#Solar Array Task Force

[wausaupilot]

Your letters: Writer rallies support for city of Wausau solar array

"The solar array would reduce electric bills by at least $2.2 million over and above the cost of the project during its lifetime." - Jay Coldwell, Solar Array Task Force member

Dear editor, Please take a moment to review the reasons for construction of a solar array at the Wausau Drinking Water Treatment Plant, and contact your alder or provide public input via email or in person at the next Wausau City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10.  I was a member of the Solar Array Task Force in 2023 and 2024. We were charged with researching and recommending a design for…

[moonstar-mush]

I’ve mentioned before that in Exalted that the Solars/Lunars all have past lives in a forgotten age, so I wanted to doodle our party’s first age sona’s and their associated counterparts.

Okashi, Eater of Heroes (the shark lady) is first-age Bite, an ancient megalodon-shape Lunar who rejected society to live as a rad sea monster. Lightning-Graced Albatross (the little guy with the spear) is first-age Rahu, a bounty hunter who was tasked with slaying Okashi, but instead they fell in love and their romance remains one of the most enduring of first-age myths

Koshei Final-Heart (the thin lady with the gun) is first-age Vigor, an Eclipse-caste solar who was wed to Honesty of the Cinders (the big lady with the scary eye), who was first-age Candor. The pair were members of a radical mercenary group that wanted to destroy Creation and rebuild from the ashes. Scary stuff! It’s probably related to why both Candor and Vigor are Abyssals now.

Lammasu Bleeding Honey (the big fanged woman) was first-age Mokshi, the captain of the defense forces in the great city of Deheleshen. She was the spouse of Ten Minutes to Sunset (the short queen) who is first-age Tendaji. Sunset was the chief architect of Deheleshen and was also responsible for their array of giant siege-defense cannons. From the outside they were the perfect power couple, but in reality neither of them truly understood the other.

It’s been fun building all this narrative with my fellow players, and we’re planning on interweaving all their stories together with the fall of the first-age. Super dramatic and exciting!

[ausetkmt]

The Hidden History of ALEC and Prison Labor | The Nation

The Hidden History of ALEC and Prison Labor

Years after ALEC’s Truth In Sentencing bills became the law of the land, its Prison Industries Act has quietly expanded prison labor across the country.

August 1, 2011

This article is part of a Nation series exposing the American Legislative Exchange Council, in collaboration with the Center For Media and Democracy. John Nichols introduces the series.

The breaded chicken patty your child bites into at school may have been made by a worker earning twenty cents an hour, not in a faraway country, but by a member of an invisible American workforce: prisoners. At the Union Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Florida, inmates from a nearby lower-security prison manufacture tons of processed beef, chicken and pork for Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises (PRIDE), a privately held non-profit corporation that operates the state’s forty-one work programs. In addition to processed food, PRIDE’s website reveals an array of products for sale through contracts with private companies, from eyeglasses to office furniture, to be shipped from a distribution center in Florida to businesses across the US. PRIDE boasts that its work programs are “designed to provide vocational training, to improve prison security, to reduce the cost of state government, and to promote the rehabilitation of the state inmates.”

Although a wide variety of goods have long been produced by state and federal prisoners for the US government—license plates are the classic example, with more recent contracts including everything from guided missile parts to the solar panels powering government buildings—prison labor for the private sector was legally barred for years, to avoid unfair competition with private companies. But this has changed thanks to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), its Prison Industries Act, and a little-known federal program known as PIE (the Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program). While much has been written about prison labor in the past several years, these forces, which have driven its expansion, remain largely unknown.

Somewhat more familiar is ALEC’s instrumental role in the explosion of the US prison population in the past few decades.��ALEC helped pioneer some of the toughest sentencing laws on the books today, like mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenders, “three strikes” laws, and “truth in sentencing” laws. In 1995 alone, ALEC’s Truth in Sentencing Act was signed into law in twenty-five states. (Then State Rep. Scott Walker was an ALEC member when he sponsored Wisconsin’s truth-in-sentencing laws and, according to PR Watch, used its statistics to make the case for the law.) More recently, ALEC has proposed innovative “solutions” to the overcrowding it helped create, such as privatizing the parole process through “the proven success of the private bail bond industry,” as it recommended in 2007. (The American Bail Coalition is an executive member of ALEC’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force.) ALEC has also worked to pass state laws to create private for-profit prisons, a boon to two of its major corporate sponsors: Corrections Corporation of America and Geo Group (formerly Wackenhut Corrections), the largest private prison firms in the country. An In These Times investigation last summer revealed that ALEC arranged secret meetings between Arizona’s state legislators and CCA to draft what became SB 1070, Arizona’s notorious immigration law, to keep CCA prisons flush with immigrant detainees. ALEC has proven expertly capable of devising endless ways to help private corporations benefit from the country’s massive prison population.

That mass incarceration would create a huge captive workforce was anticipated long before the US prison population reached its peak—and at a time when the concept of “rehabilitation” was still considered part of the mission of prisons. First created by Congress in 1979, the PIE program was designed “to encourage states and units of local government to establish employment opportunities for prisoners that approximate private sector work opportunities,” according to PRIDE’s website. The benefits to big corporations were clear—a “readily available workforce” for the private sector and “a cost-effective way to occupy a portion of the ever-growing offender/inmate population” for prison officials—yet from its founding until the mid-1990s, few states participated in the program.

This started to change in 1993, when Texas State Representative and ALEC member Ray Allen crafted the Texas Prison Industries Act, which aimed to expand the PIE program. After it passed in Texas, Allen advocated that it be duplicated across the country. In 1995, ALEC’s Prison Industries Act was born.

This Prison Industries Act as printed in ALEC’s 1995 state legislation sourcebook, “provides for the employment of inmate labor in state correctional institutions and in the private manufacturing of certain products under specific conditions.” These conditions, defined by the PIE program, are supposed to include requirements that “inmates must be paid at the prevailing wage rate” and that the “any room and board deductions…are reasonable and are used to defray the costs of inmate incarceration.” (Some states charge prisoners for room and board, ostensibly to offset the cost of prisons for taxpayers. In Florida, for example, prisoners are paid minimum wage for PIE-certified labor, but 40 percent is taken out of their accounts for this purpose.)

The Prison Industries Act sought to change this, inventing the “private sector prison industry expansion account,” to absorb such deductions, and stipulating that the money should be used to, among other things: “construct work facilities, recruit corporations to participate as private sector industries programs, and pay costs of the authority and department in implementing [these programs].” Thus, money that was taken from inmate wages to offset the costs of incarceration would increasingly go to expanding prison industries. In 2000, Florida passed a law that mirrored the Prison Industries Act and created the Prison Industries Trust Fund, its own version of the private sector prison industry expansion account, deliberately designed to help expand prison labor for private industries.

The Prison Industries Act was also written to exploit a critical PIE loophole that seemed to suggest that its rules did not apply to prisoner-made goods that were not shipped across state lines. It allowed a third-party company to set up a local address in a state that makes prison goods, buy goods from a prison factory, sell those products locally or surreptitiously ship them across state borders. It helped that by 1995 oversight of the PIE program had been effectively squashed, transferred from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to the National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA), a private trade organization that happened to be represented by Allen’s lobbying firm, Service House, Inc. In 2003, Allen became the Texas House Chairman of the Corrections Committee and began peddling the Prison Industries Act and other legislation beneficial to CCA and Geo Group, like the Private Correctional Facilities Act. Soon thereafter he became Chairman of ALEC’s Criminal Justice (now Public Safety and Elections) Task Force. He resigned from the state legislature in 2006 while under investigation for his unethical lobbying practices. He was hired soon after as a lobbyist for Geo Group.

Today’s chair of ALEC’s Public Safety and Elections Task force is state Representative Jerry Madden of Texas, where the Prison Industries Act originated eighteen years ago. According to a 2010 report from NCIA, as of last summer there were “thirty jurisdictions with active [PIE] operations.” These included such states as Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and twelve more. Four more states are now looking to get involved as well; Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania have introduced legislation and New Hampshire is in the process of applying for PIE certification. Today these state’s legislation are based upon an updated version of the Prison Industries Act, which ALEC amended in 2004.

Prison labor has already started to undercut the business of corporations that don’t use it. In Florida, PRIDE has become one of the largest printing corporations in the state, its cheap labor having a significant impact upon smaller local printers. This scenario is playing out in states across the country. In addition to Florida’s forty-one prison industries, California alone has sixty. Another 100 or so are scattered throughout other states. What’s more, several states are looking to replace public sector workers with prison labor. In Wisconsin Governor Walker’s recent assault on collective bargaining opened the door to the use of prisoners in public sector jobs in Racine, where inmates are now doing landscaping, painting, and other maintenance work. According to the Capitol Times, “inmates are not paid for their work, but receive time off their sentences.” The same is occurring in Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Florida and Georgia, all states with GOP Assembly majorities and Republican governors. Much of ALEC’s proposed labor legislation, implemented state by state is allowing replacement of public workers with prisoners.

“It’s bad enough that our companies have to compete with exploited and forced labor in China,” says Scott Paul Executive Director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a coalition of business and unions. “They shouldn’t have to compete against prison labor here at home. The goal should be for other nations to aspire to the quality of life that Americans enjoy, not to discard our efforts through a downward competitive spiral.”

Alex Friedmann, associate editor of Prison Legal News, says prison labor is part of a “confluence of similar interests” among politicians and corporations, long referred to as the “prison industrial complex.” As decades of model legislation reveals, ALEC has been at the center of this confluence. “This has been ongoing for decades, with prison privatization contributing to the escalation of incarceration rates in the US,” Friedmann says. Just as mass incarceration has burdened American taxpayers in major prison states, so is the use of inmate labor contributing to lost jobs, unemployment and decreased wages among workers—while corporate profits soar.

[hightorqueclockmotors]

Powerful Clock Movements

Clock Movements That Show Weather Phantasm

Clock movements are what make timepieces operate, rotating the hands from setting to placement, minute by moment. Clock movements (or electric motors to laymen) are the most integral part because they determine habits and all design aspects. These devices have progressed throughout numerous centuries, with complexity progressively boosting up until we have today's remarkable pieces.

Clock movements are charged with providing the correct time at every minute, continuously and accurately, according to the temporal hierarchy we all recognize and enjoy. I.e., the 2nd is the beginning device, and we build on it to reach the minute, hour, and higher systems. At some point the broadest, or longest, device reaches its terminus and everything gets reset back to the beginning point.

All the hands are installed on concentric shafts, allowing full flexibility of movement, and the temporal data are cyclical. Now, consider making use of the mechanism of pointing to the value on a dial for other applications that don't make use of intermittent information, such as climate phenomena (temperature, stress, humidity, etc). The instantaneous value falls within an array and has to be read from sensing units; this value is after that translated right into a positioning of the hand.

Transforming the mechanism from displaying routine, temporal information to something noticed on the fly is reasonably recent, and is substantially promoted (otherwise made possible) by the use of electronic movements instead of mechanical ones. Typical clock motors obtained rotational pressure from weights or springtimes and positional hand timing from networks of intermeshed equipments. However the force of modern electronic motors is a shaking quartz crystal, and a lot of the estimations are performed in software application.

For today's movements, all the mechanical stuff of the past can be disposed of, offering a great deal more flexibility in adapting the fundamental mechanism to applications not necessarily temporal. When showing common time, crystal pulse matters are gathered into digital signs up, and simple neighborhood returns secs, mins, and hours. Yet values noticed from the outdoors can additionally be kept in electronic signs up, and converting the numbers to hand position is primarily the very same function.

In a feeling, the clock motor has actually ended up being extra mathematically abstract, providing it conveniently versatile to all type of applications. The result is that some innovative innovation is leading to both climate movements and clock movements doing some remarkable tasks.

A remarkable example is how very easy it is to attain an adjustment in format, such as switching from a 12-hour cycle to a 24-hour cycle. To do this with the standard mechanical movement would certainly have required altering equipments and their ratios, whereas with the digital movement it is an easy edit of the software application. Likewise, various other timekeeping extensions are simple to carry out, including adding a hand to show once a week or monthly cycles.

If you intend to integrate trend level right into a clock, you have to keep track of two separate temporal periods, the 24-hour solar and the 24-hour-plus-50-minutes lunar. Essentially, you get two movements in one, and the look is striking. It takes a specially adjusted dial and some added hands, yet digitally the application is a breeze.

The adaption of clock movements to weather electric motors is also not that tough because all the difficult part is managed in software. It is much more complicated to change the common dial with one that shows an array, and to establish the mechanism to digitize picked up data. The shaft likewise needs to pivot both clockwise and counterclockwise. clock parts

Enthusiasts can have a great deal of fun playing with the range of parts offered by various online distributors. Look meticulously at all the functions and feature sets offered by the line of motors they sell. It can be compensating to build pieces that use clock movements that display climate sensations.

[joyfulpoetryphilosopher]

15 Best Blogs to Follow About best budget tech gifts under 50

Budget-Friendly Electronic Devices Gifts Under $50 for the Holidays: Technology That Won't Break the Bank

Locating the excellent holiday presents can place a strain on your wallet, specifically when you have technology fans on your listing. However worry not-- there's an unexpected selection of enjoyable and functional electronics presents available that will not force you into holiday debt. With a little wise shopping and careful factor to consider, you can discover technology provides that spread holiday cheer without breaking the bank.

The Gift of Power (and Portability).

A top notch portable charger (likewise called a power bank) is a real present for the individual constantly on the go. Bonus offer features such as quick billing or several output ports add extra benefit, so they can power up two tools at when.

Express Yourself (and Protect Your Phone).

Given that most individuals have their phones in hand practically all the time, a brand-new phone instance makes both a trendy and best budget tech gifts under 50 practical present. The array of shades, styles, and products offered for under $50 is amazing. Go with tough materials like shock-resistant silicone or faux leather to ensure their precious smart device is shielded in instance of decreases and bumps.

Tiny Package, Big Sound.

Don't underestimate the power of a compact Bluetooth audio speaker! For outdoor use, a waterproof audio speaker with a rugged design lets them bring their preferred tunes to the pool, beach, or hiking routes stress-free.

Update Their Audio Experience.

Comfortable cordless earbuds or over-ear earphones can be a game-changer, whether they're commuting, working out, or merely relaxing with songs. While top-of-the-line features like noise-cancellation may not remain in the sub-$ 50 cost array, you'll still find lots of solid choices with suitable audio high quality and comfortable styles.

Gamers Gon na Game (Even on a Budget).

For a touch of fond memories that's perfect for laid-back pc gaming sessions, think about a handheld retro pc gaming console. These enjoyable gadgets come pre-loaded with an option of traditional arcade and console games, restoring memories and offering hours of home entertainment.

Accessories for the Win.

Often the most valuable tech gifts are the most basic. Don't overlook the day-to-day basics that make their tech lives less complicated! Think extra-long billing cable televisions, a portable USB center to attach several gadgets on the move, a phone grasp for steadier selfies, or a ring light for those job calls and video conversations where great illumination is essential.

Gizmos for each Passion.

By taking into consideration the recipient's hobbies and passions, you can personalize your technology gift also better. Physical fitness lovers might value a fundamental task tracker that keeps an eye on actions, heart price, distance, and even rest high quality. Select one with an easy to use application and trustworthy battery life.

If they're interested about the world of wise home technology, a small smart speaker like the Echo Dot or Google Nest Mini makes a terrific access factor. They can use straightforward voice commands to control compatible clever lights, established alarms and pointers, or ask for music, news, and weather updates.

Obtained a budding photographer on your listing? Broaden their smartphone video camera's capacities with a lens set including alternatives like wide-angle, macro, or fisheye lenses for innovative shots. An adaptable phone tripod is an additional must-have for getting steadier and extra imaginative angles.

Outdoor adventurers will enjoy a water-proof Bluetooth audio speaker with a carabiner clip for very easy affixing to backpacks or bikes. If they're intending longer journeys away from power outlets, a mobile solar charger provides off-grid power to maintain their tools going.

For the homebodies who crave cozy vibes, LED strip lights include enjoyable atmosphere to their area and are controllable with a mobile phone or remote. And for movie lovers, a miniature projector creates a home-theater experience for under $50.

[mentalwellnesstips]

Unleashing Tomorrow's Marvels: A Dive into the Realm of Cutting-Edge Technology

In a world where innovation is the heartbeat of progress, technology stands tall as the driving force behind the transformation of our lives. Embark on a captivating journey with us as we explore the captivating landscape of modern technology, unveiling its active substances that power our world and elucidating why embracing these marvels is an undeniable step towards a brighter future.

I. The Nexus of Possibility: Defining Technology Technology, the culmination of human intellect and ingenuity, encompasses an array of tools, techniques, and systems aimed at simplifying complex tasks, amplifying our capabilities, and redefining what's achievable. It's the ceaseless pursuit of improvement that leads us to the dynamic realm of technological progress.

II. The Dynamic Drivers: Active Substances Behind the Wonders

Silicon Wafers: Fueling the Digital Age At the heart of every electronic marvel lies silicon – a semiconductor material that forms the basis of integrated circuits, microchips, and processors. Its exceptional conductive properties enable the creation of lightning-fast computing devices, propelling us towards the pinnacle of digital evolution.

Artificial Intelligence: Where Data Meets Intelligence Delve into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), where algorithms mimic human cognitive processes. AI is revolutionizing industries by offering insights from vast data pools, enabling personalized experiences, autonomous vehicles, and even medical breakthroughs.

Green Energy Innovations: Shaping a Sustainable Tomorrow Witness the rise of renewable energy technologies – solar panels harvesting sunlight, wind turbines harnessing gusts, and innovative batteries storing excess power. These active substances are propelling us towards a greener, more sustainable future.

Biotechnology: Merging Biology and Tech Explore the seamless integration of biology and technology through biotechnology. Genetic engineering, CRISPR-Cas9, and bioinformatics are revolutionizing healthcare, agriculture, and beyond, promising a world of customized solutions.

III. Embracing the Technological Odyssey: Why Invest?

Efficiency Redefined Imagine streamlining tasks that once consumed hours into mere minutes. Embracing technology magnifies efficiency across personal and professional domains, giving you invaluable time to pursue passions.

Limitless Connectivity Through technology, the world becomes a global village. Stay seamlessly connected with loved ones, collaborate with colleagues worldwide, and explore diverse cultures, all at your fingertips.

Pioneering Discoveries Fuel your curiosity by diving into a universe of knowledge. Whether you're unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos or understanding the intricacies of microscopic organisms, technology serves as your gateway to limitless learning.

Empowerment Through Innovation Join the ranks of creators and innovators shaping tomorrow. The tools provided by technology empower you to bring your ideas to life, disrupt industries, and contribute to the ever-evolving tapestry of human progress.

IV. Elevating Life's Tapestry: Experience the Revolution As we stand on the precipice of possibilities, let's embrace technology's active substances and weave them into the fabric of our lives. From the bustling streets to the quiet corners, from the mundane to the extraordinary – technology's embrace promises a life that's more convenient, more connected, and infinitely richer.

Explore more about the wondrous realm of technology at Wikipedia.

In a world ever in motion, don't merely witness the transformation; become an integral part of it. Embrace technology today to shape the story of tomorrow – your story of boundless innovation and uncharted horizons.

"Visit our website to access exclusive discounts and offers on Health Products."

[mogood]

Enhance Your Industrial Efficiency with Booka’s Vacuum Suction Cups and Grippers

Are you a factory owner striving to optimize your operations and boost productivity? Look no further than Booka’s cutting-edge vacuum suction cups and grippers. These ingenious devices are tailored to handle a diverse array of materials swiftly and effectively, streamlining your production processes and enhancing overall efficiency.

Versatility meets innovation with our flagship product, the 1.5-fold round corrugated suction cup. Designed to excel even in high-intensity operations with rapid cycle times, this suction cup shines in bustling industrial environments. From corrugated cardboard boxes to rugged wooden boards, this dynamic tool tackles each task with ease and speed.

For more challenging surfaces such as coarse cardboard or oil-coated metal sheets, opt for our specialized grooved suction cups. Engineered to resist lateral forces, these cups guarantee material stability during the most demanding operations. Their unique grooved design amplifies their prowess in handling tough materials with remarkable ease.

However, for standard materials like cardboard boxes and wooden planks, the go-to choice remains our standard suction cups. Available in various sizes to suit your specific requirements, these cups offer efficient and prompt handling of a wide spectrum of materials.

When dealing with flat, smooth surfaces like glass, metal sheets, or plastic, the ultimate choice lies in our balanced vacuum suction cups. These cups maximize suction power while minimizing the risk of material damage, ensuring your products reach their destination in impeccable condition.

Need to hoist and transport substantial, weighty objects like automotive parts, glass sheets, or solar panels? Invest in our vacuum pad grippers. Engineered for exceptional suction power and stability, these robust devices simplify the movement of even the heftiest loads, facilitating quick and secure transportation.

Elevate your industrial efficiency by exploring Booka’s diverse range of vacuum suction cups and grippers. Contact us today to gain comprehensive insights into our various offerings. Our team of experts stands ready to guide you towards the ideal solution for your unique needs. Don’t hesitate — reach out to Booka Suction Cups now and embark on a journey to transform your industrial operations!

[mightyflamethrower]

I have nothing against solar power or for that matter electric vehicles. I think each of them fits into a genuine market niche, and if approached realistically they will play a role in the economy for the indefinite future.

For instance, I see solar as a useful tool for people who want to live off the grid. With a large enough energy storage system and access to emergency backup power, I think solar power could be great. A solar array on a roof with batteries could reduce one’s reliance on the grid and provide backup power during power outages, although I haven’t worked out the cost/benefits of solar vs. backup generators.

I’d love to have a luxury 5th-wheel RV loaded up with batteries and tons of solar panels to make short-term off-grid living comfy! I’ve even looked into what it would take to do it.

But the plunging price of solar panels is at least partly an illusion, although a useful one for opponents of fossil fuels. Solar panel production is highly dependent upon Chinese supply chains, and those Chinese supply chains are often using Uighur slave labor.

The economic benefits of solar have always been exaggerated, but it is undeniable that prices have in recent years dropped like a rock. The reliability is not great, and often the true cost of solar power is hidden by the cost of reliable backup generation, but the raw cost of each watt of electricity generated by a panel has been dropping.

Slave labor can do that for you.

Global supply chains for solar panels have begun shifting away from a heavy reliance on China, in part because of a recent ban on products from Xinjiang, a region where the U.S. government and United Nations accuse the Chinese government of committing human rights violations. But a new report by experts in human rights and the solar industry found that the vast majority of solar panels made globally continue to have significant exposure to China and Xinjiang. The report, released Tuesday, also faulted the solar industry for becoming less transparent about the origin of its products. That has made it more difficult for buyers to determine whether solar panels purchased to power homes and electricity grids were made without forced labor. The analysis was done by Alan Crawford, a solar industry analyst, and Laura T. Murphy, a professor of human rights and contemporary slavery at Sheffield Hallam University in England, along with researchers who chose to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from the Chinese government. The London-based Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Center provided funding.

The largest solar panel manufacturers in the world are able to sell their inexpensive panels because of where they are located–and that is right where slave labor is made available to them by the Chinese government.

Western governments have made quite the show of trying to get solar panel manufacturing weaned from its dependence on Chinese panels and raw materials, but it’s a tall task and little progress has been made.

And, of course, the Western obsession with building solar capacity at a rate that the market cannot provide without Chinese involvement, it’s basically impossible. As usual, the rhetoric is all unicorns and rainbows, but the reality is dark and unpleasant to explore.

The solar industry has come under stiff criticism in recent years for its ties to Xinjiang, which is a key provider of polysilicon, the material from which solar panels are made. The region produces roughly a third of both the world’s polysilicon and its metallurgical-grade silicon, the material from which polysilicon is made. As a result, many firms have promised to scrutinize their supply chains, and several have set up factories in the United States or Southeast Asia to supply Western markets. The Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry’s biggest trade association, has been calling on companies to shift their supply chains and cut ties with Xinjiang. More than 340 companies have signed a pledge to keep their supply chains free of forced labor. But the report found that major global companies remain likely to have extensive exposure to Xinjiang, and potentially to forced labor, calling into question the progress. The report rated the world’s five biggest solar manufacturers — all with headquarters in China — as having “high” or “very high” potential exposure to Xinjiang.

We would all love to live in a world with plentiful, reliable, and inexpensive energy produced by the sun, charging our nearly silent and comfortable electric vehicles that go 600 miles per charge and recharge in 7 minutes, but the fact is that we don’t live in that world. We live in a world where we have to make difficult choices between suboptimal choices. We try to maximize benefits, minimize costs, and ensure that we don’t sacrifice morality and ethics while doing so.

The only way to make these choices rationally is through an honest evaluation of all the variables, not overhyped rhetoric that exaggerates and diminishes facts in order to create a false narrative.

That is the MO of the carbon-free fanatics.

The push for maximizing solar and wind power is being pushed by fanatics who, often, benefit from producing solar and wind power infrastructure. More nuclear and hydropower, backed up by natural gas peaking power plants is the most rational generating system we can build right now. Keeping coal plants open while we get there and in the places where it makes the most sense is also rational, although I am less enthusiastic about the long-term future of coal than many of my friends.

We need to stop the hype and focus on practicalities. Unfortunately, the Left and the rest of us have competing and incompatible goals. The Left is pushing “degrowth,” and less power production is actually a goal of theirs. Fewer people, less consumption. Most of us want an expanding economy and technological progress.

Closing reliable power plants makes sense if you want degrowth, and “renewable” energy is a good way to convince people you are replacing that power-generating capacity without really doing so. It creates an incremental but inevitable reduction in total production.

In the meantime, though, the Uighurs are paying a high price for the “moral” principles of the envirocommunists.

[docholligay]

“Haunted” Prompt, starring Minako

Minako opened her eyes slowly, seeing the barest hint of early morning light coming through the open window. It had been a late night and Minako hadn’t gotten much sleep, but it was important that she got up early today. She was about to start her usual stretching routine when she remembered that her bed was occupied by another. Minako glanced over at the woman with whom she had shared a pleasant night.

  The woman, Sanae (or was it Kanae?), was splayed out on the bed with her long dark hair fanned out around her head. She was facing away from Minako, and the faint sound of rhythmic breathing that reached Minako’s ears confirmed that she was still asleep. Minako took a moment to appreciate the intricate dragon tattoo that covered the woman’s back (a rarity in Japan, and something that had caught Minako’s attention last night in the club) before she got up from the bed stealthily.

  Unfortunately, they were in Minako’s apartment. Last night, she had been too intent on getting the distraction Sanae promised to provide for her to remember to insist on going to the other woman’s place. If Minako had remembered, then it would have been a simple matter to leave before the woman woke up. Minako was still planning to do just that, but now she was reliant on Sanae getting the hint and leaving before she returned.

  Their discarded clothing was in a pile on the floor. Minako glanced at the dress she had worn the night before, knowing that it was totally unsuitable for a motorcycle ride. She then made her way to her dresser. Minako grabbed a pair of jeans and a dark halter top and dressed as quietly as she could. Not quietly enough for Minako’s taste, and unsurprisingly, it was enough to wake her temporary guest.

  “…Going somewhere?” Sanae asked in a low voice from behind her.

  Minako sighed inwardly before turning around. She hated this part. It was time for another reprise of this always-awkward conversation. The only thing to do was to act as casual as possible and hope the other party took her lead.

  Sanae (she was almost certain it was Sanae, but Minako damn sure wasn’t going to risk saying that without confirmation) had sat up in bed. Minako just barely kept her eyes from drifting downward from Sanae’s face, knowing that she needed to look the other woman in the eyes for this, at least.

  “Yeah. I’ve got things to do, I’m afraid. But feel free to use the shower, and you can grab anything you want out of the fridge.” Minako offered airily, forcing a sunny smile to appear on her face.

  “Oh. Alright.” Sanae replied a little frostily, declining to smile back.

  Minako escaped the room as quickly as she could. The woman was a tad bit unpredictable, and the chances of Minako returning to find some of her things stolen or her apartment trashed was not zero, but what did she care? There was nothing of any real value to Minako here anyway.

“She seems nice. Nicer than you treated her, anyway.” A voice spoke up remonstratively behind her.

  Minako gritted her teeth and ignored it. She knew it wasn’t good to encourage her own delusions. Rei was not behind her, no matter what a small part of her mind wanted her to think. No, her friend was gone and had been for the last three years. Three years to the day, to be precise.

  The flashy, Solar-Yellow painted Yamaha that was Minako’s pride and joy rested pristinely in front of her. Minako took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the machine (as she always did before riding it), then put her helmet on. Much better. Minako couldn’t hear any unwanted voices with it on, achingly familiar though they may be.

  Having revved the engine a few times to warm it up, Minako pulled out of the small parking garage swiftly, merging into traffic without giving the car behind her as much room as she should have. Perhaps in another country, the driver she cut off would have honked angrily at her. But this was Japan, and no sound came Minako’s way. The sun was just starting to rise, though it was still obscured behind the countless buildings that formed the skyline of the Greater Tokyo Area.

  Minako had come to love motorcycles, but learning to ride one had been an act of necessity for her. She couldn’t drive cars anymore. Not that she was in any way incapable, but Minako hated being in them. If there was an empty seat behind her, then Minako’s mind was apt to fill it with Rei’s phantom presence. Even short drives were too painful to be worth it.

  The Bayshore Route of the Shuto Expressway would have been Minako’s favorite place in the city to ride. She didn’t have to constantly dodge around slow-moving traffic here. Halfway down the highway, however, she had a clear view of the Yokohama Landmark Tower. Memories that Minako didn’t want to relive came upon whenever she saw it. Ordinarily, that would have been reason enough to avoid this road, but there was no point in doing that today.

  As she passed by it Minako couldn’t help but gaze at the Tower. The high windows of the building had caught the rising sun, causing them to flash brilliantly in Minako’s eyes. Her grip on the throttle tightened for a moment before Minako forced her hand to relax. Of course they had repaired it. The Tower was a national landmark. They couldn’t let the destroyed 30th floor remain as a monument to her friend’s ultimate sacrifice.

  But Minako couldn’t help but hate the owners of the building for erasing the evidence of what Rei had done for them, for the entire city. Her friend deserved such a monument, but all she had was a lonely grave at Aoyama Cemetery.

  Minako rode on, memories of that night filling her mind. Unlike most every other time, Minako made no effort to shut them out.

  Minako could still see the last smile that had appeared on Rei’s face as she turned to face the jeering, laughing monsters arrayed in front of them. She could remember fighting with Makoto as her friend carried her down the stairwell, ignoring the way her broken body wouldn’t cooperate. She could remember screaming to Makoto let her down, that she could still fight, but most of all, she could still feel the way the stairwell shuttered around them both, the colossal explosion that had marked Rei’s final sacrifice ripping through the floors above them.

  Those memories were indelibly marked in Minako’s mind, even if the weeks and months after that had passed by in a foggy, uncertain blur. Minako couldn’t deny that a small part of her wished that Rei’s death was similarly unfocused in her memory. It wouldn’t be as painful that way. Just as she couldn’t deny wanting that, Minako couldn’t help but despise herself for it.

Minako pulled up and parked her motorcycle half a kilometer away from the cemetery. She could have parked closer, but she didn’t want the noise of the engine to disturb any early-morning visitors. A walk would do her good anyway. Minako wanted to clear her head a bit before she got to her friend’s grave. She took off her helmet and hung it from the handlebars of her motorcycle before making her way eastward.

  Was it her imagination, or did Minako hear footsteps on the pavement behind her? The sound was keeping pace with her perfectly. Minako didn’t bother looking. She didn’t want the confirmation, either way, of who it might be. At least the presence behind her was keeping quiet.

  Minako passed the gates of Aoyama Cemetery, pausing only to retrieve a single incense stick from the pile that was freely offered to visitors. Minako had remembered to bring her lighter (more of a reflexive action than a conscious one on her part) so she wouldn’t need any of the matches that were left out alongside the incense.

  The Hino family had a large plot near the southeastern corner of the cemetery. Rei’s grandfather had taken care of all the details of her funeral, a task that had given Minako enormous respect for the man. She hadn’t been in any condition to help at the time. None of her friends had been.

  The faint sound of footsteps had indeed kept pace with Minako, even over the well-maintained grass of the smaller side paths she had taken. Minako knew full well what the sound was by now, but that was even more reason not to look. If her mind was kind enough to keep Rei’s ghostly presence from speaking to her, then Minako wasn’t going to complain.

  There it was. Minako’s breath caught as she saw the tall, distinctive headstone that marked her friend’s grave. Perhaps because there had been nothing left to cremate, and therefore nothing to inter, Rei’s headstone was visibly larger than the others of the Hino family. It was a small comfort to Minako, but a comfort nonetheless.

  Minako stood silently in front of the grave for a few minutes. Ritual called for Minako to polish and clean the grave with one of the brushes hanging from various pillars, but she could do that together with her friends later on in the day. Offerings of items the deceased had enjoyed in life were expected, but her friends would doubtlessly have that covered: Usagi would bring handfuls of the plum-flavored candy Rei had liked, while Makoto would bring white Casablanca lilies that she grown for this very purpose.

  Minako had her own gift planned, but for now, she had nothing but the incense stick in her hands. She pulled out her lighter and lit the incense before placing the end into the soft ground in front of the grave. Minako kneeled and clasped her hands together, feeling a little silly to be doing this with no one beside her. These kinds of rituals weren’t at all her style, but she knew that Rei (with her Shinto background) valued them. So Minako would do it.

  “It’s been three years, huh? It feels like barely any time has passed.” Minako said to the empty air, knowing that speaking to the dead was an expected part of visiting their grave.

  Thankfully, her mind was not crass enough to have her guilt-driven image of Rei respond here. The near-silence of the cemetery was all that reached Minako’s ears, though she still had the faint impression of someone standing behind her. Minako took a deep breath, noted the not-altogether-unpleasant scent of the burning incense, and continued.

  “I’d like to say that I’m doing well, but all I can say is that I’m doing the same.” Minako said softly, feeling unusually honest at the moment.

  If Minako hadn’t made much progress in fixing herself during the last three years, she could at least say that she hadn’t managed to destroy herself either. Although they were nights where she desperately wanted to, Minako hadn’t drunk herself into oblivion. She had kept any other appetites from spiraling out of control, though the occasional slipup was unavoidable.

  “You’ll be happy to know that Makoto and I have patched things up, though. I can’t believe I spent all that time blaming her. She really should have kicked my ass to the curb a while ago, but you know how she is. We actually had dinner a couple of weeks back.” Minako explained in an easier manner, not feeling the pressure to maintain an overly respectful air with no one else around.

  As Minako went on, a tightness in her stomach she hadn’t known was there gradually loosening. It felt good to talk here. Minako never let herself converse with the image of Rei her mind had conjured, lest she intensify her delusions. But talking to Rei’s headstone felt…healthy, sort of. It was a feeling Minako hadn’t experienced much of lately.

  “As for Ami, we keep in touch. She’s in her final year of residency. Maybe once her schedule isn’t so hectic, we’ll be able to meet up more than a couple of times a year.” Minako remarked, genuinely hopeful that would be the case.

  Minako’s clearest memory of Ami had been in the days after Rei’s death. Her always-analytical friend had explained to Minako and anyone who would listen that the explosion had been so powerful that Rei likely hadn’t felt a thing, obliterated in an instant as she was. Minako’s response hadn’t been kind, but she was no longer so ungenerous in her thoughts. If Ami was comforted by that knowledge, then Minako was glad. She hoped her other friends were too.

  “Michiru and Haruka are doing great, as you’d expect. We see each other pretty often. I get invited to their house every weekend, but I obviously don’t take them up on it every time. If I don’t go two weeks in a row though, Haruka comes around. She seems to think I need looking after sometimes. I didn’t really appreciate it early on, but now I do.” Minako went on with a laugh, feeling unusually light and airy.

  Though Minako didn’t want to admit it, those standings invitations were an important part of keeping her worst impulses from taking control. She could hardly go on a bender (alcoholic, sexual, or otherwise) without Michiru and Haruka finding evidence of that. Minako wasn’t certain what they would do if she did, but the desire to avoid seeing disappointment in Michiru’s face or what would no doubt be a strenuous attempt to “help” her from Haruka was enough to make Minako not want to find out.

  “I’m sure you want to know about Usagi most of all. We hang out all the time. That hasn’t changed. I think Mamoru is finally getting ready to pop the question. If he hasn’t done it by the time summer’s over, I’ll have to speak to him.” Minako explained, her voice taking on a faux-grim tone.

  Even more helpful than Michiru and Haruka’s ministrations was Usagi’s need for comfort. Though everyone had been hit hard by Rei’s death, Usagi was the only one who had been as close to Rei as she was. Minako couldn’t afford to go to pieces when Usagi needed her. The time they spent together was difficult for Minako, as Usagi’s easy ability to channel her emotions clashed with Minako’s arms-length relationship with her own. But that was why it was so important for Minako to be around her.

  “That about covers it. I…I think you know there were things I wanted to say to you. Things I never got the chance to, and now I never will. I just…” Minako whispered, trying to press on but was suddenly unable to.

  Tears filled Minako’s vision before she was able to shut her eyes. Of course. Loosening the tight grip she had kept on herself was always going to result in this happening. Minako’s first impulse was to grab ahold of herself again and will the tears to stop. But she didn’t. Minako dropped her hands and let her tears come hard and fast, glad that this embarrassing breakdown wasn’t happening in front of her friends.

  It was quite a while before Minako had finished crying. She hadn’t allowed herself to do so in a long time. It was probably only the fact that her tears were not actually limitless that she had managed to stop. Minako wiped her cheeks and took several moments to catch her breath before she felt she was ready to continue.

  “But that’s all in the past, sadly. You can’t change it, no matter how much you might want to. All you can do is use it to impact the future.” Minako said quietly, repeating words of advice that had been given to her.

  They had always seemed like terribly hollow words. But as Minako stood up from the ground and regarded the headstone in front of her, she saw them in a slightly different light. Rei’s existence was entirely in the past now. She was in a place Minako could never reach, but did that mean that her friend had no effect on the world she had left behind? Hardly.

  “I’d say goodbye, but there’s no need. I’ll be back here in a few hours with everyone else. We’ll see if Usagi manages to keep herself from eating all of those candies you like.” Minako said with a wink, reasoning that she might as well try to reclaim some of her famous charm now.

  Minako turned to leave the cemetery. As she made her way through the pathways between family plots, something seemed different to her. Minako couldn’t put her finger on it until she was nearly at the cemetery gates. There were no footsteps trailing behind her. Minako couldn’t sense any presence there at all, in fact.

  The ride back to her apartment went by in a flash, and not because Minako had leaned too heavily on the throttle. The air seemed fresher to Minako, though that was certainly her imagination. The Greater Tokyo Area had not suddenly become more breathable, that was for sure.

  It was with a slight sense of trepidation that Minako entered her apartment. Everything was still, which meant Sanae had indeed left. There were no signs of theft or destruction, thankfully. The only difference Minako had found was a small note left on the kitchen table.

  “I took you up on your generous offer to use your shower. Maybe I shouldn’t have expected anything else, but what’s done is done. I can’t say I’m not a little pissed, but I will say this: Here’s my number, and if you have the guts to call it, I’ll be expecting you to bring a gift to make it up to me. Make it a nice one, okay? -Sanae”

  Minako smiled at the note. What’s done was indeed done. Minako’s admittedly shabby treatment of Sanae couldn’t be changed, but the future was her own to make.

  Now the question was: what gift might Sanae like?

DELECTABLE. SO much of the things I love on display–I’m a huge sucker for the graveside visit, always have been always will be, this idea that we have to say things to people who are gone, even if we don’t think they can hear. I of course love the touches with Haruka, but also this idea that Mina CAN hurt but move on. That it’s doesn’t have stay like this. THank yoU!

[wausaupilot]

Wausau Water Commission gives preliminary nod to solar array

The task force recommended plans be prepared for the panel, which will be installed near the city's new drinking water treatment plant at an estimated cost of roughly $2.5 million.

Damakant Jayshi Plans for a solar panel near Wausau’s new drinking water are closer to reality after approval by the Water Commission, which accepted a recommendation from the Solar Array Task Force on Tuesday. The task force recommended plans be prepared for the panel, which will be installed near the city’s new drinking water treatment plant at an estimated cost of roughly $2.5 million. The…

[alexsmitposts]

The Great Reset is Here: Follow the Money The top-down reorganization of the world economy by a cabal of technocratic corporativists, led by the group around the Davos World Economic Forum– the so-called Great Reset or UN Agenda 2030– is no future proposal. It is well into actualization as the world remains in insane lockdown for a virus. The hottest investment area since onset of the coronavirus global lockdowns is something called ESG investing. This highly subjective and very controlled game is dramatically shifting global capital flows into a select group of “approved” corporate stocks and bonds. Notably it advances the dystopian UN Agenda 2030 or the WEF Great Reset agenda. The development is one of the most dangerous and least understood shifts in at least the past century. The UN “sustainable economy” agenda is being realized quietly by the very same global banks which have created the financial crises in 2008. This time they are preparing the Klaus Schwab WEF Great Reset by steering hundreds of billions and soon trillions in investment to their hand-picked “woke” companies, and away from the “not woke” such as oil and gas companies or coal. What the bankers and giant investment funds like BlackRock have done is to create a new investment infrastructure that picks “winners” or “losers” for investment according to how serious that company is about ESG—Environment, Social values and Governance. For example a company gets positive ratings for the seriousness of its hiring gender diverse management and employees, or takes measures to eliminate their carbon “footprint” by making their energy sources green or sustainable to use the UN term. How corporations contribute to a global sustainable governance is the most vague of the ESG, and could include anything from corporate donations to Black Lives Matter to supporting UN agencies such as WHO. The crucial central goal of ESG strategists is to create a shift to inefficient and costly alternative energy, the Zero Carbon promised utopia. It is being driven by the world’s major financial institutions and central banks. They have created a dazzling array of organizations to drive their green investing agenda. In 2013, well before the coronavirus, the major Wall Street bank, Morgan Stanley, created its own Institute for Sustainable Investing. This was soon expanded in 2015 when Morgan Stanley joined the Steering Committee of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). On its website the they state, “PCAF is based upon the Paris Climate Agreement’s position that the global community should strive to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and that society should decarbonize and reach net zero emissions by 2050.” By 2020 the PCAF had more than 100 banks and financial institutions including ABN Amro, Nat West, Lloyds Bank, Barcylays, Bank of America, Citi Group, CIBC, Danske Bank and others. Several of the PCAF member banks have been indicted in money laundering cases. Now they sense a new role as virtue-models to change the world economy, if we are to believe the rhetoric. Notably, former Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney is an “Observer” or consultant to the PCAF. In August 2020 the PCAF published a draft standard outlining a proposed approach for global carbon accounting. This means the bankers are creating their own accounting rules for how to rate or value a company’s carbon footprint or green profile. The Central Role of Mark Carney Mark Carney is at the center of reorganizing world finance to back the UN 2030 green agenda behind the WEF Davos Great Reset, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees. He also is Adviser to the UN Secretary General as United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action. He has described the PCAF plan as follows: “To achieve net zero we need a whole economy transition – every company, every bank, every insurer and investor will have to adjust their business models, develop credible plans for the transition and implement them. For financial firms, that means reviewing more than the emissions generated by their own business activity. They must measure and report the emissions generated by the companies they invest in and lend to. PCAF’s work to standardise the approach to measuring financed emissions is an important step to ensuring that every financial decision takes climate change into account.” As Governor of the Bank of England Carney played a key role getting world central banks behind the Green Agenda of the UN 2030 scheme. The major central banks of the world, through their umbrella Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basle, created a key part of the growing global infrastructure that is steering investment flows to “sustainable” companies and away from those like oil and gas companies it deems “unsustainable.” When then-Bank of England Governor Mark Carney was head of the BIS’ Financial Stability Board (FSB) he established something called Task-force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) in 2015. The central bankers of the FSB nominated 31 people to form the TCFD. Chaired by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, it included in addition to BlackRock, JP MorganChase; Barclays Bank; HSBC; Swiss Re, the world’s second largest reinsurance; China’s ICBC bank; Tata Steel, ENI oil, Dow Chemical, mining giant BHP and David Blood of Al Gore’s Generation Investment LLC. Anne Finucane, the Vice Chair of the Bank of America, a member of both the PCAF and the TCFD, noted, “we are committed to ensuring that climate-related risks and opportunities are properly managed within our business and that we are working with governments and markets to accelerate the changes required… climate change presents risks to the business community, and it is important for companies to articulate how these risks are being managed.” The Bank of America vice chair describes how they assess risks in its real estate loan portfolio by assessing, “acute physical risk analysis on a sample portfolio of Bank of America residential mortgages across the US Each property was given a score based on the level of risk associated with 12 potential hazards: tornado, earthquake, tropical cyclone, hailstorm, wildfire, river flood, flash flood, coastal flood, lightning, tsunami, volcano, and winter storm.” As well, the banks’ investment “risk” in oil and gas as well as other industrial sectors is reviewed using the criteria of Carney’s TCFD. All risks are defined as related to CO2, despite the fact there is no conclusive scientific proof that manmade CO2 emission is about to destroy our planet by global warming. Rather evidence of solar activity suggests we are entering an unstable cooling period, Grand Solar Minimum. That’s of no concern to the financial interests who stand to reap trillions in the coming decade. Another key part of the financial preparation for the Great Reset, the fundamental transformation from a high-energy intensity economy to a low and economically inefficient one, is the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). SASB says it “provides a clear set of standards for reporting sustainability information across a wide range of issues… “ This sounds reassuring until we look at who makes up the members of the SASB that will give the Climate-friendly Imprimatur. Members include, in addition to the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock (more than $7 trillion under management), also Vanguard Funds, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, State Street Global, Carlyle Group, Rockefeller Capital Management, and numerous major banks such as Bank of America and UBS. Many of these are responsible for the 2008 global financial collapse. What is this framework group doing? According to their website, “Since 2011, we have has been working towards an ambitious goal of developing and maintaining sustainability accounting standards for 77 industries.” Where this is all going is to create a web of globally-based financial entities who control combined wealth including insurance and pension funds into what they claim to be worth $100 trillion. They are setting the rules and will define a company or even a country by the degree of carbon emission they create. If you are clean and green, you potentially get investment. If you are deemed a carbon polluter as the oil, gas and coal industries are deemed today, the global capital flows will disinvest or avoid funding you. The immediate target of this financial cabal is the backbone of the world economy, the oil and gas industry along with coal. Hydrocarbons Under Attack The immediate target of this financial cartel is the backbone of the world economy, the oil, coal and natural gas sector. Oil industry analysts predict that over the next five years or less investment flows into the world’s largest energy sector will fall dramatically. “Given how central the energy transition will be to every company’s growth prospects, we are asking companies to disclose a plan for how their business model will be compatible with a net zero economy,” BlackRock’s chairman and CEO Larry Fink wrote in his 2021 letter to CEOs. Blackrock is the world’s largest investment group with over $7 trillion to invest. Another BlackRock officer told a recent energy conference, “where BlackRock goes, others will follow.” “To continue to attract capital, portfolios have to be built around core advantaged assets – low-cost, long-life, low carbon-intensive barrels,” said Andrew Latham, Vice President, Global Exploration at WoodMac, an energy consultancy. The Biden Administration is already making good on his pledge to phase out oil and gas by banning new leases in Federal lands and offshore and the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The oil and gas sector and its derivatives such as petrochemicals are at the heart of the world economy. The 50 largest oil and gas companies in the world, including both state-owned and publicly traded companies, recorded revenues of about $5.4 trillion in 2015. As a new Biden Administration pushes their ideological opposition to so-called fossil fuels, the world will see a precipitous decline in oil and gas investment. The role of the Davos globalists and the ESG financial players are out to guarantee that. And the losers will be us. Energy prices will skyrocket as they did during the recent Texas blizzards. The cost of electricity in industrial countries will become prohibitive for manufacturing industry. But rest well. This is all part of the ongoing Great Reset and its new doctrine of ESG investing. In 2010 the head of Working Group 3 of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Otmar Edenhofer, told an interviewer, “…one must say clearly that we redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy. One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy. This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy anymore…” The WEF Great Reset is not simply a big idea of Klaus Schwab reflecting on the economic devastation of the coronavirus. It has been long planned by the money masters.

[blessyourhondahurley]

Oh My God, They Were Tube Mates

Written for GISH 2021 Item #37 - “NASA’s Perseverance Rover and China’s Zhurong Rover are on Mars together. Are they bitter rivals? Is there a meet-cute and romance? Is it a love triangle with Ingenuity? Write the fanfic story of their relationship.”

[Read on AO3]

The dust storm came out of nowhere.

The previous sentence is not true in a literal sense, of course. The system had been scrupulously tracked by Earthside support. Zhurong had been apprised of the time of its arrival, accurate to the quarter-minute.

And yet the storm appeared unheralded, at full force, out of a featureless, camel-colored sky. One moment the rover was finishing analysis of a batch of data from the ground-penetrating radar, solar panels charging at a steady pace. Then the wind was everywhere, and with it lashings of fine dust that clung to the panel array and threatened to worm into every gear and crevice. Zhurong was compelled to seek shelter from the unanticipated strength of the onslaught.

A recent survey of the surrounding area had mapped a lava tube nearby, and at top speed the trip took minimal time. Inside the cavernous space, terrain cameras revealed an existing occupant. This was a discovery of the most improbable sort. Zhurong was not the only rover on the planet, but it had been assumed that the nearest rival “other” was many kilometers away. Yet Perseverance was here, parked beneath a skylight hole, industriously transferring a capped sample tube into its on-board storage rack. A minor alteration in trajectory had Zhurong rolling to a stop less than half a meter from its counterpart.

A murky light filtered down through the skylight high above, along with a constant fine trickle of dust. Attempts to position the solar panels for charging in this limited light were unsuccessful; diagnostics indicated that the particles which had adhered while traversing the storm remained, reducing efficiency below functional levels. The process of generating a distress call Earthside began, then the task aborted when array output abruptly rose to 96%. A rerun on diagnostics showed the panels were now clear by dint of Perseverance's gaseous dust removal tool.

The rovers powered down into standby mode in tandem as the storm continued to rage outside their placid sanctuary.

[carlsaganlunatic]

La Déesse Dedans/The Goddess Within: Anime and Ego

       In the biblical story of the “Tower of Babel”, humanity attempts to build their way to heaven. God, in order to inhibit the prideful undertaking of the humans, casts a magic spell to diversify the spoken languages of those audacious people, effectively enabling them from being able to converse and communicate (The Bible). The attempt to become gods is a foolish one. In theology and philosophy, sentience is a necessary hierarchy that separates gods from men. Through self-contemplation and existential crises, the vast majority of humans are guilty of muling over their purpose in life. Reminiscent of the “Tower of Babel”, this search for truth in the uniquely “human” paradigm is a fruitless endeavor grounded in egotism.

       We like to believe we’re special. Ptolemy and Aristotle believe that Earth was the center of the universe in which bodies in the solar system revolve. Furthermore, the absence of evidence for alien intelligent life helps drive the fantasy of humans being the sole observers of the Universe. An innate bias programmed into our worldview filters down into our actions, inflating our egos to unreachable heights. Conflict plays a major role in the cyberpunk anime Ergo Proxy as the characters struggle to find meaning in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In this dismal world of demons and gods, humans create robots resembling humans called Autorievs programmed to perform tasks in society with precision and automation (Ergo Proxy, 1). Chaos breaks loose as the Autorievs begin to fall victim to the Cogito Virus, a programming malfunction that forces the robots to become self-aware. Humans fear the evolution of their sentient creations as it challenges their own superiority complex of intelligence and awareness, clearly reflecting the god complex of many humans that challenges the ultimate divinity of n’importe religion. Pattern denounces breaking the natural hierarchy of the world through any attempt to evolve a being’s set level of sentience.

       Suffering is an inevitable condition of the human experience. Suffering ensues from our inherent curiosity about the ways of the world and the ultimate reality of existence. Ultimate truth implies the possession of omnipotence- a capability beyond the likes of mortals. Certitude renders the search for meaning a futile effort. Nihilism argues that, because there is no essence or implied meaning to reality, life is meaningless and reality is not even real. The plot of Ergo Proxy creatively depicts this meaningless search for meaning as its main characters struggle to reconcile their existential anguish. For example, Re-I, grand-daughter of an elite government official in their dystopian society Romdeau, sets off on her own journey for truth after coming face-to-face with a Proxy (Ergo Proxy, 1). Proxies, like Autorievs, are a creation of the technologically-advanced humans, previously intended to act as rulers of the domes or societies of the Earth-based humans in hopes of reinstating order to the ruin that Earth fell into. Proxies, though, possess powers that threaten the authority of human-beings as they are more advanced in their consciousness. After coming into contact with one of these evolved beings, Re-I becomes impassioned to seek for an explanation to the awe inspired by this glimpse of divinity. Her curiosity quickly becomes the bain of her existence as she suffers endlessly to piece together the meaning of her place in this world of gods and women. Re-I’s egotism is a commonality shared by all human beings. Anthropomorphic views blind our rationality, leading us to reach beyond the limits of our knowledge and almost always ending in tragedy.

       Hubris or excessive pride misleads humans to their tragic downfall as they overestimate their mortal capabilities and emulate the qualities of gods and goddesses. In the myth of Icarus, our tragic hero flying too close to the sun, reached too far beyond his limits and was incinerated in the process. Ergo Proxy explores this concept seen in the Greek mythological story of Icarus referred to as hubris. Vincent Law, the male protagonist of Ergo Proxy, suffers similarly to Re-I in his journey to self-realization. Being both human and Proxy, Vincent cannot understand his place in the world and tortures himself by trying to reconcile the meaning of his existence. From a nihilistic point of view, Vincent’s efforts are meaningless as he cannot possibly know what significance he has in the Universe as no essence is prescribed to his existence. Interconnecting nihilist philosophy with the idea of anthropomorphism as a bias in perspective of reality necessitates a new term. I would like to introduce the term “tumidism” as the belief that humans’ egocentric search for a truth beyond their own level of sentience is the effect of a meaningless existence. Our selfishness leads us to assume some meaning beyond the evidence seen before us. We invent gods and demons to fill the gaps of our understanding of the Universe as, we as mere mortals, cannot possibly comprehend the vast nature of the Universe. In Ergo Proxy, Autorievs infected with the Cogito virus drop to their knees and pray as they develop an overwhelming sense of awareness that materialized from a void. Following a sequence of references to the mythology of Icarus, the final episode of Ergo Proxy famously shows one of the Proxies retreating to the heavens in an array of light rays, reminiscent of Icarus’ flight towards the sun (Ergo Proxy, 23). The Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud claims that humans have a tendency to explain away phenomena unknown to them through religion. Coined the “God of the Gaps” theory by Friedrich Nietzshe, famous German nihilist philosopher, this pattern emerges from religious beings assigning gaps in their understanding of the Universe to be direct evidence of God's existence. Nietzshe recognized the egocentric nature of humans in believing themselves capable of making sense of the mysteries of the world. Ergo Proxy’s Autorievs reaching towards human sentience, humans reaching towards god-like omniscience, and Icarus reaching towards the sun, we all form a rung on the ladder of hubris, destined to fall.

       Without evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence, humans remain in possession of the highest level of sentience among beings. This supposed uniqueness of humanity inevitably leads to a sense of pride in our intelligence. A pattern repeated throughout history, the hubris of Icarus from ancient Greek mythology heeds warning to reaching beyond one's limits. This quality, derived from human’s anthropocentric and ecocentric worldview, defies the natural order of intelligence as it is a forced evolution by humans to become gods. The post-apocalyptic anime series Ergo Proxy shows the progression of suffering that results from searching for an ultimate truth beyond one’s capabilities of comprehension. Art mirrors life as the characters of Ergo Proxy realize the inferiority of humanity on the Universal time scale.

       Nietzsche’s nihilistic philosophy combined with the anthropomorphic tendencies of humanity brings to light the catch-all term- “tumidism”- describing the downfall of humanity as placing their own selfish meaning to a reality otherwise meaningless as far as human-sentience is concerned. With latin root “tumid” meaning goddess, god, or divinity, tumidism effectively unifies egotism and heroic tragedy. Vying for equality as no single person is above or beyond another, tumidism thereby grants universal equality to all breathing beings. Whether the respiration source is oxygen or methane is of unimportance. In a world accelerating towards climate catastrophe, it is clear that the selfishness of humanity does indeed yield a price to pay. All that exists was birthed from the same cosmic origin. Whether or not some divine being set off this creation is not the most essential question. The significance is within the fact that all beings, humans included, are kin in the cosmos.

       Assigning unique importance to any one species of being is plain ignorance. I, for one, am awaiting the day where humanity realizes the cosmic commonality shared between all creatures and can set aside our egos to simply admire the beauty of the world. “Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?” (Adams). Messiahs aside, we are all one in the spirit.

Works Cited

Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Pan Books. 1979.

Ergo Proxy. Shuko Murase. 2006.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. 1891.

The English Standard Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha, Oxford UP, 2009.

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

Eden

Park Jimin/Reader [F]

Genre: God AU, romance, angst, royal-ish au

Warning(s)?!: imprisonment, torture, violence, toxic royalty [Rated: T]

Words: 24k 

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The God of Eden- Ventus- vanished decades ago.  His kingdom fell prey to Senri, the neighboring God to fill the seat of the Ventus.  Famine, corruption, and destruction were eating away at His home.  Just where did He disappear to? Why did He abandon his people? Or rather, a better question, who took Him and what can you do to get Him back to his rightful kingdom? 

It was just as it normally was in Kiah.  Working at the palace, many a folk knew of the palace grounds jabbering and if you were lucky enough, you could hear quite a few words passed around of how the castle town was fairing. The separation between the palace and castle town was vast- like two different solar bodies. However, almost always the result in hearing about the outside’s state would make your throat burn.  The castle town never seemed to be thriving, acting more as a ghost town than anything more.  

Kiah- the kingdom in which you lived and worked.  Working as a metal worker inside the palace walls, you were tasked with many objectives.  From welding to locksmithing, it was your job.  However, not every day brings metal work.  Some days you are tasked as a simple maid, waiting on the corrupt wealth that resided in the castle.  The family that had been chosen many eras ago by Senri.

Senri: the main deity of Kiah.  Kiahan Castle resided directly beside the Temple of Senri.  Senri- as legend says- use to co-rule over two kingdoms together with another God.  However, it is said that one God had gone back on his word and betrayed Senri, so the kingdom of one split down the center into two.

That other kingdom was known as Eden.  The kingdom without a God.  Ventus- the God of Eden- had vanished decades ago.  Prophets and worshippers of all kinds all pushed out pleas to have their God returned, but all those pleas fell on deaf ears.  For Ventus never returned.  In his place, Senri stepped up and ruled over Eden with an iron grip. Taking the spoils of a lost war and claiming the ruined grounds of the kingdom lost to deities.

The two went hand in hand.  Ventus of the moon and the wind.  Silver and night were his and his alone while Senri was known for his control of the sun and the clouds. When Ventus disappeared, so too did the sun.  Senri, though his domain was the sun itself, dismissed the sun and clouded the kingdoms in an everlasting overcast.  Though the titles are vague, the powers the two God’s held were inconceivable.

Senri was merciless. Once again gaining the power to conquer and rule two kingdoms as one and move the people like pawns on a chess board.  Senri cared not for the people who are forced to be called his.  All he cared for was making it impossible for Ventus to ever return.

You hated this kingdom.  Working in this palace, in Kiahan Palace with the royal family acting solely as Senri’s obedient lap dogs.  Part of you wished that Ventus would return to Eden someday, and an even bigger part of you wanted to join that kingdom if he ever did.

You often heard tales that Eden was once a prosperous, golden land. Fields of gold wheat, droughts were non-existent, famine was limited and killed far less than now.  Crops and food were never lacking, always fruitful and harvest season was always a goldmine for the people.  It was peaceful without feud.  This blissful time was referred to as the era of the Garden of Eden.  A place for all to be free and live easily.

However, when Ventus disappeared, that Garden turned cold and baren.  Wheat wilted, crops died, livestock froze in icy tundras and whirlwinds of terrible storms plagued the lands.  Ventus was once named the God of Storms, so perhaps he simply left his people and were punishing them for some unknown sin.  However, there would be no evidence to support a sin had been committed.  Ventus just stopped existing, completely gone with no trace to follow.

You were wandering around the castle, it was late afternoon, the faded glow of clouded evening covered the atmosphere.  The sky outside the tall window panes of the castle walls were a grey gradient that faded into a deep navy.  Daytime without having a sun retiring for yet another night beyond the horizon.  

Senri was- ironically- never fond of the sun.  Days in Kiah were always cloudy, overcast with the tiniest sliver of the light being a blessing. You wished one day you would get to see the sunrise or even watch the sun disappear with the most beautiful array of colors.  Though, it was all wishful thinking.  You had long given up hope that you would ever witness anything that once was; anything the legends spoke of were simply a fool's dream.  The events and sights explained and painted in books were lost to you as a simple daydream.

You stood and watched the fading sky for a moment longer, wanting to stay in the moment.  However, you knew the world would continue forward, thus so should you. You hiked the basket of scrap metal and broken locks you held further up to your chest as your arms held it and continued once more down the halls.  Your destination is the west hall: the servant’s quarters.

The castle was old. However, age didn’t appear to be an issue when it came to the looks of the interior.  It was a grand castle.  Golds of all shades and not a spec of silver to be seen.  Gold was the color of Senri, while silver was used to represent Ventus.  It was practically banned from the kingdom.  Even the Knights' chainmail were copper stained.  

The halls were tall, wide and grand, columns of masterful architecture sculpted from top to bottom to support the ever heavy castle.  The tiled floors were spotless, without a nick or scratch and could be used as a mirror if one so desired.  The walls were never bare, always with a painting, a tapestry, blade rack, shield and weapon or window. Small torches remained unlit during the day time- if you could call the overcast day- along the lower walls and a lucky servant would light each and everyone come nightfall.

Your boots clinked on the floors, echoing in an almost eerie fashion.  Dressed in black trousers and an equally dark tunic covering your chest.  Your hands were covered in your fingerless, work gloves so your palms wouldn’t become raw, dry or torn from work.  Your turtle-necked tunic covered your throat as your hair was down, having undone it from its tied state once your work was finished for the day.

You weaved around the castle halls you knew like the back of your hand until you shuffled to a stop in front of your door. As you were employed by the castle’s royal family, you were under strict orders to remain in the castle for ease of access if you are summoned.  It basically eliminates the chance of you never showing if summoned.  If one was hired by the family, they practically shoved you in the cage known as the Kiahan Palace.  

Shifting your basket to your hip with one arm supporting it, you unlocked your door with the key you removed from your neck.  You didn’t trust anyone in the castle as far as you could throw them. Locking your room was one of the only things you could be in control of. Once you heard the click of the lock unlatch as well as felt the give from the key, you pulled the key out, squeezed it in your palm and opened the door.

Kicking it shut behind you, you placed your basket on the small table you keep right inside your doorway to the direct right and did not hesitate to relock your door.  Sighing with relief in privacy at long last, you turned and placed your back on your door before you slid down it.  Your rear hit the wooden floor that wasn’t nearly as nice as the corridor’s tile as you closed your eyes and allowed yourself a minuscule rest.

“Finally,” you breathed.  

Your room wasn’t the worst in the kingdom; however, it was nothing compared to the royal halls and what you guess the royal family’s rooms may appear to be.  However, it was enough for you.  

A queen bed was placed in the far back of your room, the headboard against the wall with both sides and the foot of the bed open to climb into it.  A rug of faded crimson lay under your bed frame as the room itself was of a hardwood flooring.  Off to the left of your room was the bathroom that had come with it.  A tub and shower with a small sink, dinky mirror and toilet lay beyond that door.  In the main room, you had a large wardrobe with your clothes, tunics, and weaponry placed safely inside.  A trunk sat at the foot of your bed, locked so none may snoop inside.

Finally, a desk sat under the large, west side window of your room.  Your window was grand, low sitting- only a foot or two off the ground- as it traveled far up your wall and wide enough to open it outwards.  The window split down the center, two handles in the middle of the metal panes and a single lock beneath.  A small flower bed sat beneath the outside of the window; however, you had long since removed any and all soil and replaced it with stones and gravel.  Any hopes of growing any sort of flower on your own was a dead hope, you were far too busy and forgetful to care for a plant.

Small, three-pronged metal hooves for torches graced each wall for whatever light fire could put when the torches were lit. Creation dancing shadows of each direction and length in the flames. 

Kicking off your boots, you pushed yourself back to your feet.  Traveling to your bathroom, you tied your hair back, pushing it away from your face as you turn the cold water from your sink on and splashed your face.  You did this two or three times before you felt satisfied and turned the water back off, as you leaned against your sink.  

Your hands clung to the edges of the porcelain bowl as you kept your face downcast, the water dripping off your chin and the tip of your nose.  Rolling from your forehead and clinging to your eyelashes.

Today in Kiah was just like every other day.  Waking up at the crack of dawn, taking a quick shower, dressing in your tunic and heading out with a basket filled with scrap metal and proper locks to replace the old broken ones.  Only to replace the broken scattering of metal waiting for you throughout the castle grounds.

It was a bland cycle of repetition, one you wished would change.

You wiped your face dry with a towel that hung over the sink’s side and exited the bathroom before you peeled off your tunic.  Throwing it at your feet, you walked barechested to your wardrobe that you opened and pulled out a comfortable nightshirt.  

It was a shirt that was far too big for you.  You pulled it over your head as you shed away your pants.  The shirt hung to conceal the rim of your underwear as the three buttons at the top of the shirt remained unbuttoned and low on your chest. The shirt had cuffs at the sleeves, yet you kept those unbuttoned as well for maximum comfort. This was your favorite shirt.  It belonged to your father before he passed.  

Padding your bare feet along the wood of your floor, you took the basket that still sat unmoved on your door side table and carried it across the room to your desk. Taking the stool that sat beneath the wooden surface, you took a seat and started picking out the metal, piece by piece.  

Grouping was a very important thing when it came to your work.  You’d group metals by how they were broken, or by size, or even by its components.  Isolating iron from bronze and copper. After that, they were broken down into what they are- or used to be before they were broken.  If you deduced that, you could match together pieces here and there to create a blueprint of sorts.  After all that is finished, with plans of remaking and fixing what is broken, you’d place the parts that go together into a cloth bag with instructions on what to do tomorrow and place it all back into the basket.  The outliers of scrap metal brushed into the top drawer of your desk for another puzzle another time.

It was late by the time you finished.  Placing the basket back at your door side table, you stood in front of your door.  It was forbidden for servants to leave their quarters beyond the chiming hour of nightfall, and yet it was soon approaching the devil’s time.

Looking at the ticking clock of wood and iron on your wall, you watched the hands tick slowly, inching closer to 3am.  You sighed as you held your stomach.  You were stealthy enough to sneak into the kitchen, right?  You steeled yourself as you unlocked your door as quietly as you could, grabbing the key to loop around your neck and soon stepped out into the halls.  

The castle was disturbing and soulless enough during the day time, but the night brings out the true nature of the word horrifying.  The torches crackled with fire and shadows danced along the busy walls.  The silence would make a small rodent tampering along the floors seem as loud as a war drum.  Your bare feet felt chilled on the tile floor.  You breathed in, if you got caught by some unforeseen guard, you’d just play like you were sleepwalking.

Surely they would buy that excuse, right?

You stuck close to the walls, running to hide in the shadows and avoiding the flames of the torches that were easily eye level.  The short trip to the kitchen felt like a treacherous odyssey as you ducked and avoided guards, listening out for heavy clunking of boots and the jingling of chainmail.

You were tiptoeing down the hall when the guard you were quietly tailing from a decent distance when he suddenly stopped. Your breath hitched as you pressed yourself against the wall as much as you could.  The tapestry behind your back folding with wrinkles as you clutched its floor-brushing fabric in your palm.  You pressed the back of your head against the wall expecting to hit the marble wall behind you, but in fact, it didn’t hit the smooth of the marble wall. No, not at all.  

Uncurling your fingers from the tapestry, you moved your hand to go behind it and lightly knock on the wall.  What was behind you wasn’t marble, but sounded and felt like wood?  You watched as the guard soon walked off and you used the limited light from a nearby torch as you looked behind the hanging cloth.  A door lay behind it.  

The journey to the kitchen was forgotten the moment you found the hidden door. Looking to your sides, you listened and watched to make sure the coast was clear of any patrolling guards.  Testing the door handle that lacked a lock, you were shocked to see it turn down completely and allow the door crack open when you offered the tiniest of pushes.  Looking both directions once again and analyzing what was happening once more through your mind, you quickly slid under the tapestry and through the door, clicking it quietly shut behind you.

The corridor you had found yourself in smelt of must and moisture.  The air was thick and stagnant, like a hot humid day confined into a small space. You pulled and flapped the front of your shirt as you breathed heavily in the thick air.  Figuring you had nowhere else to go, you proceeded forward.

It was pitch black dark. You kept one hand on the wall to your right as you followed it in a straight line, only taking small curves every now and again.  It was a pretty straight shot forward into the darkness.  The small dim light from under the door you went through was long gone as you were swallowed by thick, damp dark air.

The ground became much rockier as you proceed with each step.  What you presumed were once tiles were broken and kicked up, your bare toes kicking them and feet stepping on them, making you wince well more than once.  Stepping slowly- carefully- with your hand guiding you, you soon ran into another door.  You don’t know how long you were in that corridor, or where ever you were, but you’ve come this far.  

Trying the new door, it pushed open, though with more force needed that the first.  The door was rusted, wood old and decayed as the metal on it was tough and loud as it squeaked.  Peeking through it, you were met with light again.  This time, you were led to a spiral stone staircase descending further down.  You never remembered a level below the castle existing before.  Though it was very well plausible that you weren’t even on the castle grounds anymore with how far you’ve walked. Small torches- far smaller than the ones in the castle halls- sat in iron sconces.  Taking one off the wall for possible future sight problems, you pushed the heavy, creaking door closed behind you.  

Your shirt clad covered body shivered.  The damp air turned chilly as you slowly took careful steps downwards.  The stairs were stone and aged well beyond a generation or two.  Corners and edges were chipped and certain portions of steps were worn away from what you guessed was previous use.  You wondered if this passageway lead to somewhere particular, or if it is still used? What would you find at the end? 

A small lump formed in your throat at the thought of this passage to nowhere still being used and the newly arriving fear of possibly running into someone.  If that happened, you would have absolutely no excuse for your snooping.  You’d be thrown out of the castle, or if this was a far too extensive crime, more than likely spat at by Senri himself followed by the punishment of execution by guillotine.

The descent down felt agonizingly long.  Part of you thought you were going to end up at the core of the planet if you kept going much further.  However, not much longer you were at the bottom.  Standing on a stone landing, walls all around you with only one other possible direction to choose to go other than back.  Through the single door that stood in front of you.  

Placing your torch into a vacant sconce, you inspected the door.

It was in better shape than the one at the top of the staircase.  The wood seemed well taken care of, despite the damp atmosphere of the lower tier of- wherever you were. The metal that welded the door to the metal frame was strong and sturdy and in no need of any repair anytime soon unless a wrecking ball should somehow crash into it.  There was a small metal slit in the door at eye level.  Taking the handle that stuck off of it, you slid it to the left, opened the window and peeked inside.  

It was dark, you could hardly make out a single detail on what may be inside.  For all you knew this was just a vacant room. Empty and lost to time.  With the window still open, you looked down at the door handle.  A single metal ring that you simply pull on to unlatch the door.  With a curious mind, you grasped it, the metal chilling your skin and tugged. The door lurched at your motion.  It seemed to be able to open with ease; much to your shock.

Abandoning the window, you grasped the ring with both hands and tugged.  Your feet stepping backward as the door opened further and further. The bottom of the door chasing your defenseless toes. Once the door was open enough for you to slip inside, you peeked in once again, leaning your torso only half way in.  

The light the stairway allowed only lit a small portion of the room before the firelight faded into the complete darkness of this room.

The air felt tight and compressed.  The room was small, you were certain of that. A small grate was at the very top of the ceiling of the room, you could only assume it lead to somewhere outside where it lay in the ground.  Perhaps this was a room for water drainage?  That would certainly explain the dampness. You were nearly content with that conclusion, that is until you hear scuffling bounce off the stone walls.

There was something in this room.  

It was a rat, that was the most probable of choices.  Rodents were bound to be found in a place like this, it was second hand thinking that even a child knew.  Taking a shaky breath, you grabbed your torch once more from it’s sconce and slowly stepped into the room.  

Small puddles rippled and splashed with your footsteps from the last heavy rain that no doubt drained into the room from the grate above.  Soon though, your hip ran into the edge of an old, worn out table.  Hissing, you rubbed your skin, lifting your shirt to see the red skin of your waist.  Finally, looking at the table itself, you sucked in a breath, covering your mouth with your free hand.

Anything from knives to whips lay on the table top.  An ax, knives of all shapes and sizes, whips of leather and of spiked tips.  You felt sick looking at them.

You dropped your torch, the fire extinguishing in a puddle as you took several steps backward.  Your stomach churned and flipped. You heard the shuffling again, like something moving around behind you.

Turning around with an impressive whirl, you fell to your rear with a shaken shout.  

Tonight must’ve been a night that Senri wanted to view the moon, casting the clouds aside.  That would be the only explanation as to why the moonlight shone through the grate above your head and lit the room with a brilliant, soft blue light.  Showing you where you were, what was in the room, your discarded torch and the man tied up against the back wall.  

“Oh, Gods,” you gasped in heavy breaths.  Breathing shouldn’t be this hard right? Just, in and out, right?  Yet, there you sat, on your ass, hands braced behind you as you stared at the moonlit boy having the hardest time breathing in your life.  You mentally walked yourself through the breathing process as your breath left you and seemed to never return. Breathing in felt like gulping water.

The man before you hunched over as he rested on his knees.  His hands and hands were restrained by mere fabric by the looks of it.  Pure white sheets wrapped around his wrists, tangled around his elbows and under his underarms.  His ankles, however, had chains around them, though they were of a material you’ve never seen.  

The shackles seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, shining so beautifully like the moon itself was trapped inside. Only now you realized that the shackles were made of pure silver.  On the clasp of the shackle was a scripture in a language you couldn’t read.  You hardly recognized it.  The encryption almost seemed to pulse, glowing off and on with the light of the moon.

Looking at the fabric confinements once more, they hung from the ceiling, held up and drilled into the stone walls and ceiling with the same pure silver material. You brought your sights back down to finally look at the man himself.

His hair was as white as the moon.  A shining silver from root to tip.  A mask was placed over the entirety of his face.  Pure white with golden designs around the eyes in the shape of a beautiful butterfly from temple to temple across the mask’s face.

He wore a white collared shirt, torn and stained with black harnesses hooked over his shoulders and wrapped around his waist.  Black, snug pants hugged his legs.  Straining against his thighs and the holes in the knees were frayed and obviously created at the number of times he’s probably dragged them across the stone floor.  He wore boots on his feet, though they were aged, scuffed and you could faintly see the sole of the boot detach from the cover.

His frame was lithe, slim yet as he hung and draped against his restraints, his arms raised, you could catch the faintest glimpse of his stomach, hard and muscular and his arms and shoulders crinkled his shirt as it pushed against his chest.  He was nowhere lacking in the muscular department so it seemed.  

Then the questions came.

Who was this man?  Why was he here?  How long has he been down here?  Has he been getting whipped? Cut? Completely tortured beneath the surface of wherever you were wondered to?  You found yourself internally fighting over the decision to move closer to him or to run out of the small room that appears to be his dungeon cell.

You quickly stood up and took to pacing back and forth; as if rambling and panicking to yourself would actually get you anywhere.  As you ran your fingers relentlessly through your hair, your nonstop mumbles and quick steps in puddles and kicking loose peebles had woken the masked man up.

With a groan and a twitch from him, you quickly shut up with a small yelp and moved far too quickly back against the wall.  Falling against it, you braced your hands at your side behind you as you watched the masked man move ever so slightly.

His motions, although slow, were smooth.  Like a steady flow of water into a calm stream. His body twitched and seemed to jolt and pop into place as he moved to stand tall on his knees instead of slumped over like he previously was.

Raising his masked face, his body remained unmoving.  You don’t know what was more frightening.  The lack of movement from him as he was now looking directly towards your figure against the wall.  Or the fact that his mask hid his entire face, so you could see nothing besides that golden butterfly across his eyes, sitting on a sea of white.  

For some reason the air around this man made you freeze.  His consciousness as well as his awareness of your presence sent shivers down your spine and caused your knees to tremble. You’ve never seen this man before in your life, but somewhere in your very core said something about him, you felt something you couldn’t name.  Something that just wasn’t quite right.  Something strong-- sinister maybe?  

Something ungodly.

“I have never seen you before,” his voice wasn’t what you were expecting.  It was smooth, if not a little rusty.  It wasn’t too low, nor too high.  It was a voice that- despite your shaking frame- could almost calm you. You jumped, not actually expecting him to speak first- let alone at. 

“I- well I-,” you cursed yourself for being unable to form a proper sentence; how embarrassing.  You closed your mouth, pushing your dry lips together and swallowing.  Letting out a puff of air, you tried once more.  “I was… wandering around the castle and I just… ended up here.” Your voice, small to begin with, nearly vanished as you spoke.  You felt so small, and you weren’t even the one restrained in this room.

“You are of this kingdom?” He spoke again.  You figured that he wouldn’t want to converse with you, especially since you were the stranger who accidentally discovered something you obviously were never supposed to.

“I- I am,” you spoke with a fragment of a question.  It caught his ear.

“You question your homeland?”

“I-,” you hated this kingdom and its god.  However, could you really be open about that to this man?  You didn’t even know who he was!

“Do not lie to me,” his voice became gruff, almost like he could hear you were doubting your instincts to reply back truthfully or not.  Your stilled as you curled your hand, nail to your palm and pinching your bare leg every now and again to remind yourself that this was no dream. “Kiahan; you are or you are not.”  The question had left him roughly as he demanded a response.

“I am,” you lowly replied in truth.  He let out a sigh as he hung his head, his mask tilting down, the golden butterfly out of view now hidden in the shadow of his hanging head. He didn’t seem to be dangerous, though that may be a crafty facade for all you knew.  Though, with the restraints, he holds no real harm at the moment.  So, the curiosity in your gut was safe to be released you concluded. Perhaps he could answer the questions you so desperately want answers to.

“If I may be so bold,” the man spoke before you could even open your mouth to start speaking.  “I’m not fond of those who ask many questions, so may I ask you to keep them to a minimum?” He did it again!  It was like he knew what you were going to do before you truly did it!  What? Is this man good at reading body language or something?  A small chuckle left his mouth as he shook his head, raising back up ever so slightly.

“Alright,” you quietly responded.  You twirled and spun the questions in your head like a carousel, picking what questions would take precedence over another.  “How many will you answer?” You asked.  

“Oh, you still wish to ask them?” He sounded almost impressed.  

“I do,” the first sentence of yours to come out strong-willed. It made the man before you straighten his back and shift around.  His knees came out in front of him as he sat his rear completely on the ground, kicking his boot-clad feet out in front of him.  His arms that were raised in a slight slack were now completely above his hand, white silks pulling on his wrists and arms.  He leaned back against the wall as the center ceiling grate kept a steady flow of moonlight flooding the room.

“Three,” he answered and you could hear the smirk on his face.  

“Three,” you repeated quietly to yourself.  Soon, you were nodding to yourself, seemingly coming to a conclusion. “Alright, I’m ready to ask my questions.” He remained silent, your cue to proceed along with the interrogation.  “Where are we?”  

What a boring first question-- that was the first thought that ran through his head.  He looked up, peering through the eye slits of his mask to the moon threaded grate above him. 

“We’re in an underground cell created to hold me in solitary confinement presumably in complete secrecy.”  You opened your mouth but he spoke again. “Ah ah, careful little maid.  Asking me ‘why’ still counts as a question.”  You shut up as you then scowled.

“I am not a maid.  How dare you.”  His hands opened, fingers spreading into the air.

“Oh pardon me.  I didn’t think they let concubines of the royal family run around and snoop on their own.”

Opening your mouth in frustrated awe you were honestly insulted.  Who the hell did this man think he is?!  He’s the one tied and bound, not you so why is he talking down to you like you were the one who was in a compromising state!

“I’m a metal worker, thank you very much.  Ungrateful, bound men should really hold their tongue.”  The man only chuckled before it erupted into a laugh.  It was almost menacing, the way the sound of his laughter bounced off the walls and rolled into your ears, it seemed sinister.  Yet, also still amused.

“You must pardon me,” he repeated, still chuckling deeply to himself as he was slowly calming down.  “Alright, metal worker, my time is not free and yours is quite limited.  So hurry this process along if you would.”  He had some nerve.

“As you wish,” you gruffly muttered as your second question flew out of your mouth.  “Why are you here?”  The question seemed to muffle any further chuckling from him as the air grew cold.  It was strange that the air in the room seemed to be almost connected to him.  Like the atmosphere took the place of the man’s face you couldn’t see, telling you his expressions without being able to truly see them.

“There are many answers to your question, which one would you like to hear?”  You didn’t comprehend what he meant by that. Perhaps there were many ways to phrase his current position.  And perhaps one way was much crueler than the other.  You, however, were willing to hear anything to make this trip worth the risk and time.  

“I want the truth, if you would be so kind,” you stated.  

“Of course,” he tufted.  “You all always want the truth, even if you hear it though, there is no guarantee you would believe it all.”  You remained silent, unmoving and still resolved to hear the answer to your questions.  He sighed.  “I was… captured long ago.  Does that satisfy you?”

You looked down at the cold, damp stone floor.  You nodded.  It did, but it didn’t.  You couldn’t help but feel his answer was short.  He was being short with you, being truthful, yet not completely so.  There was more he was keeping from you, which you could not blame him for.  He was a stranger, you were a stranger, and he had no reason to open up to you. He could have lied to you, yet you felt in your gut that he didn’t.  

The man sat in his ever sitting position as he looked at you through his mask.  He hadn’t seen you before, as he’s stated he’s been confined and he was curious as to how you ended up here anyway.  Not even he knew where he was located precisely.  He knew the general area where his cell was held so mockingly, but the pinpoint location was completely unknown to him.  

He even scowled to himself.  You were someone in which he knew nothing about, he’s never seen or met you.  He had no need to even answer your questions, or even give you the time of night.  He could’ve just pretended to remain asleep, yet here he was.  Answering your questions- graciously giving you three- and answering them with the utmost of honesty.

He watched your body move slightly with a shiver in the cold, underground cell.  In quite the enticing array of clothing- or rather lack thereof.  A simple white shirt and undergarments along your hips were hardly enough to call clothing.  It’s been quite some time since he’s interacted with someone who didn’t intend to bring him harm.  You had him gnawing on his lip behind his mask.

“I get one last question,” you spoke as you twiddled with your thumbs.  Almost nervous like.  “I-,” you stopped but started once more immediately after steeling yourself. “I wish to know your name.”

His body stopped swaying ever so slightly in his fabric prison as he raised his head higher.  You couldn’t see his eyes beyond his mask, but you could feel his eyes piercing through you.  

“Come over here,” he demanded of you.  You don’t know why you found yourself absolutely obeying him. You picked yourself up off the ground as you staggered on your feet.  Your feet were sore and sure to have cuts along the bottoms from all the stone you’ve walked along to get to this point.  You felt as if a string was yanking on your chest, dragging you, begging you to go to him.

If you had to describe it, it was like he just placed a spell on you.  Your body felt like it was moving under strings like a puppet and only when you stood in front of him and dropped to your knees now face to face with his mask, were those strings severed from you. Even so close, you could not see his eyes through the mask’s dark slits.

As you knelt in front of him, he was able to search your eyes.  They were vastly different from the two men who often frequent his prison.  Their eyes were simple, flat and dull.  They held nothing and only ever sparked with ill intent when they bared a blade or tested a whip.  Yours though, yours were so human.

They were vast as he gazed at them through his mask.  The dark shadow of your eyes in this place did nothing to diminish their shine. The moon’s gaze added a cover of silver as he could see all your emotions, your thoughts, and dreams behind them- even your name he knew through them.  He was able to get such a clearer image of you through your eyes, even when he was sealed up so tight.  His powers which were suppressed weren’t completely at a zero after all.

“You wish to know my name?” He questioned from behind his mask.  You nodded at him.  “Remove the mask that conceals my face and I may allow you one question more.” Your arms rose with a smooth uncertainty.  You wanted to remove that mask, look this man in the eye and get his name to roll off his tongue.  Your trembling fingers slowly reach out and cup along the sides of the mask.  Your fingertips brushed against his hair and the side of his cheeks as you curled your fingers around the mask.  With a breath, you pulled the mask off his face and dropped it to the stone floor where the sound of it echoed into the moonlit room.

The man before you was just as beautiful- if not more so- then the moon itself.  Your hands hovered over his face where his mask used to be as you were lifted above his head on your straightened knees.  Your hair hung pasted your cheeks as you looked down at him and he looked up at you.  

He really didn’t know what he was thinking, asking you to remove his mask.  He no longer remembered what he looked like after all these years.  Perhaps he was the same, or perhaps not.  

The way you looked at him made him more and more curious with each ticking moment.  His eyes were that of a silver coin, shining and reflecting as a mirror would.  His skin flawless as the moonlight bounced off it.  He looked like he could be the child of a god and if he managed to say it, you would almost believe it.  This man was ethereal; beautiful was an understatement.

“Have I rendered you speechless,” the smirk on his face is something you had imagined when the mask was covering him.

“No-I,” you stumbled.  “I simply wasn’t expecting you to be as beautiful as you are,” you answered with an honest breath.  He could feel your breath on his forehead as you spoke and almost relished in the warmth it brought to his skin.  Even now, he knew his own to be cold as ice.

“You wished to know my name, did you not?” You only nodded as he pushed himself back up on tall knee.  He was now higher than you, swapping roles as he now looked down at you and your vastly emotional eyes.  “Jimin,” he told you. “You may call me that.”

He was almost ready to pry the final question he granted you out of your throat when something felt off.  His body moved towards yours on its own, hovering ever closer to you as your face was hovering close to his neck.  His arms fought against the restraints of the silk as he looked up at the grate.  Shifting his gaze, he looks at the door as it soon slammed shut with the narrowing of his eyes that shone with a soft glow for but a moment.

Pulling a small scream from your throat, you looked at the door before you looked back at Jimin, finding him already looking down at you.

“Replace my mask and you must leave.”  You wanted to protest, wanting to know why.  In reality, you knew you had to leave. You should’ve left ages ago, but he somehow kept you rooted. The aura he gave off was enough to keep you in that small chamber of stone. “Please, you must go.  This cell is not completely secret, someone had to put me here, and it is only a matter of time before they walk in through that door.”  

“But, my final question-”

“Y/n, please.” Your eyes widened.  How did he-?

“You knew my name?”  Jimin sucked in a breath.  Dammit, he slipped.  He hissed as he could detect someone at the very top of the long spiral stairs he knew the echo of far too well.  He tugged on his arms, hoping that even the smallest bit of slack could be offered to him. To no avail.

“Save your question, but please, go.  The grate above you is loose, climb to it and run.”  He instructed. You only nodded as you grabbed his mask from the ground and carefully slotted it back over his face. Slowly, you got off your knees, Jimin’s eyes following you under his mask as you ran around and grabbed the single chair in the far corner of the room and stood on your very toes to reach the metal grate just enough to lift it and push it to the side inch by inch.

When you were able to grip the outside terrain with your curled fingers, you felt it was all stone. You mentally sighed, stone being much easier to grip than what grass and mud would be.  Ready to hoist yourself up, Jimin stopped you for a brief moment.

“Do you truly not view Senri as your God?” His voice echoed as you looked down at him.  How did he know that?  You saw his head look to the door and you didn’t hesitate to lift yourself up, kicking the chair over in the jump from your force.  You clambered through the small hole and soon rolled yourself into the outside air.  The lack of dampness and open area was a nice change compared to the cell’s air.

Before you moved the grate back into its place, you peeked your head down into the room, your hair hanging from its place on your scalp and creating a dark waterfall.  You called down to Jimin as you offered him a small, upside down smile.  You don’t know why but perhaps a smile would make the next words you tell him believable.

“I do not view Senri as any God of mine.  I shall save that final question for another night. Do not forget.” Then, you disappeared, moving the grate back into place and he could hear your feet patter off to return to the castle.  He sighed as he looked down, dropping himself to his rear as he looked back up at the grate, the moonlight dimming as it became covered by clouds.  

Then, the door to his dungeon kicked open, a single man stood in the doorway.  One in which Jimin was far too familiar with.  A wicked sly grin grew under his mask as he kicked his head back against the stone wall like he’d been alone all night until now.  

“Ah, welcome back, Your Majesty.”  

When you managed to push the grate back into its slotted space in the small patch of stone, you quickly staggered to your feet and took off.  The ground around you was full of green grass and you were in the center or a maze of hedges. Cursing lightly, you prayed that you would even find your way out.  Yet, frustration set in as you quickly found yourself turned around more than once.  Passing the same statue at least 3 times over now.  You stopped as you looked around, biting the nail of your thumb.

Beyond the hedge maze was a building of which you couldn’t quite make out or identify from the back. The darkness of night didn’t help that fact either.  You decided to keep your eyes on the building.  Being methodical under the assumption that the exit must be at that building, you should be able to get out without too much further hassle.

Eventually, you did manage to weed yourself out of the grassy maze, but you wished it hadn’t taken as long as it did.  Quickly moving to the front of the building which aided your escape, you felt your breath leave your lungs like someone had just sucker punched your gut.  You instantly recognized the building from the front, dark out or not. You saw this building every day out of the back windows of the South Hall.

It was the Temple of Senri.  

The temple was strictly off limits to everyone besides the royal family.  It’s located directly behind the palace, beyond the stone gardens that only select caretakers are permitted to maintain. Sure enough, beyond that stone garden and past a small roll of grassy hills was the south poets' gate entrance into the palace.

Jimin was held in a cell beneath the temple that was connected to the palace via a hidden stone passage.  That can only mean he was captured by the royal family, right? The only ones who could possibly know about it and Jimin would be them.  The king, queen and the heir to the throne, the prince.  The only other possible person to even know the slightest knowledge about Jimin’s hostage situation was-

“Senri,” you whisper to yourself into the chilled night air.  The wind picked up as you soon grew anxious and shivered.  You shook your head. Turning from the temple, you ran.  Ran up the rolling hills of the backcourts, through the stone garden and back into the palace.  Traveling back through the halls, careful to be undetected once more you finally ran once again into the safety of your room as you clicked the lock shut behind you.

What was once a simple stealth mission for something to eat at the dead of night, turned into a mind-boggling puzzle that left you with gooseflesh and more questions.  That final question would have to be chosen wisely if you wanted a proper answer that even slightly sedated your burning curiosity.

That may be what shocked you the most out of every turn the evening offered you- your twisted curiosity. Maybe a smarter person would forget this ever happened, forget they met a man named Jimin under the Temple of Senri- a forbidden place for someone like you. However, even after everything so far, you were sure of only one thing.

You absolutely would sneak in to see Jimin again.

As you lingered in your room, it was hard to believe you even left it.  The palace was as quiet as before and the room was the same picture as it would be any other night.  The only evidence was the scratches on your feet and the erratic pulsing of your blood through your veins.

You were usually someone who would stick to a schedule.  Your life had been laid out in front of you ever since your father passed and you were placed in the castle.  Metalworking was the objective you were tasked with until you inevitably worked yourself to death one day.  Yet, with one glance into Jimin’s moon silver eyes, you wanted to take that hypothetical schedule and tear it to shreds.

Gazing at Jimin seemed to sever a link of chains that bound you to this palace. This royal tyranny.  This god. This kingdom.  Now, you have decided something else as you lay on your bed at an hour that was bound to leave you exhausted and possibly ill.

You wanted to free Jimin, even if you knew absolutely nothing about him or who he may be at the end of all of this. Even if he were some criminal who was bound to manipulate you, you simply felt like you had to free him.  You didn’t give yourself a choice. 

You didn’t sleep at all.  By the time a yawn came out of your mouth and you were ready to close your eyes, the birds began their ceaseless crying and the halls began to fill with footsteps of all varieties before harsh banging was shaking your door in its frame.

Dragging yourself out of bed, walking to the door to offer a weak, yet hefty bang back to the person on the other side you waddled your way into your bathroom for a shower.  If you took a bath, the probability of you falling asleep and drowning was way too risky.

You cleaned up your sore feet and layered them with two pairs of socks today.  It would be suffocating for your bottom limbs, but the extra cushion was sorely needed.  Dressed up in your tunic of a dim, quite ugly, yellow and black trousers you tugged on your boots and grabbed your basket of metal ready to weld the day away as your thoughts were muddled with Jimin and how you were going to manage seeing him again safely.  

As you left your room, your hair a damp tangled cascade on your back, you walked down the hall with the tapestry you knew Jimin’s secret door was behind.  It was practically killing you, the urge to rip the tapestry down and rush through the door clawing at your conscience.  Sure, the sun may not be out, but you wondered what Jimin would look like in a brighter light, even if just slightly. Though, the moon complimented him nicely.

You waltzed down the hall, basket on your hip as you remained expressionless as you did any other day.  You eventually made your way down into the kitchen, as per usual, ready to snag a small handful of fruits to throw into the basket with all your work for your throughout the day ‘meals’.  An apple, a vine of grapes, a small roll and as your mind reeled back to Jimin, you snagged a second apple as you quickly turned your back and left to your workspace.  

When you pushed open the wooden door of your ‘office’, you were greeted with the back of another worker of the castle you knew but didn’t converse with all too often.  He was a quiet fellow, not too much younger than yourself and kept to himself.  He would do maintenance and run around  the palace in circles like the royal families lapdog; and he would obey no matter the task assigned to him.  

When you walked in, he was stepping off a small, definitely unsafe, step ladder that lifted him to the low ceiling of your work room.  Wiping the brow of his forehead, he huffed as he looked at his handiwork, more so seeing if he needed to go back up right at this moment or if he was good to go for at least a little while now that you were here.  Your office space wasn’t exactly up to snuff like the rest of the castle.  

Your ceilings were weak, leaky and quite frankly a mud hut would be more efficient to work inside.  Though, you were a measly metal worker and posing an argument to have your work quarters either moved or renovated in its entirety would be far too much hassle for the snot-nosed royals.

After having patched the ceiling enough to his liking, he nodded before he snapped the step ladder up and carried it to shove it off into a corner where it always stayed when it’s not in use.  Wiping his hands on his already stained, no longer only white, trousers, he ran his forearm over his forehead once more.  It was also always unbelievably warm in your work room due to the dramatically large stones and ember fire pit that would soon burn with flame and the metal welding table far by the window. Having one puny chimney and one cracked window wasn’t nearly enough ventilation for cool air.

“That patch should last the week this time,” He spoke softly under his breath, though you knew he was talking to you rather than himself.  He was always quiet, and you grew to recognize when he was having a personal monologue and when he was addressing you.  You nodded.  

“The last one must have just been simply too worn because of the fire.  I will keep an eye on it more and I will call you if this one begins to falter as well.  Thank you for your work, Jungkook,” you spoke just like you did every other time he came to fix something. He only nodded briefly before he left the room, the wind pushing at his heels as he was soon gone as fast as you assumed he came.  

Jungkook was a mystery throughout the castle. Known for his achievable work and overwhelming good looks. However, it didn’t stop his shyness- similar to a young boy who is being scorned for stealing their sister's doll and burying it in the dirt. Though, you took the idea that the fact he at least spoke to you a small bit, he didn’t hate you at the very least.  

He wore his emotions on his cheeks, and you’ve never once seen him truly frown.  At least, not directly at you. You also swore that when you were faulty with a fever, he was the one who snuck chopped up herbs under your door inside a small cloth bag for you to find and steam for a nice, hot herbal tea.  

You sighed as you soon set your basket onto your desk and slotted yourself onto the stool, not really ready and willing to slave away another day, but you had nothing else to do.  You couldn’t see Jimin until the moon was up.  Perhaps if you finished early, you could actually get some decent sleep tonight in the end.

Melting, steaming, pounding, hammering, welding and cooling.  Your day happened just as always.  Rinse and repeat the steps and there you were, a professional metal worker, or what you could only assume the royal family saw as professional.  Your work was far from exquisite, though it got the job done. Finishing your workload with 5 brand new locks and a set of matching keys for each too, you allowed yourself a small rest. Throwing a bucket of water on the stone fire and removing your tunic you were finally able to breathe.   

Sat only in your chest bindings and trousers around your waist, you watched the thick smoke of the water doused fire drift up through the chimney and exit somewhere out into the overcast, grey daytime sky.

Practically crawling across the floor, you picked yet another grape off the vine you took from the kitchen that morning and popped it into your mouth, the tart of it makes you wince as you soon welcomed the taste.  Your bread had been devoured long ago and your apple had been half eaten, the rest of it browned from air exposure and then tossed out the window for compost or whatever animal found it.  Your grapevine was nearly empty as the second apple remained whole and healthy.

Soon, you felt the sweat on your body cool as you picked up your tunic top and threw it back over your head, tossing the new and cold metal of locks and keys in your basket before you left your workroom.  Briskly walking to drop off of your daily metals, you slid the basket into its place for it to be checked over later by advisers of the king to make sure they were durable enough and left it behind.  

You have been bothered all day long about Jimin and his location and how everything seemed awfully specific and odd about his seclusion.  You wanted to know why his shackles were silver, a material loathed in Senri’s land of fool’s gold. Why did those white silks keep him restricted so well and what was the mask he wore and why was it so bothersome to think about?  

Without realizing, you had spent the remainder of your day in the library.  Reading books about the Gods, about Ventus and Senri.  About silver and about the moon and the sun.  About what the silks holding Jimin might be.  Writing down any and everything you could.  When you ran out of paper you would write on your skin, covering it with your clothes when someone would walk past.

When the evening bells tolled, you cursed as you quickly scrambled to put away your books and rushed out, back to retrieve your basket and return to your room.  

You grimaced when you saw your basket of crafted metal hadn’t been touched, the king’s advisers once again not doing their job unless you waited on their hand and foot, spoon feeding them their tasks.  You rolled your eyes as you grabbed your basket, metal and locks inside along with your one apple left, shocked to see it hadn’t been stolen.  Did anyone even look at your basket today day?

You shook your head as you sped off to your room, but not at a pace that was suspicious.  Not, just a small hop that made it look like you were simply well worked and ready for rest.  When, in reality, you were ready to make yet another secret trip.

You were jolted awake when your bedroom door was met with a harsh bang.  Throwing yourself out of the bed, you unlocked the door and swung it open, catching the retreating form of a guard who had probably just slammed his spread into the wood of your door. Shutting it again with a harsh grunt, you heard thunder outside your window that made your head turn.  

The oncoming storm worried at your mind; all because Jimin was still in that cell.  Scrambling about your room, you slipped on a pair of pants under your untucked top. Forgoing your boots as much as you wanted to wear them, the heels were just too loud in the empty, echoing halls of the late night palace.  

Taking a small candle and holster, pocketing a small box of matches and the one apple you had kept with you, you quickly left your room.  The trip to the tapestry was even more nerve-racking than last time.  A destination and really no excuse as to why you were roaming when you shouldn’t be this time.  Though, you made it under the cloth and through the door without detection once again.

Taking a breath of air, you knelt to the ground. Taking your matches, you struck one on a piece of jagged stone and watched the flame burst before it simmered down enough you could light your candle.  The corridor to the staircase was far too dangerous to keep traveling in darkness. Once lit successfully, you waved out the match and discarded it on the stone floor before you stood back up and made your way down the long trek of the stoney hall.

It was several minutes before you reached the heavy, rusted door to the stairs and with your shoulder against it, pushed it open.  Pushing it shut with your back, you blew out your candle, now in the fire lit stairwell of torches.  Carefully stepping down with your bare feet, you soon made it to the bottom and you were still for a moment.  Silent and listening.  

Jimin chased you off for a reason last night.  Someone must’ve been on their way, how he knew that- you didn’t know, but that had to be the case.  Last night, you found him far late into the moonlit hours.  This time, at the high moon, surely you’d have more time with him. Maybe he’d even grant you more questions, because after all your reading and all your thinking, you had several.

It was silent in the cell beyond the door. The sound of the rain starting bouncing off the stone.  Rain was no good omen in Kiah.  Rain was never just rain, it was storms- it was destruction and it was Senri throwing a temper tantrum about something or another.  Letting out his frustrations, even when he was not the one who should control the rain- perhaps his attempt to control what was once Ventus’ was what caused storms to brew.  

Rain, water, moon, wind, and tide all belonged to that of Ventus.  It was his domain to rule, but when he disappeared, somehow Senri must’ve found a way to take the reigns and completely distort and abuse the power.  

The sun and desert should never tamper with the moon and its tides. Senri’s corrupt rule was proof enough of that.

Shaking your head, you take the metal ring of the door and once more pull it open.  The creaking of the door and the small splashes of your bare feet against the damp stone caught Jimin’s attention.

He had already been awake, fading in and out of a weary state when he felt the air in the stairwell change.  Though, the presence was different than that of his usual visitors, and low and behold, there you were in front of him again. Covered more than the previous night, holding an apple in one hand and and a blown out candle in the other.  

His tense shoulders slacked as you walked inside, placing your candle on the table of torture instruments and walked over to him.  You still hadn’t known if he was awake or not. You placed the apple down in a puddle of clean rain water and slowly approached him.  Jimin watched, completely still, as your feet stepped in the ankle-deep puddles of uneven stone and he questioned why you continued to remain barefooted when your feet were so cut and damaged.

He watched as you slowly knelt in front of him, reaching out to touch him, but hesitated a moment. He saw the sleeve of your long shirt lift, revealing words upon words of information.  Scanning them, he noticed the name Ventus a number of times. Reading that name once again made his chest swirl and his fists clench.  

“Jimin?” You slowly questioned as you whispered, not a breath louder than the rain dripping through the grate above.  He remained silent, however. “I’m going to remove your mask now,” you warned before your fingers curled around the edges of it just like last night and slowly pulled it off.  

You were met with his silver eyes staring at you in an unwavering manner.  He looked so tired, eyes heavy and skin ghostly.  Setting the mask down at his side with ease, you quickly pushed on his shoulders and persuaded him to untuck his knees from under him to sit on his rear.  It may be wet on the cell floor, but it would be better for relaxing if he sat down completely.  

Jimin remained silent as he moved with your touches and pushes, doing what you willed of him. Oddly obedient for himself, he had to admit.  

“Why have you returned?” The first words spoken from him and he sounded ungrateful and irked.

“I have found out many things within the day that has passed.  Would you like to hear about it all?” You completely disregarded his questions.  He remained silent, so you took your chance to start talking before he would eventually interrupt you. “I spent my day reading books upon books about the old Gods and their kingdoms.  I read about many kingdoms to the east and west. Some with one God, other with several.  Then, I read about Kiah and Eden.  The sister kingdoms who used to rule as separate kingdoms with two Gods, but decades ago merged into one melting pot of a falling empire.”

“What did you learn exactly?” Jimin questioned, more than curious about how the books told history, or how the books may have completely distorted history.

“I learned many things.  About the kingdoms and about their Gods.  Senri and Ventus. Complete polar opposites and yet they managed to work side by side for so long.” You paused as you decided what should come next.  “I read in the books that it was the disappearance of Ventus that caused Senri to fill in the spot left behind thanks to his partner's vacancy, but… that doesn’t feel solid enough to me.”  

“You doubt your kingdom’s history?”

“I do,” you answered without hesitation.  “I cannot help having this feeling that the answers to all my questions are dangling in front of my eyes.”  You looked at the silver chains around Jimin’s ankles.  “Silver was the element of ‘Ventus of the Moon’ and has been forbidden in Kiah since I was a youth.  Just speaking of it can land even a child harsh punishment.”

You reached out and lightly touched the chilled shackle.  The metal was smooth, cool and something about it felt so much different than all the copper and gold in which you were most familiar.  When you came into contact with his shackle, Jimin’s very core shook.  He’s still just as sensitive with silver now as he was back then.  

“I am a metal worker.  I grew up in the palace of Kiah under the royal family chosen by the God Senri. I am not a loyal follower of my God and I am a studious worker only because I wish not yet to die.  However, I will admit to being a lot of things, one thing I am not is stupid.”  You moved and hovered above Jimin’s face, tall on your knees as your hands came and cradled under his chin, making sure his eyes went nowhere but into your own.  “I would like to ask my final question now, Jimin.”  

He was silent as he looked into your eyes.  He kept seeing you in them.  Your past, your emotions, your work, your skills, just you. The window to your soul is those deep, dark, living eyes and they remained wide open for him to look and watch as he pleased.  He couldn’t bring himself to tear away from them, not even willing himself a blink.

“Are you certain you wish to ask a question as heavy as the one resting on your tongue?” He whispered as if he had already known the question ready to come out of your mouth.  You nodded. “As you wish.”

“I have many questions, even ones I know you could answer; however, I will stick to the one I am due for.  Regardless of how you answer, my desires shall not change.”  When you thought about your decision to free Jimin, you noticed just how cold Jimin’s skin was to touch.  It was like touching a soft pool of water that sat still in the dead of night.  “Jimin, you’re Ventus- aren’t you?”

It was an emotion so foreign for him to hear his name back after so long.  It restored a part of him he thought to be lost; the God he knew himself to be and the God he thought to be dead so long ago.  In this cell, in these bindings and chains, he was as good as human.  He was restricted with unimaginable magic and held prisoner here like a dog.  His mind wandered back to the times he was a God, freely roaming his home back in Eden.

“I am,” he spoke with a small, short breath.  Admitting he was Ventus was even more foreign than hearing it from another.  He was Ventus of the Moon, but he was now so used to being Jimin after all this time held captive.

You dropped his chin, moving to kneel with your knees tucked under you on the ground, relaxing as Jimin’s eyes followed your movement.  After a moment, you got up and moved to take the apple from it’s puddle and brought it back to him.  Kneeling once more, you offered it to him, holding it in front of his lips.  

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“You may be a God, and you may not live like normal humans do, but something to eat surely can’t be all too awful.”  That was correct.  Gods need not live off of human food, as they would never starve.  The only way for a God to die is to be killed by another God.  However, that does not mean starvation and hunger does not affect them.  It’s an illness, one that crawls in the stomach of Gods and it relentless.  They would not die, but they would suffer.  

Jimin could not remember the last time he was able to eat anything. The clawing in his gut became numbing years ago, but the apple in his line of sight made that feeling jolt back with a fury.

“You cannot expect me to actually be fed,” he spoke in a tone that mimicked his raised brow.  You rolled your eyes. Leave it to a god to be full pride, even given the current situation.

“I could always eat it myself.”  

Jimin rolled his eyes back at you as he quickly moved to bite a chunk into the apple you presented him.  He lowered his head as he chewed and swallowed, taking a breath.  Eating truly was a taxing task when you hadn’t done it in decades.  Yet, he soon found himself eating around the core you presented him with.  

You dabbed at his lips and chin with a small handkerchief you kept in your trousers once he finished.  You set the apple core aside, mentally reminding yourself to not forget to take it outside with you once you leave.  Jimin sat with his legs in front of him as he tilted his head back, eyes closed as he breathed.  He seemed better than before- if you could at all shine a positive light on his prison predicament.

You itched to ask more questions.  You wanted to know so much, but you knew that you shouldn't ask.  You weren’t even sure how to properly address him anymore if you were honest with yourself.  He was a God, someone of immense power and someone far more valued than yourself: a simple human woman.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Y/n,” Jimin spoke as he kept his eyes closed and head back. “If you agree to it, I’ll answer any questions you may have.  I require no limit.”  

“And what would that favor be, Ventus?” Your voice spoke with a higher register as you spoke his Godly known name.  Unsure if you should be using it without a title or really at all as you were not of Eden.

“Do not refer to me as the God Ventus. You met me as the hostage known as Jimin,” he lowered his chin back down and opened his eyes as he looked at you.  Your breath left your throat, Ventus truly was a beautiful being.  “I would prefer to remain as Jimin in your eyes, at the very least.”

“That- that is all you ask of me and you will answer any query of mine?  That seems far too simple.”

“It is simple.  Jimin is the name I took when I became that of a human while held in imprisonment.  He is something Ventus of the past is now quite familiar with.  Truth be told, I cannot even remember how to be a God.  It’s been far too long.”

You sat in silence in front of him.  He must have so much pent up emotion inside of him, it must be painful at this point.  He cannot die, he is stripped of his title and his power, and his freedom that used to be as vast as the night sky was snuffed out into nothing by the sun that shone so brightly it burned.

You looked at your fingertips, all the hard work you’ve put into your work all these years and Jimin was here under your feet all along- suffering worse than you. No matter how cruel and harsh the castle work was, Jimin would be blessed to have the ease of your life compared to his cruel fate.  

“I believe,” you started, “I can agree to that condition.  Though I have many questions, I will do my best not to overwhelm you.”  Jimin remained silent as you looked at him and he at you.  “What-,” you started then halted, rewording yourself. “Do you remember what the sun looks like? Like, the sunrise or the colors of the sky at dusk?”

Jimin blinked as you asked.  

“Senri is that of the sun, yet you’ve never once seen it?” You shook your head.  It made sense if Jimin truly thought about it.  Senri was so obsessed with Jimin and his power over the moon and night that it must’ve consumed him when he sealed and stole the power from Jimin.  With so much unrelenting power it could only seal itself into Senri- the nearest god. Senri was nowhere near strong enough to control what Ventus had previously.  The moon, hypothetically, was stuck in front of the sun in an everlasting eclipse.

The thought of you not experiencing the warmth of the sun and the beauty and light it brings with it was enough to make Jimin angry. Stripping mankind of an essential as important as the solar system’s center star.  How flagrantly sacrilegious.

“I do.  Would you like to hear about it all? Use my words to paint a picture in your mind about what it contains.” You nodded at him.  He smiled as he got comfortable and slid his eyelids over his eyes.  Thinking of just the right words to explain such a sight. “The sun is a light one cannot simply shut off or snuff out.  It is as if the strongest burning torch was lit into the sky and grew and grew until it created a world.  The sky is a canvas for when the sun approaches after long nights and sleeps after tiresome days.  It becomes painted with colors of, like staring at an ocean in the sky with clouds as white as the eyes.”

“Clouds are white?!” Your sudden outburst startled him into a chuckle.  As expected, an overcast is always a state of foul, ugly grey.  

“They naturally are, there are many types of clouds.  Some that are flat against the sky, some that climb and tower into the heavens and some that are like cotton balls that float above us.”  The way your face gleamed with all the knowledge that books couldn’t teach you was so innocent.  Jimin took pride in the idea that he was passing on knowledge of his life to a generation that was blind to it all.  His mind whirled as you kept asking questions, quite frankly forgetting that you told him you would try your best not to overwhelm him.

He imagined a future of fools as he spoke and visited with you.  He imagined one day perhaps escaping this prison of his.  Breaking through the stone walls after he ripped these silks off his arms and shattered the silver that- ironically- bound him.  He imagined a future in which he could clear the skies and put Senri back in his place before he becomes so consumed by his obsession with Ventus he would corrupt and fall.  He imagined returning to Eden. To his home and his people and rejoicing as he worked to piece it all back together.

Most damming of all, he imagined that you might be at his side the entire process. Staring wide-eyed at the sun the first time you saw it, watching your tears the first time you get to witness the sunrise.  What clouds looked like and seeing the blue sky that hid behind all the grey you are so accustomed to.  

Jimin wasn’t sure how long you had continued to kneel on the stone floor and talk with him, but soon he deemed it time to shoo you away.  He knew you had your own life and your own work to attend in the morning, and it was quiet so perhaps he could get his own rest tonight without any unnecessary visits.

You persisted in trying to allow him to let you stay longer, but he only moved his arms ready to counter, resulting in a hiss as the silks tightened around him.  You looked at the spotless fabric.

“Why is it you cannot rip these?” Jimin gave you a warning look. “It is my last question tonight, I promise.” He sighed.  

“They are from across the seas.  Enchanted with a prayer of someone who cannot worship a God such as myself.  Once attached to a God, it can bind and trap any deity who shares power with another.”

“Shares?”

Jimin nodded.  “It is a fabric that was made by someone who worships one God.  A God of an entire country.”

You gasped.  “A single God can control all that is in a single country?!” It is no foreign knowledge that kingdoms were a great deal smaller than whole countries.  “That cannot be, Senri is proof that one cannot control all that is and can be!”

“Do not be so flabbergasted.  A particular God has been at his work for far longer than Senri and I across the seas.  He has grown accustomed to how his world works and respects that he is to stay clean out of ours.”

“They… seem like a decent sort.”

“I cannot stand them.  They are insufferable and arrogant.”

You chuckled at him as you took his mask gently from the ground.  “You two have that in common then.”  Jimin was nearly insulted as you slid his mask over his face, making sure it would not fall in the day to come. “It is alright for me to come and visit you again, isn’t it?” Jimin smiled, even if his face and expressions were sealed off from your sight.

“Please do.  I don’t hate your presence.” You scoffed as you grabbed the chair and climbed out of the grate just as last night and slid it back over it’s cover once outside.  Once more maneuvering out of the maze, only remembering where to go this time around, and back into your room with the most cautious of steps you made it to your bed where you flopped down in the utmost flop of gracefulness.

Jimin was Ventus. On top of that, you learned so much about him and the world he remembered.  You wanted to see that world too one day, and you could only do it by achieving your goal.  By setting Jimin free.  Though, it would definitely take time.

Your visits to Jimin continued for days that turned to weeks that soon melded into months.  Jimin grew more and more worried about the prospect of you becoming caught in your acts of sneaking down to see him.  You, however, weren’t as high strung about it.  You were more than ready to rat  the royal family- who you came to learn kept Jimin down here- completely out if you had to.  

However, it was today as you sat in your workspace fiddling with the boring metal scattered along your desk when someone had knocked and entered your work room without even getting confirmation from you.  Turning your back, you saw Jungkook shutting the door behind him and then turning to you.  Your first thought was he had to fix your ceiling again, but he had no equipment with him.  And the smirk on his face told you he was about to cast his shy boy demeanor aside and completely throw a wrench into your everyday routine.

“Can I help you with something today, Jungkook?”

Jungkook pursed his lips out as he locked his hands behind his back and quite fancily waltz further into the room as he strolled up to your desk. “Perhaps,” he said with a high twinge.  Unclasping his hands from behind  his back, he took to leaning them onto your desk, distracting you from your work as he leaned down, his back parallel to the ceiling and his legs straight, ankles crossed.  He picked at his lip with his teeth as he moved to tinker with your scrap metal.  “You know,” he began, “as someone who is needed for repairs day in and day out every day of the week, it’s no wonder that I have a special privilege.  Do you know what that privilege is?” You just ticked your brow at him.

“Is this going somewhere?”

“Of course you don’t,” he said, ignoring your question. “No, no- not many do after all.  But, you see, that privilege is that I haven’t any restrictions on when and why I need to be in my chambers or not.  I’m free to roam the castle as and when I please without consequence.  Using the excuse of checking up on a repair from a week ago, or simply going to work on something I hadn’t the time for previously.  So, with that in mind, it is no surprise that I see things that I am not supposed to all the time.” You shot him a warning look.  “And my goodness did I see something I just have to share.  For a few nights now, I’ve noticed you have been looking a bit rough around the eyes.”

“I have no need for your input on whether or not I’m pleasing to look at.  I care not for my appearance in the daytime.”

“Why daytime specifically? Is the little metal worker exploring at night?” Mock interest.

“I am sleeping at the hours I should be.  I have no need to care about my looks when my room is locked and I am dead to the world outside my door.” You answered calmly.  Though, you couldn’t suppress the complete shaking of your hands as you lowered them below your desk.

Jungkook lifted his right arm as he curled his fingers under his chin, his fingertips brushing the softest portion above his top lift.  Tapping as a sly smile grew on his lips.  “Is that right?” He slurred as if catching you in your lie.  To be honest, he did.  He was obviously hinting at the idea that at least once, he’s seeing you slip behind that tapestry and disappear inside the hidden door.  

“I thought you were a shy man.  What do you want, Jungkook?” You demanded as you finally met his gaze.  The glimmer of entertainment at your attention flicked with life in his brown eyes and it honestly made you want to knock him through the roof.  

“I am shy when I don’t know the person.  You, however, are different. I’ve been in this room numerous times for the same repair and the same greeting conversation cut short.  I just believe we should… for lack of better terms- strengthen our relationship.” You glared at him.  “As platonically as possible that is.  I mean no offense when I say you are not my type of woman.”  You were a touch offended at that statement of his.

“Don’t gloat.  You’re not as wildly desirable as you seem yourself.”  You huffed as you looked away from him.  He feigned pain as he lowered his head with a dramatic curve in his brow and a fake tut in his chin.  “Cut the act, what do you want,” you scowled.

He lifted his head back as he hooked his foot under the metal ring of a nearby stool and dragged it over.  Adjusting it just slightly in position so he could take a seat at your desk with you.  

“I want to know where that tapestry door leads to.”  You froze.  You knew he knew, but hearing it aloud made the state of your secret far more ominous.  If the royal family found out, if Jungkook told them, you’d be- at best- thrown in prison. Jungkook saw the panic in your eyes, and honestly, he felt bad about it.  Sure, Jungkook may have a lot of dirt on multiple people within palace walls, but he held no ill will towards you.  He had no intention of holding whatever it is you doing against you.  In truth, he would support it, as it went against what the corrupt royals want.

He saw the way your arms shook as you squeezed your hands tightly together under the desk as your shoulders squared up.  Your eyes darting back and forth like you were reading at the fastest pace mankind possibly could.  You were trying to come up with a lie, something to keep him off the trail of the truth, and even if you did- the hesitation that stunned you silent was too long.  Whatever came out of your mouth, if it wasn’t the truth, he would surely know.

“Y/n,” you jumped, pulled from your racing thoughts.  “I want the truth.  I don’t care how it sounds, but I do not want you to lie to me.  I have no intentions of spreading whatever it is that is making you disobey the rules.”  

You saw no lie in his eyes and did not hear any dishonesty in his words. In complete truth, you had been bottling up so many secrets and learning so much it was driving you mad to keep it all to yourself.  If Jungkook was truthful, and he swore, perhaps you could confide in him?

“Do you swear? Swear you won’t repeat anything I say to a third party.  Swear on it.”

“I swear on Senri himself,” he stated with a smirk.

“No,” you sneered. “Anything but him.”

Jungkook paused. “Then, I swear on my mother’s life,” you let out the smallest exhale.  It was no secret when his mother visited him he was more bright and cheery within the castle.  He loved his mother so, and with that love, you knew he would not break this promise.  

You got up, went to your office door and cracked it open.  There were no bodies outside and no boot clad footsteps to be heard.  You closed the door shut and flipped the bolted lock.  No one would enter now.  Going back to Jungkook, you pulled open your desk drawer and then revealed a hidden pocket underneath it.  A hidden area where you keep metals you’ve never seen or rare metals that you want to keep to tinker with.  Within them, was a scrap of metal you pulled and held in front of Jungkook’s eyes.  

The metal reflected in his dark eyes as he gasped in awe at it.  “Is that-”

“It’s silver,” you said as Jungkook hushed you, thinking your voice to be far too loud.  

“You can’t just say that!  If someone heard you, you’d be arrested immediately and your office and room would be searched thoroughly and then you’d find yourself sitting in a cell with a mangy all man named ‘Darien” for the rest of your life!” You rolled your eyes- as if you didn’t know all of that already.  He had no idea how nervous you were when you chipped a piece of Jimin’s shackle and snuck it back to your office like a crook.  

You jerked your hand a bit as a signal that it was alright for Jungkook to touch the metal.  He knew just gazing at it was nearly equivalent to treason.  However, when the metal touched his skin as he pulled it from your fingertips, he gasped as how it felt so different.  

He was in innocent awe as you sat back down onto your stool, your metals for work forgotten.  As he fiddled with the metal, moving it between his fingers and rolling it in his palm as well as looking at it from the light of the room and watching how it shined and glimmered as you had polished it, he smiled like a child tasting sweets.

“Is this what you keep going to see?  Is there more silver?”  

You rolled your tongue along your teeth.  “Yes, there is, but I cannot obtain it.  It’s- restricting something.” Jungkook set the silver down onto the table, oddly careful with it- treating it like glass when in fact it was far greater in durability.

“Restricting something?”  You sighed as you leaned your elbows on your table, rubbing your face with your hands.  “What’s hidden behind that door Y/n?”

“A passageway.  A secret passage that goes far into the castle’s south before descending in a stairwell.  It leads to a dungeon- a single cell where a single prisoner is kept.  Directly below the Temple.”  

Jungkook was shocked, as it was appropriate.  You were just as shocked when you found it, at least he didn’t have to experience the nervous concoction of bubbles in your gut when you traversed it for the first time all those nights ago. He remained silent, as you continued with a sigh on how to specifically word everything in a way that made some decent sense to someone who should know the castle in and out.

“In this cell, is a prisoner and I’ve been going back night after night to visit this prisoner.  He has grown on me.  He is someone special to me, and I’ve learned much about him.  As he has learned much of me.” You cut yourself off.  You sighed as Jungkook leaned forward, engrossed in the prisoner he was just now finding out about.  

“There’s something bad about him, isn’t there?” You shook your head.

“No! He didn’t do anything wrong!  He doesn’t deserve to be locked up.  He was kidnapped, forced into chains and restricted and his powers were stripped and he-”

“Woah, hold on. Powers were stripped? What does that even mean?”

“Shit,” you muttered to yourself.  “No, forget that.  I mean-”

“I told you to tell me the truth.”

You sighed heavily as you ran your hands through your hair. “Who I refer to him as is Jimin.  The prisoner below the Temple of Senri is called Jimin.  However, he does have a second name. One that he’s held with him for a very long time, even before he was imprisoned.  You have to promise me not to let anything I’m telling you leak.”

“I’ve already sworn on my mother.  Would you feel better if I swore once more on my siblings?”  

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea.”  You shook your head as you stood up and moved to Jungkook’s side, bending to cup around his ear and whisper to him.  Though you knew no one as outside the room and you both were alone, you didn’t want to risk anything.  “The one in that cell is the God of Eden.  Ventus is being held captive in Kiah.”

“You told someone?!” Jimin scolded as he jerked on his bindings, scowling at you as you squeezed your eyes shut in front of him.  He had noticed your rigid form and worried someone had seen you, but when you removed his mask, sat in front of him and blurted out you told Jungkook about him and how you’ve been sneaking around to see him, he exploded.  “You can’t do that!  What if he tells someone else, what if the King should find out!”

“He swore he wouldn’t tell,” you defended weakly.

“Sure, and Senri promised me ages ago that we’d rule as one.  Look where that got me.”  

“That’s not even remotely the same.”

“It is when your safety is on the line, Y/n.” Jimin sighed as he slouched back onto his rear, his feet kicked out in front of him.  He nudged you with the toe of his boot.  “You know I do not want to yell at you, but I know first hand what your King and his son are capable of.  I do not want harm to come to you like it has me.” You nodded.  

You knew that.  He has made it a point recently to overreact to anything you mention that could possibly bring you harm.  He gets overheated when he sees a small cut on your hand from work when you see him.  He wants the best for you, and even if he knows you cannot obtain it within the castle walls, he can wish.  He can even pray.

He sat on the stone floor as he sighed, looking at you.  He watched you gnaw on your lip as you worried your thoughts through your eyes.  He could read you like a book, and he had yet to even tell you how he could see things about yourself that you didn’t even know.  Just by looking into your eyes, he wanted to keep it to himself.  Your eyes were his favorite thing about you, so he kept it to himself.  He wanted to keep looking at them.  

Though, you were frowning for far too long.

He kicked at your knee again as you jumped, brought out of your thoughts as you flicked your eyes up to him, locking onto his own as he smiled.  The window to your everything looking at him.  “Smile,” you told you as you just huffed and relaxed your stiff body. “Hey,” he started again, “I have something I want to give you.”

You looked up at him?  “Pardon?” He nudged his boot against you thrice as he lay his leg flat, heel on the ground his toes pointed upwards.  

“Remove my boot,” he requested as you raised your brow.  He rolled his eyes.  “Don’t think, just do it you brat,” he teased as you lightly swatted his calf.  He chuckled as you started unlacing his boot and removed it as he said.  Beneath was a fabric that only covered the bottom of his foot and curled over his heel and toes, leaving his foot more or less bare.  Pushing up the bottom of his pant leg, you saw something.  A silver anklet.  “You may remove that from me and wear it for yourself.”

You jerked your head up to him, your fingers brushing the beautiful piece of jewelry.  You shook your head.  

“No, I am not permitted to.  It is a piece belonging of a God, I cannot simply-”

“It may be, but it is also the same God of ownership who is giving you permission to wear it.  I want you to take it. Won’t you accept a gift from me?” You looked at him, a small smile on his face as you slowly nodded.  You removed the anklet, replaced his boot on his foot and looped the anklet around your own ankle.  “Silver looks rather charming on you.”

The night rolled as it always did afterward.  The next day, and the day after, Jungkook made it a point to catch you sometime in the day to make you spill about your visit.  He wanted to get to know Jimin, but you absolutely refused to let him go with you.  You were too wary about his skills in sneaking around and you were slightly concerned if you did allow him to accompany you, Jimin wouldn’t like it too much.

Also, it was a comforting thought knowing that only you knew about Jimin-- other than the royal family of course.  But, it was you who truly knew him.  Jimin was like a dream, though as all dreams do so bittersweetly- this one had to have an ending at some point.  

You woke one particular morning with a dry taste in your mouth.  You felt like something was suffocating you while you slept and no matter the water you drank or the number of times you cleared your throat, the unpleasantness wouldn’t leave.  Perhaps you were getting sick from so much exposure to whatever was in Jimin’s cell.  

If he knew, he’d surely tell you to take a few days for yourself and your health.  Perhaps you’d tell him when you visited tonight and take the next few nights for yourself.  Taking another swig from your water glass, you sat at your desk working as usual with Jungkook at your side.  He had cleared up his schedule of repairs for a bit to talk to you.  

It’s come to a point that you now called Jungkook a friend.  It wasn’t just Jimin he talked about with you, but all sorts of things.  He talked about his family far west of the castle.  His mother worked as a librarian while his younger brother was soon to finish early schooling by now. His youngest sister was like a little duckling, always following her mother.  His father worked as a smith in Jungkook’s hometown, supporting his family.  He certainly had a large family that he loved dearly.

You learned that it wasn’t just you Jungkook confronted with the idea of him knowing secrets.  Though he wouldn’t talk of your secret and Jimin, he was more than eager to yap you up when it came to Clevin the Guard’s secret stash of mint leaves for tea he steals from the kitchen every Saturday morning.

He was dear to you, and although younger than you, he was quite protective of you in regards to your work and health. His concern was something he and Jimin shared. When you told him that, he was flattered you compared him with a God; which made you immediately retract your statement so as to not boost his already inflated ego.

Jungkook was family to you now.  The only family you gained back within the time you were completely alone.  Though, you supposed it’s been a while since you were truly alone.  You had Jimin as well, but- how you felt towards him was far different than how you felt in regards to Jungkook.

There was a knock on your workroom door before a royal guard entered the stuffy room.  Clad in a far more superior armor than the typical castle guard, these men guarded the royal family specifically.  Jungkook stiffened as you remained calm and stood up to greet him.  The man stepped aside and allowed another man to enter the room.

The Prince of Kiah.  You’d seen him in passing, but never up close.  He was handsome sure, but if only he knew how truly ugly he really is. He strode in pride until his toes touched yours, almost impressed at your lack of backing down.  His brow ticked up as you looked into his eyes, eye contact solid and unwavering.  This man did not frighten you, he enraged you.

Jungkook sat rather restlessly at his stool.  Knee bouncing as he kept picking up and putting down the same metal lock you just finished welding as he watched you work on it previously.  Jungkook knew many things- all of which you had told him. How the royal family is responsible for Jimin’s torture being the more prominet thought in his head.  He was worried you’d lose your cool, scared you’d snap and reveal everything.  He just hoped you wouldn’t pick a fight.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of His Highness’s visit?” You spoke in a calm tone, a professional one you would call it.  

“I’ve come to ask for the assistance of the metal worker in the castle to help my father and I open a box we’ve recently discovered.”  The guard from before walked to the prince’s side, him finally backing up away from you, giving you room to breathe.  The guard handed him a small cube, wrapped in the most golden of silks.  Unraveling it showed a silver box with inscriptions on it that couldn’t be read.  It was marked completely in a foreign language- but you recognized it.  

You hid your intake of breath as Jungkook stood up, almost like he commited a crime.  The prince dismissed him. “Do not worry, I will not accuse you of a crime.”  The prince’s eyes moved back to the box, then to you. “This box is pure silver, dug up recently and returned to us from the far east along the border of Eden.  We’d like for you to find a way to open it so we may look at what may lay inside.”

“Why would a family of gold want anything to do with silver?” You asked, a bite in your voice.  The prince’s brows ticked before a sly grin grew on his face.  “We wish to find a lead as to why Ventus disappeared so long ago.”  You slowly curled your fists at your sides, hiding them the best you could behind your rear. Liar. “If we can do that, perhaps our brilliant God Senri can retrieve him and work at his side once more.” A miserable liar: the Prince

You took a moment before you stretched out your palm towards the royal ass himself.

“I’ll accept the task.  I will make attempts and I will not stop until I am certain I can open it.”  The prince’s smile turned wicked for but a moment before he masked it over with a gentle smile.  Setting the box into the palm of your hand, it was heavy and large.  It felt like a giant hammer rather than a small cube.  

“You shall have my mine and my Father’s thanks.  As for you, noble repairer,” Jungkook jumped, attention on the royal snot, “your duties in keeping the palace in one piece is admirable.  Keep it up.”  And, just as he marched inside with his guard at his side, he marched out, the door shutting behind him.  

Jungkook slammed himself against the desk as he exhaled like he’d been holding his breath the entire time.  All while you stood motionless, staring at the cube in your hand, the raw silver in your palm. Your knees staggered as the silver box dropped onto the floor, a heavy thud in it’s fall down.  Jungkook sprang from his stool before your knees hit the floor too hard and you felt your chest constrict.  

“Y/n, what's wrong?!” He shook your shoulder as you just stared at the silver box.  

“That box,” you started, Jungkook looking over at it.  “It looks just like Jimin’s shackles.  The writing, the symbols, it’s all the same.”  Jungkook looked at the crown of your head as you reached out to take the silver back, dragging it to your knees with shaky fingers.  “I have to show Jimin.  I have to.  This belongs to him, I know it does.”  You gripped your trouser-covered ankle as you sat on the floor with Jungkook, gripping tightly over the silver anklet you had hidden under your clothes. 

When night came, it came too slowly.  You grew so impatient and you couldn’t leave your room fast enough when midnight struck.  Practically dashing to the door, and down to Jimin, you burst into his cell and fell to your knees in front of him, a small pouch strapped to your side with the box inside.  As you fell in front of him, breathless, Jimin jumped as fear engulfed him.

“Y/n?! What is wrong, why are you in such a hurry? What's happened?” You ignored his onslaught of questions as you untied the pouch and plucked out the box, holding it in front of his face as you ripped his mask off, throwing it far to the side without the same gentle care you always offered it before.  His breath hitched.  “How did- Y/n how did you find this?”

“So, it’s yours as I suspected?” He nodded, shoulders stiff as he tugged just slightly on his restraints.

“Y/n, you must be careful with that. You mustn’t lose it, you must not allow harm to come to that cube.  It’s far too important.  How did you find it?”  His tone was cold and demanding.  He sounded like the rude Jimin from the first time you saw him.

“The prince gave it to me.  He instructed me to open it, feeding me lies that if I did it would allow the royal family to ‘find out’ what happened to Ventus.”

“Do not open it.  At least, not around Senri or his royals.  You mustn’t.  Promise me you won’t.”  You weakly nodded, though you didn’t know what you were agreeing to.  “That cube is what sealed my power, inside that is all the power I was stripped of, Y/n.”  You gasped as you nearly let the cube topple from your hand.

You slowly set it down at his knees as you then touched at his shackles, identical.  

“Is that why these shackles can restrain you? They are made of your power too?”  He weakly nodded as he hung his head. You picked the cube back up. “If I were to open this box, like the prince requested, what would happen?”

“Senri would gain what remaining power of mine he doesn’t already possess and he would become completely corrupted.  Your dream of seeing the sun would vanish forever.  Senri wouldn’t even be Senri anymore, he’d be something more akin to a demon than a God.”  You shivered at the thought. “Y/n, I’m serious.  Do not open that box, promise me you won’t open it in front of them.”  

“What if I opened it in front of you?” You asked shyly.  Jimin breathed out his nose and if he wasn’t bound, you bet he would’ve run his hand over his face.  

“Ideally it would restore the power I was lost to and I would be able to free myself-”

“Then why can’t I open it in front of you?”

“It could kill you!” He screamed, making you jerk and drop the cube onto your lap as it rolled onto the stone floor off your legs.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.  “It wasn’t my intent to yell at you.”

“I know,” you softly spoke.  

“Just once I wish I wasn’t bound so tightly,” he basically whimpered in agitation. He didn’t answer you when you questioned him what he meant, but just once he wished he could hold you. In actuality, he wanted you to break that box.  He wanted you to smash it at his feet, but he didn’t want the recoil of his released power to backlash onto you in such a cramped cell.  What if you got hurt, what if he hurt you?  

That night Jimin wanted to send you back immediately, but he never got the chance as someone barged into the cell with the two of you. Jimin sprung up, tugging in his silk restraints and kicking at his shackles as the Prince of Kiah stomped into the cell.  You never got the chance to get to your feet as you quickly kicked the cube towards and behind jimin, hiding it in the shadows.

“You wench! I knew you were loitering around behind the royal family!” He grabbed your shirt’s collar behind your neck and yanked you to your heels.  Dragging you as Jimin watched as blood stained the stone beneath you as your heels tore open. “You’ve committed treason to the highest regard! Betraying your King!” 

“Release her!”  Jimin screamed, yanking, wishing that just once his binds would give.  Just a little, just enough, but nothing.  They remained as tight, maybe even tighter than always. Jimin was ignored as you were dragged out of the cell, the heavy wooden door slammed shut as Jimin’s screams to release you were silenced.

The prince threw you onto the stone steps, your head hitting hard against the edge of a step as you saw stars.  Your vision blurred as an immediate headache and pain followed.  You felt the weight of the prince on top of you as something enclosed around your throat.

You gasped as the prince strangled you, squeezing the life out of you.  Your feet kicked as your hips bucked in any attempt to escape him.  Your hands enclosed around his wrist, trying to twist him off you as your mouth opened with desperation to get any air at all.  Your hands moved to swing at his face, your nails catching his skin and cutting his cheeks and throat, but his attempt to kill you didn’t cease.  

You gagged as you felt the slight roll of saliva trail down your lips in the most disgusting feeling in the world. You hiccuped and pleaded with tears burning your eyes at the desperate need to breathe.  

Knees still kicking, hips still thrashing and hands searching for any way at all to free yourself, you took to searching around the prince himself.  Your hand landed on a step and a loose piece of rubble.  Without a thought, you curled the stone around your hand and swung up, knocking the prince in the head as he toppled off you and down the few steps back to the base of the stairwell.  

You rolled onto your side as you held your throat, cuts from his nails and soreness from his grip burned as you hacked and coughed, breathing letting your lungs utterly burn. Your back hurt and felt coated in soon to be bruises from all the thrashing on the uneven, jagged stairs you were pinned on. You wiped the drool from the corners of your mouth with the back of your shaking hand, as your blurry vision refused to clear.  A ringing was heard in the back of your head, a ringing that wouldn’t stop.  

It was clear from the warmth on the back of  your head that you were bleeding as the blood ran down your neck into your shirt’s fabric and down your back.  The collison from earlier damaging you more than you originally thought.  You gasped, trying to find your footing, but finding it impossible.  You fell against the wall, wanting to descend and get back to Jimin.  

You were hardly even able to move a foot before guards rushed the stairwell, seizing you and gathering their prince.  Who was injured and unconscious, but not dead- unfortunately.  The commotion throughout the castle that night was loud as you were dragged through the halls and thrown into a cell above ground and in the farest place possible away from Jimin- in the Northern castle’s wing.  

You were offered no medical aid as you collapsed onto the cold floor behind bars and finally, you let the ringing stop as you closed your eyes, worrying about Jimin up until the moment you let your mind and body sleep in anything but comfort.

Jimin was frantic all night.  He didn’t know what to do.  You were followed, you were found and you were taken away so quickly he couldn’t even process the action until you were gone.  He heard skirmishing outside the door before guards marched down and then began back up the stairs and out into the palace.  It was deathly quiet, and he hated it.  It was the devil's hour, a time in which he was almost always by your side telling you of the world that was lost.  

He was panicking and he was beside himself.  Hysterical may be another way of putting it.  Jimin couldn’t stop thinking about what may have happened to you.  Would you return to him once more?  Would you be exiled? Banished from the castle, the kingdom?  You commited treason, an act punishable by- no.  He didn’t even want to think about it.  

Jimin didn’t want to put the thought of you dying into his head. 

That is all that consumed him all night and the following day.  When night came once more, he was so tired, so emotionally drained as he hung limp and hollow in his silks.  The fight in his body was zapped away and for the first time in so very long, he wished to simply give up. He wished that you worshiped him, that you prayed to him.  Maybe then he could hear your voice, confirm your life was still burning- but alas you were not of his land.  

You believed in him, you looked at him, you knew of Ventus- but you were not one of his children.  You did not worship him.  You did not praise him.  So, your voice, your prayers, your pleas, and thoughts were all deaf to him and he heard nothing.  Not even the wind could tell him of you anymore with his power sealed so tightly.

Jimin nearly screamed when the wooden door to his cell was pushed open gently.  Too gentle to be someone he thought may be a threat.  He bared his teeth as he glared, his mask never being placed back on him as the intruder stepped into the room as thunder rumbled far off into the night sky.

A brunette boy with a build of a man far above his age. He looked to be younger than you in his eyes.  If Jimin’s own eyes weren’t clouded by rage, by hate, and by fear he may have seen that the man who entered his room was no threat.

“I’m not an enemy,” he started.  “My name is Jungkook, I’m a friend of Y/n’s.”  Jimin hissed at him.  

“I am no fool.”

“Please believe me.  She- she told me.  I was that friend she told about you.  You’re Ventus, right?  She told me she calls you Jimin.”  Jimin’s body relaxed.  He was telling the truth.  This Jungkook man was a friend of yours.  A friend in which you trusted so wholeheartedly that you revealed your secret.  Then, he raised his shields again.  

“If you were the only one to know of me, why was he hauled off last night!  Why did the prince know of her and her visits!”  The venom in his voice was sharp, stabbing like the sharpest knife as Jungkook felt small.  The God was smaller in form, yes, but the raw power and rage made Jungkook feel like a child being yelled at by his father for the first time again.  

“I don’t know!  She- I woke up and someone had told me she was arrested.  They didn’t tell me why, but the only idea I could think of was you.  So, I managed to get permission to speak with her.”

“She’s alive?” Jimin breathed as Jungkook slowly nodded, stepped forward just a bit more.  He had an objective coming here tonight.  

“She is, but her execution is to be immediate.  It’s scheduled at dawn, they are to drown her in the river.”  Jimin’s body slumped.  He was shaking in rage as he knew it was a direct blow from Senri to him.  Drowning her, drowning you in something that was originally his to control.  Water was his realm as was the moon and wind and in this way Senri was punishing Jimin and you both.

Jungkook moved slowly as he moved around Jimin and to a small shaded area and searched around before he picked up the item in which you asked him to find.  While he posed as a betrayed friend and demanded to see the traitor, he used it to finally get to see you. Jungkook knelt in the shadows as he held the cube of silver in his hand, turning and examining it.

“You know, Y/n may not last until her execution.” Jimin’s body jolted.  “She has a wound on the back of her head, and cuts and bruises around her throat. Her entire body is so weak now. It is no mystery the prince tried to kill her.  Without proper medical aid, she could very well die before dawn.”  Jimin let out a shaky breath.  No, he mustn’t.  

Gods mustn’t weep.  

Jungkook wrapped something around the silver cube, something that was small and filled to the brim with explosives.  It was your last resort.  He placed it back in the shadows and stood up, walking back to Jimin’s front, looking the God in the face.  

He noticed his mask laying far from his slouched form, the edge of it chipped as he picked it up and placed it on the table in the room.  Jungkook looked at the grate above him that you told him you always exited out of into the hedge maze and behind the Temple before entering the south gates of the palace.  It was like he knew where he was, despite this being the first time he’s been here himself.

“I’m going to do whatever I can,” Jungkook said as he turned and walked towards the door, knowing that he could return the way he came without worry.  The castle was far too busy to be concerned with this passageway.  He opened the door, before he stopped on his way out. Pausing over the threshold.  “Y/n also sends a message,” he looked back over his shoulder.  “Don’t give up and don’t let Senri win.”

Jungkook closed his eyes, exiting the room with nothing more to say.  He didn’t turn his back and he didn’t look back at the God, allowing him to shed the tears rolling down his face in the silence of his cell and the brewing nighttime storm overheard.  

Jimin was in a restless daze for the second night in a row now.  The thunder rolled with lightning striking among the clouds above him with rain pelting down and creating small rivers of water to flood into his cell and engulf his feet. The sensation and chills that came with the weather didn’t even bother him at this point.  He tried to find something in the sound of the rain and storms that calmed him.  

The storm meant at least that Senri was enraged, so perhaps you weren’t dead yet.  He hoped you hadn’t succumbed to the injuries Jungkook said you had gained from the prince’s attack.  Jimin felt guilty.

He had given you his name, both of them and he kept allowing you to come back.  He didn’t push you away or tell you that you weren’t allowed down in this cell anymore, he just kept letting you back in. Soon, he grew to expect it.  He anticipated your visits and looked forward to seeing you.  It was his fault you were going to die and he couldn’t do anything about it now.

By the time the sky teased dawn, the storm quit and at sunrise, the people of the castle and otherwise were loud.  Even so far from the castle grounds beneath the temple, he could hear them.  The people and the guards chanting.  Throwing insults at the traitor for treason and for betraying their dear, lawful God Senri.  He could hear the sounds of the golden shackles that no doubt encased your wrists and feet as you were held in your cell, waiting to be taken into the lake, held under the current by those same, heavy golden shackles.  

Jimin could picture your face in his mind.  Your eyes dull and lidded as your mind was hazy with injury and hurt.  He could picture your frail body trembling and shaking in fear and uncertainty.  Your tattered and torn clothes with your bruises and injured skin.  He could picture it all as you lay on your cell floor, too tired, too exhausted and too out of it to do anything more than just breathe on your own.

Then, the crowd’s sound changed.  What was once roars of enthusiasm at killing a traitor at dawn had turned into fear and panic.  Jimin straightened his body as he took to his weakening knees.  

“What’s happening?” He whispered solely to himself. He craned his neck to look up through the grate and at the usual, grey, overcast sky.  Then he smelt it, smoke.  There was a fire.  

Soldiers and guards ran through the halls as the fire that was started in the Northern Cell corridor quickly spread along the walls from torch to torch as tapestries burned and doors were now coated with thick, licking flames. Chaos erupted from staff and citizens outside the castle who had ventured from town to see the immediate execution of a traitor but were soon scurrying away from that same palace because of the fire that seemed unrelenting.  It was as if the fire had a soul as it spread and ate at the palace.  Devouring it wall by wall as Senri fled enraged to the cell below the Temple.

Jimin didn’t know what was going on and it was killing him.  He tugged and yanked as he wanted so badly to crawl out of the grate like he’s seen you do so many times before.  He wanted to follow after you, get you out of that castle- that cell- and run.  He wanted to go back to Eden, back where he knew where to go and how to get there.  He wanted to go back home.

Even if going back home like this- a half God or whatever he was anymore- he didn’t care.  He just wanted to go.  

The fire in the castle only erupted further when a column weakened and soon crumbled, shaking the ground as Jimin felt its tremor in his chest. However, it was that very earthshaking tremor that so very slightly loosened one of his silks.  He felt his right arm lower just a fraction as he looked up at the silk that now had slack in it.  

With a hard yank, his right arm pulled at the seamless silk. Pulling hard continuously with a warcry he heard the first rip and before long- Jimin freed his right arm.  Silk hanging from the ceiling as it blew with small drafts as his arm fell to his side.  He moved it, up and down, rotated it and bent it, all the movements feeling so foreign to him after having it suspended upwards for so long.  He almost smiled at the small bit of freedom he managed to achieve.

Then, his cell door flung open, or rather it flew right off its hinges.  Slamming open and then tumbling to the floor with a loud crash with splinters and small rocks following after its impact.  Jimin glared as there stood Senri, fuming as gold licked at his eyes.  The dull silver of Jimin’s counteracted the glare that would surely strike fear into any human.

Seeing Jimin half freed, Senri seethed.  He was the opposite of Jimin completely.  With golden hair and skin like the sun, tanned and shining.  The clothing he wore were robes of silks and from gold to brown he wore it.  Not a speck of white or silver on him.  Even his earrings were hoops of gold as they pierced his lobes.  His eyes burned anyone who gazed at them, but not Jimin; not Ventus.  

“Your pesky human sure does meddle far too much for her own good,” Senri spoke with a deep voice of someone who has been in power far too long.  HIs head was looking far too big as he kept wrapping the belt of responsibility around his waist.  A belt that would never truly fit him.

“She is of your kingdom, so do not blame me for the actions of someone who was neglected by her God.  You are to blame, nothing is my fault.” Jimin countered.  Though he was correct, Senri refused to be wrong.  His pride wouldn’t allow it.

“All will be well once we recover her body from the fire.”  Jimin’s body stiffened.  Senri, having gained some sort of ground it seemed, slyly smirked as the robes he wore fluttered as he crossed his arms over his chest.  “I would have preferred a drowning as planned, but having her body burn is acceptable as well.  So long as she ends up dead.”  Jimin’s remaining arm that was bound locked as he flexed and pulled in a motion so small Senri could not pick it up.

Jimin toned out Senri’s voice as he shook his head, trying and pulling bit by bit at his left arm.  If he could free his arms, he could find a way out of the shackles at his feet and he could go.  He could leave.  

His anger only grew, accumulating and stacking up inch by inch in his head as Senri just boasted and bragged about the human who was burning in the Northern Cells. Jimin felt sick as he shifted his footing, unknown to him the silver at his feet cracking slightly and the cube behind him in the shadows heating up.

Senri, after finishing up his little monologue of your demise, turned to leave.  Was his only goal to come and break down the door and rub in his face that you were dying, if not already dead?  Jimin’s jaw clenched as his brow ticked.  His chin tucked out his chest as he heaved his chest and with a cry and as much strength as he could muster, he grabbed his left arm with his right hand and yanked with the whole of his body.  His left arm strained against the silk as he heard the fabric begin to tear and soon Jimin had fallen forward.  

White fabric fluttering down to the ground in front of him as he landed harshly on his elbows and hands as he huffed.  Both of his arms bracing him as he bent over on the ground.  Senri, shocked, spun back around before Jimin’s eyes shone with a small amount of power he was granted back now that he was out of those damned silks.  Picking the door up with the wind he gathered from the grate, he slammed it back into the doorway.  

He had no time to try and collect his thoughts before Senri was busting the door down once more with an almighty heat and then an explosion blasted behind Jimin’s back. A surge of power began bouncing around before Jimin saw the silver cube of his powers jumping around with a rope of explosive powder strapped to it.  With a resounded sound and smell of heated power, it blasted and the cube broke open.  The heat of Senri’s being the perfect match to strike the cube open directly behind Jimin. 

The power that belonged to Jimin slithered along the ground into Jimin’s body.  Flowing into his hands, his knees, his feet and shattering the shackles at his ankles into nothing but dust.  The wind blew the grate clean off the top of the cell as the force of nature funneled into the cell like a contained tornado.

Senri’s body grew limp as what part of Jimin he had taken for himself was sucked out of him like a vacuum, leaving him breathless and on his knees on the floor.  Jimin watched with wide, pure silver glowing eyes as the power flowed into him like blood as he watched it course through his veins.  Silver and pulsing on his skin as his body began quickly reaccustomed to what was rightfully his.

Then, the wind calmed with a whoosh of a finale.  Jimin picked himself off the cell ground with far more balance that one would expect, and the pure fury in his eyes burned more fierce than any fire Senri could ever hope to create.  He took a step towards Senri as he raised his hand to his face, inspecting the silver dancing behind his skin.  

Senri, clearly enraged that his prisoner was freed, was rendered speechless as he snarled.  He was quick to stand, and shove Jimin out of his way, quite literally jumping directly up through the grate that was no longer there and running off.  Senri was spent, so much power sucked out of him too quickly left him feeling far too distorted.  

He fled through the maze he built so long ago before his shoulder was clipped by something.  Pain shot through the shoulder of the God as he stumbled to his knees.  The same pain occurred over and over again among his body.  Cuts on his shoulder, his back, and his legs, keeping him from moving.  The wind shoved him onto his back as it slammed into his chest. Soon, Jimin stood over him, the wind whipping around his hair and the white of his shirt.  

His hand was raised as small tufts of visibly white air blew from his fingertips.  

“Whirlwind Sickles are something I suppose you need to grow once more accustomed to.  Surely you can’t have forgotten how much wind can smoothly injure, have you Senri?” It was no mystery to either of them that even far back when they ruled together, Jimin was the stronger of the two.  Favorited by nature and able to control his power and beyond that.  Senri stood no chance in the state he was in.  

Jimin took and placed his foot onto the chest of his fellow God, as he harshly stomped on it.  Jimin's calm demeanor was melting away bit by bit, stomp by stomp as he kicked and stomped and cut at Senri’s body.  Years upon years of torture and pent up anger and hate was being released all at once as Senri screamlessly took it.  His mouth was open as if he wanted to scream, but Jimin had sucked the air around him, leaving him in a deafening pocket so no one, not even Jimin himself, could hear his pathetic cries.

Jimin soon stopped as he moved and pinned the God at his feet.  His knees trapping his body as his hand gripped the collar of his once fine, not ruined robes.  He gripped harshly as he trembled and Senri just heaved and gagged as blood bubbled from over his lips.  

“I could kill you,” Jimin seethed.  “I should kill you.  Destroy you and damn you to the furthest pit of hell for your betrayal and ceaseless torment upon not only Kiah, but Eden as well.”  Jimin shuddered and shook as he just shoved the God’s head backward, knocking him into the ground.  Jimin’s fingers trembled as he curled them into tight fits and only punched the ground in place of Senri beat up face.  “But, I won’t.  I can’t.” His body shook as, for the first time in so very long, the sun became visible as the clouds parted for the first time in several, long years.

The dawn broke as the overcast dissolved, the light and warmth of it spilling onto Jimin’s shoulders.  “Y/n, valued life.  She loathed you with every fiber of her body, but she would never wish you or any other being dead.  She wouldn’t want me to kill you, even if you deserve it.”  Jimin pushed himself off Senri’s body as it lay motionless on the ground, twitching slightly.  

From around his body began to form small ropes of magic, encircling him before his body disappeared into small crystals before those too faded away.  Jimin sighed as he looked up into the sky.  “The other God’s will decide what to do with you now.”  Jimin watched as the smoke from the castle’s fire burning high into the sky, the wind blowing easy now as the sun shone brightly.  A tear escaped his eyes as he looked at it: the sky.  

“It truly is a beautiful sight. Isn’t it Y/n?”

“My God, where did you even run off to?” A single man muttered to himself as he trudged through the silver castle of Eden in search of his homeland deity.  

After the burning of the Kiah Palace’s Northern halls, Jimin stepped forth showing himself to the people of Kiah and proclaiming himself as Ventus, the God who disappeared decades ago.  He explained the tale of how he was played dirty by Senri and was held hostage for the entirety of his disappearance and how Senri would most likely never return.  

In lieu of this, a declaration from Ventus to Kiah was given.  The Royal Family was to be prosecuted for holding a God prisoner and the castle was to be evacuated.  Senri was to be no more, and the land would have no God until a new one was assigned this region, so no one was permitted to be seated in the palace thrones.  When a new God came, a new family would come with it- or perhaps not.  That will be Kiah’s future problem, not his.

He remained in Kiah for weeks, helping the people fix their homes and spread the truth and news about the old and new God to come.  Then, once that was finished, he returned to Eden. He left Kiah behind him, no longer caring for his sister kingdom. The age long chapter of his long life was closed and he locked it up for good. It has now been two years since his return home.  

Ventus lived in his own palace of silver and his people in the castle town behind the main gates of his palace.  He rules as himself, with no royal family under him.  He would take any and all downfalls of the future upon himself and himself solely.  He would not put the lives of his people in the hands of anyone else.  They were his responsibility.  If only Senri realized that this form of thinking is what truly makes a successful ruler- maybe things would have turned out different.  

Kiah had gained a new Goddess, one that can properly rule without Jimin’s aid and has been thriving and leading Kiah into a prospering golden age.  Eden was growing well once again as well, thriving and full of life just as it was before he vanished.  His people welcomed him back and soon his castle was bustling.

With people and workers and servants and maids of his and others that stayed with him, he was cooped up.  He’d often take trips outside the castle walls to ensure his kingdom was safe and healthy.  He would get a smile out of the village children who marveled at the royal tunics he wore when traveling.  

Now, at the moment, he was sitting in his chambers, tunic lazily thrown on as he had returned from a trip from town not too long ago. The silver earring dangled from his right earlobe as a loop pierced his left.  His silver hair was pushed off his forehead, messy as glasses sat perched on his nose. Turns out he stared far too long into the sun that fateful day in Kiah, it damaged his eyes.

He sat at his balcony in a cushioned chair, his hand perched on his crossed knee as his eyes scanned a book.  He has become quite the bookworm to try and learn all sorts of things to help his people grow and overcome obstacles.  He refused to give his people the easy way out and fix everything for them.  He’d asist, but they had to put in just as much- if not more effort since they were human if they wanted healthy, long-lasting results to come to them. 

He loved them all dearly, they were his people.  However, they would grow spoiled and helpless if he were to always hold their hands.  He was there to guide them, not lay out their future and let them merely walk without harm.  People can only grow through harm and difficulty.  He and they knew that.  It was mutual respect they held with their God.

At his door, came a resounding knock.  Rather, an insistent banging was more like it.  With a huff, and knowledge on who has come knocking so early in the morning, he placed his book onto his lap when he shut it with a dull snap. He sighed and rubbed his temple, removing his glasses from his face.  

“You may enter,” he duly voiced, the grand door to his chambers groaned as it opened and in stepped his priest.  His priest was a handpicked follower who devoted his studies and time to praying and learning the way in which Jimin chose to govern and rule his kingdom and people.  They were the one person who Jimin allowed himself to lean on and turn to when faced with any sort of problem.

He was reliable, yes, but he can sometimes be so strict it becomes suffocating to Ventus.

“You’ve been gone all morning,” his priest scolded.  “I’ve been looking for you and from the looks of it, you were in town all morning again.  It’s nearly noon!” Jimin tossed his book and glasses onto the small, round glass table at his side as he kicked his head back into his chair.  The priest sighed.  “The fact of the matter is, I don’t mind when you go, just let me know so I’m not wasting time wandering around the palace grounds for a God who is not even here.”

Jimin chuckled to himself.  It was a funny thought.  His priest bickering to himself as he waltzed around in his garments.  He finally looked at his priest, furrowed brows and arms crossed as he was decked out in his official, ceremonial robes.  Jimin’s eyes widened.

“Why are you wearing your ceremonial robes, Taehyung?” Taehyung, his priest, sighed as he slapped a hand to his face.  

The robes were fine.  Silk and the purest shades of blues and whites all woven together with silver stitching.  The arms were wide and flowed with elegance as the top of the robe wove around his chest.  From the waist down the robe was cut off with a fabric tie that showed how the gown of the robe split and showed the white trousers he wore underneath.  His white ankle boots a final touch.  

Taehyung’s hair was a parted and was a blinding blond that bordered a platinum shade as he wore an earring that wove into a cuff and curled. A piece that accented his God’s style very well.  When Jimin first met him, he was skeptical Taehyung was a priest at all, let alone the highest standing one in this current generation after Ventus’s vanishment and then return. Though he was pleasantly surprised that Taehyung truly did know what he was doing and wasn’t some farse.

“The Dove sent by Yaieh has arrived.  They are waiting in the Moonstone Gardens.”  Jimin nodded as he opened his mouth.  

“Oh, that is correct.  Yaieh’s Goddess was sending one of her Doves to train over here and learn our customs.  I wasn’t expecting them for another day or so.”  Taehyung crossed his arms once more.

“Apparently, she left Yaieh as soon as possible, as per Goddess Sherea’s request.  She sends her regards as well, wishing Eden a long-lasting golden period.”  Jimin smiled as he nodded.  Sherea was an old friend of Ventus. The two had an alliance formed between them before his vanishing period.  He can only assume she had sent one of her worshippers in training, called a Dove, over as a symbol to once again have an alliance.  One in which he would not refuse.  

Eden and Yaieh have never been on bad terms, and Jimin is determined to keep it that way.  

Jimin hoisted himself from his chair as he walked to his wardrobe, quickly fixing himself up.  A shirt with a collar, proper elegant trousers and slipping on his finest boots he clipped the cuffs of his shirt before Taehyung had handed him a blazer to slip over his shoulders along with a long, fluttering cap that draped over his right shoulder only. The white cape was clean of all spots and hit the back of his calves on his legs.

The two men walked down the corridor as Taehyung informed Jimin on the type of person this Dove was supposed to be.  They were a woman, a freshly trained Dove from Yaieh and even Sherea’s top pick as a Goddess in training.  Jimin was impressed and almost confused as to why Sherea would cast off her Goddess contender to a kingdom so far from her own.  Perhaps it was simply for learning.  One cannot call themselves a God or Goddess if they know not the world in which they should soon rule.

However, it was with a small gentle roll of wind, a sound caught Jimin’s ear.  It made him stop in his tracks as he willed the wind to do as it did before and blow just enough to send the same noise to him.  It was only heard by him; the sound of silver.  Though, his silver was so different from the ones he is surrounded by every day.  This sound was familiar and warm and as he stopped walking, Taehyung did too, pondering why his God was delaying himself an audience with the Dove any further.  

“Taehyung,” Jimin queried.  “Where did you say this Dove was from?  She found a new home in Yaieh, but her origins?” Jimin’s voice was uneasy.

“Story has it that she came from Kiah originally.”  Jimin heard no more as he took off in a dead sprint down the corridors, open and closed walls at his sides as he zipped left and right to the Moonstone Gardens.  His favorite gardens that held the most beautiful flowers that only bloomed at night and their pollen can create the finest of spices believe it or not.  Moonstone tea is a particular favorite of his.  It’s a taste best described simply as bittersweet.  

He heard the silver rattling into his ears again as his silver eyes gleamed in a brilliant white before he came to a halt at the entrance to the Gardens, a woman’s back in his vision. His cape on his shoulder flicking forward at his sudden, screeching halt as he dug his boots into the grey, shining tile.

She was holding the bud of a Moonflower delicately in her hands as her clothes were much too foreign to be Eden’s.  She was most definitely from Yaieh, that is if Sherea hadn’t changed her style in clothing since decades past- he doubted it. That Goddess absolutely loathed change.  

A slit open-back gown to show the blessed tattoo of Sherea’s Goddess candidate on display. The gown itself was formal as the skirt of the dress cut off into two slits at the thighs.  Two pieces of fabric, one at the front and one at the back with the sides open. The top was an off the shoulder ruffle with open sleeves that cuffed around the wrist with silk.  Her hair was up off her neck showing a small, thick chain encircling her throat, and even a few oddly shaped scars along the base of her neck- almost like small fingerprints.  

Jimin felt himself shudder as Taehyung finally caught up with his God.  He was quite literally as fast as the raging wind.  Jimin’s eyes were locked onto the woman’s ankle as Taehyung touched Jimin’s shoulder.  

The woman, hearing Taehyung call for his God, gently dropped the flower bud that waited for the moonlight to allow it to bloom and turned to face the God of the kingdom in which she would be living for some time.  He let his breath catch in his throat as he staggered slightly on his feet.  

Jimin was in shock as he let his eyes leave the ankle of the woman and look into her eyes.  They were even more captivating than the silver anklet tied around her skin, one that most certainly belonged to Jimin.

“Y/n?”  Jimin called out towards you as Taehyung looked back and forth between you both.

“It’s been a long time I hope you haven’t forgotten me, I have a lot of questions about Eden. So, how many questions may I be allowed to ask you, God Ventus?”  You asked with a smile.

Jimin choked as he stepped into the garden, toe to toe with you as he wasted no time in throwing his arms over your shoulders and crushing you to him.  Taehyung rolled his eyes, as he turned his back- ignoring the improper gesture just this one time. You just gasped as the sudden action.  

“You get three questions, metal worker.”

“That’s Goddess in training to you, Jimin.”

a/n: REVAMPED AND BETTER THAN EVER BABy (pls I took 3 days editing this I wanna cry oof) 

[spaceexp]

SpaceX Dragon Heads to Space Station with NASA Science, Cargo

SpaceX - CRS-19 Dragon Mission patch. Dec. 5, 2019

Image above: SpaceX launches its 19th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station at 12:29 p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Image Credit: NASA TV. A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after launching at 12:29 p.m. EST Thursday. Dragon will deliver more than 5,700 pounds of NASA cargo and science investigations, including studies of malting barley in microgravity, the spread of fire, and bone and muscle loss. The spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and is scheduled to arrive at the orbital outpost on Sunday, Dec. 8. Coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival at the space station will begin at 4:30 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

SpaceX CRS-19 launch & Falcon 9 first stage landing

Dragon will join three other spacecraft currently at the station. Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) will grapple Dragon with NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan acting as a backup. NASA’s Jessica Meir will assist the duo by monitoring telemetry during Dragon’s approach. Coverage of robotic installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 8 a.m. This delivery, SpaceX’s 19th cargo flight to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, will support dozens of new and existing investigations. NASA’s research and development work aboard the space station contributes to the agency’s deep space exploration plans, including future Moon and Mars missions.

Image above: Dragon’s solar arrays deploy following spacecraft separation from the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket on SpaceX’s 19th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station on Dec. 5, 2019. Photo credit: NASA. Here are details about some of the scientific investigations Dragon is delivering: A Better Picture of Earth’s Surface The Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI) is a next-generation, hyperspectral Earth imaging system. Every material on Earth’s surface – rocks, soil, vegetation, snow/ice and human-made objects – has a unique reflectance spectrum. HISUI provides space-based observations for tasks such as resource exploration and applications in agriculture, forestry and other environmental areas. Malting Barley in Microgravity Malting ABI Voyager Barley Seeds in Microgravity tests an automated malting procedure and compares malt produced in space and on the ground for genetic and structural changes. Understanding how barley responds to microgravity could identify ways to adapt it for nutritional use on long-duration spaceflights. Spread of Fire The Confined Combustion investigation examines the behavior of flames as they spreads in differently shaped confined spaces in microgravity. Studying flames in microgravity gives researchers a better look at the underlying physics and basic principles of combustion by removing gravity from the equation. Keeping Bones and Muscles Strong Rodent Research-19 (RR-19) investigates myostatin (MSTN) and activin, molecular signaling pathways that influence muscle degradation, as possible targets for preventing muscle and bone loss during spaceflight and enhancing recovery following return to Earth. This study also could support the development of therapies for a wide range of conditions that cause muscle and bone loss on Earth. Checking for Leaks NASA is launching Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a docking station that allows Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) units to be stored on the outside of space station, making it quicker and simpler to deploy the instruments. The leak locator is a robotic, remote-controlled tool that helps mission operators detect the location of an external leak and rapidly confirm a successful repair. These capabilities can be applied to any place that humans live in space, including NASA’s lunar Gateway and eventually habitats on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations providing opportunities for U.S. government agencies, private industry, and academic and research institutions to conduct microgravity research that leads to new technologies, medical treatments and products that improve life on Earth. Conducting science aboard the orbiting laboratory will help us learn how to keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. For almost 20 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. As a global endeavor, more than 230 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 2,500 research investigations from researchers in 106 countries. Related links: Expedition 61: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition61/index.html NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7476 Malting ABI Voyager Barley Seeds in Microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7911 Confined Combustion: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7886 Studying flames in microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/combustion-research-microgravity-clean-burning-fuel-space-station/ Rodent Research-19 (RR-19): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8075 Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL): https://sspd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rell.html Moon and Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars Commercial Resupply: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/index.html International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html Related articles: SpaceX Gears Up for Second CRS-19 Launch Attempt https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/12/spacex-gears-up-for-second-crs-19.html Radiation rotifer https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/12/radiation-rotifer.html For more information about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Karen Northon/Kathryn Hambleton/JSC/Courtney Beasley/SciNews. Best regards, Orbiter.ch Full article

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Space milestones: here are the missions to look forward to in 2020

by Gareth Dorrian and Ian Whittaker

SpaceX’s Dragon 2 will carry humans for the first time in 2020. NASA/SpaceX

Last year was an excellent year for space exploration, with the icing on the Christmas cake the first ever image acquired of a black hole by the Event Horizon Telescope.

This year, 2020, is set to be interesting too. Here’s what to look out for.

Human spaceflight

The year 2020 is set to be quite a big one for human spaceflight, especially for private companies. Both SpaceX’s Dragon 2 and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft are due to conduct their first crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Both of these projects have been beset with delays, however in recent months both companies have completed a series of successful pre-flight tests.

These include multiple parachute drop tests and the ability of the capsules to rocket themselves free of their launcher in the event of some catastrophic failure. That said, an uncrewed orbital test flight for the Starliner in December failed to reach the ISS as planned, due to a software problem. SpaceX, on the other hand, has already completed an uncrewed orbital test flight of the Dragon 2, and currently expect to launch their first crewed ISS mission in the first quarter of 2020.

Not to be outdone, NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis-1 in November. This will be the first attempted flight of its new Space Launch System, and the Orion spacecraft built jointly by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

This flight, though uncrewed, will take a human-rated spacecraft well beyond the orbit of the moon, before returning to Earth several weeks later. This will be a vital milestone on the road to returning people to the moon. It will also, if successful, be the furthest distance from Earth that a spacecraft which is capable of carrying humans has ever flown. The Orion spacecraft is comprised of the crew capsule, built by Lockheed Martin, with sufficient space to accommodate up to six people, and a service module built in Europe, by Airbus.

China is also planning to launch the first section of a new orbital space station in 2020. When complete, China’s new space station is expected to have about the same dimensions as the former Russian Mir, including a number of orbital laboratory modules and enough space to comfortably accommodate three crew members for extended periods in orbit.

Life on asteroids?

The Japanese Space agency (JAXA) launched the Hayabusa 2 mission in 2014, which managed to collect a few samples from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu. This should be arriving back at Earth this year. The procedure for achieving this was incredible. As the gravity of the asteroid is tiny, no force can hold a lander to the surface. The first sample of the surface involved firing a small pellet at the asteroid which caused regolith (soil) to be ejected from the surface. At the same time, the satellite approached the surface to collect the dust.

The mission also collected a sample from the inside of the asteroid – a region that hasn’t been exposed to the interstellar medium or the solar wind. This trickier task involved firing a 2.5kg object at high speed into the asteroid from a safe distance and then briefly landing to collect the material.

The samples will allow a detailed look at asteroid composition, giving us some idea of where they might have come from and whether they are capable of carrying life. This is important as it could provide evidence for or against the panspermia theory – the idea that life exists throughout the universe, and is spread by asteroids and meteorites.

Magnetic Mars

The China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) plans for 2020 are extensive. One of their most ambitious projects is a Mars rover – despite having not sent an orbiter to Mars to date.

The rover is aimed for launch in the summer, and should arrive in 2021. It has ground penetrating radar to give a view of the internal structure of Mars. This type of radar is also planned for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, due to launch in July. A combination of subsurface information from multiple sites and rovers will boost our knowledge of how Mars was formed.

Mars 2020 rover. Rawpixel Ltd/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Mars 2020 is set to be the first in a series of missions which will eventually return samples of Martian soil to Earth. The rover will also be measuring the climate and magnetic conditions of Mars. The planet lacks a global protective magnetic field, which leaves its atmosphere vulnerable to the effects of the solar wind.

ESA’s Rosalind Franklin Rover, Europe’s first ever attempted landing of a rover on the red planet, is also scheduled to launch in July. The rover will carry a suite of instruments designed to look for signs of past and present life on Mars. It will include a large drill which can burrow down to two metres to extract samples from well beneath the surface. Here, delicate organic structures are much better protected from the harsh radiation environment of the Martian surface.

A close up look at our star

In February, ESA will be launching a flagship solar mission: Solar Orbiter.

This spacecraft will join NASA’s Parker Solar Probe as a dedicated close range solar observatory. While not getting as close to the Sun as Parker, the Solar Orbiter will still spend much of its life well inside the orbit of Mercury, enduring temperatures of hundreds of degrees.

It will also, by way of numerous gravity assists from Venus, incline its orbit by up to 30° – enabling its array of instruments to peer at higher latitude regions of our star. It will conduct detailed observations of the sun’s magnetic field, and the outflow of plasma into the surrounding solar system called the solar wind.

These higher latitude observations should help scientists to more fully understand the magnetic solar activity cycle, which is still not fully understood. It is also hoped that by observing active regions in detail that extreme space weather event prediction can be improved.

About The Authors:

Gareth Dorrian is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Space Science at the University of Birmingham and Ian Whittaker is a Lecturer in Physics at Nottingham Trent University

This article is republished from our content partners over at The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.