#nigh unachievable

[thoughtlessarse]

In 2022, the first year of sharp rate hikes to curb rising inflation, the countries of the Global South paid almost $50 billion more in debt than they received in new financing, according to data from the UN’s trade and development arm Crises, like successes, are seen through different eyes depending on who the passive subject is. And this is one of those silent shocks, a blind spot in the wide angle of the world economy. Far from the headlines, rising interest rates are taking their toll on emerging and developing countries: the Global South paid more on its debt last year in principal and interest repayments than it received in development aid and new loans. Inflows to this group of nations fell to their lowest level since the global financial crisis, according to figures from the NGO ONE Campaign. A warning sign that should give the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) pause for thought. In 2022, the first year of sharp rate hikes to curb rising inflation, the countries of the Global South paid almost $50 billion more in debt than they received in new financing, according to data from the UN’s trade and development arm (UNCTAD). At the same time, official development assistance (ODA) fell for the second consecutive year and remained well below the target of 0.7% of gross national income (GNI). This target dates to the 1970s and, more than 50 years later, it has still not been met. “We are witnessing a worrying trend: financial flows are flowing out of the developing countries that need them most and towards their creditors,” summarizes the head of UNCTAD, Rebeca Grynspan, in statements to EL PAÍS. “These are nations that need external resources to complement their internal efforts and, without a positive trend in external financing, their capacity for growth is severely limited.” The fiscal constraints imposed by this situation, she adds, make it almost impossible to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): “Addressing the overlapping crises, such as the climate emergency, will be an unattainable challenge if these trends are not reversed.”

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[upon-blades-twilight]

I knew from the very beginning that my goal was something nigh unachievable, but I couldn't bear losing another. Not again.

She was my light in the dark. Sweet and caring. Indifferent to what and who I was, even though my father was someone who her people literally worshiped. She was the one that reached out to me within that night of blanketed ivory.

She was the one that treated me like a human; reminded me that I am, in fact, half as such.

She was now ailing towards a dark end. An experimental being as these people greatly favored such twisted things. Secretly, mind you, but the marks laid plain on her body. Like water stains upon a page, they wrinkled and grew weak with time. What was worse was that these stains did not stop. More kept sprinkling upon the pages.

And here I am, once again, powerless.

I could burn the entire city, but it wouldn't stop the degradation that has already taken root.

The only option I could find was through my father's power. It was something unfathomable. Strength was something I had plenty of myself, but through research there was a possibility I could convert my father's strength into a tool. A cure. An elixir of life, maybe. It was a frantic and maddening grab for something so small and nearly impossible.

But I have failed, and I knew there was no future for her. If there is no future for her, then there is no future for me.

I only wished I knew sooner that my twin was alive and well. I was too far into my own plight and wrath by that time. Too late to be nothing more than a danger to him.

He had to do what needed to be done to save others. A contrast to someone like a me. Someone that was willing to lay waste to everything for a single person.

Did I want to fight him? Of course I did, but not to this extent. This was different.

At the very least, I know I can rest comfortably with the fact that I have awakened your gift of demonic powers. You'll be able to better protect yourself this way.

This is my will; my actions, and I will not suffer the possibility of dragging you down with me. Not after having pushed you beyond your own limitations.

I can only imagine how much you must detest me now.

It matters not whether if fate leads me to my redemption or death. This is where I choose to rest.

I'm sorry, Dante.

I'm sorry, Eloise.

[barnabyboppins]

GUYS I’M MAKING STUFF ABOUT/FOR MY OCS!!!!!!!!!

I always find recording or illustrating anything related to my ocs a nigh unachievable feat but I now have Pentell and Jameson in non-reference art!! Albeit with most or all of their faces obscured but that’s beside the point!!

[ferrumumbra]

@azure-seadragon || LIKED for a Valentines Starter

Though indifference is offered at the sight of every heart-shaped decoration and pink-tinted treats, Auriaullen had been planning for the upcoming holiday for longer than he would care to admit.

His heart longed to give Solana everything she could possibly want in life, but he was no nobleman, he was no grand business owner or successful entrepreneur; financial restrictions put many of his wants in the category of unachievable but determination had forced him forwards.

Longer work hours rendered him nigh exhausted, but the end was now in sight and after only a few hours sleep did Auri set about putting his master plan into affect. Before heading off to work, he smothered the floor of their dainty apartment in various colours of rose petals, a new dress hung up on the front of the wardrobe to be seen, a matching pair of shoes- and a note simply requesting to meet him near the docks at 6pm. Not long after his shift would finish.

A long day of work would mean that the last thing Auri would want to do afterwards was go out somewhere- but onward he would fight it, a small smile periodically coming to his face upon the very thought that just maybe this little plan would put into action just how much he adored Solana... it would prove it, he hoped.

5:30pm rolled around and, as swiftly as he was able to, did Auri change his shirt and attempt to make himself appear more presentable - his boss aiding in attempting to tame his curly hair and tied a bowtie for him. One couldn't turn up to a reservation at The Bismark looking akin to a right scruff, after all.

Thus, he waits - - hands in pockets and back against a wall; hoping his gifts and note had been discovered.

[sam-moss]

My ideal type to date/marry:

Bang Chan of Stray Kids

…

Markiplier of YouTube

…

and Griffin McElroy of Mbmbam-

DONT MAKE THE RULES

THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS

[wildercrow]

Happy Friday!! Comin at ya with another song prompt: I Found by Amber Run, Broken Sleep by Agnes Obel, or Goodbye by Apparat!! Hope you like at least one of these 😊

Thank you for these EXCELLENT song prompts! I ended up writing some Morrigan angst inspired by Broken Sleep. For @dadrunkwriting

~*~*~

Title: Broken Sleep Rating: Teen Characters: Morrigan, Kieran, Curiosity (Spirit OC) Relationships: Morrigan & Kieran, referenced Morrigan/Warden Genre: Light Angst Content Warnings: Descriptions of post-giving-birth pain, Vague references to past abuse, Dragon Age Origins spoilers Summary: Morrigan is adjusting to being a mother and finding that sleep is... very hard, now. AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34368964/chapters/86285161

This one takes place after the main plot of Origins but before Witch Hunt. Ezekiel Surana, for those not yet familiar with him, is my Warden! Also, I believe this is the first time Curiosity has shown up in my writing!! They aren't named here, but you will hopefully be seeing more of them later.

~*~*~

It’s been a day since Morrigan gave birth, but everything still hurts as if it was mere minutes ago. She knows she needs sleep to recover, but how? Between the ripping, clenching pain in her abdomen and the nigh-incessant crying of her newborn son, sleep seems almost laughably unachievable.

“You did not have to put up such a fight to enter the world, little one,” she tells Kieran as he nurses. “’Twould have made both of our lives much easier had you simply slid out and taken a nap.” She shakes her head fondly, brushing her fingers over the faint wisps of black hair atop his head, then runs a thumb over an impossibly tiny ear. It comes to a slight point, like his father’s ears but shorter. She sighs. Those ears will cause him no end of trouble, she’s sure, but she’s still grateful that he’ll have a piece of his father with him, even if they can never meet.

She finds herself missing Ezekiel now more than ever. She wonders if this would be easier with him. Probably. He’s always had a tender heart. A soft touch. Whereas she… what does she have? An isolated childhood with a manipulative mother is no example to live by. But perhaps an example of what not to do is better than no example at all.

Still, a part of her desperately wishes Ezekiel was here to help, even if she knows better than to involve him in all this.

Kieran is quiet and drowsy after he finishes his meal, for once. Morrigan lets out a sigh of exhausted relief, rocking side-to-side with him in her arms, “Are you finally ready to get some sleep, little one?”

He answers her question by drifting off to sleep in her arms, so she lays him down beside her in her bedroll and curls around him. A protective, loving position. If her mother ever held her like this, she has no recollection of it. It’s not unlike the way Ezekiel holds—held—her. Which means she must be doing something right.

A deep sadness mingles with the pain in her gut as she drifts into the Fade for a much-needed nap.

The whole time she sleeps, an odd spirit in the form of a ghostly blue crow watches her from the shadows. It’s not the first time she’s caught them following her through the Fade, but they never approach. Not to attack and not to talk. They just watch. So she watches them back. They’re not a powerful spirit, she senses. But she’s still wary. Which makes her sleep restless, at best.

And then before she knows it, she’s awake again and Kieran is crying and she feels like her insides have been forcibly ripped out. Which, in a sense, they have. She sighs and wonders how much sleep she actually got. Very little, she suspects.

“Come here, little one,” she sits up and scoops up her son. “What do you need?”

[argentdandelion]

How to Board the Infinity Train

How to Board the Infinity Train

Summary

For a character to qualify for boarding by the Infinity Train, it seems the character needs to:

Have big problems, whether caused directly or indirectly by a single traumatic event or from long-simmering issues

Have a problem that require emotional growth to solve, such as by altering desires or approaches to meet those desires

Since the Train’s purpose is “emotional growth", it’s probable that people don’t get on the Train if their problems are largely or entirely system-wide, not personal, though system-wide problems might still be a minor factor

Be at a “crossroads” (according to series creator Owen Dennis), probably due to their turmoil leading them into dangerous situations that could have killed them, or their problems seriously harming or risking harming very important relationships

Possibly no ability to “help themselves”, probably by having a very limited or absent support system to help them with their problems

Even if the character qualifies for boarding, it is possible the character’s problem can be “unsolvable”  by the Train or opportunities within it.

In Depth

According to One-One, the Conductor of the Infinity Train, and Amelia Hughes, who usurped One-One and took over the train for 33 years, the train is for sorting out or fixing problems. It seems it’s intended to do so by giving Passengers opportunities for emotional growth, suggesting Passengers that get on need emotional growth and not, say, advice on matters of technique or altering an unfair world. Passengers’ problems seem to be a mix of desires and approaches to meet those desires, and potentially desires that are unachievable (e.g., the impossibility of being real friends with absolutely everyone) or harmful.

The Infinity Train doesn’t show up just when people are experiencing a lot of turmoil, but when their turmoil or boarding issue has developed into a crossroads in their lives. The crossroads could be a point where their turmoil leads them to get into dangerous situations that could have killed them (Tulip,  possibly Amelia, arguably Ryan, since he’s going to a faraway location of uncertain financial stability) or seriously harms or risks harming very important relationships (Tulip and her parents, Jesse and his brother Nate, Min-Gi and Ryan with themselves).

Problems They Can’t Resolve Themselves

Lake (then called M.T.) tells Jesse, “You can't even help yourself! That's why passengers get on the train in the first place!" If she is correct about that, the train only picks up people if they can’t resolve their problems on their own.

It’s possible Passengers being unable to resolve their problems on their own is related to a limited number of close relationships, as that seems true of all Passengers with known backgrounds. It is unclear if Tulip has friends other than Mikayla, and she’s been ignoring her communications lately. Amelia grieving alone may suggest social isolation or perceived social isolation.

Jesse may have no strong relationships other than with his brother; he doesn’t mention his parents. Grace felt left out of her ballet group recital: they didn’t know her and so didn’t invite her to get ice cream with them afterwards, and so she sowed discord among them as revenge.

Min-Gi and Ryan seem to have only each other, given Ryan’s streak of failed romantic relationships and apparently indifferent siblings. Although Min-Gi’s parents seem supportive (when he was six, his father’s outright reading a book whose title translates to “How to be a Supportive Parent”)[1], they’re part of the problem, like how Tulip’s parents are part of the problem.

Number Assignment & Boarding Issues

Numbers seem to relate to complexity, intensity, likelihood of resolving with the next action, or length spent avoiding a Passenger’s problems. Passengers can board with fairly small numbers: Jesse’s number was just 31, relative to Amelia’s 337. Their issues don’t need to relate, at least not directly, to one intensely traumatic event or death, but can instead be a seemingly minor issue that’s all-consuming and long-simmering. For example, Min-Gi and Ryan had been hoping to reconnect for months and felt unhappy and unfulfilled with their lives.

Emotional Growth Requirement and Limits

As the Train’s purpose is helping Passengers solve problems through emotional growth, systemic society-wide issues and other things that can’t be resolved by emotional growth would probably be insufficient for boarding. It seems systemic issues can, however, be minor, indirect, or amplifying factors in their turmoil or collection of “boarding problems”.

For example, judging by how her mother criticizes her new fashion look before her parents host an ambassador, it’s possible Grace had to be “respectable” from a young age. It would be a likely problem for any upper-crust family like Grace’s, but perhaps especially so for her family, given they’re a wealthy Black family in the U.S., with its racism. Min-Gi plans to study finance at university to be an accountant, though he hates finance, and accounting is apparently one of the jobs East Asian parents most want for their children.[1]Min-Gi also only briefly alludes to how it may be difficult for two Canadian progressive rock musicians (in the 1980s) to be successful when they’re Asian, and he furthermore quickly cheers up when learning about another music band with Asians. Therefore, it seems other factors are more important to his boarding problems.

It may be the case that, for two people  with identical or nigh-identical collections of problems, only the one whose boarding problems are amplified or added onto from systemic issues gets over the threshold for boarding, even if getting on the Train can’t fix the systemic issues.

Responses and Loopholes to Systemic Issues

Jesse getting on the Train again illustrates the limits of how the Train deals with systemic problems. Lake’s problem on the Train directly relates to the cruel laws of the Mirror World: that reflection-people must always reflect their “primes” (specific people) for the ill-defined purpose of “preserving the balance”, and that if they try to have their own identities and lives, the Reflection Police will kill them.

However, Jesse probably didn’t get back on the Train specifically because his friend was stuck on a train (a system-wide problem), or his own desire to save her, but, rather, due to the turmoil he felt about it. He promised to leave with her, and the last time he saw her, the enforcers of mirror law had caught up with her and intended to kill her. His guilt at being unable to save his friend, as he promised, would likely haunt him indefinitely, giving him serious turmoil and probably a “crossroads moment”. To the Train, guilt at being unable to save Lake on the Train would likely work just as well as an equivalent situation outside the Train.

Indeed, Jesse’s return issue of guilt is similar to Jeremy Bradford’s (Kez’s roommate’s) issue: Jeremy was driving one foggy night, a car came at him head-on because the driver couldn’t see, he swerved to avoid the car and crashed, and his mother and sister were in the car with him and died. He later had a comfortable life in The Castle Car with two denizens who cared about him and, initially, a few passengers, it took five years for Jeremy to resolve his turmoil of blaming himself for his deaths, whether it was being unable to save them or putting them in the situation that killed them.

Jesse wanting to save his friend who’s trapped in an unhappy life also has a little overlap with Ryan impulsively “persuading” Min-Gi to follow his music dreams with him, although Ryan’s impulsivity and need to resolve his relationship problems with Min-Gi was likely a bigger factor.

Jesse’s number reached 0 again not specifically because he got what he wanted, but because he got something that resolved his feelings of guilt or helplessness. Otherwise, Tulip and Jesse would surely board again to visit Atticus and Alan Dracula.

Paradoxes

As Jesse’s return proves, it is possible for a Passenger to board with an issue that requires emotional growth that opportunities provided by Train cars or the Train itself cannot solve. When an impossible scenario happens, the number turns to non-number symbols. It took tricking One-One into thinking Lake had a number and agreeing to give her an exit for Jesse’s glitched-out number to switch to 0, which caused not only Jesse’s exit to return, but also gave Lake her own exit.

[1]https://www.reddit.com/r/InfinityTrain/comments/n7cq9q/so_i_found_a_storyboard_of_this_scene_and_i/</p>

[2] See Mymajors.com's "The Typical Asian Parent's Mindset" and Quora.com's "Why Do Many Chinese Parents Consider Doctor Lawyer and Accountant to be the Default Career for their Children".</p>

[plaidos]

good lord you need to learn how to read. piss on the poor website. i’m not saying “you don’t DESERVE to play GOOD EXPENSIVE GAMES unless you have a FOUR TRILLION DOLLAR GAMING PC” im quite literally just saying “if you try to use a piece of equipment designed to handle nothing more complicated than opening and closing your emails to play some of the most poorly optimised games of the last twenty years it isn’t going to work very well”.

bethesda’s games are straight up not even particularly high intensity. the reason i chose this example is because they look and run like dogshit. with the exception of Starfield, most of their games were released over a decade ago, even the ones people would consider “new”. my point is that if your position is, “any videogame should be able to run on any piece of hardware no matter what, and it is classist that developers don’t do that” your argument is nonsensical; that’s a literally unachievable fantasy.

there is absolutely something to be said about triple-a games trending towards inaccessibility for those without the hardware to experience it. this is something i am incredibly sympathetic to, having been from a family where my “gaming pc” for years was a battered netbook that could barely open Minecraft. but there is no universe where GTAV runs well on your school laptop. this isn’t a case of “developers are so greedy that they’re making games so high-intensive that even ten year old games are too complicated for me to run” it’s a case of “some things are physically impossible to achieve on hardware designed for watching youtube videos”. there are thousands upon thousands of incredibly low intensity, cheap/free indie games on itch, and even on Steam these days. there is no end to new videogames for you to play without dedicated hardware as long as you aren’t trying to play Portal RTX on your phone. if you are only interested in playing triple A games then you don’t get to be upset that all the games you want pander exclusively to market conditions, because you have intentionally ignored all the games that don’t do that.

the problem is that most people on tumblr getting on their high horse about “high poly videogames being classist” are almost exclusively referring to games that they would never wish to play in a million years that they resent for looking somewhat good. none of y’all would’ve played, for example, Death Stranding even if had been playable on your computers, because you’re nigh moralistically opposed to rendering a human in high detail

there has never been another time in gaming history that videogames have been more financially accessible. there is a long way to go, and it is still an incredibly expensive hobby (which is why i suggest pirating your games and using that money to save up for a gaming PC or a console) but for the first time literally ever in history can you find literally thousands of free games that can be played on most if not all hardware. for the first time in history Nintendo has spent two generations on one console (the Switch) specifically to not force consumers to rebuy more hardware every couple years. “i wish i could magically play all games even the hard to run ones” isn’t a coherent criticism. you should be complaining about the price of PC parts or the ever-shifting market requirements.

most annoying type of post on tumblr is the ones that say “videogames don’t need to all be sooo high definition” that provide examples that make it progressively more and more obvious that this person hasn’t ever even played anything actually high-intensity they just keep trying to play bethesda games on a laptop

[meikuree]

ok this is just my weekly post to whinge about writing, but:

sometimes i wish i had the boldness and insouciance/confidence needed to just... write something and then blithely post it! to not only know that this is a hobby i objectively can’t spend too much time on, but to put that into practice too, instead of treating every piece like it has to reach some nigh unachievable, inhuman standard. mostly, i want to be able to ignore the voice in the back of my head that sometimes comes up and says nothing is worth posting until it has been polished and scrubbed perfect until my metaphorical fingers are bleeding... i want to learn to be okay with writing things that are modest and exist, without needing to be good

[chicago-geniza]

the way "in purgatory's shadow" subtly develops the parallels between garak's & ziyal's relationships with their respective abusive cardassian dads & how it is impossible to satisfy them or meet their expectations short of, in garak's case, nigh-unachievable excellence & loyalty to tain to the exclusion of any other relationships, & in ziyal's case, total obedience & bending all her own desires to dukat's will...you love to see it

[garfieldascension]

Not finished, but this is the general idea, y'know? I plan on putting this on a cassette, painting it yellow or blue and glueing some fortune cookie fortunes on it.

Notes and the current tracks I'm MOSTLY set on are as follows (in no order):

TSLAMP from MGMT (I did have trouble picking which track off THE SAME ALBUM to put on here, but LDA and James felt off.)

Many Men from 50 Cent (I always try to put ONE rap artist on most mixes, especially bc my friends are white. This one makes the cut bc the idea is to be boastful, powerful, and almost pompous, bragging, but still be thankful.)

I Will from Mitski (Cringe for putting Mitski on ANY playlist or mix, but this one fits, y'know? Choosing love, walking into it w my eyes open, rather than, like, falling into it.)

Touch The Sky from Kanye x Cruel Angel's Thesis from Yoko Takahashi from Zaear (?) (Kanye's always on my best mixes, he gets it, but the version w Cruel Angel's Thesis provides a stargazing sound, coupled w Touch The Sky to make it sound like I Will Get There. Also I plan on giving this mix to someone after I make her watch NGE)

Fly Me To The Moon from Yoko Takahashi (Again, space theme, and I like the way she sings it. ʕ•ٹ•ʔ)

We Suck Young Blood from Radiohead (I need to convey the idea of Some possessiveness, a passive one, maybe? A hidden kind?)

Claire De Lune from Kamasi Washington (This one, though fitting and providing a nice, orchestral break, is a bit indulgent. Y'know how it is w saxophones.)

Something About Us from Daft Punk (I swear Daft Punk sounds like nightcore.)

I'm Blue from The Shangri-Las (Fun and filled sound and I like it when she says "gone.")

Agua De Beber from Astrud Gilberto (Same thing as above, but more in singled and solo sound of voice.)

Toxic from Ashnikko (The FIRST chunk of this song is nigh immaculate, conveys it's idea well, is fun, colorful, and full of movement, as well as dismisses a type of entitlement, which is a form of possessiveness.)

Them Changes from Thundercat (This song is CURRENTLY just a placeholder for another song that has bassy and city colored sounds.

The idea is to provide a Full Sound, almost no breaks in movement, almost something pulsing, in the Sound, but having apathy (TSLAMP) OR arrogance (Touch The Sky) take mainstage in lyrics, backed by love songs (Something About Us, but still cautious enough to be considered apathetic, imo).

In the cases of I'm Blue and Agua De Beber, the idea being presented is more in it's vocals as an instrument, rather than the lyrics, which is still taken into account.

Claire De Lune, Touch The Sky x Cruel Angel's Thesis, and Fly Me To The Moon all provide an image of Space and Zenith, as the focus is upward growth and movement in a way that seems unachievable, which would contradict the idea presented by upward movement focused on planes, clouds, and the blue part of the Day sky, which is visible and can be acquired.

Idk, I could go on forever about why I put each song in here and it's order, so I'm moving on.

It needs jokes so I'm Incorporating the "I love the kind of woman who can just kill me" monologue and the bad copypasta rap, bc comedy is necessary to enhance drama.

[mxstball]

"If you wish, then, yes, I can start."

Melony took a moment to consider how to phrase her question. After all, a Giratina going to an Arceus for advice on how to be an Arceus was strange, especially considering that she wanted to ensure that Shukukou knew that this wasn't for Heidi by proxy.

"Allow me to get straight to the point. While I do serve My Lady as her loyal retainer, I do have... my own side aspirations. In particular... it has always been my dream to become an Arceus myself and to create or maintain my own world. For billions of years I have had the dream to either eventually inherit a world to care for the people, Pokémon, flora, and other living things in the world, or to obtain the abilities necessary to create one for myself. For reasons both obvious and not which is its own tale, I have long since thought of it as a remote goal -- something that is desirable but nigh unachievable...."

"That was, until recently. Ever since Heidi reunited with the Giratina from our Big Sister Lauren's realm, plans have been set in motion to return there. The Arceus of that world had aligned herself with my All-Mother, and killed all of the humans of her world as well as any Legendary Pokémon that aligned with them. She also plans to take revenge for what My Lady had done to save our new home. As such, we plan to liberate the world and to take the fight to her. Not only that, but in case her world is one where the safety of the world is tied to her, I have been informed that, with the permission of the right individuals, My Lady wishes to both fulfill my dreams and to keep the world safe by designating me as the one that will take the new mantle as 'Arceus' of that world. I... am still getting the details on how, but both Lauren and my True Self seem to be confident in this."

"And here shalt lies my request: Do you have any... words of wisdom for a new Arceus? At minimum I wish to reinstate the few humans that survived by fleeing to the Distortion World as well as create a new gathering of Legendary Pokémon to replace the fallen, but is there anything that I should keep in mind? Is there anything that you know now that you wish that you realized when you were starting your world?"

How "straight to the point" of you, Melony.

"I don't mind in the slightest. While I do know... some information about you, it'd be better for me to learn from the source. And if I can offer some advice that you may find useful in the process, well, I'd call that a productive conversation for the both of us." She would lean back in her chair slightly, sipping at her tea as she did so.

"We can start with what you wish to ask of me. You are the guest here, after all."

[swordoforion]

Orion Digest №16 — Future in the Stars; World Federation and the Kardashev Scale

Our immediate future is concerned with the creation of a democratic world federation and staving off the coming climate crisis. But beyond that, where do we venture? After all, the goal of what we do is not to reach a summit, to achieve peace and call it good, but to provide a foundation on which to build future generations of innovation and discovery. We want to make a better world so that our descendants worry about how to increase efficiency in our spaceships rather than if war will break out or what they'll eat tomorrow.

Even if we are able to delay the change in Earth's climate for our survival, one day we will not be able to live on this planet anymore, due to a variety of causes (the climate crisis happening anyway, the Earth being swallowed by a dying sun, an unforeseen collision from a celestial body), which means that one future priority is to expand our territory outward from our home planet and onto others. None of the planets in our solar system are adapted for life, but through terraforming or biospheres, we can create new land for us to live on, which provides us with both extra space to grow, a backup option in case of emergency, and a source of potential new resources.

Our early expeditions to the moon and our robotic probes have only scratched the surface of what we can do with the other seven planets in our local system, not to mention the untapped power of the sun. Strategically placed waystations throughout the solar system could make interplanetary travel much quicker and more coordinated, reducing risk and allowing us to understand more about our home, as well as to get closer to other star systems for observation, and eventually, interstellar travel. Our current science tells us that travel between stars would come at great difficulty due to the threshold that is the speed of light being nigh-impossible to reach, but we have plenty to explore within our reach now, and by the time we've accomplished that, who knows how much our engines and technology will have advanced.

Even with what we know now, travel between star systems closest to us would take only years if we travel at the speed of light, and if we can develop ships capable of hosting intergenerational crews, we could make long term investments on trips to nearby stars. Humanity could survive even the loss of our solar system as we begin life and civilization anew on a multitude of planets in strange and unfamiliar solar systems, this time with the benefit of knowledge and history on our side. As the distance between humans and Earth increased, the concept of federation may become looser, as two largely separated civilizations orbiting different stars might have limited contact, and would be capable of focusing on their own issues rather than each others. However, if we can manage to find peace in our current time, it would be unlikely to see needless conflict between colonies and Earth.

While we send out crews to establish colonies elsewhere, the future of Earth and our native solar system could be for advancement - to use pre-established structures to use our planets and star to the fullest, with this idea exemplified best by the concept of a Dyson sphere. Named after physicist Freeman Dyson, the Dyson sphere is a theoretical structure created around a star that would harness the energy it created, given that stars are, in their most basic description, colossal engines of heat and radiation. While solar panels use light to generate moderate amounts of electricity, they hardly scratch the surface of what the sun casually produces on a daily basis, and while such a structure is far beyond our current ability to create, it would fuel a civilization far more massive than we are now, and could alleviate the stress of energy industries to constantly find more fuel.

To harness the energy of the sun in the most efficient way possible would act as a major milestone for humanity, as it would firmly move us along the Kardashev scale. This theoretical model of space faring civilizations was developed in 1964 by Nikolai Kardashev, and determines how advanced these civilizations are based on how they fuel their energy use - which is tied directly to both technological development and sustainable production capacity. Coming back out of fantasy for a bit, our modern world uses many of the resources of our own planet unsustainably, and has a constantly increasing production capacity, but not one we can maintain with our own technological limits (hence the need for organized federation to manage and maintain a balance until we innovate).

The creation of a world federation and the subsequent management of environmental policy and industry could bring us shortly to the Type I level - a civilization that sustainably uses the energy of their entire planet. This is not too far from our reach (in the realm of a few centuries), and would provide a good foundation for future space-faring and the development of our solar system, but as I have said, would not hold us forever. As we both develop colonies elsewhere and make the best use of our neighbor planets, we could develop a Dyson sphere (or more practically, a Dyson swarm of satellites that orbit around the Sun) to upgrade ourselves to the next level. A Type II civilization harnesses the energy of it's entire solar system, and would turn Earth and it's surroundings into a futuristic powerhouse; a launching point for interstellar missions and a center of federal democracy.

But who says we have to stop there? Beyond a Type II civilization is a Type III civilization - whereas a Type II will consist of a solar system's energy production, a Type III will harness the energy of the entire galaxy. It seems like a far-off, Star Wars-esque fairy tell to assume we could develop a 'Galactic Federation', but we are considering now perhaps thousands of years into the future. The more we create colonies and master interstellar travel, the more we may learn about space and the speed of light in general. We cannot properly discuss things that we might not know precisely because we do not know them, but to be on the safe side, I like to assume that we never know 100% of what there is to know about the universe. So much of the cosmos is still a mystery, and by the time we become a Type II civilization, our worldview may have changed drastically, along with the secrets of quicker space travel.

The possibilities are endless, as even what we know of our universe, even the farthest limits of what we've observed are simply the most distant lights on our horizon. The universe could be, in fact, infinite, and once we learn to manage our societal problems, the only thing that limits us will be time. I like to imagine the future often - a united human race, working day after day to aim and go higher and further than ever before. If we learn to stop fighting each other, if we see past petty divisions of class and identity and collaborate, we would do things our ancestors thought unachievable a thousand times over. And so that is what we fight for, among other things, when we seek to make change in the world. We fight for peace so that humanity can stop fighting each other, and instead fight against our own limitations.

The Sword of Orion's most basic motto is "respice ad futurum, respice ad astra," Latin for "Look to the future, look to the stars." We are destined not to kill each other and have thousands of years of human civilization remain rubble in the dust, but to travel the universe, to understand the nature of science, and perhaps even to meet and learn from other civilizations on our trek. It will take a movement and change that Earth has perhaps never seen before, but such a future is one worth fighting for.

- DKTC FL

[project-ohagi]

Soramitsu Tabe x Reader

Buy me a coffee!! <3

Even with the will of the entire world, you just couldn't tame his emotions. Frustration swelled within you, because you were exhausted from having to constantly mind him. Your relationship usually allowed proximity and romance, without him lashing out and attempting to eat away at your flesh. Genuine adoration was shielded behind that mask, but the thought of expressing too much of it was terrifying to him. Given his societal status, he had never before known such a pure and authentic love. This wasn't something he wished to ruin, and yet the venomous ticking in his head, the whispered voices...they were perpetually hunting for creative, new ways to tarnish his remaining chances with you. It wasn't a controllable force, but it could be temporarily subdued, by the melody of your voice.

Every lyric that rolled off your tongue was Heaven (or as close as he could access), softening the abyss of his mind. It was ephemeral, however, and every second that ghosted past in your absence felt like Hell. The demons who shackled and repressed any traces of optimism that might creep into his system, appeared adoring towards you, and so provided a little leeway in your company. When you abandoned him, even for a mere moment, they returned, their taunts more aggressive than before. They informed him of his dependency on you, and how very tired you were becoming, as a result.

But...how could he function, with a degree of normalcy, without you? Although, yet another matter niggled the back of his brain: your relation to the young head of the Hassaikai, Overhaul. The connection hadn't been completely fleshed out, so he wasn't sure if you were siblings, cousins or something else, but he could concede that it frightened him, ever-so-slightly.

What would transpire once the news surfaced? A simple, yet violent argument? A fatal fight? For as much as he was deemed insane and incapable of empathy or affection, he truly craved your kindness, your divine presence. It was that which bestowed upon him a sense of security, of home. He never wished to be the cause of your demise, or your split from the organisation. An alien love had settled within his core, and instead of consuming it, he had nurtured it. If you ended up suffering injuries because of him, whether they be physical, emotional, psychological or anything in-between, the grief would devour his heart. Behind his burlap sack mask, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, as his nerves illuminated. His hands started to tremble. The fear, the demons, they were invading his head again. Overhaul had rescued Soramitsu, yes, but that was inconsequential.

Such a powerful figure commanded the utmost respect from his inferiors, not this. To Overhaul, it could manifest as scorn, as a 'trash-is-dating-your-relation-in-an-attempt-to-usurp-your-post'.

Surely, he wouldn't even consider his pleading, his insistence that the truth was far more benevolent! If honesty permeated him, Soramitsu didn't see why you had chosen him. Often, only a singular word attained liberation from his lips, and it wasn't something worthy of adoration. Why? Why did you claim to love him, so very dearly? Why did you gaze upon him, as an awe-struck child, learning to interpret the stars? And...why hadn't he refused your advances?

Ah...perhaps it was the introduction of love into his otherwise worthless existence, that had so mellowed his heart. It was something which he hadn't fully realised, and which his mind agonised over, for many moons. Feelings of neglect bubbled away in the pit of his stomach, as time trickled by. You were still nowhere in his immediate sight, and that was filling him with worry. His mind and mood dropped further into their depressive cavern, as he imagined what tortures Overhaul could be subjecting you to. You possessed a mental strength far superior to his, but it was generally nigh-impossible not to break under such agony. His knees wobbled with the anxiety, forcing him into a crouching position on the ground. What was presenting such an issue, that you would break your promise to him?

You never betrayed his trust.

Yet, maybe an hour had passed since the time that you had suggested. The panic was eating him alive. Had you encountered someone with foul intentions, or had you simply fallen out of love? Were you really busy, or simply in hiding? Soramitsu just couldn't be certain, and the desperation was killing him, slowly. How would he ever hope to function without your help, without your guidance? Even his illustrated emotions were unsure of themselves - should crystalline tears be falling, to signify his sorrow? Should screams tear apart his lungs, because of an unrelenting anger? Or...should he retain his silence, as a testament to his emptiness? All three were competing for validation, but he didn't know which to grant an audience.

As he brooded, these feelings only developed in ferocity. Almost like a relapse, food was once more on the brain. It happened suddenly, eclipsing the final few scraps of rationality, which had lingered since your previous visit. Despite the relatively short period in which you had disappeared, his heart thundered with malice, misery and rejection. This relationship was still fresh, still brimming with bashful side-glances and awkward half-smiles, yet he sincerely cherished it with all his faculties. Had your numerous, supposedly affectionate encounters simply been a nicety? Were those ever-burning embers of love real, or a façade? Did you pity him, or did you revel in his hopeless confusion?

Eloquence aside, would his deepest, innermost emotions - the ones that caused his nerves to explode with an unfamiliar comfort - ever reveal themselves to you? The very worst circumstance, he fretted, would be for you to turn tail and flee, the moment his lips parted. But...but surely that sort of cowardice, of discourtesy was unachievable for someone as wonderful as you...right? Soramitsu placed a hand on either side of his burlap sack mask, desperately searching within his soul, for a sign of reassurance. It might be mentally and physically draining, attending to him around the clock, or ensuring his lack of rampage, but it didn't automatically predetermine that you would just walk out of his life...right? His overactive mind needed an answer - one to ground it again.

"Sora! Oh my gods..." Those heavenly echoes sliced straight through his thoughts of desolation and self-contempt, as a knife to the flesh.

The tepidity of your embrace was something for which he had long yearned. He understood himself to be wholly undeserving of such a loving gesture, yet his quivering hands failed to shove you aside. He couldn't! He refused to impart even the most minor injury on to your delicate skin. You caressed him with a tenderness that should have been reserved for someone else - someone who carried an air of stability, of maturity. You didn't require his filthy love, and you never did. His deplorable appearance was that which should be scrubbed from your life. He didn't wish to taint your grace any further.

He didn't even deserve to touch you.

But...wasn't it above his station, to spurn your courtship?

"Soramitsu? What's going on, sweetie? Did someone hurt you?" The concern penetrated your heart, and this was reflected in your voice.

This whole ordeal was painful - agonising! His vocal chords strained with the effort, but he was determined to respond.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You...I - It w-w-was y-you..."

"Me...? How did I - what...? Did you...did you really mean that?" The quiet cracks which fractured your words were ungodly; why was he cursed with such inarticulacy?

The abnormal dejection crossing your features, the sniffling, the near-waterfalls of your eyes...No! Anything but this! He couldn't bear your current expression. If only his words could be repealed...If only he had been more careful! What had he set in motion? Could his crime ever be absolved? Shaking his head over and over, desiring the phrases which would inevitably dispel all this negative energy, Soramitsu started to choke on his own sharp breaths. Tears threatened his heart with thousands of red-hot pokers. Your form was convulsing in its sorrow, but you hadn't moved away, not even by an inch. Soramitsu relinquished his voice - words couldn't possibly aid him now. Rather, despite his unwavering anxieties, he rested a hand on your shoulder. The connection was feather-light, as though you might shatter, or gain an intense disgust for his touch.

Neither of those harrowing ideas occurred in reality, to which he thanked every god and goddess in the universe.

[Word Count: 1414]

[serious-tabaxi]

Akari: i'm afraid perfect is a nigh-unachievable result, even for immortals like us. I, personally have made no perfect items, though my brother has kind of made 2. everyone else i know of has never made or acquired a perfect anything, especially not perfect control.

*Akari and one of Zer0's comrades(i never got his name) are searching for Metatron, trying not to be noticed as they do so.*

(Order rp: serious-tabaxi->the-archangels7->mr--zer0)

@mr--zer0

@serious-tabaxi

*whilst metatron doesnt notice them, someone else does*

*he follows them quietly*

[gaylortruther]

WHERE THE CELLAR MEETS THE SKY; A WIP RE-INTRODUCTION

THERE IS A VERY THIN LINE BETWEEN BELIEF AND BETRAYAL, AND ONCE YOU’VE CROSSED IT, THERE’S NO GOING BACK.

𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: YA DYSTOPIAN LOW FICTION  

𝙥𝙤𝙫: THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT, MULTIPLE NARRATORS, PAST TENSE

𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙: JULY 2017

𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ACENDTHER (DIMENSION OF THE ABILITIED), THE NIGH (DIMENSION OF THE BENIGN)

𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙨: OUTLINING

𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤: CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

__

ROWAN WAS PLANNING TO RUN AWAY on their eighteenth birthday. Technically, they succeeded. Technically. But waking up in a crumbling rebel base in another dimension was not how they planned on getting out of their shitty Alaskan hometown. Especially once they realize that their best friend is somehow involved.

COLLIN’S LIFE HAD BEEN STOLEN from her three years ago, and she’d been desperate to get it back. Now, back in Acendther, she really couldn’t care less about Rowan’s involvement, much to their dismay. Collin’s priorities were on fixing her old life, her family, and the rebellion. Three impossibly unachievable tasks. 

AVERY DOESN’T WANT COLLIN HERE. Plain and simple, it was her fault his life had been ruined, and he doesn’t want the responsibility of his cousin hanging around him again. They need her for the rebellion, the council says. She’s not safe in the Nigh. Well, it’s not up to him to care for her. Not anymore.

WILLA IS MISSING. When the three reluctant teenagers plus another band of ethically challenged abilitied are forced into forming Sanction 633, their faith in finding the council member will be tested, along with their faith in the revolution. But most of all, their faith in each other. 

__

CONTACT TO BE ADDED OR REMOVED 

@the-ichor-of-ruination @monstrouswrites @faheysjesp @theforgottencoolkid @ahiddenodyssey @vandorens @omgbrekkerkaz @montevena