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ofstarsandvibranium · 4 months ago

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Dangerous Game: Part 1

Fandom: Star Wars - The Acolyte (Biker AU)

Pairing: Qimir x F!Reader

Summary: A stranger on a motorcycle arrives in your small town and you can't help but be intrigued by him and this mission that he's set on.

A/N: uuuummmm have another qimir series i guess??? i'm gonna TRY to keep this to three parts. major emphasis on TRY.

Qimir Masterlist

You sit across from your mentor, Sol, at the cafe downtown. He looks over your thesis while you anxiously sit across from him. Your hands are clasped in your lap while your knee is bouncing.

"It's good," he says after nearly ten minutes of silence.

"I'm sensing a but," you murmur, looking at him in anticipation.

Sol looks up, an expression on his face that says something along the lines of 'I'm sorry you have to make more revisions', "I don't think your connection to the material and the study is strong enough. There are some weak points that I've marked and think you should further build upon."

You let out a deep breath, "Yeah. Okay."

"You're almost there, Y/N. I have faith in you," he hands back your thesis.

"Thanks, Dr. Sol," you slump in your chair, looking at the notes he made.

The music and chatter in the cafe create a calming ambience for you as you skim through the notes. You occasionally pause to take a few sips from your vanilla latte.

However, your concentration and peace are broken when you hear a loud roar down the street. Your spot next to the window allows you the perfect few to see a motorcyclist approaching the sidewalk right outside the cafe. The bike is so loud the windows shake a little and then come to a halt when the rider kills the engine.

From the build, you can tell the rider is a man. He unmounts his bike, taking off his matte black helmet to reveal long black locks and an incredibly handsome face.

"Who's that?" you ask.

Dr. Sol looks up from his own paperwork and peers through the window. He makes a sound of distaste, "I don't know, but he looks like trouble." Your mentor looks away, going back to his work.

You? You continue to watch the stranger as he unzip his jacket and fasten his helmet onto his backpack.

As if feeling your eyes on him, he looks up, directly at you. Usually, you would look away, but there was something about this guy that didn't allow you to.

He smirks and gives you wink before swinging his backpack over his shoulder and heading towards the cafe.

"He's coming inside," you state to not really anyone, but yourself. But your voice has Dr. Sol looking up and over his shoulder as the stranger enters the establishment.

The stranger immediately looks your way, winks again, and then approaches the order counter.

Dr. Sol turns back to you and gives you a disapproving look, "Y/N, I know I'm not your parent, but I do advise you to be wary around people like him."

You can't help but roll your eyes at the older man, "Are you seriously judging someone from how they look?"

"The emblem on the back of his jacket," Sol points as the stranger orders from the counter. You see a smiling skull with a red slash going diagonally through it, "That symbol is from a gang a few towns over. They're bad news, Y/N. You stay away from him and anyone else associated with him."

He looks at his watch and sighs, "I need to head back to campus for a meeting. Will you be alright here?"

"Yes, sir. I can take care of myself," you wave off your mentor as he quickly packs and exits the cafe.

You go back to reading through the notes Dr. Sol made when you see movement in your peripherals. Just your luck, the stranger sits at the table near yours. The one right behind where Dr. Sol sat. This gave you the perfect view of him and it seemed like this handsome stranger knew that because he was already looking at you with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

He lifts his hand and gives you a little wave. Unsure if he's actually waving at you, you glance over your shoulder to see if someone was behind you. There wasn't.

You turn back around and he's chuckling. He proceeds to stand and walk over to your table, "Alright if I sit here?" he gestures to the empty seat across from you.

"Uh, sure, if you want?"

He sits with a grunt, setting his backpack under the table.

"You're not from here," you state.

He chuckles, "You are correct. I'm not. I'm Qimir," he holds his hand out and it stays there as you narrow your eyes at him. He slowly closes his fist and brings his hand back, "Alright. Not a handshake kind of person?"

"Why're you here?"

He cocks a brow, "Do you usually interrogate strangers at a cafe?"

"Only when those strangers are part of a dangerous biker gang."

You pique Qimir's interest. You can tell with the way his eyes brighten and his back straightens. He clasps his hands and rests them on the table, "So you know about us?"

"Well, not really. My mentor, the guy who was previously in your seat, told me you're a part of some dangerous biker gang from a few towns over."

Qimir leans back in his chair with a chuckle, now crossing his arms over his chest, "You small town folk with your small mindedness. Someone new comes into town and doesn't look or act like the rest of you, we're immediately labelled as dangerous and trouble. Typical."

"So you're not dangerous?"

He scoffs, "We can be, but only when necessary," he states with a smirk and you get chills. You're not sure if it's from fear or...something else.

You clear your throat, "Well, whatever you're here for, I just ask you not to cause any trouble. We're a peaceful town. We don't want any trouble."

Qimir scoffs again, "Peace is a lie. All of the people who runs these towns say they're the safest or nicest places. But they're usually run by corruption, deceit, and lies."

You become defensive, crossing your arms over your chest, mimicking his posture, "That's not true."

"It is. Many leaders use power, money, exploitation, and extortion to get where they are and stay where they are. Yet, they preach about keeping their towns safe and clean, when they're some of the dirtiest assholes out there."

"So is that why you're here? To expose these people?"

He shrugs, "I wouldn't say we expose them. It's moreso revealing the truth." he holds his hand out and grins, "Wanna join me?"

#qimir x reader #qimir imagine #the acolyte #the acolyte imagine #star wars #star wars imagine #biker au #modern au

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txttletale · 9 months ago

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youve previously spoken about i was a teenage exocolonist and its confused politics, and i agree, and now im thinking, how would one revise the story so as to improve them?

i think the game would have to either not be so proudly About Colonialism or would have to revise its story so that the theming actually matches the events. like imaginining that my proposed rewrite aims to 1. make the game's politics coherent while 2. changing as little as possible and 3. keeping the game's intended themes, i think the things that are most dissonant and jarring are:

the game not understanding what colonialism is but wanting to very much assure you that It's Bad

the game not understanding what fascism is but wanting to very much assure you that It's Bad

the game not understanding what capitalism is &c. &c. &c.

the bizarre unexamined eugenicist elements

so let's start on the first thing. you would want to lean much more heavily on the colonists as 'refugees' rather than 'colonists' -- the game treats 'colonizing' a place the exact same way as 'living there', and that kind of sucks (a common problem when using 'Space Colonization' as a 1-1 metaphor for actual colonization). so while we want to keep the weird culty aspects of the colony's society we'll ditch most of the colonial intentionality until the Helios arrives. secondly, we need to have the planet's indigenous people, like, actually present and not secretly hiding away as supercomputers.

so, like, let's keep the Gardeners as artificial life forms dedicated to protecting the ecosystem, but let's make them biotech. let's make them giant, imposing trees that reach up into the sky, with root networks that span the whole planet. then, rather than the colony being colonialist because it straight up doesnt know indigenous people exist (because they're secret computer people), we can make a much more interesting conflict by having the colonists be ignorant (and, as the game progresses, willingly ignorant) of the gardeners' sentience. have the raids start after the colony fells one of the trees (killing a Gardener) to make room for their own expansion, maybe really lean into the nasty parts of the colonial metaphor by having the Gardener's wood be the construction material of the new wing of the colony.

then Lum arrives as part of an intentional colonization project from the Earth we fled, assumes military command as in the current story, and immediately ramps up existing exploitation and destructive enviromental practices. his administration deliberately suppresses information of the Gardeners' sentience and spreads propaganda about them being 'monster trees'. have Lum clearly backed by Earthbound corporate interests, seeing the colony as an excercise in extracting value and using fascist dictatorship (usurping elections and the council with a permanent state of emergency and martial law) as a tool to maximize that value.

instead of defeating Lum at the ballot box, you can remove him in a coup. you can keep the getting-the-councilors-on-side minigame, you can even make it a bloodless coup if you don't want to put revolutionary violence in the game (but considering how much other violence there is in there, including terrorism, genocide, and murder, seems like a strange omission tbqh). and dont make him your fucking tiktoker put the guy in Jail. hes killed people sol.

have Sym still have his humanboo interests but also hint at an internal power struggle within the Gardeners, make it clear that there is a real and thriving culture among these indigenous gigantic environmentally networked tree-ecosystem-people, make his motivations for seeking peace more multifaceted.

then make the peaceful resolution to the whole colonialism issue to integrate the settlers into Gardener society rather than the weird siloed reservation thing going on in the base game. the head of the settlement or an ambassador (probably Dys) gets to go to the big fancy Gardener meetings where they decide things, the settlement gets permission from the Gardeners to farm and expand sustainably and is integrated into the ecosystem rather than neatly separated from it. the excolonists stop being colonists and become citizens of the planet.

as for the capitalism stuff, you can just drop that from marz' character, honestly. or if you want to make it make more sense without having to get into What Capitalism Is (which i think would be outside the mission statement of these proposals), make her thing wanting opulence and excess (it already kind of us, the game just keeps saying 'Capitalism'), have her excited when Lum starts giving people the opportunity to have that, then have her moment of excitement turn sour when she looks into Earth history and realizes how destructive this kind of extraction is in the long term.

and the eugenics--i think the simplest case here while still keeping all the cool genetic mutant character tics is just to make the genetic mutations a random glitch in an artificial womb system the refugees were using to have kids in space. this lets you keep the weird and wacky stuff going on with tangent and dys without raising questions like 'hey isnt this society insanely fucking dystopian'.

that's my in-a-nutshell rewrite of the game. obvsies an actual rewrite would need to change some more in-depth things, but i think off the top of my head these are the changes to the narrative that would make the heavyhanded attempts at political commentary work for me (that said, you could also go the opposite route, stop trying to draw parallels to colonialism and fascism and keep all the weird shit as is. but i think that's less interesting and more like stuff that already exists)

#ask #rain-rome #hi rome #i was a teenage exocolonist

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otherkinnews · 9 months ago

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Republicans introduce a 7th anti-furry bill and work to undermine student freedoms on a wider scale

(This blog post was written by Orion Scribner and N. Noel Sol, originally posted on February 18, 2024 to the Otherkin News Dreamwidth, at this link.)

Content warnings: Rated G. An urban legend that describes an unsanitary situation. Sexism against transgender people, including attempts to prevent them from participating in sports and using facilities like everyone else, and attempts to stop them from transitioning.

Summary: In 2023, Republicans began to propose laws (bills) in the US that would be against people who identify as animals. They base these on an urban legend that says schools provide litter boxes for students who identify as animals. Republicans made up that legend in parody of transgender students asking to use school restrooms (Scribner and Sol, 2024). The newest of these bills is Missouri House Bill 3678 (MO HB 2678). It’s the third such bill in 2024, bringing the historic total of these bills up to seven. This bill was written as part of a Republican effort to undermine public schools (which can’t ban transgender students from using the right restrooms, and students have First Amendment rights) in favor of religious charter schools (where students aren’t protected in those ways). The following blog post is a seven minute read.

What the Missouri bill says

Missouri House Bill 3678 (MO HB 2678) has the title “Prohibits students from engaging in ‘furry’ behavior while at school.” You can read this bill and see the latest actions on its official site, the Missouri House of Representatives, or on a third-party legislation tracking site, LegiScan. This bill was introduced this week, on February 13th, and read a second time on the 14th. It would add a law into the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo). It would go in the part of the state laws about education, in Chapter 167, titled “Pupils and Special Services.” It would say:

“A student who purports to be an imaginary animal or animal species or who engages in anthropomorphic behavior consistent with the common designation of a ‘furry’ while at school shall not be allowed to participate in school curriculum or activities. The parent or guardian of a student in violation of this section shall remove the student from the school for the remainder of the school day.”

The same as the other bills like it, this bill is based on an urban legend, not on anything that was done in real life by students, furries, and/or people who identify as animals (McKinney, 2022a). This bill's wording looks like it was based on a bill from another state, Oklahoma House Bill 3084 (OK HB 3084), or its predecessor last year, Oklahoma Senate Bill 943 (OK SB 943). It shares their inaccuracies: though there are real people who identify as animals, surveys show that most furries don’t, and the dictionary definition of the word “anthropomorphic” means resembling a human, not resembling an animal (Scribner and Sol, 2024).

Who wrote the bill, and what is its context with that author’s other motivations?

The Missouri bill’s only sponsor (writer) is Cheri Toalson Reisch (she/her). She is a Missouri Republican who has supported anti-transgender bills in the past. One of those is MO SB 39, which would ban transgender students from participating in their gender’s sports division (both in private and public schools, up to and including in colleges and universities). Another one is MO SB 49. It would bar minors from accessing gender transition related surgeries or medications, removes adult coverage of hormone replacement therapy and any gender-affirming or transitioning surgeries from the Missouri Medicaid program, and denies prisoners and inmates access to any surgeries related to gender transitioning. She described both these bills as a “great move in the right direction,” and has been vocally critical that they were not harsher (Central MO Info, 2023).

Reisch is familiar with the urban legend started by conservatives of students using litter boxes in school bathrooms. She has posted about it on Facebook, telling her constituents that it is actively happening in Missouri and accusing the Columbia school district of taking part in it, stating “This is happening in Columbia Public Schools also. Yes, the janitor has to clean the litter box” (McKinney, 2022a). That's never happened. Schools say they have not been providing litter boxes to students in this way, and even deny that they have had any students identifying or behaving as animals, according to reliable fact checking resources (Reuters, 2022; Palma, Snopes, 2023).

Reisch has a history of being especially critical of the Columbia school district, which is one of the largest and most successful school districts in the state (McKinney, 2022b). She’s used this urban legend to attack the district’s legitimacy. This may be because Reisch prioritizes independently-run charter schools over standard public schools. Earlier this year, she sponsored MO HB 1941, which would allow for charter schools to operate within the Columbia school district without the district’s sponsorship.

Why are Republicans criticizing public schools and favoring charter schools?

In the US, the normal types of schools for children up to about age 18 are called public schools. Families don’t have to pay for their children to attend them. They represent the ideal that everyone growing up in the country should have equal access to school, regardless of income, class, race, religion, or ability. Because public schools are government establishments, the US Constitution protects the students’ rights there. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects the freedom of speech and religion of everyone, and that’s for students in public schools, too. In the landmark 1969 case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, students sued because they had gotten suspended for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court decided that it would be as tyrannical to prevent students from expressing political opinions within public schools as it would be in any other government establishments. The Court said students don’t “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” In 1948, McCollum v. Board of Education had decided that public schools can’t give religious instruction during the school day. In 1962, Engel v. Vitale decided they can’t make students pray (Pew Research Center, 2019). Public school dress codes often aren’t as fair as they should be, but for the most part, their students can wear what they want and what their parents allow.

In contrast, what are known as charter schools in the US are privately owned, so they’re allowed to have requirements or education goals which would be considered a violation of the First Amendment. Some of them have religious affiliations and may be owned or operated by religious organizations. This can affect the way the school is run. For example, Oklahoma charter St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School has planned Catholic religious instruction classes, and the school’s active and intentional participation in what it refers to as “the evangelizing mission of the Church” (Fitzpatrick, 2023). Charter school dress codes can be much more strict. They are often segregated by gender stereotypes, forcing girls to wear skirts and boys trousers, no exceptions. This has been challenged in some places against specific schools, such as in North Carolina earlier this year in a lawsuit against the Charter Day School Inc (Chung, 2023). These challenges are the outlier and not the norm, however; gender-segregated dress codes are still a very common practice for charter schools overall. Charter schools also require applications and choose students based on random lottery systems. However, studies find that charter schools are more likely to ignore parents inquiring about the enrollment process if the student has a disability or other special needs (Darville, 2018). Unlike public schools, they don’t welcome everyone.

The freedom of expression in public schools is important for transgender students. In 2020, the case G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board decided in favor of transgender-friendly restroom policies in high schools. This precedent helps protect transgender students’ rights in public schools, but doesn’t apply to charter schools. During the course of the case, the Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund told the Court why to decide against transgender rights. In an effort to invalidate transgender people, the Fund compared transgender people to otherkin. The Fund used the word “otherkin,” and described them at length, mostly accurately but derisively (Brief Amicus Curiae, 2017, G.G. v. Gloucester Cty Sch Bd). This case was part of what inspired the Republicans to later make up the litter box urban legend. We don’t know if that particular brief inspired the legend too.

Republicans may be promoting charter schools because this would give them greater control over impressing their views about gender, religion, and politics on young generations. They may be undermining public schools because the separation of church and state limits their power to do so there. The urban legend and these bills are part of that.

Background about all of the furry bills and the urban legend that inspired them

To learn about this year’s first two anti-furry bills, read our post about them from last week (Scribner and Sol, 2024). That post also summarizes the four anti-furry bills last year, and the litter box urban legend. For further information about those aspects, you can watch our lecture about last year’s bills and what you do about bad bills (Chimeras, Scribner, and Shepard, 2023), and watch Chimeras’s lecture about the litter box urban legend (Chimeras, 2022).

What happens next with Reisch’s anti-furry bill?

The bill is at 25% progression toward becoming a law. The House heard the bill twice, but it hasn’t been voted on. At the time that we write this blog post, they haven’t scheduled the bill’s next hearing.

About the writers of this blog post

We are Orion Scribner (they/them) and N. Noel Sol (she/they), a couple of dragons. We never write articles with the assistance of procedural generation or so-called artificial intelligence (AI), and that type of content isn’t allowed on Otherkin News.

References

“Brief Amicus Curiae of Public Advocate of the United States, U.S. Justice Foundation, and Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund in Support of Petitioner.” Gloucester County School Bd. v. G. G. ex rel. Grimm, No. 16-273, 2017 WL 192454 (Jan. 10, 2017). http://files.eqcf.org/cases/16-273-amicus-brief-public-advocate-et-al/

Central MO Info (May 19, 2023). “Representative Toalson Reisch Disappointed in Senate’s Version of Trans Bills.” Central MO Info. https://www.centralmoinfo.com/representative-toalson-reisch-disappointed-in-senates-version-of-trans-bills/

Chung, Andrew (June 26, 2024). “US Supreme Court turns away case on charter school's mandatory skirts for girls.” Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-turns-away-case-charter-schools-mandatory-skirts-girls-2023-06-26

Darville, Sarah (Dec. 21, 2018). “Want a charter school application? If your child has a disability, your questions more likely to be ignored, study finds.” Chalkbeat. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2018/12/21/21106398/want-a-charter-school-application-if-your-child-has-a-disability-your-questions-more-likely-to-be-ig/

Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962). https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/370/421.html

Fitzpatrick, Cara (Sept. 9, 2023). “The Charter-School Movement’s New Divide.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/charter-schools-religion-public-secular/675293/

G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board. 972 F.3d 586 (4th Cir. 2020). https://casetext.com/case/grimm-v-gloucester-cnty-sch-bd-8

House of Chimeras (Aug. 12, 2022). "Litter Boxes in School Bathrooms: Dissecting the Alt-Right’s Current Moral Panic." OtherCon. https://youtu.be/WVjXOmN2IlU

House of Chimeras, Orion Scribner, and Page Shepard (2023). “Litter Box Hoax 2: Legislature Boogaloo.” OtherCon 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsXy_ctC4Jc&t=1425s

Legiscan. MO HB 2678. https://legiscan.com/MO/bill/HB2678/2024

Legiscan. MO HB 1941. https://legiscan.com/MO/bill/HB1941/2024

Mccollum v. Board Of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948). https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/333/203.html

McKinney, Rodger (Aug. 25, 2022). “State Rep. Cheri Reisch criticized for 'unwarranted' claim that CPS students use litterboxes.” Columbia Daily Tribune. https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/politics/elections/local/2022/08/25/state-rep-cheri-reisch-criticized-for-unwarranted-claim-that-cps-columbia-students-use-litterboxes/7895082001/

McKinney, Rodger (Feb. 6, 2022). “State Rep. Cheri Reisch states 'Columbia sucks' when referring to public schools in education hearing” Columbia Daily Tribune. https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/education/2022/02/06/cheri-reisch-states-columbia-sucks-when-referring-to-cps-in-education-hearing-mo-leg-basye/6662719001/

Missouri House of Representatives. MO HB 2678. https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB2678&year=2024&code=R

Missouri Senate. MO SB 49. https://www.senate.mo.gov/23info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=44407

Missouri Senate. MO SB 39. https://senate.mo.gov/23info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=44496

Palma, Bethania. (January 30, 2023). “How Furries Got Swept Up in Anti-Trans 'Litter Box' Rumors.” Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/01/30/how-furries-got-swept-up-in-anti-trans-litter-box-rumors/ Archived on March 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230330232007/https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/01/30/how-furries-got-swept-up-in-anti-trans-litter-box-rumors/

Pew Research Center (Oct. 3, 2019). “Religion in the Public Schools.” https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/03/religion-in-the-public-schools-2019-update/

Reuters Fact Check (October 18, 2022). “Fact Check-No evidence of schools accommodating ‘furries’ with litter boxes.” https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-furries-rogan-litterbox-idUSL1N31J1KT Archived February 13, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230213110524/https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-furries-rogan-litterbox-idUSL1N31J1KT

Scribner, Orion, and N. Noel Sol (Feb. 9, 2024). “Will Oklahoma Call Animal Control on Students?” Otherkin News. https://otherkinnews.dreamwidth.org/92680.html Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969). https://openjurist.org/393/us/503

#furry #otherkin #nonhuman #alterhuman #OK HB 3084 #urban legend #fact check #Missouri #long post #otherkin news #transphobia #rated G #MO HB 2678 #screen reader friendly #unsanitary

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talonabraxas · 4 months ago

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Arcturus Talon Abraxas

Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the sky: only Sirius, Canopus and Alpha Centauri outshine this orange giant. It is a variable star in the last stages of its life.

Arcturus takes its name from its nearness to the sky Bears, Big and Little Bears, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor. From Arktouros or Arctophilax, "the Bear Guard" and also called "the Bear Watcher". The "Herdsman", or "driver of oxen" are other titles. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation of Bootes the Herdsman so it is also called Alpha Bootis. The pattern of stars in this constellation forms the shape of a kite or an ice cream cone; seeing a Herdsman driving the bears around the sky.

Arcturus is believed to be one of the first stars named by ancient observers. It is translated as "Guardian of the Bear" and is a name that was once used for the entire constellation of Bootes. It is easily found by noting that the curve of the handle of the Big Dipper is part of a circle - an arc - and we can just "follow the arc to Arcturus."

Arcturus is a giant with a diameter about 18 times our Sun's and four times as much mass. Its surface temperature is about 1500 degrees lower than Sun's but its much greater surface area results in an outpouring of energy at a rate making it 105 times as luminous as Sun.

Recent observations by the European Space Agency's Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission have revised Arcturus's distance to 36.7 light years from us.

Arcturus has the largest "proper motion" -- motion across the sky -- of any of the bright stars except Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to our solar system. In 100 years Arcturus moves across the sky a distance equal to about half the width of your little finger held at arm's length.

At its distance of nearly 37 light years, this motion, when combined with its motion along our line of sight measured spectroscopically using the Doppler shift, yields a space velocity of about 76 miles per second with respect to our Sun. Most stars in our vicinity are moving relatively slowly with respect to Sol because of our common motion carrying us around the center of the Milky Way galaxy every 250 million years. Arcturus is in an elongated orbit around the Galaxy's center that carries it out into the Galaxy's halo.

It was formed in the halo of the Milky Way and is an interloper in our neighborhood. It has been visible to the naked eye for only about half a million years. It will be a little closer in a few thousand years, but then will recede from our view in another half million years as it continues its journey on a different orbital path.

Arcturus's great brilliance makes it possible to obtain very detailed spectra and to determine its chemical composition. Arcturus is deficient in elements such as silicon, aluminum, and iron which are formed in stars. It contains only about a fifth as much of these elements as Sun. These elements are formed inside stars, mixed into the interstellar medium as stars explode, and incorporated into subsequent generations of stars.

This chemical composition reinforces our identification of Arcturus as a member of the galactic halo. It was formed about 10 billion years ago, in a generation of star formation prior to that in which our Sun was formed, before the interstellar medium could be enriched in elements such as silicon and iron. Arcturus, about twice as old as Earth and the solar system, is the oldest thing most of us have ever seen, and is the oldest object easily visible to the naked eye.

The constellation Bootes has the shape of a kite with the bright star Arcturus at the point of the kite where the tail is attached.

Arcturus is a red supergiant star and the fourth brightest star in the whole sky.

It is visible from the northern hemisphere in the evening from about March early summer. Red-supergiant stars are precursors to super-novae, neutron stars, and black holes (so it is believed). It is approximately thirty-six light years from Earth.

According to E W Bullinger (The Witness of the Stars ), a biblical interpreter of the constellations, the ancient Egyptians called Bootes Smat, which means 'one who rules, subdues, and governs'. They also called him Bau , which means also 'the coming one'.

It was famous with the seamen of early days and as a calender sign regulated their annual festival by its movements in relation to the sun. But its influence always was dreaded, as is seen in Aratos writings. Its acronycal rising (the latest rising visible at sunset) fixed the date of the husbandmen's Lustratio frugum; and allusions were made to its character as unfavorably affecting the farmer's work; "When moist Arcturus clouds the sky". Other contemporary authors confirmed this stormy reputation, while all classical calendar's gave the dates of its risings and settings.

An Egyptian astronomical calendar of the 15th century BC, associates it with the star Antares in the immense sky figure Menat; and Lockyer claims it as one of the objects of worship in Nile temples, as it was in the temple of Venus at Ancona in Italy.

In India it was the 13th nakshatra, Svati, "the Good Goer", or perhaps "Sword", but figured as a Coral Bead, Gem, or Pearl; and known there also as Nishtya, "Outcast", possibly from its remote northern situation far outside of the zodiac, whence, from its brilliancy, it was taken to complete the series of Hindu asterisms.

The Arabs knew Arcturus as Al Simak al Ramih *, sometimes translated the "Leg of the Lance-bearer", and again, perhaps more correctly, the "Lofty Lance-bearer".

Another Arabic name; Al Haris al Sama, the "Keeper of Heaven," perhaps came from the star's early visibility in the twilight owing to its great northern declination, as though on the lookout for the safety and proper deportment of his lesser stellar companions, and so "Patriarch Mentor of the Train." This subsequently became Al Haris al Simak, "the Keeper of Simak", probably referring to Spica, "the Unarmed One".

From the Arabic title came various forms: Al Bamec, Aramec, Aremeah, Ascimec, Azimech, and Azimeth, Somech haramach, Aramakh, Kheturus.

Al Biruni mentioned Arcturus as the Second Calf of the Lion, the early Asad (Lion) in early Arabian astronomy; Spica being the First Calf.

The Greeks had a word meaning "Javelin-bearer", while Bayer had Gladius, Kolanza, and Pugio, all applied to Arcturus, which probably marked in some early drawing the "Sword", "Lance", or "Dagger" in the Hunter's (Orion) hand. Similarly it took the title Alkameluz of the whole constellation.ï¿½

It has been identified with the Chaldaeans' Papsukal, "the Guardian Messenger", the divinity of their 10th month Tibitu.

On the Euphrates it was the Shepherd of the Heavenly Flock, or the Shepherd of the Life of Heaven, undoubtedly the Sib-zi-anna of the inscriptions; the star eta (Mufrid) being often included in this, and thus making one of the several pairs of Euphratean Twin Stars.

Another title was Audiens, which seems unintelligible unless the word be a misprint for Audens, the "Bold One".

With others it was Arturig and Ariture, or the Carlwaynesterre from the early confusion in applying the title Arcturus to Charles' Wain as well as to Bootes and its lucida.

Bootes is the cultivator or Ploughman who drives the Bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor around the Pole Star, Polaris. The bears, tied to the Polar Axis, are pulling a plough behind them, tilling the heavenly fields "in order that the rotations of the heavens should never cease".

Manilius 1st century AD writes "they will be kings under kings and ministers of state, and be charged with the guardianship of the people, custodianship of great houses and treasures, who confine their business to the care of another's home so that the wealth of monarchs and temple finances will be in their keeping".

Any type of occupation that requires planning is influenced by Bootes. These people are the driving force behind government and large corporations. They are the planners and designers, the movers and shakers, who "make the world go round". Bootes symbolizes the elder, the sage, the wise old man who is interested in principles and underlying causes, theories, ideologies, and how the past effects the future. (Conservative) politicians, economists, draftsmen, architects, designers of all kinds.

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solbaby7 · 9 months ago

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hi sol xx i’m here to request a fic <3 ur my absolute favorite acotar writer and i’d love to see this from you! however if anything is triggering or you are not comfortable writing, please ignore this! :)

i was thinking a cassian x reader, where reader overhears cassian, azriel, and rhys talking about their sex-lives and reader is more on the timid side, new to sexual intimacy, and cassian is obviously not! the pair are mates and cassian absolutely adores how naive and inexperienced she is because he gets to teach her and they get to learn what they like together.

but reader only overheard when cass says she’s “vanilla” and then the teasing jokes from az and rhys, she doesn’t hear where he admits to liking the slow pace and build up the two of you have. and naturally and understandably, reader gets very insecure and distances herself a bit before trying something that’s out of her comfort zone. and has to use the safe word.

it doesn’t have to be anything hardcore !! maybe cass just over stimulates her or the sex isn’t as tender as she’s used to and it just freaks her out. and cassian dotes and comforts her, and asks her what’s wrong and for a whole spill of tears and hurt comfort.

again, pls don’t feel obligated, and if you do decide to write it, i appreciate you so much and know im going to absolutely adore it! much love! xx

are you kidding??? 😩 i could actually kiss you. this sounds so cute and i really needed something to drag me out my Az cave. not to mention some fluff is much needed after the angst i’ve been spamming you all with.

anywhore, i’ve already written out most of it (bc when i saw the request last night i physically couldn’t fucking stop myself from immediately drafting something up) and I’m doing the revisions today during work. let’s say it’ll be up by late tonight or super early tmr morning??

i appreciate your sweet words & the request sm 🤍 can’t wait to see what u think

update: Angels Like You

#a court of thorns and roses #acotar x reader #cassian fic #requests #solbabywrites

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changingplumbob · 6 months ago

Text

New Goth: Chapter 4, Part 11

We go to high school and see what impression Ariadne makes.

I have been dying to share this! Let's gossip about my sims! How do we see her getting on with the other played teens long term? Tell me, tell me, tell me!

The next day starts and Ariadne tries to mentally prepare herself for a new high school.

Milton: Are you nervous

Ariadne: A little, but I’m not going to let the other kids know that

James: You’ll do fine. Just remember, no matter what happens, you’ll still have us here after school

Ariadne: Thanks James. Getting to know new people can be hard for me

Milton: Me to. I normally try to geek out with them

Ariadne: Unfortunately I’m not a geek

James: But you have interests. Don’t be afraid to share them, how else will you learn who might get along with you?

Big hugs from everyone, even Alexander who manages to leave the computer, then Ariadne is off!

It’s a fine autumn day and many of the teens are making use of the roller rink. Ariadne however has other tasks that need attention.

Mr A: I’m Mr Amarynth, welcome to- Sterling!

Ariadne: Huh? Sorry I was just taking a commemorative selfie

Mr A: I see you will not be joining our academic success ranks, pity

Ariadne: Oh actually I do know a bunch of stuff. I got good grades at my last school and I did all the pre homework you assigned. I’m excited to be here

Mr Amarynth keeps his face in a look of disdain while Ariadne tries awkwardly to smile. When he doesn’t continue the conversation she figures she should take the initiative.

Ariadne: Is there anything I need to do before class

Mr A: Ms Hensley will be taking your class today, she should be in the main building. See my assistant on the way there and they’ll assign you a locker

The principal’s assistant gave the worlds vaguest directions but Ariadne can find the main building. Now what? Luckily a helpful Onyx swings by.

Onyx: Excuse me, you look lost. Need any help?

Ariadne: Yes I need to find the lockers and a Ms Hensley

Onyx rolls their eyes and beckons Ariadne to follow them, humming to themselves.

Onyx: Ms Hensley can be tough, I try to take no notice. My best mate Carson gets tense just seeing her though. Ah, here are the lockers. If they don’t have stickers it’s safe to assume they’re not taken

Ariadne: Thank you…

Onyx: Oh I’m Onyx

Ariadne: Ariadne, thanks for you help

Onyx: No bother. Ms Hensley will probably be in the library at this time. Good luck

Sure enough around the corner in the library is Ms Hensley.

Ariadne: Hi, are you Ms Hensley? Mr Amarynth said you’re going to be my teacher

Ms H: Normally yes, but it’s exams today

Ariadne: Exams? On my first day

Ms H: *sighs* teenagers. Not everything is about you, I have other students to tend as well. If you want to do well you’d best revise

So Ariadne has a seat and does her best to look over her notes from her preparation work. Would have been helpful for Ms H to have said what subjects the exams are for. When the bell rings Ms H introduces her to Briana who is tasked with taking her to class.

Ariadne: Hi! Do you like the outdoors? I love the outdoors

Briana: Yeah… inside is great

In her head Ariadne can hear the stereotypical wah-wah-wah noises.

Math is first, not Ariadne’s favourite. But James did help her with the pie charts so she manages to follow the questions. Between papers she tries introducing herself to people around her.

Ariadne: Hi there, I’m new

Anya: I noticed

Ariadne: Do you like fishing? I love fishing

Anya: I’ll fish in Stardew Valley

Ariadne: Where is that? Is it near Del Sol valley?

Anya laughs to herself and Ariadne can’t help feeling the girl seems immature. Many more students in the high school sea though. It’s hard to tell from where she’s sitting but she does feel a pair of eyes on her from time to time. She can’t sense any ghosts around so maybe it’s a classmate?

In the lunch line Ariadne has a quick chat with Scarlett who seems interested at the idea of coloured auras. Ariadne asks if she can sit with her at lunch but the teen has an art project to do. Scarlett does tell her to friend her on social bunny though. Nothing for it, Ariadne will have to sit down with strangers.

Ariadne: Hi everyone. I’ve met some of you but I’m Ariadne. I’ve just started. I live in Willow Creek with my dads Mr and Mr Goth

Carson: James Goth?

She turns to look at the brunette who responded. He seems to be squinting as if he needs glasses but he has a kind face.

Ariadne: Yes that is one of my dad’s first names

Carson: Sorry we’ve not met before. I’m Carson. My dad Harvey is in a fishing group with James. He says good things

Ariadne: Oh are you in the fishing group? J- my dad has been asking me to join

Carson: I love the outdoors but fish gross me out a bit

Ariadne: We could always watch them fishing and pick flowers instead

Carson: *laughs* sounds good. I’ll see you round then, I need to study

He leaves. Ariadne feels happy to have found someone like her. And he obviously knows she’s in the process of being adopted and didn’t out her to everyone. That’s nice. He's pretty cute to.

Ariadne pops over to Onyx to thank them again when another teen walks by. A teen with a dark aura.

Artemisia: Who are you

Ariadne: Uh… I’m-

Artemisia: *tuts* Not very bright are you

Onyx: Lay off, she’s new, her name’s Ariadne

Artemisia: Whatever your name is, you’re in my seat. Go bother someone else with your bad dye job

Sensing rising hostilities Ariadne decides to go sit by another boy from her class.

Roger: Met Artemisia then?

Ariadne: That’s her name?

Roger: Yeah. She’s a boar. Not to say that I make snap judgements or anything. She's popular but I don't see the appeal

Ariadne: I was getting a bad vibe from her. She doesn’t seem very generous

Roger: *sighs* forget her. Are you generous then?

Sensing the opportunity to flirt and distract herself Ariadne turns to face Roger properly.

Ariadne: I can be, with the right incentive. What about you

Roger: That would be telling. I’m happy to go over what our next exam is if you’d like, as a taste of my generosity

Ariadne: *giggles* I wouldn’t like, I’d love

Roger helps Ariadne out right up until the bell rings. Ariadne heads to class and grabs a seat by the window. At least she can be close to nature in this room.

Artemisia: Hi

Ariadne pulls her attention away from the window to see Artemisia sitting down beside her and she feels her stomach turn.

Ariadne: Hi. Look, I’m sorry about being in your seat before but that really was no reason to make fun of my hair

Artemisia: *shrugs* I make fun of everyone, it’s entertaining

Ariadne: Well in future, don’t make fun of me. My forgiveness only goes so far

Artemisia: *rolls eyes* Sure your ladyship. My aim in life is to stay in your good graces

Ariadne scowls while Artemisia giggles to herself and Ms Hensley hand out their papers. Ariadne does her best to fill out the paper but can’t shake the feeling that Artemisia is reading all her answers. At least she doesn’t know if her own answers are right so maybe that’ll trip up the girl. At last the bell rings and it’s time to pack up.

Artemisia: Bye dye job *winks*

Ariadne watches her go feeling flustered. Mean girls have no business being pretty and playing with people like toys. At the back of the room Roger is focused on his phone so she decides to hang back.

Ariadne: Hey you. Thanks for the help, I think I got a few of those right, even with Artemisia looking at my work

Roger: Yeah she totally was. It was clear from back here, I don’t know how Ms H missed it

Scarlett: We can afford to cut Ms H some slack. I heard her tell Mrs T she thinks the art room is haunted, she looked freaked

Ariadne: Is it actually haunted? Ghosts fascinate me

Scarlett: I think it’s just haunted by me really but you never know

The three chat about things going bump in the night and following some commemorative photos Ariadne invites them around to visit after dinner.

Previous ... Next

#sims 4 #the sims #the sims 4 #simblr #my sims #ChangingPlumbobStorytime #R0905 #MiltonGoth #JamesGoth #AriadneSterlingFromBakersimmer #OnyxPancakes #CarsonFoster #ArtemisiaYork

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torchship-rpg · 1 year ago

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Dev Diary 10 - Martians & Spacers

Hello cosmonauts! Today we’re going to go into some more detail on human identities (don’t worry, we’ll get to aliens soon enough). Torchship development is progressing behind the scenes, albeit a bit slowly (the last two weeks especially have been hellish), and in particular we’re working on a revision of some of our core systems in a way that hopefully we can touch on in our next dev diary.

Until then, let’s wrap up the Sol-based human identities today.

Spacers

It’s safe to say that humanity in Torchship are a bunch of space cadets, and an awful lot of them were eager to live in space the moment the opportunity arose. The result is that, in the year 2169, there are entire cities floating free in the Sol system, and thousands of small stations for mining, processing, and refining the near-limitless resources of the asteroid belt and Oort cloud.

Spacers live in much-reduced gravity to the Earth norm; 0.35g is the ‘standard’, originally because of mechanical limitations in the construction of stations and now simply their norm. This means they’re recommended the ‘Freefaller’ trait, just like Lunars. They are also recommended the Radiation Hardened trait, representing modifications and pre-emptive treatment to cope with living outside of a planet’s magnetosphere and atmosphere. This gives you inbuilt reduction against radiation damage in exchange for slower passive healing due to the metabolic cost of those redundancies.

Spacers are divided into two broad categories; Habitat Spacers and Deep Spacers. As the name implies, ‘Habbers’ live in the many purpose-built space habitats which orbit Earth and, to a lesser degree, the other planets in the Sol system. These habitats are enormous technological wonders and a vital step in the space-based economy of the Solar Union, containing the light manufacturing facilities which turn the resources of Luna, the outer system, and beyond into consumer goods. They also help route the people and resources flowing to and from Earth, ensuring the colonies get fed and Earth reaps the benefits of large-scale industry without the environmental cost.

Habbers might live in space, but their day-to-day isn’t much different from their Terran cousins. Their habitats are huge, massive cities with equally large green areas. Standout habitats include L5 Hab, home of Star Patrol HQ and Academy, L4 ‘Guest Star’, the former headquarters of the PLA’s astromilitary and current HQ of Star Force, and Destination Station, the orbital anchor for Earth’s space elevator.

Habbers, especially L4 and L5 citizens, made up a disproportionate amount of Solar Patrol members back in the day, so they get recommended the ‘Veteran’ Trait, scoring you reduced Stress in combat and bonus Security/Tactical certs in exchange for a lowered total Stress threshold. The strong presence of both the play market and shipping bureaucracy come with the Entrepreneur trait; you’re a better negotiator than average because you’re used to these kinds of transactions, but take Stress from both offering the Union’s Credits in negotiation and from the Union being in debt, as you have a much better handle on what it might mean for people when the Union’s economic systems are strained.

By contrast, Deep Spacers don’t live in cushy habs. No, these crusty cosmonauts make their living out in the farthest reaches of the Sol system, mining ice from Saturn’s rings, breaking up distant asteroids, and sending the bounty back on slow orbits. Not long ago, before the FTL drive was invented, this was the farthest you could get from the authority of the Union; most Deep Spacers are anarchists of various sorts who very much prefer their little self-contained communities to the stifling oversight and endless democratic procedure of Earth, who eschew the ration credit and play market for gift economies and black markets of their own devising. Their relationship with Earth never has to get deeper than minerals for biologicals, and most of them prefer it that way.

Still, Deep Spacers are the rock-solid core of the Patrol, because a lifetime on stations and rockets give them unparalleled instincts for the job. They are recommended the same Claustrophile trait as Mazedwelling Lunars and the same Communal Spirit trait as Urban Terrans, meaning they’re great working in a team or on EVA. They also pick up languages quickly with Polyglot, because many of their stations are extremely multicultural, and it's not uncommon for deep spacers to speak five or more languages, plus whatever pidgins are used at their trade posts.

Finally, both types of Spacers are recommended two traits which make them beloved by Star Patrol. Voidborn gives a bonus to patching hulls in exchange for added Stress when the vehicle is low on Supply, representing both their lifetime of decompression drills and their deep awareness of how thin the margins are in space. They are also recommended the Well-Connected trait to always have friends in the Patrol wherever they go, because for many Spacers, this is the family business!

As a final note, Spacers get a unique third sub-identity, the Daedalus Children, which is mostly a way of showing players that they’re free to go wild with the Trait choices even if they’re playing with humans. The Daedalus Children are a small group of artificial, silicon-based human duplicates created by the sapient supercomputer running Sagan Station, orbiting the distant planet Minerva 500 AU away from the sun. They have a psychic connection to the Daedalus computer (who they affectionately call their ‘Daed’) through the Patron Being trait.

This gonzo addition makes it clear that this is a big, strange, somewhat silly world, and you should feel free to make your blorbo whatever you want, and damn the canon!

Martians

Let’s go down the gravity well again and meet the Martians. Mars is well on its way to being humanity’s second homeworld by 2169, the result of a near-obsessive colonisation and terraforming effort through the 21st century. More or less the moment fusion engines made it viable, humans were throwing comets into the poles and setting up artificial magnetospheres, excited by the possibility of using their new high-energy toys to create a livable planet in less than a century.

Unfortunately, though perhaps not surprisingly, their maths were somewhat off. Mars is lingering in a low oxygen state, and has too many people and too much infrastructure now to try any of the big flashy high-energy terraforming anymore. Instead, it’ll be slow centuries of cultivating an artificial biosphere before Terrans can breathe unaided on the surface; despite the rapidly spreading greenery and brand new oceans, Mars’s current average surface oxygen level rivals the peak of Mount Everest.

Undeterred, the Martians turned to genetic engineering so their children could play outside. The result is that Martians get recommended the Hypoxic Conditioning trait, which gives them total immunity to low oxygen conditions and a shocking ten minutes of normal activity in total oxygen deprivation. In exchange, they take a penalty to their physical capabilities, reflecting the metabolic changes and the fact they’ve all ended up a good eight centimetres shorter than they would be without the modifications.

Martians also get recommended the Driven and Lone Wolf traits, neurological consequences of this engineering; these traits combine to mean that Martians work best when they’re alone and hyperfocusing on a single task. This may or may not be familiar to some of you, which is very much intentional; Martians are a not so subtle fantastical allegory for neurodivergence.

The two major Martian sub-identities are The Red Frontier and The Dome Cities. The Red Frontier represents what is often thought of as the archetypical Martian lifestyle, even if it’s slowly being displaced; small groups of people living in bunker-like bases deep in the vast Martian wilderness, tending to the massive fleet of agriculture, survey, construction, and maintenance drones which are both building infrastructure and tending the genetically-engineered biosphere of Mars. This job gets them recommended the Machine Minded trait, which eliminates the penalty normally taken when working remotely with machines in exchange for one to social interaction in person.

Mars’ fragile ecology manifests as a strange sort of tundra, with spindly evergreen trees, hardy lichen, and a variety of engineered animals. A lot of work has to be done to keep it all going, especially because insects can’t survive the oxygen-poor environment, which makes pollination difficult. Martians get recommended the appropriate Environmental Adaptation trait for this tundra; they know all about survival in cold, dry environments.

Finally, if you wanted to play one of those terraforming drones instead, that’s always a viable option; we dropped Machine Life in there as a reminder!

The dwellers of the Dome Cities are part of Mars’ high tech industry. Because of the gravity well in the way, Mars doesn’t export much in the way of material goods. Instead, it uses the concentration of expertise needed for terraforming and drone management to make cutting-edge software and media for the rest of the Union, and the cities are where this takes place. Martian cities are much more high-tech than their Earth counterparts, with lots of automated systems designed either to make up for the smaller population, or simply because Martians are already used to making robots do as much work as possible; Machine-Minded is unsurprisingly also recommended here.

Because Mars is a world of specialists, where being the best at your One Thing is a strong cultural value, the Prodigy trait is recommended for citizens of the Dome Cities, allowing them to pick three certs as Focuses and advance them faster, at the cost of advancing the others slower. Finally, the greater reliance on automation sees the Prosthetics trait recommended, representing both the greater reliance on mechanical parts over regrown tissue in medicine and the fact Martians aren’t adverse to a bit of computerised self-improvement.

Digital Elysium

Just like Spacers, Martians have a third, highly-specific sub-identity. Where Daedalus Children are a gonzo departure from the setting’s norm, the citizens of Elysium City instead are instead deeply rooted in the history of the setting. Remember how we said the Star Union isn’t a utopia? Well, this is one of the major ways it has failed, and a resolution is one of the things that can emerge over the course of the campaign.

Forty years prior to the modern day, a group of Cybernetic Democrats calling themselves the Lab Rats hatched the brilliant scheme to all move to one of the brand-new Martian cities together and use their newfound political majority to set up one of their predictive networks, peacefully starting the cybernetic revolution on a new world. They built themselves an automated city, possessed by a ghost of convenience which always knew exactly what you needed, always had a train ready when you reached the station, and always had a task you wanted to do ready to go every time you looked at your smart watch. It was efficient, seamless, responsive, and incredibly alienating, replacing any real sense of community with quest markers in your smart glasses.

When vital colonists tried to leave the city, the algorithm predicted the majority wouldn’t like that, and it locked the doors to stop them. Then the Solar Guard showed up to the ‘hostage situation’. Nobody listened to one another, both sides refused to understand what was going on. The Solar Guard rolled in tanks, and the algorithm helped the Lab Rats ambush them. After a month of brutal street to street fighting, the first war on another world, the Solar Guard retreated, and bombed the city with jumpjets until the terrified defenders lost hope. Once the majority no longer wanted to fight, the algorithm dutifully switched off.

Forty years later, Elysium City is still under military occupation. It was supposed to be brief, but the neighbouring cities who now have the controlling vote keep extending it whenever violence flares up, and each extension radicalises a new generation of Elysium citizens. Both sides are incredibly unpopular with a majority who just want peace and a greater Union who find it all monstrous, but the systems of the Solar Union are paralyzed by their own democratic checks and balances, leaving the city in a horrible limbo.

If you want to be from Elysium, you get recommended a whole pile of traits reflecting the extreme circumstance. Vengeful and Fretful are two recommended Traits representing the understandable anger and anxiety which come from living in a city where drone bombing still happens with regularity. Prodigy reflects how Elysium City is the single largest concentration of computer science geniuses in the entire Union, due to the fact that none of them are allowed to leave. Dark History can represent in equal parts being a member of the Lab Rats or the Sol Guard, both staggeringly unpopular organisations to everyone else in the Union.

Finally, Patron Being represents how, despite the best efforts of generations of computer engineers, the self-replicating Network still lingers deep in the electronic bones of Elysium, waiting for the day that a majority want it back. Hackers and technomancers both claim they have made contact with the Network, and this trait can represent your dedication to bringing it back.

#torchship ttrpg #torchship #ttrpg #dev diary #rpg

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crimeronan · 1 year ago

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wait say more about how u use tarot to make ur OCs

oh sure!!

you can basically customize whatever spread you want to whatever project you're working on. i also sometimes use tarot for solving plot tangles or inspiring new plot points.

essentially you make a tarot spread like you're asking introspective questions or questions about the future -- but you're asking questions about a character instead.

then you can write down the results and interpret them based on the card's various potential meanings. tarot is all about using vague concepts to clarify your internal thoughts and feelings, it translates REALLY WELL to writing fiction.

i just pulled out my novel planning notebook and am thrilled to report that i have Pages And Pages of tarot spreads & interpretations in here. not just sol ruby devin and nova's original spreads, but also spreads about their relationships to each other, the environment surrounding them, etc

i'm not gonna transcribe my entire reading and interpretation for all four of the main quartet. i Will say that i pulled nova's cards first, said "these are all so well-adjusted and boring," and then rafi said "but what if she's the antagonist," and...... the rest is history.

this is the spread i used:

core self (one card to return to for their personality or archetype)

childhood (what most impacted how they grew up)

parents (relationship with parents)

education (background in school, study, etc)

friendships (either an important friend or generally how this person does friendships)

sex/sexuality (their relationship to sex and romance, if any)

goal (their overarching narrative goal)

fatal flaw (what will be their downfall)

work (career, attitude toward work, etc)

mental health (is it bad)

how far they'll go (what will they do to achieve the goal in #7)

fear (their biggest fears & how they manifest)

strength (a core character strength of theirs)

the core cards for each member of the quartet are

nova - the star

sol - queen of pentacles

ruby - queen of cups

devin - strength

and again, not gonna post the whole spreads, but. if you do something this involved, you'll find that certain bits will stick out Much more than others. i did these spreads in 2019 and would say a solid 80% of the cards are STILL relevant four years later in 2023. even as the project itself has undergone multiple scrapped drafts and revisions and plot changes.

some example highlights would be:

nova is my main antagonist. her spread is littered with stability, growth, reward, responsibility, opportunities, wishes, potential, dreams, whatever. her fatal flaw is the ace of wands, the fire card, a sign of creativity and passion. her parents are represented by the tower, the most chaotic and destructive card in the deck.

so here we have a woman born and groomed into enormous power by incredibly questionable forces, who has been raised not to care about the destruction surrounding her, and who has lived an Extremely Charmed life. uh oh!

sol's childhood is the seven of swords - betrayal, deception, loss. her friendships are the three of swords - disappointment, heartbreak. her strength is the five of swords - conflict, dishonesty, intimidation, lack of reflection. her fear is the magician - resourcefulness, willpower, desire, manifestation.

and. well. that's my antihero bitch. she sucks so bad. god bless

ruby's spread is much kinder by comparison. a calm childhood with happy parents, friendships and sexual relationships that are focused on partnership. her goal is justice. self-explanatory. her mental health is the four of swords - the exhaustion card. her fatal flaw is the two of wands - plans, anticipation, restlessness, lack of contentment.

so here's this woman who loves so much and so deeply and cares so much about so many things..... and has trapped herself inside a life that makes her fundamentally unhappy. because she can't walk away

devin's fear is the five of pentacles, a card that represents loss. often called The Breakup Card. it can also mean a loss of faith. their mental health is the ten of wands - burdens, responsibility, obligation, burnout. their goal is the knight of swords - ambition, battle, assertion, big changes.

so here you have an exhausted chronically ill mess who's standing alone because they're the only person who can do so, fatally loyal to their loved ones & burning with quiet rage n a desire to rip down the entire system.

like i said, you can customize any spread for any character or relationship. you just wanna ask broad questions about what that character or relationship looks like, and then interpret the cards in whatever way is most inspiring to you! i consider tarot a tool for creativity rather than an end-all be-all of fiction plotting.... take what you like, leave what you don't.

#replies #long post #tarot #writing advice #i guess?#original fiction #original fiction quartet

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posttexasstressdisorder · 5 days ago

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Monday, 11-11-24, 8am Pacific

G'mornin', folks...a groggy Mr. Baggins with you. I don't know about y'all, but I need at least two hours of coffee sipping and cogitation before I'm ready to face the world, so we're gonna start our mornings off with Morning Coffee Music: selections to entertain and energize. One of ths best radio DJs I ever listened to back in Austin, was John Aelli, on KUT in the mornings for literally decades. It's in his "anything goes" free-form spirit I start this first edition of Coffee Music.

In 1964, I was a five year old kid boppin' to this on the big old Zenith booming in the corner. Here's trumpeter Al Hirt and his 1964 hit, called appropriately enough, "Java".

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Here's a little bit of Beatlefluff from 1966 guaranteed to have you humming along. From Revolver, here's Paul's "Good Day Sunshine".

youtube

Here's one of the two hits by the band "Vanity Fair"; from 1970 it's "Early In The Morning".

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Rossini wrote six String Sonatas at the age of twelve. Here's our old friend Neville Marriner and the ASMF to play numbers 1 and 6, on an Argo recording. A friend once said that the first sonata could have easily been the soundtrack to a Leave It To Beaver episode, saying it sounds like "Breakfast with The Cleavers".

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Glenn Gould's Bach is essential to any good morning! Here is his 1960 recording of Bach's "Italian Concerto", a more charmingly refreshing twelve minutes you won't find anywhere.

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Moving from the modern piano to the harpsichord now, this is music by Franz Joseph Haydn, his Concerto in D Major. I've chosen the recording by the person responsible for the harpsichord's rebirth as a viable instrument in the early 20th Century, Wanda Landowska. This was recorded in 1937, Mme. Landowska is accompanied by conductor Eugène Bigot, with an unnamed orchestra.

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Moving from Papa Haydn to his young protege, Ludwig Beethoven, we hear a very early work of Beethoven's, written when he was sixteen. It is counted among the works he wrote before his official Opus 1 was published, the "Works Without Opus" Number 37, Trio for bassoon, flute, and piano. This delightful little piece is performed by pianist Daniel Barnboim, flutist Michel Debost and bassoonist André Sennedat, from a 1980 recording on DG. It was this very recording that served as my introduction to the piece. I've had a copy of the original album since it was issued. Enjoy.

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Next are some pieces played by oboist John Dee and The Tantallon Ensemble, from their album entitled "Under a Near Sky", which is, sadly not on YouTube in its entirety, so here are a couple of selections. First is Gabriel Pierne's "Piece an sol"

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This is Franz Krommer's Quartet in C major

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And this morning's final selection, one of my absolute favorite pieces of all time, and this version of it specifically. Here is Igor Stravinsky conducting his big bad 1945 revision of his brilliant "Firebird Suite". Recorded in 1946 on a Columbia Masterworks recording. Enjoy, and I will be back with you later this afternoon.

Until then, be kind, babies, be kind.

Baggins out.

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