#A Famous Plateau

[famousborntoday]

Joseph Plateau was an American lawyer and politician who served as Governor of Wisconsin from 1858 to 1861, known for his advocacy for public education and temperance reform.

Link: Joseph Plateau

[saritapaleo]

Archovember 2024 Day 26 - Compsognathus longipes

Before it was confirmed that birds were dinosaurs, Compsognathus longipes was regarded as the smallest dinosaur for decades. About the size of a chicken, its name means “elegant/refined/dainty jaw”. It lived in Late Jurassic Europe, found thus far in both Germany and France, with possible teeth also found in Portugal. It was carnivorous, and the remains of small lizards were found preserved in both fossil specimens. They were likely fast, scurrying animals, using their long tails for balance.

In the Late Jurassic, Europe was a dry, tropical archipelago at the edge of the prehistoric Tethys Sea. Both Compsognathus specimens were preserved within lagoons, possibly having died chasing lizards on the beach and then being swept out to sea in a flash flood. The German specimen is known from the Painten Formation, a part of the Solnhofen Limestone. The French specimen was found in limestone on the plateau of Canjuers. One of Compsognathus’ most famous contemporaries is the avialan Archaeopteryx, and the two may have competed over prey. It would have also lived alongside early pterosaurs like Propterodactylus, Rhamphorhynchus, and Anurognathus (as seen above). There were also a diverse variety of turtles, rhynchocephalians, and lizards living here as well, many of which served as prey for this tiny, catlike predator.

This art may be used for educational purposes, with credit, but please contact me first for permission before using my art. I would like to know where and how it is being used. If you don’t have something to add that was not already addressed in this caption, please do not repost this art. Thank you!

[mutant-distraction]

Rob Little

Petrified Forest National Park is an American national park located in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about 346 square miles (900 km2), and includes semi-desert shrub-steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands. The park's headquarters is located about 26 miles (42 km) east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels the South Transcon Line. The site, the northern portion of which extends into the Painted Desert, was declared a national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. The park has an average elevation of about 5,400 feet (1,600 m), and has a dry, windy climate with temperatures ranging from In the summer it is about 100°F (38°C) to winter lows well below freezing. The park has more than 400 species of plants, dominated by grasses such as punchweed, blue grama, and sacaton. Animals include larger animals such as pronghorn, coyotes, and lynx; many small animals, such as deer, mice, snakes, lizards and seven species of amphibians; And more than 200 species of birds, some of which are permanent residents and many of which are migratory. About one-third of the park is designated wilderness—50,260 acres (79 sq mi; 203 km2)—

The Petrified Forest is famous for its fossils, especially deciduous trees that lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago. The deposits containing the fossil trunks are part of the colorful and widespread Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert gets its name. Beginning about 60 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau, of which the park is a part, was pushed upward by tectonic forces and subjected to further erosion. All of the park's rock layers above the Chinle River, except for younger geological strata in parts of the park, have been removed by wind and water. In addition to fossilized tree trunks, fossils found in the park included Late Triassic ferns, cycads, ginkgos, and many other plants as well as animals including giant reptiles called phytosaurs, large amphibians, and early dinosaurs. Paleontologists have discovered and studied the park's fossils since the early 1900s.

[timberwind]

Diamantane Hills, Snohualmy (Rainier II)

Snohualmy is a terrestrial moon roughly the size of Mars, a Lowell-Birch type terraform, a world dominated by glassy soletta-carved handramit valleys and cold, dry haranda highlands(1). It was once a planet in its own right, billions of years before the first transhuman explorers walked its deserts. In its brief heyday, the megayears before the final migration of the system's gas giants to their wide present-day orbits threw the Tiandonias system's closely packed orrery of inner planets into disarray, it may even have hosted a deep global ocean(2). Snohualmy was spared the fate of many of its sister worlds - ejection from the system and a subsequent trillion-year circuit race across the disk of the Milky Way - by a chance encounter with the waterworld Rainier. That fateful close flyby bent the little world's trajectory just enough to capture it into an wide retrograde(3) orbit of the significantly more massive waterworld, in a manner not entirely dissimilar to the slingshot maneuvers that Dawn Age spacecraft used to gain and shed orbital velocity in their journeys across Old Earth's solar system. Many larger worlds have captured moons like this: famous examples from the Early Interstellar period are Triton, icy moon of Neptune (Solar System), and Arash, terrestrial moon of Eff (Tau Ceti).

Pictured is the city of Diamantane Hills, a huddle of hab complexes and marshaling yards sitting on the dry valley floor at the head of the Samarkand Vallis - a great outflow channel system carved in the distant past by one of the catastrophic floods that marked Snohualmy's equivalent of old Mars' Hesperian era. Although a little stunted compared to the bustling cities of the coasts and handramits, it forms an important hub for the maintenance of mining and terraforming automation atop the Tanaka Plateau, as well as the last stop on the western limb of the Trans-Snohualmy Trunkline road-rail-pipeline link before final ascent to the loading docks of the Tanaka Launch Loop.

(1) It's not entirely desert, mind: there's also one major sea roughly at the sub-Rainier point - the somewhat unimaginatively named Nearside Sea - which covers approximately 12% of the surface area of the moon. The anti-Rainier hemisphere's five major lakes account for a further 1%.

(2) Now mostly lost to processes driven by the brief post-capture period of extremely violent tidal heating as Snohualmy's newly planet-centric looping eccentric orbit rung down to a near-perfect circle, as well as subsequent attrition from escape and sequestration processes over the last 3 Gyr.

(3) Snohualmy orbits Rainier counterclockwise relative to the direction of spin of its parent planet. This is a fairly surefire indicator for a moon being captured in and of itself - moons that form in-situ tend to have formed from a common disk of material that spins in the same direction as the final planet does.

[aloneandforsakenbyfateandbyman]

The Siberian Ice Maiden, known locally as the Princess of Ukok (Russian: Принце́сса Уко́ка), the Altai Princess (Russian: Алтайская принцесса), Devochka ("Girl") is a mummy of a woman from the 5th century BC, discovered in 1993 in a kurgan belonging to one of the Pazyryk burials, in the Republic of Altai, Russia.

She is famous for her tribal animal-style tattoos, which consist of creatures with horns that evolved into floral shapes. The local Altai people believe her to have supernatural powers and that the Ukok Plateau where she was found is the "second layer of heaven.”

Her head was shaved and she wore a wig and a tall hat, a long silk robe, a red wool skirt, and was 167cm tall. She was most likely a shaman or healer who had taken a vow of celibacy, as her body was used by her tribe in rituals up to three months after her death and she was determined to have inhaled cannabis vapor while alive.

She had been suffering from breast cancer that killed her in about three years, combined with injuries sustained in a fall.

She was buried with food such as horse meat, mutton, yogurt, coriander seeds and a beverage, which her tribe left her to sustain her on her journey to the afterlife. Her coffin was made of a larch wood tree trunk.

[lunastrophe]

Hey! I'm writing a Minthara thingy about her past; since you're the drow expert of experts, do you have a timeline of her life or a theory of who her mother is maybe? Thank you!

Heh, I am really humbled by your words, I certainly do not consider myself the drow expert of experts 😳Thank you!

I am working on a detailed post about Minthara's past and her family, with (estimated) dates and other such details. I hope that I will find some time to finish it and publish sometime during the weekend. It is already half-baked, but... ugh, I really need more time for writing 😩

In the meantime, here are some fragments:

🕷️ Age - Minthara is over 200 years old, since she remembers Viconia DeVir disgracing her house and escaping the city ("I was young enough that it left an impression on me").

She was born in Menzoberranzan, probably at least a decade before 1292 DR, and she lived in House Baenre compound on Qu'ellarz'orl plateau.

Minthara recalls that she survived her first assassination attempt while she still suckled at her mother's breast. Her mother saved her life by covering her body with her own.

🕷️️Career - like other noble drow females from Menzoberranzan, Minthara most likely enrolled into Arach-Tinilith when she was 25 (she could be also older, since around 13th century DR, females started their education at the age of 40).

She finished her eduaction after 50 years, being between 75 and 90 years old, and most likely participated in the (in)famous drow graduation ceremony.

Minthara mentions that her mother tried to kill her when she came of age, making it a test of sorts. But aside from that, Minthara surely participated also in the Blooding - a drow coming-of-age ritual, usually completed during a surface raid (a young drow must kill an intelligent or dangerous surface creature, preferably an elf). It probably took place shortly after graduation.

🕷️️Oath - unlike the majority of noble females, Minthara was trained to be not a "pure" cleric, but a soldier in the service of Lolth. At some point, probably still at the early stage of her career, she took the oath of "bloody vengeance against any who defied Lolth".

She was fulfilling her oath, hunting heretics and apostates. She was also performing interrogations. At some point, she was entrusted with leadership - she was commanding drow warriors and probably also organizing and leading night raids to the surface.

🕷️️Relationships - Minthara mentions that being a noble (and Baenre), she lived in luxury.

Her first lover, most likely met during her years in the Academy, was a high priestess of House Vandree: "Beautiful, elegant, ruthless. I adored her, and had been sharing her bed for some time when the order came that she must die. I stayed with her while the poison did its work, and whispered words of comfort as she slipped away."

Minthara says that she had "a thousand suitors" and many lovers - they mostly wanted only her status or her body, though. The more they pursued her, the less she desired them, ultimately becoming tired of them all.

Unsurprisingly, she does not have high opinion on men in general - based on her experience with Menzoberranzan males: "half the men of Menzoberranzan are pleasure-servants. Weaklings, whose beauty is their only redeeming quality."

🕷️ Mother - Minthara's mother was a noble from House Baenre. We also know that she was visiting surface cities during her "grand tours of the surface world" and at some point, she visited also Baldur's Gate. She told Minthara about it.

She was certainly a female of high station, but considering the already existing drow lore, she was probably not one of the most famous daughters of Matron Yvonnel Baenre mentioned in the novels.

My guess: Minthara's mother could be some less known daughter of Yvonnel Baenre. Matron Yvonnel Baenre had fifteen daughters or so, and all of them were high priestesses (and alive around 1297 DR) - Minthara's mother could be one of them.

That would make Minthara a niece of Quenthel Baenre and other famous children of Matron Yvonnel Baenre (Gromph, Jarlaxle, Triel, Sos'Umptu etc.).

Hope you will find this information helpful 😊

[catboybiologist]

The Sierras Nevada mountains bear ancient scars.

(Pic: the valley that forms the path of the Middle fork of the Kaweah River, going westward from the Kaweah gap. Sequoia NP.)

These relatively young mountains started as a plateau in Western North America (or rather, Laurasia) during the Cretaceous and early Paleogene. But soon afterwards, rivers carved a rugged landscape. As glaciation periods began ~30-40 mya, the advancing and retreating of rivers of ice from the mountaintops scoured this further into deep, granite canyons. Their scouring revealed buried pockets of magma, solidified into domes, spires, and monoliths, many of which are named and iconic.

(Pic: half dome viewed from El Capitan. Yosemite NP.)

Now, with humans, the fate of these canyons has been varied.

The Yosemite Valley is by far the most well known and recognizable of these canyons. While it is protected as a national park, it is one of the most famous and highly visited parks in the entire US, and a world famous recreation destination. Because of this, it's well preserved, but fairly built up. The Yosemite village has full time habitation from park workers, car traffic, two hotels, restaurants, shops, and more. A natural wonder and recreation destination to be sure, and the neighboring high country is extremely wild, but certainly notably built up.

(Pic: East Yosemite valley from the Yosemite falls trail. The Ahwanee hotel is visible on the left.)

Within the boundaries of the same national park is a sadder story: Hetch Hetchy. Hetch Hetchy valley, just North of the Yosemite valley, boasts similar granite features to Yosemite itself- but some are submerged forever. In the early 20th century, the valley was dammed and flooded to supply water to the booming city of San Francisco. It still does. Some proposals have been made to drain it, but some believe that the damage is already done.

(Pic: Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Only pic in this post not by me, taken from NPS website.)

Kings Canyon represents a middle ground. In 1940, General Grant national Park was expanded to include the canyon, and subsequently renamed Kings Canyon National Park, now jointly managed with Sequoia NP. Car access is possible, and there are visitor services at the bottom, but nothing in the scale of Yosemite. A more typical national park experience, it feels a lot more rugged and wild, while boasting many similar granite features.

(Pic: looking down the paradise valley as it connects to Kings Canyon.)

And then.... There's the Kern valley.

Tucked discreetly in the Southeast of the Sierras, relatively little people know of its existence, despite being as deep and grand as the others.

The reason for this is it's level of protection. The Kern Valley is a wilderness area of Sequoia NP- the highest level of protection for conservation in the United States. In wilderness zones, no permanent structures or roads are permitted- only hiking trails and primitive campsites.

Some parts of the lower Kern fall outside of this boundary, but the upper Kern is only accessible by multiple days on foot. Numerous hiking trails cross cross the area, including the High Sierra Trail, which I completed a week ago.

It's gorgeous, and even though it's used by hikers, it feels untouched by human hands.

But.

We can show it something else.

Some kind of .... Body part. That has a day of the week based following in this website.

That's right, you fools.

THIS IS ANOTHER TGIRL TUMMY TUESDAY POST!

On August 24th, I descended into the Kern from the West via the HST, and decided to show it what I know best- some good fucking tgirl tummy.

Happy Tuesday to the freaks, the degens, and the losers, and the business they get up to, to make their lives more interesting, whatever if may be.

Tags under the cut!

@lilithtransrights @xenasaur

@whalesharkcat @godless-of-the-hunt

@anarqueeen @shakukon-to @eruditegeek

@puzzlecatt @sagasolejma

@havingsecondthots @quinns-sinns

[studyblr-perhaps]

Misa Explains 1: Spintronics in a nutshell

A series of posts where I will explain bits and pieces of physics I have gathered throughout the my foray into this wonderful science. Warning, these will be long.

Highly inspired by @chemblrish and @minmin-vs-physics 's posts on their fields, check out their posts (linked on this post in various places!)

Wait what even is going on?

Okay, first of all, why are we even talking about spintronics, whatever that means? Now, we live in an age where we need devices, right? Phones, TVs, laptops, name it. All digital devices come under electronics, which is a cluster of what we call "logic devices" (verrry loosely speaking) with various functions, made with expert circuitry to create our sophisticated "smart" devices. Whew. That's a lot of words. But what does it mean? It means that the very device you're using to view this post is made up of very tiny mini devices, which are made to utilize electrical signals (current, flow of electrons) to make it store information, read information, or perform logic tasks ("AND", "OR" "NOT" and the rest. Let me know if you want me to explain those, but this is not the point of the post so I'm letting them hang in the air for now).

We store digital information in the form of 'bits' (I swear all of this is relevant, please be patient) which is a computer's language of storing and using information. If you've watched any show involving hacking, you'll see stacks after stacks of "1"s and "0"s on their high contrast screens in that radioactive green font (general older sister advice: don't use high contrast it hurts your eyes), these are bits and the basis on which logic devices work. Each combination of 1s and 0s makes a different information, which is the backbone of computing. Now, how these devices make 1s and 0s is again a whole course on electronics, so I will skip over it to just preface that they exist and that's how we make digital devices.

All these years, we have used semiconductors, which allow moderate amount of current flow from them (in contrast to conductors, which allow free flow of electrons, and insulators, which do not allow flow of electrons) to make transistors, which are currently the building blocks of circuit-making devices.

[here's a picture containing ICs (the bug-like looking thing covered in wires) which have tiny transistors inside them, and the LEDs, on which the lit ones are "1"s and unlit ones are "0"s. This was my project for one of my courses!]

In electronics, a very famous law called Moore's Law, states that for increase in tech and development, the amount of transistors in integrated circuits (IC) doubles every two years. This moves proportionally with the increase in use of semiconductors, because transistors are made using them.

Every device maker's main goal is to make a device faster, smoother, and more functional. Which means, more transistors, better semiconductors. Moreover, the smaller space occupied by the ICs, the better. But obviously there's a limit to how much we can decrease the size of the transistors. One is the technical issue of creating such a small object, which will require highly precise instruments which we are not in possession of/ not feasible in the long run. The second issue is the working. "Will a semiconductor keep it's properties when they layer is so small?" is a valid question to ask when we go further down in scale. In simple words: in the long run, improving semiconductors for transistors will be difficult. Moore's law plateaus, and the number of transistors doesn't double with two years. What now? We can't just stop developing better computing devices, not just smart devices, astronomy, medicine and other scientific areas also require reliable, stable and fast computing devices.

Which means we desperately need new materials (and techniques) for logic and memory devices.

Hold on, when's spintronics going to start?

Okay background information done. Now we move onto spins and why we use it. We know that atoms are made of protons, electrons and neutrons. Out of these, electrons "revolve" in "orbits" around the nucleus, which holds the protons and neutrons. I put "revolve" and "orbits" in quotes because essentially it's a cloud of probabilities and we have no clue what path it truly takes. Electrons reside in what are called 'orbitals', which are balloon-like spaces which have a high probability of the electrons being present in (@/chemblrish explains orbitals better here).

Now along with the "revolution", electrons also considered to have a "spin". We don't really know if it "spins" the way Bayblades do, but regardless, they have an angular momentum, which is classically something rotating objects possess (@/mimin-vs-physics goes more in depth on quantum mechanical fun stuff) Either way, we don't know why it has angular momentum, but we know it does (at least I have no idea if we've figured it out??). And in true human fashion, we see anything new and think "now how can I utilize this for my benefit?"

Years and years of research later, we figured out something interesting. The angular momentum which the electron spins contain, and the angular momentum of electrons in "orbits" can interact! This interaction is called Spin-Orbit Coupling (SOC) and it causes a bunch of other fascinating phenomena in quantum mechanics. One of which, is that it if we supply electricity into a metal plane, we can align the electrons and their spins in such a way that it causes a stream of current (remember: current is essentially a flow of electrons in one direction) with aligned spins to move into a different layer perpendicularly.

Okay but what does all of this have to do anything with Spintronics?

We're finally at the part where we can discuss what Spintronics is! We can use our now generated spin current to make electronic devices (hence, spintronics!). So, how do we make these tiny devices?

What we first take is a heavy metal (these are metallic elements/alloys with high atomic numbers, which have a lot of free electrons to use) and make a very thin film of it. (The procedure of making thin films is very interesting, and I will make the next post on it!) We can now pass a stream of current/electricity* parallel to the surface of the thin film, which will give us a stream of spin-aligned electrons bouncing to move into an upper layer.

For the upper layer, we add a thin layer of a ferromagnet. A ferromagnet is a type of material which readily aligns its spin on one direction when under a magnetic field (contrary to this are paramagnets which weakly align their spins, and diamagnets which weakly align their spins opposite to the applied field).

Now remember the electrons with their spin aligned which wanted to move into the upper layer? Yeah once they are given an upper layer to move into, they flow into the layer, bringing their aligned spins with them. This spin can now affect the ferromagnet's spin, and align it in either the direction of the applied electric field ( the one applied on the heavy metal layer. I'm marking it as * for you to check which electric field I mean) or directly opposite to the direction of the electric field. This alignment can be measured. The value doesn't matter, only the direction. Is it parallel to the electric field or anti-parallel? "Up" or "down"? "Left" or "right"? Or, in terms of electronics, "1" or "0".

And look! We now have a way to make a tiny device which can display values of "1" or "0"! We used an analog signal (electricity) to create a digital output (1s and 0s)! That is electronics! But because it uses spins, it is called Spintronics.

Because we use Spin-Orbit Coupling, these devices are extremely precise and fast. And the layers of heavy metal/ferromagnet will be in the ranges of nanometers (10^-9 m), so they are also extremely small. We can also choose materials with properties we like (high melting/boiling point, low reactivity) to create devices which can work in extreme conditions (high heat, pressure, reactive areas).

And here we have it! We've made spintronic devices!

End of post disclaimer: I am a Bachelors student and I will have mistakes. I also tend to exaggerate. So if I have made a mistake in this post, please inform me nicely in the comments or tags!

[egypt-museum]

Tomb Chapel of Queen Meresankh III

Meresankh III was one of the most famous Queens in the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. Her grandfather was King Khufu, an important ruler in the 4th Dynasty, who is well known as the builder of the largest pyramid on the Giza plateau.

On April 23, 1927 the tomb was discovered and excavated by George Reisner. with subsequent excavations undertaken by his team on behalf of Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

They found extraordinarily preserved statuary and colorful relief sculpture with a remarkable emphasis on the female figures. Meresankh’s husband, King Khafre, was not shown in the tomb at all. This indicates the importance of female nobility during the queen`s life.

Photo: Sandro Vannini

Read more

[scienceacumen]

Mount Roraima is one of the oldest geological formations on Earth, with their “tepuis” estimated at over 2 billion years old. The highest tepui plateau, Mount Roraima, is famous for its prehistoric ecology, which sustains plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

[embarrassedanon]

Ski Bum

As an Aspen local, Chester loathed the hours he spent giving ski lessons to the progeny of America's rich and famous. These spoiled brats were airdropped in on private jets by the dozen from New York or LA and wrought havoc on the slopes each winter. But helping them perfect their form earned him a pretty penny and free season lift pass so it was worth it.

Chester saw rather quickly that no matter how much these rich kids claimed they wanted to improve they weren't used to taking constructive criticism. Chester learned that lesson in a humiliating fashion when Walter, the 20 year old son of an oil magnate, joined him for a private lesson.

Despite a decade and half of winters spent skiing, Walter never managed to conquer anything but the bunny slopes. He was more keen to spend his time reading by the fire in the lodge or ogling the snow boarders in the sauna.

To Chester it was no wonder why Walter's skiing prowess plateaued before he even finished elementary school, Walter was convinced he knew everything.

"Your stance is all wrong dude, there's no way this is how you learned to ski!" Chester said a bit amused.

"It most certainly is not, and you'll call me Walter or Sir, not dude, I'm not one of your townie friends."

Prick, Chester thought, plastering a smile on his face.

Walter, not remotely remorseful, began absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.

"Is there somewhere you'd rather be? Cause if you don't want to do this lesson there's no point in either of us freezing our asses off."

"You seriously ought to rethink your language if you wish to continue working at a resort with high-end clientele. And if you must know all of my friends from University are in St. Barth's. But of course daddy forced us to go to this dreadful mountain hideaway."

"Well if you're such a competent skier and you don't need the lesson you'll have no problem getting your phone back from me.”

With that, Chester lunged for Walter's phone and stuffed in his pocket. In a flash he was off down the slopes. Shakily Walter gave chase.

"Get back here this instant!" Walter yelled.

"You'll have to catch me,” Chester taunted in a singsong voice as he whipped around to face his pursuer before turning around and speeding off.

Propelled by rage rather than any athletic prowess, Walter sped after Chester in a haphazard manner. As he neared the instructor, far faster than Chester could have predicted, Chester began to bob and weave as to avoid Walter's grasp. This only made Walter's attacks more erratic.

In one fell swoop, Walter reached to grab his phone from Chester's back pocket. The speed with which he was hurling down the mountain put an undue amount of force behind his grasp. While Walter was able to secure his phone, he sent Chester flying out of his skis and his pants and long johns tumbling down.

With a thud Chester fell face down ass up in a heap of snow, his pale cheeks looking almost sun-kissed compared to the alabaster snow. Walter gasped and then let out a hearty laugh. Chester shot up and spat snow out of his mouth.

"It's not funny!" Chester pleaded, over his shoulder.

"Oh it certainly is, and this serves you right for taking what's mine!"

Chester struggled to right himself and his he slipped on the packed snow. Bent over with his bare ass facing Walter he tried to pull up his pants when he heard the clicking of sound effect of a phone camera.

"Did you just take a picture of my ass?"

"Language, Chester! And my friends just sent a beautiful picture of the moon over the ocean, figured I'd respond with my own picture of the moon over the mountain. Anywho, thanks for this lesson... it was so very revealing. Ta Ta!"

With that, no less shaky than before, Walter traveled down the mountain alone. Leaving Chester to get laughed by a group of snow boarders before he came to his senses and pulled up his pants.

...

Back at the lodge, Chester was certain that everyone was staring at him as he headed to the locker room. It was clear that word of his embarrassing mishap, and maybe even the picture, traveled fast down the mountain.

In the locker room, guys were in all different states of undress, but the way they all laughed and whispered to one another when Chester walked past made him feel the most naked.

As he sat at a bench in front of his locker and removed his boots, Walter rounded the corner in a white terrycloth robe. He was at a locker just two doors down from Chester. He gave Chester a wicked smile and opened up his locker.

Chester noticed his expensive skin tight ski suits hung up neatly in the locker. Walter made quick work of shucking his robe and donning a crisp white pair of briefs, chinos and a knit sweater. He didn't bother to lock his locker before he once again flashed Chester that devilish grin and exited the locker room.

Still seething from his earlier embarrassment, access to Walter's locker was something Chester couldn't pass up. Working quickly, Chester grabbed a multi-tool from his work bag and deftly weakened the rear seam on all of Walter's ski suits. With any luck Walter would be splitting his pants right down the ass the next time he hit the slopes.

...

The next morning as Chester was getting a few runs in with his coworkers he noticed Walter and a friend walking toward the ski lifts in matching skin tight jumpsuits.

"Isn't that the asshole that pantsed you yesterday?" Chester's buddy Rich asked while laughing.

"Yes, and with any luck he'll be flashing his asshole anytime now."

Chester filled in his buddies on the plan and they were more than happy to let Walter and his friend grab the next lift in hopes of witnessing Chester's plan in action.

As the arrogant douchebag leaned back to sit on the lift, Walter's suit burst open flashing his ass and his black thong. Of course his suit was too tight for his briefs and he wouldn’t be caught doing anything as uncouth as freeballing. His own pompous rules compounded his embarrassment.

Within an instant, his friend was laughing, the lift operator was laughing, and Chester and his friends were in hysterics.

Walter shrieked as the lift scooped him up parading his ripped suit over the mountain top like a Thanksgiving balloon.

"No don't look at me!" Walter plead which only drew more eyes to his unfortuante wardrobe malfunction.

"Hey Walter, you were right! The moon over the mountains is gorgeous." Chester yelled.

[choiceofgames]

Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow

"Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow." Punch out Fascists and unravel conspiracies in this explosive pulp adventure set in a retro-futuristic 1930s world of airships, fast cars, and two-fisted action!

https://www.choiceofgames.com/cliffhanger/

Here, masked and caped adventurers with ray guns and rocket boots blast down the gleaming Art Deco streets of Manhattan. Sinister criminal masterminds scheme from tropical island lairs. Dinosaurs stamp and bellow in fog-shrouded jungle plateaus. Fearless archaeologists discover incredible secrets and terrible curses under the desert sands. Master thieves plot daring heists among the glittering casinos of Monaco.

And you? You're Challenger, the most famous adventurer in the world—or, if you like, the most infamous scoundrel. You were raised as an orphan by Dr. Cosmos Zeta at his Tomorrow Institute, where he and his crack team of scientists have developed "zeta rays," providing free energy for the whole world, and granting mysterious powers to a lucky few.

But now, Dr. Zeta has been assassinated before your very eyes, and replaced by a doppelganger, who accuses you of attempted murder. To clear your name and avenge Zeta's death, you'll have to chase the assassin around the world—and beyond!

Will you defend Earth against a sinister mastermind? Will you crush the axis of Fascism that rages across Europe? Will you uncover the shocking truth about the zeta rays?

"Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow" is an interactive fantasy novel by William Brown, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—300,000 words and hundreds of choices long, without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

[tw1l1te]

The Final Promise₊˚✩⊹

Chapter 9

Linked Universe x reader

Warnings: a LOT of angst and negative mental health, little fluff, Legend being Legend, some hints at spice

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“Where the hell are we, Champ?” Legend groans, shaking his head.

Wild pulls out his slate, “We’re home! My hom- Hyrule, at least. We’re just past the Great Plateau, Southwest.”

He looks at the map a bit closer, “Close to Gerudo Highlands, actually.”

Your ears pick up at that. You were back on course, in a way.

“How far till the last stable before the desert, Wild?” you ask. He taps his chin in thought.

“Well if we start moving now, we could reach it by nightfall probably.”

And with that, you and the group started walking. You didn’t have Epona with you, so everyone was on foot. You walked with Twilight and Hyrule, talking about anything, you weren’t actively listening. You were too busy staring at Legend’s backside, as if you were trying to make him look at you.

“You good, Sugarplum? You’ve been zoned out for the past 20 minutes or so.” Hyrule whispers to you. Curse everyone for being so damn observant.

You nodded, “Yeah, just uh. I don’t know, a lot’s on my mind.” you mumble, finally pulling your eyes away from the Vet. Your staring wasn’t going anywhere.

“Are you and Vet ok? It seems like something’s going on between you two, but I don’t wanna assume.” 

“We’re just stressed about our own situations. Nothing to worry about.”

“You should talk to him, y’know. That usually helps.”

“I trie- I will. I’m just a bit mentally preoccupied at the moment.” you said with a sad smile, Hyrule nods at you in understanding. 

“I’m here for you, if needed.”

You keep walking, eyes focused on the terrain ahead of you. The red rock of the Gerudo Highlands were always quite a sight, even in game, but seeing them for yourself for the first time in ages was incredible.

The day passed relatively quickly, the only sounds being that of the wind and the occasional chatting between the boys. You didn’t talk much, not exactly having the social battery to converse. 

You walked up to Time, as you always fell into comfortable silence with him and you felt like you haven’t spent much time with him since your incident. He gives you a quick glance, looking back at the path ahead.

“I can hear you thinking, Y/n. What is it?” he asked, still not looking at you.

You fumble with the straps on your harness, a nervous habit. 

“I, just, uh feel like we haven’t had much time together lately.”

You think for a second. Wait.

“That wasn’t supposed to be a pun. Sorry.”

“I know what you meant, its alright. No need to apologize.”

“I feel like something else is on your mind though, Y/n. I think I may know what, but… I don’t know if now is the best time or place to talk about it. I don’t want the younger ones snooping in things they shouldn’t be.”

You laugh, “Time, we’re with grown men and one pre-teen.”

He scoffs, “They act like children.”

“You’re not wrong.”

You both stay quiet for a moment, taking in the serenity of the evening, the sun starting its descent into night. You can make out the faint plume of smoke in front of you, meaning that the last stable before Gerudo Desert was coming up. Looking up, you can see a few wolves on the snowy tops of the valley, looking down at you and your group. They howled for a bit, no doubt being curious and/or displeased with your presence in their territory.

You felt a shiver go up your spine, tickling the back of your neck.

“God, I forgot how cold the valley can get towards nighttime.” You pull out your only sweater, the famous Link hoodie that the group made fun of you for, but hey, at least you won’t freeze.

Pulling the hood up, you sighed in content. You sure will get some looks, but you were willing to sacrifice your dignity.

You all approached the stable, Wild jogging up to the innkeeper, checking you all in. Luckily, Wild had sold some precious stones earlier in the day with a merchant, so he had enough to pay for all of you.

“Inn’s kinda full, so we’re gonna have to share beds. I’ll share with whoever, don’t really have a preference.”

A few groans reverberate through the group, but there’s no conflict in pairing up.

Four walks up to you, hand on his knife holster, “Looks like it’s gonna be you and me, you ok with that?” You shrug, not like you had another option anyways.

You both walk to the vacant bed, which happens to be toward the very back of the inn, opposite of the main office. Wild’s inns were cozy, its just all the open space and vulnerability made you anxious.

“I’ll be right with you, don’t worry. I know how the lack of divided rooms affects you.” 

Ah, so he knew.

“Thank you, Four. I don’t know why I’m so squeamish around large, vast spaces and not with tight spaces. It’s usually the opposite for people.”

He nods. You both unpack your belongings, Four placing his and your packs under the bed, away from prying eyes. You fidgeted with the necklace he made you, feeling yourself zoning out.

“You two good? Dinner’s almost ready!” Wars yells out to you both from the entrance. Four smiles, and you two walk out the inn towards the small campfire Wild made.

“If you start kicking me at night, I’m kicking you off the bed.” Legend says to Wind. 

“I don’t kick!!” he exclaims, throwing his arms up.

“I’ve slept right next to you plenty of times to know you do fuckin’ combat in your dreams.” Vet mumbles, eyes briefly glancing at you.

You sit down on the ground, leaning against Sky. God, you were tired. Sky leaned over you, “How are you, Dove?”

You just groan, leaning against his leg. 

“Yeah, same.”

You shiver again. Sky looks at you, then reaches behind him, grabbing a blanket. Where did he get that?

Leaning over you, he drapes it over you, tucking you in. You beam at him, “You’re so sweet, thank you Sky.”

Leaning against his leg, he absentmindedly brushes through your locks while you look into the fire. Wild gives you a smile as he tosses a few mushrooms in and a few dashes of goron spice.

You look to your left, Legend’s eyes on yours. He looks exhausted. 

You glance back at the fire, feeling a blush creeping in at the attention from him. 

“You excited to head into Gerudo Town tomorrow?” Wild asks, still stirring the pot.

“Yeah! I haven’t had the chance to meet Riju yet. I also can’t wait to finally try the Hydromelons, you keep goin’ on and on about them.” you smile.

Wild chuckles, “They’re delicious and beneficial, especially for the heat during the day. I even have a spare Vai outfit for you, so you shouldn’t struggle as much. I’ll give it to you after supper if I remember to.”

You nod. You don’t really pay attention to the rest of the conversation, no one bothering to bring you out of your daze.

~

Considering how exhausted you felt just over an hour ago, you were awake as can be in bed. You tossed and turned for what felt like hours, trying to find the right spot to doze off in. Four was out the second he hit the pillow.

Sighing heavily, you sit up and hop off the bed, walking towards the entrance of the inn. The lights were barely on at this point in the night, but you could make out the sleeping forms of the heroes as you passed by them. You grabbed a spare blanket from on top of one of the crates in the in and wore it like a cape, walking over to the small fire. You were surprised to find Legend sitting on a log, staring into the fire. He looked up when he heard your footsteps, eyes widening the slightest bit at the recognition of your face.

“Couldn’t sleep.” you mumbled, sitting a few feet away from him. He doesn’t respond, continuing to stare at the fire.

The silence is awkward. 

“You look tired. You should sleep.” you say cautiously, not wanting to start conflict.

“‘m not. Can’t sleep anyways.” he mumbles.

Another moment of silence passes.

“Did I do something?” you ask, voice small.

He still doesn’t say anything. You were getting on edge, this wasn’t like him. He’s snarky, quick to talk back.

“What’s going on with you? A few days ago you were teasing me and goofing off with Wind and now you barely say a word, if that. If it’s something I said or did-”

“You didn’t do anything, Y/n.”

“You say that but you still won’t even look at me or talk to me. What are you so afraid of-”

“For the love of- Stop. Fucking stop. You don’t know me, stop trying to act like you care.”

“Excuse me?”

He finally looks at you, eyebrows furrowed and knuckles white on his knees, weeping to be relaxed and unclenched. He looked angry, scared, betrayed, horrified. 

“I see how you look at me, full of pity and sadness, like I’m some fucking charity case to you. You think you may know all about my past, just because you’re our-my guide, but you don’t. You can’t even begin to imagine what I feel. What I have to be reminded of every time I close my eyes.”

“Link I don’t pity you and I have never pretended to know exactly what you went through. I know I was there, but I also know I don’t know what it was like for you and how it affected you.”

“I see how you are with the others. Time? Twilight? They look at you in ways I’ve never seen them look at someone. Hell, everyone looks at you like you’re some goddess descended upon Hyrule. I fucking- I can’t stand it.”

“I-”

“I don’t even know why you’re with us, Y/n. Why the fuck are you here, dealing with this prophecy cult bullshit? You could’ve avoided this if you weren’t stupid-”

“I NEVER FUCKING ASKED TO BE HERE.”

He seemed to shut up at your exclamation.

You took a shaky breath, already feeling the tears spilling from your eyes.

“You think I asked to be dragged through a portal, possibly never being able to come home? You think I fucking wanted this? I never wanted to become some ‘guide’ or ‘goddess’ as you put it. I’m just a nobody, a fucking girl that’s depressed and found comfort in characters that she could relate to, but I guess I was wrong. I can’t relate at all. To you, to Time, to any of you. I’m just some sorry excuse of a guide that’s scared of being alone and left behind.”

You were sobbing at this point, snot running down your chin, the tears clouding up your vision in front of you.

“I’m sorry I’ll leav-” 

“Please don’t go. I need you, Link.”

Legend paused at that, processing your words.

“Ok. I’ll stay.”

You cautiously cuddled into his side, panting for air from your panic attack. 

You needed him.

“I need you too, Mouse.”

You looked up at him at the mention of your nickname. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had been crying for days on end. He wiped your tears away with his thumb, eyes not leaving your face.

“Kiss me, Link.”

And he did. 

Legend groaned slightly into your mouth, causing you to gasp. He took it as an invitation to run his tongue along yours, your tears still running into your mouth, making your lips taste salty. He ran his callosed hands down your back and pulled you in closer, as if he was afraid this was a dream and you’ll leave him.

Just when you thought he was done, he pulled you onto his lap, blanket falling off your shoulders onto a heap on the ground. He moaned into your lips, making you press yourself against him, chest to chest. You wanted, needed more.

“More, Link-ah.” you whined.

He seemed to slow at your whining, coming back to reality. He sighed, placing his forehead against yours.

“I want to, Mousey. Trust me, I do, I just… someone might walk out here.”

You groan into his shoulder, but he was right. It was too risky.

He lifts your face off of his shoulder, tilting your chin up “But once we have some privacy I’ll give you more, ok? I promise.”

You flush at his words, knowing what he was insinuating.

“We should go in, before someone starts panicking. Would you… want to sleep next to me?” he asks, the tips of his ears bright pink. You nod, picking up the blanket from the ground. You suddenly felt very sleepy.

Following Legend back into the inn, you noticed Wind had fallen off the bed and made his way into Four’s bed, which seemed all a little too convinient for your current situation, but you were too tired to care. 

You flopped into bed, and Legend followed suit, stripping his sheath and outer tunic before cuddling up to you. He placed a kiss on your forehead before whispering, “Goodnight, my little mouse.”

~

“Rise and shine fuckers!!” 

You groan into your… pillow? That’s weird, when did it become so firm-oh. Oh.

The “pillow” groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. His pink hair was all over the place, under eyes still as droopy as ever. Yawning, he looked down at you with a sleepy smile.

“Guessin’ you slept well?”

“Huh?”

“You drooled all over me.”

“Oh, grossss. I’m so sorry Leg-”

“Don’t worry about it, I got another tunic in my pack.”

You stop to look at him. Really look at him. You haven’t had a moment like this with him… ever. He looked so happy, eyes crinkling in the corners, half unbuttoned tunic, hair messy from sleep. You wanted to see him happy. All of them, happy.

“Alright, love birds! Breakfast and out let’s go, let’s go!” Wind yelled again, clapping his hands.

You both rolled your eyes, begrudgingly getting out of bed. You pulled your tunic on, lacing it up in the back. You looked up while lacing to see him staring at you. He gave you a wink and went back to getting dressed as if it was another day on the job.

How the hell is he so casual about this?

You didn’t have time to dwell as Wild’s cooking snapped you out of your daze, bringing you outside to the same pot you and Legend were sitting at just a few hours ago. Legend was alreadyeating, looking up at you mid-bite for a moment before continuing to eat.

You sit in between Four and Warriors, Wild handing you a plate before you sat down. 

Before you had a chance to take a bite, Wars asked “Where’d you and the Vet go last night?”

Shit, was he awake that entire time?

“We both couldn’t sleep, just sat by the fire for a bit.”

“Chat about anything?”

You narrowed your eyes.

What the hell was he getting at?

“Just… stuff. What are-” “Jeez Cap, leave her alone, would ya?” Vet snaps, already back to his typical snarky self. You mouth a ‘thanks’ to him, finally able to dig into your food. A few of the others exchange looks, curious about the sudden defensiveness Vet had over you.

You’d have to clear things up with Wars later, as Wild was ushring you back into the inn the second you finished chewing your last bite of food, needing to get you changed into more appropriate clothing.

“I managed to buy another vai outfit a few months back, I hope you like red.”

Wild hands you a bundle of soft red fabric, embroidered with silky golden thread and lace trim. Jesus, this looked expensive.

“Wild, you sure? This looks really expensive.”

“It really wasn’t, trust me. Now come on, we gotta get dressed and head out, Riju is expecting us.”

You nodded, already starting to strip your outer layers while Wild went outside to change. Thankfully, nobody was inside the inn so you could change quickly and quietly without any prying eyes. You catch a mirror in the far corner of the inn, deciding to take a quick once-over before you go out, and check on your healing back.

You turn around and your breath hitches.

Your wounds are completely gone.

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[whencyclopedia]

Ajanta

Approximately 67 miles (107 km) to the north of Aurangabad in the Indhyadri range of Western Ghats lie the caves of Ajanta. The 30 caves, famous for their early Buddhist temple architecture and many delicately drawn murals, are located in a 76 m high, horseshoe-shaped escarpment overlooking the Waghora (tiger) River. The river originates from a picturesque waterfall called sat kund (seven leaps) just off the last cave. It serves as a potent reminder of the natural forces that over untold eons have shaped the basaltic layers of the Deccan plateau. Also a part of the Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary, this primordial landscape provides a fitting background to one of the finest collections of paintings from India's antiquity.

Accorded UNESCO World Heritage site status in 1983 CE, the ancient name of the site is untraceable today. Its current name is derived from a neighbouring village, the local pronunciation of which is Ajintha. It would be of interest to note, that Ajita is the colloquial name of Maitreya Buddha.

Timeline & Patronage

The period of excavation (used as synonymous to the carving of the caves) can be divided into two broad phases. The earliest caves (Cave 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15A), belonging to the Hinayana phase of Buddhism, can be roughly traced back to the 2nd century BCE, with its period of activity continuing to around the 1st century CE during the rule of Satavahana Dynasty (2nd century BCE – 2nd century CE). The later phase of activities, between 5th and 6th century CE, largely took place under the patronage of the Vakataka dynasts (3rd century – 5th century CE). The Vakatakas were contemporaries of the Gupta Empire. The greatest flourish of this phase took place during the brief but remarkable reign of the Vakataka Emperor, Harisena (460 CE - 477 CE). By then the “mythologising tendency of Indian thought” (Coomaraswamy) had already given birth to Mahayana Buddhism from more austere Hinayana practices.

The excavation and creation of the caves seem to have been a more community effort in the earlier phase. Group efforts contributed to the building of various parts of the caves, from the façades to single cells. Later, however, construction was marked by sponsorship from influential patrons and local feudatories. Inscriptions from Caves 4, 16, 17, 20, and 26 indicate that often multiple caves were constructed under the benefaction of one patron; examples would include local Risika king Upendragupta, Harisena's Prime Minister Varahadeva, and the Asmaka monk Buddhabhadra. Royal patronage did not, however, restrict its accessibility to an exclusive clique. Thus, despite being a Shaivaite emperor (at least at the time of accession to throne), Harisena presided over the execution of some of the finest depictions of Buddhist legends.

Continue reading...

[psychicreadsgirl]

Hi , can you do Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship dynamics?

They feed off of each other's ego/fame? That's the feeling I get. They both very enjoy the spotlight and the attention. I feel that they love the support/love that they get from others as a couple, more so than loving each other. They both share similar goals in terms of career in a way; they both want to be very famous and rich. They both care a lot about having that fame/popularity/love from others. That helps to sustain this relationship.

Travis is getting more attention from the public than before (i.e. more non sports fans recognize him). Taylor also continues to stay relevant/in the spotlight, partly due to this relationship. Not saying that her work/her name doesn't make her relevant, but that this relationship helps her stay in the headlines as well. She knows that her fans/people generally like "cute" couples that suit each other.

I don't really feel like they share many deep conversations. They do, though, share similar values in life like they both care a lot about material things in life and luxuries. They both like to say that they care about things that people would say you should care about like the environment or feminism, but it doesn't mean that they actually care about those things in a meaningful way. It's important to care about those things because right now those are "popular"/favorable matters to care about and caring about those matters will help boost their image/careers. In that way they bond.

I do feel that they sometimes struggle with power/control. Travis and Taylor both have very strong personalities. They both enjoy being in control and making decisions. When they do argue because of different ideas sometimes, it can get challenging bc both refuse to back down/compromise.

I do think if they reach the topic of marriage/family, it can also get more challenging. I feel that Travis wants a more traditional wife once marriage hits like he'd want the wife to take on more of the childcare/household stuff and stay at home more to look after the kids. That is not something Taylor wants to do. Taylor still wants to continue with her career and I don't think, at this time, she wants to start a family. She still feels she's still young. If they were to have kids together, their parenting styles are very different, so they'd inevitably clash.

It may be possible that Taylor will get engaged to Travis and it might even be possible for them to marry, especially if Taylor is about to face some scandal or she feels like her career is sort of plateauing. Taylor will then exploit her relationship to refresh her career. She's a very career-oriented person.

[thevanillerose]

TRAINING | GLADIOLUS x READER | FFXV

~ WRITING COMMISSIONS ~ ~ PATREON ~ ~ KO-FI ~

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not own anything except my own writing. All properties belong to their respective creators.

“Hey, time to get up sleepy head!” “Mnn...” “C'mon princess, you'll have plenty time to doze later...” “Jes...just...one more minute...”

THWACK. “OW!”

You jolted up like you were on a spring, and quickly shoved his heavy boot away from your side. He hadn't kicked you hard, you were more irritated by the fact that he had pulled you out of such a nice dream. Riding a Chocobo through a field of fluffy white cotton. Ah...you could just...lay back down and...drift away again...

“Ah ah ah, you're not gonna slip that one by me. Come on-” A strong hand took you by the arm and hoisted you up before you had a chance to even open your eyes properly. Rubbing the sleep from them as you were sent stumbling forth and out of the tent flaps, you finally came to enough to turn and give him a good glare.

The man who woke you up was Gladiolus Amicitia- the trusted and loyal bodyguard for Prince Noctis. He stood tall in the sunlight...though he always stood tall, whatever the weather. Hard not to when you were pushing 6'6”. And if his height wasn't notable enough, his muscles certainly were. To say the guy worked out would be an understatement.

Amber eyes smirked back at you, and you scoffed, running a hand through your messy [H/C] hair so you could at least smooth it down. Yes, much like the Crown Prince himself, you were bad for sleeping in. However, Gladio hadn't even given you time to get ready, much less compose yourself. And you needed to. He was training you this morning...and training with him was really no joke.

“Remember what I taught you last time?” he walked over and slapped his palm down around your shoulder. You just looked up at him sourly. “I barely remember my own name right now.” He just laughed heartily. It was hard not to cheer up a bit when he did. His happy moments may not have been as infectious as Prompto's, but it was always nice to see such a tough man smile. Really, he wasn't so bad.

Gladio had been training you like this every morning for the past week while you camped out in Duscae, but it wasn't out of cruelty. If anything, it was the opposite.

You were more of a tactician than anything else, and sometimes you really felt tacked on to this party. Even being sent to accompany and protect Prince Noctis had been a last minute affair. Not that you were complaining...it was far better to be here than back in Insomnia.

You were still shaken by the news. And Noct...well...you tried not to ever talk about it with him.

Gladio only wanted you to feel like you were of more use, since you had told him you'd felt you weren't of any. He was looking out for you by doing this...as torturous as it could be having to wake up at the break of dawn and start exerting yourself. Regardless, you were grateful.

“C'mon princess, let's get going before the others wake up. You wanna be back in time for Ignis' famous breakfast, right?” Gladiolus attempted to spur you on with the promise of food, and yes, shamefully, it was enough to get you going. Letting him lead the way down off the camping plateau and toward the marshy plains, you jogged lightly after him, but soon picked up the pace enough to become level with the guy.

A little sweat was already gathering on your brow but you tried not to make a big deal of it. It would be true to say that part of you wanted to impress him. When it came to anything physical he was always the king, and you at least wanted to keep up in some respects.

Eventually you reached your destination, which was one of the fishing shacks arranged around the edges of the vast lake there. Coming to a stop by the mirror-esque water, you caught sight of yourself reflected within it. All hunched over with your hands on your knees like that and your hair strewn haphazardly around your face, you couldn't help grimacing.

So what? You were spending one-on-one time with an objectively attractive male. Who could really blame you for wanting to look presentable?

Quickly fixing yourself, you then turned and exhaled slowly, seeing that Gladio was already standing there ready and waiting to start the next phase of training. The run here was only meant as a warm up. Here was where the real tricky stuff started.

You called it 'tricky' because you really weren't a fighter. Sure, you could handle the daggers you carried well enough, but you were still distinctly lacking when it came to combat. Gladio was here to help you gain that sharp edge...to become more capable. You hoped.

“Let's pick up where we left off last time.” he cracked his knuckles, though it was for preparation, not intimidation. “You need to learn to become more aware of your surroundings. Half of combat is all about blocking. If you go crazy just trying to get in a hit anywhere you can, you'll not only tire yourself out, but you'll leave yourself completely open for a counterstrike.” This was all knowledge you could have inferred yourself, but you still listened to him intently as he carried on: “The key is timing. Knowing when to attack, and knowing when to shield yourself. Now-”

Suddenly, his fist swung. You gasped and stumbled back a step, quickly throwing up your arm in a clumsy fashion. Naturally he didn't plan on actually hitting you, but his knuckle still came close enough to give you a scare. Pulling back again, Gladio took another step towards you and laid his hand upon your shoulder once more, making sure you were steady. “See, now that's an issue. And it was only hand to hand too. You'll definitely struggle if you try to block a sword like that.”

Most certainly in the case of the one he carried. No innuendo intended.

“Right...okay...” you sighed heavily. A bout of weariness hit you again but you quickly shook your head to get rid of the sensation. Gladiolus didn't seem to notice, instead just carrying on with his lesson.

“Let me show you the best way of doing this. Take out your daggers for me.”

Doing as he asked, you placed them in his palm when he held it out expectantly. Lifting the weapons to his eyeline, Gladio then felt the blade of one between his thumb and forefinger, before humming and nodding.

“Yeah, it's strong enough alright.” “Strong enough for what?” Your innocently phrased question prompted a live demonstration from the man. And you didn't feel quite so innocent when he stood behind you and pressed up against your back.

It was in moments like these that you really noticed how small you were compared to him. You weren't actually that tiny for a girl, but you were practically a gnat in comparison to someone like Gladio. His strong and muscled arms looped around in front of your chest, though didn't wrap around you. Rather, he had only positioned himself in such a way so that he could take your hands in his and help guide the glinting blades. Even his hands alone seemed to engulf yours...

“See, if you cross them like this-” Gladio moved your limbs so that blade was against blade, forming something of an 'X' shape, “-it'll act as a makeshift shield for you. Blocking a two handed beast like this still isn't ideal, but it gives you an option if you don't have the time or speed to roll aside.”

As you stared up at the two intertwined blades, you could see the sun shining boldly through the gap. The heat from those golden rays beat down upon your already sweating face, and you squinted. Your vision started to blur, your knees wobbling.

Suddenly the sky was rolling around you. A mix of blues and greens shot through your vision, until you felt the middle of your back hit something firm. The sight before you was replaced by a sudden darkness, and your eyes fell heavy before closing...

Some time passed, yet for you it was an instant. Those same eyes of yours began to flicker, letting in little glimpses of far more filtered light, before eventually opening enough to let you see the canopy of leaves above. At your side, your palm ventured out to help push you up, gracing over a soft, cool fabric, set down against the slightly moist grass. Though you managed to urge yourself to sit, something quickly took hold of your shoulder.

You knew that motion anywhere.

Looking over, you could see Gladiolus sitting on the same navy blue blanket, his arm outstretched to hold you steady. His sharp amber eyes never left your weary visage for a second.

“Easy there...just take it slow.” he urged you cautiously, before gently letting his hand slip away when he was sure you were sitting fine. Blinking a few more times to clear away the last spots of drowsiness, you observed the gruff man with a furrowed brow.

“...What...what happened?” “You fainted.” he stated simply, turning his attention away from you momentarily to focus on the pot of food he was stirring, before looking back again. “It was my fault. I think I pushed you too much, too soon.” “No that's...that's what I wanted though...” you spoke drearily and shook your head in what felt like slow motion. Clearly you still weren't totally together after that ordeal, but at least you were in the shade.

Gladiolus must have caught you when you collapsed. Good thing he was standing right there, eh?

“Doesn't matter what you wanted, I should have seen it coming. Obviously you were already at your limit.” Gladiolus continued to scold himself while he spooned up some soup and motioned closer. His hand went to your lower back and he held the spoon before your lips. “Open up. Ignis made this for you.”

Usually you would have been internally freaking out at this point. Every time he touched you during training you always felt a bit of a spark anyway, but here he really was treating you like the 'princess' he affectionately called you (even though you were far from royalty). However, you were still so woozy that you merely did as he wanted with little reaction, opening your mouth and letting him feed you. It was delicious of course, as could be expected from the delicacy master himself- Ignis. Though a worrying thought came to mind as he helped you eat, and between your second and third spoonful you had to ask:

“-Did the other boys find out about this then?” “What, about you fainting?” Gladiolus smirked and shook his head. “Don't worry, I had a feeling you'd want to save face. I just told them you wanted to have breakfast down by the lake since it looked so nice. They didn't suspect a thing.”

Good. Relieved, you started to relax a little more. Your strength returned enough to let you finish the soup yourself, and once you had you felt magnanimously better. Finally, you were human again.

“That was awful. Dammit...why am I so weak?” you questioned curtly, and Gladiolus took his turn to frown. “[Y/N], you're not weak. Not even slightly. Do you think we could have come this far if you were?” He had a point. You were already well underway on your journey, and it wasn't like it had always been a piece of cake. Still... “I need to be stronger than this. I need to get stronger so I can protect the Prince...”

Yes. Maybe you did. But as Gladio looked at you, he didn't see a single thing he really wanted to change. At first he could admit that he had doubted how useful you would be as part of the Crownsguard. Yet over time he had come to see just how important you were to the team. You were incredibly smart, and quick thinking. You had a knack for knowing what to do even in the most baffling situations. Just as a good defence was as important as a good attack, it was also crucial to have that kind of clarity at your disposal.

Besides...that wasn't the only thing he had started to notice about you. You had many other notable assets too...and as you sat there in the mottled shade of the lakeside tree, he saw one of them very clearly. A gentle, tender smile had spread across your lips and in turn illuminated the rest of your features. Sometimes he doubted it was possible you could look any prettier, yet in that moment you perhaps looked the most beautiful he had ever seen you.

“Thank you, Gladio. For helping me so much. I promise I'll do better next time...” “Don't...don't worry about it.” Did he just stutter? Stumble over his words? Hell, he even rubbed the back of his neck like a sheepish schoolboy. Gladiolus quickly composed himself again though. Right now wasn't the right time for that. Right now he wasn't ready to reveal anything of that nature.

“You can take a day off tomorrow, and then we'll carry on after that.” he told you, to which you nodded affirmatively. “Sounds good.”

That was right. For the moment...he just had to focus.

In a way...he was training himself too.