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lets-try-some-writing · 2 years ago

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Hi! So this isn’t exactly a request, more or less me just sharing thoughts/rambling. So it’s common knowledge that humans pack bond with damn near anything that they find cute, right? It’s human nature, to just look at a cute delivery robot and go “yeah, this is family now”. And I think this is a double edged sword because that’s what causes things attachment issues and the like.

How do you think team prime would react to something like this happening with the trouble trio? Like the kids eventually (inevitably) look at them and decide that these giant robots are their family and they will NOT let them go. Would the bots be confused? Or would they accept it and move on with minimal questioning. Personally I think that at first it would be awkward until the bots learn of how humans work, and then they realize that this is just how people work, and they accept it with time.

I think it has some really good potential for both fluff and angst.

Anyways I really love the blog! I’ve been reading a lot of your posts and all of them are very nice to go through and think about! :D -🦌 anon

OOooh! I really really like this thought. The human kiddos getting attached and the bots having to figure out how to manage that makes me happy. And thank you anon for your kind words! I am glad you like my posts!

Cybertronian Views on Relationships

Cybertronians are functionally immortal, they do not die from any sort of frame deterioration except in rare cases, and their sparks blaze on until forcefully extinguished. As such their views on some concepts are rather skewed to match up with their long lifespans. Time is one of those things, they simply do not see it the same way as humans. Days are fleeting moments, weeks are little more than a flash to them, years are but months in their view, and vorns are the closest they have to an actual measurement of time that matters. They see everything in a far longer view, planning for centuries into the future more often than not.

Despite the war forcing their views on time to match those of humans more closely, their ideas regarding friendship, family, and other bonds have not changed. Bonds are a sacred thing, they are not made in a day nor do they break easily. It takes years for a sparkling to bond to their Caretaker despite the Caretaker in question doing everything to love and care for them. While other species may find it strange, for Cybertronians it is completely normal since the sparkling does not have any actual relation to them prior to a bond forming. Not only that, but if the sparkling and Caretaker do not match it would be terrible for them to be stuck together when it clearly does not suit either party. They have eternity ahead of them, having a good family is more important than any benefits an immediate bond may bring. Unlike species who reproduce on their own and have an instinctual bond with their offspring for survival reasons, Cybertronians, while still feeling affection for their young counterparts, still need to put in effort to bond with their sparklings.

Friendships take even longer to form, anywhere from vorns to centuries. Cybertronians naturally tend to group together, its part of their code, a way to ensure they survive. And so they can easily be amicable with one another, but a proper friendship does not form until two bots can safely determine that the other is a good match for them. This can happen rather quickly if both save each other or prove through action that they are a suitable partner in a survival situation, forming a bond of necessity. This was common during the war and allowed the Autobots and Decepticons to form bonds fast enough to actually have a sense of comradery. But when not forced due to stress or other factors, friendships form through shared ideals, functions, or simply a harmonization of sparks. Take Ratchet and Optimus's relationship for example. Both were from wildly different castes and functions, neither having particularly close ideals outside of their wish for freedom for all, but with time they formed their bond.

Romantic relationships are not really a concept that Cybertronians are familiar with, at least not in the sense that organics are used to. They have no sexual drive since they do not reproduce through intercourse or other methods involving the union of two individuals. The closest thing Cybertronians have to a romantic relationship is an evolution of an Amica bond (the bond that forms between close friends), that being Conjunx Endura. Even then it isn't really a marriage, more like a shared habitation where both bots trust the other with their lives and to make decisions in their stead. They may be more affectionate with their Conjunx than with their Amica or other friends, but ultimately the bond is like the highest form of companionship instead of a marriage. Simply put, Cybertronians just have a different view on relationships as a whole.

As such when the children walked into their lives, it was rather awkward for a while due to the differing views of the bots when it comes to bonds. Especially with PDA and such not really being something Cybertronians do for various reasons.

The Children's Attachment

When the children became the Autobot's charges, they expected very little to change beyond the chaos that was guaranteed to come from human sparklings running about. At most they were prepared to have stress induced friendship bonds form between themselves and the children. Even though Optimus was near desperate to coddle the human sparklings he kept himself controlled as always and life went on as normal. That was until the children began getting all touchy feely, behaving in a manner around the bots that was reserved for Amica bonded or Caretakers and their sparklings on Cybertron.

It started with Miko. Her family life was less than stellar and so she quickly took a liking to Bulkhead who came to be an older brother/fatherly figure for her. She started hanging around him more than any of the other bots, and that was fine, in fact it was a normal starting point for any set of bots looking to possibly develop a friendship. Bulkhead didn't mind and the team didn't bat an optic, it made sense for Miko to begin attempting to bond with her guardian if only to make their time together more tolerable. But then she started getting all affectionate with Bulkhead, dragging him out to do things with her, giving him gifts, and even giving him the odd kiss on the cheek. And that baffled the entire team, not just Bulkhead who could only stand around in confusion and embarrassment from the mixed signals he was getting. Did Miko want an Amica bond? Was she trying to tell Bulkhead she wanted him as her Caretaker? Or was there some strange human nuances he was missing?

It was odd, but the team tried to chalk it up to Miko being Miko, that was until Rafael got in on it. He started purposefully checking in on Bumblebee, becoming a bit of a mother hen while also spending nearly all of his free time with the scout. This was once again seen as pretty normal for Cybertronians looking to bond, after all, it made sense for Rafael to want to spend time with Bee to see if he was a good match. But just like with Miko, he started getting more intimate, joking and playing around with Bee in a manner reserved for close friends or even Amica bonded. He carefully made stickers for Bumblebee to wear on his armor and went out of his way to try and find a way to fix Bumblebee's voice when nothing else was on the agenda. It was odd behavior and once again, sent very mixed signals. It certainly didn't help when Rafael began mimicking Ratchet and following him around, much like a sparkling would with a potential Caretaker.

Eventually even Jack started becoming far more affectionate than what the bots were used to and expecting. He worried for Arcee, fixing up her paint for her and playfully teasing her in fun banter. He gave her small gifts and took the time to teach her things about human society. This only served to drive home to the bots just how odd the human children were and made them begin to panic slightly due to the incredibly mixed signals. Arcee couldn't figure out what the heck Jack was trying to do with his interactions. Did he see her as a potential Caretaker? If so, why was he teaching her things? Did he want an Amica bond? But if that was the case, why was he allowing her to take care of him as she would a youngling? Not even Optimus was exempt from the children's confusing affection. All three of the children also made sure to offer him some love too, giving him little gifts in the form of small trinkets and constantly pestering him to play/assist them in something. It warmed his spark, but also left him just as confused as the rest of the team.

Of course it never occurred to the team to just ask what the children wanted outright because why would they? They were millennia old, they were pretty sure they understood what the children were asking of them with their actions. Hence began the team's very dysfunctional attempt to try and match whatever they believed the children wanted of them. It was awkward and felt rushed to most of the team, but they did try their best. And upon doing some additional research they came to understand somewhat the driving force behind the children's behavior. Apparently humans are pack type species and rapidly form and break bonds as a means to survive with their short lifespans. Hence their (not so sudden) sudden affection in the optics of the bots. So despite their own reservations and the blatant disregard for the normal order of things on the children's part, the team did their best to bond in whatever capacity the children seemed to want.

Bulkhead did his best to try and respond to Miko's affection with a more fatherly approach. He tested the waters carefully, doing his best to not pressure or overstep while still attempting to take on a parental role in her life. When he found no objection from Miko in response to his minor worrying and slightly more authoritative tone with her, he pushed things up a notch, feeling pretty confident in his choice to try and become her secondary Caretaker since her parents weren't available. When Wheeljack arrived and was met with similar levels of affection from Miko, he took one look at Bulkhead and followed his lead. In the end Miko did not realize it, but she gained two very very overprotective fathers. With Bulkhead being the more reasonable one, constantly checking on her to make sure she does her work and fuels properly and Wheeljack adding a little bit of chaos while also being the one to dole out punishments when needed. It has never been anything worse than having to stand in the corner or sit up in the rafters with no way down without help, but still Bulkhead frets.

Bumblebee took Rafael's concern and more understanding approach to mean that he was working toward trying to gain an Amica bond with him. It was surprising, and since he had never been presented with such a situation before, Bumblebee went to Optimus for advice on the subject. And so soon after Bumblebee took to doing what a good potential Amica should do according to Optimus, that being trying to understand and connect to his possible best friend. He took the time to listen, learn, and discover everything he could about Rafael without being a creep and digging through his files (that would break the rules, a good Amica doesn't do that). He spent as much time as possible with Rafael, having discussions and trying to bring them closer. And in the end, Rafael, much like Miko, had no idea when he gained himself a similarly very very overprotective brother and friend. No one touched Rafael without Bee being there to drive them into the ground before they could so much as lift a finger. Rafael was his friend, his potential Amica, no one was allowed to harm him so long as Bumblebee lived.

Ratchet saw Rafael's mimicry and overall interest in him as an obvious cry for a Caretaker, and so believing himself incapable of being incorrect on that front, did not even hesitate to begin the bonding process. When Rafael wasn't with Bumblebee, Ratchet took him and carried him around in one of his servos or on his shoulder, taking the time to answer all of his questions. Ratchet would check Rafael regularly and sing on a pitch too low for human ears but most certainly meant to calm a sparkling. He would also carefully listen to everything Rafael said to him, taking note of anything that could be bothering his little one. Anything at all that upset Rafael was tended to by Ratchet. A wound? Ratchet would tenderly put a band-aid on it and give Rafael a little treat he had June buy for him. Trouble at home? Ratchet was always there to listen and quietly coo at his small human sparkling, reminding him that he is loved. In the end Rafael got himself a highly devoted Caretaker, willing to do just about anything for him even if the medic in question refuses to acknowledge it.

Arcee took a lot longer than the rest of the team to figure out what the pit Jack wanted from her. He treated her like an equal, bantering and playing but still looked to her for care. And that confused her to the point of leading her to also go to Optimus for consultation. His advice was to try taking on a more motherly role and see how Jack felt about it. And so trusting her Prime, she did as advised, and surprise surprise, Jack didn't seem at all concerned if a little irritated at times. Seeing this Arcee rapidly took on the role of a secondary Caretaker for Jack. While he had his mother, he did not have a father, someone to protect him. So Arcee stepped up, becoming a more masculine parental figure for him, teaching him the things a father normally would have to the best of her ability. She even went so far as to look up things like how to tie a tie and how to change a car tire just for Jack since no one else was going to teach him any time soon. Of course she still mostly kept to a more feminine role when it came to Jack's care, but when required she took up the mantle his father left behind. And just like Miko and Rafael, he had no clue when he ultimately gained himself a doting parent ready to murder and hide the bodies of his enemies for him.

As for Optimus? He was perfectly content to take on the role his position as Prime offered him. On Cybertron, while sparkling had primary and secondary Caretakers to handle a majority of their needs and education, there was always a more communal effort involved. In small select groups like Optimus's team on earth, there was always a head to the clan that formed. There was always a protector and elder guide for all the young bots under their care. And in the team's case, that was Optimus, that with him being the Prime and old as dirt, being bested only by Ratchet in age. And so in light of this and his own desire to care for sparklings, human as they might be, Optimus took on the role of the clan guardian. He taught the children whenever there was time, teaching them important life lessons through simple tales and stories. He regurally sat them on his shoulders and sang to them songs of Cybertron and the history of all that his people held dear. He told them the history of the Cybertronian people, taking care to ensure the children learned well and grew up strong as a Prime should. And on top of that, he often made the children small gifts in return for their own, ranging from talismans to interesting objects he found on patrol.

In the end, the team bonded to the children, their attachment being far greater than anything the human children could have even conceived with the sacred status associated with bonds. As such, any and all attempts to touch the children by MECH, the Decepticons, or anyone else was met with immediate and sharp retribution, even being detrimental at times.

Bonds

Bonds are sacred, they mean everything to Cybertronians. When they form, they are often for life, never to be broken save for the most brutal of betrayals. The children did not understand this in large part due to the culture difference. As such when the bots began growing more aggressive and less content with things going on in the children's lives, they could not comprehend why.

Every single time Jack's bully turned up to harass him, Arcee had to struggle to keep herself from pommeling the brat. Jack was her boy, he was so kind and loving, he did not deserve to hear the slag coming out of the mouths of his peers. Bumblebee often found himself growing paranoid whenever Rafael was away from base for more than a day or two, wondering if something had happened to his potential Amica. He paced, concerned beyond words that something had happened, or worse yet, that Rafael had found him unsuitable for an Amica bond. And any time some kid tried to bother Rafael while Bumblebee was there waiting very nearly ended in bloodshed if not for the constant fear of discovery looming over his helm. Bulkhead and Wheeljack had many many profane words in store for Miko's foster and biological parents. How dare they leave the lovely girl alone! How dare they never give her any affection! Miko's quiet cries in the dead of night where she called out for her parents always tore Bulkhead and Wheeljack's sparks to shreds. They wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but instead all they could do was shower her in affection later as they knew interacting with her in that state would do no good.

Ratchet regularly contemplated just straight up kidnapping Rafael after he took a closer look at his home life and saw just how little his parents cared for him. Did they not know that sparklings were a rare and wonderful gift? Downright disgusting in his book. And when it came to a Con touching Rafael, Ratchet's normally calm demeanor went flying out the window, nearly leading him to kill a few Vehicons in rage. No one touched his sparkling. Optimus was not any better. If any of his little ones were touched, grown (Bumblebee) or otherwise (the children), he would not hesitate to destroy the perpetrator, primely duties be slagged. And much like Ratchet he tended to consider the possibility of up and adopting (stealing) the children, perhaps even finding a way to get them proper Cybertronian frames. His little ones needed to live long lives after all, Optimus would not stand for anything else.

Knowing all this, MECH really shouldn't have expected anything aside from an outright slaughter when they took the children. Even Autobots have breaking points..

#maccadam #transformers prime #transformers #optimus prime #ratchet #arcee #bulkhead #bumblebee #rafael esquivel #jack darby #miko nakadai #cute family feels #cybertronian culture #this was a long one #but goodness I cannot get the idea of the bots just losing it out of my head #touch their little ones and say your prayers cuz you about to meet your deity

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ramshacklefey · 4 months ago

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Do any actual historians or sociologists still think that women magically become housebound and oppressed when a society picks up grain-based agriculture, or is that just one of those things they teach us in school?

Because first of all, in a small subsistence farming community, everyone works the fields during planting and harvest seasons. There's not really any other option.

And secondly, in a non-industrial society, there is so much fucking work to do to keep everyone alive, even if we only look at food. Grain farming is a solid way to get a staple food, but you need a lot more than that. Once grains are harvested they need to be threshed and stored. You need vegetable gardens, and then you need to preserve the vegetables so you'll still have food outside the growing season. That means pickling, drying, packing in oil, making jams and preserves, etc. There may also be orchards or bushes to tend. Herbs (because everyone has always wanted their food to have fucking flavor). There are animals to care for: feeding, milking, and collecting eggs. Butchering and then preserving meat. Someone in a household has to also be aware of and tracking how much of everything you have. Between planting and harvest, crops need to be tended: weeded, watered, protected from animals or thieves.

And if we look beyond just food production? Clothes and tools need to be made, which is a full-time occupation by itself: sheep or goats have to be sheared, fibers processed and spun, cloth woven, and clothes stitched. Raw materials need to be gathered and prepared for use. If something breaks, someone has to repair or patch or make a new one. Pottery and baskets need to be made, as do string, rope, and fishing nets.

Wood or dung for cooking has to be gathered, and if you live somewhere with cold winters, a LOT of wood needs to be set by. Water needs to be fetched from wherever your community gets it. Children need to be looked after and educated. The elderly and infirm need care.

All of these tasks require specialized knowledge and skills. People are by and large not idiots, but there's a limit to how many skills a single person can acquire well enough to perform them on the level needed for survival.

And this isn't even getting into community leadership, arbitrating conflicts, organizing group labor, and the host of related social wrangling that has to happen to keep a group of people functional.

Throughout history and around the world, different cultures and communities have organized who takes on which of these tasks differently. Yeah, there are some trends and patterns about gender roles that are interesting. But it would be foolishness to assume just because work in a particular group is segregated by gender roles, that women were also oppressed and devalued. That speaks more to our own views of the value of certain kinds of labor more than anything else.

I guess my point here is that we don't know how or why so many societies developed some form of gender-related stratification. And projecting our own particular form of patriarchal society backwards in time or onto different societies is an unhelpful form of revisionism.

#ramshackle thoughts

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pb-dot · 1 month ago

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Film Friday: Bee Movie

I have, on occasion, been accused of being unable to take a joke. As a nerd with an analytical mind and a brain in a frustrating inbetween-y zone of neurodivergence and -typicality, I can see where the criticism comes from. I do however, maintain that I am able to catch jokes, but that I may also chose to opt out of catching the joke if the joke is stupid. This is all to say that many of my criticisms of Bee Movie can be thusly disarmed: relax it's just a dumb comedy. This is fair enough, although I would argue the thing isn't really funny either, but more on that later.

Bee Movie is, in essence a singular breed, a comedian passion project in animated form. Born from the mind of Jerry Seinfeld, this absurd little thing follows the story of one Barry B. Benson, a young bee who, on his first trip outside of the hive, encounters a human woman he falls in love with, as well as the seemingly forbidden knowledge that humans harvest and sell their honey. Now that's a lot to take in, but as it is the only major developments in the movie until a particular groaner in act 3, more on that later, you'll have plenty of time to digest it. Hope you like the inherent absurdity of an adult human man being cucked by a bee for like an hour, because that is, frankly, a lot of it.

Much ado has been made about the beestiality, if you pardon the terrible no good pun everyone and their grandmas have done at this point, but honestly I find it more interesting to view this movie through the lens of economics and politics. Yes, I am serious, I assure you I'm going somewhere with this.

So, in essence what happens in this movie is that a young man discovers that his labor and the labors of his community is being absorbed and used to enrich the people who exploit them. Is man not entitled to the nectar of his brow, and so on and so on. Bee Movie is interesting, I suppose, in that it is a fable-style animal tale that describes capitalist alienation and exploitation and actually goes on to changing that. Shame, I suppose, that the ideas that guide this tale have the stupidest Champagne Liberal-ass take on what succeeding such a task may entail.

See, Barry sues humanity for bees to gain the right to their own honey, an affair that takes up the parts of act 2 that aren't filled with bee-human romance. In the end, the bees pull out a W, which I consider an optimistic estimate to any case where nonhuman sentience in any way is involved, but let's go for it. Humans can't just take the honey any more. Barry B. Benson has single-handedly taken all of beekind into a post-scarcity society, where their ability to produce what is necessary for survival so vastly outstrips their needs as to rend them negligible. Sure, humans can buy the honey from them, but what does a human have that a bee really needs? There's just two small problems. One, "it's just not the same," to quote one character who is so freaked out about not having to work with the threat of a death and destitution hanging over his head he can't function in a world where these swords of damocles are taken away. Two: Complete and utter biosphere collapse.

It is, I believe, pertinent at this point to talk about Bee Facts. See, I firmly believe that knowing about how bees work is a major disadvantage in watching this movie because the movie either doesn't know, or care, the first thing about actual bees in the real world. Barry, for example, comes from a nuclear family type arrangement and not one single egg laying biomonarch, and he is, as far as anyone can tell, a man and not a drone whose only job is doing their part in reproduction. There are those that argue that one should view worker bees as female, and those that argue that imposing an animalian reproduction binary (or should I say beenary?) is incorrect in its entirety. Either way, he probably shouldn't be a suave lad. That's one thing, but I suppose part of "the joke" here is that bees don't act like humans but in this movie they do.

Where this becomes pretty important, though, is in the third act with the aforementioned biosphere collapse. See, one Bee Fact that bee movie does indeed know about is that bees are important pollinators, and now that bees don't have to ride that pollen grind like it's the pony express, plants start dying, and they die a lot. Now never mind that honey bees aren't the only pollinators in the world for a second, even people who know Bee Facts can be guilty of that one. What knowing some Bee Facts will tell you, though, is that this absolutely would not be a problem with honey bees. We know what honey bees do when they produce more honey than they need. It's a process we can see. With our eyes. Once their honey stores are so packed there's no space for new bee larvae to grow, the bees fuck off, leave the hive and the Midas' horde of honey and get started elsewhere. It's not ideal, obviously, but the bees keep at it, they're good at building hives and making honey and by jove they're not going to stop doing that for anything short of fire or storms.

This, to me, is where the movie fails both as a movie about bees and a comedy of "hey what if bees had to exist in capitalism?" It's not a movie about bees because the entire third act would not exist, Barry and all his friends would move hive for like the sixth time that month and otherwise all would be as before. Neither is it a particularly inspired take of "hey what if bees were like humans," because the movie stumbles into a star trek-ass post scarcity situation for these tiny bee-shaped humans and have to bring the fact that they aren't bee-shaped humans but indeed bees (and somehow the only pollinators in the world?) for the movie to go on to have a plot.

I try to not make unflattering psychoanalysis of the people behind movies, whether I like them or not, but on the other hand I don't think I can put into words how heavy the thought "Jerry Seinfeld can't imagine a world where people aren't exploited for their labor because he benefits from that very same system that exploits people for their labor" weighs on my mind when discussing this movie. The movie is so terminally incurious about the ideas it brings to the forefront of its plot that it manages to, with no sense of irony, say that "maybe having to work to live is actually better than the alternative for no particular reason?" There is no room for worker bees to be anything other than just that in Bee Movie's world. They must struggle to survive like the lower classes struggle to survive or the world would end, so says the guy who made a fortune off of (admittedly pretty funny) go-nowhere comedy in the 90s.

In the end, does any of this matter particularly? No, not really. Bee Movie exists now mostly as a meme, a variation of the Shrek ironic enjoyment, although I'd argue the first couple of Shrek movies were actually good movies. Still, I do live under the constant self-imposed pressure of wanting to take movies seriously no matter how obviously flippant they are. That means that some times you write 1.3k+ furious words about the politics of Bee Movie. I suppose we all have our lot in life.

#film friday #bee movie #in which peebs goes off at Bee Movie (2007)

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nb-n0v4 · 1 year ago

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was lookin at @charseraph 's crowns and remembered an alien I made ages ago called Seraphs! long ramble about these guys under the cut lmao

mmm okie so the seraphs have a hive mind similar to the mercane from dnd, all connected but still sporting individual personalities, with the Arch or "Arch-seraph" as a "mother" to the species that spawns more through asexual reproduction. Seraphs are essentially made of stardust and their internal composition is similar to that of a plant or fungus, lacking any kind of skeletal structure and instead having incredibly tough skin covering a network of simple muscles and a complex neural network that spans their entire bodies.

The little nodes on their cap don't function as normal eyes but instead see auras and act as powerful sensory organs that detect minute changes in atmosphere and the composition of the environment around them. They are capable of surviving in a total vacuum, since this is where they are born and they are in fact made for interstellar existence. Their main goal is to collect knowledge to further the intelligence of the collective consciousness held within the Arch and bring intellectual enlightenment to species they perceive as worthy.

They have no spoken or written language and instead communicate through complex telepathy. they range in color from void black to bright white and always have a vaguely pearlescent sheen to them. Their "eyes" are a nebulae of colors that shift with the electromagnetic currents that pulse through their bodies. They're graceful creatures, and surprisingly agile and strong.

If a seraph dies, which is a rarity, it's a somewhat common practice for another seraph close to them to fully assimilate the deceased seraph's consciousness and live as a combination of the two, meaning seraphs will occasionally house multiple sets of memories. If the memories are not assimilated then eventually that seraph is reborn through the Arch, with a fledgling occasionally choosing to take on the life of a deceased seraph instead of gaining one through their own interactions with the universe.

they don't have a concept of family unit structure within their society beyond existing as a collective, and are largely solitary or pairs, with no need or desire to reproduce and physical distance being immaterial to their interaction with others of their kind. Seraphs also don't have a concept of age, since they receive a wealth of knowledge about existence in general from the moment of their conception, and emerge fully developed. "Young" serpahs only exist in a chronological sense, but a seraph always remains with the Arch for around 70 years communing within the knowledge of the collective before venturing out, regardless of how they chose to assimilate, in order to be properly knowledgeable and suited to bringing enlightenment.

Older seraphs will often pose as what could be likened to psuedo-religious figures, imparting the secrets of the universe onto planet-bound species and encouraging them to interstellar travel. The Seraphs will then travel with these races to gain their unique perspective on the universe around them. They have no culture of their own, and instead strive to understand the universe through all of its infinite lenses.

They hold no regard to morals, good or otherwise, and are an utterly unbiased and mostly passive race. Not to say that you couldn't get them to help you out with something, after all, their own interaction with the universe and the races in it is part of the knowledge they strive to collect, it would just take a lot of convincing as they largely prefer to simply observe.

the oldest recorded seraph (outside of the Arch, who's age is indeterminable despite best efforts, and is even theorized to be a remnant of existence from a previous universe,) is roughly 24 billion years old, as Seraphs do not die naturally. This seraph, unlike it's bretheren, has actually begun to show what could only be called signs of aging, bearing small under-developed growths reminiscent to that of the Arch.

It is theorized that this seraph is in the very beginning stages of growing into an Arch itself, and grants a mind-boggling look at the time scale necessary to create one of these beings. This seraph is also capable of creating primitive proto-seraphs that are colloquially known as "cherubs" that resemble small earth jellyfish both in appearance and level of conciousness.

#my art #alien species #speculative biology #sci-fi #spec bio #seraphs #original aliens

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your-local-crypt1d · 5 months ago

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rattles my metal bucket w like 3 coins inside, pleading eyes… empires tommy thoughts?

Is angst okay? Because I have angsty stuff that'll I'll put under the cut just in case

Cw for ptsd and panic attacks ✨️

So the grimlands many export is gunpowder, right? So they have fireworks and TNT in excess. The only problem with that, is Tommy's trauma surrounding both.

The first time fWhip learns of this is when he's showing Tommy around outside the manor and some fireworks go off in the distance, simple celebratory ones.

Unfortunately "simple celebratory" fireworks aren't a thing from where Tommy comes from, they're a weapon of war exclusively, and his soldier brain kicks in when he hears them.

He's immediately shouting "Get down!" and pulling fWhip with him to the floor, laying on his stomach and covering his ears. Tears are streaming down his face and he's muttering about executions and battles.

fWhip actually has decent knowledge on how to calm someone down from a panic attack, he's just so stunned in the moment one of his guards does it for him. Doing the "5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and one thing you can taste" grounding thing.

After all that, fWhip makes a note to make some noise-cancelling headphones for Tommy.

Tommy gets a very different but similarly stemmed reaction when learning about fWhip making bombs, and overseeing demolition projects in the Grimlands and outside. He knows logically fWhip is just passionate about his work, but every time he sees the man grin maniacally about it, Tommy just sees Wilbur.

Tommy starts getting jumpy and nervous around fWhip again after learning that. Tommy knows he's not anything like Wilbur but he still flinches away from fWhip, "If I can't have L'manberg, then no one can!" echoing in his head.

It's only when fWhip confronts him about it ("confront" is way too harsh a word for how gently he asks Tommy about it) does Tommy crack. Through angry tears he makes fWhip promise he'd never blow up the Grimlands (Tommy doesn't wanna admit he's starting to see Eastvale as his home), that fWhip means it when he says he's just blowing things up to make room for builders and nothing more, nothing terroristic.

fWhip is utterly horrified at the implications and very quickly swears on his life he'd never purposefully "blow up" anyone! Certainly not the Grimlands, certainly not his home.

fWhip starts keeping a list of triggers for Tommy after this, he is very concerned for this kids wellbeing.

In the meantime, he finishes Tommy's new prosthetic arm. Tommy doesn't know how to respond at first when given it, his immediate thought is if this is some sort of trick or way to garner his trust before hurting him (like everyone else), but he ignores that in favour of putting the new arm on, the magic and redstone humming to life.

He cries, happy tears don't worry, but he cries a lot. He was so sure that after Dream broke his old one he'd never have another arm, he'd have to learn to survive on one again! But fWhip put his own valuable time into making one, a real one that functions not a trick, and holds him through the tears.

It's bittersweet in a way, Tommy finally getting the kindness he's so desperately wanted and needed over the years. He's grateful to have it now but where was it when Wilbur died? When Tubbo exiled him? When Dream nearly killed Tubbo over his stupid discs? When Dream permanently killed him in prison?

I just want Tommy to be able to cry for once, cry until he feels better and have someone (Papa fWhip) to be there to comfort him.

Tommy also getting to enjoy a fireworks display without a panic attack because of the previously mentioned noise-cancelling headphones.

I do also have a short thing I wrote where fWhip does calm Tommy down from a panic attack if you want!

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reds-skull · 30 days ago

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please infodump about the cyberknights au🥺

Well if not one but TWO people give me permission I guess I have to haha

(Seriously tho thank you so much T_T)

All of this can be changed by the time I get to start writing it, so fair warning lol

So last time I really talked about cyberknights I mentioned their world is basically a theoretical future where operation Deadbolt failed (deadbolt being the op to contain the aether/zombie outbreak to Urzikstan in MWZ), around 70 years after the initial outbreak.

Cyberknights is a temporary name for the Knighthood, the organization that is in charge of keeping the aether as far away from the remaining human cities as they can.

I think it will be an international organization, made possible by the aether tears and teleporters (can't remember the official name rn).

What I was thinking about more recently is, that maybe the Knighthood are a separate entity from the state they're from. That is why they can work internationally despite some countries having political tensions between each other.

I was replaying Dishonored (my favorite game <333) and really paying attention to the interactions between the Overseers and the City Watch.

[brief explanation on those if you've never played Dishonored: There are two main peacekeepers in the city of Dunwall, where the game takes place, the City Watch, who are basically policemen following rules made by the parliament, and the Overseers, who are religious officers that follow the Abbey of the Everyman and the high overseer (comparable to the pope in our world I suppose). These two groups have tensions between them in-game, but they're often working together.]

Inspired by the Overseers, I wanted to have the Knighthood be more religious, making the aether a sort of religion by itself. To combine science and the supernatural. Maybe the aether is seen as a curse, and those who often come into contact with it are seen as tainted. The knights do a work no one else wants to do, they sacrifice their own good for the sake of the rest of the population.

The knights are more religious than the general population, prayers and rituals part of their every day life. Their religion isn't just followed by them, but by many outside the Knighthood, but none are as devoted as them.

I think knights would begin training very early in life. If a child has a strong constitution, their parents can consider sending them to the Knighthood. They're likely to never see the child again, so they receive goods from the state for their sacrifice.

The child will be trained in combat, taught how to cleanse aether contamination and use aether tears, and basic mechanic knowledge to work with the technology they're given. After they're deemed ready, they will go on their first mission along with a team, and if they survive they will officially be knighted.

In this structure, the knights won't have much contact with the outside world, and form tightly-knit groups.

The exception to this is Soap, who originally was raised in what used to be Scotland (don't have a name for it yet...), but was moved to the British order after his injury. His accent and mannerisms differ noticeably from the rest of the knights.

Sidenote on the tech they use, I think it will be quite similar to what their equivalent of a military has, except the knights purposely model their armor to be in the image of the original knights. The cyberknights admire the original knights, and in their eyes they continue their legacy of fighting monsters. As they fought dragons, they fight aether worms.

The military sends tech for the knights if they find it will be useful for them, as everyone relays on the knights to hold back the aether. A lot of people question the continued need for the Knighthoods, asking why so many resources need to be wasted on them, but those who know what they do understand that without them, humanity will collapse again.

The newest invention of the military was G.H.O.S.T, a fully functioning robot to aid the knights. G.H.O.S.T is experimental at the start of the story, the first of its kind in any combat situation. Many knights distrust G.H.O.S.T's presence, but the 141 squad learns he's not quite like a real soldier.

Part of why the Knighthood doesn't quite like G.H.O.S.T is because his body works with aether. G.H.O.S.T is able to use field upgrades just like a knight, and his weapons are infused with the same process their's do. Those processes are considered blasphemy for anyone whose not a knight, but the Knighthood assures them G.H.O.S.T's creation wasn't.

I want to design banners for each Knighthood and incorporate them to the outfits for each member respectively. Like imagine having Soap marked by his original Scottish Knighthood, while Gaz and Price have a British banner, with G.H.O.S.T having none since he was never technically knighted. I think that would be really cool.

For the story, I think there will be a lot of knights we will see in temporary collaborations, since the knights aren't limited by physical distance or country of origin. So I'd like to design knight armor for Rudy and Alejandro, and Farah and Alex. Also considering adding Roach for the first time since I will need a lot of characters.

Besides knights, there are also mechanics and aether experts in their base of operation (don't have a name for it yet either), trainers for the children that weren't knighted yet, and of course the amount of people that takes to maintain such large amount of people, like cooks, cleaners, etc. and I want some of those to be characters from canon because it's more fun than inventing people I guess.

As to what the knights do when they go out to the contaminated lands, a lot of their work consists of destroying aether nests, collecting crystals to replenish their supplies, fighting disciples that attract zombies towards human cities. Very rarely, they would fight monsters like an aether worm, if they find it poses a risk.

The knights are always working against the clock, trying to outrun the never-ending storms that ravage through those lands. Getting stuck in a storm often means death for them, as it depletes their aether supply faster than they can replenish it. Aether is fuel for a knight's suit, which powers their weapons and motorcycles (which look like horses and can actually respond to voice commands), but it also makes sure their filtration masks work. Every inch of a knight is covered for a reason - the air in the contaminated lands is toxic for humans.

If knights enter storms, their stay only lasts mere minutes, but if they stay far enough they could last days before returning to the Knighthood's base. Over the years, knights have built shelters in places they frequent, and it is tradition to leave one thing behind if a knight comes across one and uses it. Those shelters have food and water, as well as charging stations.

Knights almost never go out alone, usually having a team of 2–3 people, depending on their task. Like I've explained before, a full team of knights consists of a combat expert, a mechanic expert and an aether expert. A combat expert is always needed, but the mechanic and aether can switch out if the job doesn't require them.

The 141 has four members, with two being combat experts, so they can often split into two teams, and that's why Soap and G.H.O.S.T end up alone in the start of the story.

Out of the three jobs, a mechanic is the least likely to expect combat, and is the least useful. They're still very important, you wouldn't want to be stuck in the contaminated lands with a broken helmet or bike, but aether-mechanic lifeforms are weaker than native aether forms.

[non-native aether lifeforms include regular zombies and mechanic-aether lifeforms, while native aether lifeforms include disciples and aether worms.]

It's for that reason Soap was demoted from combat expert to mechanic after his injury. Initially, he was to be removed from entering the contaminated lands altogether, but after practically begging, he was allowed back. He hates leaving the combat role behind, but because he's got a few loose screws he still acts like he is.

Field upgrades (I'll probably change their name to something cooler in the future tbh) allow knights to use aether to their advantage. They range from healing to hiding the user from the eyes of aether lifeforms, and use up a lot of aether so they're best used in combat only. While in combat, aether is collected from the blood that comes into contact with the various blades of the knights, and because regular zombies are easy to kill it's a good source of energy.

Soap's field upgrade, Frenzied Guard, is usually reserved for combat experts only. It makes it so the user builds up a sort of coating that protects them the more they slay, but at the cost of having every aether lifeform aggravated and focused on them. Field Upgrades can be changed with the right ritual, but Soap refused to do so.

Frenzied Guard actually helps Soap's leg injury not affect him while he's using the upgrade, but at the cost of making him collapse right after it runs out. He doesn't use it often as a result, and is actively discouraged to by his team.

I still need to work out what happened 70 years prior to the start of the story, exactly how much civilization collapsed because of the aether, as well as how are countries now operating, what even their names are... How people react to the Knighthoods. There are a lot of interesting ways I could make the dynamics of the knights and the military go, currently I'm leaning into mutual distrust...

And of course there's G.H.O.S.T's mystery... which I won't reveal here but oh boy if there's not a lot I could do with it...

I feel like this AU burrowed in my brain more than even rev AU because its world isn't ours, so I can world build so much more. I'll admit working within canon restrictions is interesting, leads me to decide things I wouldn't usually think to do if I was left to my own devices, but cyberknights AU is far more of my bread and butter. Before getting struck by COD brainrot I would only work of things that are related to either fantasy or sci-fi (which includes superheroes and supernatural entities in my eyes), things that rely heavily on worldbuilding as they often don't take place in our reality. Overthinking everything is part of the job in those genres haha. So I'm very much enjoying myself thinking about all of this, as you probably can tell by the length of this post...

I also still need to continue my research into Scottish mythology and knight orders from medieval Britain and Scotland (the Scots didn't really have the same vibes as British knights but it's still interesting to look into). I'm currently reading a translation of one of the stories allegedly written by that medieval John M'Tavish and it takes far longer than a modern story would because they use high level words that I never heard of, and English isn't my first language by far so I need to sit with a dictionary and reread the same sentence three times sometimes to understand it lol... but this was the case with the Exeter book as well and I read like 20 poems and riddles from that book for BLOOD||HUNGER so it's not like that's new.

How do I tell people I got into medieval poetry because of a fucking COD fic.....

#asks answered #ty for the ask <3 #seriously again tysm it made my morning that much better #cyberknights au #not art #i want to sketch out how I imagine the knight's base #but fuck if drawing architectural drawings doesn't sound like a nightmare lmao #i do need to practice it.......#i have done some sketches of knight Farah but her design needs refining #she will be so cool though like not only its farah its KNIGHT farah

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awellboiledicicle · 1 year ago

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First person to try drilling down on what Fido's deal is would be Gale, between adventuring and actually sleeping. He's limited to whatever books they can scrounge initially [as Fido is hoarding them to learn about the world they're now stuck in], but by the time they get to Baldur's Gate he's going to have some very specific queries outside of the whole Crown research thing.

First person to go "Maybe this is a warlock thing" is, naturally, Wyll. Because Fido is going to eldritch blast something in a panic and he's going to go "now hold on". Also because I imagine Mizora would think it was hilarious another warlock is making noise about his deal. They make some barbed comment to her, the magic flaring a bit, and she tuts at Wyll for consorting with 'that mean old octopus' behind her back like this. Leaves before explaining anything.

Astarion 100% believes they're lying about not knowing they're bound up with some apparently tentacled monster when it comes out. like. just thematically it feels like a thing one should know about. He's just saying that if HE had made a deal to get MAGIC INVULNERABILITY POWERS, then HE would have remembered that. They throw a handful of grass at him and he rolls his eyes.

Lae'zel still occasionally thwacks them with a random sword to see if their protection is still working. This is, she insists, a function of their friendship that she would bother doing a check at all. Deep down she just really appreciates their willingness to listen and learn from her, as well as their absolute unwillingness to take any shit from her. Thus the checking.

Shadowheart still thinks they're a little crazy, for different reasons. Initially it was because they insisted they had no idea elves were real, followed by being from 'earth', followed by their panic response being to yell insults at the enemy to make their brain explode. The warlock thing feels like they might have been lying about it--a skill they seem unnervingly good at in spite of their general honest streak--but honestly? Given how they keep tripping into being good to others, she wouldn't doubt them having been just given the ring by some sorcerer or something.

Halsin feels conflicted about Fido expressly because they have a very... dim view of nature being allowed to take its course. With people. They get along largely after Fido gets fed up and goes "you're ungodly old so you can handle sitting down and leveling with me here. I need you to understand that, where i come from, if someone looks at someone like me and says 'nature should take its course' that means 'i want you to not exist'. It means 'you are unnatural'. We're not having the same conversation when we talk about nature, here. I like the birds doing bird things and fish swimming and whatever. But sometimes nature is cruel and I am living proof that sometimes nature would destroy people and things that should exist." Basically they get along on principal but have initial complications bc Fido spent a lot of time as a chronically in pain child being told survival of the fittest wouldn't allow for them. As a queer kid being told they were unnatural. So on. So they don't actually have beef with him so much as a kneejerk reaction for a little plus the initial GODDAMNIT response when he can't help. His take on the warlock thing is largely being curious as to how that happens without ones knowledge.

Karlach meanwhile is just pissed that she can't hi-five them without it still hurting. Like their skin doesn't melt but they can still feel the sensation of heat and pressure, so it isn't pleasant. She also wants to know how one ends up in a warlock pact without knowing it because that feels like a pitfall to avoid.

Not pictured is the GOO checking in occasionally like it's reading the sunday paper like "oh they had a conversation about the nature of gods with Gale. Cute. Aww they're having cognitive dissonance about the nature of sentience after using speak with animals. Popped a man's head like a cherry. Shame, they could have interrogated that one."

#Fido the Bard

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dollar-store-sparklez · 2 years ago

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I am here to ask about the 2b2t headcanons (as somebody who actually played there 4 years ago and on other servers like 9b9t, 0b0t and constantiam) because it absolutely will piss off some people and that's always funny

HELLO REAL 2B2T PLAYER WELCOME TO MY GAY LITTLE HEADCANONS

so i have a lot but therye very scattered and not always the most important. the main cool headcanon i have about 2b2t stuff actually ist directly 2b related, its hack client related and how i speciffically made it so a hack client would function in a for realistic written setting.

so the tldr of it is that it becomes fucked up magic tattoos.

so basically, hack clients are enchantments for a living person, tattoo ink with lapis for stability and whatever goo is inside bottles of enchanting. they can really fuck up your player code (weird mix of like. dna and your soul) if you do it wrong or even just is you use it a lot. like overclocking a computer but its your soul and weird magic.

obviously not everything in a client is actually like, translatable into a written setting (like how the hell are you supposed to turn anti afk into a real world thing anyways) but yknow, a surprising amount can be. now bc theyre tattoos you can kinda pick and choose which ones you want, and i have a little bit of lore for the tattoos themselves, which is that obv hack clients are banned in a lot of places, so if youre trying to hack on say, hypixel, your would have your client hidden in the designs of a normal tattoo. also jsut cause its cool the different runes of the client glow depending on which ones are in use. this is optional ultimately but it looks sick so... why wouldnt you?

i have other lore also! so obv 2b players go through lots of totems, and theres a common headcanon of popping totems giving you gold scars and slash or a strip of gold hair, so my headcanon basically is that its really common for 2b players to appear to be blond. they have full heads of totem gold hair and its equally common for folks to dye it. some folks like to show it off as a mark of survival, some like to hide it so its hard to tell theyre from 2b or so you cant tell how many totems theyve popped, or just cause they like a different look. its also an easy way to tell new players from older players, because if youre walking around with their actual natural haircolor and only a strip or two of gold they obviously havent been here long. some folks have the gold scars and some dont, thats more of a personal design preference, i tend to say the combined regen from the totems and from everyone chugging god apples tends to wipe the worst of them away

beyond that, honestly its mostly just a matter of taking existing 2b2t history and culture and tweaking it to for a less videogamey setting. honestly one day id lost to run a oneshot of something with 2b as the setting. theres the obvious stuff like melons and signs on highways, though the melons make more sense now bc theyve been specifically bred over the years to still grow in absolutely dogshit conditions from lack of water to salt water, freezing weather, little, poor, or otherwise nasty soil (i imagine a lot of earth in the greater spawn region is unusable due to withering and explosives), while still providing ample fruit for wandering souls.

its also of course, kinda hard to turn things like backdoor drama and nocom into written lore, and thats something im currently working on but well. i havent needed it for lore so its been on the backburner.

i think culturally, theres not too much knowledge about 2b2t outside of anarchy circles, though i think theres probably enough for there to be occasional suspicious about it if youre like. naturally blond and have a sleeve, not that most folks would say anything.

more 2b2t things, i think like, 2b2t 'fashion' tends to learn toward things that are durable and easy to move in, less about looking good, but looking good is a bit of a status symbol. if youre wearing delicate clothes, things you cant/shoulder get dirty like suits and silks and the like, then like, youre doin good if those things are clean and intact. kinda the same with jewelry, its mostly just a statement about yourself rather than a show of wealth, it shows youre doing well enough you can take the time to look good rather than survive. cause yknow. rampant inflation bc of duping. also a bit of a statement about clothes being like, if youre in something restrictive like a suit (which is fairly common on skins i notice) it implies youre either good enough at pvp you dont need that extra movement, or that you just dont need/want to pvp. theres also a decent amount of copycatting, trying to dress like well known players but that mostly just outs you as being newer and less experienced.

now actually getting to 2b2t and actually leaving is a little bit harder, ive thought about this a lot and really, in the end it comes down to what the lore youre currently doing is like. the story im in currently doesnt have a server hopping mechanism, everything is just like, places on a map. 2b is almost like... its own dimension? or like the backrooms. you can go there on purpose and leave on purpose, but you can also end up there on accident at times.

i almost imagine 2b2t to be like... a scary story? like a lot of people arent really convinced its real. its like an urban legend almost, a myth kids whisper about at sleepovers after trying to summon bloody mary in a bathroom

i could probably go on about stuff but this is really long tbh

#pandora speaks #ask #wooooooo #thank you for asking its fun to infodump

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the-blorb-system · 22 days ago

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I know of casino royale by derivakat because a fucker called Ace wouldn't stop either jamming that, other songs in his playlist, or watch Kakegurui and claim "it's just for the tactics" 😒

- Digi

HEY! when you're the personification of gambling addiction then we'll talk girlie :/

-Ace

At least you're not Holding other things too, but I do know know you already got gawing eyes for a man i know so I'm not suspicious about you being a nasty fan. I would know 😒

Anyway- back on focus. For us emergency fronter functions and works in a myriad of ways and features, depend on level and what can you handle.

Our warriors was an emergency fronter specifically and solely for the purpose of fast responses and reactions to war and warning sirens about bombs and rockets. I can't really explain that well how he worked cause he really was here for a short while, but it roughly was him Fronting to get us out of our freeze response and get our ass to the safe room (+ our siblings too if we're at home), or any other safe area If we are outside. He also held a lot of our knowledge in regards to tourniquets and proper way to bandage and clean a wound and the like so I suppose he was meant to also be out in case of damage physically. Shame I didn't get to see him in action.

Warriors emergency fronter

For us, fronting is more of a chore for most alters as we switch rather easily most instances. Due to this, unless it's a Caretaker, a task doer, or someone who uniquely feels generous at the moment or just can't stand mess, things like doing the bed isn't happening.

It's like a "survive on your own, this is your life, I'm here by accident". And they say that to an Introject or a sourcemate from their world.

I really don't want to talk about politics, it's a topic I despise a lot from the pit of my heart.

- Digi

I think I understand what you mean with the fronting stuff. I'm pretty fortunate to be physically safe most of the time, and for a fair amount of my childhood, but messed up enough mentally to need a bail from time to time.

I know a lot of my headmates struggle with feeling like there's no reason for some of it. Not all of them, Four is reminding me, certainly not, but it's been hard to tell what triggered the split for many of them and why, so it's not too hard to get stuck wondering what the point is.

And about the politics thing, it's okay! We do not have to talk politics. For the most part, I hate it too. I hate both understanding and not understanding, and it isn't pleasant as a topic or in discussion with most people, like. 98% of the time. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable by bringing it up, and I apologize if I did. I'll make certain to steer away from it in the future.

I'm actually a huge fan of Derivakat! I got really into Ain't No Cryin because it's catchy and helps me to vent a lot of my upset in ways different from Raph's favourite (respectfully). Casino Royale also has been such an earworm, and I kinda want to try making an animatic to it at some point. (You ever seen the episode of the rebooted Ducktales where Gladstone Gander gets trapped in a Lotus casino Hotel? 👀)

At some point I was just listening to all her music on repeat for like a month. Revived, Why, Casino Royale, Ain't No Crying, Cycle, Nightmare, Viper, and Toxin are my favourites.

-Lizzy

#um um um please tell me I was making up the voice in the back of my head that popped up when I read 'personification of gambling addiction'#anyway #osdd system #Host Lizzy #system stuff #Wonder!

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alchemicaldesignquery · 4 months ago

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Gearing up for a Storm: Tank in 5v5

Anticipating a lot of discussion (and "discourse") when the next Developer Blog/Director's Take from Overwatch 2 drops because it is going to specifically target the 6v6/5v5 dilemma...

....Conundrum...

........debate.......

..............concern?

All and all, going to be a pretty defining lecture for a game that I (and many others) have spent years with. Nearly a decade for some of us.

l o l

Until then! There's been some discussion around the recent patch as well as concerns regarding

POWER CREEP

and just what can be done with Tanks. Namely

Are Tanks doomed to be throw pillows of weakness constantly hiding from focus fire and CC effects?

Or Raid Boss style dungeon gods that no one can kill before they team wipe the enemy?

Is there a middle ground?

The difference between busted Tanks and Pillow Tanks at the design level, falls largely on factors from outside of the game; or more accurately

Player defined mechanics vs. In-game mechanics

The former are strategies that players will implement through coordination, targeting, communication, and knowledge-...all of which are not functionally taught or defined within Overwatch. You have to learn how to communicate, coordinate, take high ground, and focus fire, through experience and playing with other players.

Playing Soldier 76 doesn't automatically embed the concept of High Ground, into your head while you execute his kit. It has to be discovered, memorized, and implemented while playing which is a significant abstract in the Cognitive Load of a player who is trying to absorb:

12 different audio cues at any given moment

10 different visual effects at any given moment

18 separate mechanics happening at different intervals and/or simultaneously

all the exceptions, qualifiers, and hidden modifiers with the first three in this list

The on-going demand on a player's memory makes remembering to execute strategies/tactics (which are outside the sensory feedback received from the game) a more distant priority for a lot of players. Most will have to have those strategies/tactics backed up in their reflexes from other games they've played (FPS', MOBAs, Shooters, etc.)

Players who can implement (Information > Knowledge > Execution > Reflex) Player-defined mechanics, are easily poised to hammer another player with an overwhelming amount of In-Game Mechanics.

Focusing the player with the largest hitbox in the game with 5 different kits and the many different interactions they all have is, quite literally, an overload of that Player's own cognitive load; demanding that player operate at such a high level of active memory and execution, that they'll burnout eventually and long before they achieve anything of value in the game-

-or give that player access to mechanics and stats that can outright cancel or deny whole swathes of enemy In-game mechanics just to survive (Orisa Fortify, Hog Vape, DF/Ramm Block, Mauga Overdrive, etc.), which?

Isn't really fun for either side. Not in the long run.

Can we see why Tank Players are increasingly frustrated and/or leaving the game?

The Middle Ground

I'm a firm 6v6 advocate.

But I also know Overwatch 2 should never return to 6v6.

(Because the amount of Dev work that would need to go into making 6v6 viable, would demand a whole new game and they might as well get started on that now and let OW2 have it's lifecycle of 4-5 years).

So what to do about 5v5?

Well...

It's worth noting that, as a format, 5v5 is very difficult to parse from moment to moment; a constant stream of razor thin balancing that shifts and changes as min-maxing of both Player-defined mechanics and In-game mechanics emerge with each new patch.

That is to say, from a design perspective

There will always be a lopsided quality to this format, either within the Roles, within the mechanics, or within the compositions.

But we can mitigate much of the frustration by broadening the options available for Tanks, so that their potency (power) isn't the only option.

Tanks can't be shrunk down. They can't be made significantly weaker and they can't be allowed to steamroll over the enemy either.

Each of those (all of them) would result in pretty big swings of frustration that no amount of collabs or novelty will be able to bury.

Instead, what should be the focus is lower potency with broader (and I mean broader) delivery.

Make each Tank? A Multi-Zoner:

Every single Tank should have the capacity to threaten (not necessarily damage) multiple areas of the map, either through enabling or engaging mechanics.

By creating multiple zones/areas/points of contention in the setting, a Tank can disperse a number of the enemies resources to those varied zones, demanding the enemy dilute their attention or face a possible overwhelming cascade of In-game mechanics that sends them back to spawn.

A few examples of this design execution below, using Zarya as the Tank:

Example - Defensive, Mitigating

Zarya with 2 independent bubbles is a concentration of power around the Tank that begs for all the attention, but also incentivizes her to NOT bubble anyone else.

Giving Zarya one personal bubble + 2 projected bubbles that each only have 100-150 health, would give her up to three (3) separate zones she could apply to any given fight/area of a map.

Zone for her support(s) in the backline, while bubbling a Reaper/Genji going in with Ult, and still having her own personal bubble (and resultant charge to wreck face) for protective purposes.

Example - Offensive, Zoning

Zarya's particle grenades (her Mouse 2/Right Click) when striking the environment, land and persist on the field for upto 2s, or until enemies come within proximity (0.5m).

Large ammo dumps, these can be used to make areas significantly less inviting or engagement worthy to an enemy team, forcing more favourable sightlines and, less, focus fire from the enemy.

Example - Defensive, Zoning

Zarya's Personal Bubble will produce a significant knockback effect if destroyed, giving her room to retreat or find cover incase of swarming or overwhelming by the enemy.

This can also provide her with some significant advantages when played around Graviton Surge and her Particle Grenades.

This is not an exhaustive list of options, but showcases how differing mechanics can result in better zoning potential for Zarya as a Tank, without increasing her potency in a kit already designed to be potent. Broader utility that provides further options for tactical and strategic importance, is how a singular Tank can not only survive but further enable their Team to play the game...

...which is what Tank is all about, really.

#game theory #game design #overwatch 2 #6v6 #5v5 #and yes this is possible with every Tank #I do not think the Devs have enough resources to pull this sort of thing off though #Still worth explaining/exploring #6v6 deserves an Overwatch 3 #Tanking

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hourlymbti · 1 year ago

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Inferior Se

There are quite a lot of strange tips when it comes to developing Se (e.g. many merely say going outside and playing sports). Physical inability is a very narrow view of inferior Se. While it’s not entirely wrong for Se to be associated with this (Ni doms are more comfortable with their Ni. Why take in and deal with all this incoming information when you can just rely on your "patterns of life" to do the work for you. But perhaps they feel afraid or overwhelmed by the flux of the environment. Maybe with a touch of performance anxiety. Se is about an objective reality, it's largely based on what others see as well. There's often hidden, or not hidden, insecurity with the inferior function. A symptom could be a fear of the environment, a fear of "perceiving/experiencing" incoming data,giving a "poor experience" of reality which could come from a bad portrayal/display, underwhelming results, etc.), people are mistaking/overemphasizing a correlation to be the thing itself. This common conception reflects how oversimplified Se descriptions are. Physical inability is only one possible symptom of having difficulty working with or adapting to realities that don’t fit your assumptions. Function placements are less about what you use the most and more about the "attitude" of your conscious mind (feedback from the unconscious occurs daily like a boomerang). In reality, everything is nuanced, but when we speak of type, we speak of a concept that can be treated as a simplification. A certain function has a louder voice, that doesn't mean the rest are ignored or always valued less.

Things such as danger can be identified naturally, without prior experience. Pi takes these innate knowledge into consideration. Using Ni as an example, when two primitive men spot a tiger near their camp, who is more likely to survive if it turns out to be violent? One who sees an attack as a mere possibility? Or the other that feels it as an inevitable reality? Ni allows you to reduce reaction time because you are already aware of what’s to come (even if what you believe is wrong, it still reduces time used for the decision; Ni is not questioned, it is merely seen).

Ni falls under assumptions. Well, other functions are capable of this but it is strictly assumptions. The brain is supposed to make assumptions. Primitive men don't try to make 100% conclusions before making decisions. When they don't know where to look for food, they need to make a decision, otherwise there would be stasis so even with the little to no info to work with, they set in one direction and go for it. Generalizations and simplifications are made because they are efficient, and these cause us to form assumptions. Inherently, they can't be 100% correct, but these are often necessary for things to function in both the primitive and modern world. Judging by appearance is an assumption, whether to people or products. Grades are simplification. To quantitatively measure something that is qualitative by essence, would always be simplification (e.g. intelligence, stress, pain). People will have faith in particular, products, services, academic institutions. But it's not like they have experienced what it's like to be taught in each school. How we use grades to determine if someone is a bad student, or if they are ready to proceed to the next academic level would take us of generalizations for the criteria. Similarly, to use age or amount of work experience as a measurement of maturity, competence, and wisdom would be a way to simplify the process of making conclusions. The generalization would be more years = more wisdom and the such. Another generalization would be 5 years of work experience = good enough for the job (these associations are more about Te & Si). It’s not perfect, but it can be effective in screening out a list of options. Depending on how much the generalization is seen as reality, they serve as either a reference point, or a clearcut border between yes or no. This has become a tangent but it may be of use. To be clear, this is not exclusive to Ni, but the main functions capable of doing any of the following are the introverted functions and Je (expect generalizations and simplifications in anything subjective as well as any form of judgement. this does not apply much to Ne and Se themselves as those functions are non-subjectively empirical).

Assumptions (not just Ni's) are mentally efficient, but it naturally comes with a higher risk of error. Keep in mind that less information = more assumptions is mainly going to apply to Ni. It still applies for assumptions in general, however, this can be seen more in Ni as it cares less about context (it'll come in different flavors. Ni focuses on "trendlines" rather than the overall datapoints. Each trendline can have many possible combinations of data points which means Ni will be more likely to see the same thing even though the context plus many details differ greatly). It only extracts the skeleton, the rest of the meat doesn't matter in terms of being able to identify that skeleton or making assumptions that would work with the skeleton (try to figure out what a human looks like based on their skeleton, you don't. Ni sees the skeleton, and fills up the rest based on that structure. However, since its focus is on the skeleton, it'll simply end up as a vague image of what to expect. After all, x-rays dont say much about the rest of the tissues. Once Ni "sees" the structure of the situation, it is up to the user how they'll handle the rest. The higher the Ni, the more likely the user will lean towards whatever direction it may be pointing to). Si assumptions would be more about "what they already know". It looks at the strength of the total connections to the existing puzzle pieces (connections to inner content). When looking at existing puzzle pieces (stimuli), Si uses their database to identify then associate. If the data is identified as x, y, and z, Si will scan for perception related to each of them as well as their combinations (sometimes xy triggers more content that x or y separately). The more related perception (based on experiences) and the stronger its connections are (as in mentally significant), then the higher chance of assumptions or information that come along with the stimuli. You identify this guy as Bob. You think "Bob? I love that guy" or "Bob? That's the guy who ate my sandwich". You may also look at Bob and identify some of his characteristics as "suspicious". You then associate him with danger, deceit, evil. Maybe you identify the weather as sunny then associate it with heated emotions (e.g. excitement, anger). If you identify the weather as rainy maybe thoughts come up that "this'll be relaxing", "this'll be inconvenient", or "this'll be a low-energy day". Basically, when it comes to filling up information, Si doesn't "thrive" in uncertainty/gaps in information. Si thrives in things they "know well" or are familiar with. It's more above looking at data then -bringing up supplementary pieces of data- based on their previous observations. Ni looks at data, then -sees- a line that must be followed by the world (in this case, the word "must" isn't a matter of value, but mere perception: it's simply how the world is. Fi wouldn't make assumptions). It's a bit similar but that nuance is what separates the two.

First look at some basics of Ni and Se.

Si is more likely to result in actively looking for more information to use as points of reference to understand something. They focus on information that brings up information from their head. It's more about bouncing back information through by using what's available as points of reference rather than absorbing available information as they are. But Se would seek to find more information they can grab through their circumstances (judging based on what they know in the present) rather than obtaining information with reference points (information that brings up internal information). A dominant Ni user would be satisfied as long as they have one clear idea of what's going on or what'll occur (one clear idea, means images which do not contradict, but compliment each other. They can have multiple ideas as long as they align and blend well together: all eggs in one basket). It doesn't matter how much raw information they can get or have already absorbed from the situation, if Ni "realizes" or "sees" something, they shall follow. Ni going overboard means that it is less questioned and easier to accept.

How you develop Se should be based on the unhealthy behaviors you notice on yourself (you need to notice individual issues with inferior Se and find ways to work on each of them. Ways that seem best for you and your circumstances). The dominant is of primary importance. If the wishes of the inferior function were against those of the dominant (which is a typical scenario), it will be repressed. The other functions ultimately serve the main gatekeeper, the dominant. The more one-sided you are towards the dominant, the less attention there is to your inferior. Too much weight on Ni is what causes the unhealthy behaviors of inferior Se. Ni itself (i.e. pure Ni, ignoring other functions) treats its conjectures as plain indisputable facts, perhaps even more factual than actual facts (Se). You will observe this the most in dominants where Ni has a voice over reasoning and evidence.

This is due to the nature of introversion and the nature of N vs S when in dominant positions. When you're trying to convince a pure introvert of something, you have to pander to their worldviews 100% of the time. If you can't convince them of something purely by using evidence and arguments that fit their worldview, they won't change it. A pure extrovert, on the other hand, would be convinced too easily. Any information, arguments that can be vaguely used to support the claim will do well enough to convince them. The issue is that you can't cause them to permanently believe in that. Depending on the circumstances, they can be a giraffe denier today but a giraffe acknowledger tomorrow. A pure introvert (someone with an introverted dominant function so strong that it completely gatekeeps any extroverted function) is just trapped in their own head, incapable of changing their worldviews. Because the dominant function is introverted, they only evaluate information, values, conclusions, etc. internally. You cannot change their system because they'll judge all of your arguments and evidence based on that system [a pure extrovert would be completely void of any gravity towards the inside that they would completely adapt their mindset and worldview to the situation/circumstances, without assessing whether those external conditions are valid/invalid, trends/anomalies, etc.. Say someone is a murderer a week ago, they would simply see the person as a person, not a murderer, because that's all they see in the present conditions]. Perhaps Ni (faith that their assumptions are facts) and Ti (faith that what makes sense to them is a fact) would fit a conclusive tunnel vision better since those functions formulate an conclusions of the world (Si doesn't really make a conclusion whereas Fi's doesn't try to conclude about how the world is but about how it should be. But as introverted functions, those two will of course still be stuck in their ways, just in different aspects). Between Ni and Ti, however, Se being the inferior function may give Ni dominants the most tunnel vision. Aside from the inferior being the most gatekept function, rather than absorb all stimuli in a raw form (Pure Se), someone with dominant reliance on Ni would have a weaker perception of all those incoming waves of information, and would often even use their Ni to make up for it (fill in the blanks/ make things up based on their internal perception. note: to a certain extent, Si is also used to make things up to fill the gaps in one's perception, but you'll more often see those distortions of reality from lower Si users simply because higher Si users have less gaps as they actively seek more reference points to give more information)

For the mind of a Se dominant, it is by nature that Ni shall be "inspected" in the gates of basingSe. Contradicting evidence is immediately observed. The strength of these observations (in terms of psychological intensity) greatly out match that of Ni given that Se is in the center of the spotlight. This can make Se dominants quick (or even too quick) to deny Ni unless what they have observed generally supports it. This lack of trust in their gut may even make Se slower to act (but this is compensated with Se’s nature to seek actual information, while Ni compensates their lack of info by using their gut feelings). You could argue that it's partially about anti-Ne more than anti-Se. Dominant Ni can shape Se information however they want. Ni can produce several ideas based on the data, so long as they all follow the same narrative. Ne, on the other hand, encourages contradicting ideas. It doesn't matter if they have no clear vision, they're more willing to accept uncertainty. Ne doesn't like putting all eggs in one basket. Ni doesn't like the lack of direction. Intuition has an introverted and extroverted side. The more you lean on one side, the more you leave from the other. The inferior Se allows Ni to continue having this disconnect from the world as inferior functions can easily be filtered, further supporting its tunnel vision. The brain can find patterns/narratives in just about anything. It's a matter of if one is able to notice which are random/accidental or how significant/representative a pattern is. Normally, people can notice if something looks like a face, but what if you can't distinguish paradeloia from actual faces. In a chaotic cloud of noise, how would you know if someone called your name, or if it's just your brain interpreting messy sounds as your name? You always think you're onto something or suddenly receive this great revelation (mainly Ni, Si is more "robotic" not in the sense that it's emotionless but more about like a flowchart or a program receiving an input then puking an output in a straightforward, data/detail-oriented manner.). It's not a matter of absorbing stimuli, it's more so about how the stimuli is transformed/identified/pieced-together by the brain (Ni/Si).

While a pure extrovert is a direct mirror to their surroundings, constantly reflecting and going with the flow of external feedback (e.g. observation, judgment of others, every opportunity that arrives) without the ability to filter, question, evaluate, or make sense of them in any depth; a pure introvert would be so deep in their own pit that it becomes a perpetual cave of ignorance unexposed to any sort of light from the world beyond their own. Of course, these are mere exaggerations as everyone has introverted and extroverted sides. A disconnect from the inner world, causing inability for anything deep or long-term. A disconnect from the outer world, leaving an unchanging force. I have previously described introversion vs extroversion in terms of penetration of external stimuli. Extroversion can absorb & handle plenty of stimuli because it only needs to exist or land on the "surface of the mind". Introversion, on the other hand, requires more processing. Only the stimuli that are able to penetrate deep into the mind will have interacted with inner content. In this case, it's not that the stimuli which contradicts their worldview isn't capable of penetration, it did interact with the inner world but the inner world threw it into the dump which consists of things that are "rejects" or "wrong". When that same stimulus does come back, the inner world already understands it to be "wrong" and immediately throws it with the rest of the dimp. Extreme introversion's worldview is similar to someone in a tunnel that faces toward one particular direction. Anything outside of it doesn't deserve to be even acknowledged as possible or slightly correct. All they see is whatever goes in the tunnel, in other words: what fits their worldview and what validates their worldview, causing them to go by it more and more.

The goal is to reduce this one-sidedness, but not to completely remove it (additional note: developing the non-inferior can be a stepping stone for developing the inferior as it opposes the dominant’s i/e orientation). Introverted perceiving functions perceive a subjective reaction that arises from the acknowledgement of an object, but not the object in its own right.

First look at some basics of Ni and Se.

This is not a "signs your a Ni dom" post, just possible effects of Ni dominance or bursts which are more likely to occur regularly to those who trust their Ni. In the dominant position, it is common knowledge that the user is fulfilled by finding (what they perceive as) the one true meaning or the most fitting possibility/perspective to the situation. To the dominant user, this no longer is a possibility, but a fact. People naturally trust/listen to their dominant function the most, often ignoring resistances against it. For Ni, a common weakness is a tendency to tunnel vision. To alleviate the issue, you need to notice related tendencies and behavior within this scope (this doesn’t tell you what exactly to do. It merely acts as a framework to spot and identify). They're essentially the same thing at core but here are a few ways inferior Se can manifest as (keep in mind that some of these descriptions are very extreme. Unhealthy Se may commonly be a bit more mild):

Have difficulty adapting yourself and your thoughts to changes in the actual present situation.

Perhaps while you look at the sky, you lose sight of the ground, making it difficult to work with what you have and build it all up from the base, one floor at a time, piling it up until it becomes a skyscraper. You see in your head, a continual movement of one floor to another, building up from bottom to top, yet you are unable to take the first step to build the foundation as you have difficulty fully grasping the situation at hand and what could be done about it.

Overanalyze details; search for unexisting deeper truths/meanings (perhaps due to discontentment with direct and meaningless situations/objects or existence). These dominants often overcompensate a desire for their life to have some sort of greater meaning

Fall apart and have difficulty reacting/adjusting properly when one important detail in your plan of action (which may have too much and/or too detailed assumptions) turned out to be false (i.e. if things dont go according to your vision)

In paranoia, focus on a single prediction — an impending doom., and because of this feeling of inevitable disaster that will occur no matter what you do, do nearly nothing about it or at least struggle to get the will or energy to do so because any resistance seems futile

Upon all the things you have observed, you see a trendline within the sea of data points. But once the trendline is made, that is all you see. Anything that diverges from this trendline, any path, any new information, is quickly marked as wrong and irrelevant. Your main type of rigidity lies here. Inflexibility towards what you don’t see as the one true path.

Ni doms are the most trusting of Ni. An "I intuitively know, and that's enough" mindset allows you to take advantage of your Ni, but this almost-absolute faith causes you to tunnel so hard on one conclusion that you strongly resist other possibilities. For example, they simply believe that this equals this or this will lead to this, other functions are needed for reasoning and groundedness but Ni dominants care less about that, they don't need confirmation to believe Ni. As a perceiving function, what Ni serves to them comes across as empirical, the calling is a matter of is or isn't. They don't need explanation or proof to believe it, given that it is the highest function. Reasoning and evidence are valued secondarily. No matter how questionable the calling seems, they have faith in it. They mentally go "all-in" to one conjecture. You constantly go back into this conclusion, with conscious hierarchy forcing yourself to believe and have hope in it even when overall reason and evidence leans against it. You completely deny and ignore the periphery, the possibilities disparate from your own. You prefer not to believe that you drew a false conclusion so you feel unsatisfied, maybe even scared or threatened by realities that do not match this conclusion/vision of yours regarding how things are (it may even become a desire to bring this into reality. While Fi creates an image based on desire. Ni creates an image that the user ends up desiring due their trust/preference on Ni. It's natural for the introverted perceiving functions to get attached). You then overlook/brush aside details that don't fit into your Ni's narrative and what you perceive as the patterns of life/people/the world. Concrete data that come as a blunt "this is simply what is" is important to get out of your tunnel vision but you overemphasize only the details that fit this conclusion (a highly polarized dominant will filter your inferior so that you only see what validates the dominant’s agenda). You may also have resistance or fear in direct methods of acquiring data (primary data, actually witnessing/experiencing/observing/experimenting things yourself). This conceivably applies to the indirect methods as well (secondary data, records from others).

#Se #Ni #cognitive functions #mbti

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