#discussing influence artificial

[fora-h]

Navigating the Global Landscape:

"Unveiling the Top 5 Influential Events Shaping Our World Today".

#For_Human's_Life

https://href.li/?https://forhumanslife.blogspot.com/

[johnbrand]

Sister's New Boyfriend

“C’mon bro, didn’t you miss this?” Scott teased, his giant Size 13 foot plopped onto the coffee table in front of me.

“Cut it out, Scott,” I hissed, knowing my sister was bound to call us into the kitchen any minute now.

“Why should I?” Scott cockily grinned. “We both know you want to.”

I held back the scarlet that threatened to color my face. “That’s not true.”

“It’s only been what, seven or eight years since high school?” Scott’s grin shifted into an exaggerated frown. “Surely you haven't forgotten me, have you? And all the fun times we had together?”

Unfortunately I had not forgotten Scott, or the “fun times” he was referring to. The constant bullying; harassment and name-calling and even a few bouts of abuse. It was painful for me to reflect on, both of us being the same age and yet being emotionally attacked by a man double my size. Since those years, the gym and my therapist had helped me move past those vulnerable times. Even though I had struggled to find a relationship, I was stronger now; a fighter well-off with a supportive network. 

“Luckily for you, I’ve moved on,” I snarked, sizing Scott up.

“I don’t think you have,” Scott’s smirk returned. “Otherwise you would’ve left as soon as you saw me.”

I had not expected Scott to be my sister’s new boyfriend. The man she had been gloating about for months, this “kind, sensible, loyal” being that had corrupted her life to the point that he was all she would talk about. I would have never assumed my sister–my older, highly educated sister–to end up with the malevolent jock who had destroyed my ego all those years ago. And after brief introductions, in which I realized I was still physically smaller than my former tormentor, I quickly sensed the looming danger of the situation.

“I’m not going to abandon my sister,” I retorted.

“You’re not going to abandon your commands, either,” Scott shot back, a bit to my confusion. Scott had apparently dropped out of college, but had become a fitness influencer in the years since, pulling in huge financial figures. It was difficult not to reflect on the fact that even though I had a degree, Scott had still come out on top. “Stop lying to yourself, buddy.”

Instead of another backhanded defense, I felt myself a slow warmth settling in his bones. My frustration subsided as a peaceful, almost artificial calm crawled over. My usual worries were smoothing over, something that Scott recognized immediately.

“Yeah, that’s it, buddy.” Again, the word sent a pleasurable warmth all across my frame, tingling my toes and twitching the corners of my mouth into the beginnings of a dopey smile. “I see a few years apart hasn’t weakened my conditioning on you at all, has it?”

I knew better than to answer. In therapy, I thought I had discussed all my qualms with Scott. Every single memory I could recover was heavily investigated, scrutinized, and then analyzed to create a plan for my future proceedings. But it was not until that very moment, in my sister’s living room reunited with my high school bully, that I realized I had only covered half of the relationship Scott had created for us. The memories my therapist and I had discussed, those were only the ones Scott had allowed me to remember.

“No Sir,” I replied, the title suddenly feeling appropriate. “Not at all. I still jack off to the thought of your magnificence at least twice a week as you instructed, Sir.”

My pupils inflated as Scott’s smirk grew sinister; this truth being revealed to both of us. 

“What, you didn’t think I just let you go after graduation, did you?” Scott’s words cut right to the bone, my embarrassment finally flushing my face. “I guess my hypnosis was better than I thought it was back then. I like to keep all my boys on a leash, in case they ever become useful to me again.”

Before I could respond, Scott snapped his finger and pointed back at his foot. Immediately, I was kneeling before him, my nose inhaling his godly scent and my tongue running across the holy valleys of his sole. Every breath sent another wave of affection across me, the submissive alter ego Scott had created for me back in high school overriding all the defenses I had built up since then.

“Who’d have thought one of them would eventually become my brother-in-law?” Scott commented. Even as my former life and independence was quickly evaporating, his smug victory brought a single tear to my eye. 

“I thought I was going to break the news!” My sister yelled from the kitchen, finally entering the conversation but apparently oblivious to what was actually happening. “Dinner will be set in a minute!”

“Thanks babe,” Scott called back, before searing his eyes straight through me. “Hope you’re ready to be an uncle too, buddy.”

That revelation snapped what was left of my free will. But now, I had more important things to worry about, like tending to Scott’s feet.

[warping-realities]

Sister's New Boyfriend - Redux

This story is a collab with the amazing @johnbrand! Hope you enjoy, guys!

"C'mon, bro, didn't you miss this?" Scott teased, while his massive size 13 foot plopped on the coffee table in front of me.

"Cut it out, Scott," I whispered, knowing my sister was about to summon us to the kitchen any minute.

"Why should I, Jap?" Scott smirked arrogantly. "We both know you want it."

I held back the blush threatening to color my face. "That's not true."

"It's been what, seven or eight years since high school?" Scott's smirk morphed into an exaggerated grimace. "Surely you haven't forgotten about me, have ya, Jap? And all the good times we had together?"

Unfortunately, I hadn't forgotten Scott, or the "good times" he was referring to. The constant bullying; the harassment, the slurs, and even some straight-up abuse sessions. It was painful to reflect on, us being the same age and yet emotionally assaulted by a guy who was twice my size. Since those years, the gym and my therapist had helped me overcome those vulnerable moments. Even though I'd struggled to find a relationship, I was stronger now; a fighter well-supported by a network.

"Luckily for you, I've moved on, and don't call me that! Me and your girlfriend are both Korean," I shot back, eyeing Scott.

"I don't think you have moved on," Scott's smirk returned. "Otherwise, you would've bailed the second you saw me."

I never expected Scott to be my sister's new boyfriend. The guy she had been bragging about for months, this "kind, sensible, and loyal" being who had corrupted her life to the point of being all she talked about. I never would've imagined my sister - my highly educated older sister - would end up with the malevolent jock who had destroyed my self-esteem all those years ago. And after brief introductions, in which I realized I was still physically smaller than my former tormentor, I quickly felt the impending danger of the situation.

"I'm not abandoning my sister," I retorted.

"You won't be abandoning your orders either," Scott replied, a bit to my confusion. Scott apparently had dropped out of college, but become a fitness influencer in the years since, raking in massive financial figures. It was hard not to reflect on the fact that even without a degree, Scott had still come out on top. "Stop lying to yourself, buddy."

Instead of another indirect defense, I felt a slow warmth settling into my bones. My frustration ebbed away as a peaceful, almost artificial calm spread. My usual concerns were smoothing out, something Scott immediately recognized.

"Yes, that's right, buddy." Again, the word sent a pleasant heat through my entire body, tingling my toes and making the corners of my mouth twitch into the beginnings of a dopey smile. "Looks like those years apart didn't weaken my conditioning on you, huh?"

I knew better than to respond. In therapy, I thought I had discussed all my doubts about Scott. Every memory I managed to recover had been thoroughly investigated, scrutinized, and then analyzed to create a plan for my future proceedings. But it wasn't until that moment, in my sister's living room, reunited with my high school bully, that I realized I had only covered half of the relationship Scott had created for us. The memories my therapist and I had discussed were only the ones Scott had allowed me to remember.

"No, sir," I replied, the title suddenly seeming appropriate. "Not at all. I still masturbate to your magnificence at least twice a week, like you commanded, sir."

My eyes widened as Scott's smile turned sinister; this truth laid bare between us.

"What, you didn't think I'd just let you go after graduation, did you?" Scott's words cut deep, my shame finally flushing my face. "Guess my hypnosis was better than I thought back then. I like to keep all my boys on a leash, in case they become useful to me again."

Before I could respond, Scott snapped his fingers and pointed to his foot. Immediately, I was on my knees before him, my nose inhaling his divine scent and my tongue tracing the sacred valleys of his sole. Each breath sent another wave of adoration through me, the submissive alter ego Scott had created for me in high school overriding all the defenses I had built since then.

"Who'd have thought one of them would end up my brother-in-law?" Scott mused. Even as my former life and independence were rapidly evaporating, his arrogant victory brought a single tear to my eye.

"I thought I'd give the news!" My sister called from the kitchen, finally joining the conversation, but apparently oblivious to what was truly transpiring. "Dinner will be ready in a minute!"

"Thank you, dear," Scott called back, before pinning his eyes directly on me. "Hope you're ready to be an uncle too, buddy."

This revelation momentarily snapped me back to consciousness. "What... no, that's impossible!"

"Oh but it is, Jap! You're gonna be Uncle to little Scott Jr. And that got me thinking. Your sister's become the perfect woman with my help. But a boy needs male role models in his life, the right male role models. Just the thought of something happening to me and Scott Jr. having someone like you as an example... no way. So as much as I've enjoyed reminiscing about our time in school and taking great pleasure in putting you back in your place again, it's time for a change, Jap... congrats, you're getting a promotion!"

"What? I... I don't understand..."

"I can't have a fucking faggot, foot-sucking, cock-gobbling piece of shit as an example for my son if I'm not around, Jap. I need someone more like me. It'll be hard to part with such a docile servant, but it's necessary! Look at me!"

And I looked... looked into those cruel eyes and felt the malice within them would be far greater than any before. Foreseeing what could be my total obliteration, I prepared to flee... but my sister... my nephew! I would have to resist... I would resist!

"Great, I always did love seeing that defiant look in your eyes, Jap, loved watching it succumb to worship and obedience... ah, don't fool yourself, those things will still be there, even greater, for they'll be sincere, but the challenge won't go away... no, it'll grow, become a self-confidence bordering on what some would call arrogance! But only those beneath us, and for you, there'll be only one above, me, Jap!"

"No... no... my name not..." I needed to cling to something, to who I was and not what Scott was trying to make me.

"Jap, it's your nickname... always has been... you don't give a shit where your ancestors are from... you're American and damn proud of it... and if some dumbass leftist tries to say anything, you either laugh at their idiocy or beat their ass... right, Jap?"

"I... I... no... I'm a... a proud..."

"Yes, a damn proud American."

"That... just a nickname... it's a nickname..."

"It's funny!"

"Funny... yeah... haha" I found myself agreeing, though inside I screamed that it wasn't right, even as my memories of time spent in Seoul during my childhood before moving to America began to blur... I... had never left the US, had I? And so what if my grandparents came from somewhere else... no... no...

"Jap, focus on me! I want you to go back to the day we first met, I have no idea when it was, but you'll certainly remember and tell me!"

"It was... in high school... gym class... I'd just moved from... where?"

"Doesn't matter, it was some American town... now what happened in that class?"

"D-dodge ball... you..."

"Ah yes, now I remember... you refused to play! And when the coach made you, I had to teach you a lesson. Know it was your fault, Jap, if you'd just shown a little grit from the start... nah... you were too good a target! But... you're shaking, man, what the fuck?!"

"I... I... I don't like remembering that..." that was one of my most hated memories, the start of my torment.

"I get it, buddy! But you... you could like it... I'm just wondering if that day you'd shown a little more machismo, things could've been different... I might've seen a bro instead of a... buddy. Ha! Probably not, but lucky for you I like your sister and she's gonna be the mother of my son so... let's just imagine that day instead of taking the first steps to becoming my buddy, you took the first steps to becoming not just my bro, but my best bro, someone worthy of caring for little Scott Jr if I'm not around!"

"What...?" What new brand of insanity was this?

"Let's go back to that day, Jap. But this time I want you to remember it correctly because on that day, you weren't a sniveling crybaby like you recall, quite the opposite. You showed up with a chip on your shoulder and challenged me! You got your ass kicked, sure, but you fought back, even managed to hit a few of my buddies, not me of course. After that, I had to teach a lesson, you remember what happened in the locker room?"

"I... no..." That hadn't happened... none of that... or had it?

"I beat the shit out of you, Jap, and along with it, gave you your nickname. You got pissed, tried to fight back, got your ass kicked some more... but in doing so, you earned something important to me and you, my respect."

"I... respect?"

"Yeah, respect, bro!" Scott replied with a grin, as if he knew very well what having his respect would change in my life, and I could feel it too, something shifting within me, alien, different...

"Of course you were still a scrawny little fucker, but you were my scrawny little fuck, my feisty little mutt, and not so little for long, am I right? 4 years of training and when necessary, a few performance-enhancing drugs made all the difference, didn't they? Soon you were almost as big as me. Course, for some things to come in, others gotta go, right? For every hour in the gym, one less studying, every party moment one less dedicated to the arts, but who cares about that, not my brother Jap, certainly!"

"I... I..." I could remember what he was talking about, hours in the gym sculpting muscle, sports teams at school, boozing with the guys, and... pranks... yeah, pranks on the nerds... the same ones who did my homework... no! No! I did my homework! I went to... "...college..."

"What about college?"

"I went... college!"

"Of course not! With our grades, bro? Never! But who needs college when you've got a body and charm like ours? You're the top salesman after me at my dad's car lot, charm and a smile getting us through, and a few sleepovers with the female clientele on the side, of course!"

"But you're with my sister now!”

"So? What she doesn't know won't hurt her, you're always saying that, bro!"

"I... no, no!" I needed to protect her from him, not this, never this!

"Yes, Jap! It was you who insisted I meet her, that I put her in her place, the annoying sister who tried to diminish you just because she went to college, who nagged you just because you were one of the guys, who never cared about academic success! You practically begged me to fix her!"

"I... I." Yes, no, protect her!!! But that's what he did, isn't it? He put her in the hands of the person he most admired, his best friend, and ensured she was... correctee! There was a place for the man and a place for the woman, and she was better with a man by her side, and so what if he sometimes strayed? A man has his needs, he himself... he had his needs... so why was Scott talking about him sleeping with clients... women...?

"Scott, I'm grateful for what you've done, you're my best friend, the only one I let call me that stupid nickname... but I... this can't be right... me sleeping... with women? You know I'm gay!"

"Again with that, Jap? We've had this conversation before. So let me reinforce one last time: you're not gay, never were! You confused the admiration you have for me, the true idolatry of my person, with homosexuality, you're not and have never been gay, the trail of women you've conquered is the biggest proof of that, isn't it?"

"I... no... NO!" The little that remained of my original self mustered one last defiant act, Scott wasn't taking this last thing from me.

"Ah but yes, you're exactly like me, Jap, identical in almost every way, always have been, always will be. You know why? Because the alternative to being my bro is being my buddy... being humiliated, crawling at my feet? Is that what you want, bro? Because I can arrange it!"

"I... I..." What more could I do? "I'm your bro, Scott."

"That's my bro!" He responded with a grin, as everything around me became a whirlwind and I felt myself change, become the man Scott wanted me to be, the last vestiges of my original self consumed in a wave of arrogance, masculinity, and power, and in the end... in the end, even that part of me liked what happened, for deep down, a more primal, animalistic part of the old me had always wanted this. Curiously, Scott himself changed before my eyes as I changed before him, becoming even larger, stronger, more handsome and dangerous, I knew this was happening because he had me, an almost-him to make him even more than he was, one feeding the other. Knowing this made me smile.

“And to think that when my sister told me she had a new boyfriend I thought I was going to have to find a way to get rid of a wimp. I'm glad that won't be necessary.”

"Me to, bro! So, Jap. What do you say about being the godfather of your sister son.?” Said Scott, smiling after repositioning himself.

“Fuck my sister, I’ll be the godfather of my best bro son!”

[keferon]

Swerve had thought just getting to interact with Blurr, even just once, would be a dream.  Now…maybe this is waking up.

(Set during Blurr chapter 1)

----------------------

Blurr's presence is infectious, Swerve realizes.  Inside mecha headquarters, the fact that he was joining the mech program had been all anyone could talk about the first few days after it was announced. 

Now though – now the man is only mentioned when absolutely necessary.  No one seems to have much positive to say about their actual interactions with Blurr and so no one is sure they should say anything at all. 

Autographs and pictures from those early meetings are slowly being filed away.  Disappearing from office desks or hidden discretely behind work files and supplies.  The primary sign left of Blurr's new status is in official company memos, announcements, and promotional posters that line the halls.

But the level of attention needed to avoid discussing Blurr in detail means that everything still comes back to revolving around him in the end.  His mere presence in the office has changed the dynamics of mecha irreversibly – influencing even the most casual conversations. 

Don't make everything about Blurr.  Don't talk too much about the impossibility of Blurr's mech.  Don't admit that Swerve is still a little in awe every time he interacts with the man himself.  And definitely don't admit that it hurts that Blurr doesn't seem to care, doesn't know any of their names – doesn't know Swerve's name. 

Swerve is constantly reminding himself of these points.  He wonders whether his colleagues have to do the same, or whether it's just him that can't help but think about the man's presence.  He doesn't know which would be better or worse.  

Swerve isn't sure either whether what's happening inside mecha is better or worse than what's happening in the world outside mecha.  Blurr had already been a global phenomenon – with his own branding and merchandise and crowds of fans (a crowd Swerve had once been proud to be a member of).  Swerve had thought Blurr's presence couldn't get any bigger.

Now, he realizes it can. Blurr is everywhere.  His face stares at Swerve from every street corner and shop window as Swerve drives away from the office.  That polished white smile, gleaming eyes, and perfectly windswept hair is plastered across every billboard Swerve passes.  Every advertisement Swerve hears on the radio seems to involve Blurr in some capacity or another, from Blurr's recommended driving tires to his favorite brand of shirts to…. Swerve shuts off the radio.

Even in the store just trying to do his regular shopping for the week, Swerve can't get away from the man.  He catches himself nearly breaking down laughing in the toothpaste aisle as three different brands with five different formulations each advertise that theirs is the secret behind achieving a smile as perfect as Blurr's.

The sheer ridiculousness of it hits him in full force and overwhelms him.  Because how can they all be Blurr's toothpaste?  How could anyone possibly believe that?

Swerve had believed it once.  The thought sickens him.  The commercialism of it all is sickening.  It leaves a bad taste in his mouth – like he's swallowed something so artificially sweet that it tastes bitter and wrong at the end.  Suddenly, his shopping no longer matters.  All that matters is getting out of here.  Getting away from Blurr's presence everywhere, overshadowing every aspect of his life.

But even when Swerve gets home, Blurr's face stares back at him from old racing posters on the wall.  From Swerve's favorite coffee mug sitting on the counter.  From the action figures carefully place on display shelves.  Swerve had thought just getting to interact with Blurr, even just once, would be a dream.  Now…maybe this is waking up.

Swerve tears the posters from the walls.  Takes the mug off the counter.  Holding it in his hands, part of him is tempted to drop it – see the image of Blurr shatter the same way Swerve's perception of him has.  He can't quite bring himself to do it.

Swerve places the mug in the cabinet, pushing it all the way to the back wall so that it's hidden behind his other dishes.  He gets a box out of the closet and throws the action figures in it.  Drops the torn posters on top.  Swerve spends the next hour scouring the apartment for anything Blurr related.  Shirts.  Running shoes.  The list of merchandise – once a proud collection – becomes an ever growing pile of shame.

When he's finally done, Swerve feels drained, exhausted.  He wipes sweat from his forehead and prepares to pack it all away.  Swerve hesitates for a moment, then turns away from the box and back to his kitchen.  He roots through the cabinet until he finds the mug, pulls it out, and adds it to the pile in the box.

Before he can have any second thoughts, Swerve folds the top down on the box and shoves it aside – hidden in the shadows of a corner, innocuous.  He stands in the middle of his place and takes in the bare walls and empty shelves – plain, boring, lifeless.  But all traces of Blurr and his personality are gone from the space.

Not that it matters.  Blurr's personality is infectious.  And it infected Swerve long before the physical evidence manifested.  Removing that evidence has left nothing but a Blurr shaped hole in Swerve's life. 

Blurr's presence in Swerve's thoughts remains – glaringly obvious as the void between them in real-life. 

The way Swerve feels about the man – the conflict between image and reality, between what Swerve wants to believe and what he knows to be true – remains.

THE WRITING STYLE IS SO TASTY I WANNA SPREAD IT ON MY BREAD HELP

ALSO "Not that it matters.  Blurr's personality is infectious.  And it infected Swerve long before the physical evidence manifested.  Removing that evidence has left nothing but a Blurr shaped hole in Swerve's life. " ThiS GODDAMN MOMENT

Anon you are driving me insane anon. I was already spending a lot of hours rotating these guys in my brain and now I gotta spin them faster because of you and I mean it in the most positive way possible

[inhuman-obey-me]

Celestials and Saltiness: Lessons 48/49

HAHAHAHA of course while we had irl stuff going on and couldn't go through the lessons for a couple weeks, was when the Big Stuff drops. But we have caught up, and hoo boy, there is plenty to discuss. So let's discuss! Strap in, it's a long one.

(MAJOR spoilers for NB lesson 48/49 below the cut)

The Situation

Let's start with what's actually happening. Hey, remember when the devs decided Simeon is a human now as punishment over the whole stealing the Ring of Light situation? SURPRISE, they've decided he's becoming a demon after all! You know, like all of us fucking expected of what happens to angels when they are punished and fall? Yeah, that.

As it turns out, despite the whole "I'm human now" gradual reveal across two whole fucking seasons, they've now decided this has been going on since basically all the way back to his human world cafe days in OG Season 3 to say he was starting to become a demon even back then, or at least so Solomon theorizes. So...basically the entire length of his "human" punishment thus far. Cool, cool, we're sure that's totally not a retcon due to the devs realizing they wrote themselves into a corner. Definitely had a plan all along, that's why they bought themselves 2 seasons of Nightbringer time travel shenanigans of time before getting into this. Totally.

Anyway, setting aside the salt (for now), we are told that this demonic aura has been starting to appear whenever he feels deep emotions, somewhat similar to how power manifests for the brothers. Solomon tells us that it's because Simeon has a unique ability to access his latent power - which is an interesting little tidbit to note, as it implies that they took away his angel powers but he has his own inherent powers which he was just never able to access until now. We have long held the headcanon that God artificially limits angels' power, so it's very interesting to us to see that it may be suggesting something similar here.

On a related minor worldbuilding note, this does confirm the detail that celestial power has a distinctly opposite feeling than demonic power, meaning that their magic and powers are not neutral. And we also get an in-game reminder that demons do not like angels, so in this situation, it would be expected that an average demon might think an angel deserves to fall and want to torture/kill them if given the chance.

By the way, all of this is going on during the Science Fair Chemistry competition specifically, which is...an interesting parallel to say the least. Chemistry is the science concerned with matter -- including its composition, structure, and how it changes down to the molecular level. We've always been of the opinion that Simeon just turning into a human was odd as it's been established that demons and angels have different physiology in comparison to humans (like how Demonus can get both demons and angels drunk, but doesn't affect humans). Simeon turning into a demon with the absence of his angel powers makes sense.

Celestial Realm Reactions

Now, the consequences.

First, let's look at the political implications. Diavolo, Barbatos, and Lucifer know that this does not bode well for relations between the Realms. After all, what will the Celestial Realm think, having one of their own turning into a demon after they sent them to the Devildom for the exchange program? Especially considering everything that happened with Lucifer and the Great Celestial War, it would be very easy to point a finger at Diavolo and the Devildom for being a corrupting influence.

Lucifer also mentions that Simeon is currently not allowed through the gates into the Celestial Realm without first obtaining forgiveness. However, that status as a human is an ongoing punishment (think of a kid being grounded by parents), not a one-and-done thing, opening up an implication that this transformation is not necessarily intended to be permanent. That's also totally not a retcon, we're sure! If he turns into a demon, that challenges the supposed punishment and calls into question which realm actually has a claim to him -- in a situation where both answers would have precarious implications for Diavolo's peace plan.

So, that's the Celestial Realm as a whole, on a political level. But let's take a look at the individual angels we know too, shall we?

First, there's the big question mark of Michael. We know that he's the one who called Simeon back to the Celestial Realm about the Ring of Light, and we also know that he is in fact the one Simeon stole it from. However, Lucifer assumes Michael is planning to bring Simeon back to the Celestial Realm when he gets the chance, so it seems like he was not actually the one to decide on this punishment and may actually be working to end it. And interestingly, this would not be the first time Michael has acted on his own to seemingly try to cancel out a punishment from God -- as a reminder, he also went off to the Devildom disguised himself as Raphael to try to invite the brothers back at the end of NB Season 1!

Considering Lucifer's insistence that Father would never forgive him, plus his Cocytus punishment at the end of NB Season 2, it does seem like Michael probably didn't have permission from God to go inviting them back. If he's also looking to reverse Simeon's punishment, that would show a surprising rebelliousness from the top angel of the Celestial Realm! So it will be interesting to see how Michael's role in this whole situation unfolds.

Then, we have our sweet baby angel Luke -- who ends up crying himself to the point of passing out when he finds out. He's grown a lot since he first arrived to the Devildom, no longer thinking that all demons are inherently evil monsters -- but he's still very proud to be an angel. He loves Simeon dearly, as the one who has acted as a parental figure of sorts for him this entire time. Luke is adamant about protecting and helping Simeon in any way he can, even if he's not sure what can really be done.

However, this sets up quite the conflict for the poor boy. He was too young to know Lucifer and the other brothers at the time of the Great Celestial War, so this is his first time reckoning with an angel he's known personally becoming a demon. And on top of that, this began with the Celestial Realm's decision to punish Simeon for taking the Ring of Light -- saving MC and Lucifer, and stabilizing MC's "ring" to essentially save all of the Three Realms.

In other words, Simeon is becoming a demon now for saving everyone. So it begs the question -- will Luke, who has unquestioningly believed in the Celestial Realm until now, start seeing his home in a different light after all of this?

Then there's the next-youngest angel, and the newest in the cast -- Raphael. We didn't see too much of him, but we get enough that it's clear he's not taking this news well either. It's assumed he was suddenly called to the Celestial Realm because of this development, though we don't know exactly what they say to him about it, and when he returns, he's in a daze. We see Mephistopheles being the one to actually first run into him and try to talk to him, but he is mainly met with a very out-of-it angel, and he then takes him out to have his family's special Demonus because it's clear Raphael is distressed. In another scene, we see Thirteen run into a now spaced-out Mephisto and he asks her a "hypothetical" -- what happens when an angel reaches their limit? Also, Solmare, are y'all setting up RaphaelxMephisto as a ship?

And then, of course, we have the angel of the hour -- or rather, ex-angel. And Simeon's reaction to this change is...not so bad, actually. It's one of understandable confusion but also a kind of near acceptance. We've always been convinced that the reason Simeon was demoted after the Celestial War was because he stayed neutral and refused to fight. And how Simeon discusses the past in Lesson 49 suggests similarly -- he has always had regrets over not joining Lucifer, because he couldn't. Now that it seems he is possibly turning into a demon, he can't help but wonder how things could have been different if he had.

He mentions how he feels less unsure about this than turning into a human, as he always did want to be closer to the brothers, and didn't like that he was different from them. In that sense, turning into a demon doesn't seem so bad to him -- though he also doesn't have control over these powers yet, so he needs to be careful. And, if you choose the "are you a bad boy at heart" option, he mentions that maybe his loyalty to the Celestial Realm is lacking -- pretty understandable, after all he's seen from them and all they've put him through...!

And Then There's the Shady Sorcerer...

Now, that's all complicated enough for that delicate, delicate balance between the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, but let's not forget there's one more realm in the "Three" Realms, with one very conspicuously powerful representative here in our cast.

And so, where is Solomon in all of this? Well, we know he placed a protection charm on Simeon to protect him when it was thought that he was a "defenseless" human, so that even if a lesser demon messed with him, they'd be in for a world of pain. He was also, it seems, the first one to notice Simeon starting to transform into a demon, but kept that information to himself until confronted about it. Lucifer opens up to us that he can't help but wonder if there's some kind of connection between the sorcerer's activities back in the human realm and Simeon's predicament, feeling some doubts even if it seems everyone relies on Solomon and trusts him. And after all, Lucifer would be a demon with a good reason to distrust Solomon, since the sorcerer has long been after a pact with him, even on top of all the many powerful pacts he already holds with others.

Lucifer brings up some of his concerns to Solomon by asking him why he's been going back and forth to the human world so much -- to which Solomon answers that's making some preparations for unlikely scenarios. He insists it's not important, but we wonder...

Back in OG Season 2, Solomon knew about MC's "ring" which was putting the Three Realms at risk, and he secretly swiped the Night Dagger from the Reaper's Cave as a potential solution. His top priority, as we've seen, has always been protecting humanity from the battling influences of the other two realms. We know that's also part of his mysterious deal with Nightbringer.

So what possible plans and preparations could Solomon be making, and for what unlikely scenarios? Another war? Another imbalance of power? We'll see what awaits with this whole new situation...

[artsekey]

I really hate how ads have taken over the internet. On one hand, I know that hosting a website costs money, right? And ad revenue is one of the simplest ways for free-to-use websites to cover their operating costs.

My question is-- and I would genuinely love an answer-- is this ever going to stop? Tumblr ran for a long time without ads. So did Youtube. I know that the cost of hosting so much media has gone up, but there are a lot of users on these websites that make the content that drives people to use the service that don't see any of the money generated by this revenue. On Youtube, there's at least a way for creators to make some money from what they do. For most, it isn't much, but the opportunity is there. On Tumblr, well... the ability to convert the visibility of my blog into any financial gain practically nonexistent, though they did at one point promise that users would be able to make money from ads run on their blogs (whatever happened to that, Staff?).

"You can pay to avoid seeing ads!" Tumblr says, as if the views on my main blog alone over the past few years have not generated more than enough ad revenue to cover the price they're asking me to pay, the person who is actively making content that brings eyes to their ads.

I'm not mad at Tumblr for hosting ads. I get that it has to happen because it's the easiest way to keep the site free, and honestly, I imagine Tumblr's staunch opposition to monetization has been a real obstacle for the team building Tumblr. But at the same time, it feels like yet another small concession in the usability of the site. I'm tired of ads that auto-play with blaring audio while I'm scrolling. I'm tired of adds that, if I touch them while trying to scroll past them, take me to an external site. Outside of tumblr, I'm tired of looking for information online only to get a webpage that's 95% ads and otherwise illegible. Hell, I recently got an ad on Discord. Was it unobtrusive? Maybe. But it was there, for the first time, and I know that won't be the end.

I know the first reply I'm going to get on this is "use adblock", and yes, that's a solution, but think about how much the landscape for media has changed in just ten years.

Popular forums are basically gone outside of reddit.

Youtube, without Red, is ad hell. You can't watch more than 3-4 minutes of video without getting sent to marketing hell.

Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter-- it's terrible. I firmly believe they've manufactured a worse experience through the implementation of ads to convince you to buy into their premium services.

Just Check out this video of Penguinz0 trying to watch a video on a third-party site.

There's discussion of putting ads into video games.

Remember when games didn't include micro-transactions? Blizzard is charging $70 for one mythic skin. You could almost buy Overwatch 1 twice-over at that price-point.

Influencers make a living by making their lives into advertisements.

Youtube has retaliated against users using ad-block on non-chrome browsers by artificially inflating the load times of it's videos.

What can we do about this? I imagine companies see it as an infinite money hack; users can't stop companies from hosting ads, and the action they could take to voice their displeasure-- leaving the site, using other competitive services-- has been all but obliterated thanks to the homogeneity of popular social media outlets. If someone is truly so incensed about ads, well-- it isn't like they have to engage with them, right? They can enroll in a cheap, auto-renewing service to get rid of ads entirely. Well, wait, the price of premium might just have to go up. Don't worry, it's auto-renewing! You won't even notice it. Oh, no, it's got to go up again, you won't even notice it.

There's no incentive for them to cap this behavior, and no way for us as users to pressure them to do so. We create these spaces; we fill them with color, art, activism, community, and the companies that ride on the tailcoat of the spaces we create tell us to give them more. What comes next?

[koimethehorizon]

Fionna and Cake theory: Simon the Artist

Nothing like a good old creative panic attack.

Fionna and Cake good. Haven’t been excited about a show like this in a long time, though it being a part of Adventure Time does help quite a bit. I was holding on to some cautious optimism for the show when it was announced as yet another big IP series covering the multiverse (still waiting to groan at THAT scene where Prismo has to explain to us about there being infinite universes), but as usual, Adventure Time’s crew continues to surprise me with its creativity, humor, and thematic resonance.

The most striking part about Fionna and Cake so far is just how deliberately the show wants us to differentiate it from the original Adventure Time.

We’re getting shots where Simon pops an artery from his arm, a theme song that explicitly talks about suicidal ideation, discussions of rent and financial problems, and curses no longer disguised with AT’s usual dialogue. Adventure Time has always had violence, thematic density, and juvenile rating pushers, but they were always reserved at small points. Meanwhile, these are factors that are just casually shown and discussed in Fionna and Cake every 3 minutes or so. This is not an all-ages miniseries, it’s for young adults. (hint: this will be relevant later)

Let’s get right into it. This is much less a speculative lore theory and more on what thematic direction the story may be going.

Before we do, let’s get this out of the way first. This theory assumes that the current Fionna and Cake world is all a part of Simon’s head and not merely a separate multiverse, which… I’m certain is fact for the following reasons.

The immediately obvious piece is that Fionna and Cake was always the Ice King’s fanfiction. Now if you’re versed in AT’s continuity you’re probably going to be asking about the red light in Fionna and Cake + Fionna and… I’ve no answer for it unfortunately. It’ll probably be relevant later in the series and possibly age this post like milk but for now, we’re not here to focus on the how, but the why.

Second is that the intro and the ending of Ep 2 literally show Fionna’s world spilling right out of Simon’s head like an animated world out of a frozen brain. If that isn’t clear enough-

Didn't realize this until writing, but these glasses are just plastic made to look like Betty's

There’s no other explanation for this other than that this world is artificial or influenced by Simon in some sense. Fionna even specifies that the statue went under renovation 12 years ago, but nobody seems to know who it is. Considering how Finn looks in the episode, it’s likely that it’s been that long since Betty’s sacrifice in the finale.

With that out of the way, here it goes.

The reason Fionna and Cake exist in the first place is because the creators found Natasha Allegri’s genderswap designs charming and wanted an in-universe reason to use them the Ice King wanted to create trashy, wish fulfillment through art. It was a phase.

Definitely changed that image for publishing.

Simon can argue if they’re good or bad but it’s undeniably his art. It’s not just a portfolio he left behind in a closet, it’s an experience that was shared with a larger audience.

And even if wasn’t liked at first, the citizens of Ooo seemed to have come around to it. And some of them love it!

Whether Simon likes it or not, he has a fan base that is so endeared to the story he made all those years ago that they demand he makes more. Why let a good story, loved by many, go to rest when you still have some life and creativity left in you?

Can't move on in more ways than one.

Except, the problem is that Simon isn’t Ice King anymore. He’s aged out of it.

His real passion is history, he's an adult who who finds passion in the mundane and antiques from the past. And frankly, there isn’t much room for wish-fulfillment and fantasy anymore. Simon has responsibilities. He has a job and a daughter in a world that is moving faster than he can process.

And where Ice King wrote about looking for love, Simon has already had it.

And lost it. His mind isn’t focused on the rosiness of finding new love, it’s grieving the one he already thought was the one.

Wasn't he supposed to be good with kids?

Despite his new life experiences, all his peers seem to want from him is to make more of what they’re familiar with.

A story made from wants and wishes that he doesn’t even have anymore.

A story that was literally made by someone else at a different time. It’s a fiction he cannot connect to anymore, art that he’s embarrassed by. Yet also jealous of. Because at one point, the body Simon used to be in understood what exactly was missing from his life and could express that easily.

Seeing it again is like experiencing a retrospection of a cringey loser you don’t want to imagine having ever been. It’s not you anymore, and you don’t want to be reminded of that.

Because despite him having a new creative passion, no one seems to care about that. All they want is Fionna and Cake. And what is more lonely than other people misunderstanding what you’re trying to express?

If I failed to make it clear somehow, my theory is that: Simon’s relationship with Fionna and Cake is a metaphor for creators growing out of their art. And this new Fionna and Cake world is still comfort art born out of Simon’s current desires and perceptions.

The snippet subtitles this “child holding a phone”. I guess I’m wrong. Essay over.

Episode 1 and 2 both have direct parallels with each other. They’re both about a protagonist who are feeling displaced from their world, living a phase of losing a significant other, leaving a thankless job, wearing a mask of stability in front of the people they care for, seeking a guru at the heart of the forest, and concluding that they no longer belong in their current world.

But more importantly, Fionna and Cake (the characters, the world, and the show) are no longer for an all-ages crowd. Fionna and Cake now feature young adults, curses, gore, alcohol, partial nudity, financial issues, morning routines, mid-life crisis, and overt suicidal ideation. These are the feelings that Simon relates to and possibly desires to express through art. Thus, his story and our new miniseries have warped that way.

Am I overthinking this? No. How dare you assume that.

Is equating the unconscious writings of his dementia-ridden self to Simon as his younger self seem a bit odd? ….Kinda. Again, it’s not the how but the why that matters in this case. I'm NOT crazy, I have proof that there is some acknowledgment of this directly in the show.

Rewatch the bar scene and apply this reading of the episode to what Simon says there:

“Your old stuff, Fionna and Cake, honest to glob my man, is an inspiration to me.”

“My old stuff, I don’t really want to talk about my old stuff…”

“Why not? You should be proud! You wrote an entire extended universe in a fugue state if you think about it.”

"Simon cringes"

If you have ever shared art with a group of people in the past, you’ve had this conversation.

Not likely, not possibly, no perhapses. You HAVE.

And Fionna and Cake being an epilogue to a massive award-winning, near-decade-spanning, cultural sensation 5 years after it ended, might result in its creators feeling very retrospective about what audiences want from them now.

And how difficult it’s going to be to tell new experiences and tones from what’s come before. Also, come on. “Extended Universe?” That doesn’t sound like Fionna and Cake. That sounds a lot like something else.

Again, seems bad with this kid.

One of the more profound shots in the main trailer for the show features the inconspicuously Finn-like kid crouching at her Fionna and Cake book in Simon’s trash. I believe this character is going to have a major role in two ways. Convincing Simon to be proud of what he’s accomplished and/or embracing that Simon wants to move away from his original work in order to create something new, or perhaps more likely, reinvent Fionna and Cake into what Simon relates to now.

We’ll just have to see what Simon thinks of his new Fionna next week.

PS. Talking as a fan now, WHAT IS UP WITH THE 1000+ TREEHOUSE IN THE INTRO?!!! ARE WE REVISITING THIS TIMELINE AGAIN?

SOMEONE TELL ME NOW!!!

[puzzleddonkey]

Forgot to Lore dump about meeks. Basically, they're artificial sentient life designed to rival the short financial success of the Moon Mite franchise during its prime.. being even shorter-lived because of how unstable these critters were (and this would be before the Moon Mite Incident).

" The Pugs of artificial sapient lifeforms. Made for the sole purpose of competing with the moon mite franchise (pre-incident), and instead sparked a very heated discussion on the limitations of creating artificial life, ESPECIALLY sapient life. It didn't help that meeks were designed to be as close as possible to a "living doll, having very "cutesy bodies, fussy tempers, naive minds, small mouths, stubby, weak legs, and weaker bowels. Though the intended result was to make an adorable, empathetic, and intelligent pet that is fully dependent on its owners and can only be produced by the franchise, meeks instead ended up as disgusting, entitled, manipulative, and ignorant critters that breed and die in mass. Now ditched in the streets of shady planets, some meeks have gotten crueler, but some can become genuine companions if patient enough. However, one's patience can easily run thin with these meeks, especially when they can say and do the shittiest things to rile you up. It's one thing to shit on the carpet or destroy clothing, but it's another to insult you for your shortcomings, wish you'd endure graphic scenarios and purposely trigger any trauma response just because you didn't let them finish humping their own pile of shit. They're sapient but built so fucked up that their minds are fucked up, only getting worse as street rats. Which is why other species violently despise them. How else would you respond to a street meek screaming that they'll hump and shit on the corpse of your deceased loved ones? Doesn't help that they're also telepathic, but only capable of reading thoughts which is one of the biggest factors as to why they end up so cruel, their focus is often on the intrusive thoughts, influencing the meek. Very few realize that those thoughts are meant to be ignored."

Also doodles of meek variants that are more cunning, more somewhat civilized than their more pest-like counterparts.

[nostalgebraist]

Steve DeCanio, an ex-Berkeley activist now doing graduate work at M.I.T., is a good example of a legion of young radicals who know they have lost their influence but have no clear idea how to get it back again. “The alliance between hippies and political radicals is bound to break up,” he said in a recent letter. “There’s just too big a jump from the slogan of ‘Flower Power’ to the deadly realm of politics. Something has to give, and drugs are too ready-made as opiates of the people for the bastards (the police) to fail to take advantage of it.” Decanio spent three months in various Bay Area jails as a result of his civil rights activities and now he is lying low for a while, waiting for an opening. “I’m spending an amazing amount of time studying,” he wrote. “It’s mainly because I’m scared; three months on the bottom of humanity’s trash heap got to me worse than it’s healthy to admit. The country is going to hell, the left is going to pot, but not me. I still want to figure out a way to win.”

Re-reading Hunter S. Thompson's 1967 article about Haight-Ashbury, I thought: "huh, this guy sounds like he's going places. I wonder whether he ever did 'figure out a way to win'?"

So I web searched his name, and ... huh!

My current research interests include Artificial Intelligence, philosophy of the social sciences, and the economics of climate change. Several years ago I examined the consequences of computational limits for economics and social theory in Limits of Economic and Social Knowledge (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).  Over the course of my academic career I have worked in the fields of global environmental protection, the theory of the firm, and economic history.  I have written about both the contributions and misuse of economics for long-run policy issues such as climate change and stratospheric ozone layer protection.  An earlier book, Economic Models of Climate Change: A Critique (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), discussed the problems with conventional general equilibrium models applied to climate policy. From 1986 to 1987 I served as Senior Staff Economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. I have been a member of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Economic Options Panel, which reviewed the economic aspects of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and I served as Co-Chair of the Montreal Protocol’s Agricultural Economics Task Force of the Technical and Economics Assessment Panel. I participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and was a recipient of the Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2007. In 1996 I was honored with a Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award, and in 2007 a “Best of the Best” Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I served as Director of the UCSB Washington Program from 2004 to 2009.

I don't know whether this successful academic career would count as "winning" by his own 1967 standards. But it was a pleasant surprise to find anything noteworthy about the guy at all, given that he was quoted as a non-public figure in a >50-year-old article.

[rubra-wav]

Vox HCs #4: Theories about how he works like biologically

Cw: Sfw - but discussion about non-sexual anatomy type stuff

A/N because I've thought way too much about the logistics of him and robotic/tech demons and how they work/could work way too much. 💀 These are just some of the things I've thought about

- The main thing I see people wondering about is his face and how he drinks stuff, kisses people, etc.

- I think that the screen of his face is a full screen in its resting state, but he can influence the way it kind of functions/presents. ie. Manipulating the area around his mouth so he actually does have a mouth and its not just a projection on his screen.

- I don't think his mouth is a constant actual 3 dimensional thing though and is rather something he can change at will whenever he sees fit.

- If you were to touch it just in casual day to do life, his mouth would just be the screen / 2d.

- Also, I don't think his mouth feels like a normal mouth. If you were to kiss him I feel like his lips would not feel exactly like normal lips, and that his lips and tongue would kind of have that kind of static electricity sensation to them.

- Like if he were to lick you, I feel like you'd get that kind of static electricity sensation that makes your hair stand on its end.

- I'm not too sure about the rest of his face though. Maybe he can manipulate the rest of his face to become more 3 dimensional, but I don't think he would do it often as it's not necessary.

- Due to him being seen drinking during season 1, I think it's safe to assume that the way his internal functions are designed are relatively similar to normal humans.

- I believe he'd also have a somewhat similar body system as well. However, it just would be like metal parts, wires and artificial stuff underneath his skin rather than actual muscle, veins, ligaments, organs, bodily fluids, etc. Etc. That mirror those bodily systems.

- Having said that though, I do think parts of him are sensitive to being damaged by water. He may be just fine drinking water and liquids, but if they got in his ports (like on the back of his head), that would be bad.

- Because he prides himself on being up to date tech wise, he'd likely be waterproofed to a degree, but it still wouldn't be good. I can imagine him being damaged by it and bluescreening and forcefully shutting down to prevent any further damage to his less human reminiscent systems. (Do you think he lays down in rice when that happens? 💀)

- Also, I do not think he technically needs to eat or drink stuff. Judging by the fact he can plug into things (like how in the Stayed Gone video he plugs into all the computers and stuff), I think his main energy source would actually be charging using electrical wires and stuff.

- I think that him eating and drinking is just a preference of his, and that other demons who are similar to him wouldn't need to eat or drink. He can still get energy that way, but it's less efficient and more of just a preference/reminiscent of his past life as a human that he's held onto all this time.

- I also don't think he really 'sleeps' in the traditional sense or needs to sleep? He can likely regain power that way, but he wouldn't really need to sleep and could just stay awake all day and night if he's connected to a suitable charging source every couple of hours.

- I do think he would like powering down/switching off for a bit to rest though - just to not go crazy. Even if you wont die from lack of sleep, it's still nice to not have to think about things for a couple of hours.

Now I'm thinking about him laying down in rice after trying to go swimming without water proofing himself properly while bitching lmao.

[sleeplesssmoll]

Reverse 1999 Theory: What is "Perception" and how does it work in arcanists?

Vertin canonically has uncanny perception and a deep understanding for arcanum even amongst arcanists, despite her lack of skill. Arcanists are very sensitive, or rather, vulnerable to emotions. There is another arcanist known for her perception we can look at for more clues.

Mesmer Jr. also has a "acute perception", much like Vertin.

In Reverse 1999, Perception functions like a 6th sense in arcanists. But how does it work? I looked up to see if there is a connection between magnetic fields and emotions. Turns out there is A LOT. Specifically the magnetic field radiated by the heart.

Biomagnetic Communication Between People (source).

We have found there is a direct relationship between the heart-rhythm patterns and the spectral information encoded in the frequency spectra of the magnetic field radiated by the heart. Thus, information about a person’s emotional state is encoded in the heart’s magnetic field and is communicated throughout the body and into the external environment.

There is so much cool information in this article I'd love to gush about, but we're here for lore. Remember my psychube post that I never shut up about? It's actually missing very important information that I didn't add at the time because I could not figure out how it worked.

Polarization:

The different frequencies are triggered by different kinds of emotions and we can see the heart being affected by the electromagnetic fields. My theory is that this is the key to arcanist perception. This is how they "sense" emotions. They are picking up on these frequencies. For a real life example from the same article, look at these graphs showing how the influence of emotions:

Most people tend to think of communication solely in terms of overt signals expressed through facial movements, voice qualities, gestures and body movements. However, evidence now supports the perspective that a subtle yet influential electromagnetic or "energetic" communication system operates just below our conscious level of awareness. The following section will discuss data that suggests this energetic system contributes to the "magnetic" attractions or repulsions that occur between individuals.

Arcanists sense these waves and it can cause distress in them. Mesmer Jr. is a prime example of this. Other people's emotions get to her.

Now how does this tie into our beloved Timekeeper?

What if the reason Vertin has to stay "stoic" is because her emotions can influence the others around her and because she is extra susceptible to other people's incoming emotions. She needs to stay calm even in mental distress. Mesmer Jr. is also like this. She may come off as abrasive and snappy at times but she is described as a "an indifferent and refined machine" (Chapter 3: An Opened Sandwich). These two share a lot in common. They are both victims of trauma yet must operate in many emotionally taxing positions.

They even say "engraved in the heart" (although this could simply be word choice it really fits)!

Both Vertin and Mesmer Jr. struggle everyday to keep the their feelings at bay. Neither of them is "used" to this life but they have to keep up the facade for their sake and possibly for those around them.

The main story doesn't give us as much insight into Vertin's head but the traces do. She is always holding back, just like Mesmer.

Side note, do you remember the heartbeat we heard as Schneider was reversed? It raced. Interesting how later Schneider shows up in one of her dreams during Artificial Somnambulism. This could be an example of HF Polarization which generates strong and temporary mental images with very powerful emotions.

This also adds an extra layer to Vertin's interactions with others. She tried to get through to Druvis and Schneider, but as for Forget-me-not and Arcana, she didn't bother. Maybe their feelings of revenge and hatred are so tangible she knew it was lost cause. However, Druvis was laden with grief and loss. She was not a malicious person. Schneider was desperate and motivated by love for her family. Vertin even mentions she knew Madam Z was not part of Constantine's game by the "look in her eyes" and never blamed her for the loss of her friends.

If anything seems wrong or if I missed something, please let me know! I'd be happy if I could refine it further.

[transosdd]

hello! i think requests are open? if they are, can i request a c!wilbur inspired/influenced by the dark academia aesthetic, possibly with a name that isn't wilbur? lvl 2 or 3, either is fine. ty in advance, going to send in one other request, no rush on completing either! love your blog.

- @heralds-bah-commune

　 ⬭ 　　C!WILBUR SOOT ALTER PACK

︵⠀ ⟢ NAMES – rory, willow, symphony, theodore, julius, cassius, xavier

︵⠀ ⟢ AGE – 26

︵⠀ ⟢ PRNS – he/him, coco/cocoa, fea/feather, piano/piano, rea/read, book/books, poe/poet, scrap/scrapbook

︵⠀ ⟢ GENDERS – masc-aligned, darkacawritic, poemgender, myracademic, acadelibre, priacademic, comfycoric, cogticksoundic

︵⠀ ⟢ ORIENTATION – limnosexual, cepturomantic

︵⠀ ⟢ ROLES – memory holder, reliefmate, social protector, archivist

︵⠀ ⟢ SOURCE – C!WILBUR [DSMP]

︵⠀ ⟢ TRANSIDS – vanillascentic, brownbloodic, ASPD, mania

︵⠀ ⟢ FRONT TRIGGERS –

POS: reading/discussing literature, libraries and coffee shops, classical music/jazz/piano, rainy or overcast weather, mentions of philosophy/history, 1800s-early 1900s aesthetic

NEG: being interrupted, disorganization or messiness, overly cheerful/overwhelming environments

︵⠀ ⟢ INTERESTS –

LIKES: nearly handwritten letters or journals, vintage clothing or antiques, routines and rituals (like lighting a candle before reading), historic places and events, intricate puzzles, tea, fire and burning things

DISLIKES: modern technology, clashing colors in decor or clothing, overly sweet/artificial foods, procrastination, invasive questions

︵⠀ ⟢ COMMON OUTFITS – O1, O2, O3, O4, O5

︵⠀ ⟢ FAVORITE MUSIC – O1, O2, O3, O4, O5

︵⠀ ⟢ PERSONALITY – he is introspective and articulate, with a sharp mind and a penchant for deep, meaningful conversations. his demeanor is composed, often carrying a quiet intensity that hints at unspoken thoughts and emotions. he values intellect, structure, and beauty, particularly in the form of literature, philosophy, and art. while he may appear aloof or distant at times, he is deeply passionate and driven, often channeling his emotions into creative or intellectual pursuits. beneath his refined exterior, there is a lingering sense of melancholy, which he carries with a quiet dignity. (MBTI : INTJ)

︵⠀ ⟢ ROLE/DUTY INFO – as a memory holder, he carefully compartmentalizes specific memories, ensuring they are preserved and protected, only sharing them when absolutely necessary for the system’s growth or understanding. he approaches this responsibility with a quiet sense of duty, treating the memories like pages in a book that he safeguards with precision and care. as a reliefmate, he steps forward during times of stress or exhaustion, relying on his calm, structured nature to handle tasks efficiently. whether it’s managing daily responsibilities or navigating difficult situations, he maintains focus and ensures everything is completed with care, allowing others to rest without guilt. in his role as a social protector, he excels in diffusing or managing overwhelming social situations. he uses his articulate nature and composed demeanor to redirect or de-escalate interactions that may be anxiety-inducing or harmful. his intellect and quick thinking enable him to handle conversations or conflicts with poise, setting firm boundaries when needed to protect the system from undue stress. as an archivist, he treats the system’s memories and events like entries in his well-maintained library. he uses his innerworld space as an archive, organizing information into clearly labeled constructs such as books and files, ensuring everything is stored in an orderly and accessible way. he has an innate ability to recall specific details about the system’s experiences, whether from the external world or the headspace, and can retrieve this information quickly when needed.

︵⠀ ⟢ INNERWORLD BEHAVIOR – in the innerworld, he often retreats to a quiet, refined space that mirrors his dark academia aesthetic. his home resembles a study or library, filled with towering bookshelves, dim candlelight, and worn leather chairs. the atmosphere is cozy yet slightly somber, with muted tones and heavy curtains. he spends his time immersed in books, journaling, or organizing the system’s internal “archives,” keeping memories and thoughts in order. his presence is steady and grounding, offering a quiet reassurance that everything is under control. his space is a haven for those in need of a calm, intellectual retreat, though he tends to value his privacy and may only allow others to visit if they truly need his guidance.

︵⠀ ⟢ OUTERWORLD BEHAVIOR – while fronting, he is composed, articulate, and deliberate in his actions. he approaches tasks with efficiency, prioritizing what needs to be done and ensuring the system feels in control and grounded. his calm demeanor makes him effective in stressful situations, as he rarely lets emotions cloud his judgment. in social settings, he carries himself with a reserved confidence, speaking thoughtfully and maintaining a distant tone. he tends to avoid unnecessary small talk, steering conversations toward topics of depth or importance when possible. if the situation becomes overwhelming or invasive, he is quick to set firm boundaries or gracefully remove the system from the environment. he focuses on maintaining a sense of order, whether by organizing the system’s external environment, completing responsibilities, or engaging in quiet, grounding activities like writing, reading, or listening to soft instrumental music. though he is not outwardly warm, his steady presence and logical approach provide reassurance to those around him, ensuring the system’s stability and protection.

︵⠀ ⟢ EMOJI PROXIES – 🍪, 🧺, 🖋️📜

︵⠀ ⟢ CREDITS – art = all unknown

[mitigatedchaos]

Election 2024

EigenRobot's opinion for you all this election eve.

I expect that whoever wins this election, I'm going to have to shift my writing towards the other side.

Unless Kamala suddenly becomes assertive and independent-minded, very much unlike what we've seen so far, and starts disciplining the left coalition, the capability of institutions is likely to continue to decline under a Harris administration, with something like an amnesty grant making direct future challenges less feasible. Today's left are off-the-charts conformist - I've never seen anything like it - and with this, there is a tremendous disregard for inconvenient reality in the face of social opinion. (It's anti-agentic, which is bad for the meta-rational thinking needed to update formal systems.)

Their selection criteria for personnel disregard merit in favor of credentials, and use credentials as political rewards. With each round the quality of personnel will get worse. This is not sustainable, so it will not be sustained - alternative institutions will have to grow in the shadow of declining state capacity.

If Trump wins, and they start cutting back on agencies, there is likely to be more economic growth, but Republicans don't have a good stack for actually replacing all of these agency personnel with highly agentic, highly intelligent, mission-driven individuals. In a sense, this limits the potential damage, as they'll have to continue hiring a lot of blues due to manpower shortages, just as they already do.

However, the reduction in agency power may lead to increased corporate power, leading to increased influence suppressing the re-emergence of agency power on a correct trajectory and lead to a cyberpunk dystopia. Today's US left aren't set up to even discuss how to prevent a cyberpunk dystopia, because they're all-in on censorship, to the point that they can't even consider the implications of the science fiction stuff happening all around them.

There are two big changes to the dimensions of human life coming down the pipes during the next 20 years.

The first is the obvious one, artificial intelligence. AI increases the dimensionality, the richness of the response, of machines in production systems. This makes capital, as controlled by AI, more like labor.

It is the opinion of Samo Burja that automation will not arrive fast enough to outpace tightness of labor supply caused by collapsing birthrates, which are falling all over the world.

The second big change is genetic engineering.

While people weren't paying attention, the FDA have approved multiple monogenic gene therapies. The costs are staggering now, running a range from around $500,000 to $3 million dollars, but if it's anything like gene sequencing costs, which fell from $100M to $1,000 per genome over about 25 years, it will fall rapidly towards the price of surgery.

If the price does fall, this means that a gene is no longer a life sentence. Something that's genetic will be more likely to be something that can be changed. Most major ideologies right now are based on the assumption that genes can't be changed. Gene therapy has not yet reached the periphery of people's social networks, so, mentally, people still treat it as "sci-fi."

So that's my assessment. The blue candidate is low-variance short-termism. The red candidate is high-variance medium-termism. You have to decide how comfortable you are with risk. You have to estimate what you think the current rate of burn is.

If you can't bring yourself to accept either of them, you can still vote and leave the "President" portion of the ballot blank.

The good news is, both vice presidential candidates are smarter and more civilized than both presidential candidates. For what it's worth, my read is that Vance is smarter and more focused on long-term issues than Walz.

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

@quiterambunctious

You asked about the Reishi Pod concept.

I didn't want to make the other post even longer, so here it is...

Me and @mondengel2 had discussed how Byakuya and Ichigo could have kids without falling into the Mpreg trope.

We discussed each of our headcanons for how many kids and their names, and amidst this conversation, the Reishi Pod concept first appeared as an idea.

Mondengel ended up writing a ficlet on that Tumblr post which used the same concept but slightly different construction of pod.

When I begun writing My Dream Has Your Eyes I used that concept as a piece of machinery used exclusively by the Great Noble Houses.

The Reishi Pod is what would eventually spark the Artificial Souls development, with Kirio Hikifune basing her research on them but tweaking it a bit so that they could only develop the Artificial Souls' pills as we know them. Not complete living beings.

The pod itself is a type of reinforced glass, a translucent shield over it and finally a metal shield that encases everything, keeping the pod safe.

It has a dashboard attached with collecting spheres, in which the Reishi donors (aka the parents.) will set their hands on and the machine itself collects the right amount of Reishi from both of them.

There's four Reishi collecting processes per day and although it can be stopped at the seventh month, it's advisable to do so until the very end to prevent any issues with the baby.

It takes about one whole month for the Reishi to fully aggregate and form a fetus, a placenta that holds to the top of the Pod and, of course, the umbilical cord.

Some of the Reishi floats around the baby like amniotic liquid does in a biological pregnancy.

The Reishi Pod can only be used by two people. It will not function with only one person to prevent the Heads of the Clans to simply go on producing what's basically a clone of themselves.

The gender of the parents does not influence the gender of the child, since the Reishi itself can randomly create a boy or a girl, regardless...

The whole process need surveillance from a qualified member of the Fourth squad.

So, yeah... That's basically it.

[coolingrosa]

i have a little question. Would you rather reffer to Ink as a ''soulless being" or 'person who lacks a soul"? (saw this discussion a while ago and apparently there's a different with both terms)

This is weirdly timed due to me working on a video talking about what Ink’s soulless identity could be metaphors for…nice job anon /gen

I have a small section about this in my video, but I won’t mind adding it here and expanding on it. The only reference we have of a monster who is soulless is Flowey, but what most people tend to forget about Flowey is that the reason he is who is he is due to the determination inside him as well. Unlike Ink who is capable of feeling genuine emotions, even if they are technically artificial, Flowey feels nothing but animal instincts and a drive to survive. I see some people say Flowey CAN feel some emotions, and while I want to agree with that, it’s clear this is through an animalistic way. Flowey “feels’ fear when his life is threatened. He cries when the last bits of his good memories, the memories his determination latched onto, are brought up due to the influence they have over his remains. He doesn’t truly feel things like love or empathy, so he fits the criteria of a ‘soulless being’ a lot better.

Where the problem had risen in the fandom is people using their knowledge of how Flowey acts for a baseline of what Ink is like- using terms like “soulless being” to describe him and making him cruel and overly rude. It’s confirmed that Ink is a selfish prick, but it’s also confirmed he CAN feel love, and feels love for his dads. He can also mourn and feel genuine connections to people due to his vials and the lack of determination serving as metaphoric survival instincts. He CAN love, and he can cry over losing someone. That requires empathy and compassion- and due to his vials serving as his soul, he’s still a person.

Flowey is more of a vengeance spirit in a way- haunting the narrative until Frisk holds him through his turmoil and reveals the soul of Asriel. Though it’s hinted he will become Flowey again, I like to think that Asriel REALLY means that his soul can move on, and Flowey will be all that remains, which will be an empty flower. Without his soul and lasting strings, nothing can hold Flowey together. That’s not exactly the means of a person- just fragments stitched together by determination and past memories.

Ink is a person- even if everyone and himself doubt it. He has the capability of care and love and has a drive that isn’t just connected to survival. He’s able to maintain positive connections and make enemies at the same time, upholding both in a way that’s reminiscent to others. Even without his soul, his vials are his support- almost like how people get mechanical legs after losing one. They are foreign and not in the shape of a soul at all, but they were given to him as a replacement and to keep him going. They will never be on the same par of an original soul, but they hold him together anyways. That’s the structure of a person who just seems to have a disability- not a completely separate being.

TLDR: I think the term a person without a soul fits- however, basing Ink off of the one other soulless character we know of (even though he isn’t a good comparison due to the immense differences between them and their situations) is what drove so much of his mischaracterization throughout the years, and we need to remember Ink had a artificial soul in a way and shouldn’t be considered a completely soulless and empty person when he has things to support him.

[strangenewwords]

If you have a therapist, please discuss with them their AI useage.

Many therapists are turning to various AI products to assist with workload. I am wholly against this, not because of that AI itself, but because I want complete transparency about where information from the session is being stored, and how it is being utilized.

There are a variety of tools, and some are much more worrisome than others.

According to the American Counseling Association:

"Recommendation: Maintain transparency and informed consent. Counselors should clearly inform clients about the use of AI tools in their counseling process, explaining their purpose and potential benefits (H.2.a). Obtain explicit informed consent from clients for the use of AI-assisted tools, ensuring they understand the implications and potential impact on their treatment."

However, this is just a recommendation at this point (the code of ethics is ten years old so they're working on a new version). But ask your therapist. Discuss how you feel about it. Make sure they're open with you.