#it's not accurate and it's not helpful for either understanding what they're doing or organizing against it

[setnet]

apart from a couple things now out of date this is a pretty accurate summary of the crap that's been happening. and it's not just that labour was voted out, it's that a lot of people who would normally be labour supporters didn't turn out to vote.

however, comma, the coalition govt is not doing fascism. a great stew of right wing nastiness for certain - including elements of conservatism, economic liberalism and neoliberalism, libertarianism, populism, nationalism, and deeply reactionary in many ways - but fascism is a specific ideology and this ain't it.

USA please listen to me: the price of “teaching them a lesson” is too high. take it from New Zealand, who voted our Labour government out in the last election because they weren’t doing exactly what we wanted and got facism instead.

Trans rights are being attacked, public transport has been defunded, tax cuts issued for the wealthy, they've mass-defunded public services, cut and attacked the disability funding model, cut benefits, diverted transport funding to roads, cut all recent public transport subsidies, cancelled massive important infrastructure projects like damns and ferries (we are three ISLANDS), fast tracked mining, oil, and other massive environmentally detrimental projects and gave the power the to approve these projects singularly to three ministers who have been wined and dined by lobbyists of the companies that have put the bids in to approve them while one of the main minister infers he will not prioritise the protection of endangered species like the archeys frog over mining projects that do massive environmental harm. They have attacked indigenous rights in an attempt to negate the Treaty of Waitangi by “redefining it”; as a backup, they are also trying to remove all mentions of the treaty from legislation starting with our Child Protection laws no longer requiring social workers to consider the importance of Maori children’s culture when placing those children; when the Waitangi Tribunal who oversees indigenous matters sought to enquire about this, the Minister for Children blocked their enquiry in a breach of comity that was condemned in a ruling — too late to do anything — by our Supreme Court. They have repealed labour protections around pay and 90 day trials, reversed our smoking ban, cancelled our EV subsidy, cancelled our water infrastructure scheme that would have given Maori iwi a say in water asset management, cancelled our biggest city’s fuel tax, made our treasury and inland revenue departments less accountable, dispensed of our Productivity Commission, begun work on charter schools and military boot camps in an obvious push towards privatisation, cancelled grants for first home buyers, reduced access to emergency housing, allowed no cause evictions, cancelled our Maori health system that would have given Maori control over their own public medical care and funding, cut funding of services like budgeting advice and food banks, cancelled the consumer advocacy council, cancelled our medicine regulations, repealed free prescriptions, deferred multiple hospital builds, failed to deliver on pre-election medical promises, reversed a gun ban created in response to the mosque shootings, brought back three strikes = life sentence policy, increased minimum wage by half the recommended amount, cancelled fair pay for disabled workers, reduced wheelchair services, reversed our oil and gas exploration ban, cancelled our climate emergency fund, cut science research funding including climate research, removed limits on killing sea lions, cut funding for the climate change commission, weakened our methane targets, cancelled Significant National Areas protections, have begun reversing our ban on live exports. Much of this was passed under urgency.

It’s been six months.

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

Starlo's personality (in-depth)

Okay, this one took a LOT of thinking to decide on. Mainly because we see Starlo 100% in his persona for the majority of the time we spend with him. But now, I think I've had my boy figured out.

For a while now, I thought that he's either an ENTP or an ESTP with well-developed Fe, but eventually realized I had been looking at the image he put on, not the real him.

But before dwelling deeper into what his way of thinking actually is, I'd like to discuss why I don't think he's either ENTP or ESTP.

For ESTP, it's more obvious. Starlo… doesn't use Se at all, let alone as his dominant function. He lives in fantasy. He can come up with goofy ideas, and doesn't pay much attention to the "real world" (tries to escape from the real world instead)

fantasy, not reality (Ceroba is a true realist though)

Starlo only pretends to be this 'tough guy,' his recklessness (I always call it carelessness) is part of the persona. And while I do think some part of him enjoys the fake adventures, it's mostly for show, to lift himself and others around him up, particularly Ceroba, and to feel like someone else.

Now... the conclusion I came to was that Star had both Ne and Fe somewhere. The only question I had to ask myself was the order of these functions. In other words, is he dominant Ne/tertiary Fe or dominant Fe/tertiary Ne

The most important question here is: "What is his main motivation?"

Starlo cares a whole bunch about everyone around him. I feel like I've spoken about this so many times already, but he really is the 'papa bear' of the whole group. He makes sure to remind Mooch how they're not bandits, he gave the Four their own nap time, he organizes events, and overall tries to make the Wild East a comfortable place for everyone. Starlo really, REALLY wants to see everyone get along well with each other, and when that doesn't happen... he's deeply bothered by it.

he hates it when there's no harmony and good vibes

Put bluntly, Starlo wants to contribute to his community. He most definitely thought something like this: "If I'm just a farmer, then I can't do anything to help myself feel less worthless, and I can't help other monsters have more hope, either. So, the only thing left for me to do is change most of my personality and be more 'flashy' and 'cool."

Sure, he comes up with creative ideas, but it isn't his main motivation or how he normally acts when he's not 'North Star'. Being all 'extravagent' is the dominant trait of the character Starlo plays (and personally, I think it is a part of Starlo himself, the part he's too afraid to let out if he's his true nerdy self, without the costume and badge and all)

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

ESFJ: thinks in terms of group dynamics, motivates others to get things done, makes decisions that benefit the largest number of people, natural ability to process and deal with their feelings. On the negative side, they can place so much emphasis on social dynamics / emotions that they find it hard to step back and analyze their motives and feelings; thus they can lack self-understanding and/or pressure others into social norms. They use their Ne to brainstorm and for humor purposes; often to entertain others, to think up solutions, and to hypothesize, but their natural ability is not competently and accurately reading between the lines.

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

I'd like to break this down carefully because, holy hell, this is Starlo from A to Z

thinks in terms of group dynamics/makes decisions that benefit the largest number of people - clear as day, that's why he has his posse (although I think this trait of his was underdeveloped during the events of UTY as Star probably made most of the decisions himself without asking the others)

motivates others to get things done

pressure others into social norms - technically his own social norms, also the dress conditions he never used to overlook (I also heard ESFJs have style and care about how they appear to others, ENTPs don't; but maybe this is generalization)

find it hard to step back and analyze their motives and feelings - Star turns to the outside world instead, not inwards at all. That's what makes him an extrovert, NOT because he's friendly and social (although he is)

They use their Ne to brainstorm and for humor purposes; often to entertain others - when I read ENTERTAIN OTHERS it all became clear to me

their natural ability is not competently and accurately reading between the lines - he can't even do it and has to directly ask ⬇️

Extra thoughts

What I've also heard about the ESFJ type is that they really REALLY care about their social status/standing when unhealthy, which Star 120% did

It might seem weird that he's a sensor while also being super creative and into ideas, but that's his high tertiary Ne speaking (no wonder it's so high when he's been using it for years)

ESFJs are super charming too, but in a less 'agressive' way like ESTPs (I thought about Dina and Mo, I think they both share this type), or 'witty' way like ENTPs (Sans comes to mind). In others words, Starlo is the 'sweet nerd' kind of charming

ESFJs are bad at dealing with criticism

Can become workaholics (ESTPs and ENTPs are more procastinators; again, I don't mean to generalize)

They're clumsy, too (because of the tertiary Ne; unlike ESTPs, who are grounded in reality and most often aren't clumsy thanks to the dominant Se)

Popular people in leadership positions

Excellent planners (I know Star seems like a percieving type, but as I mentioned above, he actually organizes EVERYTHING)

this makes me think Star has a certain routine (judging over percieving)

He remembers little details about things that happened last month (in the past), making me think of his auxiliary Si (and he also remembers what Ed had said about Clover "being the problem")

So, what makes Starlo inferior Ti? The guy refuses to go inwards to solve his problems. He doesn't think that the most logical solution to the 'whole gang splitting up' situation is a simple apology, and is extremely self critical. Ti has the potential to disrupt or shatter one’s ego-image. Therefore, unhealthy or immature Fe-doms do their utmost to reject Ti in order to protect their ego-image. What this means for Starlo is that he wants to protect his persona in favor of what makes sense for him to do.

Starlo putting himself down™

Fe will use Ti to construct “rational” explanations to confirm poor judgments about people or relationships. In other words, Fe will develop a maladaptive tendency to misinterpret people’s intentions, see ulterior motives that do not exist, or project their own personal issues onto others. Starlo "logically" thinks that everything was Clover's fault, he's projecting his own insecurities into this situation (playing the victim) and twisting Ed's words (who meant to say that Starlo's favorism OF Clover is the problem, not Clover themself)

Not objective, but Starlo and Clover LOOK to me like the types I gave them (based on the offical trailers AND how Martlet describes them, that kid has this kind of a cute/warm/naive expression, I don't even know how to explain this but I'm throwing it in anyway 😅)

Then there's Starlo

I know the 'North Star' part of him probably wouldn't wanna hear this, but without the persona, Starlo looks and is... pretty normal. No flashiness, no overwhelming charm (it's still there, just more 'humble' & as Ed said, he can make his own fun in the little things). As much as Star might think otherwise thanks to those insecurities, this doesn't mean he ain't special, we all know he is

P.S. I can totally picture him treating everyone with Feisty Sliders & root beer after a long day, just like this guy (who somehow gives me the same cozy, kind vibe as Starlo???)

but in all seriousness though, these traits fit Star 💯

[doyouknowthischaracter]

Do you think the polls are inherently biased, because the well-known characters will be shared more wheras the unknown characters might never even reach their bubble where they are actually known by a lot of people?

Short answer is no.

Long answer is: well, if we want to be pedantic, an argument could be made that no method of collecting data via surveys, even self-administered surveys, is completely free of bias because that's just human nature and all you can do is minimize it by wording questions neutrally, trimming outliers, etc etc. With that out of the way, one very important thing to note here is that this isn't an opinion survey. The question being asked is very straightforward and the answer is not something that can be swayed or influenced by peer pressure, propaganda, unwillingness to disclose private information, or any other factors, be they internal or external. You either know a character or you don't. I mean, people could certainly lie, in either direction, but 1) why would you do that?? it's not even like we have winners or losers here, and 2) there's nothing I can do about it anyway.

Now, when it comes to sampling bias (which, from what I understand, is what you're actually asking about) my answer is still no, I don't think that's accurate. Popular characters will reach more people and get more votes overall precisely because they're more popular. If this were a tournament style blog or if I were asking your opinion on the character in question, then yes, I could definitely see how more well-known characters would be at an unfair advantage (or how tagging the polls with the character's name is encouraging that bias, as it's been suggested before), but this is not that! Well-known characters reaching their bubbles faster/more efficiently than obscure characters is an inherent part of being more popular. Everything is working as intended.

All that being said, there are a few factors which I think could influence results somewhat unfairly, but I wouldn't necessarily call them bias. They're more like limitations of the medium.

Firstly, the time and day of the week when a poll is published. I don't have access to this kind of data right now, but off the top of my head, I'd say Sundays around 10pm is when Tumblr users are most active. That, coupled with the fact that most users are from the United States, means that polls that come out of the queue on US Sundays during that time window have a chance to reach more people than all the others. However, this potential problem is organically circumvented by people going back to see previously posted polls, finding polls through reblogs or from tag searches, etc. So it's not really a significant difference. I haven't noticed the numbers reflecting this yet either, but in theory that's how social media works, so I thought it was worth pointing out.

Secondly, polls that were posted early on when the blog had fewer followers reached less people, on average, than polls being posted at the moment or that will be posted in the future. No argument there, that's just a fact. But, again, this is a limitation of the medium. Potentially, I could repost older polls at some point in the future and reassess characters' popularity, but how do I choose which ones? All of them? Wouldn't we just get stuck in a loop of reposting the same characters over and over then? That'd be no fun. So I don't really think there's anything to be done here, unfortunately.

Thirdly, meme-able characters will be see better engagement and consequently higher numbers of votes. Point in case, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Once again, not something that can be helped, not really. I do my best to maintain uniformity in how I format the polls and which pictures I choose (as high quality as I can find, cropped adequately, consistent size, etc.). But some characters will just have better chances of being shared around by virtue of featuring in memes or having some recognizable line or something like that.

To sum it up, overall I don't think there's an inherent bias in how the polls work at the moment. I do think there are certain factors that could marginally influence voting numbers, but not the votes themselves. (Which is why I've decided to compile two separate lists, by number of votes and by percentage-- they measure slightly different things, but that's a post for another day.) As long as every follower of this blog is delivered every poll to their dash and everyone pinky promises not to lie and screw up my numbers on purpose, then I'd say we're golden.

This is probably more than you asked for lol, but hopefully it all makes sense. And as always, feel free to share your opinion. I'm always happy to hear it!

[joeysmuttonchops]

Jericho: Direct Quotes from 1984-1991

Joseph Wilson, AKA Jericho, was created by Marv Wolfman and George George Pérez for The New Teen Titans.

Joe is mute and DC has varied their care in portraying that. In his original appearances Joe is fluent in sign language, and that is his preferred way of speaking. However, even though Joe is constantly signing, the comics do not always translate his signing for the reader to follow.

I set out to collect specifically direct quotes from his original slate of appearances. From his intro in Tales of the Teen Titans #42 to just before Titans: Hunt, stopping at The New Titans #69. This list collects either direct translations of his signing, or quoted thought/bubbles, with their punctuation preserved.

This does not include his ability to talk using the voice, verbiage, and tone of the unconscious person he's possessing (a power used a lot right at his introduction, which then tapers off), or the times when he is shown to be signing but we are not given a direct translations of said signs. 

This also does not contain his narration in The New Teen Titans #47, which is Danny and Joey reading the auto/biographies of the Titans Joe has written. This is only because that would be a transcript of the entire issue, and I don't think I can fit that in a post.

Finally, this list does not include any spoken quotes from Titans: Hunt, where he was inexplicably able to speak verbally. I didn't include those for two reasons: 1. While there are a few moments when it's clear Joe is speaking and not the Souls of Azarath, ultimately they are both influencing eachother, so we can't be sure it is only Joe's words and verbiage. 2. This post is intended to function as an record of how little Joe was able to express himself in his own/preferred language.

I've included the full quotes, issues they're from, and a brief summery of what Joe is referring to, so beware of spoilers. Where I could not summarize the conversation, I have included Joe and the person he's talking with's dialogue.

I've tried to organize these quotes chronologically, but I may have made a mistake or missed a few. If you spot any, let me know; I'd love for this post to be as accurate as possible.

"Mommy! … Daddy?" — Tales of the Teen Titans #44 — Baby Joe's dialogue when Adeline and Slade arrive where Jackal is holding him hostage

"Will you marry me?" — Teen Titans Spotlight #3 — Joe asks Penelope Lord to marry him

"No! I won't!" — Tales of the Teen Titans #44 — Joe tries to refuse to hurt Dick while possessing him

Dick: "You want to help?" Joe: "Yes." — Tales of the Teen Titans #44 — Joe offers his help storming H.I.V.E. to rescue the Titans

"No." — Tales of the Teen Titans #45 — Joe says he's not ready to show his paintings in a gallery show

"Yes!" — Tales of the Teen Titans #56

"No… I'll help." — The New Teen Titans v2 #10 — Joe says that he'll be the one to help Kole.

"No. Yes. Friends… Not lovers." "Don't be. Stay… Talk… Cry…" — The New Teen Titans v2 #10 — Kole propositions Joey after Adeline finds her father. He turns her down

"Everything's fine." — The New Teen Titans v2 #12 — Joe responds to Kole

"I want to join… to go. Please take me with you." — The New Teen Titans v2 #13 — Joe asks to go with Kory on her return to Tamaran

K: "If you're going, I'll come with you." J: "No… please don't." K: "Why not? I - - I thought you loved me… like I love you." J: "I care… very much… Please understand… please." — The New Teen Titans v2 #14 — Kole tries to convince Joe to stay on Earth

"No." — The New Teen Titans v2 #16 — Joe tells Ryand'r that Kory isn't doing so hot

"Friend." — The New Teen Titans v2 #18 — Joe and Ryand'r agree that they're friends

"I stayed with my mother last night. She told me. I… cried through the night." — The New Teen Titans v2 #18 — Joey has heard about Kole's death after returning to Earth

"Kole is gone and nothing can be done. Go to Dick. His pains have just begun." — The New Teen Titans v2 #18 — Joey tells Donna to comfort Dick, who is reeling from the breakup/Kory's marriage, instead of staying with him after Kole's death

"No." — The New Teen Titans v2 #22 — Joe turns down shooting pigeons

"Yes." — The New Teen Titans v2 #22 — Joe agrees that either he misses the Titans or they've disbanded, it is intentionally unclear

"Yes." — Teen Titans Spotlight #4 — Joe agrees to help Penelope Lord

"Where… is… she… ?" — Teen Titans Spotlight #4 — Joe wakes up after being knocked out defending Penelope Lord

"Yes!" — Teen Titans Spotlight #4 — Addie asks if Joe still wants to be a pat of the mission knowing Penelope might be using him

"Yes." — Teen Titans Spotlight #5 — Joe says he has the promethium blueprints

"I - - agree." — Teen Titans Spotlight #5 — Joe and Adeline agree that the Lords are using them

"Why, Penny - - Why?" — Teen Titans Spotlight #5 — Joey sees Penny working with the H.I.V.E.

"I know." — Teen Titans Spotlight #6 — Joe tells Adeline he knows the Lord's plan

"Home." — Teen Titans Spotlight #6 — Joe explains why the Lord's haven't blown up their base yet

"I have you, my painting, friends. Nothing else is important." — Teen Titans Spotlight #6

"What about Dick, Kory and Raven?" — The New Teen Titans v2 #24 — Donna and Joey are talking about rejoining/reforming the New Teen Titans

"Thank you." — The New Teen Titans v2 #24 — Joe is replying to Wally's compliments

"Donna, turn to me… I can phase into you… Free myself that way." — The New Teen Titans v2 #27 — Joey has been tied to a lightning rod by the brotherhood of evil, Donna is trying to rescue him

"Im going to help or die trying!" — Action Comics #584 — Joey is teaching sign language at a street school when he hears the Titans are fighting Superman

"Down, Starfire." — The New Teen Titans v2 #33 — The bridge by Titan's Tower is collapsing, Joey wants to get into the water to start rescues

J: "Worried." D: "About What?" J: "You." — The New Teen Titans v2 #33 — Conversation between Dick and Joey, when Dick picks Joey up at his apartment. 

"Okay." — The New Teen Titans v2 #33 — Joey confirms Raven's medical status.

*I can't tell if this is Joe or Sarah signing "I mean, he's not the first guy I broke up with, huh? What are you signing?" — The New Teen Titans v2 #41 — Joey is talking with Sarah Simms

"I know… I know…" —The New Teen Titans v2 #46 — After Vicki assaults him, Chris King is worried about what Vicki would have done to Joey if she had caught him

"And I have a date with Tish… at M.O.M.A." — The New Teen Titans v2 #47 — Joey turns down an invite to go to the movies with the Titans

"I don't know." — The New Titans v1 Annual #5 — Joe's answer when Dick asks him where Raven is.

"Night-night!" —The New Titans v1 #52 — Joey tells Vic to knock out the guy he's possessing

"D-I-C-K. R-A-V-E-N." — The New Titans v1 #61 — Joe fingerspells Dick and Raven's names.

"I do." — The New Titans v1 #63 — Gar asks Joe if he knows he and Slade are friends

[trans-axolotl]

(opioid addiction, chronic pain)

Hey I think you're the best person to ask about this, if you're uncomfortable with any of this feel free to ignore this anon but. One of my loved ones has decided to quit their opioid based meds to manage chronic pain

Now I do have some experience with helping people through this kind of stuff and harm reduction in general so I kind of know what to expect, but I can't find any sources on what the symptoms are for people who're quitting gradually rather than all at once and I want to be able to support this person not only emotionally but also physically, so I was wondering if you have any reading or source on gradually quitting opioids; talking to a doctor is not an option so I really want to get this right and make sure they feel safe and that we can find ways to deal with those symptoms in a way that is as satisfying for them as possible

Totally cool if you can't help though, thanks either way :) also love your blog you do some amazing work and you're changing lives for the better, have a good day

Hey anon,

Thanks for reaching out! Before answering, I do want to give a disclaimer that this is a topic I'm newer to learning about, and that I am absolutely not an expert yet. Please feel free to check any info I give with your own research or advice from trusted sources. All info I'm sharing is info I have learned through experts at the harm reduction organization I volunteer with, and I'm drawing from the resources they've shared with me.

To my understanding, withdrawal symptoms can depend on factors like someone's drug of choice, dosage, frequency of use, tolerance, and other factors like if you are taking any other meds, have any other health conditions, things like that. It can be hard to predict exactly what withdrawal is going to look like, but we do know that in general, tapering helps minimize withdrawal symptoms, even if it doesn't entirely get rid of them. This guide through opioid withdrawal by NextDistro is a resource that I really like. It talks through what withdrawal symptoms might look like, gives suggestions for over the counter medications and supplements, and other practical suggestions for making withdrawal a little better. (Want to highlight that you shouldn't use all the medications listed on there at once--please check dosage information and drug interactions, and only use the OTC medications as needed!) This post also has some helpful tips: in general, hydration, electrolytes, and rest will be incredibly important.

Here's some resources that go through possible taper schedules for specific medications. Here's a patient guide to opioid tapering. As a general rule, physicians seem to suggest either fast tapering, which is a 25-50% reduction every few days, or slow tapering, which is a 10-30% reduction in dosage every few weeks. Fast tapering will cause more severe withdrawal symptoms that last a few weeks, while slow tapering will ideally minimize withdrawal symptoms. A lot of this will need to be individually adapted to your situation, depending on what medication your loved one is taking, whether or not you have continued access to that medication, and the ideal timeline your loved one is looking for. So get prepared to do a lot of math to make the best plan, and if they take pills, also consider buying a pill cutter so that they can make sure they're taking accurate doses. If they are on multiple medications, it's important that they only go off one med at at time.

It can be really helpful to think through ahead of time what sort of social support they're going to need, how to cope with possible increased pain, if they will be able to take time off work or other obligations if needed, and make a plan based on what feels achievable and capable. Withdrawal can feel really, really shitty to go through, and your loved one will likely be overwhelmed both physically and emotionally throughout the process. Planning ahead as much as possible to ensure they have the coping strategies and care they need through the process will be crucial. Even little things, like making sure you have comfortable blankets in bed or having foods on hand that don't need to be prepared can be so helpful--I can think of so many little things that made withdrawal slightly less terrible when I was going through my own withdrawal.

Some important things to know about opioid withdrawal is that it is not life-threatening in the same way that withdrawal from alcohol or benzos can be deadly, because opiates interact with the body in a different way than alcohol or benzos. So although tapering is important for minimizing the withdrawal symptoms from opioid withdrawal, there is more flexibility with the taper schedule than there would be for benzo withdrawal, for example. One important possible opiate withdrawal symptom to avoid is severe dehydration caused by vomiting and diarrhea. That would be a point where it would be important to access medical care. The other important risk to be aware of is that when going through withdrawal, your loved one's tolerance will change. If at any point through the process, they decide to go back to a higher dose, the risk of overdose is higher. It's super crucial that you have Narcan on hand and are familiar with how to reverse overdoses. Check out these resources for more information on how to use Narcan and where to get it for free.

These are definitely not complete guides to how to withdraw from opioids, so if reaching out to a harm reduction organization in your area is an option, that might be a really helpful resource. Many harm reduction centers have clinical professionals who might be able to give specific advice to your loved one based on their specific situation, although I completely understand if that's just not an option for you all at the time.

Wishing you and your loved one the best of luck through this process 💜💜💜

Followers, if anyone else who's familiar with harm reduction, opioid use, or withdrawal wants to add on, please feel free!

[exec-proton]

// Autism took over for a minute so here's a thing about the internal ranking of Rocket

Hi. Sooo, while it won't match up 100%, for both my own creative freedom and also because I definitely do not understand it all the way, I based this mostly off of the ranking within the Yakuza. Since. Y'know. Yeahhh. This post is mostly a simple-ish thing for me to explain what exactly it is that the Executives DO and also sort of how the other ranks function. And also a bit of rambling about Archer and Ariana. oops

Everything I got about the ACTUAL Yakuza ranking is from this article, since it was the easiest one for me to understand. Don't know if it's totally accurate, but. Oh well. rgfohjuki

Japanese Yakuza Ranks: Names Of Yakuza Member Ranks In Order (history18.com)

Going into more detail under the cut!

The boss, or the Oyabun, is obviously Giovanni. Don't feel the need to explain that one a whole lot. Giovanni runs the whole operation. He makes the decisions. He's at the top. He's the one making money.

Archer and Ariana both fit the Saiko-Komon and Wakagashira roles, but for the most part I think it would sit like this, with Ariana as Saiko-Komon, and Archer as Wakagashira.

Archer deals with many of the business aspects, especially after Giovanni left. Before that, however, he fit the role of Wakagashira more. He was, forgive the pun, Giovanni's dog. He went everywhere that Giovanni did. His main purpose is to organize the different operations of Rocket, especially higher-risk ones. He also manages the business and financial side of Rocket, though he shares those responsibilities with Ariana.

Ariana functions as a public face of sorts. While Archer deals with most of the technical aspects of the different businesses that run under Rocket, Ariana is the one who forms the relationships. The different science branches of Rocket are under her jurisdiction as well.

Petrel and Proton both fit the Shateigashira. They're the ones in charge of the different admins and grunts. While Archer organizes the missions, they're in charge of actually getting it done.

Proton is in charge of Security, and much of the bloodier side of the fieldwork. If there's a dispatch mission, he'll be the one running it. Proton's personal team is the Inquisition. Their purpose within Rocket is, very basically, to punish and/or acquire information. They are feared internally for being ruthless, and having very little internal repercussions for their actions. The worst of Rocket usually end up as Inquisitors, or other people under Proton's management.

Petrel runs Rocket's medical services, and the stealth side of fieldwork. He gets the missions that require infiltration. If a Rocket manages to get inside the police system, Petrel put them there. When he's at headquarters, he's usually either organizing teams or running the infirmary. Typically, the only time he ever actually performs medical services is if it's a high-ranking member.

The admins of Rocket form the Kyodai and Shatei. High-Ranking admins organize teams of low-ranking admins, who are in charge of their own teams of grunts. Each reports to the next, who then report to either Proton or Petrel. These are the people who make up the majority of Rocket.

In terms of the Executives, there isn't an official difference in rank between the white uniforms and the black. That only signifies where they work. Archer and Ariana work in business and organization. Petrel and Proton work in the field. That being said, there's an informal hierarchy amongst the Executives. Street smarts Vs. Book smarts. It doesn't help that Archer and Ariana are/were the ones with direct relationships to Giovanni. Petrel and Proton report to Archer, as he's the one making decisions over which missions are important or not.

For a while after Giovanni disappears, there is very much a power struggle between Archer and Ariana. They both fight to hold Giovanni's position. This is a continuation of the more personal struggle they had between each other, though that was more one-sided. Archer was very jealous of Ariana's relationship with Giovanni. The two were married, and while Giovanni wasn't necessarily the most loyal husband (Cough cough he cheats on Ari with Archer. She is well aware of this) the precedent remained, and he doesn't like it. Ariana does not have any particular problem with Archer, though she doesn't like how Giovanni takes advantage of him. There are several times that she tries to subtly warn him away from Giovanni. Archer willfully ignores this, and instead decides that her going up to him and saying "Giovanni is using you" is her trying to be sneaky and get him off her man, since CLEARLY she's jealous that her husband prefers his company to hers.

Eventually he figures out that, no, Giovanni did NOT in fact care about him more, and the tension between Archer and Ariana settles.

[disabled-queer-culture-is]

Hello there! Not a culture ask, just needed some advice on something.

So I've had catatonia for a couple years now. And over time, the long term effects of catatonic episodes have greatly impacted my muscles and joints, causing lots of weakness, muscle spasms, and numbness, especially in my legs and arms, and I've recently been saving up some money to get a mobility aid to help me walk.

I was also born with leg length discrepancy and clubfoot, which also affects my ability to walk.

But recently I received a comment from someone telling me that I'm not "disabled enough" and idk it just... it really got to me. It made me feel like I don't belong in disabled spaces. I usually try to brush off comments like that, but given that it came from someone very close to me, it hit hard.

So idk, I guess what I'm trying to say is, do you have any advice for someone like me who's been told they're not "disabled enough" and how to deal with comments like that? I would really appreciate it.

Ah, that’s one I’m still working on, myself. (You know how it gets with imposter syndrome.) Here’s some things I try to keep in mind when faced with those comments!

Those people don’t care about you. They don’t care what evidence you show them, they don’t care whether or not you’re physically disabled or what struggles you might have. They just want to argue and put you down. Call them out for being a jerk and an idiot (if you have the courage to/it won’t put you in danger) and end the conversation. They don’t care about you, so do your best not to care about them.

They don’t know you! Even if they’re a family member you’ve lived with your whole life, they are not you, and they cannot and will not ever fully understand what you’re going through. They don’t know your emotions or the way you struggle and grieve your health behind closed doors. If they don’t know your situation and aren’t trying to understand, how can you trust them to make an accurate judgement about your health?

You don’t owe them your medical history. They just want to fight, don’t play their game. The ONLY people you owe your medical history to are the healthcare professionals you are going to for help. Don’t waste your time and energy trying to give them enough evidence to prove that you are disabled enough. (If it’s a struggle you’re running into with getting necessary accommodations/help, get a trusted ally in your corner and have them fight with you! Threaten to call whatever sort of organization your country has for disability rights/advocacy! Nothing will turn around that attitude like threatening to get the law involved.)

You ARE disabled enough. There’s no mountain you have to climb to count yourself as disabled enough. If you have any sort of long term condition, officially diagnosed or not, that impacts your ability to lead an independent life without any sort of aid, you are disabled.

I’m really sorry to hear that it was someone close to you who said such an awful thing. My recommendation would be to get someone who has proven themselves to be trustworthy with respecting you and your disability, and set a time to bring them along to have a talk with the person who told you that. Tell that person that what they said hurt you, that it was an unreasonable and insulting thing to say to anyone, especially someone they claim to care about. Tell them that they can either sort that attitude out, or you can cut them from your life. (It’s okay to leave the room/turn off your phone after that! They’ll probably want to start a fight. Don’t let them, and keep yourself safe.)

I know it’s hard to cut out someone who you care about. But if they can’t put in the basic effort to not call you a liar about something that affects every single second of your life, or at least apologize after they hurt you, you deserve better than them. You are disabled enough. You deserve people who care about you and want to help you live your life to the fullest. You deserve a community of people who understand your struggles, even if only a little bit. My DMs are open if there’s anything I can do to support you!

[polsocmartikhoras]

This is what it was like for gamergate and blm and other hash movements.

It's why so hate them and worse the belief they garner from electronic forum moderators

This leads.

To people Baiting and being able to effectively preach their gospel Unchallenged constantly twenty 47 and setting up people who would Push back to only be exposed to either the initial shine

Now.

Again For goodness sake, there's been scam.Artist associated with social justice movements forever. Yes even idealized ones like The bus boycotts or other things

Key leadership , as well as cohesionwas absolutely critical along with out and out Manipulation and strategy as well as preparation in order to get people On the same page and tempered. Taking that very valid outrage and learning how to channel it into a proper activity

It's all well and good to say that the outrage Should not be punished But you have to find a balance between indulging your wrath and actually supporting your community.

It's the thankless not taking in all the stuff. Jobs that matter you get all too often. When that part comes up for some reason, it involves a group of people of incredible like-minded individuals who will always speak and advocate in a way that practically screams academic or think tank or committee.

At which pointpeople rightly should be suspicious because unless you're already part of the organization and thus have an established flow of how capital or decision-making is made. They're basically going to eventually ask for either the authority to take what you are representing and do it for themselves or for money and likely both.

This isn't even an unnatural or necessarily nefarious.Term, any developing organization has to go through these pains.But they have to be carefully directed which is usually why it helps in order to have a pre existing established understanding of what's going on

This is why things based on sudden revelations or outrages have a tendency to get co opted or fall apart.

While your sense of injustice and outrage might persist.Yes, you still have to you know, feed yourself, work and experience all those other aspects of life.So you're going to need a representative?In order to see to your interests and chances are, if it's a real extent problem? You are not remotely first to the scene

The weird part is everybody could Good point this out when it turned out to be say televangus , advocate or People who are conservative talking points but it seems as if while I was learning the importance of Learning how to think and invaluate how you do something and how that's just as much as the value someone espouses and ontend to do

Too.

Many Attributed that to simply having any religious thinking are much more accurately Christian or American conservative thinking.In short they looked for a label and not a process

There is likely no perfect solution or group of people to properly sponsor or advocate.A new set of power and stakes , especially on something as interesting and long , standing as palestine and israel

Is moreover Because almost every rhetoric usually has to cut off all the complexit once it was added in What was being absolutely forbidden and asked to actually discuss and even Thumbs sense of education as well as awareness of bulls wasn't Is inoculated and the greater populous

Simply putbeing anti jewish was evil. Not for instance why and what kind of country israel is what our actual relationship is what they do and what their enemies are like are advocating for how to best get what we want in the middle east and how to approach that in a way that's considered

I'm still confused but i'm at least trying to hear out what jewish people are saying online In terms of what matters in the conflict

Many of them to their credit have at the very least, not equated apprehension. Or fence sitting or wanting to hear The Other Side with stealth anti. Semitismor absolute hatred for Jews, though, perhaps ignorant of their overall circumstances, and why they may be very, very angry and frustrated and knew what they're demanding and wish they didn't have to convince anyone..

Some of that is totally forgivable

Whereas the popularity of some idea and making a difference to jump on a bandwagon.As if you're buying the right record or wearing the white.T shirtor being part of the new fad.Which has driven a lot of this social communication... And shaped almost every popular engagement with it.How to trend and what have you.

And?

There is nothing easily marketable about what must and need be done. But people keep trying

It's made me personally distrustful and it's closed my purse strings at best.I simply want to influence my leadership politically and how they want to handle things.I definitely don't want any money going anywhere near the conflict. Especially through government or Cia spending.

Yikes.

Basically, if I could advocate for the anti-Semitism, it would be this.We need to have room for it so that we can at the very least.Have some genuine debate on what is or is not going to happen in terms of well the support of israel. And the major problem is you've got to be willing to accept that people are going to choose the anti semitic option

If only because they genuinely believe that putting money Into a foreign nation at least at this time is something they don't want to do. They see palestine as the under dog in this situal So they certainly can understand charity going to that nation while Up against one of the more advanced prosperous ones that are experts in location and field of battle.

Israel understandably has no reason to obey the united states is goals or demands. They have their own priories their own needs

And i'm certain just as last year when people said there was another side to all of this people erupted can see it didn't cutoff developing support .

So yes, discussing as it is you have to advocate for the right of a nation and it's people to live and prosecute award that is going to affect literally the entire world and have to hope that your victory will not have damaging consequences to both your enemy, beyond someone's moral stomach to endure or see people as never wanting to get in another quagmire in the.middle east.

Every time I post something referencing the very real humanitarian crisis in Palestine, my "for you" page changes and becomes filled with recommended posts that contain the most vile antisemitic shit.

It makes me so sad, because it reminds me of what an awful job that a movement that was supposed to be about advocating for Palestinian lives has done with boundary maintenance. It is so compromised that social media algorithms don't appear able to differentiate between advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and antisemitic content. The crossover between the two has become enough that a user who engages with content of one kind is recommended content of another. People who are not educated on antisemitism and the covert symbolism it uses might not recognize it right away, so we are seeing an entire group of people, convinced that they are participating in a civil rights advocacy movement also being indoctrinated into a separate hate movement, under the impression that these two movements are the same.

With such poor boundaries being maintained between these two ideally separate movements, and such overlap growing, how long can I honestly maintain that these are two separate movements?

Meanwhile, innocent Palestinians are being bombed, children are starving, far-right governments on both sides of the conflict are gloating in the support they get from American conservatives and leftists respectively, and functionally, I hear nobody advocating for peace anymore, only the destruction of their enemies. Palestinians are being so incredibly demeaned, by both the people who want to destroy them and their sovereignty, and the people who claim to be supportive of them.

Sane, rational people who are advocating for peaceful solutions are disregarded and voices on the fringe are centered. People are witnessing what they interpret as a genocide unfolding and in response are advocating for a counter-genocide. Can they not see how this actively impedes the peace process? They give legitimacy to (false) far-right Israeli nationalist claims of Palestinian statehood as an inherent danger to the safety of the Jewish people, and demean the Palestinian people by suggesting that what they want is revenge and not to live their lives in peace. They've made questions about the legitimacy of Hamas, an evil terrorist organization, central to the movement, instead of what should be the priority, that innocent people are suffering and that this is unacceptable. They have redefined and reappropriated Jewish words to use as antisemitic slurs and convinced their audience that using these slurs is not antisemitism.

Meanwhile, capitalizing on the above mentioned antisemitism, those who want to harm the Palestinian people, deny them statehood, are using the words and actions of these activists as ideological ammunition to fire up their anti-Palestinian base. Donald Trump literally called Joe Biden a Palestinian at the presidential debate as a slur. Republicans are using the word "Palestinian" as a slur. Netanyahu (possibly one of the worst people involved in this entire situation), in his speech to congress, was able to point to the very real antisemitic actions of activists to further cement support for him personally. By the way, saying how antisemitic activists harm Palestinians shouldn't have to be the rhetorical point we resort to. The fact that antisemitism hurts Jewish people is enough to make it a bad thing and is enough to make us avoid doing it, right?

I'm tired of turning in one direction and saying "You should NEVER say something like that about Palestinians" and then turning in the other and saying "You should NEVER say something like that about Jews". It should not have to be said that condemning the very existence of one of two ethnic groups in their shared homeland is unacceptable, and yes, it is their shared homeland, because they both live there and are both from there. It should not have to be said that you should understand what a word means before using it to insult people. Here I am in fact talking about the word Zionist, because that is a family of various movements, some of which are worthy of condemnation, but frankly, the basic premise of Zionism does not demean or degrade Palestinians at all, because it simply is the belief that Jewish people have the right to return to and form communities in their homeland.

I'm kind of opening myself up to get a lot of criticism here, but I wanted to get these thoughts out, because I have been finding them enormously frustrating. My heart breaks for all the innocent Palestinians who are suffering and have a lackluster movement advocating on their behalf, and my heart breaks for all the Jewish people who have lost friends to antisemitic conspiracy. My heart breaks for the victims of 10/7 and their families, as well as the Jewish community who was interrupted in the mourning of their losses. My heart breaks for all of the Palestinians who have lost friends and family in the subsequent destruction in Gaza and the immense violence and famine we are seeing.

Please root your activism in peace and compassion, not hatred and destruction. Please think before you speak about entire groups of people. Learn about what words mean before you use them to condemn others. Learn about Jewish people, Palestinian people, their lives, their cultures, and why they both feel such a strong connection to the land. Make this about healing, love, and reconciliation, and not about being right.

[sixthwater]

Our Curious Little Beautiful Communities

Intro:

As someone who has been on tumblr since about the early 2010s, I've seen quite a few cycles and 'episodes' within our...community, if I can call it that at this point. I, myself, am usually an observer and end up being a mediator. So you will end up seeing me looking at things from both sides because this world is grey. There is no right or wrong, and each side has a point unless they're just uuuhhh ignorant. Objectively. I'm going to be discussing some issues that have been bubbling up a lot more consistently than they used to within the astrology and tarot community as of late. Warning: I talk a lot, but I'm organized. If you don't have the time or patience to read it, then dont, no big deal, or skip to what you want. For those that like to look at people through their charts: Cancer mercury, Virgo Mars, 6th House Stellium. If you like degrees, I have heavy air degrees, some of them being Libra. Like I said, I end up being a mediator a lot. Anyway, let's get into it.

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Astrology

I'm going to split each section into people who consume content, and those that make it!

Consumers

Appreciation / Spreading Content

So, as you know, every website works differently in how they spread content around. Twitter & TikTok work by likes, Youtube by bias also by likes I'm sure? Insta too. Tumblr doesn't work that way. The only way you're most likely going to see something is if you head into the tag yourself, or people put something onto your feed. Which is why the reblog button is important. I'm now going to go through some popular creators and show the like to reblog ratio!

See the pattern here. Hilariously enough, despite the notes on these posts, if I don't make the usual trip into the tag, I would've never seen these posts myself. Now, on one hand if you only kinda like a post, then by all means just like it. However, what this feedback is sending us is that either this post is not good enough, or this isn't the content you guys want, etcetc. This isn't a call to 'reblog every single post you see to make us feel better!', but the responses to our posts will sort of drive our motivation in either direction. Do we want to make a long in depth post for it to barely go anywhere or just do a quick one because it's going to match the reception. Unless we really like the content we're making, the output is going to match the feedback about 6/10 of the time.

Formalities

So you found a creator that is really accurate with descriptions of placements or aspects or is willing to put in a lot of time and detail to answering asks and what-not. So you head into their inbox and hit them with a 'Moon in 5th' request. However that's the entire ask it's just the placement, a statement that's posed as a request. Please understand that on the outside/surface this may seem very easy and it's just 'you are happy when you play video game', there's more stuff that goes into than that. The creator themselves have a life outside of this website (god knows what responsibilities they have; a job, school, family, just not being tied to this place as if its a career). They will Probably want to actually give you a good response, which is more than just two sentences so not treating them as if they're a machine shooting out information would be a good start to the interaction. There's some things that could contribute to this like language barriers, but just saying 'please', or 'could you do this'--anything that. Humanizes. the person on the receiving end would be super duper great. Also, as mentioned before, spreading their work or showing appreciation afterwards Really helps the creator as well and shows that you are at least thankful or appreciative of what they did and not that you just want your goodies and you're leaving now.

Creators

Rejecting Foundation

This one is a bit. Tricky. The one thing I love about the newer generation is that they are very explorative and they dig and dig and dig until they uncover something and they do extensive research on it. They're open to new ideas and possibilities and looking at things from different angles. However, at the same time, they will completely snuff out the foundations said research is based on which is--on one hand it needs to be done because considering the way this research has been passed down and who has touched it, it's been passed through some pretty cis-heteronormative white old male hands. However at the same time, it's been documented for a reason and just needs to be viewed in a different light, and isn't that what this generation is good at doing. Let's take Venus & Mars, and LGBT+ astrology for example. We Should dismantle the very close-minded idea that Venus is how a Woman loves or pursues someone, and Mars is how a Man loves or pursues someone. I should not have to explain why this is an old-aged idea and we're already halfway through dismantling it anyway. As for LGBT+ astrology, a lot of people are hesitant when it comes to it, in terms of 'these placements could show that you are lgbt' or whatever. Besides there being some personal proof of people resonating with this theory (including me myself, but of course at the same time, not everyone will resonate either so--), you can Also just morph it and look at it from another point of view. If we are so stuck on the idea that Capricorn's influence will mean that someone is traditional, why not Aquarius' influence will make people try anything at least once. They don't necessarily have to be LGBT, but having open relationships, being polyamorous, not marrying but having a committed relationship, being married but living separately, etc. Old research is always founded in Something, but considering it's old, the viewpoint is probably just Fucked up sometimes.

Theft/Sourcing This one I am Neutral one, because it's more of something to just be aware of. Obviously, straight up theft is shitty. If a person doesn't want their content taken, don't take it. If they request credit, credit them. Very basic, simple rules to follow. At the same time though, I have noticed some people, of various status, post content along the lines of:

'I'm not sure where I got this from but-' So it gets a little blurry.

While this isn't like a detrimental issue, it's sort of like glossing over one issue and calling out another while they're both in the same pool. However, at the same time, we live in the age of the internet. Information is being shared at the speed of light and sometimes gets deleted Just as fast, so in the same sense it's understandable if that source is hard to find for you to credit them for it. The best bet for this is to just bookmark whatever you find interesting and hope for the best, or just note that if anyone remembers or knows the source of this reference, to comment on the post then? Like I said, this point is a liiitttllee blurry because it's not necessarily theft but then again it's sort of like.....awkward considering. But eh.

Now to piggyback off of the previous point, I've also noticed some people making really good observations or points, and then sliding in a '___ are manipulative, never trust them' basically. Giving off really strong uuhh:

We should be over this whole generalization thing, and letting a few bad interactions with a person blind the astrologer in you. There's a difference between making roasts about signs and just. Disrespecting people or blowing negative traits of a sign into a billboard. Remember that at the end of all this, we are all just people? So get to know someone as such before even bothering to know their chart. It helps you get better at astrology anyway. If you're surprised about how they're a certain sign or have a certain placement, look closer at their chart and see how it's playing out and figure out why. Astrology is just glamourized math.

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Tarot

I'm going to split each section into people who consume content, and those that make it!

Consumers

Entitlement

Besides the many other issues that have been running rampant (don't worry, I'll talk about 'em!), I've noticed that a looot of people have been feeling mighty cocky lately, but not cocky enough to put a name to their statements. Now I'm going to be, a little bit more harsh than the other sections in this post but: if you want this service then learn the craft and do it yourself. Just like Astrology, this service takes a lot hard work and energy, and considering what type of work it is, it's exhausting. Depending on the question, the type of reading they have to do, or how deep it ends up being--the reader you're asking might need a good hour or more to get to your request. If it's free, you definitely should be thankful for their service as well. Now there's a limit, which I will get to for the creator portion, but by no means should you stomp into their ask box, make sure they know you're ashamed of them, and then leave. Either just leave or put a name to it so you guys can talk it out. You have no idea what's happening on the other side of the screen after you send in your request. You may have asked a simple question, but like I said, depending on how convoluted your mind or emotions are, the reader is picking up on that or might have to pull more cards to figure out what's going on--your energy and the situation affects them at the end of the day so be understanding, not entitled.

Dependence

Not as bad as a problem, just the normal general concern or warning. Tarot it meant to be guidance to help you Live in your current world. It's not a substitute for Anything. Your guides will absolutely stop telling you information or they will just tell you that you're obsessing over the subject if you keep looking for information (and no, this is not just about future spouses because this applies to Everything, even healing, because to do so you actually have to take steps to, you know, heal). I've mentioned this before in a response to someone, but you should try and think outside of the box when getting guidance sometimes, because guides aren't always the most direct for a reason. If you just continuously ask readers about a topic of concern or pull cards, you're still going to be stuck and you're not making any movements towards your goal so those answers, in retrospect, aren't really helping. They might help you with a different perspective the first few times, but after a while it's either going to get aggressive or you're not going to get anything. You have to live your life because as much as your guides love you, they cannot live your life for you and I Promise you, they want nothing but the best for you and they want to see you thoroughly enjoying your life. So do not use tarot as a crutch please (a video from a reader I admire on her old channel). That's why I always explicitly state that yes I am delivering the message but You Know Yourself Best.

Creators

Free Games

Yes, I want you all to take care of yourself and put yourselves first. However, that does not mean 'finish it whenever I want because it's free and you should be happy that I'm even doing this :\', that's not how that works. There will be things that get in the way obviously, and just give a heads up that you're busy, it's whatever things happen. It's Not reasonable though to just tell someone that since it's a free game, that yeah you'll get to it within a month and just relax whatever you'll be okay. Think of it like this: you're in a store like Costco or Sam's Club. A store where they give out free samples. You come up and ask if you can get one and the clerk goes sure. Then they just get on their phone while prepping the food. It's taking a bit so you walk around in the area for a moment and you come back, and they're still just. Working on it. So you're waiting a bit more and it's still not done. So you ask them what's up and they tell you that hey, it'll be done when it's done. It's a Sample Size though, right? Yeah. Now yeah, the tone of the inquiry can affect your response, and depending on the game can affect it too. There's a lot of things that can go into it, but straight up, if you don't think you can do a game or you know yourself and you're going to get bored, just don't do the game. The querents shouldn't be giving you hard trouble over it, but at the same time...? It's a lose-lose here. I'm not saying don't take time to yourself or stay offline while the game is going on, but be mindful of stuff like this and where the querent is coming from (if they aren't an ass <3).

General

Celebrity Readings (Which let's be honest I'm talking about K-pop because which massive group is out here trying to read for Ricky Martin)

Let's get CoNtRoVeRsIaL even though it's really not. This is very simple I don't understand why it's an issue. So the thing about Celebrity Readings is, the first layer is that you have your own stance and opinion on it, that's that. There was a statement by a reader (who I will list later) that said something along the lines of 'readings on celebrities can be seen as tests or training because they are public icons. They are already out there, there's not much privacy to them' something like that, which is...yeah pretty true. A general energy check or reading on them isn't necessarily harmful because it's General, and if their guides don't want you to know certain things, trust me, they won't let you know lmao. Guides are powerful, they're protective, and I'm starting to believe that some people really underestimate them. If you know your guides have your back, what makes you think that those for celebrities won't Check You. If not just straight up lie to get you off their back, because you cannot begin to imagine the amount of people trying to get ahold of their energy, manifest them, curse them, etc. Yes they're going to be insanely protective or tell you to fuck off. Especially those doing anything beyond a general check (which, most definitely isn't reliable by the way because now you're being invasive or way too specific). Speaking of which, wouldn't trust long term readings on them either. You have to remember that Celebrities have more money, connections, and resources than us. Besides their guides muddling information, they can change that reading at the drop of a hat, easier than we can. These readings are for entertainment just like the celebrities themselves, and should be left at that. Readers who deliver their readings as fact or scolding tea, know what they're doing. Consumers should Also be wary of what readers they are following. Are they saying this person is a piece of shit? Bad reader. They're saying they're perfect? Bad reader. Celebrities are just people who have a talent they can profit off of lmao. If a reader can't put some logic behind their reading, especially those associated with corporations who love to abuse parasocial relationships which are the real enemy here, then they're a bad reader. Of course I'm not perfect--I get bored and put some on in the background when I need noise, but I can pick up on who's embellishing or just wants views. There are two readers I came across that I don't always agree with, but they're the most tolerable and usually accurately predict things and those are the ever so popular Antphrodite & Trinity Oracles (it's ok to disagree with the people you like or admire always remember that!). I could go on for hours about this but honestly the bottom line is just...use your brain lmao. Also, as a note, it's more reliable to go off of their birth charts anyway, especially for long term things. However, I Don't Blame these people for being hesitant or Never dropping their birth times because think about how easily you can read someone off of a birth chart. Especially a Good reader. Would you want to drop yours in a climate like this.

'Future Spouse' Readings

So. Hm. So the thing is I can understand the frustration with the overwhelming amount of spouse readings considering I'm grey-spec, because I also used to feel that way, but here's the thing: constantly doing shadow work is fucking tiring lmao. For people who are able to read, I know part of it is this weird idea that people after 21 just die on social media and we don't exist but fun fact hi we do! Not everyone asking or reading about these are 17, as your go-to complaint is. You can also just make other readings if you have the time, which is what I did because I want other readings LMAO. but like i was saying ABOUT that though: if you are someone who is constantly going through transformations, looking at your flaws and seeing how you can overcome them, going within and all of that--doing it for other people, 4-5 piles at a time is fucking tiring. Sitting there, deciphering the issue, walking through it, and then becoming a therapist multiple times through the year for free, sometimes I want to have my head empty and just talk about an imaginary little person and about their energy and write a little wattpad fiction for someone and have good energy for a moment because at the end of the day we are all dust...having light-hearted energy after all of that...murkiness, is Very nice its Very good. Now, also at the same time, there's an inherent issue with the heteronormativity of spouse readings where sometimes the reader assumes its a female reading and the spouse is always male, or the central idea of 'spouse' may turn away people who aren't that attached to marriage but still want to read about their forever lover, etcetcetc. Now besides the whole obsession thing, my only legitimate worry is that people should remember that Divorce exists, and what we are reading is an Energy, and multiple people are picking the same pile as you. There are no exact copies of pile #3s just running around waiting for you. Also, in another sense, shouldn't you also be worried about next partner readings too. If we have to do the work to reach our spouse, that work would also include lessons in love so technically really we shouldn't be doing Any prediction readings (like in general) because that takes a lot of the learning away from us and I had a Very long conversation with an ex-cw of mine about this so, again, I could go on for hours but Anyway--Once again, just...think rationally lmao. There are readings that I wouldn't put Too much emphasis on (like 'how would my fs react to me sneezing' or something), but also like, you want to read something cute you want to read something cute. For readers, you can only warn people so much. If the cards stop you from reading or you Clearly get the message that someone is obsessed, relay it. However if it doesn't come up sometimes people just want to know because there's Nothing Else they're worried about or need a reading on lmao, it's not that deep. If you give the warning and they ignore it, then well. I guess their guides will teach them well enough. Can't really hold everyone by the hand can we.

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Overall

That's about all on my mind, it wouldn't leave my head for 6-7 days and that's usually when I figure I need to say Something because my attention span is Shit. I did want to bring up the uh.

Mass Ignorance

That has been popping up lately, but it feels out of place in a pretty light-hearted post like this so if something pops up again I'll maybe make a separate post like that but my efficient way to deal with that is to look at how people respond to it, and just block them lmao I do not like being stressed out or bothered on my phone So. Love you, feel free to discuss talk complain yell at me whatever, just felt the need to Discuss what's been up lately. I don't have a clean way to end this because I just talk a lot without grammar or anything formal this is literally what it looks like when I'm not trying to be formal my thoughts are just rapid fire like this i have a third house moon the inside of my head is Hell have fun trying to figure out what tone this is in love u

[tedturneriscrazy]

🎶Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Hooty's Door🎵

I wonder if anything will happen in this episode.🙂

(I say as if I didn't watch the episode twice before going to bed and writing this post)

I don't think I'll ever not be amused by the way Hooty just...does things with his face

Seems like he found a thesaurus at some point

Okay so it's canonically spelled "Hootsifer," good to know

Also, this is really all we get of Lilith, huh?

His little hoot/coo at Lilith's letter❤❤❤

To borrow a meme format: If I had a nickel for every time Alex Hirsch was involved in a show where one of the characters was experiencing pubescent voice cracks, I'd have two nickels, which isn't very much but it's weird that it happened twice

Eda's face🤣

As much as this bit is played for laughs, Eda's clearly still shaken by what happened last episode

Jeez, Luz, priorities /j

Pictured: Hooty

The way King talks about being pelleted implies this is something Hooty does on the regular

Hooty's plan to help King is literally a Buzzfeed quiz? Okay then

Betcha never expected lore from Hooty, eh?

"DO NOT INTERRUPT"

Officially a "type of worm"

The dance being a grievous insult wasn't exactly from nowhere, but still funny nonetheless

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING COCCOON

Tiny Nose playing Switch definitely seems to be drawing from Dana's real life experiences

Wait, Hooty and Tiny Nose are friends?

Well shit, turns out she could use magic this whole time. Guess her going Super Saiyan wasn't just the power glyph.

I am extremely skeptical of your medical credentials, TN

I have so many questions about the methodology they used for the blood test(s)

I think Hooty may have misinterpreted what King was looking for

I'm still amazed at how King has had, and continues to have, moments in the show with some of the greatest emotional weight

Ooh, sound powers!

"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CRUMBLE!!!"

It just occurred to me that that segment consisted mostly of Alex Hirsch talking to himself

Hello not-at-all obvious setup

Today I learned that Hooty is the baker of the house. Maybe he'd critique Amity's fairy pie.

Aaaaand there's the sleep inducing

Oh shit

In hindsight the Owl Beast being part of a dream sequence is rather obvious

Wow, Eda, tell us how you really feel about the Owl Beast

Oh we're just gonna ride aboard the Trauma Express today, huh?

Oh, I guess Lilith did make an appearance, after all

Damn, Gwen, not even looking

Oh shit dad issues

Sandy Cohen?! (To anyone who gets that reference, hi. How are your 30s treating you?)

Well, I know who Peter Gallagher voices now, anyway

Oh dear...

(Also, bright flashing lights triggering the curse? There's an epilepsy allegory in here somwhere)

Blood and eye injury? Gotta stretch that Y7 rating

Now we have some context for that look on Eda's face when Lilith mentioned their dad: good old fashioned guilt!

I desparately want to make a "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" joke, but I'm better than that

New memory! Raine!

Oh no...

I get the feeling I'll hate this part, too

They were exes!😢 Guess the fandom called that one

The reasoning for them being exes is understandable, all too real, and goddamn heartbreaking

That said, the fact they never stopped loving each other🥺😢😭

I do hope we can see Raine again under less...traumatic circumstances. Maybe that wedding that was mentioned?

Oh shit, are we getting into the Owl Beast's memories?!?! What a tweest!

Bet nobody expected Cloaked Moonface to show up in the frickin Hooty episode

(Also, holy shit I briefly forgot this was the Hooty episode)

Who is this mysterious cloaked figure? And why are they so tall and long?

So the curse was a sealed beast this whole time. Damn.

And it was just picked up as beach junk to sell as a trinket. So much for it being connected to Belos. (Not that people will stop trying to do so)

Who had "experiencing sympathy for the Owl Beast" on their Bingo cards for this episode? Yeah, me neither.

And here we have the necessary Eda coming to terms with her curse segment. More accurately, Eda and the curse coming to terms with each other.

Goddamnit why does it have to be cute

"It's like sandpaper" IT'S LIKE A CAT I FUCKING CAN'T

Insert Steamed Hams reference here to kill the mood

New transformation!

Oh no she's hot!

No, Hooty, you made it surprisingly much, much better!

She might have a problem pushing people away and holding onto guilt, but Eda always knows that she looks damn good

Oh right, Luz having girl problems. Fuck, so much is happening in this episode!

"Cotton-candy-haired Goddess" LUZ! 🤣

Attuned to other people's emotions = being a fucking creeper

Oh Luz, what happened to you back home?

Also, 99.999% certain Amity would love your cheesiness

That's...rather morbid, Hooty

So much lore development, including the fact the Owl House has a basement

Classic inanimate object silhouette fakeout gag. Subversion in 3...2...1...

There it is!

I can't imagine being pelleted is a fun experience.

Honestly I have so many questions about how Hooty got Amity there in the first place, but I'm not so sure I actually want to know the answers to any of them...

Cue much panicking

Wow, I'm really getting some Into the Bunker flashbacks

Oh this is gonna be amazing isn't it

I commend Luz for not actually dropping dead of embarrassment

Seriously, how can Hooty set all this up so fast yet not hold a pen?!?!?!

Poor Luz, she thinks this is destroying her chances

Meanwhile Amity is just "Oh, Titan, is this actually happening?!"

The way she's fixing her hair!❤

Goddamnit Luz let this play out, she's so clearly into this!

"Again?!" Okay who do I have to kill?

Luz is luzing it

Nooooooo....

JUST TALK FOR FUCK'S SAKE (aka how like 95% of issues in literally any plot could be solved)

Noooo Amity's so heartbroken right now💔

This isn't what either of them wanted!

To be fair, Hooty, Luz had a part in this too. Not that she can be blamed entirely. Poor thing clearly had some awful experiences back home...

Now Hooty is McFucking losing it

Why did I think he was gonna say "Looks like I'm gonna have to JUMP!" I think I've watched too much Homestar Runner (jk there's no such thing)

Those pulsating organs are still gross

Eda swooping in to save her son (No, really, he actually is now)

I'll say things get weird when Hooty gets upset!

Yes, King! Save them with your voice powers!

Damn that is some romantic lighting, and Luz is enjoying the eye candy (cotton candy, if you will)

Luz's reaction to Harpy!Eda is the family-friendly summation of how the fandom has reacted.

Hooty really just tearing up the landscape in remorse

Mother-daughter moment about love life!

I appreciate not just Eda's encouragement but her actually asking Luz what she wanted

God, Eda is best mom

Also, OH FUCK IS THIS HAPPENING?!

OH SHIT

THESE ADORABLY AWKWARD NERDS❤💜💙

"I'm not as cool as you think" could be interpreted as self-deprecating, but here it seems...oddly reassuring?

The way Luz eloquently says how she wants Amity in her future...beautiful❤

Luz making some good faces

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

YOU CUTE DORKS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

THERE IT IS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

LOOK HOW HAPPY SHE IS

WE WERE LOSING OUR SHIT OVER A PECK ON THE CHEEK THREE WEEKS AGO AND NOW LOOK WHERE WE ARE HOLY FUCK

Awkwardness is still there, but that's to be expected

BET Y'ALL DIDN'T EXPECT THAT TRAILER SHOT TO BE IN THE HOOTY EPISODE HUH

THE WAY LUZ RUBS AMITY'S HAND😭😭😭😭😭

(And yeah, it's gonna still be scary, but only because it promises to be so wonderful)

Let's give it up for Hootsifer, goddamn!

Let'a also appreciate just how fucking funny it is that Lumity becomes official in the Hooty episode

Fus ro WEH!

Hooty actually saying "Luz's new GF" out loud...

In just about any other show the love interests getting together would be a climax/culmination of the entire plot. Here? It's actually used to advance the plot, and that is brilliant!

Dana Terrace and the crew really just knocking it out of the park again and again, huh

"They're adorable, and deserve all the happiness!" Well said, Hootsifer. Well said.

Probably for the best they had Hooty promise that. As much as what happened/progressed, there was a lot of property damage.

OH SHIT ONCE AGAIN

King's dad/relative! And he's voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson!

GODDAMNIT HOOTY

Wow. Just...wow. This episode.

King has voice powers! Harpy!Eda! Lumity are girlfriends for real!!!!

How do you pack so much into a single episode?! And so expertly?!

I had my suspicions before, but this confirms it: The Owl House is the greatest show of all time.

And we have two episodes left until the hiatus! And 11 episodes in the season after that! What are we in for?!?!?!

I, for one, can't wait to find out!

[blueskyscribe]

Beast Machines: Some Observations on Toys

So I think most TF fans have some notion of the usual arguments about BM (the BW characters being out of character, etc), no matter which side of the argument you fall on.

But I would like to point out how weird BM was as a show tied to a toyline.

The Toys for the Leaders

These were the toys for BM Optimus Primal and Megatron:

Optimus' figure was small and not show-accurate and was one of the weakest BM figures for its price point.

Megatron was even worse. He was TINY (but they sold him at the pricepoint of a bigger toy lololol) and just . . . bad. Look at that dragon tail just hanging off his elbow.

Megatron is supposed to be the Big Bad of the show!! If they didn't want to make a new, big mold for him then why not recolor his final Beast Wars toy (the huge dragon) and sell that again? "Oh dear, I hate my organic dragon form. Buuuut look how rad it looks now that it's silver and black."

You might be thinking, "Wait a minute, I've seen a big, cool toy of Primal that looks just like he did on BM. And I've seen a toy of Megatron as a head-spaceship."

Those toys exist, and they are cool. But they're not Beast Machines toys. They were sold in the Robots in Disguise (2001) line, which came after BM.

The point of a show like Beast Machines is "Child sees character on TV, immediately begs parent to buy representative toy". Not "Child sees character on TV, begs parent to buy a representative toy in three years after show is over."

No Size Consistency

Listen, I don't think the toys need to exactly match the show characters. But I think it's very weird that Nightscream, the bat, ONLY had an Ultra size toy. That's huge compared to his size on the show.

My other main issue, Megatron and Optimus having dinky toys, I've already touched on.

They Skipped the Dinosaurs

Did you know there were Beast Machines Dinobots? No, not Dinobot, the BW character, but Dinobots, like a faction. Their backcards explained that they were formatted using memories / data provided by Dinobot's spark. So it was like Dinobot was reaching out from the afterlife to help his friends.

First, that's a cool and touching idea. Second, they were awesome toys THAT WERE DINOSAURS and yet were never in the show. Even though kids love dinosaurs.

I can't believe we missed out on surprised Pachycephalosaurus with pop-up head.

The Dinobot leader was a repaint of original BW Megatron, which could've played into the whole "BM Megatron hates beast modes now", like he'd be personally enraged to see that. Also, a lot of these could easily have been adapted from BW character models.

The New Guys Deserved Better

There was no way every toy-character could / should be in the show. (It didn't happen in Beast Wars either.) That would be way too many assets and too many bots to characterize well. So I understand why we just had a small crew of heroes fighting Megatron and the Vehicons.

But maaaan, I wish we'd had different heroes from what we got.

First, it would've sidestepped all the "Are the BM bots out of character?" debates. (The answer is yes, btw.) Second, I just think it would've been nice to get to know new characters. Third, a lot of coolest toys never got any screentime.

Silverbolt, who had the worst BM toy, with his head peering out of his crotch in bird mode and wings that looked like a stupid cape, got to be in the show.

But not this cool bull.

Or this cool snake.

Or this cool UNICORN.

Just . . . what a waste.

What I Would've Done

Okay, so here's what I would've done if I had to keep the general premise (the Big Bad has taken over Cybertron and only a plucky group of survivors can defeat him and his Vehicons.)

1. The Big Bad would be Nightscream. This is so obvious it blows my mind. His toy is huge and bats freak out a lot of people. Just change his robot-mode head so it looks villainous instead of emo.

His motivation wouldn't be related to organics, it would be something like . . . he's siphoning off the energy from Cybertronians' sparks to become a god or summon Unicron--you know, anime bullshit.

2. Nightscream has taken over Cybertron via some kind of electrical macguffin, like a stasis grid that covers the planet or something. TFs are lying around the streets in permanent stasis.

But then! Optimus Primal & crew (with Megatron tied to the roof) literally crash into the planet. The crash disrupts the grid in a small area and some TFs awaken from stasis. They start exchanging info with the BW crew. Their sparks are so weak that they have to be transferred to new bodies to re-energize them, so the BW crew uses the protoform pods from Earth--which have been pre-programmed with an encyclopedia of Earth animals, which is how they get beast modes.

But then the stasis grid is put online again. A handful of Cybertronians escape--mostly new guys, but maybe one or two of the BW Maximals. Megatron also escapes.

Maybe over the course of the show more BW characters are rescued and added to the cast. But mostly it's focused on these new guys.

3. I would have half the new guys be Maximals and half be Predacons, for some inter-faction tension. (And ROMANCE?!?!) Nevertheless everyone knows they have to work together to defeat Nightscream.

4. If they really want to sell the crappy tiny Megatron toy, they could have him try to cut a deal with Nightscream, but then Nightscream backstabs him and dumps him in the mini body to mock him, idk.

5. After that Megatron decides he's really going to give it his all to defeat Nightscream. And he decides the way to do this is to clone Dinobot, because he LOVES cloning Dinobot. So he tries, but instead creates these other dinosaur robots. They have Dinobot's independent streak, so they flip Megatron the bird and leave.

6. The Dinobots are also trying to stop Nightscream, but they're constantly messing up the plans of the Predacon/Maximal group, and vice versa.

7. But in the end the good guys win. And they sell a lot of toys.

[ideas-on-paper]

Oh, be careful with that suggestion about an essay on the Geth as children barred from their heritage. Otherwise, my hand might just slip and I might write it. xD

Just a thought, but perhaps the reason why Legion is a bit late informing the squad about certain things is because they're not used to having to voice their thoughts aloud? Since the Geth always know what they're thinking, they have no reason to do that among themselves, and Legion is probably not that used to working with organics. (Granted, the Geth have worked with the Quarians before, but I'd like to think that "oh, right, they're organics, so they can't do this" is still something they actively have to consider.)

The irony is that when I decided against rewriting, I very much took the perspective of the Geth into account. I took Legion's statement "Geth believe all intelligent life should self-determinate" very seriously, and since Legion calls the Heretics' usage of the virus "forcing an invalid conclusion on them", I concluded that it would be an equally invalid conclusion if you forced the Heretics' to adapt the True Geth's logic. On a more practical side, all Geth having the same perspective leads to a lack of diversity in opinions, which would amplify all potential "negative" qualities of the True Geth. (To use an example, the True Geth have a great desire for peaceful coexistence with organics, but if they make their decisions based on this ideal rather than the real situation, it might put them in danger - for instance, the Geth might be too eager to accept a peace offering from organics, which might get them killed if the organics decide to betray them.)

So, technically, both logic and the Geth's own principles speak against rewriting. I never noticed myself that Legion is more partial to rewriting - but I understand there are situations where it might be difficult to align your principles with your own desires. (In a sense, it's a bit ironic, since it would make me the more logical one in this situation.) Still, I will stand by what I said (which is probably also influenced by me being very averse to the notion of "unity by knocking into shape") - so, if rewriting is really Legion's wish, I'd have to say "I'm sorry, my dear, but I can't do this for you."

I already did a post about the Geth and the Quarians, funnily enough, mirroring each other in many ways, but I hadn't considered including "trying to appeal to any person willing to listen as if they might step in as their lawyer" on the list. Noted. :-)

I'd like to point out that Legion says "We do not feel pain as you do." - meaning that the Geth don't perceive pain the same way as organics. However, if you reeeally read into it, that doesn't have to mean Geth don't feel any pain at all. Perhaps it's not pain as we know it. But striving to be recognized as your own people while simultaneously feeling the pull of the old core directive to help and assist the Quarians? (At least I think that old core programming is still there.) Adhering to the ideal of peaceful coexistence with organics when pretty much all empirical evidence speaks against it? Sticking to the resolution that all intelligent life should self-determinate when the possibility is there to reunite with your own and return everything to the way it was, if you're just fine with a bit of brainwashing? That can't be nice, to be inwardly torn asunder.

Legion dodging the statement about guilt is also quite telling. You would expect Legion to give their usual "Geth do not experience emotions like organics" speech, so you don't have to worry about them feeling guilty. However, given that Legion doesn't do this, I get the impression they're actually concerned they might regret it.

I didn't read that deeply into the phrase of the Geth allowing the Heretics to leave (not sure if saying they had no "right" to leave is an accurate way to put it either), but if you wanted to do that, you'd probably have to do the same for the statement about the Geth "accepting" organics as being different from them. I think both come from the Geth following the principles they imposed on themselves, but what would their opinion be if they did not have those principles? Would they be dissatisfied about the Heretics leaving? Would they admit to interaction with organics being exhausting for them, but they have to arrange themselves with it somehow?

As you said, Legion stating there are Heretic runtimes in the True Geth's networks is puzzling. I suppose there are certain reusable routines (e.g. for the movement of mobile platforms, walking and the like), but does that mean these programs couldn't decide which side to join when the split occurred, and just copied themselves? Wouldn't the Geth remember this if it happened? The only other possibility I can see is the Heretics copying programs without the True Geth's consent. (Would that count as "kidnapping" among Geth?) But wouldn't the True Geth have known if the Heretics intended to do that, since, as Legion says, they would've "heard it in their thoughts"?

The quote about a single Reaper consisting of many minds is most likely a remnant of Chris L'Etoile's original concept for the Reapers. According to his vision, they were made from "ascended" organics, but not some kind of synthetic-organic amalgam - the bodies of the Reapers were 100% tech, and the minds of all members of an organic species would be uploaded into them. I think this has been passed around quite a lot of times, but I dug up the old thread again (source):

"The Reapers were using nanotech disassemblers to perform "destructive analysis" on humans, with the intent of learning how to build a Reaper body that could upload their minds intact. Once this was complete, humans throughout the galaxy would be rounded up to have their personalities and memories forcibly uploaded into the Reaper's memory banks. (You can still hear some suggestions of this in the background chatter during Legion's acquisition mission, which I wrote.) There was nothing about Reapers being techno-organic or partly built out of human corpses -- they were pure tech."

There is even a very obscure line by Legion that directly mentions this: You need to pick the Renegade dialogue choice in the conversation about the Dyson sphere (the last one you can have with Legion) and then talk to them again after the Suicide Mission. Since this requires you to sacrifice your entire crew, it's almost impossible to get, but I found a video of it on YouTube.

Regarding Legion quoting Sovereign, I think the Geth may have already been monitoring the Reapers at that point? As you mentioned, there was no interaction between the Heretics and the True Geth after the split, so there's no way they could've known it from the Heretics' memory logs. Also, during the conversation between Shepard and Sovereign, there weren't even any Heretics in the room. (You could say they might have been linked to Sovereign, but I already surmised that Sovereign had no direct control over the Heretics in earlier analyses.)

Ah, yes, the unspecified shuttle mission that every squadmate had to take part in for some reason - the reason being "the plot demands it". (If I had to guess though, people are going to be sitting on Grunt and Legion's laps, because they're too heavy and no one else can carry their weight. Or Legion just stands in a corner, either because they volunteered or just accepted it when they were ordered to do so.)

I remember some hints from D.C. Douglas's audition lines that there was supposed to be a battle on the Normandy. I think that would've made a lot more sense, rather than coming up with an excuse to get all capable fighters off the ship. (I wonder if it was supposed to happen during/after the Collector Ship mission. It would've been the ideal opportunity for the Collectors to board the Normandy and abduct the crew, while Shepard and Co. were still preoccupied fighting their way back to their ship.)

Mass Effect 2 replay, Legion’s loyalty mission:

-Of course the heretics are inhabiting a former quarian station. There are plenty of other abandoned stations, but when have the geth ever chosen an alternative if the quarians are an option?

There’s probably an essay that can be written here about children that feel cut off from their heritage, but that is outside of my league.

-It took at least 10 years to rebuild the station, so the heretics have been outside of the Veil for some time.

Given the extent of Saren’s plans, the timeline (for once) adds up. It must have taken years for Saren to build the base on Virmire, develop a cure for the genophage, find and hatch a rachni egg, etc.

-Legion doesn’t inform you that the station has little air or gravity until after you land.

To be fair he probably didn’t know, but informing you of the possibility would still have been helpful.

-Legion refers to what to do with the heretics as “the heretics question”. Loaded language much?

-If the virus is complete, why haven’t the heretics used it against the true geth already?

-Legion sure is quick to inform you that there’s an alternative to destroying the heretics.

For all he hems and haws through the mission, it’s implied that the true geth really want the heretics back. They’re just not quite sure it’s safe.

-In the same conversation, Legion is far more receptive to rewriting the geth (renegade) than opposing it (paragon).

On the surface it feels like it’s about the logic.

If you go renegade, you say organic ethics don’t apply to synthetics. He agrees. Every species should be taken individually. Then he notes that changing organics takes time and effort, but changing synthetics only requires a data file.

If you go paragon, he says that whether synthetics should be treated like organics is irrelevant. If you don’t rewrite them, you’ll destroy them. And by the way the heretics will kill all organics because their gods tell you to. And they don’t have emotions to appeal to.

The undercurrent is that Legion doesn’t want to go with destroy. If you support rewriting, he points out how easily synthetics can be changed. If you oppose it, he emphasizes that the alternative is killing them. Then he throws in that the heretics want to kill organics and can’t be negotiated with as if he doesn’t want you to feel bad about your choice.

The vibe is he’s nudging you to rewrite, even if he isn’t quite willing to say it outright. Isn’t willing to admit it to himself, maybe.

-As a general rule throughout this mission, you learn more about the geth if you go renegade than paragon.

-As others have pointed out: Why does a heretic station have med kits scattered all over it?

-Another apology to Project Overlord: The geth do (infrequently) make geth noises.

I still maintain that Cerberus should know they can talk too.

-Legion’s eagerness to talk about the geth to Shepard reminds me of Tali explaining the quarians to Shepard in ME1.

A bit ironic that the quarians and the geth are both badly misunderstood and desperate to talk the ear off of anyone that shows the slightest sympathy to them.

-Legion describes programs as being reduced when they’re in platforms.

I wonder if there are programs that never want to be in platforms to avoid it?

And possibly others that seek it out – maybe they’re seen as weirdos? - because it offers them the chance to experience the world first hand in a way they can’t from a server.

-At the salvage hub, if you go paragon Legion speaks like it’s a given that the heretics will be rewritten.

If you mention that it might be traumatic, he hedges that the geth aren’t sure they can be traumatized. (Spoilers: They’re already deeply traumatized. Complex PTSD or regular PTSD? You decide!)

If you say they might feel guilty once the heretics rejoin, he says that once the decision is made it’s made. It requires careful thought. He never directly responds to the statement about guilt.

-If you go renegade, you compare the heretics to a rogue limb and rewriting the heretics to reattaching a severed arm.

Legion has an interesting line: To use your metaphor, they removed themselves from our body. Took their perspective. Their judgment.

That sounds an awful lot like the geth might be upset at the heretics for leaving.

Legion just spoke about how geth feel reduced in platforms because they’re linked to fewer programs. Now he’s speaking about how the heretics left – which implicitly means that the geth whole was reduced. He claims it was a peaceful parting, but I’m getting the vibe there are some unhappy programs.

-If you say they’re not missing much by losing the heretics, Legion says all points of view are useful.

Than he comments that analyzing organic self-deception has been helpful, which feels an awful lot like a jab at Shepard for them insulting the heretics’ judgment.

-If you comment on possibly losing the heretics point of view if they’re rewritten, Legion acknowledges the risk. The virus changes the possibility of all outcomes, not just the outcome of worshiping the Reapers.

So in other words, the geth’s concern about the virus might be the other impacts it can have besides rewriting the heretics. The ones that favor destroy might not be opposed to the rewriting but concerned about the other possible consequences.

-When you find the heretics’ databases, Legion says they must have runtimes in the geth’s networks.

How have the geth not realized this???

-Legion: The heretics desired to leave. We understood their reasons. We allowed it. There was peace between us.

“We allowed it” is yet another charged phrase. The geth allowed the heretics to leave. The heretics didn’t have the right to leave; it was a privilege the geth gave them.

I would love to hear the heretics’ point of view about what went down.

-Legion struggles to understood how the heretics are so different from when they last met. He doesn’t seem to grasp how time and experience can shape people differently.

I suppose that’s a natural side effect when you’re the sum of thousands programs that can read each other’s minds 24/7. When everyone is you, how do you understand people that are not you? How much experience do the geth have in meeting people after a separation?

-Legion, if you go renegade: We are not fully individuals. There are pieces of us in the heretics. One of those may be at fault.

I need Legion to take more time to explain this, because what part of the geth are in the heretics? The geth are one set of programs, there heretics are a different set. So what’s the overlap Legion is speaking about it? Functions they share? Libraries? I’m going to need more detail to make sense of this.

-Legion, at the end of the conversation: This topic is irrelevant. We must return to the mission.

I think this is very relevant, actually, but Legion’s clearly not ready to speak about this more.

-The combat here is awful if you’re a vanguard. You can’t charge the geth until they’re on the same floor as you.

Also, I got no ammo reloads through this section. How am I supposed to fight multiple waves as a vanguard if I can’t reload my guns???

-The geth can’t agree on rewriting or destroy, but they do agree on making it Shepard’s problems.

I’m getting strong vibes of control and destroy here. But there’s no third option for a synthesis.

-I went with rewrite with great doubts.

I do think it’s unethical, but I want to see the fall out of rewriting the geth with a more critical eye. They obviously retain some individuality since it makes the geth more willing to rejoin the Reapers in ME3.

On the other hand, it also makes peace with the quarins more difficult and I always want to achieve that.

-And mirroring the start of the mission, Legion waits until after he’s set off the virus to tell you the side effects may be harmful to organics.

We need to have some words with him about advanced warnings.

Normandy

-I consider Legion correct in the argument with Tali. Her people were torturing the geth to learn how to kill them. That’s something the geth have the right to know.

-Shepard does make a valid argument that it could result in a war between the quarians and the geth right when the Reapers are about to attack, which is bad for both of them.

Unfortunately, the quarians choose to attack anyway so all failing to prepare the geth achieved is making them decide to ally with the Reapers.

-Sovereign contacted many species over the millennia. How does Legion know this? What happened to the other species? Why do I suspect they’re all dead?

-So a single Reaper does consist of many minds. I thought I remembered that from somewhere.

However, we see later that Reapers are created by turning a species to goo. How does that goo consist of many minds?

And how is any Reaper sane​ after being made out of a species that was murdered?

-Huh. If I investigate first, I can’t speak to Legion. Whelp, time to reload.

-Legion quotes Sovereign from Virmire. How does he know the exact words Sovereign said?

I suppose he could have learned this from a broadcast. Which indicates someone was recording that conversation. Why didn’t anyone record Virgil on Illos?

-The geth want to understand organics better so they can understand the quarians’ actions during Morning War.

-I’d like to know why Legion never fixes the other hole in his platform. Surely that counts as a “structural weakness”?

Collector Raid

-As others have noted, the excuse to get Shepard and the companions off the ship is terrible. How does the entire squad even fit in a single shuttle? Who is sitting in whose lap?

-Kudos to Joker, he shows tremendous courage during this section.

-Shepard and Edi already sound married.

-Why doesn’t Edi ask other crew members for help?

When Joker gets to the Engine room, the Collectors are carry a crew member out of it. That means they must have already been in there. They could have done what Edi asked Joker to to do.

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Dr. Lauren Beach was 14 years old when she/they first came out as bisexual. Beach revealed the truth to friends and curious classmates at her/their suburban Michigan high school. The reactions varied, but not many were affirming.

"I experienced a lot of people who eroticized my attraction to femme people. It's like, 'oh, you're bi. That's so hot,'" says Beach, who has a Ph.D. in molecular, cellular, developmental biology and genetics.

Other friends asked Beach if she/they were doing it for attention. Beach says only three people, including Beach, at her/their school were openly out as queer. Instead of being embraced by them, Beach received flak for her/their sexuality.

"One of the other people there who was queer was like, 'You're a fence sitter! You're a switcher. You can't be trusted, you might date men after dating me," recalls Beach.

This kind of biphobia, which perpetuates stereotypes, hatred, and prejudices about bisexual people, is not uncommon — even (or sometimes especially) within the queer community. Stigma against bisexual people stems from a larger culture of homophobia, Rory Gory, digital marketing manager of the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, wrote in an email to Mashable.

"Since bisexuals often move between straight and queer spaces, they are subjected to both homophobia and biphobia," Gory explains.

Bisexual people make up a sizable population within the LGBTQ community, given more than 50 percent of queer people in America identify as bisexual, according to the Williams Institute. The think tank does research on sexual orientation and gender identity to ensure stereotypes don't influence laws, policies, and judicial decisions. To be clear, bisexuality means a person is attracted to more than one gender. It doesn't mean bisexual people are more sexually active than others or going through a phase (two common myths).

As a teenager, Beach bought into stereotypes about bi people. But now 22 years later, she/they are a professor at Northwestern University where she/they focus on the health of bisexual people and works to dispel myths about them. Additionally, Beach co-founded the Chicago Bisexual Health Task Force, a coalition that advances the heath equity of bisexual people.

Mashable spoke with Beach, and representatives from advocacy organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, and the Trevor Project to learn about the unique challenges bisexual people face and how to be an ally.

1. View bisexual people as individuals

It's easy to lump a single group together but resist that trap. Like anyone else, bisexual people are individuals and their personalities and preferences vary. As Beach says, "there's not one single experience of bisexuality."

For example, Beach is asexual or ace. This means Beach doesn't experience sexual attraction, but she/they are romantically attracted to people across the gender spectrum. One can be both asexual and bi, with some asexual people preferring to identify as biromantic. Although many asexual people are not interested in having sex, some may choose to engage in sexual activity; asexual people can have varied preferences and experiences. Beach's experience doesn't mean all bisexual people feel the same way.

Getting to know more bisexual people can help scrub away your pre-conceived notions. You could already have friends who are bisexual and not know it. Be open about your intentions to learn so you can tear down your misconceptions about bisexual people, Beach recommends.

"You'd be surprised by how many people are like 'Oh, I'm actually bi. Let's talk," says Beach. "From understanding the breadth of experience, you personalize people."

2. Challenge negative stereotypes

As you expand your knowledge about bisexual people, speak up when you hear people perpetuating harmful misperceptions. Sometimes we don't even know we've absorbed negative stereotypes if we're not informed, says Mackenzie Hart, coordinator of GLAAD's Media Institute, which advises media, television, and film professionals on accurate LGBTQ representation.

An easy way to interject when you hear a myth about bisexual people is to say, "Actually, that's not true, my friend who is bisexual does not fit that stereotype," suggests Hart. It can also help to arm yourself with accurate statistics to further back up what you're saying, says Madeleine Roberts, HRC's assistant press secretary. HRC is a helpful resource for these stats.

"Barsexual" is a hurtful label often used to demean bisexual people. It refers to the incorrect belief that bisexual people will only interact with certain genders when they are intoxicated, explains Hart. It upholds the myth that bisexual women are actually straight as it implies they only flirt or make out with women when drunk. It also contributes to bi erasure, which GLAAD says happens when "the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality (either in general or in regard to an individual) is questioned or denied outright."

You should also push back against the harmful stereotypes that bisexuals can't be trusted to commit to a relationship, says Gory. "Embrace bisexuals as valid members of the [LGBTQ] community, rather than referring to them as 'allies' of the community."

Additionally, you can be an ally by understanding certain words and promoting proper usage. For example, you can clarify the difference between bisexual and bi+. Bi+ is an umbrella term inclusive of people who are pan, queer, fluid, and those who don't prefer labels. Use the full acronym of LGBTQ rather than gay as an umbrella term for queer people, explains Roberts. By taking these steps, you can "create spaces where people are hearing these words," says Hart.

3. Healthcare providers need to educate themselves

One time, a clinician asked Beach how many sex partners she/they had.

"I was like, OK, what do you mean by sex?" says Beach. The practitioner questioned why Beach would ask this. Beach told the clinician she/they are bisexual and, therefore, needed clarification about what sexual behavior she was referring to.

"She got really uncomfortable and said 'deep vaginal penetration,'" says Beach. "She started off guessing. She said, "you seem like a nice girl. So what is it, like one or two people?"" says Beach. The provider then said, “So, what you’re saying is more than 30 or 40 people.”

"It shows how someone [in a healthcare setting] can make this jump based on biphobic stereotypes of what my sexual behavior would be,” explains Beach.

After that encounter, Beach never went back to that doctor. To this day, Beach doesn’t have a designated primary care provider.

“I have to work up the emotional energy to want to go put myself through that potential experience," Beach says about seeking out healthcare.

Beach's experience isn't uncommon. Biphobia may discourage bisexual people from going to the doctor, with 39 percent of bisexual men and 33 percent of bisexual women reporting that they didn't disclose their sexual orientation to any medical provider, according to a 2012 study by the Williams Institute. Comparably, 13 percent of gay men and 10 percent of lesbians did not share their sexual orientation with a doctor.

Providers shouldn't presume anyone's sexual behavior because they know their sexual identity, says Beach. Hart echoes this advice. A doctor once asked Hart, "Are you seeing anyone?" Hart said no. She then asked, "If you were seeing anyone, would you be seeing a woman, a man, either, or other?" It wasn't perfect, Hart says, but asking open-ended questions that are inclusive of gender nonconforming people made Hart comfortable enough to see her again.

"Even if you aren't sure of certain words... you can make it clear you aren't going to be judgmental and you understand there's a wide array of experiences," says Hart.

4. Uplift bisexual people of color

Roberts recommends following prominent bi+ people of color on social media such as singer and actor Janelle Monáe, NFL player Ryan Russell, writer and transgender rights activist Raquel Willis, and politician Andrea Jenkins to become familiar with their lives. The next step is to share their stories with your friends and family.

At last year's Academy Awards, actor Rami Malek won Best Actor for his portrayal of British singer Freddie Mercury. Malek described Mercury as gay during his acceptance speech but Mercury was actually bisexual. Willis called out the bi erasure in a tweet.

Of the four people Roberts listed, two (Willis and Jenkins) are transgender. Just like one can be asexual and bi, one can also be transgender and bi. In 2015, the National Center for Transgender Equality surveyed 27,715 transgender people from every state and D.C., U.S. territories, and U.S. military bases abroad and 14 percent of respondents described their sexual orientation as bisexual.

To ensure you're not erasing transgender bi+ people's identities, always use inclusive language like "siblings" instead of "brothers and sisters," says Roberts, when addressing people as if they're family. This guarantees you're not assuming every bi+ person (or anyone generally) identifies as either male or female.

Taking into account the role intersectionality plays in the lives of bi+ people is important — especially when you're looking to amplify their voices.

[jhalakseo]

Assignment Writing Help: It's Not as Difficult as You Think

Introduction

The world of assignments is a scary one. You're not sure what to write about, where to start, or even how to do it. Luckily for you, we're here with the assignment writing help you need! Here are some helpful tips on how to write an assignment:

How to Write Your Assignment

Before you start writing, it's important to know what you need to do. Here are some tips for how to write your assignment:

Make a plan of attack. Before tackling any task, make sure that all of your ducks are in a row and everything is ready for action! Use this time to outline your project and think about how it should be structured.

Use the library or online resources like Google Docs as needed during this process (and don't forget about collaboration!) If possible, try not waiting until the last minute—you'll find that mistakes will happen much easier if they're caught early on rather than later in the process when things get more complicated (or worse yet, completely forgotten). Don't forget proofreading either! It's easy enough just sitting down with something else while working but sometimes we forget our own work because we assume everyone else will catch any errors first so why bother checking?

Choosing a Topic

Before you can begin writing, you'll need to decide what kind of assignment you want. It is important that the topic be one that interests and excites you. If it doesn't, then your writing will be lackluster as well!

If your course is focused on a career path, then choosing an interesting or relevant topic will help make sure that students retain what they learn in class by giving them something useful for their future careers. For example: "How do I get from point A (my current job) to point B (my dream job)?" Or perhaps this question: "What are some tips for finding jobs in my field?". Of course there's no limit on what type of question could be asked here—just make sure whatever issue comes up during class discussions seems like something worth exploring further down the road when it comes time for writing assignments or projects later on down the road after graduation day rolls around."

Pre-writing

When you are starting out, it's important to start with a pre-writing process. This will help you get your thoughts organized and make sure that you don't forget anything important. You can use any method that works for you, but here are some suggestions:

Research the topic thoroughly before writing about it—this includes reading blog posts, books, articles and anything else related to your assignment topic. Make sure that all of this information is accurate so when writing about it in detail later on in the assignment process; everything stays consistent with what was already known before coming up with ideas or concepts related to this particular subject matter area!

Organize Your Data

When you’re organizing your data, there are a number of ways to go about it. You can use a table, spreadsheet or mind map (which is helpful for visualizing the information). For example, if you have 20 students and five different teacher grades for each student:

Table: This would be easy to read and understand at first glance. It gives an overview of all 20 students and their grades by teacher.

Spreadsheet: This type of spreadsheet makes it more difficult for someone who doesn’t know how to read information from this type of format because they have less context with which they can interpret what they see on paper or screen (iPad/Smartphone). However this could also be helpful if someone wants something more compact such as reviewing class grades over time or comparing them against others within their department or school district!

Structure and Outline

Your outline is a great way to organize your thoughts and get them down on paper. It also helps you write faster, which means that you can finish assignments faster. This will save time and make sure that the professor doesn't have to keep checking back with you after class or at home to make sure that the assignment was done correctly. That's one less thing he has to deal with!

Another benefit of having an outline is staying focused on your topic while writing—you'll know exactly what needs addressing in each section so there's no guesswork involved when it comes time for revision later on down the road (if needed). By following along with a structured outline, it becomes easy for us writers not just because we know where we're going but also because we remember why we're going there in our own minds first before starting any actual writing tasks - thus ensuring even better results than those achieved by simply winging things off without any structure whatsoever."

Compose a Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement is the main idea of your paper. It should be clear and concise, and it should be a single sentence or two sentences at most. The thesis statement should be in your introduction, at the very end of that section when you talk about what's going on in your paper and how it relates to other things you've written about before (or not).

If you don't have a good one yet, write down some ideas! You can look back over old papers or even ask friends for their opinions on what they think the topic would be—they might even tell me!

Write the Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs are the meat of your essay. They should be between 4-6 sentences long, and they should focus on one specific topic. Your body paragraphs will have a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence that sums up what you've said in each paragraph.

It's important to remember that when writing an assignment that requires more than one paragraph, it's okay if some of your paragraphs don't have much content or aren't written as well as others because they're just examples of how to write other points in this section (not necessarily because they're necessary).

Write the Introduction and Conclusion

The introduction and conclusion of your paper should be relevant to the body of your work. If you're writing an essay, then this is especially important because these sections will serve as hooks for readers who want more information on your topic.

The introduction should be an overview of what you're going to discuss in the rest of your paper; it should also include some way for readers to get involved with what they read next (for example by stating key points). In order for this section not only ensure relevance but also explain how those points relate back towards one another--you don't want them just sitting there without any kind of connection! So make sure everything flows together well before moving onto other sections like body paragraphs or headings later down there where people might start skimming through pages quickly trying not miss anything important that may come up later down there if need reading material required."

Editing and Proofreading

Find a friend to proofread your work.

Read the assignment out loud to yourself, and then read it again with the extra eyes of someone else. This can be very helpful in catching mistakes you may have missed on your own (or even grammatical issues).

Avoid using contractions like “I” or “we” when referring back to something that has already been said; instead, use “he/she/they” or just make sure everything is spelled correctly before submitting your assignment!

Spell check! You don't want any typos in there making people think there's something wrong with what they've written because of bad spelling or grammar choices."

Assignment writing help can seem daunting, but with these helpful tips your next assignment can be done in no time.

You might be thinking, “I can do this by myself.” The truth is that it's easy to underestimate how much time and effort it takes to write an assignment. It also helps if you have a good idea of what type of assignment you need to be written, but even then there are so many options available!

Assignment writing help can seem daunting, but with these helpful tips your next assignment can be done in no time:

Use the right tools for the job—if your school has a writing center or tutoring department, ask them about their services and see if they offer any discounts or other incentives for students who use them regularly. They may offer classes where students learn how best to revise their work before handing it off as well as other helpful tips on improving their grammar skills overall.

Don't forget about plagiarism! If you're using someone else's work as part of yours (even if it's just some notes), make sure everyone knows what constitutes proper citation style before submitting anything back into class

Conclusion

These tips will go a long way to helping you write your next assignment. Remember that writing is a process and it can take some time before you’re completely comfortable with it, but if you keep practicing every day then don’t worry about being perfect right away! If you feel stuck or have questions about how to get started, don’t hesitate to contact us for assistance.

[aosplza]

What To Consider Before Hiring Accountants and Auditors

Are you looking for professionals who can help you manage your finances and stay on top of your business? Do you want to know how much money you have and where it is coming from? Accounting is the discipline that answers these questions. If you are a small- or medium-sized business, chances are that accounting is something that you need to have someone do for you. Hiring accountants can be challenging. There are so many different types of accountants out there including registered accountants, xero accountants, cloud accountants, etc and not all of them are qualified to work with a specific organization or client. In this blog, we will discuss some things that you should keep in mind before hiring an accountant.

You Need To Know Why You Are Hiring An Accountant First, you need to know why you are hiring an accountant. If you want the accountant to provide some bookkeeping services for your business, then it doesn't matter if they have experience or not. However, if you want them to help prepare your taxes or audit your financial records, then you need someone who has experience in that realm. You don't want to hire someone who can do one thing and doesn't know how to do another. Second, do a thorough background check on the candidate before you hire them. The best way to do this is through references and by checking with the state regulatory agency of their profession (if they're an accountant). You don't have to be too specific - just ask around and see what people recommend! Third, make sure that they have professional liability insurance in place. This will protect you from any mishaps that might happen while they're working with your company's finances. Fourth, make sure that they accept all of your clients as well as work with other companies as well. It should be within their scope of work for them to work for multiple clients at once. Fifth, find out what the relationship would be like between you and the accountants after their services are complete with your company. Are there any terms or conditions? What might happen if either party decides not to continue contracting? Lastly, make sure that they understand how much time it takes for an accurate accounting of everything in a small- or medium-sized organization

Hire For Results, Not Just Price The best way to find an accountant is by asking other business owners for recommendations. Ask them how their relationship with the accountant has been and what they have received in return. You need to look for a business that has a track record of providing solutions, not just taking your money. Consider the professional's experience level, as well as their credentials. The CPA is a common certification that most accountants have, but you can also find CPAs who have specialized in something else, such as tax law or compliance. If you are looking for an accountant who specializes in small business accounting, then you will have to do some more digging to find one that meets your needs and budget.

Decide Whether A Full-Time Or Part-Time Accountant Is Required Before you can hire an accountant, you will have to figure out what type of work you need them to do for your company. Depending on how frequently you need to see the accountant, it may be more cost-effective and beneficial to hire a part-time accountant. This will allow you to save money by only paying for their time when they are physically in your office. However, this is not always the case. One type of accounting services that require a full-time accountant are audits and reviews. For these services, it is best to hire someone who has experience as an auditor or reviewer since they know the ins and outs of how auditors should be done.

Don’t Assume That Everyone Who Practices Accounting Is An Auditor An accountant is someone who keeps track of what you have and where it’s going. They are typically auditors, but not always. An auditor is a person certified by the government to audit a company’s financial records. It is important that your accountant be certified as an auditor because this will help you hire an experienced professional for your accounting needs. The best way to find accountants or auditors that meet these qualifications is by doing some research on them online. Check their credentials and make sure they are qualified to work with your business before hiring them. Where they are located can also affect how they might charge you, so do some research on that too! Accountants can also be acquired on a contract basis as opposed to being hired full-time by your organization. This can be done if you need help with books or just want someone to come in and do the job part-time while they wait for another position to open up elsewhere. This type of arrangement works well if you only need accounting services on an as-needed basis, but it is important that you think about whether or not it would work for your business before signing such a contract agreement.

Be Careful When Hiring Independents One of the most important things to keep in mind before hiring an accountant is that you need to be careful when hiring an independent. Independent accountants can help your small business by taking care of accounting and tax issues, but they typically don't have the resources that larger businesses do. Your business may need a team of accountants and auditors, or you may just want one person to take care of it for you. Another important thing to consider is how long the accountant has been in practice. This will give you a better idea about his or her experience, skills, expertise, and knowledge. Finally, remember that this person will be spending time with your company in order to make sure that their work is accurate and they are doing what you want them to do. You should have a clear idea of what you want done through your interview process with the accountant so that they can make sure those expectations are met.

[greatwyrmgold]

The answer depends a lot on how you assume the Otherverse works, and also on what aliens show up. A little green man abducting cattle and probing butts, reptilian shapeshifters who want to send Earth to the Dark Side with the help of the Chinese military, and space worms using humans as pre-alpha testers for their anti-entropy scheme are going to have vastly different implications. But the ontological nature of the Otherverse is probably more interesting to discuss, since the relationship various aliens would have to it should be relatively easy to figure out once you've established how the world works.

Now, Otherverse ontology is a little tricky to figure out, because a lot of characters have opinions about the origins of various parts of the world and magic as a whole. These opinions are often incompatible to some degree or another; they're framed not as accurate exposition, but as part of the worldview of characters saying them. Deciding which opinions make sense and which don't is an exercise in interpretation, and interpreting something that doesn't really matter to the core narrative; Pact and Pale are about the impact of traditions in the present, not their past origins.

My Interpretation

Others seem to be tied to human belief, or at least the ways humans understand the world. However, prehuman Others seem to exist, like the primordial beasts Durocher binds. So I assume Others (and with them, magic) ultimately stem from consciousness. Animals are conscious beings, but ones with limited capabilities for abstract thought; prehuman Others were vaguer, power in the forms that beasts recognize, incarnated into what amount to very weird animals.

Humans came along, and our capabilities for abstract thought changed things. Distinctions between types of Others were identified and then formed; ones representing more abstract concepts began to take form; and culture developed among Otherkind as it did in humankind. Others as recognized by modern Practitioners came to be.

Then, the Seal of Solomon. This changed everything, formalizing and empowering barriers between the Innocent world and the world of Others, formalizing and empowering the methods by which Others could operate and humans could bind them, formalizing and empowering some protections for Others against things Practitioners could once do. So much of the modern Practitioner world can be traced back to the Seal.

Magic Aliens

Dividing the origin of modern Otherverse magic into those three phases provides a neat framework for considering parallel magical development on other planets. Aliens too alien to be understood by humans might face Others more like the primordials, or at least different enough from typical terrestrial Others to be lumped in the same category. Most aliens with humanlike intelligence would bring their Others to that second stage, the one where distinctions could be made amongst them.

The third stage is the tricky bit.

Would all aliens have a Suleiman bin Daoud? Probably not! I imagine many or most would have some event which formalized relations between Others and mundanes, but there are a lot of ways that could shake out, and most of them differ from the Seal of Solomon in one or more crucial ways.

Maybe the aliens and Others made a bargain that favored the Others in the long run. Maybe there is no Innocence, and both live side by side. Maybe bargains and contracts are de-emphasized in favor of centralized bureaucracy, rhetoric and debate, or raw power. Maybe some element is added in that makes things radically different.

Synthesis (a word which here means "Wild Guessing")

What happens when such a radically different magical tradition interacts with Earth's?

If I have interpreted Otherverse lore accurately, the Seal of Solomon and other rules of magic are "enforced" by spirits, the least of Others, the phytoplankton of the supernatural ecosystem. Or maybe they're more like unusually intelligent organic macromolecules? Either way, spirits of some sort probably exist on other planets, or at least ones with native life.

I assume that spirits continue to exist in starships (or equivalent methods of interstellar travel), the way they exist in cities and cars and stuff. So magic would continue to work on those vessels the way it did on their home planet. Its isolation would make it easier to change the spirits' consensus, to create an extremely localized "Seal of Solomon," but it probably wouldn't be something people could do casually.

And then the aliens come to Earth, and alien spirits encounter terrestrial spirits. What now? Either the alien spirits dissolve into Earth's spiritual background, disrupting it a bit but mostly getting drowned out; or the two groups of spirits remain largely separate, with a cluster of alien spirit rules surrounded by Earth spirits.

The former case would encourage the aliens to stay away from Earth as much as possible, if their leaders knew how magic works. Humans wouldn't be able to do much without getting people into space, and there would be no reason to put magicians in the rockets. This is boring. You can probably make an interesting fanfic with this premise, but it would be an uphill battle.

But if a landed alien craft is its own bubble of alien spirits, aliens might have a reason to visit. This allows the two systems of magic to interact. And that opens up all sorts of interesting lore/tactical considerations. For instance:

What happens if you try to perform magic in an area with alien spirits? Is it weakened, or distorted to match the rules of alien magic, or negated, or are the results unpredictable?

What happens if existing magic are brought into an area with alien spirits? Same options, but the spirits would probably be more likely to go along with an existing enchantment.

What happens to Others, particularly the inhuman or immaterial/abstract ones? Can they be cut off from power sources and the like? Would they begin to unravel if their construction isn't supported by alien rules of magic (or the worldviews shaping them)?

If alien magic lacks an oath-sealing aspect (like Solomon's), are oaths suppressed by time among alien spirits? Can they unravel completely, or are they still enforced when you leave? If you break an oath in the alien zone and then leave, what happens?

Can you bring terrestrial spirits along with you into an alien spaceship, or ward alien spirits off?

What happens in areas where alien and terrestrial spirits have been in contact for a while? Do they stay firmly separate? Do they create an intermediate zone where spirits understand both forms of magic, letting both operate? Do they come to some new consensus between them, creating a third set of magic rules that nobody initially understands? Can one side or the other influence the outcome? How fast would this sort of intermediate zone spread, and could you accelerate/decelerate the spread?

Are all these rules symmetrical? (IE, are alien Practitioners operating among terrestrial spirits affected the same way as human Practitioners among alien ones?)

Ugh, I need to stop somewhere. This works.

I wonder what would happen if an alien showed up in otherverse