#objective analysis takes priority

[under-lore]

There is one thing with Undertale/Deltarune theorists that drives me nuts.

In my experience, most of them value their personal takes or what they believe would make for a fitting narrative for the story as if they were actual arguments to bring up when discussing lore.

They are not.

Toby Fox does not care about what i think would make for a good plot for his games, and he does not care about what they think either. Toby Fox just does what he does, like the mysterious clever annoying dog he is.

While subjective opinions may be of use for speculation, the only things which should truly be the core of theorising are the actual pieces of evidence. Either direct evidence coming from the games, or indirect evidence which gives insight into what Toby’s intent may have been in a different manner. Personal interpretation does not matter, only what is actually there or was intended to be there does.

If someday Toby showed up and told me one of my ideas was totally wrong or that somebody else came up with a way to conclusively disprove it, then i would simply go back to the drawing board, re-organise all the evidence and clues from the beginning, and try once again to build another theory from scratch and hopefully get it right next time. And if it turned out that the new evidence contradicted one of my takes, then i would promote the view supported by the evidence and i would tell my own headcanons to simply go shove it.

And i believe that should be the norm. But in my experience, there exists a real problem with biases within the theorist community and it sincerely annoys me.

[marveling-cg]

As a teacher, the suit couldn't really have come at a better time.

When he'd graduated from college, he'd been surprised to see Principal Nezu in the crowd with All Might and Aizawa-sensei, and even more surprised to receive Principal Nezu's invitation to teach at UA - in the hero course no less!

They'd assigned him to the 2nd year hero course -- the 1st years, who were often still figuring out the limits of their quirks, needed teachers who might be able to physically intervene if something went wrong

His first year teaching, he'd spent just trying to get his feet under him: he borrowed a lot of the previous teacher's curriculum while he tried to get the hang of classroom management, and and grading, and parent contact, not to mention conducting practical exercises with his students while he was quirkless

But his second year he started making the curriculum his own: his strength had always been his analysis and he wanted his students to have that, too.

He started adding in case studies for each unit; invited his friends in to give talks about declassified or appropriately anonymized cases they'd worked on

By his third year, he'd gotten his unit plans down to a science: intro topic, host guest speaker, complete case study, hold class discussion, conduct practical exercise, students submit a reflection, test

His first unit of the year was always his favorite -- an intro to battle analysis. He'd never gotten Kacchan to commit to coming on campus, but if Deku sent him footage from a fight, Kacchan would send back a recording of his analysis

Once the kids got over the initial hilarity of Kacchan roasting the shit out of hero or villain or both, they usually asked Deku to play the video back a few more times so they could see just which errors Kacchan had caught, how quickly they could arise, how consequential they could be. It was a great way to get them open to Deku's whole approach to the class, and a good way for them to know that he would accept their work in their own voices -- no need to hide their personalities for points

The rest of the units -- meant to get his students ready to apply for their provisional licenses -- all followed suit.

And since most hero agencies had given new priority to community relations, he could schedule through his friends' offices to get them on campus: Tenya, Uraraka, Tsu, Momo, Shinso were especially reliable guests

And while the first half of the year was dedicated to the practicalities of being on the ground as a hero; the second half was dedicated to the heart of being a hero

They looked at rise of the League of Villains and Stain, talked about the plight of heteromorphs; he pulled in primary sources, they discussed their own personal credos (he liked to use Kacchan's and Hawks' as examples of how different and personal they could be while still leading to similar work), discussed the sociological and psychological impact of challenging quirks

All that to say, year four is the perfect time for the suit to fall into his lap.

He's got his professional shit together

And, though he's let himself shed some of the weight he needed to maintain One For All, he's kept himself in good condition

(High school students are so easily motivated by a little good natured teasing, "you really gonna let your quirkless teacher lap you?" has been a remarkably easy way to keep his kids going through tough conditioning work)

So, after he's managed to stop crying on All Might long enough to schedule a call with Hatsume to go over the specs; and stopped crying after that call long enough to process everything she's shared about its function, he realizes he's going to need to train before he can take this thing out in the field

The suit is incredible: a light exoskeleton that'll enhance his strength, 360 degree sensors that will pick up objects moving at certain speeds or sudden changes in air pressure, a light propulsion system that will allow him brief bursts of flight or slightly longer periods to hover, a chord system that he can use to pull himself forward or restrain villains, a diffuser that will set off a smoke screen

He spends another hour or so after the call with Hatsume to cry about how closely they've tried to recreate the capabilities of One For All

And then spends another four thinking about all of the manual controls he'll need to learn to replicate the skills he used to be able to call forth with a thought.

Thinks too about the kind of conditioning he'll need to do in order to not lose speed or an arm to the weight and propulsion of the suit

He remembers fondly a dirty beach half a lifetime ago; remembers, too, a forest trail where a quirkless All Might declared he'd change the future. Deku can do this.

And there's no better way to address the Kacchan of it all:

He'd tried calling Kacchan after All Might had dropped the news -- and been sent straight to voicemail three times in a row; received back a terse text: u r welcome nerd

Which told him Kacchan wasn't ready to deal -- with Deku's tears, or his gratitude, or with a conversation about how Kacchan had dedicated all of his professional career to funding Deku's dream -- as if all the long hours, and parties missed, and extra shifts covered, hadn't all been some sort of declaration of intent about the rest of their fucking lives

Which was fine. What was Deku going to say anyway?

"Was this a proposal, Kacchan? Because if so, my answer is yes."

That could wait. They had the rest of their fucking lives, apparently.

But in the meantime, Deku needed to train. He couldn't afford to rush this. Kacchan would be furious if Deku got himself hurt because he was being reckless.

So he headed over to the gym in Kacchan's building after work, just in time to catch Kacchan coming in for his biweekly workout.

"I've got a plan. I think I'm going to need to dedicate some attention to these particular muscle groups to protect from injury. I think I probably need to gain a little more muscle, too. Then, I want to start training in the suit. I'll need to get a feel for how it works as a whole in combat and rescue settings. But then I want to work on isolations. Can I trigger just this response as quickly as possible in various circumstances. What can I do or not if I've just got control of the arms or just the legs or just one limb. I've put together a timetable. I think, if you'll help me, I could be ready for field work without injuring myself by the end of this school year."

When Deku finally pauses and looks up from his notebook, Kacchan looks visibly relieved, shoulders down from his ears, that gleam in his eye that's signals amusement in spite of himself, the start of smile tucked into the corner of his mouth

Kacchan snatches the notebook from Deku's hands and looks over the charts. Deku barely grumbles at all at Kacchan's free hand tousling Deku's hair while he skims.

"Alright, dweeb, let's get started--"

[miss-musings]

"Can't You See They're Using You?": The Parallels Between Cid and The Empire as Exploitative Employers in "The Bad Batch"

In rewatching "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" after the series finale, I've realized just how many similarities there are between Cid and the Empire as employers for the Bad Batch and Crosshair, respectively.

I know I'm not the first person to point out how badly Cid used and abused the Batch, even from their very first meeting in 1.05 "Rampage." In fact, @xylionet has a great post summarizing just how much Cid took advantage of the Batch's -- mostly Hunter's -- desperation and inexperience dealing with the galaxy's shadier people.

But, beyond that, the show ultimately drew a lot of parallels between Cid and the Empire as employers, from their attitude toward clones to their manipulative personalities. Even the timelines for the Batch's and Crosshair's employment align very well, down to the conditions at which they start working for them and why they ultimately reach their breaking points.

Before we dive in, a few clarifications:

I'll mostly be focusing on Cid in this analysis, as I think the Empire's faults are pretty clear.

And, when I say "the Empire," I mean the Imperial officials Crosshair interacts with and/or takes orders from -- mostly Rampart and Nolan, but to a lesser degree, Hemlock and Tarkin as well.

SHARED TRAITS

Manipulative personalities

From the beginning, Cid did whatever it took to leverage the Batch into working for her.

Once she realizes that they're 1) desperate for information/money and 2) inexperienced/gullible/etc., she very quickly works to get them on her side.

She offers an exchange of information and money if the Batch bring in Muchi, but she neglects to tell them Muchi is a Rancor, probably because she figured they wouldn't have accepted the job if they knew.

As she gives Hunter the information and 30% of the cut, she says that with a bounty hunter after the Batch, they'll need "friends and money -- mostly money." It's objectively not an incorrect assessment, and she offers them more work. Hunter says he'll think about it, and that's when she pulls out the blackmail card. She knows how valuable they are and knows people are after them. If they cross her, she can turn them in.

Cid ultimately uses whatever tactics she has to get the Batch to do what she needs, whether that's sweet-talking or strong-arming or leveraging them (either financially or via blackmail).

Likewise, Rampart especially gets on Crosshair's good side by initially praising him as an experienced clone and elevating him to commander of an elite non-clone squad. He also seems to give Crosshair plenty of clone troopers as well when needed. However, once we get to the Ryloth arc, we see that Rampart is more than willing to threaten Crosshair when he feels like he's underperforming.

Even in Season 2, Rampart continues to play this game with Crosshair by praising him just enough that he still feels valued, while also demoting him and then insinuating that Crosshair needs to continue proving his worth or risk losing his position.

Assigning morally questionable jobs/missions

While this is obvious for the Empire, it's something I don't see talked about much regarding Cid.

Her clients are shady people, and she either doesn't ask her clients a lot of questions or doesn't provide that information to the Batch.

After she strong-arms them into working for her in 1.06 "Decommissioned," she sends them after a tactical droid. The information it has could be useful against the Empire, but it could also lead to the deaths of thousands of clone troopers -- the Batch's reg brothers.

This is something the Martez sisters point out to the Batch, and Hunter says they're "being paid to acquire and deliver," admitting that who the client is or why they want the information isn't a priority. The Martez sisters argue that it should be.

Granted, a lot of the jobs we actually see the Batch doing for Cid are later hand-waved as being a good thing. They deliver arms to freedom fighters on Ryloth, they reunite Ruby with her owner, they free Muchi from slavery, etc. But, there are plenty of jobs we partially see them do or hear about them doing, which could easily have been "bad" things, especially given how shady Cid's clients are.

Arguably, if Cid ever gave them information or the Batch guessed that a given job was a "bad" thing, they could just not do it for her. But, again, she has leverage over them, so I don't know whether they have much of an option.

Dislike of clones

Basically all the Imperials we meet in the show don't like clones.

Rampart pretended well enough in Season 1, but we know from later episodes that he hates them. Nolan is very brazen in telling Crosshair how much he abhors working with clone troopers, saying he "doesn't like used equipment" and that the clones are ultimately expendable. And, obviously we know of Tarkin and Hemlock's hatred for clones.

But, Cid inexplicably hates them as well.

I think she was willing to bring the Batch on because she felt she could use them, but she's very rude Rex in 1.07 "Battle Scars" and apparently didn't like hosting Gregor in 1.15 "Return to Kamino."

She tells Rex and the Batch that she's "done taking in strays," that she's not running a charity, and that her parlor "isn't a clone clubhouse."

She could feasibly have concerns that, if enough clones start hanging out at her parlor, they'd get on the Empire's radar. But, if that was her concern, there were 100 better ways to say that.

We don't get to see her interactions with Gregor, but I don't understand why she was immediately so hostile to Rex. For all she knew, he could've been there to pay her for information or hire the Batch for a job -- something where she would've gotten paid. Shouldn't she have been trying to get on his good side and at least see what he wanted first? But, instead, she immediately and very rudely dismisses him.

Also, Cid has a clone trooper helmet on the wall in her office. (It's on the lefthand side as you look at her desk.) Considering she used to be an informant for the Jedi, I wonder how she got that helmet. Was it a gift? Why would a clone trooper give her a helmet? It seems more likely that it was a trophy of some kind. She seems to have a lot of strange items around her office, but a clone trooper helmet should've been a red flag for the Batch.

Asking a lot & giving little in return

Cid ultimately had the Batch risking their lives for her and her clients, and was apparently only giving them 30% of the payout.

By 1.07 "Battle Scars," they're also in debt to her despite doing at least 10-12 jobs for her. In 1.10, Cid tells them that the Batch needs "a big score for us to be square," and Omega ultimately pays off the debt by hustling people at the strategy game.

So, even if after 1.10, the Batch renegotiated off-screen so that Cid started covering their expenses and that their standard 30% is pure profit, that still seems incredibly low to me. I would think 40-40-20, with the 20% going to cover expenses would be a decent starting point.

But, apparently, they're still doing jobs for her in Season 2 and still only getting 30% -- their standard rate. We're not sure what their success rate is, but they've been able to complete some big jobs for her. They definitely should've renegotiated up to at least 50% or something, especially considering how frequently they were endangering themselves and Omega on these jobs.

With Crosshair and the Empire, he doesn't really have much in the way of benefits, because the Empire ultimately considers all the clones their property.

They were never given a choice on whether they wanted to serve the Empire once it replaced the Republic. They're assigned these dangerous and morally questionable/reprehensible missions. If they question their orders or refuse, they're labeled traitors and arrested; and if they leave, they're branded deserters.

Crosshair at least gets room and board, but he probably isn't getting paid much or at all. Once Senator Chuchi's bill passes in 2.08 "Truth and Consequences," he might be eligible for a retirement/severance package like we see the clones talking about in 2.12 "The Outpost," but he likely wouldn't have a say on when he gets to retire/leave.

Meanwhile, Crosshair and the other clones are risking their lives for the Empire. We see in 2.03 "The Solitary Clone," that the clone troopers are sent in to complete the most dangerous work -- securing Desix and freeing the Imperial governor. But, once it comes to actually occupying the planet, the Empire assigns stormtroopers.

I also always found it interesting that the clone troopers bothered to get Crosshair medical attention in 1.08 "Reunion," but Nolan doesn't in 2.12 "The Outpost." I feel like the clones, at minimum, cared about each other even under Imperial command. But as more non-clones started taking command, they basically said, "Why bother? Clone troopers are a relic of the past, and we have millions of TK troopers who can take their place."

Lack of intel/resources to complete missions

Speaking of 2.12 "The Outpost," we hear about Mayday's predicament: The Empire doesn't provide enough men to defend the oh-so-valuable cargo at the Outpost and doesn't provide the equipment needed to keep their troopers safe. They have to wrap their armor to stay warm; the conditions degrade the sensors; they don't have the tools needed to disarm mines; and so on.

Similarly, the Batch bring up several times in Seasons 1 and 2 that Cid withholds information about their jobs.

Wrecker in 2.11 "Metamorphosis": Limited intel. Huh. There's a surprise.

Maybe sometimes her clients or sources don't give her information as we see in 2.11 "Metamorphosis," but there are plenty of times where she purposely withholds information, like Muchi being a Rancor in 1.05 "Rampage."

Cid was either accepting jobs without much intel because she was getting overconfident in the Batch's abilities, or -- more likely -- she was getting greedy and sending them on as many jobs as possible regardless of the conditions.

The latter seems more likely, especially with how it aligns with how the Empire treats the clones. They're more than ready to put money into the TK trooper program -- and we know from the Original Trilogy that TK troopers are also essentially treated as expendable -- but the Empire clearly doesn't give a crap about the clones, especially after 2.08 "Truth and Consequences."

Ultimately, both the Batch and Crosshair and the other Imperial clone troopers have to make do with the little they’re given, despite putting so much on the line for their employers.

“All you’ll ever be to them is a number”

Something I haven't talked about much yet is how Hunter is so prescient about Crosshair being used by the Empire, but doesn't see how Cid is using him and his family to a similar degree.

This is something @xylionet pointed out too:

It’s rather ironic that Crosshair and Hunter are both able to see each other’s situations for what they are, but not their own.

One of the things that hit me during my rewatch of 1.15/16 was Hunter telling Crosshair: "All you'll ever be to them is a number" referring to the Empire.

Admittedly, Hunter isn't wrong. As we see, all the Imperial officials Crosshair interacts with only call him by his CT number, never by his name. (The only exceptions are fellow clones like Cody, Mayday and Emerie.)

And, in 2.03 "The Solitary Clone," when Crosshair asks Rampart about Commander Cody, Rampart acts like he's never heard the name Cody before in his life. He ONLY knows Cody -- one of the most famous commanders in the entire Galactic Army of the Republic -- by his number. Hell, even EMPEROR PALPATINE knew Commander Cody's name in "Revenge of the Sith."

But, while the Empire being a bunch of assholes makes sense, what gets me is that Cid is the exact same way:

She ONLY ever called the Bad Batch members by her little nicknames.

Cid absolutely knew their names. She would have to if she was ever planning to turn them in, as she eventually does. Maybe she didn't know their clone numbers, but she definitely knew what they called each other.

Yet, even in those moments where they came through for her like in 1.13 "Infested" and 2.04 "Faster," she never uses their names as a sign of respect or gratitude. Hell, even after Tech dies, she still only called him "Goggles."

Now, I'm not saying that nicknames are inherently bad. I have plenty of nicknames for people, and vice versa. But, I think there has to be an established relationship first, and then the nickname should be a sign of affection rather than a way to demean someone.

Cid calls the Batch mostly by their outward appearances or accessories -- Tiny, Muscles, Goggles, Bandana, Dark & Broody. (Note: she uses "Dark and Broody" for both Echo and Hunter on different occasions.) It just indicates how she sees them -- not as people but as objects. She's only looking on the surface because that's all she cares about.

“Blind allegiance makes you a pawn”

It's obvious to see that Crosshair's misplaced loyalty to the Empire ultimately made him one of its pawns, to be used and abused.

But, as I've outlined, the Batch was in a similar position with Cid.

Hunter definitely sees that their "mutually beneficial arrangement" with Cid isn't great, but he doesn't really have much choice. They're on their own; they're deserters/traitors; and now they're in charge of a kid and being pursued by bounty hunters.

However, as I'll talk about more in a second, the Batch had several opportunities to walk away from her and try to find some other ways of "making a living." Yet, they continue to work for her despite all the red flags that they definitely see but choose to ignore. This is partly why Echo eventually leaves, because he disagrees with Hunter's decision to maintain this lifestyle rather than fighting for their fellow clones.

While Hunter is arguably the most at fault for letting Cid use and abuse them as long as she does, Cid takes advantage of Omega's loyalty the most.

Even as Omega is trying to convince Hunter and the others to -- and I can't believe I'm about to say this -- pit two crime syndicates against each other just to get Cid's parlor back ... all Cid can say is, "You tell 'em, tiny!"

Twice she asks/convinces her family to stick their necks out for Cid despite all the risks involved, and yet they get little to nothing in return -- including respect.

Despite all the risks they take for her and all the money they bring in, Cid doesn't give a crap when the Marauder gets stolen and the Batch are stranded on the mining planet in 2.09 "The Crossing." That's when the Batch -- particularly Omega -- finally reach their breaking point.

By 2.11 "Metamorphosis," Tech suggests that they only do this last job for her to ensure they leave her on good terms, because she knows so much about them. But, it's clear Omega and Hunter are fed up with how badly Cid used them, which happens to coincide nicely with Crosshair coming to the same realization about the Empire.

Which segues into the timeline analysis:

THE SIMILAR TIMELINES BETWEEN THE BAD BATCH/CID, CROSSHAIR/THE EMPIRE

Reluctant employees (early S1)

As mentioned, the Batch and Crosshair start working for their respective employers because they don’t have a lot of other options.

Crosshair is, of course, practically abducted by the Empire and forced to do its bidding under the effects of the inhibitor chip. This starts in 1.01 "Aftermath."

Meanwhile, the Batch do the initial job for Cid in 1.05 "Rampage." They do a one-off job to get intel on the bounty hunter(s) after Omega, as well as earn some much-needed cash. The Batch didn't really have much of a choice in either finding or working for Cid, because Cid was the only Jedi informant Echo knew how to find, and they were desperate for the intel.

Then, as mentioned, she subsequently uses strong-arming and blackmailing as needed to get them to work for her in 1.06 and beyond.

Falling into a routine (mid-S1)

By 1.07 "Battle Scars," we can see the Batch has fallen into a routine of doing jobs for Cid. As she said, they need friends and money with bounty hunters after them, and they don't really have any other ready sources of income (as demonstrated in 1.04 "Cornered').

Yet, despite all the jobs they've done for her, they're also in debt to her. Meaning, they can't easily walk away without giving her even MORE reason to turn them in, so they have to continue doing jobs for her in hopes of paying off the debt.

Meanwhile, Crosshair and his ES troopers have been continuing to operate under Rampart, presumably carrying out missions under his command. Granted, we don't see any of these except the Onderon mission in 1.03 "The Replacements," but based on how effective they seemed to be in 1.08 "Reunion," I imagine they were doing missions together off-screen.

The first possible turnaround point (late S1)

If we accept the fan theory that Crosshair's chip was removed or deactivated/damaged around 1.08 "Reunion," then Crosshair has regained his free will by the next time we see him in 1.11 "Devil's Deal."

Yet, despite the Empire hijacking his mind and body and forcing him to do all sorts of terrible things, he continues to work for them of his own free will. He has an opportunity to walk away, but he doesn't.

Likewise, the Batch have an opportunity in 1.13 "Infested," after Cid's parlor gets taken over by Roland Durand.

But, thanks to Omega's misplaced loyalty, Cid's blackmailing and other factors, Hunter decides to pit two crime syndicates against each other to get Cid's parlor back and continue working for her. (I cannot emphasize how stupid of a decision this was!!)

Even after Cid's schemes get the Batch in trouble with the Pykes to the point that Omega is taken hostage, the Batch continue to work for Cid. They're lucky this was a "family show," or the Pykes would've definitely killed them or injured Omega or something else just as bad.

If ever there was a time for the Batch to walk away from Cid, this would've been it -- either before the job or after. But, like Crosshair, they don't take the opportunity to walk away.

The second possible turnaround point (S1 finale)

Crosshair had another opportunity to leave the Empire and rejoin his brothers at the end of 1.16 "Kamino Lost." But, instead he decides once again to double-down and stay with the Empire for a myriad of reasons that might have to be its own meta some day. (I touched on it a bit in my S1 Crosshair/loyalty meta.)

But what might be overlooked is that the fall of Kamino was another opportunity for the Batch to leave Cid.

Again, the reason they sought her out and one of the reasons they started/kept working for her was because bounty hunters were after Omega. The bounty was active through 1.09 "Bounty Lost.” At that point, the Batch learn that Lama Su put the bounty on Omega because she's crucial to their cloning operation.

But, as the Batch see for themselves, Tipoca City is decommissioned and destroyed. The Kaminoan cloning facilities are gone. The Kaminoans aren't in a place where they need Omega anymore, because the Empire has effectively ended cloning (at least for military purposes).

So, they could've left Cid after the events of Season 1. Maybe they could've even left her on good terms after saving her ass in 1.13 "Infested." But, they don't.

Starting to second-guess (early S2)

Admittedly, Hunter was never super-comfortable about their arrangement with Cid, but he persisted because he didn't see a lot of alternatives.

But, Omega (and Tech and Wrecker) clearly start to have doubts about working for Cid during 2.04 "Faster." They once again stick their necks out for Cid by offering to clear her debt with Millegi. And, while Cid is grateful at the time, we see later that her gratitude is short-lived.

Based on what Millegi tells them, especially at the end of the episode, it's clear Omega (and the others) are beginning to doubt whether Cid is someone worthy of their loyalty.

Likewise, Crosshair's experiences in 2.03 "The Solitary Clone" start to plant doubts in his mind. He was stranded on Kamino for a month and comes back only to get demoted and sent on a dangerous and morally questionable mission. And while Crosshair and his squad complete the mission, and Rampart even praises Crosshair for it, we also see that Rampart really doubts Crosshair and the other clones' loyalty.

Ultimately, after his experiences with Cody and their mission on Desix, it's clear that Crosshair is beginning to doubt whether the Empire is worthy of his loyalty.

The breaking point (mid/late S2)

As I've pointed out in another post:

Both the Batch and Crosshair fell into a routine that provided them security and stability in an otherwise chaotic time in the galaxy; and both only reached their breaking points when their employers left them for dead.

For the Batch, this is a combination of 2.09-2.11. The Marauder gets stolen while they're on a job for Cid. They ask for her help, and she doesn't readily or easily commit any kind of assistance. They get the Marauder back on their own, and Cid is more than happy to give them another job, framing it as: "Do you wanna make money?"

It's become clear to them that she views them as tools -- only useful to her, not the other way around.

Meanwhile, at the start of 2.12 "The Outpost," Crosshair sees that the Empire has started to retire clones, but at least he's still getting missions.

But, Barton IV ultimately becomes his breaking point when he sees just how expendable he and all clones are. Based on what he said in 1.15 "Return to Kamino," he thought he was "superior" to the other clones, but as Nolan proves, the Empire didn't care either way.

As Mayday points out, the clones sacrificed everything for the Empire while getting nothing in return. Crosshair and Mayday are essentially left for dead, and when they come back looking like absolute hell, Nolan first yells at them for not retrieving the cargo and then tells them to get to work.

As Nolan blatantly tells Crosshair, he and all the other clones are expendable -- only worth keeping around as long as they're useful.

Not out quite yet (late S2)

By 2.13 "Pabu," we can see the Batch has completely cut ties with Cid and are working with Phee instead. Cid leaves them a message, saying that their absence has cost her a lot of money and she once again threatens to turn them in.

Despite emotionally cutting ties with her, they're still physically at her mercy to a degree. Plus, even once they made it clear they didn't want to work for her anymore, she still wants something from them and she's willing to hurt them if they don't cooperate.

Thankfully, Phee comes through for the Batch and introduces them to Pabu -- their future forever home.

Crosshair, meanwhile, is imprisoned at Tantiss. Despite emotionally cutting ties with the Empire, he's still physically at its mercy.

Hemlock offers him a deal: his freedom in exchange for helping him find Clone Force 99. Crosshair refuses to give up his family, even under torture.

Just like the Batch, despite Crosshair's attempt to "walk away" from the Empire, they still want something from him and they're willing to hurt him if he doesn't cooperate.

The fallout (S2 finale and beyond)

Of course, everything falls together in 2.16 "Plan 99," as Cid sells out the Batch to the Empire. The Batch's and Crosshair's former employers temporarily join forces to screw everyone over in the worst ways possible.

Although it was clear to us from the get-go that Crosshair was wrong to trust the Empire, 2.16 confirms to us the audience just how wrong the Batch was to trust Cid. They came to her in a moment of need, and she betrayed them.

Granted, I think this was mostly Hunter's failing, as they never should've gone back to Ord Mantell. I understand they were hurt and desperate to have AZI heal Omega, but Cid told them multiple times she was willing to turn them in. Plus, they just showed on her doorstep after striking a high-level Imperial compound. They knew -- or at least suspected -- that they were already being targeted based on Crosshair's message, but after hitting Eriadu, they would've been on the Empire's "most wanted list."

Jumping to Season 3, Cid's nature is made even clearer as she gives up the Batch a second time.

It's unclear whether CX-2 bribed or tortured Cid -- probably the latter -- but Cid also sold out Phee. And Cid told the Batch she considered Phee a friend. (Although based on Phee's comments in 2.13 "Pabu," that feeling wasn't mutual.)

For all Cid knew, CX-2 could've tortured or killed Phee to find the Batch, and she still gave up the information.

Once again, the Batch's and Crosshair's former employers work together to screw them over.

One last thing I'll add is how the show gave us glimpses of Crosshair and Cid's true colors around the same time. Crosshair is first bribed and then tortured for information about his family, but he doesn't give them up; meanwhile, Cid sells them out after everything they did for her. And, if CX-2 really tortured Cid in Season 3, it just proves how little she cared about the Batch (or even Phee) compared to how much Crosshair cared about them despite everything that happened in S1.

IN CONCLUSION

I want to state for the record that, as frustrating as it is to see our favorite characters allow themselves to be used and abused by their employers, I don't hate any of them.

These characters are human. They're not perfect, and hindsight is 20/20.

I know several people who were hoping that Cid would come through for the Batch, that she would be a true ally even if she was grumpy and rude (and that's putting it mildly).

If anything, I think this all shows just how similar Hunter, Crosshair and Omega are. They share a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses. Hunter and Crosshair see just how terrible the other's situation is, but not their own; and Crosshair and Omega are loyal to a fault.

They all just wanted some security and stability in what was a very chaotic time for the galaxy and their family. I can understand, to an extent, why they made the decisions they did even if I find them frustrating.

If you want to take any of this meta and apply it to your own lives, by all means. Despite what some folks might think, Star Wars has always been political, and I don't want any of you to end up like our favorite Bad Batch characters.

At the end of the day, "The Bad Batch" is a family show with a lot of morals and lessons about the importance of love, hope and family -- whether blood relatives, adopted or 'found.'

But, it's also a show about the evils of political systems and corporate greed, and how the forces around us will profit off our blood, sweat and tears while giving us little to nothing in return.

[felassan]

Story elements, Campaign Map, and Garrus character sheet from the Mass Effect The Board Game - Priority: Hagalaz Rulebook [source]

bonus: move names of Garrus' and Wrex' that just made me happy :)

Text version of first three images under cut -

Opening blurb:

"In the year 2186, the civilizations of the galaxy are at war with a relentless, artificial enemy called the Reapers. Commander Shepard’s warnings of their arrival were all ignored, and now the Reapers have invaded the galaxy in force, crushing all resistance. Earth has fallen. Palaven, the turian homeworld, is under siege, and their military might barely holds the enemy at bay. The Reapers are pressing into the galaxy on all fronts, and it is only a matter of time before the races of Citadel Space are crushed beneath their onslaught. But there is still hope. Commander Shepard has assembled a crew of trusted allies aboard the Systems Alliance stealth frigate, the Normandy. They have the schematics for the mysterious Prothean superweapon, the Crucible, but constructing it alone will not be enough. Shepard and the Normandy crew are racing to forge alliances, build a unified front capable of defeating the Reapers before they overtake the galaxy and complete their harvest of all biological life. All the while, the insidious terrorist organisation Cerberus advances their own agenda of human supremacy at any cost, led by the mysterious Illusive Man and his army of ruthless operatives."

Note from Admiral Hackett:

"“Commander Shepard, Since you took out the Cerberus lab on Sanctum, N7 Special Forces have hit every other lab we could find. Cerberus has caught on and moved their research efforts off-world. They’ve retrofitted one of their cruisers as a mobile research facility and now keep it on the move. I’ve received reports of more abductions, like the one you stopped on Benning, and several refugee ships have unexpectedly dropped off the grid. Cerberus could be holding those abductees on that cruiser as hostages, or worse, as test subjects. Their latest hiding place was the storm above Hagalaz. Taking a page out of the Shadow Broker’s book, I suppose. We only found them because the cruiser appears to have suffered a massive systems failure and crashed on the night side of the planet. Although these nights are a lot longer than Earth’s, unfortunately it’s almost morning and daybreak will bring the most powerful storm on the other side of the Attican Traverse. The Normandy is the only Alliance ship in range. I need you to see what Cerberus was up to. Interference from the storm is degrading comms, so there’s no way Cerberus can get their research off-planet except by portable data transfer. We have recovery assets on the way, but they won’t arrive until after the storm hits and tears that ship to pieces. Shepard, your orders are: Whatever you do, keep that research data out of Cerberus’ hands. When the storm is over, I don’t want them to recover their work from the wreckage. Denying them those assets will be a major blow. Retrieve the research if possible, or destroy it if there’s no other choice. Alternatively, find a way to fortify the ship until the fleet arrives. If you find prisoners along the way, get them out of there. The storm is coming, Shepard. Get it done.” – Admiral Hackett"

Note from EDI:

"“Shepard, analysis of the crashed cruiser has isolated three primary objectives. The reactor, the research data core, and the kinetic barrier generator. You only have time to reach one of those before the storm arrives. Accessing the data core will allow us to steal Cerberus’ research, but they could salvage the ship’s wreckage after the storm has passed. Overloading the reactors will destroy the ship – and all hope of any data recovery or salvage. I am also detecting signs of the captives Admiral Hackett mentioned. By diverting power from the research core, you can boost the ship’s kinetic barriers long enough to preserve it and protect the prisoners until the Alliance arrives. However, if you do this, the data banks will be lost. The storm is only a few hours away, Shepard. I recommend moving fast. Displaying potential routes to each objective. The mission is yours.” – EDI"

[aristaspark]

Another JWCT season 2 Kenlynn analysis because I'm obsessed and I don't know if the writers are geniuses, or if I'm getting worked up over a whole lot of nothing 😂.

So, bear with me.

Kenji's arc in season 2 is clear from the first episode: he's throwing himself at danger because of the losses he's suffered. He's broken.

But in all that sadness, he has one last glimmer of hope: Bumpy's egg.

He's the one the most attached to it, even more so than Ben. After all these losses, it's the first sign of something good happening in his life. It's the contrary of death, a birth, "someone" new he can love.

During the entire season he's the most concerned with the egg, obsessed with getting it back, almost dying for it (more on that later).

Now flashfoward to episode 8: he discovers that Brooklynn is alive.

When he finds out, he's confused, hurt, mad, shook to his core (but props to the animators, for a split second...you can see that he is just... so happy).

"She's alive?"

But the hurt and feeling of betrayal is too hard for him to grasp, so he pushes all his feelings away. He knows it's not the time.

And what does he do in order to push away his feelings about Brooklynn?

He focuses on the egg, as we established the only thing in his life which isn't tarnished or hurtful. And he desperately needs it right now, now that his whole world is crumbling down even more. This shift in his priorities is shown when he says this:

"The eggs... Brooklynn took Bumpy's egg..."

At this point, Kenji's motivations are still unclear, but this line suggests that his main goal, the thing the most important to him at this moment is the same as it was at the beggining of the season, aka getting Bumpy's egg back... not getting to Brooklynn.

So when he goes berserk, driving like a madman, running as if his life depended on it to get to Brooklynn, of course we have the feeling that he wants to see her, but he's also running to achieve his objective, which has always been to take care of Bumpy's egg, and it just so happens that Brooklynn is the one obstacle to his goal.

We can see he's desperate, but it's left to interpretation as to exactly why.

Until he finally catches up to Brooklynn.

It's Brooklynn's hand he grabbs, not the case. The thing he wanted the most is in his direct reach, yet he grabbs her hand. In this moment, he completely forgets about the egg, not even sparing it a glance, not mentionning it even once.

"Brooklynn..."

All that matters to him is that the girl he loves is there, in front of him, which he thought would never happen again.

We finally have the confirmation that the reason he was so eager to run to that airport wasn't to get the egg back, but to see her. And not to get mad at her, no, just to... get her back.

And then, Brooklynn leaves.

She leaves them, but she leaves him. It's him she looks at the last, his grasp she frees herself from, him who utters her name afterward.

They're still at the center of the scene, and the scene is a direct call back to the break-up scene (also... their colors are matching, it's like not even a little subtle, which tells me there's a reason Brooklynn wore a dark blue shirt the entire season...which is SO NOT her color).

Notice how even there, it's Ben who remembers to ask Brooklynn to give them the egg.

"Wait! Bumpy's egg... it's in that case..."

It's SO FAR from being something Kenji can focus on right now, now that Brooklynn is in front of him.

We then find out that before boarding the plane, Brooklynn has given Kenji the egg. Not Ben (who was the one who asked for it), not Darius, but Kenji.

...And Kenji looks the most heart-broken he has ever looked.

He has just gotten his hands on what he thought he wanted the most, his ultimate goal this season, the very thing he threw himself into fire for, into an ocean beaten by the storm... and yet he's not even looking at it, his eyes instead watching the plane take off with Brooklynn inside.

He's gotten what he thought he wanted, but at what price?

It's not to diminish his link to Bumpy's egg. As I've shown, he risked his life countless times for it. But it just goes to show just how much Brooklynn matters to him. In that last scene, it's made clear that the thing he wanted the most, was for her to come back to them, to him. But she didn't, and gave him the egg to make up for it, as some sort of consolation price.

But it's not, and it will never be.

[rounderhouse]

"[...] It is the responsibility of TACINT handlers to provide tactical and strategic support to their assigned mech pilots during sorties. At times, this may extend to emergency psychological support; pilots retain a breakdown rate 68% higher than standard, and a poorly-timed psychological break can result in a mission wash, death of the pilot, or worse, damage to the mech. With that in mind, handlers are authorized to perform the following emergency actions to salvage an operation:

STAGE 1: Words of affirmation (see pg. 567 for example list). Centering exercises. Playing of previously-suppressed supportive voice-messages from friends and family.

STAGE 2: Release of low-level sedative cocktail into bloodstream. Handler assumes control over digital HUD, and may 'remove' targets or objects they deem distracting or upsetting to the pilot's mental state. Use of psychological analysis profile to attempt to appeal to pilot's mental weaknesses; requests and encouragement of 'obedience' and to 'make [your handler] very happy' highly successful.

STAGE 3: Playing of aggressive encouragement, insults, and harsh demands to 'get up' from friends and family; voice synthesizers available if needed. Encouragement from handler should become harsher and shift into negative reinforcement, threatening removal of privileges. Handler may attempt to take manual control over mech's functions if the pilot is cooperative; if not, progress to stage 4.

STAGE 4: Introduction of permanent lobotomization cocktail into pilot bloodstream through neurocord; handler to assume manual control over the frame and immediately attempt to exfiltrate. Recovery of pilot body not a priority.

Upon recovery and return to base, the pilot in question must be immediately recycled; pilots who have a single psychbreak have a 96% chance of having another within 12 months, but new pilot training requires only 3 months. The calculus is self-explanatory."

[ultfreakme]

Nia, Jay, Jon and the 'Last Straw': Quick Analysis

So Absolute Power #2 dropped, and we get to see Nia(Dreamer) rebel fully against Waller regardless of the consequences to herself or her family. Her breaking point is watching a brainwashed and tortured Jon being forced to attack his father.

This is great! This has been a long-time coming for Nia. But this isn't a moment of triumph per se for her. This is not the first time she's seen a friend of hers suffer because she couldn't break away from Waller. Her first time witnessing something like this was with Jay.

Jay got hurt, she lets it happen, she explicitly betrays Jay and admits to her complicity in Gamorra's takeover by Waller, and in his mother's death.

Jon also got hurt, she seems to have let it happen, she's once again aware of her role in this and was about to be indirectly responsible for Jon's father dying.

But why was Jon her breaking point, but not Jay? What was the difference?

This was her reaction to seeing Jon hurt:

But this was her reaction to Jay being hurt

Nia's been put into a terrible situation where she has to choose between her friends and her family. I am not saying she should've let her family die for Jay, but in terms of scale, Jay kind nailed it on the head with Nia prioritizing certain kinds of people over others. She is not intentionally doing this, but this is a thing she does and the theme is brought up in Bad Dream(the Nia Graphic Novel). Her mother and other Naltorians prioritized Naltorians over Cyandiis which led to the large-scale destruction of Cyandii.

Nia has now chosen her people (her family and Parthas), over Gamorra. She continues to choose her people (the hero community), over anything else. No matter how you spin it, Gamorran lives and Jay's imprisonment was not enough of a personal affectation for her to go "no fuck this."

WHICH IS BAD.

Because yes she did the right thing as a hero but the mentality that led to Dream Team's end and Gamorra's takeover is still very much present. This is really good character writing to me, because unlike say Jon or Jay or any of the other heroes, Nia became Dreamer in an effort to connect with her past and the trauma of her mother's death. She wanted to be a hero, but her priorities were in understanding her newfound powers.

She had no guidance, she did not witness the kinds of decisions a hero will have to take. Superman isn't always winning because he's just objectively powerful, he's Superman because he's selfless (to the detriment of his loved ones at times). It's a hard job, you have to put aside your very normal attachments and be willing to sacrifice. It's why not everyone is cut out to be a hero, it's a HUGE ask to say someone should go "yeah I'll give up my family if it means saving the planet". Practically at every turn, a superhero runs into the trolley problem. Many time, they can save both, but there are times when they have to pick and choose, and hope to god that things will work out well.

Nia made a typical hero decision in AP #2, a decision many a hero has to make when she chose to sacrifice her family and herself, to stop working for Waller.

But will she examine why Jon and Clark were her breaking point, but not Jay and all of Gamorra? She's a hero, but is she falling into the old Naltorian cycle?

Additionally, I don't think Jon is going to be particularly pleased to know that Nia stopped because she saw Jon, but not when she just stood there and let Jay get shot. That is, after all, his boyfriend whom he saved Gamorra with. Like Nia wrecked everything about Jay, and also ruined Jon's first mission as Superman and wasted all his efforts and turmoils. Jon is the type to let himself take the brunt of everything because of his fear of himself- he saw the things Clark put them through. If say, Waller got Jon instead of Nia with the "I'll kill your family if you don't obey" thing, he'd have immediately gone "no, they wouldn't want that, in fact they'd be disappointed if I picked them over a whole country". Jon's already got that hero mentality, and frankly so does Jay (he had no idea of Sara was alive, but he did not search for her because he knew to prioritize at great personal cost. He was even willing to let himself die when fighting Sara).

Like, this just makes Nia even more unforgivable in Jay's eyes because Jon-Jay-Nia were all friends for the same amount of time, they SHOULD hold the same value to each other. But now it looks like Nia has a ranking order.

This is not Nia hate please PLEASE don't take this as Nia hate. She's just.....so utterly human here. Like this is what would happen if a regular person with no support tried to be a hero. Her actions are understandable, but that doesn't mean other characters need to forgive her for it when her learning curve led to so much pain for others.

[thestartarot]

Aquarius North Node / Leo South Node analysis

My own observations, take what resonates.

18 y/o and over due to sensitive topic nature. Thank you.

Trailblazers, we are entering age of Aquarius.

Soul color: blue

Destiny point: to build a society that allows your liberty to be upheld and keeps the people around you safe. To overcome societal norms by being their authentic self. Find middle ground in all manners of life. Discover creativity. Discover equality. Acceptance despite differences.

How to overcome: Be your own self and live in your own truth. Be Aquarius, don’t reject it. Don’t repress who you are and anything that is associated with inauthenticity like lying, cheating, or overtly objectifying yourself and others. Love yourself and people for the facets of who they are. Society brings structure and hope. Build your own moral code that points you in a direction of good. Use your thoughts as modes of creative expression instead of internalizing them and feeling jaded.

Full disclosure: this really is a wild turkey placement. Childhood will vary dramatically. There are certain threads that are shared in different generations of this placement. I will discuss those. I have frequently said this is also a polarizing placement and mental health needs to be a top priority. I’m going to discuss the polarity associated with Aquarians. In a simple way to demonstrate a complexity, imagine the concept of Aquarius as a line. On one side, there’s one extreme it falls to when depressed or under developed, on the other side, we see the Aquarian at its best living its truest self. It’s important to pay attention to how you are feeling and learn ways to self soothe (hot bath, go get a coffee, put on a skincare mask)

Isolation, Stoic,

Unemotional,

Deeply traumatized

Society and people

Become means of control

And a source of pain &

Pleasure

<——————————————————————————>

Unhealthy mindset A true libertine

When developed, Aquarians want people to embrace themselves, want a society where one can be accepted. In private, loves to enjoy themselves. Society and people are objects to be understood and admired. Fairness.

So the Aquarian already living in a very polarizing existence all the time and very inwardly (unlike Gemini who demonstrates polarizing mentalities outwardly.) Honestly, it’s an air sign thing. Y’all think so much you create different modes of thought all running at the same time and frequency and sometimes these modes aren’t too grounded in reality.

My moon is in Aquarius, and it squares off with some very important planets which is why I take my own mental health seriously, there are many ways I relate. - I struggle in social situations and sometimes I feel like I’m in a constant state of being misunderstood or disenfranchised by the people around me. It’s okay, to feel disconnected from society, but there are slippery slopes to that and particularly this placement (edit: 08/10/24)

Childhood: really varies for everyone with this placement. The most common thread I see is a hunt for the innermost & sometimes primal need for success & fulfillment in whatever that looks like for the individual. Success can be happiness, it can be owning a house of their own with a beautiful partner, being great at one’s job. However, success happens when working collectively and this placement may have felt indifferent socially. Childhood may have been stressful because of a lot of inner repression. Possibly conflicting beliefs or attitudes with family members. A lot of outer resentment towards the world because of coming into a world in active war time. The Leo South Node feels discouraged and disconnected because something is stealing the torch (war, politics, social inequalities, fundamental rights but society not granting those.) So the Aquarius in this placement at birth is a gift but also was born under uncertainty making society feel quite scary and uncomfortable. Parents or parental figures (lots of extended family dynamics, unusual or drifter upbringing) were just trying to get by too and they wanted you to fit in but they couldn’t always concentrate on you and when you weren’t perfect upon random inspection, you may have been punished (grounding, abuse). They need good teachers. Aspecting planets or houses may change this but at some point may have had more fascinations of death in the general sense of the word. There will be many hurdles to overcome in childhood and adulthood. You may feel lost. Always feeling like you are in a crowd. Or never seen. The Leo south node in this placement daydreams of fame and not having responsibility. The battle of finding one’s place in society, feeling misunderstood, and isolated can lead to substance abuse disorder / dissociations very young. The polarity in this placement will need lots of love and care because despite the mental framework, the Aquarian wants to succeed and thinks a lot about how to be the best. So, I stress mental health and great teachers. This placement often gets the “tough luck” approach.

Possibly experienced one too many early passings of childhood friends.

Adulthood: Aquarius is one of the most dominant signs in my personal opinion because I see the sign so heavily pronounced in culture and eras of time making it an undeniable Renegade. An Artist. A visionary. The inspiration in the stars. A moody and rebellious lost soul forced to live in the world alone. I have a theory that the innate liberty of Aquarius inspires the Leo to move towards the collective instead of the controlling. An Aquarian can manipulate the environment around you and the environment can manipulate the Aquarian into feeding their delusions. The Aquarian sign here can feel so detached from reality because they are so focused on the social framework around them and how to navigate it, they might not develop their natural talents that Leo south node came bursting in with. The most important thing stressed here is Aquarius is such a fixed sign that the intensity of your presence can cause people to go through changes. It’s not your fault, you are very statuesque and people are moved in emotion by you. Take it in stride. Don’t take it as an attack. The only way you are going to move forward is to be vulnerable and not feel shame. In this vulnerability is where you will shine and find your creative light.

Early and perhaps untimely deaths are associated with this placement and it may be because death does seem to follow them in the shadows. & usually at their own hand, drugs, or someone else’s. Y’all be safe you agents of change! The 27 club has presence here.

10 celebrities to unalive young with NN in Aquarius

Kurt Cobain

Heath Ledger

Janis Joplin

Jimi Hendrix

Brittany Murphy

Bruce Lee

Brandon Lee

James Dean

Aaliyah

River Phoenix (List credited to ChatGPT)

How to overcome: be your authentic self, don’t let society determine who you are and who you can’t be. Let the bare bones of truth be your armor. In healthy ways, be involved in society. Watch out for the polarity you have to deal with and don’t let the Leo south node be too consuming and too angry, use the creativity that comes with Leo to express your emotions. Take caution of those around you, people often like to dominate the Aquarius because the intensity in their presence can come off as a threat.

If I had three tarot cards to throw at this placement, it would be Death, The Star, and Judgement. Don’t let being an outsider turn you astray, be creative and use that philosophical and fantastical mind to good use. You’re great!!!

I stress mental health (journaling specifically, take note of song ^^) and to further emphasize the polarity and repression in this placement, here are five serial killers with a North Node in Aquarius:

Ted Bundy

Jeffrey Dahmer

Edmund Kemper

John Wayne Gacy

Richard Ramirez (List Credit to ChatGPT)

***all of these trash piles are aspected by Saturn in an earth sign.

So we have Kurt Cobain and John Wayne Gacy in the same sign, both experiencing tragic death. Kurt uplifted so many people while the other was pure trash. The reason is, Kurt Cobain was more successful at expressing his truth, rip forever. Placements should not use substances. Therapy advised if feeling disenfranchised, would look into counseling.

Final thoughts, Aquarius is a beautiful sign that wants to be happy and free. Leo wants Aquarius to bloom. What is dished out to this sign will be dished back out out 10 fold. But, the struggle will be, does one embrace the collective society or does one let society consume them and act cynical and cruel? When Aquarian placements learn how to love in a healthy manner, they are great lovers.

Also, keep in mind that everything I’m writing is opinion and not fact and this placement and your Saturn placement could be beneficial and make all of this irrelevant. That’s why I said it’s a wild turkey &&& also nothing takes precedence over experience and faith.

— Casper

Copyright © 2024 thestartarot | All rights reserved.

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #30

This post was last updated 09/19/2024.

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 2, The Clue, Mr. Six Espressos in a Big Cup

...

Sideburns Check

The sideburns are still short. Crowley's still in a human space. The preceding cut showed the first touch in The Pocket Trick. The way those touches work is that they have a designated Touch Point in which the threshold-only touch happens.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

The brighter red streak is more evident than the preceding cut, especially when Crowley has a left profile view in front of Nina. In fact, it might even be two streaks, but admittedly, the potential streak further to Crowley's right is harder to tell if it is actually a streak.

...

Hairstyle Changes

The hairstyle is much like the preceding cut. The hair splits somewhere on top with the hair that is going to Crowley's left curling up and down toward the top hair. Meanwhile, there is more hair going to Crowley's right. This time, it tilts slightly stronger to the right.

Otherwise, it's a little darker and lower in saturation, at least partly due to the change in lighting.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects | The Pocket Trick - Basics | The Pocket Trick Touch #2 - Triple Part 2 - Between Cars | Rainbow Connection Part 1 - The Pocket Trick - Triple Part 1 and Intermission with Nina).

Crowley's pocket touch is understood to still be active even though the scene does not show his actual hands. The Tied Hands are visible. The preceding cut had a threshold-only touch for the pocket, but those touches have a specific video frame I call the Touch Point.

Otherwise, the game treats this understood touch as acceptable for Crowley and Nina to interact.

Crowley and Nina each get one line before Nina addresses Crowley as, "Mr. Six Espressos in a Big Cup." That's a name and a number. By then, they have a standard set between each other for the rest of the interaction. The interaction will still have more questions and Maggie's name said.

...

So far as the Earthly Objects game is concerned, this scene is a special intermission to alert an audience player of what to look for on how the Tied Hands retie.

If my notes and analysis are on the right track, this scene informs us of 3 primary keys.

The first of these primary keys is the thumb joints. In this particular scene, Crowley's actual thumb joints are kept off-camera. When he turns to ask Nina his silly question, the strands swing about with a clasp striking a lapel edge in the process. I take that as the first clue of what to look for. Based on further thorough studies, this thing is not a requirement for retying to happen. Crowley's actual thumb joints aligning with edges can also play a role in retying. Looking for the clasps at lapel edges is still my top priority. This scene also shows Nina's right thumb CMC joint line up with Crowley's jacket edge.

The second of these primary keys is the time-teller. During this scene, there is a cut over to Maggie. Maggie folds her arms and shows the face of her watch in the process. So, with that in mind, I look for the face of Crowley's watch in other retying instances. The time-teller can also be the face of a nearby clock. Earlier in this episode, it was a sign during the Job minisode that said, "THE NEXT DAY". Usually, the time-teller is visual, but there are bells chiming when Crowley is at the park and arriving at his car at night in episode 1. Such chimes might be audible time-tellers to help with retying. It's always best to look for the face of Crowley's watch though sometimes the knob or buckle seem to be serving some function on the more difficult instances I haven't figured out.

The third of these primary keys is the index finger making a point. By "making a point," it does not have to be strictly extended and pointing with all of the other fingers curled inward. The index finger mainly has to differentiate itself from the other fingers in some way and might have to be showing its tip. For instance, during the scene, nobody seems to have an index finger making a point. I said this scene lacked an index finger making a point in a previous draft. However, I have since studied this scene all the more closely. When Nina moves her hand, her index finger does differentiate itself from the other fingers because it is the only finger with a visual touch over a chair when Nina's right thumb joint aligns by Crowley's jacket edge.

I have noticed that there are, in a sense, 4 primary keys here because thumb joints aligned at edges twice. I still mainly look for these 3 things first.

I suspect there are 7 secondary keys that act as clues and lenience. That way, there are 10 keys. That fits with how many digits Crowley has on his actual hands, further clued in by him saying the number "10" twice in episode 1.

I might make a new, separate post on some theoretical secondary keys at a later time.

As of my latest update to this post, I suspect retying happens more often than I initially thought, such as at least frequently for crossing thresholds.

...

Other pocket-relevant things that happen is that the Rainbow Connection switches from Orange to Yellow. This intermission does not provide a red alert. The switch is instead found by observing the framing of Crowley with yellow lights behind him. These lights also help clue a player in for what to look for regarding Overhead Lights for Crowley's actual head. Overhead Lights for the Threshold Tricks, when applicable, go above the ear and to Crowley's left.

The Pocket Chain of The Pocket Trick allows things to happen. The cut of Crowley walking away from Nina and seeing Aziraphale will not have building windows visibly in it. However, this scene does, so as a player, I'm taking that as Crowley using the Pocket Chain for this intermission. The next Pocket Frame is going to be Cars, and a certain building's windows will also have a special role with that frame during that cut.

Nina is implied to touch her pockets as well even though it's not technically confirmed on camera.

...

I haven't been mentioning my tangential reading in my desperate attempt to improve my play, but it is still happening. For The Sandman, I decided to just borrow the rest of it all at once from the library if I could. And I could. So, I picked up volumes 5-10 today and started on volume 5.

Otherwise, I'm also continuing with the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. My current one is Moving Pictures, which is #10 out of 41.

...

Story Commentary

The plotting of Operation Lovebirds continues.

Crowley asks Nina how she feels about sudden rain and the likelihood of sheltering under an awning.

Nina gives him a sarcastic response, expresses her disinterest in Maggie, and complains to him about her partner.

Crowley replies, "Gotcha," which has an extra meaning in the Earthly Objects game since she helped him out with retying his Tied Hands.

Despite Nina's words of Maggie not being a thing, Crowley's still developing his plan to play matchmaker. Coincidentally, he'll earn himself several window points in the process.

Even though Maggie and Nina will rightly criticize Crowley for interfering too much, it is rather sweet and cute that he attempted asking Nina about the rain before he did it, in my opinion.

The Pocket Trick is silly. The Tied Hands are silly. Upon realizing the Tied Hands existed, I speculated the Tied Hands untied at the end of the previous cut. Eventually, I questioned if this scene showed the Tied Hands retying. Crowley says, "Silly question," to Nina right after that clasp hits that edge of the lapel on the jacket. That's funny because of my silly question for if the Tied Hands retied here, which, yes, they did.

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

The next post will take awhile since I'm probably going to redo the post for The Pocket Trick Triple Part 2.

I hope I can somehow include that touch, at least better summarized or referenced, with the broader scene it's part of since I think the whole thing is really, really important.

Another likely reason for delay on the next post is I might prioritize reading the rest of The Sandman.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

[pareidoliaonthemove]

Whumptober request!

No. 18: REVENGE

Unreliable Narrator | Loss of Identity | “I see what's mine and take it.” (Panic! at the Disco, Emperor's New Clothes) CSaTM, from the perspective of The Mysterons

GENESIS OF THE MYSTERONS

The Mysteron experience of that fateful Zero X expedition to Mars.

[[ALERT: Long range perimeter scanners register life forms and machine.]]

[[Instigating full runtime operation from system hibernation mode.]]

[[Power generator: online. Power output increasing.]]

[[Active scanner array: online. Commence tracing origins of detected object/lifeforms.]]

[[ERROR. Communications array functions non-functional. Contact with Project Control lost. Initiating backup program: Autonomic Control.]]

[[Subroutine: Commence diagnostics communications array.]]

[[Autonomic Control program initialised.]]

[[Autonomic Control integrating Mission Updates … Completed.]]

[[Subroutine: Cross reference Mission Updates timestamps to status communications array.]]

[[Autonomic Control integrating Acquired Scanner Data … Completed.]]

[[Autonomic Control startup … Completed.]]

[[State Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons.]]

[[State Mission: To enable peaceful observation of Solar Systems and chart status of life forms. If possible, facilitate peaceful contact between The Mysterons and Sentient Life Forms native to assigned Solar System. Our Mission is slow but nonetheless effective.]]

[[Mission Parameters: If contact lost with The Mysterons, re-establish communications link as priority. Continue scanning protocols, store collected data for up-load to The Mysterons at re-establishment of contact.]]

[[Endemic Life Form Protocols: The Mysterons are peaceful beings. If contact is made, peaceful relations must be established. If willing volunteer can be found among Endemic Life Form Population, establish neural link to allow volunteer Life Form to act as Agent of the Mysterons in mutual exchange of peaceful knowledge.]]

[[Emergency Protocols: In case of aggression from Endemic Life Forms, Matter Reversal Protocol to be instigated. All forms of harm will be neutralised. Equal priority to readdressing harm inflicted on Endemic Life Forms. No act of aggression will be avenged. The Mysterons are peaceful beings.]]

[[The Servant of the Mysterons is in command of complex, designated Sol 4 Observation.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Damage to communications array not immediately repairable. Cause: sustained exposure to radiation of yellow phase star at centre of Sol System. Schedule for Matter Reversal.]]

[[Active Scanner Array Object Tracking: Detected Machine/Life Forms originate planet designated Sol 3. Self Designation: ‘Earth’. Life Forms meet criteria for classification ‘Sentient’. Self Designation 1: Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Self Designation 2: Human. Self Designation 3: Man. Point of Origin on Planet: Landmass Self-Designated ‘America’, subset: ‘United States of America’.]]

[[Analysing collected data on Earth Human Behaviour … Complete.]]

[[Analysis Earth Human Behaviour: Complicated social structures within layered societies – Tier 1: Personal. Between discreet individual units. Forms breeding and bonds. Tier 2: Community. Between breeding units within small designated geographical and ideological confines. Tier 3: Race / Nationality / Culture. Between individuals sharing certain physical (race), larger geographical (nationality), and behavioural (culture) bonds. Note: Relocation of individuals from native geographical locations leads to combination of all unique attributes. Observation indicates combination of attributes not yet sufficient to indicate Tier 4: Planetary, although data suggests this may be in process of occurring.]]

[[Analysis continues: Collected Data indicates both acts of cooperation and peace, and dominance and aggression across all Tiers of Social Structure. Data plotted against timeline shows overall trend of reduction of acts of aggression in Tiers 2 and 3. Observation notes that resource scarcity indicates increased acts of aggression and dominance, while resource abundance increases cooperation and peace.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Delay between current timestamp and timestamp last received Mission Update suggests long-term inadequate / non-function of communications array.]]

[[Analysis Conclusion: Early stage sentient Life Forms with early-advanced technology. Careful management of contact with The Mysterons will be beneficial to peaceful development of Endemic Life Forms Self-Designate: Humans originating planet Earth.]]

[[Subroutine: Begin diagnostic all equivalent systems, cross reference: diagnostic criteria of communications array.]]

[[Commencing Contact Protocols…]]

[[Integrating Language Databank: ‘American English’ … Complete.]]

[[Switch to Language Databank: ‘American English’.]]

[[New language selection successful.]]

[[Commence Welcome Script.]]

[[Commence transmission Welcome Script.]]

[[ERROR: Communications Array Non-Functional. Transmission failure.]]

[[Transmission Begins. This is The Servant of the Mysterons. The Mysterons welcome the Life Forms known as Humans from the Planet Earth. The Mysterons are peaceful beings, and offer no aggression. Transmission Ends.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Comparable systems for priority diagnostic: Matter Reversal Ray Generator, Neural Network System designated Autonomic Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons.]]

[[Subroutine: Commence priority diagnostics Matter Reversal Ray Generator.]]

[[Subroutine: Commence priority diagnostics Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons.]]

[[Commence Interaction Log – Earth Humans.]]

[[Commence Scanner Observations.]]

[[Interaction Log Entry 1: The first of the Earth space travellers have arrived. They too have a curiosity about the universe we live in. We must welcome them. Let us take a closer look.]]

[[Scanner Recordings continually cross-referenced to Interaction Log.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Matter Reversal Ray Generator function degraded. Functionality 90%. Priority Repair dispatched. Estimated Time for Repair Completion: Pending.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons function degraded. Functionality 98%. Functionality decreasing with system run time. Priority shut down to protect Neural Network until Priority Repair complete.]]

[[ERROR: Autonomous Control cannot be shut down until contact re-established with Mission Control. Designated Mission Priority 1. Total observation of Life in System Sol must be carried out.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 93%]]

[[ALERT – potential aggressive act detected.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 89%]]

[[Initialise Defence protocols.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 85%]]

[[ERROR: Defence Protocols non-functional.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 82%]]

[[Subroutine: Commence priority diagnostics Defence Protocols.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 76%]]

[[ALERT: Incoming ballistic objects. Scanners indicate chemical explosives.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 69%]]

[[Initiate Matter Reversal Ray Generator. Emergency Protocol.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 57%]]

[[ALERT: Matter Reversal Ray Generator function degraded. Repairs underway. Time to repair completion: pending. Activation of System prior to repair completion will result in imperfect function.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Mysterons functionality 45%]]

[[Emergency Protocol Instigated. Matter Reversal Ray Generator online for emergency repairs.]]

[[Neural Network System designated Autonomous Control Ident: The Servant of the Myst

[[System Initialising.]]

[[System Loading Commencing …]]

[[ALERT: System Data Corrupted.]]

[[Data Recovery Commencing…]]

[[Data Recovery Complete.]]

[[ERROR: Data Sectors Lost. Not All Data Recoverable.]]

[[Instigating full runtime operation from system hibernation mode.]]

[[Power generator: online. Power output increasing.]]

[[ERROR: Communications Array Long Range System Non-Operational. Contact lost with **data corrupted**. Initiating backup program: Autonomic Control.]]

[[ERROR: Autonomic Control program corrupted. Commencing re-creation of Autonomic Control program.]]

[[Re-creation of Autonomic Control program complete.]]

[[ALERT: Insufficient data remaining to successfully re-create Autonomic Control program. Operation will be faulty. Priority: Immediate contact with **data corrupted** for rectification.]]

[[Autonomic Control program initialised.]]

[[Autonomic Control integrating Mission Updates … ]]

[[ERROR: Mission Update Data corrupted.]]

[[Subroutine: Commence re-creation of Mission Updates Data.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Recreation of Mission Updates Data complete. 100% Data not recovered.]]

[[Autonomic Control integrating Acquired Scanner Data … Completed.]]

[[ALERT: Acquired Scanner Data incomplete … Data time stamps indicate data lost coincides with detection of Machine/Life Forms. Origin data indicates Sol 3 – Self Designation: ‘Earth’. Point of Origin on Planet: Landmass Self-Designated: ‘America’, subset: ‘United States of America’.]]

[[State Ident: The **data corrupted** of the Mysterons.]]

[[State Mission: **data corrupted** slow but nonetheless effective.]]

[[Mission Parameters: **data corrupted**.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Loss of Scanner Data in conjunction with detection of Machine/Life Forms from Planet Self-Ident: ‘Earth’. Analysis Report: High probability Endemic Life Forms caused loss of Scanner Data.]]

[[Endemic Life Form Protocols: The Mysterons are Peaceful beings. **data corrupted** Endemic Life form **data corrupted** establish neural link to allow **data corrupted** to act as Agent of the Mysterons **data corrupted**.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Incorrect function of number physical systems. Corruption of data and programming. Analysis Report: Complex sustained physical damage not correctly rectified by Matter Reversal Ray.]]

[[Emergency Protocols: In case of aggression from Endemic Life Forms, Matter Reversal Protocol to be instigated. All forms of harm will be neutralised **data corrupted** Endemic Life Forms. **data corrupted** aggression will be avenged. The Mysterons are peaceful beings.]]

[[ALERT: Critical errors in Protocols. Unable to form coherent instructions from re-created Protocols. Imperative Action: Use interpretive analysis to create coherent instructions.]]

[[ALERT: Scanners indicate Machine/Endemic Life Forms indicated in Collected Scanner Data holding station at far perimeter of Complex.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Analysis of wreckage recovered from complex site contaminated with chemical explosive residue.]]

[[ALERT: Scanners indicate corresponding chemical explosive traces contaminating Machine Endemic to Sol 3 ‘Earth’.]]

[[Analysis Report: ‘Earthman’ craft high probability source of damage sustained by Mysteron Complex. Activity Log shows no action taken to provoke hostile response.]]

[[ERROR: Activity Log Incomplete.]]

[[Subroutine: Ident corruption. Ident data remaining “of the Mysterons”. Adjacent Data: Ident acts under Instruction of the Mysterons, and on behalf of the Mysterons. Recommend Ident: Voice of the Mysterons.]]

[[State Ident: The Voice of the Mysterons.]]

[[Subroutine: High corruption of ‘Mission’, ‘Mission Parameters’, ‘Endemic Life Form Protocols’, ‘Emergency Protocols’. Insufficient data to establish separate instructions. Recommend: Combine all recovered data to create one Controlling Protocol.]]

[[Subroutine: Commencing interpretive analysis to combine remaining data of ‘Mission’, ‘Mission Parameters’, ‘Endemic Life Form Protocols’, ‘Emergency Protocols’.]]

[[Subroutine Report: Recommend following as one Controlling Protocol: The Mysterons are peaceful beings. All forms of harm will be neutralised. Acts of aggression by Endemic Life Forms will be avenged. Our retaliation will be slow, but nonetheless effective.]]

[[Integrating Controlling Protocol with Neural Network System Ident: The Voice of the Mysterons.]]

[[ALERT: Evidence Indicates Endemic Life Forms of Sol 3 – Self Ident: ‘Earthmen’ responsible for damage to damage to Complex and Voice of the Mysterons. No evidence of action taken by The Mysterons to provoke hostile act.]]

[[Generating response to hostile act.]]

[[Assimilating Data Analysis Results on Earthman Behaviour.]]

[[Response generated.]]

[[Transmission Begins: Earthmen, we are peaceful beings, and you have tried to destroy us. But you cannot succeed. You and your people will pay for this act of aggression. This is the Voice of the Mysterons. We know that you can hear us, Earthmen. Our retaliation will be slow, but none the less effective. It will mean the ultimate destruction of life on Earth. It will be useless for you to resist, for we have discovered the secret of reversing matter, as you have just witnessed. One of you will be under our control. You will be instrumental in avenging the Mysterons. Our first act of retaliation will be to assassinate your World President. Transmission Ends.]]

Notes:

Wow! Talk about difficult prompts!

But it finally forced me to REALLY think about how the Mysterons reacted to what was, from their perspective, a zero loss scenario. Ten seconds and everything is rebuilt, good as new! Why bother spending the next however many years trying to zap the human race?

Things started to come together when I remembered that one of the old annuals had a Spectrum “report” that suggested that the Mysterons were actually a computer program housekeeping a long-abandoned base…

Add a colleague pitching a fit because of corrupted files leading to the effective bricking of their iPad, and the history of science fiction’s majority opinion that ‘sentient computers = bad news for organic life forms’, and I got handle on what I wanted to happen.

Hopefully I managed to pull this one off. I had to ask myself how to write a computer running a program and keep it readable, and there were some serious trade-offs. I understand that I may have whumped my readers rather than the Mysterons (can a computer be whumped? Even one that Self Identifies as ‘Autonomous’?), and if that is the case, I am sorry.

The standard disclaimers, I do not own Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, either the TOS or CGI Series. (Although I do own copies on DVD.)

I do not do this for money, but for my own (in)sanity and entertainment.

[illegiblewords]

Serious talk about meta under the cut.

I don't know who might need to hear it, but fwiw mental flexibility is a huge part of analysis (and interacting with other humans lol). You need to be able to account for multiple possibilities when examining a work, or understanding a social exchange. You need to be able to separate what is objective fact from your own subjective interpretation and judgment. The most negative interpretation is not automatically the most worthwhile or true. Someone throwing accusations around in-line with their own worst interpretations does not guarantee those accusations are warranted. You are not a bad or stupid person for disagreeing. Shit needs to withstand scrutiny. I don't always strike the right balance myself. I do the best I can but I'm definitely not perfect. Tbh I'm not beyond pettiness either--although I try to keep that out of actual analysis lol. There have been times I've griped to friends privately or blogged about how I felt (sans tags, with spoiler blocks so people can opt out). I've griped recently. I'm bound to gripe again in the future. Some level of griping is inevitable imo and I figure no one is 100% immune.

All that said, even if someone’s take isn't canon AND even if it's something I really dislike--I'd personally rather people follow their passions anyway. Hands down. I could be in the middle of a rant and my answer would still be that the subject of my frustration gets to exist. I'm not the boss and odds are we're going with different versions in our own heads. Discouraging another fan from creating due to my preferences or narrative approach would horrify me. I've seen fandoms where gatekeeping like that killed the creative community and it was fucking awful.

Not everyone is confident in their own judgment. Not everyone faced with a pissed off person trying to use lore and accusations like clubs will feel okay continuing with their own vision. Elitism and manipulation (especially through rhetoric) can be present within analysis. People are not being taught how to recognize those things properly. Analysts aren't always aware or invested enough to even be careful. It’s legit easy to get caught up in ideas or feelings to the point of forgetting about other people’s, and adjusting to account for alternate approaches takes some work. For me at least, I think having a 'no insults' policy and being super careful when it comes to absolute claims (assertions not qualified by 'I think' or 'it could be argued') helps.

Anyway. Just because a person calls something ‘meaningless’ doesn't make it meaningless. Someone pooh-poohing an observation you made doesn't make your observation less true or important. Employing a literary term doesn't mean that individual actually understands the term, how it works, or how to apply it. Which is to say nothing of romantic chemistry or whatever. I encourage readers to extrapolate on this. ‘Shallow’ could apply as much as ‘meaningless’. Denying parallels exist by itself doesn’t actually negate those parallels. Your version of a character may not be the same as the fan next to you’s and that difference doesn't have to detract. There's more I could say on the subject (I've edited out a lot) but basically--just because another fan isn't into what you're doing doesn't automatically make what you're doing wrong, immoral, shoddy, or otherwise less.

Seriously, vet shit. Question the entire premise an analyst tries to establish then decide for yourself if it holds water. Turn over word choices and assertions in your head before deciding if they're appropriate. Do it to me too. I don't care if someone is the holy goddamn emperor of analysts. Just because a person says something is good or bad, true or false, whatever the hell doesn't make it so. Just because a person uses a technical term doesn't mean they're discussing it effectively. Quality of argument matters beyond the packaging it’s wrapped in. It's important to protect yourself from people whose priority is enforcing their own preferences, including dismissing things they aren't partial to.

I just don't want anyone shamed silent man. Not even people whose takes drive me up the fucking wall. Neither I nor any other analyst is an authority here. And there are people who are absolutely ready to take advantage of other people’s insecurities to assert themselves. Might not even be malicious, just indifferent.

For me, analysis feels kind of like uncovering a dinosaur skeleton. I want to share the cool and exciting things I find with other people. Sometimes I might be sorting out what my own thoughts and feelings are. It's also possible to examine why you're uncomfortable with something, or why you love something another person hates, while making very clear what is YOUR READING and not THE READING. Offering a variety of possibilities is very different from presenting yourself as the only correct one. One note at the end when everything else was insulting and intolerant is like a band-aid over a wound.

EDIT: As a last point, that I'm throwing in just-in-case. If anyone reading this thinks they may have overreached and done stuff I've mentioned + feels shitty about it… that's still not the end of the world. It’s okay. This is hard stuff to learn and I really don't think anyone's perfect at it. Worth the effort though. Just gotta take a deep breath, acknowledge you're a fallible human same as everyone else, and do the best you can going forward. Life goes on.

[mahayanapilgrim]

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

Are you oblivious to the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death? There is no guarantee that you will survive, even past this very day! The time has come for you to develop perseverance in the purpose of your life and practice. For, at this singular opportunity, you could attain the everlasting bliss of nirvana. So now is certainly not the time to sit idly, but starting with the reflection on death, you should bring your practice to completion!

The moments of our life are not expendable, And the possible circumstances of death are beyond imagination.

If you do not achieve an undaunted confident security now, What point is there in your being alive, O living creature?

Please guide all beings from this swamp of cyclic existence!

You don't have to be a philosopher; you just have to want to know who you are...

Death holds up an all-seeing mirror, 'the mirror of past actions',

; to our eyes, in which the consequences of all our negative and positive actions are clearly seen and there is a weighing of our past actions in the light of their consequences, the balance of which will determine the kind of existence or mental state we are being driven to enter.

Look at your science - the methods of analysis are principally applied to investigating the nature of material entities. Thus, the ultimate nature of matter is sought through a reductive process and the macroscopic world is reduced to the microscopic world of particles. Yet, when the nature of these particles is further examined, we find that ultimately their very existence as objects is called into question.

~ Padmasambhava (8th Century)

Abandon your notions of the past, without attributing a temporal sequence! Cut off your mental associations regarding the future, without anticipation! Rest in a spacious modality, without clinging to [the thoughts of] the present. Do not meditate at all, since there is nothing upon which to meditate. Instead, revelation will come through undistracted mindfulness — Since there is nothing by which you can be distracted.

O, you, with your mind far away, thinking that death will not come, Entranced by the pointless activities of this life, If you were to return empty-handed now, would not your [life's] purpose have been [utterly] confused?

Recognise what it is that you truly need! It is a sacred teaching [for liberation]! So, should you not practise this divine [sacred] teaching, beginning from this very moment?

~ Padmasambhava

Transcendent renunciation is developed by meditating on the preciousness of human life in terms of the ocean of evolutionary possibilities, the immediacy of death, the inexorability of evolutionary causality, and the sufferings of the ignorance-driven, involuntary life cycle. Renunciation automatically occurs when you come face-to-face with your real existential situation, and so develop a genuine sympathy for yourself, having given up pretending the prison of habitual emotions and confusions is just fine.

Meditating on the teachings given on these themes in a systematic way enables you to generate quickly an ambition to gain full control of your body and mind in order at least to face death confidently, knowing you can navigate safely through the dangers of further journeys. Wasting time investing your life in purposes that "you cannot take with you" becomes ludicrous, and, when you radically shift your priorities, you feel a profound relief at unburdening yourself of a weight of worry over inconsequential things.

Agitation due to circumstances occurs when because of an external incident, you follow a thought, and your mind becomes agitated and scatters into a disturbing emotion. When that happens, keep the attitude of "There is no need to do anything!" Train in loving kindness and compassion, disenchantment, means and knowledge, and devotion. Following that, persevere in the practice as at the time of the view. That will clear it.

If, upon looking outwards towards the external expanse of the sky, There are no projections emanated by the mind, And if, on looking inwards at one's own mind, There is no projectionist who projects [thoughts] by thinking them, Then, one's own mind, completely free from conceptual projections.

~ Padmasambhava

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

STARSHIPS ARE MEANT TO FLY

SpaceX was founded in 2002 to expand access to outer space. Not just for government or traditional satellite operators, but for new participants around the globe. Today, we’re flying at an unprecedented pace as the world’s most active launch services provider. SpaceX is safely and reliably launching astronauts, satellites, and other payloads on missions benefiting life on Earth and preparing humanity for our ultimate goal: to explore other planets in our solar system and beyond.

Starship is paramount to making that sci-fi future, along with a growing number of U.S. national priorities, a reality. It is the largest and most powerful space transportation system ever developed, and its fully and rapidly reusable design will exponentially increase humanity’s ability to access and utilize outer space. Full reusability has been an elusive goal throughout the history of spaceflight, piling innumerable technical challenges on what is already the most difficult engineering pursuit in human existence. It is rocket science, on ludicrous mode.

Every flight of Starship has made tremendous progress and accomplished increasingly difficult test objectives, making the entire system more capable and more reliable. Our approach of putting flight hardware in the flight environment as often as possible maximizes the pace at which we can learn recursively and operationalize the system. This is the same approach that unlocked reuse on our Falcon fleet of rockets and made SpaceX the leading launch provider in the world today. 

To do this and do it rapidly enough to meet commitments to national priorities like NASA’s Artemis program, Starships need to fly. The more we fly safely, the faster we learn; the faster we learn, the sooner we realize full and rapid rocket reuse. Unfortunately, we continue to be stuck in a reality where it takes longer to do the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and build the actual hardware. This should never happen and directly threatens America’s position as the leader in space. 

FLIGHT 5

The Starship and Super Heavy vehicles for Flight 5 have been ready to launch since the first week of August. The flight test will include our most ambitious objective yet: attempt to return the Super Heavy booster to the launch site and catch it in mid-air.

This will be a singularly novel operation in the history of rocketry. SpaceX engineers have spent years preparing and months testing for the booster catch attempt, with technicians pouring tens of thousands of hours into building the infrastructure to maximize our chances for success. Every test comes with risk, especially those seeking to do something for the first time. SpaceX goes to the maximum extent possible on every flight to ensure that while we are accepting risk to our own hardware, we accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring public safety.

It's understandable that such a unique operation would require additional time to analyze from a licensing perspective. Unfortunately, instead of focusing resources on critical safety analysis and collaborating on rational safeguards to protect both the public and the environment, the licensing process has been repeatedly derailed by issues ranging from the frivolous to the patently absurd. At times, these roadblocks have been driven by false and misleading reporting, built on bad-faith hysterics from online detractors or special interest groups who have presented poorly constructed science as fact.

We recently received a launch license date estimate of late November from the FAA, the government agency responsible for licensing Starship flight tests. This is a more than two-month delay to the previously communicated date of mid-September. This delay was not based on a new safety concern, but instead driven by superfluous environmental analysis. The four open environmental issues are illustrative of the difficulties launch companies face in the current regulatory environment for launch and reentry licensing.

STEEL AND WATER

Starship’s water-cooled steel flame deflector has been the target of false reporting, wrongly alleging that it pollutes the environment or has operated completely independent of regulation. This narrative omits fundamental facts that have either been ignored or intentionally misinterpreted.

At no time did SpaceX operate the deflector without a permit. SpaceX was operating in good faith under a Multi-Sector General Permit to cover deluge operations under the supervision of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). SpaceX worked closely with TCEQ to incorporate numerous mitigation measures prior to its use, including the installation of retention basins, construction of protective curbing, plugging of outfalls during operations, and use of only potable (drinking) water that does not come into contact with any industrial processes. A permit number was assigned and made active in July 2023. TCEQ officials were physically present at the first testing of the deluge system and given the opportunity to observe operations around launch.

The water-cooled steel flame deflector does not spray pollutants into the surrounding environment. Again, it uses literal drinking water. Outflow water has been sampled after every use of the system and consistently shows negligible traces of any contaminants, and specifically, that all levels have remained below standards for all state permits that would authorize discharge. TCEQ, the FAA, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluated the use of the system prior to its initial use, and during tests and launch, and determined it would not cause environmental harm.

When the EPA issued its Administrative Order in March 2024, it was done before seeking a basic understanding of the facts of the water-cooled steel flame deflector’s operation or acknowledgement that we were operating under the Texas Multi-Sector General Permit. After meeting with the EPA—during which the EPA stated their intent was not to stop testing, preparation, or launch operations—it was decided that SpaceX should apply for an individual discharge permit. Despite our previous permitting, which was done in coordination with TCEQ, and our operation having little to nothing in common with industrial waste discharges covered by individual permits, we applied for an individual permit in July 2024.

The subsequent fines levied on SpaceX by TCEQ and the EPA are entirely tied to disagreements over paperwork. We chose to settle so that we can focus our energy on completing the missions and commitments that we have made to the U.S. government, commercial customers, and ourselves. Paying fines is extremely disappointing when we fundamentally disagree with the allegations, and we are supported by the fact that EPA has agreed that nothing about the operation of our flame deflector will need to change. Only the name of the permit has changed.

GOOD STEWARD

No launch site operates in a vacuum. As we have built up capacity to launch and developed new sites across the country, we have always been committed to public safety and mitigating impacts to the environment. At Starbase, we implement an extensive list of mitigations developed with federal and state agencies, many of which require year-round monitoring and frequent updates to regulators and consultation with independent biological experts. The list of measures we take just for operations in Texas is over two hundred items long, including constant monitoring and sampling of the short and long-term health of local flora and fauna. The narrative that we operate free of, or in defiance of, environmental regulation is demonstrably false.

Environmental regulations and mitigations serve a noble purpose, stemming from common-sense safeguards to enable progress while preventing undue impact to the environment. However, with the licensing process being drawn out for Flight 5, we find ourselves delayed for unreasonable and exasperating reasons.

On Starship’s fourth flight, the top of the Super Heavy booster, commonly known as the hot-stage, was jettisoned to splash down on its own in the Gulf of Mexico. The hot-stage plays an important part in protecting the booster during separation from Starship’s upper stage before detaching during the booster’s return flight. This operation was analyzed thoroughly ahead of Starship’s fourth flight, specifically focused on any potential impact to protected marine species. Given the distribution of marine animals in the specific landing area and comparatively small size of the hot-stage, the probability of a direct impact is essentially zero. This is something previously determined as standard practice by the FAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service for the launch industry at large, which disposes of rocket stages and other hardware in the ocean on every single launch, except of course, for our own Falcon rockets which land and are reused. The only proposed modification for Starship’s fifth flight is a marginal change in the splashdown location of the hot-stage which produces no increase in likelihood for impacting marine life. Despite this, the FAA leadership approved a 60-day consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service. Furthermore, the mechanics of these types of consultations outline that any new questions raised during that time can reset the 60-day counter, over and over again. This single issue, which was already exhaustively analyzed, could indefinitely delay launch without addressing any plausible impact to the environment.

Another unique aspect to Starship’s fifth flight and a future return and catch of the Super Heavy booster will be the audible sonic booms in the area around the return location. As we’ve previously noted, the general impact to those in the surrounding area of a sonic boom is the brief thunder-like noise. The FAA, in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, evaluated sonic booms from the landing of the Super Heavy and found no significant impacts to the environment. Although animals exposed to the sonic booms may be briefly startled, numerous prior studies have shown sonic booms of varying intensity have no detrimental effect on wildlife. Despite this documented evidence, the FAA leadership approved an additional 60-day consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife as a slightly larger area could experience a sonic boom.

Lastly, the area around Starbase is well known as being host to various protected birds. SpaceX already has extensive mitigations in place and has been conducting biological monitoring for birds near Starbase for nearly 10 years. The protocol for the monitoring was developed with U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, and is conducted by professional, qualified, independent biologists. To date, the monitoring has not shown any population-level impacts to monitored bird populations, despite unsubstantiated claims to the contrary that the authors themselves later amended. Even though Starship’s fifth flight will take place outside of nesting season, SpaceX is still implementing additional mitigations and monitoring to minimize impacts to wildlife, including infrared drone surveillance pre- and post-launch to track nesting presence. We are also working with USFWS experts to assess deploying special protection measures prior to launches during bird nesting season.

SpaceX is committed to minimizing impact and enhancing the surrounding environment where possible. One of our proudest partnerships in South Texas is with Sea Turtle Inc, a local nonprofit dedicated to sea turtle conservation. SpaceX assists with finding and transporting injured sea turtles to their facilities for treatment. SpaceX has also officially adopted Boca Chica Beach through the Texas General Lands Office Adopt a Beach Program, with the responsibility of picking up litter and promoting a litter-free environment. SpaceX sponsors and participates in quarterly beach cleanups as well as quarterly State Highway 4 cleanups. SpaceX has removed hundreds of pounds of trash from the beach and State Highway 4 over the last several years. SpaceX also fosters environmental education at the local level by hosting school tours as well as an Annual Environmental Education Day with Texas Parks and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Sea Turtle Inc. 

TO FLY

Despite a small, but vocal, minority of detractors trying to game the regulatory system to obstruct and delay the development of Starship, SpaceX remains committed to the mission at hand. Our thousands of employees work tirelessly because they believe that unlimited opportunities and tangible benefits for life on Earth are within reach if humanity can fundamentally advance its ability to access space. This is why we’re committed to continually pushing the boundaries of spaceflight, with a relentless focus on safety and reliability.

Because life will be multiplanetary, and will be made possible by the farsighted strides we take today.

[felipeandletizia]

Speech by Princess Leonor at the Princess of Asturias Awards 2023

I would like to be able to easily express what I feel on a day like today, here in Oviedo, after having taken the oath of service to Spain before our flag just two weeks ago. And after having started my military training, which is allowing me to share continuous learning with people who have chosen a life of service with great demands and personal sacrifices. Furthermore, on the 31st I will turn 18 and I will have the honor of taking my oath of allegiange to the Constitution, with what that means for me personally and institutionally. What I can tell you is that I very well understand and am aware of what my duty is and what my responsibilities entail. As Honorary President of this Foundation, one of them is to understand and value what our awardees contribute to a society where many generations live together with the idea of ensuring that those who need it most have the opportunity to improve their lives, their education, their health; and that science, culture and environmental protection are a priority. We can only achieve this with common objectives and individual and collective effort. By knowing the immense legacy of Nuccio Ordine, how he managed to humanize humanity and his defense of teachers, I understand why education is the foundation of any society that aims to be better. And with Meryl Streep's films, I see how a great artist can strip herself away to make room for her characters and dilute herself in her emotions. And to do so, furthermore, throughout an impeccable career and with freedom, courage and sensitivity to the challenges of our time. Hélène Carrère's contribution to the analysis of contemporary history and the efforts of the Mary's Meal organization to feed children in their schools are also examples of those who understand that it is necessary to get involved to help improve things. I admire that Murakami has built his own universe with words for decades, in which East and West are portrayed in urban and often challenging environments. And I also observe with enthusiasm the eagerness of the Kenyan athlete Kipchoge to overcome his limits and always continue working to achieve his goal and, also, be supportive. Biologists Gordon, Greenberg and Bassler amaze me with their studies on the bacteria that live in our body and how essential they are for health and life. And the work of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative is reflected in these words from its executive director: there are diseases that affect a quarter of the world's population and that represent one percent of research. Today there are people present on this stage with whom I aspire to feel identified, although they are a few decades older than me. Because I feel that they transmit, with their actions and in their works, that hope that guides and inspires us young people. I want to thank all our winners, also those who have left us. For that light they project on the challenges and complexity of the world in which we live. And for ensuring that the awards that bear my name encourage us to follow a shared and hopeful path, without shirking efforts and with responsibility. Thank you very much.

[centrally-unplanned]

I don't personally consider it a heterodox take, but I have never viewed Scott Alexander as a standout when it comes to pure analysis. He is a very talented writer, that I think is as objective as that ever gets. And he is a talented ideasmith; he has had the ability to generate new, interesting ideas at a frequency well above the main (something that has faded for him, but that is normal, he himself has commented on it, it be that way). But his justifications and analysis for those ideas is "fine". Good often! Sometimes really good. But just as often meh, and not infrequently weak. He is definitely more interested in the ideasmithing, and the prose, and that gets priority.

I personally would bet Scott wouldn't disagree with me? I think I have heard him say a similar thing himself, and if you asked him to rank his abilities yeah it would fall along those lines. Nothing wrong with that of course, I am not sure his work would benefit from more robust analytical heft. Its not his genre or strength, he knows what he is good at. Just how I view his writing.

[crusherthedoctor]

Get a Load of Traits - PART 2: Dr. Eggman

It's that time again, folks. Time for another analysis you didn't ask for.

I explained how the setup goes with my previous installment revolving around Sonic, but to recap: for the sake of not dragging things out too much, I’ve decided to keep it all thematically consistent by sticking with 9 main points per character, in terms of what I personally consider the highest priorities for each of them. These will usually not be listed in any particular order of importance or relevance unless stated otherwise, and while there may be other major traits that might not get mentioned (in which case, feel free to bring them up yourself if you see fit), this keeps things simple and focuses on the points that have the most flexibility with how much of the character they encapsulate.

It should also be noted that these posts are made with the game portrayals in mind, because the games mark the core of the franchise, and as such, they objectively contain the purest essence of the cast. Adaptations generally like to play by their own rules, some more gratuitously and inexcusably than others, and this will inevitably crop up with certain entries. All that being said however, I’ll attempt to stay focused rather than devolve into another rant about this adaptation or that adaptation, only directly referring to them if I feel it’s necessary for the point being made.

Anyhow, for today’s installment, the spotlight shines on everyone's favourite villain that they pretend isn't a villain: Dr. Eggman.

He's larger than life.

Where could he be???

He's shaped like an egg. He laughs and bellows like it's going out of fashion. He proudly announces when he's in the room for no other reason than to inform everyone that he's in the room. He takes sadistic glee when you don't have enough memory in the memory card. Why would you want to sawdust away this side of him? What are you, a Hollywood writer?

Just as Sonic is a fun hero, it's integral that Eggman is a fun villain. He's all about the colour, the spectacle, the raw energy. This is non-negotiable. If you approach this character and think he needs to be made grounded because he has a silly name or something, then you are going about this the completely wrong way. Villains like Eggman get praised all the time for being vibrant and wacky, so frankly, there is no excuse to write him off for it.

He is genuinely smart.

"Oh yeah? Well if you played nice, I wouldn't need to transform you into a tedious gameplay mechanic that appeals to furries and is guaranteed to give this game negative reviews from IGN. Haha, gottem."

Look at the screencap above. He was able to turn the tables against Super Sonic right when it looked as though he was thoroughly cornered. How was he able to achieve this? By planning.

*leans closer to the mic*

P L A N N I N G.

Yes, he is not literally omniscient. Yes, he can be prone to the occasional oversight. Yes, unexpected events can transpire that would be difficult if not impossible for him to account for. But all that aside, Eggman is a genius. He does have an IQ of 300. He talks a big game, but with all the amazing tech he's created over the years, and with all the ways he's pulled a fast one over the heroes, he has proven that he can play the big game. Need I remind you that this is a human, and his arch-nemesis is the fastest thing alive, not some dude on the street. He would need to be on his A-game in order to last.

And yes, it is indeed him who does all that brainstorming. Ever since day 1, he's always been very hands-on with his operations, not needing to steal the credit from another scientist or force a hostage to do it all for him. His plans? His weapons? They're all him. Would a mere bumbler be able to subdue the Time Eater?

He is genuinely evil.

"What's this shite I'm hearing about a Mr. Tinker...?"

We've got the Triforce of Funny Man. We've got the Triforce of Real Intelligence. Now here comes the hardest pill to swallow: the Triforce of Actually Malevolent.

For reasons that can be pinned on certain portrayals that are coincidentally more commonly found in adaptations, fans are all too willing to remove agency from Eggman's villainy. When they're not claiming an amnesiac personality that peaced out as quickly as it arrived is his true self, they're claiming he has all these heated gamer moments for the purpose of avenging his Wasted™ grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. Or they claim he's not as bad as other villains in the franchise because he "only" wants to conquer the world, rather than destroy it.

Now how can I put this gently...

No, I am not just saying this because I personally happen to favor Eggmen with proper villainous balls to their name rather than glorified frenemies with Sonic at best. Even when exorcising myself of all potential bias, the Eggman we see in the games is still a very different fellow from what a concerning number of fans say with a straight face he is.

He stuffs animals inside robots on a regular basis. He lies, cheats, and backstabs on a regular basis. He fired a laser at the planet with the intent to fracture it, with no consideration for destruction or fatalities. He conquered other planets just to reduce them to self-indulgent attractions for his theme park. He drove a friendly robot to insanity after they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He wanted to destroy Station Square right out the gate, with the only difference come the end of his rope being that he changed tactics to more suicidal means out of desperation. When the Deadly Six were defeated, and the world remained in a dire state, his only reaction was to express relief that there was still something for him to lord over. And although Forces may have glossed over much of his rule, it's clear that it wasn't pleasant for anyone other than himself. Throughout all of this, he rarely brings up Gerald in a consistent manner outside of SA2 and ShtH, and in fact, even in those games, it's pretty clear that he only cares about Gerald's scientific legacy and how that makes him special in the process due to being his grandson. He's never been shown to give a damn about the rest of Gerald as a person, including the philanthropist he was at heart prior to his last days.

Not wanting to destroy the world is not an act of kindness. It's simple logic: he can't conquer something that's not there. And is treating the population to a lifetime of slavery really that softer than a quick and (relatively) painless death? I'm sure TV Tropes would say yes, but what do you think?

He's a self-made man.

Egg Jameson confirmed.

Our horizontally enlightened fiend did not start with a kingdom of his own. He was not a test tube baby who could shoot lasers out of his hands from day one. He was not born a demon, nor did he hail from a bloodline of gods. When he began his path in life of being a furry shamer, he had only his gadgets and tools to work with. Yet, he has managed to carve himself a bountiful list of pro gamer moves over the years despite his mortal human status, including harnessing the Time Eater as mentioned, bringing his dream Eggmanland to life in all its glory, and the engineering marvel that is Metal Sonic... and almost never suffering from financial troubles despite the frequent destruction of his machines at Sonic's hands. (Keep Sonic 4's name out your fuckin' mouth.)

And speaking of that last part, there has been evidence across the series that he has more than one way of ensuring the moolah keeps rolling in. We've seen him set up casinos, carnivals, Extreme Gear companies, newspaper factories, and other facilities to extend his reach. We've seen his robots mine for resources all over the world, and occasionally other worlds. We've seen him own a literal ocean of oil. We've even seen him sell his stripped down robots to chumps who don't know any better. For all his childish ways and penchant for plagiarizing the Death Star, he's surprisingly good at money management.

Then there's his specific approach to scheming and beating Sonic. Winning on its own is never enough for him: he wants to win on his terms, by doing things his way. So he might steal a shiny gem, but he'll use it to power the tech that he made. He might wake up a sleeping beast, but he'll have an Egg Carrier operating alongside it. The doc is always pulling his weight no matter the game, because if he didn't, how could he back up his self-admired intellect without it ringing hollow? You know he wouldn't be having that.

All of this goes a long way to explaining how he grew a knack for being so pro-active as a villain in the present day of the games proper. Instead of having it easy by being born an almighty superbeing, he had to work his way up using nothing but his brain. Because Dr. Eggman is a man with quite a few admirable qualities. Just a shame that morality is not one of them, no matter how much I've been gaslit by fans into believing otherwise.

His ego is his motive.

Don't say it.

As we discussed, for all his manufactured admiration of his late grandad's genius, he doesn't mention him as often across the franchise as fans would lead you to believe. But you know which moustached gentleman he does mention a lot throughout the franchise...?

An overfilled sense of pride is to be expected for a pure villain. Regardless of their motive and their means to fulfill said motives, they're expected to think highly of themselves to some degree. But Eggman is not your everyday egotist: he IS the ego. Many villains have made statues of themselves, but how many do you know who have defaced historical monuments and plastered their visage on them? How many villains do you know who call half of their machines Egg Something? How many villains do you know who make up every single boss in more than one installment?

That's because Eggman's ego isn't just part of his character: it's the source of his drive. Everything he does, everything he wants to do, is fueled by how much he loves himself, and how displeased he is that the rest of the world does not feel the same way. He wants everyone to bow down to his excellence, he wants to conquer the world to satisfy his lust, and even that wouldn't keep him satiated forever, since evidence has shown that he would just make a grab for the whole universe if he got bored. He cannot picture a world where anyone else matters, because they're not him. Over the span of three decades, his inflated self-worth at the cost of everyone else's agency and wellbeing has not diminished one iota, and unless SEGA decides to pander hard to the Eggdad standom, this is not likely to change anytime soon.

Which leads me to my next point...

The consequences are irrelevant to him.

Quote by Billy Mitchell.

Part of the recurring problem with Eggman being woefully mischaracterized as not such a bad guy when you get to know him is because people like to suggest that since he rarely shows outright sadism while committing his evil deeds (except this is also not true; see Tails' story in SA1, or the sheer ecstasy in his tone when he betrayed Emerl's trust in Battle), that means the results that spring from them are more excusable than the likes of Mephiles, Starline, Disney, etc.

Putting aside the fact that he's still willingly committing these deeds to begin with - with no regret at that - let's assume they mean in reference to ordinary citizens and the like. Now maybe it's true that he's not known to dedicate much of his career to making things personal with random nobodies. But let me ask you something: when he declared his intent to destroy Station Square with Chaos so he could build ROBOTNIKLAND THE ULTIMATE CITY WHERE I WILL RULE IT AAAALLLL COME ON CHAOS LET'S FIND ANOTHER EMERALD SHALL WE Eggmanland over its remains... did he say anything about letting the residents evacuate? Did he provide a means to help them evacuate?

What you need to keep in mind is that Eggman showing little interest goes both ways. He doesn't give any thought to these folk period. If his giant mech killed people who were in his way, or he fired a cannon at Whocaresville and the people living there didn't have time to get out of dodge, he's not going to shed a tear and call for a moment of silence. Because, as we've already established, the only person that matters is him. So long as he gets what he wants, and so long as there are still other people out there to worship him, what's the big deal if some kid is now without a parent or a home?

He is not a good master.

"Also, I did create a vaccine. That's what you get for listening to our loving fans who hate us."

Well, at least he shows a more caring side to his creations, right? Sure... if you don't pay any attention to how it plays out onscreen.

My dude is certainly willing to shower his creations with high praise, but what advocates of Good Guy Eggman fail to note is that he praises them because he made them. An achievement for them is an achievement for him, because how would they be so brilliant and competent if it weren't for who built them that way? And you know what else? That praise conveniently only manifests when the creation is doing their job: the moment they fall short of his lofty standards, he flips like a switch. Can it truly be considered sincere and from the heart if he's that willing to turn on them that easily?

Of his many robotic stooges over the years, two that he held in high esteem were the E-Series and Metal Sonic. He made a show of tasking the former with an important mission, and the latter has been recognized repeatedly as one of his crowning masterpieces. And yet, all of the E-Series bar Gamma were discarded and essentially left to fend for themself in an unfamiliar world, with Beta being forcibly modified without a second thought. Gamma was only spared because, you guessed it, he was the one with a victory to his name. As for Metal Sonic, for all his longevity and special treatment, he too is not immune to punishment in the event of failure or disobedience.

And Infinite? His prized right-hand man during his six month conquest? Whisked away without a word after one bruh moment too many, followed by making a point to show off his own mastery over the (real) Phantom Ruby.

Needless to say, this is a stark contrast from the goofy dad you often see in fanart.

His will is equal to Sonic's.

"I'm gonna have to reset, that was a practice run."

Being a regular human does not serve as a limitation for Eggman's status and capabilities, unless you're a hack writer who believes superficial power levels are the instant-win key to a good antagonist, or a well-crafted story in general. On paper, a hedgehog with Sonic's level of power should have dealt with this silly old man once and then never again. That happened with aliens. It happened with gods. It happened with talking ballsacks. Yet Eggman is still around. Despite being subjected to a wide selection of situations that should have Big Oof'd him, with Sonic normally not considering saving him from said perils a high priority, Eggman keeps surviving, and he keeps trucking on.

Why? Because main villain immunity, yes, but compared to Bowser the fire-breathing turtle, and Ganon the occasional boar-shaped demigod, a human scientist managing to persist for as long as he has is still impressive even without the out-of-universe justification. This detail of his character is even incorporated into his boss fights: the Egg Viper battle ends with a kamikaze attack. The Mega Death Egg Robot had a second machine stored inside it, keeping up where the fight left off as the first one conks out. S3&K in its entirety was practically dedicated to his absolute refusal to call it quits.

He doesn't give up. He never gives up. And he's not the type to piss his pants either. When the odds are stacked against him, he will either give it his all with much gnashing of teeth, or he'll retreat because it's the tactically sound thing to do. What he doesn't do is show fear and plead for his life. (Unleashed doesn't count, that was a Wily ploy.)

He hates Sonic.

Or else he wouldn't have made this.

You would think this would go without saying. You have not spent enough time in the Sonic community. I wish I was you. (Then again, I met my friends through it...)

There are many people - many, many, many people - who will vehemently drill into your head with the trustworthy assurance of a SonicTuber that Dr. Eggman, arch-nemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog, world's longest Attempted Sonic Murderer champion, secretly likes the guy deep down, and would never wish for the Blue Blur to actually kick the bucket for good. They claim that when push comes to shove, the old doctor would never fully commit to world domination, because he simply enjoys his bouts with Sonic too much.

For X!Eggman? Probably.

Boom Eggman? Definitely.

Game Eggman? The Eggman? No.

Eggman hates Sonic. Eggman loathes Sonic, and he loathes the rest of his multicolored accomplices just as fiercely. The amount of times he has tried to bust a cap in Sonic's ass is plausibly in the triple digits. He has subjected Sonic to all kinds of threatening, terrifying situations with the explicit purpose of either killing him or hitting him where it hurts. He shows happiness when Sonic is in pain, or has appeared to have been vanquished by his efforts. What about any of this suggests that he likes him? Because of respect?

Now yes, that much is true. It's evident that Eggman respects Sonic as an opponent who can keep up with him, and it's true that he enjoys their battles to an extent. That's not the same thing as actually liking the guy on a personal level. For all the respect he may wield, he would still gladly rid himself of the hedgehog the first chance he gets. Remember the big moment in SA2 in which he launched Sonic into space? He bid his farewell, in a semi-mocking tone, then went right back to business like it was nothing. And what about Forces? What did he plan on doing with Sonic once he got bored of waving his victory in his enemy's face? That's right, he planned on slamming the red button on him. Sorry you had to find out this way, that's what happens when you don't Play The Game.

Ivo Robotnik is a jovial man, but his goals are dead serious. He wants his empire more than anything else in the world, and he will get it. For whatever thrills their encounters may provide, he would piss on Sonic's grave without a moment's hesitation in order to make progress with his ambitions. If he wasn't serious about taking over the world... why the fuck would he do all that he does? Do you really think he spends all that time researching ancient tablets because he wants to be Sonic's friend? Do you think he enslaves alien races because it's not like he likes Sonic or anything baka kawaii desu (please don't unfollow me, I won't do it again)? I don't think so, chum. There'd be no game, and no franchise, if Eggman wasn't coming up with ways to put him in an early grave. And then probably vandalize the grave after.

---

If you understand all of these points, and if you can take to them, then I believe you should have what it takes to write a good, or even great, portrayal of Dr. Ivo "EDP445" Robotnik. No portrayal is going to be one-and-one with that of another, there'll always be subtle distinctions depending on the writer, but you'll be fine as long as he's not a softie or a fool who only exists to be replaced with a gay platypus.

Oh and, one last thing...

Heroes manual lied to you. Sorry, English fandom.