#at this point im also senior enough that i have a lot of freedom

[atlasisreal]

I hate this stupid job

[my-castles-crumbling]

hi Cas!

uh so ive always been a stem girl but next year we have our country's equivalent of the GCSEs and im a freshman right but my grades in almost every stem subject sucks rn like they're at an all time low, as in i have a 77 in physics in my report card and in my country anything less than a 95 is basically shit and i had plans to change schools in eleventh grade but my current report card isnt remotely close to what it should've been and the thing is im not bad at stem, like if i practiced or studied it regularly id probably be doing a lot better but yeah that didn't happen and the fact still remains that im a natural at humanities as in i study less than a week before the midterms and get more than i did in any stem subject? my best friend thinks i should probably consider a career in humanities bc im better at it but ive always wanted a career in stem, like, ever since third grade and everyone knows that i want(ed) to work at NASA but rn i dont really think i stand any chance of getting into my country's best colleges and that might not be the end of the world but ive always been like yeah im going to go there and it's basically common knowledge at this point

so ever since third grade i have kinda had my life all planned out? like obviously changes have been made but I've always been the one who's known what they wanted to do and i always thought I'd end up in aerospace engineering or at least another stem career but now with my grades im reconsidering and see, my country and family both value stem a lot like most people take up careers in it but my parents arent very restricting but it's always just been assumed that id go into stem too and i just casually mentioned it to my mom about dropping out of stem bc i felt like i couldnt do well in the subjects and later she was joking about it to my father and ik they wouldn't really care but i don't know if i actually want to drop out of stem and the thing is, my best friend's mom was kinda talking to mine about how both her and i arent doing as well despite having the potential (my mom agrees and our families are close enough for that conversation) and my best friend still doesnt know what to do so i was suggesting international relations to her which has always been my in another life career and that got me thinking as well about it just in case this doesnt work out but i have to make a decision by the end of tenth grade bc we get to choose our subjects for our junior and senior years then

im just kinda worried about how everyone will take it but more than that ive always wanted the freedom to move from one country to another without having to retake an exam like you'd have to for law and medical which was why i dropped the idea of doing law and im a very materialistic person, in the sense that i want to be rich like, have a large living space, luxury cars and brands, and most importantly be able to travel the world (which is probably my life goal) and money is just a means to that end and for that i need a good job but i also kinda prioritise my ability to travel when considering careers so i dont want to be tied down by becoming loyal to a particular government

im not even sure if i actually want to do ir instead of aerospace engineering. im just kinda testing the waters rn by doing research but im scared bc it's almost common knowledge that i want(ed) to work for NASA and I've always had my life planned out to the exact college i wanted to go to since third grade and the last i altered it and that too slightly was in seventh grade but this choice is going to affect everything and i dont know if im even going to make it

sorry for the rant, i hope you're having a good day wherever you are

Hi!

Okay so a few thoughts:

First of all, you're allowed to change your mind about what you want to do with your life at any time in your life, but expecially when you're this young. You should do what makes you feel fulfilled and happy, and if someone doesn't support you, that's their problem.

However, I do want to say that whatever you decide, don't just pick something that's easy. Because the thing is, at some point, everything will have rough spots. First decide what will make you happy, then figure out what work you need to do to get there.

I hope that makes sense!

[guiltycorp]

Playing Genshin for a couple of weeks now and I have some thoughts about Mondstadt, its seeming prosperity, and criminal elements!! Also dunking on Diluc a little bit lol. I'm not even going to touch hilichurls, they're probably the one issue I expect the game to come back to in time! They seem to be an intelligent race that was cursed and so we might get some sad backstory and realize that we've been assholes to them, not 100% sure but hopefully. Other than hilichurls and the Fatui (and yeahhh so fun to make russians into villains, im guessing it's for attracting the american audience or something... at least the characters are interesting enough), there are also Treasure Hoarders, who in the archive are mainly described as workers who lost their jobs or some other manner of poor people who turned to looting and crime out of desperation. And yet the angle is that 'thieving is always morally wrong'. Somebody didn't read Les Mis, I guess! Another note, there seems to be a weird gameplay and story segregation where we as the Traveler do lots of looting and treasure hunting ourselves only to be commended for it. But I digress. My actual point is that interestingly enough those elements of worldbuilding come together pretty well when you look at the city itself!   In Mondstadt it is most difficult to become a small business owner, made all the more obvious when compared to Liyue's wealth of shops, services, and traveling traders (Liyue has its own baggage of problems which tbh seem more serious to me but that's another topic). It's just not the most profitable occupation! Almost everyone we see out on the streets does their own resource supply, production, and service. Naturally, this means that those people don't earn enough to hire their own workers. In turn, that means that there are no jobs to be found in those places. So, where are all the jobs? For that we have the Dawn Winery, the Knights of Favonius, and the option to leave for Springvale to become a hunter or go to a different country altogether. The winery is described as the city's most powerful industry both for local consumption and export, but how does it actually treat its workers? Well, for example there's Patton who accidentally broke a bottle of expensive wine and is now basically an indentured servant to Diluc. He says that even if he worked without any breaks he still would need 48 years to pay off his debt. We can meet his daughter near Venti's statue who has to play by herself because her father is always working. Does that really seem like freedom to you? There's also Guy's father who works at the winery itself and can't afford to rest even when he is heavily sick and old. These are the worst examples for sure but others also have their own smaller problems like Charles who confides in us that he often feels tired and only takes nights off when Diluc is in a mood to tend the bar himself etc.  It is kind of telling that we don't have the option of engaging with their problems and we can't really talk to Diluc about it either. For all that he defends the city each night, he shows no interest in defending his own workers from his business's predatory tactics. To say nothing of the great damage he does to the adult populace of the city, always supplying alcohol and tempting people with deals and sales when there are already too many drunkards even among the named characters. When the opposing tavern (which also only has Diona for a bartender even when her own father has alcohol dependence) chose to present a non-alcoholic beverage during the holiday Angel’s Share doubled down on alcohol. And it doesn't even have snacks? This one bit was probably just for joke purposes, but tbh it's pretty dangerous to drink without any snacks at all, it makes sense why people get so heavily drunk in the first place. Note that Diluc himself doesn’t drink, showing good judgment when it comes to himself. Meanwhile the only person Diluc seemingly has no problem cutting off is Kaeya and it’s not obvious whether that’s out of concern or pettiness. Nobody is cutting off Nimrod who is ruined by his addiction! Now this is probably the core reason why Nimrod turned to crime, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he and his wife are dependant on Kaeya who at the very least knows to appreciate his informants. Kaeya himself is also a gleeful enabler, by the way, which makes sense considering his uh.. everything. And his upbringing at the Dawn Winery didn’t hurt, no surprise why he’s so keen on wine himself. He might be shrewd and oh so clever when it comes to getting information in taverns, but his story details and voice lines confirm that there actually is a problem even if we don’t know the full scope of it.  Now, the Knights of Favonius? Aside from being corrupt in the past they happen to hire minors (we can read that in their handbook) whom they don't even pay. What's that, free labor for the simplest of tasks? Makes sense why some of the adult knights laze about if all the work gets done by minors or the more focused and accomplished senior knights with Visions. That's a wonky structure for sure. Guy tells us that he became a squire at 16 and still has the boring job of guarding the back gates despite repeatedly showing signs of great dissatisfaction. I wouldn't be surprised if he betrays us later or something, honestly. Maybe Kaeya is preparing him for double agent work, who knows. Right now he has no opportunities for climbing the career ladder to take better care of his sick father, stuck in a pointless job for months. And that's a talented and focused young man! what about regular folk? Well. In the end, regular people have several options. They can give up and overwork themselves while spending nights looking for coins in the wishing fountain to try and scrape enough for their sister’s medicine. They can go to the Adventurers' Guild which has highly dangerous commissions with the most profitable ones taken on by Fischl and other professionals, hardly a dependant job for a regular person. There’s also Church which we know very little about. Likely it's dependant on taxes and donations and it’s the one organization that cares about the orphans of the city (no, keeping Klee in solitary doesn’t count as caring, Knights of Favonius!). There’s Springvale for hunters, farmers and chefs, a difficult lifestyle to maintain when the hunting grounds are in one of the Four Winds’ domains with strangely intelligent wolves.  And then there’s the other more accessible and obvious option! You guessed it, it’s crime!!  And there it is, the reason why there's such a big problem with bandits and overworked people in Mondstadt :)  Honestly after writing all that down, if I were to RP a normal person in Mondstadt I’d try to get into the Treasure Hoarders guild at like 5 years old I think. Better than standing around watching random people kill my pigeons anyway. Tbh this is less of a 'makes you think huh!!' take and more of a commendation towards the writers of the game. They obviously have a more conservative outlook if they're so keen on condemning the thieves who have to steal in order to survive, but the world itself makes a lot of sense. It makes the game a lot of fun to explore.

[aries-writingblog]

Atlas (4)

Summary: After years of being imprisoned on the Raft, Tony negotiates freedom for his sister Tessa. When she’s free- so is her past, and it will never stop hunting her.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC(Stark)

Chapter Word count: 1939

Warnings: PTSD (subtle ish), trauma, torture (in later parts), suicidal behaviors and thoughts, mentions of death, character death, injury, violence, angst, and a lil bit of fluff in there

Disclaimer: Atlas is my own, original work with characters belonging to Marvel (except Tessa and Dr. Clifton). Plagiarism is not cool kids.

A/N: this is my first work Im posting to this platform and I’m really excited and nervous about it. Hope you enjoy- constructive criticism is always helpful as well!!

Tony stared at the screen, wondering why he was God’s choice of boxing partners. He had been decoding the intel all night, only becoming increasingly concerned as the data rolled through. There was a surplus of data that encrypted with the title ‘Project Maelstrom’. From what he could tell, it was centered around Tessa. The head of the project was a Dr. J.R. Clifton- the one who was dicking around with things he didn’t understand and caused his baby sister a lot of pain.

What Project Maelstrom seemed to have as a goal was to create more of her. This time on purpose. There were samples of her blood that were torn apart. X rays and documents of medical visits labelled T. Stark. There was even detailed descriptions of the only two missions Tessa had been sent on before she was thrown in the Raft.

Tony would admit- he was curious, burning with the need to read every detail of why she was locked away. Tessa wouldn’t tell him. Ever. And the army never gave a clear reason, just that she was a danger and her whole squad had been killed on a mission. Nothing more, nothing less. When Tony threatened them with a lawsuit, he was told that Tessa would get the death penalty if it went to court. So, he had to play nice.

Instead, he called a meeting at the ass crack of dawn to decide how to play this. He was slightly wary of breaking the news to Tessa, as it was all based around her and her powers, but he figured if he had enough fire extinguishers on hand, everything would be fine. As long as she was contained on one floor. To one room. Maybe we should meet on the roof.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“So... what’s the move?” Tony asked, hesitantly. He was trying to gauge reactions around the room, mostly focused on Tessa. She seemed to lock down as soon as he mentioned the mission reports. She wasn’t surprised or fazed by much of the other intel.

Bucky had also instantly switched his attention from Tony to Tessa as it was brought up. She hadn’t spoken to him since the incident in her room- three days ago. She remained on her floor, although Wanda had convinced her to come down to eat with her, Steve and Vision every day at lunch. Wanda seemed to have that persuasion on her.

He noticed her clam up, keeping her eyes low while Steve began to form a plan, with the help of Natasha and Tony. Bruce was sifting through the medical records produced from the intel, gleaning information to research his own. He had been curious about Tessa’s enhancement but the woman wouldn’t let him near her with any medical or scientific equipment. So, he agreed to wait until she was ready for it.

“What about the mission reports, what do they say?” Steve asked, reaching for the papers. Tessa immediately leapt up, snatching the papers before he could reach them. She looked down at them, seemingly trying to confirm her suspicions before lighting them on fire, letting the ash fall at her feet. She swallowed harshly, meeting Steve’s shocked eyes.

“There’s nothing important in them.” She snapped, dropping the last of the papers. She turned to Tony, anger in her stance. “Did you make more copies of those?” He blinked and shook his head.

“There’s the original on the drive Wilson brought back.” He answered, already aware of what she would ask him to do next.

“Delete it.” She hissed, spinning on her heel and stomping out of the room. Tony nodded, even though she had already slammed the door shut.

“Anyone want to check on her?” Tony offered. There was a hesitance in the way Bucky stood up, pushing his chair back. Tony’s eyes narrowed and zeroed in on the hulking mass of a man. “Anyone else- cause, not to be petty but he’s already killed the rest of my family and I’d like to keep what I have left around for a while.”

Bucky’s expression didn’t alter but he felt the sting of the comment. Nevertheless, he sat back down, pulling his chair in, clasping his hands on the table and keeping his gaze on them.

“Tony...” Steve chided, anger and self righteous indignation in his tone. Tony rolled his eyes before turning back to the papers. None of them could refute the obvious. Everyone was aware of the obvious- the Winter Soldier responsible for the death of the Starks- and they were aware of Tony’s less than forgiving attitude toward the recovering soldier himself.

“Whatever- just let her go, maybe she’ll blow up the top floor and set fire to my belongings.” He responded, grumbling as he began the presentation again.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Days later, Tessa was still being temperamental. Bucky had not spoken to her, Tony had been locked out of her apartment. The only ones she let in were Sam and Wanda. Sam attempted to soothe her, trying to help her make sense of her head and emotions. Wanda ensured she was eating regularly and trying to help her make sense of her powers. She knew a thing or two about out of control enhancements.

Bucky had been upset, moping around his shared apartment mostly because he was unable to talk to the person he had feelings for. The one person who he felt actually wanted him around. Steve took notice after the umpteenth sigh and ensured him that he would try to set it up for him.

“What’s that supposed to mean, jackass?” Bucky’s nose scrunched up and a wrinkle presented itself on his forehead. Steve rolled his eyes and tossed his paper to the table.

“I mean, on the mission. I’ll make you two partners. Someone has to be responsible for her, a guardian when she’s on the field, and you two got... close.” Steve began folding towels, turning his back to his roommate. Bucky blinked twice before snorting. Steve turned back around to see him pouting. “Oh- what is it, you’ve been moping around for days now- what happened between you and Tessa that’s got your panties in a twist?”

“First off- what the fuck my guy?” Bucky’s hands flicked toward him before resting on the table he sat at. “And second, it’s none of your business.”

Steve almost called bullshit. He could see that Bucky was bursting at the seams, almost exploding with his problem. The guy was the best at sneaking around to find intel or perform his espionage but ask him about a girl he had a crush on and the man would spill like a can on a car. Steve knew just what to say to get him to talk- it would only take him asking once more and Bucky would spill his guts.

“Okay... all I’m saying is that you two were helping each other. The progress you made when you started hanging out was phenomenal- exponential almost.” Steve commented, nonchalantly and kept folding his towels. Only a few more seconds now and...

“She doesn’t sleep well.” Bucky started. Steve mentally congratulated himself on being able to manipulate Bucky into talking- the same way Bucky was able to manipulate Steve into doing his share of chores. “And so I’d see her in the kitchen at night when I couldn’t sleep and we started talking. Then she gave me her dog tags, because I said I never got mine back. And my heart exploded. Steve- I’d never thought I’d feel like this again. I just want to make her happy- I want to see her smile and I want to be around her- I want to talk to her.”

Steve knew the importance of the relationship when Bucky stressed that point. Bucky never went out of his way to join a conversation or even speak to someone. It always had to be initiated by the other party and even then it was one sided. Bucky hated talking to other people. So to actually want to talk to her... Steve felt that progress was being made.

“And then, after the mission... she let me touch her.” Bucky sat back in his chair, remembering how he held her tightly. Remembering how she latched to him, like her was her life line. In a way, he was in that moment. “She let me comfort her and hold her... then she fell asleep and had a nightmare and set my shirt on fire.” Steve’s eyes widened as he whirled around to face him. Bucky was quick to defend her. ��It was an accident- she apologized but... I think it hit too close to home for her. She kicked me out and she hasn’t spoken to me in days. What am I supposed to do now? I’ve grown so close to her and now... she won’t even look my way. I thought she had the same feelings but, maybe I was just caught up in my emotions, remembering what it felt like to have feelings for a woman.”

“I don’t think it’s that, Buck.” Steve assured him. He’d seen the glances Tessa gave him. She’d greet him with a ‘good morning’ and already have his coffee mug down with coffee in it. “Maybe she’s just scared. She doesn’t have a good control over her powers and she set you on fire. She just needs time, you both need to be patient with the other. It’s not gonna be easy.”

“I know that... I just- I want to jump straight into this feeling but she’s holding back... and I don’t know how to help her.” Bucky muttered. Steve had seen this before- granted it wasn’t the same reason. It was when they were teenagers and a senior girl had been stringing Bucky along because he was the best looking in the sophomore class. Poor Bucky actually had feelings for the girl but she was just trying to prove a point to her friends. But he knew Tessa was holding back for a different reason. A selfless reason.

“Just try and understand her side. If she gives you the chance, explain how you feel.” Steve couldn’t believe that he was giving Bucky girl advice. It used to be so different went they were younger. “Maybe flowers- buy her flowers to show that you’re not pissed about catching fire.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Everyone suited up?" Tony asked, tossing his glasses onto the seat beside his iron man armor. Steve and Natasha were sitting in the pilot seats, switching buttons and levers, preparing for takeoff. Sam was doing last minute repair work on Redwing, while Bucky sat beside him trying to hold back on jamming his finger directly into Redwing’s circuit board- just to annoy Sam. Wanda and Vision were sitting together reading a book they had borrowed from Laura the last time they had visited Clint. Bruce decided to stay behind, as he usually did. Tessa was the last one on the jet, taking a seat in the far back, hooking herself in and just sitting quietly.

Everyone gave Tony a response- whether it be a grunt, nod, or a ‘fuck off, mom’ from several of the passengers. Tony spared a glance back to Tessa when he didn’t hear a response from her. She was wearing the design he’d made for her. Completely fire proof, black tactical pants with a long sleeved black spandex shirt and black combat boots. She wore a Kevlar vest over the top. She was also decked out in weapons- knives in her belt and boots, a hand gun on each hip and an AR- 15 sitting by her side. He’d wanted to go for the dramatic but Tessa practically cussed him out when she saw his first idea.

“Hey, kiddo.” Tony scooted in beside her, bumping hips as he buckled his harness in. Natasha had announced take off in two minutes so he settled in beside his loving sister for a pep talk. “How you feeling?”

“Did you read those reports?” Tessa questioned, forgoing formalities and small talk. Her dark eyes landed on his face, worry and irritation building up in her brows.

“No, I didn’t. I wanted to because you never talk about it but I didn’t.” Tony sighed as Tessa relaxed slightly into her seat. “I just want to be here for you and you don’t make that easy when you hide things from me.”

“If it makes you feel better I also lie to my therapist.” Tessa cocked her head to the side.

“Well that I can understand.” Tony scoffed, gently elbowing her. Tessa smiled, looking down at her fingers, playing with a string on her fingerless gloves. “I love you, you know that right?” She nodded. “Good. So, just keep your cool this mission, alright? Don’t be afraid of your powers. Don’t be afraid that you’re putting us in danger. We can handle ourselves. And you’re paired with Barnes so just... keep your head down and follow his orders- even though I’d personally like to jab his eyes out.”

“He’s a perfectly nice guy.” Tessa muttered quietly.

“That murdered your parents.” Tony pressured, trying his best to not throw himself into a tirade. “He’s responsible for so much death and destruction-“

“Well so am I...” Tessa shot a glance at Tony, shutting him up instantly. It was the first time she had ever admitted it to him. “He isn’t the only one here with blood on his hands- the whole team is morally grey when it comes to the lives saved and taken. Besides, he wasn’t in his right mind... he’s a good guy.”

Tony could see it- the light blush on her neck and ears. He felt a pit forming in his stomach- she wasn’t falling for the guy, was she? There was so much he didn’t know about his sister from the past six years. That made him feel even worse. She had gone through so much, too much for someone her age to deal with and she wouldn’t even talk about it. So why wouldn’t she fall in love with the first person that actually listened to her- that made time for her.

“Tell you what-“ Tony told her, unsnapping the buckles and standing up. “After this mission- we go to that pizza place you and your friends used to terrorize in high school. Just the two of us. Catch up on everything we’ve missed.” Tessa looked up, meeting his eyes. The dark brown eyes of Howard Stark, passed down to both of his children.

“Sounds nice, Tony.” She agreed. “Stopping for doughnuts on fifth?”

“As many as you want.”

“It’s a deal.”

[avelera]

hi! im sorry if this sounds stupid, but im supposed to start uni this year, and im reallyyy nervous about it. coming across so many talented authors such as you really makes me feel incredibly stupid in comparison, and i feel like im going to set my own self back. i work really hard to improve my writing by practising and reading a lot, but i know it's never enough. there's so much out there i haven't experienced yet and i want to include but i just don't know how to express it. please help :((

Hey Anon! First of all, I'm really touched by your kind words about my work, thank you so much! And it’s not stupid at all, my dude, no one is born writing we all gotta practice at it. And don’t feel stupid either! Not knowing something is just the process of recognizing that you’re learning and growing, it’s not a bad thing! Every writer, even the most famous in history, struggled with no being able to express themselves, you are joining a GRAND tradition!

Second of all, HOOOO BOY do I understand the anxieties you’re facing right now about uni, so please forgive me for rambling but I've got SO MANY FEELINGS about what to do as a writer going to uni/college.

Uni/college can be a really hard time for writers. While I was at college in the US, I think I went almost three whole years without writing a single word that wasn’t for a class. The writing workshops I took there absolutely crippled my self-confidence, to the point where I really don’t recommend any budding authors take a college creative writing class unless they’ve already got a BUNCH of stories under their belt, and only take the class if they’re not afraid an individual student or teacher will have that one comment that breaks their desire to write or the teacher is already a mentor that they trust, or because they firmly understand that in the real world you're never going to have someone who was forced to read your story for an assignment, so the kind of apathy and dislike you’ll get for your work in a class is extremely atypical and seems almost designed to kill a new writers motivation when they’ve barely even started to write….

ANYWAY, personal rant out of the way, lemme see if I can put together some thoughts that will help you out, and don’t be afraid to follow up with another Ask if I missed something or you want me to expand on something!

Full disclosure, I’m 32 now and I’ve been writing for 20 years (with the aforementioned huge, multi-year gaps in there where I wrote almost NOTHING) and I’ve had a lot of privilege when it comes to my ability to write and freedom to do so.

If you're like me, writing is going to be hard in uni, don’t get me wrong, some people thrive as writers there, but I’m going to speak to my own experience. You’re going to have a lot of reading and writing you have to do for school and that can potentially drain your creative reserves. Be kind to yourself when that happens. The writing will come back. Maybe set aside time to do a 15 minute writing exercise once in a while if you’re feeling down on yourself, but don’t worry if writing isn’t something that happens every day!

Your note expressed anxiety about there being so much out there you haven’t experienced, but uni is great for broadening your horizons! You’re at the beginning of your road as a writer, not the end of it! Course selection is different for everyone and I don’t know your priorities. That said, if you have a chance for an elective, I recommend picking something that broadens your horizons instead of something you’d usually take. Engineering can help with sci-fi (and everything!), history can help with fantasy (and EVERYTHING), heck, accounting could give you ideas for a financial thriller, every course out there will give you new ideas AND even if you don’t have time to take a course for credit, some professors will let you sit in on the lectures for classes you're interested in but don’t have the time/energy/credits to take officially. I got very lucky my senior year and was allowed to sit in on a class on WWII with a world-renowned scholar on the subject just by asking nicely. Didn’t have to do the homework or pay extra or anything, and it gave me so many ideas for stories and fics!

Again, I actually DON’T recommend taking fiction writing courses unless you have a specific professor you have a good relationship with and want to work with or it otherwise comes highly recommended. In my opinion, it's better to broaden your horizons with a wide variety of ideas and courses over “specializing” in writing. To add to that, here’s some totally unsolicited career advice, I’d also say look into courses that build to a career that won’t suck your soul out. Having a career you don't hate, that gives you freedom to write (with time and/or money) and diverse experience to pull ideas from will be a huge boon to your writing career if it’s something you have any interest in pursuing professionally or as a hobby long-term.

Dropping the uni subject for a second and focusing on writing, one of the things I wished someone had told me sooner is that you don’t need someone else to teach you how to write. Sure, it can be really helpful at some point, but waiting until someone can tell you how to write lost me three good years at least. Again, I don't recommend taking creative writing classes in college because they can be debilitating to self esteem if administered wrong. So just keep writing and you’ll be fine! Maybe do a 15 minute exercise if it’s been a while since you wrote for fun and you're feeling down on yourself. But more importantly, be gentle with yourself if you can't get around to writing every day.

- Don’t WAIT to write the story that you’re passionate about right now. Write it now. Sure, future you might be a “better” writer, but future you might have just taken that cool WWII history class and wants to write a WWII vampire story, not about the thing you’re excited for right now. Don’t burden future you with the thing you’re excited about today, let future you write their own thing. Every story you write is going to have flaws, and is going to look awful to you at some point, but eventually you WILL be able to look back on it and see the good as well as the bad, and more importantly, see how you’ve grown and it will be an amazing feeling! But you can't get there if you stop writing entirely or give up on what you're working on.

Uuuh, other than that...just stay at it! This is a numbers game at the end of the day. Writing a bunch is the best way to progress, protect the spark of your motivation like your LIFE depends on it. If someone or something is making you want to give up writing, get that thing out of your life (to the best of your ability)! My philosophy is that the ONLY thing early writers should be worrying about is writing as MUCH as possible. All the editing and advice and “do this, don’t do that” ALL that stuff is meant for so much later in the process. If any advice makes you want to write less, ignore it! If you write 100 stories, or 10 novels, or whatever, the last one WILL be better than the first one, it’s just the super cool thing about working on something! You just have to stay at it! 

[nnumbskxull]

                                                  〘  freedom is the highest right 〙

⤿ hello there fabulous people!!! to those that know me, you shredded scrub daddies, just skip a few lines before I kick you in the throat and into the sUN. to those who don’t! my name’s stirling, I also play the italian kiddo here aka titus wu the macgyver, and today I have decided to bring you the russian™ (that I may or may not have based off hannibal lector : D just less cannibal promise). jump on down below the cut to find out more about my new child (psa; i....REALLY did write a lot but I p r o m i s e you kai is incredibly secretive and it will take time for his past to be uncovered by other muses because i’m like that™) MWUAH!!

oh also blah blah blah like this and i’ll show up in your dm’s or discord aYEET

( im jaebeom, male, he/him, 26. ) — i hear that KAI SOKOLOV has been living in seoul for around 8 YEARS and works as a/an CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGIST. rumor has it, they can be LEVEL-HEADED & KNOWLEDGEABLE but also VENGEFUL & MANIPULATIVE which is why a judge’s blood-soaked robes, ancient textbooks coated in dust, and bruised hand prints around one’s throat make me think of them.

                                                                   ⤹ ―――― ⤸

〘  ABOUT 〙

full name: kai sokolov

nickname(s): brainiac

age: 26

gender: male

birthdate: december 23, 1993

birthplace: moscow, russia

occupation: criminal psychologist

ethnicity: russian-korean

orientation: bisexual / biromantic

status: single

languages: russian, korean, near-fluent english

pets: n/a

〘  PHYSICAL 〙

faceclaim: im jaebeom

hair: black

eyes: dark brown

height: 6'2 (187 cm)

weight: 176 lb (79 kg)

body: muscular, slim

style: street-fashion is his best friend on a normal day, sleek suits that scream professional while on the job

defining features: two moles on his left eyelid

tattoos: n/a

scars: a few on his knees, elbows, a small one on his nape

〘  MENTAL 〙

horoscope: capricorn

zodiac: rooster

element: water

moral alignment: neutral

type: INFJ - the counselor

house: slytherin

religion: catholic

fears: n/a

chronic: n/a

positive: insightful, clever, reliable, articulate, charismatic, level-headed, hard-working, incisive, authoritative

neutral: determined, distinctive, passionate, complex

negative: cold, blunt, manipulative, crafty, vengeful, presumptuous,

                                                               ⤹ ―――― ⤸

TW; Violence, Blood, Death, Cancer 

Born the illegitimate child of a Russian government-working father and a Korean graphic designer mother, Kai grew up in the blankets of wealth his parents never had - the boy was grateful enough to realize the state of comparison to the families around him, and from an early age he develops a humble and high-minded personality. Thanks to his father’s well-paying job, Kai receives personal schooling and is able to indulge in as many side-activities as he chooses, although the prior solidifies a slight awkwardness in approach to other children his age due to him not being as active in their social circles. Still, Kai is avid in his hobbies - the boy seems to be able to pick up many talents with little effort, most especially being wood carving and singing. Kai takes an extreme liking to the latter, and upon his parents noticing, begins to receive vocal training that will benefit his future. The boy was as happy as happy could be, and never once did he find himself breaking out of the childlike innocence that holds him to the moment. 

Innocence….a beautiful word. But innocence does not save Kai from the heartache to strike him at 11 years old. Too young to realize the exact intricacies of his father’s job, Kai moves on with his life while his father struggles to keep a scandal behind the scenes. Indeed the senior had made a mistake in some financial suites, resulting in the loss of a few tax funds that made anyone but pleased in the matter. His father was able to clean up the mess with no major issues, however, some people were still not satisfied.(edited)Their revenge was solidified when young Kai and his parents were out walking in a park late at night after viewing a recent showing of the boy’s favorite musical, The Nutcracker. Stopping briefly in the cold winter night to pick up a frosted-over flower, Kai was met with the sounds of screaming and bone cracking clattering against his eardrums as he watched on as a group of men surrounded his parents and beat them mercilessly with metal clubs and baseball bats. 

 And then it was over, just like that.

In less than 10 minutes, Kai’s entire life was ripped from his fingers, no inquiry given to why he was spared but only to the beaten and bloodied corpses of his mother and father. He never learned who carried out the act and who gave the orders, but as he watched on at their government state funeral decorated too lavishly for his own tastes, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, he swore he would find out.

Although inheriting all of his parent’s money, young Kai is unable to take on the mantle of responsibility due to the mental weight the incident left on him, and instead leaves Russia to live with his aunt in South Korea, his mother’s homeland. It is luckily for him that he ended up where he was and not in some random orphanage - most of his mother’s immediate family had renounced her for being with a foreigner and having a child before being married, all except for her sister whom had held steadfast in their family ties. After the murder of his parents, the last thing Kai would have wanted was to move thousands of miles away to a country he had never been to, yet he had little say in the matter as he said goodbye to the snow-topped buildings of Moscow and hello to the monstrous sun-lit skyscrapers of Seoul. 

He grows fast, although he never forgets the incident. The once outgoing and playful boy becomes a shell of his former self, a silence filling him as he takes on an icy approach. Kai is grateful for the kindness shown to him by his mother’s sister, and despite meeting her at such a disastrous time, grows fond of the woman and becomes attached to her. She teaches him Korean and English, languages he manages to pick up easily due to his mixed heritage, and he in return teaches her Russian for when she might want to visit his mother’s grave. The two grow to have a nearly inseparable bond, and although he will always hold a place in his heart and mind for his parents, Kai begins to slowly move on and finally heal. However, even at 19 years old, it seems fate is not yet done in sharing with him some of its tragedy. 

It happens quickly - one day she is as bustling and happy and ever, and the next Kai is standing over her body in a hospital bed as a doctor pulls the plug. Pancreatic Cancer, he hears them say, and almost in the blink of an eye he is back in a full circle of grief and mistrust as his heart is shattered before him. The simple pleasantries he has access to thanks to his wealth become insubordinate in comparison to the depression that sets upon him, and if not for an opportunity to present itself to him, Kai thinks he would have let himself rot away without meaning. 

From the flames of promise he had made to his dead parents in finding the perpetrators, so did rise a need to make clear of it. If not at that moment, then at some point would he make sure their heads hung from aged ropes in the winter wind. For the time being, though, his focus switched to something else; the mind. A bullet could get the job done, but Kai more so found himself wanting to understand and bring justice in other ways. Methodical and closed off from the rest of the world, he entered university for psychology and swept through with flying colors, hardly concerned with what other people dwelled on, there were hardly any distractions he allowed to take time away from his work. In the end, Kai graduated valedictorian and was immediately employed by the city’s law force as a criminal psychologist on the side of his own practice, unaware that the very man they were having understand delinquent’s minds was one himself with guarded secrets. Analyzing subjects before court cases, deeming insanity, attempting to extract information....Kai did it all, yet to him no crime was too great, and in every one he saw one of the masked men who had beaten his parents into the ground. This twisted mentality earned, in his eyes, swift punishment ― and with a silver tongue, intrusive methods, and hidden intents, he easily convinced many to initiate their own deaths or sent them to fates worse than death.

Because to him, no price was too great, and no crime too small.

[queenangst]

advice for high school??

advice for high school:

put yourself out there. i know high school is big and scary, but it's new. you're going to know people who you've seen all your life and people who you have never met before, probably. don't be afraid. sit next to someone new in chemistry and... bond. ask to squeeze in a lunch spot. smile at your teachers, say hello. join clubs. it's 2-4 years of your life, so find your people.

stop thinking about the numbers. this is one of the hardest things when you're surrounded by a pressured environment from all sides - teachers, students, parents. but let me tell you that you have to learn when to care and when to not. which times to fight and which times to let go. you might get your first 35 on a test. you might be ranked far behind your other classmates. not every homework has to be done well, just done at all. not every grade has to be an A, because in the end higher academic institutions care less than you think and not every "bad" grade is the end of the world. and if you don't do so hot on something, feel a little bad and then keep going. no use in dwelling, just do better next time. (sometimes just give up. don't do an assignment. take the 0. sometimes you need the time, or the break, and it's not worth doing.)

freedom. high school is the first taste of bigger opportunities in learning. choose classes you might have an interest in over what will boost your gpa or whatever. take art, take music, something creative, even if you are a stem student through and through, you don't have to do well but this will enrich your life and give your brain something different that isn't numbers or grammar or whatever. and creativity fosters community.

communicate with your teachers. some teachers accept nothing late ever period. some teachers procrastinate. actually a lot of teachers procrastinate they're really just like you. whatever the case talk to them. if you're having trouble understanding high school teachers often have some form of out of class tutoring/tutorials before, after, and even during school (such as at lunch). if you are sick, if you want them to look over a paper, if you need an extra day to finish your project and make it good, talk to your teachers. they want you to succeed. they cannot always be lenient for personal or academic reasons, but they will understand. and them knowing is better than them not.

get sleep. i mean it. 6 hours at least. 7 is good. 8+ is best. if you can't, at least sleep for some amount of time even if it's 30 minutes. if you can't sleep, still lie down for a bit in the dark and let your body rest even if your mind won't shut off. you will thank yourself in the morning.

do your damn homework. just do it. there's a lot, some of it is useless, but a lot of it is not. homework is meant to help you retain the info that you learned in class, or even learn more info that you will not cover in class.

on top of #6, read the textbook and listen in class. sometimes it's boring. just do it. you don't have to take notes but they definitely help, and notes never have to be pretty they just have to be legible to you. it can be bullet points. it can be diagrams. it can be a treasure map of weird associations. draw angry faces next to notes about dead historical figures. whatever works for you.

teachers are resources. ask if you can record lectures. see if they have a google classroom or someplace online where they post notes and powerpoints. ask for websites and further reading. ask for HELP.

study a lot, have fun a lot. i know every day is limited and you're going to be tired all the time. i know. i was there. ib was working us to the bone from the moment we went in to the very last exam. but on the weekends and after school, every now and then do something with your friends that isn't going through your math homework together. see a movie. get coffee, or boba, or tea, or whatever the hell y'all drink these days. go to a museum. find free activities. swim. talk to your friends outside of an academic environment and you will be closer and dearer. and you will not regret it.

you're allowed to disagree with your authority figures. so parents/guardians/teachers. don't overstep your boundaries but as you learn and grow there will be times that they are wrong and you are right. in many different situations... but most especially about you yourself, a person.

reach out. talk to someone when you're hurt. theres going to be a lot of new experiences in high school and some of them will be bad. please talk to your friends. your parents if you can. talk to a teacher you trust. sometimes school counselors suck but part of the job, regardless of if they are doing well or not, is listening to you, and it's meant to be confidential. and if you're worried about someone else for gods sake talk to an adult.

you are still a kid. please don't stress too much about matters that are bigger than you and things that are too much for you to control. you are almost an adult but you are not, you are grown up but you are not. do kid things. you don't need to be super strong, or super mature, or act ten years older than you are. you don't need to prove anything.

pursue your interests, and good things will follow. i mean this in every sense. your health. your mind. your attitude. your college applications. (seriously, everyone has done the volunteer hours and everyone has the grades and everyone has what you have. show that you're human.)

be awkward. be weird. there are so many different kinds of people but someone will be like you, and someone will like you. be happy, and others will see it.

don't put your burdens unnecessarily on other people. or yourself. here's the truth: if all you talk about is how bad you are, how you aren't getting anywhere in life, how the numbers aren't good enough, then no one will stick around for long. you will surround yourself in something bad that people don't want to be around. like mentioned, talk to someone. friends are the most comfortable but not always the most appropriate. im not saying to keep your thoughts to yourself, but adults > other emotional, struggling, hormonal teenagers in terms of being equipped to handle tough situations. people want to help! but when all you talk about is yourself and your trouble, and not listen to other people, talk about things that make you happy... you're going to lose something.

college is a big deal but also not. please don't worry about it until junior and senior year.

failure is inevitable. take it.

surround yourself with people who are better than you, and who you like, and who like you. surround yourself with people who you aspire to be similar to. you will do better and you will want to do better.

keep organized. good god. please do not be like that one guy in my math class. one day my classmate and i got so fed up we cleaned out his backpack for him and shoved things into folders and begged him to stay organized. folders. binders. accordian folders. just use something im pleading you. it's going to be 2 minutes before class and you realize you can't find your homework or turn in a wrinkled, stained paper. also keep some sort of schedule and task list or else you will be that guy that goes "wait we have a TEST today?"

halo effect. first impressions are important, even if you can overcome bad ones. show up on time. sit in the front even though it's scary, because midyear you'll realize you have been doing badly because you sat in the back and can't see or hear over the two girls who gossip in front of you. smile. say hello. ask questions. raise your hand. you can be wrong. you can be wrong. you can ask stupid questions.

ask your teachers if you can eat in class. my 4th period teacher (after lunch) was fine with us eating, so id take lunch to study sometimes and eat then. i always ate breakfast during 1st period bc when i got up it was too early for my body to take more than a little. most teachers are okay as long as the smell isn't strong and lasting, and you clean up. have a snack so you don't crash. don't forget to eat either. please eat lunch, and some teachers will give you snacks if you ask, and if you don't have money please just... ask someone for a share or to borrow some cash. it's okay. you need to eat.

there is so much more. school might be all you know. but stop and enjoy life. if you worry about college you're going to spend 4 years looking forward and not enough at the present, and you're going to lose your precious time. there is so much more.

you're going to change. a lot. you will be a completely different person. that's normal. you're gonna be a little embarrassed. like the person you become, and become a person you like. make good choices. be kind. have heart.

enjoy high school, kid. good luck!!! it was honestly a rewarding and wonderful time, and that was in part bc i made it so.

[myfirelight64]

Jenkai and why it was fake

Hello! Ive been asked about this a lot and especially by a recent anon so here you go ! There are lots of analysis elsewhere and I recommend looking those up too since this one will be as brief as possible and also probably with a lot of points missing.

First, the most common question I get is "what would the idols get out of it ? they're already famous enough !" Media play is almost never about the idols, except how famous they are. Media play is NOT promotion, it's distraction. Something going on in the government, something going on in the kpop industry, or something going on in that company itself. The idols, as rookies, receive nothing for being in a scandal. It's part of their contract to be put in those situations, at the companies' will. When they're older, they probably get privileges for doing these sorts of things.

So I'll repeat - media play is not about promoting the idols. Depending on the thing they're covering up, the more popular the idol, the better. Jennie and Kai were and are two of the most popular idols in two of the most popular groups right now. Jennie probably received nothing for it but Jongin could have received a multitude of things as almost a senior in the industry - a studio, a solo, freedoms in other areas, etc. On an added note, you'll notice that idols who are about to have a comeback or a solo are NEVER involved in dating scandals. It can hurt them so it's definitely not about promotion.

Now that Ive explained media play, let's get more into Jenkai in particular.

**this is with no hate towards jennie in any form, Im talking more about YG and the rumours surrounding her, that may be true or may not be true. the truth of it is unimportant when it comes to rumour**

After Solo (Nov. 12), Jennie was not only the target of rumours about her performance, but about her relationship with yg and/or the staff. YG has shown concerning (for her, too) favouritism towards her in the past, and there started a rumour about a relationship between her and her CEO. On top of that, other rumours of relationships between YGE producers and writers as well as YG in order to have her own solo outside of BP. Again, Im not saying these rumours were true, but the rumours themselves were very real and very damaging to everyone concerned. When Dispatch released Jenkai on New Years', there was one ver important statement in the article. It mentioned how Jongin and Jennie had been dating since early October, and therefore, Jennie couldn't have been in a relationship with YG. This was actually stated IN THE ARTICLE. Rather than letting people suspect that for themselves, they put it out in big bold letters so EVERYONE would understand - YG isn't dating Jennie. That part of the statement was shady enough.

Third, on to the photos. You'll find something similar in every single media play dating scandal Dispatch releases - no matter what the weather, the idols are ALWAYS uncovered. Not only are they uncovered, they stand beneath streetlamps or hold their phones close to their faces so that their features may clearly be seen. Hundreds of idols go on dates all the time, or at least go out together. They're never caught because they cover up and are smart about where they go and what they do. However, in all of Dispatch's photos, the idols act like they wont be recognised uncovered and with bright lights. This is another point that shows it's a set up.

On top of this, Dispatch managed to follow them (in a well lit parking garage lmao) not only from her apartment but to a park without them noticing the car and the man with the camera. Since the moved, there was no way for dispatch to get wind of the news and were able to set up hidden cameras. In terms of the way they acted, it's obvious. No smiling, no laughing, no talking, no hugs - they're on their phones. Jongin gets in the car and waits while she walks back to it alone before getting in without a word or a kiss and they drive away. How is that a date ? On top of this, the whole gift concept and the dates were all wrong, you can look that up.

Fourth and last point - "why did YG and SM agree to this?" In the end, it seems to me that this was for Jennie and YG. Not that the rumours were true, but it was reflecting really badly on them. The rumour shut up people about YG and her and that was the end of it. In YGE, there was (in my opinion), only one male idol that people would really believe and that was Mino from Winner, who had recently been involved in quite a few scandals and it was probably best that he lay low. The other person Jennie was frequently shipped with was Jongin, and who knows what SM and YG could have exchanged, etc. and what Jongin could have gotten out of it from SM. The couple was planned and filmed but then wasn't released. SM cancelled the scandal but then Dispatch released it anyways with YG's permission (as far as I know) on New Years'. Hence the long time before SM's statement, the fact that it merely said "they get on well tgt" (friendzoned them), and then YG just responded with "same". Also why SM finished it off within three weeks, compared to the usual year.

That's pretty much it ? Like I said, this one will be pretty lacking and there are loads of analyses on the internet for you to read ! Please feel free to ask any questions !

[sunnnet]

thee return of the queen

so much has happened in my life since i think i last posted. i am a rising senior in college now. i go to spelman and my life changed in so many ways since then. i have finally decided on what i want to achieve career wise and that feels good. for the time being, i am going to get my jd/phd in english. never thought i would be trying to get 2 graduate degrees and yet here i am. i am gonna take a gap year to go be a normal twenty something before i head into an intensive, 5-7 year long graduate study program. i hope i get to travel, get a car & learn to drive before grad school. i have undergone intensive psychiatric treatment for the past 7 months. we found out that we have bipolar ii and adhd. it just confirms what we have known for so long. 

so many things have stayed the same though. i still want a vw beetle. they dont make them anymore which sucks majorly but im gonna get the newest version of it (a 2019 which is less than 5 years old). i still havent had a major romantic relationship yet. it is both parts because i do not have the opportunity to pursue one but also because i am very mentally unstable at the moment. chickens coming home to roost really. 

i remember learning about being a demigirl in the 8th grade. i identified with that heavily but because i did not have super sophisticated language/ gender identity as i do now i did not think that i was that person. now i understand that i have been a demigirl this whole time. i use the term demiwoman because i am no longer a girl but the point still stands. i tell folks i am non-binary if thats the only other option, but if applications let me self-describe i do. i will always be a Black woman, but maybe moreso a Black womxn than a woman. it makes sense to me. gender is too oppressing and not expansive enough for any of us to be one thing really. a lot of the time i just see myself as floating within the feminine space  between divine feminity and genderless freedom. the feminine mystique if we would. 

[im-youngmin]

[TRANS] 170728 MXM’s Interview with Xportsnews

Group Interview:

Youngmin: As someone who has the dream of becoming a singer, I’m very thankful for having had the chance to let people know of me through ‘Produce 101’. I’m very proud because it feels like I’ve reached my goal of debuting through this program. Although I’m worried that a lot of my lacking areas will be seen since I received this love so suddenly, I am in the middle of working hard in order to show my growing self.

Donghyun: I’m happy and thankful to have gotten a chance of debuting. If I received love for my overflowing charms during ‘Produce 101’, then I believe that I gained the opportunity to show my musical side through MXM, so I’m very content.

MXM’s pre-release title song, ‘GOOD DAY’, is a refreshing and bright song that is fitting of the first idol group to come out of their company, Brand New Music. It garnered interest once it was known to have been composed by WANNA ONE’s Lee Daehwi.

Youngmin: A lot of people predicted that a song would come out with Brand New Music’s hip-hop style. However, it’s formed with songs that are bright and strong with energy. ‘GOOD DAY’ is a song that we practiced we Daehwi, but it fit well with the concept, so we included it.

Donghyun: There’s a Busan dialect killing part by Youngmin hyung, but looking for that is one of the fun elements of this. I personally think it’s stronger than ‘I’m a bit intoxicated’ (T/N: Youngmin’s line from ‘Boys and Girls’). Since both of the pre-release songs are self-composed, I think you’ll be able to see MXM’s refreshing charms more.

MXM’s promotions are at the same time as WANNA ONE’s promotion period. As much as Lee Daehwi and Park Woojin from Brand New Music are under WANNA ONE, I feel like the meaning must feel different.

Youngmin: We haven’t been able to contact Daehwi and Woojin due to being too busy. However, what I believe to be meaningful is how the four of us practiced together, but will now be standing on the same stage. Them as WANNA ONE and we as MXM.

Donghyun: Even though our teams are different right now, since they are people who will be in the same team as us, I am thinking of it positively and we are supporting each other from our own spots. Although it’s different and fascinating to meet as a different team, I think we’ll still support each other a lot. It will be really fun if we meet. That also goes for WANNA ONE as well as other trainees from ‘Produce 101’ Season 2.

As expected of a duo, these two showed how they perfectly match. They especially showed showed off their friendship by saying that they have always picked each other for the trainee they are closest with. So to these two, what does the other’s existence mean?

Youngmin: I have always picked Donghyun as the trainee I am closest to. We lived together during ‘Produce 101’ as well and had a lot of instances of being on the same time. And our personalities normally match really well too. Although our tendencies are very different, they strangely fit well. So one of the meanings of our team name is ‘MIX & MATCH’, but I believe it’s because we think of each other a bit more and give into each other that we can match even better in the future.

Donghyun: I haven’t been a trainee for a long period of time, but the hyung I relied on the most while doing it was Youngmin hyung. We don’t express it well to each other. However, since he’s the hyung I relied on the most, I’m thankful and happy with the fact that I’m able promote as a unit under the same team.

When I asked to sum it up in just one phrase, Im Youngmin replied, “A real younger brother who seems like a friend” while Kim Donghyun answered “a needle and thread”. These two who are always together answered that the only people they contact even on breaks are each other. Kim Donghyun quickly added, “I’ll be the thread. Hyung, you be the needle,” and brought out laughter.

We asked what they wanted to say to fans since the two of them did not forget to express their thanks towards fans’ love during the entirety of the interview.

Youngmin: Although we were trainees, we were able to come out with an album due to the large amount of love we received. We heard that there were a lot of people who waited for a long time even after ‘Produce 101’ ended, so we worked hard to prepare this. Although we’re still lacking, we will work hard in order to show the best side we can, so I ask for a lot of love. We will show our continuously growing selves.

Donghyun: In order to give back to the large amount of love we have received, we are working hard in preparations. We will work harder on the album and show a better side, so I think I will be thankful if you could give a lot of support.

Youngmin’s Interview:

He is now 23 years old. What could have been the reason behind Im Youngmin creating his dream of becoming an idol?

Youngmin: I really liked dancing since I was in my 2nd or 3rd year of middle school, so I started it then. While dancing a hip-hop style, I naturally fell into hip-hop. I think I started my dream of being an idol ever since then.

However, he said that while being a trainee, his thoughts strengthened in wanting to be an artist who just does music rather than become an idol. It was also connected to the reason why Im Youngmin chose Brand New Music and not another place.

Youngmin: “Since I normally did hip-hop and rap, there were a lot of seniors that I liked in Brand New Music. While thinking it was a company I really wanted to go to, I heard that they were starting an idol project, so I applied and made it through the auditions. At that time, there was an offer from another company as well, but my ‘favorite’ was Brand New, so I ended up picking this. I believed that even if Brand New Music were to make an idol group, they would still help my artist tendencies grow.

To Im Youngmin who respects all artists in Brand New Music and sets them as his role models, we asked him who his role model outside of the company would be.

Youngmin: I really like Block B seniors. Of course I like their music style, and I think the color of a team that can harmonize well despite each of their colors having a variety is charming. On my recent guesting of tvN’s ‘Problematic Men’, Park Kyung senior was there, so I told him I was a fan, but because I was so nervous, I wasn’t able to express it enough, so that was regrettable. I also wanted to take a picture, but because I was so nervous and tense, I wasn’t able to ask. I want to go there next time and tell him for sure. Also, ever since I was younger, the person I set the most as my role model is Park Jaebum senior. It’s really cool to see how he can do everything including dancing, singing, and even producing. It’s also really cool to see him take good care of the singers in his company as the CEO of AOMG. I also thought a lot about ‘It would be nice if I were like that’. In the future, I hope to become that kind of artist.

Im Youngmin was a trainee whose fandom power was amazing even within ‘Produce 101’ Season 2. Including the subway support advertisements, they sold-out in a hoodie that he wore and showed that he has rose as a ‘trend’.

Youngmin: When we first did the broadcast, I didn’t know what was going on outside. However, from just seeing the support I received during the concert, I was receiving so much love. I’m really thankful for the advertisements as well and a lot of people sent in letters, but while reading one-by-one, I gain strength from their efforts. There were difficult times while preparing for this album, but I gained a lot of comfort from letters full of love’s sincerity that I haven’t received before.

When I told him that someone I know had Im Youngmin as their ‘ultimate bias’, Im Youngmin showed a happy smile and said, “Whenever I hear things like that, I feel really happy and good.”

To his subway advertisement, he stated, “Whether it be idols or someone who has dreamed of becoming a singer, there is an ideal image about things like birthday advertisements. I had the thought of ‘I want to be there too’, but I didn’t know I would receive it so quickly. I was deeply moved. Chinese fans also gave a lot of advertisements, but I hope an opportunity comes where I am able to visit their country and meet them.”

‘Produce 101’ Season 2, which has allowed Im Youngmin to rise as a star. What could his most memorable moment have been?

Youngmin: When we did our first recordings for ‘M! Countdown’, it was really difficult. It was a scene where 101 trainees danced to ‘나야 나’, but we matched the choreography for the entire day and set the formations through the night. Our recordings were the next day, but it was tiring to the point where I wondered whether or not be drained out if this continued. After we finished, I felt a big sense of freedom in thoughts that I successfully did it. Since I successfully did this, I felt that we could endure through almost any difficult situation that may appear.

Finally, the last live broadcast day. While the credits were rolling, Youngmin’s sobbing was captured on screen and made many fans feel sad.

Youngmin: I didn’t even imagine that would get captured (on camera). After it was over, I talked it with a lot of trainees, but Kim Taemin trainee was among one them. Since he was someone who had to leave due to being sick, I wasn’t able to contact him often, but he came to me and asked ‘You had hard time, right?’, but that one phrase made me explode in tears. Since there were a lot of trainees, I thought I wouldn’t be seen. I’m not the type to cry often, but once it exploded, I just refreshingly cried. I even heard ‘You cried prettily’ later on.

Im Youngmin, who went through many complications and is now debuting. It was recently known that he is appearing on tvN’s ‘Problematic Men’, and he is now officially starting promotions. What could his thoughts on his first variety show guesting be like?

Youngmin: The day before the schedule, I really almost threw up. I’m more on the side of liking math and science as well as logics. That’s why I was happy to the point of jumping when I heard about the guesting. A desire to do better formed, so I prepared this and prepared that, and before I knew it, I was so nervous that I was only able to sleep for around an hour the day before. During the recordings, they made the atmosphere very comfortable, so I was able to become less tense from the middle on. Although it’s regrettable that I wasn’t able to talk well, I think it was still fun. I asked the PD-nim to call me another time again. Saying that I can do even better.

Donghyun’s Interview:

Kim Donghyun, who is in charge of MXM’s vocals, revealed that he started his dream of becoming an idol ever since he was in his 3rd year of middle school.

Donghyun: I was in a band for my school club activity, but while performing during festival stages, I naturally formed my dream of becoming a singer. My parents’ strongly opposed at first, but I pleaded to them for a really long time. And my parents’ hearts weakened a lot from that. Now they really like it. They even say ‘Work even harder’.

When asked about how he joined his company, Brand New Music, Kim Donghyun brought up Hanhae’s name. He said that while listening to his songs a lot, he was able to gain a fantasy towards Brand New Music

Donghyun: The teacher who taught my singing had ties with the rookie development head of Brand New Music, so she introduced me to an audition. Since it was a company I really liked, I told her I would definitely do it. Because I had the thought of Brand New is a ‘company that’s good at music’ embedded in my mind. I auditioned with the thought that I would have much to learn and through that tie, I was able to become part of the company like this.

We asked who the role model of Kim Donghyun, who respects all of Brand New Music’s artists including Hanhae, would be besides someone from their company.

Donghyun: There are two people, but for music, it would be Park Hyoshin senior. Ever since I first started music, I wanted to learn from him and I practiced my singing a lot while always watching him. He improves on himself, changes his vocal styles, and even does musicals. Seeing how he works hard in various ways, I thought that I should always learn from him. Also, another person is ZE:A’s Im Siwan senior. He does his role as a member of his team and also receives a lot of acknowledgement as an actor as well. Because I think he’s a really cool person, I want to learn from him. If given the opportunity, I would also like to try out acting.

Kim Donghyun, who received a lot of love during Mnet ‘Produce 101’ Season 2, confirmed his high popularity through subway ads from fans even after being eliminated. To someone like that, when does he feel his popularity the most?

Donghyun: It’s really fascinating when I walk on the streets and they recognize who I am. When we were doing filmings, no one recognized me, but since many are recognizing me now, I feel that I’m receiving an even bigger love. We were given a break after the ‘Produce Finale Concert’ ended, but I was able to slightly feel (my popularity) upon having people from my hometown of Daejeon recognize who I am.

When asked about his most memorable moment during ‘Produce 101’ Season 2 filmings, Kim Donghyun answered, “Everything is memorable.”

Donghyun: But if I had to pick something that was most memorable, there was a time in the middle of filmings where I had to move to the interviewing area. There was a time where the PD-nim rode a golf cart, put me on, and dropped me off at the interviewing area, but during those short 3 minutes, I felt a big sense of freedom. The wind was refreshing and relieving. I remember talking endlessly with the PD-nim.

If you search up the name ‘Kim Donghyun’ on portal sites, there are almost 80 people with the same name. So does he have any thoughts on making a stage name?

Donghyun: I don’t think I’ll use a stage name during MXM promotions. However, won’t I use one later when we become complete and come out as a group? But if I am to use one, I want to use a Korean name rather than a name of a different language. There are many names that are pretty with just using Korean. I especially like pretty names like EXO’s Baekhyun senior, so since my name also has ‘Hyun’, I would like to similarly have a pretty name.

Where does Kim Donghyun, whose self-composing skills are amazing to the point where he participated in the composing of MXM’s new song, ‘I Just Do’, get his inspiration from?

Donghyun: I try to write songs whenever I have a chance. Because I normally enjoy watching movies, I’m the type that gains a lot of inspiration while watching a movie. I also read a lot of books, but I’m also receiving inspiration from Ha Sangwook’s collection of poems. The book I read recently is a book gifted by a friend called ‘The Temperature of Language’. Because my heart feels warm from it and I’m receiving a lot of influence musically, I’m currently trying to read a lot.

original source: xsportsnews 1, 2, 3 translation credits: @woojinprk

[userzara]

hey guys, it’s dani (-: i play elise too and this is my brand new child and i’m super stoked for them !! OKAY so this became longer than i thought it was going to be, practically their bio but the first two sections is background, it’s not until you get to ‘recent years/now’ that it’ll get to zara’s main point. um, right TWs: drugs, minor death. 

did i just see DUA LIPA walking down sixth street ?! oh, wait, it’s just ZARA SERAFIN, the 22 year old DEMIGIRL CASHIER/DEALER who has a reputation for being  SNARKY AND MANIPULATIVE but STREETSMART AND STEADFAST. let’s hope THEY/SHE prepared to take on the wild ride that is austin, texas. 

okay where do i begin, basically zara is inspired by alex vause as well as a variety of songs by phora ( check him out he’s great ) + an old character of mine that i never truly developed. so, to be frank, she’s a mess.com. i love her though, a lot and i’m going to try to break her down without writing an eight page essay mla format, so! here we go. 

BEFORE AUSTIN, TEXAS. 

zara comes from los angeles, california. the downtown area specifically, not the best area to grow up in but it was home and she never focused on how bad her city was doing because, for starters she only lived there until she was ten years old and the only thing on her mind is her friends. 

her parents divorced when she had turned eight years old, her dad wasn’t the best at commitment to his wife, he absolutely adored zara but settling down just hadn’t been his thing and he left. he kept in touch, briefly. at first, zara understood why he left, he was tired but he loved her so it was okay. but those calls slowly stopped happening until he stopped calling completely and she stopped waiting for them. it was one of the worst heartbreaks she’s faced. 

at ten years old, her mother remarried and they packed up everything to move to austin, texas with her new boyfriend that practically came out of nowhere. he wasn’t zara’s favorite person, in fact she felt betrayed and angry that he was now sitting where her dad used to sit and was taking over. her mother had two kids with this new guy and zara loves her siblings but she still holds a deep grudge for the guy who swept her mother up and ruined her life by moving to fucking texas. dramatic, sure but her friends were all in l.a and she had to start new. 

EARLY YEARS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS ( 10-18 ).

at first she didn’t want to make new friends, sulking became a thing. zara was supposed to loathe this place in hopes that if they didn’t make any friends they’ll pack up and move back to los angeles where she belongs. spoiler alert: that never happened and it dawned on her that this is her life now 

middle school approached and she knew she couldn’t face these coming years alone. it was hell, appearances were something they couldn’t give a shit about, sticking solely to wearing a signature black hoodie all the time, heavy eyeliner in attempt to make herself look tough but instead it got the label ‘basketcase’ stuck on her aka those mean blonde texas girls with the drawls and ‘my momma says…’ etc lmao.

POINT IS, near the end of sixth grade she got into fight with the girl who tried to torment her, finally snapping they fought in the quad of the school and zara let out of suppressed emotions and kicked her ass in front of everyone until they were pulled apart and she felt pleased as heck when she saw she made Beauty Pageant bleeding because good, that’ll teach her to stop running her mouth 

this caught the attention of what teachers like to call the ‘troubled’ kids. when zara came back from her three day suspension (and did she get a yelling at home oh boy) they took her under their wing, zara’s already average grades started dropping by influence, she soon adopted some of their characteristics and mannerisms, forging herself into something she wasn’t seeking their approval because holy fuck these people were great. hanging out every friday at the movie theaters, loitering at the ages of thirteen/fourteen in the streets feeling like kings of the city, it became addicting 

eventually this group formed into some of the ‘popular’ kids, no not the prom king and queen type of thing but they had a name for themselves. especially in HIGH SCHOOL. things started to get heavier, hanging out at the movie theaters turned into going to ragers, to trying weed for the first time, alcohol and zara fucking loved feeling rebellious and indulging in this new-found freedom. her first kiss was a drunk one and she wouldn’t be able to tell you who it was because she doesn’t remember, she just needed her first kiss because everyone was kissing everyone 

her home life didn’t get any better. she started to come home later or the next day. her grades were shit but zara didn’t care. 

soon enough weed turned to lsd. sophomore year became the year she lost her virginity to a guy that was feeling her up at a party, she didn’t care for him, she wasn’t attracted to him but all her friends were non-virgins and so she had to be too. she didn’t give a fuck with who only that it would be over quick and onto the next one. still, the first time left her feeling…weird. they didn’t enjoy it but, she thought it had to be done. not the best mentality to have. 

zara starter ditching school, making new friends with people they met at parties, picking them down the street from their high school. they had drugs, they held the key to a good time. these were…bad people for her. dealers that lured her into their world of easy cash and a fucking good time. they knew they were attractive, still growing into their body and they knew they could munch off of them. most of this was junior year and it’s still a shock her grades kept her in school. 

senior year they hardly showed up. senior year she saw someone die before her. it was one of the guys that provided whatever drug or bottle of alcohol she needed and it was an accident witnessing it. at this rate, zara went days without going home and they were on their way to the semi empty gas station for a drink before finally going home when she saw her friend through the window across the street and, it was a deal gone wrong and a gunshot broke through the chilly night causing her to drop her orange gatorade and spilling it all over the floor before she ran out of the store across the street and, well it didn’t really leave her the same. 

somehow she managed to graduate high school but barely. she felt lost but still indulged herself in bad habits throughout that last year, still free-loading off others, tricking people into doing stuff for her. sleeping with whoever the hell she wanted to fuck. just throwing herself into whatever she could. 

RECENT YEARS/NOW ( 19-22 ) 

at nineteen she was still lost, she didn’t know what she wanted to do. school was out of the question, she hated work but still did odd jobs, for a while they worked at a laundromat, taking care after the place. she still went to parties/clubs, snuck into bars. flirted with all the pretty faces and put on her faux personality. tbh zara is a goddamn two-face. 

ANYWAYS at nineteen she got caught with a gram of heroin by the police. the authorities were called when a party had started getting out of control and they arrested as many people as they could, among them: zara. charged guilty of drug possession, and since her parents couldn’t pay bail, she ended up doing 2 years of prison. two long years in the slammer. 

that was something. it didn’t hit zara that her life choices had her end up in prison until her first night in the women’s ward.  she didn’t cry until she was locked in a bathroom stall and that was the only time. those were the longest days of her life. she met people in there, good and bad. avoided getting into brawls and picked up a book here and there. in my head she had a relationship with someone in there, but not really? frequent fwbs, exclusive. zara doesn’t label shit, she gets bored and, just like her first time, on to the next. honestly help her.

NOW TWENTY-TWO and her parents aren’t welcoming her back. she isn’t allowed to see her siblings, her family hadn’t visited her at all during those two years. her mother only came once but it was short since she couldn’t beat the fact that her baby was in prison, blaming herself and asking where she went wrong in raising her. 

thankfully she had one single friend ( since i have a feeling not a lot of people kept in touch with her after she got arrested; connections anyone ?? and also connection for that ONE friend ) who hooked her up with a job to get her back on her feet but old habits die hard, working at a gas station just isn’t cutting it and is currently getting into the dealing game with her old contacts. 

in my head it’s been like, two weeks since she’s been out. back in the city and ready for Drama. 

SO YEAH THIS IS IT, WOW THAT WAS LONG IM SORRY !! wow i realized i haven’t really incorporated the alex vause thing apart from being in prison but personality wise i mean yeah, anyway !! hmu for those plots please and thank you !! or like this and i’ll come sliding into your ims !! (-: 

[askalibertarianus]

Black-American Libertarians

Travis Hallman  September 20, 2017

Recently a friend from high school told me he switched from supporting voluntary socialism to democratic socialism because there are not enough Black-Americans within the liberty-movement. Respectably, he said this concerns him because minorities know what’s best for minorities. This author agrees that individuals (including minorities) know what’s best for themselves. The purpose of this article is to highlight a few Black-American Libertarians and why libertarianism is the most caring solution for minorities.

“Averaging across nine Reason-Rupe surveys I conducted at Reason Foundation/Reason Magazine with Princeton Survey Research Associates between 2012-2014 and a recent survey we conducted here at the Cato Institute with YouGov, here’s what we find: Among those who self-identify as ‘libertarian’, 71 percent are Caucasian, 14 percent are Latino, 5 percent are African-American, 8 percent identify as another race, and 4 percent chose not to identify. While not an exact reflection, these numbers are similar to the demographic makeup of all respondents averaged across the surveys: 67 percent white, 13 percent Latino, 12 percent African-American , 7 percent identifying as other, and 1 percent not identifying.”

https://www.cato.org/blog/libertarians-are-more-racially-diverse-people-realize

What is libertarianism?

“Libertarians strongly oppose any government interference into their personal, family, and business decisions. Essentially, we believe all Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests as they see fit as long as they do no harm to another”

https://www.lp.org/about/

Black-American Libertarian Revolutionaries

Mr. Thomas Sowell:

“Currently Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, CA. His writing is always strongly in favor of free-market economic policy and a libertarian social policy.” https://www.theadvocates.org/libertarianism-101/libertarian-celebrities/thomas-sowell/

Mr. Walter E. Williams:

“In this lecture given at a Libertarian Party of Georgia event in 1991, [Walter] Williams talks about libertarianism generally and relates his own moral arguments against state coercion. Williams also briefly suggests a few things he thinks libertarians should be doing if they want the libertarian movement to grow.” https://www.libertarianism.org/media/video-collection/walter-e-williams-libertarians-liberty

Mr. Malcolm X:

“Malcolm X, for one, was very critical of the U.S. government’s international meddling, particularly in Africa, as well as its social and governmental hypocrisy when confronted with the plight of American blacks. Although embraced by the radical Left, Malcolm’s speeches and writings were not in the spirit of Karl Marx or even Howard Zinn—he preached personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, mistrust of the government, and the unquestionable right to self-defense. This isn’t to say Malcolm was a libertarian, but the ideas that permeate the American Dream have also been prevalent throughout black America’s political and social history, in some form or another. The United States is, thankfully, in a much different place than it was in the 1960s, but the desire to be free and prosperous is just as alive among black Americans, and it has been there for centuries. Perhaps, then, the problem is in the messaging.” https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/why-are-there-so-few-black-libertarians

Mr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong believer in civil disobedience and disobeying unjust laws. That belief was the starting point for every one of his marches and demonstrations. Libertarians today hold that an unjust law is no law at all, as we believe in natural law and natural rights. The government cannot simply pass laws that take away our natural rights, and those laws should not be obeyed.  The other base for Martin Luther King Jr.’s protests and speeches was his strict belief that they should be non-violent. He rightfully understood that he would never achieve his goals through force. Libertarians believe in the non-aggression principle, which states aggression against another’s property is inherently illegitimate. The most important property of all is our bodies, and therefore violence against another person is the worst form of violence. Martin Luther King Jr. agreed with that sentiment and consistently preached non-violent methods for protest. Martin Luther King Jr. displayed libertarian ideals in foreign policy and his famous opposition to the Vietnam War. King saw the dangers of American imperialism abroad and the threat to freedom that it posed at home as well.”

https://alibertarianfuture.com/famous-libertarians/famous-libertarian-quotes/martin-luther-king-jrs-famous-libertarian-quote/

Mr. Richard Boddie:

Mr. Boddie describes himself as an ‘Aframerican individualist’ and ‘secular evangelist.’ Mr. Boddie is a ‘people person’ who can transmit people skills to others. His charisma, personality, background, life experience and vision establish the foundation of his mission: ‘To teach and share the ideals and ideas of individual achievement and individual liberty with others – everyday, for the rest of my life.’

-Highest vote getter ever in Libertarian Party History for U.S. Senate

-250,000 in California’s 1992 election

-Runner up for Libertarian Party Presidential Nomination in Chicago 8/31/91 for 1992 race

-Beat the margin of victory between the Republican and Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in California 1994

-Current Chairman of Orange County Libertarian Party (Region 40 of the California Libertarian Party).

-Executive Director, Focus PAC

-Executive Director & Founder, Socially Tolerant Caucus of the Libertarian Party

-President and Founder, The Motivators motivational speakers bureau.” http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/inactive/focus/rbbcv.htm

*Here is a much more extensive list of Black-American libertarians

Black-American Libertarian/Libertarian-Leaning Celebrities

“Chris Rock is known to be politically cynical and may even be heard praising Democrats and ripping into Republicans. Rock may have even been a little too complimentary of socialist liberals at times, favoring President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore, reportedly  donating $42,100 Democratic campaigns. An important distinction to make is that Rock’s views are not always so one-sided. In fact, some of Rock’s quotations have been ideologically consistent with resisting the idea of a ‘collective’. Here’s a list of 10 Chris Rock Quotations that sound more libertarian than liberal:” http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/10-chris-rock-quotes-that-are-libertarian-as-fck

“Anthony Ray (Sir-Mix-A-Lot)

Known For: Grammy Award-winning single ‘Baby Got Back’

Libertarian Leanings: It’s a known trope that most rappers hate taxes and Ray is no exception. However, one particular song called ‘Take My Stash’ off of his Chief Booth Knocka album seems to go a level deeper:” http://www.thisispw.com/post/94353746341/5-rappers-with-libertarian-leaning-views-and-one

Rapper Big Boi of Outkast explains to Huffington Post why he’s a Libertarian and talks the importance of thinking independently. “I’m a libertarian. I’m, you know, liberty justice for all. Liberty for all. Im really pro people, pro freedom, and you know its all about positivity.”

“Eric July is America’s top black Christian anarcho-capitalist rap-metal artist.” Reason Magazine  Mr. Eric July is a full time activist for the Libertarian movement being a vocalist in his band “BackWordz” & co-founder of Being Libertarian.

The following candidates have partnered with Ask A Libertarian in the past or are currently partnering with us to provide Public AMA’s (Ask Me Anything). Check out the links to their AMA events below:

Black-American Libertarian Candidates

Karese Laguerre for NJ Lieutenant Governor under Libertarian candidate Peter Rohrman. Ms. Karese Laguerrec will be available to answer your questions during her guest appearance on Ask A Libertarian via live video feed. Her Live AMA is scheduled for October 15th at 7pm (est).

Larry Sharpe is running for Governor of New York. Mr Sharpe will be available to answer your questions via live video feed during his Live AMA on October 17th at 8pm (est).

Nickolas Wildstar is running for Governor of California. Mr. Wildstar will be available to answer your questions via live video feed during his AMA scheduled for January 15th (Martin Luther King Jr. day). The time for this event is TBA.

Gary St. Fleur is running for Mayor of Scranton, PA. “Gary St. Fleur, chair of the Lackawanna County LP, who has been working to bring runaway taxes, spending, and high debt under control in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is now running for mayor on the Libertarian ticket.” https://www.lp.org/libertarian-gary-st-fleur-rattling-cages-scranton-mayoral-race/

Mr. St. Fleur, along with seven other tax payers, recently sued Scranton Pennsylvania's local government over illegal tax hikes.  The city was forced to adhere to Act 511, which caps taxes. https://www.lp.org/major-tax-victory-scranton-thanks-libertarian-gary-st-fleur/

Click here to view Mr. Gary St. Fleur’s previous Public AMA.

Why libertarianism is the most caring solution for minorities

“1.1 Self-Ownership

Individuals own their bodies and have rights over them that other individuals, groups, and governments may not violate. Individuals have the freedom and responsibility to decide what they knowingly and voluntarily consume, and what risks they accept to their own health, finances, safety, or life.”

Www.Lp.org/platform

“Certainly, the Drug War has been the largest driver of the disproportionate black and Hispanic prison populations in recent years, both through the incarceration of non-violent offenders and prosecuting those people involved in the violence associated with prohibition regimes. But the tensions between blacks and the American justice system did not start with Nixon’s War on Drugs in 1971.” https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/looking-back-look-forward-blacks-liberty-state

“2.0 ECONOMIC LIBERTY

Libertarians want all members of society to have abundant opportunities to achieve economic success. A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.”

Www.lp.org/platform

“A free market consists of economic freedom such that anybody could open a business without having to pay the government for permission (permits, licenses, etc). A free market would have no taxes,eliminating reasons for corporations to partner with politicians for tax breaks. A free market would not allow bailouts, allowing businesses to have setbacks, and avoiding the creation of artificial monopolies. These economic freedoms would enable new competition to compete more efficiently.”

https://askalibertarian.wordpress.com/2017/07/13/how-free-markets-empower-green-markets/

Understandably, free markets in America are often blamed for allowing slavery. This is indubitably incorrect. The government failing to enforce the non-aggression principle is what allowed slavery in America.

“The non-aggression principle (also called the non-aggression axiom, or the anti-coercion or zero aggression principle or non-initiation of force) is an ethical stance which asserts that ‘aggression’ is inherently illegitimate. ‘aggression’ is defined as the ‘initiation’ of physical force against persons or property, the threat of such, or fraud upon persons or their property. In contrast to pacifism, the non-aggression principle does not preclude violent self-defense. The principle is a deontological (or rule-based) ethical stance.”

https://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Principle_of_non-aggression

“You might have heard the Libertarian Party (LP) referred to as the ‘Party of Principle.’ This is because the LP bases its programs and policy positions on the non-aggression principle.”

https://www.theadvocates.org/aggression/

In liberty,

Travis Hallman

*Follow us on Facebook at Ask A Libertarian

[cenaynaylovesjesus]

Access June 18th Outline Notes

Share: Pastor Joe from the Singapore site asked us this question. What is something that you are proud of in your life? Why?

Personal Reflection -junior Duchess -valedvictorian. -got to dream college (UT AUSTIN), graduated and got scholarships to fund education. Why am I proud of those goals? I set a goal and stuck with it for the most part.

Greater than what i hold onto. Consider: where do u find your safety, security and success? What do you hold onto?

The One Thing: Give up what you hold onto in vain; Jesus is your real gain.

Luke: 18: 18-23 ESV I. Jesus knows your "one thing" Profile: young rich man is… -young -successful. -entitled position of authority and influence. -educated. -do-gooder. "Good teacher, what must I do ro inherit eternal life?" Vs. 18

What is your actual belief about God?   In Singapore- people have the right answer for everything. 1+1=2. Right thing to say. There is this Asian culture to try to save face You have a different.... Face with family. Face In public Face with friends. Face at work. Americans value freedom of expression.. as long as I express myself that’s what matters. Not as much freedom to express what you honestly feel in Singapore and Asia in general.

It’s hard to know what people’s actual belief’s about God is because there is this culture of saving face. What is your actual belief about God? Jesus starts to reveal what he actually believes. Jesus asks.. why do u call me good? No one is good except God alone. God defines what is good alone. Do u really know and believe I am God?

The young rich guy: tells Jesus “I have kept the ten commandments since i was young.” Modern day rendition: “I I I think that I am good, and i am going to jesus for him to affirm me as a good guy…” “Don’t you see those 17 gold stars i saw in kindergarten. The rich guy was insecure..  genuinely curious. The way he responds is a little defensive explaining himself insisting on his own goodness.

Pastor Joe: For many years i felt like i was a good kid. I did all the right things.. knew all the right answers. Jesus revealed the mans actual belief. This is your one thing in life. He was sad, because he had a great number of treasures.

***The rulers actual beliefs: Good things, come to good people by their own good efforts.

**This mans actual one thing (God) My own accomplishments and gains.

Sometimes it takes faith to recieve Gods gift.

Pastor Joe: “Some of you use church as a cover for your unfaithfulness. Send me Lord... why? I was running away. I was such a perfectionist that i hesitated to turn in papers on time. Man... i don’t care about what ppl think but I care what ppl think.

Have you ever been uncomfortable trying to follow God? I don’t want to do this... Im so dry.. God just disagreed with you. Have you ever walked away from God but ever walked away feeling sad? You are here present but you heart is not.

What is that one thing? That thing u have to give up.

What is your one thing? God has revealed to you that you have put your trust in? Your true idol for safety, security? Success?

When Jesus isn't your one thing, Jesus just becomes an add-on in your life to make you feel more affirmed?

I placed my church inv. At my significance. Person came in late to access and judges them for being late. I refused to address outside of Jesus. I tried desperately to find my significance in anything and everything even in good things like the church.

The young ruler found his safety and security in things other than Jesus. When we surrender to God we are so focused on the losing part we dont realize what we are gaining. I wonder if he was insecure and didnt know the steadfast love of God was greater than anything else in this world.

What the young man should have responded.. is i have no good apart from God. Psalm 16: 1-2.

“The deepest, tenderest place in the heart of God is reserved for sinners who can offer him nothing but their need.” Ray Ortlund.

II. Jesus is worth surrendering to Read Luke 18: 24-27 The disciples told Jesus “you just turned away your prime candidate.” This guys has been to OCR b4 ocring, and been to every OCR, participated in Freshman missions, did Csmp and now going on asian missions. This rich guy “Hes done it all. Hes the ultimate bachelor. If not him.. who is good enough?”

***Our idolatry makes it impossible to follow Jesus and gain eternal life. Marriage is an exclusive committed relationship. Even if you are the most hard working person in life.. if its not Jesus your pursuit..  then at some point you may turn away.

Jesus is the only good one.. its on his goodness that we stand upon.

Ask yourself: Is there anything you feel like you deserve more of? Have you been obsessed with your competence, reputation, or ranking amongst others? Have you been experiencing a loss that u need to grieve over? Is there something youve gained that you feel you need to hold onto? Is there something you dont want to pray about?

A lot of seniors.. What r u doing after graduation.. idk.. stop asking me. Its embarrassing just to say IDK. Like an essay you are dragging out that you don't know. Second, Third, 4th friend all get jobs.. First friend.. you are happy.. But you think what about me God?

Come to LG you have job.. Praise God it was a gift to me.. yes lord it was a gift praise God..i can be a missionary in my field. 4 months in and your like i hate work.. it stinks.

We always challenge graduates to give your first paycheck to step out in faith.

Students esp... im telling you its harder and harder to give up your all. As a bachelor.. all i have is time.. married.. i hesitate.. Becuase of my Baby boy.. As you get more sucessful you gain more.. the more you gain the harder it is to give and hold up.

***Is Jesus really worth it? Jesus makes eternal life worth it.  .. not by yourself but by the work of God. Vs. 27   He makes it possible to say and do good works.. overflow of good works. Ephesians 2:8-10

Read Luke 18:28 Surrender to Jesus is complete. Surrender to Jesus is continual. In order for it to be complete but continual.

J.D. Greer Surrender starts with the realization that... I would gladly give it all. Surrender means coming to God with open hands and open heart. Am I fully surrendered?

Following Jesus doesn't have anything with your current profession.. its something deeper than that. Regardless of what your doing.. what and where.

Jesus is worth it all. Paul.. whatever I had i counted as a loss for the sake of Christ.

I was so dedicated to the middle East in the military I even came up with the... Four Ms Missions in Military for Muslims in Middle East - genuine prayer at first. Camp Greenly. Rifle in my hand and training.. shooting at target. God spoke to me to pray... Vivid image of when i gave my life a few years prior.. ive been pining my hopes in marine corps. I took pride in it.. over the years.. i put my safety security and significance in military. I took out loans.. forgive all loans if you sign up for more years.   I had stopped turning to the Lord as my providor. My lord i give up marine corp.. Hehe.  I see what u are doing..   Go to county called dajbootie. Narrowed down list.. Ok lord send me. My name wasnt called. Lord.. what is it that you want me to do? Those good things had become my one thing. Whole season pray through.. hopinh whatever you want to do.. show me and ill follow.

God opened door.. miracle provision for transformation center. Month later.. Months later pastor Andrew.. asked me to get inv. With church.. Month after that sent pastor ben. Month after that first int. Church plant.. 6 months. God showed me this is what I'm doing. Person challenged me.. what y Fast and pray about it.. I think, I think God was calling me to be a Pastor..

Went with Jakarta for a year.   That was a hard year. Christ was probing my heart what my one thing really was... Are we even listening to what the Lord has to say.

Psalm 27:4 Intimacy from God was Davids one thing.

Helen H. Lemmel

One thing: Give up what you hold onto in vain; Jesus is your real gain. Life Application: I release............. My reward is Christ alone.

Reflection: I think for me, I doubt that God wants me to give up on being an AuD. I just don’t think that’s what God want’s for me, but I think He is wanting me to surrender my timeline, by not getting into grad school this year, it kind of screws up my 10 year plan, but maybe one more year in Austin is just what I need to help transform me into a missionary not only as a worker in the workplace, but also as a student, in all areas of my life. 10+1 year timeline here we go. Also if you get a chance, please watch Pastor Joe’s from Singapore’s preaching. He’s such as hilarious pastor, he’s so sassy, in speaking truth to people’s lives, he calls them out on their bluff.