#what does a front end alignment consist of

[cannonauto]

Wondering what does a front end alignment consist of? A wheel alignment will save your tires, and the steering and suspension systems.

[clausenauto]

Wonder what does a car alignment consist of? A wheel alignment will save your tires, and the steering and suspension systems.

[expertcarcare]

Are you wondering how often wheel alignment should be done? If your car is showing signs of misalignment, schedule car alignment service.

[venusincleo]

aligned.

chapter one. the way.

Warnings: MDNI • Explicit • Terry Richmond x Black!OC, Self!Insert, a lil fluff, just introductions. 

Summary: Right place, right time. When Cleo meets Terry, the rugged pretty boy, at the club on a celebratory night, it seems like the first in a string of divinely twisted moments. But will fate be enough to move their love along, or will they have to weather some storms before their happy ending?

Word Count: 1.3k❣

A/N: Hiiiiii! Long time no... read? lmaoooo but i hope you enjoy this first part of aligned. 🤭

• • •

It had gotten to the point where she just didn’t care anymore. She didn’t look over her shoulder to see if some fine man just so happened to be watching her, or peer across the room to stake her claim over a stranger. It was no use. She was always the last to get picked for anything good; the last of her family and the last of her friends. Of no fault to them of course.

It may have been her quirky way of saying things, her very singular interests, or how serious she could get about the things that mattered to her. That always seemed to intimidate people; her intensity.

But at this point in her life, Cleo had begun to pull her energy back inwards, and focus on herself for once.

She honed in on what her style was, her favorite nail shape and color, how she loved to wear her hair. She focused solely on the things that brought her joy; that benefited her and no one else.

Cleo was so effective, she even figured out how she wanted to use her purpose, and began on the path she dreamed of. It was as if she suddenly found herself living by her mother’s words: the mark of a woman is her signature. So that’s what she found. Her signature scent, her signature look, her signature way.

It wasn’t her intention to lure him in, or anyone for that matter. But when you live in your own world, and love it? You’re bound to have a few tourists.

Terry’s eyes scaled the live club, carefully moving from the bottom level to the top to scope out anything unusual. It was apart of his routine: every hour on the hour make sure everything was secure on the property, and keep a keen ear out for any distrubances. But as the Head of Luxe Nightclub security, he found that he’d seen more inch long skirts, pasties for shirts, and aching feet than any actual fights. It was a perk.

Easy work from now on was the goal, a way to still do some good without the fear of constantly being on the frontlines. He had subordinates for that.

As he rounded the club, examining the partiers and human mannequins alike, he made his way back to the front, where the hour just hit 11:00 p.m.

Three girls shuffled into the door from the cool spring air, all of their brown skin was glistening to perfection, dresses seemingly tailored to their exact sizes, and hair befitting to all of them. The guard that was stationed at the door quickly ran the handheld metal detector over all of their frames, and as Terry made sure to keep watch of anything he may have missed, his eyes met the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

She was like the median of the group; not the skinniest nor the thickest, but fine as hell. Her hair consisted of dark locs that fell just past her shoulders, her deep brown skin was covered in a few tattoos along her arms, and her little black dress clung to her most promising assets.

Though he didn’t want to stare, he found his eyes stuck on her, noticing her d-cup breasts that sat under her low plunge neckline. And then there were those eyes. Almond shaped yet big, and sort of doe-like. Even though she looked like she belonged, her eyes stood out; as if she was the most innocent girl in the room.

Those very eyes flickered up, catching his gaze as she got past the entryway of the club.

Cleo blinked in his direction, taking in the sight of him. His eyes seemed…green? And…blue? Teal maybe? She didn’t fully know, but they were gorgeous, feline even and starkly juxtaposing the serious scowl on his face. But judging from the vest and stealthily holstered gun, she figured he had to look that way.

Had to look menacing just in case someone wanted to try something while he was on the clock. Had to watch her for a full minute as she walked past to find her and her friends’ section.

Throughout the night, she completely forgot about the tall man. She drank, and danced, then drank again. Soon, she could feel the bass of the hip-hop songs playing in her body, and she let the liquor take away any inhibitions she had around gettin up on the small table within their section. As Saweetie’s voice blared through the speakers, Cleo swayed happily, prompting her friends to cheer her on.

Mrs. Make it Happen, doing numbers got em pissed!

She pointed her forefingers at herself as she sang along, and all of her friends jammed right with her. The whole club erupted in different voices singing the lyrics, and she smiled at the atmosphere.

Arch yo back, toot it up, damn I’m cute as fuck!

As Cleo followed the instructions of the line, her friends screamed even louder, glad that she was finally letting loose.

Terry could hear the happy screams across the room, his ears perking up at the sound. He had finally gotten himself to stop staring over at the goddess of a woman that he saw walk in, and now everything in her direction was pulling him back in.

Allowing himself to glance over, he saw a figure higher than all the rest, and on a double take, his brows furrowed as he realized who it was. Her. Dancing on the table with all of her friends egging her on.

Though he loved the sight of her twerking her ass to this melodic rap tune, he couldn’t be caught letting a liability slip under his radar. He walked slow, wanting to let her have her moment, but as he watched on, her other friend got on the table as well, and then another girl from one of the other sections nearby. Gotdamnit. Terry sped up his steps, and as he walked up on the table, he looked up at the woman in awe.

“Excuse me, I’m gonna need y’all to get off this table.” His deep voice projected in the loud room, and even though everyone heard him, only Cleo looked down. Her body didn’t stop moving, she swayed to the end of the song as the DJ mixed it with something else, but she couldn’t help but smile at the man who seemed determined to get her down.

A ghost of a smile met Terry’s face as he reached his hand up, and she put her hand in his, instantly feeling his warmth as she stepped down carefully. Finally at the height that her heels afforded her, Cleo looked up at the tall man, curious about his continued eye contact.

“You gotta be careful, these tables ain’t meant to handle all’a that.” He flirted absentmindedly, giving her a quick look down her body and back up to her eyes.

“Mmh, are you?” Cleo retorted, Hennessy and sass lacing her words.

“Hell yeah.” When the short woman’s smile grew, Terry realized his mistake. Shit. He really didn’t mean to say that outloud. But as her eyes lowered and her smile faltered just a little, he didn’t feel an ounce of regret in his body.

“I’m Cleo.” She replies, following suit and looking him up and down. A scoffed chuckle from the man’s lips made her smile grow yet again, and he rests his hands in the straps of his bulletproof vest.

“Terry.”

• • •

I do not condone any translations, replications or plagiarisms of my original work. Please do not repost as your own. Reblogs and comments/notes welcome. ♥︎

• • •

༓TAGLIST༓

@motheroffae @nayaesworld @ms-mosley-ifunastyyy @mymindisneverhere

*I just tagged a couple people but if you want to be removed or added, let me know in the comments.♡*

[hot-astrology]

The Aqaurius Mind: Pluto in Aquarius, Age of Aqaurius, and 2024

The recent events surrounding Katt Williams have stirred my interest, though this event barely scratches the surface of the cosmic workings. The year 2024 portends a great unraveling, as deciphered through its numerology (8) : the influence of Pluto looms over this year, with its placement in Aquarius.

This year's fixed energies signal transformation (Aquarius and Scorpio) and raw power (Taurus and Leo), with Uranus and Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Aquarius. The impact of the fixed signs will be significant and profound.

Saturn's presence in Pisces heralds a great awakening. ;I am reminded of my own natal Saturn in the 12th house, which imbues this area of spirituality with discipline and authenticity.Saturn brings discipline and realness to this area of spirituality. And this is what we will see happening for those who are already tapped in. For those who are not this is another great chance similar to 2020 to awaken.

Turning to Vedic astrology, Saturn is positioned in Aquarius this year. In 2020, this was such a huge alignment the only difference is there won't be a great conjunction. But I could see similar potency already. With certain things being spoken about, and if you haven't heard. It's because the government (Saturn) is trying to hide (pisces) a lot of this information away from society. We are fully in the age of aquarius, and things will only continue to get exposed. And no matter how much certain authorities try to hide or stop it. It won't stop until the FULL truth is revealed. No matter how many people are killed, and etc. More and more will keep popping up until the mission is done.

Now switching to tarot, because this is how I connect a lot of my dots. The 21st card (The world card); This card consists of a lion (leo), an eagle (scorpio), a human (Aqaurius), and a bull (Taurus) We see all of these energies being pulled towards us. The world card is the very last card in the tarot deck and represents completion. Now, I would like to turn this over to venuz because he knows more about the cycles and years and stuff. But, I do, I want to also talk about the 10th card in tarot. This is the wheel of fortune. This card signifies karma, destiny, and fate. The cycle of life. This card also resembles the world card but not in a way where things are ending. It shows how life goes on & on. This card also has The Lion, The Bull, The Human, and The Eagle. The four corners of the world/ The angels of the four directions. We see how that number 4 is so significant. These are cycles, and fixed is the last stage. Beyonce was right, America really does have a problem...... The Seal has been broken. ☺ Now, to you venuz.

Cycles......Yes, cycles! Everything evolves in cycles and changes, it's only so long you can stay in the same scenario or comfort zone without chaos knocking at your door. Aquarius is all about change and revolutionizing its surroundings and its people. This energy is at its boiling point. Every 20 years there's a recurrent cycle of same-aged groups with specific behaviors that change. So, if you add 3 more cycles to that it will be a 4 cycle switch, which every generation would affect the other. When the 80-year mark comes around it is a crucial period. Everything is done in cycles, it doesn't matter what it is. Saturn in Pisces will materialize everything you think of, or focus on. This will also bring about what you have been hiding, and not speaking. Thoughts of your subconscious will be brought to the surface, and some will have to face those fears. For Example, Katt Williams has known all of these lies, secrets, backstabbing, cheating, phony, and false allegations, so it's being materialized. All his thoughts, dreams, and deep-rooted issues about other comedians came out to the forefront without any care. As he spoke and exposed their behaviors in front of millions (mass 11th house) and demanded a change (pluto). This calls on the energy of Pluto in Aquarius.

Pluto in Aquarius loves erratic behavior and unexpected scenarios. Pluto comes with a punch and is at full throttle here. Many people are outspoken now and about change and freedom. Aquarius is all revolutionary and Pluto is a generational planet so change is bound to come. This is just the beginning of this world being destroyed and reconstructed into a new and profound system that isn't in line with these new powerful souls. This makes an 80-year period. 10 more years from now will make 90 years which is energy 9 which will be the completion of a major cycle. 8 is just the transformation period and reconstructing period, everything and everyone who wasn't living in their own essence and misusing their fortune, fame and financial abundance in a non conducive manner will reverse roles and be exposed for their inequality.

Like gorgeous Moon Devi said they're trying to hide what they're up to but Saturn in Pisces is revealing everything they have been hiding. So everyone wakes up to all those lies, takes off the rose-colored glasses, no more fantasy land, and is in a delusional state of mind. Pluto in Aquarius will allow everyone to have a voice and speak up, change what's not right, and stand for something even if you never did your whole life. If you were born in this era or if you were born to still be alive in this era get ready for the showdown. If watched in Living Color, this movie promises to be a captivating experience, delivering the answers to long-standing questions and revealing hidden truths. It has the potential to evoke personal fears, making them tangible and forcing introspection. It's a crucial time for everyone, not just celebrities or elites, to focus on self-healing, purification of the soul, and actualizing personal aspirations. Astrologically, the influence of Aquarius, which rules the 11th house of hopes and aspirations, and Pluto provides the necessary impetus to transform negative situations into positive ones, for oneself and the greater good.

However you envision your world to be, you will get the results in this transit. Imagine yourself as a kid at the art table, and you have a box of crayons, an blank piece of paper. The teacher tells you to draw your new world. How would you create it? Would it consist of peace, prosperity, and love? Then she says," Stand up in front of the class, and explain what your world looks like." You say it out loud in front of the class with conviction and power. Then you close your eyes and watch it manifest right before you, VOILA!!! 

From two aqaurius/uranus dominant spirits, ~ Prinz Venuz & Moon Devi

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭

𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐳 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐳 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢

[transmutationisms]

hi Caden! did you read anti oedipus, and if yes what did you think of it? you mentioned on your post about psychoanalysis being partial to this kind of approach, and i was curious if you had specific takes on deleuze, guattari, schizonalysis as a concept or its limitations?

blast from the past anti-oedipus was the first book i ever read that substantively criticised psych because i saw some people taking facile potshots at it on this very website in like 2017 and thought it sounded interesting lmao

alright so i have to be kind of broad here but essentially my opinion on psychoanalysis is that it's not, in itself, inherently liberatory or radical and certainly not inherently at odds with or even distinct from other modes of psychiatric practice. at the same time i think there are schools and elements of psychoanalytic methodology that can be those things, ie can be used to those ends by people who have those political commitments.

on here you do sometimes see this very ahistorical take à la byung-chul han that tries to understand psychoanalysis as inherently oppositional to psychopharmacology or other forms of therapy like cbt. this is really silly and fails to understand the ways in which psychiatry can and does practice pretty eclectically (because it's a very vibes based profession so it doesn't really matter). then there's the even further offshoot of this where people act like psychoanalysis has their preferred ('leftist') political character intrinsic to it, as though professional psychoanalytic organisations the world over aren't consistently on the front lines of things like medical transphobia (eg, check intellectual affilitions on the early ROGD papers; also, lacanians in france like generally). i would include schizoanalysis in this in the sense that there's nothing about it that prevents it being implemented in biased or hateful or repressive ways. its practitioners will have their own political commitments just like freudians or any other school; you can't just rely on an analysis being rhizomatic or whatever and think that solved what is a much more concrete problem of power relations and psychiatry as a tool of class suppression.

(i would extend that to scientific ideology generally but that's a longer post.)

what i do think is valuable in psychoanalysis (again now speaking very broadly of multiple sub-schools) is, and especially in comparison to other analytic models in psychology, it has a generally better capacity to deal with experiences like 'feeling at odds with yourself' or 'feeling tormented at your own thoughts'. the psychoanalytic unconscious or the process of repression of course aren't 'real' any more than the personality types or pathological entities of biopsychiatry, but the question is, are the concepts useful? i don't really align myself to a school of psychoanalysis or think it's a done endeavour but i do personally think elements of this family of approaches have real value for how we understand ourselves. this is again, though, something that in its barest scientific scaffolding will always admit of multiple & reactionary politics: for example, freud himself (and thus many many subsequent freudians) struggled with a tendency to be circumspect or sometimes openly ahistorical about the actual origins of the mental forms and archetypes he talked about (eg, the Daddy figure & its primacy in the psychological development he discussed). on the other hand, people like wilhelm reich have tried to develop this project to explicitly contextualise these elements socially and historically and materially: Daddy is in my head not because he's some universal form of human mental experience, but because of the primacy of the bourgeois marriage in capitalist social relations. etc.

so, wrt schizoanalysis and D&G particularly, my frustration frequently comes back to their failure to actually follow through on much of this. schizoanalysis is sort of an archetypal attempt to solve psychoanalysis by ideologising around the political character of psychiatry—what i mean is, the fantasy of schizoanalysis is that we can beat capitalist repression by playing what boil down to word games with it. psychoanalysis says the subject is a single 'i' and uses this conception of selfhood to achieve its economic and carceral ends (true), so schizoanalysis will evade the economics and carcerality by conceptualising selfhood as rhizomatic (unserious). i would tentatively level this more heavily at deleuze than guattari & keep meaning to do more historical reading about the latter & his actual clinical practice. but in general i do think both made (or acceded to, bc deleuze did basically all the writing as i understand it) basically silly idealist errors where anti-oedipus/a thousand plateaus shift from an analytic of capitalism to their attempt to actually formulate an alternative.

idk, it's frustrating talking psychoanalysis (on here or irl) because on the one hand you have to contend with people who think that, like, you could just reform the sex/gender discourses of lacanianism or jungianism to be more niceys to the transgenders by giving practitioners a DEI workshop. and then on the other hand you have to deal with hardcore neurobiopsych defenders who think that their fmri scans are somehow magically exempt from being theory-laden or narrativised, and that there's nothing to gain from an analytical mode that is capable of actually applying various dialectical motions rather than the crass positivism of basically all other psychiatry since like pinel. and meanwhile almost nobody in any of these camps is like, thinking clearly or honestly about the relationship between scientific ideology and political character, lmao.

tl;dr i don't think psychoanalysis will, can, or should save us & it may even be the case that no one has ever properly done it. but like yea i do think there are elements of the method that are useful for modelling our psychology, at any rate more useful than what else we've come up with thus far. and i would include schizoanalysis as under the same broad methodological umbrella, where its goal is more explicitly to grapple with politics qua psychology (libidinal investments) but it tries to do this primarily by discursive alternatives to the established form/s of the psyche—which alternatives may indeed be compatible with revolutionary politics but does not in themselves constitute such politics. As Eye Read D&G, anyway—im aware they are not the only people ever to have written about or practiced it, & aren't necessarily entitled to last word on it.

[dumplingsfordays]

you're so pretty, you're so popular

albedo x gn!reader [university au]

genre - fluff

summary - albedo has a little (not really) crush on a semi-popular kid at his school.

cw!: jealousy, albedo's obsessed with you (in a good way I promise), professor ships you two

note - i used to simp for albedo so hard and then I stopped playing genshin... he's still pretty boy in my book though. feel like they did his hair dirty though, it's supposed to be so fluffy and they just massacred it :(

and as always, thank you for reading!

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Albedo was jealous of your friends. That was the one simple truth that he never wanted to admit to himself. He'd see you laughing along with them after you'd shown them a funny video and wish that he was the one that was holding you from falling backwards onto the grass as you shook from incessant, adorable giggles, that he was the one whose face hurt from smiling at your radiant expression everyday.

As much as he loved truth, he couldn't bring himself to face it.

And he'd sit on a bench in the shade of an oak tree during lunch, whose relatives sparingly dotted the small field on which you were talking with your friends, and in a sketchbook he would draw you and him on that same grass, blanketed in sunshine as you talked about anything you'd want to. After all, hearing your voice was enough for him to break an uncommon smile.

Albedo did this day after day, and luckily for him, you'd sit on that grass with your friends consistently from midday to 1:30. It was a nice break from the otherwise monotonous existence he led - study, eat, study, walk, draw, work, eat, sleep.

Oddly enough, almost every activity on that list somehow related back to you. The margins of his notes were occasionally occupied by studies of your eyes and hair; when he'd eat, his meals were inspired by what you ate for lunch; his walks were accompanied by music that you'd recommended to him some time ago; and when he slept, his brain would sometimes conjure up images of you hugging him, saying that he'd need to hold out just a little longer and maybe when he has the chance, he'll ask you out. Drawing brought him passion and he did use it as a side source of income, but lately they'd been plagued by splintered fragments of your soul.

He did it automatically, really - he'd add in a dash of your favorite color, draw a person in the background with the same hairstyle that you usually wore, and one time, when Albedo had been painting a portrait for his art midterm, he sketched out a scarily accurate representation of your countenance, usual accessories and all.

He immediately erased it, of course. You were in the same class as him and if he brought the canvas to the professor in front of you, there was no way that you wouldn't be weirded out by him. Who does that, anyway? He'd be better off painting his little cousin, Klee, who was a ray of sunshine and was bound to earn him a hundred.

The stars aligned in such an unpredictable way for him towards the end of the year after a particularly tiring lecture. You, in all your bright, angelical beauty, walked right up to him as he was about to leave and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, 'Bedo!" you smile as he whips his head around to face you. You don't know what you do to him when you call him by his nickname - he practically melts each time.

"Hey." He's panicking - it's obviously not a bad thing, you're smiling, you don't think he's creepy or annoying or anything, so everything's okay, as long as he plays it cool and-

"So, I've been thinking," you start, averting your eyes to look at the floor and then back to him. "We haven't really hung out in a bit. Do you want to grab a bite somewhere sometime? It's okay if you can't, I know you're super busy and all but I found this super nice place that just opened nearby and I thought that it'd be nice to try it out."

He swallows. "Y-yeah, that would be nice-"

"Great!" Albedo blinks at your rather loud interruption and you clear your throat awkwardly. "Um, I mean, um, yeah! So, I think you have my number, so just text me when you're free and and we'll figure it out."

You'd never tell it to anyone but you find his small, shy grin so endearing. He stutters a little when he replies but you think it's cute - he'd never know that unless you told him straight to his face though.

"Sounds- sounds good, yeah."

"So, we're set?"

He nods and grabs his bag, offering to walk with him. You accept with a smile, to which his face reddens, and as you walk out together the professor sighs.

"Young love," he chuckles. "Guess they'll be sitting together from now on."

[actual-changeling]

i am still looking at the arcadia house and ohhhh boy do i have more thoughts. this is about to be an unhinged meta ramble written at 2 am so buckle in folks.

i know the most likely answer is that no one considered this important enough to keep track of so fuck continuity i guess, but i am not here for the easy answers.

if we ignore the windows that open to the outside even though they

a) SHOULDN'T based on their architecture and

b) do NOT have any kind of handle

we still end up with one big mystery.

side note: these are the windows. if you can spot something i missed, PLEASE tell me. they gotta open somehow because they ARE open, but????? anyway.

my question is what the FUCK is happening with the front facing window?

in case you're not as obsessed with this episode as i currently am, i mean this one:

i am pointing out the position of the streetlamp for reasons that will become clear in a second.

now, what's wrong with the window? by itself—nothing. but once you add the view from the inside it becomes funky. we get a small number of shots at different times. here is the window behind the (about to be bludgeoned to death) klines.

it looks like some sort of mosaic which is a weird place to put it but okay.

side note: why is the bed right in front of it? the room is big enough for other options, but i digress. we've already talked about the atrocious architectural and interior design choices.

said mosaic is barely visible from the outside, you can kinda see the outlines here.

i now have several more questions.

firstly, WHAT do we see through the window? on the right, you can spot what looks like some sort of shelf, and since the mosaic colours do not add up to form that kind of pattern, it HAS to be something else.

you can spot it at different angles so it's not just a weird reflection, it stays consistent.

this non-existent object, however, is the least of my worries. before i tell you what caused me to write this post, i want to point out the direction said window is facing.

we can spot the sun BEHIND the building both in the morning and in the early afternoon. since we get a nice shot of mulder's watch, we can deduce that this is south.

while this opens more questions regarding continuity (it's february. why is the sun still so high at 2:20 pm???), it's more important that we can now say with certainty that our mystery window is facing NORTH. north-facing means it does not get any direct sunlight throughout the day.

remember the streetlamp? it is lower then the window and also at an angle, meaning that its light will barely if at all shine through said window.

which finally brings us to my problem: what the FUCK is happening here?

this is at night, and even if it were earlier in the evening, the sun sets at, what, 6 pm? it's DARK. so please explain to me why the hell this window is back-lit (???) by something and also what the fuck that pattern is because it sure as hell doesn't match up with the one we see with the klines. that window has not changed between then and now.

no, there are no plants outside that could cause these shadows.

no, there are no lights directed at this window at an almost 90° angle, which you'd need to get this kind of fully lit-up result.

no, there are no lights underneath the roof overhang, as can be seen here.

there is nothing weird or notable about the outside of the window.

where are the lights coming from????? it looks like some sort of LED back-lit decoration but we KNOW it is a north-facing window. we can SEE parts of the mosaic from the outside, so there is no barrier or whatever between two panes of glass (???). which would also be a weird fucking choice but this house is might as well have that shit too; i would not be surprised.

so what is lighting up this window? if anyone has an explanation that makes sense and aligns with the facts we already have PLEASE tell me because i cannot figure it out.

the real x file of this episode is the mysterious, spontaneous lighting up, mosaic window that can apparently also shapeshift. did no one give a fuck about any of this and that's why it's the way it is? probably. but again, not here for the cop-out answers.

that concludes my increasingly less sane meta spiral for the day, feel free to add your own thoughts!!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Hecatoncheires - Day 165

Race: Jaki Arcana: Hanged Man Alignment: Dark-Neutral Requested by @/WakaWakaWaka February 28th, 2025

To celebrate the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, @kiyyunkaiwan (@/WakaWakaWaka on Discord) has requested that I cover a specific demon corresponding to a specific monster in Monster Hunter for each day this week! Today, we're going to be covering Hecatoncheires, who corresponds to Arkveld.

Okay, up front, I hope you all don't mind if I just refer to these things as Hecatons or 'hundred-handers' from here on out, because spelling Hecatoncheires consistently is going to make me have an aneurysm. Anyway, back on topic- Greek mythology has a lot of giants, oddly enough. Cyclopses, Titans, actual Giants, and the several miscellaneous massive monsters that are pretty much just bigger versions of regular animals are absolutely everywhere, and this isn't even mentioning the gods themselves. Of course, this could be seen as being due to how a bigger thing is generally seen as greater and more 'epic,' as one would definitely find a mountain more impressive than a molehill, even if that molehill was made with more work. However, among their more popular contemporaries, a certain kind of beast is tragically forgotten in the depths of Tartarus- today's Demon of the Day, the Heka- Hecatonkharries- Hekatoncharees- Heckatonkaries??? Whatever. The Hundred-Handed Ones, the Hecatoncher- HECATONCHEIRES. GOD.

In Greek Mythology, the creation myth is one of the most well known and retold ones- more specifically, though, the myth of the Olympians versus the Titans. However, to get started talking about the Hecatons, we actually need to go back in the mythological timeline to the start of the universe itself and the birth of the titans. There were only three of these beings born, each bared as the children of Uranus and Gaia, and they had a hundred arms and fifty heads each. Each one had a specific name- Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges- and were conceived as the siblings of the 12 Titans and 3 Cyclopses. To quote the Theogany,

Then from Earth and Sky came forth three more sons, great and strong, unspeakable, Cottus and Briareus and Gyges, presumptuous children. A hundred arms sprang forth from their shoulders, unapproachable, and upon their massive limbs grew fifty heads out of each one’s shoulders; and the mighty strength in their great forms was immense.

However, right away, Uranus went 'what the fuck are those things' and immediately banished them deep within Gaia alongside the rest of his children. In response to this, Gaia devised a plan alongside the Titans, and the Titans, led by Chronos ended up castrating Uranus. Why is it always castration... leave these people's balls alone... Anyway, rather famously, the Titans grew to become the supreme rulers of the world after they successfully un-balls'd Uranus, and as Chronos ended up marrying and having children with... his sister (but I give him a pass because, admittedly, there was literally no other option) they left the poor Hecaton's abandoned deep below. There the three giants sat within the bowels of Gaia, until one day, Zeus arrived inside as he always does. Zeus, having escaped from Chronos for reasons that you probably already know but I'll go over in his own analysis, was in the midst of a war with the titans, described famously as the Titanomachy. Gaia had told Zeus that his three giant uncles would prove invaluable in the war, and so he went down to rescue them.

The three Hecatons, thankful for Zeus's mercy in freeing them, ended up banding with the Olympians to battle with the Titans, proving vital due to their overwhelming strength and also their ability to throw boulders, apparently. The three giants eventually helped bind the Titans in Tartarus, and went on to live relatively peaceful lives. At least, as peaceful a life one can live in Ancient Greece when you're a hundred-handed, fifty-headed being. Not much else to go over here, as they're a rather open and shut case, so let's get into the design.

In SMT, they had to tone down the amount of heads and arms for rather obvious reasons, as many other artists have done the same, but the general concept is still there. The lock and chain around the shoulders is a rather obvious allusion to the fact they were locked up in Gaia, and the many heads and arms are because, well, that's pretty much what the Hecatons were all about. No real notes, it's a pretty solid design for a pretty solid and simple demon.

[utilitycaster]

Could you expand on Ideology re: Narrative in your Grand Theory?

Is it the thing that the player bases the character’s actions and arcs on, like the thing they focus their attention on when making choices?

Not sure if this counts as a good question, feel free to ignore if not.

Yeah, it's sort of a combination of how they make decisions and what they appear to be most comfortable with/what their strengths are. It's not prescriptive by any means. I should also note: this is specifically in the main campaigns in longform. I think Sam and Laura, for example, are way more comfortable taking a big risk in one-shots or miniseries (Arlo in Candela Obscura is perhaps the most clear example here), and I think Liam, Marisha, and Travis tend to play support/background in those.

To some extent, it's really hard to have character development while actually in the spotlight - that always necessarily has to come later - but Laura and Sam are really comfortable and skilled with their characters always working in their story as a consistent background theme, with scattered episodes of focus. I also think they're least comfortable being in a Big Spotlighted Arc; they both absolutely can do it but it's not what they tend to aim for. They do make big decisions sometimes, but they're often not decisions that put them front and center, and I say this with no judgment (and indeed, with a lot of respect) for those who do place their characters more front and center. I also find them both relatively risk-averse.

Travis and Taliesin tend to have very little aversion to risk. They make characters with pretty clear narrative hooks and are willing to leave quite a lot up to the DM, and will push big red buttons and deal with negative consequences. This is good, and frankly, while I think obsessing on your fave having A Briarwoods Arc (TM) is pointless (different characters need different things; Vex's story simply does not need that kind of central, concrete focus) it's also true that the reason Travis and Taliesin tend to get those is because they make characters for whom this is a natural thing to have, and because they are willing to put their characters on the line. I think Ashley is building up to this; she necessarily couldn't do so as easily when she was frequently away from the table, so Pike and Yasha have a lot of work in the background, but with Fearne she's been taking some pretty big swings. It's a style that requires a lot of confidence in your backstory and a lot of trust in the GM and a strong ability to pivot.

Liam and Marisha tend to have milestones. Marisha skews the furthest towards this; Liam can be a Big Red Button guy and he absolutely has the GM trust/willingness to lose that requires, but he's a little too controlled in his character's goals; I'd say that like, the spectrum here is Sam and Laura as the most background development, Ashley falling between background and big red button, Travis and Taliesin clearly in big red button, Liam between big red button and milestone, and Marisha solidly in milestone. The best way I can describe it is usually their characters have clear tasks to achieve, and they don't really change until the end. Keyleth is the clearest version of this, with the Aramente steps, but Beau's intermittent meetings with the Cobalt Soul also count. The other way I described it is that Big Red Button has the risk first and then the character development as they deal with consequences; Milestone has a big moment as a capstone to the development that's been happening. This style requires a pretty thorough character backstory because it needs to be proactive - it works best for a very driven character, and also requires someone who's willing to talk to the GM out of game to make sure they're broadly aligned (again, nonjudgmental; I think that communication like this is a good thing).

[ohmeadows]

Been having thoughts on that scene with Tingyun from patch 1.2, and some of the fandom’s dooming over it. Obviously, spoilers. But no leaks.

The ambiguous “is she dead? is she alive?” is interesting to me from a narrative standpoint, it’s fun to not know for me, but I feel like people are writing off Tingyun too easily: I’ve seen some people dismiss her being alive with “she’s a random fox girl with no combat prowess”. Here’s some arguments I have for why she might actually be alive. (Barring 1.x patches proving me wrong! Yay conclusions to character arcs!)

First of all, we know that the one who died in front of us was not Tingyun. It’s stated several times, and for argument’s sake, let’s take it at face value for what they say: that was not Tingyun. The body was “borrowed”. We further know that Phantylia was not always in possession of Tingyun’s body, suggesting at some point in her life (perhaps very recently, perhaps years ago) this borrowing began.

Working with these assumptions of of truth, I’d argue there are some factors that could point to Tingyun being alive.

The first thing we know about her, and what is shown in her personal stories dating back decades, is that she is an amicassador (amicable + ambassador), and holds a potential and powerful diplomatic sway as well as silver tongue. I think this alone suggests if she got herself in a dire position, she could have been in possession of information vital enough to be a valuable trade. Everyone needs information, even the Antimatter Legion. Maybe this trade of information has left her disinclined to come back to the Xianzhou as well.

Further, Tingyun has a very vested interest in the future of the Xianzhou, as expressed in her personal stories as well as Yukong pinning her hopes on her. Tingyun aims to achieve this through trade, something Yukong encourages, seeing no future in the Xianzhou fleet continuing chasing wars. Trading information, perhaps trading her body, if the gain was big or vital enough? I could see that happening. Panthylia is able to mimic Tingyun so precisely that it’s also an interesting factor to consider — perhaps Tingyun was consistently feeding information to her, either by choice or force.

It’s still unclear if real Tingyun was on the Luofu or not while all of this went down, and searching for a person on the Luofu is hard enough, consider the vastness of the universe — what diplomatic mission might this have happened during? How many years back? Tingyun’s personal stories imply she might sometimes be gone for years at a time.

(Her name is interesting in context, 停云, or “Lingering Clouds”, referencing a poem, but 停 carrying the meaning of “halt, stop” as well, implying stopping the clouds. There are a lot of cloud motifs associated with the Luofu in particular.)

A final option could be that yes, she has gone “”evil”” and aligned with the Antimatter Legion or perhaps the Yaoshi. That’s fun in its own ways, though I personally lean more towards her amicassador and heading up a trade guild as potential ways for her to survive in dire situations others might fail to navigate.

So. Even if she does end up dead, knock on wood, if nothing else, there’s some fodder for AU thoughts. We might get more clarity whenever the safe in her shop is opened and we get to read the letter she leaves there in case she never returns. (Probably the strongest hint for a death flag, but… Also a hint towards her having something more going on than what we see on the surface.)

End of the day, Tingyun is an important crux of the Xianzhou's future: war, or peace? Continue with the dual-edged deal they have made with Lan against the Yaoshi, or find another path entirely? A lot of important characters hint towards a general exhaustion with warmongering and the cost it has taken on them. Tingyun surviving could be an important future. Tingyun dying could be a galvanizing moment for Yukong. Whichever way it falls, it's bound to have important rippling effects beyond "boring weak fox girl".

[expertcarcare]

Wondering what does a car alignment consist of? A wheel alignment will save your tires, and the steering and suspension systems.

[junoshifts]

hii!! I’ve been a shifter for almost two years now, and I’ve tried all the methods in the book before setting up my method that matches me as someone who can’t visualize and has ADHD. I have gotten dreams related to my DR but they weren’t lucid, like I couldn’t control them although they were vivid.

That’s all that I’ve gotten, ik symptoms don’t matter since they just mean that ur body is falling asleep. But I feel like I can’t get that ‘final push’ yk? I always either end up sleeping or having a dream about my DR. How can I do more than that??

- 🌸

hello lovely! i am answering this incredibly late because i have been busy with life and such. i wanted to properly articulate my thoughts on your situation + questions, so without further ado, let’s get into it! more info below the cut 💛

first + foremost, when it comes to lucid dreaming, dawn has a wonderful post about his lucid dreaming tips here! i would definitely give this a read when you have a chance. i’m someone who also has wildly vivid dreams, but it has taken a bit of practice to get used to becoming aware or lucid during them. even now, i still struggle with it sometimes— and that’s okay!

personally, i consider any dreams about your desired reality (vivid or not) to be a loose subconscious connection to that reality. you’ve set an intention and aligned with that dr in some way, even if it wasn’t through a shift or proper awareness of that dr. i have quite a few drs inspired by vivid dreams, but to each their own! journaling the experiences of that dream can be beneficial in terms of lucid dreaming and becoming more aware of your actions in your dreams.

methods… my number one enemy. i personally do not love methods, i don’t think i have properly done a method in a long time because i end up more focused on completing the method “perfectly” (#perfectionism) rather than focusing on how it is meant to support me as i shift. instead of focusing on finding the “perfect” method, try to break down the pieces: does breath work help you? does counting feel beneficial? what helps you feel connected to your dr or dr self as you move through this experience? maybe writing down your intentions in a physical notebook will benefit you. either way, the same tools that help someone else might not work for you + the beautiful uniqueness of YOUR mind.

truthfully, i’m not a huge believer in the concept of a “final push” during shifting. i am pretty sure this was an early shifttok misconception, but i couldn’t find any proper sources to support this. if anyone has any threads on this topic, feel free to comment them and i will link them to this post!

now that we’ve gotten all of this out of the way: let’s talk about how to move forward. shifting can be messy and confusing, it can make us feel frustrated when our 3d (what we see, hear, sense, etc) doesn’t line up with our manifestations (your desired reality). allow yourself to feel these emotions, but know that our emotions and mindset can influence our perception of the world. for example: if you’re in a bad mood one day, you’re more likely to focus on the negative parts of your day-to-day life rather than the positives that could improve your mindset.

this being said, trying to work on reframing your perspective on your journey can be helpful! try to carry yourself with the energy you want to embody— act like the master shifter that you are, even if you haven’t seen the physical aspects of this in front of you. trust in yourself and your abilities, taking the time to remind yourself that you’re capable of shifting wherever and whenever you want.

our minds and nervous systems benefit greatly from routine, structure, or rituals— this can mean taking the time to breathe or meditate regularly, or simply doing something to connect to your desired reality self each day. since you mentioned being unable to visualize, maybe making a playlist of songs that remind you of your dr could help inspire you. consistency is helpful in achieving your desired results; just like any other part of life, practice only leads to improvement or awareness of what changes can help! trying to find a routine or technique for self-soothing + grounding prior to shifting (whether that is an awake or sleep method) teaches you that it’s safe to rest and relax. this is why many people recommend consistent meditation!

i am going to end this reply here to prevent any more rambles or overwhelming information, but if there are any details i missed or anything else you require clarity on, please feel free to leave another ask!

divider credit

[head-end-power]

Alignments of characters:

(Important context: I put canon circa early Amtrak somewhere in the 70s-80s, where there’s a weird mix of old and new equipment and steam heat vs HEP is a relevant divide) 

Greaseball- 50s-era EMD E9 (or similar), no HEP and steam generator equipped circa canon.  Likes the idea and status of being a passenger engine but hates the reality, more attached to his Gang than the actual coaches.  Hard to shake from media stereotypical train dynamics but secretly likes getting away from it.  INSISTS on being in lead due to being pretty face (and not having an MU connection in the front) 

Electra- head end power equipped (among the first), as mixed traffic as it gets ability-wise but gets along best with fast freight or passenger equipment, most heavy freight sees them as too prissy.  Will hook up to basically anything and everything at least once.  Goes both ways on a lot of things and broadly open to experimentation and novelty.  

McCoy (Momma/Poppa)- excursion engine, ambiguously 40s-era large later steam engine, obviously has steam heat and no HEP, capable of working with freight but strong preference for old, smoother, heavyweight coaches close to their age. Not opposed to younger rolling stock in a cougar/cub setup (age gaps are not very controversial among trains due to the wide age range of equipment in service and everyone being functionally adult post-commissioning)

Pearl (canon)- 50s-era gallery car converted to an Ultradome in the 80s, memory largely wiped in the interim and only has vague recollection of last steam days.  Has a thing for steam engines because she likes breathplay and choking in tunnels is a feature not a bug LMAO

Pearl (Metroliner AU/headcanon)- ex-Metroliner EMU turned Amfleet cab car, does not understand engines due to being self propelled before.  One of the first HEP-equipped coaches and it’s a substantial theme that this is not compatible with what train media has tried to tell her is romantic (the “good ol days” and steam heat, which she is not compatible with) 

Dinah- 50s-early 60s era diner car, steam-heated, mostly into diesels because she’s very long-distance oriented, but open to experimenting.  Hilariously incompatible with Electra on every level but they don’t have any personal ire over it, they’re just very different trains. Yes the “can’t whistle, doesn’t have the apparatus” part is about steam heat vs HEP in my mind because it explains why she’s into Greaseball, who can’t literally whistle but does have that.

Buffy and Ashley- pre-Amtrak cars, haven’t figured out the rest tbh.  Ashley tends to be towards the back of consists and rarely interacts with engines so she’s far more intimate with other coaches.  

Caboose- sadomasochist, LOVES being jerked around at the back of long freight trains and has “sempai notice me” feelings about the engine at the other end.  Wants to be directly coupled to them and yanked as hard as possible, dreams of being electrically powered by them (I need to see if this is even a thing tbh).  HEAVY diesel and electric preference because he loves a hard acceleration, the bigger the engine the better.  Also into crashing everything.  Electra is his celebrity crush he wants to impress (and then crash).  Closer to coaches on a platonic level since he also carries people, but only works on freight trains, feels a weird sense of jealousy towards them at times because they can be powered and accelerated faster/be closer to the engine.

[muraenide]

Jade actually has a lot more fears than he cares to let out. As anyone (twst players) may already know, Jade generally upholds a polite and soft-spoken facade, but his true intentions are always something more which he keeps extremely subtle in all his interactions. It's complicated because Jade doesn't lie, but he's not always the most forthright about his intentions. He inserts hints of them in all his conversations and whether they get picked up by his conversation adversary is a large hit or miss, sometimes it's heavily depending on how well they know him. From canon, Floyd is the only one who truly knows how to read his body language. Floyd clearly knows Jade's words are never to be trusted, and instead, he watches for the hints between the lines and Jade's body language, which are often where Jade's real intention lies. Azul comes up a close second, but I noticed that Azul has never been able to actually accurately pinpoint what Jade's real intentions are and instead, he'll ask questions, "What's wrong Jade? You're not yourself." this is the main difference that really sets Floyd and Azul and their familiarity with Jade apart. Floyd doesn't ask questions, most of the time he just knows.

Jade is a master of smoke screens and distractions, but by the end of the day, he does actually have a conflict with his inner self (a lack of direction in life), which can be studied through his lack of consistency and wayward behaviour. Floyd and Jade are incredibly similar, but they are different. Floyd gets bored of things and decides he's outgrown them and discards them, but often knows what he wants. Jade can't decide which one he'll end up liking and so he tries all his options hoping to one day land on the right one for him.

He fears loneliness. Jade mentioned once in beanfest that "I feel lonely when I'm without company.", which could either be taken as a joke or he's actually serious about it, but Jade does seem like he enjoys having people he likes around (Azul & Floyd). He's never left them even if their goals are not aligned. Jade does not want to think about what will happen once their life on NRC ends.

He fears losing control of Floyd. Jade does not hold control over Floyd in a toxic way, but he fears them drifting apart and he fears it'll be too late when he realizes Floyd isn't the Floyd he used to know. Jade tends to get a bit more aggressive than usual when things concern Floyd, such as hearing from the students that something happened between Floyd, Ace, and Leona's group. He proactively approaches Leona going "What happened while I wasn't there?" Jade's not the sort who will drop his front for the sake of information. It can be interpreted as either jealousy or the delusional of "losing control" if Floyd happens to not have mentioned it to him. He doesn't want to lose Floyd.

He doesn't fear this, but he loathes the day he'll have to say goodbye to Azul. Azul has so few friends, but the case is similar for Jade. Floyd is possibly the only one who makes friends easily without fear of distrust or feeling the need to keep his guard up. Jade and Azul are on high alert almost all the time. Jade is possibly a bit more delusional and far more worse than Azul as he tends to envision the worst in people even before Jade really gets to know them. Jade doesn't trust or distrust people, but he keeps their words at arm's length until he achieves some sort of proof that they can be genuine. Floyd is the only person he trusts fully, but Azul is one of his few and only childhood friends. Jade doesn't fully trust Azul, but Jade likes Azul. He likes him enough to not want any unnecessary harm to come to Azul (harm that Jade and Floyd attract and that had been part of their life ever since they were born), and the outcome of this realization is that Jade knows he'll one day have to say goodbye to Azul, and he loathes for that day to come.

There are so few things Jade can't afford to lose, but they're also the only things Jade really ever had. In the worst scenarios, he stands at nothing to lose for the atrocities he does. As such this encourages his boldness and daringness to take things to levels beyond the accepted standards.

[transcuratorsblog]

What Your Digital Marketing Agency Wishes You Knew Before the Kickoff Meeting

Hiring a digital marketing agency is a big step for any brand. The kickoff meeting is where it all begins—expectations are set, goals are aligned, and the partnership officially takes off. But what many clients don’t realise is that the success of this first meeting doesn’t just depend on the agency—it depends on how prepared you are too.

Here’s what your digital marketing agency wishes you knew before that all-important kickoff meeting—and how being prepared can fast-track your results.

1. Clarity Beats Ambition Every Time

Agencies love big visions, but what they need first is clarity. Before the meeting, ask yourself:

What does success look like in the next 3, 6, and 12 months?

Are we aiming for more leads, better traffic, stronger branding—or all three?

What are the non-negotiables in terms of tone, messaging, or brand values?

A clear brief—even if it evolves later—helps a digital marketing agency set the right direction from day one.

2. Your Past Data Is Gold—Don’t Hold Back

One of the fastest ways to accelerate strategy is to share your historical data. This includes:

Website traffic and conversions

Ad performance reports

Social media analytics

Email marketing metrics

Even if previous campaigns didn’t work, they reveal what to avoid and where to improve. Don’t worry about “looking bad”—your agency is here to build forward, not judge backward.

3. You Don’t Need to Know It All—But You Should Know Your Buyer

Agencies can handle platforms, tools, and creative execution—but only you can provide insider knowledge of your target customer.

Come prepared to talk about:

Customer pain points and motivations

What makes your product or service different

Real objections your sales team hears

This insight helps your agency create messaging that connects, not just converts.

4. The More Access You Provide, the Faster Work Begins

Waiting on logins, brand assets, or internal approvals can delay everything. Your digital marketing agency will likely ask for:

Google Analytics and Search Console access

Ad accounts and CMS logins

Brand guidelines, logos, and past creative files

Having these ready before or during the kickoff helps avoid a sluggish start and lets the team focus on execution.

5. You’re Hiring Strategy—Not Just Execution

Yes, agencies run campaigns—but they also build strategy. Be open to hearing:

What’s not working in your current approach

Why a particular platform may not be right for your goals

How success might look different than you expect

You don’t need to have all the answers—that’s what your digital marketing agency is for. But mutual trust starts with open-mindedness.

6. Budget Conversations Aren’t Awkward—They’re Essential

Many clients shy away from discussing budgets up front. But for your agency, knowing the budget range early means:

Designing realistic campaigns

Allocating resources wisely (paid vs. organic, content vs. ads)

Avoiding wasted time and effort on unaffordable ideas

Be transparent—it helps your agency deliver smarter, faster, and better.

7. Approvals and Feedback Need a Point Person

Having a dedicated internal stakeholder (or small decision-making group) streamlines everything. Your agency needs:

Quick feedback on content and creative

Clear sign-offs on campaign plans

A single source of truth to avoid conflicting directions

Without it, timelines stretch and creative momentum stalls.

8. Marketing Takes Time, But Momentum Matters

While no agency can promise results overnight, you can expect momentum. A good digital marketing agency will aim for:

Quick wins within the first 30–60 days

Strategy alignment within the first month

Consistent progress check-ins, not just end-of-month reporting

Don’t expect magic. Expect measured, intentional movement—with clear communication along the way.

Final Thoughts

The kickoff meeting is more than an introduction—it’s a launchpad. The more prepared, transparent, and collaborative you are, the more value your digital marketing agency can deliver from day one.

Think of your agency not as a vendor, but as a growth partner. When both sides come to the table informed and aligned, you’re not just launching a campaign—you’re laying the foundation for sustainable success.