noticing until it was too late

🛢️Will be pretty embarrassed but learn from his mistake and it probably won't happen ever again

🛢️Symptoms would probably be coughing and spewing oil out of his mouth

Deep Diver

🤿Had to have gone on a fake website advertising some kind of aquarium that didn't actually exist

🤿Downloaded a fake tour guide "PDF" {actually an .exe file} that had the virus

🤿Will be angry with whoever made the site and do a deep dive research on them to expose the person{s} behind it and take legal action against them

🤿Symptoms would be poor coordination and fever {or just overheating in general}

Rainmaker

⛈️Either got it from a coworker's infected email or a scam website trying to buy toys to appeal to toons

⛈️Regardless of where she got it, she won't pursue any actions against them

⛈️Will stay home until she's better

⛈️Symptoms would be coughing and not being able to control her weather powers {either as well or not at all depending on the severity}

Land Acquisition Architect

🚦Since he only really uses the Internet for work, it was probably an infected email. Maybe something more sophisticated like a COGS, Inc. embedded link in their website being hacked

🚦Will attempt to ask other coworkers for help and be pretty open about what happened

🚦Will also warn his coworkers about it

🚦Symptoms would be his eyes flickering and weakness

Gatekeeper

⚔️She doesn't

Witchhunter

🔱He also doesn't

Public Relations Representative

🧱He ALSO doesn't {because he's isolated even from the Internet}

Bellringer

🔔Someone didn't like him and personally launched a cyber attack against him, probably because he said a bit too much about them that they didn't like

🔔Got quite a few bits of malware from it and had to get repairs

🔔EVERYONE knows he was cyber attacked because he told everyone. They also know he would love to launch one back at them

🔔Symptoms would be paralysis of his bell, blindness, fatigue, and auditory sensitivity

Multislacker

🥪Got it trying to pirate software because he was too lazy to put in his dad's card information/too lazy to ask his dad to put in his card information

🥪Literally wouldn't care

🥪Just keeps watching TV all day waiting for it to go away until his dad finds out and makes him get repairs

🥪Symptoms would be coughing and glitching out

Mouthpiece

☎️Before she learned about Internet safety protocol, she was dealing with a client via email who "accidentally sent too much money" and asked her to click on a link to Venmo/Paypal/ETC to pay the difference back. She clicked on the link and that's how she got infected

☎️Not hard to track down the client because they used their real name, so let's just say that client had a nice welcome home that evening and then had to go to the hospital

☎️She also took legal action against them and the court ruled in her favor

☎️Symptoms would be her mic cutting out/going to static randomly, phantom phone rings, and a cough

Major Player

🎹Dude was on a suspicious website I cannot make too many references to in an attempt to remain mostly family friendly

🎹He clicked on an ad by accident and immediately panicked, but it was too late. His browser automatically downloaded and opened something because of the website's script to auto download and his settings to automatically open downloaded files...

🎹He uninstalled it and closed everything, but it was too late

🎹Refused to tell anyone about it and just kinda went radio silent for a few days

🎹Symptoms would be his piano teeth randomly playing notes, light sensitivity, and dizziness

Firestarter

🔥Knew he was being scammed with a fake link, but he didn't wanna upset the other person

🔥Pretty much just allowed himself to get infected

🔥Apologized profusely to everyone around him while he was sick

🔥Symptoms would be his body heat and fire powers going way out of control and essentially setting basically anyone and anything around him on fire, regardless of what it was made of

Plutocrat

🌑If you try to give this guy a virus you're either incredibly ignorant or incredibly brave

🌑He will find you. And he will kick your behind.

🌑Symptoms would be coughing and temperature sensitivity... and a runny nose

Treekiller

🪵He'd get it from a work email since he doesn't really go online

🪵Would be very obnoxious about it and try to help his coworker{s} find who was responsible so he could 'teach them a lesson'

🪵He's going to cut up all of their wooden furniture and maybe even parts of their house if he's upset enough

🪵Symptoms would be poor coordination, headache, and nausea

Chainsaw Consultant

🪚For everyone's safety, please do not let him get a virus

🪚The company would invest in very strong antivirus programs for his body for safety concerns

🪚If he does manage to get a virus, it was probably someone directly cyber attacking him

🪚What happens if he's sick? His chainsaw doesn't stop operating and he gets very emotional... let's just say there was a workplace incident that luckily only ended in Acorn Acres having a large amount of trees cut down

Featherbedder

💤She wouldn't really get a virus... I don't even know how she'd get one

💤But if he did, he'd just sleep through the whole thing

💤Literally wouldn't care

💤Symptoms would be runny nose, sore throat, and a headache

Pacesetter

👟Once again, I have no clue how this guy would even manage to get a virus

👟Dude would be pretty upset though. How could someone as awesome as him get infected?

👟Would either tell nobody or make a HUGE public scene about it and I can't tell which

👟Symptoms would be extreme weakness {possibly to the point of being incapable of walking} and glitching out

[honeycreammilkshake]

That analysis about Sukuna and Gojo is SO good. I actually think they are really jealous that we love Sukuna even at his lowest. Also, why are they blaming Gege saying he treated Gojo like a tool? Isn't that what his fans do with him? Like, 90% of the discussion about him is his fight with Sukuna. Like, they NEED that fight, it's like Gojo stops existing without it

I'll tell you what, Sukuna can lose 100 fights that he will still be a character, maybe Gojo can't do that if he basically disappears unless they need to convince themselves Gojo won and how important that fight is. It's amazing how a lot of Sukuna fans don't even want that fight anymore while I saw even gojo stans begging sukuna stans to recognize that fight. Myself? I wish it never happened. Let gojo die to those supposed superior villains (aka didn't kill gojo) gojo stans say, but everytime you say "ok then Gojo should have fought Mahito or Kenjaku, never Sukuna!" They just get triggered and say NO, PLEASE, THE FIGHT WITH SUKUNA SHOULD HAPPEN

See? Now I really hope sukuna comes back and gojo doesn't. I'm sorry, but I have never been THIS tired of a fandom, and I have been in Naruto and other fandoms with shipping wars and everything, but that was never as BAD as this.

Leave Sukuna alone, not my fault he doesn't need Gojo to be a character, sorry

gooooood morning, anon. i'm so glad i woke up to this because i spent a lot of time thinking about that gojo vs sukuna last night.

i have noticed that a lot of people hate that gojo is a "tool" in the manga and yet their own headcanons about him are always that he should have to fight sukuna and win. notice that they always want gojo to win, which is never easy in a fight with sukuna. it's a lot of hard work. but besides that, wanting a character to do only one thing and have it go with only one outcome, that's about as one-dimensional as you can get with that character. they literally only want one thing to come from gojo going into that fight, and that's no better than gege treating him like a tool as they claim.

because even if they want gojo to be this complex and fascinating character (ngl i feel like a lot of his personality traits are a bit like filler - he's just a mix of all the fan favorite and common tropes of other anime mentors with some backstory to stir it all together) him only doing one thing ever (winning) is so boring and doesn't do his character justice at all. and the fans who hate on gege can't really see that.

meanwhile, sukuna is more than capable of being a strong character who can have multiple different outcomes, and not all of them have to be him winning. in fact, some of his best moments are when he has to work harder or reconfigure a different plan. it always make him more complex and interesting.

so that's why sukuna winning made since while gojo winning didn't. because sukuna actually had a plan in motion, he wasn't cheating or being fake because he needed to possess megumi to reach that level of power (he didn't even have all 20 fingers so him making up for the lack of it by possessing megumi was an intelligent move on so many different levels) and his unique cursed techniques and longtime experience made him an inherently better fighter than gojo. now i could care less if their positions were reversed and gojo was the one who had a lot more experience fighting, because it doesn't matter when sukuna actually does his best to learn from others and improve his abilities as he goes along. meanwhile, a lot of fans just want gojo to be powerful and not have to take a lesson from others in order to reach it.

another thing is, gojo was born the strongest and given so much wealth and special treatment. even if the jjk world only wanted to use him as a tool (which, cmon, they do to every sorcerer - the whole point of sorcerers is to serve as tools that restabilize the imbalances of power, even Geto's character understood they were all just cogs) gojo still had a lot of privileges and second chances given to him that not a lot of other characters could afford to have.

and idk if we can really confirm this or not, but sukuna seems to have a totally different experience, one where he was immediately shunned by the normal world and only seen as a force of strength for other sorcerers to test their skills against. i don't think anyone took ending sukuna's reign of terror that seriously, they only wanted to claim the title of being the strongest. not only that, so much about sukuna is still a mystery or very layered, mostly him being contradicting (especially where yuuji is concerned) and not revealing his past.

this turned out to be longer than i thought it would, but yeah... it's been on my mind a lot. gojo's character served a purpose when he died. not only did it show how much of a pure threat sukuna is (even if all that power wasn't inherently his own, it still shows he's good at coming up with plans that counterbalance his other weaknesses) but it also showed us how gojo's character can be seen in an entirely different light: someone who lost. he always thought he could win anything, but him dying showed a different side to him, because he even looked peaceful during death.

and if he comes back, fans don't realize it would mean that afterlife scene with geto would be simply meaningless. they adore stsg so much so i'm actually surprised that they want gojo to come back to life, bc it would mean leaving geto behind. makes no sense to me.

anyways, thanks for sharing your thoughts with me, anon. i hope this day goes well for you!

[skylarkking]

I wanna know more about Solaris and his cycanthropy please!

-✨️

Hoooooo buddy! You better prepare yourself for the infodump that I have in store!

So to start, cycanthropy is a condition that affects a bots t-cog (like I mentioned before). It causes the transformation sequence to override the intended form and take on the new, more monstrous form. Since the plating and protoform of the inflicted bot are not designed to do this, when the cycanthropy activates it causes the bot to have almost fatal levels of pain.

When the sequence is finished, you are left with a monster. Often times this form makes the bot more feral and animalistic as well. They lose control of themselves and go on wild rampages.

When the bot has expended almost all of their energy, the sequence activates again and they return to their normal form although in severe pain and exhaustion. This often leaves the bot barely functional.

In Solaris's case, he learned that he can stop the condition from activating by disconnecting his T-cog from the rest of his circuitry. This unfortunately stops him from transforming at all and also causes parts of his body to have difficulties with mobility (because the T-cog is part of the mobility line of circuits and stuff). He will have spasms that will cause him quite a bit of pain, but that was something he was willing to deal with if it meant remaining in control of his own body.

However, when he was wounded after saving Optimus from an exploding missile from Telatraan-1, the Autobots would attempt to repair him which included reconnecting his T-cog. Solaris would lash out and say that he can repair himself without their help.

Of course this was only partially true. He would fix his own wounds while in his cell, but due to both his injuries and the side effects of a disconnected t-cog, he would become weaker. He hid this from them for a long time, so long that, when they trusted him enough to not cause problems outside his cell, he would randomly collapse while helping Optimus and Ratchet with some heavy lifting.

Since Sari, Prowl, and Bumblebee were out "camping", Ratchet was the one who discovered the disconnected t-cog and other damaged workings. He repaired the damage and, unfortunately, reconnected Solaris's t-cog.

Solaris would snap awake and shove both of them out of harms way as he would flee the base, the cycanthropy activating after thousands and thousands of years of being dormant. Solaris would become the monster he desperately tried to hide from the others and fled into the woods.

The Autobots would meet up in the woods and split up into pairs. Optimus with Ratchet, Bumblebee with Sari, and Bulkhead with Prowl.

During the search Ratchet would tell Optimus that, based on the fact that Solaris's t-cog was disconnected and how he acted, he believed that Solaris had cycanthropy although Ratchet thought the condition was a myth.

Eventually Ratchet and Optimus would find Solaris in his monster form surrounded by destroyed trees and smashed boulders. Much to Ratchet's protesting, Optimus would approach Solaris and try to calm Solaris down.

Optimus would eventually get through to Solaris and even managed to touch his muzzle. The contact would coax a sort of purr from Solaris and due to how relaxed he felt from the touch, he would end up changing back to his normal form.

With the help of Prowl, Solaris would gain control over the cycanthropy and manage to change at will.

Anyway, thankyou for listening to my ramblings lmao

[Questions? Intrusive thoughts? Drop em in my ask box!]

[duplicitywrites]

Ooooh I wanna hear about Fear Is Only The Beginning

Fear is Only the Beginning

i honestly don't know if/when i will ever go back to this sjgssdg my writing style and preferences have changed a lot since i started that story 😭

but i think i'll take this as an opportunity to share a lot of snippets i wrote for future scenes that may never see the light of day. look below the cut for more!

[ send a WIP title and i'll share something for it/about it ]

---

scene one:

Tom waits until they are alone in their dormitory to pass him the book. The cover has a charm placed on it to obscure the true title, but even that does little to mask the magic emanating from the pages.

“I bookmarked a page,” Tom says casually, but Harry can sense excitement beneath Tom’s usual veil of careful detachment.

Later, when he is finally alone, Harry flips to the marker and starts reading, unsure if he’ll be able to stomach the entire book from start to finish.

Horcrux. Just reading the word leaves Harry feeling awful. Reading the process behind it only worsens the feeling. His skin crawls when he thinks on it, even long after the book has been returned. Killing someone so that you can live forever.

But it is soul magic, and that is significant. Harry can’t say he agrees with everything that Tom does, or wants to do, but this is an opportunity to learn things that Tom won’t find suspicious. They can research this together, and if Harry can find a solution, find a way out—well, he’d be a fool not to try and take it.

Tom wants to live forever. He wants to tether himself to this world, to this life. He wants Harry by his side while he does it. Harry just wants to live knowing his soul is wholly his own.

If he can separate the piece of soul that doesn’t belong to him, maybe Tom won’t want him anymore. Harry’s not sure how he feels about that. He’s been linked to Tom for years now, the two of them drawn together by their strange magical connection. He still occasionally catches Tom glancing at his lightning scar, clearly deep in thought. Tom hates not knowing things, and Harry thinks it’s a wonder he never got dumped into Ravenclaw after rejecting Slytherin.

The mere thought of opposing Tom scares him. Not out of fear that Tom will hurt him, but rather what other consequences might make themselves known. Tom is volatile, mercurial. His desires and ambitions wage a constant war against the world as he strives to force reality to bend its knee to him. 

It is breathtaking to witness Tom in those moments, even though it is Tom’s cruelty and pragmatism breaking the surface. There is fulfillment in being a part of something so powerful, the tiny cogs of Tom’s grand plans humming in unison as the large wheels of politics continue to turn.

Harry knows that he helps to buffer Tom’s sharper edges, that he provides Tom with something truly invaluable: an ally, an equal. He will always act in Tom’s best interests, for Tom’s own good. And Tom will never hurt him. It would be hard to leave Tom, knowing that.

---

scene two:

“You’re always someone to me, Tom. You always have been and you always will be.”

Harry is too close. His words are like fire against Tom’s skin, burning hot all over. His hand is touching Tom’s, holding it gently, threading their fingers together. Harry is all that is good in the world. He is the only thing that matters. He should be the only thing that matters.

“Tom?” asks Harry, concerned.

Tom forces his throat to clear itself. “Harry,” he says. Just that, nothing else.

“It’s you and me, Tom,” continues Harry, voice soft. “You have me. Isn’t that enough?”

Harry’s eyes—so green, like liquid emeralds—are swallowing Tom whole. Tom feels like he’s never been so alive as Harry watches him, sees him. Tom wants so much. He wants the world. Tom wants to fashion himself from diamond and silver, unbreakable and shining. But Harry sees through him, burns him, breaks him down into his constituent pieces with nothing more than a loaded glance.

Tom’s free hand rises to touch Harry’s face, to drag his fingers up Harry’s cheek, along the bone structure, across the brow, under the forehead, and just around the edge of the angry red scar. All this, all of Harry. All of it is his. Oh, it aches. A different kind of pain from the scorching fire in his lungs and his raw, parched throat.

“Harry,” Tom repeats. “I want you.” I need you.

They are centimeters apart, sharing the same air, chests almost pressed together. Tom can feel each breath that passes in and out of Harry’s lungs.

“Then have me.”

Tom obliges, closing the remaining distance. His mouth touches Harry's, hesitant. Everything is warm. Harry is warm. Their lips come together, moving, and Tom’s hand winds its way past the scar and into Harry’s hair. The kiss is careful, so careful, because Harry might pull away at any moment, might leave. 

Harry’s hands come up to grasp Tom’s waist, to pull them closer together still. Tom feels dizzy as his head tilts back, his lips parting to inhale. His breaths are unsteady, he can hear the air passing into him in irregular bursts.

But Harry’s smile is familiar. Being with Harry screams safety and acceptance and care—all the things Tom had tried to find for himself in the world only to be disappointed time and time again. The rest of the world never mattered to him except when it came to his desire to conquer it. This world, his world, is Harry. The strange scar and the knobby knees and the snarky jokes at his expense. Always this, always Harry.

Without any conscious thought, Tom finds himself drawn back down, his lips against Harry’s. The kiss is messy and inexperienced, but every touch of Harry’s skin upon his leaves him hungry for more. If he can have this—if he can have this for every day for the rest of his life—

When they pull away, Tom has one hand curled against the nape of Harry’s neck. His other arm is wrapped around Harry in a tight grip, fingers grasping hard enough to bruise, but Harry doesn’t seem to mind. Harry’s hands are still gentle on Tom’s waist, their thumbs stroking slow patterns that Tom can feel through his shirt.

“I love you,” Harry says, breath hitching, words sincere.

The statement hurts somehow. Tom presses his forehead against Harry’s, careful to avoid contact with the scar. Tom can’t form the words in return. He’s not sure if he can. The concept of love seems very far away from where they are. Tom has always wanted to be more, to have more.

They are breathing together. Him and Harry. Two of the same, two souls bound for each other. That thought calms Tom, steadies him.

Tom brushes his lips against Harry’s cheek, feather soft. He hopes Harry understands.

Harry’s hand comes up to cup Tom’s face, to brush calloused fingertips along the upper part of Tom’s jaw. With Harry’s touch comes reassurance. Tom is not alone, and he never will be.

“Forever,” Tom says. It’s not quite the same, but the sentiment is there.

Harry gives him another quick kiss in return. It is enough.

[smokeybrandcompositions]

John Wayne

Year in and year out, Conservatives use the fear of brown people to propel themselves into office. It’s always the same story; “They’re not sending their best”, “They’re taking our jobs”, “they’re crippling the welfare system”, and whatever else. I tune that sh*t out because I’m not an idiot. It’s an election year so the Right has been particularly aggressive with their brown people prejudice. They’re touting a “crisis” at the border, that five thousand people a day are illegally coming over and that’s just not true. It’s wildly inaccurate. In fact, I learned today that this sh*t comes in waves. I listened to a Texan tell me, one that lives in the State and sees this sh*t pretty regularly, that immigration rises during the holidays because, you guessed it, they cross to see family. Like anyone else during the holidays, these people come over, stay for a week, and then leave. The drop these cats are seeing in the January numbers are because the holidays are over, not because of Greg Abbott’s harsh stance on border security It’s just the natural flow of family exchange for Christmas. You catch a plane to see your aunt in Chicago, they swim across the Rio Grande to so the same. And just like you catch a return flight home, they wade across to the Mexico bank when they tire of all that extended family time. He also mentioned that there would be a spike in the spring. Why? Construction season. These people come over, get picked up as day laborers, then go home. They are temporary illegals. Listening to this man speak, and knowing what my friends abroad think of the US, it immediately dawned on me that most of these “illegals”, probably don’t even want to stay. They come over, work the fields, build a few houses, stay with family for a bit, then go back home. It’s no different than an Asian family sending money back to the home country or an exchange student sending back gifts. The way the Right wing media tells it, those five thousand a day, stay and mooch off our system. That they are parasites on the teat of Big Government. I would posited a guess that at least two-thirds of that five thousand, go back home after a month  or two to however long their particular labor seasons lasts. No one abroad wants to actually LIVE in the US. It’s f*cking horrible here, especially if you have an semblance of melanin in your skin.

I’m a huge black dude who is native to the US. I’ve lived here all my life and have seen, firsthand, how f*cking stupid it is here. I’ve watched as out “education” system gets dumber and more propagandized, as time has gone on. Hell, since I graduated high school twenty years ago, sh*t has gotten worse. Common Core Math is the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever seen in my life and the fact here is this ridiculous belief that Critical Race Theory is being taught to grade school kids, is insane. Bro, my niece’s history book refers to the Transatlantic Slave Trade as a f*cking cultural exchange. Do you have any idea how absurd that is? Red States across the nation are declining to teach anything about the Civil Rights Movement, outside of the whitewashed and sanitized version of MLK, because of white tears. More than that, our “education” system is constructed to actually educate. It’s not built to help teach you how to think critically or properly comprehend information. It’s there to make sure you are indoctrinated into the School-Work-Prison system we have here. There’s a reason you go to school for eight hours a day, have an hour of yard time, need to ask permission to use the rest room, and stay sequestered in social blocks most of the day. What’s the difference between desk, a cubicle, an a cell? They don’t teach you anything meaningful like taxes, self-defense, basic auto repair, or computer literacy. They did all of that when I was young, but not anymore. The first budgets to get slashed, every year, are Social Security and Education. Why? Because you don’t need to be intelligent to be a cog in the machine for the entirety of your life. They just move you from one institution to another, until you f*cking die. Our education system is designed to kill any semblance of free thinking and to encourage conformity. You are to take direction, never question it. It’s no wonder these people on the Right, who covet a Strong Man and value Cults of Personality over actual leaders, take to such egregious half-truths.

Admittedly, it never dawned on me to ask if all these illegals actually stayed and I tend to question everything. I just didn’t see it as that big of a problem because, in my experience, most illegals are hardworking, considerate, and go out of their way to avoid the system lest they be targeted. I’m from California. I know a bit about this immigration “crisis.” I live it, too, but, unlike Texas, I don’t care like that. I’m not laboring in that Cali heat during the summer. I did that when I was young. Use to work for a lawn care service in my youth. If someone else wants to do it, they can have it. That’s the funniest thing about all of this, the “illegals” WANT to do that sh*t while the “legals”, don’t. Florida is experiencing firsthand what happens when you turn hostile toward the people who do those quiet, unsung, jobs. Construction has come to a halt. Crops are rotting on the vine. Sure, DeSantis got his wish and bused out all the “illegals” or whatever, but not their State has reached an impasse. Oranges are literally rotting on the vine because all those white people who had a problem with the browns during harvest season, refuse to get out there an pick fruit. Hell, most are even willing to pay taxes out of there slave wages. They don’t mind contributing to a country which gave them more financial opportunity than the one they left. You have a temporary workforce who are willing to d this back-breaking job you outright refuse to do, in horrific seasonal conditions, and, instead of giving them an opportunity to do so in an acceptable, legal fashion, persecute them because they hopped a border? That doesn’t make any sense, especially when you take into account that the government, a bipartisan coalition, set up legislation to do just that. There was a plan on the books, a whole budget ready to be implemented to “secure our border”, and the Right sabotaged it because their Orange Hitler told them to. Because this immigration bogey man is all they have to run on. I don’t think Trump is getting re-elected, he’s alienated too many independents and women, but it’s nuts to see so many Republicans bend the knee, know it’s only in his best interests, not the country. That legislation on the border was the strongest sh*t put forth in decades and the Republicans, after negotiating so many concessions from the Democrats, effectively killed it. Boggles the goddamn mind, man. And that brings me to my whole point: Stupid people are being tricked by this blatant propaganda.

A guy I know was radicalized when he moved to Idaho, one of the Reddest, Whitest, most Religious States in the union. They are known as the potato capital in the Union so, guess what the second highest demographic there is? Before, this dude was absolutely in love with a Mexican woman. She was his unicorn. After that move, and after his second wife cheated on him (just like his first), he became this Far Right, conspiracy believing, Fox News watching, Arm Chair Patriot who believes in his Country, His military, and his God. Dude is also a prime example of the cog pour education system kicks out. He was a C/D student, which speaks to his lack of comprehension but ability to make orders, who graduated High School by the seat of his pants and opted to join the military, another institution where you are literally conditioned to take order. He told me that he loved the military life specifically FOR that. He didn’t like to think and found it easier to take orders. This is a man who had to ask his father for advice at every major life choice, a person who had to have his mother or wife, but up his steak because he refused to eat any food off the bone. Dude refused to cash his Pandemic check because he didn’t need no handouts, or whatever, even though that check was basically the government giving him back his own money. Just stupid sh*t born of immaturity and a complete lack of comprehension, just how our education system raised him up to be. This dude doesn’t have the ability to think for himself, he can’t dive deep into a subject because he was never taught patience or given the tools to actually research properly. He blindly believes whatever strong, male, energy is currently in his immediate space and defers, like a puppy, to it. His masculinity is tied to someone else’s and it’s jarring to see. He fetishizes black bodies, basketball is his favorite sport, but he doesn’t value black lives. We had a NBA Bubble long exchange about the civil unrest after George Floyd’s death and he took the cliche, milquetoast, Conservative stance of, “I believe they are right to be angry but riots are bad and don’t work because they alienate people from your message.” Nah, they alienate white people from the message because seeing a bunch of black people out in force, terrifies them. Riots work. It’s why there are Gay Rights. It’s literally how this country started. Basically this dude I know, is the exact face of the modern Republican proletariat and that goes a LONG way to explain why some asshole like Trump can strangle the entire GOP to near death, in service to his own ego.

The bulk of the Republican voter base are like the dude I know. They’re idiots. It’s not their fault, they were trained to be that way. Sh*t started early, in the pulpits of church, carried over through school, perpetuated once they entered the work force or military, and solidified once they entered middle age. These people are sheep, bred to prop up the elites. They just accept whatever Fox News or Donald Trump spoon feeds them, because they’ve been doing that their entire lives. They want the Strong Man. They need the orders. They can’t function without them. Plus, all these brown people are coming over here and breeding out their pure, white, blood. Poisoning the gene pool and sh*t. They can roll my burritos, but I’ll be damned if they roll in the hay with my daughter. Even though it takes two to tango. That doesn’t matter because Fentanyl is flooding over the border, never mind that the opioid crisis was engineered by Big Pharma and the over prescription of Xanax. The “Crisis” at he border is something only Trump can solve, even though Biden had his pen ready to sing that bi-partisan plan which the Right killed. They even released it to the public so they could see for themselves where that loot was going but that didn’t matter. The Sheeple didn’t believe anything the Swamp was trying to slide by them, because their kowtowing leaders, those weak ass Strong Men they crave, told them not to. These people don’t have the capacity to think for themselves and the ones who do, use that ability to grift. People like Ben Shapiro aren’t stupid. They know what they say is incendiary and ridiculous but he gets paid to say that dumb sh*t, because it resonates with dumb people. Tucker Carlson is a bigot who gave Putin time on his show, and exposure to his gullible ass audience, so that the Strongest Man would push his absurd, revisionist, history directly to the most susceptible idiots in the idiot bunch. And they ate that sh*t up. Carlson is joke and has done irreparable damage to this country with that stunt but only people who understand consequence, individuals who fight for the right to think for themselves, understand that. It’s the same reason these people are so easily spooked by the phantom brown boogeyman every election year. They don’t want to read the legislation and are too idiotic to complacent to ask why? They feel safe in the arms of the Strong Man, even as said Man slowly closes his grip, choking them to death with that strength they long for.

[smokeybrand]

John Wayne

Year in and year out, Conservatives use the fear of brown people to propel themselves into office. It’s always the same story; “They’re not sending their best”, “They’re taking our jobs”, “they’re crippling the welfare system”, and whatever else. I tune that sh*t out because I’m not an idiot. It’s an election year so the Right has been particularly aggressive with their brown people prejudice. They’re touting a “crisis” at the border, that five thousand people a day are illegally coming over and that’s just not true. It’s wildly inaccurate. In fact, I learned today that this sh*t comes in waves. I listened to a Texan tell me, one that lives in the State and sees this sh*t pretty regularly, that immigration rises during the holidays because, you guessed it, they cross to see family. Like anyone else during the holidays, these people come over, stay for a week, and then leave. The drop these cats are seeing in the January numbers are because the holidays are over, not because of Greg Abbott’s harsh stance on border security It’s just the natural flow of family exchange for Christmas. You catch a plane to see your aunt in Chicago, they swim across the Rio Grande to so the same. And just like you catch a return flight home, they wade across to the Mexico bank when they tire of all that extended family time. He also mentioned that there would be a spike in the spring. Why? Construction season. These people come over, get picked up as day laborers, then go home. They are temporary illegals. Listening to this man speak, and knowing what my friends abroad think of the US, it immediately dawned on me that most of these “illegals”, probably don’t even want to stay. They come over, work the fields, build a few houses, stay with family for a bit, then go back home. It’s no different than an Asian family sending money back to the home country or an exchange student sending back gifts. The way the Right wing media tells it, those five thousand a day, stay and mooch off our system. That they are parasites on the teat of Big Government. I would posited a guess that at least two-thirds of that five thousand, go back home after a month  or two to however long their particular labor seasons lasts. No one abroad wants to actually LIVE in the US. It’s f*cking horrible here, especially if you have an semblance of melanin in your skin.

I’m a huge black dude who is native to the US. I’ve lived here all my life and have seen, firsthand, how f*cking stupid it is here. I’ve watched as out “education” system gets dumber and more propagandized, as time has gone on. Hell, since I graduated high school twenty years ago, sh*t has gotten worse. Common Core Math is the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever seen in my life and the fact here is this ridiculous belief that Critical Race Theory is being taught to grade school kids, is insane. Bro, my niece’s history book refers to the Transatlantic Slave Trade as a f*cking cultural exchange. Do you have any idea how absurd that is? Red States across the nation are declining to teach anything about the Civil Rights Movement, outside of the whitewashed and sanitized version of MLK, because of white tears. More than that, our “education” system is constructed to actually educate. It’s not built to help teach you how to think critically or properly comprehend information. It’s there to make sure you are indoctrinated into the School-Work-Prison system we have here. There’s a reason you go to school for eight hours a day, have an hour of yard time, need to ask permission to use the rest room, and stay sequestered in social blocks most of the day. What’s the difference between desk, a cubicle, an a cell? They don’t teach you anything meaningful like taxes, self-defense, basic auto repair, or computer literacy. They did all of that when I was young, but not anymore. The first budgets to get slashed, every year, are Social Security and Education. Why? Because you don’t need to be intelligent to be a cog in the machine for the entirety of your life. They just move you from one institution to another, until you f*cking die. Our education system is designed to kill any semblance of free thinking and to encourage conformity. You are to take direction, never question it. It’s no wonder these people on the Right, who covet a Strong Man and value Cults of Personality over actual leaders, take to such egregious half-truths.

Admittedly, it never dawned on me to ask if all these illegals actually stayed and I tend to question everything. I just didn’t see it as that big of a problem because, in my experience, most illegals are hardworking, considerate, and go out of their way to avoid the system lest they be targeted. I’m from California. I know a bit about this immigration “crisis.” I live it, too, but, unlike Texas, I don’t care like that. I’m not laboring in that Cali heat during the summer. I did that when I was young. Use to work for a lawn care service in my youth. If someone else wants to do it, they can have it. That’s the funniest thing about all of this, the “illegals” WANT to do that sh*t while the “legals”, don’t. Florida is experiencing firsthand what happens when you turn hostile toward the people who do those quiet, unsung, jobs. Construction has come to a halt. Crops are rotting on the vine. Sure, DeSantis got his wish and bused out all the “illegals” or whatever, but not their State has reached an impasse. Oranges are literally rotting on the vine because all those white people who had a problem with the browns during harvest season, refuse to get out there an pick fruit. Hell, most are even willing to pay taxes out of there slave wages. They don’t mind contributing to a country which gave them more financial opportunity than the one they left. You have a temporary workforce who are willing to d this back-breaking job you outright refuse to do, in horrific seasonal conditions, and, instead of giving them an opportunity to do so in an acceptable, legal fashion, persecute them because they hopped a border? That doesn’t make any sense, especially when you take into account that the government, a bipartisan coalition, set up legislation to do just that. There was a plan on the books, a whole budget ready to be implemented to “secure our border”, and the Right sabotaged it because their Orange Hitler told them to. Because this immigration bogey man is all they have to run on. I don’t think Trump is getting re-elected, he’s alienated too many independents and women, but it’s nuts to see so many Republicans bend the knee, know it’s only in his best interests, not the country. That legislation on the border was the strongest sh*t put forth in decades and the Republicans, after negotiating so many concessions from the Democrats, effectively killed it. Boggles the goddamn mind, man. And that brings me to my whole point: Stupid people are being tricked by this blatant propaganda.

A guy I know was radicalized when he moved to Idaho, one of the Reddest, Whitest, most Religious States in the union. They are known as the potato capital in the Union so, guess what the second highest demographic there is? Before, this dude was absolutely in love with a Mexican woman. She was his unicorn. After that move, and after his second wife cheated on him (just like his first), he became this Far Right, conspiracy believing, Fox News watching, Arm Chair Patriot who believes in his Country, His military, and his God. Dude is also a prime example of the cog pour education system kicks out. He was a C/D student, which speaks to his lack of comprehension but ability to make orders, who graduated High School by the seat of his pants and opted to join the military, another institution where you are literally conditioned to take order. He told me that he loved the military life specifically FOR that. He didn’t like to think and found it easier to take orders. This is a man who had to ask his father for advice at every major life choice, a person who had to have his mother or wife, but up his steak because he refused to eat any food off the bone. Dude refused to cash his Pandemic check because he didn’t need no handouts, or whatever, even though that check was basically the government giving him back his own money. Just stupid sh*t born of immaturity and a complete lack of comprehension, just how our education system raised him up to be. This dude doesn’t have the ability to think for himself, he can’t dive deep into a subject because he was never taught patience or given the tools to actually research properly. He blindly believes whatever strong, male, energy is currently in his immediate space and defers, like a puppy, to it. His masculinity is tied to someone else’s and it’s jarring to see. He fetishizes black bodies, basketball is his favorite sport, but he doesn’t value black lives. We had a NBA Bubble long exchange about the civil unrest after George Floyd’s death and he took the cliche, milquetoast, Conservative stance of, “I believe they are right to be angry but riots are bad and don’t work because they alienate people from your message.” Nah, they alienate white people from the message because seeing a bunch of black people out in force, terrifies them. Riots work. It’s why there are Gay Rights. It’s literally how this country started. Basically this dude I know, is the exact face of the modern Republican proletariat and that goes a LONG way to explain why some asshole like Trump can strangle the entire GOP to near death, in service to his own ego.

The bulk of the Republican voter base are like the dude I know. They’re idiots. It’s not their fault, they were trained to be that way. Sh*t started early, in the pulpits of church, carried over through school, perpetuated once they entered the work force or military, and solidified once they entered middle age. These people are sheep, bred to prop up the elites. They just accept whatever Fox News or Donald Trump spoon feeds them, because they’ve been doing that their entire lives. They want the Strong Man. They need the orders. They can’t function without them. Plus, all these brown people are coming over here and breeding out their pure, white, blood. Poisoning the gene pool and sh*t. They can roll my burritos, but I’ll be damned if they roll in the hay with my daughter. Even though it takes two to tango. That doesn’t matter because Fentanyl is flooding over the border, never mind that the opioid crisis was engineered by Big Pharma and the over prescription of Xanax. The “Crisis” at he border is something only Trump can solve, even though Biden had his pen ready to sing that bi-partisan plan which the Right killed. They even released it to the public so they could see for themselves where that loot was going but that didn’t matter. The Sheeple didn’t believe anything the Swamp was trying to slide by them, because their kowtowing leaders, those weak ass Strong Men they crave, told them not to. These people don’t have the capacity to think for themselves and the ones who do, use that ability to grift. People like Ben Shapiro aren’t stupid. They know what they say is incendiary and ridiculous but he gets paid to say that dumb sh*t, because it resonates with dumb people. Tucker Carlson is a bigot who gave Putin time on his show, and exposure to his gullible ass audience, so that the Strongest Man would push his absurd, revisionist, history directly to the most susceptible idiots in the idiot bunch. And they ate that sh*t up. Carlson is joke and has done irreparable damage to this country with that stunt but only people who understand consequence, individuals who fight for the right to think for themselves, understand that. It’s the same reason these people are so easily spooked by the phantom brown boogeyman every election year. They don’t want to read the legislation and are too idiotic to complacent to ask why? They feel safe in the arms of the Strong Man, even as said Man slowly closes his grip, choking them to death with that strength they long for.

[advanceagility]

Qualities of a Scrum Master

“High Performance Teams and Execution Speed, has no value, if you are going in the wrong direction!” ― Tony Dovale In order to acquire authority rather than power, a person engages with people in a management or co-worker capacity using the master style and ideology known as scrum master. A decentralised organisational structure is present in the system. This type of master demands the employees who can easily interact with customers regarding business decisions. These employees are better able to make decisions on how to retain current customers and attract new ones since they are more engaged with the customer.

The role of a scrum master

· Encourage a variety of viewpoints. When tasked with advancing a cause, scrum master inspires everyone to think creatively and from all angles. The result of a group's cooperation and idea sharing is the final decision. Power never belongs to a single person; rather, it is a collective effort by the entire team.

· Foster an environment of trust.

How can a leader foster a trusting environment? by making sure that everyone in the organisation understands what the mission is, the values they should uphold, and the overarching vision. Only one in three employees strongly think that they trust the master in their firm, according to a global Gallup database. How can business leaders increase trust? By being completely transparent in everything. Every message must be targeted and distributed from top to bottom of the organisation. Nobody will follow you if you lack transparency and fail to provide a clear direction. Transparency fosters trust, and trust is directly related to productivity at work. Keep in mind that trust is something you earn.

·       Strive to be selfless. Not about you, really. It's about the folks who keep everything running. Where would you be if the cogs that the engine depends on weren't there? One typical error that leaders commit is believing that people and profits should be treated as two distinct entities when in reality they should work together. Why keep them apart when you can't have either one without the other? The success of others is facilitated by great hero leaders who give everyone a sense of importance and that their contributions are important to the company's overall success. 43 percent of survey participants claimed that feeling acknowledged boosts their confidence, according to Survey Monkey. Furthermore, 78% of people reported being content after getting gratitude. Although great leaders influence change in a variety of ways, their ability to develop their enterprises and leave a lasting legacy is ultimately due to their altruism.

Scrum masters must contain these following characters:-

1. Respecting people.People are valued for who they are by scrum masters, not merely for what they do to the organisation. Scrum masters prioritise serving other people, especially their followers.

2. Humility. Scrum masters prioritise others above themselves and do not promote themselves. Scrum masters understand that achievement is a team effort; it is not solely about them.

3. Listening. Scrum masters listen without judgement and with an open heart. They are eager to listen because they sincerely like to learn from others, and they must listen carefully in order to fully understand the people they serve. Scrum masters first seek to understand, then they seek to be understood. Using their discernment, the scrum master can decide when to step in and help.

4. Trust. Others are trusting of scrum masters. They voluntarily take on this risk in order to help the people they support.

5. Caring. People and purpose are important to scrum masters. They are compassionate and considerate to others. True scrum masters have compassion for the people they lead.

 How to become a successful scrum master?

Business CEOs would do well to reflect on their own master style and consider whether they are truly serving both their team and their company. Here are four methods for starting the process of becoming a genuine scrum master. Balance the importance of people and results.

According to research, people do not see leaders who concentrate largely on one or the other as strong leaders. The winning formula for producing exceptional master is leaders who are strategic about organisational goals, positive and motivating toward subordinates, and both. Ask for support instead of telling others what to do.

With this strategy, the boss-gives-orders mentality will be abandoned in favour of a leader who provides resources, vision, and direction. Find out how you can offer people more authority.

The most effective bosses cede control. They gain the respect of others who follow them as a result. The ability to enable people to take charge and thrive in their own strengths is what is meant by true power.

“If you focus on the strength of the team, you will begin to find work as a positive challenge.”

― Salil Jha 

About Advance Agility

We, at Advance Agility, are the new-age Agile Coaching, Consulting and IT services company. We enable end-to-end Digital Transformation. Agile execution is integral to our being. We are doing SAFe implementation with small, medium and large organization across the globe. Our vision is to be the leading Agile execution player globally. To keep adding value at every process stage. We are on a mission to empower our clients, move from concept to cash in the shortest sustainable lead time by adopting human centric approach to business agility. Embracing the change is in our DNA. Things that keep us apart are Quicker and Seamless execution with End-to-end gamut of services. Our Global presence and Stellar Track Record give us an edge over our competitor.

Connect with us at advanceagility.com to learn about SAFe and SAFe Implementation. We provide various SAFe certification courses along with DevOps, Scrum, Agile Coaching and more trainings. Write to us at contact@advanceagilty.com for any agile training or consulting needs. We are always looking for competent agile trainers as well. So if you are a good trainer or want to become one, do get in touch with us to that we can learn, grow and achieve together.

[mwolf0epsilon]

The Light is Unforgiving, Seek Shelter in the Shade

Summary: Since returning to their collective senses, the being known as Torrent has come to learn that monsters don't hide from sunlight. In reality they walk freely and prey on those who seek the light as salvation.

[Short drabble alert. Force Wound/Eldritch Abomination Jesse hours are now! It's been a hot minute since I actually did anything with this part of the AU and that's honestly a crime. If I'm bringing Jesse (and the 332nd Division) back into the fray I might as well showcase the set of rules I set up for them!]

[THIS STORY IS NOW ON AO3]

---

There isn't a definite guide for what they are. That much Jesse has gathered as he slowly gets the hang of being the brain of the collective mass of bodies and souls that is "The Torrent". Not even the Jedi fully knew how Force Wounds worked (not that there were many of those anymore that could even begin to explain the basics to them), and honestly this was a phenomenon that even the most knowledged of the defunct Order would have preferred to remain buried under the proverbial sands of time.

Nothing good ever came from being around Force Wounds...

Did that make them, Torrent, something inherently bad? An evil that needed to be eradicated from the face of the galaxy, for the good of everyone that resided in it? Rex hadn't seemed to think so. Neither had Dove nor Echo, who'd done everything in their power to reawaken their humanity. Fought to unchain it from the primeval rage that had overtaken them in due time. Born of pain and fear.

Jesse wasn't sure how exactly to explain it. He could recall everything that had transpired after their deaths but, for some inexplicable reason, he couldn't quite grasp how he'd been feeling at the time. It's like a blanket had been laid over his emotions, suffocated them, and all that was left was a strange itch in his throat that felt like the ghost of a feeling.

Impersonal in a sense. But it shouldn't be so.

Maybe that was just how it was when you were sharing a body with hundreds of others. All feelings were yours but also not. And your one consciousness that you were more intimately aware of just had to accept that like the others did. Maybe that was just the chips in their brains adding to the baffling confusion.

Whatever the case, if he could grasp the concept of being a uniform shape, no extra limbs or eyes or teeth, then he should be able to figure out this whole hundreds of emotions thing as well. Make his own guide, so to speak.

Easier said than done really...

Torrent as a whole learned quickly. They were hundreds of minds, even if Jesse was the one in primary control. On an IQ standpoint they were a genius in their own right.

The first thing they learned was, of course, to look as human as they should. A skill they hadn't even realised they'd forgotten when they'd been so consumed with a lust for revenge, and that worsened when they'd begun luring and hunting clones to add to their immeasurable mass. The first time they'd seen their reflection they'd reeled back in horror at the twisted smoke, fire, armour and molten flesh. In due time (once Rex had eased them into a calmer state) they'd begun to look like Jesse again, but that first instance of seeing themselves as something so abominable had been jarring.

Sure, even now there were times where the number of irises and teeth they possessed were off. And sometimes they let one or two extra arms slip out for the convenience of having more hands to work with. Sometimes tattoos that belonged to the myriad of brothers of the 332nd snaked across their flesh unsupervised. But mostly they just looked like the ARC Trooper with the defunct Republic cog marking his face.

It felt fitting that since Jesse was in control, people should speak to him rather than... Whatever they all were now. Did a Force Wound even have a physical description they could adhere to that wasn't absolutely unfathomable?

Who really knew? Not them that's for sure!

The second thing they learned was that sunlight hurt. Actually they already knew this before they understood how to not look like a walking clusterfuck of limbs and eyeballs. But clarity had a way of messing with learned behaviours. As soon as they'd stepped foot outside to follow their rescue party, they'd all screamed and backed away in terror at the burning sensation.

It had been Dove's quick thinking that got them to throw a cloak over the writhing mass of limbs and agonised faces so that the light didn't hurt them anymore, but them damage had been done. Jesse, Torrent, all of them, had been disheartened at the prospect of being some kind of beast that belonged in the darkness.

A feeling Jesse still struggled with now, as none of his brothers really dared to consider such an idea out of fear that some kind of confirmation would be given to them. But the ARC couldn't ever let well enough alone, and he still thought about it. Still tried to deal with the guilt of what they'd all done in their moment of weakness. What he had done.

Chips or not. Clouded judgement or not. It was all on him. All of the terrible things they'd done when they'd been the thing in the storm.

At least Rex still looked at him like he deserved to be loved. Their ori'vod loved them still, despite nearly having died at their hands more than once.

The third thing that Torrent as a whole had learned, was that monsters (real monsters) didn't hide from sunlight. In reality they walk freely and prey on those who seek the light as salvation.

It puts a wrench in Jesse's pity-party and sends a soothing wave through all the conscious minds that comprise the amalgam Force Wound trooper(s).

On one hand that means that, even though they can't bare the feel of the light and that sometimes they don't look quite human, that doesn't mean they themselves are monsters. Merely a being of special requirements. On the other hand it also means that danger lurks everywhere that the light actually reaches, and that millions if not hundreds of people are in mortal peril without even knowing it.

And this is a much worse thought in Jesse's, all of Torrent's, opinion. They never did like dishonesty, the clones. And being hundreds of them made Torrent's thousands of hackles raise with the urge to do something about it.

And well it isn't hard to hunt monsters. They may hide in plain sight and operate under the light, but even someone with insidious intentions needed a refuge of sorts. A hidden lair to return to. And Torrent was nothing if not a specialist at hiding in deep dark corners to stalk their prey...

What was a rebellion without a skilled tracker and assassin?

No matter how unforgiving the light might be, Torrent will always seek out shelter in the dark. Their souls are luminous and all consuming among the cold shadows.

[sytortuga]

I liked this analysis very much...

https://collider.com/the-mandalorian-din-djarin-pedro-pascal-religious-trauma/

Here's the transcription:

The Mandalorian': How Din Djarin's Arc Is an Allegory for Religious Trauma

BY MAGGIE LOVITT

Din Djarin's journey with his identity as a Mandalorian may be more than familiar to some.

Since George Lucas first dreamed up the existence of Star Wars, it has been a truth universally acknowledged that the franchise borrows from real-life religion and culture. It all makes sense when you consider that before Lucas made his venture into film, he was a student of anthropology. The cultures, the societal patterns, historical incidents, and the rich mythology that he was exposed to all became the foundation of the universe that he created. While Lucas may no longer be involved with the franchise creatively, his academic influences still feel like a driving force of what goes into the creation of new characters. In particular, the very ethos of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) evokes reflection on the impact that isolated cults have on the upbringing of a foundling.

Following the release of “Return of The Mandalorian,” the fifth episode of The Book of Boba Fett, a conversation about religious trauma seems more relevant than ever. In the episode we see Din Djarin seeking out what remains of his covert and reverting, though subtly, to the man that he was before Grogu. He unwaveringly accepts The Armorer’s (Emily Swallow) word as absolute truth, he relinquishes his beskar spear, and he submits to once again being a cog in the machine that is the Children of the Watch. It may feel like character regression to some viewers — because it is, and it’s an action that is distinctly linked to a religious upbringing.

What’s so interesting about The Armorer’s reaction about Din removing his helmet is that she asks no follow-up questions. She is steadfast in her belief that the only way to be a true, dedicated follower of The Way is to uphold its rules without exception. Had she questioned him about the removal, she might have learned that his decision was the most Mandalorian course of action possible. Mandalorians are duty-bound to protect the foundlings in their care, and Din sacrificed his place within the Children of the Watch in order to protect Grogu. However, in the eyes of the Mandalore, he had committed a transgression in the removal of his helmet, and, because some religions do operate in absolutes with no room for the gray space between black and white, The Armorer had no reason to care about the why of his actions.

After the revelation that he broke this sacred vow, the specific verbiage used by Paz Viszla is interesting and for anyone with religious trauma, it probably set off warning sirens. An apostate is someone who renounces their religion, but for Din he didn’t technically make that decision. Despite everything that happened to him in the last two seasons of The Mandalorian, he was still willing to return to the fold and follow The Armorer without question. Even when she makes it clear that he is no longer a Mandalorian in name, he immediately resorts to supplication—begging her for atonement and forgiveness. And where might he find redemption? By dipping into the unreachable water in the mines on Mandalore. It’s an unmistakable allusion to baptism. It’s not uncommon for followers of Christianity (specifically Baptist, in this case) to feel pressured into taking a dip in the baptismal waters to erase their sins and recommit themselves to the religion.

Where the first season of The Mandalorian introduced us to Din Djarin, the second season was a study of how to deconstruct a Mandalorian. In the finale of the first season, his helmet is removed in order to save his life, but it doesn’t technically break the creed because it was only a droid that saw his face and later met a sad fate. But in “The Believer,” Din had been faced with an unavoidable situation that forced him to not only take off his armor and wear a Stormtrooper’s armor, but to remove his helmet in a room full of enemies. And ultimately there is no question about whether his choice was wrong or right—he acted like a parent who was willing to do anything to get his child back.

“The Believer” also makes an interesting point in showing that the way in which Din fights—like a Mandalorian—directly leads to him being hurt when he’s wearing the Stormtrooper armor. If you take that and compare it to the way he wields the Darksaber in “Return of the Mandalorian,” a case could be made that in order to successfully wield the blade, he simply cannot be a Mandalorian. Moving forward it seems like he will have to figure out who he is without the omnipresent Creed driving his actions and influencing his decisions. This is a phenomenon that so many former believers recognize as the unlearning process. What once worked for them no longer works for them outside of the constraints of religious pressure. Even the prophecy that The Armorer delivers seems to imply that maybe the person meant to rule and unite Mandalore is someone who doesn’t follow the Creed—it would certainly be a deviation from those that ran Mandalore into the ground and the qualms about who belongs within the Mandalorians. A foundling raised in the Watch, who broke the Creed to protect his own foundling, seems like the right person to unify a broken culture.

The execution of Din’s crisis of faith was beautiful too, because in the lead up to this moment there were already cracks in his armor. Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) provided the first chip in showing him that anyone can wear the armor, Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) critiqued the Children of the Watch and showed that Mandalorians born into the culture can remove their helmets (in “The Heiress,” which was also directed by Bryce Dallas Howard), and Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) showed him an alternative route that his own life could have taken. In the second season, Din lost everything — his home, the Razor Crest, the Child (both to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and then to Luke Skywalker), and his sense of identity as he tried to figure out who he was as a Mandalorian. As anyone who has drifted away from the religion that they were raised in will understand, the desire to return to it in moments of extreme stress and upheaval is completely natural.

Religion fundamentally transforms how your brain reacts to pretty much anything in life. Through Din's eyes, we learn that he has been dedicated to his life within the Children of the Watch since he was taken in as a child. He feels obligated to provide to them and to essentially pay a tithe to the collective because they saved him and give him life. Throughout the series, he has a very sheltered view of the world and is largely oblivious to current events and even the history of Mandalorians—which is an intentional choice by the Watch. You can keep your followers submissive if they have no frame of reference for the outside world, only that what goes on out there is bad. And he has been trained to feel that way about other Mandalorians, through the way that he reacts to Bo-Katan removing her helmet. His immediate reaction is to be hostile and lash out. He was a child when he was first introduced to The Way and the fear of being ostracized from the only family he has likely motivated him to avoid learning anything outside what the covert has taught him.

Even going back to the first season of The Mandalorian, in another episode directed by Howard, the series used a woman as a source of temptation in "The Sanctuary." Early in his experience as the Child’s caretaker, Din is introduced to Omera (Julia Jones) who acts very much as "an angel of the hearth." She’s a single mother, with impressive combat skills, and a giving heart. She presents a tempting offer to Din—he could settle down on Sorgan, remove his helmet, and indulge in a peaceful life—but almost immediately he is reminded of his life outside this sanctum. This is also an example of how The Mandalorian also uses phrasing that is inherently linked to Christianity. The Child is clearly influenced by the religious iconography of the Madonna and Child and there are episodes entitled “The Believer,” “The Sanctuary,” “The Sin,” “The Redemption”—all of which evoke very specific images for anyone even remotely familiar with these terms in religion.

Unlearning is the hardest part of removing yourself from a toxic and limiting religious environment. For Din, he was forcefully removed from the faith, which poses new challenges for how he will process that trauma after “Return of the Mandalorian.” He was willing to reshape himself to fit back into the covert, but their unmovable ideologies prevented that. Even after he’s cast out by The Armorer, he still refers to himself as a Mandalorian and cites it as his religion. Putting aside something that is so inherently bound to your identity is a slow and painful process.

What’s intriguing is the fact that Howard is the director of three episodes that go the furthest in approaching Din’s connection to The Children of the Watch — “The Sanctuary,” “The Heiress,” and “Return of the Mandalorian.” Hopefully, she’ll play a bigger part in the third season of The Mandalorian as its lead continues to unpack the trauma associated with his upbringing; she clearly understands how to present the tension and delivery with nuance and introspection. Din has been forced to live an isolated existence, kow-towing to religious ideologies that never had his best interests in mind and by extension deliver hypocritical verdicts that seek to punish him for doing the right thing. The narrative direction that Din Djarin’s journey is headed in feels like an allegory for religious trauma, and to see it explored through the lens of Star Wars is as thrilling as it is heartbreaking for those of us who recognize a part of ourselves in the character.

[dr-lizortecho]

so, my pet crack theory… (anyone reading this is in fact going to regret it) is that Max and Heath hooked up during the time jump

now we know that Max was drowning himself in alcohol and sex (something he learned from dear Jim Valenti) and trying to avoid anything that reminded him of Liz, outside of his forays into the desert with her dad’s churros to listen to her dissect his corpse. He’s dramatic at best, how else to achieve his cowboy persona? Anyways, in 3x05 a few different pieces of information are presented on screen, first being Heath texting Max from his phone. Which is a reach (everything about this is though), because it would have been easier to text Max through Liz’s. Avoid Max coming in gun’s blazing imagining a Manes man or some other government agency to be sticking their noses in his business. Furthermore, Max seems less worried about the origination of the text than it’s content. Which never says Liz is in danger, just her location and that she needs him.

also, I mean, just look at their faces when they first land eyes on each other… there’s some sort of chemistry/awe there at the very least

anyways, back on subject. Max’s first words aren’t about Liz’s safety or well being, even though she is the first thing he would see upon entering the Crash Down, since Heath was still leaving the freezer. He instead asks Heath, “who are you?” which is exactly what someone would ask their one night stand who managed to weasel themselves between them and their ex. In Max’s mind Heath went from being a fun one night bicurious experience to being mystery number one. Essentially from being a tourist he ran into at a bar to being potentially a danger to him and his family. Which only became more solidified as his connection to Genoryx came to light.

Then Heath does another strange thing. He introduces them to each other by full name, which is awkward and stilted especially in the situation. Since Liz is apparently dying of a parasite right in between them. On top of that, Max’s reaction is to furrow his brows and go silent for a bit. Like he’s trying to figure out their footing, since obviously neither of them want Liz to particularly know they are already acquainted. And no one tells lies or even misdirects, since they wouldn’t have done a real name swap. Max didn’t have a contact set up for Heath in this hypothetical. And Heath was probably crossing his fingers that Liz’s Max was some other random dude also named Max. Comforting himself with the fact that the one he had slept with was a bartender.

now, the scene that made this theory come into existence. In 3x09 when Max and Liz break into Heath’s place he discovers a t shirt. One from the Wild Pony, one of the bars in Roswell which Heath would have occasion to be at when he was visiting Dallas. As well as the bar Max worked at for a decent chunk of the missing year. Almost as soon as Max sees the shirt it’s like the memories come flooding back to him, and the correlation that Heath could have alien spores making the cogs in his mind turn. Because here was a guy who worked for Genoryx, had a one night stand with him in a place he shouldn’t have been (since they didn’t know about Dallas yet), and had managed to be partners with and date Liz. The idea that Heath was using Liz was what he vocally went on about, except deep down he felt used himself. While Max claims Liz was blind sided looking for a partner it is more safe to assume he is talking about himself. Since Liz didn’t move to California to find someone, that was what Max had been doing in the gap year. As Kyle pointed out Liz hadn’t even tried, she’d been waiting for Max to come to her.

In 3x12 Heath tells Max he would rather not talk to the boyfriend of his ex, and Max drops the all familiar line of “talk to me like I’m just some guy from Roswell” which is not quite evidence except that they both seem to relax slightly at this. Like they are resetting to some way of existing around each other, almost like Max is saying forget about Liz, let’s just talk.

Bonus: that scene where Max checks Heath out…

[highsviolets]

INTERVIEW NO. 1: RACHEL @djarinsbeskar

hello hello! i am so happy to announce that rachel — aka the immense talent that is @djarinsbeskar — has agreed to be my first interviewee for this new series! thank you to rach and to each one of you for all of your support. to read more about the project, click here, and to submit an author, click here.

| why rachel? |

Rachel captured my imagination from the first time we interacted as mutuals-in-law. She’s bursting with energy and vivaciousness, with a current of kindness just underneath everything she does. Her work is no exception. Oftentimes gritty, raw, and exposing (in … ahem…more ways than one), Rachel challenges her readers to dig deeper into both the story and themselves. Her smut brings a particular fire as it’s laced with need, desire, and mutual trust that leads us deeper into the characters’ identities and how physical affection can mimic other forms of intimacy. She’s a tour de force in this fandom and an absolute joy.

| known for |

Engaging with and encouraging other authors, cultivating inspo posts, attention to world building & character development

| my favorites |

Stitches

Boxer!Din

Full Masterlist • Ko-Fi

| q & a |

When did you start writing? What was that project, and what was it like? Has that feeling or process ever changed over time? Why?

I can’t remember a time I wasn’t writing. I was an avid reader, as I think most writers are—and I remember, after picking up Lord of the Rings—that I could live so many lives, experience so many things, all from the pages of a book. I could make sense of the world through words and ink and paper. And it offered me a level of peace and clarity I wanted to share with others. So, I started writing.

My first project I remember to this day, was a short story about a dog. I had been so heartbroken when I learned that dogs were colourblind. I must have been about seven or eight at the time, and I was fixated on this idea that dogs couldn’t see the vibrant hues that made the world beautiful. It was something I wanted to change—and with all the righteous anger of a child not getting their own way, I sulked over the fact that I couldn’t. Until I wrote it down.

“How do dogs see colour?”

And much like my writing today, I answered myself.

“Dogs don’t need to see colour. Dogs smell colour.”

And so, I wrote a story, about a puppy being brought on different walks by its owner. And with every new street it walked down—colour bloomed with scent. Colours more beautiful and vibrant than we could ever hope to see with our eyes. And it gave me solace and helped me work through an emotion that – granted was immature and inconsequential – had affected me. To this day, I still smile seeing dogs sniffing at everything they pass on their walks. Smelling colour. It gave me the key to my favourite thing in life. I don’t think my process has changed much since then. Much of what I write is based on a skeleton plan, but I leave room for characters to speak and feel as they need to. I like to know the starting point and destination of a chapter—but how they get there, that still falls to instinct. I think I’ve found a happy medium of strict planning and winging it that suits me now—and hopefully it will continue to improve over time!

When did you start posting your writing, and on what platform? What gave you the push to do that?

I mean, fanfiction has always been part of my life. I think anyone who was growing up in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s found their way to fanfiction.net at some time or other. The wild west compared to what we have now! My first post was for the Lord of the Rings fandom on fanfiction.net. It was an anthology of the story told through the eyes of the steeds. Bill the Pony, Shadowfax—it was all very innocent. That was probably in 2010 when I was fifteen. I had been wanting to share writing for a long time but was worried about how it would be received. I didn’t really have a gauge on my level or my creativity and – one of the many flaws of someone with crippling perfectionism – I only ever wanted to provide perfection. That was a major inhibitor when I was younger. By wanting it to be perfect, I never posted anything. Until that stupidly cute LOTR fic. It was freeing to write something that no one but me had any interest in, because if I was writing for myself then there was no one to disappoint, right? And that was all it took. I had some pauses over the years between college and life and such, but I’ve never lost that mindset when it comes to posting.

What your favorite work of yours that you have ever written? Why is it your favorite? What is more important to you when considering your own stories for your own enjoyment — characters? fandom? spice? emotional development? the work you’ve put into it? Is that different than what you enjoy reading most in other people’s fics?

I don’t think it’ll come as much of a surprise when I say Stitches. While not original, I mean—it follows the plot of the Mandalorian quite diligently, it is the piece of work I really hold very close to my heart. Din Djarin as a character is what got me back into writing after what must have been five years? He inspired something. His manner, his personality—he resonated with me as a person in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. And gave me back a creative outlet I had been missing.

It’s funny to say out loud—but I wanted to give him something? I spent so long thinking about his character that half my brain felt like it belonged to him—how he reacted and responded to things etc. and of course, like every dreamy Pisces—I wanted to give him love and happiness. So, Stitches came along. Personally, when writing—it’s a combination of characters, emotional development and spice (I can’t help myself) and when we can follow that development. With Stitches, it’s definitely the spice that is the conduit for development—but I adore showing how the physical can help people who struggle to communicate emotions too complex for words.

I don’t usually read for Din, as most people know—but I do enjoy reading the type of work that Stitches is. Human, damaged—but still with an undercurrent of hope that makes me think of children’s books.

You said, “much like writing today, I answered myself.” Could you talk about that in relation to Stitches?

So, I’m endlessly curious, it has to be said. Especially about why people are the way they are. Why people do A instead of B. Why X person’s immediate thought went to this place instead of that place. And I’m rarely satisfied with superficial explanations. One of the most exciting parts of writing and fanfiction especially, is making sense of that why. There can be countless explanations, some that are content with what is seen on the surface and some that go deep and some that go even deeper still.

Stitches is almost a – very long winded and much too long – answer to the questions I was so intrigued by about Din Djarin, about the Mandalorian and about the Star Wars universe as a whole. I often wondered what happened to people after the Rebellion, the normal people who fought—the people in the background. What did they do next? Did some of them suffer from PTSD? What was the galaxy like right after the Empire fell? That first season of the Mandalorian answered some of those questions, but I wanted to know more. So, I created a reader insert who was a combat medic—and through her, I let myself answer the questions of what happened next.

Regarding Din as a character, I wanted to know what a bounty hunter with a code of honour would do in certain situations—what made him tick, what made hm vulnerable. I wanted to explore the discovery of his identity. Din Djarin didn’t exist after he was taken from Aq Vetina. He became a cog in a very efficient machine of Mandalorians—and it was safe there. I wanted to see what – or who – might encourage him to step into his own. Grogu was that person in a familial sense, but what about romantically? What about individually? There’s so much to explore with this man! So many facets of personality and nuances of character that make him so gorgeous to write and think about.

Talk to me about the Din Djarin Athletic Universe. How does Din as all of these forms of athlete play off who you see him as in canon?

The Athletic Universe! How I adore my athletes. Despite being in a modern setting, I have kept the core of Din’s character in each of them (at least I hope I have!). I like to divide Din’s character into three phases when it comes to canon because he’s not as immovable as people seem to think he is. We discussed this before, how I see Din as a water element—adaptable, but strong enough that he can be as steadfast as rock. But I digress, the first phase is the character we see in the first episode. Basically, before Grogu. There’s an aggressive brutality to Din when we see him bounty hunting. He works on autopilot and isn’t swayed by sob stories or promises. He has the covert but is ultimately separate. Those soft feelings he comes to recognise when he has Grogu are dormant – not non-existent – but they haven’t been nurtured or encouraged. This is the point I extracted Boxer!Din’s personality and story from.

Cyclist!Din on the other hand—is already a father, a biological father to Grogu. And his personality, I took from that moment in the finale of Season two where I believe Din’s transformative arc of character solidified. He was always a father to Grogu, but I do believe that moment where he removes his helmet is the moment, he accepts that role fully in his heart and mind. And that is why I don’t believe for a second, that removing his helmet was him breaking his Creed. In fact, I believe it was the purest act he could do in devotion to his Creed—to his foundling, to his son. The Cyclist!AU is very much the character I see canon Din having should Grogu have stayed with him. This single dad who isn’t quite sure how he got to where he is now—but does anything and everything for his child without thought. It’s a natural instinct for him, and I like exploring those possibilities with Cyclist!Din.

You also said, “he has the covert but is ultimately separate.” What does it take for him — and you — to get to that point of being ‘not separate?’

I mentioned this above, but one of the biggest interests I have in Din as a character is his identity. He’s a Mandalorian, he’s a bounty hunter, he’s the child’s guardian but those are all what he is, not who. I think Din is separate while being part of the covert because he doesn’t know. I don’t think anyone can really be part of something if they don’t know who they are or, they struggle with their identity. It’s curious to me—how you can deceive even yourself to mimic the standard set for the many. In the boxer verse, he identifies himself in relation to his boxing—and every part of his outward personality exhibits those qualities. But when he’s given a softer touch—an outlet of affection, and comfort—we see the softer side of him surface. It’s very much the same with Stitches Din. Identity is like anything, emotions—relationships, bodies. It needs nurturing to thrive, an open door—a safe space. At least, that’s what goes through my mind when I think of him.

Who is your favorite character to read?

Frankie because there are so many ways his character can be interpreted and there are some stellar versions of him that I think of at least once a day. Javi because he reminds me of kintsugi-- golden recovery, broken pottery where the cracks are highlighted with gold. I also adore reading for Boba Fett, Paz Viszla and the clones!

Is there anything else you want your readers to know about you, your writing, or your creative process?

Hmm... only that I am quite literally a gremlin clown who is always here to chat Din, Star Wars, literature, book recs and anything else under the sun! I like to hear people's stories, their opinions etc. it helps me see things from alternative points of view and can truly help the writing process! Other than that, I think I can only thank readers for putting up with my ridiculously long chapters and rambling introspection. Thank you for indulging me always! ❤️

[soranis-sunshadow]

Another head canon i have is that the rank of Force Captain comes from the Scorpia Kingdom and not a Hordak invention.

Hordak obviously doesn't come from a place where ranks even exist. I even headcanon the idea that he called himself a general since he learned that term from Etherians and then applied it to his own life situation.

So yeah, Force Captains are Scorpia Kingdom idea since Hordak didn't have a conception of hierarchy outside of Prime is everything and everything and then the rest of them.

Hordak, the 'top general'

I happen to share that headcannon of yours actually. It’s funny how multiple fans come up with the same idea sometimes, it’s really a credit to the plausibility of that interpretation and to our group imagination.

You’re absolutely correct in stating that Horde Prime’s cult did not have ranks aside from Horde Prime as God Emperor and his brothers which were nothing but nameless faceless interchangeable cogs. that is Canon fact. We have seen the way he relates to his little brothers in season five. They are at most living cattle to him.

Giving them any ranks would mean assigning an identity to them even in the mildest sense. Going by his reaction from the ending of season four we can gauge that he considers the idea of his little brothers having an identity as an abominable conceptand completely reprehensible.

It makes little sense then, for Horde Prime to be the one actually assigning them an identity himself by giving them specific individual tasks.

It’s absolutely eerie how we’ve had the same idea about Hordak giving himself the rank of general by misremembering or being convinced of it by an external agent. I actually mentioned that in a post a while back. Let me look for it. It’s in the repost of this essay

It's also touched upon in the initial essay which is about religious trauma syndrome. You should give it a read, you might find it entertaining.

Another reason why I find the idea of Hordak misremembering what his role was under Horde Prime and trying to put together what parts of it he doesn’t remember through of sort of nostalgic filter combined with adding to it with experiences from his current life is actually that it underlines the inequity between Horde Prime’s view of his clones and the clones themselves.

Hordak was clearly not and has never been a general but him thinking that he was special and beloved of Prime was a sort of soothing story he told himself in order to keep going while struggling to earn his redemption in the eyes of his God. This love was so important to Hordak that he had no other purpose in life other than earning it back after he believed it was his fault he had lost it.

Now for all intents and purposes, this is Hordak’s very subjective very personal and very emotional recalling of the events. Of course he would be emotional about it considering the repercussions it had on his life.

For all we know, Horde Prime may just have noticed that one of his little toys was getting a little bit ruffled and decided to swap him in with a newer one. No sense keeping an ugly toy somewhere you have to see it so he reassigned that one brother to a position more fitting - as far away from Him as He could, preferably somewhere where Horde Prime would not have to look at the broken thing, the only place befitting such a defect.

it's also possible that there had never been a reason for Hordak's reassignment to the front lines and Horde Prime had just sent whatever random clone there because he needed extra bodies to soak bullets. The fact that it had been done for a reason may just as well have been Hordak's interpretation of the events.

We don't know what Prime thought at the time and neither does Hordak. He just assumed there must have been the reason for it.

The one thing that may have been remarkable about Hordak to begin with was that he disappeared instead of dying on the battlefield as he was intended to. It makes sense to me that the reason Horde Prime even kept a file on this specific clone was because of the energy reading that was registered upon its disappearance aka Light Hope’s portal that brought said clone to Despondos.

Even if He doesn’t care about His toys, I imagine that Horde Prime does care about misplacing them or having them taken from Him by hostile entities.

Horde Prime didn’t notice or care how this little decision would affect His devout little brother. Why would He? He had hundreds or thousands of them. One little brother isn’t that special.

The contrast between how Hordak perceived his God’s love and that God’s actual indifference towards him is poignant.

It’s actually sad that so many people completely dismiss Hordak’s complexity and overlook his story because it speaks so deeply about faith and how one’s perception of God’s love can be used against them.

Hordak had tried to come up with any reason why he was actually special, why he mattered and how he could earn that love back. Because that’s what he was doing all of this for. Everything he started on Etheria had been done in his desperate bid to earn the love one of an indifferent God. It was futile. It always had been, but Hordak latched at anything to convince himself that the love had been real and that he had a chance of earning it back. He had explained to himself that the reason he had been thrown away begin with had been his own inherent worthlessness, and not like the fact that he was sick, because worthlessness was something he could actually fix. He could prove his utility and earn forgiveness for the sin of being imperfect and broken and small, even though he was defective - he was still useful. He still loved his God even though he thought he didn’t deserve God’s love so he got it in his head that he could earn that love by fixing the parts of him that he assumed were broken and wrong.

So that love manifested in this title he assigned himself, that of “general”. That is what he thought his position as a close attendant to Horde Prime was because Etherian armies have generals so now Hordak had a new word for it.

Now, given the fact that he came from a society of equals under Prime, the idea of a hierarchy and how to organize one was not something that he was really equipped to deal with which is why he likely adopted a system that was already in place: a military hierarchy with the Generals and Force Captains and Sergeants and Foot Soldiers…

The Army does not seem to be of his making or design, he just ended up as its leader somehow through a means unexplained in Canon and he delegated the parts of it he was incapable of administrating ( two people who misused the power they were given like Shadow Weaver). However that happened is up to personal interpretation but I like to think, and really it makes a lot more sense- that a lone cultist, severely lacking in survival skills or people skills probably stumbled into a tense political situation somehow and through his own utility he somehow ended up being in charge after all the other more fitting candidates for the role had been removed/ had perished.

Now how that happened is really up to personal preference since the show is distressingly vague about how the Etherian Horde started in the first place. I like the idea of the Civil War or a Coup. Other people fancy that he committed genocide (by himself somehow while people allow themselves to be genocided) and that no one else had any objections to it.

I find the latter hilarious as a notion because it would make Scorpia an utter psychopath. I mean, she didn’t leave the Horde because it was responsible for killing her people but she left it instead because Catra was a bad friend. Utterly ludicrous! (And darkly funny in a sense)

Thank you for all the lovely asks! I love it when people give me the chance to talk about these headcannons and it’s cool that we share so many of them. Have a nice day!