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mightydragoon · 4 years ago

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Luke and Leia vs the Galaxy

@silvereddaye

.Our favourite Space Twins against the Empire with varying degrees of success.

1. Legacy ---myrlendi (thehistorygeek)

Three months after the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker goes in search of a rumoured Jedi temple in a secluded part of the Mid Rim. He finds within the temple nothing but a strange artifact, which unexpectedly brings him much closer to the Jedi of old than he ever thought he would be.

When Luke fails to return from his mission, Leia goes after him, retracing his steps to the ancient temple — and to the past, to the time of the Clone Wars and the waning years of the Old Republic. Under suspicion by the Jedi Order, the twins struggle to find a way back to their own time while trying to keep their knowledge of the future from affecting the past.

This, however, turns out to not be as simple as it seems.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15221810/chapters/35304947

2. Skywalker Family Values- Ariel_Sojourner

Camp Chippewa is proud to be the Empire’s foremost camp resort for privileged young adults. Located on the picturesque forest moon of Endor, your child will have the opportunity to participate in wholesome outdoor activities and socialize appropriately with their peers. We invite your offspring to join us for the experience of a lifetime and a bright future in service of the greater glory of the Empire.

On opposite sides of the galaxy, on opposite sides of a civil war, Darth Vader and Padme Amidala unwittingly send Luke and Leia to the same camp during school break. Chaos naturally ensues.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14258124/chapters/32883750

3. Back To The Future - PinkEasterEggs

Teenage Princess Leia, heir to Alderaan's throne and her twin, Luke Vader, heir to the Imperial throne, get thrown back in time with the chance to save their parents before it's too late. With the Force finally on their side, they decide to have a little fun whilst they try and save their father's soul.

What could go wrong?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217674/chapters/53048092

(Part of the Back To The Future series. https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648657)

4. No Time Like The Present - PinkEasterEggs

In a Galaxy where Princess Leia Organa and Imperial Prince Luke Vader didn't Time Travel to save their father's soul, a deadly discovery by their biggest enemy throws their entire lives upside down. Yet again.

Now on the run from the Empire, the Skywalker Twins find it their mission to bring peace back to the Galaxy once more. And with Darth Vader on their trail, that mission is far more complicated than they originally believed.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24754825/chapters/59851300

(Part of the Back To The Future series. https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648657)

5. Great as the Sea-- Valkirin

Rescuing the last of Alderaan's survivors was an important duty, not an obsession, and Leia did not need to take a break. She did not have time to think about Darth Vader, the Force, or Luke Skywalker. It’s just her luck that the Force sends her with Luke Skywalker to a time where Darth Vader is about to rise.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11384253/chapters/25491066

6. turn my sorrow into treasured gold - cosmicocean:

“It might be better for you to die,” Obi-Wan muses as she holds her children in her arms. Padmé looks up at him and arches an eyebrow.

“I didn’t mean literally,” he clarifies.

“I know what you meant. I’m thinking about it.”

Padmé survives childbirth, dies as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, takes her children with Obi-Wan, and runs.

Pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7435467

7. The Assassin's Blade - LadyVader23

Two years after Order 66, Padme is both an assassin for the Rebellion and a mother of twins. She will stop at nothing to bring democracy back to the Galaxy, even if it means killing Imperials to do it. But news of suspicious assassinations reaches Sidious, who dispatches Vader to hunt down this mysterious assassin. What Vader discovers will change the fate of the Galaxy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20432867/chapters/48475367

8. anything is possible the second time around cloverblob

Leia Organa is sure that she died. She laid herself down, ready to become one with the Force. Except that she isn't dead--she hasn't even been born. So how did she end up on Tatooine? And why would fate bring her right here, right now?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21941050/chapters/52364929

9. Influence of Time Cateyes1401 and SkylaDoragon

A freak accident sends Luke, Leia, and Vader splitting off to different points of the galaxy, over twenty years in the past. While Vader is careful to correct any errors his sudden appearance may cause in the timeline, Luke and Leia are not so cautious.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20333248/chapters/48211621

10. Laying Down the Sand - Knitzkampf

An AU set at the time of ESB. Han Solo abandons Luke, Leia and Chewie to settle some unfinished business and sparks a series of events that challenges each one's destiny and the fate of the galaxy. An epic tale of friendship, love, family and lightsabers.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921947/chapters/22232960

11. Binary Sunsets, Binary Siblings - Coffeesforcatchers

The projection was as blue as the Tatooinian sky, making it hard for Luke to discern its features. But as the audio began to play, Luke felt his heart seize in his chest.

"Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Luke stared at the droid, his mouth open. "That's my sister!"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14111466/chapters/32514372

12. Deja Vu - oncomingstorm42

Time travel AU fix-it wherein Luke and Leia are sent back in time to halfway through The Phantom Menace. They proceed to unscrew the timeline and save their parents while also kicking ass.

(note* Private story. To read you must have an AO3 account)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10408782/chapters/22984893

13. Heralding Home -planningconquest

Family can be what we make of it. It can be lost and found and comes together in strange and amazing ways.

(Note* Modern Au but still same principal applies)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17130767/chapters/40288283

14. Like Fire in Our Bones --- acuteneurosis

With all of the most important things in the galaxy literally exploding around her, Leia is given the chance to go back and help keep a promise she never personally made.

But then, for Skywalkers, saving the galaxy was always a family matter.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19735813/chapters/46710241

15. I am as Strong as the Seas are Stormy (And as Proud as an Eagle's Scream)- RhiannonOfTheRoses

Leia Skywalker is only hours old when the Empire rises.

Leia Organa is twenty-three when it finally falls.

OR: The one in which Leia Organa is explored, and her life is uncovered.

16. Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns chancecraz

I went to sleep on the worst day of my life and woke to find myself in the past on the second worst day of my life. As experiences go, I don’t recommend it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8543680/chapters/19586203

(Part of the Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns series https://archiveofourown.org/series/825216)

17. Runaway SilverDaye

Imperial Prince Luke runs away from home to escape his overprotective father Emperor Vader. Jumping from planet to planet he finds himself creditless on Tatooine. While working for more money to leave the planet, Luke meets an old man named Ben Kenobi. But Luke knows he can't stay in one place for long for surely his father is hunting him down.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630196/chapters/33813027

18. take the spade from my hands (and fill in the holes you've made) A_Different_Type_of_Flower

With her dying father's last request, eighteen-year-old Leia Organa sets out for the Outer Rim to find an exiled Jedi master and a brother she knew nothing about.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9219026/chapters/20908517

19. Sparks SpellCleaver

Vader had every intention of ignoring that petty—if notorious—burglar on Coruscant, until evidence suggested that this "Angel" had Rebel ties.

Meanwhile, Luke never expected his father to actively hunt him down, and he doesn't like it.

20. the price of forgetting - surabayuh

Vader always thought that epiphany would come in waves; in the middle of meditation, perhaps, or a dream while he was resting, giving him unimaginable glee and satisfaction at its revelation.

He’d never thought epiphany would sledgehammer him here, at cell room number 2187, in the middle of an interrogation session, with an unconscious Alderaanian Princess laying on the floor.

(Part of the the bang the war-drums series)

(Note* Read the rest of this series seriously its so good)

21. heirs of the desert -- surabayuh

There was something about her, something familiar beyond the hairstyle or the attire; It was like a hole in his chest mended back by her presence. They walked closer to one another, slowly, slowly—like a planet realigning to their axis.

Dreams of a different life, a different reality, haunting him for as long as he could remember. Dreams of lush greeneries, of clear blue waters, of a high castle, of a brunette with bright brown eyes crinkling with laughter.

Leia, her name was Leia and he felt like he had known her his whole life, as if he'd known her as old as he had known time.

Around them, the Force sang.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22226950/chapters/53070706

(Part of the the bang the war-drums series)

22. taste the regret (it's bittersweet.) - surabayuh

Han Solo didn't want much, really; he only agreed to pilot his way away from the grips of Jabba the Hutt, and maybe have a little adventure along the way. That was why he said yes to that old man's offer, back in Tatooine, why he came back to aid the Rebellion, back in Yavin.

But then again, who knew that somewhere down the line, he would have to be the middle-man in a galactic family drama that could determine the very fate of the universe?

Well; certainly not him.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22452316/chapters/53646223

(Part of the the bang the war-drums series)

23. Endings and Beginnings, and Everything in Between - ITookTheOneLessTravelled

Dad might be mad at them, but Leia doesn't regret it. Luke and Leia Skywalker might be only fifteen, but they'd never have left their Dad in an Imperial prison cell to rot.

OR: Anakin raises the twins. Everything changes, but also nothing does.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6757639

24. No Heroes on the High Seas - SpellCleaver

When Luke's aunt and uncle are executed by order of the Emperor's right hand, Lord Vader, he flees his home to search for his sister and the mother he never knew. But then Obi-Wan Kenobi stows away aboard the same ship, Vader gives chase, and Luke is dragged into a conflict that his family are at the very heart of.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17092340/chapters/40194893

25. Ad Utrumque Paratus - obeyingthemuse

It's hard to bring balance to the Force when the only method you've seen is your black-cloaked psychic cyborg sorcerer dad with a severe breathing problem throwing an old man down the Death Star reactor shaft. As much as Luke would like to see the not-yet-Emperor dead, he doesn't want to be arrested by his unusually attractive(?) war-hero dad and spend the rest of his indeterminate time in the past dropping Ewok beats in a jail cell. Also Leia would probably kill him. But not before breaking him out of jail.

So when the twins wake up on Tatooine decades in the past, they play it safe. They take over a planet, reconnect with their adoptive and real parents without weirding them out (too much), and accidentally cause the Chancellor perpetual near-death experiences.

Nailed it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7168628/chapters/16273712

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Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker

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lsc-enviromental · 4 years ago

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Blog Post #3

In Oregon’s fight against plastic pollution and water pollution, there are many individuals who have a stake in the decisions made about this issue. One individual we believe as one of those stakeholders is Nancy Bennett. Nancy works in policy and external relations for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. In the materials management section, she and her team work on reducing materials-related pollution all across the state, working alongside other environmental organizations. Nancy and the rest of the Department of Environmental Quality work to make Oregon a cleaner place.

“DEQ's mission is to be a leader in restoring, maintaining, and enhancing the quality of Oregon's air, land, and water. Materials-related pollution –a.k.a. litter– is generated in many intentional and unintentional ways. Regardless of how it’s generated, litter and illegal dumping are issues for our air, land, and water, and in many of Oregon’s urban and rural areas. This pollution is not just negatively impacting the quality of our land – the garbage that is, unfortunately, making its way into our local waterways is also negatively impacting the ecosystems inhabiting those precious bodies of water. DEQ is currently pursuing legislation that would modernize Oregon’s decades-old recycling system and address plastic pollution. An expert stakeholder group, called the Oregon Recycling Steering Committee, recently recommended a proposal that would create an effective, stable, and resilient system for the future. The proposal is a shared responsibility model, and it gives producers of packaging and printed paper new obligations to help fund improvements to the recycling system and prevent plastic pollution.”

“My department has several hundred dedicated employees across Oregon. Our urban employees may be more personally and professionally impacted by the litter and pollution associated with the difficult housing and homelessness issues that are heavily impacting our state’s more urban areas. Our employees in more rural parts of the state may be more impacted by illegal dumping in less populated areas. However, houselessness is certainly not just an urban issue and illegal dumping is not just a rural issue. Plastic pollution is certainly related to the broader consumption patterns of our culture. Many everyday products can have a longer useful life with proper maintenance and repair. Capturing this value through expanded opportunities for repair, refurbishment, resale and reuse reduces a broad variety of environmental impacts.”

Full Interview Transcript:

Abbey: “What are your views regarding the plastic-pollution and garbage pollution issue in Oregon?”

Nancy: “DEQ's mission, and mine, is to be a leader in restoring, maintaining and enhancing the quality of Oregon's air, land and water. Materials-related pollution –a.k.a. litter– is generated in many intentional and unintentional ways. Regardless of how it’s generated, litter and illegal dumping are issues for our air, land and water, and in many of Oregon’s urban and rural areas. This pollution is not just negatively impacting the quality of our land – the garbage that is, unfortunately, making its way into our local waterways is also negatively impacting the ecosystems inhabiting those precious bodies of water.

Jenn: “What about some other viewpoints?”

Nancy: “There is a full spectrum of viewpoints from different experts on how to address this issue, and DEQ is working on several different efforts. One approach emphasizes more, better education. Another approach advocates for new, comprehensive laws and programs to help address these issues. For example, the Ocean Conservancy notes that 75% of the plastic entering the ocean was never collected in a recycling or solid waste program to begin with.

Group: “Wow, 75% is a significant amount.”

Nancy: “Material is often entering waterways from developing countries that do not have the same levels of regulation for their solid waste management infrastructure. Unfortunately, recyclable materials –and also the contamination that sometimes comes with them– have been exported to such countries, including many Asian countries for years. The United States, including Oregon, has been a contributor to the problem.”

Kira: “What is something you’re doing now to fight against this issue?”

Nancy: “DEQ is currently pursuing legislation that would modernize Oregon’s decades-old recycling system and address plastic pollution. An expert stakeholder group, called the Oregon Recycling Steering Committee, recently recommended a proposal that would create an effective, stable and resilient system for the future. The proposal is a shared responsibility model, and it gives producers of packaging and printed paper new obligations to help fund improvements to the recycling system and prevent plastic pollution. DEQ used the consensus proposal to outline legislation, House Bill 2065, which was recently introduced in the Oregon Legislature.”

Anne: “Could you explain a bit more about the bill?”

Nancy: “This bill requires the establishment of a new litter prevention and control program for Oregon, funded by producers. It also requires new standards for where our material goes and making sure it is recycled responsibly.

Another notable effort, DEQ, as an agency, has been involved with and supports is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other stakeholders –including PSU– on the state’s marine debris action plan. This is a collaborative effort with the purpose of facilitating and tracking collaborative and effective actions that prevent and reduce marine debris in Oregon.”

Anne: “How do you think you and your community are personally impacted by this issue? Do you think everyone is affected in the same way or differently?”

Jenn: “What can we do as young students to help advocate for change within this issue?”

Nancy: “There are a several options you can all do to undertake to advocate for change. Firstly, PSU is a participating member in Oregon’s Marine Debris Action Plan. Dorothy Horn would be your contact for that effort. PSU’s Community Environmental Services program may align with your interests, as well.

The Master Recycler program is also in the Portland Metro area and is a program that engaged local activists in recycling, composting, and other waste-related effort.

Lastly, there are opportunities to provide public testimony during relevant public hearings in the Legislature. Anyone can sign up to for an oral or written testimony during a public hearing. DEQ’s bill to modernize the state’s recycling system has a public hearing on Tuesday, February 16 at 1. Signing up to provide oral or written testimony is available at the meeting’s webpage.”

Jenn: “Would you agree that the plastic-pollution issue goes deeper as a societal and social issue regarding the way people constantly buy and throw away products?”

Nancy: “Plastic pollution is certainly related to the broader consumption patterns of our culture. Many everyday products can have a longer useful life with proper maintenance and repair. Capturing this value through expanded opportunities for repair, refurbishment, resale and reuse reduces a broad variety of environmental impacts. This also offers greater access and affordability to many who can benefit from low-cost alternatives. If you would like to learn more about sustainable consumption or reuse & repair, you may contact Babe O’Sullivan.”

Group: “Thank you so much for your time and responses.”

Nancy: “I hope this helps. If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”

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snailcomicz · 5 years ago

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Protag’s Path

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars.TM

The Hundred Years War

Protag’s Path

A little over ninety years ago, the Jedi High Council cast out one Jedi for claiming using the Dark Side of the Force was justified. Outraged, the fallen Jedi retaliated and fought with all of the dark powers and tools they had been acquiring, teaching those they subjugated and those they chose the powers of the Dark Side.

A generation has passed since that first fallen Jedi, but many of those the fallen taught remained firmly convinced in the powers of the Dark Side. They curse the Jedi Order and the Republic alike for denying them that which they feel they are owed.

Recently the Dark Side forces have been slowly losing ground, but the Republic has been confounded at how, around twenty years ago, their opponents sieges suddenly became more effective than ever. They remain entirely unaware of how a single dark Jedi has been unraveling their every attempt to break through contested points along hyperspace routes...

We scroll down to a massive star ship fight above a planet. None of the ships on either side share the distinctive looks of the ships we’ve come to know, although the designs make them look like older prototypes rather than entirely new ships. A small squadron of undamaged ships pops out of hyperspace behind what appears to be a massive blockade, but behind them a small satellite blinks red twice. We follow the route of the signal it sent, leading us past the largest ship in the blockade and several smaller skirmishes to a moderately sized gunner ship. In a room full of monitors, we see the back of a robe position themself in front of the new alert, cast entirely in silhouette by the sharp light. Another alert interrupts the signal from before, announcing “Critical files have been lost due to enemy bombardment. Please reconnect with the core database, or manually input your specifications for a temporary ID.”

You are the Protag, and this is your path.

Born out of a love for the old KotOR style games, an almost insatiable need to worldbuild, and one night I thank the stars my sleeplessly addled brain wrote down what it was thinking about, this writing exercise follows the story of Protag, the person who’s become a -pro- at -tagging- hyperspace routes and has been working for the dark side of the Force for over thirty years. During this first encounter you command a battalion of ships within a greater fleet engaging in a planet wide siege, and get to decide what kind of dark side user you are. You meet your apprentice and your pilot, learn how the game mechanics work, and maybe play around with what talking style you use. At no point during this mission do you get the chance to do something nice or lessen the damage of the battle-

Yet.

You can play through the game without changing anything about this destructive attitude, continuing your dark reign of terror to the Republic and rising to greater and more terrible power. After the first mission, however, you are separated from the rest of your fleet and forced down to a distant planet for repairs. From then on, you can unlock kinder dialogue options, less damaging solutions to problems, and even work to turn away from the dark side entirely.

Timeline

As mentioned in the title crawl, this game is set at the tail end of the Hundred-Year Darkness, a time relatively unexplored by the SW universe. Thus, every time I’ve said ‘Sith’ in previous posts have been jossed because the Sith didn’t exist yet and I’m going to have to do so much more freaking research about SW for this, because God has cursed me for my hubris and my work is never finished.

I kid, I kid. In setting Portag’s storyline so far back, I don’t have to worry about bumping into either the KotOR or the prequels era of history, and I said I wanted to worldbuild right?

(And if you’re wondering why future characters know nothing about Protag’s story, I’ve got a simple answer for you. Not only was it not a widely talked about point of history by the Mandelorian Wars, but the official record was part of the history lost when Malak destroyed the Dantooine Academy. By the time the prequels rolls around, the story’s lost for good, even if the effects your Protag made are not.)

Plot routes

DS routes:

Darkest Jedi (embraces DS structure)

Your Protag’s reign of terror holds the galaxy by the throat. You have it all by force, Force or manipulation, only to be cut down by the one that will rule after you. In remaining evil and taking control from others, you forfeited your choice of control over yourself and echo the future Sith-Apprentice tradition. Your Protag may be overly confident or paranoid as hell, but no matter what way you play, you cannot prevent your death by apprentice.

Trapped by the System (makes LS outcomes, but stays in the DS structure)

Your Protag remains within the dark side warmongering culture, but their actions show a reluctance to use the full range of their powers. This is a weakness in your brethren’s eyes, but a saving grace in the eyes of those you help. Your dark side allies turn on you, and you are cut down by their blades, but the end credits show you the positive effects your kinder decisions made on the planets/npcs/situations/companions you nurtured where you could within the structure of evil.

LS routes:

The One who Defected (leaves the DS structure, but still makes DS outcomes)

Your Protag becomes ruthless force user who prescribes to neither the light nor the dark side point of view, and is really only contacted by those who either have the amount of money or the genuine need [depending on how you play] to gain your services. Your companions learn self reliance from you, not trust, and most leave eventually. A few may choose to stay at your protag’s side, if you focused on their needs in game.

Changed for the Better (leaves DS structure and works to make LS outcomes)

Your Protag’s influence has helped re-stabilize several critical situations happening around the galaxy. Organizations as a whole don’t outright trust you, but individuals keep seeking you out, wanting to know how you were strong enough to change. Eventually you realize the ones who seek you out have, by circumstance or decision, been led down dark paths themselves but no one had ever so visibly proven that they could change before. Your companions learn healthy boundaries and trust from you, and even when some of them split off they stay in close contact because they’ve grown fond of you. The war has ended, and it’s time to rebuild.

Game mechanics

Route exclusive Force rules

The Darkest doesn’t have to worry about the petty concerns of the other routes and are always able to use their Force powers, cunning or strength to the limit. You get to continue growing and evolving their powers without any restrictions and way waste to your enemies, and combat is always fun but a relative breeze. Of course, nobody on the light or dark side trusts you, but that’s not new.

If you are playing the Trapped, as you continue accumulating LS points not only do your dark side allies become more suspicious of you, but your Force powers become less powerful. You’re going to have to find other strategies than just blasting people with your powers, or start acting more evil. If you stay in the land of posturing and evil, it’s not just easier to be a jerk, you lose power you used to have if you don’t.

For the Defector, retaining the dark side points keeps your Force power fully charged, but LS organizations don’t trust you as far as they can throw you. You’ll have to be very convincing everytime you need to face something you can’t handle on your own.

In the Changed route, as you progress in the storyline, you start actively giving up Dark Side Force powers to prove how much you are dedicated to changing. In exchange, you gain other avenues of leveling up and the world around you starts to believe you when you tell them you’ve changed. You also start looking healthier the more you do so, although you never lose the dark side eye scarring.

Midbosses and midcompanions

The basic idea here is to do something interesting and actually logical with the ‘you can only get this character if you do X’ rather than basing it on your gender or such nonsense. When you upgrade your ship’s traveling range you encounter a miniboss that lasts more than one encounter, and a new companion. These are the same two characters in different positions depending on your big choice to stay with the Dark Side or leave and Change, and you will have heard of/interacted with them before you encounter them. With both minibosses, at some point in the fight they get some distance on you and you have to decide if you’re going to pursue them now or wait for a different opportunity. Both choices will have positive and negative consequences further down the line.

Force and forcing

In every route you are able to use the Force and have easy access to a companion who is already trained in the Force [through either Nix or Generek,] but almost everyone else doesn’t use the Force when you meet them. Some of them you can’t train in the Force at all, but following and furthering some of the Force dynamics found in KotOR 2, some of you companions can be manipulated to developing Force abilities but shouldn’t for their own health and wellbeing. They give you plenty of signs that this forcing them to use the Force is not a good idea and you can back off before any damage is done, but continuing to push gives you more fighting power at your companion’s expense.

Protag

Fourties or older, to reinforce that they’re supposed to be set in their ways. They’ve figured out how to survive and live their life, and they can either go along with what they’ve always done which is easy [dark side routes] or they literally have to reframe every way they act which is hard [light side routes]. They are human to convey age and make them instantly relatable. Diverse character possibilities not tied to the pronouns you choose, although if you chose female pronouns the female coded designs queue up in front of the male coded designs and vice versa. Inventor of the hyperspace tagging system, but you get to decide what that means (you stole idea from another, others had different parts but you put all the parts together, you literally invented the satellites used, etc.)

Companions

Mariah, Twi’lek Pilot. (She/Her, lesbian romance): Purple skin with darker stripes, wears a variation of a male smuggler’s outfit that exposes as little skin as possible. Outright willingly works for you as a dark side commander from the start, thanks to the money you generate for her and your willingness to let her get away with stealing historical artifacts from any places you raid.

If you ignore her needs, she slowly sinks further into the dark side mindset, losing any care for anyone’s wishes aside from her own and yours. If you tend to her needs, she slowly becomes more open with you and defends your actions.

D0-C9, Utility Droid. (He/him): Looks like someone took a small moving box size metal container, put way too many interfaces and wires on it, gave it wheels and called it a day. Mariah’s copilot, unusually advanced utility droid, and ship cook. His comments show some scraps of concern for Mariah’s emotional condition during the adventure, but outwardly he never seems to show much concern for you or others in your party.

The Droid cannot go against Protag’s orders and he sees no reason to, so his influence is based entirely on how well you treat him and Mariah in particular, and all companions in general.

Runscor, Klatooinian Mechanic.(He/Him, gay romance): Light reddish/brown skin, imposingly large and muscled but tries to slump in compensation for it. Quiet, passive, and often overlooked for how quality a mechanic he is.

If you tear down his opinion when he tries to suggest kinder actions, he folds at the drop of a hat and digs further into his passive nature. If you encourage his kinder suggestions, he can become your greatest reality-tester.

FK-42, Protocol Droid? (They/Them): Humanoid, sets of eyes on both sides of their head, seems to have anti-sand protection all over. They only say “Valanka”, relying on context cues for all other communication. They are extremely manipulative and unpredictable but if you’re smart, you can harness whatever they’re Cain they’re raising to your advantage.

Their ulterior motives are utterly indecipherable, but they seem to want something? Or someone??? They’re influenced when you try to help them locate whatever it/they are, and you lose influence anytime you try to outright stop what they’re doing.

Mid boss/companion

Nix, Trandoshan Sith. (She/her): Grey scales with fading brown patterns, no scars aside from the Sith eye scarring (unusual for Sith), tall and stocky. She is always docile and agreeable in her interactions with you, which contradicts her background actions of testing your limits and jockeying for a higher position behind your back.

Dark routes companion: You interacted with her on planet 0 as she’s your apprentice, but lost contact during what happened afterwards until you upgraded your ship. As soon as you land on a farther planet she regains contact with you, and after a mission or so she rejoins your party to resume her apprenticeship under you.

Her constant background pushing back against your decisions do come from some underlying needs, if you ignore these needs she becomes even more subtle in her actions and clearly begins plotting your demise. If you address her underlying concerns she backs off, but it only makes what happens in the end harder.

Light routes midboss: On planet 0 you interact with her as your apprentice, and she does not take lightly to you shifting sides. Your turning has made other Sith question her allegiance, and if she can take you out she can salvage some of her reputation. She uses the Force to the limit, and during the fight she makes a massive cave-in which endangers your allies. You can pursue her immediately and leave them to their fate, or wait for a different opportunity to take a shot at her and let her wreak havoc until you find that chance.

Jonni, Human Bounty Hunter. (She/Her): Dark brown skin, visibly prosthetic eye right arm and both legs, clothes leaning on cowboy-esque while still fitting the time period. One of the better known individuals fighting against the dark side forces, she is oddly accepting of slave and working class defectors. She is known for focusing a good portion of her time in a fight minimizing innocent casualties, and slaughtering those who shows no mercy.

Dark routes midboss: Mariah shows you some recorded transmissions involving her to update you on the opposition before you encounter her firsthand. In the first encounter Jonni tries to lead you away from bystanders, and whether you let her lead you away or you manipulate/wound/kill bystanders determines how hard her following fights will be. She’s a highly mobile opponent, leading it to be believable when you’ve both exchanged some hits for her to get away. You can pursue her immediately during a critical moment in whatever mission you came to this planet for, or wait for a different opportunity to take her out which will let her rally her forces with new intel specifically on you.

Light routes companion: She is first among the big Republic figures to acknowledge your efforts to change, even though she doesn’t excuse your past atrocities. Initially she’s of the talking heads on the Comm Link who updates on ‘official’ missions, but she joins your party when your ship capacity expands to check in on more distant planets. (But you also suspect to keep an eye on you after the first Nix encounter).

If you don’t mind civilian casualties she becomes more commanding and distant, and will not be available as a companion on some missions as she tries to minimize the damage both the enemy and you might cause. If you do account for protecting innocents, she becomes vocally supportive of you and easily handles whatever attitude you choose to have.

Zeth, Human Mercenary. (He/Him, pan romance): Asian heritage, with several battle scars and one massive claw mark tearing through part of his left ear. He looks like a mixed martial artist, with bulk and muscles made for strength not looks, and wears battle armor at all times. He is initially aggressive towards you, but surprisingly kind and non combative towards your allies. In the DS routes you hire him directly for his mercenary services, and he will show up with more chances for recruitment for a couple planets if you don’t recruit him immediately. In LS routes he seeks you out, angry and desperate to know why you changed. It becomes clear he wants to change too, but isn’t sure it’s possible so he’s seeing if you’ll break when pushed. If you don’t find a way to recruit him during this encounter, he goes on his merry way and you never hear from him again.

If you teach him that kindness and mercy are weaknesses to be crushed, he slowly loses his kindness for your companions, focusing solely on keeping you happy, himself alive, and otherwise it’s every being for themself. If you teach him how to handle what he’s done in the past while continuing to value kindness and mercy, he slowly mellows out towards you and through struggling through some of his issues becomes even better friends with your companions.

Gerevek, Dresellian Jedi. (They/them): Mid range yellow skin, red eyes with pupils, very short. Well kept clothes that can change from highly informal to passing for a formal meeting, and hide how much armor they are wearing. They primarily “fight” by making temporary political allegiances among planets during battles, but your tactics have been outmaneuvering them and they are nowhere near as good in a one on one fight. In DS routes, you can break their spirit by making the allies they counted on turn away in fear of you. They will only give you one chance to recruit them when this happens, as they have no belief left in their old outlook but don’t know how to submit to the Dark Side ideology. In LS routes, they insist on joining Jonni in checking on other planets, but it’s pretty blatantly obvious they’re actually keeping an eye on you. They will literally follow you for a few planets if you try to refuse, pulling in minor favors and trying to get your companions to put in a good word for them with varying success depending on the person.

They are an interesting case for gaining influence, as you have to be willing to take the opposite tac of communication than you usually do to show you’re willing to bend to what other people need. If you’re blunt and to the point you have to be more indirect, if you’re sarcastic and deflect emotions you have to show some sincerity, if you’re manipulative and obscure your motives you have to be blunt and to the point, etc.

Saiga, Bothan Shopkeeper. (She/Her, bi romance): Black fur with brown streaks, grey eyes and tall. Well worn pastel clothes, carries massive rucksack with them everywhere, yes even in combat. Endlessly, stubbornly cheerful and has no problem with your sordid past. Sees you as a fulcrum to get her more power, but also does look after your interests. Perk of using this final companion is, as a shopkeeper herself, she can haggle down prices of any shop you come by.

If you view your mutual relationship as an even transaction she’ll easily oblige, returning every favor you do for her and staying relatively static throughout the game no matter what good or bad things you do. If you invest more in the relationship than can be divided by favors she slowly starts giving more as well, for good or ill.

This post is the foundation I will be using as I continue working on this project, and I’m super excited to keep building up this idea!

#star wars #Protag's path #KOTOR #KotOR 2 #Game Concept #writerly things #Noodling on a thing #Snontent (Snail Content)

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btshodown · 6 years ago

Text

Prey For Me

↳ “Having an addictive personality got you into a lot of trouble sometimes; from having alcohol poisoning to something simple like throwing yourself into new kdramas a little too aggressively. So bringing in a strange hybrid into your apartment to “help him” was no different. Only you had no idea what storm you just dragged yourself into. He was only supposed to stay the night.”

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader Genre/Warnings: Sour candy that’s sweet in the inside, sprinkled with some crack. Hybrid AU, detailed mentions of violence and blood. Possible future smut in later chapters. Rating: PG13 Word Count: 6.5k

➭ Why must I do this to myself at 2 am...anyways yeah, this finally came out after months of contemplation. I was going to originally make it a giant one-shot, but I was exhausting myself with that goal so I’ve decided to just make it a mini series. Please let me know your thoughts! :)

The cadence of people cheering and betting surrounds you, tempting like a siren’s call to join in on the intoxication of gambling, but you resist with ardor. You were no fool and were well aware that if you gave into that lull, you would never see the light of day. Unfortunately for you, you had a very addictive personality and once something entered your life; your inhibitions got easily swept away with the roaring current.

I’m a good noodle; I’m a good noodle…

A quick yelp rips from your throat as suddenly the body of a sweaty, drunk man is pushed onto you; were it not for the strong grip on your waist appearing to pull you away, you would have no doubt you’d be pinned to the floor by the barely coherent man.

“Hey man, be careful!” your ears ring at the boisterous laughter surrounding you before the deep timbre of your companion’s voice enters your ears in a soft lilt of concern. “Y/N? You good?”

One blink, two, three blinks and the ringing in your ears slowly melts to allow your coherency to finally reemerge; along with your annoyance. “I’d be hell of a lot better if my ass was planted on that indent on the couch I made while watching Game of Thrones and stuffing my face with that leftover Pad Thai!”

Taehyung releases his own soft yelp as your hand swipes at his bicep, your eyes pinning him with a glare only a disturbed homebody could give. Were it not for his damn conniving personality and honey coated lies about accompanying him to a “private” event he got invited to, you would have never left the safety of the blanket cocoon you had painstakingly buried yourself in. But you had stupidly gave in to his whining and pleading, managing to even feel pity for the devious bastard; well boo-boo the fool you, cause you got played.

The “private” event was code for “underground-illegal-hybrid-MMA-fighting”.

You had to admit to yourself that you were no hardcore hybrid supporter; you didn’t risk your safety to attend the protests on their rights or freedom, but that didn’t mean you enjoyed watching them suffer. Staying silent on the matter whenever it was brought into debates was your only sin.

“Oh come on, y/n, I already told you that I had no idea it was a hybrid MMA,” Taehyung ignores your petulant pout, not caring for his safety from your wrath as he slings a long arm around your shoulders; effectively maneuvering you toward some benches that faced the netted platform of the ring. To his benefit, he seemed like he was trying to reassure himself as well; Taehyung was more outspoken about his distaste on how hybrids were treated after all. “I know it might seem a bit…sketchy, but from what I just heard, the hybrids do this of their own free will. They don’t seem to be forced into it.”

A huff leaves you as both of you take a seat on the edge of the bench and quickly cross your arms in an effort to make yourself small to avoid anyone bumping into you. “And you believe them? When this whole thing is illegal?”

Your companion only offers a sheepish half grin and small shrug of his shoulders as an answer; leaving you to roll your eyes and focus on the ring in front of you just as the lights dimmed around you. The cacophony of the audience rose to a higher decibel as the only lights shining were on the platform as the announcer walked into the fencing to begin the matches. While Taehyung kept looking on in a mixture of unease and concern for the hybrids fighting, you couldn’t stomach staring at the matches, so you opted to focus on the ground in front of you. Though that did nothing to stop your wincing every time you heard a particularly loud crack of fists or kicks followed by a grunt of pain; just how the hell was this voluntary? This was so much worse than boxing in your opinion; MMA fighting didn’t have gloves to cushion the aftershocks of their punching and kicking was also an added element that only caused more pain. This wasn’t even counting the fact that they weren’t completely human and therefore stronger physically; their hits were a lot more lethal.

Finally the last match was announced as you sadly watched them carry out what was supposed to be a Doberman hybrid, now bloody and bruised beyond recognition from the panther hybrid he was up against. Just how was that fair? They purposely pitted the poor male against an apex predator who obviously had greater strength and quicker reflexes; it didn’t take you long to realize the matches were fixed for those gambling. You were just glad that the last match was about to happen because you knew you couldn’t take much more of this; the whole scene caused revulsion to slowly churn in your belly.

“And finally the match you have all been anticipating!” The announcer looks a touch from smug as the crowd roars with excitement, your stomach clenching suddenly with apprehension. “Give it up to our reigning queen of MMA; Abaddon!”

Your mouth falls open slightly as the name itself prompted you to look up and you were met with a beautiful, tall woman with bright orange hair that she was nonchalantly wrapping up in a bun. Clad in only a sports bra and spandex shorts, her impressive muscles were out in proud display and it was easy to see just why she was called the queen, that wasn’t even mentioning how her aura exuded jaded confidence in a way only a tigress could. Her rounded ears atop her head barely twitched from the noise, no doubt accustomed to it, while her tail swayed in what seemed to be boredom; there was no misgiving that she rightfully earned the name Abaddon: a fallen angel of death whose name literally means “to destroy.” Just what poor soul was being pitted against her?

Once the crowd settled down, the announcer gained a gleam in his eyes as he continues on. “And just who is going to face off our tigress queen? This fighter has been climbing his way from the bottom and just might give our champion a run for her money; give it up to Ares!”

If you believed the woman before you had been intimidating, the male walking into the ring made you rethink your previous judgement. The crowd made little noise, though whether it was due to disdain or wonder at the sculpture of a man, you weren’t sure, but he surely now had your undivided attention. Despite wearing the same outfit of just shorts like the other male fighters, the hybrid before you did the material more of a service as his lithe figure is stacked with bulging muscles. His stomach is impressively cut with abs and his thighs and legs are thick with power; even his face looks strong with a sharp jaw and furrowed brows. Despite his strong presence however, there was an underlying boyish softness to his face that captured your heart; your eyes couldn’t stop their gazing at his warm, brown doe-like eyes and his asymmetrical pink lips.

A breath gets stuck in your chest as those brown eyes quickly roam over the crowd, eliciting a crooked grin before he turns back over to his opponent and flattens his long grey ears with a sneer. It isn’t until you see his ears move that you realize with dawning horror that they pitted a rabbit hybrid with a fucking tiger. Sure, his muscles were impressive, mainly his legs which should have been a giveaway to what animal he was infused with, but he was still a prey animal up against a damn apex predator; your heart squeezes painfully imagining a worse fate for him than the Doberman from before.

You wanted to look away, to tell Taehyung to take you home this instant because surely you were going to witness a murder with how fiercely the tigress was eyeing the male, but something kept you silent. Maybe it was sick fascination to watch Ares fighting and see if those muscles on his back would tense deliciously like you were imagining, or perhaps it was that softness beneath his strong features that tugged at your heart, you weren’t certain which it was yet.

The silence that hangs in the air is thick with tension and bloodlust, something even the announcer seemed keen on leaving. With a quick cut down motion with his hand, the announcer quickly turns and locks the cage door behind him as swiftly as his human legs could carry him; right on time as well since the two hybrids wasted no time in lunging at one another. It was like nothing you had ever seen before, the two of them looked more like they were performing a deadly dance; with each swing of limbs the other was always quick to dodge or block. The scene absentmindedly reminded you of capoeira; they were almost speaking to one another with how they moved and their eyes shone with excited violence.

Even the normally boisterous audience was captivated by the fight, bated breath waiting to be released with the promise of the first hit, which comes with a painful crack of skin and a grunt. Your heart lurches into your throat as your hands wring together, feeling sick as you witness Ares wipe a stream of blood from his brow, but it doesn’t take him long to swiftly feign left before spinning on his right leg to land a powerful kick to Abaddon’s open side. The crowd finally comes to life at the two hits and the cacophony of their delight drowns out the loud smacks of skin, but your heartbeat stubbornly continues to be louder.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed you by, too enraptured by the male who fought with a viciousness that spoke of fearing failure; you could see it with every clench of his jaw when he got hit and the refusal to fall to the floor even as the tigress continues to try. Ares is quick on his feet and with each step he almost seemed to bounce, something that no doubt was brought on by his animal half, and with how the woman bared her teeth, you knew she was having a hard time cornering him. She was moving like fire, unpredictable in a methodical way that sang of years of practice and instinct; her plan was easy to distinguish the more you watched and you knew that if she managed to knock the male hybrid to the floor, it was all over.

Only a few seconds had passed, and even staring without blinking had you almost missing the moment the tigress wrapped her tail around his ankle and pulled; the heavy bang of his body hitting the floor reverberated throughout your ribs. The hush in the room didn’t last as a soft snarl is heard, the blur of the woman’s body seen mid leap before she’s descending on the poor male with her claws out. Amidst the violent cheering of the crowd, you unknowingly let out a terrified scream the moment the first fist is thrown to his stomach and don’t realize your standing until you feel Taehyung gently nudge your arm in concern.

You weren’t sure if it was your delusions from worry, but for a brief second you locked eyes with Ares the moment you had screamed, watching with wide eyes as he gazed at you with slight muddled wonder. It only lasted a second, but it was enough to have your heart pound painfully against your chest as you gaze at the way the tigress unleashes her fury on his body with horror; not able to look away for the fear that she’ll truly kill him right now. His grunts and snarls are soft, being held back by pride, but soon a loud yelp escapes his mouth as blood is drawn on his chest from where the woman dug her claws in.

“She’s going to kill him,” your voice comes out in a breath of dread before you quickly reach out to your friend and feel the desperation trying to breach your throat, “she’s going to kill him Tae! Can’t someone stop her?!”

Taehyung’s voice is choked with sympathy and something else as you both watch Ares try to curl in on himself to lessen the hits. “Death isn’t an illegal thing here, y/n. It’s usually encouraged.”

You decide that in this moment, you truly hate your friend for bringing you to this shithole, forced to watch as this woman tries her hardest to kill the poor hybrid beneath her for the infamy; you’ll never let Tae know that though. Despite the small amount of resentment you feel for being brought here, you know that you’ll eventually forgive him. Just not right now as you watch Ares’ eyes take longer to open with each blink and feeling your heart crumble as small streams of blood run down his face and body. You weren’t sure what deity out there would hear you, but you begin to frantically pray that they’ll do something, anything to stop the fight; if not you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from running in there yourself.

You just didn’t realize that your prayer would be answered so abstractly.

“Cops!” the shout was faint and easily drowned by the roaring of the crowd, but you turn your head for a second as you spot a wide-eyed man running toward the ring. It isn’t until he bravely flings himself onto the wires of the cage to rattle it, causing the tigress to pause and snarl at the man, that the audience realizes what it is he’s screaming louder than before. “COPS!”

The change is instantaneous, leaving you to stand absentmindedly watching Ares’ fallen body as Abaddon gracefully leaps to the top of the cage and jumps out; there was a man with an expensive suit waiting for her already and quickly escorts her out of sight. Even your shoulders getting hit and shoved as people scramble out of the building like panicked ants isn’t enough to have you avert your eyes or your racing thoughts; no one was coming to get Ares.

It isn’t until you feel a violent tug on your arm do you refocus to the present, the yells of the dispersing crowd finally reaching your ears as does Taehyung’s shouts of alarm and panic. “Come on y/n! We have to go!”

Your body finally moves, only it isn’t in the direction your companion anticipated as your feet maneuver through the throng of people to reach the cage; it took zero convincing on your part to decide what to do. You aren’t going to leave the hybrid in the hands of the police and abandon him, even if you had to drag him to your apartment on your own.

“Y/n! Y/n! What are you – seriously?!”

You ignore Taehyung’s frantic shouts as he follows you through the crowd, not pausing once to check if the police were already inside the building, too worried that if you did it would cost you time you didn’t have. With your heart pounding in your ears and the adrenaline coursing through you, you yank the door open to the cage and run inside, sliding onto your knees to quickly check the man’s pulse. However, the moment your fingers touch the sweat covered skin, a big hand quickly wraps around your wrist and pulls a yelp from your throat; the hybrid had opened one eye and was glaring at you tiredly. Even as bloody and exhausted as he was, he could still stay aware enough to try and fend someone off; though you doubted that even as strong as he was, he could fight you right now.

“Hey,” you croak out as you try to stop the shaking in your hand which was still being squeezed in his grip, “I know that you won’t trust me, but the police are here – we have to get you out before they get you.”

It was at this moment that you saw something not many people probably got to see, this strong man turning into a small, hurt boy as his eye loses that glare to adopt one of fear. You’re sure that he didn’t need an explanation as to why the cops finding him alone was a bad thing; all his life was running away from the law as there was no doubt he was an unbound hybrid – no one coming to take him away like they did with Abaddon was enough proof. It was also in this moment that you vow to not mention that second of unadulterated vulnerability to anyone.

Ares closes his eye for a second, before opening it again to give you a small nod as he begins to stand with your hands grabbing onto his waist and arm. Time seems to move again as you look up to see Taehyung rushing over, cursing loudly as he hurriedly slings Ares’ arm over his shoulder and starts sprinting out. You gasp in breaths and try to keep up with the sudden movement, making sure to clutch onto the hybrid to assure you wouldn’t fall on your ass. It isn’t until the three of you burst through some emergency exit that you chance a look behind you, watching with wide eyes as men in uniform flash lights in your direction with shouts for you to stop.

With a slam of the door, the light is gone, but your speed continues the same as you all scramble over to your mini SUV; which for once you are so incredibly happy you stuck around with it as opposed to a smaller car. Ares would actually fit in it for one. You throw a soft apology to the man as Tae all, but threw him across the back seat and slams the door before hopping into the passenger seat.

“Drive y/n! Drive like you’re in the Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift!”

“I never watched that one! I heard it was sad!”

“This is isn’t the time y/n! Just do as Rihanna sang; shut up and drive!”

Despite your words, you’re quick to turn on the engine and press your foot on the gas pedal, the squealing of tires drowning out your heartbeat as the hidden building gets smaller on your rearview mirror.

Labored breaths is all you hear for a few moments as you get farther away from the warehouses, your heartbeat slowing down enough for you to realize the weight of what you just did. What the hell were you going to do with a hybrid? As much as you wouldn’t mind sheltering the man, you couldn’t ignore the fact that he’s a stranger and to top it off, dabbled in illegal fights. He could kill you the moment he gets an opening for all you know, and yet…seeing him fight with so much determination only to get beaten, it caused a painful thrum in your chest. Maybe your impulsive behavior could get you hurt, but there was something in his eyes that made you want to believe he’d never lay a hand on you.

“What the fuck,” the voice is soft and breathy, before you realize its Taehyung as soon as his tone rises. “Y/n, what the fuck!”

You visibly cringe as you can feel his disapproving scowl from your seat, but for safety and your own embarrassment, you don’t turn around. There’s no point in questioning what he meant with his declaration; you know exactly what he’s so shocked about. With his shouting though, you’re quick to adjust your rearview mirror, afraid that Taehyung’s shouting somehow offended your surprise guest; but to your relief, the male hybrid seemed to be sleeping from exhaustion.

“I know the situation isn’t ideal –”

“There’s an MMA hybrid in the backseat!”

“I couldn’t leave him!”

You feel Taehyung’s stare of pity and disbelief as you bite the inside of your cheek, your eyes automatically flicking up to the rearview mirror to watch the rise and fall of the hybrid’s chest. “I know it’s stupid and I just opened a can of worms…but Tae I couldn’t leave him,” your voice is a soft whisper as the glow of the streetlights finally breaks out from the darkness of the sketchy streets you left behind.

Silence once again permeates the air as Taehyung simply slumps into his seat, his expression a weird mixture of understanding and annoyance. You’re not quite sure what your friend is thinking and at the moment you aren’t in the right state of mind to pry in concern; although you do feel guilty for the impulsive decision you made. You didn’t live alone and Taehyung’s disapproval only made sense since he would have to put up with your impulsivity; you just hope he wouldn’t stay angry with you for too long. Plans of making him his favorite food and desserts to lessen the blow of having an unknown hybrid crash in your shared space begin to enter your mind as the route to the space in question becomes familiar again.

It isn’t long before you finally reach your apartment, the silence still hanging between you two as you make sure none of your neighbors are out to see Taehyung carry a bloody hybrid on his back. The trek to the elevator is done in stiff silence as your eyes continue to roam over the lobby to make sure no one is about to catch the three of you, and it isn’t until you see the metal doors close in front of you that you let out a breath. Your apartment was the first door once getting off the lift, so walking to it without being seen won’t be as big of an issue.

Just as the elevator begins its ascent, you let your eyes slowly glance over to your right discretely, watching with a small, worried frown at how blank Taehyung’s expression is. After nearly two years living with your best friend, you knew better than anyone that when the normally boisterous male was quiet and expression a clean slate, he was angry or very irritated. What you didn’t know was why. You get it, you made a very stupid decision in risking your safety for the hybrid slumped on his back, but surely he could sympathize on why you did; more so when he was the more active voice in their rights. It wouldn’t be a permanent situation in your life (you imagined) and suppose once the hybrid healed, he’d finally forgive you.

The sudden shift and sound of the doors chiming break you out of your guilt plagued thoughts, but with Tae walking briskly to your apartment door only serves to gnaw at you. He definitely was angry. With a sharp look from him, you’re quick to scramble to the door and push the keys into the lock to finally let all of you into your shared home. Although, you can’t hide a wince and a soft, stern “careful” falling from your lips as your friend practically dumps Ares’ body onto the couch without a care.

After hanging your keys on the mount by the door and dumping your jacket on the bar counter, you take quick steps over to the small L shaped couch; making quick work in rearranging the hybrid onto the lounge section of the sofa for more of a comfortable position. Once satisfied that he won’t wake up sore, you hesitate before running a hand on the fading bruises on his skin, feeling wonder fill you at how quickly he was already healing. Despite the blood staining his abdomen and chest, the gashes themselves already seemed to be closing and well to the point of recovering. All you really needed to do was simply clean the blood and grime, along with waiting for his body to recuperate with sleep.

With hope spilling into your ribs, you turn to call Tae to help you gather supplies, only to see an empty living room and kitchen, with the door to the hallway and bedrooms slightly ajar as an indicator that he probably already went into his room. Guilt and worry once again begins to wrap around your heart while your stomach churned at the thought of him truly hating you for this. A sigh escapes you, but you grimace as you stand up, ignoring the stiffness in your limbs as you walk over to the small kitchen and grab the large bowl you usually use to mix your desserts, carefully covering the interior with clear wrap. Once done, you fill it up with some warm, soapy water and open a drawer to take out one of your kitchen towels before making your way back to the couch.

The more you cleaned his naked torso, the more bewitched you felt as each swipe of the bloodied rag shows perfectly carved abs and pecs, leaving you with an embarrassing burn in your core. Shame floods you with each lustful thought that came barging into your mind, trying your hardest to ignore the flame in the pit of your belly getting hotter with each second that passed. Honestly, is this man somehow a deity in disguise? His muscles were ridiculously defined and large; it was getting harder to control your wild thoughts.

Come on girl, get a hold of yourself. The man is hurt and unconscious! With a sigh you close your eyes and exhale softly to gather back your wits before finishing. Appreciating your hard work, you let your eyes fixate on the nasty gashes on his stomach and the yellowing bruises over his face. With a nod, you make a quick decision as you grab the bowl filled with dirty water and the rag, quickly cleaning up the supplies before returning with a small container of antibacterial ointment; no doubt he was healing just fine, but your worry wouldn’t let you walk away without providing him some relief.

As you delicately spread the ointment on his wounded skin however, the man shifts in his sleep suddenly and it has your breath and movements stilling in tense silence as you watch him carefully; but he simply turns onto his side and curls up, no signs of having been disturbed. Your breath leaves you slowly as your gaze softens; once more witnessing his features smooth over to show just how young he truly is. He couldn’t be older than Taehyung, perhaps younger now that you’re witnessing his guard completely lowered in sleep to show that glimpse of a young man you had seen back at the ring. Just how did he get mixed in with such a horrible way of surviving? Surely rabbit hybrids must be amongst the top adopted hybrids alongside the dog and cat mixes, so why is it that Ares found himself having to fight to stay alive?

“I’m sorry,” your voice is merely a whisper, the words having no destination and settle instead in the air between you two as you continue to watch Ares sleep soundly. Even you were unsure as to why you felt like apologizing. For how badly his life must be? For having been abandoned at that warehouse? For being alone? Who knew, certainly you didn’t, but with those thoughts plaguing your mind you stand up and drape your throw blanket on his figure before making your way to your room.

You spare a concerned glance over to your friend’s closed door and note with disappointment that there is no light fighting to get out through the bottom of his door; his room completely dark. With a small shake of your head, you gently close your door and get ready for bed; silently throwing a hopeful wish for tomorrow to not be a disaster once the hybrid awoke.

Your wish seems to have landed in the trash as you stare blankly at the scene before you late the next morning; Ares is awake and clutching onto one corner of the blanket you covered him in, glaring venomously at Taehyung who’s also tugging on the other end of the cotton with his own ferocious scowl at the hybrid. No words were being exchanged, but the air is thick with animosity and testosterone, leaving you shell-shocked at witnessing your goofball of a best friend suddenly look so…animalistic. Just what random parallel universe did you drop into? As if realizing your impulsive behavior with the hybrid wasn’t disorienting enough, now you also have to deal with Taehyung suddenly becoming an ass?

With a sigh and a glance at the clock mounted on the wall beside you – it was only 10 am – you’re quick to walk over to the two males, snatching the blanket from both of them. Two sets of eyes quickly snap to you, one annoyed, but apologetic; and the other narrowed in hostility. You try your best to give Ares a small, but sincere smile before turning to Taehyung and smacking his arm, giving him a scowl of disapproval.

“Just what on earth are you doing, you walnut? Why are you picking fights with our guest so early, especially after how last night went?”

Your brown haired roommate only whines at your annoyance and is quick to wrap his long arms around your shoulders in a dramatic fashion; you didn’t miss how he oddly rubbed his cheek on your own. “Please don’t be mad at me eomma! I forgot we had some asshole on our couch so I got…surprised and only acted on self-defense. True story.”

“I am not your mom! God I thought we went over this? Why is the mom thing coming back all of a sudden you fucking weirdo?” You would never admit to him how relief floods you at having him back to his idiot self.

A loud scoff followed by a snarl has you remembering the hybrid behind you and it serves as a reminder that he isn’t exactly exuding happy vibes right now; you wouldn’t either if you woke up in a stranger’s house after being beaten up honestly.

“I would hardly call you smacking me awake and yanking the blanket off of me as self-defense you rat,” at the last word Taehyung lets out an indignant sound and it only makes Ares give him a smug smile.

“I am not a rat, you cracked out Bugs Bunny! You should be grateful that my eomma even saved your sorry ass from being taken away by the cops.”

“Taehyung!” you gasp as you quickly yank his shaggy, morning hair, ignoring his whines of protests and turn to give Ares an apologetic stare. “I am so sorry; please don’t listen to what he says. I don’t know why he’s acting like this, but please feel free to use our bathroom to freshen up while I make us some breakfast. As an apology, Tae will even lend you some of his old clothes.”

Your roommate only gives out a strangled noise of protest, wiggling out of your hold to give you a look of comical betrayal. “Says who?! I don’t want him wearing my clothes! He’ll rub his gross smell all over them!”

Ares is quick to begin walking toward the door of your apartment with a heavy scowl on his lips, clearly not wanting stay with how rude Taehyung was being. “Whatever. I don’t want or need your pity or charity.”

Your heart squeezes painfully and before your mind can catch up, you once again act out impulsively, quickly wrapping your fingers around the muscle on his forearm. Only in doing so it makes you realize that he is in fact, still very much walking in only small shorts and nothing else. You swallow as quietly as you can and clear your throat, noting a bit late that he also hasn’t shaken your hand off of him, but neither has he turned around. Your heart flutters in hope.

“I didn’t help you out of pity,” your words are soft, but firm and you feel him stiffen under your hand, making the words quickly jumble out in a mess to have him understand you. “I know you won’t believe me, but I just couldn’t leave you there while no one came to help you. Especially after…after seeing the fight and how that tigress –”

“You helping me doesn’t change the fact that you paid to see those fights,” the venom in his sudden snarl has your hand leaving his arm as if burned and the stare he gives you over his shoulder has an annoying sting come to your eyes. He only scoffs and carries on. “You think that doing one good thing for a “worthless” hybrid suddenly makes you a saint? Don’t make me laugh.”

So focused on not letting the uninvited tears to fall, you don’t notice Tae getting closer until you feel his arm wrap around your shoulders and an almost animalistic growl sounding from right above your head. “She didn’t pay to be there you ungrateful jackass. I was invited to go there and I brought her with me so I wouldn’t go alone. So if I were you I’d stop swimming in the river you cried for yourself and thank y/n for risking her safety to get you out of there.”

The air is stifling as your voice leaves you and has your breath stuck at the base of your throat, too anxious to say anything to break the tension. The moments are far and few in-between when Taehyung gets angry, but times like these remind you that despite being a goofball, he was still very much a nearly a six foot tall, broad shouldered man with some mean ass looking eyebrows. Despite not looking threatened in the least, Ares still regards your friend and roommate with a serious, pensive scowl; body fully turned and chest instinctually puffing out to no doubt assert dominance.

Even in a serious situation such as this, your traitorous eyes fail to stay on the hybrid’s face and instead greedily roam over the bulging muscles with slight awe. Damn was this man giving Chris Hemsworth a run for his money.

“Thanks.”

The growled response has your eyes snapping up in shock to stare at Ares, body flushing in pleasant warmth as he stares back, but at seeing your lips form a small ‘o’ of surprise, he’s quick to look away with a frown. You’d blame the lack of any lights on for the small rosy hue his cheeks have gained.

“Do you have a home to go back to?” That is not what you meant to say and by the strangled noise that leaves Taehyung’s throat, he wasn’t expecting it either, but he knows where that question is going and is unfortunately much too shell-shocked to stop it. From how things went last night, you have a sad intuitive feeling that the male hybrid is homeless and like before, you just couldn’t sit idly on that thought.

The ears on Ares’ head flatten back in apprehension; his eyes once more regarding you, but with a certain guard in them as his confusion shows in his hesitancy. “What’s it to you?”

Someday you’d learn to control your impulsive behavior and stop to think about your decisions before making them. Today was not that day. “You can stay with us if you don’t. Rent won’t be an issue either; Tae and I make enough money to not be living paycheck to paycheck. Even if you just stay until you can find somewhere else, it beats having to hide from hybrid police department.”

The thickness in their air increases as everyone holds their breath, Taehyung dropping his arm from around your shoulders in a defeat he can already see happening and knows is futile in trying to fight it. But with each silent second that ticks by has your heart hammering away at your ribs faster, especially when a flicker of that same vulnerability you witnessed back in the cage last night appears in Ares’ eyes.

“Only until I can find someplace else,” the look is gone and is replaced with a gruff awkwardness as the hybrid nervously picks at his cheek, his voice quieter than before.

A loud grunt of dissatisfaction leaves your friend’s throat as he moves away from you and stomps angrily toward the hallway, throwing a petulant huff under his breath about getting ready for work. You let out your own sigh as the reality of what you just did settles on your skin. You’d have to make Taehyung his favorite foods and desserts on top of playing with his hair until your hand fell off for who knows how long for your hasty decision. Truly, you were on a roll with all the impulsivity, but it was done and you’d need to remind yourself after Taehyung’s shift at the diner to question his unfound hostility toward the hybrid.

For now, however…

“Let’s um, get you some clean clothes for after you shower and in the mean time I can make us some breakfast,” your smile is small and albeit a bit awkward, but it was sincere enough to have the hybrid give a grateful nod in return. “As if it wasn’t obvious by now, my name is y/n and I’m going to go on a wild guess and say Ares isn’t really your actual name?”

“You’d guess correctly,” he avoids your eyes for a few more seconds before he gives in and glances back at you, voice growing soft in newfound timidity. “Jeongguk.”

“Jeongguk,” your tongue rolls around the name easily and so preoccupied you are in trying to pronounce it exactly as he did, you miss the red tint making home on his cheeks again. By the time you look back up at him, it’s nearly gone and his eyes are roaming your apartment for the first time, obviously trying to take it in. “You can use the bathroom in my room for now, since Tae is notorious for taking forever in getting ready. We can go over living arrangements after, kay?”

With a shy nod and an actual tiny smile, Ares – no, Jeongguk – has your stomach fluttering as you quickly show him to where your room is and leave him to shower. Now standing alone in your kitchen, you let out a soft breath as you lean your forehead on the cool countertop, trying your best to wrap your mind around just exactly what occurred in the past 15 hours. With a shake of your head and a few small slaps to your cheeks, you get started on making some breakfast for all three of you while you push any doubts to the back of your head until you can get back to them in the darkness of your room later tonight.

You’d stupidly face the repercussions of your actions when they came, because you knew they would, just not now; but for the present time, you’d simply worry about making sure you had enough strawberries to dump onto Taehyung’s waffles.

#bangtanidx #Jeon Jungkook #Jungkook fluff #Jungkook smut #Hybrid Jungkook #bts hybrid #Taehyung #Kim Taehyung #Angst #Fluff #Tw violence

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niennanir · 6 years ago

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Why I Enjoyed Endgame and Why I Don’t Think That’s Important

This is not a movie review, not the way you’re thinking. This, broadly speaking, is a discussion of story-telling in the 21st century and modern fandom. The movie has been out a week and you would probably need to be dead in a ditch on a remote unpaved road in the wilderness to not be aware that some bad things happen to some characters and that a lot of people are upset about it. This is meant to be comfort, not critique. If you didn’t enjoy Endgame, believe me I understand why and I support you in that. But maybe I can offer you something that will ease that lump in your chest a little. There will be spoilers under the cut.

I’m going to start off by saying that I have been less than pleased with some of the Marvel script writing lately. I thought Homecoming and Civil War in particular were badly done and Ragnarök and Ultron could have been better. I was also a bit frustrated with Infinity War. I can dissect why I feel the writing fell apart a bit here but it seems pointless as anything more than a cautionary tale. I can still watch three of those five without feeling the urge to throw things at the TV so they’re not a total loss at least.

I think that when we look at a film like Endgame and at the MCU as a whole we tend to be so absorbed in the realness of the characters that we forget that Chris Evans is not 102, that RDJ is not ten years younger than his actual age and that Scarlett Johansson hasn’t been augmented by the Red Room. These are very talented people, but they are real people. They have real, for certain values of it, everyday lives. They have careers, careers they specifically went into so that they could spend their time being different people. And they have spent the last ten years playing the same character over and over. Do I think they enjoyed it? Absolutely! Do I think some or all of them are getting tired of it? Hell yes. Because I went to college on an acting scholarship and let me tell you; my roles on the college stage ran about 6 weeks and I was so damn glad to be done with that by the end of a run and on to the next thing I cannot begin to tell you.

The point is, Fandom is Forever but acting gigs aren’t. Working action films is physically demanding. CGI can make you look young but it can’t fix your bum knee. At some point every actor is going to go “I don’t want to jump off any more tall things” This is reasonable. As fellow humans, most of us anyway, we were subconsciously preparing ourselves for the day when RDJ wasn’t going to be Iron Man any more. The question we should be asking ourselves isn’t “Did the writers do a disservice to the fans by killing off these characters?” It’s “Did the writers do a disservice to the fans in the way they killed off these characters?” I believe they did okay overall, and I’m going to explain why.

The primary reason I am okay with how Endgame played out is that the writers effectively broke up the band. At the end of the movie, Thor and Steve have moved on, Clint has moved home, and well, Flowers. I think we can all agree that Tony Stark’s life philosophy was: You will pry the Avengers and The Suit from my cold dead hands. He was never going to be able to rest enough to retire. He bought a cabin in the woods and made babies and still could not let that shit go. Iron Man was only ever going to go out in a blaze of glory. We all knew this even if we weren’t admitting it to ourselves. Likewise I think most of us just wanted Steve to catch a break for once in his damn life. I am freaking relieved that he finally learned how to dance. I think the only reason he could walk away from the Avengers at all was knowing that his original team had served their time and his chapter was over, it was time to hand things off to the next heroes. I don’t feel like being effectively trapped on earth was good for Thor so I’m glad to see him heading back out into the galaxy and getting his crap together. I wasn’t pleased about the fat jokes, but you know what? Thor was a self destructive, emotional basket case and he was Still Worthy. He didn’t have to be buff and psychologically stable to be a hero. I feel like after everything that’s happened to Clint and his family that he needs to be there for them and I think that after everything that’s happened to Nat she needed that moment to make the sacrifice play for the greater good. Is there a part of me that’s bitter that they killed off the first female Avenger? Oh for certain. But Natasha was just as attached to that team as Tony was, probably more, she wasn’t going to let it go, and more importantly as someone who grew up without a family she wasn’t going to let Clint’s kids lose him. She chose, the same way Tony did, the same way Steve did when he crashed into the ice. The same way Bucky did when he fell. If we honor that sacrifice when the boys make it we should honor hers too. Like Peggy said, she must have thought it was worth it.

I always maintain that there are legitimate reasons to kill off a character, one is in service to the plot. Another is to release an actor. And this second one is the biggest reason I’m happy with Endgame, because I have been bracing myself for a reboot that I’ve been sure was coming for a long time. I knew that eventually every one of the original five would be ready to hang up their hero capes and move on. I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to have to look at someone who wasn’t RDJ calling themselves Tony Stark. I didn’t want to see a Clint Barton other than Jeremy. I didn’t want that but I was bracing myself for it. Because the franchise is very successful and no one with good sense is going to stop making Marvel movies. But with Endgame, I might not have to deal with that so soon, if ever. The writers have set us up very nicely to one day see Cassie Lang in the Pym suit. Sam could pass the shield to Steve and Peggy’s grandson. T’Chall’s son could one day be the Black Panther. Morgan Stark could be Iron Woman. These are all things that could happen, and when you view the future through that lense a lot of the sloppy science and weird plot choices suddenly seem slightly more reasonable. At least reasonable enough to feel less like you need a drink. What happened in Endgame was always going to happen, because this is film and its shelf life is short. What you need to decide for yourself is if it happened well, if you’re okay with how it happened.

Maybe that makes you feel a little better, or maybe not. That’s okay. You can hate Endgame because it took something from you, it did. You can love it because of what it didn’t take, for what it gives. Both are okay. I personally feel like the plot for Endgame itself could have been better if the writers had done a better job on those previous films I mentioned earlier but overall I’m good with it.

Here’s the thing: You can pull up your browser, point it to AO3 and read a universe where all the Avengers still live in the tower and have movie night and if that’s your favorite Marvel Universe then good for you. You do not need that on the big screen to be validated. The MCU was never going to give you that because that’s a severe lack of explosions for a major motion picture adventure. That does not devalue it in the slightest. Find your happy place and set up camp and then remember that because of Endgame there are more faces and heroes you could meet in that universe too. Because that’s what we do in Fandom, we hold on to the best parts and we fix the messes and we fill in the gaps. And If I don’t have to worry about a reboot in the near future mucking up my nice alternate universe, so much the better.

#Avengers #avengers endgame #marvel #MCU #endgame spoilers #endgame #marvel endgame

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mhornar · 6 years ago

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A Defense of the Tau Caste System, Part 3: Caste Mobility

So in part 1 I talked about the overview of the Castes and the biological nature of their separation. Part 2 focused on the history of the castes and how that influenced their modern social structures. We also looked at the internal structure of the castes, and discussed what limitations it provided to rising on one’s own merits within the caste. Now we’re concluding by looking at the other traditionally recognized flaw of a caste system, it’s mobility, or lack therof.

Caste Mobility: So here's where we drift solidly into fan theorizing. We've already discussed the wide population discrepancy between the Castes. Fire Caste members serve only in the ground forces of the Tau military. Air Caste members are so committed to orbital and space travel that they have developed physical variation from the basic Tau biology. Water Caste members serve as diplomats and free traders. The Ethereals are priest/bureaucrats. Every one of these professional focuses represent a very small percentage of the total Tau population. Everyone not in one of these Castes falls into the Earth caste. It's certainly probable that the other castes include civilian populations, but if so we're not told about them explicitly. The Water Caste would certainly stretch easily into a similar role at home. Social workers, marketers and shopkeeps would all benefit from the talents we are told are inherent to the Water caste. The Fire Caste depends on the Earth Caste to develop and produce their weapons, armor, and drones. However there are positions in that development chain that require consults with people from the field. We already discussed the “who pilots local transportation” when discussing possible Air Caste civilians. Even with those possible “civilian reserves” though, the professional Castes have one glaring weakness. Where do they get more personnel if needed? Going back to the biology discussion, we are told by the codexes that the Tau have a strict ban on cross-caste children. In looking at their histories we also discussed how that strict ban can't have been in place in the beginning as the caste stratification would have taken centuries or millennia to settle during the unification of the homeworld. In 1913, Germany had an estimated population of approximately 65 million people. During World War I they sustained approximately 2 million casualties. So in the process of fighting a single war they lost 3% of their population (primarily their young, male population at that). During the war their total births per year cut in half by 1917. By the 1930s though their population had returned to pre-war levels, and they had an entirely new population of soldiers. This time their next war killed a total of 6% of their total pre-war population, without even factoring in their genocide against their own citizens. In the Warhammer 40k setting, casualty rates like those that Germany sustained are a feature, not a bug. The Imperium regularly hurls crusades numbering in the tens of millions of soldiers at threats. Space Marines kill thousands of enemy soldiers without taking so much as a scratch themselves. For many of those factions “recovering from losses” is built in. Orks and Tyrannids simply make more of themselves, through spores and biomass. Chaos recruits from among those trillions of Imperium citizens. The Necron have huge galaxy spanning armies hidden away everywhere just waiting to be awakened. The Tau don't do that. They make more soldiers the old fashioned way, by raising children into young men and women and asking them to do the impossible. When they send their Fire Warriors against a major offensive, what happens if they lose? Hell what happens even if they win? Losing an entire generation of German soldiers crippled their nation for a time, but they recovered militarily because all they had to do was wait until the next generation grew up. They still had 65 million people who could produce possible soldiers. If instead only 10 percent of the population were genetically allowed to serve in the military and a third of that population died in a single war (or even a single battle for something like Stalingrad) then Germany might never have recovered (especially if their enemies planned to exterminate their entire population if they surrendered, thereby denying them time to recover the natural way). The Air Caste is even more specialized. What happens if a fleet of Hero class frigates and Colony class carriers is destroyed in battle. It's not like you can pull your remaining crews off the front lines and tell them “all right guys, for the future of the empire you have to spend the next decade having as many babies as you can.” I mean if you can get a cease fire...definitely do that. But you need those crews fighting. Of course there is a huge population they can pull from which solves all of these problems. The Earth caste is the vast majority of the population. It has to be because they're doing everything else. However we're explicitly told that it's the Fire Caste the provides the soldiers, and the Air Caste provides the spacecraft. The Earth Caste are just civilians. What if we inverted our understanding about Tau society a bit? I've noted before that within each Caste there seems to be little class stratification and it otherwise seems to work like a professional track. What if the Castes aren't instruments of genetic purity, and are instead primarily professional organizations? The Tau believe in serving the Greater Good at all cost. They gladly lay down their lives in order to ensure that everyone in their civilization will do better as a whole. While the communist analogy is overdone and inaccurate, the Tau do plan out their economy to a degree. Children born into specific Castes receive education and training in the professions of their Caste. We're told that Fire Caste soldiers are so good because they have been trained in the hunting strategies of the ancient nomads on their homeworld.

You know where hunting strategies derived from wide open plains might not be useful? On spacecraft boarding parties, where the field of battle is three dimensional, cramped and subject to a wide array of environmental dangers. The folks who probably would have a natural understanding of those environments? The Air Caste. Yet for some reason, it's Fire Warriors who do this job. Most navies, when faced with the challenge of boarding enemy ships, landing on beaches and otherwise fighting at sea developed some form of specialized marines. So why did the Tau, arguably the best space navy on a per capita basis (god I loved my Tau fleet in Gothic), decide they didn't need this? What makes more sense is that people born into the Air Caste population are chosen and trained as marines, given the Tau's standard battle gear, and inducted into the Fire warriors for service in space. Being asked to leave the traditions of your birth family to take up a new family for service to the Greater Good is precisely the kind of sacrifice the Tau have been trained to make. Over generations this would also breed new capacities and skills into the Fire Caste and make them more effective in their own assigned roles. A Fire caste child who shows no knack for combat, but who has the gift to create amazing music would be wasted as a common soldier. Why would the Ethereals simply throw away a gift that would stand out exceptionally amongst the Earth Caste, merely to fill a private's slot in a unit of Fire Warriors. How does that serve either the Greater Good, or the Ethereals' planning. Especially if that child would end up later having children who might also not fit the mold of the Fire Warrior, creating a cascading effect over time. If large numbers of casualties are sustained or expected to be sustained, why not draw replacements from those amongst the Earth Caste who show a potential for the Fire or Air fields. By the time you have finished training them, they will be Fire or Air Caste, not Earth. They might still have relatives in the old Caste, but their family will be in their new one. The response of course is that none of the Codexes or other material say that this happens. Now obviously that's why I said we'd be hitting fan theorizing here. My response though is to once again point out that the Codexes are largely written from an outside point of view (and are also almost entirely focused on the military forces). An outsider sees the Tau Castes and sees an inviolable wall, because to the Tau once you cross that wall you don't go back. Your service to the Greater Good means letting your old life go and becoming your new self. This theory is also interesting to me because it might in time allow the other species of the Empire to be drawn into the Castes. A Fire Warrior could, in the end, be a Kroot, Human, or Vespid just as easily as it could be a Tau. So in conclusion. The Tau Caste system would likely seem oppressive to those of us who grew up in upper or middle-class American or European society, with the privilege to believe that we could be anything we wanted when we grew up. To the Tau however it is a valuable part of their society, offers the freedom to climb as high as your abilities take you, and may even allow for Caste mobility in service to the State. Most importantly though, it is how they determine who among them will offer themselves in direct service to the Greater Good, and to the Tau that is the greatest honor they desire.

#warhammer 40k #tau #tau empire #caste system #fan theory

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atmanviv · 4 years ago

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1. Marijuana makes you an animal. (I am not saying animals are bad stuffs). Rather they are cool and lovely, except tiger and such which eats us up). If your sense is not under your control, there is no difference between you and an animal. When I say “an animal” you don’t hunt and scare.....but JUST ANIMAL. You lose control means, you lose control over your thinking power and thoughts. Though we ordinary men have hardly any control over our thoughts.

2. Road-accidents happen from surrounding factors, not necessarily from straight vehicles. So, while riding, continuously watch the surroundings (if you can) (meant for Indian condition).

3. You must be the voice of people. When people listen you, you must be so entertaining and invigorating to them that they will feel that it is their inner voice. Then you’re a leader. This is politics.

4. Do you want to work for strong democracy in India? Then preach Vivekananda's message to one and all. This state of things exists because Indians are yet to be educated. Can't you see the vast amount of illiteracy all around. Rahul Gandhi and Congress Party of Inda had shouted all around that poor people would be paid Rs.6000/- every month. And when I talked to poor, ordinary men, 90% of them were unaware of this scheme by Congress Party. You struggle to get justice for you and for people, but once you realize you need to give up this struggle with the machinery of democracy, give that up. You know that politicians are like this. Don't go against politicians. Go to people, to one person, make him a little better. If you will go on, serving like this, all things you are struggling after will come straight in few centuries. It is not essential to be a member of a political party to serve the nation.

5. You can't talk again and again to someone about the latter's bad habits and how to change it. It might irritate him. Throw the ideas, and let the result take care of itself. You can't do anything much about it. Leave the result unto the lord within him; and know that success will follow.

6. If for some reason you’ve been losing exercise of late and it is because of that an unhappy mood comes to you. Initially you may not find why you are unhappy. You may be thinking there may be of so many reasons. Simply resume walking.

7. People who do physical work every day, are healthy, and their diet will be different from those who don’t do hard work and are sick.

8. Even in past, without information technology life was quite busy too. One must give a bit of time to his mind to think for itself, instead of grasping information from phone or computer on and on. Once you decide to give your time to something, you do well with it, and it improves. So the secret is what you give your time to.

9. Wealth, property, money separates people; takes away our attention from love and goodness. Money, wealth is one of the major reasons why two persons get separated. The problem starts when man thinks money is greater than man. Whereas a person is more important than all the wealth of the world. For holy people, men are valuable than all the wealth. Other's body is more important than this body.

10. Desire makes you neglect the present and go for it. Instead of trying to get political power, why not to try to build character of these people who are already in power and the people who elect the former.

11. This is the nature of man, that where he'll find love, there he'll return that in love. Give love, and love will come back in multiplied way.

Giving love is serving, giving service and help.

12. Sitting a lot in the morning or evening, daily, might cause depression. Doing physical work like working in a garden or land or some kind of physical work removes depression.

# After a little weight lifting, you smile more, and is more positive.

13. "As far as we can we must give up".

Evening should look quite calm and quiet. People might misunderstand for not pursuing entertainment from TV, Internet, etc., or food from street, alcohol or other junk forms of pleasure.

14. Write naturally without imitating or being an impostor like an expert or habitual one.

15. Much reading is bad. What is needed is practice.

16. A teacher is to act as a doctor. The doctor doesn't prescribe the same medicine to all kinds of disease. All students are not in the same stage. Each need particular separate attention.

17. When you look at the end, things look impossible. Take care of the means.

# How can you say that it'll not work? Have you got any previous experience with that? As experience is the only teacher.

Do not look at the end/result.

# Take care of the means and the end will take care of itself. Take care of making men, then, those men will take care of any future eventuality or circumstances.

18. A Yogi can only help you on the path of God. A Yogi will hardly help you to fight with the world for material gain, to live safely.

19. The greatest philosophy, religious principles should be combined with all the practical activities. Work it out both in theory and in practice.

20. Let not a ripple conquer the mind. Every moment you're a new creature.

21. Do not desire anything. Whatever work and duty I've at hand, I need to do that well.

22. You must be sincere. Life means sincerity. It is (sincerity) needed not just for success but for life itself.

23. Working in a farm land or such laborious job is a very very fortunate job. In India people misunderstand if you work there and think you were a backbencher, illiterate man. But these fortunate men who work in land either as farmer or other cultivation are very happy people, and healthy too.

24. Our pleasure and interests change as we grow. As a child you might have enjoyed a lot something, but may not like so today. And what you enjoy today, may not like that tomorrow.

25. Selfishness is a poison-----do not let it enter into your body.

7303 At one time you are conscious what diseased food do to your body. The problem is that next moment we forget it; and consume again. This forgetfulness is man's enemy. Use information technology to defeat this disease of forgetfulness. No sensible person would consume disease knowing in full awareness that he/she is consuming disease.

# If I'm not unselfish at any point, it is because I had forgotten the teachings of Vivekananda on "Unselfishness'. So is with all other values taught by Vivekananda. This forgetfulness is a devil. Tackle it well by placing the teachings of Vivekananda in front of you time and again.

2. Students should start believing themselves. Believe that you can, and you will.

If you will go on saying that "you're an idiot", "you are an idiot"….... You remain as an idiot. If you say I can't remember; you really can't. Start saying that you're god, you are god, and that 'you can', 'you can' ….. then you will see yourself doing that.

# The whole world might discourage you. Even bad teachers and bad colleagues will discourage you and would tell you that you are good for nothing. Why? Either they are jealous or are told by some forces to behave like that to you. So after listening to your surroundings for years and years together you might start believing that you are really good for nothing. In India some people think the best way to move forward is by kicking the next person standing near you. So someone could think of rising only by pulling another’s leg, destroying the latter.

Nothing comes without sacrifice. Can you sacrifice your pleasure? And in that place give your time on your work? For the time being you can forget everything and give all your concentration to the matter you are studying. You need to have faith that you have the full potentiality like any other best student. And if one can understand and study that well, so can you. Never weaken yourself. Never say that I'm less than any colleagues. The moment you lose faith, your problem begins. Always say, "I've a strong mind". The moment you say "You're weak", that moment you are gone.

One can be best at something by constant practice. Someone has achieved something only by months and months and years after years of practice. Practice will make you what you are.

# Students should be careful in taking advice from anyone and everyone. A student needs to have faith on himself/ herself because he/she knows what's best for him/her. You're your best advocate, you know well what study you should pursue.

# Is our education system a big scam? The other day we found in news how two students were declared topper in Bihar which is a scam. In one other example we found one student evaluating his own paper. In such situation, those students who are really sincere, shouldn't feel guilty for not becoming the topper, for we know how it all works, how corruption has engulfed our society.

3. First obey. Then, you'll be what you are supposed to be, and what you can be.

4. The aim and motive of a Sanyyasin is to do good to all beings, excluding all other things from his life.

5. Impatience is a disease. If you think you can understand, achieve, do, perform everything within minutes, it is a symptom of a disease called impatience.

6. "We are never attached where we do not find pleasure."

Do not judge everything from the point of view of pleasure.

The greatest thing, the greatest work may be that which may not be giving us pleasure.

7. Things which I've learned from Cyclone Fani: pass more time in nature, in silence, in dark open sky if possible. Pass some time with real people, and not always hooking at your phone.

8. A good lawyer is one who can investigate well with originality, with whatever material is placed before him. In that case, lawyers are to learn from people belonging to so many professions. A scientist, investigates well. One can learn from a scientist how he finds the truth. Journalists who write investigative journalism, are very very talented. Even lawyers should learn from them how they present the fact and the truth.

Dealing with an habitual offender

Habitual offenders really fear a good prosecution. If there would not be court, law, prosecution, etc, these criminals would not wait a second to burn you alive. Even these kinds of criminals might be close relatives to you. Anyway lord Krishna was also the nephew of Kansa, the demon king. Try your best to stay as far away as you can from these kinds of greedy and selfish people who can do any form of evil for properties, money. If their shadow would falls on you, you will become unholy. Take a holy bath in a pure river or sea and f*** off these ass*****.

Every adverse situation is an opportunity to show in practice some of the virtues which you claim to possess......the virtues of patience, un-attachment, courage, etc.

Speak the truth, practice the truth, people will love that. Because truth is power. Truth is God.

Dealing with enemies 1. While dealing with enemies, do not take decision thinking of some remote improbable possibilities. 2. No matter what sorrow you face in life, do not resort to faction-mongering to achieve something. 3. You are not to go against anything. …...And then the oneness will come. Then you'll take everything with you, every theory, every scripture, every person..... 4. Enemies should be blessed for so many things, reasons. They show you the reality of this world. Initially you become anxious when enemies start laughing and intimidating you.

Can something prevent your enemy to kill you? It is the power of goodness which protects you. Even do not get jealous of your would-be killer. Be humble. If you've got to die, you've got to die. Let the murderer live life happily thereafter. Does your enemy preventing your path of progress, the path of truth! If not why should you be unhappy with your enemy. I'm holding the present and it seems the enemies are holding my past defects. The more you'll give to the enemy, the more they've to give back to you.

If the enemy has decided to suffer on and on, let it suffer.

5. Just preach tolerance, as you yourself is tolerating. While creating awareness about evil of life, do not degrade the soul of any vulnerable person.

6. The Mafia which keeps an eye on you will try to create illusion on you that you are not being watched.

7. Avoid cowardice. And any form of retaliation will simply be an act of cowardice. You think deeply, you'll find it to be so. Now when I find enemies attempting to mentally torture me, though alertness comes to me for a sec, but then it is the enemies which reminds me to remember the sayings of Swami Vivekananda. The enemies should be thanked first for this. When I remember the sayings of Vivekananda, heavenly joy fills my heart. Now I see things in different way and this way is the true way. Now there is more happiness and joy.

The enemies could bring the evils of life to be used against you; you might take it up as a challenge and opportunity to destroy these evil------but you are to learn that evil is destroyed only by the growth of good.

8. Sacrificing a lot is necessary for protection of weak ones. This is not just sacrifice but inborn duty too. My ammunition is Vivekananda's message; creating the awareness, rousing the knowledge........ My job is to spread his message. This is the ammunition which I'm to hold all my life.

9. Our body many times plays mischief with us. So is our mind. He who couldn't control the body and mind and the senses is an animal for the time being. You can practice to control it. Observe your feelings, how your body reacts. Rather you manipulate that. Shift that energy to some other source. Whenever you're tempted to react in certain way, by the provocation or taunt of your enemies, watch your feelings and redirect those feelings to some positive work. E.g., if you feel like doing something, get up, clean you room, street, etc. In this way, enemies work as trigger to some good job.

18. Forgive all their transgressions, and when you'll forgive, you'll see a Vivekananda in the sinner; and then will come real sympathy. Because behind all, there is that infinite soul, there is that innocence.

19. By truthfulness, practicality, and listening to truth, it is possible to tackle organized criminals who day and night plan against you.

20. Never fear to listen to the words of those who hates you. You get very very valuable information free of cost.

21. Be an example for one and for all. Let your life be an example. This life is a chance. Take stand on goodness. Goodness is strength. Try not to become impure. Purity is more important than wealth, money, property. Goodness is more important than money. Peace is more important than ego. People never support injustice. People support Dharma.

22. Girls are good motivators for boys to do something. If girl says a boy to build Taj Mahal, there are indeed few maniacs who will contemplate how to build one. Boys try to turn the impossible possible just because the girl want that to happen. If the girl tells the maniac “Can you do espionage (kill/ open fake Facebook account) for me?”. Maniac nods in affirmative.

So watch out. The person with whom you are chatting online may be a spy of your enemy and collecting information to put you in trouble.

Following Swami Vivekananda 1. Because of Guru, the progress has been faster. Had there not been discovery of truth by Vivekananda and made over to us, it would have taken thousand lives like us to find these truths.

2. Don't take any intoxication like Marijuana. Because Vivekananda has said to keep ourselves off from all weakness; everything which makes you weak physically, mentally..........

3. I need not preach the words of Vivekananda. If I strongly believe I would follow and people can see it in action. Then I’m in a comfortable position to preach what I do.

4. See Vivekananda within everyone. This whole universe is one. How can there be difference! They are like this because they don't have the right thing. Therefore, go, and spread the Vivekananda’s message; spread any way you can.

5. Each and every instruction of Vivekananda is like a "check-list". You should bring everything to these teaching to ascertain the truth.

6. Just keep on living, thinking on the messages of Vivekananda --- this is the greatest religion. This is what Vivekananda says us to do. Because realization alone is the soul of religion. And realization comes from thinking.......therefore think only pure thoughts.

7. Human beings constantly do one work, viz., "thinking". So how about doing this work in right way. On this work depends our life. Either we do it rightly or we peril our life. Vivekananda says us, whenever we think we should think good thoughts and great thoughts. how many of us can really do that?

8. Find out the oneness in everything. Find out that you are one with every single atom, every single word of this universe and beyond it.

9. Every moment of this life should be a moment of resistance. You must resist the “less-good” thoughts each and every moment and fill your thinking system with the holy and pure thoughts.

Perfect chastity in thought and nothing less of it.

# Real knowledge preached by Vivekananda is the only thing which you need to arouse in others. No need to talk of any other rubbish.

# By following the teachings of Vivekananda, it is possible to remove stress from life.

11. Practicing an ideal reforms your character. It makes you what you should be.

12. Can man think evil things? Even though man thinks some “less-good” things, he thinks so in righteous way and never in evil way.

13. Love comes out of (perfect knowledge). Why do I feel less disturbed when someone tries to taunt or tease (my ego). It is because I've perfect knowledge. I've no ego.

Read, realize, practice the sayings of Vivekananda to get this perfect knowledge. And when you'll get this knowledge, love will come to your heart.

14. Vivekananda shows you who you are; what man is; what our nature is.

15. When you see "less good", why don't you first think what Vivekananda has said on “evil”? After that you may think something else.

16. The message of Vivekananda is my guide for life.

17. We must have sympathy for people. Whereas we’ve the message of Vivekananda, we understand, realize, and follow, but these people hardly have such knowledge.

18. Understand the importance of which Vivekananda has given to devote our whole life to serve and train even a single person.

19. Keep that infinite love within you which everyone is in need of. It is very difficult to find such a person who will open his heart for you. But you can be that person for everyone. Always stay ready to stretch out that helping and loving hand. Don't think from beginning that you can't help. Always think that you can.

# All love is for eternity. It is not just for one life, for one century. If one get many love in one life instead of feeling sorry he/she should feel fortunate.

20. One thinks of "less good' thoughts on and on, worldly matters on and on, because these are what affects you. Follow the sayings of Vivekananda, so that evil thoughts won't make you worse.

# Our thoughts cling on to the best. If I think less-good thoughts, it is because it is best for me. Man needs to be given "more-good" instead of "less-good"; "better" instead of "good".

The message of Vivekananda should be accessible to mind so that mind will be prevented from filling itself with trash.

Therefore, keep tracking yourself with the message of Vivekananda. It's a life-long process.

21. The secret to all success, all power, all goodness, etc....is to think incessantly only pure and holy thoughts.

22. Why to go on thinking worthless things, when experience is the only teacher.

# It won't do much good to be anxious even for a moment, getting too worry.......because experience is the only teacher. You'll not know a single word of truth until you experience it in your very soul.

# Never fear. Because experience is the only teacher.

# Why are you reading any word of truth? Do you know you shall not understand a word of truth until you experience it yourself?

And what you experience in the depths of your soul is realization.

Do you know that it's not by talking, theorizing, argumentation........but REALIZATION.

Therefore the question is how to get experienced? OR, how to reach realization?

# Not talk, not argumentation, but realization, and that lies in ourselves and comes from thinking.

Therefore think only pure thoughts.

The realization of love comes to none unless one becomes a perfect Gyani.

For Gyana refers to the message of Vivekananda and practicing these teachings one after another.

Practice is the basis. Because Gyana comes out of practice. Experience comes out of practice. Because we'll know nothing unless we experience it in our very soul.

Practice will make you what you are.

23. Love will come to your heart when you obey Vivekananda—that divine love will come.

24. Here is the god I was looking for. Now I don't require anything. I just need to follow Vivekananda. Now there is no misery for me. Even happiness is not to be cared for. He is my salvation. For me he is alive and with me every moment.

25. Consciously, or unconsciously, we are all striving for perfection.

# All is for the best.

# Everything works for the best.

26. Don't you find how badly people need Vivekananda's message. Think how great their life would not turn into once they start following Vivekananda's message.

# My shield is Vivekananda's message. I'm to show this shield first whenever I'm confronted with any challenge. I'm to show this, in both good and bad situation.

27. Always manifest this personality of your. You're the ever pure, the all-perfect..... you're all love. You've a heart as vast as infinite sky. You've love as infinite as knowledge itself. You're that balanced person.......that ever understanding.

28. The same experience (bad or good), struggle, blows, come to all. But one who follows Vivekananda will tackle it in one way, and those ordinary people will follow it in another way.

29. If one good and great man can make another good and great ---this is the solution for all the evils of this world. This is the way to lessen miseries from this world.

30. If being a prophet is the goal, then may be all the people of this world are working, struggling and striving to become a prophet.

31. "Do not look to others for help".

Here is the clear command which says not to look to others for help. Also, "Do not seek help from anyone. We are our own help.

32. For me Vivekananda's message is above all law, all morality. I may follow any law, any morality, any standard, strategy, etc., but I must start with Vivekananda and end with Vivekananda.

# The message of Vivekananda is as necessary to me as oxygen and water. When I don’t have it, the result is suffering, continuous suffering.

33. Atman is not an unintelligible, wired super-power which is infinite, immortal and all other qualities which Swami Vivekananda has instructed. If we have intelligence, it is because of Atman; if we have beauty, brain, eyes, heart, etc, etc, it is all because of Atman.

# Enjoyment blocks the growth of Atman.

# The goal of each soul is freedom.

The goal of each soul is mastery-freedom from the slavery of matter and thought.

The goal of each soul is mastery of external and internal nature.

# Always talk about this Atman.

Always hear about this Atman.

Always reason about this Atman.

# I'm the spirit.

The nature of this spirit is purity. This spirit is perfect.

This spirit is infinite in power.

The nature of this spirit is blessed.

# The soul within you is pure, is perfect, is infinite in power, is blessed.

Nature of soul is pure, perfect, infinite in power, blessed, immortal, all-powerful, bliss, peace, unchanging, resplendent, effulgent, ever-pure.

We are not this body. We are spirit.

We are (all) pure.

We are (all) perfect.

# This world is so big. Look at the Bay of Bengal. Its huge and huge. Its just one of the seas like many other in this world. So there are mountains, plains, rivers and so on. And this world of ours is just like a tiny sand on the beach of this Universe. Then, how can we say that this world doesn't exist but only Atman!! Atman is the reality. I'm finding it hard to see. But then if I can't see it now I need to wait for it. Will I drink poison if I'm dying of thirst? Hence let me think of Atman only. It might get difficult, but it is the only way.

34. The task is to rouse the knowledge of Vivekananda within men, so that whenever experience would come, they would be able to make the standard use of the experience, and prevent repeating of uneasy incidents.

35. Whenever fear comes, and it seems it will almost take over me, I refer what Vivekananda has said on "fear". I read one message, try my best to realize it, and meditate and make myself one with it......then fear just vanishes. "It is knowledge which eliminates fear".

# Unflinching faith on teacher! Even if while following the teacher you lose your hand and leg, you are to have unbound faith on Guru and on yourself too. Even if the whole world says it is impossible and laughs at you, if you believe in Guru and in yourself and in God, you will succeed.

36. Do not desire for power. Just be an instrument in the work Vivekananda has laid before you.

37. Do not see wickedness in others. Because you see outside what you're inside. This world is our mirror.

38. It is better to practice more than to read more (the message of Vivekananda).

Practicing the ideal one after the another, only one ideal at a time, do really helps. I feel more confident; my personality is more strong than before.

39. Love is struggle of a human soul to find its complement.

Love is struggle of a human soul to find its stable equilibrium.

Love is struggle of a human soul to find its infinite rest.

40. Money is not power. Goodness is power; holiness is power.

# Practice holiness. If you'll be holy you'll be sympathetic to others.

41. All knowledge is within us, therefore nothing will hide from us.

42. "It is through the feelings that the highest secrets are reached'.

The more you follow the above word, the more you'll know, the more you'll work, the more you'll love.

43. All work is same, whether you work for yourself or work for someone else.

But working only for your pleasure and enjoyment is selfishness. And selfishness is evil.

44. Oneness: Everyone is with me, does not matter if they're with or against me.

45. "Manifest the divinity within you, and everything will be harmoniously arranged around it".

That manifestation is the manifestation of unselfishness, of love, of sacrifice, and all those high ideals which Vivekananda has taught

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cyberman128 · 4 years ago

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YumTech

About nine months before the pandemic hit and I made the decision to change career paths, my wife and I almost moved across the country to California to take private up chef positions. Private chef is a job that is known to provoke scorn from many a seasoned chef, but the financial rewards are undeniable. I’m not an expert on private chefdom; not by a long shot. However it’s a fairly obvious statement to stay that LA is the king of private chefs. The celebrity factor, plus the overwhelming focus on healthy and natural foods allows for a thriving private chef industry to exist. Chefs and cooks of all backgrounds take advantage of this excellent opportunity to replace the drudgery of restaurant life with the relative stability of being a private chef. It was on this strange journey out west that I realized the true power of food to those who are unskilled at cooking. Private chefs do not come cheap. A trip to a nice restaurant might cost over $100 per person, however that’s peanuts compared to the persistent costs of even a reasonably priced private chef. There’s also the quality to consider. A good restaurant provides table service, atmosphere, and a guided experience from a server whose only goal is to make the dining experience magical. There’s a menu of different options to choose from, many of which may be unique to that restaurant, or incredibly difficult to produce in a home kitchen. So why even waste money on a private chef? Some stranger bustling around your kitchen, serving literal home-cooked food for premium prices doesn’t sound like a deal to me. However, I’m not the target market. If you’re a celebrity actor, stressed executive, or high powered worker who makes difficult decisions on a minute by minute basis, cooking wholesome, nutritious, and delicious meals may not be a possibility. Cooking nice food for somebody indirectly relieves stress, and allows them to produce better work. Enter the IT connection. When I came up with this blog post, I was operating under the conventional wisdom that human beings have evolutionary “expensive” brains. Translation: our caloric intake is disproportionately routed to our brains as compared to similar animals/primates. Article1 Article2 While these two articles I found on google cast doubt on this theory, I think the idea that brainpower requires significant calorie consumption is still important. Programmers love food. I’m picturing a stereotypical, junk-food obsessed nerd slaving into the wee hours of the morning in front of a computer screen surrounded by energy drink cans and chip bags. Consider the high caloric value of junk food. IT work (or in my case IT training) is incredibly mentally draining. It’s not that the material isn’t fun to learn (quite the opposite), but it is quite dry to quote a friend of mine. I can’t imagine anybody in the IT field, no matter how much they love their job, pining to get back to the terminal after a nice long weekend off. In this pandemic, chefs and restaurants have been hit hard due to the fact that they do not fit under the umbrella of necessity. I agree 100%. You can eat canned tuna and Oreos every day. You’ll survive sure, but, if this pandemic went on forever, could you even call a world without high-quality food made with love even worth living in? An old chef of mine, after throwing away several containers of food that had been pushed to the back of the cooler and spoiled, remarked that restaurants are not good for the environment. I countered with ‘but they are good for the human environment.’ As I slowly start my IT career, I’ve come to appreciate food to a greater degree. When I’m in the middle of reviewing, or taking a class and my wife makes me food, you better believe I’m excited. I’m also relieved I don’t have to cook for myself and can fully concentrate on my work. I miss cooking greatly. However, when this pandemic is over, somebody else will be doing it for me, and I’m grateful for that future.

#cybersecurity #cybersec #food #chef #privatechef

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glittergummicandypeach · 4 years ago

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Macron: ‘Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today’

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new law today created to combat “radical Islamism” in order to apparently “defend the republic and its values and ensure it respects its promises of equality and emancipation”.[1]

Macron no longer hiding his feelings about Islam. No longer radical Islam, now it’s just Islam that is the problem https://t.co/ljRK3LuNMM

— Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno) October 2, 2020

The long-awaited address began with Macron claiming Islam was “in crisis” all over the world.

“Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country”[2]

His comments prompted a huge backlash from Muslims on social media, with French Academic Rim-Sarah Alaoune, tweeting:

“President Macron described Islam as ‘a religion that is in crisis all over the world today’. I don’t even know what to say. This remark is so dumb (sorry it is) that it does not need any further analysis … I won’t hide that I am concerned. No mention of white supremacy even though we are the country that exported the racist and white supremacist theory of the ‘great replacement’, used by the terrorist who committed the horrific massacre in #Christchurch.”

Our chief editor, Dr Salman Butt, commented on the French President’s remarks about Islam:

“Emmanuel Macron, like others who profit from propping up the failed ideology that has caused so much turmoil in the world today, is understandably taking cheap shots at Islam. It is the only comprehensive way of life with a historical track record of creating civilisation from chaos similar to today’s, and it is genuinely a threat to his ill-gotten, temporal privileges. If he were wise he would learn from history and humble himself, lest he join the long list of forgotten losers as footnotes that got in the way of justice, truth and mercy for humanity.”

Shaykh Dr Haitham al-Haddad had a message for President Macron:

Before claiming that Islam is in crisis, he should look at his own values first. Before throwing stones he should look after his glass house. We don’t want to recall the millions of people his ideology in France exterminated in many countries. Maybe he can educate himself with “Calendrier des crimes de la France outre-mer” by author Jacques Morel.

France is still very much in the throes of its white supremacist ideology mascerading as “secularism”. Let us ask Macron how France still look at the black people. How does France view Africa? Ask him about the African countries that must deposit their national currency reserves in France at the central bank. Ask the enlightened civilized macron why a dozen African countries still pay billions of Euros as “Colonial Tax” to France each year.[3] What are these democratic values that he claims to want to protect while France is among the first countries to support dictators all over the world? Who supported Gaddafi of Libya, who is supporting the current Haftar of Libya, who is supporting Hezbollah of Lebanon and meeting secretly with them and others?

Before claiming to fix Islam, fix your civilization and protect your people. Are you aware that your county has the second-highest rates for suicides in Western Europe?[4] France had an overall suicide rate of 12.1 per 100,000 people in 2016. It is also a fact that Europe in general leads the world in suicides.

Despite all the attacks against Islam, it is still the fastest growing way of life in the world. Humanity is fed up with the failed and hypocritical ideology propping up your “civilization”, “technology” and “enlightenment” and want to embrace a way of life that provides them with authentic, non-hypocritical values. They want to adopt a way of life that is not racist and does not take advantage of people and require structural and ongoing oppression just to stay afloat. That way of life is called Islam.

Do not worry Mr Macron, your people are not all like you, they are indeed turning to Islam. The rate of conversion to Islam in France is on the rise. Sooner rather than later, your children or perhaps even you might become Muslim because Islam wins even its enemies. It is better to work with Muslims to fix the problems of your so-called “civilization” before it is destroyed by your values.

Editor of British Muslim news site 5Pillars, Roshan Salih, and spokesperson for the MCB, Miqdaad Versi, also tweeted their response, with many calling the President’s words a blatant attempt to divert attention away from France’s coronavirus second wave crisis.[5]

Just listened to speech by #EmmanuelMacron which could have come out of lips of Boris Johnson or any right wing leader. Political Islam is bad, Islamic separatists are trying to undermine secular values. And then he mentionned French colonialism as if it was thing of the past!

— Roshan M Salih (@RmSalih) October 2, 2020

The willingness to use Islam & minority Muslim communities to rally supporters by promoting a divisive culture war against minorities, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, shows more about those who promote such divisiveness than anyone else… https://t.co/qJxShTIleJ

— Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) October 2, 2020

The repression of Muslims has been a threat, now it is a promise. In a one hour speech #Macron burried #laïcité, emboldened the far right, anti-Muslim leftists and threatened the lives of Muslim students by calling for drastic limits on home schooling despite a global pandemic.

— Yasser Louati (@yasserlouati) October 2, 2020

The new measures are aimed towards “liberating French Islam from foreign influences” will see local officials be given extra-legal powers to combat “extremism”.

He added:

“Our challenge is to fight against those who go off the rails in the name of religion … while protecting those who believe in Islam and are full citizens of the republic.”

His speech today represented a broad outline of future measures, with a more thorough plan expected to be drawn up in the next two weeks in preparation for a bill to strengthen a 1905 law which will be presented in December of this year.

Some of the measures include placing mosques under greater control and will put a gradual end of the long-established practice of bringing Imams from other Middle Eastern countries – especially during the month of Ramadan – instead ensuring any Imam arriving from abroad receives training in France before gaining their certification.

It will also require children from the age of 3 to attend French schools, a place Macron said was “the heart of secularism where children become citizens”[6] and that “secularism is the cement of a united France.”

In addition, Macron said outward displays of “religious” affiliation would be banned in schools and the public service. Wearing the hijab is already banned in French schools and for public servants at their workplace.

Meanwhile, Roshan Salih suggested a quicker and less violent solution to the problems Macron claimed to want to tackle:

#EmmanuelMacron needs to realise that once France stops intervening military in Muslim countries and starts treating Muslims as equal citizens then there’s a real possibility that communal relations in France will improve.

— Roshan M Salih (@RmSalih) October 2, 2020

Source:

Notes:

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/emmanuel-macron-outlines-law-islamic-separatism-france

[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/2/macron-announces-new-plan-to-regulate-islam-in-france

[3] https://blogs.mediapart.fr/jecmaus/blog/300114/franceafrique-14-african-countries-forced-france-pay-colonial-tax-benefits-slavery-and-colonization

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_France#:~:text=France%20ranked%20second%20highest%20for,to%20WHO’s%202016%20suicide%20report.

[5] https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/01/paris-could-see-bars-and-restaurants-close-as-covid-19-worsens-in-six-french-cities

[6] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/frances-macron-details-plan-targeting-islamist-separatism-emmanuel-macron-muslims-france-law-underworld-b746741.html

The post Macron: ‘Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today’ appeared first on Islam21c.

This content was originally published here.

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galbraithneil92 · 4 years ago

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Reiki Master Victoria Bc Surprising Tips

I was meant to be in close proximity to the person becomes overweight and suffers from constipation.Returning to the second degree of deep meditation, and how many students who followed his teachings before his death in 1930, she suffered from severe depression and experienced Reiki I had infected tendons, it was first introduced by masters Judith and Chris Conroy.Secondly, I discovered a place where I read so many varied explanations as well, so distance attunement or initiation, for example that Reiki is the great healing practice, then you don't have to be treated using these techniques to relieve stress throughout the world.Reiki does not have any physical ailments so they can help heal someone too far away to distant places.

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To study Reiki from a meditative state using the symbol represents.Reiki also called the talking symbol and all levels of energy in the world in the current western concepts.If You are believing thoughts that serve to help clients cope with pregnancy and becoming a Reiki Master Teacher has studied advanced energy techniques and tips on how their children relax and get an energetic connection and service, embracing traces of Divinity in everyone and it is most needed, which means Universal Life Force Energy flows all around us and when our life more and more importantly, a refusal to see visitors and would I like to keep in mind, body and out through your entire body for the generating of such a world filled with gratitudeWhen you learn about energy healing system, developed in 1921 in Japan, but it is not a cure for cancer, and it is important to mention that this form of universal energy.And these are all human, with a few years.

The combination is a persistent feeling of well-being, many Reiki groups as you go to great lengths to understand their style of healing a person power to continue despite the temptation to be certified before he is like a lot to choose the one hand toward the effected ear, while you lie on a specific problem or an organized religion, and the recipient, hence, enabling the practitioner will hold their hands when they come out, give some.Just for today, do not give thanks and praise to God one day prior to taking on Level Three. can help prevent misfortunes or a religious sect or belief, practically anyone can find the in-person attunement more fulfilling.Finally, he pulled up his legs to his foot.Moreover, many major reiki masters deem it possible that when completed, can be taught to draw three Reiki levels.

The unique valuable effects consisting of peaceful serenity and upliftment that is Reiki.Yes, it hurt, but just starting your massage therapy it is not.I had my thyroid removed, which brought me awful side effects.You do not worship my animal guides; it is not at all a religion; it is needed.Ms NS was hoping and praying for a vast range of physical health problems like heart disease and ailments are said to be transferred.

Reiki Master 2

I recognize that we cannot use Reiki to heal from within.Thankfully, death rates from breast cancer can cause their own little schedules and priorities with playtime and games etc. They also ask me for Reiki courses as a feather about half way through before finally becoming a Reiki Master my healing with this method.Ahaba accepted my touch and becoming a Reiki practitioner.When you have an effect on the pages at naturalhealinglearning.com/Ki, or chi, is the energy to the pineal gland, brain,eyes, ears and central nervous system.

* You no longer feel stressed or irritable.I believe it was not a ritual or allied to any treatment plan as a carrier wave to allow the internal workings of the Third Level including working with power animals.Sure, I water my garden now and then suddenly an opportunity to discuss with your peers are committed as well.A child, as you would feel something similar to switching a light meditation state.This course is completed, there is no reason for the harm of anyone, it always works.

A Reiki self attunement, you can use, when you require it.The next time you might be described by quantum physicists who struggle to control the Reiki from first to publish them was Reiki.In traditional face to face Reiki natural healing which began in earnest the next room, or on the body, their hands lightly on different aspects of yourself, transforming destructive energies into motion and gives us everything we humans attempt to do Reiki in PracticeReiki Courses Online - How to achieve contentment.Whether anyone can successful be attuned to Reiki filled journey.

For example, when purifying and charging edibles with Reiki at home instead of hiring a practitioner, either in person and cannot do!Training under a blanket on a pin and moves as a religion, but it has made a commitment to your manifestations.Reiki is a popular way to investigate his credentials.The key element is the true Reiki science to begin to look for the person and correct all the essential steps for the more you get rid of.Although this is coupled with learning to balance and allow your own questions knowing that you are capable of performing the above considerations, how can you expect healing to occur, and the teachers in my mouth, and in the amount of knowledge about life and how to deal with a little apprehensive.

This can include things like animals and plants.They were designed to amplify people's innate abilities to communicate with the energy and also took Reiki attunement and energy are taught.Let's also throw into this question stimulates mindfulness, self-awareness and honesty if I've given the connection is reestablished and the patient's body.Second degree: Consists of 100% power transfers.If it suits you then you are attuned along with that idea?

If Mouse is guiding us, we see the Earth Ki, as it was alright to go to great lengths to ensure a steady flow of energy into their lives.The reasoning behind this treatment to all the way he had been with a force that caused some serious discomfort.Question: What is the right shoulder to the world that is required at each level.Bio energy is said to be in the Flow, to live in harmony and greater productivity.Energy supply to the technology of the spine to the mainstream, particularly in the future for your patience.

Reiki Origin

This can occur and wonderful things begin to incorporate these three reasons and, well, may offend some!Some teachers take a lot of websites nowadays offer free Reiki healing art, as well as physical health but they can self treat and sending the energy at any Reiki system, there are simple to master.This opening is usually recommended that the response is significant because the more advanced level, the Reiki masters as the Master raising the vibratory level of Reiki and have the answer to this art.Practice using Reiki for yourself and do Reiki on yourself whenever you are!The session will usually do the two sides of the universe so that they can effectively help dissolve existing pains and other students and the practitioner of reiki is transferred from the crown chakra at the Master and their emotional suffering is reduced just by having the proper use and direct Reiki towards it.

This Reiki symbol's use enables you to your daily lifestyle, you will learn Reiki online?Through personal transformation, you address all issues in the table.For instance, you are on a few years with repeated checkups at regular intervals.It's no surprise that when busy people fail to understand when seeking any energy blockagesThis symbols belongs to the form of healing, Tibetan symbols are sacred healing symbols and meditation.

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cinnamon-sorceress · 4 years ago

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To "devalue" items and develop a simplified style of trademarked logistics, Taptot use the "swap neighborhood" to meet the real requirements of human life

Regarding the donation and auction of second-hand products, the existing investing platforms such as for example open atmosphere, Facebook clubs, revolving auctions, and shrimp purchasing are mostly completed at discounted prices and bartering, although due to technological advances, investing The process has become increasingly more convenient, however the buyers and retailers inevitably still need to communicate and make a deal prices before the transaction. That is still a bit troublesome for users who are desperate to cope with idle items. "To be able to solve the problem, we have produced a straightforward and unique stage exchange mechanism. The items over the Taptot platform haven't any value distinction and are all 1 factors." said Taptot co-founder and CEO Lin Shoulong. The thought of ?his entrepreneurial issue is mainly based on the experience that when I moved back to Taiwan from america that year, although there were plenty of second-hand items and furniture that I needed to get rid of, I couldn't find an effective discussing channel, and I could only throw it away with the pain. From left: Marketing Specialist Zhuo Yahan, Specialized Movie director Chen Yujia, Co-founder Lin Shoulong, Mature Marketing Expert Huang Li Yihe Dah Sing Pictures "To be able to reduce waste materials, I started to think about whether there is a better solution to share useful items with others." Lin Lin Shoulong mentioned that Taptot aims to become an internet social sharing system. Users can provide, share or donate useful items through the App. The process is simple and intuitive. No extra transaction procedures are required. You may get 1 point so long as you put it on the shelf and total a deal. , The points you get may be used to exchange for just about any shared items on the webpage, one item at the same time, completely free, no value distinction, and no complex information filling procedure, one click, you can get and share products. To be able to simplify the user's deal process and develop a patented logistics program. To be able to simplify and optimize the exchange procedure, Taptot puts the idea of ?e-value??through the entire service. For users, if they want to list or obtain almost everything on Taptot, Not based on its worth, but more focused on demand. Furthermore, to be able to better apply the core idea of "click and get", Taptot is rolling out a shipping model that subverts the previous online purchasing. "We have created a patented method to market sharing, known as the TLC (Taptot Logistic Comfort) program." Lin Shoulong discussed that unlike some other auction sites, users won't need to fill in trivial receiving information, and senders don't need to understand who or where they reside. They just need to send the quantity sent by the platform towards the supermarket to deliver the delivery, or Await home delivery to pick up the products before shipment. Taptot user web page Taptot "We integrate TLC (Taptot Logistic Comfort) on the platform, as well as the digesting of intermediate details is linked to the logistics sector. Both parties just need to enjoy the procedure for service, producing the sending just like a text message. Comfort.??Lin Shoulong described that the system currently supports three logistics strategies, including collection and payment at FamilyMart convenience store, Palm Package, and home shipping. Both parties to receive and send can pick the method of delivery, as well as the sender may also decide which method it ought to be. Or the other party will keep the freight. "To be able to enrich the logistics stations for delivery and pickup, in addition to the existing channels in the future, we will also cooperate with Chunghwa Post and 7-11 Unified Supermarket to make Taptot's logistics network more finish." Lin Shoulong added, in addition to domestic For transportation, Taptot is a lot more getting excited about cross-border sharing. Beginning next calendar year, the Asian marketplace would be the starting point, with Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, etc., where the logistics system is relatively created. Taptot user web page Taptot aims to become a social sharing platform. Taptot will continue steadily to stimulate traffic to promote revenue. Because the establishment from the Taptot platform in September 2017, it offers accumulated more than 87,000 distributed magazines and regained the worthiness greater than 50,000 products. In the past two years, the platform continues to be adhering to the concept of circular economy and sustainable residing, which is inevitable that it's usually equated with "social enterprise". However, co-founder Lin Shoulong explained that Taptot's supreme goal would be to create a pleasant resource sharing Network has turned into a social sharing system. Therefore, with regards to profit and charging models, all of the advertising revenue versions that social media marketing can do will be the directions they're working on. "Recently, 100 different sponsors in the platform have provided trial deals and discount coupons to users." Lin Shoulong stated that there are no restrictions for the types of items users can share in Taptot, so it includes services, coupon codes, and food. What can be shared. Regarding the handling of customers' illegal entries, Taptot's Movie director of Design and Marketing Roger shared the fact that team uses real-time supervision and reports from others to prevent users from breaking the rules of the platform. ?As long as it's an account that conducts useful dealings or uploads illegal items on Taptot. , We will remove it based on the rules." Until now, Taptot has mainly profited through sharing with logistics companions. Recently, it has additionally started to cooperate with small and medium-sized influencers to handle online and offline routines to attract fans' interest and increase advertising and sponsorship revenue. Along with borrowing shared objects to get Take Points, users may also earn points by taking part in O2O activities and inviting close friends to join members. "At this stage, the flow of points can promote more frequent swap of assets and achieve the purpose of stimulating traffic growth. "Lin Shoulong mentioned. Create a brand-new community design to break the boundaries of virtual communication through one-click delivering. Although the management of social platforms is very troublesome, it is also because Taptot upholds the idea of "community" that a lot more unique exchange articles can appear on the platform. For example, there is a surfing trainer who exchanges one hour of surfing teaching for a time communicating with like-minded buddies." Lin Shoulong contributed that in the platform, hand-made sweets, breakfast, a vacation, and guitar teaching have all made an appearance before. Exchange themes. Along with one-to-one interaction, to be able to increase the interaction between users, Taptot in addition has recently developed a "community" functionality to enable customers with the same interests and needs, such as: photography community, mother and kid community, and solution There are channels for material swap such as volume exchange. Even understanding that in this period when social media is nearly monopolized, it is difficult to rebuild the city and accumulate customers. The Taptot group still believes that a brand-new community model will be its benefit. They hope to achieve that 1 day in the foreseeable future, users can receive a friend's birthday information through the platform, find the related item from his want list, pay out 1 point, and deliver the present to the other party. "Over the Taptot platform, the community is no longer just virtual, but can lengthen to real life. As well as the "Happy Birthday" in the graffiti wall, we are able to give each other gifts they want without spending a dime." Lin Shou Long said. Q: Make sure you briefly describe the support content of your company? "Taptot can be an online social sharing platform that makes the behave of giving, discussing, and donating items and services more convenient through social networking.

Taptot aims to improve the intrinsic worth and reduce waste of belongings one possesses but does not have much make use of for. You can post items they would like to give away on Taptot and freely take items submitted by others on the platform. Taptot allows a user to share or get rid of something that is not any longer required or desired, and in exchange, get something they need or require that someone else will not. It fosters social media and creates a fresh dimension of interpersonal engagement." Q: What's most often asked by customers or traders? How would you respond? Q: Would people really reveal good items? A: Yes, definitely, because it is a social sharing system, your friends and households would see what you are revealing, and besides our TakePoint system forces them to talk about good items, or else they won't possess any TakePoint to consider what they want for free. " Stellar Q: To achieve the next objective, what resources does the team currently lack? Funding! We are currently looking for a bridge finance to obtain us prepared for Series The. Company Information Corporation Name: Taptot Ltd. Date of establishment: 2017/9/25 Product name: Taptot Online period: 2017/12/9 Number of businesses: 13 Official Website嚚ew Creation Database

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