#one that must be cajoled convinced and communicated with

[thisisallthehattersfault]

Another random idea that I'm gonna have to find a way to use in a fic at some point: I've recently learned of the existence of Graphic Scores, which are basically drawings used in place of usual music notation. Instead of the specific notes and measures a graphic score creates a sort of visual impression, using shape, color and even texture to create an idea of music, which every musician will inevitably interpret differently.

Anyway that's how Wei Wuxian's musical cultivation differs from the Lan sect musical cultivation.

[aiimaginesbts]

Of Two Hearts: Chapter 2

Seokjin x Reader x Taehyung (ft. Jimin and Namjoon)

Genres: Royalty AU, angst

Word count: 6,112 words

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Read the First Part: What You Never Had

A/N: Thanks Ann @godsavemefrombts for beta-ing this!

Disclaimer/Copyright

Your knees simply gave out.

There was no other word for it. Suddenly all the strength within you vanished into thin air, your legs could no longer support the weight of your body and you crumpled to the ground. “Y/n!” Namjoon cried out and went swiftly around his desk to rush to your aid. When he had you cradled safely in his arms, he turned to the messenger and said, “Thank you for giving us the news as quickly as you could. I have to ask you to refrain from sharing it with anyone else until we can figure out how to deal with it. Otherwise there will be panic.”

The messenger nodded gravely. “Understood, Your Highness.”

“You are dismissed. Make sure you get medical attention for your wounds at once.”

You were only vaguely aware of the messenger’s departure from the room. Any thoughts of Jin and Jimin flew from your mind; the only thing that remained was your father. The news left you in such a state of shock that your eyes didn’t even form tears. Yes, you had been dreading exactly this, but now that it really happened, you realised that you’d never really believed that it would. Regardless of the situation, your father was invincible in your eyes. He would live forever, you’d thought. Outliving you, even. That he would no longer be there, forever, shattered everything around you until you felt nothing.

Eventually, you became aware of Namjoon’s arms tightening around you, and your inelegant position on the carpet. You had no idea how much time had passed; for all you know, you’d only lost your mind for a moment or two, but it felt like forever. It hurt so very badly, that it wouldn’t have subsided in a million years. Yet the sun was still shining outside. It shouldn’t, in your opinion. It was the darkest day of your life, and you were unreasonably angry at the sun for continuing to be so warm and bright. That misplaced rage that should be directed of the faceless men of Zinnis pricked at the corner of your eyes, and it brought clarity. And with it, grief. You clutched at the lapel of Namjoon’s coat and sobbed. It was much more subdued than you’d have thought warranted on such an occasion. Truthfully, you wanted to wail and scream at the cruelty, the injustice, but you couldn’t. The passing of your father left you broken, and you felt weak. Your eldest brother’s support gave you the strength to let out your emotions in continuous but short, soft whimpers, and nothing more. Even though you knew that Namjoon was as stricken as you were at the news, perhaps he was as comforted by your presence as you were by his. Thus, you sought solace in each other, during that small window of opportunity when you didn’t have to pretend, until you needed to go on and be strong for the sake of others.

Unfortunately, that time wasn’t long in coming. News of the King’s passing spread like wildfire through the bordering villages, eventually making its way to the towns, then, the entire country and beyond. All at an alarming rate that you weren’t sure you were prepared for. Amidst the chaos that wracked the castle for the next two weeks came the confirmation that Jimin had escaped the ambush. Apparently, he’d been caught in the attack, but managed to flee with the help of the guards.

The guards. You had bitten the inside of your cheek so hard when you’d heard the message alongside Namjoon, trying to keep your tongue still and your face calm, that you could taste blood in your mouth from biting your lower lip. Relief that your second brother was safe was immense, but what of Jin? You were dying to know. However, that was the least of your worries. On the surface, at least. Even whilst still mourning for the late King, Namjoon had to take over the role — in responsibilities if not yet in name. The people were in a panic, and rightly so. In the castle, the overlapping voices of the nobles were only making everything more confusing, all of them anxious to make themselves heard, each one convinced that their opinion was the only one that mattered.

It was enough to drive you mad. You’d barely been allowed time to grieve for your father before you’d been drowned with responsibilities and your sense of loyalty towards Namjoon. He needed all the support he could get. Heaven knew how he was coping with it all. Even with the news that Jimin had survived, both of you couldn’t be assured of the fact until you’d seen him with your own eyes. It was even worse for you, since you couldn’t even ask after Jin without making yourself look suspicious, so you had two people to worry about.

“His my Royal Guard, after all. Perhaps it would be fine to ask?” You tried to cajole Ji Eun into agreeing with you, but the sentence ended up as a question, rather than a statement. Really, you were just trying to convince yourself. It didn’t even take much reasoning to see that there was no way for you to find out about Jin’s condition. Even if you inquired about him, you doubted that the status of each of the guards that had followed the late King and his youngest son were known. All you could do was worry about Jin all by yourself—

Your head snapped up sharply as you came to a realisation. No, you were not the only one worrying about Jin. Some distance away from the castle, his parents were surely wondering the fate of their only child. A twinge of guilt nagged at you when you remembered that you hadn’t visited since the day you came of age. The day that introduced you as the Princess to the whole world. The day that Jin discovered your true identity. So many things had happened since then. More importantly, sneaking out of the castle became even more dangerous, now that many of the citizens knew the face of their Princess. Thus, you’d stopped your clandestine visits out of the castle, limiting your outings to the ones carried out due to your duties. Clearly, those hadn’t allowed a trip to your beloved’s parents’ house.

Yet now you felt the urgent need to go. As painful as your concern for Jin was, his parents must be feeling it a hundred times over. Your hands fisted in your skirts in anger and guilt, directed inwards. It was shameful that you didn’t remember about it until now. Even though you hadn’t had the opportunity to communicate with his father often, since he was usually out the few times you visited, and the handful of times you did see him, you’d found that he wasn’t one for many words, Jin’s mother had always been friendly and welcoming. Perhaps she knew that there was something going on between you and her son. You wondered if she’d disapprove of your relationship, knowing now who you actually were. Surely the stopping of your visits didn’t help your cause, but you’d like to believe that she understood your position. And you wished that she would have blessed the feelings that you and Jin had for each other.

However, none of that mattered if something had happened to him. It was a moment of clarity for you. Jin’s life far outweighed the love you had for him — the very emotion that had been the center of your turbulent thoughts these past few months. You would do anything if it would guarantee his safety. Which made the whole situation all the more unbearable, since there was nothing you could do. You turned to Ji Eun, wearing a pleading look that put her on guard immediately.

Over three hours later, you flopped inelegantly on your bed and closed your eyes. Exhaustion from arguing with your lady-in-waiting can be felt not just in your brain and throat, but somehow all over your body. Yet it was still far from over, it seems. Neither of you had budged from your initial opinions; you asserting that Jin’s parents needed to be reassured, even if there was no reassurance to be given, and Ji Eun insisting that such an endeavour was unnecessary and out of the question. She’d only agreed to summon Jungkook to your study. When you’d asked her to do so, you’d been hoping that the guard would agree to accompany you on your visit. Yet Ji Eun had agreed to your request to bring Jungkook over quite readily. The right corner of your mouth dipped in a thoughtful frown. You had no doubt that she was browbeating Jungkook into agreeing to refuse any of your requests on their way back to you.

Maybe it was because you were lying flat on your back, but your sigh felt especially loud and heavy. A few moments of silence passed, then your groan filled the air as you sat up and brought your forehead to your knees. Jin’s soft but stern voice sounded in your head, reminding you not to do anything foolish or dangerous. With an unladylike groan, you shifted to press your eyes against your knees, as if that could block out his sensible words. It hurt to think of him when you didn’t even know if he was still alive or not. You had always followed your instinct, even though you knew that it wasn’t the wisest course of action. Yet this time it was your head that told you to go to provide comfort to Jin’s parents, and hopefully, selfishly, gain some solace for yourself, too. However, your instinct remained unmoved, giving no drive for you to move. Instead, you heard — or perhaps remembered, you weren’t sure — Jin’s warning, advising you against it.

Even though you had no idea what it meant, a wave of unease washed over you. All of a sudden, you felt unsure and extremely vulnerable. All the more Jin’s absence left you completely lost. You had taken him for granted, and now only when he wasn’t around that you knew how much you needed him. Remorse filled you as you remembered how you’d avoided him for the past few weeks. It was hardly fair for him to be pushed away while you tried to figure out the obstacles in your relationship. Especially when he’d been fully aware of the impossibility of the situation due to the difference in your stations from the very beginning. It was you who’d been convinced that everything would turn out fine, too short-sighted to really contemplate your obligations as a princess. Perhaps you shouldn’t have pushed him away, even if you couldn’t bear to share your insecurities with him. You had no idea how much you’d depended on him. Jin was the reason you had felt so safe, even when you were doing reckless things. Ever since the first day you’d met him, you knew he was your very own knight. Not just because he was your personal Royal Guard. You just knew that no matter what you did, no matter how dangerous the situation you found yourself in, Jin would be there to save you.

But Jin wasn’t here now. Even if he had survived the Zinnis ambush, there was no way he could come to your aid should something happen. The chaos inside the castle was just a small sample of the state of things outside in the capital; the whole country was in a state of unrest. People were surely anxious and fearful of the fate of their youngest Prince, all the while preparing themselves for a war. It was inevitable now. You didn’t have to ask Namjoon to know that even leaving the castle fully guarded was ill-advised; to sneak out with only one protector would be foolish to the extreme. As it was, you were sure that you were already halfway to insanity, arguing within yourself with someone who wasn’t even there.

By the time Ji Eun returned with Jungkook to meet you in your small study within your suite of chambers, you were already weary from your battle with yourself. Still, you tried to appear collected and authoritative as you sat behind your desk; the way you should appear. You could tell that Ji Eun had already warned him of the request you wanted to make, and couldn’t blame him for holding himself so stiffly, as if bracing himself for something unpleasant. And just a short while ago, you would have gone ahead and told him of your initial request. “Jungkook, I have been told that the Royal Guard Seokjin’s parents live in the capital,” you said slowly, carefully weighing the words on your tongue before uttering them. “Do you know where it is?”

He looked surprised, but nodded, wide-eyed. “I have been to visit before, Your Highness.” Of course; you remembered that Jungkook was Jin’s junior in the military academy. The younger man looked up to him, and so Jin had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Jungkook. They had gotten rather close. You tried to work the words out in your head before saying them. It didn’t seem like he suspected your feign of ignorance. Your words made it seem like it was just something you’d heard in passing. Perhaps a tidbit that Jin has shared with you himself. He was your Royal Guard, after all.

In the end, you decided to stay as close to the truth as possible. “They must be worried sick about him,” you conveyed your real feelings with words disguised as concern as a princess. “Would you mind checking in on them to make sure they are alright?”

“Of course not. I would be happy to.” Jungkook’s soft sigh of relief followed his agreement, and you had to try hard to pretend that you didn’t hear it. Even though you had no idea what Ji Eun had told him, you could easily hazard a guess; a favour, probably unpleasant, and definitely dangerous to your safety. You bit back a wry smile. Jungkook was lucky that you weren’t being wilful today, you supposed. Truth be told, you really wanted to go — the original request that you’d had for him was to accompany you there. But somewhere between sending a reluctant Ji Eun with your request and Jungkook’s arrival, you’d changed your intentions. You were sure that she would ask you why you’d changed your mind, but you didn’t have a ready answer. It wasn’t as if Jin was by your side, persuading you to abandon the idea, as much as you’d like it to be true. It didn’t matter, anyway. Even if you did go, what could you do, other than apologise for not visiting for so long due to the real nature of your position? How would you even explain that — posing as a commoner and making their son fall in love with you, only to end up in a relationship that couldn’t possibly head anywhere? You knew you couldn’t bring yourself to reassure them that Jin was fine. Not when you were worried and deathly afraid that might not be the case yourself. Your shook your head mentally, forcing yourself to focus on the two people actually in front of you, and off the person who wasn’t even there.

“Thank you, Jungkook. Do let me know if they need anything,” you said with a nod, dismissing him. A part of you debated the wisdom of telling him to relay the message saying that you were praying for his safe return, but you decided against it. Although Jin had probably told his parents who you really were, you weren’t completely sure of that fact. Even if they knew, you couldn’t guarantee that they won’t say something about your relationship with Jin to Jungkook. Best to play it safe and not ask him to say anything about you at all. However, just before he could leave the room, you asked him, “perhaps it would be best not to let others know of my request. I do not want to be seen as having favourites, but I do not know the circumstances of the other men in the group.” It was a lame excuse, since you were playing favourites, in a way. But it was the only way you could think of to inform Jungkook not to tell anyone else. You trusted that he wouldn’t if you’d instructed him not to.

Jungkook nodded his assent, then left. As expected, your lady-in-waiting immediately pounced, insanely curious as to what made you change your mind. You were aware that you were the most obstinate person, which was why she wasn’t completely satisfied when you said it was your instinct. Surely there must be something more, she’d said, and you would have agreed with her if you hadn’t known your own heart.

It turned out that your guts had been pulling you in the right direction, after all. The sun had barely left the skies and the darkness had hardly claimed the night when Ji Eun arrived with a message. She took care to be suspiciously quiet, even though she was visibly excited — her eyes were wide, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, as if she couldn’t believe the news herself, even though she was the one delivering it. After taking a deep breath, she exclaimed in the lowest voice she could muster, “They are back!”

“What?” You asked cluelessly, never for one second thinking that such news would come at that moment. It took a few seconds for you to digest her meaning, but when you did, you started up from your seat, almost upsetting the tea service in the process. “You mean, Jimin—“

She nodded vigorously in confirmation, and your fingers dig into the soft material of the chair. “What about...” you choked on your words, too scared to bring yourself to finish the sentence. As if stopping in the middle would protect you from any bad tidings. But you didn’t have to, because Ji Eun knew exactly what you wanted to say. She nodded firmly.

Immediately you stood, ready to rush to Jin’s side, but then you stopped yourself. With your brain catching up with the instinctive actions that your body took, everything came rushing to you, and you sagged back into your seat. Relief unlike anything you’d ever felt before washed over you, even as your feet itched to run towards him. Thank goodness you didn’t leave the castle with Jungkook to go to Jin’s house earlier. You didn’t even know where he was, exactly, but you would search every nook and cranny of the castle if you’d followed your heart’s desire. Jin was alive! Just a few minutes ago your heart was heavy with guilt and the uncertainty of Jin’s condition. Right now he and Jimin were in the same building as you. You could hardly believe it. Yet you couldn’t rush to Jin like you wanted to. It was painful to hold yourself back, but you were thankful enough that he was alive. You could almost bear anything as long as he was safe.

After composing yourself as best you could, you started out of your chambers with Ji Eun. You wanted to see your brother. At least that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Hopefully Jin was there with him. However, when you arrived, he clearly wasn’t in attendance, since the only people who were present in Namjoon’s study was himself and Jimin, but upon seeing your second brother, thoughts of Jin was easily put aside. After all, even though you knew that he was alive, you’d been just as concerned about Jimin as you were about Jin. Yes, you’d known that Jimin had survived the attack early on, but that didn’t mean you weren’t worried about him. You wanted to make sure that he was unhurt — at least physically; you were sure that the passing of your father had affected him even more than it did you, since it happened in his presence — and simply to reassure yourself that he was there. He looked haggard, and your heart cried for him. The physical, mental and emotional exertion of the travel and the ambush had clearly taken a toll on him, and even though he smiled the moment he saw you, the expression was tired, almost strained.

With no regard to propriety, you ran towards Jimin, stopping short just before you crashed into him. Grabbing his forearms, you assessed him from top to bottom, eyes narrowed to catch every single scratch. It might not have been a good idea, though. There were more than a few scratches on the younger prince, even a gash that you were sure was the surface of an even deeper wound. He was in one piece, but every single injury on him tore at your heart, making you tremble and envisioning tearing faceless men limb from limb for laying their hands on your brother. For a short while, Jimin indulged in your quiet assessment of his well-being. But it didn’t take long for him to deduce that you’d never be completely assured, and so he runs his thumb gently over the creases between your brows. “I’m fine,” he informed you.

Your lips trembled at his voice; whether it was because you missed it, or because you knew that he wasn’t actually fine — not really — and you threw your arms around him. Pressing your face as hard as you could against his chest, you managed to keep the tears at bay. “Do you have any idea how worried we were?” Your muffled words were more watery than angry, devoid of any actual accusation. Jimin was home, and that was all that mattered. Losing your father had caused you enough grief without having to cry over your brother as well, and you knew Namjoon agreed. After calming yourself down, you and your brothers had a long talk over the devastating incident.

Listening to Jimin’s first-hand recounting was a painful but necessary experience. The gist of it was as you’d heard from the messenger, but Jimin filled in the blanks. He was inside the carriage with the late King, going over the more important issues that they’d hoped to discuss with the King of Zinnis, when shouts rang from outside. The men from Zinnis far outnumbered the guards protecting the carriage, easily decimating the ones from the right of it with hardly any time for your men to sound the alarm. From Jimin’s point of view, the enemy was on top of them before he could even draw his sword. The shock and force was such that he wouldn’t have been surprised if the sturdy carriage had overturned from the sheer strength of horse and men. Jimin had rushed outside to join the men, while being wary of straying too far from the carriage.

Yet it was all for naught. As he was furiously slashing at his enemies, a hand had pulled on his shoulder, and he almost took a swipe at the unwitting man behind as he turned around. “It was Sir Kim Seokjin.” Jimin’s voice remained calm, but his eyes flicked in your direction for an instant before settling on Namjoon again.

The eldest Prince frowned in confusion. “Kim Seokjin?” He asked, unfamiliar with the name.

“Y/n’s Royal Guard.” Jimin nodded towards you, and Namjoon made a sound of recognition.

“Ah. Yes. He was the one who discovered the pirates’ hideout, wasn’t he?” Your eldest brother turned towards you for confirmation, and you muttered your assent.

“He had also protected her on several occasions,” Jimin added, and you looked at him carefully. Was he up to something? You had convinced yourself that Jimin wouldn’t reveal the relationship you had with Jin, but it wasn’t hard to put yourself on guard.

Namjoon shot you a withering look, clearly disapproving of the fact that his baby sister had needed so much saving in the first place, but thankfully he didn’t comment further. Instead, he told Jimin to continue with his tale. After jumping back to narrowly escape Jimin’s blade, Jin had fearlessly approached your brother again, grabbing his arm to urge that he leave at once. You had to bite back a whimper when he’d refused, telling Jin that he had to protect the King. Somehow you’d known, even before Jimin sadly recounted that Jin had shook his head and pointed towards the carriage. In the midst of fighting, they had unconsciously moved away from the vehicle, but they were still close enough for Jimin to see your father lying in a puddle of blood on the ground next to it. Even though days had passed since receiving the news on your father, you remembered the devastation that you had felt — and was still feeling now. So you weren’t surprised to find out that Jin had dragged Jimin, who would have remained immobile in his state of shock, away from the chaos of battle.

“I was completely useless,” Jimin berated himself, hanging his head in shame. Even though he’d confessed that Jin had to fend off the attackers as they made their way towards some horses to escape, you couldn’t bear to listen to your brother’s self-loathing. You moved to sit next to him, enveloping him in a fierce hug.

“You are not useless,” you said firmly. “If you hadn’t escaped, Amaryll would have lost their King and their Prince. And I would have lost my brother, too.” A sob lodged in your throat, so you cleared it to ensure that it wouldn’t escape, composing yourself at the same time. “Our remaining men followed you to make sure that you are safe, and that is why there are as many survivors as there are now. You saved the lives of those men.”

Jimin’s only response was a wan smile, acknowledging your point, but you knew his heart wasn’t able to accept it, even if he understood it in his head. Suddenly desperate not to see his heartbreaking expression for a moment longer, you tried for a change in subject. “How are we to proceed from here?”

If the hushed voices that the three of you were using before was unsettling, the silence following your question was deafening. None of you knew what to say. It wasn’t that no one had the answer. That much was apparent. It was that neither you nor your brothers could bring yourselves to form the words. You nibbled on the inside of your cheek, regret sprouting from asking. However, you knew that it was something that needed to be addressed, and better sooner than later.

Your second brother was of the same mind, because he stated, “tongues will wag, but your coronation cannot be postponed, Namjoon. There will be chaos as it is, when word goes out that Father was murdered. We need to present a confident and prepared front.” After seeing Namjoon blanch at the suggestion, Jimin added, “it can be a simple one, just for formality.”

There really was no way around it, so in the end your eldest brother agreed. The rest of the evening was spent planning the occasion, as well as discussions on the first steps to be taken to prepare for the war. Everything must appear to be in place before informing people on the lower chain of command, as well as the masses. It all went more smoothly than you’d expected. Calmer and orderly. The ministers were clearly distressed by the news of the King’s passing, but you three siblings worked clinically, showing no effects from the heavy loss.

And you were still in the state of mind when (maid) found you later that night — in your night clothes, with your hair brushed down, ready for bed — yet sitting on the edge of it. Staring blankly at the floor, as if detached from reality. Your mind was just a blank, but nowhere ready to rest. Even when she called for you, your “Hmm?” was said out of habit more than anything else. In truth, you didn’t even notice her presence. You didn’t notice anything; not even the soft mattress you were perched on.

“Sir Seokjin is here to see you. I told him that it is very inappropriate—“ Her distressed tone barely registered with you, and when she ended her speech with a question, you simply answered with, “fine.”

“Fine?! But—“ her shrill reply was cut short by soft footsteps on the plushly carpeted floor, but you only felt relief that she’d stopped. You simply couldn’t summon the energy to move, not even an inch.

That was until heavy, comforting hands rested upon your shoulders. It startled you enough to make you look up into brown eyes that were filled with worry. “Jin?” It was hard to believe your own eyes. This was like a dream. Or a nightmare. All of it. Reality’s cruel weight suddenly crashed down on you, leaving you broken, a sobbing mess. The only thing keeping you sane was his arms around you, squeezing you so tightly as if to keep you together. It felt like he was the only good thing in your life at the moment.

“You’re alive,” you gasped, clutching at the front of his shirt. You needed to hold onto him, lest he disappeared like you’d seen so many times when you were asleep.

His response was to tighten his hold on you. Even though his breath that softly blew against the top of your head was warm, his words were more comforting, oddly. “I’m sorry.”

It was just that. He was sorry — for the death of your father, for his failure at protecting him, at the situation you were in now — it might be for one thing, or it might be for everything; you didn’t need to ask. There was no doubt that Jin would always want the best for you, and would do anything for your sake, and so just those simple two words conveyed enough. You nodded, throat still too clogged by your sobs to say anything.

He held you until your tears subsided, then coaxed you to sit side by side on the edge of the bed. Ji Eun had discreetly made an exit sometime after showing Jin in, and you were grateful for that. She was your confidante, but there are things that you just couldn’t share with her. Besides, you had always felt that she had often shouldered more than her share of burden, with your recklessness and frequent (some nobles might even say unhealthy for a woman) interest in Amaryll’s affairs. She also didn’t know Jin as you did, thus you wanted this time alone with him, after so long being apart, to just be the two of you.

“You’re hurt,” was your next, obvious assessment to his well-being. It was all you were capable of at the moment, but he understood the sentiment behind it. There was nothing you could do about him being in dangerous situations, yet you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from worrying. The best he could do was be forthright with you; so you could fuss over him when he was injured and feel genuine relief when he was not. It was better than hiding his pain from you – you had pointed that if you discovered that he was lying, even just once, you could never believe him again if he tried to reassure you that he was fine. Of course, you never wanted him to be hurt, but as long as he was alive, that was the most important part, in your opinion.

While he did not escape the ambush unscathed, Jin hadn’t sustained any serious injuries. After examining his cuts and bruises, you felt slightly more like yourself. It should be unsettling, to see your beloved in this state, but the fresh scars were undeniable proof that he was indeed alive. That simple fact did wonders for your frayed nerves and battered heart. Neither of you talked much. Whether it was because there was not much to talk about, or because you were both physically and mentally exhausted, or both, you weren’t completely sure.

It was comforting, but it wouldn’t last for long. Jin suddenly stopped moving, as if deep in thought. “So, we are at war now,” Jin sighed. You nodded, but you could tell that this was not what he wanted to say. There was also a forbidding feeling that you weren’t going to like whatever it was he was going to bring up. “It’s inevitable, of course, considering what happened.” Not knowing what to add to the one-way conversation, you made a soft sound of assent. “Zinnis may be a smaller country, but they are renowned for their military strength.” That was not news to you, either. While Amaryll is more than twice the size of Zinnis, most of your people were farmers and merchants, not soldiers. Trade was what your country was known for, and with its abundant fertile lands, Amaryll was a prime target for Zinnis. “We will need all the help that we can get if we are going to win this war.”

A part of you had anticipated what Jin was getting at from the beginning, but you were still unprepared to tell him the truth. He laid his hand on yours, and only then you noticed that you were trembling. Your hands clasped atop your lap were almost completely covered by his large one, and the sight fascinated you, for some reason. You just couldn’t look at the expression on his face right now. He called your name in a voice that was so gentle and kind. It was the reason you took his hand the first day you’d met him – he made you feel protected, like everything was going to be all right. Even as the world was crumbling all around you.

“My feelings for you will never change, even if you marry someone else.”

“How could I possibly?” The question was high-pitched with anger and cracked with pain as your head whipped around to finally look at him. Jin’s beautiful features were calm, already accepting the fact, but his eyes were filled with sadness that was more similar to your own feelings. “You’re the only one for me, Jin. You always have been. How could I marry Prince Taehyung?” Voicing it out in front of him for the first time was like finally validating the truth that you’d been trying to deny for so long. Once again, tears formed anew.

Jin raised his free hand to cup the side of your face, slowly brushing away the tears from your left cheek. “I have always known that this would never last. You should have known that too.” Yes, you knew that Jin had thought about this from the start. That was why he had refused to prolong your relationship when he’d found out who you were. Still, you had never wanted to believe that was true. It might be foolish of you. And it was definitely idiotic to want to continue believing that you and Jin still had a chance to be together. Your head knew without a shred of a doubt, but your heart remained unmoved in your feelings for Jin.

He brought your head to rest on his chest, and you went readily into his arms. Even though his stroked your hair softly, Jin had no intentions on letting you continue evading the inescapable. “The Crown Prince of Delphina has military strength that rivals – maybe even surpass – Zinnis. He himself has been known to be a great leader. And he hasn’t treated you with anything other than kindness and respect, has he?”

You cringed at the way Jin had phrased the question. Of course he had noticed the interactions between you and Prince Taehyung. The Crown Prince was admirable, friendly, and you liked him very much; but you had never been unfaithful to Jin. Nor did you ever want to. Just one look at Jin and no other man could compare. None could remain in your mind, not when Jin already had your heart. But your station forced you to listen to Jin’s words. It reminded you of your duty to your country. The position that you had been blessed with is one that made you act on the behalf of your people at all times, even at the cost of your own feelings. An alliance with Prince Taehyung would mean saving thousands of lives. The lives of your people. It could mean Jin’s life.

“No, he hasn’t.” You whispered brokenly.

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 02/08/2020

Sword Art Online: Alicization: War of Underworld EP#28 (04) - Dark Territory: During the dive into the Underworld, Gabriel Miller briefly flashes back to his childhood obsession with souls. After logging in with the super-account representing the Dark Emperor Vecta, he quickly gains control of the army of the Dark Territory. General Shasta, being less than pleased with the Emperor's plans, confides in his top soldier and lover, Lipia, that the Emperor must be killed to keep the peace. Vecta communicates with his soldiers in the real world and retires to his bedroom, greeted by Lipia. Disguised as a concubine, Lipia attacks him with a hidden knife, but Vecta quickly subdues her and chokes her to death, watching her glowing soul leave her body. He flashes back to his childhood obsession with souls and hix fixation on his friend named Alicia. Convinced her soul must be hidden deep beneath her brain matter, he jammed a long needle into her ear. As she died, he saw a glittering glow leave her body and ascend into the sky. In the Underworld, Vecta addresses his legion of soldiers and presents Lipia's head frozen in ice as a warning to any who would challenge him. Shocked at the death of his lover, Shasta tries to kill Vecta and unleashes a storm of incarnation, nearly wiping out the leaders of each respective army. As he aims for Vecta, he is sucked into a void in his soul and disappears, leaving Vecta unfazed. Meanwhile, in the human empire, Alice and Kirito arrive in the eastern camp near the Eastern Gate. Alice discovers that the gate is going to fall in a matter of days, removing the barrier between the Dark Territory and the Human Empire.

My Hero Academia Shie Hassaikai Arc Season 4 EP#75 (12) - Unforeseen Hope: After leaving restrained to Rock Lock, Sir Nighteye's group catch up to Mirio after he lost his Quirk protecting Eri from a Quirk-Killer Bullet. But Hari Kurono removes himself and Aizawa from play, revealing Eri to be the previous boss's granddaughter. Overhaul refuses to accept defeat as he uses his Quirk to assimilate Nemoto and turn himself into a monster while revealing that Mirio lost his Quirk, Nighteye ordering Izuku to take Mirio and Eri to safety while he holds the villain off. But Nighteye is wounded, while his Quirk shows him a future where he and Izuku are killed. But despite that and Overhaul using Nemeto's Quirk, Izuku refuses to give up on saving Eri.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind EP#13 - Man in the Mirror and Purple Haze: Abbacchio attempts to retrieve the key, but Illuso uses a nearby piece of a mirror to draw him into the mirror world. Abbacchio attempts to trick Illuso into taking Moody Blues into the mirror, but Illuso counterattacks, leaving half of Abbacchio and Moody Blues in each world, rendering each powerless. In desperation, Abbacchio cuts off his own hand, enabling Moody Blues' hand to grab and deliver the key to Giorno. However, rather than flee with the key, Giorno allows himself to be dragged into the mirror world by Illuso. Giorno reveals he had infected himself with Purple Haze's virus, and has now passed it on to Illuso. To save himself, Illuso escapes back into the real world, leaving his infected arm in the mirror world. However, Giorno had earlier used Gold Experience to turn a brick into a snake which tracks Illuso's position, enabling Fugo to follow and kill him with Purple Haze. As Illuso dies, Fugo, Abbacchio and Giorno return to the real world, where Giorno uses the snake's antibodies to cure his own infection before tasking Fugo with treating Abbacchio's wounds.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Natagumo Mountain Arc EP#15 - Mount Natagumo: Zenitsu has been told Nezuko is Tanjiro's sister and develops a crush on her. A Kasugai crow comes after the doctor says they're healed and tells the three to go to Mt. Natagumo. They come in sight of the mountain, though Zenitsu is too scared to go on. Tanjiro smells something and runs to it, Zenitsu forced to follow so he isn't left alone. They find a wounded Demon Slayer collapsed on the path but he is yanked into the trees by threads attached to him. They find another terrified demon slayer, Murata, who tells them ten higher ranked demon slayers, including him, came to the mountain, but they started killing each other. An exhausted Kasugai crow is shown on the lap of the Demon Slayer's commander, who notes many have been killed and thinks the Twelve Kizuki may be there. He sends two of the Hashiras (the best swordsmen): Tomioka Giyū and Shinobu to the mountain as backup. Meanwhile, Zenitsu still sits on the path, having been left when Tanjiro and Inosuke ran forward. He cajoles himself into going when he realizes Tanjiro took "his Nezuko" into the mountain. At the mountain, the captured Demon Slayers walk out from the trees and start attacking Tanjiro's group. Tanjiro stops Inosuke from attacking as some are still alive. He smells the threads attached to them and realizes that's how they're being manipulated. Inosuke frees them but a demoness, the Mother of the spider family, sends her spiders to reattach the puppet strings to the Demon Slayers. A white-haired demon boy, Rui, suddenly appears above them, standing on threads, and says Mother will kill them before leaving. To himself, Rui says no one will stop the five of them from living as a happy family. While Tanjiro and Murata keep the controlled Slayers busy, Inosuke uses his Spiritual Awareness to find Mother.

Dr. Stone Communications Arc EP#22 - The Treasure: In the search for tungsten, Senku, Chrome, and Magma search a nearby cave. After encountering a mica vein, Magma tries to save Senku from falling into a sinkhole, but both eventually are trapped. Chrome saves them both by filling the sinkhole up with water. The three hurriedly return back to the village after encountering a deposit rich with minerals in order to make it in time to celebrate Senku's birthday. While the three were gone, Gen and the village build an observatory for Senku.

Food Wars!: The Second Plate Totsuki Autumn Election Arc EP#28 - The Pursuer: The Shokugeki between Takumi and Mimasaka commences with Takumi's mezzaluna on the line. For the dessert theme, both sides decide to make a semifreddo. Mimasaka's investigative approach to Shokugekis is revealed: he makes his own twists on his opponent's recipes to improve his own dish. At first, Takumi desperately tries to think of twists he can make within the cooking time, but he remembers his training and calms down. After Mimasaka impresses the judges with his dish, Takumi presents his semifreddo with an added layer of lemon curd made with olive oil. However, Mimasaka reveals he had predicted Takumi's actions and added his own secret ingredient, preserved lemons, claiming both victory and Takumi's mezzaluna. Afterwards, Mimasaka shows up at Soma's dorm to challenge him to a Shokugeki in the semi-finals, putting up Takumi's mezzaluna for Soma's knife. However, Soma raises the stakes, putting his career as a chef on the line for all the tools Mimasaka had won in his past 100 Shokugekis. He also reveals to Mimasaka that he will be making beef stew for their match.

Black Clover: Elf Tribe Reincarnation Arc EP#104 - Lightning of Rage vs. Friends: The elf, Rufel, explains Lucks body is now his and Vanessa realises Luck is possessed. Rufel almost murders Magna but is stopped by Vanessa's cat Rouge, the Red String of Fate. Magna tries to attack Rufel but is also stopped by Rouge as she protects all Black Bulls, including Luck. Magna manages to trick Rufel with his knowledge of Luck's physical abilities and blows him up. Magna demands Rufel return Luck but Rufel summons a lightning storm, increasing his powers, and Magna only survives due to Rouge. Rufel realises that using Rouge costs vast amounts of magic and forces her to save Magna over and over again until Vanessa almost passes out. Rufel claims Luck's soul is dead but Magna spots that he is crying and realises Luck must be able to hear them, so they desperately try to force Luck to wake up. Rufel almost murders Magna but Rouge uses the last of her magic to alter fate, resulting in Asta appearing at the very last moment. Rufel manages to sense Asta's movements and tries to kill him, but Vanessa attaches a string to Asta, holding him back for a split second causing Rufel to mistime his attack and he is tackled to the ground by all three of them. Asta prepares to stab him in the chest and end the possession before Rufel unleashes an electrical explosion.

[animeengineer]

All this “we must reopen the economy” bullshit from Republicans reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode The Old Man and the Cave.

Ten years after an apocalyptic nuclear war, a small community of survivors struggles to eke out an existence in the ruins of society. They are aided by a mysterious old man who lives in a nearby cave who communicates only with Goldsmith, one of the community’s leaders. Of paramount concern is the issue of irradiated food and drink, which the old man chiefly advises them on. Goldsmith returns and warns the community about an upcoming rainstorm of radioactive precipitation, and that their most recent batch of foodstuffs are all contaminated by radiation. A jeep full of soldiers pulls up to the community led by a Major French, who claims that he is part of a division attempting to “organize” the fractured United States into a semblance of order. Major French asks for lodging for himself and his men for a short while, claiming he is part of an operation to set up a system of military control over the United States, with himself as constabulary of the local area. Goldsmith agrees to give him room for the night but asks him to leave the following day. Major French strikes Goldsmith and threatens to execute him if he interferes with their efforts.

Goldsmith tells Major French about the authority of the old man in the cave, and Major French likens their behavior to that of cults and lunatics he has encountered elsewhere in the United States. He believes the old man does not exist and mocks Goldsmith, although Goldsmith defends the judgment of the old man. Major French decides to take everyone up to the cave to investigate whether he exists or not. The cave is protected by a seemingly impenetrable steel door, and Goldsmith claims he does not know how to open it and communicates with the old man via notes. Major French attempts to blast open the door with a hand grenade, but does not succeed. They return to the village, where Major French convinces the townsfolk to open the cans of contaminated food despite Goldsmith’s pleas for them to stop.

The townsfolk drink and feast until late into the night, leaving Goldsmith morose and defeated. Major French proclaims that the old man in the cave does not exist and was fabricated by Goldsmith. He and the townsfolk ask Goldsmith to open the cave and reveal what’s inside, and Goldsmith is cajoled into compliance. They learn that the “old man” is actually a computer, and Major French convinces them to destroy it in order to earn their “freedom.” In a matter of days, everyone except Goldsmith dies from radiation poisoning, and he is left alone to contemplate their terrible fate.

NETWORK: CBS. DATE: November 8, 1963 9:30 PM.

Rod Serling wasn’t even remotely fucking around. He called out this bullshit 57 years ago.

[lovehaswonangelnumbers]

New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/karmic-tools-weekly-forecast-january-12-18-2020/

Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast: January 12 – 18, 2020

Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast: January 12 – 18, 2020

ByKelly M. Beard

The video version of this forecast, as read by Kelly, is available here.

The Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast covers the current planetary transits which affect people in different ways and to various degrees of intensity. Take notice when it is a Personal planet (Sun / Moon / Mercury / Venus / Mars) interacting with a Social (Jupiter/Saturn) or Collective planet (Uranus / Neptune/Pluto). And pay extremely close attention when it is a Social planet interacting with a Collective planet because that means something *big* is brewing that will move large groups of people along their evolutionary paths. Tuning in to the energy and rhythm of the planets can serve as a useful *guide* as you move along your Individual Path. It also helps to understand your place within the context of the larger Social & Collective Story. Below, you will find out how these energies tend to manifest, as well as guidance and direction. 

*NOTE*  There are some days when there are NO CONTACTS (besides the Moon), please note that there are no missing entries, we just list the actual Activations of each week + the day they happen.

Weekly Forecast: January 12 – 18, 2020

1/12 ~ Mercury (thought process) ~conjunct~ Saturn (definition of reality):

This energy is excellent for any important project that requires your undivided attention. If you’ve got a vision and have already outlined how to manifest it, now is the time to really fill in the blanks – flesh it out – bring it to life! Do the work! If you do not channel this energy toward patiently and methodically taking the steps (in order, with no shortcuts) so you can get to the next level, then it can manifest in frustration that you are not doing what you know in your heart you’re supposed to be doing at this time. That often leads to negative thinking and self-sabotage. A better expression would be to not think of the things that can go wrong, but entertain the possibility that every door opens and all paths lead to your goal, no matter how they appear in the moment.

1/12 ~ Mercury (mind, thoughts & ideas) ~conjunct~ Pluto (purification & transformation):

This activation takes you into the depths of your own mind & consciousness, deepening all communications. You may find yourself obsessing over something, either by yourself or in an attempt to convey something to another. Superficial, quick once-overs, trying to keep things ‘light’ will not likely be possible with this energy. You may feel determined to dig deeper until you get to the core or base issue. It’s good for soul-searching when it’s a genuine desire to know the truth, rather than to evade it. It’s not-so-good when you’re obsessing over someone or something which no longer serves you (or your Highest good). The challenge with this energy is the tendency to be really intense and locked-in on your own point of view, which is no less valid, but often this type of mental intensity blinds you to something obvious that you overlooked because you were not being objective, but being driven by much deeper (possibly unconscious) emotions. Your intensity is capable of influencing others but be aware of the difference between sharing information and trying to “convince, convert or cajole” others, as that can naturally attract challenges & opposition. Remember, the opposite can also be true, where you’re on the receiving end of this intense energy from someone else (trying to convince you of something). The best way to use this energy, as it doesn’t really last that long, is to turn that intensity toward Self, peel the layers to your own Truth & Purpose. The channels are open for a time and you can communicate and receive information from the deepest part of your SoulSelf. This is an Initiation.

1/12 ~ Saturn (structures, definitions & reality) ~conjunct~ Pluto (death, rebirth & transformation):

Here we have a Social (Saturn) and Collective (Pluto) planet creating a potent initiation that will likely have long-term influence on your personal life in many ways that only become clear a few years from now. This is an evolutionary process and those with Cancer/Capricorn & Aries/Libra are the ones with karmic ties to this combo. This is not a good versus bad thing, this is just a major Reality Check. I did a little digging and the last time Saturn conjuncted Pluto in Capricorn was 1518 and the last time they Initiated a new cycle was in 1982 in Libra. So they connect every 30-years or so thanks to Saturn’s pattern but Pluto makes it hard to connect in the same sign, so when they do, it symbolizes much more global effects. One thing that jumped out to me was that in the 1400’s it looks like lots of countries around the world wanted to be sovereign and be their own individual country and now we are living in a time when we realize how unrealistic or impractical human created borders can be. This is a time when we know we are all connected and we know that Earth’s resources have to sustain us all.

Saturn is here, in Capricorn, to ensure that this initiation is guided by the Council of Grandmothers who help us feminize the individual evolutionary process and collective revolutionary process. What does that mean? It means it is time to lead with honoring Nature, dealing with what is (not our illusions or delusions) and living in harmony with the Life/Death/Life Cycle. Both Saturn & Pluto do not allow things to live beyond their true usefulness. If all is energy, and certain energy is locked up or blocked so it cannot flow, that creates an unnatural death. If we simply honor that something is dead or done and clear it to bring in the new consciously, then we save ourselves a lot of heartache & trouble. We know that humans have lived in harmony with the Earth for millennia (I didn’t say with each other but they respected Nature) and in a few generations, our industrialization & colonization has created a crisis that we ALL have to address on some level if we are to survive. These two bring up these very real, very heavy-duty subjects and asks us all to face that which we’ve ignored overlong and finally clean it up and free up that energy to move.

An initiation catalyzes the NEW and you will know where your individual focus needs to be by the breakdowns going on in your life at this time. What no longer works for you? What is no longer real for you? And what has gotten so real that you have to rearrange your life to accommodate it? How are your containers supporting & protecting you? Where are the energy leaks? What shortcuts have you taken that will not work this time?

Ultimately, we are living through the ultimate transformation of our reality here on Earth. This is a chance to claim your vision of balance & harmony for Mother Earth, the waters and the soil that we cannot survive without. This year, you can co-create with this activation by simplifying your life, redefining your terms and renegotiating your contracts across the board. What have you agreed to in your heart and on paper that may have run its course by now and requires an upgrade or a new agreement altogether?

Note: This activation is joined by Ceres/The Mother – yet another indication of initiating new ways of nourishing ourselves and nurturing others that is up for renewal. In Capricorn, Ceres says it is time to be completely responsible for your footprint on this planet and it is time to look beyond your Self to see what you are actually contributing to the planet at this time. It really is a delicious opportunity for us ALL to start fresh, with new structures in place that honor everyone’s true purpose on Earth.

1/13 ~ Sun (source & essential Self) ~conjunct~ Pluto (purification & transformation):

This energy brings to mind a quote, “circumstances don’t make a man, they reveal him”. The Sun (ego) and Pluto (transformation) are connecting and you are often a different Being once this energy passes and the two planets separate again (they meet once a year). Pluto brings into the Light, aspects of our Selves which have been buried, neglected or ignored lately (or for some, a very long time). Sometimes that is miraculous & life-saving, and other times this can be arduous & exhausting, but it is completely natural. With this energy, you can now more fully access your Source (Sun) and transcend (Pluto) who you “used to be” and begin to truly embody who you are becoming. Bringing things into the Light comes in many forms, as you question all you thought you were or thought you knew about what you really want to express in this lifetime. You can use this as a Rebirth of Light within you or you can look at it as Light being brought to your deepest, darkest places within to heal them with pure Light. It is an initiation that often requires a release of some kind that, ultimately, allows you to grow & blossom in new, more authentic ways. As always, concentrated power (Pluto) must be responsibly directed, so watch any projections or provoked power struggles and pick your battles (everybody doesn’t like Light in their dark places). It’s time to question if the sacrifice you’re making is truly worth it? Relationships often strain under this influence because it is such *raw truth* rising from the Soul but it also brings things to the surface that are better addressed sooner than later. (Think The Tower card in Tarot.) It doesn’t have to be destroyed (or maybe it does) as much as it needs to be transformed (new form). Remember, breakdowns always precede the breakthroughs!!

1/13 ~ Sun (core-identity) ~conjunct~ Saturn (responsibility):

This energy gives you a strong dose of purpose & direction, but also reminds you that those big dreams require a solid foundation in order to flourish. The wheels that get set in motion this week are creating your future, for better or worse – so pay attention! While this is often about career matters, it is also about your responsibilities in general, the things you have to do that cannot be delegated to others. This is great energy for organizing and planning, creating order, and organizing your Self or your life in some way that fortifies your position. If you don’t “do the work” that you know you are supposed to be doing at the moment, you will only feel worse. So don’t delay anything that can, and probably should, be done sooner versus later. This energy can also make you feel a little lonely or depressed, don’t give in to that. There is a time to be out and about and time to get down to business. And right now, you have probably already put some things off and that is only going to contribute further to your stress levels. Make a list of things to do, prioritize them and start checking them off.

1/15 ~ Venus (relationships, love & money) ~sextile~ Uranus (clarity & inspiration):

This energy, thanks to Uranus, activates a certain spark of electricity in the air. New relationships will have an unusual aspect to them and old ones can break-to-realign in a positive, even fun way with this energy. No monotonous routine, humdrum people or boring collaborations with this one. Use it to access your unique genius and deep well of creativity and then share if you can, with other like-hearted Souls. Take advantage of this energy to tap into areas you may not have realized were available to you before now. Keep it light and upbeat; socialize and enjoy the experience of different people or new activities. Keep in mind, however, any relationships begun this week may not be based on qualities needed for long term survival. It is more a time to enjoy the people and experiences that pass through at this time and accept it as a gift!

1/18 ~ Mercury (lower mind & ideas) ~square~ Uranus (Higher Mind & awakening):

This energy challenges you to expand your mind or consciousness in a way, pushing you to think differently and respond to information in new ways. Uranus brings sudden ah-ha moments, personal awareness and radical new ideas, which is great for you adventurous souls who thrive on change and new ideas. However, if you are personally attached to your routine and things ‘going as planned’, then this energy can cause aggravation and tax your nervous system because things will seem sudden (even though it is more likely that they have already been brewing under the surface for some time now). You will have to adjust and be more open & mentally flexible than usual. You may not be able to control the excessive mental activity or information-overload coming in, but hopefully you can direct it a bit. It’s good to activate or clean your personal filters by taking some time in nature to process things at your own pace and generally clear your head. This can be a very inspiring & creative time, so try to tune into that, while keeping in mind that anything you begin or get into, may require a review later so you can check over the details of your revelations (or creations). You’re just cracking the surface, this is all about the revelation or awakening, you will eventually have to figure out the logistics or effective actions necessary to bring your ideas into form.

******

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[scrollofthoth]

So it begins...

Emergent Animism: Exploring a Spirit Haunted World

By Threskiornis

Foreword

“Magick is, if anything, extradimensional diplomacy.”

– Gordon White, Pieces of Eight: Chaos Magic Essays and Enchantments

Magi throughout the ages have defined themselves through their relationships with spiritual entities. Call them what you want. Their names are legion. Gods, angels, demons, djinn, elementals, faeries, ghosts, specters – the names and classifications vary from age to age and place to place. Every land and every culture has had contact with creatures that were in some way more than just material being. The nature of these beings often reflects that of the culture which discovered them, but they also have surprising commonalities no matter their origin. Even today people report contact with a multitude of cryptids and aliens. A Devil stalks New Jersey. A monster swims in Loch Ness. Bigfoot roams the Pacific Northwest, and Yeti in the Himalayas. Mothmen, Dogmen, and Lizardmen continue to be sighted all around the United States, and the world.

Some magi approach these beings for personal gain. Others simply want to communicate with and understand beings that exist beyond our knowledge of space and time. They can be approached with reverence, awe, and worship. Although most magi see themselves as equals. They can be approached with the intent to cajole, threaten, and command. Though I hope to convince you that a bully that attacks spirits is still just a bully.

To be certain, a magus can be successful without ever communicating with a spiritual entity. There exists plenty of valid magical paradigms that eschew dealing with spirits and concentrate on more abstract ideas. But if you’re like me, you thrive on the interchange with things that communicate and think. You need something more than just an idea to contemplate, but something that wants to engage with you just as much as you want to engage with them.

In our last book, Emergent Magick, some felt that we failed to deliver on the goods. It was never meant to be a how-to of spells and formulae. We insist that each magus find their own way. I’m afraid some of you may be disappointed again. This is a book on animism, not shamanism. And it defines animism in the broadest sense – communicating with spirits. There will be discussion of shamanistic techniques. This book will talk about communicating with the spirits of trees, animals, mountains, and rivers. But it contains much more than that. It’s an all-encompassing paradigm that gives a magus the tools to approach any spiritual entity.

It must also be stressed, and will be repeated, that Emergent Animism is just one Emergent Magick paradigm. It is not the “official” Emergent Magick paradigm. In fact, the contents of this book are in no way required to practice Emergent Magick. What it does provide is an excellent example of a classical magical belief system explored through the process of Emergent Magick. Even if your own personal magick doesn’t focus on spirit contact, Emergent Animism will give plenty of insights on how to use the Emergent Magick process in your own work.

Let’s get started. The spirits are waiting.

 Threskiornis, 16670, “Ego Sum Legio”

Scribe of the Order of Emergent Magi

11/20/2019

 Introduction

 As much as I would like to avoid it, I feel I must first define Emergent Magick (EMK). If you enjoy this publication, I recommend picking up, Emergent Magick: Rebuilding Our Tribes Through Ritual and Meaning. It really needs an entire book to get the concept across.

EMK defines magick as, “The art of altering consciousness.” In essence, the universe itself is created and directed by consciousness, and magick is a way to influence that consciousness. Consciousness itself lacks universally accepted definition. For our purposes it includes any sufficiently complex system that can perceive. If you accept that sub-atomic systems are sufficiently complex, and quantum theory proves that particles have some form of perception (in that they will act as individual particles or as a wave, depending on if they are being watched), this includes everything in the universe to a greater or lesser degree. Art, the activity of creation, influences consciousness. Ritual is the art of the magus, and it is specifically designed to alter consciousness.

In Emergent Magick, a magus performs rituals with the purpose of creating altered states of consciousness. The magus then takes what they learn from those rituals to build an ever more concise paradigm, essentially a model for the universe and a method to alter it. While a magus can certainly learn from the magi who came before them, it is what they learn through altered states of consciousness that best informs their magick. What a magus learns through altered states has more weight than anything they can learn by other means.

The ultimate goal of the magus is to perceive the unity of consciousness. To interact with it as part of a larger whole. This manifests in the physical plane by forming tribes of magi and working with them to experience their paradigm, form bonds of love and acceptance, and to influence the collective unconscious through the creation of culture.

At least that’s the short form description of Emergent Magick. Which finally brings us back to Emergent Animism (EMAN).  

 Emergent Animism is the art of communicating with the spirits.

 At least that’s the one-sentence vital core of it. Some old-school magi like to have things summed up in a sentence or two (and I am one of those magi). Why Emergent? First, because I am one of the creators of Emergent Magick and it is how I currently define my practice. Since Emergent Animism is my personal paradigm, it comes from an EMK perspective. Because the methods used to explore and define the paradigm are the methods of EMK. Personal experience takes precedent over accepted knowledge (though you should still be doing research). Those experiences are then shared with my personal tribe and their experiences added to the body of knowledge. You may notice the shifting tense there, because this is work that has been performed and is ongoing.

Which brings us to animism. Much smarter people with better sources have described animism. And I really want to just tell people to go read Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, by Mircea Eliade and Willard R. Trask, and then come back and continue reading this. But I understand that’s not a realistic expectation, so I’m going to give you my woefully inadequate description. Animism has been called the world’s first religion, and from the archaeological evidence and current anthropology there is little reason to doubt that all hunter-gatherers practiced some form of animism. Animism as a world view, sees the universe as populated with spirits. In animism, all things have some vital essence that can be communicated with, from spirits of rivers, mountains, and lakes, to trees, rocks, and clouds, also the spirits of humans, animals, insects, and the spirits of those living creatures that have died. Some animists also believe in alien spirits that come from other dimensions of reality. The practice of animism is the communication with these spirits through some form of altered state of consciousness. This can be ritual, dance, music, meditation, and the use of psychoactive substances. Shamanism is a particular type of animism where individuals of a tribe use altered states of consciousness to contact the spirit realm, referred to as journeying, and petitions the spirits for the benefit of the shaman and their tribe. I do not consider myself a shaman because I do not belong to an indigenous culture with a shamanistic tradition. I do, however, use many of the tools of shamanism in my practice.

In Emergent Animism, spirit is synonymous with consciousness. So, the art of magick in EMAN terms is the art of communicating with the spirits. Which entails all forms of conversations, pacts, offerings, and all the other traditional and non-traditional methods of contacting them. Although the goal of realizing a universal consciousness remains, perceiving a fragmented consciousness is the best humans can do in most circumstances. EMAN theorizes that working with beings made of pure consciousness will bring us closer to that goal.

Know right off the bat that I don’t think anyone should try to pick this up whole-cloth and use it as their own. All magi must ultimately discover their own paradigm and follow that. But I do know it has been helpful for me as a magus to read about other people’s magical perspective. To see what works for them and learn from it. I find the magical world to be sorely lacking in resources that describe exactly what magi are doing. There’s plenty of description of rituals and theory, but little of what a magus actually does on a day-to-day basis. I hope I can add a unique perspective and inspire some people to try these practices themselves. I say, “don’t follow my path,” but do feel free to steal anything that can work for you.

In Emergent Magick: Rebuilding Our Tribes Through Ritual and Meaning, there was some brief discussion of the Models of Magick. The Models of Magick are essentially different theories on how magick works. These include: Spirit Model, Energy Model, Psychological Model, and Meta-model. The Spirit Model is essentially synonymous with our definition of animism, in that all magick works through the agency of some spiritual being. The Energy Model posits that all magick works by manipulating certain energies. The Psychological Model sums up magick as a means to influence your own conscious and subconscious mind to make changes through yourself. The Information Model is somewhat similar to EMKs belief that consciousness creates the universe, and that consciousness is simply information. The Meta-model encompasses all other models and instructs the magus to use whichever model they find most useful at the time. Most magi follow a nuanced form of the Meta-model, since no one model can fully explain all forms of magick.

At first glance, EMAN seems firmly entrenched in the Spirit Model. You will notice that this book generally takes that perspective, and sees spirits as actual, fully-realized, entities in their own right. This doesn’t mean that EMAN can’t be effective within other models of magick. Perhaps you see spirits as just another form of energy. Maybe for you, the spirits are a reflection of your own subconscious. In the end, it doesn’t matter, as long as your magick is working for you.

[bountyofbeads]

‘Simply Unacceptable’: 145 Executives Demand Action on Gun Violence https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/business/dealbook/gun-background-checks-business.html

Thank you Andrew Sorkin for your important voice in this conversation on the epidemic of gun violence in our country. Since Mitch McConnell and the GOP refuse to do anything on this matter, because they're bought and paid for by the NRA, it's time for responsible Corporations and the American people to act to end these mass murders and gun violence. Also a special thank you to organizations like @MomsDemandAction, @EveryTownUSA and the #Parkland students and activists for all your work.

BREAKING: 145 business leaders representing some of the nation’s leading corporations have issued a joint letter to the U.S. Senate, urging them to pass a law to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong Red Flag law.

145 Business Leaders Call on Congress to Act on Gun Violence

“Doing nothing about America’s gun violence crisis is simply unacceptable,” the corporate chiefs urged senators in a letter.

By Andrew Ross Sorkin "| Published

Sept. 12, 2019 Updated 9:36 a.m. ET | New York Times | Posted September 12, 2019 1:27 PM ET |

In a direct and urgent call to address gun violence in America, the chief executives of some of the nation’s best-known companies sent a letter to Senate leaders on Thursday, urging an expansion of background checks to all firearms sales and stronger “red flag” laws.

“Doing nothing about America’s gun violence crisis is simply unacceptable and it is time to stand with the American public on gun safety,” the heads of 145 companies, including Levi Strauss, Twitter and Uber, say in the letter, which was shared with The New York Times.

The letter — which urges the Republican-controlled Senate to enact bills already introduced in the Democrat-led House of Representatives — is the most concerted effort by the business community to enter the gun debate, one of the most polarizing issues in the nation and one that was long considered off limits.

The debate and the decision to sign — or not sign — are a case study in how chief executives must weigh their own views and the political risks to their businesses.

“To a certain extent, these C.E.O.s are putting their businesses on the line here, given how politically charged this is,” said Chip Bergh, chief executive of Levi Strauss, a company whose denim jeans have long been a symbol of America. Mr. Bergh spent the last several days trying to cajole his peers into joining him and gun control advocates like Everytown, which is funded in part by Michael Bloomberg. “Business leaders are not afraid to get engaged now,” he added. “C.E.O.s are wired to take action on things that are going to impact their business and gun violence is impacting everybody’s business now.”

Mr. Bergh said he was encouraged by the conversations. “The tide is turning,” he said, citing a spate of recent polls that show a majority of Americans in both parties support background checks and red flag laws. “People were starting to be much more open-minded,” he said, even when the discussion didn’t conclude with a signature.

Yet he is also bracing for a backlash. “This has been spun by the N.R.A. as we’re trying to repeal the Second Amendment,” Mr. Bergh said. “Nothing is further from the truth.”

The movement has gained momentum since last month, when a shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso killed 22 people. A day later, nine people were shot and killed in Dayton, Ohio.

“Gun violence in America is not inevitable; it’s preventable,” the business leaders wrote. “We need our lawmakers to support common-sense gun laws that could prevent tragedies like these.”

In addition to the expanded background checks, they are pressing the government to let federal courts issue temporary orders keeping guns out of the hands of people considered at risk of violence, under what is known as a red-flag law.

A week ago, Walmart, the largest retailer and employer in the country, wrote its own letter to Congress, pushing for a debate over reauthorizing an assault weapons ban. It also announced that it was removing certain ammunition and guns from its shelves and would discourage “open carry” in its stores. Other retailers followed suit by changing their open-carry policies, including Kroger, CVS, Walgreens and the Wegmans grocery chain.

The letter signers on Thursday include the leaders of Airbnb, the Gap, Pinterest, Lyft, the Brookfield Property Group and Royal Caribbean.

Missing from the list, however, are some of America’s biggest financial and technology companies, including Apple, Facebook, Google, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, some of which debated internally whether to sign the letter.

Two companies that signed may raise eyebrows in Washington: Thrive Capital, whose founder, Joshua Kushner, is the brother of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, and Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah.

The letter is the latest example of the business community’s stepping into a sensitive political area — sometimes reluctantly — during the Trump presidency. Business leaders have criticized Mr. Trump’s immigration policy and his response to the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va. On guns, the president has on several occasions offered support for stronger firearms policies before stepping away.

Some of the letter signers plan to lobby lawmakers in Washington, but it is unclear how much money, if any, the companies may devote to this issue.

Some executives signed on without hesitation. Others mulled it, often creating a raucous debate inside their offices and among their boards of directors, only to decide that the political risk was too high. More than a half-dozen executives spoke about their deliberations on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of conversations.

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook did not sign, although he told colleagues and peers that he agreed with stricter background checks, two people involved in the conversation said. With Facebook under federal scrutiny — and contending with a drumbeat of criticism from Republicans who contend that the company’s platform silences conservative voices — Mr. Zuckerberg has decided that activism on this issue would only intensify the spotlight on the company, these people said. Others inside Facebook made the case that it was a moral responsibility to press for more responsible gun sales laws.

Similar concerns were raised by the leadership at Google, whose YouTube unit was the site of a shooting last year. Google recently announced an internal policy that would make it hard for the company to consider signing the letter. That policy includes this line: “Our primary responsibility is to do the work we’ve each been hired to do, not to spend working time on debates about non-work topics.”

Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, signed. His company’s policy bans guns from its vehicles, either for drivers or passengers. Once he signed, Lyft, Uber’s main rival, signed as well.

Several executives said one of the biggest practical worries was whether taking such a stance would lead to in-store confrontations with angry customers carrying guns. Would they be putting their employees in danger or even just in an uncomfortable discussion about a divisive issue?

Even banks like Citigroup and Bank of America, which both publicly distanced themselves from gunmakers this year by ending lending and banking relationships with manufacturers, declined to sign the letter. After they made their positions public this year, the banks were rebuked by Republican lawmakers. Louisiana passed a law preventing the banks from working on bond offerings for the state.

“I personally believe the policies of these banks are an infringement on the rights of Louisiana citizens,” the state’s treasurer, John Schroder, said at the time. “No one can convince me that keeping these two banks in this competitive process is worth giving up our rights.”

For better or worse, business leaders are increasingly carving out positions on social issues. It’s not new — and the Hobby Lobby fight against the contraceptive provision of the Affordable Care Act shows us that such positioning does not confine itself to progressive causes — but it is growing.

In some cases, those maneuvers have happened out of necessity, as when top executives could not count on a strong response from Washington after the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. That touched off a flurry of calls between some of the country’s top finance executives about how to handle a conference being hosted by Saudi Arabia, whose crown prince had been implicated in Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance.

But over the last three years, businesses have become engaged on social issues like immigration, climate change and race in a way that would have been unfathomable a decade ago. On Thursday, businesses turned to the problem of gun violence.

The letter suggested that background checks on all gun sales were a “common-sense solution with overwhelming public support.” A number of polls have put backing for such policies above 90 percent.

The market is demanding action — and businesses are listening.

[scripturehomosexuality]

This Blog’s Guide to Male-Male Sex Without Anal

To aid men who read their sites, the g0ys and the Man2Man Alliance have created guides to help men experience same-sex activity. These guides have plenty of good information in them, and have helped many men including me. However, I thought that there were some blind spots in both of these. So this blog has decided to make its own guide.

This is meant primarily for “straight” guys who want to explore their same-sex attraction. However, LGBT-identified guys who are tired of the “gay” world (or are repulsed by it) are also invited to read along.

Again, this is meant to supplement the guides provided by the g0ys and the Man2Man Alliance. With all three of these guides, I’m sure that you will be unstoppable.

Please note in this page, the phrase “male-male sex” doesn’t refer exclusively to anal. It refers to any and every sexual activity possible between men - mutual masturbation, frot, anal, oral, intercrural sex, 69ing, etc.

If you’re trying to trick a guy into doing anal, THIS GUIDE IS NOT FOR YOU.

If you’re going to use this information to help convince a guy that they’re “gay”, THIS GUIDE IS NOT FOR YOU.

If you’re interested in neither, read on.

Do Your Homework

In writing this guide, I’m assuming that you read most of the articles linked in the page “For ‘Straight’ People (but not exclusively). If you didn’t, I strongly recommend that you go back to the page, some of the articles attached, then come back. At minimum, I recommend three articles from the blog, three from the g0ys, and three from the Man2Man Alliance. If you’re Christian, I also recommend reading the first six articles in the “Scriptural Commentaries” page.

In saying this, it might seem like I’m spoiling your fun. There is a reason why I’m asking you to do so much reading.

In having male-male sex, you will be coming toe-to-toe with the power of modern sexual philosophy. It is a convoluted and contradictory philosophy, with all kinds of rules and regulations for “straights” and “gays”. It seeks to constantly reinforce itself at every opportunity, and works hard to bring rebels back in line. If it ends up destroying those under its power, it merely shrugs and carries on.

Anything like that requires intelligent and well-calculated resistance. You will need to know what you’re dealing with, and that knowledge can’t be superficial. Those articles will help ready you for the system you’ll be facing. The more the read, the better off you’ll be.

As such, before you take any action, you should probably abandon identifying yourself as “gay” or “straight”. After all, through your actions, you’ll be rebelling against modern sexual philosophy. You can’t rebel against it and use its labels at the same time. Instead, identify just as a Man, a normal and regular Man. That will make things much simpler for you, and will be one of your greatest weapons, as we will discuss later on.

At the same time, realize that you’ll probably know much more than your sexual partners. You’ll know that same-sex activity is natural and normal. They won’t, which will affect how they interpret male-male sex. You will need to be their guiding light to a new conceptualization of sex. You can’t do that if you aren’t prepared to do so.

While we’re on the topic, let’s establish some other ground rules.

Because “gay” porn is so pervasive, and because much of it features anal, that porn might inform your expectations on same-sex activity. Throw all of those away, because they will be useless for this. The content here will explain non-”gay” homoeroticism, which bears little resemblance to “gay” homoeroticism.

“Gay” homoeroticism is focused on results only. It’s driven by the mantra that relationships exist for the sake of sex. It is focused on getting sex by hook or by crook, particularly anal. It’s also focused on getting as much sex as possible, in the shortest time possible. Contacts are made solely on the possibility of speedy sex. For those immersed in “gay” homoeroticism, they establish what they want quickly, and get down to business immediately. Once the deed is done, there’s no perceived obligation to develop the contact into a relationship.

Non-”gay” homoeroticism is entirely different. For that kind of eroticism, sex exists for the sake of relationships. It’s focused on making the journey enjoyable, rather than obsessing over results. It’s much more playful and casual, and doesn’t force things if it doesn’t feel natural. It thrives on spontaneity and fluidity. If two men have sex, the purpose is to bring ultimate closeness to the relationship, and expressing affection in the rawest sense possible. As such, sex is not a guaranteed outcome of these relationships.

That’s not meant to be discouraging. While sex isn’t guaranteed, most guys are attracted to guys on some level. So the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor.

Think of it like tending a field. When you put seeds in the ground, you’re not going to see produce right away. Farming takes patience and effort. It will take time for the seeds to grow, and you can’t stand on the sidelines. You have to pay attention to your crop, constantly watering it and caring for it. It won’t be in vain though. In a short time, you’ll start seeing buds sprout up. Those buds will soon turn into shoots, and before long, full produce will abound all over the field.

The point is, like farming, non-”gay” homoeroticism takes time and effort. Because sex happens in the context of relationships, you’ll have to take time to develop them. Plus, there’s no way to predict how long the process will take. It could take a few days or a few months, depending on the circumstances and the people involved. However, if you put in the effort, you’ll see some measure of results.

Lay The Groundwork

This first point is important. If you’re looking for a friend to get close to, you might think of exploring the “gay” world and community. I don’t recommend that. If you do so, be very careful. It’s not necessarily because of the people in there, as much as the underlying culture.

Remember what I said before. In “gay” homoeroticism, relationships exist for the sake of sex. Additionally, as far as the “gay” world is concerned, only anal sex is real sex. If you’re looking for a stable relationship without anal, you probably aren’t going to find it there.

There are LGBT-identified men who don’t conform to “gay” culture, and who might completely avoid anal, but they might also be few and far between. Furthermore, as long as they exist in the “gay” world, its culture will always exert some influence on them. Even if you find a “gay” man who initially doesn’t do anal, voices in that world will cajole him to do it, and those voices might win out.

I’m not saying to avoid LGBT-identified men completely. Again, I’m saying to be careful, and be discerning. If you find a “gay” man who isn’t interested in anal, you’ll have a double challenge. Not only must you teach him that same-sex activity is natural and normal, you’ll have to get him away from “gay” culture and its obsession with anal. Be prepared for that.

Otherwise, you can look among whatever “straight” friends you have. They’ll be better able to meet you where you are. I realize that such a suggestion seems crazy. In that case, remember what this blog said before - that at least 50% of people carry same-sex attraction inside them. This means that every other man you meet can experience same-sex attraction, and that’s a conservative estimate.

Thus, looking for a homoerotic friendship doesn’t require an expedition. It’s more like looking through your own backyard.

The thing is, “straight” guys usually don’t make it obvious if another guy strikes their fancy. They don’t act like some “gay” guys who practically announce their interest. That’s partially because they don’t want to be labelled “gay”, with all the stereotypes that come with it. However, that’s also because of the relationship’s nature - it’s a friendship that grows more intimate (and more erotic) with time.

So whether with existing or future “straight” friends, carry on those friendships as you otherwise would. Go out with them, talk with them, exercise with them, play games with them and so forth. Visit each other’s homes, discover your friend’s likes and dislikes, and go on adventures together. It’s during these times that your friends will signal if they want to get closer, and where you can signal the same.

For beginners, here’s a handy way to signal interest while weeding out your pool of sexual partners. This comes from the G0ydar article, but I’m repeating it here because it’s effective. In normal conversation, make it clear that anal turns you off. You don’t need to mention it in terms of “gays”, because their community and anal are so welded together, most people will make that connection on their own. You also don’t need to make a big deal of it, but instead just casually mention your opinions. Say something like “I love my friends too, but it doesn’t mean I want to enter him”, or “I can’t see how anyone would want to play with someone’s butt...too filthy for me”, or anything that puts anal play in a critical light.

Two things will happen. Guys who also dislike anal (whether “straight” or “gay”) will make a mental note of that and will relax in your presence, or might even seek out your company. They’ll know that if they end up getting close to you, nobody will get penetrated. At the same time, “gays” who adore anal will take your remarks personally and will keep their distance from you.

If that seems confusing, know that most guys aren’t firmly opposed to getting close to another guy. They’re opposed to the spectre of anal in same-sex activity. Because anal is so associated with same-sex intimacy, they prefer skipping that intimacy completely. Meanwhile, anal is one of the most sacrosanct topics in the “gay” community. Even a mildly critical remark will make some “gays” go ballistic.

However, if you’re looking for “straight” guys to respond “I want you now”, you’ll probably be disappointed. Signs of attraction are more subtle than the brazen displays common in “gay” homoeroticism. You just need to pay attention, and to tune up your powers of observation. If you know what to look for, it won’t be hard to see who wants to get sexual.

Touch is one of the strongest indicators of attraction. When a guy feels comfortable enough with another guy, he won’t limit the contact to chatter. If a guy touches you at times that are unnecessary - like when you’re just talking - it’s definitely a sign of friendliness. If those touches become noticeably frequent, consider the possibility that he’s interested. If those touches become longer in duration, or become varied in location, the probability rises that he’s interested in more.

Horseplay is another indicator of attraction. Guys usually rough play with guys they really like as friends. They often do so with guys they’re familiar with, though that’s not always the case. As the Man2Man Alliance aptly put it, attraction feeds healthy male aggression, and vice-versa. It’s an innocent pretext for prolonged physical contact while learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Pay attention if the horseplay becomes regular. It’s definitely a sign of attraction, and might signal that he wants to fool around in other contexts.

Exhibitionism also signals attraction. I’m not necessarily talking about stripping completely naked in front of you. I’m speaking of more subtle forms. For example, if the opportunity arises, he might take off his shirt in your presence. Or he might talk about his latest exploits at the gym, and show off the latest body parts he worked on. Or he might find some reason to lift up his shirt and expose his abs. Or as a joke, he might flash his penis or butt at you. Through these actions, he’s trying to make you notice his body. If these are frequent occurrences, it’s a pretty good indicator that he’d like to show you more, much more.

As it turns out, sex talk could be a sign of attraction in itself. That would include discussing masturbation habits, descriptions of one’s sexual experiences with girls, or trading sexual fantasies. It’s a blatant expression of one’s horniness, and that he’d like to share some of that with you. If that talk becomes frequent, or if physical contact is made during it, he might want sex to be more than a conversation topic.

If you’re interested too, feel free to reciprocate as you see fit. If a guy touches your shoulder while talking with you, respond by touching his arm sometime later. If he playfully tackles you one day, do the same thing to him on another day. If he shows you how he worked on his arms, talk along similar lines (if you work out too). If he takes off his shirt around you, maybe do the same thing sometime later. Be sure to be subtle too, and your friend will get the message loud and clear.

Of course, these are only a few signs, and there are more that aren’t mentioned here. Sometimes, it might not be any kind of sign. It might just be a sexual “vibe” you perceive from a guy, and if you do discern one, it’s probably accurate. Plus, while all these are likely signs of sexual interest, it’s up to you to tell if those really are sexual signals. Just exercise your powers of perception, and as you use them more, they will guide the way.

Lastly, you might feel that all of these sound like everyday male behaviors. Indeed they are normal male behaviors, and that’s the point. I’m not identifying them so guys can start curbing them. Instead, I’m showing how natural same-sex attraction really is. Because it’s natural, it’s impossible to completely eliminate, and it will find some way to express itself. Whether observers realize it or not, guys may often express their same-sex attraction through these behaviors. As such, while this isn’t always the case, these actions can be the first steps to sexual interaction. When same-sex attraction is impossible to suppress, there’s no logical reason to restrain it so strongly.

Continuing to Up The Ante

When you perceive that another guy likes you, you probably won’t be satisfied with leaving it at that. You’ll want to capitalize on it, and develop it into actual sex. The aim is to steadily develop the intimacy of the relationship, so that sex becomes a natural outcome. How you proceed depends on the guy involved, and the circumstances you’re working under.

Guys might differ on the method of escalation. For example, there are some guys who they will engage in explicitly sexual escalation. In this case, it’s perfectly clear to both friends what they’re heading for. Your friend might respond quickly to physical contact, and that response would be unambiguous expressions of affection (hugs, caresses, groping, kissing). As time goes by, you’ll feel more comfortable expressing your affection more openly. As a result, the inevitability of sex becomes ever clearer. It would be hard to disguise the behavior as anything but sexual.

Meanwhile, other guys prefer less obvious ways. They prefer having sex with guys “accidentally on purpose”. As such, they increasingly express their affection for you while doing these activities. Sex happens within this context, where while those activities generate genuine fun, they are also thinly disguised conduits for eroticism.

For example, two guys might sleepover one night, and both strip down because they say that they sleep naked. While feigning sleep in bed, wandering hands might lead to each other’s penises, and a mutual masturbation session begins. Or two guys might wrestle, and because it makes them hot, both might progressively strip to their underwear or total nudity. In that case, penises might end up enmeshed against each other, and a frot session begins.

Guys might also differ in how much they participate in the escalation. Both friends might equally participate in it. With them, the escalation becomes mutual, where both engage in a “tit for tat” exchange. One might take off his shoes, while the other takes off his socks. Another takes off his pants, while the other takes his shirt. One might massage a guy’s back, and the other reciprocates by massaging his upper legs. In that case, you don’t have to do that much, because you two are both doing the work.

Other guys might be more passive. Blatantly seeking same-sex intimacy might be too “gay” for them to do. That doesn’t mean that they don’t want sex as badly as you do, because they probably do. In fact, they might blatantly signal that they’re into you. It’s just that, given the rules of cultural masculinity, they can’t see how they can openly seek same-sex intimacy and keep their dignity. However, they also don’t rule out receiving affections from another guy, or being led by him into potentially sexual situations. While he might not want to take the lead, he’ll be more than willing to follow.

As a result, he’ll rely on you to take the driver’s seat, and be the one who moves the escalation forward. You’ll have to be the one who comes with ideas, and the one to make the first move. He’ll likely put up some resistance for the sake of appearances, then quickly relent and follow your lead.

For example, at that same sleepover, you might ask if you can sleep naked on his bed, because that’s what you’re used to. Your friend might raise some concerns, but ultimately let you do it. A few minutes later, he might quietly do the same thing. Or during wrestling, you might decide to take off some clothes, while your friend decides to keep his on. A few minutes later, he might take off some clothes too, and match your state of undress.

As you can see, there is no uniform approach to escalation. It completely depends on who your friend is. You’ll need to be nimble, adaptable, and discerning. You’ll need to perceive your friend’s positions, and read whatever signs that they give you. You’ll know how to proceed from there.

As such, there are many activities that help facilitate escalation of intimacy. To me, communal nudity is among the best. Nudity creates a deep bond that can be developed into a sexual one. Plus, if you and your friends are comfortable being naked in one setting, it’s much easier to be naked in others. Most of all, if you or your friend want to get sexual, there won’t be much clothing around to stop you.

Thus, if you and your friend happen to use a communal shower room, feel free to use it naked. If the shower room has curtains, keep the curtains open, and talk with your friend in his stall while naked. If you feel up to it, you can walk up to his stall and talk to him while nude. While in the locker room, freely talk with your friend while naked, even facing him while doing so. He might not join you in being naked the first time, or even the first few times. However, when he sees that you don’t care about being naked, soon he might not care either.

If you want to do sexual stuff in that shower, make sure it won’t cause problems. A few decades ago, guys could jerk and suck each other off in a communal shower without much complaint. That’s simply not the case now, so you’ll have to be perceptive. In some showers, you can do stuff and not get caught. In others you might get caught, but nobody would care because anal isn’t involved. In yet others, you might get caught and be charged with indecency. It entirely depends on the attitudes in the establishment, and it’ll be up to you to figure out what to do. Just make sure your fun doesn’t earn you a rap sheet.

Plus, communal nudity doesn’t need to be limited to locker rooms. If you’re alone with your friend at his house, see if you can strip down your underwear or completely nothing. If he’s at your house, just hang around in your underwear, and in the future, test wearing absolutely nothing. As usual, they might not join you, and may even raise concerns. Soon however, they may relax about seeing you naked, and may let you see them naked too.

Wrestling is also a good way to simultaneously have fun and get closer. It allows heavy physical contact while testing each other’s strength. The physical contact creates a bond that’s hard to break. Plus, since it involves heavy exertion, clothes will have to come off. As layer after layer is taken off, you’ll end up wrestling in your underwear. If your friend feels close enough to you, you might end it up doing it naked. If your friend is turned on by the wrestling, a telltale erection will definitely emerge. Make it clear that the erection hasn’t escaped your notice, though in a joking way so you don’t embarrass him. Then, the door is open to mutual masturbation, frot, or other stuff.

Massage is another way to up the ante. If it’s done in a tone of mutual respect, guys usually won’t mind getting a massage from another guy. In fact, the friend might actually appreciate the favor. It signals that he trusts you enough not to hurt him. Furthermore, because of its nature, clothing will have to be removed. So as you move from area to area, ask to remove clothing that will get in your way, and he’ll comply. Eventually, he only have underwear on, and if he trusts you enough, he’ll let you massage him completely naked. He’ll inevitably get erect, at which point you can offer to jerk him off and relieve his tension.

As a way to break the ice, watching porn together is another activity that can lead to sex. One day, get a laptop and an isolated space, and turn on porn that both of you will like. Because it’s porn, both of you will get aroused. Say that the porn makes you want to jerk off (because it’s true), drop your pants and begin masturbating. He’s going to be horny too, so he’ll do the same thing either immediately or a few minutes after you. Then, see if you can trade hands, where he jerks you off and vice versa. Then the porn will become mere background noise to the main event happening between you. Next time, you might not even need porn to do it all over again.

You may or may not have noticed a running theme. All the activities mentioned involve some kind of undress. That should show you what other activities can escalate the sexual tension, because these certainly aren’t the only possible ones. Really, any activity that combines two or more of these elements,

Involves physical contact, preferably heavy contact

Requires some kind of undressing

Creates an uninhibited atmosphere

can make the bonds of friendships deeper, and bring them closer to sexual expression. It could lead directly to sex, or be a strong prelude to more private events later on. It could be a game of shirtless water tag, or a game of strip poker. It could be as simple as a round of Truth or Dare. Be creative and spontaneous. When opportunity comes knocking, open the door with all gusto.

The Risk of Upping the Ante

Now, there is something that must be said. None of these behaviors come without risk. All of them may make people try to label you “gay”. It could be observers doing so, trading rumors among themselves that you’re deeply closeted. If they’re religious or gay-identified, they might loudly insist that your actions are “gay”, and angrily demand that you identify as such. Because of this risk, you might restrain yourself from doing things you want to do. You simply fear giving anyone a reason to call you “gay”.

To be honest, there’s nothing you can do to stop that from happening. It’s simply the world we live in, where ever more things are interpreted as signs of being “gay”. Since it’s impossible to avoid, you just can’t care about that possibility. Don’t fear it either, because fear gives that accusation power it doesn’t deserve. Instead, focus on how you’ll respond to the suggestion. Your answer will determine how that accusation will affect your self-image, your overall quality of life, and how your peers view you.

When someone accuses you of being “gay”, flatly and calmly deny it because you’re not. You’re not lying. Remember what was recommended earlier - that before you started down this journey, you should abandon identifying as “gay” or “straight”. Instead, you should simply identify as a Man. So when you say that you’re not “gay”, your statement is 100% true. Keep in mind that those labels represent identities and not sexualities. Identities can be assumed or rejected at will. So for that accusation to be true, you have to agree with it first.

Plus, by denying that you’re “gay/LGBT/queer”, you’re not denying that you’re into guys (too). Make that clear in your answer . As far as you’re concerned, your attractions are not the issue, because you already know you’re into guys (too). Instead, the issue is that an unwanted identity is being imposed on you. It’s an identity that ties in with “gay” culture - drag, imitation of opposite gender mannerisms, anal - that you have no interest in. In fact, it’s an identity that totally pivots on anal, which you can’t stand. Most of all, it reinforces the notion that same-sex activity is abnormal and aberrant, which you know isn’t true.

When you disagree with it so much, why should you voluntarily take on that identity? In truth, you don’t even need those labels to define yourself. You can do that perfectly well without them.

If they insist that you should call yourself “gay”, ask them to explain the word’s many inconsistencies, like

Its contradictory meanings

How, if the word only refers to sex, a “gay” man can be validly called “straight” acting

How mutual masturbation, oral and frot are “gay” sex, but only anal is real “gay” sex

If “gay” only refers to sex, why swimming, musicals, and pop music (which are nonsexual phenonema) can be validly labelled “gay” even by the “gays”

Given all of these contradictions, how can the word “gay” only refer to sex? If it doesn’t, why should you base your identity on it? I guarantee that they won’t be able to give a good answer.

At some point, your accusers will see that they’re losing, and will give up for the time being. They probably won’t give up though, and may try again in the near future. In that case, stand your ground and stick to your guns. You are asserting who you truly are, and you don’t need their labels to do it. People around you will have to recognize that you are unique. The “gays” and the religious will have to admit, albeit begrudgingly, that you’re different.

Through such concerted action, you’ll be doing many things. First, you’ll be challenging the dominance of modern sexual philosophy. It is a very jealous system, insisting that people see sex through its own lens. Thus, most people spend their lives trying to shoehorn themselves into being “gay” or “straight”, which both represent obtuse sexual categories.

By adopting neither label, you’ll leave modern sexual philosophy in total confusion. In its mind, a person who isn’t “gay” must be “straight”, and vice-versa, but nobody can be neither. It doesn’t let people realize that there are other ways to conceptualize sex. By identifying only as a Man, you’ll demonstrate that people can validly exist outside of its labeling system and its rules. You’ll show that modern sexual philosophy doesn’t have a monopoly on sex.

Furthermore, you’ll show other guys that the word “gay” need not have power on them. For fear of being labelled “gay”, many men have hemmed themselves into a steadily shrinking box. They have driven themselves into utter misery as they ran away from wearing briefs, shunned supposedly “gay” sports, and avoided musicals like the plague. They felt like they had no choice, since they couldn’t see how any man could successfully deny being “gay”, yet openly love men or those activities. Through your example, they will see that it can be done, and that they can do it too.

Even while you’re making your friendship more intimate, a friend might suggest that the activities are somewhat “gay”. In that case, truthfully say that you’re not “gay”, and that you’re just doing what you enjoy as a Man. Or just pay it no attention, because after all, they’re involved in the supposedly “gay” activity too. When they get an erection from all the fun, call it out in jest. Say something like, “You're calling me ‘gay’ but you're the guy with the stiffy? The pot calling the kettle black, don’t you think?” They won’t be able to respond to that, at least not effectively.

Again, these are guidelines to help you. In your own life, you might find additional methods to fight the accusation of being “gay”. To do that however, you’ll need to know modern sexual philosophy inside and out. That’s why I said that you should read the “For ‘Straight’ People” page. That will give you links to see what makes the philosophy tick.

How to Have Sex With A Guy and Not Get An STD

So the escalation worked, and it seems that you and your friend will end up having sex. Most guys avoid it because they think all male-male sex is disease ridden. In truth, it’s relatively easy to lower STD risk to miniscule levels. These are simple rules that will take the risk down to almost zero.

Totally avoid anything anal. Despite anything that the “gay” leadership preaches, the anus is not a vagina. It never has been, and it never will be. Thus, there’s absolutely no reason for you to shove your penis up your friend’s butt, or vice-versa.

However, avoidance isn’t limited to anal penetration. You should also avoid any anal-oral contact (like rimming), and anal-digital contact (like fingering or fisting). The anus isn’t a vagina, so it wouldn’t make sense to do those actions anyway.

Here’s the dirty little secret of the “gay” community: most of its diseases are spread through anal play. It’s what helped drive the rapid spread of AIDS during the 1980s and 1990s. It’s probably what drove in the jump in STD infection during 2016. As such, condoms have virtually no effect on stopping STD transmission. There’s nothing to gain from playing in your friend’s anus, or him playing in yours.

By avoiding anal play, you’ve already cut down STD risk by a lot. With other forms of sex, it’s harder to spread an STD or receive one. Through that one simple action, you’ve made one large step in preserving your health and that of your friend.

Be careful with oral. Make no mistake: oral sex doesn’t come close to anal in terms of risk. However, it does have risks that can’t be discounted. This blog isn’t saying that you should avoid oral sex. Instead, it’s saying to exercise care in deciding when to do it and how.

A few decades ago, oral wouldn’t have been as risky, because there weren’t as many STDs in circulation. Those that existed were much more treatable and harder to catch. So guys received and gave oral as they pleased, and sometimes as the first sexual act done between partners. That was the case with this guy in the 1970s American South, as well as this man in a 1970s YMCA.

Unfortunately times have changed, and oral can transmit quite a few STDs. There are cases of HIV that have been spread through oral. HPV can be spread rather easily through oral, which can cause oral cancer. It can also spread syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea.

If you and your buddy are having sex for the first time, I wouldn’t recommend doing oral. You’d need to know that your friend isn’t carrying something that will harm you. Good communication is vital to facilitate oral. Ask in a way that preserves his dignity. This is a good example (taken from the g0y website): "Because I'm into dick2dick, it really isn't a big issue; --But have you had STI's or anything in the past or are still being treated -- that we might want to wait to clear up before doing more than some rod-rubbing & ball-bonding?"

Keep this in mind - if your partner doesn’t have a disease, you won’t get one either. You can’t catch what your partner doesn’t have. This is why I recommended dealing with “straight” guys, because they’re less likely to carry an STD. Since a change in quantity means a change in quality, “gays” are more likely to carry STDs, because they’re encouraged to be more promiscuous.

Furthermore, don’t be selfish. If you have an STD, let your friend know. This has to go both ways. If you can’t trust each other to be honest when it counts, you’ll be endangering your relationship. Do you want to live knowing that you infected your friend?

Plus, even if STDs aren’t a concern, that doesn’t mean the coast is clear. Even as guys go through their day, guys sweat in their crotches. As the Man2Man Alliance explains, “some dysentaries can be transmitted through eggs borne in sweat -- and the eggs go wherever the sweat goes.” It explains further, “For example: you're with a guy who's sweating, the sweat runs down his ass crack and picks up whatever fecal matter is on the exterior of his anus, and gets on his balls.” If he scratches his crotch, as most guys do, that can easily transfer to his penis.

Thus, I’d recommend doing a blowjob at a specific time - during or after your friend swims, showers, and bathes in a Jacuzzi. The running water will cleanse the penis, which reasonably ensures that the skin isn’t carrying anything unpleasant. A document from the website “Straight Talk for Boys About Sex with Males” puts it best: “there is no real difference between having a finger or a penis in your mouth, if both have been freshly washed...The penis itself has no taste unless it is not clean.” While its advice on anal is highly questionable, its information on other sex acts is mostly accurate.

For more vital information on fellatio, please see this page from the g0y website, and read the subtitle “Fellatio”.

Remember that sex exists for the sake of relationships. I realize that I already said that, but I’m repeating it for a reason. This phrase will help cancel out any remaining STD risk in your sexual behavior.

Outside of anal and oral, other forms of male-male contact are quite low risk. If the anus or mouth isn’t involved in sex, semen will land on skin. If there’s no open wound, skin is an excellent barrier against most diseases.

Note however that I didn’t say no risk. Take frot as an example. Though the probability of infection is very low, frot can theoretically transmit pubic lice and genital herpes. Thus, it’s worth noting this quote from the Man2Man Alliance: “If Men into Frot become as promiscuous as males into anal have been, Frot will lose its innocence and joy and become yet another vector for STDs.”

In the “gay” world, a “gay” man might have sex with several men in one night. If two “gays” hook up for sex, they may otherwise be strangers. They might have hooked up just because they liked each other’s looks. As such, they had no relationship before sex, and may feel no obligation to establish one afterward. After sex is over, they may wipe each other out of their minds, and move on to the next conquest. That may happen several times in one night. In such an environment, even low-risk sex can be a conduit for STDs.

That’s why the above phrase is so important. Because of it, you’ll realize that sex isn’t the priority. Instead, relationships must take first place. Sex is what brings those relationships to their highest potential.

That mantra will make such promiscuity less likely. Since relationships are the focus, you’ll be more judicious about who you get sexual with. You’ll think more about who you have sex with. As a result, even if you have sex with more than one guy, your activity won’t approach the levels reached in the “gay” community. This assures that low-risk methods will remain low-risk.

What To Do During Afterglow

So you and your friend end up having sex. It might have been after an hot frot session, a good handjob, or some mutual masturbation. In the afterglow of the climax, you can’t just say nothing about it and leave. At this point, your friend will need you more than ever.

Remember the ironclad grip that modern sexual philosophy has over millions. Remember that its central message is that same-sex activity is inherently abnormal. Up until that point, that philosophy might have an ironclad grip on your friend. So after the pleasure fades away, his head might fill with fear. He’s just done the unthinkable - he just had sex with another man. In the world of modern sexual philosophy, he can no longer call himself a legitimate male. He must either repudiate the desires he’s just uncovered, or else identify as “gay” (aka “abnormal”) from then on.

If he’s Christian, he might believe that he’s just committed a grave sin. He might now believe that he is beyond God’s mercy, and must await his judgement. He might think that he is now an abomination. Under such thoughts, he might even contemplate self-harm or suicide.

You need to reassure him that there’s nothing wrong with him. You need to show him that his urges are normal, natural, and extremely common. You need to show him that his urges for men (too) don’t impugn on his masculinity. You need to show him that his urges don’t necessitate immersion into “gay” culture, or experimentation with anal. You need to show him that God doesn’t care how much he likes men (too).

Thus, you need to show him some of what you’ve seen. Show him some of the contents of this blog, particularly the Scriptural Commentaries. Show him some of the pages from the g0y website. Show him some of the content of the Man2Man Alliance, especially those showing that sex between men is simply an activity that men do. Then, when he gets the point, watch as internal relief sweeps through your friend.

For pointers, look at this story and this story from this humongous catalogue of g0y stories. They do a great job of showing how you can educate your friends. And continue seeing each other after that. You two might become each other’s support, and together you might help other men become free to pursue their own desires for men.

You two had sex because you like each other a lot. In another world, you two could do it without much afterthought. But given the power of modern sexual philosophy, that’s simply impossible right now. Through sex, you have to save others from becoming condemned in their own minds. It’s part of the altruism that natural same-sex activity helps support.

Conclusion

As you might have gathered, this guide doesn’t exist just to improve your seduction skills. Instead, it introduces a different way of life. It exposes a world where same-sex activity is just as valid as opposite-sex contact. The sex model it promotes inculcates a different mindset and outlook in those who follow it. It is one where masculinity is not a monolith, where sex exists for the sake for relationships, and where same-sex bonds are viewed as sacred.

In many ways, the values of this sex model run counter to those which dominate today. This is not to be taken lightly. Instead, it shows why it is suppressed so much. It also shows why it must be fought for. It promotes valuable principles - community, fraternity, equality - which we need so badly today.

I hope that this guide strengthens you. I hope that it is one that you will consider valuable. Most of all, I hope it is one that you will use to the full.

Thanks for reading.

[thedailychalkboard]

Going South

As the sun slowly begins making its way towards our neighbors in the Southern hemisphere I find myself in a reflective mood. The comfort of the brightness and warmth experienced during the summer months soon will give way to the dark and dim frigid days of winter. We are in that mid-season of change and there’s a definite chill in the air. You can see the change in the light and how if falls short across the landscape more and more each day. There’s an encroaching dimness to it that isn’t simply seen and felt, but heard throughout the hills and valleys. Yes, there is a time for every season, and we are on the cusp of change.

No one knows what the cold winter months will bring. Some folks who’ve been around awhile and are presumably wiser for it get busy. History tells them what may be coming. Preparations are made, provisions are stocked, all is made ready for the scarcity of necessity and those things we take for granted during the warm, lazy, long days of warmth and light. Sharing isn’t part of some of these folks’ plan and they don’t really understand why people won’t think and act the way they do. They’ve done the work, why should they help anyone, capable, or not, of helping themselves? They’ve already done their part. Self reliance and appreciation for family, faith and country is a badge to be worn proudly, not shared so as to inform, empower or help others.  

Even less caring, wise or aware people simply talk about it and worry, and fret that things are apparently changing but do nothing to prepare in a meaningful way. That’s for others to do. They go about their daily business occasionally stopping to watch, wring their hands in despair, gossip, listen or shout at those who prepare. Others choose diversions to distract them from it all or simply ignore the activity that surrounds them. It’s not really their problem. Someone else will make sure things are taken care of and protect their best interests along with it. They are counting on it. Change isn’t on their radar.

Then there are those who like to make fun of one group or the other. They call each other names, dwell on frivolous points, try to convince everyone that there’s either nothing, or absolutely everything, to worry about, and don’t prepare for anything but a heated debate about things they know little to nothing about. They just like to take a popular side, based upon what they’ve been told by those who either should or secretly know better. They’ve learned well how to put down anyone that doesn’t join them in their shouting and partying and contemptuous attitude toward something they won’t admit has two sides and should be considered. They’ve chosen a tribe and they’re sticking with it come hell or high water. The means justifies the end in their minds. They just don’t have the slightest clue what the end is going to actually look like and they don’t really care. It’s the ride that counts, not the final destination. Their motto appears to be “Hey, pass me another beer. I’ll drink it and then find someone to throw the empty bottle at.”

There’s a fourth tribe of people that make a living playing all of the other tribes, one against the other, for power and personal gain. These folks look down from well provisioned and walled in castles built on high hills by the labor and lives of those they have cajoled and befriended into building the walls around them. They make promises they never intend to keep and soon forget they even made.  They have designed their whole life around taking from everyone and giving what isn’t theirs to others for a promise of loyalty and protection.  They hold a lot of the provisions in check for the long winter months and make sure that they give them only to those who will agree with their situational ethics and do what they ask during the darkest and coldest days of the season. They never go without anything they want. They make sure of this because they’ve been the architects of the process. They hold contempt for everyone except those who are like them and will do and say whatever it takes to maintain the power and control they have. They’re not much into sharing either, except for their self serving opinions.

All four of these tribes share one thing in common. They have faith that once the dark season is over the sun will come once again and warm the darkness away from the land of milk and honey they are so blessed to live in. Spring will arrive with its beauty and abundance; the cold winter season of scarcity will be replaced by the spring of promise that, once again, a land of plenty is sure to return and resides just a short time away. But what if spring never comes? Then what? Would the three tribes ever see eye to eye, quit their ridiculous posturing, lying, yelling and side taking and work together to figure out a solution to a tragic situation? Or would the screaming, name calling and blame game continue even more heatedly until it remained the only warmth left in the land and something unexpected and terrible moved in and took its place? A pipe dream you think? An unrealistic nightmarish scenario you feel? It would never ever happen you say? Think again.

In the spring of the year 1815 Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded with the largest eruption in modern recorded history. Because of the amount of material it blew into the atmosphere a substantial amount of sunlight was prevented from reaching the Earth’s surface.  The outcome of this was the reduction of the average global temperature by an estimated 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Close to the volcano over 80,000 people perished from disease and famine as crops wouldn’t grow. In 1816 the ash circling the globe created what has been called the “year without a summer.” Western Europe and Eastern North America experienced heavy snow and killing frost through the summer months which led to crop failures and starvation in those regions. No one was prepared for such a cataclysmic event. Tribes perished, people suffered, and there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it.

What if we could prepare for such an event by actually working together instead of working against one another? What if we could guarantee that we will weather the coming winter of our discontent and the pending storms encroaching on our nation by talking instead of shouting, joining hands instead of pointing fingers and by listening to others with opinions and ideas that differ from our own? If we are to survive the winter soon to be upon us we must listen and talk reasonably and honestly to those outside our own tribe and not just to those who feel, act and believe the way we do.  What if we listened less to the tribe on the Hill, ignored the screamers, pouters and name callers, paid less attention to all of their collective social self serving manipulations and more to the residents in the communities where we live as a whole and not simply in the neighborhoods where we choose to reside? There is no such thing as “no compromise” unless a tribe is set to divide and conquer another. Do we really want that for our nation?

I have faith that there is absolutely no problem that cannot be solved when clear headed, sincere, creative and honest cooperation is exercised in a civilized way. Winter is knocking at our door my friends. And, as many tribes have discovered over thousands of years, our very survival hangs in the balance.  –MDD

©2018 Michael D. Davis   All Rights Reserved

Michael D. Davis is a communicator by vocation, a mentor by avocation and a social media maven by choice. His work can be found on popular channels on the web and on his blog at http://thedailychalkboard.tumblr.com/   Michael welcomes your comments and invites you to join him. Just Google #michaelddavis or #thedailychalkboard to find him and request to connect.

[newstfionline]

‘The Tango War’ uncovers the shadow war pursued in Latin America during WWII

By Randy Dotinga, CS Monitor, September 20, 2018

As World War II begins, Americans peer nervously at potential enemies across the oceans. They don’t realize that President Franklin Roosevelt and his administration are fretting over a dire threat looming from another direction entirely--the south.

As FDR well knows, Latin America is fertile soil for fascists in general and Nazis in particular. Dictators dominate politics, a long history of American aggression curdles friendliness toward the north, and large German communities--1 million in Brazil alone--wear swastikas in the streets.

At the same time, Latin America is brimming with crucial wartime resources like oil, rubber, and manpower that could be the key to victory.

To keep Hitler at bay, the Western powers test limits in nations from Mexico to Cuba to Chile. They spy and cajole, they kidnap and kill, they test strategies that echo darkly through the decades to our own time.

Journalist Mary Jo McConahay uncovers this fascinating story in her comprehensive, colorful, and often-troubling new book The Tango War: The Struggle for the Hearts, Minds and Riches of Latin America During World War II.

In McConahay’s telling, wartime Latin America is a hotbed of skullduggery, violence, and cinematic propaganda straight out of Hollywood. “Each side closely shadowed the steps of the other, like dancers in a tango,” she writes.

Round and round they go. On one side are Germany, Italy, and Japan, which have long been making inroads into Latin America. Indeed, “Tango War” begins with a remarkable imagined scene of women in a southern Brazilian planning a Nazi film night while men prepare to proudly march on Hitler’s birthday.

On the other side, Great Britain is stung by an overwhelming Germany war machine that’s largely powered by Mexican oil. Fortunately for the Allies, the British are masters at espionage, unlike the shockingly unprepared Americans.

In one of the book’s many remarkable passages, British spies derail an Italian bid to build on Axis control of air service in South America. They forge a letter from airline brass and convince the Brazilian president that he’s facing a coup, and perhaps even worse, mockery from Italians calling him a “fat little man.”

He promptly orders the Italian flight crews out of the country, a move that helps to scuttle Axis control of the air across Latin America. This brilliant subterfuge reveals that there’s more to effective spycraft than James Bond-style violence, gadgets, and sexual intrigue. A masterful forgery and an insult to vanity can get the job done too, no bloodshed or bikinis required.

Even better, the Americans play an unwitting role in the whole affair and take credit for themselves. Deliciously, the Brits send along congratulations for a job well done.

As for the US, American officials must disentangle themselves from their infamous regional history of putting corporations first and locals last, especially in oil-rich Mexico. This, to say the least, requires tremendous finesse.

“Tango War” is especially captivating when it profiles people in crisis--conflicted Latin American leaders, the crew of a trapped German ship, and a propaganda maestro named Orson Welles who lives to regret his eventful foray south.

There are heroes here too. Bolivia and the tiny nation of Dominican Republic welcome refugee Jews, unlike so many other nations around the world. And 25,000 Brazilians head to Europe to fight for the Allies.

McConahay, a veteran Latin America correspondent, also focuses on compelling characters whose ordinary lives are transformed. Modern-day interviews capture the lasting legacies of the shadow war and, most disturbingly, expose the cruelty of an American-led practice that we’d now call extraordinary rendition.

As Japanese people on the American West Coast are rounded up and sent to internment camps, Peru allows the kidnapping of about 1,800 ethnic Japanese residents. One man tells McConahay about watching his Japanese schoolmates and their families suddenly vanish in Peru, while two brothers recall hiding with their family until FBI agents order them to board a US Army ship with only a single trunk between them.

Along with Japanese from other Latin American countries, they’re sent to camps in the US and sometimes traded to Japan for Americans interned there. Many never return home.

This mass kidnapping is supposedly for safety’s sake, but bigotry is at play too. And it could have been worse. Amazingly, the American secretary of state floats the prospect of “virtually cleansing the continent” of Japanese people.

McConahay notes that this story is often ignored in Peru and barely known in the outside world. “Those who remember portray a dark and complex moment,” she writes, one that raises questions about “U.S. allegiance to its own principles.”

The deep rifts exposed by the war don’t vanish with Allied victory in 1945. McConahay vividly examines the post-war era when Catholic leaders help Nazi war criminals survive by stashing them in South America.

Now, more than 70 years later, the focus is on another Latin American tango, this one between the behemoth US to the north and the many nations to the south. As we look forward, McConahay’s book gives us insight into the region’s intricacies and the disastrous dance moves that belong in the past.

[martinahlijanian]

The Hunt for Real Contracting Transformation (co-written by Dennis Smyth)

Change. The mere mention of the word generates multiple emotions. As professionals, particularly in the tech and professional services sectors, we know we’re supposed to embrace it, sell it, and support it. But in the context of OUR internal organizations and operations, we flinch. In fact, some of us get downright petulant, almost reverting to holding our breath and stomping feet. And those responsible for implementing the change – whether it be a procedure, a policy, or a system/app – have to deal with that resistance, while somehow staying on schedule and ensuring broad user adoption. No wonder certain implementers can sound like esteemed Captain Bart Mancuso (played perfectly by veteran actor Scott Glenn in the greatest movie ever made, The Hunt for Red October) when he says “Now if that ___ so much as twitches, I’m going to blow him straight to Mars”.

Hopefully change-related tensions don’t rise to this level in your company or agency, and your implementation teams are a bit more friendly, mature and flexible. Every change manager should understand that the acceptance of change is challenging.

Some might argue that change is more difficult for certain functions. One of the most important processes in any business is the handling of quotes, proposals and contracts. After all, contracts date back to our old friend Justinian’s law of the 6th century CE/AD as cornerstones of a developed market economy, and have increased in significance, particularly as business increases in complexity. Entitlements, obligations, and value corresponding to each party continue to be captured in contracts, but with the advent of business intelligence tools and sophisticated databases, tactical and strategic advantages inure to those organizations that mine data from their contracts most efficiently. So every large, successful corporation must be embracing contract process transformation initiatives, right? Not even close. Perhaps more than others, contracts, legal, and compliance professionals generally LOATHE change. Go ahead and implement a new HR or finance system, but don’t touch the way we do our jobs! Any lost time, lost information, or even worse, lost document(s) could be fatal to the company (so we think). As Admiral Painter said in Red October, “This business will get out of control…it will get out of control and we’ll be lucky to live through it!” (That’s a bit of an understated response when someone proposes a contract transformation program in MY department, but you get the idea.)

Nevertheless, contract transformation must occur. We’ve established that the handling of proposals and contracts is critical to a successful organization. If that’s the case, it should logically follow that the contracting process must perform at peak operational efficiency and effectiveness, with the best tools currently available. Contracts, legal, and compliance practitioners should never be the “red-headed stepchildren”, using outdated apps and byzantine procedures solely because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged every aspect of our society, and contracting processes are no exception. If your department hasn’t gone through a transformation recently, COVID has likely generated a host of reasons to consider changes. For starters, where your team will work is a daily consideration, and the subject of thousands of webinars, white papers, and advisories. Smashing silos between departments is now a necessity, not a luxury from a consultant’s wish list. And completing such a transformation in a timely manner must occur to keep the company afloat. But before any other change initiative is considered, there’s now a sine quo non of transformation in 2021: employee safety. Pressures to return to an office environment will mount as infection rates drop; however, the benefits of in-person collaboration and employee-company stickiness shouldn’t ever trump increased risk to your team’s physical and emotional health. Stay tuned as this dynamic evolves through the coming months of vaccine mandates and booster shots.

Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) matters, as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) considerations, are now part and parcel of contracts teams, from the retention of consultants in these areas to the increased utilization of diverse suppliers, partners, and subcontractors within the business. Entire proposal sections on ESG issues may have to be drafted, and contracts professionals may be called upon to provide substantial input into these developing responses. With respect to DEI, our colleagues in the government contracts arena have been utilizing tools to discover, partner with, and monitor/report on the performance of diverse subcontractors for over four decades; the contract formation and management practices used in that market could jump start a team’s ineffective – or non-existent – diversity supplier program. Process and system transformation will need to accommodate these critical areas.

Much has also been written about cloud systems and apps that facilitate remote work, and our blog from earlier this year on Contracts Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems addresses the jewel in the crown of remote contracts work. Collaboration tools, packaged home office setups, and mobile applications should also be considered to replicate the pre-COVID ways of working as much as possible.

In terms of your team’s structure, changes may be required to your wiring diagram to improve efficiency and reflect the dramatically altered circumstances. Schematic adjustments alone don’t often yield tremendous results, but in the current environment, and under the aegis of process transformation, reporting structures should be examined, particularly involving coordination with Legal and Finance departments. The placement of the contracts team – as either a centralized shared service, within a business unit, or in a hybrid structure, is also an issue to be addressed. Substantively, real estate, insurance, supply chain, third party partners in the remediation/testing field, and bankruptcy issues will likely demand equal footing with the typical front-runner of customer contracts.

This blog could go on for hundreds of pages on the topic of change management alone. Mandatory requirements include:

Ø Very public senior leadership support

Ø Transparency from start to finish

Ø Focus initially on managers – their buy-in is essential

Ø It’s all about relationships – don’t ever forget that, and use them within and outside of the process

Ø Develop and deliver training throughout the initiative

Specific transformation activities should focus on:

1. Contracts team performance, as measured against internal SLAs and KPIs

2. Skills of team members

3. Budget management

4. IT systems and apps

5. Terms and fallback position standardization (“playbook” creation, distribution and training)

6. Utilization of external resources and consultants

7. Common project management practices

Best practices in structuring the transformation exercise include the following steps:

Ø An initial diagnostic assessment of functions and then-current performance

Ø Survey of stakeholders and analysis of results against benchmarks

Ø Creation of a new contracting strategy

Ø Assessing IT tools that will facilitate the transformation for multiple years

Ø Messaging the urgent need and advantages of changes

Ø Creation of change agent allies and identification of specific team members for this role

Ø Measuring and monitoring progress

Merger and acquisition (M&A) integration activities must also be reflected in your contracts team transformation program. This includes both previously integrated entities/staff as well as future organizations. A packaged, M&A-centric version of your transformation program must be created as a major quick reaction process with your entity integration plan. This doesn’t have to be an immediate “break glass, pull alarm” response, but as discussed above, should be implemented sooner rather than later given the criticality of contracts to the overall business.

“Hey Ryan – be careful what you shoot at. Most things in here don’t react too well to bullets.”

Another aspect of change management (at least as taught to us at PwC) is to cajole and convince, but never go in with guns blazing. After all, facts and logic are in ample supply – you shouldn’t have to utilize a scorched earth approach. Does that mean every colleague will warmly embrace the changes? Absolutely not. But verbal bullets fired at your own team members shouldn’t be an option.

“When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result, his men were well motivated.”

While a Genghis Khan communication strategy shouldn’t be employed, weak, nostalgic messaging that undercuts the transformation and questions the need or approach for change will doom the program. Burn those ships sailing against the initiative. That doesn’t mean all of the prior procedures, approaches, systems, or contract terms were poor, or should be abandoned. But broader statements questioning the need or wisdom of the transformation must be torched.

A lot to consider here but it’s all about moving forward in a way that that improves staff/company morale and performance in a rapidly-changing internal and external environment. As Jack Ryan said in the final scene of Red October, “Welcome to the New World, Captain.”

[ppdoddy]

Michael Moore

AN OPEN LETTER TO JOE BIDEN Dear President-Elect Biden:

First of all, congratulations! YOU did it. WE did it! You stopped the madness. A grateful nation - and myself - are in a state of joy, hope and relief. Thank you for that! We are all eager to join with you to repair the damage done to our country — and to eliminate that about our society and our politics which gave us Donald Trump in the first place.

Mr. President-Elect, I first met you at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. It was clear to me from our talk that day that you were not the politician I remembered from the 1990s. On that day in Boston, we were by then over a year into the Iraq War, a war you voted for. My “Fahrenheit 9/11“ had just come out and you wanted to let me know that you were aware of the folly you had been sucked into. It seemed to me that you were doing a lot of soul searching and you wanted to hear my thoughts. To be honest, I was distracted by how perfect your teeth were, and I wondered, could you really be from the working class? By the end of our talk I was convinced there was something that was quite real and very good about you, though perhaps somewhat buried inside. Would it ever come out so the public could see it? As I reflect today on it - and you - I am sincerely hoping that you will indeed govern as a president who’s from the working class. You - one of us - in the White House. That’s how it should feel. Your actions, if bold, and brave, will make that true.

You are also our second Catholic president. I believe you are a person of faith. You and I were taught the same lessons in Catholic school: to love our neighbor, even our enemy; to create a world where everyone regardless of status or station has a seat at the table, and everyone gets a slice of the pie; a world where “the rich man will have a harder time getting into heaven than a camel will have getting through the eye of the needle.” We were taught that we will be judged by how we treat the least amongst us. Do I have that right? Are these not the moral, foundational principles of the coming Biden presidency?

I was so moved by your victory speech Saturday night when you told the immigrants and the children of immigrants that the Dreamers no longer had to live in fear. That Muslims were once again welcomed into our country. That the world could breathe a sigh of relief because we were going to let the planet Earth itself breathe and have some relief. And you told the teachers of America that starting January 20th, “one of your own will be living in the White House.” That just felt instantly good.

So if I may, I’d like to suggest a few things that might make your presidency one of the best this country has ever had. You and I may have our political differences (you like Amtrak trains, I’d like to ride a bullet train from New York to LA in 10 hours!😎), but I know that you and I - and tens of millions of others - all want and believe in the same basic things: • Health Care is a human right and every American must be covered; • Everyone must be paid a living wage and all of us must work to eliminate poverty and rebuild our broken middle class; • The massive and growing gulf between the ultra rich and everyone else must be narrowed — and the wealthy must go back to paying the taxes they should pay; • Women must be paid the same as men, and no man or government has the right to tell them what they can do or not do with their bodies.

So here’s my two cents:

1. You are right to make containing Covid-19 Job #1. Had Trump won, I’m guessing up to a million people in the next year or so would have died from him ignoring this virus. Yesterday you named your Covid task force of doctors and scientists and you are putting them to work. We don’t have a second to lose. Thank you for this.

2. As soon as you can, please provide much more unemployment relief for the jobless, stimulus checks for all, help for small businesses, and the creation of jobs we desperately need.

3. Millions have lost their health insurance because our system ties one’s health coverage to their employer. What happens when the employer, like now, is suddenly gone, or the boss wakes up one morning and decides these employees’ health benefits are too costly and must be cut? BOOM! Millions of families suddenly have no health insurance. This is nuts.

You MUST create a health system like every other industrial democracy — one backed by the government, not by the whims of the boss where you work or the pandemic that has shut him or her down. This is just plain common sense.

4. I see various people trying to take credit for your victory — and using their personal agendas to push you away from the progressive Left and toward the cowardly center which believes that the best way to beat Republicans is to just be a more easily-digestible version of Republicans. They think because Trump got 70 million votes the Democrats should reject Black Lives Matter, AOC, and anything that vaguely sounds like socialism — at a time when the majority of our citizens under the age of 35, according to most polls, prefer the idea of democratic socialism over the greed of modern-day capitalism. Why risk losing them? We need to listen to and understand why they feel this way. They’ve been saddled with crushing student debt and we’ve handed them a planet In the middle of its 6th extinction event as their future. You and Barack introduced them to the benefits of democratic socialism by letting them stay on their parents health insurance until they’re 26! The result: They just set a record by coming out and voting for you in the largest youth numbers ever.

But you know all this. And you also know how you won these razor-thin victories in the final five states as we nervously watched the final ballots come in from Black Philly, Black Detroit, Black Atlanta, Black Flint. Out west, it was Latinx and Navajo voters who delivered Nevada and Arizona to you. In your speech on Saturday you acknowledged it. And never in our history have I heard a President-elect single out the Black community and thank them “for having my back. And I promise you, I will have your back!” Black and brown and indigenous peoples, plus a landslide of women and young adult voters made this happen. Wow. I absolutely know you’ll keep that promise.

5. Please do not make the same mistake an otherwise well-meaning President Obama made in his first two years. He wanted everyone to get along. He was willing to compromise on anything. Kumbaya. The Republicans had already decided they were going to block EVERYTHING Obama proposed and that’s exactly what they did for eight long years with a discipline and a ruthlessness we should probably envy.

Don’t let this happen to you. Charge in on January 20th like FDR on steroids. You have no choice. People are dying! You need to sign executive orders and cajole, demand and shame Congress into action. And GO BIG! Eliminate the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Act! DONE! Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment for women! Just one more state needed! DONE! Send in the Army Corps of Engineers to Flint to replace the poisoned water pipes! DONE!!

And none of the above needs a single vote of the United States Senate! In fact, this past summer, your “Biden-Bernie” unity joint task force identified a whopping 277 policies and decisions of Trump’s that you have the legal authority to immediately reverse by executive order or presidential policy decision https://prospect.org/…/277-policies-biden-need-not-ask-per…/. Find that big fat black marker of his and do it!

But, yes, we also desperately need those two Georgia Senate seats to get the Biden/Harris years off to a blazing start. So let’s make that happen! All hands on deck between now and January 5th!! We will all do whatever is needed.

Friends of mine on the Left who are more cynical than I am are probably wondering why I’m sending you this letter. Haha! Well, because I saw you kiss the head of that young grieving man at the Parkland, Florida memorial for the shooting victims of Stoneman Douglas High School. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyMa96yOel0

And because I saw you in New Hampshire this year while we were there working for Bernie, and you were doing a campaign stop and there was a restless five-year boy in the front row. His parents were trying to get him to settle down. You stopped and spoke to the boy. “Hey buddy,” you said in a kind but parental way, “if you can hang on and be a good boy for just a little bit, I’ll buy ya an ice cream!” The boy quieted down, you wrapped up and afterward you went over to the boy and his parents and you gave the kid five bucks so his mom and dad could go get him an ice cream cone. And I thought to myself, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen — and then I started to cry because I wanted so much for that piece of America to come back — goofy, kind, and focusing on what’s truly important: a goddamned ice cream cone!

I think that’s why you won. People saw what I saw with you there in New Hampshire and back in Boston on that day 16 years ago — they knew that maybe, just maybe, their lives might just get a bit better - hopefully a LOT better - with you in the White House. Maybe less of them will die from the virus, this preventable horror. Trump, of whom we knew many despicable things and thought we’d already seen how low the bar could possibly go for one human being — but we never considered him under the moniker of mass killer, terrorist or superspreader. Then you, Joe, came along and offered us a respite, a break from the insanity — “Mr. Biden, we’ll be happy if you just give us four years of ‘Not Trump!’”

But I think you can give us much more than that. What could our lives be like in four years or eight years (with a Democratic Senate to boot)? How ‘bout no one ever goes bankrupt again because they got sick? How ‘bout no one is sitting in a prison cell for possessing marijuana or actual drugs? How ‘bout every child gets to go to a great school and every neighborhood has an expanded free library open seven days a week? How ‘bout paid family medical leave so you can take care of your elderly parents and not lose your job? How ‘bout my bullet train! You and we can make all this happen. It’s not rocket science. 30+ other countries already do it. (https://www.amazon.com/Where-Invade-Next-Micha…/…/B01EGW9EOU) They’re happier. Why not us? Our founders promised it to us in their second sentence: “the pursuit of Happiness.“ They said that’s what America would be — and it’s been a rare day when we’ve actually had a glimpse of it.

Joe, you’re the guy to fulfill the promise. I’ll help. So will my neighbors on the floor where I live. As will the woman who delivers my mail, the workers who stock the shelves of my neighborhood market, the nurse who just wrote me in tears because yesterday she watched her 22nd patient die, alone, no family allowed, from Covid. Not to mention the millions upon millions of Americans who are ready to be foot soldiers in your army of justice, equality and love. We’re all in! We don’t want to go back to the old “normal.” We want a new normal!

We want ice cream.

All my best, Michael Moore

P.S. You know why I think you can and will do this? You picked Kamala Harris to run with you! Ranked as the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate. A woman. A Black woman! I saw the first debate, the one where she challenged you and threw shade on your younger self. Most people (including me), if that had happened to us, we probably wouldn’t have gotten over it. You did. I’m guessing your conscience whispered to you, “well, dang, maybe she has a point.” You hold no grudges. You are a forgiving soul. But then you didn’t just forgive her — you put her on the Big Ticket! Who would do that? You did! That’s why my cautious, hopeful bet is on the good hands we’re now in — both your hands, Kamala’s hands, and the hands of the mass millions who voted for you and will continue to rise up and fight for this new, better, post-Trump, post-pandemic America.

[jakeallison96]

How To Get A Pisces Ex Girlfriend Back Wonderful Cool Ideas

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How To Make Your Ex Want You Back After A Year

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Well, do what they gave up and gotten back together?Chances are that she liked and didn't give you more confident and strong.It just means that you have to give her the new you, and you simply agree with the answer.Try to clear your head over and decide quickly.To uncover if he is missing by dropping out of your best to ensure success.

How Get An Ex Boyfriend Back

[plusorminuscongress]

New story in Politics from Time: Everything You Need to Know About How the Iowa Caucuses Work

Iowa Democrats will head to their local caucus sites on Monday to select their preference for the 2020 presidential nominee, marking one of the most anticipated events of an election cycle: the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Most of the frontrunners in this packed Democratic field have been locked in a tight race for more than a year, with campaigns and other organizations spending tens of millions on political ads, outreach campaigns and events—all in service of a single goal: getting Iowa voters to caucus on their behalf.

While the Iowa Democratic Party has been using the caucus system since the 1970s, this year will be slightly different. The party has changed some of the rules in an effort to make the caucuses more efficient and cut down on gamesmanship. “These are the most progressive changes we’ve made to our caucuses since they were created,” said Troy Price, chair of the Iowa Democrats, in an interview with TIME at the party’s headquarters this week.

Here is TIME’s guide to the Iowa caucuses:

What’s a caucus?

A caucus is in effect a community meeting where neighbors show up to express their presidential preferences—and try to convince one another to take their side. Some states, like Iowa and Nevada, hold caucuses instead of primaries. The concepts are similar, but the mechanisms are different: caucus-goers make a presidential selection but, unlike in primaries, they do not cast a vote. (Caucuses are also run by state political parties, while primaries are run by state election officials.)

Like Democrats, the Iowa Republican Party will host a caucus on Feb. 3, too, but since President Donald Trump is largely uncontested, it will be much less of a spectacle this cycle.

Who participates in caucuses?

All caucus-goers must be eligible to vote and registered for the party whose caucus they’re attending. They also must be 18 years-old by Election Day (November 3, 2020); they need not be 18 on the day of the caucus.

The Iowa Democratic Party will host 1,678 precinct caucuses across the state. Caucuses are held in all kinds of locations, including school gymnasiums, churches, libraries, and union halls. For the most part, people participate in the caucus in the precinct in which they live, but this year, the Iowa Democrats are also offering close to 100 “satellite caucuses,” in an effort to facilitate access for people.

So, how does it work?

Generally, doors open by 6:30 Central Standard Time and the caucuses begin at 7 p.m., sharp. Once everyone arrives and checks in, all eligible participants are counted, and the games begin.

The process seems complicated from afar, but it’s fairly intuitive: caucus-goers simply walk over and stand in the part of the room designated to their first-choice candidate. Once everyone has chosen a candidate (or chosen to remain undecided) caucus leaders count everyone and do a little math. Those participants whose first-choice candidates fail to reach what’s known as the “viability threshold”—typically 15% of the total present — must decide which candidate to support next, in a process called “realignment.”

In years past, realignment was fraught, as caucus-goers would (often loudly) cajole and speechify in an effort to convince their friends and neighbors to join their preferred candidate. Since all caucus-goers were free agents—i.e. anyone could back any candidate they wanted during realignment—debate sometimes stretched late into the night.

But this year, the rules are a little different. In almost all instances, once someone has expressed her preference for a viable candidate, her selection is locked in. Caucus leaders will use “preference cards” to keep track of caucus-goers’ choices, so a viable candidate’s total number of supporters never drops below what it was on first alignment. In other words, when someone shows up and supports a viable candidate, that’s it. She doesn’t have to stick around for the next round.

Only those who support a candidate who did not reach the viability threshold are free agents. During the realignment, they have three main choices: they can support one of the already-viable candidates, try to convince other free agents to cluster together to push a previously-nonviable candidate over the viability threshold, or join an undecided group. (There are scenarios where multiple alignments are necessary, but mostly it’s just the first and then the final.)

At the end of the night, state delegates are allocated to the candidates, according to the number of people who caucused for each.

How do you know who wins?

This is where it could get confusing. The Iowa Democratic Party says it won’t declare a winner; it will just report the results: first alignment numbers, final alignment numbers, and state delegate equivalent. The “winner” is usually considered the candidate who receives the most state delegates, because that’s what actually matters in securing the nomination. But this year, those three numbers could look very different, leading multiple candidates to attempt to claim victory. Some experts are preparing for mass confusion.

“It’s going to be a disaster—you could conceivably have three different results at the end of the night,” said Grant Woodard, a Des Moines attorney with experience as a Democratic strategist. He understands why the Iowa Democratic Party is releasing those numbers, but worries that people will want clarity: “It could just be confusing as all hell.”

What happens next?

The precinct-level delegates who were apportioned on the night of the caucuses will go on to county conventions in March. The delegates from the county conventions will go on to the congressional district conventions in April, as well as the state convention in June. Along the way, 27 district-level national delegates and four national alternates will emerge, as well as nine at-large national delegates and five Party Leaders and Elected Official (PLEO) delegates. This is a long, drawn-out process, but the upshot is that Iowa will send delegates supporting various presidential candidates to the Democratic National Convention in July.

Why does Iowa always caucus first?

Mostly because it insists on it. And that’s come under criticism. Why, one former presidential candidate argued, should a state that doesn’t reflect the diversity of the nation at large repeatedly get outsized say in who the Democratic nominee is? There’s also an argument that caucuses can be inherently undemocratic because of how difficult it is for people to attend. Caucus-goers must be available, sometimes for hours, on caucus night, which can present conflicts for people with disabilities, or who work irregular hours, or can’t afford childcare. But for now, both Iowa Democrats and Republicans agree that they’ll work to retain their first-in-nation status.

“It all starts with Iowa. Iowa is the moment where you first get judged. It is an assessment of your ability to organize voters in each of these individual caucus locales, it is a test of your appeal and your message,” said Scott Mulhauser, a longtime national Democratic strategist. “It all starts now.”

By Lissandra Villa / Des Moines, Iowa on February 02, 2020 at 07:00AM

[lovehaswonangelnumbers]

New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/karmic-tools-weekly-forecast-january-13-19-2019/

Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast: January 13 – 19, 2019

Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast: January 13 – 19, 2019

By Kelly M. Beard

The Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast covers the current planetary transits which affect people in different ways and to various degrees of intensity. Take notice when it is a Personal planet (Sun / Moon / Mercury / Venus / Mars) interacting with a Social (Jupiter/Saturn) or Collective planet (Uranus / Neptune/Pluto). And pay extremely close attention when it is a Social planet interacting with a Collective planet because that means something *big* is brewing that will move large groups of people along their evolutionary paths. Tuning in to the energy and rhythm of the planets can serve as a useful *guide* as you move along your Individual Path. It also helps to understand your place within the context of the larger Social & Collective Story. Below, you will find out how these energies tend to manifest, as well as guidance and direction. 

*NOTE*  There are some days when there are NO CONTACTS (besides the Moon), please note that there are no missing entries, we just list the actual Activations of each week + the day they happen.

Note from Kelly:

This is another potent week. Despite chaotic, collective madness, you must take some time this week to clear your own mind, do a data dump and try to hear your Self think. It is your Soul Self that wants to reach you this week and your Soul Self cares little about politics or the rest, your Soul Self just cares about you – you and your individual evolution. Mercury is the star this week, linking up with Saturn & Pluto, suggesting that if you can transform your thinking, you will naturally transcend your current reality. The other activations this week are equally important. The rare Jupiter/Neptune alignment is going to happen three times over, so pace yourself by noticing what is coming up for you around your faith & belief system at this time. Is it serving you or holding you back from evolving to the next level? When an activation happens 3-times like this, there is usually a catalyst, like our New Vision for 2019, then there is a crisis of faith or a burst-your-bubble moment (when you find out something you believed is actually not true) and then there is the revelations by the third time that, hopefully, leave your faith in your Self and a Higher Power both stronger & wiser for the experience. And ultimately, that Sun/Uranus contact suggests that we are ready, as individuals, to do things a completely new & different way. Honor that impulse. Improvise often. Ask (your Self) lots of questions, don’t take anything at face value but go deeper and ask your Self what you are *feeling* and then, go with your gut.

Weekly Forecast: January 13 – 19, 2019  

1/13 ~ Mercury (thought process) ~conjunct~ Saturn (definition of reality):

This energy is excellent for any important project that requires your undivided attention. If you’ve got a vision and have already outlined how to manifest it, now is the time to really fill in the blanks – flesh it out – bring it to life! Do the work! If you do not channel this energy toward patiently and methodically taking the necessary steps to get to the next level, then it can manifest as frustration and feel as if you are not doing what you know in your heart you are supposed to be doing at this time. It leads to negative thinking and self-sabotage. A better expression would be to not think of the things that can go wrong, but entertain the possibility that every door opens and all paths lead to your goal, no matter how they appear at the moment.

1/13 ~ Jupiter (Truth/Belief) ~square~ Neptune (Faith/Spirituality): (1 of 3: 1/13 ~ 6/16 ~ 9/21)

This combination gives us access to miracles, if you believe in them! But for those who are not grounded in their bodies or clear in their minds, this combo can be crazy-making, it seems to agitate some who can never pinpoint the source of the agitation. It’s time to pay close attention to what you think, say & believe in any given situation and constantly clarify it for your Self so that you don’t get too far off-track following your Monkey Mind. It’s a time when your faith & spirituality may be tested to grow as well, but all the more reason to believe in good things being possible too.

In general, these two are somewhat related because they both have to do with what we believe to be true or possible but they seem to also create a possibility for “too much of a good thing” ~ over-idealizing (Neptune) ~ over-extending (Jupiter) along with faith & charity in the wrong direction. Squares always create the necessary friction within to make you want to grow & develop skill so you can change something in a fairly tangible way. These two are like a lightning storm whose flashes enable you to catch “glimpses” of your new reality as the illusion of this old reality “cracks” revealing its inability to withstand the upcoming changes. Hopefully, it will spur you on to integrating a little more magic in your mundane, as well as manifesting your ideals in more practical/3D ways. By recognizing what you no longer believe, a new vision begins to emerge, though it still needs to be nurtured & cultivated. The test that squares bring, push us to grow and develop in a way that moves things along in a good way. When a Social Planet (Jupiter) hits a Collective Planet (Neptune) then large numbers of humans evolve around the same time. Additionally, if you have the Signs activated in your Individual chart, then it becomes “personal” for you (in this case, Sag/Pisces). In general, these energies coming together should help you develop a Truth/Belief System of your own, while still creating the Daily Practice that will animate and support it going forward. This energy will activate your generosity of spirit, so make sure to give to those worthy of your investment and try not to be foolish, deluded or tricked. Use this combo to expand your consciousness and practice what you preach.

1/14 ~ Mercury (expression) ~sextile~ Neptune (dreams):

This is a great energy for imagination, consciousness and intuition, however, keeping a good filter to distinguish between your own perceptions and what you are picking up from those around you will be crucial to your success. Your mind may be tuned-in to a different channel than usual this week and you may have to rely on other senses, like your feelings or intuitive hunches. You may be very perceptive, picking up on the thoughts & feelings of others, which if/when you are clear (and your filters are working) can yield some surprising revelations about where their consciousness is, at this time (for better or worse) and reflect an aspect of your own consciousness that you may not have been aware of. Try to avoid work that requires any attention to detail. Allow your creativity to flow freely without censoring what comes through you at this time. You can organize it later. This is the energy to explore, create and free-flow!

1/18 ~ Venus (feminine & receiving) ~trine~ Mars (masculine & giving):

Venus rules your values & priorities where your relationship with love & money are concerned. It is the Sacred Feminine within that innately knows how to co-create with nature, and what to cultivate & nurture to full development. Mars rules your desire nature and your Inner Sacred Masculine, which is responsible for getting your ideas into the world, maintaining your personal boundaries and negotiating on your own behalf. When both are channeling through you in a balanced way, like now, what you create and how you move through the world becomes a beautiful dance or, at least, a much more interesting story. The trine is a blessing of ease & grace, an easy-going energy that paves the way for balance & reciprocity and encourages independence within the context of relationships. Communication is usually smooth at this time and exchanges can be mutually beneficial. Any relationships started under this influence have a good chance at success whether personal or professional.

1/18 ~ Mercury (mind, thoughts & ideas) ~conjunct~ Pluto (purification & transformation):

This activation takes you into the depths of your own mind & consciousness, deepening all communications. You may find yourself obsessing over something, either by yourself or in an attempt to convey something to another. Superficial, quick once-overs, trying to keep things ‘light’ will not likely be possible with this energy. You may feel determined to dig deeper until you get to the core or base issue. It’s good for soul-searching when it’s motivated by a genuine desire to know the truth, rather than to evade it. It’s not-so-good when you’re obsessing over someone or something which no longer serves you (or your Highest good). The challenge with this energy is the tendency to be really intense and locked-in on your own point of view, which is no less valid, but often this type of mental intensity blinds you to something obvious that you overlooked because you were not being objective, but being driven by much deeper (possibly unconscious) emotions. Your intensity is capable of influencing others but be aware of the difference between sharing information and trying to “convince, convert or cajole” others, as that can naturally attract challenges & opposition. Remember, the opposite can also be true, where you are on the receiving end of this intense energy from someone else (trying to convince you of something). The best way to use this energy, as it doesn’t really last that long, is to turn that intensity toward Self, peel the layers to your own Truth & Purpose. The channels are open for a time and you can communicate and receive information from the deepest part of your SoulSelf. This is an Initiation.

1/18 ~ Sun (source & essential Self) ~square~ Uranus (awakening & radical shift):

As with any Uranus activation, this one disrupts the normal flow in order to facilitate a ‘break to realign’ moment. While sometimes disruptive & challenging, the ultimate result is refreshing in some way. Consider the energy that thickens, gathering for a severe thunderstorm, then releasing buckets of rain, for hours, you sleep deeply and awaken to a bright sunny morning with birds chirping unusually loud outside your window. Got the visual? ; -)) This activation is the necessary challenge that gets your attention that something better is available, if you’re willing to improvise and think on your feet. If you’ve been unusually restricted in some way, you may feel restless. Rather than being reactive to the unexpected shift (within or without), it’s best to take a pause for the cause, step back and try to gain some perspective. Remember to be present, too far in the past can be depressing and too far into the future, and you cause your Self unnecessary anxiety. Breathe, be under the sky, invite clarity about the next step and trust your gut. This energy, while sometimes uncomfortable and often sudden, is very necessary to disrupt any illusions/delusions you may be holding on to. It’s time to express your Self in new ways so the old ways naturally stop working to get your attention.

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How to Write a Perfect Essay

A perfect essay is not always a perfect one for everyone. The writing that can convey your ideas to your reader is a perfect essay for you. But how to write a perfect essay is a question that can spring up in anyone’s mind and the same answer applies to all, ie, selection of appropriate words.

We need of words to express our thoughts

‘Words are of course the most powerful drug used by mankind’. In these words of Rudyard Kipling we get to know the importance of words.  Words help us to communicate, bring out our ideas to convince or rather cajole our audience to accept them without causing any sentimental offense to their thinking.Even if we are precipitating down our thoughts in black and white, it can create a very strong impact on the reader’s mind. This impactful processing of the thoughts is the most vital element for your essay. With use of effective writing and powerful revelation of your knowledge, you can drive your point in the best possible way.

So understand the importance of writing a perfect essay.

What Are Important Points For Essay Writing?

• Avoid Slang Language or Colloquial Terms: Words like such as don’t, can’t, won’t etc. spoil the richness of the essay.  Unless you have to quote anyone avoid using them. Slang phrases such as “couch potato’, ‘down to earth’, ‘feeling blue’, etc., and colloquial terms such as fetch, reckon, yonder etc. are not advisable for use in academic articles. Although these may make your blog very attractive but they’re not acceptable in formal academic writing and project some sort of insincerity and callousness in your approach.

•Remove Awkward and Vague Words: To make perfect sense to your readers, you have to re-read what you’ve written and check if the ideas are getting expressed clearly. Let us illustrate with the help of a simple example. Use of awkward phrases in the form of idiomatic prepositions, will not serve the purpose of a good written material. Use of the subordinate clause with correct sentence formation and right use of synonyms is absolutely necessary to convey the meaning clearly. So choose words you use, and take essay help if you think you are going wrong somewhere.

• Avoid Repetition of Ideas: Try to avoid repetition of words or the usage of same words and phrases over and over again. That can make your essay boring. As we know that the words will revolve around the central idea of the essay they will be used twice or thrice in a single write-up. But try to avoid using use same conjunctions and prepositions as much as possible.

• Abstain From Using Redundant Words: Redundant words are added in your essay to make the words sound louder in expression. However, such words can make the terms redundant and you are unconsciously lowering the credibility of the essay. The words ‘completely’, ‘exact’, ‘really’, ‘totally’ only add unnecessarily an extra fluffiness to the word without any meaning.

• Use the Synonym in their Right Connotation: Using a synonym merely to replace the word can make the sentence sound inappropriate. Synonym should be chosen such that the sentence makes perfect sense. For this, you must understand the connotation of the word, or understanding the emotional response to it rather than the technical meaning. So when you are not sure of the connotation, use a thesaurus and select the best word to avoid making mistakes.

• Limit the use of Jargons and Wordiness: Essay should be simple and precise. Avoid excessive use of technical jargon, as they can make the essay unimpressive. Limited use of technical terms is advisable. Sure, technical jargon and big words sound attractive to you, and you feel like a smart person using them. Drive your point clearly with the use of simple and precise words. The essay will be received with more response than it would have been otherwise.

Wordiness is next to adding uselessness to an impactful word. It makes the sentences more complex to read. Use of phrases and idioms do add flavor to the language, but they are not meant to empower academic writing unless needed. Use of phrase conjunctions should be done wisely and not just to add something ‘new’ to the text.

• Avoid Excessive use of the Pronoun “I”: Using ‘I’ in the essay gives a personal touch to your essay. But, excessive use of ‘I’  is a not good thing.It can make the essay sound very rude and boastful. Adopt a more straightforward approach instead. Self-referring pronouns like ‘me’, ‘my’ and the like are better options to keep the attitude of the essay clean and self-centric. 

• Use Confident Words: Some powerful words can add strength and credibility to your essay. Using the right words in the right order at the right time is the best way. Specific verbs can achieve the same effect. So instead of using show, say or report, use of words like maintain, demonstrate, conclude, outline and note are some better options to assert your thought.

How to Choose Correct Words for Essay?

The entire process of word selection is easier with the following strategies:

•  Never use unfamiliar words in the essay.

•  Check the word which is best suitable for the sentence you are writing.

•  Don’t pick up synonyms from the thesaurus without checking their appropriateness for the context of your essay.

• Avoid repetition of words, and look for alternatives to them, but do not replace the thematic words.

All these points can help in writing effective essays and improve your writing. Do not treat your essay as a boring chore else it will show in your writing. Try to give your best to express your ideas. Keep practicing essay writing skills. Practice will make you write a perfect essay.