#kosmikal writes

[cybersat]

The Architect

A/N: I've been thinking a lot about Melina Vostokoff, lately.

Melina began her morning like any other. She straightened up her bunk, washed her face and brushed her hair, coiling the long brown strands into a neat bun behind her head. She dressed with the standard set of a shirt and cargo pants, hung her lab coat on her forearm and headed out into the narrow hall. The coffee machine at the lab had a fresh brew, probably by some red-eyed technician just finishing a nightshift. Most of them were eager to contribute to science. They worked mostly in tissue cultures. None of them knew what they were really working towards. If they knew, they wouldn't be there. She poured a cup for herself and made her way to her desk. She reviewed the list of incoming subjects for the latest experiment rotation. She recognized the surname. Melina looked around the room and sighed in relief. No one saw her eyes fill with water. It would have been a concern, for those who she worked along with. Melina took another breath and read the name again. Belova. Of the many generations, there had been only one Belova. Quickly, she logged into the rudimentary database. As the Architect, she had access to the system. She pressed hard on the keyboard; Down, down, down, down, enter. Right, right, enter. Down, down. Enter. Delete. Enter. Just in time for the young technician to come into the room. "We are ready for you in the observation room," he said. "Who's next on the list?" Melina asked. The technician turned to his own machine and maneuvered around the interface. Melina heard the same set of keys she had just used. "Next on the list, Yakovlevna," the technician said. "Start the infusions, I'll be there in a minute."

[subtile-jagden]

Stefan George Part 1

I also recently finished this Stefan George biography. This post isn't so much a book review as an introduction to this insane man (I mean this in both a good and a bad way). It will be 2 or 3 parts as there is A LOT to say about him. This post is for fun and more about Georges private life than his works. He was a great poet though, you should check him out.

Stefan George (1868 - 1933) was a German poet and borderline cult leader. He had a very high opinion of himself (maybe justified?) and basically thought while he was still a teenager that current poetry is shit and he can do better. He spent all his time writing poems and plays and tried to get others to read them. He made connections in France and while some people there in a small circle of artists liked his work he stayed relatively unknown. This didn't stop him from claiming he is a sought out poet in France upon his return to Germany. He went around publishers and tried to get them to print his poems. After that failed he published them himself. Selling like 2 books total. You can say many things about George but the boy was dedicated and never stopped working to achieve his dreams.

He moved to Vienna for a time in his early 20s where he met the then 17-year-old Hugo von Hofmannsthal in a cafè. Hofmannsthal was a very popular playwrite later in his career, during his first encounter with George he was still a student who wrote a bit for fun. George, who by all accounts was at least bisexual more likely homosexual, fell in love. But he was kind of a creepy fellow, practically stalking young Hugo and let me tell you, while Hofmannsthal admired George and his talent, he did not reciprocate. Things escalated when George made unwanted advanced on Hofmannsthal who told his father who then told George to leave his son in peace. George and Hofmannsthal would keep contact for decades after this failed courting, with Hofmannsthal writing poems and articles for Georges publications but there was always a certain tension between them.

Hofmannsthal was the first of a long list of young men that George took a liking to. He strived to be a role model and wanted to inspire a generation of youth. In practice he did what the kids nowadays call grooming. He pursued young boys and wanted to mould them to an adult of his liking. He was basically the stranger danger we were warned about as kids. He would just speak to boys he liked on the street, follow them to find out where they live and where they go to school and would then convince their parents that he would be a fantastic mentor. He the great poet and thinker! He was very charismatic and soon had a harem of boys/men around him who worshipped him.

While living in Munich he entertained the "George-Kreis" and was also closely connected to the "Kosmiker". Notable members: Karl Wolfskehl, Ludwig Klages, Alfred Schuler. A group of free spirits with very interesting ideas that warrant its own post.

In Munich he met Maximilian Kronberger, a boy of 14 who George thought is a prophet. Kronberger was an aspiring poet himself and felt honoured that George is interested in him. When Kronberger died unexpectedly George and his circle elevated him to a god-like level, creating the "Maximin-Myth". Basically a bunch of by then grown up men worshipped a dead 16 year old.

That's all for now but Part 2 will come soon. So stay tuned for Georges wacky adventures.

[scented-morker]

I Didn’t Mean To

masterlist ʚɞ next

An: I cried writing this so be warned 😁 written and posts under the cut, 446 words. Cursing

You were going to ask how he found out, but realized quickly that it didn’t even matter.

“A few months.”

When you turn around there are tears in your brothers eyes, and you wish he reacted the way you thought he would. Being angry and yelling at you was ten times better than the hurt that was written on his face.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“I thought you’d be mad.” Your excuse sounds pathetic even to your own ears, and Jaemin scoffs.

“And you thought not telling me so I have to find out from Kpop News on Twitter would make me less angry?”

“Wait what?”

He showed you his phone screen, a picture of you and Jisung holding hands on your walk back to the hotel with a caption from some random kpop news account.

Tears immediately fill your eyes, and you realize how much you’ve hurt Jisung in your relationship, how much you’d hurt him in the last hour. Not only did you break his heart, you also could have just ruined his career.

“I- I didn’t mean to,” you try to hold in a sob but your voice cracks anyway, and you have no idea how to finish your sentence.

Jaemin does it for you.

“What? Didn’t mean to lie to me? Didn’t mean to mess up Jisung’s career? Didn’t mean to give our entire group a scandal? It doesn’t matter if you meant to or not baby sis, you still did it.”

“Why aren’t you yelling at me?”

He looks taken aback by your question, but you realize underneath the expression just how exhausted your brother looks.

“I’m tired. I’m already handling so much shit from the company and fans, I don’t have the energy to waste on this right now. Especially since I know this is going to fall on me too. If you want to ruin our relationship over some guy you’ve known for less than a year, that’s on you. I don’t care.”

“Did I?”

It takes him a moment to realize what you were asking, and he pauses, as if contemplating if you had ruined your entire relationship.

“I don’t know.”

He walks out when the sobs finally break out, because he knows there’s no way he can see you cry like that and not completely throw everything out the window to comfort you.

So you sit in the dark room crying by yourself, realizing you might have just ruined two of the most important relationships in your life.

You were worried what would happen with yours and Jisung’s relationship when Jaemin found out, but you never thought you’d lose both of them.

taglist (open) : @cloudykyu @flower-lise @rynshyuckies @kaimal @chuubear @jiye0n0 @bat-shark-repellant @kosmiks @jeongyeonsluvbot @beemarkie @renjunn1es @jisyng @stoatwashere @vantxx95 @butterfliesinthenightsky @luv4dream @lunaflvms @jising-jisang-jisung @honeyboyjeno @dandelionxgal @your-cherry-bomb @grassbutneo @junglewoos @daegalfangirl @jakexyi @mssrs-padfoot @kiyokoism @resceluwu @sunoo-bby @wildxdreamer @cwsana @staysstrays @itsjynop @soobzao @neozon3nha @nini0620

[jenosdaemi]

Hi loves,

I’m just here to tell you guys that I will be taking a short break from tumblr. These past few days has been very difficult for me to find the time to handle this account. My job has been taking a huge chunk of my time and other important stuff that I would like to keep private.

Another big factor that added to this decision is that I am obsessing with the number of notes that I am getting and my works don’t get much recognition now. That shouldn’t really matter because I promised myself to never base the worth of my works through notes, but I can’t help it. That is why I am very thankful to those who stayed and supported me! You were the people who I get the motivation from and made me keep writing.

I have been thinking about this for quite some time now, I just waited for the collaboration drabble to finish. Thanks again to such lovely participants, really sorry that I didn’t get to thank you guys properly @arrasuh @90sgatsby-jjh @kosmiks @chichhihaa love you guys!Sorry if the collab was a flop, I wish I could’ve done something to promote it better but I already did my best.

The Shawn Mendes Playlist will not be paused. I know there are still few people waiting for Renjun and Mark’s story to come out. Both stories are completed and already scheduled for upload. They will be posted on the 21st and 28th of February respectively.

Once again, thank you for your support and I am asking for your understanding. I just need to take time to rest and get this obsession out of my system. Talk to you guys later? 🙂

Daemi

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Three Lobed Recordings

For 20 years, Three Lobed Recordings has explored the outer reaches of psychedelic music, presenting Bardo Pond’s heaviest, most improvisatory albums, documenting the American primitive revival via recordings of Jack Rose and Daniel Bachman, listening to emanations from space-age folk troubadours like Wooden Wand, Sunburned Hand of the Man and Matt Valentine and generally pursuing the beauty of experiment, wherever it occurs. To celebrate these past two fruitful decades, label founder Cory Rayborn lists ten of the albums that define Three Lobed (and, necessarily, leaves out others equally valid and interesting). We look forward to lots more in the decades to come.

Personal Choice Cuts from the TLR Catalog (in no particular order, 9 of which might be different if you were to ask me tomorrow).

Gunn-Truscinski Duo — Ocean Parkway (2012)

Ocean Parkway by Gunn-Truscinski Duo

Every time I listen to this album, especially the title track, I feel transported. Long ago my college roommate Jon Nall articulated a test for transcendent songs, for the ones that impact you no matter how many times you hear them. He summed those all-time tracks up as the ones where the hairs on your arms uncontrollably stand up every time you hear them. While every track on this album does it for me every time, throwing me into a sort of uncontrollable head nod and body sway, I am always fully taken away by the entirety of the title track and Steve's swirling guitar build over the entire eighth minute punctuated by the ecstatic tones he hits at 9:06. Yow. The feeling I get from this album is why the label exists.

Various Artists — Eight Trails, One Path (2012)

Eight Trails, One Path by Various Artists

Record Store Day is tough. I love the attention and cash it puts into the hands of independent retailers but hate how commodified it has become over time by the powers that be / majors who see it as an excuse to pump out a bunch of junk that will end up being shelf warmers and ankle weights on those same retailers they claims to be supporting. The first few years when most of the titles were truly from and by indies it was a lot of fun. That was the feeling that led to wanting to put out an RSD title in mid-2011 (an illness I’ve since overcome). Originally conceived as a joined pair of split 7"s, it morphed into a triple 7" and then to a full length album. I wanted to showcase different approaches to solo guitar work and set out to ask a lot of my favorites. I also wanted to put together a special package which was fleshed out with help by Casey Burns on graphics, Grayson Haver Currin on words and Jeff Mueller on printing. I’m still amazed at the interlocked nature of all of the contributions to this one, from Six Organs’ spiritual sibling to “Ascent” in the form of “Stranded on Io” (a track that is a wordless tale all within itself) to the circular beauty of David Daniell’s “Housewarming” and everything else on here. I really love this record.

Tom Carter — Long Time Underground (2015)

Long Time Underground by Tom Carter

Late in 2013 I was chatting with Tom about what shape a record should take. He wanted to go to Black Dirt and get a good, clean capture of what he had been working on with Jason Meagher. TLR is always onboard with a Black Dirt election. Fast forward several months and family TLR was visiting some friends in Vermont around the same time Tom was in the area. We met up and he handed off the masters for a double LP. While we knew that the mix of Tom’s playing, Tom’s writing and Jason’s engineering was going to be magical but we had no idea of the exact form or how insanely potent the album was going to be. Damn. Seriously, just listen to this stuff and absorb that these are all single takes, no overdubs. Haunting and celebratory all at once.

Daniel Bachman — The Morning Star (2018)

The Morning Star by Daniel Bachman

It is pretty fun to watch the arc and path that Daniel’s writing, recording and performing have taken over the last 15 years. From powerhouse steamroller to the intersection of musique concrète and acoustic drone, his current location could maybe have been seen in his early recordings but you likely would have lost most of those dice rolls. The Morning Star speaks to me in so many ways but the stunning bookends of “Invocation” and “New Moon” always hit like a ton of bricks. What is amazing is how Daniel can turn these album cuts into live performances. I saw “New Moon” several times while Daniel was in the process of touring this 2016 self-titled album, always transfixed by it live — the album version loses none of that potency. On the other hand, Daniel re-created “Invocation” at the 2018 Three Lobed / WXDU Annual Ritual of Summoning to stunning effect.

The Michael Flower Band — self-titled (2008)

The Michael Flower Band by The Michael Flower Band

An audio / aural bomb blast, a kosmik rearrangement of the space/time directly around the listener. This take no prisoners statement from Mick Flower (guitar) and John Moloney (drums) is a deep slice for catalog enthusiasts. Just tune into “Balinese Falsehood” and try to not get fully lost. Years ago I described this as “biker psych for the third eye rider” and I’ll stand by that statement fully today.

Wooden Wand and the World War IV — self-titled (2013)

Wooden Wand & the World War IV by Wooden Wand & the World War IV

Picking between Wooden Wand titles is hard for this particular enthusiast but if forced I think I have to push the needle towards the intense Crazy Horse vibes of this studio corker. Surrounded by the “Briarwood” band, perhaps the most telepathic folks with whom Toth has ever played, the results are electric and transfixing. Will I kick myself tomorrow for not picking Clipper Ship? TBD...

Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore — Ghost Forests (2018)

Ghost Forests by Meg Baird and Mary Lattimore

I don’t remember when it came to me, the fact that there wasn’t a deliberately ground-up collaboration between Meg and Mary in existence. I had to ask them if that was purposeful or a gap that was truly something that we should remedy, a question where I had my fingers crossed the entire time. They were both really into the concept, it just took the triangulation of busy satellites to make all of our desires into reality. The results are as sturdy, sheltering and invisible at the edges as the album's title, facts that we are all the better for each time we wrap ourselves in this particular fabric. An all-timer.

Jack Rose — The Black Dirt Sessions (2009)

The Black Dirt Sessions by Jack Rose

I had the good luck and fortune to get to know Jack back in the Pelt days and watch his transition from that ensemble into the singular player and performer that he was for the last eight years of his too short life. Watching a Jack set was always a tiny miracle. I remember him calling me one day, telling me that he had gone to record with Jason Meagher and he had a record that he would really love for me to put out if I was interested. Not only was I most most certainly interested, but I was amazingly humbled and flattered that this friend who I also considered a modern master had recorded something specifically for me without even discussing it with me first. That level of trust was the gift and magic of Jack. If he believed in you that belief gave you all of the power you needed to make anything reality, you were suddenly bulletproof. Every track here is a stunner but “Cross the North Fork” always pulls me in, dares me to turn my attention anywhere else. Rest in power, friend.

Chuck Johnson — Crows In The Basilica (2013)

Crows In The Basilica by Chuck Johnson

Every track on this perfectly constructed and sequenced album is flawlessly beautiful but “On A Slow Passing In Ghost Town” is one of the top 10 tracks in the entire TLR catalog in my estimation. Exactingly and properly composed, performed and recorded.

Bardo Pond — Peri (2009)

Peri by Bardo Pond

The love of Bardo Pond was the seed that initially drove me to create a record label. Their single-minded determination to seek audio truth was apparent to me ages ago and so very inspirational. I ate up everything — the releases, the live shows, the live recording — and I hung on every note. The band had a lot of really, really great tunes that they had been working on between 2001 and 2003, the period between their departing Matador for ATP Records. I could never shake the power of several of the tracks from this era that sort of got abandoned to the shifts of time. After several conversations with Michael Gibbons two albums were born from that period and from some other exceptionally potent tracks. Batholith was the first of these two albums and Peri, the second. Both are so very special to me, the fruit of knowing folks needed to hear these compositions. When writing here I have to pick Peri today as it closes with “Silver Pavilion,” an all-time Bardo Pond thesis statement of sorts.

[kalamitis]

Advisory Needed

She was beautiful in the way a sand snake was, coiled and bright eyed and watching your every move, still as a stone, but you knew that any moment, any movement, and that would be your death, swift and sure and burning, that from the point she touched would come the fire in your veins that would consume you.

He felt her gaze from across the table, felt how those bright green eyes tracked his movements, minute as they were. Knew that the prince at his side was unaware of this, that he thought that the Sith's gaze was on himself, that the galaxy revolved with Kalduur as it's axis, everything else only an idea, only a blur of light that would have to be reconsidered in the next revolution. Kal was the sun and Triis was just the nearby planet too used to being burned to do much else but deflect meteors.

And still her gaze, burning him from across the few feet of durasteel between them while he kept his gaze on the briefing happening at the head of the table, Hux speaking, then his cousin, their similar hair colors making something in the Advisor's stomach twist. Love, it seemed, was everywhere.

And across the durasteel, luminous green eyes, burning, burning....

"Of course we have to think about the cultural significance of an attack on this day." Kalduur was saying, his own eyes glowing. "Diplomacy on this date would serve a far better purpose-"

"And why would we need to worry about such a primitive culture? They have a large population, yes, but the attack would be swift. The loss for us would be miniscule." Hux's arms were folded behind his back, his chin raised as his eyes stayed trailed on the plans, not even sparring his Royal a glance.

Triis bristled, his voice cool while he toned "If we do not the Order will be painted as monsters, and we want to be the gracious saviors, then a diplomatic route may be more beneficial. While we are well aware that the Order has ample numbers that can be cut down by a small percentage, it seems redundant to go into a planet expecting to lose a few hundred troopers when we could cut the loss to a single squadron or two."

The advisor met the head General's eyes evenly, pastel blue gaze almost glowing with  ire until Hux looked to his apprentice. "Is this true, Kosmik?"

For her part, his cousin did not even blink, violet eyes trained on her tablet as her fingers moved over it quickly, examining the screen for a moment before nodding curtly. "It does seem that a diplomatic approach may cut down on the loss percentage."

"Then we will send our diplomats first." And that was that. The meeting was moving on, and Triis couldn't help but give a little smirk.

That was, until he looked forward, forgetting in his small victory that he had been keeping himself from looking in that direction for a very specific reason.

And there she was, eyes bright and watchful, sitting much straighter than she had been before he had spoken up, eyes somehow more alert, as beneath the deep blue clay his hair took a turn toward blue as well.

An elbow bumped his own, and then he was looking at Kal, meeting his friend's smile with a exasperated look as the royal leaned forward to whisper "Good work, Baiiny, now we'll be going on planet for a little while!"

Triis elbowed him back, not bothering to answer as he pointedly faced the end of the table again.

"Aw come on, isn't that what you want?"

Triis's hair turned slightly blue as his mind brought up an image. He wanted a lot of things, he wanted Sakroemi suns on his skin, sand beneath his feet, he wanted to hear the ocean even when the night was dead silent, feel the breeze come off the waves...

Her eyes were luminous as she gazed up at him, her nose resting against his pelvis, her lips wrapped around the base of his phallus while electric heat shot up his spine, the sound of the shower in the background and the steam in the air only making the heat that was collecting in his body more apparent. His brain was hazy, but she was everywhere, making his knees shake and his fingers tighten in her hair...

"Baiiny, come on, isn't this what you want?"

He swallowed thickly, feeling his phallus twist in its sheathe in acknowledgement of his thoughts, feeling those eyes, those bright green eyes trained on his every reaction.

But Advisors didn't get what they wanted.

[spearcast]

moodboards: sunborne and arthuus

help me realize: if life is a battle, i don’t have to fight it alone. (x)

(as requested by @kalamitis)

[chengyengyangds22]

Week 10 - Graphic Design

Please expand upon some of the most interesting ideas from your typography readings.

The traditional German script, blackletter was one of the topics I found interesting in the reading. I found an article that talked more about blackletter history in Germany. The textbook reading on page 97, said that “German printing utilized blackletter, which was also called Fraktur.” From the article I had found that the meaning of Fraktur came from a Latin meaning, “broken script, or fractured.” Germany used Fraktur to print government publications because of the how they thought that their writing was strong and more serious, like compared to what the other Western European were using, Antiqua. Fraktur was consider complex to write for very simple activity or notes, therefore at the time Germans would use a different writing called Kurrent. 

https://germangirlinamerica.com/old-german-cursive-alphabet-and-typefaces/ 

Another topic that I found interesting was the digital typography. Examples or pictures of some types of lettering shown on page 359, reminds of things like a play script or something like a library catalog card. I wanted to point out that typeface like Arcadia designed by Neville Brody, I probably would use it, but not as much. The designing of the letters is tall and skinny, when I think whether I should typeface like these I think in logos and titles may be the best fit, rather than text paragraphs.

Of course, I would say the most common typefaces that I read about were part of the contemporary typography. Like Arial, Verdana, and Comic Sans are very common currently and it isn’t surprising that they were part of this typography topic. Typefaces that I don’t see or use as much would probably be bits typeface by Paul Elliman, the Not Caslon typeface by Mark Andresen, and FF Kosmik typeface by Erik van Blokland. If I were to write a paper these designs would not be a good choice.

Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic Design A New History. 2nd Edition. Lawrence King Publishing, 2012.

[arbitrarycogitation]

The Internet.

I have probably lived half of my life in the digital realm. Like in the real world, I avoid social interaction as much as I can. No, not because I don’t like them, because just like in the real world, there are a lot of mean people on the internet, and I’d like to avoid them at all costs. How? You might ask. Well, just. Don’t initiate too much conversation dude. Granted, sometimes you’re just unlucky and will eventually meet less than pleasant people out there. Thankfully we are on the internet where we can block people. Stay safe guys.

There is more to the internet than socializing and random memes trends that seemed to change whenever I look away from my phone. It’s full of useful and quirky details. A lot of them you can see for free. Google has a bunch of cool tricks like that dinosaur thing, atari breakout, that slightly ominous oz trick (google them, you’ll be surprised) and a lot more, I’m sure. Google doodles are a thing too and I like to read about the facts of the day there, you can also see cool illustrations and there are some interactive doodles now. I honestly don’t know where this post is going. So let me just write down a few things that I enjoy recently. Warning: a lot of these are literature/reading materials but they’re all free!

Note: Buat temen-temen yang biasa mengkonsumsi media dalam bahasa Indonesia, ada juga beberapa rekomendasi buat kalian dan bagi yang lagi cari-cari cara buat belajar bahasa Inggris, this is for you, semangat guys!

1. Pocket, an application that allows you to save articles and read them. I’ve been using this application for years now and have saved hundreds of articles. They send you an email every couple of weeks or so and recommend some articles that might pique your interest. You can also save articles from your browser with a pocket extension or the sharing option.

2. archive.org and openlibrary.org is useful for anyone. You can read and borrow books from a huge selection and though you might not find everything you look for, you can find some interesting books. They have novels, reference books, academic books, textbooks, illustrated books, library catalogs, journals, magazines, comic books, whatever you feel like reading, they probably have a version or two of them. You can borrow books for an hour or 14 days. I have only started borrowing so I have no idea if you can immediately borrow them again after 14 days or not.

3. stories.audible.com is a website from audible that is targeted for kids. So a lot of the books here are for kids and teens but I’m sure there is something for you. I don’t usually listen to audiobooks (but I do listen to podcasts sometimes) and I’m kind of liking it? It’s pretty interesting. I liked the classics stories and the audible shorts that I can listen to while journaling or doing some other mindless tasks.

4. Podcasts! Okay if you don’t have Spotify / apple’s podcast (do we need to pay for this? I have no idea) some of these might not be on youtube. Here is a list of the podcasts that I liked/am listening to:

Welcome to Night Vale

Kosmik Ngepod

Rintik Sendu

The SSR Podcast

Harry Potter at Home: Readings

The Orbiting Human Circus

Dreamboy

The TryPod

Psychobabble

Crash On My Couch

My biggest concern on podcasts is always “will I ever finish this?” Because the creators are always putting out new episodes, but I’ve always succeeded in forgetting about finishing it and listening to an array of them based on my mood. I think the reason I prefer podcasts over youtube videos is that I feel the need to focus on the screen when watching a video but podcasts are chill, I can leave my device on my desk and as long as I can hear, it’s cool. I used to listen to the local radios but they’re mostly songs and small talks. Sometimes you just need to think about life while dusting your shelf, you know?

5. museummacan.org is the website for the modern and contemporary art museum in Jakarta, Museum MACAN. It’s one of my favorite places in Jakarta, I try to attend their exhibition whenever I can (the exhibition change every couple of months). I’m pretty sure the website is available for English and Indonesian but correct me if I’m wrong. I think today was the first day I opened the website out of curiosity and I’m impressed. There are a lot of things that you can read about past artworks that were displayed in the museum and some current projects that you can dive into if you’re interested in art.

6. Some honorable mentions because I use them all the time to study: khancademy, quizlet, duolingo and edx. All of these platforms are free to some extent, but you can use them for free pretty comfortably. I honestly treat duolingo as a game rather than a studying platform because. Well. It kinda resembles a game, no? I am using skillshare too (and I’m liking it so far) but only until mid-august, hehe.

7. Since we’re talking about studying all of a sudden, here are some recommendations on youtube channels that are educational/interesting in general.

AsapSCIENCE

Cracked

Crash Course

Hujan Tanda Tanya

Kok Bisa?

Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell

Life Noggin

Menjadi Manusia

Nerdwriter1

Overly Sarcastic Productions

PinterPolitik TV

SuperCarlinBrothers

TED-Ed

The Art Assignment

The Discarded Image

The Royal Ocean Film Society

The School of Life

Thought Cafe

The Take

Vox

Weird History

Wew. Okay that’s it. Bai.

[gosulsel]

Kampanye Write for Rights, Suara yang Belum Selesai - Gosulsel

MAKASSAR, GOSULSEL-- Bagaimana suara penegakan Hak Asasi Manusia dilakukan dalam rangkaian surat maratho seacara global? hal ini yang menjadi gerakan besar dari program Write for Rights yang diinisiasi Amnesty International untuk mendorong masyarakat berpartisipasi aktif dalam menuntut pemerintah...

https://gosulsel.com/2019/01/13/kampanye-write-for-rights-suara-yang-belum-selesai/

#AmnestyInternasional #KosmikUnhas #WriteForRights

[kalamitis]

Semaphorism

All my sins, I’ve been tripping, I’ve been tripping, my god Brand new life I’ve been looking I’ve been looking lately All these nights they’ve been cooking, They’ve been cooking me raw.

Cam was… well. They weren’t exactly sure precisely what it was they were doing.

Observing, they guessed it was. Sitting on the stoop outside the coffee house slash dive bar with a cigarette between their fingers, elbow resting on the bent knee bared by torn denim. Their hair was heavy and dark, a flat inky black that came straight from a bottle, their full bottom lip marred by a thin silver ring that disappeared beneath their tongue every few moments, the tick a new one. Then again, there was a lot of new things about them.

Their wardrobe had taken a darker tint, and everyone had noticed. They were fond of layered black shirts and trench coats, dark jeans that’s rips were a bit too artful to be from wear and tear, black sneakers or boots that could make a pair of balls curl in fear at a hundred paces. Kohl around the eyes, with only the barest hint of a sinister wing on the edges. Today they had forgone the trench coat - it was one of the warmer days at the end of winter, it would have been too heavy - and replaced it with a black and gray flannel, kept open to reveal the black Angst Band tshirt. Even though the band had gained a new member, the image of Geht on the shirt hadn’t been changed.

The drummer could hear the former one man band’s voice wafting in from inside as he finished up the sound check, his voice decent despite the fact that he warbled just on the side of off key from time to time. Cam’s singing voice stayed dormant, like a bird curled away for winter within the cage of their chest. They didn’t get the urge to sing anymore, which was why it had been easier to look around at the instruments during the audition and choose the drums. They could keep a beat, and really that’s all a drum required. The dark haired nonbinary had been just as surprised as anyone else when they’d gotten the part. They’d never played a drum set in their life.  Then again, Cam had never failed an audition either.

Dark eyes tracked the people hurrying past on the street. Across from them was a convenience store, a drugstore, and a diner. They could just make out those sharing meals through the large glass windows, and leaned back slightly on their elbows to look closer. A tall blonde boy was sharing an ice cream sundae with a hijab clad girl who seemed tiny in comparison, the two of them smiling. An asian boy with long dark hair was sitting across from a tall dark woman with hair cut close to her skull, the two of them looking peaceful and content. At the convenience store they could see Geht’s on-again-off-again fling Del stocking up on twizzlers, Ziggy in her shadow speaking earnestly with lots of gestures that seemed to do nothing more than show off his rings. Watching the two of them made Cam’s stomach turn slightly, and their eyes quickly tracked to the drug store, where they could see Caez in the headache medicine isle, and across from them, Kylo and the youngest Arthuus, seemingly unable to see each other as they grabbed condoms. The girl from Cam’s geology class chose that moment to turn the corner, hand in hand with the tall, amazonian exchange student that she was dating, even as the redhead from their art class speed walked along the sidewalk across the street. That was the beauty of living in a college town, the drummer figured, leaning their head back to look at the sky. Everyone was always out and about.

The cigarette twirled between their fingers as the ex theatre kid sighed. The world was turning the colors of autumn, the air a gold, the sky a red, the sun a lazy, low hanging orange. A warm breeze jogged up the street, pausing to caress their cheeks before running on, For the first time in months, Cam missed their hair.

“Are you still out here?” Geht’s voice was rough, like he’d been halfway on the way to a laugh before he’d caught sight of them. Camren’s gaze didn’t waver from the sky, from the deep pink and stringy clouds that were turning purple and blue as the sun dipped lower and lower down the horizon. Darkness was creeping in from the east, and in its wake came the hum of streetlamps, the buzz of the diner’s purple neon sign and bright blue outlines, the grone and pop of convenience store spotlights illuminating its logo.

“Cam?” The boy- young man, really, - looked almost concerned when they finally raised their head to look at him, his dark eyes unreadable as their own, shaggy hair falling loosely around his face.

“Just enjoying the sunset.” The drummer said finally, returning their own gaze to the sky, watching the all encompassing blue of twilight start to descend. The color would last only a few minutes, but in that time it would take everything, the golden hues of the sun, the speckled light gray of the sidewalk, the darker gray of the street, the green of the grass and leaves, the brown of the bark, even the whites of Geht’s eyes, and twilight would replace it all with blue.  Blue for the trees, blue for the stones, blue for the sky, blue for the light and blue for the shadows. It filled Cam with peace, for peace, too, only lasted a few minutes.

Across the street, the blond was finishing off their sundae while the hijabi laughed, and the ding of the entrance bell signaled the asian and his date leaving. Dark eyes tracked them as they went, walking so close their shoulders brushed, the dark skinned girl pulling her hands from her pockets to intertwine their fingers. Caez and Kylo had found each other, and were bickering even as they walked off in the other direction of the couple, the boy defending himself heatedly as his companion simply smirked. The Arthuus boy was shoving his purchase into his backpack as he walked past the convenience store, only to be hailed by Del before he could get more than a few paces beyond it, the tall girl catching up to him and talking excitedly, even as the boy clutched his backpack shyly and nodded. They fell into step easily, Ziggy resigning to walking a few paces behind them as they went.

It took Geht sighing for Cam to realize he had sat beside them, his eyes tracking the three as they piled into Del’s brother’s truck. It was odd to have someone sit so close without them noticing their presence, without an urge to put a proactive five inch gap between them, just in case the boy decided to get touchy, but Geht didn’t do more than lean backward, mirroring Cam’s earlier pose as the nonbinary leaned forward.

They wanted to ask, as their gaze slid over his pensive expression, what it felt like when he saw Del with other people. If it was a turn of the stomach, like you’d just drank one shot too many, if it was more in the way of a roller coaster drop, like you’d left your stomach behind at the top, or if it was something else entirely, like you’d been full of warmth only to be kicked out into the cold, left hollow for the wind to blow through. Like he’d been looked over and found wanting.

“Geht?” The singer turned his head, and for a long moment, they simply looked at each other. He hadn’t shaved, his hair hadn’t been washed in what had probably been a week and a half, and he had perpetual bed head from the single mattress in the back of his van that he occupied. They knew for a fact that his hands would be rough, calloused and sure from playing guitar, that his arms would be strong from carrying his own equipment in and out of gigs. The thought was doing something odd to their stomach, twisting it around like they’d eaten something slightly past its expiration date.

“Yes?” His voice sounded hushed, suddenly, and when they actually looked at him, they realized that there was something… different, about him. Something slightly off about his eyes, the emotion the dark orbs were conveying foreign and soft. Dangerous in the way a venus flytrap was. Unwittingly, their gaze dropped to his lips, catching on the motion of his tongue moving across them before they were looking at his eyes again, something warm and fluttering taking over their chest as they tried to get their brain to work again.

“You guys ready?” The door opened, and Geht and Cam were suddenly very far away from each other, the lead sitting up to look up at the barista that stood in the doorway, bright orange hair cascading in an unruly waterfall from beneath his hat. Oli looked from one of them to the other, curiosity clear on his face. “The sound check is done, everything’s set.”

“Thanks Ol.” Geht said, the easy companionship on his face causing the drummer’s lips to twitch as he rose to his feet, stretching his arms over his head and ignoring that it caused his tshirt to ride up and reveal a very happy looking trail from his bellybutton and into his jeans. “We’ll be in in a sec.”

Cam tilted their head back to look at the sky one last time as the door closed behind the redhead, noting the blue of twilight had been replaced with the oncoming dark of night, the last golden hues of the sun lost behind the diner.

“Come on, number two.” Geht said, pausing in the doorway as the drummer got to their feet. “You can have another smoke break after our gig.”

A half rueful smile twisted across Cam’s lips as they nodded, their tongue playing with the thin silver slip of their lip ring as they turned to head inside.

The unlit cigarette slid back into the pack with the rest. Not a single one had been lit.

Appearances from: @caezsucksdangs - Caez and Geht @foolish-dame - Vinn, Del, Ziggy, and Rux @fef-x-kan - Kii @originalcrazystrange - Navii @curtisgrahamcracker - Oli me - Kos, Cam, and Triis

[kalamitis]

K and baby Del (either AU) having bath time together. K brings out nice bubble bath and rubber toys and Ty brings in soft towels afterwards.

The Khayby Del AU will probably ALWAYS be the one I choose if you give me a baby Del because I am self indulgent crap. So have this AU where K Ty and Rux are Del’s parents and eventually TJ happens.

For the longest time, K was the only one who could get Del into a bath. Whether or not this meant anything was up for debate - her lovers were adamant that it clearly meant favoritism on the child’s part - but it did mean that at a certain time of the day, just past sunset, when the world was incased in soft blue twilight, K was able to put her daughter on her hip and carry her into the bathroom.

Del was forever talking, babbling little nonsense words that K was sure she could understand most days, but whenever they got close to the bath, the little girl would fall silent, wide green eyes - just like her father’s - set on the big porcelain thing like it was a monster ready to pounce. So her mother did the smart thing, she distracted her child by asking which soaps she wanted, which scent of bubble bath, what color, which shampoo, until Del had picked out all her favorites, and Khayi had placed them all in a neat little line.

Turning on the water was always tricky - this was the time when her sweet one wanted to bolt the most - but the young mother was smart. She pulled her daughter gently to the side and they held onto the tap together, counting to three and then pulling all at once, that way Del would beam at her and Khayi could say she was brave and smart and beautiful - all the truths that made the almost one year old beam with happiness.

Next they checked the temperature together, K holding her wrist beneath the stream of water and Del peeking down and poking it in short little jabs, glancing between her mother and the water multiple times before nodding. Then, in went the bubble bath, always pastel, fluffy, and wonderfully scented. This day in particular Del had chosen the purple bottle, and the scent of grapes quickly filled the bathroom as K helped the little girl out of her clothing. 

She was always extremely careful when placing her daughter into the tub - there was always much more bubbles than there was water, and Del was prone to cry if K was even remotely out of sight, so the young woman always was ready to be as fully into the tub as her daughter needed her to be. Usually that was an excuse to steal one of her lovers’ tshirts and stay in her underwear so that nothing else could get wet, and today’s was a powder blue number with nothing but the word “Tsundere” in black across the chest, courtesy of Ruxy. 

Humming a soft song, K soaped up a wash cloth and gently moved it over her baby girl’s skin, careful to keep smilng encouragingly as she went. She rinsed her off with a cup from the kitchen, pouring the water over Del’s arms and torso, and once that was done Del was rewarded with a bunch of her bath toys, which always made the little girl clap her hands together and smile widely. K let her play as she got out the no tears shampoo, massaging her daughter’s scalp and leaving her hair in a tiny mohawk for a bit so that she could claim a toy to play as well. Their yells and peels of laughter could be heard throughout the house, and that was why, by the time K was rinsing the shampoo out of Del’s hair ten minutes later, both of her boys were framed in the door way, like two sides of the same coin, soft smiles on their faces.

By the time Ty had handed her a towel, Del was yawning, and then Rux was pulling out pajamas, and the three of them were putting their daughter to bed. Ty can never help but make sure she’s tucked in securely, K makes sure her hair is swept carefully to the side, and Rux places her suffed animals within arms reach. 

The last thing Del feels before sleep every night is three forehead kisses, each just as loving as the last.

[kalamitis]

Luminous Glimpses

For writing practice, I decided to write random snippets from the star wars ocs of myself and my friends. Enjoy :)

Caez belongs to @caezsucksdangs | Kii to @fef-x-kan | Rux, Rhell, and Vinn to @foolish-dame | Merce, Brya, and Navii to @originalcrazystrange and the rest of these trainwrecks belong to me

I. Ali

He had prayed. It had been hard these last few stay cycles but he had prayed and the void had been as distant as it looked. He had been on his knees and repeatedly bowed and bowed and bowed, but he never knew just where his pleas went, or even if they had been heard.

Ali supposed that was where Faith came in, the hope that some higher being would hear and... well, not intervene, but give him the strength, show him how he could improve and make him the being they needed him to be.

The stormtrooper gave a sigh, sitting back on his knees and tilting his head back.

Such was faith.

II. Kalduur

It was always the same routine. Wake up, drink, stumble out of bed, drink, get food pressed to him by Triis, drink, get dressed, drink, and by the time it was noon he was ready to be at a club somewhere with girls and boys all over his body, people to fawn over him, people who cared only about his family, only about the fact that he was royal, and needed nothing else.

The money helped, of course, the money always helped, the fact that he passed out credits like they were raindrops in a tropical storm kept him with a constant swirl of faces that were always smiling at him. No matter what Kalduur felt inside, the smiles always told him that he was happy. He was happy. He was happy.

Triisbaiin was the only reality check he had left, the one who would pull a drink out of his hand before it could reach his lips, the one who saw his expression shift even slightly and sent in more people, more scantily clad girls and more shirtless men in tight tight pants until he didn't know how to think anything beyond 'yes'.

As long as he didn't look at Triis's hair. As long as he didn't see the orange tint of worry.

It had to have been months. Enough storm cycles that Aaliiyahh was a disapproving memory running off through a brightly shining door and never coming back. They were always supposed to come back...

"Triiiiiiiiisbaaaaaaiiiiin." His words were a slurred mess, and his thoughts were worse, even as his weight was supported heavily by his advisor. He couldn't even feel the younger man's arm around his middle, but knew it had to be there, it always was. "Baaaaaiiiiiiiny, Baaaaaaaiiiny, Baaaaaaaaaiiiiiin~"

"what?" The snappish comment sounded... wrong. tired. worried. something his drunk mind couldn't keep up with.

It took a long moment, then his body started listening, and his heels were digging into the sand crusted dirt, pulling the advisor to a stop and making the world tilt almost dangerously.

"Creator- Kalduur what? What is it?"

Kal twisted, trying to get a look at his advisor and barely able to see his face in the slanted firelight and distant neon that was a Sakroemi night.

"W-weeee caaaan't-" He held onto Triis's shoulders, only able to comprehend his super bright eyes, the way his advisor's hair looked black. "Weeee- I gooottta- goooo."

Triis gave a heavy sigh "We are going, Kal. We're on our way home." Kal wasn't able to stop the younger Sakroemi from turning him forward and starting them moving again, even though he didn't want to.

"NO!" He felt the world tilt dangerously again when the word finally made it's way out of him, but then Triis was close again and the world was just swaying again. "NO! NO! GOING! WE goooootta-" and his arms were around Triis's neck then, and the world was swaying, but he hadn't hit the ground yet. He never did, good ol' Baiin-

"We gotta get out of here, Baiiny~"

Then the world went dark.

III. Kii-Andra

This is what it always was.

Her team was watching, she knew they were, they always were. She watched them from the corner of half lidded eyes as she tilted her head back and drained another cup. It was only juice, but that wasn't apparent from the way she staggered, the way her smile parted her lips like she had just found salvation. She could see Ali, and Gunsi holding him away from her.

She couldn't help the giggles that shook her frame at their expressions. It was just so- ludicrous. It had gotten to the point that her squadron didn't even intervene anymore. They just. Let her get to a certain point and embarrass herself, and then did damage control. 'Can't change Captain Kii' they probably said. Boy would it wind their gears if they knew she hadn't drank at a formal event in years....

"Hey!" She snapped, her voice purposely ditzy as she stumbled to a stop after bumping into someone, doing a clumsy two step that had been perfected in practice. The person turned, and she was faced with Navii. She could feel her face going from blue to purple, and the concern in Navii's eyes made her want to- to- stop this charade, to explain to her lover that it was all an act. She wasn't like this anymore! She wasn't-

"Kii-Andra." Navii's voice was so soft, she could feel it all the way to her fingers and toes, and her heart rate was fluttering in overtime-

"HEY BABY!" She wanted to cringe, she wanted to stop, but her act was perfect by now, it barely needed her at the reigns. "HOW BOUT A KISS FOR LIL OL ME???"

Navii, bless their heart, only gave them a long look before pressing their lips to her forehead.

The way Kii's knees buckled had nothing to do with the act, and suddenly she wanted to cry.

"THAT ALL? COME ON BABY! THAT'S NOT HOW YOU ACT WHEN YOU'RE IN-"

"Captain." Ali was standing beside her now, hands folded behind his back, spine straight as a light saber. "You are requested in the cockpit."

Kii knew she wasn't, that that was her team's go to excuse to get her to come with them, but the look on Navii's face, the unabashed concern, had her wanting to hide, to flee, to-

"O-OH! OKAY!" Kii jolted toward Navii, thanking the gods and anyone else listening that the large pink alien did not flinch. "SEE YA LATERS BABY!"

Then she was being pulled off by Ali, a hand placed between her shoulderblades as they walked.

She was thankful, at least, that it was the silent trooper.

She hated herself enough in that moment without a lecture.

IV. Caez

How was it, exactly, that their hair was ALWAYS FUCKING TANGLED?? No matter how often they brushed it - which probably could be a bit more often, if they were honest - it always hurt like hell when they tried to do anything with it. In fact, it was days like this where they just wanted to take a lightsaber and-

"Put that down." The Sakroemi's voice wasn't harsh, but Caez flinched anyway. They knew how Kos felt about hair - whether it was just Kos specifically or a Sakroemi thing had yet to be seen - and it was with a bit of sheepishness that the Force user flicked their lightsaber off.

Somehow, Kos always seemed to know when they were about to do something stupid. She always said it was because they couldn't help but project their thoughts when they got frustrated, but Caez had seen the Apprentice General's eyes glow, and knew what it meant.

Still, if it meant that they didn't have to deal with their hair, well. Better for them.

"I was thinking of a pixie cut." Caez joked, even as they obediently took the bag of sweets Kos was offering and started digging into it. They never knew where she got the stuff, but it was always tasty, and that was what mattered.

"You were not." Kos said, sitting on the bed and gesturing for Caez to sit on the ground between her legs. "Hand me the brush. And you better save some of those for me."

Pausing with a bunch of the sugary worms hanging out of their mouth and between their fingers, the long haired nonbinary gave a sheepish grin before sliding to a seat between the darkskinned girl's legs, handing up the brush with little remorse.

Somehow, the Sakroemi always seemed to make brushing into some kind of scalp massage, with little to no yanks that truly hurt, and eventually Caez was at the bottom of the treat bag and their hair in soft, semi obedient waves.

"You're a hair whisperer." The force sensitive said, eyes wide as they looked at themselves in the mirror. They looked like.... some sort of mythical creature, with hair soft enough that no one would even notice it until it was strangling them to death...

"I have to be." was the only response, but then there was crinkling, and Caez froze, glancing to see the empty sweets bag crumpling in Kos's hand.

"Uh-"

"Don't worry about it." Thankfully, the Sakroemi seemed only amused. "I keep a bag of these for myself in my room. I tell you to save some for me so you don't choke trying to eat them all at once." Caez only had a moment to give a sheepish smile before Kos was continuing " Come on. It's almost time for dinner. You need actual food."

They couldn't help but give a grin, following the Apprentice General out of the room as she tossed the bag in the garbage chute.

"....and flick your hair at Kylo for me when we get there. I like the way his force color changes when you do it."

Caez felt their face get warm at the mention of Kylo, but they resolved to do it anyway.

Because Kos wanted them to, of course. N-Not because they liked when Kylo reacted that way as well...

V. Lanny

"But mama knows I need it!" The small girl's dark hair was pulled up in one big poof at the top of her head, as she insisted, so that she looked more like her mama, even though her hair stayed dark instead of turning any which color. She was tugging on her father's hand now, her small hands dwarfed by his singular big on, the blond man letting himself be tugged along by his daughter with a fond but wary smile.

"Your mama knows you just got a toolkit for your birthday not even a month ago, Lanny." Her father's voice was gentle, but firm. It was his Bargaining Voice, the one that was supposed to get her to agree, but just made her want to argue right back until he saw what she was talking about.

"But daddy that tool kit was for a speeder! I'd be out of bolts before I even got through the engine!" The eight year old had just grown to the height of the tables, and had to put both hands on the surface and stand on her tiptoes to even see what was on the edge. The alien vendor gave her a look, but then her father's hands were on her sides, and she was soaring upward, placed lightly on his shoulders where she could see the entire market, almost.

"The engine of what, pray tell?" Vinn toned, beginning to walk more toward their destination - her mother had made them promise to go clothes shopping, since most of Lanny's clothes had become an inch too short in the arms and legs - the young girl's dark eyes lingering on the mechanic's section of the bazaar even as it got further and further with each step.

"My ship, daddy! I can't be getting around the galaxy in someone else's pile of junk! I gotta make my own!"

Her father came to a stop, his shoulders trembling slightly as one of his hands came away  from her ankles to wipe at his face.

"Daddy? Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?"

"No- No baby." Then they were turning back, and Lanny couldn't help but clap happily before holding onto her father's head, careful not to pull any of his hair. "You're just my daughter, is all."

"I know'd that already, daddy!" Lanny laughed. Leaning down to try and see her dad's face. "I thought you know'd that too!"

Vinn's laughter could be heard even from stalls away, and Lanny got her tool kit - on the condition that she didn't let her mother see it for at least a month.

VI. Merce

He didn't mean to do it, not truly.

Did anyone ever mean to do it, though? How could he help it, with the way Ty was? The way he was so sure of himself when it came to others, the way he was selfless and made sure that everyone was always taken care of, even when he didn't remember to take care of himself...

How could anyone resist that? A truly selfless man, a man who would run into blaster fire for anyone even those he cared nothing about! A man who loved with his eyes and hands, a man who's mouth felt like-

"Merce?" The captain's bright green eyes were on him, and the dancer could feel himself going red. "Have you been paying any sort of attention?"

Swallowing thickly, Merce glanced around, trying to regain his bearings. They were at the table in the dining quarters, Cisco's arms were still sudsy from dishes, Del had even paused in her hunt for raisins in Cisco's food to look from Ty to him, and Kere was sitting at the table too, picking at her food. There was a map of a compound on the table, and Merce had to think that it was the one they'd been planning for but... it didn't look familiar.

"Of course he wasn't." Del toned, going back to examining the food. "He never is."

Merce's argument to how unfair that comment was cut off by Cisco's half chuckle and Ty's blinding smile.

"Well, that's alright. I shouldn't be trying to plan before dinner anyway." The captain charmed, rolling the map up and stowing it away.

"Or during it." Cisco grumbled with a small smile, of which the captain returned, a bit sheepishly. Merce felt his face get even redder as he looked down at his untouched plate, the sound of Ty's laughter and voice reverberating in his ears louder than the rest, reminding him of his plight.

He hadn't meant to fall in love.

VII. Brya

There was something poetic about the way death followed wherever they went, like a loyal dog that just wanted it's treat.

Brya wasn’t an assassin, because that would exclude many of the other things they did for money. They were a bounty hunter, and sometimes that meant bringing the bounties back alive, for their customers to do what they wanted with them.

Still, there was something about the way he could watch the light leave their eyes that was... powerful. The sort of powerful that made him understand the draw of the darkside.

Giving a small sigh as they held their recent contract close, their arms wrapped tightly around his throat, Brya looked up at the stars.

You had to appreciate the little things, sometimes, he mused as the contract went limp, it was the little things that made life worth living.

VIII. Cisco

Cisco had known Ty almost as long as the Old Captain had. He had watched the man - overgrown boy, really - grow from a glorified sex toy to what he must of been before, a soldier. A man who had been used to fighting for what he wanted, for what he believed in. He was a charmer, but Cisco kept looking long after others had turned away. The cook saw his scars, the way his shoulders sagged when he thought he was alone, the way that without something to do his eyes went unfocused and distant.

"Come on, Newbie." Cisco wasted no time in throwing an arm over the to-be-captain's shoulder, steering him toward the kitchen. "I need a taste tester, and one who isn't conditioned to always say yes to me."

The man blinked at him, then down at the hot plate of food placed before him. After a moment, he picked up his fork and placed a forkful in his mouth. The toydarian paused, his eyes widening comically before he was shoving more and more into his mouth.

"mmm~ my god-" Ty's eyes were bright and sparkling, even as he shoveled more and more as Ciscos' food down his gullet. "You're- mmm- the greatest cook- holy shitballs..."

Cisco gave a modest smile as the other man continued praising him, feeling a pleased blush start to spread across his cheeks as he turned away and began to spoon more into a bowl for himself.

"You like it?"

"I WOULD LIKE IT IF YOU COOKED EVERYTHING FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE!!"

Cisco chuckled "okay. I can do that."

IX. Rux

K was being odd. Rux could sense it. It was something in the way she was standing, something in the way she wouldn't directly look at him that had him on edge. It made him feel like he'd done something wrong. Like he'd somehow fucked up just like he thought he'd do inevitably.

It lasted all through training. His superior officer didn't do more than glance at him and then look away, and despite her lack of reaction most time, he could read her body like it was his first language. Her lips were tight around the edges, and her spine was straighter than usual, and her hands were curled into delicate fists.

He tried fighting harder in training, refusing to stand down against anyone, besting three others in sparring matches, then doing it again with the others vs him all at once, but each time he looked up at her, she looked more displeased than before.

And yet not a single comment left her lips. Like he should know how he was disappointing her.

It wasn't until training was over, and he was following her to the mess hall, that he was able to ask. His arm ached, the heavy durasteel prosthetic weighing much more after a long day of training.

"Khayi." his voice was hesitant, moreso when she turned on him, her reaction quick as a snake. Her eyes were dark like rainforest earth and he was always shaken by the amount of emotion he could find there. He was half convinced it was why she wore her helmet so often, because no matter how well she could school her expression her eyes would always give her away.

"Are you o-" Then he was being pulled after her, yanked by his good hand and away from the others until they came to a stop in a small alcove, hidden by only a short outcropping of wall that a single step to the left - or someone coming from the opposite direction - would leave exposed.

"Your sparring today was...." Her eyes were luminous, and the thoughts he could read from them had heat spreading across his face. "Passable." She was close enough that their armor was resting against each other, that he could feel her breath against his lips.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Yeah." He couldn't feel her fingers against his armor, but he could imagine them, and that was, in a way, worse. "I, of course, could have done better,  but there is always room for improvement."

He snorted and rolled his eyes, but his gaze returned to her lips fast enough. She was only a few inches shorter than him. Surely he could just...

The dull clink of armor hitting durasteel filled the space as she shoved him back, pinning him against the wall with her body. His face was red in earnest now, his hands resting lightly on her hips.

"...but, a vast improvement, I suppose." She was speaking against his throat now, her lips brushing his skin with every word. "Almost impressive."

He was doing his best to keep his eyes from fluttering, not even realizing she was unfastening his armors until he felt her hands against his stomach, tracing up and up, and then downward in lazy, caressing swirls.

"I do my best to impress you, Khayi."

He felt rather than heard her chuff of laughter, and the way her fingers were working on the crotch plate of his armor was sending his blood on a direct path south. Her tongue was on his throat, and he was finding it rather hard to even remember what they'd been talking about.

His crotch plate had just fallen free when the sound of approaching boot steps could be heard, and then Khayi's body was away from him, her helmet back on as she side stepped out of the alcove, her tone cool and collected as she greeted General Hux and told him of a report she had to deliver to him.

As their footsteps receded, Rux breathed a sigh, taking stock of himself. He still remembered the way her eyes had lingered on him, still armor clad, thighs spread obediently, sinking against the wall and biting his bottom lip to ensure he stayed quiet...

He huffed as he began reassembling his armor, his face still a light pink.

Next time, he vowed, he'd ensure she pulled him into an actual room.

X. Cam

The day they left Thyferra, it rained.

Cam had never really been one to put much on the weather, and the humid rainforest covered planet had never been one to put much on it either. It was always much of the same, and if it rained, it was a drizzle.

But the Force sensitive couldn’t help but feel something different in the air, and maybe it was just the freedom, and inevitably it was just their brain being stupid, but... perhaps Thyferra was crying because… well, because Rhell was crying.

Stupid.

A drizzle didn’t equate to emotion, especially not on the humid wasteplant that was Thyferra. Cam would feel much better when the planet was able to be viewed completely through transparasteel.

They were right about that as well. The runaway felt much better when the blue planet was the size of a grape.

The nearest space station wasn’t that far, and her helpful shipmates did nothing more than gape at the muddy boot prints left in their cargo hold. It was easy as pie to tie their hair back and examine the wears of others, using Marvelle's swiped credits for a few things - a new outfit, a new blaster, a hood to keep their face from prying eyes, and kept only her weapon's belt, carved with Rhell and their initials side by side.

The next ship they boarded was a tradeship that promised to give them honest work, should they keep their fingers away from the product and work diligently, which Cam could do. It wasn't until they were alone, in the room they shared with another trader, watching the stars speed by, that they let themselves breathe a sigh of relief.

They were free.

XI. Triis

In general, Triis didn't like it here.

That was the truth of the matter. He didn't like the way the hallways always seemed drafty, and that the food was always bland, and that the stormtrooper helmets looked like dissastified animal heads. He didn't like any of it, but it wasn't his decision to be here.

Triisbaiin was used to being dissatisfied. Kalduur had started out as a royal that no one would envy him for. He didn't listen, he partied often and drank more, and he never seemed to care that his duty as a male royal was simply thus - to have fun and not get in the way of royals who wanted to change things. But ever since Kalduur had woken up from that night Triis had maybe-almost-dropped him on his head, he had been on a mission, and that mission had been to be of use.

He just wished his asshole of a best friend could have found a use a bit closer to home.

Now, standing in a room with little to no open space, with only the view of the stars and so much silence beyond the hum of the ship, Triis couldn't help but be homesick. He missed the way Sakroem was never quiet, the way that even at night you could hear the sea in the distance, feel it in the air, smell it on the wind... instead all he smelled was disinfectant and whatever the hell the soap the issued was here.

But Kalduur, well, Kalduur was a force to be reckoned with now. He kept his jokester demeanor, but Triis could tell he was... happier. His eyes shined with something more now, something that showed when he answered something in a meeting, or caught something he wasn't supposed to in a conversation.

"We're here for the good of Sakroem!" the royal had said, clapping him on the back as they made their way to their rooms, just across the hall from each other. "We're finally of use!"

Triis had given a smile, the blue clay in his hair keeping his nagging doubt from surfacing.

Because they were here for the good of Sakroem.

So why did he feel so... empty?

[kalamitis]

Rux, K, and Ty taking baby Del to the park for the first time to feed the ducks, though. K accidentally knocks Rux into the pond. Either regular baby AU or Khayby AU.

Rux and Del belong to @foolish-dame

Ty thought that Delmire might be a teeny bit too small for this - she was barely five months, just old enough to start teething - but he and Rux had come to the decision that as a family, they needed to get out of the house. 

At first, Khayi’s adversion to taking Del outside had made sense. She was afraid that it was too chilly, and when they needed to go somewhere, she persuaded someone to stay behind with the child. She didn’t want Del to get sick. She was afraid that if they went someone would see Del and want to see her, and then sneeze.

So they accommodated. Both he and Rux didn’t mind staying home with their baby girl, laying with her and playing with her tiny hands and feet, raspberrying her tummy and grinning when she giggled.

It was Rux that started noticing, in reality. It was the little things. K had always been a bit contained, but now even her eyes showed no change. She would curl up between the two and close her eyes, but when they woke up she was elsewhere, in the kitchen, in the living room, curled up around a book like she had finally just collapsed. She would freeze when Delmire cried out, looking at a loss, until Ty or Rux swooped in and did something about it. She didn’t chime into their conversations like she did before, and when he suggested that it was just left over horomones, Rux met him with a half frown and a head shake.

In the end it was always her eyes. The final straw was realizing that Khayi looked at Del like she was Rux and Ty’s, not her own baby.

So here they were, the four of them trudging through the wet grass on the edge of the pond in florescent orange knit hats that K had done during pregnancy when there was nothing else, Ty keeping up a cheery commentary as Rux gave half responses, his brows drawn together and his eyes on Khayi. Delmire was bundled up tight, by K’s demand, in a cute puffy jacket on Ty’s hip, her hearing aids tucked under her hat to keep her ears warm. Her eyes, brighter and brighter each day, were taking in everything, and for every word he said she matched him with an excited babble. It warmed his heart to see her so excited, even with his lovers otherwise distracted.

“Ruxy~” he sang, turning to his partner and giving a wide smile. “The bread please.” Tearing his eyes from where Khayi had gone to stand at the edge of the water, his dark haired companion gave him a worried look before shrugging his backpack off and pulling a folded paper bag out. The bread inside was nothing special - a few leftover kaiser rolls from when Cisco had visited to cook them a meal, it had been the first time they had seen Khayi’s almost half smile in a long while - but the ducks flocked to them just the same.

“QUA QUA!” Delmire exploded, making grabby hands at the ducklings as Ty threw the first bit of bread into the pond, the ducks mimicking Del’s baby noises in their own quacks as they dunked for bread crumbs. It took Ty elbowing Rux for the man to tear his eyes from where Khayi had stooped down, wrapping her arms around her knees and examining a line of ducklings following their mother duck in a quasi line. After a five second long narrow eyed debate, the raven haired man shoved his hand in the bag and pulled out a fist full of bread, all but throwing the bag into Ty’s free hand.

“Look miremire.” Ty said softly, making his way to a nearby bench as his eyes strayed to where his lovers were, Rux finally reaching Khayi. “Aren’t they pretty duckies?”

Delmire made affirmative sounding noises as Ty sat, placing the bag between his legs so he could offer his now standing - clutching his shirt for deer life - child breadcrumbs from his palm as his gaze strayed back to where Rux’s voice was rising.

“I know you’re strong enough to get through it! but I’m worried, Khayi! I just-”

“I’m fine!” 

It happened all at once. Khayi stood to her full height, and Rux, where he’d maneuvered in front of her to keep her from keeping her face from him, rose with her, instinctively stepping backward. Only... there wasn’t any ground for him to step into, and before they knew it, ducks were quacking frantically, and Rux was on his butt and half submerged in water.

Ty had rushed over, feeling frantic, but then the look on Rux’s face had him pausing. The three of them stopped, still as statues, until suddenly the child on Ty’s hip began giggling. 

“Chi chi baba!” she cried, clapping her tiny hands together as she called for bathtime. “Baba! Baba!” 

There was another pause, and then suddenly, Khayi was laughing. It was sudden, and it sounded rough, like an instrument that was slightly out of tune from disuse, but to Ty it was the most beautiful sound in the world. Rux was already on his feet, splashing back to the edge, which only seemed to make their girlfriend laugh harder, even as she wiped away tears. 

Rux didn’t hesitate before sweeping her into a hug, laughter still falling like tears from the young mother as her arms wrapped around her boyfriend just as tightly, the giggles only subsiding when his lips were against hers.

It was sweet and brief, and then Ty’s free arm was around the two of them, and Del was grasping at her parents, smiling a grin that was just like her mother’s. 

“I’ll get help.” Khayi finally said, kissing her daughter on the nose. “I’ll get better.”

“We’ll get better.” Ty corrected, stealing a quick kiss. “All of us, Khayi.”

Rux nodded, giving a small smile and slipping his hand into hers. “All of us.” he repeated.

“You aren’t alone.”