Circling
Circling (鎖定態, runtime id: locked) is a Δ stance — heat circles the same old path again and again, hitting the same wall.
Field definition
Heat wears against one old path on repeat; this is where breaking the lock, loosening, and turning live.
The trouble is often that only one path is left, and it keeps not working — so the heat grinds in place instead of moving.
Three time windows
- Emotion — anger, irritation, powerlessness, weariness, self-blame, shame: heat grinding into fire on a path that will not open.
- Attitude — breaking the lock, loosening, turning: recovering the fire back into force, easing the grip of the old path that keeps pulling you along.
- Temperament — hard, fierce, strong, forceful: sometimes hard to be near, yet often carrying a refusal to be swallowed back into the old groove.
The question it asks
Am I caught on the same path again? Is there another way to turn?
Circling differs from Guarding (guarding): guarding watches a path that might be closed off; circling is already stuck with only one path left. See also Path Addiction.
It is a tool, not a score
Circling is not "the bad stance." The very fire that grinds can become the force that breaks the lock. It is read by whether you find the turn, not penalized for being here.