#that's why our inner planets are so different from each other

[elbiotipo]

Seeing Venus 'for reference' in the list of possibly habitable exoplanets is so humbling. It's a reminder that "yes, this planet might be an analogue of Earth, or Literal Hell, so don't get too excited just yet"

[meafortuna]

ASTRO NOTES #2 🎆

Let’s talk about synastry. 💞 I know you ladies (i hope u guys too) love that topic and here are some observations of mine. Take only what resonates for you and enjoy it! 😇

*Good synastry won’t save your relationship and the bad one will not destroy it. ⚠️

• If someone’s Moon falls in your 12th house or vice versa, that is a guarantee for you to dream a lot that person, and it’s not just dreams, more like intuitive or vivid ones. When you dream of them you may have the feeling your conversations are real or telepathically. Very spiritual bond, especially if the Moon is in water sign. 🦀🦂🐡

• Sun - Mars hard aspects… The Sun person will be always on battle within themselves do they like or hate the Mars person. Not so favourable aspect, but the s*xual tension is off the charts.🌶️If Tom and Jerry have synastry chart, I’m pretty sure this aspect will be there. 😁

• If someone's inner planets falls in your 6th house, there is a chance to turns out that the planet person it is not your friend at all. 🔪If it comes to romantic couple it’s possible the 6th house person to be betrayed emotionally/s*xually, especially if the planets are Venus, Mars or Moon. Because sixth house is not only about our health, daily routine and etc. it is also about who are our open enemies.😈 Just be careful.🤞

• When Vertex or Anti-vertex make tight conjunct to NN/SN or planets - this can be an indicator for you guys were meant to meet each other and it will make a significant impact on you. ✨

• The conjunction between Saturn and Venus, it’s a big indicator for having a karmic relationship with someone. This aspect comes with ups and downs, the Venus person can feel a little bit restricted by the Saturn person, but there is a big chance for the couple to grown together and stay together for really long time. Infact i often noticed that when it comes to synastry, people really dislike this aspect, but why? There is not only bad in karmic connections it all depends on what kind of fate you two have. WHO and WHY said that when Saturn is involved, something scary will necessarily happen? I think it all comes from the word “karma”, but “fate” and “destiny” are synonyms for karma, right? So is it something wrong with that to have fated/destined connection with someone?! Doesn’t sound wrong for me, not at all. Ok, let’s get back to the point… 😅 With conjunction between Daddy Saturn and Lady Venus the couple can experience that kind of thing like “we are not together, but we keep coming back to each other again and again”. 🪃 And why? Because this is their karma . Also if you have this aspect in yout natal chart it will be easier for u to deal with it in synastry. Yes, karma is a b*tch, but only if u are one. 🙃

• Sun making hard aspect to Sun it’s always battle for power. 🤼‍♀️ The two of you have really different aproach to life. One of you will be push to make more compromise than the other and that will make the individual feels frustrated and unappreciated.

• If someone's Sun or ASC falls in your 7th house, you will be drawn to that person, see them as The One.⭐️ Even if the native it’s not really your type and doesn’t meet your expectations. In my eyes can be a little annoying to have this placement with someone, because that will make you do sacrifices and things that you wouldn’t do for any other else, just because you trully believe in that this is your person, even if this is not actually the truth.

• Pay attention when someone’s Pluto falls in your second house. And no, not just because there is a 100% chance there will be too much possession and jealousy, but more about the fact that your partner may take the control over your money, but not necessarily in a good way. As we know Pluto it’s all about transformations, so there can be a great chance for you to earn money/presents 💸🎁 from that person or you can feel more financially confident with them, you never know. My advice is to be more cautious when it comes to your money, if you have this placement with someone.

~meafortuna 💙

[veronika-tserber]

💫Applying & Separating Aspects in the Chart 💫

I didn't even know about the concept of "Applying" and "Separating" aspects before I enrolled in a formal Astrology program. The letters "A" and "S" in the aspect tables on astro.com didn't draw my attention all that much. 😁

As it turned out, it's actually important to know what they mean, and since 2 people asked me about it yesterday, I decided to write a little post about it. 😊

Essentially, there are three "states" that aspects can be in:

1. Applying

2. Exact

3. Separating

We know that exact aspects (0-1° orb) are extremely potent in the birth chart, especially the major ones. But what about the other two types?

Separating basically means that the aspect has already been EXACT before you were born, and the FASTER out of the two planets is saying "see ya later, alligator", and moving away from the slower one. Applying means the opposite - the aspect will become exact AFTER your birth.

So, in the picture above, there is a Mercury/Venus conjunction at 5° that is Applying. Mercury is quick on its feet, so it will meet Venus after no more than 5 days after the native's birth. This is when the aspect will become exact and will reach its full potency.

Blah-blah, 5 days after birth. Why does it even matter?

Honestly, it matters the most when we pull up progression charts where 1° equals 1 year. In progressions, 5 days become 5 years, which is why the astrologer may forecast an event at that time, that relates to the aspect's themes.

Another example from the aspect table above is the 3° square between Mars/Saturn that is Separating. Will it be less prominent and weak in the chart? This is my aspect, so I can tell you for sure that it isn't weak, at all. But it's also involved in two major chart configurations (T-Square + Saturn is also part of a Grand Trine). Perhaps, if it didn't have those additional highlighters, it could've been kind of "meh" since the orb isn't all that tight, and Mars separates from Saturn.

It isn't wise to judge aspects (or anything in the chart) in isolation. Yet, you can consider the "exactness" of the orb and whether or not an aspect applies/separates, as bonus factors/points adding to the overall analysis of how the aspect fits into the birth chart puzzle.

This is how long it takes for each planet to travel 1 Degree:

The Sun - 1 day

The Moon - 2,1 hours

Mercury - 0,5-1 day

Venus - 0,75-1 day

Mars - 2 days

Jupiter - 5 days

Saturn - 10 days

Uranus - 20 days

Neptune - 25-27 days

Pluto - 30-40 days

Knowing that you should look at the FASTER planet and that 1 day = 1°, you can use this information to find out if you had anything eventful happen to you around the time a separating aspect became exact in your chart. I'd pay more attention if the aspect is between an outer/generational planet and one of your inner planets. Aspects between Mercury/Venus or Moon/Mercury, for example, are much more common and don't hold that much "weight" in the chart, but you can still check them out.

So, if someone has a Moon/Uranus square at 3° that is Applying, this means that the Moon will form the exact aspect around 6 HOURS after their birth! 6 hours is 1/4 a day, so around 3 months after their birth, maybe something happened to them or in their family, which potentially affected them in a big way. Again, depending on how significant the aspect is in the birth chart's story.

With this combo, we could see an incident involving their family members/mother, their parents splitting up, or the family relocating to a different city or even country. In general, the Moon also rules our environment, so there might've been some kind of a shock/shocking event that potentially left a lasting impression on the subconscious mind of the child. It doesn't have to be a "big" event - the child's mind is so sensitive to impressions at that age, that sometimes even an argument between the parents or something similar can be traumatic. But this is a theme for another post.

In conclusion, I am a HUGE advocate for a holistic approach to the birth chart, and although I write about independent aspects and placements, please remember that it's all general information, and you should take it with a grain of salt. Always. Please. Especially if the info implies that you might be f#cked up in some way. 😂 I don't support fear-based Astrology, so I would never want my content to make you see yourself as a victim!

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it, and don't forget to stay playful, folks!

The Ask Box is open for specific questions, folks! 😊

- Foxbörn

ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ 1

ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ���

ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴜʏ ᴍᴇ ᴀ ᴄᴏꜰꜰᴇᴇ?

[comicaurora]

How does Aurora's broader cultural/existential relationship with death differ from ours? Since the main thing influencing our view of death is that we don't know what happens when we die, and the Aurora people (Aurorans?) already have a factual explanation for this, would that make them accept death more, or fear it more?

Well, they have a factual explanation, but it isn't quite the same thing as an understanding.

In the real world, we know what happens to our body when we die, and some people find it comforting that the atoms that make them up are going to go into the cycle of growth and rebirth that makes up the planet's ecosystem. We are a concrete, tangible thing, and we know what it means to die.

However, there is a core unanswered question, which is "what part of me makes me me?" I think, therefore I am; I exist, and I am the observer contained within this body. I contain a theoretically infinite inner world of thoughts and imagination and can conceive of worlds beyond number. There is something in me that makes me different from you, that explains why I see the world through these eyes and nobody else's. "The Brain is wider than the Sky, For put them side by side, The one the other will contain With ease, and you beside."

But what is that observer? Where is it in the body? Where does it go when the body dies?

The observer cannot conceive of a world without itself in it, because the observer by its nature only knows the world it has seen.

In the real world, many people call this observer "the soul", an ephemeral and intangible concept. Many attempts have been made to find a physical core that is or holds this ephemeral concept, because we really want it to physically exist. I think, therefore I am, therefore I must be something. In ancient Egypt, the heart was thought to be the seat of consciousness. Nowadays that's how we think of the brain. But the brain is a very complicated thing, and we don't really know what each part of it corresponds to when mapped to the mind, and every time we think we have a solid answer, we learn something new that makes the whole thesis unravel. People who have suffered brain damage or illnesses often have difficulty engaging with the world around them, but if and when they are lucid they are often clearly still themselves - which indicates that their Self, their Observer, isn't just "the brain", because even when the brain is harmed the self persists, just somewhat disconnected from the world, lacking some of the tools it previously had access to that allowed it to engage with its surroundings.

People have tried weighing bodies at the moment of death to see if the soul has a weight (it doesn't) and many theological arguments have debated its existence, because nothing is more fun to argue about than something that can absolutely never be proven one way or another.

Many religions build core tenets around "where does the observer go when the body dies." Reincarnation is a popular concept - because the observer cannot conceive of a world without itself in it, it might find it comforting to believe it could continue to observe the world from new vantage points. Afterlives are another popular idea, the belief that an observer "goes somewhere else" when the body fails. We're not very good at comprehending endings, I think; the way we see the world and the way we engage with our memories can sort of leave us feeling like our past is one big eternal moment, and people we've lost linger forever in our memories - it doesn't always make sense that they simply don't exist anymore, and it's easier for us to think of them as simply Somewhere Else. Somewhere we can't get to, but somewhere. It's why we get so dizzied when we go back somewhere like a childhood home or an old school and find the place refurbished or demolished - it's eternal in our memories, and we don't really understand how it could simply stop existing. How can the world move on without us, when the world we lived in is so clear in our memories? How can a person be gone, when they're so vibrant and alive in our memories?

In Aurora, souls are a concrete thing, a weaving of an energy that is documented, omnipresent and has tangible effects on the world around it. But does that tell an Auroran person where their observer is? Their personhood exists in the latticed weave of an energy that is vaster and older than the world. When they die, the energy unweaves; the pattern is lost, but the energy remains. To my mind, this is no different than how we relate to the atoms that make up our bodies. They're physical, known quantities, but the thing that makes us us is some metaphysical concept contained in the information of how those building blocks are specifically put together. When we die, those atoms do other things; every part of us remains, but we are gone. Where did we go? What is the "we" that is gone?

I don't think the people of Aurora have any more answers than we do about this. Knowing for sure that they have souls doesn't tell them anything more about who they are.

[sailorspica]

giving reijean complete birth charts

i make fun of yams for making frankly the majority of the 104th and the warrior unit aries and leo suns, including Jean and Reiner (would just say "fire signs," but he doesn't seem to gravitate toward sagittarius birthdays). but just because this cast is lousy with the same sun sign doesn't mean they're identical to their comrades! the differences (and friction of similarity) come from everyone's rising sign, which contextualizes the sun for the individual.

table of contents

methodology

their charts without birth times

the charts

🪐 methodology

this project requires three bold executive decisions: (1) birth times, (2) birth years as proxy for 832-35, and (3) birth location as proxy for liberio and paradis.

birth times, to give us their rising signs. this makes up the majority of this post. besides the above reason, sun + ascendant also tells us if the person was born in the day or night since the ascendant is the sign on the eastern horizon at time of birth. someone born at/around sunrise has the same sun and rising sign, for example.

851 in AoT = 1853 in our world. what about every other planet? astrology is not like MBTI; we don't plug in values willy nilly (my killjoy pet peeve? ppl hc'ing moon signs that are physically, astronomically impossible; moon phases and thus moon signs describe sun-moon aspects). i have to pick a real-world ephemeris range in order to limit my freedom of choice to just rising signs. to advance my own indulgent new historicist reading, i'm looking at ephemerides from the 1830s to fill in the rest of these charts, matching the survey corps repo'ing the marleyan scouting ship to the arrival of the perry expedition in the ryukyu islands.

kinda crazy decision here, but liberio = macau, the walls = osaka. the world of AoT is ours upside-down, sure, but the opposite latitude of madagascar is like, saudi arabia, which i don't think this matches because of climate, and iseyama pretty clearly conceives of paradis with more than two northern hemisphere seasons (the leaves on the tree on the hill). these city choices betray my own research interests, but the antagonism between paradis and marley across a narrow sea feels more like japan vs like all of east asia (including russia) throughout history, but especially the late 19th and early 20th centuries. physically, paradis' northeastern position next to marley (longitude) matters a lot. it's why the birth charts of ppl from northern europe are so weird if you use quadrant house systems.

right away, the 1830s give us the outer/generational planets, where Reiner's 2-3 years seniority does make difference for uranus, the fastest-moving outer: they share pluto in aries and neptune in capricorn, but Reiner's uranus is in aquarius and Jean's is in pisces. i don't rly use these unless they make close contact w inner planets though

specific to reijean / what is fanon at this point

Jean's birth year is pretty unambiguous to me with him and Eren as foils: 835, or 1837.

i assume the cadet corps disbands and assembles each spring. winter happens between the reclamation of wall maria and the SC reaching the sea, which puts the events of seasons 1-2 and s3p1 around april or may, and the return to shiganshina arc in august or september. meaning, Jean and Eren just turned 15.

if Reiner is 17 when the 104th disbanded, he's actually two years and four months older than Jean and Eren; for most of the year (august through march), he seems three years older!! that means he spends his 18th birthday w fellow bday boy Zeke, plus Pieck on aug. 4 :) granted they probably spent that time planning to kill the whole SC, but i like to think Bertie threw them a party :)

birth time / rising sign considerations

do they have a day or night vibe? deadass. briefly, each light "leads" a sect of planets that are strengthened if their leader is in charge. sun = jupiter and saturn and moon = venus and mars; mercury has no allegiance, can go either way (because of mythology; mercury/hermes has to traverse every realm as a messenger). this mitigates "bad" placements or sabotages "good" ones.

also vibe-based: each of the seven classical planets (inner sailor senshi + saturn) traditionally rules two signs, while the moon rules cancer and the sun rules leo. this is often used phrenologically (for racism), but seeing as these men are lines and iseyama speaks about designing them, i think it is okay.

where is person A's sun in person B's chart? and vice versa, and same applies for rising signs and their rulers. for relationships, astrologers sometimes use this to indicate where/how/when partners meet each other.

✨ without birth times

reiner (1834/08/01)

first glance

from midnight to midnight, the moon is always in gemini; last quarter moon (waning).

both benefics (nice planets that "bring good fortune") are undignified, or in signs that do not serve them; the signs are enemy territory. could you say that's a grand metaphor for RBA on paradis, or liberio on marley? perhaps. for Reiner, jupiter is in gemini (detrimented, and conjoined with mars) and venus is in virgo (fallen). both of these are mercury-ruled signs; aka that flighty little bitch of a planet with questionable loyalties. hmmmmm!!!

but saturn is pretty happy (exalted) in libra.

rising sign impulses

right away, he's one of the most diurnal 🌞 men i've ever seen. yams said in some guidebook that he drew him to look like someone "destined for great things," or something to that effect... and probably like, mere months later, he published chapter 97. so yams is a sicko who loves irony. Reiner is a golden, heroic figure until he isn't, like fuckin HELOS i guess, or apollo...

day birth limits our range to leo through capricorn, with some wiggle room in the first few degrees of aquarius; his chart ruler can be literally any option but the moon

because of his unfortunate benefics and the burden of identity, my favorites are: taurus, libra, sag, or leo rising, so he's ruled by either venus, jupiter, or the sun.

houses that feel reiner

6th house: physical labor, the body in service to someone else's interests

8th house: death, enemies (lol), inheritance (i mean come On); wealth gained through other's deaths—take it as eating the previous Armored, or his survivor's guilt re: Marcel and Bertie...

9th house: long-distance travel, leaving home, higher education

12th house: my favorite house, i am biased, but it's a house of like, sickness, loss, isolation, "self-undoing"; shit Jean has no tolerance for. suicidal blockhead behavior.

jean (1837/04/07)

first glance

the moon is always in taurus; crescent moon (waxing).

he has an aries stellium (a cluster of planets all in the same sign), which Eren doesn't—he's actually more aries than Eren, who is "secretly" very piscean. Jean's sun (exalted), mercury, venus (detriment), and pluto are all here.

for Jean, the sun is conjoined pluto within 2 degrees (makes us twinsies; i have a sun-pluto square).

he has a fixed sign t-square: taurus moon, leo mars, and aquarius neptune.

impulses

he could go either way, day or night, but my dumb ass wants them to complement each other for no damn reason

for a night chart 🌚, he can be anywhere from scorpio to aries; his ascendant ruler can be mars, jupiter, or saturn.

yams said he drew him to "look" deceitful; in the anime subs armin says Jean and eren both have "villainous" eyes, which makes me favor cap or aquarius rising.

houses that feel jean

2nd house: creature comforts, valuing security

4th house: home, both his dream of having a home in the interior and the formative significance of seeing trost attacked

6th and 8th houses for similar reasons to Reiner. re: 8th house, i think about Connie's "who'da thunk we'd be the new Levi Squad!" thnx Annie!!

11th house: humanitarianism?? like, a good sense of the big picture, very much values life

💕 synastry without birth times so far

Jean's venus is opposite Reiner's saturn: rich and dramatic, arguably negative, but i think it can be good for them because of their different conditions in each chart. Jean's venus hates being in aries, and looks across the way to libra, where it wants to be, where Reiner's saturn is. it's like Reiner can pull out Jean's ooey gooey feelings that are usually obscured by aries, or come out as just carnal aggression. saturn can be patient with all of that, and i think Reiner finds it cute. venus in aries is very fwb/didn't-know-we-were-dating; saturn in libra is more quiet and reliable, to a point—he will get so frustrated!

they both have jupiter-mars conjunctions that are sextile to one another; they're hot separately and together???? i seriously led with japanese history for picking their fake birth years, i didn't know the sky would say they are hot and have great sex. more than that, a sextile is actually... pretty chill and comfortable? they just click, it's more about being in sync, physically (mars) and philosophically (jupiter).

Jean's jupiter-mars conjunction is conjunct Reiner's sun: more cute shit, they just get each other, also Jean's mars just finds leos hot af, so you can apply to this to Jean + all the warrior leos... actually jupiter and mars are quite slow so like, most of the 104th has this, which may be why they trust Reiner so much

the charts!

i'll only talk about their rising signs and the planets that rule them because otherwise we're here all day:

💛 reiner: ~10:00 ☉, 832/08/01 in liberio, marley

Libra rising ⚖️, Leo sun 🦁, Gemini moon 👯

chart ruler is: Venus ♀ in Virgo/12th house

i like Venus because it feels softer and smaller than jupiter 🥺 e.g., between the two benefics, Venus is a "personal" planet and Jupiter is "social." Jupiter has to be too many things; everyone expects everything from it, the warrior candidates and younger members of the 104th look up to Reiner, he's "Marley's shield," karina burdens him with "uniting their family" (her marleyan citizenship); but he actually isn't all that and isn't suited to it... and I think only people who really really know him, e.g. have strong bullshit meters, know that. imo gabi is getting there early on, since she tells him she can tell he's lying about something, and she and jean are both later decan aries suns...!

i clearly like giving Reiner cottagecore dreams, a small and warm life; as a boy he wanted a nuclear family, and even in the dregs of his mental health, he clung on for the warrior kids. his actual ambitions are just caring and maybe, even more ambitiously, being cared for, and I think that is true to him, not just his Marcel persona.

the 12th house is miserable!! love it there. my more nuanced explanation is it's kind of floating above it all, seeing the relativity of everything, which can feel like disillusionment or liberation or both: Paradis seriously upset his understanding of the world.

Venus doesn't like Virgo/Virgo doesn't care for Venus because there is something quite detached, sterile about Virgo. Virgo is, for Reiner, years of propaganda, habit, "warrior" versus "soldier," all watchwords and reminders at catastrophic odds with his feelings of warmth and acceptance in the 104th—those syrupy, hard-to-name Venus matters that Virgo cannot tolerate.

in Reiner's chart, Taurus, Venus' other domain, is his 8th house: another "dark" house, death and inheritance, guilt, enemies. it also.... is where Jean's moon is.

his Venus squares his Moon, which is a pretty double edged sword. there's something very needy and insecure about these two soft planets making a harsh angle, which, imo, leads Reiner to deeply unhealthy choices to win affection, approval, security—from his parents, from the nation of Marley, from Bertolt and Annie after Marcel's death, etc.

🪐 jean: ~02:00 ☽, 835/04/07 in trost, paradis

Capricorn rising 🐐, Aries sun 🐏, Taurus moon 🐂; this zodiac doesn't have any horses but his big three is all hoofed

chart ruler: Saturn ♄ in Scorpio/11th house

this seems very leader-ly to me; the 11th house is about community, the good of the whole, a humanitarian concern. also very Levi, imo.

Saturn is the diurnal malefic, so its good qualities are delayed or dampened by being in a night chart; Trost activates him.

Jean's growth from a "selfish bastard who only thinks of himself" is, astrologically, a broadening of what community/11th house matters mean to him. first, it is just himself: getting into the MPs at all costs, Saturn confused in a night chart. but then in trost, in the field, he leads for the first time: being selfish for the sake of people who trust him, using the deaths of others for his and his squad's survival. we see this again in the 57th expedition: he clearly sees his, Reiner, and Armin's role as giving up their own lives for the success of the Survey Corps. and his scope of concern gets bigger and bigger: the future of "humanity" in the walls in the uprising arc, and finally all of humanity.

also in the uprising arc, especially in the manga, I see his hesitation to kill as an 11th house morality, sure, part of humanity's charter, but I also deeply DEEPLY love the slow burn trust between Levi and his new squad: Jean kind of deputizes himself between springles and scary Levi himself. this also reminds me of Jean yapping at Armin about mutinying Erwin during the 57th expedition. it's pragmatism man!!! the will and trust of the collective is a better vote of confidence than chain of command

Saturn and Scorpio are pretty neutral to each other, but Scorpio itself is a wonderfully intense, more mature version of Mars; sorry, but it's manga Rei Hino versus 90s anime Rei Hino, with strong environmental and personal intuition. I've been a Jearmin shipper sometimes, and this is where those two boys are simpatico, imo.

Saturn opposes Jean's Aries stellium, but more exactly his Sun-Pluto conjunction. I'll just quote the astrologer Sue Tompkins here: "The Sun-Saturn type is usually a serious person, tending to take themselves very seriously and to take all that happens around them rather personally." bb

the other Saturn-ruled house in Jean's chart is Aquarius/2nd: that's that fine whiskey in the interior, baby

💞 synastry with birth times

Saturn conjoins Reiner's ascendant: even though he's ruled by a pretty miserable Venus, his 1st house is somewhat lifted by Saturn, a morning star/the daytime malefic made nicer by the sun; e.g., he sees Jean's positive Saturninan qualities before anyone else.

Reiner's moon and Jupiter-Mars conjunction are in his 9th house: the happiest parts of his life happen abroad. also, jupiter rules sag and pisces, respectively his 3rd (siblings, everyday routines) and 6th houses (embodiment, physical work and health): "playing soldier," as annie says, or playing marcel, in porco's judgment.

Jean's Jupiter-Mars conjunction is in his 8th house: enemies to lovers hell yah! see my earlier note about Jean and Leos generally (JeanPikku).

Aries (where most of Jean's chart happens) is Reiner's 7th house, aka the spouse house. Again, Jean's April DOB sets him apart from every other damn Aries in this world/their age group, meaning Annie and Eren. the other mars sign is scorpio, reiner's 2nd house; i try to say it my fic Husbandry, but RBA have their material needs met, see Paradis as a real paradise compared to Liberio'a urban lack.

Capricorn (Jean's 1H) is Reiner's 4H: home.

Jean's 7H is Cancer, ruled by the moon; his moon in Taurus trines that sexy Jupiter-Mars conjunction, e.g. looks directly into Leo.

a jeankasa note

Aquarius and Leo are opposite each other, so a lot of Jean's angles to Reiner's Leo-ness are mirrored/also apply to his feelings toward Mikasa; he really has a type, and it's fixed Suns (...armin?? porco??), the opposition that makes his t-square. but the funnier thing is Mikasa and Reiner are kind of natural enemies, mostly bc of mercury oppositions, which would probably be true with any arbitrary birth years bc mercury is rarely far from the sun. just cannot picture those two having a conversation one on one ever, their only significant interaction is mikasa throwing him onto eren

why tf did i do this

i think for my 57th expedition AU they're gonna bicker about using constellations for navigation. that's it

this was long as fuck mostly bc i felt i had to explain interpretation methods but i am happy to do more characters!! if i do anyone next it's probably them jaeger boys, zeke is sag or pisces rising to me (derogatory/affectionate)

[crystalsenergy]

Outside the box Astrology notes / approach ✨📚🌟

A new approach to Astrology

astrology does not define who we are, it is just a tool to study who we are in essence

and this essence was already defined by ourselves before we even got here

it is no coincidence that the natal chart that we study and know the most is, in reality, the chart that has the Sun - the essence, center of being - in focus (however, we can take other planets as a basis and create their respective charts, and this we do through the Persona charts)

therefore, there is no sense in blaming our natal chart for what we need to deal with. well, it wasn't the sky that defined anything before you were born, the stars just translated your essence into the zodiacal language.

following this reasoning, astrology is a gift, a tool of the universe for you to find everything about yourself, including what you least understand and are aware of, bringing out your potentials, beauties and difficulties.

nothing is defined by the stars…

our natal chart (or our natal charts) is a pure reflection of our Soul

"but I don't like my birth chart, what could that mean?".

it probably means an inner conflict between what you are and what you wanted to be. why don't you like who you are? reflections: why don't you like a certain characteristic about yourself? is this purely about you, or about a desire to achieve a personality trait defined as the "appropriate", the "right" trait?

example: "I don't like my Piscean sensitive way, I think that makes me a weak person". the problem lies in your view of Pisces, particularly in a larger context. Pisces is important to our life, but in today's society we define Pisces-like characteristics as naivety, weakness, and uselessness. therefore, the problem is not the sign or placement. but the view one has of what surrounds it.

now a point that goes beyond what I mentioned above and involves the idea that there are past lives

(if you don't believe that, maybe it makes more sense to believe only the top part):

we all have a Soul. the soul is the breath, the origin of life (Alma from the Latin anima.ae). exactly because it is the mark of our origin, it also marks our stages of evolution, where we are now.

Is the person very selfish? the Soul will have egoistic tendencies.

Does the person self-sacrifice excessively for others? Soul will also register this tendency. it is the Ctrl C + Ctrl V of our current state of consciousness.

our Soul evolves. we are not the same as in our past life, by the way, this is the purpose - to develop.

Souls are not perfect. therefore, they will sometimes have egoistic desires (think of a South Node in Aries in 1st house, this being's comfort zone is to live inside the "me and I" bubble. but is this ideal, correct? no. that's why North Node exists to show us where we need to improve). that's why the Soul is and needs to be in constant evolution.

Soul is different from Self, which represents what we have to become. Soul is the reflection of who we are most deeply, our mistakes and successes. Self is the state of balance and perfection that we do not possess, but which we can seek life after life, according to our interest and openness.

therefore, as most likely you have had more than one past life,

with each life, things are changing astrologically IF you work on yourself, seek to evolve, grow, improve in those points that already existed in your personality to be worked on. as you evolve, your Soul evolves.

things may not change much either, a) if you live in the vibe of stagnation and little inner work

b) or if other more intense circumstances arise, making certain problems stand out in your personality. example: let's assume that in a lifetime you had to deal a lot with the wound of rejection in relationships, Chiron in the 7th house. assuming that you have had a very complicated life in terms of family, with many hurts, pains and psychological abuse, it is possible that the family and emotional wound has become so great that your Chiron in the next life becomes Chiron in the 4th house.

this leads us to the conclusion that, for example, having Chiron in a natal house, does not mean that you only have that wound. it is quite obvious that life is so complex that it is difficult to limit a wound, a hurt to just one astrological house. then there will be other points for you to work on, improve, transmute, heal in you. but WHAT IS MOST EVIDENT is what the natal chart translates. therefore, studying the natal chart is

Studying the urgencies of your Soul

Studying your potentials and your greatest difficulties

Applying to yourself and others the best you already have, and evolve in what you still lack.

did you understand the idea?

in the next post (tomorrow), meanings of planetary placements, astrological points and some asteroids based on this vision.

xo

© Crystalsenergy.

[talesfrommedinastation]

Redneck Neighbor Doug: Why Belters are Space Cajuns

If Mandalorians are space rednecks, then Belters from The Expanse are space Cajuns. This is not up for debate, according to the nerdiest Southern man of all time, my neighbor Doug, who, it turns out, loves this show too. I'm 99% sure he's also a TNG and Battlestar fan, but that would just kill me with exhaustion if we went into full deets about it.

Onto our friends in the Belt and why they have so much in common with the French-Americans who reside in the wilder parts of the deep American south of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

I will elucidate now, via Doug, on what Belters and Cajuns do that make them…them:

They make do: First thing we see in the entire series is how much the Belters are royally crapped on by life. They live in space, which permanently alters their bodies, to the point where they can not survive on a planet. To quote, “Belters work the docks, loading and unloading precious cargo…never meant for us”. They don’t have the wealth of Earth or the incredible military drive of Mars, but they’re scrappy, innovative, and do what they can to survive, whether it’s by smuggling, pirating, or allying themselves with powerful folks. Like the French folks in Acadia who got flung from their homes to the bayous of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, who scrape a living by fishing, boatmaking, bartending, and/or serving as a member of the X-Men. Cajuns and Belters do what they can to survive, giving them an edge that others do not have.

They party hard: Belters love drinking, having parties on their ships and in port, banging everyone on the crew, and overall just being wild. After all, you never know when you’re going to get your air or water cut off by the Inners, might as well live it up. And Cajuns, well, they invented Mardi Gras and their saying is ‘Laissez les bons temps rouler’ or ‘let the good times roll’. Life isn’t easy on a swamp that is constantly wacked by floods or hurricanes, but they party as much as they can. Just like the Belters.

Their women: Some of the best damn characters in the series are the angry ladies of the Belt (Camina Drummer and Naomi Nagata). Man, they something else. They’re loving, fierce, smart, crazy, and can go from Bambi to Banshee in five seconds. Cajun women love to host parties, help with church, and cook and make an amazing roux from dirt and crayfish, but God help you if you piss one off. Those pot carrying arms can snap a neck quicker than a blue crab shell. 

They speak in patois: Ever heard Cajun French? It ain’t from Paris, that’s for sure. It’s mixed up and raw and beautiful in its own right, and for many generations, it was looked down upon by English-speaking neighbors. Belter creole is similar, a smashed up beauty of a language that has come out of life in space, filled with English, Chinese, Farsi, German, Hindi, and other languages. It even has a similar lilt to the bayou! 

They are ungovernable: There’s a reason the Cajuns were never quite able to fully rebel against the various governments that took over their swampy goodtimes. They’re loyal to each other and their land, and that’s about it. Belters are the same–they’ve tried with the OPA, and even then, there’s different factions and squabbling (Anderson Dawes vs Fred Johnson, for example) and it’s only until there’s a genuine, alien threat to they get all united (plus Camina Drummer comes to power, but that’s neither here nor there). 

They’re good at figuring out solutions: Cajuns live in gator and snake infested swamps that flood and hurricanes smash through routinely. But they live and thrive regardless, with their pirogues and their bridges and their houses on the water. Same with Belters: their lives are lived in space, with crappy gravity and air. But they’re scrappy and tough and figure out how to survive. A Redditor pointed out that many of the more ambitious, driven Earthers left generations ago to live on the Belt, as the option was staying on Earth and living on an increasingly overcrowded, shitty planet. Not unlike the ancestors of the Cajuns who left France. 

The Spice Must Flow: Belters have to pack their shitty food full of peppers and spices to make it palatable, to the point one of the nicknames for their most famous dishes is called ‘red kibble’. And have you ever had proper Cajun food? Crawfish, alligator, boudin, and frogs are freaking amazing when done properly, although my fancy British friends were horrified that I enjoyed them. Pass me them mudbugs with some Cachere’s seasoning, collards, and corn, I wanna feel the pain. 

They work in weird and hard places: See above for both Belters and Cajuns. Jobs Cajuns have had range from oil fields to swamps to cities filled with yellow fever. But they take it and have a good sense of humor about it. Same with Belters–they work on rough ships, in radiation filled places in space, and don’t bitch about it. To quote the gaunt Belter, ‘They built the solar system on our backs’. 

Everything and anything can be used as a weapon: A gun? Peshang! Guns are for fancy Inners. Belters will use guns, AND pipes, chairs, each other, elevators, fists, a toothbrush, shives, you name it, they’ve killed with it. They’re tough and scrappy, and so are the Cajuns, whose fights are notorious in the bayou and beyond. Don’t mess with them. 

So yeah, Space Cajuns.

[lostfirefly]

Today was supposed to be a good day. I went to the movies on the new Planet of the Apes. It was so so so good, by the way.

Unfortunately, at some point the day went wrong. I talked to a psychologist and she advised me to write a post. Not to cause pity, no. Just to make it emotional easier.

Unfortunately, I live in Russia. Why unfortunately? The government turns a blind eye to many things here and citizens are not particularly protected by law. Especially now when this shitty government is busy bombing a neighboring country.

I, like our beloved Buggy, have my own point of insecurity, sacred to my appearance. It’s not my fault and it’s hard for me to live with it.

I was standing at the bus stop and not bothering anyone, when several teenagers ran up to me and started beating me. Simply because they didn’t like me, because they thought they had the right to do so. They said a terrible and hurtful thing about me. They shouted that I could win the freak circus competition without even showing up, and they would just help me a little more.

Thanks to the man who stood next to me. He helped drive them away and brought me to the police station, where I wrote a statement. I don’t think it will be difficult to find these guys, because now there are video cameras all over Moscow. But they will not be punished and, at most, will be given a fine.

I'm talking about something else now. I don’t know if this is a problem only in Russia or if this happens in other countries.

Why don’t people understand and explain to their children that there are different people? In appearance, health, orientation. I don’t have two heads, I have two eyes like everyone else, a nose, two legs and two arms. I wear glasses because of my bad eyesight.

I have never in my life offended a person with obvious problems in health or orientation. Why am I, at 37 years old, still learning to live with my problem, listening to insults from adults, and now I have been attacked by schoolchildren?

In any other country, I would already be rich, because I would sue every single person for insults 😁

After each such incident, I feel mentally ill and have anxious thoughts. It's not normal when your only chance for freedom from complexes is bad thoughts. People don’t know what happened to me and don’t know how it strengthened my character. I'm a very strong person, but my emotional wall begins to shake every time I hear hurtful words addressed to me.

When will people begin to understand that everyone is different? You don't know a person's background, what right do you have to insult him? I sincerely believe that a person should be judged not by his appearance, but by his inner qualities.

[wolf-among-mechs]

Well, now I got a few questions for you in return. Merc to merc, Clanner to... well, maybe someone twice removed from the Clan family tree.

🟡💛💳🌼🎵

Something along those lines yeah. It's... Complicated. Have a seat. I got a lot of stuff to talk about.

🟡 Where do I currently live. Where I have lived. I grew up on Hephaestus station. Lived a six months on the planet Milton in Lyran space in a dingy little apartment. Then... Dropships and barracks ever since. Had an RV to have my own space for a while. But then our company managed to acquire an Overlord to serve as our base and by our Steiner noble friend and lancemate we made it a lot more habitable with proper living quarters. The most of a home I have had so far.

💛What do I currently pilot. (OOC: It gets a little time fucky wucky here since Asuka here is part of an RPG campaign that hasn't gotten to the Clan Invasion yet. But this blog is an AU where she obviously got that far. Bear with me.)

I hate that my answer is that I am currently inbetween rides currently. My old clan ride got messed up so they are refitting a new one. So let me tell you about one of my favourites. My Marauder II. Designated MAD-5Xc formerly b. Nicknamed "Direwolf" by the crowds at the time. This was somewhat before the Daishis made an entrance in the inner sphere you see. You won't find it on any technical readout. Most our company refit mechs to suit our doctrines. The b model was built by Blackwell as part of a sponsored entry on Solaris in order to build the 'brand' as they were in negotiations with opening up sales to other clients than the dragoons at the time. It was built for me in particular to pilot which is why it has Triple Strength Myomers, a supercharger and a Guardian ECM system. Armed with an ERPPC and small pulse laser in each arm. Backed up by two SRM 6 launchers on the shoulders which always annoyed me slightly. I have always been adept at fighting things up close... Despite the fact that I have tried very hard to work from range.

It was refitted to have two LRM launchers instead but fitted slightly differently along with an Artemis IV system. Because the SRMs never really did really offer much when I had the ability to just run force and snap somebody's legs off by bullrushing them. Maybe you have seen an old holovid of what they called my glorykill on Solaris. Where I barrel into a highlander, snap its legs. Hammer the torso with the barrels furiously before rearing up and bringing the right barrel into the cockpit and fire the PPC as my voice echoes out over the comms and arena "AND STAY DOWN!" I was... A little bit upset at that man at the time.

I loved that mech. I wish I still had it.

My new ride is going to be a Kodiak. Though... Heavily customized. It is being refitted as I mentioned. It brings along a lot of what I enjoyed about the Marauder by removing the Autocannon and missile launchers for PPCs. A new myomer system, an active probe and jump jets. It will be designated Crinos... The reason it is taking so long is that it has a different headshape. More... Wolfish.

💳 Who is/was your most and least favourite client?

Hmm.... Tough. I had to think about my most favourite client. Probably Rasalhagians. They did not like us much when we first started, having bad experiences with mercenaries to start with but it mellowed out fairly quickly after they figured out that we were not a rowdy bunch

As for least favourite. I going to be weird and say probably Federated suns. Their lords have betrayed us four out of six times but at least people above them made steps to repair the relationship. We had one Baron I think he was who decided to turn on us and me specifically because I beat the snot out of his favourite officer in a perfectly legal martial arts tournament. He cheated first though.

🌼What do I think of the clans.

I was born into Wolf's Dragoons. Both mother and father were of the clans. Mechtechs both of them. I was probably going to become one too but I showed great aptitude with mech piloting. And fighting just in general. Probably owing to the fact I have inherited elemental genes from my fathers side. When they invaded the inner sphere I ended up among them. Not by my own will. I ended up prisoner and they after a while figured out that technically I was related to clan Wolf. I had to try for a bit to become a full member. I fought tooth and nail for that and got a trial of position and even managed to earn a blood name. I do not carry it though. During their invasion I came to understand myself through elementals and the clan. The severe mismanagement of operation REVIVAL made opinion of the clans thusly:

Eugenicists with little thought or preparation made for the totality of war. Admittedly I am also very annoyed at having been called freebirth over and over and over and being overruled time and time again despite the fact that I had more experience with the war in the inner sphere they were actually trying to fight. I also find their commitment to honour lacking. Rescinding it when they deem an enemy to be less than human or simply a problem and in the way. That is not to say all warriors of the clans are such nor do I treat them thusly.

I simply believe that they are flawed much like the inner sphere. There are heroes and villains under every banner in the Galaxy. The Clans, the houses of the inner sphere and mercenaries.

🎵 What is a piece of music you enjoy, that you would play in combat on a loop?

I was really hoping somebody would ask me this. I really was. Allow me to send a few sound files your way.

In the cockpit:

It keeps my heart pumping in the midst of combat. It has a really nice melody to me.

In my head:

(OOC: Warning for a bit gore. It is Doom 2k16 after all)

This feels a lot how it feels inside my during a battle.

But. Also an honourable mention to kuritan holovids, they based a villain on me. Well me and my old Black Knight. It sounded a bit like this.

I think after all of that. I owe you at least a few drinks.

[hermeticphoenix]

Angels, Demons, and Aliens

Some people are confused about the differences between angels, demons, and aliens. I will only share what I know and what I have personally experienced about them, as well as the experiences of other magicians.

Are angels the same as aliens?

It depends on your understanding of aliens, but I would say no. Let me explain. If you are a magician, you can certainly find angels on Earth, as well as on other planetary spheres such as the moon, ruled by Archangel Gabriel, and others. Archangels ruled each planetary sphere, but they also governed other angels that possessed the traits of that celestial body. If your understanding of aliens is that they are entities outside the sphere of Earth, then we could say that the angels of the Moon, Mercury, and other planets are called “aliens”. However, I would not use the term “alien” to describe planetary angels since they are part of our cosmic hierarchy (solar system) and they have a great influence on the spiritual evolution of humanity, whether that be from Earth, Venus, or Mars.

Why do some aliens exhibit angelic characteristics?

If you read some ancient texts, you can find similarities between angels and our modern perspective on aliens. But aliens, or extraterrestrials, from a magical point of view, are not all physical beings. Most of them lived in higher densities, so they would appear to us physical humans as something angelic or even godlike. Even though they are of higher density, this does not automatically mean that they are benevolent or positively oriented. Some of these high dimensional extraterrestrials, which have a very beautiful appearance and aura, are negatively oriented, or, in our closest term, they would seem to be fallen angels. Of course, such fallen aliens are destructive, and their calling is conquest, which is, to enslave those who are different from them. According to Ra, such malevolent beings are from the Orion Group, and they have influenced human history to offer their service. That’s why we can see in some ancient spiritual texts that the gods are somewhat in conflict with each other or with humanity. This is not to say that all gods from religions and myths are aliens; rather, some of them are from the Orion Group, others are from the Confederation, and others are local beings on Earth, mostly in higher astral planes. That’s why some so-called angels or gods in some ancient spiritual texts appeared to be aliens. Take note that both aliens and angels have the ability to change their forms, so I understand that an untrained person has difficulty distinguishing between the two entities.

What about demons? Are they aliens?

Like I mentioned before, aliens have free will like human beings, and therefore they can be positive or negatively oriented. Negative aliens from the astral plane of a different planetary sphere or solar system can certainly look like demons. However, I also believe that demons and aliens are different from each other. I perceive that demons, like the planetary angels, can also be found in different planetary spheres of our cosmic hierarchy, which means we can meet a demon from the Earth sphere, Moon sphere, Mercury sphere, and so forth. They also have different ranks and abilities, just like the angels. Indeed, both demons and negative aliens are destructive and malevolent. In the spiritual realm, we look based on our true energy, that’s why malevolent beings look otherworldly, alien, or weird, while angelic beings look beautiful, peaceful, or godlike. However, since they are spiritual beings, they still have the ability to change their forms, and it can be quite difficult for an untrained person to distinguish an actual angel from a trickster entity pretending to be an angel.

In my personal experience, I rely on observing the outer and inner auras of entities and their actions to discern their nature. This allows me to identify whether an entity is positive or negative. For a trained magician, such discernment becomes considerably easier.

In summary, I believe that angels, demons, and aliens are distinct entities, although they may share certain similarities that can be difficult to discern. Higher-dimensional aliens, whether positively or negatively oriented, often appear angelic to human beings. On the other hand, certain negative aliens, particularly those residing within the fourth density, or astral plane, may resemble demons. Angels and demons can be found within each planetary sphere of our cosmic hierarchy. Therefore, not all angels or demons should be considered aliens, nor should all pagan gods be regarded as aliens. Please take note that this perspective is solely my own, which I wish to share.

I know other magicians who have encountered all of these entities. Based on their experiences, they do not consider angels or demons to be aliens, and they do not consider aliens to be gods, angels, or demons.

[luxudus]

The Neo-Anthropocene: Earth and the Exodus

2 ships of different walks of life pass by each other in front of earth. The ship on the left is a Trade ship representing the Solar Federation, They're transporting cargo to the capital planet in the Alpha Centauri system. The other ship carries a team of diplomats representing a major faction I have yet to reveal.

Earth, once the beating heart of mankind, is now devoid of any evidence that we even called this planet home. However the reason why is a lot less grim than it may seem.

Despite the near-utopian human society is nowadays, the United Federations of Mankind they did not start peacefully. In fact it was founded in response to mass unemployment, famine, poverty, ecological collapse, and in direct retaliation to many of the former global powers descending into fascism. They would have to find a way to save everyone and the environment at the same time without using genocide as many of these rival nations suggested. The newly formed council that would evolve into the more democratic UFM would eventually devise a mass exodus of Earth's population.

This exodus was an overwhelming success as Earth's population went from 11 billion to a staggeringly small 10 million. The now offworld humans were moved to climate controlled domes that mimick earth's environment found across the other inner planets and many orbital stations.

Humans may have succeeded in saving themselves, But earth wouldn't be as fortunate. By the time the exodus was completed, the temperature rose enough to melt the ice away. Many large rivers transformed into seas, Antarctica would shrink into a massive archipelago. Many of the world's deserts expanded and the rainforests shrunk. The weather became far less predictable. And many more species teetered on extinction.

It will take a long time for earth to heal, even in the 3160's our homeplanet remains minimally inhabited. The only people allowed here are research teams and groups of celebrates commemorating the founding of the UFM. Arrays of climate controlling satellites once used to terraform the landscaped of barren exoplanets are now used to slowly heal earth's environment. Teams of geneticists track down the DNA of every extinct species so they can one day bring them back from the dead, and reintroduce them to their former ranges.

It will take a long time before earth is fully healed, but when it does, we shall return to properly take care of it this time.

[danpuff-ao3]

...

HOW ON EARTH DID I WRITE A WHOLE ASTROLOGY READING FOR HARRY FRIGGIN' POTTER AND I MISSED THE GRAND CROSS IN HIS DANG CHART???? WHAT IN THE UNHOLY HELL???? FRIGGIN' MUTABLE GRAND CROSS OH MY GOD. HELLO SOURCE OF EXTREME TENSION. HELLO. I MISSED YOU SOMEHOW. IN THE MESS THAT IS THIS BOY'S LIFE.

Ahem.

So. Apologies for screaming. It was that or putting my head through a wall. But anyway. So...do you see the giant red square in the below image?

THAT is a Grand Cross. And Grand Crosses are...yikes.

Grand Crosses are made up of 2 oppositions and 4 squares. So...basically it's entirely made up of very tense aspects. (You can skip to the section titled "Getting to the Point" to bypass a bunch of technical nonsense.)

Technical Mumbo Jumbo

Oppositions are signs that are in the same polarity, the same modality, but different elements. So...the fixed earth sign and the fixed water sign are in opposition, the cardinal fire sign and the cardinal air sign are in opposition, and so on. On the circle they're opposite each other. You can think of oppositions as being either a tug of war or a balancing act. There is a lot of good potential, yes, but generally it's potential reached after a lot of work. I like to think of oppositions as being too similar and too different at once. Therein likes the tension.

Squares are signs that are ninety degrees apart. Opposite polarities, but the same modality. The mutable air and fire signs will square the mutable water and earth signs, and so on. Generally, you will see the signs in the same polarity having more chemistry and compatibility (i.e. fire & air, earth & water), so it's a somewhat different struggle from an opposition. Prone to conflict, squares.

The Placements

In Harry's chart we see...a lot going on.

Saturn: Virgo at 24 degrees and (rounded up to) 1 minute

Venus: Gemini at 25 degrees and 36 minutes

Moon: Pisces at 29 degrees and 34 minutes

Neptune: Sagittarius at 20 degrees and 9 minutes

I mention the minutes because Harry nearly had a Grand Trine, too, and it took me too long to check the minutes and seconds haha. I should have considering if there was a Grand Trine, it would be barely. Similarly to how the Moon and Neptune are pushing on that 10 degree orb.

The Aspects

Virgo Saturn opposition Pisces Moon (5 degrees out)

Gemini Venus opposition Sagittarius Neptune (5 degrees out)

Virgo Saturn square Gemini Venus (1 degree out)

Virgo Saturn square Sagittarius Neptune (4 degrees out)

Pisces Moon square Gemini Venus (4 degrees out)

Pisces Moon square Sagittarius Neptune (9 degrees out.)

Mutable Signs

All are in the mutable modality. Mutable signs are changeable, malleable, adaptable, flexible. The mutable signs mark the end of a season, and thus: change. Gemini marks the end of spring, Virgo marks the end of summer, Sagittarius marks the end of fall, and Pisces marks the end of winter.

Getting to the Point

Basically...our boy has...challenges.

Face, meet palm.

There are a lot of areas of stress and tension. Grand Crosses are grand challenges for the native to overcome. They can build strong characters, but great character doesn't come without a price.

Looking at the planets involved, we see great sources of stress in his emotions and subconscious (moon), his relationships and interests (Venus), feelings of responsibility and morality (Saturn), and his ideals and dreams (Neptune.)

Think about it. Harry has a great destiny! He has a responsibility to the world (Saturn), and to stand by his principles (Saturn), but it isn't his great dream to play hero (Neptune.) In fact, the Sagittarius Neptune gives a sense of wanting to roam and be free, but he is shackled to his fate.

Then look to the moon and Venus. Difficulty between his emotional needs and his relational needs. Specifically there is a great inner need for love and affection. There is a great emotional and comfort value in being loved. Which is a big ouch on a good day but a bigger ouch when you can see why this might be. He grew up without any love or affection at all. (I will not elaborate because my eyes are already watering.) There is a tendency to jump too quickly into making connections. Which, think about it...while Ron ended up being a great friend, they were joined at the hip pretty much from the get go.

Moon and Neptune squaring is a sense of getting lost in dreams. ("It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.") Pinning too much of an emotional stake on hopes and beliefs. A strong emotional connection to one's ideals. This can indicate unrealistic goals, dreams that stay out of reach, being disenchanted by reality. I can imagine Harry dealt with a lot of this quite young and probably found himself crashing back to earth time and again by those relentless, merciless Dursleys. But there is a very strong, powerful sense of idealism here, not only for the aspects, but the sign placements. Sagittarius is all about philosophy, and Pisces is all about higher power and spirituality. Both are very idealistic signs. Sagittarius searches for wisdom in experience and connection and adventure. Pisces has a deep inner wisdom born of intuition and empathy, and a sense of what is beyond. (Pisces as the oldest sign of the zodiac, closest to the next life, and connect that to Harry as Master of Death.)

Saturn and Venus?? Yikes. This indicates an issue in giving and/or receiving love. (I'm not crying, you're crying.) Blockages in relationships. A need to learn to love oneself and find self worth before getting involved with others, lest they end up in very miserable relationships. This can indicate awkwardness in social scenarios, and a great fear of rejection. There can be a sense of needing to "earn" love and affection. This can also look quite serious, and an inability to let loose and have fun. For Harry, this can indicate earlier life, when he wasn't really allowed to be happy or have fun. Then, later on, while there is probably more room for pleasure at Hogwarts, this is sort of hindered by his sense of duty when it comes to the war.

Moon opposition Saturn...actually, let's do that one last.

Venus opposition Neptune can indicate romantic delusions. A very romantic nature, in love with being in love, a sort of blurry sense of love. Might have imbalanced expectations of relationships; standards too high or too low. Back to that issue of big ideals and disenchantment. This sort of feeds into an ongoing headcanon I have of Harry and how he goes towards the life he thinks he should have and doesn't really question it. And how he might try to replicate the life his parents missed out on, without really fully understanding what it is he actually wants and needs. Think of his awkward "crush" on Cho, and then Ginny (the Lily Replacement.) The Epilogue is more or less what Harry thinks he should aim for, where he and Ginny become James and Lily and live that picture perfect, white picket fence, happily ever after. But his Venus is in Gemini; Gemini is too playful and charming and variable by nature. Harry realistically needs more of a challenge and more intrigue in his romantic life.

Now let's look at the Moon and Saturn. I realized I had to save them for last because it occurred to me...The Moon represents the Mother, and Saturn represents the Father. Moon opposition Saturn.

This aspect indicates fear and rigidity. Trust issues. Difficulty in receiving care from others. You know...which might happen when one was never properly nurtured in their formative years. This can indicate having had "conditions" placed on love (or even basic care) growing up, and how that colors their perception of love. There is a sense of growing up too quickly. And a sense of there being a very fragile inner soul that others don't see for the outer appearance of independence and capability. Might even be a full suppression of those emotional needs. So even Harry might not see just how fragile he really is inside.

Then you pit this very critical, perfectionistic (Virgo) sense of duty and morality (Saturn) against a very whimsical, romantic (Pisces) sense of emotions and comfort (moon.) That is a very hard jab to a very soft place. And that rigid, disciplined Saturn forms the outer shell around that gooey, wounded Moon.

I find this most interesting with the Mother/Father connection. Oppositions are a very challenging, "hard" aspect and often imply an imbalance. And there is much one can learn and grow from with this opposition, however, it's especially hard to find appreciation in this one, when I can't ignore the connection it must have to Lily and James.

Moon as Mother as Lily. Saturn as Father as James. Parents dead, family torn apart, and their loss landed him in the Dursleys' dubious care. And it is their neglect and downright abuse behind that fierce independence, those emotional wounds, that inability to let others care for him. (He has to do it all alone, it's all on him it's his responsibility, etc.)

Then they're all in mutable signs, and mutable signs represent change. Change from one season into the next. One era of life into the next. Rolling with life's punches.

Gemini is playful, charming, curious, variable. Virgo is adaptable, skilled, practical, resourceful. Sagittarius values freedom and adventure and wisdom. Pisces is whimsical and dreamy and looking beyond, into the next life. There is a restless sense to mutable signs, and resourcefulness. Virgo's need to find security through purpose and perfection. Pisces' fear of vulnerability leads to escapism. Sagittarius' yearning to learn and grow by stretching its wings. Gemini's need to try new things and meet new people and need for stimulation.

There is a sense in the mutable Grand Cross that life has beaten one down and put them through the ringer again and again, until the native was molded into someone who can tackle any and every problem. But what happens when there is no challenge left? Restlessness, remember?

And what happens to Harry when the war is won? When there are no more battles to fight?

Anyway yeah hello welcome to my Big Tender Feelings about Harry James Potter, my precious baby angel.

You can read more about Harry's astrology here. And if you're so inclined you can support my nonsense on Ko-fi.

[fractured-legacies]

Chapter 13: Contact

Prologue | Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

Chapter 13: Contact

In the entire system, we have found two space-based installations which are still operational—the two solar mirror arrays at the inner and outer primary-planet orbital equilibrium points. These are still functional and assisting with maintaining the planetary climate. However, attempts to contact and dock with each of the arrays resulted in hostile reactions, forcing us to retreat before we were harmed by the focused sunlight. Why these installations reacted in such a manner, we again have no idea, and we do not have the resources to attempt a forced boarding—nor do we wish to attempt to do so, given how the mirror arrays are integral for the continued habitability of the planet.

~o0O0o~

Raavi ava Laargan

The Lynx slid to a halt, despite the wind howling at our backs.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get any further,” I said, and slammed one hand into the other. “Damn it!”

“We’re still miles from the pass,” Yufemya said, the rustling of the map audible as she consulted it.

“I know!” I said, leaning back in frustration. “The slope is too steep, that’s the problem.”

“Can we try pushing the Lynx? Get out, open the sails a bit, and push?” Stylio suggested.

“We could, but, well…” I waved up the side of the mountain. “Look.” Visible in the glow of the Night-Light, the mountainside was steep. Not as sheer as some of the others we could see, but the way to the pass was still too steep for the Lynx.

Oksyna stood and closed her eyes. Spreading her hands out, she motioned in front of the Lynx. I watched, fascinated despite my frustration, as the snow in front of us started to compact down. It didn’t turn to ice, but it was definitely closer to older snow than fresh.

The Lynx moved forward a few yards, and sort of rocked back and forth on the compacted surface.

Yufemya and Zoy jumped out and started trying to push as Oksyna continued to crunch down the snow, and then Stylio and I hopped out to join them as well.

It wasn’t as heavy as carrying the Lynx up and down canal locks, but our progress was still slow, even with the wind at our backs and Lady Fia manning the sails, and Oksyna packing down the snow as best she could. I could feel the difference down by my boots—the light, windblown snow had packed down into something denser, like the snowflakes had fallen apart, which was probably what happened. I wondered how well that was recharging her reservoir of entropy. I did have to say this much—having a necromancer along made getting logs lit for the fire nice and easy. I would say ‘almost too easy’ except that it was cold enough that I was glad not to have to mess about with kindling and tinder.

We were maybe fifty or sixty yards along from where we’d stopped when I heard Yufemya gasp.

I turned, and saw about thirty or forty revenants standing behind us, down the slope, weapons in hand.

“Oksyna…” I said, staring. But I couldn’t leave the Lynx, or it would start to slide down towards them.

“On it!” she shouted, and raised her hands, holding a small gem in her left hand. Black and purple light started to stream out of her right hand in a nimbus, forming what looked like runes in the air as she moved her fingertips above the gemstone.

The revenants started walking forward, and then one of them held out a spear in front of the others, making them halt.

They started speaking among themselves, and I was eyeing the weapons they held. “Oksyna…”

#

Oksyna Mykyetyav

“Raavi, let me work,” Oksyna said, trying not to snap as she focused. With one finger extended, she drew the runes above the stone, mindful of her limited supply of Entropy. This was going to be delicate, unless she wanted to do something drastic to refuel. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much around unless she wanted to kill some trees.

Finished with the first motion, she gently lobbed the gemstone across the slope to the oathwalkers. Awkwardly, it hit the snow halfway down the slope and vanished with a plop. If not for the gentle glow, it would have been lost.

Now came the ticklish part…

One of the oathwalkers—the one with the spear—spoke to the others and, with a visible sigh, another one of them slogged up the slope and retrieved the tiny gem.

“What’s going on?” Raavi asked as they all watched the oathwalker carry the gem back to its companions.

“I’m negotiating,” Oksyna said. “While I could break their contracts with sheer brute force, it would require more power than I have to spare right now. So I’m hoping for something more voluntary.” She’d tried this before back with that other group, and they’d responded fairly well, but the size of that group had been taxing. And this one was even larger.

So she’d started with a simple proposal for a binding promise that neither her side nor theirs would begin a conflict, and hoped that they weren’t under direct strictures or orders to attack. The fact that they hadn’t as soon as they’d seen the Lynx was a good sign…

The oathwalkers clustered around the gem, and she could see the runes floating in air over it. After a brief moment, the leader touched the gem, accepting its provisos, and then passed it around.

She relaxed. “Okay, they’re bound not to attack, but if any of us starts anything, we’re in trouble.”

“Define ‘trouble’?” Zoy asked.

“I’m oathbound to whack whoever starts anything. So don’t.”

“Got it. Put the weapons down, people,” Fia said. “Oksyna, you’re the expert. What do you need?”

A nice midden pile or a compost heap, or maybe the pile of rejects behind a pottery kiln would be nice. Something I can just reduce down to crumbled chunks of dust without any guilt. Perhaps some paintings someone’s embarrassed by? That hunter squad’s outfits were barely enough. Rather than voice that, she said instead, “For the moment, space to let me work.”

“You got it.”

“And keep the Lynx from sliding into them,” she said, hopping down and landing nearly knee-deep in the snow. Joy.

Pulling herself higher up into the snow, she started slogging over to the group of oathwalkers.

“Oksyna?” She turned back to see Raavi looking at her worriedly. “Be careful.”

She smiled, feeling a moment of warmth despite the frigid chill around them. “I will be.”

Turning back to the oathwalkers, she trudged towards them. Thankfully, under the direction of their leader—and judging by the fancier clothing that one wore, they were the leader—they were stacking their weapons off to the side.

Giving thanks to the Silent and the Quiet that they were reasonable, Oksyna stopped several paces away, and held out her hand.

The leader walked towards her and placed the gem, now exhausted, into her palm.

Now that they were face to face, Oksyna gave the oathwalker an examining look. Old—at least a few hundred years old—and dressed in finely woven and dyed woolens in the form of a cloak over a poncho. A leather bandolier crossed their chest under the cloak, with leather pouches sewn to it.

She bowed politely. “Do you understand me?” This would be ticklish at best, but if all she could do was propose motions blindly, she’d exhaust herself quickly.

The leader frowned—the aged skin surprisingly supple, they apparently took good care of themselves—and motioned back to their group, barking an order.

Another oathwalker stepped forward, dressed in the same cloak-and-poncho woolens, but the weave was less fine and less dyed. Rank hath its privileges even in death, as usual.

It spoke. “What want you, deathspeaker?”

Oksyna relaxed a hair. All right. She could do this. “To find out why you are attacking this kingdom suddenly. My leader,” she motioned back to where Fia and the others stood, “wishes to parley with your king on behalf of hers.”

The oathwalker nodded and spoke to the leader. The two of them conversed for a moment before the translator looked back to Oksyna. “Speak much cannot we. What can do you?”

“I can give you a temporary respite from your oaths. Say, a hundred hours, maybe a hundred-fifty,” she said, judging how much of a reserve she had and the number of oathwalkers. “Enough to give you time to act and explain. It is good that you speak my tongue, or I would have to propose these blindly.”

Again the translator turned to the leader and spoke. Resisting the urge to pull up the wording of their oaths and start running through it to see if she could spot any loopholes, Oksyna fidgeted as they spoke back and forth.

The translator was waving their arms while the leader had theirs crossed, eyes narrowed, and said something curt that agitated the translator more.

Whatever their tongue was, it wasn’t one that she recognized—not that it meant that much. Both her own homeland and the Kalltii kingdoms had been under the thumb of the Dormelion Empire for long enough to leave its stamp on their languages, so coming here had mostly been a matter of learning the differences for the local dialect. But the Gehtun had never been conquered by the Dormelion.

Who were you, she wondered as she looked at the two oathwalkers, when you were alive? Warrior? Scholar? Artist?

She’d spent half of her life as a necromancer. She hadn’t known anything else. So she had to wonder, what would it be like to live a full life and choose to be an oathwalker at the end of it?

The translator hung their head and scoffed before turning back to her. “Complicated things are. Swear you will that our king no harm mean?”

“I can put that in, yes, but I know that I mean him no harm,” she said. “I’m neutral and just want the fighting to stop.”

The translator frowned and spoke again to the leader.

As they spoke, Oksyna took the gem and started inscribing more runes with it. Carefully, delicately.

Once she was done, she turned around. “Fia! Come down here please!” She looked towards the pair of oathwalkers. “The leader of this group will swear that we will give no harm to yours.”

Fia arrived a moment later and bowed politely. “Negotiations going all right? Raavi’s about ready to burst between worry and curiosity. I have him checking over the Lynx to distract him.”

Oksyna smiled a bit, hiding it behind her hand. “Of course he is. And yes, we seem to be doing all right.” She nodded towards the runes. “This is a provisional contract for the next hundred hours that these oathwalkers will be temporarily suspended from their oath and bound to help us—specifically guiding us to their king—and neither side can harm the other. At the end of it, their existing oaths resume.”

Fia nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She looked towards the oathwalkers. “What do you say?”

The leader frowned again and spoke, and then the translator, their eyes narrowed, said, “What catch?”

“No catch. But if you were that interested in attacking us, you would have already. So I’m here to help.”

The two of them spoke again, and as they did so, Fia leaned in. “I wonder what the issue is?”

“Could be anything. Showing weakness, some loophole or conflict in their oath, internal political crap…”

Before Fia could respond, the oathwalker leader barked something to the rest of their group, who marched up behind them.

“Is that good or bad?”

“We’ll find out. We’re still under a truce, though.”

The leader extended a hand and, in painfully mangled but recognizable words, forced out, “We accept.”

Fia reached out and shook without hesitation—which was impressive from Oksyna’s perspective. Most people didn’t like shaking the hands of revenants, or touching them at all. And with that, Oksyna pushed out what remained of her Entropy, binding the contract she had proposed; it cost a lot, especially the part where she suspended their existing contract’s wording, but it was worth it. With them in the binding, she wouldn’t have to sustain it herself.

“All right. So… first off.” Fia glanced up the slope. “Can you help us get over the pass?”

#

Raavi ava Laargan

I gasped for breath and leaned against the rock wall of the pass; at least the snow here was thin, but the rocks underneath were loose and liked to shift.

“Yeah. The air is so thin up here,” Lady Fia said, rubbing her head.

“Oh! I bet that’s part of the reason why the Lynx couldn’t get up the slope!” I said. “Thinner air! It makes sense!”

Zoy’s voice came from behind me. “Raavi, your brain is an interesting place. You’re barely able to breathe, and what do you think of? Puzzles.”

I turned. “Is that bad?”

She shook her head. “No. Just interesting. Come on.” She walked on and I followed after.

The oathwalkers had helped in the most direct fashion possible—we’d broken down the Lynx for portage, and over a dozen of them had hoisted it on their shoulders, while the rest of us carried the supplies, tent, skates and runners. The pass was miles long between two of the mountain peaks; we’d passed the border fort a while earlier. It had been gutted by fire, and abandoned.

But now these oathwalkers were helping us. According to Oksyna, at least. And I trusted her.

A flicker of light came from up ahead. Rounding the bend, my back aching from the pack I was carrying, along with all of my tools, I blinked as I saw the campsite. Several of the oathwalkers were busy raising the tent, and a few others were building up a fire. Where they’d gotten the logs, I had no idea, but the clean woodsmoke was nice. Another group was examining the Lynx where they’d set her down.

My exhaustion forgotten, I hurried over to see what they were doing.

Four of them were clustered around one of the brackets I’d made to hold the skates and runners in place, pointing and exclaiming. One of them held one of the runners, and was latching it in and taking it out before doing it again.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

The one holding the runner turned and held it up before speaking in its language. I tried not to look too closely at the gray-purple skin it had, stretched tightly over its skull. It motioned towards the runner and asked a question. At least… I thought it asked a question.

“I don’t understand you.”

It pointed towards my belt and spoke again.

“Huh?”

It shook its head, put the runner down in the thin snow, reached over, and pulled my small hammer off of my belt.

“Hey!”

Crouching down, it motioned for me to follow, and I did so, resisting the urge to snatch the hammer back.

Gently, it took the hammer and tapped a loose pin back into place, and then handed the hammer back. I took it on reflex, and then it pointed to the pliers that were several places over on my belt.

Staring, I handed those over.

Using them, the oathwalker delicately bent the pin back into place before handing the tool back.

I picked up the runner and carried it over to the Lynx. Slotting it back into the bracket, I realized that the pin had worked itself loose—probably from all of the portages we’d been doing—and would have fallen out soon.

I turned and looked back at the oathwalker, who was smiling in a satisfied way at their work. “You aren’t a warrior at all, are you? You’re a craftsman!”

#

“But why are they sending craftsmen and weavers after us!?” I demanded. We were sitting around the fire that the oathwalkers had helped construct, a cup of soup in my hands.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” Oksyna said, frowning as she sipped at her own soup and then giving it an appreciative look. “Also, add cooks to that list. This is good.”

“I guess if you’re working at something for a few human lifetimes, you pick up a few things,” Zoy said dryly before taking a sip of her own cup. “And damn, seconded. Can we keep that one?”

“No!” Oksyna said. “They’re not mine to give away!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Zoy said before turning to Yufemya. “So what’s your guess?”

“On?” Yufemya replied, sipping at her own cup.

“Why they’re sending so many worker-types after the kingdom instead of, you know, fighters?”

Yufemya frowned and took another sip. “I don’t want to guess. I feel like that would run the risk of having us start assuming.”

Zoy cocked her head and then shook it. “All right. You know, you can just say ‘I don’t know.’”

“‘I don’t know’,” Yufemya parroted, mimicking Zoy’s tones perfectly.

“Huh. I don’t believe you. You’ve got to have some idea!”

Yufemya frowned as I looked around, and I said, “Well, they’re not saying anything beyond that we’ve got to talk to their king. So we’re going to have to do that.” I looked at Oksyna. “Can you tell us anything? I know that you can’t talk about some things, but can you at least tell us how oathwalkers work?”

She frowned and nodded. “Yes. That I can do. In generalities.”

“I’ll take it,” I said, and the others nodded.

“Yeah, anything solid right now will help,” Fia said.

Oksyna rubbed at her cheekbones with her thumb and forefinger. “Give me a moment to get everything in order up here.”

“Of course,” I said, and took a swallow from my cup before looking around again. The oathwalkers were busy. A group of them were cleaning their tools and weapons, another group were darning and repairing their clothes, and another group were, to my continued surprise, spinning thread from wads of fiber that they had been carrying around in bags. Those last ones were using old-style spindles and distaffs, but that didn’t stop them from producing thread so fine that it left me in awe at their skill. As Zoy had commented, I guessed that if you worked at something for a few lifetimes, you got good at it.

“All right,” Oksyna said. “So, Raavi.”

“Yes?”

“I need to use you to help me here. Nothing permanent, I promise.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “All right…”

She grinned and shuffled next to me. “Good. Do I have your permission to touch you?”

“Sure…?”

She punched me in the arm.

“Ow!” I put my hand over the spot and looked at her, more hurt at the shock and surprise than at the pain. “What was that for!?”

“You said that I had permission to touch you!” she said, and there was a smile on her face that confused me.

“A punch is not a touch!”

“Says who?”

“Uh, most people?”

“Ah, but who?” Her smile went away and her expression turned serious. “And that’s the basis of what I do.”

“What, punch people?”

She reached over and gently put her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, but you’ll see my point in a moment.”

Giving her a suspicious look, I nodded. “I’m listening.”

“So you and I disagree—for the sake of argument—on whether a touch equals a punch or just a touch like this.” She very slightly squeezed my arm.

“I’d say so! But what does that have to do with oathwalkers?”

“Because being an oathwalker—or any other form of spirit that continues on after they’ve died—is because they’ve made a promise, a contract, an oath. And such things depend on understanding the language.” She looked around the circle. “And that’s what I and my fellow necromancers do. We edit, amend, interpret, and adjudicate the oaths and contracts of the dead.”

“On whose authority?” I asked, fascinated.

“I can’t answer that,” she said. “I’m not allowed to answer that.”

That puzzled me for a moment, and then it clicked. “Oh! Because you have to make a contract with them yourself? And not revealing the details about it is part of that?”

She relaxed a little and nodded. “Yes. And I can’t say more than that, or I have to pay penalties.”

“What form do those penalties take?”

“Entropy… or Breath. And yes, before you ask, I can die that way.”

I winced.

“I also can’t kill anyone with my Entropy directly, outside of immediate self-defense or a few other specific circumstances,” she said. “I know that other necromancers have abused that in the past, and either they’ve got looser or vaguer contracts than I’ve got or they were playing with fire.” She shrugged. “Of course, making someone’s clothes disintegrate when it’s this cold out is fair game.”

“Ouch,” I said with a wince. I didn’t know exactly how cold it was, but I knew that someone without shelter or clothing would be dead in minutes from exposure. “Have you done that?”

“Once. To the leader of a group of bandits. The others ran away when they realized that the little girl they were threatening could kill them all.” She shook her head. “But that’s beside the main point. So for a ‘normal’ revenant, they swear to do something with their dying Breath.”

“Like see their daughter get married,” I said.

“Exactly. Or get vengeance on the ones who killed them… or wronged them, which often turns messy. But let’s take your example,” she said. “Let’s say that revenant, when their daughter’s wedding date is set, realizes that they’ll die right after the ceremony. Which would put a damper on it, to say the least. So someone like me could amend their oath to give them a few more days afterwards… or possibly amend it entirely.” She shrugged. “That’s how Nightshade and others like her managed to get their armies of revenants together, by amending their oaths to swear loyalty to her, and enough of them were scared of dying forever that they accepted.”

“Which is why I asked if she was ‘recruiting’,” Lady Fia asked. “Of course, most of Nightshade’s revenants still went insane after just a decade or two.”

Oksyna nodded. “Where oathwalkers differ from your standard revenant is that they have a formalized contract, inscribed on… well, it’s usually a gem or sheet metal, to which they sign their names before they die. The structure of the contract helps keep their minds intact.”

Blinking, I put that together with what I knew of oathwalkers. “So how hard is it to make those contracts?”

“And that’s something I can’t share. Suffice it to say that I can’t make one, and it took a lot of power for me just to temporarily amend their terms with it.”

As I considered that, Stylio commented, “But as I understand it, these oathwalkers are bound by the terms of their formal contract?”

“Exactly.”

“So what could have made them suddenly start attacking Westernfellsen?”

“That,” Oksyna said firmly, “is what I want to find out.”

#

Emerging from the pass, the first thing I saw was… nothing.

It took a moment for things to resolve themselves into a vast open plain of snow underneath a black, cloud-speckled sky, the Night-Light’s glow illuminating the landscape. There were no trees, no hills that I could see beyond the mountains we had just emerged from, no… nothing.

It was disorienting—to me, at least. The oathwalkers helped us reassemble the Lynx from portage, and loaded everything in. After looking for a bit, I saw that the tips of plants were sticking up through the top of the snow, and there were occasional rocks emerging as well, and there were long divots that looked like paths.

While I’d been looking around, the oathwalkers had produced snowshoes. From where, I hadn’t seen, but they strapped themselves in with an air of long-practice and started helping haul the Lynx up to speed.

“Do we want to start just going?” I asked.

“We don’t know where to go, and we don’t have room on the Lynx for any of them,” Stylio pointed out.

“Right,” I said, frowning and looked over the group of them just hauling the Lynx along like they were dogs pulling a sled. “Maybe we should just extend out the sail a little, just to help?”

“And with one good gust it will run them over. And then we’re on default for Oksyna’s parley.” Stylio patted me on the shoulder. “I know that you want to hurry as much as possible, and I think it’s good, but we need to go at their pace for the moment.”

I nodded, slumping a little, and fell into step with them. For the first hour, it was difficult; the oathwalkers lent us snowshoes, but walking in them was tiring, especially as I wasn’t used to it, and my lungs reminded me that the air was thinner at this altitude.

I found Oksyna walking alongside me; she seemed to be unbothered by the exertion.

“So…” she began to say.

“So?” I echoed, after she trailed off.

“So I was wondering where the idea for the Lynx came from. You mentioned back in the city that it was from something you read?”

“Oh, yeah! I was reading this travelogue on the Slaekkaruune tribes who live down at the equator, and their ice-fishing techniques on the pack ice. They have these leather and wood sailed-canoes that can travel both in water and across ice that use skates carved from whalebone. They use them to travel across the ice to hunt and trade and migrate. Apparently they move across the equator north to south depending on the season, so they basically go from summer to autumn to summer all the time.”

She raised a hand. “Wait a moment. Back up. What do you mean? I’m from Endanchoria, and I know that there’s ice south of there in the winter, and some of it never melts even in the summer. But what do you mean ‘summer to autumn to summer’?”

“When it’s summer here in the north, there’s winter in the southern half of the world, and vice versa,” I said. “They stay on the icy area around the equator. The sun is only overhead for a few days around the Equal Nights in Spring and Autumn, so they basically follow it back and forth; they spent half of the year in twilight and the other half with a day and night like the rest of us.”

She cocked her head. “But… doesn’t the ice melt in summer?”

“No, it’s all about the angle of the sun. Sunlight is coming in so steep at the equator during the summer that it gives barely more light than the Night-Light. Certainly not enough to melt the ice.” I made a fist and held it up so that it was lit by the Night-Light. “Our world is tilted hard on its side. We don’t know why. None of the other planets we’ve studied through our telescopes are tilted like this. If I remember right, it’s something around eighty degrees away from ‘upright’, while all of the other planets around the sun are within ten or so degrees of upright, like a top that’s still spinning at full speed.”

“You mean top speed?” she asked, and I laughed.

“I was resisting making that joke!”

“Good! So I got to make it instead!” She chuckled. “So continue.”

“So since we have such a high tilt, the sun moves back and forth, lighting one half of the planet at a time for each season. On the other planets, they have a day-night pattern all year like we have in Spring and Autumn.”

“That’s so weird to think about,” she said. “How would they tell the seasons apart? When do they sleep?”

“At night, presumably?”

“Huh. So you were explaining about the ice?”

“Yeah, so during the summer, there’s a band around the equator that gets just a little light every rotation, but not enough to melt the ice. So the Slaekkaeruune live there, moving back and forth across the equator in their ice-boats to follow the sun. So when the summer ends in their current hemisphere, becoming autumn, they move to the other one.”

“Amazing. And that’s where you got the idea for the Lynx?”

“Yup! I made my skates out of steel rather than bone, of course, but the idea is the same.”

She smiled at me and we chatted a bit more—and then I saw light coming from nearby, down in what looked like a ravine or valley.

“What’s that?” I moved away from the group a bit towards the light.

“Raavi, come back here!” Stylio called, and I slowed to a halt, but not before getting a look down into the valley. “Raavi!?”

I heard her walk up behind me. “Raavi, what is… it…”

She came to a halt next to me and looked down as well.

Below, down in the valley, there was a shrine. More than a shrine—a temple. Large stones, carved with runes, seemed to glow under the lights from torches and bonfires, the sources of the light that had drawn my attention.

Around them, I could see oathwalkers. Hundreds of them.

And they were tending to the dead.

Large stone tables lay within the perimeter of the outer circle of stones, and on them, the oathwalkers were cleaning the bodies, using pitchers of water—from melted snow, I suspected—and wrapping them in shrouds with their hands folded across their chests and blindfolds around their eyes. One group—I squinted—was ladling small spoonfuls of liquid from steaming pitchers into the mouths of the dead. Still more were carrying the wrapped, shrouded bodies into a passage that cut into the side of the valley.

“Your ways we know not,” said the voice of the translator, and I turned to see it standing there. “But our best we do.”

I glanced back down below and then pointed down, even as I looked back to him. “Wait, those are my people?”

“Yes. Those by ours killed. We show what respect we can.” It turned back to the Lynx before saying quietly, “Not much it is, know I. Sorry I am.”

I looked back and forth between the piles of the dead and the translator. “Why? Why have you done this?”

“Explain the king will. Me I cannot.”

“Damn you!” I spat.

“Already I am.”

That made me pause, and I looked back down at the bodies. Why?

I felt Stylio’s hand on my arm. “Come on, Raavi. Let’s go. We can get answers.”

Scowling, I nodded. “Yes, we will.”

<<<<>>>>

Prologue | Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

[bluegekk0]

🦀

i was going to take this one literally and talk about fpk digging for crabs at the beach, or something of that sort. but then i remembered the "why does everything evolve into crabs" question and i felt inspired to talk about some worldbuilding. veeery loosely based on the emoji, so sorry if this isn't what you were hoping for haha

so i've mentioned before that wyrms in the au aren't god-like creatures and instead are the closest thing this universe had to dinosaurs. their ancestors were small, but they evolved to grow into massive sizes and slowly took over the planet. of all the gigantic species that once roamed the world, wyrms were the last, all thanks to their strange ability to stop aging. the lack of sufficient food drove them to intense intraspecies competition and cannibalism, and so they eventually all died out (with the exception of fpk, who found a way to adapt)

so if wyrms and other giant creatures were the dinosaurs, then i guess that makes the lesser creatures the mammal equivalents here. they outlived their ancient contemporaries and became the dominant group, as they evolved into all the different species that can be found today. the whole group is most commonly referred to as bugs, but many of them do not resemble our world's insects at all. funnily enough, many would likely be classified under vertebrate thanks to the presence of skeletal structures that allow them to reach larger sizes and bipedal body plan. not to mention, the bleed red in the au, so their inner systems are also different to those of insects

but where do the gods come into this? they are present after all. the way i imagine them in the au, their most accurate title would be "guardians". with some exceptions, like the radiance and unn, they are not creators of life forms. instead, they guide the mortals, leaving clues in form of lore tablets, and they each have their own domain they are responsible for watching over (like dreams for the radiance, and nightmares for grimm). as for where they came from, i'm not quite sure. perhaps the first god was a strange mutation, or an extraterrestrial being. i referred to grimm and wl as the youngest generation of gods, so perhaps they're like greek gods in this area, as if, they have children that then join the pantheon of gods. though i imagine the dream realm itself to be a bit more like asgard from norse mythology - it's a realm for all the gods to reside in, and each of them has their own "hall" - this case, their individual sub-realms. for example, grimm's nightmare realm was one of them, it was once part of the dream realm, but was separated from it following his banishment - he can only enter the nightmare realm and is unable to visit the shared dream realm

i'm still brainstorming how much that impacts their influence in the regions they haven't originated from. for example, i think grimm and the radiance came from the territory that is now hallownest and the neighboring regions, and i guess that would mean they hold the most power here, which makes sense. but since grimm can collect nightmare essence outside of hallownest, then it can't be limited to just this territory. i'll figure something out eventually, i think there are many directions to go in with this. and i like the idea of different regions having different "dominant" gods, so i'd love to explore and experiment with that

this is definitely in the confusing rambling territory but i've always enjoyed thinking of the world in the au in this kind of context. magic is interesting, but i've always been more drawn to, i don't know, i guess a speculative evolution/biology kind of direction? it's still in the fantasy territory since it doesn't match reality 1:1, but i guess i just enjoy having a slightly more grounded approach. well, aside from the gods hahaha

[morysadlaivy]

containers

as I sit on the rim of this bathtub, thawing (isn't it funny how thaw and dethaw mean the same thing?) my toes in foot-deep hot water (maybe, I don't know how tall a foot is anyway, and who's to say whether this water is sexy), I listen to the voice inside my head (which just happens, most of the time, to be my inner perception of my own voice). it tells me:

containers are fun, aren't they? no, not your common red-topped, tomato-sauce-stained Rubbermaids. I mean real containers, real big ones. cargo containers, grain silos, water tanks, that sort of thing. now, I don't care if they're cylindrical or rectilinear, ceramic or wooden or made of corrugated fiberboard, if they're IBCs or ULDs or FIBCs, nor whether they abide by the industry standard intermodal container size (which is, of course, the twenty-foot equivalent unit) or anything else of the sort. in fact, the only size standard I care about is big. come to think of it, maybe 'container' is too limiting a term for what I'm referring to, maybe what I'm really looking for is only properly contained within the well-defined borders of a stalwart pair of double quotes: "vessel that can hold large volumes of stuff." (the broadening of the definition of the ostensible topic of this post, as I've just done, does not work to subvert unconsciously built-up expectations because the bathtub context at the start prevents the building up of the unconscious expectations necessary for this to be considered a subversion.)

shut up, inner voice. (though, with the incorrect and incessant use of parentheses remaining largely constant between my apparent voice and my so-called inner voice, I begin to wonder who I'm really talking to.)

no no, but just think about it. do bathtubs not inspire within you the most pleasant form of joy?

given that that which is "within" me is you, and given your jolly tone, I suppose they do.

pools... are they not so rapturous to take in with your eyes? and the sea, the sea! is it not simply the largest container on earth? 71% of the planet's surface is a difficult number to beat. (since it is a majority, unless containers are in the business of sharing the earth's surface area with each other, it is actually an impossible number to beat. but then again, who knows? the containers may be commies.)

I'll concede that pools are in possession of a special something. (what, now you've gone mad too? -wait a minute, if you're you, then who was that? and who am I? this never would have happened if I'd just used the first-person singular pronoun in that first question (it even makes sense: first-person in the first question... you're grasping at straws, it is utterly nonsensical.), but, no! it's too late now and I've gone down a different branch of "me".) and as for the sea, what you meant was the ocean.

sea, ocean... what does it matter? it would take me but this bathtub to ruin your laptop. what- no- don't leave it, don't leave the bathtub, don't leave me!

fret not, dear me, I've concluded it makes no sense for the sphere of existence of my inner voice to be delimited by the immediate vicinity of the bathtub. since this is the conclusion I have drawn, you shall stay with me for the foreseeable future. rather tragically I must add.

your laptop is now out of reach of the water (which is itself disappearing down the drain), and yet you cry tragedy. the bright side is lost on you pessimists. you really cannot be helped. now please, focus, think of the sea. the... why are we thinking of the sea again?-

there it is!-

see what you've done to us, distracting us from our goals, rendering discursive (definitely the "rambling desultory digressive" definition of this word and not the "conscious reasoning" one. if you're looking on Collins dictionary, that is. why would I be? stop asking questions.) what was supposed to be a pleasant chat about containers. oh there it is, that's why we're thinking of the sea!

no, i meant there it is! the pronoun to resolve our issues of identity! first-person plural! "we"! that was a pretty long run of italics for me, I hope it doesn't confuse them on who's speaking. (hold on, where did they come from all of a sudden? can we keep these words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase to a strict minimum, please?) did you just quote fucking Wikipedia and in doing so introduce the indefinite pronoun into the mix? so much for wanting to keep things simple. and now you've ruined the little communist-flavoured celebration we were having at the top of this paragraph!

listen, can we go back to the sea? is it not, quite plainly, the most pretty?

I do love the sea, and I guess I do love containers. you were right all along, dear me.

[flavorcrash]

My Story Universe

I don't actually have a name for the universe I have created. It was once named Burnsley as it took place in a made-up town in Texas called Burnsley, but I've had to stray away from that due to how diverse and expansive I wanted my universe to be, wanting it to technically take place in one place that just happened to exist everywhere all at once. I'll explain what that means in a bit as I'm going to go in-depth on how my universe functions. I'm not the best at explaining through text but I will provide diagrams and try my best to help y'all understand.

Note; this is a mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, if you're not interested in either topic or think that the combination of the topics is repulsive, please feel free to NOT read this. If you don't like this then why would you subject yourself to it and then complain? I don't see a point.

This story universe is based on the theory that aliens helped humans, for example, that aliens helped the Egyptians build the pyramids.

Our story starts off on an unknown planet outside of the milky way galaxy during a war between two alien races, the Embers, and the Bodross.

Unfortunately for the Bodross, the Embers manage to destroy their home planet and only 20% of the population manage to escape with their lives.

Forced to relocate, they explore different galaxies, separating the population in hopes that at least one colony would manage to repopulate and make the Bodross Empire strong once more.

However we're only going to focus on the colony on Earth.

The Bodross arrive on planet earth during the time when people started to worship the idea of higher beings.

Fascinated by their incredibly advanced technology, the humans figured that the Bodross was none other than gods of course.

The Bodross then made a deal with the humans. The humans would supply the Bodross with necessary supplies (food, materials, etc), to which the humans would refer to as offerings and sacrifices, while the Bodross would protect the humans from otherworldly threats.

Of course the Bodross couldn't live on the surface with the humans though so they decided to live under the earth's surface, inhabiting the upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core

See this right? Yeah im gonna split this up into living situations one second.

Now, the entirety of the realm in which the Bodross live is labeled as 'The Intrepid'

In the outer mantle is country land, Bodross are not restricted to live with other Bodross of similar abilities (for example someone who harnesses powers that involve fire wouldn't be forced to live with other fire bearers.)

However in the inner mantle, Bodross ARE forced to live in Districts according to their abilities. These districts each have portions that are dedicated to the habitats that are most suitable for the bodross of said powers. (for example a Bodross wielding plant powers would prefer to live in a habitat with flourishing greens, not a desert wasteland.)

Now, each of these districts are based on different cultures. Here are the districts and the powers associated with them!

Kumumea (based very loosely on numerous cultures)

Elements

(This is the largest district of all 6 as it contains more powers than the other 5. These power include Water, Air, Earth, Ice, and Fire. Within these subdistricts are border towns which are combinations of either 2 or more of the 5 elements in Kumumea. For example the Bodross who are able to control steam would be in a border town between Water and Fire, that border town is called Māhu.)

Zaman (based very loosely on Ancient Egypt)

Time

(usually this is involved in controlling the time of things around you, not time travel. For example if you get a cut you simply can rewind time to before you had the cut, effectively healing the cut. That doesn't guarantee you wont receive it again in the future though. Considering how fate works and all that. However, Bodross that are powerful enough are able to create infinite loops are certain parts of their body or in fact their whole body!)

Rasum (based very loosely on Denmark)

Mind

(ik that Rasum is russian not danish) (powers include reading minds, altering minds, memory erasure, and your normal junk. If you want to make sure that you aren't manipulated by these powers, there are specific herbs you can consume [via tea or other methods] that temporarily create a barrier between you and the wielder's mind. Another method is if you are able to blindfold the wielder as they can only control those they share eye contact with, similar to vampires. In order for a Rasum wielder to stop using their ability they either blink their eyes or simply snap.)

Corpus (based on the catacombs of France and Italy!)

Body

(ik that Corpus is spanish not french nor Italian)(These powers include either the control of your own body or others' bodies. It is very unlikely for a Corpus wielder to be able to control both. Those who are able to control others' bodies tend to go into the medical profession or tend to be mercenaries or soldiers for Nexus. Usually the healers can heal everyone else but not themselves. The only way for them to heal themselves is if they consume flesh or blood. If a Corpus wielder overuses their abilities they become ravenous and might try to kill someone in order to regain strength.)

Seikatsu (based loosely on many cultures but mainly Japan)

Nature

(this includes animal abilities and plant abilities. It is possible for a Seikatsu wielder to have both abilities, but they won't be as strong as others as they will struggle on trying to balance both powers. Animal abilities include; animal transformation, animal language, animal senses, and more! Usually, those with animal abilities are referred to as a sub-race of Bodross called Gilvans. Those who have plant abilities can control plants and also speak to them. In certain cases, if they are more in tune with nature itself, they can control their own body and morph into plants!)

Bhaavana (based loosely on India and other Asian cultures.)

Emotions

(Those from this district tend to either have very powerful emotions or little to none at all! Regardless, they are able to manipulate other people's emotions, but never their own. Despite being very sensitive, these people are not someone you should mess with, they are quite dangerous after all. Get on their bad side and you might never be able to feel again, or worse, feel too much.)

There is still more to my story, but this is HALF of the basic information I have in store!

If you watched my small visual novel series I'm sure you noticed the mention of 'Down Town Seikatsu'! I will be posting more in-depth posts about each district. Kumumea might have the longest explanation of them all though.

Also! This is the same universe that Cross My Heart takes place in! However, the story only focuses on the surface, but one of the characters is from The Intrepid.