#we could have peace and love on planet earth and a common experience and yet you KICK miette for being bad at words!!!1!!! </3 heartbreak!!

[lightbulb-warning]

i used to freehand comics all the time as a child and since the part i liked was the drawing part i would just draw panel after panel because i didn't want to stop drawing to think about icky icky words, plus the story TOTALLY still made perfect sense! to me! and noone else, but 'whoooo caaaaares omgggg its not like comics and sequantial art are a communicative meeediummmm lmaoooooo'. i spent my entire childhood telling myself stuff like "oh pfft I know this story by heart- ill SIMPLY remember the dialogue and write it later" ...and. I can't help but admire baby maiora's (call that a minora ba tm tsk) fucking audacity? hubris? confident wrongness? kid couldn't even remember to finish the comics in the first place? INCREDIBLE levels of unearned self assurance, wish that were me, genuinely- what an icon!!! anyway i think i have forever cursed myself

[spaceskam]

prompt #4 - arranged marriage [ao3]

Isobel had known since she was a little girl that she would be marrying one of the Manes boys.

It was an agreement to keep the peace once it became clear that she was the only daughter from the Antarian King and Queen and Earth’s High General only had sons. It was all fun and games when her little brother fooled around with the Manes’ youngest boy, of course, but when it came to her, it meant marriage. Every time she said it was sexist, her mother would sigh and say that was just the way things had to be. Which sounded even more sexist.

The day came too soon, though, and she was suddenly 20 and being prepped for her wedding. She still hadn’t been told which boy she was being married off to. She figured it was the eldest, Clay Manes. 

Clay ran the Space Force and he was still unmarried, so it made the most sense. The problem was she’d met him when they were younger and he was an asshole. He was six years older than her and still felt the need to make fun of her for whatever he could think of. As much as her mother said that meant he liked her, it simply made her hate him. It also meant he saw her as a child.

The next probable was possibly the baby, Alex Manes. He was queer and didn’t do much to hide it and his father wasn’t a fan. She wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to marry him off to a woman. Honestly, if he and Michael were okay with it, she would gladly marry him and let them carry on their relationship so that Isobel could find her own person. 

Then there was Flint Manes, the second youngest who was, honestly, probably just as unwilling to marry her as she was. At 22, he’d been the only Manes boy to never have a rumored affair in any way, shape, or form. He was married to his work and seemed totally uninterested in marriage as a whole. It seemed likely that his father would marry him off just to avoid questions.

Lastly, there was Gregory Manes. He was charismatic and kind and had new girls fawning over him ever other week. He was handsome and she wouldn’t mind staring at his face, but there were a million other choices for him and it seemed much more likely that his father would try to get him to marry another wealthy, high ranking girl on Earth. 

Isobel sat in her bridal room, staring blankly at the elaborate wedding dress. Bridal attire on Antar was typically composed of golden robes, designed to wrap around the arms and the body in a way to accentuate the bride’s favorite features. Isobel had dreamed of having it with a high slit to show off her legs. However, her husband was from Earth, and she found herself with an all white, all floor-length gown. She wasn’t a fan and thought about taking a pair of scissors to it.

Someone knocked on her door.

“Enter,” Isobel said without asking who it was. She didn’t care. She didn’t really feel like anything mattered if she was marrying a military man who she didn’t love or know. Her life was simply a political statement.

“I’ve got something,” Michael’s voice said. She turned to him quickly, thankful to see him and not one of the women that was coming to fix her hair just yet. She had more time. 

“Hug?” she asked. He smiled, closing the door behind him.

“Two things, then,” Michael said. He put a box down on the table and came closer, easily pulling her into a tight hug. “Three if you count news.”

“News?” Isobel echoed, not moving from her spot holding him despite her curiosity.

“Yes,” he said, “I’ve seen the groom. Mother asked me explicitly not to tell you because she wants it to be a surprise, so I came right to tell you.” Isobel pulled back a little, waiting for him to tell her. She was far too on edge for all of this. “It’s Gregory.”

Isobel wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to take that. Her stomach still dropped, but she was sure that would be the same no matter which Manes boy it was. But... Gregory?

“How?”

“I asked Alex and he said his father didn’t decide until last night, said he thought Greg was the most likely to get a lower class girl pregnant, so it would be easier if he was married,” Michael said, making a grossed out face as he tucked her hair behind her ear, “So I guess he’s giving you the promiscuous boy.”

“Lovely,” she sighed, a pout finding her lips, “Maybe we can make an agreement and he can sleep with whoever he wants as long as it isn’t me.”

Michael laughed, “Maybe.”

“Is that a present?” Isobel asked, trying to push away her gradually more dreadful feeling. Maybe whatever he had would bring her some semblance of joy.

“Oh, right,” Michael said, pulling away from her to go to the box. He very carefully reached inside and pulled out a crown with multiple metal tendrils with handcrafted leaves on them. Her lips parted as he brought it closer. “I made it for you. I figure you could ask them to weave your hair around it to wear it today. If they must put you in a dress from their home, then I say you wear something from yours.”

“Michael, it’s beautiful,” she breathed. It was all intricate, clearly done with more effort than just his telekinesis. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course. Now you have something to give you strength to handle him.”

Michael had to leave her not long after that for her to begin to get ready. She got them to work around the crown Michael had made for her and they settled on loose waves and simple braids only to hold it to her head. They helped her into her dress and boring makeup and suddenly she was supposed to walk down the aisle.

“Spare me a moment?” she requested. The women who had helped her get ready nodded and left the room. Then she was alone.

Isobel looked at herself in the mirror and thought over what would happen if she ran away. Would they bother to look for her? If they found her, would they force her to marry him still?

Again, another knock came and she was sure it was her mother this time. She didn’t expect Max to come or Michael to come again and definitely not her father. It was going to be her mother and she was going to encourage her to go. 

Except the knocking was a little too frantic to be her mother.

“Enter,” she said, her eyebrows pulled together as she took a step towards the door. It opened quickly and then was closed just as fast. And then she was standing across from Gregory who had wild, frantic eyes. 

“Hi. I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I’m really not a big fan of the whole marriage thing that’s about to happen, so I lied and said I was getting water and then ran here,” he said. Isobel swallowed.

“Do you expect me to call off the wedding? That isn’t something I can do,” she pointed out. He shook his head.

“Yeah, no, I get that. Me neither. Look, uh,” Gregory said, pausing for a second as he looked over her, “Oh, you’re pretty in person.”

“Thank you?” Isobel said slowly. He snapped his eyes up to meet hers again. 

“Right, look. Let’s go up there, do the thing, make our parents happy, and then I move to Antar,” he decided. It didn’t ease any of her confusion. “I need to get away from my dad and I... I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask. What are your opinions on this whole marriage?”

“I’m not a... what is it, you said, a fan? I’m not one of those either,” Isobel said, crossing her arms over her chest. Gregory smiled, that little mischievous one that was the only thing all four Manes boys had in common.

“Perfect,” he said, “Then I move to Antar. That way you can be involved with the politics of your planet and I can get away from my father.”

“Why are you sure I want to be involved with the politics of my planet?”

“You don’t think I did my research on you?” he asked rhetorically, “You’re the most interested out of all of your siblings in politics and I’m not about to take that away from you. But, more importantly, I want to get away from my father.”

“And you think that’s a good idea?” she clarified.

“I want to make the most of this if I have to go through with this, don’t you? We can iron out the rest, but do you think we can make this work?”

“Do you know you’re extremely unlikable when you tell me what we’re going do?” Isobel asked, the weight of her crown reminding her who held superiority in this situation. Gregory smiled even wider.

“Well, Princess, in the future, you’re going to do all the telling, I promise you that. I’m nothing if not an obedient servant,” Gregory proclaimed. Isobel scoffed and shook her head slightly. “But, seriously, if you will just take me away from my father and let me experience freedom for once in my life, I’ll do whatever you need from me.”

“And is that a promise?”

“In holy matrimony,” he swore. Isobel scoffed again, but she agreed with a nod. He let out a relieved sigh.

“Before you leave, will you tell me something?” she said, “Are you always this jumpy?”

“Only when I’m about to marry a literal princess,” Gregory said. 

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“I’ll see you at the altar,” he said, looking her over one last time, “You really look beautiful, by the way. You may not be marrying someone you love, but it is someone who thinks you’re gorgeous. I don’t know if that helps any.”

“It doesn’t,” she admitted. He grinned and nodded which did nothing to help.

“I’ll think we’ll get along just fine.”

Gregory was gone in a flash and Isobel was starting to think that maybe Michael's gift of strength might come in handy more than he'd ever know.

[kendrixtermina]

On the great selfishness of forced “reconcilliation”or, what’s in it for me? (A Thinkpiece)

It’s very clear and easy to see what he would get out of it: A great relief to his ego, self-image and pride. A feeling of attaining his goal. He’d no longer have to explain to himself or anyone why his daughter isn’t speaking to him. He would be more comform with the image and values he wants to attain. He would have piece of mind. 

I’m even gonna be generous and grant that he would feel happy about the connection and being able to show his love, though I personally don’t buy it. 

But what do I get? 

A common retort here tends to be that I’d get “peace of mind”, and I grant that this can be true for a person who hates conflict and feels distres from disharmony, but I am really quite comfortable with some conflict. I don’t care to be friends with everyone. I get that not everyone will like me, and I’m fine with that. 

It’s actually rather arrogant for someone to inflate their own importance to the point that they think your mentsal wholeness, hapiness and peace of mind depends wholly on themselves - like all your other relationships, your job,  your hobbies and any self-improvement efforts you might be  doing don’t matter at all. It’s jarring that anyone would think claiming that would make you forgive them, especially if your initial complaint was that they are arrogant and treated you as an extension of themselves rather than a whole person. They’re claiming that they changed and in the same breath showing that they still think your life revolves around them, that they get to have the relationship by default without ever having to build it. 

And even such a person for whom forgiveness would bring piece of mind could just forgive the person in the quiet of their own heat for their own betterment without reestablishing relations. They wouldn’t be keeping to themselves because of a grudge, but simply because there is no good reason to connect. 

Do you need a reason?

Well, if you didn’t, then you would have to connect to every single person who has not given you reason to loathe them. That’s impossible. 

Consider that there are seven billion human beings on this planet. Most of them I will never meet. I couldn’t be friends with all of them even if I wanted. We all have limited time and energy. So, I have to pick some.

And to pick all the ones who just happen to be nearby seems like leaving a very important part of your life up to randomness. Your social contacts, after all, influence what values ideas you’re exposed to and what kind of support is available to you, and what experiences and energies you invite into your life.

It makes sense to first consider your family: They’re already nearby, you get to know them very well by virtue of living together, they’re biologically programmed to get attached to you, and they are likely to have things in common with you.

So if you know nothing else, it makes good sense to assume that a family member is a good candidate for a social contact. 

But there are also family members who are NOT good choices for company. I think most of us can agree to this as a principle at least for extreme cases like rape. 

So, it’s rather like this: A family member is a good candidate for social contact unless proven otherwise. 

If we were like god who can be everywhere at once and needs nothing and never gets tired, then maybe we could be friends with everyone who is not an irreedemable sinner, but I am not god. 

Any relationship costs time and energy. Yet, this can be very worthwhile, because human relationships also have great benefits.

For a relationship to be worth keeping up, the benefits have to equal or outweigh the work. 

In our christianity-influenced culture it is still considered shameful to admit that you “want” something out of a relationship, but really, all of us do - that’s why we start and maintain relationships. Not being aware of that makes us blind.

By ‘benefits’ I don’t just mean shallow things like sex, attention or status. If you are longing for deep, meaningful experiences, that’s your benefit. If you love to give and see others thrive, that’s your benefit. 

And I don’t mean that as a clever gotcha or as some cynical assertion that all relationships are inherently transactional, but as an useful mental framework to make oneself aware of the desired end result and check if one’s actions are in accordance with that.

If you want your children to trust you, you can’t judge and humiliate them when it’s convenient because that destroys the trust that keeps them listening to you & sustains the relationship. In the book “7 habits of extraordinaryly efficient people” this is called Production vs. Production Capacity or “The Goose and the Golden Egg”. 

And don’t get me wrong, nortmally, there are great benefits to keeping in touch with your parent as an adult: 

They typically have more ressources and are more advanced in their careers, so they can help you if you’re in trouble

They might be wiser, more experienced and more mature than you, so they can give you valuable advice

And lastly, you have all the benefits you’d get from any close social bond: Companionship and emotional support. They can listen to your woes, share you joy, you can tell them your thoughts, liven up your everyday life, and they can also introduce you to new ideas and viewpoints, and motivate you to go beyond your comfort zone. What’s more, being with a loved one can give you a feeling of meaning and community all on its own. Just seeing them on its own can make you feel happy, satisfied and meaningful. They don’t even need to do anything. They might be interesting and loveable and just all around enjoyable to be around and fill your heart with warm fondness.

People who have even 1 decent parent should be aware how lucky they are compared to ppl with no parents or two unforgiveable asshat parents. Every time you spend a good time with your parent, think of all the orphans, thrown-out gay kids etc. who don’t have that. Having a nice parent who supports you well into adulthood is a cause for great gratitude. 

But now let’s look at an abusive jerk parent. 

Could I get material support? No, because it comes with a proce tag of emotional distress. You will be guilt tripped even for the baby wipes that wiped your newborn butt! Super not worth it. If I wanted to pretend to like someone for money, I would just open an onlyFans, it’d be much less stressful 

Could I get valuable advice? Is he wise? No. He is a fool. All his opinions are copypasted from rightwing websites. H e was telling us to heard hydroxy last year. Is he mature? He has the maturity of a toddler My 20 year old sister is a hundred times more mature. 

Could I get emotional support? No, you have to walk on eggshells around him

Could i share my thoughts? No. he flies into a range if anyone voices any opinion that isn’t to his liking

Could we have fun together? No. He hates my lifestyle and values, and I loathe his. I think his politics are deeply immoral and he probably thinks the same about mine. We have zero interests in common. He only ever mocked my music and interests and tried to force me into sharing his so that I now associate them with bad memories. I would never be friends with such a person normally.  I would count to ten so that O don’t waste time having pointless arguments with them on youtube comments.  He says people like me are destroying Europe and that we are lazy degenerates. And this is assuming I believe that he didnt mean all the other outrageous things hes since made flimsy pretend apologies for.  

Could I relax around him? No. I’m rather efficiently pavlov trained to associate him with pain and humiliation. Speaking to him tires me alot. It would cost me much, much more effort than any other relationship, and much time I could be spending doing useful things or interacting with people that I don’t have bad blood with & that don’t trigger emotional flashbacks with their mere presence

Would I enjoy being near him? No. He has zero traits that I like, value or enjoy. I absolutely do not enjoy being near him. I might have suffered him to touch me as I child because I was told to by my mother whom I trusted, but it was always with fear. He’s also never shown much signs of being interested in me. He would always yell at me if I entered a room and cried and whined about what a burden and a punishment I was. That is, except for making me take courses so he could then brag about having a child that does this & that, ignoring my wishes completely. In effect he brushed my real instincts and personality aside to mold me into his fantasy of having a child prodigy, exerting extreme pressure, and then humiliated and abused me when I remained a perfectly ordinary, non-genius child. 

None of the normal reasons for having a social bond is present. There are only downsides for me: I have to shut up, bottle up my feelings, play nice, censure my thoughts etc. 

I could see the point of doing that for a boss who pays me money, or to get into a social group that gets me prestige and energy, or maybe to get along with the friends and family of spouse I love and enjoy. 

But what do I get here? 

I mean, I’m not a child. I get that you sometimes have to play nice to get paid or archieve a cause. But my private relationships in my private life should be pleasurable. It’s where I go to recover from the work where fakery maybe can’t be avoided.

So why, why in the name of god would I ever chose THIS person to spend time with out of all the seven billion humans on earth? Aside from murderesrs, rapists and evil politicians, he’s probably among the worst choices. 

Obviously this “reconcilliation” could only benefit him. There is no joy for me, no benefit. It’s purely letting myself be used for his ego like he has always done for the first 20 years of my life. If he was capable of providing the benefits normally associated with having a father, he would have done so already. 

Considering that the whole problem was that he used me to fill his needs instead of thinking about my needs like a parent is supposed to, it’s insuit to injury and salt in the wounds. 

And if I wanted such benefits, I would have much better odds of getting them by trying to find a mentor, tutor, life coach, therapist,  friend etc. who is an older male. 

So why would I believe that he is changed if in the next breath he makes such a profoundly, deeply selfish request? 

If anything it shows me that he still doesn’t have the capacity to consider things from my PoV and see me as an adult independent human with logic, feelings and will. 

This is not about not wanting to make the effort. No one makes an effort for effort’s sake; They do it because something worthwhile is at the other end. 

There is nothing for me to gain here, nothing at all. 

I see the point of making an effort to salvage a once good relationship that has gotten sour because of mistakes: The hope is that you can have that good relationship once again, or even a better, more evolved version of it. 

But here there was never any good to begin with, and any hypothetical good that come in the future is questionable and dubious from past experience.

If he come then and ask, “Then what is he supposed to do then?” that would just be proof of that same objectifying mindset, that he just need to throw some coins in and out pops a relationship.

You’re just going to have to live with the consequences of your actions, just as I do every day. 

Once upon a time when I was younger, I might have said “show real interest in me”, there’s people that know me that you can ask. Heck, I’ve got an internet presence. Nowadays, I do NOT want that. I’ve learned not to let him have any information or acess about me because I’ve seen time and time again that it will just be used as ammunition to clubber me. The benefit of the doubt is fucking gone. 

But I have always believed in free will & not putting people into fixed unchangeable categories like, say, “narcissist” that give themselves easily to easy juddgement and fundamental attribution & stigmatize mentally ill people. It’s much more sensible to label behavior. 

So in the name ofintellectual integrity, I’m going to try & name something that might lead me to reconsider. Not immediately agree, because that would presuppose that he’s entitled to it somehow. Just think about it. 

It’s really pretty simple: Actually change. 

When I visit my mother and don’t have to witnesses her getting yelled at, pressured and emotionally blackmailed over the phone, when my younger sisters tell me of all the great quality time theyare spending and how much he listens and cares about their feelings, when he behaves like he understands what he did, maybe then I’ll believe. 

But as of now it seems about as unlikely to me as a giant sucker on the backside of Pluto. I can’t prove 100% it isn’t there, but it seems unreasonable to live my life assuming it exists. 

99% sure isn’t the same as 100% sure, but both those things are very different from 0%. then again its a pretty common trope of far right rhetorics to act like every degree of uncertainty is the same

[jimmyflemion]

Hi everyone. The Spiritual album is here. Damaged Goods  / Sinned in Reverse. Out now! Finally. Our album that has been talked about in interviews & the works for the last 30 years. Today digitally available everywhere. Always had it in mind for this to come out as an album in album form (who knows, maybe someday?) but now that it has been finished this seemed the perfect time for its release. Over the last 9 years all the song versions were listened to meticulously, chosen, vocals & instruments added & recorded, the theme of the story & running order placed in a schematic theme, mixed, mastered & the artwork went through several renovations until today as it stands in its completed form. Whenever it seemed like it was finished & patience had given out, there was that voice saying that when the time was right it would be ready. Why are any of us here? Our spirits, our souls, the learning, the forgetting, the remembering. What is my purpose? Is it something other than what I think it is? Am I supposed to be helping in some other way? I often ask myself these questions. Music always has given me hope to figure out these things & be good with myself & my choices, helping me to make sense. I often think of my sins & sins of omission words I feel I should have said or shouldn’t have said. The life I’ve led, previous lives. Being honest with myself & others & communicating my feelings freely & openly. Reflecting how my life would have changed dramatically. Often pointing the finger & not owning up to my own part in things. We all play a part in the communion. I’ve judged so much in my life. Through my own faults perceived through my own judgement, I become more & more conscientious & conscious & not so much on autopilot. For those I’ve hurt through my own neglect, I offer my sincere apologies. To be good with yourself & your pure refection brings peace. Myself & my brother were The Frogs. We grew up together, played & wrote songs entwining a world revered & a world despised & quickly scribed them with quill, in the end giving you the listeners your own choice in choosing where your heart aligns. From seeing both sides of characters as well as taking an honest look at ourselves, there began an introspection as to who we are as humans & it made its’ way into the work. We uncovered a society of depravity we had no intention of joining. Although given somewhat of a view of the music biz here & there from a ringside seat, in fact we were never invited to the party for we posed a threat in seeing through your false idol’s bullshit. We were different, we didn’t fit in & in retrospect a very good thing to be, working in our favor. But alas however cool or punk or whatever someone might think that might feel it took on an aura of loneliness. We were outsiders, who still in a way wanted for our ego’s sake (remember this is show biz, it takes some sort of ego to continue on, year after year) to be appreciated or make some sort of a living at this game. However, looking at things now, there really was never anything we missed out on, knowing how proud he was of me & I of him & what we set out to do through our creativity. I am reminded by a beautiful princess who once upon a time told me, we are all frogs. We are God’s children that keep getting turned into frogs & under the spell of the witches. The Frogs, the band represents all the frogs of the world. The Frogs, the band are the narrator, the storyteller as in the fairytale. The Frogs have their sweet revenge by flipping, showing the people thru song their own judgements of what beauty, evil, cruelty & perception of what is truth or not. You are the judge. It’s always been up to the listener of the message what they were to receive from it to learn or unlearn. Like a lot of music itself, it’s multilayered, multidimensional, the listener gets to decide what it means. We are all frogs, right & wrong, good & bad, ugly & beautiful, loving & hateful, mean & kind. We have a choice. Thru our own experience, we can heal & help to shine our light or to stay in the darkness & continue to judge all of it or accept & return to all that is within us which is love. & somewhere within all that we must not forget what they do to frogs in school’s biology class, cutting them open, dissecting removing parts showing children that it is ok in the name of science & men who eat & destroy the lives of children. Becoming comfortable with these ideas as if it’s cool or gross, not really understanding what they are doing. That which was once life, God’s creation lie there on the table, it represents us thru the fairytales. Being manipulated, being blinded from the day of our birth that we should be okay with all this and yet that is the great big lie too. The world you, we know/knew & the people of it that revel & cling to darkness remain at that vibration until they subscribe to the light. The light is for all yet some have an allergic reaction to it due to their disposition & judgement of the collective creation. The Frogs, myself and my brother spoke the truth about everything the 3rd dimensional world holds & ascending dimensions above. Together we were not puppets, poseurs, plagiarists or frauds, follow the long lost line of money, our trail is short. Those who hijack the heart will find & attract those of like. There remains nothing to be taught or learned for the kingdom of heaven is within, pretty simple. It’s easy to innerstand, if one makes a concerted conscious effort to spread love as opposed to their fascination with fear & pornographic obsession with death, which spoiler alert walks hand in hand with life. The music we created has nothing to do with “satire”, in fact at times there is no rhyme & reason & in times needed there is rhyme & reason. A fool auditions for a song, a wise man dresses up in costume, the world’s zoo comes to life & appears & disappears in illusion or what some call magic or a critic appears on notice to define art. There is a floodgate of material & songs to peruse & at times it makes the most sense to corral them conceptually. I used to be so concerned on being comprehended correctly to my liking but matters not. If I must spell it out, see how the Phoenicians, use their created language & words in plain sight, with the word spell to cast spells. In conclusion, the words with respect to the music are laced with wisdom. There is no other way. The goal, the direction, the soul purpose being co-creating beautiful sounds, energy & vibrations with the maker. In appreciation of creation. The heart beats, the world turns, the divine nature of the soul is changeless, without wavering, it answers the call of protecting & nurturing the mutual life force. Love avoids competition as it stands in its own sovereignty. ‘Tis the very common ground we all share & vibrate to. No one else can control our destiny, that which we were put on this plane, planet earth to fulfill. There was a shared mission only Dennis & I shared. The understanding & meaning that music in the right hands transforms the soul. Caging people, labeling, putting them in boxes, thinking these monsters own you is the absolute antithesis of love. The angels provide the roadmap, speak to them, I’ve spoken in song about freedom, having loved the show “Born Free” growing up under the Leo sign. I pray someday people that are real will find like minded humans & the fake actors satisfied with their empty empathy will have a true awakening. Judge much, yes but ‘tis a lonely world full of ghosts. So on a lighter note, as we float higher, what have I learned in all these years later 9 since Dennis has passed. What I’ve always known that I am so beyond blessed & grateful to have had him as my brother, how much love, care & detail he put into every moment of his life, how much he gave & how everything was a gift, how much he cherished life & being in everyone’s presence. His heart was always in the right place. An angel. Finally this album is the final Frogs album (the spiritual album that has been promised for years) 32 tracks, (number 5) Dennis & I were both number 5’s in our life paths. “damaged GOoDS / sinneD in Reverse” Damaged Goods / Dennis in Reverse In reality this album could not have been completed without the help of our dear friend Bjorn Thorsrud (additional production, mastering & editing) Dennis always wanted to have Bjorn work on this album & when he offered to help it was a GODsend. I devoted my heart & soul into this record & when I finally completed it on the final playback, I broke into tears, my only wish was for Dennis to be proud & happy with this record as a testament to The Frogs legacy. This album is in 432 hertz, the highest energy that governs the universe, vibrates with the earth’s heartbeat, the golden ratio, divine proportion. We made music because it brought us joy & made life such a wonderful experience. The telepathic musical communication Dennis & I shared is innerstood, felt inside. With regards to words they would have you say understood, but none of us is beneath or under where any other human soul stands, we are all equal & equally divine. I love Dennis with all my heart, always have & always will. I am so happy & thank creation so much that I was able to be here on this day to fulfill Dennis & my dream for you to hear this our final Frogs album. This album is for you all the fans who drove all over the country to come to our shows, stood in line, supported us at our merch booths. We started out having fun playing music together in the garage, writing songs in our bedrooms, had absolutely no idea any & all of this would have happened, well it couldn’t have happened without you our fans, we love each & every one of you for showering us with your love all of these years. This album is dedicated to the fans. Love,         Jimmy

[donaldcapwell]

Citizenship Matters

Citizenship is a complicated matter. Did you know that there are, at the time of this writing, 249 countries, territories, or areas of geographical interest on our planet? Of the 195 recognized nations, only 2 base citizenship on ethnicity (Liberia & Mali), 33 nations unconditionally recognize WHERE you were born as a determining factor for your citizenship (birthright citizenship), 16 issue birthright citizenship ONLY IF you petition for it, 39 base citizenship on the status of your parents or length of residency, 7 that grant citizenship only after you reach a certain age, and 4 that require both parental citizenship AND age requirements be met before one can be considered a citizen (details HERE). This list is not comprehensive, and doesn't even touch on the matters of DUAL-citizenship, but I'm sure you will agree that citizenship is, indeed, a complicated matter! But it DOES matter!

This is Kyong... My beautiful bride of over 26 years, and my partner as I walk on this Earth. Kyong was born and raised in South Korea, and according to the laws of that country, individuals automatically receive citizenship at birth if at least one parent is a South Korean national, whether they are born within the Republic of Korea or overseas. Since Kyong was born in South Korea, and both her parents were South Korean, Kyong was a South Korean citizen - and that was true, until 2002.

When my wife came to the US in early 1992, she didn't speak very much English at all. The US was a completely new world for her, with new customs, language and people - that were all SO different from what she was used to "back home." Supermarkets, wide-open spaces, everyone looked and sounded so different! We married in late 1994, and around early 2000, about the time Jake, our 3rd child was born, Kyong began mentioning that she would like to get US citizenship. I was quick to tell her no, explaining that she should be proud of her heritage, and that I would NEVER give up my citizenship, regardless of where I lived!

I must mention here that I never once thought that Kyong ever came to America "to become a citizen," as is a common thought that many have about people's motivations for US citizenship. On the contrary, Kyong had a great life, career and family that she left to come here. Even so, since the first mention of becoming a citizen, Kyong would occasionally bring it up from time to time, and I would continue to say that I didn't think it was right. Finally, in around late 2001, before our fourth-and-final child was born, Kyong brought it up again, and I asked her why it mattered so much to her. Her answer caught me off guard. She said "my husband is an American, my kids are American, I should be an American, too. I don't feel like I'm fully part of you because my legal citizenship is different!"

I was floored, and I could no longer deny her. Her motivation was not to dishonor her heritage, or walk away from everything important to her, but it was to tie herself "legally" to her family, her hopes and dreams, which were no longer in the country she was born, but in a country of her choosing. In her heart, she was already an American - not because of where she lived, but because her whole world and everything she loved was here. (And by mid 2002, she became a legal US citizen).

I've been to a handful of countries on Christian missions trips, and others for work or pleasure. I very much love to travel, and to experience new lands, new peoples, and new cultures. This said, I have never once gotten of a plane in a foreign land and said "I'm now a citizen of (fill-in-the-blank country)," simply because my feet were on that soil. No, everywhere I've been, for whatever duration I was there, I always remained an American citizen. Simply visiting a country does not change your citizenship, even if you learn the language, eat the food and wear the clothing. Citizenship is a right, and only available to those that qualify for it.

In Philippians 3:20 and Ephesians 2:19 we learn that, as Christians and members of the house of God, we are "citizens of Heaven." But how do we obtain this citizenship? Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5-7, Romans 9:8, and Galatians 3:26 are but some of the verses that speak to our adoption into God's Kingdom through our faith in and obedience to His Son, Jesus Christ. So, just as the US provides "birthright citizenship," so, too, does the Kingdom of Heaven. When we are born into His family, we are citizens of Heaven, and co-heirs with Christ for all eternity! We ARE citizens of Heaven - but do we value it? Do we live FROM this place?

So if, as a Christian, I am a citizen of Heaven, but in the natural I am a US citizen, does that mean I have dual citizenship? Sadly, many of us live our life that way, but NO! 1 Peter 2:11 refers to believers as "temporary residents and foreigners" (NLT) on this planet - this is NOT our home - we are just visiting! Romans 12:2 warns us "do not conform to the patterns of this world," nevertheless we live our lives as if this is it - this is all that matters! Too many only give scant remembrances to our REAL home, and our eternal citizenship in Heaven. We go through our day-to-day lives building up for ourselves treasures in THIS world, giving very little thought, indeed, to our real home and where we will spend all of eternity.

Here's my point... we live from whatever citizenship we identify with! For my wife, although I had always identified her as "Korean," in her mind she was American - and had been for a very, very long time! She did not consider the food she ate, or language she spoke, or location on the planet as the reason for her citizenship, but her citizenship was where her heart was! She was an American because her husband was American, and her kids were American. If we had, as a family, picked up and moved to Spain, or China, or the Philippines, my wife would STILL have been American.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

If we believe in Jesus Christ, and He is our Lord, then we are NEW creations. The old has passed away! We are no longer citizens of whatever country we reside in or have naturalization, but are citizens of Heaven, and whatever we lived for before is now changed... we have a NEW purpose - one of reconciliation. We are simply ambassadors here on Earth. An ambassador is a representative of one country, living in another. Although he/she may likely speak the host countries language and practice the culture, he represents and carries the full weight and authority of the country he/she comes from! He is IN a country, but lives his life FROM another one all together!

Are you a citizen of Heaven? Then live that way! Just as my wife's heart was drawn to be with her family, so ours must be drawn to be with our Father in Heaven! We have not been called home to Heaven, yet, but we should live FROM Heaven, should we not? And, when we do so, we have access to all of the provision and authority from our home, which is the Kingdom of God. Our time on Earth is but a breath, and our life on Earth is a vapor - yet we live as if we'll be here forever. Are you friends with the world, or does it hate you? John 15:19 says "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (Does the world hate you, or are you trying to curry favor with it?)

Citizenship matters - and we have been born into a Kingdom, and adopted as sons and daughters as Kings and Priests. We can no longer live as if our Earthly citizenship is of any value - and we must invite as many people to live in our Kingdom as we possibly can! There is power in our citizenship! There is authority in our citizenship! There is peace and rest in our citizenship! Why would we want to live and be from anywhere else?

Although there is still much to say on this topic, I leave you with this quote from Paul , in Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Blessings! Cap

[minnesotadruids]

What are the basic values of a druid? Trying to understand what exactly druidry is.

Druidry has no universally defined set of values, which makes it tricky to pin down. In terms of basic values, I can start with what druids might have in common.

Reverence for Nature: I find it hard to believe that there could ever be a druid who does not have some degree of appreciation for the natural world. This could range from a deep respect to all-out worship, depending on the individual. Many druids seek to establish a connection with the Earth and with Nature. We’re not here to conquer it, but to acknowledge that we are part of it. The Earth is a deity that we can prove exists.

Subcategory - Trees: I often meet up with people who have an interest in druidry around the Minneapolis area, and one thing that almost all of us mention is a love of trees that (at least in part) drew us in. After all, even the ancient Romans observed that the druids had something to do with trees and were the knowers of the oak.

Subcategory - Environmentalism: Stewardship, using our natural resources wisely, seeking balance, and taking care of our only home planet are important to modern druids. The Industrial Revolution in part led to the increase in popularity of the Druidry Revival Movement. Many druids promoted getting back to nature in a world where mills, factories, and machines began to dominate the landscape and take its toll. With deforestation, mining, and waste, we also have a concern for the animals that we should be sharing the world with.

Peace: According to Roman historian Strabo in his writing Geographica, the ancient druids “…prevented armies from engaging when drawn up in battle array against each other.” In the Druidry Revival Movement, many members were liberal Christians and Unitarians. The English Civil War and the Jacobite Rebellions, carrying overtones of religious superiority (Protestant vs Catholic) were ongoing or still fresh in the memory of the people. Many of these Revival Druids wanted a more peaceful existence and spirituality. Naturally, they liked the notion that the ancient druids had the power to halt warfare. Pacifism stuck around as a popular druid value in just about every modern druid order.

Balance: Many druids strive to practice mindfulness and moderation, while understanding that nature is about giving and taking. Even as there is day, so must there be night. There are many druids who embrace the dark and the light equally, while other druids see that the world is already saturated in darkness and try to balance that out, and that takes its toll on us. That brings us to the importance of self care. When we have too much of one thing that wears away at the heart, we need to give some balance to our own lives on a personal level.

Creativity: Many druids have some form of creative expression. The bardic arts aren’t limited to just poetry and song. We are also artisans, hobbyists, and craftspeople. We create sacred artwork, ritual tools, jewelry, supplies, and more. We may be in varying states of skill, but hey, everyone starts somewhere.

This is where I go out on a limb (oh the pun!) and cover additional values that I would hope most (if not all) druids have.

If there’s any single modern druidic writing that encompasses values, it’s the Druid’s Prayer, originally written by the bard Iolo Morganwg and has since been adapted into numerous versions. OBOD has an excellent page on the Druid’s Prayer [here] with their choice of verse. The next eight values below are right out of the prayer.

Protection: Okay, so who doesn’t want to be safe? Protection is universally important, particularly for people with fringe beliefs and practices. This is not limited to only physical protection; it can certainly also mean magical and spiritual protection as well.

Strength: I’m willing to bet this is primarily in the sense of nonphysical strength. This can mean emotional strength, courage, integrity, dedication, perseverance, and more. And yes, there are probably some body-builder druids who mean strength literally.

Knowledge: The ancient druids would take up to 19 years (vaguely like achieving a Master’s Degree today) to commit everything to memory. That included history, lore, law, medicine, astronomy/astrology, magic, theology, philosophy, logic, sacred geometry, and others. Of course with modern literacy, we can learn things much faster with the written word. That doesn’t mean we’re committing it all to memory, but we have the added ability to conduct research in the modern era and access knowledge almost instantaneously. We have a thirst for learning, which fosters a path to Awareness. Many of us are also on a quest for truth and discerning correct knowledge from the incorrect. There is a lot of misleading information out there and we feel it is important to get it right.

Understanding: I personally interpret this as wisdom. Wisdom is applied knowledge, which first requires us to understand what we know on a deeper level. Wisdom is often achieved through experiences. For many, druidry is an experiential lifestyle, not just merely a nature-based spirituality.

Justice: The ancient druids served many purposes, and some were looked up to as judges and interpreters of the law. Unfortunately we can’t all be judges, but perhaps not all ancient druids were judges anyway. Through logic and reason we can think and act justly. Living beings are deserving of fairness and a balance of equality.

Love: Concern and compassion for our fellow beings comes to us through the most powerful emotion. Sure, Nature can be cold and emotionless, yet druids still feel a driving force to gaze out at her beauty in love, wonder, and awe. (Regarding wonder and awe for Earth, see also [this video] on the Overview Effect.) For many, love is just part of the deal.

Divinity: Not all druids believe in a higher power, but many do. Some druids are hard polytheists, believing in many deities. Some druids are soft polytheists, believing that the gods are aspects of one divine source. Some druids are pantheists, believing that everything is divine, and deity is everything. Some druids are panentheists, believing everything is divine, yet deity is also a separate being. Some druids are monotheists and liberal Christians. Some druids are spiritual but not religious. Many druids, in addition to some of the above categories, are animists, believing that everything has its own spirit, even rocks and plants. Because of the flexibility in this category, it really doesn’t make a difference how you perceive divinity to be a druid. Write that down.

Goodness: Above I mentioned balance. To avoid contradictions, I should mention that balance is good in most situations. We certainly don’t need Evil to balance out Good. We don’t want half the world population to be racists, for example… zero racists is a good balance. Humility is also important. Druidry is not about egoism, nor power struggles, nor conceitedness. 

Community: The ancient druids were the spiritual leaders of their communities. Strabo mentions in Geographica  that the Gaulish Celts “…would not sacrifice without the presence of the Druids.” (Side note: most modern druid orders condemn animal or human sacrifice, but I digress.) We advance faster when we work together, such as in study groups, organizing events, or completing projects.

Leadership: Whether we are leaders of our communities, of our Groves, or how we lead our lives by example, leadership is important. There are many solo druids out there, and that’s perfectly fine. Solo druids are their own clergy, and leaders of their own spirit. Many solo druids feel they can get more accomplished if they follow their own guidance at their own pace.

There are certainly many more values that druids have that might not be listed here, but this is a good start. I am grateful with special thanks to my friends in Northern Roots Grove & Druid Order of North America (DONA) who helped ensure that I have a well-rounded list.

[starryeyedastro]

Forecast ~ Week of August 30th 2020

🚀 This is a general forecast of the current planetary transits. To see how they will affect you personally, check your natal chart to see which houses (areas of your life) they fall in, or if they’re aspecting your angles or natal planets.

What’s going on?

August 30th - Mercury Opposite Neptune, Venus Opposite Pluto

September 1st - Full Moon in Pisces, Mercury Trine Pluto, Sun Trine Uranus

September 2nd - Venus Opposite Saturn, Mercury Trine Saturn

September 4th - Venus Square Mars

September 5th - Mercury into Libra

⚗️ August 30th - Mercury Opposite Neptune Rx (19 degrees Virgo and Pisces)

This transit will only last for a few days, but it’s effects can be long lasting. Confusion caused by miscommunications or deceit are more likely. Watch out for news that you hear around this time -- do not take it at face value. Use Mercury Virgo’s analytical skills and fact check. Seek out different sources before believing what you see or hear. People who seek to manipulate can lead us astray easier under this influence.

With Neptune retrograde in Pisces (it’s sign of ruler ship) this can cause internalized beliefs based on false information -- beliefs about yourself that aren’t true. Again, use Virgo Mercury’s logical rational thought process to counteract this. 

You may need to examine your own beliefs. Are they true? Take a step back and look at it from an objective, outside point of view, and work on fixing it. You can also learn more about yourself right now but you’ll need to spend time alone for introspection.

It might not be the best time to rely on your intuition, but it IS good for creative expression, especially through words -- writing, speaking, singing or dancing. Let your imagination take you away, read your favorite poetry or watch a fantasy/sci-fi movie.

🗡️ August 30th - Venus Opposite Pluto Rx (22 degrees Cancer and Capricorn)

This transit will last until September 3rd, exact today. This can manifest as a power struggle in a partnership or relationship. One person could be trying to exert too much influence or manipulate another. Obsessive feelings or an unhealthy need to control can be more likely. 

With Pluto Rx in Capricorn, this can stem from a need to assert authority over another, coupled with emotional manipulation (Venus in Cancer). Anyone with a deep seated feeling of being powerless can (Pluto Rx) can unintentionally (or intentionally) cause problems in their relationships.

You might be more attracted to potentially dangerous situations, things, or people. Consider the risks and repercussions, stay safe and protect yourself. There are many ways to explore the darker sides of life without putting yourself or others in danger.

This can create a powerful subconscious need for more -- more money, power, sex, excitement, personal freedom, etc. And you might come up with ways to get these things, no matter what. Watch out for resorting to being sneaky, but if you seek to even the odds for yourself and break free from others who abuse or manipulate you, you can harness this subtle yet intense energy.

🦈 September 1st - Full Moon at 25 degrees Pisces

Charge up your amethyst crystals or labradorite under this full moon for maximum intuitive power. The Mercury Neptune opposition we just experienced might have helped you bring some self-limited beliefs to the surface, and now is the perfect time to release them!

This full moon is supported by an exact sextile to Uranus in Taurus, where it can shed light on a shift in consciousness, new radical beliefs, or a change in spiritual paradigms. An opportunity to turn your dreams into something useful and tangible. Pay attention to your ‘out of the blue’ ideas.

Your intuition is also fully back on track and supported under the Pisces full moon, so divination, channeling, rituals, magical workings of all kinds will have extra clarity and power. 

On the 2nd, the moon will be conjunct Neptune and sextile Pluto and Jupiter. These powerful planets will be working together for positive results, so focus your intent on whatever you want to transform or expand in your life. Work on emanating the same energy as what you want to attract. 

🙊 September 1st - Mercury Trine Pluto Rx (22 degrees Virgo and Capricorn)

“The devil is in the details, but so is salvation.” - Hyman G. Rickover

A fantastic time to study and research anything, especially things having to do with work, education, health and self-improvement. With Pluto Rx’s internalizing effect, you’ll have an easier time absorbing information and remembering it. 

You can also find it easier to ferret out the facts of even the most elusive subjects. You might be disturbed by what you find, but the truth is worth uncovering so we can make realistic and concrete improvements.

Use your mind, your intuition and your power of persuasion to enact positive changes in your life. You can be a positive transformative force in the lives of others if you stay practical yet optimistic. This being an earthy trine, we can easily overlook the other elemental influences, particularly air and fire (we’re under heavy earth and water influences right now). 

🔮 September 1st - Sun Trine Uranus Rx (10 degrees Virgo and Taurus)

Express your uniqueness, even the things you might feel embarrassed about, with confidence. Own them as a part of yourself. Smile defiantly in the faces of those who look down on you. Accept the differences you have with other people, and you’ll find it easier to fully accept yourself. 

You can also learn a lot about yourself during this transit, as well as subjects that aren’t quite mainstream or orthodox. Your intuition will be on point, and you can get sudden flashes of clarity about your place in the universe and what you’re here to accomplish. Ground yourself so you can feel more comfortable relying on your hunches.

Change something about your daily life, or how you see yourself. Seek new experiences or modes of thought. Explore a new aspect about yourself (Uranus Rx is more introspective). Define yourself as ultimately undefinable. Find ways to venture past your inner comfort zone.

😞 September 2nd - Venus Opposite Saturn Rx (25 degrees Cancer and Capricorn)

We can face delays or limitations around relationships, money and anything we value. You might run into setbacks with your relationship or romantic interest, lose your job, or receive some other bad news about money or material goods. 

Work and school can get in the way of love, pleasure and feelings of security. Loss of property due to lack of money can be a possibility. Don’t dwell on these things too long, just take it for what it is and seek new opportunities, set new goals.

Because Saturn is Rx, these feelings of insecurity, limitation and loss are more likely caused by internalized feelings. You could be holding on to self-limiting beliefs about being worthy of love and abundance. Getting to the bottom of this will involve introspection and being brutally honest with yourself. 

To help with this transit, let go of shame, guilt or blaming yourself or others, and commit to loving yourself unconditionally. Confronting the things you don’t value in yourself and working on healing these things will reflect on your relationships with others. 

⚙️ September 2nd - Mercury Trine Saturn Rx (25 degrees Virgo and Capricorn)

Today and the next three days are good for serious mental work -- paying bills, studying, taking care of important tasks and paperwork, as well as negotiating and business deals (you should still seek legal council for these things).

We’re more likely to be able to concentrate on practical, mundane things because they seem less boring right now. Anything that needs a lot of attention to detail will do well.

Any projects you start now will be sustainable and have long lasting positive results, as long as you put in the necessary work, research and proper planning. Be sure to use common sense and concentrate on practical results and real world evidence.

This is also a good time to seek advice from elders and professionals. If you are a professional or an elder, right now would be a great time to lend your advice as a mentor. Either way, you can build your authority and gain more respect from others.

🌋 September 4th - Venus Square Mars (28 degrees Cancer and Aries)

This transit is exact today and will exert influence for the next few days. The tension has been building in sexual relationships, and its effect will depend on the emotional health of the relationship.

If your relationship has been rocky, cheating or sexual/emotional manipulation can happen. If the relationship is healthy, you can have a lot of exciting sexual experiences. If things get really heated, it might be better to wait until this urgent, primal energy has passed before you try to work things out.

Be aware of your sexual health and practice safe sex. This is a ‘hard’ aspect, so it has the potential to cause related issues. A seemingly harmless roll in the hay could lead to an unwanted pregnancy, an STI or disputes with others. 

Avoid lashing out, getting frustrated or overly emotional -- we can be more likely to go off from anger or hurt feelings. Instead, find healthy ways that will let you burn off pent up energy, or express your emotions. 

✌️ September 5th - Mercury into Libra

Libra’s Mercurial influence is peace-seeking, so we might be more likely to find compromises. Work on your active listening skills to help others feel heard. You might be able to express yourself more truthfully, in a way that can help others understand how you feel without coming off as accusatory or combative.

A great time to make new friends, as long as Mercury is well-aspected. Work on your charm and powers of persuasion. If you’re not very socially graceful, you can use this influence to work on changing that.

Libra is the sign of the mediator. We might feel more inclined to find the middle ground wherever possible wherever there is an argument, especially ones that we recognize as a stalemate. Sticking up for the underdog or recognizing where justice needs to be served are also more likely.

Collaborations and projects where you have to work closely with another person can flow more smoothly, as long as both people hold up their end of the bargain. Also a good time to patch up any relationships that recently went through a rough patch with the Mars/Venus square.

Later this month, Mercury will oppose Mars and squares Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn. This will bring out the darker side of Mercury in Libra, the self-righteous vindictive side that starts arguments.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back next week with more. If you like my forecasts, feel free to send me a ko-fi donation. Any and all support, moral or monetary is appreciated. 🖤

[fyrapartnersearch]

Sci-fi shenanigans!

Hello ladies, gents and fellow rpers. After having a writing blast and seeing how I’ve got room for some more partners I’ve decided to come back in search of some partners who are interested in what I’m looking for.I’ve got a good ten or so odd years of rping experience under my belt but any potential partners do not necessarily have to have the same experience, they simply need to fit under these three things: -third person only with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. - at least one small (no less than seven lines) paragraph per post as well as being willing to write more if the situation calls for it. Please do not contact me intending to give me only small paragraphs with each response as the above is simply the bare minimum I’ll accept if there’s not much going on in the rp that warrants a full paragraph. -no one liners, one worders, script talk, poorly written sentences or just laziness in general. This isn’t terribly much to ask for as picky as it sounds. An important thing I shall mention is that NSFW (i don’t fade to black nor do I care when the smut happens. Just please don’t leave me once the smut has happened like lots of people seem to unfortunately do) and dark themes are a thing that occur in all my rp’s so I require you to at least be eighteen before you reach out to me. I will not accept anyone younger than 18 since I myself am in my early twenties. Underaged characters are also a no go as well. Please know that I’m in the eastern Australian time zone but almost any time zone Is compatible for me as I am awake at very odd hours. Another important thing I shall add is that you must be able to post at least once or more a day and if I don’t get any response after two weeks then I shall simply move on (only exception is if you notify me beforehand as to why you may not be able to post for a while. I’m not that vicious). I only rp as male characters, as it’s simply my preference, but I will do either MxM or MxF pairings. I will not double and I do not play multiple characters. I don’t do sub/dom dynamics when it comes to any aspect of the relationship. My characters are also non human (they’re aliens since this is a sci-fi rp after all) but what species your character is doesn’t matter to me at all as long as it’s not some god modded Mary Sue. Please remember that alien simply means a creature not from earth. Aliens can have fur, scales, feathers, etc, depending on where they come from. An alien with fur or scalies is not a furry or a scalie and please do not refer to them as such as it’s rude to label someone’s character as something they’re not. I will not write with someone who will insist that the theory of chimpanzees and humans unable to crossbreed should apply to hybrid characters regardless of whether they’re alien/alien or human/alien. This is fiction, not reality. Please also do not control my characters or dictate their actions. My characters are also premade and only have descriptions, I don’t do face claims or pics. I also do not care if you make a character up on the spot. Please remember that this is a sci-fi rp and that I will not accept requests to do fandoms or any genre that doesn’t fit within the category of sci-fi.i will not accept a character that has no place in a sci-fi rp either like a dragon,harpy,demon, elf or some other fantasy creature. I do have a few ideas and I’ve listed them down below: Space criminals and the law: *humans and aliens have been living amongst each other side by side ever since humanity dared to venture beyond the Milky Way and made first contact with aliens. With the solar system no longer being man’s only playground other planets were quickly colonised under the new alliance between extraterrestrials and Homo sapiens. Whether you were an alien, human or a hybrid did not matter in the known galaxies. All that mattered was who you were. Not everyone took to the integration very well (there were numerous protests on both sides) but most people were willing to share in the hopes of peace. Not everyone had good intentions though……* Trouble in the alien kingdom: *the planet of (insert generic planet name here) was one of prosperity, hardship and wealth. The kingdom of (insert generic kingdom name here) was ruled by a king and a queen whose heir was betrothed to a rival planet in the hopes that a political marriage would prevent another war from happening. Only problem was that no one could see the rival planets true plans….all but one. Unfortunately no ones going to listen to a deranged commoner who probably may not even be telling the truth. What’s one to do when no one will listen?* Exile: *The wind howled as thunder crashed and shrieked all around the abandoned cargo ship. Rain pelted the metal hull, turning the ground into a cold, treacherously slippery and muddy shallow river. The ship itself had crashed into the planet countless centuries ago and was slowly being reclaimed by the environment. Plants grew from cracks in the floor as moss and vines decorated the walls. A figure sat miserably hunched in what was once the cockpit of the ship, their only shelter from the raging elements outside but not from the storm that raged inside of them. The figure leapt to their feet as the sounds of footsteps in the mud drew closer and they held their breath. Who would dare to venture out here on such a miserable night?* War of the worlds: *humans and aliens were never meant to coexist peacefully with one another. There was too much fear, Too much misinformation and too much bias on both sides for such a thing to have ever been successful. It was the humans fault that the war had started. They were the ones who’d shot down the alien ship that had been packed with specially chosen diplomats that represented each alien race known to the galaxies they dwelled in that had been on their way to earth to negotiate a truce and a plan for peace. They hadn’t even hesitated to shoot the ship full of aliens yet they’d been surprised when war had been declared on the spot. Two races. Two worlds so different yet the same fighting one another for what was either a mistake or intentional murder.* Rehab: *The UGWP alliance (unite the galaxies for the protection of all worlds and for peace alliance) portrayed themselves as calm, charismatic and kind men and women who held only the thoughts of a life together with all species living happily together. They advertised campaigns for inter species jobs, provided information to the public about human/alien interactions and encouraged diversity amongst planets. Their rehabilitation program for troublesome fellows was considered to be a god send to try and cut down on the amount of space related crimes. No one ever questioned what went on beyond the closed doors to the facility, if they did, the UGWP would have their darkest secrets revealed. Something they strove to keep under wraps. When the arrival of a particularly wild prisoner occurs, the threat of their first failure and first escaped prisoner is lurking around the corner.* (Important point of notice: in this rp idea I’d be playing said prisoner, I don’t mind if you choose to be one as well.) Academy days: *the galaxy alliance and military defence force academy was one of the most respected training academies in the known galaxies. Men, women, aliens, humans and all of those who were in between went there to study, train and, one day if they passed the mentally, emotionally and physically gruelling years of tests, fly and be put in their own squadron. There were approximately six spots to fill on any team and the cadet who suited that spot the most would be given the title of pilot, squad leader, second in command, engineer, gunner and navigator. Each team was similar but unique in what they did. Not everyone gets along though and rivalries grow high during that delicate time between graduating and being put on a team. What happens when the top student and the lonesome outcast with a temper clashes?* Captured: *Space criminals have been around ever since advanced technology allowed others to travel and live in space as if they were living anywhere else. They’re often cunning, tricky to catch and more often than not are clever at disguising themselves whenever those wanted posters come up. It takes skill to be on the wrong side of space law and true talent to get away with it. The galaxy's current most wanted man has finally been captured by an alliance captain and his crew. Will he beg for mercy? Will he be given a trial before being thrown into a cell to rot or will he be given a chance to turn himself around with some hard labour?* (Important point of notice: I’ll be playing the criminal for this one. You will be the alliance captain) Enslaved: *imagine living the life of one of the most successful people on the run that could exist. Galaxies trembled at your name. You and your crew swam in wealth and the going was good. Mutiny, sadly and sometimes not sadly, exists on its own accord. One man reflected on this as he was forced to his feet. A collar attached to a chain and electromagnetic handcuffs prevented his escape as he stood for all those who cared to glance as they walked by in the market to see. No one wants to have their only life’s purpose to be to serve another......only sometimes people don’t get that choice.* (Important point of notice: I’ll be playing the slave/servant. You’ll be the master/mistress.) Sooooo..... about those pairings. What is in Bold is what I’m going to play if we choose the scenario: 1: enemies to lovers or rivals. 2: **captured criminal** x prison guard or other prisoner. 3: two soldiers from seperate sides falling in love. 4: **academies bad boy** x top student 5: **low ranking ship crew member/second in command/captured space criminal** x captain. 6: **commoner/rogue/street rat** x prince/princess. 7: **slave/servant** x master/mistress. 8: army superior x **lower ranking soldier**. PLEASE DO NOT APPROACH ME IF: 1: YOU GHOST AT THE DROP OF A HAT. 2: YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO PUT EFFORT IN TO MEET MY REQUIREMENTS. I’m open to discussing and potentially mixing these ideas up till we get something that we both like. If you want to learn more about a certain idea tell me the name and I shall expand on it. The only platforms I rp on are discord,telegram,email and google hangouts. I will not rp on any other platform other than the ones listed. If you do not have any of those then unfortunately we cannot rp. When you reach out to me requesting for an rp please In the opening message tell me what idea you liked, why you liked it, give me a little introduction about you and you must put 123 somewhere in your message so that I know you’ve read all of my post, don’t just put “hi wanna rp”. Make it interesting. I look forwards to meeting potential partners. My contacts Discord: tiberionsunsconqourer#6187 Telegram: Tiberionwars Email and hangouts: lleo52560@gmail.com

[capricornus-rex]

Refuge in Sorgan (2)

Cal Kestis x Reader

Him loving to hear you talk. He could listen to your voice for hours. [source]

Summary: Still on the run after bumping into some of Greez’s old friends, you charted a course to a remote planet in order to seek refuge and replenish some supplies.

Previous: Part 1 | Next: Part 3

2 of ? | Masterlist

The canoe came to a slow halt, you stopped at the end of the pool—not far from where you sat, you can see the light at the end of the path, and the faint chatter of the villagers was within earshot.

“You can step out now,” he said.

The two of you hopped out of the canoe and waited for the tandem to lead the way ahead. The man was the last to leave the boat, he tethers his humble vessel to a post pegged to the earth at the shore of the pool.

“So, what brings you to Sorgan?” the man initiated.

“Refuge,” you answered honestly.

“I hope the trouble didn’t follow you all the way here,” he teased.

You managed a small smile, sensing his trust in you, “I hope not.”

He and his boy lead you to the village itself. It was nearly the way you remembered it six years ago. The villagers were busying themselves with catching krill and transferring them to crates. You passed by one of the ponds and saw bright blue dots underwater. The man approached another man whose stature stood tall and strong despite his long, graying hair adorned in braids.

“Father,” you overheard. “These strangers met us by the marsh.”

He stepped to the side to show you and Cal before the leader. Your expression remains blank yet calm, the leader was familiar indeed—you seemed confident that this old man was Rodik, the same leader you met with your master all those years ago.

“The girl said they’re both Jedi. She also claims that you once knew her master, Aila Elris.”

The old man’s expression deepened, his gaze went over the boatman’s shoulder and stepped past him. He approaches the two of you. This old man must have seen better days. The passage of time, his wisdom and experiences were etched on the wrinkles of his face, yet the look in his eyes had a kind gaze.

Examining you from head to toe, then he fixates his eyes into yours—as if peering through your soul.

“Ah, I see now,” he softly muttered. “[y/n], dear child, look how much you’ve grown!”

He takes you by the shoulders, gave you a light shake and then bursts into laughter. You greeted him with a hug. Rodik announced that you and Cal are visitors and old friends. He invites you into his cottage. He gestures at the chairs as he seated himself.

“So, who is this strong young man you have brought with you, child?”

“Cal Kestis,” he introduces himself.

“Husband, I take it?”

Cal chuckled, “No… not yet.”

You angled your head to Cal, he looks back at you and winked at you.

Rodik smiled and chuckled along. He shook his finger at Cal while he shot a teasing look at you, “I like this boy!”

You lightly dismissed the teasing, explained the whole situation—highlighting the joint bounty that you and Cal have—and your dwindling supplies for the ship and for the crew such as food. Your awareness that the village has little to no technology was in your addendum. You hoped that Rodik or his men would provide intel on where you could pick up some spare parts in case of emergencies.

“You may stay here as long as you like until you have what you need for your travels,” Rodik reassured.

“Thank you, Rodik,” you smiled and gave a slight bow as a sign of thanks and respect.

“The only place you’re getting supplies for your ship is the shop right beside the cantina—another of those places where they hold those wrestling matches,” Rodik grumbled.

“By any chance, Rodik, could you spare us some food supplies?”

“I will have my servants check our main inventory,”

His attention went to the open window of his cottage where he had a full view of the sun. The sky was gradually turning into a deep indigo shade as the sun sets.

“Ah, it’s getting late. It’s dangerous to travel into the woods at night, will your crew be alright?”

“They have the ship to take shelter in. They know how to fight,” Cal answered.

“In that case, I insist that you stay here until morning, for your safety,”

He commanded one of his wardens to prepare a common house for the two of you. The same servant escorted the two of you to the house, it was across Rodik’s own cottage, and left you to your privacy to have yourselves settled. Cal reported everything that transpired just now to Cere, he also added that he will send the map with a waypoint to the village from BD-1’s memory to the ship.

“Have you made yourselves comfortable?” the same man who brought you to Rodik appeared at the open doorway.

“Yes very much, please send Rodik our thanks,”

“I hope my father didn’t overdo his welcome,”

“So you are his son?”

He confirmed and then introduces himself as Torin. Then the young boy comes running up to him.

“Papa, could you help us out with loading the crates?”

“Sure, I’ll be right there,” before the boy could leave, Torin puts his arm around him and introduces him on his behalf. “And you’ve met my son, Ezmer.”

“H-Hello,” he shyly said, somewhat embarrassed of his attitude earlier.

“Hello there,” you greeted with a friendly smile. “My name is [y/n], and this is my boyfriend, Cal,”

“Hi there,” Cal greeted back.

“It’s a pleasure for both of us. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some work to do. Oh, I hope you could join us tonight for supper. We’re having a bonfire tonight to celebrate this month’s good harvest, I suppose you came at the right time!”

Without waiting for a response, Torin and his son Ezmer left you and Cal alone in the cottage. Checking out the rest of the house, you sat on the bed and eventually threw yourself down flat on your back. Cal sat by your side, leaning back and propping himself up on his elbows.

“Well, at least we got a breather,” Cal blurted and you groaned in agreement.

He tossed to the side, his one arm on your other side while fondly staring at you; you bring your hand to his face, brushing your finger across his cheek. He leans forward to plant a kiss on your forehead.

“I kind of missed this place—peaceful, quiet, simple,” you muttered while blindly fiddling with the loose locks of his hair with your eyes closed.

“Reminds you of home?”

“Yeah…”

The cottage also had a good view of the sunset, the bed was positioned next to the window so you propped your arms on the sill, rested your chin on them as you watched the sky change colors. Cal remained next to you, watching the sunset with you while holding you by the waist. The laughter of the children playing outside and the chatter of the village women while they catch krill washed you over with a certain calm. A breath of fresh air relaxed your muscles and it somehow made you forget your worry about the bounty on your head.

[edificationcoach]

A high-frequency E.T message regarding The Presidential Elections🌈❤💜💙💚🧡🧘‍♂️⭐🌌🕯🦄😇

I hope you are hanging in there and doing alright at this time of the elections. There is a lot going on…The energy is crazy not in a good way and I hope that you are not caught with it. When you are an empath,you pick up on the stream of negativity as the energy holds the fear, anger, frustration and hate of people who put their attention on the outside believing in whatever they are believing ignoring what’s going on, on the inside. When are we as people of this planet going to unlearn what we were taught?

When are we going to step back take complete responsibility and dive to the inside?

Aren’t you tired enough of the games played in front of you and behind?

When are you going to begin your search for yourself?

When are you going to take responsibility for yourself?

Why do you think your salvation is on the outside?

I want you to ponder these questions!

Otherwise, how do you think a president going to save you? He may though until some point but a major part is actually your contribution of thoughts, feelings, and emotions! I mean your energy in essence contributes to many events on this planet and yet you still think you are nothing..and that your energy…the cluster of thoughts and actions doesn’t affect matter and or reality. You keep contradicting yourself.

From the date of this post November 3rd, 2020 you recognize it’s the elections day in the U.S between Trump and Biden but it doesn’t matter. This post is for future references, for any future elections and especially if you are desperate and hopefully ready to open up and hear a different way to looking at things at this world.

I’m going to share with you an E.T message by an Arcturain race and precisely by “The 9d Arcturian Council” channeled by Daniel Scranton and it goes like this:

“Greetings. We are the Arcturian Council. We are pleased to connect with all of you.

We are very interested in what humanity is interested in there on Earth, and right now there is a lot of attention being given to the elections in the United States of America. There is quite a bit of attention being given to the presidential election, and as many of you know, the tension that exists there in the United States has a lot of people on edge. People are not certain about what will happen, and they are afraid. A lot of that fear has been generated by those who like having humankind nice and afraid, nice and divided, and that’s why you all need to try to see how someone you love could support a candidate that you detest.

You have to give each other the benefit of the doubt right now and not give in to the divisiveness. You all have an opportunity here to take back your power and to recognize that all the change that you want to see in the world has to begin with you. No one politician is going to save humanity or any portion of humanity, because you all need to raise the level of your consciousness, which most people are not doing at this time. In fact, a lot of people are digging in their heels and getting ready for a fight.

We suggest you send love to whichever candidate you hope loses, and we also suggest that you send love to the ones who support that candidate. We especially suggest that you make peace with the fact that you undoubtedly have family members who support that candidate, and realize that you have a lot more in common with everyone there on Earth than you have reasons to demonize them.

It is time to look past the fighting and the name-calling and look within for unconditional love, forgiveness, and compassion. We know that we have been saying this for quite some time, but it bears repeating on a day when so many will be anxious, angry, afraid, and saddened by what’s happening with the elections in a country that has so much potential. The United States can be filled with so much light and love, so much promise and hope.

The citizens, and even the non-citizens, of the United States can do so much to help each other and help the rest of the world, regardless of who wins. And you have to remember that. You cannot let what is happening on that very big stage affect your ability to reach within yourself and feel empowered. You get to create your experience of your world, your country, other countries, and political leaders.

And we also want you all to take care of yourselves, because if you are receiving this transmission, you are sensitive and empathic, and you are going to pick up on all of the negative energy. So please do put yourself and your vibration first, and as we said, send love, and don’t get swept up in fear and hate. This is an opportunity for you all to make those big changes and take those giant leaps that we have been telling you about. But it has to start with you and your faith in yourselves, especially when you are united, which you will always have the opportunity to be.

We are the Arcturian Council, and we have enjoyed connecting with you.”

I hope this post was helpful. I look forward to reading your comments.

Love & Gratitude

The post A high-frequency E.T message regarding The Presidential Elections🌈❤💜💙💚🧡🧘‍♂️⭐🌌🕯🦄😇 appeared first on EdificationCoach.

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[smolstrawberrychara]

October Klance Prompts - 28/10 - Alien

I saw alien and immediately thought: Galra Keith. So it’s a Galra Keith fic! And longer than all my other 3 combined  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Summary: Lance aims to make this next mission a romantic one as he and Keith land on a new planet. But when rumours start spreading of monsters appearing at night, Lance notices Keith acting strangely and the planet becomes a little more spooky. (Hurt, comfort and love ♥)

Also on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21071726/chapters/50576729

The sun was setting by the time Lance and Keith landed planet side. The descent had gone smoothly, no laser fire or homing missiles or field of thorns to land in. Lance was feeling pretty good. But maybe that was more to do with the fact that this was a two-person mission - a couples-mission if you would - with Lance’s one and only crush.

It had been a few months now that he’d noticed his feet turned to springs every time he walked around Keith. There was a little wriggle in his stomach every time someone mentioned him. And time always seemed too short when they talked. It was rosy - Lance knew that - but it was bubbling like wine.

The two were getting closer. The wriggles in Lance’s belly more like barrel rolls. And one long night at the Byzantee’s liberation ball, they were an eyelash’s width away from kissing. They’d been edging closer all night, goading each other into eating strange foods, laughing at how the Byzantee stumbled drunkenly around despite being slug-like and sturdy. They’d made their escape into the halls, hiding under dark wooden walls, leaning in close. Their voices were hushed, Keith’s breath warm, heart rushing.

And then Hunk came crashing through.

One hand threw them apart, the other clamped over his mouth whilst his panicking eyes shouted, ‘MOVE MOVE MOVE’. It would be safe to say, the mood was lost.

Which is what made this mission so important. Not the so-called Galra presence Lance wasn’t detecting along the cobbled streets. And Keith seemed to feel it too, striding between the hodge-podge of town houses with his face to the sky, breathing in the sunset.

“Seems pretty safe if you ask me.” Lance commented, noticing the pots of flowers lining the curbs. He could have very well been in a small English town if it wasn’t for the luminescent petals and the tall bees stalking over them as if on stilts.

Keith hummed. Then he shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “We should go watch the sunset.”

That was easier than expected.

“Sure!” Lance cried, and he did a little hop as he fell into step next to Keith. “I saw a hill up ahead, wanna go up there?”

“Sounds good.”

Conveniently, the residents of the town had built a winding stone path into the hillside, meaning Lance’s thighs were spared the ache of a direct climb. They hadn’t seen many of the residents, Lance noted. In town the population kept to themselves, raking beady eyes down the two before popping into shops or houses. On the hill, only a single man had passed them. He was a near giant, lumbering down the pass on trunk-like legs. Yet, when he spotted the two, he ducked his hat and hid his eyes as if trying to hide.

“Is there a native species to this planet?” Lance asked Keith as they hopped off the path at a spot Keith had deemed decent.

“Dunno.” Keith answered, moving onto the ground and swivelling around until he had one knee up and one knee down. Then he patted the grass next to him, curling his elbow against his knee and sending Lance a lazy smile. “Does it matter?”

Lance’s knees buckled.

“I-it’s just, everyone I’ve seen...” Lance felt his cheeks flame. He was rambling. And wobbling. And making unnecessary observations about diversity. He threw himself onto the grass before he could say anymore.

“Pidge said it was a common immigration planet.” Keith offered, wearing a sly smile as he turned to the sky, “Like a safe-haven.”

Lance breathed. At least Keith seemed calm.

“Damn Galra,” he hissed, awkwardly sticking his hands into the grass, “how many people have they got to displace? We’ve got a whole planet here!”

Keith was too busy gazing out at the sunset to respond and Lance was too busy fussing over his foot placements to notice. There were a few wispy clouds tinged in pink sailing across the sky and when Lance finally stopped fidgeting, he could appreciate just how calming it was to watch them - like boats bobbing on the sea. He could almost feel the salty air tugging on his hair, hear the rhythmic clanking of sails on masts and feel the sand slipping between his toes. Lance let his head fall towards his shoulder.

“It’s nice here,” he said.

“But?

Lance sighed. “But it’s not Earth.”

For him, the sky was just a little too golden, sun a little too big - and there was no denying it was beautiful - but Earth’s had a rawness unmatched by space. The cooling temperatures, the lengthening shadows, the blues fading and changing. It was a new experience every time - and yet never a disappointment.

Besides, there was no ocean here. Lance knew logically there were plenty of places to watch the sun set on earth without ever even acknowledging the ocean, but he’d never seen the point. Maybe he was just biased. Or homesick. Probably the latter.

“It’s kinda like Earth,” Keith offered, curling over his knee once again like a lazy cat. “Green grass. Single sun. Someone interrupting the quiet every five seconds.”

Lance made an offended noise. He was about to defend himself when he found Keith smiling up at him and forgot what he was angry about. Lance had always liked it when Keith relaxed. Especially like this, when Lance could observe the softness of his planes and the way his cheek squashed into his eye, pushing against the angle of his knee. But, here, in the gold light of evening, the boy was infinitely sweeter and despite his misgivings with where they were, Lance found himself smiling too.

“It’s not Cuba.” He said, without nearly enough sadness.

“That’s it’s not.” Keith agreed.

They turned back to the sky.

“You’d like Cuba.” Lance said suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Why’s that?”

Lance grinned. “Because you like me.”

Keith rolled his eyes, but Lance did not miss the amused puff of air that left his nose. He didn’t comment. Just shook his shoulders in a smug sort of way, the warmth of triumph sinking into his chest.

It was peaceful as the evening drew on, the two watching the sun sink down in relative quiet. Lance found himself relaxing into the grass almost sleepily, rolling his head closer to Keith with every comment. But as the circle started to melt, there was some shuffling from behind. Lance glanced over his shoulder just as a woman broke the hilltop behind them. She froze, staring. Then she shook her head, turning back once again.

“Odd.” Lance commented, turning back around. Keith shrugged, copying Lance’s stance by kicking out his legs and leaning back on his elbows.

“Probably wanted our spot.”

But as the sun continued to fall, a couple walked passed, and Lance couldn’t help notice how their conversation turned to whispers as their footsteps grew louder. Then an old man showed up.

“You should get inside.” He called out, shaking his head as he leaned heavy on his walking stick. “Not safe.”

Lance looked him over. He was a thin kind of alien, wearing an oversized jacket and red woollen hat. His skin was leathery and hung loose on his cheek bones, reminding Lance of the old fisherman back home. Only this fisherman had skin bluer than the sea and raised bumps on his forehead like the shell of a turtle. Keith raised an eyebrow, prompting Lance to call back.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine sir, thank you for worrying!”

The man tutted. Then he turned muttering to himself. Lance could feel a chill run along his neck. But the sun wasn’t fully set yet.

“There’s monsters out here y’know!”

Lance jolted at the shout. Spinning around he found another alien, with curling white hair and deep magenta skin.

“Monsters.” She repeated. Her tongue slid between her teeth like a snake and Lance shuddered.

“Thanks!” He cried, because he didn’t know what else to do. “Will bear that in mind!”

He turned back with a nervous laugh, staring intently at the sun. He wished it wasn’t so low.

“Monsters!” She repeated, voice shrill and loud. “You ought to be inside.”

“YES THANK YOU.” Lance yelped. Why couldn’t sunsets make sounds? And if they did, why couldn’t they come with a remote so he could turn it up?

“Don’t you hear me!?”

“Yep! We got it!”

The woman huffed angrily. “GET INSIDE!”

Lance squeezed his fists into the grass. He hadn’t wanted a shouting match this evening. Hadn’t wanted to feel this angry. But it burned through his eyes as he glared red at the sun.

“WE WILL LATER!”

There was a tut. “You better.”

Lance wanted to punch her. But she said no more. And as the quiet returned, Lance assumed she left. Still, he didn’t dare turn around. Just glared at the sun until it disappeared. Stupid aliens ruining stupid sunsets. How were they supposed to be romantic when people kept talking about monsters and danger?

“Lance?”

“What?” Lance snapped before remembering where he was. “Sorry.”

“S’okay,” Keith said, laughing softly. “You wanna go?”

Lance didn’t respond right away.

Keith spoke again, “you okay?”

Lance shrugged. Then he frowned. Then he found himself pulling his jacket closer around his shoulders as he talked. “I know monsters aren’t real...”

“But?”

Lance shook his head. Climbing to his feet, he offered out a hand and pulled Keith up too. “Rumours don’t come from nowhere.”

Keith squeezed his hand. “This planet’s safe.”

“I know.” Lance said, but found himself unable to let go as he looked down at the grass.

“You’re a paladin of Voltron,” Keith continued, ducking down to catch his eye, “maybe not an official monster hunter but I’d place a pretty good bet on you in a fight against one.”

Lance smirked. “Really? You have a bad habit of losing bets.”

“That’s because they’re always against you.”

Lance started laughing. “You wanna bet?”

Keith punched him in the arm.

“Come on, monsters or not, it’s getting late.”

“Sure,” Lance sang. It was as if Keith had sucked all the fear from him with just a few choice words. And Lance began ambling down the path after him feeling giddy once more, “wouldn’t want Prince Charming losing out on his beauty sleep. Less than eight hours and you’ll be the monster everyone’s avoiding.”

Keith turned back to glare and it filled Lance with glee. He couldn’t help it as he threw his head back and laughed. He’d made a habit of pushing his luck around Keith, but he got the feeling the other didn’t really mind.

Town was much less welcoming now they were walking at dusk. Curtains were closed, shutters hurriedly being placed onto windowsills and any passers-by setting a brisk pace with hats pulled low. The inn sat centre of the street, metal sign swinging shrilly in the wind. Keith ducked inside, ahead of Lance, pulling at his jacket sleeves. He seemed to have made a habit of that since re-entering town. Lance had assumed the boy wasn’t affected by the cold given his habit of sweating profusely on the fridge they called a castle, but maybe it was a case of strong winds and a barely-there jacket.

Nobody was manning reception when they arrived, so Lance dinged the bell. Swinging on his toes as he waited, he noticed Keith scratching at his arm, glimpsing irritated skin.

“You okay?” He asked. Keith immediately pulled down his sleeve.

“M’fine.”

It was a rather abrupt reply. And Keith purposely turned his stare up to the keys lining the wall to cut off any further conversation. His hand was glued to his sleeve.

“Really?” Lance asked unbelieving, “thought you might have got yourself a rash given how you can’t leave your arm alone.”

Keith’s eyes widened a fraction before they flickered down to his arm. His fingers tightened around his wrist.

“It’s nothing.” He said. Then he met Lance’s gaze and shrugged guiltily. “I mean, it’s a rash. I’ll ask Coran when we get back.”

Lance hummed. It was nice to hear he intended to get help, but Keith sounded very unsure of the whole ordeal.

“If it gets worse tell me.”

Keith didn’t answer. But it didn’t matter because at that moment, their conversation was interrupted by heavy footsteps and swishing fabric.

“Hello?”

An alien appeared at the door, dressed in a coat that reached the floor and a floppy hat that did not match the season. They had speckled skin, of indigo and white, though it was only just visible on their chin as the brim of their hat fell low enough to touch their white lips.

“Hi!” Lance greeted brightly, waving briefly, “we’re looking for a room. Just a few nights. Two beds?”

The alien pursed their lips, forming a heart shape.

“A few nights.” They repeated uncertainly. “It’s the waxing moon you realise?”

“Uhh...” Lance looked to Keith but he looked just as lost as Lance felt. “No?”

“You mustn’t go out.”

“What? Why?”

“The waxing moon.” Is all the explanation the alien gave before spinning around and grabbing a set of keys. They threw them down on the counter loudly.

“Monsters.” They said, squeezing the metal under gloved fingers. “They come out at night. The full moon asks of it.”

“O-kay?”

Lance was starting not to like this place at all, glancing to Keith for help. But he wasn’t looking. His hand was scratching his arm again and he was staring out the window, as if watching something.

“Keith?” Lance prompted, nudging an elbow into his side.

“What? I’m fine.” Keith snapped, shoving his arm behind his back. “These the keys?” He said flatly to the server. The alien nodded, passing them over.

“It’s a suite.” They said, “two bedrooms, one bathroom, a shared sitting space. It’s located on the second floor. Enjoy.”

Lance didn’t feel the genuine intent of that last instruction, the flat delivery and immediate disappearance of their host offering no comfort whatsoever.

“Should we-” Lance began but Keith was already stamping up the stairs. “Hey wait!”

Keith went straight to his room without another word.

 Lance was a light sleeper at the best of times. But with the unnerving town and talk of monsters he’d fallen into a restless slumber. So, when there was a crash of falling glass, he sprang up instantly.

“Keith?” He called out. The wind was rumbling overhead, and only the rattling roof tiles gave answer. A cold tickle of air slipped under the window break, and crawled around his neck. With a shudder Lance leapt out of bed. “KEITH!”

There was the sudden slam of a door. “I’m fine!”

Lance jumped at the noise. Then he processed who it was and slumped breathlessly into the wall. “You scared me. What’s going on, are you alright?”

“Yeah!” Keith cried. Lance slipped out his bedroom. “Just dropped a glass. I’ll get another from downstairs.”

Lance stopped short. “Wait, you’re leaving the apartment?”

The night suddenly felt a lot colder. Lance pulled on his shirt sleeves.

“I uh already have...” Keith called back. Lance realised now the hall light was glowing around the front door and Keith’s bedroom was wide open.

“I’ll come with you!” Lance shouted, throwing himself back into his room to grab a jacket.

“NO!”

Lance tripped over his own feet. “What, why not!?”

“I mean... I’m fine. It’s not far. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Hurried footsteps followed and Lance was left bewildered. He was still midway to the floor, bulk of his jacket gripped between tense fingers, but with Keith’s sudden retreat he was left slowly rebalancing. It was odd. Lance had thought they’d built a kind of report in the last few months where they did things together, even if it wasn’t necessary. Just a kind of habit of keeping company. It was hard not to feel a little hurt at the betrayal. Lance clutched the jacket to his chest.

The room wasn’t so dark now his eyes had adjusted. But that only made the whole thing worse. The shadows all looked menacing, Lance caught flashes of horns and figures before he refocused on chairs and clothes. He sunk into the wall. Keith would be back soon. Lance wouldn’t be alone for much longer. So he settled into fiddling with the material of his pockets. Keith would be back soon, he repeated to himself like a mantra, as his eyes blinked slower and slower and the floor seemed to get closer and closer. He didn’t hear the latch of the door before he fell asleep.

 The next day was weirder than the first. Lance had a crick in his neck and a bad temper. He’d intended to wait Keith out the night before, standing against the wall in order to stay awake long enough to hear the latch click. But it never did. And Lance woke up slouched between the wall and hard floor with a painful dent in his face formed by the zip of his jacket.

Instinctively, he blamed Keith for his pain. But the boy wasn’t acting early nsmug enough for it to feel right. In fact, Keith was keeping very quiet. Over breakfast he took on a distant look, skin pale and eyes rimmed with red. Lance had asked how he’d slept, a subtle way of promoting his own poor night and Keith had rushed out a yes before hurriedly throwing down his knife and fork and jetting off to the bathroom.

That didn’t exactly answer Lance’s question. And left him with many more.

Maybe Keith was just having stomach problems? Not everyone was as open as Lance was about these things. He had the excuse that you couldn’t afford not to be open in a house with eight other people. But Keith had lived alone and had a general habit of keeping to himself, so Lance decided not to push. Instead, he suggested they do another check of the town.

“If we don’t see anymore Galra, we could ask around,” Lance offered as they began their trek, “maybe people will be more welcoming when they see we want to help.”

Keith grunted, shrugging on his jacket. Lance noticed the mark on his skin was gone.

“Your rash looks better.”

Keith jolted like he’d been shot with electricity.

“What!?” He spluttered, pulling down his sleeves with the desperation of a teenage boy covering up a new tattoo.

“Your rash?” Lance repeated uncertainly, “it’s gone.”

“Oh...” Keith peaked down his sleeves and relaxed at whatever he saw. Lance couldn’t help noting the fact he wasn’t allowed to see anything. Between this and the odd disappearance at breakfast, Lance felt a mighty need to speak.

“You know being ill isn’t a crime.” He said rather huffily. “You don’t need to cover it up.”

“What?”

Lance scoffed. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes. I am.” Keith hissed, before throwing a hand through his hair and getting caught in the knots. “I’m just not ill.”

“You sure don’t look it.”

“I said I’m not.” Keith snapped, glare sharper now his hair wasn’t in the way. Lance raised his hands in surrender.

“Okay.”

Keith didn’t seem to notice, gritting out another warning. “Just drop it.”

“I said okay!” Lance cried, exasperated at the lack of attention Keith was showing.

“Good.” The other all but growled out. Then he strode ahead, beelining towards the streets they hadn’t checked yesterday. Lance scoffed. He didn’t particularly want to follow now that Keith had irked him but didn’t have much of a choice. The mission came first and all. At least, that’s what Keith always said.

 The villagers had struck Lance as mice the day before. And to some extent they still did today, scurrying away every time Lance got close to even looking at them. But they had become a little bolder. Only where Keith was concerned, but bolder none the less. They openly stared at him - some smiling almost sympathetically as they passed. They paid Lance no such favours. But with Keith, they’d seemed to have struck some sort of kinship, one even going as so far as to nod at him. It irritated Lance. He was supposed to be the friendly one. But it seemed to unnerve Keith. He nodded awkwardly back, ducked his head at their smiles, and began glancing around more wildly as they went on.

Lance didn’t like this. He began walking closer and in a sheer stroke of confidence, he brushed their knuckles together in the hopes of offering some sort of comfort. The first time, Keith just stepped further away, seemingly unaware of the purpose behind the gesture. And the second time he just shoved his hands in his pockets, craning his head around the opposing alley.

So Lance shoved his hands in his own pockets.

“Maybe we should start talking to villagers?”

“No!”

It was the most convinced Keith had sounded all day. His eyes went wide, and he stiffened like he’d seen a ghost. He seemed to notice Lance’s shock as he immediately went limp again and avoided his gaze.

“I mean, they don’t seem to like you much. Maybe we should split up?”

Lance sucked on his teeth. Whilst it was true the people had not appeared to take a shine to Lance, he didn’t much like to hear it.

“Right.” He said, trying not to let the bitterness ring out on the ‘t’ sound. “You go ask questions and I’ll do what? Keep walking around uselessly?”

Keith finally had the guts to look guilty now. His brows tilted in pain, and his lips squashed together. “Yes?”

Lance tutted. This made Keith panic.

“Not uselessly! Umm... just investigate? Check for bases and uhh... Galra stuff?”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I-“ Keith began before sighing, “I’m not.”

He scuffed his boot against the curb. “I don’t know what’s going on here. And I don’t like it.“

Lance paused. Keith had lost the brashness of before, and the strange flighty behaviour was gone. Instead, he seemed lost. But more than that, he was willing to admit it. And that stood out to Lance more than all the throw away comments. Without another thought he stepped forward and squeezed Keith’s arm.

“It’s okay.” He soothed, staying within the others space like a satellite around a planet. “I don’t know what’s up with this town either. If there are Galra, I don’t know why they’re hiding. And if there aren’t, then these monsters are probably freaky enough. We’ll do our best though, right?”

“Right.” Keith agreed to the floor. Then he looked up, giving Lance one of his soft smiles. One that Lance hadn’t nearly seen enough of in the last few days. It made him stand stronger in his conviction.

“You go talk, I’ll go walk.”

Keith’s smile somehow grew warmer. “Okay.”

 Lance wasn’t sure how long the walking and talking was supposed to last. But it was already sundown when Lance re-entered the town. There’d been no bases out in the fields, and no missile launchers hidden under basements. It was all rather too sweet and homely. Lance was starting to doubt the accuracy of Pidge’s intel. Maybe their coordinates had been wrong? Either way Lance was coming back empty handed. And the dark streets were even creepier on his own. Lance hurried along, pulling his jacket close to his body. Why hadn’t he headed back sooner?

There was a bang and Lance stumbled.

“Hello?” He called, like an idiot who wanted to get murdered. There was a second noise, a scraping of metal this time, coming from the alley way filled with bins. Lance crept forward. “Someone out there?”

Nothing now. Just the sprawling silence of night. He dug out his phone from his pocket and flicked on the torch. “Hello?”

Swishing the light along the alley he caught glimpses of shiny black sacks and food packets spilling on the floor. Lance drew out his breath. It was just fairy stories tricking his mind. Casually, he flicked the light back. Then something jumped into the beam and he nearly fell backwards. The shadow. It was like a bat ear. Lance threw the light around, glimpsing claws, fur, purple. Galra. Lance was stuck frozen a moment. Then the adrenaline kicked in and he was running, pelting down the pavement with his heart beating loud in his ears. Why were the Galra here!? On a quiet planet in the middle of the night. Lance burst into the alley but the Galra had a head start. And they ran at double speed, heavy boots stomping through the alley. Claws whined against stone as they scrambled for the corner, disappearing fast. Lance slammed into the wall, panting at the retreating figure. A Galra. Here of all places. Hiding in the shadows. Lance couldn’t understand why he hadn’t seen one sooner. Then it clicked. The monsters that appeared at night. They were Galra! Lance sprinted back to the hotel.

 “Keith!” He yelled only halfway down the corridor. “KEITH!”

Skidding into their door, Lance banged his fists in the wood. “The Galra! They’re the monsters! Open up we need to go!”

There was no answer.

“Keith?”

Lance leant his head against the door, getting his breath back. Maybe Keith was still out?

“I’ll go get the spare keys.” Lance muttered, smacking the door once more before running off again. His plan formed naturally in his head. Grab weapons. Find Keith. Hunt Galra. So caught up in these thoughts, Lance forgot to pay attention as he ran and the next moment he was colliding with a huge mass.

“Sorry!” Lance cried, stumbling towards the floor. In a stroke of luck, he managed to get his footing just before his nose hit the ground but his triumph was short lived when he heard the sound of crashing behind him. Clearly, his opponent hadn’t been spared the same fate. Lance spun around, worry about to spill from his lips when he came to an abrupt halt.

Across the hall was a Galra. There was no way to deny it - indigo skin, large bat-like ears, blown pupils and yellow irises. But that’s not what caught Lance’s attention. Because across the hall from him was someone familiar. And the petrified look smacked across their face was so wrong it made his stomach turn leaden.

“Keith?”

“Don’t look!” Keith shouted, throwing his hands to his face. “Please.”

His ears drooped - large purple ones covered in fur - and he attempted to hide under his shoulders. But Lance couldn’t stop looking. Even with his hands over his face, Lance could see how Keith’s skin had changed - texture like a peach, colour of a plum. His shape was the same, but his features were sharper. Or maybe just more striking in this palate. Either way, Lance had never seen Keith like this before. He wanted to speak but moved instead. And that was a mistake as Keith flinched back.

“Don’t!” He yelled, eyes flashing gold. He was trembling, curling into the corner where the floor met the wall. “I’ll be fine in the morning, okay? Just- don’t look. Please.”

He wasn’t looking at Lance. But the cracks in his voice made Lance sure if he saw his face in that moment, it would break his heart. Lance hated this place in an instant. Hated the whole universe for making his best friend cower on the floor. But more than that, he was filled with a mighty need to see Keith standing with his usual strength once again. So Lance stepped forward, more carefully than before and bent into a crouch.

“Keith?” He called quietly. The boy slowly lifted his head, hesitant but willing. And when he did, Lance brought his hands up, cupping Keith’s cheeks and sweeping his thumbs along the plump lift in his skin. “Please don’t hide.”

Then he tilted forward, capturing Keith’s lips in his own. It was gentle, Lance slowly letting his warmth spread through Keith. But not without purpose. With every moment of the kiss, Lance wanted Keith to feel that he wasn’t alone. That he was loved. That he had no reason to be scared. And when they parted, Lance felt a little giddy, eyes catching on the shine lining Keith’s lips.

“You- why’d you-?” Keith stammered, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“Kiss you?” Lance supplied, leaning back with a sly grin, “because I wanted to.”

Keith gawped. Then glanced away and that’s where the gawping ended. He seemed to remember where he was, who he was, and his cheeks burned bright red. He pulled back out of Lance’s hands.

“You shouldn’t have.”

“Why not?”

“Because!” Keith cried, eyes suddenly flashing yellow, “I’m a Galra! I’m a monster! Even without the freaky moonlight, nothing’s going to change that! It’s in my dna!”

The words were harsh, and they left splinters in Lance’s ears. But he felt no less determined.

“You’re not a monster.” Lance said firmly. “Never have been.”

Then he reached out, tracing his fingers around Keith’s jaw, noticing how the soft hairs moved with him. “And Galra or not, who you are has nothing to do with the looks on your face or the genes in your bones.”

“But-” Keith began. His eyes became watery, words holding half the fight they had before. And a moment later, the boy collapsed all together, falling into Lance’s chest. “What about the team?” He asked wetly, twisting his fingers into the front of Lance’s shirt. “Allura. And Pidge. They hate Galra.”

Lance shook his head. Curling his arms around Keith, he pulled him closer, burying his nose in his hair.

“They don’t.” He said softly, pressing a kiss behind Keith’s ear, and inhaling the earthy scent. “They hate what happened. They like you.”

Keith’s ear twitched. He snuggled in closer, almost like he was trying to hide.

“And you?”

The question was spoken so quietly Lance might have missed it. But the vulnerability made it impossible to. Lance looked down at the boy in his arms. A lump of purple and fluff clinging to his chest like a koala. And couldn’t understand how anyone could hate such a gentle person. Someone who only showed strength in adversity, chose kindness even though he’d suffered so much. Lance burned with a sudden illogical feeling of injustice. Because Keith deserved to be happy. Just like anyone else.

“Of course I like you.” It seemed too obvious to even say. Lance didn’t go around kissing just anyone after all.

“And what about the Galra?” Keith asked, or more mumbled. Lance felt the movement of it right against his neck and was almost too distracted to answer. But he knew how important this conversation was. So, squeezing Keith tight, he answered honestly.

“The Galra aren’t evil.” He said, with a sort of finality that made it cement in his mind. “There are good Galra. And there are bad Galra. Just like humans. There are confused Galra and then, there’s survivors. Like you.”

Lance pulled back, reaching between them to take Keith’s hand and tangle their fingers together. “You’re scared?”

Keith nodded weakly. “What if they hate me?”

The way his voice wavered broke Lance’s heart.

“They won’t.” He pressed, tugging Keith’s hand up to his lips to kiss along his knuckles. “I won’t.”

He continued pressing kisses to the purple skin as he spoke, “and if anyone decides to dislike you for your biology then more fool them.” And then, because the thought made Lance’s lips widen uncontrollably, he added, “and more you for me,’ before kissing all they way up Keith’s arm and landing right in the crook of his neck. Keith squirmed under he attention but there were hints of laughter in his breaths so Lance decided not to stop. He pressed a final kiss under his jaw, humming against the sensitive skin before finally hooking his chin over Keith’s shoulder and pulling them into embrace once again.

“What if I stay like this forever?” Keith asked. His words were vibrations across Lance’s chest, but they carried a weight that sunk much deeper.

“You won’t.” Lance assured, remembering their previous conversations with the receptionist and the strange people on the hill, all about the moon and monsters that only came out at night. He realised now, they were probably just nervous of outsiders seeing their Galra traits and Lance could understand why; a seed of guilt planting in his stomach when he thought of the awful things he’d said about the Galra. And he realised then what he needed to say.

“But it wouldn’t matter if you did.”

Lance leaned back now, fixing Keith with a determine look.

“You’re you Keith.” He said softly, brushing at the tears trailing the others cheeks. “You’re kind. You’re brave. You’re stupid. You’re Galra. You’re everything you are. And you don’t need to be ashamed of any of it.”

Keith’s lashes fluttered as he looked down, cheek poking Lance’s fingers. “I am though.”

The words rang heavy in the quiet room. Lance knew the feeling. Of wanting to hide. The fear of not being good enough, of somehow being wrong. It wasn’t a pleasant one. But it wasn’t one he’d defeated yet either.

“Sometimes,” he said, voice unexpectedly raw. He coughed, clearing his throat, but it didn’t help much. “Sometimes it feels like the world wants to hate us. And sometimes it’s hard not to agree. But we don’t have to.”

He pulled Keith close again, tangling his fingers into his hair. “I don’t like who I am sometimes. And sometimes it’s really hard to fight those thoughts.” There were prickles forming in his eyes, but Lance pressed forward. “But I don’t want to feel like that forever.”

The feeling glowed like a fire in the pit of his stomach slowly taking form. It wasn’t roaring yet, just embers dancing around a fat wooden log. But it would. And Lance took comfort in the fact that he would get there.

“We won’t.” Keith whispered back. “I’ll fight with you.”

And Lance felt it’s flames flicker a little brighter. With a sudden resolution, he buried a kiss into Keith’s neck, messy like a raspberry. “Thank you.” He murmured. It felt like more than just two words. He took a moment to feel them. Then Lance took in a lungful of air, and got to his feet, refreshed but no less exhausted.

“Come on,” he said, offering out a hand. “Let’s go to bed.”

Keith smiled shyly. Then he took it. And allowed himself to be led all the way back to the suite, into Lance’s room and into his bed.

It wasn’t much different from being on the floor really. Lance tugging Keith close until his head fit snuggly against his neck and their chests pressed firmly together. Only now, he could feel the soft drumming of Keith’s heart. And hear the peaceful ins and outs of his sleeping breaths, puffing gently over his skin. It was relaxing. And surrounded by the warmth of blankets and intimate embrace, Lance decided he’d found something to like about this planet. It was a haven.

[akozuheiwa]

Professors Tarron and Johnson

A post-canon not-yet-AU-technically by myself, @lizzylucky, and @brising. See the long post beneath the cut.

After grad school and everything, Seamus goes on to become a professor at the same college he and Krel and everyone went to. Krel drops into class on such a regular basis that the students pretty much regard them as co-professors. At some point, the deans or whatever realise this and sort of offer Krel a position because students seem to like him. Seamus thinks it’s a great idea and that’s how Krel gets coerced into being Professor Tarron.

Krel is the cool professor who doesn’t ever want to be called professor (because Aja made fun of him for it) and tries for a solid three semesters to get his students to exclusively call him DJ Kleb. Seamus is fine being called by first name, but he’ll introduce himself and Krel as “Professors Johnson and Tarron” at the beginning of the semester. Almost always, the two co-teach lecture and then split up lab, except the one not in charge of lab always shows up anyway.

Their students love them, even if tests can occasionally be murder. Class and lab are full of super awesome experiments. Krel shows up some days with something random he invented the night before with the help of either alcohol or caffeine. He’ll take over the class and throw the syllabus to the wind to get his students to help him figure out what, exactly, he invented and how, exactly, he invented it. Some love it. Some hate it because they did the reading which is now out the window. Usually Seamus is very frustrated at first because he “had a plan for today’s lesson, we only have six weeks left in the semester”, but then he just gets super into it too and makes sure it becomes a teaching moment and nothing blows up. Students learn quickly that if you like explosions, you take lab with Krel, and if you’d rather play it safe, you take lab with Seamus.

Sometimes students also bring in things like this, although they usually try not to mention exactly what substance they were on when they created it, except for one student who walks in and shamelessly declares that that weekend she was “super fuckin’ high” and she thinks she mad something awesome but has no idea what it is, and the class spends the entire period reverse-engineering whatever it is only to find out it’s actually just a really, really weird hair-dryer. She gets extra credit just because Krel and Seamus are nostalgic and have, obviously, done the same thing multiple times in school. Unfortunately, this triggers a wave of students trying to replicate it by sleep deprivation or drugs or alcohol, which turns out some really cool class projects, but is banned after one kid passes out in the middle of class. Krel and Seamus either take back all the extra credit or just give everyone equal extra credit.

Students always find out about the Akiridion sci-fi site where all the theories about Krel and Seamus ended up, and they use it both as a forum to keep up with each other and also to speculate about their professors. Graduated seniors and anyone in the know help to make sure there’s no way to prove their favourite professors are (both?) aliens, and Krel and Seamus go through to check as well.

They give all their graduating seniors gifts, whether they were in one of their classes this year or freshman year or never but got stuck with one of them as a major advisor. If the kids were good, trustworthy kids, which most of them are, they get sworn to secrecy and get to find out that, yes, Krel’s actually from space. It’s impossible to convince them Seamus isn’t, but it amuses the two professors enough that they let it go.

They do teach a special senior seminar course that focuses on Akiridion technology, but it’s permission only and you pretty much can only get in if you’re a dedicated student of the Tarron-Johnson duo. Not to mention that the course description is misleading enough that only those students want to take it. The first day of this class is largely introducing the students to the fact that extra-terrestrials are real and that their tech is way better than Earth’s. They usually take a vote to see which of them the students think is the Akiridion, and usually the winning vote is both of them. Krel doesn’t reveal himself until the end of class so they can get through the syllabus and everything, because otherwise the class would never calm down.

The Akiridion Tech class takes two annual fields trips. One is to Akiridion-5, of course, where they get a special tour and the chance to work in what was Krel’s lab when he lived there. Aja begins looking forward to these trips because, ironically, it's one of her easiest days as Akiridion-5 Ruler. The students are always excited to meet her and the citizens are respectful and peaceful on those days. The other trip is to a planet of their choosing, which is disguised as an assignment where the class as a whole is given a bunch of data and has to determine which planets are habitable and pick one to visit. They almost always go, even if it’s not particularly habitable, just because Krel and Seamus can usually rig up safety suits. They also have a day where they study transduction technology. It’s Krel’s least favourite lesson because the students get to experiment with it on the only Akiridion available, AKA him, and so he ends up looking all sorts of crazy. Yes. Pictures get taken.

One year, after the field trip, one kid doesn’t listen and ends up accidentally bringing a skelteg back to Earth, which of course goes nuts in class. Professor Tarron goes around blasting music until they all explode. When the students find out he made the music, they go nuts. Someone finds all of his demos and shares them in the class group chat. There’s a petition for Professor Tarron’s music to be broadcasted in the dining hall. Krel signed the petition, of course. A few students form a DJ/music club and ask him to be the faculty contact for it, and of course he's thrilled and gets super into it. Really, he and Seamus go to as many of their students’ events as possible.

Some of the more internet savvy students compare them to vines on YouTube and through brief discussion decide that these trips are very Magic School Bus esque. Someone makes the mistake of bringing this up in class and introducing Krel to Magic School Bus, which is something Seamus was very specifically avoiding. All of the classes start having a lot more fun field trips after that, much to Seamus’s frustration and secret amusement. The trips very much cater to and play on the Magic School Bus jokes. One student gets them a pet lizard. It becomes the class pet. Krel takes to it immediately. Seamus gives up.

Krel won’t always focus in lecture, and he has a habit of stopping mid-sentence and leaving the room, at which Seamus just sighs and picks up where Krel left off until the Akiridion comes back with some bizarre piece of tech. He’ll wait for Seamus to finish before explaining the jump in his thought process and how it relates to his tech. Seamus has done it once or twice himself, but he usually finishes talking before adding. They’ll also completely baffle the students by stopping mid-lesson to discuss how, “Wait, didn’t we disprove this once?” or “According to Akiridion science, isn’t this wrong?” or “Well, if we did this instead I bet we could prove this wrong.” No one ever understands what they’re talking about in those instances.

Professor Johnson is the only one to have office hours (and grade stuff, usually), but if you can’t make it, you can probably find Krel somewhere on campus and ask questions. He can always answer, even if it’s about a comment Seamus made on an essay Krel didn’t grade. Half the students are convinced they have some sort of telepathy device because they can pick up each other’s thoughts mid-sentence, sometimes even when they weren’t in the room. Sometimes one of them just moves to go sit down and starts researching something on the computer while the other takes up the rest of the lesson, knowing full well that they'd had the same idea at the same time.

They tell new students the first day to “forget everything you’ve learned in any physics class not taught by one of us.” They, in fact, have a class (PHYS 351 with Lab) called “Physics is a Social Construct”. All their classes always start with a syllabus, but by the second week, Krel (and it’s always Krel) is like, “Alright, so due to unexpected circumstances, and by that I mean Seamus and I disproved three of these theories last night, we’re throwing away the syllabus!” There are days when the students are so stuffed up with questions and confusion as to what their Professors are doing that an entire class will be spent just answering their questions. Some of the students already understand some things thanks to Akiridion Science Fiction and just laugh at the younger students' questions, but then find themselves asking questions too. Questions range from “Why did Professor Tarron vanish for a week?” to “What the hell is that thing on the desk?” to “What about the syllabus?” and finally, the most common one, “But that’s not possible!” PHYS 351’s final project is to break one of the laws of physics. The Tarron-Johnson duo’s motto is that everything is possible.

Krel, surprisingly, is really bad at lab safety, in that he doesn’t do it at all. He’ll get sucked in and forget things. Seamus has to remind them all the time, things like, “Krel, please put your hair up, you’re going to catch it on fire again” or “Krel, please wear goggles, we don’t want a repeat of the junior year fiasco.” If Seamus shows up alone and starts class with, “Let’s go over lab safety”, then you know Krel did something stupid. Some days Krel will have to tell Seamus, “Do not tell them why I’m not there”, and Seamus tells them because it’s usually something really stupid, including the time he fell off a ladder.

Sometimes they bring guest speakers to class. Akiridion Tech gets the best guests, scientists from across the galaxy and usually the Queen of Akiridion-5 at least once, but even other classes get cool Earth scientists and occasionally extra-terrestrials in disguise. Apparently, Professor Tarron is good friends with a high-up military general that runs the mysterious Area 49b, so he usually visits too, and sometimes Akiridion Tech even gets a tour of the military base. Students who don’t get a tour beg for one, and Krel, certified disaster even as an adult, tells them that “it’s not that hard to break into there anyways” and that he knows someone who did it at least twice. Professor Johnson is not pleased to hear about this when he discovers students plotting to break in. General Costas is even less happy, and every semester he drags anywhere from two students to the entire class to Krel and Seamus’s house in the middle of the night after they tried to break into Area 49b. Yes, this fuels the debate about whether they’re married. No, no one is sure. Krel secretly gives them extra credit by claiming it tests their capacity to plan and also, it helps test the security of the base. Neither Costas nor Seamus like this answer.

Seamus pretty much stays in the physics and engineering departments, but Krel actually ends up branching out. He stays involved in theatre, of course, and ends up teaching a class about sci-fi theatre in which he only teaches one play from Earth, if that many, and at least two are from Akiridion-5. The others come from random planets with plays Krel likes.

Krel is also in the habit of just… walking into other classes whenever he feels like it to see what’s happening or if it’s interesting. Students not aware of Professors Tarron and Johnson assume he’s maybe an older student or a grad student or something. He almost always goes to classes that talk about space and sci-fi. The special creative writing class about writing sci-fi is something he has to see, and the professor actually thinks he’s a student who isn’t on the list because of add/drop/swap and Krel, while finding it hilarious, has to explain that, no, he’s from the physics department, he specialises in astroengineering and cool stuff like that.

They also get super into things like holidays and spirit week, and will always go all out for any costumes. They’ll set up holiday-themed projects for extra credit. Students are challenged to relate their Halloween costumes to class (so they get a lot of superheroes) and they usually reserve the unit on holograms for February to allow the students to make hologram Valentine’s cards. They try to be as inclusive as possible, and research different holidays and make sure they know what their students celebrate, especially come winter time when so many holidays come up.

TL;DR: Seamus and Krel are the best professors for so many reasons and nobody knows if they’re married or not. That’s up to you and what you ship.

[diwatang-sirena]

Food For Thought: Is it possible that Daenerys' storyline is going to go a similar route to Darth Vader's?

Now before you guys protest, especially the die-hard Dany stans, just hear me out on this. I’m a fan of both Vader and Dany, and as much as I wish that Dany will not turn into an antagonist, let’s not discount the possibility and try to look at her story in a different perspective. Okay? Then keep reading.

If you’re not familiar with Vader’s story in Star Wars (but how tho??), protagonist Anakin Skywalker started out as a poor, innocent slave boy who happened to have a very strong connection with the force. He’s even assumed to be the “Chosen One” from the prophecies that would balance the Dark and the Light sides of the Force. So he ends up training to become a Jedi with the hopes of freeing his slave mother whom he left behind in Tattooine, his home planet.

Eventually Anakin grows up to be a good but slightly arrogant teenager who is manipulated further by Emperor Palpatine (who’s posing as a good guy in the Senate). And because he’s fully aware of his natural talent, he’s even pushed further by the fact that the Jedi Council does not fully acknowledge his merits when he deserves them. One of the key moments in his transition is when he finds his mother murdered, which led him to his first act of madness when he massacred the tribe that stole her away.

But the final straw was when he dreamt that his secret wife, Padme, might possibly die through childbirth. This made him seek even more power to save his wife and unborn child, of which he was unable to do with his mother, and it eventually blinded him from seeing the good that his comrades and loved ones were trying to do to help him. 

At this point, he concluded that by being the most powerful, most fearsome Jedi on earth, he can prevent every terrible fate that could happen to the ones he loved. So he helped the Emperor massacre the whole Jedi Council, including the innocent children, in order to be stronger using the dark side of the Force. And you know the rest, his wife died in childbirth, indirectly because of his actions, and thinking that his mentor and brotherly figure Obi-Wan betrayed him and left him to die, he eventually became reborn as Darth Vader, now completely overwhelmed by hatred. 

And it’s not until the last minute when Luke, his son with Padme, helped bring him back to the Light when Vader chose to protect his son with his life instead of letting Palpatine kill him, ultimately fulfilling his prophecy as the Chosen One.

See the pattern here? Daenerys seems to be following quite a similar path, with her initially being a poor, helpless girl with a very tough upbringing who eventually gained power to protect the common folk. Not only that, but she also has something to do with the “Azor Ahai” Prophecy about the “Prince/Princess that was Promised”, although whether or not this means her, Jon, or their future child is yet to be seen.

Unfortunately, just like Anakin, Daenerys has been shown to have lingered in between the light and dark at times, such as burning her enemies or using fear to bend people to her will when her patience runs out. Of course I won’t deny that some of these actions are considered necessary considering that some of her enemies don’t do well with peace pacts or respectful discussions, most especially when they go through lengths to disrespect her as a woman.

But as much as I love Dany, I can’t deny that some of her actions, regardless of where she came from and how she came to be, are not doing her any favors with the Westerosi. Like Anakin, she has been slowly losing sight of what has been her main goal in the beginning of her pursuit; to save the people who suffered like she did and to find a place to truly call home. Now most of her focus is gaining her right to the Iron Throne, while slowly losing bits of emotion here and there especially when betrayal hits her at one front to another.

That is, until dear honorable Jon Snow came along.

Just like how Anakin and Padme’s forbidden love story ended up changing the Jedi forever, Jon and Dany’s love story seems to be a must in breaking the wheel of the current world, not just in politics, but the fate of the world itself. After all, Melisandre has prophesied that both of them have a very important role to play in the Azor Ahai prophecy in stopping the Night King.

Whether you ship them or not, you can’t deny that these two were bound to have a special connection thanks to their parallel journeys and their secret Targaryen relation. It’s interesting to note that in the beginning, all that Jon ever wanted was to become acknowledged as a Stark, arrogantly thinking that he had it worse than everyone else. Now that he’s constantly given all these burdens and high positions, he’s become more humble and doesn’t enjoy being the leader that people turn to.

Dany, on the other hand, was a meek and afraid little girl, having no idea in the beginning that she was capable of becoming more, no thanks to Viserys’ abuse. But as time went by, she began to grow as her own person and became more and more powerful, which unfortunately led her to become quite arrogant at times. 

While Jon’s been shown to have a harder time killing more and more people out of duty, especially when he began to realize that not everything is in black and white, Dany has been shown to be having an easier time disposing people who defy her, even the ones who used to be on her side. It’s not to say she hasn’t tried doing things the gentler way, but a lot of if not all the peace talks she’s attempted with her adversaries have never really gone smoothly. Not to mention, most of the people she had placed her trust in in the beginning have either betrayed or left her at some point.

To be fair, we can’t have two exact copies of “Jon Snow” in the GOT world. That wouldn’t make much of an interesting story now can it?

With that said, it seems possible that Jon’s role in GOT is quite similar to Luke’s trope as the reluctant hero of the story, the one who saves the whole world by saving their loved one from being completely immersed into the Dark Side.

Of course, we haven’t seen Dany turn completely mad just yet, and I personally hope it would never happen. But the first two episodes of Season 8 has compelled me to imagine the uncomfortable possibility of what it would be like if Daenerys does end up becoming a villain. Her thirst for the crown has been focused on too many times to deny in the first two episodes of the final season, and it seems that not even her love for Jon would let her set aside her quest for the crown completely, at least not yet.

But there’s also a possibility that their future child, if the constant foreshadowing in Season 7 comes to fruition, might also be a strong factor in changing her mindset, just like how Vader’s love for Padme and his children compelled him to eventually turn away from the Dark Side. Most importantly, their child might also have a huge role in stopping the second Long Night from happening, however possible that is, if he/she/they have something to do with the prophecy.

Another interesting possibility that’s been pointed out by some fans is that the only person other than Jon that might stop Dany from her road to Mad Queen status is the woman who currently checks up all the boxes of said status.

Cersei may not have the pure intentions that Dany has, but they do have a common factor of wanting to gain and remain in power no thanks to their past experiences of having their father/brother control most of their lives in the early parts of the series (Tywin with Cersei, and Viserys with Dany). I’d personally wager that Dany is still far from Cersei’s “Mad Queen” level, because at the very least Dany still has a few good and true comrades to help keep her feet on the ground. As Tyrion told Cersei, at least Dany has enough brains and empathy to listen to their advice at times, whereas Cersei would never do so unless it benefits only her.

This Cersei-Dany parallel would be a pretty similar situation with, again, Darth Vader and Luke. Just when Luke battles with his father and was almost on the verge of killing him, he stops when he sees his father’s robotic hand, realizing how similar they actually are and how much the Dark Side has affected Vader in the worst ways, which he himself almost fell into if he didn’t see the truth with his own eyes.

After the Battle of Winterfell is over, and Daenerys sees the remnants of the Night King's power while also coming to terms with Jon’s status as the rightful heir, perhaps Dany might reconsider and reflect on her true purpose in attaining the Seven Kingdoms. True there's also a huge possibility that she'll turn even darker than before, especially if her close comrades die/leave her, leaving her feeling more alone and out of place. But perhaps after seeing Cersei the way she is, with no true friends, no family, and no love left in her except the crown on her head, this might lead Dany to see the hard truth; The Iron Throne isn’t worth her humanity.

With that said, whether or not Dany turns into a true antagonist is yet to be seen. Contrary to some fans' predictions of her dying in the end, I actually believe that she'll survive, but not without huge consequences of course, which is carrying the guilt with her for the rest of her life. For some people, continuing to find the will to live can be much harder than dying a quick death. 

Having her killed off easily as a villain without redemption or in childbirth for me is a very big disservice to those who have watched/read her whole journey since Season 1 and the 1st book. I doubt that George R.R. Martin created Dany only to make her a Cersei 2.0 in the end. It would be the such an injustice for the series to conclude with Dany’s faults completely overshadowing the many good things she has done for the ones without power, especially during her time in Essos.

We have yet to see how low Dany would go to seize power as Vader would, and I’m extremely worried about how much it would affect everyone’s view of her till the very end, especially as a character that was so beloved for the whole 7 seasons, only to have her hated by most without proper redemption at the final season. Yes, as a GOT fan I’m glad that Dany’s being given a wakeup call that her idea of ruling has its flaws and does not suit everybody. But if she is really meant to betray Jon and the rest, I seriously wish that whatever payoff the writers have for Dany will be worth it in the end. Especially when there’re only a handful of episodes left.

And if people really think that Jon would easily leave Dany just like that, then boy, have they not been paying attention to Jon’s character development. Jon has already chosen duty over love several times, with one of those choices leading indirectly to his first love’s death. I highly doubt that Jon would ever leave Dany alone like that, even with all her faults, especially if she’s with child and if they do get married even if out of duty.

Just like how Padme never stopped believing that there is good in Anakin till her dying breath, it’s in Jon’s persona that he would do everything in his power to keep Daenerys from falling completely into the dark and feeling alone. I won’t be surprised if Jon would choose to take the fall for/with Daenerys if she is to be punished for whatever wrongdoing she’s about to do. That’s just the type of guy he is.

With that said, we have no choice but to wait until Episode 3 and 4 to really see where Daenerys’ morality will be going. As with every season, with every new episode that comes out, anything is possible. I still hold onto the hope that the writers know exactly what they’re doing with Daenerys and that it’ll be true to what George R.R. Martin really intended for her, although I’m already a bit wary at how they’re currently handling her responses. If her path is to go the same way as Vader’s like I guessed, I can only hope that they can do enough justice to make her memory worthwhile.

If not... there’s always hope for the books. And fanfiction.

[sciencespies]

9 ways today's society is like the one that filled Earth with garbage in WALL-E

https://sciencespies.com/humans/9-ways-todays-society-is-like-the-one-that-filled-earth-with-garbage-in-wall-e/

9 ways today's society is like the one that filled Earth with garbage in WALL-E

More than 10 years after it was released, watching Pixar’s film WALL-E today is a chilling experience.

The backdrop of WALL-E and EVE’s robot love story is a dystopian society where humans have abandoned Earth to their trash and left robots to clean up while they cruise space.

When the much-loved animation came out in 2008, it was a bittersweet warning to use less, move more, and stop staring at the damn screen.

But we obviously didn’t heed it too well, because as of 2019, we already have an uncomfortable amount in common with the futuristic humans aboard the Axiom spaceship.

The one thing the film’s creators were way off on? The timeline. WALL-E is set in 2805 (humans left Earth in 2105), but according to some key measures, we might not be that far off in reality.

Here are nine signs we’re going down the same path as the humans in WALL-E.

1. We can’t stop buying stuff

Thanks to technological and social advances, every day more people are moving out of poverty and into the consumer class. We’re also living in a more peaceful time than ever before. What do we do with all that extra time, energy, and money?

We consume.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

The average US household now owns 300,000 things; 10-year-olds in the UK have 238 toys – but only play with around 12 of them. We shop so much, we increasingly have to rent off-site storage units. And then every few seasons we throw it all out and start again.

With the internet opening up new avenues for consumption – shopping on Instagram, influencer-inspired buying, and now even publishers telling us what to buy – it’s not hard to imagine how our desire to buy new things is overwhelming the planet.

The Buy n Large tagline “Too much garbage in your face? There’s plenty of space out in space!” playing on loop in WALL-E could easily apply.

We never see the humans of the film before they leave Earth for the Axiom, but based on the waste and omnipresent advertising they leave behind, it’s safe to say they liked to shop, too.

More

So is there a way to keep shopping and avoid that fate? Probably not – in the United Nations’ (UN) draft Global Sustainable Development Report 2019, researchers argue that this consumerist system isn’t compatible with protecting the planet.

“Economies have used up the capacity of planetary ecosystems to handle the waste generated by energy and material use,” the report explains.

2. We’re drowning in our own waste

The major plot line of WALL-E is that Earth has been overrun with garbage, making it unsuitable for plant or animal life. The WALL-E robots were tasked with cleaning it up, while humans enjoyed a five-year off-planet cruise (which, spoiler alert, ended up lasting centuries).

While we may not have city-sized trash mounds today, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a problem with the waste we’re spewing out into the environment.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

Pollution is already one of the leading causes of death worldwide, killing 9 million people each year and predicted to get worse. A World Health Organisation study last year found that 93 percent of children on the planet are now breathing in polluted air.

With plastic waste and rubbish choking our plants and animals, and human-induced climate change increasing ocean acidification and forest fires, the planet is becoming a less friendly place for life – even our own fertility rates are dropping.

And it’s only going to get worse, with China soon refusing to take in any of the nearly 4,000 shipping containers of waste the US sends each day for recycling.

3. We’re dominated by mega companies

In WALL-E, society has become dominated by a mega conglomerate punfully called Buy n Large, or BnL. By the time Earth is abandoned, BnL has become so omnipresent, it not only covers cities with its advertisements and discarded products, but also owns the spacecraft humans leave on. It also has the power to declare global emergencies.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

Today, there are just a handful of megacompanies that have huge power of the rest of us and our futures, capable of driving fake news, opioid crises, and covering up climate change.

In fact, just 100 companies are responsible for 71 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

And while the whole space thing might sound futuristic, don’t forget retail giant Amazon not only sells billions of products to consumers all around the world, its founder Jeff Bezos also owns Blue Origin – an aerospace company that aims to help facilitate ‘private human access to space’.

(Blue Origin)

4. We’re lonely, despite being more connected

Humans are more connected than ever before thanks to technology, and yet we also report feeling more isolated than ever. In many parts of the world, we’re having less sex and birth rates are dropping. Twenty-two percent of millennials say they have “no friends”.

This type of empty connection is mirrored in WALL-E, where the robots are more human than the humans are.

On the Axiom, humans have digital screens perpetually beamed in front of their faces that allow them to video chat, but we don’t see any intimate family groups. No one touches (until WALL-E and EVE come along), and we don’t see couples together, or parents with children – toddlers are raised by AI in classrooms.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

5. Obesity is on the rise

Okay, this one’s obvious – one of the most striking things about the humans in WALL-E is that they’re all fat. Just look at how the Axiom’s captains have changed since the mission launched.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

To be fair, space reduces muscle mass and makes you puffy.

But we’re not on a dissimilar path of weight gain. Obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1975 and are still increasing.

In the film, it probably has something to do with the fact that people no longer walk. Even as babies, they use self-driving hoverchairs to get them around.

That isn’t so far fetched – with self-driving car technology moving out of the lab, and people more sedentary than ever before, it’s not hard to imagine us all sitting back and letting technology drive us around.

And then there’s this photo, taken in Walmart in 2015:

(mlevid/Imgur)

In fact, BMW has already made something that looks suspiciously like the WALL-E chair, their ‘personal mobility concept’ vehicle i-REAL.

More

6. We can’t stop staring at screens

I’m not just talking about social media here, but also Netflix, YouTube, Hulu… While we do use technology to connect with friends and family across the globe in ways we couldn’t in the past, the average adult today consumes five times more information daily than a counterpart in 1986.

We’re also watching close to eight hours of TV a day. Our binge-watching has even become an environmental issue.

The humans in WALL-E are just a small step up from this, with their screens now projected in front of them all the time – giving them 24/7 access to ads, entertainment, and shopping.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

In one telling scene, two friends are chatting to each other online but never realise they’re actually right next to each other. Another woman only realises there’s a gigantic pool on the cruise ship after her screen is interrupted by WALL-E getting in her way.

Sound familiar?

7. We feel useless

In a crucial line in the film, the Axiom’s Captain B. McCrea tells the autopilot “I don’t want to survive, I want to live.” Up until that point, the only thing he’s done himself is read out the morning announcements.

The rest of the humans on board don’t seem to work at all. They’re purposeless – their roles replaced by technology and their home planet destroyed. Even back on Earth, WALL-E was left behind just cubing up waste and moving it from one place to the next.

(Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

Many of us don’t feel much more productive. A 2015 poll in the UK revealed that 37 percent of Brits think their job is meaningless. And scientists have predicted that roughly half of all jobs will be replaced by technology – not centuries from now, but in the next 20 years.

On top of that, we often feel powerless in the face of the climate crisis, with our best attempts at action dwarfed by the negative impacts from industry and government.

8. Going to space might be our only chance of survival… if you can afford it

The Axiom wasn’t taking people offshore as a humanitarian act – it was a ticketed, luxury cruise. There’s no mention of other evacuation missions from Earth, so if we assume the Axiom is all that’s left, what happened to the humans who couldn’t afford a ticket?

Probably the same thing that will happen, and is already happening, to those of us who aren’t rich enough to be protected from the worst effects of climate change.

Going to space is one option for human survival if our planet becomes so hot that it’s no longer habitable. But even with reusable rockets, space is expensive, and there won’t be room for everyone.

9. There’s still hope

As depressing as the film may be, there’s still hope for humanity. Life starts to bloom again on Earth. The antics of WALL-E and EVE wake up the passengers from their mindless scrolling. Captain B. McCrea fights back.

(WALL-E, Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar)

And there’s hope for us, too.

Yes, the outlook is bleak, but the science is clear – we can turn this ship around. Every degree of warming we can avoid will save lives, will protect ecosystems.

Perhaps the biggest difference between us and the humans in WALL-E is that we’re not useless – yet. We might feel it, but we still have a role to play in stopping the coming climate crisis.

In turning around our mindless consumption. In remembering that we vote governments in to serve our interests, not to protect the status quo. And we shouldn’t be scared to vote them out.

This is why we’re striking today. There is no news worth covering that could possibly be more important than reminding society that we still have a voice, and we still have power.

This article is part of ScienceAlert’s special climate edition, published in support of the global #ClimateStrike on 20 September 2019.

#Humans

[passionandpurposeblog-blog]

Sexuality: No More to say and so over it

A few months after my long term girlfriend and I split up, I ended up in bed with Phillip, A nice guy that I’d known for some time. During the post-sex talk, he turns and asks “So does that mean you’re straight now?” 

“LMFAO” 

‘You’ve got a nice cock and I had a great orgasm, …..but you haven’t awoken anything in me that wasn’t already there. You cannot ‘make’ me straight and no one forced me to fuck you’ 

Infact, No one else would sexually awaken anything in me. Not the next guy after Phil, or the guy after that guy, or the girl after the guy after Phil. The list goes on and the list started waaaay back into my early teens. I've always been open, I was experimenting with drugs and people at a young age, I had a threesome with a guy and a girl when I was just 18. When I look back, I must admit that was very young for such an experience, but I just went with the flow. I don’t regret it, but I wish I had done it at a later age to really make the most of it and have the emotional maturity that you need to go with it. 

I’ve been listening to an interview with Kate Pierson (B52’s) and she has recently married her long term partner, a woman that she has dated for 15 years. She said that she had always dated men, and was even married before and that this lady came along and bang she was in love, just like that. Kate Pierson is now 71, So this is her 55-year-old self experiencing a major transition and shift in her life. Whilst trawling through the B52s back catalog online I read so many comments from random fans. ‘She's a lesbian’ ‘I never knew’ ‘But she was married to so and so’ and this is exactly the snooze fest that I am writing about today. Yawn...... If she spent 40 years with different men and now met a woman, perhaps shes just er just bisexual? And more importantly, shouldn’t we be interested in the music and her voice? As much as I love her, when all is said and done I don’t really want to think about the bedroom antics of a 71-year-old yknow.  

What is it with the labels?  

It’s like no one is comfortable until they know exactly which box you belong in, and if you stray from that box then their tiny minds scramble and system overload occurs. ‘ANNOUNCE YOURSELF AT ONCE’ ‘What are you?’ and ‘Don’t you dare have options or change, it doesn’t fit with the label I’ve prescribed you’.  

Before we label Kate a lesbian, how about we mention that she’s a brilliant talented vocalist with over 40 years in the band? Or is that how we are defining her now ‘The lesbian’?. *Insert laughing emoji here* 

“Bisexuals always get dumped on,” says Cynthia Nixon from Sex in the City...The Media has too labeled her a lesbian when much like Kate Pierson, she was in fact with men and entered into this new world later on in her life. It’s like now we must erase her whole previous life and deny that any man has ever come close to her! How dare she now turnaround and say she's’ attracted to men! How fucking dare she, she’s lesbian property now and she has no voice! She never said she was anything, You did!   

I thought, ‘I get it! I get You, I just get it’. She’s attracted to people, they may be male or they may be female yet shes being kettled to a place she never asked to be. It really is that simple. Should her current relationship end, nothing stops her going back to men, dating another woman or even staying single. Your past partners do not mean that your future self is set in stone. It’s not difficult to understand really is it?  

But! And there is a But!  

Say Cinthia and her gf/wife did break up and she dated a man. She won’t find it that easy, because of what I call, the whole ‘lesbian fragility’ - Gay women who pride themselves on being with women and only women and god fucking forbid should you show any interest in a guy. Well, You are now damaged goods my girl. A sell-out, banished!....exiled from the pride....like the Lioness in last weeks BBC Planet Earth. How can you and the gay community ever really watch the L Word again together or listen to Ani Difranco in the same way? ‘It’s just not the same’ they’ll whine.  

I’m being serious. There is a reverse discrimination within the gay community! I’ve seen it first hand. I’ve seen a few women in same sex relationships end, then go for a guy and their ‘friends’ no longer feel the same way about them, there’s no time to hang out anymore and she is “too busy with her straight friends”.  

Awwwww did someone emasculate you? 

I’ve never really enjoyed the company of gay women if I'm honest. I always found their friendships forged on sharing of sexual preference rather than common interest, views or hobbies. I usually think their haircuts are shit and they present me with this feeling where they are unsure if they want to fuck me or fight me. Very awkward, not to mention its a very childish and incestuous scene.  

I have seen this so many times with women, either in a same sex or opposite and then switch later on down the line which is what I mean about experience and just understanding those around you. I think a lot of women are on the bi spectrum. Not all, no, but a lot are, and sexuality is fluid.  About three months ago my cock hungry straight friend told me she’d met some woman online and is now having the best sex of her life! Great, wonderful, Whoppie.  So how do I label her? …....‘Err Mary’......... I label her Mary. I can’t really call her cock hungry right now, so I’ll just label her ‘Hungry Mary’. 

One of my oldest friends is gay – full blown lesbian, never been with a guy but totally cool with every bi girl that has. She and I sit on a different part of the spectrum, but she gets it and like myself she gives those around her that mutual respect and safe space to be who they are. If she turned around tomorrow and said she’s dating a guy, I wouldn’t be shocked, not because she has ever indicated that she likes guys, but simply because people change.  

I know three guys that have also experimented with other guys, would identify as straight and two of the three have long term girlfriends and kids. I just think at the time they took the ‘any holes a goal’ attitude and like my younger self, just went with the flow. 

As we age and grow the fuck up, this should be more accepted and we should just allow people to do who and what they want without the questions, especially the silly questions. It’s really mind numbingly boring, not to mention so nosey!? Jeez, get your own life in order. Despite my ramblings, I'm actually a pretty private person.  I just don’t discuss my private life or anyone I’m dating, I have so many transient non-committal interactions with people that I just don’t feel I need to. 

 I’ve been chatting to some people for ages, and I still wouldn’t discuss parts of my life with them. I keep my circle so small, and If we don’t click like that, we don’t click like that. It’s cool, because there is far more to me and far more to you than who we have in our beds right? I cant imagine meeting someone and asking them, “so what are ya?” CRINGE. I’d die. I’ve got some friends that I’ve spoken to for years, we’ve had really great conversations and it’s never occurred to me to stop and ask ‘do you have a partner? Are you gay?’  

The small circle of friends that I have know me, they get me and that’s my safe space.  

I do find some of the questions and statements really annoying, and if I’m honest just plain weird. I have an irritating male friend in that likes to continually remind me that I’m attracted to women, and of course, there is no way that I can be attracted to men, because I’m not attracted to him..... *eye roll* Dick! It’s like me saying to someone, ‘but you said you like mixed raced girls, so why don’t you like me’ it’s really really weird and it makes me feel uncomfortable. Its uncomfortable because he cannot address or acknowledge his own fascination with bisexuality and cannot stop mentioning it every time he sees me? He makes out he is cool and open-minded, yet I seem to be the topic of convo or butt of his jokes. Address your homophobia or your weird unrequited sexualisation of me whatever the issue is. Seek help mate, Your issue not mine. 

I cannot recall being asked what two women do in bed, but I have heard of it being asked to other people. It’s hilarious. I honestly believe that if you are over 25 and cannot work that out then you have a really dull imagination and I’d bet you are not very experienced. Not necessarily in bedding two women at once, but just in experiencing people; hearing their stories, watching porn, understanding their anatomy and physiology. OR You are being a menace and condescending..... I’ve never seen two men at it live, but I’m pretty sure I know how it goes down ;-)  

Sometime ago I spent a fair amount of time at a bdsm sex dungeon helping out an old friend. Id mostly film her sessions, and now and then Id help out by giving some guys the odd little kick in the nuts etc. Boy, I could write a whole new blog on that experience LOL! I saw some things!  

Meeting all the different types of people that came in the dungeon really opened my eyes to the world of sex and sexuality and just what turns people on. You really cannot judge what people are into, and you’d never know. It’s funny, the ‘geezers’ that make the gay jokes about bumming are often the same ones that ask the women to wear strap ons ;-). People have their quirks and their kinks, they just hide it well BELIEVE me. 

I’ve seen a lot and I’m very open and not much phases me, but because I’m not phased, or excited by the gossip or the fascination of it all I'm over it. …....over the labels, the questions, the presumptions, opinions and the basic inability to let people do what they want in peace. So because of this I decided a long time ago that I’m actually over my sexuality and stopped speaking about it  back in my twenties. 

Yawn.  

No one owns me and no one dictates.

I’m not anything, I’m just me in that particular point of time. No path is set and I answer to no one except who’s in my bed. 

Keep your own truth

[lordsicheng]

My guesses on Wanna One’s rising signs (1/3)

*disclaimer at the bottom.

What is the Ascendant / Rising sign?

“Your rising sign is the sign that shows how "others" see you, which is reflected in your first house. Once someone gets to know you, then they'll see more of your sun sign characteristics, but until that happens they'll form an opinion about you based on your rising sign. This means you take on the personality of the sign that rules your first house. 

For this reason, the ascendant is also concerned with how a person has learned to present him or herself to the world, especially in public and in impersonal situations. In some circumstances, it can therefore function as a shield or mask to guard a person's real nature - in other words the 'defense mechanism' every person has to cope with unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations. The ascendant also has a strong bearing on a person's physical appearance and overall health.”

Let’s Start!

Yoon Jisung – Gemini Rising

Personality Traits: fun, chatty, considerate, inquisitive, curious, quick-witted, friendly, sociable

Appearance Traits: slender, average to very tall heights as Gemini risings are also known as one of the tallest rising signs, plump lips, tends to have a longer face or nose, complexion can vary with somewhat pink to red undertones, fast movements (walking, talking, etc.)

Why I think he is a Gemini rising

Gemini Rising individuals are very witty, sociable and have a quirky sense of humor. Gemini is known to be the most sociable and talkative of all signs within astrology, which we can tell just by the very friendly vibe he gives when we see him. They are born with curious nature, often seeking knowledge just to feed their interest. However, these individuals are not the most emotional and seem more detached from others’ feelings. But thanks to the water in his chart, he is actually a little bit more sympathetic and receptive compared to others with Gemini risings that are fire or air dominant.

These people are also very adaptable and love to learn new things. Communication is their primal source of being able to learn new things from other people, even becoming popular in a sense at one point. They may even talk to themselves very often! However these learnings can come with a price; they will tend to get very bored easily and move from one talent to another, able to learn many things and yet unfortunately not master any of them. That’s the tricky thing, because unless they are abundant with earth placements in their chart, they may not be able to choose which path they would want for themselves in the future.

Again, this all depends on other aspects he has especially his houses (if we had his birth time, we would easily look at his 6th and 10th house for proper understanding of his future endeavors and what path he may be able to find himself comfortable in.)

Sungwoon – Cancer Rising

Personality traits: sensitive, motherly, nurturing, family-oriented, has strong desire to be in the spotlight, intuitive

Appearance Traits: short to average height, plump lips, weight can fluctuate but are usually on the lighter side, expressive eyes, face can be round to having prominent chins/jawlines, small hands and feet, youthful appearance, nose is usually short with a prominent tip

Why I think he is a Cancer rising

People born under the rising sign of Cancer are gentle, kind-natured and nurturing. They have strong intuitive thoughts, often sensitive to those surrounding them. There is a sense of childlike quality in them that can be mirrored through their eyes, as they are ruled by the moon, they can be the most expressive asset they have physically. They are attracted to change, especially for the betterment, and are good speakers especially with very prominent aspects with their Mercury to other planets. However, a trait that is commonly unseen within Cancer risings are that they tend to be energetic and lively, especially if paired with an air or fire sun sign.

Emotions can run through waters for Cancer risings. Their intuitive minds are able to remember things quite easily, even if it reaches the negative. May it be a past home, a past lover, or a past experience. They are also very detail-oriented and make very good homemakers. Being at home themselves, they can find much comfort and are able to grab energy just by being able to grow and have a nurturing environment. However, these natives may tend to be quite overemotional and tend to overthink, maybe even tend to care too much of others without thinking of themselves first. They also need lots of attention, may be quite sulky if not given proper attention too.

It is natural for Cancer placements to be very selfless, especially if it’s their Sun, Moon, Venus or rising sign. However, they feel the fulfillment when their emotions are validated. They are also into traveling, especially when around waters or even means of agriculture. May tend to fear harsh criticism but also accepting of it on their part, they see this as something they can always use themselves to improve, thanks to their acceptance of change.

Minhyun – Capricorn / Libra Rising

One of the few members I had a hard time trying to figure out on their rising sign. I ended up choosing two different signs.

Personality traits (Capricorn rising): respectful, patient, confident, strong work ethic, loyal, responsible, disciplined, cooperative

Appearance Traits (Capricorn rising):  average height, prominent nose and chin, skin leans slightly on the paler side, hair is usually quite dark, pleasant smiles

Personality traits (Libra rising): easygoing, charming, very friendly, peaceful, idealistic, artistic, tidy

Appearance Traits (Libra rising): slender / well-formed body, above average heights, graceful movements, dimples are also common for Libra risings, charming eyes, symmetrical faces

Why I think he is either rising signs

The typical Capricorn rising is deemed as serious, work-oriented and even-minded. However these individuals are also materialistic in a way, even though Taurus is told as the most materialistic when Capricorns are actually a step ahead. That’s the thing—Capricorn risings want to be a step ahead out of everyone. Their headstrong attitude and strong mind makes them very well-respected.

However behind all those seriousness, Capricorn risings are very thoughtful and considerate. If paired with a fire or air sun, they can even be less serious than most people who share the same risings. They’re usually quiet and ambitious, commonly deemed as the rising sign that has a very visible appearance of having the “resting bitch face” (RBF). They always mean well, however they are not the most gullible—they know what they exactly want, how they want it, when they want it. They could even reach the stars if they could! Because of their appearance as being cold and unemotional, they may tend to look very “restricted”, hence Capricorn is ruled by the planet of Saturn-- the planet of restriction. They do try to keep a very kind-natured aura as they are at home with the environment they are in.

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Now, for Libra rising, are much known for wanting to bring everything into “balance”, even if they have to work for it to happen. They naturally have a kind appearance and also because it is an air sign, they are one of the more sociable signs. This is more evident if paired with a fire sun sign. They have a pleasant and agreeable aura which gains them natural attraction by those around them. Libra risings are also one of the most attractive signs because of their natural magnetism. A love of beauty, these individuals also tend to take care of themselves a lot, especially with their appearance.

Steadfast and courageous, they also are generous and giving just like Capricorn risings. However Libra risings may tend to be a bit susceptible and hate disorganization. They’re also very romantic and passionate, attracted to beauty in all forms whether it’s art or even music. They even value cleanliness as much as Virgo risings, maybe even more! Their expressions vary from kind to serious when in the spotlight, and like fire risings, they crave the spotlight and grab it with any chance they get. However they despise people who are boastful. If they come across people who show off themselves too much, their affection and even attention won’t even by given by the Libra rising natives.

Seongwoo – Libra rising

Personality traits (Libra rising): easygoing, charming, very friendly, peaceful, idealistic, artistic, tidy

Appearance Traits (Libra rising): slender / well-formed body, above average heights, graceful movements, dimples are also common for Libra risings, charming eyes, symmetrical faces

Why I think he is a Libra rising

I have explained a lot on Minhyun’s bit, but I will add a bit more since there are some characteristics I have noticed from Seongwoo as well.

We can see that he is one of the more comedic and friendly members, always looking out for other people. Also from what we have noticed, he is very naturally attractive! However when we see him, he shows a rather gentle and kind aura that makes him magnetic, his facial features even show this more. His chart is full of earth, where we usually see someone who is on the “earthy” side very serious. However our rising signs show how we present ourselves to the world and how others see us, even more than our sun sign.

Seongwoo is very known to be sociable and has had an active lifestyle, active as in very committing to the industry type of active. Unfortunately, Libra risings are also known to have middle leveled to weak stamina, which we’ve already heard from the other members. But with comes to his weakness, he’s also quite the charmer and he knows how to show off his talents. I, at first, guessed he had a fire rising. However, I’ve noticed he’s calmer than fire risings (not saying fire risings are wild or anything, just that he seems more… idk calm? At least in public LOL) because I’ve seen that thanks to his earth placements.

He also has a Leo moon, which shows he may seem to love to be on the spotlight more than we know—and if paired with a rising like Libra, he’s definitely a very magnetic persona in the public and on stage. Our eyes always seem to fall to him even at one point during performances.

Disclaimer: PLEASE note that all members don’t have their birth times. This is, like said on the title, are my initial guesses with explanations on the members’ rising signs. They may or may not be accurate, however you may interpret them. Please take my explanations with a grain of salt. Also please consider lifestyles when it comes to personalities and genetics on their appearances, they also play a huge part rather than focusing on astrological characteristics itself.