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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years ago

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 14 first part

(RR The Untamed Masterpost) (Canary’s Pinboard - more Masterposts)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Murder Turtle, Continued

Lan Wangji wakes up after a good night's sleep leaning against a rock wall, to find that his leg is no longer splinted, and his perfectly clean and unbloody headband has been put back on his head while he was sleeping.

Leaving aside the "not waking up" part of things, how, exactly, did Wei Wuxian get his headband on without mussing his hair? Did he bring a crochet hook?

Wei Wuxian gives him a sitrep and then they cozy up and have an extended conversation about the nature and history of the Tortoise of Slaughter. Wei Wuxian is interested in everything Lan Wangji has to say, and Lan Wangji talks a lot more than usual; they are completely on the same wavelength here and are enjoying swapping obscure knowledge.

Lan Wangji: My lacerated leg and I are actually super aware that it has big teeth, but thanks for the reminder.

In the course of the conversation, Wei Wuxian mentions his plan to 1. sneak into the tortoise's shell and 2. drive it out of its shell so they can attack it.

OP did a little tortoise research and learned that the only species of turtle that can leave its shell is the Koopa Troopa.

Good news for Wei Wuxian: If you jump on its shell in the right spot, you can rack up a pile of extra lives.

Does that make the Tortoise of Slaughter a giant Koopa Troopa? Perhaps...the king of the Koopa Troopas?

I'm gonna say yes.

(More after the cut)

Let’s Go Killing

Wei Wuxian is exhilarated by the idea of fighting a giant dangerous monster with Lan Wangji. Some day Wei Wuxian will found the Nike clan, because his motto is definitely "Just do it."

It's sweet how, in his romantic notions about chivalry and Lan Wangji, he's completely elided the original reason they were (sort of) told to venture together.

Wei Wuxian: I'm still on the "find the Yin Iron" quest; I'm just skipping the "suppress it" part.

Wei Wuxian weighs up their chances against Bowser and tells Lan Wangji that even if they die, it will be badass to be killed by a famous monster, so they won't have to feel embarrassed.

This is the exact moment that Lan Wangji's feelings for Wei Wuxian go from "smitten" to "gagging for it."

Lan Wangji: as soon as we get out of here I'm going to borrow a whole lot of books from Nie Huaisang

The boys come up with a plan that involves a rather long montage of collecting archery equipment and deconstructing it. This potentially-dull montage is fun to watch because they are both very, very good looking.

Artists who want to draw Wang Yibo as an elven archer, this is your episode.

Now we suddenly have, with zero explanation, telepathy. Ok, sure. It seems to work kind of like a phone conversation, in which they say specific things to each other, rather than like Cherry Magic telepathy where you can hear everything the other person is thinking. Or at least, neither of them is embarrassed, so I assume they are maintaining some mental privacy.

Club Ruohan

Same, Wen Chao, same

At some point there is a boring sequence at Club Ruohan. Wen Ruohan doesn't know where Xue Yang is, but really wants his hunk of Yin Iron. Wen Chao thinks that WRH's 3 pieces of Yin Iron should be able to beat Xue Yang's 1 piece, but apparently he is dumb and that is not how math works. O...kay? OP does not understand this either but whatever, Wen Ruohan is boring, moving on. This scene is really just here to make us think about Yin Iron before Wei Wuxian jumps into Bowser's shell.

Bigger On The Inside

So then Wei Wuxian climbs into Bowser's shell, which is, to quote The 12th Doctor, bigger on the inside.

Bowser’s shell is the approximate size of my entire house. It is also bathed in a hellish pure red photo filter, which OP has done her best to remove for these gifs, because it gives me eye strain and it obscures Xiao Zhan's hotness.

Camera Operator: What did I do?

Wei Wuxian wanders around inside, finding random corpses encased in slime cocoons. Tortoise, spider, xenomorph, whatever. There are also random curtain things hanging all over, and then at one point Wei Wuxian stares into the face of a corpse, and then does a jump scare response at the camera operator even though nothing particular happened.

I imagine the corpse was supposed to open its eyes and say "killl meeee" but it got censored. He also makes about 8 other faces at the camera operator, so we get that the inside of this TARDIS-like tortoise shell (must...resist...temptation...to...say...TORDIS) is yucky.

Lan Wangji waits outside listening to Wei Wuxian telepathically complain about the smell. He is anxiously clenching a bundle of string and an arrow, and wishing he could clench Wei Wuxian Bichen instead.

Serendipitous Yin Iron

Wei Wuxian backs his way through the TORDIS until his butt bumps into a sword that is steaming with resentful energy. That's right: Wei Wuxian is about to pull a piece of Yin Iron almost literally out of his ass.

He grabs it and is overwhelmed by its screaming resentful energy and has to let it go again.

So this is what a vibrator with 4 batteries feels like

When Bowser comes looking for him, however, he quickly decides to go for it, grabbing the sword and singing "I've Got the Power (Gonna Make You Sweat)"

Wei Wuxian plunges the sword into Bowser's lower jaw, and Bowser pulls his entire head out of his shell with Wei Wuxian attached, while leaving the rest of his body and all rational laws of physics inside the shell.

Gamera Versus the Cultivators

What follows is one of the more ridiculous action sequences in the history of the world, and I say that as someone who likes Mothra movies.

Wei Wuxian hovers in a perfect horizontal plank while “hanging from” the sword, which is held well below the level of his torso. While Bowser spins him around. For much of the time, Bowser keeps his head still and just waves his neck around.

Lan Wangji and the camera operator do everything they possibly can to make "guy pulls on string" look interesting.

Everybody tries really, really hard and the actors are great at pretending something is there when it isn't, but this whole sequence is just horribly conceived.

What works well, though, is the Yin energy and Wei Wuxian's wrangling of it. He starts off being frightened and overwhelmed, and looking like it's too much for him; I dont' know if they made his face puffy on purpose or if that's just what happens when you spend days hanging from the ceiling fighting an imaginary monster. But he looks slack and unwell as he grapples with the iron sword.

Which makes this moment, when he gets control of it, deliciously creepy. He uses the power of the Yin Iron to stick a bunch of pokey things into Bowser's neck.

Lan Wangji has seen him struggling and now sees him...not struggling. Which scares the piss out of him, and he moves to finish the fight as quickly as possible, slicing up his hand and breaking the string. Combined with the pokey things, this does the trick and Bowser dies while Wei Wuxian faints and falls into the water.

Do the Whumpty Whump

Lan Wangji rescues him and wakes him up, and Wei Wuxian clutches the Yin Iron sword and tells Lan Wangji that he was knocked out by the screaming of disembodied voices.

This certainly sounds like a strange and dangerous phenomenon, so Lan Wangji carefully asks him to explain everything.

Ha ha ha j/k. Lan Wangji asks him exactly nothing about the strange sword or the black smoke or his weird evil smile or his new power over pointy objects. Lan Wangji appears to have a Star Trek: TNG level of unconcern about strange phenomena happening directly under his nose. But in fact he has noticed what's up, which is why he will be instantly distressed when he sees Wei Wuxian's flute moves at the Wen Corporate Headquarters.

Wei Wuxian has a fever (stay positive test negative) and comments on Lan Wangji's being so nice to him.

Wei Wuxian: I could never have imagined Lan Er Gongzi acting this concerned about me. Lan Wangji: what else have you never imagined me doing, while we're on the subject?

Lan Wangji transfers a stream of spiritual energy to him. Lan Wangji has so much spiritual power he can be a battery for Wei Wuxian without breaking a sweat or, like, noticing whether Wei Wuxian has a golden core or not, for that matter.

Wei Wuxian basks in the nice feeling of gigajoules for a while but then decides he's bored. So then he pouts, whines, and cajoles Lan Wangji in exactly, EXACTLY the way he whines at Jiang Yanli. I think this, while annoying of him, is a leap forward in his relationship with Lan Wangji.

He's letting his guard down and not just allowing Lan Wangji to take care of him; he's demanding to be cared for on multiple vectors, when he asks the guy who's already busy healing him to sing to him as well.

Lan Wangji obliges, singing him the song he composed about their love cultivation journey, while Wei Wuxian (or possibly Lan Wangji) (or possibly both) has a flashback to assorted sexy interactions that they've had so far.

Wei Wuxian memorizes the song perfectly on one hearing, before passing out.

Writing Prompt: Baldur’s Gate III / Untamed Crossover AU featuring elf archer Lan Wangji

I DARE YOU

Soundtrack: 1. Everybody Dance Now by C+C Music Factory 2. Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf

Wei Wuxian fainting tally (cumulative): 3

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #wangxian #the untamed gifs #the untamed meta #the untamed spoilers #restless rewatch the untamed #my gifs #canary3d-original #asian whump

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flickeringart · 4 years ago

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Sagittarius Sun and Moon Combinations

Planets represent different energetic principals in the life of an individual – the signs show how these energies express themselves.

Having an inner planet (or luminary) in the sign of Sagittarius gives the personality enthusiasm, an expansive quality. No matter what other placements the person has, the energy and spirited nature is going to come through.

To simplify;

The Sun represents individuation, ideal self-expression and conscious self-expression.

The Moon represents instinct, emotional nature and personal needs.

Sagittarius Sun – Gemini Moon

This person has a difficult time keeping the enthusiasm in check. Once the ball is set rolling, it doesn’t move in a straight line, it bounces off the walls until it accidentally hits a target. The overall personality is set on being honest, but in the jungle of information one could get confused about what one’s thoughts actually are. They change so fast and move from this to that – it might feel like there’s no truth except the constant search for truth. The person would crave stimulation and be allergic to boredom. The personality would be unsuited to work that requires stamina and determination – there’s too much scattered energy living inside this individual to mobilize towards a concrete goal. The excitement of living is more important than anything that can be accomplished – to inspire, charm and have fun is what this person lives for. When potentials aren’t actualized or when the person is forced to follow a strict path it will be difficult to find any joy. But, even in the midst of restriction, there’s a light-heartedness and a willingness to provide a spark of inspiration. The person is full of ideas and pride, anything could be an adventure if one is allowed to exercise one’s creative mind and bring some life to existence. On the down side, this person would feel disinclined to define themselves in any way. To remain in a state of potential is much preferred to concretize a stance, a need or a desire. Everything depends on the moment, what arises and what is called for with this combo. The constant state of flexibility could benefit the person but be detrimental at the same time. The effort and dedication it takes to wait for something to actualize itself through a longer process doesn’t necessarily appeal to a person with these placements. On one level, it’s as if this person isn’t registering the pressures of life, but is sublimating them, dealing with them as mental concepts rather than being squarely in the experience of them. Keeping things moving and avoiding soaking in experiences could lead to feelings of meaninglessness and futility, despite the original proclivity to be optimistic. This is a healthy state, presumably, which gives the mutable personality some depth instead of mere superficial excitement. When the person matures, there’s recognition of value in the journey, and value in information. Not to mention the recognition of power in knowledge.

Sagittarius Sun – Pisces Moon

There’s a lot of optimism and sensitivity to this combo. While the Sagittarius personality might be able to brush things off and put themselves above any petty criticism of their character, the Piscean need is to be loved by everyone. Life is not worth living if there’s not a genuine belief in love, and depending on what circumstances the person find themselves in, the dream of bliss might get crushed or kept intact. Even though the process of individuation for this kind of person is to gain confidence, a spirit of enthusiasm and trust, the person is originally prone to want to retreat into a state of non-separateness. There’s a tendency to idealize people and places, to live with a kind of bitter-sweet outlook on life. While the person would strive to always have things be exciting and to explore things outside of the comfort zone, there would be great emotional sensitivity to stimuli which could hold them back. The person would perhaps more often than not end up exploring their interests and fascinations in private – exploring the inner world of dreams and images could be very satisfying. Since Sagittarius and Pisces are universal signs, there might be an enhanced capacity to intuitively know things, to intuitively grasp complex themes and patterns within and without. Both signs hold broad and inclusive perspectives and seeks to make sense of the totality of reality through meaning and purpose. The limited and the personal is not this person’s primary concern. The essence of life is sought on a general level. There’s an awareness of the unseen, a great love affair with God and an acceptance to be led through existence back to one’s source. Although the person might go through episodes of sadness and world-weariness, the Sagittarian identity that is unfolding throughout life is designed to have faith, to inspire, to convey wisdom and adopt a more or less carefree attitude - never loosing sight of the big picture. The Piscean tendency to be thoughtful and introspective adds a nice touch of depth to the personality, and a remarkable ability to feel what is taking place emotionally on a collective level. The person lives in connection with humanity and the world more than others, always picking up on trends of the times.

Sagittarius Sun – Virgo Moon

There’s a concentration and an attention to detail in the quest for knowledge. The zest for life is paired with practical reason – there’s an awareness that extraordinary life experiences won’t just fall in one’s lap, they are put together piece be piece. The tendency is to plan, to organize and process everything, which could put a damp cloth over the desire to be care-free. Anxiety over whether everything is going to work out is conflicting with the trust that the person strives to develop. Sagittarius Suns are supposed to take on a broad vision, a perspective that allows for mishaps and bumps in the road because one knows that it’s all part of divine plan. The Virgo Moon effectively counteracts this by being aware of things that could go wrong from a more earth-based perspective. To ride a bike without a helmet could end up in a disaster or eating too many sweets could make the person hyper-active. The Virgo temperament is not designed to overlook these little things, which could make the person frustrated because the Sagittarian spirit doesn’t want to be limited by petty things. The advantage, however, is that the clumsiness and boldness of the person is toned down by a careful and hyper-aware disposition that could serve to keep them out of trouble. The friction that is created between a rational and physically anchored perspective and a adventurous and freedom-loving one can produce an interesting dynamic. There’s a push and pull between self-actualization and basic personal attributes. The need to have established routines that guarantee optimal health and efficiency has to exist alongside the process of finding oneself, the process of actualizing as an individual. As long as there’s mere focus on ritual and everyday normality, there’s nothing that sparks the self-expression. Once there’s room for excitement and pursuing an intuitive path, the Virgo attributes can come in handy putting all the knowledge into practice and not loosing sight of the importance of specifics. Both signs are mutable, so adaptability is a great strength, although stubbornness and skepticism might kick in every so often. One should take care as to not let the belief in one’s intellectual capacity cause ego-inflation. Knowledge should be used for good of all, not to enhance one’s own sense of superiority.

Sagittarius Sun – Sagittarius Moon

With the Sun and Moon in Sagittarius nothing stands in the way of pure enjoyment of life. Independence, freedom, travel, exploration, adventure – life is calling them to set out on a quest for truth, a journey of the spirit. This person would not want to settle and would prefer to keep up the speed, even in old age. There’s a tendency to live as if one has already reserved a place in heaven, free of sin, free of guilt. There’s nothing to impede or hinder this person because life itself is what is treasured, not the particular form or circumstance. On the down side, this attitude could exclude the awareness of denser emotional states, making the person prone to gloss over negativity by viewing it as a betrayal of the eternal spirit. There’s validity to the experience of limitation and lack – the denial of these is to avoid going deeper and cope by flying up into the realm of belief in eternal life. Although this person would generally be open to a multitude of perspectives, there would be a strong sense of the correctness of personal opinion. The need to preach one’s stance with force could upset a few people. There’s a censoring that could happen which would seem selfish and narrow-minded. Not to mention that there can be a scatteredness to the person’s thinking that could make their message seem insubstantial and backed by confidence rather that convincing arguments. The task is to adjust and evolve into the more refined traits of Sagittarius, to cultivate compassion and understanding for people, to uplift and inspire through genuine love of life rather than going down a path of reckless and irresponsibility. It’s good to have confidence but it should not be acquired through rubbing one’s competence in other people’s faces and bragging unnecessarily about one’s broad knowledge and insight. One should watch out for the risk of viewing oneself as superior, bossiness can hardly be labeled a virtue – it’s childish and immature. The person might not be suited to lead because of their strong ambivalent and independent streak, but I could see this combo being a great side-kick, a resource of great value that would have to be kept on ”long leash” in order to be willing to work under someone else. The person would definitely need variety and freedom to act on impulses.

Sagittarius Sun – Libra Moon

The bold and fearless self-expression is slightly modified by the need to enhance the self through entering relationships. The person naturally gravitates toward self-flattery disguised as humility. The effort to be charming, sociable and well-liked is on autopilot while the more bold and uninhibited individuality needs to be developed and expressed consciously. The person cares about how other people perceive them, for better and for worse. To develop the Sagittarian traits one might need to live from an outlook of a more general and universal standpoint, viewing social interaction as an experience on the road to truth rather than an end in and of itself. The person might benefit from taking risks by speaking their mind when it isn’t socially advantageous, to push the limits of what is socially appropriate. It might not be comfortable, but it could be worth it in order to live more from a place of freedom than restriction. The Libra Moon needs to navigate carefully as to ensure optimal social and relational esteem. Personal safety and satisfaction depends on having other people to bounce their ideas off of. There’s difficulty in merely setting out on one’s own and trusting one’s gut – everything is done within the framework of a social context. Libra is very aware of the fact that one doesn’t exist as an island unto oneself, there’s other people that contribute to form one’s own life. Being with the right people at the right place and the right time makes all the difference to who one is. There’s some validity to this perspective but it’s also very limited and superficial. By developing one’s Sagittarian expression it’s possible to transcend the personal and the social and see others as fellow travelers of the world – equally independent and valuable despite all the differences. The Libra Moon is covertly competitive, giving off the impression that they’re merely out to make everyone else feel respected and seen. In fact, to be pleasant is their agenda, to ”win” at the social game. The Sagittarius Sun however, makes the person prone to be a little arrogant and blunt which could taint the perfect impression one is trying to preserve. Speaking first and thinking later could put this person in a tight spot of quickly trying to patch things up by doing the socially appropriate thing of apologizing or compensating for the slip-ups.

Sagittarius Sun – Cancer Moon

The optimistic and casual attributes of the ideal self becomes difficult to accommodate for in the midst of mood-swings, strong emotional attachments and apprehensiveness about the ”world out there”. The natural way of coping with life is through putting up strong defenses against threat. There’s great sensitivity and need of mothering, which the person seeks to provide for themselves – either through partnership, a family or perhaps a close circle of friends. The ability to care and support others through their ups and downs in life could earn them a positive reputation of being considerate and trust-worthy. However, the Sagittarian potential calls the person to develop qualities of openness, curiosity, fearlessness and trust. A spirit of adventure is worth cultivating while having a safe base to return to when the world starts to seem too harsh and inconsiderate. Sagittarius Suns are not very keen on admitting to vulnerability and weakness, but this combo requires these states to be factored in. To live as if there’s no tomorrow and as if one is immortal and exempt from frailty is not possible to get away with. Feelings should not be viewed as an inconvenience, they should be valued for the experience they provide. There’s no use glossing-over personal and primal needs - they exist in their own right. I can picture this person as a parent, capable of being soft and gentle with the children yet ready to play and take them out on little adventures when the mood hits. It’s after all not only important to provide shelter and protection but to instill an confidence that allows one to test limits and attempting to fulfill innate potential. There’s an element of trust that needs to be cultivated in order to venture outside of the safe zone, a trust in life to be helpful rather than destructive. These signs complement each other because they respresent different dynamics, on the Cancer end there’s awareness of threats to survival and a feelings of vulnerability, on the Sagittarius end there’s the pursuit of knowledge and freedom of the spirit. Cancer is primordial while Sagittarius is universal. Literary and philosophical knowledge might not make the person feel safe, but it will be how the person expresses their individuality.

Sagittarius Sun – Capricorn Moon

If this isn’t the embodiment of the dutiful pursuer of truth I don’t know what it is. There’s a need to achieve something of substance, of greatness. The feeling of abundance is not there from the get go, so the person has to summon their resources and use them wisely as to get ahead. The person is very controlled and conscious of how they present themselves, strategically trying to get everything right as to reach their long term goal. On the downside, there’s a lot of internal pressure and inhibitions of spontaneity which would take a toll on them eventually. The path ahead is to develop the Sagittarian worldview of expansion and freedom rather than discipline and scarcity. Being spontaneous and enthusiastic about things is how the person will self-actualize. However, since the need is to stay within convention, there’s a bit of a conflict present. Ideally, the person would combine the need to achieve worldly success and the pull to live a life free of responsibilities and commitments in honor of the eternal spirit. If the person decides to follow the beaten path of prestige and societal approval, there might be an inner urge to break free from all restrictions and limitations. It might be wise to try and combine the desire to move and explore with a sense of responsibility – to seek to accomplish something ”worthwhile” according to convention while being bold and passionate about it. The inner compulsion to always aim high could pay off, or it could make the person stressed and unproductive. The Sagittarian Sun indicates that there should be an attempt of freeing energy, of overcoming the burden of judgement, of rooting for life rather than mechanical and dead materia. The Sagittarian philosophy is that life is supposed to be lived, not boxed in and deemed as unworthy because of superficial lack. All life is worthy, and there need not be any punishment that is implied by the apparent boundaries of structure. The person could have a hard time accepting a more liberal world-view for themselves that doesn’t define right and wrong so clearly. The Cap Moon is more or less tied to playing within the confines of structure, but with the Sagittarius Sun there’s the potential for introducing variety, a broader perspective and a more optimistic attitude. The structures aren’t set in place to enslave the human spirit, they should work for the expansion of all.

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Sagittarius Sun – Aries Moon

The warrior that strives to gain wisdom. The inborn personal attributes are that of force, competition and impulsiveness. The task is to mobilize these in order to actualize an identity of curiosity, independence and trust in a benevolent universe. The person might be quite aggressive in the pursuit of answers to the big questions in life, seeking challenge and confrontation with life as to test one’s capacity to prevail and conquer. There’s a lot of energy to this combo – and a lot of emphasis on independence. The person would first and foremost stand up for themselves and leave others to do the same. There’s little tolerance for dependence as quality in others and in oneself. Strength is always emphasized – this person has nothing to gain from acting meek and vulnerable. Anger and frustration is the most common response to things that stand in the way – whether it’s an opinion another person holds or of it’s a literal lack of support – confrontation is the immediate reaction. Even if the person is quick to aggression, it’s usually easily diffused and forgotten. These fire signs live in the moment and are not prone to hold grudges. That being said – they won’t back down and is set on furthering themselves in all that their doing – especially if they’re continually opposed. The Sagittarius Sun indicates that the person is supposed to seek knowledge and broaden their perspective through exposing themselves to variety of culture and thought-systems. Identity is found through sharing and consuming knowledge, through breathing life back into a world of stagnation. The Aries Moon jumps on every opportunity to excel and to be the best, providing a fighting spirit to the more casually bold Sagittarian Sun. The person would be prone to provoke people unnecessarily, always wanting to compete and lead the way. However, the expression of the fire signs is usually so direct and uncalculated that it comes off as pure, even though it’s fundamentally self-centered, At least, it is honest and relatively uncomplicated. The Aries directness further enhances the Sagittarian tendency to speak the truth no matter the cost. Not to mention, the Sagittarian proclivity to be scattered and all over the place is counteracted a bit by the simple and straight-forward Arien nature.

Sagittarius Sun – Aquarius Moon

This combo represents the peak of objective perspective. The person is emotionally separated from the irrational, moody and earthy human condition. One lives for potential and that which can be found beyond the horizon. There’s likely to be a restlessness and annoyance with the current society and other people’s limited perspective. Ordinary and mundane is so ”yesterday”, it’s a pity that one can’t be rid of the current unevolved existence and jump to the future without having to go through a long and process of unnecessary in-between states. The person is likely to be the type to hang out in the thought-scape rather than on the earth-plane. There’s a tendency to get bored very quickly and be a bit uninterested in idle conversation and interaction with other people who are light years behind in the progression of thought. The path for this person is to cultivate passion and inspired involvement in worldly knowledge – to read and educate oneself in order to get a more well-rounded picture of what it means to be alive. Sagittarius is all about spreading truth and connection to essence, while Aquarius is more about the fixed thought-based blueprint that dictates form. There’s a coolness to this person that is their fundamental nature – it’s not rooted in being but rather in becoming. Sagittarius is not cool but vibrant and alive, ready to interact with the variety of expressions of the universal spirit. The person’s task is to become through being, to find the face of self in all fleeting experiences and appreciate them as they come and go. There’s value in the brokenness, there’s beauty in the imperfect. The Aquarius Moon might have a hard time viewing life in this way, having to label and categorize and put things into context. It’s worth to consciously develop the capacity to perceive meaning in experiences, to connect to the intelligent source of life that is not found through perfection but underlying everything. There’s more to life than hacking the blueprint and getting things to work better, look better or feel better. There’s mysterious inner wisdom that is untamed and unbound, intelligently guiding one’s steps on the path of higher truth. To put in a word of caution, it might be tempting to view oneself as more important or superior than people with more primordial natures and simple minds. It’s true that people are different, but everyone plays a part in life however big or small.

Sagittarius Sun – Scorpio Moon

This is a freedom-lover, an explorer and an emotionally volatile individual. There’s a need to test, to push, to provoke while keeping all the vulnerable parts of oneself tucked away where they can’t be reached. The fundamental nature of this person is extremely sensitive to violation and feels things strongly. There’s an inner fear of being controlled or deceived to the point of paranoia. This is not to suggest that the Scorpio Moon radar is faulty and sees threat where there is none, it’s just that they can’t allow themselves to put their guard down. Ever. Through developing a Sagittarian individuality, there’s likely to be an increase in playfulness and chill, but at the core there’s always going to be suspicion. The person would want to promote the truth as a part of their individuality, to inspire and lift people’s spirits. However, the personal need for secrecy and privacy would present a contradiction. There’s an impulse to live out a destructive nature, to revel in powerful emotions and let people know that they shouldn’t be messed with. While the Sagittarian tendency is to view experiences from a ”higher perspective” of belief and philosophy, the Scorpio seeks to penetrate or be penetrated energetically. There are three choices in the book of Scorpio; being attacked, attack or hide. Although Sagittarius is bold and willing to take risks because there’s an attitude of optimism in everything they do, a proclivity to say things as they are and be honest, the person will not share things that can be used against them (if they can help it). The strength of these signs are very different, but they could potentially work together relatively successfully. The emphasis could be to make people aware of the power-holds and dishonesty that takes place underneath the surface layers of society and reality, to uncover and reveal things about others or oneself that grabs people’s attention and makes a statement. Transformation and truth is what this person is ultimately after and it could be pursued in all kinds of ways. It would be important to remember to keep the Scorpio paranoia in check and to be a little careful of boasting and inflating one’s ego unnecessarily. One has to show respect in order for other people to be willing to be respectful in turn. That being said, it is appropriate to call people out on their bullshit from time to time.

Sagittarius Sun - Taurus Moon

The path of self-actualization is to expose oneself to a variety of experiences while the personal need is to provide oneself with things of material value. The need to possess and have things be tangibly present in order to feel good doesn’t really go together with the realm of spirit. The Sagittarius Sun perceives the world in terms of higher truth – and it’s not an ultimate truth that a house provides stability. Yet, the person would need the material representation of safety and could not deny the importance of the physical realm. The development of the Sagittarian identity would take the person into the realm of abstraction rather than tangible perception. Life opens up and is more than what needs to be done on a routine basis. The earthy and stubborn temperament would be balanced out by the desire to introduce new impressions and new experiences. The need for a solid ”living and working” situation would prevail, but the person would ultimately aim higher than that in terms of individuation. Some Sagittarius Suns would be content with exploring their interests in private, to explore fascinating topics that adds to their own life while other would have to venture out into the physical world – to smell, see and touch different countries, to be in the sensory experience of it all. Taurus is a very physical sign and would likely appreciate the concreteness of experiencing something in the flesh rather than as an abstraction. The ability to picture things vividly in the thought scape sometimes doesn’t come as easily to more earthy temperaments. This could make it difficult to get excited about something without actually being in the actual excitement. However, the Sagittarian Sun has the potential to provide a great intuitive and creative capacity. This combo could be indicative of a person that is keen on securing a predictable future and predictable present while not taking it all too seriously. Whatever happens, it’s fine. Life goes on and one can trust that things are going to work out – not that it’s going to fix itself but that one has the stubbornness and stamina to see things through. It also gives the person a willingness to not only be concerned with the material aspect of life, but to see meaning in experiences as they unfold and present themselves.

Sagittarius Sun – Leo Moon

Honoring oneself through living out inherent greatness is of utmost importance. The person needs to know that they are whole and magnificent without having to explore and expand through the experience of variety and diversity – however, they could use their knowledge and insight to enhance their authority. The person would feel as if they were blessed from birth with a specialness and a right to be admired and loved. The need to occupy space and claim a place of importance is pressing for this individual. Speaking their opinion, retelling stories and dwelling on the subject of one’s involvement in significant events would be typical. I make it sound as if it’s done in order to compensate for a sense of inferiority, and it could be, but often Leo Moons have a genuine air about them that is magical and captivating. The person would be inclined to dramatize their life, to demonstrate their radiance through everything they do. With a Sagittarius Sun, it would optimally be done through travel and the experience of culture, religion and ancient wisdom. Everything has to be profound and glorious with this person – grace and charm is what they embody without trying. What the person needs to develop throughout life is more of a casual nature, a broader perspective and a recognition of people’s sameness. Leo’s tendency is to enhance personhood and not be overly concerned with the universal spirit – the universal self. Sagittarius knows that the same life that is oneself is also found in the rest of the existence. By developing the Sagittarian identity, the person doesn’t have to tone themselves down and live as if their separate self wasn’t worth promoting. The person could sustain a sense of specialness and still acknowledge other people’s beauty and rightful participation in life. It would be wise to keep in mind that there’s a big risk to always assume that one is right. Although Sagittarius provide a sense of openness and willingness to adapt and blend in with the spirit of the location, Leo needs to claim and dominate the environment they’re in, the conversation they’re in. This doesn’t necessarily go over well if it’s done with arrogance– other’s would easily feel diminished and disrespected. However, if the person is more mature, this need to shine could be felt as a genuine, benevolent presence that makes other people comfortable.

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cruelfeline · 5 years ago

Text

Anyone who hangs about Twitter potentially saw an unfortunate Hordak take cross their timelines today.

As is custom on this blog, I’ll be taking it apart for my own personal amusement (and for the amusement of any of y’all who like to watch me do so). I doubt the poster will see this, as they’re on Twitter and not apparently on here, but in case they do: this is for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of followers; it absolutely does not need to be responded to if that’s not your cup of tea.

So, that little disclaimer in place, let’s see what we can make of this! Because this is on Medium, I’ll be using screenshots as quotes; just a heads-up.

So... this first bit isn’t really anything Hordak-related. It’s more... fandom drama, I suppose? Not really something I can pick apart. I can, however, give my own personal opinion on this sort of thing, for what it’s worth.

It’s true that people can and should be able to feel whichever way they wish about a character. And to talk about that character.

However: it is also true that people who dislike Hordak can be very unpleasant in making that known to those of us who enjoy him. Including descending into personal insults for no discernible reason. Add to that the fact that his character means a great deal to some fans for intensely personal reasons, and it is not difficult to see why some fans aren’t keen to see anti-Hordak content on their timelines, in their mentions, etc.

Censoring character hate isn’t a requirement, but in some circumstances, it can simply be a polite thing to do. It doesn’t take great effort, and it prevents people from experiencing just another bit of unpleasantness on their social media. And if you don’t want to do it? Well, that’s your right; but don’t be shocked when people voice their displeasure by replying to your words. Because that is their right.

And that’s all I really have to say about that.

Odd way to phrase things, really. These aren’t “reasons to forgive.” The first two scenes involve Catra’s asphyxiations and are things that would need to be forgiven, not things to forgive.

Though, y’know, I really only apply that to the first scene, where he assaults her without her necessarily doing anything wrong. Mind you, I believe he does it out of a combination of needing to maintain a hierarchy for safety purposes (this is a man who needs people to be afraid of him to maintain his own safety) and poor leadership skills mimicked from a narcissist, but it’s still a terrible thing.

However! The second time? After he asks her about Shadow Weaver? This isn’t torture-fun-times. This is Hordak neutralizing a threat to the entire Horde. Because that is what Catra is in this moment: a threat to the security and wellbeing of him and the entirety of the Fright Zone. She lies about a critical mistake. She proves herself to not only have poor judgment in serious matters, but to be very willing to lie about it in order to guard her own selfish motives. While I can’t condone the method Hordak uses, I do wish people would stop using this second instance of punishment as some sort of proof-of-torture. He does not do this for no reason. He does it because Catra released a dangerous prisoner into the wild and lied about it. And his concerns over it ultimately prove correct.

This entire qualification doesn’t have much to do with whether he deserves forgiveness or not, but it’s a point I want to make because it combats this idea that Hordak did this to an innocent girl “for no reason” or “just to be cruel.” That’s simply not the case; no matter how unpleasant the method, Hordak is a military leader punishing a subordinate for seriously endangering him and everyone else in the organization. Badly. I don’t know what the equivalent would be in modern military, but Catra’s error is massive. It doesn’t make what Hordak does right, but it does give a reason other than a simple “he’s a bad, bad man.” So.

Adding this scene is... actually kind of odd because he doesn’t really do anything to Adora here. And also: this scene is... what’s the word... meaningful-in-hindsight, so to speak. Essentially: in this scene, Adora is claiming that Hordak is responsible for stealing her, for robbing her of a peaceful life with her family. And Hordak is claiming that he neither knows nor cares who she is, and that she does not matter to him.

The interesting aspect of this scene, and something that OP fails to acknowledge at all, is that both Adora and Hordak are wrong.

let’s see if I can talk about this without crying... nope, already starting to tear up

Hordak never stole Adora; Light Hope did. Hordak did not orchestrate this unfortunate life for her. Rather, Hordak, a lost clone dealing with his own insecurities and fears and problems, found an equally lost infant in a field and gave her the only home he really knew how to create (and one that, for its flaws, was still better than the absolute nightmare he was “raised” in). In all likelihood, given Light Hope’s lack of understanding of infants, he probably saved Adora’s life by doing this: without him, she may well have perished alone in that field.

Hordak likewise does remember her, eventually. And she is not inconsequential to him: by saving her, he ends up saving himself, and all of his brothers. By forging this near-unknown bond with her all those years ago, by choosing to take in an infant rather than letting her die, he plays a key role in deciding the fate of the universe.

This scene that OP sarcastically claims is a reason Hordak shouldn’t be forgiven has a sibling:

The fact that OP apparently fails to recognize this and realize that these are the only two moments in the series during which Adora and Hordak directly interact, that they’re a pair, means that OP misses the connection between the two and the significance of how they misjudge one another initially. It indicates a lack of understanding of the themes of the show: themes centered around connections with other people, love, and forgiveness. Which, given the contents of this essay, is unsurprising.

Moving on!

Y’know, whether or not one believes, in terms of definition, that Hordak is a colonizer (I personally don’t for pedantic and clone-cult reasons, but that’s not really relevant to this post), it’s interesting that OP notes how Stevenson confirms that he is... but conveniently leaves out the part where she confirms that he did it because he was brainwashed.

That’s... an important piece of information to leave out when discussing whether Hordak should be forgiven or not. A very important piece.

And it doesn’t really matter whether he’s a colonizer or a conqueror; the reason it comes up is because people seem very stuck in the mindset of “if it’s a colonizer, it must die” without acknowledging any sort of nuance. There’s also the question of whether what Hordak did actually caused the same sort of upheaval and lasting damage we see resulting from legitimate colonization, and all of the implications of that, but this isn’t really the place to go into that. Honestly, I don’t really think SPoP as a whole is the place to go into that.

No. Hordak is not the person who taught her all of these things.

Shadow Weaver is.

Hordak did not personally teach her that Princesses are evil. He did not teach her that wanton cruelty is fine in getting one’s own way. He did not feed her propaganda.

Actually, as an aside: can we even confirm that Catra ever thought that Princesses where evil? I mean... she works with Scorpia, and she has no apparent morals to speak of. She does as she wishes for her own personal gain, not because she displays any sense of “fighting the evil Princesses.” And in terms of disposing of Entrapta because she was “manipulated” into viewing Princesses as evil: Catra disposes of everyone. She manipulates and uses everyone. That is one of the key aspects of her arc: she uses and abuses people for personal gain. She does this whether they are Princesses or not: just see Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle. Add to this the fact that Catra, from the first season, knows that she and Adora have been lied to, manipulated, and that the Horde is in fact evil, and... this entire line of reasoning falls apart.

None of this is an attempt to “absolve Hordak of blame.” Hordak just... legitimately had no hand in raising any of the children. That was not his role (and while I know that this was confirmed by Stevenson at some point, I don’t have memory of where; potentially the last podcast?). And Catra did not operate on any sort of propaganda that she actually believed in: she simply used and disposed of people as she saw fit because she cared more about her own rise to power than she did about those around her. This was one of her major character flaws, and really? Trying to pin this on Hordak, or even fully pin it on Shadow Weaver? It absolves Catra of the blame, of the intentional bad choices she made (as emphasized by Adora) and thus weakens her entire arc.

All in all: Hordak may have created a poor environment for the raising of children, but of note is the fact that only Catra turns out this way. The other kids, whatever their problems, are not in the habit of manipulating friends, lying to them, using them, and then tossing them aside. That is a Catra Problem. Part of this can be attributed to Shadow Weaver (who only treated Catra in the poorest way), and part of it is just... Catra being not-the-best.

All right. Now we get to the really disingenuous portion of the essay.

First, as just stated: Hordak is not Catra’s abuser. Shadow Weaver is. Hordak had no hand in raising her. Hordak did not direct Shadow Weaver to abuse her. Hordak did not personally feed Catra anti-Princess propaganda, and even if he had, we know by the first season that Catra sees through whatever propaganda she was exposed to and has no actual moral objections to Princesses. But that’s not the main aspect of this portion that irks me.

The main aspect that irks me is that this is not the scene Hordak stans mark as abusive. And I cannot imagine that OP does not know this.

But let’s talk about this scene, for a moment, before getting to the actual, legitimate abuse.

OP talks about his scene almost flippantly: “Hordak finds out Catra lied about Entrapta, he becomes angry and attacks her with a clear plan to kill her.”

Yes. Yes, he "becomes angry.” He becomes angry and attacks because as far as he knows, Catra killed Entrapta. This isn’t some annoyed “you lied to me!” moment. He legitimately thinks Entrapta is dead because Catra sent her to Beast Island. OP just blissfully glosses over the fact that Hordak is attacking Catra in rage and grief because Catra, as far as either of them know, killed his only friend and then lied about it for approximately a year. Like... how do you gloss over that in discussing this scene? How do you gloss over the enormity of what Catra did, and the unimaginable pain Hordak experiences when finding out?

So. The writeup of this scene is poor. It misses all of the emotion, all of the reality of what Catra did and what Hordak felt. But! That’s not even the unfortunate part of this portion. Let’s get to the real disingenuity.

This is the abusive scene. This is that stomach-turning moment when Catra removes a disabled man’s ability to move with dignity and without pain solely to force him to escalate a war for her own personal benefit.

Hordak is not a danger to her here. Hordak has not been a danger to her for a while because he has been holed up in his private quarters, trying to deal with the emotional fallout of Entrapta supposedly betraying him. He wants nothing to do with Catra. He wants to lick his wounds and gather himself and somehow heal from this deep personal pain that’s been inflicted upon him.

And that’s a problem for Catra because it stands in the way of her using the war as a way to best Adora.

So Catra identifies Hordak’s physical weakness and exploits it for the purpose of spiting her ex.

The fact that OP completely fails to acknowledge any of this is... well. Disingenuous. Absolutely so.

The next portion of the essay talks about people feeling that Catra was too easily forgiven and isn’t really Hordak-centric; I won’t really go into it here. Moving forward:

Ah, one of the most annoying questions I see asked. Let’s, again, acknowledge and move past the fact that Hordak was not actually Catra’s abuser...

When, pray tell, was Hordak supposed to show this remorse? When? While he was serving on Prime’s ship, trying to forget the pain of losing Entrapta, of failing to prove himself, of losing everything? Should he have done it while screaming in agony in the purification pool? Should he have done so while alone on Prime’s ship, trying to serve quietly while piecing together his memories?

Not only was Hordak simply not in a position, narratively, to go into a whole remorse bit, but he had other problems. Like, life-endangering problems.

The appropriate time to go into his feelings on Etheria and the Princesses and All of That would have been after Prime’s defeat, upon Hordak’s re-introduction to Etheria... but then the show ended. So.

Agh, vulgar. Taking a brainwashed, conditioned slave and bastardizing his triumph at finally seeing himself as a real person, instead claiming that his intent was to glorify his own misdeeds. No. Just... no.

Again: this is not the time for guilt. And it is a demonstration of why guilt and remorse were not front-and-center in Hordak’s arc during season five: his arc was about finally realizing that he was his own person, a person worthy of identity and love and care and freedom. And this arc culminated in him separating himself from his abuser and declaring his personhood.

That is what this scene is: not Hordak reveling in his makeshift empire, or in the terrible deeds he’d committed, but in declaring himself his own person.

I should hope that he is proud of doing that. I’m proud of him for doing that daunting feat, of defeating his abuser and defying his god and recognizing that he is worthy of more than what Prime thought of him. And I recognize Entrapta’s role in it: not as the sole inspiration for his change, but as someone who showed him a foundation of love and acceptance, someone who introduced him to the idea that he was worthy of care and happiness and affection simply because he was a living being, no strings attached.

Trying to shoehorn in some sort of claim that this is about pride in his misdeeds, rather than joy at finally accepting his own sense of self is a massive misinterpretation of this scene, a misunderstanding of Entrapta’s role in Hordak’s arc, and... can I say it’s disingenuous again? Because I’m going to: it’s disingenuous.

All right; we’re at the end. And while the first sentence here is something I absolutely agree with - the decision to forgive Hordak is personal and subjective both for viewers and for in-show characters - the whole conclusion falls apart from there.

It highlights another glaring omission from OP’s arguments: the fact that Hordak is a brainwashed clone slave.

Hordak did not choose to “spend his life trying to prove his worth to Horde Prime.” He did not choose the method of said proving: that Prime would look kindly upon conquering rather than some other task. And he did not choose to have certain concepts and ideas (all beings must suffer to become pure; all creatures, no matter how small, have a place in service of Horde Prime; failure is when something ceases to serve a purpose) conditioned into him.

Hordak was manufactured as a cultist slave. He was “born” with hardware implanted into his body against his will to better control him. He was indoctrinated and brainwashed to the point that he believed that Horde Prime was his literal god - and in a way, Prime was, because he could mentally invade and possess and physically control the clones whenever he wished.

Hordak was not allowed to have a sense of self. He was not allowed to have a name. He was not allowed to express emotions. He was not allowed to live without that life serving to glorify Horde Prime. Hordak was so absolutely sick with this mentality that he saw himself as a failure due to physical disability and assumed it was his responsibility to fix that.

The idea that Hordak simply chose to do what he did, that he had the same foundational morality and mindset as any “normal” person might, shows a glaring lack of understanding even the basics of his narrative.

Yes: Hordak did bad things. But he did them for legitimately tragic, nigh-horrifying reasons that this essay just ignores for the sake of... I don’t know? Trying to justify OP’s distaste for the character? I am uncertain. But it’s a mark of a poor essay, of a poor understanding of the character, and is honestly just disappointing to read when the show itself tries so hard to drive home its wonderful, hopeful themes through Hordak’s story.

Whether one forgives Hordak or not is one’s personal choice, but I certainly hope one makes said choice with better insight into his character than this essay provides.

#discourse #hordak #I wonder if I come off as too sassy in this but honestly this essay was a chore to read #so much was just ignored or misinterpreted #it was like a willful misrepresention of Hordak's character and I did not like it

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shinyacademy · 4 years ago

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Is it Legit: Part 2

Today we’re going to look at a shiny Oranguru that was traded to me via Wonder Trade in Pokémon Sun. I’ve since moved him to Pokémon Shield which is risky business for a Pokémon of uncertain origin but I was fairly certain that he was the real deal (or close enough but we’ll get to that later). Since I wasn’t banned or suspended from Pokémon Bank or Pokémon Home, I can assume with confidence that my assumptions were correct. But how did I know?

Quick Note About Pokerus

Pokerus is often an indicator, or at least an orange flag, that a Pokémon has been hacked. However, it’s important to note what type of Pokerus. Active Pokerus is much more of an orange flag than latent Pokerus, which is what my Oranguru has.

Here’s my Dragapult who has active Pokerus, which means she could spread it to other Pokémon in the party with her. This is what hackers typically add to Pokémon because it’s more valuable to be able to spread Pokerus to other Pokémon. A quick note for those who don’t know, Pokerus is a rare but beneficial virus that Pokémon can suddenly develop or catch from other infected Pokémon.

In this case I exposed my Oranguru to Pokerus so there’s no worries either way. Now we’re going to go through the same steps in my last post to confirm his legitimacy.

1. Is it met on an impossible date?

It seems that bringing him to Galar has lost the date that he was captured on but it was not impossible.

2. Did it meet the OT in an impossible place?

Again, we’re not given a lot of information here but that’s ok. A lot of hacked Pokémon will say that they were met in a “fateful encounter”. This is reserved for event Pokémon and some wild Mythical Pokémon. Event Pokémon will often also state that they were an online present but not always.

3. Is it inside a Ball Combination that could not exist for the game the Pokémon came from?

No, Luxury balls are accessible in Pokémon Sun and Moon.

4. Was the Pokémon met at an illegal level?

I haven’t changed my Oranguru’s level so we can assume it was met somewhere around the level it’s at. However, shiny Oranguru who are caught by SOS chaining can be level 17 in Lush Jungle, so this makes sense.

5. Does it have perfect IVs?

As you can see, Oranguru’s IVs are less than impressive. If someone was chaining in hopes of finding a competitive ready Pokémon they would see this and be disappointed, which might explain why his original trainer decided to part with him in the first place.

6. Does it have an illegal moveset?

Pokémon Home has a feature where it will remove any moves from a Pokémon that are not legal for the game that it’s porting into (this is for game balance mostly because some legit moves are not supported in the newer games but it would also alter a hacked Pokémon’s moveset potentially). Oranguru kept all of his moves that he had in Alola though so he’s fine.

7. Does the Pokémon have the name of a streaming website or words that would normally be censored?

Nope! He’s just Oranguru.

Analyzing the Information

All signs point to Oranguru having been shiny hunted, probably via SOS chain, and then discarded for whatever reason (my guess is stats). We can only guess at the OT’s motives but nothing stands out as being suspicious for Oranguru.

Does that mean he’s legit?

People in the Pokémon community use the word “legit” to describe a Pokémon who definitely entered the game through legitimate means. What a lot of people don’t realize is there are no definitive ways to identify whether a Pokémon is legit or not outside of the knowledge of your own Pokémon that you get from your own games. Every time you do a high value trade with another trainer you are trusting that the Pokémon is legitimate (unless of course they are forthcoming about it being otherwise).

But I thought you said Oranguru isn’t hacked?

I don’t think he is based on our criteria and the fact that I wasn’t banned from using Pokémon services after putting him there. But he still could be cloned. A clone is a complete and perfect copy of an original Pokémon. Some streamers will utilize them to do mass giveaways and some people will utilize them to make multiple high value trades (after all, there are some Pokémon like Marshadow that sell for actual money). The thing is, you can identify if a Pokémon is hacked but there’s no way to identify a clone because it would just look like a normal Pokémon!

Should I worry about clones?

This is more of a personal opinion. Some people really agonize over whether their Pokémon are legit or not and some people don’t care. The only reason I care personally is because hacked Pokémon can get you banned from Pokémon services. Would I use those Pokémon? Probably not because I appreciate the value of working hard to achieve a desired result and it seems cheap to go into competitive with a hacked shiny. As for clones, why worry about something you can’t control? Maybe the Articuno I won in a contest recently is a clone? I’ll never know! But he makes me happy so why stress?

So Oranguru and my Articuno both fall into a class of Pokémon that people call “legal”, which means that they are accepted by Pokémon services as being okay for competitive and other services. Could they be legitimate too? Yes but we can’t prove that, so if I were thinking of trading either one I would need to list them as “legal” if I were communicating directly with the person I was trading with and not “legitimate” because I didn’t catch them myself.

If you are worried about clones you essentially cannot trade online with confidence, which will greatly limit your experience with Pokémon in general. So in my opinion: don’t stress out, play the game and have fun!

As a follow up to this post, soon I’ll be writing, “How to Navigate a High Value Trade.” Look out for that post in the future! Until then, happy hunting! ✨

#pokémon #shiny pokemon #shiny hunting #shiny pokémon #shinyhunters #pokemon #pokémon go #pokémon sword and shield #pokémon sun and moon #pokémon home

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canisterofsoda · 4 years ago

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incoming long list of incorrect quotes because im getting annoying on discord so you people have to deal with me now

Kei: Looking left cause you don’t treat me right

Han: Looking right because you left

Rose: Looking up cause you let me down

Oliver: Looking down cause you fucked up

Blair: What is wrong with you guys

---------------------------------------------

Kei: Bridge the generation gap by combining old and new slang into one!

Han: Tubular AF!

Rose: Mood to the max!

Oliver, annoyed: Groovy, I hate it.

Blair, just as annoyed: If she breathes, she’s a square.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kei: What’s something you guys are better than Han at?

Rose: Mario Kart.

Oliver: Yeah, video games.

Blair: Emotional vulnerability.

------------------------------------

Kei: There are seven chairs and ten kids. What do you do?

Han: Have everyone stand.

Rose: Bring three more chairs!

Oliver: The most important ones can sit down.

Blair: Kill three.

--------------------

Kei: Favorite horror movie?

Han: It

Rose: Saw

Oliver: Annabelle

Blair: High School Musical. after watching it I spent all my middle school years terrified that the entire school would start singing something and I’d be the only one who didn’t know the lyrics

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Kei: Poison is a magic transmutation potion that turns people into corpses.

Han: This knife is actually a magic wand.

Rose: Meet me in the Denny’s parking lot for a wizard duel.

Oliver: *cocks gun* Magic missile.

Blair: What the fuck is wrong with you people.

---------------------------------------------------------

Kei: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the items you have lost throughout your life

Han: Self-esteem, haven't seen you in years!

Rose: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this!

Oliver: I knew I lost that potential somewhere!

Blair: My moral code, is that you?

Kei:

Kei: I was just gonna show you this cool trunk my mother left me but do you guys need a hug?

------------------------------

Kei: What if the person who named Walkie Talkies named everything?

Han: Pregnancy tests are Maybe Babies

Blair: Socks are Feetie Heaties

Oliver: Forks are Stabby Grabbies

Han: Defibrillators are Heartie Starties

Blair: Nightmares are Dreamy Screamies

Oliver: Stamps are Lickie Stickies

Rose, annoyed: You are disappointments

--------------------------------------------------

Kei: Where's Han, Rose, and Oliver?

Blair: They're playing hide and seek.

Kei: Where?

Blair: I don't think you get how this game works.

---------------------------------------------------------

Kei: You kidnapped Han? That’s illegal!

Rose: But Kei, what’s more illegal? Briefly inconveniencing Han, or destroying our dreams?

Kei: Kidnapping Han, Rose!!!

Oliver: Kei, listen, whatever I may think of you right now- these guys are counting on you to inspire them!

Kei: What, to kidnap people?!?!

Oliver: To work together!

Kei: TO KIDNAP PEOPLE?!?!?!?!

Blair: Kei, we all agreed a Han is a not a people.

--------------------------------------------------------

Kei: Anyone d-

Han: Depressed?

Rose: Drained?

Oliver: Dumb?

Blair: Disliked?

Kei: -done with their work... what is wrong with you people ...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Kei: Nothing in life is free.

Han: Love is free!

Rose: Adventure is free.

Oliver: Knowledge is free.

Blair: Everything is free if you take it without paying.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kei: We need more help. Maybe I should call my friends.

Han: ... Your what?

Kei: My friends.

Rose: Are they saying “friends”?

Oliver: I think they're being sarcastic.

Blair: No, no, no, this is delirium, they've cracked from being awake all night. Hey, Kei! All of your friends are in this room.

Kei: I have other friends! You asked me to make new friends, I made new friends! It was a task. I complete tasks.

-----------------------------------------------------

Kei: Good responses for being stabbed with a knife?

Han: Rude.

Rose: That’s fair.

Oliver: Not again.

Blair: Are you going to want this back?

---------------------------------------------------

Kei: Are we really going to let Han keep Rose?

Oliver: We kept Blair.

----------------------------

Kei: What does 'take out' mean?

Han: Food.

Rose: Dating

Oliver: Murder

Blair: IT CAN MEAN ALL THREE IF YOU'RE NOT A COWARD.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kei: If you bite it and you die, it’s poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it’s venomous.

Han: What if it bites me and it dies!?

Rose: Then you’re poisonous. Jesus Christ, Han, learn to listen.

Oliver: What if it bites itself and I die?

Blair: That’s voodoo.

Himari: What if it bites me and someone else dies?

Han: That’s correlation, not causation.

Oliver: What if we bite each other, and neither of us die?

Blair: That’s kinky.

Kei: Oh my God.

-------------------------

*The squad is over at Kei's house*

Han: Ohhhh, we each get our own oven?

Kei: ... N-No...

Kei, laughing: How many ovens do you think I have???

Han, motioning to their kitchen: Three, I thought!

Rose: I see a-

Kei, motioning to one device: This is a microwave.

Han: Oh, well I-

Kei: Hey wait wait, actually- hang on- *fiddles with the buttons on the microwave*

Kei, amazed: Its got a bake setting!

Oliver: Ohoho, you learn something new every day!

Blair: Do we- Do we roshambo for who gets to pick first?

Kei: Now I've just discovered I have more ovens than I thought, we don't have to roshambo nothin!

Kei: I am someone who owns four ovens...

Kei, louder and way too happy: I am someone... who owns FOUR OVENS...

Kei: I didn't know I was so rich with ovens...

Himari, pointing to another appliance: Also the toaster oven!

Kei:

Han: Ohhh, toasty boy! Four- Five ovens!

Kei:

Kei, fucking ECSTATIC: I AM SOMEONE WHO OWNS FIVE OVENS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kei: Rules are made to be broken.

Han: They were made to be followed. Nothing is made to be broken.

Rose: Uh, piñatas.

Oliver: Glow sticks.

Blair: Karate boards.

Himari: Spaghetti when you have a small pot.

Kei: Rules.

Han:

--------------------------------

Kei: Who the fuck added me to a fucking group chat?

Han: >:O language

Rose: Yeah watch your fucking language

Oliver: OKAY WHO TAUGHT ROSE THE FUCK WORD?

Blair: 'The fuck word'.

Himari: Are you stupid? You guys use the f word all the time

Rose: Oh my god they censored it

Blair: Say fuck, Himari.

Rose: Do it, Himari. Say fuck.

--------------------------------------

'Can I copy the homework?'

Kei: I can help you with it!

Han: Yeah, sure.

Rose: Bold of you to assume I did the homework.

Oliver: lol nope.

Blair: Wait, we had homework?!?!?!

Himari: *Read 5:55pm*

-------------------------------

Kei: Time for plan G.

Han: Don’t you mean plan B?

Kei: No, we tried plan B a long time ago. I had to skip over plan C due to technical difficulties.

Rose: What about plan D?

Kei: Plan D was that desperate disguise attempt half an hour ago.

Oliver: What about plan E?

Kei: I’m hoping not to use it. Blair dies in plan E.

Himari: I like plan E.

-----------------------------------

Kei: We need to distract these guys

Han: Leave it to me

Han: Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss.

Rose, Oliver, and Blair: *Immediately begin arguing*

Himari, watching in horror: Oh this. I don’t like this. I don't like this at all.

------------------

*The squad right before Kei's wedding*

Han: Well I have to go, I have a wedding to attend.

Rose: Wait... Oh! I have a wedding to attend too!

Oliver: Oh, I have a wedding to attend as well

Blair: I THINK WE ALL HAVE WEDDINGS TO ATTEND

Himari, panicked: I THINK I HAVE A WEDDING TO OFFICIATE

--------------------------------------------------

Kei: Croissants: dropped

Han: Road: works ahead

Rose: BBQ sauce: on my titties

Oliver: Shavacado: fre

Blair: Miss Keisha: fuckin dead

Himari:

Himari, grumpy: I didn’t understand a single word of that and I hate every single one of you.

---------------------------------

Kei: Everytime I hear someone talking about updog, I’m torn between not wanting to fall for it and wanting to help them complete their joke.

Han: Okay, but what is updog?

Rose: Updog is a long sausage in a bun, often served with ketchup, mustard, onions, and/or relish.

Oliver: Not, that’s a hot dog. An updog is when a new version or patch of an application is released.

Blair: No, that's an update. You’re thinking of the fourth largest city in Sweden.

Himari: Surely, that’s Uppsala, where’s updog is the giant spider in Harry Potter.

Kei: That’s Aragog. Updog is a symbol conventionally used for an arbitrarily small number in analysis proofs.

Oliver: You’re thinking of epsilon. Updog is an upward-moving air current.

Rose: No, that’s an updraft. An updog is the modern version of a henway.

Han: What’s a henway??

Kei: Oh, about five pounds.

----------------------------------

Kei: Just be yourself.

Han: 'Be myself'? Kei, I have one day to win Rose over. How long did it take before you guys started liking me?

Oliver: Couple weeks.

Blair: Six months.

Himari: Jury’s still out.

Han: See, Kei?

Han: 'Be myself'. What kind of garbage advice is that?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Kei: I CAN'T DO IT!

Han, laughing: I CAN'T EITHER!

Kei: I CANT FUCKING DO IT ANYMORE

Rose: WELL I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, YOU CAN EITHER GIVE UP NOW, OR YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT. BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU, AND WE KNOW YOU CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT US.

Kei:

Kei: I appreciate it,

Kei: BUT LOOK WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH-

Oliver: Kei-

Kei: YOU GOTTA DRAW THE LINE SOMEWHERE!

Blair: Kei we gotta-

Kei: YOU GOTTA DRAW A FUCKING LINE IN THE SAND. YOU GOTTA MAKE A STATEMENT.

Kei: YOU GOTTA LOOK INSIDE YOURSELF AND SAY 'What am I willing to put up with today?'

Kei, motioning to Himari: NOT FUCKING THIS

--------------------------------------------------------

*Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’*

Kei: Thanks fam!

Han: oh no

Rose: *cries* I love you too

Oliver: Sounds fake but okay

Blair: *A flustered mess*

Himari: can i get a refund

-----------------------------------

Kei: Hewwo.

Han: Hihiiiiii!

Rose: Greetings, Humans.

Blair: Three kinds of people.

Oliver: I want pudding.

Kei: Four kinds of people.

Himari: WHAT’S UP FUCKERS?

Blair: Five kinds of people.

-----------------------------------------

Kei, walking into their house: Hello, people who do not live here.

Han: Hey.

Rose: Hi.

Oliver: Hello.

Blair: Hey!

Kei: I gave you the key to my place for emergencies only!

Himari: We were out of Doritos.

-----------------------------------------

Kei: *Posts a super low-quality image to the group chat*

Han: If I had a dollar for every pixel in this image, I’d have 15 cents

Kei: If I had a dollar for every ounce of rage I felt in my body after I read this text, I would have enough money to buy a cannon to fire at you

Rose: Actually I did the math, Han would have $225, not $0.15.

Han: Fam I’m right here....

Oliver: If I had a dollar I would buy a can of soda :)

Kei: while you’re there could you buy me an apply juice please?

Oliver: Sorry I only have a dollar

Kei: :(

Rose: Hey I just realized my friend is right, Han would have $22,500 because it's a dollar for every pixel, not a cent

Oliver: If I had $22,500 I would buy a can of soda and an apply juice

Rose: You can buy anything you want with $22,500

Blair: Yeah and they want soda and apply juice

Rose: Apply juice to what

Himari: Directly to the forehead

Han: Great chat everyone

---------------------------------

Kei: Would you guys be there for me if I was going through something?

Han: Nope, absolutely not.

Rose: I hope it sucks, whatever you're going through.

Oliver: I hope it emotionally scars you for the rest of your life.

Blair: I hope you reach out to me so I can ignore you.

Himari: I can't wait to go to your funeral, knowing I could've changed that outcome.

#soda's ocs #incorrect quotes generator my beloved

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michelle4417 · 4 years ago

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PLEASE READ!! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID...

Hello to everyone out there... I hope all of you are doing well, as always. I really want to reach out to you and talk to you from the heart. I posted about the President of Ghana and something major he had to say to the world yesterday morning and no one paid any attention to it. It is so frustrating!!

This is hard because there is a short video that lasts for 12 minutes that is on Telegram right now but I can't share it here at all due to tumble and their Communist censoring nonsense. I was absolutely insane to even try to share the actual video here but I always give everything a try at least once... Anyway, IT IS SOOO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY HERE NOW... I AM GOING TO JUST TYPE OUT WHAT HE SAYS ON HERE FOR YOU... I went through and listened to every word and wrote it all down for you all almost verbatim. He is kind of hard to understand due to his accent but I did my best. It took me a couple of hours to transcribe this so PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!! IT IS THE HONEST TO GOD TRUTH!!! IF YOU WANT MORE CONFIRMATION OF THIS, YOU WILL HAVE TO GO AND LISTEN TO THE AUDIO YOURSELF THAT I TOLD YOU ABOUT ON THE LAST POST...

The President Ghana reveals the entire Rockefeller's Lockstep Plan and it explains everything about *OVID and the vaccine. First off, in case you don't know, *OVID stands for CERTIFICATION OF VACCINATION IDENTIFICATION. The actual true name of the vaccine is Luciphase (might be spelled wrong) after Lucifer). The pandemic was planned many years in advance.

They literally call it a Plandemic (accident according to plan) themselves. This virus was created and patented and we were purposely, globally infected. They started way back as early as 2008-2013 and had a weaponized version of the strain by 2015. They had the strain they planned on using to kick this off literally stolen on purpose from a lab in Winnepeg, Canada and then taken to a class 4 lab in Wuhan, China, for plausible deniability and to cement the "wanted" public script as something to fall back on, if needed. The Primary script was that China created it by accident. Release the virus at the Wuhan lab itself and then blame it on a natural scapegoat-the Wuhan wet market. Roll out on a global scale, then the global vaccination identification action plan-digital ID.

Mystery of iniquity and wickedness cast in secrecy.

Next, downplay the human to human transmission as long as possible to allow the strain to spread on a global scale before any country can lockdown to respond before any infection. Once a country has seen and experience infection and it is in place, lockdown incoming/outgoing travel but keep the transmission spreading within the country as long as possible. Once enough people in a country are infected, quarantine starts and slowly lockdown overtime and expand the region.

Overhype the mortality rate by tying the strain to deaths that have little or nothing to do with the actual virus - with fear and compliance at the maximum.

If anyone dies, whether it is *OVID or not - it is to be considered as *OVID. If they have any symptoms of *OVID - it is to be considered *OVID no matter what. This is why the Americans are challenging the Chinese. They were not wrong. They were quoting the right figures. But this thing was bred and brewed in the U.S. - as the personal agenda of Fauci, Gates and the Rockefeller Foundation. The deaths - in the U.S.-a lot have absolutely zero to do with *OVID-many have some of the symptoms but are not really *OVID at all. This is why Fauci speaks with such confidence and why he did when he said we would have 200,000 deaths and so on...

Next... Keep the public quarantined as long as possible to destroy the regions economy. Create unrest, break down the supply chain, create the start of mass food shortages as well as cause people's immune systems to weaken due to lack of interaction with others, bacteria, the outside world. Making us susceptible to diseases. Downplay and attack any potential treatments (HCQ) and continue to echo that only a CURE is the answer to this virus a/k/a: a vaccine.

Continue to drag out the quarantine over and over and over again over two week intervals, causing people to finally stand up and protest or defy them.

Eventually, end Phase 1 quarantine after is enough public push back (approx. June 2020) and publicly say it's too early to end isolation but are willing to do it anyways... Once they go back to normal, wait a few weeks, then over-hype the virus mortality rate (approx. Sept. 2020). Combine it with increase of people dying from standard illnesses at a higher rate than normal due to having highly weakened immune systems from weeks of being in isolation to further pad the virus mortality rate and have the Phase 2 Lockdown set in motion.

Oct.-Nov.-make it much more extreme level of lockdown/isolation/quarantine/restriction/masking, etc. - Blame the protesters - they are the ones who do not trust the government already-the cause of the even larger 2nd Wave. - We told you... It was too early but we let you anyway... see what happened now? You should have listened to the government who is here to help you and knows best... Now it is all your fault - now, all because you needed a haircut, your freedoms have consequences.

Now - Enforce official quarantine at much more extreme level - increasing penalty for defense. Deem all travels as non-essential. Increase check-points, including Military assistance. Increase tracking/tracing of the people. Takeover control of food, gas - cause large scale shortages so that people can only get access to essential products/services if they are 1st given permission. Keep the Phase 2 Lockdown in place much longer than the Phase 1 Lockdown.

Continue to destroy the global economy. Further degrade the supply chain. Amplify the food shortages and the like. Quell any public outrage using extreme force and make anyone who defies them as public enemy number one.

To those who are willing to submit after a long Phase 2 Lockdown for at least 6 months or longer, roll out the vaccination certification program and then make it mandatory for everyone - giving priority access to those who have submitted from the start and then have those that are fooled attack those that are against the program - saying they are a threat and the cause for all of the problems - The whole reason why we cannot go back normal and we can't until everyone takes the vaccine. People that defy are the enemy. They are hindering our way of life. The "New Normal". And all the while - limiting the people that defied the agenda... Their ability to work and travel. And for this minority of people left that are going against the agenda - there will be a release of a weaponized hybrid strain of the virus with at least a 30% real mortality rate as a final scare tactic to push them into finally becoming the majority - a final "I TOLD YOU SO"-for those that wouldn't listen.

Next, ignite the new economy model Microsoft Patent 060606 Crypto Currency System USING BODY ACTIVITY DATA BASED ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND WILLINGNESS TO SUMBIT. Black bureau's 15 Million Merits. This will use water, food, shelter and other essentials as a form of enforcement of the new economic system. Do what we want and then you will get rewarded and gain credit and access to the things to survive/go against what we want and you will get penalized.

Well, this is the end of the information that was given for now from this brave and amazing man, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. He is a strong Christian believer and at the end of giving the information to this diabolical plan, he prayed an amazing prayer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then declared and decreed that this plan will NOT succeed! This man is part of the Alliance with us. Trump is fighting against these deep state criminals and talking heads to keep this from coming to fruition. That is another reason they hate him so much and have done everything in their power to try and stop him. If you stayed with me and read all of this, I want to truly thank you so much. You are truly a Patriot if you did and you love this GREAT country and our world as much as I do. Please PRAY!!! God bless every one of you and your families!! Thank you. God bless America.

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sexedforbiguys · 6 years ago

Text

Dating men, women, and nonbinary folks – Sex Ed for Bi Guys

This is the SFW/censored version of this post. You can view the uncensored, sexually explicit version here on Pillowfort. All images are borrowed from the internet and are in the post because I like them. If you are the copyright owner or a person in the image, contact me: I’ll gladly credit you, or remove the image at your request.

At some point, bisexual, polysexual, and pansexual guys face the situation of going on a date with a person of a different gender than what they’re used to – typically when a guy has only ever dated women, or when a guy has only ever dated men. Or maybe you’ve dated very little, and the prospect is intimidating. Here are pointers that will help make this an enjoyable experience and avoid some obvious missteps.

Asking someone out

This is the part a lot of people find the hardest, and we’re not even on the actual date. In a nutshell, I’d say: be mindful of context; pay attention to the signals the person has been sending you; say what you want clearly and directly; but make it clear the person can decline, and leave plenty of room for a graceful exit.

Context means being aware of the situation through which you know the person, as well as any existing power dynamics. Asking a friend or an acquaintance out is different that asking a coworker, or someone who’s in a hierarchical relationship with you (that last one is often a bad idea, and it might be forbidden by the organization’s rules or flat out illegal in some situations).

Likewise, when you are asking a woman out, or a nonbinary or trans person who was seen as a woman for a good chunk of their life, you must be aware of this: women and people who are seen as such get a lot of unwanted sexual attention. Acknowledge that, and act accordingly. For example, you could make your approach with “I know you probably get a lot of unwanted attention from guys and feel free to say no, but I really like [this] and [this] about you, and I wanted to know if you’d like to go out sometime.” This is less of an issue with cisgender men (cisgender means a person agrees with the gender the doctor diagnosed them with at birth, as opposed to transgender) and to some extent transgender men, but you should still make it clear that it’s fine for the person to say no and give them the opportunity to do so subtly and politely.

Also, before making an ask, pay attention to the signals they’ve been sending you. Does the person smile a lot when they’re interacting with you? Do they make a lot of eye contact? Or are they preserving some distance and boundaries with you? If you notice the latter, they will probably turn you down – but then again, some people are just shy and awkward, and they might be delighted if you took the first steps. But when you think they are closed to an ask, give them even more opportunity to back out with grace. Finally, even if you notice positive signals from the person, they could say no for all kinds of reasons that don’t necessarily have to do with you: they might like you but not that way; they’re not on the market for dating; they’re too busy; or if it’s another man, they’re not ready to date another guy, etc.

Still, asking an acquaintance or a friend out is different than asking someone you’ve just met. When you have a potential romantic interest in an acquaintance, I suggest you ask them out sooner rather than later – if things aren’t going to work out, you’d rather know before you get too infatuated with them. If they are a long-time friend, be aware it can impact your friendship, but strong friendships can survive the realization that one of you wants something different than the other, as long as respect a no – and it’s fair to take some time and space to process your disappointment and heal before you resume the friendship.

Asking someone out that you’ve just met is lower stakes, but be ever so aware of the power dynamics I’ve mentioned above (expect cis men in a queer setting to react better than anybody else to being asked out out of the blue), and don’t be a creep – once again, give them the chance to make an elegant exit. A good ask could sound like “Hey, I’m aware this is sudden and that you could be getting a lot of unwanted attention from guys, but I really dig your style and I’d like the chance to get to know you better. You don’t have to respond to this, but here’s my number if you ever feel like texting me to chat and maybe go out.”

If things look good and the person says they’re interested to go out on a date with you, it’s best to arrange right away what the activity will be, the place, and the time. It’s also easier to ask someone out by proposing something concrete instead of just asking if they will go on a date with you. When you don’t know the person very much, you should ask what kind of stuff they like doing and see if there’s something you both like that you could do.

You can’t make someone like you

A lot of guys feel that flirting, wooing, and dating is an attempt to win the person over or to get them to like them. But you can’t get someone to like you. When they find you attractive and they like your personality, the potential for a connection is already there. But when they don’t, you can’t change that and you can create uncomfortable situations if you attempt to. It’s disappointing to realize someone you like isn’t into you, and it’s okay to feel that way. But you can’t change it, and it’s better to move on. Feelings people have for each other can change over time: there are a lot of stories of platonic friends eventually discovering a romantic connection. But it’s not the result of trying to get someone to like you; it’s just intimacy deepening over time – and often it just doesn’t happen, and you will break you heart pining over a person who doesn’t reciprocate your affection hoping it will change someday (especially with a mostly heterosexual man).

There are some people with old-fashioned values however who expect their suitor to woo and court them, and to display insistence. It creates a dangerous situation though in which you can’t know what’s going on, and you can easily cross a line into harassment when you read the situation wrong. As a rule, I’d advise you to not get involved sexually or romantically with a person who isn’t willing to say what they want; these games just create drama and sometimes worse situations. Finally, while you can’t get someone to like you, there are however plenty of ways that you can ruin things with someone who actually liked you if you try too hard, put pressure on them, or act like a creep (especially with women). So make your peace with the fact that a lot of the time, the other person just won’t be into you; it comes with asking people out. But unless there is something very wrong with your appearance or your behavior, there will be people who are into you and you’ll meet them someday.

The actual date

My #1 advice: don’t see this as a date. You’re two people hanging out, or getting together for a movie, a dinner, or a brew. Maybe sexy times are in the cards; maybe they aren’t. But the more you see this as just two persons hanging out to get to know each other, the less stressed out you’re going to be, and the better of a time you’re going to have. The gender of the person you’re going out with doesn’t matter for this – my best dates have been in that mindset. Frankly, I think it’s the secret to the whole thing – people make a much bigger deal out of dating than it needs to be.

The cliche: be yourself. The nice, presentable version of yourself; not the Foul Bachelor Frog version. But don’t put up a facade or a front. If your dating partner is going to like you, you want them to like you for who you are. So be genuine.

About hygiene and clothing: be on the ball on this, but don’t overdo it. Shower and clean your genitals. Go easy on the deodorant/cologne/aftershave. Wear nice undies, but no need for those $40 trunks unless that’s your thing (I wear Joe Boxer boxer briefs, and it’s never stopped me from getting laid). Put on clothes in which you feel comfortable and make you look great, but don’t overdress – you risk intimidating the other person. Think casual, unless the two of you somehow decided to go together someplace swanky, or you love to dress sharp.

Be prepared for sex: keep condoms with you at all times, and know how to use them properly, even if you don’t expect sex on a first date. You don’t know what will happen, especially if substances are involved… or because you’re both horny. Also bring lube along if you’re open to butt sex, or if you use it for wanking. If your date is with someone who has a uterus and you’re not used to that, preventing an unplanned pregnancy is something you must be mindful of – condoms aren’t just for protecting the two of you from STIs. If the prospect of sex comes up, ask your partner what kind of contraception method(s) they use on their end. If the idea of an unplanned pregnancy terrifies you, combine condoms with another contraception method (even not ejaculating inside your partner on top of using a condom will do); they’re not as reliable as some other methods of contraception in day-to-day use, unless you know the ins-and-outs (no pun intended) of using them perfectly.

Be savvy about gender identity: the person you’re about to hang out with could be trans and you might not know about it, or they could have more complex views of their own gender than what you’re used to. You might be starting to hang out in queer circles if your date is not a cisgender woman, which means you’ll run into people with diverse gender identities. It’s a huge topic, and I can’t cover it all here (and I’m not the ideal person to do it), but this short guide covers the important basics with links to other resources at the end. You should give it a read, on the off chance the person you’re going out with ends up coming out to you as trans. When you do know you are going on a date with a trans person, brush up on your manners as a trans ally.

If you are a trans or nonbinary guy, or both: the biggest question on your mind might be when to come out to that other person you might end up seeing on a regular basis, assuming you aren’t out already. It’s a big deal. Besides the possibility of rejection, coming out could at times put you in danger, especially if you’re trans. Even when that other person is well-meaning, they might know little about how to be a good trans or nonbinary ally, and say or behave in ways that are not cool or that could trigger feelings of dysphoria. There is also the risk of them outing you to other people you both know. The decision to come out belongs to you, and you do not owe a coming out to anyone. Taking longer to come out means that you have more time to assess how safe coming out to that person is. They will also get to know you as a person before they are confronted to any prejudices they might have against trans or nonbinary people. On the other hand: the emotional stakes become higher; you have to deal longer with the anxiety of being closeted; and in a dating context, you might feel that the longer you take to come out, the harder it is to do so. But trust your gut and your judgment.

Coming out as a bi/pan/polysexual guy: speaking of coming out, a lot of people wonder when and how to bring up that they’re bisexual, pansexual, or polysexual to a new dating partner. I would say the sooner the better, without making it appear forced. Get it out of the way before either of you gets emotionally attached, in case your dating partner ends up being a biphobic or monosexist (someone who believes being attracted to a single gender is the only valid experience) a**hole. As most people meet dating partners online nowadays, you should state your sexual orientation in your profile if you’re comfortable with that. For people who are fine with having a visible marker, wearing a pin that states your orientation or wearing the bi colours can work too (many people miss or misinterpret subtle markers though – numerous people have mistaken my ‘BI’ pin as standing for Business Intelligence…). When each other’s dating or previous partner history comes up, it’s a good time to mention that you like different genders and that you’ve been with people who aren’t the same gender than your dating partner (without spending too much time talking about exes, which is risky territory). Along a similar line, you can ask your partner if they’re only into men or if they also like other genders, and elaborate on your own orientation and experiences after that. If you haven’t had the chance to come out and discuss each other’s orientation by the third time you see each other, it’s time to make that conversation happen before either of you gets too invested in the exciting new relationship.

Biphobia and monosexism: the sad truth is that they can rear their ugly head in the dating game. Most of us have heard the words “I wouldn’t date a bi guy; I’m too afraid they’d leave me for a man/woman” – these situations suck. Those prejudices can come from any dating partner, even queer ones – sometimes even from other bi people (internalized biphobia is a thing). You should also be aware that you’re more likely to run into this with heterosexual women, unfortunately. In a 2016 survey from Glamour, 63% of women responded they wouldn’t date a man who’s had sex with another man – not just bi men, but any men who has experimented with another guy even once. Some bi, pan, and polysexual guys choose to restrict their dating pool to queer people for that reason. If someone treats you poorly because of their biphobia, try to find some people who embrace your sexual orientation for support, even if it’s just online.

On your physical safety: if you’re getting together for the first time with a person you’ve met online – another man especially – you may want to take a few steps to protect your safety. Since we can face homo/bi/transphobia, we need to be more careful about this than most people. The risk to your physical safety depends on where you live and in many cases, you might feel these steps are unnecessary. I’m providing the tips in case you ever feel you need them.

Meet in a public space first.

Spend some time talking with the person before you head to a private setting like their home or yours.

Trust your gut – if you get a bad feeling about things, excuse yourself and leave.

Let a trusted person know that you are meeting someone you met online; if your date is another guy, it’s more difficult to let a friend know when you’re in the closet, but you can always describe the encounter as platonic.

Agree to check in with that friend once in a while, and text them the address of any place you end up going, especially if you expect to be alone with your date.

How to be a decent conversationalist: remember that while you have two ears, you have only one mouth – so be more of a listener than a talker. Ask questions. Show genuine interest in what the other person has to say, in who they are. Listen. Say your piece when it’s appropriate, but keep the balance tilted in favour of listening to your dating partner rather than talking about yourself.

On sexual innuendo: a lot of queer guys love their sexual innuendo (but not all of them, however, so be mindful of that), even more so if they’re interested in what’s in the pants of the person they’re chatting up. Personally, I find it’s the fun bit about hanging out with queers: the relaxed, casual flirting and slinging of sexual innuendo. Not everyone is like that though: how comfortable someone is with sexuality varies from one person to another. But one of the things many queer guys love from spending time with each other is that we have permission to acknowledge that yeah, many of us are a bunch of f***ing horndogs. The innuendo doesn’t necessarily mean that the other guy wants to end up in your bed (because sexual innuendo is fun in and of itself), but it’s a sign you guys are on the right track when that’s your plan, and it’s a great way of testing the waters. Plus, it’s liberating when you’re not used to expressing the homo end of your sexuality. On the other hand, be more cautious with innuendo with women or people who have been perceived as women at some point in their life – it’s best to test the waters a bit before engaging in that, or to let them make the first move on that front. They might have had bad experiences with sexual harassment or with nasty gender power dynamics, and misplaced sexual innuendo can make you come across as a creep, or at the set off red flags.

Substances: think about how much you want to use and figure out whether the two of you are on the same page on this, or not. A lot of bi guys like to drink or smoke pot. Some like stronger drugs on occasion, or often. Some people get together for the first time and have a lot of fun getting thrashed together (especially if they’re both guys). Others don’t use at all. A conflict can happen if the two of you have different values or expectations about substance use though. Also, when one of you, or both, is less comfortable or experienced with their sexuality, the temptation to use (and use a lot) can be stronger, if just to ease up on the shyness, but this is especially true of bi guys exploring same-sex experiences. When you are planning on using (even if your plans are just a social drink or joint) is to:

pack condoms and lube ahead of time;

pace yourself, and remember that mixing substances often amplifies their effect;

and hold back from using to the point where you take sexual risks you would not have taken, or where one of you guys can’t consent anymore.

It’s not consensual sex if one of you is way too far gone, even when they’re the ones coming on to the other person (this can be a lot more complex and nuanced than that in reality, and a drunk person can also sexually assault a sober person – but it’s still a good ground rule to keep). The right thing to do is to make sure your date gets home safe, and to give them a raincheck on that hot sex for when you are reassured they have a better handle on the decisions they’re making. Still, if you’re using because you don’t think you could go through with sex with the other person, you should think twice about what you’re doing. I’m not judging – the first guy with whom I ever had sex and I got thrashed on sambuca before we could ever get down to the sexing. But it’s okay to feel vulnerable when having those first sexual experiences with someone from a different gender than with whom you usually have sex. When it’s with another guy, it’s okay when there are feelings of guilt or shame you haven’t worked through yet. It might be better to wait until you are comfortable with someone to explore your sexuality together, and share with them how the experience makes you feel, even the less pleasant stuff.

Who pays for stuff? If you’re two guys, you usually come to an agreement to pay for your own things, split the bill, or alternate between buying rounds when it’s a bar date. Even on a heterosexual date, I would be really uncomfortable with assuming that I’d pay for my female friend, unless I was taking her out for her birthday or something. It’s the 21st century, people; I’d also expect nonbinary and genderqueer people to not be into that. Still, some people are old-fashioned that way, so it’s best to clear up ahead of time what the expectations are.

To go, or not to go for the kiss? There is only one acceptable answer for that in my book: ask the other person. I know not everyone agrees on that one – some people think talking “ruins the mood” (I call bulls*** on that one). But consent and respect matter. Always make sure your partners are into what you want to try, and reassure them that a “no” or changing their mind in the middle of things are okay. It’s the same thing even in a situation in which you’re two guys. But when your partner’s gender is different than yours, be especially mindful of gender power dynamics at play. You can just say: “I think you’re really hot. Do you want to make out, or that’s not something you want to do with me?” It’s easier to ask than most people think. Still, read body language before you ask. Is their posture open? Do they laugh easily with you? Is there a lot of eye contact? Some light touching? When those are there, it’s a good sign (but not a guarantee they’re into you that way). I’ve always asked people for permission to kiss them for the first time, even when their eyes where screaming at me to do it, and I was always glad I did.

What about sex on the first date? There are a whole bunch of misconceptions about this (spoilers: I’m a sex on the first date kinda guy). Sex is nice, and pleasure is good for you. Having sex on your first meeting with another person will not spoil the potential future relationship with you. We’re all human, and sometimes we lose interest in a person after we’ve gotten in their pants. But if there are affinities for a meaningful friendship or romantic relationship, I can assure you that shagging that person on your first encounter isn’t going to ruin any of those affinities – quite the opposite in fact. Sharing orgasms is quite the bonding experience, and getting unrequited lust out of the way lets us see better what we want with the person. I’ve shagged my future husband on our first date, and I’ve become good friends with a lot of people with whom I hooked up early on. Also, while there are people who would judge you for putting out on the first date, no one has any business doing so. It’s a sad thing to say, but shagging on the first date can be a good filter for judgmental people. If anyone would reject you for giving them sexual pleasure on your first encounter, I don’t think you want them in your life. Some people think withholding sex is a way of getting the other person to “prove” their genuine interest in you. You might yourself feel that way. But interest or love are things that can be only proven over time, and not in a matter of a few weeks or months. Now, if you want to become intimate with a person (or at least get to know them a bit) before you have any kind of sex with them, that’s fine. There are all kinds of good reasons to make that decision, and no one should treat you poorly for that. The hook-up app world and the cruising scene with other men can make you feel that you have to put out or else no one will be into you, and that your values on sex and relationships are unpopular. But if you are honest about your needs and present them early on without being judgmental yourself about people who hook-up quickly, a lot of people will respect that, especially when they like you as a person. Finally, the same goes when you’re still uncomfortable about having sex with a person of that gender – a lot of bi guys feel conflicting emotions when that possibility arises, especially with another man. Honesty is the best policy in those situations, and you deserve someone who’ll be supportive of you through those new experiences. It’s okay to say: “This whole ‘having sex with a [insert the person’s gender or identity]’ thing is new to me, and I feel a bit out of my depth. I’m really into you, but I want to know that I can stop or that we’ll take things slowly if I need to.”

Often, it just doesn’t work out: the reality is that most of the dates you will go on won’t lead to a romantic relationship (or even a hook-up). The point of dating is to get to know the other person and to explore whether there’s a potential connection there or not. But most of the time, there isn’t, and that’s okay; when you’ll make your peace with that, you will enjoy dating a lot more. Sometimes, a date just doesn’t lead to a second meeting. At other times, one of the persons excuses themselves early to cut the awkwardness short. This is all fine, and it comes with the territory. Sometimes someone gets stood up and a date is a no-show. That sucks, and while you can’t do anything to prevent someone else from doing this to you, let the other person know if you decide not to go, even if it is awkward. It’s better than them going there for nothing, and it reflects better on you.

How to follow up: sometimes though, the date was exciting and fun, and you want to see the person again. (Sometimes it was fun for you, but the other person doesn’t feel the same way though – see above.) Then you’ll run into the question of when to follow-up. A lot of people used to have a rule of waiting three days before following up on a good date, just to avoid appearing too eager. In our day and age though, three days can easily come across as ghosting (having cut off conversation with the other person), a common occurrence on dating and hook-up apps. Let the other person know quickly that you had a good time and that you hope you see them again. But past this point, give the other person the opportunity of making the conversation happen. It will be a good indicator of how interested they are (believe me, if they like you, you’ll hear back from them), but it also leaves room for the connection to end with grace when it turns out the other person isn’t into you – a lot of people just won’t say that they didn’t have as good of a time as you did, and constantly contacting them increases the awkwardness. Another thing you should be careful about is to get attached to quickly. It’s easy to get excited after an enjoyable date, and that’s understandable. But you don’t know each other well yet(unless you were long-time friends), and it’s yet unclear how the other person feels about you. There is still room for things not to work out, and you’ll be heartbroken if you attach yourself too quickly. It’s also scary for the other person if you break out the “I love yous” on date number 2 or 3. Take this burgeoning relationship one day at a time; if the two of you do like each other, things will work out.

Hopefully, some of this stuff will put you in a better position to enjoy a successful date (or to take in stride a date that doesn’t work out). Have fun on your date!

Tip me or become a monthly supporter on Ko-fi if this post has helped you and you can afford it! I am going to university full-time in the Fall to become a better educator. Supporting Sex Ed for Bi Guys means I have time to work on the series and continue helping people online, instead of working a part-time job while I'm in school. Support the series if you think bisexual, pansexual, and polysexual men deserve support and quality sex ed! Supporters get exclusive perks.

Come see us on r/BisexualMen on Reddit; we are a supportive community for bisexual, bicurious, pansexual, and polysexual men (cis, trans, and nonbinary), as well as for men questioning their sexual orientation. We also have a SFW and a NSFW chatrooms that are pretty active.

Check out all Sex Ed for Bi Guys posts here, including articles such as ”Am I bi?”, Butt Sex 101, and Sex with a Clit Owner.

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gg-astrology · 6 years ago

Note

@scoups_bf on Twitter asked Seungcheol from Seventeen his birth time at a fansign, and he said roughly around 9:00 in the morning, in case that gives any insight into his chart.

Hey there! ❤️❤️❤️ Thanks for telling me, I was quaking so hard when I saw this ask late night… I checked it out @seungcheolsboyfriend / @scoups_bf on twt ✨definitely did God’s Work for us and took it upon himself to Ask The One True question… (also this is a Win for the gays 🏳️‍🌈congratulations!! I’m so happy for you!!❤️)

[Below Cut: A lil bit more on Choi Seungcheol’s Natal Chart ✨ ]

Note: This is an abridged version, a little more censored about the private stuff in his natal chart. ❤️ I give/take around 8.30am, 9am, 9.30am for this one ❤️ I decided to use Whole Signs to get a clearer look ✨ It’s just my thoughts/opinions so please read with discretion! ❤️ This is just to maybe hopefully add a little more to the Seungcheol Overview I did earlier ✨

Definitely the first thing we all noticed was that the rising could probably fall between Libra /Virgo ❤️ And isn’t that just so?? fitting for scoups?? ❤️ I think I cried seeing his talent triangles (his tiny trine and 2 sextiles) – Pluto rx (Scorpio) Uranus/Neptune rx (Capricorn) and Saturn rx (Pisces).

And the other one with Mars (Libra) Jupiter (Sagittarius) and Sun/Venus (Leo)

The one thing that got to me was his Pluto rx (Scorpio) and Uranus rx (Capricorn) exactly at 27′49 (so 0′00) — so much power, intensity and transformative power. Strong desire, no matter what house it’s actually in.

When it’s in a talent triangle (with all retrogrades) that’s a lot of self-transformation, regeneration and assertion in one’s strength– to come through as a talent, foundation, and ability to use his own empowerment (through hardship/challenges) to connect and bring changes to people around him as well.

With retrograde, there’s a lot of energy that’s spinning inwards (towards the person). Internalized energy is common, especially with Saturn (choosing to put on a brave face, hiding fear of uncertainty. Of not making ‘the right choice’ – guilt and doubt associated to the this) Uranus/Neptune (restlessness, suspicion of others, wanting to rebel but also abiding/hiding to look like the norm) and Pluto (fear of manipulation, of vulnerability. Fear of betrayal or looking ‘weak’)

With all of that in his talent triangle, it makes sense that whilst those are part of his strength— but it also has potential to heal, become balanced and understood. One of the thing that stood out immediately was his Chiron/Ceres being pretty close to the ASC.

Chiron and Ceres being close to his ASC (whether it falls in Libra/Virgo) – points to potential for someone who may strongly identify with healing of others (after understanding their own pains) lots of dedication and nurturing, also being nurtured by others (it can also indicate food and fashion, organizing and managing other’s life, giving advice and caring about their health/how they look physically – as indicated by Virgo Ceres)

Ceres and Chiron in 12H or 1H– whether it’s conjunct to the ASC or not– can also indicate a person’s conscious awareness (or addiction) to their own well-being, their physicality (behaviorally, how they treat themselves). With Virgo as an earth and mutable sign, it’s nature combined with Chiron/Ceres can make someone feel/think a lot of their self-consciousness. Bringing an emphasis on their health, mental well-being, services to others (which they’ll have to struggle and work through– as indicated by Chiron, in order to bring it to the fore-front and help/heal others as well)

It plays a significant role on the person’s behavioral pattern, their mentality and how they’re perceived, as well as how they see themselves. There’s a lot of service, ‘giving back’ nature when it’s in the 12H/1H. In embodying this health (or personal mental well-being/strength) or spiritually healing/giving to others with it— scoups’s asc (no matter whether it’s Virgo/Libra) will also show signs of this demonstrative, practical ‘giving back’ nature as well.

It’s so cool to see this– because Ceres can often indicate reactivity. Whether it’s spiritually or up-front, it wants to be nurtured and likes being taken care of.

There’s a shy subtle side to Virgo Ceres/Chiron — where on one hand they do want to be acknowledged/subtly taking care of others. Yet on the other hand they may sometimes not speak, or ask for the things they truly want/need. Because their internal energy is through demonstration—so a lot of people with these aspects (especially in these houses) may often show that they want this/that. But won’t ask for it/expects others to read and understand their gestures for something.

His Sun and Jupiter being in domicile, while Mars lies in detriment within the other talent triangle– gives power to his self-assertion, energy, knowledge and wisdom to shine through. Libra Mars may be in detriment (whether it’s in 1H or 2H) – but the emphasis here is that he may be able to learn, grow and let others lead if he knows he’s being slightly too dogmatic/forceful at a given time (context).

It makes more sense to look at them together, his Libra Mars (1H/2H) would point to areas in the house where he’ll have to ‘let up on’, instead of using his Sun/Jupiter to ‘guard’ against others for (lessons in personal vs others, letting others into their personal– shifting/adapting what’s ‘theirs’ into ‘ours’— houses in 1H/12H, 11H or 3H/4H)

Traditional values runs strong, especially what’s learnt at the beginning/childhood and what was nurtured/taught to him to value (boundaries). He may guard it fiercely, but within that. The talent triangle might teach him how to grow/learn and make the best of it by using it differently.

Evaluate his own identity/self-assertion, his appearance (keeping an image) financial/material assets that he may be possessive over (has to do with self-identity and kinda…the fear of having that autonomy/things associated to his personal well-fare/being taken away from him)— these can point to his Libra Mars protecting/guarding itself by being irrational, clingy/possessive or what we might call “selfish”– over those areas (wanting to be ‘fair/just’ to itself– but within that, wanting to ‘share’ itself/good-will with others)

Sun/Jupiter could be in 11H/3H or 12H/4H. There’s a generous nature to both Leo and Sagittarius. Giving and caring. It may be nobby heads most of the time, but within the 11H or 12H (for his Sun) – there’s a compassionate nature that could appease this Libra Mars.

Helping him learn how to heal, give and share himself with others. This is like a ‘gate’ – and then Jupiter in 3H/4H may need a little abit more explaining. Jupiter ultimately wants the best things for the ‘family, siblings, roots and traditions’.

Although the concept or idea of these things can be static/stagnant on what’s considered ‘family, siblings, roots, values, tradition’ – there’s ultimately a highlighted expansive nature to Jupiter.

What’s considered his ‘roots, siblings, families, traditions’ can benefit a lot depending on how he grew up surrounded by (what’s considered those things). Jupiter can share, protect, guide (‘let up’) and be generous with those it identifies with, grew up alongside. It becomes proud and protective, over those they care about and shares itself to.

Good-will is prominent in this other talent triangle, but seeing his placements possibly being in 11H/12H (Sun/Venus/Pallas/Vesta/Mercury) – especially with Sun/Venus conjunct (4′) really makes me happy because he’s such a genuinely good-willed, sometimes protective but also very nurture/wanting to be nurtured–progressively healing and half the time, a self-sacrificing/self-assertive dichotomy of an individual.

It’s also genuinely nice to see how Aquarius Pars Fortunae could potentially be in 5H/6H. Health is a thing with Seungcheol— particularly if he needs to control/use it well in order to manifest that Chiron/Ceres ASC stuff properly (looking out/after himself). Aquarius Pars Fortunae talks about a little more refinement, particularly on the personal areas (how they treat/think of themselves and thus– how they exert/show it to the world). When their fortune comes flooding through, it has to do with how structured, progressive, refining and adaptable they are.

This also helps in cutting back on Moon in detriment (Capricorn), dissecting and refining his ego/self and thoughts about what/how he should manifest. If he can use some of the Aquarius’s realigning, some re-thinking/shaping and not let his Leo/Capricorn sun-moon control his ego/emotions– he would benefit a lot from his health improving, and having an easier time being independent/stable away from extremities/bad behavioral habits or core prejudice (coming from the roots/traditions) as well.

Alot of health and taking care of himself stuff for Seungcheol ❤️ But potentially it’ll be good on cutting down and helping that retrograde triangle as well ❤️ While there may be a lot of ‘strength’– there’s also a lot that talks about self-healing, self-regeneration and we shouldn’t forget about that especially w/ own Pluto/Chiron as well ❤️

I hope this is?? good?? ❤️ I hope it makes sense at least ❤️❤️ Again, this is just my little take on it so please feel free to do your own reading/research as well! ❤️

EDIT: oh yeah and here’s:

Virgo ASC 💜

Libra ASC ❤️

and

Leo Sun - Capricorn Moon 👅 |

From the Sun-Moon Catalogue ❤️ (we’re still trying to get all of them!❤️ So if you have one of the missing placements, feel free to request it in!❤️)

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izzy-b-hands · 6 years ago

Text

Happy At Home-Part Six

So, first things first, I tried to find a proper source for the recipe I included in this part, but this was the best source I could find lol: https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/the-s-food-in-wartime-and-peace/article_2f98ef78-fccd-50e3-aa8d-e4331dc1170e.html

Anyway, sorry I’ve not gotten to write every day to keep this up, but thru the weekend and into next week I’m trying to find more time to finish this, as well as some one shots I’ve started!

Thanks to all who read/like/reblog! The response I’ve gotten on these Sledgefu pieces has been great, and it has really helped keep up the writing motivation-in short, you all are wonderful!!

“We have bourbon,” Snafu was in the pantry, rifling through everything Sid had bought for them. “Do we really need more than that? Your parents drink that much?”

“That’ll be fine. Any ideas on a main dish?”

Snafu popped back out and shrugged. “Not really. You?”

“Y’ever heard of ‘delicious combination?” Eugene replied.

Snafu’s eyes went wide. “We have to eat it too, you remember that?”

“Sacrifices must be made,” Eugene said, though he was aware he was asking for a hell of a sacrifice. Every time his mother had made it, he’d honestly contemplated feigning sickness and skipping dinner. Separately, the ingredients of apples, peas, carrots, celery, pineapple, bananas, mayonnaise, whipping cream, and maraschino cherries could be delightful-all together was another matter in terms of taste and texture. Sure, it was edible, but so were rations even after you’d dropped them in the mud one or five times.

“Now you know I love you,” Snafu sighed with a smile. “That’s basically a whole meal in one dish. You really think we need anything else?”

“I know someone who makes amazing beignets,” Eugene said coyly.

Snafu gave him a look. “You do. But you really want to let them in on somethin’ so good?”

“The way I see it, is depending on how the night goes, they might all be for us anyway. May as well have at least one leftover we actually want to eat,” Eugene replied.

“Oh, Sledgehammer, that’s adorable. But if you think we’re saving any of that ‘delicious’ bullshit, then you are dead wrong,” Snafu said.

“We can’t waste food!”

“Once you put it all together, it ceases to be food. Therefore, we can toss whatever is left. Don’t even argue, my logic is flawless,” Snafu said as he dove back into the pantry.

“Fine, fine,” Eugene replied, but his mind was elsewhere-their first days of settling in had gone fast, too fast. Tomorrow was the dinner with his parents, but no matter how much he prepared, he still didn’t feel ready for it.

“We haven’t talked clothes yet,” Snafu said as he emerged from the pantry again, this time closing the door to it.

“...we have to wear them,” Eugene said. “What else could there possibly be to talk about?”

“Let’s impress ‘em some. I know you hate the blues, and the uniform in all forms, but-”

Eugene sighed. “I don’t know. A nice pressed shirt and slacks is really all-”

“That’s what they saw you leave town in. You may still wear those clothes, but you came back in the uniform. But they didn’t get to see that-they don’t see who you are now,” Snafu said, his gaze steady as it caught Eugene’s eyes. “You’re still their son, but you know you’re different now. Everyone is, who made it back. Not just with the nightmares and the flashbacks, but-”

Snafu paused. “I don’t know how to put it, exactly. Bein’ out there was...”

“Shit,” Eugene filled in.

Snafu nodded. “But it gave time to anyone, everyone, to figure things out. Who you are away from family, friends. In situations you never thought you’d be in. Making choices you never thought you’d have to make. Meeting people you end up caring about, loving. And then getting back, just to realize you have to figure out how you want to live.”

“I don’t wanna put words in your mouth,” Snafu continued. “But-you figured out you loved me. I figured out I loved you. We both figured out we wanted to be together...Jesus, I’m not gonna say this right.”

Eugene grabbed his hand, and led him out of the kitchen to the sitting room, to one of the ornate couches. “Can I say what I think you’re tryin’ to get at, and you let me know if I’m close?”

Snafu nodded, still holding his hand and gently rubbing at the back of it with his thumb.

“I’m still me, but a different me than the one that left. Some of me is the same, but there’s a lot changed. You think if we roll out for dinner in uniform, it might make them see that and face it, and us?” Eugene said.

Snafu smiled softly, and pulled up Eugene’s hand to press a kiss to it. “You got a way with words, darlin’. That or you’re psychic.”

“No. Just been thinkin’ about that all myself. We’re just always pretty much on the same page, or damn close. And while I hate the idea of wearing it again, I cannot stress that enough,” Eugene said.

“I know,” Snafu replied.

“I think you might be right. Just what we wore on the train back though-no dress blues,” Eugene continued. He hadn’t even unpacked the dress blues-Snafu had his hung up in their wardrobe, but his languished in one of the few boxes left to finish unpacking.

“Okay,” Snafu said. “I know it isn’t late, but you wanna head in? Get some extra sleep for tomorrow?��

Eugene nodded. It felt slightly silly-after all it was only seven at night. But it was less the idea of getting extra sleep, and more the idea of having extra time to be cuddled up in bed with Snafu that sounded so good. Having that time in their own little bubble, safe from everything. Sid was the only one who had called, and only to confirm that he’d be on-call for the dinner, and would come as soon as possible if either of them called and asked him to do so. It was glorious-setting up the house together, moving furniture to where they preferred it, just-nesting was the only word he could come up with for it all.

“C’mon,” Snafu said as he led them upstairs while the cats ran past them to the first floor. They’d fallen in love with the house itself, not to mention the garden. “You kids play nice, and come to bed soon. No scratching up the curtains.”

“You know even if they could completely understand you, they wouldn’t listen, right?” Eugene asked as they made it to the bedroom.

“They understand. They just don’t care either way. That’s just cats though, that’s how it works. Those curtains are ugly anyway; we can get something new,” Snafu replied. “Um-not that your mother has terrible taste, but-”

Eugene laughed. “They are ugly. And I don’t know if we could call it bad taste. Maybe...questionable, when compared to ours.”

“We won’t talk about it over dinner,” Snafu said as he started to undress. “What the fuck are we gonna talk about? Or can we trust them to do the talking?”

Eugene shrugged as he unbuttoned his shirt. “I have no idea what they’ll do. I mean, we can tell them about Maryland. About our trip down here-well, some of it.”

Snafu grinned. “You can handle the censoring of that part of things. What else though? That might not cover a whole dinner, especially tryin’ to choke down the main course.”

“I mean...they might ask about it. Peleliu, Okinawa-I know they’ll ask about us coming home. I mean, I wrote them letters but I’m sure they’re curious,” Eugene replied. “That could take up a lot of time. Potentially more than dinner even, depending on how they react, how much we tell them.”

Snafu was down to his underwear as he dropped to the bed. “We can’t really plan for this part of it, can we? Second we think we got it planned, they’ll throw us a curve ball.”

Eugene contemplated his pajamas, then joined Snafu on the bed in only his underwear. “Yeah. We’ll just have to try and be quick on our feet.”

Snafu nodded and pulled him close. “No more talking about it. No more thinking about it. Not till the morning. Just relaxin’ and sleepin’ now.”

Eugene settled into his embrace and tried to follow Snafu’s instructions. It was easier once Snafu had fallen asleep-watching his face relax as he ended up cuddled against Eugene as close as he could get.

It still took him two hours to fall asleep.

Morning came all too quickly, and if it hadn’t been for Snafu he didn’t think he’d have resisted the urge to cancel the dinner and hide in bed all day.

“Got your clothes ready for later. Don’t care if you walk around naked as a jaybird for now, but make sure you’re dressed later,” Snafu was already dressed, in one of Eugene’s shirts and a pair of trousers that hung on his hips. No matter how much he ate, he was still skinny as a rail, and even the most tailored garments seemed to eventually hang off of him. Eugene didn’t mind the excuse to spoil him with new clothes, even if they didn’t have the money for it as often as he’d like.

“What time are they comin’ over anyway?” Snafu asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Five, or sometime around that. At least I think so. That’s when dinner time always was before I left. God help me if they show up early-” Eugene replied as he forced himself out of the bed, panicking at the thought. “I should get dressed now, just in case. And I’ll start cooking, and-”

“Sweetheart. You gonna start dinner at nine in the morning? You think bein’ cold is gonna make that ‘delicious’ bullshit taste any better?” Snafu laughed. “Relax. Even if they do show up early, we’ll figure it out.”

He got dressed anyway, peeking out the window of the guest bedroom-their bedroom now. They’d discussed taking the master bedroom, but ultimately it felt too strange. And any guests they might have would certainly appreciate having the bigger room.

Downstairs, he picked at the breakfast plate Snafu sat in front of him.

“You gonna eat those eggs, or just stab ‘em?” Snafu asked, his mouth full. “At least have some coffee. I swear I made it good today.”

Eugene shook his head. They weren’t even here yet and he felt sick.

“Okay, lover-boy of mine. Let’s find something to keep you busy,” Snafu said, setting down his fork.

“I’m fine,” Eugene said, trying to mean it.

Snafu didn’t say anything, just grabbed his hand and held it tight.

After a few moments, Eugene found his voice again. “Might try reading.”

“Sounds good. You go sit down and read. I’ll be with you in a few minutes,” Snafu murmured.

“You don’t gotta rush to eat because of me,” Eugene said as he stood up, ignoring the light-headedness that hit him almost immediately.

Snafu was watching him, clearly concerned. “Baby, you’re pale.”

“Aren’t I always?” Eugene asked, just before the light-headedness turned to proper dizziness, and it all went black.

He came to maybe a moment later, on the cool floor of the dining room. He registered that Snafu must have moved him into the recovery position, as he took in the feeling of Snafu’s hand rubbing his back and the fact that his face was wet.

“What happened?”

“You passed out,” Snafu replied.

“I know that,” Eugene replied. “Why am I wet?”

“Well, I was tryin’ to wake you back up. Nearest thing was the water pitcher. It was that or the coffee,” Snafu replied. “Don’t you dare rush to get up. Let yourself lay for a minute or two.”

“I-” Eugene started, then stopped. Why was he fighting this so much? He was safe, Snafu was right there to help him. And the dizziness and anxiety eating his stomach alive were at a minimum on the floor.

He sighed, and let himself relax and go limp.

“Better,” Snafu hummed, his hand still making slow and soft circle’s on Eugene’s back. “Just breathe. I’m right here.”

He wasn’t sure exactly how long he stayed there on the floor, with Snafu alternating between rubbing his back and holding one his hands gently, whispering soft and sweet things to him.

Finally, Snafu let him up, only to gently grab hold of him until he was leaning backwards into Snafu’s lap and arms.

“We have to get up eventually,” Eugene murmured.

“Eventually. Not now,” Snafu replied, his arms warm and comforting as he held onto him just tightly enough to feel safe but still be comfortable.

“I’ll fall asleep here if you keep this up,” Eugene said. He meant it too-he’d slept, but fitfully, and figured he could fall asleep anywhere right then.

“Let’s get you to the sitting room then. Let you nap,” Snafu said. Before Eugene could protest, Snafu had scooped him up and was carrying him to the next room.

“I just got up,” he muttered into Snafu’s shoulder.

“You just worry about feelin’ better. If you’re still like this by four, then I’m callin’ Sid and tellin’ him to cancel the dinner.”

“We can’t,” Eugene replied.

“We can do whatever we want and need to do,” Snafu said. “That includes cancelling.”

“But I’m just feeling this way because I’m nervous about dinner. At least I think that’s all it is.”

He couldn’t resist the urge to curl up on the couch as Snafu set him down carefully. There was just enough room for Snafu to sit on the edge of the couch near him that way.

After a moment, Snafu was up again though, and returned with a thin but soft blanket from the downstairs linen closet. “You just sleep. I shoulda let you stay upstairs, but-”

“No, I should be getting up, I should be helping you get ready. I shouldn’t be...like this,” Eugene sighed.

“You can’t help how this makes you feel. Get some rest; I got this,” Snafu said.

“You’re even going to make the main-”

Snafu shuddered. “Don’t remind me of that. But yeah, I’ll make that delicious bullshit whatever. I’ll wake you in a few hours. Don’t worry about anything.”

He settled on the couch, and tried to listen to Snafu. Sleeping was always better than staring into space, anxiety-ridden. He just had to will himself to do it.

#text post #LeeH writes #Sledgefu #Gonna work to get the next part out asap since this is kind of an inbetween action chapter #bear with me while I type as quick as I can!

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themusalini-blog · 6 years ago

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The Basic Facts of Uzbekistan

https://sv.ivisa.com/uzbekistan-e-visa

It is a good idea to deal with direct importers of handmade rugs. Rural roads and highways aren't lit. LGBTQ2 travellers ought to carefully consider the dangers of travelling to Uzbekistan.

The nation of Afghanistan is situated in Central Asia. Country rugs have a decrease KPSI. Prison guards in Uzbekistan ought to be trained to take care of prisoners with dignity.

What's however, more noteworthy is the simple fact that India's requirement of raw silk is quite a bit higher than its present production currently. Of course, if it's the case that you're using much thicker yarns, you're going to want to use a bigger needle and cast on fewer stitches. My second tip about how to purchase a Persian rug is, be certain the rug pleases you aesthetically.

Furthermore, the amount of diversity visas granted to all the distinct eligible countries isn't the exact same and it is contingent on the immigration rates of the nations. Trafficking for sexual exploitation is a completely different story. At that time there weren't any border checks between the countries of the previous empire.

Standard folk art is a typical wall decoration. All dishes of Uzbek cuisine are full of aroma and remarkable taste. Real Samarkand bread ought to be eatable within three decades.

On the majority of our tours Explore are going to be able to supply a private transfer at another price tag. An American and Canadian Bachelor takes 4 decades of which every calendar year 30 Credits have to be attained. When buying travel insurance it's extremely important to declare all pre-existing health conditions.

In China, the variety of credit cards in circulation is forecast to double by 2013. Women and men have separate quarters. To validate the payment you've got to go into a code received at that number.

Diphtheria tetanus and polio are combined in one vaccine in the United Kingdom. The BCG vaccine is provided once only, booster doses aren't advisable. Therefore, as soon as a tetanus booster is suggested for travellers, diphtheria vaccine is also given.

Even basic details on the criteria and procedures involved with significant financial decisions are hard to acquire. Among the purposes for the invention of the Agency was going to steer clear of the need to deal with different state organs when initiating and implementing a PPP undertaking, in addition to seek information on potential PPP projects from various sources. With the many available brands out there, it's vital to pinpoint which one works best for your specific needs.

Today the Indian silk business is already a significant player in the worldwide scenario and the growth prospects for the industry appear to be bullish. Whether you're planning your honeymoon and searching for romantic Uzbekistan packages for couples or simply need an adventurous Uzbekistan trip with buddies, you will discover proper choice at MakeMyTrip. A business program can likewise be referred to as a life program.

Additional American citizens affiliated with nongovernmental organizations which have been closed in Uzbekistan could be denied entry, in spite of a valid visa. In order to get treatment some proof of United Kingdom residence like a UK passport is going to be required. With all these airlines including Iran Air providing cheap flights to Tehran, the area is rapidly turning into a significant tourist in addition to a business destination.

You've come to be a number. Medical and repatriation insurance policy cover isn't mandatory for UK residents that are travelling on trips in the United Kingdom. Your passport has to be signed on the correct line. What You Should Do to Find Out About Uzbekistan Before You're Left Behind

Many nations engage in some kind of online censorship, while it is in the shape of banning an internet community or a full-blown censoring of popular websites like YouTube or Wikipedia. With many restrictive governments using imprisonment for a procedure to implement censorship, it is getting more important to have the ability to circumvent the censors. Uzbekistan is thinking about the introduction of a professional army in the long run.

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paladinspride · 7 years ago

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Hopefully this is my last VLD S7 discourse post.

I usually try to stay out of the drama but LGBTQ rep is near and dear to me and I have spent the last few days totally caught up in the discourse surrounding S7, despite my best intentions. Can I blame myself though? It is every where!

So I am hoping if I just put all my thoughts in an under the cut post, maybe I can move on and go back to enjoying the show for what it is and creating and assuming the fanon content I enjoy. I really do like the show. I just have feelings about some decisions.

Warning, there is an essay under here:

I’ll start by reminding people, I am in my 30s and I came out as bi in the 90s so I grew up in a totally different stage of society than most of the fandom. I mention this because it is important to keep in mind that the western world was not as open and accepting as it is now and my generation did a lot to make progress happen. There is still a lot to be done, but that is another matter.

I grew up in an age where LGBTQ characters, if present, were usually evil, tortured or killed off. At best, they were a comedic side kick. When we started to get LGBTQ content, shows like Queer as Folk, were given late night time slots and considered adult and taboo.

Shows like Modern Family were an amazing win for LGBTQ rep but animation still had/has a lot of ground work to do.

Dreamworks got flack for Gobber saying, “And that’s why I never married,” in HTTYD 2 and that was super vague.

Conservative groups were adamant that children’s content be free of “discussions of sexuality.” Gosh forbid, someone be gay so any references had to be vague and nearly undetectable. LGBTQ content was heavily censored and often out right forbidden.

Legend of Korra’s Korrasami pushed the envelope and broke ground but it’s rep was still at the very end of the series and quiet enough to sneak by censors.

Right before I watched VLD, I watched Yuri on Ice and was so moved that there was a well written animated series that depicted a same sex relationship where it wasn’t played for comedic effect, tokenism or tragedy.

When I finished YOI, I got sucked into VLD by the fan art. When I watched the show, Keith and Lance’s relationship intrigued me and I had fun imagining scenarios where they could end up together and live in domestic bliss.

The fandom ate it up. There was so much K/lance content to create and consume and so much positive response to it, that I fell in love. They became an OTP and I have dedicated my blog to them ever since.

However, this whole time I have been cautiously optimistic about the likelihood that K/lance could become canon because I imagined the crew would have a fight on their hands to make it happen. My experience with representation in media made it hard for me to let myself hope.

But I let myself believe because of LOK, Disney having a gay character come out on one of its youth series, and shows like One Day At A Time.

Shipping meta didn’t help.

But I tried very hard to keep my hopes in check and remind myself that fanon isn’t canon and that I am hear for the fanon. Canon would be nice but it is not the end all be all. I had to repeat this to myself a lot.

The last little while I have found myself growing exceptionally tired of “KICK” and shipper’s insistence that K/lance will be canon because I knew the fandom was getting their hopes up and that fanon and canon are separate things and I didn’t want people to get their hearts broken when fanon wasn’t represented in canon.

Also, I wanted people to focus on creating and consuming fanon content rather than scouring the canon for proof and engaging in petty ship wars, but that is some people’s idea of fun, and I can’t judge them for enjoying the show differently than me.

Anyways, despite my reservations, I let myself hope.

Then we had Shiro’s reveal. I was so excited that we were getting a strong persevering leader and POC as LGBTQ rep in a children’s animation that I didn’t even care that the likelihood of K/lance was diminished for me because there was no way I could let my self believe that we could have three characters in canon m/m relationships.

But then I watched S7 and the rep fell a little flat for me, but I was still happy there was enough insinuation that m/m youth could see themselves in Shiro.

But then they gave Ezor and Zethrid a coded scene and killed them and Adam.

I don’t think the show runners did this with any ill intent. I think they were clueless to the fact that they were committing a dangerous trope.

The show is about war, yes, and people are lost in war, but we need to have enough LGBTQ characters in animation, media in general really, that the loss of one is not such a blow. They should have predicted the fandom outrage, but I don’t think they did, and now they are on the defensive, seemingly making things worse.

I also felt queer baited. And I don’t use that term lightly. I have defended them against queer baiting in the past because 99% of the time, the feeling is the result of the fandom building hype by reading into things and spinning things the showrunners and Vas said and not actually baiting.

And that happened again here.

But I feel like the showrunners contributed to it this time.

But I also am not sure how they could have shut it down.

I kind of wish they would not have said anything about Shiro at SDCC and just let the viewers interpret the scene for themselves. LM and JDS saying Adam and Shiro were engaged doesn’t mean anything if they don’t show it in the show. That was their mistake.

If they were not sure they would be able to give explicit rep, they should not have said anything about it. I don’t think people would have cared as much that there was not LGBTQ rep if we were not expecting it.

I get wanting to make everyone happy and being inclusive and not wanting to spoil anything or shut down ships but ugh it made an ugly situation. I don’t know how they could have been more honest without spoiling things though.

(But if they really didn’t want to shut down ships, why write Lance and Keith in any romantic arcs at all? They knew how popular the ships were to make some changes? I suppose the verdict is still out on whether A/llurance and K/acxa are gonna be cannon though so I really shouldn’t assume and get upset about that yet)

The fandom is partly to blame for the hype and perceived queer baiting in the past. If people didn’t ask questions that put show runners and VAs in awkward spots or spinning things said, the hype might not be so extreme.

But this time it feels like the show runners went with it?

Did marketers encourage the hype for ratings though? Definitely. I don’t trust marketers. There goal is to get people talking about the show, be it good or bad. It’s important to remember the show runners and the marketers are separate. Netflix pulled some shady moves with the posters and that whole folding picture thing.

And that brings me back to K/lance.

For awhile now I am have been thinking they pulled a Zutara with K/lance and S/hallura, (Zutara is the pairing of Zuko and Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender, and the plan was for them to be canon but studio pressure suggested the audience related to Aang more so they shifted gears and made Kaang the canon romance in the last season instead).

S/hallura could have been such a beautifully written loves story of two fierce leaders and no one can tell me they don’t have chemistry and corresponding arcs.

So I was surprised when it was revealed that Shiro was the LGBTQ rep.

This made me think maybe Shiro and Adam were to be just friends and K/lance was meant to be canon after all, which is why so many of us saw canon potential in S1-3) but then it got shut down for any numbers of reasons and they decided to make Shiro the rep instead.

Barlee recently tweeted that Shiro was always meant to be the LGBTQ rep and they had to fight for what they showed though.

So this combined with the fact that they had to fight to show what little they did and the insistence that Shiro “is the rep,” makes me think K/lance isn’t happening for sure.

And I am sad about that. And that is ok. I am allowed to be sad about it. My sadness that my ship won’t be canon should not dismiss my concerns about the bury your gays trope though. They are two different issues and I am sick that people are undermining the argument because of who people ship.

I am also sad, that Barlee’s tweet suggested that LM and JDS did not get to tell the story they wanted to tell because of studio meddling. I’d really love to know what that story was.

But I will get over it and go back to creating and consuming content for K/lance and VLD because the world that VLD created is rich and inspiring to me. I love exploring the what ifs and alternate story lines the VLD universe has to offer because that is the part of fandom I enjoy.

I enjoy the canon too, but it is just one story in a list of endless possibilities.

#Jenni yaks #discourse #vld s7

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condensed-theorem-shop · 7 years ago

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Federation Worldbuilding: Medical

(Worldbuilding for my dystopian Star Trek AU, Federation.)

In Federation, medical science has progressed in leaps and bounds since the twenty-first century; by 2166, they have made a number of significant medical breakthroughs.

(Cut for length.)

Communicable Disease

The vast majority of communicable diseases have been eradicated. Some serious diseases still survive, but they're rare, and can almost universally be cured once diagnosed.

The single world government and improved transportation technology make vaccination campaigns much easier; hyposprays can be re-used safely (unlike needles), don't require training to administer, and stand up to transportation much better than the vaccines we know.

For the most part, diseases which remain widespread do so because they're so mild that people don't bother getting vaccinated or treated or even staying home from work while sick with them; people still get colds, but malaria is long gone.

New diseases crop up occasionally, but cures and vaccines are usually developed promptly. It's not unusual for visitors to a new planet to accidentally bring back some disease, despite measures against this, and such epidemics can be serious, since the human population doesn't have any established resistance; but they're almost always contained promptly.

Dermal Regenerators

Dermal regenerators are small handheld devices that can be used to cause rapid skin growth, healing minor cuts and scrapes in seconds. They have a range of intensities, from a low setting appropriate for cat scratches/minor burns from cooking, to a high setting used for burn victims in hospitals.

Regenerators built only to function at the low end of the range are a common component of home first aid kits. Regenerators which can treat more serious injuries, however, are only supposed to be used by trained medical professionals, because of potential health risks. A regenerator used for too long or at too high a setting for the injury in question can cause painful blistering; used much too long or at much too high a setting, they can cause cancer (which, while treatable in Federation, is still not pleasant to have.) Doctors are trained to assess what setting is called for, use the regenerator as little as possible while still achieving the desired effect, and reduce the risk of side effects when extensive treatment is needed by spacing it out over multiple days or regenerating the skin partway and then allowing it to finish healing naturally.

A rare genetic condition can cause extreme sensitivity to dermal regenerators, such that any use at all raises large painful blisters, and even small amounts of use at low settings can cause cancer. (This is colloquially referred to as an "allergy" to dermal regenerators, even though medically speaking it's no such thing.) This isn't usually a serious issue for the sufferers; they just have to make sure it's in their medical file, and heal from injuries the old-fashioned way.

Sunbeds

Sunbeds look roughly like high-tech tanning beds with none of the cancer risk. They use a combination of light and fancy 22nd-century technology to manually adjust the user's circadian rhythm; as such, they're the technology of choice for travelers wanting to avoid jet lag. Five or six hours in a sunbed will set your sleep cycle to match whatever time zone you're in (or some other time zone, if you want to do that for some reason).

Sunbeds are universally present on spaceships, because of the need for multiple (alpha/beta/gamma) shifts covering the entire day/night cycle of the ship; crewmembers transferred between shifts can visit Medical and spend a night in a sunbed, rather than trying to suffer through an eight-hour adjustment in their sleep cycle the old-fashioned way.

Transplants

Replicators should in theory be capable of producing human organs for transplant; in practice, however, regulations and social pressures associated with the taboo on genetic engineering also interfere severely with the research needed to program them appropriately. As a result, they're currently limited to producing blood (which can of course be of any blood type as needed); and only human blood, Vulcan blood not having yet been figured out sufficiently.

Prosthetics

The prosthetics in Federation aren't much more advanced than the best ones available in our world; Geordi's visor is still two hundred years away. Artificial limbs can respond to the user's muscle signals, and send sensory feedback in return, but still clumsily and unreliably. The big difference is that, with replicators, everyone who needs a prosthetic can have the best available -- can in fact have a different one for every day of the week, if they like different kinds for different purposes, or even just for aesthetics.

Tricorders

Everyone is probably familiar with these from canon. They're little devices that you can use to scan someone or something and get information on its condition. Different models are optimized for different purposes: you get tricorders that are best at analyzing the composition of rocks, or of the atmosphere, or general-purpose tricorders that will do a decent job of analyzing whatever you run into on a new planet, or of course medical tricorders which are best at scanning someone and figuring out what's wrong with them.

Tricorders are limited in their use, but very good within their range of competence. They're excellent at diagnosing problems like "dehydration" or "iodine deficiency" or "mercury poisoning" or even "some kind of flu-like virus." They're much less good at precise identification of diseases -- they'd have to have seen the exact same one before -- or figuring out the root cause of multiple symptoms when this is more complicated than a database look-up, or so forth. And they're prone to very silly errors, especially when used in ways they're not designed for; if you use a tricorder on someone with nonstandard biology, it will diagnose them with all sorts of absurd things.

Non-communicable diseases

Lots of non-communicable diseases are also treatable! Diabetes, kidney failure, cancer, and so on and so forth. Genetic conditions are generally not, because of the taboo on research in that area; there's often but not always decent palliative care available.

Old age, broadly, has not been solved, but people do live longer due to the improved medical technology; it's ordinary for a human to make 100, and 120 isn't unheard of.

Genetic engineering

Super super super illegal. Crime against humanity. Incredibly taboo.

This, of course, doesn't stop people from doing it.

The research on how to genetically engineer improvements along almost all axes has existed for some time; it's heavily censored, of course, and illegal to research, but people still get ahold of it one way or another. If you know what you're doing, and have the right price to offer, you can find someone to genetically engineer you a designer baby.

Of course, the kind of people who are willing to do that are often very sketchy indeed. Some of them are just philanthropic doctors who have principled disagreements with the Federation. But you're just as likely to get someone who's actually doing their own incredibly unethical human experimentation, and promises to engineer you a smart baby but actually produces one with two heads, or who charges you an outrageous fee and then doesn't actually do anything at all. And that's if you don't just get someone incompetent, or a government plant who'll handcuff you on the spot.

People seek out genetic engineering for a wide range of reasons. Sometimes they just want to make sure their child doesn't inherit some condition. Sometimes they want to have a biological child with their same-sex partner. (Human-Vulcan hybrid children aren't yet possible, but they will be eventually.) Sometimes they want a designer baby: smarter, prettier, stronger, healthier. Sometimes they want a clone, of themselves or of someone else, which falls under the relevant legal umbrella. Sometimes they don't want a child at all, they want a supersoldier or a superspy or some other custom-built tool.

Other reasons people can count as genetically engineered: gene therapy exists, though it's risky and unpleasant and just as illegal as any other kind of genetic engineering; someone who's had gene therapy is legally considered genetically engineered. The child of two genetically engineered people is legally considered genetically engineered. (Someone who has only one genetically engineered parent, or less heritage than that, is in a dubious legal situation which hasn't yet been settled to anyone's satisfaction.)

It's not just illegal to genetically engineer people, it's illegal for genetically engineered people to exist; there's plenty of legal precedent for this to cash out to a death sentence, although someone sufficiently sympathetic/with a sufficiently good lawyer/who makes a plea deal/who sells other people out may well be able to bargain that down to life imprisonment. Genetically engineered people aren't considered to have any legal rights, although the Federation would probably still get complaints if it actually flat-out tortured them.

There's case law establishing that genetically engineered people are legally the property of whoever did the genetic engineering. This is based on a fairly stretched interpretation of intellectual property law, and was essentially just courts coming up with an excuse to hold people responsible for the actions of their genetically engineered supersoldiers during the Eugenics Wars. It's basically never actually used in the obvious horrible way, because in order for someone to claim those legal rights over someone they genetically engineered, they'd have to confess to genetic engineering, which would be unutterably stupid.

The legal penalty for genetic engineering isn't death -- the Federation doesn't do the death penalty, genetically engineered people just get shuffled in under the cover of "they're not allowed to exist in the first place, we're just fixing that" -- but it's subject to whatever are the most stringent legal penalties that are available; certainly life imprisonment without parole, possibly other things if they come up with anything (e.g. dumping them on a half-terraformed asteroid somewhere). And this can also apply to people who assist with it, or help cover it up, or harbor people they know to be genetically engineered, or otherwise make themselves accomplices.

In addition to all the legal strictures, genetic engineering (or anything associated with it in the general consciousness) is incredibly socially taboo. ("Eugenics" is a decent proxy, when comparing to our world, though it doesn't have the same stigma attached to the people who are the result of it.) Prisoners charged with anything associated with genetic engineering are routinely abused and maltreated by the guards and other prisoners; suggesting that someone is genetically engineered is fighting words; suspicion of being genetically engineered gets you ostracized at minimum, likely refused basic services and/or beat up in the streets. This is not a popular cause; bringing it up socially doesn't get you "ooo, cool and edgy," it gets horrified silence and being invited to leave.

#worldbuilding #federation worldbuilding #mine

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lumisequence · 5 years ago

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Week 4 - REPRESENTATION

When should games be banned or censored, if at all? Empathise with the different perspectives of this game and its promotion.

Subjective. What one may claim as “censorship” is someone else’s idea of “censored for good reason”. For example, a game featuring blatant cruelty may generally be considered as one of these “censored for good reason” games, however there would definitely be someone out there who thinks the game is perfectly fine and has been unfairly censored.

For Cannon Fodder it declares its anti-war message by being extremely blatant about war is unforgiving and futile. Soldiers die in one hit, and upon death they sit there choking on blood before they finally collapse; at the end of a round the fallen are purposely named, driving home the fact that each solider was their own person, not just a number in the death toll.

I definitely agree with the game’s message, but on the other hand releasing the game right on London’s Remembrance Day was perhaps a bit too much. The day is meant for honouring the dead and the move was perhaps a bit on the nose and maybe even disrespectful for potentially taking the attention away from those who have served - especially how as the review noted some people missed the point and saw Cannon Fodder as another one of those mindlessly violent wargames.

Choose one of molleindustria’s games to play. Describe your experience and how the designers have used the game mechanics to get their point across.

I played Free Culture, a game about the struggle between copyright and commons. The game takes place on a white circle, representing the common, where knowledge is created and shared; and an outer grey circle that represents the market, where knowledge is commodified and sold.

The distributor (the cursor) distributes knowledge-dots to the people in the common

The vectoralist sucks the knowledge-dots into the market to create scarcity.

People who can’t access knowledge in the common stop producing ideas and become passive consumers in the market

Consumers who don’t receive commodified knowledge will return to the common

The distributor works in a herding, “repel” mechanic, where it scatters the knowledge-dots in all directions and makes it impossible to be accurate with. The people in the commons also will only absorb knowledge through a certain direction on their head, meaning the player has to go to quite the length to even distribute one knowledge dot. Meanwhile the vectoralist moves fast, freely, and with extreme accuracy, sucking up 4 dots in one go and moving right above each consumer to ensure the sold knowledge reaches them directly. It’s a struggle to even defend the dots against the vectoralist, as the only way to click rapidly to counter the vectoralist’s magnetic field with the cursor’s own deflector. This was possibly intended to give a sense of desperation and struggle.

The answer to “winning” the game turns out to just sit back and not interfere and let the game play out itself. Eventually all the people turn into consumers and the Vectoralist sucks up all the knowledge. With no one left to produce ideas and the Vectoralist unable to give all these consumers their commodified knowledge, all the consumers return to the common again to produce ideas themselves.

However this is no true end state - very quickly the Vectorialist takes away this new knowledge in the commons and the people revert back to consumers as they cannot access the knowledge. An endless cycle of struggle.

Consider the attributes and intentions of the Eurogame genre, and compare these to Loring-Albright’s assessment of the Settlers of Catan.

In Eurogames players compete for resources, have social initiatives such as negotiation, require long-term planning, and are usually won by whoever racks up a certain amount of one thing. Intention-wise this seems to have manifested as storylines where the player exploits or profits from the system. Unfortunately while fine(?) with a game like Monopoly (whose controversy is another whole can of worms), combined with story elements that concern historical events like in the game Puerto Rico where the aim of the game is to run a plantation, this make them concerning in the way that they glorify western settlement and exploitation of people of colour. Such is Loring-Albright’s assessment of Settlers of Catan. Quote: “It became clear, at least to me, (...) Settlers of Catan re-tells the American myth of White European settlers stumbling upon a fertile land that was theirs by right, encountering no meaningful resistance, and acting on behalf of God and Country to develop economies, settlements, and cities in this “New World.”

Apply this author’s line of thinking to other playful situations: video games, sports, etc. Do you see your values and your personality more clearly when you play? Provide an anecdote if you can.

Mostly yes, but depends on the person and the game. While I think narrative and NPCs have an influence on this, I never really played board games myself, so I don’t think I have the experience to talk about. Hence I’ll be taking Animal Crossing and Undertale as examples instead.

I personally always choose the nicer option or choice no matter if the consequences are serious or not simply because I feel bad if I do anything that would upset the characters - I would say this reflects how I am in real life as well. However one friend who is extremely shy and non confrontational in real life would purposely choose provoking responses in AC just to see how the character would react. Though in Undertale she did not do an all-kill run because she felt bad.

Notably, AC is a very kind game where even if a villager does get upset with you they forget it by the afternoon, whereas in Undertale killing even one monster alters the dialogue from the main cast, and if a player insists on going ahead with killing every monster they meet, the game makes a point to drive home how the player is a coldhearted murderer.

So while there’s the net of “it’s just a game”, how “telling” it is of how someone plays a game depends on how seriously the game makes an issue - while UT puts a big emphasis on death, games like FPSes where the whole point to slaughter enemies do not. This isn’t to say that people who play an all kill run of UT are actually murderers, but I do think it says something about their level of empathy.

Following this line of thinking I’d say games like sports and Monopoly where you interact with other people rather than NPCs would alter how people act as well. The magic circle would come into play - acting on motivation to win, sportsmen are more aggressive on the playing field and Monopoly sends otherwise good relations into utter chaos.

(Problem Attic) Attempt to understand what the game designer is trying to communicate with the symbolism and mechanics.

Seeing how the game describes itself as “a game about prisons, both real and imagined”, I imagine the clash of colours, faked barriers and invisible ones alike, and general confusion are all on purpose to simulate the feeling of one being trapped and trying to navigate their own mind - in extremely abstract levels, there are no instructions other than the instinctual movement rules, and mechanics are learned by trying again and again and again, much like how navigating inner troubles might be like: you know you have a problem, but how the problem works exactly you have no idea, and you can only get yourself out of it by trying repeatedly (or seeking outside help, ie, google). Following this, I’d guess that the crosses represent traumatic experiences, seeing how it chases the player and causes the camera to convulse when it collides, and at times completely immobilises.

Frustration seems to be a core part of this game, such as slippery controls, platforms moving out right beneath you - one of the levels even has a purposely coded “fail”, in which every third or fourth time the player hit the jump button it would fail to activate, hindering the player especially as you’re trying to outrun a cross on this level. I’d think this represents trying to navigate life with all of these “prisons” weighing down on the player’s mind.

(Seeing how the game’s name can also be read as “problematic” I wonder if the game could also be about unhealthy coping mechanisms?)

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deepfriedtwinkie · 7 years ago

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Kingsman: A Journey Unfinished

post-TSS fic below the cut, ~2k words, Merlin’s POV re: Harry

(wasn’t Merlahad in my head but it’s certainly Merlahad-friendly; it basically works either way)

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

It was Eggsy who’d reminded him, after the plane had landed back at headquarters, Roxy waiting for them on the tarmac near the transport he’d sent for her. They’d cheered their victory, Lancelot and Galahad hugging for ages, and then the boy had broken away, sobered, turning to him. Asking:

“Ain’t there gonna be a funeral? For Harry?”

Merlin tenses at the memory. Yes, there should be. There’s supposed to be.

There always is. The death of a Kingsman is a blessedly infrequent occasion, but when it happens, there’s rarely any living kin to speak of. Someone’s got to bury them, and there’s no honor in leaving it to the state. As a Kingsman is welcomed by his brethren, so shall he depart the earth. Every suit is black on those days. Every topcoat.

Merlin himself has only been to a sparse number of these. It’s only recently that colleague casualties have begun to plague his tenure with any regularity. They lost an Arthur—his and Harry’s training agent, Chester’s predecessor—to diabetic ketoacidosis in the mid-eighties. A Gareth fell to Botswanan militants in ’92. A Percival to a literal fall in ’94. Then Lancelot—prior to James; a man named Duncan Billingsley—killed in a car crash in 1997. James, they buried on a Thursday, stitched back together as best they could do. Lee Unwin, they turned over to the Westminster Public Mortuary, who, in turn, released his remains to the custody of his widow; he received no Kingsman ceremony, though the circle K mark still graces the base of his headstone, earned through his bravery.

Five funerals. Only five, and five too many. Never in all his years has he seriously pictured attending Harry’s. Harry Hart, damn him and all his reckless shite, was…indestructible. Stubbornly so. That funeral was always the most hypothetical. The very last one he’d ever expected, or wanted to attend.

Until now. Now, it’s the one thing he wants to attend more than anything.

Now that he can’t.

He removes his glasses, setting the frames down on his desk, working his hands together. They cup his face, and he sighs. His exhausted mind replays the comlink feedback from not five minutes ago.

“Come in, Merlin; this is Llamrei. We’re on the ground.”

They’d been in the air before even he and the recruits had. The salvage crew. He hadn’t waited. Not even for the toast. He hadn’t toasted. He’d arranged for pickup instead. For God’s sake, he’d sent them immediately.

“We have blood on the car park, positively identified.”

In front of South Glade Mission Church. Analysis would have taken only seconds. But they shouldn’t have had to analyze. The source was supposed to be where they’d left him…

“Area is clear. Repeat, area is clear. No remains or sign of Agent Galahad.”

No remains or sign of Agent Galahad.

He’d sent them immediately. He couldn’t have sent them any sooner, couldn’t have shortened the ocean or sped them to Kentucky any faster. And it wasn’t enough. Somewhere in that window of time…

What the hell happened?

There’s nothing in this world he despises more than a question with no answer. Ordinarily, they annoy him. Vex him. Irritate him to no end. He designs workarounds to circumvent them. When possible, he cracks them. When advantageous, he hacks them. Unanswered questions and his hatred thereof have inspired no less than his every development, every schematic.

For all that work, this is one that he can’t fix. He’s met his match, and it’s Harry’s brains on a car park, no chance he survived, yet no body to return to his home.

How did we fucking lose him?

“You check the area,” he’d ordered them. “And then you check it again.” The situation wasn’t without possibilities. The moment of Harry’s death may not have coincided with the termination of his feed. He could have crawled for a bit. Back inside, or away for help. Even between the cars, or underneath, to keep himself from being discovered. Sensationalized.

But he hadn’t. Merlin had watched with his own eyes as Llamrei transmitted. Their full sweep returned a topographical scan of the area covering a half-mile’s radius.

Harry was gone. Harry is gone, and a day that was already hell is now infinitely worse.

He picks up his glasses, easing them back onto his nose. He straightens his tie, palming it flat beneath his jumper. His own emotions, his own frustrations mean extraordinarily little now. Especially because it’s very likely that they’ll never subside. Not without answers that are maddeningly beyond his reach. There’ll be time to grapple with them later. He wouldn’t rule out a pint of scotch for supper tonight.

He’s already failed to bring Harry home to rest. He is not going to fail at the one task Harry left in his hands.

“Look after him, Merlin.” He remembers Harry in his housecoat and slippers, fresh out of his coma, more concerned with dramatic entrustments than even his return to civilization. “Should I be any less lucky the next time round, I ask you, as a personal favor. Please. See that he fulfills his potential. Don’t let him be discouraged by my death. Or dwell on it, for heaven’s sake.”

He’d told Harry to shut up. And called him a prick, if memory serves. Which it always does.

He hates the prick even worse now for making him do this.

Merlin rises, putting his computer to sleep. For once, he doesn’t collect his clipboard. Instead, he goes by instinct to the right coordinates of wall, pressing his palm to the hidden censor. Bluegreen fingerprints etch out a glow beneath his touch. The panel recesses. From the cubby it reveals, he carefully procures one of the agency’s dozen coveted decanters, pinching together three shot glasses in his spare hand.

The others have toasted. Bedivere. Gawain. Lamorak. Fucking dead Chester. This is for the three of them who haven’t, not fittingly. It’s arguable they’re the ones who need it more than the rest combined.

His gut is no less sour as he walks with measured steps toward the Lancelot suite. He’s just very good at hiding it. After all this time, he fucking ought to be. With the crystal stopper, he taps twice, lightly, on the heavy door.

“Permission to enter,” he requests.

“Granted,” Roxy’s voice returns.

Merlin enters. Exhaustion has taken hold of the kids in his absence. They’re both sat on the foot of the bed, Eggsy’s elbows on his knees, medallion in his hands. Roxy’s angled toward him, her near hand on his back. J.B. and Marthe lounge at their feet, panting as if they’d put in the same work as their human counterparts.

Wordlessly, he hands Roxy the first shot glass. Her brow quirks, but she accepts. The transaction flags Eggsy’s peripheral, as he knew it would, and when the boy looks up, Merlin proffers him the second one.

“What’s all this?”

Merlin uncorks the ceremonial booze. “We’re honoring Harry,” he explains.

“But…I already…”

“No, you didn’t. It doesn’t count as a proper memorial when someone’s trying to poison you. A good tip you might want to remember for the future.” He pours Roxy’s shot first, then Eggsy’s, and then his own. If they’re a little heavy-handed…well. Harry can come fucking fight him, now can’t he.

He plans to wait at least until they drink. That is, he does until Roxy sizes him up, careful scrutiny all over her face, and he knows he’s been made.

Nothing’s going to go as planned today, then. Not aside from the exploding heads, anyway.

“There’s something you’re not telling us,” she diagnoses.

For a moment, he’s perfectly still but for his eyes, shifting from one of them to the other. They’re hanging on his every word, both of them. Merlin sighs. His manners only take precedence because his autopilot knows no better. “May I sit?”

Roxy nods once. He takes the chair by her door and moves it closer, parking himself just the other side of the dogs. The shot glass and decanter go on the ottoman. His hands knead without permission.

“What’s wrong?”

He pays Eggsy for his question with eye contact. He has to force it, but he can’t deny it’s been earned, no matter how difficult.

“I’m afraid this will be the extent of any funeral for Harry.”

There’s only a split second where the thought of telling the truth crosses his mind. Then, willingly, without regret or hesitation, he lies.

“After the test at the church, Valentine…sent in a cleanup crew.”

It’s certainly not impossible. In fact, it’s the closest to a logical idea he’s got. Except that the bodies in the building were still there. Maybe Valentine took Harry’s body specifically to learn who he was. It’s a longshot. But it’s better than the alternative. Eggsy filling his own head with false hope, waiting for months like a cocker spaniel at the window. Waiting against all odds for a triumphant return that’s never going to come.

“My recovery team canvassed the property, but there wasn’t anything left. No weapons. No blood. And…no bodies. Neither inside nor out. No one was left. Suppose he didn’t want to attract the media before the countdown to V-Day was finished.”

He watches them react. Concern paints Roxy’s face, but her eyes only widen momentarily before checking on Eggsy. The boy’s eyes aren’t dry anymore. He swallows hard. Merlin has to remind himself again that this is the best recourse in the long run.

“So… You’re sayin’ that… They took his body. So…that’s it.”

Merlin nods. “Mass cremation, most likely.” It’s insurance. None of them want to picture it, but he’s in the business of protection now. He’s the one doomed to lack closure. The kids don’t have to. It’s a sick, wasting illness he’s got no designs to spread.

Roxy’s eyes shut, a single tear driving down her cheek. She swipes it away, nodding. Eggsy is stoic, jaw so tightly locked that the tendons in his neck protrude. He stares at the carpet for what feels to Merlin like a solid hour, and then his head bobs too, and he throws back the contents of his shot glass in a single gulp, wincing once it’s down.

He holds it out, spare hand beckoning. “Let’s have another, then.”

Not an hour ago—fresh from champagne and strawberries, effectively grounded in the back of the plane—he’d have denied him that. But not now. The look on his face is enough. Suddenly Merlin sees through Harry’s eyes, and for the first time, there’s a pull that lets him understand firsthand, more than he thought he did already. For all intents and purposes, this boy is Harry’s son. Everything he gave the world.

It’s more than enough reason to give him another drink. A generous one, at that.

Merlin’s still blinking away the resemblance manufactured by his brain when Eggsy lifts his second shot. “To Harry,” he says solemnly. “Just the fuckin’ best of us.”

Roxy’s goes up next. And Merlin follows, lightly clinking them together at the rim. “To Harry.” It’s by no means a good enough goodbye, but as the only one he’s ever going to get, at least it’s in good company.

Together, the three of them drink. Merlin leads an unannounced moment of silence afterward, and then he stands. He doesn’t cork the coveted brandy or collect their glasses. Let them finish it. There’s always more. Some things can be replaced.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

“You can stay, y’know, Merlin.” Eggsy’s looking up at him now. “You really came through for us both in all this. You don’t ’ave to go.”

It’s only a borderline plea, which is good, because it frees him to choose the side of the border where he can ignore the pleading part entirely. Roxy’s with him. That’s enough for the moment.

“Actually, I do,” he says. “Someone’s got to start new Arthur proceedings. The sooner the better.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. But thank you.”

Truthfully, it can wait ’til morning. The real problem is that this is going to be far more difficult than anticipated. Making it through the long haul means getting out of this room right now, before he and his lie both unravel around the younger agents’ little fingers.

Eggsy doesn’t press. “Alright,” he says.

“Sleep well, Merlin,” Roxy offers.

“And…thanks.”

All Merlin can do is smile faintly, nod one more time, and perform an about-face, pulling Roxy’s door shut in his wake. He heads down the center of the corridor with concrete in every step, his fifty-plus years weighing like eighty in his bones. Had he his clipboard, it would probably be smashed. ‘Accidentally,’ to be sure.

Are you happy, you bastard? The deed is done; a new mission begun of an old one never to end. Wherever you are, I hope you’re fucking happy.

He sits at his desk until Llamrei returns, and then he goes to bed, extinguishing an era with the light.

#Kingsman #Kingsman: The Secret Service #Agent Merlin #Harry Hart #Eggsy Unwin #Roxy Morton #fanfic #oh look Aud did a thing

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