#also yeah councils of smart people in their fields of expertise

[void-thegod]

I don't think people realize how "democracy" has gotten in the way of progress.

Yes, in a more ideal society (with more ideal people?) This shit would all work out for the betterment of mankind and the planet.

But what do we have? A bunch of rich assholes, entitled assholes, and ignorant assholes in positions of power to fuck everyone over.

All together. Even if there are OBVIOUSLY solutions to all our ills... mf can just be like "nope. Would rather argue about the obvious"

Meanwhile the planet is on fire.

Please shut the fuck up if you know what we are currently doing is not working and it is not working fast enough

Edit: I will block you. This isn't an argument.

[b-radley66]

Descriptiveness of Characters

I’m working on improving my ability to paint a picture of my characters for reading. Kind of a long scene, but I’d love comments on how I did, with both physical description of one of the characters, as well as some character traits and background.

Alderaan

Draq’ Bel Iblis smiles as the young woman gets out of the landspeeder with the Organa family crest on it. His heart seizes as his eyes fall on her crimson skin and her slightly similar features to the center of his universe. A slightly older face, but no one except maybe another Zeltron would be able to tell her age.

Draq’ rises from the small curbside table, the smile growing on his craggy features. He holds out both hands as Alyysina Faygan’ii na Torstan’ii’s face is creased by a wide smile, her tiny overbite making it seem even wider. He gazes at her wide-set dark amber eyes, just before he pulls her against his chest. He rests his chin in her brown-streaked blue hair.

She doesn’t know that he knows why she had those brown streaks, a color not usually found in full-blooded Zeltrons. Unlike his daughter, Dani, whose hair was mainly made up of the chestnut color, with the blue streaks of her mother.

Sina had seen how other children on Zeltros had teased Dani for the odd-colored hair. Without hesitation, Sina had poured a bottle of hair color that she had found somewhere over her head in the shower, giving herself that same color, at least for awhile, to the chagrin of her mother and father. She’d kept a bit of it since them, diligently refreshing the streaks that had remained into her natural color.

He’d never been able to tell her how much he had appreciated that simple gesture. He grins against her hair. Of course, both young women had tormented each other relentlessly, from what he’d been told by Alyys, Dani’s mother. But no one else was allowed to.

Draq’ breathes in the scent of her hair, comprised of a mixture of citrus and floral oils, that somehow mixes and clothes her with an entrancing accompaniment to her gift as a Zeltron—the empathic resonance. One that he was sure had been kept under wraps in her visit to the palace for an audience with Queen Breha.

Along with somewhat subdued clothing for her people. A smart pantsuit in gray with a subdued purple stripe. Of course, in keeping with Zeltron traditions of showing their bodies wherever possible, there was no shirt under the blazer, which was only held closed only by a gold chain.

The trousers as well are extremely low slung on her narrow hips. He pushes her away to gaze into her large eyes. In the times that he’d met Dani’s cousin, he’d always been struck by her life and her vitality. With a curious nature that had made her a sought-after surgeon and talented healer, with a powerful, rarely occurring healing resonance, in addition to the empathic gift that all Zeltrons possessed.

There is still that life in her eyes, but there is also a shadow of something else there. A haunting look of loneliness, of a self-imposed exile. An exile born of a political choice she had made as a member of one of the ruling bodies of the Capitoline Council. A choice that had been the right one, but one that could’ve had a serious impact on the political futures of her heart-bonds—the current Zoetarch, or head of state, and the current Senator, who would soon stand for Zoetarch, as Boman Torstan’ii would be term-limited, at least for a full two-terms, before he could stand again to be selected by his people’s combined resonances.

Draq’ shakes his head, then pulls her in to place his lips on her warm forehead. He reaches down and touches the cluster of silver candlewick leaves on the lapel of her coat, with the standard galactic symbol for the medical profession on it. He smiles gently and nods. “The Order of Eustatia,” he says. “For achievements in medicine. They don’t just hand those out for showing up, love.”

“Oh, I think it was just laying around, abeeyah-trah’na,” she says in her light voice. His eyebrows rise at the use of the Zeltri words. Father’s brother by bonding.

He rolls his eyes, then turns and pulls her gently to his table. A server droid had been about to clean it off, when he caught sight of Draq’s glare.

“My family—my niece Ala Gainsefield, and her daughter are more grateful for your research than any bauble could show, even one from Breha Organa. You saved Ala. You gave Jamelyn her mother back.” He looks away at the slightly busy late-afternoon sidewalk. “You helped keep my nephew in the fight,” he continues in a lowered voice. “I’m not sure Jamelyn would’ve continued as Elector-Presumptive.”

It is her turn to shift her gaze away from his, down to the menu screen. He knows that like his daughter, her metabolism needs thousands of calories to maintain itself. She makes her selection, then looks up him.

“I appreciate the words, Dragon,” she says evenly, “but I wasn’t the only one. Dek Antilles and Hegridhara led the way.”

“Yeah. But you were in the field, girl,” he says. “You risked your life on Serenno, with those factions that were against you and the others.” He grins. “Of course, you picked up some skills along the way from my daughters of chaos. Skills you can’t use in polite company.”

She joins his laughter. “I’m going to turn forty next year, Draq’. I thank you for the ‘girl’ comment.”

He sobers for a moment as their food arrives. He waits for her to tuck in to the meat pastry she had ordered. She demolishes it quickly, but with impeccable manners.

“But you didn’t meet me here to congratulate me on my award,” she says, sipping her wine.

“Very perceptive. Just like your cousin, love.” He takes a sip of his own. “You may have heard, now that you’re a part of this little social club of Dani’s and Bryne’s, about what they’ve been trying to do with Nar Kanji, both to ease the plight of the slaves there, as well as gain valuable intel on the Syndicates.”

Sina nods. “I was on the expedition in the Graft on Serenno in which my guide turned out to be looking for the Defiance,” she says. “When I was looking for a cure for Ala.”

He nods. “Well we’re about to start in earnest. But there may be a side benefit to our chaos and mayhem. Something that would need your medical expertise and proven research skills, as well as your, well, harder skills.”

“Well, I just stumbled on a lot of stuff on Serenno. I don’t really have the temperament for research. I feel like I can contribute more by keeping your dumbasses alive and repairing the extra holes they find themselves with.”

Draq’ laughs. “Point taken. But I think this could be galaxy changing, if it’s true. A true breakthrough in bacta efficiency.”

He knows that he has scored points with those words, something that Dek Antilles was now working on in the vast arboreal forest of Serenno, the Graft. While marveling with his lover, Dav Kolan, over the newborn baby daughter with dark eyes and a mop of dark hair, carried to term and borne by Rhose Zan Arbor, their assistant and extra bodyguard.

Draq’ takes a breath, then lifts her left hand between his, rubbing it easily. “Sina, I’m determined to bring relief to those people on Nar Kanji. My father was once a slave there. My nephew and daughter, as well as Dani, Nola, and Meglann, plus that one whose name we can’t speak in public, may have a way to help them. So that the songs of their children shall never sound in slavery again. If this find is bonafide, it would go a long way to helping their lives.”

He looks away as her eyes soften at his words. She reaches up and eases her much warmer hand on his cheek.

“You had me at mayhem,” she says, a grin similar to one he’d seen on the faces of his son and daughters of chaos, that he had just listed. She drops her hand and gets up. He rises with her. “I’ve got to get back to my hotel. The Queen and her consort have invited me to some reception of some sort. I need to prepare myself to stand against the wall and watch everybody, since Dani and the others have been teaching me what to look for, beyond everybody trying to enrich their pockets or get various parts of their bodies to join.”

Draq’ nods. “I’ll send someone with more of the particulars. You can always say no. Plus it’ll probably be a month from now before we can get everything in order.”

His lips tingle with her goodbye kiss. As he watches her walk away, Draq’ Bel Iblis realizes how much he misses Dani and the others.