#also getting free high velocity rocks!

[stellaskiesno1fan]

Who wants to come with me to put rocks through former chairman roses prison bars?

[lexkent]

clex fic rec part 1:

Identical Series by Lanning (400,450 words)

summary: Lex loses everything, and finds something better.

If He Would Fall by sabershadowkat (5,291 words)

summary: Lex realizes Clark will always catch him.

Most Regretted by Tallihensia (5,062 words)

summary: A meteor mutant shows Clark what he will most regret in his future. Will Clark learn from it?

Reconcilable Differences by astolat (38,799 words)

summary: Luthor Family Values.

Soothing out the Hurts by Tallihensia (4,977 words)

summary: If one learns to harm people, one must also learn to heal. Superman accidentally hurts Lex and decides he has to make up for it.

The Perfect Life by A_Fallen_Sister (9,042 words)

summary: A little Thanksgiving tale. Lex and Clark have been angst-free for years, but life is not entirely without problems.

To Legends by Tallihensia (655 words)

summary: A final toast to legends.

Ants And Other Higher Lifeforms by Dayspring (3,123 words)

summary: He really didn't want to come back as an ant.

Escape Velocity by Bagheera (7,119 words)

summary: What if the meteor rocks had given Lex super speed?

Two Halves by Dolimir (31,254 words)

summary: A 'what if' Lex found Clark before the Kents did story.

Lex and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman by arysteia (16,816 words)

summary: Evil-doers have seized control of the Daily Planet building. Can Clark save the day, rescue Lois, Perry and Jimmy, and reconcile with Lex, all without revealing his secret identity?

Of Gods and Men by Lenore (17,176 words)

summary: What does it mean to be great?

i think that possibly maybe i'm falling for you by Nicnac (3,058 words)

summary: After the incident with Duncan, Lex is quietly asked to transfer to a different school. Lionel decides to send him to Smallville High as punishment for his misconduct, and Lex is chosen as that year's Scarecrow. Luckily, he's saved by local college student and unofficial town hero, Clark Kent.

Sealed with a Kiss by laceymcbain (28,613 words)

summary: Pete: "We're standing in Lex's office with Lana serving coffee right outside and I'm waiting for you to kiss me so we can see if you poison me or not. That's weird, Clark--even by Smallville standards."

Not a Villain by Tallihensia (156,782 words)

summary: When Clark makes a discovery about Conner, honor forces him to tell Lex. Lex comes by to see for himself.

Dancing at The Purple Parrot by laceymcbain (17,965 words)

summary: Lex couldn’t believe it, but the man seemed to be blushing. An awkward stripper in plaid who was blushing. “Oh, no,” Lex murmured to himself. “Oh God, no.”

Fixing Things by Tallihensia (45,049 words)

summary: Lex Luthor is his father's fix-it man for failing companies. But when Lex unexpectedly comes across Clark Kent again, can he fix what went wrong between them eight years ago? And will Clark let him? Through the meteor mutants trying to kill them, Clark and Lex try to find their way again.

Someone To Watch Over Me by Dolimir (22,034 words)

summary: What if the government had stepped in and collected people affected by the meteors when Clark was still a toddler?

Lover's Choice by Tallihensia (3,383 words)

summary: Lex's old lover wants him back in her cold embrace. Clark doesn't want to let him go.

Catharsis by arysteia (4,285 words)

summary: Aristotle says that tragedy purges the negative emotions of the audience. Can angsty porn purge the negative emotions of the Smallville audience? Let's give it a shot. Lex finally calls Clark on a few things.

Devil's Deal by Bagheera (29,560 words)

summary: Lex sells his soul to the devil to bring his son back from the dead. Can Clark get it back for him? 

Cookie Dough & Candy Hearts by Dayspring (3,853 words)

summary: Lex, liquor, and Martha Kent make for an interesting Valentine's Day.

iHero by I I B N F (iibnf) (80,571 words)

summary: Bitten by a radioactive CD player, Lex gets super powers and just about everything he ever wanted, not that he'd ever admit he wanted what he gets.

Cooking Considered As One Of The Fine Arts by Caro (thestarsexist) (2,906 words)

summary: Sometimes part of being a good mother is knowing the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Manifest Destiny by Liviapenn (24,180 words)

summary: Giant robots and things exploding.

The Lost Soul by tasabian (4,975 words)

summary: When a malicious act of magic separates Clark's soul from his body, only one person realizes how to help him.

Run by Dayspring (31,667 words)

summary: "The castle blew up right after I dragged him from the shower. We've…we've been running ever since." 

The Reset by tasabian (4,764 words)

summary: An unexpected portal opening in Smallville causes Lex Luthor from 2002 to trade places with Lex Luthor from 2018. How will it change the timeline as we know it?

Purple by Dayspring (13,922 words)

summary: Martha doesn't need an advanced degree in Art to figure it out, but Jonathan might.

Shadows & Stone: Smallville Stories by laceymcbain (83,680 words)

summary: Lex's evening has scored particularly high on the Luthor Scale of Tragic Dates. When he confesses to Toby that he thinks he's destined to be alone, an eavesdropping Clark is determined to change his mind.

Pheromones by Tallihensia (4,009 words)

summary: Lex and Batman take on the Bee Queen. It doesn't quite end up the way they planned and Superman has to step in to save Lex.

Time and Chance by Dayspring (111,267 words)

summary: Lex is pregnant. Nobody's happy. This is an mpreg (male pregnancy story). But this isn't one of those funny, life-is-great mpregs. It's full of bad days and sad days and people being ordinary pain-in-the-butts.

A Mad Season by Dolimir (22,683 words)

summary: An AU look at what might have happened if all of Lex's Smallville memories had been erased when Lionel ordered electroshock therapy.

Golden by CJAndre, Noelle (28,676 words)

summary: Lex smirked at his wishful thinking, but he knew that whatever the situation, he could handle it.

Then, confronted with the sight in front of him, he realized that maybe he couldn't handle it at all.

Memoirs Of An Alien Who Fell To Earth by Dayspring (10,566 words)

summary: See the title. FUTUREFIC.

Feel free to message me if you'd like trigger warnings on any specific fic listed. There's some very dark content here and not all is tagged.

Also @clarklexlois has an excellent clex fic rec list with descriptions, and it's actually what got me into fanfic!💖

[stardustandash]

here, at the bottom

Whumptober Day 14: Left For Dead

Above, the railcar zips down the line. His plan worked, the others will find a way to get back to the Marauder and survive. They must. If his life, or rather his death, means anything, it will mean that they escape. They will find Crosshair and free him from the Empire.

Ao3 Link - follow the link for bonus content for the fic!

In some way, Tech thinks, it is poetic to die for his family. He’s never been one for poetry, preferring books about facts and formulae, but he can appreciate the artistry of the words and the emotions behind them. Something about falling so that his family can fly. There’s beauty in there somewhere, but he’s never been able to put words together like that.

Above, the railcar zips down the line. His plan worked, the others will find a way to get back to the Marauder and survive. They must. If his life, or rather his death, means anything, it will mean that they escape. They will find Crosshair and free him from the Empire. Perhaps they will even find a way to bring down the Empire, Tech muses. It would be nice to think that he has a hand in bringing about the destruction of a force so antithetical to the ideals of the Republic.

The wind whistles as it passes by. It’s cold where it slips through the gaps in his armour. The gravity on Eriadu is a bit lower than the galactic standard, which means terminal velocity is slower. It takes him no time to compute what rate of speed he must be falling at, and how far he has already fallen. With the wind rushing past him it feels faster.

He does not know how high up the rail line is.

He isn’t sure he wants to know.

Tech is still anchored to the severed end of the rail car. It falls with him, promising a truly gruesome end. His body will be flattened. Smashed between rock and durasteel until there is nothing but organic paste and broken armour left behind. It will be horrible for anyone who finds him. If anyone comes looking.

But Tech knows they will. Hunter and Wrecker will not do the smart thing and let his body lie to be claimed by the planet, and young Omega will be the loudest voice to insist they go back if the past has proved anything. He cannot let them find shattered remains.

It is simple enough to sever himself from the railcar. The grapple detaches with a simple click of a button on his belt. The harder part is maneuvering himself away from its path. To do so he must flip over in the air and angle himself away from the railcar in hopes that he can gain enough distance.

It also gives him a visual to the ground. There is not much empty space left. He is heading right for a patch of trees and rocky ground. There is nothing he can do to change this, but every instinct the Kaminoans instilled in him screams for survival. If he can get to the trees, if he can use them to somehow slow his fall, maybe he can live to see his family once more. Though for once he does not want to know the odds, his mind calculates it anyway. The result is disheartening. Yet he cannot help but to try. It is instinct, after all.

Below Tech the trees rise to meet him. He only has one chance at this, and pours all his focus into ensuring the timing is right. He takes as deep a breath as he can while falling and stretches out his arms.

The branch hits him with the force of a ship from lightspeed.

Branches snap. Tech sees a swirl of sky and branches as he falls through the canopy. He bounces off a branch, feels something snap in his ribcage. Another crunches his leg. He scrabbles for hold of something, anything, but he’s falling too fast to find purchase. Wood splinters through his gloves as he falls down, down, and with a final thud, lands in darkness.

.

.

.

There’s light.  Tech has never believed in any of the fictions derived by the grieving of a better place or a light at the end of the tunnel, yet here he is, staring into a bright light. Slowly sound comes back to him, at first just a ringing in his ears, but then the sound of an engine overhead.

He is alive.

He is alive and has been located. By whom he does not know, but this is a planet full of hostile enemies and that does not bode well for him. Tech does not hope that it is the rest of Clone Force 99. They should be long gone by now. Hunter would know to get them away to safety before making a plan to retrieve him.

Which means Tech needs to move, to hide and figure out how to get himself out. He is an elite operative of the former Republic, it should be simple enough to slip out of sight and send a distress call to the rest of the team.

But he cannot move.

Tech goes to get to his feet and make for the shelter of the trees but nothing responds. One of his hands twitches, but that’s as much as he gets. It takes him a long moment to realize he cannot feel his legs. Which is highly problematic. Fear takes hold once again as he realizes that he cannot get away.

No, it’s not fear. It is panic. An emotion Tech is unfamiliar with.

The blinding light moves, revealing the shadow of a LAAT coming in for landing behind it. Tech can do nothing but watch as the LAAT lands and stormtroopers swarm out of it. There’s someone unarmoured as well, but in the glare it is hard to make out any features.

As the group advances towards him with their weapons drawn Tech feels that biting, urgent, heart pumping panic gripping him tighter. He has been many things in his life, but never before so helpless. His hand twitches again. It is a far cry from the spring into action that he wants.

When the group gets close enough Tech can begin to make out the face of the person advancing with the stormtroopers. Dr. Royce Hemlock. The one that is likely keeping Crosshair captive at his hidden facility. Hope flutters briefly at the edges of his panic. Perhaps in taking him captive as well, he will be able to reunite with Crosshair and transmit their location data to the others.

Dr. Hemlock crouches down beside Tech along with a stormtrooper with a medkit and scanner. Tech watches, silent, as the scanner is held over him and the results shared on a datapad between the two. It does not comfort him when Dr. Hemlock’s face twists into a frown. He can only watch as Dr. Hemlock reaches out and lifts off his helmet. Without it in place, the world is odd, distorted, and it takes Tech a moment to realize that is because his goggles are shattered and broken. It is a miracle he did not lose his vision completely, but at a guess there are cuts in his face.

He wouldn’t know. He can’t feel anything.

Dr. Hemlock looks down at him, surprise colouring his features for a second before his face is schooled into a calm mask.

“Ah, CT-9902 I presume. So unfortunate to make your acquaintance under these circumstances,” says Dr. Hemlock.

Tech says nothing. He isn’t positive about his ability to speak at the moment, and he does not yet know what the doctor wants with him.

“It is impressive that you survived the fall. It’s what, two hundred, three hundred feet? We found the rail car earlier and imagine my surprise when you weren’t with it.”

Tech watches him. The man speaks softly, like he’s trying to soothe him or lull him into lowering his defences. It won’t work. The man has Crosshair, and if Crosshair called them for help, it would not do well to relax around him.

Dr. Hemlock checks the readout from the datapad again and sighs.

“It is a disappointment to find you like this. You would have been a great asset to the Empire, but like this you are useless to me,” says Dr. Hemlock. There is something akin to sadness in his voice, but it isn’t the real thing.

When Dr. Hemlock reaches down for him again Tech’s breath catches. He wants to move, flee or strike he does not know which, but anything to not have this man touch him. Nothing happens of course. When Dr. Hemlock’s hands make contact with the sides of his head Tech feels nothing but a slight pressure against his skull. Then his goggles are being lifted away from his face.

Tech chokes out a cry to see his goggles dangling from Dr. Hemlock’s gloved hand. No words make it past his lips but the meaning is clear. Dr. Hemlock just gives him a smile that drips with oil.

“Oh these? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they get to the rest of your squad. They will want something to remember you by.”

With that Dr. Hemlock stands and wipes non-existent dust off his knees. With a nod to his men they turn around and pile back into the LAAT. The engines whine on, and the ship lifts into the air. The spotlight is no longer active. Tech is left staring at a dark sky.

The stars above Tech are unfamiliar, blurring without the use of his goggles. He does not cry. His body is broken beyond the point of tears. The stars wheel overhead and he thinks of his brothers, his sister. The lives they’ve lived and the places they’ve seen. He thinks of Phee, of the almost-something between them and his refusal to acknowledge that leaving would be the end of it. Better to return without having said goodbye, but now he regrets it.

He wonders if they will look for him, or if Dr. Hemlock handing over the goggles will kill any chance of that. Will they look at his recordings and hear his voice again? Will they find him down here, at the bottom of a rocky slope?

Their faces loom in his mind, committed to his memory. The curve of Hunter’s brow when he’s thinking over strategy with him in the middle of the night. Crosshair rolling his eyes at a joke and his small proud smile. Wrecker’s wide grin as they pull off a crazy plan. Echo’s quiet companionship during long stretches in hyperspace. Omega’s boundless curiosity and small arms around his waist. Phee’s low voice telling him a story. Like this, in his memory, they are with Tech. Here at the bottom. At the end.

[sonuhose]

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Rubber sand Blasting Hoses

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[existentialmagazine]

Review: Telling Secrets’ new pounding alternative-rock single ‘Fall Behind’ tells the story of tumultuous change and frustrations

Telling Secrets like many upcoming bands was realised way back in the pandemic of 2021, stemming from the sole architect Vik Kovacs. As somewhat of a nomad musician, Kovacs was born in Budapest, Hungary, before growing up in the UK, moving between London, Surrey, and Manchester, and later travelling to Los Angeles where he currently resides. Now looking to “raise the bar for the modern rock genre”, Telling Secrets share their newest offering ‘Fall Behind.’

The bombastic soundscape of ‘Fall Behind’ doesn’t waste any time in making itself known from the second you press play, an all consuming and thunderous approach that wraps you around its vast feel, tumultuous velocity and lingering reverberation. From the opening’s frenzied drums to the shredding electric guitar strums and emphatic riff, ‘Fall Behind’ is relentlessly dominant in making its presence heard and pulling you in for more, a short burst of power and control before simmering down into the verses’ bubbling trepidation. Lulling you into a false sense of security, ‘Fall Behind’ hovers through electronic beats and subdued guitar strums that are still rich and heavy but kept afar, instead slowly building the heightened sound back up through the presence of the soon re-joining slamming drums. Delivering his pained lines atop this with a half sung, half emo-rap embodiment, this downbeat moment allows for Telling Secrets to place his heavy-hearted narrative front and centre of everything without being smothered by the almost overshadowing vigour of the instrumentals abilities. Finally erupting once again back into a chorus high, ‘Fall Behind’ lets it all loose once again, exploding into hard-hitting drums, powerful guitar and a bright unfolding riff, all the while Telling Secrets’ bursts into a sung, euphorically agile chorus range that’s a stark shift from what we heard before. With his words drenched in a very human strain and rawness, you can’t help but feel the exuding emotion behind every line, a gritty and intentionally bare deliverance of it all both in sound and lyricism. As things push forwards for nearing four minutes of harsh but completely addictive sound, ‘Fall Behind’ only continues to get better the longer you listen - and we’d recommend listening to it all.

With many of Telling Secrets’ releases detailing a common theme of change, sole architect Kovacs’ seems to be writing a narrative of a similar nature bundled within ‘Fall Behind’, taking inspiration from the frustrations that he dealt with throughout the processes of moving halfway across the world. As the opening lyric rings out ‘I can’t seem to see, but I’ll keep on going, one day I’ll be free’, this initial link to his own journey feels incredibly clear, yearning for an escape from a seemingly endless process to once again be reunited with simple freedoms. With no end in sight however, further lines like ‘I’ve been holding my tears for way too long now’ keep bottled up inside the growing resentment and overwhelm to be trapped in this way, a desperate desire to be unshackled from this existence. Critical of the world we live in, Kovacs’ continues to sing ‘take me away from this society’ , hoping for a change in what we deem to be normal and simply finding acceptance in everyone. With such a magnitude of change, there’s also undoubtably a mass of severed ties along the way, emphasised through lyrics like ‘keeping account of the losses I’ve dealt’ that seem to reflect on everything and everyone left behind. The seeping edges of a romance also weave their way through the storytelling, clinging to lyrics like ‘fall behind, kiss me at the back of the line’ that leave us wondering how their story will unfold, perhaps kept apart by distance or life’s roadblocks along the way. With multifaceted interpretations for every line, ‘Fall Behind’ manages to not just be captivatingly meaningful, but in many ways relatable to whatever story you see yourself within.

Check out ‘Fall Behind’ for yourself here to enjoy both the dark sound and deeply engaging lyrical matter buried within it.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

[super-10-dump-truck-california]

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[somethinga7]

So after getting this comment on twitter (and me being extremely petty) I decided to look into it. It doesn’t really matter if I keep the 24-29km/h croc speed as sea monster speed after all but I did say I’d lower it to 20km/h so I’m sticking to my case.

1. This is a free fall calculator, not jumping. As we can see initial velocity (vº) is 20km/h (my estimate) and height is 2m and our result is 30km/h (like you said) that is NOT the speed they’d need to go at to get that height. This is a falling calculator, that’s the increase. That is how fast something falling constantly at 20km/h for 2m will accelerate to. Now maybe I’m wrong and/or you’re qualified, I know I’m not qualified and physics confuses me, but this seems right.

The easiest way to tell imho is to compare to something else. Luckily for us, there is an animal that likes to jump like L+A: Dolphins (for consistency, I will only be referring to bottlenose dolphins and I’ll just refer to them as dolphins)

Dolphins can jump up to 20ft (or 6m) and the fastest ever recorded vertical speed for a jump was 40km/h and they typically stay within a few meters of the water’s surface

Although that is double what I estimated for sea monsters, there is some important factors to consider:

1. The boys don’t really jump that high, their highest is about 4m MAAAAYYYBE 4.5m (I very roughly measured how high they got using Luca’s height [two sources for this, one saying 4’11, the other says 5’1 so I went with 5’0 .•. 4.5m = 15ft or 3 Lucas])

1.5 Their highest jump is one of two where they go almost directly vertically btw

2. That is the very fastest speed ever recorded, not the average, it could be an outlier.

3. Even if we took none of that into consideration, L+A should still be able to jump 3m at 20km/h if a dolphin can do 6 at 40km/h which is 1m more than OP said they would need to go at 22km/h to get

But I suspect that dolphins are not constantly going at 40km/h for their jumps. It only takes putting a dolphin at 30km/h to get the numbers necessary, giving us a speed (km/h) to height (m) ratio of 5:1

If we got this ratio, ie. got dolphins typically going at 30km/h instead of 40, it would allow L+A to reach a height of 4m at 20km/h… and what do you know

Taking off the 3km/h gives the boys an additional 20cm of height so 4.2m at 20km/h

Completely unrelated to me being petty but I also wanted to see how fast L+A would clear the Portorosso Cup swim. It looks somewhat far so let’s say a full Olympic size pool, or 50m each way

Now we need to know how fast L+A can go in m/s. 20km/h would be 5.5°m/s (° means repeating btw) that means it’d take Luca or Alberto 9.09 seconds per 50m (they have to swim back so 18.18s), considering they’re going full speed the whole time. But they’ve gotta speed up first so let’s be more realistic and get an acceleration speed

We can assume in the runaway scene that they’re going somewhat fast as Luca is running away so they’d want to be going fast + general excitement, so let’s say they’re already going 5-7.5km/h

Alberto’s first jump after the jump over the rock starts at about 3 Lucas deep or 4.5m he covers the distance in 1 second of screentime and got a jump of about 3m meaning he should be going about 15km/h by the time he reaches the water’s surface

Acceleration is in metres squared or meters per second per second. This means at 1m/s/s it takes 5 seconds to reach 5m/s. The acceleration value for going from 5km/h to 15km/h in 1 second (Alberto’s speed) is 2.778m/s/s and from 7.5km/h it is 2.08m/s/s this means it takes 1.98-2.64 seconds for them to reach 5.5m/s (or 20km/h) their max speed.

That means you’d only have to add 1.98-2.64 to that original finish time, so 18.18 + 1.98-2.64. giving us 20.16-20.82 seconds for them to finish the whole swim (a 100m swim) (btw a dolphin does it in 13.7s so it’s matching up still)

For comparison, that is HALF the time of the world record for a 100m swim (46.86s) and let’s say Giulia is considered B grade (the lowest competitive grade and the top 55% for age group competitively) as she trains quite hard for this competition. Just from one source (I’m lazy leave me alone) it would take a 13yo B grade girl 122.7 seconds to swim 100m, that is a whopping 5.9-6 times as long as it takes Luca and Alberto

Sea monster speed

I think I’ve got a pretty good estimate of the swim speed of a sea monster from Luca

First thing I needed was some way of determining how fast they were able to go at a certain time. Thankfully Luca has fish that his family farm. While these fish themselves are not a real species, there is a very compelling substitute: The Gilt-Head Bream.

This fish is very common all throughout the Mediterranean, it eats plant material (like we see Luca’s fish do) and it lives around 0-30m deep and near seagrass beds (exactly where Luca lives) it also is quite popular to eat so that’d explain why Luca’s family farm them, and while not too important it also looks like Luca’s goat-fish

Now the problem with determining Luca’s speed is that most fish speeds are really only estimates. So finding speed references for the gilt-head bream was a pain in the ass but I found a study putting them at about 2.448km/h (the study didn’t have a massive sample so take that with a grain of salt)

That sounds slow, until you compare it to the average human, who is estimated to have a swim speed of 2.1km/h and the max speeds the best of the best can reach unassisted is about 8-10km/h

As for our sea monster max speed, I decided to compare to similarly shaped animals and the most similar in my opinion, is crocodiles.

I decided to be realistic and go with one of the slower ones, the saltwater crocodile, who has a max speed range of 24-29km/h. I also decided to lower the sea monster speed just because 1. They’re rounder so not as good at cutting through water and 2. They also don’t really need to go quite as fast since they’re not hunting.

So my estimations for a sea monster swim speed is anywhere between 2.448km/h to 20km/h.

Meaning even if he wasn’t really trying, say putting in as much effort as jogging, Luca would easily win the swimming aspect of the portorosso cup.

[lhs3020b]

I’m back to my slow replay of Mass Effect 2 Legendary, which also means that I’m back to finding mild scientific headscratchers in the galaxy map.

It’s obvious enough what happened to Laban - I don’t think any of us will have trouble filling in the blanks here. What’s not obvious to me is the apparent stability of free oxygen at a surface temperature of 384 degrees C? Shouldn’t it be reacting with the surface rock and, well, everything, basically? Because it’s oxygen and that’s what oxygen does? Especially superheated oxygen? Also, uh, where is all this oxygen coming from? There’s no suggestion of plant life on Laban, and while photodisassociation absolutely Is A Thing, I can’t really see it operating on quite this scale?

I’m also a little puzzled by all that helium. OK, Laban has a fairly high surface gravity and in fairness I haven’t cranked the handle on the numbers to get an escape velocity out, but I have my doubts about whether a terrestrial planet is going to be able to hold a lot of helium (and if it can, why didn’t its planetary embryo turn into a gas giant during the system’s formation?).

As ever, you have to be me to be puzzling over this stuff, but this is my Tumblr, so here we go again :)

[beevean]

Favourite video game composers?

Where do I begin.

Fumie Kumatani is a legend among legends, responsible for some of the finest, most emotional works in the Sonic games, especially in Adventure 1 and Unleashed. At Dawn? Tricky Maze? Tikal’s theme? Gamma's theme? For True Story? Supporting Me? The Last Scene? High and Broken? Gaia Gate? Cool Edge Night? Skyscraper Scamper Day? All hers.

Jun Senoue? Hello? The perpetual banger machine? Giving us quality content since 1994? Even excluding the facemelting masterpieces that are the Crush 40 songs, I cannot possibly link all of my favorite works, my man can go from the hardest buttrock to the most somber piece. If you love an Adventure rock track, it was composed by him. Hell I even like some of his Sonic 4 work!

Tomoya Ohtani sort of replaced Senoue in the 10s, and he evolved an "anime" style, but before that his versatility had no peers and he’s also extremely prolific. The Knuckles raps, The ARK, His World, Wave Ocean (both with the help of Mariko Nanba) Crisis City (+ Classic and Modern remixes), Flame Core, End of the World, Endless Possibility, Windmill Isle Day, Rooftop Run Day (+ Classic and Modern remixes), Aquarium Park’s themes, Sea Bottom Segue, Infinite’s theme, Egg Gate, Mortar Canyon...

Kenichi Tokoi has been with us since Sonic Jam and I can't get enough of his jazzy, energetic style. You have no idea how many bangers he composed, and few people appreciate him! He gave us The Dreamy Stage, Egg Carrier’s theme (with some help from Kumatani), Mechanical Resonance, Unknown from M.E. (the good version), Battle Highway, all of Cyber Track themes, Sand Ruins, The Palace that Was Found, Unawakening Float, It Has Come To This, the Werehog Battle theme, Dragon Road Night, Jungle Joyride Night, Crimson Carnival, Planet Wisp’s themes, Terminal Velocity, Battle with Death Queen... I could go on forever. (and not Sonic related but Spaceship Strut has been living in my head rent free for years)

Hideaki Kobayashi! The one who can put an entire orchestra and choirs in a GBA soundchip! The one who gave us the delightful intro and history themes of Mega Collection! The one who made my favorite non-orchestral final boss theme (and horribly underrated) in the series! The one who gave us Solaris’s themes, the Egg Dragoon theme, Perfect Dark Gaia’s theme and Nega Wisp Armor’s themes! And easily the best staff roll theme in the series!

Yutaka Minobe is hella underrated, and his tracks often stand out in the soundtracks. He did The Doom, Ice Mountain, Music Plant, Lost Jungle, Deep Woods and the third Infinite boss theme.

Same for Mariko Nanba, who gave us Circus Park, Dusty Desert Quicksand, Tropical Jungle, White Acropolis, Kingdom Valley, Aquatic Base, Coral Cave, Haunted Ship and many of Colors’ area themes. (basically she’s half the reason ‘06′s ost is the greatest)

Tatsuyuki Maeda is not a name that you read often, but he also made some of my favorite tracks, from Volcano Valley to Gene Gadget, from Egg Rocket to Ocean Base.

Hideki Naganuma needs no introduction. Rush’s OST is iconic.

Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata, the geniuses behind CD's original soundtrack (and Sonic 2 8-bit, a personal favorite of mine), are a mandatory mention. Hataya also did a number of tracks outside of CD, like Ocean Palace, Mystic Mansion, Gems Collection’s OST, Terminal Velocity’s area theme and Ghost Town. (Ogata also did Ristar’s Crying World, one of my favorites from that game)

And finally, Tee Lopes, who earned his rightful place among the greatest after one game, and then proceeded to bless us more in Team Sonic Racing and even outside - that cover of Underground Zone he did with Senoue? Bliss <3

... And these are all just Sonic composers :p

Kenji Yamamoto is the most consistent composer for the Metroid games, and responsible for the masterpieces that are Super Metroid's and Metroid Prime's OSTs. Of course, special shoutout to Minako Hamano for giving us Maridia Rocky Underwater Area and Ridley’s theme, among other tracks she was not specificially credited for :) I know she was hugely responsible for Fusion’s OST, at least.

Yasumasa Kitagawa and Hiromitsu Maeba are by far my favorite composers for Ace Attorney, although they only did The Great Ace Attorney (and the crossover with Layton). Objection 2015, The Great Pursuit, Herlock Sholmes' theme, Barok van Zieks's theme, Kazuma Asougi’s second theme, The Game is Afoot, The Great Secret Trial... Aside from them, Noriyuki Iwadare is by far the most famous AA composer, and I like him a lot too, but he’s basically the Jun Senoue of AA, I don’t know where to begin with him lol. Maybe with Trials and Tribulations’ Objection theme, now the de facto Phoenix’s theme.

Hidenori Shoji, the man who has been carrying the Yakuza franchise since its inception! I’m only familiar with his work on Yakuza 0 but holy shit what a work - I am so weak for this kind of eclectic style. I mean, this guy gave us Receive You and its many different remixes!

Megaman had a ton of composers, too many to list, so special shout out to Yasuaki Fujita (main composer of MM3′s OST) Toshihiko Horiyama (main composer of X1′s OST, plus Apollo Justice’s), Naoto Tanaka (main composer of X5′s and X6′s OSTs, plus Justice for All’s), Ippo Yamada (general composer of the Zero series - a few examples of his work: Enemy Hall, Departure, Cannon Ball, Straight Ahead), Masaki Suzuki (many of Zero 2′s best tracks are his) and Shinichi Itakura (the one who graced us with Falling Down among other tracks :P).

Jeremy Soule is mostly famous for his Skyrim work. I know him for composing the OSTs of the first three Harry Potter games :P at this point tracks like Hogwarts’ theme, Diagon Alley and the title screen of Prisoner of Azkaban are part of my genetic makeup.

And of course, the one and only Michiru Yamane. Symphony of the Night is just her flexing as hard as she could - she could go from Marble Garden to Lost Painting to Festival of Servants in one game with no struggle. And before that, Bloodlines’s OST is an underrated gem in the Genesis library.

(also, as a bit of a footnote: NicolAmarfi and Blue123. I love Katawa Shoujo and its music so much, even if it’s a small indie visual novel)

[the-odd-job]

Close Your Eyes to This Disaster Chapter 6: And You Say… 

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Chose Not to Use, Rape/Non-Con Category: Other Fandom: Transformers G1 Relationships: Megatron/Sunstreaker, Megatron/Sideswipe, Sideswipe & Sunstreaker Characters: Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Megatron Additional Tags: Dubcon, Sticky, Abusive Relationships, Mind Games, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Canon-Typical Violence Words: 3163

( Previous )

The Prime—or Prowl, rather, he was the one to set up the schedules—kept his word: they were never put to any patrol longer than frustratingly short. On top of that, they no longer had patrols together, always paired with someone else rather than each other. That one had given them a fit that slagging Ironhide had needed to talk them out of. Since when was Ironhide the voice of reason?

That was discrediting the weapons specialist a little, admittedly. Age had granted him at least some sense, to the effect that he was perfectly reasonable with his arguments. Unfortunately he was also fairly hot-headed, as were the twins. There had been quite a bit of yelling from everyone involved. They had even gained an audience before the time that the twins accepted the fact that in this instance they were safer apart than together.

It still didn’t sit well with them, but they put up with it, in large part because the patrols were short enough that they were never away from each other’s vicinity for long. Despite the other mitigating factors on top of that, such as never being paired with anyone they didn’t get along with—mostly applying to Sunstreaker, that one—it was still enough to have the both of them turn irritable. Even Sideswipe, so known for his high spirits, was just as highly affected by what became the state of their spark. Was he not supposed to be, somehow? No, that was an impossibility.

And of course, there was the fact it wasn’t wise for them to leave the proximity of the Autobot base. It ceased to be an actual order, likely because Prowl realized they would’ve been that much more eager to go against it if it was one, but it was a piece of healthy advice that they actually did follow, for once. They weren’t free of their own concerns in regards to the situation, after all. With all of the memories… They knew more about Megatron now than they had ever thought possible, and a very large part of what they knew wasn’t flattering.

The physical disparity between them was bad enough, but pile on top of that Megatron’s personality and his pattern of always getting what he wanted… Could anyone blame them for harboring some worry, no matter how rare that was for them? They didn’t want to give in to Megatron, but slag, in practice that might be hellishly difficult.

Avoidance wasn’t going to work forever, they knew that much, but it was all they had for now.

End result was that they were a stressed mess on the inside, and it bled to the outside more than just a little. Everyone got in the habit of keeping as much distance from Sunstreaker as possible after the fourth time he got his aft locked in the brig for attacking someone without any real provocation—first Cliffjumper, then Tracks, the usual suspects they were, but after that it was Ironhide, then Hound of all mecha.

He didn’t get off any lighter than usual despite the command making it clear they understood why he was acting out so badly. They were assigned more combat practice as a response, though, just to give them more chances to burn off some of their unnerved energy. Ironhide took to being the one to mostly spar with Sunstreaker, after he, again, failed to go easy enough for it to really count as sparring anymore. The old mech could handle it even when Sunstreaker lost his cool and hit too hard—and Sideswipe wasn’t that much more careful.

Eventually it was the repeated rants they got from Ratchet when he was performing post-“spar” repairs that convinced them to hold back just a bit more.

And then there were the battles. First one, then two, and those were further help when they could just fragging let loose and beat someone to scrap. Prowl had to tell them to tone it down several times, and even so they got looks from their comrades after the Decepticons retreated. Look at the twins, turning even more unhinged than what they usually were! But at least the real fighting calmed them down for a week or two afterwards.

Neither time did it last, though, and then they were back to being holy terrors. Sideswipe held back on the violence, but his temper ran short and his words harsh. He still only managed to make Bluestreak cry one time. Of course he apologized after, was forgiven, and in further practice watched his vocalizer more at least around the gunner.

Sideswipe still became considerably less pleasant company than what he usually was, and aside of the command, no one knew for certain what was causing the change. There was confusion, theories, guesses, and most of them did revolve around Megatron after his more public interest in the beginning.

But they didn’t have the answers for the twins’ changed duties or their worsened behavior when the command respected their privacy and didn’t go tattling—and the twins themselves certainly weren’t about to share that much of their past life.

It was still annoying as all pit to be so affected by the warlord. They didn’t know if he was still trying to reach them. Did they imagine the lingering looks during the battles? Could be, after how hyperaware they became of him. Maybe it was nothing. And when they were away from the Ark… Was Megatron looking for opportunities to approach them, but simply didn’t get them, hence his absence?

Or had he stopped?

They couldn’t believe that. Megatron had made his desire clear, and he wasn’t the type to just stop when facing some resistance on the way to his goal.

And they were right in not believing.

It was a joyride. They were sticking relatively close to the Ark, and definitely close to a city, while still searching for some privacy to drive as fast as their spark was calling for. Just… Take what they could in their severely altered and limited life. Enjoy as much as they were able to and maybe have even a few moments of internal peace afterwards before all the tension came back and set them on edge.

Yet, it was clearly too far from other living beings, because after two curves they took–

He was standing in the shadow cast by the rise of rock on the side of the road—no signature this time either, or they would have noticed him before it was too late.

By the time Megatron stepped onto the road to block their way… It was already far too late. Too late to even slow the fuck down, in fact. They had just the time to curse, then initiate their transformations–

Only to barrel right into Megatron, the both of them. In a show of his size and strength, though, the tyrant had merely taken a steady stance and took the weight, velocity, and impact of both of them with no notable effort.

Sunstreaker stayed upright, staggering away as soon as he had enough wits about him to do so, but Sideswipe wound up sprawled on his back on the ground, groaning weakly from the ache of suddenly decelerated parts. Something had hit this, another had hit that… It was a good thing they were built sturdy; Megatron wasn’t much better than a solid steel wall. Even without any severe damage it still ended with some dented plating.

Their steel wall crouched in front of his scuffed brother—who quickly propped himself up on his arms—and Sunstreaker immediately checked his comms. They were–

…They weren’t blocked.

There was also no sight of Soundwave or anyone else.

Was it just Megatron? Alone? Could they have called the Ark right now and let them know they’d run into the unmaker again?

Instead of doing anything useful, though… Sunstreaker stood out of the way, dumbfounded as he watched Megatron reach for Sideswipe—Sideswipe was staring at the warlord with wide, wide optics, frozen in place–

And Megatron cupped the side of his helm.

They could have– They should–

They needed to call the Ark.

They didn’t.

“You have made it rather difficult to get a hold of you,” Megatron commented, glancing up at Sunstreaker briefly before his attention fell back to Sideswipe. A thumb brushed across his brother’s lips, and when surprise parted them, the thumb dipped in.

What the fuck rang between them, shock too deep for Sideswipe to even remember to do a damn thing as Megatron’s digit gently explored the inside of his mouth: stroking along his glossa, scraping against his denta–

“Didn’t want to see you,” Sunstreaker said after too much of a delay, hating the utter lack of aggression in his voice. Instead he was just breathless; almost a whisper.

But this wasn’t really going as they would have expected. He wasn’t sure what they were actually expecting, but this? This wasn’t it.

“Oh?” Megatron questioned. He didn’t sound offended.

The thumb retreated from Sideswipe’s mouth, but only for the tyrant’s claws to trace the curves of his helmet thoughtfully—with a frown. It was as if he was comparing the present to the past, noting all of the differences in their frame designs… And disliking what he saw.

Sideswipe shivered as the touch just continued. “What do you want?” the red twin asked in a murmur, staring up into the red optics bearing down on him with weight that pinned him in place.

“You,” came the answer, spoken softly.

They’d heard that before.

Sideswipe caught his lower lip between his denta and tried to forget, not think. Not think about that.

Not think of the past. Where was their resolve?

“Can’t have it,” the red twin managed with just the smallest hint of a growl in his voice.

“And why not?”

“You’re the enemy.”

“But I wasn’t always.”

“You were.” The bad they could remember.

Resolve.

Megatron changed the topic smoothly. “Why did you disappear?”

Silence. Sideswipe glared; Sunstreaker frowned, as much as Megatron wasn’t looking at him.

When they gave nothing in the way of an answer, the tyrant made a guess. “Was it because of your owner?”

Ugh… “Yes.”

“Not by choice?”

Was this the right spot to admit to anything? They hazarded an answer anyway. “…No?”

“There you have it,” Megatron rumbled, and they got the feeling they had already shared too much—given Megatron ammunition to use against them, if he wouldn’t have been able to guess correctly anyway. “You didn’t leave by choice. If you had gotten to choose, I wonder… Would you have left at all?”

Sideswipe bared his denta, only for the corner of Megatron’s mouth to pull into a smile. It was a genuinely amused little thing, as if he found their resistance charming. Not worth taking seriously, because what could they truly have done against him, even together?

The red twin went back to mere glowering, and they didn’t answer.

Megatron gave them a moment before he phrased the question differently. “Did you have any reason to leave?”

“Oh, you slagger,” Sunstreaker growled. Megatron didn’t avert his gaze from Sideswipe, but he didn’t need to. The golden twin continued, “Are you willingly forgetting all the shit you put me through, again? I had every reason to leave and my only fragging regret is that I didn’t so earlier.”

“You lie,” their old lover stated simply.

And that was all. He said nothing else. When it was confirmed that he would just let the silence reign and pet Sideswipe’s face with his thumb, Sideswipe was the one to speak their confused, “What?”

“Had you reason to leave, you would have simply left. Am I wrong?” He didn’t give them a chance to answer before he continued, “But you had no reason, and you didn’t leave before someone forced you.”

“It’s not that simple!” Sunstreaker tried to argue, gesturing angrily at nothing in particular–

But Megatron didn’t let him finish his argument. “Is it not? Didn’t you make it clear you would find a way to go, were you given a reason?”

Sideswipe opened his mouth to speak; Megatron cut him off before he could make a peep, “But I never gave you a reason. You stayed until someone else said you couldn’t anymore. Can you blame me for thinking you would have remained by my side otherwise?”

Sunstreaker ground his denta together but held onto his argument. “You kept me from leaving even if I had wanted to,” he accused as quickly as he could, before Megatron said anything more.

“If you had wanted to? Which is it? Did you want to, or did you not?” the tyrant asked, still holding Sideswipe captive as effectively as if his brother was paralyzed. His thumb brushed across his cheek, his nasal ridge, to his lips… It was hard to not focus on that too much. “Answer honestly. What do you have to lose by speaking the truth?”

Everything. Sunstreaker balled his servos into fists, turning his gaze to the side before the urge to beat the fragging bastard’s helm in got the better of him. Where would that have gotten him? Fragged into the ground again, if he knew anything about their lover.

But he wanted honesty? Slagging… What was the honest answer, anyway?

They could remember. Even that very last evening, they could remember. “No,” Sideswipe said, wanting so badly to turn his helm away from Megatron’s all-seeing scrutiny and too gentle touch, yet having not the freedom of motion to do so– “I didn’t want to leave.”

Their fields blushed with the old emotion—the thrill only Megatron could cause, heady and suffocating–

He’d never gotten enough of it. Everything had only added to the… Danger. The threat of what Megatron could have done to him, and yet… What he never did. No matter how he pushed, there were things Megatron never did, things he never said.

But what he did to so many others. Sunstreaker had been special. The exception. He had owned a piece of Megatron no one else did, that others scarcely even saw.

What was the tradeoff?

All the things they’d had… The things Megatron had done for them, never asking anything in return but their loyalty.

Megatron’s mouth pulled into a smile as true as any of his were, but this time Sideswipe was the one to speak before giving him a chance, “But that doesn’t mean I want to come back.”

“It does not?” Megatron questioned. “Do you hold loyalty to a faction you were forced into?”

“That’s past,” Sunstreaker growled. “Things have–“

“And not only that,” the warlord continued with no heed for his turn to speak, “but they knowingly took your memories. Why? Did they think it best you didn’t remember your past in fear of where your loyalty would be if you did? That it was better to have a soldier that was never given a choice, that knew of nothing else? Incapable of making an educated decision for himself?”

“Fuck you,” Sideswipe snarled, trying to yank his helm away, “You wouldn’t have given me a choice either.”

Megatron wouldn’t let him go anywhere, tightening his hold until Sideswipe was still again. “Oh, but I did,” he said, near growling now. “Hadn’t I already begun to gather my followers, formed the Decepticons? Didn’t I have more mecha join under my banner each and every day? Yet I never once told you you needed to do the same.”

That… Wasn’t untrue. They’d barely ever even discussed the rebellion despite how hard Megatronus—and later Megatron—had worked on it, had they? Megatron hadn’t brought work into their relationship.

He had to have read their uncertainty, because the growl turned into a purring rumble rising directly from the warlord’s engine—soothing, almost. “You see. But you can still choose. It’s not too late.”

“No,” Sunstreaker said immediately. “Let the past be past. Optimus, Prowl, Ratchet, ‘Hide—they never did anything to me and have nothing to do with the mistakes of others.”

“Haven’t they?” Megatron asked, lifting one of his optical ridges as if he didn’t believe him. “How do they treat you, really? With true understanding?”

They held to their silence, not that it would have necessarily mattered anyway. If Megatron wanted to speak, he spoke.

But their silence was an answer of sorts anyway, and the tyrant had more to say. ”What of the rank and file? Do they treat you as one of their own?”

“Yes,” Sideswipe spoke up at that, snarling. “I have friends, mecha that care about me–“

“If they truly cared about you, wouldn’t they learn to understand you, as I did?” He couldn’t have known if any of them did or didn’t, he was just making guesses–

Sideswipe bared his denta again. “It’s not that simple.”

“It isn’t? Do tell, what is so complex about it?”

“I work different than they do. They don’t understand something so disparate. They see two frames and think I’m two, they don’t see—and that’s normal–“

“You’re making excuses for them,” Megatron interrupted him. “I see you; what is preventing them from doing the same?”

Sideswipe’s jaw snapped shut and Sunstreaker frowned. What was preventing them? Their own biases and limited view of the world? Didn’t that apply to everyone?

Then why was Megatron different?

The warlord offered the one explanation he seemed to believe, “They don’t care about you enough to bother to understand something so special—so beautiful and unique,” he rumbled at them. Sideswipe blinked up at the gaze that had never once left him. ”Primus forbid they go through the trouble of doing so. How many have even tried? How many of them yet failed when it turned out to be too much effort?”

They’d spoken of these things, back in the Pits. They’d shared their frustrations with Megatronus, yet their acceptance of it all—they were alien on their own world and that was all most would see, it was something they just had to live with–

But also their pleasure over him being unlike most.

He wasn’t the only one. There had been others, even during the war–

But they were a rare breed and dead by now.

Megatron wasn’t, though. Megatron was living proof it could be done… Maybe not to perfection, but to an impressive point nonetheless, if one…

…Cared enough to do so.

“No,” Sideswipe said all the same, finding his growl for the next words, “you won’t have me.”

“Leave,” Sunstreaker continued with a snarl of his own, taking one step closer to Megatron and Sideswipe. Sideswipe tried to yank himself free again, but he only succeeded because Megatron let him.

Megatron let him pull away, get up, and step out of reach, rising from his own crouch at a leisurely pace. “Think on what I said,” he said, stepped two paces back and–

Transformed and took to the skies.

( Next )

[verstappenfan]

The scar on my right palm

People often ask me how I got the scar on my right palm. It usually happens when I go to shake hands with people or just accidentally show them the palm of my hand. They look at my hand and say something along the lines of: “What’s that? Let me grab your hand real quick and put it right up to my eye so I can stare at that weird line on your hand. Dude, is that a scar? How did you get a scar there? That is weird my guy.”

Not the biggest fan, but I can’t really help it. Scars fade, but they never go away completely, they are always there whether you like it or not. So people are free to stare and poke and prod because that is their god-given right, apparently. I probably wouldn’t be that different if I hadn’t had my scar if I am being honest. Everyone is curious and constantly seeking information about each other. And anyway, how many people do you know that have a scar on their right palm?

The healing process of a scar goes as follows: Right after the scar has been made the inflammatory process begins, this usually lasts only for a few days. During this stage, the bleeding will stop and our best friends, the white blood cells, will come running as fast as they can and fight any nasty infection you might have. The scar at this point will look red and swollen. Afterwards, the proliferative stage takes place and lasts for three to four weeks. During this stage, fibroblasts (let’s call them skin and tissue creators) gather at the site of the injury just like people would gather at the sight of a violent murder. These fibroblasts will then create a thing called “Collagen”. The collagen strengthens your wound and pulls the edges of said wound closer together. At the same time, tiny blood vessels are formed to aid the healing process. At this stage the scar will become thicker and uncomfortable, many people usually worry at this stage because the scar looks worse, but there isn’t any need to, it is simply a part of the healing process. Lastly, the remodelling stage can begin. This stage can take anywhere from several weeks to many years to finish, depending on how bad the scar is. The scar will go from thick and red to thin and white, barely noticeable. But don’t worry, it will still be there, it will never go away.

But you might ask, “How did you get this scar then? And what was the point of telling us the healing process of a scar?” For your second question, the answer is simple. The more you know the better, right? I gave you information for free, be grateful. For your first question though, that is a bit of a story if I am honest. See I had this friend, we will call him Kyle, short for Kyloffer.

Kyle was my first real friend, and by that I mean someone I actually wanted to hang out with, not just some classmate you pretend you are friends with for about four hours while you smash your toy trucks together at terminal velocity. Someone you can actually talk to and feel like they aren’t judging you. Kyle felt the same way about me, friends forever and all that jazz.

But you see, back when I was a little smaller, let’s say around fourteen or fifteen, Kyle told me he was moving away during the summer. His parents had got a new job somewhere, so they had to move, as it would be much easier for the parents to live closer to their work. Besides, you can just change school like you change the background of your phone without having too big of an impact on your life, right? But I shouldn’t talk, mommy and daddy know best.

Kyle and I would still be able to talk, of course, but it would be over the phone, and I don’t know if you know this, but hearing someone’s voice and seeing them in person can’t really be compared when you actually think about it, no matter what people try to tell you. So, fearing that we might somehow lose contact, we decided to do something drastic! Now, now, calm down, we didn’t create a suicide pact where we both would jump in front of a train. We did something less drastic, but it was still a pact, a blood pact. We had heard about people being bonded forever with the help of blood pacts, so we decided to do one.

We met up one evening with two knives, we had to be a bit sneaky with them because two teenagers with kitchen knives just walking around would arouse no suspicion at all. We went into the forest and walked in as far as we could without getting lost, so about twenty meters off the path basically. We took out our knives and looked each other in the eye. No, before you ask, there was no romantic or sexual tension in the air, thanks for asking.

We placed the knives on our palms, let the sharp end pierce our skin like it was butter, and grabbed each other’s hands with a firm grip. Any businessman would have hired us on the spot, trust me. We sat there for a few minutes, not really knowing when to stop. We stopped when we heard someone coming along the path. We got scared for a second because what would a person think about two teenage boys with blood on their hands and knives on the ground. Thankfully, it was just a jogger with her dog that ran past without a second look.

We laughed about it when she was out of earshot. We decided that the best way to walk home was with our bloody hand in our pocket. We promised each other we wouldn’t wash away the blood from our hand until the morning, so it really worked or some dumb thing we made up on the spot to make a ritual that we just did somehow actually work.

A scar never leaves you, it may fade with time, but it is always there. Just on your body, sitting there, telling you it will never leave you. You could say a scar can be your best friend, it is always there through your highs, but also your lows. Always remaining by your side until the day you die, and even then it stays until you decompose enough for it to finally not exist anymore. It is a soothing thought actually, that something will be with you when you die.

But a friendship can also fade with time, but unlike a scar, it can go away. Kyle and I talked all of that summer, even hung out for a week when my parents decided to take a mini-holiday in their city. We showed each other our scars and how they were still there. Just resting on our palms.

We started talking less and less when school actually started, we had always talked about how we would study the same thing, but halfway through his first year away from me, he started talking about how he wanted to do other things. I was okay with this, of course, people don’t need to do everything I want them to do. That would be selfish and egotistical to think everyone should revolve around me. But I still felt a bit hurt.

He met some other friends, the good kind. The kind I would probably like if I got the chance to interact with them. He started hanging out with his other friends more and more and spent less time talking to me. He often made up excuses like “Homework is overloading me”, “I promised -insert name here- I would hang out with them” and “Dude I just have a lot going on okay?”

Every time the excuses got more and more that he didn’t have enough time any more. I was okay with this, of course, people don’t need to do some of the things I want them to do. That would be controlling and selfish and egotistical. The world should not revolve around me, Kyle shouldn’t have to make his life revolve around our phone calls. But I still felt a bit hurt.

We started talking about once a month, it was supposed to be more, but sometimes he didn’t pick up the phone. When I got my driver’s license I asked if I should come over that summer so we could hang out, like the good old times. He said that he wasn’t sure if he would have time, the summer holidays are so short and all, right? But a few days into it, he called me for the first time in a long while (I had been calling for a while, not the other way around). He said that I should come over, it would be nice to reminisce.

So I got in my car and I drove through the hours and kilometres it would take to get there. When I finally got there he welcomed me in. We sat and he offered me a beer, I thought that was weird as he had never liked beer before. People change I suppose. I declined his offer and we just sat there. I asked him about the last few weeks and he did the same in return. He seemed to be mostly just using my questions and letting me make up new ones to keep the conversation going. I finally got around to asking him about his scar.

I will never forget his reaction, it pains me to this day whenever I think about it. It actually hurts to just think about it. He said “Scar?” Then he paused for a few seconds before getting hit with a realization as I was hit with a wall of something I can not describe in words, it was like my lungs had collapsed, my eyes began to water and my fingers twitched. “Oh yeah, sorry, yeah the scar is still there. Sorry, I forgot about it.” I simply responded that it wasn’t a big deal. I looked at my clock. I said, “Oh look at the time”. I looked up at him and said I had to go. He just stared at me confused, I had only been there for an hour. I left without saying a word, he followed me out to the driveway. He must have realized what he did wrong because he started apologizing for forgetting the scar, I simply said it was OK, no big deal. He then changed his answer when I opened the car door. He started saying that it was a long time ago, it was a childish thing, it wasn’t that big of a deal, I shouldn’t be so upset about it. I agree, I shouldn’t be so upset about it.

I slammed the car door and drove away, holding back the floodgates the best I could. In the safety of my home, I fell apart. Scars are always there, always a part of you. They will always remain by your side no matter if you are at the top of your game or have just hit rock bottom. Scars are there when you are sad, scars are there when you are happy. Scars are your closest friend.

When people ask me why I have a scar on my right palm, I simply respond with: “Oh yeah, as a child I was stupid and tried to catch a falling knife with my hand. Stupid. Little. Me.”

[starker-stories]

My Virgin (Revisited), Chapter 6 - The Messages Series

This chapter on AO3

By @thestarkerisobvious​ and @starker-stories​​

Posts every Thursday.

The entire Messages Series.  All links are to AO3.

Messages Unsent  (complete & posted)

Nothing More Than A Machine  (complete & posted)

Tomorrow  (complete & posted)

My Virgin (Revisited)  (complete & posted)

The Cold  (completely written) posts every Thursday  

Untitled Book 6  ( in progress )

Untitled Book 7  ( in progress )

Tags: Sexual Roleplay, Virginity Kink, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Kissing, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, A teeny weeny bit of plot for the next book hinted at, Happy Ending, Happy Sex

Chapter 6:  Ground

Oh well, he was messy as all hell. Peter knew that made Tony happy.

He hoped Tony would keep talking. He was far beyond speech. Even his whimpers weren’t even audible anymore.

Tony nearly pulled out. He held himself there. Peter was so completely relaxed, there was no resistance when he thrust in, slowly parting him, letting him feel every bit of his body being made to fit him. Once in as deep as he could, he rolled his hips and repeated it once more, pulling out all the way that time. Peter gasped at the sensation.

Every sound made Tony want to bring more from him. Wanted to learn every one, every variation. Tony rocked gently, faster, steadily, evenly, so that Peter’s senses could expect it, even if he didn’t realize it.

“Baby, you’re beautiful.” He kissed Peter’s neck, licking and sucking, even though he knew the boy couldn’t be bruised. He could still feel it. Tony could taste his skin against his lips. Sweat salty over sweetness, like a piece of fruit on the right side of being almost overripe. And something else. Light. Warm and pure, even though the innocent boy was long gone, there was something inside Peter that was incorruptible. Something Tony craved as a complement to his own nature. A bright star orbiting a dark one, while the dark stood steady and firm and always safely there, no matter how far the light strayed afield.

“Baby,” Tony said, soft and low, still in awe of his revelation. “Look at me, baby.”

Peter forced his eyes open to look into Tony’s face.

He tried to speak. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth, closed his eyes, and tried again.

Oh god, he had miscalculated — so very, very badly.

Coming that hard and that fast had NOT been in the plan. Not that Tony minded, obviously, but for Peter it was impractical and self-defeating. The point of acting out this fantasy was to concentrate on Tony’s entry. The point had been to act out what Tony would say to him if he panicked and expressed his fears. But coming his brains out made panic impossible. Also speech. Also thought. Which meant Peter was reduced to limply moaning and riding this incredible wave of pleasure, but unable to interact with this dream-come-true.

And trying to dial it all down was pointless. He could dial down his senses in the field when he needed to — but usually AFTER the battle was over and this battle was, well, damn… There was no use now. Maybe if Tony got up and left him alone for a while, but with Tony on top of him? Inside him? His brain was completely fried. He couldn’t speak. He might never speak again.

“It’s okay, baby.” Tony said, knowing that Peter needed something. And he needed to be that something.

“I need you Peter,” he admitted. He wrapped his arms underneath Peter and pulled him close as he groaned into his neck. “Everything you are.”

He leaned up and looked into Peter’s face. “I want to be…” How to put into words another person, even a person as special as the boy in his arms, could understand? “I want to be your ground. I need to be…” Tony, keep some things to yourself. Don’t be too… weird. Be normal. You just got the kid back. Don’t freak him out. Oh fuck it. “I need to be your home, baby.”

It happened. Just like the first time, Tony said something that brought Peter back completely.

“Oh yes, oh yes Tony, please,” he breathed, turning and kissing Tony full on the mouth. Oh god, he needed a ground right now, needed one badly. He wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and held on tight, a little too tight (he could do that in very short doses) and tried to hold back tears.

“Yes, you are my ground, Tony. Oh fuck Tony, I love you so fucking much.”

Tony watched Peter struggle with his senses. He knew he should let up, give the kid time to adjust. But he didn’t want him to adjust. Not yet. He wanted — it was entirely selfish — and wasn’t that what got him into trouble on Peter’s first first time? He wanted it to be him, to be his voice, his words, his presence, that brought him back from the edge. If it couldn’t be… he wasn’t sure he wanted him to come back from it. It was selfish. Egotistical. Possessive. Demanding. Unreasonable.

But so much of what had been said over the past few days was frightening. Not just the thought that Peter was leaving him… but the thought that he might not have a place in Peter’s new world. That they might not make the transition to being equals in love with each other, still mean something to each other, still need each other.

When the turn came… Tony very nearly broke. Feeling Peter hold on to him… right on the edge of too tight… finding a new place for him… a new place for them both. The way they were… it wasn’t a sustainable trajectory. It was destined for a rapid orbital decay. The stars would crash together and implode. Or they would spin each other off into the cold, lonely void of space. But this… the larger mass holding the smaller… the orbit could wobble, allowing the smaller freedom of movement, but it would never achieve escape velocity. The bright star would always return to its place circling the dark. The rate of their orbital decay was so slow, they would outlive it many, many times over.

Peter’s wild, straying senses found their ground. He wanted to be Peter’s home. But Tony, for the first time, discovered… this was what a home for him felt like.

He settled into a steady rhythm, moving inside of Peter. Letting everything stretch into the time that they never had before. Letting the desire build. Feeling the heat surround his entire body. Diffuse and direct both. And kissing. Always kissing. When a kiss was impossible — gasping… moaning… broken, panting breaths — Tony’s mouth found skin beneath it.

The curl behind Peter’s ear that he loved, he kissed it. “Peter…” The name so soft on a breath, so quiet that no one but Peter could hear. “I love you.”

Tony shifted his weight to balance more of it on his elbows and knees. Still keeping Peter safe beneath him, keeping his cock trapped between their slick, messy bellies. His fingers tangled in soft, sweat-soaked curls.

On an endless deep kiss, he moved in long strokes, holding, grinding, before repeating, over and over.

“That’s it, baby. So beautiful. God Pete… I wanted… so much. Wanted you. Wanted this… Your first… Wanted your touch… Your kiss…”

He listened to Peter respond. To having him inside. To his voice. To him. No high could ever compete. Tony watched him come closer to coming a second time. When Peter started to writhe and arch, he slipped one arm under his waist. “Let go. Let go, Peter. Baby, I’ll catch you.”

This is what Peter wanted — all of this. Tony being so gentle and so thorough and so sweet. Peter kept his mouth close to that mouth that was saying such sweet things. In his years of fantasies he had dreamed that Tony would probably praise him, at least. But this? This was beyond perfect.

And for godssake, did Tony just say ‘I love you’ before he came? Peter was going to ask for his more often.

Peter let himself float on sensation (hoping he wouldn’t embarrass himself by coming twice) but he heard the word ‘first’ and his eyes flew open.

“Yes, Tony. This is yours. This is… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the first time… this is yours. All of it. All of me.”

He was trying to work up the nerve to say something else — something like ‘my body is yours,’ but then, ah fuck, he was coming again and he couldn’t say anything.

“Let go. Let go, Pete. Baby, I’ll catch you,” Tony was crooning, and that made it all right.

Tony lifted Peter by the waist, quickly catching him between his shoulders with the flat of his other hand. He raised him to straddle his legs as he sat back on his haunches. Holding him solidly, he let them settle into the new position, still with Tony buried deep inside Peter.

Just like Peter knew how to bring him back from a nightmare, he knew how to bring Peter back from his overwhelming senses. He knew how firmly he needed to caress. He knew that his scent helped, so he gentled Peter into the crook of his neck, then let him hold himself there. Being held helped, but not if he was held too tightly where he couldn’t trust that he could break free without hurting Tony. And he knew that his voice — and that turned him on inordinately — helped. Maybe most of all.

“Peter… you’re so good, baby. Coming again. Letting yourself go. I love that. Don’t ever fight it, Pete. I love that you can come more than once. Can come so soon. So easily.” He rocked back just enough to look down between them. “Look at you… That beautiful cock of yours still twitching, hardly gone down at all. I know you’ll get hard again from almost anything. You’re just… fuckin’ incredible baby.

“You knew I’d catch you… and I always will. Now come back to me, Peter. Just like you did the first time. I’ll catch you when you fall to pieces and I’ll put you back together, baby.”

Tony kept stroking Peter’s back while gently rocking them together in his lap. Not thrusting yet, just enough to keep them both going, waiting for Peter. “Beautiful, baby. You’re perfect.”

Peter moaned helplessly, as best he could, it came out more as a tiny whimper, when Tony moved his head into the safest place in the world, the place in between his head and his shoulder.

Peter spent too much time there, he had promised himself (many times!) that he would stop hiding there when he became overwhelmed. They had been lovers for quite a while now — he was a year past being a virgin — he didn’t want to be the clinger or the hider any more! But this didn’t count. Tony moved him there himself, as if requesting it, and Peter would have to explain, some day, how much that meant to him.

Not right now. Right now he was recovering.

Not an easy task. Tony was still inside him, not softening and still holding on in the afterglow. No. Tony was still hard.

Tony felt Peter begin to calm as he clung to him. Having him do that — clinging, taking comfort, wanting Tony — it was profound. And, on a more earthly level, sexy as fuck. Even though Peter was still whimpering, Tony didn’t just gently rock into him, he began thrusting up.

He felt Peter tighten the circle of his arms around him. “Oh baby… yes. Hold on, Pete. Hold tight. Hold on to me. I love that.”

His thrusts became sharp snaps of his hips. “I can tell. It scares you. ” Tony moaned. When he was deep inside the boy he ground up against him, seeking to somehow be even deeper.

“Baby, you’re in control… always in control… with me you’re in control. Don’t be scared of it.” He was close, so close. He went faster. “I trust you, Peter. Hold me baby. You won’t hurt me.” Tony pulled back before gliding back into Peter, slowly, making himself shudder with need. When he was all the way inside, he bent his head to Peter’s shoulder and tried to kiss him there. But instead of a kiss, open-mouthed against Peter’s skin, a muffled groan was all he could manage as he came.

It wasn’t how they made love on Peter’s actual first time. It’s how he wished they had. Because this? Holding Peter. Feeling the orgasmic tension in both their bodies slip away. Their breaths steady against each other. Their recovery so closely shared. One of the many reasons that, if he had a favorite position, especially to finish, this was it. He stroked Peter’s back, nuzzled against his neck, tasted his skin on his lips. Each with their arms around the other. Surrounding Peter as Peter surrounded him. Orbital.

Tony slowly loosened his hold on Peter’s back and managed that kiss on his shoulder that he missed when he came. His hands rubbed firmly down the boy’s back as his cock slipped free of his heat. “God Peter, you’re beautiful. I told you you wouldn’t hurt me.” He smiled, knowing the boy would be worried about even the slightest bruise. “I like it. The little bruises. I know they’re yours. I know I’m yours as much as you’re mine.”

Peter moaned a little at the words and tried to look into Tony’s face, trying to make his eyes focus, then looked for the bruises, moaning a little at that idea.

But he grinned sheepishly too. Tony couldn’t leave bruises on his skin, no matter how often he had tried. He claimed he could see the purple marks rise sometimes, but they were never there when Peter looked in the mirror. Still, Peter always appreciated the effort. He reached out and fingered, gingerly, the spots where his fingers had dug in. He had marked Tony. That made Tony his. It used to make him miserable. Now, he smiled.

Then he groaned. “Fuck Tony, you made me come twice,” he murmured, still in shock. Then he grinned even more and hid his face in that safe place in Tony’s neck.

“I came like a virgin.”

“Of course you did,” Tony said smiling softly. “You’re my virgin. You’ll always be my virgin.”

[emberbent]

Book 2: Air | Chapter 6: Kismet

With the events of Gaoling behind her, and with her connection to her past lives reestablished, Shinza finally had time to focus solely on her airbending. Like her breathing, meditation, and yoga exercises, bending the air also came easily to her, due to her “air nomad’s spirit,” as Lo Sang said. Shinza came to each lesson with a clear head and a free spirit; during lessons and sparring matches, as her instructor had taught her, she constantly sought the path of least resistance, readily changing direction at a moment’s notice. She’d had little trouble with the gates exercise, and the obstacle course, though tough even for more experienced airbenders, didn’t seem like much of a feat to Shinza, who nimbly dodged the sandbags Jinora and Lo Sang dropped on her, ziplined herself down a long rope with the help of airbending, and climbed the rock face without a second thought as to the vast distance between her and the base of the mountain. Airball, however, was a different story.

“Okay, how about this?” Lo Sang called from halfway down the court, lithely hopping from post to post as if they were stepping stones set in the ground. “You beat me, and I’ll nominate you for the mastery test.”

Shinza paused, balancing on the two-foot wooden post in front of her goal. In her left hand spun the airball, driven by the current she produced. She knew she was good at airbending, and she’d been practicing a move she’d created on her own, knowing she wouldn’t have time to master all thirty-six forms. But she’d never been an athlete, and Lo Sang had been regularly kicking her ass on the court for weeks; she wasn’t sure this time would be any different. Or maybe, with the mastery test as motivation, she’d finally hold her own. “Okay, you’re on!”

Without warning, she put her whole body weight behind the airball, sending it spinning toward Lo Sang’s goal at the other end of the court. The young one leapt upward, as if she’d been born in the sky, and batted the ball with ease back toward Shinza without even touching it, and with twice as much velocity. On a ten-cent piece, Shinza maneuvered herself in front of the ball just before it could make it past her right shoulder, making a full turn and launching the ball back.

“The flourish was a little unnecessa--!” Lo Sang stopped short as the ball sailed over her head and through the goal, leaving the wooden middle spinning.

Shinza’s jaw dropped. Then she burst into a grin. “I believe that’s 1-0!”

Lo Sang was busy picking up her jaw. “You distracted me!” she hollered. “Not fair. Try again.”

“It absolutely was fair,” Shinza chuckled. “Admit it. You weren’t ready and I got you.”

“Okay, fine,” Lo Sang relented, retrieving the ball and tossing it weightlessly between her hands. “Best two out of three.”

Shinza’s dark brows arched. “You said if I beat you, you’d nominate me.”

Lo Sang’s eyes narrowed visibly from down the court. “Humor me,” she said. “It could have been a fluke. Admit that, grandma.”

Shinza nodded. “Okay then. Bring it on!” She gestured for Lo Sang to give it her best shot.

And she did. The ball came hurtling toward Shinza nearly faster than she could think to maneuver; but instinct took over, guiding Shinza to backbend over toward her post. By the time she righted herself, the ball was at face-level. With a deep breath and a powerful gust of wind, she sent back what Lo Sang had doled out. The young one leapt as high and fast as she could, but the ball still thunked into the goal, and the middle spun again.

Shinza shrieked in delight, surprising both of them.

“Wow,” Lo Sang muttered, briefly taken over by defeat, but then remembering the point of it all. Shinza had beaten her more than once; two out of three, as she’d prescribed. She was ready for the mastery test. She hopped weightlessly from post to post until she reached Shinza’s end. “Congratulations,” she smirked. “You ready to be tested?”

Before their evening meal, they took a walk along the northern face of the mountain, along the way passing the cliffside where Shinza had first gone into the Avatar state - where she’d learned the truth about her abilities. Shinza paused and put her hand up to the rock face. Lo Sang readied herself to comfort her, but she sensed a resolve in her as she took her hand away.

“How are you feeling?” Lo Sang inquired as they continued to the pond - a tranquil body of clear, cool water, whose bank backed up to the base of the temple.

“I’m okay,” Shinza said honestly. “I’ve learned a lot here - so much more than I thought I would. I’m feeling good about what’s next.” She slipped down the shallow stairs, removing her boots and rolling up her pants. Sticking her pale feet in the water, she bent over to gaze into the water, at the meticulously-placed tiles that made up the bottom of the pond.

Lo Sang did the same, leaving her small boots next to Shinza’s and coming to sit beside her. The breeze rustled a nearby tree which shed several leaves into the pond. A thought sat on the tip of her tongue, but she said nothing.

“What?” Shinza inquired, as if reading her mind.

Lo Sang met her gaze for half a second and then looked away, out into the expanse of mountains miles off in the distance. “Nothing. It’s… I don’t want to say.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Shinza replied softly. “But I won’t tell anyone if you do.”

Lo Sang shifted just a millimeter closer. “I’m just going to miss you, is all,” she confessed. “It’s not right for a teacher to have become so attached to a student - especially one whose sole duty is to leave and do great things. It goes against everything I was taught.”

Shinza cast her warm red-brown gaze down at her young teacher. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” she soothed. “How do you find the motivation to teach, or care, if you don’t get attached?”

Lo Sang smiled sadly, but didn’t say anything for a while. Shinza disturbed the water with her feet, stretching her toes. A few moments passed, and Lo Sang spoke again. “Do you have siblings?”

“No,” Shinza replied, squinting as she tried to follow Lo Sang’s train of thought. The air nomads historically hadn’t assigned much value to the notion of blood relations the way the rest of the world had, and for good reason. “I’m an only child. Why?”

Lo Sang leaned forward and gazed at her own rippling reflection in the water - snowy hair, darting grey eyes. “I don’t know,” she replied. “We don’t have siblings or parents in the temples - the nuns raise us. And that’s okay, because we’re one big family in a way. Jinora is technically my great-grandmother, but it doesn’t really matter. She’s kind of everyone’s great-grandmother. But sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to have a sister, you know? A sister who was just mine.”

Shinza softened, drawing the young one in toward her with a sweep of her arm.

“I was always happy being an only child,” she admitted. “I never wished I had siblings. But now I see what I missed out on. If I’d had a sister, I would hope she’d be just like you.”

Lo Sang looked up at her with a grin. “Really?”

“Well, yeah. You’re brilliant, calm, poised; you’re a master airbender, teaching the avatar, and you’re not even ten years old. You’re kind and compassionate… annoying as can be, but amazing. And you know what else? You’re Jinora’s great-granddaughter, and I was once Avatar Aang. So... in some way, I think we are sisters.”

Lo Sang hugged Shinza as tight around the middle as she could.

The test came the next morning - sooner than Shinza had expected. But since she felt she was ready, the elders didn’t see a reason not to proceed right away. Lo Sang helped Shinza tie the sash around her ceremonial tunic, crouching low to straighten the seams, even though she knew they’d get messed up again in just a few moments. “Are you nervous?”

Shinza snorted. “I think you’re more nervous than I am.”

Lo Sang straightened up tall. “I am not.”

“Whatever you say,” she replied with a smirk, leaning her head back and gathering all her shiny black locks into a top knot. To Lo Sang’s reflection in the mirror, she said, “I’m feeling okay. I have a handle on my form - I think you’ll really like it.”

Shinza felt fortunate to feel so at ease; she wasn’t sure she could endure the same feeling she’d had just before and after her firebending test.

Lo Sang gave a pleased smile, her flickering gaze lingering on her student, who she knew would make her proud. Then she ducked out of the dressing room, peeking her head back in a moment later. “They’re ready for you.”

She took one final cleansing breath, deliberately avoiding looking in the mirror so that she could slide into the state of mind she’d need to pass the test. Outside the room, the council of elders had taken their places in the main courtyard; Jinora sat in the middle of a long bench, flanked by two others on each side. Lo Sang had settled on the ground, cross-legged, at Jinora’s feet.

Shinza bowed deeply to the council.

“Avatar Shinza,” Jinora greeted, her voice surprisingly loud and authoritative. “We gather to judge you on your airbending mastery. Given that you have been here for less time than it takes to master the thirty-six forms, I assume you’ve mastered the basics and perfected a form of your own?”

“Yes, Master Jinora,” Shinza replied.

“Begin then, child.”

Shinza inclined her head again and began. She ran through a number of forms, seemingly random in order, but strung together seamlessly in a carefully choreographed performance. Her breathing remained steady, and amid the constant spinning, she had lost sight of the panel - she was alone with her bending, having found freedom within the space she occupied. Then, at last, she closed out with a circling of her arms to seal her energy.

Three of the council members applauded, but the rest remained still, including Jinora. “Proceed with your new form.”

“I need an assistant,” Shinza announced. “Master Lo Sang, would you please?”

Intrigued, Lo Sang puffed herself to her feet and sprinted toward Shinza, who gestured for her to move a couple yards away. “Attack me,” Shinza instructed.

Lo Sang spun nimbly on her little feet once, twice, three times, stopping with precision and thrusting the palms of her hands forward, generating a cannon-like gust of wind that tore toward Shinza.

With a rapid twisting motion of her arms, Shinza solidified the air in front of her, creating an invisible wall that dispelled Lo Sang’s cannon-gust; behind the wall, not a hair on Shinza’s head moved.

Lo Sang broke into a wide grin. Then she sprinted toward the wall, stopping short and holding out her hand. She brushed her fingers against it, relishing the feel - like touching breath. It was invisible, soft, and yet an incredible defensive technique.

“How you you find, Master Lo Sang?” Jinora inquired.

Dutifully, Lo Sang turned to the council, hands behind her back and standing up proud and tall. “The wall holds. I find my student fully understands the philosophy of airbending and integrates it into her practice. She has mastered her basics, and she has created a form that embodies the doctrine of our Air Nomad ancestors and of our Air Nation: defense first.”

Jinora let her detached facade fall, and her eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Then, the Avatar passes the mastery test. Excellent work, both of you.”

Lo Sang hollered and rocketed into the air, twisting in elation and floating back down to the ground. “You did it!”

“I told you I’d make you proud,” Shinza murmured. Lo Sang looked up, cupping her hand around her mouth and standing on her tiptoes to whisper something to Shinza, who nodded.

Lo Sang took a running start and hopped onto her air skates; Shinza produced a solid panel of air, the shape of which was unknown to the council until Lo Sang leapt up onto it, balancing on what seemed to be a ledge. Then she fell forward, skating smoothly down a curve and back up a symmetrical curve on the other side, coming to perch on the opposite ledge. She repeated the motion over and over again, clearly tickled. Shinza herself giggled, casting a glance at the council, who all seemed to be enjoying the moment too.

At last, as the sun began to set, the council disbanded. Shinza headed toward the dining hall herself, but Lo Sang stopped her.

“When I became a master, I got a whole ceremony and my tattoos,” she said. “But those things are only for Air Nation natives.”

Shinza shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t need a fancy commemoration or anything. I didn’t get anything special when I passed my firebending test, either.”

“But still,” Lo Sang protested softly. “You deserve a little something special. You have to master four elements, after all.”

Unsure where Lo Sang was going with this, Shinza cocked her head.

“Kneel,” Lo Sang instructed, mimicking her best authoritative-Jinora voice. “Please.”

Shinza obeyed. Lo Sang lifted her index finger to the Avatar’s forehead and lovingly, deliberately traced the outline of an arrow on her brow. Then she took her hands and held them out, palms down, tracing a long path down her arms that terminated in an arrow on the back of each palm. Lastly, she gestured for Shinza to stand. She traced lines down her legs, ending with arrows on the tops of her feet.

“There,” Lo Sang said as she stood. “I think that’s better, don’t you?”

Shinza bit her lip to stop it from quivering, then slipped her arm around the young girl’s shoulders. “You’re the best.”

Lo Sang grinned and curled her arm around Shinza’s waist. Together, they made their way to the dining hall. “That’s what sisters are for.”

At sunrise the next morning, the temple’s congregation gathered at the courtyard to see Shinza off. It had been a long nine months, and yet it seemed to her like just yesterday, she had arrived here to this same scene; except now, the faces of the strangers who had first greeted her were familiar to her. Shinza had been allowed to keep the robes she’d worn to her test - a parting gift, Jinora had called it. She’d been keenly aware of the fact that Shinza’s Fire Nation clothes, the ones she’d worn to visit her family, had been irreparably damaged in Gaoling.

Shinza’s stomach knotted. She felt readier than she thought she would; now that the link to her past lives had been restored, she felt stronger and more confident than ever. But leaving Lo Sang and Jinora, after all they’d been through together, was bittersweet.

Lo Sang embraced Shinza one last time. Her heart melted when she heard little sniffs.

“We’ll see each other again,” Shinza whispered, rubbing her back.

Lo Sang replied in her high, sweet voice, “I know.” Then she stood tall, letting the wind rustle the fine white hairs that framed her face, and moved aside so that Jinora could move in.

The elder held the Avatar at arms’ length, studying her seemingly against an invisible portrait of who she’d been when she first arrived. “My dear, it has been a true honor,” she said, and then gathered Shinza into a gentle hug. “Perhaps we’ll meet again in the Spirit World. Now, go. Call your dragon - I’m sure your waterbending teacher is eager to meet you.”

Shinza hadn’t thought much on what came next; she’d been engrossed in her testing. “Who is it?” she asked. “What are they like?”

Jinora’s smile fell. “I don’t know, honey.”

Feeling the blood run out of her face, Shinza masked the rising panic she felt. How had she not thought to find herself a waterbending teacher? How could she have missed such a crucial step? She thought back to when she’d left the Island of the Sun Warriors, and realized that it had been Amrit who had found Lo Sang. With a pang in her heart, she realized she was on her own. She’d have to get to the North Pole - or the South Pole; she wasn’t even sure which place she should go to - and regroup. Resolutely, she nodded to Jinora and Lo Sang, stuck her index finger and thumb into her mouth, and whistled loudly for Xia.

The dragon didn’t appear right away, which wasn’t unusual. While she waited, she delicately traced the healed tattoo on her arm, feathering her fingertips over the black lines that made up Xia’s body. After a few more moments, Shinza turned to face the others, who had begun to grow restless. “She uh… she’s usually a couple seconds late.” But the seconds ticked by and turned into minutes. Lo Sang shuffled on her booted feet.

Shinza began to worry. Had Xia been shot down? Sweat beaded along her hairline.

“Look, there!” someone shouted. Xia burst through the clouds, carrying a rider on her back. But who…? Shinza squinted, and then yelped with joy, clapping her hands over her mouth.

Amrit rode proudly on the back of the dragon, his eager grin visible even from a distance. Xia flew with such velocity that she had to circle once or twice before touching down on the courtyard, and the wait was too long for Shinza to bear. Once Xia landed, Amrit slid elegantly off the dragon’s back. Shinza abandoned her little pack of belongings and leapt into his arms, unable to think to do anything else but to seek him in such a way. His breath left him and he curled his muscled arms around her lithe body, nearly tipping over, but righting them both with ease. She squeezed him tighter than she thought she could, and he reciprocated.

“Hey,” his voice quivered with emotion. “You okay?”

“Don’t let me go,” she responded, letting her tears flow freely.

He squeezed tighter. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Then she laughed. And he laughed. She couldn’t have thought of anything more perfect than Amrit showing up when she needed him most. Finally, Shinza felt for the ground with her toes, and they both straightened themselves out, sizing each other up.

“What are you doing here?” she sniffed. Her cheeks ached from the width of her smile. Relief and joy coursed through her veins. Whatever anxiety she’d felt moments ago was gone. She regarded him openly - he wore his finest clothing, even a thick cape to keep the mountain’s draft away from his bare, copper skin. On his face were painted the familiar ochre markings. “You look so fancy.”

“I, uh... missed you,” he confessed sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. His onyx eyes took her in. She looked like an entirely different woman; wiser, more confident. Remembering the way she and Xia had bonded when they’d first met, he couldn’t say he was surprised at the tattoo that covered her entire right arm. She’d always had impeccable posture, but now, as he regarded her, he felt her unmistakable presence as the Avatar. “And I’m here to ask for a job.”

Shinza’s brows furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

“Who’s looking out for you?” he inquired. “Do you have a waterbending teacher?”

“No, I don’t,” she replied, sobering.

“I may have found someone to teach you,” Amrit said. “I figured you were probably close to finishing your training here, so I took the liberty. I don’t have a resume or anything, but I have your back. I want to help you however I can.”

Shinza inquired softly, “What about your students? And your family?”

“My parents have my sister’s kids to look after. My students have all graduated, and the next round will be too young to start for a few years yet. Look… when you first came to the Island, I knew without a single grain of doubt that I was meant to help you. And after you left, things didn’t feel the same.”

She studied him, broad-shouldered, stating his case. While flattered that he felt the need to explain it at all, she knew kismet when she felt it. All the same, she pretended to deliberate.

Then she stuck her hand out with a smirk. “Team Avatar?”

Visibly relaxing, Amrit grinned, ignored her hand, and instead gathered her up in his arms again. “Team Avatar.”

From behind them, a small voice demanded, “So wait, who is this guy?”

Having forgotten they weren’t alone, Shinza turned to Lo Sang. “This is Amrit Han,” she said. “He was my firebending teacher. Amrit,” she said, turning to him and gesturing, “Please meet Masters Jinora and Lo Sang.”

“It’s my utmost pleasure,” said Jinora, inclining her head. As soon as Amrit’s gaze swept onto Lo Sang, however, the little one’s eyes went wide and her cheeks blossomed with a deep red blush. “Wow. You’re really handsome.”

“Right?” Shinza sounded. “You could just punch him.”

“I… hang on, what?” Amrit chuckled, a confused smile spreading over his face.

“On that note, Xia’s waiting,” Shinza cued, gathering her pack. The two mounted the dragon’s back and held on tight as Xia got a running start and leapt off the ground, rocketing northward. Shinza looked back with ease, a friend to the open air now, and sent her love back to the temple.

@chromecutie @hetapeep41 @jaymzbush @my-remedy-is-euphoria

[manandvannow-blr]

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[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 173

The Quest for a Habitable Planet

A planet outside the solar system was first discovered in 1995. As of 2013, the number of planets outside our solar system has reached more than 850. Within the last two years alone, more planets were discovered than in all the other years combined.

A planet that revolves around another star outside our solar system is called an Exoplanet or Extra solar planet. Ongoing studies involving this field are carried out via simultaneous ground and space based missions and observations. Scientists are searching a small portion of the Milky Way galaxy, approximately 3000 light years away, by using ground and space telescopes, along with various other astronomic methods (1). Despite all this technology, the observation area is too big when compared to the size of the object of interest.

It has been calculated that the Milky Way, a disc shaped galaxy, consists of 200 billion stars spread over a diameter of nearly 100,000 light years and a thickness of 1000 light years. When we consider the amount of stars in a single galaxy, and the fact that there are between a hundred billion and one trillion galaxies in the universe, the number of possible exoplanets is likely much larger than those we currently know of.

Classification of exoplanets

Exoplanets are classified according to their physical, chemical, and other characteristics, along with their diameter and mass: Jupiter like; greater than Jupiter; Earth like; greater than Earth

Classifications according to surface and atmospheric temperatures are as follows: Hotter than Jupiter; colder than Neptune; colder than Jupiter; small blue dots or twin Earths.

The presences of free-floating planets which have lost their parent stars because of different formation processes or other factors have also been discovered.

One of the common features of the exoplanets currently discovered is their short distance to the star they revolve around, which is usually less than half the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The known exoplanets are also defined by their faster revolutions in much shorter periods. Therefore, larger planets that are closer to their stars can be observed easily. When these planets are passing in front of their stars, a decrease in the brightness of the star is detected via spectrometers.

Radial velocity, one of the methods used to discover exoplanets, relies on the observations of a star's kinetic fluctuations. The proximity and size of a revolving planet leads to slight changes in location and velocity of a host star. As a result of this, the star gets closer to earth and then becomes more distant, which is observed as the Doppler shift of spectral line color waves. 75 % of all known planets have been discovered using this method.

Earth-like planets or habitable places

In an official NASA report in December 2011, the discovery of an Earth-like planet was announced for the first time. This planet, named Kepler 22b, is 600 light years away and remains the most similar one to Earth among the known heavenly bodies. The distance of Kepler 22b to its star shows a high possibility for the presence of a habitable zone.

So what does this mean?

Earth is such a special home for us humans that everything here has been assigned to serve us with delicate calculations. Factors such as the Earth's mass, gravity, distance to the Sun, rotational and revolution velocity, chemistry, thickness of the atmosphere, magnetic shield, hydrosphere/land ratio, ecological balances, and average temperature are all perfect for biological life.

Earth revolves in such a region and position that a majority of the planetary water is in a liquid state and is not ice or vapor.Thedistance of the habitable zone to our Sun is between 135,000,000 - 225,000,000 km. Earth revolves at a 150,000,000 km distance to the Sun. The value of a habitable zone for each planet depends on the diameter, mass, heat and radiation strength of the host star. In other words, aside from the similarity of an exoplanet to Earth, a classification of its host star with in terms of size and age is also important.

Kepler 22b owns the title as the first planet to match the criteria above with its following features:

Has a radius 2.4 times bigger than Earth

Revolution time is 290 days (365 for Earth)

15% closer to its star compared to the Earth-Sun distance

The size and surface temperature of Kepler 22b's host star is very similar to that of the Sun's

The surface temperature of the planet is 22 C

The size of the habitable zone for Kepler 22bis 133,500,000 - 240,000,000 km

Aside from these similarities, it is noteworthy to report the problems that scientists encountered regarding Kepler 22b:

The unknown presence of water on the surface

No information on the gaseous contents of the atmosphere.

The gravitational force is 2.5 times greater than on Earth.

Rocks constitute the surface instead of soil.

The hardest part is that Kepler 22bremains 600 light years away from us. This means it would take us 11 billions years to get there with today's fastest spacecrafts. Who knows when we will be able to decrease this time with the advent of superior technology.

What do religious scholar say about life in outer space?

Among His manifest signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and that He has dispersed in both of them living creatures. And He has full power to gather them together when He wills. (Ash-Shura 42:29)

While interpreting the Qur'anic verse above, the known scholar notes the following:

"Since the earliest times, this verse has been taken as a proof for the view that there are living creatures, whether resembling human beings or not, in the places other than the earth. This view may be true. The second part of the verse, 'He has full power to gather them together when He wills,' has been understood that these creatures and human beings will possibly come together either in this world or in that of the other creatures. … there may be earth-like globes in the heaven where creatures resembling earthly ones live."

"Perhaps people will not be able to reach those places individually or as a whole generation, but this can be achieved by mankind as a species. In other words, when the Divine Will manifests itself in that direction, humans here can encounter those other life forms."

This commentary reflects what Bediuzzaman Said Nursi had said decades ago:

"The earth, although much smaller than other heavenly bodies, is so densely inhabited by living creatures that even its grossest and most rotten parts are full of living things, such as micro-organisms. This shows that those infinite firmaments, with their numerous stars and constellations, are inhabited by conscious, living beings ..." (Nursi 2010, 530-531) 29th Word, First Aim, First Fundamental)

[alloveroliver]

Kiro x MC “Those Familiar Nights.”

Smut: Kiro, Mr. Love

WC: 1,996

Mr. Love Queen’s Choice Fanfic

Lost in a swirl of thoughts, you gently close your eyes when his lips depart from you. The dark room fades away along with the bright constellation of stars that lit the modern decor of the bedroom.

“K-Kiro” You managed to breathe at your sudden loss of sensation, but your voice sounded far and distant to even yourself. The bed dipped beneath you as your boyfriend moved into place.

Keeping your heavy lids shut, you move your hands along the plush comforter to seek him out. The fresh sheets smelled of a soothing lavender mixed with citrus, fluffy from their tumble in the warm dryer.

Kiro’s quiet breaths helped aid you in your blind exploration towards him. His labored gasps were filled with a hint of his familiar voice, making your pounding heart swell. His kisses had been unparalleled while he held you late into the night. However, the usual stopping point you two always carefully halted at came and went.

The passions were too intense. The longer you dated, the more heated your make-out sessions became as trust was built. Tonight was no exception. Kiro’s lips met your own time and time again, leaving radiating heat in their wake that filled up your entire being. Soon you were left wearing only calf high socks on the bottom of your feet and your little hair band on your left wrist. Kiro kissed you everywhere he hadn’t before, making sure to focus on the places that made you writhe the most.

He was donned in nothing by the time midnight came around. His clothes, accessories, and headphones were tossed off in the throws of your tongues fight for dominance. Your lips were pink and plump for sure, and you could feel the sensation of his still pressed firmly against them despite their distance.

“I’ve never done this before,” He whispered, laying a small kiss on your bare inner thigh. You could hear the smile in his voice before you looked down to witness it for yourself. His eyes crinkled as he let out a breathy laugh. “So let me know if you don’t like something, deal?” He looked up with his baby blue eyes and nodded.

“Deal,” You let your lips quirk up, watching his gaze swirl with a newfound passion.

The evening was playful, as it usually was. Yet, the way his shoulders squared, and his jaw angled made him look more sensual than he’d ever let on before. His arms wrapped around your body, holding you secure, and his back flex as he pulled you closer to his lips.

Kiro delved unabashedly between your thighs despite admitting he’d never done this before. He groaned at the taste or your lust for him, moaned when you needily opened your legs further. His golden hair, lit by just the twinkling stars outside the large window, began to brush against your thighs rhythmically. He found his goal, the nerve bundle that made you arch, made you sweat. He stayed there on that very spot, using his lips to tease and tongue to please.

A word came to your lips, and you chanted it into his dark bedroom. “Yes… yes.”

He seemed to whimper when your fingers dug into his hair. You grazed your nails over his scalp, just enough to send chills down his back. Kiro adjusted his body, moving between your legs until one of his king sized pillows met his hips.

Either mindlessly or not, Kiro began to push his torso into the firm pillow. His velvety lips never left your core as he began to push against the object idly. Soft sucking sounds, mixed with wet licks from his tongue filled the space, making the experience more erotic. He focused all his energy on our trembling, pink clit.

You swallowed thickly and opened your mouth to breath. “If-” You cleared your throat to speak louder. “If you use your finger, I can show you where else it feels good for me.”

It wasn’t that you were bolder than usual, you felt safe with him, you trusted him wholeheartedly. Kiro made you feel the most balanced with your mind and body than anyone else was capable of doing.

His teeth grazed your labia lightly while he brought his hand towards your slick folds. He was calm, listening to your breaths while his pointing finger moved around your heat. Effortlessly, his digit slipped into your pussy with the help of your brimming arousal.

“Yes…” That affirming word came to your lips again. You tried to give further instruction, but the way your tight pussy stretched around his single digit felt insanely blissful. You were slightly embarrassed by your own moans as they became more high pitched, but your boyfriend wasn’t bothered by your volume.

“Like this?” Kiro asked, fracturing the veil of silence you two had built up within the nervousness of the new experience together.

“Yes but also,” He buried his finger to the knuckle, making words die on your tongue momentarily. He pulled back out, and your eyes rolled back with delight. “Hook, Hook your finger upwards.” You blurted out before any more words could be lost.

The AC kicked on, humming to life as he followed your instructions. His bent finger, finding the spongy patch of nerves that you directed him towards. Your hips jerked, and a louder moan ripped from your throat. The vent from the air conditioner blew directly onto the bed where you lay, cooling your heated, red skin with a gentle breeze.

Kiro brought his mouth back to your aching clit and swirled his tongue in small circles. The duality was too great. The pad of his digit never left your gspot as he shallowly fingered you. His tongue was so soft and slick on your throbbing nub. He took extra care of your body, following the sound of your moans to try new angles and patterns.

Sucking lightly on your clit proved to be the loudest moan he was able to elicit. Kiro stayed there, sucking and lapping at the helpless bundle until your thighs were shaking. His hips still gently rocked against the pillow while he kept up his ministrations on your dripping core.

In the intense moment, you felt your tightening muscles finally relax. A point of no return you decided, and you allowed the waves of buzzing electricity to wash over you again and again. Your hand fell away from your boyfriends light blonde hair, your head pushed back into the fluffy comforter, and your legs relaxed around Kiro’s shoulders.

You’d never been with someone so caring nor so giving before. Kiro gained a lot in his life from being the fantastic person he is, and he was now willing to give it all to you. Your loyalty to one another was what solidified your relationship, building it up to be something that could stand the test of time. You still blushed in his presence, but you immediately felt safe when his protective arm wrapped around you. Over the months of being together, the place under his chin and above his chest became home. A place to rest your head when you hugged him when you felt weary and needed comfort. A place where no one else could get to you other than Kiro. A place to lay all your worries down and allow someone else to share the burden with you.

As you lay atop the bed, Kiro added a second finger to your entrance and curled the two together. The sounds of pleasure you made grew louder, more breathy when he circled them over the rough patch. A smile touched your lips despite your brow being furrowed. At this moment you could feel how happy you two were. He was an amazing boyfriend, and he was proving to be a formable lover as well.

Your walls began to clench around his fingers absently. You had no control over how your body responded to his stimulus. Kiro adjusted his free hand and slid it up the side of your body without leaving his position. Focusing all your thoughts on his ministrations, you didn’t feel the initial linking of his fingers with yours. When it registered that he was holding your hand, you squeezed back to show your appreciation.

Kiro’s cashmere tongue began to speed up. He added pressure and velocity to his sucking and licking routine, making the hot iron coil in your core go taught. It was a slow build up to this moment, yet it seemed to happen all too fast. Like boiling water, the pot simmered then suddenly the rapid water was rushing over the pot and sizzling on the hot stove. You dug one heels into the mattress and the other into his lower back, chest bowing under the all-encompassing pleasure that pulsed through your core.

Kiro felt it too, on his fingers as your pussy throbbed hard against his prodding digits. The orgasm ripped a long moan from your throat, and his name seethed in sensual groans and copious amounts of lewdness. He only slowed down his ministrations when your body weakly responded to his prodding. The desires still flared, but your body went limp. All your muscles were tired from the release, making you pant as you began to catch your breath.

He squeezed your linked hand then moved away from between your legs. A prideful look swelled as you locked eyes. Kiro bit his lip, trying to hide his bashfulness from you. His cheeks were pink, and some of his golden strands clung to his clammy forehead. His chest muscles flexed as he moved into position next to you.

Kiro kissed the temple on the side of your head and caught his breath. “I’m in love with you, ya know.” He let out a breathless laugh and wrapped his arms around your warm body.

Your eyes finally peeled open, and as you turned slowly to gaze into his ocean eyes, you smiled. “I love you too, Kiro.”

Both of you move chest to chest to hold the other in a tight embrace. Your hearts fluttered against each other in the warmth. Kiro’s skin was smooth but humid. You played with his hair and moved your leg to hook over his hips. You weren’t done yet, were you?

“Um,” You whisper against his neck. “It’s your turn.” Somehow your fast-beating heart sped up. It fluttered against your ribcage while he hugged you tighter to his chest.

“No, no,” He tried to laugh. “I um, The pillow actually, it-”

“Oh, I understand.” You blurted out, feeling his energy change to something of a nervous tone. “Next time, will you let me do it?”

“Yes,” He smiled wide. “I promise!”

As Kiro’s head nuzzled the side of your neck, you opened your eyes to play with the lock of his hair that tickled your face. That was when you noticed the first glow of the morning sun filling the darkness of the night.

“It’s morning.” You relay to him, twisting his shaggy hair between your fingers.

“You need to get some sleep.” He sighed regretfully.

“So do you.” You add, cupping his cheek as moved back to look down at you. “We both need to get some sleep.”

Kiro began to nod. “Yeah, you’re right. As long as you stay here, I think I can get some shut eye.”

“I will stay.” You reassure him, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Okay then,” He relaxed, letting you turn in his embrace.

You faced away from him, looking out the massive wall to wall windows at the rising sun. Kiro pressed his chest to your back and wrapped his arm around your waist. His warm lips press a small kiss to your cheek before he rests his head against your shared pillow.

He held you like this, firmly against his nude body, until the morning sun broke past the horizon and moved slowly towards the expanse of the sky.

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Yay! This is my first Mr. Love fanfic! I like how I scream my undying love for Victor but my first smut piece is about Kiro XD

I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading <3