#sentient plant mode activated | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

t-rex-lapis · 1 year

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So to start off, we have to take a look at where it all began. Plants vs Zombies initially looks like it has a shallow frame plot to justify the presence of plants fighting zombies on both of your lawns and your roof, but when you look deeper, you'll actually see that that is exactly what it is and they explain literally nothing whatsoever. But, there is some things we can learn from this game. First and foremost, the I, Zombie mode shows that both plants and zombies were made by the same company, Bloom and Doom Seed Co. This isn't entirely relevant at the moment, but it will make more sense later when we look at PvZ2. Second, we establish the main antagonist of the games and leader of the zombie faction, Crazy Dave. "Now hold on there Justini," I can hear you saying, "isn't Crazy Dave the leader of the plants? He helps you out a bunch and sells you stuff to help you!" While that initially appears to be the case, digging deeper proves otherwise. Crazy dave tries his hardest to get you killed while still trying to seem like he's on your side so he can manipulate you into getting yourself killed. Just look at the stuff he does in the game: He makes you buy seed packets, seed slots, pool cleaners and roof cleaners, potentially life saving materials, with money that he has literally no use for because there's no way there's a functioning economy during a zombie apocalypse. Additionally, one of these seed packets (gold magnet) is a trap that doesn't help you fight the zombies at all, thus potentially tricking you into getting yourself killed by metal wielding zombies. Furthermore, he gets you to do a lot of very questionable activities while underhandedly sabotaging you, such as making you kill zombies in melee range with a hammer, roll wall nuts at zombies instead of using them for protection, and breaking potentially dangerous vases at melee range with a mallet instead of simply leaving them be. After you defeat zomboss, he undeterredly locks in three of your seed packets, preventing you from performing the optimal strategies and potentially getting you killed. Finally, he also gets you to help the zombies invade your home by making them practice, with the only reward being the money that you shouldn't need to get his stuff anyway. He is undoubtedly, 100%, on the side of the zombies. He even steals a taco, the only item of food you ever find in the game, and eats it while only giving you a diamond that you do not need nearly as much as sustenance in a zombie apocalypse. And don't say "oh, well you have all these plants you can eat", because those are clearly both harmful to eat (for the projectiles, they all explode on contact with anything) and sentient (for the plants themselves) so it would be sheer idiocy and/or cruelty to eat either.

So then, where does that leave Zomboss? Well obviously, it leaves him as the clear sidekick to you on your journey, and there's a plethora of evidence towards that as well. First and foremost, he doesn't send in zombies that could destroy you right away. If he was the true antagonist, he would just send in a couple gargantuars after you repel a few waves and just be done with it. However, he doesn't. He sends the zombies in in a pattern that is always beatable, and sends them in with seed packets so you can repel the next wave and money so you actually have the potential to pay off Crazy Dave for the life saving supplies. The progression of difficulty is just Zomboss playing the facade of trying to stop you while giving you enough time to prepare. He's also the only potential character that could be voicing the "the zombies are coming" that you hear at the start of every level. He warns you about the zombies, because he is your hidden ally.

What this doesn't explain is Crazy Dave's motivations, however. Zomboss can be explained as a human (look at that brain, he's clearly not a zombie) who disguised himself as a zombie and tricks them into failing so he can help save other people. Crazy Dave, however, is an enigma. It's possible that his motivation could simply be malice, or complete insanity, but I suggest a much deeper reasoning. Dave started the zombie apocalypse by releasing the zombies from Bloom and Doom seed Co. so he could be the only human left and therefore not have to share his tacos with anyone

#plants vs zombies #credits too #crazy dave

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tamalesnsuch · 3 years

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Sometimes, you just have to eat bread and listen to jrock while photosynthesizing in the sun.

#vitamin D and carbs makes the world go round #and also... science #let's get this bread and this tan #sentient plant mode activated #existential dread: PRESENT

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hermitcraftheadcanons · 3 years

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Hermitopia Summary Post 1

This is a summary of the starting positions, powers, affiliations, and goals of every Hermit so far in the Hermitopia AU. There will not be summary posts about plot events, since those will move too fast and be too complex to really summarize, but I thought that at this moment in time a solidification of where things stand would make it easier to contribute and understand what’s going on. So, without further ado, Hermits listed by affiliation:

Concorp:

Cub - Hermitopia branch manager, no powers other than extensive scientific knowledge and access to weaponry should he choose to use it

Iskall - Unwilling mercenary/assassin employed off the books by Concorp, held loyal by a life debt, power is cybernetics

Hypno - Hypnotic illusionist used by Concorp to protect their assets, especially to protect VEX trainees from being attacked before they are fully prepared to defend themselves

Wels - Power is a robotic supersuit made of fire and heat resistant polycarbons, has no physical powers, only the technology and the skills to use it. Currently employed by Concorp on the assignment of retrieving or eliminating his un-planned-for clone

Mumbo - A Concorp engineer specializing in robotics, with the most common activity of repairing Iskall’s cybernetics when they mysteriously get damaged

xB - a sentient AI created by Concorp, lives on the company's network enforcing security and doing research, typically spends his evenings suppressing a slight morality crisis

Government:

Scar - Mayor, has wings and other powers given to him by Cub in what Scar thinks was an accident

Jellie - Gives Scar advice through an animal translation device

Impulse - Employed by the government in a space themed crime fighting team with Tango and Zedaph, has solid-light powers

Tango - Employed by the government in a space themed crime fighting team with Impulse and Zedaph, has meteor/fire based powers

Zedaph - Employed by the government in a space themed crime fighting team with Tango and Impulse, has gravitational powers

Keralis - Hero with eye-based calming hypnotic powers, previously assigned to small jobs only, now assigned to more dangerous missions after successfully defending a friend’s shop in a fight

Unrestrained:

Etho - Mysterious clone hivemind, seems to be working towards goals yet unknown, causes chaos for the government and Concorp, grouped with the rest of the nHo

Bdubs - Former government employee, transferred at some point to Concorp where he defected and escaped with Doc, has plant based powers, grouped with the rest of the nHo

Doc - Failed Concorp experiment kept in discrete custody until being broken out by his guard/caretaker Bdubs, now seeking revenge, grouped with the rest of the nHo

Beef - Mind-reader who ran from Project VEX after reading something sinister from the mind of an employee overseeing him, now a public scapegoat for Concorp due to suspected mind control abilities, grouped with the rest of the nHo

Grian - The original of a group of clones who escaped from Concorp and dispersed, is currently trying to locate his scattered clones (who are in possession of some powerful magical items), also causes chaos for Concorp for fun

Void!Xisuma - A Void-based symbiotic entity borrowing Xisuma’s physical form at night for chaotic and villainous purposes, motive unknown. Xisuma is under the impression that he is a peaceful and non-powered citizen. [Edit: the entity is now known to be a survivor of the crashed alien ship that Concorp reverse engineered their technology from.]

Cleo - A failed Project VEX experiment gave her healing powers gone horrifically too far, abandoned Concorp and took to the streets to cause chaos

Stress - Transforms into a large monster when stressed, becomes larger and more aggressive the more stress there is in her surroundings to absorb. Cannot control herself when in monster mode and is therefore dangerous

Helsknight - The result of a short-lived cloning experiment done on Wels, escaped from concorp and is currently causing chaos

Grumbot - Robotic villain causing chaos with Helsknight, origins unknown

Unaffiliated:

Joe Hills - Possesses an extremely overpowered power-mimicry ability that he does not want to fall into the wrong hands, currently hiding his power and attempting to live as a normal civilian, assumed dead by Concorp

False - A mercenary who slips in and out of service to Concorp, the government, the Unrestrained, and anyone else who will pay. No powers, aside from the ability to duel wield futuristic short swords with terrifying skill

TFC - Retired first graduate of the VEX program, now refusing connection to Concorp or the government and working alone to maintain order in the city with rock and earthquake related powers

Ren - A werewolf, living in hiding and ashamed of his powers after causing the accident that almost killed his childhood friend Iskall. The existence of Ren is known by Concorp and is a cause of concern for them, since his powers were not given to him by Project VEX and therefore may be the work of an unknown outside organization

Jevin - A being made of blue slime, formerly human, created by contact with a waterway accidentally contaminated by Concorp. Concorp incorrectly assumes Jevin was created purposefully (like Ren), so he is currently living off the grid on the outskirts of the city in hiding from them.

And with that clarification, the inbox is now open once more!

Jessassin - Given heightened senses by Concorp and trained as a secret operative, fled the city and covered his tracks with a multitude of conflicting rumours about his whereabouts

Biffa - An escaped first attempt at the AI project that created xB, built himself a robotic body in secret and now runs the coffee shop Keralis saved under the guise of being a modified human

#Hermitcraft #Hermitopia au #mod shade #this will be added to for the Hermits who aren't yet mentioned #long post

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ravenclaw-questions-gone-writing · 3 years

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Ven Rambles: Abandoned Lore 1

@fanfics-and-fangirling The lore is long and kinda complicated. I’m sorry, you were probably expecting like a paragraph or 3. I basically wrote an essay on it.

Ok, so I mentioned how it’s a three way interconnected universe and a crossover. The fandoms you need to know are Miraculous Ladybug, Batman (DC), Marvel, and the CLAMP-verses, most specifically Cardcaptor Sakura and possibly XXXHolic which is in the same multi-verse so I’m counting it as one.

Some ten thousands of years ago, several world/dimension traveling magic users - the leading members of which were Clow Reed, the most powerful sorcerer in the multiverse and Ichihara Yuuko, literally known as the space-time witch, and a Loki from an older, alternate dimension - decided to make things easier for others to travel through dimensions while simultaneously creating a safe haven for their kind since there are some worlds where magic users are hunted, either for slavery or death.

They started with connecting universes in 3s, moved onto 7s, and then 9s before creating even more complex varieties of interconnecting field spells. That’s not particularly important because the universes we’re interested is one of the earliest, imperfect versions. I should have but did not make a name for what these interconnected universes are called.

The universes are set in an equilateral triangle with the three universes as cornerstones, the shape that stabilizes the plane at the center - from henceforth will be called the central plane - that is essentially the magical version of an airport. It also has the affect of stabilizing time, so instead of 1 minute to 1 month ratio between the connected universes, it’s a minute to minute thing. And it’s linked to the passage of time on Earth because Midgard is the “center of the universe“ in Marvel-verse, Miraculous-verse doesn’t have aliens (as far as I know), and DC-verse is just outnumbered. Because it’s set in an equilateral triangle, it’s shape is very delicate and a shift or misplacement could cause the entire central plane to deteriorate and collapse.

Because the central plane is entirely made of magic, I imagine it looks something like a cross between a Wuxia world and classic fantasy land. You have magic plants and creatures growing out of random crevices and bizarre weather patterns that are a result of whatever plane guardian - Clow Card creatures, bc Clow Reed would absolutely do something like that and I don’t think the other two wouldn’t really object- is active and doing their job that day. But because of that, central planes is also a treasure trove of magical ingredients.

Over time, this particular one was abandoned in favor the newer, less delicate planes - with different universes as cornerstones - with have higher quality whatever ingredient is needed. The more powerful magic users move out. The remaining magic users 1. don’t know it’s possible to cross dimensions 2. do not have the power to 3. new magic users are brought in after the new planes were created and are sent there instead, completely skipping over introducing our central plane. At any rate, the number of magic users dwindles and at this point in time, only a handful of magic users remember it exists.

(Frick, why does Tumblr keep deleting paragraphs when I just want to delete a sentence. I have to retype all of that and I lost my train of thought. This is the fourth time already.)

By the time the story begins, the ones who know about it are the Al Ghuls, Frigga, the Loki that was born in this Marvel-verse who was introduced to it by his mother for his magic lessons, and anyone who stumbles across the random portals that have begun to appear because the Marvel cornerstone has been slightly shifted out of place by some cosmic event. (Marinette, who’d probably about 8 - 10 years old at this point in time.)

That shift caused the Marvel-verse to start pulling away, which in turn makes the other two cornerstones pull together in an attempt to maintain equilibrium.

Before we go further into that, a quick crash course in magical numerology. The first nine numbers are sacred, each one with a meaning attached to it. The ones we’re interested in for this story are 1, 2, and 3. 1 means unity. 2 means disorder. 3 means harmony.

I apologize for not being able to fully articulate this part but it makes sense in my head and I will do my best to make sense to everyone reading this.

As long as there are 3 cornerstones, the central plane will be stable due to the harmony factor. Problem is, as DC and MLB universes get closer, they begin to merge, made easier by the fact they’ve been bound together for so long. This makes the numbers drop from 3 to a fluctuation between 1 and 2.

Magic begins to separate them as 2+1= 3 rather than a full trinity of 1+1+1=3. Marvel-verse is totally fine (for now) but DCxMLB universes are experiencing some trippy things, news begins to filter between the worlds, abnormal weather patterns, memories merging and many more “ghostly interaction” experiences. For the most part, people can just dismiss it but the magically and spiritually inclined are having the worst time of their lives, especially those with foresight abilities.

The two universes haven’t really merged yet, probably won’t for another 5 years or so, but it’s close enough to be an inevitable event and that causes it to the math to go from 2+1=3 to 1+1=2, which as I have mentioned, destabilizes the central plane. It still exists, but it is now an EXTRA chaotic place, most of the sentient magical flora and fauna are going crazy and the guardian cards are in full panic mode which does affect a whole lot of things. The central plane eventually crumbles and anything inside it at the time vanishes into the in-between of universes, most likely never to be seen again. (Either they die from lack of anything they need to survive, miraculously find their way onto another plane, or descend into the literal hell that is where the most cursed and hated creations ever to exist were thrown into where they must adapt or die, probably die. Unless they have knowledge of the old way of moving between universes, in which case they’d be fine once they’ve re-oriented themselves.)

I hadn’t decided if Marvel-verse will detach completely and accelerate the merger between Maribat verse or if it rebounds and forces another merger which would also accelerate the merger in a different direction. I’d also like to mention that since Earth is where the worlds are linked, that is the place that is most affected, other parts of the universe are like “hey, budge over and make some room for me.“ because before that, it was probably just a void there and only the parts where there is some.

If this isn’t fully coherent, that’s because I was in the middle of world building before angst and crack took over and I had to scrap the idea.

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starlingsrps · 3 years

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clara cooke char. dev.

BASIC INFORMATION

full name: clara elizabeth cooke

reasoning: not really

nickname(s): nope.

preferred name(s): clara

birth date: april 29

age: twenty one

zodiac: taurus

gender: cis female

pronouns: she/hers

romantic orientation: heterosexual

sexual orientation: heterosexual

nationality: american

current location: [blep]

living conditions: she finally has a single at the sorority house and she's very ruthless about keeping it organized and tidy. sure it's the size of a glorified dorm room but she's got a window, plants, and her mini fridge. all is well.

BACKGROUND

birth place: rye, ny

hometown: cortland, ny

social class: middle

education level: senior (junior?) in college; b.s. in psychology

father: harry cooke, 47, apple orchard owner

mother: rachel cooke, 47, apple orchard owner

sibling(s): riley cooke, 25; colin cooke, 19; taylor cooke, 16

birth order: middle

children: nah

pet(s): the cooke family has a very large, very simple labradoodle at home named felix. felix's skills include eating and being a sentient weighted blanket.

other important relatives: the usual course of aunts/uncles/cousins.

previous relationships: dylan cooper, on and off (and off and on)

current relationship: on and off with gavin hall (it's complicated but she'll give you a timeline)

arrests?: nah

OCCUPATION & INCOME

primary source of income: student loans

secondary source of income: work-study at the psych lab entering data.

content with their job (or lack there of)?: it's all just fine for now.

past job(s): her family owns and operates an apple orchard so she's done pretty much every job possible at the orchard up to and including driving a tractor on hay rides, making apple donuts, herding small animals at the petting zoo, and wearing the cursed scarecrow costume and scaring children.

most valuable possession: gavin gave her a designer bag for her last birthday they were together and while she doesn't like to carry it because it's expensive and a bit too much for her, she will use it when they are dating but otherwise it stays in her closet.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

physical strength: b - like it's okay.

speed: b+

intelligence: a

accuracy: b

agility: b

stamina: b

teamwork: good but she prefers to be in charge and sees herself as a good leader. she's president of her chapter and she tries to be benevolent.

talents: good memory, multi-tasking, beer pong.

shortcomings: stubborn, possessive, two beer maximum

language(s) spoken: english

drive?: yep (car AND tractor)

jump-star a car?: yep

change a flat tire?: yep

ride a bicycle?: yep

swim?: yep

play an instrument?: nope

play chess?: nope

braid hair?: yep

tie a tie?: yep

pick a lock?: nope

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

face claim: casimere jollette

eye color: blue

hair color: blonde

hair type/style: long and wavy; she styles accordingly with the occasion.

glasses/contacts?: 50/50

dominant hand: right

height: 5'2

build: hella petite. she's the first to call herself portable.

exercise habits: five days a week, weekends are for sleep.

skin tone: fair

tattoos: nah

piercings: ears

marks/scars: freckles; scar on her left shoulder that she brushes off if asked but definitley came from climbing through a broken window in high school.

notable features: hella cheekbones, disarmingly adorable.

usual expression: neutral listening

clothing style: she really prefers skirts or dresses and tends to be slightly overdressed. she's big on presenting herself well which is why clara is a twenty one year old with a suit and is prepared to dress for any theme.

jewelry: whatever suits the outfit

allergies: dust and pollen

diet: p reasonable

physical ailments: nah

PSYCHOLOGY

enneagram type: 2 - the helper

moral alignment: lawful good

temperament: phlegmatic

element: earth

mbti type: esfj

mental conditions/disorders: nah not really

sociability: excellent

emotional stability: p good

obsession(s): not so much but she does always just feel better when things are where they're supposed to be and she knows what the day holds.

compulsion(s): nah

phobia(s): worms

addiction(s): nah

drug use: nah

alcohol use: sure

prone to violence?: nah

MANNERISMS

speech style: to the point

accent: nah

quirks: sunday nights she does yoga, organizes her planner for the week, and restocks snacks and minifridge. she does not ever skip this.

hobbies: planner design, event planning for the sorority

habits: general organization

nervous ticks: drumming her fingertips

drives/motivations: success, independence

positive traits: reliable, grounded, creative, hard working

negative traits: stubborn, possessive/hypocritical about that, petty

sense of humor: nothing too notable but like: she laughs. she's human.

do they curse often?: not really so when she does, it's with purpose.

FAVORITES

activity: solving

animal: dogs

beverage: her giant water bottle is always present but she likes to crush a red bull now and then.

book: big little lies

color: pink and yellow

designer: nothing specific but she is the queen of a tj maxx bargain.

food: pizza, always.

flower: gardenias

gem: she thinks spending that amount of money on jewelry is stupid but like, diamonds /are pretty.

holiday: christmas

mode of transportation: walk or drive

movie: ever after

song: "brutal" by olivia rodrigo is a vibe.

scenery: truly just a simple bitch who enjoys fall colors.

scent: vanilla and patchouli

sport: football in theory - she enjoys a good tailgate and gavin plays so here they all are.

television show: gilmore girls and csi

weather: sunny and mild, early fall preferred.

vacation destination: cities - spring break is fine but she usually winds up needing a seperate vacation afterwards.

ATTITUDES

greatest dream: short term is maintaining order in the sorority. long term, she absolutely has a ten year plan that starts with graduating and getting into a strong ph.d program and ends with marriage and kids by thirty.

greatest fear: settling.

most at ease when: working towards something; she's not great at just doing things for fun - there should always be an end goal.

least at ease when: she really hates fighting with anyone. in the moment, she really hits below the belt and feels terrible about it later.

worst possible thing that could happen: failure.

biggest achievement: everything she's accomplished in school so far - she's been on the dean's list every semester, she's set to graduate with honors, she's president of her sorority. she has busted her ass for this and she's proud of herself.

biggest regret: dylan sometimes.

biggest secret: she really does love dylan and it drives her nuts.

top priorities: finishing school strong, her family and friends.

#c: clara cooke

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thanksjro · 4 years

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More Than Meets the Eye #9- Cops is Filmed on Location With the Mechs of Law Enforcement

It’s time for some gotdang origin stories, y’all.

Back before the war, when Functionist ideology was really just rocking the scene hardcore, Nightbeat stood outside of Maccadam’s New Oil House and had a chat with Quark.

No, not that Quark, the other one.

Quark’s reading an article at Nightbeat’s request about an attack on something called a relinquishment clinic, by a member of the Decepticons. Quark’s not a huge fan of the Decepticons, because he’s got a good thing going on Functionist Cybertron as a rare proton microscope, and even if things aren’t perfect, they’re pretty okay for him personally. At least he’s aware of his privilege.

Don’t be so quick to judge, Quark. Some Decepticons are into microscopes.

He’s pretty convinced that if the Decepticons get their way, they’re going to murder anyone who’s never handled a shovel. This is the same sort of misconception a lot of people have about the phrase “eat the rich”- it’s more about those who benefit from the social structure by way of oppressing others as opposed to those who flourish within it by their own work ethic and talents.

Granted, we as the reader know that shit is absolutely going to go sideways for everyone once the war kicks off, but Quark as it currently stands shouldn’t be nearly as worried as he is. He thinks Rung of all people is a threat, so you can tell he’s really feeling the paranoia of the times.

Hi Rung! Hope you’re enjoying your you-time. It’s important to have that, good for mental health.

The conspiracy convo gets cut short as Quark’s drink gets dripped in.

I mean, it’s all the same stuff, right? He could probably still drink it. Waste not, want not.

In the present day, we set up our framing device, with all of our friends welcoming Ratchet into the fray, as he shows off the fact that he finally color-matched his hands to the rest of his body.

Here’s a little joke for you: a spiritualist, two doctors, an archivist, a sentient marshmallow, a victim of ritualistic mutilation, and the hottest guy on the ship watch a third doctor walk into a bar.

Gentlemen, please, I haven’t even gotten to the punchline yet.

Anyway, Rewind’s set up this little hang sesh for medicinal purposes, after consulting Chromedome on the nature of the brain.

Rung’s looking a lot better than the last time we saw him, in that he’s got a head again, but he’s not really… functional right now. Hence this little meet up- everyone here has had their paths cross many times in the past, whether they realized it or not.

Except Tailgate, who took a six million year dirt-nap. He’s just here for shits and giggles.

And Swerve, but it’s his bar, and he’s lonely, so of course he’s going to stick around for this.

Anyway, those assembled will be taking turns in telling the story they all played a part in, in an attempt to kick-start Rung’s brain back into letting him do literally anything. Thanks to his obscenely large collection of historical documents and footage, Rewind more or less knows the structure the story will take- as shown by his conspiracy bulletin board that maps out everything that will be covered in the Shadowplay arc. The central pin in all this? Well, it’s Transformers, and it’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen the face of the franchise, so you tell me who it’s going to be.

Rewind sets the scene, giving everyone the skinny on the setting we’ll be in for the next little bit.

Way to see the silver lining, Swerve.

Chromedome starts the story off, because he’s a main character in all this, and also if you think Rewind would pass up the chance to listen to this capital-T-shaped dweeb talk, you’re deluding yourself.

In the past Chromedome worked mechaforensics- y’know, forensics for mecha- under a different name, which we will not be learning at this current time because it’ll muddle the already-convoluted narrative we’re about to get going here. Chromedome had the displeasure of working alongside then-desk jockey, Prowl.

Awful geared up for a desk jockey, ain’t he?

Yep. Chromedome used to be a cop, he partnered up with Prowl, he looked even more like a koala than he does now, and he was on the case of the assassinated Senator Sherma. What they don’t tell you is that if Sherma had turned out to have survived the ordeal of being strung up from a bridge upside-down, he would have been charged with food and health code violations for that little stunt he pulled on Quark’s drink.

Skids breaks the narrative flow to get the low-down on Prowl’s whole deal, because he doesn’t know who that is. Swerve breaks it down real quick, while Rewind provides visual aid.

A for effort.

The boys get a little distracted discussing Prowl’s anger management practices, until Drift asks that they move on, because Rodimus is sending him insulting messages on his tiny and paper thin comm because he can’t handle being ignored by his #1 fan. It’s just as well though, because it’s Drift’s turn to spin the yarn.

So, once upon a time, Drift wasn’t doing so hot. It wasn’t the whole “I’m a murderous Decepticon” thing- that was later on- but rather a horrific drug addiction, sense of self-loathing and being homeless. On the day of Sherma’s assassination, Drift was so out of his gourd on circuit speeders, he didn’t even register the fact that he was approached by a pair of robots and promptly beaten by the two of them for money.

Things looks bad for poor Drift, but not to worry, because the main reason for this arc existing just showed up.

There he is, in all his pin-up art glory.

Orion Pax, the mech who would become Optimus Prime, proceeds to arrest Sonic and Boom- yeah, it’s the two guys from Delphi, we aren’t wasting the brain power on creating two new characters for this one scene, that’s crazy talk- and then calls for a bus to keep Drift from biting it due to drug overdose.

Listen to the professionals, folks. They know more than you about the shit that can kill you. It’s why they get paid the big bucks.

(I have no idea what Ratchet’s salary is like.)

Drift is taken to Ratchet’s super-secret, please-don’t-tell-the-Senate-about-this clinic in the Dead End, where we get a taste of Drift riffing on Ratchet in the present, as he paints a picture of a spiritual young doctor who actively and loudly praises Adaptus as he works on a ODing patient. The Ratchet of the here and now doesn’t appreciate this twisting of the truth, and makes it known by smearing his still-wet hand paint all over Drift’s face.

Shane McCarthy slipped James Roberts a twenty to set up a slowburn between his OC and Ratchet back in issue #4. Here, Roberts tends to the seeds of their shared past that were planted in the Delphi arc.

Drift didn’t take Ratchet’s advice back then, something that is and will continue to be a running issue for the two of them, and the sudden downshift in tone lets Tailgate ask about just what in the sam hill a relinquishment clinic is. Chromedome fills him in, Rewind providing visuals.

A relinquishment clinic was a place where a Transformer could sell their body- not in a sex-work way, but literally, as you let someone else have their spark planted into your vacated frame for a short period of time, just to try out different modes and looks. It was expensive, and only used to get around the fact that only the most elite of cybertronians could alter their bodies, because only they had enough influence to have the Functionist Senate look the other way. Ratchet never approved of the practice, and this is where he takes over the story.

Too bad we don’t get to see what all that’s about just yet, because there are more pressing matters at hand, like the fact that Nominus Prime is dead.

Seems like there’s a conspiracy at hand, and Orion is considering introducing Ratchet to a friend on the inside- and in the present time, Drift leaves to go meet with Rodimus so he’ll stop being a pest. Chromedome picks his story thread back up, bringing us to Prowl’s requested autopsy.

The boys in the lab broke Sherma down to his base parts, labeled each part, and laid them out on the floor in no discernible order. Maybe it’s based on the Cybertronian alphabet. I suppose we’ll never know.

The autopsy revealed that Sherma was shot several times, which we’d already managed to suss out at the scene of the crime, without getting half the forensics team involved, but we did get a little something for our troubles.

More evidence for Rodimus’ Uggs.

No, I’m never letting this go, don’t even bother asking.

The kind of glass that they found is only found in one specific area of Iacon, known as Translucentica Heights, and how about that! Prowl just so happens to have a search warrant for Translucentica Heights. Wow. Way to go, Prowl.

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Orion are hanging out at the monument for the Ark-1, which is the ship that fucked off into space and got eaten by the Dead Universe. Cyclonus remembers. I bet he kind of wishes that he didn’t, but he remembers.

Orion’s very good friend the Senator shows up, and Orion introduces him to Ratchet. The Senator was first introduced in Chaos Theory- he’s convinced that Orion is a very special individual, and had his body altered without permission while he was passed out, so that he might one day carry the Matrix.

Orion is maybe just a touch too trusting of authority figures, unless that figure is god himself.

Ratchet helps create a visage of not-plotting, as Orion and the Senator discuss whether or not Nominus was assassinated by the Senate. Dear Senator says “fuck yeah he was” and it was in no small part due to the fact that the Matrix he was carrying was a fake.

There’s also something that’s going on between Sentinel and the Decepticons, which leads Orion to ask about Megatron and how he’s doing. He’d probably be doing a hell of a lot better if you hadn’t given the Senate that he directly opposes his full name and occupation, Orion, but it’s sweet that you’re worried.

Back with the wonder cops, Chromedome and Prowl are shooting across the sky to the tune of Shooting Star as they make their way over to Translucentica Heights. They discuss the validity of claims that the Institute exists as they make their way over to Sherma’s apartment building, when someone gets thrown out the window from roughly 4000 stories up.

Trailbreaker was right, Fort Max having guns in his legs doesn’t make him special, if these losers are doing it too.

In the present, Drift’s finally caught up with Rodimus in the oil reservoir, where he’s coaxing Grapple like a wounded baby deer through pulling something out of the muck.

It’s Red Alert, and he’s seen better days.

I mean, sure, that seems like the most likely option, seeing as he’s the only non-Autobot aboard this giant stupid ship, and you haven’t done anything to actually gather evidence on what’s happened to our pal here. It makes sense for the knee-jerk reaction to be to blame the dude who blew up Kimia.

We’ll see where that line of thought gets us next issue.

#transformers #jro #mtmte #shadowplay #issue 9 #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #comic script writing

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thefatalmarksman · 4 years

Text

Here it is......

The FFVII AU Luxu Slimy Boi Anatomy / Biology Info Dump.

Y’all gonna regret encouraging me. 👏

This is INCREDIBLY long and detailed, as I’ve covered the majority of his bodily systems and functions, so if those kinds of descriptions gross you out, proceed with caution. Also please keep in mind that while I did my best with my research, there may be some inaccuracies due to me... not exactly being a Scientist. :| So just bear with me and keep in mind this is STILL a Fantasy World at the end of the day.

These headcanons are subject to alterations if necessary.

— In simplest terms, Luxu is a “parasitic, predatory shapeshifter.” His “true” form is what appears to be an “eye” (though it’s more like the primary nerve center than anything else) that is capable of producing tentacle-like appendages that latch onto a host body and basically “infect” its insides with a virus that causes genetic mutation on a cellular level, slightly altering organ structures and reducing internal tissues into even larger invertebrate, tentacle-like appendages that serve as incredibly preternaturally strong muscles and secrete a semi-acidic mucous. The acid level lessens in pH deeper into its core, which allows digestion of organic compounds (including bone tissue), and even some metallic and synthetic materials. In the meantime, the outer epidermal layer becomes slightly harder, becoming a mutable, semi-cartilaginous “shell,” almost with a latex-like texture and accompanied by a mucous secretion, that can be mentally manipulated through various chemical reactions.

— In terms of being “similar” to animals we are familiar with, he’s... honestly a lot like a mollusk, particularly a land snail. He’s basically just a slimy, sentient mass of tentacles with a few organs shoved in there and sheltered within a sexy exoskeleton (a “sexoskeleton,” if you will).

— Luxu also has some traits similar to plants, in that “cuttings” of its form retain cells that can individually survive separate from the host entity. However, they cannot operate individually as sentient creatures without the accompaniment of the “eye,” and can only alter genetic material via viral infection in an already autonomous being, which can then prepare the host for assimilation.

— ...Or, adversely, it just ends up killing the potential host if it cannot adapt the the genetic alteration. :|

— Given the consistent amount of energy that is burned due to his cellular complexities, Luxu constantly requires an intake of high-protein sustenance—aka, MEAT 👏—with humans serving as his meal of choice. This constant burning of energy also causes his body to run at extremely high temperatures, at what would be considered fever levels in humans.

— On the subject of digestion, Luxu also has an organ within the “throat” region capable of secreting a toxungenous ejection of an acidic saliva, which aids in breaking down various digestible compounds for consumption.

— So much of the nutrients that are consumed are absorbed into the body that waste is often expelled as a liquid buuut I will spare y’all by not expounding further.

— In his human disguise his teeth are only slightly more sharp than the average human’s, but in his full form, they are razor sharp for the mastication of tough materials, and shark-like in their positioning with multiple rows.

— He’s also capable of unhinging his jaw to allow for consumption of large quantities of sustenance. The muscular structuring in the “throat” area is also highly developed for swallowing large amounts to prevent choking. His tongue is also astonishingly prehensile, and aids in pulling food into his digestive tract.

— Underneath the flexible cartilaginous membrane of his skin, there is also the presence of an endoskeleton-like structure, though these “bones,” much like his epidermal, latex-like layer, are made of tissues susceptible to chemical alterations that allow his extreme “shapeshifting” abilities.

— While in human form, his left, unconcealed eye has vision on par with human perception, but in full monster mode, with his right eye exposed, he sees in infrared heat signatures. He also had a series of “eyes” on his upper chest cavity which serve as ultraviolet photoreceptors.

— Luxu’s olfactory senses are highly acute. Though he is capable of smelling with the two slits that serve as nostrils, positioned in the center of his “face” and can be extended to mimic a nose, he can also smell through small pores located in the outer membrane of his exoskeleton (which is one of the reasons he often prefers to stay mostly clothed). He is also able to detect the scent produced by shifts in pheromones, allowing him to “sense” people’s various emotional changes.

—His olfactory senses play a large role in his sense of taste as well, as the taste buds themselves are poorly developed. Given certain scents are affected by diet, Luxu has developed a preference for folks who eat richer or spicy foods, as that increases body odor, thus magnifying their flavor. He also has a taste for straight alcohol given the strength of its aroma, but metabolizes the alcohol itself fairly quickly.

— Much of his audial sensory organs are based on the detection of vibrations, and are highly sensitive, so loud noises are... not that enjoyable for him, and can even prove debilitating if loud enough.

— The nerve ends that produce the sensation of touch are also sensitive, which means that pain receptors are heightened. However, the introduction of pain causes the main nerve center quickly introduce a chemical that inhibits pain response, and dampens its effects.

— Due to the oxygen-based environment, Luxu’s respiratory system is adapted to organic oxygenation. (It is possible he has existed in other types of environments, but that’s a thought for another post.) This system is more similar to a plant’s than anything else, respiration occurring on a cellular level rather than through traditional “lungs.” His blood contains hemerythrin, which directly binds oxygen to his cells (hence another reason for his high protein intake). However, in his human form, his internal structure mimics a tracheal pipe which allows him to take in oxygen to “breathe.” In his full form, he does not require this active intake, and absorbs oxygen through pores in the outer membrane.

— The hemerythrin in Luxu’s blood produces a violet-pink tint when oxygenated, and is practically colorless when deoxygenated. There is a heart-like organ within the “chest” cavity that circulates his blood, but there are no vessels that carry blood, and oxygen is stored directly in tissue.

— Bodily tissues are regenerative—however, only the host body will regenerate, and whatever portion has been separate will not grow any further, and will exist only until its energies are exhausted.

— When separated from a vessel that allows autonomy, Luxu is very vulnerable, thus will engage in a near-death-like, suspended hibernation process, which lasts until its “sixth sense” detects the presence of organic life nearby that can be used as host vessels.

— ...I really have no fancy scientific explanation for his hair turning into tentacles. They just... shapeshift, okay, through... chemicals. :|

— Within the “eye” is a bundle of extrasensory nerves that provide Luxu with a “sixth sense.” It gives him a heightened perception of his surroundings—for example, allowing him to sense presences he cannot readily see, which would allow him to seek out prey in hiding, or offer a boost in reflexes in the case of possible opposition.

— Of course, like all shapeshifting monstrous entities from space, the only way to really kill him for good is to set him on fire until there is nothing left of the “eye,” thus destroying all internal cellular activity.

~ SPICY SECTION B) ~

— On the subject of genitalia and reproduction, other than Jenova who “asexually” reproduces through the use of viral infection in order to create a hive-like entity, Luxu is capable of sexual reproduction. Unfortunately, he’s never encountered another of his kind, so much of this is a mystery to him. (Can y’all say “virgin alien” huhuhuuuuhh???) However, he is capable of manipulating his exoskeleton to mimic human male genitalia, and is capable of orgasm... but really, it’s just an erogenous tentacle in disguise.

— In the instance of a sexual encounter in his natural state, during arousal, the sex organ erupts from a genital slit located within the “hip” area of the exoskeleton. The nerve endings of the various tentacles that make up his body also become excited, and secrete a mucous for smooth copulation. The pliable and relaxed slit can also be accessed for further stimulation.

— The sex organ is really just another tentacle, but one that is capable of more intense rigidity, and has a tube leading from an internal seminal sac to an opening that ejects the seminal fluid. This opening is otherwise invisible unless it is in use.

— In addition, similar to snails (yeah, get ready for this one, it’s WILD), during the course of mounting arousal but before the climax of the ejection of seminal fluid, an organic, harpoon-like “love dart” erects itself from the mass of tentacles within his lower abdominal cavity, which pierces his mating partner (yeah, basically just stabs them) and (this bit is unlike snails) injects an enzyme that serves as a lowkey stimulant, aiding in increasing his partner’s arousal. (Though he is aware of the existence of this “organ,” he is currently unaware of this biological trait, seeing as... he really doesn’t go to Pound Town in his “monster” form, and so the process is not accessed while the shell is in place.) This love dart is approximately a foot in length; quite sharp like a fleshy, organic spear with a slightly hooked stinger at the end; and is retractable for multiple uses.

#au: it came from outer space (and is kind of a jerk)#headcanons #i did....... a lot of research on this and it's super long pls read :'|#also once you get to the 'spicy section' if you don't wanna read about reproductive systems #just stop there

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bebefliesresearch · 3 years

Text

As most of my research for this project was in my sketchbook, I thought I’d go over the main bits:

The Magic Mushrooms, a Psilocybin renaissance- this lecture explores much of the propaganda behind the ban on psychedelics, the links between meditation and psilocybin in the how they developed the brain and the history and potential of psychedelics, especially in a society where lack of connection with the world as a whole is causing so much damage. Some interesting points were use of psilocybin in the Maia regions of Mexico before King Allarae of the Goths banned use of plant sacraments in spirituality when spreading Christianity, Maria Sabrina’s use of mushroom in ritual healing, corruption of psychedelics by propaganda regarding rising popularity in recreation use. There were some interesting chemical and biological points, including how serotonin allows us to form world view and a sense of self, how psilocybin decreases activity in the default mode network (which is active under vigilance and oppression, as well as in depressive states), and how poor inter neural connections leads to illness. This lecture encouraged me to explore the role of altered states of consciousness in oppression and compliance in controlling states.

The war on consciousness, Graham Hancock- this lecture was interestingly banned by TED. It explores the dangers of materialist reductionist scientific beliefs and their refusal to explore the mystery of consciousness. Hancock compares the sentient consciousness to a tv signal, which continues after to device is destroyed, a comparison I used in the cctv in my film, with footage continuing from different sources after cameras are cut off. Hancock also goes into the Egyptians research into psychedelics and their value of dreams states. This also lead to me using the blue lotus in my film, as it was a valued psychedelic plant alongside their ‘tree of life’, proven to be a species containing high amounts of DMT. This lecture also touches on how society distracts from mental illness being societally caused and not just chemical imbalances in the brain, how this is exacerbated by the nuclear family (originally founded to benefit capitalism). All legal altered states of consciousness are aligning with societal values. Use of Ayahuasca being spread between countries and administered to provoke a change in consciousness by tribe leaders from South America, in order to restore balance in the world.

In my research into Nietzsche and absurdism made me take an interest into the values of societies based on false gods, or deities manipulated to fit standards of those in power: the way that Christianity in the west has instilled a value of suffering in the example of Jesus, the way that totalising ways of experiencing life encouraged by capitalism and religion are doomed and unfulfilling. This research prompted my original concept for the film, which was coexisting with suffering and absurdity instead of ignoring them.

Kenneth Anger’s Magik Lantern Cycle- this collection of films from early Hollywood inspired me in the use of absurd costume, mute characters and body language, as well as their use of sounds and music (before use of non classical soundtracks was very unusual). Anger explored the occult, celebrity culture, homoeroticism and the pleasures of the flesh, having a massive effect on pop culture of the 20th century.

Midnight Gospel- I did research into a few different shows and films, including Return to Oz where I looked into how it aligns with the Fear Survey Schedule. I also watched a short documentary on Dr Seuss's personal work and drew similarities between the worlds of his personal and commercial work. Watching a video on Midnight Gospel's commentary on Buddhist philosophy and resigning absolute and relative truths prompted me to look into some aspects of Buddhist theology, including the 4 noble truths and the constant unattainable flux of the external world impacting our internal selves. I think this has links to my interest in altered states due to Buddhist practices encouraging an altered state of awareness through reflection and meditation, but my field of knowledge in this area is too limited to attribute my resulting work to.

I did a lot of self reflection in my Sketchbooks, asking questions about the world I was providing to myself and coming up with answers. This should be read by itself, and I think my sketchbook shows a very organic development of my ideas.

While making this film, I also got very invested in Ari Aster's films Hereditary and Midsommar. These films influenced me a lot in my views on systems of control, such as exhausting victims, isolating, using safety as a lure, and use of mind altering substances to break down individuals. However, while these films show the beginning process of this, my video is more focused on the systems continuation.

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basicsofislam · 4 years

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ISLAM 101: Creation: Part 8

Why does one creature’s life depend on the death of another?

Just as the day replaces night, spring follows winter, and autumn takes the place of summer, death follows life. The Creator, Who governs everything, does nothing in vain. He creates the most beautiful and intricate beings out of the lowest, seemingly unpromising, materials. Since it is the very nature of His creation to bestow freshness and novelty continually upon His creation, and since He sets on and motivates everything to mature and develop, risings and settings necessarily succeed each in this world.

Before going further into the subject, let’s define death.

Death is not final exhaustion of nature, an annihilation that operates of itself, or a total extinction into a void. Rather, it is a transformation, a change of place, state, and dimension; a completion of service, a release from its burden, to attain peace and ease. For every living thing, it is a sort of retreat or transition to its own essence and truth. For this reason, death is as desirable as life. It is as pleasing as meeting friends, and a blessing as great as acquiring immortality.

Materialists who do not grasp death’s meaning and truth always see it as horrifying and so compose gloomy odes to it. All such people have seen and felt the same things about death, and have made the same complaints about it.

Since death is a separation from life and living, it affects our minds and those sentiments that make us human. It is impossible to deny such an influence, to silence the heart in the face of death. Death arouses considerable tumult in our hearts and minds, though it may be short-lived. Belief in the Resurrection causes all such sorrows to be forgotten, for it is like presenting a kingdom to a person who has lost everything or assuring a person about to be hanged of eternal life and happiness.

According to those who understand the real meaning of death, death is no more than a release from service, a change of abode, and a journey to where most of one’s friends have already gone. Those who do not understand this see only its horrifying surface meaning: death as an executioner, a gallows, a bottomless pit, a dark passage into the void.

When believers begin to experience death, the beauties and rewards of Heaven begin to appear before them. When unbelievers, who are deprived of this pleasure of faith, think of death, they begin to feel the torment and fire of Hell that they nurture within their conscience. Their suffering is not just limited to their own feelings, for in their hearts they also feel the grief and suffering of all those with whom they share interests, pleasures, and concerns. Their suffering and loss of happiness increase the burden of grief for whoever regards death as a final end.

Believers consider death a release from service and life’s burdens and hardships and know that everything continues to exist in other realms (in its identity as form and idea). Thus, they view death as an advancement, a perfection, an acquisition of a higher essence and nature. Since death carries the fruit of eternal existence and bliss, it is also a great blessing and a Divine gift.

However, every advancement and perfecting, every blessing and acquisition of it, must pass through preparatory stages: close examination, molding and purifying. Spiritual progress and the subsequent advancement to higher levels come only through such trials and purifications. For example, crude ores perish in the purifying furnace before they yield the pure metal. Until the ores are processed in this way, they continue to exist in soil and rock, without the metal ever being tested and then presented in its true form.

If we accept this analogy, we can understand that while death appears to be a cessation, a passing into extinction or nothingness, in reality, it is passing into a higher, more elevated mode of being. When every non-sentient particle appears to move with an eager animation toward its apparent extinction, it actually is running toward the perfection prescribed for it. When oxygen and hydrogen atoms combine, they die in their separate identities only to be reborn as water, which is essential to the vitality of all living forms. Thus we can say that death is a changing of place and form, not an end or extinction. From the tiniest particles to the greatest compounds within the universe, all changes, transformations, and decompositions result in what is most beautiful, fresh, and excellent. That is why we define death as the movement of beings to a higher mode rather than as their extinction.

In another respect, death is the time when one being resigns and hands over its affairs to its successor(s). This is enacted in the sight of Him Who has sovereignty and dominion over all things. Each creature is charged with presenting itself in a unique parade before the presence of the One Who gave it existence. Just before its parade is over, and the picture or record of it made and stored, the parade of its successor(s) begins, which relieves the parade ground of sameness and refreshes the scene with new and active beings. Each being acted out its role and moves aside so that others may appear, act out their roles, and show their skills. The freshness, liveliness, beauty, and excellent diversity is seen in creation is the result of these comings and goings.

Death also may be understood as silent advice, in the sense that nothing is self-existent. In other words, nothing can survive by itself or has permanence. A fading and ultimately dead light indicates a source of light that is unfailing and eternal. For those who grieve and complain about the transience and perishing of all things, this is a good lesson on how to mature and attain true happiness. Whatever or whoever captivates our hearts will leave us one day, which causes us to yearn for an eternal being to love and to be loved by. In our transient world, such a yearning is the first stage of moving toward or attaining eternity. Death is the mysterious uplifter that raises people to that dignity.

Given this, we can liken death to a healing hand, one that nurses to full health, that hurts us only as a doctor would hurt us: by giving a necessary inoculation or lancing, rather than a grim sword or sickle laying everything to waste. Considering death as a merely utilitarian way of making room for new generations is mistaken, for death is not absolute annihilation or extinction. Rather, what disappears does so only from within the horizons of our limited understanding, for the identity of every particular (as form and idea) continues to exist in our memories, in the Preserved Record, and in God’s all-encompassing knowledge. They also exist in different dimensions and in realms beyond those dimensions, beyond corporeal understanding. For example, seeds and flowers bloom and die, but their identity as form and idea continues in the many seeds and flowers that will bloom after them.

Consider the subject from another angle. If there were no death, would we not live in a hell of unrelieved terror as we faced an endless existence without a break or relief? How could we measure the worth or value of anyone or anything, conserve or concentrate our energy, make or carry out an intention, if time was limitless? If such a situation existed, those who now mourn the fact of transience and death would mourn their absence. Moreover, we would not experience creation’s inexhaustible variety, with all the prompts and images it gives to the human mind of beauty, freshness, and loss with renewability. How, in the absence of such a panorama of novelty within stability, could the human mind be inspired to contemplate that which lies beyond and sustains the visible world? How could we seek and worship the One who creates and provides for the whole.

Let’s deal with the subject from a different angle. If everything depended on life instead of death if beings continued to live through calamities, and if all events and life followed one direction forever, what could have happened? What could happen mean?

Basing ourselves on what we said earlier, death contains blessing and wisdom. Life without death would be such an absurdity and horrible disaster that, if such a situation could be fully described, people would cry and mourn about staying alive instead of dying.

If nothing died, neither a fly nor a human being could have lived in the early ages of this world, for ants and varieties of ivy would have invaded and occupied the entire planet. Nothing else could have survived or thrived. And later on, if no ant or ivy ever died, there would have been thick layers of them covering the Earth. As such statements cannot be disputed, we can see what a great blessing death is, and the great wisdom in allowing dead things to decompose.

How much of the Earth’s enthralling beauty and splendor could be seen with such a huge number of ivy plants and ants? What would this world, created to exhibit the splendor and magnificence of His art, be if such a situation prevailed? How could we witness the power, might, knowledge, and grace of the Creator and Owner of this world?

The absence of death also would give rise to another problem: The magnificent wisdom and order in the rule of this universe show that nothing in it was created in vain. The Absolute Owner of the physical and spiritual domains creates the most worthwhile things out of what may appear to us the most worthless, making the valueless into the priceless. New and excellent creations are engendered from the cells serving as bodily forms for His servants, especially those making up the human souls that God has recalled and holds in His realms. If the bodies, which He valued so highly that He “breathed” human souls in them, were allowed to decompose into nothing, the Creator’s Omniscient Wisdom would be contradicted. Any such notion is absolutely contrary to His Divine Honor, and so cannot be entertained.

In conclusion, all of creation, its balance, and order, the control, and administration by which its complex harmonies are sustained, is so magnificent that it inspires all people whose hearts and minds are open to the beauty and pleasure around them. The dividing, combining, and moving of atoms; the growth of plants and trees; the gushing of rivers to the sea; the oceans’ expanse, grandeur, and incalculable power; the evaporation of saltwater and its return as life-giving rain—everything races ardently from one stage to another, higher and better.

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oneofyatosfollowers · 5 years

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One Of A Kind Chapter 2

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191861/chapters/47843311

FF: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13360973/1/One-of-a-Kind

Yato's alarm went off the next morning, slowly pulling him out of a deep sleep. The noise was less urgent then the warning from last night's dust storm, but bounced around his skull none the less. He heaved himself off the mattress with a groan, his limbs and eye lids heavy. As he woke up, so did his systems, the screens blinking to life along side his vision. The first message saying his charge was low and would need to be replenished soon, while the other gave him the usual schedule of clean-up.

Getting up to a low battery was like waking up sore with a hangover. No wonder he turned in early. Yato groaned and stubbled towards the door. Pawing at the wall to get his oxygen-mask and ascot off the hook. He put both on, looking down to see he slept in his boots again. He debated putting on another pair but decided to wear these ones out completely.

The brown-tinted sunlight blared down strong this morning. Yato unzipped the top of his brown wearalls, tying the sleeves around his waist. Along the underside of his forearm, flat green panels were where the soft skin should be. Embedded there was a flexible solar panel, the easiest way to charge his battery. Yato laid back down on the top of semi-trailer, belly down with his arms at his side, and let the sun light soak into his systems. Due to smog-covered sun, this way of charging took half the day. But it was necessary, where as eating and drinking was not. It also lasted much longer than any food had previously done.

Yato opened his eyes at the sound of the battery being full. He stood and zipped back up his uniform. Nodding to Nora who had crawled her way up, he climbed back down the ladder and grabbed his cooler after locking his compactor to his back. When he stepped on Nora as he made his way down the ramp, he quickly got on his knees to apologize. The cockroach buzzed at him in irritation before making her way up his leg and on his shoulder. Yato nodded at her, then set off to work, his compactor still clasped on his back.

The hours ticked on as usual. The cubes of trash forming a large square base as Yato's cooler filled with the treasures he found. He made his way to the next pile, tossing aside a fire extinguisher- having already learned his lesson- and found an old refrigerator. This was tricky, he would have to remove everything then bring the large object to the dump to have it compresses by a much larger machine.

When the door wouldn't open, he pointed his right finger at it, signaling the laser to shoot. He started at the top and slowly made his way to the bottom, allowing the door to split down the middle and fall apart. What was behind the door had him pause.

"Nora...What is?" Yato's voice was nothing but a whisper. He gazed at the anomaly that shown a bright green. Stark against the dark brown waist land. 'Prunus Serrulata- Japanese Cherry Blossom' his main frame supplied. After a moment he thought on how to best take it back with him. The instructions on how to properly relocate a plant showed up, he read them while Nora jumped down to take a closer look. After some shifting through the trash, the plant was carefully placed in a short glass bottle, then put safely in the cooler. Reading the rest of the information his drive provided, Yato decided it would be best to return the plant to his house.

The trip back went by quick. Yato tried to search his own memories, from before his Father modified him to be a Wall-E. He couldn't remember plants, not even in his earliest memories. He remembered the fake leaves kept on the main table. But the plastic look-alikes where dull and rough in comparison to what Yato carried. He rubbed the leaves and had his scanner check again and again, his data coming back assuring him of the object was in fact a living organism. An extinct one at that.

Once Yato placed the plant safely on it's own shelf, he made his way back out the door. Another bright color caught his eye. Yato had just opened the door to his home when the red dot appeared. Nothing flickered into his view to give him any help to the second oddity of the day. It was a big red dot. A light the size of his palm. He slowly picked up his foot, eyes going wide for a moment before he slammed it on the door. His head whipped to the side as the dot darted out of the way just in time. After a pause it took off down the path, stopping a couple meters.

At this, Yato moved much slower. Placing the cooler down, he sneaked down the ramp, keeping his hand in front of him. When he was close, he moved slower, eyes fixated, and reached for it. When he did, the light shook. Circling Yato in a sort of dance, who danced with it in order to keep his gaze focused.

Suddenly, Yato was running. Taking off after the light that rocketed across the land. It's been a while since he's ran, but he wasn't wiped of such an instinctive human ability. It took a second for his tech system to kick into high activity mode. After a few meters, Yato was bounding over trash heaps and vaulting over fences. It helped he knew every inch of this city down to the last newspaper.

When it stopped again he was over what was once the ocean, now solid pollution. Yato let out a puff of satisfaction, its been a while since his lungs and heart had to work so hard. He looked around to see where the dot brought him, only to notice more of them coming down in a line. The red came down the city and the dunes and Yato realized he was surrounded. Good thing his mainframe was still buzzing because Yato turned tail and ran to the nearest, largest pile of trash.

He threw his body behind it, his systems blaring in his skull, pounding against his heart and breaths. The ground began to shake and the wind picked up. Yato dug his hands into the trash heap to hang on as the whole world seemed to shake. He faintly recognized the sounds of a space ship engine, but was too busy hanging on for dear life to get excited.

After a while, it quieted down, not nearly as silent as before but Yato was already starting to forget what that was like. Machines and engines began to hiss as the orbital maneuvering engines whined and slowed down. The atmosphere immediately cooled again, but the air smelled burnt.

Yato peeked around the corner, hand ready on his compactor in case he had to start swinging. A new, rounded tower stood tall, silhouetted against the sunlight. The bottom of the ship hissed open and a white cloud fell out of it like a water fall. Blue light streamed out of it, scanning the surrounding area. Yato crept out of his hiding spot when the light disappeared. He subconsiously fixed his hair, tried to rub any dirt off his face, then patted down his uniform.

Yato slowly made his way closer, stopping again when a large tube came down from a crane. It was placed not two inches off the ground. More mechanic arms came from the ship, one opening the locks along the side, the other typing in a code on the keypads at the top. Yato decided these machines weren't sentient and made his way behind a closer-much smaller-pile.

Whatever the machine typed in had the entire pod glowing a bright blue. The front was a glass case, one that had the shadowed shillohette of a person. At this, Yato nearly leaped out of his skin. His human half was almost thrilled to tears. It had been so, so long since he'd seen anything that even resembled a human. Just when he was starting to think this planet had been long since left behind. On the other hand, his mainframe panicked. The other Wall-Es were all dead, and he wasn't nearly done with the work he was supposed to do. What's worse is that he was sitting doing nothing in the presence of someone who was defiantly above him, instead of doing said job.

Yato's thoughts were silenced as the glass door of the pod slid open and the creature- who he assumed was a human- sat up and slid out. It stood in a white skin-tight suit with little glowing buttons along the hip and light up blue lines that stretched thoughout. Tyed to the tail bone was what looked like a small hand gun, long and futuristic without any sort of handle. The human reached up at the helmet it wore and clicked the buttons. The helmet seemed to disappear into thin air and long brown hair fell out. Yato gasped in awe at this, the hair flowing beautifully as the human looked around at it's surroundings.

The human waved at the pod, allowing it to shut before walking a few steps to the left. One hand on the side of their head- the white parts of the helmet that covered where the ears should be, still visible- and allowed the other side to scan the ground, just as the ship had done. After a second, something on the human buzzed, and it walked a few more paces before scanning again. It continued this process even as the ship began to fold back into itself. Yato ducked as the engines turned on, eyes not leaving the new guest.

The Earth rumbled and heat waves pushed past Yato with great force. But his eyes were able to keep open, even under such conditions, so he braced himself and watched over the human. The ship took off, the charred ground where it once stood the only evidence of it being there. That and the new two-legged organism walking around.

By now, the human had turned so Yato could get a good look at- oh. It was a human. Not just any human. A female. Yato figured he should had guessed, what with the nicely kept long hair she had, but then he reminded himself of the few men that kept their long hair in ponytails. But, her face look soft too. The skin was smooth and unshaven, her cheeks rounded along with her jaw. She had a delicate swan neck, delicate collar bones, and yep. Defiantly female.

Yato finally remembered how to close his mouth and his systems flashed a quick reminder he would need to breathe soon. So he did, watching the girl as she continued scanning. Maybe she was a cyborg like him? His systems hadn't picked up another signal, but it hadn't mentioned the ship either. Maybe they were both too advanced?

The human stopped, and so did Yato. She turned to watch the ship leave the atmosphere, now just a ball of light. She didn't show any emotion. Yato hoped she wasn't sad. As much as he was happy to finally have company, he knew what it felt like to be left behind. Yato took a breath, ready to go introduce himself and tell her it wasn't so bad here. Until she suddenly let out a yell.

Yato fell back behind the pile, freaked, before he realized the cry was one of joy.

"Oh my..." Yato's voice was caught in his throat when the woman's boots opened up two motors on the bottom and she took off in the air. She spun around, letting out a type of feminine laughter similar to the last sound Yato heard from another person. Yato 'Ooo'd and 'aw'ed as the girl flew around, kicking up dust, and dancing on telephone wires like gravity had no hold on her.

Yato worried about her flying off, somewhere he couldn't find or reach. But she stayed within sight, breaking the sound barrier now and again. After her laughter died down, she skidded into a landing right back where she started. Her hair was barely disheveled and her suit didn't have a speck of dirt on it.

As she caught her breath, Yato made his way toward her. He thought about how best to indroduce himself, how best to explain the mess and the lack of superiors, and maybe how best to invite her over for dinner. Once he was a meter away from her back side, he took in a breath through his mask.

"Hello-AH!" Yato threw his body to the side, his back hitting the dirt hard. Past him, the ground ruptured and exploded, dust billowing up. Yato still felt the heat of the blast long his chest, her calm focused face playing on repeat in his head. Yato realized he made a grave error: he hadn't even considered this person could be an enemy.

When the smoke cleared Yato sat in the fetal position with his compactor held out in front. Even the heavy iron and steel squares that blocked his head would be no match for whatever just fired at him from close range.

The girl made a string of noises. Firm and controlled, at normal volume.

Yato peaked around his compactor to see she still had the gun pointed at him. From this close he could see her eyes were brown.

She made the sounds again. Yato realized she was trying to speak to him in a language he- or his systems- didn't understand. There was so much to say, but he addressed the first issue.

"Don't shoot me. I'm not dangerous." Yato mimicked her tone, if not a little more passive.

He watched her eyes flicker to the down slightly to the right and knew she was reading something. She pressed her lips together, looking between him and her info, unsure.

"You-" she took a breath. "You speak the old dialect?"

Yato figured the question was rhetorical, noting that she still pointed the gun at him. He pointed his gaze at the gun then returned it to her with a hard, pleading, expression.

The young woman looked at him just as hard before pointing her gun to the floor. Yato noticed it encased her hand, stopping just above the wrist.

"You are not human." She spoke again while looking off to the right again, her voice choppy and unsure.

Yato shook his head, slowly putting down his compactor but not letting go. Yato may be a Wall-E, but there had been more than a fair share of fights. He swung this thing around day in and day out, his enhanced bone structure able to carry it like a baseball bat. He could also tell that she was new, or at least never pointed that at a sentient being before. Yato was confident he could defend himself.

"No. Are you?" He held his gaze. And his breath. Wanting desperately to know the answer. Her eyes finally left his and widened at something just below his chin.

"You're a Wall-E." she spoke in awe, and continued to look him up and down. "But I thought they were-" she shut her mouth and look at him again when he spoke.

"What? You don't have Wall-Es?" Yato forced a joking smile, but the words came out more nervous than he indended. The young woman let the gun fall to her side.

"No." she informed him, almost sad.

Yato immediately felt bad for upsetting her, even if he didn't know what he did.

"That-That's okay! What about you? Are you human or a hybrid, like me?"

"That's classified." she looked stern again, but a forced practiced stern.

"Well that's rude," Yato huffed.

"Sorry. That classified, Yato."

Yato perked up at the unfamiliar sound of his name. His smile returned when she put her gun away and he scrabbled to his feet. His name sparking the energy he had during her arrival.

"What's your name?" he asked excitedly, stepping close to her.

She stepped back with a funny look, "S-Sorry, but that's classified too."

Yato suddenly remember a joke his father often told.

"Nice to meetcha 'That's Classified Too'! Welcome to Earth!" Yato did a bow and flayed out an arm to gesture to the garbage land that surrounded them.

"There's lots of things here I think you'll like! And I'll be happy to show you!" Yato took walked towards her again, frowning when she backpedaled.

"Th-That's okay! I'm on a mission, so I'll have to pass." Her boots clicked on again. "It was- uh- nice meeting you!" she waved a bit awkwardly and took off again, this time toward the city, out of sight.

Yato stood and stared after her. His heart felt odd in his chest. Like it was telling him to follow her and never let her out of his sight. A high pitched chirp brought his attention away from the sky, to the ground behind him.

"Nora! Did you hear that! She said it was nice to meet me! And those boots! Did you see she could fly? Oh, wasn't she amazing Nora?"

Nora shook her body at the volume he shouted, instead crawling up his legs to his shoulder. She squeaked again.

"If you wanted to go home you should have went on without me. You're just using me as a ride 'cause you're lazy."

Nora hissed at him as Yato put the compactor back in it's holder. The smile still planted on his face. His cheeks were hurting, not being used to the activity, and he knew the future was going to be much more fun.

After Yato brought Nora back home, he tidied the pace up as best he could. Then he washed his hair and clothes with a leaf blower. And finally, soaking both in fancy-looking cologne he found. It was the middle of the night when Yato found her in the city. She had ended up in an old mattress store asleep in her pod, but this time with a blanket.

Quietly sitting in the parking lot outside, his gaze was zoomed in as far as it could go. His night-vision gave him high definition as he scanned the length of her body. He concluded some things. One, she was human, or at least a lot less cyborg-y than he was if she required sleep. Two, her knowledge about this world was basic at best. Other than her shock at his existence, she seemed to have an idea of what things were. It was like she had only seen things in pictures or read about them in books. Three, she was not here for a long time.

Next to this pretty human, the space ship also set aside a small crate. And if this person needed sleep, it was safe to assume she needed substance as well. Something that the crate most likely provided. If that were the case, the amount of food that thing could hold- even dried- was three months tops. Yato had hooked up the city's security system to his TV and his mainframe, it alerted him of any movement. He watched her take a meal out before finding a place to sleep.

Yato saw her sigh and roll over, pink lips parted, her breath fogging the invisible helmet. The Wall-E sighed longingly as she drooled, it's only been a couple hours but he couldn't remember life without her. Yato wouldn't let her leave. He couldn't. There was no way Yato could go back to that loneliness.

#noragami #noragami yato #yato #hiyori #Hiyori Iki #iki hiyori #yukine #noragami fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #wall-e #wall e #one of a kind

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fatehbaz · 5 years

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Wait, what's the anthropomorphism debate? If you'd prefer not to answer dw! I can look more into it online

Apologies in advance for this long post! I’m not all that great with ontology and theory, so take what I say here with a grain of salt; I am not “an authority.” I’m going to hijack the ask to summarize “the ontological turn in anthropology.”

So: the ontological turn in anthropology from 2008-2012, and the debate about anthropomorphism

I’m sorry that I did not answer this sooner. I’m also sorry that this is going to be a very long post. You might know all this stuff already, so please feel free to disregard all this text! A recap for viewers who missed the previous episode:

This question was - I’m assuming - in response to me being a silly-billy and making a meme of a distressed, sweaty person awaking from a nightmare, to illustrate the anxiety that confronted me when I noticed that there has been some recent Tumblr discourse replicating the heated academic anthropology debate about anthropomorphism from around 2008-2012. I was at relatively progressive university, focused on ethnoecology at the time (a field of anthropology right at the heart of the discourse), so I was forced to participate!

Basically, the 2008-2012-ish period saw the relative “mainstreaming” of a movement to “decolonize anthropology and conservation/ecology” and uplift Indigenous/non-Western worldviews as an alternative to Western views of the natural world, and this movement was basically referred to as “the ontological turn in anthropology.” It sought to acknowledge that Indigenous cosmologies were legitimate - as in, Indigenous/traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is very sophisticated, and therefore the cosmologies that maintained this knowledge ought to be given more credit. A major, if not the central, issue in this dialogue was how to prevent “intellectual colonization” by respecting the utility/validity of specific Indigenous worldviews like Buen Vivir, animism, totemism, etc. Thus, one of the most frequent and intense focal points of discussion and argument was “anthropomorphism” and animal emotion. Technical scientists were still uncomfortable accepting the environmental knowledge of non-Western cultures that believed in things similar to literal animism. The discourse was also deeply concerned with “the Anthropocene” and the climate/ecological crisis, and sought to uplift Indigenous relationships with ecology as examples of alternatives to capitalist resource extraction economies.

At the time, I fried my brain out while reading hot-take after hot-take about anthropomorphism - but I’m not all that great with ontology and theory, so this subject might not be as overwhelming to other readers!

The discourse was extensive; and some Tumblr discourse I’ve seen lately seems to be asking similar questions that the 2008-2012 discourse also grappled with.

Many Latin American scholars - and Indigenous people - had been actively writing about Indigenous cosmology’s importance to anthropology/ecology/conservation for decades but especially since at least the late 1980s and early 1990s (especially Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, an anthropologist working in Latin America and since dubbed the leading scholar of “Amazonianist” thinking promoting the knowledge of Andean/Amazonian peoples). However, this movement begun to be taken much more seriously in American academia around 2008-2010, led by the influential writing of ecology-adjacent anthropologists and theorists like Bruno Latour, Phillipe Descola, and Isabelle Stengers.

This discourse and its mainstreaming coincided with the rise of “object-oriented ontology” (OOO) - headed by Graham Harman, who was given more attention partially because of the rising popularity of his friend Mark Fisher, at this time. OOO played a major part in some of these discussions, since it basically (don’t quote me on this) allows for statements like “all other living things - and perhaps non-living things, but that’s more complicated - probably experience some strange alien form of subjectivity, and are therefore are potentially sentient at their own scale depending on how you want to define sentience.” Timothy Morton (who coined the term “dark ecology” - after which my blog was named) is/was a close colleague of Graham Harman’s. Morton sort of “bridged the gap” between the anthropology/ecology enthusiasts and the more space-y OOO theoretical stuff.

Anthropomorphism?

A sort of conclusion to this discourse, which was eventually acknowledged by many anthropologists and ecologists, is similar to Isabelle Stengers’ notion of “cosmopolitics”: Animals and plants have unique experiences and perspectives, probably very bizarre and strange to the human observer. Humans and other living things engage in “world-building” and may have an “interiority” that isn’t always going to match definitions of sentience or consciousness, and therefore it can be difficult to “translate” the experience of other living things in a way that humans can understand or relate. However, it is still worthwhile to attempt to translate the experience of other living things, partially by acknowledging that we live in a strange community of living things and therefore should value the biosphere as a community.

But I think Adrian Ivakhiv, an environmental scientist at University of Vermont, better summarizes this view of anthropomorphism which is gaining popularity. You can read the summary here, from December 2010.

You might recognize these themes from Tumblr discourse about animism/anthropomorphism. This is a discussion of how various human cultures conceive of other living things, and how living things, whether “sentient” or not, still “subjectivate,” and therefore participate in their own “world-building” at some scale.

“On animism, multinaturalism, & cosmopolitics.” December 2010/Janurary 2011. Adrian Ivakhiv.

Excerpts:

Either most existing entities are supposed to share a similar interiority whilst being different in body, and we have animism, as found among peoples of the Amazonian basin, the Northern reaches of North America and Siberia and some parts of Southern Asia and Melanesia. Or humans alone experience the privilege of interiority whilst being connected to the non-human continuum by their materiality and we have naturalism – Europe from the classical age. Or some humans and non-humans share, within a given framework, the same physical and moral properties generated by a prototype, whilst being wholly distinguishable from other classes of the same type and we have totemism – chiefly to be found among Australia’s Aborigines. Or all the world’s elements are ontologically distinct from one another, thence the necessity to find stable correspondences between them and we have analogism –China, Renaissance Europe, West Africa, the indigenous peoples of the Andes and Central-America [6]. [“Who owns nature,” 2008]

These ontological options can be portrayed as follows:

This would be a world that demands an ontological politics, or a cosmopolitics, by which the choices open to us with respect to the different ways we can entangle ourselves with places, non-humans, technologies, and the material world as a whole, become ethically inflected open questions. […]

In her multivolume work Cosmopolitiques (1996–97) and publications that followed it, Isabelle Stengers (2005) forwards a “cosmopolitical proposal” that, unlike most forms of cosmopolitanism, does not presume the existence or even the possibility of a “good common world,” an ecumenically peaceable cosmopolis. On the contrary, her proposal is intended to “slow down the construction of this common world, to create a space for hesitation regarding what it means to say ‘good’” (2005:994). The “cosmos” of her cosmopolitics “refers to the unknown constituted by [the] multiple, divergent worlds and to the articulations of which they could eventually be capable” (2005:994). Such a cosmopolitics does not pre-assume what will count as “common,” whether it is “human nature,” “cultural differences,” or the laws and discoveries of science; or, on the other hand, gods, souls, spirits, or anything else that anyone might bring to the table.

Stengers’s call is echoed by Latour (2004b), Mol (1999), and Law (2004), who argue on behalf of a politics for building, enacting, or co-producing shared or common worlds — not worlds that posit “nature” as the “unique author of a single account” (Law 2004:123) propping up a “reality that is independent, prior, singular, and definite,” but worlds in which “everything takes effort, continuing effort” (Law 2004:131–132). Such methods and modes of knowledge-making recognize their own complicities in the worlds they enact; and they are political in the sense that they raise questions about how the world of associations — the society of humans and other entities — is to be organized. Seeing ourselves as cosmopolitically entwined with each other and the other others of the world means seeing ourselves as actively practicing ways of “worlding” or “world-making” (Wilson and Connery 2007).

More importantly, if world-building is something that all entities are involved in, then all are carving up, in their own way, what will qualify as subject and what will qualify as object. (…)

A balanced processual perspective, however, would be one that argues that all things participate in subjectivity — all things subjectivate — in their own different ways, which may be more or less like ours depending on the specificity of those things; and that all things participate in objectivity — all things objectivate, becoming objective, material, bodily data for other things — also in their own different ways, which are also more or less like ours depending on the specificity of the things.(…)

Sorry again for the wall of text.

Thanks for the ask!

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insecwrites · 7 years

Text

TFA Prowl - Natural Birth

This is an old fic I had lying around, which I do still remember fondly. It is a short scene of TFA Prowl giving birth to a sparkling. Warning: Birth happens.

-START-

The first time he'd felt it, it'd been on a mission. A sharp jolt inside of him, pushing against his internal systems, forcing him to his knees. He had missed his shot, and the angry commlink message from Sentinel to do his fragging job. It'd been a warning sign, but he'd had disregarded it as an askew circuit from his meditations. Prowl's legs gave out, and he fell. His internal pain sensors were overtaxed, but his HUD was still not showing any malfunctioning systems. Prowl tried to get up, his hand crushing a brittle earth plant in his attempt to gain purchase.

Nature... Instincts... He had been stupid. Prowl let out a ragged scream as another jolt of pain interrupted his attempt to stand back up. He should have gone to Ratchet immediately, he should have done so the very moment the coding had activated, no matter how much it looked like it belonged to his core programming. He had ignored it, and now he was paying the price. Prowl clutched his abdomen, his other hand dragging gouges into a nearby tree.

Bumblebee had been right. Prowl really had been watching too many nature shows. The miracle of organic birth, the intricate and delicate processes of conception, growth and delivery, the unending wonder of organic growth in general, their fascinating way of knowing danger from safety, their intuitive ways of survival through slow natural developments-

Prowl was not organic. He had no instincts, just coding. Complicated programs, intricate hardware and a spark, that was all he was.

How could he ever have thought that that suddenly activated coding was anything else but a virus?! Prowl's tank rolled, and he fought to keep his energon where it belonged. Another jab of pain, and he could feel his inner plating shifting to accommodate whatever virus was manifesting inside of his body.

He had never come across such a complex string of rogue coding. It didn't simply shut down systems or override them- it acted like an independent system in his body, pretending that it belonged inside of him. Prowl had once seen a documentary about an organic 'virus' once. A simple microscopic being that could take control over the brain of a slug, and lead it to be eaten by a bird, so it could multiply within the bird and thus infect more new slugs.

He had found it fascinating. Now it was happening to him. From a powerful alien, to a virus-controlled shell. Prowl almost whimpered when his interface panelling opened up and fluids started dripping out. A quick look confirmed that it was energon. Small bits of his own metal came along with it, and he looked away before he could purge his tank over the sight.

He should have gone to Ratchet when he'd still been able to overcome the rogue coding, but he'd cast it aside as unimportant. A little fatigue and some minor over-stretching of his struts was nothing to bother Ratchet with. At least, that's what the coding had whispered to him, and he had complied without a second thought. Stupid. Immeasurably stupid.

It had gotten worse and worse with time. He'd started to feel drained, bloated in places where he shouldn't be- but the virus had kept him from telling Ratchet. It would be better if he didn't see it, safer. Whatever the virus had been doing to him, it had been protecting itself very very well. He hadn't even realised that it was a code making the decisions for him until he had purged his tanks. He should have gone to Ratchet immediately, but instead he had cleaned the mess and taken an extra cube for breakfast.

Prowl keened as his insides shifted, and a new gush of energon splattered in between his legs. He tried to shift his weight, but his body failed him, and he fell on his side, digging into the cold mud.

The virus had taken complete control, but it had left his processor intact. Cruelty incorporate. Prowl had experienced every single moment as if he was still holding the reigns. He'd gone to Prime, and requested a short period of time off-work for some heavy meditation. He'd passed by Ratchet, Bumblebee, Sari, Bulkhead- bidden them goodbye hastily and ignoring Bumblebee's annoying comments like nothing was wrong.

The rogue coding had demanded him to be alone. It had demanded him to drive and drive and drive until he was sure that there was not a single sentient being anywhere near him in the wilderness. It had forced him walk when his transformation cog had forced him into root mode, and then it had brought him to crawl on hands and knees when that became too painful- he hadn't found a good spot yet.

A good spot for what? Only the virus knew. Prowl tried to regulate his intakes and pressed a weak hand to his abdomen. What a way to join the Well. Prowl twitched in the dirt as another building wave of pain racked through his systems.

“M-master Yoketron...”

He'd failed, so spectacularly, and in so many ways. First with his training, then the protoforms, his team, and now this. He could only hope that whatever virus he had hadn't infected any of the other Autobots. They were the last line of defense on this planet.

Prowl almost choked on his intake as something started moving inside of him. He scrabbled his nails into the dirt as his internal systems started moving inside of him. Prowl choked back his panic, and tried to struggle upright again. He had to do something- anything- His comm-link was blocked, and Ratchet was the only person he could think of who could fix him. Ratchet- miles away from here.

There was the disconcerting feeling of metal breaking apart in his abdomen, and Prowl lied trembling in the dirt.

Was this how it was going to end then? Being forced to expel his inner systems through his valve? It seemed like a horror story- the kind that Bumblebee could never stop laughing about. Prowl howled as he felt the obstruction move down inside his body. The blasted coding was telling him to push, trying to make him help along. Prowl struggled, and managed to get back on all fours. No. No, he still had things to do- he had to tell the Autobots about the virus-...!

Another wave of pain banished that thought from his processor, and without a second thought he gave into the infernal programming. He pushed and screamed. The obstruction was in his valve. That meant his gestationtank was either a part of the mess, or simply gone. The programming flared up and Prowl pushed along with the pain, forcing his insides further down his valve.

Sensor nodes meant for pleasure and interface were mercilessly assaulted, and the softer lining in his valve was tearing. Prowl was still online. His self-repair was malfunctioning. There was no report of damage at all, even as Prowl felt more energon trickling down his leg. The Decepticon that had created this virus was the most brilliant spawn of Unicron that had ever lived. Maybe it was a simple torture coding, meant to extract information from the enemy unless a 'stop' command was put in. Prowl threw his head back with another wave of pain, pushing with all his might and his legs spreading wider-...

The object slid halfway out of his valve, together with a sickening splash of energon and half-formed silicone. Prowl whimpered and looked in between his legs. He could see it sticking out of his interface port, a bleeding mess of dissolving fuel lines and scrapped internal systems. His hips jerked at anotehr wave of pain and the disgusting ball slid out a bit further. A thicker part just wouldn't press past the tight ring of his valve. Prowl let out an unwilling sob. It wouldn't be too long until he offlined. His systems would soon notice that a few vital components had been turned into slag, and his self-repair would finally allow him to slip into stasis.

Almost. The coding was almost whispering to him. Almost. Just one more time.

Prowl heaved, and clenched his hands into the mud. One more time. He could feel the wave of pain building up, his few remaining systems preparing for the last push.... He screamed, and pushed. The uneven obstruction strained against the near-tearing rim of his valve, and Prowl almost thought it wouldn't go out- but then it slipped through. Like an invisible wall had been breached, everything spilled out of him in a wet clattering mess.

It fell into a muddy pool of energon with a wet squish, and Prowl could feel it tugging on his insides by a fuel line that hadn't quite dissolved yet. His limbs gave out and he collapsed on the ground, letting the cold mud seep into his vents. The coding was still forcing him to move, urging him to reach for the disgusting ball of malformed innards to cradle it to his chestplates. Prowl obeyed the code mindlessly and gathered his internal systems in his arms even as another wave of pain shuddered through his lines. The creator of the infernal code had a sick sense of humour. Dying by expelling your own vital systems, and then cradling their remains with his last remaining power? Nothing short of sociopathic sadism.

There was more coding- Prowl couldn't be bothered to read into what it was trying to do. He let it run its course. Maybe it was sending information to a secured frequency, or decoding his memorybanks. He couldn't bring himself to move. Prowl simply laid in the cold mud and rode out the last waves of pain he was to know in his life. The virus coding had stopped telling him to push. A small mercy in its own right. Prowl twitched, and felt bits of scrap and broken circuitry slipping from his damaged valve.

His commlink was still out. Perhaps he should try to embed a message in his memorybanks for whoever found him. Work it into a trap in case it turned out to be the Decepticons. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He offlined his optics and waited for death.

Something moved in his arms, and Prowl's vents made a stuttering wet hiccup. No, wait. Those weren't his vents. Prowl's optics snapped online and he stared down at the bundle in his arms. A tiny mech sat in his hold, its protoform visible beneath brittle plating, and completely covered in a mess of energon, silicone and scrap.

Prowl's intakes halted, and the pain was suddenly no longer his first priority. Had he gone insane? Was it the coding, making him feel and see things that were not there- latching onto a recent train of thought and realising it? The sparkling retched, and a thick clot of congealed fluid sprang loose from its vents. Prowl was picking the vents clean before he'd even concluded if the sparkling was real or not. His hands were shaking terribly as he wiped away the thick layer of grime from the tiny mech in his hands. It had a small visor, similar to his own, and it glowed orange. It was barely more than a protoform with a few plates attached to it. Dark green encased a pale faceplate and curls of dull gold decorated the little helm.

It was undergrown, the rogue coding whispered. Prowl hadn't ingested enough of the right fuel for the plating to develop more prominently.

The sparkling retched again, and splattered a wet blob of lubricant against Prowl's chestplates before its vocaliser clicked on with a high, wrenching cry. Prowl could feel the strange coding jolting awake again, and he cradled the sparkling closer to his chest. The miracle of birth. Instinct. Code?

Prowl's vents hitched as he retracted the armor plates on his side- he had to feed it. His fuel lines were thin, but there was still energon running through them. The sparkling was writhing in his hold, crying and grasping at Prowl's chestplates with uncoordinated little hands. Prowl pressed the sparkling against his fuel lines, and it stopped crying immediately, sharp sparkling denta chewing open his fuel line. Prowl laid in the cold mud, and held the newspark close as it fed on his energon lines.

Not a virus. It'd never been a virus. Birth, the miracle of all organic reproduction, lost to the ages when the Allspark appeared, and now happening to him. Prowl grunted, and kicked his pedes in the mud in an attempt to sit upright. His sparkling curled against his plating with a sobbing little whine. Prowl struggled upright, ignoring the subsiding waves of pain still coming from his abdomen. This- the pain, the coding.... It was all normal. Natural in ways he thought weren't meant for Cybertronian kind.

He leant against a tree for balance, and found a smile pulling at his faceplate. A sparkling. Something that hadn't been seen for vorns, and he had been chosen to carry it. He activates his commlink, and it crackled to life without problems. The obstructing code was absent as if it'd never been there. Prowl coughed. It was easy to see why reproduction was left to the Allspark. His systems were strained and his fuel tank was nearly empty. His optics flickered offline by themselves as he connected to Ratchet's comm frequency.

“R-ratchet. I... I need assistance...”

“Prowl! Where the slag have you been!? Do you have any idea how close we came to losing Omega Supreme!? I swear by the Allspark, if you went on another road trip with that Lockdown-!!”

Prowl couldn't help it, and he burst out in a short laugh. Lockdown. Of course. That must've been the trigger. A casual interface, a one-time thing, that idiotic little tryst was the thing that induced a sparkling. A downright miracle.

He could see it in the sparkling. The white faceplate was obviously Lockdown's, and the golden decorations were the same colour as Prowl's. He thanked Primus that the sparkling hadn't inherited Lockdown's spiky decorations, he really doubted he could have survived that.

“What's going on, Prowl?” Ratchet sounded worried. Prowl stroked a hand over the feeding sparkling and tried to think of a correct answer. He could only mutter whatever came to his mind.

“I… something unexpected came out of me.” He murmured. The sparkling tore open another fuel line, and Prowl flinched. “I’m losing energon.”

“… Stay where you are! I got your co-ordinates and I sent Optimus and Bulkhead your way!”

Prowl leant back against a tree. He stroked a finger over the tiny white helm and hummed, meditating on the miracle of life. The sparkling fell asleep and drooled lubricant over Prowl's abdomen.

He had a sparkling. His body had reproduced a protoform, and he and Lockdown had given it a spark and CNA to create a form with. The pain was starting to cut through his dazed happiness, and his smile dropped into a forlorn expression. He remembered the Jettwins very vividly. And Blackarachnia. Sparklings were very useful to experiment on. Prowl looked at the sparkling. There was still proto-matter underneath his plating, probably meant to slowly shape him into his adult form over the vorns, and it would be oh-so easy to inject something to make that process go a little faster, or make him stronger, or bigger, or a complete mindless killing machine.

Prowl stroked the small mech's small green helm and touched the edge of the dark orange visor. 'For the sake of Cybertron, the Allspark and the Autobots' had become justification for experiments and untested modifications.

He would have to be careful.

#prowl #tfa prowl #transformers animated #transformers fanfic #drabble #insecwrites #valveplug #fanfiction

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driveavanintomyheart-blog · 6 years

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Another wonderful theory!!

Howdy folks!!! It’s been a long time, but here I am, back with another one of my weird thoughts. I guess this is less a theory and more of an... Observation. This one pertains to what exactly IS Steven “Quartz” Universe. And the long and short of it is that Steven is an EXTREMELY shape-shifted light construct. Now, before you scroll right on by rolling your eyes at my suggestion, hear me out. I do have some reasons to believe this.

I first started thinking this around Cat Fingers of all things. Shape-shifting is a natural feature for a Gem, but Steven is half human. His body is physical, correct? He GREW into his current form over time and didn’t regenerate. So why is he able to shape-shift at all, and why did his grow so unstable, showing sentience on top of individuality? Simple, because Rose Quartz DESIGNED her new form to act with independence and sentience away from her gem. It’s a weird concept, but this serves as base evidence that Steven is even less human then we thought and more along the lines of a mineral based A.I. Yes, the argument can be made that we’re all A.I., but we’re splitting hairs at this point.

Now, point number two, Steven’s stamina. Peridot stated that Steven’s form consumes so much energy that he needs to eat constantly. This, I believe, is a misjudgment. His form is shifted so far towards human, that Steven is capable of exerting a natural form of Stamina. By eating and sleeping, he can take a massive load off his Gem, allowing it to store a “reserve” of sorts. But after nearly 12 or so years of living like this, accessing the reserve isn’t exactly a simplistic thing to do. Training and practice is not only giving him better access, I believe it’s building upon his Gem’s ability to produce enough energy for his form. I theorize that later down the line, Steven is going to need food and sleep less and less until he pushes into a more mature, shifted form. Which leads to point three.

Steven’s Birthday serves as the third part of my point. Steven exerted massive amounts of energy to force himself into a slightly older appearance. Doing this over the course of the day, his body was forced into a “Battery Saver” mode so that his gem could recover the massive reserve it lost. The thing is, we ALREADY saw something like this happen. Too Many Birthdays. Way back before Steven had to worry about Homeworld, the very act of his mentality shifting to darker, more “grown up” thoughts was enough for his subconscious to shift him into an elderly man. So, why is it so much harder for Steven this time. Simple, his energy reserve isn’t capable of sustaining those acts anymore. Steven was actively using his gem around the later episode and he’s now using his gem’s natural energy production to fuel his actions. That, and his mentality really didn’t change, which made it that much harder.

His “New” powers are part four of this rant. All of the things that are surprising the Gems around him really don’t make sense when you think about it. Pearl and Garnet fought alongside Rose Quartz, they KNEW the things she was capable of. Plant production, healing tears, floating, strength, they knew about her powers. So... Why is Steven capable of so much more? The shifting of consciousness, astral communication with gems and humans, the ability to completely and utterly insert his mind into the body of another (sentient) creature. The main and simple reason is... It’s not new. It is a technique developed by Rose Quartz and passed on through her Gem. It’s enhanced by the reserve of energy in his Gem and expands the capability of it. Rose gave up her Physical form for Steven, but no one has explained exactly what this meant. She LITERALLY separated her consciousness from her gem!!! She left all her memories behind and moved her mind to shifted construct form! That’s why Steven can’t be poofed, why when he used up all that energy he reverted in form instead of his gem. Because ROSE CAN’T GO THERE!!! Until he moves himself into the empty consciousness of his Gem, he’ll never be able to poof or recover like that. But, the second he does do that... He will cease to be Steven and return to Rose Quartz. If he is damaged to the point of death in his physical form, Rose dies with him. His gem, will just be a fancy battery at this point because there is nothing inside to direct the energy anywhere. If Pearl had pulled the gem free when he was a baby, it would have all ended there and Rose and Steven would have ceased because his body wasn’t taking in enough energy to survive on their own.

But WAIT!!! There’s more!!! Fusion!!! Steven/Rose is capable of fusing with both Humans and Gems. This is because of the separate consciousness and his humanoid physiology from his advanced form. When he fuses with Connie, his body is pure light when they unfuse, while with Amethyst he remained in his normal form when they unfused. Because, and I’m sure you’re tired of it by this point, his energy reserve. When he started fusing with Connie, it was all subconscious and easy to do. Heck, most of the time they’re doing it, it’s subconsciously. I doubt Steven actually understands HOW he’s making it happen or what’s happening when it does. His body breaks down and forms most of the mass of the fusion. The question I don’t have an answer to is why Connie forms into light too. But with Amethyst, all Steven had to do was provide energy from his gem and let his personality merge. He didn’t even have to break down his physical form, Amethyst took care of the lion’s share.

I think I had more things, so I’mma go ahead and just call this part 1. I also feel and low-key hope people point out errors/points that I missed. This was amazing to write and it feels great to be contributing to this blog again.

#steven universe #Theory #Me #SU #STEVEN QUARTZ UNIVERSE #connie maheswaren #Pearl #amethyst #Garnet #rose quartz #greg universe #driveavanintomyheart #COMPLETE AND UTTER INSANITY!!!#IT JUST MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE TO ME!!!

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spicynbachili1 · 5 years

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Lethal League Blaze review | Rock Paper Shotgun

Developer: Crew Reptile Writer: Crew Reptile

Launch: Out now! On: Home windows From: Steam and Humble For: £17.99/$19.99/€19.99

Deadly League Blaze is a springy, frenetic future-sport performed by an underground league of robots, skaters, mercenaries and a sentient boombox. Think about baseball, however then strip away all of the elements that don’t contain whacking a ball, changing them with violent duels between two to 4 brawlers. In these duels, the baseball is the only real weapon. That is likely to be underselling it. The ball is a relentless, physics-defying missile that, at full power, can virtually be in all places without delay. Few different video games make hitting issues, both balls or individuals, this immensely satisfying.

I get to fake I’m good at Blaze. With the flick of the stick and the press of a button, I can launch a supersonic, earth-shaking strike that bombards my opponent from each path. With one hit, the baseball can grow to be a WMD. Like Smash Bros, its closest relative other than the unique Deadly League, it’s a celebration sport. Easy controls and an absence of elaborate combos means you may choose up a controller and simply begin swinging.

Every thing orbits the ball, and the participant with essentially the most management over it wins. Whenever you smack it, the ball is tagged together with your color and might’t harm you, however the different participant can keep away from taking harm by merely smacking the ball again, altering the color once more. It is likely to be a baseball you’re knocking about, however Blaze continuously conjures up tense rallies which can be extra evocative of racket sports activities. It’s hypnotic. In case you hold hitting that ball again, you’ll keep concussion-free. However you don’t wish to get caught in a rally without end. In the end, you’re making an attempt to plant the ball proper in your opponent’s smug face. And boy does that really feel good.

There’s a bit extra to touchdown successful than simply leathering the ball actually laborious. You’ve obtained to be sneaky. You possibly can, for example, bounce the ball off the borders of the sector to get it behind the opposite participant, catching them off-guard. They’re most likely not going to only stand there ready for you, after all, so that you’ve obtained to purpose for the place you count on them to be, not the place they’re at the moment standing. It requires quite a lot of split-second tactical manoeuvring as you attempt to get each ball and opponent in place on your coup de grace.

With each strike, the ball picks up velocity till it’s shifting so quick that there’s a really actual concern that it would rip by time and house. At sluggish speeds, the ball can solely do a small quantity of injury, however because it will get quicker, the prospect of lacking it turns into terrifying. At a sure level, it doesn’t matter how a lot well being you’ve obtained, it can smack you proper out of the sector. When the ball reaches cataclysmic speeds, all the pieces begins to shake, the world turns pink and I confess that I normally begin shouting at that time as a result of bloody hell is it intense.

You don’t at all times need the ball to be tearing throughout the display screen. Certain, a supersonic projectile may knock out your opponent, but it surely might simply as simply be turned on you. To get extra management over it, you can provide it somewhat bunt. What’s nice in regards to the bunt is that it stops the ball in its tracks however lets it hold its kinetic vitality, so while you hit it once more, it’s nonetheless obtained some velocity. It’s additionally potential to counter an assault by plucking the ball out of the air and pitching it again, baseball-style. It’s extra about manipulating its velocity and path, not simply making it go very quick. A slight change within the sample is likely to be all it takes to place your rival on the again foot.

It’s a aid to not need to memorise extra transfer lists. A number of easy inputs are all you’re going to want to carry in your head, but you are able to do a lot with them. The difficult half is combining all of them in battles the place all the pieces occurs so rapidly that actuality itself will get a wee bit wonky. You get some assist with this, although. Whenever you join with a ball that’s going particularly quick, for example, you briefly freeze as all the facility swells up. It calls to thoughts an over-the-top anime brawl, but it surely additionally serves a sensible function by giving each gamers time to breathe.

In the midst of a struggle, a tool can seem that bestows a random power-up not on any participant, however the ball. You’ve simply obtained to hit it. Nothing sows chaos like Blaze’s power-ups. Perhaps you’ll need to knock about an invisible ball, or maybe it can grow to be an electrocuting drone which you could instantly management or perhaps a rocket that may section by partitions. I’m truly not wanting ahead to the time when I understand how every of them works, because the shock and confusion is a part of the magic. There may be one downside, nevertheless, which didn’t grow to be clear till I used to be taking part in towards somebody who had loads much less expertise. Getting the ball into the power-up machine requires a little bit of precision and timing, because it’s a shifting goal, which naturally signifies that the higher participant will obtain many of the power-ups. It’s a bonus that they don’t want.

All of Deadly League’s ballplayers return, together with three new potential champs. Since you don’t must pore over pages of combos and skills, there are fewer hurdles to taking a brand new character for a spin. There’s nonetheless fairly a bit to get used to, thoughts. Hitboxes, velocity, ball management – they’re all subtly (generally considerably) completely different between characters. I’m somewhat a fan of the robotic lads, Change and Doombox. Change is a skateboarding robotic who deflects the ball with rad tips and might, impressively, skateboard on the ceiling. He’s fantastic. Doombox is a sentient boombox with anger points, and he’s an absolute unit. He’s an enormous goal, however gosh he makes me really feel robust. Together with his jetboots, he’s additionally surprisingly mild on his toes.

There are nuances that take time to choose up, however you’ve got quick access to the complete toolbox right away. Mastery isn’t remotely required for Blaze to easily be a hell of quite a lot of enjoyable, both. You may ignore the subtleties of parrying and never care about timing particular skills completely – that’s wonderful! It’s nonetheless a satisfyingly kinetic, outlandish fighter whether or not you propose on actually digging into it or not.

Blaze has extra single-player diversions than its predecessor, however the pickings are nonetheless a bit slim for the solitary brawler. The very plain arcade mode returns, however this time it’s accompanied by a half-hearted story mode, as nicely. The story battles are, with solely a few exceptions, precisely the identical because the arcade bouts, however there are additionally some forgettable vignettes getting in the best way. They really feel somewhat extraneous, however you get some straightforward forex that may be spent on new costumes and phases, in addition to a number of issues that may solely be unlocked by ending them.

It’s unusual that the unlockable modes just like the volleyball variant – sadly, fairly dangerous – solely present up within the story as soon as after which by no means once more. They’re playable in on-line and native multiplayer, however that’s it. The omission is indicative of a single-player expertise that’s content material with merely present. Even fundamental choices like tweaking the issue are absent.

Multiplayer is a distinct story fully. The unique Deadly League was proper up there with Samurai Gunn and Nidhogg when it got here to native multiplayer video games, and I absolutely count on this to interchange it. It’s designed to create massive moments. The lengthy rally that has everybody on the sting of their seats, ready for one participant to interrupt; the electrical power-up to takes out three different gamers, placing the underdog within the lead; the mild, slow-moving lob that also by some means wins the match. It calls for an viewers, actually, and I can’t wait to begin taking part in with bigger teams.

On-line multiplayer is a wonderful substitute within the meantime. Each modes allow you to customise the matches, tweaking the principles and making massive adjustments like eliminating the well being bar and returning issues to the brutal one-hit knockouts of the unique sport. Up to now the one points I’ve encountered have been associated to Steam, not Blaze, and in any other case it’s been comparatively straightforward to host and be part of matches.

The phantasm that I used to be any good at Blaze was instantly shattered once I began taking part in random fast matches. I can solely assume that the primary gamers to enterprise on-line have been additionally those with essentially the most expertise with the unique sport. It was like everybody had been to a summer season coaching camp aside from me. It was somewhat bit embarrassing, truthfully. However I used to be by no means left gawking on the display screen, questioning what the heck had simply occurred. They’d extra management, they have been higher at increase the ball’s momentum earlier than launching it and so they didn’t continually leap round on an invisible pogo stick. It’s a horrible behavior that I’ve by no means been in a position to shake.

I feel it will likely be some time earlier than I fling myself right into a ranked match, however I already really feel like I’m making quite a lot of progress. The path to enchancment is way more easy than in, say, Road Fighter V, and it’s largely a matter of having the ability to decipher the ball’s motion and work on my timing. That’s simpler mentioned than finished, however I’m eager! I might very very similar to to be good at hitting stuff. I get a substantial amount of pleasure simply from a single well-timed, sturdy strike – what in the event that they have been all like that? It appears well worth the effort.

My screenshots completely don’t do justice to only how nice it’s to only watch. Blaze maintains the entire authentic’s type, but it surely upgrades all the pieces else. Essentially the most noticeable change is the leap to 2.5D, but it surely’s the animation that sells the fights, giving them their incomparable velocity and move. The affect of Jet Set Radio is much more obvious than it was in its predecessor, and that extends to the outstanding soundtrack. I’ve performed Blaze simply to take heed to it, and I’ll once more. Jet Set Radio’s personal Hideki Naganuma is in there, and Ain’t Nothin’ Like a Funky Beat is corker, however actually the entire thing is a deal with.

Deadly League Blaze doesn’t flip over the desk, but it surely’s an especially assured sequel that improves on nearly each a part of its predecessor. I feel I’m going to be spending quite a lot of time with it. There are some flashy unlockable costumes hidden among the many much less fascinating palette swaps, so I’m engaged on nabbing them in the intervening time, between extra on-line beatings. What I’m actually wanting ahead to, although, is getting it on the massive TV and trapping a bunch of associates in my flat for the weekend. That’ll be the last word check, however I’ve very excessive hopes.

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/lethal-league-blaze-review-rock-paper-shotgun/

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nonavalon-archived-blog · 7 years

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Selections from Merlin’s Bookshelf #1: The Magic Used by Sentient Creatures

Theories, headcanon, and blog-canon regarding magic in the world of Nanatsu no Taizai. Subject to change according to canon revelations. Under a read-more, because it’s long.

*[ information contained within brackets represents canon fact that could not feasibly be known by the world’s scholars, and thus would be discluded in a real publication of this text ]

Intrinsic Race Magic

Every race but humans is born with a certain measure of accessible magical power. At birth, most do not understand how to channel or use this magic immediately, but they possess it nonetheless. Members of these races retain the ability to cast their race magic throughout life.

Fairies: Heart-reading, transformation, levitation Giants: Creation Druids: Purge, healing Demons: Unknown *[Hellblaze, Purgatory Fire, darkness, soul magic] Goddesses: Resurrection, flight, healing *[Ark, Purge]

Humans are the exception and do not have any magic like this. Some humans are born with a measure of magical power, but they cannot access their magic to cast spells until they develop their magical ability.

Such abilities, their function, and the mode of access to utilize them can be classified under the moniker of paraphysiology -- that is, the magical anatomy of a group when considered as unique, but not separate from, physiology.

FAIRY The racial magic used by the fairies is as follows: a pseudo-psychic ability referred to as ‘heart reading’, physical transformation, and telekinetic levitation.

Whether ‘heart reading’ is a sixth sense (potentially induced by magic) enabling fairies to decipher an aura, or a natural aptitude for and magical enhancement of kinesics and cold reading, is unclear. The fairies make little enough contact with other races so as to render adequate experimentation impossible. One way or another, heart-reading enables a fairy to discern the sincerity of or intent behind statements and external appearance. This ability functions when applied to all sentient races and species.

Fairies also possess an unobserved but widely confirmed magic enabling them to adopt different physical forms at will. According to the accounts of fairies themselves, these transformations are magically arduous and exhausting. A fairy’s overall magical power is limited when they are in an alternate form due to the amount of power they must focus on their transformation to maintain it.

Telekinetic levitation is easily the most frequently utilized ability the fairies possess. This levitation ability enables the fairies to fly -- though perhaps this is better thought of as an illusion of flight rather than the genuine artifact. What few fairies partake in combat tend to wield weapons with this telekinesis. It is unrecorded whether the duration, amount, or degree of control for levitation is correlated whatsoever with a fairy’s personal power.

GIANT Giant clans universally practice a magic known as Creation. Creation can be generalized as a deep connection to the earth; that is, an ability to magically sense and command stone, minerals, and sediment. Some extremely powerful giants find this ability extended to the degree that the ‘earth’ referred to includes natural plant and animal life. Physical movement is deeply tied to the giants’ ability to invoke this magic, though in what way has not been adequately studied.

DRUID Despite being physiologically classified as humans, the druid race’s paraphysiology is clearly distinct from their magically-inferior human brothers. Druids are born in the possession of abilities supposedly granted to their race by the goddess clan, including healing and Purge.

Druid’s healing abilities are unparalleled amidst the arcane arts, surpassing even the most accomplished mages’ or fairy’s. A druid’s magic to heal is produced by their body and magic itself and apparently operates with no need for conscientious control on the part of the caster. There is evidence that healing magic may drain more of a druid’s physical and mental energy than other forms of magic do for any race. For unknown reasons, their healing magic cannot act upon the caster’s own body. Druidic healing not only heals physical injury and corrects any physical wrong, but also replenishes stamina and magical power.

Purge is a spell and ability also unique to the druid race. Mages of all disciplines have attempted mimicking this magic and failed across the board. “Purge” expels foreign entities from the affected body. This ability is intertwined in some capacities with the healing magic, as it finds applications in ridding infection and disease and expelling infirm spirits.

GODDESS No complete or reliable documents recording the magic capabilities of the goddess race survived their retreat into their own realm. However, while unconfirmed and by all standards scientifically unsound, records do remain to document alleged abilities possessed universally by the goddesses, these being: healing, flight, and resurrection.

The supposed healing ability is most easily accepted as a likely truth due to the similar magic possessed by the druids, who are said to have been blessed with some of the goddess clan’s own power. It can be presumed without risking too much fallacy that the goddess clan’s healing is very reminiscent of the druids’, if perhaps capable of greater speed, depth, and number in healing. Some myths allege that the goddess clan’s healing abilities extended to the degree that they could bring individuals of any race back from the dead.

Goddesses possessed two to four bird-like wings sprouting between the neck, shoulder blades, and waist. Detailed physiology of their body is unknown, but it can be assumed that these wings served a supplementary function to magic, while magic was the primary source of their flight

DEMON Records of the demon clan’s magic at all are nonexistent, let alone those of any intrinsic characteristics possessed by the species. Were it not for the omnipresent oral tradition acknowledging their role in the ancient war, there are those who would consider this lack of documentation evidence that the demon clan is little more than myth.

[ This is some esoteric weirdness with virtually zero canon information. I’ll elaborate the content here once we learn more about the demon clan, as we most likely will during the upcoming flashback chapters ]

Magical Abilities & Spells

Everyone of all races possesses their own inherent magical ability. A magical ability is essentially a “class” of magic that a wielder can cast spells within. Spells are the influence of magic upon an environment. Hand motions, visualization, and channeling (sometimes aided by spoken incantations) combine to activate a spell.

Magical abilities do not manifest for everyone. They develop when an individual trains their mind to influence their soul. This requires that they possess a level of great mental and spiritual strength. Manifesting magical abilities comes more or less easily according to a race’s intrinsic affinity for magic. That is, fairies are much more likely to develop their ability than humans.

CREATION Creation is both the giant race’s intrinsic magic and an individual magical ability. They are two separate entities. By tradition, each giant calls their personal magical ability Creation because they are similar enough to appear identical, and different individuals of unique abilities can perform many of the same spells.

MAGES Mages are a rare breed distinguished by the fact that their magical ability does not limit their casting. A mage can use magical energy to influence their environment in any way according to their will.

Usually, their magical ability is also a modifier or booster rather than a classifier, unlike most others. A mage’s ability is not accompanied by any related spells.

Many mages dedicate much of their lives to studying magic, as they have the greatest aptitude for it. They can expand the breadth of their abilities by learning others’ spells or by developing their own. The sheer expansiveness of the spells a mage can use makes them dangerous and valuable to any and every race.

#[[ this is just what I think of course #by no means canon #but for the purposes of theory and for this rp blog #it was driving me crazy to have no concept of how magic could work in this world #thus here this is ]]#ⓞ 𝑜𝑜𝒸 / 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝒸 #ⓘ 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓃 #ⓘ 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑔 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓃 #ⓘ 𝓂𝑒𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓃'𝓈 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈𝒽𝑒𝓁𝒻

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