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ramblinganthropologist · 7 months

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Writober 2023 10 - Fortune

Summary: Alistair Shepard had to adjust to some weird shit in the hospital after surviving the Citadel. What he didn't expect was his sister and her book of wedding planning. Since when was she a fortune teller?

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You know… he was really starting to get tired of being in a hospital bed.

At least he was being left alone for the moment. Ever since Alistair had come out of his coma, the doctors had been in nearly constantly. Apparently, surviving the Citadel coming down around you amidst the final push against the Reapers interested people.

He couldn’t exactly get out of being in the epicenter, but… they could be a little gentler with the needles.

At least he was free for the moment. His thumb kept rubbing up against the ring Garrus had given him as part of their engagement. The fact it was made of the Normandy was a comfort to him, especially since he wasn’t going back to it ever again.

After all… he was retired now. Papers were in and everything.

“I guess we should start thinking about if we want a wedding or not…” He trailed off. Alistair had done his share of alien studies as part of the Alliance, but those rarely covered marriages among the species for obvious reasons. He was kind of in the dark about what turians did to celebrate their vows, if they had any at all. For all he knew, they just signed some papers and got back to duty.

He wouldn’t mind that – justice of the peace was ok by him.

“Not very romantic, Al.”

A voice hummed in his ear, though the speaker was nowhere to be seen. Alistair scowled, still not used to the fact he was technically subletting his body to somebody else. Well, not somebody – Love was a spirit. So they had never been a person or anything…

Look, it was confusing, ok? He shared head space with a concept that liked The Bachelor.

“We are technically cleaning up after a galaxy wide war, Love.” He sighed. “Plus I don’t know how turians handle marriages, especially if one of the parties isn’t turian. I guess I could ask Anora…”

He trailed off. While he was sure his sister and her family had survived, this was the kind of thing that as awkward to ask. After all, he didn’t really do a lot of bonding with Anora for obvious reasons.

She might not appreciate the call…

“They have a ceremony, don’t worry.”

A new voice drew Alistair’s attention to the door. Bo was there for her daily visit, a book under her arm. She entered the room and took the only chair, the one that had practically be carved out for her she had sat in it so much.

He envied her to look so at ease – he wanted out of the hospital ASAP.

“Do I want to know why you know that?” He shook his head. “Never mind, what’s with the book?”

Bo cracked it open and spread it out on her knees. “It’s the plans for your wedding. I’ve been keeping it since you met Mandibles.”

Alistair’s jaw all but dropped at that. “You what?”

That was nearly 3 years. How had she even thought to start it when he had literally slammed into the turian on the Citadel back in 2183? He knew she could be committed to a bit… but this was just ridiculous.

Maybe it was hypocritical for the guy who literally came back from the dead with a spirit inside him to be a skeptic, but so be it. He had to draw the line somewhere for his own sanity, or everything went out the window.

Bo flipped the pages as she spoke. “I just got a feeling about it is all, so I started writing stuff down. It’s weird, I wrote about the calendar before it even was a thing.”

He shook his head – oww. “So now you’re a fortune teller for my love life?”

“Just a wedding planner.” She flipped another page. “Oh, good news, looks like I planned for the aisle to be accessible in case you’re still in a wheelchair. Nice going, me.”

Ok, now he was calling bullshit. Alistair did his best to lean over so he could try to make out the details of the book. Much to his surprise, it was dated. The one page he was looking at came from 2184, when he was dead.

Al’s alive. Better get back to planning.

Note to self: clearly mark levo and dextro food. Mandibles’ sister has the bad version of the allergy, don’t need to put her in the hospital.

How… would she know about an allergy that Garrus’ sister had. Hell, he had barely spoken to the woman maybe twice since he had started dating the turian. She certainly hadn’t brought up what happened if she ate the wrong food…

Was it just a good guess? Playing the odds, maybe?

“Right, so, thanks to the bet and my winnings in the ring, I have enough saved. You’re not allowed to say no, it’s my present to you.” Bo was still flipping through her notes like this was the most normal thing in the world. “Oh, nice. When I thought about suits, I didn’t mention a binder. Guess that makes things easier.”

…

Nope, he was not going to think too hard about this. His head hurt enough with his amp having to be removed and replaced after what had happened at the Citadel. Pondering too long on her thoughts was dangerous and exhausting.

Would he accept it? Well… he’d probably just ignore it and think she was perceptive.

“Looks like you thought of everything.” He felt a little guilty there – he probably should’ve been the one to plan his own wedding instead of farming it off on his sister. Besides, what if Garrus just wanted a legal ceremony? Would he be comfortable doing things human style?

Man, they probably should’ve both been there for it.

Sensing his anxiety no doubt, Bo closed the book. “Don’t worry, I already ran it past Mandibles. He was a little confused by the human stuff, but you Catholics are confusing regardless. I didn’t put a mass down or anything, you said you haven’t gone to one since you were like 12.”

Yes, and he hadn’t had confession since his confirmation, so taking the Eucharist was a bit beyond him. Besides, did the make a turian version, or was it considered blasphemous? And was it weird for someone resurrected to take the risen lord?

…

This was why he didn’t go to church anymore. It made his head hurt.

“No mass is fine by me, I don’t know any priests who could do it anyway.” He shook his head again. “How did Garrus react to all this?”

Bo shrugged. “He probably thought I was out of my mind, but it’s hard to argue with the data so he’s going along with it.”

Well, at least that made things easier. Alistair was glad he wasn’t forcing his now fiancé into anything he didn’t want to do.

“By the way, here.” Bo drew a tube of green pixie sticks from her pocket and dropped it into his lap. “I get the feeling you’re about to bottom out.”

True to her word, his omni-tool began to beep its familiar sound of low blood sugar. Alistair resisted the urge to shudder as he tore into the pack with his teeth and swallowed it down. After all, he was in the hospital – maybe it was only natural his sugar would drop.

He… was going to go with that.

“Anyway, once that sinks in, I have some notes on food-“

Since there was no way to avoid it, Alistair just nodded and settled in. After all, if she had taken the time to write all this down, it would be rude to ignore her. Some of her ideas were pretty good too, better than anything he would have thought up.

Hooray for wedding planning sisters with strange senses of premonition, he guessed. And he was going to leave it at that, or his battered brain was going to overheat.

…

How had she known he would’ve had top surgery by then, though? Nope… he wasn’t going to dwell on it. Focus on the wedding planning and not the growing sense of unease with the unknown he was welcoming into his life.

Love was giving him practice for that, so maybe he would need to thank the spirit later… much later… after he googled if there was host for turians. Curiosity killed the cat and all that.

#writober 2023 #ramblinganthropologist's writing #Alistair Shepard #Bo Peep Shepard #and Love the spirit

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evanthenerd83 · 6 months

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Raggy's Hell Is Other People Being Stubborn

“And when did this occur?”

I looked up from my notebook.

“Um…”

Mrs. Lude glanced around, eyes wide. Alert.

She looked like an anxious deer. A hunter was nearby, close enough to bring everything to an end. That hunter being…

“Please tell the truth. Lying is a sin. And you know that you shouldn’t sin…”

The elderly woman jerked. A trembling hand reached for her neck.

For the crucifix necklace hanging from it.

Typical. They always did this. Whenever I came around, anytime and anywhere, humans defaulted onto personal quirks.

Be it begging, bribing, excusing, or praying. It depended on the type of person. Who they were as people.

People.

I held back a laugh. No sense causing myself further misery.

I had enough misery to deal with.

“I… Uh, thi-this week… I mean, last week, last week!”

“Uh-huh,” I muttered, resuming my notetaking. “Sure.”

I didn’t mean to come off as sarcastic, or even slightly doubtful. My voice simply comes off that way.

It is unbearably dry and low, cracking in places. Hearing it makes folks’ eyes water. Mrs. Lude was crying like a newborn.

She shouldn’t have been crying. Seeing other people cry makes me want to cry.

Sympathy.

Or maybe not. Probably just irritation from Earthly air.

I don’t understand how anybody can see through all those unclaimed souls.

Anyway…

… Mrs. Lude didn’t know that I wasn’t disputing her actions. Not entirely.

I was just skeptical. What she was saying seemed pretty ridiculous, especially when her permanent record said otherwise.

Every soul had a permanent record.

Think of it as a little black book containing everything about a person. Every word that they have said. Every thought they’ve ever had.

What they’ve done.

And what Mrs. Lude had done, over her seventy-two years of life, constituted…

“Mrs. Lude…”

I shook my head. This loosened a strand of hair. It hung there, an obstruction in my peripheral eyesight.

“... I thought I just told you. Lying is an Evilony. And committing an Evilony comes with…”

The crone yelped. She sounded like a mouse being caught in a trap, squealing; air escaping from collapsed lungs.

Her face paled even further. Veins popped out. Sickly. Looked one heart attack away from a nice, relaxing dirt nap.

That trembling hand changed course. It grabbed the front of my shirt.

“You,” breathing hard. “You don’t understand, I never did anything wrong! I’ve never hurt anyone! Never drank! Never cussed! Waited until marriage—”

“Please let go.”

She didn’t seem to hear me.

She was already on a roll.

“If you have to punish anyone, punish them! Those delinquents are responsible! They were stepping all over my lawn! Messing up my grass! Getting their trash everywhere! One was—”

“Let go.”

Her grip tightened. Nails sharpened into talons pierced the weak fabric.

I hated Earthly clothing. It got dirty rather easily and could be torn. Got wet too. I couldn’t help but miss my previous attire.

Heavenly materials may itch. They don’t let harm befall us.

Mrs. Lude was foaming at the mouth.

“Those kids deserved it! Okay?! They deserved what was coming to them! I told them, I told them, I told them to get off my property, but they wouldn’t listen! They wouldn’t leave! So, I did what I had to—”

I looked her in the eye. “You did what you had to?”

She went silent.

“You did what you had to? Really?”

I stood stock still, arms by my sides. Palms against jeans. Fingers splayed.

No use getting angry.

“You had to do that? There was no other option? No peaceful resolution to your conflict?”

My voice lost its edge. An expanse grew between my words and my tone, hollow. Unfathomably deep.

Yet completely level. Flat.

Neutral.

Better not get angry.

“You couldn’t think of anything else, nothing else, none at all? You couldn’t just stop yelling at them? Couldn’t have turned the other cheek? Ignored them?”

Mrs. Lude took a step back.

She was scared. Even I could tell. All that energy, however misplaced, had instantly flickered out, died.

“B-but…”

I stared hard at her.

The excuse died.

“You had to do it,” I sneered. “You had to, huh?”

She took another step back.

Then another.

And another.

“You had to grab your husband’s service pistol?”

Her mouth fell open.

“You had to check the chamber?”

Her body seized.

“You had to fire it?”

I took a single step, and she instinctively leaned away. Bad mistake.

She suffered terrible back pain. Bones weak from living life. Those tears were no longer from denial.

But from misery.

I peered down.

“Multiple times?”

Her soul finally got the message.

She started to shake her head. Subtly at first.

Barely discernible amidst the panic shakes.

I sneered even wider.

“You had to reload it?”

“N-n-no,” she sputtered. “No.”

“Then why?”

Tilting my head.

Her eyes slid up. They grew wider than ever at the sight of my handcuffs.

Handcuffs in the metaphorical sense. No handcuffs could restrain me, even in this form. My kind are never guilty of mortal crimes.

“P-p-p-p—”

“Why, Mrs. Lude, why?”

“Wh-wha-what are—”

Do not…

… Ah. Fuck it.

I pressed one of my nails under her chin.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“Wanted to?”

“I wanted to kill them. Always have.”

“Teens?”

“Boys.”

“Boys?”

“Boys will be boys.”

“Boys will be boys.” I flapped my wings, feathers scorched black.

A halo encircled my head. Dull like moonlight, it made one full rotation.

I wouldn’t say I was without sympathy. Even fallen angels still have a bit of angel in them, whether they want it or not.

They had to help others. Condemn those who sin. Punish those who go against the Commandments.

And I’d spent nearly a year on Earth. I understood enough about human nature, especially that of males.

Those words, “boys will be boys,” meant something very, very different.

Seconds passed. We stayed like that, Mrs. Lude and I, for several minutes. A truck came tumbling down the street. Dogs barked in the distance.

“Homicidal ideation is still a sin, lady.”

“I acted in self-defense.”

“Uh. News flash. Self-defense is still murder. Doesn’t matter why, you still took somebody’s life.”

“He didn’t die.”

“You left him braindead.”

“Oh please! It was his family who pulled the plug.”

“He was already dead. Hence… Brain… dead.”

“You sure are something.”

“You won’t be anything in a few minutes, if you keep on denying what you did.”

A beat. Neither of us spoke, so I could hear the whispering from the neighbors, two women across the street.

They hadn’t been there before.

One cupped her mouth to the other’s ear.

“Who is that?”

“I don’t know, but they have wings.”

“And they’re floating.”

This was going nowhere.

I needed to act. Before they started recording our little exchange.

Becoming an Internet celebrity would mean losing the element of surprise. Optimal secrecy is necessary for a fallen angel. They can’t be seen.

Especially if they were assigned to this job.

Someone like me.

Taking a deep breath, I lowered Mrs. Lude.

I smiled my sweetest smile. Which was as sweet as cancer.

“Why don’t we just get this over with, hm?”

The old lady glanced behind me. She blinked.

Then she smirked.

I tightened my grip.

“Come on.”

“Why? I was acquitted.”

“Yeah. In a court of human law.”

“What do you mean by tha—?”

…

It took flying up beyond the clouds, dangling her upside down, and letting go.

But she confessed.

#evanthenerd83's storytime #urban fantasy #black comedy #October 2023 #short story #creative writing #original writing

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greenhikingboots · 1 year

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How about 1, 29, 55, & 126 for the book rec ask game.

omg. why did my answer turn out so long!?! ridiculous. but thanks for asking, dot!!! thanks for letting me play. :) 1. a book that is close to your heart Little Women and Tuesdays with Morie. i grew up on the 90s version of the Little Women movie, which led me to read the book for the first time in 7th or 8th grade. i’ve read it several times since and love how much it makes me care about all four March sisters. i used to have more of a temper like Jo and long for nice things like Amy. and i thought it was nice how, as they get older, they didn’t lose who they are but they did get a little softer around the edges. i think even as a kid, that gave me hope. Tuesdays with Morie is another one i first read when i was pretty young (high school not middle school) and have several times since. there are some “zen” messages i still carry with me. here’s a quote as an example: “the culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. and you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it.” honorable mention: Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with the Institution of Marriage. do i have that subtitle right? it’s something like that. it’s one of the first books i read that weaves social science research into a more personal narrative, and i really enjoyed that. some parts of this book stuck out to me enough to use as a framework when writing the ceremony for my wedding (friend officiated). but that’s personal enough i’ll keep the details to myself. 29. your favourite YA novel for quite a while, YA was all i read. so i feel like i should have a long list that i’m struggling to choose from. but most YA leaves me thinking, “great idea, but B- on the execution.” (saying that makes me feel like a snob but whatever, it’s true). i will stand by the first book in the Hunger Games series being great and worth the hype. i read it again a year or two ago and it is very well crafted. sharp characterization, great pacing, background information weaved throughout in just the right way. too bad the later books didn’t keep up. Elanor & Park was one a read after hearing about it a million times and worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype. i don’t remember it that well now, but i remember liking it even more than i hoped it would. one of the characters with poverty and abuse and i thought it tackled those issues in a believable, not-at-all-cheap-or-gimmicky way. i read The Spectacular Now because i really liked the movie. and while the main character drives you crazy after a while, i think that’s kinda the point. he’s a mess and needs to learn about growing up and being considerate of others. similar to Elanor & Park, i thought this book handled teenagers going through rough stuff in a believable way. 55. a book with a satisfying ending is it weird to say Gone Girl? the ending was frustrating for me the first time i read it, i guess because i wanted something happier. but it’s satisfying in that, upon second read, i accepted that the author knows her characters better than i do and she wrote an ending that made perfect sense for how unhinged and unhealthy they are. i also have to admit that as i get older, i understand Amy’s resentments more and believe Nick’s bullshit less. so even though Amy’s totally off her rocker and should, logically speaking, be in jail, i’m glad Nick doesn’t get a normal happy ending. it’s just so messed up its satisfying, you know? 126. your favourite spring read

interesting and timely question! unfortunately, i don’t tend to have seasonal reading habits. can i tell you what my dad’s answer would be? he likes a book called Vipers’ Tangle (google just told me it’s sometimes called The Knot of Vipers since it’s originally written in…. french, maybe? it’s from the 50s). its set around Easter, so…. i’ve tried to read it around Easter too, but i haven’t managed to get very far with it. if i had to choose something i’ve personally read…. maybe something by Brene Brown. ya know, non-fiction stuff about how vulnerability is actually bravery and people are built for deep connections and we have to be willing to take a little emotional risk to make deep connections happen. that sounds good for spring, right? growth!!

#book rec ask game

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funkymbtifiction · 2 years

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Se-dom and 9s yessss, I know Se doms that I’m sure is 9. I’m Se dom and it’s nothing special with that!! Sometimes I’m not happy by how people view Se. I don’t see how Ne doms would be more likely than us to be 9: we are doing the same thing in many ways: Ne/Se dom makes us extraverted and trusting/positive generally, but Se doms are just in pure reality compared to Ne. I have Ne dom friends that are really really outgoing and up to things all the time, while the stereotype is that Se dom will be more active than Ne. The biggest differences I see of my Se dom friends and Ne dom friends is their jokes! - rather than how active in the world they are! Some Se-doms enjoy reading, studying and are therefore seen as pretty calm, and so does some Ne dom. For me I use Se to SEE the world through it. It doesn’t automatically make me a doer spinner, I can lay in bed for a long time and read for a long time even though I see the world concrete as it is right now. My cousin is estp and need to do things ALL THE TIME. Just because I know her I see that she is driven by Se while doing it. Sure I also feel good when being out in the world and doing concrete things but I don’t like when everyone think Se dom are automatically like my cousin. I need to not sit on a chair all the time and I need to talk, when I talk you can hear I talk through Se, but I don’t think you can see if someone have Se or Ne just by the actions they do - If they lay in bed more or talk more or go out in town more. Only when you know them and hear them talk you can see if it’s Se. I think I’m close to both 6 and 9 and have never seen anything with Se that would affect 9. Maybe I would think Se and 9 can’t fit if I was not Se myself and thought Se was making people being like my cousin, who is not a 9.

The reason there is some skepticism around 9s being ESP types is that it takes 9s a long time to get around to doing anything, and ESPs have a reputation for instant gratification and impulses. Many 9s, for example, will be lazy about leaving a relationship even when it's over, because doing so will cause conflict and they want to avoid the intense reaction of their partner -- so they wait to be abandoned, or numb out and ignore their partner, or just "stay" without being emotionally committed, in that way displacing any discomfort onto their partner -- they may "become" the person "who gets left," just to avoid causing themselves any discomfort. But an ESP who has lost interest will probably leave, because there's something more interesting to pursue out there. That's the sort of hiccup that you run into, when thinking about how 9 might interact with Se-dom. It seems incompatible, which would produce quite a different kind of ESP than all the other ones (which isn't to say it can't happen; but it is to say that if this CAN happen, there's a likely chance that a lot of people are not self-identifying as ESPs because the energetic, hands-on, fast-moving descriptions do not reflect their inertia).

The assumed 9w8 ESFP I know put up with a lot in a bad marriage without ever doing anything about it, constantly attempted to keep the peace, and then went along with her husband's intentions for their lives after his passing -- carrying on his wishes after his death, because she had no strong desires of her own. As a result, she is stuck in an unfortunate situation with no way out of it, because she has "waited too long" to do anything on her own behalf, or to identify her own wishes and desires in life. But in all other ways, she is very ESFP -- she can't just imagine things without doing them first, she learns through being hands-on, she served in a very Se-driven career (handling crises, which meant thinking fast), she looks at things on a surface level, and has a low capacity for long-term thinking.

#question #enneagram #enneagram 9 #estp #esfp

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wordsintheattic · 1 year

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"To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous."

-Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage.

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books-in-media · 3 years

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“Studying "Romeo and Juliet" in ninth grade helped inspire her Top 10 single "Love Story." [...] On stage, Swift cited Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" as a favorite. Interviewed briefly at a post-show reception, Swift said she loved the novel, set in the South in the 1950s, because of how it was narrated from a child's point of view."The main character didn't exactly know what was going on, but the reader does," she said. "It's all portrayed in an interesting way, all the huge issues in the book, like civil right, come from a children's perspective. It's an interesting way to tell a story."Swift is part of a new Scholastic promotional campaign, "You are What You Read," for which authors, celebrities and public figures from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to "Percy Jackson" novelist Rick Riordan choose favorite books. Swift's picks include E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" and Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir on divorce and recovery, "Eat, Pray, Love," not a surprising choice for a songwriter known for her romantic laments and explorations.Swift said during the reception that she was enjoying Gilbert's most recent book, "Committed," in which the author marries the Brazilian man she met in "Eat, Pray, Love.""Listening to her talk at seminars, especially one that I YouTubed, where she was talking about trying to create her followup project, it made me cry," Swift said. "It was so inspirational."”

Taylor Swift for Scholastic, (2010)

—Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare (1597)

—To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee (1960)

—Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White (1952)

—Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)

—Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, Elizabeth Gilbert (2009)

#taylor swift #romeo & juliet #William Shakespeare #to kill a mockingbird #Harper Lee #charlotte's web #eb white #eat pray love #committed #Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage #elizabeth gilbert #books #celebrities #books read by celebrities

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loveinquotesposts · 4 years

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https://loveinquotes.com/as-i-got-older-i-discovered-that-nothing-within-me-cried-out-for-a-baby-my-womb-did-not-seem-to-have-come-equipped-with-that-famously-ticking-clock-unlike-so-many-of-my-friends-i-did-not-ache-with/

As I got older, I discovered that nothing within me cried out for a baby. My womb did not seem to have come equipped with that famously ticking clock. Unlike so many of my friends, I did not ache with longing whenever I saw an infant. (Though I did ache with longing, it is true, whenever I saw a good used-book shop) ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

#Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage #Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage quotes #Elizabeth Gilbert #Elizabeth Gilbert marriage quotes #Elizabeth Gilbert quotes #marriage quotes #LoveQuotes

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aro-comics · 3 years

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History (Part 2)

History, Part 2/3 - I swear, things will be more positive in part 3!!!!! 😭😭😭 also I had to shorten this description more than a few times so sorry for the later post 😅 I expanded on the points I made last week about the ways amatonormativity makes it harder to understand your feelings or perceive elements of your identity. Even now, after I’ve realized that it’s okay to be without romantic love, I still feel insecure about finding a committed partner in my future. This isn’t to say an Aro you can’t find a partner, romantic or otherwise! But there are fewer people interested pursuing a non-romantic relationship. And it’s because of this, coupled with the fact that many life “”milestones””” traditionally involve marriage, that makes me unable to picture my future. I want to start a family. I want to have kids. I want to feel that I can count on someone to work with me to our shared goals. But I can’t figure out how I’m going to get any of this, without the help of a partner. So I’ve been thinking about this subject a lot. From when I started writing this comic (which was a few months ago), I think some of my feelings are starting to change, or get more complex at least. I still, of course, resonate with everything I’ve uploaded here. But I wanted to end this description with the full picture of what I’m feeling, which is this: I accept that my life might be different than most of my peers. It might be more challenging in some ways, but less so in others. But either way, it doesn’t mean I can’t pursue my goals or try to build a life I know I want and will hopefully bring me peace and happiness. The best thing I, or anyone really, can ever do is just go for it, and hope for the best. And I’m looking forward to getting a chance to try no matter what happens 💚💚💚 Happy ASAW everyone 💚

[Image Description:

Slide 1: Celia sits on a chair, looking skeptically at a book. “Part of that doubt is from the deep levels of amatonormativity in society - it affects how we see the world.”

Slide 2: So many people can’t even imagine that it’s possible to not feel romantic attraction to other people.

Celia shown arguing with an angry blank person.

“How can you not really feel romantic attraction?”

“Like, I just don’t see people that way ... ?”

“There must be someone-”

Slide 3: “(I know that I was one of them, when I was young)”

A younger celia with long hair is sitting on her bed, drawing in her sketchbook. She mutters to herself: “Or, I could pair him with Chiara but they’re not in the same country. Hm … Maybe I should make a new character … Last time I made Miles and Raymond together and their dynamic has really helped develop their personalities …”

Slide 4: Pure text slide. “There are no norms, no cultural guidelines, or even knowledge on what it means to form deep bonds or navigate life without the expectation of romance.”

Slide 5: Celia lying in a field with her former childhood friend. He’s talking about something, and she is smiling as she glances over.

“I don’t know how to describe what I felt, only that I didn’t have a crush.”

Slide 6: Celia as a teenager, seeing her former frenemy with his girlfriend. He looks angry as he glares at her.

“I didn’t feel like I would ever have a chance to be his “best friend” - so I decided to let him hate me, instead.”

Slide 7: “I didn’t see how I could live a life without romance -” Celia as a university student, watching some of her classmates talk.

“You know that girl I was telling you about?” “The one from your japanese class? Oh my god, did you two finally - tell me everything!!”

“Well, I finally asked her out, and she was so cute. I brought her flowers after class …”

Slide 8: “- so I kept blaming myself each time I saw my peers falling for someone else.”

A close up of Celia at her desk. Tears are welling up at the corners of her eyes, and she says to herself “... fuck. What am I doing wrong? Why can I never like anyone enough?”

Slide 9: “And in many ways, I still can’t see -”

Celia is drawn on the right half on the screen, and a stereotypical straight couple on the left. A “path” forms in front of both of them, the couple having a house, marriage, the woman holding a business briefcase with doodles of money and “CASH DOLLARS” scrawled around her, and a baby. On Celia’s side she has a lease, a smaller house, questionmarks drawn arounda child, and other legal forms which are labeled insurance.

“- how will I live my life without a spouse?”]

#RegularComic #HistoryComic

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flickeringart · 3 years

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Neptune aspecting Mercury and Venus

(Continuation of my post “Neptune aspecting the Sun and Moon”)

Mercury aspecting Neptune

Mercury is representative of deductive reasoning, of communication and learning, of exchange of information and social interaction. Mercury is essentially representative of the mental faculties, the ability to draw conclusions based on the gathering of information. Mercury represents the intellect, the most commonly applied tool for understanding and navigating the world around the self. It’s the tool that makes connections, that defines and discriminates. The intellect is a divisive mechanism that breaks things down and distinguishes every little part to discover its function and purpose within the whole.

Mercury aspecting Neptune often lends itself to a very creative mind and an ability to articulate and communicate nuances. It also seems to lend itself to a vivid imagination – an ability to paint a picture with words or portray an archetypal energy through mimicry and acting. The conjunction is the most intense of the aspects and the benefits as well as the debilitations are felt more acutely. While Mercury-Neptune has the ability to “enchant” with words and easily navigate the world of imagery and fairytales, the real world void of magic can be less easy to navigate. Taylor Swift has the conjunction and she’s a great example of someone who is a storyteller through songwriting. She essentially takes the interactions of her everyday life and turns it into magic – something that is universal and appeals to people world wide. Music has the ability to glamorize the most dull and ordinary and elevate it to new heights. There’s a might to music and it speaks to people on the feeling level. Music, movies and theater for that matter have the goal to affect people, to mirror their inner life and strike a note on some level of the psyche. Mercury-Neptune comes with the risk of being easily affected by words and a tendency to read into things more than necessary. Sometimes the meaning of another person’s words can be distorted and made to fit the person’s own preferred narrative. This is a huge problem, especially for the conjunction - sometimes words that actually carry weight can be made out to mean anything. Furthermore, in overlooking the concrete – that which is spelled out loud and clear, there door is wide open to make mistakes and blunders when tending to details, and in real life this can have dire consequences. Reading too much into things or not reading enough into things seems to be the problem. Neptune refines whatever planet it touches and this can make for a real ability to work with subtleties, but the more subtle something is, the less dense and concrete it is. The more sensitive the instrument, the more susceptible it is to suggestion and manipulation. Fantasy and imagination is inextricably merged with the intellect with this aspect.

The trine and the sextile aspects from Neptune to Mercury similarly lends themselves to a feeling for subtlety when communicating and thinking. The trine is more of a natural modus operandi while the sextile is more of a skill that can be used and activated through conscious cooperation. Mercury-Neptune can potentially cause a propensity for lying, not because of a need for a control but because of a natural tendency to distort information. This is as true for the conjunction as the trine, while the sextile might take some deliberation. The tendency to convey information in the most romanticized and creative fashion might border on lying because it leaves people with no grasp of the cold and hard facts. Mercury-Neptune is not good with the plain, cut and dry message transferring – these people thinks in images and imbue everything they convey with a touch of story-telling.

The square from Neptune to Mercury, seems to make the native very serious in creative pursuits. There’s effort and strain that is required because of conflict felt between the intellect and the vault of dreams and fantasy. Usually, the native displays criticism of their work and is skeptically inclined toward their own influence or the value of their own artistic pursuits. Amy Winehouse had the square in her chart and she was quite hard on herself although the public loved her. Even in people who aren’t pursuing an artistic path, the Mercury –Neptune square will cause the person to undervalue any talents and dreams that they have, yet be pressed to develop and fulfill them. David Bowie is also a great example of this type of person – on the one hand there’s nebulousness and chaotic creativity, on the one hand there’s analyzing and mental discernment that is unforgiving. Donald Trump also has the square, quite the business man, yet he’s not someone who is able to stick to the purely factual– he manufactures his own story, his own narrative that people, to a large extent, wants to buy. He speaks to the masses and moves them emotionally, some say he’s profoundly stupid, some says his wits are underestimated. This is typical of the square, there’s tension between the two planets and one cannot take credit for both ends. Either one sacrifices Mercury and looks mad and deranged, or one sacrifices Neptune and appears overly critical and rational – even cold and unfeeling.

The opposition aspect is in turn linked to extremism – the native must try to balance intellectual discernment with emotional receptivity. Too much of one thing will be to the detriment of the other. While the square produces conflict and tension, the opposition can give the ability to abandon one planet in favor of the other. Yoko Ono has this aspect and she has obviously been a big advocate of peace and love (Neptune), sometimes to the detriment of rhyme and reason. She has suggested that “direct communication” is the only way to true communication, but of course, this is only possible in the womb, if even then. The great gift of the opposition is the ability to abandon reason, to experience everything and hold onto nothing, to not label and impose judgment. However, it’s not difficult to see the consequences for this sacrifice.

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Venus aspecting Neptune

Venus is representative of love and beauty, of femininity and sociability. The planet is linked to that which is of value, worthy of display and admiration. It also has something to do with preferences, style and talent. Venus is the one attracting Mars, that instigates desire, that draws him in. That which instigates our desire is powerful because it dictates action. Venus has a lot to do with money because it’s a marker and a measure of value – and people want to have as much as possible of it in order to be comfortable and socially desirable. Venus also has to do with partnership and marriage, and in order to catch someone’s eye, one has to be beautiful and appealing.

Neptune conjunct Venus is truly the height of love. While Venus is more personal and more social in nature, Neptune is the collective urge for redemption, the pull to touch something sacred. Neptune in us wants it all, the magic of enchantment that belongs to fairytales. Ordinary human love, which is more about feeling esteemed within a social context and desired for specific qualities, is not cutting it. With these planets conjunct, the person craves the total submerging with the one and only beloved in one’s heart and in other people’s hearts. Neptunian love is based on the mutual longing for something eternally blissful, the garden of Eden, the ultimate escape. This longing exist in all human beings to a larger or lesser extent, but it certainly unifies us and in some ways confirm our basic vulnerability and need for redemption. When Neptune and Venus are conjunct it would seem as if the person is very compassionate and understanding of people’s hearts. No doubt one can be very soothing and able to see the beloved one in all people one meets, which can be wonderful but also overwhelming and exhausting. The person is certainly capable of being accepting of all people, even to the point of allowing things that shouldn’t be allowed. Disillusionment can dawn brutally on these types since they have strong investment in the pure and untainted love that can only be kept alive in fantasy. These planets aspecting each other is a setup for being in love with love. Love for these types might not be about a specific person, they might seek out someone for their ability to mirror them. In other words, it would be difficult to love a person for their individuality because one would seek out someone with enough receptivity and mutability in order to find something of oneself in the other. Of course, this seems to be the nature of love despite Venus aspecting Neptune or not. We only ever fall in love with ourselves, although we’re unconscious of the fact. The only reason we’re ever drawn to someone is because we see something of ourselves in them. For people with Venus-Neptune contacts this phenomenon is taken to new heights. Liking and being fond of something yet knowing that that person or thing is different from oneself is entirely different from feeling a sense of union and yearning that is the oceanic deity calling a person home. With Neptune, the love object is the answer to all prayers and the remedy for all one’s troubles and pains. This is of course never quite true and the disappointment that follows upon the clearing of the intoxicating mist can be very scary and deeply depressing. Personal love, marriage and commitment might be idealized to the point of absurdity.

The trine and the sextile aspects are less intense compared to the conjunction, but they similarly denote a refined taste and a appreciation of artistry and music – anything that touches people’s souls inexplicably and profoundly. Typically, all Venus-Neptune aspects indicate a need to be loved unconditionally and to love unconditionally. Both of these harmonious aspects denote a very compassionate nature and a tendency to idealize and glamourize love. One is naturally very generous with one’s outpouring of affection, even when one’s own heart is broken. The trine indicates that the person is innately and naturally mirroring other people’s beauty. Escapism and distortion of reality is one’s way of being, it is not an acquired skill but rather something that’s a given. It’s probably easy to over-indulge in pleasure in order to escape the dreary everyday existence. In fact, when things get too hard, this is exactly what this type is likely to do. The sextile is more of a skill that is available for use. In other words, one is able to stimulate a bit of Neptune’s magic and universality in one’s style of expressing love – adding a bit of glamour, unattainability and fantasy in the mix. Conscious cooperation is required though, it’s not as if the sextile is going to cause over-indulgence as soon as one lets go of inhibitions.

The square aspect typically brings doubt and friction, when Neptune and Venus are involved, the conflict is between one’s personal value(s) and the recognition of oneness. Usually, the ugly side of Neptune comes out more readily. One wants to attain something special and magical but since one is not attuned enough or certain of one’s own preferences and values neither planet gets fulfilled or satisfied. Kim Kardashian has this square and she is never quite satisfied with her appearance (Venus), which is why she spends to much time perfecting it. She wants so badly to embody the ideal (Neptune) yet can’t seem to close the gap between her own personal look and the otherworldly refinement that Neptune represents. What ends up happening is that she becomes too artificial, some would even call her grotesque – she simply can’t find peace with imperfection – everything has to be sweet and pretty to the point that the coin flips and everything turns ugly. Although Neptune is usually associated with spirituality and the beauty of the divine, it is also associated with dissolution and disintegration – which often manifests as madness. Kim Kardashian has many times been rude or downright aggressive because of her vanity and venusian pride. Madonna also has this square and she certainly falls in the category of people who care enormously about their appearance, being attractive and young even up until old age. Venus is the goddess of youth and beauty and Neptune holds the promise of redemption through the planet(s) that it aspects. It’s easy to see how this square relationship between the planets could run amok. If youth is the gate to heaven, one would be willing to go very far in order to not let the imperfections stop heaven from becoming a reality. When it comes to love and relationships there’s inevitability of disappointment and uncertainty – one tends to look for the perfect partner yet no one can be it all in terms of fulfilling the dream because the standards are set too high. On the flip side, the standards can also be too low, because of the Neptunian tendency is to either be unrealistically idealistic or stubbornly accepting and passive in destructive situations.

The opposition aspect doesn’t typically bring out the obsession with perfect love and beauty. It makes the individual aware that love, in it’s selfish guise of wanting another person or object tied to the self in some way because of good looks and style, is antithetical to universal love. In a sense, personal love must be sacrificed for communion with the source of life, that which many people call God – or, God must be sacrificed for ordinary human seduction, value and pleasure. These are the people who are only looking to touch the source of life through love and union, nothing more. They’re not looking to simple hedonistic pleasures or superficial adornments. If they do, they’re doing it at the detriment of true compassion and communion with all of life. George Harrison had this opposition in his chart and so had Bob Marley. Both were musicians, both used drugs and both had a deep urge for spirituality. Both emphasized the importance of the connection with God and pointed out the triviality of worldly matters. Venus, is to an extent, quite earthy and materialistic. She cares about being nice, looking nice and behaving in a way that causes others to admire her. It seems like Harrison lost his first marriage because of incessant drug use and infidelities. Neptune is boundless and is everywhere and anywhere – there was no way Venus, ruling marriage and social contracts, could conquer the pull of the promise of ecstatic union. With the opposition, either special partnership/marriage or God is the pursuit, neither can exists in conjunction with the other.

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