#Active vs Passive Forces

[shamanflavio]

Creation, Manifestation and the Essentials

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

[spectralreplica]

Uhhhhhhhh Sburb AU!! This was more of an excuse to classpect and make sprites, so don’t ask me questions about plot details because I put like zero thought into it. Tsumugi probably had something to do with setting up the session, and she’s hiding her real title and the fact it’s not her first session. Baby Kiibo is a robot baby because I thought that was the funniest option.

Drawing with anti-aliasing off really brings me back...

Classpect thoughts under the cut if you really want:

Immediate caveat: I mention speculative stuff here like unconfirmed active/passive class pairs and inversion theory. If you don’t like those things or otherwise disagree with the titles I gave people that’s fine but just know I’m not super interested in debating about it and won’t reply.

So, to start out with I wanted to make the 8 of them a session, so I needed no overlaps in class or aspect and one Time + one Space. I also wanted to have Kaito and Kokichi as opposing aspects. In general, I think of a Title as kind of the end of your assigned character arc, so depending on your level of maturity/introspection at the start, it can seem either really obvious or really unintuitive. I tried to base them off of the hypothetical chapter 6/survivor versions of characters, since those (plus maybe the chapter 5 deaths) of the ones that get a full arc in DR canon.

Immediately Tsumugi seemed like a deadringer for Space, not so much because of the literal physics-related stuff but because of its associations with creation/narratives and setting things up for other people to act. I made her Sylph of Space here, but that's a facade. She's actually a Muse of Space who participated in past session(s) and wants to watch how things play out.

Based on the Extended Zodiac description, Kaito or Kaede has to be time, but Kokichi CANNOT be Space by any stretch of the imagination. I made her Heir of Time with the interpretation of Heir as someone who invites change/influences of/through their aspect. Time is also associated with music and death, which is both fitting and a little mean. (I can also see Kaede as Breath outside of having to have someone be Time.)

So moving onto Kaito and Kokichi, I was considering Hope vs Rage (belief vs doubt, possibility vs restrictions), but 1) Rage is defined partially by hatred of lies despite otherwise sounding Kokichi-ish (that alone could be interesting, with the possibility of a negative/reverse title or else giving him Hope and Kaito Rage for the unexpected swerve........) 2) I really wanted to give Hope to Kiibo. So instead I went with Heart and Mind (emotion vs logic, intuition vs planning, identity/motivation vs action/decisiveness).

Kokichi is Thief of Mind for taking away other people's decisions for his own purposes but also for generally "stealing" things (e.g., the Mastermind Role, narrative importance in general, along with literal items) through his own cleverness. Vs Kaito, a Knight of Heart, who uses his constructed identity as a weapon to face challenges. I'm also a fan of inversion theory, so I think at low points they'd both trend towards Page of Heart (grows powerful late in the narrative based on his own ego/identity) and Rogue of Mind (taking choices/agency/logic away from people for their own good), respectively.

I always wanted Kiibo to be Hope since 1) Ult. Hope Robot 2) big on possibilities/faith but can be a little self-centered. I went with Bard at least partially to make a "guess we know whether he has a dick or not now!" joke, but I also think "inviting destruction through Hope, inviting destruction of (false) hope" is pretty spot on for chapter 6 Kiibo. Like, as the camera/audience surrogate, he's been forced into passively leading the others to despair, not to mention how the audience takes him over to destroy the hope of ending the show. But Kiibo ends up reversing this and helping destroy the audience's faith in Danganronpa, destroying the whole academy in accordance with the vote. (Sidenote: I wonder if Kiibo gets taken over by Horrorterrors and goes grimdark? Or if he's just really, really susceptible to orders from his Exile)

Shuichi, Page of Void, was another one that immediately came to mind. Like, "starts off weak but becomes really strong/important by the end" is Shuichi's thing! Also, counterpart to Kaito's Knight. And Void is all about secrets, mystery, etc. From the Extended Zodiac: "Where others might be compelled to go out and seek answers, the Void-bound lean more toward casting doubt on what is already considered understood. They don't take much on faith and would rather live in a state of confusion- than believe something that might be untrue or bow to intellectual authority... At their best, Void-bound are wise, intuitive, and vibrant. At their worst, they can be dismissive, indecisive and apathetic." 

I had considering Light, for seeking out knowledge/truth, but Shuichi's character arc ends on "fuck you, I refuse to play. You all get nothing more from us" and learning to live with ambiguity, so I think he's way more Void. But, again, inversion would be Thief of Light, so selfishly taking away knowledge/importance from others.

Speaking of Light, I made Miu Mage of Light. Mage is like, active Seer, seeking out knowledge for yourself (vs advising others) and Light is luck, knowledge, and also importance/plot relevance. As an inventor, Miu keeps innovating and figuring things out, plus she's very motivated by her own importance to the world. She wants to be seen more than anything else and loves being smarter than those around her. Also: "At their best, the Light-bound are resourceful and driven. At their worst they can be fussy, pedantic, and insensitive." Inversion is Heir of Void, so "inviting change via hiding things" or "changing what's kept secret", which suits Miu when plotting murder.

Finally, Maki is Prince of Blood. Blood is trust, bonds, relationships, stubbornness, duty, obligation (vs freedom, change, choices) so "someone who breaks bonds/destroys relationships" but also "someone who destroys using/motivated by duty/relationships". Like, Maki is inherently a fracture point in the group because of her talent and then directly breaks the group apart and sabotages her relationships with the others in chapter 5, but also she's deeply motivated by her bonds to others in all of her destructive actions (protectiveness for orphanage/friend, love for Kaito). This sound super negative, but I think this is also the Maki who commits to destroying the institution of Danganronpa in chapter 6. Sometimes you have to be decisive and cut bad relationships out of your life.

Inversion would be Sylph of Breath, so "healing via change" or "encouraging growth towards freedom", which you can argue is sort of the way Kaito wants her to go? But she just doesn't. Idk, for better or worse, I think Maki is very aware of who she is and how people related to her, so even at her worst she's true to herself, vs, say, Kaito or Kokichi, who act "ooc".

[worldwright]

something I've noticed that's different about the Magnus Protocol vs. the Archives is that in the Archives, we almost always got statements from the "observers" of an effect or phenomenon. Like the three statements from the observers of the Not!Them creature -- the ones who didn't forget the original person. Or man who didn't get swept into the attempted Slaughter ritual; or the cinematographer who saw, but wasn't controlled by, the effects of the Web; or Georgie, who dodged the full force of the End-- et cetera.

But for Protocol, we have more stories from those swept into the occurrences. The man who rooted himself into the garden; the caterer who joined the Hunt; Ink5oul; Needles...

I assume it's due to the more organic form of collection that the OIAR uses. People don't have to make it in to a location to tell their stories. Hell, they don't even have to have survived. Their system is more of an active hunter of fear than the Institute's passive collection method. If the Institute was like a pitcher plant, offering catharsis and closure for one's fear, the OIAR is a scavenging animal. They'll both eat you up, but only one of them needs you alive.

[helslastangel]

Can we please get a Aries Juno one please

😘🔥 ofc!

ARIES JUNO OBSERVATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[lolaandthens0me]

I've been 2 years single after a long relationship with someone who only kink-shamed me for loving ABDL. I was stuck because I wanted to "save the relationship," and ultimately, it ended. Now, I'm almost 40 and haven't been able to connect with anyone. What's your advice, as someone with healthy relationships, to someone who has often felt like he'll stay alone forever?

Hello Anon!

I am so sorry to hear that you were shamed in your last relationship. Kink shaming is awful. You are loved and accepted here, and I thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, I think most people fear and ridicule what they don't understand and that can leave loved ones feeling alone, ashamed, and unable to feel trust and vulnerability with their partner. That is a really hard place to be in, and it is my hope that you are finding ways to heal and move forward.

As someone who left a longterm relationship in my late-30s, mostly for reasons relating to not feeling able to fully be myself within that relationship, I empathize with you as you enter into this kink world wanting to find a partner and also feeling very old in that process. Here are some things that helped me grow and lead me to the healthy (and kinky!) relationships I have now.

Doing therapy to help better understand myself, my wants and needs, and find a place of self-love and acceptance

Becoming an active communicator vs. a passive one

Putting myself out there with the intent of forming connections and friendships, not focusing on finding "the one"; seeking out those online and in-person that were open-minded, empathetic, and living life in an authentic way

Understanding and asking for the types of relationships I was looking for

Being open to whatever and whoever the Universe brought my way

Spreading kindness and acceptance

Learning to speak with honesty even when it seemed too hurtful, hard, or confrontational

Picking up new hobbies and interests that forced me into meeting new people and expanding my social circle

Finding the courage and excitement to go to my first CAPCon and put myself out there the whole time with openness and exuberance

Learned to listen to my heart

I hope something in this list speaks to you and is helpful. I know a lot of these things are way easier said than done, but working on these things was truly transformational for me. A good place to start is to write down a couple of lists: "Things I Need" and "Things I Want". I did this as I began my growth journey and would periodically go back to my lists to keep myself accountable, inspired, and on the right track.

Never hesitate to reach out and look for support. And - I am rooting for you.

[byemambo]

4Minutes EP. 5 - My Takeaways

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

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

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

Confrontation vs. Compliance: The Return to Ethics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grief: A Shared Experience

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 5

Episode 1

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

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

Honorable Mention: Jes in All Shades

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

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

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

See y'all next week <3

[whatudottu]

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

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

Let’s see what happens then :P

First of all, Shockwave.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, speaking of...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Something like that?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay! MAYBE! I think it could work?

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

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

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

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

[itsclydebitches]

I know there's a lot to unpack in James' new interview but I am feral, FERAL I SAY, over this fucking line right here:

"His need was to be loved, and his tragic flaw was the belief that he was unlovable."

Back before Season 3 hit and Tedependent became ~trendy~ (not actually lol) I was heacanoning and writing Trent as a pretty anxious individual, someone with a ton of internalized self-loathing whose "whole vibe" was more of a mask than legitimate self-confidence. At the time I worried about him coming across as too OOC because really, what did we have to support this? Ted Lasso's prevailing theme of men discovering love and support when they previously had none? The lovely parallel of Trent struggling with many of Ted's own flaws, but presenting in opposite ways (cutting cynicism vs. endless optimism)? The then—far less developed—comments from James that Trent might have a rough relationship with his father? It felt unsubstantiated, unpersuasive, built more on my own interest in those kinds of characters and the occasional awkward moment from Trent than actual canon. Even into Season 3 I questioned whether my reading of him as struggling, significantly, with the care Ted offers wasn't just a result of my own, imagined inner life for him.

But NOW.

I'm sorry, hold up, can I just re-confirm that TRENT'S TRAGIC FLAW IS HIS BELIEF THAT HE'S UNLOVABLE? Unlovable??? Thank you, James Lance, for validating every reading I've had of this character since he first appeared on screen. Do people realize the depth this adds to every interaction Trent has? Particularly with Ted? Unlovable Trent Crimm starts off this relationship with a sincere compliment on his style ("I like your glasses"), something that Season 3 will present as a core part of his personality, something he's largely hidden away. Unlovable Trent Crimm grappling with the fact that yes, Ted enjoyed spending time with him. Him. WHILE he was playing the part of the asshole journalist. Unlovable Trent not being rejected when he admits, in moments of vulnerability, that he "Loves [their] chats." Unlovable Trent having his father's (likely snide) "Independent" comment reframed as a fun pun + advice to follow his "bliss": you have support, Trent, no matter what you choose to do. I don't care if you're successful covering a masculine-coded sport, I care if you're happy. Unlovable Trent committing the ultimate betrayal and being forgiven for it, immediately. Unlovable Trent being forcibly integrated into the Richmond family; actively accepted rather than passively tolerated: yes you should work here, yes you're a Diamond Dog, sit your butt down, Trenthouse Magazine, you will never be excluded again.

I'm sorry for the rambling post but I'm just so!! Insane about this!!! So much of Trent's hesitance could have been written off as a result of his career. That is, it might have been merely a learned reaction after decades of deliberately pissing people off. Of course they dislike him, but take him out of that environment and everything's fixed. Yet James has confirmed that he played Trent as intrinsically believing this. The career was a result of that unfounded fear—Might as well keep people at a distance before they hurt me first—as well as, simultaneously, a desire to somehow achieve the love that should have been unconditional from the start—Maybe my father will like me if I can be that "alpha male man's man" in print. Because this isn't just a flaw, it's a tragic flaw, a literary term that denotes a deficiency that leads to the character's downfall. This belief is so entrenched that it has led to Trent actively self-sabotaging his chances of being loved in the first place; a horrible self-fulfilling prophecy. He NEEDED someone like Ted—a fucking love sledgehammer that forces people to accept his care in the least subtle ways possible, even when they're acting as their own worst enemy—and by god, he got him!

Aside from Nate, Trent has always felt like the most isolated character to me at the start of the series (and even Nate has a good relationship with his mother and sister). What we've learned in Season 3 and James' interviews has only reinforced that reading for me: he was closeted in his marriage, unintentionally hurting his daughter, he's suffering under his father's expectations, he hates the press persona he's created to survive, he's bored at his job, footballers and other potential interviewees despise him—and not without reason (Roy). He has no friends that we see pre-Richmond and he's reached a point where the simple act of someone saying that they liked spending the day with him—again, while he's actively TRYING to piss them off and keep his distance—has him in such a state of shock he runs for the door, pens an uncharacteristically hopeful write-up, and is well on his way to upending his entire life for that man.

Because of course he is!!! From Trent's perspective Ted is a fucking impossibility shaped into human form. This is a man in his 40s whose greatest lifelong fear—now all but a certainty at his age—has been dismantled in a matter of hours. I'd write a book-length love letter to him too! And RIP to finale!Trent, but I would have run fucking Rom-Com style after the man who not only changed my life, but my entire sense of self-worth. (Ah fuck, but there's that tragic flaw again, keeping Trent hesitant. I now stand by my reading of the "I'll leave you be" scene as an unrequited goodbye.)

But finale aside, the man who'd convinced himself he was unlovable fell for the man who was love incarnate.

If that's not the most romantic shit you've ever heard idk what is!!!

[ddenji]

okay i think this is about to be an unpopular opinion but…. these two are like 2 sides of the same coin to me. beyond the shared public safety allegiance, they both violate denji's autonomy (yoshida stripping him to his underwear, tying him up, and threating his family in chapter 132 vs fumiko assaulting him in the movie theater in chapter 136) and work against his own best interest for the sake of the government. however, while they both take action in trying to force denji to do what they want, fumiko takes a more directly active role in the space of the fanatic who can't see/ doesnt care about the human behind her idol, whereas yoshida takes the more passive role of the government drone who wont act to protect the human if it means going against orders. in previous chapters, fumiko actively runs away from denji, leaving him to fight for himself, while yoshida passively tells denji that he isnt allowed to protect himself, putting him in harms way in his own right (and there is still the underlying threat of violence there if he tries to protect himself). even in the panels from this chapter, we see fumiko being active about her disregard for denji's well being by asking for little pieces of him, where yoshida is more passive in his disregard of the plan to dismember denji with a simple "yeah" answer. i know that they also have their differences, but i just think that they share intentional similarities (that other characters, particularly in the chainsaw man church, also share!!) that overall lead to denji getting hurt.

[ceilingfan5]

Time loop rules, tools, and considerations

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

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

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

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

How do we escape the time loop? 

Is it possible to escape the time loop unscathed? 

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

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

Change + resistance + passion + logic are needed. 

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

Alone we will not escape the time loop.  

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

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

Alone you will not escape the time loop.

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

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

The familiar is not reliable.

The familiar is comforting but not progressive.

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

That which is accepted as understood should be challenged.

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

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

Some things cannot be changed.

Some things cannot be changed easily. 

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

Habit is powerful. 

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

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

Loneliness is a habit.

Alone we will not escape the time loop. 

What if something changed the game? 

How powerfully can something change the game?

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

What do we see vs not see?

What corruption has occured? 

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

What weighs on our challengers whether seen or unseen? 

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

Alone we will not escape the time loop. 

Changing things is not without cost.

Humor is not without effect.

That which imprisons us is not necessarily unfamiliar.

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

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

Change is not without an element of gamble, risk.

But risk without any potential of change is wasteful. 

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

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

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

The framing is invisible, and must be considered. 

We are never unobserved. 

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

Why?

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

Alone, we will not escape the time loop. 

[ryin-silverfish]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[viridiave]

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

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

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

NOBLE TEAM

IT'S FUCKING REAL

I STILL CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT'S REAL

HHHUH

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

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THEY HAVE COMBO MOVES

WHAT

WHAT IN THE MOTHER OF FUCKING GOD IS THIS

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

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

god fucking of course Olberic has motherfucking BOLSTER DEFENSE

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

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

OH MY GOD TRESSA AND OLBERIC TOO

MY ASS IS DEAD IT'S SO DEAD

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

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

WAIT THEY HAVE NEW VOICE LINES

HOLY FUCK????

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

ALFYN'S CONCOCTS ARE SO MEAN OH MY GOD

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

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

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

too bad i never use him as DPS

WH

TRESSA

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

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

WHA

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

Therion was a bad influence on her lmao

AND OLBERIC'S NOT WEAK TO STAVES RIP

WHY IS TRESSA WEAK TO STAVES

my ass is so fucking cooked

WH

THEY HAVE FUCKING JOB CHANGES?????

OH MY GOD SCHOLAR OPHILIA IS CANON

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

WAIT

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE

HUNTER ALFYN

I FEEL UNREASONABLY FUCKINGVALIDATED AKSJAKSAKSKAS

oh god what are Tressa and Olberic

hOLD UP ALFYN AND HIS ARROWS WAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT THE HELLLLL

oh.

oh my god.

w. warmaster olberic

wARMASTER OLBERIC IS REAL

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

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

I didn't

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

and Tressa's on the field.

there she is. the motherfucker herself.

RUNELORD FUCKING TRESSA

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

NO OH GOD HERE IT COMES TRANSFER FUCKING RUNE

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

…WAIT HOLY SHIT ALFYN AND OPHILIA ARE IN THE RED

THERE'S A CHANCE

THERE'S A CHANCEEE

HIKARI'S POPPING THE FUCK OFF

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

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

ALFYN'S DOWN

HE WAS THE MOST DANGEROUS ONE THAT'S GOOD

OPHILIA DOWWWWWNNNNNN

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

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

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

OF COURSE HE GOES FOR THE FUCKING MAGE EVERY TIME

WH

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

H E L L

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

TRESSA'S DOWN

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

THIS FEELS MEAN I REGRET IT NOW LMAO

THAT DIDN'T KILL HIM

oh no his full buffs

WAIT NO HIRED HELP BEASTLINGS. JUST ONE MORE

FUCK YEEEEE

w

what

wha wha what the fuck wai

w-wait

hu

H H U H

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

WAS THAT JUST PHASE 1???

NO

NOOOOO WE'RE SO DEAD

oh wait they're changing back

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

WAIT

WHAT'S HAPPENING HUH

WHY DID HE CHALLENGE HIKARI WHAT

WAIT WHY IS IT ONLY THEM

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

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

oh ok that answers tha -

TR

TRESSA

TRESSA WHAT THE F U C K

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

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

oh my god i'm dead

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

WHAT

WHY

WAIT

WAIT SHIT I'M JUST DEAD

…i need to lie down

ROGUE TEAM

okay rogue crew what do you have for me

i'm so scared oh my god

GOD

WAIT

THERION YOU SON OF A BITCH GIVE ME BACK MY ITEMS

THEY HAVE INCIDENTAL ATTACK???? FUCK OFFFFF

LINDE'S HERE

…OH FUCK LINDE'S HERE

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

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

of course Cyrus is weak to Swords. and Daggers apparently

WA

WAIT WHAT

PRIMROSE???

FUCKING HELL

WELL OK PRIMROSE SAID HAPPY PRIDE MONTH SHE JUST ALLURED THRONE

O WAIT POG PRIMROSE AND THERION COMBO

SO

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

…WHY ARE THEY BOTH SO BUSTED

did

did Cyrus just. give me a weakness.

what

what the fuck

AY YO WHAT THE FUCK

yeah ok i'm dead.

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

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

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

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

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

MOTHERFUCKER I FORGOT H'AANIT HAS FUCKING PATIENCE

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

HOW LONG DOES ALLURE LAST FOR JESUS

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

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

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

still not over the sprite quality being so drastically different lmao

hired help Beastlings save me. save me Hired Help Beastlings

O-OH. OH NOOO…

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

sidestep is saving my ass right now

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

HUH

MERCHANT THERION IS REAL LMAO

…OH NO DIVINE WIND

HE JUST STOLE OUR FUCKING LICENSES AKSJAS FUCK YOU THERION

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

UNFORTUNATE

STARSEER PRIMROSE OF COURSEEEEE

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

GANG'S ALL HERE SQUARE ENIX HAS SPOKEN

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

alright Grail of Life don't fail me now

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

alright time to stall

AAAAA THERION'S DOWN THANK FUCK

AIGHT SEE YA PRIM

CYRUS DOWN. STAY DOWN.

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

what

what the fuck

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

NO FUCKING WAY THERION JUST STOLE OUR EX MOVES

GODDAMNIT TEMENOS IS USELESS NOW

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

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

LINDE PHYSICAL PURSUIT I'M IN HELL

and Cyrus has. delayed attacks.

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

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

If there's one thing i can say good about jimmy from mouthwashing is that he's effective cautionary character about "some people don't deserve a chance." He's a good reminder that some people are utterly horrible and cause nothing but harm if you try to help them

Mouthwashing is great because literally everyone in there (except Daisuke) is an antagonist.

Jimmy is very much his own worst enemy and even though he is the protagonist in that he's the guy the story is about, he's also creating his own obstacles in his story with his actions in a Man vs. Self way.

Polle is the face of the incorporeal antagonist; the opposing force of the capitalistic hellscape the Mouthwashing crew live under. Every problem the crew faces that is not directly Jimmy's fault, from supply shortages in the Tulpar, to the lackluster quality of the vessel, to everything being a 'dog and pony show' as Swansea put it, is because higher ups wanted to cut corners and cut corners they did.

Curly is the sloth antagonist, not a villain because of what he's done, but because of what he *hasn't* done. He was Jimmy's friend instead of his boss, he hadn't spoken up against management despite the fact that as the captain of the ship he really should not lie there and take it when human rights are being violated (lack of locks on bedrooms, the 'one celebration only' rule, pretty much every rule shown on the posters, four cryopods and five crew members, etc...), and he admitted that while he'd 'go crazy looking for the dead pixel', he elected to ignore it the second it meant something more, ignore it in favor of the big picture, the second it was a much more serious issue than he thought it was. I have a strong feeling that one of the reasons why his life is one he wants to escape is because he's not an active player in his own life but a passive entity that just keeps chugging along the same tracks laid out for him no matter how rusty and broken they are.

Swansea is the Red herring antagonist, he's a grumpy asshole, however, he's only really a villain through the very biased eyes of Jimmy who sees the worst out of him because Jimmy is projecting what he would do in Swansea's shoes onto Swansea. As opposed to being a protagonist's shadow antagonist, he's the 'good clone', he's a man who isn't the best, but he did get his act together when he knew he was on a dark path. Swansea is brave enough to admit when he's gone too far and needs to take it back while Jimmy remains a coward who lies to himself til his last breath.

Anya is the sympathetic antagonist in that she's an opposing force against the protagonist (Jimmy) simply by existing and clawing her agency and personhood out of the narrative despite the fact her story is shown to us through the eyes of her tormentor and the man passive to her torment. The devil works hard to make her look like a pathetic damsel in distress, but Anya works harder; keeping Curly alive despite all odds, managing to do the hardest thing she could do and call for help twice (Once to Curly, the second time to Swansea) despite it being futile, and took matters into her own hands only when there was clearly no other option for her. Anya has two giant flaws against herself: her kind heart (trying over and over to get into medical school despite the glass ceiling (there's no way in hell there's not a glass ceiling in her case, SHE KEPT A FUCKING SKINLESS MAN ALIVE WITH SHITTY FIRST AID KITS), and telling fucking JIMMY 'I don't think our worst moments make us monsters'.) and her horrifically bad luck (See.. the entire game).

[blasphemousclaw]

HELL YEAAAAA LETS GOOOO

okay marika and radagon have a LOT of INCREDIBLY interesting dynamics here that, while not explicitly stated, seem to reflect some underlying gended dynamics going on in the lands between especially regarding Marika Radagon as Divinity

one of the BIGGEST examples here is the dichotomy of Active vs Passive. marika does not Act she Instructs. she instructs maliketh to slay the gloam eyed queen and seal destined death, she instructs godfrey to wage war against the fire giants, and she instructs the tarnished on their path to the erdtree and elden lord as we see via melinas church dialogue. contrastingly, radagon Does. radagon fights against liurnia, radagon marries renalla, radagon studies sorceries, radagon studies incantations, and pointedly radagon interacts with his children! we get stated lore about him interacting with miquella but no such lore about marika and HER SIX KIDS. marika distributes blessings but thats a very passive action, and in her OWN BOSS FIGHT she simply HANGS there. she has to transition to radagon to pick the hammer up!

in this way we can interpret marika as the golden orders Divine Feminine. she is passive, she blesses she instructs but does not Act, she is the reward won for the elden lord (who serves as the golden orders Intended Active Agent) and she is LITERALLY objectified by becoming a headless statue (only her torso is visible!) that the elden lord marries. she Has Heirs, she Blesses Heroes, she Instructs Her Lord And Shadow, marika routinely serves as the passive force in the lands between!

similarly we can interpret radagon as Divine Masculine. he goes to war, he chooses and marries a wife, and most especially he aspires to be the Perfect Hero by achieving physical and scholarly mastery over combat, sorcery, and incantations. radagon ACTS, he chooses his own wife instead of Being Married To, he interacts and raises miquella at the very least and studies WITH him, and overall if something is being done, radagon chooses to do it instead of using an agent to act on his behalf

we can therefore interpret many of the actions that occur throughout the story through this dynamic, especially as a source of conflict. many of the golden orders heretics defy this gender dynamic! the carian royal family had a line of queens, and rennala herself was a renowned, powerful, ACTIVE sorcerer. she led raya lucaria, and pioneered a new field of sorcerous study in the Moon. after her marriage to radagon, and therefore the carian merge into the golden order, rennala became passive and lost all her social standing in raya lucaria, mimicking marikas own passiveness (tho in rennala we see its poisonous effects in that by losing her agency she also loses much of who she is, becoming a motherly shell of who she once was).

while not strictly heretics, miquella and malenia themselves seek to break free of the golden order and this reflects in their gender dynamics. malenia is the more masculine of the twins, and acts as the Active Shadow of Miquellas Will. she Acts on his Instruction. similarly, despite being known as the Most Fearsome Empyrean, miquella works through Agents and through Diplomacy, and takes a passive nurturing role in the grander political actions the twins take. miquella Nurtures The Haligtree (through sacrifice of his blood), miquella will is acted through Malenia (who is his blade and serves as his Empyrean Shadow), and notably both twins are cursed explicitly due to radagon being the same person as marika!

marikas gender nonconformity serves as a major source of strife in the golden order, as liurnia falls to civil war (the cuckoos, raya lucaria, and the carian royal family), the twins are born cursed, and the elden ring itself is shattered by her, marikas only active action which serves as an attempt to destroy the golden order. radagons actions As Radagon are punished, the children he sires are forsaken or cursed (no ones really looking to rennalas kids as Scions Of The Golden Branch) because radagon is Marika Acting As Divine Masculine, and this is further symbolized by his red hair bearing the curse of the fire giants. Radagon Is Accursed because Radagon Is Marika, and marika is The Divine Feminine and thus is supposed to be Passive.

i wouldnt be surprised if this is a massive contributing factor in rannis decision to cast off her flesh, and her determination to do as much as she can herself. as an empyrean, shes slated to replace marika (and thus be relegated to Passive Goddesshood) and thusly rejects relying on Agents (iji, blaidd, seluvis, and the Tarnished MC) as much as she can, and why she does what she can to ensure you act on Your Own Will (repeatedly giving you outs to leave her, being surprised and somewhat thankful when you dont), and imo contributes HEAVILY to rannis trans-swag vibes despite being pretty clearly cisgendered (burns her old flesh, has a chance to remake her body and self image, chooses a form with long feminine hair and a delicate feminine face that is made in the spitting image of the witch renna who mentored her) which i attribute to ranni Choosing the femininity of her carian heritage, which itself is gender nonconforming to Golden Order Femininity

basically. radagon is marika acting out against Divine Gender Roles and being non-explicitly punished for that transgression, which escalates into an attempt to reform or destroy the golden order itself.

source: im trans and i think way too hard about gender dynamics in anything i hyperfixate on

oh my goddd this is such a great analysis and you’ve made so many interesting observations too… you’re making me think soooo hard about Marika contrasted with Ranni within this framework…

Marika being relegated to a passive, instructive role as god-queen makes her actions in the story and frustration with the Greater Will make a lot of sense. I think many of her actions as god-queen can be interpreted as attempts to carve out more autonomy for herself, rather than being the Greater Will’s passive pawn — such as her removal of the rune of death from the Elden Ring, her declaration to “search the depths of the Golden Order” rather than giving herself to “blind faith,” and of course her shattering of the Elden Ring. Then, because of the shattering, she is punished and imprisoned by the Greater Will.

Regarding the shattering, we can contrast Marika with Ranni’s actions leading up to the event: Ranni rejects her role as an empyrean, destined to become a passive god-queen like Marika, so she takes the active decision to initiate the Night of the Black Knives in order to slay her empyrean flesh. Marika then takes the action to shatter the Elden Ring (with her own two hands) in defiance of the Greater Will in the wake of Ranni’s rejection of the Greater Will’s prescribed role.

I think Ranni sees Marika’s fate as a passive pawn of the Greater Will as the worst possible fate for her — she admires her mother’s former strength and independence (taken away by the Golden Order), and wants to take that same active role in her own life. When Ranni finally confronts her Two Fingers, she takes up her blade and slays them personally.

Marika and Ranni both being prescribed a role that strips their autonomy by a higher power and then committing world-shattering actions to seize their own autonomy is literally soooo Gender of both of them… it totally reads as a subversion and rejection of Divine Gender Roles

[raisengen]

While fighting Malenia in Elden Ring, I got to thinking about different the progression in different stats is, particularly in damage vs. levelling HP/stamina.

In RPGs, damage is always important, you need it to end fights, but… increasing damage just ends the fight sooner, and doesn’t change what happens during the fight itself (unless you need to nuke a guy so hard that he can’t respond).

In contrast, upgrading Souls/ER stamina changes how you actually fight. You can do longer attack combos, and chain attacks and dodges for longer without needing to pause. You can also block more dangerous attacks; tanking a supermove like Waterfowl Dance with 0 damage taken feels great and makes the fight much easier.

Boosting HP also changes how you fight; it’s not just “alive/dead”. More HP means you can take more hits before dying, which also means you can take more hits before worrying about dying. You can accept trades and risky moves, or keep on the offensive when damaged, without worrying that you’re going to evaporate to the next hit. And not being constantly on the edge lets you wait until you have a natural opening to heal, rather than trying to force one and risk getting punished.

Stereotypically, RPGs have you choose between passive and active upgrades, a useful-but-boring numerical boost or a shiny new ability. The latter is more exciting, but sometimes it’s “wasted” because you need to remember to use it, or you’ve got enough abilities to use already.

It’s nice how Souls stamina/HP gives you the best of both worlds; they’re always-active passive boosts that naturally unlock new options and change how you fight as you progress.

(It’s also interesting to note how Souls/ER tie weapon and spell access to your offensive stats, which stops them just being number-goes-up as you unlock new movesets and attacks too.)

[daevstroders]

i was smoking some top tier jake english crack ln and had some thoughts and much to ponder when i woke up so have some alloaro jake musings under the cut.

there is always the underlying element of not right not enough yet perfectly aligned and too much with these two. and i think what makes the alloaro jake narrative (which to ignore would be like ignoring his feminine coding imho (that is: impossible) really interesting is Love (capitalised to emphasise romantic from here on out, love sans capitalisation is not to be taken as romantic) is only what he believes it is, what he thinks it should be. what he's seen in his movies, of which he doesn't care for - he watches ACTION FILMS and SUPERHERO FLICKS, john and karkat are the ones who engage most with romcoms - and the kind of love he experiences is not the Love he equates to being 'real'.

everyone's experiences with aromanticism are different, and i think from jake's perspective its more so about his ideals of Love not matching his experiences. he's not shown to have anything more than passing interest and sexual encounters with others in the narrative, save dirk, and that is a whole shitstorm he can hardly bear to think about. its easier to renounce Love itself because to delve into these things would be to self reflect and jake english does Not. self reflect.

his love is destructive and selfish and reactive and obsessive and consuming. the kind where its you are Mine (and i guess that has to make me yours). i'll follow you to the ends of the earth because you're the only one who understands me and doesn't ask more from me than i'm capable of, but i won't force myself to appreciate the parts of you i detest and i don't expect you to do that either. the kind where i enjoy having you around but the domestic ideal i've seen sounds fucking boring and not something i'm capable of or want to be. i love you but i don't Love you. its more than i feel for anyone else and its too much, yet it is still not enough.

vs dirk who believes that his obsession and devotion is what Love is. he is the god of his own reality and the only word he can place on this emotion IS Love because he doesn't know anything else. he's just so much more intense than the rest, it doesnt matter if they don't understand it, because its Raw and Visceral and Real, more than their washed out depictions of Love. he's the same in the sense that the domestic Love for him is fucking boring and unsuited to his tastes but that doesn't make his Love lesser, it makes theirs. he again wants jake to be His but has a hard time accepting that to do so would make him jake's. they both want to possess and consume the other without allowing themselves to be possessed and consumed in return.

i just think both of them have incredibly thwarted ways of experiencing affection and the way they think about Love influences their perspective on the emotion. this is why jake so readily accepts his love isn't Love, assumes roxy's feelings for dirk are more real than his because the feelings there are selfless, unconditional, and passive. which aligns with what we are taught about Love, that it is hard work and unselfish and placing trust in another etc. his feelings are selfish, conditional, and active. he wouldn't want to put the hard work in to make something work with dirk because that would require self reflection, to accept difficult things about himself and accept unpalatable things about dirk. he wouldn't feel the same about dirk if he didn't keep him on his toes, fuck him around mentally and physically, he'd be as blase about the man as he is every other proposed Love interest. he can't sit still and let dirk move on without having his say, he needs to keep what's Mine while still trying to shy away from being His. everything he feels is a contradiction to what he assumes Love to be, therefore he can't Love. whereas as stated with dirk he assumes his Love to be real because it is so much more than what the ideal is portrayed to be like.

and i'm not going to go into it entirely because this is already so long but theres a link here to the cherubs i think. besides the dirk splinters and the english influence, the foundation of a cherub is two dichotomous beings sharing a body which i think is so so representative of dirkjake. they both live on inside one and another, they aren't soul mates or two halves of a whole, they are simply one. and the nature of cherub reproduction and 'romance' is so far removed from what humans would consider 'romance' which is the kind of romance that can be found in dirkjake but in a minor key instead of a major if that makes sense. same tune different sounds.

hussie consistently tries to challenge mainstream ideals of Love through quadrants cherub reproduction leprechauns etc so having a cosmically fated couple actually not fall anywhere on the scale of stereotypical Love is so incredibly on brand.

tldr maybe they are in Love. or maybe what they have is something different. and that is so cool.