#protect the equation

[opn-theorizing]

Hey! https://www.tumblr.com/preservationofnormalcy/743872951996334080/it-is-quite-a-political-concept-so-i-assume-there?source=share

I was told you might have some knowledge on the phrase Protect the equation. So yeah! Just asking if you know anything about it

Oh hey an ask! Thank you :D

Just as an FYI, I don't have any insider info so this is mainly speculation.

As far as I can tell, "Protect the Equation" is a catchphrase or motto of sorts for the Office. It's appeared a couple times before, notably as "Protecting the Equation is paramount" at the bottom of the fancy custom page for the office. If you want to see for yourself, go here and scroll to the bottom.

Not entirely sure if this is considered in-universe or not, but for now I'm treating it as out-of-universe as it appears on Tumblr, but may not appear on in-universe official page.

Going off of American government websites, the Office probably doesn't have their motto at the bottom of their page.

I haven't exactly been up to date on Office news, but the phrase has also cropped up with regard to this ask, which interestingly enough is also related to what Normalcy is. It is similarly cryptic, written in blackout poetry style.

Unfortunately, I'm still in the dark as to what exactly "the Equation" is and why it needs to be protected.

And here we delve into some ramblings and musing on what exactly it could be!

First off, "Equation" is capitalized, so it's a very specific thing. It would appear that what is considered "Normalcy" is based on this "Equation."

Equations in math always have an equals sign, which is what sets them apart from expressions.

Using that, it can be inferred that something must be equal to something else - but what? That we don't really know yet. Some targeted in-universe asks could perhaps reveal it, but then again a government agency could be loathe to release sensitive information.

Something equals something. Perhaps there's a universal math problem that sustains the fabric of reality that must be maintained. Unlikely, though possible.

Maybe it's just that there's a limit to how much extranormal there can be before society disintegrates. What is the limit? That's more a ratio than an equation, though.

The office was founded in 1927, but nothing really notable happened then IRL. Maybe check out the #interview tag to see if there's anything in there :D

There's absolutely some esoteric things happening around this though, what with the cryptic answers.

Hope this helped somewhat! I'm really just spit-balling here to be honest.

#office for the preservation of normalcy #ask #protect the equation

[kittykatninja321]

fics that villainize Talia are obsessed with having Jason bad mouth her. I think Jason should be the #1 Talia apologist actually. To a toxic degree even. You tell Jason about the weird cloning shit and he’s like “well I’m sure she had her reasons 🤷🏻‍♂️”

#IM JUST SAYING… #The version of Talia that Jason experienced was a kind and generous benefactor who genuinely cared about him #and protected him at his most vulnerable. Jason’s too busy running at full tilt towards his endgame in lost days to be especially grateful #But I think he would be very aware that he owes her a debt he cannot repay. And so I think he would hesitate to condemn her #Jason Todd #dc #Also it does not make sense for Jason to equate Talia to Ra’s as someone who is intimately aware of the fact that Talia went against Ra’s #wishes to protect him #Talia al Ghul

[bullagit]

due to personal reasons i am now firmly on team “i hope aziraphale does change heaven for the better actually (going on the assumption that his return is as straightforward as it seemed etc” 

like if the alternative is just this ohhh he’s so NAIVE and SOFT and so WRONG and he’ll have to LEARN A TOUGH LESSON etc etc nonsense then yeah 1000% go for it babe knock it out of the park

i hope choosing hope and kindness pays dividends. i hope the soft traits that made other characters continually disparage and underestimate him and his intelligence turn out to be his greatest assets bc i kinda don’t give a shit about a “toughen up it’s the only way everyone else knows better” life lesson for this character

(which like honestly a lot of the rhetoric is dismissive of the fact that persistent goodness in the face of an existence of disparagement takes great strength and that at the end of the day aziraphale has always been able to stand up in his own way)

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens spoilers #aziraphale #aziraphale IS in fact a dark horse #he is consistently dismissed and underestimated and overlooked bc of how he presents himself! #even crowley does this with him (not in any sort of malicious way its a sense of protectiveness) #(i am not here to get into how aziraphale n crowley treat each other in ways that are unintentionally hurtful id be here forever lmao) #the point is that aziraphale is smart and tbh he knows more about how shitty heavens treatment has been the past few thousand year?? #since he's. he's been the one getting treated badly. that whole time. #anyway theyre both right theyre both wrong and end of the day i just. #i hate the concept of a s3 that equates softness and kindness with being wrong and naive and dumb etc #it does not feel very good omens to me idk man #so i hope that's not where it goes

[kybelles]

mary was only around 21 when she had neil. she was barely an adult. i need to be sedated.

#mary hatford #aftg #imagine your family selling you to a horrifying bloodthirsty monster and you are forced to have his child at twenty #and she STILL risked her entire life for neil to protect her son #she even died for him and even in her last moments all she could think about was neil’s safety #mary i’m so sorry my dearest… i really am… #anyone who equates her to fucking nathan in terms of abusing neil is never seeing the pearly gates

[holographic-mars]

oh ye of great coswave knowledge do you have any ramblings or headcanons to share today (im horribly coswave deficient)

ITS LIKE A WEEK LATER BUT HERE, COSWAVE RAMBLINGS UPON YE DURING THESE TRYING TIMES

Soundwave associates food with comfort and security because of his time in the Dead End where Ravage (as well as Buzzsaw and Laserbeak, but usually by order of Ravage) did the majority of finding energon and keeping Soundwave fed (to the point where ravage would sacrifice her rations to keep soundwave fed because he’s much bigger than her and needed more energy). Then, when he joined the Decepticons it became his job to make sure his cassettes were fueled (now Soundwave was the one who sacrificed rations in order to make sure all his cassettes had fuel).

SO. Soundwave associates fuel with love and comfort because that was a key part of showing his cassettes that he loves them bc and vice versa .

Wartime is over, Soundwave has his station where he makes sure everyone has enough fuel, and Cosmos has been freshly added to the list of mechs Soundwave cares about very much.

Soundwave starts preparing Cosmos’ morning energon at the beginning of every cycle. He always makes sure cosmos has his energon, and once they start sharing a hab he makes sure he’s the first up to make the energon for them (on the rare chance he’s not up first, Cosmos waits until he’s up to prepare the energon. That’s Soundwave’s special thing—if Cosmos tries to do it, Soundwave gets stressed at the change in routine. Soundwave struggles with verbal displays of affection, so he is very serious about displaying his love though acts of service) He sees food as comfort and warmth and security and that is everything he wants to give Cosmos.

Eventually, Cosmos started bringing Soundwave a bit of fuel during the day when he seems tired to return the special gesture of love (an added bonus, it does wonders for his health. Soundwave has never been properly fueled in his life, so he has always been on the leaner side. Once Cosmos starts bringing him small amounts of fuel during the day, Soundwave begins to noticeably look much healthier and filled out).

ANYWAYS THANK YOU FOR THE ASK EHHEHEHE ❤️❤️❤️🛸🛸

#I had a long discussion about this with oomf on twt about soundwave showing love with food #feed cosmos -> shows he loves cosmos -> cosmos happy and loves him too #Soundwave math #food = love #they are very special to me your honor #ravage has the same thing where she equates food to love so every time she visits she reminds Soundwave to eat #I can protect you and feed you and keep you safe and loved #SIGHH #cosmos is just happy that soundwave is happy #soundwave #transformers #maccadam #maccadams #cosmos #coswave

[sydsrichie]

also very nice to see tess in a happier healthier moment where she’s enjoying time with joel and their friends. it’s revealing to see her when she isn’t just purely in survival mode and gives you more of a window into joel’s clearly conflicted feelings about her, which in turn opens him up as well

#I can’t remember the exact line but it was bill saying ‘we’re here to protect the ones that are worth saving’ #draws a really clear line between frank and tess and Ellie’s innate goodness #tlou spoilers #the last of us #the last of us spoilers #tess tlou #joel miller #tess servopoulos #to be clear I think joel loved her I just don’t think he can admit that to himself #bc at this point in the story he equates people he loves with people he can lose

[cloudbends]

"reigen evades taxes" "reigen is a capitalist" "mob is underpaid because reigen is greedy" imagine missing the point of a character that badly. reigen's struggles and character are a very direct criticism of capitalism and consumerism. the way his entire life has been dictated by dead-end jobs which only ever treated him with complete invisibility as an employee that drained his interest in living his life and landed him in an independent business venture that's based on lies in order for him to make a living somehow, but while the sugar-coated lies of the corporations and conglomerates are used as means of putting money before the service reigen's philosophy of business is helping people by any means, even if not by the method stated, but never to ask for money for a service not given, and the feeling of insignificance landed him in an endless limbo of feelings of uselessness and inadequacy forcing him to adopt a facade in order to survive in a capitalist society that he entirely despises, and in his mentorship to mob he wants to ensure his future through an emphasis on the human relationships he lacked his entire life, on caring and empathy that he's so isolated from in a cold, apathetic capitalist society. In this essay I will,

#vi rambling #mp100 #mp100 reigen #sorry im just so suck of the bad takes. i will protect my faves with my entire might and reigen the prime example. #HE LITERALLY OWNS AN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS. HOW CAN HE BE A CAPITALIST #1) mob is a 14 year old hence not an official employee and thus doesnt have to be paid full salary and that might even be illegal #2) what makes you think reigen has the money to pay him #literally . not every character that has to do with money is capitalist. capitalism doesnt EQUATE to money. #analysis

[valarinde]

[sits up in bed at 2am]: If the homunculi in Fullmetal Alchemist are the personification of Father’s capital sins then Envy’s literal essence is the feeling of self-loathing and jealousy and fear of being less-than. The sin of envy is associated with unhappiness and grief, leading to resentment and the urge to inflict pain on others/a desire to see others suffer as a way of relieving that feeling of fundamental inferiority.

Envy is lonely — but forming emotional connections requires making yourself vulnerable, and Envy balks at the idea of showing vulnerability in front of anybody. He’s paranoid about being looked down on, and incredibly aggressive toward anyone he suspects of doing just that. He’s painfully aware of his own defects and plagued by a craving for things he does not have: power, respect, beauty, friendship. And he’s horrified at the possibility that others will see him and know this, that he is a sad, pitiful thing that wants, even though there’s weakness in wanting. It’s an admission that he’s falling short. If they know, they will all look down on him. Then he will have nothing.

And the thing is, his siblings had something. Lust had power over people. Gluttony indulged, Pride was Father’s favourite, Wrath got to be a ruthless dictator. Greed, so similar and yet so fundamentally different, wasn’t ashamed of wanting things, and he died having known true friendship. Envy despises genuine human connection because he has none, and it’s in his nature to revert to hating what he doesn’t have. And yet neither does he try, because he also knows that the humiliation of rejection, the confirmation that he is lacking, that he is unwanted, would be too much to bear for something like him. So he actively self-sabotages at every turn. Resentment and hate are all he’s left with.

And when someone does see him for what he is, the ugly, pathetic core of him — when he’s too exposed to ever go back, he doesn’t give them time to pity him. He kills himself.

#this Has Been in my drafts and its fma month now #envy #envy fma #fma #fullmetal alchemist #something something envy being the Ugliest Sin #i should be making a whole other post about him and greed they're so SIMILAR and theyre so DIFFERENT #the absolutely perfect horrible poetic endings and their contrast #the personification of greed letting go of everything in self-sacrifice to protect something he cannot own #envy taking the defective factor out of the equation #idk. thoughts

[tessalation]

When each character wields complementary weapons so they only form a complete soldier when they’re fighting as one >>>>>>

#steven universe #stevonnie #gideon the ninth #griddlehark #makes me go crazy #like. the idea of being each other’s knight #each sworn to protect the other #the idea of your skills complementing your partner’s #of not being as effective without them by your side #i feel kinda weird equating stevonnie to griddlehawk but like. in this essay I will #i mean. the end of gtn was basically fusion (but infinitely more fucked up) sorry about it #gtn spoilers #(sorta)

[ribbonthief]

Can we please, please talk about this line for a million years. You don’t focus on it as much as the other parts of her speech because it gets cut off, but the wholeness of it is still so clear: ‘I was never scared because my dad always made me feel safe’ 

And !!! man that’s such a heartbreaking but significant insight into El’s POV of Hopper and of their time together at the cabin. Because it’s implying (if not directly communicating) that despite and within how intense and sometimes combative it was between Hopper and El during those months at the cabin, she always felt safe there, and more so, she felt safe there because of Hopper. Which makes Hopper’s ‘they didn’t need me, I needed them’ speech all the more heartbreaking too because El did need Hopper. She needs her dad and loves her dad and he represented so many important and meaningful things for her but a primary thing was safety and his death means El now has to figure out how to operate in a world where she no longer has this unique feeling of safeness that her dad gave her.

#el hopper #strangerthingsedit #stranger things #jim hopper #jane hopper #gah it's so sad someone anyone pls tell her he's still alive #stranger things season 4 #and also the clear differences of terms too when it comes to papa and dad #because papa equated and still equates to fear and abuse and insecurity #hopper x el #whereas the term 'dad' for El means safety and security and protection #otf: it was you...you were my ghost #st season 4

[acheronist]

finishing the terror amc and immediately spending the next two weeks slowly traipsing my way through everything i could find about the gladman point skeleton & trying to transcribe henry's diary really was not my best move. now i have a parasocial bestieship between me and a british sailor who died under mysterious circumstances in the arctic circa 1848 :-/

#he thought the marines were funny he drank someone elses coffee he liked poetry he shared a pair of boots with his coworkers #he was freezing cold and thinking about when he got to sail near the equator #he wrote about his friends and liked to doodle #and at some point he died and someone loved him enough to try and protect the memory of him. and they did. #henry my best friend henry

[idk-bruh-20]

Irondad fic ideas #22

We're all familiar with "Cryptid of SI Peter Parker," yeah? Well in this one, Peter accidentally establishes his own lore by deciding one day to hop on a random tour of the building (he's bored, he's never toured the lower levels before, sue him). The intern leading the tour recognizes this kid - either from rumor or from having had a Sighting of their own - but they're too intimidated to actually confront him. Especially when this kid says nothing and asks no questions, never once gets called out as not on the tour by FRIDAY, and at the end simply gets on the private elevator and leaves.

By the end of the day, all of Stark Industries believes their Cryptid is the ghost of a kid who died on an unsafe building tour. Now, if you see him on your tour - expect something to go wrong.

#is The Kid causing things to go wrong as vengeance? #or is He trying to protect the tour groups who are already in danger? #stark industries split 50/50 #team mayhem or team protector #the ones who've had him fix their equations in the dead of night say protector #the ones who've seen him turn to look at a random robot only for the robot to explode a second later say otherwise #irondad fic ideas #irondad fic idea #iron dad and spider son #irondad and spiderson #peter parker #tony stark #cryptid peter parker #stark industries #I just want peter to be seen as an omen okay #of good? of evil? who knows! #fic ideas #fic idea

[dominicsorel]

oh the clever fucking storytelling here makes me mad/insane/crazy/etc

#didi speaks #text #roxas holding onto xion's memories #axel subconsciously equating protecting xion and roxas #to protecting SORA AND RIKU bc they're apart of them #roxas knowing too much here because it's a dream #and dreams hold MEMORIES so he has access to xion's #and is able to discuss something only xion knows

[lethxia]

(stumbles through the doorway with a fucked up unhinged look in my eyes, at least two bones broken and blood in my hair) soooooo. mutually pining yandere erasermic, huh? what a wild. wild concept. haha. hahdhshsjjs,

#the thought of aizawa being a soft yandere #the kind with severe attachment issues and toxic possessiveness. #brushes mic off with a few cold words #and when mic even suggests getting a girlfriend he makes sure that he takes everyone out of the equation #by. means. #one step in front of hizashi at all times to literally bare his teeth at anyone who walks too close #look on his face that just fucking screams try me #yandere hizashi who absolutely relishes in this #hanging off aizawas shoulder smiling #lifted eyebrow #in the midst of battle grabs the villain by the collar #completely unaware that aizawa is glaring his way immediately to ensure the villain cant use their quirk #of course #and hizashi whispers nicely #try him and i’ll boil your fucking guts with my voice alone #hizashi is. insanely protective least to say #both of them are #but you better pray to god that aizawas the one that deals with you after you manage to scratch hizashi #because aizawas first concern is tending to hizashi #hed make it quick #but hizashi would leave anyone who hurt shouta with their last breath #just to bleed them out slow afterwards #when aizawa isnt there to witness the lengths hed go to to ensure this never happens again #now make them total dumbasses that are completely oblivious that the other would kill and die for them a thousand times over if ever needed #erasermic #i dont Care if its out of character. not logical. not possible #they definitely have these thoughts already #i just made them unhinged enough to act it out

[welcometogrouchland]

Find it funny how willow very much WAS the voice of reason a lot of the time in the demon realm but then she gets to the human realm and is so confused and scared that she sort of just sits back and tries to have fun and make memories where she can. We love a self care queen. Being stupid is good for her <3

#ramblings of a lunatic #the owl house #toh #toh spoilers #willow park #she did what she had to do as the mom friend but now there is an actual mom in the picture and she WILL allow herself to be 15 #which is good for her honestly. since i think (wishfully but i think) she might have some heavier stuff coming up in special 2 #like don't get me wrong her arc is 99% done BUT now she's gonna be reacting to belos possessed hunter and also HIM BEING A GRIMWALKER #IF we get a tad more wittebane lore she'll probably be there for it (along with gus- they're hunters besties and saw the statue) #((here's how ghost!caleb can still win /j)) #like who know maybe she'll be well adjusted next time we see her but also she did casually mention getting revenge so.. #(willow and darius team up when. if any bitches in this cast want vengance on that mold man it's them) #OR maybe there'll be feelings of...idk- guilt at not noticing hunter was getting possessed/not being able to help him? #or feeling protective of him since he (presumably) has no magic rn (he can learn glyphs but he was good at staffs) #and who knows what that stirs up in her since she's used to being on the otherside of that equation #again. 90% sure this is wishful thinking as a willow stan w/ brainrot. but let me dream /j #anyway yeah. dumbass willow for the win! stop trying to be the glue all the time! get silly with it!

[illegal-spiegel]

Did I just stay awake till 8:30 am to write a 7.5k Dazai x reader (and slight Chuuya x reader) fic?? Yes, yes I did. Do I regret it?? No, no I don't

#dazai x reader x chuuya #dazai x reader #chuuya x reader #chuuya x reader x dazai #bsd x reader #ill post it later today probs!! gotta get my friend(s) to beta read it first lmao #i can see all the equations #i can smell colors #it was all worth it in the end boys #I LOVE THEM YOUR HONOR #let me know if for whatever reason you’d like to be tagged when I post it lol #it has some slight #yandere #themes to it tho #very slight. Dazai and Chuuya just get really protective/possessive over you #you know. just girly tingz 🤪 #bsd dazai #dazai #osamu dazai #dazai osamu #nakahara chuuya #chuuya nakahara #wip #bsd #bungo stray dogs #bsd chuuya #chuuya