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tuney-dreemur · 3 years

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Some more m.a.p/ animation ideas

So I had some more ideas, however, these are supposed to be a little more lighthearted/ happy/ spoofy. One again some are more thought out than others.

To the Sky by Owl City: Everyone having fun, vibing and flying around on the Empires server

Bad Boy by Cascada: Joey x Xornoth. Kind of spoofy maybe. Like a 50/50 between spoofy and not. It can be spoofy if you go with those early 2000’s amv vibes.

I won’t say I’m in love: Flower Husbands ft. Lizzie and Joel in the background as the muses. I think the Caleb Hyles cover would be perfect for it.

For the Dancing and the Dreaming Peter Hollens cover: Joel and Lizzie playful and extravagantly proposing to each other.

Marry You by Bruno Mars: Flower Husbands with Scott singing to Jimmy.

Wavin’ Flags by K’naan: A lighthearted version of what happened at Pearl’s and Mythic’s arena with all the empires there having fun and showing off. No evil killing spree happened

Not Evil from The LEGO Movie 2: Mythic in the first stage of his corruption trying to convince other empires that he’s not evil and is fully aware.

I Lived Glee Cover: After everything that happened everyone is alright. Xornoth, Joey and Mythic are uncorrupted and hanging out with the other empires, the land is back to normal, and peace is restored. Everyone looks back on how throughout all their struggles, they overcame them and got stronger.

From Now On from the Greatest Showman: Uncorrupted!Mythic promises the people of Mythland that he’ll be a much better king after coming back to life. The people are just glad to have their king back once more.

The Story of Tonight Reprise: The after party of Lizzie’s and Joel’s wedding. Almost all the guys congratulating (teasing) the groom. Ends with Joel talking to Joey about asking out his little “crush” that couldn’t make it to the wedding.

One Last Time/ Ride from Hamilton: One Last Time is Mythic talking to Bubbles about how he’s gonna die soon and that he needs help writing his will before he passes while he’s still in his right state of mind. One Last Ride is more spoofy with Mythic and the General dealing with some rowdy mythlanders.

Carnaval del Barrio from In the Heights (Musical version): Everyone decides that for just one day they forget about the demon and corruption and allies and enemies and just have fun and party like the good old days before all of this started. Essentially a day of truce for everyone.

In the Heights from In the Heights (Musical version): This one is more open to personal ideas. The bare basic concept is a look into an average day of a kingdom, any kingdom, whether it’s a ruler’s or citizen’s perspective of the day.

Hieroglyphs by The Oh Hellos: Another one more open to personal ideas. The basic concept is Pixlriffs holding a celebration in Pixandria in honor of Death

98,000 from In the Heights (Musical version): Taking place when Xornoth first appeared. All of the kingdoms talking/ bragging about how they’ll deal with the corruption and Xornoth trying to one up each other.

Paciencia Y Fe from In the Heights (Musical version): Shubble speaking to one of her ancestors from her old world. She talks about how the demon followed her to empires but she also met so many new people who are nice to her and how she’s in charge of her very own kingdom. She also has flashbacks to her old world with her family and friends. Reflecting that while it’s hard in empires she has many things to be grateful for in this new world and how she’ll do anything to protect it.

Piragua/ Reprise from In the Heights (Musical version): This is an entirely spoofy idea because I just like this song and it’s reprise. Jimmy talking about how his kingdom has all these different types of cod and other people are trying to get rid of them. The reprise is that everyone failed and all the cods remain.

This is Halloween: Empires but everyone is dressed up and it’s Halloween/ spooky themed.

This December by Ricky Montgomery: Winter themed empires. Everyone joining in on some fun winter activities or staying inside during it.

#if you saw this earlier no you didn’t #empires smp #ldshadowlady #xornoth #mythicalsausage #pixlriffs #pearlescentmoon #shubble #solidaritygaming #scott smajor #fwip #geminitay #joel smallishbeans #joey graceffa #katherine elizabeth

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macademmia · 3 years

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2021 Fics!!!

woah. the writing was accomplished. I stopped posting them on here, but here they are, in all their glory, less than 2 hours before 2022, ft. my commentary!

(I had some user name difficulties so some of these are under the psuedo name skeltontown while others are under beartown)

happy new year <|:)

I will survive, keep on surviving

Niki knows war. She has seen what it has done to Wilbur, to Tommy, to Tubbo. To her home

Niki knows what government has done. She sees how it corrupts people and destroys happy endings.

Niki watches war. Again, and again, and again until finally, she can't watch anymore. She picks up a blade and she learns to fight. She watches over L'Manburg and wishes she could set it on fire.

Or: The one where Niki teams with Tommy and Techno in the new plot to destroy L'Manburg

One of my favorite things I've written this year, I wrote it in one sitting fueled my nothing but spite and post-lore stream adrenaline. Also, I totally called the Niki + Techno Team up

Midnight Campfires

Lots of people think they knew Wilbur Soot. They knew the revolutionary, the president, the terrorist, the dead man. But only 2 people knew the real Wilbur Soot, the man who was a mix of all his titles and so much more. Nihachu and Tommyinnit. And now Wilbur was gone and Tommy and Niki are left to pick up the pieces.

(this isn’t “canon” but “canon” can pry Tommy, Niki, and Techno found family from my cold dead hands)

Sequel to I will Survive, Keep on Surviving.

Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman

"Why don't you just stick to being friendly neighborhood spiderman?"

People say that like it's easy. Like Peter doesn't deal with the darkest things on the street. When there are no aliens, just people who are hurt. The Avengers have movie nights in their tower and come out every 2 years for the next Alien threat. Peter talks people down from jumping off buildings. Peter works twice as hard and is always told he's not working hard enough Peter's tired, he's burned out and more than anything else he just wants some fucking respect

OR: the one where Tony realizes what a BAMF Peter is and Peter learns to tell the adults in his life what he needs

I have so many thoughts about Peter Peter Parker and have had them for years and IT SHOWS in this fics. One of my favorite things I've written. I swear I will get around to writing the second part but the first chapter def stands on it's own as a one-shot

Eyes to The Sky

Tommy wakes up and he knows it's going to be a bad day. His scars sting and Tommy feels a million blocks away. He wants to do anything but visit Dream. He has to though because he told Dream he would and if Tommy doesn't show up Dream will know just how weak he is. Dream will have won if Tommy can't face him. Sam and Puffy help him realize that he's already beaten Dream.

OR: the one where Tommy finally gets some decent adults in his life

Another post lore writing binge that somehow blew up. Humor + Angst is my favorite combo

Montgomery forever

And a long time ago, I promised that if you were happy, then I was happy. Nothing else to talk about.

Niki should kill Tommy.

She's planned it for weeks, she's standing over Tommy's sleeping body with a knife, this is her chance.

“Nice night for a murder,” Wilbur says.

Niki has no idea how he got in here. She thinks she might be going insane.

OR: on the night Niki plans to kill Tommy, Wilbur shows up too. It's complicated

I am forever thinking about C!Niki's relationship and C!Wilbur's relationship and forever angry at the shippers for making them feel uncomfortable streaming together

there is very little left of me and it's never coming back

“Could you stop that?” Dream snapped.

“No,” Tommy snarled, “No I don’t think I will,”

Tommy tapped the wall harder. Dream might have all of the control-Tommy was resigned to that. He knew that Dream’s secrets were stronger than he was, he wasn’t naive. But he could still make Dream angry. Show Dream, shows Wilbur, he wasn’t completely beaten down. (Even if every time he closed his eyes he could feel Dream hitting and hitting until everything felt like it was on fire)

“That’s it,” Dream said. Tommy braces himself for the hit. It doesn’t come. Instead, Dream says, “I’m getting Sam, I can’t fucking take this anymore,”

OR: after Dream brings Tommy back to life, Tommy finally gets to leave Pandora's box. It's not the happy ending Sam hoped it would be

Yet another post stream adrenaline fic and yet another fic titled after a front bottom's song. Dream SMP lore streams had me in a motivation chokehold like nothing else

once you looked at me the same way you're looking at him

Tommy hates a lot.

He hates the way Tubbo looks at him like he's not real. He hates the way Tubbo stands by Ranboo's side instead of his and he hates how Tubbo got married while Tommy was going through hell. He hates Ranboo for taking his best friend away and he hates himself for not being there to stop it. He hates the fact that he never gets a break and he hates the way his hands won't stop shaking.

Tommy gets out of prison. It's time he and Tubbo talked.

yeah, this one was fun to write. friendship is so fun to write. cathartic screaming is so fun to write

you were only seventeen

“You remember when we went to the movies?” She whispers, “And those guys from school, complete jerks who stole your lunch came up to us. And you stood in front of me, ready to protect me,”

“The kids were twice your size, and you were ready to fight all three of them. Just for me. They ran away pretty quick when I started scolding them. We got way too much popcorn and you covered my eyes when the characters started kissing, Mark, it was ridiculous.”

No reply.

“I wish your dad was like those bullies,” She says, knees pulled around her chest, “I wish I could tell him to leave you alone and he would,”

She wants to kill him. It’s a horrible, awful thought. Debbie’s never wanted to murder anyone. But Nolan fooled her. He was her best friend, her husband, he was Omni-man and she was his pet. He tried to kill her son. She can’t even do anything about it. It never bothered her that Nolan could snap her right in half. She didn't think Nolan would snap anyone in half. Until he did.

The heart monitor keeps beeping.

OR: Debbie and Mark, after Nolan leaves

IMO this is one of my most underrated fics(probably b/c of the fandom size) but seriously I am so proud of this one. Invincible was such a fun universe to play in.

I still wanna be your favorite boy

“Let’s say,” Kaz said, looking Jesper dead in the eyes. He would not show weakness. “Hypothetically. If I wanted to take Inej on a date...what would I do?”

A wide grin broke across Jesper’s face and suddenly, Kaz realized his mistake.

“Wylan are you hearing this?” Jesper whispered, “Kaz Brekker is asking me for love advice.”

“It’s hypothetical love advice.”

“Sure,” Jesper said.

OR: Kaz asks Inej out on a date. It doesn't go quite as expected.

Kanej is such a good ship. Pining, lovesick Kaz is the most fun to write.

intractable

As a child, Caitlyn's mother always told her she couldn't take no for an answer.

OR: AU of the rain scene in episode eight where instead of letting Vi go, Caitlyn does something she's been wanting to do for a while.

writing women in love is the best thing. Cait and Vi own my gay self and Arcane is incredible

#em writes #i have so many wips its a mircale this many fics got out #fanfiction

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circeart · 4 years

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2020’s Mind-Blowing Jupiter/Pluto Conjunction: Shadow & Light By

Dana Gerhardt

Seven of the ten deadliest pandemics in human history erupted during Jupiter/Pluto transits—just like the conjunction that peaks this year in April, June, and November.

Jupiter and Pluto were conjunct during the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918. Bubonic plague–the Black Death–ravaged Europe, Asia and Africa from the J/P conjunction of 1347 to their opposition in 1353. Jupiter was trine Pluto during one of humanity’s very first pandemics, the Plague of Justinian, which killed 25 million in 541. In modern times, the Lord of death and shadows (Pluto) has joined forces with the God of growth and expansion (Jupiter) during our five most recent pandemics.

Yet Jupiter and Pluto are gift givers too. Astrology teaches there are no shadows without light. These conjunctions, occurring about every 12 years, have also coincided with humanity’s greatest leaps forward. Together, Sky God Jupiter and his brother the Underworld Lord keep expanding our universe, triggering scientific breakthroughs, awakening new paradigms, distributing mega-wealth, and inspiring sweeping shifts in political power.

Johannes Kepler was born during a Jupiter/Pluto conjunction in Pisces, when most of the globe still believed that planets circled the Earth in perfect round orbits. At 24 (his Jupiter return), Kepler has a mind-blowing epiphany about the solar system’s true design; it’s published a year later, during the 1596 Jupiter/Pluto conjunction. Under a later conjunction, Kepler publishes the work for which he’s most famous—his planetary laws of motion—still used in calculations today. **

Hans Lipperhey applies for the first telescope patent in 1608, under a Jupiter/Pluto conjunction. In the following months, Galileo, the father of observational astronomy, builds his first telescope, through which he observes four of Jupiter’s moons, the first space objects seen orbiting a planet other than Earth. Three hundred sixty years later, after so many Jupiter/Pluto gifts, humanity takes its greatest leap yet, beyond Earth. Neil Armstrong leaves his footprints on the Moon within orb of the 1968-69 Jupiter/Uranus/Pluto conjunctions.

Spread the wealth

Pluto is a god of wealth—Jupiter rules good fortune. You might expect these archetypes to have blessed our billionaires. And they have. Warren Buffet, Rupert Murdoch, George Soros, Bill Gates—all born during a Jupiter/Pluto conjunction. Charles Koch was born with a Jupiter/Pluto trine (as was an earlier financier & philanthropist, JP Morgan). Koch’s brother David was born during their square (as was steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie nearly a century earlier).

But if you’re hoping Jupiter/Pluto might bring you a mega-lottery win this year, think again. Jupiter is an optimist who loves to roll the dice, but when dancing with Pluto, he favors hard work that’s born of obsession. That’s how scientific geniuses and billionaires are made—they think big (Jupiter) with formidable focus (Pluto).

What about the wealth of the common man? I’ll argue that the last three J/P conjunctions have increased this beyond measure, even as the divide between the haves and have-nots has grown wider than it’s been (some say) in all of human history. But first we have to expand our perception of wealth beyond the dollars in our bank accounts. Jupiter is a god of perspective—he favors higher, longer, and broader views.

With that mindset consider how the gifts of the 1981, 1994 and 2007 J/P conjunctions have thoroughly reshaped our world, bestowing the average man with powers beyond that of any king or emperor in history.

In 1981 IBM releases the first personal computer. Computing power that used to require a floor of bulky machines is now small enough to become a home appliance. Soon after, the internet is in development—which will eventually put whole libraries at our fingertips. Many of our greatest emperors spent massive piles of gold on developing their libraries. Today–for free–we can explore the works of mankind’s greatest thinkers.

During the 1994 J/P conjunction, the first PlayStations are released—opening the collective imagination to countless interactive new worlds. How do we calculate the ways these games have rewired possibilities inside the human brain? That year, Bezos launches Amazon—so that today, we can sit in our homes, desiring a book or a toothbrush and like an emperor, clap our hands, and have it delivered in an hour or a day. In 2007, the iPhone is released. It quite literally drops the universe into our palms. What king could have commanded views of the birth of a star? Now any child can do this.

But let’s get back to money. How might this year’s conjunction affect our wealth? Covid-19-inspired quarantines have halted economies around the world—prompting talk in the United States of relief efforts that would serve as the greatest wealth distribution in human history, a gesture fitting for these two planets. It’s reminiscent of the Pluto/Jupiter aspects of the early 30’s during the Great Depression—the New Deal was passed in the years between the J/P conjunction and the square. Big bold action is often required when these two planets meet. During the 1943 conjunction, FDR enlists the whole nation in a massive unified war effort.

It helps to remember that Jupiter is also a philosopher. For many, the most honest measure of wealth is having the free time to enjoy their lives—a sudden gift of this year’s pandemic. Time is perhaps the one thing more valuable than money. A homeless man has greater wealth than the dead billionaire. With life and astrology we always have a choice: we can focus on the shadow or the light. We can obsess (Pluto) about our common poverty. Or we can use this sudden abundance of hours to leap beyond our own limits. We can use Jupiter’s massive exuberance to boost our Plutonian passions.

As when–during the J/P conjunction of 2007–NASA’s New Horizon spacecraft uses the boost of Jupiter’s gravity to slingshot itself toward Pluto! **

Political pendulums swing

People focus on Pluto’s destruction—but empowerment is his favorite game. During J/P conjunctions, political power can swing dramatically. These are the years when we see regime changes, stunning political landslides, assassinations, and the birth of social movements.

Within orb of the 1931 Jupiter/Pluto conjunction, Mahatma Gandhi, himself born under a J/P conjunction, leads one of the most powerful nonviolent campaigns. He marches 241 miles across western India to get salt from the ocean, in defiance of the British ban against Indians collecting it or selling it. Spain becomes a republic; King Alfonso XII is deposed. Under the next conjunction in 1943, during World War II, Mussolini resigns; Italy surrenders. Assassination attempts on Hitler and the Philippines president fail.

Argentinian President Peron is ousted under the beams of the 1956 J/P conjunction, when Morocco gains independence from France & Spain, Churchill resigns, and Khrushchev shocks the Soviets by denouncing Stalin; the de-Stalinization of Russia begins. In the US, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat—and a young Martin Luther King helps lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

At the next J/P conjunction in 1968, under the weight of the Vietnam War, President Johnson stuns the country by declining to run for re-election. Throughout the year, around the world, workers and students take to the streets in mass protests against social and economic inequalities. In the US, the Civil Rights Act is passed.

Under this same conjunction, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King are assassinated. At the next conjunction in 1981, Egyptian President Sadat is killed; attempts are made on newly elected President Reagan and Pope John Paul II. That same year, Nelson Mandela (born during the J/P conj of 1918) inspires one of the world’s earliest hashtags, “Free Mandela.” This cry starts gathering momentum around the world, and by the next Jupiter/Pluto conjunction, in 1994, Mandela, now freed, is elected the first black president of South Africa.

What happens is always surprising

I had hoped for wild regime changes this year. Though honestly, I hadn’t given Jupiter/Pluto much thought. Like many astrologers, I’ve been fixated on the Big Saturn/Pluto Restructuring and how it all ends this year—with the birth of a new collective cycle, signified by the Great Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in progressive Aquarius. I had hoped these omens were pointing to rising power for the people, a mass multi-cultural movement of women and millennials who would stare down the structures corrupt with greed and forge a new world, one that would benefit those at the bottom as much as those at the top!

Alas the future always glitters in a progressive’s eyes. And now that I know more about J/P conjunctions, I also know they don’t guarantee success. Just ask the air traffic controllers or the Polish Solidarity workers—whose 1980/81 rebellions were crushed by those in power. Jupiter and Pluto point to this great woosh of universal energy, erupting in massive expansion, but as with any explosion, there is darkness and light, destruction and birth. How many people grabbed high mortgages during the J/P conjunction of 2007, just one year before home values crashed? And if you want to know why toilet paper is flying off the shelves, blame Pluto (god of excrement) fueled by Jupiterian excess.

In truth Jupiter and Pluto don’t cause what happens below. They’re omens. Astrology is an art of symbols. Planetary motion tracks for us the otherwise invisible waves and patterns of universal energy. The Covid-19 virus is having its best year ever. As magnificent as our leap to the Moon, it has jumped into a new species and is conquering territories all over the world. It’s breathtaking. And their spaceship? Pluto’s agents! Bats and their guano.

But even wilder is what’s happening among humans now. Just one month ago, around the globe, people were hopelessly divided, right vs left, globalists vs nationalists, as democratic values collided with dictatorships. And now, with a snap of the cosmic fingers, we’re One World. We’re rallied and unified. What the amazing Greta Thunberg couldn’t do for climate change, was accomplished by a virus. The surge in national compassion that didn’t erupt when families were broken apart at the border, now erupts everywhere. “We’re in this together.” What Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders couldn’t achieve—inspiring the nation to strengthen its social safety nets, reign in corporate greed, and make health care available to all–this is suddenly being discussed in Congress, without a regime-changing election.

There was another moment like this, of overwhelming unity. It came during the J/P conjunction that took us to the Moon. But it wasn’t seeing that footprint or the planted flag that made us gasp with wonder. It was what we saw when we turned around—our very first view of that blue jewel, our whole Earth, floating in the dark vacuum of space. That single startling sight rippled us forward into a new awareness of the fragility of our ecology. It reawakened us to our interconnection with—and responsibility for—all life on this planet. A year later we held the first Earth Day. We were recycling. We were talking about alternative energies. We took measures to save disappearing species and habitats. Maybe it didn’t go far or fast enough, but our future trajectory was changed. The J/P conjunctions of 2020 are just beginning. Who knows what else they will bring!

Were you born during a Jupiter/Pluto conjunction?

Bill Gates was lucky to be born in 1955, wrote Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers. Gates was born just a few months before the J/P conjunction of 1956. Gates was lucky, said Gladwell, that local parents got together in 1968 (the next conjunction) and purchased a computer for his school. The opportunity to learn coding came to him at 13, during the year of his Jupiter return, when most of us find our life’s passion. Gates was lucky that he was just the right age to roll the dice when tech began taking off. He founded Microsoft during the 1975 Jupiter/Pluto opposition (which fell across his natal Moon/Mars opposition).

Jupiter and Pluto aren’t personal planets. Jupiter indicates the luck that comes to us through society—this is what’s called a “social” planet. Pluto is an “outer” planet; it defines generations. Both are zeitgeist planets—they describe the times. So it wasn’t just Gates, Gladwell argues. All those who made it big in high-tech were lucky to be born around this time, like Bill Joy, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs. Gladwell puts the peak at 1955, but says it actually stretches from 1952 to 1958–which is from the J/P trine to the sextile.

Below is a table of recent J/P conjunctions. If these aren’t your birth years, you may have been born during the years of other aspects. Check your birth chart. Are Jupiter and Pluto connected?

DateDegree April/June/November 202024/22 Capricorn December 200728 Sagittarius December 199428 Scorpio November 198124 Libra October 196823 Virgo February/June 195627/26 Leo August 19436 Leo May 193118/19 Cancer August 19185/6 Cancer

What happens for societies goes much slower than what happens for individuals. Jupiter/Pluto conjunctions are like a wave that peaks at the conjunction, but starts rolling the year before and continues the year after. We wouldn’t use such orbs in a birth chart—but we should use them to understand the time. And whether or not you have a Jupiter/Pluto aspect in your birth chart, this energy is in the zeitgeist now. We can all have a taste of its magic, if we’re willing to use it.

More on how to do that in my next article, Making the Jupiter/Pluto Conjunction Work for You.

How is the conjunction affecting you? First check the house (and/or planets) where 24 Capricorn falls in your chart. Are you getting transits this year? Steven Forrest’s fabulous Skylog report will tell you (order here). Mary Shea’s brilliant Solar Return report adds extra insight (order here). The SR is a divination chart calculated for your birthday. The house where Jupiter and Pluto falls in the SR is telling.

** This and more is in Patrick Watson’s exhilarating article on Jupiter and Pluto–check it out!

Filed under: Chart Play Tutorials, Home New Moon Featured Article

About Dana Gerhardt

A popular columnist with The Mountain Astrologer since 1991, Dana Gerhardt is an internationally respected astrologer. She has lectured extensively and written for astrology publications on several continents. Her ongoing passions are the moon and living the intuitive life. Dana worked for many years in the corporate sector, where she observed the undeniable influence of natural cycles. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles and did graduate work in literature at Columbia University and CSULA. Dana can be contacted by email.

#astrology #jupiter pluto conjunctions #jupiter pluto #wealth

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khanxharrison · 5 years

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* MUSE AESTHETIC ; repost, don’t reblog.

tagged by : no one tagging : @golnxth @montgomery-c-j-scott

the softest palms that never want to touch you until after a bottle of wine. ╱ “ just braid your hair if you won’t brush it, at least, you useless girl. ” ╱ pulling on your skirt with one hand as you shuffle away. ╱ “ you’ll get it done before the day is up. ” ╱ guilt that isn’t yours to have. ╱it’s a crooked game, but it’s the only one in town. ╱ chains. ╱ “ how could you do this to me? ” ╱ the sharp sting of guilt. ╱ you feel something even though you’re paid to do the opposite. ╱ the family you never had. ╱ falling backwards through time. ╱ quicksand. ╱drowning, but you don’t save yourself. ╱ “ you’re getting better. ” ╱ “ they smile like a snake. ” ╱ you’re the stars and the sky. ╱ there’s a part of you that couldn’t stay away even if you were forced to. ╱ they are your wings, there’s no doubt there. ╱ “ let’s take off somewhere. let’s fly. ” ╱ you edge a bit too close to the sun. ╱ another ghost to take your place after every stumble. ╱ deep roots in the ground slashed open in the sun.

rock candy melting in water. ╱ waves rise and leave the foam behind. ╱ the precipice you call home has a tip you’ll reach eventually. ╱ happiness is the best front a man can take. ╱ “ i’ve never seen someone as beautiful as you before. ” ╱ you disagree; they’re more beautiful. ╱discomfort at the tiniest of touches. ╱ the sky opens up when you see them. ╱ rain comes down. ╱ poppy fields. ╱ your sanity hanging by a thread. ╱ “ oh god, what have you done? ” ╱ roommates weren’t supposed to be the smartest ones of all. ╱ they’ve got a devil on their shoulder and an angel in their mind. ╱ you try to help, but it only got worse. ╱now they’re dead, it’s all your fault.╱ adam & eve in the garden. ╱ a temptress in crisp button-downs. ╱ “ fuck, you’ve gone off the deep end, haven’t you? ”╱they lie so perfectly you almost forget yourself. ╱ the spark that lit the kindling on your funeral pyre. ╱ sugar and spice and a taste for the dark side.

yes saint laurent ╱ black opium on your pillow, a scented cloud drifting behind you like a cape. ╱ crisp green apples piled up on the table. ╱ your shoes are sharp, but your wit is even sharper. ╱ what a pretty one, they say. ╱ you laugh without humor. ╱ a soft, hollow spot sits in your chest. ╱ there’s a place you’ll never leave no matter who tries to stop you. ╱the seat of power fits like a glove. ╱ heavy is the head that wears the crown.╱ you share a space, but not a mind.╱ they think you are weak; you are, maybe. ╱ “ what are you going to do with all of these pills? ” ╱ an empty bird’s nest. ╱ broken pencil tips.╱ there’s an empty paper in front of you that you’ll never fill. ╱ “ we want you to succeed. i hope you can grasp that. ” ╱ “ they weren’t there when it happened. ”

corruption. ╱ there’s a red string tying you together. ╱ the scent of whiskey on the horizon.╱ “ you’re the best friend i’ve ever had. ” ╱ pink tipped fingers lock in secrecy.╱ 99 red balloons drifting through a hazy sky. ╱ you try to lift your head up, but it’s so much effort. ╱ always walking on sunshine. ╱ there’s a million reasons to come down from the clouds, but you can’t be bothered. ╱ hair twisted up with glitter butterfly clips like a haphazard mobile. ╱ you drift, but you know where you’re going. ╱ no one has any dirt on you because you’re infinitely spotless. ╱ the empty side of your bed they crawled into when they were nine. ╱ court hearings. ╱ “ I miss you. ” ╱ siblings are a funny thing. ╱they point out every family-shaped hole in every picture on the mantelpiece. ╱ blackbird screaming ╱ wake in nightmares ╱are you an illusion? ╱ I don’t feel real. ╱ who is in control?

#golnxth #montgomerycjscott #khan aesthetic

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strixmoonwing · 7 years

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Theory on Princess Romelle, Altea, and Surviving Alteans

With the new season of Voltron only just aired a few days ago, I’ve been having some thoughts about what we might expect in season 5 and future seasons- more prominently the ideas of an existing Altea and surving Alteans.

NOTE THIS POST CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 SO DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED IT YET.

With that being said, let’s get on to my thoughts regarding Princess Romelle, Atlea, and the chance of surviving Atleans. I think almost all of the Voltron is low-key expecting some surviving (non different reality) Alteans to show up in later season, especially Princess Romelle the cousin of Allura and future wife of Sven (the original Shiro), who was a very prominent character in the original (also a favorite of Lauren Montgomery it seems so there’s that).

If the Shiro/Kuron clone theory is true, maybe Kuron can settle for bring a Atlean Prince rather than Black Paladin. *Wink wink.** Nudge Nudge.*

Now in regards to Prince Romelle, I’ve seen that a popular headcanon is that she will appear as a possible rebel leader, and through we did not see her this season among the rebels, it’s still a very plausible theory. Even in the original series, when she is introduced, her planet Pollux is enslaved and she and Sven team up to free it so she definitely comes from rebel roots.

And I love the idea of a rebel princess. BUT what I’m hoping to see is Princess Romelle not just being a rebel against the Galra empire, but also a rebel against the current Altea.

Confused? I bet. So let me explain.

First off, let’s get it out that in no way do I think the surviving Alteans would be anything like the Atleans shown in the reality that was featured in episode 4 of season 3 “Hole in the Sky”. Not at all. However, I do think the episode might be a hinting that the surviving Altean race will not be wholly good. And to help better prepare Allura for such a revelation.

Now let’s get to why there’s surviving Alteans still around. Well,it’s just logical. That’s it really. Let’s go over the clues.

First off, it’s been stated that Alteans were space explorers so you can’t honestly say that every single Atlean was on the planet Altea when Zarkon destroyed it. Of course, one could argue that Zarkon would have tried to hunt down every Altean which he could have, but we’re shown that Atleans are shape-shifters that can blend into different environments so the odds of Zarkon being able to find every single one is highly improbable. Also, Zarkon literally broadcasted to the entire universe that he was going to go after Alfor and Altea for revenge mere minutes after he came back from the dead. You can’t tell me that King Alfor, with all his advance technology, did not immediately start evacuating as many Alteans as he could to a safer location the same way he did to the entire Galra race before their own planet was blown up?

My best friend came back from the dead. The space zombie apocalypse has begun. Begin evacuating all Alteans!

But, you the reader, are asking, why having any Alteans shown up then if they’ve survived for this long, especially since Voltron and Princess Allura are now becoming well-known around the galaxies.

Well, dear reader, the answer is quite simple.

New Altea is now the space Switzerland.

But which I mean that New Altea and all the surviving Alteans are neutral. They have completely isolated themselves from the war, from the Galra Empire, and from Voltron.

I mean think about it- a powerful emperor that is able to command one of the universe’s most powerful weapons (the Black Lion) and controls one largest and more powerful empires has literally just risen from DEATH ITSELF (and all Altea saw the body since Alfor was the one that held the funeral) and has declare war on your planet. And has destroyed your plaent. And your King. And now will most likely come after your entire race.

You are homeless. You have no leader. Your greatest weapons have been sent away and hidden across the universe.

What do you do?

Do you stand and fight against Zarkon to avenge your fallen king and planet?

FUCK NO. YOU GET THE QUIZNAK OUT OF THERE AND HOPE THIS UNDEAD, ALL POWERFUL CORPSE AND HIS ARMY WILL NEVER FIND YOU.

And that is what the surviving Alteans did. They left, found a new uninhabitated planet, called it their own, set up a new ruling monarch, and used their advance technology(the same kind that the Blade of Mamora uses to hide their bases) to completely isolate themselves for 10,000 years.

If that is the case, then imagine how much Atleans themselves would change after all that time. From Allura and Coran’s descriptions, and from flashbacks, it’s clear that Alteans were a proud race of warriors, explorers, and diplomats willing to befriend and help other races. Imagine that 10,000 years of isolation would make them lose their warrior edge and become quite vain and self-centered, only caring about keeping their planet safe even at the cost of other races and planets suffering.

Now with the Coalition making Voltron well known, I imagine Princess Romelle and her brother Prince Bandor would hear about Princess Allura and the paladins. I think Princess Romelle will be the one to reach out and try to contact Allura.

Allura, of course, would be excited and overjoyed at seeing hearing that there are more Atleans. She’d immediately want them to be part of the Voltron Coalition and have Romelle be the guide to lead them there. Imagine Allura finally being able to bring Voltron, her father’s legacy, back to her people and asking them to join her in bringing the Galra Empire down once and for all.

And then imagine her disappointment and heartbreak when Prince Bandor and the people of New Altea absolutely refuse.

Not only would a twist like this be a nice contrast to the Blade of Mamora (Galra who will willingly fight against Zarkon while there are Alteans who won’t lift a finger to help), but it would solidify an key issue that Allura has been facing since the very beginning of the series.

Her desire to bring back the past and everything’s she’s lost.

Time and time again throughout the series from Allura allowing a corrupted AI of her father to almost lead her and the paladins to death because of a promise to find Altea...

To risking the lives of the paladins and Voltron to go through a wormhole to another reality to find more Alteans and almost letting these Atleans screw them over.

Yeah fuck this guy.

And FUCK this guy. (in the good way)

So yeah, our girl Allura hasn’t really had a good time.

“Sorry your race is basically the Galra but worst in another reality.”

“You’re the reason everyone likes Allurance more than Kallura, Keith.”

All joking aside, I think a big part of Allura’s growth in later seasons (and has been in the earliest season with Allura’s acceptance of Keith and of the Red Lion’s rejections) is that the past can’t be changed. This new Altea will never be the Altea that she once knew.

But it can be changed. And if Romelle is as much as a rebel she was in the original series, I think she will play a key part in helping Allura and the new Atleans change and get them to help team Voltron in the war.

Also, here’s hoping we get to see her make this face once more:

Romelle, the Altean Princess and Sister/Cousin Allura deserves to bond with.

#Voltron #voltron legendary defender #Voltron spoilers #Voltron theory #Princess Allura #Princess Romelle #Altea

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technato · 6 years

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Exabytes in a Test Tube: The Case for DNA Data Storage

With the right coding, the double helix could archive our entire civilization

Illustration: Anatomy Blue

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Illustration: Anatomy Blue

Five thousand years ago, a man died in the Alps. It’s possible he died from a blow to the head, or he may have bled to death after being shot in the shoulder with an arrow. There’s a lot we don’t know about Ötzi (named for the Ötztal Alps, where he was discovered), despite the fact that researchers have spent almost 30 years studying him.

On the other hand, we know rather a lot about Ötzi’s physiological traits and even his clothes. We know he had brown eyes and a predisposition for cardiovascular diseases. He had type O positive blood and was lactose intolerant. The coat he was wearing was patched together using the leather of multiple sheep and goats, and his hat was made from a brown bear’s hide. All of this information came from sequencing the DNA of both Ötzi and the clothing he wore.

DNA can store remarkable amounts of genetic information and, as Ötzi demonstrates, can do so for thousands of years. The DNA molecule is a double-helix staircase of billions of molecular blocks, called base pairs, whose arrangement determines much of what makes each of us unique. Only recently have we contemplated using DNA to store electronic, digital data. And while DNA isn’t currently a viable alternative to memory sticks or hard-disk drives, it might be one of our best options to cope with the increasingly vast quantities of data we’ll create as data mining, analytics, and other big-data applications proliferate.

It was back in 2003 when some researchers, notably a group at the University of Arizona, became intrigued with the idea of using DNA to store data. But there were plenty of skeptics: Conventional mass-storage systems were doing the job cheaply and reliably. There was no compelling reason to seek out new options.

The situation has changed drastically over the last 15 years. We face an unprecedented data deluge in medicine, physics, astronomy, biology, and other sciences. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, for example, produces about 73,000 gigabytes of data annually. At the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Large Hadron Collider generates 50 million GB of data per year as it records the results of experiments involving, typically, 600 million particle collisions per second. These CERN results churn through a distributed computing grid comprising over 130,000 CPUs, 230 million GB of magnetic tape storage, and 300 million GB of online disk storage.

Using primers to replicate DNA

Illustration: Mark Montgomery

Primers are short strands of bases that match, base for base, the ends of DNA strands. Primers kick-start the polymerase chain reaction in order to replicate a particular DNA strand, making it easier to pick out at random from a soup of DNA strands.

In the life sciences, DNA sequencing alone generates millions of gigabytes of data per year. Researchers predict that within a decade we will be swamped with 40 billion (109) GB of genomic data. All of that data will have to be stored for decades due to government regulations in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.

Yet even as our data storage needs surge, traditional mass-storage technologies are starting to approach their limits. With hard-disk drives, we’re encountering a limit of 1 terabyte—1,000 GB—per square inch. Past that point, temperature fluctuations can induce the magnetically charged material of the disk to flip, corrupting the data it holds. We could try to use a more heat-resistant material, but we would have to drastically alter the technology we use to read and write on hard-disk drives, which would require huge new investments. The storage industry needs to look elsewhere.

DNA-based storage has come a long way since the early 2000s, when the technologies for reading DNA, let alone writing it, were still in their infancy. In those days, the Human Genome Project had only recently completed a draft of the human genome, at a mind-boggling cost exceeding US $2.7 billion, which works out to about $1 to read each base pair.

By the end of 2015, the cost for obtaining a highly accurate readout of an entire human genome had fallen below $1,500, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. And today, roughly $1,000 is enough for you to get your entire genome sequenced. The cost of DNA sequencing is one three-millionth what it was 10 years ago.

Our ability to sequence, synthesize, and edit DNA has advanced at a previously inconceivable speed. Far from being expensive and impractical, these DNA technologies are the most disruptive in all of biotechnology. It’s now possible to write custom DNA strands for pennies per base pair, at least for short strands. Two companies, GenScript Biotech Corp. and Integrated DNA Technologies, provide DNA synthesis for 11 and 37 cents per base pair, respectively, for strands no longer than several hundred base pairs. Biotech startup companies buy their services and use the synthesized DNA to repair organs or create yeasts that produce unusual flavors to use in brewing beer.

DNA-based storage systems are new and uncharted territory for coding theorists

For companies purchasing synthetic DNA, the cost depends on the length of the sequence being synthesized, because it is usually much more difficult to create long DNA strands. There are a handful of specialized efforts to synthesize longer strands—for example, an ongoing multilab effort is building an entirely synthetic yeast genome. Even so, commercially purchasing anything beyond 10,000 base pairs is currently impossible. (For reference, your genome has about 3.08 billion base pairs, a slightly smaller number than that of an African clawed frog.)

When reading DNA, sequencing devices produce fragments ranging in length from several hundred to tens of thousands of base pairs, which are then analyzed fragment by fragment before being stitched back together for a full readout. The whole process of reading an entire human genome takes less than a day. Researchers are now starting to sequence large quantities of fragments using nanopore technologies, which feed DNA through pores as if they were spaghetti noodles slipping through a large-holed strainer. As DNA passes through a pore, it can be read base by base.

In addition, DNA may be replicated exponentially at a low cost using the polymerase chain reaction, which duplicates a strand of DNA by splitting it apart and then building two identical strands by matching up the corresponding base pairs. These advances in reading DNA as well as in replicating it allow us, for the first time, to seriously consider DNA as a data-recording medium.

It still may not match other data storage options for cost, but DNA has advantages that other options can’t match. Not only is it easily replicated, it also has an ultrahigh storage density—as much as 100 trillion (1012) GB per gram. While the data representing a human genome, base pair by base pair, can be stored digitally on a CD with room to spare, a cell nucleus stores that same amount of data in a space about 1/24,000 as large. DNA does not have to be powered by an external energy source to retain data, as long as it’s stored in a controlled environment. And it can last for a long time: DNA can survive in less than ideal conditions for hundreds of thousands of years, although it often becomes highly degraded. After all, the Alps preserved Ötzi’s DNA for more than 5,000 years. Researchers once recovered DNA from the toe bones of a horse that had been preserved in a glacier for about 700,000 years.

Despite these appealing attributes, exploiting DNA for digital storage involves significant challenges. When it comes to building a storage system, the first task is to model the system’s structure and operation. To that end, two research groups—one at Harvard in 2012 and the other at the European Bioinformatics Institute, in the United Kingdom, in 2013—proposed conceptually simple designs for DNA-based storage.

Encoding text or binary code as DNA

Illustration: Mark Montgomery

We can take a simple phrase like “ Be nam khodavand” (Persian for “in the name of God”) and encode it in base 3. We can then convert those numbers into DNA. Each base-3 digit will be encoded as any of the bases A, T, G, and C, depending on the letter in the strand that came before. For example, a 0 will be encoded as G if the previous base was C. This method complicates the encoding process, but it prevents creating strands with several repetitions of the same base, which can cause errors when sequencing the strand later. To recover the original text, the process can be done in reverse.

The basic idea was to convert the data into the DNA alphabet—adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G)—and store it in short strings with large amounts of overlap. The overlap would ensure that the data could be stitched back together accurately. For example, if the information was stored in strings that were 100 base pairs long, the last 75 base pairs from the previous string could be used as the first 75 base pairs for the next, with the next 25 base pairs tacked onto the end. With this strategy, the estimated cost of encoding 1 megabyte of data was over $12,000 for synthesizing the DNA and another $220 for retrieving it—rather prohibitively expensive at the moment.

Ensuring redundancy in DNA

Encoding data into a single long strand of DNA is asking for trouble when it comes time to recover the data. A safer process encodes the data in shorter strands. We then construct the first part of the next strand using the same data found at the end of the previous strand. This way we have multiple copies of the data for comparison.

Substitution errors in binary code

Damerau distance codes, which in natural-language processing are used to catch errors like misspellings (for example, “smort” instead of “smart”), can identify the spots in binary code where 1s and 0s have likely been substituted by mistake during copying or transcription.

Substitution errors in DNA

Damerau distance codes can also be used to address the errors that occur in DNA, even though they’re more complex than binary errors. Sometimes bases are inadvertently deleted, and sometimes two will swap positions, errors that do not often occur in binary code.

Illustrations: Mark Montgomery

Since then, research groups have demonstrated the long-term reliability of DNA-based data storage, the feasibility of using some traditional coding techniques, and even storing small amounts of data within the genomes of living bacteria. Our work, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with the labs of Jian Ma and Huimin Zhao, pioneered random-access storage in DNA. We have been focused on solving the problems of random access, rewriting, and error-free data recovery for data that is read from DNA sequencing devices. Random access (the ability to directly access any information you want) and addressing (which tells you where to find that information) are key to any effective data storage method.

Our interest in DNA-based data storage emerged from our backgrounds in coding theory. Coding theory has made modern storage systems possible by enabling the proper data formatting for specific systems, the conversion of data from one format to another, and the correction of inevitable errors.

DNA-based storage systems are a tantalizing challenge for coding theorists. We were initially drawn to the challenge of identifying the sources of errors from both writing and reading DNA, and of developing coding techniques to correct or mitigate such errors. Coding improves the reliability of ultimately fallible storage devices and the feasibility of using cheaper options. But DNA-based storage systems are new and uncharted territory for coding theorists.

To understand the coding challenge presented by DNA, first consider a compact disc. The data is nicely organized into tracks, and we can easily access that data with the readily available hardware. DNA isn’t so simple. It’s inherently unordered; there are no tracks to follow to access the data.

A complete storage system would encompass many DNA molecules, so how would you even locate and select the specific molecule carrying the data you want? It would be like trying to fish a specific noodle out of a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It’s highly unlikely you’d grab the right noodle at random, but if you could replicate that specific noodle again and again, until you filled the bowl, any noodle you nab would likely be the right one.

Our idea for DNA data access is to synthesize each encoded strand with an additional sequence that acts as an address. Carefully designed sequences of the bases, called primers, would match that address sequence and begin the process of replicating the DNA of interest. In this way, we could exponentially reproduce DNA strands carrying the data of interest using the polymerase chain reaction, making it easy to find a copy of the right strand.

Of course, with DNA, it’s not quite so simple as plucking the right noodle out of your soup. Think of a primer as a sticky tape that binds to a specific set of rungs, or “complements,” on the DNA “ladder.” A primer should bind only to the specific address sequence it’s looking for. To make matters more difficult, not all primers are created equal: G and C base pairs typically bind more tightly than A and T, meaning that a primer constructed with too many A and T bases may not bind as strongly. Poorly designed primers can cause a lot of problems.

Reading DNA with a shotgun sequencer

“Shotgun-style” sequencing breaks copies of the long, unwieldy DNA strand into fragments of varying lengths. After those shorter segments are read, they can be compared with different fragments to reconstruct the entire sequence, although this method can introduce uncertainty about the placement of individual fragments.

Transcription errors in binary code

When reading binary data from a traditional storage medium, there’s always a small chance that a 1 could be read as a 0 by mistake, or that a 0 could be read as a 1. Because we’re dealing with a simple two-state system, we can expect that each situation will occur with equal frequency.

Illustrations: Mark Montgomery

We’re encountering intriguing coding questions in figuring out how to construct primers that will not only bind tightly but to the right targets. For example, because each primer will bind with its complement—A to T, G to C, and vice versa—how can we ensure that each address sequence doesn’t appear anywhere in the encoded data except as the address of the DNA strand you’re looking for? Otherwise, the primer may bind to the wrong location and replicate unwanted DNA.

Fortunately, coding theorists have been solving similar problems for traditional storage media for decades. Other challenges, for example, like those that emerge in connection with reading the DNA, aren’t typically encountered in conventional mass-storage systems. There are plenty of devices on the market that sequence DNA: Illumina’s HiSeq 2500 system, PacBio’s RS II and Sequel systems, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ MinION are just three examples. All such sequencers are prone to introducing different types of readout errors as they determine the exact sequence of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts that make up a DNA sample. Illumina devices, for example, sometimes substitute the wrong base when reading the strand—say, an A instead of a C. These errors become more frequent the further into the strand you get. The accidental deletion of entire blocks is also a concern, and nanopore sequencers often insert the wrong base pairs into readouts or omit base pairs entirely.

Different sequencers all require different code to compensate for their flaws. For Illumina sequencers, for example, we’ve proposed a coding scheme that adds redundancy to the sequence to eliminate the substitution errors that arise from the devices’ “shotgun-style” approach to sequencing. It’s tricky to rebuild a genome after breaking it apart to read individual sequences without occasionally inserting the wrong segment in the wrong location. Redundant sequences will improve the odds of recovering data even if a segment is corrupted as a result of being reassembled incorrectly.

For nanopore sequencers, we developed codes to address different types of substitution errors that arise from sequencing the strand too quickly. In traditional data storage, it’s just as likely that a 0 could be changed to a 1 as it is that a 1 could be changed to a 0. It’s not so simple with DNA, where an A could be rewritten as a T, C, or G, and the substitutions don’t happen with equal frequency. We’ve written codes to account for that fact, as well as codes to handle the base-pair deletions and swaps that naturally occur as DNA ages.

Nanopore-sequencer transcription errors in DNA

Illustration: Mark Montgomery

Nanopore sequencers read long strings of DNA bases one by one, and because of the speed at which they do so, they will occasionally misread a particular base. Unlike the simple misreading of 1s and 0s, however, the odds of bases being mistaken for one another varies, due to their complex molecular structures and even the orientation the strand is in as it passes through the nanopore.

DNA-based storage, like any other data storage system, requires random access and efficient reading. But the biggest challenge is writing data inexpensively. Synthesizing DNA is still expensive, partly because of the molecule’s sheer complexity and partly because the market is not driving the development of cheaper methods. One possible approach to reduce costs is to prevent errors in the first place. By placing redundancies in the DNA sequences that store data, you can skip expensive after-the-fact corrections. This is common practice in every data storage method, but synthesizing companies currently aren’t equipped to pursue this—their production processes are so automated it would be prohibitively expensive to adjust them to produce these types of redundant strands.

Making DNA-based storage a practical reality will require cooperation among researchers on the frontiers of synthetic biology and coding theory. We’ve made big strides toward realizing a DNA-based storage system, but we need to develop systems to efficiently access the information encoded into DNA. We need to design coding schemes that guard against both synthesis and sequencing errors. And we need to figure out how to do these things cheaply.

If we can solve these problems, nature’s incredible storage medium—DNA—might also store our music, our literature, and our scientific advances. The very same medium that literally specifies who we are as individuals might also store our art, our culture, and our history as a species.

About the Authors

Olgica Milenkovic is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois. Ryan Gabrys is a scientist with the U.S. Navy’s Spawar in San Diego and a postdoc at Illinois. Han Mao Kiah is a lecturer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and a former postdoc at Illinois. S.M. Hossein Tabatabaei Yazdi is a Ph.D. student working with Milenkovic.

Exabytes in a Test Tube: The Case for DNA Data Storage syndicated from https://jiohowweb.blogspot.com

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